Category: Veggie

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Citrus Dill Carrots

one and a half slices citrus dill roasted carrot recipe
OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Citrus Dill Roasted Carrots

one and a half slices citrus dill roasted carrot recipe

These carrots make for the most elegant side dish. Orange citrus, fresh dill, and the natural sweetness of a sun-grown carrot all come together luxuriously to serve as a simple, last-minute side. Last week the Potomac Vegetable Farms Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share had all-you-can-take carrots, so this dish was a must for my Christmas 2021 Roasted Goose Dinner, alongside Perfect Mashed Potatoes and Oven Roasted Cranberry Brussels Sprouts.

#Christmasvibes

what you need

1 group of small to medium carrots

3-4 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped

2 tablespoons butter

Juice from 1/2 an orange

1 pinch of salt

how to make it

Preheat oven to 375. Peel the carrots. Leave the smaller carrots whole but cut the large carrots into halves or, if necessary, quarters. 

Squeeze orange juice over carrots in mixing bowl and sprinkle with dill. Toss to combine. Melt the butter in a cup and pour it over the carrots. Sprinkle with salt.

Arrange carrots on foil on a baking sheet and bake for ~30 minutes until carrots begin to brown. Turn carrots once and cook for 5-10 more minutes if necessary. Serve warm.

OneandahalfSlices roasted goose recipe simple holiday
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Veggie

Vegetable Soup

vegetable soup recipe simple weeknight one and a half slices
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Easy Vegetable Soup

one and a half slices vegetable soup easy recipe

***update! For the original tomato-y, Minestrone-esque recipe, keep scrolling. Here is the latest variation on the theme which is more like a chicken noodle-style soup.

Sauté some combination of shallots, onions, sliced garlic, and celery in olive oil until soft. Season generously with salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Throw in a tied bundle of herbs and a bay leaf. Add 6 cups of water, 1 tablespoon of tomato paste, 1 chicken bullion cube, and 1/2 cup white wine, and bring to a rolling, generous boil for ~10 minutes. At this point, you can add some combination of: diced carrots, small diced potatoes, yellow or white lentils, peas, or any other vegetation that gives you pleasure. Simmer, covered, for 45-60 minutes. When you’re 10 minutes out, throw in some super thin or large wavy egg noodles. Serve hot, spicy, and comforting.

🥣
vegetable soup recipe simple weeknight one and a half slices

So… for those who follow the blog, you know that last weekend was luxurious. I mean, decadent to the point of “oh my gosh, all I want is a large bottle of water and some mashed potatoes” on Sunday afternoon, decadent. We also had about 10 million vegetables in the fridge from the CSA that we hadn’t touched (this time of year provides an overload of sweet potatoes and other root vegetables). So we decided to throw together a soup with… whatever was left in the fridge. With this recipe, literally anything goes. Whatever you’ve got in the fridge. Whatever is left over. It can be vegan/vegetarian or use leftover meat. It can be super starchy and hearty, or lighter and more vegetable-forward. In any form, it is simple, warming, and humble – a subtle reminder that we are fortunate to be able to indulge in anything more than this on a regular basis. This was how people cooked 200 years ago in America… in Italy, in France, in Morocco. Peasant food. Make-it-through-the-winter food. I am just as appreciative for dishes like these (and beef stew, and homemade beans, and tagine) as I am for Pot Roast and Pavlova. Also, if anyone else spent their childhood at Medieval Times, this is totally the soup they serve!

how to throw this one together

(everything in bold went into my soup)

Broth 

Place 6-8 cups of water, 2-3 chicken or vegetable bullion cubes, and 1 16oz can of chopped tomatoes in their juices into a large pot stovetop. This will be your soup base. Now you’re going to want to season it.

Let’s go with 2 cloves of garlic, sliced; 2 shallots, diced (or an onion); a handful of chopped parsley from the garden; and a bundle of errant thyme and rosemary sprigs from the fridge. Diced celery will also go nicely. Season generously with salt, and less generously with black pepper and red chili flakes (unless you’re like the Piemaker and would prefer to chop up the world’s hottest pepper and throw that in there as well). Lemon zest would also be cool.

