Chicken, Tomato and Olive Sauce

After a blazing hot and humid summer, it's been nice to pull out the slow cooker and get back to these "set it and leave it" recipes.  The long slow cooking process also helped get rid of the smell in our new apartment, a scent which we ascribed to the previous tenant leaving a dead body somewhere between the studs in the walls.

Okay it wasn't that bad, but we didn't like it either.  A few days of baking and an essential oil diffuser have seemed to do the trick. Actually, it's probably just passage of time and displacing the previous owner's smell with that of our stinky pugs.  I knew those two would come in handy one day!

For a while I was using America's Test Kitchen recipes a lot. This time was no different.  Isn't it nice to know that I can drop off the face of the blogging earth and return totally unchanged (except for growing a parasite inside me)?

This slow cooker sauce is nice because the acidity of the olives balance out the richness of the chicken.  It is a very hearty sauce, really thick, so a small serving goes a long way. Not that we do small servings in these parts.

From America's Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Revolution

1 onion, minced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 TBS olive oil
1 TBS minced fresh thyme of 1 tsp dried
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup dry white wine
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
15 oz can tomato sauce
2 TBS Minute tapioca
1.5 lbs skinless chicken thighs (I got bone-in and discarded the bones after cooking, but you can use boneless to begin with)
1/2 cup chopped pitted Kalamata olives
1/4 cup minced parsley
salt and pepper

In a microwave-safe bowl, mix together the onions, garlic, oil, thyme and red pepper flakes.  Heat for 5 minutes in microwave, stirring occasionally.

Place the onion mixture into the slow cooker, and stir in the broth, wine, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tapioca.

Salt and pepper each side of your chicken thighs.  Place chicken into slow cooker, and try to submerge those suckers.  

Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours. Gently pull out chicken thighs, and shred the meat using two forks. The meat should fall off the bone and shred quite easily.  Discard the bones.

Stir the shredded chicken back into the sauce, along with the chopped olives and parsley.

Cook pasta according to package directions, and serve with sauce.

Ta-da!

Baked "Skillet" Pasta

I've been watching a lot of America's Test Kitchen lately.  Does anyone else love that show?  I trust them because I know they've tested each recipe with different iterations dozens of times, and they're so nerdy and cute.

The other day they had this recipe for baked pasta, but a super simplified version that is mostly cooked on the stovetop and then finished off in the oven.  So while you do end up using two major kitchen appliances, the ease of this recipe reigns supreme.  You do not have to cook the pasta separately and then add it to the sauce, which in my mind translates to "this recipe is heaven".

In the interest of full disclosure, I am still trying to figure out the right amount of water to add to this recipe.  The original made this in a skillet and used 12 oz of pasta, whereas most boxes of pasta are 16 oz.  I don't know what to do with 4 oz of leftover pasta, so I used the full 16 oz and made this in a deep saute pan.  The original recipe calls for 3 cups of water for 12 oz of pasta, so you would think that 4 cups of water would be the right amount, but it seemed like a *lot* of water so I lowered the amount to 3 1/2 cups.  That seemed to be fine, maybe still a wee bit on the soft side (the pasta, that is), so I may tinker next time.

Adapted from America's Test Kitchen

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
• 2 TBS tomato paste (I did not use tomato paste the first time I made this, but I will next time to up the tomato flavor)
• Salt and pepper
• 3 1/2 cups water
• 16 ounces ziti or penne
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3 TBS grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (or parsley)
• 4 to 6 ounces mozzarella, shredded

Serves about 6.

Muster your troops. 

Heat oil in an ovenproof deep saute pan (about 4 quarts) over medium high heat and toss in garlic and red pepper flakes.

Cook for about 2 minutes, until garlic is softened, and pour in tomatoes.  Forget to take a picture.

Add in raw pasta and water, with about 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.

Your pasta will be swimming.  That is okay.

