Notes about Recipes in this book

• Spicy-sweet green beans

  • Emily Hope on August 18, 2011

    These green beans were addictive--sweet, salty, and crunchy. C said "best green beans ever". They were a touch too sweet and I'd cut back a bit on the honey the next time--I also reduced the soy sauce to a shy 2 tablespoons because the stuff I get is pretty strong.

• Chipotle-glazed squash skewers

  • Delys77 on October 31, 2011

    Love the smoky flavour of chipotle which goes very well with the mild squash. Cook for the full duration but check often.

• Sweet potato, ginger, and chicken teriyaki skewers

  • blumie on March 23, 2017

    I haven't cooked much with skewers before. Turns out raw sweet potatoes are hard to skewer — and ginger, too, if you cut it way too small, like I did. For those reasons, I probably wouldn't try this recipe again, but it ended up tasting pretty good. (Actually, maybe I'd do it again, just not on skewers. I bet it'd all roast up nicely just sitting on a baking sheet.) All other aspects of the prep were quick and easy, especially the sauce. To go with it, I sauteed kale with cooked bulgur and plenty of Sriracha.

• Clean-out-the-fridge vegetable soup

  • Delys77 on February 13, 2013

    Pg. 101 Very simple and quite similar to the soupe paysanne from the Joy of Cooking. The result is a very nice soup with tonnes of veggies and a pretty thick texture. I didn't add parm, instead I put a rind in with the veggies while the soup simmered. Overall a good recipe.

• Vegetable-lentil soup with fragrant broth

  • Delys77 on October 31, 2011

    This was super fragrant, the amount of garlic seems extreme but it yields a great soup. I used yellow split peas and they were a bit hard after the suggested cooking time. Maybe go with red lentils or brown as the split pea takes way too long.

• Cabbage and white bean soup with sausage

  • lorloff on October 14, 2018

    This was brilliant and delicious. I made it with dried lima beans that were from the farmers market so fresh no soaking required. I cooked the lima beans first in water with 2 small onions, 1 small head of garlic, a handful of rosemary from the garden and a small handful of thyme. I used wine chicken sausage from a local farmer. I only had red cabbage on hand it worked very well. Will make again my husband loved it.

• Corn and sweet potato chowder with chipotle

  • Delys77 on October 31, 2011

    This is good but might need a bit of tweaking. The roux with the corn meal and oil works partially but it does a passable job. You can up the chipotle and decrease the corn a bit as the soup is a bit sweet. So if you up the heat and drop the sweetness a bit you'll end up with a better result.

• Green gumbo with potatoes and zucchini

  • cilantrolime on July 07, 2014

    I love dandelions and I love gumbo, but this is disappointing. Nothing special. It was easy though. Maybe some okra and white beans would improve it.

• Mushroom stew with beef chunks

  • Delys77 on June 11, 2013

    Pg. 130 Pretty good but not amazing. I would suggest frying the mushroom chunks prior to the addition of the other vegetables and then adding a bit less liquid. Overall the results are good, but I could likely just add more mushrooms to a typical boeuf bourguignon and cut back the bacon a bit and get a better result.

• Classic (or not) Caesar salad

  • laurakins on August 20, 2015

    quite runny. Reccommend retrying with only yolks, or one whole egg + yolk. Wouldn't bother with the boiling

• Quinoa tabbouleh

  • Jane on July 12, 2012

    As Bittman says, this is a vegetable salad with some grain for texture. It's great for using up odds and ends of vegetables you want to clear out. I used tomatoes, radishes, asparagus, scallions and mixed black and green olives. I also used a mix of red and yellow quinoa. This was a very pretty salad but more importantly tasted great. The dressing is a simple lemon juice and olive oil, which allowed the vegetables to shine

• Root vegetable and quinoa salad

  • Laurendmck on January 16, 2013

    p. 165

• Black bean and corn salad

  • Delys77 on April 08, 2013

    Pg. 171 As is often the case with the minimalist, I found this dish was good but needed some more flavour. I added a bit of green tabasco, but some minced chiles would be great, and I also squeezed a bit more lime over it.

