marina di chioggia gnocchi

Thanks to Nevermore Farm for the half Marina di Chioggia squash in our first CSA box of 2012!  As suggested, I ventured to make gnocchi... pretty much for the first time in my life.  For the recipe and directions, I followed BOLDO'S THOUGHTS ON FOOD:

I first cut up the half squash into ~palm-size pieces. Roasted them @400F in the oven  for ~1.5hr. Even after that length of time, there were still several pretty firm pieces; probably due to how much I bunched them up on my standard-sized roasteing dish (which in the world of giant squashes is pretty small).  

I made the dough with ~ half the roasted squash (i.e. 1/4 of the total squash) and ~1 cup of whole wheat flour.  For each eighth of the dough, i rolled it up into ~3/4 to 5/4 inch diameter ropes, then cut them into ~1" intervals. 

A quick internet search provided several good YouTube videos of how to roll gnocchi  with a fork.  I eventually got the hang of it after about ~50... 

The total dough made 300-350 gnocchi. I was fairly liberal with the flour to keep them from sticking. 

With the first meal, we had them with a red sauce which I made simply with two cans of fire-roasted tomatoes and 1/2 bag of frozen veggies; I know, not very inventive...   But I made up for it with the second meal where I topped it with saute Hedgehog Mushrooms w/ heirloom carrots. We've been having Hedgehog mushrooms w/ carrots since the mushrooms came into season three weeks ago.  We're hoping to see these little delights again at the Farmer's Market next Saturday (fingers crossed!).

mashed roots & stems

Another spontaneous moment:  I am not normally a potato kinda gal, but i was getting bored of rice & pasta.  I recall my little sister used to make really good mashed potatoes, so I decided to give it a go.  However, to lessen the earthy flavour of the potato, I decided to add a carrot that I had handy in my refrigerator.  To accompany the mashed potato, I decided to pan-fry up one of the pieces of chicken thighs in my freezer with some handy spices in my pantry (lemon herb).  The only thing that was missing was leafy greens, so a couple large collard green leaves were also pulled out of the fridge.  It is sooo good to have fresh ingredients handy in the house!!!  As the other half doesn't generally like the thick stems of green veggies, I decided to dissect them out and add them to the mash potato+carrot: ingenious! ;-)   Here is how I did it:

Servings: 2

Ingredients 
Mashed roots + stems
1 medium sized yellow potato, roughly cut into several pieces (I prefer to leave the skin on)
1 medium size orange carrot, roughly chopped into large pieces
stems of 2 large collard green leaves, also roughly chopped into large pieces
1 tbp butter
1 pinch salt
Collard greens
leaves of two large collard greens, roughly chopped into ~1"x1" squares
1 pinch salt
drizzle of olive oil
a tbp spoon of butter (optional to add flavour) 
Lemon chicken
1 moderate sized piece of chicken thigh
olive oil
generic lemon & herb (or lemon & garlic) salt


Procedure
Mashed roots + stems
1)  Stem potato, carrot, and stems in a steamer until tender
2)  Transfer tender roots & stems to a bowl (or plate) with a flat bottom;  add the tbp butter;  mash with potato masher
3)  Keep warm in oven (low heat; ~250F or ~120C)
Lemon chicken
1)  oil both sides of chicken thigh
2)  sprinkle on the lemon+herb salt on both sides; set aside for ~5mins (while you prepare the other two components)

3)  heat pan to medium heat with olive (or other veggie) oil
4)  sear chicken;  make sure one side is completely seared before turning (there should be minimal sticking to the pan when it is ready to be turned!)
5)  check doneness; once done, transfer to a plate and set aside to rest
Collard greens
1)  Use same pan that the chick just vacated; add oil (and butter)
2)  Add collard greens;  stir occasionally to prevent sticking and to ensure even cooking;  cook until lustrous green
3)  If prefer softer greens, add 1-2tbp water and cover with lid for a couple minutes
4)  season with salt (and optionally pepper)


