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Scarola di Nonna Luciana

For Christmas 2022, we were blessed to celebrate with the Milone-Cohen family. Renato, from Salerno, on the Amalfi Coast of Italy, prepared Christmas dinner for this house of Jews. Among the delicacies we enjoyed was this traditional scarola dish from his grandmother, Nonna Luciana. Whenever we are lucky enough to eat Renato’s cooking, it is usually accompanied by an equally delicious story. His Nonna Luciana, a fiery, strong-willed woman with a big heart, is often the protagonist. Most recently, Renato shared with me that whenever she would make the escarole, or anything really, her daughter-in-law would reprimand her for the large quantity of olive oil she would use. Not one to take criticism lightly, and definitely not in the kitchen, Nonna Luciana would not respond without a heavy rebuke in the form of fast hand movements and a quick-witted invective along the lines of non rompere le palle. So if you want to make this in its most authentic form, use plenty of olive oil and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!

Renato boils the bitter escarole first and then sautes it with garlic, anchovy, green olives, capers, and raisins. The result is a divine mix of salty, savory, vegetal and slightly sweet. It is the perfect accompaniment to almost anything, including pasta, meats and chicken and fish. It’s a traditional Christmas dish in the south of Italy, but if you make it in the middle of summer, I don’t think anyone will mind.

Ingredients:

3 bunches escarole/endive, cleaned and roughly chopped

Extra virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup

4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

3 anchovy filets 

Capers, 1/3 cup

Chopped green olives, 1/2 cup

Raisins, 1/3 cup

Crushed red pepper flakes or Aleppo pepper, 1/4 tsp

In a large pot of boiling water, add 2 tbsp salt and add escarole. Boil for about 20 minutes and drain. While the escarole is cooking, add the olive oil, garlic, capers, anchovy, olives, raisins and chili flakes to a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute for about 5 minutes. Once the escarole is drained of all water, add to the saute pan and continue cooking for about 20 minutes over medium heat. Enjoy!

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Date Cookies  גלילת תמרים

Home-cooked meals bestowed upon us in the most needy of times are usually the most appreciated and enjoyed. If you have had the fortune to receive the kindness of others during a time of sickness or in this case, birth, you know what I mean. After the birth of our son, Levi, we were incredibly fortunate to receive so many thoughtful gifts and visits from friends and family, including some delicious meals, which filled our hungry bellies, sustained our tired bodies and warmed our souls. Among those meals was a sweet dessert from an even sweeter woman named Rivkale. She brought us chicken cous-cous, salad and a small box of soft and delicately sweet date cookies rolled in coconut that never left my memory. Almost two and a half years later, I have recreated the recipe, which is incredibly simple and quick to make. Four ingredients and no oven required, these date cookies will please just about anyone, anytime.

Ingredients: ***

Date paste or pitted and mashed dates, 375gr (1package, baking dates)

Butter,  4 tbsp or 60 gr

Tea biscuit/galleta Maria or other plain cookie, 150-200gr (depending on how much cookie crumb you want inside. These were made with 200gr but I've made them with less and been equally satisfied with the result)

Unsweetened, shredded coconut, 1 cup

Melt the butter in a saucepan or microwave and either by hand in a bowl or in a food processor, combine with date paste until homogenous. Separately, crush the biscuits/cookies until they resemble a very course crumb with chunks in it.

In a bowl, combine cookie mixture with date mixture until homogenous. 

Spread the coconut onto a sheet pan for rolling afterwards. (I had to put the shredded coconut I had through the food processor in order to get a finer shred, so that it would stick to the date roll. If you find that your coconut is also too course, I recommend processing it in the food processor until it’s a finer texture, close to a powder.)

Next, divide the mixture into two and then roll into a sausage-like shape, about 1.5in or 4cm in diameter. You can use a clean counter to roll it on. Once shaped, coat the date roll in coconut, pressing slightly so that the coconut sticks to the roll.

Wrap in plastic wrap as tightly as possible and freeze for at least 30 minutes or refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours. Slice with a sharp knife, into about 0.5 cm slices.

*** Disclaimer: I’m not endorsing these specific products, but want to provide an example of what type of product I'm referring to, since they’re not common, everyday products available in the US. 

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Pasta e Ceci (pasta with chickpeas)

Pasta e ceci is a deliciously simple, classic Roman dish that dates back many centuries, even millennia. Despite having a slightly shorter history in my kitchen, pasta e ceci has quickly become a favorite, even with little Levi. Extremely versatile and never the same twice, there exist many variations on this classic combination of pasta cooked in chickpea broth. My version mirrors the cooking style of our dear friend and excellent cook, Renato Milone, who has many identities, including drummer, professor of musical composition and nonna (Italian grandmother). In full disclosure, his version includes carrots, celery and onion, which you’re more than welcome to include. Growing up in Salerno, on the Amalfi coast, Renato learned his way around the kitchen from his mother, like any good Italian son. His breadth of knowledge about cooking in general never ceases to impress me, nor do his exquisitely simple pasta dishes. I accepted from the first time I tried his lasagna that I could never attain the same result, relying on a recipe, general cooking experience, and even a cooking degree from a neighboring Mediterranean country. I’m missing the nonna in me.

