fish in a package, fish en papillote

this is a snappy way to cook fish, veggies and grains all in one step. it's called en papillote, which is a French cooking method that means "in paper" and all you do is wrap your ingredients in parchment paper and cover with a little liquid: broth, wine, coconut milk or water and bake. the liquid in the package will slowly steam-cook all the veggies, couscous and fish.  I used a plain couscous, white wine, lemon juice, tomatoes, red onions, zucchini, carrots, red pepper, dill and halibut. but the combinations are endless and it's a good one to experiment with, because you really can't go wrong.

couscous, veggies and halibut.

couscous and veggies.

the finished product.  

FISH EN PAPILLOTE
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red onion, halved and sliced
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 zucchini thinly sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 red pepper sliced
1/4 cup fresh dill
juice of one lemon
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 six-ounce halibut fillets


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut two large pieces of parchment (depending if you want 1 or 2 servings) - about 24 inches in length, fold in half and unfold. Stir couscous with liquid as recommended on box, and place on the bottom of the parchment, dividing evenly between packages.  Cover with veggies, cover the veggies with the fish fillet and dill, pour oil, lemon juice and wine over the top of the ingredients and season with salt and pepper.  Fold edges of paper over to create rim, and staple edges of parchment paper to seal.  Place packets on cookie sheets and bake for about 20 minutes, until packets have puffed up.

Keep Clam and Carry On

for a little Labor Day celebration we headed to Anacortes to relax with friends and keep up with the tradition of "living off the land". It was a great time, and we ate almost exclusively stuff that we foraged: crabs, clams, crawfish and berries (blackberry pie recipe to come), and it was fantastic. The first night we had a 15-crab feast, which we ate almost all of, we used the leftovers for crab dip the next day. The second night, after cleaning buckets and buckets of clams, we had a clam linguine with tomatoes, basil and lemon. Here are some labor of love recipes. 

crab feast and laughter.

cooking the crawfish.

linguine with clams and other goodness.

Crab Dip
5 garlic cloves chopped, and cooked in a little olive oil
1/2-1 cup crab
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup cheese (we used Brie and mozzarella)
Paprika for sprinkling on top


Mix all ingredients, minus the paprika, in an oven-safe bowl or baking dish.  Bake for 25 minutes in a in a 350 degree oven. Serve with French bread or crackers.


Linguine with Clams, Lemon and Tomatoes
Salt
1 pound linguine (I used Trader Joes chive and another cracked pepper flavor)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 lemons, zested and juiced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1-2 cups heirloom cherry tomatoes (halved or quartered)
1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup (10 or 12 leaves) fresh basil, very thinly sliced
1 cup of cleaned clams, cut into bite-sized pieces

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and drop the pasta into the pot. Heat a large deep skillet over low heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and garlic and crushed red pepper flakes.

When the pasta has been cooking about 5 minutes, add lemon juice, a ladle of the cooking water from the pasta and the wine to the garlic and oil. Raise heat a bit to bring sauce to a bubble, and cook until wine has reduced a bit.  Add clams.

Drain pasta when it still has a good bite to it, al dente. Add lemon zest and half of the cheese to the sauce. Season the sauce with salt, to taste. Add pasta to pan and turn off heat. Toss the pasta with sauce a minute or 2, allowing it time to soak up the sauce. Add the herbs and toss.

Top the plates of pasta or platter with remaining cheese.

make sure you try the soup in Lucca

one of the best meals we had in Italy was in a restaurant that we stumbled upon at around 10:30pm after a long day of train rides and touring. It was a little too late at night to expect a reasonable dinner, but we sat down at the first restaurant we saw that still had people eating outside, and were excited to find that a) they were still serving dinner and b) that the first page of the menu at Trattoria Da Francesco was a review by Mark Bittman, food writer for the New York Times and author of my favorite cookbook How to Cook Everything. Although the review was more than four years old, he mentioned that the restaurant did a nice job with all of the local specialties, especially the soup, "make sure you try the soup."

