Vodka Cabbage Lasagna (leftover cabbage)

Nope, it's not a new way to get your teenagers to eat their veggies. We just used a traditional (if there is such a thing) penne ala vodka sauce to punch up a veggie  lasagna. And as usual, the types of vegetables or cheeses you use can be tailored to whatever you have in your fridge.

Vodka Cabbage Lasagna

1 small head of cabbage, sliced and with the core removed
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
4 ounces brick mozzarella cheese, grated
2 15-ounce cans tomato sauce
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup half & half
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino romano cheese
4 tablespoons vodka
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
olive oil
canola oil

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Toss the sweet potato chunks with a tablespoon or so of oil and some salt. Spread them evenly on a baking sheet and roast for 20-30 minutes, tossing every five minutes or so. Remove them from the oven when they are cooked through and starting to brown. Set the sweet potatoes aside.
2. To make the vodka sauce, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. When it is hot, add the chopped garlic and cook until it is fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. Add the tomato sauce, and then the vodka. Turn the heat down and simmer for about 20 minutes.
4. Turn the heat back up to medium and add the butter. When it has melted, start to add the grated romano a bit at a time. Stir well after each addition of cheese to ensure it melts.
5. When all the cheese has been incorporated, turn the heat back down to low. Add the red pepper flakes and the half and half. Simmer for about five minutes, and then simply keep the sauce warm until you are ready to use it.
6. Meanwhile, in a wide, shallow skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of canola oil over medium-high heat. Add the cabbage and a pinch of salt. Cook until the cabbage is nicely wilted, cooked through, and just beginning to brown. Set the cabbage aside.
7. Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees.
8. Assemble the lasagna in a 9-inch square casserole pan. First, smear some sauce in the bottom of the pan. Spread one third of the cabbage mixture over the sauce. Top the cabbage with one half of the sweet potatoes, and then top the sweet potatoes with some sauce and one third of the mozzarella. Spread a second third of the cabbage over the mozzarella. Top the cabbage with the other half of the sweet potatoes, then top them with more sauce and another third of the mozzarella. Spread the final third of the cabbage over the mozzarella, and top that with more sauce and the final third of the mozzarella.
9. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the cheese on top has melted and browned, and the lasagna is bubbling. Keep an eye on it and be ready to tent it with tin foil to prevent the top from burning.
10. Let the lasagna rest for at least 5 minutes before cutting into it. Serve topped with a bit more grated romano cheese.

Arabian-Spiced Vegetable Barley Salad (any type of leftover vegetables)

The thing about vegetables is that the supermarket tells you when they're in season. By having a sale. Which is why we typically only buy what's on sale. (Although the  copious amounts of fresh vegetables showing up right now have more to do with what's in season in Chile.)In any case, this methodology led to our having half a cauliflower and a pound of string beans sitting around in the refrigerator. But you could use almost any vegetable you have (cooked or otherwise) for this salad.

Arabian-spiced barley salad with string beans and cauliflower

1/2 head of cauliflower, roughly separated into florets and then sliced
1 pound of string beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
2 cups barley (yes that's what's probably left in that old bag of barley sitting in your pantry)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
3 hard-boiled eggs
1/4 cup chopped parsley
4 cloves of garlic (pureed or blasted through a garlic press)
1/2 cup greek yogurt
2-3 teaspoons baharat (see link for basic recipe)
extra virgin olive oil
fig vinegar (balsamic would substitute well. In fact, you can use any vinegar mixed with a small amount of sugar, except white, which is best when mixed with water and used to clean windows)

(We really like baharat so we mix our own and keep it around to have on hand. If you're not up for that sort of pageantry, you can buy it online or simply use any type of spicing and flavoring that you enjoy.)

1. Bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Add the barley and cook until tender. This will take about 45 minutes. Remove, drain and allow to cool.
2. Meanwhile, steam cauliflower until tender and set aside.
3. Steam green beans until cooked through and set aside.
4. Heat 1/3 cup of olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. When it is hot, add half the pureed garlic and stir. Cook the garlic for about 15 seconds, then add the baharat, give it one more stir, and take the pan off the heat immediately. Let the oil cool.
5. Pour the vinegar into a mixing bowl. Slowly whisk in the oil until a nice vinaigrette has formed.
6. When the barley has cooked through and has a good texture, drain it in a colander and set aside.
7. Chop the hard-boiled eggs into chunks. (Needless to say, you don't have to do all this stuff one thing after another. You can do most of it at the same time.)
8. Mix the remaining pureed garlic with the yogurt. Thin with water to make a pourable sauce, and season with a small amount of salt.
9. Mix the barley with the cauliflower and green beans. You might have more barley than you need.
10. Sauce the barley and vegetable mixture with the baharat vinaigrette. Depending on the amounts that you have, you might need to add a bit more oil or vinegar. Season with salt to taste.
11. Serve barley salad garnished with hard-boiled eggs, feta cheese, and parsley, and with the garlic yogurt sauce drizzled on top.

Super-Quick Tikka Masala (leftover....just about anything)

The best fast tikka masala recipe we have encountered was in Cook's Illustrated several years ago. (The best actual tikka masala we've encountered was in, of all places, Darbar restaurant in Branford, CT). This is an adaptation of that recipe, a little healthier, a little punchier. The beauty of this sauce is that you could throw literally whatever you have sitting around in it.

