Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes from the New York Times (2 page)

1.
Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Turn the heat to low, then mix about ½ cup of the water with the miso in a bowl or blender; whisk or blend until smooth. (If you have an immersion blender, the fastest and easiest tool here, carry out this operation in a tall measuring cup.)

2.
Pour the miso mixture back into the hot water and add the tofu and carrot; stir once or twice and let sit for a minute, just long enough to heat the tofu through. Add the scallion and serve.

NOTE

Buy traditional, unpasteurized, even organic miso, which is common enough, inexpensive enough (it’s tough to spend more than $8 on a pound of miso), and better than quick-made miso, which is comparable to quick-made Parmesan or quick-made wine. All miso has a long shelf life, keeping for at least several months in the refrigerator with little or no loss of quality. Traditionally, thick, dark brown hatcho miso is used to make soup, but the lighter varieties, which are more often used to make dressings and sauces, are fine too.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 15 MINUTES, PLUS TIME TO CHILL

GOOD TOMATOES ARE
bursting with potential. The difference between consuming a tomato out of hand and slicing it, then sprinkling it with a pinch of salt and a few drops of olive oil, is the difference between a snack and a dish. And the great thing about tomatoes is that it takes so little to convert them from one to the other.

In this instance—though not always—peeling and seeding the tomatoes is worth the effort. To do so, bring a pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, cut a small X on the smooth (flower) end of each tomato. Drop them into the boiling water. In about thirty seconds, you’ll see the skin begin to loosen. Immediately remove from the boiling water and plunge into a bowl of ice water. When they’re cool, peel, then cut them in half through their equator. Squeeze and shake out the seeds. (For best flavor, do this over a strainer and recombine the reserved juices with the pulp.)

Use fresh thyme (1 teaspoon), dill (1 tablespoon), basil (¼ cup), parsley (¼ cup), chervil (1 tablespoon), chives (¼ cup), or a mixture of herbs to make this even better; garnish with fresh herbs, too, if you like.

1.
Soak the bread in cold water briefly; squeeze dry and combine in a blender with the tomatoes, rosemary, and garlic (you may have to do this in 2 batches). Add the ice cubes if using them. Turn on the machine and drizzle in the stock. Turn off the machine and pour the mixture into a bowl.

2.
Season with salt and pepper to taste, then add lemon juice to taste. Chill and serve.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 20 MINUTES, PLUS TIME TO CHILL

I LIKE GAZPACHO,
but the ultimate minimalist version—take a few tomatoes, a red pepper, some onion, oil, and vinegar, and whiz it in a blender—doesn’t always cut it for me. When I confessed this to my friend and sometime co-author Jean-Georges Vongerichten, he suggested I abandon tradition entirely and combine tomatoes with another fruit of the season: cantaloupe. These, combined with basil and lemon—in place of vinegar—produce the mildest, most delicious, creamiest gazpacho I’ve ever tasted. Make sure to use ripe cantaloupe and tomato at the height of the summer for the best results.

1.
Cut the tomato flesh into 1-inch chunks. Seed the melon and remove the flesh from the rind; cut it into chunks. Put a tablespoon of olive oil in each of two 10- or 12-inch skillets and turn the heat under both to high (you can do this sequentially if you have only one skillet). Add the melon to one skillet and the tomatoes to the other and cook, stirring, until they become juicy, no longer than 2 minutes.

2.
In a blender, puree the melon, tomato, 1½ cups water or 1 cup water plus ½ cup ice cubes, and the basil, along with some salt and pepper. Chill, then add lemon juice to taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 30 MINUTES

FOR YEARS I
was stuck on blended or cooked cucumber soups, until I was served a clear, chunky, ice-cold soup laced with soy and with the sour-sweet-salty-spicy combination characteristic of so much Southeast Asian cooking. After I duplicated that, it occurred to me to make a similar preparation with nam pla (fish sauce) and coconut milk, an equally spicy but wonderfully creamy concoction. I know I’ll never use either the blender or the stove to make cucumber soup again.

1.
If the stock is not cold, throw it in the freezer while you prepare the cucumbers. Peel them, then cut them in half the long way; use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Slice them as thinly as possible (a mandoline is ideal for this). Mix them in a bowl with the soy sauce, vinegar, chile, and sugar and let sit, refrigerated, for about 20 minutes.

