Spaghetti + Meatballs

How is your new year going? Mine started out energetic with some new ideas for a project I’m working on, which I hope to announce sometime in February. The insurrection on the Capitol was um, horrifying. It felt like 9/11 but actually worse. Biden will be sworn in on Wednesday which is a huge relief and I’m very excited about that, so I guess you could say this year has already had its share of ups and downs. 

So, Spaghetti and Meatballs! I had a craving for spaghetti and meatballs the other day. And coincidently Jeff told me he had a craving for a meatball sandwich, and it’s not like we just read about meatballs or anything like that, we just had meatball cravings! Ha! The recipe below is a double batch of meatballs, we had our spaghetti dinner and I’m going to freeze the rest of the meatballs for a Meatball Sub Sandwich next week. I adapted the recipe from NYTimes Cooking, which I finally gave in and subscribed. It’s only $5/month but it just irks me that it doesn’t come with the NYTimes subscription we already have. Oh well. I actually really like it with the recipe box and it has a very nice interface. The recipe doubled here makes 18 large meatballs. I changed a couple things, using Panko bread crumbs and Italian seasoning, but feel free to use regular bread crumbs and whatever seasoning you prefer. I also bake them in the oven before putting them in the sauce, which is convenient because you can make your sauce while they bake and everything comes together a bit quicker.

Enjoy!

Spaghetti + Meatballs

Meatballs

• 1 lb ground pork

• 1 lb ground beef

• 2  large eggs, lightly beaten

• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

• 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 2  teaspoon salt

•  Freshly ground black pepper

Sauce

• 2  garlic cloves, minced

• 1  teaspoon dried oregano

• 1  tablespoon unsalted butter

• 1  tablespoon olive oil

• 24 oz jar of tomato sauce

• 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (or more to taste)

• 8 oz chopped baby bella mushrooms

•  Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1  pound spaghetti, tagliatelle or linguine, cooked to taste

Or you could make your tomato sauce from scratch, recipe here

Preheat oven to 400°.

To prepare meatballs, combine pork, beef, egg, parmesan, garlic, spices, bread crumbs, tomato paste, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly with your hands until well combined.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Shape the meat mixture into 2 inch balls, and place on baking sheet. You should have about 18 meatballs. Brush the meatballs with a little olive oil. Place in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until internal temp reads 165°.

To prepare the sauce, in a large sauce pan or dutch oven sauté garlic for a few minutes, then add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato paste and spices, allow to simmer for about 10 minutes over a medium low heat.  Add the mushrooms and continue to simmer another 10-15 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.

When the meatballs are done, remove from oven and place some in the sauce, or on a platter. You can freeze leftover meatballs to make meatball sandwiches for another time. Place hot pasta in a large serving bowl. Pour most of sauce (reserving meatballs) on pasta, and toss to combine. Top pasta with meatballs, and serve.

Black-Eyed Peas + Collard Greens

Here’s the Black-Eyed Peas and Collards Greens that I made last week, I think I mentioned it in my Cornbread post, which seems so long ago. Man, these are weird times. I did some shopping yesterday morning because it’s getting so difficult to get delivery, or to get what you want, Amazon PrimeNow is really feeling it these days with low inventory, so I got my disposable gloves, sanitizer, dust mask and went to it. Well the mask didn’t work out at all, it kept fogging up my glasses and I couldn’t see. So that had to go. But I will say the majority of shoppers were really good about keeping distance. And the cashier was sanitizing everything after each customer. I brought my own bags so I had bag myself which was fine, and it felt good to be out for a bit (there is this sense of walking through a minefield, constantly cautious!) But we have groceries for a good one to two weeks and it gives me peace of mind that I don’t have to go out there for a while.

