Spaghetti alla Carbonara

I mean, is there anything more comforting? If pasta is the warm blanket of food, Carbonara is the cashmere version. Pasta, eggs, pancetta or bacon, wine, parmesan and romano...all pure, luxe softness. I've added a printable recipe jpg at the bottom for ease!

The first recipe I came across was very different from this, a more Northern Italian style with a creamy sauce and ham from a Time-Life international cookbook. This classic Roman style here was another revelation, eggy rather than creamy and even more luxurious. After being led astray a few years ago by a well-intentioned recipe that tried to reduce the fat but left the whole dish very soupy, I referred to my trusty copy of Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, knowing the amazing Marcella (may she rest in peace) wouldn't let me down. Here is my version, only very slightly altered.

Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 lbs dry spaghetti*
-3 Tbsp good olive oil
-4 or 5 cloves garlic
-1/3 to 1/2 pound piece of pancetta or bacon**
-1/4 cup dry white wine
-2 eggs
-1/4 cup grated pecorino romano
-1/2 cup grated parmigiano
-fresh black pepper
-2 Tbsp chopped parsley leaves

* 1 1/4 lbs spaghetti is an odd amount. If you can find a 500 g package from Italy, use that. If you can't and you don't want to open a second package, 1 pound is fine. 
** Guanciale is reportedly the most traditional cured pork for this, but it can be hard to find and rather $$$. As I'm in the Bay Area I could have found some, but I decided not to run all over town. If you can get a nice slab of pancetta from a good meat counter that's also great, or if you can only find packaged stuff, get the thick sliced bacon. 

1. Preparation: Put a large pot of water on for the pasta. When it comes to a boil, add 1 to 1 1/2 Tbsp salt to the water and bring back to a boil before adding the pasta. Only a little will be absorbed by the pasta, and it will help the pasta cook better. Don't add oil.

• While waiting for the pasta to boil, cut the pancetta or bacon into pieces about 1/4 in thick and 1/2 in wide. 
• Crush the garlic with the side or the handle of your big knife. Remove the skins, but leave whole. 

2. Start the sauce.  Cook the olive oil and garlic in a saute pan over medium heat until the garlic is golden. A 10 inch pan is probably ideal, but use what you've got. 

Remove the garlic from the pan and discard. 

Add the pancetta pieces to the pan and saute, turning over once, until just a little browned on each side. Usually, I'm a crispy bacon girl, but you want a little texture here. 

Carefully add the white wine to the pan and continue cooking for another minute or two. Turn off the heat until the pasta is ready.

If you do want to reduce the fat a bit, remove a couple of tablespoons of fat from the pan before adding the wine. Then after adding the wine, add a couple of tablespoons of the salted water the pasta has been cooking in. 

Crack the two eggs into a large bowl (the same bowl you'll be serving the pasta in). Beat the eggs. Add the grated cheeses, a few grindings of black pepper, and the chopped parsley leaves. Stir everything together and set aside until the pasta is finished cooking. 

Because the heat of the pasta cooks the eggs, you want to make sure to use hot pasta straight from the pot. 

When the spaghetti is cooked just how you like it, don't drain it in a colander. Instead, use tongs or a really big fork to remove it from the water and put it straight into the bowl. This way, the tiny bit of starchy salty water still on the spaghetti will incorporate into the sauce and make it silky. Pretend that handsome Scott Conant from Chopped is watching. He would scowl if he saw you with a colander. 

This method of taking the spaghetti from the pot also ensures that you'll have plenty of that water left if the spaghetti is too dry.

Put the pasta in the bowl and toss well, Then add the contents of the pancetta pan and toss again.

Add a little of the pasta water if it seems dry to you.

Serve with more grated cheese and fresh pepper...and maybe the rest of the wine!

 Printable! Right click, save image to your computer and then print. 

