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Posts from the ‘Grains.Rice,Pasta’ Category

Apr 3

57 Comments

Mixed Beef And Pork Ragu With Rigatoni

A bowl of pasta

A bowl of pasta

I saw a post the other day from The Seasoned Traveller for Pappardelle With Pork Rib Ragu and it immediately brought me back to my childhood, one of my favorite Italian dishes my Mom made was a mixed meat ragu, Mom used both beef and pork and it was delicious the meat was so tender it literally melts in your mouth and the sauce is rich and thick.  Laura (The Seasoned Traveller) made a mouthwateringly good ragu and served it with pappardelle, imagine that ribbon like pasta with the thick rich meaty sauce. Delicious right?  Laura inspired me to make a ragu, I used beef short ribs and pork country ribs. Now I don’t know if technically that is the correct name for those ribs but thats what I know them as. They are meaty with just the right ratio of fat to muscle. It’s one of my favorite cuts of pork. I first sauteed the ribs in a little olive oil, then added some garlic and basil, tomato and slow simmered for about 3 – 4 1/2 hours until the meat was falling off the bone. I decided to make Rigatoni to serve with this thick rich sauce, the pasta is not delicate and neither is the sauce, its a great match. I make this the day before I serve it, the meat is quite fatty so I refrigerate overnight, scrape off most of the fat, reheat and adjust seasoning before serving. Added bonus there is something about an Italian sauce that always tastes better the next day, it’s that much more delicious.

Country Pork Ribs

Country Pork Ribs

 

Mixed Meat Ragu

4 meaty pork country ribs

4-6 beef short ribs

olive oil for pan

fresh or dried basil (8 leaves fresh and approximately 2-3 tsp dried basil) I never measure so its approximate do according to taste

2 cans (28 oz each) good whole tomatoes I like San Marzano – pureed in blender, run through food mill or broken up with your hands

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes

1 shallot minced

3 cloves garlic peeled and smashed

peperoncino or crushed red pepper a generous pinch

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in dutch oven, add the short ribs and sear, remove and sear the pork ribs, remove to plate. Add the shallot and saute until it softens, then add the garlic and lightly brown, if using dried basil add to the oil with the garlic also add the crushed red pepper when it is almost done. Add the crushed tomatoes and you can either put the whole tomatoes in the blender or food processor to puree or break with your hands or use a food mill. Add the whole tomato puree to the pot, season with salt and pepper, add the fresh basil. Now add the meat, bring to a boil then reduce to medium and simmer for 3-4 1/2  hours or until meat is fall off the bone tender.

To serve I remove the bones and leave the meat in nice size chunks, I don’t like to shred it. I add some of the sauce to a saute pan. add the al dente pasta and let it cook a minute or two in the sauce. Divide into bowls, add meat and a little more sauce and finish with a nice grating of cheese either parmigiano reggiano or pecorino romano or both.

Meaty and Delicious

Meaty and Delicious

 

Jan 11

41 Comments

Pasta e Fagiole

Pasta Fagioli

Pasta Fagioli

I posted this in February 2012,  I did a week long tribute to my Italian heritage. This is my Mom’s recipe for Pasta Fagioli, she really made this her own and was known for this dish. It took years for me to pry the recipe from her, like so many cooks she never wrote anything down including amounts so it was hit or miss and it took me several years to get it right but my latest version was the closest I have ever gotten to my Mom’s fabulous recipe.

Ingredients and Directions:

