• About
  • Contact
  • Orders / Pedidos
  • Press

One Day Café

~ good eats from a small kitchen

One Day Café

Tag Archives: vegetarian

Recipe: Polenta & Spinach Soup

11 Friday Jan 2013

Posted by Anonymous in appetizers and sides, entrees, recipes

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

comfort food, dinner, easy dinner, food, polenta, soup, spinach, vegetarian

Spinach & Polenta Soup

I admit, it may be a bit odd to make thick, hot soup when it’s pushing 90 degrees outside. But I’m on a mission to use up all of our food stuffs in the next week, including a half kilo of polenta. So, sorry husband! Sit in front of the fan and eat it.

Polenta is a ground cornmeal that has a smooth, creamy texture when cooked. It originated in Italy, so I suppose it’s no surprise that it’s so popular in Buenos Aires. According to Wikipedia it’s known as a “peasant food”, which seems kind of rude, right? But considering I’ve made at least five meals out of this one-kilo bag with no end in sight, I suppose I can see the correlation.

I actually purchased the polenta just to try this recipe out in the first place. It was so good that rather than expanding my polenta-cooking repertoire I just made it again…and again, and again. It’s cheap, super flavorful, and takes about 30 minutes to whip together. Well, 45 if you have to carefully clean each leaf of spinach, like I do.

The original recipe was from Bon Appétit. I’ve altered it to suit my preferences.

POLENTA & SPINACH SOUP

  • 6 cups (or more) of chicken broth
  • 3/4 cup polenta
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • Coarse kosher salt
  • 8 ounces baby spinach leaves
  • Fresh shredded parmesan or sharp cheddar cheese

Bring 6 cups of broth to a simmer in a sauce pan; cover to keep warm. Whisk polenta and flour in heavy large pot. Add 1 cup hot broth; whisk over medium-high heat until smooth. Stir in butter and garlic; sprinkle lightly with coarse salt. Gradually add 5 cups hot broth by cupfuls. Boil gently over medium heat until polenta is tender and soup is creamy and thickened, whisking frequently and adding more broth to thin, if desired, about 15 to 25 minutes depending on the strength of your stovetop. Stir in spinach by handfuls; simmer until wilted, stirring often, 5 minutes longer. Season with more coarse salt and black pepper. Spoon into bowls and top with shredded cheese.

Recipe: Sautéed Garlic Mushrooms

09 Thursday Aug 2012

Posted by Anonymous in appetizers and sides, recipes

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

mushrooms, sautéed mushrooms, side dishes, tapas, vegetarian

I was never a huge fan of mushrooms growing up. Something about eating a fungus that grows in manure never struck me as particularly appetizing. But when I don’t care for a food, it nags at me. So I continue to try it. You know, just to confirm. Sometimes I’m pleasantly surprised to find my tastes have changed. The rest of the time, I’m gagging on olives. (So gross. Still. Every time.)

This recipe for sautéed mushrooms is inspired by dishes I’ve enjoyed at Spanish restaurants. Heavy on the garlic as always, and cooked to slightly caramelized perfection. They’re quick and easy as an appetizer, side or part of a tapas-style meal.

SAUTÉED GARLIC MUSHROOMS

400 grams of white mushrooms (about a pound)

2 Tablespoons olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

squeeze of fresh lemon juice

salt and pepper

4 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Clean the mushrooms and trim the stalks close to the caps. Depending on the size of your mushrooms, you may want to cut larger ones in half or fourths. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms and sauté over high heat, stirring most of the time, for about a minute. Turn heat to low. When the juices have come out of the mushrooms, return heat to high and sauté for another 4 – 5 minutes or until mushrooms are brown and beginning to caramelize and juices are almost completely evaporated. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the parsley and cook for an additional minute. Serve piping hot or warm.

