Pasta with Lentils and Arugula

Never used arugula in a hot dish? Find some and don't know what to do with it? Or just looking for an awesome new dinner idea? Read on - I promise, this is the best thing I've made (or eaten) in weeks.

Excited to see local arugula still at the markets (Honey Run at Pearl Alley, Tuesdays and Fridays), I bought a ton, sure I would use it all for a few quick salads with beets and goat cheese. Then beets became scarce and I didn't know what to do. Fortunately I remembered one of my cookbooks has a pasta recipe using arugula that I'd wanted to try for a while.

The recipe is Pasta with Lentils and Arugula from Everyday Food. Rather than violate copyright and reproduce it here, you can find the instructions at this link. Through some magic involving excess cooking water and Parmesan, this veggie-heavy pasta dish is creamy and incredibly well balanced, despite the potentially strong flavor of arugula. It uses up those last few tomatoes in the garden, and adds a healthy dose of lentils, because you know you feel guilty you have them in the pantry and never use them. I substituted gemelli for the orichette, but any non-tubular short pasta would work well.

Make this!

potato leek soup

This is the easiest, most satisfying thing you can make in 20 minutes. I don't know why I don't make it more often, it's quick, and with a hunk of crusty bread, it's the ultimate comfort food. And if you are a beginner in the kitchen, this is a great one to learn. It requires no more complicated cooking skills than cutting, stirring, and if you get really fancy, using a blender.

1 tbsp butter or oil
4 medium potatoes
2 medium leeks, halved, washed thoroughly and chopped
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup cream or milk (optional)

Peel and cut the potatoes into small cubes. If you intend to puree them, it doesn't really matter, but if you want a soup with chunky bits, take care to make them halfway uniform in size. Halve the leeks and wash thoroughly between all the layers under running water. Chop into 1/2-in pieces.

Melt the butter (or heat the oil) in a saucepan over medium heat. Add potatoes and leeks, season liberally with salt and pepper, and cook while stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes. Add stock and simmer for 20 minutes or until vegetables are soft. If you want a chunky soup, scoop out about half the potatoes and set aside. Stir in milk or cream, then blend until smooth. Add back vegetables if you reserved them and serve.

Easy tweaks:
This can be totally vegan (and lowfat!) if you skip the cream and the butter and use a vegetable stock. Or. you could go the other way and cook some bacon (set aside and added back at the end), using the grease instead of butter to saute the vegetables. Try incorporating chopped chives or thyme.