Portobellos with Arugula

Another delicious recipe from Epicurious:    Portobellos with Arugula

Ingredients

6 large portobello mushrooms, stems removed
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
Generous 4 cups trimmed arugula, washed and spun dry
Juice of 1/2 small lemon
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
A 4-ounce chunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano for shaving

Directions

Preheat a gas grill or prepare a fire in a charcoal grill.

Place the portobellos on the grill and cook, turning two or three times, until slightly soft-ended, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a platter, arranging the mushrooms grill side up.

In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup of the olive oil, the anchovy paste, vinegar, and thyme. Spoon the mixture evenly over the portobellos and let stand for 30 minutes.

In a large bowl, toss the arugula with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and the lemon juice. Season with coarse sea salt and pepper.

Divide the arugula among six plates and top each with a mushroom. Using a vegetable peeler, shave the Parmigiano over the salads. Serve immediately.

Roasted Garbanzo Beans and Garlic with Swiss Chard

I made this recipe this past weekend and it turned out to be really good.  I got the recipe from one of my Bon Apetit books and it's also on line at Epicurious

one of my favorite cooking web-sites.

I'm not a big fan of garbanzo beans, although I will eat them.  If you're not a fan of roasted garlic, don't try this as the flavor is quite prevalent.  For me....I loved it.

Ingredients

Garbanzo Beans:
2 15.5-ounce cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained (about 3 cups)
10 garlic cloves, peeled
2 large shallots
3 small bay leaves, preferably fresh
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 1/4 cups extra-virgin olive oil

Chard:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed
3 small bay leaves, preferably fresh
2 shallots, sliced
2 bunches Swiss chard, center stems cut out, leaves coarsely torn
2 cups low-salt chicken broth

Directions

Garbanzo beans:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine first 5 ingredients in 8x8x2-inch glass baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour oil over; cover dish with foil. Roast until garlic is tender, about 45 minutes. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly, cover, and chill.

Chard:
Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add garlic, bay leaves, and shallots. Cover; cook until shallots are tender, about 2 minutes. Uncover; add half of chard. Toss until chard wilts and volume is reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add remaining chard. Toss until chard wilts, about 2 minutes. Add broth. Cover and cook until chard is tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Season chard with salt and pepper. Transfer chard mixture to large sieve set over bowl and drain. DO AHEAD: Can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

Drain garbanzos and reserve oil; discard bay leaves. Combine garbanzos and chard in large skillet. Add 2 tablespoons oil reserved from garbanzos. Toss over medium heat until warmed through, moistening with more oil by tablespoonfuls if needed, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Linguine Avgolemono with Artichoke Hearts and Green Beans

I got this recipe from a Bon Apetit magazine and it turned out to be really good. Sometimes I add vegies to pasta, but have never used beans. I'm not a bean fan...to say the least.

Deedy and I went to a Farmers Market in Moraga and bought beans and other goodies. We used the beans in this recipe and they turned out to be really good. We'll definitely make this one again.

Ingredients

3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup whipping cream

12 oz frozen artichoke hearts
8 oz green beansm triummed, cut on diagonal into 2-inch pieces
12 oz linguine

3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese plus additional for serving
1/4 cup chipped fresh parsley

Directions

Place yolks in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in lemon juice, then cream.
Cook artichoke hearts and green beans in large pot of salted, boiling water until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Using sieve, transfer vegetables from pot to large skillet. Return water to boil. Add pasta; boil until tender but still form to bite. Drain pasta, reserving 1 1/2 cups cooking liquid.
Add pasta to skillet with vegetables. Whisk 3/4 cup cooking liquid into yolk mixture. Add yolk mixture, 3/4 cup cheese, and parsley to skillet. Toss over medium heat just until sauce thickens and coats pasta, about 4 minutes, adding more cooking liquid by tablespoons if dry. Season with salt and pepper. Serve, passing additional cheese alongside

Winter Vegetable Soup

I found this recipe on Epcurious.com and everybody liked it, including Chris. The cool thing was making the pesto, putting that on the soup bowl, then adding the soup when you serve it. The pesto added a blast of flavor. The only thing I would change was the addition of the crushed peppers. I would cut that in half. Deedy wasn't into that level of heat. I thought it warmed me up just fine :)

Ingredients

Pesto
2 cups (packed) fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup drained canned diced tomatoes
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled
Soup
2 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled, diced
1 6-ounce white-skinned potato, peeled, diced
3 tablespoons water
8 cups canned vegetable broth
1/2 cup orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
6 ounces green beans, trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 15-ounce can cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Making

For pesto:
Puree all ingredients in processor. Season with salt and pepper. (Pesto can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
For soup:
Combine first 4 ingredients in heavy large pot. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until vegetables are almost tender, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Add broth; bring to boil. Stir in orzo; boil uncovered until orzo is almost tender, stirring often, about 12 minutes. Add green beans; reduce heat and simmer until beans are tender, about 6 minutes. Stir in cannellini and crushed pepper; simmer until heated through, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Divide pesto among 4 bowls. Ladle soup over pesto; swirl to blend. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cheese.

Per serving: calories, 353; total fat, 12 g; saturated fat, 2 g; cholesterol, 6 mg
Makes 4 servings.
Bon Appétit
Cooking for Health
December 2001