• Plum chicken salad

  • Delys77 on October 31, 2011

    It would seem that there isn't enough dressing but it turns out to be a very nice light level of dressing. The almonds definitely add a nice richness. Went with apples and it was very nice

• Pasta with broccoli rabe and bread crumbs

  • Delys77 on October 18, 2012

    Pg. 196 This dish is a little different from a few other broccoli based pastas I have tried in that it uses a large amount of toasted breadcrumbs which are mixed directly into the pasta. I would say overall it is a pretty good recipe. I used brocolette as I couldn't find any broccoli rabe, but thinly sliced the brocolette did the job well. It seems like a large amount of broccoli at first but I think it was just right. The toasted breadcrumbs make this a very filling pasta dish but I might suggest a few tweaks. I caramelized the onions a little by cooking them for closer to 15 minutes rather than the recommended 5, and then I added the garlic just at the end. I also put in some nice chile flakes and the heat was much appreciated. I think I might also recommend adding a little garlic and herbs to the breadcrumbs to the end of their toasting, then mix in only half, reserving the rest as a topping for the pasta.

• Pasta with tender greens

  • Delys77 on October 31, 2011

    Ok but nothing special. It seems like a lot of greens but you need them as there isn't much else going on. You could do with more salt, more Parma, more pepper, and perhaps some pine nuts and or chili flakes

• Pasta with caramelized fennel and onion

  • Delys77 on October 31, 2011

    Pretty good flavour from this recipe, which you made with the cream variation. For a vegetarian pasta and has a different but good flavour. The technique of dry frying the base was odd bur worked. You added a bit of basil as garnish.

• Noodles with spicy vegetable stir-fry

  • Delys77 on October 31, 2011

    As is the recipe is a little bland. You added a little more soy, some chopped peanuts, some lime juice, and a tiny bit of satay sauce. Not a bad base but you will have to play with this one a bit.

  • nadiam1000 on July 29, 2018

    I agree with previous review - I found this to be bland and not very interesting flavor wise. I think it needs some kick, a little siracha and lime or something.

• Teriyaki noodles with asparagus and edamame

  • Delys77 on October 31, 2011

    This seemed a little odd but it is actually quite good. I did add some sliced mushrooms with he asparagus and a bit of cornstarch to thicken the sauce. The sauce is likely the best part. Serves two not four. I inverted the cooking and did the aromatics before the asparagus.

• Mushroom and pasta frittata

  • Delys77 on October 31, 2011

    Definitely an interesting use of left over pasta but I actually used less mushrooms and had to go with 6 eggs. I think you might be able to do it with 4 if you were very careful. That being said the caramelized onions and mushrooms are the definite stars here. You used thyme as you had no sage. The score is relatively low despite the interesting flavours because the recipe was flawed. I think if you keep the eggs at 4 and extra caramelize the onions and the mushrooms you should be good to score it higher.

  • laurakins on July 19, 2015

    Yes, there is definitely a typo- you can't feed 4 people a 2 egg frittata lol. must be 6-8??

• Pasta with rich leek "pesto"

  • Delys77 on October 31, 2011

    Interesting and tasty but a bit thick eventhough you added the suggested amount of water. Next time add a bit of stock and I think it would be better. The actual sauce though is quite different and tasty.

  • LaPomme on November 30, 2011

    Not as much like carbonara as the description states. But the parsley makes the pesto peppery and unique. Very good.

• Baked rigatoni with Brussels sprouts, figs, and blue cheese

  • Delys77 on December 12, 2011

    Pg 221 This is a pretty good dish for the fall with sharp flavour of the blue cheese being offset by the sweetness of the figs and the savouriness of the brussels sprouts. I ended up broiling for a little bit to crisp up the top a bit and the results were pretty good. The dish would be improved by a touch more blue cheese, maybe an oz or two, ad possibly a breadcrumb and parmesan topping.

• Creamy cauliflower mac

  • Delys77 on November 09, 2011

    Pg 222 This recipe is quite the revelation. The idea of fulfilling a guilty pleasure like Mac and cheese as well as getting your veggies in is just fabulous. The question was if it would be any good, and I am pleased to report it was excellent. Make sure you taste for seasoningas it needs a good amount, and I would suggest going with 3/4 cup of cheese and maybe a touch more Dijon.

  • mattlebaron on January 12, 2013

    The kids didn't like this, but I'm not too surprised. They were unhappy that it didn't look and taste like KD - as they noted, real mac and cheese. Pretty sad that processed food has become the 'real' food. In any event, it's one reason why we've been trying to be more food concious. Personally, I enjoyed it. As with the other comments, I'll make it with a bit more oomph next time. It was a bit bland and needed a bit of a kick. Otherwise, we'll be making it again. We rated it four stars - the kids don't count since they consider KD to be real food - eesh.

