Spiced Carrot Soup

  
I love love love soups, particularly in winter.  Paired with a big salad full of veggies, nuts, and tasty greens (spinach and arugula are my faves), it makes a warming, filling, and healthy meal.

If you've read this blog a few times you know that I always have a lot of pantry foods on hand, making soup-making a cinch whenever I have a few veggies kicking around.  This time I had carrots and celery on hand, and the rest was in my pantry and freezer (I keep sliced ginger in the freezer for soups and smoothies--so useful!).  I added a bit of this and a bit of that, and it became a darn good soup, if I do say so myself.  In addition to being a very healthy food, fresh ginger can actually be a bit spicy.  I used about 1½ tablespoons of roughly minced ginger, and there was some heat to this soup.  Use less if you prefer less kick, more for more.  While I didn't measure the stock, I think I used about 3 cups, which made a fairly thick soup, perfect when it's an entree.  More stock will make more (thinner) soup, better as a starter course.  

Warm to the Bone Lentil Soup

After a relatively warm early December, winter has finally hit Cambridge, and nothing says "winter" like a big pot of soup.  (Although, as I write this, a mild warm front is moving in, but I'm not complaining about that.)  

Multiple Christmas parties left me with three ham hocks, which got me thinking about lentil soup.  I bookmarked the Barefoot Contessa's recipe a while back, and as a fan of all things Ina, I was eager to try it (especially after an unsolicited ringing endorsement from a friend).  It becomes a vegetarian recipe if you swap out chicken broth for vegetable stock, has a classic vegetable backbone, and uses French green lentils, which I had in my pantry and wanted to use up.  But since I had so much ham and even more lentils in my pantry--red ones--I turned to Google for further inspiration.  This led me to a blogger's Red Lentil and Ham Soup with an Indian spice flavor profile.  Realizing I had all the necessary spices in my ridiculously stocked pantry I ambitiously, and perhaps foolishly, decided to do both.  (Honestly, how much soup can a single girl eat?)

Bean Stew For A Healthy You

 

Well, the 12 days of Christmas are officially over, so I figured I had to move on from Christmas cookies.  Tear.  And on to semi-healthy things, since it's January, and that's how people roll in January, right?  Actually, the fact that this next recipe is on the semi-healthy side is purely coincidental.  I saw it on Smitten Kitchen and it looked absolutely amazing, AND I realized that I had nearly everything I needed in the pantry already, and so that's what I did.  

So, the recipe:  Chard and White Bean Stew.  Doesn't that excite you?  It excites me.  Seriously.  It's full all sorts of yummy things that I love, like beans and tomatoes and garlic and shallots and herbs.  The real bonus was, as I said, all of these things are pantry staples for me, other than the chard.  I made a special pilgrimage to Whole Foods just for that, and for 20 whole minutes felt way too uncool to be there.  Cambridge is just too hip for me...  Anyway, I got home, then whipped this up.  It probably takes about an hour to make, if you're actually paying attention, but I was distracted with several other things, so it probably took me a longer.  But it's great because after you've got all your aromatics chopped and sauteing, you don't really need to pay close attention.  Perfect for cleaning up as you go, or doing other projects that I'll tell you about shortly.

Smitten Kitchen says that the chard can be replaced with kale or spinach or another hearty green, if so desired.  As for serving (which I haven't actually done yet, due to too much snacking while cooking), it can be served as is, or with some fresh herbs or grated Parmesan or Romano on top.  To make it an even more filling and delicious meal, try toasting at thick piece of rustic bread, rubbing it with a clove of garlic, then ladling your stew on top of that, then topping it with a poached egg, then some fresh herbs, few drops of sherry vinegar and/or some grated cheese.  Gosh, I wish I could take credit for that, but I cannot.  But I am definitely doing that tomorrow, once I'm hungry again.  Ooh, golly I just can't wait.

Chard and White Bean Stew (Adapted only slightly from SmittenKitchen.com)

Serves 6 to 8

* 1 pound Swiss chard (or kale, spinach or another green), ribs and stems removed and cleaned
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 cup (5 1/4 ounces) chopped carrots
* 1 cup (5 ounces) chopped celery
* 1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) chopped shallots, about 4 medium
* 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
* 1 cup dry white wine
* 2 15-ounce cans (or about 3 3/4 cups) white beans (such as Navy Beans or Cannellini beans), drained and rinsed
* 2 cups (or more to taste) vegetable broth
* 1 cup pureed tomatoes (canned is fine; this is less than a 15 ounce can)

* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 3 fresh thyme sprigs
* 1 bay leaf
* 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar (Red wine vinegar also works in a pinch)

* Garnishes: Toasted bread slices, poached eggs, chopped herbs such as tarragon, parsley or chives or grated Parmesan or Romano, if desired

1. Bring medium pot of salted water to boil. Cook chard (or any heavier green; no need to precook baby spinach) for one minute, then drain and squeeze out as much extra water as possible. Coarsely chop chard.

2. Dry out the medium pot and heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add carrots, celery, shallots and saute for 15 minutes, adding the garlic in the last few minutes.  Light browning is okay, although don't go crazy--you mostly want soft veggies, not crispy ones, and definitely no burnt garlic--bitter city!

