Besotted Gourmet » Veggie Dinner

Fettuccine with Pecan Herb Sauce

Jessica — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 02:32:55 +0000

In a thoroughly unsurprising development, the holiday season has left me with less time than I’d like to do the things I enjoy most – namely putter around the kitchen and cook. I eat out too much, go to too many parties, and order delivery too often in an effort to save time for gift-wrapping, which inevitably takes 5 times longer than it takes the average all-thumbed clutz, that I end up cooking less during this home and hearth-oriented season than usual.

And, quite frankly, eating out so much sounds fun, but it is a bit off-putting. I like my own cooking, I like creating something, I like knowing what goes into it, I like being in my kitchen and doing the familiar dance around my pantry and stove, and not doing it makes me feel out of sorts.

Which is why it’s important to have recipes like Fettuccine with Pecan Herb Sauce that are the amazing combination of delicious, easy, quick-to-make, and healthy – in short, it gives me the face time with my kitchen that I crave and results in a pretty fantastic meal. Win, win…and…. win.

Enjoy!

Click here for a printable version of the recipe

Fettuccine with Pecan Herb Sauce, Serves 4

Adapted from Caprial’s Bistro Style Cuisine

Prep Time: 25 Minutes

Total Prep Time: 25 Minutes

Ingredients:

1 Cup Pecans

½ Cup Parmesan, grated

3 Cloves Garlic, chopped

1/3 Cup Thyme Leaves, chopped

1/3 Cup Basil Leaves, chopped

2/3 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

1lb. Fettuccine

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 250° and put a pot of salted water onto boil. Spread the pecans out on a baking sheet and toast in the oven (or a toaster oven) for 10 minutes or until fragrant… once you start to smell their toasty goodness, they’re ready to come out.

Once the water has started to boil, add the fettuccine and cook for 8-10 minutes or according to the box instructions, and then, get on making the pecan herb sauce.

Place the toasted pecans, grated parmesan, thyme and basil leaves in the bowl of a food processor or mini-food processor. Chop or pulse until fine. Add the extra-virgin olive oil through the feed tube with the processor running. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.

Once the fettuccine has finished cooking, drain, but leave the noodles a bit wet, and mix with the pecan herb sauce. Toss well, serve, and enjoy!

Linguine with Summer Tomato Sauce

Jessica — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:17:28 +0000

Things have been a little hectic around Chez Besotted lately, but the brisk Fall air, ushering in the change of seasons has me very excited for some of my cold weather favorites – chicken stock and soup, pies, and scones, and braised meats.

But, there’s still just enough summer left in the air for a de-constructed Summer tomato sauce, made with farm-fresh tomatoes. This is a no-cook, light and easy week-night dinner (unless you count cooking the pasta) that really capitalizes on the flavor and brightness of local tomatoes.

Aside from the pasta, the only other cooking involved is done by the vinegar in the sauce. This is one of my favorite tricks for keeping flavors really light and fresh, but still ‘cooking’ out the face-puckering bite of things like garlic, onions, and ginger. Any acid – vinegar, lemon, lime, and orange juice – ‘cook’ the items that they are marinading, including meats, herbs, and vegetables. It’s the same principle used in ceviche, any salad dressings that you’ve made that use raw garlic, and even the green beans in mustard vinaigrette recipe.

There’s no heat involved, but the acid breaks down the food in the same way that heat would, easing and mellowing the flavor, and it does it beautifully here. Enjoy!*

*Obviously, it goes without saying that this method would not be used to ‘cook’ food to kill bacteria and should only be used on foods that could otherwise be eaten raw.

Click here for a printable version of the recipe

Linguine with Summer Tomato Sauce, Serves 4

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Total Time: 15 Minutes

Ingredients:

1lb. Linguine

2 Tbls. Olive Oil

4 Medium-Sized Tomatoes, roughly chopped into cubes

½ Cup Parsley, chopped

½ Cup Basil, chopped

4 Cloves Garlic, chopped

1 ½ Tbls. White Wine Vinegar

½ Cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Preparation:

Set a pot of water to boil, seasoned with salt and 2 Tbls. olive oil, for the pasta.

