Roasted Broccolini and Spaghetti con Aglio e Olio

Oh, broccolini, you are our new favorite vegetable!  Broccolini, or "Baby Broccoli" is not actually baby broccoli at all.  It is a cross between broccoli and Chinese kale and is similar to broccoli but is sweeter and has slim, tender, fully-edible stems (no waste!).  It's been available at SuperTarget lately in a package for $1.88.  Sweet! Normally, I'm not crazy about SuperTarget's produce (sorry, I love just about everything else about you, Red), but the broccolini has been a great find.  Roasted with a little bit of olive oil and salt, it makes a great side or addition to pasta (as shown here with Spaghetti con aglio e olio--garlic and olive oil--and sauteed chicken).  Roasting is great technique to apply to all kinds of vegetables (just follow the preparation below but adjust the time depending on what you're roasting--cauliflower is amazing, carrots are incredible, sweet potatoes cut into matchsticks are healthy fries! Delicious!). 


Roasted Broccolini
1 8 oz. package broccolini, washed (or substitute broccoli florets)
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
kosher salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Spread broccolini in an even layer on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Roast in oven for 12-15 minutes, or until crisp-tender and the edges begin to brown.  Season with pepper and additional salt to taste. 

 Spaghetti con Aglio e Olio
This is a super-simple, quick pasta dish that you probably already have almost all the ingredients on hand.  Don't be worried about the large amount of garlic, the flavor mellows and sweetens as it cooks.  Enjoy plain or add some sauteed chicken or shrimp and vegetables like the roasted broccolini (above).
(Closely adapted from Barefoot Contessa's "How Easy is That?")
kosher salt
1 pound dried spaghetti
1/3 cup good olive oil
8 large garlic cloves, cut into thin slivers
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving (I won't judge you for using the pre-shredded either since that makes a frequent appearance at our house)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add two tablespoons of salt and the pasta and cook according to package directions.  Set aside 1 1/2 cups of the pasta cooking water before you drain the pasta.  Return the pasta to the cooking pot and cover to keep warm.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet.  Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently, or until it just begins to turn golden on the edges--don't overcook it! Burned garlic turns bitter and cannot be salvaged.  Add the red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds more.  Carefully add the reserved pasta-cooking water to the garlic and oil and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the liquid is reduced by about a third.

Pour the garlic sauce over the warm pasta and toss to combine.  Off the heat, add the parsley and Parmesan and toss well.  Allow the pasta to rest off the heat for 5 minutes for the sauce to be absorbed.  Taste for seasoning and serve warm with extra Parmesan on the side. 

In Praise of Lettuce

Silas enjoying a salad (along with another boiled egg) for lunch

We were with gifted four gorgeous heads of romaine lettuce from our kind neighbors, Emily and Jeff (thank you!). If I had one pinch of their gardening ability, I would count myself very blessed indeed. Alas, I probably have the blackest thumb this side of the Mississippi. Thus, not growing a single thing myself this summer, I was very excited to receive such lovely bounty (before this, I think I may have thought that it was impossible to actually grow lettuce in one's backyard--it just comes from a store, right?). Obviously, we've been eating salads with our lovely lettuce.

I was inspired to recreate one of the very first recipes I ever made. We had the cookbook, In the Kitchen with Rosie, by Rosie Daley, one of Oprah's personal chefs. It was a very influential cookbook for me and the recipe for a mock Caesar salad was one I put together for a cast party potluck after wrapping up a production of Ramona Quimby way back when I was in middle school. Recently, I got my hands on a copy of the treasured cookbook. Feeling nostalgic, I put together my version of the original recipe. Mine has (among other additions) healthy olive oil fat unlike Rosie's did--it was the 90's, the height of fat-free...