Spring Risotto with Leeks, Peas and Pancetta

After last week's delicious foray into veggie tops from the market, I was thinking about the spring farmer's market and Berkeley Bowl bounty all week. English peas and leeks are in season here, so they inspired this recipe along with the bag of Arborio rice in my cabinet and the small piece of Asiago cheese in my fridge. If you're still stuck in the snow, most of these ingredients are available at supermarkets, and you can always use frozen peas. Fresh asparagus would be a nice addition or substitute for the peas as well, but definitely not frozen asparagus! 

Shelling peas might sound like a pain in the neck, but it's actually not that bad. It'd be a fun way to get kids involved in the kitchen, kind of like shucking corn in summer. The amount of peas indicated below is meant to be post-shelling. 

Ingredients: 

1 cup Arborio rice
4 cups veggie or chicken broth, (Oops! Not pictured.) homemade or low-sodium boxed), warmed. You probably will only need about 3 to 3 1/2 cups. 
1/2 cup white wine (also AWOL from pic.)
2 small leeks, white and light green parts
1 cup shelled peas
2/3 c grated Asiago, Parmesan or Romano cheese, plus a little more for serving
olive oil
3 oz finely diced pancetta or 1 Tbsp butter
chopped fresh parsley leaves (about 2 Tbsp)
salt and pepper to taste

If you're using canned or boxed broth, throw a couple of veggies into the pot you warm it in to add a little more fresh flavor. I was planning to make chicken broth, but left the bones out too long and had to pitch them. Wah!

Wash the leeks well, rinsing between layers in case there's any sand in there (also a good kid task). Chop into slices and set aside for a minute. 

Put the pot of broth on the back burner and keep warm. Put a straight-sided skillet or saucepan on the front burner. 

Put the olive oil in the front pan, heat to medium-high and add the pancetta. When the pancetta is getting almost crisp and slightly brown, take it out and set it aside. If there is more than 2 Tbsp of fat in the pan at this point, pour off the extra. 

If you're keeping it veggie, just add the butter to the olive oil. Go right to the next step when the butter melts. 

Add the leeks to the pan. Let them get nice and soft like this, making sure not to brown them. 

Add a teensy pinch of salt to the leeks while you saute them. 

Add the Arborio rice to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, for one minute. 

Add the white wine to the pan, cook and stir for one to two minutes until the alcohol burns off. 

Add a couple ladle-fuls of broth to the rice. Stir very frequently, not necessarily constantly. 

If you haven't yet, grate the cheese and set aside. 

Ladle more and stir more. 

Keep ladling and stirring for about 15 minutes. Then start tasting the risotto for doneness and seasoning. You want it just a little underseasoned since you're going to add the salty cheese. 

When it's almost but not quite done, stir in the peas and the cooked pancetta. Continue cooking, ladling and stirring until the rice is done, maybe a touch al dente and not mushy yet. 

The risotto should be a little bit loose, not too soupy but not too dry. You may or may not end up using all the broth. 


When it's done, remove from the heat and stir in the cheese. Serve in a pretty bowl topped with more grated cheese and chopped parsley leaves. You know, unless you hate parsley, in which case, skip that part. Buon Appetito!

Terresa's Herb Pesto Bruschetta

This month I was lucky enough to be invited to a cooking class with Terresa of La Cucina di Terresa, She is a Californian who has been living in Europe, soaking up the wisdom of French and Italian cooks and farmers and giving cooking classes and tours.

While we were waiting for the things we were working on to come out of the oven, she shared the most amazing herb and carrot-top pesto with us. Here is my attempt at it (the recipe makes enough for 20-25 bruschetta). You could use all herbs: parsley, basil, cilantro, whatever you love. 

The best reminder I got out of the class was the reminder of how important it is to get the freshest ingredients grown with the most care, and the best new information was how delicious carrot tops, radish tops and beet tops can be! Alas, beet tops usually come attached to beets, but I'll definitely be using more carrot and radish tops. She also took the mystery and scariness out of cooking by weight rather than by measuring cup. This pesto is actually made by a ratio by weight, one part herbs, one part seeds or nuts, one part cheese, one and a half parts oil. I'll provide approximate cup measures, too. 