That being said, I will try my best with this recipe. It’s a comforting dish for the wintertime, somewhere between soup and macaroni and cheese (in the most complimentary way). It’s also something that you should be able to whip up without a lot of fresh ingredients on hand. While there are many versions, I prefer mine with just a little tomato, creamy enough to eat with a spoon, and topped with a fair amount of Parmigiano. For pasta, I use a very small cavatelli, but you can use any small pasta such as ditalini, tubetti or even macaroni. Although you can make pasta e ceci with canned chickpeas, this recipe is for dried, as I find them infinitely superior in texture and quality. The water from cooking the chickpeas is essential for the dish; the pasta and everything else is cooked in it. Be sure to soak the dried chickpeas overnight or for 8-12 hours. The anchovies play the important role of giving the dish depth of flavor, however, you shouldn’t actually taste them once finished.

Ingredients:

Dried chickpeas/garbanzo beans, 1.5 cups/300 gr Small pasta such as cavatelli, ditalini, tubetti, 600 gr 2 tomatoes, grated (grate flesh and seeds, leaving skin behind) Garlic, 4 cloves 5 anchovy filets Olive oil, 1/4 cup Fresh rosemary, 3 sprigs Salt and pepper, to taste Pepperoncino (red pepper flakes), to taste

Optional: soffritto Olive oil, a few tablespoons Garlic, 2 cloves, sliced Pepperoncino, a pinch Parsley, 1/2 cup, chopped

Also, optional: Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated, to taste

Soak the dried chickpeas for 8-12 hours, changing the water once or twice, if possible. In a large pot, add the hydrated chickpeas, sprigs of fresh rosemary, whole garlic cloves and abundant water (about 12 cups). Cook until chickpeas are soft, which can take between 30 minutes -1.5 hours, depending on how long the chickpeas soaked. Keep the chickpeas and all the water, as you will use this to cook the pasta with the rest of the ingredients.

Once the chickpeas are soft, you can optionally remove the skins of the chickpeas. Most of them should have released their skins already and you just need to pick them out of the water. I do this because I prefer a slightly more refined result without the fibrous shell of the chickpea. Also remove the center part of the rosemary sprig. Add the anchovy filets, grated tomato, salt, pepper, pepperoncino, and pasta. Add boiling water if necessary to ensure everything is submerged in liquid. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until pasta is al dente. If necessary, add more water so that you have a good amount of broth and the result is loose and creamy, but not nearly as loose as a chicken soup, for example. The dish will continue to absorb liquid after cooking, so some extra liquid at the end is beneficial. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add olive oil to finish, or make a soffritto by heating some olive oil in a small saute pan and adding 2 sliced garlic cloves and a pinch of pepperoncino. Pour the soffritto over the pasta and add some chopped parsley. Also optional, serve with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

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Summer Salad

At the height of summer, when the farmers markets are bursting with beautiful fruits and vegetables of every variety and at home, the kitchen is hot, there’s no better solution than a big salad. Super crunchy, flavorful, lemony and refreshing, this salad celebrates summer in all its glory. With the addition of many atypical ingredients, its an embellishment of the typical Israeli/Jerusalem salad. These are the ingredients I chose based on what was at the market, but it’s definitely flexible, especially the quantities. This version has less tomatoes than usual. If you really like tomato, add more. Don’t remove the cilantro, apple or lemon, as they provide a lot of flavor. The key is to chop all the ingredients finely and dress it with plenty of lemon and salt. It’s best eaten with a big spoon.

Ingredients: 

 5 pickling cucumbers or 1 large cucumber 2 Tomatoes 1 medium fresh onion or a bunch of scallions Cilantro, 1 bunch 1 Apple Corn, 3 cobs Green and/or yellow wax beans, 1/2 lb 2 bell peppers Lemon juice, 1/2 cup Extra virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup Salt, to taste

Chop the cucumbers, tomatoes, onion/scallion, apple, beans and peppers finely. Remove the kernels from the cobs of corn and chop the cilantro finely. Combine all the ingredients and dress with the lemon juice, olive oil and salt to taste. Enjoy!

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Zucchini Rice  Κολοκυθόρυζο

It’s not often that I come across a dish that is so delicious that I feel immediately compelled to post it here, for others to make and enjoy as soon as possible. This recipe, however, which I discovered on an un-assuming Greek recipe website (this is the best type of recipe archive in my opinion), is one of those. It’s the kind of recipe that a mother would make for her hungry children, one that you would find on any old summer evening or weekend afternoon, served with feta cheese, bread, grilled meats, or salads, without much fanfare. This kind of dish definitely belongs to the Greek matriarch; I have a hard time imagining it on a restaurant menu. 

It’s my favorite kind of recipe for several reasons. First, as I mentioned, it’s a somewhat obscure dish that you may only find by sitting down at a family dinner in Greece, despite containing the most common ingredients and preparation. Second, it contains basic and inexpensive ingredients, so it’s easy and cheap. Third, it’s so absolutely delicious that I couldn’t stop thinking about the leftovers sitting in the fridge all day and night, and ended up polishing it off without heating it up, standing over the counter, with a big spoon. For me, the length of time that the leftovers last is a pretty good measure of its success. Fourth, it’s comprised of mostly vegetables, which makes it quite healthy. This recipe is quite simple: rice cooked with zucchini, tomato and some herbs. Its appeal lies in its texture, which is soft and almost velvety due to the breakdown of the rice and zucchini, and the flavor nuances from the mint and dill. It’s serious comfort food.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Zucchini, 2 lbs (preferably small to medium size), sliced into bite-sized pieces Short or medium-grain rice, 1/4 cup 2 tomatoes, grated 1 yellow or white onion, chopped or sliced finely Fresh dill, 1/2 cup chopped finely Mint, 1/2 cup chopped finely Olive oil, 1/4 cup Salt, 2 tsp Pepper, to taste Water, about 300ml or 1.25 cups

In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, saute the onion with a little bit of olive oil until soft and golden. Add the rice and water and bring to a boil. Cook for a few minutes and then add the tomato pulp and zucchini. Cook for about 45 minutes or until the zucchini is very soft. Season for salt and pepper and remove from heat. Stir in the dill, mint and the rest of the olive oil. Best served warm or at room temperature, with feta cheese or alone. Enjoy!

