Thick As Thieves

As the winter months roll on I find myself turning increasingly to the pantry for help in planning a delicious and satisfying dinner. Although I'm the first person to extol the virtues of eating fresh fruits and vegetables over anything that looks pre-fab and preservative ridden, I also believe in moderation and modern necessities. While in the summer, for example, I'd encourage everyone to go out and buy fresh tomatoes at their peak, I admit it's difficult to go tomato-less for the rest of the year. That's why I'm not embarrassed to say that I like to keep sun-dried tomatoes in my pantry whenever getting good quality fresh tomatoes is out of the question. Sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil are wonderful because they don't need re-hydrating, and are picked at the height of the summer tomato season, so their concentrated tomato flavor is all the more powerful. I'd much rather use those during the winter months than settle for what the supermarket tries to pass off as tomatoes.

I recently caught an episode of Sara's Weeknight Meals (on PBS), hosted by Sara Moulton, formerly of the Food Network and Gourmet magazine. Her show is a great example of how to make fast, sophisticated dinners that could feed an entire family both on a budget and in a time crunch. There are no shortcuts to flavor, just great ingredients prepared simply and smartly. One recent episode had her cleaning out her pantry and using much of the staples that we all might keep to use in a pinch—pasta, canned beans and the like. It was a great example of when and how to use what lives in your pantry, and for me a great reminder that if I'm ever going to break down and not use fresh produce, this is how (and when) to do it. She made a great vegetarian pasta dish of linguine in a thick, creamy white bean sauce with sun-dried tomatoes and olives. The best part was that the sauce was thickened with mashed white beans instead of a roux, so there's no cream or butter involved and it makes the sauce all the more flavorful.

Her recipe was wonderful and reminded me that it's okay to get a little help from the store every once in a while when necessary. I do try and avoid prepared canned products (soups, etc...) because of their high sodium and preservative count, but in general I keep all of my canned food use to a minimum because of the actual dangers of canned packaging. While the super low price of most common supermarket canned foods is tempting, I do try and stick to purchasing Eden Organic canned beans and lentils whenever I can. Their cans are made without BPA, a chemical commonly used in the plastic linings of canned foods and has been known to leach into contents of cans. Lab tests have shown that the average amount of BPA that leaches into canned foods can cause breast cancer cells to grow at an alarming rate. Sadly, BPA is ubiquitous among common household plastic items, including several baby bottles, toys and breasts pumps, and is having a difficult time getting banned. So I do urge everyone to use canned items wisely and sparingly, and always remember to rinse anything that comes out of a can thoroughly. For more info on how to avoid exposure to BPA, go here.

Now that I've worn my soapbox down to a plank: back to the fun stuff. The great thing about this recipe is that it's super fast and has the potential to be even faster. The olives could very well go in whole (pitted, of course) and the sun-dried tomatoes could just be halved or even torn with your hand if you're really in a rush to put food on the table. And this dish would certainly take well to any other ingredients taking up residence in your freezer or pantry. Artichokes and capers come to mind, or for a delicious twist even anchovies or sardines would be tasty (a great olive oil packed tuna would be good too!). Something green and fresh would also be wonderful, like a little wilted spinach or even fresh basil in place of the rubbed sage, and chopped up crimini's for a meaty-but-still-veggie feel would also be divine. So give this recipe a try if you're up for a good pantry clean-out, or consider it your first step towards spring cleaning! 


Linguini with White Bean, Sun-dried Tomato, and Olive Sauce

adapted from Sara's Weeknight Meals

 

Kosher salt
1 pound linguini
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
3 garlic cloves, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
1 ounce sun-dried tomatoes (about 6 halves), sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch strips (scant 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup white wine
One 19-ounce can white beans such as cannelini, navy, or Great Northern, drained and rinsed
One 14 or 14 1/2-ounce can vegetable or chicken broth, or 1 3/4 cups Chicken Stock
1/2 cup pitted, brine-cured olives such as kalamata, chopped
Freshly milled black pepper
1 1/2 ounces grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated (about 1/2 cup), optional

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the linguini in the boiling water until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes; drain, reserving 1 1/2 cups cooking liquid.

 2. While the water comes to a boil and the pasta cooks, heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat until hot. Reduce the heat to medium; add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sage and cook 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Add the white beans and broth and simmer for 5 minutes. Coarsely mash the sauce with a potato masher or fork.