Bulk

Here you have several options for how to expand your soup. An Italian version would have you add noodles – I am partial to those extra wide egg noodles. You could also throw in some fresh barley (another favorite, but we were out), brown rice, and/or potatoes. If you go with brown rice, I suggest cooking it separately and pouring the soup over it at the end. Everything else can be thrown right into the pot as it simmers away on medium heat.

I chopped up 4-5 small potatoes from the CSA and also added about 1/2 cup of lentils I had lying around. We also threw in a can of pinto beans, but it could have just as easily been red beans or kidney beans. Now is the time to add leftover chicken or sausage you may have if so inclined. 

Vegetables 

Lastly, send in the veggies after your soup has come to a healthy simmer for about 20 minutes. Also, keep the lid on as much as possible so the liquid doesn’t evaporate.

I added chopped carrots, additional celery, additional onion, and a handful of brussels sprouts that were leftover from the whiskey pairing event last weekend. You could also add a deep green like swiss chard or kale.

And that, my dear friends, was it! Lid on, heat low, simmer for 1-1 1/2 hours. Serve with crusty bread, or over rice, or just by itself. We are having the leftovers tonight with a batch of fresh cornbread… because Monday.    

Other Soups
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Veggie

Spicy Brussels

brussels sprout recipe whiskey pairing whisky one and a half slices
OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Spicy Brussels Sprout

From the @whiskey_CA_mmelier Collaboration Dinner

brussels sprout recipe whiskey pairing whisky one and a half slices

This is the appetizer for the Whiskey Pairing Dinner. Brussels Sprouts are one of our favorite falltime veggies, especially when they’re made crispy. There are so many unique toppings for sprouts (sprouts!) that they’ll never get boring. Pairing. I hinted to @whiskey_CA_mmelier that the sprouts I wanted to make were spicy sprouts and he was not pleased. Alcohol and pepper hit the same flavor receptors on the palette and it is therefore very difficult to make a pairing. We settled on an only slightly spicy, mildly sweet sprout and decided to go rogue and open our pairing with a scotch! A mild one. The initial idea was Bruichladdich, a young but incredibly refined Islay  scotch – that’s why the signature blue bottle is visible in some of the photos. After much discussion, however, we turned to the sweeter, fuller Scapa Skiren from Orkney Island. It brought out the sweetness of the sprouts really well with banana/melon on the nose and walnut on the backside (as @whiskey_CA_mmelier’s wife pointed out, who was better than all three of us at tasting).  

what you need

1 batch of fresh Brussels sprouts

3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes

Toppings: toasted pine nuts and pomegranate seeds (my favorite!), toasted pecans (pictured here), hydrated golden raisins (soaked in water for an hour), parmesan cheese, feta cheese crumble with bacon. 

Whiskey Pairing: Scapa Skiren Scotch Whiskey – The Orcadian

how to make it

Heat oven to 400. Cut the ends off the sprouts, then cut in half or quarters depending on their size. Toss them in olive oil and desired spices, and spread out onto lined baking sheet (for a crispier sprout) or cast iron pan. 

Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven, and stir generously, adding a bit more spice at this point if you desire (I may have drizzled some honey). Return and bake another 10 minutes. 

If using toppings that are not pre-toasted like pecans, sprinkle the pecans and cook for another 3-5 minutes. You definitely want some crisp, burnt sprouts but obviously not to char the whole lot, so just keep an eye on them. Serve warm!
More from the Collab Dinner
pot roast recipe one and a half slices whisky pairing

Pot Roast

This is the main course for the Whiskey Pairing Dinner and, my, what a deep, flavorful pot roast this is! Let me start by saying that I sourced a 4.6 pound chuck roast from the Spring House Farm Store to feed the four of us and had no regrets. A simple pot roast is easy enough to pull off especially if you have a slow cooker, but this really takes the flavor profile up a notch to make this velvety, sinful, fall-off-your-fork roast with plenty of fall veggies.

