Penne with chicken, smoked mozzarella, dried tomatoes and spinach can be mixed and served in one bowl after preparation in a skillet.
Knight-Ridder/Tribune
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One-dish meals bowl 'em over
From oven to table, trend makes meals easy and versatile
By Nancy Ross Ryan
Ah, the mysteries of Marrakesh. They're wafting from a fragrant tajine of Moroccan lamb and vegetables with couscous. The night before you were immersed in a big bowl of Japanese udon soup swimming with shiitake mushrooms. On Tuesday it was mangia, mangia as you wrapped your arms around an enormous bowl of pasta with chicken, dried tomatoes, fresh spinach and melting strings of smoky mozzarella.
What will it be tomorrow? Singapore chili shrimp over jasmine rice? Or perhaps a dynamite bowl of Southwestern black bean chili.
What's going on here? Have you joined a gourmet dining club? Hired a private chef? Or have you, along with chefs, cookbook authors and foodies, discovered or rediscovered the delights of bowl cuisine?
One-dish cookery is old as the first Neolithic clay cooking vessels that were used to prepare gruels of grains and, later perhaps, stews of legumes, vegetables and meat. Over the centuries, one-pot cookery has contributed classic dishes to the world's cuisines.
What is new is the variety of ingredients, flavors and preparation methods being used to redefine one-dish meals around the country.
Matt McMillin, executive chef of Big Bowl restaurants in Chicago, has several names for it: "Encompassing entrees, all-in-one meals, bountiful bowls, but basically it's a food philosophy that embraces variety, convenience, economy and really fresh food."
McMillin's simple but sumptuous stir-fry of Singapore chili shrimp is his most popular menu special.
Bowl cuisine fits in as part of the movement to more casual dining in U.S. restaurants. And chefs are using all kinds of bowls, from colorful pasta bowls to glazed, oval bowls and even oversize coffee cups. The possibilities for perking up the presentation of one-dish meals are endless. The trend also has found its way into a number of cookbooks recently, including One Bowl: One-Dish Meals from Around the World,by Kelly McCune.
Today's bowl cuisine embraces a wide variety of cooking methods both slow and fast.
Braising, baking and stewing are cooking techniques that permit the cook, once the preparation is done, to leave the kitchen while the dish tends itself.
Sautéeing and stir-frying are cooking techniques that require a few minutes' attention but a quick reward in the form of a complete meal.
Jack Daniel Jones, chef-owner of Daniel J's restaurant in Chicago, says quick one-dish meals are the answer to a busy cook's prayers.
"It's a way to cook that's simple, clean, quick and easy. At the same time you can come up with complex dishes and a variety of ingredients. It's also fun. You can change recipes, adjust them to suit your taste and what you find at the market."
His recipe for penne with chicken, smoked mozzarella, dried tomatoes and spinach uses one pot and one skillet and is mixed and served in one bowl.
Henry Adaniya, owner of Trio restaurant in Evanston, Ill., and partner in M Cafe in the Museum of Contemporary Art, adds that one-dish meals can be both "substantial and very healthful too."
He cites the huge bowl of Japanese udon soup on the menu of M Cafe, cooked without fat. "It's a wonderful dish to cook and a wonderful dish to eat. It's my favorite lunch," he says.
Bowl cuisine: It's economical, convenient, delicious. It can be comforting or exotic. It can be family fare or the centerpiece of a feast. It can be cooked fast or slow. It can be filling and low-fat. Most of all, it can be fun. |
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Penne with chicken, smoked mozzarella, dried tomatoes and spinach can be mixed and served in one bowl after preparation in a skillet. Knight-Ridder/Tribune |
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Hearty reading Here are some meal-in-a-bowl resources:
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