pseudo single lady eggplant caponata

Posted on September 30, 2011 by hilary924

i do a lot of pseudo-single-lady cooking. forget rachel ray, if the somm is out of town, dinner needs to take about 15 minutes to get from the fridge into my mouth. this tends to limit the repertoire to, well, zucchini hash and a fried egg if i can muster the energy to chop something. or olives and a very large glass of wine if it’s been one of those days.

yeah. classy. i’ll be sure to get that recipe up here one of these days.

anyway, when i’m a pseudo-single-lady who has her $%*! together and isn’t too hangry at the world to cope with cooking, i’ll make a big pot of something that’ll last all week to use in various forms for lunch and dinner. like a big pork tenderloin or a pot of braised chicken that’ll go in salads or on pasta. mmm.

this is one of those type of recipes.

eggplant caponata is kind of like the italian version of ratatouille. but it has more eggplant than tomato. and you chop the veggies up into smaller pieces.

and unlike tomatoey ratatouille, which i melt into almost a stew, the eggplant in caponata tends to hold its shape and texture even as you saute and simmer it. and it ends up more as a dip. or like salsa? do you know what i’m getting at here?

the type of caponata i like to make is pretty tangy. lots of capers and olives and some red wine or sherry vinegar to zing it up.

the secret ingredient? pine nuts.

no one would call a pine nut crunchy. but against the silky smooth texture of the eggplant, tomato, and red pepper, they give the caponata a much needed bite. and a nice toasty, nutty layer of flavor to the dish.

don’t be like me and totally forget about your pine nuts and let them get slightly too toasty on one side while staying oddly nakedly blonde on the other.

just keepin’ it real, folks.

so, i’ve made caponata for family dinners when the somm’s home. i made a huge batch, and it just got better all week. the yogi came over and we spread it on french bread, crumbled some feta on top, broiled it and had it in our faces in under 15 minutes, FTW.

look, here i’ve served it with pork.

shocking, i know. i pretty much have served everything i’ve made this summer with pork. thank god it’s dropping into winter weather this weekend so i can give my old friends the short ribs some love.

Eggplant Caponata

Adapted from the New York Times

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 red bell peppers, diced
1 1/2 pounds eggplant, chopped into 1/2ish cubes or close enough (see note)
2 medium to large ripe tomatoes, diced (and peeled if you’re feeling fancy), or half a 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
3 heaped tablespoons capers, drained
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped pitted kalamata olives
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 tablespoons red wine or sherry vinegar
1 good splash of red wine
Salt and Pepper
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted

Heat your oil in your skillet, add the onions and saute for a few minutes. You probably don’t want to let them brown because they’ve got some more cooking to do, but I can never remember to stir and I’m usually chopping the eggplant or garlic and forget, and it works out ok.

Add the garlic and red bell pepper and saute for another few minutes to get the pepper softening. Then add your eggplant and cook until it gets a little brown – maybe 10 minutes or so.

Add your tomatoes, olives, and capers, cook for a few minutes then add the tomato paste and liquids. Cook until the liquid is just gone and the sauce holds together. Taste it and see if the balance of tart and savory is right for you or if it needs more vinegar or maybe even a pinch of sugar. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

You can either add the pine nuts now, or you can reserve and garnish as needed. This helps keep them from going too soft in my opinion.

Caponata is best served warm or room temperature, but it’s pretty darn good on crackers straight out of the fridge too.

A note about eggplants: Many people find eggplant to be bitter if you don’t salt it first. I usually buy the lighter purple eggplants. Or the funky streaky looking ones. In part, if I’m being honest, cause they’re kind of prettier. But I also think they’re sweeter and less bitter than the darker ones. And I’m lazy and that’s my excuse to not salt my eggplant. Feel free to salt yours if you have the patience or desire. Also, the New York Times has you roast your eggplant. I like the firm bite of a non-roasted eggplant, and didn’t really want to add the prep time, but I’m sure it’s lovely either way. Aren’t you so glad you came for all this (not) helpful (completely subjective, not tested) advice!

romesco sauce

Posted on September 8, 2011 by hilary924

we can do this the easy way or the hard way.

no, seriously.

there are a lot of steps here.

there are lots of ingredients to toast or roast and peel. soak and chop. saute and puree. here are some of them. the photogenic ones! also the ones i didn’t forget to pose.

note to self: do not become a wedding photographer. although, who ever looks at those lined up photos anyway??? sigh. two years later, i still have post-traumatic bridal stress disorder.

back to the romesco. it makes everything better. we even served it at the wedding. at the meats on sticks station! yum.

and don’t worry. about the wedding or all the steps to the romesco sauce. they’re worth it. and they’re (generally) a great way to spend a saturday afternoon. and i’ll tell you when you can cheat – in the sauce, not the marriage.