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November 14, 2021 3 Comments
one and a half slices sazerac rye whiskey rcipe

Sazerac

This is the opening cocktail for the Whiskey Pairing Dinner. The Rye Sazerac is one of the oldest, prohibition-era cocktails. It’s classic, elegant, and simple. With rye whiskey, lemon, absinthe, and bitters, a Sazerac is as refined as a cocktail can be. Here we present this  simple cocktail recipe as a forward to the rest of a classic meal. The absinthe on the nose provides an interesting twist to a classically whiskey-based cocktail. We used Sazerac Rye as the base.

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November 13, 2021 3 Comments
pecan pie recipe maple bourbon one and a half slices

Pecan Pie

This is the dessert for the Whiskey Pairing Dinner generously provided by The Piemaker. I’ve never been a huge pecan pie fan (nor was I a big Key Lime Pie fan) until The Piemaker came into my life. This pecan pie is as ‘from scratch’ as it comes, with hints of bourbon and maple folded into the filling, served with a luxurious maple cinnamon cream. This is a decadent dessert – decadent is an understatement. But if you’re looking to level up your Holiday meal game, this is the place to start. We definitely felt the need to eat one and a half slices… 😃

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November 15, 2021 3 Comments
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Veggie

Pasta Pomodoro

pasta recipe pomodoro red creamy simple easy sauce
OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Simple Pomodoro (tomato) Sauce

pasta recipe pomodoro red creamy simple easy sauce

There is a lot to be said for simple, staple recipes. The French five mother sauces are said to be like the First Principles of cooking. Master these five sauces and you can make any sauce. The five French sauces are: Béchamel, Velouté, Espagnole, Tomato, and Hollandaise. All excluding the latter begin with a simple Roux (fat source, like butter or meat drippings, plus flour – what Americans know as the most basic gravy). 

The béchamel is the dairy-based sauce – think fettuccine alfredo. The velouté is a different kind of white sauce where the creaminess comes from an animal fat like chicken or pork drippings, not milk or cream.  This can be one kind of gravy. The Espagnole is the second kind of gravy, where the drippings come from a red meat. The tomato sauce is, well… tomato. And Hollandaise, from which we get its sister Béarnaise, is a butter, egg yolk, and lemon-based sauce. 

Pomodoro sauce is the Italian name for the simple tomato-based mother sauce, as “pomodoro” means “tomato” in Italian. It is meant to be the quickest, simplest pasta topper and I give it to you here in five simple steps that will keep you away from canned pasta sauce for life (as will my meat-hearty Bolognese sauce). 

🍅

what you need

1/2 onion, diced finely

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons good olive oil

2-3 handfuls of cherry or roma tomatoes, diced finely, with all their juices

1 handful of fresh basil

1 splash cream or half and half

how to make it

First. Sauté the onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat until fragrant, ~3 minutes.

Second. Add 1 more tablespoon of olive oil and the tomatoes (and juices), stirring to combine and cooking for an additional ~5 minutes.

Third. Puree the tomatoes in a food processor and then strain back into the pan to remove the seeds.

Fourth. Add the splash of cream and stir over medium heat until hot.

Fifth. Top with fresh basil and grilled chicken, if desired, then spoon over pasta.
Other Pasta Dishes
one and a half slices perfect lasagna recipe vegetables affiliate

Lasagna

I’ve been making this lasagna since forever. Some people say there are too many vegetables. Some people say there isn’t enough cheese. Most people say it’s fucking fantastic. 

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January 22, 2024 1 Comment
one and a half slices fettucine alfredo recipe

Fettuccine Alfredo

Creamy, comforting Fettucine Alfredo is hard to beat. Fettucine Alfredo is one of those “authentic” Italian classics that should be made with reserve pasta water, a little butter, and parmesan, but old habits die hard and I make my alfredo just like my mother. So, yeah, don’t eat a gallon of this stuff, but by all means, throw some steamed broccoli or sliced chicken onto a bed of this dreamy creaminess and float on off to heaven. Any which way, this is pure comfort in a pasta bowl, and perfect for my Sunday afternoon.

