Mostly Plants in a Hurry: One-Pot Pasta with Arugula and Lemon

Lately, work has been similar in sensation to a whirpool caught inside a vortex trapped beneath a swamp. Cooking, let alone cleaning up afterward, starts to seem like an insurmountably effortful undertaking when viewed from the tail end of a 14-hour day.

Enter the one-pot, quick-and-easy dinner menu. It may not result the sort of a swooning state of culinary bliss or eye-catching aesthetic that you would seek when planning a dinner party. But it's tempting enough to remind you that you're hungry, envegetabled* enough to keep you healthy, and most importantly, barely more work than nuking a pre-made, over-processed microwave meal.

Here's one, for next time you're feeling underwater.

 

Ingredients
1 - 1 1/2 cups whole wheat corkscrew pasta
1/3 can chickpeas (optional, but a good way to sneak in a bit more protein)
2-3 handfuls baby arugula
Good quality olive oil
A little Stilton, crumbled (or sub your favorite blue cheese or grated Parmesan)
Meyer lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Boil the pasta in salted water per package directions, until al dente. If you have a smaller pot with a lid that drains, it will boil faster and make draining the pasta that much easier.

Add the chickpeas, then drain with the pasta. Return to pot. Drizzle with olive oil, toss with the arugula, and wait a minute for the arugula to wilt. Stir in the cheese (enough to impart a hint of flavor to each bite). Squeeze lemon liberally, and top with freshly ground black pepper.

Re-energizes 1.

*is too a word.

Rosemary-Scented White Beans with Butternut Squash and Prosciutto

Here's an easy, different, and delectable use for leftover butternut squash.

Ingredients

4-6 slices leftover roasted butternut squash*

Olive oil

1 small shallot, chopped

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

Splash dry white wine and/or broth

1/2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

1-2 tsp chopped flat leaf parsley

Salt and freshly ground white pepper

2 oz. prosciutto

Set a nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Sauté the shallot and garlic in a glug of olive oil for 2-3 minutes, until they soften. Add the cannellini beans and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 more minutes. Next, add a splash of wine and a splash of broth, and stir in the rosemary and parsley. Continue cooking for about 3 more minutes, stirring from time to time.

Remove from the heat and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and some white pepper.

Meanwhile, reheat the butternut squash in the microwave, then arrange the slices at the bottom of two soup plates. Top with the white bean mixture, and layer a slice or two of prosciutto over the top.

Serve warm.

Serves 2.

 *To roast the butternut squash, halve lengthwise, scrape out the seeds, and slice into 1" half-circles. Brush with olive oil, arrange on a baking sheet, and roast at 425° until just tender, flipping the pieces after 20 minutes or so (wait until they brown on the bottom before flipping). Alternatively, just halve the whole squash lengthwise, scrape out the seeds, and roast face-down until tender.

Roasted Broccoli with Gruyere

You know that song, about Romeo and Juliet and broccoli and Gruyère?

You know the one: "Never know how much I love you, never know how much I care, when you put your arms around me, you're like the broccoli to my Gruyère." At least, I'm pretty sure that's how it goes.

Clearly, some pairings are just meant to be. (Don't question it. Just eat.)

Ingredients

2 heads broccoli, tops divided into florets, tender part of stem sliced

1/2 head cauliflower, divided into florets

1 medium red onion, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced

Olive oil

3 oz Gruyère, grated

Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Preheat oven to 425°.

Toss broccoli, cauliflower, and onion with olive oil in a roasting pan (the veggies should be a couple layers deep). Roast for 40 minutes, turning every 15 or so, until tender. Top with Gruyère, then broil 3-4 minutes.

Sprinkle with salt and white pepper, and serve hot.

Serves 2-4. Best the first day, rather than reheated, so why save any for tomorrow?

Happy New Year!

Happy 2014, faithful eaters! Might we suggest serving your new year's resolution with a side of delicious? Here's a look back at some of our favorites from 2013.

 

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Lemon Zest

Moroccan Chickpea Stew paired with Braised Cumin Carrots

Jungle Rice

Polenta with Tomatoes, Basil, and Balsamic Reduction

Sukuma Wiki

Fried Chickpeas

Wasabi Salmon Sandwiches

Poached Egg over just about anything

...and here's to many more to come!

Shaved Fennel Salad with Pomegranate and Persimmon

Every now and then, one finds a life-changing cooking trick.

For example. There was life before the pomegranate hack. Life before the pomegranate hack consisted of, on average, oh-point-five pomegranates per annum per person in our household. In contrast, life after the pomegranate hack, at the present rate, is on track to exceed over 100 pomegranates per person per annum. (Surely the local pomegranate supply...or our paychecks...will run out long before then, however.)

