Monday, October 31, 2005

Chanterelle Mushroom Risotto

butter
olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 cup fresh chanterelles
1 medium yellow onion
1 carrot
2 ribs of celery
1 1/2 cup Arborio rice
2/3 cup white wine
a bunch of veg broth
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
truffle oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Clean and coarsely chop the chanterelles. Mince the garlic. Heat some butter and oil over medium-low heat and lightly fry the garlic, then add the chanterelles and saute until they release liquid and turn tender and slightly colored. Remove them to another pan.

Heat the broth in one pan.

Peel and finely dice the onions, carrot, and celery into a soffritto. Heat more butter and oil in the other pan and fry the soffritto until tender and golden. Add the rice and fry for a minute or two. Put the mushrooms back into the pan. Add the wine and stir until absorbed. Start adding the broth a cup or two at a time and stirring until absorbed.

When the risotto is done, remove it from the heat and stir in the cheese, a spoonful of truffle oil, and the fresh parsley.

Monday, October 24, 2005

Brown Butter Brussels Sprouts

- Boil sprouts for around 10 minutes
- Melt butter in a cast-iron pan
- Add mustard seeds, sesame seeds, almonds, sliced garlic, and turbinado sugar and cook until mustard seeds are popping and seeds/almonds are brown
- Saute sprouts until brown
- Season with salt and pepper

- Eat over rice, with an egg over easy, sesame oil, and soy sauce.

Sunday, October 16, 2005

Upma/Rulaav (from Rahul's mom)

1 cup cream of wheat ("sooji"--coarse, not instant/quick-cooking)
5 tablespoon olive oil or canola oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon urid dal
few curry leaves(optional)
3 green chillies
1/2 cup carrots and peas (optional)
small piece of fresh ginger
salt and sugar to taste.
Method of cooking:
Fry cream of wheat in a pan until light brown (dry-without any oil). Take it out in a plate.
Heat oil,add mustard seeds. Once it splutters,add urid dal until it browns. Add curry leaves,ginger and chillies.
Add 2 cups of water to the seasonings and boil the water. Add salt (1 teaspoon) sugar(2 teaspoon), carrots and peas.If you like,you can also add onions and tomatoes. But you have to add these before you pour water in the seasonings.If you are adding onions, add after you put curry leaves and fry the onions in oil till light brown and then add tomatoes.Boil till the vegetables are cooked. Reduce the heat, and add fried cream of wheat and stir slowly till it dissolves in the water(Don't mash the cream of wheat) If it is lumpy, you can add little more water.
Cook on low heat for five minutes or till the water evaporates.Add cilantro chopped if you like. Bon Appetit!

Monday, October 10, 2005

We had a very awesome dinner on Saturday night with Robert, Sara, and Mike. The feast included:

Red wine

Mead

Toasted pumpkin seeds roasted at 400 degrees with salt, soy sauce, sugar, and olive and sesame oil

Macaroni and cheese gratinee

Green salad with strawberries, almonds, walnuts, pineapple, and blue cheese, with raspberry vinaigrette

Now and Zen UnTurkey

Gravy

Stuffing

Roasted carrots, onions, and asparagus with rosemary and garlic and olive oil

Mini-pumpkin pies made with fresh red pumpkin--sliced and baked at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, pulp scooped out, pureed and drained in cheesecloth

Pumpkin pie creme brulee (pumpkin pie filling steamed in a bain-marie at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, then caramelized with a butane lighter)

Vanilla ice cream

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Garbanzo bean "cacciucco"

200 g garbanzo beans; 400 g beet greens; 200 g peeled tomatoes; 3 cloves of garlic; 1 onion; 3 salted anchovies; 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil; 2 Tbsp. grated Pecorino cheese; 4 slices of homemade Tuscan bread

Despite the name, this dish has nothing to do with fish. "Cacciucco" is a term used to mean a mixture of ingredients.

Wash the garbanzo beans and soak them in lukewarm water with a pinch of baking soda for twelve hours. When it is time to cook the soup, wash the beet greens and cook them for a few minutes in a small amount of boiling salted water. Dice the onions and garlic. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and brown the onion and garlic mixture. Rinse and clean the anchovies and add them to the oil, stirring until they dissolve. Drain the garbanzo beans, rinse them under running water, and place them in the saucepan. Chop the peeled tomatoes. Cover the beans with water, add the tomatoes, the beet greens and their cooking water, pepper, and a little salt. Cover the pan, heat until boiling, and then lower the heat and simmer for about three hours, until the garbanzo beans are tender. Toast the slices of bread and crumble them into pieces in individual soup plates or in a large soup bowl, then pour the "cacciucco" over the toast and serve it piping hot and sprinkled with grated Pecorino.