Bring to boil, then lower heat to simmer and cover.  Let simmer for about 13 minutes.

While the pasta is simmering, preheat the oven to 475 degrees.  After the 13 minutes (the pasta is almost but not completely cooked), toss in the cream, parmesan, and basil.

Scatter mozzarella over the top of the pasta.

Place saute pan, uncovered, into oven for about 10 to 12 minutes or the cheese is golden brown.

Does that not scream comfort food to you?

Ta-da!

Linguine with Clams

I don't think I really ever had linguine with clams until I had it at my sister's house. Wanna know why? Two reasons.


Nuuuumbeeerrrr One!
Da clams. From da farmers' market. Which, according to the...clam-monger, were harvested the night before.

They were sweet, flavorful...cannot type...for having gnawed...knuckles...bloody...

Nuuuumbeeerrr Two!

Da pancetta. My sister made it.  Yeah, you heard me. No, she didn't make the pig or anything, but she bought the pork, seasoned and cured it. Herself. Her badass self.

Can you believe she cured this herself? HERSELF? 

The recipe was adapted from Saveur, but honestly, this is all my sister.


Ingredients

• 1 lb. pasta, preferably linguine
• 1⁄3 cup extra-virgin olive oil  
• 4 oz. pancetta (or chorizo), finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced crosswise
• 2 Fresno or Holland chiles, stemmed and thinly sliced crosswise (okay, I don't know what either of those are--go for a jalapeno or serrano)
• 2 1/2 to 3 ls. littleneck clams (about 30), scrubbed clean
• 1⁄3 cup dry white wine or vermouth
• 3 tbsp. roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Heat oil in a 12" skillet over medium heat. Add chopped pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until just crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer lovely crispy pork bits to a paper towel; set aside. 

Return skillet to medium heat and add garlic and half the chiles.

Cook, stirring, until garlic is light golden brown, about 3 minutes. 

Add clams and wine (or vermouth), increase heat to high, and cook, covered, swirling pan occasionally, until clams open and release their juices, 5–10 minutes. 

Can't you hear the clinking and clacking of those lovely clams cascading into the skillet?

Using tongs, transfer clams to a plate, and set aside.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until just al dente, about 6 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1⁄2 cup pasta water, and set aside.

Bring sauce to a boil over high heat, return meat and shallots to pan, and add reserved pasta and 1⁄4 cup cooking liquid. 

Cook, tossing pasta occasionally, until sauce clings to pasta, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle in some more of the pasta cooking water if the pasta seems dry. Add 2 tbsp. parsley, season with salt, and toss to combine.

Transfer pasta to a serving bowl, arrange clams over pasta, and pour any clam juices from the plate over pasta. 

Wait, I think we ran out of parsley. Bad us. Delicious anyway.

Ta-da!

Gnocchi with Spinach and Peas

Feels a bit more like spring.  I slaughtered a lamb yesterday and rolled around in fields of asparagus. I'm kidding. I didn't do that.  But I did make pasta with spinach, lemon and peas recently.  It seemed all spring-ish to me.


The pasta called for in the original recipe is gnocchi, but you can use any pasta you like.  That original recipe recommends using dried De Cecco gnocchi, which I could not fine. The pasta force be with you.


Oh, I also had some leftover prosciutto so added that to the recipe, but you can skip that if you want this to be vegetarian.


Adapted from Epicurious

• 2 to 3 oz prosciutto, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces (optional)
• 1 cup frozen peas (not thawed)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes
• 1 garlic clove, smashed
• 3 cups packed baby spinach (3 ounces) (I doubled the amount and bought one of those 5 oz bags. why not.)
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 pound dried gnocchi (or other pasta)
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan

Prrrrep! Your ppprrrrosciutto!

Place ppprrrrosciutto! in skillet over medium low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until ppprrooosciutto! (sick of that yet?) is crisp, about 4 to 5 minutes (that's a lie, I can't remember, but it should be somewhere around there.