3. Add wine (scraping up any bits that may have stuck to the pot) and cook it until it reduced by three-fourths. 

 4. Add beans, broth, tomatoes, a few pinches of salt, freshly ground black pepper, thyme and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes. Add chard and cook for 5 minutes more. Remove thyme and bay leaf. Add more broth if you’d like a thinner stew and adjust salt and pepper to taste.

5. Serve as is drizzled with sherry vinegar. Or try the aforementioned toast/stew/egg/cheese/sherry vinegar combo.

Enjoy!

Genius!

  

I wasn't planning on writing anything tonight, but then I made dinner, and it was just so darn good that I felt a little selfish keeping it to myself, even though the recipe is really rough, and I just kinda made it up, and I can't even tell you exactly what I did.  But bear with me, and I'll give it my best shot. 

So, I had some pre-cut butternut squash sitting around from before Thanksgiving, and it has been getting moldy and squishy all week, because I haven't had the time/energy to use it.  And I also had a few apples from the bottom of one of those supermarket bags of apples that were totally bruised and not much good for eating.  A promising start, no? 

A few weeks ago I made this fantastic Barefoot Contessa salad (again from Back to Basics, a.k.a., my new favorite book).  The recipe is here if you want to make it, and. quite honestly, you should.  But back to tonight.  I decided to roast the squash exactly like I did for that salad, which is to say, with EVOO, a touch of maple syrup, salt and pepper.  Once I picked through my squash and got rid of all the bad bits, I probably had about 2 cups of diced pieces.  I peeled and cut the apples into eights, and then tossed it all together, then roasted them until the squash was soft, and the apples were very soft but SO AMAZING.  (I'm going to have to look further into this roasted apple thing, because holy cow people, they were sooooooo good.  I probably would have had more soup if I hadn't eaten so many apple pieces right out of the roasting pan!)  I then pureed the roasted stuff with just enough vegetable stock to help them move around, and then I stirred in a little more, to make it the ideal consistency, and presto, dinner is served.  It was earthy, sweet, tart, and just a tiny bit spicy, and woweeee.  When this idea formulated in my mind I thought that it would need a dash of half and half to give it a little richness, but honestly the roasted vegetables came out like silk in the blender, and when I tried adding the half and half it ended up masking the tangy tartness of the apples, which I think really made the dish.  And without it the dish is Vegan, which I think is pretty cool.  Not that I'm a Vegan, or even a strict vegetarian, but I like to challenge myself to cook with restrictions sometimes, just to see if I can do it.  And in this case, I can, and I will be making it again, and soon--I won't even wait until my ingredients are so-close-to-rotten-that-I-have-no-other-option-than-to-roast-and-puree-them-to-hide-their-flaws.

P.S.  Fruits and veggies, people!  I nearly forgot to mention, I ate 4 apples and several cups of squash for dinner and it was so good I felt like singing!  Got all my servings today!  And, only 5 ingredients; Claire Robinson, eat your heart out!

Butternut Squash and Apple Bisque

Serves as many as you want

As mentioned above, I basically used what I had around, which was 4 small/medium apples and about 2 cups, diced, of squash (although I probably ate about 1 apple's worth of pieces before making the soup, so more like 3 apples.  This made one large dinner serving, so you can use this ratio to make your desired quantity. 

For each serving:

* 3 smallish/2 larger apples, peeled/cored and cut into eight wedges (As it so happened, I had Cortlands, which are excellent cooking apples, because they hold their shape and have a bit of tartness, which really came through in this soup, so I would highly recommend Cortlands if you can get your hands on them) 

* 2 cups of butternut squash, diced into 3/4-inch pieces

* A few swirls of extra virgin olive oil, enough to coat ingredients lightly

* A few tablespoons of pure maple syrup

* Salt and pepper

* Vegetable stock, about a 1/4 to 1/2 a cup per serving

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a cookie sheet (or 2, if you have a lot of apple/squash), with aluminum foil (for easy cleanup).  In large bowl, toss the squash, apples, olive oil, and maple syrup, until the veg/fruit is evenly coated.  Pour out in a single layer on your cookie sheet(s).  Sprinkle with kosher or sea salt and freshly ground pepper

2.  Roast veg/fruit until the squash is quite soft and apples begin to get nice brown bits, about 20-25 minutes. 

3.  Allow to cool for a few minutes, then put veg/fruit in a blender (in batches, if necessary), with just a few splashes of vegetable stock.  Puree until smooth; use a spoon to move things around if necessary.  Add additional vegetable stock until soup reaches the desired consistency.  Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if you need to.  Transfer into a saucepan to reheat if necessary, or just pour into bowls and serve.

 

As you can see, I like my soup thick.  I'm getting hungry again just thinking about it.

Enjoy!!!

