Farro Salad with Tomatoes and Corn

Farro Salad with Tomatoes and Corn
Yields 3 or 4 servings as a side dish

1 cup farro
2 ears cooked corn or a can of corn niblets
16 cherry tomatoes, quartered
4 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
4 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 teaspoons white wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Place farro in a small bowl with water to cover. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rest overnight on countertop. When ready to cook, drain farro, and place in a small pan with water to cover. Bring to boil, and cook for about 10 minutes, until tender.

2. Scrape kernels from corn, and place in a bowl large enough to hold all ingredients. Add remaining ingredients, and mix well. When farro is cooked, drain well, and toss with other ingredients. It is best served at room temperature but can be chilled.

Notes: I didn't soak the farro overnight. Instead, I cooked it like rice - just a little over 2 parts cold water to 1 part farro brought to a boil and left to simmer, covered, for 20-30 minutes until the farro is al dente. Also, I substituted 3 tsp of rice vinegar and 1.5 tsp of balsamic, and it was great great great.

Another note: Farro is so delicious. Also so expensive.

Photos and a food blog that actually puts effort in to be found here.

Chicken Provençal

Ingredients:

1 pound cherry tomatoes in various colors
1 large red onion, cut into wedges
1/2 cup brine-cured black olives, drained (pitted or un-pitted, doesn’t matter)
6 large garlic cloves, left in their peels
1 lemon, sliced thinly
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Sprigs of rosemary and thyme
Salt and pepper
3 1/2 lbs varied chicken parts like drumsticks, thighs and breasts (I used 2.5 lbs of chicken with the same amount of the other ingredients, and it felt right.)
1/4 cup water or chicken stock


Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F and place rack in the middle.

Toss together tomatoes, onion, olives, garlic, olive oil, rosemary, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a 13×9 inch or other 3-quart shallow baking dish. Push vegetables to sides of dish to make room for chicken. Arrange the chicken in baking dish so it has a bit of room to breathe and the pieces are not too close. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the chicken as well, and place the lemon slices on top.

Roast for about 20 minutes and then add the water or stock to the pan. Place pan back into the oven and cook for another 45 minutes to an hour, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of a thigh (do not touch bone) registers 170°F.

Let chicken stand 10 minutes before serving, and then serve with vegetables and pan juices. Pairs great with mashed potatoes and sweet corn. Also, this is exactly what I would want to eat on a winter's day, if we had winter in LA.

Serves 4.
(Almost) as found on Sassy Radish.

Mediterranean Eggplant and Barley Salad

Mediterranean Eggplant and Barley Salad
Gourmet, September 2006
and as found on Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3/4 lb zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
10 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 cup chopped scallion (from 1 bunch)
1.5 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 1/4 cups pearl barley (8 oz)
1 (14-oz) can reduced-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
3/4 cup water
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp sugar
1/2 lb cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/3 cup Kalamata black olives, pitted and halved
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion, rinsed and drained if desired
1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

Accompaniment: 1 (1/2-lb) piece ricotta salata, cut crosswise into thin slices

To roast eggplant and zucchini:

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 425°F.

Toss eggplant and zucchini with 5 tablespoons oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper in a bowl, then spread in 2 oiled large shallow (1-inch-deep) baking pans. Roast vegetables in oven, stirring occasionally and switching position of pans halfway through baking, until vegetables are golden brown and tender, 20 to 25 minutes total. Combine vegetables in 1 pan and cool, reserving other pan for cooling barley.

To cook the barley:

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 3- to 4-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then cook scallion, cumin, coriander, and cayenne, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add barley and cook, stirring until well coated with oil, 2 minutes more. Add broth and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until all of liquid is absorbed and barley is tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Transfer to reserved shallow baking pan and spread to quickly cool, uncovered, to room temperature, about 20 minutes.

To make dressing and assemble salad:

Whisk together lemon juice, garlic, sugar, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 3 tablespoons oil in a large bowl. Add barley, roasted vegetables, and remaining ingredients to bowl with dressing and toss until combined well. Serve with cheese slices.

Do ahead: Salad can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Return to room temperature before serving.

Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter

so easy and delicious.



Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter
as found on Smitten Kitchen
Adapted from Marcela Hazan’s Essentials of Italian Cooking

Ingredients:

28 ounces whole peeled tomatoes from a can
5 tablespoons unsalted 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, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes. 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, with or without grated parmesan cheese to pass. Serves 4.

Tomato Basil Soup

Remember those days when I used to take at least a single photo of everything I attempted in the kitchen? And ate foods besides bagelwiches and breakfast burritos? Me neither.


A single out-of-season recipe to represent the entire fall season.



Tomato Basil Soup




Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients:
1/2 large onion, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
pat of butter
3-4 medium tomatoes, petite diced
1/4 cup chopped basil
1 can Campbell's condensed tomato soup
2.5 cups chicken stock
splash of red wine (optional)
1 cup water
salt & pepper




Heat the butter over medium low and slowly saute the onions with the garlic until translucent and slightly caramelized. When the onions are ready, add in the chopped tomatoes and cook for an additional minute.

Add in the tomato soup with the chicken stock, water, and wine.

Let simmer for 20-30 minutes if you're paddling around the kitchen doing other things. Let simmer for "a bit" if you desperately want that soup now. At this point, you can puree in a food processor (and add in a little cream) for a creamy, smooth soup, but I like chunky.


Add in the chopped basil (I had sweet purple basil from the farmer's market and it worked lovely as well), and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve up with some crusty bread or toasted croutons.




Mmm, mmm... good.

Summer Squash and Zucchini Ragout

Can we just take a moment to drink in how adorable these are?

Baby summer squash from my first trip to the Mar Vista's Farmer's Market.

Summer Squash and Zucchini Ragout

Ingredients
Sauce:
4 cloves
8 peppercorns
8 coriander seeds
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1 cinnamon stick
5 cilantro sprigs, chopped
5 mint leaves, chopped
6 basil leaves, chopped
1 Jalapeno pepper

[Note: I didn't have all of these spices on hand... most of them in fact. I threw in extra peppercorns, some allspice, double the mint, and a little extra cilantro, and it still came out delicious. So I'm sure the actual recipe is really delicious.]


Vegetables:
1/2 onion thinly sliced
1.25 lb summer squash
1 can of yellow corn
2 tomatoes peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 tbsp peanut oil
salt
2 tbsp cilantro leaves, chopped


Pour the cream and milk into a small pot and put over low heat.

Bruise the hard spices with a pestle. Combine with the cinnamon, herbs, and half the jalapeno, and add them into the cream mixture. Slowly bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and let steep while you cut the vegetables.


Heat the oil in a wide skillet and add the onion. Saute briskly for a minute or so. (I used baby summer squash, which needs very little cooking, so I didn't add the squash until the onion was almost done, about 5 minutes.)

Add the summer squash, corn, and the remaining jalapeno (chopped) and season with salt. Continue to saute over fairly high heat for about 2 minutes.


Pour the steeped cream sauce directly into the pan through a strainer. Add the tomato in and simmer for several minutes. Simmer until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Season to taste with salt and serve garnished with chopped cilantro.


So maybe ragout isn't the prettiest dish. It's still bomb diggity. And that's good enough for me.

Chewy Tortilla Chips & Guacamole

Have you ever considered chewy tortilla chips? I recently went with a friend to try out a restaurant called Malo (not malo at all) in Silverlake. Besides boasting a tequila bar with 150 tequilas and spicy cucumber martinis, they've got a whole set of really delicious (okay, one was delicious, the others were really delicious-sounding) salsas and, more importantly, chewy tortilla chips. I knew immediately that I was going to love these. It's like those fresh homemade tortilla chips that they serve at real Mexican restaurants, only this wasn't a real Mexican restaurant and these chips were so much more than chips. They were piping hot and salty, crunchy in parts and chewy in others, and the perfect balance to a cool and spicy seasonal salsa. The food was quite good, but frankly, I didn't have much time for it.
More chips, please.

So the point is, I went home and of course tried to recreate these the next day. And found, to my surprise, that homemade tortilla chips are every bit as easy as one would guess. This is rarely my experience in cooking adventures and misadventures.