So onto Black-Eyed Peas and Collards Greens. I got the recipe from NYT Cooking. The original recipe had two pounds of black-eyed peas and two pounds of ham, so I halved the recipe, some things I left as is, like the spices, because you might need to add more water as it’s cooking and I found myself adding more spice towards the end. The recipe below makes a ton of food, at least for two people that is, but if you want to make an even bigger batch you can double the peas and ham, double the garlic, keep everything else the same and use 10 cups of water for cooking rather than 7 cups. I initially started with 5 cups of water since I halved the recipe, but it wasn’t enough to cover everything. I think the recipe is fairly forgivable in precise measurements so you can add and subtract however you like and it will be fine. We really enjoyed this dish, I hope you do too. 

Black-Eyed Peas + Collard Greens

• 1 pounds black-eyed peas, soaked overnight if possible

• 1 pound smoked thick-cut bacon (or smoked ham hock)

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 large onion, peeled and stuck with 2 cloves

• 1 bay leaf

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon allspice

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper

• 2 pounds collard greens, cut in 1-inch ribbons (about 8 cups)

• 1 bunch scallions, cleaned and chopped, for garnish (optional)

Drain peas and put them in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add ham hock or bone (if using slab bacon, cut it into 2-inch chunks), cover with 7 cups water and turn heat to high. Add salt, onion stuck with cloves, bay leaf, black pepper and allspice.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Skim off and discard any foam that rises to the surface. Simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until peas are tender (I cooked mine over 2 hours and the bacon started to fall apart, so I think 2 hours max if you’re using bacon). Throughout cooking, add water as necessary, always keeping liquid level 1 inch above surface, stirring with wooden spoon occasionally. Turn off heat. Check broth for salt and adjust seasoning. Mixture should be fairly brothy. With a pair of tongs, remove ham hock, ham bone or bacon. Chop meat and skin in rough pieces and set aside.

Put a large wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and heat, then add garlic and red pepper and let sizzle without browning. Add collard greens and stir to coat. Season with salt and add 1 cup water, stirring to help wilt greens. Add chopped bacon and reduce heat to medium, then cover with lid slightly ajar and cook until greens are soft, about 20 minutes. Check seasoning.

To serve, put greens and meat in low soup bowls, then ladle over hot black-eyed peas. Sprinkle with scallions.

Recipe adapted from NYT Cooking

White Bean and Bacon Soup

So here we are. In a global Pandemic. Is this really happening? Yep. So before I talk about this recipe I want to talk a bit about what’s going on. I was reading the other day how historically people tend to dismiss pandemics early on, whether it was the plague in the 14th century, the flu in 1918 or more recently the AIDS epidemic to where we are now with the Coronavirus. There are still people in denial. I admit I had some skepticism early on, but by the last couple weeks of February I started to not touch door knobs in public places and not touch my face. I had jury duty on March 4th and was armed with hand sanitizer and tissues to avoid touching doors or whatever. It was clear at the time that this is not going away by wishful thinking or hopeful optimism. I started some reasonable shopping last week and went to Costco last Tuesday for our usual stuff, it was remarkably calm there and not too busy, they had already implemented cleaning procedures, as soon as you entered they sprayed down the handle of the shopping cart, and throughout the store I saw employees cleaning the handles of refrigerator doors. It gave me hope and confidence that we can get through this with a smart strategy. And we can! But we have to take this seriously to do so. If you want to support your local restaurants, get orders to go and tip accordingly, or better yet, if they have gift cards you can buy them now to use later. I know a lot of restaurants and bars could have serious financial problems over the next few weeks (or months, gasp!) But we should not be congregating as if nothing is going on. Please do your best to keep distance and also support your local businesses. This is really an issue for the federal government which needs to step up and address this because it will become a major problem and the shops need support now more than ever. Please be mindful of all of this and try not to touch your face when you are in a public area, it is so hard not to touch your face! 

With that said, back to the White Bean and Bacon Soup. I’ve made this a few times now over the past couple months or so. It is super easy to put together, quick too, and uses mostly pantry items or things you have in the fridge already. I’ve made this with charred jalapeño chopped up and another version with Harissa, so you can swap out whatever spice you like. If you have neither of those on hand you can use a bit of paprika and/or chili powder, or, if you don’t want it spicy you can just forget about any of that and it will be just as delicious, because the bacon gives it such a wonderful rich smokey flavor. 

