Tag Archives: Cooking

Friends, Bloggers, and Bartolini! Lend Me Your Orecchiette!

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I don’t know about you but when I “finish” writing an entry, I will return to it, editing and re-editing, right up until the minute it’s posted. Even then, I often make changes to it once it’s been published. A few months ago, in an effort to curtail my madness, I started posting my entries at the same time every Wednesday just to give myself a deadline for these corrections. Why do I mention this?

Well, I’ll be writing this entry before I leave for my visit with Zia and family and it will be posted about the time I’m heading back to Chicago. That means I’ll have a week to look at it with little chance to make corrections because of the sorry state of that area’s internet coverage. (If Dante’s Inferno had included a Tenth Circle in Hell, surely this would have been it.) So, I’m going to keep this post relatively short, hopefully keeping my errors to a minimum and, therefore, saving myself much wailing and gnashing of teeth when I should be spending that time visiting with my Zia.

Last week I showed you how to make orecchiette, an ear-shaped pasta that comes to us from the Puglia (Apulia) region of Italy. At the time, I said I would share today’s recipe, a traditional pugliese dish featuring orecchiette, sausage, and broccoli rabe (rapini). This is another simple dish with the flavors of its 3 main ingredients in perfect balance. Although you can certainly alter the quantities to suit your own tastes, try to keep that balance in mind. The dish also offers a little heat because of the red pepper flakes. If you use a spicy sausage here, you may wish to reduce the amount of these flakes or eliminate them altogether. On the other hand, I use my family’s sausage recipe, which is quite mild, so I add a healthy amount of red pepper flakes to the dish. The rest of the recipe is easy enough to follow but be sure to check out the Variations below if, perish the thought, you don’t care for broccoli rabe.

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Orecchiette with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

Ingredients

  • 1/2 lb orecchiette pasta
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 6 oz Italian sausage
  • red pepper flakes, to taste
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced or grated
  • 10 oz broccoli rabe, trimmed and coarsely chopped
  • grated Pecorino Romano cheese
  • salt & pepper, to taste
  • 1 cup + a couple tbsp of pasta water

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Directions

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, to be used to cook the orecchiette. Time the pasta so that it is cooked about a minute shy of al dente, per package instructions, at about the same time that the rest of the ingredients are finished sautéing.
  2. Meanwhile, in a large deep frying pan, heat the olive oil over med-high heat. Add the sausage meat and use a wooden spoon to break the meat into smaller pieces as it sautés.
  3. Once the meat has browned, about 5 minutes, add the onion & pepper flakes and continue sautéing until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes more.
  4. Add the garlic and cook another minute.
  5. Add the broccoli rabe to the pan with a little pasta water and continue sautéing until rabe is done to your liking.
  6. Drain the orecchiette and add it to the frying pan along with the cup of pasta water, using it to deglaze the pan. Finish cooking the orecchiette in the pan as the “sauce” reduces to the consistency you prefer.
  7. Remove to a serving platter, garnished with grated Pecorino Romano cheese and freshly cracked black pepper. Serve immediately.

Variations

For many, broccoli rabe is just a bit too bitter to be enjoyed as-is. If you find it that way, there are alternatives. In the first place, you might try blanching the vegetable in boiling water for a minute before plunging it into an ice bath. To prevent the oil from splattering, pat the rabe with paper towels before adding it to the frying pan in Step 5 above. If you like, you can save the blanching water, salt it, and use it to cook the orecchiette.

Broccoli, Broccolini, Broccoli Rabe

What if you just don’t like broccoli rabe and no amount of blanching is going to make it palatable for you? Well then, you might try substituting one of its relatives. Pictured above are broccoli on the left, broccoli rabe on the right, and the newest member of the family, broccolini, in the center. Although often called “baby broccoli”or “asparation”, broccolini is actually a cross between broccoli and a Chinese broccoli called kai-lan. Like broccoli, broccolini has no leaves and is not as bitter as rabe. Either cousin would make a great substitute for broccoli rabe in this dish.

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By any other name …

“Midas Touch”

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Calamarata with Shrimp and Mussels

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It’s getting to be routine. I go to “my” Italian market with a list of items to buy. Once I’ve finished the vegetable portion of my romp, I take a casual stroll toward the fish monger. I just cannot pass that display case without stopping to check out the day’s catch. And that’s when it happens.

No matter who is behind that counter, I’m greeted with a friendly, “Hello. Are you looking for anything in particular?” or something to that effect. I explain that I’m just looking and, to be polite, I ask about an item on display. “You’ve got branzini (Mediterranean sea bass)?” “Where do you get your vongole (clams)?” “Are these cozze (mussels) Mediterranean?” “Do you have anguille (eels) at Christmas?” You know. Just being polite. Maybe it’s the way I pronounce “vongole” or something but once my question’s been answered, the conversation turns to shell-fish. A few weeks ago, it was the vongole, the “freshest in town.” And I bought some. The following week it was vongole again and I would have left with another bag of the little darlings had it not been well over 90˚. With a few more stops to make, I wasn’t sure if I’d make it home without melting; those clams didn’t stand a chance. The Friday before last, as I approached the counter, I noticed I was alone. The fish mongers were nowhere to be seen. Great! I could ogle the octopi, peruse the perch, savor the salmon, and scan the squid, all at my leisure and with no fear of leaving with a bag of seafood. Soon I spied a sign announcing a sale on mussels and I turned a bit to get a better view of the black beauties. That’s when he appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. “Those mussels are good, real good … but … these here are much better. They’re larger and-”  Resigned, I stopped him in mid-sentence and told him to just get me a pound. Why fight the inevitable?

While he bagged my mollusks, my mind raced. How would I prepare them and with what, if anything? Since mussels have such a strong flavor, I reasoned, they could easily stand up to a red sauce. Shrimp are, also, strong-tasting, I thought, and I bought a pound of them, too. Vongole, though, would never be able to compete in this mix, so, I bid “Ciao!” to the fish monger. I quickly decided to make a “fresh” sauce and by that I mean one that simmers only a brief amount of time. I want to taste fresh tomato and I headed back into the produce area to buy 9 large plum tomatoes. Now to find the dish’s most important component: the pasta. I headed over to the pasta aisle (actually, it’s a pasta aisle and a half!) and the choice was easy. Since the mussels and shrimp were large, I wanted my pasta to be, too. I selected calamarata, so named because they resembles large calamari (squid) rings.  It certainly didn’t hurt that they’d be used in a seafood dish. Leaving the pasta aisle, I mentally inventoried my fridge and knew I was set to go. I finished my shopping and headed home, munching on my reward, a cannoli.

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Calamarata

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When preparing today’s dish, remember to “Think Big!” Calamarata are a large pasta and everything included with it needs to be large, as well. So, the onions aren’t diced but chopped and rather large, at that. Once peeled, divide the tomatoes into 2 groups. The larger group, about ⅔ of the total, are seeded and chopped into chunks. These will add texture. The remaining ⅓, once seeded, is puréed in a food processor. These will be the basis for the sauce. The only things diced are the parsley, basil, and garlic. Even so, when garnishing the dish before serving, sprinkle a few hand-torn basil and parsley leaves. Most importantly, if you, too, want that fresh tomato taste, do not let the sauce simmer for longer than 30 minutes. The “simmer clock” starts the minute the tomatoes hit the pan. Cheese, by the way, would not be used with this dish.

