Lentil bolgonese and trying to be a better person

I was going through some old photos I made for the blog (or for the book, when I still considered writing one), and found today’s photo: a lentil Bolognese that I tested a few times and turned out quite tasty. I liked it a lot, but my husband not so much: he is not addicted to meat and does not mind at all eating without it most days, but he is not very much into lentils. I ended up forgetting about the recipe, and also because the name kind of bugged me a bit: it is a delicious and nutritious sauce, but it has nothing to with the once made with mince beef.

Since then, time flew, lots of things happened, I became lactose intolerant and started drinking plant based milks – they saved my beloved lattes in the morning – and I realized that I had to stop lecturing so much. If people want to call those plant based beverages “milk”, what is the issue? Same for calling this sauce “bolognese” – no worries anymore. I don’t want to be that person – if you have read my blog long enough you will probably have seen me being a dick a couple of times about something (excuse my French), so I apologize now. I want to be a better person.

I decided to post this recipe because I believe that it might come in handy for those quarantined like me, who don’t have mince beef in their fridge or freezer. I must confess that I wasn’t very fond of this sauce on pasta, but it was delicious over soft polenta.

Lentil bolgonese
own recipe, inspired by several recipes

For the lentils:
2 cups water
pinch of salt
½ cup dried green lentils
1 garlic clove, peeled and sliced in half

Sauce:
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
½ medium onion, finely diced
2 small celery sticks, finely diced (1/4 cup after they are diced)
2 large garlic cloves, finely diced
2 tablespoons dry red wine
1 can (400g) peeled tomatoes, chopped
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
sal and freshly ground black pepper
handful fresh basil leaves

Start by cooking the lentils: place the water in a small saucepan and heat over high heat. When it starts to boil, add the lentils, garlic and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until lentils are al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process. Remove the garlic – you won’t need it anymore.

Now, the sauce: heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and the celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute – do not let it burn or it will give the recipe a bitter taste. Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes, the thyme, the bay leaf, the sugar, season with salt and pepper. When it starts to boil, turn down the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Add the lentils and cook for another 5 minutes. Check the seasoning, remove the thyme sprigs and the bay leaf, add the basil and serve.

Serves 4 over soft polenta, 2 served with pasta

Vegetable tagine and some planning in the kitchen

There are times when work is pretty intense (like last week, for instance), and something I have been doing for those times is to have ready or almost ready meals in the fridge or freezer – it makes a huge difference. Planning is, indeed, everything.

Meatballs, tomato sauce, pesto sauce, soups, beef stews – these have been my usual suspects lately. Now I will add one more dish to my list: this vegetable tagine. It is delicious and freezes really well – just do not add the cilantro leaves in the end (do it right before serving it). I have made this tagine a couple of times already and sometimes I added green olives to it – it adds a nice saltiness to the tagine. I did not have any in the fridge on the day of the photo, but if you like olives like I do please consider my suggestion.

Vegetable tagine
own recipe, inspired for several around the web

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
½ yellow pepper, finely diced
½ large onion, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon hot paprika – use the sweet kind if you don’t like spicy food
1 teaspoon Baharat
¼ cup dry white wine
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into ½cm (¼in) slices (the ones in the photo are too thick, they take too long to cook)
1 sweet potato (about 250g/8oz), peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
200g (7oz) butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
1 400g (14oz) can peeled chopped tomatoes
2 cups boiling water, plus more if needed
2 bay leaves
1 small eggplant (about 250g/8oz), cut into 2cm cubes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup frozen peas, unthawed
handful of fresh cilantro leaves

Heat the olive oil in a large pan over high heat – a deep frying pan works well here. Add the yellow pepper and the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the spices and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add the wine and scrape the brown bits around the pan with a wooden spoon. Add the carrot, sweet potato and butternut squash and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the peeled tomatoes and crush them with the back of the spoon. Add the water, bay leaves, stir in the eggplant, season with salt and pepper and cook, partially covered, for 30-35 minutes or until vegetables are tender, checking eventually - if the tagine starts to get dry, add more water. Stir in the peas, cover, remove from the heat and set aside for 5 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and serve.

Serves 4-5

My Bolognese sauce, as per my husband's request

I started blogging about food in 2006 (sometimes I find it hard to believe I am still here, to be honest) and for years now many people have written to me to tell me they learned how to cook with me (Brazilians, since I write in Portuguese, too). Every time I read the emails I feel joy in my heart, for I know how liberating learning how to cook can be – it was for me.

