Chickpeas and Chard with Poached Eggs

Chris said this was a delicious meal! Well it really was but I was not expecting that much praise. The broth was a hit. I used vegetable broth and then tonight while I was heating it up I added about a cup of chicken broth. The recipe is from Bon Appetit. I did make a couple of changes...

Here is my version of Chickpeas and Chard with Poached Eggs-

Ingredients-
¼ cup olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
salt
1 large bunch Swiss chard, ribs and stems removed and thinly sliced, leaves torn into 1” pieces
1 14oz can of Chick Peas
1 cup of Vegetable Broth
4 large eggs
Freshly cracked black pepper

Method-
Add the ¼ cup oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion, season with salt. Cook, stirring often, until onion is translucent, 8–10 minutes. Add Swiss chard ribs and stems and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 5–8 minutes. Add the vegetable broth, bring to a simmer. Gradually add chard leaves, stirring until slightly wilted. Use a spoon to make 4 indentations. Crack an egg into each and simmer until whites are almost entirely opaque, about 10 minutes. Cover pan and cook just until whites are set but yolks are still runny, about 2 minutes. Season eggs with salt and pepper.

I even made a change in this recipe. I made this recipe, up to the adding the eggs to the chard, on Sunday night. Last night I poached the eggs and put them in an ice bath. Tonight when I got home I heated the onions and chard, adding the chicken broth. Then I made the indentations in the chard and placed the poached eggs in each. I covered until it was heated, but not overcooking the eggs.

Vegetable Frittatta

Potatoes, Onion, Zucchini, Yellow Squash, Scallion & Spinach. Oh and cheese and eggs!

Cheesy Quiona Mac and Cheese

Cheesy Quiona Mac and Cheese. I am new the the site, Around the Table: Loving Food in RI and Beyond. But I will be back there very soon.

Okay so back to dinner..... Cheese is in the title of this twice! That is a sign of a good dish. This was perfect for cleaning up extra veggies I had in the fridge. I sauteed zucchini and yellow squash and then I also sauteed some mushrooms! I put the mushrooms in my portion of the casserole. Someone here is not a mushroom fan! I even made a small dish for my dad, he got mushrooms too!

And today I got my confirmation for Foodstock 2012! Seeing Ruth Reichl and Molly O'Neill in one day. Can't wait...

Spaghetti Vesuviana

Move over Fettuccine Alfredo there is a new favorite pasta dish in town. This recipe is from Cooking with Chef Silvio, Stories and Authentic Recipes from Campania. Chris got me an autographed copy for Christmas a year ago. And there is a Madison connection. Chef Silvio operates Cafe Allegra and the Woodwinds in Branford. And his jarred tomato sauces are excellent.

 

Now some of you may know that my grandparents were from Campania. So I love finding authentic recipes. I remember my grandparents on my mom's but I was pretty young when they passed (both of my dad's parents had passed before I was born). So my cooking memories are more from my parent's stories. I do remember my grandmother telling me that eating the fat on a steak was not a good idea.

My grandmother (she's the pretty on on the right) with 2 of her sisters.

So back to dinner. The flavors were spicy and salty. And I almost made Fettuccine Alfredo but luckily found this recipe. And it only took 20 minutes!

Spaghetti Vesuviana

Serves 4 (or 2 with leftovers!)

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves of garlic (No I did not use garlic, sorry it does not agree with me!)
2 bell peppers (I used red), seeded and cut into strips
14 oz can Vesuvian cherry tomatoes, or canned San Marzano Tomatoes, undrained & crushed by hand
1 cup fresh Basil leaves, torn
15 to 20 pitted Calamata olives, halved
1 tablespoon capers
pinch dried or chopped fresh oregano
salt and pepper
1 pound spaghetti
1 1/3 cups grated parmigiano cheese
Additional fresh basil or Italian parsley for garnish, optional

In a large frying pan heat the oil, add the garlic and cook until golden. Add the peppers and, stirring frequently, cook until slightly softened, approximately 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, olives, capers, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the peppers and tomatoes are soft but still retain their shape. Give it a final taste for salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and set aside.
In a pot with salted water, cook spaghetti according to the directions on the package. Drain, reserving some cooking water. Add the sauce to the pasta along with half of the grated cheese and toss well. If too dry, adjust using pasta water to moisten. Serve in pasta bowls, sprinkled with the rest of the cheese and garnished with fresh basil or parsley if you wish.

And I can submit this post on Cookbook Sundays!

  

Calzone Barese Olive and Ricotta

Another meatless Friday. I was looking through my previous posts and found this one - Calzone Barese Olive and Ricotta. It was from the cookbook, La Cucina: Regional Cooking of Italy.

 Another submission for Cookbook Sundays!

I had forgotten what a great crust this was. And I liked the idea of one big calzone. The filling is so flavorful. The olives and onions make a great sauce.

For the dough:
2 cups all purpose flour plus more if needed
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeas dissolved in 2 tbsp. warm water
Extra-virgin olive oil

For the filling:
1 medium onion, sliced
3/4 lb. ripe plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1/3 cup pitted and chopped black olives
4 oz. ricotta salata, passed through a sieve
Salt and pepper

Pour the flour onto a flat surface and work it together with the yeast mixture, a dash of salt and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Knead the dough, turning and folding it onto itself, until it becomes soft and elastic, adding water by the tablespoon as necessary - you my need to add as much as 3/4 cup. Then cover it with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise for about an hour.
Preheat the oven to 450˚F. Grease a baking dish.
In a sauce pan, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil and saute the onion until is almost transparent, then add the tomatoes. Cook the sauce down for a few minutes then add salt, pepper, and olives. Remove the pan from the heat and add the ricotta salata and mix well.
Roll the dough on a floured board into two sheets, one larger than the other. With the larger one line the greased pan. Pour in the sauce, spread it out, and cover with the other sheet, folding the edges over each other. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until the top is golden.

Pappardelle Pasta with Swiss Chard, Bacon and Ricotta Cheese

For some reason I wanted Swiss Chard for dinner tonight. So I googled Swiss Chard and pasta and found this recipe on Cinnamon Girl Recipes blog. I could not find the pasta at the store so I made my own. I used the recipe from Giada De Laurentiis, Everyday Pasta. There is nothing better than homemade pasta.
Here is the recipe. I cut this recipe in half and there was plenty for the 2 of us.

3 cups all purpose flour
4 large eggs
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp olive oil


Place the flour in the bowl of a food processor. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add the salt and olive oil to the eggs and stir to combine. Add the egg mixture to the food processor with the flour and pulse to combine the ingredients, scraping down the sides once or twice. Continue, with the machine running. until the liquid is evenly distributed, about 1 minute. The dough should stick together if pinched between your fingers and be cornmeal yellow in color. Some of the dough will be clumping together, but it will not form a ball.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gather the dough into a ball and knead gently until the dough is smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes before rolling and shaping as desired.

Lucy loves to watch me make pasta!

So for the rest of the dinner I followed the Cinnamon Girl recipe. Only change was I added some bacon, you welcome Chris! Did it need the bacon? No! We both loved the meal. And with Lent coming up and we try not to eat meat on Fridays this recipe will be repeated, no bacon of course!

And when you visit Cinnamon Girl Recipes check out the Recipe Index! Yum...