Tasty Recipes from Recipe Wizards

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes

Serves 8

Asparagus and peas are among the best spring vegetables. (If you don’t have them in the garden, find them at the farmers market.) Robin Ripley uses this spring soup as the basis of a satisfying dinner.

From “Grocery Gardening.”

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons butter

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

1 large clove garlic, crushed

About 1 1/2 pounds of thin to medium asparagus, washed, tough ends removed; chopped into 1-inch pieces

1 pound fresh or frozen shelled peas

2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

8 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1/2 cup dry vermouth

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

3/4 cup heavy cream

Fresh chopped chives for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

In a large soup pot over medium heat, melt butter. Add onion and garlic. Sauté until onion softened but not browned. Add asparagus, peas and potatoes. Toss with the onions and garlic, sautéing lightly, for 2 to 3 minutes. Add stock, vermouth, salt and pepper. Increase heat and bring to boil. Then, lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

In batches, transfer to blender. Purée until the soup is smooth. Return purée to soup pot and increase heat to medium.

In a separate bowl, mix 1/2 cup of purée to cream. Transfer to the soup pot and blend. Heat through, then serve, garnished with chives.

Per serving using low sodium chicken broth: 235 cal.; 9 g pro.; 22 g carb.; 13 g fat (8 sat., 4 monounsat., 1 polyunsat.); 42 mg chol.; 473 mg sod.; 5 g fiber; 8 g sugar; 49 percent calories from fat.

LARRY CROWE Associated Press

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook time: 35 minutes

Serves 4

To speed up this recipe, skip the dough and substitute purchased wonton wrappers (available in the produce section at most grocers).

Use a large round cookie cutter to trim the wrappers into circles.

INGREDIENTS

For the dough:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter), room temperature

1/2 to 1 cup ice water

For the sauce:

3 tablespoons garlic jelly

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 tablespoons water

1/2 tablespoon hot sauce

For the filling:

1 tablespoon black mustard seeds

1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds

1 tablespoon ghee

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

one 1/4-inch piece fresh ginger, grated

6 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled and cut into 1/3-inch cubes

1 cup peas, steamed

Salt, to taste

Vegetable oil, for frying

INSTRUCTIONS

To make the dough, in a food processor combine the flour and salt. Pulse several times. Add the ghee and pulse until it resembles coarse bread crumbs. With the processor running, drizzle in enough water to form a dough that is soft and elastic. Transfer the dough to a bowl, cover and let rest for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together the jelly, lime juice, water and hot sauce. Set aside. If desired, the sauce can be heated briefly just before serving.

To make the filling, in a large sauté pan over low, toast both mustard seeds. Once the seeds begin to pop in the pan, add the ghee, turmeric, garam masala, pepper and ginger. Saute for 2 minutes, then add the potatoes.

Remove the pan from heat, then stir in the peas and season with salt. Set aside.

When the dough is ready, shape it into a log and cut it into 16 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into a 5-inch circle. Use a finger dipped in water to moisten the edges.

Place 1 to 2 tablespoons of the potato mixture in the center of each circle, then fold the edges together to form a half-circle. Use a fork to crimp and seal the edges.

In a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high, heat 2 inches of oil to 300 degrees. Working in batches, add the samosas and fry until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes, using a spoon to turn them as needed in the oil.

Transfer the samosas to paper towels to drain. Serve with the dipping sauce.

Per serving: 673 cal.; 14 g pro.; 90 g carb.; 30 g fat (13 sat., 8 monounsat., 5 polyunsat., 4 other); 49 mg chol.; 547 mg sod.; 7 g fiber; 6 g sugar; 39 percent calories from fat.

LARRY CROWE Associated Press

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook time: 35 minutes

Serves 4

To speed up this recipe, skip the dough and substitute purchased wonton wrappers (available in the produce section at most grocers).

Use a large round cookie cutter to trim the wrappers into circles.

INGREDIENTS

For the dough:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter), room temperature

1/2 to 1 cup ice water

For the sauce:

3 tablespoons garlic jelly

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 tablespoons water

1/2 tablespoon hot sauce

For the filling:

1 tablespoon black mustard seeds

1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds

1 tablespoon ghee

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

one 1/4-inch piece fresh ginger, grated

6 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled and cut into 1/3-inch cubes

1 cup peas, steamed

Salt, to taste

Vegetable oil, for frying

INSTRUCTIONS

To make the dough, in a food processor combine the flour and salt. Pulse several times. Add the ghee and pulse until it resembles coarse bread crumbs. With the processor running, drizzle in enough water to form a dough that is soft and elastic. Transfer the dough to a bowl, cover and let rest for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together the jelly, lime juice, water and hot sauce. Set aside. If desired, the sauce can be heated briefly just before serving.

