November 27, 2009
Posted by Robin Bellinger, November 17, 2009 at 7:15 PM
[Photograph: Robin Bellinger]
Shopping List
14 ounces boxed chopped tomatoes: $2.00
1 cup dried chickpeas: $0.75
2 cups squash (pro-rated): $1.50
1 medium zucchini: $0.60
2 cups whole wheat couscous: $2.00
Pantry items: Ginger, cumin, paprika, turmeric, cayenne, olive oil, cinnamon stick, onion, raisins, vegetable or chicken stock, salt, cilantro, parsley, harissa or other hot sauce.
Total cost (for 4 portions): $6.85
As I dished up this couscous, my heart sank: it looked like many other vegetable stews that had disappointed me in the past with their tasteless chunks of watery squash and air of grimly determined healthiness. I had recently been thinking of how Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian never lets me down, and I figured I was paying some kind of karmic price for being foolishly faithful.
Well, the faith lives! I don't know if it was the spice blend or the cooking method, but this dish was fragrant, deliciously various, and satisfying in every way. Although I had been too lazy to chop cilantro and parsley and did not have any harissa, in my opinion it shone even without garnishes. I didn't have it in me to make a salad, either, but some simply dressed romaine or a grated carrot salad would be nice here.
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Posted by Joy Manning, November 17, 2009 at 11:30 AM
[Photograph: Joy Manning]
A lot of people think it's hard to make fresh pasta, but it isn't such a big deal, especially if you aren't attempting to roll out super-thin sheets for ravioli. Most machines come with a spaghetti attachment that makes it easy to have fresh pasta on the fly. If you aren't into it, feel free to use a pound of dry instead. Any shape will do. For an excellent meatless meal, simply swap the chicken stock for veggie, omit the sausage, and sauté the shallots in olive oil.
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Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, November 16, 2009 at 4:45 PM
[Photograph: Nick Kindelsperger]
I was looking for a baked pasta, which can be a recipe for disaster. Any luck I've had with baked pasta has been by subverting the original procedures in the hope of making something lighter (such as this baked ziti recipe). But it was cold outside, and I really wanted something that would be warming and relatively easy to throw together for a dinner party.
At some point I went from bland and cheesy versions of baked manicotti to this recipe from Closet Cooking. The use of orzo, fresh herbs, shrimp, and feta cheese, really jumped out at me because it didn't seem needlessly heavy. It actually looked balanced.
This is actually a spin on a Greek dish called Garides Saganaki, which certainly explains the use of feta instead of something like mozzarella. I also love the orzo. It provides a great contrast to the sauce, which is bright and fresh, thanks to a healthy sprinkling of herbs and just enough red pepper flakes to provide that warming hum of spice.
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Posted by glutenfreegirl, November 10, 2009 at 2:30 PM
"Millet was first grown in China, where it was revered for thousands of years as one of their five most sacred grains."
[Photograph: Shauna James Ahern]
Millet is the tofu of the grain world.
OK, I know that might not make some of you hungry. Tofu has a bad reputation, just like millet. Some of us associate tofu with that watery block of white goo, sealed in plastic. Unappetizing. Truly good tofu, however, is made fresh that day, still warm, silky on the spoon, and something else entirely than what you have in your head.
The same is true for millet. Where have you seen millet before? For most of you, that's probably in a bag of birdseed. Yep, millet is the small round grain fed to the birds in the park by crazy old ladies. Does that make you want to eat it? Probably not.
How about this? That salad you see up there? That's a chilled millet salad with red peppers and golden raisins, honeycomb tangerines, goat cheese, red leaf lettuce, and prosciutto. Plus, a little apple gastrique.
Millet does not have to be boring.
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Posted by Kristen Swensson, November 9, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Editor's note: On Mondays, Kristen Swensson of Cheap, Healthy, Good swings by these parts to share healthy and delicious recipes with us. Take it away, Kristen!
[Photograph: Kristen Swensson]
I used to consider risotto too rich, expensive, and upscale for the everyday. Not sure why. Maybe it's the inherent creaminess, or that it's frequently grouped with words like "porcini" and "truffle oil." Maybe it's because I've seen risotto mostly at fancy restaurants. Y'know, the ones I go to all the time. Because I'm unemployed, and we can do that.
