A Harvest Supper

Hi Everyone, it's harvest time, and I'm enjoying some savory suppers using fresh ingredients from the garden.  Tonight I'm preparing a pasta dish using fresh pasta, romano beans, fresh tomatoes, and fried eggplant.  The combination of the beans and tomatoes makes the sauce particularly luscious and the fried eggplant adds a nice textural quality to the dish.

To make the pasta:

I cup semolina flour

salt (about 1/4 tsp.)

2 eggs

Put the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the middle in which to put the eggs.  Sprinkle with salt and stir the flour into the eggs, pulling more flour in from the sides of the bowl until the flour and eggs are blended into a dough.  Dust the dough with flour and set it on a board so that you can roll it out.  Roll it out as thinly as you can, as you would for a pie, only thinner.  I usually only roll out half the dough at a time.  When you have it rolled out sufficiently, roll it up to form a tube and slice it into strips.  I cut the dough into strips about 1/4 inch wide. Unravel the pasta and sprinkle with a little flour so that it doesn't stick.  I cup of flour makes enough pasta for four people.  Extra dough can be frozen.  

Romano beans and tomato sauce:

Gather two handfuls of beans, wash and cut them in half.  Make a sauce by sauteing a couple of cloves of garlic in olive oil and salt until browned, adding the beans, a little water, some chopped parsley, and a couple of ripe tomatoes.  Salt again, and let everything cook down, about 10 t0 15 minutes.   

Cook the pasta al dente.  This pasta will cook quickly and float to the top of the pot.  

Pour the sauce over the pasta and top with fried eggplant slices (recipe from Feb. 16) and grated parmigiano cheese.  This dish is great with a nice chianti.  Mmmmmmmm, so satisfying.

Enjoy!  xo 

Zeppole/sfinge

Hi Everyone!  I was on my way to my favorite cafe in Little Italy last week when I was taken by surprise by the Feast San Gennaro, the patron saint of Naples.  Walking by the stalls of frying sausages and peppers really made me wish I still ate red meat.  There were booths with traditional nougat candy, platters of sliced tomatoes with garlic, broccoli rabe and what I consider the ultimate feast food, zeppole.  The first time I ate zeppole I was at a small Italian feast in my neighborhood in the Bronx.  I was about 5 0r 6 years old.  My family called this type of zeppole, sfinge, from the Sicilian dialect which has some roots in Arabic.   I was fascinated by the huge kettle of boiling oil into which the cook was placing pieces of  raw pizza dough.  The dough was turned in the oil until golden on all sides then removed and put into a brown paper bag and sprinkled heavily with powdered sugar.  When my mother handed me one, I could tell it was going to be a treat but, as I bit into it, I fell in love!  It was pure heaven!  Oh, the wonder of fried dough!  Here's how to make your own sfinge, just like at a festa!

Zeppole/sfinge

Heat up some peanut or canola oil in a pot until boiling.  Buy or make enough pizza dough for one large pizza.  Don't try to make the dough wholesome or whole wheat, this is junk food here.

Pull off small pieces of dough and brown on all sides.  The dough should puff up and cook quickly.  Remove cooked dough and put out onto platters with paper towels on them to absorb the oil, and sprinkle liberally with powdered sugar.  Mmmmmm, a great treat!

I will get back with more garden fresh recipes as the picture implies, but I couldn't resist the delicious memory.  Enjoy!

Fresh Tomatoes and Pasta

Hi Everyone, this has been a hot summer and unlike last summer, an excellent one for tomatoes. I wanted to prepare a meal using fresh slicing tomatoes, as the flavor of a good ripe tomato can stand on it's own, but make it a little more hearty.  I decided to slice and dress the tomatoes and add cooked pasta.  The result was just what I was looking for!  The dish was full of the fresh, rich flavor of summer and heartier than a tomato salad.  Of course, the quality and ripeness of the tomatoes, are what makes this dish.

I hope you've had a chance to eat some Romano green beans this summer.  Boy, they are good!

Fresh Tomatoes and Pasta:

The amount of tomatoes needed will vary due to size etc.  Cut the tomatoes and mix with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, a couple or three or four cloves of finely minced garlic, salt, chopped parsley, and a few basil leaves.  Cook your pasta al dente, I used Barilla's whole wheat linguine,  and add to the tomatoes.  You may want to add more olive oil and salt or sprinkle on some parmigiano cheese.  Mmmmmmm, so good.  Enjoy!  Xo

Romano Green Beans

Hi Everyone, today I want to talk about the Romano green bean which is an Italian flat bean.  It is grown like any green bean, either pole or bush.  If you are a gardener, it's not too late to add this delicious variety to you garden.  Romano beans are extraordinary enough to include even if you are already growing green beans.  If you don't have a garden, look out for them this summer, as you only find them in markets during the summer months.  Remember that they are flat. What sets this bean apart is it's succulent and rich texture. Most green beans are crisp and juicy, while the Romano has a meaty quality.  I love them sauteed with olive oil and garlic. They are great over pasta.  A nice hearty pasta dish is sauteed beans with fresh or canned tomatoes, some fresh basil, finished with parmigiano cheese on top.   They're also good sauteed, then cooled and served with a little vinegar or lemon juice as a salad.  I know that once you try them you'll love them!

