Mon Petit Chou, Part Deux

I'm not sure about where you live, but the weather here in NYC has slowly been getting milder, and with it my impatience for spring and it's culinary bounty have hit an all-time high. My last visit to the farmers market for fresh produce was met with little more than the remnants of winter roots, and I left with a bag full of cabbage and the hope that my new herb plants could tide me over until conditions improved. So this week, as the temperature rose to a lovely spring-like 60 degrees, I found myself wishing for something more than the ugly reminders of winter sitting in my fridge. But since that's what I had and I didn't want it to go to waste, I figured I'd just have to find a way to work with what was hopefully the last of my winter supply. Inspired by the recent festivities of St. Patrick's Day, I figured I could take my leftover tiny head of cabbage and make a modern (and significantly tastier) cabbage soup. And since I don't believe in simply boiling bacon (how could they mess that one up?), I decided to make mine chock full of meaty goodness.

This is a really great way to use up an entire head of cabbage without feeling as if you're going to OD on the stuff. I don't really know anyone that looks forward to a big, fat plate of cabbage, so a soup is a natural vehicle for making it more palatable. The first time I had cabbage soup was during a cold and rainy trip through Ireland. I was a college student at the time and was told that the best way to see Ireland in a weekend was to take a bus tour. And so, I spent two and a half days on a bus that improbably wound it's way through dirt roads and up the many rolling green hills of Ireland, spilling gas and exhaust all over the ruins and ancient abbeys where we paused. There was almost no food and lots of Irish whiskey, until our last day when the tour guide/bus driver/purveyor of whiskey insisted we eat a proper Irish dinner at a proper Irish pub. The options seemed bleak (has no one in Ireland heard of frying?), but ever the intrepid foodie, I went full force, ordering the cabbage and boiled bacon soup. Needless to say, it was bland and managed to make bacon look and taste worst than the sole of my shoe. I was put-off from any soup containing cabbage for years, but have recently redeemed the poor vegetable as one that needs a little more TLC to reach it's full potential.

And so I began by browning the sausage (chicken-apple) then removing it and sauteing the cabbage in the sausage oil and brown bits until it was slightly wilted. Then I added thinly sliced garlic, rosemary, and a hint of salt and pepper. Once it was reduced in volume (by half) and half cooked, I added some tomato paste, parsley and a hint of paprika. Then I added the beans and chicken broth, bringing the whole thing to a boil until the cabbage softened a bit more, but still had a tiny bit of bite (no mushy cabbage here!). The sausage went back into the pot and the whole dish was ready to be served. I made this as a quick after work dinner (all done in 30 minutes), with canned beans, but you could certainly use fresh beans for that slow cooked taste and thick, starchy consistency. It's really well rounded with the tiniest hint of spice, and could be even more filling and hearty for colder days with the addition of a few potatoes. Here's my recipe, I hope it helps tide you over until Spring is officially here!

Cabbage Soup With Sausage, Chorizo And White Beans

1 small head of cabbage, cored and thinly sliced

1 15 oz can of white beans (cannellini beans or great northern), rinsed and drained

4 cups of chicken broth

2 mild flavored sausages (I used chicken-apple), sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 dry chorizo, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

2 Tbsp fresh parsley

1/2 Tbsp tomato paste

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/2 tsp fresh rosemary

extra virgin olive oil

salt

pepper

1. In a soup pot, brown sausage (not chorizo) in olive oil until dark and crispy on the outside. Remove to a plate and set aside. Add cabbage to the pot and saute until slightly wilted and reduced in volume by half. Add garlic and rosemary and saute until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.

2. Stir in tomato paste and paprika and  cook until dissolved, about 30 seconds. Add beans, chorizo and broth and bring to a boil. Cook until cabbage is done (not mushy, with a little bite), and add the sausage before serving. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

-Laura

Get Your Green On, Part II

I cannot get enough of greens. It may have something to do with the lack of heat in my apartment as the temperature dips below 45 degrees at night, or perhaps because I've been battling a second round of sore throat, but I've been crazily craving greens. Two weeks ago I made a delicious and super fragrant dish of kale with fall spices. Last week, as I shivered beneath my wool blanket I began to think about another great way to make greens. We've all heard of collards slow cooked with smoked ham hocks, so I figured (possibly in a frost bitten state of hallucination), why not try replicating these flavors in a faster, simpler, easier dish, with a quick cooking green?

