Winter is coming

At least it's soup/stew season?

Here's an easy and satisfying option courtesy of Melissa Clark. Even for leftovers the orzo never felt too mushy. Hot, light and full of vegetables! Plus cheese obviously. 

 

Chickpea Stew with Orzo and Greens

Ingreeds:

-2 tbs evoo

-2 medium carrots, chopped

-1 fennel bulb (or celery stalks if you don't love yourself), chopped

-1 medium onion, chopped

-2 garlic cloves, minced (never a mistake to add more)

-red pepper flakes to taste

-2 tsps fresh rosemary, chopped (didn't add this because it was raining outside and I was too lazy. lemon-thyme was closer so added that)

-2 cups broth or water 

-1 15oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

-3/4 cup chopped cherry toms

-1/2 cup orzo

-a bunch of greens (kale, spinach)

-salt and pep

-scallions, chopped

-lots of finely grated parm 

 

Step 1:

Heat the evoo over medium-high in a large pot. Add chopped carrots, fennel, and onion. Cook about 5-7 minutes until tender. Add garlic, red-pepper flakes, rosemary (if using) and cook for another few minutes. Pour in broth/water, plus 2 additional cups of water and bring to a boil.

 

Step 2:

Once boiling, add chickpeas, tomatoes and orzo. I'd add some salt here as well. Reduce to a simmer and cover. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the orzo is tender. Uncover and stir in greens (do this earlier if using kale) and simmer about 2 minutes until soft.

 

Step 3:

Add more water if you prefer more of a soup, and season with salt and pep. Ladle into bowls and top with scallions and parm. A drizzle of olive won't hurt either.

the best thing i've made in awhile?

oh, hello you. i'd like to share an excellent winter invention. a delightful treat. comfort food at its very best. it's bit haphazard and wild, but the good news is that there is tons of flexibility in terms of what you have on hand. i hope that everyone makes this because really, since i finished up all the leftovers, i've been dreaming of having more of it.

buttercup squash mac & cheese

you need:
1 bag (regular size?) of any kind of pasta that you like (i mixed farro spirals and regular old elbow mac)
2 cups vegetable broth
1 medium sized buttercup squash
breadcrumbs
3 cups grated cheese (i used smoked cheddar, gouda, and regular cheddar)
milk of choice
spoon of butter

1. slice the squash in half and remove the seeds. roast it in the oven on an oiled pan, face down, at 375 until quite soft (30 minutes, ish). OR you could roast this (as i did) in cubes (peeled, etc) with some sea salt and either sage or thyme. YUM.

2. while the squash is roasting, grate up all of your cheese and boil whatever pasta you've selected. cook til nearly your desired softness, but NOT QUITE! since you will be putting it back in the oven in a little bit. when the pasta is cooked enough, strain and run cold water so that the cooking process is paused.

3. when the squash is done, scoop out the gooey insides into a pot (maybe even the pasta pot that you were using but strained the pasta out of). with an immersion blender, turn the squash into a silky sauce by also adding some of the vegetable broth (saving about a cup for later) and the butter. when this gets a bit silky, add the cooked pasta, and the grated cheese (saving about half a cup of the cheese). add the rest of the broth, and milk. add as much as you need to loosen up the sauce a little, as it will be quite thick because of the squash. i probably added about a cup.

4. when all is combined, scoop out your delicious mixture into a large pyrex. top with the remaining cheese and sprinkle with bread crumbs.

5. bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. then stick your broiler on so that the top gets browned, but watch closely so that it doesn't burn.

TA-DA!
Enjoy this with a side of sauteed collards with garlic, and a bit of hot sauce.

The Pasta that Almost Led to Tenderness (aka Fettucine with Peas, Asparagus and Pancetta)

Last night had all the makings of a great night - a shower, a hot steamy evening (thank you tropical weather) and the decadence of pancetta. Tenderness guarantee, right? WRONG. BUT, the pasta was deeeelish. Like, make it for a co-worker you want to impress with your culinary prowess. Or when you have someone who thinks they are better than you over for dinner. Oh really, person who thinks they're better than me? Have you tried this awesome fucking pasta? Just do not use this pasta on the path to tenderness, for that road is fraught with peril and early morning golf games.