Ingredients for Chewy Chips:
10-12 white corn tortillas
2 cups of oil
salt and cumin for seasoning
a twist of lime

Cut a stack of tortillas into 8 wedges round. In a large heavy saucepan, heat about 1 inch of vegetable oil over medium high. You can check whether or not the oil is hot enough by dipping a piece of the tortilla in the pan: it's ready when the oil begins to bubble around the tortilla. Be careful to keep an eye on your oil and make sure you get to it before it gets to you. Once it begins to pop... you lose, and it hurts.

Add the tortilla wedges in the oil in batches without overcrowding them. Cook until desired crunchiness (or chewiness) and drain on paper towel. Add seasoning, and serve while hot with a cool side of salsa or guacamole [recipe to follow].


Ingredients for Guacamole:
2 avocados, peeled and pitted
1 large roma tomato, seeded and diced
2 tsp cilantro, chopped
1/2 a small white onion, chopped
1 tsp of lemon or lime juice (fresh is best, but the the stuff that comes in those weird squeeze bottles that are supposed to look like a lemon and a lime, respectively, works just fine too)
salt and pepper to taste

Mash the avocados in a bowl with a fork until a little before desired chunkiness (Adding the other ingredients and the lime juice smooths it other a little more). Add everything else in and season to taste. Try not to eat the whole bowl.

Fresh

Since I hate the taste of water (yes, it has a taste), I try to drink as little of it as possible, except when in the ocean, where I always manage to drink enormous quantities of it, enjoying as I do the subtle hints of fresh seaweed and baby pee. This general aversion means that, from time to time, I have sudden and overwhelming cravings for "fresh". "Fresh", being distinctly different from "healthy", can be satisfied with a salad (mandatory 1:25, leaf:more delicious things ratio), sushi, or Otter Pops.

I chose salad yesterday.

I know you can throw just about anything over cold veggies and call it a salad, but I think I've hit upon a pretty excellent one.

Strawberry and Avocado Salad

Ingredients:
8-10 large strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/2 avocado, diced
3 radishes, diced
2 slices of Canadian bacon, diced
a handful of grape tomatoes
mixed baby greens (or baby spinach)
a dash of lemon juice
a mandarin-based salad dressing (I used Brianna's Ginger Mandarin)

Toss and serve. (For 2. I just eat twice as much.)

Cuban Chicken and Rice

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 potato, peeled and diced
1 poblano pepper, seeded and chopped
1 1/4 cups diced tomatoes (canned works)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. paprika
2 cups water
1 cup white wine or apple juice
2 cups long-grain rice (I substituted purple rice)

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chicken breast halves and sauté a few at a time until lightly browned on all sides. Remove chicken and set aside. Drain excess fat, leaving 1 Tbs. in the skillet.

Sauté the onion, garlic, pepper, and potato for 5-7 minutes, until the vegetables are soft but not burnt. Add in the remaining ingredients, aside from the wine. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium low and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the wine, chicken, and rice. Stir well and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes more.

Shrimp and Scallop Ceviche

(based on Javi's recipe on allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
1 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp
1/2 pound of chopped scallop
3 limes, juiced
1 lemon, juiced
1 medium tomato, diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 serrano pepper, seeded and chopped
1 bunch of cliantro
1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Place shrimp and scallop in a large glass bowl and cover with lime and lemon juice to marinate for about 10 minutes. Add in the onion, cucumber, tomato, jalapeno, serrano, cilantro, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss gently. Making certain the shrimp and scallops are fully submerged, cover the bowl, and chill ceviche for a minimum of 1 to 2 hours in the refrigerator, until shrimp and scallops are opaque.

(Recommended that the ceviche is left to marinate for at least 24 hours for a fuller flavor.)

Turkey Burrito

(adapted from "Gary's Turkey Burritos" on allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
1.5 pounds ground turkey
1 (7 ounce) can of tomato sauce
1 can of diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 small onion, diced
1 (16 ounce) can black beans
1 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
burrito-size flour tortillas
1 tbsp of olive oil

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the turkey first, cooking until browned. Add in the onions and saute for a few minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and corn. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer 10-20 minutes until liquid reduces. Stir occasionally.

Separately, heat beans over medium-low in a small pot.


Place a piece of foil over the stove burner, and one by one, heat the tortillas for a minute each, flipping a few times. Top with beans and filling, and sprinkle cheese across top. (Sour cream optional.) Wrap the burrito up and serve piping hot with a wedge of lime on the side. Serves 6-8.