Posts Tagged ‘recipes’

SIMPLE, MAGICAL SANTORINI FAVA

Posted: September 4, 2013 in bacon, Food, Recipes, Santorini, travel
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They call it fava, but it’s not the bean we usually associate with that name. Originally, broad beans were used in this dish, but quickly it changed to a type of yellow shelled lentil that is much smaller and flavorful than its American counterpart, the yellow split pea, no doubt due in part to the dry, volcanic Santorini soil it grows in. The lentil is smaller and the art of turning this simple gem into a sublime porridge is worth learning.
The fava at Dimitris Amoudi Taverna

The fava at Dimitris Amoudi Taverna

As common in Santorini as pasta is in Italy, grains of fava have been found in archaeological sites in the ancient city of Akrotiri (on the southern side of Santorini) dating as far back as 3500 years ago. Every taverna on the island offers their own version of fava, and though the differences are subtle, they can be significant.
Most recipes start with the dried lentils, which are washed thoroughly. They are added to a pot of fresh water and then boiled until the water reduces and the lentils slowly absorb the liquid and soften into a porridge. Often chopped onion is added to the pot of water in the very beginning, so that it completely dissolves and flavors the fava. Some recipes call for a subtle mixture of local dried herbs, similar to oregano and thyme, to be wrapped in cheesecloth and added to the pot to infuse flavor.
Like making a great Italian tomato sauce, cooking fava is a labor love. It requires low heat and constant stirring to make it perfectly smooth. Often it is pureed in a blender at the end.
When the fava is ready to serve, the toppings can vary. Thin slices of red onion and a liberal drizzle of Greek olive oil are common. Sometimes it is topped with locally harvested and brined caper berries or caper berry leaves, or a few kalamata olives.
Proud of his fava

Proud of his fava

On our recent trip to Santorini, our most memorable fava dishes were a simple, rustic version with onion, capers, olive oil and a side of lemon at Dimitris in Amoudi, and a light-as-a-cloud creamy fava topped with caper berry leaves and olive oil at Roka in Oia.
Finding real Santorini fava can be difficult and expensive on line, but it is possible. You can easily find dried yellow split peas in local US supermarkets, but it’s not quite the same.
My personal touch–no surprise here–bacon! I finely chop and then fry a small amount of bacon and sauté it with the chopped onion, then add it (with the bacon fat) to the boiling pot of fava and water in the beginning.

BABY BELL PEPPERS WITH FRESH CORN STUFFING

Posted: August 14, 2013 in corn, Food, garden, Recipes
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Last summer, we had a party with 100+ people. I needed something fresh that highlighted the veggies of the season. When I spotted these baby bell peppers in the supermarket, I came up with this tasty, crunchy appetizer.

Ingredients:

Baby bell peppers

1 dozen ears fresh corn, removed from the cob…or organic frozen corn

1 Vidalia onion, peeled, quartered, grilled, chopped

Juice of 1 large lime

¾ cup mayonnaise

20 shots of Frank’s Red Hot

1 lb Queso Fresco, crumbled

Salt and pepper

Fresh cilantro or parsley, finely chopped

Cut corn from ears, and saute very briefly in a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Place in a bowl and let cool.

Peel and quarter the Vidalia onion, and throw it on a hot grill with a little olive oil to get some nice grill marks on it, leaving the onion still crispy, not soft. Remove, let cool, then place in a food processor and pulse until the onion is chopped into small bits, just smaller than the corn kernels. Add onions to corn.

In a separate small bowl, combine mayonnaise and Frank’s Red Hot. Pour in crumbled Queso Fresco and mix well. Pour into corn and onion bowl and mix well.

Add lime juice to the bowl and mix well again. Taste mixture and season with salt and pepper.

Cut the baby bell peppers in half lengthwise, and remove the seeds and membrane. Stuff the peppers with the corn mixture and garnish with cilantro or parsley.

If preparing ahead of time, refrigerate until ready to eat, but allow some time for them to warm up to room temp a bit.

WHAT IS REAL BALSAMIC VINEGAR?

Posted: August 9, 2013 in Food, Recipes
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Despite what many of the labels on the bottles say, there are really only two kinds of balsamic vinegar: the highly prized, DOP-regulated, aceto balsamico tradizionale (or traditional balsamic vinegar)—and everything else.

balsamic1

Much like the olive oil market, the world of balsamic vinegar has been so messed up and confused that what most of us consider to be balsamic vinegar really has nothing to do with the genuine article.

