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

More Than A Sausage

One of the things I love about the greenmarket is that there's much more than just fruits and veggies there. On any given Saturday there can be a number of unexpected natural products on sale, from hides, to soap, and even merino lambs wool. I've bought a lot of meat products at a few of the stands (mostly pork) and I've always made it a point to stop by the seafood stand to see what's freshest catch that day (I often make it too late and miss out on the good stuff). Last weekend I spotted one of the chefs from Craft (Tom Colicchio's restaurant) scooping up huge boxes of heirloom tomatoes and other fresh veggies. By the time I ran into him on my way home, his huge cart chock full of fresh seasonal ingredients put my overflowing canvas bag to shame. But then again, I'm just feeding myself for a week.

One stand that I'm guessing the chef did not visit is the one that sells merino wool. Although it's enveloped in yarn and sheepskin rugs, occasionally there's a sign that hangs over the stand announcing the arrival of sausage. I usually buy from the same purveyor, but the lovely ladies with the merino wool won me over. I was disappointed to find that my normal supplier was out of merguez sausage (again!), so I sauntered over to the merino wool ladies and found that they had an entire fridge of the stuff. I'd had a craving for it for months and was having trouble finding some, so I quickly snatched up a few rolls. Merguez is a North African sausage (particularly popular in Morocco) that's just teaming with spices, both hot and fragrant. From paprika to cayenne and cinnamon, there's a whole lot of flavor in one merguez sausage, and each one is different. It doesn't always have to be super spicy, but it often contains harissa, so there is definitely the possibility of lots of spice. I personally like the sweet and spicy factor that's rare in most sausages that aren't served for breakfast.

I served my merguez over couscous after grilling and quickly braising it. I added some chickpeas and sun-dried tomatoes to the braising liquid, which worked out really well. The sun-dried tomatoes plumped up in the warm broth and the chickpeas added great flavor and texture to the couscous. There was a little extra braising liquid which kept the whole dish nice and moist. This would be an amazing quick dinner for a busy night, since it really only took 15-20 minutes to make from start to finish. You could definitely put more veggies into the braising liquid, including frozen ones (carrots, peas, and even asparagus would be delicious). I also put in some olives (mostly as a garnish) for a nice briny contrast to the sweetness and heat of the sausage. Here's what I did to make mine:

Quick Braised Merguez with Couscous and Chickpeas

8 merguez sausage links
1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth, divided
1 cup couscous (I used vegetable flavored)
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
vegetable oil
salt
pepper

1. Cook sausage in a skillet on medium-high heat until browned on both sides. Lower heat to medium and add 1 cup broth, sun-dried tomatoes and chickpeas. Cook covered until sausages are cooked through, about 7 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, bring remaining 1 cup of broth, butter and olive oil to a boil. Add couscous, season with salt, and cook until couscous is ready, about 5-7 minutes or according to your package directions.

3. Plate couscous and top with sausage, chickpea and sun-dried tomato mixture. Garnish with roughly chopped olives. Enjoy!

-Laura

Chicken Out

It occurred to me recently that I've stopped cooking with many of the proteins that I used to use on an almost daily basis. Chicken breast, for example, has long been a staple in my fridge and in my freezer. I really like buying entire boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cutting them into cutlets myself. Here in Manhattan, a small tray of thinly sliced chicken breasts can cost upwards of $9.00 and barely has enough food for two people. For about $6.00, you can usually get a large tray with 2 full skinless and boneless chicken breasts that can work out to over 10 portions of chicken. Sure, this wallet friendly option means you have to slice the chicken yourself, but lets face it, compared to the already sliced option, it's like you're getting an extra 80 bucks worth of chicken with only 15 or 20 minutes of extra effort. Not to mention, if you're as big a nerd as I am, you can divide the chicken into single or double portion ziploc bags (with labels) and freeze them for future use.

