Garlic Scape Carbonara

We're fans of pasta alla carbonara.  Whole wheat  pasta combined with lots of garlic and pepper,  local eggs from healthy chickens, and just enough uncured center-cut bacon make the seemingly indulgent classic a relatively healthy meal as well. (You can even add fresh greens, if you'd like.)

This late spring/early summer version features spicy, tender garlic scapes (the stalks of the garlic plant cut off in spring so the plant can focus all its energy on the garlic bulb) instead of mature garlic cloves.  (Garlic scapes also make a lovely pesto!)

Garlic Scape Carbonara 
printable recipe

Serves 4

12 garlic scapes, cut into 1/2-inch lengths
2 ounces bacon, chopped fine
1.5 oz parmesan, freshly grated
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, to taste
8oz whole wheat spaghetti
salt

Set a medium pot of water to boil.

Beat eggs lightly and stir in parmesan and pepper, reserving some cheese for topping the finished dish.  Set aside egg mixture.

Heat a 12-inch skillet and cook bacon over medium heat for about 2 minutes, just until the fat begins to render.  Add the garlic scapes.  (Center-cut bacon has less fat, so I added about a teaspoon of grapeseed oil to keep the pan from being too dry.)

Continue cooking garlic scapes and bacon about 10-12 minutes more, stirring occasionally, until the garlic scapes begin to shrivel and brown.  If at any point the pan becomes to dry and food begins to stick, add a splash of water to deglaze.


Meanwhile, generously salt the boiling water and cook pasta until al dente. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the cooking water, and drain the pasta.  Immediately add cooked pasta to the pan with the garlic scapes and bacon.  Toss over medium heat with a splash of cooking water.  Reduce heat to the lowest setting and add egg/cheese mixture, tossing over low heat, just long enough for the sauce to thicken and adhere to pasta.  If you notice the eggs beginning to cook, immediately remove pan from heat an continue tossing.


Serve immediately topped with remaining parmesan cheese.

Classic Basil Pesto and Pasta alla Genovese

It’s great to be back in the kitchen!  After spending the last few months buying a house, moving, attending night/weekend work events, and rehearsing and performing a show, we had one of our first free evenings at home.  It was wonderful. I put together a patio table, tended my tomatoes and herbs, and made dinner! I even had the time to make notes as I cooked and hauled out the camera to take pictures of said dinner.  It was CSA delivery day, so many of these ingredients made it onto the table the same day they left the farm.

Basil pesto is very dear to my heart (and palate for that matter).  It was one of the first recipes I mastered and one of my first forays outside the world of spaghetti and tomato sauce.

My "greener" pasta alla genovese is so called because this particular recipe has a much larger ratio of green beans and potatoes to pasta than the original.  For a more traditional version, halve the amount of potatoes and green beans and double the pasta (1 pound of each ingredient).

Classic Basil Pesto

printable recipe
Yields about 1 ¼ cups.

2 oz fresh basil leaves, washed
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 small-medium cloves of garlic
1/3 cup (1¾ oz) pine nuts
1 oz parmigiano reggiano, freshly grated (about 1 cup, if using a fine Microplane)
salt to taste (if needed)

Combine the first 4 ingredients in a food processor. Process about 5 seconds.  Scrape down sides and repeat.  Add cheese and process until ingredients are combined and reaches desired consistency.  Taste for salt and add olive oil if pesto is too dry.

Use immediately or store as follows:
refrigerator: in an air tight container with a layer of olive oil over the top (up to 2 weeks)
freezer: freeze in an ice cube tray; transfer to a freezer-safe sealed container (up to 3 months)

"Greener" Pasta alla Genovese

printable recipe
Serves 6 as a main course.

For a more traditional version, use 1 pound each of potatoes, beans, and pasta.

2 pounds small red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into ½-inch pieces
2 pounds fresh green beans, washed, ends snipped and cut in half
8oz farfalle pasta (or other short shape)
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 cup basil pesto
freshly grated parmesan, to taste

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add 1 tablespoon kosher salt.  Add potatoes and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. With a mesh or slotted spoon, remove the potatoes to a large bowl.

