Pasta e Fagioli

from The Kitchn:

One-Pot Pasta e Fagioli (Italian Bean and Pasta Stew)

Serves 8 to 10

For the beans:8 cups water
2 1/2 tablespoons salt, divided
1 pound dried cannellini beans

For the soup:
1/2 pound (5 to 6 pieces) thick-cut bacon , diced (or substitute 1 tablespoon olive oil for vegetarian version)
2 large yellow onions, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup white wine or water
1 bay leaf
1/2 pound pasta
5 thyme sprigs
10 ounces baby spinach
2 teaspoons salt
Pepper to taste

Combine the water and 1 1/2 tablespoons salt in a large mixing bowl and stir to dissolve the salt. Add the beans, cover the bowl, and let stand at least 6 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

In a heavy stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, cook the bacon. Once all the fat has rendered, remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Pour off all put one tablespoon of bacon fat. Cook the onions slowly with 1/2 teaspoon of salt start to caramelize and turn golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Add the celery and cook just until the celery is softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Remove half of the onion mixture and reserve with the bacon. Deglaze the pan with one cup of wine or water, scraping up any brown residue that has formed on the bottom of the pan.

Drain and rinse the beans and pour them into the pot with the remaining onions. Add the bay leaf, 1 teaspoon of salt, and enough water to cover the beans and onions by 1 inch. Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Cook for 1 hour, then begin checking the beans for doneness. Check the beans every 15 minutes until they are completely soft and creamy. (This can take up to 2 1/2 hours depending on the age and exact variety of your beans.)

→ Make-Ahead Tip: At this point, the soup can be chilled and refrigerated for a day or two before serving. The soup (or a portion of it) can also be frozen for up to three months.

Set the pot of cooked beans over medium-high heat on the stovetop. Add the bacon, reserved onions, thyme, pasta, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is al dente. Add more water if necessary so the pasta is submerged.

Add the spinach to the pot and stir until it is wilted. Remove the bay leaf and the thyme stems. Taste and add more salt and pepper if desired.

This stew will keep for one week refrigerated.

Recipe Notes:

• Vegetarian Pasta e Fagioli: To make this recipe vegetarian, replace the bacon with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. You can also add 4 ounces of diced baked tofu to the finished soup.

• Soaking the beans with salt: This is a new technique I've been doing since reading about it in Cook's Illustrated. Contrary to the belief that salt makes beans hard, the editors at Cook's Illustrated found that the double dose of salt helps make the beans creamier and prevents the skins from bursting during cooking. It really works!

Pizza Dough

Based on a recipe from Brandon at Delancy:

In the mixer bowl, whisk together 1/2 tsp yeast and 2 1/2 cups of lukewarm water
Add in 2 - 2 1/2 cups of flour-- add until like a pancake batter
Cover the bowl with a plate and let sit out overnight.

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Next day:

1 T salt
1 T olive oil
1 tsp sweetener
2 1/2 - 3 cups of flour

Add the salt, olive oil and sweetener  Add flour slowly, 1/2 cup at a time. When it is thick enough to form a solid ball, use the dough hook to knead for 10-15 mins. Cover with a plate and let rise for 4 hours.

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Four hours later:

Divide into 4 or 5 pieces, form into balls. Place on a floured cookie sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise 3-4 hours.

Greek Stuffed Bell Peppers

Stuffing:
Grains--rice, quinoa, farro, etc
Beans
Greek seasoning
smashed garlic
Nuts--toasted pine nuts, walnuts, almonds, etc
Sun-dried tomatoes
Olives
Basil or Parsley

Cut open and steam the bell peppers. Mix the stuffing and stuff the bell peppers. Bake at 350 for 20-30 mins.

Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

from Causal Kitchen blog: 


Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
Ingredients:
4-5 Tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon black pepper (more or less to taste)

2 28-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes, chopped coarsely
12-14 ounce can roasted red peppers, chopped
2 cups water

Directions:
1) Heat oil in a large non-stick pan, then add onions, garlic and spices. Saute on medium heat for about five minutes. Add tomatoes, roasted red peppers and water. Bring to a boil, turn heat down to medium low and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.

2) Puree roughly 3/4 of the sauce in a blender or a food processor. Add back to the pan and simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve over the pasta of your choice.

Makes about 2 1/2 quarts of sauce (about 80 ounces by volume).