Anyway, as it turns out, risotto can be adapted pretty easily to healthy diets and low budgets. Butternut Squash Risotto, which I whipped up a few weeks ago to stunning effect (if I do say so myself), is one example. Mushroom Risotto, which I made earlier this week, is another. A good one, at that.
Sophisticated yet simple, it's a get-together meal that will ingratiate your friends and make your enemies curse your name. The dish is earthy to the nth degree, but never murky, due to an abundance of fresh herbs. A solid dousing of parmesan at the end rounds out the flavor and adds creaminess.
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Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, November 6, 2009 at 4:00 PM
[Photograph: Nick Kindelsperger]
My wife swears she's sent me this recipe numerous times before, but I never gave it much thought until I personally found it on the The Daily Green and sent it to her excitedly, like it was the greatest thing ever. I was inspired by the odd culinary pairing of golden raisins and capers, and hoped they would balance each other and bring out the Swiss chard flavors.
But what really sold it for me was the fact that this could be, in the words of the author, a "delicious pasta partner." Considering the size of the chopped chard, I figured farfalle would be that perfect partner, and I'm pretty sure I was right. This was a warming and balanced plate of pasta.
I upped the ante with a little more olive oil and generous gratings of Parmesan. The result is truly satisfying. The briny capers enliven the dish while the sugary raisins help provide some kind of stability.
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Posted by Carolyn Cope, November 3, 2009 at 8:30 AM
Note: You may know Carolyn Cope as Umami Girl. She stops by on Tuesdays to help us cook through seasonal surplus with ease.
It occurred to me recently that I have a very specific conception of what it means to be a serious eater. Decades before I met this website, I developed a deep admiration for--and eventually an identity as--the kind of person who kicks off Thanksgiving dinner with a generous helping of lasagna. I'm not sure I'd named her until a few weeks ago, but that particular serious eater has been my companion for as long as I can remember. I think about her almost as much in the off-season as in the days leading up to the big game.
She's not loud or flashy about her ability to pack in, as a pre-turkey palate cleanser, that which any reasonable person would consider a substantial main course. In fact, while she's sociable during dinner, she'll often get quiet for a minute or two at a time, focused on the flavors that consume her as she consumes them. And while she'd be the first to say that eating should be about the singular pleasures of the moment, she takes her training seriously, too.
About a week in advance of turkey day, she selects an outfit with minimal waist restriction and dry cleans if necessary. Maybe she packs a pair of drawstring sweatpants for the car ride home. On Turkey Eve, she eats a bulky dinner designed to stretch the stomach without lasting caloric repercussions. Early the next afternoon, her pleasant smile greets you at the door, but it's her A-game you notice stepping across the threshold.
I think she would be happy with this Acorn Squash Lasagna with Béchamel Sauce. She'd call it autumn on a fork. She'd appreciate the interplay of the sweet roasted squash and the Parmigiano's deep umami. She'd be glad that it's simple to prepare, and that it doubles as a main course for vegetarians.
She would savor every bite. And then she'd move on to the turkey.
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Posted by Joshua Bousel, October 30, 2009 at 7:00 PM
[Photographs: Joshua Bousel]
I hadn't carved a pumpkin since my days of roaming the streets as my favorite Nintendo characters, returning again and again to the houses with the best candy, and practicing shameful acts of petty vandalism to those offering fruit (or worse, pennies).
That was, until last year, when I was invited to two pumpkin carving operations, where a large squash reminded me of these joys. This year I'm not missing any opportunity to carve, cook, and even grill this fall treat.
In the same vein as roasting butternut squash on the grill for soup, I decided to roast small pumpkin halves until completely soft, then mix the innards with shallots, ricotta, nutmeg, cayenne, salt, and pepper to make one kickin' ravioli filling.
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Posted by Gina DePalma, October 29, 2009 at 8:30 AM
[Photographs: Gina DePalma]
Oh, Broccoli Romanesco, how I love you. You're delicious and creepy and weird, like an alien vegetable. I know you are misunderstood, but that's only to people who are put off by your freakish appearance and won't take a chance. I, however, understand you completely, and appreciate you to boot. Now jump into this pot of boiling water.
