Risotto with Saffron, Asparagus, and Prosciutto

(adapted from Loukie Werle's "Italian Country Cooking")

Ooh, saffron - fancy. This is the first time I've used saffron, and it's pretty neat: add water to the saffron threads and the water immediately turns bright yellow, and just a 1/4 tsp is enough to turn two cups of rice yellow, too. Food science!

The original recipe leaves out the asparagus and the prosciutto - and I think it'd be plain, or just with the asparagus, or, in this case, with all three (it was a tiny bit salty). Regardless, it was extremely satisfying, fun to make, and a big hit with the husband.

1/2 bunch asparagus, woody ends removed and chopped into 3-4 sections
1/4 tsp saffron threads
3 tbsp olive oil
1 white onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
6 cups chicken stock, reduced sodium, simmering
1/4 lb prosciutto, thickly sliced
2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Start the broth boiling; when it comes to a boil, add the asparagus and cook it for 2-4 minutes. Remove it from the boiling water and run the asparagus under cold water. Turn the broth down to a simmer.

Place the saffron in a small bowl and cover with 1.5 tbsp hot water (this is the part where it turns bright yellow!). Let it sit for about 20 minutes, or until needed.

Combine the oil and onion in a large, deeper sauce pan and stir over medium heat until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir another minute. Add the rice and stir until all the grains are coated, about 2 minutes.

Add the wine and stir into the rice until it's been absorbed. Add a ladleful of the simmering stock and stir that in until it's been absorbed. Continue this process for about 20 minutes, or until the rice is al dente or the stock is used up (do reserve a few tablespoons for later). About halfway through, add the saffron and its liquid along with a ladle of stock. Season lightly with ground black pepper after you add the saffron. Add the asparagus and the prosciutto with the last ladleful of stock.

When the rice is cooked/you're done with the stock, add the parmesan and the remaining couple tablespoons of the stock. Stir it over the heat. Done!

(Serves 4-6)

Gnocchi with Lemon and Asparagus

(adapted from "Italian Country Cooking" by Loukie Werle)

Yes! I was really happy with this dish - particularly since it didn't get off to such a great start. It called for homemade breadcrumbs (almost broke my food processor on that one), my store-bought breadcrumbs were, well, just a little old, and I wasn't sure how it was going to work with gnocchi rather than spaghetti. Turns out the answer is: pretty dang good! In fact, I'm fighting the urge to eat my tomorrow's-lunch-portion right now.

So, to continue the carb fest:

1/2 bunch asparagus, bottoms snapped off and cut into 2-inch pieces
3/4 lb gnocchi
1/4 cup olive oil...maybe less
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1-2 tbsp or so chopped parsley
Freshly-squeezed juice of 1/2 lemon
Grated cheese (parmesan or romano) for serving

Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it lightly, then add the asparagus. Cook until it's bright green, about 3 minutes, then drain and run under cold water (this apparently preserves the color).

In a saucepan, combine the oil, garlic, and parsley over medium heat, and let it get fragrant - about 2 minutes. Then add the asparagus and stir until it's coated with the olive oil. Since the gnocchi cooks really fast, you can add them back into the water you boiled the asparagus in at the same time you add the asparagus to the olive oil. You may want to turn the heat down on the asparagus a bit, and you can add a squirt of lemon, if you want.

When the gnocchi is done, drain it and add right to the pan with the asparagus, keeping the heat on low. Add the lemon juice and toss for about a minute.

Serve with breadcr- grated cheese!

Cacio e Pepe

(from Smitten Kitchen)

Ready for more pasta? Naturalmente! I am truly surprised by how good this is. I mean, it's just cheese and pepper...and I'm not even that wild about black pepper. But it really was tasty! Give it a shot - it takes about 3 minutes longer than it takes to cook the pasta.

(The recipe below again serves four; I halved it and have more leftovers for lunch.)

1/4 cup olive oil
1 lb spaghetti
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup finely grated Romano cheese
1 1/2 tsp finely ground black pepper

Cook spaghetti in well-salted water in a large, wide-bottomed pot. (You can use this pot for cooking the whole dish.) Drain spaghetti, reserving 1 1/2 cups of pasta water.

Dry out your pot, then heat the olive oil over high heat until almost smoking. Add drained spaghetti and 1 cup of reserved pasta water. This is going to sizzle and spit like what, so watch it.

Add butter, cheese and ground pepper and toss together, turning the heat down a smidge. Add more pasta water if needed.

Serve immediately, sprinkling with reserved cheese and an extra grind or two of black pepper.

Linguine con lenticche e pancetta

(Linguine with Lentils and Pancetta - from "Italian Country Cooking: The Secrets of Cucina Povera", by Loukie Werle...which I LOVE!)

Month #3 of Julia's Birthday Celebrations came to a worthy end this past weekend with the visit of my parents and the delivery of presents. In addition to making me a Bananagrams addict, that also means a new cookbook - and oh, what a cookbook. It is THE cookbook: "Italian Country Cooking: The Secrets of Cucina Povera", by Loukie Werle. Expect many recipes to come from this book.