Theo the Greek's Spinach Pie

I am pleased to say that there was a specific request that this recipe make it into the blog, which validates it, at least in my mind.  Sometimes when I cook, especially when it's just for me, I have trouble gauging how good or how interesting things are.  Last Saturday night though I hosted 16 Williams Womens' Crew alums at my parents' apartment, so I had a whole host of people to cook for.  I prepared a mix of new and tried-and-true recipes.  This particular recipe was new to me, and comes from Table Talk, a cookbook written by Martha's Vineyard cafe owner Carol McManus.  I heard about it when she was interviewed on a local NPR talk show, where she made particular mention of the much-requested veggie burger recipe.  So I took the book out for the veggie burger recipe alone, (which, at least a year later, I have yet to make).  I also copied down a handful of other yummy sounding recipes, including this one for Spinach Pie, which I had completely forgotten about until I was poking around my computer the other day, looking for something completely unrelated.  It turned out to be so popular that several friends requested that the recipe appear on the blog, so they could make it, to.

Theo the Greek's Spinach Pie is essentially a quiche but with more veg and less egg, so you can pretend that it's healthier.  It's super easy, comes together in minutes and then, if you happen to be making this for a party and desperately need to shower, you have a whole 40 minutes while it bakes to pull yourself together!  The only thing you have to remember is to give yourself enough time to let your frozen spinach thaw, since man, that stuff is like a brick!  I left my spinach in the fridge for 26 hours beforehand, assuming it would thaw in there, but it didn't.  So I put it in a colander on a cookie sheet while my oven was preheating to help it along.  A little unconventional, I know, but the microwave was otherwise engaged.  And once it's thawed, you need to squeeze the heck out of that spinach.  It holds a lot of water!  I justsqueezed it in my hands, but if I had had some cheesecloth, I think the best way is to put it in a piece of cheesecloth, twist the corners together to make a pouch, then just squeeze, squeeze, squeeze.  You do dry out the spinach a little more though when you saute it for a few minutes with the garlic and tomatoes.  I tweaked a few of the ingredient quantities so that they correspond to standard packages, instead of (what seemed to me to be) arbitrary quantities.  But it's essentially all the same, plus or minus a few ounces of spinach and tomatoes.

Update 1/24/12: I revisted this recipe and played with it a little more.  Further tweaks and ideas can be found here.

Theo The Greek's Spinach Pie (Adapted from Table Talk by Carol McManus)

Serves 8 or so

* 1 Tablespoon chopped garlic

* 3 Tablespoons olive oil

* 10 oz. package of frozen spinach, thawed and with liquid squeezed out

* 28 oz. can of whole tomatoes, drained and chopped into large pieces (or the equivalent in fresh tomatoes, about 2 cups)

* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

* 4 large or jumbo eggs, lightly whisked together

* 9 oz. feta cheese, crumbled into small pieces

* Basic pie crust for single pie (you can definitely use frozen here!)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a frying pan, sauté garlic in olive oil over low heat for 2 minutes--keep an eye on it though.  It should get golden, but not burnt, or else it will just taste bitter.  Add defrosted spinach drained of liquid.  Sauté for 3 more minutes.  Add chopped tomatoes, pepper, and nutmeg, and sauté 2 more minutes.  Set vegetables aside to cool.

3. In a large bowl, whisk eggs.  Add cooled vegetables.  Fold in feta cheese, and pour into prepared pie crust.

4. Bake pie 35-40 minutes until firm in center.  Allow to cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving.


Enjoy!!

An Oldie, A Quickie, But A Goodie

Those of you who follow me on Facebook may have noticed a lot of beach plum chatter this past week or so.  I know this, because I have gotten multiple messages asking what a beach plum is, and what the heck does one do with it.  If you're still wondering, a beach plum is a small fruit that grows in mid to northern Atlantic coastal areas.  They range in size from a cranberry to a large grape, and have a hard pit inside.  They are quite sour, and not so good for eating plain, due to the sourness and the fruit to pit ratio, they are good for making into jelly, which is the Nantucket craze, as well as infusing in booze.

However, this post is not about beach plums...not yet!  I do have more to say on them, but I'm not quite ready yet, because a) I have a lot of photos to upload and edit, and b) I don't know how my experiments have turned out!  I'll get back to you on the liquor infusion projects in, oh, a year, and the jelly a little sooner than that.  I haven't opened a jar of the jelly yet, although I have had several nightmares about it in the past week.  In one the jelly didn't set (the horror!) and in the other, the jars didn't seal properly.  Honestly, if those aren't the lamest nightmares you've ever heard of...

