Tag: peas

Categories
Recipes

bucatini with fava beans and creme fraiche

Last Tuesday, our friend Katie came to visit. Katie and I were roommates in college and it’s accurate to say that during our first year at Georgetown we subsisted on a diet of Thomas bagels, Zatarain’s instant red beans and rice and Haribo gummy bears, and usually all of them in one sitting. Thankfully, we’ve gotten past those horrifying dietary habits, and somehow I write a food blog and Katie cooks for a restaurant.

fava-bean-creme-fraiche-pasta-1

These days, Katie lives up in Boonville, CA and cooks for the Boonville Hotel. Boonville is just two hours North of San Francisco in Medocino County, but we’re not able to get together as often as the short distance would suggest. And so it’s a real good thing when I get an out-of-the-blue text from Katie saying that she’ll be in San Francisco for the day and would I be around?

There is nothing I like more than having someone over for dinner, and even more someone who’s happy to just sit down, shell some beans and chat about all matter of things while I sauté up a shallot. Not everyone can dig into big and important life questions while the other person flits from stove to sink, stirring this and washing that, but Katie doesn’t seem to struggle. We’re a good match.

Which brings me to pasta. This pasta comes together gracefully. You can carry on a conversation and still put a meal on the table in about thirty minutes. There’s nothing fussy about it, but looks and tastes like you did a whole lot more work. In case your market doesn’t have fava beans, you also could swap them for spring peas or asparagus cut into bite-sized pieces. I’m planning to do just that later this week. This recipe makes enough for three people as a main course.

fava-bean-creme-fraiche-pasta-3

Bucatini with Fava Beans and Creme Fraiche
12 oz fresh pasta, bucatini if you can find it, but any long noodley one will do
2 lbs fava beans, shelled
1 shallot, diced
2 tablespoons butter
3 oz creme fraiche
salt and pepper
parmesan, for grating on top

Put a pot of salted water to boil. Take the fava beans out of their pods. When the water is boiling, blanche the favas for a minute or two, until they turn bright green. Scoop them out of the hot water and into a bowl. Then peel off their outer skin. Keep the water boiling to cook the pasta in later.

In a large sauté pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the shallot and sauté for a few minutes to soften. When the shallot is soft, add the favas and sauté a minute or two more. Meanwhile, add the pasta to the boiling water. Cook the pasta 2 – 5 minutes, depending on its shape.

When the pasta is cooked al dente, scoop it from the water and add it to the sauté pan with the fava beans and shallot. Still over low heat, add the creme fraiche and stir to distribute. Easiest sauce ever. When it’s looking all saucy and delicious, scoop onto plates and garnish with a little grated parmesan.

fava-bean-creme-fraiche-pasta-2

-Emily

Categories
Recipes

chicken pot pie

The chicken pot pie of my childhood was made by Marie Callender’s. It was a personal pot pie, and it baked in the oven for what seemed like an eternity. My favorite part was the crust coated in that creamy pot pie sauce. Well, this chicken pot pie a thousand times better, though it’s a time commitment. Between making the pie crust, roasting chicken, blanching vegetables, making a bechamel, you’re in it for the long haul. But it’s worth it.

I’d recommend making chicken pot pie when you have left over meat from roasting a chicken and chicken enchiladas or chicken soup don’t sound appealing. I’d also recommend it for a crowd – a single slice will fill you up. You could very easily make this ahead of time, freeze it and bake it straight from the freezer, adding 20 – 30 minutes of additional bake time.

03-30-13-6

Chicken Pot Pie, adapted from Ad Hoc at Home
Pie Crust
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
about 5 tablespoons ice water

Filling
1 cup red skinned potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
12 pearl onions, peeled
1 cup celery, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 bay leaves
3 thyme sprigs
1/2 tablespoon peppercorns
1/2 cup peas
2 cups cooked chicken, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Bechamel
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt
black pepper
1 tablespoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
pinch of cayenne

Make the pie crust the night before. In a food processor, combine flour and salt. Remove the butter from the fridge and cut into 1 inch cubes. Add them to the flour mixture. Process until the butter chunks are about the size of peas. Add the water and pulse a few times to combine. Divide into two equal balls, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

03-30-13-1

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Remove the dough from the fridge and let it warm just slightly. Roll out the dough and place one piece in a 9 inch pie pan. Cut around the edges and put it back in the fridge. Roll out the second piece of dough into a 12 inch round. Place on a baking sheet and put it back in the fridge.