(I'm also making up for last week's dearth of cooking with an all-out cookfest this week. So, two recipes tonight (last night's dinner and tonight's), with more planned. I'd also be tempted to call it a pastafest, but how is that really different from any other week, really?)

So - this recipe. Lentils, as you can see, since the husband is still absent. I think I'd want to play with this one a little more the next time; I'd also use more pasta water, since it got a little dry. Overall - good, nice spice, and nice and different!

(The recipe below serves four - I halved it for myself and it sufficed for dinner and leftover lunch.)

1 cup lentils
3 tbsp olive oil
1/4 lb pancetta, cubed or sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced and chopped into smaller pieces
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp chopped rosemary leaves
1-2 fresh hot red chiles, seeds removed and sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
3/4 pound linguine
Fresh parsley, finely chopped, for garnish

First you have to prep the lentils. Place them in a small pot and cover with about 2 inches of water. Add a little salt if you want, and cover the pan. Set it over low heat and cook until the water comes to a boil - this will take about 15-20 minutes. When it does, set the lid on an angle and cook over very low heat until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and set lentils aside in their liquid.

Combine the oil and the pancetta in a deep frying pan and cook over medium heat until the pancetta gets crisp and golden, about 5 minutes. Then remove it with a slotted spoon and set aside on paper towels.

Add the celery to the same pan and cook until it begins to soften, another 5 minutes or so. Add the garlic, rosemary and chiles and cook about 2 more minutes. Then, drain the lentils and add them along with the wine. Cook until the wine reduces to about half.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta and reserve about a cup of the pasta water. Add the pasta to the lentils, toss briefly over the heat with the pasta water as needed (to prevent drying), and add the parsley and pancetta and serve.

Guest Recipe: Buridda

(adapted from Biba Caggiano's "Trattoria Cooking")

Well, it's been a heckuva long time, hasn't it? Where did last week go? One minute I was making lentil soup, then I was having a disastrous experience making homemade gnocchi (still haven't decided whether or not to post that one...there was promise in it, I tell you!), and then it was the next weekend and my parents were in town which means...I still didn't cook! However, it also means that the blog gets the benefit of another delicious guest recipe from my father via Biba Caggiano. (By the way, happy Father's Day to my wonderful pa!)

Ooh, and it's a good recipe, too. Like the baked cod, it's one of those impressive-looking, impressive-tasting dishes that can serve a group with little hassle or mess. The hardest part was cleaning the shrimp, and heck, you could even buy them pre-cleaned and skip that step. So, definitely put this one on the list.

Here's how it goes:
2-3 white onions, sliced
Olive oil, black pepper, salt
7 or so ounces whole peeled tomatoes from a can (San Marzano preferred), chopped up a bit
3 filets mahi-mahi (or halibut, sea bass, haddock, or similar fish)
1/2 pound bay scallops
1/2 pound shrimp
Anchovy paste (or real anchovies)
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped/minced
Fresh parsley as garnish
Crusty bread, warmed

Preheat the oven to 375.

Pool a little olive oil in a frying pan. Slice your onions into the olive-oiled pan and turn the heat to medium. Add a little ground pepper and a pinch of salt, then turn heat down a bit and cover the onions to caramelize. (Stir them occasionally until they turn soft and golden brown, about 20 minutes.) About 5 minutes before they're done, add garlic and a few squeezes of anchovy paste and cook those in as well.

Prepare a casserole dish by drizzling the bottom with olive oil, then adding about 1/3 the tomatoes. Layer on about 1/3 the onions. Next, place the fish filets on top of the onions, then arrange the scallops and the shrimp to either side of the filets. Layer all of this again with the remaining tomato and then the remaining onion, covering all the fish and seafood. Add a pinch of ground pepper.

Pop in the over and cook until the mahi-mahi is white and flaky, about 30+ minutes.

Garnish with a little fresh parsley, and serve with crusty bread for dipping.

Lentil Soup

Joef is out of town this weekend, so it's time to make all the things he won't eat! Tonight, it's lentils. Lentil soup, specifically, in spite of the fact that it's in the 80s and horridly humid outside.

I had to give my folks a call for the recipe (and got two different versions) - lentil soup is a joke in my house, because growing up it seemed like every time I asked what was for dinner, "lentil soup" was the answer. Small wonder - it's simple, healthy, delicious. And, because it's my family, there's pasta in it! When I left home for college, I craved lentil soup much more than I thought I would. So, finally I get to make it in my home.

I'll give you the version I made (because of the ingredients I had) - and then tell you how to kick it up a little if ya want (surprise, it involves pork product!).

Olive oil
1 "snack-sized" package of baby carrots, sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1/3 16 oz package of brown lentils
1 can tomato sauce
2.5 cans water
1/4-1/2 lb pasta - tubetti, or fiori (in my case), or spaghetti, broken up
Mozzarella cheese (fresh or otherwise) and parmesan cheese for finishing

Slice 2 cloves of garlic, and saute it in olive oil (drizzled liberally into the pan until it coats the bottom of the pan). Add a little sliced carrot (and a pinch of salt, if you want), let it saute just a bit over medium, then add the lentils, mix in, and cover, simmering over low heat for about five minutes (letting the lentils absorb the olive oil).