While spinach would have been super fast and very healthy, I still had an entire bunch of beautiful red kale sitting in my fridge. It takes slightly longer to cook than other greens --probably because it's actually a wild type of cabbage and not actually a "green"--but it's very good for you, which is why it's a common ingredient in vegan cooking. It's hyper-rich in Vitamins A and C, and is being extensively researched as a possible cancer preventer. All of these amazing health benefits aside, it's actually super tasty and has a nice crunch and bite that other greens don't. So instead of taking the sweet-meets-savory route that I did last time, I figured I'd make that nice, hearty collards and hammocks inspired dish with some fresh chorizo and smoky bacon. And since it'd been a while since I added a little Spanish twist to something, I decided to saute the whole dish in some paprika and garlic infused olive oil.

I started out by cooking up the bacon in a nonstick skillet, then removing it to a plate and cooking up the chorizo in the bacon drippings and then removing that to a plate with the bacon. Then I created a simple refrito, which is just garlic cooked in olive oil until just before it starts to brown, with a tablespoon of paprika added to the oil after it cools down off of the heat. Then I started sautéing the kale in batches on medium-low heat (paprika can burn easily, so don't be tempted to turn it up much higher). Once it all cooked down so the whole bunch fit in the pan, I added some wine, malt vinegar and water (apple cider or juice would be delicious too!). After covering it and lowering the heat so it could slowly wilt and cook down, it was ready to be served. I added the meats back in, tossed it all together then served it up. There was hardly any effort involved at all, and I had a big heaping plate of healthy greens by the end of it (despite the chorizo and bacon). It was so hearty, I didn't even end up grilling the steak I meant to eat with it, I just ate the whole plate of greens. Here's the final recipe:

Spanish Style Red Kale with Chorizo and Bacon

1 bunch red kale (green would do as well, but takes less time to cook)
1 fresh chorizo sausage, casing removed
4 strips of bacon, roughly chopped
Extra virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
1/4 cup white wine
2 Tbsp malt vinegar (cider vinegar would also work)
1/3 cup water
salt
pepper

1. Cook bacon in a large non-stick skillet until crispy and remove to a plate. Add chorizo to skillet, breaking it up with a wooden spoon and cook until done. Remove to plate with bacon.

2. Add olive oil to pan if there are not enough drippings (I needed about 2 tablespoons) in the pan, along with the garlic. Cook on medium-low heat until just starting to brown, then remove from heat. When the oil has stopped sizzling, add paprika to oil and stir to combine (this is called a refrito).

3. Return pan to heat and add kale in batches until it all fits in the skillet. Add white wine and vinegar and cook covered until kale is wilted and cooked through (about 10-15 minutes). Add bacon and chorizo, pepper, and taste for salt (mine only needed a pinch). Serve and enjoy!

-Laura

The Man of La Mancha

It's funny how sometimes you think of something and all of a sudden it seems to be everywhere. Magazines will devote entire stories to something you casually mentioned over lunch. The next thing you know, ads for it are all over the city and suddenly it's on TV, too. This is exactly what happened to me recently with a traditional Spanish dish that I'd all but forgotten about until a few weeks ago. There I was, flipping through the Dining section of The New York Times and finding nothing particularly interesting, when a cursory glance at the Health and Nutrition section led to a culinary epiphany. A few days later the same dish appeared on the excellent cooking show Made In Spain with Jose Andres during his episode on the region of Castilla La Mancha. Thinking it was mere coincidence, I noted both mentions of the dish and continued with my normal cooking regimen.

It wasn't until earlier this week when the dish in question made its third appearance in my life, that I was forced to sit up and take notice. It appeared on the second episode of Spain...On the Road Again with Mario Batali and Mark Bittman. Not surprisingly, it also made its way into the program during their culinary exploration of Castilla La Mancha. This all makes sense since the dish currently haunting my life is called Pisto Manchego, and originated in this central region of Spain for which it is named. It's a delicious and often times vegetarian dish not unlike a ratatouille, which had a resurgence in popularity recently thanks to the movie of the same name. So it's no surprise that all of a sudden people are reminded of dishes that are similar and have finally taken notice (myself included). There are a few variations on the dish, ranging from adding eggplant and sweet bell peppers, to my favorite, cured meats and sausage.

No longer able to ignore the signs I finally broke down and made a pisto for dinner. Although it is like a ratatouille in its most basic form, what separates it from the classic French version is it's wonderful topper: fried eggs. The pan is served tableside and often the dish is consumed straight from the pan as well. Each person can decide what to do with their egg, plunge into it, pulling the luscious golden yoke through a red sea of sauce and vegetables, or eat it on its own as treat. I prefer the former since the natural sweetness and texture of the yoke are a perfect foil for the slightly tart tomato sauce.

