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.

A NEW TAKE ON RADISHES

   Sergio, the CSA Farmer, gives us some spicy ass radishes. They have some serious tangy life in them, especially when eaten raw. I like it. But, while at the City Bakery, which is one of the BEST and most luxurious lunch buffets in all of New York City, I had Roasted Radishes with Celery. They were wonderful and really mild and crunchy. So when we got another bunch of radishes I decided to give it a try. 

   I sauteed some garlic and shallots in extra virgin olive oil with peperoncino, then added the celery and the shallots, salt and pepper. I cooked them for about 10 minutes altogether. The shallots got so sweet and caramelized. When I turned the heat off I added some chopped cilantro. It was a really nice crispy, mild and warm way to enjoy that bunch of radishes that always gets short changed as a side show in a tossed salad, while they really should be the main event.

Sweet and Spicy Japanese Eggplants

    Artists go through blue or red phases in their work, but mine involve actual types of food. I was obsessed with pesto for a hot minute but now I am in an eggplant phase. I picked up these white eggplants from the Farmer's Market and the girl said that white eggplants are actually sweeter than regular eggplants, so I decided to make my Sweet and Spicy Japanese Eggplant dish. I don't know if Japanese people actually prepare eggplants in this way, but I use some Japanese ingredients so thats why I call them that. 

    I found this recipe originally in a magazine but didn't have the main spice mix called Togarashi, which is made from red pepper, roasted orange peel,  yellow sesame seed, black sesame seed, japanese pepper, seaweed and ginger and can be found in Japanese grocery stores. Instead I just grated fresh ginger and orange zest and sprinkled some cayenne on top and it actually comes out better this way, more fresh and spunky than if you just use the Togarashi.

    First I slice the eggplants and season them with salt, pepper, togarashi (optional), or if you don't have that grated ginger, orange zest and cayenne pepper. I coat them in oil then grill them with a little sesame oil until browned on both sides. Then I pour Mirin and Soy Sauce over them and it gets very fun and sizzly. Mirin is a rice cooking wine that is nice and sweet. The soy caramelizes up and this ends up being a sweet and spicey eggplant dish that takes eating eggplant to a whole new level.

PARMESAN CRUSTED SQUASH BLOSSOMS!

YEAH! A little flour egg and parmesan cheese batter, some deep frying in olive oil and these babies are good to go! I ate 10!

ROASTED TOMATILLO SALSA

     I got all these tomatillos, roasted them with some garlic and other hot cubanillo pepper and some green and red bell pepper and made this roasted salsa with some fresh basil, a little sugar to balance the spice and some lemon juice. I didn't have any delivery system for it like chips, but this would have made a great garnish for some grilled fish. 

EASY CAULIFLOWER

This is the simplest way to make cauliflower. Its how I ate cauliflower growing up and I make it like this very often. Just sautee a few cloves of garlic and hot chili flakes if you want some heat in olive oil in a medium size pot with a lid. Optionally, you can sautee onions or shallots, too. Add big pieces of trimmed cauliflower to the pot, season with salt and pepper and cover with a can of tomatoes, tomato sauce or some fresh tomatoes. Pour about a half of can of water over everything and put the lid on so the cauliflower steams in the garlic tomato sauce until just tender. I hardly had any tomatoes but it was still really tasty. With lots of sauce the cauliflower absorbs the color and flavor. Its such an easy way to enjoy this healthy vegetable. I still have not mastered this as well as Nonna and my dad's versions, though. Its such a treat to eat it at their houses. Rocco, any suggestions? In English please...

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.

LOCAL STRING BEAN SALAD

    This salad is the base ingredients for Salade Nicoise, which is Rocco's favorite salad. And its a french salad, although he will claim Nice is Italian. Caught you there, Rocco! You like French things! I will make a proper Salade Nicoise when I have all the ingredients together just to drive Rocco crazier than he already is.

    In the meantime, this colorful string bean salad is a perfect warm day meal. Boil some string beans, red potatoes and onions together for a few minutes, drain them and dress them with olive oil and red wine vinegar salt and pepper. Some fresh herbs and chic peas would be nice, too. Dress the salad while hot because it really absorbs the olive oil and vinegar flavor. Serve warm or cold.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROTHER JOSEF!

