More iron means more energy, and lentils can be richer in iron than meat, scientists say.

Sweet and Sour Lentils

1 and 1/2 cups dried brown lentils

1 medium onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice

4 cups Extra-Rich Chicken Stock (page 204)

2 tablespoons chicken fat or olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons sugar

Paprika

Instructions:

Boil the lentils and onion in the stock for 45 minutes, until tender. Drain the liquid into another pot. Put the fat in a casserole over medium heat, and add the salt, pepper, lemon juice, and sugar. Cook for 1 minute, then add 1/2 cup of the reserved stock. Can be made in advance to this point.

Heat the oven to 350°F.

Add the lentils to the casserole. Put in the oven and bake for 15 minutes (20 minutes if made in advance). Sprinkle with paprika and serve. This dish can be made in advance, except for the baking, and then heated in the oven for 20 minutes.

Makes 4 cups

Excerpted from The Intolerant Gourmet by Barbara Kafka (Artisan Books). Copyright November 2011.

Turn to your favorite turkey dish for a heaping serving of tryptophan.

Thai-Style Ground Turkey with Chiles and Basil

Serves 4

1 tablespoon soy sauce

About 1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce such as nam pla or nuoc mam,

or to taste

1/4 teaspoon finely grated lime zest

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon peanut oil

1 tablespoon finely chopped gingerroot

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 jalapeño, seeded, and finely chopped

1 fat scallion, white and light green parts finely chopped,

greens reserved for garnish

1 pound ground turkey

1/2 cup chopped fresh Thai or regular basil

Coconut or regular rice, for serving (page 49, and don’t use the peas)

Lime wedges, for serving

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, fish sauce, lime zest, lime juice, and sugar. (If you think your fish sauce is very salty, start with 2 teaspoons; you can add more at the end if the dish needs it.)

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ginger, garlic, jalapeño, and chopped scallion. Cook, stirring, until slightly softened, about a minute. Stir in the turkey. Cook the meat, breaking it up with a fork, until it is no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes.

3. Stir in the soy sauce mixture and cook for a minute or so, until the flavors come together. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil. Scatter with the sliced scallion greens. Serve, over warm coconut or regular rice, with lime wedges on the side.

From Cook This Now by Melissa Clark. Copyright © 2010, Melissa Clark, Inc. Published by Hyperion. Available in October wherever books are sold. All Rights Reserved.

Vitamin B6 has been found to fight depression, as it helps produce serotonin. Load up on the B6-rich chicken of the sea.

Fresh Tuna, Mozzarella and Basil Pizza

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

I sheet frozen puff pastry (about 8 ½ ounces), thawed

¼ pound fresh mozzarella

Extra-virgin olive oil

4 large spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped, or 2 medium onions, finely chopped

Salt and freshly ground pepper

½ pound sushi-grade tuna, in one piece

12 large fresh basil leaves

4 cherry tomatoes, quartered

4 black olives, pitted and quartered

4 small radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Working on a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pasty out to a square about 11 inches on a side. Using a 4½-inch cookie cutter, tart ring, or bowl as a guide, and the point of a sharp paring knife, score and then cut out 4 rounds of dough. Line a baking sheet with parchment, lay the rounds on it, and prick them well with a fork. Put a second sheet of parchment over the rounds and top with a second baking sheet to weight the dough down.

Bake the rounds for 15 minutes. Carefully remove the top baking sheet and the parchment—that can be a bit tricky, so protect your hands. If the rounds are well browned and crisp, they are done; if they look a little pale and are not thoroughly baked, return them to the oven, uncovered, to finish baking. Put the baking sheet on a cooling rack and allow the crusts to cool until they’re just warm or at room temperature. (You can bake the rounds up to 8 hours ahead and keep them covered at room temperature.)

TO FINISH THE TARTLETS: Cut the mozzarella into 12 thin slices, place them between a double thickness of paper towels, and let them drain while you prepare the rest of the pizza’s elements.

If you turned the oven off, bring it back up to 400 degrees F.

Put a medium skillet over medium heat and pour in about 2 teaspoons olive oil. When the oil is warm, toss in the onions and cook, stirring, until they’re soft but not colored, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Pull the pan from the heat and divide the onions among the 4 pastry rounds, spreading them almost to the edge of the circles.

Using a long thin knife, cut the tuna against the grain into 12 thin slices. Brush one side of each slice with a little oil and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.

Top each of the pastry rounds with alternating and slightly overlapping slices of tuna (seasoned side up), the mozzarella, and basil, using 3 slices of tuna and cheese and 3 basil leaves for each pizza. Scatter over the tomatoes, olives, and radishes and sprinkle with the ginger. Very sparingly, drizzle each pizza with a little olive oil, and finish with a pinch each of salt and pepper.