Adapted from Cook Like Greeks

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Stinging Nettle Malfatti

As summer arrives in all its glory, the farmers markets are back, and so is my blog. Recently from Middle Earth Farm at the Brookline Farmers Market, I found some beautiful stinging nettle, which, given the rarity of wild greens available in Boston, I couldn’t resist. Stinging nettle, a nutritious wild green that grows rampantly at this time of year, is perfect for making malfatti, a dumpling from Lombardia, similar to gnocchi. Malfatti, which literally translates to ‘badly formed’ is also known as naked ravioli, and is easier and less time-consuming to make than gnocchi.

If you don’t have access to stinging nettles, which I realize is quite likely, spinach or any other mild green such as Swiss chard is a fine substitute. 

As a sauce for the delicate malfatti, I felt it was essential to use a light and creamy sauce to compliment the dumplings. It’s essentially a light béchamel enriched with fontina and Parmigiano Reggiano. Feel free to use a different sauce; the most typical is to saute the malfatti in butter and sage.

A word of warning if you are using stinging nettle: in their unaltered state, stinging nettle can be very painful to the touch due to the little hairs on the surface of the leaves that, when broken, contain several chemicals that sting the skin. However, once they are boiled, sautéed, or juiced, they are completely harmless. To avoid any unpleasant encounters with this wonderful spring treat, always use gloves to handle it before cooking it.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Malfatti:

Stinging nettle, 10oz / 300gr Ricotta, strained, 7oz / 200gr/ 3/4 cup* All-purpose flour, 9oz / 250gr / 2 cups Parmigiano Reggiano, 4oz / 120gr / 1 1/4 cup 2 eggs 1 onion 3 garlic cloves Olive oil, 1 tbsp Salt, 1 heaping tsp Pepper, to taste Nutmeg, a pinch

Sauce:

Butter, 1 tbsp Flour, 1 tbsp Whole milk, 1 cup Fontina cheese, 1/4 cup /1.5oz/40gr Parmigiano Reggiano, 1 tbsp/15gr/0.5oz

*The ricotta I find at the local market is too watery for a recipe like this, so I put it in a cheesecloth or other tightly knit towel and squeeze as much water out as I can. I was able to remove about 1/3 cup of liquid from their 15oz/425gr tub. 

Bring a large pot of water to boil and add the stinging nettles or spinach and completely submerge. Let cook for 1-2 minutes and then drain in colander under cold water. Once cooled, remove the thick stems from the nettles using a scissors. Squeeze out all excess water from the leaves. This is very important so that you do not end up with a loose dough from any water left in the greens. Then, add the greens to the food processor and process until paste-like.

Remove the greens and add a roughly chopped onion and garlic; puree. Sauté the onion and garlic puree with the olive oil until translucent. While that is cooling, combine the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl. Add the cooled onion and garlic and mix with your hands until a mostly homogenous green color is achieved. 

Before working the dough, fill a large pot with water and abundant salt (as salty as the sea) and put over high heat to boil.

Separate the dough into 4 portions and roll each portion on a heavily floured surface into a log with an approximately 1-inch diameter. 

You can also shape each piece separately according to your own preference, such as a football shape or ball. I prefer the gnocchi style; it’s also faster to make. 

Using a sharp, heavy knife such as a chef’s knife, make a clean cut for each malfatti, about an inch long. Use abundant flour when rolling and cutting so that the dumplings don’t stick to the knife. Try to make as clean a cut as possible, without much slicing motion, to avoid the dumplings sticking together or to the knife.

Once you’ve cut all the malfatti, make the sauce. Add the butter to a large saucepan on medium heat. When melted, add the flour and whisk until bubbling but not browned; less than a minute. Then add the milk, pepper and nutmeg and whisk until slightly thickened, which should take a few minutes. Once thickened, add grated cheese and whisk until dissolved. Taste for salt and add as needed. Remove from heat.

Then, add the dumplings to the boiling water. You can do 2 batches so that they cook evenly and don’t stick together in the pot. Cook for 3-4 minutes, and make sure they are all floating when removing from the pot. Using a flat strainer, remove the malfatti and add them to the sauce, or serve on top of the sauce on a plate. Sprinkle with some freshly grated Parmigiano. Bon appetito!

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Chicken Soup

In the depths of a New England  winter, I can think of few more inviting dishes to indulge in than a bowl of hot chicken soup. It’s perfect for just about any old day in January, but if there is snow on the ground, a tickle in your throat or a toddler to feed, it’s pretty close to a godsend. While chicken soup doesn’t normally require much of a recipe so much as an ingredient list, this version has a few additions and details which contribute to its elevated status as a meal in and of itself, at least if you’re not apres-ski or apres-shovel. The soup is chock-full of vegetables, beyond your usual carrots and celery. In a nod to the traditional Israeli version of chicken soup, I include zucchini, sweet potato as well as garbanzo beans.