For this recipe, we recommend using a pressure cooker; if using a pressure cooker, the soup only needs to be cooked for about 45 minutes.
Butterfly pasta with green tomatoes

350g butterfly pasta (farfalle); 800g very green, round salad tomatoes; 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil; 2 Tbsp. grated Pecorino Romano cheese; 2 cloves of garlic; basil; salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Wash the tomatoes and cut them horizontally into slices about 1/2 inch thick.
Arrange the tomato slices in a single layer on an oiled baking sheet.
Peel the garlic cloves and mince them with five or six leaves of basil.
Sprinkle the garlic and basil mixture over the tomato slices, along with salt, pepper, and two spoonfuls of olive oil drizzled over the top.
Place the baking sheet in the oven and let it cook for about an hour, until the tomatoes are tender and slightly caramelized.
Take the baking sheet from the oven and mash the tomatoes into a creamy sauce with a fork.
Cook the pasta, drain it, and pour it onto the baking sheet along with the hot tomatoes.
Mix well, making sure to stir in all the herbs and seasonings, and garnish with grated pecorino and freshly ground black pepper.
Serve warm.

* Make sure to use tomatoes that are green all the way through so they maintain their tangy flavor even after being cooked.
Cacciucco di ceci

200 g di ceci; 400 g di bietola [erbette]; 200 g di pomodori pelati; 3 spicchi d'aglio; 1 cipolla; 3 acciughe sotto sale; 2 cucchiai d'olio extravergine d'oliva; 2 cucchiai di pecorino grattugiato; 4 fette di pane casereccio toscano.

Malgrado il nome, questa preparazione non ha niente a che fare con il pesce. Cacciucco e' un termine usato nel senso di miscuglio di ingrediente. Lavate i ceci e metteteli in ammollo in acqua tiepida con una puntina di bicarbonato per dodici ore. Al momento di preparare la zuppa lavate con cura la bietola e fatela cuocere per pochi minuti in poca acqua bollente salata. Scaldate l'olio in una casseruola piuttosto grande e fateci imbiondire dolcemente un trito preparato con la cipolla e l'aglio. Quando il soffritto e' pronto, sciogliete nell'olio le acciughe precdentemente dissalate e diliscate. Scolate i ceci, sciacquateli sotto l'acqua corrente e versateli nella casseruola, copriteli d'acqua, aggiungete i pomodori spezzettati, le bietole con la loro acqua di cottura, pepe e poco sale. Incopherchiate, fate prendere l'ebollizione, quindi abbassate la fiamma e proseguite la cottura per circa tre ore, finche' i ceci non saranno teneri. Tostate le fette di pane e distribuitele a pezzi nei piatti individuali o in una larga zuppiera, versatici il "cacciucco" e servitelo ben caldo spolverato di pecorino grattugiato. Per questa preparazione e' consigliato l'uso della pentola a pressione e, in questo caso, la cottura si limita a circa tre quarti d'ora.
Farfalle con i pomodori verdi

from La cucina di casa del gambero rosso--500 ricette di Annalisa Barbagli

350g di farfalle; 800g di pomodori verdissimi del tipo rotondo da insalata; 3 cucchiai d'olio extravergine d'oliva; 2 cucchiai di pecorino romano grattugiato; 2 spicchi d'aglio; basilico; sale e pepe.

Lavate i pomodori e tagliateli a fette orizzontali di circa un cm di spessore. Ungete la placca del forno con un cocchiaio d'olio e sistematevi le fette di pomodoro in un solo strato. Spellate gli spicchi d'aglio e tritateli finissimi insieme a cinque o sei foglie di basilico. Cospargete il trito sulle fette di pomodoro e completate il condimento con sale, pepe, e con due cucchiai d'olio. Mettete la placca nel forno precedentemente scaldato a 200 gradi e lasciate cuocere per circa un'ora fino a quando i pomodori saranno teneri e avranno preso un leggero colore caramellato. Togliete la placca dal forno e schiacciate i pomodori con la forchetta in modo da formare una salsa cremosa. CUocete la pasta, scolatela e versatela sulla placca con i pomodori ancora caldi. Mescolate bene in modo da raccogliere tutto il condimento e completate con il pecorino e con una macinata di pepe fresco. Servite caldo.

Assicuratevi che i pomodori per questo piatto siano verdissimi anche internamente: solo cosi' manterranno un piacevole sapore aspretto anche dopo la cottura.