Mock Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons and Garlic Chips

dressing:
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons olive oil
freshly ground pepper

Romaine lettuce, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces

Croutons:
3 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
2 slices bread or in my case today, a leftover hamburger bun, torn into small pieces
olive oil
kosher salt

shredded Parmesan cheese

For dressing: On a flat work surface or a small bowl, cut garlic into small pieces. Sprinkle salt over garlic and using the back of a spoon or the blade of a knife scrape the salt into the garlic until you have a thick paste. Combine garlic, mustard, lemon juice and soy sauce in a small bowl. Drizzle in olive oil, whisking constantly to form a smooth vinaigrette. Season with freshly ground pepper.

For croutons: Pour a few tablespoons of olive oil into a skillet (enough to cover the bottom). Add garlic pieces and over medium-low heat, slowly saute garlic until it is golden brown and crispy (watch it carefully and stir frequently, you don't want it to get too dark or it will be bitter and irreparable). Remove garlic with a spoon and set aside. Put bread in skillet in a single layer. bread, stirring occasionally until bread cubes are golden brown and toasted. Sprinkle with kosher salt to taste.

To assemble: Toss lettuce with vinaigrette. Top with croutons, reserved garlic chips and Parmesan cheese.

**Oh, and if you think Silas' creation looks more delicious, just dress your lettuce with:
red pepper slices, diced tomato, cucumber, shredded Italian blend cheese, leftover grilled chicken (and of course) a hard boiled egg (whole, not cut up!) and top with Annie's brand Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette!**

Ratatouille, like in the movie

Ratatouille, one of my favorite movies and a dish that incorporates all kinds of vegetables that I love...and Jay hates. Well, it's summer and the components of ratatouille (zucchini, squash, tomatoes, eggplant) are in season and gorgeous. I also just stumbled on a blog post that presented the usually rustic chopped vegetable dish in a way that was just like in the Disney movie. Feeling inspired, I thought I would make my boys suffer through ratatouille for dinner and came up with my own variation. And, surprise! Jay actually really liked it (I would consider going back for thirds a success!). It's healthy, delicious and can take you on a mini-escape to the French countryside--even if all that gets to go are your taste buds...

Fancy Ratatouille (a la Remy)

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 cup canned diced tomatoes
garlic powder (about 1/2 teaspoon), divided
fresh ground pepper and salt to taste
1 teaspoon dried thyme (about 1 teaspoon), divided
1 small zucchini
1 small yellow squash
1 small eggplant (Italian variety is nice since it's similar in size to the squash)
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (optional)
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced (optional)

In a shallow baking dish (I used an oval shape about 1o inches across), spread the canned tomatoes along bottom. Sprinkle diced onion on top. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle a fine layer of half of the garlic powder (about 1/4 teaspoon) and thyme (about 1/2 teaspoon) over tomatoes. Season generously with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Set aside.

On a mandolin (or using a food processor, the slicer function on a cheese grater or if all else fails, a sharp knife), slice the zucchini, yellow squash and eggplant as thinly as possible. Slice the bell pepper into very thin strips as well.

Over top of the tomato mixture, start to layer the vegetables, alternating and arranging in layers following the outline of the dish.


Continue to arrange vegetables concentrically (Silas said "like a snail train") until you have filled the dish. You may have some leftover veggies. Once you have filled the entire dish, sprinkle again with an even layer of garlic powder (about 1/4 teaspoon again) and the thyme (about 1/2 teaspoon). Sprinkle with more salt and pepper and drizzle with remaining olive oil.

Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes or until the vegetables are tender, but still have some structure. Or, if you're pinched for time (like me, I had assembled it earlier in the day, we went to playgroup and got home right before dinnertime), you can also cover with plastic wrap (use labeled microwave-safe wrap and avoid letting the wrap touch the food directly), microwave on high for 10 minutes remove plastic wrap and replace with foil and then finish for about 10 minutes in the oven.

Garnish with shredded Parmesan and basil leaves.

We served it over whole wheat cous cous (cook according to package directions using chicken broth instead of water and adding one tablespoon of butter) and with grilled chicken. I also put some crumbled feta cheese over some of it as an afterthought, and that was pretty fantastic, too!