1 1/4  cup great northern beans
1 clove garlic smashed
salt pork (about the size of a deck of cards)
8 cups water
Bring beans, garlic. pork and water to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for approximately 2 hours until beans are tender. I did not soak the beans overnight but if you do reduce cooking time by at least half.
1 28 oz can whole italian plum tomatoes (Blended until smooth)
1 can (28 oz) water – just fill the tomato can with water
1 clove garlic minced
1 shallot minced
salt and pepper to taste
4-5 fresh basil leaves
In dutch oven or large saucepan heat some olive oil, add garlic and shallot cook until they are soft and cooked through, add tomatoes, 3 basil leaves and water and cook for 30 minutes on medium heat.
When beans are done add to the tomato sauce (add beans and water they cooked in). Simmer on low for 20 minutes, the sauce will be thin, that is the way its supposed to be,adjust seasoning. Remove salt pork and add the cooked pasta, add 2 or 3 torn basil leaves and simmer for about 5 minutes and serve with grated parmigiano or romano cheese. NOTE: You can judge how much pasta to add I like about 2-3 cups of cooked pasta, it expands in the soup and you want to retain most of the broth.
Pasta:
2 1/2 cups AP flour
4 large eggs
1 tbs water
2 tsp olive oil
On work surface dump flour and make a well in the middle, add the eggs, water and olive oil and beat with a fork, working in a circle incorporate the flour until you have a cohesive dough, add more flour if your dough is too sticky. Knead until dough is smooth, wrap in plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.
Or by food processor (which I did)  place flour in bowl then add the eggs, oil and water and pulse until it comes together into a ball. Turn onto lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.
If rolling by hand roll dough with rolling pin as thin as you can, the dough should be almost translucent. Fold and cut into thin strips like linguine. If using a pasta machine follow manufacturers directions. NOTE: You will only need half of the pasta for this, wrap the other half of the dough well and freeze for later use).
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, when water is boiling add salt (the water should be salty like sea water) Add the pasta stirring to make sure each piece is separated and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and add to the bean and tomato sauce.

Dough Resting

Rolling paper thin ready to become linguine

Jan 8

60 Comments

Ricotta Polenta With Tomato Mushroom Sauce/Ragu

Creamy Polenta with Tomato and Mushrooms

Creamy Polenta with Tomato and Mushrooms

I posted this back in January 2012, it’s really delicious and worth posting again, I am not really doing any cooking because of my injury so I thought it would be fun to go back into the recesses of my blog and re post some of my recipes. This is a wonderful, filling vegetarian dish, you can of course add meat to the sauce but I love it with just vegetables. Tailor to however you like it, adding lots of fresh herbs, different types of mushrooms, I think eggplant would be wonderful. You don’t really have to follow a recipe for this.

Serves 4-6 depending on serving size

4 cups whey or water

1 cup polenta (corn meal) I used stone ground

pinch of salt

1/2 cup ricotta (well drained)

2 tbs butter

black pepper (2 or 3 turns of the pepper mill)

In saucepan add the whey or water and pinch of salt, bring to a rolling boil. Whisk in the polenta, don’t dump it all in add slowly while you are whisking it thickens very quickly. Lower heat to low and continue whisking until its done. It takes approximately 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat add the butter and stir, now add the ricotta. Stir until its all incorporated. Cover pan and set aside while you make the sauce.

8 oz cremini mushrooms sliced or whatever type of mushroom you like

2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes or 1 28 oz can whole or chopped tomatoes

splash of white wine

2 clove garlic peeled and minced

1 whole shallot peeled and chopped

handful italian parsley chopped

olive oil for pan

salt and pepper to taste

Put some olive oil in a saute pan and heat on medium high. Add the shallots and cook until they become soft and translucent. Add the garlic and continue to cook until they start to caramelize. Now add the mushrooms  and cook until the mushrooms lightly browned, add the tomato and wine and cook on med/high until sauce thickens approximately 30 minutes uncovered, I like to cook this in a large skillet. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat. Add the chopped parsley.

Dec 31

77 Comments

Hoppin John For Good Luck, A Broken Finger And Happy 2014

hoppin john hoppin john

Hoppin John which contains blackeye peas is traditionally served on New Years Eve/ Day. They are supposed to bring good luck. I guess I could use it since I fell the other day, it was my own fault, never, especially on the pot hole laden streets of NYC push a shopping cart in front of you, you should drag it in back. I learned the hard way, I had just come from the food coop, cart full of all sorts of good stuff, it was pretty heavy. Crossing the street walking at a brisk pace, the wheels got stuck in a pothole, I went flying over the cart with my finger in one of the grooves, it completely dislocated my finger. I spent the rest of the day in the ER where they had to put it back together. I was lucky it wasn’t fractured. Unlucky for me it’s my right hand index finger. I will adapt. This was a bit difficult to make not because the recipe is hard but working without my index finger is not easy and painful.Vegetables are not cut in the proper size pieces but the results are the same.