Recipe: Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

24 Thursday May 2012

Posted by Anonymous in appetizers and sides, entrees, recipes

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

otra vez sopa, soup, tomato basil, tomato soup, vegetarian

Fall has arrived in Buenos Aires, and while it’s certainly mild by my northeastern USA standards, there’s a definite chill in the air. Which means I’m spending a lot more time in the kitchen, now that I can cook without turning the entire apartment into an oven.

I love making soup when the weather gets cold; it’s easy, makes the apartment smell delicious and we have leftovers for days. Of course by the third day, I’m annoyed that I’ve been eating the same soup for lunch and dinner. Depressingly, I was recently told by a taxi driver who was appalled that I’ve never had an affair (or as they call them here, aventuras, which literally means “adventures”) that there’s a saying in Argentina amongst married people in regards to their spouses: otra vez, sopa. Soup, again. According to this charming taxista, no matter how good-looking or how good at (ahem) extracurricular activities you may be, your spouse will eventually look at you and think, “otra vez, sopa.”

And yes, this is apparently a normal and accepted topic conversation between a cab driver and his passenger. God Bless Argentina.

On that uplifting note, on to the recipe! The good thing about making tomato soup is there are so many ways to riff on the original batch, you really can’t get tired of it quickly. Stir in some goat cheese or cream, make it with grilled cheese on the side, add some pasta…the possibilities are endless.

Although I’ll never turn up my nose at good ol’ Campbell’s, I love making this robust roasted tomato version from scratch with plenty of fresh basil. For a spicy kick, I add crushed red pepper.

ROASTED TOMATO BASIL SOUP

1 1/2 pounds plum or Roma tomatoes

2 T. olive oil plus 1 1/2 tsp for later

one large yellow onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup fresh basil

1 quart chicken stock (you can use vegetable stock to make this vegetarian)

14 oz. canned plum tomatoes in juice

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp fresh thyme

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 1/2 tsp canola oil

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Mix tomatoes, pepper and salt. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons canola oil and toss gently to coat, then spread on baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes. Saute onions and garlic with remaining 1 1/2 tsp canola oil and red pepper in large pot on medium-low heat for 15 minutes or until onions brown. Add canned tomatoes, stock, basil and thyme to the same pot, then pour in baked tomatoes with liquid from baking sheet. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Blend in a blender or food processor, in batches if necessary, until only slightly chunky. Can be served hot or cold.

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 2,479 other subscribers

One Day Cafe on Facebook

One Day Cafe on Facebook

algarrobo antofagasta appetizers and sides argentina brazil breakfast and brunch buenos aires chile desserts drinks ecuador entrees etiquette food trends france lima los órganos mendoza north carolina peru pittsburgh recipes restaurants san pedro de atacama tips & how to's travel Uncategorized uruguay

katrina’s twitter feed

  • RT @EliManning: Verizon is giving away Super Bowl tickets, and obviously I’d love to be your +1. Head to Verizon and enter for a chance to… 3 days ago
  • RT @rgay: We’re hanging with my niece while she does homework and ummm homework has changed since I was a kid fr. It’s so intense! Like wha… 4 weeks ago
  • RT @DrewBledsoe: As you gear up for your Fantasy Football playoffs, reliability is imperative. Check out this week’s Most Reliable Players… 1 month ago
  • RT @Verizon: 🎉🎊🏆 Verizon Small Business Digital Ready just won GOLD for “Best New Service” at this year’s North American Best in Biz Awards… 1 month ago
  • RT @ScottHanson: Reliability is a top priority for your fantasy lineup, so be sure to check out the Most Reliable Players list this week, p… 1 month ago
Follow @katrinacabrera

Blogroll

  • David Lebovitz
  • Gringo in Buenos Aires
  • Homesick Texan
  • Kelly Poindexter – Pastelera
  • La Panza Porteña
  • My Beautiful Air
  • NOLAchef
  • Pick Up the Fork
  • San Telmo Loft
  • Smitten Kitchen

On Bloglovin’? Follow Me Here!

Follow on Bloglovin

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • One Day Café
    • Join 118 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • One Day Café
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...