of which I received a review copy, you'll learn the history of all of Spain's regions and how the different people who settled in each area and later moved about the country shaped what has become Spanish cuisine. Because of this background information, you'll know that meat cooked with fruits came from an Arab influence, eggplant fritters and adafina, a slow-cooked stew, came from Jews, bechamel and the use of cream and butter was from the French, and the chiles which became the ubiquitous pimenton arrived after explorations in the New World. All of these angles of influence along with descriptions of the different types of geography from one region to the next explain the evolution of Spanish food over time. Through the recipes, you'll see how food traditions live on in typical home-cooked dishes, and all of the recipes in the book are written for contemporary cooking styles with ingredients that are easy to find. There are classic dishes like tortilla espanola with potatoes along with variations like the vegetable tortilla with peppers, eggplant, and tomato. There are fish dishes like salmon with peas and fish stew with peppers and tomatoes. From the poultry chapter, there's chicken and shrimp with almond and chocolate sauce and quail with grapes. There are meat dishes, rice and pasta and paella of course, and bean and chickpea stews. The dessert chapter offers everything from fruit in wine to ice creams, cakes, pastries, and flans. To begin cooking from this book, I chose the coca which is like pizza. Ordinarily, the toppings for coca are made up of whatever is available or leftover from previous meals. Some canned anchovies or tuna or maybe sliced sausages could be added, but I prepared the version shown in the book with just roasted bell peppers and eggplants.The dough for the coca is almost exactly the same as the dough I use for pizza. Bread flour, salt, olive oil, yeast, and water were combined, kneaded, and left to rise for an hour or two. Meanwhile, eggplants were pricked with a knife and placed on a baking sheet with whole bell peppers. I found some pretty local, sweet peppers in red and yellow. The vegetables were roasted in a 350 degree F oven for about 45 minutes or until the skins were blistered. After the peppers had cooled, the skins and seeds were removed, and they were sliced. The skins of the eggplants were removed, and the flesh was placed in a colander to drain and then chopped into big chunks. The eggplant and peppers were seasoned and tossed with oil and set aside. Rather than spreading a thick sauce on the dough, a mixture of sauteed, chopped onion and tomato was used. Onion was sauteed in olive oil until soft, and fresh, peeled and chopped tomatoes were added and left to cook until the liquid evaporated. The dough was cut in half and each half was rolled into a big oval. Each oval of dough was placed on an oiled baking sheet, topped with some of the onion and tomato mixture, and the bell peppers and eggplant were placed on top. The cocas baked for about 30 minutes until browned and crisp.
. I warned you I’d be using this book a lot. Now, about that swordfish. I admit I’m a worrier when it comes to buying fish. I always check in with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch list before making a purchase. The news changes from time to time, and I like to find out specifically which fish from which sources are the best options. As it happened, on the day I was planning to shop for swordfish, I learned about the Whole Foods MSC-Certified harpoon-caught swordfish program, and you can read about it here and here. There’s a short season for this type of sustainably caught swordfish, and I heard about it just in time. Also, on the topic of choosing fish responsibly, Chef Rick Moonen recently offered a list of five fish that deserve a break in the 5@5 post on Eatocracy. One of his recommendations was wild-caught swordfish.In Eating Local, the swordfish is grilled, but I was too lazy to cook outside in the heat and just seared ours on the stove. The peperonata was started by sauteing onion and garlic in a large skillet over low heat. Grated tomato was added and allowed to cook for five minutes. Then, sliced bell peppers, and in my case sliced jalapenos as well, were added with some red pepper flakes. The skillet was covered, and everything simmered gently for about 25 minutes. Capers and spoonful of white wine vinegar were added, and it was seasoned with salt and pepper. Some peperonata was scooped onto each piece of swordfish and topped with basil.
In the December Food and Wine, there was a story about Boston chef Ken Oringer and the tailgate party he hosts on the day he cuts down his Christmas tree. The picnic menu for this party was a really good one, and I have to keep the pages I cut from the magazine because I’d like to recreate the entire thing some day. It included cubano sandwiches, this black bean and quinoa salad, mulled cider, an avocado, grapefruit, and hearts of palm salad, artichoke and spinach dip with spiced pita chips, and caramel pecan bars. Reading that list again just now made me a little hungry. Last week, I wasn’t ready to throw a picnic party and prepare all of that, but I had a plan for jibaritos and thought this salad would fit well with them. As usual, when I cook dried beans, I cook a lot of them at once. I planned ahead, cooked a lot of beans, set aside the amount needed for this recipe, and stored the extra beans in the freezer for future uses. With the black beans already cooked, prepping the salad was quick and easy.