Aceto balsamico tradizionale is the pinnacle of all vinegars: produced by hand in small quantities using methods that are hundreds of years old, it has the consistency of maple syrup, and costs anywhere from $150 to $400 for a 3.4 ounce bottle.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t any good (even excellent) non-DOP balsamic vinegars out there. It just means you have to do a lot of label reading to make sure you’re getting a good thing. DOP stands for Denominazione de Origine Protetta, meaning food products whose origins are identifiable in the taste, texture or “perfume” of the product and produced in a specific region with all the ingredients coming from that region. This is all carefully overseen by the Italian government and it is a big deal when it comes to quality.

In order to bear the name aceto balsamico tradizionale, every aspect of its creation, from grape to bottle, is carefully regulated by DOP standards. The vinegar undergoes a lengthy transformation that takes a minimum of 12 years. To keep competition fair, each producer is allotted a specific number of bottles he can sell, which is indicated by a numbered tag on the bottle’s neck. Bottles from Modena are usually bulb-shaped, while bottles from Reggio nell’Emilia are bell-shaped. A red cap means the vinegar is at least 12 years old, while a vinegar that is 25 years of age or more has a gold cap.

Back in the 1980’s, when the balsamic vinegar craze hit the United States, many chefs looking for exotic ingredients in their dishes, started using balsamic vinegar. It became an overnight sensation, and the demand was too great for these small handmade batch producers to handle. And so the market for inexpensive balsamic vinegars was born: vinegars that bear little resemblance to the real thing, using ingredients like cider or red wine vinegar, sugar and artificial coloring.

So can you buy a good vinegar if you don’t have wads of money to spend?

Well, the next step down from the good stuff is called aceto balsamico condimento—what we see in the stores as Balsamic Vinegar of Modena (although some are produced outside of Modena) and they average in price from $20 to $60 a bottle. They’re kept in less expensive wood barrels, and are aged less than 12 years.

And then there’s everything else.

Some simple tips on what to look for on the ingredients label: Since the really good stuff is very expensive and should never be cooked or reduced, look for high quality non-DOP balsamic vinegars. Look for those from Modena and Reggio nell’Emilia with Consorzio di Balsamico Condimento on the label to guarantee the age. Even if this stuff is too expensive for you, at the very least, make sure that “grape must” is the first ingredient on the label and that its acidity is not above 7 percent.

I recently found a bottle of balsamic vinegar under the brand name Rozzano. A 34 oz bottle goes for about 9 bucks. Is it the good stuff? Not really. But does it work in a salad dressing or a marinade? Absolutely. The only ingredient listed is balsamic vinegar of Modena, and its acidity is 6%.

balsamic2

Here’s a really simple recipe you can make with this inexpensive vinegar…

PORT WINE/BALSAMIC VINEGAR STEAK SAUCE

Ingredients:

 

½ cup port wine

½ cup balsamic vinegar

¼ cup red grapes, sliced lengthwise (optional)

Place ingredients in a small sauce pan and reduce by half. Use this sauce on steaks, burgers, etc.

PORK CHOPS WITH FRESH FENNEL

Posted: August 5, 2013 in Carnivore!, Food, garden, pork, Recipes
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Despite gardening for almost 50 years, I sowed and harvested my first batch of fennel this season. Having received a recent shipment of heritage Berkshire pork chops, I thought it was time to get creative. This is a rustic Italian-style recipe that works great for pork and fennel…

fennelfrond

 

PORK WITH FENNEL AND CAPERS

 

Ingredients:

 

4 Berkshire pork chops, medium thickness

2 fennel bulbs with stems and fronds, finely chopped

2 shallots, finely chopped

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

olive oil

salt and pepper

1 28 oz can tomatoes

1 tablespoon capers

Zest of 1 lemon

1/2 cup dry white wine

pork and fennel

 

In a large pan, heat some olive oil. Season the pork chops on both sides with salt and pepper, then brown on both sides in the pan with the olive oil. Remove chops from pan and set aside.

Add a little more olive oil to the pan and add the chopped fennel and shallots, stirring for a few minutes. Add the white wine, and stir well to get the tasty bits of pork from the bottom of the pan. Add half of the parsley. Add the can of tomatoes, squishing the tomatoes between your fingers so that they are broken up when they hit the pan. Stir for a few minutes over medium heat.

Return the pork chops to the pan, nestling the in the sauce. Add the capers, lemon zest and remaining parsley. Stir in a bit, and then let the chops cook for about 10 to 15 minutes..

 

 

CANTONESE ROASTED CHICKEN

Posted: July 23, 2013 in Carnivore!, chicken, Food, Recipes
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When I can’t get to Chinatown in Boston or New York, I cook my version of a recipe I discovered many years ago in “The Chinese Cookbook,” a wonderful source of information by former NY Times food critic Craig Claiborne and Virginia Lee. I prefer using a whole pasture-raised organic chicken from my good friends at Fire Fly Farms in Stonington, CT (www.fireflyfarmsllc.com).