Add tomato sauce and water, bring to a boil, then turn to low and let cook 45-60 minutes (or until lentils are soft), partially covered.

Bring the soup back to a boil, then add the pasta and the spinach. Cook until pasta is done.

Serve with mozzarella cheese (melts deliciously into the soup) and parmesan.

Alright, want to kick it up? Add pancetta with the garlic and carrots, and add parmesan cheese rind when you add the pasta. Mmm hmmmm.

(OK, final note: I have to admit that, unaccording to custom, I wrote this out before actually trying the soup...and OH MY GOSH, who KNEW lentil soup could be so good?!)

White Bean Chicken Chili

(concept from Eating Well)

Chili in June? Yes, if it's in the low 60s and raining! The husband and I were totally on the same page today - he came home thinking of soup, I came home thinking of chili, and here we are!

I grew up with chili made with kidney beans, ground beef, and tomato sauce - served over rice - which was always delicious. This is a nice variation on that - plus, I believe it's what the pros call a "one-pot meal". (Look at me, using the lingo.) It's also really easy to vary - spiciness, veggieness, etc. For example, tonight I added yellow bell peppers for the first time, which turned out pretty good.

So, here's what goes in your one pot:
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped baby carrots
1 bell pepper, halved and sliced
1 medium onion, diced
2 4oz cans chopped green chiles
1 15oz can great northern beans, rinsed
2 15oz cans cannellini beans, rinsed
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Cumin
Cayenne pepper
1.5 habaneros
1 cooked rotisserie chicken (thighs, breast, drumsticks - skin removed), torn up/chopped (which is great, because you can eat it as you go...er, I mean...)
1 lime

In a dutch oven or stew pot, drizzle olive oil into the bottom of the pan and turn the heat to medium-high. Add carrots and cook for a few minutes, then stir in onion and cook until softening, adding a pinch of the cumin and cayenne pepper, and a little squeeze of lime juice. Once softened, stir in the chiles, the bell pepper (add the bell pepper earlier, with the onion, if you want it softer), the beans, and the chicken broth. Sprinkle on more cumin and cayenne, and crush in one habanero with a garlic press. Add another squeeze of lime juice. Bring to a boil then turn low to simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken and the .5 habanero, if it needs more spice. Squeeze in half a lime. Stir and cook for about 5 more minutes.

(Also, this dutch oven, which I love, was a wedding gift from my Thrive crew! Woo hoo!)

Simplest Tomato Sauce

(pug not included)

(blatantly stolen from Smitten Kitchen, which adapted it from Marcela Hazan (!!))

This is truly the simplest of simple recipes. I mean, I'm all about minimalizing ingredients for maximum enjoyment, and this is on another level all together. Combine that with the fact that it's pretty delicious - very sweet - and you have a winner. This would also make a great base for amatriciana, where the only real difference would be the addition of pancetta. But it was good on its own, too.

Also, these noodles were too fun.

Here's all it takes:
28 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes (preferably San Marzano)
1 lb, er, "telephone cord" pasta
1 yellow onion, peeled and halved
1/2 stick butter
Salt as needed/to taste
Parmesan cheese for serving

And here is all you do: Dump the tomatoes, the butter, and the onion in a pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then lower the heat to allow it to simmer gently for about 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, and mash the tomatoes against the side of the pot to break them up.

And that is it. I mean, you can throw a pinch of salt in there if you need it. And I used parmesan cheese liberally. It was great heated up for lunch today, too.

Did I mention that was it?

Pasta Salad with Tuna; Fruit Salad

Summer weather usually calls for minimum stove time (although I generally find myself craving excessively hot food in the summer, and cold stuff in the winter), and this is the perfect recipe for that. Alls ya gotta do stove-wise is boil water for the pasta and the hard-boiled eggs. This was also a summer favorite my mom used to make when I was growing up. And just cuz we were feeling extra-healthy, Joef made a fruit salad for dessert, to boot.

PASTA SALAD WITH TUNA
1/2 farfalle or other similar pasta
1 handful snow peas
1 handful grape tomatoes, halved
1 small package baby carrots, cut into thin rounds
1 handful frozen peas, defrosted
2 hard-boiled eggs, halved and sliced
2 cans albacore tuna
Balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
Salt to taste
Grated parmesan for serving

Start the water for the pasta boiling at the same time as you start to boil the eggs. In the meantime, prep the ingredients, patting veggies dry as you wash them. Combine in a bowl and add the tuna. When the eggs are ready, run them under cold water to cool (before and after peeling), then slice and add to the other ingredients. When the pasta is ready, run it under cold water and drain well. Combine everything together and drizzle with olive oil, then add balsamic (I added about 2 capfuls - always less balsamic than olive oil). Add salt to taste, mix to combine. Serve with grated parmesan cheese.

FRUIT SALAD
Bananas, apples, blueberries, and nectarines, sliced and topped with a squeeze of lemon juice to prevent browning.