Broccoli Raab, Sicilian Style

Well, this confirms it. I only like broccoli raab in soups. I have tried several times because I am trying to "eat more green leafy vegetables", but the taste is too strong for me. Or maybe I'm still not doing it right. I had hope for this recipe, but the flavor was still too overpowering. However, I do want to try this with regular broccoli and also spinach! I think tomatoes and fennel seeds are amazing together so I'm sure this would be great if I like the greens. But it's simple to make and smells great while cooking so if you like broccoli raab I hope you give this one a try.

Broccoli Raab, Sicilian Style Serves 4 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 5 cloves garlic, sliced 1 chopped tomato, or 12 halved cherry tomatoes 1 tsp. fennel seeds 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes 1 big bunch (16 oz.) broccoli raab Sea salt, for sprinkling

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, tomato, fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes. Stir frequently for a few minutes, until the tomatoes soften and the garlic is golden but not burned.

Blanch, then drain the broccoli raab. Add to skillet - careful, it splatters - and sprinkle with sea salt.

Cover, and cook about 3 minutes, then toss again to cook evenly. Cover, and continue cooking for another minute or two.

Taste for doneness; it's ready when tender to your preference.

Nutritional information as published in magazine:
Per 1-cup serving: 107 Cal; 4 G Prot; 7 G Total Fat (<1 G Sat Fat); 7 G Carg; 0 MG Chol; 231 MG Sod; 3 G Fiber; 2 G Sugars

Cjalsòns rustìcs

What are Cjalsòns? I'd describe them as a type of dumpling. But I didn't know until I played with this recipe and made them for myself. And I did so because Rossella of Ma che ti sei mangiato?, and Italian food blog, asked us to all try them.

We had a lot of fun converting the measurements and trying to figure out the recipe. I guess I am used to recipes with more detailed information. For example, "some parsley" is usually measured. But we were laughing and guessing so it was a fun evening.

I don't know that you need to cook the potatoes as specified in the recipe - feel free to peel and cook them any way you like. The starting point is just to have some cooked and mashed potatoes.

I'm not sure how many these were supposed to make, but we got about 14 Cjalsòns and could have had 2 or 3 more with the extra dough we had left over.

The original recipe I received is European so I have converted everything into ounces and cups and shared below. Hope I did it right... it turned out okay so I must have done it okay.

I'm looking forward to the roundup to see how everyone else fared attempting to make these!

Cjalsòns rustìcs
Rustic pirogi
Adaptation of a traditional recipe

For the dough:
10.5 ounces potatoes
1 2/3 cup flour
1 egg
a pinch of nutmeg
some parsley

For the filling:
3.5 ounces sausage
1/2 glass of white wine
1 beaten egg

For the dressing:
1 2/3 cup ricotta
3/4 cup milk
pepper

Prepare the dough by boiling the unpeeled potatoes. Afterward, peel the potatoes & pass through a sieve and allow to cool. Then mix them with the egg, flour, nutmeg and parsley.

To make the filling, in a pan saute the crumbled sausages, moisten with white wine and let evaporate.

Roll out the dough onto a floured pastry board (or surface) making sure it does not stick. Cut discs of 6 cm in diameter, & place at the center of each a spoonful of filling.

Fold the discs in half and close them by pressing the edges well.

Cook the discs in boiling salted water for several minutes, then drain.

Separately prepare a warm whipping cream made of ricotta and hot milk. Pour this sauce of each plate, place the six warm Cjalsòns on the sauce and sprinkle with freshly crushed coarsely ground pepper.

Poblano White Chili

I've never been attracted to the concept of "white" chili. I guess I'm much of a purist and prefer chili to be red and with beans and meat. However, the photo for Poblano White Chili in the October, 2010 issue of Vegetarian Times magazine looked so good that I knew I had to try it. I was really drawn to the use of poblanos, corn and roasted pumpkin seeds as well.

We roasted the poblanos on the grill one night when we were grilling our last brats of the season. They kept for several days before we made this chili. I was also able to use fresh corn kernels and I think they made a big difference. I should have tried to roast my own pumpkin seeds, but I bought them already roasted and salted.

