Mustard Rabbit with Prosciutto Asparagus Pasta

Finally a recipe for you - I apologize for the phone-quality photos, but there wouldn't be any at all if it weren't for my gracious French-German hosts who put me up in their apartment in Paris last month. This dish is easy, delicious, and can accommodate other spring veggies if you don't like asparagus. If you omit the prosciutto, add something salty like olives or anchovies. The rabbit part of this recipe is based on this brilliant Simply Recipes concoction.

You'll need:

1 rabbit, cut into 6 pieces (ask your butcher to do this for you) - reserve the head, ribs, and kidneys
kosher salt
4T butter
4 large shallots, sliced
1c white wine
1 1/2c water
3/4c grainy mustard
1t dried thyme
1/2c cream
4T chopped parsley
1 package fusilli
5 slices prosciutto
1 bunch asparagus

Put rabbit head and ribs in 1c water; bring to a boil, skim, then simmer gently until liquid is reduced to 1c (you can forget about this pot while you're cooking -- it'll be ready by the time you need it).

Salt rabbit pieces. Remove thin membrane from kidneys; salt the kidneys too. Let the rabbit pieces sit 30 min.

Cut asparagus into 1/2 inch pieces. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in a 350 deg. oven for 20 minutes, until slightly browned.

Slice prosciutto into strips. Set aside with asparagus.

When the rabbit is done resting, heat the butter. Brown the rabbit pieces on all sides in batches. Remove rabbit.

Add shallot to the butter and brown well. Deglaze with wine.

Strain the rabbit stock and add it to the pan, along with the mustard and thyme. Bring to a boil, then add the dark meat and kidneys of the rabbit and lower the heat to a simmer. Simmer 20 minutes, then add the white meat. Simmer 20 more minutes.

Remove rabbit from sauce. Turn heat to high and reduce sauce by half.

In the meantime, cook the pasta in copiously salted water.

When sauce is reduced, add the cream and parsley. Stir in the pasta, the rabbit pieces, and the prosciutto and asparagus. Serve.

Check out that gorgeous cookware!

Back in Berkeley Feast

It's been a very, very long time, but I have so many delicious things for you ahead that you might actually forgive the hideous post I left you with for the past year. Today we have a feast, made with my lovely cooking buddy Katie - you can see previous feasts we've done here, here, here, and here (these are worth clicking on, I promise). I'm back from a year (plus a few weeks more recently) in Paris, and Katie's back (unfortunately temporarily) from the UK. We put this whole thing together in 2 1/2 hours, which I still can't believe. But each dish is extremely easy - even the homemade gnocchi - and can even be done on a weeknight.

Quick-pickled carrots, radishes, radish sprouts, sunflower seeds, 

baby gem lettuce, oven-dried beet chips, chevre, anchovy

Corn soup, bacon, chives

Braised squid in Piperade

Ricotta gnocchi, lamb meatballs, fresh peas, mint

Caramelized Black Pepper Chicken

We've been making this quick and tasty dish for a few years, based on a Charles Phan recipe. This time, we made it with fresh noodles and it was better than ever. We cut down on the sugar a bit, but otherwise follow the recipe.

Mushroom Duck Noodles

We used the leftover duck confit and rendered duck fat for this very easy, tasty one-pot meal. The veggie is frisee, but you can use any hearty green-- this frisee was a bit too hearty for salads, but cooking it down made it tender and delicious. The cilantro and mint brighten the rich duck flavor.

You'll need:
leftover duck meat from 2 legs, or confit some (see link above)
2T duck fat
1 large onion, sliced
6 cloves garlic, sliced
1 bunch frisee
1c oyster mushrooms
2T dark soy sauce
fresh egg noodles
cilantro
mint

Heat duck fat until melted. Add onion and sautee until caramelized, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms and saute until mushrooms brown, about 5 minutes. Add duck and saute until crispy. Add frisee; cook until wilted. Add noodles and dark soy sauce; stir to coat. Serve, topped with chopped cilantro & mint.

Smoky Shrimp Fettucine

This dish is inspired by Spanish-style shrimp of the kind you get at tapas bars, swimming in garlic and oil and, if you're lucky, pimenton. I didn't have any pimenton on hand-- and I'm trying not to buy new stuff before leaving for a year-- so I used a combination of Hungarian Paprika and smoked Turkish pepper, to tasty results. Another nice thing is that this is ready in under 30 minutes and can probably be made from ingredients on hand (I always keep some frozen shrimp in the freezer). I brined the shrimp, based on Alton Brown's shrimp brining technique, but I'm not sure it's entirely necessary.

