Italians have a phrase, l’arte d’arrangiarsi, which means “the art of making something out of nothing.”

I will be giving you this week, in rapid succession, two Italian recipes that incorporate l’arte d’arrangiarsi in the most tastiest of fashions.

I’ve been thinking quite a bit about Rome this week… and not about the time I almost died by slipping-on-a-winebottle and becoming-trampled-on-by-champagne-soaked-Romans on New Years Eve of the much ballyhooed 1999-2000 transition. I’ll save that story for another time, but the punch line is that I didn’t die, but I guess I already gave that away.

No. My humble place of employment, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, opened a new wing of Roman art last week to much party planning on my part and fanfare (well deserved) on everyone else’s part. I’ve been living and breathing in this new wing all week and it’s penetrated my soul in some strange dichotomous way. I’ve been so busy but the statues are all so reposed. I keep doing so much but the beautiful Roman court just keeps being there so quiet and staid like it’s been in the Museum since Zeus’ head split open to birth Athena.

This again brings to mind “something out of nothing,” but by nothing this time I mean the rather un-American do-nothing something of enjoying the quiet, of savoring the soup, of just doing nothing. It’s really something if you can put aside the time notice how nice nothing is.

So here’s a soup that’s literally not much more than a $1.50 bag of dried chickpeas and some odds and ends you probably have kicking around the pantry anyway. But, I swear, it’s really something.

Serves: 6
Time: Soaking 2-8 hours, Cooking 1.5 - 8 hours (with Minimal Effort, promise)

Creamy Chickpea Soup

1 bag dried chickpeas
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
a few pinches of dried rosemary
(1) potato, peeled and cubed
2 veggie bullion cubes (or stock)
a few pinches of dried rosemary
salt, pepper
sploosh of olive oil
To top: olive oil, parmesan cheese
To serve: Arugula Pasta with Golden Garlic

Soak your dried chickpeas one of two ways:

1) Overnight or 2) using the quick-soak method of bringing the chickpeas to a boil and then letting them stand for an hour or two.

Then cook the chickpeas with the onions, garlic, dried rosemary and enough water to cover with an extra inch on top. I’m all about doing this is a crock-pot for on high for 4 hours or low for 8 so I can go on my merry way, but you could also cook the chickpeas on the stove for one and half hours or in a pressure cooker for 45 minutes.

Once the beans are cooked, add the bullion cubes, the potato chunks, and long draw of olive oil. Cook for another 20 minutes or until the potatoes are nice and tender.

Puree the soup in a blender or with a hand-blender.

Serve this with more olive oil drizzled on top, as well as some shaved parmesan cheese.

You can serve this homestyle-but-refined soup with rice (risotto) or Bruschetta, with a green veggie or two to round out the meal. However, I’m suggesting to pair it with my Arugula Pasta with Golden Garlic, which I promise to give to you soon.

This is a dish adapted from a coworker’s adaptation of Chicken Marbella from the Silver Palate Cookbook. I’m a sucker for sweet-and-salty combinations and this one has a titillating balance of soft prunes and tangy piquant olives and capers. It packs a lot of flavor so I suggest to serve it with comforty-smooth mashed potatoes. If you’re the spawn of vegetable-loving folk such as I am, you could also add a side of steamed carrots or sautéed eggplant but a simple romaine salad could also do the trick.

This Seitan Marbella is an easy dish alright but there’s something about the contrasting flavors and textures that impresses guests when really all there is to it is a bit of measuring and potato-peeling like you’re a Private First Class on the Battleship SS Simple. This recipe even has prunes, for goodness sakes, something that’s so ironically appealing it could only be embraced some someone as cool as, well, you.

Serves: 4
Time: 35 minutes

Seitan Marbella

1 cup pitted prunes, roughly chopped
1 cup Spanish green olives left whole
1/2 cup capers, with juice
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup of white wine
1/2 head garlic, peeled and chopped
olive oil
1 Tbl dried oregano
1 tsp salt
16 oz. seitan, drained and chopped into bite-sized pieces

In a bowl, measure and mix together the prunes, olives, capers, vinegar and white wine.

Sauté the garlic in a little olive oil in a pot or wok for a few minutes until fragrant and soft.

Add the olives and liquids and start to cook down while chunking the seitan and adding it to the pan. Add the oregano and salt. Simmer until enough liquid has evaporated but so you still have some nice saucy stuff left to pour over your mashed potatoes.

This is a dish for the all-too-short time when Spring has not quite yet sprung, when it’s still all anticipation and no sunny satisfaction, when it’s still, you know… freaking old outside.

Don’t get me wrong, there are a few very sure signs of spring in New York:
The air has lost its icy smell, the daffodils have opened their smiling faces, cowboy boots are being replaced by peep-toed flats, the young bucks of Brooklyn are out sniffing peep-toed flats, and pigeons have returned to the parks trying to make babies with said toes peeping out of flats.
 
Anyway. Enjoy this little spring tonic; I threw in the beer just for you.

Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Serves: 6

Spring Shepard’s Pie with Tempeh, Asparagus, Sweet Peas and Beer

4 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
splash of milk/cream/soymilk
3 Tbsp butter/margarine
2 cups grated parmesan cheese, completely optional
1 8oz block tempeh cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 bottle of beer*
(2) veggie bullion cubes
olive oil
3 leeks, well washed and sliced
1 bunch of asparagus, sliced diagonally into 1 inch pieces
2 cups frozen sweet peas
1 bag fresh spinach
zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp parsley flakes, optional
salt and pepper

*try a nice flavorful ale or wheat beer.  I think it would work less well with a dark stout or porter or anything too light like a lager, but it’s casserole and your call.

