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I don’t necessarily crave pasta — when I make it, particularly on a weeknight, it generally more of a convenience, and also code for there isn’t much else in the house.
This recipe I first saw on Amateur Gourmet, who gleaned it from Lidia Bastianich’s cooking show, and has been in his rotation for years – a go to weeknight dinner. His version doesn’t call for kale, which also means it can be made straight from the pantry. Pasta, beans, sun-dried tomatoes, red pepper flakes, garlic – that’s it.
I have made it before that way, but always felt it could use a little something. Last night I happened to have a bunch of kale on hand (and not much else) so it was the perfect addition to a recipe that relied on little else fresh.
I think the dark greens are key, in fact I replace about ½ the pasta in the recipe with the greens (and could’ve added more if I had more). They add interest in taste and texture, and add some nice color (and nutrients) to the mix. I add the chopped kale with the sun-dried tomatoes, but think other hearty greens or broccoli rabe would work equally well.
What are your favorite pantry pastas?
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images via my instagram feed (@caitlindentino)
While many of you may be enjoying {or hiding from} the dog days of summer, our cold grey San Francisco summer has arrived full bore, calling for parkas on the way to morning coffee. But since we have had a pretty nice summer with plenty of days for seasonally-appropraite meals, I will do my best not to complain. Plus, weather talk is boring.
I only bring it up to set the stage for chili dinner in August.
A big pot of giant black beans were already simmering on the stove when I decided that chili was in order. I didn’t use a recipe, just a hodge-podge of versions I like, plus what I had on hand, plus what sounded good. I wanted something like mom’s version growing up – maybe not authentic in Texas – but a kind that hits the spot. Ground meat, or turkey generally in my case, beans, tomatoes and lots of spices. Instead of stock for extra liquid, in addition to tomato sauce, I added a bottle of beer. Once it simmered together, it became exactly what I was looking for.
We topped it with a bit of white cheddar, greek yogurt and green onion. On the side, 101 Cookbook’s Firecraker Cornbread cooked in a cast iron skillet and a raw kale salad flecked with grated pear brought it all together.
I’m not going to lie, this little dinner got me pretty excited for Fall!
Are you holding on to summer or ready for what’s next?
I can’t decide, which I guess works with the Indian Summer/foggy day combo we have coming.
On Saturday in Tahoe, the plan was barbecue chicken, smashed roasted potatoes and a big veg salad. Then the power went out on our block and so we switched the potatoes to the grill and same with the summer squash – nixing the salad that would be easiest made in the kitchen. But then, the propane ran out while the chicken was only not close to done. Half-cooked chicken is not exactly salvageable, so we scratched it all and walked down the street to dinner.
But the barbecue chicken hankerin’ has remained.
So last night I quickly grilled chicken thighs, painting on a bit of BBQ sauce at the end, just to caramelize. It was fast, easy and just what we were looking for in the weeknight version.
As for the salad, while the chicken was grilling, I added radicchio quarters to the heat, removing once they were nicely grilled on all sides. A quick blanch for the green beans, plus a basic shallot-red wine vinaigrette, made a little richer with the slightest splash of cream, toasted pinenuts, and we were just about there. Once those elements were tossed together, I finished it with basil and goat cheese. It was one of those things that came together on the fly, but will most definitely be added to the regular rotation.
Not quite as fun as the outdoor grilled version while sitting lakeside, but was a pretty close second.
It is no secret that I think roast chicken is just about the best dinner – simple, hands-free, delicious, and (for us) with built in leftovers. And while I don’t believe in messing with a good thing, a few change ups now and then never hurt.
This spatchcocked version is still done in the oven, but could easily translate to the grill … it would just require a bit more attention, which isn’t necessarily bad, if that means hanging outside, with a beverage, perhaps. I used the recipe from Amateur Gourmet (which in turn was from the NYT Magazine recipe, Butterflied Chicken with Cracked Spices) and was crazy about the spice rub from the start!
The rub is a mixture of cumin, coriander and fennel seeds, dry toasted with a few peppercorns, then ground (in a spice mill or mortar and pestle), and mixed with salt and smoked paprika. I need to triple the batch next time and always have it on hand!
