Triofe al Pesto

I have never really been one to keep pasta around as a staple or as a fall back meal, not because I don't like it, but because I always feel so limited of all things when it comes to pasta.  I feel that there is almost no way to make it special anymore, seeing as everything has been done.  This all changed when I was searching for a recipe for pesto, and came across a recipe for fresh (egg-less) pasta.  I never thought that one could make pasta with out eggs, for some reason.  I read through the recipe and it seemed easy enough, so I thought to give it a go.  It was tremendously easy, however time consuming.  I did it all on my own though, and I am quite sure that if you had help and/or didn't try to shape it, it would take much less time- but when have I ever been one to complain about lingering in the kitchen?

-Triofe al Pesto-

It seems only right to start with the pasta, seeing as you at the very least have to roll and cut it, but it also needs to set for about 20 minutes before and after the shaping.

2/3 lb. semolina (and a pinch of salt)

6oz. water

-Pour the semolina into a little mound on a smooth surface and form a well.  Carefully pour in the water and begin to combine the two using a fork, at first, and then your hands. Knead it slightly, adding a bit extra water if you must, and then shape into a ball, cover, and let rest for 15 minutes.

-When it comes time to cute and shape the pasta, divide the dough into (roughly) walnut sized pieces.  Then, one by one, roll into a long cord and cut into ~1.5in. lengths.  This is where you get to decide how crafty you want to be with this- to shape or not to shape?  If you are shaping them, take the blunt side of a knife, and (with the pasta piece perpendicular to your person) press down, and pull the knife towards you until the pasta curls up, resembling a little tiny scroll.  (You will quickly get used to the amount of pressure needed to properly form the shapes.) 

-Leave to dry for about twenty minutes, being sure that they do not touch each other.  I found that by sprinkling them with corn meal, and then leaving them under the broiler for a blink or two, they dry out enough to where they are less prone to stick to one another.

-Boil a large pot of salted water and cook the pasta for about 5 minutes.  When you drain the pasta, hold back a cupfull of the cooking water, should you need to thin the pesto.

-Pesto-

2 cloves of garlic, peeled1/4 c. toasted walnuts
2 1/4 oz. fresh basil leaves and mixed greens (arugula, spinach, radicchio) or roughly 3 cups
1/3 c. extra-virgin olive oil
1T. lemon juice1/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan

-Toss everything into a food processor and whir into a creamy vibrant green sauce.  (Be sure to season this, after you have combined everything, seeing as the parmesan will add a nice salty element.)
-You will only need about half to two-thirds of the pesto for the amount of pasta that has been made, and I would recommend either saving it for later, or going all out and toasting some rustic style bread, and smearing with the wonderfully bright pesto.

Buon Appetito!

What do you put into your pesto?

This was my first time ever to make pesto, and, naturally, I deviated from the recipe, but it was wonderful all the same.  I really loved the flavour that the walnuts gave, and while I very much enjoy olive oil, the 1/2 cup that was called for was much too much and almost masked the flavours.  I think the lemon was very necessary to cut through that sort of shield and let the rest of the flavours properly come through.

I'm not sure what it is about salmon, but it seems to calm my need for comfort food while still wanting to keep things healthy.  Normally, when I am in the mood for something that comforts, I reach for a can of beans, diced tomatoes and any spices that are near; but when I don't mind a bit of planning, salmon is what I want.  I was so happy to come across this recipe and have been absolutely dying to try it for ages, and have finally stepped up to the plate, even though there is still a part of me that is hesitant to cook with alcohol- I've no problem drinking it, but cooking with it makes me inexplicably nervous.  This, my take on Nigella Lawson's Salmon and Sake, is the perfect meal to just make on auto-pilot while at the same time looking forward to your eventual end result. 

A bit of marinading, cook a bit of rice, and, if you can be bothered, blanch or steam a bit of broccoli while you're sauteing the fish and you've a lovely meal.  I've never really had the knack for explaining simple things in a simple way (I can make toast sound complicated) but this really is quite simple, and more importantly, delicious.