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.

FARM BREAKFAST 2

      Our first Local Farm Breakfast was such a success we decided to invite a few of our great friends over to share in another one with us. Not only is breakfast delicious, its such a laid back no-fuss meal, rarely shared with friends unless there is a sleep-over or group trip happening. I guess since it was noon, we could call it brunch, but there were really no lunch options. Mike likes this time of day for entertaining because unlike our 2am mojito gatherings we really aren't bothering the neighbors. And when we get together with two of our favorite couples, Matt and Amy and Lee and Stephanie we laugh out loud the entire time. (These peeps are so talented, so check out their work if you have time)

    Aside from the pork menagerie from Flying Pig Farms: 2 types of bacon, no nitrate and smoked, and breakfast sausages, which were all out of this world, we also had Spelt Pancakes, a Kale Frittata and Cinnamon Buns which I psychically knew Lee would bring over from Sette Pani in Brooklyn. Cinnamon buns were originally on the menu, but when I looked up some recipes, it was ALOT of work. So what a nice surprise for Lee to thoughtfully bring over what I was craving. And for "breakfast dessert," Mike suggested we head over to Eddie's Sweet Shop for homemade ice cream but since thats rather insane we enjoyed fresh cherries and currants from the Long Island City Farmer's Market. For drinks we offered bellinis, iced coffee and Mike's favorite, Iced Goji Berry Tea from Yogi Teas.

     The Spelt Pancakes, which I usually make with soy milk, I made this time with a mixture of heavy cream and water, since no soy or regular milk was available. They were decadent and delicious, but I think they come out much fluffier and lighter with the soy. Matt was making pancake tacos filled with sausages. So Tex-Mex, Matt!

     My pride of the entire breakfast was the Kale Frittata. First, the Kale was homegrown in the yard from little sprouts I bought from the Rooftop Farms and I had managed to keep them alive and thriving. In the frittata, the kale tasted delicious, perfectly creamy and cheesy with nice bites of the fresh garlicy kale enveloped in the thick farm fresh eggs from Tellos Green Farm. Mike was raving about the frittata the entire day, "the kale frittata was actually really good," which makes me very happy because for Mike to say anything as green as kale was tasty is a complete culinary success for me. Maybe it was the heavy cream I used in it.

     What a wonderful day it turned out to be lounging in the back yard with wonderful friends and enjoying a completely local farm fresh breakfast! 

KALE FRITTATA

7 eggs, beaten

3/4 C. romano or any grated cheese

1 C. milk or heavy cream

1/4 C. chopped cooked bacon (optional)

1 C. kale sauteed in olive oil or the bacon drippings, with peperoncino and garlic

Salt and Pepper

Beat the eggs, milk, cheese and salt and pepper. After the kale and bacon have cooled fold them in the pour the entire mixture into a heavy pan, preferably the pan you cooked the bacon in. Cook on the stovetop on medium heat for 5 minutes then back for 30 min in a 350 degree preheated oven.

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.

RED BEAN AND CABBAGE SLAW

     I love cabbage and my first option is always to stew it like I stew everything else, with tomatoes, onion, garlic and peperoncino. This time, I decided to keep it fresh and made this really simple slaw with cabbage from the Woodside CSA, red beans from Cayuga Pure Organics, cilantro from the garden, chopped pecans, extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. So easy and the flavors really complement each other well.

SIMPLE SHAVED FENNEL SALAD

     I really dislike the flavor of licorice, but I love fresh fennel, from which licorice is derived. It looks like a big white bulb and sometimes the green fennel fronds are still attached. Don't discard the fronds which can be used like any herb to add to salads to soups. Fennel is a really clean tasting, crisp and crunchy vegetable that I usually cut up and eat plain like a carrot or celery stick. One really memorable fennel salad I had at World Pie in the Bridge Hampton was fennel, watercress, blood oranges, shaved parmesan cheese and pistachios. I always recreate it because its such a perfect combination of flavors. The salad pictured here is very simple, just shaved fennel, lemon zest, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with fennel fronds. A few pistachios wouldn't hurt, either.