How about you, dear reader? Are you the type that is startled by a vegetable with bizarre, pointed, conical spheres jutting out of it? Be brave, and take my word for it, there is an ample reward waiting. Cavolo broccolo romanesco, as it is officially known in Italian, is surprisingly sweet and mild when cooked tender, more like its close cousin the cauliflower but with a denser texture that holds up well to different cooking methods.
The chill of the autumn market brings broccoli romanesco front and center, both here in New York as well as in its native Rome. A native of Lazio, this vegetable has a noble past, dating back to the days of Julius Caesar. As an occasional Roman resident, broccoli romanesco is that perennial favorite that arrives to brighten my mood when trattoria tables move indoors with the chilly weather. Along with puntarella and fresh oranges, it is one of the few things that makes Rome's rainy season bearable.
Some suggestions for how to cook broccoli romanesco, after the jump.
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Posted by Caroline Russock, October 28, 2009 at 5:00 PM
The following recipe is from the October 28 edition of our weekly recipe newsletter. To receive this newsletter in your inbox, sign up here!
According to Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman, macaroni and cheese was the only thing that she ate for the first ten years of her life. I have to say that if I was going to pick one food to eat for ten years straight, macaroni and cheese would be a pretty solid contender, especially this version from The Pioneer Woman Cooks.
I whipped up a batch for dinner last night, and it had all of the marks of perfect mac and cheese. The interior was plenty cheesy, creamy, and custardy thanks to the addition of a roux and an egg. The top was golden with just the slightest bit of crunch from the browned noodles. While finishing the sauce I realized that I didn't have any of the mustard powder called for in the recipe, so I summoned a bit of my own pioneering spirit and substituted a few teaspoons of Dijon. The kicky mustard cut right through the cheesy sauce in the most pleasant way and will be a definite addition next time I make this recipe, along with the roasted green chilis and crumbled bacon that Drummond recommends.
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Posted by Caroline Russock, October 22, 2009 at 1:15 PM
When it comes to my love for Italian food, I subscribe to the three Rs rule: ricotta, risotto, and finally the last R, which is revolving. Sometimes it stands for robiola, a bloomy rind cheese with a slightly tangy flavor; other times it's rucola, or arugula as it's known over here; or that R could stand for rapini, deliciously bitter broccoli rabe. But if I had to choose just one R out of my list, it would have to be risotto.
This recipe for Mama Agata's Lemon Risotto is brought to us courtesy of Arthur Schwartz, author of The Southern Italian Table. Agata Lima, more affectionately known as Mama Agata, runs a small cooking school out of her home in Ravello, Campania. Living and cooking the the Italian paradise that is the Amalfi Coast affords Mama Agata access to the two ingredients that make this risotto really special. The lemons that grow in this region swell to the size of grapefruits and are especially aromatic due to their oil-rich rinds. The second ingredient that sets this risotto apart is the cream. Dairy has never been a major ingredient in Southern Italian cooking, but up until recently the Amalfi coast was home to some of the best dairy-producing cattle in all of Italy. Their milk was made to make fior di latte, a cow's milk mozzarella so good that the name literally translates to flower of milk.
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Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, October 19, 2009 at 4:45 PM
[Photograph: Nick Kindelsperger]
I've never really found an inopportune time to have mussels. During winter, the little bivalves can be covered in rich sauces that coat both them and your stomach. For summer, they can be dressed lightly. This recipe from Food and Wine is right in the middle—full-flavored from the olive oil and kale, yet doesn't involve any cream. It's absolutely perfect for the fall season.
I love cooking with mussels because they can be both madly cheap and delicious. While the actual muscle in the mussel is great, I think the best part is the liquid contained inside. When they heat up, they unleash their liquid into the sauce, making everything they touch better. When the pasta is tossed in at the end, they suck up some and come out with this clean, ocean flavor that's really irresistible. It's a very simple dish, but don't be surprised when you go in for seconds.
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Posted by Blake Royer, October 15, 2009 at 4:00 PM
[Photograph: Blake Royer]
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: real pasta carbonara doesn't have a lick of heavy cream in it. It's not alfredo sauce with bacon. The only dairy is a little bit of grated cheese, which, when mixed with pasta cooking water and a barely congealed egg yolk, creates a wondrous noodle-coating sauce.
