Ratios

I'm an intuitive cook; I just "feel" my way through it.  I have a good foundation in culinary techniques, but it's my sense of what flavors and textures go together that defines my way of cooking. In the kitchen I don't necessarily "play by the rules;" there are no rules.  (Again, this is why I don't bake).

But there's a great book called Ratio, by Michael Ruhlman.  It offers a kind of blueprint to cooking certain basic recipes; for example, there's a ratio of 3 parts flour, 2 parts liquid and 1 part fat in biscuits.  You first learn the basic recipe/ratio, and then you can switch up the types of ingredients, add spices, etc. and create a world of variations on the basic biscuit.  This makes sense, and I realized that even though it seems like "rules" to me, it does offer me a little inspiration.

I don't necessarily look at my recipes in terms of ratios, but I have a student this semester in the chef program at Bauman College who is very new to cooking and he has opened my eyes to the ratios that exist in some of my everyday recipes.

Take pesto, for example.  I had some basil that was in the use-it-or-lose-it stage, so last night I decided to make pesto: herbs, nuts, cheese, garlic, oil.  I got to thinking about how easy it is to make variations on the theme.  I had some grape tomatoes left over from a green papaya salad I made the other day, and realized that if you were to ask basil what it likes to hang out with, it'll say "tomatoes." (And yes, sometimes I do have conversations with my food.....not weird!)

So let's sauté some little tomatoes and garlic slices....

 

 Saute them in a good amount of olive oil, so you really flavor that oil, and be sure to get every drop of it into your food processor when you make the pesto.  Cooking the tomatoes will give the pesto a deeper flavor, and it also boosts the health benefits  Tomatoes are chock-a-block of lycopene, which is helpful in reducing cardio-vascular disease and LDL levels (the bad kind of cholesterol).  Thing is, the lycopene becomes more available to our bodies when it's cooked....so cook 'em up!

A pesto always includes nuts, usually pine nuts.  I tend to use walnuts when I make pesto, mainly because I always have them in my freezer (and they're much less expensive than pine nuts).  Unlike tomatoes, nuts don't necessarily get any healthier for you when they're cooked, but toasting nuts brings out more flavor.  I chose to toast some almonds.....

 You simply need to heat a dry skillet over medium heat and add the nuts (works for any type of nut).  After a few minutes or so, keeping them moving so that they don't burn, you'll have lovely fragrant nuts.  Throw those puppies into a food processor (works better than a blender for pesto, because the base around the blade is larger, so everything moves around and get ground easily).  Let it go until the almonds are finely ground, then add the cooked tomato mixture, a couple cups of basil leaves, some Parmesan and lemon zest.  Let it rip until all ingredients are well chopped, scrape down the bowl and with the motor running, slowly stream in oil (I like to use half oil and half water to cut the amount of fat).  Once you have the consistency you like, season with salt, pepper, and a little smoked paprika.  Sooooo good!

Pesto is so versatile; toss it with quinoa pasta and fresh veggies, top grilled chicken, steak or snapper with it, spread over French bread and broil for a new spin on "garlic bread."  people often ask me how long it lasts in the fridge.  I wouldn't know...it's so dang good I use it all up immediately!

Smokey Tomato Pesto
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes (about a dozen), halved
3 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 cup almonds, toasted
2 cups basil leaves , firmly packed
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt & pepper to taste

• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in small skillet over medium high heat.  Add tomatoes and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally for 5-8 minutes until tomatoes are lightly browned and softened.
• Meanwhile heat another small skillet (not teflon coated) over medium heat.  Add almonds and toast them, tossing often to prevent burning.  Remove from heat and place in bowl of food processor.
• Process until almonds are finely ground.  Then add tomato & garlic mixture, basil, Parmesan and lemon zest.  Process until well combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• With the motor running, add remaining 6 tablespoons of oil and 1/4 cup water (more or less) to reach desired consistency.
• Scrape down the sides again and add smoked paprika, a pinch of salt and pepper.  Taste and adjust seasonings to your preference.

Yum it up!!

