Fresh Tomato-Basil Pasta

This is a simple summer dish I've been doing for a long time. I'm still amazed that years later I've yet to tire from it. Which is good, since tomatoes are an overabundance right now. The best part is, it offers such an aesthetic presentation that it makes for a great dish to prepare for guests. the proportions really are based on likes. I've estimated what I do for 2 people here.

Ingredients:

1 pint grape tomatoes or one very large heirloom tomato, room temperature
(grape or heirlooms are the best so that they have extra flavor)
2 tbsps pine nuts
1/4 cup sliced fresh basil
1 tsp olive or avocado oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese to garnish
2 handfuls whole wheat penne

Directions:

Bring water to boil and cook the pasta until al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, slice the tomatoes and divide between 2 bowls.
Add garlic, basil, nuts, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper to tomatoes and toss together.
Add cooked pasta and toss together.
Serve with parmesan to taste.
It's that easy.

Summer Vegetables, French Tian Style

Summer means lots of zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes. Lots. Bags and bags of them. They make for a great challenge as I try to figure out what to do with them beyond the typical marinate and roast or zucchini bread. Here's one idea I had. This is a baked summer dish. It does require kitchen heat, sadly. I ended up baking it late at night once the day's heat had subsided. But it is worth it. The layered yumminess of vegetables flavors mixed together is good hot right out of the oven or cold the next day for lunch.

Ingredients:

1 eggplant, sliced into 1/2 inch slices
3 zucchini, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
4 medium tomatoes, sliced
1 onion or 2 leeks (including greens), sliced into very thin rounds
5 cloves garlic, peeled and smooshed
1/4 cup walnuts
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Grated parmesan
Herbs de provence (fresh is best, but there is enough moisture to use dried)


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Lay the eggplant on it. Generously drizzle with salt and vinegar. Bake for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, heat enough oil over low heat in a thick skillet to cover the base. Slowly saute the onions with the garlic until their sugars start to turn brown. If you've got time to properly caramelize, that would be even better.

Take a bread pan and spread the onions along the base. Now, layer the eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes on top of each other. With each set of 3, sprinkle walnuts, herbs, and grated parmesan. For the top layer, alternate everything to make stripes of color. After it has baked for 25 minutes, top with a little more parmesan, herbs, and walnuts. Continue to bake until the cheese begins to become golden.

Bake for a total of 30-40 minutes.

Nicoise Salad

It's been too long since I've posted. Somehow summer involves less cooking than normal. Especially in the heat wave we've been having here. However, what that does mean is a lot more salads and cold soups and simple foods. A favorite one of these is this simple salad. It does involve a very small amount of cooking - but not enough to either make the meal a hot meal or heat up the kitchen. So perfect for when you are sick of everything raw but still don't want to be near anything hot. And it's SO flexible.

Ingredients:

Thin slices of tuna (preferably sushi grade so you can leave the core raw) - One per person
One hard boiled egg per person
Lettuce
Grape tomatoes
Oil cured olives - both green and black
Green beans, stemmed
New potatoes, the tinier the better (if larger than an inch in diameter, cut them in half)
Fresh fava beans or edmame beans - shelled and cooked
Red onion, thinly sliced
Radishes, thinly sliced
Handful of fresh basil
Nice olive oil for cooking tuna and drizzling
Sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

Steam the Green Beans until just barely cooked and still a little crunchy - about 5 minutes. Since the size of green beans is so variable, I always just test and watch them rather than set a timer. Run under cold water to cool and stop the cooking.

Boil the potatoes until they can be pierced by a fork. Run under cold water to cool.

Heat olive oil in a thick pan on high heat (if you've got an iron skillet, use it!). Sprinkle Salt and Pepper onto both sides of the Tuna Sear the Tuna for one minute on both sides (2 minutes if not using sushi grade tuna).

Spread Lettuce on the plate. Place remaining salad ingredients around the plate, each in their own part. Place Tuna in center. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Variations:
Play around with the ingredients as you'd like. The core is the tuna, olives, green beans, and Potatoes. Really, after that, it's all game. Add artichoke hearts or garlic cloves. use no lettuce. substitute red pepper for radishes. Just have fun with the combination of fresh, crunchy, raw, cooked, sweet, bitter, salty.