So here we are, almost eleven years later, and this time the “revolution” is happening in my home: my husband has been learning how to cook. :) It started with sandwiches, it evolved to salads and soups (very good salads and soups, by the way) and days ago he tried to make one of our favorite dishes: Bolognese sauce. I arrived home late after a tiresome day at the office and smelled something wonderful when the elevator door opened – for a moment I thought the smell could be coming from my neighbors’, but those people, besides being incredibly noisy and rude, don’t cook food that smell that great. :)

For my surprise, the smell was coming from my apartment and as I walked in I found my husband smiling at me: “surprise! I made your Bolognese sauce!” – I helped him cook the linguine and we had a delicious dinner.

He then told me he was a bit confused during the preparation of the sauce and that he had searched the blog to make sure he remembered all the steps – “I could not find the recipe on TK”, he said, and I told him I had not published it here. He said “it’s about time”, so here we are: I am sharing with you my Bolognese sauce – and I call it “my Bolognese” because I know it is not the most authentic one out there, but it is the one I have been making for years and that my husband loves so much. I don’t always have carrots and/or celery at home for the sofrito, so onions and garlic are the aromatics of choice; also, I hardly ever have 3 hours to wait for the sauce to come together, so mine is ready in 30 minutes or so. I hope you give it a go and if you do, please let me know how it went.

My Bolognese sauce
own recipe

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
3 large garlic cloves, minced
250g beef mince
salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup (60ml) dry red wine
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 400g (14oz) can peeled tomatoes
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 bay leaves
5 sprigs of fresh thyme
handful of fresh basil leaves or fresh oregano leaves
300g linguine

In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic, cook for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant, then add the beef and break it down with the spoon into smaller pieces. Cook, stirring occasionally, until beef is well browned. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the wine and cook again for 2-3 minutes or until wine is reduced – using a wooden spoon, scrape the brown bits in the bottom of the saucepan for extra flavor.

Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the canned tomatoes and smash them with a potato masher. Fill ¾ of the can with water, swirl it around and add to the saucepan. Season again with salt and pepper, add the sugar, the bay leaves, the thyme and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes or until thickened. Add the basil/oregano, stir to combine, remove the bay leaves and the thyme sprigs, cover and remove from the heat.
Cook linguine in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain and stir in the sauce. Serve immediately.

Serves 3

Easy fish stew and memories brought by food

Food brings a lot of memories to most people I am sure and I am no exception: certain dishes remind me of certain people.

I think of my mom whenever I eat or cook fish, for when I was a little girl she would cook it once a week, rain or shine, and would tell me every single time how good it was for the brain. :)

Mom never cooked fish the way I bring you here today, but I am sure she would approve it: the fish gets tender from cooking in this flavorsome sauce, enriched by both sweetness from the fresh tomatoes and a bit of tang from the canned ones. I make this quite regularly for my husband loves it and even though I always, always serve it with rice because of him it would be amazing with couscous, too. Easy, delicious and on the table in less than half an hour.

Easy fish stew
own creation

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow bell pepper (about 200g), deseeded and finely diced
½ onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 ripe Italian tomato, deseeded and chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
1/2 can of water
350g white fish, cut into large chunks
handful of fresh cilantro leaves

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat – using a large saucepan is important for it will give you room to stir the fish pieces without breaking them.
Add the pepper and the onion and cook stirring occasionally until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add the tomato, season with salt and pepper, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and mixture is pulpy. Add the canned tomatoes and the water and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the fish, season with salt and pepper again and cook for 8-10 minutes or just until fish is cooked through. Stir in the cilantro, check the seasoning and serve immediately.

Serves 2

Linguine with creamy tomato, thyme, caper and bacon sauce

I believe that many of you reading me right now reach for a pasta package whenever there is the need of having food on the table in little to no time – I am guilty of that and I am not ashamed of it. :)

I make pasta often not only because of how fast it is: Joao and I love it and it is so versatile I can combine it with several different flavors and types of sauce. I saw this version of a tomato sauce on Olive magazine and it was so simple I had to try it: the sauce is delicious, the acidity of the tomatoes is softened by the addition of cream and the capers add a briny, salty touch to the sauce. Thyme is my favorite herb and one I love pairing with tomato.