Return the water to a boil.  In a second large bowl, prepare an ice bath for the beans. Add the beans and cook for 3-5 minutes, until crisp-tender.  Remove beans with a mesh or slotted spoon and immediately submerge in ice bath to halt cooking. After a few minutes in the ice bath, drain the beans and add them to the potatoes.

Add more water if needed to cook the pasta. Return water to a boil, and add the remaining tablespoon salt.  Cook the pasta until al dente. Reserve ½ cup cooking water and drain pasta.

In a large bowl, combine the pesto and a splash of cooking water.  Stir, adding more water as needed to great a smooth sauce. Add warm pasta, potatoes and beans. Toss to combine. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Kale Love

The first time I tried kale, I was pretty sure it wasn't for me. I had seen a post claiming that baked kale chips were perfect for people who don't like kale.  Since I didn’t know whether or not I liked kale, I thought the recipe would be a good introduction and a good use of the kale we had gotten in one of our weekly produce boxes.  We were more than a little disappointed.  Maybe I overcooked them (it's tough to tell when a dark green leaf starts to turn brown), but the chips tasted like burnt popcorn.

It was a couple months before we tried kale again, but when we did, we went for the other extreme: raw kale salad.  I was pleasantly surprised by how much I (and the rest of my family) like it, and I started making a point of looking for kale whenever I was at the farmers market. 

Two years later, kale has become a staple around our house. It's one of my favorite greens and one we've practically survived on this winter (our first back in Arkansas without the luxury of the year-round Dupont Circle Farmers Market).  Even when local produce was scarce at our co-op and the pickings slim at the small winter market, there was always kale.  (And now that it's spring, we’re still seeing plenty of it.)

I've made this dish at least once a week over the winter. It's quick, and the ingredients are fairly easy to keep on hand.  If I don't know what to make for dinner or don't feel like spending the evening in the kitchen, I make this.  We’re still surprised at how good it is every time we sit down to a bowl of pasta with kale and carrots.

It's also a forgiving recipe. Have another vegetable on hand? Add it to the pan! Love lots of garlic in everything? Throw that in too! Veggies starting to stick to the pan but the pasta's not done? Deglaze with some white wine and keep them going until you’re ready to add the kale.

Pasta with Kale and Carrots
printable recipe

Serves 4.

8 oz. dried short pasta (whole wheat or regular; we love farfalle)
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil (or other sautéing oil)

2 medium carrots
½ red onion (optional)
2 small or 1 large bunch kale (we've been using a locally grown black kale)

2 ounces freshly grated parmesan

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper


Bring a 4-quart pot of water to boil.

Wash kale, remove tough ends of stems, and roughly chop.

When water is boiling, salt generously and add pasta.
Heat about a tablespoon of oil over medium heat in a 12-inch skillet.  Peel carrots and slice about ⅛ inch thick.  Chop onion if using.  Add onions and carrots and cook until softened and just beginning to brown, stirring occasionally.  Add kale when the pasta is almost done and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
When pasta is al dente, reserve ½ cup cooking liquid and drain pasta.

Add pasta, half the cheese, and about half of the reserved pasta cooking liquid to the pan of vegetables.  Toss over medium heat about 2 minutes.  If it looks dry, add a bit more cooking water or extra virgin olive oil.

Serve immediately topped with remaining parmesan cheese.

Variation: This dish is also great with roasted tomatoes—not enough to make a sauce, but just enough to color the dish and add some extra brightness and flavor. Add them to the pan a couple minutes before adding the kale.  (Of course, I recommend using tomatoes preserved from last summer, but I’m sure a jarred store-bought variety would also be good.)

Fresh Lima Beans

Lima beans are not sexy.  No one gets excited about lima beans, right?  What child – or adult for that matter – doesn’t feel a little put-off by the thought of a can of lima beans? 
But have you ever had fresh lima beans?  Like right-off-the-farm fresh?  If you had, you might just think lima beans were pretty fantastic. 

I’d been wanting to try them fresh since I came across them at the market last summer.  I was determined not to miss them this time, so I snagged the first pint I saw. 

Here are a couple of simple, quick, healthy recipes that exemplify the philosophy that food doesn’t have to be complicated to be amazing. A few fresh, quality ingredients and a few minutes in the kitchen are all you need.  This small batch lasted the two of us through 2 ½ meals, but it can also be doubled or tripled for a larger group.  You can jump to the recipes by clicking the links below.