Unless, of course, you're flipping through the excellent Zuni Cafe Cookbook and read about something Judy Rodgers calls a "rogue version" of carbonara. No, it doesn't have heavy cream—that would be a too-predictable departure from the original—but it does have ricotta cheese. Beaten with the eggs to make a smooth mixture studded with tiny curds, it melts with sharp Pecorino Romano cheese to make a worthwhile riff on the classic dish. Slow-cooked bacon and good semolina pasta are essentials, providing a chewy texture against the smooth sauce, with a hit of sharp Pecorino cheese amid it all.
It's not better than the sublime original, but it may be a little easier to make with excellent results.
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Posted by Blake Royer, October 13, 2009 at 7:30 PM
[Photograph: Blake Royer]
The weather in Chicago has been absurdly cold the last week or so, with consistent below-average temperatures threatening winter before we've even seen the leaves change. My usual instinct is to respond with cooking that suits the temperature. If I don't want it to be this cold, then at least I can eat food that tastes best when it is this cold.
And so I turned (again) to a recipe from Last Night's Dinner, an informal little dish that's as comforting as an "old worn out sweater." Simple lentils with shallot and red wine, a pile of braised winter greens, and a fried egg on top. It's tasty, full of vitamins, and very easy to make.
I immediately thought back to something I cooked in April, a lentil salad with fresh wilted baby spinach. The flavors here are deeper, and winter greens are the star -- any kind of chard works well, or something sturdier like kale, mustard greens, or collards.
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Posted by Joy Manning, October 6, 2009 at 12:15 PM
Editor's note: Philadelphia food writers Joy Manning and Tara Mataraza Desmond drop by each week with Meat Lite, which celebrates meat in moderation. Meat Lite was inspired by their book, Almost Meatless.
[Photograph from the Flickr photostream of Foodista]
Ingredient epiphanies happen when you suddenly realize how delicious two items are together. Before I made this ragout, I never combined tomatoes and lentils like this. The lentils are hearty and meaty, and the dish's sauciness is great when you feel like a pasta dish but want to eat something substantially more nutritious. This would also make for a nice appetizer spread over a slice of crusty Italian bread.
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Posted by The Serious Eats Team, September 25, 2009 at 10:57 AM
Words by Arthur Schwartz | This is the noodle pudding my maternal grandmother, Elise Binder Sonkin, made to break the fast on Yom Kippur. We ate it only that one time during the whole year. So rich, it is certainly not the best thing to eat after an entire day of fasting, but we did and still do.
It is not a sweet pudding, but we did eat it as a last course, if not dessert. After the table was cleared and the first round of dishes was washed, we went on to coffee, cakes, and pastries. Before the kugel, we ate pickled herring with “wine” sauce and cream sauce, platters of smoked whitefish, sable, and kippered salmon (also called baked salmon), cream cheese, Munster and Swiss cheeses, egg and tuna salads, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, bagels and other breads—basically what used to be considered the quintessential New York Jewish Sunday breakfast or brunch, the festive family breakfast that my family did indeed indulge in when we all lived together in one house in Brooklyn.
This is the original kugel recipe with its full quotient of butter, but you can reduce that ingredient from three sticks to two. Relatively dry, large-curd pot cheese may be difficult to find, although I now see that Friendship has reintroduced it to the supermarket—but you can substitute large curd cottage cheese if need be. To further reduce the fat content, you can substitute low-fat sour cream for full-fat. Naturally, if you go for every possible fat reduction, it won’t be the same recipe and I can’t guarantee it will give the same pleasure.
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Posted by Kerry Saretsky, September 24, 2009 at 5:45 PM
[Photos: Kerry Saretsky]
For me, it still feels like summer—that means stolen moments outside and late night grilled dinners. My stomach doesn't feel quite as ready for fall, with its great stuffed roasts, as does my closet, with its new leather jacket and tall boots, and warm, tickling sweaters that make me crave a cooler day. And when eating French food in the summertime, it is always better to face South to Provence, where the wine and Champagne are served on the rocks, and the flavors are always light and bright and punchy as summertime itself.