Linguine with creamy tomato, thyme, caper and bacon sauce
slightly adapted from the always great Olive magazine

4 slices of bacon, cut into ½ cm pieces
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
6 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 x 400g can of chopped tomatoes
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons capers – soak them in cold water for 15 minutes before using, then drain
3 tablespoons heavy cream
200g linguine

In a medium saucepan, over high heat, cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until crisp. Remove from the pan and set over paper towels. Remove the excess fat from the saucepan, leaving 1 tablespoon. On that fat, cook the garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the thyme and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, crush them with a potato masher, then fill the can by half with water and add to the tomatoes. Add the sugar, season with salt and pepper and cook partially covered, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes or until thickened.

In the meantime, cook the linguine in salted boiling water until al dente.

Stir in capers and cream and then cook for 3 minutes. Drain the linguine and toss with the sauce. Serve at once sprinkled with the bacon bits.

Serves 2

Linguine with chorizo tomato sauce

Even though I haven’t had the time to post here as often as I would like to, I have been cooking and baking quite regularly – family and friends thank me for that. ;)

I have been, however, a bit tired (too much work, I guess): days ago I was watching a rerun of Law & Order: Criminal Intent (you know how much I love that show!) and it took me a good while to recognize Carrie Preston in the episode: I was sure I knew her from somewhere, but she was a blonde then and without Arlene’s bold red hair my brain was very slow in processing the info. :D

And speaking of bold red hue, may I introduce you to the dish I made last weekend that got my husband asking for seconds? The idea was to make bolognese pasta, but when we arrived at the shop the meat grinder was broken. I’d already decided to make a simple tomato sauce when I opened the fridge to get the onion and garlic and spotted a piece of chorizo right there, in front of me – I chopped it in small cubes and used it to replace the beef mince. A bit of sherry to make things more Spanish, a handful of marjoram – a herb that I love pairing with pork – and lunch was served.

Linguine with chorizo tomato sauce
own creation

1 ¼ cups (175g) diced chorizo
½ large onion, finely diced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons sherry
1 ½ tablespoons tomato paste
1 400g (14oz) can peeled tomatoes
1 tablespoon sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
handful of fresh marjoram leaves
300g dried linguine or other long pasta shape you prefer
parmesan or pecorino, to serve

Heat a medium saucepan over medium/high heat and add the chorizo. Cook until it releases its oils and starts getting crispy. Add the onion and cook until soft, 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t catch in the bottom of the pan. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the sherry and cook until reduced, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, cook for 1 minute, then add the tomatoes and crush them with a potato masher. Fill the can by half with water and add to the sauce. Stir in the sugar, season with salt and pepper – gently, since the chorizo is already salty and spicy – and add the bay leaves and the marjoram. Cook over low heat, partially covered, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes or until slightly thickened.

In the meantime, cook the linguine in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, about 10 minutes (check the package instructions). Drain the linguine and stir it into the sauce. Serve immediately sprinkled with freshly grated pecorino or parmesan, or for an even more Spanish touch, manchego chese.

Serves 3

Beef kofta in sweet-sour tomato sauce

I am a complete sucker for food magazines and because of that end up with tons of them and thousands of recipes to choose from. At this time of the year my favorite ones – Donna Hay and Gourmet Traveller - are all about grilling, since they are Australian magazines celebrating the same season as we are here in Brazil (summer). The grilled foods look amazing, but I live in a small apartment and don’t own a barbecue – therefore, the inspiration most comes from the European mags or older issues of my favorite ones.

These beef koftas are delicious and I made them in a matter of moments – some rice and a salad completed a very simple yet tasty meal. I found the recipe on Olive magazine, which is always a good source for quick recipes, and replaced the lamb for beef and the cinnamon for baharat, since it always goes wonderful with beef (like in the sfihas I make sometimes and that my husband eats like a madman).

Beef kofta in sweet-sour tomato sauce
slightly adapted from the always great Olive magazine

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided use
1 onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons baharat
1 teaspoon ground cumin
500g beef mince
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons pine nuts
1 x 400g can of chopped tomatoes
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar – I used sherry vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves

In a large nonstick frying pan, heat half of the olive oil and cook the onion until it’s soft and translucent. Add the baharat and cumin and stir for a minute. Remove from the heat, cool and then add half of the mixture to the mince along with the 2 tablespoons pine nuts. Season with salt and pepper and mix to combine. Divide it into 24 and roll each lump into a neat ball between your hands. Fry them in the remaining olive oil until they brown all over (you might need to do this in batches). Lift them into a sieve while you make the sauce.

