pasta saucy

The freshness of all 3 of these is unmatched.

Calamari Puttanesca:

1 pound of calamari
2 large fresh tomatoes (or canned tomatoes)
olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
5-6 anchovies
pinch of hot pepper
parsley, chopped
olives (doesn't matter what kind)
capers
salt
pepper
anchovy vermouth
rigatoni pasta
cherry tomatoes, halved
lemon zest
basil

Prep the tomatoes: cut into quarters and blend in blender. Strain (shaking and smushing to collect the juice).

In a pan, heat oil, add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add anchovies and stir to break up. Add hot pepper, a handful of parsley, olives and capers and stir. Add calamari and salt and pepper and stir. Add vermouth and reduce. Add tomato sauce. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Cook pasta.

After sauce is finished simmering, add halved cherry tomatoes and pasta and stir to coat pasta. Add lemon zest and more fresh parsley. Plate and drizzle with additional olive oil and add fresh basil.

Olive and Chorizo Pasta

green olives
dried chorizo
fresh pasta
kerrygold butter
salt and pepper

Cook pasta. Slice chorizo and warm in a saucepan until slightly crispy. Add olives and warm through. Add a few tablespoons of pasta water. Stir in 2 tablespoons of kerrygold butter. Add pasta to the pan and coat with sauce. Plate and add salt and pepper.

Fig and Serrano Ham Pasta

serrano ham
fresh oregano
fig jam
kerrygold butter
fresh pasta
salt and pepper

Cook pasta. Melt a few tablespoons of fig jam. Add a few tablespoons of pasta water. Stir in 2 tablespoons of kerrygold butter. Add pasta to the pan and coat with sauce. Plate, and add pieces of serrano ham and a handful of fresh oregano and add salt and pepper.

tomato-tini

Makes 2 cocktails

8 cherry tomatoes
2 teaspoons of champagne vinegar
pinch of salt
6 large basil leaves
4 oz of gin
1 oz of dry vermouth
cracked black pepper
dash of olive oil

Place cherry tomatoes, champagne vinegar, salt and basil leaves in the tin and muddle until the tomatoes are fully smashed. Add the gin and vermouth to the tin with ice and shake thoroughly. Double strain into coupe glasses. Crack black pepper on top and add a dash of olive oil to each glass.

little chefs calamari

The best calamari recipe I've ever had.

Calamari Marinade

1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1.5 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
zest of one lemon
3 smashed and chopped garlic cloves
1 handful chopped basil
1 handful chopped parsley
1 handful chopped Cuban oregano
1/4 cup olive oil (enough to have a wet marinade)
squid tubes and tentacles

Calamari Dressing

5 olives
1 handful parsley
juice of 1-2 lemons
zest of half a lemon
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons crisp white wine

Combine all ingredients in the marinade and then marinate the squid for 20 minutes. Add as much olive oil as necessary to make it saucy.

Combine all dressing ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add more wine if needed to loosen the dressing.

Grill calamari until cooked and plate with arugula and dress both the calamari and the arugula with the dressing.

tomato + tofu scramble

Fast and easy and tastes like summer.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ cups chopped tomatoes
1 pound firm tofu, drained
3/4 cup corn (frozen is fine)
fresh chopped basil
salt

Put the oil in a deep skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the tomatoes, sprinkle with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until their juices release and they begin to dry out slightly, 5 to 10 minutes.

Crumble the tofu with your fingers and add it to the pan along with the corn. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tofu is heated through and dried out a bit, 5 to 10 minutes.

Stir in some chopped fresh basil before serving and drizzle with a little more olive oil at the table if you like. Sprinkle with a finishing salt.

the green kind of steak sauce

A chimichurri-style sauce has a brightness that makes any steak taste even better.

• 4-6 large garlic cloves, minced
• a handful of coarsely chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons basil
• Maldon salt
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• splash of red wine vinegar

Finely chop the garlic, parsley and basil. Add to a bowl and add enough olive oil to cover. Add salt to taste and a splash or two of red wine vinegar and mix well.