To make the filling, in a large sauté pan over low, toast both mustard seeds. Once the seeds begin to pop in the pan, add the ghee, turmeric, garam masala, pepper and ginger. Saute for 2 minutes, then add the potatoes.

Remove the pan from heat, then stir in the peas and season with salt. Set aside.

When the dough is ready, shape it into a log and cut it into 16 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into a 5-inch circle. Use a finger dipped in water to moisten the edges.

Place 1 to 2 tablespoons of the potato mixture in the center of each circle, then fold the edges together to form a half-circle. Use a fork to crimp and seal the edges.

In a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high, heat 2 inches of oil to 300 degrees. Working in batches, add the samosas and fry until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes, using a spoon to turn them as needed in the oil.

Transfer the samosas to paper towels to drain. Serve with the dipping sauce.

Per serving: 673 cal.; 14 g pro.; 90 g carb.; 30 g fat (13 sat., 8 monounsat., 5 polyunsat., 4 other); 49 mg chol.; 547 mg sod.; 7 g fiber; 6 g sugar; 39 percent calories from fat.

Borscht

Prep time: 1 hour

Cook time: 35 minutes

Serves 6

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion chopped

3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced

1 small-medium parsnip, peeled and cut in thin strips or small cubes

3 medium beets, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes

1 large or 2 small bay leaves

2-4 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons sugar

6 cups vegetable stock

2 apples, peeled, cored and cut into ½-inch cubes

1 small cabbage, cut into 2-inch chunks

3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/4 cup tomato purée

Salt and fresh ground pepper

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Sour cream, garnish

Fresh dill, garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

Melt butter with oil over medium heat in large pot. Sauté onion and carrots a few minutes and then add chopped parsnip and beets.

Add bay leaf, garlic and sugar, stir.

Add stock, apple, cabbage and potatoes. When hot, add tomato purée, and salt and pepper to taste.

Cook until vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes.

Stir in vinegar, remove bay leaf and serve.

Per serving without sour cream or dill: 206 cal.; 5 g pro.; 39 g carb.; 5 g fat (2 sat., 2 monounsat., 1 polyunsat.); 5 mg chol.; 1,188 mg sod.; 4 g fiber; 15 g sugar; 21 percent calories from fat.

Quick hot borscht

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Serves 4

This recipe is from “The Gourmet Cookbook,” edited by Ruth Reichl.

Note: Cook time for the carrot mixture overlaps cook time for potatoes.

INGREDIENTS

4 medium boiling potatoes, peeled and halved

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 carrots, coarsely chopped

2 celery ribs, coarsely chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

One 14- to 15-ounce can beef broth

Salt and ground black pepper

One 16-ounce jar or can of sliced pickled beets, chopped, reserving liquid

1/4 cup sour cream, garnish

3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

Put potatoes in a 3- to 4-quart saucepan. Cover with cold, well-salted water by 1 inch and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, 20 to 25 minutes; drain and cover to keep warm.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over high heat. Add carrots, celery and onion and cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to brown, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add broth, and salt and pepper to taste, and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender, about 13 minutes.

Stir in beets, including liquid, and simmer, covered, for 8 minutes more.

Ladle borscht into four bowls and add potatoes. Top with sour cream and sprinkle with dill.

Per serving including sour cream and dill: 263 cal.; 6 g pro.; 47 g carb.; 6 g fat (2 sat., 2 monounsat., 2 polyunsat.); 6 mg chol.; 868 mg sod.; 8 g fiber; 18 g sugar; 22 percent calories from fat.

Citrus dressing

Buonarroti Restaurant in Town and Country Village serves the most divine spinach salad with an unusual creamy citrus dressing. Does anyone have this recipe or one similar? Thank you very much.

– Bette Waterstreet, Sacramento

Orange chicken

I found an orange chicken recipe in the Modesto Bee a year ago and have had no luck finding it again. I was wondering if anyone had a good orange chicken recipe. Thank you.

– Mary Brownell, Modesto

What to do with favas

I am looking for fava bean recipes. Can someone help?