Dislocated finger Dislocated finger

So I thought I better make some blackeye peas for good luck, this is not the way I envisioned starting 2014.

I have not eaten blackeye peas since I was a child. To be perfectly honest, I really disliked them after a very unappetizing school lunch containing the dreaded peas that I was forced to eat. Since then I have tasted them and they were ok, I looked at several hoppin john recipes and decided on one with bacon, because bacon makes everything better!! This recipe is simple to make and so delicious, now why didn’t they serve this at school it could have been spared years of being a blackeye pea hater.

The veggies The veggies

Ingredients

2 cups dried blackeye peas

1 red bell pepper diced

1 yellow bell pepper diced

1 jalapeno peper cut in half lengthwise seeds removed

1 large stalk celery sliced

1 medium onion diced

2 garlic cloves smashed

1 medium size carrot sliced

6 cups stock (vegetable or chicken) or you can use water

4 thick slices of bacon cut into lardons

splash of olive oil

1 bunch collard greens tough stems removed and cut into thin strips

steamed white rice

hot sauce of your choice

splash of apple cider vinegar (optional)

Rinse peas discarding any rocks or peas that don’t look good. Set aside. In dutch oven set on med/high heat saute the bacon to render the fat, remove the bacon leaving about 2 or 3 tbs of bacon fat in the pot my bacon was lean so I had to add a splash of olive oil, set the cooked bacon aside to add later. Still on med/high add onions and saute until they just begin to soften, add the celery, carrot and yellow and red bell pepper. Continue to saute until vegetables soften, add smashed garlic cloves and cook for another minute or two. Add the blackeye peas, reserved bacon, jalapeno pepper, collard greens and liquid, bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium and cook for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally and adding liquid if it looks too dry. Before serving, remove jalapeno pepper and discard (or you can keep it if you like) I just use for flavor.

Serve over steamed rice, brown or white your choice. Add some hot sauce, an optional splash of vinegar and garnish however you like. I really like some cheddar or manchego cheese grated on top.

A Very Happy New Year to all of you. I wish for all a happy, healthy, successful 2014 and I look forward to blog posts from each and every one of you!!

Taken from Pinterest Taken from Pinterest

Sep 7

80 Comments

Loobiya Pollo

Loobiya Polo

Loobiya Polo

I love Persian/Iranian food, I used to make it all the time but have sadly fallen out of practice on many dishes that were staples in my kitchen repertoire. Loobiya (green bean) Pollo (rice) was one of them that I made frequently years ago, I actually forgot how to make it and didn’t have my original recipe, it was somehow lost. Thanks to great blogs like Fig and Quince and Fae’s Twist and Tango I have been able to piece together and actually remember many dishes and how I made them. It’s kind of like riding a bike, you never really forget, it is in the recesses of your mind. Azita from Fig and Quince gave me her recipe for Loobiya Pollo and after reading it, the memories started flooding back.

Loobiya Pollo is very simple, you make a stew using meat (beef or lamb or even chicken)  that is braised in a tomato based sauce spiced with turmeric, cinnamon and saffron, you add caramelized onions and green beans and let it cook together slowly. The stew is layered with basmati rice and steamed. It’s absolutely delicious. One of the best parts of the dish is the Tahdig, crunchy rice that forms at the bottom of the pot. The rice mixed with the rich tomato sauce is so wonderful.

I have to confess I don’t really follow a recipe exactly and don’t really measure when I make these dishes. I season to taste, eyeball consistency so results may vary. I will try my best to approximate the amounts for you though.  I like to serve this dish with crisp cucumber strips and plain yogurt mixed with dried mint, diced cucumber and a little lemon.

I always  make this with meat but it translates beautifully into a vegetarian or even vegan dish, simply omit the meat, you can add different vegetables and layer and steam with the rice.