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September 17, 2022 2 Comments
one and a half slices zucchini parmesan girl dinner pasta delicious

Girl Dinner

I’m entering my level up era and I’ve been eating a lot of girl dinner. Yes, I know, girl dinner is french fries and a pornstar martini. But this girl dinner is a fraction of the cost and it takes like 15 minutes to make. At home. So you can continue doing #levelup things (or play videogames, either).

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August 23, 2024 2 Comments
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Veggie

Creamy Sweet Potato Stew

creamy coconut sweet potato soup recipe oneandahalfslices
OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Creamy Coconut Sweet Potato Stew

As we bring October to a close and launch into November, we are still sticking to vegan weekdays and meat-friendly weekends. We’ve been out and about to The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm, Clarity, and Founding Farmer’s for our non-vegan exploits, and are soon headed to try Kinship’s sister prix-fix locale Métier.

To pull off vegan weekdays and still keep the gentlemen appeased, I have relied heavily on Laura Wright of The First Mess, arguably my favorite vegan food blog. I’ll get a vegan gravy recipe up here on the blog soon that you won’t possibly believe is vegan – it’s the best gravy I’ve ever had.

But for now, we are a little tired of lentils and were looking for something to do with copious amounts of sweet potatoes (yes, we’ve made Sweet Potato Pie). Hence this little gem was discovered. Creamy with coconut milk, almost like curry. Spiced with flavors of the same. Hearty with sweet potato and flourished with kale. Yes, there are still a few lentils, but they are hardly the stars of the show. This soup is light enough for any season and feels perfectly at home here at the end of October. 🧡

what you need

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 onion, diced

(optional) 1-2 shallots, diced

1 tablespoon dried chili flakes or 1 hot chili, minced

1/2 teaspoon coriander

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 small knob of fresh ginger root, minced or grated

1 garlic clove, minced or grated

1 extra large sweet potato, peeled and diced (option here to sub some sweet potato for carrot)

1/2 cup French lentils

4 cups vegetable broth

1 can (13 oz) coconut milk (I used slightly less than 1 can)

1 bunch of kale, swiss chard, or mustard greens, de-ribbed and cut into thin strips

Fresh cilantro, lime wedges, naan wedges, and more chili flakes to garnish 

how to make it

Melt the coconut oil over medium heat on the stove in a Dutch oven. Add the onion and the shallots, and sauté until translucent, ~3-5 minutes. Add the chili flakes, spices, ginger, garlic, plus a hefty pinch of salt. Let sit in pot for another ~1 minute, then stir, scraping any brown bits up off the bottom. 

Add the sweet potatoes/carrots and lentils, stirring everything to combine. Once combined, add the vegetable broth and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, check to ensure the sweet potatoes are tender. 

Add the coconut milk and the kale to the pot, and simmer another 5 minutes. Spoon into bowls and top with fresh cilantro, a squeeze from a lime wedge, and more chili flakes. 

Note: I like to buy store-bought naan; cut it into strips or wedges; top with olive oil, salt, and black pepper; and broil for a few minutes in the oven, flipping once. This makes nice little crispy strips to garnish any stew!

🌶🧅🍲
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Lemon Chickpea Stew

stew soup recipe fall One and a Half Slices lemon chickpea vegan dish
OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Lemon Chickpea Stew

stew soup recipe fall One and a Half Slices lemon chickpea vegan dish

If you didn’t catch my Mushroom Lentil Stew of last week, this vegan beauty came right on its heels. Welcoming Fall in vegan/vegetarian style, the theme of this October is lentils and other legumes. The chickpea is a protein-packed, fiber saturated, hearty meal staple. This soup recipe boasts a super unique flavor comprised of lemon zest, really good olive oil, red chili flakes, and the lowly potato. Just one more example of how fresh, local, in-season produce carries all the flavor you’ll ever need. This stew is filling yet humble. It is bold; it isn’t fancy. It doesn’t require an exotic cocktail pairing… it’s just a simple stew for a simple weeknight to remind you to be thankful for a warm stomach, an engaged palette, and a full plate … (or bowl, in this instance).

