One-pot pasta with mushrooms and leeks

Another NYT recipe, another one-pot recipe

Time saver: I saw that Trader Joe's has now sells peeled garlic cloves, so I got those.

The lemon juice did what it was supposed to do (deglaze the pan, or rather Dutch oven), but it also added a sour note I could have done without.

4 cups of liquid was just enough to cook the pasta. 

Here's the finished dish, it looked pretty, and the ricotta made it creamy and less sour.

Alas, for once, this was a recipe that looked better than it tasted. Perhaps it was the broth I used, perhaps it was the lemon juice, but I'm not sure I tasted 'umami,' rather, it tasted a little sour (but the ricotta, once mixed with the pasta, balanced it out nicely). 

7/10

Sheetpan feta with chickpeas, tomatoes, and mushrooms (NYT Cooking)

 Time for another sheetpan recipe. I picked one from the NYT again. I did my shopping at Trader Joe's. Simple ingredients, simple preparation. It all came together quickly.

In a spread of Greek appetizers, or meze, there’s often a warm feta dish like bouyiourdi (baked feta with tomato and hot peppers) or a saganaki (fried cheese). This recipe combines elements of these two classic appetizers into a sheet-pan meal. Softened feta provides a salty, creamy counterpoint to sweet, juicy tomatoes and chickpeas that are sticky from honey and spicy from dried chile. Try this version, then riff wildly: Switch out tomatoes for mini peppers, olives, dates or cauliflower. Swap the hot honey for anchovies, harissa, smoked paprika or turmeric. Eat with pita, grains, salad greens, hummus or yogurt.

 

First, the chickpeas. Roasting them made them less mealy, though not quite crispy. 

As for cheese, though the recipe advises against using feta made from cows' milk, that's what I did. I'm not a big fain of sheep feta. The cows' milk feta (from Trader Joe's) worked just fine. 

 Here's what I put into the oven. I added mushrooms in addition to the tomatoes and left out the tomatoes in one corner of the sheet (my daughter doesn't like tomatoes). It worked just fine. Here's the dish after the bake.

And everything arranged on a plate with some  yogurt and pita chips. It made for a lovely low-effort summer dinner. 8/10.

Sheet-Pan Gnocchi With Mushrooms and Spinach (NYT Cooking)

I love this one-pot dish, where the pasta is just cooked right in the pan, together with the ingredients for the sauce. Can you do something similar with gnocchi? Let's try it out. Here's the link to the NYT Cooking recipe. 

"This sheet-pan dinner is inspired by classic steakhouse sides: roasted mushrooms, creamy horseradish-mustard sauce, wilted spinach and roasted potatoes. Well, kind of. Instead of whole potatoes, this recipe uses store-bought gnocchi, a superspeedy stand-in that takes on the fun combination of browned and chewy when roasted. This dish is hearty enough to be a full meal, though it’d also make a great side to braised beans, roast chicken, a seared pork chop and, of course, steak."

Ingredients arranged on a baking sheet. 

I left out the spinach (not a favorite with my daughter) as well as the horseradish in the sauce (not a big fan myself). We were almost running out of olive oil, so, to coat everything on the sheet, I used olive oil cooking spray. 

 

 And done!

 

Running joke in my family: Instead of eating dishes with a side of salad or greens, I put them on a 'spinach bed.' Worked like a charm for this dish. 

Feeds 3 not super hungry people. Verdict: 8/10, worthy to be repeated.

Ingredients:

1. 1pound mixed mushrooms, such as shiitake, oyster, maitake or cremini, trimmed and quartered (or cut into 1-inch pieces, if large)
2. 1(12- to 18-ounce) package shelf-stable or refrigerated potato gnocchi
3. 6tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
4. 4scallions, cut into 1-inch lengths
5. 1large shallot, thinly sliced
6. Kosher salt and black pepper
7. 5ounces baby spinach (about 5 packed cups)
8. 2tablespoons Dijon mustard
9. 2tablespoons prepared horseradish
10. 1teaspoon honey
11. 1tablespoon unsalted butter

PREPARATION

• Step 1Heat the oven to 425 degrees. On a sheet pan, toss together the mushrooms, gnocchi, 5 tablespoons olive oil, scallions and shallot. Season with salt and pepper, shake into an even layer, and roast without stirring until the gnocchi and mushrooms are golden and crisp, 20 to 25 minutes. Add the spinach and remaining tablespoon of oil, season with salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Spread in an even layer, then return to the oven to roast until the spinach is tender, another 5 to 7 minutes.
• Step 2 Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the mustard, horseradish and honey until combined. Season with salt and pepper.
• Step 3Add the butter and half the sauce to the sheet pan, and stir until melted and glazy. Eat with the remaining sauce on the side.

