Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
200 grams dried (or canned) chickpeas
1 eggplant
2 small ripe tomatoes, diced
4-6 spring onion, sliced
6-8 Tbs olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 large sprig of rosemary, chopped finely
a splash of fresh lemon juice
1 tsp sweet paprika
If you are cooking dried chickpeas, place them in a bowl and cover them with a few inches of water. Allow them to soak overnight or at least 8 hours. Cook them over a medium heat with the crushed garlic clove for an hour and a half or longer, until they are tender. (I soaked the chickpeas overnight and then put them in a crock pot in the morning to cook all day on low.) Once they are tender, drain them and allow them to cool.
Cut the eggplant in half and score it with a knife in a diamond pattern. Drizzle a little olive oil over the eggplant and bake it at 200c for about 35 minutes, or until soft and tender. Let it cool while you begin assembling the rest of the salad, dicing tomatoes and slicing onions. Toss the tomatoes, onions, chickpeas and rosemary with the remaining olive oil. Cut the eggplant into bite-sized pieces and toss the salad again. Ideally, you should allow it to sit in a refrigerator for a few hours to develop flavours. Before serving, add the lemon juice and paprika and taste for salt, pepper and sour. You might want to add another glug of olive oil too, especially if you are using a really good quality one.
Spring Salmon
Wild Salmon with Blueberry Marinade
1 pound of wild salmon
Marinade
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1/4 cup finely chopped onion or shallot
Generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp roughly chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper
Place salmon on baking sheet.
Add all marinade ingredients to small saucepan and heat over medium until blueberries have popped. Allow to simmer for a few minutes.
Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Pour mixture into blender and puree.
Spread a thin layer of the marinade over the salmon - you don’t want to mask the flavor of the salmon just enhance it.
Bake at 500 F for about 10 - 15 minutes depending on how thick the fillet and how well done you prefer your fish. I prefer that the salmon seem a little uncooked in the very center.
Slice the salmon into serving pieces and dollop with a bit of the remaining marinade.
Fresh Wild Salmon Painting the Salmon Salmon with Blueberry MarinadeFrom the:
Napa Cabbage and Grape Slaw
* 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
* 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1 teaspoon sesame oil
* 1 teaspoon grated ginger
* 1 teaspoon sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
* 2 teaspoons hot water
* 1 lb. Napa Cabbage, finely shredded
* 1 red onion, sliced
* 1 carrot, shredded
* 2 cups seedless green grapes, halved
* 2 Tablespoons sesame seeds
In a medium glass mixing bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, lemon juice, olive oil, sesame oils, ginger, sugar, pepper and water. Cover with saran wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
In a large glass bowl, mix together the cabbage, onion, carrot, and grapes. Pour over the soy sauce mixture and toss.
When you serve the slaw, top with sesame seeds.
Serves 4-6From:
Potato Pancake Halibut and Arugula Salad
Potato Pancake Halibut and Arugula Salad
serves 4
1 shallot chopped
2 tsp coarse salt
1 tbsp cracked pepper
1 tsp chopped dried thyme
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 bay leaf, crumbled
2 tbsp olive oil
Four 6 oz halibut fillets
Potato Pancakes:
2 medium potatoes shredded
1 slightly beaten eggs
1 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 cup onion chopped
Mix all ingredients together, pan fry in oil 3-4 minutes per side until golden brown. Makes 4 nice potato pancakes.
Arugula Salad:
1 bunch arugula
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Combine shallot, salt, pepper, thyme, garlic, bay leaf and 1 tbsp olive oil. Spread over fish and marinate for 30 minutes. To make salad, place arugula in a bowl. Whisk together vinegar, mustard and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Toss dressing with arugula. Place on four individual plates. Heat remaining olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add fish, skin side down. Sauté for 2 minutes, cover with lid, reduce heat to medium-low and cook 8 minutes longer or until fish is firm to the touch and white juices are beginning to appear. Remove skin and place fish on top of potato pancake and arugula salad on serving plates.