Cooking Fresh Lima Beans
Rustic Lima Beans with Sausage and Bread
Lima Beans and Pasta

Note: Raw lima beans must be cooked before they are eaten.

Cooking Fresh Lima Beans

Yield about 2 ½ cups.

10 ounces (about 2 cups) fresh lima beans (or more)
2 cups of water (per 10 ounces of beans)
¼ teaspoon salt (per 10 ounces of beans)

Rinse beans.  Combine beans and water in a pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-high and continue boiling for 15 minutes.  Drain and rinse beans.

Add salt and ½ cup water and boil an additional 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow beans to cool in water (which allows them to absorb the salt).

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Rustic Lima Beans with Sausage and Bread

The white wine adds a nice brightness and elevates to another level this otherwise very basic dish.

Serves 2 as a main course.

1 ½ cups cooked lima beans
2 teaspoons olive oil
½ medium yellow onion, chopped
2 teaspoons butter
4 ounces fresh sausage (I used North Mountain Pasture’s Lincolnshire sausage, seasoned with sage, mace, and ginger. Yum.)
½ cup dry white wine
1 clove garlic, cut in half

8 slices baguette or other rustic bread
extra virgin olive oil, for brushing

Rub bread slices with one half of garlic clove and brush lightly with extra virgin olive oil.  Arrange (oiled side up) on broiler-safe baking dish and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat.  Add onion and cook until translucent, about 4-5 minutes.

Add sausage and cook, stirring and breaking into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until very little pink remains.  Add butter, beans, ½ clove garlic and white wine.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until wine is cooked off.

Meanwhile, turn broiler on high and toast bread until lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes. (Watch the bread closely, as it can go from “almost there” to burnt in no time.)

Serve beans and sausage warm alongside toasted bread.

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Lima Beans and Pasta

I particularly love this dish because it’s like a non-soup version of  pasta e fagioli, evoking similar flavors and nostalgia.

Serves 3.

1 cup cooked lima beans
2 teaspoons olive oil
½ medium yellow onion
1 ounce bacon, chopped fine
6 ounces fresh tagliatelle or dried fettuccine
½ cup passata (strained tomatoes)*
salt
pepper
1 ounce parmesan, freshly grated

Fill a medium saucepan about ¾ full of water and set to boil.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally for 2 to 3 minutes.  Add bacon and cook until onions are translucent (about 8 minutes). 

Stir in passata and season with pepper.  If your tomato puree did not already have salt added, season with salt to taste.

When water is boiling, cook pasta a minute or two short of al dente.  Reserve ½ cup of the pasta cooking liquid and drain pasta.  Add pasta and cooking liquid to bean/sauce mixture and cook down for 1-2 minutes.  (The starches in the pasta water and the cooking help the sauce stick to the pasta. 

Serve topped with freshly grated parmesan.

*Passata (or strained tomatoes) is a staple in Italian kitchens.  It’s made from raw tomatoes “passed” through a sieve (hence its name) and packaged without any additives.  Strained tomatoes are becoming more and more common in American grocery stores.  Boinaturae and Pomi are both great brands.  You can also make your own from fresh tomatoes!  If you can’t get strained tomatoes, substitute tomato puree or plain tomato sauce. 

Red, White, and Blue Scones

Just in time for Independence Day, a breakfast (or anytime) treat in patriotic colors.

 

I had my first scone at the campus bakery my freshman year of college.  It was moist and flaky, slightly cakey, and just the right amount of sweet; in other words, love at first bite.  I must have caught them on a good day because I’ve heard several people say that they didn’t like scones (campus bakery variety included) because they always thought they were too dry and crumbly.  Not so with this homemade version.

Even though I had every intention of trying my hand at scone-making, it took me ten years to finally do it!  It turns out that they are easy and quick and can take as little as 30 minutes, start to finish.  Perfect for whipping up on a lazy Saturday (or holiday) morning.

This recipe is fairly flexible and can accommodate a variety of fruit/flavor additions.  I usually prefer my scones with dried cranberries and orange zest, but 4th of July weekend and the abundance of fresh berries at the market called for a little something extra.  The sweetness of the fresh blueberries is a nice compliment to the tart cranberries and the orange zest infuses the entire dough with a hint of citrus.

