Pasta with Leeks, Pine Nuts and Toasted Bread Crumbs

    I don't come up with new ideas for dishes often, but when I do and its a hit I like to break down the brainstorming process. Hunger and craving are steps 1 and 2. I'd been dreaming about Nonna's specialty dish, pasta with sardines, which is topped with delicious browned bread crumbs. But, the CSA packs my fridge with veggies, not sardines and I had a bunch of leeks. I went on my google reader and came across a post titled, "Leek Pasta: who loves ya baby?" Pasta with Leeks. (On a side note: No wonder why Gourmet magazine went out of business. Food bloggers are in mourning but we are to blame. Who needs Gourmet when there is a wealth of glorious free food porn and recipes!?)

    Leek Pasta equals genius, but Judith's recipe calls for heavy cream and cheese and frankly dairy and myself are lover's at war and I am a sad loser. Picture me running longingly toward a bowl of fresh whipped cream. I am mouthing, "I love you! Let's be together again." Just as I am about to take that sweet cream into my loving and forgiving embrace it smacks me in the face then punches me in the gut, double time. Its so wrong, so I am trying to walk away quietly. 

    Then there it was leeks and bread crumbs, some toasted pine nuts and pasta and it was delicious and dairy-free! I don't need you after all, cream!

    I sauteed some shallots and garlic with peperoncino in lard (substitute butter or olive oil here). With lard, if you got it flaunt it, right? I cut the leeks into little rings (after soaking them in water; they are dirty!) and sauteed them. Salt and pepper. I got everything nice and caramelized then added some pine nuts and toasted them. In a separate pan, I browned some bread crumbs in olive oil or butter while the pasta was boiling. I only had angel hair but I would recommend spaghetti. After draining the pasta, I coated it in a little olive oil, added the leeks on top and the toasted bread crumbs on top of that. Some pecorino romano or parmesan cheese would be delicious to finish this off. There I go again, taking that dairy back. Some parsley would be nice, too. 

    So fresh and so vegan minus the lard! But, dairy-free is all that matters to me.

CAULIFLOWER CASHEW ANISE SOUP

    I am not really a cook book person. I have this thing about having too many books, so I usually either take my cook books out of the library and make photo copies of recipes or when I need a quick recipe I look in Grandma's tin, online or I just freestyle it. A little onion and garlic is the start of something special every time.

    I got Padma Lakshmi's Tangy Tart Hot and Sweet cook book from a Secret Santa one year (Thank You Dasha!) and I didn't open it for a while, but when I did, it was like an entire new world of Indian flavors opening up to me. Now I am no longer scared to sautee cumin seeds, make chutneys and grate ginger into everything. 

   A while back I made this excellent Sauteed Cauliflower with Anise and Cashews from the cook book. Cashews for the record are not my favorite nut, but with a little heat and spice they come alive. And now its soup season and Cauliflower Soup is an all time favorite, so I experimented with adapting this recipe for pureed soup. I am very satisfied with it. The smooth cauliflower texture combined with the crunchy ground cashews is remarkable on the taste buds. 

  Try it. Its such simple revamp for Cauliflower Soup.

Original Recipe from Padma Lakshmi's Tangy Tart Hot and Sweet:

Sauteed Cauliflower with Anise and Cashews

2 to 3 TBSP canola oil

1 tsp anise seed

3 or 4 long dry chilies

1 C diced shallots

1 1/2 TBSP minced ginger

2 1/4 lb Cauliflower broken into small florets

1/2 tsp salt

1 C cashews

1. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. When it is hot, add the anise seeds and saute for 2 to 3 minutes.

2. Roughly break up the chilies, add them to the anise seeds and stir. After 5 minutes, add the shallots, ginger, and cauliflower. Add 1/2 C. of water and salt and stir. Cook for 10 minutes.

