revisiting italy: pasta al crudaiola

I don't know why grape tomatoes seem to be in good shape at any time of year that I look for them, but in the dead of winter when any typical tomato is sad and lackluster, you can usually find a little box of nice grape tomatoes.

For my second attempt at recapturing our Italian honeymoon - this Pasta Al Crudaiola is inspired by a lunch we had at Trattoria Trebbi in Bologna. This is actually a Pugliese dish, from Southern Italy, which makes sense because it is so light and summery. Incredibly simple, incredibly fresh, dishes like this are why I love Italian food so much. You can taste every element, nothing overwhelms, and the flavors complement each other so nicely. It is also a super quick meal being as how the word "crudaiola" means raw - nothing is really cooked except the pasta. For my taste, I throw the tomatoes into a saute pan for just a minute before adding the cooked pasta and tossing, just to take the edge off of the rawness, but you could certainly skip that step and just toss the pasta with all raw ingredients.

What made me especially happy about this dish was that it essentially provides a canvas for you to grate excessive amounts of ricotta salata over. I'm rather obsessed with ricotta salata, a pressed and salted dry ricotta. It is softer than most grating cheeses, and the briney flavor more subtle. It goes especially well with vegetables, like one of my favorite pastas with cauliflower and walnuts. Recipe after the jump:




PASTA AL CRUDAIOLA

1 lb pasta of your choice (I used fresh linguine, but traditionally this is made with short pasta like penne)
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup black olives, sliced
6-7 leaves fresh basil, chiffonaded
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup grated ricotta salata, to taste

Prepare the pasta according to package directions and drain. Combine the tomatoes, garlic, and olives in a large saute pan with a teaspoon of the olive oil and saute for no more than a minute. Add the drained pasta, fresh basil, pine nuts, and additional olive oil to coat and toss well to combine. Taste for salt and pepper. Serve in warm pasta bowls and grate the ricotta salata over individual bowls.

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bibimbap

There is only one Korean restaurant in our neighborhood. It's okay, not great, and they charge $13 for bibimbap. $13! For a bowl of rice and veggies and a fried egg. Some of my Korean friends have told me that ordering bibimbap at a restaurant is silly anyway, because it's such a homestyle dish. I guess it's like going to a restaurant known for great seafood and ordering a boring roast chicken.

So I figured now is as good a time as any to make some homemade bibimbap, when there are lots of good veggies to choose from. Of course, the types of veggies in this dish vary from place to place and home to home, but I went fairly traditional and stuck to carrots, zucchini, spinach, napa cabbage, mung bean sprouts, and shiitake mushrooms. I went through the trouble of prepping each ingredient separately so as to get that classic picture of every vegetable in its own little quadrant, but being as how you just mix it all up before you eat, it seems fairly unnecessary if you have no one to impress. Recipe after the jump:



VEGETABLE BIBIMBAP
Serves 4

4 cups cooked short grain Asian rice
1 medium zucchini, julienned
2 medium carrots, julienned
1 cup mung bean sprouts
1 lb baby spinach
2 cups napa cabbage, chopped into thin strips
4 large shiitake mushroom, sliced thinly (if dried, rehydrate with hot water. If fresh saute for a couple minutes with a touch of sesame oil)
4 teaspoons dark toasted sesame oil, divided
1 tbsp white sesame seeds
4 eggs, fried sunny side up
salt, to taste
1/4 cup gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste), or to taste, served on the side

Bring a small pot of water to boil. Blanch the carrots for one minute and remove with a strainer. Do the same with the zucchini, then the mung bean sprouts. Set all aside while you prep the rest of the vegetables.

In a medium skillet, heat 2 tsps of the sesame oil over medium heat. Be careful not to overheat or it will smoke. Add the spinach leaves, a pinch of salt, and saute until wilted. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and set aside. Do the same with the napa cabbage, which will probably take a minute or two longer than the spinach. If you are working with fresh shiitakes, also saute them for a minute or two in the oil.

In a large bowl, fill the bottom with rice, then top with the vegetables, keeping each in their own section if you desire. Top with a fried egg and serve with gochujang on the side and a big spoon.

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great grains

I love big filling salads on a summer night, based around some good old starch. Pasta or grains, please. And with grains, there are endless choices. I do lots of salads with quinoa, wheat berries, different rices, freekeh, farro, bulgur, spelt; the list goes on and on. This week, it was barley, a grain I usually only use in soups, but has a wonderfully nutty flavor and satisfying bite when cooked and cooled.