Also, as a tenderness-related-P.S. and a heavily nostalgic note, I've been listening to the epic first wives' club "you don't own me" every morning while teeth brushing and/or bed making and I'd say it has improved my life at least 17%. If we add in my frequent bacon-product use, we might be up to a solid 20% improvement overall. The potent combo of feminist empowerment and grease should never be underestimated. Anyways, every day should start out that awesome and end off with pancetta...trust me.

Finally, some alterations: I usually add a bit more lemon because I think it is more fresh and delicious that way. I substitute the whipping cream for whatever 1% or 2% milk I have in the fridge (add a bit less.) And I never add peas to this dish because I find them suspicious and gross, but if you're into that then go wild. Hope you lovers enjoy. xo

12 ounces fettuccine or penne

3 ounces pancetta or bacon, chopped

1 1/4 pounds asparagus, trimmed, cut on diagonal into 1-inch pieces

2 cups shelled fresh green peas, blanched 1 minute in boiling water, drained, or frozen peas (do not thaw)

1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced, white and pale green parts separated from dark green parts

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel

1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley, divided

1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil, divided

Cook pasta in pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid. Return pasta to pot.

Meanwhile, cook pancetta in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 1 teaspoon drippings from skillet. Add asparagus to drippings in skillet; sauté 3 minutes. Add peas, white and pale green parts of green onions, and garlic; sauté until vegetables are just tender, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Add vegetable mixture, 1/4 cup pasta cooking liquid, dark green parts of green onions, 1/2 cup Parmesan, cream, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon peel, half of parsley, and half of basil to pasta. Toss, adding more cooking liquid by tablespoonfuls if needed. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Transfer to large bowl. Sprinkle pancetta, remaining parsley, and basil over. Serve, passing additional Parmesan cheese.

Pink Pasta

Dear Blog Readers,

The other night I made a very counterintuitive pasta dish--pasta with beets! Not only was the whole thing fantastically rose-tinged, it was also delicious. It was sweet and savoury and crunchy and cheesy--what more could you need? I would seriously recommend that all of you make this as soon as possible.

Pink Pasta with Beets and Beet Greens

1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
extra-virgin olive oil
2 large onions, sliced into thin crescents (about 4 cups)
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 bunches beets with fresh healthy greens, greens cut into 1-inch-wide-strips
12 ounces farfalle (bow-tie pasta)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus extra for serving

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Begin by putting the beets into the oven to roast. Depending on their size this will take between 3o and 60 minutes, so get started early! When they are finished, peel and cut the beets into crescents.

Next, get to work caramelizing those nice crescent onions. Put a large frying pan over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the onions, and saute until beginning to soften and turn golden, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and saute until tender and browned, about thirty minutes longer. (FOR A GREAT PRIMER ON CARAMELIZING ONIONS, go here). Once you are satisfied with the caramelization of the onions, add garlic and stir for 2 minutes. Scatter beet greens over onions and garlic, drizzle on a little more olive oil if needed; cover, and cook until beet greens are tender, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, put a large pot of water on the stove to boil. Once boiling, add pasta and cook until al dente--tender, but still firm to bite. Reserve a cup of the pasta boiling water, then drain, and return pasta to pot.

Stir onion-greens mixture and beets into pasta. Add pasta cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls to moisten, if needed. Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Stir in Parmesan cheese, and pinenuts.

Serve!

Rotini con Gamberi, Pomodoro ed Asparagi

1/3 cup olive oil
½ cup white onions, thinly sliced
1 lb asparagus, sliced into 1 inch pieces
1 lb (about 5 medium) fresh plum tomatoes
1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and (unless you're in Spain) de-veined
Salt and pepper
1 box Rotini
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Cook pasta. Blanch tomatoes (put them in a pot of boiling water for a couple minutes), peel, seed, and chop. Heat oil in a skillet and sautee onions 2-3 min. Add asparagus and sautee another 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, shrimp and simmer 4-5 min or until shrimp is cooked and opaque. Season with salt and pepper. Add pasta and garnish with parsley.

Pasta with broccoli, edamame, and walnuts

Note to Jess: Do not quadruple the recipe! It will make an unconquerable mountain of pasta like that of Straga Nonna!

