Basil Pesto

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Four Cooking Together

This pesto is fabulous spread on pizza or toasted bread (topped Caprese-style with tomato and fresh mozzarella), folded into warm pasta or stirred into a steamy bowl of soup. Double the recipe and freeze the extras for later.

Try substituting walnuts for some of the pine nuts.

Ingredients:

2 cups packed basil leaves
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons pine nuts (or a mix of pine nuts and chopped walnuts)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste

Method:

Blanch the basil leaves in boiling water for about 15 seconds, then remove from pan and quickly cool in a bowl filled with ice water. After cooling, remove leaves from the water and squeeze gently to extract as much water as possible.
Chop basil, cheese, nuts, and garlic in a food processor until finely minced. Stop machine and scrape down sides of the bowl once or twice during processing.
While machine is running, slowly add oil and process until incorporated. Add salt to taste.

Classic Minestrone

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Four Cooking Together

This is nothing more comforting on a rainy, mid-February Monday than a bowl of steamy Minestrone. It’s the vegetarian’s chicken soup.

From the cook’s perspective this soup is made for a kitchen clean-out. You can vary the ingredient list depending on what you fine languishing in the crisper: kale, cabbage, chard, parsnips, turnips, celery root — you name it, practically anything will land happily in the pot.

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Spread it on Thick…

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Four Cooking Together

A favorite meal in our house traces roots back to a distant summer vacation in Tuscany. In Italy small bites consisting of toasted bread, spread or piled with all kinds of delicious morsels, are classics at the dinner table, as an appetizer or lunch item — and with good reason. Who doesn’t love a sandwich? That’s essentially what Bruschetta and Crostini are — albeit beautiful, open-faced masterpieces that bear little resemblance to American white bread-encased PB&Js or grilled cheese. Any number of toppings work magic on the artisan bread-based Italian cousin — use your creativity and kitchen stock to guide. Roasted veggies; greens sautéed with garlic-laced, creamy white beans; cheese topped with olive tapenade; even a simple green salad, loosely piled — almost anything tastes fabulous on a slice of good bread. And if you’re in need of a pantry or fridge clean out, there’s no better vehicle.

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Roasted Spicy Carrot and Onion Bruschetta

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Four Cooking Together

This mixture is yummy, but I admit I love a roasted root (well, really anything roasted to be truthful). The carrots come out of the oven all soft, sweet and caramelized. I’m not a cooked carrot fan, but the turn in the heat does something downright magical here, that I can’t resist. You can dress these beauties with lemon juice and/or fresh herbs like parsley or cilantro, but even without you’ll be spreading this mushy, pumpkin-colored goodness on everything from lavash, to crusty bread to a clean finger. And here’s a secret, even vegetable-haters have admitted to liking this one…

(Serves 4 as part of a larger meal, 2 as the main course)

Ingredients:

3/4 pound peeled carrots, cut into uniformly-sized cubes (about 3/4 inch)
1 medium onion, cut into chunks the same size as carrots
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon raw sesame seeds
1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
Fresh lemon juice
Fresh herbs, chopped (such as parsley or cilantro, optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 ° F. Place carrots and onions on a baking sheet, toss with oil to coat and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 25 minutes until starting to brown. Remove from oven, turn veggies and place a sheet of aluminum foil over the top of the pan. Return to the oven and roast until very soft (about 15-20 more minutes).
Pan roast sesame, mustard and cumin seeds in a small dry skillet, over medium heat. Be careful to stir frequently and watch the pan so the spices don’t burn. Cook until sesame seeds begin to turn golden and spices are fragrant. Remove from heat and partially cool. Grind to a coarse powder with a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Or place into a clean paper bag and roll over the bag with a rolling pin to grind.
Place roasted vegetables into a bowl and mash carrots with a fork to a coarse texture (see photo). Sprinkle with spice mixture and add salt and pepper as necessary. Squeeze some lemon juice on top and add some chopped herbs for serving, if you like. Spread on toasted crusty bread drizzled with good-quality olive oil.

Mashed Chickpea and Spinach Dip

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Four Cooking Together

This is a sort of cooked, chunky spinach hummus — if that makes any sense. The bright green color proclaims healthy goodness that can’t be ignored. Nor will you want to, since the spread tastes as beautiful and fresh as it looks. Enjoy on toasted artisan bread, scooped with vegetables or spread on lavash with sliced veggies for a simple sandwich.

I use a small food processor driven by my immersion blender for processing the mixture, but you could also mash it with a potato masher or use the standard immersion blender. You’re working toward a chunky-smooth consistency that’s quite flexible. It’ll taste great regardless.

Ingredients:

Olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pinch crushed red pepper
1 bunch fresh spinach (about 10-12 ounces), roughly chopped
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
Salt
Fresh lemon juice
1 to 2 teaspoons tahini (roasted sesame paste)

Method:

Warm about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper and cook for 30 seconds. Add spinach and chickpeas and mix everything together. Cook until spinach is wilted, adding a splash of water as needed to prevent mixture from drying out.
Remove from the heat and cool. Process in a food processor to a chunky paste. Season with salt, lemon juice and tahini to taste.