Red Pepper Risotto

One of my favorite dishes to make in the cooler seasons is risotto. It may sound like a fancy dish you only get in a restaurant, but this is a total myth. You can make risotto with pantry ingredients any night of the week, and you can add just about any kind of vegetable you like. I usually make a mushroom risotto (that's another entry), but I felt like trying something new last night. I remembered a recipe I had seen in the New York Times last week, so I decided to give it a try. You can find the recipe here. Once you make a successful risotto for the first time, you will be hooked. It is well worth the 20-25 minutes of stirring, I promise. And since most risotto recipes call for wine, pairing your dinner with your beverage is already done for you. This recipe could be made vegan by skipping the cheese, but personally, I don't recommend it. As we all know, I am a cheese fiend, and it adds even more creaminess to the rice when added towards the end.

The only thing I needed from the store was saffron threads. I finally sucked it up and bought them. Saffron is a spice that is actually from the reproductive parts of the crocus flower. As you may know, saffron costs more than gold. This stuff averages anywhere from $500 to $5000 per pound. Luckily for us, saffron is something you use very sparingly. You can find it in most grocery stores these days, and it is really worth keeping around. It adds a very unique flavor (that is actually very hard to describe) and a fantastic golden color to food. It definitely adds something special to any meal. It worked well with the red peppers in this dish, and honestly, I think it would be a disservice to skip it. So don't fear the seemingly high price tag on saffron; just keep it in a air tight container and it will last you. And it will add a layer of flavor that it pretty much impossible to get anywhere else.

Pasta and Veggies

That title could mean anything.  And over time it will, as this is a match made in heaven.  Tonight I figured I would do a pasta dish since I always have it on hand, and I didn't have a lot of time.  I decided to mix it up and do a baked pasta, probably because I am craving fall weather and warm comfort foods.  Anyway, I had some farmer's market and garden veggies that needed using, so I made a variation on a common theme in my house.

ROASTED VEGGIE BAKED PASTA

-1 box short pasta (I used rotini)

-1 large bell pepper, diced (I used yellow)

-1 zucchini, diced

-1 onion, diced

-2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped

-4 cloves garlic, minced

-1/2 cup frozen peas

-1/4 cup fresh herbs, chopped (I had basil, parsley, and oregano)

-1 tbsp. dried herbs du provence

-1 tsp. dried red chili flake

-salt, pepper

-12 oz. shredded cheese (I used a mix of mozzarella and pecorino romano)

-1/3 cup bread crumbs

-2 tbsp. shredded pecorino romano

-olive oil

-Preheat the oven to 425.  Arrange the peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, and garlic on a baking sheet.  Toss with olive oil, and add the dried herbs, salt, and pepper.  Roast for 12-15 minutes, until tender.

-In the meantime, cook the pasta until al dente.  Drain and set aside.

-Mix together the bread crumbs and 2 tbsp. shredded cheese.  Stir in a tbsp. or two of the olive oil.  Set aside.

-When the veggies and pasta are done, toss them together in a large bowl.  Add the shredded cheese, frozen peas (no need to defrost), and fresh herbs.  Stir to combine. 

-Transfer mixture to a large baking dish.  Top with the breadcrumb mixture.

-Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until browned on the top.  Serve.

This will serve a least 5 people, so needless to say, I have a lot of leftovers I am very excited to eat for lunch this week.

This recipe is so easy to tweak.  It's great with mushrooms, squash from any season, artichokes, and spinach.  I've also made it with fontina cheese, which is really tasty and melts perfectly in this dish.  The recipe can cater to just about anyone's vegetable preferences.  I highly recommend giving this a try, but maybe wait until the air starts to get cool, and it will be that much more appetizing when it comes out of the oven piping hot.

Summer Tomatoes

Between my own garden and the farmer's market, Sunday was a great day for vegetables. The farmer's market yielded cherry tomatoes, onions, chard, green beans, sweet bell peppers, and watermelon. My garden gave me these guys: 

Between my two veggie sources, I had a bunch of bell peppers and tomatoes.  So tonight I figured I would try my best to use both of them.  The result?  Peppers stuffed with cherry tomatoes and couscous with tomato dressing and chard.  You can see the original recipe I based the stuffed peppers on here.  I followed it for the most part, but I did use some additional herbs since I had not only basil, but parsley and oregano in my garden.  I also upped the cooking time to 25 minutes to ensure that the peppers were tender.  Finally, I added some of the dressing I made for the couscous over the top of the cooked dish.  Speaking of couscous...