Here are the greens I used: parsley and the tops of carrots and radishes grown nearby with care. Radishes are in season here in Northern CA right now, so there are several varieties available at the good markets and farmers' markets. The rest will go into soups and salads in the next day or two.

I weighed out 50 grams of greens (this came out to a little over 4 cups packed loosely). 

Wash the greens well. These lovelies weren't power washed at the mega farm, so they had quite a bit of dirt on them! 

Spin them dry if you have a spinner, or pat them with a towel. 

Spread them out on a dish towel to dry more while you grate the cheese and prepare the other ingredients. Remove the thicker parts of the stems. The small parts are fine to add with the leaves. 

Grate 50 grams Parmigiano Reggiano (about 1.5 cups). If you don't want to splurge on Reggiano, you can use a cheaper cheese, but don't buy it pre-grated, please. Pretty please?! It'll already have lost half the flavor. 

Weigh out 50 grams of pumpkin seeds (maybe 1/3 to 1/2 a cup). You could also use pine nuts, but today at the market they were $21.99 a pound vs. $4.99 for the pumpkin seeds. Walnuts, almonds, whatever you like could work. Don't toast them for the pesto. But do toast the leftover pumpkin seeds for snacks and sprinkle them with a little salt. Delicious. 

Here's another tip from Terresa: peel a garlic clove, then slice it in half and remove the greenish root from the middle. If the garlic is super new it might not have one, but usually it will. 

Mash 1/2 of the garlic clove with a pinch of salt (with a mortar and pestle if you have them, a fork and a bowl if you don't), Set the other half aside for the bruschetta. 

Put the seeds in a food processor and pulse a little bit to chop them up. 

Add the mashed garlic and herbs. Pulse a little more, stop and scrape down the sides, and then add 75 grams of really good olive oil (about 1/3 cup). Turn on food processor and blend just a minute or so. 

When it looks nice and evenly chopped, turn out the pesto into a bowl and stir in the cheese with a spatula or a spoon. If it seems thicker than you like, you can stir in a little more olive oil. Let the flavors come together for an hour or so before serving if you can wait. I couldn't today!

Now, for the bruschetta: you need some good hearty bread for this, a nice crusty loaf or a sturdy
baguette. Terresa brought bread from The Mill, the fabulous new bakery in SF where people stand in line for-e-ver for a slice of $4 toast. I have to say, it was really good. That wasn't in my schedule this week, though, so I got the Berkeley classic: Acme Pain au Levain. 

Slice the bread into nice size pieces to balance with a hearty spoonful of the pesto. Pre-heat the oven to 350 and get some olive oil and a pastry brush ready for when they come out. This is Bariani olive oil, available at farmers' markets, good supermarkets and health food stores.

Toast the bread in the oven for a couple of minutes, turning over halfway through. 

When the bread is nicely toasted (somehow the toasty color doesn't show here, but you know what toasted is, right?), rub the second half of the garlic clove on one side and liberally brush with olive oil. 

Spoon on enough pesto to have a nice balance between the bread and the topping. Serve on something pretty and enjoy! 

White Bean and Veggie Soup

White Bean and Veggie Soup

(with optional ham)

You may be thinking by now that I don't make much healthy food...while the last couple of weeks have been filled with treats and stress eating, this is the kind of cooking I do more regularly.  I keep cans of white beans on hand for times when I need to make something fast, but today I cooked up a pot of white beans that will serve for at least two recipes. This makes about 4 quarts of soup, enough for a big group or to have lunches or dinners most of the week for just lil' ol' me. It freezes well, so I'll probably pop some in the freezer for next week. 