Loobiya Pollo

Serves 4-6 depending on serving size

For the stew:

1.5 lb stew meat (lamb or beef)

1 yellow onion chopped (divided, reserve a small amount to saute with green beans)

approximately 4 oz tomato paste

1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce

2 whole fresh ripe tomatoes peeled and chopped

3/4 lb green beans, stem end removed, blanched and cut into bite size pieces

turmeric (approximately 1/2 tsp)

cinnamon (approximately 1/4 heaping tsp)

saffron (a pinch)

salt and pepper to taste

Rice

Approximately 2 cups basmati rice

oil for pot

pinch of saffron (in 2 tbs water)

1 tbs of butter (I like to use salted butter)

Heat a saute pan coated with oil (I used olive oil)  on med/high and add the onions, saute until soft and caramelized (takes 15-20 minutes) remove from pan and set aside. Add a little more oil and add the meat, sprinkle with salt, pepper and turmeric, sear the meat until browned, remove from pan and set aside. Add the tomato paste to the same pan, stir frequently and caramelize, add the onion and meat to the pan with the tomato paste, now add the tomato sauce and chopped fresh tomato, add the cinnamon and season with salt and pepper. Cover with lid slightly ajar and simmer on medium heat. It will take at least an hour and a half for the stew to cook and the meat to become tender. Check frequently you may need to add a little water if it looks like the stew has cooked down too much, stir occasionally. Taste as it cooks and adjust seasoning, I found that I needed to add a dash more cinnamon to get the flavor just right.

While this is cooking start preparing your rice. Rinse rice with cold water until the water comes out clear. Add the rice to a bowl, cover in cold water and add salt (approx 2 tsp) let rice sit in the salted water until you are ready to boil.

Heat saute pan with a little oil, add the reserved raw onions and saute until soft, add the green beans and a pinch of turmeric and a little salt and pepper and cook for approximately 2 minutes just until the green beans are lightly sauteed. Set aside.

When meat is tender but needs another 30 minutes or so add the green beans and finish cooking add a pinch of saffron, stir to combine.

Put large pot of water on to boil, add about a tbs of salt. When water is a full rolling boil, drain the rice that has been sitting in the water and add to the pot. Stir to separate each grain and let par cook, this takes about 10-12 minutes, the rice will be hard in the center of the grain. Drain into sieve and rinse with cool water. While rice is draining, put your pot back on the stove, dry it and add a little oil to the bottom of the pot, let it heat on med/high heat until good and hot. Add enough of the rice to cover the bottom of the pot about 1 inch thick, now add a thin layer of the stew spread evenly on the rice, now you will layer, add some rice topped with stew, you will end with plain rice, add 1 tbs butter and drizzle with the saffron water. Cover the pot with tea towel  or paper towel and place cover on pot so that it is a tight fit. Turn heat up to high for 5 minutes so steam will build up in the pot then lower to medium and let it steam undisturbed for 45-60 minutes depending on how much rice you have made. Don’t open it while it’s steaming but keep your nose at attention, if you smell it burning remove from heat immediately.

To remove from pot and serve:

I like to use a non stick pot to make my rice, the tahdig can stick to the bottom of the pot and having a non stick surface makes it easy to get out in one piece. When the rice is finished cooking put a couple of inches of cold water in your sink and place the pot in the water, let sit for about 30 seconds.

Place serving dish over the pot and invert. The rice should come out in one piece (looking like a cake). The tahdig (bottom of the pot) should be nicely browned and crisp) it’s so delicious and underneath is tender totally separate rice. Serve hot.

An example of how rice will look when it comes out of the pot, this is not the loobiya dish but a plain basmati rice with tahdig, I didn’t get a picture of the loobiya pollo.

Persian Rice with tahdig

Persian Rice with tahdig

Aug 24

54 Comments

Rigatoni With Roasted Mushrooms And Eggplant And Wine Pairing

Rigatoni with mushrooms and eggplant

Rigatoni with mushrooms and eggplant

So here is the dish I decided to make with those beautiful roasted mushrooms and eggplant from the last post. It’s insanely simple, takes only minutes and is very tasty. It looks pretty boring, shades of cream and brown (those beautiful purple eggplant turned a homely brown) but it’s far from boring in the taste department You don’t really need a recipe per se for this, make as much as you need for your meal.  I didn’t really  measure anything estimated the amounts, you can judge by eyeballing it, it will feel right.

