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.

PICADILLO FEIGN

Only family gets away with calling you and saying, "Hi Jen, can you cook dinner for me?" Only family can get away with using you so blatantly. But what can I say, use me and abuse me when it comes to cooking. I can never say no. So of course, my brother Mike calls and he only ever wants one thing from me, picadillo.

I learned how to make picadillo from Ginger Lopez, who is an amazing cook. This cuban dish is basically a stew of seasoned chopped meat with lots of olives served over white rice and topped with french fries. Hard to go wrong.

Mike's eyes have always dwarfed his stomach so when we went food shopping he forced me to get 3 lbs of meat. So excessive for 3 people. But my brother Mike is more stubborn then me, so we literally made a gigantic vat of picadillo with enough leftovers for everyone to enjoy for a few days.

Here's the recipe for picadillo from a previous post.

As a side I made corn and tomatillo salsa with red onion, tomato, garlic, cilantro, hot pepper, lemon juice, cayenne, and green peppers.

And we watched the funniest videos I have ever seen, Gino the Ginny. You will die of laughter watching this crazy kid.

SCALLOPS OVER CURRIED BUTTERNUT SQUASH

    Having my dear Clarina over for dinner is always special. Always. She is a seafood lover so I decided to make these delicious fresh scallops I picked up at the Farmer's Market. I seasoned them with some salt and pepper and olive oil and grilled them on a hot cast iron skillet. Then I served them on a Puree of Curried Butternut Squash.

    To make the butternut squash puree, cut the squash in half, season it with salt and pepper and coat it with plenty of olive oil and butter and roast it in the oven on 375 until it was soft. It takes usually 45 min to 1 hour. After it cools a bit, scoop it out and sauteed it in butter with shallots, garlic, curry powder, cayenne pepper, fresh ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon. If you like it sweet you can add some brown sugar. Add enough water to create a paste consistency or some vegetable broth. Simmer for 20 minutes then blend in a blender or with a hand mixer. 

    One squash made a surprisingly large amount of puree with which I added water to over low heat to make Butternut Squash Soup for lunch.

BREAD SALAD AND BEET GREENS

    What to do with stale bread? Bread crumbs. Croutons. Wait for it ... Bread Salad! This is my first bread salad and I am delighted with it. It was a lovely day, Angie came over and the bread salad with a side of sauteed beet greens and bellini cocktails made a perfectly light girl's lunch.

    Bread salad, in Italian called panzanella, is a Northern Italian dish, something that I didn't grown up eating probably because down south my ancestors finished their bread like good hearty Sicilians. According to a really interesting website called Food Timeline, "The concept [of panzanella] is ancient, the practice is contemporary ... Why? Tomatoes are a new world food." Riveting.

    Angie was wondering whether it would hold up to eat the next day or get too soggy. I honestly ate it for about 5 days after and it held up really well.

Bread Salad

2-3 cups of cubed day old Italian Bread or Baguette (1 loaf of Italian bread or 1/2 long baguette)

1/2 tsp lime zest

extra virgin olive oil, enough to generous coat the bread

red wine balsamic vinegar to taste

2-3 cloves of garlic chopped

1/2 onion chopped (red onion is probably best)

salt and pepper

1/2 to 1 cucumber, chopped

2-3 vine or plum tomatoes, chopped

handful of basil leaves, torn

few sprigs of fresh oregano

Combine everything but the basil and oregano and let it sit for 20 minutes. Then add the oregano and basil and serve. Other ingredients you can add: capers, peppers, olives, goat cheese, grated cheese ... have fun!

Sauteed Beet Greens

A bunch of beet greens

extra virgin olive oil

1/4 onion sliced thinly

1 clove of garlic sliced

dash of peperoncino

1/4 C. toasted pine nuts

     Dry toast the pine nuts in a pan and set aside. Wash the beet greens thoroughly! They are very sandy and gritty, so rinse them and soak them in water to let the grit fall to the bottom. Repeat at least three times. Sautee garlic and onions in olive oil. Add peperoncino. Add the beet greens and sautee a few minutes then cover and steam until tender. Add the pine nuts.

PORCHETTA - AHHHH!

     Just the name sounds so succulent. Porchetta. This recently opened roasted pig joint is a MUST for anyone who likes pernil, which is basically spanish roasted pork. Like Morta Di Fame, they provide pronunciation and definition for what porchetta is: "[por'ketta] n. roasted pork with crispy skin, highly seasoned with aromatic herbs and spices, garlic, sage, rosemary and wild fennel pollen. Typical plate of the Roman cuisine. Slow cooked Italian fast food."

