Catching up - step back to Sunday

Lidia's pasta, with slight variations

I'm not sure how the days get away from me. It's not like I have so much to do here, and really, I feel like I could be accomplishing so much more. I am managing to get my workout in most mornings though, but by the time I have breakfast, work out, and shower, most of the morning is gone! So, I am a few days behind on my menus. I'll start where I left off... Saturday we had crepes. Sunday I made a simple pasta. I tend to do one day of something a bit complicated, and the next day I do a simple meal to offset it. This is a pasta dish that I first encountered during a pledge drive for KQED, our local public TV station in SF. Yes, I'm that much of a celebrity stalker that I volunteered to answer phones during a pledge drive because Lidia Bastianich was going to be there. She made this dish during one of the pledge segments, and then we (the volunteers) got to eat it! Lots of people go to Lidia's restaurants, but how many people can say that they had food that she actually cooked herself - while you watched! I was super happy. And then, she autographed books, and spent time chatting with everyone. I spoke to her in my limited Italian, and could not have been more thrilled. She is truly a gracious person. This has become one of my go-to pasta dishes, as I generally have most of the items on hand. Often, I will add peas (as I did Sunday) or maybe eggplant, just to give it a twist, but I always use the fennel and sausage, although not always Italian sausage - if I have wild boar on hand, I'll use that, and sometimes I'll use a mix of sweet and spicy sausages. Disclaimer: the photo above is of a different time when I made this pasta, as I forgot to take a photo the other night! Here's Lidia's version, direct from her website, lidiasitaly.com:

salt for the pasta water
1 pound ziti
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, without fennel seeds
1 large fennel bulb, about 1 pound
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, cut in half-moon slices
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
1/2 cup tomato paste
3 cups finely chopped fennel fronds
1 cup freshly grated pecorino, or Grana or Parmigiano

Heat a large pot of salted water to boiling for the pasta. Drop the ziti into the boiling water, then bring back to a boil and cook until the ziti are not quite al dente. Drain, reserving 3 cups of the pasta water. While the pasta is cooking, remove the sausage from its casing and break the meat up a bit with your fingers. Trim the fennel bulb, removing any tough outer parts, reserving the fronds. Slice the bulb in half lengthwise, remove core then slice each half in ¼- inch- thick lengthwise slices.

Separate the slivers of fennel if they are attached at the bottom; cut the long slivers in half so you have about 3 cups of 2- inch- long matchsticks of fennel. Heat the olive oil in a skillet set over medium- high heat. Add the sausage meat, and cook, stirring and breaking it up more with a wooden spoon, until it sizzles and begins to brown, about 1½ minutes. Push the sausage to the sides of the pan, and drop the onion slices into the clear part of the pan; sauté, stirring, until they sizzle and wilt, another 2 minutes or so, then stir them in with the meat. Clear a new space, and drop in the fennel; let it heat up and wilt for 1 minute or more, then stir to combine.

Sprinkle on ¼ teaspoon salt; drop the hot red pepper flakes into a cleared hot spot, and toast the flakes for ½ a minute, then stir to combine. Clear a good sized hot spot in the center of the pan, plop in the tomato paste, and cook, stirring it in the spot, for a good minute of more, until it is sizzling and caramelizing. Then stir it in with everything else.

Ladle the reserved pasta water into the skillet, stir well, and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and let cook until the flavors have developed, the sauce is thickened but not too thick, and the fennel is soft but not mushy, 6 minutes or more. (Add more water if the sauce reduces too rapidly.) Season to taste.

Drop the cooked ziti into the simmering sauce. Toss everything together, then sprinkle over it the chopped fennel fronds, and continue to cook until the ziti are perfectly al dente and cooked with the sauce.

Remove the skillet from the heat, sprinkle the grated cheese over the ziti, and toss it in. Serve the hot pasta right from the skillet into warm pasta bowls.

Gnocchi

Today, I'm making gnocchi!  A bit intimidating at first, but really not hard once you get the hang of it.  It is a little bit time consuming, so it's a good weekend meal. Since I have all day to cook here, while I work on the cleaning project, I thought I would take advantage of the time.  It's nice to start these early, and give each step in the process lots of time, but you can also get this done in a couple of hours with no pauses.  Mom and dad usually eat these with just butter and sage, but I think I'll make a cognac cream sauce with peas tonight.  Trying to get those veggies in where I can!