Slide the baking sheet back into the oven and heat the pizzas for 2 to 3 minutes, just until the tuna is opaque around the edges—it should remain translucent in the center. Serve warm. 

Recipes from Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.  Copyright © 2010 by Dorie Greenspan.  Published in October 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Reprinted by permission.

Protein, fiber, amino acids and tryptophan—what’s not to love about this Mediterranean spread?

Boiled Peanut Hummus

1 cup shelled Boiled Peanuts (recipe follows)

2 tablespoons tahini

1 medium garlic clover, minced

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

Tiny pinch of cayenne

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt

Combine the boiled peanuts, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, cumin and cayenne in a food processor and turn on low. Add the olive oil to emulsify. Add 2 tablespoons water to thin, and blend until the mixtures is the consistency of spreadable hummus. Season with salt to taste. 

Makes 2 cups

Boiled Peanuts

¼ cup kosher salt

¼ cup cider vinegar

1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning

2 star anise

1 pound raw, green peanuts in the shell

Put the salt, vinegar, and 1 gallon water in a big pot. Add the Old Bay and star anise, then the peanuts. Find a plate that is just smaller than the diameter of your pot. Place the plate on top of the peanuts to weigh them down and keep them under water. Bring the peanuts to a boil.

Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 6 hours, or until the peanuts are very tender (open the shell and taste the peanut to test). Turn off the heat and transfer the peanuts to a large clean bowl. Serve immediately or store them in jars or sealable bags with some of the cooking liquid to keep them moist. They will keep in the fridge for about a week.

Recipe from A New Turn in the South by Hugh Acheson, available in October 2011. 

Chocolate may not be nice to your hips, but it sure treats your mood right. With high levels of endorphins and antioxidants, chocolate is worth indulging in.  

Ice Cream Sandwiches with Chocolate Almond Cake and Marcel’s Caramel-Banana–Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Serves 10

1 tablespoon melted butter, for brushing

Cake

13/4 cups sifted powdered sugar

6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons almond meal

12 large egg whites, at room 
temperature

Kosher salt

5 tablespoons granulated sugar

Ice cream

1 pound ripe bananas

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/8 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 cups half-and-half

1 cup heavy cream

4 large egg yolks

1/2 cup chocolate chips or coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate

For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12 by 17-inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and brush the sides of the baking sheet with melted butter.

In a large bowl, sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa powder, then stir in the almond meal.

In an electric stand mixer or in a large bowl with handheld electric beaters, whip the egg whites until frothy, then add a pinch of salt. Whip the whites to soft peaks, then add the sugar gradually. Continue whipping until the peaks are firm yet glossy. Gently fold in one-third of the dry ingredients, then fold in the remainder.

Pour the batter onto the prepared baking sheet and spread evenly. Bake until the cake springs back when touched, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely, then place the baking sheet in the freezer until the cake is cold.

For the ice cream: Peel the bananas and mash them roughly with a wooden spoon. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap directly against the mashed bananas, and set aside.

In a saucepan, combine 6 tablespoons of the sugar, the lemon juice, and 1/4 cup water. Cook over medium heat, swirling the pan until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and cook until the syrup begins to turn a rich caramel color, about 3 minutes. Once it begins to change color, it darkens quickly, so watch carefully, swirling the pan so the caramel cooks evenly. Remove the pan from the heat and add the half-and-half and cream—carefully, as they will splatter. Stir in another 6 tablespoons sugar and return the pan to medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring with a wooden spoon to dissolve the caramel.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the remaining 6 tablespoons sugar until thick and pale. Whisk in about 1 cup of the hot caramel mixture to warm the egg mixture, then pour the combined mixture into the saucepan of caramel and cook, stirring, until it visibly thickens and reaches 178°F on an instant-read thermometer. Pour over the bananas and stir well. Chill quickly in an ice bath. When cold, stir in the chocolate chips.

Churn in an ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to a freezer container and freeze until the ice cream is firm enough to spread without melting.

Take the cake from the freezer. Put a sheet of parchment paper and a cooling rack on top, then invert the cake. Remove the baking sheet and top sheet of parchment, and cut the cake in half across the middle of the long side. Spread one half with ice cream, making an evenly thick layer. Invert the other half, including the parchment sheet under it, over the ice cream. Return the cake to the freezer for at least 2 hours.

To serve, take the cake from the freezer and remove the top sheet of parchment. With a serrated knife, trim the edges of the cake neatly. Cut the cake in half lengthwise, then cut each half into 5 triangles. Transfer the triangles to a serving platter, lifting them away from the bottom sheet of parchment. Serve immediately.

Recipe from The Cakebread Cellars by Jack and Dolores Cakrebread and Brian Streeter.