I take some liberties in making this dish that are not traditional, like grating the onion instead of chopping it. I don't like the texture of mushy chewable onion in a dish like this, so instead I grate it and let it dissolve into the sauce where it permeates it with flavor. I also like making a year-round version with canned whole or crushed tomatoes when fresh ones are not in season. I also stick to the slightly sweeter tomato sauce that we always ate in my house growing up, which counteracts the tartness (and often times tinny flavor) of canned tomatoes. I came really close to keeping this dish veggie but couldn't help myself when I actually found affordable, fresh chorizo sausage at the meat market. I browned it in the pan where I'd cook the rest of the meal and then set it aside until right before I added the egg. The eggs themselves are cooked right in the pan with everything, quickly poaching atop the pisto. Here's my final recipe:

Pisto Manchego

4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, grated
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 pounds zucchini or green and yellow summer squash, cut into matchsticks or diced
1 (28-ounce) can tomatoes, drained (liquid reserved) and chopped
2 tsp sugar
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
3-4 eggs (depends on the capacity of your pan)
1 large or 2 small fresh chorizo sausages

1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a non-stick skillet (at least 10 inches wide). Pull chorizo out of its casing and add to the pan, breaking it up with a wooden spoon or spatula. Cook until browned and remove to a plate and set aside.

2. Add remaining oil to skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until both are fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add zucchini or squash and salt generously. Cook, stirring often until softened slightly, 5-7 minutes.

3. Add tomatoes, sugar and freshly ground pepper. Cook uncovered on medium-low heat, stirring often, until zucchini is cooked, occasionally using a fork to mash it. Taste one last time for salt.

4. When zucchini is cooked through, stir in the chorizo, then crack eggs over mixture, sprinkling each with a pinch of salt. Cover and cook over medium-high heat until egg white is firm and the yolk is still runny. Serve with crusty bread for dipping. Enjoy!

-Laura

Last Days of Summer

As these last dog days of summer slip through our fingers I find myself grasping at whatever delicious pieces of summer remain. In the last few weeks I've torn through the remnants of summer fruit and vegetables at the farmer's market and chased down the last few decent heirloom tomatoes. Although I'm looking forward to the bounty of fall produce, the change of pace and lovely sumptuous soups, it seems that I can't come to terms with a summer lost. I had no seaside vacation, no mixed grill or broiled lobster tail. The hurricane season this year stomped on all my hopes and dreams for stone crabs, forced me to cancel my vacation, and has left me with another year of embarrassingly pale skin. But the one thing it can't do is keep me from recreating my favorite summer and seaside dishes at home.

Not willing to let something minor like a class 4 hurricane hold me down, I decided to take the days off I'd set aside for my Miami vacation and put them to good use. In addition to doing the truckload of laundry taking up half of my bedroom, it was time to do some proper food shopping and spend the rest of the week making up for the summer food I missed out on. A quick trip to the fishmonger made it clear that there there would be crab cakes in my future, in addition to some sort of clam dish. I really love linguine with clams, so figured I could make my Spanish version of it. The base recipe is your typical linguine with clams sauce stuff, but I like to add a few of the ingredients that are more common in Spain and even Portugal.

The dish was great, chock full of smoky flavor from not only the bacon I added, but also the chorizo, which gave the sauce a lovely amber color and infused the whole dish with paprika. A tiny dash of saffron gave it a luxurious appeal and hinted at the flavors of a paella or seafood stew. It took less than 20 minutes to make, and the hardest thing I did was bring a large pot of water to a boil. I'll still need to make a few more summer inspired dishes to be fully satisfied, but this was a great start. Here's my recipe:


Pasta with Chorizo in Saffron Clam Sauce

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 slices bacon, cut into thin strips
1/4 cup chopped chorizo (cured, not fresh)
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 lb Mahogany clams or New Zealand cockles, scrubbed
1 cup bottled clam juice
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
5 strings saffron or 1/8 tsp powdered saffron
14 oz dried thin spaghetti or linguine
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
extra virgin olive oil

1. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add bacon and sauté until browned, then add garlic and chorizo, sauté, stirring until golden, about 30 seconds.

2. Stir in clams, clam juice, wine, and saffron. Bring to a boil and cook covered, until clams open, about 4 to 5 minutes (discard any clams that do not open after 6 minutes).

3.While clams cook, cook pasta according to package directions. Remove pasta from water with tongs and add to skillet with clam mixture. Toss pasta with parsley and a slosh of olive oil. Enjoy!

-Laura

Taking on The Minimalist

This weekend I had big plans to clean my apartment. I'd crank up the music, bust out my do-rag, and make sure everything shone like the top of the Chrysler building. This was of course the third weekend in a row that I'd tell myself that cute little story with no actual success whatsoever. Rain or shine, somehow the weekend came and went and my zeal to clean went right out my dirty windows. Since I was already wasting away on the sofa, I figured the least I could do was go through my recipe folder and convince myself that I'd cleaned something. And it's a good thing I did, because I came across recipes so old they were actually out of style--and I didn't even know that could happen.

