Recently I’ve been broadening my repertoire of dishes for our adventurous dinners. These two were among several deemed “keepers” by Constant Companion and Daughter. Caveat, they were served at two different meals. Who remembers what accompanied them. One dish combines shrimp with gnocchi, the latter cooked in a surprising way. The second is a delicious combination of basmati rice with red lentils and other flavors.

One-Pan Shrimp Scampi With Crispy Gnocchi. This recipe comes from the New York Times. My go-to preparation for gnocchi is to boil water in a shallow pan, add the gnocchi, turn down to a simmer, and wait just a bit. When all are floating at the water’s surface, they are done. In the meantime, I gently sauté some sliced mushrooms with onion slices (all the relative size of the gnocchi). Next, the gnocchi, mushrooms, and onions are tossed along with some gnocchi water. I think I picked up this method from some tv cooking show and we’ve all enjoyed it.

Then this recipe appeared in the New York Times; I thought I’d give it a try. It’s an approved on alternative for the next time I bring home some gnocchi from the store.

In a large, preferably nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over a medium-high heat. Add a package of gnocchi to the pan, break up any stick together. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, toss every 1 to 2 minutes so they get golden and crispy all over. Transfer to a bowl or plate.

Next, in the same skillet, add 1 tablespoon oil and all of the butter, let it melt for a few seconds (I use just oil), over medium-high. Add four grated or minced garlic cloves and sauté until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add ½ cup of white wine or clam juice or broth, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper and all of the red-pepper flakes (I omit this ingredieint because of family taste bud preferences). Bring to a simmer, and let the wine reduce by half, about 2 minutes.

Next, add 1 pound of large shrimp and sauté until they just start to turn pink, only 2 to 3 minutes, depending on their size. Return gnocchi to the pan and add a ¼ teaspoon salt. Using a Microplane or other fine grater, grate the zest from a lemon into the pan. Add chopped parsley, toss well. If your pan looks dry, add a splash of water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing to combine, then remove pan from the heat. Squeeze in juice from one half lemon, gently toss to combine. Last step, enjoy. Suprisingly, the gnocchi prepared this way are soft and pillowy.

Iraqi Rice and Red Lentils (Kichree). The second dish new to my kitchen is one was a tasty use of the package of red lentils languishing in the pantry. Yes, they both agreed, a very good use. There are several steps, unlike much of my cooking. However, it’s easy to sequence them to complete the dish.

Preparatory steps: thoroughly rinse two cups of basmati rice; soak it in water for two hours. Next thoroughly rinse one cup of red lentils; soak in water for half an hour.

Cooking: heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the three sliced onions, season with salt, and saute until golden and caramelized, about 10-15 minutes. Set aside.

Place a wide, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, then the garlic, turmeric, and cumin (again omitted because of sensitive taste buds). Fry for a few seconds until fragrant. Add the diced tomatoes,* tomato purée, and half of the butter (or olive oil). Stir and cook for 3–5 minutes, until the butter is fully melted and the sauce is combined. Add two cups of water, salt, and pepper, raise the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. 

*Note: I’m on a kick to turn the calendar back to pre-Columbian times and omitted the tomatoes. I often wonder how Europeans, Africans, and Asians subsisted before the introduction of ingredients from the Western Hemisphere including tomatoes (found in almost every cuisine), potatoes, corn, and more. Thus, I’m leaving tomatoes out of some of the dishes I’m experimenting with.

Drain the soaked rice, add it to the pot with herbs and onions, with some water or broth, cook uncovered on medium heat for about 5 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed. Drain the soaked lentils, mix them in. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 more minutes.

Add the fried onions and mix gently until incorporated. Add the remaining butter cubes (or sprinkle with oil) on top. Cover the pot and steam on the lowest heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour without stirring, so that the rice develops a golden crust on the bottom. After about 45 minutes, I added more water as the dish was drying out.

The lentils melt away during the cooking, leaving a wonderful texture to the rice.

This recipe adds seven ounces of sliced of halloumi; others do not. I did not add the cheese.

Constant Companion and Daughter enjoyed both of these dishes. I have more lentils, so I’ll repeat this one sometime in the near future.