I will most likely be cooking with pantry items in the coming weeks and will share the recipes that work best for when you’re working with what you’ve got.

Here are a couple of links that might be helpful about the Coronavirus, what is going on in your area and why this is happening.

Stay safe friends, and most of all this is tragically more fatal to older people and people with a compromised immune systems, even if you are young it is possible to spread the virus unknowingly to others. 

White Bean and Bacon Soup

• 4 slices thick cut bacon

• 3 cans white beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 carrot, diced

• 2 celery stalks, diced

• 1 small onion, chopped

• 1 garlic clove, minced

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 1 can diced tomatoes

• 1 (heaping) tablespoon Harissa  

• 6 cups chicken stock

• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme (or dried thyme)

• 1 bay leaf

• Salt and pepper to taste

In a large dutch oven cook the bacon strips until crisp. Remove and place on paper-towel-lined plate. When cool cut bacon into half-inch pieces.

Remove some of the bacon fat from the pot, leaving 2-3 tablespoons remaining. Over medium heat add the onion, garlic, carrots and celery to the pot, cook for 10-15 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for about a minute. Add the diced tomatoes, chicken stock, harissa, thyme and bay leaf, bring to a simmer and then add the beans. Allow to simmer for about 15-20 minutes, then add the bacon and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pork Fried Rice with Bok Choy

This Pork Fried Rice is so good! I think it’s better than take-out to be honest. Last month I purchased Chinese barbecued pork at Costco, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it, maybe a stir fry or soup, but I’ve made fried rice with bacon before and it came out so good that I had no choice but to make this. The Costco pork contains two pieces at about a pound each, so the amount works great for the recipe below and you can freeze the other pound of pork. 

The original recipe had half the sauce that I have below, that’s how I made it the first time and it really needed more sauce for all that rice, so I doubled the sauce measurements and I think it came out perfect. 

Another change from the original recipe, I didn’t use solid vegetable oil, I don’t have any and I don’t want any, lol. So I used olive oil instead, you might want to try avocado oil or a peanut oil which is more suitable for high heat, I didn’t want this to be too greasy and it wasn’t! I prefer this much more than take-out fried rice that can be way too greasy. If you can’t get your hands on Chinese barbecued pork you could make this with bacon, or leftover chicken, if you’re vegetarian you can add tofu or maybe eggplant.

I included a recipe for the Bok Choy, although mine came out really chewy and was hard to eat. Depending on the type of Bok Choy you have you might want to chop it up rather than quartering it. I’ve learned that Shanghai Bok Choy is more tender, it’s greener all the way through. And the larger the Bok Choy the more fibrous and chewy it will be, so I would recommend chopping it in small pieces.  

So make some rice! Pop it in the fridge and make this the next day, you’ll love it!

Pork Fried Rice with Bok Choy

• 6 tablespoons soy sauce 

• 10 teaspoons rice vinegar 

• 2 tablespoon Asian sesame oil 

• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

• 1/4 cup peanut oil (you can start out with less and then add as needed)

• 3/4-1 lb Chinese barbecued Pork, cut into roughly 1/2-inch pieces

• 1 onion, diced

• 2 carrots, diced

• 1 red bell pepper, diced

• Crimini or white mushrooms, diced

• 1 cup frozen peas, defrosted

• 2 scallions sliced thin

• 2 cups dry rice cooked in advance (equals about 6 cups cooked rice)

• 4 eggs lightly beaten

In a small bowl mix together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil and sugar, set aside.

In a large skillet or wok, heat the oil, add the diced pork and cook over high heat for a minute or so. Add the onion, carrot, bell pepper, and mushroom, cook stirring frequently until just tender. Add the eggs and scramble until just set. 

Stir in the cooked rice, peas and scallion, add the soy sauce mixture and cook until everything is hot, stirring frequently. Serve in bowls with Garlicky Bok Choy.

