Farmer's Market Spaghetti with Garlic Scape Pesto

Have you jumped on the farmer's market bandwagon?

Other than being a spectacular Instagram stop, these markets are the best way to get fresh, affordable, local and in-season fruits and veggies during the year. My favorite way to tackle the farmer's markets in Boston is to go take a slow stroll through each stand; rather than going with a list, I go in and simply choose whatever produce looks the best to me that day.

This recipe for Farmer's Market Spaghetti with Garlic Scape Pesto is the perfect base for any vegetables you fancy! It's fresh and light, yet fulfilling and packed with great flavor. 

My market had giant beautiful zucchinis this week, so I knew I had to come away with a few of those. I also was in love with the bunches of onions, fresh fennel, and big bundles of basil. With basil in hand, pesto was certainly in my near future. To put a fun, fresh spin on an old classic, I grabbed a few garlic scapes--that is, the bud of the flower on a garlic plant. This isn't a particularly common grocery store ingredient, but in late June and early July, farmer's markets are brimming with them! They have a softer garlic flavor and can be used in any way you might use a scallion or fresh herb...so, of course...PESTO!

Along with the pesto, I chop and dice the zucchinis, onions and fennel then saute them in a bit of butter and olive oil. Since the sauce is packed with flavor, I lightly season the veggies with some salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes for a nice kick. A little lemon juice and a generous amount of grated parmesan cheese are the cherry on top of these twirly tasty noodles--don't be shy!

French Onion Pasta

 

Why does everything become ten times better when you add bubbly, melted cheese on top?

I'm talking about French Onion Soup. Tender onions in a salty brown broth served in cute, rustic soup bowls with a generous layer of cheese melted on top. Oh boy, I need some now.

While this soup is usually an appetizer, this recipe will take everything we love about French Onion Soup and make it a hearty, comforting meal

This dinner is adapted from a post I saw on Pinterest a while back. I am such a sucker for recipes that take a traditional dish and put a new spin on it. See: Spinach and Artichoke Mac and Cheese.

All the basic principles of French Onion Soup are built up in a delicious, thick sauce then poured over pasta and baked with mozzarella cheese on top. If your knees have gone weak at this point, I can understand.

If the flavor profiles weren't enough, this meal is so easy to put together and you most likely have a bunch of the ingredients laying around the kitchen.

We begin by caramelizing slices of onion in unsalted butter over medium-low heat. I added just a scant teaspoon of salt along with 1/2 teaspoon of honey to get the process going. Don't overdo the salt here because there are other salty elements joining the party.

For the perfect caramelized onion, see my how-to post!

While the onions are caramelizing, a small shallot and a glove of garlic are diced. Once the onions are browned and tender, add the shallots and garlic.

A full-bodied red wine deglazes the pan and helps pick up bits of onion on the bottom. I used a good Pinot Noir, but a Marsala is also an obvious choice.

Once some of the alcohol cooks out, mix in beef broth. Bring to a boil, stir in a packet of onion soup mix (try Lipton) then simmer on low until thickened.

A tablespoon or so of fresh parsley and cracked black pepper brightens up the sauce.

A touch of flour and a couple of tablespoons of milk make this sauce ready for the pasta.

Everything is transferred to a baking dish and gets topped with shredded mozzarella cheese. Then under the broiler it goes until perfectly melted and browned and crispy. YUM!

I am posting this as my first "Meatless Monday"--many thanks to my friend for the suggestion! If you would prefer to not use the beef broth, vegetable stock would also taste great with this dish.

The sweetness of the caramelized onions adds a great compliment to the salty onion soup mix. The wine gives the sauce body and richness, while the parsley adds freshness throughout. Melted mozzarella cheese is simply perfect. This is a real winner!

Crispy Sweet Potato Ravioli

Thanksgiving is pretty much here.

Let that sink in for a second.

This past weekend, we decided to host a “Friendsgiving” at our place. The holidays can be really crazy, so it was great to have everyone together!

Either because I am crazy or because I just love food that much, I thought it would be seriously adorable to do Thanksgiving dinner-themed appetizers. So, this wasn’t your typical dinner party. But it paid homage to turkey day. That’s all that matters.

What was on the menu you ask!? Well, obviously there was the bird. AKA, Turkey sliders topped with brie cheese and my Cranberry Apple Chutney. I added whole wheat breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, an egg, and chopped rosemary along with salt and pepper to the ground turkey and formed them into small burgers. So tart and savory and bite-sized cuteness!

Then there was the starch. And on Thanksgiving, that starch had better be sweet potatoes (in my humble opinion). I made crispy sweet potato ravioli. These were a HIT. The recipe is a secret below for your holiday appetizer pleasures!

We also had a veggie. And it was green beans. In particular, it was the traditional Cambell’s soup/French’s crunchy onion green bean casserole. Everyone knows it. Everyone loves it.

Our friends were also generous enough to provide other apps and desserts and they are all amazing! We love them!

