Lemon-basil Hummus

We planted too many herbs. And what are you supposed to do with lemon-basil anyway? It looks like basil, it smells like lemons, but it tastes sort of sweet and not unlike those original yellow trix, back when the cereal came as rounded puffs. I've been toying with the idea of putting the lemon-basil into somewhat savory baked goods, like a scone, but because I haven't attempted regular scones yet I didn't want to start with weird ones first. Almost every herb will work in hummus though, and most hummus contains fresh lemon juice already, so lemon-basil hummus seemed like an easy and natural pairing. Feel free to change up this basic recipe on your own. Just remember to include additional lemon juice (1-2 tbs more) if you use non-citrus flavored herbs.


Lemon-basil Hummus

- 15oz can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
- 1/4 cup liquid from can of chckpeas
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1.5 tablespoons tahini
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (virgin/extra virgin)
- 2 tablespoons lemon-basil (leaves crammed into spoon)

Put everything into a 3-cup processor, chopper, or blender (or work in batches if you have a smaller one). Blend until smooth.



You can certainly do this by hand if you don't own a processor or blender, but it required much more labor because you'll need to mash the chickpeas with a fork and finely chop the garlic and herbs.

Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage

Broccoli Rabe is a wonderful veggie that doesn't get enough attention. It can be a little hard to find (i.e., try central market) and sometimes goes by the name "Rapini" (NOT Broccolini, which is sweet). It's a green, similar to mustard greens and collared greens and can be a little bitter, especially if underdone. It has no resemblance to broccoli, except for the little florets, and doesn't taste anything like it. However, I think it has an overall sophisticated flavor that pairs very nicely with other foods that have a heavy presence. Simple sauteed Broccoli Rabe is a classic Italian side dish that's starting to catch on over here (if you saute, make sure to cook until very tender, otherwise it will be bitter! It helps to slit the bottom of thick stems, too). In this quick and easy recipe, the flavor of the sauteed veggie is combined with pasta and Italian sausage.

Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage
Servings: about 4 large
Time: 20-30 minutes

- 8oz (half standard box) of linguine or other medium-thick spaghetti
- 4-6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- dash of crushed red pepper (optional)
- olive oil
- 1 large bunch of Broccoli Rabe (Rapini)
- 3 links of mild Italian sausage
- parmesan cheese

Fully cook the sausage in a skillet over medium heat (if you want to minimize time, do this when you start the water and use a separate skillet for the garlic/oil; if you want less dishes, cook the sausage before starting the water and use the same pan later). Bring about 3-4 quarts of water to boil (about three quarters of a large 4-5 quart pot). While waiting, chop the garlic and wash the broccoli rabe. When the water boils, turn the heat down to medium and add the pasta, stirring for the first minute or two to prevent sticking. The pasta will take about 10-12 minutes to become tender, but firm. During the final three minutes of cooking, add all of the broccoli rabe to the pasta and stir. In a skillet or frying pan heat the oil over medium and then saute the garlic and crushed red pepper for a few minutes. If you started the oil and garlic immediately after adding the broccoli rabe to the pasta, let the spices keep going while you drain the pasta/veggie. The garlic can get golden and crisp, but don't let it turn brown. Make sure you use a large colander to drain the pasta and broccoli rabe because it takes up a large volume and is pretty heavy. Return the pasta and veggies to the large pot, pour over the garlic and oil, and stir. Cut the sausage lengthwise and then cut into small slices. Mix the sausage into the pasta and broccoli rabe. Sprinkle with a little parmesan and enjoy!


If you're fortunate to have yummy exotic sausage flavors at hand, try a chicken variety. Central Market makes an excellent Chicken-Spinach-Feta (in photo) and a tasty Chicken-Garlic, both of which pair nicely with the Broccoli Rabe.

onions, garlic, and oil....oh my!

Just a few tips on some very common ingredients and how to easily manage them. I'm sure some of you are familiar with these ideas already, but I'd figured I'd share for those who do a little less cooking.