To experience your own epiphanic culinary moment, arm yourself with a pomegranate, a wooden spoon, and this easy video tutorial.

Then, after you gorge yourself on an entire pomegranate or three, consider the many culinary excuses available for replenishing your dwindling supply. Like, for example, this salad.

Ingredients

1/2 fennel bulb

2-4 large handfuls mixed baby greens

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp sherry vinegar

1/2 pomegranate, seeded

1 ripe fuyu persimmon, sliced or diced

1 tbsp lightly toasted pumpkin seeds

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Shave the fennel (I use a carrot peeler to slice off thin pieces). Toss in a bowl of ice water and let sit in the fridge for at least 10 minutes to crisp, then drain and pat dry.

Whisk olive oil and vinegar together to form an emulsion. Add some pepper. Toss the greens with just enough vinaigrette to lightly coat. Add the fennel, toss a couple moe times, and arrange on salad plates. Sprinkle with pomegranate and pumpkin seeds, and garnish with persimmon slices.

Serves 2.

Return of the Pizza: Roasted Butternut Squash, Caramelized Leek, and Prosciutto

As dedicated cookers and consumers of all things delicious, we pride ourselves in our ongoing efforts to champion the most delectable of dishes. Yet it has come to our concerned attention that we have lapsed. Egregiously.

Mostly, we just like saying the word egregiously. With emphasis. Egregiously.

The lapse involved the following: For awhile, there was pizza. And then: there was not. Pizza, I mean. No pizza of any sort.

Egregious, right?

Let's get right on that.


Ingredients
Crust:
1 tsp dry active yeast
1/2 cup warm water (about 110 degrees F)
1/4 tsp sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp stone-ground whole wheat bread flour
3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp plus one pinch salt
2-3 pinches lemon zest (grated on a microplane, else very finely minced)
Coarsely-ground cornmeal
Olive oil for brushing

Top:
1 small clove garlic, chopped or pressed
1.5-2 oz grated Gruyère
2 oz grated Monterey jack cheese
1 small leek, white and light green parts, halved lengthwise, rinsed well, sliced into half rings
2 oz prosciutto
1/2 cup (or more) diced roasted butternut squash*
4-5 leaves dino kale, stems removed and sliced crosswise into thin strips


Follow the instructions in this recipe to prepare the pizza dough (or use store-bought dough if you must, but making your own is easier than you think, way healthier, and deeply delectable).

Sauté the leek in a little olive oil over medium heat for about 7 minutes, turning the heat down slightly to prevent browning if needed.

When the dough is ready, preheat oven to 450°F. Brush the flour off your cutting board and sprinkle it with cornmeal. Take the dough out of the bowl and gently form a ball, then place on the cutting board and begin gently pressing and stretching it outward to form a flat pancake. You want to end up with a flat disc that's about 12" in diameter.

Lightly oil a pizza pan or baking sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal. Gently transfer the crust to the pan, then brush the upward side of the pizza dough with olive oil.

Rub the minced garlic into the top of the pizza, then sprinkle lightly and evenly with the grated cheeses (leave a thin ring around the outside without cheese). Spread the leeks evenly over the cheese, then layer the prosciutto, squash, and finally kale.

Bake in the oven on the middle rack for 12-16 minutes, until crust turns slightly golden around the edges.

Remove from the oven, slice, and serve immediately.

Makes 8 small but rich slices (enough for two, or as an appetizer for four). Pairs very well with a crisp salad and a glass of Seghesio 2012 Zinfandel (currently available at Costco).

*To roast the butternut squash, halve lengthwise, scrape out the seeds, and slice into 1" half-circles. Brush with olive oil, arrange on a baking sheet, and roast at 425° until just tender, flipping the pieces after 20 minutes or so (wait until they brown on the bottom before flipping). Go ahead and roast the whole squash, peel and dice what you want for the pizza, and then use the leftovers later for this or this or this.

Braised Broccoli and Kale with Smoked Bacon

Here's a simple, richly satisfying, wintry sort of dish that's lovely on its own or as an easy pasta topping. It's mostly vegetables, and yet the bacon makes it taste, well, full of wondrous bacon.

You can also sub any kind of sausage meat for the bacon—just break into small bits in the pan and brown. (If it's chicken or lamb rather than pork sausage, you may want to cook it first, remove from the pan, and add it back after the veggies are done to avoid overcooking.)