And if you do like that fresh tomato taste, check out this recipe for Pesto Trapanese. It will take you longer to cook the pasta than it will to make this pesto and the taste is incredible.

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Calamarata with Shrimp and Mussels Recipe

(Calamarata con Gamberetto e Cozze)

Ingredients

  • 1 lb calamarata pasta
  • 1 lb fresh mussels, beards removed and scrubbed
  • 1 lb large  (21-25 count) shrimp, peeled and de-veined
  • 9 or 10 large plum tomatoes – divided
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ tsp red pepper flakes, more of less to taste
  • 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, diced
  • splash of white wine
  • 3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped, more for garnish
  • 1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped, more for garnish
  • ½ tbsp marjoram
  • 2 tbsp capers
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Directions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. While waiting, use a paring knife to cut a small “X” into the bottom of each tomato. Once the water boils, place the scored tomatoes into the water and blanch for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the tomatoes and place in a bowl of ice water. Once cooled to touch, peel each, beginning at its “X”, before quartering and seeding it. Place aside.
  2. Take about ⅔ of the tomatoes and coarsely chop into chunks. Puree the rest of the tomatoes using a food processor, blender, or stick blender.
  3. Heat the olive oil in a large, deep frying pan over med-high heat. Add the pepper flakes and, after a minute, add the onions. Sauté until translucent.
  4. Add the garlic and continue sautéing for about a minute more. Add a splash of white wine and reduce for a minute or two.
  5. Add all the tomatoes, season with salt & pepper, and maintain a medium simmer.
  6. Begin heating the water for your pasta. The calamarata pasta that I prepared needed 16 minutes to cook. Check your package’s instructions.
  7. When there are 5 minutes to go, add the parsley, basil, & marjoram to the frying pan, stir, and then add the mussels to the sauce and place a cover on the pan.
  8. 3 minutes later, add the shrimp and replace the cover.
  9. If you prefer to serve the mussels shelled, see Notes below.
  10. At the 5 minute mark, reserve some pasta water, drain the pasta and add it to the sauce pan. Add the capers and mix to evenly coat the pasta.
  11. Pour the calamarata into a serving bowl, garnish with torn basil & parsley leaves, and serve.

Variations

This is really a basic tomato sauce with seafood added. As I mentioned early on, I wanted a fresh sauce so I didn’t let the tomatoes simmer for long. You certainly may allow your tomatoes to simmer longer, if that’s your preference. Just remember that there’s no turning back once you put the pasta into the boiling water, and that’s regardless of the pasta you’ve chosen to cook. And once the mussels are put into the sauce, you have about 5 minutes to go. The cooking instructions on the pasta’s package are your friends.

Notes

As always, be sure to reserve some pasta water in case your sauce needs it. Be aware, though, that the mussels will give off some flavorful liquid during the cooking process. You may not need as much pasta water as you think.

Once the shrimp have been in the sauce for about a minute, I remove the pan’s cover and begin removing the mussels from their shells. I usually leave a few in the shell just for presentation in the final dish. Once all are removed, it is far easier to stir the sauce to insure the shrimp are evenly cooked on both sides.

I usually drain and add the pasta to the sauce when the shrimp are just shy of being fully cooked. They will finish cooking when mixed with the hot pasta and this will insure that neither shrimp nor mussels are over-cooked and chewy when served.

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By any other name …

There are two more of “my girls” but neither is doing well enough to make a public appearance. If they return from Betty Ford respond to treatment in time for Fall, I’ll be sure to share a photo or two. Before moving on to the rest of the roses, there are these, located at the foot of the bed, right next to Judy. Where else?

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Lady’s Slipper Orchids

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Baked Rigatoni

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Rigatoni al Forno

Yes, I realize for many of us in the Northern Hemisphere, Summer is in full swing, with temps soaring well into the 90’s and, incredibly for some, beyond. I, also, know that for many, firing up the oven isn’t necessarily something we’re prone to do when our homes are already sizzling. So, why am I featuring a baked pasta dish today? The answer is simple. Mozzarella. I had plenty of mozzarella in my fridge, left over from the first round of mozzarella making and I needed to do something with it. And lest there be any doubt, when I have a surplus of something, anything, my go-to dish is pasta of some sort. So, considering that mozzarella “performs” so well when baked, I decided to make an “al Forno” recipe.

Growing up, rigatoni was a frequent “guest” at our dinner table, although we kids called them “flat tires.”  I don’t recall Mom ever baking rigatoni, though. It wasn’t until I was on my own that I started experimenting with baking penne and rigatoni. Generally, these dishes are easy to assemble, with left-overs that keep well and are easily re-heated. Perfect for my one person household. So, when presented with a bounty of mozzarella, I chose flat tires to help me out.

Normally, when I prepare a baked pasta, I coat the cooked pasta with sauce and cheese of some sort before topping it off with shredded mozzarella. With this dish, however, I reverse things a bit. Butter and Pecorino Romano cheese are used to coat the partially cooked rigatoni but, as you’ll soon see, the mozzarella is chopped into cubes and stirred into the pasta. Once mixed, Asiago cheese is used to top off the dish before baking. Doing so gives one both contrasting flavors and textures. The strong-tasting Asiago, melted until golden, hides not just the sharp Pecorino Romano but the gooey milder tasting mozzarella cubes spread throughout the pasta, as well. It’s a three cheese combination that I enjoy well enough that I don’t really mind turning on the oven in a heat wave.

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*     *     *

Rigatoni al Forno Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 lb rigatoni
  • 1 quart tomato sauce (vegetarians use marinara)
  • 8 oz Mozzarella
  • 8 oz Asiago cheese
  • 4 tbsp butter, cut into chunks + a little more to grease the baking dish (optional)
  • ¾ cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
  • fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish (optional)

Directions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350˚F.
  2. Lightly grease a 9 X 13″ baking dish with cooking spray or butter.
  3. Add rigatoni to a large pot of heavily salted, boiling water. Cook the pasta for half of the time suggested on the package for al dente pasta. Drain and hold until needed.
  4. Warm sauce and maintain a low simmer.
  5. Slice and cut the mozzarella cheese into ½ inch cubes. Set aside.
  6. Use a box grater to shred the Asiago cheese. Set aside.
  7. Once the pasta has been semi-cooked and drained, return the rigatoni to the now empty pot.
  8. Add the butter and then the Pecorino Romano to the hot rigatoni, stirring after each until the pasta is well-coated.
  9. Add the tomato sauce to the pot and stir.
  10. Add the mozzarella to the pot and gently stir until evenly distributed.
  11. Place the pasta in a greased 9 x 13″ baking dish. Evenly sprinkle the shredded Asiago cheese on top.
  12. Bake in pre-heated 350˚F oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the Asiago cheese is melted to your liking.
  13. Allow to rest 5 minutes before serving, garnished with parsley, if desired.

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Someone forgot the parsley.