Serves 2-4 depending on serving size

Ingredients:

Roasted eggplant, mushrooms, shallot and garlic

1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley (a nice handful)

1/4 cup good white wine or a nice glugg, preferably what you will drink with this dish

olive oil to coat pan

Rigatoni  (1/3-1/2lb)

Goat cheese and mascarpone (use equal amounts of each)

Parmigiano Reggiano grated

Instructions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a tbs of salt and when it’s a vigorous rolling boil add the rigatoni. Stir occasionally and let boil for approximately 10 minutes or follow instructions on the package.

While your rigatoni is boiling, heat a saute pan with a little olive oil on medium/high, add the mushrooms,eggplant, shallot and garlic (remove the sprigs of thyme first) and a splash of white wine (about 1/4 cup). Cook just long enough to heat the vegetables, with strainer or spyder add the rigatoni to the vegetables. toss to combine and cook for a minute or two adding a little of the pasta water if it’s too dry. Add the chopped parsley. I topped this with  grated parm and a heaping spoonful of goat cheese and mascarpone that I whipped I used equal amounts of goat cheese and mascarpone and simply beat with my electric mixer. This will also be used for dessert, refrigerate what remains.  Hey you can never get too much goat cheese and mascarpone, right?  Stay tuned for dessert.

Wine Pairing courtesy of Stefano Crosio

I asked Stefano from Flora’s Table  and Clicks And Corks  to lend his expertise and  to pair wine with this dish. Here are his recommendations, and I would advise to find these wines, Stefano knows whereof he speaks. His recommendations are always spot on:

Given the characteristics of the ingredients of your dish, a proper wine to pair with it would have good acidity, tannins (or fairly robust ABV), intensity of flavors, tastiness and medium body.  A not overly structured Barbera, such as Coppo, L’Avvocata, would be a good wine for your dish at a very interesting price point (~$15). Otherwise, another good option in white would be Donnafugata’s Chiaranda’ (a Sicilian Chardonnay that retails for about $35.

Jun 6

52 Comments

Re-Purposing Leftovers-Salmon,Asparagus And Whole Wheat Pappardelle

A Bowl of pasta

bowl of pasta

I refuse to waste food and love re-purposing leftovers. It’s a challenge to try to come up with a creative and delicious dish that puts a fresh spin on your leftover food. I had a small piece of salmon and a few stalks of asparagus left over from dinner the other night, I also have some whole wheat pappardelle in the pantry that I bought (by accident) and need to start using (not a fan of whole wheat pasta). This dish came together in a flash and was really delicious, all I did was saute some shallot in a little olive oil, add a little white wine, then some heavy cream, a little dijon mustard, lemon zest, salt and pepper and reduced until it started to thicken. At the end I added the asparagus and salmon and the cooked pappardelle. This is not the type of dish that needs precise measuring, I basically ad libbed, a little of this and that until it came together. Use what you have, peas come to mind, chicken, or without any meat or fish. The pasta in the cream sauce with vegetables is wonderful on it’s own.

The amounts are approximate

Serves 1-2

1 lobe of a shallot chopped

Olive oil for pan

1/4 cup white wine

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 tsp lemon zest

salt and pepper to taste

1 small salmon fillet

4 stalks asparagus

Pappardelle (small handful)

Fill large pan with water add salt and bring to a rolling boil. Heat olive oil in pan, add the shallot and saute until translucent. Add the wine and reduce by half. Now add the cream, dijon,lemon zest, salt and pepper and cook until it’s reduced by half. It should be nicely thick. While the cream sauce is reducing add the pasta to the boiling water, now I used whole wheat pappardelle, it took a good 10 minutes for an al dente pasta.

When the cream sauce is reduced add the asparagus and salmon, toss in the pappardelle and gently stir until it is coated with the sauce. Serve immediately.

