3 Ingredient Ideas

When I first started cooking, and not just the delicious dishes my mother and grandmother had handed down, but really exploring flavors on my own, it was at a time in my life when I didn't have a lot of cash. So I'd read my various food magazines (this was pretty much before food blogs) or trawl the pages of cookbooks I was working on and I'd think, that would be a delicious meal if only I could afford to buy all those ingredients.

And then I came upon a cookbook author and chef who seemed to speak to my predicament -- the desire to expand my flavor and cooking know-how without buying out the grocery store. Vibrant and complex flavors, as I found in Rozanne Gold's fantastic 1-2-3 volumes, can come from just three ingredients. Now these are not necessarily thrifty ingredients, and some can be quite pricey. But being able to keep it to three ingredients meant being able to cook more than one new dish a week. Eureka!

I'm back to watching my grocery bills, and so I've been thinking a lot about Ms. Gold's approach. Many of her recipes call for ingredients that aren't "processed foods" but do include several elements: anchovies with capers in brine, garlic oil, flavored vinegars and so on. I thought of her when I had Mr. Lemon pick up Ras el Hanout on his adventures to Brooklyn's Sahadi's Grocery. (We call it going to the souk, and it really can be as exotic and exciting.) One ingredient, but so many spices in this delicious Moroccan staple that literally means "top of the [spice] shop."

So here's a dinner with 2 dishes, 6 ingredients (not counting olive oil, salt and pepper), that takes about 25 minutes from start to finish. Easy as 1-2-3. Thrifty as $5.

Pork Chops with Ras El Hanout

1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Ras el Hanout

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 pork chops, bone in

Combine the Ras el Hanout and olive oil and spread on all sides of the pork chops. Let sit for 10 minutes while you get the grill ready. Grill until white inside, about 8 minutes a side.

Grilled Collards and Potato

5-6 large collard leaves, rinsed, thick rib removed and torn into large pieces

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tablspoons olive oil

4 small potatoes (white or red, but waxy), thinly sliced

Create a "bag" with tin foil, using two sheets. In the bag toss the sliced potatoes, olive oil, garlic, and torn collard greens. Add salt to taste. Cook over direct heat, 20 minutes on the grill.

Tally:

Easy and healthy dinner on the grill

Investing in spices is worth it for this dish

A balanced meal in two steps

On sale pork chops find a new flavor from Morocco

Out of the Box Cooking

Although I love teriyaki and California roll as much as the next person, what I really enjoy about bento boxes at a Japanese restaurant is that little section with the surprise dish. Sometimes it's shumai or a type of pickle I'd never think to order. And "surprise!" it's usually delicious and the part of the meal I remember most.

So when Mr. Lemon and I picked up our first batch of veggies from our CSA this week, the whole shopping trip was filled with little surprises. I'd anticipated some lettuce (check) and some spring onions (check), but then we found ourselves bagging up kohlrabi. Surprise!

Later that day we happened upon a good deal for sweet potatoes, which reminded me of the delicious cooked squash at our favorite Japanese spot--the one with the green walls and handwritten menu on 8th Street that we wander up and down the street to locate. It was enough to get me making up a bento "bowl" dinner. (Bento refers to a boxed meal, but we can use some imagination here, I think.)

Kohlrabi with Garlic and sesame seeds

Cut away rib of Kohlrabi leaves (about 8). Blanch kohlrabi in boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Remove and place in ice water to stop cooking (an ice bath, how fancy!).

Cut the blanched greens to bite sized pieces, and saute in a frying pan with olive oil (two good glugs) and two cloves of minced garlic. Salt and pepper to taste. If this tastes bitter to you, add some rice wine vinegar to soften the taste.

Scatter sesame seeds on top.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Miso and Scallions

Epicurious had a recipe for sweet potato and miso paste, here. I took the idea and went in a slightly different, healthier direction:

4 small sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

1 teaspoon white miso paste

1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Tablespoons water

1 scallion, cleaned and sliced

Roast sweet potatoes with olive oil at 425 F for 20 minutes until tender.

Mix miso paste, olive oil and water together and drizzle on sweet potatoes. Return to oven for 1-2 minutes.

Top with scallions.

Edamame: We keep a bag of frozen edamame on hand for speedy snacks and fast protein fixes. Japanese groceries are a great and inexpensive source for freezer staples.

Cucumber Salad: On-sale cucumbers sliced thin, plus equal parts rice wine vinegar, sugar and water. I used a 1 Tablespoon measure to go light on the sugar. This is my family's PA Dutch recipe but uses rice wine vinegar in place of our beloved apple cider vinegar.

Tally:

Pantry staples from the Japanese grocery come out to party

Surprise ingredients from the CSA inspire a veggie-centric meal

Variety keeps us from missing meat

Frozen edamame offer a great healthy and thrifty protein