The Veggie Spiral Slicer Cookbook (6 page)

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

      
2 eggs

      
2 tablespoons sesame oil

      
2 boneless pork chops

      
1/2 cup soy sauce

      
1/2 yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

      
1 cup sliced button mushrooms

      
2 cloves garlic, minced

      
4 cups beef stock

      
1 zucchini, spiralized on blade 3

      
1 cup corn kernels

      
1 sheet toasted nori, cut into thin strips

      
2 green onions, sliced

1.
   
To hard-boil the eggs, bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add the eggs and cook for 7 minutes. Rinse under water and place in a bowl full of ice water for at least 5 minutes.

2.
   
In a large pot, heat the sesame oil on medium-high. Add the pork chops and cook until each side has begun to brown, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Splash with the soy sauce halfway through.

3.
   
Add the onion and mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly for 30 seconds.

4.
   
Add the beef stock and bring to a simmer.

5.
   
Add the zucchini noodles and return to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes.

6.
   
Peel the eggs and slice in half, being careful not to lose any of the yolk, which should be soft and undercooked.

7.
   
Remove the pork chops from the pot and slice thinly.

8.
   
To plate, serve noodles and broth topped with corn, sliced pork chop, halved eggs, nori strips, and sliced green onion.

Pho Bo

Pho
is Vietnam’s most famous dish. The warmth and exotic flavor brought by the wealth of spices used in this soup is unparalleled. This soup does take about an hour to make, but most of that time is completely hands off and it will make your kitchen and home smell irresistible.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

      
6 cups beef broth

      
1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and sliced

      
2 cinnamon sticks

      
1 teaspoon black peppercorns, cracked

      
4 cloves

      
1 tablespoon coriander seeds

      
2 tablespoons fish sauce

      
2 tablespoons brown sugar

      
2 tablespoons lime juice

      
1 beef fillet steak, thinly sliced

      
6 star anise pods

      
1 large daikon, spiralized on blade 3

      
2 cups bean sprouts

      
3 green onions, trimmed, thinly sliced diagonally

      
1 serrano chile, thinly sliced

      
1/2 cup basil leaves, torn

      
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, torn

      
4 to 6 lime wedges, to serve

1.
   
In a large pot, bring the beef broth, ginger, cinnamon, black peppercorns, cloves, coriander seeds, fish sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, and beef fillet to a boil. Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes. Remove the beef fillet and slice it thinly.

2.
   
Add the star anise and simmer for another 5 minutes. Strain all of the spices out of the liquid and return the liquid to the pot. Bring the stock back up to a simmer and add the daikon noodles and beef strips. Cook for another 10 minutes, uncovered.

3.
   
To serve, divvy up the broth and noodles into bowls. Top each serving with the bean sprouts, green onions, sliced chile, basil, cilantro, and 1 lime wedge. Enjoy immediately.

Irish Stew

One of the greatest things about cooking is food’s magical ability to take you to faraway lands, even ones you have never been to before. As I write this book, it is a dark and gray 22 degrees outside, but this doesn’t mean I don’t have to keep training for the strenuous Ireland hiking trip I have planned 6 months from now. That’s where this stew comes in, hearty enough to comfort those winter blues, Irish enough to keep me enthralled with dreams of globe-trotting, yet lean enough to help me reach my goals (using portion control, of course.) This meal will feed a small army, a family of four with growing children, or anyone who likes lots of leftovers!

MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS

      
6 slices thick-cut smoked bacon, roughly chopped

      
2 pounds lamb stew meat, boneless and cut into chunks

      
4 large carrots, sliced into rounds

      
2 large yellow onions, chopped

      
1 quart lamb, veal, or beef stock

      
8 sprigs thyme

      
2 bay leaves

      
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

      
1 cup frozen peas

      
4 medium red potatoes, spiralized on blade 2

NOTE:
There are two ways of making this dish: stovetop and slow cooker. I personally prefer the freedom the slow cooker allows. I am able to start this dish then go about my day, adding the spiralized noodles and peas in the last 30 minutes of cooking. If you’d prefer to skip working in the morning and don’t mind waiting about 2 hours for everything to be ready from start to finish, then feel free to cook this on your stovetop in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottom pot with a lid covered on medium-low.