Looking for more ways to use chickpeas? Try my Moroccan Tagine.   

what you need

1 1/2 cups chickpeas (if canned, rinsed and drained; if fresh, soaked and boiled)

4 small white potatoes, diced small

1 large carrot, diced small

1 large celery stalk, diced small

1 medium yellow onion, diced small

4 cups vegetable broth

Lemon juice from half a lemon

1 tablespoon lemon zest

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

1 chili pepper, minced (or chili pepper flakes)

Olive oil

Fresh thyme

Salt, pepper, and paprika to taste 

4 cups thinly sliced swiss chard or baby spinach

how to make it

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until translucent, ~5 minutes.  Add garlic and chili pepper, and cook ~1 minute more. Add carrots and celery, and cook ~7 minutes more. Add thyme, salt, pepper, and lemon zest, and stir until combined. 

Add potatoes, chickpeas, and vegetable broth, and simmer on low, covered, for ~30-45 minutes. Uncover and check stew for taste, adding more spices as needed. Ladle about half the stew into a blender and puree until smooth. Add the pureed stew back to the pot. Add lemon juice and chard/spinach, stir, and cook, uncovered, ~15 minutes more. 

Ladle into bowls and serve with toasted naan or crusty bread. Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil on top (don’t skip this! adds to flavor, especially if you have good olive oil) and sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Enjoy!
Other Stews
creamy coconut sweet potato soup recipe oneandahalfslices

Creamy Sweet Potato Stew

Coming out of Vegan October, we were a little tired of lentils and were looking for something to do with copious amounts of sweet potatoes. Hence this little gem was discovered. Creamy with coconut milk, almost like curry. Spiced with flavors of the same. Hearty with sweet potato and flourished with kale. Yes, there are still a few lentils, but they are hardly the stars of the show. This soup is light enough for any season and feels perfectly at home here at the end of October. 🧡

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November 7, 2021 1 Comment

White Bean Chorizo Soup

As we enter into the longest winter months with January barely having come to a close, it seems like it will never be warm again. These are the months for soups, stews, and roasts; hearty and cozy. This is one such soup. It is creamy (without any cream) and I hereby dub it my Winter Soup, topped with spicy chorizo, salty pepitas, and a dash of oregano.

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February 6, 2021 1 Comment
rabbit chicken cassoulet recipe simple one pot one and a half slices

Rabbit Cassoulet

Here we are with Protein #2 in our Protein Trio and it’s a bit of a non-standard one. We don’t often cook rabbit but… we totally should! It is more delicate than chicken with more flavor, but still not too gamey. Cassoulets are bean-based stews with a protein that can stew all day or come together quite quickly. They are hearty and Fall-ish, and I am thrilled to have this one on my table. You can make this with roasted chicken or a sausage if the rabbit is a stretch for you.

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September 22, 2023 No Comments
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Mushroom Lentil Stew

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OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Mushroom Lentil Stew

mushroom stew lentil OneandahalfSlices One and a Half Slices weeknight recipe easy

In recent weeks rolling out of the summer months, I’ve been feeling overindulgent when it comes to food. Too much, too extravagant, not enough appreciation for simple, vibrant flavors and how they nourish a body. So I’m rolling back to simple, hearty, (mostly) vegan foods until Thanksgiving. Queue up the following series of fall-esque, hearty, healthy, locally-sourced, (mostly) vegan/vegetarian dishes. Take this stew for example. It has all the body and personality of a meat-based stew conceived of French lentils, soy sauce, white wine, hearty greens, and an unabashed serving of mixed mushrooms. (and yes, I sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on top for good measure) WELCOME TO FALL! 🍂🍁🍄 And shout out to The First Mess for the base recipe! 

what you need

1 cup French lentils, rinsed

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 finely diced shallots

2 finely diced garlic cloves

~1 pound mixed mushrooms! (any mushrooms! all mushrooms! bring them all!)

2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

1/4 cup white wine

2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari

2 cups vegetable broth

1 tablespoon red pepper flakes

1/3 cup plant-based milk (I use Macadamia) or whole milk

3-4 stalks of kale, Swiss chard, or mustard greens

(optional) grated parmesan  cheese for topping

(optional) crusty bread for toasts!

