Spaghetti with Anchovy Carbonara

I know the thought of anchovy pasta doesn't thrill all of you.
That's okay... it was pretty exciting to me.
I was thrilled to see this recipe in Food & Wine (April 2011) and couldn't wait to give it a try.

Well, it took me a while, but recently when the lights were out after a big wind storm and the only thing working in the house was the gas range, I had the perfect dinner to make (and eat...) by candlelight.  There is something very umami and special about the anchovies in this pasta that is not overwhelmingly salty or fishy.  Perfect for a simple dinner with some good wine, like a nice crisp sauvignon blanc white wine.

One trick that this recipe uses is adding some of the pasta cooking liquid to help with the sauce.  If you've never tried, you really need to!  It works so well, here's the recipe that I like that I first tried this technique, Cacio de pepe.

Note- It's hard to tell the lights are out, because we'd just changed our clocks for day light savings time...  these were taken about 5:30pm with lots of new Spring light coming in the kitchen window.  I am SO looking forward to the longer, sunnier days ahead...

Serves 4

Ingredients

12 ounces spaghetti

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced

One 2-ounce can flat anchovies, drained and chopped

Pinch of Aleppo pepper or crushed red pepper

1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1 Tbsp chopped oregano

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 large egg yolks

Salt and freshly ground pepper

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the spaghetti until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1 cup of the cooking water.

In a large, deep skillet, heat the oil with the garlic and anchovies and cook over moderately high heat until the anchovies have dissolved, about 2 minutes. 

Add the red pepper, zest, oregano and parsley, then add the pasta and toss to coat. Remove from the heat.

In a small bowl, whisk the yolks with the 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking water and add to the pasta. Cook over low heat, tossing until the pasta is coated in a creamy sauce, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper and serve. 

NOTE- Add a bit more of the reserved pasta water if the pasta seems too dry.

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Pork and Roasted Pepper Ragu Sauce

I still think about this sauce that I experienced over two years ago in Italy at a cooking class I took while there.

It was so noteworthy to me that the sauce was so simple- pork, wine, mushrooms, onions, peppers and tomato paste. Alessndro taught us that most Italian home cooks do NOT add a bunch of complicated ingredients but focus on 2-3 simple flavors to carry the dish. I've recreated it a couple of times at home.  Here's my best reenactment of that recipe for the sauce. Well, as to the pasta, that will have to wait for another day!

In the photo above is the pasta that we made at my Rome Cooking class (above), it's called cavatelli ("little hollows" or hot dog bun for short).  It's a hearty pasta that holds up well to a thick and strong sauce. We rolled ours on a ridged wooden paddle, but you could use a flat surface too.  I bought the paddles almost two years ago, but I still have not made these at home.  They were so terrifically yummy that I really need to do that.
  
Marinating the ground pork in white wine may seem a bit strange, but I was taught this in my Roman Cooking class and I'm keeping it.  Simple, yummy- why not?


For the record, "ragu" means a meat based sauce, hence the brand name of Ragu out there on those silly store bought sauces.

Makes enough for 6-8 people
Ingredients

1 1/2 lb lean ground pork 
1 cup white wine (like pinot gris, or sauvignon blanc)

1 15oz can of roasted red peppers
2 lbs sliced mushrooms, browned
1 cup onion, minced (use a food processor)
2-3 garlic cloves
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
1 can tomato paste
Salt and Pepper

In a large bowl, add the raw ground pork and pour the wine over the top.  Allow to marinate for about 30 minutes.  

Meanwhile, in a food processor, mince the onions and garlic.  In a large skillet, add a little olive oil and brown the onions over medium high heat for about 10 minutes, stirring often. Set aside in a bowl.

Brown the mushrooms in a little more olive oil over the same medium high heat for about 10-15  minutes.  DO NOT add any salt to the mushrooms.  If you do, they will not brown. Adding salt forces the mushrooms to release a lot of water and then steam, not brown.  Set aside the mushrooms.

In the same food processor, puree the roasted peppers.  Set aside
Brown the pork over the medium heat, stirring often.  This will take 20-30 minutes if you want to get some nice browned caramelized bits.  Yes, the pork will be well cooked, maybe even overcooked, but it's important for the sauce.

Add the pureed peppers, the onions, the mushrooms and the tomato paste.  Stir to combine well over medium heat.  Let simmer for 10 minutes, adjusting the season by adding salt and pepper to taste.  You may need more salt then expected, as you have not added any salt during the rest of the cooking process.  

Serve over gnocchi, pasta (like penne or rigatoni) or even spaghetti squash.  It probably would be nice in a lasagna too...

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Here's the jarred roasted peppers before I pureed them in the food processor, and after in the photo below.
 

Browning the minced onion (and garlic)

Browned mushrooms (remember, no salt, or they steam instead of brown!)
 

It may take a while to brown up the pork.  Drain the wine off before cooking.

Perserved Lemon & Saffron Risotto

Making risotto is just a comforting thing to do.
Something about all the stirring and tending to the mixture by adding the wine and broth a bit at a time, stirring all the while. This was a perfect rainy Friday night dinner "in" with a grilled steak recently.  I froze the leftovers (in a flat ziploc freezer bag) so that I can have a quick side dish some other night.  Feeling a bit happy to know it's in there waiting for me.