In the mean time, place the chopped tomatoes, parsley, basil, and garlic in a large bowl, and mix together.

Pour the vinegar on top and mix well. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes, or until the pasta is nearly done cooking.

Cook the pasta in the boiling water according to the packages instructions.

Just before the pasta is done cooking, whisk the extra-virgin olive oil into the tomato mixture and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Once the pasta is done cooking, drain and add to the tomato mixture, mixing well. Divide among four plates, serve, and enjoy!

Buttery Veggie Popovers with Gorgonzola Sauce

Jessica — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:09:09 +0000

For those of you that think that vegetarian dinners consist of greater amounts self-righteousness than flavor, let alone decadence, meet the Veggie Popover and…. Eat. Your. Hearts. Out.

Hearty veggies steeped in a deep, rustic wine sauce, baked inside a flaky, buttery pastry shell and drowned in a gorgonzola cream sauce obliterate any notions that vegetarian dinners are an ersatz gourmet experience. Every bite is more delicious and satisfying than the last, and if you also happen to feel a little self-righteous for getting so many veggies into your diet, all the better.

Just a little forewarning, come to this dish with a hearty appetite, and approach the recipe with a fair amount of time and energy – there’s a good hour and a half of solid prep time (though, not all at once), but, I assure you, the investment is well worth it.

Also, for those of you that think that Boston’s recent heat and humidity wave has made me 1) overly ambitious with regards to grocery lists or 2) mad, I’ll admit that the ingredient list does look daunting, but when you look at it more closely, you’ll realize that many of the items are already in your pantry, fridge, or garden:

Garlic, check; wine (red and white), check; heavy cream (check – I make loads of ice cream and always have a pint on-hand), herbs, check (thank you, herb garden); water, ah, check. When you actually go shopping for the items, you’ll realize it isn’t as bad as it looks.

Although it goes without saying, this dish is perfect for entertaining…. impressive, delicious, decadent, and most of the work can be done in advance.

Enjoy!

Veggie Popovers with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce, Serves 4

Adapted from Caprial’s Bistro-Style Cuisine

Prep Time: 1 Hour 45 Minutes

Cooling/Resting Time/Baking Time: 35 Minutes

Total Prep Time: 2 Hours 20 Minutes

Ingredients:

For the Veggie Filling:

2 Tbls. Olive Oil

½ Onion, diced

2 Cloves Garlic, chopped

1 Yukon Gold Potato, peeled and diced

1 Carrot, peeled and thinly sliced

1 Cup Mushrooms, sliced*

1 Summer Squash or Zucchini, rough chopped

¾ Cup Red Wine

2 Tsp. Fresh Basil, chopped

1 Tsp. Fresh Parsley, chopped

1 Tsp. Fresh Thyme, chopped

1 Tsp. Salt

½ Tsp. Pepper

For the Crust and Eggwash:

2 1/3 Cup Flour

½ Cup Butter, sliced into 8 pieces

½ Cup Shortening

½ Tsp. Salt

½ Cup Cold Water

1 Egg

1 Tsp. Water

For the Gorgonzola Sauce:

1 Cup White Wine

2 Cloves Garlic, chopped

2 Shallots, chopped

1 Cup Heavy Cream

1/3 Cup Gorgonzola Crumbles

Preparation:

Chop all of the herbs and vegetables. Owing to the quantity of veggies to be chopped, this is one of the few recipes that I strictly adhere to the ‘mise en place’ rigidity of professional kitchens.

Tons o' veg... Get chopping!

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat until hot. Add the onion and garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes and carrots and saute for 4-5 minutes. Add the summer squash (or zucchini) and mushrooms and saute for 2 minutes.

Add the red wine, increase the heat to medium-high, and let the wine reduce for 10 minutes. Add the basil, parsley, and thyme. Remove from the heat, give the veggie mixture a good stir and add the salt and pepper. Stir again, and set aside on a trivet to cool.