 

Cantonese chicken

 

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, about 6 lbs, or 2 smaller chickens (pictured)

1 tablespoon Peanut oil

1 tablespoon Soy sauce

6 tablespoons Hoisin sauce

2 teaspoons Sesame Oil

4 teaspoons Chinese Five Spice powder

2 teaspoons Garlic Powder

2 teaspoons Salt

1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper

 

Remove all giblets from chicken. Rub the soy sauce all over the chicken. Then rub the peanut oil all over the chicken.

Combine Chinese Five Spice, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a bowl. Season entire chicken, including inside the cavity, with this mixture.

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees. Place chicken in a pan lined with aluminum foil (cleanup will be easier) and bake.

Meanwhile, combine hoisin sauce and sesame oil in a small bowl. When chicken is about 15 minutes away from being done, brush with hoisin/sesame oil mixture. Cook another 15 minutes until chicken has a nice dark glaze…do not burn!

 

Let rest about 15 minutes before carving.

 

LAMBURGERS WITH FETA CHEESE DRESSING

Posted: June 19, 2013 in barbecue, burgers, Carnivore!, CHARCOAL, Food, lamb, Recipes
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When it comes to grilling, lamb is often overlooked. Yet it’s a wonderful, flavorful meat that makes a great burger. The taste of lamb can be a bit strong, however, so I mix 1 lb of ground lamb with 1 lb of ground grass-fed beef.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground lamb
1 lb ground beef
2 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons extra Virgin olive oil
4 Tablespoons minced Spanish onion
2.5 teaspoons whole grain Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon each fresh parsley, mint, and dill, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried Greek oregano
.5 teaspoon cumin
1 large clove garlic, squeezed through a garlic press
1 scallion, finely chopped, green part only
1 teaspoon salt
.5 teaspoon black pepper

Heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over high heat. Add onions. Cook until browned, about 6 minutes. Transfer onions to a plate. Let cool.
In a bowl, mix onions, lamb, pork, mustard, herbs, spices, garlic, scallions, salt and pepper.
Form meat into slider-sized patties. Place on baking sheet covered with non-stick foil, and place in fridge.
Prepare a medium-hot charcoal fire.

lamburger

To keep the Greek flavors going, I came up with this feta cheese dressing that works great with the lamburgers.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1  cup mayo
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper sauce, like Franks Red Hot
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
4–5 ounces crumbled feta cheese

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate. Best the next day.

Don’t let the lamburgers get too cold in the fridge…just enough to firm the meat up a bit. If it gets too cold, give it a few minutes at room temp to warm up again.  Grill burgers until cooked to medium. Place on slider buns with lettuce and tomato, and smear the bun with the feta cheese dressing.

ASIAN NOODLES WITH PEANUT SAUCE

Posted: June 7, 2013 in Food, Recipes
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There’s something about Asian noodles with peanut sauce that I find addictive. They are great hot or cold, and desperately in need of a fix, I decided it was time to make them at home. I have an arsenal of basic Asian ingredients in my pantry, so slapping this together was no effort at all, and damn, does it taste good!

Since the only peanut butter I had at home when I first created this recipe was the portable Jif-to-Go containers, I still use them to this date!

Asian noodles

Ingredients:

4 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter (or 2 Jif-to-Go containers)

2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 Tablespoons Satay sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese chili garlic sauce
12 oz package Chinese noodles

Combine all ingredients except noodles in a bowl. Set aside.
Boil noodles until al dente. Drain.
Mix noodles with the sauce. Devour.

STUFFIES: A NEW ENGLAND CLASSIC

Posted: May 31, 2013 in Food, Recipes, Rhode Island, seafood, Southern New England
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Stuffies, or stuffed clams, are a very personal matter here in Southern New England. There are as many stuffies recipes as there are chowder recipes, and everyone thinks they’ve got the best one. Most stuffies that I’ve had in restaurants, like most meatballs I’ve had, have too much bread and not enough of the good stuff.

I use medium-sized clams for this recipe and not the traditional quahog, a large clam often used in chowders that I find to be too chewy.

Dropping the clams in hot water in the beginning helps make opening the clams a lot easier.

This recipe makes a lot of stuffies, but they freeze well so you can have them when you want.

stuffies

ALZ STUFFIES

Ingredients:

4 dozen medium neck clams

1.5 pounds chopped chourico, skin removed (I use Mello’s from Fall River, Mass)

3 onions, finely chopped

3 tablespoons garlic, finely chopped

3 cups frozen or fresh corn kernels

3 cups toasted and coarsely ground Portuguese bread

3/4 cup chopped fresh oregano (or 1 Tablespoon dried)

1 1/4 cups chopped fresh sage (don’t use dried)

Salt and pepper

Butter

For the aioli:

Sambal chili paste

Mayonnaise

In a large pot of boiling water, drop the clams in, about a dozen at a time. Remove them after about 30 seconds, before they open. Place in bowl to cool. Do this with all the clams.

