Eye for a Recipe

This quick dinner from America’s Test Kitchen combines pasta with Brussels sprouts, beans and sour cream and then tops the dish with spicy mustard breadcrumbs and crispy bacon. While the pasta is cooking, combine the breadcrumbs, mustard and spices in a skillet and cook until golden brown. Remove from skillet. In the same skillet, cook the bacon until crisp and remove. Add the Brussels sprouts to the skillet and steam until they are crisp-tender. Stir in beans and vinegar and simmer for a few minutes. Add the Brussels sprout mixture and sour cream to the pasta. Serve topped with the breadcrumbs and bacon.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Panko breadcrumbs are usually free of additives. I used President’s Choice Old-Fashioned Dijon mustard, Free From bacon, Unico beans, Allen’s Apple Cider Vinegar and Simple brand sour cream. All are additive-free. You could also soak and cook half a cup (125 ml) of dried white beans. Check the cayenne to make sure it does not contain colour or anti-caking agents.

Orecchiette and navy beans with Brussels sprouts and spicy mustard breadcrumbs

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons (10 ml) vegetable oil

¼ cup (60 ml) panko breadcrumbs

2 teaspoons (10 ml) Dijon mustard

⅛ teaspoon (0.6 ml) plus ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) table salt, divided, plus salt for cooking pasta

Pinch cayenne pepper

8 ounces (227 g) orecchiette

2 slices bacon, chopped fine

10 ounces (283 g) Brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved, and sliced thin

1 (15-ounce/425 g) can navy beans, undrained

1 tablespoon (15 ml) cider vinegar

½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) pepper

⅓ cup (82.5 ml) sour cream

Preparation:

Bring 2 quarts (2 L) water to boil in large saucepan. While water is coming to boil, combine oil, panko, mustard, ⅛ teaspoon (0.6 ml) salt, and cayenne in 12-inch (30-cm) nonstick skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until panko is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and let cool completely (do not wash skillet).

Add pasta and 1½ teaspoons (7.5 ml) salt to boiling water and cook, stirring often, until al dente. Reserve 1 cup (250 ml) cooking water and drain pasta. Return pasta to pot and cover to keep warm.

While pasta is cooking, cook bacon in now-empty skillet over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until crispy, 4 to 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel to drain, leaving fat in skillet. Add Brussels sprouts, 1 tablespoon (15 ml) water, and remaining ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) salt and stir to coat. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until sprouts are crisp-tender and bright green, about 4 minutes. Stir in beans and their liquid, ¼ cup (60 ml) reserved cooking water, vinegar, and pepper and cook until bubbling.

Add Brussels sprout mixture and sour cream to pasta and stir until all ingredients are combined. Adjust consistency with remaining reserved cooking water as needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide among 4 shallow bowls. Sprinkle breadcrumbs and bacon over pasta. Serves 4.

From America’s Test Kitchen

This soup from America’s Test Kitchen’s latest cookbook, Dinner Tonight, is fresh-tasting, spicy and absolutely delicious. Soak vermicelli until tender and distribute among soup bowls. Combine lemon grass, scallions, lime, chile and galangal, add broth and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the solids from the pan. Add mushrooms, fish sauce and chile to soup and simmer for a few minutes. Add shrimp, cover and let sit off the heat until the shrimp are cooked through. Stir in tomatoes and lime juice and serve topped with fresh herbs. Cook’s note: I used a tablespoon of lime zest instead of the lime leaves, gingerroot instead of galangal and shiitake mushrooms instead of oyster mushrooms.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

I used Better Than Bouillon chicken paste for the stock and Cock brand fish sauce. Look for frozen shrimp preserved only with salt. Use freshly squeezed lime juice.

Thai hot and sour soup with shrimp and noodles

Ingredients:

4 ounces (113 g) rice vermicelli

2 lemon grass stalks, trimmed to bottom 6 inches (15 cm)

4 scallions, trimmed, white parts left whole, green parts cut into 1-inch (2.54-cm) lengths

6 makrut lime leaves, torn if large

2 Thai chiles, stemmed (1 left whole, 1 sliced thin), divided, plus 2 Thai chiles, stemmed and sliced thin, for serving (optional)

1 (2-inch/5-cm) piece fresh galangal, peeled and sliced into ¼-inch- (0.64-cm-) thick rounds

8 cups (2 L) chicken broth

1 tablespoon (15 ml) sugar, plus extra for seasoning

8 ounces (227 g) oyster mushrooms, trimmed and torn into 1-inch (2.54-cm) pieces

3 tablespoons (45 ml) fish sauce, plus extra for seasoning

1 pound (454 g) extra-large shrimp (21 to 25 per pound), peeled, deveined, and tails removed

12 ounces (340 g) cherry tomatoes, halved

2 tablespoons (30 ml) lime juice, plus extra for seasoning, plus lime wedges for serving

½ cup fresh (125 ml) cilantro leaves

¼ cup (60 ml) fresh Thai basil leaves, torn if large (optional)

Preparation:

Bring 4 quarts (4 L) water to boil in large pot. Remove from heat, add vermicelli and let sit, stirring occasionally, until vermicelli are fully tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, drain again and distribute evenly among large soup bowls.

Place lemon grass, scallion whites, lime leaves, whole Thai chile and galangal on cutting board and lightly smash with meat pounder or bottom of small skillet until mixture is moist and very fragrant. Transfer lemon grass mixture to Dutch oven. Add broth and sugar and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Using slotted spoon, remove solids from pot and discard.

Add mushrooms, fish sauce, scallion greens and sliced Thai chile and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in shrimp. Cover and let sit off heat until shrimp are opaque and cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and lime juice. Season with extra sugar, extra fish sauce and extra lime juice to taste.

Ladle soup into bowls of noodles; sprinkle with cilantro and Thai basil, if using. Serve, passing lime wedges and extra sliced Thai chiles, if using, separately. Serves 4-6.

From Dinner Tonight