The secret ingredients include butternut squash, which after simmering for a couple hours, creates a creamy texture, contributing to a thicker and very slightly sweet broth. I also like to use hawaij, which is a Yemenite spice blend usually used to make soup that is comprised of cumin, turmeric, black pepper and coriander. The hawaij adds some depth of flavor and a deeper color. (It’s very hard to find in US, so I’ve provided the individual spice measurements below).

The resulting soup is comforting, wholesome and brimming with tender vegetables and juicy chicken. It’s perfectly yummy eaten on its own in a big bowl with a spoon to match, though I would recommend trying it ladled over some whole wheat cous-cous, sprinkled with lemon juice and swirled with harissa.

Feeds an army (or about 8-10 large servings)

Ingredients:

Bone-in and skin-on chicken pieces including breast, thigh, leg, 3 lbs 1 large onion, large dice Celery, 5 stalks, sliced into bite size pieces Carrots, peeled and sliced into bite size pieces, 1 lb Butternut squash, large dice, 1 lb 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced Zucchini, peeled and sliced into bite size pieces, 1 lb Parsnips, peeled and sliced into bite size pieces, 1 lb Garbanzo beans, 1 can or about 1.5 cups cooked (optional) Salt and pepper, to taste Hawaij, 2 tbsp (if you don’t have it, use 1 tbsp turmeric, 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander) Water, about 8 cups

In an 8-quart stock pot on high heat, add the chicken, onion, celery and enough water plus an inch or two; at least 8 cups. Add a pinch of salt. While that is coming to a boil, peel and slice the carrots, butternut squash, sweet potato, zucchini and parsnip. Once the soup mixture has begun to boil, lower the heat to medium and continue to cook for about 60 minutes. Then, add all the vegetables and garbanzo beans, as well as the spices, and cook for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the chicken meat is falling off the the bone. This soup enjoys very tender vegetables. If you don’t like yours so soft, you can add them closer to the end, giving them just about 30 minutes to cook. Once the soup has cooled slightly, remove the chicken and take the meat off the bone, discarding the bone and adding the meat back into the soup. Season with salt and pepper.

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Aunt Hanna’s Meatballs  הקציצות של דודה חנה

This year we have many blessings to be thankful for, among them, our new neighbors, the lovely Rebecca and Avihu. In a New York minute, they decided to move into a vacant apartment in our building. Since the beginning of the year, we’ve had the fortune to share our meals on countless occasions, some last-minute and intimate, and others, meticulously planned, executed, and involving the transport of extra chairs up and down the stairs. 

Our relationship has become what we always hoped for in a place more known for strangers that look past you in the stairwell, than sharing keys, cake, baking soda and cookies. We’ve had the opportunity to explore each other’s cooking repertoires which span the globe from Zurich to the shores of the Kineret to Greece and back. We share tahini mail orders, grilled meat on Yom Hatzmaut and bitters herbs for Passover. At the top of the list are Avihu’s ktzitzot, or meatballs, which first were bestowed upon us after the birth of our son, Levi. A couple days after arriving home from the hospital, we were greeted by what was probably a week’s worth of the most delicious, home-cooked Israeli food, what looked like 10 pounds of meatballs, schnitzel, tahini, quiche, m’sabacha and salad. They single-handedly kept us alive and well for that first, world-rocking week with a newborn. 

Next time, we received a lunch bag with 2 pita sandwiches, stuffed with Avihu’s fragrant and tender ktzitzot, intended for us to take on a trip to Walden Pond for the day. Since then, I’ve been thinking about this recipe and now, I’m sharing it with you all. Passed down from the matriarch of the Bibi family from Irbil, Iraq, savta Georgia Bibi, to Avihu’s aunt, Hanna Bibi of Tel Aviv, they’ve become a staple on Pesach as well as year-round in the Bibi family.

The meatballs are especially tender, given the addition of zucchini and the absence of egg; they’re extremely flavorful, with the depth of flavor from the combination of fresh mint and parsley with the more exotic nuances of the baharat. Baharat translates literally to ‘spices’ in Arabic, but is commonly used to describe a variety of blends used for cooking. The ktzitzot can be made in the oven or on the grill. By swapping out the bread crumbs for matzo meal, they’re kosher for Passover. Serve with tahini sauce (recipe below).

Makes 14-16 meatballs

Ingredients:

Ground beef, 1 lb 1 medium onion, very finely diced 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1 medium zucchini, finely grated Bread crumbs or matzo, 4 tbsp Parsley, about 10 sprigs or ½ cup, finely chopped Fresh mint, about 10 sprigs or ½ cup, finely chopped Extra virgin olive oil, 1 tbsp Cumin, 1 tsp Cinnamon, ¼ tsp Allspice, ¼ tsp Black pepper, 1 ½ tsp Spicy paprika, ½ tsp Salt, 1 tsp

Combine the beef, onion, garlic, zucchini, bread crumbs, parsley, and mint in a large bowl. 

In a small bowl apart, mix the spices with the olive oil and salt.

Add this mixture to the beef mixture and gently combine all ingredients.  Refrigerate for 1 hour, to help the mixture combine and the flavors to deepen.

Then, with lightly oiled hands, form the beef into balls about a ¼ cup in size. 