The great thing about having a variety of grains in your pantry is how easy it makes improvising a meal after you've raided the farmer's market for the freshest veg you can find. There's always a base to work off of, they keep for ages, and they keep things interesting. Recipe for my barley, heirloom tomato, arugula, zucchini, mozzarella salad after the jump:



SUMMER BARLEY SALAD

1 cup whole grain barley
1 lb heirloom cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 medium zuchinni, quartered lengthwise and sliced thinly
3 or 4 big handfuls of baby arugula
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 lb fresh salted mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes
salt and pepper, to taste

For the dressing:
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepot. Add the barley, bring down heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 35-40 minutes until tender. (You can also soak your barley overnight, which cuts the cooking time down to about 15 minutes. You need less water to cook if you soaked it). Fluff the barley with a fork and set aside to cool well. You can cook the barley well ahead of time and cool it in the fridge so that it's ready for the salad any time.

In a large bowl, toss the cooled barley with all of the vegetables. Whisk together the dressing ingredients and dress to taste, adding more salt and pepper if needed. Top with the cubed mozzarella.

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r is for ramps

Ramps have become code for "foodie". Perhaps not in the most flattering way. If someone asks me what I'm making for dinner and it happens to contain ramps, I get one of two reactions:

1. What the hell is a ramp?
2. You're such a f*&%ing foodie.

Why?



It's still not so easy to find ramps, you generally have to trek to a farmer's market or specialty produce store, but seriously I saw some in the Key Foods recently and that place is full-on ghetto. They are only in season for a couple of weeks, but I don't know if that's reason enough to find them snobbish.



Because, after all, what's not to like? Slightly oniony and a bit garlicky, those are two of the bestest flavors on the planet. To me, ramps are a sign that spring has really arrived, along with fresh peas, good strawberries and rhubarb. So last night's dinner was a simple pesto of peas, ramps, and lemon, followed by a strawberry-rhubarb cobbler. Call me a foodie, I don't care, at least my life is always delicious.

PASTA WITH RAMP AND PEA PESTO

1 1/2 cups fresh shelled English peas
1/2 pound wild ramps (about 6-7 medium-sized ramps), trimmed at the root end
zest of 1 lemon
1 large garlic clove, peeled and smashed
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup grated parmiggiano-reggiano cheese
1 tsp kosher salt, to taste
1 lb fettucine or other long flat pasta

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Blanch the peas for 3 minutes, then remove from the water with a skimmer to a bowl of cold water. Add the ramps to the boiling water and blanch for two minutes, also removing with a skimmer and setting aside. Add a handful of kosher salt to the water and bring back to a full rolling boil before adding the pasta, cooking as directed on the package or until al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, drain the peas and add 1 cup to the bowl of a food processor, reserving the remainder. Coarsely chop the blanched ramps and add to the food processor with the pine nuts, garlic, and lemon zest. Turn on the processor and begin to slowly drizzle half of the olive oil through the lid opening until a paste forms. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the salt and cheese and begin to process again. Continue drizzling the remaining oil until a shiny paste forms, you may not need all of the oil to reach your desired consistency.

When the pasta is done cooking, drain well, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. In a large bowl, toss the hot pasta with the pesto, adding enough cooking water to loosen the paste. You want the pesto to coat the pasta well without being too thick and clumpy. Add in the reserved peas and toss. Serve with additional grated cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.

NOTE: This recipe makes more than enough for a pound of pasta, so store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge, with a layer of olive oil on the surface to preserve the green color. It is excellent spread on crostini with some fresh ricotta cheese.

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10 minute dinner: garganelli with zucchini and ricotta salata

It's the week when you scramble to make and/or buy presents for everyone on your list, plan the necessary baking, realize at the last minute that you have all the presents but nothing to package them in, attempt to keep the cats out of the strange big tree in the living room. The last thing I think about is what to make for dinner. So it's a good week for a 10-minute dinner. It's not exactly zucchini season, but I occasionally break with seasonality to bring a bit of brightness to the beginning of winter. Recipe after the jump:

GARGANELLI WITH ZUCCHINI, LEMON, AND RICOTTA SALATA

1 lb garganelli or similar short pasta (penne or cavatini is great for this)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise then sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
juice of 1 small lemon
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, minced
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup grated ricotta salata

Boil a large pot of salted water for the pasta. When the pasta goes in, heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a heavy bottomed saute pan or large skillet. Saute the onions until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute another minute. Add the zucchini and saute until tender crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. When the pasta is al dente, drain and add to the pan with the zucchini. Toss to mix well, then add the parsley. Serve top with the grated ricotta salata.

