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.

Yes, well, I’m back with more fodder for your (read: my) whole grain infatuation.

Can I tell you a story? Thanks.

My older sister, sometimes known as the Ultracompetitive Firstborn Sister, sometimes as the RacerSister, sometimes as just plain Exasperating, likes things a certain way. She has strong opinions of pretty much everything, including food. The strong opinion that I’m talking about in this instance is that she used to “not believe” in salad. It’s too fussy and doesn’t pack enough caloric punch to bother with. It especially should not be ordered in restaurants and is to be barely tolerated at home as a jaunty but ignorable sidekick to meat and potatoes.

The segue: I used to not believe in oatmeal. I used to laugh when I saw Steel Cut Oats for $5 on a menu. “Ha ha ha, a Lincoln for some gray mush? ha ha… choking on my bagel… ha ha.”

And then my mom “discovered” steel cut oats and the rest was history. They are so infinitely better than the 1 or 5 minute kind of oats, with a chewy texture and a real milled-at-the-farm toasty taste.

The RacerSister sometimes orders salads now, I survived choking on my bagel, and everyone benefits from the whole grain goodness of this hot delicious breakfast cereal. Kumbya.

Oh, and my mom deserves a shout out not only for rearing the RacerSister but also for helping me discover steel cut oats and this delicious breakfast combo. It’s really her recipe so all kudos should go to her.

Serves: 4 - 6
Time: 45 minutes

Hot Oat and Wheat Berry Breakfast Cereal

6 cups water
1/2 cup wheatberries
1 cup steel cut oatmeal
1/4 cup flax seeds (optional, but yummy)
1/2 tsp salt

Topping suggestions:
butter, milk, cream, soymilk, or yogurt
honey, maple syrup
chopped walnuts. almonds or pecans
berries, raisins, chopped apples

This one easy recipe. Bring the water to a boil and add the wheat berries. Cook for 15 minutes and add the oatmeal and flax seeds. Cook for another 25 - 30 minutes or until the wheat berries are soft.

Divide into servings and let everyone top to their heart’s content. And being whole grains their hearts really will be content.

If this recipe was a samurai movie it would be entitled: “Brown Rice, Sore Arms.”

But please, don’t let that put you off.  The result is so rich, hearty and flavorful it’s well worth the effort.  Plus, it can replace your push-ups for a day if you remember to alternate stirring arms.

This recipe came about as a marriage between my newfound love of truffle oil and my family and friend’s newfound love of whole grains. I hear all you anxious readers asking, “But, Vanessa, can you make a risotto out of brown rice? Can you? Can you?” The answer, my pets, is a very smug, “Yes, you can.” And furthermore, it is just as unctuous and creamy as regular risotto, and has all the goodness of whole grains. So there.

Time: 1 1/4 hours
Serves: 6 - 8

Wild Mushroom Brown Rice Risotto

3 shallots, diced - to make about a cup
2 stalks celery, diced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 bag dried mixed wild mushrooms plus hot water for soaking
2 1/2 cups mixed fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced (I used shitake and cremini)
2 1/4 cups short grain “sweet” brown rice*
3 cups water
1 cup red wine
4 cups veggie broth
4 Tbsp butter (or olive oil)
salt and pepper
2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese + more to top, optional
truffle oil, optional

*I found this rice in the bulk section at Whole Foods. Here is one brand.  It is a whole short grain rice that is stickier then regular short grain brown rice. Regular short grain brown rice or brown “sushi” rice would make good substitutes.

Soak mushrooms according to the package directions, reserving the soaking liquid. You should strain or carefully pour off the liquid from the bottom of the bowl as there is often grit at the bottom from the mushrooms.

In a large pot or wok, sauté the celery and shallots in the olive oil. When the shallots are translucent, sauté the mushrooms.
When the mushrooms have drooped a little, add the rice and stir until coated with the oil.  Add the mushroom liquid and wine and cook until liquid is almost absorbed.
Meanwhile, in another soup pot heat up veggie broth and 3 cups water until almost simmering. 

 Now comes the risotto-making trick: 
When almost all the liquid has been incorporated into rice, add one (only one!) ladleful of liquid from your stockpot to the risotto.  Stir.  Keep stirring until all of that ladleful has been incorporated.  Repeat!  This is what helps the rice give up it’s starch to make the dish creamy.  Yeah, it’s 45 minutes of stirring, but you could also chat on your cell or rehearse your multiplication tables.  Hey, that’s how I learned.
When you’ve been nearing 45 minutes of stirring and the rice has incorporated most of the hot broth, taste rice to test if it is cooked through - it should still have a bit of bite to it.

Once rice is cooked to the desired texture, stir in chunks of butter, the salt, and parmesan cheese.

Plate each portion and drizzle with a bit truffle oil and freshly grate some parmesan cheese on top.  Mmmmm.

Pasta, Pizzas, & Grains, Autumn, Winter | Comments (9)