• Tuscan Kale Salad with Roasted Chickpeas

    posted February 11th, 2012  :: Healthy, Italian, Salads, The Recipes:, Vegetables, Vegetarian :: 

    Somewhere along the line I got into a habit of eating my daily greens, and by daily I mean All Day, even starting at breakfast with a little pile of leafy greens near, under or around my poached egg. Sometimes it’s baby arugula or maybe washed salad greens leftover from dinner the night before.

    I have a favorite method of quickly cooking my greens Italian-style, but this here kale salad might be my favorite way to eat them just plain raw. It’s easy to put together and the sturdy kale leaves hold up so well with the lemony-Parmesan dressing you could even make it hours ahead of time with no fear of a wilted soggy salad – in fact, it only improves matters.

    You’ll probably love the roasted chickpeas as much as I do – they garnish the salad very nicely but become an addictive (and yes, healthy) little snack all by themselves.

    If you can’t find Tuscan kale – which is also called Lacinato, cavolo nero, black or Dinosaur kale – regular curly kale will do.

    Tuscan kale with roasted chickpeas

     

    Tuscan Kale Salad with Roasted Chickpeas

    • 1 can chickpeas, drained
    • 1/2 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika (Pimenton)
    • Kosher salt
    • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
    • 1 big lemon, zested and juiced
    • 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese
    • 1 small garlic clove, smashed and chopped
    • Pinch Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes
    • 1 bunch Tuscan kale, stems trimmed and washed

    Heat your oven to 400 degrees. Toss the chickpeas on a small rimmed baking sheet with the Pimenton, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Roast the chickpeas for 10 - 12 minutes - they should smell good and become a little bit crunchy.

    Whisk together the remaining 3 tablespoons oil with the lemon zest and juice, cheese, garlic and red pepper. Taste and season with a pinch of salt if you think it needs some.

    Roughly tear the kale leaves into pieces and blot with a clean towel if they're dripping wet; put into a large bowl. Pour the dressing over and toss the leaves with your hands so that they're evenly coated - your hands will taste yummy.

    Serve the salad with some of the chickpeas spooned over the top and sprinkled with curls of Parmesan, if you like.

    Serves 1 - 4 people

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  • Classic Minestrone Soup

    posted January 11th, 2012  :: Italian, Soup, The Recipes:, Vegetables, Vegetarian :: 

    According to Marcella Hazan, the character of an Italian soup depends on two things: the season and the place.

    If you plopped yourself into summertime on the coast of southern Italy for example, your bowl of soup would likely be a fragrant chemistry of ripe tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and sparkling fresh seafood; during colder months further north in Tuscany there’d be a hearty stick-to-your-ribs stew – ribollita – containing dried beans, potatoes, stale bread and winter vegetables like cabbage and kale.

    Classic minestrone soup is a versatile recipe, easy to put together any time of year, comfortably bridging transitions between seasons. My summer minestrone would definitely include fresh tomatoes, zucchini and lots of basil, but the soup I made yesterday was based on what I have in the winter pantry: carrots, onion, fennel bulb, cooked Italian beans and a little tomato paste. I stirred in cooked whole wheat elbow macaroni, blanched green beans and dark green spinach too.

    Sprinkle with a little freshly grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese, serve with crusty bread and call it dinner.

    Minestrone Soup

    • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 cup chopped carrots
    • 1/2 cup chopped onion
    • 1/2 cup chopped celery
    • 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and chopped
    • 3 or 4 finely chopped garlic cloves
    • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
    • Salt and fresh ground pepper
    • 2 cups cooked dried beans, such as Italian Borlotti or use canned kidney beans, drained
    • Large handful green beans, blanched in salted boiling water 3 minutes; cut into 2-inch pieces
    • Small bunch dark leafy greens: spinach, chard or kale, washed
    • 2 cups cooked bite size pasta, such as elbows, ditali or tiny shells
    • Grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese, for serving

    Heat the olive oil in a large heavy soup pot. Add the carrots and onion. Cook for a 3-4 mintues; add the celery and fennel and cook a few minutes more to soften.

    Stir in the garlic, tomato paste and about 1 teaspoon salt and some black pepper. Pour in 6 cups water and bring to a simmer. Add the dried beans, partially cover the pot and cook 15 minutes at a simmer.

    Just before serving, stir in the green beans and spinach. Taste the soup and add more salt and pepper if you want to. Sprinkle with cheese at the table.

    Like all soup, this tastes great made ahead a day or two and reheated.

    Serves 4 -6

     

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  • Mochaccino Sparkle Cookies

    posted January 1st, 2012  :: Baking, Chocolate, Cookies, Holiday baking, The Recipes: :: 

    These fudgy, sparkling cookies were my favorite holiday baking recipe this season. I wanted to bake an assortment of cookies that would hold up for packing and shipping across the country as gifts and they worked perfectly.

    Also in the mix were my go-to Lemon Biscotti flavored with pistachio; hazelnut shortbread and peanut butter-chocolate chip cookies. The sparkles were my chocolate pick – I love their crackled tops, chewy-crunchy texture and layers of spice and espresso in each bite.

    I promised a few people I’d share the recipe, so here it is!
    Happy New Year – I hope it’s a sweet and delicious 2012.

    Mochaccino Sparkle Cookies

    • 2/3 cup (11 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
    • 1 cup dark brown sugar
    • 1 cup natural cane sugar
    • 1 ½ cups cocoa powder
    • 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
    • 2 teaspoons baking soda
    • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
    • ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
    • ½  teaspoon salt
    • 4 egg whites
    • 1 cup plain yogurt
    • 3 cups all-purpose flour
    • 1 cup sanding sugar, turbinado sugar or granulated sugar

    Beat the butter in a standing mixer bowl on medium-high speed until light, about 1 minute. Add the sugars, cocoa, espresso, baking soda, spices and salt and beat until combined. Beat in the egg whites and yogurt.

    Slow the mixer speed to stir and add flour in 1 cup additions until just blended - do not overmix. Cover the mixing bowl and chill in the refrigerator until the dough is easy to scoop.

    Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop balls of dough (I used a 1 1/2 tablespoon size scoop), roll them generously in sugar and arrange on the baking sheets at least 2 inches apart.

    Bake cookies in batches about 12 minutes or until the edges are just firm. It's okay to underbake the middles slightly if you like a more chewy center. Cool on the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a rack to cool. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

    Based on a recipe from BHG

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