Lentil Rye Berry Soup

I want to start off by saying that I love the Dekalb Farmers Market (or World Market, which describes it more accurately).  If you haven't been there, go there.  If you have, then you probably know what I mean.  I love it because they have 1) a HUGE selection of fresh fruits and vegetables, 2) a variety of international foods, and 3) really affordable prices.  I like to keep my eating, cooking, and grocery shopping exciting so I make little challenges for myself (if you haven't figured it out yet, I'm a dork).  One challenge I like to give myself at the Dekalb Farmers Market is to find an item that I've never cooked/eaten, or better yet, find something I've never even heard of and buy it.  Then the fun part comes where I research the food and figure out what to do with it. 

My most recent personal challenge were rye berries.  Sadly I only found one recipe on Tastespotting.com that featured rye berries (pretty odd, considering how many unusual recipes are on that website).  So I'm on my own but since its a grain I'm going to play it safe and make soup. The rest of the recipe (made up as I went by yours truly) is based on other soups I like and whatever I had in the house.

Lentil and Rye Berry Soup

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 an onion

1 carrot, sliced

1 rib of celery, sliced

1/2 Tbsp minced garlic 

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp dried cilantro

1/2 tsp (or to taste) ground red pepper (or cayenne)

1/2 tsp crushed dried rosemary

freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup brown lentils

1/2 cup rye berries

6 cups water (+3 vegetable boullion cubes 

[or equivalent broth])

1 cup frozen spinach

Heat the oil in a pot for a minute, then add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic.  Cook for a few minutes or until the veggies start to look a little softer and smell really good.  

Then add all the seasonings.  Next pour in the water (or broth), lentils, and rye berries.  Not knowing how long the rye berries would take to cook, I let my soup simmer for some time.  It ended up being about 40-50 minutes but taste them occasionally to see when they're done.  They'll be a bit on the chewy side but that's just the nature of whole grains.   It took about the same time for the lentils to cook.  

The soup would be just fine at this point but I want more nutrients (naturally).  Stir in the spinach and heat for a few more minutes so you don't end up eating cold spinach.  

I find this soup quite delicious.  Other important comments:  It's healthy!  It's low in fat and full of protein, fiber, and other nutrients.  It's also souper affordable.  My guesstimate = < $4 for the whole pot if you shop at the Farmers Market. 

Turban Squash Gnocci in Honey Curry Sauce

Turban Squash Gnocci in a Honey Curry Sauce

I have recently become enthralled with gnocci (according to dictionary.com it's pronounced naw-key).   I'm not sure where my new found craze for gnocci came from since the only other time I've had them was as a child when I found them bland and unimpressive.  Yet recently I've determined that gnocci is not only the perfect hearty fall comfort food, it's also one of the most versatile and affordable meals I can think of.

I skipped right over the traditional potato variety and decided to go with squash (this was just my first attempt, I'm also planning on sweet potato, possibly turnip or beet, who knows?).  I picked out the prettiest squash I could find at the farmer's market and it turned out to be a turban squash.  What's that you say?  This is a turban squash:

This is not going to be your traditional recipe but as I practice and experiment more I'll try to come up with one.  First I cut the squash into quarters, de-seeded it, and microwaved it in a pan of water.  It took about 30 minutes to get as squishy as I wanted it.   Then I scooped out the soft flesh and placed into a food processor.  It was fairly watery at this point and since everything I'd read that good gnocci says it's all about the balance of moisture and flour, I would recommend draining the excess water off.  Into the food processor went a dash of olive oil, a sprinkle of salt, and a little bit of egg substitute (less than a whole egg).  I dumped this soupy mixture into a bowl and started adding flour.  One of the blogs I'd read said just to add flour till you got a nice dough and that's what I did.  It seemed to take a lot of flour but I don't know how much it was.  Eventually it got there and I rolled it out into snake-like shapes on a floured counter.   It looked like this:

Pop your gnocci's (not sure what the plural is) into boiling water and proceed to boil like pasta.  The little guys will sink initially and rise when they're done.  Make sure you stir them a few times or they'll be stuck to the bottom (I made that mistake).

While they were boiling I started to make a sauce.  The sky's the limit with gnocci.  I decided to go with one of my favorite sauces/chicken dishes, Honey Baked Chicken (which I may put on here one day if I feel like it).  It's one of those recipes that's practically a part of me so I don't measure much.  It's basically:

• equal parts butter and honey, melted together on a low heat
• dashes or teaspoons of salt and curry powder, to taste
• a generous squirt of mustard (I'd say about 1-2 Tbsp)

I drained my gnocci and placed them directly into the sauce.  The butter allowed them to crisp up a little and the irregularity of the shapes helped the sauce stick.  At this point cook them as long as you like.  Longer if you like the crispy and obviously less if you like a chewier gnocci.

Gnocci's sauteing in my honey curry sauce.

Left: Gnocci fried in leftover curry butter sauce, Right: plain boiled gnocci.

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