Welcome to the first issue of Cooking with Mike! I will be crafting this weekly newsletter as an experiment over the next few months. I am unsure of what this will become long term, but I am excited about what the future may hold. My goals with this newsletter are twofold. Reflection is a critical part of learning a new skill, and this newsletter will allow me to reflect on what I have accomplished in the kitchen during the previous week. Secondly, I hope that this can serve as a source of inspiration for anyone following along at home to try new and interesting recipes.
Please share and subscribe if you are interested in coming along with me for the ride!
This week I have cooked the following:
Smoky Roasted Chickpeas with Lemon-Garlic Mayonnaise
Roasted chickpeas are a healthy and delicious snack. They are also quite easy to make. Preparation is key, you want the chickpeas to be as dry as possible (especially if you are using the canned variety). Once the prep is complete, the remaining steps are easy!
After opening the can, washing, and then drying the chickpeas; I doused them in olive oil. This was a mistake. Too much olive oil means that instead of crisping up nicely, some of them came out oily. After cooking, I seasoned the chickpeas with paprika and ground red pepper.
The strong flavors of paprika and cayenne mix perfectly with the lemon-garlic mayonnaise described in the recipe. Even if you are not a fan of mayo, I recommend giving it a chance.
Recipe: Smoky Roasted Chickpeas with Lemon-Garlic Mayonnaise
Creamy White Bean Soup with Spicy Paprika Oil
This soup is rich, filling, and the heat of the chili oil is perfect for winter weather. Also, unlike most soups, it photographs quite well (see below).
That all being said, I made a mistake with this dish. I didn’t add enough almond milk (I was using this as a substitute for cream). If you view the recipe on the link below, the color of their final product is quite different from mine.
However, it still has a lovely flavor. The consistency is not as creamy as expected, likely due to a lack of almond milk.
I threw together a quick and easy baguette garlic bread to accompany the soup.
Recipe: Creamy White Bean Soup with Spicy Paprika Oil
Spinach-Sauce Pasta
Pasta gets boring, but there are many ways to spice up this cooking staple. One of the best ways is with non-traditional sauces. This week I decided to modify NYT Cooking's Kale-Sauce Pasta recipe.
This recipe dresses up your standard macaroni or rigatoni recipe with a sauce made of pureed leafy greens. It is an easy way to elevate your boring pasta recipe and add some healthy ingredients to your meal.
I substituted spinach for the kale and used five cloves of garlic instead of the recommended three. Furthermore, I included half the juice of a freshly cut lemon. These flavors came together quite well in the puree.
In the future, I will add a protein source such as crispy fried chicken. This will make the recipe a complete meal and add a contrasting texture to the dish.
Recipe: Kale-Sauce Pasta
Week in Review
Overall, the recipes that I chose this week involved techniques and ingredients I was already familiar with in new and intriguing ways. The chickpeas and spinach pasta are the best examples of this. I have worked with both ingredients before, but primarily as salad ingredients. Seeing how these two ingredients could stand on their own with the right seasoning and flavors was enlightening. In subsequent weeks I plan to branch out into novel ingredients and more advanced techniques.
Ratings:
Smoky Roasted Chickpeas with Lemon-Garlic Mayonnaise: 4/5
Creamy White Bean Soup with Spicy Paprika Oil: 4/5
Kale-Sauce Pasta: 3/5
Thank you so much for taking the time to read the first issue of Cooking with Mike!
If you have any recipe suggestions or would like to share your own experience with the recipes above, please reach out: michaeljbeaudet@gmail.com
This looks like a fun read. Looking forward to more. Might have to steal some for The Ivy
YAY MIKE! Looking forward to swapping recipes!!