The fortunate byproduct of all this was that I was able to rediscover some great recipes that were tucked away between an ancient recipe for chicken satay and Martha Stewart's ultimate birthday cakes (which is interesting since I don't bake). Among the excellent recipes that made the cut was an October 2007 recipe from Mark Bittman, The New York Times' Minimalist. Although rarely agree 100% with his paired down approach (particularly where Spanish food is concerned), I do often clip out his recipes and give them a go. This week I came across a pasta dish with chorizo, chick peas and bread crumbs, all wonderful ingredients. I was intrigued by the prospect of adding texture to pasta with breadcrumbs, in addition to the idea of chickpeas in pasta. I use both of those ingredients constantly, and never once considered using them in this way.

The final dish was good, but I thought it lacked a little something in the way of flavor. Maybe a little acid in the form of lemon juice or wine to cut through the flavors and elevate the dish, or even a bit of zest. It had nothing in the way of herbs and spices until the finishing of parsley, so maybe some fresh herbs could brighten up the flavor. It was definitely tasty, and I would use the garlic/breadcrumb technique again for sure, but I would have to figure out what that missing element was so I could be convinced to make it again. It certainly has potential, but I'd like to find a way to keep it from falling so flat. Here's the recipe, maybe someone else out there can figure out exactly what it's missing (and let me know!).


Pasta with Chickpeas, Chorizo and Breadcrumbs

Salt and black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil, as needed
1/4 pound cooked Spanish chorizo or kielbasa, chopped (I used a bit of both)
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs
4 cups cooked chickpeas, with their liquid
1/2 pound pasta
Chopped parsley leaves, for garnish.

1. Set a large pot of water to boil and salt it. Put 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and add chorizo; heat, stirring occasionally, until chorizo is lightly browned, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and then the garlic; cook until it colors lightly, then add bread crumbs. Toast, shaking skillet frequently, until bread crumbs turn golden brown, about 10 minutes; if necessary, add a little more olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and remove to a bowl.

2. Add 2 more tablespoons olive oil to skillet and, over medium heat, chickpeas and about 1 cup of their liquid. Cook pasta until it is nearly but not quite tender; drain, then add it to chickpeas. Cook, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender; stir in chorizo, heat through, and taste and adjust seasoning.

3. Serve chickpea-pasta mixture in bowls, garnished with crisp bread crumbs and a sprinkling of parsley. Enjoy!

-Laura

One Potato, Two Potato...

Moving has provided me with a great deal of culinary inspiration. Perhaps it's because I'm practically destitute after all of the expenses incurred, or because I'm not quite familiar with the food shops in Hell's Kitchen, but either way, I've really been doing my best to make the most of what's in my kitchen before going food shopping. Perhaps my love of puzzles has played a part in helping me do so, but I've really been trying to think outside of my cooking comfort zone and make dishes that are unfamiliar to me. In addition to all that, I was able to flip through (and clean out) my recipe folder. You know that folder where you store all those magazine and newspaper recipes that torn out at the doctor's office or on the train? Well, mine runneth over, so in the interest of streamlining before the big move, I finally tried to clean it out. I of course (inevitably) just ended up rediscovering old recipes and book marking them once again, without really throwing much away.

One of the recipes that I came across (again) was a potato and anchovy salad that appeared in the New York Times dining section a few years ago. It caught my eye because as much as I love mayonnaise (and I really do), it's sometimes nice to have a lighter version of potato salad that won't spoil easily, especially in the summer. Also, I happen to love the highly undervalued and misunderstood anchovy and always have some on hand in my pantry. Since I already had all of the ingredients, I decided that this would make for a great light and fast dinner, and the leftovers would make for a nice lunch later in the week. Since this was going to be my main meal and not a side dish as the recipe was clearly intended to be, I changed a few of the measurements and ingredients to suit my needs (as always).