For baking, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place meatballs on a baking sheet and bake in the top part of the oven for about 5 minutes on each side. Can also be made in the broiler.

For the grill, on a hot to medium-hot grill, grill for about 7 minutes on each side. 

Tahini sauce: makes about 1 cup

Tahini paste, 1/3 cup Water1/4 cup Lemon juice, 1 tbsp Salt, a pinch

Make sure to stir the tahini paste in the jar before measuring it, as the solids and oil separate. Then, combine paste with water, lemon and salt and whisk or blend with a fork until fluffy and the consistency of a thin non-Greek yogurt.

[sabrinapashtan]

Carrot and Lentil Soup

Despite the April date and official spring designation, weather around this time can be predictably unpredictable. Given that, and the late start to farmers markets in New England, I find this soup to be perfectly appropriate for an ironically snowy, April evening (it’s equally delicious on a sunny afternoon). Only containing a few, pantry-friendly ingredients and quick to make, this soup couldn’t be easier to whip up any night of the week. In fact, I believe I started making this after coming back from a trip and only having a few things in the fridge and cupboard.

As far as taste is concerned, the zippy lemon offsets the sweetness of the carrots while the lentils add some heartiness (not to mention a lot of fiber, protein and iron), and the spicy harissa provides spice. Harissa is a moroccan spicy pepper condiment. It may be tricky to find. As a substitute you can use any hot pepper paste such as sriracha.

This carrot and lentil soup is ultra-light yet filling, as healthy as they come, delicious and easy to make. What more can you ask for? 

Makes about 5 servings

Ingredients:

Carrots, 2 lbs, peeled and sliced Red lentils, 1 cup 1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped 3 cloves garlic Lemon juice, 1/3 cup Olive oil, 2 tbsp Salt and pepper to taste Water, approximately 8 cups Cilantro, 1 cup, chopped Harissa, serve as condiment (optional)

Coarsely chop the onion and garlic and add it to a large stockpot with the olive oil, on medium heat.

Saute until translucent and then add the carrots and lentils. Add water and cook on medium low heat until the carrots are soft, approximately 30 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender or a stand up blender until halfway to completely smooth. I like to have some texture from the carrots.

Taste for salt and pepper and add lemon juice. Add water if needed; consistency should a thin puree. Optionally, though a delicious option, garnish with chopped cilantro and harissa. 

[sabrinapashtan]

MDAR plus pesto

Summertime in New England is a joyous time for us fellow cooks. Beautiful, ripe and absolutely delicious fruits and vegetables are in abundance: crunchy cucumbers just picked off the vine, fragrant tomatoes, juicy peaches and even the occasional squash blossom for stuffing.

While farmers have graced us with their beautiful bounty across the region, it’s our job to seek it out. As we all know, sourcing good food can be just as involved (and rewarding) as cooking it. Summer weekends are spent visiting farmers markets, farm stands and pick-your-own farms with the objective of finding the perfect produce. 

If you’re interested in frolicking through MA farmland like I am (or consuming MA grown food in any shape or form), I recommend the MDAR (Massachusetts Department of Agriculture) website for their comprehensive resources on farmers’ markets, u-pick and CSA farms, as well as general agro-tourism. Their state map is incredibly helpful for planning an afternoon of fun farm activities, like picking your own flowers at the incredibly cute, and aptly named, Small Farm in Stow or cherry picking at the friendly Carver Hill Orchard just down the road. 

With summer bounty, comes summer responsibility and work. If you want to take full advantage of seasonal produce, you must process, can, and freeze. Around this time of year, basil comes in full force and when the bunches are fattest, I know it’s pesto time. With just a few simple ingredients and at a very reasonable price, you can enjoy homemade pesto year-round. I recommend using freezer bags which also come with labels, so you can identify them with dates. We’ve enjoyed our pesto for close to a year after freezing. I hope you do too!

Ingredients:

Basil, 5oz or 4 cups Walnuts, 3/4 cup (feel free to use pine nuts if preferred) Grated parmesan and or parmesan/romano blend, 3/4 cup Extra virgin olive oil, 2 tbsp Water, 1 tbsp if needed Salt, 1/4 tsp

Toast nuts until golden and combine all ingredients in food processor.

Blend until combined and then taste. Add a little water if the consistency is too dry (too dry to mix cohesively) and add salt to taste. 

Scoop into freezer-safe bags or containers, about one cup per bag/container. Freeze, refrigerate for later, or use immediately.

This is a concentrated pesto that is best added to recipes and when using for pasta, mixing with a generous amount of the water used from cooking the pasta.

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Stuffed Zucchini with Avgolemono Sauce  Κολοκυθάκια γεμιστά

I had the recent fortune of staying in a beautiful village in the mountains of Crete. A paradise in its own right, the island boasts a cuisine all its own. Every meal was a delicious exploration of Greek and Cretan cooking, and this dish was one of the highlights. I came home determined to try my hand at it, and share it with all of you. It’s a summer comfort food: fat, juicy zucchinis stuffed with fragrant beef, smothered in a bright lemon sauce.

I recommend making this dish with either big zucchinis that you can cut into pieces and then core, or finding these beautiful little limelight zucchinis. The biggest challenge is coring the zucchini. The rest is fairly straightforward and results in a very soft, filled zucchini that you could cut with a fork. It’s meant to be saucy and you can add some other vegetables to the cooking liquid such as carrots as I did here or commonly, potatoes

.