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smokey beans

At what point do I just rename this blog "Beans and Baking"? More beans! It's cold outside. It's the season for stewing and braising and having pots bubbling away on the stove for hours, perfuming your home with the aroma of cozy. These beans are extra warm from the added smokiness of chipotle. A bit of kick and heat, tons of flavor, it transforms the humble black bean into the ultimate comfort food. Mound some on top of some rice, top with fresh cilantro and a dollop of sour cream, maybe a squeeze of lime or even some raw minced red onion.

And as with every giant pot of beans, leftovers go very far. Wrap these beans up in a tortilla with leftover rice, some raw sliced red cabbage, sour cream, shredded cheese, maybe some guac and salsa. Recipe after the jump:

SMOKEY CHIPOTLE BLACK BEANS

1 lb dried black beans
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
4 chipotles in adobo, chopped
1/2 teaspoon of cumin
1/2 cup cilantro plus additional for garnish, chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
Six cups of water
Two cups of vegetable broth
Salt to taste

Soak the beans covered by two inches in cold water for at least 6 hours or overnight. Drain the soaked beans.

Combine the onions, carrots and garlic in a food processor and pulse until finely minced. In a large heavy dutch oven over medium heat, sauté the "sofrito" in oil for a few minutes until fragrant. Add the beans, chipotles, and 1/2 cup cilantro.

Cover beans with water and broth, bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to low. Stir occasionally.

After 1 1/2 hours, add the cumin, tomato paste, lime juice, salt and remaining cilantro and cook for 30 more minutes or until beans are tender. Serve over rice garnished with chopped cilantro and a dollop of sour cream or crema.

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greek diner dinner

I remember once that a friend was visiting from a faraway state and was unfamiliar with the NY-style diner. It's really 24 hours? This huge thing is the menu? You can really get ANY of this stuff at ANY time? What's with all the Greek food? I don't know diners any other way. Everywhere else I've been in the states, a "diner" is not remotely a diner. I think the word "diner" in most of the country suggests simple comfort grub, like burgers and fries and eggs and pancakes. To me, the quintessential diner dinner is spinach pie with a Greek salad.

Spanakopita is probably more commonly known as an hors d'oeuvres at weddings, wrapped as little crispy triangles. Diner style spanakopita is pie-style, a huge square cut from a huge tray. It is certainly easier to make that way, though perhaps not easier to eat. And it's a very simple dish, just a little time-consuming and perhaps a little frustrating, depending on how you feel about phyllo. Phyllo is a pain in the ass, but at least for this dish you're putting on so many layers that no one will care if there's a tear or two. Serve this with a big salad piled with crumbled feta, kalamata olives, grape tomatoes, chopped cucumber, and thinly sliced red onion for the complete diner experience. Recipe after the jump:



SPANAKOPITA (SPINACH PIE)

2 lbs fresh spinach, washed well and spun dry
3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion
1/4 cup fresh dill
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 lb greek feta
1 egg, beaten
1 lb phyllo leaves
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, heat 2 tbsps olive oil. Add the spinach and saute until wilted. You may need to do this in 2 batches. Remove the spinach to a large bowl and allow to cool. Add the remaining oil to the same pot and saute the onions until translucent. Set aside to cool. When the spinach is cool enough to handle, squeeze out the excess liquid, then chop well. Add the onions, dill, and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Crumble the feta into the spinach mixture, then add the beaten egg and stir well to combine.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a small pan. Using a pastry brush, butter the sides and bottom of a 9/13 baking pan. Place 10 layers of phyllo dough in the bottom of the dish, buttering each layer (you may need to cut down the sheets to the correct size of the dish, but it is not a big deal if it is slightly large and the sides go up the sides of the pan slightly). Be sure to keep the phyllo damp by covering the unused sheets with a damp towel until you use them. After 10 layers of phyllo, spoon the spinach mixture evenly over the pie. Top with another 10 layers of phyllo, again buttering every layer. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and crispy. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing into large squares.

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signs of spring: asparagus pesto

After a long couple of weeks of nonstop work, I was WIPED OUT by Sunday evening, and my plans of ice cream experimenting and pie making and who knows what else was slowly slipping away. I needed a simple easy dinner that left very little clean-up, but I still wanted SPRING. So, the logical decision, take a cue from Mark Bittman in this week's NY Times, and turn that lovely asparagus into a pesto.

It doesn't get much easier than breaking out the food processor and blending a bunch of stuff up and tossing it with pasta. All it takes is about 8 minutes of blanching (in the same water I ended up boiling the pasta in), and the asparagus was ready to toss in the processor with the classic pine nuts, cheese, and olive oil. I tweaked his recipe a bit, adding in a bit of basil and more lemon juice. I also iced the asparagus after blanching thinking it might help preserve the vibrant green. I'm not sure that it was really necessary. Tossed with some fresh fettuccine, this dinner was wolfed down enthusiastically. Recipe after the jump:



ASPARAGUS PESTO
Adapted from a recipe by Mark Bittman, New York Times

Salt
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch segments
1 clove garlic, or more to taste
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup basil leaves
1/4 cup olive oil, or more as desired
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
Juice of 1/2 lemon, or to taste.