  • Brittania on November 13, 2011

    I agree - very nice but needs a lot more cheese, some more mustard and sloppier sauce (as Bittman suggests). I also think I might have got a creamier sauce if I'd overcooked the cauli more. I usually make my macaroni cheese the British way with tinned tomatoes and sometimes an egg or two mixed in. I like to make new recipes exactly as stated but next time I think I'll do a hybrid of my version and this cauliflower version. I sneak some bacon in sometimes. Shocking.

• Grilled vegetable and fresh tomato lasagna

  • LaPomme on June 10, 2011

    Page 225.

• One-pot pasta with zucchini and chicken

  • Delys77 on October 31, 2011

    I was very sceptical since the actual pasta is cooked in the pot with all the other ingredients which seemed exceedingly odd. It did work very well however, the starch from the pasta made a very nice sauce, although I did add a bit of broth I put a bit more than necessary. You should add more than he says but not a tonne. I also put in a bit chili flakes and it was nice

• Black bean chili mac

  • Delys77 on February 27, 2014

    Pg 247 At first this seemed a bit odd to me but when it was all done it was quite tasty. The shoulder is very tender and the balance of seasonings is very good. My proportions were slightly different as I used canned beans and tomatoes. 1 small can of beans was 120z instead of 16 so I upped the pork by 4 oz. I also, went with a 28oz can of whole plum tomatoes which I chopped. Overall a very quick and easy, yet tasty 1 pot meal.

• Noodles with spicy cabbage and pork

  • Kfaber on March 26, 2014

    Totally delicious and light dish that was fairly simple to make. Substituted red pepper flakes for the chili oil to make it spicy and might try sriracha next time.

  • kath on October 28, 2011

    I have made this several times. We really enjoy it!

  • LaPomme on December 05, 2011

    Substituted ordinary green cabbage for the Napa cabbage, and it turned out wonderful. I didn't find it very spicy, though. So my husband and I topped it off with some Sriracha.

  • Laurendmck on October 22, 2013

    p. 259

  • nadiam1000 on July 12, 2020

    very good flavors and easy to make - this one is a winner. I used green tea soba noodles and a 1 pound bag of shredded slaw mix. I did not have chili oil but added some spicy chili crisp. Topped with a little Sriracha to bump up the heat. I think it would be great with other Asian noodles.

• Green barley pilaf

  • Krisage on August 28, 2022

    Kale worked nicely in place of spinach.

• Rice, peas, and carrots (Risi, bisi, e carote)

  • LaPomme on June 01, 2011

    Nice idea, and flavor of this dish is great. But Bittman severly underestimates the time it takes to fully cook the rice, especially uncovered. After 40 minutes, my rice was still unpleasantly raw in the middle. I'll budget 50 minutes if I try this recipe again.

• Farro with grapes and sausage

  • Emily Hope on December 06, 2010

    This was a very tasty weeknight supper--I roasted the grapes (rather than just tossing them in the pan). However, I should have poured off the fat from the sausages before adding in the farro--the end result was a bit heavy/greasy. Served with brussels sprouts roasted w/maple syrup.

• Chipotle quinoa with corn and black beans

  • Lindalib on July 12, 2013

    This took longer to cook than the recipe indicated. (I used TJ organic quinoa) The was good, but the final dish could have used a garnish (cilantro maybe?) as it wasn't visually appealing. I used two chipotle peppers plus some of the sauce, but would increase the quantity for a little more heat next time.

  • kdalavur on February 24, 2013

    p.310

• Chipotle quinoa with corn, black beans, and shrimp

  • LaPomme on June 30, 2011

    Bittman is a little cautious with the chipotle. I went ahead and added two of the chiles, as well as a couple teaspoons of the sauce from the can. I found the result to be on the mild side. Next time, I would either add more sauce or even an additional chile.

  • Delys77 on October 21, 2011

    First off there are a few small issues with this dish. Firstly it serves closer to two or three definitely not 4, and the quinoa took closer to 25 minutes. Flavour wiase it was quite tasty, especially with the shrimp variation. Nutritious and very flavourful with the smokiness of the chipotle.

  • kdalavur on February 24, 2013

    p.311

• Vegetable and shrimp fried rice

  • Delys77 on October 31, 2011

    The idea of essentially making a rice stir fry is great, You end up with lots of nice crisp vegetables and the shrimp is a nice accompaniment, but you should maybe go with a more classic fried rice sauce as this was a bit tame. Perhaps combine this approach with one of the fried rice's from Eileen Yin Fei Lo's book.