03-30-13-2

Bring a pot of water to boil. Add the bay leaves, thyme and pepper corns. Salt the water until it tastes like sea water. Blanche the potatoes, carrots and onions for 8 minutes. Add the celery and cook for another two. Strain the vegetables from water, pour them onto a sheet pan and discard the spices.

In a medium pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and whisk for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture is light brown. Whisk in the milk. Let the sauce come to a boil to thicken, stirring often. Remove from the heat. Add the salt, pepper, thyme, parsley and cayenne. Make sure you’re happy with the seasoning.

03-30-13-3

Remove the bottom crust from the fridge. Scatter the blanched vegetables, frozen peas and chicken in the pie shell. Pour the bechamel over the pie. Beat an egg in a small bowl. Moisten the rim of the shell with some of the egg. Top it with the other crust. Pinch around the edges and cut off the excess. Brush the top with the egg. Cut a small vent in the top crust to allow steam to escape.

03-30-13-4

Bake on the lower rack of 375 degree oven until the crust is golden brown, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove the pie and let rest for 10 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve warm.

03-30-13-5

-Emily

Categories
Recipes

orzo with spring peas and burrata

Jordan surprised me with this delicious meal a while back. It is light but still flavorful—a perfect summer dish.

Burrata is a fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream. The outer shell of the cheese is mozzarella and the inside is a mixture of  mozzarella and cream. It is amazing—sweet, milky and soft—perfect for topping pastas or salads. If you can’t find burrata, use fresh mozzarella instead. A poached egg would also be lovely with this pasta.

Orzo with Spring Peas and Burrata 
1/2 lb orzo pasta
1/2 cup parmesan, grated
2 T mint, sliced thinly
1 lemon, juiced
olive oil, salt, pepper
1 cup spring peas
2 T butter

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, shell the peas. Cook the pasta until al dente and drain. Rinse with cold water to cool the pasta. Once cool, toss with olive oil, lemon juice, parmesan, salt, pepper and mint.

In a saute pan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Cook the peas until cooked through, but still quite fresh tasting, about 5 minutes. Pour over the pasta mixture and toss to combine. Top with half of a ball of burrata and serve.

This pasta dish can be a main course or a side dish. We had ours with a fennel sausage and sautéed Russian red kale.

-Emily

Categories
Recipes

my first indian foray—dal and naan

Inspired by a delicious dinner at our friend Ted’s, I decided to try my hand at Indian. For a first attempt it was successful, but could still use some tweaking. The dal was good, but a little over-spiced for my tastes. I’ve adjusted the recipe below to how I plan to make them next time.

And, because I like to take an easy meal that would normally be ready at 7 pm and turn it into an epic culinary adventure that we sit down to at 10:30, I decided to make naan from scratch. It was totally worth it though. This naan is really good, especially considering our clear lack of tandor oven.

Dal, adapted from Smitten Kitchen and the San Francisco Chronicle

2 cups yellow split peas, soaked in cold water for 1 hour or more
1 large tomato, cut into 8 wedges
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
5 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, finely ground
3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 cup minced cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt

Drain the peas and place in a dutch oven. Add 6 cups of water and the tomato. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes, until the peas are tender. Pick out the tomato skins and whisk the dal break up some of the peas. Reduce the heat to low and keep warm.

Heat the oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot add the cumin seeds. Saute the seeds until golden, 1 – 2 minutes. Add the onion and saute for a few minutes. Add the garlic, turmeric and cayenne. Pour this mixture into the pea soup. Stir to combine and and season with salt. Add the cilantro leaves and butter just before serving.

Naan, adapted from All Recipes
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup sugar
3 T milk
1 egg, beaten
2 t salt
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1/4 cup butter, melted

In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes. Cover with a towel and let rise for 1 hour.

Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a baking sheet. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

Heat a grill—we used a cast iron pan— over medium high heat. Lightly oil the grill or pan. Roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle.  Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with melted butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue with the rest of the balls of dough.

While I’m sure the following statement won’t surprise you in the least, it is all about the butter with this naan. Don’t skip that step. It makes the bread heavenly.

-Emily