Pasta and Garbanzo Beans Alla Toscana

I think that tonight I experienced a little taste of heaven in the most simple dish imaginable, Pasta and Garbanzo Beans Alla Toscana. I modified a recipe that was in the classic Italian cookbook, Il cucchiaio d'argento. I paired this with a loaf of homemade, no-knead wheat bread. I'm amazed how a dish that is so simple can be so delicious!

Pasta and Garbanzo Beans alla Toscana

• 3 cups of soaked, drained, boiled hard, cooked garbanzo beans
  
• 4-5 cups of the broth from the cooked garbanzo beans
• 1 14 oz. can of chopped tomatoes, or about the same amount of chopped fresh tomatoes
• 1 sprig of rosemary, chopped
• 1 crushed clove of garlic
  
• 8 oz. of short pasta (I used farfalline)
• olive oil
• parmeggiano-reggiano

1. Puree 1 cup of the garbanzo beans with about 1/4 cup of the broth.
2 Add the pureed garbanzo beans to the broth and heat over medium heat until boiling.
3. Heat the olive oil and add the garlic and rosemary and cook for 1-2 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.
5. Add the tomatoes to the beans and season with salt and pepper.
6. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.
7. Serve sprinkled with parmeggiano-reggiano cheese

Everyday Whole-Wheat Bread (from Eating Well Magazine - January/February 2009)

I'm obsessed with no-knead bread and was excited to see a spread on it in the January/February edition of Eating Well magazine. I'm very happy with this recipe. I'm including the recipe as it was exactly in the magazine. My process ended up changing a bit, due to the fact that the bread rose in less than half the time it said. I came back to check the bread after an hour and it had risen up over the lip of the pan and was drooping down the side of the pan off the counter! Good thing I showed up, it would have taken over my kitchen. I ended up punching it down again and putting it back into the pan to rise for about 20 minutes or so. If anyone tries the recipe let me know how it turns out, I'd be curious to know how it varied for you.

• 1/4 cup bulgur or cracked wheat
• 1/3 cup boiling water
• 2 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon whole-wheat flour, divided
• 1 3/4 cups unbleached bread flour
• 2 tablespoons toasted wheat germ (optional)
• 1 3/4 teaspoons table salt
• 3/4 teaspoon instant, quick-rising or bread-machine yeast
• 1 3/4 cups of ice water (not the ice, just the water)
• 1/4 cup clover honey, or other mild honey
• 3 tablespoons corn oil, canola oil, or other flavorless vegetable oil

1. Mix dough: Stir bulgur (or cracked wheat) and boiling water in a medium bowl. Thoroughly stir 2 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour, 1 3/4 cups bread flour, wheat germ (if using), salt and yeast in a 4-quart (or larger) bowl. Thoroughly stir 1 3/4 cups ice water, honey and oil into the bulgur. Vigorously stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, scraping down the sides and mixing just until the dough is thoroughly blended. The dough should be moist and a bit sticky, but fairly stiff. If the mixture is too dry, stir in just enough additional ice water to blend the ingredients, but don't overmoisten. If the dough is too wet, stir in just enough bread flour to stiffen it slightly. Lightly coat the top with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

2. First Rise: Let the dough rise at room temprature (about 70 degrees F) for 12 to 18 hours; if conevenient, stir once partway through the rise. For convenience (and imnproved flavor), you may refrigerate the dough for 3 to 12 hours before starting the second rise.

3. Second Rise: Generously coat a 9 by 5 inch (or similar large) loaf pan with oil. Vigorously stir the dough to deflate. If it is soft, stir in just enough bread flour to yield a firm but moist dough (it should be fairly hard to stir). Transfer the dough to the pan. Lightly coat the top with oil. Smooth and press the dough evenly into the pan using a well-oiled rubber spatula or your fingertips. Evenly dust the top with the remaining 1 tablespoon whole-wheat flour, smoothing it out with your fingertips. Using well-oiled kitchen shears or a serrated knife, cut a 1/2 inch-deep slash down the length of the loaf. Cover the pan with plastic wrap.