Garlicky Bok Choy

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

• 2 garlic cloves, chopped

• 1 shallot, chopped

• 1 pound baby bok choy, rinsed, cut into quarters, with core intact

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add garlic and shallot and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add bok choy, soy sauce, and 2 Tbsp. water and cover immediately. Cook 1 minute. Uncover and toss, then cover and cook until bok choy is tender at the core, about 3 more minutes.

Pork Fried Rice Adapted from Food and Wine

Garlicky Bok Choy Adapted from Bon Appetit

Turkey Roulade with Dried Cherries and Sausage Stuffing

I’m so happy to finally be getting this Turkey Roulade with Dried Cherries and Sausage Stuffing up on the blog! I’ve been making it a few years now for Thanksgiving but you know how crazy it can get and I never have time for photos. Well here is a next day photo. I was lucky enough to find a turkey breast that was nearly four-pounds, the last couple years all I could get was a two or two and half pound breast, but with the larger size there was enough left over for a decent photograph. This is a great alternative to roasting a whole turkey if you have a small gathering or are a couple like Jeff and myself. If you end up with the smaller turkey breast whether by choice or availability, you can either buy two smaller ones or halve the stuffing recipe accordingly because it makes quite a bit, even with this larger breast I had some leftover. And if you have leftover stuffing that you decide to keep in the oven, don’t forget about it! Heartbreakingly we had turned off the oven, forgot about it and then discovered it the next day, so I had to toss it. Which is really a shame because it tastes so incredibly good not to mention all the work in preparing it. Anyways, I’m glad to be sharing the recipe with you, this could work for any holiday or celebration really. 

The recipe says to roast the roulade 15 minutes to the pound, and this is true, for me the two-pound breast was done in 30 minutes, and the four-pound in one hour. Really the most prep time is making the stuffing, then trying to roll it up in twine which is much easier with the larger breast. The only thing I’m adding to the recipe would be to brine the turkey the night before, I added lots of salt, peppercorns and some fresh herbs to it. I remember one year it came out too dry so I definitely recommend the brine. Oh and one more thing, don’t worry about butterflying and deboning the turkey breast yourself, any butcher in any grocery store or meat market anywhere in the world can do this for you, leave it to the professionals. I used to be shy about asking for such things but it is 100% acceptable to ask. If you want to do it yourself: how to butterfly a turkey breast. Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy!

One more thing, the original recipe said to use the pan drippings from the roasted roulade for the gravy, and to make the gravy while it’s still in the oven, which is impossible! (I edited the recipe so it makes sense). So if you want you can make the gravy while the Turkey Roulade is resting and use those additional pan drippings from the oven pan, but I didn’t and made the gravy in the pan that the Roulade was seared in. Hope that’s not confusing, but it all works out wonderfully in the end. :)

Turkey Roulade with Dried Cherries and Sausage Stuffing (+ Gravy!)

• 3 1/2-4 pound boneless turkey breast, skin on and butterflied (I recommend an overnight brine)

• 1/4 cup butter

• 3/4 cup finely chopped onions (about 1 small onion)

• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery (about 2 ribs)

• 1/2 cup finely chopped fennel (about 1 small fennel bulb)

• 1/2 cup finely chopped leeks (about 1 leek)

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• 1/4 cup dried cherries, roughly chopped

• 1/2 cup cognac (or any kind of brandy)

• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

• 8 ounces mushrooms, such as chanterelle, cremeni or shitake, roughly chopped

• 1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage, crumbled

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

• 3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter until foamy. Add the onions, celery, fennel, leeks and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very soft, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add the dried cherries and cook until the cherries are plump, about 3 minutes. Add the cognac and reduce until almost evaporated, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer the mixture to a large bowl.

Wipe out skillet and heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms. Season with salt and cook, stirring often, until any water they have released has evaporated, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the sausage and cook until the sausage has browned but is still slightly raw in the center, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the mushroom-sausage mixture to the cooked vegetables. Mix in the herbs and pine nuts until thoroughly combined. Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 425°.