As for ‘spatchcock’ – it just refers to removing the backbone and the cooking the chicken flat.
The salsa verde was another component that made this seem more vibrant than my standard swipe with a bit of mustard version. This is not the tomatillo salsa verde of enchiladas and chile verde, but rather the parsley based classic green sauce of Italy. It can be made in a food processor, but becomes a bit homogenous that way … I highly recommend a mortar and pestle if you have it.
This one starts with a bit of garlic, capers and anchovies, ground to a paste, then met with some mustard, wine vinegar and lemon juice, filled out with a generous handful or two of parsley and mint, and finished with a slow drizzle of olive oil. The finished product comes together fully, but still retains each of the individual components. (Note, you can change the mint for an herb of your choice, as everything goes well with parsley).
Seeing that we know that bread salad is such a great match for roast chicken, it seemed obvious that a panzanella was in order.
Panzanella is an Italian bread salad with day-old bread, which is brought to life from the juices of the tomatoes and a perky vinaigrette. I often make croutons, but if you have stale bread on hand, this is absolutely the place for it. From there, just add in an assortment of your favorite summer vegetables. I keep it easy with just cucumbers and bell pepper in with the tomatoes (and some thinly sliced red onion when I remember), and of course with a generous handful of torn basil. As for the vinaigrette, I like a garlicky one, but without balsamic — instead one made puckery with lemon juice and red wine vinegar. Keeps is bright!
I may have thrown in a little bit of fresh mozzarella at the end, but that is strictly optional.
We enjoyed this at the table and caught up on our days, but I think a dinner like this is best enjoyed outside, just before the sun goes down with a nice glass of rose. Hmmm, may need to repeat tonight…
Do you adapt your favorite meals to the seasons?
While weeknight dinners in general should be pretty quick and easy, summer versions should be even more so. Which is why gazpacho is the perfect antidote to the heat (not that we get too much of that here in SF, but I can pretend). Just as the sun heats up, tomatoes peak – making them the perfect dinner.
The gazpacho that I keep in rotation year after year is from Jose Andrés, a fabulous Spanish chef {with equally great restaurants from D.C. to L.A.), so have seen no reason to deviate. Sometimes I get a little fancy with the garnish, sometimes I just chop up what ever didn’t make it in the blender.
What’s great is a large batch keeps for a few days, so lunch and tomorrow’s dinner are ready at once, with nary a stove in sight.
But seeing that I am not a gal who can be filled on cold tomato soup alone, I need a little something else too.
On a weekend and with friends, paella often fits that bill, but during the week, quick garlic shrimp more often make it to the plate. Which was the plan here, except when I went to buy some shrimp on my way home Tuesday night, I spied these cute little crab cakes ready to go. I don’t often buy pre-made items in the butcher/fish case, but I may be rethinking that plan. A quick little fry (in a non-stick skillet, to reduce the oil) plus a basic green salad added at the end, and my ideal summer dinner was ready in minutes.
If you have the time or inclination to make your own crab cakes, here are two versions I want to try soon. The ladies of Canal House have one that specifically calls for canned crab, which turns them into an anytime-pantry-basic, and this recipe from Food 52 forgoes the bread crumbs, keeping the emphasis rightly on the crab.
And in true weeknight fashion, it was enjoyed from the couch and coffee table, catching up on Sunday night’s Newsroom.
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Jose Andres’s Gazpacho
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Sometimes I want pasta, but without, you know pasta. I find if there is a meat sauce, it is pretty easy to sub vegetables for noodles with very little complaints. And then save the spaghetti and penne for veg-only nights.
Along with tomatoes and corn, I try and get eggplant in at every turn come summer. It is great grilled simply, perhaps with a mash up of other summer squash, finished with just a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and mint or basil. Or roasted with cherry tomatoes, tossed with some capers and herbs for a simple topping to grilled fish.
But last night I wanted something a bit more hearty, while still pretty healthy. I made a simple “bolognese” (not the real deal, but delicious none the less), with ground turkey (dark and light), onion and garlic, tomatoes – both a can of whole San Marzanos and some fresh heirlooms on their last leg, grated to easily be rid of the skin – herbs and some time. I was able to throw it together in the afternoon and left it to simmer for hours. Many of my tomato sauces are the quick kind, but it is nice to remember what happens when things have a chance to really meld together.
