Recipes that we like

Pasta con le Charde

Sat, 5 Sep 2009 15:50:46 -0700

The name of this is a take-off on Pasta con le Sarde, of course. When we first made this recipe from Joyce Goldstein’s Back to Square One, we remarked on the similarity in taste and ingredients between the two recipes, the main difference being the sardines were replaced with Swiss Chard. We added the chopped stems from the chard to the sauce. Omit the anchovies for a vegan version.

Salt
1/2 lb. spaghetti
1/3 cup olive oil
2-1/2 cups sliced onions (1/4 inch)
1/4 tsp. crushed saffron threads, steeped 10 min. in white wine
1 cup sliced fennel (1/8 inch)
Chopped stems from the Swiss chard leaves
2 tsp. freshly minced garlic
1 Tbs. finely minced anchovies
1/2 - 2/3 cup finely julienned sun-dried tomatoes (use less if salty)
1/4 cup currants, plumped in hot water and drained
5-6 cups fine chiffonnade (thin strips) of Swiss Chard leaves

Bring pot of salted water to boil for the pasta.
Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan or skillet over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until tender and translucent, 8-10 min. Add saffron and cook 1 min. Then add the fennel, chopped Swiss chard stems, garlic, anchovy, and sun-dried tomatoes and cook until the fennel is softened, 3-4 min. Add currants and then the greens and stir until the greens are wilted, 1-2 min.
While the sauce is cooking, cook pasta until al dente. Drain and toss with the sauce to combine. Serve immediately.

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Pasta con le Sarde (Pasta with Sardines)

Sat, 5 Sep 2009 15:16:25 -0700

When you can find fresh sardines, this is one of the best dishes you can make with them. A Sicilian specialty that Palermo calls its own, but there are many variations. This recipe is from Cucina Paradiso by Clifford A. Wright. This recipe serves 4-6 and can easily be halved.

Pinch Saffron threads
Salt
1 bulb fennel, trimmed (approx. 2 lbs.)
1 lb. spaghetti or bucatini
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs. olive oil
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
6 anchovy filets, rinsed
2 lbs. fresh sardines, gutted, head, tail and fin removed; boned
Pepper
2 Tbs. currants, soaked in warm water at least 30 minutes
2 Tbs. pine nuts
2 Tbs. tomato paste
1/4 cup blanched almonds, toasted and chopped

Preheat oven to 425˚F
Dissolve saffron in bowl with 2 Tbs. warm water.
Bring pot of water to boil and add salt. Boil the fennel whole on medium heat for 10 minutes or so. When it is slightly resistant to a fork, remove fennel and drain, reserving the cooking water. Chop fennel into small pieces.
Bring fennel water back to boil and add the pasta. Cook until half done. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the water. Sprinkle pasta with 2 Tbs. of the olive oil and toss well.
Dissolve tomato paste in the reserved water and set aside.
In a frying pan, sauté onions in remaining oil until translucent, about 6 min. Add anchovies and cook until they disintegrate. Add half the sardines and sauté for 2 min. over medium heat. Add the fennel. Season with the salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 5 more minutes.
Drain currants and add along with the pine nuts and saffron. Cook for 5 more minutes.
Butterfly the remaining sardines.
Put pasta with the fennel and sardines into a large baking pan. Lay the butterflied sardines on top and sprinkle with almonds. Top with diluted tomato paste. Bake for 10 minutes, remove and serve immediately.

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Kasha Varnishkes

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 17:46:45 -0700

This is comfort food, Jewish style. It probably comes from eastern Europe (my grandmother was born in Poland not far from the Russian border) and was a staple when I was growing up. Kasha is buckwheat groats. They are cooked like most grains with the single exception that they are cooked with a beaten egg prior to adding any cooking liquid. Varnishkes are bow-tie pasta. Use as much or as little as you like. The kasha alone is gluten-free and the dish is vegetarian.

1 cup coarsely chopped onion
1-2 Tbs. olive oil
1 extra-large egg, beaten
1-1/2 cups Kasha or buckwheat groats
2-3/4 cups water (vegetable stock will work if preferred)
1-2 cups cooked bow-tie pasta
Salt and pepper to taste.

