I’m one of the farthest things from a gourmet chef you’ll ever encounter. I tend to be so lazy that I don’t even bother using a strainer for the pasta I just boiled and threw some garlic on, or lifting the pot off the stove. I scoop the droopy strands onto my plate with that ladle that has a hole in the middle. What’s it called again?
But yes, garlic. I often only have to feed myself, and forget to go grocery shopping until my fridge is down to little bottles of sauce and jam that expired last year. Somehow I always seem to have fresh enough garlic, though. So it’s no wonder that today’s spontaneous recipe (the first I’ve ever dared to write down) has quite a bit of a garlic kick to it.
Garlic and onions mixed together help make a lazy, last-minute meal not boring. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
When I first moved out, I experimented with pre-boiled canned beans for a while. I once tried to half-ass a kind of feijoada for unsuspecting gringos in my dorm. Not using garlic or onions was a big mistake; the beans just tasted flat, no matter how much salt (and sugar!) I added.
Once in a while I do take the time to experiment, and the result becomes edible. But mostly I’m just forced to experiment because I’m late for work again. That means throwing together whatever I happen to find hidden in the corners of cupboards and veggie drawer of the fridge that hasn’t yet grown a fauna.
With my flatmate away yesterday, I went through his cupboard stash besides my own. The last-minute concoction I came up with was actually quite decent, and had many of the elements of a varied and nutritious meal.
Just so you know, I like to mix everything into one pile while eating and also cooking. That’s why I figured I’d throw some wholegrain bread into the frying pan, too, rather than just having toast for the umpteenth time.
I am lazy in the kitchen and lack the time to really learn how to enjoy it, but I also like to eat, and have no one to cook for me. This seemed like a good compromise. It’s also one step up from the afternoon years ago when I woke up hungover and decided to throw pre-boiled rice along with paprika chips into the pan. I’m not sure why it ended up tasting good.
Maybe you can try to make this newest improvised dish yourself and tell me in the comments section how it came out. This serves one person, but you can double the portion as needed for your guinea pigs… I mean, guests.
What you’ll need:
– 1 onion (size optional), diced
– 1 clove of garlic (size optional – I like it BIG), sliced not too thinly
– 2 slices of wholegrain bread, untoasted, broken apart into medium to large crumbs
– 2 raw eggs, broken
– a handful of snack walnuts
– olive oil
– salt and black pepper
How to prepare it:
Cover the bottom of the frying pan with a thin layer of olive oil, and turn the heat on to medium. Throw in the diced onions. Add a little bit of salt and keep mixing it up with a wooden spoon until the onions turn from white to lightly golden.
Add the garlic slices in and stir for some seconds. Make sure the garlic and onions don’t turn brown. More olive oil.
Put the bread crumbs into the frying pan with the sizzling garlic and onions. Put the walnuts in, too. Add enough olive oil to make the bread crumbs and walnuts somewhat uniformly moist. Keep adding drops of olive oil if the bread seems to have absorbed all of it.
Add more salt. Stir the mixture some more, until the bread crumbs look browner and feel a bit harder. Stir the two eggs in. If the scrambled eggs stick to the bottom of the pan, add olive oil.
(Yes, I’m a fan of olive oil. And it’s supposed to be good for you.)
Take the pan off the heat and add some salt and black pepper. The pepper helps bring out the flavors.
Feel free to send us your recipes at contact@leipglo.com. We’d be happy to feature some of them in the webzine. The more spontaneous, the better.