Remove the turkey from the refrigerator and place on a clean work surface, skin-side down. Pat the turkey dry on both sides using paper towels. If the turkey breast looks too uneven in thickness, use a meat pounder to flatten the thicker portion. Season both sides liberally with salt and pepper. Place the filling mixture in the center and evenly spread over the surface, leaving a 1-inch border at the edges. Beginning at the shortest end, carefully roll the breast up, enclosing the stuffing. Using kitchen twine, tie the roulade at 1-inch intervals. Season the outside liberally with salt and pepper.

Wipe out the skillet and heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the turkey roulade and brown on all sides, about 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer the turkey to an parchment-lined baking sheet and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the meat reads 150°, about 12 to 15 minutes per pound. Reserve the pan for gravy. Remove the roulade from the oven and form a loose tent using foil and allow to rest on a clean work surface. 

Gravy

• 3 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley

• 2 sprigs fresh thyme

• 2 sprigs fresh sage

• 1 fresh bay leaf

• 1 large shallot, finely diced

• 1 garlic clove, smashed

• 1/4 cup white wine

• 2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade

• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

While the turkey is roasting, make the gravy: Tie the parsley, thyme, sage and bay leaf together using kitchen twine to form a bouquet garni, (you can place all the herbs in cheesecloth and tie it up if it’s easier). Place the reserved pan over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the wine, scraping any brown bits on the bottom and reduce by half. Adjust the heat to low. Add the flour and stir until the roux has become golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the bouquet garni and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock to the saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, until the gravy has reduced to 2 cups and coats the back of a wooden spoon, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Stir in the butter and season with salt and pepper.

Adapted from Tasting Table

French Onion Soup

Hi folks! This is my first attempt at making French Onion Soup. There were a lot of recipes to choose from, all pretty similar, but the one I adapted here (from Food52) had a generous amount of red wine so I went with that, because red wine + beef broth = amazing flavor. But first I had to buy some individual oven-safe soup bowls. I found these at Crate and Barrel (on sale! yay!) and got the little platters to go with them. I think they’re really cute and will work great for future soup and sandwich situations. So as far as the soup goes, the biggest challenge will be cutting all those onions without burning your eyes, as I mention below in the recipe, I recommend using a food processor to slice them, be advised when you’re done and open the lid you will experience all that cut onion at once! I had to put the lid back on until I was ready to put them in the pan. Alternatively you can put the onions in the refrigerator a day in advance, or even the freezer if you don’t have that much time, this greatly reduces the burn factor. The cheese: I made the individual crocks twice, the first time I didn’t put enough soup in the bowl so I didn’t get the draped cheese effect. The second time I made it, which is what you see here, I added enough soup and really piled on the bread and cheese, but still, I only got a little drape. But seriously I can’t complain it tasted so good!

Another thing worth mentioning is that if you cook the soup and then refrigerate it overnight, it will taste even better the next day. It’s just a fact. Recipe below, enjoy!

French Onion Soup

• 2 1/2 - 3 pounds onions

• 3 tablespoons butter

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 3 cloves of garlic, smashed

• 1 generous pinch of salt

• Fresh ground black pepper, a few twists

• 4 sprigs fresh thyme

• 1 bay leaf

• 6 cups beef stock

• 2 cups red wine

• 1 baguette or other crusty bread

• 4-6 slices of swiss cheese, one for each serving

• Grated gruyere cheese, a handful for each serving

Halve and slice the onions. I highly recommend a food processor to slice the onions. Slicing this many onions can be torture, if you don’t have a food processor place the onions in the refrigerator a day before and they won’t burn your eyes (as much if at all).

Melt together the butter and olive oil in a large dutch oven, add the garlic until it’s caramelized. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper, and stir around just until the onions are all coated in the olive oil/butter. Add in the fresh thyme and the bay leaf and let the onions caramelize, about 20-30 minutes. They will be golden to brown in color.

Once the onions are caramelized and have cooked down, pour in the stock and wine. Simmer uncovered for at least an hour and as much as three hours, add salt and pepper to adjust the flavors.

Meanwhile, slice the bread and toast in a 400° oven until lightly golden brown. You'll want 2 pieces of bread per person - one for the bottom of the bowl, and one for on top.