Saute the onion in the olive oil at low temperature. The edges should be browned and the onions well cooked.
Cook the pasta per directions for al dente.
Heat the cooking liquid until it simmers in a separate pot. Keep hot.
While the onion is cooking, place the kasha in a 3 quart saucepan. Heat over medium heat while constantly stirring to roast the kasha. This should take several minutes until you can smell the roasting grain. Add the egg and stir to coat the kasha. Continue stirring over medium heat until the egg is absorbed and the grain is dry and the individual groats don’t stick together. Add the hot cooking liquid. Be careful as the liquid may splatter. Lower heat to simmer and partially cover until all the liquid is absorbed.
Drain the pasta well. Combine the kasha, pasta and cooked onion and add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve hot, warm or cold.

Note: Cooking the kasha in the egg is tricky. If the pan is not hot enough, the egg will stick to the pan and you will curse me trying to clean it up. Let it get nice and hot.

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Flourless Meyer Lemon and Ginger Cake

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 14:19:51 -0700

I have made this cake countless times, and with this year’s bumper crop of Meyer Lemons it was time again. This is the first recipe that introduced me to Clotilde Dusoulier’s food blog, Chocolate and Zucchini. If you are not familiar with it, visit it now! She originally published a recipe for her Gâteau à l'Orange et au Gingembre. A variation of this using Meyer lemons as the citrus was published here. My recipe is a variation that is as delicious as it is simple to make.

4 Meyer lemons (about 1 lb)
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 cups Almond Meal/Flour [see note]
1 teaspoon baking powder
heaping ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar (needed due to the low acid content of the Meyer lemon)
1~2 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
¼ cup candied ginger, chopped
Butter for greasing the pan
Parchment paper

Frosting
Lemon juice of 1 lemon
Lemon zest of 1 lemon
Crystallized sugar or crushed unrefined sugar cube

Scrub the lemons well. Place in a medium saucepan covered with water. Bring to boil; reduce heat to simmer and cook the lemons for about 2 hours. Add more hot water as necessary when the water level gets low.

Preheat oven 350˚F. Prepare 9½ inch springform pan by buttering the bottom and sides and lining with parchment paper cut to size. Set aside.

Drain lemons and allow to cool until they can be handled. Cut lemons in half, remove seeds and puree in blender or food processor. Beat the eggs with sugar. Whisk in the lemon puree, almond meal/flour, baking powder, cream of tartar, fresh ginger, and candied ginger, and mix well.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for about 1 hour until golden on the top. Let cool for a few minutes while you make the frosting. In a small bowl, mix lemon juice, lemon zest, and sugar. Remove the cake from the pan and pour the frosting over the cake. Let cool it before serving.

[Note: to make almond meal, process about 2 cups of blanched raw almonds with about 1/4 of the sugar in a food processor fitted with a standard blade to a fine texture.]

Mediterranean Rice-Stuffed Escarole

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 11:23:02 -0700

This is a vegetarian version of stuffed “cabbage” using escarole instead. It is not your grandmother’s stuffed cabbage (unless your grandmother is Lidia Bastianich). This recipe is adapted from the April, 2008 issue of Gourmet Magazine, page 82.

1 large head escarole (1-1/4 lb)
3/4 C Arborio rice
1/2 C pine nuts
1/4 C plus 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 jar (12 oz) roasted red peppers, rinsed and coarsely chopped (fresh peppers can be substituted)
1/3 C golden raisins
3 Tbs capers, rinsed
1 large egg, beaten
1 C grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
ground pepper and salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400˚F. Place rack in upper third of oven.
Quarter escarole lengthwise, leaving base attached, and rinse well. Cook in medium pot of boiling salted water for 6 minutes. Drain and cool.
Using the water from the escarole, par boil the rice for 10 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 C of the water.
Pan toast pine nuts in a skillet over medium heat, stirring, until golden, about 3 minutes. Add garlic until it begins to brown, 1 min. Add peppers, raisins, capers, ground pepper and salt to taste and cook until raisins begin to plump, about 3 min. Remove from heat and add rice. Cool slightly and stir in egg and 1/4 C grated cheese.
Cut off and discard base from one quarter of the cooked escarole. Gently spread leave to form a 4-inch wide area. With base towards you, place one fourth of rice mixture in the center of the bottom half. Fold base of leaves over rice, then fold in sides and roll up rice in the escarole. Place seam-side down in a shallow 2-quart baking dish. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
Drizzle with reserved cooking water and remaining olive oil, then sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover tightly with foil and bake until rice is tender, about 30 min.
Remove foil and turn on broiler. Return dish to oven and broil 4 to 6 inches from heat until cheese is browned, 4 to 7 min.