The three main Luccan specialties are tortelli lucchese (meat filled crescent-shaped ravioli with ragu), sea bass (usually grilled whole) and a farro soup with beans and lentils (farro is a barleylike grain often referred to as "cereal").  The ravioli was good, very meaty. The sea bass arrived grilled whole and stuffed with one sprig of rosemary, it was fresh and the prototype of a simple, delicious dish. The star of the night, or so I felt, and the hands-down-best-thing I ate in all of Italy was the Cereal Soup, it didn't even sound good, but I ordered it because Mark Bittman said to try it and I trust him. He was right, and I was very pleased with my choice. I checked Mark's blog and he's already gone above and beyond to post the recipe for the masses.  Here it is, Cereal Soup from Lucca, delicious and a must try.

outside our room in Lucca.

walking through the square.

the center of Lucca.

The St. Martin Cathedral in Lucca.

LUCCAN FARRO SOUP
Recipe from Mark Bittman

Mark says, "If you can't find farro, use spelt. And if you can't find spelt, use barley. (And if you can't find barley -- where do you live? -- use wheatberries or brown rice."

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 2 celery stalks, trimmed and chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 cup farro, spelt or barley
• 1 cup dried white beans, soaked for several hours or overnight
• 2 cups chopped tomatoes (canned are fine; do not drain)
• 6 cups stock or water, more as necessary
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil, optional
• Freshly grated Parmesan

Method

• 1. Put oil in a large, deep saucepan over medium heat; a minute later add onion, celery, carrots, a large pinch of salt and some pepper. Cook until vegetables are glossy and onion is softened, 5 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, and stir; add farro, beans, tomatoes and stock, and stir.
• 2. Bring to a boil, then adjust heat so mixture simmers steadily. Cook until farro and beans are tender, at least an hour, adding stock or water as necessary if mixture becomes too thick. Stir in parsley and basil (if using), then cook another 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, then serve with lots of Parmesan.

quin whaaaa??

I'm always on the look out for a tasty new salad.  It's nice to have a big batch on hand for lunches and dinners throughout the week. this particular quinoa salad is filled with herbs, veggies, lemon juice and vinegar. plus it's pretty versatile in terms of herbs and veggies that can be included, and the freshness of the lemon vinaigrette makes it perfect for spring and summer. i just learned that quinoa is a close relative of beets and spinach, part of the reason why it's so healthy.  it's also extra good for you because of its high levels of protein, amino acids, fiber, magnesium, phosphorus and iron. to top it all off, it's gluten-free. go quinoa.  

Refreshing Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

1/2 cucumber, cubed

3 roma or on the vine tomatoes, cubed

4 green onions, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped

1/3 cup italian parsely or cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup basil, chopped

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

Rinse quinoa in cold water in a fine mesh colander and let drain well. Bring water to a boil. Add quinoa and bring to a full rolling boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer; simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and let the quinoa slowly finish for another 10 minutes. Cool in the refrigerator.

Peel and dice cucumber. Dice the tomatoes. Thinly slice green onions. Chop fresh mint,  chop cilantro or parsley and basil. In a bowl mix together lemon juice, vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic and olive oil.

When the quinoa has cooled, toss with cucumber, tomatoes, green onions, herbs and dressing.

spicy & savory tamale pie with polenta

my mom introduced me to this delicious Tex-Mexican standby. It's a great one to keep in your arsenal of easy recipes, as it's good on a warm spring or summer day, or even in the winter when you're looking for something spicy.  Basically, a dish for all seasons, as they say.  Plus, it's pretty much all the same ingredients as tacos, but it changes things up by using polenta rather than tacos.

Tamale Pie with Polenta
For filling:
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1 packet taco seasoning (I use spicy)
1 can of seasoned chili or pinto beans
1 (8 oz.) can Rotel tomatoes
1 cup salsa or enchilada sauce
1 cup grated cheese
For Polenta:

3 cups water

1 cup corn grits

1 tsp. salt

Begin by heating olive oil, add onion, garlic and pepper, saute and add ground turkey and taco seasoning.  Saute until turkey is cooked through.  Add can of chili or pinto beans and the can of mexican tomatoes.