Apr 8

52 Comments

Brown Rice Breakfast Risotto With Walnut Topping

Brown Rice Risotto

Brown Rice Risotto

The latest Whole Foods Recipe Contest is all about breakfast and whole grains. The weather is starting to get warmer but decided to create a warming healthful breakfast for the last vestiges of cool weather. This is not a quick on the go sort of breakfast (unless you make it the night before), it takes a good 30-40 minutes to cook but when dealing with whole grains you expect to take a little longer to prepare. I used short grain brown rice, milk (almond milk works great also), dates to sweeten and topped with some maple sweetened toasted walnuts. I love risotto and breakfast risotto is wonderful, You can easily make this the night before (thats what do) and either serve cold or heat it. No added sugar, whole grain brown rice is a healthful way to start your day!
Serves: 2
2/1/2-3 cups milk or almond milk
1/2 cup brown arborio or short grain rice
3-4 medjool dates pitted and chopped The dates really sweeten this use less for lightly sweetened risotto.
2 tbs butter (One tbs to saute dates and the other tbs when risotto is finished)
pinch of salt
Garnish
1/2 cup walnuts
2 tbs maple syrup
Add milk to medium saucepan and bring to simmer on med/low heat or heat in microwave for 2-3 minutes to get it hot. Place butter  in saute pan, add chopped dates and cook until softened, add rice and saute until rice is coated with the butter approximately 3 minutes.
Slowly add the milk a cup at a time to the rice, stirring until milk is absorbed and adding more until all of it is used. Add the remaining tbs of butter. Rice will be toothsome, total cooking time is about 30-40 minutes  NOTE: I didn’t add any additional sweeteners, the dates did the job for me, add a little sweetener of your choice if you like. I always have extra liquid ready when making risotto, the whole grain brown rice takes longer to cook and may need more liquid, I needed the full 2 1/2 cups of milk.
While risotto is cooking, pre heat your oven to 350, line small sheet pan with parchment, place walnuts and maple syrup in a small bowl and toss to combine, spread on sheet pan and toast in the oven for 10 minutes or just until you can smell the nuts. Remove from oven and give a rough chop.
To serve: Spoon risotto into bowl, sprinkle some of the nuts on top, add fresh fruit also, I like blueberries.

Feb 23

43 Comments

Chicken And Sausage Paella, A Guest Post-Wine Pairing

Paella

Paella

I am so excited about this post, not just because I have made paella, one of my favorite dishes but because I have collaborated with a wine expert who graciously paired wine specifically for this dish. I contacted Stefano a certified sommelier and asked him if he would lend his expertise, choosing wine that would compliment the paella. He accepted, and I am so pleased to bring you his choices. Stefano is a brilliant photographer and sommelier and his blog Clicks & Corks recently launched. He previously posted with his wife Francesca on her beautiful blog Flora’s Table. I love their posts, the food, wine and photographs are amazing. I enjoy wine, drinking and cooking with it but I am not an expert, I rely on my local wine merchant to help me pick wine based on what and how I cook and drink. I know what I like but ask me to tell you about it and I become verklempt. Clicks & Corks has a wealth of information regarding wine, there is a glossary full of interesting and helpful information. I sent Stefano what I was making along with the ingredients and based on that he was able to choose 2 wines specifically for this dish. My favorite wine purveyor, Brian who owns Gnarly Vines in Brooklyn did not carry the exact wine that Stefano recommended but went above and beyond for me and found both wines, I was thrilled. Here is a link to the ISA guidelines for wine pairing that was posted on Flora’s table, it’s fascinating. I chose to drink the Soave Classico “Calvarino” with the meal and loved it, this wine paired perfectly with the paella, it’s clean and light and very smooth, there is a minerality that is very distinct, I could tell the soil in which the grapes were grown is rich and produces exceptional grapes. The wine complimented the paella so well, the crisp clean white wine offset the richness of the dish. Stefano knows what he is doing when he chose this wine. I haven’t opened the other wine yet but have no doubt that it will also be amazing. This wine will pair perfectly with seafood also, in my non expert opinion.

This paella is pretty simple, I chose to use chicken thighs and sausage and no seafood, it’s easy to make and isn’t as finicky as paella that contains different types of seafood. I love to drizzle it with aioli, now aioli is traditionally made with raw garlic, oil and an acid. Because I am not a fan of raw garlic I roasted it, used both olive and vegetable oil and added saffron building on the flavors in the paella.