First, the quinoa was cooked and then spread on a sheet pan to cool quickly. A dressing was made by whisking together sherry vinegar, soy sauce, lime juice, and a chopped chipotle chile, and then olive oil was incorporated. Sliced scallions, minced red onion, finely diced yellow pepper, and chopped cilantro were combined with the cooked and cooled black beans and quinoa. The dressing was poured over the mixture, it was tossed to combine, seasoning was checked, and that was it.
The salad is so full of flavor and varied textures you won’t even pause to think about how healthy it is. The chipotle added a little spiciness, and you could increase that and taste as you go while making the dressing. Obviously, you could change the vegetables in the salad, but the ones suggested were a nice mix of colors with the yellow pepper against the black beans and flecks of green cilantro and scallions here and there. This makes a very large quantity of salad, but it stores well in the refrigerator. It’s also great on a bed of arugula and topped with some crumbled feta, so I didn’t mind having a big bowl of it in the refrigerator for a few days.
I saw a pretty and summery meal involving a polenta terrine in the August/September issue of Donna Hay magazine and got inspired to make something similar. The terrine in the magazine was made with chorizo and spinach and was served with fresh mozzarella and cherry tomatoes, but my goal was to use some eggplant, summer squash, bell peppers, and greens from my CSA and make it a little more autumnal with a cooked tomato sauce. Polenta is great for a terrine because it sets up solidly and holds its shape very well. This couldn’t have been simpler to prepare, and once it has chilled for a few hours or overnight, it’s sliced and quickly warmed in the oven. I served the warmed slices with a spicy tomato sauce sprinkled with some chopped parsley.
A basic polenta was made with broth, and when thick, grated parmesan and butter were added. I chopped eggplant, summer squash, and bell peppers and sauteed them until tender and added some baby mustard greens. Next time, I’ll chop the vegetables into a little smaller dice so they squish into the terrine more snuggly. But, moving right along, a parchment-lined loaf pan was layered with polenta, then some shredded mozzarella, the sauteed vegetables, and more mozzarella, and then it was topped with the remaining polenta. The pan was covered and refrigerated overnight. The next day, the polenta came out of the pan easily and was cut into thick slices. The slices were placed on a baking sheet and drizzled with olive oil. They went into the oven for a few minutes to warm through. In hindsight, I should have pulled them from the oven a little sooner than I did because the mozzarella melted a bit too much and ran out from the sides of the cut pieces. The slices were prettier when the cheese is in place.
Even though I would change a couple of details next time around, I was still very happy with this dish. The parmesan-flavored polenta sandwiching the vegetables and mozzarella was everything simple comfort food should be, even though it was smartly dressed in layers of a terrine. I had never before thought of using polenta in a terrine, but it works so well and the possibilities of what to layer with it are endless.
Polenta and Vegetable Terrine
adapted from Aug/Sept issue Donna Hay Magazine
3 T extra virgin olive oil + extra for drizzling
1 eggplant, diced
1 summer squash, diced
2 green bell peppers, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 c baby greens for braising such as mustard greens
6 c vegetable broth
2 c polenta
2 T butter
1/2 c grated parmesan
2 c shredded mozzarella salt and pepper to taste
Tomato sauce or fresh tomatoes for serving
-Heat 3 T oil in a large saute pan. Add diced vegetables and garlic slices and cook until tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. When vegetables are tender and cooked through, add greens and stir to wilt. Remove from heat and set aside.
-Place vegetable broth in a large saucepan, and bring to a boil. Slowly add polenta while whisking. Switch to a wooden spoon, turn heat down to medium, and stir until polenta is thick. This will be a few minutes for instant polenta. Add butter, parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir to incorporate.
-Line a loaf pan with parchment paper allowing paper to overhang long sides. Place half the polenta in bottom of loaf pan. Top polenta with half the mozzarella. Top mozzarella with the vegetables, and then add the remaining mozzarella and polenta. Smooth the top, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least two hours. -Once chilled and set, remove polenta from loaf pan and cut into thick slices while oven pre-heats to 400 degrees F. Place slices on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Bake just to warm through, about five minutes. Serve with a warm tomato sauce or fresh cherry tomatoes.
-You can get as creative as you like with the layers, but I kept my simple with just one layer of vegetables.
