Pasta alla Norma

23 Feb

The other night Sam and I had Randi and Marty over for dinner.  Sam requested this dish- which I love and long looked for a recipe but did not know its proper name.  I made a huge heaping bowl of it and we ate almost all of it before I remembered to take a picture- so my apologies- it was way more gorgeous than this image suggests. There are  tons of recipes for this- but for Italian cooking- I trust Marcella Hazan.   I love her recipes because they are so simple– and she has my favorite risotto recipe.  Marcella fries her eggplant and while  I am sure that would be super delicious,  I decided to be healthier and bake the eggplant- I put both ways in here so you can choose.  We were having an early dinner- so I salted (this draws out moisture and bitterness- otherwise eggplant will soak up oil like a sponge and take forever to cook– a lesson I learned the first time I tried to cook eggplant parm w. Juan Carlos in my philly apt) and baked off the eggplant the night before.  I used ricotta salata- a classic cheese for this dish- it is ricotta that comes in a block sort of resembling feta.  Fresh ricotta or mozzarella (ooh or even smoked mozzarella maybe?) would work well too.  And by the by, Marcella calls this dish Eggplant and Ricotta, Sicilian-Style.

1 to 1-1/2 pound eggplant
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup onion, sliced very thin
1-1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
2 cups fresh ripe plum tomatoes, skinned, peeled and seeded cut into narrow strips or when tomatoes not in season use a 25oz can of whole plum tomatoes- drain then chop.
3 tablespoons freshly grated romano (I subbed parmesean)
3 tablespoons fresh ricotta (or ricotta salata or mozzarella)
8 to 10 fresh basil leaves
1 pound pasta- rigatoni
Vegetable oil (if frying eggplant)

Cut off eggplant stem.  Peel (optional) eggplant and cut into 1-1/2 in cubes.  Put cubes in colander, set over big bowl, sprinkle liberally w. salt.  Let eggplant sit for about an hour so salt draws out bitter juices (you’ll be able to see brown liquid in bowl).  (Yes, this is a necessary step).
Take a handful of eggplant, rinse under cold water to get off excess salt.  Wrap them in a dry paper towel and squeeze to get out as much moisture as possible.  Spread on another dry towel and continue until you have rinsed all eggplant cubes.
If frying:  Put enough veg oil in a large frying pan to come up 1/2 inch side of the pan- turn to med high.  When oil is hot, slip in as many eggplant that fit loosely in the pan- might have to do batches.  When eggplant feels tender when prodded with a fork, transfer it with a slotted spoon or spatula to a cooling rack or to a platter lined with paper towels to drain.  Pour off the oil and wipe the pan clean with paper towels.
If baking: Preheat to 350. Line a baking sheet with foil. Brush w. olive oil.  Spread out eggplant in single layer.  Bake until it looks done– I’d say between 20-40 mins- it starts to looks shrunken, browning and tender.
Start making your pasta.
Put olive oil and onion in pot and turn to med high.  Saute until onion becomes light gold colored.  Add chopped garlic- and cook for a few seconds, stirring as you cook.
Add the strips of tomato, turn up the heat to high, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the oil floats free from the tomato.
Add the eggplant and a few grindings of pepper, stir, and turn the heat down to medium. Cook for just a minute or two more, stirring once or twice. Taste and correct for salt.
Toss the cooked and drained pasta with the eggplant sauce, add the grated romano, the ricotta, and the basil leaves– mixing thoroughly– and serve at once, with the grated Parmesan on the side.

Pavlova

17 Feb

Ah Pavlova, how I love thee.  For those of you not familiar with it- pavlova is like a giant meringue with whipped cream and fruit on top- whose origin is debated between Australia and New Zealand.  But according to wikipedia- which of course we take as fact- “The nationality of its creator has been a source of argument between the two nations for many years, but formal research indicates New Zealand as the more probable source.”  So, ha!  This recipe comes from NZ, where I studied abroad.  I have thought about making it ever since my return- about 8 years now- but getting a shiny new KitchenAid mixer (thanks Debby and Henry!) made it all happen.  Some manage fine w. a hand mixer- but I always had trouble w. egg whites with my shitty one- works much better if yours has a whisk attachment.  American recipes i’ve seen use way more eggs and cream of tartar as an agent.  While I am sure that would work- I decided to stick with the NZ recipe.  Caster sugar is a more finely ground sugar- I think 10 times finer than granulated- don’t substitute confectioner! which is like 100 times more fine.  To make my own caster sugar- I just put granulated in the food processor and pulsed for about 10 seconds.  If you don’t have a food processor- I am guessing that you can get away with granulated.  Now, for some reason I don’t really understand- you are supposed to allow this to cool completely in the oven- this keeps it crisp?  A little annoying- because I couldn’t open the door to see if it all caved in.  The back-up plan was going to be Ina’s Eton Mess recipe- so then u just crush up the meringue- and put it in a glass- layered w. strawberries and whipped cream- a tasty back up if I ever heard one- so I wasn’t  too worried.  Was going to top w. Balsamic strawberries but couldn’t find any strawbs. According to JP (who’s Australian) passion fruit is the best way to go.

2 Egg Whites
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon cornflour (i take this to be cornstarch)
4 tablespoons boiling water (1/4 cup)

Line a baking sheet w. parchment paper.  Use a plate or some such to trace an 11 inch cirlce (i’d probably go smaller next time- 9 or 10 inches).  Place all ingredients in a bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat on high speed until very stiff (about 15 mins- less than 10 min if using a kitchenaid).  Spread onto baking sheet within the circle. Bake in a moderate over (350 degrees) for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 225 and bake a further 45 mins.  Cool in oven (a couple hours).

Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy cream
dash of Vanilla extract

Beat on high- only take a few minutes.  Usually add confectioner sugar- but left it out this time- Pavlova is sweet enough already.

Carrot Ginger Soup

7 Feb

Delicious simple soup.  My mom used to make this for holidays- Thanksgiving, I think.  When I was young, I thought orange soup was weird.  But now I think it’s pretty.  Terry, a longtime friend of my mother and a great cook herself, recently gave me an immersion blender.  This was my first shot at using it- and i’ll say that it is pretty dope.  If you aren’t familiar with these- they are basically like a blender wand (Micah argues it should just be called this- as it a more apt and cool term).  So just stick the blender wand into your pot- and you don’t have to worry about transferring to a food processor.  A Silver Palate recipe, of course.

6 tablespoons butter (3/4 stick)
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 minced garlic cloves
1/4 cup finely chopped ginger
7 cups chicken stock (or veg stock)
1 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 pounds carrots, cut in 1/2 in pieces
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
pinch of curry powder
salt and pepper to taste
chopped chives or parsley to garnish (optional)

Melt butter in a large pot.  Add onion, ginger, and garlic and simmer for 15-20 mins.  Add carrots, stock and wine- bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for another 45 minutes.  Blend/food process the soup until smooth.  Put back in the pot, stir in curry and lemon. Salt and pepper to taste.

Root Vegetable Jumble

31 Jan

So I admit it, I watched a couple episodes of The Next Food Network Star.  The delightful Aarti won- of the new show Aarti’s Party.  I’ve only watched a couple eps of her show, but this is one of the recipes I saw. When you’re trying to eat a lot of vegetables– sometimes salad gets a little boring.  Roasting vegs  is a great way to jazz them up and mix up the flavor.   I went a little root vegetable happy in the co-op and added parsnips, rutabagas and turnips to this recipe.  I’d definitely add the parsnips- what a delicious yet underrated food.  The roasted lemons add a huge burst of flavor. Since I added so many extra vegs- I should have  added a bit more oil- there is more than enough spice.  As to Aarti’s suggestion, I served mine over soft polenta.  I never used to be so into polenta- but i am really into grits which, as it turns out, are the same thing in a slightly different form.  The polenta I made for this took about 5 minutes– is tasty and filling.  A great alternative to putting everything over couscous.

2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 tablespoons ground coriander
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large fennel bulb, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
1 large red onion, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
1 large lemon, cut into 1/2-inch slices
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch rounds
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
Minced fresh cilantro or parsley, to garnish [i always skip this]

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a small bowl, whisk together the ground cumin, ground coriander, and olive oil. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and a generous grinding of black pepper.
Put all the all veg and lemons in a baking dish.  Pour the spiced oil over the vegetables and toss to coat. Bake for 30 minutes. Sprinkle feta cheese over the top and bake until the vegetables are caramelized and soft, another 15 minutes.

Boozy Baked French Toast

21 Jan

This french toast is just too good.  For many years- I have loved the french toast at Jane. And this dish- I think I explains how they get that melt in your mouth middle part.  The key- like the breakfast casserole- is to let it soak overnight.  Doing it the night before also leaves less to worry about in the morning- and you don’t have to deal w. making it in batches and keeping them warm.  This recipe comes from Smitten Kitchen.  For flavoring, I used 3 tablespoons Bailey’s and 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract.  I was tempted to scrape a vanilla bean in there- I didn’t- but next time definitely will.  SK uses 3 tablespoons of Bailey’s and 3 tablespoons of Cointreau.  She also says Frangelico, Chambord, Creme de Cassis, Grand Marnier or a teaspoon or two of vanilla or almond extract work would.  And, that you can add some zest, chopped nuts (almond or pecan), raisins or some such if you want.   Now, I didn’t serve it with this- because i didn’t think of it- but I am including the Clinton St. Baking Co. recipe for Maple Syrup Butter (cribbed from the cookbook Mara got when she hung out w. Stavros- the greek shipping heir who used to date Paris Hilton).  This syrup is also the first thing I’m putting on here that I haven’t actually made- but how can it be bad?  This french toast doesn’t really require syrup- but because it just sounds so damn awesome, I wanted to include it.  Throw those balsamic berries on it while your at it.  Would be a killer brunch.

1 loaf supermarket Challah bread in 1-inch slices
3 cups whole milk
3 eggs
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
cinnamon sugar
+whatever booze/flavor combo you want.  I did 3 tablespoon Baileys + 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.

SK says:
1. Generously grease a 9×13-inch baking dish [i used a smaller one] with salted (my choice) or unsalted butter.
2.  Arrange bread in two tightly-packed layers in the pan.  Cut one slice into smaller pieces to fill in gaps.  If using a thinner-sliced bread, you might wish for more layers, though I find that over three, even baking can be difficult. If you are using any fillings of fruit or nuts, this is the time to get them between the layers or sprinkled atop.  [Now, mine did not nearly make two layers, and sensing tightly packed would be important- I ended up using a slightly smaller pan- with only one layer.  And it still worked great!)
3. Whisk milk, eggs, sugar, salt and booze or flavorings of your choice and pour over the bread. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
4. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The bread will absorb all of the milk custard while you sleep.
5. Bake at 425 for 30 minutes, or until puffed and golden. This will take longer if you have additional layers.
6. Cut into generous squares and serve with maple syrup, fresh fruit, powdered sugar or all of the above.
Serves 6.

Maple Butter from Clinton St. Baking Co.
1 cup maple syrup
2 sticks cold unsalted butter (cut in cubes)
Heat syrup over medium heat.  Whisk in butter one cube at a time.

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