1.
   
In a large pan, cook the bacon until it begins to crisp. Add it to your slow cooker. If you are using the stovetop method, cook the bacon in your Dutch oven and set it aside.

2.
   
Brown the lamb in the residual grease from the bacon. It’s not a lot of fat but it adds a ton of flavor! Make sure to stir the lamb from time to time so that all the sides are browned, about 5 to 6 minutes. If you are using your slow cooker, add the browned lamb to the cooker, otherwise leave the lamb in the Dutch oven and return the bacon to the pan.

3.
   
Add all of the remaining ingredients, except for the peas and potatoes. For slow cookers, cook this on low for 7 hours. For the Dutch oven, bring the stew to a gentle boil, cover, and lower the heat to medium-low. Allow to cook, covered, for about 90 minutes.

4.
   
Thirty minutes before you want to eat your stew, add the peas and potato noodles. Turn the slow cooker on high or bring your Dutch oven to a simmer on medium-high heat. Cook until the potato noodles are soft and serve, discarding the thyme stems and bay leaves.

Avgolemono

Avgolemono
is the classic lemony Greek chicken and rice/orzo soup. It owes its thick and creamy texture to the use of eggs that are beaten quickly. Although this is in no way traditional, I like to add a hearty helping of chopped kale to my batch.

Traditionally,
avgolemono
is the name for an egg and lemon sauce that you can add to many things (not least of which is chicken soup). It is often made over the course of three hours, starting with a whole chicken. With this recipe, however, soup’s on in less than half an hour.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

      
4 cups of chicken stock

      
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed

      
1 large or 2 medium parsnips, spiralized on blade 3

      
2 large eggs

      
3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, plus more to serve (optional)

      
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

      
3 cups chopped kale (optional)

1.
   
In a large pot, heat the chicken stock and cubed chicken breast. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat, cover, and turn down the heat to medium.

2.
   
Using a food processor, briefly chop the parsnip noodles until they resemble large pieces of rice, or more aptly, orzo. Add the parsnip rice to the pot and cook for approximately 10 minutes, or until the rice begins to soften and the chicken is almost fully cooked through.

3.
   
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. Slowly pour in the lemon juice while whisking constantly. Take 1 cup of the chicken stock and very carefully drizzle it into the eggs, all while whisking. Once these have mixed completely, slowly pour the eggs into the soup while stirring vigorously. If you do not keep things moving when combining the eggs and hot liquid, you will end up with scrambled egg soup, which I can tell you from experience is not a pleasant flavor. If you are using the kale, add it now.

4.
   
Cook while stirring gently on medium heat, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until the soup has thickened, the parsnips are soft, and the kale is wilted. Add your salt and pepper, to taste.

5.
   
Serve topped with a little fresh cracked black pepper and extra lemon if you so desire.

Minestrone

Minestrone soup is such a classic that you can find countless variations. Feel free to play around with this pasta or rice soup served with lots of vegetables and beans, substituting your favorite herbs for the ones listed. Like things hot? Add more red pepper flakes. Above all, have fun!

MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS

      
2 tablespoons olive oil

      
1 large carrot, spiralized on blade 3

      
1 large yellow onion, spiralized on blade 3

      
1 stalk celery, diced

      
4 cloves garlic, minced

      
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

      
1 (14-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

      
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juice

      
1/4 pound green beans, trimmed and cut to 1-inch pieces

      
salt and pepper, to taste

      
1 teaspoon dried oregano

      
1 teaspoon dried basil

      
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

      
1 large zucchini, spiralized on blade 1

      
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans

      
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1.
   
Heat the olive oil in a large pot on medium. Add the carrot, onion, and celery stalk. Sweat the vegetables (cook without browning) until the onions are translucent, about 7 minutes.