Eating lentil and mushroom stew for lunch every day is one thing, but creating a balanced and tasty three-course meal for a dinner guest is quite another. I relish a challenge, though – or I’m a glutton for punishment? – so I invited a friend over for dinner and vowed to impress. We ended up starting dinner late after watching a transcendent Daniel Higgs set at Zebulon, but even if we hadn’t been famished, dinner turned out wonderfully – despite the restricted ingredient palette.

The soup course was the one I’d been mostly looking forward to. I’d come up with the idea for a sweet potato, tart green apple, and coriander soup before the Week even started – and, frankly, the prospect of the soup may have been the vote in favor of sweet potatoes that knocked bread off the ingredient list. This was one of those serendipitous imagined recipes whose result is exactly what you’d hoped – and it’s quite simple (recipe below).

For the main course, we had another variation on eggs and broccoli, but this one elevated: I baked two eggs each in ramekins half-filled with caramelized onions, and garnished each serving with a slice of bacon. Accompanying the egg dish was a pile of broccoli crisp-roasted with sea salt and a generous dousing of olive oil.

Dessert was a challenge, as I’d already included apples, my only fruit available, in the soup; but Helen’s comment on yesterday’s post recommended brown rice pudding, a treat I hadn’t had in some time, so I improvised a batch. I combined an egg yolk, almond milk, agave nectar, a generous pinch of salt, and spices – cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg – and whisked it constantly over medium-low heat until it began to thicken, at which point I added the rice and stirred until the texture was creamy, then served it warm in wine glasses.

All in all, we had a delicious and nutritionally balanced dinner. I could have used a bit more textural contrast (some salad greens with a tangy lemon dressing would have been an ideal complement – or maybe I’m still craving arugula), but I think I could easily have served this meal to someone unaware of my ingredient restrictions without raising any eyebrows. And the restrictions got me thinking creatively, innovating three dishes I’ll certainly make again; if it weren’t for the Week Without project, I might have just relied on old standbys for tonight’s dinner – and now I have a new favorite puréed soup.

Sweet Potato & Green Apple Soup with Coriander
serves 4

Ingredients:
2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1” cubes
2 large tart green apples, peeled and cut into 1” pieces
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted and well-ground
2+ cups almond milk
water
sea salt to taste

1. Combine sweet potatoes, apples, and ground coriander in a medium saucepan and add almond milk, water to cover, and several pinches of salt.

2. Cook until sweet potatoes and apples are tender.

3. Remove from heat and blend thoroughly until smooth.

4. Add blended soup to saucepan and reheat until warm; adjust texture with water and seasoning with salt as needed; serve.

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