In the meantime, I thought I'd share a recipe that I remade this week for the first time in nearly 3 years.  It comes from Food & Wine magazine, and was actually the recipe that inspired me to become a subscriber.  The recipe is Lentil and Potato Salad with Goat Cheese, and it's so simple, easy, and wholesome, and just all around perfect, I think.  Lentils are such a super food: mild tasting, quick cooking, and absolutely packed with fiber, which makes them extra healthy.  Creamy potatoes balance the lentils' earthiness, and then a mix of fresh herbs, garlic, scallions and tomatoes add additional dimensions of flavor.  And for the final punch, creamy, tangy goat cheese ties this whole yummy mixture together.  And probably best of all, the entire meal comes together in 30 minutes.  When I was looking for goat cheese, for some reason I couldn't find a container of the "crumbled cheese for salads" that you often see in grocery stores' specialty cheese sections, so I just used dollops of Chavrie, that sort of ubiquitous block of pasteurized goat cheese log that is actually kind of yummy in its own processed sort of way.  However, I think that crumbled feta would also be a fantastic alternative.  Also, the recipe calls for French green lentils, and honestly, I have no idea what kind of lentils I used.  They came in a generic bag that said "Lentils."  They were probably common brown lentils, however, I think they worked just fine.  I also substituted red potatoes for the Yukon Golds, because I already had them, and left the skins on--I know, I'm so daring.  And I used a little less olive oil and cheese than the recipe specifies, probably closer to a 1/4 cup of EVOO and 6 oz of cheese, total.  Finally, F&W suggests, although I did not do this, that a runnily poached or soft boiled egg atop each serving of this salad would really make it a meal, and I suspect it would be quite good, if you like runny eggs, which, as discussed in April, I do not.  Despite my substitutions, I will say this recipe is pretty perfect.  I made a full batch, and have had it for 2 dinners and a lunch (I'm all about cooking a lot and generating lots of leftovers these days.  I totally don't mind eating the same thing for several meals in a row.)  It's fantastic on its own, but could easily become part of a bigger meal at a picnic or potluck.

Lentil, Potato, and Goat Cheese Salad (Food and Wine Magazine, October 2007)

(Serves 2-4 as a main dish, more as a side dish)

*1 1/4 cups French green lentils (9 ounces), rinsed and drained

 * 2 Yukon Gold potatoes (about 14 ounces), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice

* 3 scallions, thinly sliced

* 2 medium tomatoes, seeded and finely diced

* 1/2 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

* 1/4 cup finely chopped mint

* 1 large garlic clove, minced

* 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

* 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

* Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

* 8 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled (1 3/4 cup)

1. In a large saucepan, cover the lentils with cold water and bring to a simmer. Cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender, about 18 minutes. Drain the lentils well and transfer to a large bowl.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, cover the potatoes with cold water and bring to a boil. Cook over moderately high heat until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain very well and add to the lentils. 

3. While the lentils and potatoes are cooking, chop the scallions, tomatoes, parsley, mint, and garlic.  When both lentils and potatoes are cooked and drained and in a large mixing bowl, add the chopped ingredients, and dress with olive oil and lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Toss gently but thoroughly.  Spoon the lentil salad onto plates and top with the goat cheese. Serve at once.

Note:  The lentils and potatoes can be cooked ahead of time and refrigerated overnight.  Bring them to room temperature before incorporating the other ingredients and serving.

Enjoy this one, and let me know what you think!

Summer Squash Pasta & Grilled Garlic Bread

When things get crazy busy in the summer and I barely have time to cook anything, let alone find good recipes that are actually worth taking pictures of and sharing with you (since I doubt you'd be interested to hear about how I made burgers...again...or any other comparable summer meal), I can thank my dad for finding good things and sending them my way.  Ahh, retirement must be great!  Anyway, over the 4th of July weekend my dad found an article about Mario Batali in the Wall Street Journal and saved it for me.  I already threw out the article, and my short term memory is failing me, so I can't remember what it was about, but the recipe featured alongside the article was for pasta with summer squash.  Seasonal, no?  Batali's trick on this pasta is to undercook the pasta and the squash just slightly, then steam them together at the end, which apparently infuses the pasta with the squash flavor.  Batali's version calls for penne, although Erik got excited over fresh spinach pasta at the store, so we ended up using that instead.  Although I used Batali's technique, I think the spinach pasta was so flavorful on its own that it didn't pick up too much additional squash flavor, though the two did work well together.  We also used basil instead of the recommended mint, although I intend to try it again with mint, because I'm sure it would be equally delicious.  Whatever kind of pasta and herb you choose, this dish is fast, easy, and perfect for summer.  This meal rounds out nicely with grilled herb and garlic bread.

Pasta with Summer Squash and Ricotta (From Molto Gusto: Easy Italian Cooking by Mario Batali)

* Kosher Salt

* 1 cup fresh ricotta (go whole or low-fat, definitely not fat free)

* 6 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil

* 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmiganio-Reggiano, plus extra for serving

* 2-3 tablespoons warm water

* 1 pound summer squash or zucchini, or a combo, cut lengthwise in half and sliced into 1/3-inch-thick half-moons

* Fancy sea salt (like Maldon), or kosher if that's all you have

* 1 pound of pasta

* 6 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh mint or basil

* Freshly ground fresh pepper

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 3 tablespoons of kosher salt.

2. While the pasta water heats, whisk together the ricotta, Parmigano-Reggiano, and 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a small bowl.  Whisk in 2 tablespoons of warm water to loosen the consistency; add the 3rd tablespoon if it's still too thick.

3. Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a deep-ish skillet (that has a lid) over medium heat.  Add the squash and cook, stirring occasionally, until it's just tender and golden, 4-5 minutes.  Season with your fancy salt, and remove from the heat.