Red, White, and Blue Scones (Blueberry-Cranberry Scones)
adapted from “Classic Currant Scones” from The Joy of Cooking

Yield 8 scones.

2 cups flour
⅓ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, very cold and cut into ¼-inch pieces
½ cup heavy cream
1 large egg
1 heaping teaspoon orange zest (from ½ medium orange)**
½ cup dried cranberries*
¾ cup (4 ounces) fresh blueberries

for topping
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1-2 tablespoons coarse raw sugar

*I went with a combination of dried and fresh fruit because I didn’t want to create too much extra moisture in the batter.  However, based on my results, I think it would work well to substitute seasonal fresh berries, such as raspberries or (pitted and quartered) cherries, instead of dried cranberries. 
**Lemon zest also works well in place of the orange zest.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

In a large bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Using two knives or a pastry blender, cut in butter until the butter pieces are well coated in flour and about the size of small pebbles. (Do not allow the butter to become fully blended with flour or form a paste.)

In a separate bowl, whisk together cream, eggs, and orange zest.

Very carefully fold the blueberries and cranberries into the dry ingredients.

Add the liquid ingredients to the dry and gently fold together (using a spatula or wooden spoon) until all the flour is moistened.  Use your hands to gather the dough and press against the sides of the bowl to collect any remaining bits of batter and form a cohesive ball.  Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat into an 8- to 9-inch disk.  Cut into 8 wedges using a bench scraper or butter knife. 

Place scones at least 2 inches apart on a large baking sheet.  Brush tops with cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar. 

Bake for 12-15 minutes until tops are golden and the centers are set. 

Cool on a rack for 5-10 minutes and serve warm.  (Or serve at room temperature.)

Cannelloni with Chard

The original title of this post was “manicotti with chard.” I never really knew the difference between manicotti and cannelloni but assumed they were simply two regional or dialectical names for the same thing.  I chose “manicotti” for this dish because I’ve always liked the way it feels to say it.  The combination of the open ‘o’ [ɔ] and the double ‘t’ [t.t] in the “-otto” suffix (plural -otti) is onomatopoetically tied to the meaning of the suffix – a meaning appropriate for this dish.  

If I may go off on a brief linguistic tangent, one of the many things I love about the Italian language is its use of diminutive and augmentative endings.  There are two primary augmentative endings in Italian: -one and -otto.  While -one purely means “big,” -otto connotes something slightly different: a rounder, sometimes chubby sort of largeness – just like it sounds!  The point is that I called this dish “manicotti” simply because I liked to the think of the stuffed tubes of pasta as chubby little “sleeves” (maniche=sleeves). 

In doing some research for this post, I was surprised to discover that there is absolutely no mention of manicotti in any of my Italian cookbooks.  This includes a number of books dedicated solely to pasta (and even detailing dialectical variations of pasta names).  My go-to Italian dictionary (Garzanti Linguistica) defines a manicotto as (1) a sleeve usually made of fur and open on both ends (i.e. a handwarmer) or (2) a cylindrical joint used to connect two tubes or to transmit rotary motion between two coaxial shafts.  There is no official culinary meaning of manicotti in Italian, and the accepted definitions don’t sound like something I’d want on my dinner plate.

On the other hand, Garzanti Linguistica defines a cannellone as a fat tube of stuffed pasta, dressed with sauce and baked. Cannellone is made up of the root word canna (meaning cane, reed, or tube) with both a diminutive (-ello) and an augmentative (-one) ending.  A bit simpler. And more appetizing.

You may argue that you have, in fact, eaten manicotti at an Italian American restaurant and that it wasn’t, in fact, a mechanical part or a winter accessory.  It has been Brian’s experience that Italian-American restaurants use the term cannelloni for meat-stuffed pasta tubes and manicotti for those stuffed with vegetables and cheese.  Others argue that the distinction is based upon whether or not the pasta is ridged or whether it comes as flat sheets or pre-made tubes.  Some say that one is savory and the other sweet or that manicotti are traditionally made with crepes rather than pasta (this may be specifically Southern Italian or Argentinian-Italian).  In order to avoid confusion, I’ll stick with reputable sources and go with the term cannelloni.