Ingredients:

Limelight zucchini or other short, fat summer squash, 3 lbs or about 6-8 Ground beef, 1/2 lb 1 onion, finely diced or grated Short-grain rice, 3 tbsp Parsley, 1/2 cup chopped Mint (preferably spearmint if available), 1/2 cup finely chopped Parsley, 1/2 cup finely chopped 1 tomato, grated Olive oil, Nutmeg, to taste Red chili pepper flakes, a pinch Cracked black pepper, to taste Salt, to taste

Avgolemono sauce: 2 eggs Juice of 2 lemons Cooking liquid from stuffed zucchini Salt, to taste Start by coring the zucchini. First, slice off each end with a sharp knife. Then, using a long, skinny sharp knife, make a circular incision on one end, going as deep as you can without puncturing the sides. There should be about a 1/4 inch perimeter for the shell of the zucchini, enough to provide structure and hold the filing without falling apart. Make these circular incisions on each side of the zucchini. Other recipes suggesting using a melon baller or grapefruit spoon, the former I wouldn’t expect to find in any kitchen less than 70 years old, but if you have one and it’s small enough to fit inside without rupturing the walls, you can definitely give it a try. I found that a sharp boning knife works best for me.

Once you’ve removed the middle of the zucchini, chop it up finely and put into a large bowl, combined with the onion, ground beef, rice, parsley and mint, tomato, salt and spices. Once these ingredients are combined, I recommend taking a spoonful and microwaving it for about 20 seconds to cook it thoroughly, and then tasting it for salt and seasoning. Add more salt in necessary and remember that the filling needs to flavor the zucchini shells as well, so don’t be shy.

Carefully stuff the zucchini with the filling, letting any excess liquid drain out and spaces fill in. If there’s leftover stuffing, you can make meatballs and add them to the pan once the zucchini have gone in.

 In a large saucepan,place a little bit of olive oil and the stuffed zucchini. If you have meatballs, place them in the spaces in between, as well as the carrots. Fill the pan with hot water about 3/4 up the height of the zucchini or a little less if you have a very spacious pan.

Cook on low heat for about 50 minutes or until the zucchini are very soft. 

To make the avgolemono sauce, whisk together the lemon juice and eggs in a large bowl. Using a strainer, carefully pour a little (about 1/2 cup) of the cooking liquid left from the saute pan through the strainer into the bowl with the lemon juice and egg. Whisk and then add more liquid, slowly and again, a small amount, in order to temper the eggs to prevent them from cooking in the sauce.  Pour the rest of the cooking liquid and whisk. Taste for salt and season. Add the sauce back to the saute pan over the zucchini and cook on medium heat for a few minutes. Let cool slightly and the sauce should thicken slightly. 

Enjoy!

[sabrinapashtan]

Carrot & Arugula Salad

This is a bright and crunchy salad that is a delight for any time of year. The sweet and crunchy carrots compliment the peppery arugula and bright lemon. The cherries add some chew, and can be substituted for another dried fruit or omitted if you’d prefer.

Over the winter, when I was limited produce on the grocery store shelf, this salad hit the spot. Now that springtime is in full swing, arugula can be found at most farm stands, so if you can get your hands on some, even better. 

Ingredients:

Carrots, 1 lb, peeled and grated Arugula, about 4 cups or 4oz Dried cherries, chopped, 1/2 cup Lemon juice, 1/2 cup Extra virgin olive oil, 2 tbsp Salt, 1/2 tsp or to taste

Combine all ingredients until evenly mixed. If prepared a few hours ahead of time, the carrot will tenderize a bit from the lemon juice. However, after sitting overnight, the cherries will oxidize from the lemon juice and the arugula will wilt, but it will still be tasty!

[sabrinapashtan]

Green Risotto

Here in Boston we recently experienced an awakening, a revival of life, after the hardest winter in the history of Boston. That may sound dramatic, but after dealing with over 9 feet of snow and endless cold, I found myself questioning whether winter would ever end. Thankfully it has, and we are now celebrating with the best the spring has to offer, aside from of course the fresh smell of flora and verdure, an abundance of greens such as spinach, arugula, wild stinging nettles, and perennial favorites like asparagus, rhubarb, radish, ramps and fiddleheads. 

On a recent trip to the gorgeous Hutchins Farm in Concord MA, just down the road from where Ralph Waldo Emerson and Louisa May Alcott once lived, we were lucky enough to get our hands on most of the above. Stinging nettles, ramps and spinach quickly became green risotto, the best dish we’ve enjoyed at home since the late fall. If you don’t have access to stinging nettles or ramps (99% of us), just go with garlic and spinach. Stinging nettles have a mild flavor very similar to spinach. This risotto is very heavy on the greens, bursting with spring, flavor and nutrition. Enjoy!

Makes 4-5 servings

Ingredients:

Arborio rice, 1 1/2 cups Spinach, stinging nettles or another mild green, 6 cups dry packed or 12oz  White wine, 1 1/4 cups Garlic or ramps, 3 cloves or 2 ramps, finely diced 1 yellow onion, finely diced Grated Pecorino Romano, 3/4 cup Butter, 3 tbsp Salt and black pepper, to taste

To start the risotto, boil about 6 cups of water in a covered pot and then let simmer (you can definitely use vegetable stock or even chicken stock for this, but I used water for time’s sake.) In a large saute pan on medium low heat, add the butter and chopped ramps or garlic, and onion and let cook for a few minutes until translucent. Add the rice and stir, then add the white wine. Once the wine has boiled for a minute, begin adding the simmering water, ladle by ladle, until the rice mixture is just covered with liquid. Stir every few minutes with a wooden spoon and add a few ladles of water each time, so that the risotto stays very wet. 