I made preserved lemons about a month or so ago, so lately, I've been looking for ways  to use them in lots of recipes because they taste so good. I've been told you can also buy them at a gourmet grocery store, but I have never seen them there.  My recipe for preserved lemons is here, if you want to give them a try.
 
I used a recipe for the risotto from Sunset Oct 2011 Original recipe was in Sunset magazine,  My only changes to the original were not adding any extra salt, but adding the salty preserved lemons instead. 

Serves 6

Ingredients

8 cups broth (Vegetable or chicken)

1/2 teaspoon saffron threads

3 Tbsp butter

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 Tbsp  finely chopped fresh thyme leaves

2 cups Arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp sour cream

2 Tbsp  finely chopped chives, plus more for garnish

1 Tbsp finely chopped preserved lemon, store-bought or homemade

Fresh pepper, salt if needed

Bring chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan, covered. Add saffron and reduce to a bare simmer, covered.

 Melt butter over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed 8-qt. pot. Add onion; cook until translucent and turning golden, 10 minutes. Stir in thyme, chives and preserved lemon. Add rice and cook, stirring constantly, until edges of grains look translucent, about 2 minutes.

Add wine to rice and cook, stirring, until wine is completely absorbed. Add about 1 cup hot broth and simmer, stirring, until absorbed; reduce heat to medium-low if mixture starts to boil. Keep adding broth, a ladleful at a time, stirring until each addition is absorbed before adding the next, until rice is just tender to the bite and still slightly soupy, 15 to 30 minutes. You may have broth left over.

Remove rice from heat and stir in cheese, sour cream, pepper. Scatter more chives on top.

 
Great on it's own, but would also be wonderful as a side dish to grilled scallops, fish, steak or chicken.

Note: Adding the cheese and sour cream "tightens" or thickens it up, so I'd suggest that you error on too soupy, rather than not soupy enough.

Here's a photo proving I cook with wine... sometimes I even put in it in the dish!

Orzo with caramelized onions and raisins

Definately some unique flavors here, but a nice side dish with grilled meats this Summer.
I'm having some fun with sweet, tangy, chewy, salty these days, and this salad has all three. A great salad to make ahead and let sit for a couple hours before serving, or it would be good cold, or even hot.  You decide!

I used the recipe from Food & Wine awhile back, but added a couple of tweaks. I felt it needed a bit more tang from the kalamata olive (or red wine vinegar) brine.  You could also use feta cheese in this instead of Parmesan, or omit cheese from it altogether.

Here's the original link:
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/orzo-with-caramelized-onions-and-raisins

Ingredients

Serves about 6

12 ounces orzo (2 cups)

1/2 cup raisins

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1-2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced lengthwise

Kosher salt

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, thinly sliced lengthwise
1-2 Tbsp of kalamata olive brine, or red wine vinegar

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

Freshly ground pepper and salt to taste

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the orzo until al dente, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, cover the raisins with warm water and let stand until softened, 10 minutes. Drain the orzo and rinse under cold water. Drain the raisins and transfer them to a large bowl with the orzo.

In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, season with salt and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. 

Here's what was left after carmelizing them, I gave them a bit of a chop before adding to the salad.

Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the onion to the orzo along with the olives, cheese and parsley and stir. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Here's what it looked like before mixing it up... 

Creamy Mac & Cheese

New York Times recipe with 5 stars and over 781 reviews... well, that got my attention.

But, I had to read the recipe a couple of times...
Wait a sec- - you throw uncooked noodles into the mix and bake it?
Well, that's crazy!
Crazy smart and talks straight to the lazy woman within me.

This... my friends... brings cooking dinner to a whole 'nother easy level.
We loved this and I will definately use this technique again to make a super easy Mac & Cheese.


Here's a link to the original recipe.

Serves 4-6
Ingredients

2 Tbsp butter

1 cup cottage cheese 

2 cups half & half or whole milk 

1 tsp dry mustard

Pinch cayenne

Pinch freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 pound sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1/2 pound elbow pasta (or other tubular small pasta), uncooked.

Heat oven to 375 degrees and position an oven rack in upper third of oven. 
Use 1 tablespoon butter to butter a 9-inch round or square baking pan.

In a blender, purée cottage cheese, milk, mustard, cayenne, nutmeg and salt and pepper together. Reserve ¼ cup grated cheese for topping. In a large bowl, combine remaining grated cheese, milk mixture and uncooked pasta. 
Pour into prepared pan, cover tightly with foil and bake 30 minutes.

Uncover pan, stir gently, sprinkle with reserved cheese and dot with remaining tablespoon butter. Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes more, until browned.  Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

 

Here it is before I covered with foil and threw it in the oven.  See that I have retained about 1/4 -1/2 cup of cheese to add on in 30 minutes when I uncover it.

After the second 30 minutes in the oven uncovered, I wasn't sure the noodles were really cooked.  So I turned off the oven and let it sit for 15 minutes in the hot oven....  interestingly enough, it was that additional 15 minutes that made some of the top noodles kind of hard from over baking. 

Here's what I've been making:

One year ago: Arizona Botanical Gardens
Two years ago: Strawberry Spinach Avocado Salad