    The beauty of Porchetta is how simple the menu is (above). And if you're like me, who has anxiety when I open a menu with over ten options, then this place is for you. With extremely reasonable prices and a small no-fuss seating area, Porchetta is a perfect place to grab an inexpensive bite if you're on the go.

 This was my view while I was dining. YUM!

    I always go for the "Plate." Its tender roasted pork, a side of beans and a side of greens, brocolli rabe to be exact. And if thats not enough I have to go with a side of roasted potatoes with the burnt ends of the pork in them. The potatoes are just heavenly. If you want to keep it even more simple, they have a porchetta sandwich that is also phenomenal and if your with a vegetarian there is a mozzarella sandwich option. 

    Is burnt pork skin good for indigestion? Most likely not. Drinking black coffee on an empty stomach had me feeling a little well, sour. So I opted for porchetta for dinner then leftovers for lunch and I was so surprised to be dusting off the Tums. Warning: If you're prone to the agida then stay away from pork skin. Or just keep the Rolaids nearby.

   More on crazy Sicilian ailments, "I gotta the sugah..."

BEET GINGER SOUP

    I got some fresh beets from the CSA and made this fantastic Beet Ginger Soup. The hand mixing got VERY messy. I ruined a shirt and good thing I have freckles to hide the red splatter on my face and neck! Going number one after a large amount of beets is always interesting. There's the panic, "why is my pee bloody?!?!" then the calm down, "oh, i just ate some beets!"

BEET GINGER SOUP

Warning: Wear protective goggles and a bib!

1 bunch of medium beets, peeled and quartered

1 small onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 inch of ginger grated, about 1-2 TBSP (adjust to your taste, I go overboard on ginger)

1 C. of chicken or vegetable broth

2 fresh thyme sprigs

2 TBSP butter (optional)

Sautee the onions, garlic, ginger and thyme in olive oil. After a few minutes add the beets and sautee for a few more minutes. Salt and Pepper. Add the broth. Bring to a boil, then simmer covered for about 20 minutes or until the beets are soft. Puree with a hand mixer or in the blender, but be careful! Return to pot and bring back to a simmer and add the butter, letting it melt in. If you want to add cream, this would be the right time as well. Serve warm or cold garnished with a fresh sprig of thyme.

ZUCCHINI AND MORE ZUCCHINI

     I have been eating a lot of zucchini, and its just the start of the season, so I need to start getting creative. My go to is either Zucchini Stew or Pasta with Zucchini. Yesterday, I had the most unbelievable Zucchini Puree from a little cafe in the West Village which I am going to try to recreate. It was outrageous. Here, I made a combination Rocco Nonna Zucchini Pasta. 

    Rocco will usually slice the zucchini really thin, then fry it and serve it over pasta in a spicy garlic and oil sauce. Its superb. 

    Nonna simply stews the zucchini with garlic for a lighter pasta dish. So I took the best of both worlds. 

     I made the stew as the base of the sauce, then combined it with a garlic sauteed in oil and peperoncino. The I topped it with some fried zucchini slices and ended up with a remarkably delicious zucchini pasta that is really nice topped with fresh grated romano cheese. It seems like more steps but in the end it was easier because frying 50 zucchini slices is time consuming. So while the stew is going you just fry up say 1/4 of the zucchini in slices and you still get that nice friedness with less frying toil.

Who says you can't find nature in Queens?

    My one requirement for moving from Middle Village to Rego Park (I know I am sellout!) was a backyard. The yard in the new place is really nice, and I have a lot of edible plants and herbs growing, a few that were adoptions from the Rooftop Farm. The rain has kept me inside, but has made my garden very happy. Now that it has stopped raining finally (as I write this dark clouds are descending), we can enjoy some dining al fresco. 

The first outdoor dining experience was the Farm Fresh Local Breakfast, which featured all local CSA and Farmer's Market food, but that didn't last very long because by the time we finished the last of the bacon we were blistering in the sun. So I just got an umbrella and we had our first special guests Mo and Yelena over for a mostly local impromptu al fresco dinner. I made some couscous seasoned with turmeric, cumin, fresh basil, parsley and pignola nuts. The kale, from the Woodside CSA and the star of the show, was sauteed in butter (that'll do it), fresh garlic, peperoncino and toasted pignola nuts. The round zucchini, which I got at the Unfancy Food Show from the Queen's Farm stand, was made the old fashioned Stewed Zucchini way, and the chicken sausage was from Trader Joe's. (I the sausage is not local and probably not humane, but Yelena is with child and I felt it was only right to give her some protein.)