Marinade:

1T. wasabi paste

2T. Worcestershire sauce

1T.soy sauce

1T. sake

1 salmon fillet, skinned (~5oz.) 

1 cup brown basmati rice

2 cardamom pods

1  head of broccoli

Sauce for salmon:

1/3 cup sake

1T. soy sauce

3/4t. fish sauce

1t. Worcestershire sauce

1t. wasabi paste

Fresh cilantro, chopped

-Measure out the rice, and it's water and toss in some salt and the cardamom pods (that you've slightly crushed with the flat side of your knife) and let this cook. 

-At this point, prepare your broccoli, trimming into sizes that you find appropriate, and put some water in a pot and let it be on it's merry way to a boil.

-Now for the planning bit: the salmon needs about 20 minutes in its sake marinade, so when it's time (keeping the rice in mind), just mix all of the elements of the marinade and the salmon together in a sandwich sized plastic bag and let them mingle for 20 minutes (outside of the icebox, please).

- When the 20 minutes are up, heat a non-stick skillet until piping hot and place your salmon (marinade discarded)  into it to sear for about 60-90 seconds (per side); wrap in heavy duty foil and let it set while you blanch the broccoli (~3 minutes) and then drain and run cold water over it to stop the cooking and to preserve the bright green of the broccoli.

-Prepare your sauce by letting the sake come to a boil, and then adding the rest of the flavours and let this all come to a simmer.

-Unwrap the salmon, slice, and place over a bed of rice and broccoli,  douse in the light sauce, and scatter the confetti of cilantro. (Then, by all means, devour.)

You may notice that there is no salt called for here, and that is mainly because of how much soy sauce is being used.  When I make this, I tend to salt the rice both during and after cooking, but I have a bit of a tragic love of salt (so much so that I carry a small vile of the kosher variety around with me in my purse at all times). 

 If you like your salmon on the rare side, I would recommend 60 seconds per side, and that is using a timer.  I wasn't up to messing about with a timer and just sort of tried to 'eye-ball' it, and while it was not burnt in the least, I do like my salmon a bit more life-like than it was (as grotesque as that may sound). 

Also, I didn't call for any oil but I really don't find it necessary.  I find that the oiliness of the salmon and the brightness of the broccoli seem to take away any acidity that might even hint at being there.



Saturday afternoon snack

Sometimes on a lazy Saturday afternoon, you just need a little pick me up; nothing to heavy but something that is enough to quiet those nagging pangs of hunger a couple of hours before dinner.  I made this for my mother, with left over bread, but by all means, make this with a fresh slice of whatever bread you like, just so long as it isn't the super market sponge variety. 

1 slice of bread
1/2 roma tomato, diced
2T. chevre
dash of oregano
salt, pepper, olive oil

-Drizzle the bread with a spot of oil and toast in the broiler while you chop your tomato and get out the chevre. 
-Combine all of the ingredients, the salt and pepper to taste, and mound on to the slice of now toasted bread and drizzle with just a touch more olive oil.
-Slide under the broiler and let the chevre take on a bit of golden colour and remove.  I wouldn't let this cool down too much, but tomatoes are known to be acidic and thus, retain heat for longer than you might expect. 

I did try slicing this, but it wasn't at all very pretty, and I think that it made it even more difficult to eat.  I wouldn't go pulling out a knife and fork or anything, nor would I wear my favourite white shirt when eating this, just as a precaution.

Easy dinner for one

I think that salmon is quite possibly one of my favourite meals to make for just me.  It is affordable, low in fat (albeit, 'good' fats) and calories, a good source of protein, and very easy and quick to prepare.  It can be served with just about anything and has one of my favourite textures for fish.

Here, I just threw a potato in the oven, and came back later to sear the salmon and shake up a vinaigrette.  It took about 45 minutes or so, but considering that there was only about 10 minutes of actually doing anything, then it can hardly be considered to be time consuming.