You'll need (serves 2):

12 oz shrimp (the cheaper small ones are fine here), shells removed

1/2 head (10-12 cloves) garlic

1t kosher salt

2 heaping tablespoons Hungarian paprika

1 T smoked Turkish pepper

1/4c olive oil

1/2lb spinach fettucine

for brine (optional):

1/4c sugar

1/4c kosher salt

3c water

Set a large pot of salted water to boil.

Dissolve salt and sugar in 1/2c water over medium heat. Add 2 1/2c cold water and stir until cold. Pour over shrimp and let sit about 10-15 minutes.

Mince garlic with salt; you should have about 3-4T.

When water boils, add pasta. Remove shrimp from brine and dry well.

Heat olive oil in a heavy (preferably cast-iron) skillet. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add paprika and smoked pepper; stir until well combined. Add shrimp and stir until just cooked, about 3 minutes.

Drain pasta, reserving 1/4c cooking liquid. Toss pasta with shrimp in pan. Add cooking liquid if sauce is too dry. Top with a drizzle of olive oil.

Serve with parmesan cheese and red wine. We drank a Domaine de Fontenille 2003 Cotes du Luberon.

Rustic Carbonara

In this recipe, I was aiming for a heartier version of spaghetti carbonara (in the hearty vs delicate scale). I used whole wheat pasta and thick-cut prosciutto instead of the more traditional guiancale, and I added lots of fresh peas for some color and texture (and vegetable content). I really liked the result: the sauce turned out creamy and the dish overall somehow didn't feel too heavy or rich. It's also really easy to pull together-- the whole thing took about 20 minutes.

Whenever I make carbonara, I think of Katie, who makes it a lot. I made this while listening to her mix made on Char and Ryan's awesome interface, Flotate. Check it out.

You'll need (serves 2):

1/2 lb whole wheat spaghetti

2 whole eggs + 2 egg yolks

1 slab thick-cut (1/4-1/2 inch) prosciutto

1T fresh rosemary, minced

1c grated parmesan and/or parmesan-like cheeses, plus more for serving

1lb fresh English peas, shelled (about 3/4c peas)

lots of freshly ground black pepper

chopped parsley for garnish

Start the pasta water; by the time the pasta's done, the sauce will be ready. 3 minutes before pasta is done, add peas to cook too.

Cut the prosciutto into small cubes and saute (dry, no oil) over medium-high heat in a cast iron or heavy skillet until toasty and aromatic.

While the prosciutto cooks, beat eggs with cheese, rosemary, and pepper in a large bowl.

When pasta is al dente, reserve 1c pasta water and drain noodles. Slowly beat in 1/4c pasta water until eggs turn creamy (use more if you need). Add proscuitto, pasta and peas, and toss to coat.

Serve, sprinkled with parsley, with more cheese on the side.

Extra Creamy Baked Ziti

I haven't posted in quite a while because I've been away, eating delicious things like Brazilian mariscada at Muqueca in Cambridge, dim sum at Perfect Team Corporation in Flushing, and a bucketful of creamy carbonara loaded with crispy bacon cubes for breakfast (yes, breakfast) at Prune in Manhattan. Since coming back to the Bay, I've been busy preparing to teach a new course, and have been making mostly old standbys that I've already posted or that don't particularly deserve a post.

But my latest rendition of Baked Ziti, based on my old recipe already featured here, might merit another posting. This time, I did a few things differently:

1. I made an enormous amount of bechamel, using an entire container (~4c) of 1% milk and copious amounts of mozzarella and parmesan. The result was an especially creamy, cheesy finished dish.

2. I used turkey sausage, which cuts down on the fat. I also browned the sausage meat separately and then drained it well in a strainer before mixing it with the tomato sauce I'd already prepared. Taking out the extra grease here helps the sauce stick to the pasta.

3. I mixed the pasta with the meat sauce, and put about half in the pan. Then topped that with half the cheese sauce; then the rest of the pasta & sauce, then the rest of the cheese sauce. Keeping the pasta and the bechamel separate is key here: it prevents the pasta from soaking up all the bechamel, so that the finished dish has distinct layers of cheesy goo. Yum.

Steamed Fish with Szechuan Noodles

This is a fast, healthy, and very flavorful meal that you can probably make from things you have around the house-- I use broccoli and pea shoots here but any vegetable would work (peas, carrots, green beans, etc). If you don't have szechuan pepper, get some. It's amazing stuff-- peppery, tingly, and basically fantastic. It really changes the flavor of this dish. If I didn't have it, I'd probably put ginger in the sauce instead.

