Carrot, Parsnip, and Golden Beet Puree

I know it isn't the best photo... but it is damn tasty...

So readers, I know that in my last post, I expressed some, shall we say, dissatisfaction with root vegetables. After a long, cold winter chock-a-block with roasted root this and baked root that, you just want something fresh and light.

Well then, step right up, because this root veggie puree is as fresh and light as they come. And it couldn't possibly be any easier, thanks to the magical cooking powers of steam.

• 2 lbs carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 lb parnips, peeled and chopped
• 1 lb golden beets, cleaned, peeled, and chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup vegetable broth
  
• 2 Tbsp butter (optional)

1. In your favorite pot, fitted with your favorite steaming attachment, bring water, broth, and salt to a boil.
2. Add vegetables to steamer and cover. Steam until tender, 15-30 minutes, depending on the thickness of your veggies. Check liquid level periodically; if running low, add more water.
3. Once tender, pour veggies into a mixing bowl. Using a potato masher, pastry cutter, or other such implement, mash vegetables together. Pour in small amounts of steaming liquid to help puree come together (this will also add flavor and salt). If desired, mash in butter for a silkier texture. Serve hot.
   

Spring Piccolini with Broccoli Rabe, Asparagus, and Sweet Peas

A few nights ago, I had a fabulous dream.

I was grocery shopping (I know, how mundane, even in my dream life), and I was in the produce section. There, ahead of me, between the beet greens and the parsnips, was one lonely bunch of broccoli rabe (pronounced rahb). "How delicious", thought dream-Billy!

I reached out to grab it, and as my hand met the veg, so did another hand! I turn to my right, and standing there, holding the same bunch of veg as I, is my perfect man. Tall... dark hair... blue eyes... I melt. But not enough to let go of the broccoli rabe.

We laugh uncomfortably. I introduce myself; he replies that his name is Rob.

Naturally, I make an adorable joke about robbing Rob of his rabe. He laughs. I laugh. I invite him home for dinner... and we lived happily ever after. Or at least that's how I'm saying it ended.

Anyhoo... Back to the food.

Broccoli rabe, also known as rapini, is a delicious member of the Brassiceae family of veggies, who also bring us broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and turnips. It is grown year-round, which is why I turn to it now, in the early spring, when I am so effing sick of root vegetables that I want to scream at the next potato I see.

Broccoli rabe has a pleasing, nutty-yet-somewhat-bitter taste. The leaves, stems, and florets (like mini-broccoli) are good fer' eatin'.

Now, on to the recipe!

• 1 1/2 lbs of dried piccolini pasta (if you cant find piccolini, ziti or penne will do)
• 1 large bunch broccoli rabe (~1 lb)
• 1 bunch asparagus spears
• 1 large white onion
• 2 cups frozen peas
  
• 1 heaping Tbs chopped garlic
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 3 Tbs butter
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 cup + 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
  
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• Salt
• Pepper

1. Vegetable prep: Chop onion. Cut off woody bottoms of broccoli rabe and asparagus. Chop broccoli rabe into ~1-inch lengths, or roughly bite-sized pieces. If asparagus is thin, chop into 1-inch lengths; if it is thick, chop into 1/2-inch lengths.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
3. Place large, oven-safe saute or paella pan on the stove top. Add butter and oil and heat over medium heat. Once hot, saute onions until just soft, 2-3 minutes. Add broccoli rabe and asparagus and saute. Rabe will wilt and shrink. Add garlic. Saute over medium heat for 4-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rabe leaves are wilted and other veggies are bright green.
4. In separate pot, bring ~4 qts water to a boil. Add a liberal pinch of salt and pasta. Cook until slightly underdone, approximately 1 minute shy of package directions. Drain.
5. To saute pan, add peas, wine, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and let reduce for 2-3 minutes.
6. Stir in cream and half and half. Bring to boil. Add nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Stir in 1 cup Parmesan cheese.
7. Add pasta to saute pan and mix with vegetables until evenly incorporated. Sprinkle Panko and remaining cheese over top of pasta/veggie mixture.
8. Place in preheated oven for 5-10 minutes, until the top is crusty and browned. Serve hot.
   

Roasted Garlic Hummus

Approximately halfway through the first quarter at my Superbowl party... It was gone by halftime.

Oh hummus, how I love thee. Few things are not made better when slathered in hummus. Crackers, pitas, veggies... Spread on sandwiches... Tossed with pasta... Made into ice cream (OK, maybe not that...)

