Boneless Blade Roast of Pork, Tabouleh, and Sage and Asparagus Gnocci

So we started with the asparagus gnocci from Zabar.  Boil the gnocci, drain and then add to pan of butter and jullienned sage. Once added, I put in some leftover creme fraiche and seasoned with a bit of salt and pepper - DELICIOUS.

We then roasted a blade of pork - part of the shoulder which is quite fatty and tender.  I chopped a couple tablespoons of sage and rosemary, chopped garlic, added salt, pepper, a bit of olive oil, and rubbed in on the pork.  Roasted it starting at 425 degrees (farenheit), turning it down to 325 degrees and adding chicken stock (by the half cup full) every 15-20 min until meat thermometer reads 140ish.  Then drained pork juices to a small saucepan, added a bit of white wine, a sprig of thyme, celery top and boiled a bit.  Added a bit of corn starch to the sauce to thicken and poured it over the pork blade that had been sliced in 1/4 inch thick slices.

I served this with the Mark Bittman bulgar wheat tabouleh.

All in all, very nice.  The reason the pork was so good was that I bought it at my local farmer's market - Flying Pigs Farm.  Super tasty.

Wine to go with this was: Clape Cornas 2002, the Occhipinti, and the SP68 Nero D'Avola and Frappato.  Simply Divine!  For a review of what we drank, please see: http://winedisorder.com/comment/56/2290/

Healthier Eggplant Parmesan

This recipe is (again) by Martha Rose Schulman from the NYT.  Recipes for Health is supposed to empower you to cook healthy meals everyday.  And while I think the majority of their recipes are healthy and easy - this one may be relatively healthy but definitely not easy.  For me it was pretty much a 3 hour affair.  Why did I want to cook this recipe?  While I love meat, I sometimes need to take a break.  I did however want something quite stodgy - so voila - a new take on eggplant parmesan.  The real time crunchers are:

• the roasting and draining of the eggplants
• the blanching of the tomatoes (I don't know a better way to peel a tomato), and then the peeling, chopping etc of the tomato.
• the getting out of the food processor, the emptying of the le creuset pot (very heavy with one hand) full of tomatoey goodness in to the food processor, the cleaning of the food processor.

Basically you cook two dishes before you even start cooking the third and then you only end up with one dish.... hmmmmm....

Eggplant and Tomato Gratin

For the tomato sauce:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 to 4 garlic cloves (to taste) - does this mean chopped or whole - I did both and then took out 2 of the whole ones
2 pounds fresh tomatoes, quartered if you have a food mill or else peeled, seeded and chopped; or 1 1/2 (28 ounce) cans chopped tomatoes, with juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon sugar
2 sprigs fresh basil

For the gratin:
2 pounds eggplant, roasted
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons slivered fresh basil leaves
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup bread crumbs

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1. Roast the eggplant.
2. Meanwhile, to make the tomato sauce, heat the olive oil in a large, heavy, preferably nonstick skillet over medium heat, and add the onion. Stir until tender, about five to eight minutes, then add the garlic. Stir until fragrant, about a minute, and add the tomatoes, salt (1/2 to 1 teaspoon), pepper, sugar and basil sprigs. Turn the heat up to medium-high. When the tomatoes are bubbling, stir well and then turn the heat back to medium. Stir often, until the tomatoes have cooked down and are beginning to stick to the pan, about 25 minutes. Remove the basil sprigs.
3. If you did not peel the tomatoes, put the sauce through the fine blade of a food mill. If the tomatoes were peeled, pulse the sauce in a food processor fitted with the steel blade until coarsely pureed. Taste and adjust seasoning.
4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Set aside 1/4 cup of the Parmesan and mix with the bread crumbs. Oil the inside of a two-quart gratin or baking dish with olive oil. Spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce over the bottom of the dish. Slice the roasted eggplant about 1/4 inch thick, and set an even layer of slices over the tomato sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon a layer of sauce over the eggplant, and sprinkle with basil and Parmesan. Repeat the layers one or two more times, depending on the shape of your dish and the size of your eggplant slices, ending with a layer of sauce topped with the Parmesan and bread crumb mixture you set aside. Drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil over the top. Place in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until bubbling and browned on the top and edges. Remove from the heat and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve hot, warm or room temperature.
Yield: Serves six
Advance preparation: The tomato sauce can be made up to three days ahead. The casserole can be assembled a day ahead, covered and refrigerated, then baked when you wish to serve it. Don’t add the last layer of bread crumbs and Parmesan, with the drizzle of olive oil, until right before you bake it.

Lentil Soup With Cilantro and a Fabulous Tabouleh

Another one by Martha Shulman from the NYT - healthy and delicious!  I served it in a pasta dish as it almost had the consistency of daal.  I might add a bit more water before serving next time.  I added a bit of extra cumin and as I didn't have cayenne, I used paprika instead.  I wish I had made more....  I served this alongside a wonderful tabouleh that I found in Mark Bittman's book: How to cook everything.  The tabouleh was made with bulgar wheat, a diced small red onion, 1-2 cups of chopped parsley and the same of mint, about 1/3 - 1/2 cup of olive oil and about 3/4 of the juice of a lemon.  Also my FAVORITE spice - Turkish paprika / chili flakes and salt.