In a separate pot make the polenta. Bring the salted water to a boil and slowly stir in polenta.  Stir for about 30 minutes or until mixture thickens. Add more salt if needed.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Oil a 9x12 baking dish or pie pan.  Spread polenta in a thin layer on the bottom of the pan.  Cover with turkey and veggie filling.  Cover with salsa or enchilada sauce. Cover the entire mixture with cheese.  Bake for 15-25 minutes or until cheese is melted to your liking.  

spicy sausage pappardelle

Are you in need of a quick weeknight meal that is meaty, but also easy to prepare? Look no further. I've recently received feedback that MORE dishes with LESS ingredients would be most appreciated. Since I'm a lady of the people, I'm going to work on collecting accessible recipes with simplicity in mind.
This pasta dish contains approximately eight ingredients, only four of which you probably need to go out and buy...these would be the sausage, tomatoes, cream and red onion(and fresh thyme if you don't harvest your own herbs). Chances are if you cook from time to time you already own your own garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and some pasta noodles. Enjoy!

SPICY Sausage Pasta
(serves 2)
olive oil
1 red onion, diced
a handful of thyme leaves (fresh or dried)
1/2 tbsp. red pepper flakes (dried chili flakes)
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 pork sausages (Uli's HOT italian!), meat removed from casings and separated into small pieces
1 28 oz. can of peeled, sliced or diced tomatoes
1/2 pint cream
salt and pepper
pappardelle (from trader joe's, any noodle that you love will work)
parmesan to serve
Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a pan over a medium heat. Brown the pieces of sausage in the oil, breaking the sausages as you cook. Add the thyme leaves to the pan and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the onion and red pepper flakes and cook until soft. Add the chopped garlic and cook for another minute or so. Add the sliced or diced tomatoes to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook the pasta in salted water. A few minutes before the pasta is ready, add the cream to the sauce and stir. When the pasta is cooked, plate and serve with a heaping spoon of sauce.  

butter sauce

this recipe serves as a good reminder to enjoy the pleasures of simplicity. the sauce has three ingredients.  butter.  tomatoes. onion.

it. is. fantastic.

the sauce as it cooks.  notice the onion is just sliced in half and placed in the pot.  no chopping required.

i served it with perciatelli (hollow spaghetti noodles).

SIMPLE TOMATO SAUCE

Ingredients

(Adapted from Marcela Hazan’s The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking)

28 ounces whole peeled, canned tomatoes (San Marzano, if they are on sale.  any will do.)
5 tablespoons salted butter
1 medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and halved
Salt to taste

Put the tomatoes, onion and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a simmer then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, discard the onion, add salt to taste and keep warm while you prepare your pasta.

Serve with spaghetti.

makin' a ragù, real quick like.

Here's a new, cool thing that I learned: ragù can be abbreviated. Ragù can take all day to cook, reduce and transform into something worthy of bearing the "sauce" name OR it can be a speedy dish, something you whip up in 30 minutes or less. You choose. It's hard to beat all day slow-cooked flavors, but on weeknights, making a five hour sauce is too much. It crosses the line between dedication and madness.

Hot Italian links from Uli's in the market.

Ragù (Quick Style)
Adapted from Bitten

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp.  olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lb. spicy italian sausage removed from casing
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup milk
1/4 cup tomato paste
salt and pepper

1 lb. of pasta
parmesan for serving

Boil salted water for the pasta. Put the oil in a skillet or sauce pan over medium heat add the onion and garlic. Cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until it softens. Add the sausage in bits, and turn the heat to medium high; cook, stirring occasionally, until the sausage is nicely browned, add wine and cook until the liquid reduces.


Add milk and tomato paste, season to taste with salt and pepper; stir to blend, and simmer for about 5 minutes, or until thickened. If sauce it becomes too thick or dry, add a little more milk or water.

Once the sauce is done and the water is bioling, cook the pasta. When pasta is al dente, drain and toss with sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan and adjust seasonings to your liking.

the big soup

a tasty soup for chilly fall days. this soup is very forgiving, making it easy to improvise and include whatever beans, grains or veggies you wish to use or have on hand.