From:
Soffritto-Mirepoix-Sofrito
Through the haze of jet-lagged sleep the aromas would wake me and lift my tired, but still hungry body to the lunch table. Normally we would arrive at the airport at 7 a.m. and then go straight to bed for a few hours sleep when we reached my in-laws house just northwest of Milano. As lunchtime approached a fragrance would slowly grow and expand throughout the house and before you know it my nose would set off the alarm clock in my stomach.
That fragrance was created by my father-in-law, Aldo, cooking his soffritto as he began to prepare for lunch. Soffritto is that simple combination of sautéed aromatic vegetables that is the basis of a seemingly endless list of Italian dishes. Everything from pasta sauces to ravioli filling to Brasato al Barolo has at its heart a fragrant and flavorful soffritto.
The basic soffritto is equal amounts of chopped celery, carrots and onions slowly cooked in butter or olive oil so they release their flavors and aromatics into the ingredients that are then added. The trick is the temperature of the pan: too cool and you just poach the vegetables in the oil — too hot and you start to caramelize the vegetables. In France they call it mirepoix and in Spain sofrito, but whatever you call this process of cooking aromatic vegetables in fat to create a foundation of flavors for a dish, it is a basic element of good cooking in every cuisine: both for amateurs and professionals.
The word soffritto is a conjugation of the Italian verb soffriggere, or to fry lightly, which is an accurate description. A good soffritto needs a little attention from the cook. A trip to the wine cellar while the vegetables are cooking can result in a burned soffritto. Expect to devote an attentive 10 to 15 minutes to cooking your vegetables. They do not need constant attention and stirring, but they do want a watchful eye. You will know you have it right by the mouthwatering aromas that fill your house.
Soffritto is about flavors. If you buy bland, old vegetables you will get a bland soffritto. Go out of your way to get the freshest most flavorful vegetables available. While carrots, onions and celery are the holy trinity of soffritto, there are as many variations as there are vegetables. Garlic often makes an appearance in southern Italian dishes. Some soffritti include pancetta or other meats in the preparation. In classic risotto recipes, onions stand alone as the soffritto. Remember soffritto is a technique and a concept in flavoring not a specific recipe. Try the recipes below and then get creative. Each serves six as a main course and eight to ten as a first course.
Spaghetti con Pomodori e Soffritto
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped.
2 large stalks celery with leaves, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1- 28 oz. can excellent quality crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 lb. thick spaghetti (avoid very thin spaghetti)
Sea salt
Grana Padano or Parmignano Reggiano cheese for grating
Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat and add celery, onions and carrots. Sauté the vegetables gently for about ten minutes until just before they began to brown, then add sugar and cook for one minute more. Add canned tomatoes and mix well. Cover and slowly simmer for thirty minutes stirring often. Salt to taste.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 heaping tablespoon of salt for every two quarts of water. When the water returns to a boil add the pasta and cook until not quite done.
Bring the heat under the pan with the sauce to high and drain the pasta. Add the pasta to the pan and gently mix the pasta and the sauce. Continue cooking until the pasta is done.
Serve immediately with grated cheese on the side.
Penne con Ragu alla Varano Borghi
1 lb. ground sirloin
1 sweet Italian sausage, skin removed and chopped coarsely
2 large carrots peeled and chopped
1 large onion chopped
2 large celery stalks with leaves, chopped
1- 28 oz. can excellent quality crushed tomatoes
a piece of lemon peel
1 bay leaf
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ lb. unsalted butter
1 cup red wine
1 cup beef or chicken broth
Grana Padano or Parmignano Reggiano cheese for grating
1 lb. penne pasta
Heat and melt the butter in a heavy tall-sided pan over medium heat and add celery, onions and carrots. Sauté the vegetables gently for about ten to fifteen minutes until just before they began to brown then add the ground sirloin and sausage, cook for several minutes more. Add canned tomatoes, wine, broth and mix well. Add bay leaf and lemon peel. Add salt and pepper to taste. Loosely cover and slowly simmer for thirty minutes, then cover tightly and simmer on very low heat for 3 hours stirring often.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 heaping tablespoon of salt for every two quarts of water. When the water returns to a boil add the pasta and cook until not quite done.
Bring the heat under the pan with the sauce to high and drain the pasta. Add the pasta to the pan and gently mix the pasta and the sauce. Continue cooking until the pasta is done.
Serve immediately with the grated cheese on the side.