Remove any excess oil from the frying pan, then put the rest of the onion mix back in the pan and cook until warm. Add the tomatoes, sugar and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Bubble the lot gently for 5 minutes, then add the kofta. Cook for 15 minutes, over medium heat, turning over the kofta half way. Make sure they are cooked through. Scatter on the remaining pine nuts and the parsley and serve.

Serves 4

Courgette, tomato and roasted red pepper gratin and baby talk

My sister-in-law and I talk about my baby nephew a lot, and we always talk about the food he’ll eat when he grows up – my brother is the pickiest eater I know and we know that he’ll have to change in order to become a good example for the boy.

I tell her to calm down because my husband used to be just like that and now he tries lots of different types of food (I guess we’ll have to organize a trip to China for my brother as well). :D

For instance, my husband always tells me how much he hated gratins as a kid, especially the potato gratin his mother made constantly back in the day. He also hated courgettes. Just so you know, he ate the gratin in the picture like crazy and told me that I can make that dish whenever I want because “it is so delicious”.

People change, thank heavens. There’s still hope for my brother. :D

Courgette, tomato and roasted red pepper gratin
slightly adapted from the always delicious Olive magazine

1 small red pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided use
½ large onion, finely diced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 x 400g (14oz) can peeled tomatoes
1 teaspoon sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
handful of fresh basil leaves
350g large courgettes, halved in the widest part, cut into 5mm slices
75g coarsely grated cheddar salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 220°C/420°F. Put the red pepper on a baking tray and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes, turning it once or twice, until the skins are blackened in places and the flesh is soft. Transfer to a heatproof bowl, seal with plastic wrap and leave to cool. Break the pepper open, discard the stalk and seeds, peel off the skin and slice the flesh into thin strips.

While that goes on, make the tomato sauce: in a medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the garlic, cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the tomatoes and the sugar. Fill 1/3 of the can with water, swirl it around and add to the saucepan. Season with salt and pepper, break the tomatoes with a wooden spoon then cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add the basil, stir to combine, cover and remove from the heat.

Heat a large, ridged griddle until smoking hot, then lower the heat slightly. Toss the courgette slices in the other tablespoon of oil, season with salt and pepper, then griddle in batches for 2 minutes on each side until marked with dark lines. Set aside on kitchen paper to drain.

Spread half the sauce over a medium, shallow baking dish. Scatter half the griddled courgettes over the tomato sauce, followed by half the red pepper strips and half the grated cheese. Spoon over the remaining tomato then repeat the layers once more, ending with the grated cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes until lightly golden and bubbling.

Serves 2 generously

Caponata - easy and delicious

Caponata is something I ate a lot growing up, but never knew the real name – my grandmother used to make it all the time, especially when there were a lot of people to feed, and she served it with bread or on small toasts, canapé style. I loved it and would ask her to make it again and again – I used to call it “my grandma’s eggplant dish”, having no idea it was such a staple of Italian cuisine.

It took me forever to make caponata myself, maybe because it has always been something so attached to my grandma’s cooking, but my husband asked me to make it and I decided to give it a go, especially after going through some of my books and finding a recipe by Andrew Carmellini on one of my favorite cookbooks – it is his the most delicious gnocchi I’ve ever made, and I ate at both Lafayette and Locanda Verde when I was in NYC, so I trust the guy. ;)

Andrew’s caponata is very easy to put together and it tastes great, not to mention it benefits from a day of two in the fridge – I’m all for making things in advance, so this recipe has become part of my repertoire and I hope it becomes part of yours, too.

Caponata
slightly adapted from the delicious Urban Italian: Simple Recipes and True Stories from a Life in Food

1/3 cup (80ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1 red onion, diced large
1 yellow pepper, diced large
1 Italian eggplant, diced large
3 stalks of celery, diced large
1 zucchini, diced large
½ teaspoon table salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
1 400g (14oz) can chopped peeled tomatoes
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons thyme leaves
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar – I used sherry vinegar

Heat olive oil in a large saucepot over high heat. Add the onion, pepper and eggplant. When the vegetables have softened a bit (about 5 minutes), add the celery and zucchini. Season with half the salt and black pepper. Mix the ingredients together and continue to cook.

After ten 10 minutes, add the red pepper flakes and garlic. Cover and reduce the heat to medium, and let the steam roast the vegetables for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, until vegetables are soft but not falling apart and the tomatoes are well incorporated. Mix in the balsamic vinegar and cook for 2 minutes.