¾ lb chunky pasta
¼ cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups broccoli, bite-sized
1 cup frozen shelled edamame
¾ tsp salt
¼ cup fresh basil, oregano, thyme, or marjoram, chopped
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
Salt and pepper
Grate parmesan or pecorino romano

Cook pasta to al dente. Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic, cook for a few seconds. Add broccoli and ½ cup of hot pasta water, turn to high, and cook for 2 min. Add edamame, salt, and herbs. Cook until water evaporates and broccoli is crisp-tender, and bright green, about 5 min. Remove from heat.

Drain pasta. Toss pasta and vegetable mixture, olive oil, and toasted walnuts. Season with salt and pepper. Top with cheese.

'move it or lose it' pasta!

dear friends,

many of you who are reading this blog probably know the following two things about me: one, if there's anything i hate in this world, it's wasting food. and two, i am moving out of my apartment soon. so i was perusing the insides of my fridge last night, the anxiety about everything i had to eat before the move on thursday building.... and i ended up concocting a pretty wild and delicious noodle extravaganza.

here's what i did:

boiled a bag of rigatoni pasta until i thought that it could probably use about 3 minutes more cooking time (but you could use any tube-shaped pasta, i would imagine.) drained and set aside.

in a very large and deep skillet on medium heat, i sauteed two diced shallots, three cloves of minced garlic, and a teaspoon of dried crushed hot pepper in something like a quarter of a cup of olive oil until soft and fragrant (about 6 minutes). i found part of a leftover yellow pepper and added it to the mix. then chopped fresh basil (i added the contents of my refrigerator, so you really can put a lot and it is delicious). then about a cup of diced sundried tomatoes (you could also add fresh tomatoes, or whatever you have). black olives and surprise! i found a can of chickpeas, which i rinsed and drained and added to the mix. finally, i incorporated money teph's broth method - i added a bag of baby spinach (about 4 handfuls) along with some vegetable broth and turned the heat up. when everything seemed to be well-mixed and delicious, i added the mostly-cooked pasta and combined with cracked black pepper. now the most delicious part - as much grated cheese as you can possibly find. i had about 150g of gruyere and some parmesan. on low heat, mix it ALLLLL in.

when the stovetop portion is all said and done, place your pasta mixture in a glass casserole baking dish (grease with a bit of olive oil). sprinkle the top with some bread crumbs and remaining cheeses and bake at 350F until the top is crisp and the insides are hot and bubbling - about 20 minutes.

you can use this method with pretty much anything you have in the fridge. the versatility is really the charm..... i'm sure that it would be delicious with zucchinis, tomatoes, pesto, garden gnomes... you name it.

whew! well, don't we all feel better now?!!

(maybe that's just me. but really. i really really do.)

Orecchiette with Spinach

Dear culinary hopefuls,

It has come to my attention that the Gosky Patties recipe was somewhat difficult to execute (common problems included runaway pigs, inability to locate adequate amounts of foolscap, concerns about animal rights violations). I do apologize.

Perhaps this is a better way to improve library-confinement: a quick & iron-heavy pasta concoction that even tastes good cold & out of a tupperware!

You will need:

400-500g of scoop-shaped pasta – e.g. orecchiette or gnocco sardo

16 to 20 oz baby spinach – no need to chop

1/3 cup olive oil

1.5 -2 shallots finely chopped (although the same amount of onions works as well)

1/2 teaspoon crushed dried hot red chillies

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (at least!)

Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water till al dente – do not overcook, because the pasta will cook a little more when you mix it into the hot oil at the end. About 2 minutes before you figure that the pasta is done, stir the spinach into the pot of pasta (contrary to appearances, it will all fit in). Drain pasta and spinach when done.

Heat oil in large pan over medium-low heat. Cook shallot and chili flakes till soft but not brown (~3 minutes).

Add pasta and spinach to hot oil and mix well. Season with salt, and add grated Parmesan to taste.

(Courtesy of Fresh Ways with Pasta and my mother)

FOOD IS FUN, administration is not

Beeks, Money Teph, and MCO just made kraft dinner.

Delicious.

Instructions can be found on the box.

love
lady spatulax3