4. Cook your pasta until it's barely al-dente.  Drain the pasta, reserving 1/3 of a cup of the pasta water.

5. Add the pasta and the reserved water to the squash, stirring and tossing over medium heat to mix well.  Pop a lid on and reduce the heat to low, and allow the pasta and squash to steam together for 2 minutes.

6. Stir in the mint (or basil), and season with additional salt, if necessary.  Dish up the pasta and top with a dollop of the ricotta mixture.  Garnish with additional chopped mint (or basil), and serve with extra grated Parm.

Enjoy!

Champagne makes anything fancy.  Even this easy dinner.

Erik's Garlic Thyme Bread.

Slice a baguette or a ciabatta loaf some other good bread.  Melt a few tablespoons of butter.  Stir in a tablespoon or so of chopped thyme.  Brush both sides of the bread slices with the butter/ thyme mixture and then grill them for a 1-2 minutes per side, or until golden brown.  Watch the bread carefully, because it can burn quickly.  Remove from the grill.  Peel a large clove of garlic and rub the garlic onto both sides of the bread.  Serve immediately.  (PS, if you don't have a grill, you can do this on a cookie sheet under the broiler, just watch the bread closely!)

Pasta with Spring Vegetables

 

Right now the pile of cooking magazines I have received and have yet to read is growing pretty tall.  I'm actually kind of sitting on the magazines right now, and they're sort of cramping my style...

Before I was sitting on the magazines, though, while they were still scattered about, Erik was flipping through our most recent Food and Wine (I'm MONTHS behind on that magazine!), and stumbled upon tonight's recipe: Farfalle with Spring Vegetables.  I was immediately smitten, as it contains many of my favorite veggies, notably broccolini and fennel, plus a host of other yummy things, like scallions, garlic, and peas.  

For our first go-around we followed the recipe to a T (tee?), other than adding an extra clove of garlic, and an extra scallion, (because we had 3, and who wants just 1 leftover scallion sitting around?  Not I.)  Okay, and I only used 3 tablespoons of butter, and I didn't measure my olive oil, or herbs, and I used dried tarragon, and I put cheese on top, because I always put cheese on pasta...  So I lied, I mostly followed the recipe.  And wow, it's good.  But I think my improvisations made it better :)  If you're a garlic fiend (like me), you could easily bump this recipe to 3-4 cloves, not the 1 that the actual recipe calls for, but regardless, use at least 2--1 just doesn't cut it!  Additionally, I think the recipe needs a bit more lemon juice--1 tablespoon doesn't add enough pop to such a large quantity of pasta and vegetables.  I find that lemon juice's acidity helps highlight the butter's richness, plus is tastes fantastic, which is why I suggest adding lemon wedges for serving, so you can juice as you see fit.  As for the herbs, I used fresh parsley and chives, but dried tarragon.  While fresh herbs are always best, I think that dried tarragon is nearly as flavorful as fresh, so I didn't feel bad substituting.  However, I don't find either dried parsley or chives particularly flavorful, so definitely stick with fresh on those.  The one thing that I wouldn't change at all are the herbed breadcrumbs that you sprinkle on top--they really took this recipe to the next level.  I was having trouble not eating those by the spoonful while I was waiting for the rest of the dish to cook!  They add crunch and oily richness, and man oh man, they are so yummy!  This recipe is quick enough for a weeknight (about 45 minutes total), but a big enough and tasty enough to serve to friends.  So you should, and tell me what you think! 

Farfalle with Spring Vegetables (Adapted from Food and Wine, May 2010)

Serves 4-6 

* 2 slices of white sandwich bread, finely chopped (1 cup)

* 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

* 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

* 2 tablespoons snipped chives

* 1 tablespoon chopped tarragon

* Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

* 1 bunch broccolini

* 1 pound farfalle

* 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

* 2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced

* 1 fennel bulb, halved, cored and thinly sliced--a mandolin is great for the slicing, if you have one.

* 3 scallions, thinly sliced

* 1 cup frozen peas, thawed, or 1 pound fresh peas, shelled

* 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus lemon wedges for serving

* Parmesan, Pecorino Romano, or your favorite hard cheese, grated, to sprinkle on top (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. On a baking sheet, toss the bread with 1/4 cup of the oil and toast for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring once, until golden. Let cool, then stir in half each of the parsley, chives and tarragon. Season the crumbs with salt and pepper.

2. In a pot of boiling salted water, cook the broccolini until tender, 1 minute.  Using tongs, transfer to a cutting board and coarsely chop. 

3. Add the pasta to the broccolini water and boil until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.

4.  While the pasta cooks, melt the butter and the remaining 6 tablespoons of oil in a deep skillet.  Add the garlic, fennel, scallions, peas and broccolini and cook over moderate heat until the fennel is crisp-tender, about 6 minutes. 

4. Add the pasta, lemon juice and cooking water and season with salt and pepper. Cook over moderate heat until the water is nearly absorbed. Stir in the remaining herbs. Sprinkle the pasta with the bread crumbs and cheese (if using) just before serving.

(If you want to make this dish ahead of time, Food and Wine informs me that the pasta can be kept at room temperature for 4 hours, and the crumbs can be stored at room temperature overnight.)