Looking for your morning dose of tryptophan? Get 210 mg with a serving of eggs.  

Blue Corn Fried Eggs, Red and Green Chile Sauces, Black Beans

Serves 4

Black Beans

1 cup dried black beans or 1 (16-ounce) can black beans, drained, rinsed, and drained again

1⁄2 small red onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 canned chipotle chile in adobo, finely chopped

1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fried Blue Corn Tortillas

2 cups canola oil

8 (4-inch) corn tortillas, preferably blue

Kosher salt

Eggs

4 tablespoons (1⁄2 stick) unsalted butter

8 large eggs

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Red Chile Sauce (page 239)

Guacamole (recipe follows)

3 ounces queso fresco cheese, crumbled (3⁄4 cup)

Green Chile Sauce (page 238)

1⁄4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. If using dried beans, pick over the beans and discard any stones. Put in a bowl, cover generously with cold water, and let soak for at least 8 hours.

2. Drain the beans, put in a medium saucepan, and add cold water to cover by 2 inches. Add the onion, garlic, chipotle, and cumin and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, adding more water if the beans appear dry, until the beans are tender, 1 to 1 ½ hours. Season with salt and pepper. The beans can be made 8 hours in advance and refrigerated. Reheat before serving.

3. If using canned beans, put them in a saucepan with the onion, garlic, chipotle, cumin, and 1 cup cold water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

4. To fry the tortillas, heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until it reaches 350°F on a deep-fat thermometer. Fry the tortillas, one at a time, turning once, until just crispy, 20 to 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels and

season lightly with salt.

5. To cook the eggs, melt the butter in large nonstick saute pan over medium heat. Carefully crack the eggs into the pan, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the whites are completely firm but the yolks are still soft, about 2 minutes.

6. To serve, put some of the red chile sauce in the center of 4 large plates and swirl to cover the bottom. Put 2 fried tortillas on each plate. Top each tortilla with a fried egg and top each egg with some of the guacamole and cheese. Drain the beans and

spoon them along with some green chile sauce on the tortillas. Garnish with the chopped cilantro.

Guacamole

Makes about 2 cups

2 ripe Hass avocados, peeled, pitted, and diced

1⁄2 small red onion, finely diced

1 jalapeno chile, finely diced

Juice of 1 lime

1⁄4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine the avocado, onion, jalapeno, lime juice, and cilantro in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Green Chile Sauce

Makes about 1 ¼ cups

7 tomatillos, husked and rinsed

2 poblano chiles, coarsely chopped

2 jalapeno chiles, chopped

1 small red onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic

3 tablespoons canola oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1⁄2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon honey

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. Toss the tomatillos, poblanos, jalapenos, onion, and garlic in the oil on a baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Roast, turning once, until the vegetables are golden brown and soft, 20 to 30 minutes. Let cool slightly.

3. Transfer to a food processor and process with the cilantro, adding a little water if necessary to adjust the consistency, until pureed. Season with the honey and additional salt and pepper if needed. The sauce can be made 1 day in advance and stored in a

container with a tight-fitting lid in the refrigerator. Heat gently before serving.

Red Chile Sauce

Makes about 1 ¼ cups

10 New Mexico chiles, stemmed, seeded, and chopped

7 garlic cloves, chopped

1 small Spanish onion, chopped

1⁄2 cup packed dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Combine the chiles, garlic, onion, brown sugar, and 1 quart water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer until the chiles are very soft, about 30 minutes.

2. Transfer the solids to a food processor using a slotted spoon and add 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Process until smooth, adding more of the cooking liquid to reach a thick but pourable sauce consistency. Season the sauce with the honey, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. The sauce can be refrigerated for up to 1 day. Reheat before serving.

Reprinted from Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain Cookbook by Bobby Flay with Stephanie Banyas and Sally Jackson. Copyright © 2011. Photos copyright © 2011 by Ben Fink. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, a division of Random House, Inc.

Oranges are packed with inositol, a substance that scientists have compared to antidepressants.

Maya’s Fruit Salad with Blood Orange Juice and Mint

Serves 4

1 pineapple, skin and core removed
1 cantaloupe, rind and seeds removed
1 banana, peeled
1 cup strawberries (hulled), raspberries, and/or blackberries
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, plus 4 mint leaves left whole
1/3 cup fresh-squeezed blood orange juice, regular orange juice, or orange juice with pulp

Cut the pineapple and melon into 1-inch size pieces. Cut the banana into 1-inch pieces. Place the pineapple and melon in a bowl and add the banana slices. Sprinkle on the berries, chopped mint, and orange juice and mix gently. Garnish with fresh mint leaves. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

©2011, Kathy Gunst, from Notes from a Maine Kitchen, Down East Books