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Variations

For whatever reason, some may find Asiago cheese unappealing. If that’s true for you, there are other cheeses that can be used to top off your dish. Fontina is a good alternative, as is ricotta salata. The choice is really yours, just try to find a cheese that offers a contrasting flavor to the mozzarella. You won’t be disappointed.

Although I used rigatoni for this dish, you can certainly use any of the tube-shaped pastas. Just avoid the ribbon-like pastas. They are not well suited to baked dishes of this type.

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By any other name … 

“Queen Elizabeth”

(Because there is no King George III rose.)

Happy 4th of July!

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A Blogger’s Relaxing Day Leads To A Jam-Filled One For Me

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You may recall, two weeks ago my mascarpone post contained three recipes, one of which paired strawberries with balsamic vinegar. What some of you may not know is that the day before, my blogging buddy, Sarah, whose blog Sarah’s Place, is one worth checking out, had a “relaxing” day that included starting and making a great deal of progress on a knitting project; preparing strawberry balsamic and black pepper jam from a recipe that she found on another worthwhile blog, Sydney’s Kitchen; and baking a rosemary-herbed focaccia studded with cherries. Did you notice the part about the jam? It sure did catch my eye, particularly arriving when it did, just before my own post featuring those same flavors. Suddenly, I was thinking about making jam.

Well, coincidentally, that Friday, a 2nd blogging friend, Michael, whose blog Oishi is another that I enjoy, posted a salad recipe featuring — you guessed it — strawberries with balsamic … and this time bleu cheese, too. It was then that I decided to make jam and, as I wrote to Michael, I would buy enough berries to make his salad, too. The very next morning at the Evanston farmers market, once Max had his much-anticipated rendezvous with Debra, the crossing guard, I found myself standing before 3 long tables covered with quarts of Michigan strawberries, over which hung a giant sign, “Last Chance.” Whatever doubts I may have had were quickly vanquished. I bought 3 quarts and moved on to the Egg Ladies’ stall.

Once home, I began to have second thoughts. No, not about making the jam; that and the salad were “done deals.” It was the timing. The forecast was for another day with a high well into the 90’s, hardly jam-making weather. So, remembering a link I found on Pinterest, I soaked my berries in a 10% vinegar solution for 10 minutes, to prevent mold, and refrigerated the red beauties. One would think that this would be where this tale ends. Yes, one would think …

Crostini of Goat Cheese with Strawberry Balsamic & Black Pepper Jam

You see, the original recipe would make only 1 jar of jam and it wasn’t processed, meaning it had to be refrigerated and used within 3 to 4 weeks. Well, I need to make enough jam to give jars to an entire team of tasters, as well as my Zia, and this recipe just wouldn’t do. So, I went looking for a canning recipe that remained true to the original, while making enough for each of my devoted tasters. Luckily, I found two. The first recipe, from Canadian Living Magazine, gave me canning instructions but the amount of balsamic required was quite a bit less than the amount used in the original. Not being an experienced canner, I didn’t know whether increasing the amount of balsamic would ruin the “set” of my jam. I had no choice, therefore, but to look for another recipe — and I and found one on Epicurious.com. With a balsamic amount proportional to that used in the original, a couple of commenters stated that they canned it without any problem. Eureka! Now armed with this new-found knowledge, I braved the heat and set pots of water to boil, as I cleaned and hulled my strawberries. So, to be fair, I’ll credit Sarah’s Place, Sydney’s Kitchen, Epicurious.com, and Canada for the inspiration for today’s recipe.

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Strawberry Balsamic Vinegar and Black Pepper Jam Recipe 

yield: approx 8 cups

Ingredients

  • 6 cups fresh strawberries, cleaned, hulled, quartered (approx. 2 quarts, whole)
  • 4½ cups sugar – separated
  • 1 envelope (49 g) low-sugar pectin
  • 1 tsp butter (optional)
  • pinch of salt
  • ½ cup + 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tbsp cracked black pepper

Directions

To Prepare

  1. Sterilize the jars and wash the jar lids and rings in hot, soapy water. Place lids and rings in a deep bowl and pour near-boiling water over them.
  2. Start bringing to boil a large, deep canning kettle of water to be used for the canning process and a second, smaller pot of water to be used to replenish water that may boil away during the canning process.
  3. Mix the pectin with ¼ cup of the sugar. Set aside.
  4. Working in batches, add sliced berries into a large bowl and use a potato masher to smash them. Continue until all are equally smooshed.

To Make the Jam

Thanks, Sarah!

  1. Place the strawberries and the pectin-sugar mixture into a heavy-bottomed pot over a med-high heat. A Dutch oven works nicely. Add butter, if desired, to limit foam.
  2. Stirring frequently, you are heating the berries until a rolling boil is achieved at about 220˚F. A rolling boil is one that will not dissipate when the pot’s contents are stirred.
  3. Add the remaining sugar and stir well. Stir frequently while you wait for the pot to return to a roiling boil.
  4. Once a rolling boil has returned, keep stirring for exactly one minute before removing the pot from the heat.
  5. With a large spoon, carefully skim the surface to remove any foam.
  6. Add balsamic vinegar and pepper. Stir well to thoroughly combine.

To Can

  1. Using a funnel and large ladle, fill each jar to ¼ inch from the rim. Wipe the rim to make sure no jam has spilt, place a lid on each jar, and then the ring, tightening until “finger tight” but not as tight as you can make it. Act quickly, filling and capping all the jars.
  2. Jars placed directly on the kettle’s bottom might burst, so, a rack of some sort must be put into the canning kettle to cover the bottom. Many large pots have one, as do many pressure cookers. (I use a rack from an old pot that has long since been discarded.)
  3. Keep each jar level as you place them, one by one, into the canning kettle filled with now boiling water. The jars should not touch each other, nor should they be allowed to tip over. Depending upon the size of the kettle and number of jars, you may need to work in batches.
  4. Once the jars are in the kettle, make sure that there is at least one inch of water over the top of the tallest jar(s). If not, add boiling water from the smaller pot mentioned in Step 2 of  To Prepare.
  5. Cover the pot and begin timing when the water returns to the boil. The jars must be boiled, “processed”, for 10 minutes.
  6. Meanwhile, place a baking sheet on a level surface and line it with a clean kitchen towel.
  7. Once 10 minutes have passed, carefully remove each jar and place it on to the towel-lined baking sheet. Leave about an inch separating the jars.
  8. Once all the jars have been processed and placed on the baking sheet, remove the baking sheet & jars to a place that is draft-free and where they will remain undisturbed for 24 hours.
  9. After 24 hours have passed, check each jar to insure it’s sealed and then store on a shelf in a cool, dark place, where it will stay fresh for months.

Notes

According to several commenters on the Epicurious website, once canned, it is best to let the jam sit for a week before sampling it. The flavors blend and the pepper becomes more pronounced.

Once opened, the jam should be refrigerated and fully used within a month.

One last thing

I did make Michael’s salad and it was every bit as good as I had hoped.