First, I doubled the amount of hard boiled eggs to 2 for added protein, and then added a bit more vinegar to make up for the added thickness of an extra egg yolk. The original recipe also called for 3 Tbsp of vegetable oil, which seems silly (and artery clogging) since this is essentially a dressing, so I replaced it with extra virgin olive oil. The recipe also seemed to be lacking color and a bit of spice, so I added a few chunks of chorizo, and a bit of paprika. I also wanted to add some kind of nutty flavor but didn't really want the texture of a nut, so I added a tiny drizzle of sesame oil. I finished the whole thing off with with a few grinds of black pepper and topped the dish with fresh scallions. It turned out great and made a lot of potato salad. The dressing was creamy but not overly rich or claggy, and the potatoes were firm and played nicely with the crunch of the scallions and the pillowy soft egg whites. Here's my version of that rediscovered recipe, which by the way, cooks up pretty quickly:

Potato Salad with Anchovy and Chorizo

4 red waxy potatoes, cut into eighths, (peeled or unpeeled, depending on your preference)
2 hard boiled eggs, peeled
1 1/2 Tbsp vinegar (white, red, or champagne vinegar will do)
3 Tbsp sour cream
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 can (2 ounces) anchovy fillets in olive oil, drained
2 scallions, finely chopped
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 cup chorizo, chopped
salt
pepper

1. Cook potatoes in a large pot of salted, boiling water until tender, about 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, whisk vinegar and yolk from hard boiled eggs until smooth, followed by the sour cream and olive oil.

3. Finely chop egg whites and anchovies and add them to the egg yolk mixture along with chorizo, sesame oil, paprika and half of the scallions.

4. When the potatoes are cooked, add them to the egg yolk mixture. Season with black pepper and salt if necessary and fold everything together. Top with the remaining scallions and serve. Enjoy!

***I like serving this warm, but you can definitely refrigerate it for a cold potato salad.

-Laura

Girly Arms

Remember when you were a kid, and your mother, your teacher, or some other caring adult told you that lie about sticks and stones, and words never hurting you? Well, it has been my experience that words may not break your bones, but they sure do manage to pulverize your ego from time to time. This all came to mind last night as my quest to use up the contents of my fridge and freezer came to an interesting crossroads. You see, when I got home from work and opened the fridge, I came face to face with a sack of potatoes and several eggs. With my background, the obvious meal to make from these ingredients for me would be a tortilla española (kind of like a potato frittata, only it doesn't go in the oven). The problem with this dish is that it requires more than just the slightest ability to cook--it also requires muscle.

A tortilla española is traditionally fairly large, somewhere between 10 and 12 inches in diameter. It's cooked on one side in a large pan, then must be flipped out onto a large plate (without spilling hot oil over yourself) and then flipped back into the pan on the uncooked side. Growing up, my mother--who on a good day is just about 5 feet tall--would always summon my father to do the tortilla flipping. If it's done incorrectly, a spoiled dinner is the least of your problems--you've also got egg on your face and an arm covered in hot grease.


This all proved to be a problem as I considered making a tortilla last night for dinner. All of a sudden I was remembering my junior year of college and how two of my ridiculously in shape roommates used to make fun of my arms. After four days of being called girly arms, and three days of wearing long sleeves in June, I finally agreed to go to the gym with them. It only took two days of painful and intense weightlifting for me to feign a cold (in June) and give up on our group exercise. Although I'm no longer self-conscious about my arms, I do acknowledge that they continue to be the weakest part of my body. After some thought, I decided that I needed to be a big girl and take the bull by the horns. After all, if my grandmother and other tiny women all over Spain can flip a tortilla, then so can I.

So, with my mind made up, I made a traditional tortilla but decided to use up one more ingredient in my fridge and added in some chorizo. When the time came to flip, I suited up with an oven mitt in one hand and a kitchen towel in the other. It turns out that I had nothing to worry about--the flip came off without a hitch, and the tortilla was perfect. So if any of you girly arms out there want to give it a try, just be careful, and here's how to go about it:

Tortilla Española (with chorizo)

3 large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
4 eggs, beaten and seasoned with salt
1/2 cup chorizo, chopped
2 cups vegetable oil
salt

1. Heat oil on medium high heat. Meanwhile, season potatoes with salt and add them to the hot oil.

2. Cook potatoes, flipping them occasionally until soft and just cooked through, then remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate to cool for a few minutes. Drain the pan of all oil but 2 teaspoons and return it to the heat.

3. Add the potatoes and chorizo to the egg and carefully stir to combine. Pour the egg mixture back into the hot pan, shaking it occasionally to make sure the tortilla does not stick.

4. When the tortilla stays together and moves easily in the pan, check to make sure there is no excess oil bubbling up around the edges. Then flip it out onto a large plate or lid, and return it to the pan, uncooked side down. Cook until the bottom side is done and the tortilla easily slides out of the pan (shouldn't be more than 3 minutes). Enjoy!

-Laura

Why So Blue?

Well, it was bound to happen. My mom has left, and now my apartment, which only two days ago felt stifling and repressive, feels surprisingly lonely and empty. Fortunately, I have a refrigerator full of random ingredients and leftovers to keep me company. Few challenges get me out of a rut like pulling together a meal from scraps. I love puzzles, and even though cooking can be a puzzle unto itself, nothing is better than taking random pieces and putting them together to see if they fit. The likelihood for disaster is high, but it's almost always certain that you learn something along the way. Even if it ends up in the garbage.