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Add the asparagus and cook until fully tender but not mushy, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain well, reserving some of the cooking liquid, and let the asparagus cool slightly.

2. Transfer the asparagus to a food processor and add the garlic, pine nuts, 2 tablespoons of the oil, Parmesan, a pinch of salt and a couple of tablespoons of the cooking liquid. Process the mixture, stopping to scrape down the sides of the container if necessary, and gradually add the remaining oil and a bit more of the reserved cooking liquid to moisten if necessary. Add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste, pulse one last time, and serve over pasta, fish or chicken (or cover and refrigerate for up to a day).

Yield: 4 to 6 servings (about 1 1/2 cups).

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we have a stove!

It FINALLY got turned on just days before Christmas. Merry Christmas to me! And boy, it is a great stove. I was really quite stunned with how quickly a big pot of water came to a boil. Because of course the first thing I cooked was pasta. Can you believe how long I went without making pasta?

Anyway, that pasta post will be coming along shortly, but until then, here is my last no stove post, an oven-roasted lemon chicken with fennel.



This one couldn't be any easier, it just takes a bit of planning ahead because of course, the longer you can let these babies marinate the better. If you can remember to whip up the marinade and get this in the fridge one night, then the next evening you have a super simple and delicious dinner with no effort at all. Recipe after the jump:



ROASTED LEMON CHICKEN WITH FENNEL

2 bone-in skin-on chicken breasts
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly cracker pepper
1 large fennel bulb

Generously salt and pepper the chicken breasts and place in a baking dish. Whisk together the lemon juice, mustard, oil, salt and pepper. Pour half of the marinade over the chicken, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degree. Trim, core and quarter the fennel bulb and scatter in the baking pan with the chicken. Roast the chicken breasts skin side up for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and juices run clear. Pour the remaining marinade over the chicken, cover with foil, and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

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in season: hide the cauliflower

That's not a particularly attractive dish right there. But it's one of those special recipes with hidden surprises. It is perfect fall food in several ways. Cauliflower is at it's best right now, and nothing is more warming and yummy on a chilly autumn day than a bowl of steamy, creamy risotto. This is a cauliflower and leek risotto. You can't really see the cauliflower hiding amidst the rice, but you take a bite and it bites back, just a tiny bit. Surprise. Need I say more? Recipe after the jump:

CAULIFLOWER LEEK RISOTTO

3 tbsp butter, separated
1 medium leek, chopped into half-moons
1 small head cauliflower, about 1 to 2 lb, cut into small florets
1 cup arborio or carnaroli rice
1 cup dry white wine
4 cups chicken broth (vegetable broth if you prefer this dish vegetarian)
3/4 cup parmiggiano-reggiano, or more to taste
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat the chicken broth in a medium saucepan until boiling, then lower to a low simmer. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a heavy 4-quart pot over medium heat until foam subsides. Add the leeks and cauliflower and saute until just starting to loose the raw color, about 2 minutes. Add the rice and toast, stirring about 1 minute. Add the wine and stir, allowing a strong simmer until the liquid is completely absorbed. Add 1/2 cup broth and repeat the stirring and simmering process. Continue to add broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring and simmering, until the rice is tender and creamy looking, about 25 minutes. You may not need all of the broth. Remove from the heat, add the cheese, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

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oh sweet halibut

Magical miso. Get a tub of this stuff and use it for anything and everything. Obviously, make soup. But also add a dollop to any stews or stocks for a deeper flavor. Make a salad dressing or a spread with some nutty tahini. Marinate meat. Or, a simple classic, glaze a nice piece of fish. That's what I did here, served atop a red cabbage slaw with a limey, gingery dressing. Super simple, healthy and light, perfectly refreshing for a warm summer day . The miso glaze is wonderfully sweet, tangy, salty, and complex. I kinda screwed up the pieces of fish when I flipped them, cause I'm clumsy like that, but it didn't hurt the flavor one bit. You might want to use a good nonstick skillet for this one. Recipe after the jump:

MISO GLAZED HALIBUT WITH RED SLAW

For the slaw:
1 lb red cabbage, shredded
4 medium carrots, shredded
2 tsps freshly grated ginger
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp soy sauce

For the fish:
4 Alaskan halibut fillets (preferably wild), about 6 ounces each
2 tbsp yellow or white miso paste
2 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Slaw preparation: Combine the ginger, lime juice, sugar, mirin and soy sauce and whisk until well combined. Pour over the grated vegetables and toss well. Set aside while you prep and cook the fish.