Gnocchi

3-4 large potatoes 

1 large egg, lightly beaten 

1 tsp kosher salt 

¼ tsp pepper (use white pepper if you don’t want the black specks to show) 

1 ½ to 2 cups all purpose flour 

• Fill a large pot with cold water. Add whole unpeeled potatoes and bring to boil. Cook till tender. Drain and cool till you can handle, and then peel. Put through a food mill or ricer, spread out on a board and allow to cool completely. 

Potatoes cooling

• Once potatoes are cooled, form a mound and make a well in the center. Put egg, salt and pepper into center of the well and stir into the potatoes. 

Mixing the egg into the potatoes

• Once combined, add flour about ¼ cup at a time until you have a nice dough (it will still be a little sticky, which is ok because more flour will be incorporated as you roll them out). Knead for about 3 minutes. Do not overwork or add too much flour or the dough will become heavy. 

After the dough has been kneaded

• Cut dough into about 8 sections and on a well floured surface, roll each one out into a ½” thick log and slice into ½” sections. Roll each little section onto the tines of a fork dusted with flour, making an indentation with your thumb as you roll. Spread gnocchi out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment of wax paper that has been sprinkled with a little flour. At this point, gnocchi can be frozen on the cookie sheet and then transferred to a freezer bag once frozen. 

Rolling onto the fork

mid-roll

• If you are cooking the gnocchi right away, bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add a good amount of salt, as if you were cooking pasta. While the water comes to a boil, make sauce (see next page). Drop about ½ of the gnocchi in and stir immediately to make sure they don’t stick. After about 2-3 minutes, they will begin to rise to the surface. Cook for about 1 more minute after this happens, then fish them out with a spider or a large slotted spoon. Put on a plate with a little butter and cover to keep warm while you cook the 2nd half.

Cognac-Cream Sauce with Peas

2-3 shallots, finely chopped 

1 clove garlic, minced 

2 tbsp butter 

1/4 cup cognac 

1/2 cup heavy cream 

1 cup frozen peas 

Salt & pepper to taste 

• Melt butter in a large skillet, add shallots and garlic and sauté till soft, 2-3 minutes. 
• Add cognac and reduce. Add cream, salt and pepper and let it come to a simmer. Cook very gently for about 5 minutes. (put the gnocchi in the boiling water once you reach this stage) Add the peas and heat through for about a minute. Turn off heat. Once the gnocchi are ready, fish out of water with a spider and put into the sauce. Toss very gently. Serve with parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top. 

Simmering sauce

Beef Stew

Rainy San Francisco days call for stew (even if my father doesn't like stews - sorry Father!). Perfect for when you are house bound for hours, a stew will warm up the house and fill it with wonderful slow-cooked smells. Not the best photo, and I forgot to picture the piece of cornbread that went with it, but you get the idea.

Beef Stew

Prep time: 30 minutes. Cook time: 3 hours

2 1/2 lbs cubed chuck roast
4 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. butter
1 bag frozen pearl onions
6 carrots, cut into 1" pieces (more or less)
6 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tbsp. tomato paste
3 tbsp. flour
1/2 bottle good quality red wine
4 cups organic beef broth
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs rosemary
4 russet potatoes, cut into 1 1/2" pieces (more or less)
1 cup frozen peas
salt & pepper to taste

• Heat oil and butter in a large, heavy pan over medium high heat. Season beef with salt and pepper and brown, working in batches (if you crowd the beef, it will steam), about 15 minutes. As pieces are browned on both sides, remove to a plate.
• When all beef is browned, remove all but 2 tbsp. of the butter and oil, add onions and carrots, sprinkle with a bit of salt, and cook for about 5-7 minutes till nicely browned. Add garlic and cook for about a minute more. Add tomato paste and cook for about 2 minutes.
• Return browned beef to pan, along with any accumulated juices. Sprinkle with flour, stir, and cook for 1-2 minutes.
• Add wine, broth, bay leaf, rosemary, and about 1 tbsp of salt. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer very slowly for about an hour and a half.
• Add potatoes and continue to cook uncovered for about an hour and a half. About 5 minutes before it's done, add peas.
• Serve with corn bread, or a crusty bread to soak up juices.

Serves 6

As with most stews, this is even better the next day, and will freeze very well too.