Ingredients
Olive oil
2 strips Niman Ranch applewood smoked bacon
2-3 cloves garlic, smashed
1 head broccoli, cut into bite-size florets (you can slice up the tender part of the stem, too)
1 bunch dino kale, sliced crosswise into strips
(One easy shortcut is to soak, rinse, and spin dry the broccoli and kale together, after they've been cut, in a salad spinner)
1/2 cup chicken or veggie broth

2 1/2 cups whole wheat fusilli pasta, if desired, cooked according to package directions.

Heat a wide saucepan or large dutch oven over medium heat. When hot, drizzle with olive oil. Add the bacon and cook 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon turns lightly brown in a few places.

Toss in the garlic and press into the pan gently, then add the broccoli and stir to coat evenly. Cook for about 4 minutes, stirring once in the middle (the idea is to let it start to brown here and there). Add the kale, stir to combine, and drizzle with a little more olive oil. Continue cooking for another 5-10 minutes, stirring only occasionally, until nicely browned in many places.

Add a splash of broth, cover, and let steam for 3-4 minutes. Stir, add another splash, replace the cover, and lower the heat to medium low. Continue steaming, stirring every once in awhile and adding a little more broth if it starts to stick to the bottom of the pan too much, until the kale and broccoli are both tender (usually about 5-10 minutes of steaming will do it. And this is one of those lovely dishes that only gets better if you accidentally let it brown a little extra).

If you're making pasta, toss it, once cooked, with a little olive oil, salt, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Serve the kale mixture hot, on its own or atop a bowl of pasta.

Serves 2.

Farroto with Roasted Kabocha Squash and Arugula

As promised, a roasted kabocha farroto from our Kansas correspondent.

If you have not tried kabocha yet, get thee to a grocery store. Unless you live in Sacramento. In which case, stay away from my squash.

Ingredients

Olive oil

A one-pound(ish) kabocha squash (a.k.a. Japanese pumpkin)

1 cup farro, rinsed and soaked for several hours

(soaking decreases the cooking time a bit)

3-4 cups veggie and/or chicken broth

1 large shallot, halved lengthwise and sliced into half rings

1.5 strip applewood smoked bacon, sliced

½ cup dry white wine

4 cloves garlic, pressed or chopped

2-3 handfuls baby arugula

4-6 tbsp chopped fresh sage

2-3 tbsp pine nuts

¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated over a microplane

Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Rinse the kabocha squash and pat dry. Cut the top out as you would when carving a pumpkin, then slice in half from top to bottom. Scoop out the seeds, then slice both halves into even wedges (roughly 3/4" wide at the thickest part).

Drizzle a cookie sheet with olive oil, and arrange the squash wedges on the sheet, turning them over as you go so that both sides are lightly coated with olive oil. (Note that if you overcrowd, they won't brown well, so try to leave a little space between them.) Roast for 15 minutes, flip, and roast 10-12 minutes more or until lightly browned and tender without being squishy. Set aside to cool, then slice from the skins if desired (we like to leave the skin on about half the pieces—just make sure the skin you leave is smooth and unblemished) and cut into half-inch cubes.

Bring the broth to a boil in a smallish, covered pot, then turn down heat to low to keep warm.

Place a dutch oven over medium heat. Drizzle with olive oil, then add the bacon. Once these have browned some, remove from the pot and set aside. (You can also discard a bit of the grease from the pan if you wish and replace with olive oil.)

Add the shallot and cook 2-3 minutes until translucent, then add half of the garlic and sauté for a minute more so that it softens without browning. Next, stir in the farro and sauté for several minutes. Once dry, add the white wine and cook until the liquid is absorbed. Then begin adding the broth by the ladleful as the liquid continues to be absorbed. Cook the farro in this way for about 30 minutes, or until the farro is not crunchy and the grains begin to open slightly.

Meanwhile, place a separate pan over medium heat. Toast the pine nuts till golden, shaking the pan frequently, then remove to a side dish. Add a glug of olive oil to the same pan and add the other half of the garlic. Sauté for a minute, just until soft, then add the sage and sauté for a few minutes more until the sage is very fragrant. Set aside with the pine nuts and bacon.

When the farro is cooked, stir in the arugula, then add the bacon, sage, and pine nuts. Microplane a small amount of Parmesan over the top. Last, add the kabocha and fold gently into the farroto, trying not to smoosh the squash completely so that some of the chunks are left intact. Turn off the heat, add salt and pepper to taste, and serve warm.

Serves 2-4.

