Fennel Orzo Salad

Heidi Swanson contributed this recipe to Food and Wine. I loved this recipe. The orzo and fennel and everything was just yummy. It was great to have for lunch and you can add small feta cubes for a different vibe just to mix things up.

I substituted bread crumbs for the bread and used a food processor because I don't have a large enough mortar and pestle.

8 ounces orzo (1 1/2 cups), preferably whole-wheat
One 4-by-4-inch, 1-inch-thick slice of country bread, crust removed and bread cubed
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 garlic clove
Kosher salt
3 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup roasted almonds, chopped
2 scallions, chopped
Fronds from 1 leafy fennel bulb (1/2 cup), finely chopped (see Note)
10 pitted black olives, such as kalamata, chopped
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small head of radicchio—halved, cored and shredded (4 cups)

In a large saucepan of salted boiling water, cook the orzo until al dente; drain and transfer to a large bowl.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, soak the bread in the vinegar. In a small skillet, toast the coriander seeds, stirring, until fragrant, 2 minutes. Transfer the seeds to a mortar. Add the garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pound with a pestle until a paste forms. One at a time, pound in the capers, almonds, scallions, fennel fronds and olives, until the mixture is chunky.

Pound in the soaked bread, then pound in the olive oil, 2 tablespoons at a time.

Add the dressing and radicchio to the orzo, season with salt and toss well.

NOTES You can finely chop the fennel bulb and add it to the orzo as well, if desired.

Orzo with Caramelized Onions and Raisins

Danny Seo contributed this recipe to Food and Wine. I finally found gluten free orzo! DeLallo makes the orzo and it's really, really good. That's the one thing that is most frustrating about gluten free pasta, there is a very limited selection of shapes. Now that I have gluten free orzo, I have the 3 main areas covered: short pastas like penne or ziti, long pastas like spaghetti and linguine, and soup pastas like ditalini or orzo.

My wife thinks that I should have left out the raisins, but I liked them. It reminded me of couscous.

12 ounces orzo (2 cups)
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced lengthwise
Kosher salt
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, thinly sliced lengthwise
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
Freshly ground pepper

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the orzo until al dente, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, cover the raisins with warm water and let stand until softened, 10 minutes. Drain the orzo and rinse under cold water. Drain the raisins and transfer them to a large bowl with the orzo.

In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, season with salt and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the onion to the orzo along with the olives, cheese and parsley and stir. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Arroz con Pollo

José Andrés contributed this recipe to Food and Wine. Ugh what a mess I made. I tried to make this recipe with brown rice and it was a ginormous failure. Otherwise, my wife and child and I all really liked the flavor. My boy loves chicken and this was good chicken. The brown rice, not so much. ;)

3 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
One 3 1/2-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
Kosher salt
Pepper
1 medium Spanish onion, finely chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, finely chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
4 thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon sweet pimentón de la Vera (smoked Spanish paprika)
1/2 pound oyster or cremini mushrooms, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 cups water
1 cup Bomba or Calasparra rice
Small pinch of saffron threads
Hot sauce, for serving

Working over a bowl, grate the cut side of the tomatoes on the large holes of a box grater; discard the skins.

In a very large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, add it to the skillet skin side down and cook over moderate heat, turning once, until nicely browned on both sides; transfer the chicken to a plate.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the skillet. Add the onion and green pepper, season with salt and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until just starting to brown, 10 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme sprigs, bay leaf and pimentón and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 2 minutes. Add the grated tomatoes and cook, stirring, until the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms and cook over moderately high heat until they start to soften, 3 minutes.

Add the water to the skillet and bring to a boil. Stir in the rice, saffron and a generous pinch of salt and return to a boil. Nestle the chicken in the rice and cook over moderately low heat, without stirring, until the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. Discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Season the dish with salt and pepper and serve with hot sauce.

Braised Vegetables in Olive Oil

Lesley Porcelli contributed this recipe to Saveur. I definitely like the flavors of this recipe but I think it could use some help because the bottom layers of vegetables got too burnt and it just seemed like they were wasted. It certainly can be that my Dutch oven gets too hot and I just haven't learned how to regulate it, but I think doing things in the following way would be better.

1. Put 1/2 c olive oil, anchovy paste, chile flakes, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, rosemary, and lemon slices in a 6-qt. Dutch oven. Place over medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and the garlic and the lemon slices are lightly browned, up to 5 minutes, but make sure they don't burn. 

2. Reserve everything to a small bowl. Do not wipe out the Dutch oven. Add the remaining 1/2 c oil and let it heat up. 

3. Add the zucchini in a single layer and cook, without stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Flip the zucchini, and cook for 5 minutes more.

4. Add the potatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower to the pot and stir to coat in oil. Cook, covered, without stirring, until the vegetables begin to brown and soften, about 30 minutes. Make sure to adjust the heat so things don't char. At 15 minutes add the reserved items from Steps 1-2. Stir vegetables gently to let the oil seep down over the layers and continue to cook without stirring for another 15 minutes.