🍵

how to make it

Boil lentils until tender, ~20 minutes. Drain and set aside.

While lentils cook, pour olive oil into stew pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until translucent, ~4 minutes. Add all the sliced mixed mushrooms to the pot and cook for 1-2 minutes more, until mushrooms begin to glisten. Season the mixture liberally with salt, black pepper, the thyme, the garlic, and the red pepper flakes. Give it a good stir and let sit for 1 minute more.

🧅🧄🍄

Add the white wine and the soy sauce (I use tamari) and stir, cooking for ~3 minutes more. Add the drained lentils, the vegetable stock, and the plant-based milk, and bring the mixture to a slight boil, perhaps increasing the heat to medium-high.  After the mixture boils lightly for 5-7 minutes, ladle half the soup into a blender and puree until smooth. Return the smooth mixture to the soup pot and stir until combined. 

🍾🥄

Slice the kale into thin strips and add to the pot, stirring the entire mixture together. Cover and let simmer for anywhere from 5-15 minutes. The mixture should be thick and creamy, but you are welcome to thin it out with additional broth. Check for seasoning adding salt and pepper as desired. Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese on top and a slice of crust hearth bread!

 

 

Other Soups and Stews

Miso Ramen

This is a hearty, complex take on Ramen with about 1/3 of the sodium and no fatty meat. Using eggs as protein, this dish is bolstered with thick-cut Portobello mushrooms and crunchy veggies like broccoli and bok choy. 

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April 17, 2021 2 Comments
stew soup recipe fall One and a Half Slices lemon chickpea vegan dish

Lemon Chickpea Stew

Welcoming Fall in vegan/vegetarian style, the theme of this October is lentils and other legumes. The chickpea is a protein-packed, fiber saturated, hearty meal staple. This soup recipe boasts a super unique flavor comprised of lemon zest, really good olive oil, red chili flakes, and the lowly potato. Just one more example of how fresh, local, in-season produce carries all the flavor you’ll ever need. This stew is filling yet humble. It is bold; it isn’t fancy. It doesn’t require an exotic cocktail pairing… it’s just a simple stew for a simple weeknight to remind you to be thankful for a warm stomach, an engaged palette, and a full plate … (or bowl, in this instance).

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October 30, 2021 No Comments
oneandahalfslices recipes healthy local clean green eating eats

Asparagus Lentil Soup

This is the third soup recipe in the March Festival of Soups! This one is the most elaborate but it also may be the most worth it if you’re into a wicked interesting flavor profile and a little meat on your bones (figuratively speaking – the protein in this soup is lentils). With some unique flavors and a burst of freshness that screams spicy, hearty chimichurri, this is just what the late Spring chill ordered to nudge the vibe towards summer and keep out the late-seeping cold. 

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April 10, 2023 No Comments
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Shishito Peppers

one and a half slices shishito peppers recipe local
OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Roasted Shishito Peppers

one and a half slices shishito peppers recipe local

This is my new favorite summer appetizer. I cannot believe my CSA (shoutout to Potomac Vegetable Farm) has had fresh, local shishito peppers almost every spring/summer week for two years and I did not know how to prepare them! This really is the simplest party appetizer you could possible make. And SO salty and delicious, with excellent flavor. They aren’t spicy unless you want them to be! A friend recently told me that Shishito Peppers, a Japanese varietal, aren’t naturally spicy but sometimes end up that way in the US because we tend to plant them close to other hot pepper varietals. The natural shishito is sweet and earthy with very delicate flesh.  

what you need

Desired amount of fresh shishito peppers. Both green and red are good. 

Salt to taste

Cayenne pepper (for spicy) or Paprika (for not spicy)

Good olive oil

how to make it

Heat oven to 450

Toss shishito peppers in olive oil, salt, and paprika or cayenne

Lay out peppers on a pan and roast until they begin to brown

Remove from oven and poke 1-2 holes in each pepper with a sharp knife so they deflate

Serve HOT!