3. Add some of the reserved cooking liquid to the sauce, as necessary, to reach a creamy consistency; add the olives and salt and pepper to taste. Toss the sauce with the linguini and serve. Top with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, if desired. 


-Laura

Tender at the Bone

I've known for a long time that it would probably be better for me to start cooking chicken on the bone. Money-wise, buying chicken or any other protein on the bone is always the way to go--the less work involved in getting your meat to you the cheaper it will be. So it stands to reason that bone-in, skin on chicken would be cheaper than even the largest "family value" pack of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, not to mention packed with flavor in the form of delicious (albeit fatty) skin. So why then, have I been buying the more expensive, less flavorful chicken breast? While I could blame the ubiquity of the boneless skinless chicken breast, the real culprit is unadulterated laziness. Sure, 90% of the chicken case at my local supermarket is made up of these "healthy cuts" (as is 100% of the organic chicken section), but the truth is that it's just as easy for me to reach for a package of chicken thighs, wings or even a whole chicken. It's like the people I chastise for leaving the house in sweat pants--doesn't it take just as much effort to reach for your jeans and not look like a total slob? So why can't I take my own advice?

This all started when I received my first winter CSA share, which came chock full of veggies, eggs, milk, canned tomatoes, and half a chicken. At first excited by the prospect of an entire half of an organic, free-range chicken, I set it in the freezer while I took a few days to plan how I'd use it (sadly they're partially frozen anyway for the long drive from our farm in upstate New York). Several days later I found myself stuck. It turns out that I don't really cook with chicken all that much, and when I do, it's usually just as a vehicle for some kind of sauce or vegetable. In the rare cases when it's not, it's usually because I have a few of the aforementioned boneless cutlets in the freezer and they're easy enough to cook and defrost when I'm feeling lazy (what appears to be a keyword in today's post). So looking for a way to use this half a chicken in a way that didn't take all day proved to be more difficult than I had thought. I considered using the slow cooker, which meant that I could start the chicken in the morning and have it ready by the time I came home from work. The obvious downside was not that I'd need to leave the slow cooker unattended, but that I'd need to wake up early enough before work to brown the chicken and chop/prepare any veggies that would go with it. I ultimately discounted the slow cooker idea, on account that it was more trouble than it was worth (i.e. I was too lazy to wake up 45 minutes earlier than normal).

With my half a chicken wasting away in the freezer I decided on a whim to just defrost it and spend my lunch hour coming up with a way to use it. A Barnes and Noble coupon eventually led me to the answer, as I took to the web in search of a way to use said coupon (a gift from heaven just begging to be used on a cookbook). After a few minutes of searching it became clear that the two cookbooks I'd received for Christmas were the only ones I'd really wanted, so I called off the search, but not before encountering Daniel Boulud's cookbook focused on braising. Of course! How could I have been so blind? Meat on the bone just calls out for braising, a process that despite it's longer cooking time, doesn't actually always require much preparation if you seek out the right recipe. Armed with this new insight I quickly remembered that my favorite braised chicken dishes as a kid usually involved olives and roasted red peppers. After a quick look around the kitchen I found I had pretty much everything else that I needed to make the dish. And since oranges are in season and so wonderfully delicious this time of year, I decided to braise the chicken with oranges. It turned out great, and now I have a great new (affordable) dish in my repertoire. Here's the final recipe:

Chicken Braised with Oranges, Olives and Roasted Red Peppers

1/2 chicken's worth of bone-in chicken parts (about 6, light or dark meat)
3/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 white wine
1/2 cup olives, roughly chopped (I prefer green, but any other is fine)
1/2 an onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
2 large oranges, 1 cut into 6 wedges, the other halved
3 roasted red peppers, thinly sliced (jarred or fresh)
extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper

1. In a large skillet (or even a Dutch oven) saute onions, peppers and garlic in oil until just starting to brown. Remove onions and garlic and reserve for later, leaving as much oil as possible in the pan.

2. Season chicken generously with salt and pepper and add to skillet, browning thoroughly on both sides (this is only for color--it will not be cooked through). When the chicken is browned on all sides, remove it to a plate. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, careful to scrape up all of the browned bits. Cook a minute further, then add the chicken stock, olives and juice of half an orange. Stir to combine and return chicken, onions, garlic, and red peppers to plan. Arrange orange slices in pan.

3. Cover and cook on medium heat until chicken is cooked through. White meat will be done faster, so if you have a mixture of white and dark, remove the white meat immediately after it's done to prevent it from overcooking. Serve over rice, farro or quinoa and enjoy!