– Barbara Carl, Turlock

Potato salad

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 35 minutes

Serves 4

Marion Butts of Los Banos was looking for a potato salad recipe from a Betty Crocker children’s cookbook from the 1940s. She says that the recipe included an Italian vinegar and oil dressing as an ingredient.

Susan Brown of Sacramento shares this recipe that she found in a 1955 Betty Crocker Boys and Girls Cookbook. She notes that the recipe includes a vinegar and oil dressing but it’s called French dressing, not Italian.

Note: The potato salad may be tossed with 1/2 cup mayonnaise before serving, if desired.

INGREDIENTS

Potato salad:

4 medium potatoes, unpeeled

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sliced celery

1/4 cup minced onion

1/4 cup pickle relish

3 hard cooked eggs, sliced

French dressing:

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons vinegar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

INSTRUCTIONS

Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and boil potatoes for 30 to 35 minutes. Drain water and then cover potatoes with cold water. Drain again and cool slightly. Remove skins and slice potatoes or cut into cubes. Place in bowl. Sprinkle potatoes with salt. Add celery, onion, relish and eggs. Toss to combine.

Combine dressing ingredients in a jar and shake well. Pour over potato mixture and toss. Chill well before serving.

Per serving without mayonnaise: 448 cal.; 8 g pro.; 36 g carb.; 31 g fat (5 sat., 9 monounsat., 17 polyunsat.); 159 mg chol.; 639 mg sod.; 3 g fiber; 8 g sugar; 62 percent calories from fat.

Macaroni salmon salad

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Serves 4

Pamela Raven-Mendoza of Stevinson was looking for a macaroni-and-salmon salad recipe that was in the Bee about 20 years ago. It contained shell macaroni and canned salmon.

Pat Carr of Penn Valley shares this recipe that sounds like a match for Raven- Mendoza. Carr has used this recipe for many years. She likes to serve it with tomatoes from the farmers market or a mixed green salad. Carr recommends Trader Joe’s canned skinless, boneless pink salmon, but says canned red salmon is even better, even though the skin and bones will have to be removed.

Note: Carr says you can replace some of the mayonnaise with plain, nonfat yogurt to reduce fat content.

INGREDIENTS

4 ounces small shell macaroni, cooked

1 cucumber, peeled if desired, diced

one 8-ounce can salmon, drained and flaked (remove skin and bones from red salmon)

1 tablespoon minced parsley

1 tablespoon finely chopped or grated onion

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/3 cup mayonnaise

A little lemon juice or vinegar, optional

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Chill. Serve salad on a bed of romaine lettuce.

Per serving: 350 cal.; 16 g pro.; 24 g carb.; 21 g fat (4 sat., 0 monounsat., 0 polyunsat., 17 other); 49 mg chol.; 635 mg sod.; 1 g fiber; 1 g sugar; 55 percent calories from fat.

Q: When I was little, my friend’s mother made the absolutely best dressing on her potato salad. The only ingredients I remember are evaporated milk and mustard. It may have been a cooked dressing and it was very yellow. They were from the South, so it may have been a Southern recipe.

-LaVonne White, Madison, Ala.

A: Just in time for summertime gatherings, your request spurred me to thumb through my gran’s battered oak recipe box to find her potato salad recipe, which I remembered having many of the ingredients you mention.

Boiled dressing was the starting point for many of her summertime dishes, including chicken or tuna salad (omitting the mustard), and it gives a depth you won’t achieve by using mayonnaise alone.

She used a full 1/2 cup of sugar in the dressing, but I find that a bit too much, so I suggest using 1/3 cup and adding more to taste. The evaporated milk is something she insisted on, saying plain milk would curdle, though in a pinch I might fall back on plain yogurt or sour cream.

As to origin, I’ve always thought the sweet and sour combination reflected her Pennsylvania Dutch-German roots, but perhaps the recipe has Southern antecedents.

Making this potato salad is a lot of work, but I made a triple batch, took it to a large picnic, and was gratified to see it disappear quickly even though there were two other potato salads on the buffet table. Many asked for the recipe. My gran would have gotten a kick out of that!

SWEET AND CREAMY POTATO SALAD

BOILED DRESSING

2 eggs, beaten

1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 cup cider vinegar

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard

POTATO SALAD

8 medium potatoes (about 2 pounds)

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 cup celery, chopped

1/2 red or green bell pepper, finely chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

6 hard-cooked eggs, diced

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sweet relish, or to taste

1/3 teaspoon celery seed

Whisk the eggs, sugar, cornstarch, salt and cayenne in a saucepan. Gradually stir in the vinegar. Cook over low heat, whisking often, until thick, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter, then the evaporated milk and mustard. Refrigerate while potatoes are cooking.

