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Pasta with Caramelized Onions and Kale in Blue Cheese Sauce
Pasta with Caramelized Onions and Kale in Blue Cheese Sauce
This recipe came from the blog Blazing Hot Wok. Serves 3
1 large onion, sliced
1 bunch kale, stems removed and roughly chopped
2/3 cup cream
4 oz of blue cheese, plus some for crumbling on top
a little milk, if necessary
1/2 lbs pasta like spaghetti, linguine or fettuccine
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup pecans or walnuts , toasted on a pan or under a broiler for about 5 minutes and lightly crushed (optional, but will add another delicious layer to the dish)
Start by caramelizing the onions in a large pan with a little olive oil. When they are just about done (about 20 minutes or so), add the kale and sauté until wilted. Remove to a bowl and keep warm.
Once your onions are going, put on your pasta water. You’ll want to cook the pasta at least 2 to 3 minutes less than the package directions, since they will get additional time in the sauce.
In the same pan you used for the onions, add the cream and cheese. Once the cheese is melted, add the onions and kale back in and mix well. Turn off the heat until the pasta is ready. Don’t worry if the sauce seems thin. It will thicken up once you turn the pasta in it.
Once you are ready to dump the drained pasta in, put the pan back on the heat and mix everything together. The pasta will finish cooking and absorb some of the liquid and at the same time, the sauce will thicken. If it gets too thick or dry, add a little milk to loosen it. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately, topping each serving with some of the crushed pecans and crumbled blue cheese.
Lebneh
Lebneh
A simple yogurt dip or spread that's fantastic with fresh pitas or other fresh breads. This is another staple in our house. It comes and goes. We make some, can't get enough (the kids love it). Then we make it three more times in a row and binge on it. And then it gets shelved for a while only to make another overzealous return. It's worth it though and only good high quality yogurt will do.
1 quart plain yogurt (low fat OK but full fat best)
3/4 tsp salt
3 TB olive oil
1.5 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp dried mint
3/4 tsp dried thyme
Line a collander with a single layer of paper towels and place above a bowl that fits the collander nicely. Stir the salt into the yogurt and then dump the yogurt into the paper lines collander and let it drain, ideally overnight, but minimum 6-8 hours. The yogurt will be quite thick. Usually you can kind of tip the yogurt over into a fresh bowl and peel the paper towel from it.
In a cast iron skillet over medium heat, toast the sesame seeds until golden brown and fragrant. Then put them into a small container with the olive oil and dried mint and thyme.
Portion out the yogurt as you intend to use it, with a drizzle of the oil, seeds, herb mixture on top. Serve with fresh breads or pitas. Rich and delicious.
Fresh Salsa
Fresh Salsa
Fresh salsa is quick and easy and so delicious and it's the perfect time of year to make lots of it. There are a million recipes for salsa because everyone's preferences are different. Experiment! You can't really go wrong gradually adding ingredients. I've given a very basic recipe here with some ideas for variation.
2 ripe tomatoes, diced
2 green bell peppers, diced
1/2 cup walla walla sweet onions, diced
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, for garnish
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 jalapeno chile pepper, diced
Variations
use 2 tsp of lime juice instead of the lemon juice
add a little salt (up to 3/4 tsp)
use other hot peppers like serranos (or omit the heat altogether if perhaps there are kids involved in the eating)
add 1-s cloves of minced garlic
add 1/2 cups chopped garlic scapes
add 1 tsp of sugar or honey
add some cumin or some toasted cumin seed
chop up a fresh local peach and toss that in
add some fresh corn off the cob
Tomato, Cucumbers, Sweet Onion Salad
Tomato, Cucumbers, Sweet Onion Salad
I never get enough of this salad in summer when tomatoes are so fantastic and cukes abundant. I often add feta or goat cheese if I have it. It's like eating dessert. Good balsamic is an important pantry ingredient. I have a couple that are just fantastic and I save them for recipes where their flavor makes a dish special, and I save the lesser grades for cooking with.
2 Tomatoes chopped
1 Cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1-2 sweet onions peeled and sliced thinly
a small handful of basil leaves
drizzle of olive oil
drizzle of good balsamic vinegar
Napa Cabbage Ramen Salad (is this salad or dessert?)
Napa Cabbage Ramen Salad (is this salad or dessert?)
I have thought of including this one before but somehow, with the ramen noodles (reminding me of bad food college days) crisped in butter and topped with sugar, I thought perhaps I should look for something more wholesome. But each time we have Napa cabbage I can't help but think mmmm ramen noodles crisped in butter and topped with sugar.... And well, we all probably share some weaknesses and this recipe gets rave reviews otherwise, so here it is!
1 head napa cabbage
1 bunch minced green onions
1/3 cup butter
1 (3 ounce) package ramen noodles, broken
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons tamari
1. Finely shred the head of cabbage; do not chop. Combine the green onions and cabbage in a large bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Make the crunchies: Melt the butter in a pot. Mix the ramen noodles, sesame seeds and almonds into the pot with the melted butter. Spoon the mixture onto a baking sheet and bake the crunchies in the preheated 350 degrees F oven, turning often to make sure they do not burn. When they are browned remove them from the oven.
4. Make the dressing: In a small saucepan, heat vinegar, oil, sugar, and soy sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil, let boil for 1 minute. Remove the pan from heat and let cool.
5. Combine dressing, crunchies, and cabbage immediately before serving. Serve right away or the crunchies will get soggy.