So as I stretched out on my once crowded sofa, I got to thinking about what, if anything, I could do with the odd assortment of goodies left in my fridge. There were vegetable remnants from various soups and stews, a few meaty, plump beef shanks, several cheese and deli meats, a smattering of fresh spices, and two heaping bowls of salsa. Although nothing in particular was calling out to me, I decided to try making something somewhat out of my comfort zone. Half a head of cabbage was holding up surprisingly well in my crisper, so I figured I'd give it a go and see how many other scrappy bits I could make work. I thought about adding a few other veggies and possibly braising the cabbage in stock, but I've never been one to make a vegetable heavy dish. So instead, I decided to pack in the pork. That's right, loads of salty, crispy bacon and spicy, juicy morsels of chorizo. But I wanted more for this dish than just the usual porcine suspects--something completely different that would give it depth of flavor was clearly in order.

What could I possibly have waiting in the wings that could stand up to the already bold (and completely perfect) favors of bacon and chorizo? Cheese, that's what. I had Parmesan, which would get completely lost amid the flavors in the dish, and a fairly strong Gouda that didn't really excite me at all. But then I spotted it, way in the back of the fridge, tightly wrapped in foil--a nice chunk of Roquefort. Would blue cheese work? Would I be ruining my dinner and wasting a pricey piece of cheese on a culinary pipe dream? Would the pungent smells of cabbage and blue cheese frighten the neighbors? So like any modern gal, I took to the internet and found that there are already recipes out there for cabbage in blue cheese sauce and cabbage stuffed with blue cheese, so I figured melting a few rich chunks of Roquefort couldn't hurt.


It actually turned out to be quite the delicious dish! I must admit that I may have gone a bit overboard with the meat products, but they tasted great to me. I shredded the cabbage so that every piece of bacon and chorizo was nestled against a long, fragrant tendril of cabbage. The cabbage itself took on a lovely languid texture, nice and soft without being the least bit mushy. I mixed in a bit of the blue cheese and then studded the top of the dish with a few pieces as well. It stood up well to the other flavors without overwhelming them. In the end, I was pleasantly surprised with how successful the dish was--it was definitely hearty enough to eat as a main dish by myself. The recipe will be for the quantity I made, but it multiplies easily, and would definitely be more than enough as a side dish for two people. Here's how to make it for yourself.

Sautéed Cabbage with Bacon, Chorizo and Roquefort

1/2 a head of cabbage, shredded
1 chorizo
2 pieces fatty bacon, sliced
2 large cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp thyme (ground or roughly chopped are fine)
1 tsp parsley
3 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup Roquefort or other blue cheese
salt
pepper (white is best, but black will do)
extra virgin olive oil (optional)

1. Add cabbage to a pot of salted, boiling water. Cook until cabbage is almost done but still has a bit of a bite. Drain and set aside.

2. Cook bacon in a large sauté pan until crispy. Remove and set aside.

3. Allow rendered fat to cool, then add garlic and chorizo to pan on medium low heat. Before the garlic starts to brown, add the cabbage and sauté on medium heat. Add the thyme, parsley, and pepper and check for salt. If it looks a bit dry, add the olive oil.

4. Add lemon juice, cook for another minute then stir through half of the blue cheese.

5. Plate and top with remaining blue cheese. Enjoy!

-Laura

Foiled Again

Although I didn't know it at the time, when I was a kid, my mom did a really great job of making sure my dad and I ate really balanced meals. Not only was each meal itself balanced with a protein, veggie and carb, but each week was balanced with a rotating variety of proteins, so each dinner felt like a new and welcomed surprise. This is quite a feat for anyone, let alone a working mother with an hour and a half commute in D.C. traffic. Each meal was impressive and delicious, and probably healthier than what most people were eating at home in the 80's and 90's. In 17 years of living at home I can count on one hand the times that we ordered dinner in, and even then it was probably because my mom was out of town.

So, on those nights when I'm feeling lazy for no reason, I try to remind myself of the effort my mother put into every meal, even though for her, every day was an exhausting one. And so, once I'd shamed myself into cooking a full meal, I decided I'd finally make that oven steamed fish recipe that had slowly been coming together in my head over the last few days. It recently occurred to me that my balanced meal ethics have flown the coup in the weeks since Thanksgiving, so I figured I'd try and make up for it by adding some fish and seafood to my very meat heavy diet.