This chili goes together very quickly. And the goat cheese sauce that you pair with the chili makes it really special. The sauce has a nice tang.

Poblano White Chili Serves 8 3 cups cooked white beans or 2 15.5-oz. cans white beans, rinses and drained 1 recipe Rajas (see below) 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth 2 tsp. dried oregano 1 tsp. ground cumin 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish 1 Tbs. lime juice 1/4 cup low-fat milk 3 oz. fresh goat cheese 1/4 cup roasted pumpkin seeds

Bring beans, Rajas, broth, oregano, and cumin to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in corn, cilantro, and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Cook 2 minutes more.

Warm milk in separate saucepan. Add goat cheese, and stir until smooth. Serve chili garnished with goat cheese sauce, pumpkin seeds, and cilantro.


Rajas
Makes 2 cups

6 poblano chiles (1 lb.)
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced (2 cups)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tsp. dried oregano

Roast and peel poblanos. Slice into 1/4-inch strips; set aside.
Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook 5 to 9 minutes, or until onion is soft and golden brown. Add oregano and poblano strips, and cook 3 to 4 minutes more, or until heated through. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Nutritional information as printed in magazine:
Per 1-cup serving: 219 Cal; 12 G Prot; 6 G Total Fat (2 G Sat Fat); 31 G Carb; 5 MG Chol; 250 MG Sod; 6 G Fiber; 4 G Sugars




See more legume recipes in the My Legume Love Affair (MLLA) roundup hosted for October by Divya at Dil Se.

Glazed Carrots with Tarragon

Tarragon is called the "King of Herbs" by the French, but I'm not quite sure I'm on board with that. I have heard of tarragon and know that I've never grown it, but I thought I had cooked with it before. However when I recently made Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Apple and Tarragon it seems to be the first time I really remember tasting it. I was surprised at the licorice-type flavor, like a mild anise. And even though I wasn't too happy with that soup, I decided to give tarragon another try.

I had pulled down my copy of Padma Lakshmi's Tangy Tart Hot & Sweet cookbook recently and fell up this recipe for Glazed Carrots with Tarragon. The photo looked so tasty and I think I have a new thing for carrots lately so I knew I had to try it. I think it's fun buying carrots with the big long greens on the top. That is somewhat new to me because I used to by them already shredded or whole ones in a bag. But I feel very natural buying the whole carrots and peeling them is kind of meditative.

We were all thrilled with these carrots! And we all had a second impression on tarragon. They went perfectly with the carrots and there was no over powering licorice flavor this time. Making glazed carrots is always fun because I love it as the carrots cook up with all the butter, and the touch of maple syrup make is fun. The whole house smells great while these are cooking and we loved them so much we wish I doubled the recipe!

Glazed Carrots with Tarragon Serves 4 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon butter ½ cup finely diced onion 1½ pounds young carrots, scraped and sliced 1 inch thick diagonally ⅓ cup loosely packed fresh tarragon 1½ teaspoons maple syrup ⅓ teaspoon salt

Heat a deep skillet on medium heat; add the oil and butter. When the butter is melted but not burned, add the onions. Lower the heat if the butter starts to burn, and stir for a couple of minutes.

Add the carrots, and continue to stir for 6 to 7 minutes, depending upon the width of the carrots.

Add the tarragon leaves, ripping them apart as you add them to the skillet. Drizzle the maple syrup into the skillet, add salt to taste, and stir the carrots until they are glazed uniformly, cooking approximately 3 to 4 minutes more. Serve as a side dish.

Honestly, I made this recipe with Weekend Herb Blogging in mind because fresh tarragon was an herb that seemed new to me or something I hadn't worked with in a while. Look for more herb recipes at Mele Cotte who is hosting this week's Weekend Herb Blogging roundup.

