Eating Well on Dialysis

Barley and Beef Soup

From Cooking Light, March 2009. This soup makes wonderful leftovers. I used quick-cooking barley, added during the last 10 minutes of cooking time. I also used just 4 cups of broth or a carton of stock and added a dash of cayenne pepper or hot sauce to finish. I haven't tried it, but I think using beer or ale instead of the water would add a boost of flavor.

Cooking spray
2 cups chopped onion (about 1 large)
1 lb. chuck steak, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I used stewing beef)
1 1/2 cups chopped peeled carrot (about 4)
1 cup chopped celery (about 4 stalks)
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup uncooked pearl barley
5 cups fat-free less-sodium beef broth
2 cups water
1/2 cup no-salt-added tomato puree
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 bay leaves

1. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chopped onion and beef to pan; cook 10 minutes or until onion is tender and beef is browned, stirring occasionally. Add chopped carrot and chopped celery to pan; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in garlic; cook 30 seconds. Stir in barley and remaining ingredients, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 40 minutes or until the barley is done and vegetables are tender. Discard bay leaves. Makes 6 servings.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

This is actually a recipe of my own creation. We had some extra fresh broccoli and I wanted to use it up before it went bad. I find the Dairy Delicious products can work well in many different recipes. The other vegetables add body to the soup and depth of flavor.

¼ large onion, chopped
½ cup celery, chopped
½ cup shredded carrot
3 cups chopped broccoli (a large crown with some tender stalk)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 ½ cups low-sodium chicken stock
Bay leaf
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup Dairy Delicious milk
2 tablespoons flour
½ cup Coffee Rich
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 container Dairy Delicious cheddar cheese sauce

Heat butter and olive oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add onion, celery, carrot and broccoli to the pot as you chop them. Stir to coat with oil and sauté about 5 minutes, until broccoli turns a bright green.

Add chicken stock, bay leaf, thyme and pepper. Cover and bring to a boil. In a small bowl, whisk together about ½ cup milk and flour until smooth. Add to pot, stirring as it thickens. Add remainder of milk and Coffee Rich. Simmer for about 10 minutes, or until broccoli is just tender.

Ladle most of soup into a blender or use a stick blender and puree until smooth. Stir in nutmeg and cheddar cheese sauce. Makes 4 servings.

Veal Stew with Lemon Zest and Mint

Adapted from a recipe in "The Best of Food & Wine." Serve with a side dish of white rice.

2 1/2 lbs. trimmed boneless veal shoulder, cut into 2-inch pieces
Pinch of kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth or stock
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 bay leaf
1 lb. carrots, sliced 1 inch thick on the diagonal
1 lb. white pearl onions
1/2 cup Coffee Rich
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

1. Season the veal with salt and pepper. Dredge the meat in the flour, shaking off the excess. In a large heavy skillet, melt the butter in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat until foaming. Add half of the veal to the skilled and cook undisturbed for 5 minutes. Continue cooking, turning as necessary, until the pieces are well browned all over, 5 to 7 minutes longer. Transfer the browned veal to a large heavy casserole. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet and repeat with the remaining veal.

2. Discard the fat from the skillet. Pour in 1 cup of the chicken stock and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all the browned bits. Pour this liquid into the casserole and add the lemon zest, lemon juice, bay leav and the remaining 1 1/2 cups chicken stock. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 1/4 hours.

3. Meanwhile, bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add the carrots and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside in a large bowl. Add the pearl onions to the saucepan and boil for 2 minutes. Drain and let cool. Peel the skins, trim the root ends and set the onions aside in a small bowl.

4. After 1 1/4 hours, add the Coffee Rich and onions to the veal. Cook over moderate heat until the meat is tender, 20 to 30 minutes longer.

5. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat and onions to the bowl with the carrots. Discard the bay leaf. Cook the sauce over medium-high heat until it reduces by half, about 10 minutes. Return the meat, onions and carrots to the casserole and cook, stirring occasionally, until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Stir in the mint just before serving.

Makes 6 servings.

Double Chicken Dumpling Stoup

Recipe adapted from one published on the Rachael Ray Show, November 13, 2006. I changed some of the ingredients to reduce the sodium, and I also reduced the amount of liquid used. I think the 1/2 cup of cheese is a small amount when divided among 4 servings, but feel free to use less if you are concerned about the phosphorus.