For this recipe, you'll need:

1. 3 cups cooked white beans (canned is OK if you rinse them). 
2. (Optional) 6 oz diced smoked ham - you could add a piece of Parmesan rind if you want to keep it veggie, or smoked tofu to keep it vegan
3. 1 medium onion (or 1/2 onion and one small leek - the leeks at the market today were beautiful, so that's what I used), diced
4. about 4 medium carrots and 2-4 stalks of celery (I tend to go easy on celery so it doesn't overpower the other stuff)
5. 1/2 cup white wine or 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
6. 1/2-1 tsp dried thyme or a sprig of rosemary, to taste
7. 1 14-16 oz can diced tomatoes in juice, low-salt or no-salt preferred
8. 4 cups veggie or chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
9. 2 cups chopped greens (chard, kale, or grownup spinach - baby spinach is too soft)
10. optional: parsley leaves and/or grated Parmesan, Asiago or Romano cheese for serving

First, prep your veggies. Wash them well, rinsing out any sand in the leek if you're using one, and finely chop the onion and the white and light green part of the leek. Save the dark green part for making broth. 

Dice the carrots and celery into pieces about the same size as your beans. You can peel the carrots if that's how you roll, but I stopped doing that long ago.

Put 1 Tbsp olive oil and the leeks and onion in a 5 qt or larger pot. Saute a couple of minutes until they start to soften, then add the carrots, celery and a pinch of salt and pepper. Saute another couple of minutes. Don't let them brown.

If using the ham, push the veggies aside and add 1/3 of the ham and 1 tsp oil to the side of the pot. If using smoked tofu or Parmesan rind, just toss them in. 

Saute the 2 oz of ham for a minute before stirring into the veggies. Set aside the rest of the ham to add toward the end - that way you'll have some of the flavor in the soup, but you'll still have flavorful pieces of ham in the finished product. It's such a bummer when you add it all at the beginning and the flavor all gets cooked out! 

Now add the white wine or vinegar - in a rare turn of events I didn't want to open a bottle tonight, so I put in the vinegar. Dry Vermouth would also be OK, but not that ghastly "cooking wine". Stir in and let evaporate for a minute or two. Add the thyme or rosemary and the tomatoes. 

Fill the tomato can with water and add that water to the pot, too. 

Add the beans to the pot (some of the pot liquid is OK to add if you cooked them, but not the liquid from a can) and bring to a low boil. Cook for 3-5 minutes.

Add the broth, bring back to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and let cook for 20-30 minutes.

Taste for seasoning (salt, pepper, thyme). It should be a little undersalted if you're adding the rest of the ham.  Adjust seasoning to taste.

Add the greens (I had some leftover cooked kale, so that's what I put today) and the rest of the ham. Simmer until the greens are cooked, 5-10 minutes.

That's it! If AH phase 1 or 2, serve with whatever you need to balance your meal. If AH phase 3, serve with whole meal bread or crackers. I'm going with whole grain crackers today, but I might whip up some biscuits later in the week. I busted out some of my nanna's pretty china for this photo, so I hope you like it!

Ginger Rotisserie Chicken Jook (aka Rice Porridge or Congee) Total time 2 1/4 hours, active time about 30 minutes)   

I was having a little trouble figuring out what to post this week, but then my friends at yourfoodchoices.com posted a beautiful whole grain congee with made from scratch chicken broth, Mei Lin won Top Chef with a congee, and my sinuses really started acting up. Given all these signs and the upcoming Lunar New Year, it seems to be time for some comforting, healing Congee/Jook!

Congee is one of a few names for a traditional Chinese rice porridge, sort of the equivalent of  chicken noodle soup. I call it Jook, the Cantonese name, in honor of the ESL students I teach in SF's Chinatown. It's perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner, a snow day, a sick day, or just any time you want some comfort. 

Jook can be made with pork, beef, abalone, hundred-year eggs, or just about anything. If you like to buy rotisserie chickens, it's a great way to use the bones and a good amount of the meat. You can use broth, water, or a combination of the two. I use a combination. 