• Spicy fried rice with bean sprouts, chicken, and peanuts

  • LaPomme on February 01, 2012

    I had everything on hand except the Thai chili. So I used a green bell pepper and spiced things up with Sriracha sauce. It turned out excellent.

• Arroz con pollo--and then some

  • Delys77 on October 31, 2011

    A great chicken and rice dish made rich from the stock and the chicken. The addition of beans and saffron makes this luxurious and hearty. This probably makes enough for 5 or 4 hungry people. You may need to salt a bit at the end.

• White bean and shrimp burgers

  • kdalavur on March 04, 2013

    p. 378

• Fava gratin with scallops and pesto bread crumbs

  • RachelLeah on June 23, 2015

    Used fresh favas for this and might not have had quite enough - the bread crumbs really overpowered everything else and dried out the dish a little. Would probably use a lot less bread and more beans. The overall flavors were really delicious.

• Chickpea tagine with chicken and bulgur

  • Delys77 on February 02, 2015

    Pg. 388 Overall this was quite good. Unlike some of his other recipes where I find that the reduction in meat creates a dish that somehow seems unbalanced, here we have essentially increased the amount of an ingredient that is already at home in the tagine and decreased another (ie. more chickpeas and less chicken). The seasoning is nice but 1 tsp of cinnamon is plenty for us. I also skipped the bulgur as I don't like it and served over steamed brown rice. Procedure wise I would brown the chicken, reserve to a plate, then brown the veg, add the veg to the beans, then add the chicken and pop it in the oven for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven, reserve chicken (possibly re-crisp skin under the broiler) and boil sauce uncovered to reduce a touch. Then add the chicken back to the tagine and you are good to go.

• White chili with chicken and white root vegetables

  • Laurendmck on December 20, 2010

    p. 390

• Cannellini with shredded Brussels sprouts and sausage

  • lorloff on March 25, 2022

    Quite delicious and easy to make I tried it with vegan sausage but next time I’ll use the real thing. Will make again. We made it again with turkey chorizo from our local farmer. We did not have wine so we used sherry fino and it was perfect. Also I cooked the sausage first removed it from the pan and then cooked the Brussels sprouts halved cut side down and when they were ½ way cooked and nicely browned I added back the sausage to the pan and the sherry and finished the cooking with the beans. I added the garlic after the Brussels sprouts had taken on a bit of color. It was even better than the first time I made this.

• Beer-glazed black beans with chorizo and orange

  • DragonWell on January 13, 2017

    This recipe is a dud.

• Chili con poco carne

  • Delys77 on October 31, 2011

    This was a lot more chopping than your usual recipe and a bit more work and it yielded a very similar result to your own chili if a bit blander. Using the chuck might add a little something and the mushrooms and the zucchini are pretty good, what you might do is modify your own recipe based on this one.

• Crisp and spicy roasted chickpeas with lamb

  • sideshoes on January 08, 2011

    Very good! Mine needed more time to get crispy and browned.

  • Delys77 on November 17, 2011

    Mine also took another minute or so to crisp up but when it did it made for a very nice texture. I used the beef version which also worked out well. I think overall this is a pretty good dish with interesting texture ad flavour, but it isn't stupendous. I might add a little Greek yogurt and possibly some tomato and cucumber in the pita pocket, maybe even a little lettuce. Go the full wrap route if you ever repeat this.

• More-vegetable less-egg frittata

  • Delys77 on October 31, 2011

    Pretty good but nothing to right home about

• Pan-cooked vegetables with crunchy fish

  • Delys77 on October 31, 2011

    This was a surprise. The curry gives the veg a really nice tang (I used sweet potato, parsnip, carrot, and Daikon) and the crust on the fish is very nice. Overall a great little dish. Spencer liked it but you should go easier on the curry for him next time.

• Stir-fried fennel and pink grapefruit with shrimp

  • kdalavur on March 04, 2013

    p. 449

• Roast potatoes and chicken with romesco

  • Delys77 on October 31, 2011

    For me this dish isn't a winner. The potatoes are not bad as they benefit from a longer roast and the flavoring from the chicken and rosemary. The romesco sauce is nice and tangy with pretty good texture. Why might you ask is this dish not so good, well it is primarily due to 2 reasons. Firstly the chicken is boring, the sauce isn't adequate to raise this bland relatively pasty piece of chicken to anything interesting. Secondly, the dish doesn't really come together, it has no cohesion.

