Ottolenghi's Delicious Dinner Recipe

I really can’t believe summer is nearly over. I haven’t baked or cooked as much as I had hoped. I am going to blame it on our air conditioning being broken from May to early August.

 But I have cooked Ottolenghi’s One Pot Puttanesca recently, from his Flavor cookbook, and it didn’t disappoint.

 

3 T Olive Oil

6 cloves of garlic, minced

One 15 ounce can of chickpeas, drained, rinsed and dried

2 t paprika

2 t cumin (ground)

2 t tomato paste

Salt

2 cups parsley, roughly chopped

2 t lemon zest

3 T capers

¾ cup green olives – roughly chopped, pits removed

9 oz cherry tomatoes

2 t sugar

1 t caraway seeds

9 oz orecchiette pasta (I used bow tie)

2 c vegetable stock

¾ c plus t @ water

Black pepper

Directions

In a large sauté pan (that has a lid), combine 3 T of the olive oil, the garlic, chickpeas, paprika, cumin, tomato paste and ½ t salt. Cook over medium heat. Cook for 12 minutes uncovered, stirring occasionally. Remove 1/3 of the chickpeas for later.

In a small bowl, combine the parsley, lemon zest, capers and olives. Add 2/3 of this mixture to the sauté pan, along with the cherry tomatoes, sugar and caraway seeds and cook for 2 minutes over medium high heat, stirring often. Add the pasta, stock, water and ½ t salt, and bring to a summer. Decrease heat to medium, cover and cook for 13 minutes or until the pasta is al dente.

Stir in the remaining parsley mixture and garnish with reserved chickpeas.

Add salt and pepper and serve.

 

Shop Local

 I was thinking about what to post. While I have been doing some great summer stuff lately, I thought I would post about the local shops that I like to visit:

New England Soup Factory

Everything I have ever had at the Soup Factory is delicious. EVERYTHING. Chicken. Soup. Salad. Stews. Cookies. And I love how she is a fierce supporter of the Freedge.

Cork and Board

While I am not a huge drinker, I do enjoy the occasional great glass of wine, they also have a great selection of hostess gifts and locally made food products.

Brookline Booksmith

Huge amount of cookbooks

Fulfilled Goods

I love their low waste vibe. I buy so much there, including nuts, rice, laundry pods, a re-usable straw for my purse

Central Dry Cleaner in Newton

No webpage - But also a fierce supporter of the Freedge

Green Tail

Locally owned store with amazing gifts

Beth's Chocolates

Locally made chocolates

Choc Allure

More locally made chocolates

Lakon

Amazing bakery

Coffee Chocolate Chip Blondies

 

Ingredients

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) salted butter

1/2 cup maple syrup (real maple syrup)

1 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoons vanilla extract (I use double vanilla from TheSpice House)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons instant espresso (from King Arthur Flour)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

flaky sea salt (optional)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×13 inch metal baking pan with tin foil.

Add the butter to a medium pot set over medium heat. Allow the butter to brown, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the brown sugar and maple syrup. Let cool 5 minutes.

Whisk in the eggs and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder, espresso powder, and salt. Mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Spread the dough out into the pan. Bake for 18-22 minutes, until just set in the center. Sprinkle with sea salt. Cut into bars (you decide the size)

Roasted Everything Green Beans

 Sometimes a side dish looks TOO easy.

This is easy and delicious

1 1/2 pounds of green beans, trimmed

3 T extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup Everything Bagel Spice (Trader's Joes or King Arthur)

Kosher Salt to Taste

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking pan with tin foil.

Spread out green beans and drizzle oil on top. Sprinkle with everything bagel spice and stir. Add a bit of salt.

Roast for 15-20 minutes stirring half way through

Vegetarian - Three Sisters Chili

I like to cook new things. The other night I made this for my husband, while the rest of us had pan fried haddock. What is the three sisters? “Three Sisters” a Native American agricultural tradition of planting beans, squash, and corn together.

The recipe serves 8-10 people.

Three Sisters Chili

1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks

1 T olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 cup chopped celery

2 garlic cloves, minced

6 oz tomato paste

3 T mild chili - I used chili 9000

1 t dried oregano 

1/2 t dried basil

salt and pepper

28 oz canned diced tomatoes

2 cups of tomato juice

2 cups fresh or frozen corn

3 cups cooked pinto beans

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add squash, onions, celery and garlic. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Then add tomato paste, chili powder, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Stir. Add tomatoes and tomatoe juice. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat, and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Add corn and pinto beans and simmer 20 minutes. Stir. Taste. 

New Cookbook for me

 The Bundt Collection was calling my name.

First cake I made from this cookbook was a HUGE hit at my office.

Black Cocoa Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

 1 1/4 c unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into chunks

2 1/2 c white sugar

4 large eggs

1 1/2 t vanilla (I use this vanilla) 

1 1/2 c all purpose flour

2/3 c black cocoa

2 1/2 t espresso powder

1 t kosher salt

3/4 t baking powder

3/4 c buttermilk, room temperature

DO NOT PREHEAT OVEN

Generously spray a 10 cup bundt pan with Pam with Flour.

In a bowl of a mixer, add butter and sugar and mix for 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape the sides. Add eggs one at a time while beating, and then add vanilla.

In a separate bowl, put the flour, cocoa, espresso powder, salt and baking powder together.

To the mixer, add 1/3 of the flour and 1/2 of the buttermilk. Stir. Then add 1/3 of flour and the rest of the buttermilk while mixing; and then add the remaining of the flour. 

Pour batter into pan and put in cold oven and bake at 325 for 50-55 minutes. Test by using a toothpick.

Flip onto wire rack with cake in pan but cake on pan. Remove pan after 15 minutes. Let cool.

Vanilla Bean Glaze

1 c confectionary sugar

3 T whipping cream

1/2 t double vanilla

1/2 t kosher salt

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Put on the cake when cool.\

Tomato Chickpea Soup with Spinach

 This recipe came from Modern Jewish Cooking

Super easy and delicious.

Serves 6

3 T EVOO

1 Large onion, chopped

2 stalks celery chopped

2 carrots, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced.

1 1/2 t paprika (from the spice house)

1 1/2 t ground cumin (from the spice house)

1/2 t dried basil (from the spice house)

1/2 t dried rosemary (from the spice house)

1/2 t red pepper flakes

2 cans of chickpeas (drained and rinsed) Each can should be about 15 ounces

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes

4 c vegetable broth

1 t sugar

kosher salt

pepper

3 c packed baby spinach leaves

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, celery and carrots and cook for 8 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add garlic, paprika, cumin, basil, rosemary and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute.

Add one can of chickpeas, the tomatoes and their juices, broth and sugar. Cover. Bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Add in 1 t salt and pepper. Remove from heat and let cool.

With an immersion blender (I used my Vitamix), blend soup to a liquid. Return soup to the pot and set at low heat. Shir in chickpeas and spinach and cook for 2 minutes.

Serve