recipes – Page 2 – I Want To Cook

Homemade Bechamel Is Your Gateway Sauce

Bechamel is one of those fancy-sounding culinary words. It might bring up connotations of a French restaurant or perhaps a snooty waiter derisively explaining the ingredients in today’s special.

And bechamel is indeed important. So important, in fact, that it’s among the five “mother sauces.” The other four are hollandaise, sauce tomate (tomato), espagnole, and veloute. They’re called mother sauces because they are foundational to others. Think of them as the parent to another sauce.

But here’s the good news: Bechamel is stunningly simple in both its ingredients and how it’s made. If you’ve got a pot, a whisk, and less than 10 minutes, you can make bechamel.

Tapenade Is Totally Easy To Make

Tapenade: It’s a recipe that has a fancy name and one that you may think is hard to prepare, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. If you have a can opener, a food processer, and 10 minutes, you can make tapenade.

Tapenade is an olive-based dish that can be served on top of crusty bread, as a dip for vegetables, or even as a spread on sandwiches in place of mayonnaise.

Most tapenades are made with regular black olives like those commonly found in cans, but by all means, if you love green olives, give it a whirl. Kalamata olives could also make a delightful version. You can also combine different types of olives for more pizzazz.

Yes, You Can Cook and Eat Cactus!

There are some things that one can’t help but bristle at upon the notion of eating. Sure, we’ve all heard about the “delicacies” involving insects and offal in other countries, but what I bring to the table here is much simpler in nature yet can be just as confounding for the uninitiated: Cactus.

That’s right — those desert-loving plants known for their sharp spines can actually be eaten.

Two of the most popular edible portions of cacti are the pads, called “nopales,” and the pears, cactus fruit that in Spanish are known as “tuna.” The former are the flat, broad portions that look like paddles. Once their needles are removed, they can be grilled, baked, or simmered.

Cactus pears, also called prickly pears, can be peeled and eaten as is. Their delicious fruit is surprisingly sweet, with a texture that’s a cross between a kiwi and a pear. Fresh cactus pads and cactus pears can be found at Hispanic markets as well as some well-stocked mainstream grocers. Thankfully, the work of removing the needles has usually already been done.

Glazed Carrots Are Glorious

Psst! Want to know how to get your kids — or yourself — to eat carrots?

Glaze ’em.

Glazing is a process that will turn the humble orange root into a side dish that will have you and your friends and family gobbling carrots like rabbits.

The technique can be done in a single pan, and it only takes about 10 minutes. The results are carrots bathed in a sweet glaze of liquid that might just make this side the star of the meal.

You can make this recipe a family affair by having the kids or your spouse peel the skins off the carrots, and as a bonus, you’ll even learn how to make a reduction sauce in the process. I’ve only got one word to describe the whole thing: Sweet

You’ll Go Crazy For Homemade Couscous

Pasta with raisins and nuts? The very notion may sound like that last ingredient, but trust me on this. The first step is expanding your notion of “pasta.”

Couscous, which is a traditional North African dish and the main ingredient in today’s recipe, is actually a tiny form of pasta. You may have had couscous before either warm or at room temperature and thought you were eating rice, but the soft little granules are most often made of coarsely ground semolina, the same stuff used to make spaghetti.

Couscous is great to build recipes around because it’s very versatile and can be made in about 10 minutes. As for ease of cooking, it doesn’t get much simpler than this.

Truly: If you can boil water, you can make couscous.

Homemade Coleslaw Recipe: Skip The Deli!

Coleslaw is a go-to side dish come summer or all year long, whether it’s served alongside an entree like fried chicken or as part of a potluck or picnic. But for most people, coleslaw comes from behind a deli counter rather than a home kitchen. I hope to change that.

Yes, that deli stuff is cheap and convenient, but it turns out that making coleslaw yourself is absurdly easy and costs even less. We’re talking the price of a head of cabbage and a carrot, plus a couple of items you probably already have on hand such as mayonnaise, cider vinegar, and some sugar.

Tapenade Is Tops For Taste

Across backyards everywhere this past Memorial Day, grills blazed at the unofficial start of summer. And while I enjoyed some grilled delights myself, my thoughts – and taste buds – turned to something much different yet absolutely perfect for this eating season: Tapenade.

Tapenade is an olive-based dish that can be served on top of crusty bread, as a dip for vegetables, or even as a spread on sandwiches in place of mayonnaise.

It’s a dish that has a fancy name and one that you may think is hard to prepare, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. If you have a can opener, a food processer, and 10 minutes, you can make tapenade.

How To Make Homemade Croutons In An Air Fryer

Croutons may not be big on your culinary radar, but you sure know when they’re missing from a meal. Just think of eating a salad without those crunchy, herb-laden bits. Or perhaps pea soup sans croutons. Boooring!

When most of us want croutons, we simply grab a bag off the shelf in the grocery store. And those storebought things are all pretty serviceable. But if you want croutons that really stand out or need a particular kind — like gluten-free croutons — you’re far better off making them yourself.

Good news: Making croutons at home is amazingly easy. Especially if you have an air fryer. Here’s how.

Instant Pot Chicken Soup — It’s Just So Easy

The first time I made chicken soup in my Instant Pot electric pressure cooker, it felt like cheating. After dumping in the ingredients and going about my business for an hour and a half, I lifted the lid to delicious, sumptuous chicken soup.

This soup required so little effort it was laughable. None of the watching of a pot on a stove to make sure it didn’t boil. None of the stirring. None of the skimming of the “scum” on top. It was literally just gathering ingredients, putting them in the Instant Pot, pressing a button, and walking away. That’s what I call easy.

The results were so good — and have I mentioned easy?? — that it is my go-to method for making quick and easy chicken soup. Another reward is the bounty of broth you get from it, which can be used however you like.

My preference is to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs. I find these provide a rich and unctuous broth. If you want the thicker, more gelatinous result you get from bones, by all means, use bone-in chicken. Want the leanness of chicken breasts? Go for it.

The Quick & Easy Puttanesca Recipe

If you’ve ever eaten an Italian pasta dish (and who hasn’t?), it’s likely been slathered in a sauce such as marinara, Alfredo, or a meaty Bolognese. But one of the most delicious pasta sauces is one you’ve probably never even heard of: Puttanesca.

I first had a puttanesca sauce at a family-run Italian restaurant in an out-of-the-way strip mall in Southern California. On first taste, my mind and taste buds were immediately blown. The tomato base of the sauce was familiar, but the combination of capers, olives, and anchovies were not. Yet it all worked in a culinary marriage that had me devouring bite after bite. That restaurant remains the only place I’ve seen puttanesca on the menu. And it is now closed.

The good news is, puttanesca is ridiculously easy to make at home. It comes together in about half an hour – you can easily make it while getting your pasta water to the boil and cooking the noodles – and it can be tailored to your taste.