Maple Walnut Pie Squares
Maple Walnut Pie Squares
These squares are like little hand held pieces of maple walnut pie. Yum. From the Cooking with Shelburne Farms cook book.
The crust
1.25 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup walnuts
The filling
2 TB butter
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
3 TB packed light brown sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)
Preat the oven to 375 degrees F. Generously grease a 9 x 9 pan.
Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt. Cream together the butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Gradually add the flour mixture in thirds, beating to blend between additions. Mix in walnuts until just distributed. Pat crust firmly into the pan and bake for 8-10 minutes until golden.
While crust is baking, make the topping. Melt the butter, then whisk in the maple syrup, brown sugar, salt and egg. Stir in the walnuts.
Pour the hot topping over the baked crust. Return the pan to the oven for 13-15 minutes until the topping is deep brown and set. Cool completely on a rack before cutting.
Celery Soup
Celery Soup
This is a classic French recipe, this one taken again from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.
3 TB butter
1 small onion
1 lb celery, roughly chopped (reserve the fresh greens for garnish)
1 large potato
salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 cups vegetable stock
2 tsp sugar or honey to taste (optional)
1/2 cup cream or sour cream (optional)
1/4 cup celery greens, finely chopped
Put the butter in a large, deep saucepan or casserole over medium heat. When the butter melts, add the vegetables. Season w/ salt & pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, until celery softens a bit. Add the stock and cook until the vegetables are very tender, 15 to 20 minutes more.
Puree the soup in batches in food processor or blender and return to the pot. You may prepare the soup in advance up to this point. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days and reheat before proceeding.) Adjust the seasoning, adding more salt and pepper as needed. Reheat the soup in the saucepan and stir in the cream if you are using it, garnish with celery leaves and serve.
Napa Salad
Napa Salad
A simple tasty salad for a hot day.
Dressing
1 pinch celery seeds
1/2 tsp salt (to taste)
1/4 tsp fresh ginger, very finely minced .
1/2 c canola oil or other light-flavored oil
1/2 tsp prepared brown mustard .
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
4 tsp sugar
2 small carrots grated
2 apples, sliced (a crisp, sweet-tart variety is best) .
1/2 c pecans, coarsely broken .
1/2 head napa cabbage .
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
Divide your half-head of napa lengthwise into 3 or 4 sections & knife-shred crosswise to yield strips about 5 inches long by 1/4 inch wide. Grate carrots.
Mix dressing ingredients & let rest for 5 mins to mix the flavors.
Toss together all salad ingredients with the dressing.
Garnish with pecan halves & thin rings of apple if desired.
Basic Stir Fried Vegetables
Basic Stir Fried Vegetables
Great stuff in the share this week for a stir fry! This recipe is from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. There is of course room for endless variations here. You can swap in and out different veggies, add nuts to the final minute of cooking, add dried chiles or chile paste for heat, add tofu or tempeh (even better if cooked and browned first), or up to 1 TB sweetener (honey, maple syrup, etc).
2 TB oil
1 TB minced garlic
1 TB fresh ginger
1/2 cup onions or scallions
1 medium zucchini, cut into slices or chunks
2 cups Napa cabbage
1 large carrot
2 stalks celery
1/2 lb green beans (preferable parboiled and then quickly cooled)
1/4 cup stock or water
2 TB tamari
1 tsp sesame oil (preferably dark)
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the oil , and almost immediately the garlic, ginger, and scallions or onions. Cook stirring for about 15 seconds, then add carrots, celery, snow peas and stock and raise the heat to high.
Cook, stirring constantly, adding liquid (water or stock) if mixture is totally dry, until the vegetables are tender, about 7 minutes. Then add the sesame oil and soy sauce.
Whole Trout Baked in Foil
Whole Trout Baked in Foil
by Martha Rose Shulman and NYT May 13, 2009
I like this recipe for its simplicity. You could fill the fish with lots of different greens and spice combos. I just made some great fresh salsa and this recipe has inspired me to serve the fish simply with rice and fresh salsa and maybe some black beans.
Extra virgin olive oil
2 small rainbow trout, boned
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 lemons, one sliced, one cut in wedges
4 fresh tarragon or dill sprigs, or 2 rosemary sprigs
Chopped fresh tarragon, dill or parsley for serving
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cut two sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil or four sheets of lighter foil into squares that are three inches longer than your fish. If using lighter foil, make four double-thick squares. Oil the dull side of the foil with olive oil, and place a trout, skin side down, on each square. Season both sides with salt and pepper, and open them out flat. Place two tarragon or dill sprigs (or one rosemary sprig) and two lemon slices down the middle of each, and fold the two sides together. Drizzle 1/2 teaspoon olive oil over each fish.
2. Making sure that the trout are in the middle of each square, fold up the foil loosely, grabbing at the edges and crimping together tightly to make a packet. Place on a baking sheet, and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, checking one of the packets after 10 minutes. The flesh should be opaque and pull apart easily when tested with a fork.
3. Place each packet on a plate. Carefully cut across the top to open it, taking care not to let the steam from inside the packet burn you. Gently remove the fish from the packet, and pour the juices over it. Sprinkle with fresh tarragon, dill or parsley. Serve, passing the lemon wedges.
Yield: Serves two.
Advance preparation: You can prepare the fish and make the foil packets several hours ahead. Keep in the refrigerator until shortly before cooking.
Variation: Fill the trout with sauteed Swiss chard or other greens with garlic and olive oil and serve with more on the side.