Onto the dough….. place the flour, butter, shortening, and salt in a large bowl. Using your (clean) fingers, mash the butter and shortening into the flour, until the mixture is crumbly. (This was a first for me, as I typically make doughs in my food processor or mixer, but it worked very well and didn’t dirty another bowl, which makes it aces in my book).

Add the cold water to the mixture in 4-6 batches, mixing well with a fork in between each. The dough should be fairly wet, but not sopping. Cover dough with plastic wrap and let sit for 20 minutes.

Once the dough has rested and the veggies are well on their way to being cool, preheat the oven to 425°. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper (or, alternatively, grease with butter).

Flour your hands and rolling pin, and roll the dough out onto a VERY well floured surface (wet dough needs a bit more flour to make it workable). Roll the dough into a rectangular shape (about 24 inches wide) for 4 popovers. Cut the rectangle into 4 equal squares and add about ¼ – ½ cup of the veggie filling to the center of the squares.**

Fold the dough up over the filling, creating a snug package; pinch the dough to seal in the filling.

Prepare the egg wash by beating the egg and tsp. of water. Using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash over the popovers.

Don't worry about the beauty of your popovers.... those bumps and ridges look rustic and beautiful once baked, and, besides, you'll be drowning them in gorgonzola sauce.

Bake the popovers in the oven for 22-25 minutes.

While they’re baking, make the gorgonzola sauce. In a sauce pan, over medium-high heat, bring the wine, shallots, and garlic to a boil. Reduce the wine until about ¼ cup remains (3-5 minutes). Add the heavy cream and reduce again until ½ cup liquid remains (another 3-5 minutes). The heavy cream will froth up while reducing and make it difficult to judge the quantity; just remove it from the heat for a few seconds, it’ll settle down, and you’ll be able to gauge the quantity more easily.

Once reduced, remove from the heat, stir in the Gorgonzola crumbles until it looks creamy (don’t worry about a few errant gorgonzola crumbles that haven’t melted.)

Once the popovers have finished baking, remove from the oven. Using a spatula, plate the popovers, drown in gorgonzola sauce, and serve with a big salad (to counter the heaviness of the dish). Serve and enjoy!

*Select the mushrooms that best fit your taste and budget, but I chose a mix of Shiitake and Chanterelle.

** You can cut a greater quantity of dough pieces and just add a little less filling (6 would be my recommended maximum) if you’d like smaller, more plentiful popovers.

Parmesan-encrusted Zucchini and Summer Squash Medallions

Jessica — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:24:32 +0000

I am boldly plowing my way through a refrigerator full of veggies with some, admittedly, mixed results. Anchovy frisee was not so good. In fact, it was so bad, I couldn’t eat it.

Ah well…. But, this little gem of a culinary epiphany is well-worth documenting, sharing, and trying, and I would encourage all of you inundated with zucchini and summer squash (whether from your own garden or a farm share) to embrace the flour, egg, and bread crumb combo.

Gorgeous little gems....

There is a bit of fiddling – as there typically is with the parmesan-ing process – but nothing that takes more than 20 minutes of not-hard-at-all work. And the results are well worth it.

Enjoy!

Click here for a printable version of the recipe

Parmesan Zucchini and Summer Squash, Serves 4

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Frying Time: 15 Minutes

Total Prep Time: 45 Minutes

Ingredients:

1 Zucchini, cut into ½ inch slices

1 Summer Squash, cut into ½ inch slices

1 Cup Flour

2 Tsp. Salt

1 Egg

2 Tbls. Water

1 Cup Dry Bread Crumbs, split into 3rds

1 Tbls. Red Pepper Flakes, split into 3rds

1 Tbls. Dried Basil, split into 3rds

4-6 Tbls. Olive Oil for Frying

Parmesan to Taste

Preparation:

Heat 3 Tbls. of the Olive Oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.

Beat the egg and water together in a small bowl.

Set 4 plates onto the counter. In the first, mix ½ Cup of the flour and 1 tsp. of the salt. In the second, pour the beaten egg and water. In the third, mix 1/3 Cup of the bread crumbs and 1 Tsp. each of the dried basil and red pepper flakes. Leave the 4^th plate empty for the breaded veggie pieces.

