When we talk about convenience foods, what images come to mind? For many it’s cardboard boxes filled with cardboard flavors, where everything tastes the same and nothing distinguishes the macaroni and cheese from the seasoned rice mix.
But the concept of convenience foods has changed and expanded as our world has become smaller. Our refrigerators are full of jars and bottles of curry sauce, salsa and hoisin. We’re familiar with seasonings we had never heard of 10 years ago.
Perhaps the downside of all this variety is just too much choice, and too little information on how to use these products.
“The International Pantry Cookbook: An Everyday Guide to Cooking with Seasonings, Prepared Sauces, and Spices” (Chronicle, $18.95), by Heidi Haughy Cusick, may be just the informative and inspirational guide we need.
The book is divided into three parts. In the first, Cusick summarizes commercial sauces, spices and condiments, what’s in them and their origins.
Imaginative recipes are the anchor of the middle part, where each master recipe is given regional variations. A basic stove-top rice metamorphoses into its more creative Indonesian or Creole counterparts. Ordinary stuffed potatoes are transformed into a garlic-herb-infused side dish or a simple Mexican-inspired main dish. A chicken stew is jazzed up with cumin, coriander, cinnamon and ginger.
A section of cooking terms, techniques and mail-order sources rounds out the book.
One caution: As with most convenience foods, many of the sauces and seasonings recommended in the recipes are full of sodium. You can offset that by not adding salt and by using canned low-sodium broths or tomatoes.
OLIVE GARLIC BREAD
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Yield: 8 to 12 servings
From “The International Pantry Cookbook,” by Heidi Haughy Cusick.
1/2 cup butter, or 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup canola oil
2 to 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced, or 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic paste
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, optional
1 loaf French bread, halved lengthwise
1/2 cup bottled olive paste
1. Preheat the broiler. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter and add the garlic. Cook a minute or so, but don’t brown the butter. Stir in lemon juice if using.
2. Brush both bread halves with garlic butter, place them on a baking sheet and broil until tops are bubbly and beginning to brown, about 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Remove bread from the oven and immediately spread with the olive paste. Slice and serve.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ………… 215 Fat ………… 13 g Saturated fat .. 5 g
% calories from fat .. 54 Cholesterol … 20 mg Sodium …… 565 mg
Carbohydrates …… 20 g Protein ……. 3.5 g
MOROCCAN CHICKEN STEW
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
From “The International Pantry Cookbook,” by Heidi Haughy Cusick.
2 tablespoons canola or olive oil
1 cut-up fryer chicken (about 3 1/2 pounds), skin removed
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2 ribs celery, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced, or 1 teaspoon garlic paste
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon Middle Eastern spice blend, see note
2 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Hot cooked couscous
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1.In a large Dutch oven or deep skillet over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Brown the chicken, a few pieces at a time, and remove to a plate. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat.
2. Add the celery, carrots and onion; saute until onion is softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic, flour and spice blend; saute 30 seconds. Return the chicken to the pan.
3. Add the chicken broth, bay leaf, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, covered, until the chicken is tender and cooked through, 35 to 45 minutes.
4. For easier serving, cut the chicken from the bone and put back into the sauce. Spoon over the hot couscous and garnish with parsley.
Note: You can make your own spice blend by stirring together 3/4 teaspoon each ground cumin and coriander, 1/2 teaspoon each cinnamon and ground ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ………… 365 Fat ………… 17 g Saturated fat .. 3.2 g
% calories from fat .. 42 Cholesterol .. 115 mg Sodium …… 1,495 mg
Carbohydrates …… 13 g Protein …….. 40 g
STOVE-TOP RICE
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
From “The International Pantry Cookbook,” by Heidi Haughy Cusick.
Master recipe:
3 to 4 quarts water
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups long-grain white or brown rice
Indonesian variation:
2 tablespoons canola or safflower oil
3/4 pound rockfish, cut into bite-size pieces
3/4 cup bottled peanut sauce
1/4 cup broth, water or coconut milk
Creole variation:
1/2 pound Cajun-style sausage, or andouille sausage, sliced
3/4 cup Creole or spicy pasta sauce
1. To prepare the basic recipe: In a large soup pot, bring at least 3 quarts of water to a boil. Add the salt and drop in the rice. Stir and boil until the rice is tender, about 18 minutes for white rice, 30 minutes for brown rice. Drain; return the rice to the hot pot and cover until ready to sauce.
2. To prepare the Indonesian variation: Prepare white rice as directed in the master recipe. In a saucepan or skillet over medium heat, warm oil. Saute rockfish until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Stir together the peanut sauce and desired liquid. Stir into the fish and heat through. Pour the sauce over the hot rice. (You can stir in a little chopped cilantro if desired.)
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3. To prepare the Creole variation: Prepare the white or brown rice as directed in the master recipe. In a saucepan, saute the sausage until cooked through. Stir in the Creole or pasta sauce and simmer for a few minutes to heat through. Pour over the hot rice.
Nutrition information per serving for master recipe:
Calories ……….. 255 Fat ……….. 0.5 g Saturated fat .. 0.1 g
% calories from fat .. 2 Cholesterol …. 0 mg Sodium …….. 535 mg
Carbohydrates ….. 56 g Protein ……… 5 g
Nutrition information per serving for Indonesian rice:
Calories ………… 485 Fat ……….. 13 g Saturated fat .. 1.6 g
% calories from fat .. 24 Cholesterol .. 30 mg Sodium …… 1,575 mg
Carbohydrates …… 65 g Protein ……. 25 g
Nutrition information per serving for Creole rice:
Calories ………… 375 Fat ………… 9 g Saturated fat .. 3.9 g
% calories from fat .. 22 Cholesterol .. 25 mg Sodium …… 1,010 mg
Carbohydrates …… 59 g Protein ……. 12 g