You'll need (serves 2, but doubles easily):

2 fillets of ocean perch or any other firm white fish

1/2lb fresh spelt pasta (we used Phoenix Pastificio's) or buckwheat/soba noodles

broccoli, cut into small florets

pea shoots

6 cloves garlic

4 scallions

1/4c soy sauce

2T mirin (rice cooking wine)

1T rice wine vinegar

sriracha, to taste

1t cracked szechuan pepper

Crush 4 cloves garlic. Slice scallions. Place in small bowl with soy sauce, mirin, vinegar, sriracha, and peppercorns.

Cook pasta until barely al dente. Drain and set aside.

Salt and pepper fish. Place in skillet with tight-fitting lid. Add 2T prepared sauce and 1/4c water. Cover and cook on low about 10 minutes, until fish flakes.

Steam broccoli in a large skillet; drain and set aside. Slice 2 cloves garlic. Add a little oil to the skillet and add pea shoots and garlic. Return broccoli to skillet with cooked pasta and prepared sauce. Cook until pea shoots wilt and noodles absorb sauce, about 2 minutes.

Remove fish from pan and reduce remaining sauce. Pour sauce over fish and serve with noodles.

Kale Shittake Pasta

I had some leftover cooked pasta, but not quite enough for a meal, so I sauteed an onion, some chopped garlic, sliced shittake mushrooms and some chopped kale. I added the pasta til it warmed up and topped the whole thing with some good olive oil and freshly grated parmesan

Caramelized Garlic Pasta

This has to be one of the easiest, cheapest, tastiest things I've ever had. (Ok, some of you know I am prone to exaggeration. But still. Try it yourself.)  All the ingredients are things you probably have on hand, except for the arugula, which you can omit without losing the main flavor of this dish, which is the garlic.

You'll need (per person):

cooked pasta (you can use leftover pasta)

scant 1/4c olive oil

5 cloves garlic, minced (do not use a garlic press)

4 anchovies, chopped

red pepper flakes to taste

1t tomato paste (optional)

fresh breadcrumbs from 1 slice bread

large handful of arugula

In a large skillet (non-stick is fine here), add olive oil, garlic, anchovies, tomato paste and red pepper. Heat over low heat, stirring, until garlic turns pale golden, about 5 minutes (be careful not to let the garlic brown). Add breadcrumbs and stir to combine; add pasta and toss to coat.

Now turn off the heat and add arugula. Stir gently until leaves barely wilt. Serve!

Bechamel Baked Ziti

I've been a lazy blogger and cook lately. This is a lazy dish that can be put together while you're working at home, and can serve at least 8 people (or cut the recipe in half). I served this with a watermelon, feta & mint salad as the appetizer, and followed it with a simple arugula salad.

You'll need (serves 8-10):

1 1/2 packages ziti pasta

2lbs spicy Italian bulk sausage (I used Molinari)

5 shallots, thinly sliced

6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

red chile flakes

3T tomato paste

28oz can of plum tomatoes

10 roma tomatoes (this is optional, but oh so good)

1c dry red wine

1 bunch basil

1/3c butter

1/3c flour

3c milk

1 1/2c grated mozzarella cheese

1/2c grated cheddar

1c grated parmesan/romano blend

Halve tomatoes and roasted, seasoned, in a 400 degree oven. Let cool slightly; remove skin.

Brown sausage, pouring out fat as it accumlates. Deglaze pan with wine and cook until liquid is absorbed. Remove sausage from pan. Add olive oil or reserved fat. Fry shallots, garlic and chile flakes, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Return sausage to pan. Make a well in the middle; add tomato paste and saute until it browns slightly. Stir to combine with sausage.

Add canned and roasted tomatoes. Julienne basil and add half to the pan. Cook over low heat until sauce is thick and flavorful, about 1 hour. You probably don't want to add salt because sausage tends to be salty, but add pepper to taste.

In the meantime, cook the pasta. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mornay (Bechamel+cheese) sauce: Melt butter in a saucepan and whisk in flour. Cook, whisking, over medium heat until golden brown. Add milk slowly and cook until thick, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in mozzarella and cheddar and half the parmesan. Combine 2/3 of this sauce with the finished meat sauce. Stir the rest of the parmesan into the remaining sauce and reserve.

Mix cooked pasta with the mornay/meat sauce. Pour into buttered gratin dish. Top with reserved mornay sauce.

Bake until set and top is golden, about 30 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving. (This looks rather gooey and unphotogenic when hot, so the pictures are of cold leftovers.)

