My Mélange

Zucchini and Tomato Orzo

Occasionally, I let the pantry and the fridge run very low.  Too low.

I often put together a creative, delicious dish under extreme circumstances, as was the case this week.

And, it forces me to use up food that would otherwise go bad.

This week,  I stared at a zucchini, almost past its prime. The pantry had a can of San Marzano tomatoes and some orzo.

And since I never let my garlic and onion stores run totally dry, I felt as if I could whip something up.

That is how Zucchini and Tomato Orzo was born.

I sliced both the onion and zucchini in thin half moons.  I drizzled some olive oil in the saute pan and heated it on medium.  I threw in both the onion and zucchini. 

I diced a clove of garlic and threw that in as well.  When all were soft, I squished the tomatoes in my hands and added them and all of their liquid from the can. 

I rummaged through my dried spices and added some oregano and basil as well as a shake of salt and plenty of black pepper. 

I boiled off some orzo until al dente and added it to the zucchini and tomato mixture.

I finished it off with some fresh flat leaf parsley from my herb garden and some grated Parmesan.

It was surprisingly delicious and healthy.  A true Italian victory!

Buon Appetito!

Soup Recipe Testing

We are back from our trip to Montréal and Québec City.

We had a fabulous time and only one International incident (read minor injury) as Chris likes to refer to it.  Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing photos, stories, recommendations and my thoughts on Canada and its Frenchiness Factor.

As with taking a vacation, I return to piles of work, clogged email,  and lots of catching up to do with my favorite blogs and very little time.

One of the things on my long to do list is recipe testing.

You may remember the La Cucina Italiana soup recipe contest.  Well, I am now taste testing not one, but two new soups.

I am sworn to secrecy and I believe the winner will be announced at the end of the month.

Until then, I will share the two recipes I am busy testing and eating now.

Yeah, its a tough job, but someones gotta do it!!

Roasted Beets & Pumpkin Soup

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes (add 30-90 minutes to roast the beets which can be roasted 1-2 days before)

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp unsalted butter
3 leeks, white parts only, cleaned, halved lengthwise and sliced across
20oz/600g roasted beets (see below for roasting instructions)
1” fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 cup cooked pumpkin or squash puree
8 cups chicken or vegetable broth (you might want more if you like a thinner soup)
2 sprigs fresh thyme
Salt & pepper to taste
Juice of 1 lemon

Directions:
To roast beets: preheat oven to 400°F/200°C
1. Scrub beets and toss with a little olive oil, salt & pepper

2. Roast until soft (depending on the size of the beets, anywhere from 30-90 minutes)

3. Once beets are cooked, allow them to cool enough to handle and peel

Soup:
1. In a Dutch oven over medium-low heat, melt the butter in olive oil and then add the leeks, sauté until they are soft and translucent. Don’t let them burn.

2. Once the leeks are soft, add the beets, pumpkin & thyme and sauté for another 3-4 minutes. Add the broth and lemon juice and heat through.

3. Puree the beets in the broth and return to stove. Simmer until ready to serve.

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Creamed Zuppa Di Fagioli with Herbed Olive Oil Drizzle

 ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon each chopped fresh marjoram, parsley and cilantro
1 1/2 cups dry cannelloni beans (soak overnight)
4 oz. salt-cured pancetta, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 Tbsp minced garlic
2 whole garlic clove, cut in half (and set aside)
4 cups homemade chicken stock
2 cups water
5 fresh sage leaves, chopped
2 Tb fresh parsley, chopped
8 ripe plum tomatoes, chopped 
Salt and freshly ground pepper

6 slices of coarse peasant bread, cut in 3/4-inch slices 

For garnish:  Freshly shaved parmesan cheese and prepared infused olive oil drizzle

1.     Soak beans in water overnight in a large bowl; water should be at least 3 inches above beans. Drain in the morning.

2.     Place ¾ cup oil in a crock pot with herbs and heat on high heat 1 to ½ hours while the soup is cooking.  (This can be done on the stove top, too, very low, but, it’s easy to over heat the oil, so the crock pot is safer).  When infused, Strain oil of herbs.  Store infused oil in a jar.  (Oil can be stored in refrigerator 2 weeks).

3.     Heat a bit of regular olive oil in a large stock pot and sauté pancetta and celery on medium heat, about 5 minutes until softened.  Add chopped garlic, cooking a couple more minutes until softened.

4.     Add beans, chicken stock, water, sage, parsley and tomatoes. Bring pot to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until beans are tender, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.

5.     In batches, put soup in a blender and blend until smooth.  Return blended soup to the pot and gently heat throughout. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

6.     Toast peasant bread rubbed with halved garlic cloves under a broiler until golden. Place toasts in the bottom of 6 serving bowls; brush toasts with a thin layer of scented oil.

7.     Ladle the soup over the bread.  Shave a generous portion of fresh parmesan cheese on each bowl and drizzle with a swirl of infused oil, about 1 TBSP per bowl.

Serve with traditional Italian bread, green salad and your favorite wine pairing.

***

I hope you will tune in, as I will announce who La Cucina chooses as the winner.  Until then, I would love to hear your thoughts on these recipes.