And now ve begeen vis de odder ingaedienz for de pasta saus!

Anyway, add the peas, cream, garlic, red pepper flakes, and 1/2 tsp salt to the prosciutto.  Cover and simmer until peas are just tender, about 5 minutes.

Add in spinach and cook, uncovered,  until spinach is wilted, about 5 minutes.

Add in the lemon juice and zest.

In a separate pot of boiling salted water, cook gnocchi according to package directions.  Drain gnocchi and add to sauce.  Liberally dose with grated parmesan. 

This was a relatively quick dish that I will make again.  My one caveat had nothing to do with the recipe but more with the gnocchi that I used, which was subpar. NEVER AGAIN will I use that gnocchi. Not that you'll use this gnocchi, but it was the Fairway brand in NYC.

Ta-da!

Pasta with Lamb Ragu

Winter is creeping out of here, but before it completely and finally fades away, I wanted to braise something. Anything.  I haven't cooked lamb in a while, and Lidia Bastianich was on TV making a braised leg of lamb that made Kevin exclaim repeatedly "Can we have that? That looks good. We should make that. Can we have that? That looks really good." 

Lidia said the leg of lamb can also be used in a pasta dish, so I went that route.  The original recipe was for an obscene amount of lamb that requires a 7 quart french oven, which I do not have, so I adapted it for a more manageable amount.  

The general steps are to put a filling in the lamb, braise it, shred the meat, and cook down the sauce.  Then you're supposed to slice and serve, but like I said, I wanted to make it into a ragu sauce for pasta.  It occurred to me that I didn't really need the filling in that case, and the filling I made ended up slipping out of the lamb, so the filling was kind of a useless exercise.  Although guess it still flavored the meat and sauce, and overall this dish was incredibly tasty.

Adapted from Lidia Bastianich

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup crustless bread, a few days old or lightly toasted, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/2 grated pecorino
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 TBS chopped parsley
• 3 to 4 lb boneless leg of lamb, butterflied and untied (your butcher section will usually have boneless leg of lamb that is already butterflied and tied--just untie it when you get home. did I just insult your intelligence)
• Kosher salt
• 3 TBS olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 2 sprigs of thyme
• one 28-oz can of whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand
• 1 lb short tubular pasta, like ziti

Ready?  Let's start with the filling.

Place the bread cubes in a bowl and pour in just enough water to cover.  Let them soak for a minute or so (shouldn't take long).  Then strain those soggy suckers and squeeze 'em to get out most of the water.  Put the mushy bread back in the bowl and mix with the pecorino, garlic, parsley, and a pinch of salt.

Unroll your leg of lamb and cut away any huge chunks of fat.  Don't worry about being perfect about this.  Or at least I didn't, because I generally find trimming fat to be a huge pain in the ass.

I first shimmied the leg out of its netting.

And here it is, in its splayed glory.  Wanton.

Drop mounds of the filling over the lamb, and spread evenly, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges.  I did less than 1 inch, and I regret that because there was sure a lot of filling that ended up floating in the sauce.  Good thing I wasn't going to serve this sliced.

Roll up the meat to form a roll, and secure with twine.  

 

I should have also tied a twine lengthwise around the lamb. That might help explain why I lost almost all the filling in the cooking process.  By the way those are silicone reusable strings that I received as a gift. They are cute.

Season the outside of the lamb with about 1/2 tsp salt.  Heat the olive oil in a large French oven (at least 5 1/2 quart) over medium to medium-high heat.  When oil is heated, carefully transfer the lamb into the pan.  Let brown on bottom side (about 3-5 minutes), then rotate and repeat until all the sides are browned.  Remove lamb from the pot.

 

Hello, you turgid piece of meat, you.

Place the chopped onions into the pot--stir and scrape the brown bits of the bottom of the pot.  Cook for 4 to 5 minutes until onions are softened, then drop in the bay leaves, rosemary and thyme.  Cook for another minute or so.