Remove the saucepot from the heat, add the thyme and season with remaining salt and pepper (add more salt to taste if necessary). Mix in vinegar.

The caponata can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days (I thought it tasted better the day after it was made).

Serves 8-10

Beef and mushroom cannelloni and things worth trying

When I look at this recipe I think of the phrase “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade”, but in a slightly different way: if your husband tried mushrooms for the first time and liked it, add them to your food every chance you get. :D

After the success I had with the vegetarian bolognese, I could not wait to cook with mushrooms again, and the inspiration came right from the first pages of this wonderful cookbook – I am the kind of person so crazy for mince that buys a cookbook on the subject. :)
After I finished cooking the filling, it smelled and tasted so good I felt like eating it with some bread, sloppy joe style, and it could have been tossed with some spaghetti, too, for a very quick meal (just some ideas if you’re not in the mood for rolling cannelloni).

For years my husband did not understand my love for TV series, and of course he wouldn’t because he had never given the shows a try. That changed when I got him to watch The Blacklist with me – he got hooked on Raymond Reddington’s adventures as much as I did, and he liked the show so much we now watch Resurrection together as well.

I guess that in life one should try things before knocking them, either if they’re food or TV shows – and this dish I bring you today is well worth trying.

Beef and mushroom cannelloni
adapted from the great Mincespiration!

tomato sauce, made with 1 ½ cans (400g each can) peeled chopped tomatoes (save the remaining ½ can for the filling), warm

olive oil
200g button mushrooms, wiped and chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
300g beef mince
1 onion, finely chopped
3 fat garlic cloves, crushed
80ml white wine
½ can peeled chopped tomatoes
handful fresh oregano leaves
500g fresh lasagna sheets
about 50g Parmesan cheese, finely grated

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan and fry the mushrooms until browned. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set them aside. Using the same pan, add a little more oil and fry the beef for 4-5 minutes until browned. Add the onion and garlic and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the wine and cook until the liquid is reduced by half, then add the chopped tomatoes and the oregano and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Put the mushrooms back in the pan and cook for 1 minute or until liquid is almost completely absorbed. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.

Spread half the tomato sauce on the bottom of a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking dish or pan.
Lay a sheet of lasagna on a board, spoon on some filling, top with a little parmesan and roll up, forming a cylinder. Repeat with the remaining pasta sheets and filling. Place the cannelloni in the baking dish on top of the tomato, the cover with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with the remaining parmesan. Bake for about 30 minutes or until bubbly and pasta is cooked.

Serves 5-6

Ricotta and spinach stuffed shells - a nice idea for lunch on Mother's Day

Nigella promoted her cookbook in several different TV shows here in Brazil and in one of them she baked her chocolate banana muffins – she said that they would be a nice treat for breakfast on Mother’s Day. Her comment reminded me of this recipe I cooked a while ago, the first one I tried from Martha’s wonderful vegetarian cookbook: I find it perfect for a celebration day, since it can be put together in advance and kept covered in the refrigerator; all you need to do is let it come to room temperature, then bake it – easy-peasy.

Unfortunately I no longer have my mom around, but if I did I would probably make her both the muffins and the pasta bake – spoiling people with food is one of my favorite sports. ;)

Ricotta and spinach stuffed shells
adapted from the absolutely beautiful Meatless: More Than 200 of the Very Best Vegetarian Recipes

Tomato sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ large onion, finely diced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 400g (14oz) can peeled tomatoes
¼ teaspoon sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
handful of fresh basil leaves
handful of fresh oregano leaves

Pasta and filling:
16 pasta shells (6cm each)*
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
100g frozen spinach, unthawed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
pinch of freshly nutmeg
1 ¼ cups fresh ricotta – I used homemade
¼ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
handful of parsley leaves, finely chopped

Make the sauce: in a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the garlic, cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the tomatoes and the sugar. Fill 1/3 of the can with water, swirl it around and add to the saucepan. Season with salt and pepper, break the tomatoes with a wooden spoon then cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add the basil and oregano, stir to combine, cover and remove from the heat.
Cook shells in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain and let cool. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.

Filling: in a small saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, cook for about 1 minute or until fragrant. Add the spinach and cook until it thaws, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and remove from the heat. Cool slightly.
In a large bowl, mix together the ricotta, parmesan, spinach and parsley. Season again with salt and pepper.
Coat a 25x15cm (6x10in) ovenproof baking dish with the sauce. Generously spoon filling into shells and arrange in pan, dipping them into the sauce. Cover with foil and bake until bubbling, about 30 minutes.