3. Stir in the cashews and cook for an additional 10 minutes or so uncovered, until all the moisture is gone, stirring occasionally. The cauliflower will reduce greatly in size and should have some charred brown bits at the edges. The cashews should also be toasted brown. SERVES 4-6

Cauliflower Cashew and Anise Soup 

    I wanted to get the flavor of the browned cauliflower and cashews so I basically followed the recipe exactly with a few modifications before I turned it into soup. I used olive oil obviously instead of canola oil and I used peperoncino instead of the hot chilies. I also added some ground nutmeg for fun. I followed the recipe then added enough water to cover the cauliflower plus a vegetable bouillon. I diced up a red potato, skin on, and added that for thickness and depth. I simmered it for about 15 minutes, then I pureed it with the hand blender. What a tool! I served it with fresh cilantro which really took it to another level flavor wise.

PLUM TOMATILLO SALSA

I never get angry at vegetables, but tomatillos are a pain in the butt. They just sit in the fridge staring at me with their little crinkly skins, saying, "What about me? Why can't you ever think of anything clever to do with me?" And I can't. I can only think of salsa, and on the web thats pretty much what everyone else is packing. So I tried to at least make the salsa interesting and I added local plums, a yellow tomato, red onion, amish garlic, honey, cilantro, lemon juice, olive oil, some hot pepper that was about to die, salt and pepper and of course those annoying tomatillos. This salsa was good. Really good.

SWISS CHARD FROM THE YARD AND MORE PANELLE

    The swiss chard I got as an infant plant from Rooftop Farms was really ready to go. The last chard recipe I made was simply sauteed with a runny egg on top. The chard itself is not how I remember eating chard, so I referred to Rocco, who is the only person who ever prepared chard for me, and I cooked it the way he does. It came out just as I wanted it to. 

    While I was rinsing the chard, I get a call from Nonna, who has her own cell phone by the way.

    "Jane (my name is Jen) I gotta the panelle, you want it?" 

    Faster than you can say mala figura I was at Nonna's house, ringing the door bell. And as usual she was buzzing me in, but the outer door was locked, so I couldn't get in. No problem. "Nonna!" I screamed up to her apartment. After a few moments, Nonna comes out onto her balcony. No true Sicilian doesn't have a balcony. I think they just shrivel up and die without one. 

    "Jane, you don't gotta the keys?" If I had the keys I would have already been up eating panelle, "Okay, Jane I come down." After a few falls and trips to the hospital, Nonna should not under any circumstances be climbing down the stairs, so I tell her to just throw the panelle down. Usually she then will go into the house and get a little rope and tie whatever it is it and reel it down, which is what I thought was taking so long. Before I know it she's at the front door and walks out carrying her cane, like its an accessory.

    "Jane, why you no gotta the key?" I haven't lived there in like 5 years.

    "Nonna, you shouldn't be walking down the stairs by yourself!"

    "Jane, I can walka downa the stair bya myself. I go out alla the time bya myself." She's a live one. I tried to calmly take the panelle from her, but it was more like ripping it out of her hands and shoving it into my mouth, while thinking, just one, you need to photograph this. It was so perfect, and Rocco was right, good panelle is a little greasy, which I have to admit my panelle was lacking. It had the right flavor but not enough grease seeped into it and all over my hands and the upholstery of the Jeep like this one. There are sometimes casualties involved in good panelle. Its a fact of life. 

    "Nonna, who made this?" 

    "Jane, you like? I getta the recipe. My friend-eh make-eh." The hunt to find this person is on. When I trap her, I will let you know. 

    I suspected it had eggs in it, but when I mentioned this to Rocco, after teasing me that I didn't leave him any, he literally had a fit that I even mention eggs in panelle. That would be a real mala figura according to him.     

Rocco's Swiss Chard

1-2 cloves of garlic sliced

peperoncino

extra virgin olive oil

1 fresh tomato, chopped

bunch of swiss chard, whole or chopped (give swiss chard a good soak, its gritty)

salt and pepper

Sautee the garlic and peroncino in extra virgin olive oil. Add the tomato and cook down a bit. Salt and Pepper. Add the swiss chard and sautee a few minutes. Salt and pepper. Cover and steam until soft.

CALL ME A BROCCOLINA

    I LOVE BROCCOLI! That being said, if I couldn't get the name Morta Di Fame for my blog, my next choice would be Broccolina. That's the nickname Nonna used to call me because all I ever wanted in life as a child was bowl of pasta with broccoli. Good thing its so easy to make. This is Nonna's version and I used a fresh local broccoli and garlic from the Union Square Farmer's Market.

