Savory crostata

I came up with the idea for this one after seeing whole-wheat savory tart recipes here and there.  A crostata is a freeform tart and is usually sweet, but savory ones exist too.  If you were to omit the pesto and chop fresh mint on top, you'd have a French galette.  You can use any vegetables you like in it, and play around with the herbs in the dough to accent what you use.  

Tomato, pesto and goat cheese crostata 

For the pesto:

-2 cups fresh basil leaves

-2 tbsp. toasted pine nuts

-2 cloves garlic, crushed

-1 tbsp. salt 

-1/2 cup olive oil

-1/2 cup parmiggiano-reggiano cheese, freshly grated 

For the crostata dough:

-1 cup plus 2 tbsp. white-whole wheat flour, sifted

-1 tbsp. salt

-1 tbsp. dried herbs (I used oregano today, but anything you like is fine)

-1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus a little extra for brushing the tart before it bakes 

-1/2 cup cold water 

For the filling:

-3-4 tbsp. finished pesto

-1 pint heirloom grape tomatoes or 2 heirloom tomatoes, sliced 

-1 oz. goat cheese

To make pesto, combine everything but the cheese in a food processor.  Pulse until mixture has come together.  Stir in parmiggiano-reggiano and set aside. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

To make the dough, combine flour, salt and herbs in a large bowl.  Add olive oil and water and stir with a fork just until it comes together into a ball.  Turn out onto a floured surface and roll out to about a 10" circle with a rolling pin.  Transfer to a cookie sheet.  Spread pesto on top, leaving about 2-3 inches between pesto and the edge of the crust.  Add the sliced tomatoes, crumble goat cheese on top, then fold the edges to overlap onto each other.  Brush crust with a little olive oil, then bake for about 30 minutes until filling is bubbling and crust is golden brown. 

Serves four as an appetizer or about two as a light lunch. 

Pasta alla Chiara

To the best of my knowledge, there isn't a pasta dish with my name in Italian, Chiara, in it.  I'm going with it.  I make this pasta dish or a variation on it quite a lot with whatever's in season, so here is the August 2009 version (tonight's dinner): 

Pasta alla Chiara 

-2 cups whole wheat pasta (I used rotini today)

-5-6 fresh tomatoes, stems removed and chopped into 1/2" pieces

-1/4 cup dry red wine (such as Chianti)

-2 tbsp. tomato paste

-2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced

-4 tbsp. olive oil

-1 tsp. dried oregano 

-Salt and pepper to taste

-1 can artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed

-2 cups fresh or 1 bag frozen spinach 

-1 large zucchini, stem removed and chopped into 1/2" pieces

-1 whole boneless, skinless chicken breast, rinsed, patted dry and cut into bite-sized pieces

-Fresh mozzarella

-Fresh basil 

In a large stockpot, heat 2 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and brown.  Add chopped tomatoes and cook, lid on, until tomatoes have broken down and are simmering away, about 10 minutes.  Add tomato paste, wine, oregano, salt and pepper and stir to combine.  After another 10-15 minutes have elapsed, add zucchini and artichokes, and let simmer for another 10 minutes.  

In the meantime, heat remaining olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Brown chicken, and add it and the spinach to the tomato sauce.  When spinach has wilted, the sauce is ready.

Serve over the whole wheat pasta (shouldn't take more than 8 minutes to cook) with slices of fresh mozzarella on top. 

In the winter, I tend to make this with a locally-made caseless Italian turkey sausage.  Yum.

Serves two with leftovers.

Strawberry shortcake says summer

Hello alliteration!  I made this cake for my friend Janelle's birthday.  I'm a big fan of homemade birthday cakes that are exactly what the birthday person wants.  While not a true shortcake, it was still pretty delicious. 

Strawberry shortcake

For the cake:

-2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, sifted

-2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

-Pinch of salt 

-3/4 cup milk 

-1 1/4 cups brown sugar, loosely packed 

-10 tbsp. butter, softened (1 stick plus 2 tbsp.)

-4 eggs, at room temperature 

-1 tsp. pure vanilla extract 

For the frosting and filling:

-1 pint heavy whipping cream

-1 pint strawberries, washed, rinsed, dried and hulled 

-1 cup blueberries, washed, rinsed and picked over for stems 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour a large springform pan and set aside.  Sift flour, baking soda and salt together in a bowl and set aside. Cream butter in a large bowl and add sugar.  Beat until light and fluffy, then add eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.  Add vanilla and mix.  Add flour mixture and milk in on-off turns, beating thoroughly after each addition but taking care not to overmix.  Pour mixture into springform pan and bake about 35-40 minutes, or until top of cake is beautifully golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool. 

When cake has cooled, whip cream with a little more brown sugar to taste until soft peaks form (you don't want it to be too sweet, just have a touch of sweetness).  Remove cake from pan and cut in half horizontally with a serrated knife.  Place top half of cake on a separate plate.  Cover bottom half with half of the whipped cream and cut strawberries, cut side down.  Sprinkle with blueberries.  Place top half of cake back on, cover with whipped cream and a ring of cut strawberries around the edge.  I made a "J" in blueberries for Janelle. 