Spoon over steak and enjoy.

pho-king great

This makes amazing bone marrow on top of a delicious soup.

2 beef cross cut shins
1/2 of a medium-large apple
1 large yellow onion
2 ounces fresh ginger
2 ½ pieces star anise
1 3-inch cinnamon stick
3 whole cloves
2 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
1 ½ to 2 tablespoons fish sauce
Sugar, if desired
12 ounces dried narrow rice sticks or pad Thai-style noodles
1 green onions
¼ cup chopped cilantro leaves
Black pepper
Thai basil
lime wedges

Rinse the bones and boneless beef. Peel and cut apple into chunks. Halve the large onion and cut into thick slices. Peel ginger, halve it lengthwise, cut into chunks, then smash each piece with the side of a knife.

Put the star anise, cinnamon and cloves in the Instant Pot. Using the sauté function, toast for several minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant. Add the onion and ginger. Stir and cook for a minute or two. A little browning is O.K. Add 8 cups water.

Add the bones, beef, apple and salt. Lock the lid. Set timer for 30 minutes. After cooking, allow pressure to decrease naturally, about 15 to 20 minutes. When that is done, finish venting and carefully remove lid.

Strain the broth into a pot through a mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth or muslin. Discard the remaining solids. (At this point, the broth and beef can be cooled and refrigerated for up to 3 days.) Skim all but about 3 tablespoons of fat from the broth.

Add fish sauce and more salt, if needed. Add a few pinches of sugar and more fish sauce so the broth has a rounded, intense finish that is slightly salty and slightly sweet.

Freeze the raw beef, if using, for 15 to 20 minutes, then slice very thinly across the grain. Cut cooked beef across the grain into very thin slices. Set aside.

Cover the dried noodles in hot tap water and soak for 15 to 20 minutes, or until pliable and opaque. Drain, then rinse to remove starch.

Thinly slice the small onion and soak in water 10 minutes. Slice green onions into thin rings and set aside with chopped cilantro. Arrange any optional add-ins on a plate.

Bring the broth to a simmer over medium heat. At the same time, fill a pot with water and bring to a rolling boil. Dunk the noodles into the boiling water, using a noodle strainer or a mesh sieve, for about 15 to 20 seconds. Remove from water and divide noodles among 4 bowls.

Top each bowl of noodles with cooked and raw beef, arranging the slices flat. Place a mound of onion in the center, then shower with green onion and cilantro. Finish with a sprinkle of black pepper. Give the boiling broth a final taste for seasoning. Ladle about 2 cups broth into each bowl, distributing the hot liquid evenly to warm all the ingredients.

Original recipe from the NY Times

mi csa su csa: week 5

From the farm share in week 5:

Dragon Tongue Beans
Carrots
Zucchini
Cucumber
Potatoes
Lettuce
Onion
Garlic
Mixed Tomatoes
Basil

We still had quite a few vegetables left over from the week before after not being home for most of the week, so when the new batch came in I roasted most of the vegetables from the week before, including carrots, turnips, lots of zucchini and onions from this week. The onions are so good they always go into meals quickly. I also peeled the rest of the previous few weeks' carrots just to have as a snack with some salad dressing. The only week 4 items I ended up starting week 5 with were the new potatoes, a ton of cucumbers and some beans.

By the end of week 5 I still had week 4's leftovers and nearly all of week 5's batch. Unfortunately the cucumbers and the beans didn't make it to the end of week 5 before going bad. I also only got through about half the basil before it turned, but I also grow my own, so it wasn't a huge loss.

The first day I made a salad of the lettuce, basil, tomatoes and some mozzarella with balsamic vinegar - good but maybe one too many items. I also used some of the tomatoes with my own basil, wrapped up in sliced Italian meat - a great little appetizer.