 

Feeling a little nutty

I wish I could take credit for this one, but it's a recipe from Bauman College's Natural Chef curriculum.  I'm back in the fold, working as the kitchen manager at the Penngrove campus, and it makes my mind and my belly happy, happy, happy.  It's great to be able to essentially go through the Natural Chef program again without any of the stress I felt as a student.....and have them pay ME this time!  Even better, is getting to experience all those delicious recipes again;  recipes like this Nut & Seed Cream Sauce.  It's a fantastic, dairy-free cream sauce, much like an Alfredo.  Great on pasta (obviously), on roasted veggies, over grilled chicken, served cold as a dip.....heck, you could put it on a shoe and it would be delish!  I need all my shoes, so I tossed it with spaghetti squash, fresh English peas and toasted walnuts.  They only changes I made to the sauce were that I used my French Herb salt to give it more flavor and finished it with a healthy pinch of freshly grated nutmeg - buy the whole nutmeg and shave it with a microplane.... soooo much better than the ground nutmeg in a bottle.

If you've never cooked spaghetti squash, give it a try, especially if you have kids.  It's a great way to get extra veggies into them in a familiar kind of way.  Cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and bake it cut side down for 30-45 minutes at 375, depending on the size of the squash.  When the squash is cooked through it will give gently when squeezed.  Let it cool, and then scrape out the flesh with a fork.  Simply toss with sauce and any other ingredients you'd like.....

Nut & Seed Cream Sauce

1/2 cup cashews
1/2 cup macadamia nuts
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon celery seed
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup olive oil
white pepper to taste

Add all ingredients besides oil and pepper to a blender and puree until smooth.
With the motor running, drizzle in the oil.
Transfer to a saucepan and simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes until thickened and warmed through.
Season with white pepper to taste.
Try not to eat the whole thing yourself!

Feeling kinda saucy...

I recently joined a CSA of organic fruit and veggies.  I had put it off for years because in Marin County I can go to a farmer's market 5 days a week, year round.  In the spring/summer months I can go to two or more every day (I don't actually do that, but I could if I were really crazy for farmer's markets - or farmers).  I always thought the veggie boxes were for people who didn't have access to farmer's markets or good organic produce.  But about a month ago I was feeling my culinary creativity slipping a bit and realized that I wasn't "cooking outside the box".  I was buying the same stuff at the market every week and cooking virtually the same types of meals over and over (but dang, that Mexicali Skillet is delicious!).  So I decided to step out of my comfort zone and get a mystery box of fruit and veggies delivered to my door every other week. Technically it's not a mystery box; you can go online and see what they are sending you, but it inevitablly includes things I may not have picked up on my own.

This week I got carrots and spinach and instead of turning them into an ordinary side dish, I turned them into delicious sauces.  The carrot sauce is fantastic over pasta, and the spinach and herb sauce is one of the most versatile sauces I've ever made - perfect with pasta and grains, over seafood and chicken, even tossed in a salad.  It contains neither oil or nuts, but is every bit as good as any pesto you ever met.  I have to hurry up and finish this...I'm making me hungry.

Spinach & Herb Sauce
1 bunch spinach
handful of flat-leaf parsley (or cilantro)
handful of fresh basil
2 large garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespooon fresh lemon juice
1 large tomato, quartered
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Place spinach, parsley, basil and cloves in the bowl of a food processor and blend all ingredients.  Add salt, pepper and lemon juice, pulsing to combine.  Add tomato and cheese and blend for 1-2 minutes until sauce is smooth. Season to taste.

Carrot Sauce over Penne Rigate
1 pound penne rigate (rigate has the ridges that grab onto the sauce)
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 bunch medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup vegetable stock
1/2 cup frshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon chopped chives or mint
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan (optional)

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta according to package.

Melt coconut oil in a saucepan over medium high heat.  Add onion, carrot and garlic and cook 5-7 minutes until veggies begin to soften.   Add curry powder, salt, garam masala, and pepper pepper, stirring to combine.  Add stock, juice and maple syrup.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes, until carrots are soft.  Transfer to blender and, working in batches, blend until smooth adding some of the pasta water to thin it if necessary.

Toss sauce with drained pasta and top with chopped herbs and parmesan.