Start by making your mash potatoes.  Make them whatever way you like them but in case you don’t have a favorite way, here’s an easy one: throw your potato chunks into boiling salted water and cook for 15 - 20 minutes or until they are soft through the middle.
Drain the potatoes well and add the milk, butter, salt and pepper. Mash with a potato masher or electric beaters.  Right before the potatoes go on to top the casserole, stir in 1/2 the cheese if you’re using it.

While your potatoes are cooking, start simmering the tempeh.  Heat the bottle of beer in a small saucepan until almost simmering.  Add the tempeh and 2 bullion cubes.  Simmer for 15 - 20 minutes or until there is a cup or so of beer left unabsorbed.

In a large skillet/wok, quickly sauté the leek until wilted and then add the asparagus for about 2 minutes, or until just starting to heat.  Add the bag of spinach and cook, stirring well from the bottom, until wilted.  Add the tempeh and simmering liquid, lemon zest, parsley flakes and taste to adjust salt/pepper levels.  Stir in frozen peas.

Dump out the veggies and tempeh into a greased 9″ x 13″ casserole.  Cover the casserole with a layer of mashed potatoes - plop spoonfuls down all around the casserole and spread.  Brush the mash potatoes with a thin coat of olive oil and top with the other 1/2 of grated cheese.  Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until the top is starting to get golden and you see a little bubbling around the side.
 

Here’s the recipe for the Spinach and Grapefruit Salad. I described it thusly on my brunch menu:

“A light but wild salad - snappy spinach and grapefruit gets mellowed with avocado. Pistachios and Parm… Ginger Vinaigrette.”

Anyway, it’s a late winter-into-spring salad that can be served as a first course for dinner (yum with some steamed veggies and lemon-pepper tofu) or by itself for a light lunch.

Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 5

Spinach and Grapefruit Salad

2 grapefruits
2 avocados
1 bag baby spinach
1 head Boston lettuce, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces
¾ cup pistachios
approx. 1/3 cup parmesan cheese

Prepare the grapefruit: Segment the grapefruit and remove the skin and white membranes of each segment by slicing down each side of the segment. I first cut the white rind off the center curl of the segment, shimmied the skin off the sides, then sheered off the outside membrane. It’s ok if the segments break into halves or thirds; perfection is overrated.

Prepare the avocados: Cut the avocado into half lengthwise and into halves again. Remove the pit and peel off the skin. Slice each quarter into thirds or quarters lengthwise. Halve these slices widthwise so you’ve something more like a cube.

Ginger Vinaigrette

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1 small clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper

Shake up all the dressing ingredients in a Tupperware or jar.

To assemble the salad, toss the lettuce, spinach, and grapefruit segments with the dressing. Distribute evenly on 5 plates or large salad bowls. Top each pile of salad with the avocado pieces, pistachios, and curls of parmesan cheese.

I cooked up a big batch of this soup to feed a large & hungry group of sisters and artistes. It was very well received, not only for dinner, but scarfed down for breakfast the next day.

What’s the secret? Love. It’s the best spice.

As I mentioned in my Khichri post, I recently went to an Indian Ayurvediic Cooking Class at the Natural Gourmet Institute. I learned many things that night, but foremost amongst them is the concept that one must cook with love and intention. This concept has been knocking around on the edge of my brain for a while now, I just wasn’t sure how to put it. People claim that they can’t cook or are afraid of messing up and dear oh dear what should they do. My retort is: you just have to want to, don’t think too hard about it, and you’ll be fine. Nalini Mehta, my Ayurvedic instructor, used the wonderful phrase, “food knows when you’re nervous” and I agree. It tastes better if you just trust it’s going to taste better.

Give this Kadhi a try: gather your friends and sisters, want and intend to create something delicious, don’t worry if you don’t have some of the spices, (actually, don’t worry at all), get started, keep going, all of a sudden stop and enjoy your wonderful soup.

Serves: 4 as a main, 6 as a side
Time: 30 minutes

Kadhi, adapted from Nalini Mehta instructor at the Natural Gourmet Institute

Olive oil or ghee (clarified butter)
4 cloves
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black mustard seeds
½ tsp fenugreek seeds, optional
dash asafetida, optional
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 inch ginger, minced
2 green chilies, minced
4 cups yogurt
1 cup water
2 Tbsp chickpea flour (besan)
fresh cilantro, chopped, for a garnish

Heat a little oil or ghee in a pot and toss in the dried spices: cloves, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, and fenugreek seeds. Stir the seeds until they are a few shades darker and start to pop. Now add the powdered spices: asafetida and cayenne pepper. Stir for a second and immediately pour in the yogurt and water.

In a small bowl, whisk a little of the yogurt soup into the chickpea flour and blend until there are no more lumps. Add the flour mix to the soup pot and combine well.

Taste for salt and serve with a little cilantro sprinkled over. See? That wasn’t so hard.

Perfect with pita bread and a tomato, cucumber, and chick pea salad. Or, try it over Khichri like gravy over mashed potatoes.