I like to always have this cut of chicken on hand because it's quick cooking, healthy, and extremely versatile. One would think that I'd be a big fan of fattier cuts with skin, but no cook is a bigger champion for convenience than I am, and no cut is more convenient than this one. From salads to grilled dishes and stir-fry, chicken breast is great for big meals or last minute dinners. One of my favorite things to do is to turn thinly sliced chicken breast into a kind of chicken roll by stuffing it with all kinds of things--cheese, spices, breadcrumbs, you name it. These are great for kids too, especially if you make them bite sized like a chickeny pig in a blanket and serve them with dipping sauce. It's a great way to get your little ones to eat their veggies since the fillings are limitless. I went with ricotta cheese, sun dried tomatoes, chive and a little Parmesan cheese. It mixes up quickly and cooks up just as fast. Here's what I used to make it, but feel free to mix in your favorite ingredients (and maybe sneak in a few vegetables!):


Stuffed Chicken Breast with Couscous

4 thin sliced chicken cutlets
4 heaping tsp ricotta cheese
3 tsp finely chopped chive
2 tsp finely chopped sun-dried tomato
1 tsp red pepper flake
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp lemon zest
salt
pepper
juice of half a lemon
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter

1. Combine ricotta, chive, sun-dried tomato, red pepper flake, Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, salt and pepper in a bowl.

2. Spoon 1/4 of the mixture onto the center of each cutlet and fold ends over to enclose the stuffing and create a roll.

3. Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken rolls to skillet, flat side down (not the side where the chicken overlaps) and cook until browned. Flip and cook on the other side until browned.

4. Add lemon juice to skillet and and cover with a lid. Cook on high heat another minute or until chicken is cooked through. Serve over couscous (recipe follows). Enjoy!

**I served this over 1 cup tricolor couscous cooked in 1 cup chicken broth, 2 tsp olive oil and 1/4 tsp each coriander, cumin and parsley.

-Laura

Spring Is In The Air

I recently realized that when it comes to culinary fears, people are scared of more than just ingredients and sad looking veggies. Sometimes it's an entire dish or even the action in the kitchen that scares them away. I, for example, happen to face anything even remotely resembling the act of baking with a great deal of fear and trepidation. The mere sight of a pressure cooker can also lead me into a tearful, hive filled frenzy. Other people fear grilling, undercooked food or choking on a fish bone. It's recently come to my attention that many people fear risotto, even though I have it on very good authority (my own) that it's incredibly easy to make and unlikely to kill you by choking. I'm still not quite sure how risotto developed it's reputation for being difficult, but just like J.Lo and Mariah Carey before it, somewhere along the way risotto came to be known as a high maintenance dish.

While it's still unclear if the aforementioned divas actually require that much attention, risotto most certainly does not. As I've blogged about before, making risotto is not the time consuming, labor intensive treat that restaurants would have us believe. In fact, I like to think of making risotto as kind of like babysitting--you don't have to smother the kid with attention and watch his every move, but from time to time you check in on him and see what he's doing, just to make sure he's doing okay. You're basically just adding chicken stock to a pan of rice every few minutes or so until the rice is cooked through. Old wives tales about lording over the stove and stirring the rice are complete rubbish. After all, do you really think there's a chef in a kitchen at some fancy Italian restaurant standing in front of a skillet for 20 minutes, stirring without stopping? No, of course not. In fact. I recently caught an episode of The Best Recipes In The World with Mark Bittman, where chef Mario Batali said all of this, and let's face it--I'm not arguing with him about Italian technique.

So, faced with a fridge full of springtime goodness, I figured nothing would be more delicious to make than a spring vegetable risotto (risotto primavera, as I call it). I used some delicious and absolutely enormous leeks from the greenmarket instead of onions, lovely fresh asparagus, and some nice sweet French beans. For some color and a bit of tartness I threw in some sun-dried tomatoes. I topped the whole thing off with Parmesan cheese once I took the dish off the flame, and it was wonderful. The dish tasted straight out of the greenmarket, and the rice really absorbed all of the great, fresh vegetable flavors. I can't say enough great things about risotto making and how easy it is, but the best advice I can pass on is what I heard Mario Batali say the other day when asked how to make your homemade risotto taste more like the kind you get in a restaurant: "More butter, more oil."

Risotto Primavera

1 cup arborio rice
1 cup asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup French beans or green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup leeks, chopped and well rinsed
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
4 cups chicken stock or non tomato based vegetable stock
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
salt
pepper

1. Heat oil in a large skillet. Sauté leeks on medium heat until just starting to brown, then add rice and cook another 2 minutes until rice turns opaque.

2. Add all of the vegetables and sauté another 2 minutes. Add 2 ladles full of stock to skillet and cook until almost all liquid is evaporated. Repeat until rice is cooked through.

3. Remove dish from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese. Plate and serve. Enjoy!

**This would also be great with fresh spring peas!!

-Laura