Other Apps
argentinian empanada recipe authentic argentine oneandahalfslices

Empanadas

There are many varieties but a recipe for specifically Argentinian empanadas is difficult to find – especially in English and out of the metric system. Often served as an appetizer, empanadas are hearty little handpies that can suffice as a meal alone and their flexible filling options (savory or sweet) make them perfect for just about any occasion. Argentina will always be a special place for me. So here is the elusive no-one-writes-this-shit-down family recipe.

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January 3, 2021 4 Comments
one and a half slices healthy vegetarian recipes sprouts

Brussels Sprouts Salad

For those who think you don’t like Brussels Sprouts, pause… let’s see what happens to them when we add a decent flavor profile. This healthy, clean salad is crunchy, flavorful, and interesting all in one bite. It’s fresh like summer, crisp like springtime, and full of fall and winter flavors. A perfect snack, app, or dinner if eating light. Makes me think that maybe some Instagram Reels are worth watching…

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January 16, 2022 2 Comments
one and a half slices ham and melon cantaloupe recipe summer

Jamon con Melon

This is the simplest of appetizers. Elegant and perfectly balanced. Sweet and Salty. aka Melon Carpaccio. #summervibes

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September 17, 2022 No Comments
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Spaghetti Al Limone

one and a half slices local simple recipes food

Spaghetti al Limone

This is a fresh, light, summery pasta dish I have wanted to try for a long time in keeping with my predilection for lemon things (like my equally as simple Little Lemon Cake). Pasta al Limone is an Italian classic (see notes below for short commentary on ‘Italian Classics’). It requires just a handful of ingredients and only takes as long to make as it does to boil pasta. I like it with a piece of lemon-marinated, grilled chicken on top. Lemon and Pasta may not seem like two things that go together but, trust me, they do. It has an elegant simplicity to it that is perfect for a summery Sunday afternoon, a weeknight, or a date night. Do something different. Lemon Pasta. 🍋 

what you need

Zest from 1 lemon

1-2 generous tablespoons lemon juice, depending on desired lemon flavor

1/2 package dry spaghetti noodles

1 handful of fresh basil or mint, cut into strips

1 cup Parmesan Reggiano cheese

3 tablespoons good olive oil

(optional) 1/2 tablespoon butter

(optional) pine nuts, toasted

Suggested chicken marinade: the rest of the lemon juice, salt, pepper, dash cayenne

🍋🍋🍋

how to make it

Begin boiling pasta per directions on package. 

In serving bowl, zest the lemon and add the lemon juice. Grate cheese using fine hand grater, and add olive oil, salt, and black pepper to taste. Using a whisk or a fork, mix ingredients until just combined. When pasta is almost finished, spoon 2 tablespoons of pasta water into the serving bowl along with the butter (if using), and resume combining cheese mixture. Reserve 1 cup of hot pasta water and set aside. 

Strain the pasta and place into serving bowl. It is important you do this while pasta is piping hot. Using tongs, begin to mix the pasta and the cheese mixture until thoroughly combined, adding pasta water 1 tablespoon at a time as needed. Be sparing.

Once sufficiently combined, mix in basil and top with pine nuts (if using). Serve warm with a piece of grilled lemon chicken over the top. 

Afterward on ‘Italian Classics’ The Italians have always created pasta dishes that the rest of the world covets. That perfect, carrot-and-celery-scented bolognese, a light and airy fettuccine alfredo, the illusive meatball. Also, the seemingly simple dishes that are still fantastic – Cacio e Pepe, Pomodoro sauce, Bruschetta, Caprese. So what is so difficult to recreate about authentic Italian cuisine? And why do Italian restaurants here in the US leave you feeling overly full and uncomfortable? The short answer to both questions is ingredients. I have compiled a list of Italian cuisine rules of thumb that are by no means comprehensive but will instantly improve your Italian dishes once implemented. The first is by far the most important.