Busted! I can't help but eat a piece of the chicken while it's still hot and yummy.  It's best to make broth from scratch. But if you aren't feeling so hot or you have a busy weekend, you can cheat a little with a 32 oz box of low-sodium chicken broth. Be sure to get the low sodium, not the reduced sodium. As of the last time I checked, Whole Foods and Trader Joe's carry it for the same price. 

Remove the meat from the bones. Shred half the meat for the congee and set aside the other half for sandwiches or chicken salad. 

Roughly chop two carrots, one stalk of celery and one small onion or large shallot. Add to a large pot with the bones and broth. Starting on low heat and turning it up after a few minutes, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. 

As the broth comes to a boil, you'll start to see some white foamy stuff. This is OK. 

If you see grey clumpy stuff, be sure to strain or spoon that off before it breaks up into the liquid again. This is schmutz from any bad stuff that might be in the chicken, and you don't want it in your Jook. It's not the end of the world if you miss some, but get as much out as you can. 

Simmer for 30 min to 1 hour. 

Strain the broth into a 5 to 8 quart pot. Compost the bones and veggies (or compost the bones and mash the carrots with a little salt and butter for a chef's snack).

Add a one-inch piece of ginger. You can peel it if you like. I find it easier to find and fish out if the peel is still on. 

Add one cup of long grain white rice. Short grain rice will make it gummy. If you prefer brown rice, add 15-30 minutes to the cooking time. Add six cups of water for a total of 10 cups of liquid. Bring to a boil and skim off as much of the white or gray foam that rises to the top as you can this time. Simmer for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

If you're wondering if you read that right, yes, that was 10 cups of liquid to one cup of rice! The rice will break down a bit but give a nice texture to the dish. After about 60 minutes, check for salt. If you think it needs it, stir in 1/4 tsp at a time, checking after each addition, until it's just right for you. 

Then, prepare your condiments. My favorites are scallions and cashews. Chop one scallion (green onion) for each bowl you plan to serve. I've chopped four to set some aside for tomorrow. Toast some raw cashews or peanuts in a dry pan over medium heat for a couple of minutes until they get some brownish spots and give off a light fragrance. 


Other possible toppings include cilantro leaves, a soft-poached or hard-boiled egg, fried shallots, Chinese sausage, pickled ginger or radish, or rousong (a yummy pork product - I won't gross you out with the English name). 

Put some of the shredded chicken into each bowl you're serving. Ladle the Jook over the chicken and sprinkle with cashews, scallions and a drizzle of sesame oil. 

Enjoy the comfort!

Valentine's or Singles Appreciation Day Cheese Souffle

Souffle? Really? Isn't that, like, super hard? Actually, it's not that hard, it just requires a little attention to detail. It's a lovely way to do something nice for yourself or for your sweetie. You're worth it! I'm incredibly lucky to have met a wonderful couple who hosts a Valentine's dinner for a group of couples and singles. Everyone brings school-style valentines or other sweets and treats for all, bringing back the warmth and love I think the holiday should be about. But most people are left to figure it out for themselves, producing a lot of anxiety. Why not make a special meal at home?

This recipe is for one or two people - a meal for one with a salad or a meal for two with a salad and another side. It should take about 20-25 minutes to prepare (once the eggs are room temp) and 20 min to bake.

The two key things to remember are:

• Let the eggs come to room temp before starting for maximum poofiness - the old way is to take
  them out of the fridge an hour ahead on a warm day, two hours ahead on a cold day. The quick way, thanks to my good friends at yourfoodchoices.com below, is to put the eggs in warm but not hot water for 5-10 minutes. If you just can't even because you're concerned about food safety, you can still make the souffle. It just won't be as floofy and poofy. Some may argue that those words aren't English, but I stand by them :-)
• Once you put it in the oven, don't open the oven for the first 15 minutes. If you open the oven before that, it will fall. 