Henry Ford would have been proud!

Working in batches of 4, dredge the veggie pieces well in the flour, shaking off any excess. Cover in the egg mixture, allowing it to drip dry, before proceeding to cover the veg pieces well with the bread crumbs.

Just about ready to hop into the hot oil....

Once you’ve completed 4 veggie pieces, sprinkle with parmesan and lay, parmesan-side down, in the hot olive oil. Sprinkle the top with a bit more parmesan and cook each side for 3 minutes.

While the first batch is frying, dump out the remaining bread crumbs on the plate and make a fresh batch (it’s time-consuming, but very much worth it). About half-way through, you will also have to replenish the flour and salt with the remaining ½ cup and teaspoon.

Repeat the process with the remaining veggie pieces (you should make about 4 batches of 4 pieces).

When the veggie pieces have done frying, lay them on paper towels on a cooling rack for 3-5 minutes.

Plate the zucchini and summer squash, sprinkle with a bit of sea salt, serve, and enjoy!

Asian Veggie Ravioli in Spicy Coconut Broth

Jessica — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:50:16 +0000

There are certain kitchen tasks that, no matter how simple, always reduce my ego and perception of my own mental capacity to the size of a child. For example, basting a turkey…. It’s quite simple, really. You just dip the tip into some of the juice, squeeze the little rubber-thingy, and distribute the juice over the turkey. Simple, right? But, somehow, I always end up choking on the heat of the oven, bump my head tellingly against the oven door, can’t quite get the juice into the baster (at which point it makes that hideous slurp-slurp noise), jab at the turkey senselessly, causing it to lose far more moisture than I ever intended to put in, and usually give myself a nasty burn.

I also will not cut a cake, for reasons that are too inane and embarrassing to expound upon here.

However, the bright side is that there are also those tasks which are ludicrously easy, but make you feel incredibly accomplished and just a little sad that your now-obvious talents have gone unnoticed for so long. This was exactly my experience when making these Asian Veggie Raviolis, as I was certain that making raviolis (nearly) from scratch was a task best left to professionals, but I dove into the task with the back-up plan of eating the filling with a spoon and looking at the pictures from the cookbook in the back of my mind.

Needless to say, the raviolis could not have been easier to make, made quite an impressive presentation, and were a very inexpensive dish. These raviolis would make a spectacular dish to serve to guest (particularly if you have vegetarians in your midst), but is easy and quick enough to make on a week-night (as long as you get home at a reasonable hour).

One other thing before the recipe… it’s ok to make the filling and the sauce in advance, and then just construct and cook the raviolis just before serving, as old-ish raviolis can get a bit dingy.

Enjoy!

Click here for a printable version of the recipe

Asian Veggie Raviolis in Spicy Coconut Broth, Serves 4

Adapted from Caprial’s Bistro-Style Cuisine

Prep Time: 50 Minutes

Cooling Time: 1 Hour

Total Time: 1 Hour 50 Minutes

Ingredients:

For the Filling:

1 Tbls. Ginger, peeled and rough chopped

2 Cloves Garlic

½ Cup Scallions, rough chopped

1 Carrot, rough chopped

6 Snow Peas

1 Red Bell Pepper, de-seeded and rough-chopped

½ Cup Shiitake Mushrooms, rough-chopped

2 Tsp. Vegetable Oil

1 Tsp. Sesame Oil

1 Tsp. Chile Paste

2 Tbls. Soy Sauce

48 Wonton Wrappers

For the Broth:

2 Tsp. Vegetable Oil

2 Cloves Garlic, chopped

2 Tsp. Ginger, peeled and chopped

¾ Cup Stock, either chicken or vegetable

1 ½ Cup Reduced Fat Coconut Milk*

2 Tsp. Honey

1 Tbls. Five-Spice Powder

1 Tsp. Chili Paste

Preparation:

Heat the vegetable oil in a saute pan over medium heat while you prepare the filling.

Put the garlic, ginger, and all of the vegetables for the filling into the bowl of a food processor and pulse into very finely minced and well-blended.