Now, on with the recipe…

I’ve been pleased to find chard (aka Swiss chard, rainbow chard, etc.) almost year round at the farmers market, so we’ve eaten a lot of it throughout the winter months and into spring and early summer.  I was recently looking for a new way to use chard and found myself with tub of local ricotta and all the ingredients for a baked pasta dish: a jar of my passata, a few eggs, some flour, and cheese…and ecco: cannelloni with chard! It’s a subtle but important variation on the often all-too-familiar baked pasta with spinach.

 

Cannelloni with Chard Cannelloni con Bietola

Yield 8 cannelloni. Serves 4.

pasta
6 ounces fresh pasta dough (~½ batch of homemade pasta all'uovo),
                                                                                cut into 8-10 6"x8" sheets
sauce
12 ounces passata (or tomato puree)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh basil, finely chopped (about 6 large leaves)
¼ teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

filling
5-6 ounces chard
olive oil
1½ cup (about 14 ounces) ricotta
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 ounces whole milk mozzarella, freshly grated
2 ounces parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 tablespoon fresh basil, finely chopped (about 6 large leaves)
⅛ teaspoon salt
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

topping
½ ounce finely grated parmesan

Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Preheat oven to 375°F.

Wash chard and allow to drain (but do not dry completely).  Roughly chop chard.  In a large skillet, heat a small drizzle of oil over medium heat.  Add chard and cook, stirring frequently until wilted, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, stir together sauce ingredients and set aside.

In another medium bowl, stir together filling ingredients (including cooled chard) and set aside.

Salt the now-boiling water and cook fresh pasta sheets for 3 minutes, or until al dente.  (If using dried pasta, cook until al dente, according to package instructions.)  Drain and gently toss with a small amount of oil (to prevent sticking). 

In two 2-quart casserole dishes or one 9"x13" baking dish, spread about ¼ cup of sauce.

Working with one sheet at a time, lay pasta out on a flat surface (taking care not to tear it).  Spread with ¼ cup filling and, starting with a short end, roll the pasta into a tube and place in baking dish.

Repeat with remaining pasta and filling.  Top cannelloni with remaining sauce and bake for 30 minutes.  Top with remaining parmesan and bake another 5 minutes.

Allow to cool for about 5 minutes before serving.

Garlic Scape Pesto

One of the many wonderful things about shopping at the farmers market is that it inspires me to try new things.  I’m generally a rather adventurous eater, but the grocery store is so overrun with familiar products that I hardly notice the unfamiliar ones.  Faced with the comparatively small number of in-season selections at the farmers market, the unusual and unfamiliar catch my eye.  Chances are there’s someone at the stand who can advise me on how to use whatever I pick up, and if I forget to ask, there’s a wealth of information online. 

Among my culinary firsts this spring are garlic scapes.  A garlic scape is the stalk part that grows up from the garlic bulb, which is developing underground.  Apparently the stalk is cropped off in the spring so that all of the plant’s efforts can be concentrated into growing the garlic bulb itself.  It’s baffling to me that I’ve never seen garlic scapes in the supermarket.  I mean, a garlic plant is a 2-for-1 deal, so why isn’t anyone taking advantage of it?  My confusion was only compounded when I actually tasted the scapes. 

Garlic scapes are milder than mature garlic.  Every bite is infused with that wonderful garlicky flavor, but it won’t jump out and bite you if you get too close.  Chopped and pan-fried garlic scapes have the appearance and texture of cut green beans or cooked asparagus. 

But the best way to enjoy these curly green curiosities?  Pesto! 

Garlic scapes with a touch of basil and lemon.  It’s like a warm afternoon sun tempered by a cool spring breeze.  Try it.  You’ll see what I mean…

Garlic Scape Pesto



Serves 4

8 ounces pasta, fresh or dried
5 garlic scapes (about 3½ ounces/100g), plus 3-4 garlic scapes for garnish*
¼ cup almonds (1¼ ounces/35g)
small handful basil (½ ounce/14g)
½ cup freshly grated parmesan (1 ounce/28g)
½ teaspoon lemon zest
scant ½ cup olive oil
pinch of salt

*Note: Sautéed garlic scapes add additional texture to the final dish, but the pesto can be made without them.

