This mushroom stock is full-flavored and rich. It makes a gorgeous base for vegetable soups and an outstanding wild mushroom risotto.
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Category Archives: Nourishing, Fast, Fresh Recipes
Harvest Pasta
There are so many things I love about this pasta. For one, it’s packed with loads of my favorite vegetables. For another, its incredible flavor is the perfect illustration of just how delicious healthy can be. But it also, to me, captures the essence of the change of season: summer’s bounty exuding a homey scent as it roasts in the oven, a portent of the many braises to come. What can I say? This dish truly nourishes me body and soul.
4 cups eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 cups sweet frying peppers (like Cubanelle), sliced into thick rings
4 cups tomatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
3/4 pound dried whole grain pasta (your choice of shape, I especially like fusilli or penne with this)
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/2 cup basil, torn
Preheat oven to 400.
Toss eggplant, onions, garlic, peppers and tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl and spread in a large, heavy roasting pan. Roast for 45 minutes to an hour, turning occasionally, until ingredients are slightly caramelized and melded together into a chunky sauce.
Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water while vegetables are roasting. Strain pasta and return to pot, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid.
When vegetables are done, scrape them into the bowl with the pasta and toss. Pour the reserved pasta water into the roasting pan to deglaze and add the vinegar. Pour over pasta and toss again.
Top with cheese and basil and serve.
Serves 8
Big City Lamb Souvlaki
When I lived on Corfu, souvlaki meant skewers of grilled, marinated pork. But on a trip through Athens seeking out the best street food and mezedhes, we found this version of souvlaki to be utterly addictive. These Greek kebabs are moist and tender with just the right amount of spice. Serve these lamb skewers on platters with tzatziki, or in pitas with chopped tomato and onion.
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Iowa City Chili
Recipe by Kurt Michael Friese | Photo by Lia Huber
There’s a chill in the air here in the Heartland, the kind of windy, rainy days that drill into your bones and create a hankerin’ for a rib-sticking bowl of chili. It’s also a great way to use up the last of your tomatoes and peppers, or to begin to use your new “puttin’ ups” (as my grandma used to call them).
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef
2 medium onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
1 cup corn kernels (frozen is fine)
2 hot peppers of your choice, fresh or dried, seeded and minced
4 tablespoons hot smoked Spanish paprika
3 cups cooked pinto beans
1 pint canned diced tomatoes
1 pint tomato puree
18 ounces dark beer (such as bock or stout)
4 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Sauté ground beef, onion and garlic with a pinch of salt and pepper for 10-12 minutes, until browned, breaking up meat as you stir. Add bell peppers, corn, and hot peppers. Continue to cook over medium heat until peppers are tender, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the remaining ingredients and gently bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 2-3 hours, then turn off heat and allow to cool before refrigerating. Reheat when ready to eat. Serve with grated cheese, chopped onions, corn bread, tortilla chips, or whatever accompaniments turn you on.
Serves 8
Braised and Glazed Five Spice Short Ribs
Braising renders these Asian-inspired short ribs meltingly tender with relatively little hands-on cooking time (and the glaze makes the flavors even more intense). The ribs freeze beautifully, so cook up this extra large batch and stash half away for a later date.
2 teaspoons Canola oil
3 tablespoons five spice powder, divided
1/4 cup whole wheat white flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
6 pounds bone-in beef short ribs (roughly 12 ribs)
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrot
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped ginger
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce, divided
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar, divided
1 cup beef broth
1/4 cup honey
Preheat oven to 300. On the stovetop, heat Canola oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
In a wide bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons five spice powder, flour and salt. Dredge each rib in the flour mixture, tapping off excess, and brown on all sides in the Dutch oven, 10-12 minutes total (in batches if need be to allow enough space between the ribs for air to circulate). Remove to a plate as done.
Add onion, carrot, garlic and ginger to Dutch oven and brown for 8-10 minutes. Deglaze pan with 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar and beef broth. Bring back to a boil, nestle ribs in the pot, cover and transfer to the oven. Braise for 3 hours and remove from oven.
While ribs are cooking, mix together honey and remaining 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar and 1 tablespoon five spice powder in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium and reduce glaze until a syrupy consistency, about 10 minutes.