I wasn't quite sure when I started the meal what I would end up eating other than the fish. I knew I'd be cooking tilapia in an aluminum foil package in the oven, most likely over some kind of vegetable, but what kind? I decided that since I'd be having a side salad with plenty of veggies, I'd serve (and cook) the tilapia over browned potatoes with chorizo, a few small pieces of bacon and green peas (mostly for color and a little added sweetness). This mixture was so tasty that I almost forgot all about the tilapia, even though I'd intended for it to be the star of the dish. I created a fragrant wet rub of garlic, paprika, cilantro, and a few other herbs and spices and thought that it would elevate the fish above the potatoes, but I forgot the ever important "nothing beats bacon and chorizo" principle.

In the end, the dish did come together quite nicely. Steaming the fish in an airtight aluminum pouch kept it soft and moist without being the least bit greasy. The potatoes also cooked through perfectly in the pouch after an initial browning in a pan. Pouch steaming is great for a last minute quick dinner, and doesn't take long at all, especially for a fish that doesn't need to be cooked all the way through, like salmon (I've made miso or soy salmon in a pouch with veggies in 10 minutes!) and it won't smell up the house like pan cooking fish does. So whether it's this recipe or another, give pouch steaming a try. It's quick, easy, and odor free--and a great way to work that varied protein into your diet. Here's how:

Tilapia with Potato-Chorizo Hash

Tilapia
1 tilapia fillet (boneless, skinless)
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp chopped cilantro
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
2 Tbsp lemon juice
salt
pepper
2 lemon slices
2 lemon slices for garnish (optional)

Hash
1 large Yukon gold potato, diced
1 chorizo sausage, diced
2 strips bacon, sliced into 1/2 inch wide pieces (fatty bacon is best, so everything is cooked in the rendered fat)
1/4 cup frozen green peas
2 lemon wedges

Dipping Sauce
3 heaping tsp sour cream
1 Tbsp milk
1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp ground pepper (white pepper would be best)
1/2 tsp sugar

1. Preheat oven to 450 F degrees.

2. Add bacon to a hot sauté pan and cook until almost completely crispy. Add chorizo and cook until just starting to brown (about a minute). Remove bacon and chorizo from pan and set aside.

3. Add diced potato (salted and peppered to taste) to pan and cook until potatoes are browned but still mostly raw. Set them aside with the bacon and chorizo.

4. Except for the lemon juice, mash all of the tilapia wet rub ingredients together in a mortar and pestle (you could also use a small food processor). Add the lemon juice and mix so it becomes a moist rub.

5. Salt and pepper the tilapia and coat well in the rub. Set aside.

6. Spoon the bacon, chorizo, potato hash onto the center of a large piece of aluminum foil. Sprinkle in frozen peas. Place the tilapia over the hash and top with two lemon slices.

7. Tightly seal the aluminum foil, making sure you leave enough room for steam to circulate. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until fish is cooked through.

8. While the fish cooks, mix together all of the ingredients for the dipping sauce. Enjoy!

**TIP: If you don't like tilapia or would like a more substantial type of fish, try making this recipe with cod, instead.

Mental For Lentils

Have you ever been convinced that you could make something better than someone else? I faced this problem earlier in the week when I convinced myself that even though I've never once had a decent lentil salad, I could make a great one. I mean, I make great lentils, and I make great salad. So, great lentil salad should only be a small leap away, n'est pas? Evidently, I miscalculated the difficulty level of lentil salad. It took a good three rounds of recipe testing for me to come even close to something just north of mediocre.

Okay, let me put this into perspective a bit. Lentils are one of my all time favorite foods, and I eat them almost all year long. Over the summer, I decided that there had to be some cooling way to eat lentils in the hot summer months, so I enthusiastically set out to find a great lentil salad. It soon became clear that there was no great lentil salad out there, so I set forth to make my own. I initially thought that if I kept it simple by adding a few of my favorite veggies and some oil and vinegar I'd be golden. This turned out to be pretty bland and not at all appetizing. Then I thought if I cooked the lentils in a bit of stock, that I'd be adding enough flavor to pep them up. I was wrong.

As always, it took my adding a Spanish twist to really make them pop. I decided to cook the lentils with my favorite veggies in some olive oil with chorizo and a garlic clove. It made sense that this method would work, since both chorizo, garlic, and the paprika in chorizo are flavors in the Spanish style lentil soups and stews that I love. For the dressing I decided to do something a little different from my usual oil and vinegar, and go with a more French style dressing. One of the things that I loved about eating in Paris was that every single bistro, cafe and restaurant had the most amazing dressings and vinaigrettes on their salads. It was always really clean and flavorful, and usually tasted of olive oil, lemon juice and Dijon mustard. So I went with that combination and added in a pinch of cumin for added smokiness. Cumin is also often found in many Mediterranean and middle eastern lentil preparations that I love, so I thought it would match up nicely.