COUSCOUS WITH TOMATO VINAIGRETTE AND CHARD

-1 cup couscous (I used whole wheat)

-1 1/4 cups water

-3-4 stalks chard, chopped

-a few basil leaves

-2 garlic cloves

-1 tomato, chopped (I used a Ramapo)

-mustard

-red wine vinegar

-extra virgin olive oil

-First, saute the chard in a bit of olive oil until tender.  Set aside.

-Bring the water to a gentle boil.  Add the couscous and stir to combine, then turn the heat off and cover the pot.  Let sit for 5 minutes.

-In the meantime, prep your viniagrette.  Add the garlic cloves, basil, red wine vinegar, mustard, and tomato to a blender.  Blend until smooth.  While the blender is running, stream in the olive oil.  *A quick note: I am terrible with measurements.  Just add this stuff by eye; you're going to want about 1 1/4 cups of this total.

-Take the lid off the couscous and fluff it up with a spoon.  Mix together the couscous, the cooked chard, and 1 cup of the vinagrette (remember to use the extra 1/4 cup of the vinagrette over the top of the roasted peppers when you take them out of the oven).  Serve!

This meal was really tasty, healthy, and gave me lunch to bring to work tomorrow.  The dressing for the couscous has such awesome flavor, thanks to a whole, freshly picked, raw tomato blended in.  The peppers were a little bit decadent with the mozzarella melted in.  This dish would be great for a party too.  It would be really easy to get more peppers and filling, and simply put them in a bigger baking dish so as to not increase the cooking time.  And most importantly, it is high tomato season!  There is nothing better than a freshly picked Jersey tomato.  If there's a time to use them, it is now.

An Excess of Peppers

I suppose I'll get right to it with a recipe for this evening's dinner.  Between my own vegetable garden and our local farmer's market, I had amassed way more peppers than two people could ever need.  There were three colors of sweet peppers (red, yellow wax, and purple), cubanelles, and poblanos in the fridge.  I also had a whole bunch of hot red chilies from my garden.  What to do!  The first thing that came to mind was fajitas, since I knew I had onions and frozen shrimp on hand too.

A word about frozen shrimp.  This is something I usually have.  Whole Foods has great quality domestic frozen shrimp at a consistently low price.  It's not something we eat more than once every two weeks or so, though, given that shrimp has a bit more cholesterol in it than most other things we eat.  It's a tasty treat once in a while, though.

Anyway, this meal was quick, tasty, and filling.  One of these days I'll start taking pictures of my food, but for now, here's the recipe.  It fed two of us, and we still had some peppers and onions leftover for lunch tomorrow.  This is great for a crowd too, since it doesn't take much longer to cook bigger quantities of this stuff.

SHRIMP FAJITAS

-frozen shrimp, peeled, deveined, and defrosted (16 small/medium size shrimp fed us)

-1/3 cup vegetable oil, plus more for pans

-half a lemon's juice

-1 tbsp chili powder, plus some extra

-1 tbsp cumin, plus some extra

-1 tbsp garlic powder, plus some extra

-1 red chili, chopped

-handful of cilantro, chopped

-spoonful of salsa, homemade or store bought (I used tomatillo salsa)

-3-6 assorted peppers, depending on size, seeded and sliced

-1 large onion, sliced

-fresh ground black pepper and salt, for seasoning

-flour tortillas

-Mix the 1/3 cup vegetable oil, lemon juice, spices, red chili, cilantro and salsa in a small bowl.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add the shrimp and let marinate in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.

-Get a large pan good and hot, and add a couple tablespoons of oil.  Add the sliced peppers and onions and toss in the extra seasonings.  Keep these moving periodically so everything cooks evenly and the spices distribute.  You know they're done when the slices are flexible and browning on the edges, but not yet mushy.  This should take 10-15 minutes or so on medium-high.  Don't forget to season with salt and pepper to taste.

-Get another pan equally hot, add a tablespoon of oil, and then add the shrimp.  Cook them until they are turning pink on the sides, maybe 2-3 minutes.  Flip the shrimp and cook until pink and just firm, another 2 minutes on medium-high.

-Serve these family style.  Put out the shrimp, peppers and onions, tortillas, and any other garnishes you might like right on the table.  Tonight we just stuck with some shredded cheddar cheese, but chopped tomato, fresh cilantro, or some sliced avocado might be nice too.