Onions

Onions can be a pain, especially when you need to chop or dice a large quantity. From watching my mom and Rob's mom I've picked up this quick method to easily dispatch onions and end up with perfectly sized pieces:

1. After peeling, cut the onion vertically from stem end to root end. You should be cutting through both ends so that each half still has its own root and stem. If you do this incorrectly, you'll end up with one half with an intact stem, and one half with an intact root.


2. Place the cut side flat down on the board and slice off the stem end. Being careful not to cut through the hairy root node, make parallel vertical slices while moving from one side of the onion to the other. The spacing between the slices partly determines the size of your dicing. If you need very small pieces, make a few parallel horizontal cuts moving from top to bottom (you should be looking at the broad, flat surface of your knife, not the top edge).


3. Starting with what used to be the stem end, make vertical slices that run perpendicular to the vertical slicings you made in step two.



By the way, if you're just simply slicing or quartering onion, Mara recommends submerging them in water while cutting in order to reduce the pungent chemical release. Sharp knives always help because you crush fewer odor producing plant cells.

Garlic

I love garlic. I'm pretty sure that you can never have enough garlic in recipes that call for this ingredient, so if you have less of a fondness than I do, you might want to consider using a smaller amount in the recipes that I post. But I really don't recommend reducing your garlic! A lot of people don't like prepping garlic though because as with onions, garlic is very pungent and in addition can be quite sticky. It can also be a royal pain to remove the outer skin. That's why you need one of these:


It's just a little rubber tube that you can use to remove the papery outer skin. Simply insert clove into tube, roll around vigorously, and dump out your freshly disrobed garlic. Cut off the knobby root end of the clove and you're good to go. How to remove the sticky garlic ooze from your fingers? I've heard that rubbing your fingers in sugar works, but I've never tried that myself. If you rinse off with hot water and soap before your fingers dry, that should work. Also, surprisingly, washing up with toothpaste removes most icky things, including shark oil, which I'm sure only a small number of you ever have a problem with....

Olive Oil

You probably won't catch me using cutesy oil terms like "evoo" on here. One, olive oil is pretty much the oldest condiment on the planet and cooing "evoo" seems disrespectful in some way. Second, it reminds me of "evo", the dry food that my cats get. Third, it's really up to you if you want to buy and use this sometimes ridiculously expensive food item. Is it necessary? No. Does it really add more flavor? Yes. If money wasn't an obstacle would you use it all the time? No.

In fact, there are many situations where you should use regular or lite olive oil. One of these times is when you're going to be frying food in olive oil. Olive oil has a low smoking point, which means that when it gets very hot it burns unpleasantly. This is why olive oil is not used in deep fryers. Virgin and extra virgin have even lower smoking points than regular olive oil. In general, if you want to add a deep olive-oily flavor to food, use virgin or extra virgin. If that's not a big deal to you, or if the oil is only being used to add texture or moisture to a dish and the other ingredients will hide the flavor anyway, go ahead and use regular. Regular and lite olive oils have such a mild flavor that you can easily use them in place of canola, vegetable, and peanut oil....unless of course you're deep frying! Some quick guidelines:

- Virgin or Extra as a dressing in salads, as a condiment, in cold foods, in sauces that aren't cooked for a long time and you want the fruity olive flavor
- Regular or lite for lightly frying, sauteing, baking into foods, and for sauces where the oil is merely a vessel for holding other flavors like pepper, garlic, wine, etc.

By the way, I buy regular olive oil by the gallon or more because I use a lot if it. I buy small bottles of higher quality oil because virgin and extra don't keep as long and fresh oil tastes much better (if your oil actually goes bad, you'll know, whew). Different kinds of olives and different companies produce very differently tasting oils. Try some to see what you like. If you're really picky you might discover that you only like certain brands of oil in particular dishes! Personally I like Central Market's extra virgin because it has a nice flavor and is a super value for what you get (compare the unit prices because oils come in a ridiculous variety of bottle shapes and sizes). Always store in a cool dark place! Sunlight is evil.