Pasta Leftovers, yet again!

pasta, feta cheese, basil, various kinds of tomatoes, even a little leftover meat

 a delicious pasta salad, hot or cold

Nutty Brussels Sprout Pasta

I made this incredibly simple pasta dish with just two main ingredients-- brussels sprouts and pine nuts-- to highlight the nuttiness of the sprouts, but you can add corn and even tomatoes if you want. I wanted to keep it simple so I could top it with my leftover braised beef with tomatoes.  You can serve the pasta on its own and keep the dish vegetarian.

Slice brussels sprouts and put them immediatley into a bowl of lime juice (one lime's enough).

Heat butter and olive oil in a pan and saute pine nuts until golden, stirring constantly. Add sliced brussels sprouts and saute until wilted.

Add cooked, al dente pasta with some of the cooking water and continue cooking until water is absorbed. Serve topped with pecorino.

Eggplant Noodle Salad

This is a really easy dish to throw together for a light lunch, and you can add whatever veggies you like. You can also fry the eggplant; I baked it to make it a little lighter. I cheated a bit by buying pre-mixed, pre-julienned carrot and radish at a Vietnamese market in Chinatown that I am now in love with. That's also where I got the culantro, which is like cilantro only a lot more awesome. You can definitely substitute the western stuff if it's easier to find.

You'll need:

rice stick or bean curd noodles (rice stick are pictured)

julienned carrot

julienned daikon radish

1 long purple eggplant, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds

4 leaves culantro, chiffonade

12 leaves mint, chiffonade

juice from 1 large lime

fish sauce

rice vinegar

a pinch of sugar

crushed peanuts

2 thai chilies, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (if baking eggplant). Place eggplant rounds on greased cookie sheet and brush with olive oil. Bake about 10 minutes, then flip; bake 5-10 minutes more, until golden on both sides.

Cook the noodles according to directions. Drain well and toss immediately into dressing.

While noodles are cooking, combine lime juice, rice vinegar (just a splash) and fish sauce (quite a bit) to taste, sugar and chilies in a bowl big enough for the noodles. Add mint and culantro. Add carrots and daikon radish. Toss in the eggplant and noodles when they're done, and top with peanuts.

Roasted Mushroom & Tomato Pasta

This is an intensely flavorful dish that involves minimal work-- just chop the veggies, stick them in the oven, cook the pasta, and toss it all together. It helps to use really good tomatoes because, roasted, they lend a slightly smokey sweetness to the finished dish that goes really well with the sharp arugula. I used Early Girl tomatoes, which were only 59 cents/lb at Monterey Market last week. Also, use bunch arugula if you can find it-- it's cheaper and much more strongly flavored than baby arugula, and won't wilt as quickly when it comes into contact with the hot pasta.

You'll need:

5 medium tomatoes
15-20 mushrooms
1/2 onion
5 cloves garlic
olive oil
basil
arugula
fettucine or whatever pasta you want
pecornio romano
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400.

Halve and core tomatoes, squeezing them gently to remove some liquid. Then roughly chop them and place on baking sheet.

Quarter mushrooms and add to baking sheet.

Quarter onion, separate pieces, and add to baking sheet. Add peeled garlic cloves too.


Drizzle everything with olive oil (I use a great olive oil spray from Trader Joe's). Sprinkle with kosher salt.

Place veggies in oven and heat water for pasta.

In the meantime, chiffonade basil and separate the arugula leaves from their tough stems.

When veggies are almost done (soft and golden), cook pasta; toss it all together, stir in basil, arugula, and a glug of good olive oil. Top with shaved pecorino and ground black pepper.

Spinach Mac N Cheese

This is a great dinner to make when someone else is doing the dishes, as each component (spinach sauce, mornay sauce, and pasta) needs its own pot. It's also a wonderful way to use up leftovers (chopped chicken) or anything else in your fridge (dying veggies). I threw all my cheese in-- cheddar, pepperjack, a dry crumbly blue, gorgonzola, romano, and some other less identifiable ones (be sure to cut off any mold first!). And it's a good dish for whole wheat pasta, since the other flavors are bold enough to stand up to that pasta bite.

You'll need:

1 package whole wheat penne pasta
1 package frozen spinach
1 large can tomatoes in their juices
1 onion, chopped
1/2 head garlic, minced
olive oil
2T butter
2T flour
2c milk (fat free is fine)
cayenne pepper
nutmeg
2+c grated cheese (I threw all my cheese bits in the food processor)
2 eggs
1 thick slice bread, made into crumbs (food processor again)

Put water on for the pasta.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Put frozen spinach in a colander. Pour boiling hot water on top to defrost. Press to drain water.

