Note: I was sent a copy of America’s Test Kitchen The Complete Modern Pantry Cookbook in order to write this review. Opinions are mine alone.
Recently, my husband and I moved to the suburbs. One of the biggest adjustments has been having to make basically every single meal at home, where when we lived in Philadelphia, we were able to get amazing takeout whenever I was too wiped to cook or hadn’t gone food shopping.
So when I was contacted to review America’s Test Kitchen The Complete Modern Pantry Cookbook (paid link), I jumped at the chance. This book gives you more of a blueprint than tried and true recipes so that you can easily use whatever you might have on hand. The Complete Modern Pantry has a ton of information and tips to help home cooks reduce waste, save money, and get the most out of their grocery purchases.
The Complete Modern Pantry is anchored in the realization that every pantry is unique. Rather than expect all readers to have similarly stocked pantries, the recipes and suggestions in this book focus on what the ingredients do for the finished dish, instead of what they are. This book also looks to remove many of the common hurdles to creativity by empowering home cooks to:
- Utilize a wide range of tangible variations and suggested improvisation to core Test Kitchen recipes so new ingredients don’t need to be purchased.
- Understand key principles to everyday recipes (and some not-so-everyday) so they feel confident iterating on them based upon what is on hand in their kitchen.
- Recognize how simple changes to a few ingredients in a recipe can make a big impact on the appearance and flavors of a dish- getting rid of the monotony of common meals.
The book has plenty of information on how to store fruits and vegetables in a way that will extend shelf life, recipes that rely on frozen items such as frozen tilapia which is cost effective are included as are tips on making the most of ingredients.
I was really impressed with a lot of the main dishes in this cookbook but I couldn’t stop thinking about this recipe for Spicy Carrot Dip that would be perfect to serve last minute guests, so I wanted to highlight it here.
This recipe uses fresh carrots, plus a bunch of spices and hot sauce to deliver a flavorful dip! I actually had all of these ingredients already on hand, making it super easy to make.
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more for serving
- 1 lb carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- pinch chili powder
- pinch ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- fresh cilantro, chopped, for garnish (optional)
- crispy capers, for garnish (optional)
Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a pan over medium high heat. When shimmering, add in your carrots.
Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 6 minutes.
Stir in the minced garlic clove, ground coriander, ginger, chili powder, and cinnamon.
Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in the water and hot sauce and bring to a simmer.
Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are tender.
Transfer the carrots to the bowl of a food processor, add in the vinegar, and process until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add in 1 tablespoon olive oil and process until fully incorporated.
Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl, cover, and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour.
When ready to serve, sprinkle with freshly chopped cilantro and crispy capers and drizzle with olive oil, if desired. Serve with toasted pita or your favorite crackers.
The flavors of the spices and a bit of heat from the hot sauce make this quite a crave worthy dip!
I topped mine with some crispy capers for a punch of brininess, but anything with a bit of crunch would be lovely (like pumpkin or sunflower seeds).
Spicy Carrot Dip
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil divided, plus more for serving
- 1 lb carrots peeled and sliced
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- pinch chili powder
- pinch ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- fresh cilantro chopped, for garnish (optional)
- crispy capers for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a pan over medium high heat. When shimmering, add in your carrots.
- Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 6 minutes.
- Stir in the minced garlic clove, ground coriander, ginger, chili powder, and cinnamon.
- Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in the water and hot sauce and bring to a simmer.
- Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are tender.
- Transfer the carrots to the bowl of a food processor, add in the vinegar, and process until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add in 1 tablespoon olive oil and process until fully incorporated.
- Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl, cover, and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour.
- When ready to serve, sprinkle with freshly chopped cilantro and crispy capers and drizzle with olive oil, if desired. Serve with toasted pita or your favorite crackers.
