Penne with Pistachio Arugula Pesto and Balsamic Glazed Veggies

Found this recipe while perusing the wonderfully fantastic food blog, VeganYumYum. I’m usually not a huge fan of Arugula, too bitter for my tastes, but paired with the pistachio and miso is just perfect.

Penne with Pistachio Arugula Pesto and Balsamic Glazed Veggies

Makes 2 servings. Recipe from VeganYumYum.

Ingredients
8 stalks broccolini (try to find it if you can… it really is so much better than regular broccoli!)
2 yellow squash
2 cups dry penne
2 Tbs olive oil
pepper
1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 pinch salt

For Pesto:
1/2 cup roasted, unsalted pistachios
2 tbs sweet white miso (which we couldn’t find… we used a miso salad dressing)
1 pinch salt
2 cups arugula
4-5 Tbs olive oil
pepper

Directions
Start heating pasta water. Place pistachios in the bowl of a food processor with salt and miso and pulse 4 times for 1 second per pulse. Roughly chop arugula and add it to the top. Drizzle in olive oil. Do not finish processing until pasta is completed.

Cook your pasta. A few minutes before pasta is finished, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a sauté pan until over medium until fairly hot but not smoking. Trim any dry ends off the broccolini but leave a long stalk. Add it to the hot pan with a pinch of salt. Let cook on one side for 1-2 minutes, or until browned, then turn with tongs to cook another side. When broccolini is bright green and tender crisp, turn off heat and add vinegar, tossing vigorously to coat.

Cut squash in half. Heat another few tablespoons of olive oil, and add squash, face down, to pan. Let cook, without moving, for a few minutes, or until brown and caramelized. Turn and let cook on other side for a few minutes, or until tender. Finish with a dash of balsamic vinegar.

Blend the pesto until well combined, but you should still be able to see chunks of pistachios and arugula.

Drain and toss pasta with pesto (you’ll have some left over). Plate and layer broccolini and squash on top. Serve immediately.

Southern Italian Vegetable Ratatouille

The directions for this recipe are absurd… the reason for not letting any of the vegetables touch until the final moment is beyond me, but I have to say, the results are well worth it. Well worth the prep – chopping and dicing and mincing and more chopping – and the mind boggling instructions (wait, the zucchini goes in which pan?). It’s a two person job, that’s for sure. But if you’re brave, you will be rewarded with a truly delicious feast! Served on top of basmati rice (cooked with garlic and thyme)… mmmm!

A note about the leeks… we felt that 2 minutes was no where near enough time to cook them. Leeks can be very tough and fibrous, and can ruin a good meal if undercooked (unless you like your food chewey). We braised the leeks with some white wine for more like 10-15 minutes, or until tender. The addition of the white wine also added a lovely flavor to the dish! Our adjustments to the recipe are included below.

Southern Italian Vegetable Ratatouille

Makes 4 servings. Recipe from Michael Chiarello, with adjustments.

Ingredients
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced fresh wild or domestic mushrooms
Gray salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 onion, diced
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 pound yellow squash, cut into 1/4-inch dice, about 1 1/2 cups
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 pound zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch dice, about 1 1/2 cups
1/2 cup thinly sliced leek, white part only
3/4 cup white wine
3/4 cup peeled, seeded, and chopped vine-ripened tomatoes, about 1/2 pounds (or about 3/4 cup of cherry/grape tomatoes, quartered).
1 cup loosely packed baby spinach, sliced
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions
Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the mushrooms and cook, without moving them, until brown on 1 side, about 1 minute. Continue to saute for another 1 to 2 minutes. Season mushrooms with salt and pepper and pour onto cookie sheet to cool. Set used pan aside.

In a separate, clean skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add minced garlic. Cook until golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. In the pan where the mushrooms were, add 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add yellow squash. Cook until browned, about 1 to 2 minutes and drain onto same cookie sheet with mushrooms.

Place peppers in hot pan where squash was cooking, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of thyme. When heated thoroughly, add peppers to waiting mushrooms and yellow squash. Add zucchini to the same pan, add remaining thyme, cook until browned, about 2 minutes. Pull both pans (onions and zucchini) off the heat, and add to cookie sheet with other vegetables.