-Laura

Orange You Glad?

All winter I've been hoping to find some semblance of citrus at the farmer's market in a futile attempt to continue using only local, fresh produce. Fearing I'd go all winter without so much as a bite of citrus other than lemon and lime, I finally caved and purchased a few of the lovely blood oranges at my neighborhood market. The final straw that broke the locavore's back was a recent story in the New York Times dining section. Mark Bittman ("The Minimalist"), fresh from his tour of Spain with Mario Batali, created a salad based on a dish he had during his tenure touring the country. It was a fresh orange salad topped with an olive puree. It first caught my attention because of the colorful contrast between the pure black puree and the vibrant orange slices. But after some thought, I realized it was a lot like a dish from my childhood.

From time to time my mother would make a dessert for my dad that his mother made for him. It was basically a salad of orange segments tossed with olive oil, salt, sugar, and a drop of vinegar. Although I enjoyed it, as a youngster I found it confusing and a bit odd. As it turns out, it's quite the common dish in Spain, better known as naranjas compuestas (or "composed oranges"). It's not surprising, seeing as Seville oranges are abundant around the country, that they would appear everywhere from starter salads to dessert. As an adult I've come to value oranges as an ingredient that provides both tart and sweet flavors to a dish, and even more recently I've come to admire it as an excellent vessel for both salty and sweet flavors. And so, over the years I've added oranges (and grapefruits) to salads, paired them with bacon, doused fish in their juices, but somehow along the way, managed to forget that they could carry a dish all on their own.

And so, using Mark Bittman's dish as inspiration, I made my way to the supermarket and purchased some oranges, along with the lovely, garnett colored blood oranges I'd been seeking all winter. I find their flavor slightly richer, and a bit more full than your average orange, not to mention that adding them would create such a lovely visual effect. Instead of simply peeling and thinly slicing the oranges, I decided to eliminate all forms of pith (and bitterness) by peeling and then segmenting them. That way I also got to squeeze the juice from the remaining body of the orange and save it for a blood orange vinaigrette later in the week. The other tweak I made to the recipe was in the olive puree. I like black olives but I don't like eating tons of them, so I actually used a mix of black olives, kalamata, and three or four large green olives to give the mix a few greens flecks. There was some herbage in the mix too, including fresh thyme (from my thyme plant!) and a final sprinkle of fennel seed over the whole dish. It was all delicious with the exception of the fennel seed, which could at times be overwhelming (the next time I'll definitely grind it instead, or use some fennel pollen if I win the lottery). Here's my version of the recipe:

Blood Orange Salad With Olive Puree

4 oranges (2 blood oranges, 2 Seville or naval), peeled and segmented
1/2 cup pitted olives (any combination of black, kalamata or green that you like)
extra virgin olive oil
red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp fresh thyme
pinch of fennel seed
pinch of salt
pinch of sugar

Puree olives in a food processor with most of the thyme (reserving a few for garnish) and just enough of the olive oil to make a coarse puree. Set aside. Toss orange segments with a light drizzle of olive oil and vinegar and season with salt and sugar. Plate and top with dollops of olive puree and fennel seed. Enjoy!

-Laura

A Fairytale Ending

As some readers may remember, I recently tried to become a bigger fan of eggplant. Well, last weekend I found something that makes it an ingredient that's impossible not to love. One lone stall at the farmers market had a basket full of what I consider to be the single most adorable piece of produce I've ever seen. A small crowd huddled around the basket, where one woman was furiously digging through its contents. As I inched closer I saw that it was only half full with small purple orbs. A sign above the basket announced that they were fairytale eggplant, and the last batch of the season. After elbowing my way to the front I noticed that they were in fact super tiny eggplant, about the size of my thumb.


After a quick conversation with the woman digging through the basket I learned that fairytale eggplant is actually not that uncommon and many people with a green thumb grow it right in their own backyard. Evidently they're easy to cultivate and have a creamier, less bitter taste than their larger counterparts, not to mention they cook up even faster. Sufficiently intrigued, I joined the woman in digging through the basket so I could bring home my own batch of adorably tiny eggplant. Not wanting to mess too much with its flavor (I really wanted to get a feel for the difference between fairytale and regular eggplant), I decided to use it in a light, quick and simple pasta preparation.