Oh, and how could I forget. The holiday cocktail! Spiked hot apple cider. That is, one gallon of apple cider, 2 cups of dark rum, 1 orange (sliced in half) and 3 cinnamon sticks simmering away all day in the crock pot. A total winner! You can simmer it on low for 4 hours or on high for 2 or so, then leave it on the “warm” setting while serving! Cinnamon and sugar rims are a totally necessary addition that everyone will be bubbling about.

I think I’m finally getting into the holiday spirit. Christmas shopping, and eating sweet potatoes until I can’t get off the couch, and drinking hot cider or peppermint mocha lattes. We can’t fight it, let’s just accept it! If the holiday spirit still eludes you, try a batch of these Crispy Sweet Potato Raviolis—Fall has never tasted so good!

Chopping Garlic and Onions

This past weekend, I hosted my parents and younger sister for the weekend while my sister was touring some colleges in the New England area. I was kindly asked to make a meal from my young blog and wanted to keep it a little fancy. I made my Polish Girl Chicken Parmesan and it was hit! It was a great meal to feed a fairly large crowd because it was easy to double and entertaining for people to watch in action!

Anyway, I am sure you don't care to hear about our whole weekend but I just wanted you to know why I have been somewhat off the radar this weekend (as a 9-5 working person, the weekends offer a great opportunity to cook more challenging meals).

In order to make up for that, I thought I'd offer you a couple of quick tips that took me a while to get right.

If there is one thing I hate, it is a big, face-puckering chunk of onion or garlic in an otherwise outstanding meal. Getting an onion or clove of garlic cut up finely enough to enhance a meal rather than take away from it can be fairly challenging for a new cook. So these aren't some great big best kept secrets, but just some beginner tools you might find helpful -- especially if you are going to try some of my dishes...I LOVE ONIONS AND GARLIC! And for both of these tasks, make sure you have a nice, sharp knife! This will really ease the entire process.

How to: evenly chop an onion
First, cut your onion in half, like so:

Lay each half flat side down. Parallel to your cutting board, cut the onion in half again (BUT DO NOT cut the whole way through)

Now make between 4 and 6 cuts (depending on the size of your onion) perpendicular to the cutting surface. Again, do NOT cut the whole way through. The top of your onion is going to serve as a grip during the cutting.

Make small slices in the opposite direction of the previous cut so that you have wonderful little nuggets of onion, perfect for sauteing, soups, slow cooker recipes, etc.

How to: Finely mince fresh garlic
Peel your garlic clove and place on a cutting board.

Lay your knife flat and gently pound the garlic to mush it down. Pound gently 4 or 5 times, putting a little muscle into it once you get comfortable with the feel of it.

Once your garlic is smashed, run your knife through it to create tiny cubes of garlic.

I really love fresh garlic because it is a little more flavorful than the minced stuff. It's also very cheap! So save a little bit of cash and do the mincing yourself!

Happy Cooking, Everyone!

How to: Caramelize Onions

As I started cooking more, I came to realize the value of a good old onion. They can add so much flavor and are the base of so many good recipes (sauces, soups, stir fries...).

I first started being obsessed with onions when my mom caramelized them and had them at the table of our family barbecues. Those babies with some barbecue sauce on top of a char grilled burger made my mouth water. When I started cooking more, every time I made steak, all I could think about was how outrageously good caramelized onions would be dripping on top of a medium rare slab of meat.

BUT I COULD NEVER EVER DO IT. They either burned into oblivion or still had the harsh raw onion bite. I tried. And I tried again.

Finally...I MASTERED THEM.

I don't want to toot my own horn, but after tonight's onion experiment, I could have eaten just the onions on a plate and been wildly satisfied. Let me share my fool proof way of HOW TO CARAMELIZE ONIONS.

Here's what you will need:
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion (or whatever sort of leftover onions you have)
salt and pepper
honey

And here's what you do:
First, cut your onion in half then cut into about 1/4 or 1/2 inch thick slices.
Completely melt the 2 tablespoons of butter into a skillet over low to medium heat (I did this entire process on LOW heat because pans get hotter a LOT faster on gas ranges).
Add the onions and sprinkle with salt. Your pan should not make an intense sizzling sound when you add the onions. You should only barely hear an undertone of sizzle. This will allow the onions to sweat out their water content without sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Give the onions a gentle stir, about once every 2 minutes.
When the onions become more translucent and have a yellow hue, once again sprinkle with salt and a relatively generous amount of black pepper. Stir again.
Now! What I have come to regard as the secret to perfection (or, at least perfect caramelized onions). Drizzle, in a slow stream, a bit of honey over the onions. It should only be about as much honey as you would put in a cup of tea. Stir and evenly coat your beautiful onions with the honey and seasonings.
Continue to simmer until they are at the level of caramel goodness that you desire. Here are my heavenly bites of joy:


And that's it! It is a little timely because you are doing more of a slow cook. But these beautiful, delicious onions are well worth the wait! And in between, you have plenty of time to prep your meat and any other side dishes you are making that night! Good luck, and happy eating :-)