Heat a dry skillet over medium heat.  Toast almonds, tossing frequently, until lightly browned and fragrant, about 5 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

Remove and discard bulb and top of garlic scapes.  Chop five scapes into 1-inch pieces. In a food processor combine chopped garlic scapes, toasted almonds, basil, 6 tablespoons parmesan, lemon zest and olive oil.  Process, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed.  Stop before pesto becomes a smooth puree; it should still have a bit of texture.

For the garnish, heat a small amount of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Cut remaining garlic scapes into 1-inch pieces.  Add to skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until tender and well browned. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil.  Salt well and cook pasta until al dente.  Before draining, reserve ½ cup of cooking liquid. 

Add pesto to the now-empty pot and stir in half of the reserved cooking liquid, adding more as needed until pesto resembles a thick sauce.  Toss pasta with pesto over medium heat for 1-2 minutes.

Serve topped with sautéed garlic scapes and parmesan cheese.

Late Spring Fever: Fava Bean Crostini

I was first introduced to fava beans seven years ago at an Italian professor’s home on the outskirts of Siena.  We had them whole with young Tuscan pecorino and thick, partially-crystallized Acacia honey.  Since then, I’ve remembered fondly how the little bits of earthy springtime paired perfectly with the tangy, buttery pecorino and sweet honey. 

Although I’d encountered the mention of fava beans and recipes for their use over the past several years, my thoughts of them were merely passing fancies, and I never took the initiative to seek them out.  When we stumbled upon them at the farmers market Saturday, I jumped at the chance to take a few home and rekindle the old flame. 

I thought I’d dress them up a bit in the hopes of building something a little more lasting this time around.  (Luckily, my husband was all for it.)  The result was the following recipe for a refreshing fava bean puree, which we had as a main course on homemade whole wheat baguette rounds with 4 different types of pecorino*, alongside a salad of local red leaf lettuce, spring onions, and “sweet slice” cucumbers.

*I am admittedly a bit infatuated with pecorino. (Can it still be considered infatuation if it’s been going on for close to a decade?) When the grocery store was out of my favorite – Santa Teresa Pecorino Sardo (a young pecorino aged 30-40 days) – I picked up a few others just for fun.  They were: Pecorino Romano, Fulvi (aged 10-12 months), Pecorino Toscano (slightly younger, aged 6 months), and Cacio de Roma (another young pecorino aged about 30 days).  We had a bit of Santa Teresa left in the fridge, so we were able to compare all four.  Although Santa Teresa is still my favorite, I thought the 6-month-old pecorino toscano went best with the fava bean puree.

Fava Bean Crostini

Yield about 32 crostini.  Serves 8 as an appetizer or 4 as a light main course.

for the bread
1 whole grain baguette or other rustic loaf (about 12 ounces)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove

for the puree
14-16 ounces shelled fava beans (1 cup shelled and peeled)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 medium garlic clove
2 teaspoons fresh mint or fresh basil, chopped
½ teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon salt

for serving
4 ounces pecorino (young or aged), thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Slice the bread into ¼- to ½-inch thick diagonal slices.  Peel garlic clove and cut in half.  Rub cut side of garlic onto the top cut side of each slice.  Brush slices with olive oil and arrange on a baking sheet.

Bake for about 5 minutes, until the tops are lightly browned.  Set aside.

Meanwhile, bring a small pot of water to boil.  Add fava beans and cook for 2 minutes.  Drain and immediately submerge beans in ice water until cool.  Drain beans and peel off the tough outer layer.  (The easiest way to do this is to carefully pinch off the outer layer of one end of the bean and squeeze the opposite end so that the bean pops out.)

In a food processor, combine peeled fava beans, ¼ cup olive oil, garlic, mint or basil, lemon juice and zest, and salt.  Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides of the processor bowl, as needed.

Divide the puree evenly between the slices of bread (about 2-3 teaspoons per slice).  Serve topped with a small slice of pecorino.

Zucchini-Ricotta Rolls

I can’t believe how long it’s been since my last blog post.  I really have been cooking these past two months, but all I have to show for it are several scribbled, half-finished recipes and about a thousand photos.  Hopefully a few of them will make it up here soon.  In the interest of actually finishing this one, I’ll keep it short and to the point. 

These zucchini-ricotta rolls are ridiculously good and inspired by the first farmer’s market zucchini of the year and some leftover ricotta (from Keswick Creamery).  They make an easy-but-impressive, refreshing summer appetizer.