Mole Negro

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Amazing how reading and writing can take over one's life. To make up for it, I've put together one of the best sauces ever. I've always wanted to learn how to make this...and this is a combination of a friend's mother's recipe and one that I found in Saveur Magazine. Serve over potatoes (cooked with garlic and salt – a good conduit though not the best balance to the sauce), queso fresco (seriously the best combination with the sauce ever!!!), or cooked pork (marinated in chipotles in adobo sauce, honey, vinegar, oregano, and garlic). I’m still looking for more vegetarian options with this sauce. When I come up with them, I’ll tell you.

Ingredients:

5 tomatillos, stemmed, rinsed, and quartered
1 tomato, halved
1 small yellow onion, quartered
6 (total) dried pasilla, california, and negro chiles, stemmed and seeded
1 ripe plantain cut into 1⁄2" cubes
1 cup mixed nuts and seeds: peanuts, pumpkin seeds, almonds, sesame seeds
3 tsp oil
¼ cup raisins
2 ½ cups chicken broth
2 oz. Mexican chocolate, chopped
1 ½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp ground cinnamon
salt to taste
fresh cilantro for garnish

Directions:

Preheat to oven to broil.
Line a baking sheets with tin foil. Really, you want to!
Place prepared tomatillos, tomato, and onion on sheet.

Broil for about 15 minutes, until soft and browned. I like to stop just before real charring. Put vegetables and any juices into a large bowl and let cool slightly.

Preheat oven to 400F.
Place prepared dried peppers on lined baking sheet.
Bake 3 minutes, turning once. Do not over do the peppers, as they will get bitter.
Place peppers in a bowl and cover them with boiling water. Let soak for at least 15 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the soaking liquid.

Remove foil from baking sheet.
Place nuts and seeds on sheet. Toast in oven until oils begin to smell, about 10 minutes.

In the meantime, heat oil in large heavy saucepan over medium high heat. Add plantain and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, until it begins to brown. And nuts and seeds, raisins, and vegetable mixture. Stir for another 3 minutes. Add the chiles, along with ½ cup of the reserved liquid, broth, chocolate, cinnamon. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat. Stir until the chocolate is melted (a matter of minutes).

In batches, blend until smooth.

Garlic and Greens Soup

I've recently been down, sick with a cold. This soup is a mixture of a few recipes (which, really, is what all soup always is), made with what I had in my fridge. I think it is now my new favorite soup for when I'm sick. It was so easy, so perfect for low energy cooking. And so flavorful that even my deadened-by-a-cold tastebuds were completely satisfied. In general a mixture of bitter, spicy, and sweet greens I think is what will make this soup stellar.

Ingredients:
2 tbsps olive oil
1 large head of garlic, all cloves pealed and thinly sliced
1 large potato, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 head bok choy, chopped
1 bunch collard greens, chopped
1 bunch rainbow chard, chopped
1 bunch beet greens, chopped
any other greens, really such as spinach, watercress, or dandelion greens.
6 cups water
2 bouillon cubes (as usual, I highly recommend Rapunzel brand sea salt and herbs)

Directions:

In large heavy saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until golden.
Add potatoes and greens and cook until green wilt. It can be good to add these in batches, to make stirring easier.
Add water and bouillon and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer until the collard greens are cooked through and bright green and the potatoes are just soft. If the greens start to become faded or the potatoes start to fall apart, stop cooking.

Serve while steaming to get all the benefits of a garlic filled steam.

A Quick Egg Dinner Pie

I'm not sure what to call this. It is not a quiche, not enough egg. Nor it is a tarte, as it has no crust. Nor is it a frittata, as it is too thick. So it's just colorful egg yumminess in a pie pan.

Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic, chopped
handful of fresh herbs, chopped - such as parsley, dill, and basil.
2 colored peppers, sliced thinly
1 bunch asparagus, ends snapped off and cut in half.
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese - preferably gorgonzola (don't by the pre-crumbled - it's got too many preservatives to melt well)
6 eggs
2 tsp tomato paste
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F.
Butter and flour a ceramic pie pan.

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil over medium high heat until onions go clear. Add bell peppers and saute for another minute or so, until peppers go soft. Place as a bottom layer into pie pan. Put asparagus in pan and saute for 5 minutes until it begins to brown.

In the mean time, place herbs as second layer in pie pan.
Put cooked asparagus as third layer.
Spread crumbled cheese over top.
Whisk together eggs and tomato paste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour over top of all the vegetables in the pie pan.
Bake until firm, 40-50 minutes.

Tofu with Asparagus in Garlic Sauce

This is a variation of a dish that I do often when I cook for myself. It easily expands for others and is very forgiving, but I usually just make enough for one dinner and a lunch (the portions for which are below). I cooked the tofu on a grill plate, but it can be done in a normal pan.

Ingredients

for the Tofu:

1 package Firm Tofu, drained and sliced into 8 pieces
2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp mollasses
1 tsp honey
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp hot sauce (something flavorful and smoked is the best)


for the Asparagus:

1 bunch asparagus, ends removed.
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
2 Tbsp crushed garlic
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp sesame seeds

Directions:

Heat oil for tofu in pan on medium high heat. Add tofu. leave sit for a couple minutes until the bottom side begins to crisp. (I often end up with a bit of tofu sticking to the pan, especially if it is not drained enough or if I didn't add quite enough oil).

Mix together remaining tofu ingredients and spoon half onto top side of tofu. Then flip the tofu. Spread remaining sauce over tofu. Let cook until second side becomes slightly crispy.

As the tofu is cooking, saute the asparagus in the sesame oil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. remove from heat.

Once the asparagus is cooked, put it aside. In the same pan, turn the heat down, add the garlic and gently cook until it becomes golden. Add remaining ingredients and cook for 30 more seconds. Pour sauce onto asparagus to serve.

Pesto Halibut in Vegetable Stew

My dad and I modified this recipe from Cuisine at Home for christmas eve dinner. I think I'd make a couple more changes, reflected in the recipe below. if you try it, you'll have to tell me how they work. It was so delicious that even my one year old niece was eating the vegetables out of the broth! It takes a little prep-time for the fish - it has to sit for four hours with the pesto on top. Serve with bread to sop up the good juices.

serves 4

Ingredients:

for the fish:
1 lb halibut fillet
3 tbsp pesto (I really like the jar of pesto from trader joes)
1/4 cup dried fine bread crumbs (panko is best)
1/4 cup grated parmasan
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup water

for the stew:
1 cup barley, cooked until just tender.
1 cup chopped asparagus, lightly steamed
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped shallots (or leeks)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 zucchini, thinly sliced
2 yellow squash, thinly sliced
3/4 cup roasted red peppers, thinly sliced (I recommend roasted but not marinated)
1/4 cup sliced kalamata olives
half lemon thinly sliced.
6 cups water
2 vegetable bouillon cubes

Directions:

Cut the fish into four pieces. Place skin side down in a glass roasting pan. Mix together the pesto, bread crumbs, and parmesan. Spread on top of fish. Let sit for four hours in refrigerator.

Once fish has sat, preheat the oven to 400.

While oven heats up prepare the stew. Heat oil in large pan on medium high heat. Saute shallots and garlic until shallots go clear. Add zucchini and yellow squash and saute for 5 minutes. Add asparagus and peppers, saute for 2 more minutes. Add water, bouillon, and barley. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add lemon and olives and simmer for 5 more minutes.

Once oven is up to temperature, add wine and water to the pan with the fish. Bake for 5-8 minutes, until fish easily flakes.

To serve, ladle vegetable stew into bowls and place fish in center.

