Pamela Toman

Tag: stock

Sweet and Tangy Braised Chickpeas

Hearty and delicious. Serve with bread or cornbread, and/or over egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or polenta/grits.

Cheap Worcestershire sauce is often vegetarian (check the label for anchovies).

In this recipe, I like to use the Better than Bouillon paste because it can make arbitrarily volumes of stock, and because the water can enter the pan already hot from being boiled in the kettle.

Ingredients Step
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4 T olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced		 Heat oil in a large, deep cast iron skillet with oven-safe lid, then saute onion.
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced Add garlic.
2-3 carrots, in ¼-½" chunks
1-2 c. other chopped vegetables (e.g., celery, fennel, winter squash, cabbage, parsnip, potato, cauliflower)
1 t. salt
⅛ t. red pepper flakes
black pepper to taste		 Saute vegetables. Season.
4 T. tomato paste (half a can)
1 T. brown sugar		 Add and cook until well-incorporated.
3 c. vegetable stock
⅓ c. red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
2 t. Worcestershire or soy sauce
3 cups chickpeas (1 cup from dry, or 2 rinsed cans)
1 bay leaf		 Bring to simmer, then cover tightly with lid and transfer to oven.
possibly: 1 c. vegetable stock Braise for 60 minutes, then check and add 1 c. additional broth if necessary. Braise for another 30 minutes (for 90 minutes in total).
Discard bay leaf and season to taste before serving.

Source: Deb Perelman (Smitten Kitchen)

Sweet and Tangy Braised Chickpeas was published on 8 August 2025.

Recipe uses: chickpeas, stock, carrots, stock

Pasta Salad

Jess brought this delicious pasta salad to us early in the summer. It reminds me of one that Luke would make, whose recipe I seem to have lost. The fresh basil and feta make the salad.

Ingredients Step
¼ c. red wine vinegar
½ c. olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1 t. honey
salt
pepper		 Blitz into an emulsified dressing.
6 c. broth
1 lb. orzo		 Bring broth to boil. Add orzo, reduce heat, cover partially, cook until al dente, then drain. Move to large bowl and toss frequently to cool.
2 c. grape tomatoes, halved
7 oz. feta, cubed
1 c. basil, chopped
1 c. green onion, chopped		 Mix in, then add vinaigrette. Let stand a few hours before serving.
½ c. slivered almonds, toasted Add at time of serving. Serve at room temperature.

Source: Giada De Laurentiis in Bon Appétit (April 2006)

Pasta Salad was published on 5 August 2025.

Recipe uses: feta, orzo, lemon, basil, tomatoes-cherry, stock, almonds

Egg Drop Miso Soup

The easiest meal in the world. Packs a boatload of delicious nutrition in 10 minutes of prep.

This gave me the most dreadful stomach ache with soy-based miso, but the chickpea miso works great.

Ingredients Step
1 qt. stock Heat the stock in a saucepan, bringing it to a boil.
3 eggs Blend together in a separate dish.
¼ c. miso Measure the miso into a separate dish. Retrieve a bit of the heated stock, and loosen the miso into a dissolvable texture.
While stirring the boiling stock, slowly pour a thin thread of the egg mixture into the stock. Once it's all in, let the egg cook for a minute. Then stir in the loosened miso.
chives or green onions Cut with scissors atop the soup bowls to add a bit more flavor and garnish.

Based on: Aveline Kushi, via South River Miso

Egg Drop Miso Soup was published on 28 December 2024.

Recipe uses: stock, eggs

Baked Risotto with Greens

An easy and delicious way to serve greens.

Violife parmesan is acceptable, but dairy parmesan is better. I often split the meal in half before the last "saucy" step to target both diets.

First enjoyed with Tom and Tobi.

Ingredients Step
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
1 small onion, diced
olive oil		 In a cast iron skillet with a lid, saute onion until softened.
1 small garlic clove minced
1 heaping c. Arborio rice		 Add garlic and stir until fragrant (about 1 minute), then stir in rice. Season with salt and pepper, and fry rice until lightly toasted (about 2 minutes).
4 oz. kale leaves, as bite-sized pieces
salt and pepper		 Add. Stir until wilted.
quart of no-chicken broth Add broth. Bring to a boil over high heat.
Cover and bake until liquid is almost all absorbed and rice is tender, about 20 minutes.
4 oz. spinach (chopped)
1 c. frozen peas, thawed --or-- asparagus, sliced
1 T. lemon juice		 Stir in. (Don't add too much lemon -- we're not making lemon risotto!)
¾ c. parmesan
3 T. butter		 Add. Stir until well blended and saucy.

Source: Kay Chun (NYT Cooking)

Baked Risotto with Greens was published on 12 November 2024.

Recipe uses: arborio-rice, kale, stock, spinach, peas, parmesan, lemon

North African Chickpea Kale Soup

Not truly North African, of course. But it does feature some nice warm spices.

This recipe makes enough to feed 2 people for a couple meals (it's only 4 cups of stock). To feed more people, double it.

Ingredients Step
1 small onion, diced
1 carrot, diced		 Brown in the bottom of a soup pot.
2 cloves garlic, diced Add the garlic to the onion. Let cook about 1 minute.
¾ t. cumin
¼ t. paprika
¼ t. ginger
⅛ t. allspice
⅛ t. cayenne
pinch saffron, lightly crushed
1 bay leaf
½ cinnamon stick		 Add. Let cook about 1 minute, stirring.
1 can chickpeas, rinsed Stir into spiced onion mixture.
4 c. stock Add. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes with a lid.
4 c. kale, torn to bite-sized pieces Add & stir. Ensure the kale is submerged. Serve once the kale is cooked to your liking (maybe 5-10 minutes?).

Source: Fat Free Vegan

North African Chickpea Kale Soup was published on 23 December 2023.

Recipe uses: chickpeas, carrots, stock, kale