Great northern bean salad
sauteed kale salad with whole wheat penne pasta and great northern beans
Just before January 1, I resolved to eat better. A glimpse of myself in the JC Penney dressing room mirror convinced me that I had to do something. Not something drastic, not something quick, just something in general. Taking a prompt from Mark Bittman, I resolved to become vegetarian before 6pm (I don’t think I have the energy to go vegan).
This resolution brings up a couple problems. First, I don’t really know how to cook vegetarian. It takes a slightly different mindset than what I’m used to. There’s no central protein around which to build a meal. In fact, vegetarian eating tends to encourage grazing. A snack here and there, and at dinner time, several dishes from which to pick and choose. The second problem is much more practical. I can’t take leftovers for lunch. Garlic chicken thighs don’t become vegetables just because I take them out of the fridge and they’re fully cooked. I find myself having to come up with recipes and dishes that are easy to make, that keep well, and that I can transform across a couple days into delicious, reasonably healthy lunches. I’m hoping the reasonably can be dropped as I become more comfortable with the new menu.
For my first go, I thought I’d try to create a bean salad that I could use in a number of dishes. it worked, and I’m happy to report that great northern beans in what amounts to a heated balsamic vinaigrette are utterly fantastic and extremely versatile.
Great northern bean salad
Beans:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic (3 for extra flavor)
- 1 medium shallot
- 16 oz. cooked great northern beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt,
- 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup pasta water
Pasta:
- 1 package spinach rotini
- 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
Cook the pasta as per the directions on the package, just make sure you salt your water (1 1/2 tablespoons for the recommended water amount on the package). While the pasta cooks, heat good quality extra virgin olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. As it heats, mince the garlic and shallot. Toss them into the pan and let them saute for a couple minutes, until the garlic just begins to brown. Watch carefully, though. If the garlic begins to burn, it’s too late.
Add the beans (yes, canned is okay), the salt and the oregano, stir until the beans are heated through, add the vinegar, let it sizzle a couple seconds, then add the pasta water and the pepper.
Toss with the pasta and you’ve made meal one. (When I made this dish, I used the whole wheat penne we had in the pantry. If I did it again, I probably would use a spinach pasta since the birch colored beans would offset nicely against the dark green pasta.)
For lunch the second day, I sauteed kale, tossed the cooked kale with the bean and pasta mixture and had an amazing lunch. And sauteed greens are about as easy a thing as you can make:
Again, heat a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil over medium high. When the oil begins to shimmer, but before it begins to smoke, add about three good-sized portions of kale (or other green). Add two healthy pinches of kosher salt, and use a wooden spoon to shove the kale around the pan to ensure even cooking (for those writing down measurements, figure four packed cups of kale, a teaspoon of kosher salt). When the kale has cooked down some–probably about half its original volume, add some lemon juice, and toss with a cup of your pasta salad. Seriously awesome.
Weber grill misunderstood by Nathan Myhrvold, NYT
(via Kottke)
Nathan Myhrvold, cookbook author
Nathan Myhrvold, ex-Microsoftie and founder of an invention company called Intellectual Ventures, is also really interested in food, so much so that he’s writing a monster cookbook (currently ~1500 pages) about the science of cooking.
In another discovery of culinary heat transfer physics, Dr. Myhrvold said the bulbous shape and black color of Weber grills were wrong. To achieve an even cooking temperature across the cooking grate, the inside of the grill should be vertical and shiny to reflect the heat. That can be fixed by adding an aluminum insert to the grill. “So we have directions for that,” Dr. Myhrvold said.
You may remember reading about Myhrvold and IV in Malcolm Gladwell’s piece on the nature of invention last year.
Two things: I’m not sure we need another cookbook on the science of cooking, especially one already over the 1,500 page mark. Harold McGee already wrote the amazing On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. If you’ve read any of it, you know Alton Brown owes much of his success to McGee’s work. Indeed, any cook worth his salt should send a thank-you note to McGee some time today.
More concerning is Myhrvold’s mistake. In examining hardware, he forgot about cooking. The Weber grill is masterfully designed because it allows for very specific heat regulation and air circulation. When grilling, you don’t want even heat distribution. The things you’re cooking should and will cook at different rates.
Picture this: the bulbous Weber with coals piled on one side in the bottom. Near that edge, the food is very close to the heat, perfect for quick grilling vegetables or searing thin meat cuts. On the other side, you’d have a relatively cool temperature, perfect for slow-cooking ribs or pork loin.
The review doesn’t call Myhrvold on his mistakes, which go beyond the beloved Weber:
Confit doesn’t impart a unique flavor, it’s a method of preservation
The book sounds audacious, and I’m sure will include some interesting bits of knowledge for those operating at the bleeding edge of food and cooking. But to claim something’s just wrong without proper context is just sloppy cooking. Journalism, too.
Cooking Up a Story interviews Ann Vileisis
On the topics covered in her new book Kitchen Literacy
Part 1:
Part 2:
Things like this make me excited about food and cooking. Makes me realize, too, how long it’s been since I spent serious time in the kitchen (or on the couch doing prep work).
Spinach sald with Gorgonzola and balsamic walnut vinaigrette
I wish I had a clever beginning, some pithy line or sage comment that would speak to freshness or seasonality or something. But I don’t. It was a relaxing weekend, and I made some food and and it was mostly good.
But this one thing was great. And simple.
So simple.
Spinach salad with Gorgonzola and balsamic walnut vinaigrette (serves 2, 4 if served as a side salad)
Enough spinach to fill a good-sized bowl (you know how much you want to eat)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
4 tbl crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
4 tbl extra virgin olive oil
2 tbl balsamic vinegar
kosher salt
Tear the spinach leaves and pile them in separate bowls. Divide the crumbled cheese and sprinkle liberally over the spinach. In a small skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. When it develops a slight sheen, carefully add the walnuts. Cook them until they begin to release a rich, nutty aroma (probably about 2 minutes), and the color begins to deepen. Add the balsamic vinegar and let it sizzle and reduce, about 30 seconds. Sprinkle with a couple good pinches of salt, then pour the walnuts, oil and vinegar over the spinach and cheese. Serve warm.
I had the salad for lunch on Sunday, and it was perfect. Seriously perfect. The hot dressing wilted the spinach just slightly and melted some of the cheese. The wonderful nutty flavor of the cooked walnuts complemented the rich, salty flavor of the Gorgonzola and the spinach provided the perfect delivery vehicle.