In the former zucchini/mushroom pan, cook leeks to soften, about 2 minutes. Add white wine, cover, and simmer until leeks are tender. In the other pan, bring the tomatoes to a simmer. Season the leeks with salt and pepper, to taste, and add spinach. When spinach is wilted, add cooked leeks to cooling vegetables on cookie sheet. Add basil to the tomatoes, then add tomatoes to cookie sheet. Return all vegetables to larger pan, and gently toss together. Top with Parmesan and serve.

Blueberry Pie with Almond Crumble Topping

My aunt mentioned this this pie recipe from the July 2007 Bon Appetit was to die for, so how could I resist trying it? It was really my first attempt at actually making a pie crust (I was really close to just buying one premade), but it wasn’t that hard and turned out pretty darn good! If it wasn’t for the outrageous price of blueberries (I almost went into sticker shock and I was buying frozen ones!) this pie might just be perfect. I mean, almond crumble topping? That’d make ANY pie perfect.

Blueberry Pie with Almond Crumble Topping

Makes 1 9-inch pie. Recipe from Bon Appetit.

Ingredients
Crust
1 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup chilled lard or frozen nonhydrogenated solid vegetable shortening (aka Crisco), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2-3 tablespoons (or more) ice water

Filling
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (or more) sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
7 cups fresh wild or regular blueberries (32 ounces) or 32 ounces frozen wild or regular blueberries (do not thaw)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Topping
2/3 cup unbleached all purpose flour
4 ounces marzipan or almond paste, broken into 1/3-inch pieces (about 3/4 cup loosely packed)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 teaspoon salt
Whipped cream or ice cream

Directions
For crust:
Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter and lard; using on/off turns, blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Add ice water and mix with fork until dough begins to clump together, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dry. Gather dough together; flatten into disk. Wrap disk in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. If necessary, soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.

Roll out pie crust disk on floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Turn crust edges under and crimp decoratively, forming crust edge 1/4 inch above sides of pie dish. Refrigerate while preparing filling and topping.

For filling:
Whisk 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar and cornstarch in heavy large saucepan to blend. Stir in blueberries and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until mixture bubbles and thickens, frequently stirring gently, about 13 minutes. Chill filling until cool, about 1 hour. If more sweetness is desired, stir in sugar by tablespoonfuls.

For topping:
Combine first 4 ingredients in processor; blend until mixture begins to clump together. Transfer to bowl; chill 30 minutes. Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Spread blueberry filling evenly in unbaked crust. Sprinkle topping evenly over. Place pie on rimmed baking sheet and bake until crust and topping are golden and filling bubbles thickly, about 50 minutes. Transfer pie to rack and cool completely. Can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

Serve pie with whipped cream or ice cream.

Sushi

Yes, we made sushi. It is surprisingly easy and cheap too (you wouldn’t think that, seeing as they cost around $6 a roll in restaurants!) We made 5 rolls, and even Taylor was stuffed. We made a few regular rolls (seaweed on the outside) and a few inside-out rolls (seaweed on the inside).

Sushi

Makes 4-5 rolls.

Ingredients
1 cup sushi rice
1 cup water
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
stuff to put inside (we used avocado, cucumber, green onion, smoked salmon, and shrimp in various combinations.)
nori (seaweed sheets)

Directions
Before cooking, rinse rice several times in running water until the water runs clear (this may take several rinsings). Cook according to package directions.

Mix together rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small pan. Stir until granules dissolve. Spread the cooked hot rice into a large plate by spatula. Sprinkle the vinegar mixture over the rice and fold into the rice by spatula quickly. Do not smash the rice. Let cool. Use immediately.

As far as making the sushi, you better go somewhere else for directions. I should have taken a video or something, but sushi is something I just can’t describe. Search for how to make sushi, you’ll find plenty of sites like this that can do a much better job of explaining than I can!

A few tips: Be sure to use a super-sharp, serrated knife to cut the rolls, our you’ll end up with a squished mess. Don’t stuff your rolls too full, or the seaweed won’t quite make it all the way around. Plus you’ll end up with a really thick roll too big for one bite. I also use half a sheet of seaweed instead of a full one, but you really can’t put very much filling in if you do this.