And even if you do mess up on one of these fronts, you'll still have something delicious to eat. It might not be Instagram-worthy, but this is about doing something nice for yourself.  You can rarely go wrong flavor-wise with eggs and cheese. 

Ingredients: 
1 Tbsp butter (1 tsp for ramekins, 2 tsps for roux)
1 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp or so bread crumbs (or a crumbled up saltine)
1/3 c milk (whole if you have it, but 2% or skim will do)
a tiny pinch of paprika and/or one grating of nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground dry mustard (you can omit if you don't have any, but it's a nice touch)
1 large egg, separated
1 large egg white
1/3 c grated flavorful cheese (sharp cheddar, Gruyere, or even Asiago)
Note: it's best to grate your own cheese, but you can buy the pre-grated stuff if you like. Just give it a quick chop with a knife before mixing it in, since the industrial-size shreds are usually a little longer than the ones you make at home. 

Since you're doing something special, 

I hope you'll splurge on some nice pastured eggs from a good market or a farmer's market. They really taste better, and eggs are the star of this dish. You may even get a cute little newsletter about what the chickens are up to. Regular eggs are fine if that's not in your budget right now. It's an indulgent kind of day, so why not choose the old-school way of warming them up and take a bath or binge-watch a couple of episodes of Miss Fisher in the meanwhile?


When the eggs are room temp or as close as they're gonna get, pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees and get started!

1. Prepare two 4 to 6 ounce ramekin(s) or one 8 ounce ramekin.  If you don't have them, they're sold everywhere from Target to Sur La Table these days. If you never make a souffle again, they're handy for lots of other things. They should be at least 2" tall. Rub 1/2 tsp of the butter into each, then put 1/2 Tbsp bread crumbs into each. Roll the ramekin around until the bread crumbs coat the inside fully, then shake out any excess.

2, Melt the remaining 2 tsps butter over medium heat in the smallest pan you have. It'll probably be bigger than this one. If you're in doubt about the heat, make it lower since it's such a small amount. When it bubbles, add the 1 Tbsp flour and start whisking immediately.

3. Whisk and cook for about a minute, until it's smooth and a little bit gold-ish. What you have now is a roux, which is the basis of a whole lotta dishes from gravy to gumbo.

 

4. Add the milk - it'll look lumpy for a second or two. Keep whisking quickly until it's smooth and thickened.

Apologies for the blurry photo - whisking while snapping pics is not so easy!

5. Voila! Now that it's smooth, take off the heat, add and stir in the nutmeg or paprika, the dry mustard and a pinch each of salt and pepper. This is now a bechamel or white sauce. Did you know you could make that? Let it cool for a couple of minutes before you stir in the yolk and cheese.

6. When it's still warm but no longer hot, add the egg yolk and whisk really quickly so it doesn't have time to scramble the yolk. Add the cheese and stir until smooth. Transfer the cheese mixture to a medium bowl. It'll look a little ragged like this, but whisk a little longer until it's smoother.

7. Put the egg whites into another bowl or the stand mixer bowl. Beat on medium until they get frothy like this, one minute or so depending on your mixer. Then turn it up to high and beat another minute or two to stiff peaks. It's at the stiff peaks stage when you pull out the beaters and the tip of the whites that pull up don't flop over. See the nice stiff peak below?

8. Fold the beaten whites into the cheese mixture. Start by folding in 1/4 of the whites at first to lighten it, then add the rest and fold gently until it's all a consistent color with no white streaks. 

    

9. Pour into the prepared ramekin(s) and bake on the middle rack of the oven, 20 minutes. If you needed the second ramekin but only want one, you can refrigerate that, then let it come to room temp before baking tomorrow. Remember, don't open the oven for the first 20 minutes!! I'm lucky to have a functioning oven light so I can peek through the window.  The outsides will be a nice dark brown. This one puffed over a little bit rather than up, but it's still light and lovely inside.  Serve immediately and pat yourself on the back. You have conquered the legendary souffle!