Farro with Caramelized Carrot and Feta

The husband cooked this one up in Kansas, loosely adapting a recipe from his produce box. I have now had it twice for dinner, and once as leftovers on the plane back to Sacramento after shamelessly employing my best mournful puppy dog eye routine to steal enough from (his) dinner for lunch the next day. (I couldn't help myself. It's addictive.)

It should be patently obvious that I deserve zero credit for this one, other than in my role as Selfless Taster of New Recipes.

It's a job I could get used to.

Ingredients
1 cup farro, cooked (follow package directions, but use chicken or veggie broth instead of water)*
Olive oil
2 medium shallots, diced
1 bunch carrots, peeled chopped into ¼ inch cubes (rainbow carrots are perfect for this dish, if you find them)
1-2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Juice of 1 Meyer lemon
5 oz feta cheese, cut into small cubes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

While the farro is cooking, prepare the other ingredients.

Sauté the shallot with a glug of olive oil in a wide, nonstick pan for about 2 minutes, until they soften slightly. Add the carrots and saute in the pan with the shallot, stirring only occasionally, until they brown. When the carrots are golden in places, sprinkle in the Aleppo pepper, and cook for a minute or two more.

When the carrots are browned, add the cooked farro to the pan and fold together. When the farro is warmed through, add the parsley, feta, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.

Serves 2.

 *Look for whole grain rather than semi-pearled or pearled—often, the only way to tell is that the whole grains have a longer cooking time (30-40 minutes instead of 15-20). The whole grains have more texture and more nutrition. The semi-pearled variety does cook more quickly, if you're in a rush. Our co-op only has semi-pearled, whereas Whole Foods carries the whole grain version (from Bob's Red Mill).

Warm Quinoa Salad with Roasted Kabocha and Pomegranate

After the husband reintroduced me to kabocha squash by way of a brilliant farroto he invented last month (coming soon to a blog near you), I became obsessed. (I say reintroduced because in retrospect, I have eaten it—and always loved it—in Japanese tempura, but never knew what kind of squash it was.) Roasted, kabocha tastes of toasted pumpkin seeds and squashy wonderment. You might think the latter is more of a delirious rant than an actual taste. Roast some yourself and see.

This recipe calls for enough kabocha to make about 2 cups cooked, plus 3-5 extra wedges for snacking, because I am a realist, and realists believe in accurately predicting the amount of a given ingredient that will make it past one's mouth and into the pot. Also because it allows you to have the following conversation:

You: Would you like a slice of kabocha?
Other person: Kabocha?
You: KABOCHA.
Other person: Is it good?
You: KABOCHA.
Other person: What?
You (mouth full): Mmrmph.

Ingredients
1 kabocha squash (weighing about a pound; or sub butternut squash)
Olive oil
1/2 cup quinoa
3 inches of a medium leek, white and light green parts, halved lengthwise, rinsed well, sliced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
5 oz veggie and/or chicken broth
2 oz. baby spinach or arugula
Seeds of 1/2 pomegranate
2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted in a pan until golden brown
Freshly ground white pepper

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Rinse the kabocha squash and pat dry. Cut the top out as you would when carving a pumpkin, then slice in half from top to bottom. Scoop out the seeds, then slice both halves into even wedges (roughly 3/4" wide at the thickest part).

Drizzle a cookie sheet with olive oil, and arrange the squash wedges on the sheet, turning them over as you go so that both sides are lightly coated with olive oil. (Note that if you overcrowd, they won't brown well, so try to leave a little space between them.) Roast for 15 minutes, flip, and roast 12-15 minutes more or until lightly browned and tender without being squishy. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, rinse the quinoa and let soak in cold water for 15 minutes.

Heat a pot over medium heat. When hot, add a glug of olive oil. Saute the leek with a pinch of salt until it softens, then add the garlic. Saute a minute more, add the quinoa, and stir a few times. Pour in the broth, cover the pot, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

While the quinoa is cooking, slice about 3/4 of the kabocha squash wedges out of their skin and cut into 1 inch pieces. (You also have time to seed the pomegranate and toast the pine nuts here if you want.) The rest of the squash is yours for the snacking.

When the quinoa is done, fold in the squash very gently (to avoid smushing it) and let heat through, then turn off the heat and cover the pot. Toss the baby greens with a little bit of olive oil and a spoonful of sherry vinegar so that the leaves are very lightly coated. Pour the quinoa-squash mixture over the greens, and let sit for 2 minutes to slightly wilt the leaves. Toss gently, sprinkle with salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste, and serve topped with pine nuts and pomegranate seeds.

Serves 2 as a main dish or 4 as a side.