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By any other name … 

“Elizabeth Taylor”

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Straw and Hay Pasta

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Paglia e FienoToday’s recipe is another in a series celebrating the Spring harvest. Thus far, we’ve prepared dishes that included artichokes, asparagus, and ramps. Today, I’m going to share a recipe that comes from Lazio, Rome’s district, and that features freshly shelled peas and prosciutto in a cheese-flavored cream sauce. And if that hasn’t grabbed your attention, the pasta’s two colors surely will. This dish, you see, is named after the pasta used to make it, but calling it “Giallo e Verde”, “Yellow & Green”, would be so not Italian. As I’ve mentioned in the past, when it comes to naming pasta, the Italians have always let their imaginations run wild — and this pasta is no different. Here, it’s not yellow pasta but straw, paglia, while the green pasta is hay, fieno. Ready in minutes, Paglia e Fieno is another great tasting pasta to add to your arsenal, whether served as a primo piatto or main course.

This was a favorite of both families in the old two-flat every Spring. Unlike today, frozen foods were just beginning to appear in stores, so, making this dish meant shelling peas. I can remember helping Mom shell them —  until I grew up a little and the novelty wore off. After that, I made myself scarce when the metal colander and bag of peas appeared. Still, even once Bird’s Eye became a household name, fresh peas continued to be used to make this dish each Spring. As good as frozen peas may be, you just cannot beat the taste of fresh and if there’s one thing to be said about the best of Italian cooking, it’s that it relies upon the freshest of ingredients. To that end, my Zia and I continue to enjoy this dish every Spring and it wouldn’t be Easter at her youngest Son’s home if Paglia e Fieno isn’t served.

As mentioned earlier, this dish’s name comes from the coloring of the pasta. Green-colored noodles can be found in many groceries, some even packaged with yellow and bearing the name of  Straw & Hay. You certainly needn’t buy it if you don’t want to. Just using Mom’s pasta dough recipe as-is, or a fraction thereof, will give you the straw. To make hay — whether or not the Sun shines — add a couple of tablespoons of cooked, chopped spinach to the eggs before adding them to the flour when you make the dough. (Mom & Zia used spinach baby food to make pasta verde but spinach baby food is now only sold when combined with peas or beans. The color, as a result, isn’t as deep.) Moving away from the pasta, the thickness of the prosciutto to be used is totally up to you. For the dish pictured, I was lucky enough to be at my Greek market just as the deli was putting out a package of prosciutto end slices. At about ⅛ inch thick, these were easily chopped and, for my taste, stood up to the cream sauce very well. You can ask your deli to cut the prosciutto thicker or, if you prefer to use it thinly sliced, shred it before adding it to the pan.  Lastly, be sure to set aside some pasta water. The cream sauce can “seize up”, meaning get too dry, particularly if you’re timing is off and it is left waiting for the pasta to finish cooking. Adding a splash of pasta water can revive it, as well as later, should it seize up again once the cheese is added.

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Paglia e Fieno

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Paglia e Fieno Recipe

Ingredients

  • ½ lb (225g) yellow fettuccine (linguine, tagliatelle, or pappardelle may be substituted)
  • ½ lb (225g) green-colored pasta of the same type as the yellow pasta
  • 3 tbsp (45ml) butter
  • 1 tbsp (15ml) olive oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped fine
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup (236ml) heavy cream
  • 1 cup (140g) fresh peas
  • 4 to 6 oz (110 to 170g) prosciutto
  • ½ cup (60g) Pecorino Romano cheese, grated — more for serving
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • fresh parsley, chopped — for garnish

Directions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to the boil for cooking the fettuccine. Time it so that the pasta is just shy of al dente about the time that the peas are cooked to your liking. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water.
  2. Heat oil and butter in a large, deep frying pan over med-high heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and continue to cook for another minute.
  3. Add heavy cream and simmer a few minutes until slightly reduced.
  4. Add the prosciutto and peas, stirring till well-combined.  If sauce becomes too thick, add a little pasta water to thin it.
  5. When pasta is just shy of al dente and peas are sufficiently cooked, taste to check seasoning and add the cooked pasta to the frying pan. Stir well. If necessary, add some pasta water to thin the sauce.
  6. Remove from heat, add grated cheese, mix thoroughly, and move to serving platter.
  7. Serve immediately, garnished with grated cheese, parsley, and cracked pepper.
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Variations

This dish is just as good when prepared with pancetta, bacon, or ham in place of the prosciutto. Because they’re raw, though, be sure to saute the pancetta or bacon with the onions before adding the cream and peas. And if someone at your table doesn’t like peas, other vegetables can be substituted. Asparagus is commonly used, as are sliced crimini mushrooms. No matter what you choose to add, be sure it’s fresh and you cannot go wrong.

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Fold, Cut, Unfurl Fettuccine Verde

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Notes

You probably noticed that salt wasn’t added to the recipe until the end. That’s because some of the ingredients can be pretty salty in their own right. The salt content of the prosciutto — or it’s substitutes of pancetta, bacon, and ham — can vary greatly. The cheese and amount of pasta water you use can, also, add a fair amount of salt to the final dish. So, although I’ll season the dish liberally with pepper throughout its cooking, I’ll only use salt minimally, if at all, until I’ve tasted the dish at the very end. Even then, I may not add any. Again, let your own palate be your guide.

Spinach is not the only ingredient used to color pasta. I’ve used tomato paste to make pasta rosso (red), and I’m aware that beet juice can be used to make it purple, pasta viola, while squash is used to give pasta an orange hue, pasta arancione. And no discussion of pasta coloring would be complete without mentioning pasta nera which gets its black color from the ink of squid (calamari) or cuttlefish (seppia). If you find that a different color palette tickles your palate, you may wish to check out my recipe for Tricolor Risotto, which uses pesto and tomato paste to create a risotto platter that bears the colors of the Italian flag.

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By any other name …

“Opening Night”

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Spanakópita + Tyropitákia = Spanakotyropitákia

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Oh, don’t worry. I’ll explain the title in a minute.

Spanakotyropitákia

The 1990s was my decade for travel. Accompanied with my best friend, aka my Traveling Companion, we toured places that I had previously dreamt of visiting but never thought that I’d actually see in person. One such place was Greece. We arrived in Athens, spent the night, and then headed out into the Aegean for some island hopping. This trip had a little something for everyone: a modern-day metropolis; ruins of ancient civilizations; beautiful beaches; thriving nightlife; far too many picturesque settings to mention here; and the food. Oh, the glorious food!

As you know, my love of pasta knows no bounds, so, you can rest assured I had my fair share of pastitsio, with a little moussaka thrown in for good measure. Surely, my holiday in Greece would not have been complete unless I had my fill of lamb nor, for that matter, could I be expected to go from island to island without at least sampling the seafood — repeatedly. And I can assure you that any gyros bought from any street vendor anywhere on those islands will put to shame any gyros you can buy on this side of the Atlantic, hands down. Even so, Man does not munch on gyros alone and, since each island has its own wine, cheeses, olives, & olive oil, it would have been an insult had we not tasted them all, usually with a chunk of crusty bread.  Similarly, it was a surprise to learn that each island also prepared its own version of spanakópita, the Greek spinach pie. Now, I truly enjoy spinach pies and my family makes the Italian version of these tasty treats. (Called cacioni, you can see our recipe here and a recipe link supplied by my blogging friend from Le Marche, Mariano Pallottini, can be found here.) So, I needed no further encouragement to taste each island’s unique take on spanakópita. I soon learned that although the basics to each were the same (a spinach filling covered with phyllo dough) there was a surprising variety.

