Orecchiette Carbonara with Charred Brussels Sprouts

via Bon Appétit

INGREDIENTS

• ½ lb. brussels sprouts, trimmed, leaves separated
• 12 oz. fresh orecchiette (see Fresh Pasta recipe) or other fresh or dried small pasta
• Kosher salt
• 2 oz. guanciale (salt-cured pork jowl) or pancetta (Italian bacon), finely chopped (about ¼ cup)
• ½ tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
• ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• ⅓ cup grated Pecorino plus more
• 2 large egg yolks, beaten to blend
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided

 

 

PREPARATION

View Step-by-Step Directions

• Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over high heat. Working in batches, add brussels sprout leaves and cook, tossing occasionally, until charred in spots and crisp-tender, about 5 minutes; transfer to a plate and set aside. Wipe out skillet.
• Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente (about 5 minutes for fresh pasta). Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid.
• Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 Tbsp. oil in same skillet over medium heat. Add guanciale and cook, stirring often, until slightly crisp, about 4 minutes. Add pepper and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Immediately add ½ cup pasta cooking liquid to keep pepper from burning; reduce heat to low and gradually add butter, swirling skillet and adding more pasta cooking liquid as needed, until a thick, glossy sauce forms. (Taste as you go and switch to hot water once sauce is adequately seasoned.)
• Add pasta to skillet and toss to coat. Add Pecorino; toss to combine. Remove from heat; mix in egg yolks. Add reserved brussels sprout leaves; toss, adding pasta cooking liquid (or hot water) as needed to thin sauce.
• Serve pasta topped with more Pecorino.

vegetable lasagna with lemon, ricotta and basil cream sauce

layer semi-cooked lasagna noodles with sauted zucchini slices cooked with onion and garlic, thinly sliced tomatoes, cream sauce, and shredded Parmesan cheese. bake for 30 minutes covered at 375 and another 20 or so uncovered. let sit for 10-15 minutes afterword.

cream sauce... half stick butter, flour, 3 cups milk, small container of ricotta cheese, zest and juice of one lemon, salt, pepper, and a bunch of chopped basil...
make roux, add milk and stir until thick. take off heat and add remaining ingredients.

Filone

This recipe, from Daniel Leader of Bread Alone, which has several locations in upstate New York, produces an airy loaf with a nice crust similar to a ciabatta. It's made with a lightly fermented traditional Italian starter, called abiga, that's started nine hours before baking. It first appeared in our May 2012 issue along with William Alexander's story American Bread.

 

 

Enlarge Image Credit: Todd Coleman

INGREDIENTS

1 ⅔ cups (13 ¼ oz.) tap water, heated to 115°
1 ½ tsp. (¼ oz.) active dry yeast
3 ¼ cups plus ⅔ cup (1 lb. 1 ⅔ oz.) all–purpose flour, plus more for dusting
⅓ cup (2 ⅔ oz.) olive oil, plus more for greasing bowl
2 ¼ tsp. (¾ oz.) kosher salt
½ cup ice cubes

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together ⅓ cup water and ½ tsp. yeast; let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add ⅔ cup flour, and mix until a smooth dough forms. Transfer to a lightly floured surface, and knead until fairly smooth, about 2 minutes. Transfer the ball of dough to a greased bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Place bowl in a cold oven, and let sit for 1 hour; transfer bowl to refrigerator, and let sit for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours to ferment. This ball of dough is the biga, a quick and simple starter that imparts large bubbles and a lightly fermented flavor to the dough. Remove biga from refrigerator, and let sit to come to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

 

 2.Transfer biga to a large bowl and add remaining 1 ⅓ cups water and 1 tsp. yeast (Figure A); stir until biga breaks up and is partly dissolved in water. Add remaining 3 ¼ cups flour, along with oil and salt (Figure B), and stir until dough forms. Let the dough sit to allow flour to hydrate, about 20 minutes (the term for this process is called autolysis).

3. Knead dough, which will be very wet and sticky, in the bowl until it begins to tighten and becomes smooth, about 4 minutes. (The dough for this bread must be very wet to achieve its light and airy texture.) Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface, and continue kneading (Figure C), using a bench scraper to help if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes more. At this point, the dough will be sticky to the touch but will release from your hands fairly easily. It will also have formed a tight skin on the outside that can hold its shape when stretched lightly (Figure D).

4. Transfer the dough ball to a lightly greased bowl, and cover it with plastic wrap. Place the bowl in a cold oven, and let the dough rest until it doubles in size, about 2 hours. (When you press your finger into the dough, the fingerprint should spring back slowly. Lightly dust a sheet of parchment paper with flour, and set it on a rimless baking sheet.)

5. Lightly dust a work surface with flour, and transfer dough to work surface. Using a bench scraper or a chef's knife, cut dough into two equal–sized pieces, and flatten slightly. Fold the top and bottom edges of one piece toward the middle, and flatten dough at the seam with the palm of your hand (Figure E); turn dough over, seam side down, and shape into a 12″ log. Transfer log to the prepared, floured parchment paper, and repeat this folding and shaping procedure with remaining dough piece. Lift the parchment paper between the loaves slightly. Loosely cover dough logs on baking sheet with plastic wrap, and transfer to a cold oven; let sit until dough logs double in size, about 90 minutes. (Because the temperature in kitchens can vary wildly, thus speeding up or slowing down a dough's rise, placing the dough in a cold oven keeps the temperature more constant.)

6. Remove proofed loaves on baking sheet from oven, and place a cast–iron skillet on the bottom rack of oven; position another rack above skillet, and place a baking stone on top of it. Heat oven to 425°.

