Monthly Archives: February 2011
Lemon and Black Pepper Pasta with Seared Scallops
| February 13, 2011 | Filled under Fish and Seafood, Indulge, Italian, Special Occasions, Weekend Meals |
After reading the article about Spaghetti al Limone in the most recent issue of Cooks Illustrated, I couldn’t wait to get into the kitchen. I figured anyone who spent that much time and effort trying to recreate a dish was clearly on to something, plus we all know how I feel about entrees that feature lemon….
Of course I’m never content to leave good enough alone, so I pulled out the pasta machine that I received a while ago and set out to make a special Valentine’s Day dish that was thoroughly infused with bright, lemon flavor. Topped with a few seared sea scallops, this pasta definitely didn’t disappoint — the only thing that could have make it better would have been to eat it at a table outside, steps away from the ocean.
No pasta machine? No Problem! While a machine definitely makes things a lot smoother, you can easily make this without one — just place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll it to about 1/8-inch. Remove the paper and cut into thin, fettucini-like strands with a sharp knife or a pizza roller dipped in flour.
This was my first time using the machine (I have the Kitchen Aid press attachment, but I’ve never had good luck with it), and once I figured out what I was doing it was really easy. A few tips I picked up: Dough dries out quickly, so work with one piece at a time. Initially, I rolled all of my dough through the thickest setting of the roller, then all through the next setting, and so on. But it dried out too fast and I ended up having to throw a bunch of it out. I had much better luck when I started rolling each piece of dough to the level of thickness that I wanted and cutting it before I moved on to the next piece. I also found that the dough rolled the best when I cranked the machine at a steady, moderate speed. The instructions said to crank it slowly, but that resulted in weird, crinkly pasta (you can see them to the left in the photo below) — it still tasted great, but it wasn’t as pretty to look at.
Drying the pasta after its cut will help it to not clump together. I have this neat little tree to hang it on, but in the pat I’ve also hung pasta off of chopsticks or skewers suspended between two boxes or cans. It doesn’t take long to dry – 10 to 15 minutes is plenty.
Garbure & A Ridiculously Delicious Challenge
| February 7, 2011 | Filled under Fall, French, One Pan, Quick Weeknight Meals, Soups and Stews, Winter |
Garbure is a ridiculous soup with an even more ridiculous name. It’s also one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten. With a half pound of proscuitto (and a smidge of bacon fat for good measure), how could it not be? Don’t worry though, in addition to all that porky goodness there’s enough healthy stuff to land this soup solidly in the “good choices” category of eating. Which is a good thing, considering if you’re anything like me you’ll be licking your bowl clean.
Proscuitto makes a great quick stock with subtle floral notes and reminds me of spring even as we dig ourselves out from under what must be the 50th snowstorm this winter, while a potato and some white beans cook down and let off so much creamy starch that its hard to believe that there’s no milk or cream in the recipe. Topped with blue cheese crumbles that take the flavor of this soup through the roof, this dish is rich, comforting, and filling.
I usually get tired of soup before I can finish all of the leftovers, but I ate every last drop of this and still wanted more. It’s a good thing it’s cheap an easy to make!
Garbure
Serves 6
- 1/2 pound Proscuitto, chopped
- 1 Tbs bacon fat (optional)
- 1 Onion, chopped
- 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1 Bay Leaf
- Sage, Marjoram, and Thyme
- 1 white Potato, diced
- 4 cups Cannellini Beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 cups Fava Beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup Cabbage, chopped
- 3 ounces Blue Cheese Crumbles
Add all ingredients except the blue cheese to a large pot filled with 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft. Season to taste with black pepper.
Ladle the soup into bowls and top with blue cheese crumbles.
*****
I’m submitting this recipe to Souper Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen!
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Before I sign off for the night, I’ve been presented with a challenge. The guide to risotto rice I wrote at the end of last year won me an entry into the Marx Foods Ridiculously Delicious Challenge. Since other commitments prevented me from participating in Next Food Blog Star this past fall, I’m all about this opportunity to flex my creative culinary muscle (it’s also the kick in the butt that I need to get back into the kitchen and actually cook something. There’s been a lot of take out in this house the past few weeks.)
For the first challenge, I’m supposed to pick three items from the link above and say what ridiculously delicious thing I would do with them… the kicker is that these items become my prize if I win the entire challenge. Do you have any idea how much pressure that is? Or how difficult it is?
Everything seems to go together perfectly — making it next to impossible to limit my fantasy dish to just three items — but at the same time, I want the oysters and the duck, and try as I might I couldn’t figure out how to craft that mess of meat into a single meal. But what I really want is the sausage sampler. OMG I’m drooling just reading the descriptions! So what I would make with my three items is huckleberry-glazed semi-boneless quail with a side of lamb merguez sausage dressing/stuffing. It would be the most fantastic meal of my life… until the next day, when I would stuff my face with the remaining sausages, only taking breaks to wash them down with huckleberry margaritas. Healthy be damned.
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