When ribs are done, transfer them to a cookie sheet and turn the oven to broil. Brush ribs with half the glaze and broil for 3 minutes, until bubbly. Turn over, brush with remaining glaze and broil another 3 minutes.
Serves 10-12
Barramundi with Shallots and Chile
Barramundi’s meaty yet flaky texture makes it a good pair for dishes with an Asian flair. Like this one, with caramelized shallots and chile and a savory splash of fish sauce. You can find barramundi at many fish counters these days, or in the frozen section of several supermarkets.
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots
2 jalapenos, thinly sliced
2 8-10 ounce barramundi fillets
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons fish sauce
Heat peanut oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Saute shallots and jalapenos for 2-3 minutes, until just amber.
Add fish to the pan and sear on one side for 3 minutes.
Flip the fish carefully with a spatula. Sprinkle sugar and fish sauce over top and cook another 3 minutes, shaking pan occasionally.
Serves 4
Umami Stuffed Mushrooms
Mushrooms and Parmigiano-Reggiano are the kings of umami, amplifying one another’s flavor exponentially. Spinach and prosciutto add even more to the mix to make this hors d’oeuvre simply irresistible.
1 1/2 pounds white or cremini mushrooms (sometimes called “baby bella”)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 garlic clove, minced
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large shallot, minced
2 ounces prosciutto, finely chopped
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1/3 cup frozen spinach, chopped (thawed, squeezed of excess water)
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1/4 cup dry sherry (or dry Marsala)
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 375.
Wipe mushrooms clean, carefully snap out stems and chop them finely (you should end up with roughly 1 1/2 cups of minced stems). Toss mushroom caps with garlic, 1 tablespoon olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Place mushroom caps stem-side down on cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and reserve liquid.
While mushroom caps are cooking, heat remaining tablespoon oil in a medium sauté pan over medium high heat. Add shallots, minced mushroom caps, prosciutto, thyme and rosemary and sauté until the shallots have softened and mushrooms have released their liquid, 6-8 minutes.
Add spinach, pour in sherry and scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Cook until liquid has evaporated, 2-3 minutes, and turn off heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir in parsley, panko crumbs and cheese. Pour any liquid from the mushroom caps into the stuffing mixture (it’s umami-rich).
Stuff about 1 teaspoon into each mushroom cap and arrange stuffing-side up on cookie sheet. Return to oven for 10-15 minutes, until golden and warmed through.
Serves 8
Recipe by Jacqueline Church
Simplest Roast Chicken
I’ll admit it: When it comes to making roast chicken, I’m lazy. There are techniques that have you rotating the bird every few minutes so that it turns browns evenly, but I like to pop it in the oven and not think about it again (aside from swooning over the scent) until the timer goes off for good. And good—very good—is what we’ve found this bird to be. You don’t have to use an organic, free-range chicken, but we’ve found that it pays off in both flavor and juiciness.
1 (3-1/2 pound) good-quality chicken (take this to mean what you like: free-range, locally-raised, organic . . . just preferably not a brine-injected, mass-produced one)
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
8 thyme sprigs
1 lemon, halved lengthwise
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Gently work your fingertips under the breast, leg and thigh, and rub meat with salt and pepper (I like to fill a separate little ramekin with a mix of salt and pepper to do this so I don’t get my pepper grinder all chicken-y). Sprinkle more salt and pepper on top of skin and in cavity. Stuff the thyme sprigs under the skin and the lemon halves into the cavity.
Roast on a V-rack in a roasting pan, breast side up, for 60-75 minutes, until the legs pull away easily and the juices run clear. Let chicken stand at room temperature for 15 minutes (tent it with foil to keep it warm) before carving.
Serves 4
Creamy Corn Polenta
This polenta bridges the gap from summer to fall. Starchy, last-of-the-season fresh corn is ideal for this polenta recipe, giving it a natural creaminess, while the vanilla brings out its sweetness.
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No Work Slow-Roasted Tomatoes
How to preserve the flavor of summer tomatoes? I love the whole concept of canning, but more often than not I’ll opt for low-heat and a deep freeze instead. After roasting, let the tomatoes cool to room temperature and pop the whole pan in the freezer (this freezes them individually, so they’re easy to separate later). When the tomatoes are firm (usually after just an hour), slide them into a Ziploc bag and keep them in the freezer for luscious, flavorful roasted tomatoes all winter long.
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