1 new potato

1 fillet salmon, (3oz.)

salad greens

cherry tomatoes, halved

for lemon dill sauce:

1 oz. Greek yogurt

1T. lemon juice

1/4t. dried dill

dash of salt

for Caesar vinaigrette:

1 clove garlic

1T. lemon juice

1t. olive oil

1/4t. anchovy paste

salt

-For the potato, just leave it be in a hot oven for 30-45 minutes, depending on it's size.  I used a new potato here, because I prefer it's creamy texture to the normal russet potatoes, but use which ever potato you prefer.

-For the salmon, I left the skin on, but that is because I was in a bit of a lazy mood that night; by all means, remove it if you must.  Sprinkle one or both sides with salt and black pepper and put into a hot nonstick pan and let griddle for about 90 seconds per side (for medium rare). 

-For the lemon dill sauce, just stir everything to combine.

-For the Caesar vinaigrette, chop the garlic as teensy as you have the patients for (or use a mortar and pestle if you have one, and go ahead and crush the salt with the garlic here),  the put your garlic mash into a small jar along with the remain ingredients and shake to combine.  Toss with greens of your preference and maybe a few cherry tomato halves if you are feeling feisty.

Let it be said that there is plenty of room for more oil in the vinaigrette if you prefer it less astringent, but I love the acidic tang, especially with the oily salmon here.  Also, if these amounts seem meagre for the vinaigrette, then you can certainly make as much as you want and leave it in the fridge, which, I should have done seeing as I have made that vinaigrette at least 3 times since this meal, only substituting the oil for Greek yogurt and pouring over blanched broccoli, lettuce, and just about whatever else I can get my hands on.

So, now for the big question:  do you avoid the anchovy or seek it out?

I, personally, love it.

A Versatile Dessert

If ever there was a need for a multi-functional dessert, it is around the holidays.   I was so pleased when I found this recipe last year that I couldn't wait to make it!  It is absolutely a cinch to make and beautiful to look at; more importantly though, it is a pleasure to eat.  It is almost surprisingly dense in texture but light at the same time and while it calls for just over one cup of sugar, it is not near as tooth-achingly sweet as one might expect.

It is a very eggy and buttery vanilla flavoured bundt cake, and I am proud to say that I can publish this recipe seeing as I forgot to pick up an ingredient at the store and had to make do, thus creating my own variation.  The original recipe (located in Nigella Christmas) asks for you to use some natural yogurt, but all I had was greek yogurt, and knowing that it is much thicker, I added a bit of almond milk as well.

2 sticks of butter
1.5c. sugar
6 eggs
2 1/3c. flour
1/2t. baking soda
pinch of salt
scant one cup of greek yogurt
2-3 T. almond milk
4t. vanilla extract

-If you have a large food processor, then by all means throw everything in there, press the button, and move on with life.  If, like myself, you only have one of the little tiny food processors, go about this the old fashioned way and cream the butter and sugar; add the eggs and vanilla (one or two at a time), and finally, alternate the two dry ingredients and the two wetter.
-Spray or butter a 2.5 quart bundt pan and pour in the batter.  Bake at 350(f) for 45minutes to an hour, checking towards the end of baking to ensure that it isn't getting to brown ontop.
-Let the cake cool in its pan for about 15 minutes, and you should notice the cake beginning to pull away from the edges.  Coax it a bit more before you attempt to invert it.  And if you are normally worried by the inversion, don't be with this cake.  As I mentioned, it is very dense and I think it would take more than a less than perfect flip to break it.

As you can see, at our Christmas, we ate it with nothing more than a fresh dusting of snowy-white icing sugar, but served with chocolate sauce, ice cream, drizzled with heavy cream, or even with fresh fruit for breakfast. Just the other morning, I had the last bit of it toasted with a cup of tea for breakfast.  And yes, I did make it the day before Christmas Eve and as of January 1, protected only by a layer of foil, this cake was still just as wonderfully moist as the day that it was baked (and mold-free to boot).  Just like the little black dress, this cake is perfect for a small gathering or a formal diner party.

I would be interested in baking this with brown sugar next time or adding some almond extract as well.

What do you think?