I thought it would be fun to whip up some fresh pasta for dinner the other night, and I’ve made fresh pasta plenty of times. On one occasion, I even made beet pasta which was as delicious as it was pretty. Then, I realized I had never made fresh pasta into ribbons of any kind. Those rollers on my pasta machine that cut a sheet into long strands had never been used. The injustice. They’d been ignored for years. As I almost always do when making fresh pasta, I grabbed Marcella’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
. Making the pasta dough gets easier every time I do it. Mix eggs into flour, knead, divide, flatten, and then make whatever shape you want. For a sauce for this first-ever ribbon-cut pasta of mine, I chose Marcella’s roasted red and yellow pepper sauce with garlic and basil. It includes an interesting technique of peeling the raw peppers before cooking them rather than roasting them and then removing the charred skin. The reason for this was so that the peppers would still be firm when added to the saute pan.
I should back up just a bit and explain what I learned about fresh pasta this time around. To make ribbons, you first have to roll the dough into sheets. Then, it’s important to let the sheets sit and dry for a few minutes before rolling them through the cutter. The sheets should be just starting to dry but not yet brittle. I could blame it on the humidity, but I probably just rushed it with my first couple of sheets. The fettuccine strands came out a little sticky and were difficult to place on a towel for further drying. Since the last sheet had sat a little longer, it went through the cutter much better and was easier to handle. The cut fettuccine was left to dry for a couple of hours before dinner. I started the sauce before boiling the pasta because everyone knows the sauce can wait but nothing and no one should wait for the pasta. Red and yellow bell peppers were peeled and then cut into large chunks. Olive oil was warmed in a large saute pan, and peeled garlic cloves were added. Marcella suggests only flavoring the oil with the garlic and removing it before adding the peppers. My love of garlic made discarding it impossible so I left it right there in the pan. The chopped peppers were added, and it all cooked together for 15 minutes or so. The peppers should become tender but not mushy. Salt and pepper were added. Meanwhile a large pot of salted water was brought to a boil, and during the last few minutes of cooking the peppers, the pasta was boiled. The fettuccine was drained and added directly to the saute pan along with torn basil leaves, butter, and shredded parmigiano.
Even though I defied Marcella by leaving in the garlic, I thought its nuttiness was delicious with the sweet and slightly caramelized bell peppers. The freshly made fettuccine which I left in nice, long lengths was a delight with this chunky, fresh sauce. A penne or rigatoni shape would have been very good with this sauce too, and that just made me realize I haven’t made a homemade, tube-shaped pasta yet.
With the grilled fish and shrimp with coconut and lime sauce, I wanted to serve a light, crunchy salad on the side. I grabbed a book I hadn’t used for a long time and found just the thing. The Vegetarian Table Thailand was published back in 1997, and it’s full of light and lovely dishes that pack a lot of flavor. I’ve made the salad rolls with a spicy dipping sauce with hoisin and sambal ulek and the Chinese cabbage with peanut sauce. Now that I’ve looked at the book again, I’m reminded that I need to try the vegetarian jungle curry and the eggs in sweet and spicy sauce. From the salads chapter, I could have chosen green papaya salad or roasted eggplant salad, but I went with the cucumber salad with roasted peanut dressing. It was a colorful combination of red bell pepper, green beans, and of course cucumbers.
Cucumber and red bell pepper were cut into matchsticks. Then, green beans and bean sprouts were blanched and added to the raw vegetables along with cilantro leaves, shredded basil leaves, chopped green onions, and chopped roasted peanuts. A quick dressing was made from lime juice, brown sugar, minced garlic, finely chopped red chiles, and more chopped roasted peanuts. As I mixed the dressing, I wondered if there should have been a little light vegetable oil included. With just lime juice as a liquid, I thought it might be too tart. However, the chopped peanuts rounded out the flavor perfectly without any added oil, and the bit of brown sugar took the edge off the lime juice’s acidity.
I prepared the salad and let it sit in the refrigerator as the rest of the meal was put together, and it emerged cool and crisp with well-distributed flavor. I wished I had some Thai basil to use in this, but the genovese variety worked perfectly fine. The salad was delightfully crunchy with a good variety of tastes and textures. The spice level was mild, but the chile added another dimension. It was a nice surprise to find out how satisfying this salad was given its lightness. With bright, fresh flavors, good crunch, and the nuttiness, it didn’t require anything else to make it great.
I looked through my copy of Jamie's Italy last week in search of dinner ideas. I’ve cooked from it a few times before. All of the risottos are tempting, the pasta dishes make me hungry every time I look at them, and then there are a few really simple dishes that just combine a few ingredients. For instance, there’s a sticky fig dessert that just involves slowly baking fresh figs for a couple of hours and serving them with honey and pecorino. Obviously, I got caught up in the dessert chapter wondering why I hadn’t tried anything from it yet and then finally remembered I had opened the book in search of dinners. This farro salad seemed like a good choice for July as it brings together all the usual suspects of summer’s vegetable bin.