Dante's Inferno Chili

When I was in junior high school, my step-father often made dinner. He was a fireman and usually did all of the cooking on his shift. So in 1984 when the city held a fireman's chili cookoff, which pinned all the firehouses in the city against each other to determine which one made the best chili, my step-father played around and came up with his own recipe. And he won! But then again, how could anything that starts by cooking green peppers in half a cup of butter now win?

"I went through about five recipes and had feelings about certain spices and ingredients and then added some of my own," Donati said. "I think the wine is the key ingredient. It gives the chili some body and an aroma." Another reason Donati believes he clinched the title is that he cuts the onion and green pepper in large pieces instead of mincing them.

For us it was so exciting! We were dragged downtown to a crowded convention center with a bunch of people tasting chili and the next thing we know, they announced our step-father as the winner and the newspapers were flashing photos of us all giving him hugs. The picture on the front page of the food section that week was my sister getting a hug from him - you could only see the reflection from my glasses in the photo. As part of the prizes he won a few weekend stays at Hyatt hotels and his chili was added to the menu at the a downtown restaurant for a while.

Like myself, my step-father never really made the same thing twice, so we didn't keep eating that chili over and over. It was pretty much just a one time great food related memory. I did dig out the recipe though and made it for myself. My whole family sampled it again and the general consensus was that it needed salt! How the heck did this win and get published in a newspaper and all that without any salt in it? Oh well, if you make it, I suggest adding some of your own. Because if you add some cheese, onions and a little salt, it's really yummy!


Below is the recipe as printed in the Chicago Tribune on October 11, 1984.

Dante's Inferno
10 servings

½ cup butter for frying
1 pound green peppers, seeded, coarsely chopped
3 cups chopped onions
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds coarsely ground chuck
1 pound coarsely ground pork
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon cumin
1½ teaspoons cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon black pepper
5 tablespoons hot chili powder
1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes, chopped
1 can (10½ ounces) beef broth
1 cup dry red wine, such as burgundy
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
½ teaspoon crushed hot red pepper
1 tablespoon salt
2 cans (16 ounces each) dark red kidney beans

Melt butter in a large skillet and saute peppers about 10 minutes. Add onions and garlic; cook 5 more minutes. Add beef and port mixture; increase heat to high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until meat is no longer pink, ab out 10 to 15 minutes.

Stir in cumin, basil, cayenne, black pepper and chili powder. Stir in tomatoes, beef broth, wine, tomato paste, hot red pepper and salt. Simmer, covered, about 1½ hours.

Add kidney beans; simmer for an additional 45 minutes. Serve with extra sharp shredded cheddar cheese.

Note: For a milder version, use only 3 tablespoons of chili powder and ½ teaspoon cayenne.




See more hearty recipes for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays hosted weekly by Kahakai Kitchen.

Butternut Squash Risotto

Mushrooms, nuts and herbs are the seasonal ingredients proposed for In the Bag: Cooking the Month of September hosted by A Slice of Cherry Pie. I love this challenge because it gives me a reason to search through my many cookbooks and magazines for something that has all the ingredients and is something I want to cook. I was having a hard time though and always seeming to find recipes with two out of the three. And just when I decided I was either just going to add the third ingredient to one of those recipes or make stuffed mushrooms, I found this recipe for Butternut Squash Risotto in the September/October 2010 issue of Clean Eating magazine. It has mushrooms (I used a chef's mix), sage and thyme for the herbs, and walnuts for the nuts. Yeah!

In the past I haven't been a big fan of making risotto. It takes long and you have to stand and stir over the hot stove which kind of sucks. But this time I had some patience and was ready to give it another try.

I have made something similar to this before - Butternut Squash Risotto with Pesto - but I didn't get how to work with squash at that time and used the frozen stuff. One of the appealing things about making this recipe is that it is published along side an article all about how to pick, prepare and cook various types of squash! And now it seems like such as waste of money to me to spend on the frozen already prepared stuff. There are so many funky looking types of squash out there and this fall I plan to play with them a bit and learn how to handle them and use them in foods. They are super cheap and super healthy!