Grate your cheese. Alternatively, you can drape a deli-cut slice of cheese (swiss or gruyere) over the top of the bowls. I used both, grated cheese on the soup, then a slice of swiss over the toast slice.

Preheat your broiler. Remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaf from the soup. Arrange your oven-safe individual serving bowls on a baking sheet.

To prepare, place a toast slice in the bottom of each bowl. Ladle in the soup (close to the top of the bowl) top with some grated cheese, a slice of toast, then a slice of cheese or more grated cheese. Be generous! You want the cheese to seal in the soup and drape over the edge of the bowl. Which mine sort of did and didn’t, I swear I put so much cheese but it still melted down into the soup, so as you’re stacking your cheese and bread make sure to pile it high!

Makes about 4-6 servings.

Adapted from Food52

Zucchini + Herb Ricotta Tarts

Zucchini and Herb Ricotta Tarts. I’m looking for all ways to eat zucchini lately. This is the first time we’ve grown zucchini and wow! it grows quickly, seems every 3 days or so there are a couple more to pick. It’s easy enough just to grill but I want to try some new ways to prepare it. I pickled some last week and they came out great. I’d like to get that recipe in a post soon, but you might start calling me The Zucchini Lady, ha ha. This tart dough is different than other doughs I’ve made, you make it with melted butter which is the opposite of 99% pie doughs out there as they use cold butter, but I thought I’d give it a try because with this dough you don’t have to roll it out, you simply press it in the pan. It was much easier and faster to make. You just mix it in a bowl by hand in one minute. Done. I was surprised by how much I liked it! Really nice texture, almost like a cookie type texture. I would make this again no doubt, but for savory tarts I would cut back on the sugar and add more salt, other than that it’s a winner. This Zucchini + Herb Ricotta Tart is super delicious, we had it with a side of Radicchio salad, it’s good for a lunch or light dinner. Oh and pan size, you can make one 9” tart or make a few smaller ones, I used a 6” tart pan and two 4” tart pans, the math doesn’t quite work out on that but it worked for me! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Enjoy :)

Zucchini + Herb Ricotta Tarts

• 1/2-1 whole zucchini sliced 1/8” thick

• 1 cup ricotta

• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella

• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme

• 1 teaspoon fresh oregano 

• Olive oil

• Salt & Pepper

• Tart dough (recipe below)

In a bowl combine the cheeses and fresh herbs with some salt and pepper. Spread a layer of the cheese mixture into the prepared tart pans, then arrange the zucchini slices on top. Drizzle with some olive oil to cover all the vegetable. Lightly salt. Bake at 400°F for 25-35 minutes until just browned.

Tart Dough

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) melted butter

• 3 tablespoons sugar (or 1 1/2 tablespoons for less sweet)

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 1/4 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl combine butter, sugar and salt, then add flour and mix with wood spoon until just combined. 

Distribute the dough on the bottom of your tart pan(s) and press the dough evenly over bottom and sides. You can use a floured cup to press it if necessary (i just used my fingers). Cover the tart shell with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Once chilled, with a fork prick the shell all over and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven to cool. Then add filling and bake as directed.

Tart dough adapted from Chowhound

Ratatouille with Polenta

Ratatouille with Polenta. This is the first time I’ve made Ratatouille. I received a complimentary cookbook Famous Dishes from Around the World that has 30 traditional dishes from various places around the globe, countries in Europe, Asia, South America, the Middle East. I picked French Ratatouille since there is such an abundance of vegetables this time of year, it makes a great summer dish. I changed a few things from the original recipe, for example the recipe had 10 cloves of garlic and I used 3, because I can’t handle too much garlic, as much as I like the flavor. I also used 2 cans of diced tomatoes rather than using marinara sauce and tomato paste. In any case it came out really good! I’ve had good and bad Ratatouille and this was definitely good. It tastes very fresh. 

