Double-Post Tuesday

Besides being Taco Tuesday, it's also Double-Post Tuesday. Today's offerings include Baked Risotto With Greens and Peas and Kale Lasagna Diavolo. Enjoy!

GRILLED TOFU

This comes from Kay Chun in The New York Times cooking newsletter. Kay wrote, "Pouring hot marinade over tofu slices encourages faster absorption of flavors, eliminating the need to marinate overnight. In a pinch, this method yields tasty results in three hours, but the recommended six hours deliver a much more complex, richer flavored tofu. Grilled, it makes a versatile side dish and is delicious warm or at room temperature. Pair it with steamed rice and a simple green salad, or turn the tofu into satisfying vegetarian sandwiches by tucking it into pita bread with lettuce and avocado."

Yield: 4 servings; Time: 20 minutes, plus 6 hours' marinating

To view this online, go to https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022297-grilled-tofu.

Ingredients

1 (14-ounce) block extra-firm tofu, sliced crosswise into eight equal slices (about 1/2-inch thick)

2 tablespoons safflower or canola oil, plus more for greasing grates

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons turbinado sugar

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons chopped scallions

Preparation

Arrange sliced tofu in a single layer on a paper towel-lined plate. Press top with more paper towels to remove excess water. Arrange tofu in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, or any shallow dish that can hold the tofu in one layer.

In a small saucepan, combine oil, garlic and ginger over medium; bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring frequently, until softened and fragrant, 2 minutes. Add soy sauce, sugar, pepper and 1/4 cup water, and cook, stirring to dissolve the sugar, about 2 minutes.

Pour hot marinade over tofu. Gently turn tofu slices to evenly coat, then cover dish tightly with plastic wrap to seal in heat. Refrigerate for 6 hours (or up to 8 hours), flipping tofu slices halfway through.

Heat grill to medium and grease grates well (or heat a cast-iron grill pan over medium and lightly grease). Grill tofu over direct heat until golden and caramelized, about 3 minutes per side.

Meanwhile, transfer marinade to a small saucepan over medium and warm through, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in scallions.

Transfer tofu to a serving plate and spoon over the sauce. Serve warm.

BLUEBERRY CRUMBLE

This is from the Food Network. Prep Time: 20 minutes; Inactive: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 30 minutes; Total Time: 1 hour; Yield: 6 to 8 servings; Level: Easy

To view this online, go to https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/blueberry-crumble-recipe-1956497.

Ingredients

Filling:

1 teaspoon unsalted butter, softened

2 pints blueberries, or any other berry

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 cup apple cider or orange juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Streusel Topping:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

1/2 cup toasted oats

1/2 cup chopped, toasted almonds

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly butter an 8-inch square baking dish.

For the filling: In a bowl, add the blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, cider, and vanilla, Carefully mix the ingredients together with a spatula, leaving the blueberries whole. Set aside while you assemble the topping.

For the topping: In the bowl of a mixer, add the flour, sugars, and butter. Using the paddle attachment, incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks mealy or crumbly. (This can be done by hand.) Stir in the oats and nuts.

Pour the filling into an 8-inch square baking dish and evenly distribute the topping over the fruit. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling. Cool slightly and serve warm.

KALE LASAGNA DIAVOLO

This was in the January/February 2011 issue of Vegetarian Times (page 79), and begins, "Warm up a winter evening with a spicy lasagna that gets hearty texture from chopped kale. Goat cheese mashed into traditional ricotta gives it a flavorful tang."

Makes 8 servings

To view this online, go to https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/kale-lasagna-diavolo/.

Ingredients

1 tsp. olive oil, plus more for oiling pan

1 8-oz. bunch kale, stems removed

1 15-oz. pkg. fat-free ricotta cheese

4 oz. chevre or soft goat cheese, softened

2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)

2 cups prepared tomato puree

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

6 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained, or 6 no-cook lasagna noodles

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat 8-inch square baking pan with oil.

Cook kale in large pot of boiling salted water 2 minutes. Drain, and rinse under cold water until cool enough to handle. Thoroughly wring out kale, then chop. Season with salt and pepper, if desired, and set aside.

Mash together ricotta and chèvre in bowl, and set aside.

Heat 1 tsp. oil in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add garlic, and cook 15 seconds, or until fragrant. Add tomato purée and red pepper flakes; simmer 5 minutes, or until thickened.

Spread 1/4 cup sauce in prepared baking pan. Place 2 lasagna noodles on top of sauce. Top with half of cheese mixture, half of kale, and 1/3 cup sauce. Top with two more noodles, remaining cheese, and remaining kale. Top with remaining lasagna noodles, and cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan, and bake 40 minutes, or until cheese has melted and lasagna is bubbly.

RED LENTIL SOUP WITH LEMON

This comes from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “This is a lentil soup that defies expectations of what lentil soup can be. It is light, spicy and a bold red color (no murky brown here): a revelatory dish that takes less than an hour to make. The cooking is painless. Sauté onion and garlic in oil, then stir in tomato paste, cumin and chile powder and cook a few minutes more to intensify flavor. Add broth, water, red lentils (which cook faster than their green or black counterparts) and diced carrot, and simmer for 30 minutes. Purée half the mixture and return it to the pot for a soup that strikes the balance between chunky and pleasingly smooth. A hit of lemon juice adds an up note that offsets the deep cumin and chile flavors.”