   For dessert I whipped up a variation on Strawberry Shortcake, inspired by Jennie's Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes. I cut up some local strawberries and marinated them in sugar, fresh mint from the yard and lemon juice. Then I made whipped cream with sugar and some lemon zest and I used a store bought Angel's Food Cake (from Trader Joe's) as the shortcake. 

   While we were dining a gigantic raccoon ran over the garage roofs in the back! It was bigger than "C" my twenty pound cat. He is getting vaccinated for rabies this week. We also saw a few field mice scurry in the plants. (there are no rats in Queens!) Field mice are so little and cute. 

    And while tending to my parsley I bumped into this gorgeous caterpillar. I should be mad at him because he is single handedly eating all my greens, but he looks too much like a cartoon character. Who says you can't find nature in Queens? Maybe my dream to be a wildlife photographer will pan out afterall. (Wait, I just had a flash back of the Wild Turkey Attack, so I will just keep food blogging!)

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. 

PASTA WITH PEAS

This is maybe the simplest pasta dish. It is also a dish you can poach an egg on, like the Zucchini Stew I made a few posts ago. If you try this, it will be a real go to dish because it is fast and most people usually have some peas in the freezer and an onion lying around.

PASTA WITH PEAS

1 onion cut into thick slices

dash of red pepper flakes (optional)

olive oil

1/2 C. vegetable broth or 1 packet of liquid vegetable broth concentrate from Trader Joes or 1 vegetable bouillon cube (all optional, comes out great without it, too)

1 package of frozen peas (petite peas are good)

Enough water to cover peas

salt and pepper

1lb pasta

Sautee the peas and red pepper flakes in olive oil for a few minutes. Add the frozen peas and sautee a few minutes more. Add the water and whatever vegetable broth you have on hand if available. Season with salt and pepper. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes. Serve over pasta and garnish with lots of fresh ground black pepper and more fresh olive. This can serve 4 people with some leftovers. Halve the recipe for 2 people.

THE QUEEN'S CHEESE STEAK

I have never been to Philly, so I cannot beef on their cheese steak, so this is The Queen's Cheese Steak Sandwich, prepared in the boro of Queens and fit for that corgi loving lady on the other side of the pond. If any Philly locals know the real deal Philly Cheese Steak spots in Philadelphia (not the one's where all the tourist go) please let me know because I plan on taking a culinary tour there soon.

THE QUEEN'S CHEESE STEAK

Package of mushrooms (crimini, baby bella, buttons)

4-5 fresh sage leaves chopped

hot chili pepper flakes

1/2 onion (1/4 chopped/1/4 sliced thick)

1/2 green pepper sliced thick

1/2 lb. roast beef, sliced thinly

3-4 slices smoked gouda

Italian bread

In one sautee pan, sautee the chopped onions in oil or butter with the sage, then add the mushrooms. Do not season the mushrooms until they are tender. After they are cooked, season with salt and pepper.

In another sautee pan, caramelize the sliced onions and pepper. Once caramelized season with salt and pepper add the roast beef and sautee until browned.

 

While the roast beef is cooking cut up two decent pieces of bread and toast open faced in the toaster oven with a few pieces of smoked gouda on top to melt the cheese.

Once the cheese is melted, pile the sandwich high with the roast beef and caramelized onions and pepper and top with the mushrooms.

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.

MIKE'S PIZZA

    Mike is obsessed with pizza. If he could eat at his favorite pizzeria Una Pizza Napoletana everday he would. It is the best pizza I have ever had in my entire life. So, when he can't have Una Pizza he makes his own pizza. He uses dough from Trader Joe's and fresh mozarella from there, too and he makes his own special sweet sauce and tops it with fresh basil. Its really tasty. Today he topped it with sopressata. It came out really good.

     So what makes a good pizza? Some people argue its the water in the crust, New York City tap water being the best, but I have had really bad pizza in New York, so it can't only be the water. I have also had great pizza outside of the city, so the water can't make or break it. Others would say its the best fresh ingredients. I have had some really terrible slices where the mozzarella is just a rubbery nasty mass and the sauce is worse than Ragu, so you definitely need the good stuff, thats obvious. And, everytime Mike makes the pizza he is always complaining that the oven isn't hot enough, because to make an amazing pizza with the best ingredients and a perfect crust you need the right oven, a really hot even burning over, like the one Anthony built himself at Una Pizza. Thats why when Mike makes his own pizza for lunch, often he will go to Anthony's for dinner!

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.