Turn the veggie mush out into the saute pan and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the sesame oil, chili sauce, and soy sauce and stir well. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 1 hour.

Just before the hour is up, put a pot of water on the stove top to boil over medium-high heat and start in on making the broth.

Heat the oil in a sauce pan over medium heat until hot. Add the garlic and ginger and saute for 1 minute, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Add the stock, coconut milk, and honey and bring to a boil. Add the five-spice powder and chili paste, and turn the heat down to low and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.

While you’re waiting for the stock to boil and simmer, you can get on making the raviolis. Lay your wonton wrappers out on a flat surface. Drop just under a rounded teaspoon onto the middle of them, brush the sides with water using a pastry brush, and place another wrapper on top, pinching down the sides. Be careful to not over-fill them.

Once prepared, cook your raviolis in the GENTLY boiling water (it should be over medium-high heat) for 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and allow to drain in a colander.

Plate the raviolis, ladle some of the spicy coconut broth over them, and garnish with dried cilantro or parsley. Enjoy!

*I almost never go for the reduced-fat version of items, but coconut milk is extremely heavy, and I prefer the reduced-fat version.

Aglio e Olio – Bright Summery Pasta for Dreary Days

Jessica — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:33:06 +0000

Can all the Bostonians/New Englanders/Northeast Corridorites agree that the rain is getting just a tad old… I’ve only been back for 3 days and it’s already wearing on me, so I can’t imagine what it’s doing to those of you that have been enduring this for a week now.

Which is why, I thought that a little summery, sunshiney pasta dish would be just the thing to make us all feel, if not believe, that the warm weather really is right around the corner.

I know I say this about a lot of things, but Aglio e Olio really is my to-die-for dish. It easily makes the list of top 5 foods I would take with me to a desert island, not to mention the fact that it holds a bit of sentimental nostalgia for me.

Back when I first started cooking for myself (a subject that has been coming up quite a bit recently), aglio e olio was my premiere go-to for weeknight dinners. It had all of the characteristics of a perfect meal:

Simplicity
Deliciousness
It used beautiful fresh ingredients and allowed them to come through
It required almost no real skill but still made me feel supremely competent, which is a feat not achieved by most recipes.

It should also be mentioned that there is a very unique synergy to this dish, an alchemy achieved by the blend of ingredients that is hard to achieve when even one is omitted. Luckily, most of the ingredients happen to be staples, so there is no great chance that you will be without one, but do make the effort to use them all, nonetheless.

Click here for a printable version of the recipe

Algio e Olio, Serves 2

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Total Time: 20 Minutes

Ingredients:

½ lb. Linguine

3 Tbls. Olive Oil

6 Cloves Garlic, rough chopped

¼ Cup Parmesan, grated

½ Tsp. Red Pepper Flakes

1 Lemon, juiced

1/3 Cup Parsley, rough chopped

½ Tsp. Sea Salt

½ Tsp. Pepper

3 Tbls. Best Quality Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Salt for boiling pasta

Preparation:

Bring a pot of salted water to boil.

Over medium-low heat, heat the olive oil and sweat the garlic for 15 minutes in a large saute pan. (I’m adding a Glossary Page for these terms, but sweating garlic means that you cook it over very low heat to infuse the oil with its flavor; there should be no activity in the pan, no sizzling. The only evidence that anything is happening will be a wonderful, light garlic smell that permeates the kitchen after about 5 minutes.)

Once the water has come to a boil, add the linguine and cook for 7 minutes.

Once the linguine has cooked, drain the pasta, but leave it very damp as the cooking water will help the sauce to glide easily over the noodles.

Toss the linguine into the saute pan, still over the heat. Add the parmesan, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, parsley, salt, pepper, and extra-virgin olive oil to the pan and mix well to the coat the linguine with tongs.

Serve with extra parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Veggie BBQ Rescue – Portobello Mushroom Burgers

Jessica — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:14:04 +0000

I recently received an e-mail from my dear friend, PK (of the Mango Salsa recipe and the very active commenting) requesting help with a vegetarian recipe for a BBQ he was hosting; burgers would be the staple, but he wanted to have a few non-meat options up his sleeve for vegetarian guests.