If potassium is a concern, then substitute spaetzle for the potato gnocchi. You can find it usually with the other dried pastas in your market. Some stores may also have a frozen version. Plan on a longer cooking time if you add the dried spaetzle as directed in the recipe. For a shorter cooking time, start the spaetzle in a pot of boiling water as you are preparing the rest of the stoup. Drain and add the partially cooked spaetzle as you normally would.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 ribs celery from the heart, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
1 1/2 cups store-bought shredded carrots (3 generous handfuls)
1 fresh bay leaf
Freshly ground black pepper
1 quart chicken stock
1 lb. ground chicken
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Freshly grated nutmeg
1 egg
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs or crushed low-sodium saltines
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1 package gnocchi (available in market refrigerated aisle with fresh pastas)
1 cup frozen peas
Handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Crusty bread

Heat a soup pot over medium to medium-high heat with olive oil. Add celery, onions, carrots and bay leaf, season with pepper and cook 5 minutes. Add stock to the pot, cover and bring to a boil.

Place chicken in a bowl and season with pepper. Add garlic, nutmeg, egg, bread crumbs and cheese. Combine the chicken mixture with your hands, then roll into walnut-sized meat balls and add to the soup. Wash up, then add the gnocchi to the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Add peas and parsley, and cook 2 minutes more. Turn heat off under the stoup and allow it to cool for 5 minutes on the stovetop before serving with crusty bread. Serves 4.

Smoky Sirloin Stew with Watercress Dumplings

Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray. As the weather gets colder, we just naturally gravitate toward heartier fare, like soups and stews. But this one won't take you all day to prepare.

2 lbs. beef sirloin, 1 inch thick, trimmed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 slices hickory or applewood smoked bacon, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
2 to 4 ribs celery, chopped
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
4 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup dry red wine
1 rounded tablespoon spicy brown mustard or grainy Dijon mustard
1 quart beef stock or broth
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring (optional)
Pinch of kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup chopped watercress (parsley would be a good substitute)
1 box (8.5-ounce) biscuit mix (Jiffy is a good brand) prepared to package directions

Heat a heavy-bottomed large wide pot or pan over high heat. Cut the sirloin into large cubes. Add oil to the pan and heat. Add meat and caramelize for 2 minutes on each side; remove from pan to a shallow dish and cover loosely with foil. Reduce heat to medium high. Add bacon to the pan and brown bacon at edges, rendering fat. Add onions and celery to the pan, bay leaf and thyme. Stir and cook vegetables 5 minutes. Add flour to the pan, stir and cook another minute. Whisk in wine and mustard, scraping up browned bits. Add stock. Cover and bring liquid to a boil, 1 to 2 minutes.

Mix watercress (or parsley) with biscuit mix and add beef stock instead of water, according to directions on box. Add meat back to pan and settle it in so that it is covered with sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Drop large spoonfuls of biscuit mixture into the pan onto the surface of the stew. Cover the pan. Cook 8 minutes until dumplings plump.

Thai Chicken Noodle Soup

Adapted from Rachael Ray's "Make Your Own Take-out" recipe. What could be better after a rough day at work, when the weather is beginning that slow, inexorable slide toward winter, than a hot bowl of soup? How about a hot bowl of soup that you've made fresh yourself in about half an hour? This will cure whatever ails you.

Rachael's recipe calls for 6 cups of stock; I prefer my soup less "broth-y" and more full of stuff, so I reduced the amount to 3-4 cups. Besides, there's that pesky fluid restriction we dialysis patients have to live with. If you don't have any fresh jalapeno, poblano or anaheim peppers handy, you can substitute 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dried chili pepper flakes, depending on the degree of heat you like.

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium yellow onion, peeled, quartered and thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 jalapeno, poblano or anaheim peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup shredded carrots
3-4 cups chicken broth (vegetable broth or stock works well too)
1 1/2 lb. chicken tenders or chicken breast, cut into bite-size chunks
2 small bundles from a 3.75-ounce package of bean thread noodles (I've substituted angel hair pasta and it works fine)
3 tablespoons cilantro leaves, chopped
15 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 lime

Heat a large, heavy-bottomed soup pot with vegetable oil, 2 turns of the pan, over high heat. Once you see the oil ripple, add the sliced onion, garlic and peppers. Season with pepper and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add 1 cup shredded carrot and the chicken stock or broth. Cover with a lid and bring up to a simmer. Once simmering, add the chicken and simmer 5 minutes. Add noodles and simmer 5 minutes more. At this point, taste for seasoning and add a pinch of salt if needed. Remember, the stock contains some salt, so go easy. Remove the soup from heat and add the cilantro, basil and juice of 1 lime.