This easy lentil soup is seasoned with cumin and an entire bunch of chopped cilantro, stirred in just before serving.
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 teaspoons cumin seeds, lightly toasted and ground
Pinch of cayenne
1/2 pound brown lentils (about 1 1/8 cups), picked over and rinsed
1 small onion, cut in half
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 quarts water
Salt, preferably kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground pepper
1 cup chopped cilantro (from 1 large bunch)
Plain low-fat yogurt for garnish
1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy soup pot over medium heat, and add the garlic. Stir until fragrant, about a minute, and stir in the cumin and cayenne. Add the lentils, onion, bay leaf, water and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer 40 minutes, until the lentils are tender and the broth aromatic. Add pepper, taste and adjust salt. Remove the halved onion and the bay leaf.
2. Coarsely puree the soup in an immersion blender or food mill. Alternatively, puree half the soup in blender, 1 1/2 cups at time, being careful to cover the top of the blender with a towel to avoid hot splashes, then stir back into the soup. Heat through.
3. Chop the cilantro, discarding the stems. Stir into the soup just before serving. Taste, adjust seasoning and serve, topping each bowl with a dollop of yogurt.
Yield: Serves four.
Advance preparation: The soup can be made through step 2 up to a day ahead of time. You may need to thin it out with a little water.

A Healthier Lasagna

I got this recipe from Food Mayhem (a blog I LOVE). It was super tasty but a little bit dried out and not enough meat sauce for my liking. Next time I think I would up the meat sauce and put in a bit extra olive oil before cooking and/or ricotta to ensure that it isn't too dry. I may also not have given an airtight covering while cooking it.

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Beef and Spinach Lasagna
Meat Sauce

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 pound 11 ounces (90% lean) ground beef
• 1 (28oz) can crushed tomato with basil
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 bay leaf

Cheese & Spinach Filling

• 10 ounces frozen spinach, blanched, drained and cooled
• 1 pound shredded whole milk mozzarella, divided
• 1 pound whole milk ricotta

Assembly

• 9×13 baking dish
• 16 (no boil) lasagna sheets (8″x4″ each)

*note: the lasgana sheets I used are made for 8×8 pan but I wanted to make more so I made a 9×13. It worked fine though.
Instructions -
Meat Sauce (can be made a day or two ahead and refrigerated, warm before using):
1. Heat oil in a medium pot on medium high heat. Stir in onions and soften for about a minute. Add carrots and stir around for another minute. Stir in tomato paste until well distributed.
2. Add ground beef and stir around until browned, about 5 minutes.
3. Add crushed tomatoes, garlic, and bay leaf. Bring to boil. Stir and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from heat and remove bay leaf. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F while meat sauce cools a bit.

Cheese & Spinach Filling:
1. Ring out spinach with paper towels.
2. In a medium sized bowl , combine spinach, 8 ounces of mozzarella, and ricotta.
Assembly
1. Spread 1 cup of meat sauce on the bottom of the pan.
2. Lay 4 sheets of lasagna down. See pic.

3. Spread 1/3 of cheese and spinach filling on top of lasagna sheets. Spread a little more than 1 cup of meat sauce on top.

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 two more times. Lay another layer of lasagna sheets on top. Cover with remaining meat sauce. Spread remaining mozzarella on top.

5. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove aluminum foil and bake for another 5 minutes. Serve.

Salmon and Leek Quiche

This recipe is from Chocolate & Zuchinni. It was not bad but not awesome either. I thought that there was too much filling for crust. I used a DuFour puff pastry instead of crust. I served it with an arugula salad that had chopped up remains of Martha Shulman's Warm Chick Pea and Broccoli Salad. To improve upon it I would:

• Poach the Salmon in a water and vermouth/white wine broth and add a bouquet garni or at least some parsley and black peppercorns.
• Add a bit of nutmeg to the filling
• Season the leeks more with pepper and even a couple chili flakes
• Make less filling or make two quiches
  

so the recipe goes....
Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Wash and cut up about 2 pounds of leeks (using pre-cut frozen saved me the trouble). Heat a little butter or olive oil (tradition or unclogged arteries, take your pick) in a large skillet, add the leeks and season with salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat for about twenty minutes or until tender. Drain very thoroughly.
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, bring water to a boil and poach two salmon fillets for about 10 minutes, until just cooked. Drain thoroughly, and flake with a fork.
Line a pie dish with a store-bought or (better, obviously) homemade crust, stretching it a little to have the flaps of dough all around that I like to fold over the filling. In a large bowl, beat together two eggs, 1/4 C of crème fraîche (substitute heavy cream or sour cream), salt and pepper. Add the leeks and salmon, and mix gently with a wooden spoon.
Pour the filling in the pie dish, and fold the flaps of dough over the borders of the filling. With a pastry brush, use what egg moisture is left in the bowl to brush the pie dough. Bake for about 45 minutes, until the crust is golden. Leave on the counter to settle for a few minutes, and serve with a green salad. This serves 4 as a main dish, 8 as an appetizer.
Salmon and leek are, in my humble opinion, a marriage made in heaven. They both offer wonderfully subtle and sweet tastes, best brought out by a salad dressed with a sharp and tangy vinaigrette.