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

No Knead Bread - Fresh Out of My EZ Bake Oven

Ah memories! I remember being a kid and secretly coveting all my girl friends in school who had EZ Bake Ovens. As much as I wanted one I would never have dreamed of asking for one. The last time I did such a thing I paid dearly for it. When I asked my mother to teach me to knit I found myself the very next morning on the ice of our local hockey rink at 5:00 a.m. a newly signed up and reluctant member of the Dorchester Youth Hockey League. Many of you that know me would doubt it but I was decent on right wing defense -- for all of maybe one season or less.

Anyway, my dreams of baking were dashed for many years and it's only now that I've taken some steps towards baking bread. The results I get have always been lackluster at best until my good friend Donna (my blog partner Christine's lady) forwarded a recipe for no knead bread to me last week. The no knead recipe is a formula and process created by Jim Lahey, owner of Sullivan St Bakery in NYC. And from what I can tell, everyone in the blogosphere has heard of this recipe and his bread, except me. Anyway, I'm now on my third round of making this bread and the results are just amazing. Primarily because they are so consistent and in my opinion it's so fool-proof you don't need to be a master baker to turn out a loaf that will have your friends oohing and aahing.

In this case, the EZ Bake Oven is a cast-iron pan and the loaf is baked inside the pan covered for 30 minutes. This does something magical to the bread. If you've never thought you could make bread I encourage you to give it a try. The only difficult part of the process is the handling of the dough as it is very watery (about 42% water I'm told). The recipe says to form it into a ball, which I don't seem to be able to do but still have gotten great results. I have read that any combination of flours will work (whole wheat, white, etc) but haven't tested that out. I will with my next loaf and let you know how it comes out. Here's the recipe....truly revolutionary!

Formula and process created by Jim Lahey, owner of Sullivan St Bakery.

Formula 3 cups (430g) flour 1½ cups (345g or 12oz) water ¼ teaspoon (1g) yeast 1¼ teaspoon (8g) salt olive oil (for coating) extra flour, wheat bran, or cornmeal (for dusting)

Equipment Two medium mixing bowls 6 to 8 quart pot with lid (Pyrex glass, Le Creuset cast iron, or ceramic) Wooden Spoon or spatula (optional) Plastic wrap Two or three cotton dish towels (not terrycloth)

Process Mix all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add water and incorporate by hand or with a wooden spoon or spatula for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Lightly coat the inside of a second medium bowl with olive oil and place the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest 18 hours at room temperature (approx. 65-72°F). Remove the dough from the bowl and fold once or twice. Let the dough rest 15 minutes in the bowl or on the work surface. next, shape the dough into ball. Generously coat a cotton towel with flour, wheat bran, or cornmeal; place the dough seam side down on the towel and dust with flour. Cover the dough with a cotton towel and let rise 1-2 hours at room temperature, until more than doubled in size. Preheat oven to 450-500°F. Place the pot in the oven at least 30 minutes prior to baking to preheat. Once the dough has more than doubled in volume, remove the pot from the oven and place the dough in the pot seam side up. Cover with the lid and bake 30 minutes Then remove the lid and bake 15-30 minutes uncovered, until the loaf is nicely browned.