It all worked out pretty well, and the resulting lentil salad was good, but not mind blowing. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since there's probably a reason I haven't heard the words "lentil salad" and "sublime" in the same sentence. I suppose the next time I could try adding something truly sublime like lardo, but I think instead I'll just pair it with something great. I made up such a big helping of the lentil salad that I ate the whole thing myself as an entrée, which I think was a mistake. If I'd paired it with a nice grilled fish, some sautéed shrimp, or even a small steak, I think I would have been thrilled with the results, so I guess I'll just have to make it all over again and report back! Here's how to go about making it if you want to try for yourself:

Warm Lentil Salad With Chorizo

Lentils
16 oz cooked lentils (I used canned but feel free to make them yourself)
1 chorizo sausage, diced
4 stalks asparagus, blanched and chopped
1 large carrot, diced
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, smashed
1 1/2 Tbsp water
salt
pepper

Vinaigrette
Juice of 1 large lemon (or 1 1/2 small lemons)
3/4 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp ground cumin
olive oil
salt
pepper

1. In a medium sized pan, sauté chorizo, garlic and carrot in olive oil until just browned. Add asparagus, salt and pepper and cook another minute.

2. Add lentils and water and cook until water has evaporated and the mixture is warmed through. Add more salt and pepper if necessary, keeping in mind that you'll be adding the dressing later.

3. Move lentils to a clean dish and allow them to cool slightly in the fridge.

4. Meanwhile, whisk lemon juice, Dijon mustard and cumin in a bowl while slowly drizzling in the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. When the lentils have cooled so they're just slightly warm, combine them with the dressing and serve. Enjoy!

-Laura

It Isn't Easy Being Green

It was widely rumored that when Victoria Beckham was asked how she liked living in Spain, she responded by saying that the whole country smelled like garlic and paprika. While I can't say that I agree, I think it's pretty obvious from my recipes that they are two of the most prevalent ingredients in Spanish cooking. That's why it shouldn't be a surprise that they make an appearance twice over in today's recipe.

Since yesterday we had a vegetarian Thanksgiving side dish, I thought today we'd do one Spanish style, with slightly meatier tendencies. The dish includes chorizo, a pork sausage seasoned with both paprika and garlic, making it a wonderful ingredient to pep up any soup or vegetable side dish. Paprika and garlic are also used in seasoning the whole dish, so they're doing double duty today. I used long, pre-washed green beans not only to speed up the recipe, but to make sure that I could use them all up before leaving the house for Thanksgiving.

My mother always made a similar recipe around the holidays, but unfortunately, I wasn't able to buy the serrano ham that goes into her version, since I didn't want to add anything else to my fridge that might spoil over the weekend (it's soooo not in my budget right now anyway). But by all means, add some ham or bacon in with the chorizo, you'll be happy you did. This dish cooks pretty quickly because there are two methods of cooking at play. First, the green beans are sautéed with olive oil, and then they're steamed in a bit of stock. Naturally, since I was without bacon, I used pork stock, but it's perfectly fine to use vegetable or chicken stock as I usually do.

This recipe doesn't just have to be a side dish, it can also be a pasta dish. If you leave the paprika out of the oil, all you have to do is toss in your favorite kind of cooked pasta and you're done! Maybe add in some chickpeas, or mushrooms, or green peas...the add-ins are endless. I've always thought of green beans as the second class citizens of Thanksgiving, but I definitely feel like this recipe would stand out and bring them to the forefront of dinner like they did at my house for so many years. Give them a try and let me know what you think. Here's what you need:

Green Beans with Chorizo

12 oz long green beans (about 3 cups)
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 chorizo sausages, diced
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 cup stock (pork, chicken, or vegetable)
3 Tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper

1. Heat olive oil and garlic in a medium pan. When the garlic just starts to get golden, remove pan from heat and allow oil to cool.

2. Once cooled, add the paprika and return pan to heat. Once the oil starts to bubble, add the chorizo, green beans, salt and pepper. Sauté for 5 minutes, then lower heat to medium and add stock. Cover the pan and allow to steam until liquid is evaporated, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep garlic from sticking.

3. When the green beans are done, check for salt (I've always had to add a little more) and plate. Enjoy!

**This will be the last post until after Thanksgiving. I know, I know, what will you read when you're hiding from your extended family? Well, I guess it'll be something else, but feel free to check out my archives :) Don't fret though, I will be documenting my Thanksgiving dinner, complete with deep fried turkey. Seriously, I plan on eating all of that crunchy skin. Try and stop me! Also, I always make the mashed potatoes, so stay tuned for that recipe, and we'll see if I can't get in on the green beans as well. Happy Thanksgiving!!

-Laura