Vegetarian entrees are fantastic on their own, but when combined with a meat offering, the usual choice is either to go for a pre-made veggie burger or double the grocery list and prep time, neither of which are great options.

I wanted to put together a tasty veggie option, that wouldn’t load PK and Mrs. PK with an exhaustive grocery or prep list. I opted for a marinated portobello mushroom burger, because it almost perfectly mirrors the preparation and condiments necessary for hamburgers, and the ingredient list would mostly consist of items they had lying around the house.

The finished version, with a few blistered vidalia onions and bleu cheese crumbles is a sophisticated, yet hearty vegetarian option for summer’s BBQs.

Click here for a printable version of the recipe

Portobello Mushroom Burger with Vidalia Onions & Bleu Cheese

Prep Time: 35 minutes

Marinade Time: 30 Minutes

Total Preparation Time: 65 Minutes

Ingredients:

For the Marinade:

3 Portobello Mushrooms with stems chopped off
4 Garlic Cloves, chopped
2 Tsp. Thyme (fresh or dried), chopped
1 Tsp. Rosemary (fresh or dried), chopped
1 Tsp. Pepper
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1/4 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
2/3 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

For the burger:

Burger Bun
1 Vidalia or Red Onion, cut into 1 inch slices
Blue Cheese Crumbles
Lettuce or Basil Leaves

Preparation:

Mix all of the Marinade ingredients, except for the mushrooms, together in a bowl until well incorporated. Place the mushroom caps in a separate bowl and dump the marinade over them. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Remove the mushroom caps and let the marinade drain off, but don’t worry about pieces of garlic or herbs sticking; reserve the marinade. Cook the mushrooms and onion slices over direct heat on a hot grill (or stovetop grill on high heat) for 3-4 minutes; flip the mushrooms and onions, but cook them over indirect heat for another 3-4 minutes.

Cooked the reserved marinade in a pot over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Transfer it to the bowl of a food processor and blitz until the consistency resembles a thick salad dressing (you can add more extra-virgin olive oil to your taste).

Toast the burger buns. Slather either side with the pureed marinade. Add the grilled mushrooms and onions, lettuce, and bleu cheese crumbles and serve.

Enjoy!

Un-Classic Pesto

Jessica — Wed, 13 May 2009 12:00:05 +0000

I love the change of seasons in New England. From September through March foodies wade through the produce offerings in our local stores (our farmers’ market hibernate through the winter) and pick at sad, defeated-looking, uber-expensive summer produce, and we are instantly reminded why we must make every effort to eat local and seasonal, because the alternative is simply not worth the cost.

But then Spring rolls around, and rather than getting a few measly basil leaves for $4, we’re offered a veritable basil tree for $1.99. It really does boggle the mind…. and it also leaves one with the challenge of what to do with all of that access produce. In the case of basil, the simple solution is to make pesto, and it boggles my mind (again) why people don’t make it more often.

Basil is, it must be said, a bit of a prima donna… it is all lush deliciousness, but, at its heart, it is very fragile – it can not be stored in the refrigerator, as it will turn black, it can not be handled too roughly, as it will bruise, it’s rather expensive, and it simply doesn’t keep that long on the counter. Yet, we return to it again and again because of its unique, exquisite flavor.

I make pesto for little other purpose than to use up extra basil (and because it’s wonderfully delicious and versatile). Pesto is, at its core, a mash of basil, nuts, garlic, and cheese, bound together with extra-virgin olive oil. The exact measurements are really based on your own preference.

Don’t fret too much about the exact types of any of the ingredients – feel like trying Pecorino instead of Parmesan, go for it. Most versions of pesto call for walnuts, but I had hazelnuts lying around (and generally prefer them), so that’s what I used, instead. As high-maintenance as basil is, pesto is just as equally low-maintenance.

