Good Real Food

This was definitely a night for boiling some water while considering my options.

Kale in a hot skillet with some olive oil and a few sun dried tomatoes. Onions and garlic would have been nice, carmelized onions even better, but I was feeling about that lazy tonight. Toasted walnuts (on the skillet that was still out from an ill advised beans and tortillas lunch prep; note to self: don’t make lunches that want a toaster oven if you work in a microwave-only office.) A good size glob of red pepper paste from a tube (it is french, so it must be good for me, right?). I forgot this is why I keep capers around–they would have been good. Some mascarpone because I got it on special so we have to eat it until we have a collective butterfat heart attack. Some cheddar and parm because they were there. Toss with some type of pasta.

What do you throw on pasta when you want to feel like you made dinner but don’t feel like making dinner?

2 Comments »

I love nettles!

Granted, today was my first experience with them outside of tea, but after today, I can see that nettles and I are going to have a long and lovely relationship.

We received some nettles in our CSA box, and C, knowing that I was intrigued at the idea of eating something that was going to do its darnedest to fend me off with its sting, grabbed a few extra bunches from the “trade” box at the pick-up site.

Given that this was my first time with nettles, I did some research and found that the only real consensus on nettles was that you had to cook them to remove the sting. Okay, fine, we can work with that.

I also learned that some people had tried doing a version of pesto using nettles. I figured you couldn’t go wrong mixing a green with loads of garlic, pine nuts, parmesan, and olive oil, so that’s what I did.

To do what I did, you’ll need the following:

• a bunch of nettles, well washed, leaves removed from stems (be careful, and do your research on how to handle the leaves
• a bunch of spinach, washed and de-stemmed
• garlic cloves, at least 3, though I think more is better
• toasted pine nuts, and maybe a few walnuts, almonds, or other nut of your choice
• parmesan
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

What to do:

1. wash your nettles and spinach
2. boil some water, and cook your nettles in the boiling water for about five minutes
3. drain, and dump nettles into a food processor
4. toast your pine nuts and walnuts either in your oven or on stove top
5. add toasted nuts to nettles, and pulse in the food processor
6. add garlic, spinach, and parmesan, along with some salt and pepper - proportions are really up to you here, if there’s a pesto recipe that you like, use it as a guide, I usually wing it
7. whiz that all up, then turn the processor on and add a steady stream of olive oil till it’s your desired consistency
8. toss with pasta and enjoy

One note: Last year, I came across a pesto recipe that suggests putting diced potatoes in with the pasta when you cook it, so when you toss with the pesto you’ve got pasta, potato, pesto happiness. I’ve taken to doing this, and highly recommend it. I generally use small red potatoes, and cut them to somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 inch cubes - skin on. Basically, you want them small enough that they cook in same time as the pasta does.

So there you have it - stinging nettles and spinach pesto. Enjoy!

No Comments »

Yep - those 5 things, when combined, with a few other things make for a darn tasty and quick late winter/early spring pasta - at least here in MN they do.

I know that in other parts of the country, you’re experiencing the beginnings of spring. And truth be told, so were we here in the Twin Cities. At least last week. Then, it decided to get a bit nippy again, and now the weather people are talking about a few more inches of snow over the next two days before it all melts again.

So that was on my mind as I rode my bicycle home into a headwind (it seems to almost always be a headwind on the way home) as I headed the market before going home. On the way, I was recalling a pasta dish I’d made in the past that involved sauteed garlic, slow cooked onions, and lots of parsley. When I stepped into the market, the first thing I laid eyes on was a bunch of broccoli rabe. Out of that happy coincidence our dinner was born, and it turned out to be just the right “feel” for an early spring evening. And it was pretty darn quick too

Here’s what I did:

1. cooked my chick peas - we pretty much only use dried beans these days, so I tossed them in the pressure cooker while I
2. gently cooked some thinly sliced garlic over very low heat - we’re going for flavor extraction here, okay?
3. once that had cooked a while, I threw in some chopped onion and some dried marjoram
4. after that cooked a bit, I added my chickpeas, followed a few minutes later by my parsley and finally a can of diced tomato
5. I let all this cook down while my pasta cooked
6. oh, somewhere in there, I also added salt, pepper, and a tiny bit of crushed red pepper