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The center of attention

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First off, some spanakópita were actually pies and each serving is a wedge just as if it were some fruit-filled dessert. Others were prepared on baking sheets and you’re served a rectangular piece like you would if it were baklava, only larger. Still others were prepared with individual servings in mind and could be self-contained, triangular or burrito-shaped pies. Beyond their form, the stuffing mixtures contained primarily the same ingredients but in differing proportions. Virtually all contained spinach, a little onion, lemon (either zest, juice, or both), dill, and a binding agent, eggs I presume. As you can well imagine, changing the amount of lemon zest or dill to be used can greatly affect the overall taste of the pie. In some cases, a little mint or parsley was also added to the filling, each adding their own distinct flavor to the mix. So, with so many variables at play, I never knew what I would be served when I choose spanakópita from a menu — and I enjoyed the surprise almost as much as the pie.

Normally, this is where I’d dive into the recipe but one more thing needs mentioning. One night, while on Mykonos, we asked our hotel proprietor for a local restaurant, a taberna, far from the tourist crowds. He obliged, sending us to a great little spot where, coincidentally, a family group was holding some sort of celebration, as I recall. It’s been some time since that evening and I’ve grown unsure of many of the specifics but I do remember 3 things: 1) we were sent ouzo shots from the management and the celebrants; 2) we ordered the house specialty, gardoubes, lamb offal that’s wrapped in caul fat and grilled; and, 3) we were sent ouzo shots from the management and celebrants. What does any of this have to do with spanakópita?

Beware of books bearing Greek’s …       recipes

Well, I was so impressed with the dish — or, in retrospect, was it the ouzo? — that I was determined to find out how to prepare it. To that end, I eventually located a cookbook that contained a recipe for a version of gardoubes and I immediately ordered it, sight unseen. Sadly, it was a bit of a disappointment. Originally written in Greek, the translation was apparently word-for-word, without considering context, rendering parts of some recipes nonsensical. Gardoubes was one of them. I decided that I wasn’t meant to make gardoubes and moved onto other things — but I kept the cookbook. Move ahead now, to a couple of weeks ago. I had just posted my instructions for making feta cheese and I had a fridge full of jars containing feta in brine. Growing tired of Greek salads, I decided to make spanakópita with feta added to the filling.

Thus began the Great Search of 2012. I’d not seen, let alone used, that recipe in years. More notes than formal recipe, I had scribbled them on a piece of paper as I watched a Greek woman prepare spanakópita on a cooking show, most probably broadcast on PBS. Well, midway into my search, I located the long-forgotten cookbook. I thought I had hit pay dirt. Why look any further when I had the “real deal” right here? Guess again. Its version of spanakópita was of the pie variety and didn’t contain any cheese. It did include a recipe for triangular-shaped pies but these were filled with cheese and called tyropitákia. They even had a lovely photo of the little triangles, so golden-brown and enticing. Also pictured with the tyropitákia was a platter of “cigars” that were phyllo dough wrapped around a filling of what looked to be spinach and cheese. In the caption, they were identified as spanakotyropitákia. What luck! I found exactly what I needed — except that I didn’t. Yes, the cookbook included a picture of spanakotyropitákia but not the recipe. I went through the book page-by-page, twice, to make sure. (And of course, there is no index nor glossary for the book either.) So, although I received a great title for today’s post, I was back to looking for my recipe.

It wasn’t very long after that I found my old recipe. It was pretty straight-forward  — just how complex can a few notes scribbled on a piece of paper be? — and easily adapted to include feta cheese.  The result was just what I had in mind. You’ll find these spanakotyropitákia have a pronounced lemon flavor, which I prefer. In fact, I’ve often been served spanakópita with a lemon slice/wedge as garnish. If, however, you’re unsure about the lemon flavoring, begin by adding the zest of a half-lemon to the spinach mixture. Taste it and let that determine whether to add the rest of the lemon’s zest. Use that tasting to also decide whether more dill is needed and if you want to add more feta. In short, taste the filling and let your palate be your guide as you make this recipe your own.

This all sounds well and good but what if you want more? You know. You can’t put your finger on it but you just crave more. Well, my advice is to check out Tanya’s recipe for Salmon Spanakópita. The name says it all.

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Spanakotyropitákia Recipe 

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped fine
  • 20 oz (2 bags, 566g) leaf spinach
  • 3 tbsp fresh dill, chopped (1 tbsp dried dill weed may be substituted),  more to taste
  • 8 oz (225g) feta, crumbled
  • zest of  ½ to 1 whole lemon
  • 1 stick butter, melted
  • phyllo (fillo) dough sheets

Directions

  1. Remove any large, thick stems from the spinach and coarsely chop the leaves.
  2. Over med-high heat in a large, non-stick frying pan, heat the olive oil and sauté the onion until translucent, about 5 to 8 minutes.
  3. Add the spinach, season with salt & pepper, and sauté, turning the leaves frequently, until cooked. Remove from heat.
  4. Once cooled, place the pan’s contents in a clean kitchen towel and wring out as much liquid as possible.
  5. Place semi-dried spinach into a large bowl, add feta, zest, and dill. Mix thoroughly. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Cover and refrigerate until ready for use. This may be done a day or two in advance.
  6. When ready to proceed, add an egg to the spinach and mix until well combined.
  7. Open and unfold a package of phyllo dough, remove one sheet, and cover the remaining sheets with a damp kitchen towel.
  8. Lay the sheet of dough on a clean work surface. Fold it, lengthwise, so that 1/3 or the sheet remains uncovered. Use a sharp knife to cut off that section and place it with the rest of the unused phyllo sheets.  (A & B, click on image to enlarge)
  9. Unfold the remaining 2/3 sheet and brush half of it with butter (C) before re-folding it lengthwise. Brush the entire length with butter. (D)
  10. Place 2 – 3 tbsp of spinach filling in the bottom corner of  the strip. (E) Fold the dough up and over to the side, creating a small triangle in the process. (F)
  11. Fold the triangle up and over to the side again, and do this repeatedly, as if folding a flag. (G) When you’ve reached the end, place the pie, seam-side down on a baking sheet (H), and repeat the process with a new phyllo sheet.
  12. After you’ve finished your 2nd pie, you will have two strips that resulted from trimming the previous two dough sheets. Lay one flat, brush it with butter, and then lay the 2nd on top of it. (I) Repeat steps 10 & 11 above.
  13. Once all of your triangles are filled and folded, you can either bake or freeze them.
    1. To bake: pre-heat oven to 375˚F (190˚C) . Brush each triangle with melted butter, place seam-side down on a baking sheet, and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.
    2. To freeze: brush both sides of each triangle with butter, place them in a single layer on a baking sheet, place the sheet in the freezer overnight, and then store for later use. To cook, follow baking instructions but allow an additional 10 minutes to bake.

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Notes

Work as quickly as possible when using phyllo dough. If the sheet dries. it will become unusable. Be sure to keep the rest covered with a damp kitchen towel until needed.