Click here for a printable version of the recipe
Un-Classic Pesto

Ingredients:

½ Cup Hazelnuts

¼ Cup Pignolis (or Pinenuts)

1 ½ Cup Basil

9 Cloves Garlic

1 Tsp. Salt

1 Tsp. Pepper

¾-1 Cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

½ Cup Grated Parmesan

Preparation:

Heat the toaster or conventional oven to 200°. Cover a cookie sheet or the toaster oven’s tray with tin foil, place the hazelnuts and pignolis on the tray/sheet and toast in the oven for 5 minutes, or until you can smell toasty nuts (the sign that they’re done).

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes, or until you can touch them without burning your fingers.

Remove the shells from the hazelnuts (a tedious job, but someone has to do it). Put the hazelnuts, garlic, and pignolis in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until well ground.

Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper to the bowl. While the processor is running, pour the extra-virgin olive oil through the shoot. I don’t typically measure the olive oil, but simply eye-ball it until it reaches my desired consistency, which is a slightly more liquid-y paste (about ¾ of a cup); this allows me to use the pesto as a spread, as well as a sauce. You can always add more olive oil, but it’s hard to take it away.

Add the grated parmesan and process for another minute or so. The basil should be very fine, and the consistency should look easily spreadable, but still somewhat thick.

Serve over pasta (add a bit of the hot water that the pasta cooked in to ensure even coverage), toasted baguettes, as a sandwich spread, etc. Also, pesto freezes very well, so don’t worry about tossing it in tupperware and keeping for another time.

A REAL Veggie Dish… Tuscan White Bean Soup with Kale

Jessica — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:00:56 +0000

So, I’ve received just a tiny bit of flack for featuring a veggie dish that contained prosciutto in the Veggie Dinners post and sought to rectify the situation. In my defense, the second recipe was strictly vegetarian, but I understand that there is a ‘truth-in-advertising’ issue with a post titled “Veggie Dinners” that features prosciutto. Lest I invoke the wrath of any more vegetarians, I will own that the base of this soup is a chicken stock – because that is what I always have on hand – but vegetable stock could easily be used as a substitute.

Tuscan White Bean Soup is a recipe that is both categorically healthy – carrots, white beans, and kale constitute its base – and all succor, warmth, and comfort. It is not every recipe that can soothe both the spirit and the body, but this recipe does so perfectly.

This is a lazy, rainy Sunday dish – while it takes a few hours from start to finish, few of the stages require more than the most perfunctory of efforts. There is no vigor with this soup – it is all calm, whiling away the hours, watching rain run down windows, perusing DVD collections, and wrapping-up in a blanket.

This particular recipe is a mix of two separate recipes that I came across. I liked the ingredient list in From Our House to Yours, which features the recipe from Janet Fletcher’s Fresh From the Farmers’ Market, but the preparation was just a tad too tedious for me (and would have turned it into a Lazy Week recipe), so I incorporated a few of the steps from Italian Classics that would help to speed the process up a bit. The result is an easy recipe that can be started late morning and enjoyed early to mid-afternoon.

Click here for a printable version of the recipe

Tuscan White Bean Soup with Kale

Ingredients:

1lb. Dried Cannellini Beans

10 Cups Water

1 Tbls. + 2 Tsp. Salt

¼ Cup Olive Oil

2 Onions; 1 chopped, 1 separated into layers

2 Carrots, diced into ½ inch pieces

4 Garlic Cloves, minced

3 Tbls. Fresh Flat-Leaf Parsley, minced

2 Bay Leaves

4 Cups Chicken Stock, preferably homemade (or substitute veggie stock)

1 Cup Kale, rough chopped

Freshly Grated Parmesan, Salt & Pepper, to taste

Preparation:

Put the dried cannellini beans, 2 Tsp. of salt, and the onion with layers separated into a large stock pot. Cover with the 10 cups of water. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 1 hour.

Remove the pot from the heat and allow the beans to rest in the oniony liquid for another 30 minutes.

Strain the beans and onions and reserve the simmering liquid for use later.

Heat the ¼ cup of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the uncooked onion, carrots, garlic, parsley, and bay leaves and saute for 10 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften.