* some shells might break in the boiling water, so it’s a good idea to cook more shells than you actually need

Serves 2 generously

Spinach casserole with orecchiette and cheeses

Talking to a coworker who has lost several pounds, I found out that the on the diet she’s been on gluten and dairy are forbidden. I must say that as much as I would love to lose a couple of pounds, I would never be able to follow that kind of diet: I cannot survive without bread and cheese; I know there are ways of replacing wheat flour for other kinds of flour – the spelt muffins I made a while ago were pretty decent – but the thought alone of not eating cheese makes me moody already. :)

This cheeseaholic loved Amanda Hesser’s pasta dish not only because there are two types of cheese involved, but also because it’s delicious, hearty even without any kind of meat and perfect for the cold days we’ve been having here.

Spinach casserole with orecchiette and cheeses
slightly adapted from Amanda Hesser’s wonderful recipe bible

300g spinach
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 fat garlic cloves, minced
1 ½ cups finely chopped canned plum tomatoes
225g (½ pound) orecchiette
½ cup crumbled goat cheese
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Have ready a 6-cup capacity casserole or baking dish.
Rinse the spinach and remove the stems. Gather all the leaves and roll them together like a cigar then finely slice.
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet. Add the onion, sauté over medium heat until tender but not brown, then stir in the garlic. Add the tomatoes, then add the spinach. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the spinach has wilted.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. Cook the orecchiette until al dente. Remove the sauce from the heat, stir in the goat cheese and half the parmesan. Season with salt and pepper.
Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce, then transfer to the casserole. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan on top. Bake for about 15 minutes or until heated through. Serve at once.

Serves 2

Spicy tomato soup with crispy grilled cheese

I must start this post by saying that I love canned tomatoes – they’re a great pantry staple and I always have a couple of cans around. But even though I use them to make tomato sauce all the time I wasn’t very fond of the idea of using them to make soup – for absolute no reason, since I’d never tried canned tomato soup in my life. For a moment I thought “Oh my goodness, I’m becoming my husband!” – the one who hates food without even tasting it first – and that, my friends, is NOT going to happen. :)
So I made the soup, tried it and felt like a fool for avoiding it for so long – it tasted really good and comforting. But the addictive component of this meal is the grilled cheese: my two favorite things in the savory world, bread and cheese, heavenly combined in a crunchy, delicious way. I’m in eternal debt with Barbara Lynch. :D

Spicy tomato soup with crispy grilled cheese
adapted from the beautiful and very well written Stir: Mixing It Up in the Italian Tradition

Soup:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste)
2 x 400g (14oz each) cans plum tomatoes
generous pinch of sugar
7-8 fresh thyme sprigs
1 ¼ cups (300ml) boiling water
very generous handful of basil leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons crème fraîche or sour cream, to serve
dried oregano, to serve

Grilled cheese:
½ baguette
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon dried oregano, plus more to serve
1 cup good melting cheese, grated, such as Fontina (what I used) or Gruyère

Start by making the soup: heat the olive oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender. Add the tomatoes, breaking them with the spoon, followed by the sugar, thyme and the water and cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Add the basil, season lightly with salt and pepper and let cool briefly before pureeing the soup in a food processor or blender, in batches if necessary. Pass the soup through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing on the solids with a ladle (Barbara Lynch’s advice: “save the pulp – it’s delicious on crostini or baked eggplant”). Keep the soup on low heat while you make the grilled cheese.
For the grilled cheese: preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Have ready two large baking sheets so one can nestle into the other. Line one of them with baking paper.
With a serrated knife, cut the bread into 6mm (¼ in) slices (if necessary, place the bread in the freezer for a while to make slicing easier). Place the slices on the prepared baking sheet.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the oregano. Brush half the bread slices with the butter and place the buttered side down, in contact with the baking paper. Divide the cheese evenly among the buttered bread slices. Cover the cheese with the remaining bread slices and brush the top with the butter. Place a large piece of baking paper on top of the sandwiches and stack the second baking sheet on top of the paper.
Bake until the bread is golden and crisp, 15 minutes or so. Remove from the oven and peel off the paper. Remove the sandwiches from the baking paper.
Ladle the soup into bowls, cover with some crème fraîche and a sprinkle of oregano and serve it with the grilled cheese.

Serves 2