Romano Beans and Tomato Sauce:

Crush a couple of cloves of garlic and saute in olive oil and salt until golden.  Add about 1/2 lb of clean romano green beans either whole or cut to a size that you prefer, and a little water and let cook slowly.  When the beans have softened, add some fresh or canned tomatoes, a few fresh basil leaves, salt, and cook until the beans are soft the tomatoes have cooked down.  Pour over some pasta that has been cooked al dente and add some grated parmigiano cheese on top.  Mmmmmm, so good!  Enjoy xo.

Pearl Oyster Bar

Hi Everyone,  I was in NYC last week and ate at one of my favorite restaurants, the seafood restaurant, Pearl Oyster Bar.  The restaurant is famous for it's lobster roll, which chef Rebecca Charles has recreated from her memories of childhood summers spent in Maine.  I've never had one, but I can tell you that what I do have is always exquisite!  I always start off with oysters on the half shell.  Here the oysters never disappoint.  Last week the oysters were Chinquoteagues which are from coastal Virginia.  Normally I don't care for oysters form the south or west coast.  I find them too big and not briny, however Chinquoteagues are more like northeastern oysters, small, briny and crisp, just like seawater.  While eating them I began to muse as I do when the oysters are good, that a good oyster is the perfect food!  Then on to fried oysters which are battered and seasoned to perfection.  I also ordered another favorite of mine, salt encrusted shrimp.  In this dish the large, succulent shrimp are cooked in their shell, coated in a crisp, salty mixture.  Fabulous!  That night the vegetable was asparagus, which being in season was perfect!  I recommend sitting at the bar where you can exchange pleasant conversation with the other patrons who are as delighted with their meal as you are with yours.  Wine, beer and champagne are served by a knowledgeable and helpful waitstaff.   People start lining up to get in when the doors open at 6, and if you go later, you can expect a long wait, but is well worth it. Pearl Oyster Bar is located on Cornelia Street in the West Village.   Mmmmmmm, oysters.....xo         

Baby Bok Choi with Oyster Mushrooms

Hi Everyone,  today I have a recipe for baby bok choi sauteed with garlic and oyster mushrooms.  I am fortunate in that I have dried whole lime leaves in my cupboard and the addition of a few of these, used like bay leaves, really brightens up the flavor of this dish, and many others.  They may be purchased at an Asian food market.  However, the dish will still be tasty if you are unable to include them. 

Baby Bok Choi with Oyster Mushrooms:

Slice up a couple of cloves of garlic and saute in a pan with olive oil and salt.  when the garlic begins to turn golden, add about 1/4 lb sliced fresh oyster mushrooms and saute together. Make sure that you have enough oil in the pan.  After about a minute add the cleaned bok choi, salt and 2 or 3 lime leaves.  I like the really small ones (bok choi) because you can cook them whole. Lower the flame and let them cook slowly.  They don't need much time at all so keep your eye on them.  You don't want them to get mushy, just soften nicely.   When done, remove the lime leaves.  A garnish of toasted sesame oil is also a nice addition.   Mmmmmm, so nice and fresh!  Enjoy, xo.

Soft Shell Crab

Hi Everyone, it's a great time of year!  Leaves are coming out, bulbs are blooming and life is renewed.  Last week at the fish market, I was reminded of another reason to be happy about spring; soft shell crab!   This wonderful delicacy is only available during April and May when the crab sheds it's old shell, so you can eat the whole juicy thing!  I prepare them in the same way that I like to cook seafood in general, that is, dredged in cornmeal or flour and salt and fried quickly in HOT oil.  If the oil is hot enough, the food is not in the oil for long and doesn't absorb a lot.  Make sure to have the person at the store clean them for you so they are not alive when you bring them home.  If you like more batter, the method is to dredge the item in flour, then dip in beaten egg and then run through bread crumbs.  The flour gives the egg something to cling to and the egg enables the bread crumbs to stick.  Either way make sure the oil is hot so the crab will be crisp on the outside and tender and juicy in the center.  I cook them about 2 to 3 minutes on each side.   Mmmmmm, they are so good because you are getting all of that wonderful crab flavor without having to work for it!  A definite win/win.  Enjoy xo