Plating
1)  Spoon and distribute mashed roots+stems onto the middle of two plates
2)  Spoon and distribute the collard greens atop the mashed potato
3)  Cut the chicken tight in half and add on top of the pile of mashed potato and greens


As a treat and for dessert, I also made raisin oat cookies =P

Enjoy.

simple tomato-base pasta sauce

The following is just a simple tomato-based pasta sauce that I use. The most important things are to use the fresh, non-conventional stuff. Before you brush this off, there is actually a noticeable difference between the tomatoes I used here and the conventional (common) tomato: the ones here are more flavorful and the conventional types are more 'watery'; the carrots I used here are more starchy and the conventional ones are (again) more watery and less flavorful; finally, the pasta I used here is more starchy and less chewy. I know I am very vague about naming the exact produce I used (I didn't take careful note of the source when I purchased (mostly from the Davis Coop) and picked (I actually picked the tomatoes from work) them =P

Despite all that I have said, using conventional produce does not actually make your food taste bad! All I am saying is that: if you get a chance, try the non-conventional stuff; you will be pleasantly surprised =)

Serves 2.

Ingredients
bunch of semolina linguini (~3/4" diameter bunch; mysterious source from Davis Co-op)
5 fresh tomatoes, finely diced (a mysterious Japanese variety)
3 skinny heirloom carrots, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped
1-2 small hot dried chili, finely chopped
1 tbp dried parsley
1 tsp dried basil
green leafy part of one fennel, coarsely chopped
salt & pepper to taste

Procedures
For pasta:
1. Boil a pot of ~6 cups water
2. Once water boils, add a dash of olive oil and a bit of salt
3. Break pasta in half and add to boiling water
4. Once water reboils, turn down heat and let simmer
5. Check pasta periodically; cook till al dente
6. strain pasta, return to pot and coat with olive oil

For sauce:
1. Heat (on medium to medium-high heat) a dash of olive oil in a pan
2. Saute the the garlic, chili, and carrots
3. Once carrots begin to brown, add the parsley, basil and fennel
4. Once fennel begins to wilt, add tomato. When tomato begins to brown and stick, add ~1/4 cup of water and turn down heat. Let simmer to reduce water.
5. When sauce looks thick enough, add salt & pepper to taste (or taste and add salt and pepper)
6. Turn off heat and stir in pasta.

Serve immediately with a sprinkle of parmesan or pecorino romano cheese.
Enjoy.

tri-colour fusilli pasta with tri-colour heirloom carrots

Okay, this post is long overdue. I made this back in... March! There is a Canto saying "Three minute enthusiasm"; I think that may be the problem here =P I guess the truth is we have been cooking a lot of Chinese and Mexican these days (we won't mention my laziness to take pictures and blog my cooking). Anyway, back to this pasta dish.

That was actually my first time purchasing and cooking with heirloom carrots. In the past, carrots was never my first vegetable choice. But they appeared to have been in season a couple months ago and seeing their colours (generally orange, yellow, and purple) and crispness at the supermarket, I just had to buy some to try. To my delight and surprise, I almost fell in love with them to the point where I would get them every other week. These days (full Spring now) the heirloom varieties are no longer available and we are back to the boring orange fat giant variety =( Nonetheless, if you happen upon some of these delights, here is my recipe:

Makes 2.

Ingredients
150g fusilli pasta ( I used the tri-coloured ones to make this colourful dish, but fusilli in general will be good for absorbing the sauce )
6 heirloom carrots ( suggest 2 of each colour ); thinly cross-sectionalyl sliced
3-5 rashes of bacon ( amount will depend on how much you like bacon ); cut into small pieces
couple sprigs of coriander ( cilantro )

Preparations
1. Cook pasta per instruction. Once al dente, drain and return to pot with some good olive oil. Set aside.
2. Saute bacon until cooked and slightly brown. Set aside.
3. Using the bacon fat from your saute, saute carrots until slightly soft. (Try and cook to your own liking.)
4. Add pasta and bacon back into the pan with the carrots; toss until pasta is coated with (bacon) sauce.
5. Serve with fresh coriander leaves.

Enjoy.