Fish preparation: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the miso, mirin, soy sauce, and ginger. Rinse and pat the fish dry, then brush with olive oil. Place the halibut in a hot ovenproof skillet (nonstick is probably a good idea), and sear for 4 minutes. Flip the fish and sear the opposite side for 2 minutes. Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven and bake for 5 minutes. Brush liberally with the miso glaze, then return to the oven for another 5 minutes or until it just begins to flake. Serve the fish atop a bed of the red slaw. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

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in season: ramps!

Springtime hits, ramps come back in season, NYC foodies go wild. I try to be low-key about it because really, am I such a dork that I get so crazy excited about a seasonal wild onion? Um, yeah. Sorta. I mean, it's no Meyer lemon insanity, but I do love me some ramps. And what's not to love? A little bit scallion-y, a little bit leek-y, a little bit garlic-y, it's like all great allium qualities all rolled into one tiny vegetable.



Ramps are still not the easiest thing to find in markets. They are extremely seasonal, showing up in early spring and only sticking around for a few weeks. Since it seems that the general public isn't terribly familiar with them, I guess it is not worth it for bigger grocery stores to bother stocking them. Here in the city, you can usually find them at larger greenmarkets or specialty grocers. Luckily, there is a specialty fruit and vegetable market right in my building here at work. I spied some lovely ramps the other day and almost yelped in the market.



The best thing about ramps is that they have such lovely flavor that they are best when prepared super simply. Let their flavor shine through and don't go crazy. My favorite use is with pasta. Really, my favorite use of anything is with pasta. So I grabbed those ramps and some lovely fresh peas, then went over the the Italian market for some fresh fennel sausage and fresh fettuccine. OMG. It's like my dream meal. Recipe after the jump:

PASTA WITH RAMPS, PEAS, AND ITALIAN SAUSAGE

3/4 pounds fresh pasta
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage (if you can find one with lots of fennel, that is best)
1 cup shelled fresh peas
1/4 pound ramps, sliced into thin ribbons
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp grated lemon zest
freshly grated parmiggiano-reggiano
salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to boil for the pasta. When the pasta goes into the water, heat up a large skillet with the olive oil. Remove the sausage from the casing and crumble into the skillet. Brown well and set aside. When the pasta has about 4 minutes left to cook (total cook time will depend on size and shape of pasta), add the shelled peas to blanch. When pasta and peas as tender, drain well, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water. Add the pasta and peas to the skillet and toss well to coat with the oil and sausage fat. Add pasta water to moisten well and let simmer for a minute or two. At the last minute, add the ramps and the lemon zest and let the greens just wilt. Serve piping hot topped with a generous amount of grated parmesan.

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sunset park food binge: chinese long beans

We're finally getting pockets of gorgeous weather here and there in NYC, and it is especially nice that these pockets tend to happen on the weekend. Last Saturday we had an amazing spring day and it was the perfect day to spend eating our way through Sunset Park, Brooklyn. We were taken on this food tour by the lovely Lofts twins, Greg and Steve, Sunset Park residents and champions. And - perfect for us - big time foodies. The food tour included Banh Mi, oyster cakes, curry fish balls, fried taro, chicken wings, spicy squid, hand-pulled noodles, donuts, cream buns, bubble tea, and plenty of grocery shopping in the numerous Asian markets along the way.

Sunset Park contains one of three Chinatowns in NYC. It's the smallest, but it's not small, and it has the advantage of being somewhat less insanely crowded than either the Manhattan or Flushing Chinatowns. Whenever I'm in any of the three Chinatowns, I go buckwild buying groceries. There are a lot of treats that I grew up on that I can only find in Chinatown - pork buns, sticky rice, Chinese broccoli, fresh water chestnuts, lotus root, steamed flower buns, Shanghai Noodles, the list goes on and on. I lugged a whole lotta groceries home on the subway that day. One of those items were these Chinese long beans.



