tapa of mushrooms

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1013385-tapa-of-mushrooms-in-garlic-sauce

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced or minced
• 1 small dried red chili, crumbled, or 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 pounds mushrooms, wiped clean, stems trimmed, cut in half
•  Salt to taste
• ½ cup dry white wine or fino sherry
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy nonstick skillet. Add the garlic and chili or red pepper flakes. After about 30 seconds, when the garlic begins to sizzle, add the mushrooms and turn the heat to medium high. Cook, stirring, until they sear and begin to sweat, then sprinkle them with salt and add the white wine or sherry. Turn the heat down to medium, and continue to cook, stirring or tossing in the pan from time to time, until the mushrooms are tender, five to 10 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and parsley, taste and adjust seasonings, and remove from the heat. Serve hot or warm in small ceramic dishes, or serve on a platter with toothpicks stuck into the mushrooms.

broccoli-rubble-farro-salad

https://smittenkitchen.com/2017/05/broccoli-rubble-farro-salad/

• Salt
• 1 cup semi-pearled farro
• 1 pound broccolini or regular broccoli (previously: 2 pounds, see note)
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Red pepper flakes, to taste
• Finely grated zest, then juice, of 1 lemon (juice before zesting only if you enjoy being grumpy)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 ounces pecorino romano, grated or ground in a food processor

Bring a medium/large pot of salted water to boil. Once boiling, add broccoli and boil for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, until slightly softened but still crisp overall. Scoop out with slotted spoon or tongs, then drain.

Add farro back to same pot (I’m totally okay with some errant leftover broccoli flecks and vitamins here, if you’re not, use another pot of salted water) and cook, simmering, for 25 to 30 minutes, until tender. (Since there are so many varieties of farro, however, if your package suggests otherwise, it’s best to defer to its cooking suggestion.) Drain and tip into a large mixing bowl; cool to lukewarm.

Pat drained broccoli dry on towels, trying to remove as much excess moisture as possible. Chop into small (roughly 1/2-inch) bits. In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add garlic and pepper flakes, to taste, and cook for 1 minute, until garlic is faintly golden. Add chopped broccoli, lemon zest, and salt (I use a full teaspoon kosher salt here, but adjust the amount to your taste) and cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 more minutes, until broccoli is well-seasoned and slightly more tender.

Add broccoli and every bit of garlic and oil from the pan to the bowl of farro and stir to combine. Add lemon juice, black pepper and more salt to taste (but 1/2 teaspoon of each is what we used) and stir to combine. Stir in cheese.

Serve warm or at room temperature as-in, with an egg on top, burrata, and/or seasoned breadcrumbs.

cauliflower with pumpkin seeds

https://smittenkitchen.com/2016/11/roasted-cauliflower-with-pumpkin-seeds-brown-butter-and-lime/

Roasted Cauliflower with Pumpkin Seeds, Brown Butter and Lime

• SERVINGS: 1 TO 2 HEARTY, 3 TO 4 AS A SIDE
• TIME: 45 MINUTES
• SOURCE: BON APPETIT

This recipe was almost perfect from Bon Appetit, but I found each step needed less cooking time and included my own roasting tweaks; I added weights. The original calls for 1/2 teaspoon pepper flakes, that’s a good punch if you like heat, otherwise, adjust to your taste. The original recipe specifies raw unsalted pumpkin seeds (pepitas, or pumpkin seeds with the outer hull removed) but I had no problems with my already toasted, salted pumpkin seeds burning and still needed to add a little salt to get the seasoning level right.

• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil, divided
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large or 2 small heads of cauliflower (about 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 pounds)
• 2 tablespoons (30 grams) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup (30 grams) hulled pumpkin seeds (sold as pepitas) (see note above)
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or less to taste
• Juice of half a lime (about 1 tablespoon)
• Handful chopped fresh cilantro, parsley or chives

Heat oven to 450°F. Coat a large rimmed baking sheet with just over 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Sprinkle the sheet with salt and pepper. Trim cauliflower and cut into 1/2-inch slices. Arrange in a single layer on baking sheet, then drizzle with remaining scant 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with more salt and pepper. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, until underside is deeply browned. Carefully flip pieces and roast until dark brown and crisp on second side, about 15 to 20 minutes longer.

While cauliflower roasts, in a small skillet over medium heat, melt butter, then reduce heat to medium-low and add pumpkin seeds. Stirring the whole time, cook until butter becomes light brown and smells toasty, about 4 to 6 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes, then add lime juice and season with salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.

Arrange cauliflower on a serving platter and drizzle with dressing. Serve topped with herbs.