French Scrambled Eggs

The French don't usually have scrambled eggs for breakfast, they are definitely an American dish.

But in our house, we like to take the most American dishes and add French or Italian ingredients, to give it that special European flair.

So, Chris whipped this up on a whim last weekend for breakfast for the two of us.

The combination of the ingredients gives it a French flare. The goat cheese makes the eggs extra- creamy.

French Scrambled Eggs

3 organic eggs, scrambled

1 half shallot, finely chopped

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

1/2 inch slice of fresh goat cheese log

good olive oil

salt and pepper

***

Drizzle about 2 tbsp of olive oil in a non-stick pan.  Heat on low-heat.  Add shallot and saute until transparent.  Add eggs, turn heat up to medium.  Sprinkle on thyme.  Keep eggs moving in the pan with a wooden spatula until curds form.  Remove from heat, crumble goat cheese over eggs.  Mix in until melted and combined.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with some toasted banquette slices and French Pressed coffee.

Bon Appetit!

Tuscan White Bean Soup

Fall has arrived, with its chilly temps, crisp air and warm earth-toned foliage. With Fall comes the long-awaited arrival of hearty fare, like soups and stews.

This past weekend I had a craving for soup.  I scanned the pantry and fridge to see what I could whip up. As luck would have it, I had the makings for a Tuscan White Bean Soup. 

Keep in mind, I don't like exact recipes, I am cheating here by using canned beans and I have improvised by adding a few little touches of my own.  

It may not be the traditional, authentic Tuscan recipe, but it's close and it was tasty just the same.  

Tuscan White Bean Soup

good olive oil

a couple of carrots,chopped

a few stalks of celery, chopped

a small white onion, chopped

clove of garlic, minced

three tomatoes, chopped

can of white beans, rinsed and drained

several red swiss chard leaves roughly chopped

bay leaf

heel of parmigiano cheese

fresh thyme leaves

1 vegetable bullion cube dissolved in 4 cups boiling water 

salt and pepper

***

In a large dutch oven, heat a generous amount of olive oil over medium heat.  Saute onions until translucent.  Add carrots and celery, cook until softened.  Add garlic, cook for another few minutes. Add tomatoes, beans, thyme, salt and pepper.  Pour the 4 cups of bullion infused water to the pot, add the bay leaf and heel of parmigiano to the pot, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Add chard, cover and let simmer for 5 minutes or so, just until the chard is wilted.

Ladle into bowls and serve with chunks of country bread.

Buon Appetito! 

**  Cooks note:  If you add chunks of  country bread to the soup, let it rest overnight and reheat the next day, you will have yourself a Ribollita- which is another Tuscan classic.

What are some of your classic fall favorite soups?

"O"recchiette Gina

On Monday, I posted about the Ovarian Cancer Awareness Contest, and I promised to share a recipe beginning or ending with "O", in honor of the event!

You may also remember a few weeks ago that I wrote about my birthday dinner with my ladies club. One of the dishes my friend enjoyed was a dish with orecchiette (meaning little ear in Italian), fennel sausage, sun-dried tomatoes and broccoli rabe.

I decided to experiment and try my hand at replicating that dish. In honor of Gina DiPalma, I have decided to call it:

Orecchiette Gina

(serves 2)

1/2 pound dried orecchiette pasta

good olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

6-8 sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped

1/2 bunch of broccoli rabe- use top third of each stalk

1/2 pound fennel sausage, removed from casing, pulled apart into large chunks

 

____________

Place chopped sun-dried tomatoes in a small bowl of hot water, for about 5 minutes, to plump them. Drain, set aside.  Place broccoli rabe in a pot of boiling water for about 5 minutes to remove bitterness, drain and set aside. Put another pot of salted water on the boil.  Add the orecchiette and boil until al dente, maybe 8-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, place chunks of sausage in pan, season with salt and pepper and brown over med-high heat.  Remove when nicely browned.  Turn heat down and add garlic to pan.  Saute a few minutes.  Add sun-dried tomatoes saute a few minutes more.  Add broccoli rabe.  Check for seasoning.  

When pasta is cooked, strain one scoop at a time right into the saute pan.  Add sausage back into pan. Stir to combine flavors.  Add some pasta water if the dish looks too dry, and serve.

Buon Appetito!!

And don't forget to donate to this very important cause!

Pesto Tortellini

We found some dried tortellini stuffed with pesto at Trader Joe's.  I like to keep them around so in a pinch, when the cupboards are bare, we can at least have something for dinner.

I knew they would be easy to make, but didn't know they would be quite as delicious as they turned out to be.

Sometimes poor quality dried stuffed pastas tend to get mushy, fall apart and leak the stuffing into the boiling water.

But, not this time.  Not these little babies.  These remained firm and whole.

As long as it takes to boil them, add another 30 seconds for prep and then serve!

Couldn't be easier!

After boiling, draining and plating we drizzled some of our new basil oil over the top, shredded some pecorino romano cheese over them, twisted the pepper mill a few times, and sprinkled on some freshly chopped parsley and basil..and voila!

Dinner is served!  How quick and easy was that?

How do you like your tortellini?