4. Let rise at warm room temperature until the dough rises near the plastic, 1 to 2 1/2 hours. Then gently remove the plastic and let the dough continue to rise until it extends 1 inch above the pan rim, 15 to 45 minutes more (depending on the temperature).

5. 20 minutes before baking position a rack on the lower third of oven; preheat to 375 degrees.

6. Bake, cool, slice: Bake the loaf on the lower rack until the top is nicely browned, 55 to 65 minutes. Cover with foil and continue baking until a skewer inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs on the top (or until an instant read thermometer registers 204-206 degrees), 10 to 15 minutes longer. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes. Turn the loaf out onto the rack and let cool to at least warm before serving. The loaf is good warm but slices best when cool.

Makes 1 large loaf, 14 slices, 188 calories per slice, 4 g fat, 35 g carbs, 5 g protein, 4 g fiber

The Yang to the Yin that is Costco Hell

A friend described Costco recently as a "whirling vortex of bloody fucking hell." This is certainly true as far as I'm concerned, but I brave the hell on a regular basis for some great finds. Namely for their Gourmet Mushroom Blend, speck, and organic field greens...best prices in town. These finds are truly the Yang to the Yin of that Costco hell!

I recently made a Porcini Mushroom Soup using the Gourmet Mushroom Blend and it was fantastic. I threw in 1/2 bag of Pappardelle's Pasta Supreme Orzo (saffron, fire-roasted red pepper, and porcini mushroom). Oh, if only I could get Pappardelle's at Costco! I paired it up with a loaf of whole-wheat no-knead bread and a salad. Here's the recipe from www.101cookbooks.com.

Porcini Mushroom Soup (from 101cookbooks.com)

2 ounces of dried porcini mushrooms
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 shallots, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 1/2 pounds small new potatoes, cut into 1/3-inch pieces
3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 cups water
1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons salt

Extra toppings (optional) freshly grated Parmesan, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, fresh chives or fresh thyme.

Soak the porcini mushrooms in 2 cups of hot water for about 15 minutes, or until they are soft. Set aside.

Heat a splash of the olive oil in a large thick-bottomed pot, saute the shallots for a couple of minutes, then stir in the rosemary and potatoes. Add the remaining olive oil and cook for about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic, the porcini along with the soaking liquid, the 4 cups of water, and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook for ten minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Taste. If the broth is too intense, you may want to add more water a bit at a time. And take care to get the salt right as well, it's important in a simple soup like this.

Serve as is or topped with any number of the ingredients I listed up above.

Serves 4-6.

Vegetarian Potato Lasagna

Vegetarian Potato Lasagna


We had a lovely end to our weekend enjoying Vegetarian Potato Lasagna with our pals Tim and Eric. The lasagna was served with a side salad and cheese bread. Tim and Eric were kind enough to pick up the cheese bread from Wegman's on their brief weekend trip to Rochester to pick up a new fireplace mantel.

Vegetarian Potato Lasagna
(From a Swedish cookbook-made with potatoes as some Swedes just don't consider pasta to be food)

2 cups water, salted
3 cups baby spinach (5 1/4 ounce bag), washed
2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese (15 oz. container)
1 bunch fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
zest from 1 lemon
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, divided
2 pounds russet potatoes or large red potatoes (recipe calls for peeled, but I did not peel-for the added color and texture)
1 tbsp butter
2 cups marinara sauce (in our case we used Blue's famous fennel marinara sauce made using food bank farm heirloom tomatoes)
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In medium saucepan, bring water to boil and cook spinach for 1 minute. Rinse spinach under cold water until cooled and squeeze out excess water. Chop spinach and add to Ricotta along with parsley, lemon zest, 2 tbsp parmesan and salt and pepper. Cut potatoes into 1/3 inch slices, then boil potato slices for 8-10 minutes until softened, but still easily handled. Rub butter on bottom of 8 x 10 baking dish. Add a layer of potatoes to the dish, then sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, spread on a thin layer of marinara sauce, then spread on half the ricotta mixture. Repeat layers, ending with a third layer of potatoes and a thin final layer of marinara sauce and parmesan. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes then cover in aluminum foil and bake an additional 20 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes before cutting into slices.