Zucchini-Ricotta Rolls
Zucchini-Ricotta Rotolini



Serves 4-6 (about 24 rolls).

5 ounces ricotta
juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
10 basil leaves, finely chopped
1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

2 medium zucchini
olive oil or grapeseed oil, for grilling


Heat a grill pan over medium heat. (The thin strips of zucchini are probably too delicate for an outdoor grill.)

Stir together ricotta, lemon zest and juice, chopped basil leaves, and extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Set aside.



Using a peeler or mandolin, slice zucchini very thin (about 1/16 inch).  Gently toss zucchini strips with oil, a few pinches of salt, and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.



Grill zucchini in batches over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, depending on thickness.  The thinnest strips will not need to be flipped.  When zucchini is tender and well marked, remove to a plate or platter.  Continue with remaining zucchini.



To make the rolls:
Place 1-2 teaspoons of ricotta mixture at the end of each zucchini strip.  Roll.

Serve zucchini rolls at room temperature. 

(They are also great served hot: place rolls in a casserole dish and heat in the oven at 350⁰F for 8-10 minutes.)

torta salata alla zucca e gorgonzola (pumpkin-gorgonzola tart)

This is the fourth post in a series: “what to do with a ten-pound pumpkin.”
This recipe was inspired by an Italian friend, Valeria, who was also cooking with a large leftover pumpkin this week.  Her description of the contrast between the sweet pumpkin and sharp gorgonzola got me really craving the combination.  Normally a tart like this would call for pieces of cut up pumpkin, rather than a puree, but I couldn’t resist giving it a try.  This is a great variation and just one more of the many ways to use fresh pumpkin puree!

Torta Salata alla Zucca e Gorgonzola (Pumpkin-Gorgonzola Tart)

Serves 6

crust
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 eggs
⅛ tsp salt
¾ cups (90 grams) whole wheat flour
¾ cups (95 grams) all purpose flour
water

filling
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
3 cups (about 3 ounces) chard or other winter greens
3 eggs
⅔ cup milk (preferably whole)
¼ tsp salt
several grinds of black pepper
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
2 oz crumbled gorgonzola
1 ¼ cups (10 oz) fresh pumpkin puree (see here for recipe)
1 ½ oz (about 1 cup) freshly grated parmesan

for the crust 
Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a mixer, beat together the butter and mustard on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating on medium speed between each addition. Add flour and salt. Mix until well combined and a mass of Dough begins to form. If the dough is too dry, sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of water and mix again. Add additional water a teaspoon or two at a time, until dough begins to come together into a unified mass.

Dump the dough onto a lightly floured countertop (or dough mat) and form into a ball and flatten into a disk.  Wrap in plastic and allow to rest in refrigerator for about 30 minutes. (At this point, the dough can be refrigerated for several days or frozen for 2-3 months.)

Roll dough flat, into the shape of your baking dish (i.e. in a circle for a 9” pie plate or tart pan) about 1 ½ inches bigger on all sides (12-inch diameter for a 9” pie plate). Dough should be between 1/16 and 1/8 inch thick.

Carefully transfer dough to baking dish and press into corners. Fold excess dough under and/or use to patch any tears in the dough. If desired, flute edge of crust.


Line the dough with a piece of parchment paper (or lightly greased aluminum foil) and fill with pie weights or dry beans. Parbake for 15-20 minutes. (While crust is baking, begin preparing the filling.)


Once crust is mostly cooked, carefully remove the weights and parchment paper. (They will be hot!) Set crust aside and proceed with the filling. (Leave oven on.)

for the filling
Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium and cook the onion until translucent and beginning to brown (about 5-10 minutes), add the greens and cook until wilted (1-2 minutes). Remove from heat.


In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, ⅛ tsp salt, pepper, and nutmeg. In another bowl, stir together pumpkin, remaining ⅛ teaspoon salt, and parmesan.


Layer the onion and greens on the bottom of the crust, spread the pumpkin puree on top, and slowly pour the egg mixture over it.


Using a spoon, very gently swirl the mixture so that some of the pumpkin is drawn to the surface. Sprinkle evenly with crumbled gorgonzola.


Bake at 350°F for 30-45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is cooked through.


Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.