Asparagus Fritatta

 Today I made a recipe from Smitten Kitchen: Asparagus Frittata. The great thing about this recipe is that you don't need to cook or stir fry the asparagus first. It's an all-in-one recipe, and it turned out great. It served three of us for dinner (not 6, as stated in the recipe).

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound asparagus, cleaned, not trimmed
• 8 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk or cream
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal [I substituted chives]
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 to 4 ounces soft goat cheese, crumbled (to taste)

Prepare the asparagus: No need to snap off the tough ends of your asparagus. Lay a single stalk on its side on a cutting board. Holding onto the tough end, use a vegetable peeler to peel ribbons away from the tough end (and your hand) right through the soft tip. Discard the tough ends once you’re done peeling. [I really liked this method!]

 

Heat your broiler.

Vigorously beat your eggs with the milk or cream, plus salt and pepper until well-combined. Stir in scallions [I used chives]. Gently add asparagus peels, just swishing the egg mixture over them.

 

Heat your skillet over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Let it heat fully, then swish it around so it goes up the sides of the pan. Pour in asparagus and egg mixture, nudging the asparagus around so it mostly stays level with the eggs. Crumble goat cheese over, to taste. Cook gently (lowering the heat to medium-low if needed) for about 5 minutes, until the edges are set and brown but it’s still loose and eggy on top. Transfer skillet to the broiler and cook for another 1 to 3 minutes, keeping a close eye on it, until eggs are set on top.

Let cool for 5 minutes before cutting into wedges, or longer if you’d like to eat it at room temperature.

Verdict: Easy to make and delicious. Tastes good hot or lukewarm or even cold. Could easily go into a lunchbox. 10/10

Dinner in One: Pasta with butternut squash and rosemary brown butter

 With the little cooking I do, not to mention my NYT subscription, there is no reason for me to buy a cook book. But recently  I came across Melissa Clark's "Dinner in One. Exceptional & Easy One-Pan Meals" at the local bookstore and thought that perhaps I'd cook more if I have a book with recipes at hand. 

Attempt #1: Cavatelli (I used different pasta) with butternut squash, ricotta (I used 5% yogurt), and rosemary brown butter.

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• thinly slided large shallot (I picked up a packet of diced onions at Trader Joe's, used about 1/3)
• one pound butternut squash, peeled, trimmed, and cut into small cubes (again, I picked up chopped butternut squash at Trader Joe's -- such a time saver)
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 12 ounces pasta (pasta is cooked with butternut squash, it's best if they both have the same cooking time, so pick some kind of sturdy pasta)
• 1/2 cup whole-milk ricotta (I used 1 container of Fage 5% Greek yogurt instead --  my family finds ricotta grainy)
• 1/2 cup chopped herbs, including mint (I used 1/4 cup of mint only)
• grated lemon zest
• grated parmesan cheese (I think the dish is fine without it)

You cook all of this in a large skillet, ideally one with a lid.

Step one: melt butter over medium heat, cook until foam subsides (3-4 mins)

Step 2: stir in shallots/onions, cook for 2 mins; add squash and rosemary, salt, pepper, cook for another 5-7 minutes (squash begins to soften)

Step 3: add 3 1/4 cups of water and bring to a biol. Stir in pasta and reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook until pasta has absorbed the water (add more if necessary) and is al dente. Recipe says this will take 18-25 minutes, but it took less (perhaps 12-14 minutes). Squash should be soft by the end. I ended up halving some of the cubes to speed up that process.