As all this was happening, I quickly cooked the broccoli rabe by slow sauteeing garlic in olive oil, followed by adding the broccoli rabe and a bit of water and covering that and allowing to steam/cook through. Once it was done, I salted, peppered, and added a bit of crushed red chili, both by habit, but also cause I’d recently read the recipe for something similar over at We Are Never Full. I tossed the pan in the oven to keep warm while the pasta finished.

Once the pasta was cooked, I tossed it with the sauce, along with some grated Parmesan and a bit of the pasta water that I’d reserved before draining the pasta. When plating, I topped each bowl of pasta with a fanned out portion of the broccoli rabe - it was rather pretty even if I say so myself.

The verdict from my family was positive. My four year old daughter barely paused from inhaling the food to pronounce it “good.” It isn’t a “perfect” dish - there is still some work to be done to really bring it all together - and I invite your efforts, thoughts and comments to that end.

For what it’s worth, here is what I think works about this dish - first, the chickpeas and the earthy flavors of parsley and marjoram combine nicely with the garlic, onion, and tomato - the sauce has some layers of flavor that taste much more complex than the prep was. Second, I think the bitter flavor of the broccoli rabe contrasts really nicely with the whole wheat pasta and the chickpea sauce. The contrast really emphasizes the sweetness of the chickpeas and the pasta - a much needed flavor when winter seems to be holding on too long, and spring seems weeks aways.

So there you have it - a concept that I think it pretty good, and an invitation to tweak, revise, and otherwise modify till it’s “right” for you. If you choose to take this and “fix” it, I would love to know what you do to make it really work.

3 Comments »

delicious and insane is how I’d describe this beet pesto recipe that I got from the nami-nami blog - delicious because come on, it’s beet pesto - beets, cilantro, garlic, and pine nuts - what’s not to like? Insane because when you toss this with pasta (reserve a bit of cooking water) and some olive oil, the pesto colors your pasta a beautiful, intense lustrous red that has to been seen to be believed. You look at the color and can’t help but wonder what beets were thinking when they decided that that was their color of choice.

We ate this pesto tossed with whole wheat fettuccine and it was lovely.

1 Comment »

Reading last weeks New York Times Magazine on this rainy Saturday afternoon, I came accross this recipe for summer pasta which uses the same ingredients in the salad I made yesterday and is a new twist in pasta salad.

• 5 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup of your favorite olive oil
• 12 basil leaves
• 7 large ripe tomatoes
• salt
• 1 pound dried rigatoni
• 1 pound fresh, lightly salted mozzarella
• country bread

1. Take out your largest bowl. Add the garlic. Pour in 1/2 cup olive oil. With scissors, snip the basil leaves into shreds over the garlic mixture. Let sit all day.
2. About two hours before serving, chop the tomatoes and add them to the bowl.
3. When you are ready to eat, bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Meanwhile, cut the mozzarella into small cubes.
4. Drain the pasta and pour on top of the tomato mixture. Do not stir. Spread the mozzarella on top of the pasta and toss only the pasta and cheese; the cheese will soften slightly, and the pasta will get coated with fat. Then stir up from the bottom, incorporating the tomato mixture. Season with salt and add the remaining olive oil, if desired. Serve with bread. Serves 6.

No Comments »

it is much too late and I should be sleeping, but if I don’t write this up, I’ll forget by the time I’m back from the trip I leave on in the morning.

I should probably attribute this recipe to Deborah Madison, since I think that is where it originated, but here is how I came to it - or at least the recipe that inspired the one I’m about to tell you about:

I was reading Rebecca Blood’s blog - her series on Eating Organic on a Food Stamp Budget is terrific for lots of reasons.