Pesto

Fresh pesto, though seemingly sophisticated, is one of the tastiest and easiest recipes that you could ever ask for. Unless of course you don't like basil. There are lots of fun, modern takes on pesto using other base ingredients...sort of analogous to "italian salsa" or "mexican spaghetti", but the traditional version involves mostly fresh basil and olive oil. As I'm sure you know, pesto is great on bread or crackers as an appetizer or over pasta in place of other sauces. Other creative uses of pesto include as a topping for chicken or other meat, especially grilled, or swirled into soup as a garnish. The cheese in this recipe is optional but I think it adds a nice tang. Also I love cheese.

Pesto
Time: 5-10 minutes

2.5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh basil (must be fresh, NOT dried; very full tablespoons)
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese (grated blends better)
1 small or 1/2 large clove of garlic, peeled, "knot" cut off

Place all of the ingredients in a mini food chopper/processor or a blender. Go. If you double or triple the recipe, use proportionately less oil (don't double or triple the amount).

It's really that easy if you have a little chopper (1-3 cup electric type, see pic). If you don't have one I highly recommend getting one. They're pretty cheap and make many kitchen tasks go more quickly and easily. Also most have dishwasher safe parts. If you still refuse to get one, you can make the pesto by hand by slicing up the basil and garlic as small as possible, making sure the cheese is finely grated, and then combining everything in a bowl. By the way, it's also fairly important to use extra virgin or another good quality olive oil because the flavor is an integral part of the pesto.



For a special touch, mix in whole pine nuts (pignolis) after chopping and mixing. By the way, pesto apparently freezes really well. Many food-sites suggest freezing little portions in ice-cubes trays and then transfering the blocks to freezer bags for long-term storage. This is a great idea if you grow your own basil and want to have large amounts of pesto around for the winter. Actually, in Texas you can probably grow the stuff almost year round!

Summer Pasta

Welcome to the Short Rib! For the first post I'd like to share a simple recipe that's perfect for the hot days of the summer. This is a pasta dish that can be served warm or cold and the leftovers are especially good after melding in the fridge over night. Consider this a basic plan with a lot of room for imagination. The possibilities are endless.

Orzo with Fresh Tomatoes, Chic Peas, and Feta Cheese
Total time: 20 minutes (really!)
Servings: 4-6

1/2 pound of orzo or other small pasta
3 large or 4 small tomatoes, ripe
1 can (14.5oz) chic peas (aka garbanzo beans)
Crumbled feta cheese
Olive oil (preferably virgin or extra-virgin)
salt

Fill a 5 quart pot (or something similar) halfway with water. Cover and bring to boil. Add pasta, stir immediately to prevent sticking, and turn the heat down to medium. While the water boils and the pasta cooks, cut up the tomatoes and add to a large bowl. It's really up to you how small or large to cut the tomatoes...either neat wedges or diced...I usually shoot for something in the middle. Include the juicy centers because they help coat the pasta. Next, drain and rinse the beans and then add those to the tomatoes. Add salt a few pinches at a time, to taste. You really must taste things or you'll never be able to figure out what your food is going to come out like. Same goes for the pasta, try a little as you think it's getting near done. Small shapes take about 10 minutes, but this always varies. Drain the pasta in a colander with very small holes to make sure the orzo doesn't slip through. A large strainer will work, too. Rise with a little cold water to stop the cooking process and to cool the pasta. Add the pasta to the bowl with the tomatoes and beans and immediately add olive oil and mix to prevent sticking. You can use any oil, but virgin or extra will add more flavor and you won't need as much. I used less than a quarter cup this last time. Add a little, mix, add a little, mix. Everything should be coated, but you don't want to end up with a puddle at the bottom. Taste! You should be able to taste the oil. Finally, mix in about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of feta. Again, this is really up to you. We like a lot of cheese. Eat now or chill for a while and eat later.

Feel free to tweak this as you go. Fresh herbs like basil are always great. This recipe also works really nicely with the addition of balsamic vinegar. One of my favorite variations is pasta, tomatoes, great northern beans (a type of white bean), oil, and balsamic. The northern beans tend to be less firm than other types of beans and lend a creaminess to the sauce. Get creative and change the vegetables, add chicken, try a new cheese. Other pastas that work great (and are easier to work with than orzo) are the classic italian soup pastas such as ditalini, tiny bow ties, and small shells.

Pre cheese-mixing. The pasta is ditalini.