 Step 4: remove from heat, stir in ricotta (or yogurt), mint, and lemon zest. Serve sprinkled with more herbs and generous heap of grated cheese (which I thought could be left out, but who doesn't like melted cheese?).

Voilà!

Verdict: 8/10

Easy to make (especially if you buy pre-chopped squash, but don't take shortcuts on the mint), quite delicious, and includes a pound of veggies.

Easy Mac & Cheese for One

I always wanted to try Smitten Kitchen's easy essential stovetop mac'n'cheese, and tonight I did. I'm happy to confirm that it was indeed easy and delicious and that my daughter loved it. I accidentally used too much milk (1 cup instead of 1/2), but it just made for extra sauce. I also didn't have parmesan or pecorino cheese, so I just used grated cheese from Trader Joe's. My daughter didn't mind. Would be happy to double the ingredients and make this a cozy TV dinner (Downton Abbey!) for two.

For what it is, a quick comfort food fix, 8/10.

Here's the recipe:

• Kosher salt
• 4 ounces (115 grams) dried pasta, such as macaroni or another small twisty shape
• 2 teaspoons (10 grams) salted or unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons (6 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) low-fat or whole milk 
• Many grinds of black pepper
• 1/2 cup (1 ounce or 30 grams) finely grated parmesan or pecorino cheese

Bring a small-to-medium pot of very well-salted water to a boil and add your dried pasta. Cook it until firm tender, then drain. 

Return pot to stove and melt butter in the bottom. Using a spoon or whisk, add flour and mix until it disappears. 

Add milk, a tiny splash at a time [I got this wrong, but it didn't mater), stirring constantly so no lumps form. Season with 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt and many grinds of black pepper. Bring sauce to a simmer. Cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes. 

Remove from heat and stir in grated cheese until combined. 

Add drained pasta, stir to evenly coat. 

One-pot Orzo with Spinach and Peas

One-pot recipes are the best. This one has become my go-to recipe. Tonight I tried another one-pot recipe from The New York Times, with some simplifications (I didn't have scallions and I didn't have garlic). 1 cup of orzo didn't seem enough for 3 people, so I added another 1/2 cup. Easy and delicious. I think next time I might try mozzarella instead of feta.

One-pot spaghetti with cherry tomatoes and spinach

When I saw this recipe at New York Times Cooking (which I have access to as a subscriber to the paper), I knew it was just right for me. Not many ingredients (I substituted spinach for kale) and ONE POT ONLY. It turned out great. My resident fussy eater (now 11 years old) picked out the spinach, but otherwise it was an overall success. I was even asked to make it again soon!

"In this simple recipe, raw pasta and cherry tomatoes are simmered together in a single pan, cooking the pasta and forming a thick, starchy sauce at the same time. The efficient technique is internet famous, but this is the British cookbook author Anna Jones's simple vegetarian take on the phenomenon, adapted from her book "A Modern Way to Cook." The technique is easy to master and endlessly adaptable: When you add the kale, you could also toss in a couple of anchovies and a generous pinch of red chile flakes. When you season and top with cheese, you could add a pile of fresh chopped herbs, like mint, basil or oregano."

I didn't do any of that, of course. Minimal all the way. This is what you need:

• 1 pound spaghetti
• 1 pound cherry tomatoes, halved (about 2 pints)
• 2 lemons, zested
• ¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 bunch kale or spinach, leaves only, washed and chopped
•  Salt and pepper, to taste
•  Parmesan, for serving

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Bring just over a quart of water to a boil. Meanwhile, place spaghetti, tomatoes, lemon zest, oil and salt in a large, dry, shallow pan. (The pan should be large enough that the dry spaghetti can lie flat. )

Add the hot water to the pan with the spaghetti. Cover pan, and bring up to a boil. Remove lid and simmer for about 6 minutes, using tongs to move the spaghetti around now and then so it doesn’t stick.

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4. Add kale or spinach and continue cooking until remaining liquid has reduced to a sauce and the pasta is cooked through. Taste, season and top with cheese. 

 

And that's it, could't be easier, couldn't be more satisfying (at least for vegetarians).  Enough for a hungry family of 3. Easily a 9 out of 10.