Once the sauce was ready, dinner came together pretty quickly.
- Slice and salt eggplant, let it sit for a few minutes and pat dry.
- Grill the eggplant (indoors, or out).
- Top with meat sauce and add a teeny bit of mozzarella (I used fresh mozzarella, but thought smoked would’ve been ideal, if our market had it).
- Broil until cheese is melted, golden brown and bubbly.
- Finish with fresh basil, which brings you back to summer.
We had it with some sauteed kale (which I felt I needed after a decadently long 4th week) but a simple summer salad would be great too.
Do you ever have pasta dinners, hold the pasta? In the fall, spaghetti squash is the perfect sub…
What are your thoughts on leftovers?
I am perfectly happy with leftovers as-they-are for lunch (or even breakfast), but when it comes to dinner, I usually want things in a different form. Which is one of the great things about roast chicken – the leftovers are endlessly adaptable. Soups, pastas, enchiladas, sandwiches, you name it.
Last night, we went with tostadas.
Grilled tortillas, black beans (homemade this time and on hand, but canned just as often), spinach, a bit of cheese, tomatoes, avocados and my favorite chipotle-lime cream (with yogurt last night). Combined with some heated-until-crispy leftover shredded chicken.
So easy, fresh and so good – meals like these give leftovers a good name.
I am infinitely curious about what people eat and make for dinner at home. Not “magazine” weeknight dinners, or even blogs that showcase only one component or require endless time, but real dinners. To be honest, if I make dinner 3-4 nights a week, I consider that a HUGE success. I know there will be a dinner or two out, plus perhaps take-out and a ‘single gals’ dinner of popcorn or wine and cheese.
So every so often, I thought it would be fun to showcase a real weeknight dinner. Some of course will be more fun than others, but that’s life, right?
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While there are very few things I love more than roast chicken for dinner, I think it might be Billy’s absolute favorite. That, plus how easy it is, and the guaranteed leftovers means that it is without a doubt the most often repeated dinner I make.
This is the version I most often make – the crispy skin and short cooking time keep it in constant rotation – although I did through a lemon and some garlic in the cavity on a whim. Instead of my usual green salad with vinaigrette, I went for a super fast riff on Zuni’s bread salad. Toasted bread, tossed with a warm garlic vinaigrette and pan drippings, plumped currants, pine nuts and arugula.
Perhaps not the healthiest of Monday night dinners (at least not for me, as I think the skin is the main course), but definitely makes for a happy way to start the week.
What is most often in your dinner rotation?
In truth, I actually made this a few weeks ago, but I didn’t get a post up before the weather turned sunny and warm, when shepherd’s pie was the furthest thing from my mind. But today, the rain is back, so here some perfect comfort food, that is actually a bit lighter than you would think.
My friend Catie first made it and raved, so I figured it was worth a try. Good grass fed beef and thick cut bacon really make it in my mind, as does the cauliflower-for-potato swap. This wasn’t something I grew up with, but will definitely come into my cold-weather rotation. I recommend getting in on the table before the sun is here to stay!
Catie’s Shepherd’s Pie
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I am infinitely curious about what people eat and make for dinner at home. Not “magazine” weeknight dinners, or even blogs that showcase only one component or require endless time, but real dinners. To be honest, if I make dinner 3-4 nights a week, I consider that a HUGE success. I know there will be a dinner or two out, plus perhaps take-out and a ‘single gals’ dinner of popcorn or wine and cheese.
So once a week, I thought it would be fun to showcase a real weeknight dinner. Some of course will be more fun than others, but that’s life, right?
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As you can see here, these really aren’t turkey burgers, but the term ‘patties’ wasn’t all too appealing.
But, thankfully they tasted great. Super simple turkey burgers – grilled with just salt, pepper, worcestershire & garlic powder – and topped with a big dollop of caramelized onions. On the side was sautéed kale with garlic and chili (standard prep around here) and spinach salad with pears and gorgonzola. Often times when I make turkey burgers, I add garlic, parsley, etc. – more like oversized meatballs – but here the theme was speed and ease.
What are your weeknight dinners? Do you have a routine or mix it up?