Chinese long beans are pretty similar to string beans and can generally be used interchangeably. Their texture is a little less snappy than green beans, but I love how thin they are, and I think they have a distinctly different flavor. As with string beans, I prepare long beans in a super simple way because I mostly just want to enjoy their fresh flavor. Recipe after the jump:



GINGER-GARLIC CHINESE LONG BEANS

1 lb Chinese long beans, stem ends trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tbsp canola oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine (or dry sherry)
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp water
1 tsp sugar
salt and pepper, to taste
2 scallions, chopped

Mix together the soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, water, and sugar and set aside. Heat a large saute pan over high heat. Add the canola oil to the hot pan and heat until shimmering. Add the garlic and ginger and saute for 30 seconds until fragrant, being careful not to burn it. Add the long beans and saute for a couple of minutes until beginning to soften. Add the liquid and toss to coat, when the liquids begin to boil, lower heat to a strong simmer and allow the liquids to reduce. Add salt and pepper to taste. Allow beans to simmer until tender-crisp, it should not take more than a few minutes. Add in the chopped scallions just before taking it off the heat, reserving a few tablespoons for garnish. Serve with steamed white rice.

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easy weeknight dinner: asparagus, leek, and grueyere quiche

Eggs + Pie = Delicious. I'm officially protesting the recent popularity of the "crustless quiche". There are two major reasons that the idea offends me: 1. It's an oxymoron. If there is no crust, it is not a quiche. Perhaps it is a frittata. 2. The crust is the best part. No crust means that I am no longer half as interested.



I have tried to figure out why one would want to make a crustless quiche, and I'm guessing there are two major motivations: 1. People believe crust is a pain to make, or 2. Crust is not good for you. To that I say, get over it. Crust is pretty simple, but if you really don't want to bother, just buy a pre-made crust. It's still better than no crust. And as for it's relative unhealthiness, you can just pack your quiche full of healthy vegetables to counteract it. And as a wise friend just told me, if you drink tea after you eat, it doesn't count. Recipe after the jump:

ASPARAGUS, LEEK, AND GRUYERE QUICHE

1 tbsp butter
1 large leek, cut in quarters lengthwise, rinsed thoroughly, and thinly sliced
1 shallot, minced
1 bunch asparagus, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
4 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
1 pie crust for a 9"-inch single crust pie, or storebought crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Saute the shallot and leeks in the butter until just softened. Add the asparagus and saute until bright green and tender, about 6-7 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Season with salt and pepper.

Place pie crust on a baking sheet. Spread the vegetables on the bottom of the crust, then top with the cheese. Pour in the egg mixture evenly. Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes until the center is just set, rotating once during baking. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

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five ingredients or maybe one more: potato leek soup

Hey, I can do five ingredients or less, too. Take this delicious, creamy, hearty potato leek soup. Potatoes, leeks, shallots, butter, chicken stock, cream...damn. That's six. Of course, you could leave out the cream and not only meet the 5 ingredient requirement, but also feel a little bit better about eating giant troughs of this soup. I put it in because I'm weak, and it's goooood.

This is also an exceedingly simple little meal, impressive as a starter but filling enough for a lunch with a hunk of crusty bread. If you are serving it to company, you can even make it hours ahead of time, serve it cold, and call it vichyssoise. That should impress them. Recipe after the jump:

SIMPLE POTATO LEEK SOUP

3 medium leeks, white and light green parts only, rinsed well and chopped
2 shallots, thinly sliced
2 lbs medium wax potatoes, such as Yukon gold, peeled and diced
2 tbsp butter
4 cups chicken stock, or vegetable stock
1/2 cup heavy cream, or more to taste
salt and pepper, to taste

In a large stockpot, melt butter over medium heat. Add the leeks and shallots and saute until translucent. Add the potatoes and toss to combine. Pour of the chicken stock, bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook until potatoes are very tender, about 20 minutes depending on the size of your dice. Using an immersion mixer, blend the soup to an even creamy consistency. Add the cream and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

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where have i been?

It was like a perfect storm of circumstances preventing me from cooking this week. One reason was the endless delicious, filling, utterly unhealthy foods that I was constantly surrounded by on the set of a brand new show, which I will be telling you all about shortly. I was coming home every evening too overindulged to cook actual meals. Then a weekend trip up to Flushing Chinatown to binge at the Roosevelt Mall Food Court ended up backfiring when I woke up Sunday morning - my cooking day - sick as a dog. There really is nothing more cruel for an obsessive foodie to cope with than food poisoning. Back to set on Monday for more food food food, and a magical Fette Sau BBQ feast for last night's wrap party. Today, it's back to the regular routine, and day one of my attempt to at least somewhat cleanse myself from a week of constant gluttony and/or illness.