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Cheap & Chic Meatballs

from the Jubilee Cookbook

Ingredients

Meatballs                                          Sauce

1 lb ground beef                               1/2 cup brown sugar         1/4 cup vinegar

1/4 cup bread crumbs                     1 Tbsp cornstarch              1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 egg beaten                                      1/3 cup water

salt & pepper

Vegetables for stir frying

  1 Tbsp vegetable oil

 1 large onion, diced large

  5-7 carrots, 1/4″ slices

 2-3 red peppers, in chunks

Method:

1.  Combine ground beef, bread crumbs, egg and salt and pepper. Form into small meatballs.  Place on cookie sheet and bake in oven at 325 until done. Apx. 30 minutes.

2.  Add onion, carrots and peppers to large pan or wok.  Stir fry for 8 minutes or until done.

3.  In a saucepan, whisk together brown sugar and cornstarch to incorporate.  Add water, vinegar and soy sauce.  Mix well.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until thick and clear.

4.  Add cooked, hot meatballs and sweet and sour sauce to vegetables and stir until everything is coated with sauce.

Serve over bed of rice and eat it up. 

Quick Chicken Parmesan

from Fine Cooking (Oct/Nov 10):

1/2 cup of flour
2 eggs
1 1/2 panko breadcrumbs
4 thin-sliced chicken breast cutlets
Kosher salt
5 T olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
4 oz fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 can (14.5 oz) crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Preheat oven to 425.

Mix flour with 1/4 tsp pepper in a wide shallow dish. In another dish, lightly beat eggs with 1 T water.
Breadcrumbs in a third dish. Season chicken with salt, then dip into flour, egg, then breadcrumbs.

Heat 2 T oil in an oven-proof frying pan over med-high. Cook chicken 1 - 2 mins per side. Sprinkle Parmesan and cover with mozzarella.  Bake until cooked 5 -7 mins.

Meanwhile, heat 1 T oil in a saucepan, cook onion and garlic. Stir in tomatoes and 1/4 t salt. Simmer until thickened, 4 -5 mins. Stir in basil. Serve over the chicken.

Spiced Yogurt Chicken

Sprinkle chicken pieces with 4-5 T salt.

Mix:
1 cup yogurt
1/2 cup milk
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1 3-inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp red chile flakes

Marinate chicken in fridge all day or overnight.

Heat oven to 375. Coat large baking dish with olive oil. Bake for one hour.

Chicken with Posh Ham

from Jamie Oliver:

fresh thyme, stripped from stalks
skinless chicken breast fillets
fresh ground pepper
lemon
grated Parmesan
prosciutto
olive oil

score the underside of the chicken breasts in a criss-cross fashion. Season with pepper and thyme. Grate lemon zest over them, sprinkle with parmesan. Lay 3 prosciutto slices on each breast, overlapping them slightly. Drizzle with olive oil. Put a square of plastic wrap over each breast and bash them until they are about 1/2 inc thick.

Heat frying pan over medium heat. Place chicken, prosciutto side down. Drizzle over some olive oil. Cook for 3 mins on each side.

Serve with lemon slices to squeeze over and a good drizzle of olive oil.

Thai Style Ground Meat with Chilies and Basil

from Melissa Clark's Cook This Now:

Sauce:
1 T soy sauce
2 tsp Asian fish sauce
1/4 tsp grated lime zest
1 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 tsp sugar

Whisk together in a small bowl.

Meat:
1 T peanut oil
1 T finely chopped gingerroot
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 scallion, chopped
1 pound ground meat, turkey, pork, etc.

Heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the ginger, garlic, jalapeno, scallion. Cook until soft, about a minute. Stir in meat. Cook about 5-7 minutes.

Stir in soy sauce mixture and cook for a minute or so. Remove from heat, stir in 1/2 chopped basil. Scatter with sliced scallion greens. Serve, over rice with lime wedges.

Kofta

from The Splendid Table:

• 1 pound 80-85% lean ground chuck, or other ground meat as desired
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• Grated zest of 1/2 large lemon
• Juice of 1/2 large lemon
• 2 teaspoons allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, more to taste
• 1/4 cup chopped blanched almonds or pine nuts
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Extra-virgin olive oil

1. Make the kofta: Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and knead well with your hands until well combined. Firmly form the mixture with your hands into 2-inch, slightly flattened patties and set aside. They need to be firmly formed or they will break apart when you cook them. You can make them ahead at this point and store, loosely covered, in the refrigerator.

2. Cook the kofta: Coat the bottom of a large 12-inch sauté pan with a thin film of olive oil and heat over medium-high heat until the oil begins to shimmer. Add the meat patties one at time, taking care not to crowd them, and cook in batches if necessary. Reduce the heat to medium and brown the patties on both sides, turning gently to keep them from falling apart. Pull them from the pan when their centers are no longer pink and have reached 160°F on an instant-read thermometer.