Roasted garlic, saffron,lemon aioli

Roasted garlic, saffron,lemon aioli

The Aioli:

  • 3-4 large cloves of garlic (3 if you want it subtle and 4 for stronger garlic flavor)
  • 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
  • 2 Egg yolks
  • 1/4 cup Freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
  • Freshly ground white or black pepper
  • 1/2 cup Vegetable Oil (Canola works well)minus 2 tbs
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tbs olive oil.
  • A generous pinch of saffron
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, while oven is heating peel 4 large cloves of garlic place on aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil and make a packet. Place on sheet pan and bake for 15 minutes or until garlic is soft.
  2. Let garlic cool, while it’s cooling squeeze and zest the lemons. Add the generous pinch of saffron to the lemon juice and let sit for approx. 10-15 minutes the lemon juice will turn a lovely vibrant yellow.
  3. In your blender place the garlic cloves,egg yolks, lemon juice w/saffron, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Blend until garlic is completely incorporated it doesn’t take long as the garlic is soft.
  4. With blender running, slowly add the oil, the mixture will become thick. Adjust seasoning if you desire. Refrigerate while you make the Paella. This can be made in advance it keeps for 2-3 days in refrigerator.

Paella with saffron rice:

  • 3 cups long grain white rice
  • 6 cups chicken stock to cook the rice heated.
  • 1 small sweet onion chopped
  • 2 tablespoons Butter
  • 2 tablespoons Olive Oil + plus more for chicken and tomatoes
  • 6 chicken thighs (bone in and skin on)
  • 1/2 pound Italian sausage (sweet or hot)
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1/14 cup chicken stock for paella
  • A generous pinch of saffron for the rice.
  • 12 cherry or grape tomatoes
  1. First make the saffron rice. Heat the olive oil and butter in large saucepan, add onion and cook until soft and translucent, add the rice and stir to coat. Add the saffron to the heated stock and add to the rice, let it come to a boil, reduce heat, cover pan and let cook for approx. 15 minutes. Remove cover and fluff the rice with a fork. Set the rice aside.
  2. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and place in baking pan, drizzle with olive oil and bake in 450 degree oven for 20 30 minutes. Don’t discard the pan juices, pour some onto the rice when you are putting the paella together.
  3. Reduce oven temp to 375 degree’s, lay a piece of parchment on baking sheet and place tomatoes on parchment, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake until tomatoes become soft and start to caramelize. It takes approximately 15- 20 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
  4. Heat a fry pan(use the large pan you will use for the paella) coated with a little olive oil and brown the sausages. Remove from the pan and set aside covered. Don’t drain the oil (it won’t be much) or pan juices you will use this same pan to cook the paella). Slice sausage just before assembling the paella.
  5.  If you have a paella pan thats wonderful but if you are like me and do not use a large (14″) fry pan with a lid. Using the same fry pan you used for the sausage, turn flame to medium/high. Add the saffron rice and peas mix to incorporate the peas with the rice, then start layering. Add the chicken thighs and sausage.  Pour the 1 1/4 cups of chicken stock over the paella, spoon some of the pan juices from the chicken on top cover and cook for 15 minutes, approximately 3 minutes before its done add the tomatoes, put the lid back on and cook for the remaining time.  Remove from heat. Garnish with chopped parsley and drizzle with the aioli.
Fantastico!!

Fantastico!!

Wine Pairing:

By Stefano Crosio-Clicks & Corks

In order to pair well with Suzanne’s delicious paella, the wines that we are going to pick need to have good acidity, a good extent of smoothness, quite intense nose-mouth flavors and decent structure, as in a medium to full bodied wine. The reason why these characteristics (and not others) are desirable to achieve a pleasant food-wine pairing is the result of application of the wine pairing criteria codified by the Italian Sommellier Association, which I will discuss in a future post on Flora’s Table.

Based on the above guidelines, I am going to recommend two wines that I have recently tasted at the Vinitaly/Slow Wine trade fair in New York: they both possess the desired characteristics to be good companions to Suzanne’s paella and they both have particularly impressed me when I tasted them. Clearly, these two wines are by no means the only ones that go well with Suzanne’s paella! However, on the one hand their descriptions, coupled with the general guidelines provided above, should point you in the right direction should you wish to consider different alternatives and, on the other hand, if you are going to give either or both of these wines a try, they might introduce some of you to two Italian wines that are maybe not so “mainstream” or widely known in the US market and that yet are excellent and showcase the treasure chest of indigenous grape varieties that constitute the backbone of centuries of Italy’s wine culture.