 5. Stir vegetables gently, replace the lid, and reduce the heat to as low as necessary so the vegetables can cook until they are very soft and tender without burning, up to 60 minutes more.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. anchovy paste
½ tsp. crushed red chile flakes
6 sun-dried tomatoes, thinly sliced lengthwise
6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed with the side of a knife
6 sprigs rosemary
1 lemon, ends trimmed, thinly sliced crosswise, seeds removed
1 large zucchini, cut diagonally into 1½″-long pieces
1 lb. baby Yukon Gold or new potatoes
1 medium head broccoli, cut into florets, stalk cut into large pieces
½ medium head cauliflower, cut into florets, stalk cut into large pieces
2 tbsp. finely chopped parsley
2 sprigs marjoram, stems removed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Put the olive oil, anchovy paste, chile flakes, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, rosemary, and lemon slices in a 6-qt. Dutch oven. Place over medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and the garlic and the lemon slices are lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the zucchini in a single layer and cook, without stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Flip the zucchini, and cook for 5 minutes more.

3. Add the potatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower to the pot and stir once or twice to coat in oil. Cook, covered, without stirring, until the vegetables begin to brown and soften, about 30 minutes.

4. Stir vegetables gently, replace the lid, and reduce the heat to medium-low; cook until the vegetables are very soft and tender, about 60 minutes more.

5. Remove the vegetables from the heat, and stir in parsley and marjoram. Season with salt and pepper.

Ma's Chicken Cacciatore (Hunter Style)

This is my mother's recipe. :)

6 boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup or more of olive oil
Flour
Salt pepper
4-6 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
1 yellow onion sliced thinly
6-8 small red and yellow peppers
1/2 to 3/4 cup red wine
1 can of crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon of gravy master (optional)
1 cup of sliced cremini mushrooms
Fresh basil, cut into ribbons
Fresh oregano, chopped
Fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Chicken broth or water

Season the flour with salt and pepper and then dredge the chicken in the flour; shake off the excess.

Brown the chicken in the olive oil slowly on all sides. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Now add garlic, onions, peppers and mushrooms to pan, cook and stir up the drippings for about 5-6 minutes until they are softened. Add back the chicken.

Combine the tomatoes, gravy master, wine, spices and add to the pan. Bring mixture to a gentle boil, lower heat, cover and simmer for about 30-35 minutes, turning once. Check the liquid level, if too dry add small amounts of water or chicken broth to keep liquid covering the chick and veg. Adjust salt if needed. Can be served over pasta or rice. Garnish with parsley.

Tabbouleh

Making this recipe was a bit odd because the version that I read in Saveur magazine was slightly different than the version I was able to find online at saveur.com. Ultimately I did a mash-up of the 2 recipes and it worked out. :) My wife didn't like the cinnamon and allspice and I think the recipe would be good without it as well. I happen to like that spice undercurrent. If you leave out the spices, I would use less of the pomegranate molasses so the dish is not too sweet.

The pomegranate molasses is pretty easy to make. 4 c pomegranate juice to 1/2 c sugar and 1 T lemon juice. Mix together and dissolve the sugar over moderate heat. Bring to a boil and then immediately lower heat to a low simmer and cook for 45 mins till it reduces to a syrup.

SERVES 4-6

Magazine version

3 c packed parsley rough chopped
1 ½ c packed mint rough chopped
½ c olive oil
½ c lemon juice
1 T pomegranate molasses
½ t allspice
½ t cinnamon
4 tomatoes minced
1 medium red onion minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Online version

3 tbsp. fine bulgur
1 lb. ripe tomatoes, cored and minced
3 ½ cups minced flat-leaf parsley
1 ¼ cups minced mint leaves
⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
5 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
¼ tsp. ground allspice
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
4 scallions, thinly sliced crosswise
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Mash-up

1/2 c quinoa (gluten free bulgar replacement)

3 c packed parsley rough chopped
1 ½ c packed mint rough chopped
½ c olive oil
½ c lemon juice
1 T pomegranate molasses
½ t allspice
½ t cinnamon

1 lb. ripe tomatoes, cored and minced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine bulgur and ½ cup warm water in a bowl and let soak for 10 minutes. Drain bulgur, rinse thoroughly, and transfer to a large bowl along with remaining ingredients. Toss to combine; serve immediately. (mag version - let sit 10 minutes before serving)

Bucatini all’Amatriciana

This recipe comes from Maria De Cesare and Romano Gordini in Food and Wine magazine. It's very similar to another dish that I posted not too long ago - Pasta with Guanciale, Tomatoe, and Chile. This one is more acidic since it has the wine and vinegar, but just as good in its own way. I up the amounts to make this for 1 lb of pasta by using 26-28 oz tomatoes and 2 1/2 T wine and vinegar.

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1/4 pound guanciale or pancetta, cut into 1/2-by- 1/4-inch strips
1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons dry white wine
One 14.5-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes with their juices, crushed
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
10 ounces bucatini
Freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

In a large, deep skillet, heat the oil. Add the onion and cook over moderately low heat until very soft, 7 minutes. Add the guanciale and cook until translucent, 3 minutes. Add the vinegar, wine, tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of water and simmer until thick, 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

In a pot of salted boiling water, cook the bucatini until al dente; reserve 2 tablespoons of the cooking water. Drain the pasta, add it to the sauce along with the reserved cooking water and cook over moderate heat, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in 3 tablespoons of cheese. Serve right away, passing more cheese at the table.