Cook potatoes in their jackets in boiling salted water (1 teaspoon salt per pint of water) until barely tender, about 20 minutes. Cool, peel and dice into -3/4-inch cubes.

Transfer potatoes to a large bowl and toss with the onion, celery, bell pepper, salt and pepper and hard-cooked eggs.

Whisk the mayonnaise into the cooled boiled dressing, then stir in relish and celery seed. Pour over the potatoes and mix together gently. Cover and chill at least 4 hours to allow flavors to blend. Makes 6 servings.

Per serving: 56.2 calories (36 percent from fat), 22.6 g fat (7.1 g saturated, 6.9 g monounsaturated), 305.4 mg cholesterol, 16.2 g protein, 76 g carbohydrates, 6.9 g fiber, 695.3 mg sodium.

From Linda Cicero’s Cook’s Corner

Q: There used to be a restaurant called The Studio in Coconut Grove, Fla., off Coral Way. They made a great Caesar salad as well as a chocolate mousse. Do you know anyone who would have those recipes? They were my favorites and I have never found anything that compares. They also created a wonderful chocolate cake (seven-layer) using the mousse in-between the layers.

-Molly

A: People used to line up around the block to get into The Studio. Unfortunately, I don’t have a recipe for the salad, though we often get requests for it. But happily, Gottfried (known as Freddi) Jossi shared the mousse recipe with Cook’s Corner years before he died at age 78 in 2005. Jossi was a classically trained Swiss chef who came to the United States in the 1950s.

THE STUDIO’S CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

4 egg whites

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

2 cups cold milk

3 ounces dry sherry or raspberry liqueur

1 (4-serving) package instant chocolate pudding mix

1 (4-serving) instant vanilla pudding mix

Beat the egg whites until very stiff; set aside. In another bowl, beat the cream until very stiff; set aside.

In a large bowl, mix milk and sherry. Slowly add the dry chocolate pudding mix, beating until smooth. Beat in the vanilla pudding mix the same way. Let stand 5 minutes.

Fold the egg whites, then the whipped cream into the pudding mixture, being sure not to over-mix. Chill until serving time. Makes 10 servings.

Per serving: 130 calories (44 percent from fat), 6 g fat (4 g saturated), 23 mg cholesterol, 4 g protein, 11 g carbohydrate, 0 fiber, 220 mg sodium.

Q: Here’s a stumper for you: When I was married in 1950, my favorite wedding present was an Osterizer. It was, I believe, the first blender, and was all the rage at the time. It came with a book of recipes. The one I want is for an avocado soup that was served cold. Believe it or not, I still use that blender, but the book has gone missing over the years.

-Kate P., Miami Springs, Fla.

A: Believe it or not, I wish I had that Osterizer with its cool Art Deco design. I do have a recipe booklet, dated 1949, with a recipe for a simple and delicious avocado soup. Frankly, I don’t know why it calls for the gelatin (I would omit it) unless there was some perceived health benefit. The booklet is full of recipes for “healthizer” drinks and tips for fortifying soups or milk with liquefied vegetables. The avocado soup recipe is labeled an “excellent alkalizer.”

OSTERIZER AVOCADO SOUP

1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin

2 cups diced avocado

1 cup unsweetened grapefruit or orange juice

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Salt to taste

Soak gelatin in 2 tablespoons cold water for 5 minutes to soften. Blend with the other ingredients. Chill in refrigerator for 1 hour. Place in blender and process until smooth. Serve cold. Makes 4 servings.

Per serving: 171 calories (57 percent from fat), 11.7 g fat (2.3 g saturated, 6.4 g monounsaturated), 0 cholesterol, 4.1 g protein, 15.8 g carbohydrates, 6.6 g fiber, 5.4 mg sodium.

SLEUTH’S CORNER

Q: I made a soup back when the weather was cold and froze it, and recently pulled it out for my family to eat. They loved it and now I can’t find the recipe. I think I clipped it from a newspaper or magazine in the fall or winter of 2008. The main ingredients were broth, chickpeas, pasta and spinach, and it was finished with blue cheese. Does anyone recognize this recipe?

-Ellen Moran

(Contact the writer: lcicero(AT)MiamiHerald.com)