Add the drained beans and onions, chicken stock, and 2 cups of the oniony simmer liquid to the pot. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Bring to a light boil over medium-high heat, cover the pot, and turn the heat down to medium-low. Cook the soup, stirring occasionally for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

A few mindless stirs is all the attention this soup will need for the next hour.

Remove the bay leaves from the soup. Take 4 cups of the soup from pot and process in a blender or food processor until pureed. Return the puree to the pot and incorporate well and continue to cook over medium-low heat.

This veggie bean mush will give a hearty substance to the soup.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the 1 Tbls. of salt. Add the roughly chopped kale to the pot and boil for 2-3 minutes. Drain the kale and add to the soup.

If the soup is too thick, you can always add in a bit more of the oniony simmering liquid to thin it out, but I tend to like my soup thick.

When you’re ready to serve, add a little bit of freshly grated parmesan, salt & pepper.

Delicious Veggie Dinners – Roasted Asparagus & Roasted Carrots

Jessica — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:00:56 +0000

A perfect Spring Italian dinner that is surprisingly filling without being heavy

If you are at all familiar with Michael Pollan, author of Omnivore’s Dilemma, you’ve likely heard his mantra, “Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” It is a shockingly simple prescription for health, and its efficacy can be assumed by applying the proof of contradiction principle or inverting the mantra: If one eats a diet of processed food products, a tremendous amount of them, and little produce, the health picture looks grim.

It seems unlikely that someone who regularly extols the virtues of beef ribs, sausages, and a perfectly medium-rare steak would adhere to this maxim, but I am a firm believer that 1 or 2 mostly veggie dinners each week stabilizes weight – or, at least, prevents it from reaching gargantuan proportions. Veggie dinners make me feel, in mind if not in body, more healthful, and they are so agreeably easy and quick to make on a frantic weeknight.

Below are a couple of my favorite combinations and preparations for a ‘mostly veggie dinner:’

Click here for a printed version of both recipes

Roasted Asparagus with Prosciutto, Serves 2

Note: The ingredients can easily be doubled to accommodate larger quantities. Cooking times will remain the same.

Spring time asparagus - look for skinny stalks for crispness and even cooking.

Ingredients:

1 Bunch Asparagus

2 Tbls. Olive Oil

1/2 Tsp. Kosher Salt

1/2 Tsp. Pepper

3 Tbls. Grated Parmesan

2 Tbls. Good Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

1/4 Lb. Best Quality Prosciutto

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 400°.

Prepare your asparagus by breaking the end off of one spear; line this spear up with the rest of the bunch, and cut the ends of the remaining spears off at the same breaking point. Place the asparagus on a cookie or baking sheet covered in tin foil; douse the asparagus with the 2 Tbls. Olive Oil (it needn’t be expensive, as any delicate flavor would be destroyed by the intense heat). Sprinkle the salt and pepper, and grate the parmesan over the asparagus.

Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes. The ends should have a good crackle to them, the parmesan melted and slightly toasted over the asparagus, and it should smell wonderful. Like a caterpillar to a butterfly, roasting vegetables always seems to turn them into something entirely distinct – and far superior – to the fresh version.

Plate the asparagus, and add a few slices of prosciutto on the side. A nice piece of crusty bread would complete this meal, or simply devour as is.

Roasted Cinnamon Carrots with Greek Yogurt, Serves 2

Ingredients:

3 Carrots, chopped into ½ inch pieces

3 Tbls. Butter

2 Tsp. Cinnamon

1 Tbls. Raw Sugar

Salt

Pepper

8 oz. Good Greek Yogurt

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 400º.

Put the chopped carrots onto a baking pan lined with tin foil (for easy cleaning), dot with the butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar, salt, and pepper. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes.

Plate and serve with greek yogurt. Serve with a fruity bread (cinnamon raisin, cranberry, etc. would be delicious) to round out the meal.

Note: I’ve always preferred imported prosciutto to domestic; it’s a bit more expensive (though you rarely eat a lot of it), and it tastes more authentic and has a greater depth of flavor, whereas I’ve always found domestic prosciutto to be rather salty-tasting.