    The night I made this, I actually cut out the garlic, which is a grave offense, however I was attending my 10 Year High School Reunion that night and didn't want my classmates to remember me in the way of garlic breath. There are enough embarrassing high school memories, but mostly really awesome ones, and I wanted to keep it that way. 

    More on my high school friends. I attended Townsend HS at Queens College in Flushing, NY, a specialized school for Liberal Arts and I can only say that I am so extremely proud of calling myself a THHS alumnus. I am so excited but not surprised at how well everyone is doing because I went to school with such bright people who fulfilled their potential to be where they are right now doing really inspiring things. (I hope my grammar and latin is correct because if it isn't I know someone from high school will be correcting it.)

PASTA WITH BROCCOLI

1 head of broccoli cleaned and trimmed into bite size pieces

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 lb. spaghetti

extra virgin olive oil

peperoncino

salt and pepper

In a medium size pot bring salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli and boil for about 5 minutes until its almost soft, then add you spaghetti. Cook until the pasta is al dente, then drain. Put the pasta with broccoli back into the pot and add the garlic, plenty of extra virgin olive oil, peperoncino, salt and plenty of fresh ground black pepper. The garlic will steam very nicely in the hot mixture. 

SICILIAN CAPONATA

Traditional Sicilian Caponata is a sweet and sour eggplant stew with onions, celery, garlic, capers, raisins and green olives. Its one of those "better the next day" dishes because it takes time for all of the flavors to meld together and when they do its a really flavorful way to eat eggplant. My family seems to think that making a caponata is a lot of work, but I disagree. It is a very simple and easy to make dish. The only "work" comes with the vegetable chopping, which I don't really mind. Caponata is a great appetizer or snack with crusty Italian bread. I served it as a main course with parmigiano roasted garlic baked polenta. This was the first time I ever made polenta, and I was really happy with how easy it was and how delicious it turned out. 

TRADITIONAL SICILIAN CAPONATA

2 medium sized eggplant, cubed

1 onion chopped

2 celery stalk chopped

14 oz can of chopped tomatoes

2 TBSP capers, soaked in water to remove excess salt

1/2 C. pitted green olives, roughly chopped

2 TBSP. raisins

1/4 - 1/2 C. vinegar

1 -2 TBSP sugar

salt and pepper

In a large heavy pot, sautee the onions and celery until softened. Add the eggplant cubes. Season with salt and pepper. After the eggplants cook for about 8-10 mins., add the chopped tomatoes, capers, olives and raisins. Bring everything to a slight boil then simmer on low for about half an hour to 45 minutes, until everything is cooked and stewed together. Turn off the heat and add the vinegar and sugar to desired sweet and sourness. (remember you can't take it out after you add it so be cautious and taste as you go). Season with salt and pepper. Let sit over night and serve with bread or polenta.

PARMIGIANO AND ROASTED GARLIC POLENTA

6 C. water

2 C. polenta (corn meal)

2 - 3 TBSP butter or olive oil

1/2 C. parmigiano reggiano cheese

a2-3 cloves of garlic roasted in olive oil in a sautee pan until golden

salt and pepper

Boil the water in a medium heavy pot. Slowly add the polenta while stirring constantly. Once it thickens add the butter, roasted garlic, cheese and salt and pepper. Continue stirring. It should take 15 minutes to cook. Once the polenta pulls from the side of the pot, it is done. Pour the polenta into a greased bake sheet with sides and spread over to about 1/4-1/2 in thickness. Cool, cut into squares and fry in olive oil or bake for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees until golden brown, then cut into cubes.

SPICY MASALA CHAI RICE PUDDING

    Last night I made some shrimp with Jasmine Rice and now that I know how to make rice pudding, I always makes heaps and heaps of extra rice for leftovers. Now I have to remember not to contaminate the rice with the dinner serving spoon. I had an idea to combine the flavors of my favorite beverage, chai tea, with rice pudding, plus some coconut milk and cayenne. I ended up with a not too sweet, beautifully caramel colored rice pudding with a nice chai tea flavor, hints of coconut and a spicy cayenne kick. And its dairy-free.