 

My mixture was looking a little dry so I added a bit of red wine.

Transfer the huge honkin' leg of lamb back to the post.  Pour in the crushed tomatoes and enough water to submerge the lamb by three quarters.  Sprinkle in about 1/2 tsp of salt.  Stir the ingredients around the lamb, and ladle some on top of the lamb.

Cover pot tightly and bring braising liquid to a boil  Then reduce the heat to a simmer.  Braise for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, checking every 40 minutes to make sure that the lamb is still submerged and rotating the lamb.

Remove the lamb and let rest for 20 minutes.  Remove bay leaves and herb stems from the braising liquid.  Skim off fat with a wide spoon.  Bring liquid to a boil and let reduce while the lamb rests.

Um, so here's the part where I realized something went wrong with the filling. Prepare yourself for an ugly picture that is rather gory.  You know how you're supposed to get a lovely roll of lamb with circles of filling? Hehe.

Not so much. Fuggit.

When lamb is cool enough to handle, chop/shred the meat into generous bite-size pieces, about 1/2 to 1 inch.

Cook pasta according to package instructions.  Drain, add to braising liquid.  Place chopped meat back into pot and stir around.

Ta-da!

Again, I'm not really sure the filling was necessary and it was a fail anyway, so if I make this again, I'm going to make some tweaks.  But I would definitely make this again on a lazy Sunday.

Pasta with Cauliflower and Kale

Rikki had a lump on her leg, requiring surgical removal.  Bunni has bladder stones and needs a new inconvenient diet to dissolve them. Sigh.

That has nothing to do with the rest of the post, but I wanted to share. 

Oh winter. You keep going. We need some different produce.  Signs of spring are peeking out here and there, but until the farmers' market is in full spring swing, I'll continue to make do.

This recipe is better than it sounds. It has quite a healthy dose of grated parmesan.  You can leave out the anchovies if you want to make this vegetarian, but if you're not vegetarian, keep the anchovies.  It adds a real savoriness that doesn't taste like fish at all.

Adapted from Gourmet

Ingredients

• 1 small head of cauliflower, cut into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces
• 1 large bunch or 2 small bunches of kale, stems removed and roughly chopped/torn
• 8 anchovies
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 lb pasta--the original recipe called for orrecchiete but inexplicable the grocery store didn't have any, so I used small shells.  The shape works well with the ingredients.
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup grated parmesan (or pecorino, whatever)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Prep your cauliflower.

Put cut cauliflower onto baking sheet.  Drizzle with a tablespoon or so of olive oil, and a healthy pinch of salt and pepper.  Mix till everything is nice and coated. And greasy.

Roast in oven for about 10 to 12 minutes, stirring things about halfway through and checking on progress.

Hello, you beautiful caramelization, you.

Now prep your kale. NOW!  This is good to do while the cauliflower is roasting.

To de-stem the kale, I just rip the leaves off the stem in large chunks. No biggie.

In a large saute pan or sauce pan, heat a few tsp olive oil over medium to medium high heat.  Place in your garlic, anchovies and crushed red pepper.

So pretty.

Stir to break up anchovies, and after 2 to 3 minutes you will have something like this:

That is a whole lotta good flava right there.

Add in the kale, and a little water or stock (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup).  Cover and lower heat to simmer for however long it takes your kale to get tender.  I've worked with some kale that is tender after 20 minutes, but this was a pretty tough batch and it took more like 30 to 40 minutes.  Uncover and let liquid evaporate a bit.

Cook the pasta according to package directions, shaving off a minute.  Drain pasta and add to kale.  Add in cauliflower and cook a bit to let the pasta absorb some of that kale juice (that sounds gross, but it's not).  Add in the cheese, as much or as little as you want.

Ta-da! This was a solid winter dish.  Next time I might increase the amount of kale.