So my first cleansing meal was found in last week's NY Times dining section, part of Martha Rose Shulman's Recipes for Health series. This Buckwheat Pasta with Kale was sort of a head scratcher when I first read it. Soba noodles, kale, leeks...and cheese? It didn't seem to make complete sense to me, unless you tell yourself to think of the soba as pasta, and not as an Asian noodle. What's the difference, after all? And I was pleasantly surprised by this dish. The real star for me was actually the leeks, sauteed until buttery and sweet, and a lovely pair to the fresh, mild kale. The parmesan cheese complemented the sweet leeks wonderfully. I would say, however, that the choice of fontina cheese threw me off a bit. I think that a cheese as strong as fontina didn't quite work for this dish, overpowering the sweetness of the leeks and the nuttiness of the soba. For my - ahem - second bowlful, I left out the fontina and went with a touch more parmesan, and found that balance much more suitable. Recipe after the jump:



BUCKWHEAT PASTA WITH KALE
From Martha Rose Shulman's Recipes for Health series

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (or omit butter and use 2 tablespoons olive oil)
2 large leeks, white and light green parts only, cut in half lengthwise, then sliced and cleaned
4 fresh sage leaves, cut in thin slivers
Salt, preferably kosher salt, to taste
3/4 pound kale, stemmed, washed thoroughly, and cut crosswise in strips
Freshly ground pepper
2 ounces Parmesan, grated (1/2 cup)
2 ounces fontina or Gruyère cheese, cut in 1/4 inch dice
3/4 pound buckwheat pasta (pizzoccheri or soba) or whole wheat fettuccine

1. Begin heating a large pot of water. Meanwhile, heat the butter and oil in a large, heavy nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add the leeks and sage, and cook, stirring often, until the leeks begin to soften, about three minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and fresh pepper, and continue to cook, stirring often, until the leeks are tender, about five minutes. Remove from the heat.

2. When the water comes to a boil, add a generous spoonful of salt and the kale. Boil for four minutes, until tender but still bright. Using a slotted spoon or a skimmer, transfer to the pan with the leeks and stir together. Keep warm over low heat.

3. Bring the water back to a boil, and add the pasta. Cook al dente (soba will cook quickly, usually in under five minutes, while pizzoccheri and whole wheat fettuccine will take longer). When the pasta is al dente, add 1/2 cup of the cooking water to the pan with the kale and leeks, then drain the pasta and toss in the pan or in a warm pasta bowl with the leeks, kale and the cheeses. Serve at once.

Yield: Serves four to six

Advance preparation: You can make the dish through step 2 several hours ahead. Remove from the heat, then reheat when you cook the pasta.

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ten-minute dinner: mushroom goat cheese pasta

This dish was inspired by something I had one night at Il Passatore, in my hood. I love fresh pasta with very minimal, simple flavors, and this one was excellent. My version pairs fresh fettuccine with sliced cremini mushrooms, a generous amount of butter, goat cheese, and a sprinkling of parsley. Earthy, rich, yet light and fresh. Recipe after the jump:



PASTA WITH MUSHROOMS AND GOAT CHEESE

1 lb fresh fettuccine (short pasta like campanelle would also work great)
1 lb sliced cremini mushrooms
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 ounces soft goat cheese
3 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

Boil a large pot of well-salted water for the pasta. As soon as the pasta goes in the water, melt 3 tbsp of butter over medium-high heat is a large heavy skillet or saute pan. When the butter foam subsides, add the mushrooms and saute until just beginning to soften. Add the wine and let it simmer away. If the wine simmers completely away before the mushrooms are fully cooked, add a bit of pasta water to keep it moist. When the pasta is ready, drain and add to the mushrooms. Toss well, add the remaining butter and the parsley. Toss to coat well. Serve dotted with goat cheese and sprinkled with additional parsley.

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not his mom's stuffed cabbage

Maybe it's someone's mom's stuffed cabbage, but as J-Cat so tactfully informed me upon tasting it, it's not his mom's. I wasn't exactly thrilled with that statement, but in all fairness I don't think he necessarily meant that he didn't like it. I think he just meant that it was not the same style as his mom's. Of course, I've never tasted his mom's stuffed cabbage, nor seen the recipe, so I have no idea what her's is like. Thus, I was obviously not shooting for that. I also know better than to even attempt to compete with someone's mom's way of doing things, obviously I understand the sanctity of moms' cooking. All I know is that apparently she does the raisin thing, and I'm not into that. The deli downstairs does the raisins in stuffed cabbage thing, and I'm not a fan. I went a much more straightforward route with these, I made the stuffed cabbage I thought I would like best, based on many years of ardent stuffed cabbage fandom.



This is what I want from my stuffed cabbage:
1. Beef, not pork
2. Tomato sauce, not gravy
3. Good rice to meat ratio
4. No raisins

My mother never made stuffed cabbage, but as far as I'm concerned, if she did it would probably be a lot like this. Actually, she'd probably put raisins in it, too. Recipe after the jump:

NOT J-CAT'S MOM'S STUFFED CABBAGE

1 head green or Savoy cabbage, about 2 lbs
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 carrot, shredded
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1 parsnip, shredded
1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice
3 tablespoons tomato paste
3 to 4 cups tomato sauce

Peel off about a dozen of the largest cabbage leaves and place in a large bowl. Boil a small pot of water and pour the water over the cabbage and let it sit for ten minutes until wilted.