    I made the chai tea as usual, then combined it with my rice and coconut milk. Since the chai tea is strained of the spices and the loose tea, I added those spices back into the rice pudding, plus some more sugar, lemon zest and some cayenne pepper. Its a play around, sweeten and spice as you go kind of recipe. Add or subtract flavors to your liking, if you like it sweeter add more brown sugar, thicker more coconut milk, or spicier more cayenne.

CHAI TEA (for rice pudding)

For drinking my water to milk ratio would be a little different, see CHAI TEA recipe.

3 C. soy milk (or regular)

1 C. water

1/8 tsp. cardamon or 1-2 pods

1/4 tsp. cloves

2 cinnamon sticks or 1/2 tsp.

Fresh grated ginger - 1/2 inch or 1/2 tsp ginger powder

3 bags of darjeeling tea or about 3 TBSP loose black tea

2 TBSP honey

3 TBSP brown sugar

Boil the water milk and spices, then add the tea, honey and brown sugar. Simmer for about 5 min, then strain.

SPICY MASALA CHAI RICE PUDDING WITH COCONUT MILK

About 2 1/2 C. cooked jasmine rice

About 3/4 C. Coconut Milk

Chai Tea (above)

1/2 C. brown sugar, to desired sweetness

1/4 tsp. cardamom or 1-2 whole cardamom pods

1/4 tsp. cloves

1 cinnamon stick or 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Fresh ginger - 1/2 inch grated (about 1 tsp) or 1/2 tsp of ground ginger

1 tsp fresh lemon zest

1/4 tsp cayenne, to desired heat

Bring rice, chai tea and coconut milk to a boil in a heavy sauce pan. Add the spices and simmer on low heat until the rice pudding is at your desired thickness. Cool in the fridge. Serve topped with toasted shredded coconut.

FRESH GINGER PINEAPPLE SHRIMP WITH JASMINE RICE

I have been craving shrimp and I found these delicious frozen Blue Shrimp at Trader Joe's. Erik inspired me to this dish after he made a similar one with vegetable protein. I can't mess with that stuff but it sounded like it would go great with shrimp and I am very satisfied with the results. What really brings this dish together is the fresh grated ginger and lemon zest and the fresh basil garnish.

FRESH GINGER PINEAPPLE SHRIMP

10-12 Shrimp, peeled and de-veined

1/4 pineapple cut into chunks (can is okay, too)

dash of hot chili flakes

1/4 onion chopped

1/2 green pepper chopped

2 garlic cloves chopped

2 tsp fresh grated ginger

2 tsp fresh grated lemon zest

fresh basil (or cilantro would be great, too)

fresh scallions

teriyaki or soy sauce

salt and pepper

For shrimp marinade:

curry powder

cayenne pepper

cumin powder

turmeric

paprika

olive oil

salt and pepper

Marinate your shrimp in a little olive oil and the spices (curry, cumin, turmeric, cayenne & paprika - just a dash of each) and some salt and pepper. If you don't have one or a few don't worry about it. Salt and pepper is good enough. There will be plenty of other fresh flavors going on. 

While the shrimp is marinating, sautee a dash of chili flakes, onions, peppers, garlic and fresh ginger in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. After a few minutes add the pineapple, then the shrimp, then some soy sauce or teriyaki sauce (optional). Add the scallions and the lemon zest. Don't overcook the shrimp. Once they turn pink on each side they are done. Tear some fresh basil over the top and serve with rice.

PEACH SLAW & KIELBASA HEART ATTACK ON A PLATE

This super mellow peach slaw is perfect for an easy summer day and great with grilled goodies like kielbasa or hot dogs.

 

PEACH SLAW

1 fresh peach

1 fresh tomato

2 inch of a fresh cucumber

1/4 red onion

2 TBSP chopped mint

1/4 C. sliced pecans

Salt

Pepper

1 tsp. dried thyme

DRESSING

1/2 C. olive oil

1/4 C. balsamic vinegar

2 TBSP. honey

Salt

Pepper

Julienne the all the veggies. Toss with dressing.