are we done with that metaphor? i hope so.

romesco is a spanish sauce that is mostly peppers, tomatoes, nuts and bread. sounds weird but it is deeply satisfying. it’s smoky, with a nice balance of sweet and bitter peppers, a touch of acid, a little chunky. it’s a substantial sauce. there are lots of ingredient and lots of steps, but don’t be intimidated. that just means lots of ways to make romesco the way YOU want it to be.

here’s how i make romesco. i roast something.

i take a break and go sweep the cat litter in the bathroom. i wash my hands. thoroughly. gross. i come back and toast something. something like hazelnuts.

then i go wipe down a counter or water a plant. i have house cleaning ADHD.

back to the kitchen! we’re going to take the skins off stuff!

roasted red pepper. after you thoroughly blacken the skin – either on the stove or under the broiler, turning constantly! – let it hang out in a ziploc and get steamy. then the blackened skin slips right off. super easy. but you know what? the stuff that comes in a jar works too! and looks slightly less creepy than this denuded red pepper.

the secret to taking those skins of the hazelnuts is rubbing them in a dishtowel. a nubbier towel would have worked better than this, but isn’t it pretty?! thanks mom.

hazelnuts are a traditional ingredient for romesco. toasting them offers deeper flavor – and taking the skins off will make a prettier sauce. i mixed them with marcona almonds (fancy pants spanish almonds that are super salty and a little oily but in a good-put-more-in-my-mouth-right-now kind of way) but you could just use marcona almonds. or just regular almonds. whatever floats your boat.

also going on during my toasting/roasting/prep/cleaning time is soaking some ancho chiles. nora chiles are traditionally the central ingredient in a romesco.

my whole foods doesn’t carry them, and grocery stores are limited here in the urban metropolis that is NW DC. i’m pretty sure i couldn’t pick a nora pepper out in a line up. ancho chiles, according to my “extensive” research, are a common substitute in romesco.

but, here’s the “secret” to my romesco.

it really is more of a glorified red pepper sauce. i like the sweetness. i add the ancho for a little bit of that smoky bitterness. but whenever i try to go old school and use mostly dried peppers, i am just disappointed.

and, there are way too many steps here to not luuuuuurve the results. because once you’ve roasted and toasted and soaked and chopped, you need to saute the ingredients together. let them meet and mingle. cocktail hour style.

in this stage, you’re adding the bread, tomatoes, and garlic.

they’ll really get to know each other in the food processor.

in a nod to the somm, i don’t add oil to make it saucy. i used some chicken stock and some spanish white wine . . . this time a viura-chardonnay blend. viura. the somm and i spent our whole trip to rioja making people say it for us and failing to replicate the sound. the v . . . not a v. some weird v/f hybrid. the inflection . . . much more nuanced than the american tongue is prepared to take on. who would have thought txakolina would be easier to say! sigh.

luckily, romesco is SUPER easy to pronounce. and super easy to make, if you can stick through the roasting-toasting-soaking-chopping.

and good on so much stuff. burgers. roasted potatoes. crudites. a spoon. dig in!

Roasted Red Pepper Romesco

Super loosely adapted from the New York TImes. Read the article about the awesomeness of romesco!

Smitten Kitchen has a good recipe too.

2 red peppers
3-4 peppadew peppers (or just use more red pepper or piquillo, like the NY Times)
1 dried ancho chile
1 medium to largish tomato
6 cloves garlic (I am garlic CRAZY. use as much as seems reasonable to you)
Handful hazelnuts (NY Times called for 15. Hilarious. Please, do not bother counting out your hazelnuts)
Larger handful marcona almonds (or, you know, 25)
1 cup cubed baguette, stale or slightly toasted
1/3 cup white wine
1/3 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 healthy sqeeze of lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (This is Spanish paprika. I bought mine in Spain. You don’t need to, they sell it here, but don’t use regular paprika, it won’t get the job done.)
Chopped fresh thyme

Soak ancho chile in hot water for about half an hour until soft. Remove seeds. Roughly chop.

Blacken the red peppers over a gas flame or under the broiler. Place in a ziploc bag for 5 to 10 minutes, then slip off skins. Coarsely chop.

Toast hazelnuts until dark brown but not black. Fold into dish towel and rub to remove skins.

Slice slight X in bottom of tomato – just enough to break the skin. Blanche in boiling water for a minute, then peel. Or skip this because you just can’t handle peeling ONE MORE THING. Use canned tomatoes. Or just leave the skin on. It’ll add some fiber, that’s good, right?

Saute bread, nuts, garlic for a few minutes, until you can start to smell the garlic. Add the tomatos. Then the peppers.