Anyway, I saw her recipe for Spaghetti with Zucchini and Basil and thought that it looked super easy and really good so when I saw asparagus at the farmer’s market on Saturday, I pretty much knew what that I’d be remixing her recipe to use it.

And this is what resulted:

And it was astounding, really.

Here’s what you need:

• Asparagus - I don’t know how much I had - it was a big bunch - if you click through on the picture link, you can see another photo of what my pan looked like with all the asparagus in it.
• 3 cloves of garlic
• olive oil
• about a tablespoon of butter
• 1/4 + cup of milk
• basil - as much as you want, though go for at least 3 tablespoons of fresh
• salt and pepper
• linguine
• nice parmesan, grated

What to do:

1. salt water for pasta, start boiling
2. snap off woody ends of asparagus and save for stock
3. wash, drain, and chop asparagus into 1 or 2 inch long pieces, whatever you like
4. chop garlic
5. in your large saute pan, melt your butter (or leave it out if you wish) along with a few tablespoons of olive oil
6. when hot, add in your garlic and fry till you’re getting the idea that a few flecks of gold may appear in a bit - about 2 minutes
7. add in your asparagus, and cook till its about 2/3 of the way done to your liking.  Mine didn’t brown, and I suspect that yours won’t either unless you use your cast iron pan - I didn’t this time, but next time for sure
8. you could also add in some salt while you’re cooking the asparagus.  I did.
9. add in your milk.  I think I misread the recipe when cooking and added 1/2 cup of milk.  It was fine.
10. also add in your basil along with the milk, and maybe some more salt if you think it needs it - pepper would also be good now.
11. cook till milk reduces by half or until you’ve decided its reduced enough
12. if your pasta isn’t done, wait.  If it is done, toss the sauce with the pasta along with one or more handfuls of parmesan.  I think a quarter cup of the parmesan will do you fine, but experiment and find out what you like.
13. devour and wonder how you made something so good, so quickly.

Don’t forget the salad!

No Comments »

First, the pictures:

This was far and away the best and easiest fish I’ve ever made. Here’s the skinny on how it came together:

The recipes featured here came from Food Down Under. You can find them here: Sesame Soba Bowls, and here: Sesame Salmon with Soba Noodles.

I’d originally decided on the fully vegetarian Sesame Soba Bowls, but my wife decided that we should add some fish to mix, which was okay with me. Instead of switching recipes, I thought we’d combine the two, using the noodle recipe from Sesame Soba Bowls topped with the fish from the salmon recipe.

If you decide to try these at home, here is what you should know. The recipes are really quite easy, but in both cases, there is some knife work involved. If you’re not confident in your quick knife skills, you should either budget some extra time, or else do some of the chopping ahead of time. Once the prep is done, the meal comes together in minutes, consisting mostly of mixing up the sauce for the noodles and cooking the soba and salmon.

One last tip - serve the noodles warm. This is tricky when you have to rinse the soba with cold water after cooking, but just toss some extra water on to boil and give the noodles a final dunk in the hot water before you mix them up with the sauce. Though I really like cold soba noodles, I do think these would be much better served warm. Happy eating!

No Comments »

As I wrote earlier, the NY Times recipe for Bucatini alla Lipari sounded good in theory and was amazing in practice:

definitely suggest trying the recipe yourself if you like nuts, cheese, mint and pasta.

A note on the pasta - Bucatini is somewhat like spaghetti, but is hollow. Though I usually don’t feel this way, I think in this case, the type of pasta makes a difference. Also, make sure that your al dente is actually al dente - there should be some definite bite to the pasta in my opinion. Finally, if you can’t find bucatini on your market’s shelf, look for perciatelli, which is the same thing.

Best thing about this dish? It is fast - 30-40 minutes depending on how well you work in the kitchen. Maybe a bit more clean-up with two pans plus food processor, but not so bad for what you get. Though I should note that my wife wasn’t crazy about the color of the sauce - suspect that some of that is the nuts you use, some of that is the amount of tomato sauce, and some of it lighting. . . to my mind, that’s an excuse to dim the lights and light the candles.

No Comments »