Yield: 4 servings; Time: 45 minutes.

This was featured in “A Lentil Soup to Make You Stop, Taste and Savor”, and can be viewed online here.

The Times has two more links with this recipe that come in handy: “How to Make Soup,” a guide by Samin Nosrat and “How to Cook Beans,” a guide by Melissa Clark. Both of these are extremely helpful when making homemade soup and/or cooking beans. I highly recommend both.

Note: This recipe originally called for 1 quart chicken or vegetable broth. For obvious reasons, I've limited it to the veggie broth.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil, more for drizzling

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Pinch of ground chile powder or cayenne, more to taste

1 quart vegetable broth

2 cups water

1 cup red lentils

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

Juice of 1/2 lemon, more to taste

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons oil over high heat until hot and shimmering. Add onion and garlic, and sauté until golden, about 4 minutes.

Stir in tomato paste, cumin, salt, black pepper and chili powder or cayenne, and sauté for 2 minutes longer.

Add broth, 2 cups water, lentils and carrot. Bring to a simmer, then partially cover pot and turn heat to medium-low. Simmer until lentils are soft, about 30 minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary.

Using an immersion or regular blender or a food processor, purée half the soup then add it back to pot. Soup should be somewhat chunky.

Reheat soup if necessary, then stir in lemon juice and cilantro. Serve soup drizzled with good olive oil and dusted lightly with chili powder if desired.

BAKED RISOTTO WITH GREENS AND PEAS

This comes from Kay Chun on The New York Times cooking site. Kay wrote, "This easy baked risotto eliminates the constant stirring required in traditional risotto recipes. It’s laden with vegetables, namely kale and spinach, but other leafy greens like Swiss chard or collard greens would work equally well. If you happen to have some extra asparagus, sub it in for the peas. This risotto makes a great starter or side dish, but you can also turn it into a vegetarian main course by using vegetable or mushroom stock in place of the chicken broth, and topping it with sautéed mushrooms, a fried egg or crispy tofu slices. Leftovers can be refrigerated for two days and reheated with more broth, or repurposed into crunchy rice cakes or arancini. Simply form into patties or balls, coat in bread crumbs and shallow-fry until golden and crunchy."

Yield: 4 servings; Time: 30 minutes

To view this online, go to https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021287-baked-risotto-with-greens-and-peas.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion

1 small garlic clove, minced

1 cup Arborio rice (about 7 ounces)

Kosher salt and black pepper

4 ounces green or lacinato kale (about 1/3 bunch), stems separated and thinly sliced, leaves stacked and cut into 1/4-inch-thick ribbons (about 4 packed cups)

3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

4 ounces baby spinach (about 4 packed cups)

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

3/4 cup grated Parmesan (3 ounces), plus more for garnish

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preparation

Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, 1 minute. Add rice, season with salt and pepper, and stir until coated in oil and lightly toasted, 2 minutes.

Add kale, season with salt and pepper, and stir until wilted, 30 seconds. Add broth and bring to a boil over high heat.

Cover and bake until almost all of the liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 20 minutes.

Stir in spinach and peas until spinach is wilted. Add Parmesan, butter and lemon juice, and stir until well blended and saucy. (Liquid will continue to absorb as risotto sits.) Season with salt and pepper. Serve in bowls and top with more Parmesan.

AL ROKER'S VEGETABLE LASAGNA

This yumminess is from Al Roker on the Today Show site. It begins, "This vegetarian lasagna, which is bubbling with gooey cheese, is a delicious way to sneak lots of vegetable servings into dinner."

Prep Time: 20 minutes; Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

To view this online, go to https://www.today.com/recipes/al-roker-s-vegetable-lasagna-t108791.

Ingredients

Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 zucchini, medium dice

1 small yellow squash, medium dice

1 medium yellow onion, medium dice

1 medium red bell pepper, medium dice

Salt and pepper, to taste

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups marinara sauce

3 tablespoons chopped basil

1 pinch red pepper flakes

Lasagna

32 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese

2 eggs

1 pound dry lasagna noodles, cooked according to packaging

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 cups shredded mozzarella

Preparation

For the sauce:

Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add zucchini, squash, onion and red peppers. Season with salt and sauté vegetables until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook an additional minute. Pour in marinara sauce and chopped basil. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes. Cook sauce for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened.

For the lasagna:

While sauce is cooking, mix together ricotta cheese and egg until combined. Season with salt and pepper.

In a 9x13-inch baking dish, assemble the lasagna: Spoon vegetable sauce on bottom, cover with noodles in a single layer, spread a layer of the ricotta mixture and sprinkle some Parmesan. Repeat until the lasagna is fully built, finishing by covering the top with the shredded mozzarella.

Cover lasagna with aluminum foil. Bake in a 400°F oven, covered, for 40 minutes, then remove foil and cook for an additional 10 minutes, until the cheese turns golden brown.

Once cooked, let lasagna sit for 8-10 minutes before cutting and serving.