SQUASH BLOSSOMS!

  The best part of joining a CSA is the mystery of what bundle of delicious greens we are going to get each week. This week, we got a lot of good stuff, including squash blossoms! These fragile fickle flowers are so gorgeous. I have only had them battered and fried, so why mess with success? I didn't even clean them, worried they might just disintegrate down the drain. I dipped them in some beaten eggs, then in flour seasoned with salt and pepper, then into a shallow fry pan of oil. I turned them once, then set them on a paper towel, and seasoned them with salt and pepper. They were really delicious. I wanted more! Here is a post with more squash blossom recipes that my fellow Woodside CSA members shared.

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. 

COLLARD GREENS WITH BACON

Another purely local dish. Collard Greens from the Woodside CSA, sauteed in lard, fresh garlic from the Union Square Farmer's Market, some peperoncino, then steamed in the pan for a few minutes and finally topped with bacon from the Flying Pigs Farm. It was nice and peppery and irresistibly baconey.

SAGE STUFFED MUSHROOMS

I cannot resist stuffed mushrooms. These bite sized dream boats are quite simple to make and hard to mess up. Wonderful at room temperature, stuffed mushrooms are great to put out at parties. Growing up, sage wasn't a big part of my cuisine, but it goes so well with mushrooms I had to use it here. If you don't have sage, parsley is just fine on its own.

SAGE STUFFED MUSHROOMS 

1 package of button mushrooms

2-3 cloves on garlic chopped

2-4 fresh sage leaves minced

2 TBSP fresh parsley minced

1/4 C. bread crumbs

1/4 grated romano cheese

extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Start out with cleaning the mushrooms with a damp paper towel. (Don't wash mushrooms under water because they are sponges and will be soggy.) Pull out the mushroom stems and lay the mushrooms tops, bottom up on a baking sheet greased with olive oil. Season the bottom and inside of the mushrooms with some olive oil and salt and pepper. If them stems are tender and not too woody then use them for the stuffing. Chop the stems very fine and sautee with the chopped garlic and sage in butter or olive oil. In a bowl, mix the cooked stems with the bread crumbs, grated cheese, chopped parsley, a little olive oil and salt and pepper. Stuff the mushrooms with this mixture and top each mushroom with a little more olive oil. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until they are a nice golden brown.

PASTA CON CAVOLO (KOLHRABI) - LOCAL CUISINE

    I am so excited to be adding a "Local" category to the blog because this week we received our first vegetable share from the Woodside CSA. Our farm is in Andover, NJ and our farmer, who I am excited to meet is named Sergio. What a great name! I was ramping up for an overstock of rhubarb but I was surprised to receive: radishes, lettuce greens, kohlrabi, spinach, collard greens, swiss chard and turnips. I was happily overwhelmed by the variety and possibilities. Rocco came over and prepared our first local dish, a kohlrabi pasta in a light garlic and tomato sauce. It was delicious! 

    Kohlrabi is known in Sicily as Cavolo and it looks like a big light green bulb with leaves like collard greens. 

    Everyone at the CSA was wondering if the leaves were edible. Rocco used the soft leaves in the sauce and the rest was for the Bearded Dragon Irwin's salad so the answer is yes. The sauce was so simple and wonderful. Even Mike liked it even though it was green, so you know it was good. Rocco delivered.

PASTA CON CAVOLO

1 large kohlrabi root sliced plus the leaves chopped

2-3 cloves of garlic chopped

1/2 C. tomatoes (fresh or canned) chopped

dash of peperoncino (hot red chili flakes)

2-3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

1/2 lb. fettucini pasta

    In a big pot filled with salted water boil the kohlrabi leaves and slices of kholrabi root until they are soft. Meanwhile in a sauce pan, add a couple of TBSP of olive oil and sautee the garlic, peperoncino and tomatoes until it forms a nice thick consistency. Season with salt and pepper. When the kohlrabi are soft, after about 15-20 minutes, add the pasta directly in the boiling pot of kholrabi with a handful or salt. Cook the pasta until al dente then drain and add everything back to the pot. Pour the tomato sauce over the kholrabi and season with fresh pepper and more extra virgin olive oil.

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.