2.
Add the stock, scallion, and watercress or arugula if you like and stir. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then chill or serve. Just before serving, garnish with the herb(s).

VARIATION

Cucumber-Coconut Soup

Substitute 2 cups coconut milk and 1 cup water for the stock and, if you have it, nam pla (fish sauce) for the soy sauce. You can turn this simple soup into a hot-weather main course by topping it with some precooked shrimp (simply grilled would be my first choice) just before serving.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 30 MINUTES

MOST OF THE
time spent making soups like this one and the preceding
Asian-Style Cucumber Soup
goes to chilling: refrigerate the cucumbers as their moisture is drawn out; refrigerate the stock, yogurt, or sour cream that is their base; and, if time allows, refrigerate the soup itself so you can serve it not cool but really cold. And remember, the lively flavor of these derives largely from a load of herbs—vary them to your heart’s content, but don’t leave them out.

1.
If the stock is not cold, throw it in the freezer while you prepare the cucumbers. Peel them, then cut them in half the long way; use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Slice them as thinly as possible (a mandoline is ideal for this). Mix them in a bowl with 2 teaspoons salt and let sit, refrigerated, for about 20 minutes.

2.
Add the stock, black pepper, yogurt, shallots, and watercress if you like and stir. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then chill or serve. Just before serving, garnish with the herb.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 30 MINUTES, PLUS TIME TO CHILL

THIS SOUP IS
on the thin, almost drinkable, side. If that doesn’t appeal to you, use sour cream, perhaps a bit more than the quantity recommended here, or throw a peeled, diced potato in with the peas, which will give the final soup quite a bit of heft.

1.
Combine the peas and stock in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook until the peas are bright green and tender, 10 minutes or so. Cool for a few minutes. If you’re using peas, remove some from their pods for garnish (refrigerate until serving).

2.
Pour into a blender and carefully blend until pureed. Add salt and pepper to taste, then force through a fairly fine strainer, discarding the solids. Stir or whisk in the cream and refrigerate (up to 2 days) before serving cold. Garnish with the reserved peas or some parsley.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 30 MINUTES

FRESH PEAS ARE
inestimably better than frozen for munching, but by the time you cook them and mix them with ginger, they have lost much of their advantage; if you can’t find them or deal with them—the shelling does take a while—by all means use frozen.

1.
Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook until the peas and ginger are very tender, about 15 minutes. Cool for a few minutes.

2.
Pour into a blender and carefully blend until pureed. Return to the pan over medium-low heat and reheat gently, stirring occasionally. When the soup is hot, adjust the seasoning and serve.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 15 MINUTES

EGG DROP SOUP
is best flavored with soy sauce, plenty of chopped scallions, and a bit of sesame oil. Starting with a good chicken stock will yield the best results, but purchased stock can be substituted in a pinch.

1.
Bring 3 cups of the stock to a boil in a 6- to 8-cup saucepan over medium-high heat. Beat the remaining stock with the eggs and soy sauce until well blended.

2.
When the stock is boiling, adjust the heat so that it bubbles frequently but not furiously. Add the egg mixture in a steady stream, stirring all the while. Stir occasionally until the eggs gather together in small curds, 2 or 3 minutes.

3.
Taste and add salt (or more soy sauce), if necessary, then add plenty of pepper, the scallion, and the sesame oil. Taste again, adjust the seasoning, and serve.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 15 MINUTES

EGG DROP SOUP,
a cliché in American-Chinese restaurants for at least fifty years, has a less-well-known Italian counterpart called
stracciatella.
Both are based on the simple fact that eggs scramble or curdle in boiling water or stock, and each demonstrates the ease with which a basic dish can be transformed in spirit, moving from one cuisine to the other almost as quickly as you can change your mind about which you prefer.

1.
Bring 3 cups of the stock to a boil in a 6- to 8-cup saucepan over medium-high heat. Beat the remaining stock with the eggs, cheese, nutmeg, and parsley until well blended.

2.
When the stock is boiling, adjust the heat so that it bubbles frequently but not furiously. Add the egg mixture in a steady stream,
stirring all the while. Stir occasionally until the eggs gather together in small curds, 2 or 3 minutes.

3.
Taste and add salt and pepper to taste, then serve. Garnish with a little more cheese if you like.