As I learned during my recent trip, phyllo comes in different sized sheets. As a result, you may not need to trim off a third of each sheet as shown above. Just folding it in half may suffice.

By varying the width of the dough strips, you can change the size of the pies and, therefore, their intended use. Larger pies could be considered part of a light lunch, the perfect starter,  or an unusual side. Smaller pies make great appetizers and could even be served as one of many snacks on game-day.

Although I’m aware that these pies can be fried, I’ve never done it and I’m hesitant to advise doing so. As it is, I’m quite satisfied with the results when the pies are baked. If it ain’t broke …

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Home Again

I returned home this afternoon bearing Zia’s greetings to you all. Normally, when I’m with her, I show her a number of your blogs — but not this time. For some unknown reason, internet service in her area was even more abysmal than usual. Pictures wouldn’t download and even the simplest of tasks — hitting the “like” button — weren’t possible. This just means that there’ll be more for me to show her next time — and I’ve got dozens of your posts from the past week to read in the meantime.

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Fettuccine with Asparagus, Artichokes, and Ramps

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It’s déjà vu all over again. Those who get email notifications of my posts may recognize today’s blog entry from an errant notification sent out 2 weeks go, an embarrassing case of premature publication. Let that be a lesson for us all. Be sure to change the “Publish immediately” option to a date in the future, lest you post prematurely. And to think, one of the reasons that this entry was still in editing was because I didn’t have an introduction. Ha!

Moving right along, last week’s post shared two of Mom’s recipes for preparing baby artichokes. I had originally intended to include today’s pasta recipe with those but the post’s length became an issue. The week prior’s post, Makin’ Feta, was really quite long and I didn’t wish to inflict 2 long posts in a row upon you. Besides, in a few weeks we’ll be making mozzarella. Those posts are going to rival feta for being the most lengthy on this site, so,  I’ll try to keep the posts short for you until then.

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Although it took place in a downpour, my first trip to the area’s best farmers market was a good one. In a mad dash to one stall, I bought this year’s rosemary bush, some freshly picked asparagus, and wild ramps. The sprint & transaction took under 5 minutes. Max barely had a chance to get comfortable in my seat in the car before I was telling him to move over. Once home, with everything unpacked and put away, the question became what to do with the morning’s bounty. Well, give me some veggies and I’ll make a pasta. This time I went back to an old favorite for inspiration and the result was my Pasta Primavera.

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Fettuccine With Asparagus, Artichokes, and Ramps

La Primavera is Italian for the Spring and today’s pasta features 3 vegetables that are synonymous with Spring: asparagus, artichokes, and ramps. Although ramps are no longer in season here, my Friends to the North may still be able to find them. If not, feel free to substitute a few Spring onions, thinly sliced, reserving the green ends for garnish. There’s still plenty of asparagus available at the market and, as you may recall from last week, I’ve a nice stash of artichokes in the deep freeze.  So, with these ingredients, this pasta will just about prepare itself.  Now, as much as I enjoy a cream sauce, it would only mask rather than accent the delicate ramps. As a result, I prepared this pasta similar to Aglio e Olio, but with ramps used instead of garlic and with artichokes and asparagus added to the mix. As such, the dish is certainly simple enough to prepare but its success lies in the timing. Remember it is better to have the sauce ready and waiting for the pasta than the reverse. No one likes mushy pasta.

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To begin, prep the vegetables. The baby artichokes should be cleaned, trimmed, and blanched. Thaw if frozen.  The asparagus, if large, should be peeled and all should be chopped into pieces about 1 inch long. Reserve the tips. The ramp leaves should be removed from the bulbs, washed, dried, and hand-torn.The ramp bulbs should have the root-end trimmed, washed, and thinly sliced. Use as much of each vegetable as you prefer, given the amount of pasta to be served.

In a large frying pan over medium heat, add about 4 tbsp of olive oil. When hot, add as many red pepper flakes (or dried red pepper) as you like and sauté for about a minute before adding the trimmed, sliced ramps. Continue sautéing for about a minute before adding the cleaned & blanched artichokes. Season with salt & pepper and continue to sauté until the artichokes are cooked to your liking.

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Meanwhile, remember the timing concern as you bring a pot of water to boil. If you’re using fresh, home-made pasta, the fettuccine will cook in but a couple of minutes. Add the chopped asparagus spears to the boiling water when you add the salt & fettuccine. If using store-bought dried pasta, package directions will usually advise a cooking time of from 5 to 11 minutes. Depending upon how crisp you like your asparagus, add it to the pot with the fettuccine 2 to 5 minutes before the pasta is to be cooked al dente.

When the pasta is just shy of al dente, add a little pasta water, the asparagus tips, and the ramp leaves to the frying pan & stir. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water as you drain and add the pasta to the frying pan. Mix well and by now the pasta should be al dente. Take the pan off of the heat and add as much grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese as you like but not so much that the ramps’ flavor is overwhelmed. Mix well, adding enough of the reserved pasta water as needed to fully moisten the fettuccine. Serve garnished with additional grated cheese, chopped parsley, and, of course, freshly cracked pepper.

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Fold, Cut, & Unfurl Fettuccine

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One More Thing

Aglio e Olio is quick to prepare and a very versatile recipe. In fact, the very day I made this dish for supper, Claire, of Promenade Plantings, shared her delicious recipe for Aglio e Olio using her home-grown, purple sprouting broccoli instead of the vegetables that I used. Not but a few days later, Celi over at The Kitchen’s Garden made her tasty version of Aglio e Olio using Chinese cabbage and thinly sliced sausage. See? If you learn how to make this basic pasta, you can use it to take full advantage of a variety of in-season vegetables throughout the year. What? No vegetables? Grab some shrimp. I told you it’s versatile!

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Artichokes Two Ways

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Carciofi Due Modi

As I’ve mentioned to a few of you, I’ve had a devil of a time finding “baby” artichokes here in Chicago. Sure, I can get the goliaths year-round and, about this time of the year, the stores have some that are at about half that size. The truly small artichokes, however, the ones with no choke, have been impossible to find and it’s not for lack of trying. I routinely shop at 4 different groceries, 2 ethnic markets, and 2 additional fruit/vegetable markets. Whether I’m searching too late/early in the season or I’m living in a heretofore unknown baby artichoke-free zone, it’s been well over 10 years since the green beauties have graced my table — until now.

Recently, my vegetarian friend, Cynthia, and I decided to head West to the hinterlands. We’d both heard tales of an Italian market “out there” but never ventured to find out for ourselves. Not much more than a half-hour later, we were there and what a store! First off, the place was huge, easily the largest Italian market that I’ve ever seen. They had everything from antipasti to zuppe, and very often several choices for everything in between.  The best surprise, though, was found in the produce department.

There, at the end of one of the aisles, was not 1 but 2 displays of artichokes and, much to my delight, one of them was nothing but small artichokes. To say I was happy is a gross understatement.  So, with Cynthia perusing the rest of the fruits and vegetables, I got to work selecting only the smallest of the small artichokes. I didn’t care how long it took but I was going to find them. About 10 minutes later, I had amassed some 5 pounds of the edible thistles, all about the size of a goose egg. We soon finished our shopping and snacked on mini-conolli as we drove back to civilization. The next morning, I couldn’t wait to get started preparing my find.

