C.Tasty dishes are prized every fall and winter, but they were downright a cornerstone of self-sufficiency during the pandemic. It is scientifically proven that comfort food is beneficial – and there has never been a greater collective need for it than in the past two years.
It was no coincidence that the idea for America Test Kitchen’s new cookbook, One-Hour Comfort ($ 25), came about in 2020. , but they didn’t have much extra time, energy, or mental focus to prepare, “says Valerie Cimino, senior editor at America’s Test Kitchen.
Of course, “Comfort Food” doesn’t look (or taste) the same to everyone. To find out exactly what counts as a comforting dish, according to Cimino, the team surveyed both America’s Test Kitchen employees and subscribers and asked them what comfort food means to them. “We found out that it means many different things to different people. It’s what is good for them – and that is a personal matter, ”she says. “A constant theme was that it grew out of some foods that they loved when they were growing up. We got some specific answers there, like congee and southern-style kale.” Cimino adds that another common theme was that home cooking was simply someone’s favorite food. “We got a lot of responses about pasta and noodles, chicken and cheese, so of course we had a lot of recipes with those ingredients,” she says.
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After figuring out what comfort food was all about, came the really tough part: making sure all 170 recipes were made in less than an hour. “That ruled out a lot of decisions, but we created as many workarounds as possible,” says Cimino. “For example, a number of people named apple pie as a popular comfort food. This is really hard to do in an hour, but we were able to add a recipe for a baked apple pie where a store-bought top crust is draped over apples sautéed with maple syrup and cider. The actual baking time is only 15 minutes! “
The book is full of ingenious ideas like this one, and most of the recipes are also nutritious. Case in point are the three recipes listed below: sweet potato and peanut stew, green gumbo, and kebab style chicken and rice. They’re especially high in protein and fiber, which are the keys to a truly filling meal. They’re also packed with delicious anti-inflammatory herbs and spices like cilantro, coriander, cloves, and cumin.
As America’s Test Kitchen polls show, a huge impact comfort food has on what someone enjoyed as a child. That means the recipes in the book span a wide range of deep cultural roots. The sweet potato and peanut stew is a traditional West African dish, while shawarma-style chicken and rice are a staple in the Mediterranean and Middle East. And the green gumbo? It’s from Louisiana. If you grew up with these dishes, the recipes will give you a roadmap to enjoy them without spending hours in the kitchen. And if you’ve never tried them before, you might discover a new favorite when you try them out.
“These days, the ever-increasing variety of ingredients available to the typical home cook makes it much easier to create recipes that will honor and recognize [a dish’s] traditional origins, while we openly talk about the way we have changed them, for example for the sake of speed or simplicity, ”says Cimino. You can’t replicate in an hour. For the shawarma-style chicken and rice, we focused on the herbs and spices and yogurt sauce to bring those flavors to the table. On the flip side, the green gumbo is just naturally quick and traditionally includes a rotating variety of greens depending on what’s available and what the chef prefers. “
Is your mouth watering already? Scroll down to see these healthy home cooking recipes that are filled with fiber, protein, and a whole load of goodies.
3 healthy home cooking recipes full of fiber and protein
Photo: America’s test kitchen
1. Recipe for sweet potato and peanut stew
ingredients
1 1/4 cups raw peanuts
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red pepper, pitted, pitted and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
Ground 1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
4 cups of vegetable broth
2 pounds of sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup coriander, chopped
1. Toast peanuts in a 10-inch pan over medium heat, shaking the pan occasionally until golden and fragrant, three to five minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool, then roughly chop the nuts.
2. Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, paprika, and salt and cook until tender, about five minutes. Stir in coriander, cayenne pepper and garlic and cook for about 30 seconds until they are fragrant.
3. Stir in the broth, 1 cup of chopped peanuts, and sweet potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, partially covered, until the sweet potatoes are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
4 Measure out three cups of solids and one cup of liquid from the soup and put them in the blender. Process until completely smooth, about 30 seconds. Return to the pot with the rest of the soup and stir, heat briefly to warm through.
5. Stir in the coriander and season with salt and pepper. Serve, sprinkle individual portions with the remaining chopped peanuts.
Photo: America’s test kitchen
2. Green gumbo recipe
ingredients
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 ribs of celery, finely chopped
1 green pepper, pitted, pitted and finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
2 1/4 teaspoons of salt, divided
2 teaspoons of smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
5 cups of water
12 ounces. Kale, mustard, or kale, stemmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup of frozen sliced okra
1 15 ounces. Can of black-eyed peas, rinsed
12 ounces. Spinach leaves or Swiss chard, destemmed and cut into 2.5 cm pieces
6 ounces of green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, plus a little more to flavor
2 spring onions, thinly sliced (optional)
1. Heat the oil in the Dutch oven over medium to high heat until it just smokes. Using a rubber spatula, stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is the color of peanut butter, two to five minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the roux darkens the color of milk chocolate, five to 10 minutes longer.
2. Stir in onion, celery, paprika, garlic, thyme, a teaspoon of salt, paprika and cayenne pepper. Cover and cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are tender, eight to 10 minutes.
3. Stir in water, scrape off all browned pieces and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the kale one at a time; Okra; and remaining 11/4 teaspoons of salt. Cover the heat, reduce the heat, and simmer for five to seven minutes, until the greens are just tender. Stir in black-eyed peas; Spinach, a handful at a time; and green beans and simmer until green beans and spinach are tender, about five minutes. Stir in vinegar and season with salt, pepper and additional vinegar. Sprinkle with spring onions, if used. Surcharge.
Photo: America’s test kitchen
3. Shawarma-style chicken and rice recipe with herb and yogurt sauce
ingredients
For the herb yogurt sauce:
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 teaspoon of grated lemon peel plus 1 tablespoon of juice
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint or coriander
1 small clove of garlic, chopped
For chicken and rice:
1 cup long grain white rice
1/2 teaspoon table salt, plus salt for cooking rice
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
Pinch of ground cinnamon
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 cups of minced cooked chicken
6 ounces. Cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
2 Persian cucumbers, quartered lengthways and sliced crosswise
3 radishes, cleaned, quartered and thinly sliced
1 cup of shredded fresh parsley
1. For the sauce: whisk all ingredients in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
2. For chicken and rice: bring four liters of water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add rice and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender but not soft, about 15 minutes. Drain the rice, spread it on a baking sheet with a rim and let cool completely for about 15 minutes.
3. In the meantime, simmer microwave oil, garlic, cumin, paprika, turmeric and cinnamon in a medium-sized bowl for 30 to 60 seconds and smell. Let cool a little, then stir in lemon juice and salt.
4. Place the rice, oil mixture, chicken, tomatoes, cucumber, radishes and parsley in a large bowl and mix gently. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with herbal yogurt sauce.
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