1) Most American renditions of Italian cuisine are cream and/or butter based. Most authentic Italian dishes are actually olive oil and/or pasta based. In short, we use cream and butter to make our dishes ‘creamy’ all the while removing the natural thickening agent present in all pasta. As pasta boils, the gluten cooks out into the pasta water. This means that a little bit of pasta water acts like a thickening agent that could form the basis for a creamy sauce. This is the case in Pasta al Limone, where the seemingly ‘creamy’ pasta sauce can be created using little to no butter or cream, and only a splash of reserve pasta water. The only dairy you really need is the cheese. See the cooking technique for Pasta al Limone above for an illustration of this practice. 

2) Do not make red sauces heavier by using red wine. Use white wine instead.

3) Use nutmeg to accent white, creamy sauces, and fennel to accent dark, red sauces. 

4) Turn to good olive oil, salt, and pepper for seasoning and saucing first before butter, cream, sugar, and cheese.

5) Do not put sugar in your red sauce. Or buy red sauce with sugar listed as an ingredient. Ever. Period. If you do this, we are no longer friends. 

Other Pasta Dishes
spaghetti Bolognese recipe pasta oneandahalfslices

Essential Bolognese Sauce

This Bolognese sauce is as authentic as they come, with a counterintuitive yet elegantly simple sauce making process that will ensure you never touch another jar of Classico. It is meaty, salty, and carries richness made possible only through the simplest yet most flavorful of vegetables – carrot and celery. And also… let’s talk about olive oil.

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October 21, 2020 16 Comments

Pasta Verte

This is the freshest, crispest, heartiest, lightest, most beautiful springtime thing I can think to make when the chill finally leaves the Virginia air around noontime but the mornings are still a little frosty. You can make it in one pot, with one blender, and with one half hour, which makes it a great weekday lunch if you’re working from home or weeknight dinner if you walk in late. Join me in getting my green on, courtesy of David Frenkiel from Green Kitchen Stories. David takes much better photographs than I do but I’ve made a few design modifications to the original recipe that I think serve this one well. 🌷

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April 7, 2021 No Comments
pasta recipe pomodoro red creamy simple easy sauce

Pasta Pomodoro

Pomodoro sauce is the Italian name for the simple tomato-based mother sauce, as “pomodoro” means “tomato” in Italian. It is meant to be the quickest, simplest pasta topper and I give it to you here in five simple steps that will keep you away from canned pasta sauce for life.

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November 7, 2021 No Comments
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Veggie

Grilled Cheese

OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Grilled Cheese

Hold up… before you read any further, you’re also going to want this (Roasted Tomato Soup recipe). 

🍅🍅🍅

Now that you have both tabs open, let’s proceed.

I once had a friend make me a baked brie, bacon, apple, and honey grilled cheese on sourdough. It was delightful (and delivered alongside Sudafed as I was deathly ill at the time). But I’ll be honest… grilled cheese does not need to be fancy. It needs to be cheesy, melty, crunchy, and ideally use a cheese that is a step up from the traditional American slices (Singles on Wonderbread only acceptable in golf pro shops).  The recipe below is the Piemaker’s and his alone, for he has perfected, aside from pie, the art of the grilled cheese.

It is masterful. It is simple. It is exactly what you need it to be. The Classic Grilled Cheese Sandwich.

what you need

Bread. In my opinion, challah bread is unmatched when it comes to grilled cheese, but you can really use just about anything. Challah bread is a sweeter, egg-based brioche bread. Slice it normal width – too thick and the bead won’t crisp properly. 🍞

Cheese. We’ve tried lots of cheeses. I like good, imported cheese, but it frequently isn’t soft enough to melt properly. Jarlsberg will give you a swiss-flavor. A gouda-type will definitely be soft enough to melt. My pick is Kerrygold Blarney Castle – Smooth and Milk Gouda-style cheese that you can pick up in most deli sections. 🧀

Butter. Salted butter works best. 🧈

how to make it

Heat oven to 350. Make sandwiches with just bread and cheese. Place on wire oven rack so both sides of sandwich are exposed and baked for ~5 minutes until the cheese begins to melt.

Remove sandwiches from oven and butter both sides generously. Crisp up the sandwiches in a pan on the stove over medium heat, ~2-3 minutes per side until desired golden-brown color is reached. 

Serve with Roasted Tomato Soup!
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