KIELBASA HEART ATTACK ON A PLATE

Whenever my parents make fried potatoes they call it heart attack on a plate. Bring on the heart attacks! This is a great way to use some leftover kielbasa or any sausage and some leftover potatoes. Just caramelize a quarter of an onion and a half of a pepper in olive oil in a cast iron if available with some hot chili flakes if available. Toss in some sliced grilled kielbasa and cooked potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Enjoy with Peach Slaw. 

ZUCCHINI STEW WITH POACHED EGGS

This started out as a Shakertown Baked Zucchini, a recipe I found in my grandma's recipe box, but I chopped up all the zucchini then realized it was a stuffed zucchini recipe where you boil the whole zucchini, scoop out the pulp and mix it with round butter crackers and cheese, then stuff it into the zucchini shell and bake. I figured I'd make a stew instead since I had some canned tomatoes left from the fava bean pasta. This zucchini stew is the same way I would prepare Pasta with Cucuzza, which is that long green squash that looks like a baseball bat. An old Julia Child cookbook I read last night was so reassuring about poaching eggs that I felt inspired. I am so bad with eggs! This is something I have seen my Nonna do many times and it always works out. I think I did a pretty good job. I used the technique where you crack the egg and hold it in the shell in the hot liquid before releasing it so it can hold its shape. It worked. Then I put the top on to let the egg cook through and it absorbed all the wonderful flavors of the stew. This would be great served with pasta or on crusty peasant bread.

ZUCCHINI STEW WITH POACHED EGGS

2 zucchinis cut in quartered then chopped

1/2 onion chopped

2 garlic cloves chopped

1-2 bay leaves

1 tsp hot red pepper flakes

2 Eggs

1/2 cup tomatoes chopped or crushed (canned or fresh)

Parsley and Grated Cheese for garnish (optional)

Salt and Pepper 

Sautee onions, garlic, bay leaf and red pepper flakes for a few minutes. Add the zucchini. Season with salt and pepper. After it reduces in size a bit, add the tomatoes with a sauce from the can and add about a 1/4 C of water. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer covered for about twenty minutes until the zucchini is tender. Then poach 2 eggs on top, by cracking the eggs on top of the sauce, seasoning with salt and pepper and putting the lid on for less than 5 minutes. Garish with chopped parsley and grated cheese. Serve plain with pasta or on crusty bread.

ALMOND OLIVE OIL CAKE

I made this olive Oil Almond Cake for the Italian class party. I adapted it from an Almond Olive Oil Citrus Cake that Giada Laurentis made on her show Everyday Italian. Instead of chopped almonds I used raw almond meal, and I try to use blood oranges or grapefruit, when available for the zest. I subsitute soy milk to make it dairy-free and I usually add some orange liquor like triple sec or Gran Marnier to make it more citrus flavored. I didn't have any on hand so I added some almond extract to bring out the almond flavor more. I also don't do the citrus compote Giada's recipe calls for. Instead I just put some powdered sugar on top. It turned out great. It really has become a go-to cake in my family because its easy to make, pretty light and we love olive oil. And if you are feeling like citrus just add the Gran Marnier or Orange Extract or if you want more almond flavor, go with the Almond extract. And if you're feeling totally wild, just add it all! Its a really flexible cake on flavor and it has a light but dense texture because of the almond meal.

ALMOND OLIVE OIL CAKE

1 1/2 C. Flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 C. sugar

3 large eggs

2 tsp orange zest (i like to use blood orange or even grapefruit)

2 tsp lemon zest

1/4 C. soy milk

3/4 C. of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (use the good stuff)

2/3 C. raw almond meal

1 tsp almond extract (optional)

1 TBSP Gran Marnier or any orange flavored liquor

Powdered Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use cooking spray to grease and 8-in cake pan. Whisk the flour baking powder and salt in one bowl. In another bowl beat the sugar, eggs, zest almond extract and orange liquor. Then beat in the soy milk then the olive oil. Stir the flour in until combined, then add the almond meal. Bake 35-45 min at 350 degrees. Let stand for a few minutes then flip onto a cake stand. If you want you can cut the crown of the cake to make it lay flat on the cake stand, but you run the risk of having a leaning cake if you don't cut straight. Once cooled, sift powdered sugar on top.

(photo ©Jennifer Galatioto)