 

Enjoy!

 

Shakshuka: Eggs Poached in Spicy Tomato Sauce

I wish I had something inspirational to say about this next recipe, but truthfully, I don't.  I don't even have a photo to show you, sorry.  But I do have an easy, tasty recipe, so read on.  

I hadn't even heard of Shakshuka, an Israeli dish of eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce, until it was featured on Smitten Kitchen, an excellent cooking blog that I often read.  Although in Israel Shakshuka is traditionally served as a breakfast dish, for my American palate I thought it was much more well suited to dinner (I usually steer clear of anything more potent than Cheerios at breakfast).  I was enticed by the simple ingredient list and easy prep--the perfect meal for the end of a busy week.  

I tweaked the recipe just a bit, most notably in the number of servings.  Smitten Kitchen and Saveur, which originally published this recipe, claim that it serves 4-6, but Erik and polished off 2/3 of it on our own (hey, don't judge, it's mostly vegetables!).  However, I reduced the number of eggs accordingly, from the recommended 6 to 3, basically budgeting 1 egg per serving.  The diameter of the pan I used was smaller than the recommended 12 inches, so in my pan 3 eggs fit perfectly--any more would have just created a thick, egg-y layer instead of individually poached eggs.  I suppose that if you had a larger pan and used 2 eggs per person you could stretch the sauce a bit, but I liked mine saucy without too many eggs--healthier that way, right?  I also bumped up the amounts of cumin and garlic, because I simply can't get enough of those delicious flavors.  I wimped out on the jalapenos, however, and used only 2.  Without their seeds, jalapenos actually don't pack too much of a punch, so when I make this again I will use the recommended 3 jalapenos, or add a few seeds, since those are where most of the heat resides.  This is a forgiving and flexible recipe that's easy to prepare, so try it when you're in the mood for something easy, comforting, and full of flavor.

Shakshuka (Adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Serves 3 to 4 

* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 5 Anaheim chiles or 3 jalapeños, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped

* 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
* 6 cloves garlic, crushed then sliced
* 1/2 Tablespoon ground cumin
* 1 Tablespoon paprika
* A 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, undrained

* 1/2 cup water
* Kosher salt, to taste
* 3-4 eggs, or more, if you feel so inclined
* 1/2 cup crumbed feta cheese
* 1 generous Tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
* Warm pitas, for serving

1. Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add chilis and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, and paprika, and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is soft, about 2 more minutes.

 

2. Crush the tomatoes.  You can do this by transferring them to the bowl and crushing them with your hands, or just crushing them as you add them to the skillet.  Either way, crush the tomatoes and add them, along with their liquid and 1/2 cup water to the skillet.  Reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, about 20 minutes. Season with salt, to taste.

3. Crack eggs over sauce so that eggs are evenly distributed across sauce’s surface. Cover and cook until yolks are barely set, about 5 minutes.  (Obviously you can simmer for less time if you prefer a runny yolk, like Erik does).  Using a spoon, baste the whites of the eggs with tomato mixture, being careful not to disturb the yolk.  Sprinkle shakshuka with feta and parsley and serve with warm pitas, cut into quarters, for dipping.  Enjoy!

Cleaning Out The Fridge Calzones

You may have noticed that my recent cooking photos were not taken in my kitchen--or maybe you haven't, I don't know.  But anyway, they weren't taken in my kitchen, because I am still pet sitting, this time for a border collie and 2 cats, my oldest "clients."  What started out as a favor for one friend is now my winter time "business"--I've been booked solid for the past 2 months, with the exception of February 19th, the only day I've been between jobs.  But anyway, back to my point, which is that I've been cooking elsewhere these days.  The best part about this current gig is that the owner has basically every kitchen gadget under the sun, and then some, so Erik and I always have fun experimenting with the things we find.  (I'm pretty sure the only time their pasta maker has ever been used is when we're staying here!)  The latest gadget that I wanted to try was a little calzone mold, available from Williams Sonoma, if you feel so inclined.  

While this little thing is hardly essential for making calzones, it was fun to try.  It's best attribute is that it helps with portion control--when I'm making calzones free form I get so carried away that each calzone is like an entire pizza, just folded in half.  I liked this tool because it makes a nicely sized calzone that left me full but not sick to my stomach because I just don't know when to stop eating.

But enough about a piece of plastic--let's get to the good stuff: the filling.  Since our time at this particular house is winding down, and we will be out every night until we head back to our own cottage, I was trying to figure out how to use up as many odds and ends as possible.  Surprisingly, and luckily, I had just the right amount of this and that to make the perfect amount of delicious filling--a cup of spicy homemade tomato sauce, about a 1/3 of a box of frozen spinach, the butt of a small onion, half a red bell pepper and some kalamata olives.  Tangy feta cheese and melty grated mozzarella rounded out this Greek-inspired combination, which I have to say was amazingly delicious, despite its ad-hoc nature.  In fact, part of the reason I'm posting about it is so that I remember to make it again, even when I'm not just trying to use up leftovers.