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Acid Washed

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Preparing Baby Artichokes

Just like when preparing the goliaths, use a sharp knife to chop off the top of each artichoke. I usually chop just above the tips of the largest outer leaves. Next, peel off a couple of layers of the tough, outermost leaves, revealing the vegetable’s soft inner heart. Using a paring knife, peel the base and stalk of each artichoke and, depending on the size, cut it in half or quarters. Being so small, there is no choke to remove and be sure to save as much of the stem as possible. When finished with each, immediately rub the sections with a halved lemon and place in acidulated water. (Take a large bowl of cold water and add to it the juice of 2 lemons, as well as the lemons themselves.) This “bath” will prevent the vegetable from discoloring due to oxidation.  Continue until all the artichokes have been cleaned and trimmed.

Next bring a large pot of salted water to boil, add all the trimmed artichokes, and, when the water returns to the boil, leave them to blanch for about 3 minutes. Drain them and immediately place the blanched sections into a bowl of ice water to halt the cooking process. Once chilled, removed them from the water, pat them dry, and they are now ready for use. In my case, having bought 5 pounds of the green gems, that meant the freezer for most of them. Small amounts, destined for pasta or pizza, were individually bagged, as were larger quantities which would be prepared as side dishes in the near future. Once labelled, the bags were placed in the freezer.

So, with a treasure of cleaned and trimmed baby artichokes stashed away, what are you going to do with them? Well — and this is where the due modi come into play — I’ve got 2 of Mom’s recipes to share today.

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Fry Babies

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Mom’s Deep Fried Artichokes

Mom didn’t prepare baby artichokes like this very often but, when she did, they certainly didn’t linger long on the serving platter. I think you’ll find the same will hold true today, no matter how you serve them: as a side, an appetizer, or snack on game day. And if you’re working with previously trimmed and blanched artichokes, they’re a snap to prepare.

Whether using freshly blanched or just thawed, pat the artichokes dry as best you can. Use standard breading methods to coat the artichokes. Since I prefer a thin coating on these, I do not use bread crumbs. Instead, I’ll coat the artichoke pieces in seasoned flour (paprika & onion powder) first before dipping them in an egg wash that’s been seasoned with salt & pepper. Then it’s back into flour again before deep frying in vegetable oil that’s been heated from 350˚ to 360˚ F. Since the baby artichokes were previously blanched, they won’t need to cook for a long time. When the coating is golden brown, they’re done. Remove them to drain on paper towels, season with salt, and serve. Although fine just as they are, I’ll sometimes serve them with lemon wedges and/or a simple aioli of mayonnaise, lemon juice, and a little grated garlic. If possible, prepare the aioli a few hours before serving to give the flavors a chance to blend.

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Mom’s Sautéed Artichokes

Mom most often prepared these artichokes as she did many vegetables. (See my Vegetables/Verdura posting.) If using fresh artichokes, trim and blanch as indicated above. If cleaned but frozen, allow to defrost before use. In a frying pan over medium heat, add a couple tbsp of olive oil. Once heated, add some chopped garlic, wait a minute, and then add the artichokes. Wait another 2 minutes and then add a little tomato paste or chopped tomato, “For color,” as Mom would say. Add a splash of dry white wine, season with salt & pepper, and continue to sauté until the wine is all but gone and the artichokes are cooked to your liking. Serve immediately, garnished with fresh parsley.

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Notes

This is all well and good, so long as you can get baby artichokes. But what if you can’t? Both of these dishes can be prepared with artichokes of any size.  Just be aware that larger-sized artichokes have developed an inedible “choke.” It’s a fibrous mass found at the base of the bulb and it must be removed. Once you’ve trimmed and halved an artichoke, use a paring knife or teaspoon to scoop out the fibrous mass. Once the choke has been removed and depending upon how large the artichoke is, you may need to cut each half into halves or thirds before proceeding. As you may have guessed, because of their size, these artichoke pieces should be blanched a few minutes longer than the “babies” were and will require longer cooking times, too. Personally, I prefer to stuff and roast the larger artichokes, leaving the sautéing and deep frying for the more tender babies.

Coming Attractions

Today I shared Mom’s favorite recipes for preparing baby artichokes. Next week I’ll share my Pasta Primavera recipe that features baby artichokes, of course, as well as a couple of other Springtime treats.

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Pappardelle with Spinach, Mascarpone and Pecorino Romano Cheeses

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Last month, I posted instructions for making mascarpone cheese at home. Within that post, I included pictures of suggested uses for the cheese. One of those dishes pictured is today’s recipe, pappardelle with spinach, mascarpone, and Pecorino Romano cheese.

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Hand-Cut Pappardelle with Spinach, Mascarpone and Pecorino Romano Cheeses

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I started making mascarpone cheese a couple of years ago, shortly after I made my first batch of cream cheese. When I went to buy the dairy products needed to make the cheese that first time, I mistakenly bought quarts instead of pints. Once home, I read through the recipe just prior to beginning. That’s when I noticed my error but, at that point, what was I to do? One way or another that whipping cream was going to be used so I might as well make a double-batch of mascarpone. So, I did — and ended up with 2 lbs. of the creamy cheese! With a shelf-life of about 1 week, I needed more ways to cook with mascarpone, and fast. One can only eat so many jalapeño poppers or berries with mascarpone in 7 days.

Searching the web, I soon learned that there were a number of pasta recipes that use mascarpone as the base for a cream sauce. It makes perfect sense, for it’s nothing but cream. Well, after a couple of minutes, I came across a recipe by Jamie Oliver. Now, I’ve followed a few of his recipes and always had good results — and this recipe was no different. And although I’ve made a few changes to the original recipe, the basics remain the same: pasta and spinach are bathed in a rich, nutmeg-flavored mascarpone-cream sauce. It’s as good as advertised and now, whenever I make mascarpone, I make sure to reserve some for this dish.

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Pappardelle with Spinach, Mascarpone and Pecorino Romano Cheeses

Ingredients

  • 1 lb pappardelle
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ to 1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
  • 9 oz pkg (255 g) baby spinach, chopped
  • 5 oz mascarpone
  • 4 oz whipping cream
  • 10 – 12 basil leaves, chopped
  • ½ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
  • pasta water
  • salt & pepper, to taste
  • grated Pecorino Romano cheese
  • cracked black pepper (optional)

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Directions

  1. Cook the pappardelle according to package directions. If using home-made, be aware that it will cook in a few minutes. Time the pasta so that it is finished when the spinach-cream sauce is ready.
  2. Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, melt the butter in the olive oil over med-high heat. Add the garlic and nutmeg and sauté for about a minute.
  3. Add the spinach and continue cooking until the it’s fully wilted and much of the liquid has boiled away. Season with salt & pepper.
  4. Add whipping cream and mascarpone, stirring until well combined. Add a little pasta water to slightly thin the spinach-cream sauce. Bring to a simmer. Season with salt & pepper, to taste.
  5. Drain the cooked pasta and add to the frying pan. Stir well to combine.
  6. Add the basil and Pecorino Romano and stir well. If pasta seizes (too dry), add enough pasta water to moisten the pasta to your liking.
  7. Serve garnished with a good sprinkling of grated Pecorino Romano cheese and optional cracked black pepper.
Inspired by Jamie Oliver
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Fold, Cut, Unfurl

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Coming Attractions

In the weeks ahead, I’ll revisit the mascarpone post to share recipes for the berry parfaits and the jalapeño poppers that were pictured in that post. In the meantime, there will be a post on dog treats and, as promised, I’ll show you all how to make feta cheese. Though a little more challenging than any that we’ve made thus far, making feta cheese is certainly within the capabilities of virtually all who read this post. Believe me, if I can make it, so can you.