I like the cookbook, it’s fun and all the recipes are fairly easy, and it has some cooking tips as well. I love all kinds of food so I think I would be happy to make any of these recipes. I want to try the Moroccan Tagine with Chicken next! Oh and It’s bilingual, each recipe is in English and Spanish, so if you’re learning either language you might enjoy this. The Ratatouille recipe here is vegetarian, but you could easily add some meat if you like. If you do add something like sausage, simply cook the meat first in the pot, then remove and add it in later with all the vegetables. Enjoy!

Ratatouille

• 1 large eggplant, 1” slices

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 1 red onion, chopped

• 10 cloves garlic, minced (I used 3 cloves of garlic)

• 2 large beefsteak tomatoes, cut into 1” cubes

• 2 medium zucchini, sliced

• 2 medium yellow squash, sliced

• 2 cups mushrooms, sliced

• 3 bell peppers (red, green and yellow), cut 1” pieces

• 2 14oz cans of diced tomatoes

• 5 bay leaves

• 1 1/2 cups fresh basil

• 2 teaspoons fresh or dried oregano (or rosemary if you prefer)

• 2 teaspoons fresh or dried thyme

• Salt & pepper to taste
  

(Note: the original recipe cooks each vegetable separately in another pan, then added to the larger pot, I cooked everything in one pot and it worked out fine)

Place eggplant slices on paper towels and sprinkle slices with salt for one hour to make them sweat. Blot them dry with a paper towel. Cut into quarters.

In a large dutch oven cook the eggplant in some olive oil until about half way cooked. Add the onions, garlic and tomato to the pot, sauté a few minutes until soft. Add the zucchini, squash, mushrooms, peppers, adding more olive oil as needed. Cook for 5 more minutes or so. Stir in the cans of tomatoes and the herbs (save some basil for garnish). Cover the pot and cook for about 30 minutes on a very low heat, stirring every so often. 

While the Ratatouille is simmering prepare the Polenta.

Serves 6-8 (This completely filled my dutch oven and I could not add one more thing, so it makes quite a bit!)

Recipe adapted from Famous Dishes from Around the World: Healthy, Tasty, and Affordable

Polenta

• 1 cup Polenta (I use Bob’s Redmill Polenta Corn Grits)

• 1 cup water

• 1 cup milk

• 1 cup chicken stock

Bring water, milk and chicken stock to a boil, stir in the polenta, then reduce heat to low. Cook for 5 minutes, then let it sit for a few more minutes until ready to serve.

Kale Pistachio Pesto

I made this pesto a few weeks ago with hazelnuts, and wow it was so good. But I’ve been seeing folks make it with pistachios and since I had some leftover from the pistachio cake I made last week I thought I’d give this a try. Honestly I love it with either nut. What’s nice about this kind of pesto is that you can change the nuts or the greens, add basil or not, add parsley or cilantro, there’s a lot of room to get creative and it just tastes so good. It’s really perfect for a vegetarian dish, or you could add bits of roast chicken if you wanted more protein. I joined Sprouted Kitchen Cooking Club a while back where Sara has made some variations on this pesto, and David Lebovitz posted a Kale Pistachio Pesto on Instagram that got me going on this. Most recipes say to pulse all the ingredients except the olive oil, then slowly add olive oil, but I just put everything in the food processor and it comes out fine, you might need to add a little olive oil after it’s finished if you want a different consistency. I just put it in a bowl, drizzle a bit of olive oil and give a stir. Lacinato Kale (or Tuscan or Dino, so many names for the same thing!) is such a great vegetable. It will store fairly long in the fridge, you can add it to soups, you can make salads, here’s a whole bunch of Kale recipes, and now pesto! I think it’s delicious, let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Kale Pistachio Pesto

• Tuscan kale, about 5 ounces chopped

• A bit of basil or fresh herbs, but not needed

• 2 garlic cloves

• 1/4 cup roasted unsalted pistachio nuts

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 1/3 grated parmesan cheese

• Juice of half a lemon

Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse several times until it’s a granular textured consistency. Place in container and add a little more olive oil if needed. Toss with pasta and add a dollop on top with some grated parmesan.