First I heated up some extra virgin olive oil and garlic with red pepper flake for about a minute over low heat, then added the eggplant. Meanwhile, I cooked up some angel hair and in a non-stick skillet, toasted some seasoned breadcrumbs in olive oil and set them aside. When the pasta was done I added it to the pan with the eggplant, tossed it all together and threw in a few olives and some pasta water. I topped the whole thing off with a few swirls of olive oil, then tossed in the toasted breadcrumbs (off the heat) for a little crunch. A topping of fresh parsley later and I had a light and simple dinner. The eggplant was in fact creamier and lighter than the larger version. Come to think of it, if the fairytale version were more readily available, I think I would just convert to it altogether. And that, my friends, is how eggplant and I lived happily ever after.


Pasta with Fairytale Eggplant, Breadcrumbs and Olives

2 servings pasta (I used angel hair)
1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
2 cups fairytale eggplant, chopped
2 large or 3 small garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp red pepper flake
1/2 cup olives (I used kalamata), roughly chopped
6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat 4 tablespoons olive oil in a non-stick skillet along with garlic and red pepper flake. Cook for a minute, then add eggplant and cook until softened.

2. Meanwhile, heat another tablespoon of olive oil along with breadcrumbs in another non-stick skillet and cook until browned (they burn easily, so keep an eye out). Set aside.

3.When the pasta is cooked, add it to the skillet with the eggplant, reserving some of the pasta water. Add olives and a few tablespoons of pasta water to create a thin sauce. Toss together and remove from the heat. Add remaining tablespoon of oil and breadcrumbs, tossing to coat. Top with fresh parsley and serve. Enjoy!

-Laura

Small Miracles

Sunday was a day of extraordinary events. The whole thing actually started on Thursday when I was informed that Spain's soccer team would be playing Italy's in the Euro Cup quarter finals. This was big news since the two teams hadn't faced each other this deep in a competition since the 1994 World Cup. I still remember sitting on the floor at home, dangerously close to the TV screen as these two soccer giants faced off, the winner moving on to the final game, the loser eliminated and ashamed. The World Cup was played in the United States that year and my father managed to go to every game that Spain played in. The Spain-Italy match up took place in Boston, and my parents were right there in the front row. I watched excitedly, knowing that although separated, my parents and I were possibly watching history unfold.

Anyone who follows soccer knows that the game ended in Spain's defeat, a totally unpunished elbow to the nose, and my family in a crumpled, depressed heap for the next two weeks. So to mark the monumental rematch of my people and their nemesis, I invited a few friends over for soccer, snack and drinks. The first of the day's extraordinary events took place when it began to rain cats and dogs through what appeared to be full blown sunshine. This wasn't really a problem since we were all cozy and air conditioned and gorging on chicken wings, empanadas, tapenade and white bean dip. As we drank our way through a few bottles of Spanish wine, some beers and a couple of ciders, the game stood still at 0-0. This was to be expected with two teams of such a high caliber, so it was no surprise when after two overtime periods, the game was decided by a nerve racking round of penalty kicks.

A few minutes later, Spain emerged victorious with a final score of 4-2, I broke a glass out of sheer excitement, and much to the dismay of every sports commentator calling the game, Spain was moving on to the last round of play before the championship game. As extraordinary as this win seemed to everyone else, I wasn't surprised, having always felt like the soccer equivalent of a Red Sox fan, knowing that someday our day would come even if no one else believed it. I spent the rest of the evening gleefully polishing off what was left of the snacks I'd prepared and napping away my excitement. As a tribute to the team and to Spain, here's a recipe for the olive tapenade that I serve with cheese and poppy crackers. Enjoy, and viva España!

Tapenade

1/2 lb mixed olives, pitted
2 anchovy fillets, rinsed
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsp capers
juice of half a lemon
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp dry rosemary, ground
1/2 tsp dry thyme, ground
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and slowly stream in olive oil until desired consistency is reached. Enjoy!

-Laura

De-greasing

There are some weeks so busy, so tiresome, so exhausting, that all you can do is eat as fast, filling and fatty a meal as possible. Then there are the days immediately following those days, when the traveling, late night, busy week haze has cleared and all that's left is you and your new paunch. I experienced this very thing towards the end of last week when, after a weekend of nothing but burgers and cheese fries while out of town, and a busy work week where I indulged in the delicious cafeteria comfort food one too many times, I finally felt all of the grease catch up with me. With a volleyball game looming on the horizon Thursday night, it was clear that I needed something on the lighter side, or there would be no getting me on the court.

