Root to Leaf Beet Shakshuka
This recipe is a riff on Green Shakshuka (link coming), which itself is a riff on traditional Shakshuka (link coming). It makes great use of the beet root, the beet greens and the beet stems. The dish is a flavor bomb, amped up with fragrant cumin and coriander, salty-tart feta cheese, creamy avocado and fresh herbs or an herb pesto. This shakshuka makes a special brunch dish or a great eggs-for-dinner supper.
Pasta alla Norma
Pasta alla Norma is a great way to enjoy the bounty of eggplant in the summer. At its core, it’s pasta with eggplant and tomato sauce. You can make it anywhere from super easy to super elegant. Done well, it’s always super delicious.
Cream of Leek Soup
Eat it hot and it’s delicious. Eat it cold and it’s vichyssoise, and it’s still delicious. Leeks are a sweet, mild aromatic that can stand on their own as the backbone of a soup.
Don’t Waste Your Leek Greens!
So many recipes with leeks say “only use the white portion” or “only use the white and tender light green portion.” I hate it when I see that!
Beet Stem Risotto with Roasted Beets and Braised Beet Greens
Sometimes you get really lucky and get a bunch of beets with gorgeous roots, greens, AND stems. Beet stems are tender and flavorful, but often not substantial enough to receive special treatment. I usually just include them when I cook up the greens. But sometimes they are substantial and deserve their own treatment.
The Four Classic Roman Pasta Dishes
There’s plenty of pasta dishes to be had in Rome, and myriad more to be had across Italy, but there are four pasta dishes that have become intricately tied to Roman cuisine: Cacio e Pepe, Gricia, Carbonara and Amatriciana.
Pasta Amatriciana
Marcella Hazan titled the recipe “Amatriciana – Tomato Sauce with Pancetta and Chili Pepper.” To me, the aged cheese plays too important of a role to go uncredited. To me it is “Amatriciana – Spicy Tomato Sauce with Cured Pork and Aged Grating Cheese.”
Carrot Top Pesto
Carrot greens have a really interesting flavor, somewhere between carrots and parsley. Tossing them in the compost is such a waste. Using them in a pesto is quick and easy, and the pesto is quite versatile.
“Infallibile” Pasta Carbonara
Eggs and cheese and starchy pasta water transform into a rich and creamy sauce. Lace that with cured pork and combine with pasta, and you have one of Rome’s most famous pasta dishes. There’s a trick you should know to make the dish foolproof. Or, as Italians would say, infallibile (pronounced in·fal·lì·bi·le).
Seafood Gumbo with Collards and White Sweet Potatoes
While signs of spring abound, the bounties of spring produce have yet to hit the farmers’ markets. Seasonal vegetables are still dominated by hardy greens and root vegetables. No worries, white sweet potatoes and collard greens are excellent in a seafood gumbo.
Seafood Stock
A good seafood paella or seafood gumbo really needs a good seafood stock. Making a really nice seafood stock is cheap. It’s also quick to make in comparison to most other stocks. Here’s how you do it.
“Infallibile” Cacio e Pepe
Theoretically, Cacio e Pepe is one of the simplest pasta dishes in existence. Traditionally, the sauce is literally just three ingredients: Pecorino Romano cheese, black pepper and a splash of starchy pasta water. So, why is it so hard? Well, it can be foolproof, or as an Italian would say “Infallibile.”