Open the clams with a clam knife over a bowl, making sure you save all the liquid from the clams. Put clam shells to the side. Throw away any broken shells, and wash the empty shell halves thoroughly.

Move clam meat to a cutting board or food processor and chop to medium-fine. Set aside. Let clam juices sit in bowl and then pour off to another bowl, leaving behind sand and grit.

In a large frying pan, add olive oil, onions, and chourico and cook on medium heat for a few minutes. Add oregano and sage and cook a few more minutes. Add corn and cook a few more minutes, a little more if the corn was frozen. Add chopped clams and stir, cooking for a few more minutes. Add breadcrumbs a little at a time until you have a nice balance of bread and other ingredients. Add the clam juice a little at a time as well, so that you can add all the breadcrumbs, but the mix isn’t runny. There’s lots of flavor in the clam juice, so use as much as you can! Season with salt and pepper.

Remove the pan from the heat and fill the empty clam shells with the stuffing.

At this point, you can freeze the clams. I put them on small sheet pans in the freezer until they harden, then I wrap them 6 at a time, and put them in freezer bags. Keep frozen!

To make the aioli, mix mayonnaise and Sambal in a bowl, to taste. Sambal is hot, so a little goes a long way. Keep covered and refrigerated.

When ready to bake, remove clams from freezer and place on a sheet pan in a pre-heated 350 degree oven. Top each clam with a small ¼” square piece of butter. Bake about 15 minutes, until the clams are sizzling and light brown. Top with a small dab of aioli.

BEAUTIFUL BASIC BANANA BREAD

Posted: May 15, 2013 in breakfast, Food
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There are a million banana bread recipes out there, so let’s just get this over with and call mine a million-and-one! What makes this banana bread special is that it’s got loads of flavor. It uses whole wheat flour…less sugar…and no artificial extracts that make most banana breads taste like crap. This one relies on very ripe bananas to give it its wonderful natural flavor.
It’s not always easy to get bananas to ripen exactly when you’re trying to make your banana bread recipe. So here’s what I do: I by a large bunch of bananas and let them get very ripe at room temperature. I then take 5 at a time (for this recipe), peel them, and place the bananas in a Ziploc bag in the freezer. When it’s time to make banana bread, I just pull one of those Ziplocs out of the freezer and let it thaw. This also works really well when you need bananas for smoothies.

 

Nana bread blog

ALZ BANANA BREAD

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
5 medium-sized bananas, peeled and mashed
2 tsp real vanilla extract

Cooking spray

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Combine sugar and oil in mixing bowl and mix at medium speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time. Beat until mixture is light and lemon colored.
With mixer running at low speed, add flour mixture alternately with bananas, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Blend well after each addition. Add vanilla and blend some more to mix.
Pour batter into 2 loaf pans that have been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes in loaf pan on wire rack.
Remove from pan and let cool completely on wire rack.

PORK CHOPS AND APPLESAUCE

Posted: March 14, 2013 in Food, marinade, pork, Recipes
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This was my most popular blog post of 2012. Thought I’d re-run it here this week…

 

Food magazines and cooking shows are pretty obvious places to be inspired by new recipes from common ingredients. But I’ve found inspiration from some strange places, including old TV sitcoms. I had some nice thick pork chops thawed, and I was trying to think of something new to do with them. The classic “pork chops and applesauce” episode of The Brady Bunch was on TV that afternoon. I looked in the pantry, found a small container of my daughter’s applesauce, and came up with this recipe.

The applesauce and honey creates a tasty crust.

pork chop 2
Ingredients:

2 nice, thick cut pastured pork chops
1 small tub (4oz) unsweetened apple sauce
1 tablespoon fresh sage, finely chopped

A few sprigs of fresh thyme–leaves only–finely chopped

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

In a small bowl, combine everything but the pork chops.

Smear this applesauce mix all over the pork chops, place in a non-reactive covered container in the fridge, and let it marinate overnight.

The next day, make sure all the gooey applesauce mix gets re-smeared on the chops. You want it nice and thick on the meat.

On the stove, heat an oven-proof pan. Use a little olive oil. Place the chops in the pan gooey side down, then re-smear with any leftover applesauce on what is now the top side. Let the first side sear to a golden brown before flipping the chops over. Once you’ve flipped the chops, place in a pre-heated 350-degree oven. Cook the pork chops until just pink. (It’s no longer necessary to cook pork to death like our parents used to do.)

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