I will now leave you with my tasting notes for the two recommended wines, plus the certainty that you will enjoy Suzanne’s delicious paella dish and the hope you will get to drink some good wine with it!  🙂
 
Option 1: Soave Classico, from the Veneto region
 
Pieropan [http://www.pieropan.it/en/], Soave Classico “Calvarino” 2010 DOC: a very good Soave made of a blend of 70% Garganega and 30% Trebbiano di Soave grapes which literally hits you in the nose with an exhuberant minerality and aromas of apple, citrus and white flowers; in the mouth a lively acidity and distinct minerality are balanced by a good extent of smoothness – long finish. ABV: 12.5% VOL. If interested, here [http://www.pieropan.it/en/index.php?id=73] is the winery’s technical sheet for this wine. Retails in the US for about $28.
 
Grape varieties’ quick facts: Garganega is a grape variety that is indigenous to the Veneto region, where it has been cultivated since at least the XIII century. Wines made of Garganega grapes are generally acidic and spicy.For more information about the Trebbiano di Soave grape variety, please refer to the quick facts about Verdicchio in option 2 below.
Option 2: Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, from the Marche region
Marotti Campi [http://www.marotticampi.it/index.php?var=], Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico “Salmariano” Riserva 2009 DOC: a very good varietal wine made of 100% Verdicchio grapes, with a nice bouquet of white flowers, peach, citrus and minerals; good acidity and a long finish. ABV: 14% VOL. If interested, here [http://www.marotticampi.it/catalogo-vini.php?var=tab7] is the winery’s technical sheet for this wine. Retails in the US for about $20.
 
Grape variety’s quick facts: Verdicchio grapes are also known as Verdicchio Bianco, a grape variety which, although it has been cultivated in the Marche region since the XVI century, was said to originate from Veneto. It is interesting to notice that DNA profiling has confirmed this theory, indicating that Verdicchio as a grape variety is identical to Trebbiano di Soave, a grape variety that is widely planted in Veneto and that we have just come across describing the wine in option 1. Verdicchio wines tend to have marked acidity and good structure.
 

Feb 3

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Pasta Piselli

Pasta Piselli

Pasta Piselli

I first tasted this when I lived in Naples Italy, it was served as a first course at a friends house where I went for lunch. Lunch in Italy lasted 2 or 3 hours and was the main meal of the day. There were several courses and it was eaten leisurely over the space of about 2 hours. Very different from the quickie lunches we have here in the US.  I watched my friends Grandmother make this soup and was taken first by it’s simplicity, only a few ingredients but there was something about it that was so warm and comforting and delicious. My recipe is basically the same as what I observed the only thing that I do differently is that I add a pinch of lemon zest, it brightens the flavors and adds so much to the dish IMHO. I like to use fresh pasta but you can use dried it’s perfectly fine and works just as well. Feel free to use whatever type of pasta you like, for this I like long pasta, linguine is my favorite. You can also feel free to use parmigiano instead of romano if you like or mix them. It’s all good!!

Serves 2-4 depending on serving size

32 oz chicken broth or stock

1 cup fresh or frozen peas

1/2 pound fresh or dried pasta

1 large egg at room temperature beaten

1/2 cup grated pecorino romano cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Pinch of lemon zest (Optional)

Bring your broth or stock to a boil in a large saucepan, add the peas and cook for 3 minutes, add the pasta (If using fresh it only takes about 3 minutes to cook, dried takes longer 8 minutes approximately) NOTE: If using dried pasta it takes much longer to cook and you don’t want to over cook the peas. Dried pasta depending on the type can take 8-10 minutes so add the peas the last 5 minutes of cooking.

Beat the egg and add the grated cheese to the egg, combine. Remove pot from the heat and pour the egg in slowly stirring as you add. Add salt and pepper if you like, I like to add a pinch of lemon zest also, its optional. Serve with more cheese grated on top.

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