When we think of tapenade, we usually envision a thick, smooth paste of black olives spiked with anchovies and garlic. But this version is tapenade's boisterous blond twin: briny green olives are kept chunky and are smashed to a crumbling rubble with the usual Nice suspects of lemon, thyme, garlic, capers, and anchovies. Matching green penne traps all the salty bits and pieces in its tentacling tubes. A chopped emerald city of baby spinach and arugula turn this room-temperature pasta into a salad.
I love to serve this pasta salad along with grilled steak or shrimp. Because the pasta has so much unusual flavor, you don't have to do a thing to the meat except cook it. And because this pasta salad is served at room temperature, I love to pack it for a picnic—whether that picnic is by the ocean or by the office water cooler. It's also the perfect thing to pick and peck on, perhaps because I can eat it straight from the fridge. I confess; it's addictive.
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Posted by Kristen Swensson, September 21, 2009 at 10:45 AM
Note: On Mondays, Kristen Swensson of Cheap, Healthy, Good swings by these parts to share healthy and delicious recipes with us. Take it away, Kristen!
[Photograph: Kristen Swensson]
Over the last five years or so, whole-wheat pasta has become a fixture in light cooking. Admittedly, it's slightly healthier than durum-based pasta and pairs well with earthier ingredients like eggplant and spinach. But nine times out of ten, I prefer non-wheatie ziti (or rotini or capellini) as it's more versatile and better-tasting, not to mention a buck cheaper per box. As for the fiber issue, I figure I’ll get it elsewhere. Like say, from fruit or chewing on a piece of furniture.
However, there’s still that 10 percent of recipes where whole-wheat pasta works exceptionally well. Turkey Sausage and Arugula Pasta from Eating Well is one of them. Instead of acting as a blank canvas on which to pile vegetables, the whole-wheat pasta has a slightly nutty flavor and firm texture that goes well with the peppery greens and bright, sweet tomatoes. Everything’s topped off with a subtle, low-fat Parmesan sauce, which adds moisture and wonderful cheesiness without too many extra calories.
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Posted by Blake Royer, September 17, 2009 at 4:00 PM
[Photograph: Blake Royer]
I'm always experimenting with new ideas when it comes to tomato-based pasta sauce, a seemingly inexhaustible genre of cooking. When summer is at its peak, I love to make this no-cook marinated sauce, basically a bruschetta topping tossed with noodles instead of spooned onto bread. Then I turn to canned tomatoes when summer is over, trying new ideas like a roasted fennel sauce or adding a pinch of saffron.
Now is a time when fresh tomatoes are at the market, but they're not necessarily at their peak. What's one great thing to do with not-quite-perfect vegetables? Roast them. It dismisses any problems with mealy texture and amps up the sweetness.
This recipe for spicy roasted tomato and pepper sauce, from a book called Verdura by Viana la Place, roasts peppers and tomatoes side-by-side, which creates a sauce of smoky sweetness, enhanced by a pinch of hot red pepper flakes. As is my little secret, I added a tablespoon of butter, which works wonders for tomato sauces. A wonderful late-summer/early-fall dish, for days when there is a slight crispness to the air.
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Posted by Caroline Russock, September 17, 2009 at 12:45 PM
[Flickr: Robyn Lee]
I consider Spaghetti alla Carbonara one of my culinary secret weapons. No matter how sad the state of my refrigerator, chances are that I have all of the ingredients on hand to produce a steaming and satisfying plate of carbonara. I've learned over the years that as long as I have a few eggs, a chunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano, and some sort of cured pork product, I will never go hungry nor will I be disappointed.
There might be a few other incarnations of pasta that are equally as quick, but none deliver the richness of this simple mix of bacon, eggs, and pasta. If you have never made this dish before, Ari Weinzweig's recipe from Zingerman's Guide to Better Bacon is a great place to start. Boil the pasta, crisp up some pork (bacon, pancetta, guanciale, even diced salt pork will do), drain the pasta, add it to the rendered pork fat, mix in the eggs and grated cheese, toss with a generous amount of black pepper, and you are finished.
Once you learn the basic formula you can add your own touches. Fresh herbs are always a nice addition—I am particularly fond of parsley and chives. You can deglaze the pan with white wine for a little added acidity or add a touch of cream if you like your pasta a bit saucier.
Win 'Zingerman's Guide to Better Bacon'
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