While you’re cooking the rice, chop the spinach in a food processor until fine, but not until it turns to mush. Be careful, as the spinach has a  lot of water and there’s a fine line between perfectly chopped and mush. If you don’t have a food processor, chop it with a knife until the spinach is as fine as you can get it. If you’re using stinging nettles, be sure not to touch them with your bare hands. To handle them, use a pair of tongs or gloves. Boil a large pot of salted water and immerse them for 2 minutes, then strain and run some cold water over them to cool them down quickly. Chop them finely in a food processor or by hand and reserve.

Cook the rice mixture for a total of about 30 minutes, or until the rice is al dente or soft enough to eat. Once you’ve achieved that state, season it with salt and pepper and add the chopped greens and cheese. The mixture should be very wet, but not submerged in liquid.

Taste it again and if it needs more flavor or creaminess, add salt, pepper and cheese. Add more liquid if it's getting dry. It will continue to dry quickly, so a little more liquid than you think necessary isn't always a bad thing, especially for leftovers. Sprinkle with some cheese and serve! Perfect with a dry white wine and some roasted asparagus.

[sabrinapashtan]

Roasted Chicken

Just in time for Passover, this simple and delicious roasted chicken recipe is an easy pleaser and a great (and lower carbon footprint) alternative to the more common brisket. Inspired by the simple roasted chicken of my señora when studying abroad in Spain, the flavors of the braised garlic and roasted pepper are imbibed by the chicken and potatoes, while the carrots lend some subtle sweetness and of course, nutrition. The bonus of using jarred roasted peppers is the flavorful water that the peppers and packed in. However, if you’re roasting your own peppers, perhaps in summer, more power to you! Just make sure not to rinse them after peeling, as you lose a lot of flavor that way.

For me one of the best parts of this roasted chicken recipe is the juice that’s created during the baking. It’s tangy, salty and absolutely perfect for smooshing the potatoes in and dunking the chicken. This is a one-dish, easy and fast to make comfort food. It is elegant and delicious enough for the Passover table or a pleasant surprise for Wednesday night dinner after work.

Ingredients:

2 Chicken thighs, 2 legs, 2 breasts, 2 wings, bone-in and skin-on or about 2 lbs of chicken pieces Small yukon gold potatoes, 1-1 1/2 lbs (preferably organic) Carrots, 2-4 Roasted peppers, 10-12oz (with liquid if using jarred) Garlic, 8-10 cloves Olive oil, 2 tbsp Salt and cracked black pepper, to taste Water, 1 cup

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. In a 9″x11″ or large baking/roasting dish, place the washed, but unpeeled potatoes (unless you’re concerned about blemishes or non-organic, then peel), peeled and halved carrots, garlic cloves, roasted peppers and their water and chicken. For chicken, feel free to use whatever pieces you like most, but definitely buy bone-in. You can also buy a whole chicken and then cut it into 6 pieces. Add the water. If you’re roasting your own peppers, consider adding another 1/2 cup of water to the dish to compensate.

Brush or spread the olive oil onto the chicken, making sure the chicken pieces are exposed in order to get a crispy skin in the beginning. Salt everything heavily, and sprinkle with cracked black pepper. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, then flip the chicken and potatoes over, reduce the temperature to 425 degrees and bake again for 30 minutes. Flip over one more time to make sure the skin is exposed for the last 15 minutes, or until the skin is golden brown and the potatoes and carrots are tender. Delicious served with some crispy green salad.

[sabrinapashtan]

Charoset

Charoset is my favorite dish on the Passover seder plate and I look forward to it all year. Truth be told, I’ve been known to make charoset in September or December, or whenever the urge arises for some sweet, crunchy mixture, paired with spicy horseradish/maror/hazeret and preferably, on some crisp matzah.

Charoset can vary wildly in its ingredients, texture and taste. Ashkenazi recipes tend to have chopped apples, walnuts, cinnamon, honey or sugar, and possibly red wine. Sephardic recipes, on the other hand, are closer to a paste in texture and can be made with much more diverse ingredients ranging from dates, figs, and other dried fruit, mixed with red wine and a variety of spices including black pepper, cardamom and saffron. Walnuts may be replaced with almonds or pistachios and other fresh fruits can sometimes be included such as pomegranate, oranges, and even bananas or coconut!

This recipe is slightly closer to what I grew up on, the Ashkenazi recipe, but has been enhanced with some Sephardic flair. It’s a hybrid that I hope you’ll find as addicting as I do!

Ingredients:

Apples, 2 lbs peeled and finely chopped or diced (use a firm eating apple that’s sweet and crunchy, such as fuji, pink lady, gala, honey crisp) Walnuts, 1 1/2 cups, toasted and chopped Dried dates, 1/2 cup Dried cherries, 1/4 cup (optional) Red wine, 3/4 cup Cinnamon, 2 tbsp Honey, 3 tbsp (can replace partially with silan if you wish) Cracked black pepper, 1/8 tsp Nutmeg, a pinch Clove, a pinch Rose water, a splash (optional)

Boil the red wine in a small pot. Remove from heat and add the dried fruit; cover. Let sit until you have finished prepping the rest of the ingredients.