Vegetable Tikka Masala

1/2 head cauliflower, chopped (or tofu, chicken, or many other htings)
1 10-oz package of button mushrooms (or other vegetable)
3 tablespoons butter
1 generous tablespoon of ginger-garlic pasta (an excellent timesaver for weeknight meals, available at Indian groceries--or use 2 tsp chopped ginger, 2 tsp pureed garlic)
1-2 tablespoons garam masala, or more according to your taste
1 15-oz can tomato sauce
canola oil
milk

1. Clean mushrooms, trim the bottom of the stems, and chop. Coat a wide, deep skillet with about two tablespoons of the canola oil and cook them with a pinch of salt over medium-high heat. Remove from the pan when they are nicely browned and are not giving off any more water. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel.
2. Add two more tablespoons of oil to the pan and cook the cauliflower with a pinch of salt until it is approaching tender and is starting to brown. Remove from the pan and wipe it out again.
3. Reduce heat to medium and melt the butter in the same pan.
4. Add ginger-garlic paste and cook for a few moments until it is fragrant.
5. Add garam masala and stir, letting it cook for a few moments.
6. Add tomato sauce and cooked mushrooms and cauliflower. Bring it to a very gentle simmer and let it cook for about half an hour.
7. Just before serving, add enough milk to give it a bit of creaminess. Heat through and check seasonings.

Serve with besan pancakes and bok choy raita (or rice if you're fresh out of besan and bok choy).

Bok Choy Raita

1 stalk baby bok choy, minced and with the leafy tops separated from the thicker bottoms
1 scallion, minced
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
1 garlic clove, pureed
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whole milk yogurt (Ok, great but hard to find, unless you make your own. Use any yogurt)
canola oil
salt

1. In a small saute pan, heat 2 teaspoons of oil over medium heat. Add the minced bottoms of the bok choy with a pinch of salt and cook until they are tender.
2. Add the minced tops of the bok choy and cook until dark green and wilted.
3. Add the scallion and cook until fragrant.
4. Remove the mixture from the heat and drain it in a bowl lined with a paper towel. Let it drain for a few minutes and remove the greens.
5. Mix the greens with the sour cream, the yogurt, and the garlic. Add a few drops of water at a time until the sauce looks "pourable", but is not watery. Season with salt and let it sit for 15 minutes or so before using it to top the vegetable tikka masala.

Maggi Breakfast Omelet (leftover Chinese or Indian food)

There’s a  Thai snack that you make by taking a handful of eggs, mixing them with a ton of Maggi seasoning, and deep-frying the mixture so it looks like a puffy pancake. It’s served with a condiment made from hot peppers and fish sauce.

If we haven’t lost you already (probable, and we admit it looks like a bowl of slop), it’s very good, and we’ve played endlessly with this idea. Our latest riff involves a way to make a great breakfast out of leftover rice (or in the picture quinoa) and any kind of gloppy Chinese or Indian food you have. Ok, not any. You have to use your judgment, but you’ll want things that are mildly flavored and saucy. In any case, this is more of a technique than a strict recipe, so have fun with it and expect a few disasters along the way.

Maggi Breakfast Omelet

Serves two.

Three eggs

2 tsp. Maggi seasoning

Cilantro, chopped (optional)
3/4 cup leftover rice and 1/2 cup leftover gloppy Chinese or Indian food (don’t go crazy on amounts, it’s a really forgiving recipe, just dump a bunch of what you have in a bowl and mix it up--we do this with daals without rice too).
 

1. Put a nonstick frying pan on medium to medium low heat.
2. Put the rice and food in a bowl and mix. Using a scissors, cut any large pieces into pea shaped sizes.
3. In another bowl mix up the eggs with Maggi.
4. Add some oil to the pan.
5. When the pan is hot, pour in the eggs. Swirl the eggs around and peel them off the center of the pan. Scramble them very gently.
6. When they are about 2/3 cooked but still watery, dump in the leftovers.
7. Mix thoroughly and heat through to where the eggs are cooked.
8. Pour into bowls and garnish with cilantro.

Rutabaga Gratin

The poor, lowly rutabaga. Wrapped in wax and adorned with a cheap price tag, it just looks like it wouldn't be very good. Looks can be deceiving. It actually has a nice oniony taste and loves a little roasting. This gratin has quickly become one of our favorites.

No worries if you can't find rutabagas in your market. Turnips work just as well.

Rutabaga Gratin

1-2 rutabagas, peeled and diced into roughly 1/4 inch cubes (To peel, cut the rutabaga into eighths with a big knife and then slice the skin off with a small one)
1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter
about two cups of milk
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated
breadcrumbs (if you don't have breadcrumbs, put some crackers in a plastic bag and give it a whack with something)
canola oil (or any neutral oil)

1. Turn your oven on to 375.
2. Put the rutabagas in a sheet pan (you want them to be in a single layer, but a little overlapping works well). Toss with oil and salt.
3. Roast for about 30 minutes, tossing them every so often to ensure they cook evenly. You want them tender. Some browning is ok, actually preferable.
4. Put a saucepan on medium heat, and when it warms up, add the oil, onions and a pinch of salt.  Cook until they begin to brown.
6. Add the butter and wait until it has melted.
7. Add the flour and cook for a minute or two, stirring.
8. Add two cups of milk and stir to thicken.
9. When it has thickened, remove from the heat and add most of the cheese, reserving some for the topping. Mix through.
10. Taste and adjust seasoning. You might need to add a bit more milk. You don't want the sauce to look like it is on the verge of solidifying.
11. Combine the roasted rutabaga with the sauce, and pour into a casserole dish that can accommodate everything comfortably. Top with extra cheese and breadcrumbs.
12. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes until the crumbs are browning and the sauce is bubbling. Depending on your oven, you may need to tent it at about the halfway point with aluminum foil to prevent it from burning on top.
13. Serve with the bread of your choice.