Usually when I make calzones I just toss everything on the dough, as if I were making a pizza, before folding it.  This time, however, I tried mixing all the ingredients together before making the calzones, mostly in the interest of saving counter space so I wouldn't have lots of piles of vegetables and whatnot while I was waiting for Erik to get back from the store with the cheese.  I actually really liked this approach, and will use it again in the future, since it helped all the flavors come together, and made the calzones quicker to fill.

The dough I used for these calzones is the exact same pizza dough featured in the flatbread post.  It made 4 individually sized calzones.  It is quite a soft dough, which made it a bit hard to remove from the calzone shaper gadget, although spraying it with Pam helped.  

Greek-Inspired "Cleaning Out The Fridge" Calzones

Serves 4

* 1 batch of this pizza dough, or the dough of your choice, either homemade or store-bought

* About 1 cup of tomato sauce, either homemade or jarred

* About 1/3 of a box of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess liquid

* 1/4 of a small onion, diced

* 1/2 red bell pepper, diced

* 2 cloves garlic, minced

* A shake of red pepper flakes, if desired

* About 1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives, quartered

* Fresh or dried thyme and oregano, a few sprinkles of each

* Feta cheese, crumbled

* Mozzarella cheese, grated

* Cornmeal, for sprinkling, or nonstick spray

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  In a bowl, combine the tomato sauce, spinach, onion, pepper, garlic, olives, red pepper flakes, and herbs.

 

If you filling is this liquidy, just spoon off the excess so the insides of your calzones aren't runny

2.  Divide the dough into 4 portions and roll or stretch out into a circle.  If you are using a calzone gadget, place the dough on the gadget, if not, just leave the rounds on your work surface.  Place a quarter of the filling and a sprinkle of the crumbled feta and the mozzarella on half of each dough round.  Fold the other half over and pinch firmly with your fingers to seal the calzone.

3. Transfer the calzones to a cookie sheet dusted with cornmeal or sprayed with nonstick spray.  If you want an easy cleanup, cover the cookie sheet with aluminum foil first.  Arrange the calzones so they aren't touching, and have a couple of inches of space between them.  

4.  Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown on top.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes and serve.  A big leafy salad is a great accompaniment for these calzones.  Enjoy!

A bad example of giving the calzones enough space.  Better to use two sheets if one is this crowded.

Indian Spiced Cauliflower Soup

  

Last night I tried my hand at Indian cooking for the second time; the first time was about three years ago, when I attempted an Indian take on tomato soup and grilled cheese after a trip to the emergency room. The meal turned out terribly: the soup was like water and I forgot the toasts under the broiler and they came out charred.  Erik and I still laugh about it, as it was one of about three meals that I've ever made that neither of us liked. However, last night I had my game face, and was armed with the right ingredients, arguably a better cook book (Best-Ever Indian Cookbook--how could I go wrong?), and I was ready to focus and get it right.

While I am a great appreciator of Indian food (it's basically my only must-have any time I'm off-island), I hardly know enough about the actual cooking of Indian food and planning of a menu to formulate a proper meal, so I just chose the first 2 easy recipes I came across in the first chapter (Soups and Appetizers), and went from there. The Spiced Cauliflower Soup was easy and delicious, and packed with healthy ingredients like vegetables, calcium- and protein-rich yogurt, superspice turmeric, and low-fat to boot. The Samosas, though healthier than some restaurant ones because they were baked, not fried, presented problems for me because of the old phyllo dough that I had on hand, which in retrospect would have been better off tossed in the garbage... So I will tell you about the soup, since I was made it with ease, but I will hold off of the samosas until I have a chance to try them again, and won't have to preface the recipe by saying "make sure you phyllo dough isn't total crap, flaking apart on one side and a soggy gelatinous blob on the other...."

My only warning about this soup is that turmeric STAINS. Everything.  I splashed some on the counter, which is now covered with yellow spots, the (formerly) white ladle is now bright yellow, and the lid of the blender looks like someone took a neon yellow highlighter to it. Did I mention that none of this stuff is mine, rather, it belongs to the couple for whom I'm currently pet sitting? At least I still have 2 weeks to work with the bleach... When you are blending this soup, be careful, and don't put down anything that has the soup on it on a porus surface, unless you want the exploding highlighter look in your kitchen as well...

Indian Spiced Cauliflower Soup (From Best-Ever Indian Cookbook)

4-6 Servings

* 1 small head of cauliflower, cut into florettes

* 1 large potato, such as a russet or yukon gold, peeled and diced

* 1 large onion, diced

* 1 tablespoon oil

* 1 clove of garlic, smashed

* 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger, finely diced or grated

* 2 teaspoons of turmeric

* 2 teaspoons of ground coriander

* 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds (or ground cumin, if that's what you have)

* 1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds

* 4 cups of vegetable stock

* 1 1/2 cups low fat plain yogurt (I'm a fan of Greek yogurt, such as Fage or Chobani brands)

* Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste.

* Chopped fresh cilantro, to garnish

 1. In a large, heavy bottomed pot, combine cauliflower, potato, onion, oil, and about 3 tablespoons of water. Put over medium heat, and when the liquids become hot and bubbly, reduce heat, cover, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add garlic, ginger, and spices, stir around, and cook for another 2 minutes. Add vegetable stock, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, for 20 minutes.