Heat oil in a heavy skillet. Saute onion, adding salt and whatever dried herbs you want, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, cook 5 minutes more. Add drained spinach and cayenne to taste. Cook 5 minutes to combine. Add tomatoes and their juices; break them up with a wooden spatula or spoon. Stir and lower heat; let simmer while you make the bechamel.

Heat 2T butter in a medium saucepan. Whisk in 2T flour. Whisk constantly for 2 minutes until mixture bubbles and expands and turns golden brown. Add 2c milk very slowly, whisking. Cook 4 minutes, or until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add nutmeg to taste. Remove from heat. Add cheese and whisk to combine until cheese melts. (When you add cheese to bechamel, it becomes a mornay sauce, probably named after the 16th century Phillip, duc de Mornay, and perhaps introduced in the 19th century at Le Grand Vefour).

Cook pasta to just *underdone*. Drain.

Beat 2 eggs and whisk them into the mornay sauce. Scoop 1/2c of mornay sauce into the spinach-tomato sauce and stir to combine. Stir drained pasta into remaining mornay sauce.

Spread half of the pasta into a buttered gratin dish. Spread the spinach sauce on top. Top with the rest of the pasta. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and spray with olive oil, or mix bread crumbs with a bit of olive oil beforehand.


Bake 45 minutes, or until top is golden and sauce is set (knife inserted in center should come out clean). Let sit 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

layers!

Veal Cheek Pappardelle

Veal cheeks can be hard to find; you can substitute with beef cheeks, which you might have to special order anyway from your butcher. In a pinch, use short ribs. I begin this ragu with guanciale, another hard-to-find ingredient, which can be substituted for with thick-cut pancetta or bacon. The guanciale, if you can find it, is nice because it retains its luscious mouthfeel, and nice added richness to this meaty sauce. It's from the jowl (cheek), not the belly, of the pig. Veal or beef cheeks are also delicious on their own; I made a pasta sauce here to make my 1lb cheek feed 4. As with any slow braise, this is best prepared the day before. If you must make it the day of, start early, as the meat cooks for a few hours, and then needs to cool to be shredded.

guanciale

You'll need:

1.25lb veal cheek (trimmed weight, 1lb)
1.2lb guanciale
.7oz (20g) dried morel mushrooms
5 medium onions
2 large carrots
3 large cloves garlic
1 6oz can tomato paste
1T harissa paste (optional-- you can use chili flakes instead)
1 bottle dry red wine
about 4c beef broth (I used leftover broth from making beef tongue)
1T herbes de provence
1/2c heavy cream
fresh pappardelle pasta (I used a mix of porcini & black pepper rosemary)

Rinse dry morels and place in bowl. Cover with hot water and set aside to soak.

Peel onions and set aside. Cut guanciale into pieces about 1cm wide and 3cm long.


Heat a large heavy pot over medium heat and cook guanciale. When it starts to brown slightly, lower heat and continue to cook until light brown and swimming in rendered fat.


In the meantime, trim cheek(s) of fat and silverskin. Season with salt and pepper. Remove guanciale with a slotted spoon. Raise heat to medium-high. Brown cheek on both sides. Remove and set aside.


While cheek is browning, slice onions and drain morels, reserving liquid.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Add onions to the pot where the guanciale and cheek were. As the onions absorb the fat, chop carrots and crush and slice garlic and add them too. Cook on medium to low heat, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes, until onions are very very soft.

Push onions to the side and add tomato paste and harissa. Let brown slightly, about 1 minute, then mix with onions. Stir to combine, about 1 minute. Add wine. Raise heat and boil until reduced by half. You should have a thick, luscious goo of tomato, wine, and onion, with the occasional carrot peaking through.


Add strained morel soaking liquid and continue to cook until the mixture is so thick that your wooden spatula can make trails in it.


Add morels, guanciale, veal cheek, any accumulated juices, and herbes de provence to pot. Add beef broth and water, if necessary, to cover cheek. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and put in the oven.

when adding dried herbs,
crush them with your hands first

Cook for about 3 hours, testing after 2. The meat should pierce easily with a small knife.


Cool the meat in enough sauce to cover. The next day, skim fat; remove meat and shred. Reduce the rest of the sauce to desired thickness, skimming the orange foam that rises to the top. Return meat to pot. Reheat. Stir in cream. Simmer 5 more minutes to develop flavors.


Serve sauce on pasta with a sprinkle of parmesan. Unfortunately, we forgot the cream, so yours should look a little paler than this picture.

the table was pretty & purple