Throw the mixture into the food processor. Start the processor. As it runs, add the liquids. Season to taste with paprika, salt and pepper. Garnish the with fresh thyme. The sauce will have texture. Delicious texture.

corn, tomato & zucchini pie

Posted on August 9, 2011 by hilary924

isn’t corn just wonderful? it really is one of my favorite foods. i love that corn can go either sweet or savory – or both, hitting that salty-sweet combo that just sings to me. like peanut butter or kettle corn or flaky sea salt on brownies.

last year, we went to san francisco for my (and a friends!) birthday and had dinner one night at a swanky restaurant with corn-themed dessert. it was a crazy landscape of a dessert. literally. it had “soil” and little plants and all kinds of amazing corn-based delights and i think i just planted my face into it and hoped the somm and friend were enjoying some other dessert menu item.

i’m not a good sharer.

at least when it comes to dessert. i’m totally happy to share this recipe – which is savory despite that long corn-dessert aside. homemade corn ice cream is sooooo on my summer wish list.

this corn “pie” delivers the essence of corn in all it’s summer glory. it’s rich but light, and the sweet corn is perfectly complemented by the crispy, cheesey topping and herbal notes from the basil and thyme.

plus it couldn’t be easier.

cut the kernels off your corn. i like to do it in a bowl. it keeps the kernels from going everywhere.

use your knife skills to matchstick some zucchini. this is not my best effort. but, to be honest, i put this bad boy together post happy hour on a friday. anything more advanced than take out or a bowl of cereal was winning.

throw it together in a pie dish with herbs, salt & pepper and some melted butter.

pretty.

layer on some tomatoes.

red and yellow. gorgeous.

finish it off with bread crumbs and parmesan.

bake until brown and crispy. nom nom.

Corn, Tomato & Zucchini Pie

Adapted from Epicurious

3 ears of corn worth of corn kernels
1-2 medium zucchini, cut into matchstick pieces
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh basil and/or thyme
2 tablespoons melted butter
3 vine-ripened tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs, Panko-type are best
2 tablespoons olive oil – I used basil-flavored, yum

Preheat the oven to 375°. In a 9-inch pie dish, combine the corn, zucchini, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, the herbs, and the melted butter, tossing to coat the vegetables. Cover the vegetables with the tomatoes. Sprinkle with the remaining salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, combine the cheese and the bread crumbs. Sprinkle the mixture over the tomatoes and drizzle with the olive oil. Bake the pie for 30 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling. Remove it from the oven, and let it stand for 5 minutes before serving.

roasted tomatillo & corn salsa

Posted on August 4, 2011 by hilary924

this salsa is a major victory. i mean, it tastes great – smoky and tangy and sweet and spicy – but the victory comes from the fact that it was produced and consumed without harm to myself or the kitchen.

the last time i made this salsa, i felt like i was starring in my very own adam sandler movie. jalepeno in my eye, me futily splashing it with water while the sommelier frantically googles for antedotes, then milk everywhere – especially crusted around my red, swollen face. add in a huge, bleeding cut in my fingertip to distract me, and to top it off, we inaugurated the kitchen fire extinguisher when the broiler got the best of the homemade tortilla chips.

not my finest hour.

at multiple points during this experience, the sommelier suggested perhaps some takeout from the lovely chicken place down the street might be a good idea. this is why he was better in economics . . . he knows a sunk cost when he sees one and is ready to move on.

but i'm a crazy cook, so i persisted. and was rewarded with yummy tomatillo salsa!

this time, having only slightly learned from past mishaps, i decided to step it up and char both the corn and the tomatillos. which i mananged without burning ANYTHING. so, let's get started.

have you met the tomatillo?

when you pull off the papery skins, they kind of look like little, unripe tomatoes. they're a little sticky, so you have to give them a good rinse.

to make salsa, you can blend them up raw, or roast them under the broiler.

kind of looks like a marimekko print, don't you think?

i went for roasted, because i also wanted to add some charred corn. i'd never done this before. now i've done it twice without burning anything that wasn't meant to be burned! progress!

the corn does pop a little, and the inevitable corn silk stuck between the kernels does flare up and burn off a bit. it kind of freaked the sommelier out, cause he knew i was up to no good. but i stood back at a safe distance. had the fire extinguisher out and ready (this particular kitchen safety measure, like the knife skills lesson, was totally the somm's idea). we worked through it, and it was worth it.

fact: add this stuff to roasted cherry tomatoes with some lime, cilantro, salt & pepper and the barest splash of balsamic and you'll have yourself a lovely summer salad. or, enjoy while standing at your cutting board and trying not to drop any on the floor. mmm.

but we're focusing on the tomatillo today.

blend up your roasted tomatillo with some onion, jalepeno, and lime juice. stir in the corn, chopped cilantro and salt to taste.

total victory. and yes, this time we skipped the homemade tortilla chips.