Summer squash, zucchini, fennel, onion, bell pepper, eggplant, and garlic were all chopped and roasted. Then, they were simply tossed with cooked farro, lots of fresh herbs like basil, flat leaf parsley, and fennel fronds, and lemon juice and olive oil. I like the way Jamie writes a recipe. The quantity for the herbs is “a good bunch,” and when the roasted vegetables are removed from the oven, you’re instructed to “sprinkle a little vinegar over” them. That works for me considering that I rarely measure out ingredients for a dish like this anyway.
The colorful vegetables give the salad a summery look, and the fresh herbs and lemon wake up all the combined flavors. I was already a fan of farro and its nutty taste and the hearty feel of it. So, I was delighted with the result here. This makes a very big bowl of salad, and I cut the quantities (that were provided) in half. It’s the kind of salad that can sit at room temperature while the rest of a meal is prepared, and it’s the kind of salad you can pull out of the refrigerator and enjoy as a meal by itself, cold the next day. I found a couple of other dishes in the book to try this week too, so those will appear here soon.
I must have been feeling a little lazy yesterday because I wanted a dinner that would mostly cook itself. This stew from Molto Italiano did that, and as a bonus, it required some wine but not an entire bottle. Since the vegetables refused to chop themselves, I had to do that part, but my next task was to sit back and sip the remaining wine while the stew simmered. Lazy is good sometimes, and so are one pot meals.
Mario insists that this dish is to be spicy. I used chiles de arbol for the five dried chiles listed in the ingredients, and I broke them into pieces while adding them to the mix of vegetables. They did their job in delivering a good level of heat to the dish, and the instructions direct you to add some red pepper flakes at the end of cooking for added zip. So, yes, this was a lazy, simmered, one pot meal with zip. Could it get any better? It could. The vegetables included chunked eggplant, carrot, celery, potatoes, and tomatoes and thick strips of bell peppers. Sicilian olives and rinsed and drained salt-packed capers were added as well. I was surprised that there were no onions or garlic included, but there was plenty of flavor just as it was. A chicken cut into eight pieces was browned in a large skillet. The pieces were removed to a plate and the vegetables, olives, capers, and dried chiles went into the pan. A cup and a half of dry red wine was added. I used an inexpensive Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. The browned chicken was added back to the pan. It was brought to a boil, reduced to a simmer, covered and allowed to cook itself, and I sat.
The chicken I used was kind of big, so I gave it extra time to simmer. The tomatoes softened and became one with the sauce. The other vegetables attained a lovely tenderness. The potatoes were cut into big enough chunks that they held their shape, and they turned a pretty pinkish color from the wine. I put just a little more effort into this meal than I really had to because I decided the sauce could be thicker. I transferred everything to a large serving bowl and turned up the heat to reduce the sauce and then poured that delicious, rich wine and chicken gravy over the stew. It was garnished with chopped parsley and mint and red pepper flakes and served with bread for dipping. It was a hearty, easy meal that makes arguably even better leftovers. I may let dinner do the cooking more often.
"At last." That was Kurt’s response when I told him what was planned for dinner last night. He’s been a trooper through several vegetarian-focused meals lately, and he’s enjoyed them, he really has. But, the thought of a meal of sausage and peppers was a true delight. I should point out right away that I used chicken Italian sausages, but just the same, there was meat being cooked and served for dinner. He was right, this was a meal deserving of excitement.
Sausage and peppers is pretty straightforward. Cook sausages, saute bell peppers and onions until they smell amazing, and combine all to finish cooking together. This time, however, I took some pointers from Lidia Bastianich. In Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen, her technique for sausage and peppers is just a bit more specific. She suggests wide strips of bell peppers and onions, some pickled cherry peppers, garlic, and mushrooms. She explains proper cooking times so the vegetables retain some texture. There are a few steps involved in browning and sautéing on the stovetop, and then everything is combined to finish cooking through in the oven. By following her instructions, this was the best sausage and peppers meal I’ve made.
I had some fresh and fabulous green peppers from Hands of the Earth farm, great job HOE, and a red gypsy pepper from the farmers' market. The size of the cut strips and the carefully monitored cooking time made for very good results. I quite liked the use of mushrooms as it upped the vegetable quotient in the dish, and I used some local shitakes. The addition of the pickled, hot cherry peppers was genius. I had never thought to include jarred peppers before, but the bit of acidity brightened the flavors, and the tantalizing heat added a nice spark. The sausages retained a nice texture by finishing in the oven, and the garlic became the delicious thing it always does. I am going on a bit about something so simple as sausage and peppers, but this was a really great rendition of it. Take Lidia’s advice, choose your favorite type of sausage, do as she says, and have a spectacular meal of it.