One More Thing

As sometimes happens in the blogosphere, a fellow blogger posted another pasta with mascarpone recipe today. Posted in A Dash of Sugar and Spice, Stefanie’s recipe features shrimp as well as the flavors of lemon and garlic. So, if my recipe today isn’t for you, perhaps hers will be.

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Beef Short Ribs

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Short ribs weren’t on the menu when I was growing up. No, I had to wait until I was well past my youth, living here in Chicago, to discover them and even then it was purely coincidental. I had just moved into an apartment on The Lake and was checking out the neighborhood one Saturday when I “discovered” a Hungarian restaurant. Having looked at the menu, I was ready to order the paprikash when my waitress announced that the day’s luncheon special was short ribs. I opted for the special and that split-second decision became a life-altering event. For well over a year afterward, I dined there frequently and never sampled the paprikash, but I did order the short ribs every time. I introduced friends to my “discovery” and urged each to try the short ribs. You see, I was in heaven and was happy to share my good fortune with everyone — until  that  day.

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Beef short ribs served over polenta, with grilled asparagus & horseradish sauce

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I was having lunch with a good friend and we were marveling about — you guessed it — the short ribs when the check came. My friend was surprised to see how little our lunch cost and I mouthed the words that I would soon come to regret, “I don’t know how they do it?” During my very next visit to this little gem of a restaurant, we overheard a patron at a neighboring table question the waitress about the restaurant’s future. She replied, assuring them that the restaurant wasn’t going anywhere. At the end of our meal, one of my lunch party, a friend who had come to love the place as much as I, asked the waitress whether the place was closing. Again she said, “No way!”

The following Saturday the place was closed, never to re-open.

In the years since, more than a few of my favorite restaurants have closed, each after I uttered the fateful incantation. Once I realized the power of those words, I did my very best to avoid mouthing them but if you’re going to serve potent margaritas or top-shelf sake at below market prices, well, I can hardly be held responsible. Anyway, through the years, I’ve seen my favorite Chinese, Mexican, and Sushi restaurants all close, not to mention great little diners and hamburger joints. Perhaps the most painful closing of them all was my neighborhood Thai restaurant, which served the best Pad Thai on the planet. I was known as “Mr. John.” Since its closing 8 years ago, I’ve never repeated those powerful words in reference to any restaurant that I’ve liked. (Interesting to note that I have tried to use the magic on restaurants that should be closed as a service to my fellow diners. The fact that these businesses have continued, uninterrupted, mocks me to this very day.) So, aside from ruining the businesses —  and dreams — of a number of immigrant families, just what does any of this have to with short ribs?

Well, once my Hungarian restaurant closed, I took it upon myself to learn how to prepare beef short ribs. Mom, my first resource in such matters, suggested making them like a beef stew. So, my first attempts were cooked in a slow cooker and pretty much looked like a stew. Looking back, my experiences preparing short ribs pretty much mirrors my growth as a cook, such as it was. Over the years, I learned to brown the meat first, make a roux and a sauce, use the vegetables for the braise only, added wine, moved the braise from the slow cooker to a Dutch oven, and, finally, added some balsamic vinegar to the pot. The spices, also,  changed and, somewhere along the way, I began making horseradish sauce. The recipes I share today are the last of a long series.

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Beef Short Ribs Recipe

Ingredients

  • 3 – 4 lbs (approx. 1.8kgs) beef short ribs — 6 to 8 rib pieces
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 carrots, roughly chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, smashed
  • 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1½ cups red wine
  • 1½ cups low-sodium beef broth
  • ¾ cup balsamic vinegar
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 3 or 4 fresh thyme stems
  • 2 fresh rosemary stems
  • 1 bay leaf
  • salt & pepper, to taste

Horseradish Sauce – recipe follows

Directions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 325˚F (160˚C).
  2. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot with a lid over med-high heat.
  3. Meanwhile, use paper towels to pat dry the short ribs, season liberally with salt & pepper, and place into the now hot oil. DO NOT CROWD. You will probably need to brown them in 2 batches. Once the meat has been placed into the pot, do not disturb for about 3 minutes. Check one to see if it has browned. If so, turn each piece to brown another side, If not, continue cooking for another 2 minutes before checking again.
  4. Brown all sides of each rib before removing them to a platter and repeating the process with the rest of the ribs.
  5. Pour off excess grease, leaving 3 tbsp in the pot. Add the celery, carrots, and onion to the pot and begin sautéing. Season with salt & pepper.
  6. When the onion is translucent and the vegetables have softened, add the garlic and continue sautéing for about a minute.
  7. Add the flour to the pot, stir, and cook for two minutes.
  8. Use the red wine to deglaze the pot. Once finished, add the balsamic, beef stock and tomato paste. Season with salt and pepper and stir well.
  9. Add the thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves. Return the ribs to the pot, bring to a boil, cover, and place in pre-heated oven.
  10. Continue to cook for 2½ to 3 hours or until meat is fork tender and falling off of the bones. Carefully remove the ribs to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm.
  11. Pour the braising liquid through a strainer and place resultant liquid into a grease separator.  Wait a few minutes to allow the grease to rise and then pour off the sauce.
  12. Depending upon your preference, you can
    1. Serve the sauce as is.
    2. Place the sauce into a small pan so that it can be further reduced and thickened.
    3. Add more wine or beef broth and then reduce.
  13. No matter the choice, be sure to taste the sauce to see if additional seasoning is needed.
  14. The sauce may be used to cover the ribs before serving or left on the side.
  15. Serve immediately with mashed potatoes, buttered broad noodles, or polenta, as pictured.

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Horseradish Sauce

Combine equal amounts of plain yogurt (Greek pref.) and sour cream. Add horseradish to taste, some brown, whole grain or Dijon mustard, a dash or two of Worcestershire Sauce, and salt & pepper to taste. Mix well and refrigerate until needed. Be sure to make extra for the cole slaw.

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Pulled rib sammich with horseradish slaw & corn relish

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Notes

I always try to make extra ribs, gravy, and horseradish sauce. Not only are the ribs even tastier the next day, the meat can be pulled apart, similar to what is done with pork, and used with the extra gravy to make sandwiches. The extra horseradish sauce can be used as a dressing for cole slaw to top off the sandwich, as pictured, or as a condiment. If used to dress slaw, you may wish to add more yogurt, sour cream, or a little mayonnaise, to suit your tastes.

Be sure to come back next Wednesday when, as promised, I’ll show you how to make mascarpone.

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