Butternut Squash Risotto Serves 4. Makes about 6 cups. 3 cups peeled, diced fresh butternut squash Extra-virgin olive oil or olive oil cooking spray Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste 4 cups low-sodium organic chicken broth 1/2 cup onion, diced 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 8 oz mushrooms, sliced (2 cups) 1 tbsp garlic, minced 1 cup arborio rice 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves 1 tbsp fresh sage, minced 1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas (thawed if frozen) 1/4 cup shredded fontina or Parmesan cheese 2 tbsp chopped walnuts, toasted

Preheat the over to 425°F. Toss squash with a little oil or mist with cooking spray; season with salt and pepper. Spread squash in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until tender, about 25 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Set squash aside.

Meanwhile, bring broth to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat; keep warm.

While broth is heating, saute onion in 1 tbsp oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and saute until they start to soften, 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute more. Add rice and stir to coat with oil and vegetables.

Add ½ cup warm broth; simmer and stir with a wooden spoon until liquid evaporates, about 2 minutes. Stir in another ½ cup warm broth; simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid is almost all evaporated. Continue adding broth in ½-cup increments, adding more only after previous addition has been absorbed. Taste rice after three-quarters of the broth has been added. Rice is done when it's tender but still slightly firm and white in the very center (not chalky). Continue adding broth until only ½ cup remains.

Add thyme, sage, peas and cheese to pan with last ½ cup broth; stir until cheese melts, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat before all liquid is absorbed. Gently fold in cooked squash and walnuts. Season risotto with salt and pepper. Garnish with additional thyme, if desired, and serve warm.

Nutritional information per 1½-cup serving (as printed in magazine):
Calories: 359, Total Fat 9g, Sat. Fat: 2.5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.5g, Carbs: 60g, Fiber 6g; Sugars: 4g, Protein: 14g, Sodium 163 mg, Cholesterol: 8mg

Almond Biscotti

When I saw the Dispensing Happiness post last week for 12 weeks of Christmas Cookies I couldn't believe how close to Christmas it is already! But I did go ahead and count weeks and they are right - we're T minus 12... So even though I missed the first week, I want to join the cookie challenge. I may not make "Christmas" cookies each week, but baking is stepping out of my comfort zone so it will be fun to look for various cookies to make each week for the next few months.

I started with a simple Almond Biscotti that I found in the Holiday Cookies: And Other Festive Treats cookbook. I went with this one because a) I love biscotti; and b) I don't know how to use a rolling pin. Why do so many cookies call for the use of a rolling pin? And cookie cutters? What a pain.

These are relatively easy to make. I did have a bit of a challenge with parchment paper because I never used it before and it kept rolling up, but it ended up being functional (meaning I got the dough on it and it didn't stick to anything) so that's all that matters.

I showed this recipe to a buddy of mine before I made it and he mentioned that he doesn't like cranberries, so I substituted for dried cherries that I chopped up. All I can say is - yum! And these go great with tea or coffee.


See more cookies at the roundup of 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies - Week 2 hosted by Abby Sweets.

Almond Biscotti Makes 24 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature 2/3 cup sugar 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature, beaten 2 cups all-purpose flour a good pinch of salt 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1 cup sweetened dried cranberries 1 cup blanched almonds, roughly chopped 2 baking sheets, lined with baking parchment

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Beat together the butter, sugar, and vanilla extract with an electric mixer or wooden spoon, until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs.

Stir the flour, slat, and baking powder into the bowl and work in with a wooden spoon. When almost combined, add the cranberries and almonds and mix thoroughly to make a soft dough.

Turn out the dough onto a floured work surface and divide into 2 equal portions. Using well floured hands, lift a portion of dough onto each prepared baking sheet and shape into a brick 10 x 3½ inches. Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes. Using a serrated bread knife, slice the logs (still on the sheets) on the diagonal about 1/3 inch thick. Put, cut-side down, on the sheets and return to the oven. Bake for 10 minutes until starting to color.

Remover the baking sheets from the oven, put on a wire rack, and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container and eat within 3 weeks.