At the end of the week it was time to see if we could use up as much as we could before the next share comes in, and we made a perfect meal to do that. We started with a quick pickle to use up some cucumbers, though we found the previous week's batch had rotted already, but we still had plenty, and got to use the farm fresh garlic in it too. We refrigerated them until dinner and they turned out perfectly. We roasted both the new potatoes from last week and this week's red potatoes, which gave us the chance to really see the different flavor profiles of both. The new potatoes far outshined the red, though they are both very delicious. We also sliced up the rest of the tomatoes and salted them for a simple side dish. We rounded out all our great veggies with a perfectly cooked porterhouse from our meat farm share.

We got through just about everything this week, with just zucchini and carrots to go, and I should be able to find a good use for both at the beginning of next week.

pizza - roasted eggplant style

After trying it out on a vacation in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, we just had to try to create our own version of roasted eggplant pizza. This simple dish turns out perfectly, especially if you use high quality ingredients.

2 small eggplants, peeled
1 cup of basil - chiffonade
1/2 cup of mozzarella, shredded
1 cup of sun-dried tomato basil pasta sauce

Slice the eggplants in rounds about a quarter inch thick. Lay all the slices on a greased pan and sprinkle with olive oil. Broil for 6 minutes, flip the slices over, sprinkle with a bit more olive oil and broil for another 5 minutes until slightly golden brown on both sides. Remove from broiler, coat the top of each slice with tomato sauce, sprinkle with shredded mozzarella and then cook in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Broil for 3 minutes or until golden brown. (Use this last ten minutes to cook a steak!) Remove pan from the oven and sprinkle with basil chiffonade.

Enjoy!!

things to do - ricotta edition

For real neopolitan ice cream - for the day that may one day come when I have an ice cream maker:

Tomato, Basil and Ricotta Gelati - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Tomato-Basil-and-Ricotta-Gelati-239808

From epicurious.com

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Spinach Ricotta Gnocchi 

From Chowhound: Since gnocchi are generally made with potato anyway, potato starch is a more natural way to go for the dry ingredients.

2 10oz pkgs frozen leaf spinach
1 cup ricotta
1 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup potato starch
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp salt
dash nutmeg
Thaw & drain/squeeze spinach, and mix with remaining ingredients to make a dough. Form into gnocchi and boil until they float. (I find I have to let the dough rest, and then boil them a little extra, or else the potato starch doesn't fully cook).

Pour melted butter on top and sprinkle parmesan and bake in gratin dish, or serve with cheese sauce.
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Ricotta Puddings with Glazed Rhubarb Gourmet

Delicate and creamy, these tender individual desserts taste equally good served warm or at room temperature. A spoonful of your favorite jam can be used in place of the glazed rhubarb.

Yield: Makes 6 dessert servings
Active Time: 15 min
Total Time: 1 hr

For puddings:
1 cup whole-milk ricotta (8 3/4 oz)
1 whole large egg plus 1 large yolk
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons mild honey
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest

For glazed rhubarb:
3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 lb fresh rhubarb stalks (about 2), cut diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick slices

Special equipment: a muffin pan (preferably nonstick) with 6 (1/2-cup) muffin cups
Make pudding batter:

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly oil muffin cups.

Blend together all pudding ingredients in a blender until smooth, then divide batter among muffin cups.
Prepare rhubarb:
Stir together sugar and cornstarch in a 9- to 10-inch glass or ceramic pie plate. Add rhubarb and toss to coat, then spread in one layer.

Bake puddings and rhubarb:
Bake puddings and rhubarb, side by side, carefully turning rhubarb over once halfway through cooking, until puddings are just set and edges are pale golden, 35 to 45 minutes. Remove puddings and rhubarb from oven at the same time. Set rhubarb aside and cool puddings in muffin pan on a rack 5 minutes (puddings will sink slightly).

Run a thin knife around edge of each pudding, then invert a platter over pan and invert puddings onto platter. Transfer puddings, right side up, to plates and serve topped with rhubarb and its juices.

From epicurious.com