MINESTRONE

1/4 cup olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 carrot, diced

3-4 celery stalks, diced

1/2 cup chopped prosciutto or ham (optional)

6 cloves garlic, diced

2 cups potatoes, chopped into cubes

salt and pepper

6 cups chicken stalk

2 cans diced tomatoes, including juices

2 cups zucchini, chopped into cubes

1/2 cup green beans

1/2 cup kidney beans

1/2 cup cannellini beans

1/2 cup parsley, chopped

Parmesan rind

1/2 cup pasta, such as ditalini or barley (optional)*

Heat the olive oil on medium heat and saute onions, carrots and celery until tender. Add in the prosciutto (or ham) and garlic and cook until garlic is fragrant and thoroughly cooked. Add the potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Add the stock, tomatoes and Parmesan rind. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook about 30 minutes. Add the zucchini and different beans, along with the parsley. Add in the pasta and cover, cooking at a simmer until ready to serve. Serve with parsley and grated parmesan.

*Note pasta will continue to expand even during refrigeration. If you intend to eat over multiple days, add cooked pasta at serving time and store pasta separately for future servings.

the original souse king

Just as there are two types of people in this world: those who like Neil Diamond, and those who don't...there are two types of pasta sauces: those that you buy in a jar, and those that you make from scratch. Don't get me wrong, I love popping open a jar of ragu as much as the next guy, but if you want to make an easy, freezy sauce to have on hand AT ALL TIMES, this is the one. It will not let you down. It’s rich, it’s meaty, it's perfect for spaghetti, for lasagna or for eating by the cup full (some people are into that, for reals).

It takes about half an hour to cook all of the ingredients, but then you can just “Set it, and forget it!” (that’s right, Ron Popeil style). The longer you forget it, the more delicious it becomes. It’s pretty much magic. Or maybe it is science. Who can really tell the difference these days?

After cooking and enjoying, bolognese freezes well and thaws quickly for saucy meals on the go.

Ragu Alla Bolognese

INGREDIENTS

½ lb. hot Italian sausages

1 lb. leanest ground beef

1 chopped onion

2 chopped carrots

2 chopped celery sticks

8-10 cloves garlic, minced or put through a garlic press

1 tbsp. oregano

1 tbsp. basil

1 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. ground black pepper

2 tsp. fennel seeds

3 tsp. salt (salt monkeys, do it to taste)

½ tsp. ground nutmeg

1 bay leaf

½ cup dry white or red wine (both work well)

¼ cup tomato paste (mix with ¼ cup water)

2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes, peeled and crushed in heavy puree

Remove sausage from casings and slowly brown in a skillet along with the ground beef, a large sauce or soup pan works well. Break up the sausage as it cooks. Once meats are browned to your liking, drain the fat. Add vegetables and all spices to meat pan, sauté until onions begin to cook, and be careful not to brown the garlic. Add the tomato sauce, water and wine. Simmer for 5 minutes and add canned tomatoes. Simmer over medium-low heat, for 1-2 hours. Serve with the pasta of your choice.

More substantial noodles such as linguini, spaghetti or pappardelle, work nicely with this sauce.

tomato & fennel salad

My mom made this for dinner the other night. It was inspired by her favorite salad at Tutta Bella, the Insalata Di Salerno. She opted to leave out the cucumbers and lettuce that are in the restaurant version, and focus more on the tomatoes and fennel.

1 1/2 pounds cherry or heirloom tomatoes
1 small fennel bulb
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cut the tomatoes into bite-sized pieces, with cherry or grape tomatoes you can leave whole or slice in half. Remove the top of the fennel (save some fronds for garnish) and slice the bulb very thinly crosswise with a knife or on a mandolin.

Toss the tomatoes and fennel in a bowl with the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Garnish with 2 tablespoons chopped fennel fronds, season to taste, and serve.