corn pasta

corn pasta

• Fine sea salt
• 12 ounces dry orecchiette or farfalle
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 bunch scallions (about 8), trimmed and thinly sliced (keep the whites and greens separate)
• 2 large ears corn, shucked and kernels removed (2 cups kernels)
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, more for serving
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, more to taste
• ⅓ cup torn basil or mint, more for garnish
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
•  Fresh lemon juice, as needed
• 1. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until 1 minute shy of al dente, according to the package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water.
  2. Meanwhile, heat oil in large sauté pan over medium heat; add scallion whites and a pinch of salt and cook until soft, 3 minutes. Add 1/4 cup water and all but 1/4 cup corn; simmer until corn is heated through and almost tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, transfer to a blender, and purée mixture until smooth, adding a little extra water if needed to get a thick but pourable texture.
  3. Heat the same skillet over high heat. Add butter and let melt. Add reserved 1/4 cup corn and cook until tender, 1 to 2 minutes. (It’s O.K. if the butter browns; that deepens the flavor.) Add the corn purée and cook for 30 seconds to heat and combine the flavors.
  4. Reduce heat to medium. Add pasta and half the reserved pasta cooking water, tossing to coat. Cook for 1 minute, then add a little more of the pasta cooking water if the mixture seems too thick. Stir in 1/4 cup of the scallion greens, the Parmesan, the herbs, the red pepper flakes, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Sprinkle with fresh lemon juice to taste. Transfer to warm pasta bowls and garnish with more scallions, herbs, a drizzle of olive oil and black pepper.

broccoli roast

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2015/10/the-broccoli-roast/

Serves 2, heartily
Olive oil
About 1 pound broccoli, although the weight isn’t that important, either in 1 big head or 2 or so “trees”
Grated aged cheddar (optional)

Dry rub
2 teaspoons packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon paprika, ideally smoked but regular will also work
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
Chipotle powder or ground red pepper (cayenne) to taste
1 teaspoon coarse or kosher salt, and more to taste

Cider vinegar dip
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon smooth dijon mustard
Pinch of salt, smoked flaky sea salt is wonderful here if you have it
Pinch of pepper flakes
Shake of smoked hot paprika or chipotle powder

Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Coat a large roasting pan with a glug or two of olive oil. Combine rub ingredients in a small dish. Taste a pinch; it should be flavorful, but more salty than sweet, with a kick. Make adjustments to taste.

Prep broccoli by peeling any knobby bits and outer skin off stalks. Cut smaller heads lengthwise through stem into two “steaks;” cut larger ones a second time into four wedge-shaped “steaks,” if desired. Place cut side down in roasting pan; drizzle tops very lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with rub. Roast for 20 minutes, until deeply brown underneath. While roasting, combine cider vinegar dip ingredients. Flip, coat cut side with more rub and roast for another 10 to 15 minutes, until charred at edges. Remove from oven and immediately grate a small amount of cheese over broccoli.

Serve with cider vinegar dip and, if you’d like to be more like the restaurant, with a little pile of smoked sea salt on the side. Eat with forks and steak knives.

corn chowder salad

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2015/08/corn-chowder-salad/

Corn Chowder Salad
Adapted From The Beekman Boys


Serves 8 as a side


1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 red bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch dice, although I made mine smaller
6 large or 8 medium ears of corn, kernels removed (I used 8 large and it was a massive salad)
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup cider vinegar
Salt and crushed red pepper to taste


Fry potatoes, peppers and corn: Pour off all but 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat in the skillet. Add the potatoes and cook over moderately high heat until they start to brown, about about 3 to 6 minutes. Stir and cook for about 2 minutes longer, until almost tender; they’ll finish cooking with the other vegetables. Add the diced red peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes and peppers are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the corn kernels and cook, stirring, until heated through but still crisp, about 3 minutes.
Assemble and serve: Transfer the vegetables to a large bowl and stir in the onion, cider vinegar. Season with red pepper and salt to taste. Serve warm, or at room temperature.

Pasta with Raw Tomato Sauce

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2015/08/angel-hair-pasta-with-raw-tomato-sauce/

Angel Hair Pasta with Raw Tomato Sauce
Adapted a little from Gourmet
In the original recipe, many commenters found that they wanted more garlic; I had very new garlic from the market and found one clove to be plenty booming with flavor, but definitely adjust to your taste. Many found that they liked the sauce more the longer it marinated. I’d planned to let it just sit the 10 suggested minutes, but then real life happened and it sat an hour. It was wonderful. I realized I had no lemon (of course) after returning from the store and used red wine vinegar instead. It works just fine. Lastly, the original recipe calls for coring tomatoes and I realized that I wasn’t sure whether this mean to just remove the stem and any tough parts it attaches to inside the tomato or to do as this video shows. I did a mix of both, coring fully, then squeezing the seeds and extra juices from the core before chopping them too. I’d recommend this so the sauce isn’t excessively watery, and especially if you, like me, find tomato seeds a little bitter and bothersome in sauces.

3 pounds fresh, best-quality tomatoes (results are uneven with less fresh ones)
1 small garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon coarse salt, plus more to taste (I used 2 teaspoons total Diamond kosher salt)
1 teaspoon sugar (optional, I found this unnecessary)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 poud dried capellini or angel-hair spaghetti
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
To serve: grated ricotta salata (my choice) or Parmigiano-Reggiano and a drizzle of your favorite olive oil

Halve the first pound of tomatoes crosswise, then rub the cut sides against the large holes of a box grater set in a large bowl, discarding the skin. Core (see note up top) and chop the last two pounds of tomatoes and add to the grated tomato bowl. Add garlic, lemon juice or vinegar, salt, sugar (if using) and pepper and let marinate at room temperature until ready to use, at least 10 minutes but also up to 2 hours if you’re planning ahead. After it has steeped for a while, taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
Cook pasta in salted boiling water as package time recommends. Drain then toss with fresh sauce and basil. Serve lukewarm (as it is now) or at room temperature with a drizzle of olive oil and freshly grated cheese on top.