 

And remember...there are only 2 days left to submit your Italian Soup recipe for the La Cucina Italiana contest!!!

Scallops Provençal

I generally like scallops, but Chris doesn't.  They are not very flavorful, actually quite bland.  But just add tons of garlic to anything and I am not only on board, but I am in love.

When I found this recipe in Barefoot in Paris, I knew it would make Chris a believer.

This dish is uncomplicated and uses tons of flavors used in the South of France, which could be why it has Provençal in the title.

Bright.  I know.  My mother would be proud.

Pair this with some brown rice or couscous and a glass of white wine and you have one delicious French dinner.

Scallops Provençal

1 pound sea scallops

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

All purpose flour, for dredging

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided

1/2 cup chopped shallots (2 large)

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1/3 cup dry white wine

1 lemon, cut in half

Cut each sea scallop in half horizontally. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss with flour, and shake off excess.

In a very large sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over high heat until sizzling and add the scallops in one layer.  Lower the heat to medium and allow the scallops to brown lightly on one side without moving them, then turn and brown lightly on the other side.  This should take 3 to 4 minutes total.

Melt the rest of the butter in the pan with the scallops. Then add shallots, garlic, and parsley and sauté for 2 more minutes, tossing the seasonings with the scallops.  Add the wine, cook for 1 minute, and taste for seasoning.

Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon juice.

 

Bon Appetit!!

La Cucina Italiana : Cooking Contest!

  I am here to announce some very exciting news!!! 

  Alex, over on Blog from Italy is cooking up a recipe contest with some prizes in     the form of subscriptions to the La Cucina Italiana cookery magazine.

  And guess what?

  I'm going to be one of the taste testing team!  

  Yep, that's right, little ole me.  And of course, a few others.

  The contest is to create the most delicious, original, organic Italian Soup.

Think you got one up your sleeve?

Then head on over to Blog from Italy for all the details, the rules and the prizes!!  But act quickly because entires will only be taken from September 12th through the 19th, which is just a week away!!

I am so looking forward to being involved and I can't wait to taste test some of the final contenders!

I wish you all Good Luck!!!

Baked Peaches with Pistachios

Peaches are in season and so deliciously juicy right now. I am afraid to eat them in public because of the slurping noises I make and the fact I inevitably get peach juice running down my arms, pooling into my armpits.  

And my mother always taught me it wasn't polite to lick my arms in public.

It was time to find a peach recipe.  Perhaps something I have to use a knife and fork to eat.

Thanks to Martha Stewart, I turned a nectarine recipe into one for peaches, and lucky for me, and for the general public, it worked like a charm.

Baked Peaches with Pistachios

4 tablespoons shelled pistachios

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

2 drops almond extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 peaches, halved and pitted

1/2 lemon

1/2 cup crème fraîche*

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Chop 3 tablespoons pistachios in a food processor until finely ground.  Add butter, confectioners' sugar, almond extract, and salt.  Process until combined.

Place peaches, cut side up, on a baking sheet, and squeeze lemon over top.  Place a generous amount of pistachio mixture on top of each peach half.  Chop remaining tablespoon of pistachios, and sprinkle on top. 

Bake until fruit is tender and topping is crisp, 10 to 15 minutes.  Let cool for 5 minutes.  Transfer to 4 plates.

Whisk together crème fraîche and granulated sugar.  Spoon over peaches and serve.

* For delicious variations, try marscapone cheese or plain greek yogurt to top peaches.  And I tend to flavor with honey rather than granulated sugar.

What is your favorite way to eat peaches in season?

Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Sage

Longer ago than I care to remember I had an Italian boyfriend and his Grandmother used to make gnocchi all the time.  I loved watching her make them.  She'd whip up a batch faster than I could boil the pot of water.

From that point forward, I was hooked.  Not only on the perfect potato pillows but on the word itself.  I just love saying it.  Gnocchi, gnocchi, gnocchi!!

Last year, I decided to try making gnocchi myself.  Being a novice, it took me a lot longer than an experienced Italian, but the result was delicious.  We had enough to freeze for weeks to come.

I don't always have the time to tackle homemade gnocchi, but lucky for me, I have a few Italian deli's in my area and can pick up some already made at a moments notice.  I just add a quick sauce for an easy, delicious dinner, which is just what we did last night.

Perfect when your short on time, this should only take you about 10 minutes from start to finish!

As with so many quick dishes with few ingredients, I have no measurements here.  Just experiment and season to your taste.

Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Sage

gnocchi

butter

small handful of sage leaves, about 10, minced

walnuts, roughly chopped

nutmeg

salt

pepper

Parmesan Cheese

Boil and salt a large pot of water.  Drop the gnocchi in the boiling water.  When the gnocchi rises to the top, wait about another minute or two and fish them out in batches.  

Meanwhile for the sauce:

Melt a large slab of butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Let butter melt completely without stirring.  

When the melted butter starts to caramelize on the sides, throw in the sage leaves and walnuts and swirl the pan to combine.  

Cook for only 30 seconds more.  Add salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg to taste.

Place gnocchi on a plate.  Spoon brown butter sauce over the top.  Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Buon Appetito!