Roasted Tomatillo & Corn Salsa

adapted from Simply Recipes, via Kuhn Orchards at my local farmers market

1 1/2 lb tomatillos
2 ears corn
1/2 cup chopped white onion
1/2 to 1 lime, jucied, to taste
2 Jalapeño peppers OR 2 serrano peppers, stemmed, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
Salt to taste

Remove papery husks from tomatillos and rinse well. Slice in half and roast, cut side down, under the broiler until almost black.

Husk corn and char – carefully – over a gas burner. Slice kernals from cob.

In food processor, blend tomatillos with onion, lime and jalepeno. Place in bowl, and stir in cilantro and corn. Season and enjoy!

freestyle ratatouille

Posted on July 21, 2011 by hilary924

there are two veggie dishes that just scream summer to me. they are also two dishes that are super fun to say. ratatouille! succotash!

today, we're talking ratatouille.

everyone in america now knows what ratatouille is thanks to this adorable mouse.

both ratatouille and succotash make excellent use of the veggies that are at their prime in summer. for ratatouille, this means tomatoes. eggplants. squash. sweet peppers. basil and other herbs.

you can't really see it, but there's a super pretty purple and white striped eggplant in that pile. remember when that pile was bigger?

there's that eggplant! and a very uncharacteristically curious cat.

some people (ahem julia child) have lots of rules about ratatouille. sauteing the various vegetable separately to maintain their vegetal integrity. that just sounds like a lot of cleaning for this servantless chef. and while thomas keller's perfectly composed little dish of ratatouille for said movie looked delectable, i just can't be bothered on a weeknight. i like my ratatouille peasant style, stewy and infused with the taste of summer.

so, here goes some freestyle ratatouille. i'm not even going to give you a real recipe. first. chop your veggies. you know what you like. i like more tomato than sweet pepper. i like lots of garlic and a nice big onion. i like a 1:1ish ratio of eggplant and zucchini.

heat some oil. sweat out your onions. add your garlic. add your tomatoes. let it hang out and get a little mushy. then add your eggplant and zucchini. hit it with some salt and pepper, and some chopped herbs – i like basil and thyme. cover and let it melt together. melt it at much as you like. want your veggies to have a bit of bite? add them in stages. or be all julia child and sear them in a separate pan and then add to your tomato. i won't judge. too much.

this is what last night's ratatouille looked like:

don't judge these knife skills. it's all going to come together. what will bring it together? red wine vinegar.

there are a couple of things that i've learned that have made me a better cook. 1) salt your food. think you've added enough? add another pinch. do it. 2) acid. acid does amazing things for food. a squeeze of lemon, a squirt of vinegar, will brighten up most dishes. professional chefs know how to use acid. home cooks usually don't. red wine vinegar will bring your ratatouille together.

but, a little goat cheese wouldn't hurt. some more basil. maybe some french bread? red wine?

yum.

and what's better than a plate of ratatouille? ratatouille on pizza.

whole wheat crust, mozzarella, more of that goat cheese, maybe some chicken sausage. layer on some more summer veggies.

(please note that the farmer's market was not harmed in the addition of vegetables to this pizza, they were kindly donated by friends who then helped consume the results. unlike my sad underacheivers, their deck garden is going gangbusters. something about watering and fertilizing? sigh.)

bake it up.

mmm. need to feel more virtuous? add some kale salad. dinner's on!

Ratatouille

Saute onions and garlic. Add chopped tomatoes. Add chopped eggplant, zucchini, bell pepers, basil and thyme. Simmer until it reaches the desired consistency. Add a few splashes of red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper. Maybe some red pepper flakes if you're feeling spicy.

Pizza Dough

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar (or honey!)
1 tsp yeast.
1 cup cold water

Mix flours, salt, sugar, and yeast. Add cold water and stir/knead until it forms a ball and comes away from the sides of the bowl. Oil a clean bowl. Let the dough hang out in the oiled bowl, tightly covered. At least 2-4 hours, but all day is good too if you're like me and can't wait to eat until 10 pm on a work night and thus must make dough in the morning as a part of a losing battle to being on time for work. When you get home, knead it a couple of times with more flour, then let it rest under a clean dish towel. This recipe makes a LOT of dough. But whatever you don't use will keep in the fridge for a day or two.

Kale Salad

This one is just chopped kale with a TON of feta and a simple dressing of lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. It was inspired by the marginally fancier Dinner: A Love Story recipe here.

Manchego's Kitchen

it's his kitchen. i just cook here.

Category Archives: Tomato