Heat the oil in a large, wide pot. Cook the onions until they are soft, add the carrot, celery and parsnip and saute them for a couple extra minutes — until they are also soft. Season the mixture with salt and pepper, transfer it to a bowl and let it cool a bit. Mix in the meat, rice and tomato paste and season again with salt and pepper.

Drain the cabbage and pat the leaves dry with paper towels. Cut out the large vein from the cabbage. Roll about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of filling in each leaf, roll like a burrito, and arrange in the same pot you sauteed the vegetables in. Pour in enough tomato sauce to cover the rolls. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat, letting them simmer covered on the stove on low for about 45 minutes. Serve immediately.

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omg stop it with the cauliflower

Man, I am so uninspired sometimes. I am a vegetable obsessive. I can't break out of my cauliflower/brussels sprouts/beets rut. Another one for the upcoming cauliflower only cookbook. God, this isn't even my first cauliflower curry. Recipe after the jump:



CAULIFLOWER CASHEW CURRY
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

1 15-ounce can lite coconut milk
2-3 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large red onion, chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
2/3 cup water
10 ounces firm tofu, cut into small cubes
1/2 pound green beans, cut into 1-inch segments
1 head cauliflower (approx. 2 lbs), cut into tiny florets
1/2 cup cashews, toasted
a handful of cilantro, loosely chopped

Bring half of the coconut milk to a simmer in a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat. Whisk in the curry powder and salt, working out any clumps. Now stir in the chopped red onion and garlic and cook for a minute. Stir in the remaining coconut milk and the water, and then the tofu. Cook down the liquid for a couple minutes before adding the green beans and cauliflower. Cover and simmer for just about one minute, maybe two - or just until the cauliflower and beans lose their raw edge and cook through a bit. Remove the pot from heat and stir in the cashews. Taste and adjust the seasoning (salt / curry powder) if needed. Serve with a bit of cilantro topping each bowl.

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super bowl sunday supper: black bean and mushroom chili

Some quotes from J-Cat during last night's Super Bowl game:
"What the hell is a safety? Nothing about that looked safe to me."
"Woohoo! Wait, am I rooting for the right team?"
"He just ran across the whole field!! Does that really happen?!"
"I am so confused."
"Mmmmm, chipotle"

So yeah, we're not football people. At all. But we decided to watch the Super Bowl, I think primarily because J-Cat wanted Super Bowl food. So I decided to cook up a big (enormous) pot of black bean chili, and he made some yummy quesadillas.



This chili happens to be not only vegetarian, but healthy, yet does not skimp on the flavor. Smoky heat from chipotles in adobo, tang and depth from tomatillos, meatiness from mushrooms, and that creamy bite that you can only get from dried beans. On top of that, it's a super simple slow-cooker recipe that I could throw in the pot before going out for the afternoon, and return to a house filled with incredible chili aromas. Recipe after the jump:



SLOW-COOKER BLACK BEAN MUSHROOM CHILI
Adapted from Eating Well

1 pound dried black beans (2 1/2 cups), rinsed
2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup mustard seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds or ground cumin
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cardamom seeds or ground cardamom
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 pound tomatillos, husked, rinsed and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup water
6 cups mushroom broth or vegetable broth
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, seed and chop the peppers
1 1/4 cups grated Monterey Jack or pepper Jack cheese
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 limes, cut into wedges

1. Soak beans overnight in 2 quarts water. (Alternatively, place beans and 2 quarts water in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 1 hour.) Drain the beans, discarding soaking liquid.
2. Combine oil, mustard seeds, chili powder, cumin and cardamom in a 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven. Place over high heat and stir until the spices sizzle, about 30 seconds. Add onions, mushrooms, tomatillos and water. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are juicy, 5 to 7 minutes. Uncover and stir often until the juices evaporate and the vegetables are lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Add broth, tomato paste and chipotles; mix well.
3. Place the beans in a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Pour the hot vegetable mixture over the beans. Turn heat to high. Put the lid on and cook until the beans are creamy, 5 to 8 hours.
4. Garnish each serving with cheese, a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

Stovetop Variation:
Total: 4 1/2 hours
In Step 2, increase broth to 81/2 cups. Omit Step 3. Add the beans to the Dutch oven; cover and simmer the chili gently over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the beans are creamy to bite, about 3 hours.

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