Peel and chop the apples. A food processor works best, but you can also dice by hand. The smaller the dice, the better. Toast the walnuts at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 3 minutes and then chop, again with food processor or by hand. Mix with the rest of the ingredients. Then remove the dried fruit from the wine and either chop it with the food processor (include some wine if it processes better) or chop it by hand into a paste (chunks are okay). Add the dried fruit as well as the wine to the rest of the ingredients and stir. The mixture should be moist. If it’s completely dry or not as moist as you normally like it, add some more wine.

Taste to make sure it’s sweet enough and add more of any ingredient if you wish. This is a very flexible recipe. It can be made a day or two ahead and the flavors will marinate together, but the apples may get a bit soft over time.

[sabrinapashtan]

Tahini Cinnamon Rolls

This cinnamon roll recipe is fabulous. It creates soft, gooey buns, rolled with a generous amount of cinnamon and halva, and then covered with a tahini and maple-enriched glaze. The tahini and halva add a slightly nutty dimension to the comfy cinnamon. The result is delicious. Perfect for a wintery, snowy morning, with a hot cafe au lait. 

Ingredients:

Dough:

All purpose flour, 2 1/4 cup Whole wheat pastry flour, 2 cups Yeast, 1 (1/4oz) package Milk, warm, 1 cup Granulated sugar, 2 tbsps 2 eggs Butter, 1/3 cup Salt, 1 tsp

Filling:

Brown sugar, 1/2 cup Halva, crumbled, 1 cup Cinnamon, 3 tbsp Melted butter, 1/3 cup

Glaze:

Tahini, 1/4 cup Powdered sugar, 3/4 cup Maple syrup, 1/4 cup Vanilla, 1/2 tsp Salt, 1/8 tsp

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm but not hot milk, with a whisk. Whisk in the melted butter and eggs. Then, fold in the flour and salt. Mix well and then knead on a floured surface. Add more flour if the dough sticks to the surface. Knead for about 10 minutes and then place in an oiled bowl to rise, covered with either a clean dish towel or plastic wrap. Leave in a warm part of the kitchen and let rise for about an hour, or until the dough has doubled.

After the dough has doubled, roll it out to about a 1/4 inch thick or about 21" long by 16" wide. Brush with butter and then sprinkle the halva, brown sugar and cinnamon along the entire dough. Roll the dough along the long side, starting with the edge closest to you, rolling away from you. Once you have an even roll, snip both sides of the roll to create a clean edge. 

Then, cut 2" long pieces. In a buttered 8 or 9" cake pan or oval oven pan with walls at least 3" tall, place the rolls, leaving some room in between for them to rise and grow.  Cover and let rise for 30 minutes, then in a preheated oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, bake for about 25 minutes or until rolls are golden brown.

While the rolls are baking, mix all the glaze ingredients and whisk well. If the mixture is too thick to pour, add a tablespoon of water until it thins out enough to pour onto the buns. When the rolls come out of the oven, pour the glaze evenly over the buns. Serve after cooling for a few minutes by running a sharp knife around each bun and removing carefully. Enjoy!

[sabrinapashtan]

Αυγολέμονο Avgolemono

Avgolemono is a Greek lemon chicken soup. It's light, bright, slightly creamy and full of zesty lemony goodness. As a citrus lover, avgolemono is one of my favorite soups and now is the time to make it; these cold, winter months are peak citrus season. This avgolemono recipe is essentially an enriched chicken broth or stock, with a mixture of egg and lemon juice, to which traditionally rice is added. Sometimes there are pieces of chicken or vegetables; I prefer mine to be light and consist mostly of the tasty broth with some slippery, al dente orzo as a bonus. It's what I call 'comfort food.' 

This particular batch of soup came about after a serendipitous gift of gorgeous lemons from my mom's friendly neighbor's lemon tree in Las Vegas. And in winter, when life gives you beautiful lemons, you make avgolemono!

Ingredients:

4 cups chicken broth or stock (for a quick one, combine 1lb of chicken legs, 1 yellow onion, 1 carrot, 3 celery stalks, 1 bay leaf, some black peppercorns, a pinch of salt and 6 cups of water for several hours on low. strain and use) Orzo, 1/2 cup uncooked 2 large eggs Fresh lemon juice, 1/2 cup Cornstarch, 1 tsp Salt and cracked black pepper, to taste Heat chicken stock in a large pot. Separately, boil salted water for orzo and cook orzo for about 10 minutes, until about half-cooked.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine 1 tsp of cornstarch with about a tablespoon of water and whisk together. Add eggs and whisk vigorously until frothy, a couple minutes. Add lemon juice and whisk again for another couple minutes, maintaining a high level of frothiness. Then, slowly and around the perimeter of the bowl, ladle some hot chicken broth. Pour the broth down the sides of the bowl slowly and whisk the mixture together. This is in order to temper the egg mixture, so that the hot broth doesn't cook the eggs, and create scrambled eggs in the soup. Continue ladling the broth until you've added about 2 cups and the egg mixture is pretty warm.

Add the orzo to the chicken broth in the pot. Then, add the whole contents of the egg-lemon mixture from the bowl into the pot of broth. Stir constantly until the soup is homogenous and slightly thickened. The soup will be creamy and frothy. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve right away.