• Provençal vegetables and chicken in packages

  • Delys77 on October 31, 2011

    I was surprised by how simple this was to put together. Vegetables turned out fabulous but the chicken was the tiniest bit dry, make sure to cook for around 35 minutes or so. Very mediterranean.

• Vegetables au vin with coq

  • Delys77 on July 31, 2012

    Pg 466 This achieves the flavour of coq au vin with lots of extra vegetables, which is nice. I do think there is too much liquid for a braise, I would trim it back to about two cups as the amount suggested essentially stews the chicken. The eggplant cooks down and really adds complexity to the sauce. My only other suggestion woud be to brown the mushrooms separately and add towards the end so they retain texture and crispness.

  • freshfare on February 14, 2015

    I agree there is too much liquid, I reduced it to 3 cups. Used 4 whole legs still worked fine. Used a large white onion instead of pearl. Also kept the mushrooms in large pieces to retain texture. Was afraid the green beans would end up mushy, so I added them last with about 15 min to go, and placed them on top of the whole mixture to cook. Delicious!

• TLB: tomato, lettuce, and bacon sandwiches

  • Delys77 on February 21, 2012

    Pg. 498 This is a great little sandwich. I've always loved a good BLT but inverting the relationship between the veggies and the bacon makes this sandwich much healthier and still delivers great flavour. I skipped the step where he warms the tomato slices in the bacon fat as I was packing this for a lunch and I wanted to avoid the extra fat, still a very tasty sandwich. As with any tomato you need a generous hand with the salt and pepper.

• CSS: cucumber, sprouts, and smoked fish

  • kdalavur on February 18, 2013

    p. 498-499

• Roasted mushroom quesadillas

  • Delys77 on October 31, 2011

    I did a recipe and a half and it was well received. The mushrooms were nice and meaty and the portion was almost good as indicated, but a portion and a half is probably better. I served with Salsa but it was too tangy, might do better with something a bit richer and more savoury to acompany, maybe pesto. Also, I did it in the foreman instead of as suggested.

• Sweet potato muffins

  • Delys77 on October 31, 2011

    Really nice. They were relatively fluffy for all whole wheat muffins. Nice level of sweetness. I tried with the cinnamon in addition to the ginger

• Banana nut muffins

  • Nkrieda78 on October 11, 2021

    Ginger and whole wheat flour set this apart from my go to recipe. Although they won’t replace it, I would definitely make these if I wanted a healthier option. I used almonds instead of walnuts and got 16 good sized muffins with nice crowns.

• Crunchy no-work mostly whole wheat pizza dough

  • Delys77 on October 31, 2011

    The flavour and texture of this dough is nice, the challenge is that it is so sticky, and as a result it is very hard to spread and roll the dough out. You ended up with a relatively thick pizza, which was good but a bit doughy. If you were to do it again you would have to go a bit heavier on the dusting of the dough and hands to get spread thinner.

• Blueberry bread

  • LaPomme on January 05, 2012

    I went with the variation without the cornmeal, but with a tablespoon of sugar. The bread has a wonderful texture, and a slice is pretty filling. Even with the blueberries (which, granted, were frozen) and the sugar, the bread was not at all sweet. I was hoping for something a little bit sweeter, and may add honey next time. As I made it, it tasted great toasted, buttered and drizzled with a small spoonful of maple syrup.

• Spicy carrot cake

  • LaPomme on January 17, 2012

    To minimize the number of spice jars to hunt down, I substituted equal amounts of pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon, clove and allspice. If I had an apple pie spice mix, I would give that a try. If this made it less "spicey", I don't consider that a loss. (Strong clove and allspice flavors don't appeal to me.) Since the carrots were going to be sauteed and pureed anyway, I didn't bother grating them. I just chopped the carrots, and they pureed just as well as the chopped apples. Oh, and I also baked this as a loaf, instead of a square or round cake. All that to say...the extra steps are kind of a nuissance, but the taste and texture of this cake are fabulous.

• Baked pumpkin-orange custard

  • LaPomme on January 30, 2012

    Great idea and texture...but a little on the bland side as written. I hate to add more sugar, since that would defeat the purpose of a 'healthy' desert. Doubling the spices might help.

• Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan

  ...will know about his explorations into how what and the way we eat affects the environment. Here he gives us 500 recipes that allow us to eat well, tread lightly and do good.

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