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As I read through "The Everlasting Meal Cookbook" by Tamar Adler, I felt little twinges of regret.
Regret for pitching that cooking liquid from braising artichokes instead of using it to boil potatoes. For rinsing out a chili-garlic sauce jar without first cracking an egg or two in it to shake up a spicy scramble. For all the asparagus stems I've tossed when I could have made a pureed soup.
It's not just the wasted food, although that's a big issue. It's the throwing away and pouring down the drain of all that flavor. As Adler writes, "thousands of culinary delicacies rely on what seems useless." They include fried rice (day-old rice), ribollita (leftover beans or greens) and stock (the trimmings from herbs, vegetables and the animals eaten).
But then I read perhaps her best advice: "Do not feel guilty if you forget to do any of this. Remembering when you remember will suffice."
Adler's new book could be viewed as a workbook or companion of sorts to her 2012 one, "An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace," in which the former restaurant cook shared what she learned in professional kitchens on how the end of one meal can be the start of the next.
( Buy it in hardcover at a 36% discount! by clicking here or order in KINDLE edition at a 40% discount by clicking here. Sales help fund JWR.)
At that time, lyrical essays felt like the best way to communicate with readers, but 10 years later, with a child and "more life under my belt, I felt like I wanted an encyclopedia," she said.
She describes the new book as a "compendium of what to do with what you have," supporting the age-old practice of using what's left over to begin your next meal. The difference here is that by the time I read through all 537 pages with their more than 1,500 tight, efficient recipes, I felt my prospects for follow-through were better than ever. That's because Adler dishes out real-world examples of this philosophy in action, one after another after another.
"You're not making a salad now, but if you add vinegar and olive oil to the almost empty-mustard jar and shake it rather than rinsing it out, when you do make a salad, there the vinaigrette will be," she writes about mustard jars.
Other ideas that stuck with me:
• Scale up mirepoix or sofrito (or, in my case, the Cajun trinity of onion, celery and bell pepper) and then refrigerate or freeze what you don't use for a head start on your next meal.
• Save the juices from canned tomatoes to use as a braising liquid for meats or a base for soups or stews.
• That salty nut dust at the bottom of a bag? Taste it and then judiciously sprinkle it over beans, greens or fried rice or add it to pesto.
• If you make herb oil (or vinaigrette), but want a different taste from the day before, add grated lemon zest, chopped olives or another herb.
• What to do with leftover smoothie? Freeze it to make ice pops or tasty ice cubes. I often divide cookbooks into two piles: "shelf-space worthy" and "giveaway." This one will not only go on my shelf, it will go on a shelf in my kitchen - for reference. I want quick access to the little gems like these that Adler tucks in throughout the book.
She said she wrote the cookbook for "everybody who has wondered, had a moment of hesitation as they were throwing something away." Her goal is for people to close it feeling like: "Now, I have the tools to be able to make a different choice, to make something new out of something leftover." (This includes popular restaurant dishes, too. Look up lo mein, tikka masala or even french fries in the index and you'll find clever ways to make them delicious again.)
For Adler, this way of cooking is second nature, so she does go a little far afield for me - and perhaps other harried home cooks: Boiling avocado pits to make a dusty rose dye for cloth or Easter eggs? Drying corn husks to use as kindling?
But the point is, the book brought me many more aha moments than it did maybe-not shrugs. It energized me to look at the ingredients in my freezer, refrigerator and pantry in a fresh way. Instead of sighing, now more often I'm conjuring a feeling of adventure when I stand in my kitchen wondering, "What can we have for dinner?"
Once you start thinking this way, it becomes second nature - like muscle memory.
"You feel ingenious and resourceful," Adler said.
Any Vegetable Minestra is a fine example of this concept. Adler's recipe calls for any liquid, any vegetables, any beans or starch. I made it twice and discovered, of course, if you use leftover homemade broth and seasoned, roasted vegetables, it is delicious, but if you use water and leftover frozen mixed vegetables, it's a bit dull. It's easy, however, to make it work, by adding a tablespoon or so of miso or tomato paste to the aromatics, as a colleague suggested, and then, as Adler recommends, top it with tapenade, a spoonful of chili crisp, a few shakes of sriracha, dashes of herb oil or squeezes of fresh lemon.
Thirty minutes. No shopping. Dinner. No waste.
I'm into it.
Any Vegetable Minestra
TOTAL TIME: 30 minuutes
SERVINGS: 6
Whether you're looking for a pantry- and freezer-friendly soup, searching for a way to use leftovers, or just want a quick-and-easy weeknight supper, this recipe from Tamar Adler's "The Everlasting Meal Cookbook'' will work for you. It accommodates a variety of liquids; any fresh, frozen or cooked vegetables; cooked starches and legumes; and your favorite herbs to make a simple soup that comes together in about 30 minutes. Any combination will do.
If you use raw or steamed vegetables, consider adding a bit of miso or tomato paste when cooking the aromatics to give the soup a flavor boost.
Then finish it any way you like: Drizzle with herb oil or top with a generous spoonful of tapenade, as Adler suggests. Other options: chili crisp, sriracha, toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice, or parmesan.
Storage: Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
DIRECTIONS
In a large soup pot over medium-high heat, add the butter or olive oil, onion, garlic, miso, if using, and salt and cook until softened, adjusting the heat as needed and stirring occasionally, 5 to 10 minutes.
Add the cooking liquid, vegetables and herbs and bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, adjusting the heat as necessary to maintain a simmer and stirring occasionally, 15 to 20 minutes. (Cooking time will vary depending on vegetable selection and whether they are cooked or raw.)
Add the cooked starch, and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Taste, and season with more salt as needed.
Ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle generously with olive or herb oil. Top with the tapenade and parsley leaves, if using, and serve.
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil, plus more for serving
• 1 small onion (4 ounces), sliced or chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon shiro (white) miso (may substitute tomato paste) (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt, plus more as needed
• 4 cups cooking liquid, such as leftover cooking water from cooking vegetables, beans or farro; stock; broth; or a combination
• 2 cups combined chopped vegetables, cooked or raw or a combination, chopped into bite-size pieces (see headnote)
• 2 to 3 sprigs fresh thyme, rosemary or other favorite herb
• 1 cup cooked starch, such as beans, rice or small pasta
• Olive tapenade, for serving (optional)
• Fresh parsley, for serving (optional)
• Herb oil, for serving (optional; see related recipe)