Cannelloni with Ragu

This recipe is from a "Kids Cook Italian" class I took back in 1996. Time flies, and 13 years later it turns out adults can cook Italian too, and this recipe is still really tasty, and only takes about 1/2 an hour to prepare. It comes with a recipe for ragu, but you can use any sauce you have on hand, I used some bolognese that I made earlier in the week.

CANNELONI A LA RAGU

For the Ragu:

Chopped celery, onion, 5-6 cloves garlic and carrot

.5 lb. ground beef

.5 lb. ground pork

1 can tomatoes

.5 cup milk

.5 cup tomato puree

1 tbsp. Italian seasoning

salt & pepper to taste

Saute vegetables and garlic in olive oil. Add meat and cook until no longer pink, add milk, tomato puree, tomatoes and seasonings. Cook 20 min. or until liquid has reduced considerably.

For the Cannelloni (8-10 servings):

1 pkg. frozen spinach, thawed & drained

15 basil leaves, chopped

1 lb. fresh ricotta

6 oz. shredded mozzarella
salt & pepper

2 eggs

.5 cup grated parmesan

1 lb. fresh pasta sheets (cut into 20, 5x6 pieces)

Ragu (above)

Combine drained spinach, basil, ricotta, mozzarella, salt & pepper and eggs; mix well. Add .25 cup parmesan, reserve the rest for topping. Mix well, and set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and set aside greased, 9x13 pan. Fill cut pasta sheets by putting filling in the center lengthwise and rolling loosely like a fat cigar. Arrange in a single layer in the dish...not too crowded. Spoon sauce over top and cover with remaining parmesan and additional mozzarella if desired. Bake 20 minutes, or until cheeses are melted.

Amy Comes to Town...Pasta Comes to the Table

When Amy comes to visit, we make some delicious foods,and sometimes we even take requests for any family favorites she has(and let's be honest, we have)been craving. This visit the requests were at the mercy of the ingredients we had on hand: fresh peaches, bing cherries, heirloom tomatoes and fresh basil. There was also a little roll of mom's homemade galette crust in the fridge. She'd made it a few days earlier and decided it was too hot to take a stab at baking, and risk turning the whole house into an oven. It's hard to turn down the opportunity to cook with so much fresh produce on hand, and no one was complaining at the prospect of the meal we could prepare with these ingredients, so we got to work! And here is what we created...

Pasta alla Checca (a fresh and light family favorite, perfect for warm summer evenings). This is one of the first meals I learned to make myself, a recipe my mom learned while assisting chef Giuliano Hazan when he came to Seattle on his book tour for the Classic Pasta Cookbook. Over the years, the recipe has undergone many adaptations from its original form which included thyme, marjoram, and oregano,in addition to basil. A point of contention in the Massar Pfleiger household...Amy and I bet on this over dinner. We changed the recipe so long ago that I had absolutely no recognition of the dish ever including more than just the lone basil herb. She won the bet. But we all won dinner with happy bellies filled with tasty pastas.

PASTA ALLA CHECCA

1 lb. spaghetti or linguini

1/2 lb - 1 lb. heirloom or roma tomoatoes, cut into 1/4 inch pieces or cubes (we used mini heirlooms from Trader Joe's this time - fantastic!)

8 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/4 inch pieces or cubes

1 cup basil leaves, sliced into thin strands

2-3 tbsp. olive oil

6 cloves of garlic, chopped

3-4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper

Salt pasta water liberally and bring to a boil. While that's heating up, prepare tomatoes, basil and mozzarella. Pieces should be no larger than a dime, in order to be easily incorporated with the noodles. Mix chopped tomatoes, basil and mozzarella in a large bowl and set aside. Heat olive oil in a small skillet, adding garlic and the red pepper flakes. Once the garlic has started to sizzle and bubble around the sides, remove from heat and set aside for a minute or two. The garlic will continue to cook and the heat from the red pepper will continue to develop. Pour the heated oil, garlic and red pepper mixture over the tomatoes, basil and mozzarella, and toss to mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook noodles al dente, drain and pour over other ingredients, toss again and cover with a lid, plate or cookie sheet to help the cheese melt before serving. If you'd like, serve with freshly grated parmesan at the table.