 3. Working in batches, puree soup in a blender. (Careful here--you don't want any yellow soup explosions! If the soup is still hot, remove the middle part of the blender lid, and cover with a dishcloth or paper towel while you're blending to allow steam to escape.) 

 4. Return pureed soup to the pot, and stir in yogurt. Do this either off the heat or over very low heat to prevent the yogurt from curdling or separating. If you think of it, bring the yogurt to room temperature while you are preparing the soup; this will make incorporating the soup easy.  Seaon with salt and black pepper to taste, and serve up and top with fresh cilantro leaves. Enjoy!

Grilled Flat Bread & Greek Style Salad

  

Grilled flat bread is an easy, customizable accompaniment to any dish, but I particularly like it along side a hearty salad, such as my Greek-inspired salad.  By mixing in any flavorings you like to homemade or store-bought pizza dough, you match the flavors of your bread to the flavors of your dish, for a cohesive, balanced meal.  The following is just a simple onion and herb flat bread, but your imagination is the limit on the types of spices or herbs that you add.  Brushing the finished bread with garlic butter or a flavored oil can even intensify the flavors and add an extra layer of decadence. 

Onion and Herb Flat Bread

* 16 oz of pizza dough--homemade, (recipe follows) or purchased from the grocery store

* 1/4 cup finely diced red onion

* 2 teaspoons crushed dried rosemary, or chopped fresh rosemary

* 1 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Roll out pizza dough so it's about 1 inch thick.  Sprinkle the dough with the onion, rosemary, and salt, and fold in half and half again.  Knead the dough a few times, until all the ingredients are evenly incorporated.  Set aside in a bowl for 20 minutes to allow the dough to rest.

2. Heat a grill pan over medium heat and brush with olive oil.  Roll out the dough until it's about 1/2 inch thick (depending on the size of your pan, you may have to do this in 2 batches).  Place the dough on the oiled pan and cook for 4-5 minutes, until the bottom is golden and firm enough to hold its shape when flip the dough.  Brush the top of the dough with oil, then flip and cook on the other side for 4-5 minutes.  Remove from the pan, and using a knife or a pizza wheel, slice into wedges and serve.

Easy Pizza  Dough (From the new Gourmet cookbook)

This pizza dough can be used for grilled flat bread, or any other pizza you'd like.

* 1 1/4 oz package (or 2 1/4 teaspoons if it's from a jar) of active dry yeast

* About 1 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour, divided, plus more for kneading

* 3/4 cups warm water, divided. (105-115 degrees F)--if you don't have a thermometer, this is quite warm to the touch, just slightly cooler than shower water

* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

1. Mix 1/4 cup of the warm water, the yeast and 1 tablespoon of flour in a cup and let sit for 5 minutes. The yeast mixture should look creamy

2. In a mixing bowl, combine 1 1/4 cups flour and the salt. Pour in the yeast mixture, the rest of the water, and the olive oil, and stir until smooth.

3. Mix in the enough of the remaining flour (about 1/2 a cup) until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.

4. Turn the dough out on to a clean surface and knead with lightly floured hands, adding more flour if the dough starts to stick to your hands. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

Here is a good YouTube video that demonstrates kneading: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWj8oHMPFm0

5. Form the dough into a ball and place on a lightly floured surface. Dust with flour and cover with saran wrap and allow to rise in a warm, draft free place for about an hour and a quarter, until doubled in size.

At this point you can roll out the dough, add the fillings, and proceed as described above. 

Greek-Inspired Salad

A trip to Greece three years ago taught me that a true Greek salad is little more than large slabs of feta cheese with a few slices of cucumber, tomato, thick red onion rings, and olives along side, all drizzled with olive oil.  Because of the saltiness of feta, I found the cheese to vegetable ratio too skewed for my palate.  I like to add crunchy romaine lettuce to my Greek-inspired salad and dice my vegetables and feta cheese a little bit smaller for an even distribution of flavor and texture.  I wouldn't exactly say I follow a recipe for my salad, so let this list of ingredients be a guide, but alter the amounts of each component to please your own palate.

For the salad:

* Romaine hearts, sliced crosswise into 1 inch pieces

* Grape tomatoes, halved

* English cucumber, cut lengthwise into quarters, and then sliced about 1/4 inch thick

* Red bell peppers, cut into bite-sized pieces

* Red onion, thinly sliced

* Kalamata olives, halved

* Feta cheese, cut into 1/3 inch cubes

For the Dressing:

* 1 part fresh lemon juice

* 2 parts extra virgin olive oil

* A hearty sprinkle of dried oregano

* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Combine ingredients in desired ratios in a large salad bowl.  Squeeze lemon juice in a separate bowl, and slowly add EVOO, whisking as you go.  Whisk in oregano, salt, and pepper, and adjust seasonings, if necessary.  Dress the salad, tossing gently to coat all the greens and veg, but not breaking up the feta cubes.  Serve with grilled flat bread, and enjoy!