Morrocan Vegetable Couscous

This stew is based both in moroccan spices and the moroccan tradition that a dish made with seven vegetables is good luck. I've combined about 4 recipes to make this one. It is really easy but takes a few hours. It is one of those dishes that you do a little then let it rest, do a little, let it rest, again and again. If done properly, it is cooked in a covered clay pot, known as a tagine. In the end, the stew is full of depth with very blended flavors. As a result, I think it is best if cooked with a couple ingredients saved for the very end or served with simple spicy salsas to balance the blended flavors with some that stand out.

Ingredients:

For stew base:
6 tbsp butter
1 onion, peeled and minced
Pinch saffron threads
1 small green cabbage, quartered
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 small chili peppers, such as serrano, seeded
2 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

for the vegetables:
2 large red potatoes, cut into large pieces
3 carrots, cut into large pieces (about 4-5 pieces per carrot)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into large triangles
1 green bell peppers, seeded and cut into large triangles
1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1 inch squares
2 zucchini, halved and quartered
2 small yellow crookneck squash, halved and quartered
1 can chickpeas, rinsed

late added ingredients:
1 can artichoke hearts, drained
1/4 cup oil cured black olives, cut in half
juice and zest of one lemon
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 cups couscous

Directions:

In very large heavy pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add ingredients for stew base and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add enough water to cover the vegetables, about 4 cups, and let simmer, covered, for 1 hour.
Add potatoes, carrots, bell peppers, and butternut squash. cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add zucchini and yellow squash. cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Add late added ingredients and simmer for another 15 minutes.
Drain the cooking liquid and serve on the side.

Couscous variations:
instead of just cooking the couscous normally, you can soak it in water for 10 minutes, then strain and place in sieve over the cooking vegetables, sealing the strainer and pot with tin foil so all the steam has to go through the couscous. cook for 1 hr, breaking up the couscous with a fork every 20 minutes.

or, one of the side salsas is a tomato salsa that needs strained tomatoes. reserve the juices from the tomatoes and cook the couscous in the tomato juices.

Side Salsas:
tomato: chopped and drain 3 tomatoes. mix with 1/2 cup each chopped mint and italian parsley, and 1 tsp each salt, and cumin, diced green chili, white vinegar, olive oil.

carrot: lightly steam thinly sliced carrot. toss with 1 crushed garlic clove, 1 tsp each cumin and paprika, lemon juice, olive oil, 1/4 tsp each cayenne, cinnamon, and salt.

really, take any vegetable, cook slightly and toss with an variation of cumin, paprika, cinnamon, parsley, mint, lemon.

Pot Pie

This is one of my favorite dishes to make with leftovers, especially after a meal with a whole bird, gravy, side vegetables, and roasted potatoes. Everything can then just be thrown in together with hardly any prep. But if you feel like making it all from scratch, here's how.

Ingredients:

1 sheet puff pastry dough or enough homemade savory pie dough for a double crust.

4 cups vegetables, chopped. any mix of broccoli, carrots, celery, peas will do.
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, pealed but left whole
2 cubes vegetable bouillon (with herbs - again, my favorite is Rapunzel sea salt and herbs)
1tbsp (rounded) red miso
1 tbsp french mustard
4 red potatoes, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 Tbps flour (can use stale bread crumbs or corn bread instead)
1/2 cup nuts, such as walnuts or chestnuts

for vegetarian pot pie
1 cup cooked french lentils

for meat pot pie
1 cup chopped chicken or turkey (great with the left over pickings from the bones of a whole bird)


Directions:

Roll out dough into two rounds for pie. Place one into a buttered and floured pie pan. Make sure the edges drape over. Cover other pie round. Chill both while preparing remaining ingredients.

Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Saute vegetables until tender, about 10 minutes.

In a pot, bring two cups water, vegetable bouillon, garlic cloves, miso, potatoes to a boil. Simmer until potatoes are tender, 5-10 minutes. Stir in flour and mustard and let simmer for 5 more minutes to thicken.

Preheat over to 350F. Mix together lentils, potato mixture, carrots and broccoli. Pour into pie crust. Cover with second pie round, pinching edges over to seal. cut slots into top crust to let steam out.

Bake for 35 minutes.