Romesco Pasta Salad

I spend too much free time flipping through food magazines but it wasn't until I heard the host of Splendid Table talking about this pasta salad that I gave it a try. It is wonderful.

I do love roasted peppers, and even though the photo looks as though it is made with pureed carrots, it is the pepper sauce that gives it the color.

The addition of walnuts and bread crumbs keeps the salad bright.

The original recipe in Bon Appetit Magazine calls for peppers from a jar but i used a #28 ounce can and the taste is perfect.

To make the sauce, the instructions tell you to slowly add the olive oil to the peppers in your food processor. If you look at the feed tube in your food processor It has a pin hole in the bottom just for this purpose. Add your oil through the feed tube and the pin hole will slowly blend it in making a perfect sauce. ( This is also a great way to make mayonnaise. I don't know why the instruction manuals don't share  the technique)

Romesco Pasta with Basil

1 Cup Walnuts

3 0unces country style bread, crusts removed and cut into 1/2" pieces

4 whole roasted peppers from a can or jar

zest and juice of one lemon

1 Tsp crushed red pepper flakes, divided

1/2 Cup plus 2 Tbsp olive oil

1 lb fusilli pasta 

1 lb. ripe tomatoes, cut into bite sized pieces ( I used cherry tomatoes)

4 ounces parmesan, finely chopped

1 Cup fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Toast walnuts on a baking sheet tossing half way through-6-8 minutes.

Process bread in the food processor until you have coarse bread crumbs.

Puree in the food processor the red peppers, lemon juice, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes and 1/4 of the cooled walnuts.

With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil through he feed tube.

Cook he pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water. Drain and rinse to remove the starch.

Add 1/2 the sauce to the pasta. Toss

Heat remaining 2 Tbsp oil in a saute pan and cook the breadcrumbs, lemon zest and remaining 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes.. Toss until golden 5-6 minutes.

Toss the remaining sauce, bread crumbs, tomatoes, parmesan and basil into the pasta.

Garnish with walnuts and serve.

Oodles of Veggie Noodles- serves 8-10

I tried a new recipe for spiral vegetable noodles today and.after tweaking the dressing. it is our new favorite salad!

Three different colored Beets, Daikon Radish, Zucchini and Carrots make the base. Here's the recipe- feel free to mix and match your own combination of vegetables..

Oodles of Noodles-serves 8-10

2 Daikon Radishes, peeled

1 Zucchini

1 Golden Beet, peeled

1 Pink Beet, peeled

2 Carrots, peeled

1 Red Beet, peeled

1/2 Cup chopped fresh cilantro

Dressing:

1/2 Cup rice wine vinegar

1/2 cup canola oil

1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

2 tsp. sugar

2 tsp sesame oil

salt and pepper to taste

Using a spiralizer, cut all the above vegetable with your noodle blade. In a large bowl toss together all but the red beet. (I found the red beet would bleed and saved it for the top of the salad.) Add the cilantro and mix . (If your "noodles" are particularly long, cut them to a manageable length.)

In a small bowl, combine rice vinegar, canola oil, sugar and sesame oil and sesame seeds. Shake to mix well. Pour over vegetables. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate.

P.S. I liked the salad without any salt and pepper added.. 

Easy- tasty-fresh-crunchy! A great spring salad

Super Bowl Super DIp

Erik will tell you I spent most of my January when he was growing up searching and creating new recipes- then on Super Bowl Sunday it was feast away! Now I spend a good part of January with my feet up but it gives me plenty of time to scour magazines and books for new recipes. Since I happened to have Velvetta cheese in our refrigerator I thought this was worth a try. We made the dip yesterday at the store and couldn't stop eating it. You still have time to make a batch for the big game tomorrow. Let us know what you think.

Super Bowl Super Dip

1 3/4 Cups Onion, diced

2 Tbsp Butter

1 Cup Salsa, pureed until almost smooth if very chunky

1 Lb Velveeta Cheese

1/2 Cup yogurt

hot sauce ( optional)

In a large saucepan, over medium heat, saute the onion and butter until softened-8-10 minutes.

Stir in salsa and bring to a boil.

Remove from heat and add cheese stirring until almost completely combined and smooth.

Stir in yogurt and return to heat until blended.

Adjust for taste and add hot sauce if necessary.

NOTE: Our Salsa has a good amount of heat, but if you select a mild salsa you might want to 

add a few dashes of hot sauce.

Rainy Day Rice Timbales

Last week I had dinner with John Govoni and Dorothy Giarla. John made a beautiful rice timbale as a take off on the Panzanella salad we made in Tuscany last spring. When I posted the photo, my dear friend Valerie in CA said I had to send her the recipe. Of course, there really wasn't a recipe but since today was a rainy day and I couldn't work in the garden, I went to work on creating one. I hope John thinks I did justice to his rendition.

Before I could begin cooking, I had to make a trip to the hardware store where I bought 2" wide by 3" tall pvc piping for my shape. I bought 12 for under $5 but found out that I really only needed 1 or maybe 2 since I created a timbale, pushed it out on the plate and used the mold again for the next one. (I could see the need for more than one tube  if we were doing this  presentation  at an event with more than one chef in the kitchen.-but for less than $5 I can live with my over abundance.)

Rice Timbale

• 2 Cups white rice , cooked in 4 C water
• 3 fresh plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1 small shallot or red onion, minced
• ½ English cucumber, seeded and diced
• ½ Cup fresh basil leaves, minced,plus garnish
• ¼ Cup red wine vinegar
• ¼ Cup Olive Oil
• ½ Cup parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp granulated garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• Balsamic glaze for decorating the plate or olive oil and balsamic vinegar

1. In a saucepan bring to a boil 2 Cups of rice and 4 cups of water.( If using Uncle Ben’s cover and simmer 20 minutes until tender If using Arborio rice do not cover and stir every few minutes to prevent sticking.) Let cool. slightly.

2.Combine diced tomato, cucumber, shallot or red onion and ½ C fresh chopped basil with cooked rice.Fold in parmesan cheese and garlic.

3.In a separate bowl mix red wine vinegar and olive oil. Stir into rice mixture until coated but not wet.

4.Pack the rice into timbale molds or pvc tubes open at both end. (I bought 2” wide by 3” tall pvc tubes for my recipe- a good hardware store will cut them to whatever length you want) Un mold onto serving plate and garnish the top with a sprig of basil.

5.To finish the look of the plate, drop five dots of balsamic glaze around the base of the rice timbale and drag a knife through to make a tear drop effect. 

Or squirt a ½ moon of olive oil on the plate and dot with balsamic vinegar .

This recipe is really just a launching point- think about turning it into a main course by adding diced shrimp or chicken to the basic recipe.