Locavore muffins

I clearly can't get enough of the peach-blueberry summertime combo.  I came up with this recipe while I was sitting in class today to utilize the fruit on hand.  I am back in VT and the peaches and blueberries are both local.  So's the flour, and the milk, and the butter, and the eggs, and the applesauce...heaven for a locavore.

Peach-blueberry muffins

-3 cups sifted white-whole wheat flour (I use King Arthur) 

-1 1/4 cups milk 

-1 tsp. salt

-1/2 tsp. baking powder

-1 tsp. baking soda

-1 tsp. vanilla

-1/4 cup wheat germ 

-1 stick butter, softened

-1/2 cup peach or mixed berry applesauce

-3 eggs, at room temperature

-1 1/2 cups plus 2 tsp. light brown sugar

-1 cup blueberries, rinsed and picked over for stems

-3 ripe peaches, peeled, pitted and chopped into small chunks

-Zest of one lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a muffin pan (any size you like is fine) and line with cupcake/muffin wrappers.  Sift flour with salt, baking powder, baking soda and wheat germ and set aside. 

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add applesauce and continue to beat until light and airy.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add vanilla and mix.  Add flour mixture and milk in on-off turns, beating well after each addition but taking care not to overmix.  With a spatula, fold in peaches, blueberries and lemon zest.  Using a 1/4 cup measure, fill each muffin cup about 3/4 of the way full.  Sprinkle a little brown sugar on top of each one (or if you want to be decadent, crumble brown sugar with a little butter and sprinkle on top). Bake for about 29-31 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  

Stay tuned.  Tomorrow's recipe will feature local strawberries: small, perfectly ripe and the best ones I've had since I lived in England.

A favorite summer breakfast

I wait all winter to make this. It works equally well with yellow or white peaches, nectarines, or even plums.

Roasted peaches and blueberries with greek yogurt
-2 peaches
-1 cup blueberries
-1 vanilla bean
-2 tbsp. demerara sugar or honey (or to taste)
-1 cup plain nonfat greek yogurt
-Fresh spearmint

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Pit peaches and cut into quarters. Put into a shallow baking dish and scatter blueberries on top. Cut vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out half of the seeds inside. Combine with sugar or honey in a bowl, then pour on top of the fruit. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the blueberries have burst and everything is bubbling. Remove from the oven, top with the greek yogurt and chopped fresh spearmint.

Enjoy preferably barefoot.

A twist on chicken parmigiana

Hello and welcome to my pet project!  I love to cook and after much demand from friends and family, decided to start an online outlet for my culinary activity.  Most of the recipes are my own, and I'll always give credit where credit is due.  Please enjoy and feel free to share anything you like! 

Last night, I had chicken breast cutlets in the fridge along with a number of summer vegetables.  What to make?  I came up with a light, fresh take on an Italian classic.  It's a little spicy, full of fresh herbs, and makes the most of what is in season right now:

Summer chicken parmigiana with grilled vegetables and ricotta salata 

For the chicken:

-2 chicken breast cutlets, washed and patted dry

-1 cup plain bread crumbs

-1 tbsp. lemon zest

-1 tsp. crushed red pepper flake (chili flake) 

-3-4 tbsp. parmigiano-reggiano, finely grated (Note: do not use the stuff in the green shaker)

-2 tbsp. fresh italian (flat-leaf) parsley, finely chopped 

-1 egg

-Dash of milk

-Salt and pepper 

For the fresh tomato sauce:

-1 pint fresh heirloom grape tomatoes (the mix of yellow and red is great!)

-1-2 cloves garlic, minced

-1-2 tbsp. olive oil

-2 tbsp. fresh basil, roughly chopped 

For the vegetables:

-1 large or 2 small zucchini, sliced lengthwise into 1/2" thick strips

-1 large or 2 small eggplant, sliced lengthwise into 1/2" thick strips

-3-4 green onions, roots removed 

-Olive oil 

-Salt and pepper 

-Fresh ricotta salata

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Cover a cookie sheet or baking pan with aluminum foil.  Combine bread crumbs, lemon zest, red pepper flake, grated parmigiano-reggiano, a little freshly ground black pepper, and parsley on a plate.  Beat egg with a dash of milk in a bowl. Cut each chicken breast down the middle, giving you four even-sized pieces.  Bread each piece by first dipping in the egg-milk mixture, then coating with the bread crumb mixture.  Place on the cookie sheet, and bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink when you cut it open to check.  

In the meantime, drizzle cut vegetables with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.  Grill just to the point of charring, plate and cover with either grated or crumbled ricotta salata.  

For the tomato sauce, heat olive oil in a small saucepan.  Add garlic and sauté just until the garlic begins to brown.  Add tomatoes, a pinch of salt and pepper, and cook until they burst open.  Add basil, sauté a minute or two more, then serve atop the chicken. 

As Julia Child always said, Bon appétit!  I apologize for the lack of pictures right now.  Check back - more to come!