broccoli pesto

we had a broccoli crown in the fridge that was nearing the point of use-now-or-else. wanting to do something other than the usual steamed/blanched/sauteed/other-easy-cooking-method broccoli side dish, i decided to make a broccoli pesto of sorts to shake things up. i used nuts and herbs that we already had on hand and you could easily switch them out for whatever you have laying around. we enjoyed this on pasta for dinner but it would work well wherever you would normally use pesto!


broccoli pesto
ingredients:
1 broccoli crown
1/4 cup almonds
3/4 cup dill, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup parsley, coarsely chopped
juice of 1 1/2 lemons
5 cloves braised garlic*
1/4 teaspoon crushed chili flakes
1/2 cup olive oil (give or take)
salt and pepper to taste

chop the broccoli into small florets and slice the stem. blanch in a pot of salted boiling water for about 15 seconds. drain in a colander and run under cold water.

in a food processor, pulse the almonds until they become fine crumbs (but don't turn them into butter!). add the broccoli and give it a few spins to roughly chop it up. add all other ingredients and process until you reach your desired pesto consistency. i poured in a splash of oil in the beginning forgetting to measure, then measured out an additional 1/4 cup to add but i think i had about 1/2 cup total. anyway, add the oil gradually and blend in between to make sure you don't use too much.

i didn't have room in our tiny food processor for all the broccoli so i saved the stem slices and browned them in a frying pan to top our pasta with.

*braised garlic is super easy to make and a nice thing to keep in the fridge. to make it, just separate and peel the garlic cloves from two heads of garlic (or however many you want) and place in a small baking dish. cover with 1/2 cup olive oil and toss in a rosemary sprig (or whatever herbs you want). cover with foil and cook at 350 for about 30-40 minutes (until the cloves are light brown and soft).

-d

creamy herbed potato soup

My brother recently had his wisdom teeth out, the day after his 33rd birthday . . . and for a week was unable to eat solid food. That's right, no chewing. So, being the ever-thoughtful sister, I made him some soup. And liked it so much that I made a second batch for myself. The garnish of mushrooms, potatoes and watercress is of my own invention, designed to make the soup a bit heartier (my brother received an extra pureed version. Remember the no chewing thing?) But really, it is lovely on it's own - deliciously creamy and filling!


Creamy Herbed Potato Soup
from The Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special

for soup
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 1/2 chopped celery
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter (or oil)
3 cups cubed red potatoes
3 cups water
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill (or 1 tsp dried)
1 cup milk or cream

for garnish*
sliced, cooked mushrooms
baked or fried potato cubes
handful of watercress


In a soup pot, saute the onions, celery, and salt in the butter (or oil) for 5 minutes on medium-high heat. Add the potatoes, water and dill, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer until the potatoes are soft, about 10 minutes.

In a blender (or using an immersion blender) puree the vegetable mixture with the milk (or cream). Gently reheat before serving.

* to serve, I made a mound of the mushrooms, potatoes, and watercress and ladled the soup around.

- e

super herby pasta

since kris gets home from work before me, i often come home to him concocting in the kitchen. i love it! we had a fridge full of fresh herbs leftover from various things and decided to make a pasta dish bursting with fresh herby flavors. kris's take was a whole wheat pasta tossed with a lemon dill sauce and topped with parsley and rosemary-broiled zucchini slices. we had some oil-braised garlic leftover from something as well that went into the sauce and added a wonderful soft buttery garlic note (if you don't have any on hand, you could just sautee some minced garlic in stead). here's a loose recipe to follow:

herby pasta
ingredients:
1/2 pound pasta of your choice
juice of 1 lemon
white wine vinegar
handful fresh dill, chopped
handful fresh parsley, chopped
several cloves oil braised garlic, chopped (recipe below)
margarine
1 zucchini
fresh rosemary
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

cook pasta according to instructions.

slice zucchini and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and place on a baking sheet with a few fresh rosemary leaves. broil or bake until tender.

meanwhile, in a small saucepan add chopped garlic and sautee a few seconds to heat through. add lemon juice, a splash of vinegar, dill and a small amount of margarine. continue to add margarine in small quantities and cook until melted. adjust the flavor with salt and pepper and more vinegar/margarine. continue to cook over medium heat. you should end up with a nice sort of thick sauce.*

toss pasta and zucchini with sauce and parsley, adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed, and enjoy!

oil-braised garlic
2 large bulbs garlic, whole cloves peeled
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 rosemary sprigs

preheat the oven to 350. place the garlic, oil and rosemary in a baking dish. cover with foil and bake for 30 - 40 minutes, until the garlic cloves are very soft and just starting to brown. (can be stored in an airtight container up to 2 weeks).

on a side note, kris and i leave for boston tonight! we're so excited to see old friends, new babies and eat some bagels already!!! erin and i will once again be reunited and should have another delicious foodie post coming soon.

*is that vague enough? sorry.

-d