I'm not a big fan of just having a salad for dinner, but I knew that if I crafted just the right one, I'd be satisfied, and maybe give myself a little energy boost before the game as well. I decided I'd turn to my favorite pantry staple of all time, the humble chickpea. I'm disappointed with chickpea salads about 95% of the time, so I figured I'd take a stab at making my own. Instead of adding too many nuts and veggies and all kinds of crazy chunkies, I decided to keep it super simple with just some minced pimento stuffed olives and a basic vinaigrette. I gave the dressing a little kick by adding some ground cumin and smoked paprika for a bit of spice. I thought about adding some jalapeños for heat, but in the end decided against it, reminding myself of just why I hate most chickpea salads--to many chunkies and too many flavors.

I made the dressing with a bit of lemon juice in the place of vinegar to brighten it up a bit, especially since we're about to get into summer. I even added a bit of zest and whisked it straight into the dressing. With a few pinches of salt and a bit of heat from several turns of cracked white pepper the salad was done and delicious. There was no cooking, just mixing and a little bit of chopping. Here's the recipe:

Chickpea and Olive Salad

1 15 ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup pimento stuffed olives, finely chopped
juice of half a lemon
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
extra virgin olive oil (about 3-4 tsp)

1. In a bowl, combine Dijon mustard, lemon juice, cumin and paprika. Slowly stream in the olive oil while whisking until vinaigrette is formed.

2. Add chickpeas and olives to vinaigrette and toss to coat. Enjoy!

-Laura

Roque 'n Roll

There are some foods that as a child I convinced myself I did not like. Although they were few and far between, they were varied. They also all at some point became some of my favorite foods and ingredients--lentils, fried eggs, and avocado among them. Avocado was something I particularly hated, even though I never really gave it a chance. Not surprisingly, I eventually convinced myself that I hated guacamole. I don't know why I had these strong feelings, but fortunately they reversed completely. My winters are now filled with lentil soup, and my summers with bacon, lettuce and avocado sandwiches.

My mother also held a similar disdain for the avocado, but like me, has grown to love it. So it is that I found myself with several leftover avocados (we made salsa fresca and guac) after her departure. Not wanting them to go to waste, I continued my search for recipes that would make good use of the avocados and the rest of my holiday leftovers. It was just my luck that this weekend Nigella Lawson made what she called "Roqueamole" on her new show, Nigella Express. It's a creamy dip that combines avocados with Roquefort--a perfect use for several ingredients in my fridge. The recipe seemed simple enough, so I tried it out as a light and easy dinner on a busy night of running errands after work.

Sadly, I was not thrilled with her recipe. It was a bit simplistic, lacking in flavor, and the measurements were a bit off for my taste. I've often made dishes from her cookbooks and her television programs with great success. The recipes from this new show, however, I am finding fall a bit flat. As I understand it, these recipes are meant to be easy and quick, but flavorful. Unfortunately, they fall short in the flavor department and are lacking the complexity to make them truly tasty. I'd go deeper into my thoughts on how quick-cooking shows are the death of real cooking, but I left my soapbox at the office, so you've been spared.

Instead I'll tell you what I did to remedy the bland situation before me. The first thing was to change the ratio of blue cheese to avocado. How could you possibly mask the buttery sweetness of avocado with so much Roquefort and spring onions? The flavors were too overwhelming, losing what I think is a key flavor and texture. As a result, I added more avocado and eliminated the spring onions altogether. Something was still missing, so I added cilantro and lime juice, but wasn't quite happy yet. After digging through everything in my kitchen, I came upon a container of spicy olives that I though would pair well with the Roquefort element of the dip, without overshadowing the avocado. I'd finally achieved the well rounded flavor I'd been going for. Here's how to make it my way (And it doesn't have much in common with guacamole, so I won't be calling it Roqueamole):

Roquefort, Avocado and Olive Dip

2 avocados, inside scooped out and roughly chopped
1/4 cup Roquefort, crumbled
3 tsp cilantro, minced
1 lime
2 jalapeños, finely diced (I removed ribs and seeds from one)
1/2 cup green olives, finely diced (spicy olives if you have them)
1/8 tsp paprika (optional)
salt
pepper

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, except for the lime and paprika. Mash with a fork.

2. Add the lime juice half at a time--you may not need the whole thing. Taste for salt and season accordingly. Dust with paprika. Enjoy!

-Laura