7. Uncover dough logs, and sprinkle with flour (Figure F); this looks aesthetically pleasing and adds another dimension of flavor from the toasted flour. Using the corner of the parchment paper as a guide, slide the loaves, still on the paper, onto the baking stone; and position evenly on the stone. Place ice cubes in skillet (this produces steam that allows the loaves to rise fully before a crust forms on the exterior). Bake loaves until dark golden brown and crisp, about 50 minutes; let cool before serving.

Four-Hour Baguette

May 1, 2012

Traditional baguettes are 24 to 30 inches long and are baked in ovens that produce steam, which delays crust formation so the loaves can fully rise. This recipe reduces the length to fit in home ovens and calls for adding ice cubes to a hot cast–iron skillet to create steam. This recipe first appeared in our May 2012 issue along with William Alexander's story American Bread.

Enlarge Image Credit: Todd Coleman

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ cups (12 oz.) tap water, heated to 115°
1 tsp. (⅛ oz.) active dry yeast
3 ¼ cups (14 ⅔ oz.) all–purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. (⅜ oz.) kosher salt
Canola oil, for greasing bowl
½ cup ice cubes

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Whisk together water and yeast in a large bowl; let sit until yeast is foamy, about 10 minutes. Add flour, and stir with a fork until dough forms and all flour is absorbed; let dough sit to allow flour to hydrate, about 20 minutes. Add salt ( Figure A); transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Transfer dough ball to a lightly greased bowl; cover bowl with plastic wrap, and place bowl in a cold oven. Let dough rest until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

 

2. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface, and shape into an 8″ x 6″ rectangle. Fold the 8″ sides toward the middle ( Figure B), then fold the shorter sides toward the center. Return dough, seam side down, to bowl. Cover with plastic again, and return to oven; let sit until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

3. Remove bowl with dough from oven, and place a cast–iron skillet on the bottom rack of oven; position another rack above skillet, and place a baking stone on it.

4. Heat oven to 475°. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface, and cut into three equal pieces; shape each piece into a 14″ rope ( Figure C). Flour a sheet of parchment paper on a rimless baking sheet; place ropes, evenly spaced, on paper. Lift paper between ropes to form pleats; place two tightly rolled kitchen towels under long edges of paper, creating supports for the loaves. Cover loosely with plastic wrap; let sit until it doubles in size, about 50 minutes.

5. Uncover; remove towels, and flatten paper to space out loaves. Using a sharp razor or paring knife, slash the top of each baguette at a 30–degree angle in four spots ( Figure D); each slash should be about 4″ long. Using the corner of the parchment paper as a guide, slide the loaves, still on the parchment paper, onto the baking stone. Place ice cubes in skillet (this produces steam that lets the loaves rise fully before a crust forms). Bake the baguettes until darkly browned and crisp, about 30 minutes; cool before serving.

chile garlic roasted sweet potatoes

Ingredients

• 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil or canola oil
• 1 tablespoon chile-garlic sauce (see Note)
• 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, scrubbed (and peeled, if desired), cut into 1-inch wedges or pieces

Preparation

1. Position rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 450°F.
2. Combine oil, chile-garlic sauce, soy sauce and white pepper in a large bowl. Add sweet potatoes; toss to coat with the seasoning mixture.
3. Spread the sweet potatoes evenly on a rimmed baking sheet.
4. Roast, stirring once or twice, until the sweet potatoes are tender and browned, 20 to 25 minutes.

Tips & Notes

• Note: Chile-garlic sauce (also labeled chili-garlic sauce, or paste) is a blend of ground chiles, garlic and vinegar. It can be found in the Asian section of large supermarkets and will keep for up to 1 year in the refrigerator.

Zesty Lemon Chicken

6 boneless chicken breasts
10 whole lemons, (enough to make 2 cups juice, reserve 2 tbsp for later)
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup oil
2 tbsp lemon zest (grated peel)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chicken broth*
1 whole lemon, sliced thin
minced parsley for garnish
skillet, bowl, baking dish

In an airtight container, combine chicken breasts and lemon juice. Marinate for 1 hour. Remove chicken. Pat chicken with paper towel, but don’t dry completely. Mix together flour, salt, paprika and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour mixture until well coated.

In large skillet heat 1/2 of the oil and fry breasts a few at a time until well browned, adding and heating more oil as needed. (about ten minutes) Arrange chicken in a single layer in a large baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with lemon peel and brown sugar. Mix chicken broth with reserved lemon juice and pour around chicken. Pace a sliced lemon on top of each breast and sprinkle with minced parsley. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until tender.

*I added the broth to the frying pan, deglazed it and then added it to the baking dish. Yum.

Spicy Garlic-Ginger Noodles

250 grams spaghetti (whole wheat or 100% buckwheat soba is fine)
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup onion, finely diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1/2 large red pepper, sliced thinly (or use 1 carrot julienned, or 1 or 2 bulbs baby bok choy, sliced)
1/2 jalapeno pepper, minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1-2 tablespoons honey or agave syrup
1 teaspoon hosin sauce (optional)
1 teaspoon sriracha
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds + additional for serving

In a large pot, bring water to a boil and add in noodles. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt butter and add in onion, garlic, and ginger and saute over medium heat. Let this get soft but not browned. Add in the red pepper and jalapeno.

In a small dish, stir together the soy sauce, honey, hosin, sriracha, and sesame oil together. Set aside.

Drain pasta when cooked to al dente, add to pan with the onion-pepper mixture and pour over the sauce. Toss well. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve in 2 deep bowls. Garnish with additional sesame seeds.