Up until a few years ago, I always picked up my hummus pre-made from the grocery store, in some tidy little plastic tub with an ill-fitting lid. BUT NO MORE, READERS! NO MORE!

Having read the ingredient list on the side of those containers of store-bought hummus, I decided I'd rather control what went in. So here, after much experimentation, is my hummus recipe!

• 2- 16oz cans chickpeas, drained and washed
• 1/2 cup tahini (sesame) paste
• 2 whole heads garlic, split in half through the equator
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
  
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
   
2. Place garlic cut-side up on a sheet of tinfoil. Drizzle with olive oil. Wrap fully in foil and roast for 45 min-1 hour, or until garlic is soft and browned. Open tinfoil and let cool until you can handle them.
3. In food processor, combine chickpeas, tahini, and lemon juice. Add roasted garlic (cloves only, not paper), cayenne, salt, and black pepper to taste.
   
4. Turn food processor on. Drizzle in olive oil until hummus forms thick, smooth, uniform paste. Serve immediately, or store covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
   

Ratatouille Dip - Healthy and Delicious!

Veggies roasted, ready for the food processor!

When most people think "Superbowl", they don't think vegetables.

This dip should change your mind. It is my interpretation of a recipe given to me by our dear family friend Barbara. Thanks BZ!

Delicious and a whole lot healthier than it tastes, this dip is easy to prepare and perfect served with pita chips, potato chips, or, (lordy) more vegetables.

• 2 medium eggplants, peeled and cubed
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 2 red bell peppers, chopped
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• Nonstick cooking spray
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Garlic powder
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• Olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick spray. Add all vegetables in as few layers as possible. Spray with nonstick spray, and season lightly with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
2. Roast vegetable for 30-45 minutes, until they achieve good color and are evenly roasted. Stir vegetables if necessary to achieve even roasting.
3. Remove from oven and let cool. Transfer vegetables to food processor. Add tomato paste. Process until smooth. If necessary, drizzle in olive oil to achieve smooth consistency. If your veggies gave up most of their water while roasting, you may need to do this. Taste and season as necessary.
4. Refrigerate and serve.
   

Fresh Pea and Parsley Soup

It currently winter here in the Northern Hemisphere, and unless you are lucky enough to live in one of those post-card-worthy places where it is always warm and sunny, there probably isn't too much locally-grown fresh produce running about. Sure, there may be some wonky-looking rutabagas running around, hiding out in the root cellar, but as for fresh greens and the like? Yeah, they're being flown in on a plane from Chile.

Which is why, during these cold winter months, I stay cold to get many of my veggies. Really cold. Ice cold.

Yes folks, I'm talking about frozen vegetables. Vegetables flash-frozen at the peak of freshness (god bless marketing for giving me terms like flash-frozen... its so... photographic!)!

Now, you will never see a canned vegetable in my kitchen. Ever. I don't believe in them. But frozen? Sure! Many vegetables are perfectly good when frozen! Carrots, peppers, chopped spinach, peas... Oh peas... Perhaps the perfect frozen vegetable.

Which brings us to today's recipe. As I stated in yesterday's post, I recently served this Fresh Pea and Parsley soup alongside my Roasted Tomato and Pepper soup at Christmas for a festive first course. Now, let me tell you: Even though the tomato was amazing, and warm and rich and all those great things, the light, fresh taste of peas and parsley was a deliciously welcome respite from months of heavy holiday food (along with being full of vitamins, good for you, etc etc etc...).

• 2 lbs frozen peas
• 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  
• Water, for steaming
  
• Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Put an inch of water in the bottom of a medium-sized pot. Using a steamer basket (or other steaming mechanism), steam the peas until just cooked. DO NOT OVERCOOK! NO ONE LIKES BROWNISH PEAS! The peas should remain bright green.
2. Once steamed, shock peas in cold water to stop the cooking process.
3. Empty water from bottom of steaming pot. Place olive oil and onion in pot and saute until softened and translucent, between 3-5 minutes.
4. Add cooked peas and 2 cups stock to the onion pot. Begin to puree with immersion blender. Add stock, as needed, and continue to puree until almost smooth.
5. Add parsley and puree further until smooth. Heat through over low flame. Add salt and pepper to taste.
   

Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

The keys to this super-easy recipe are cooking spray (in the amounts used, it only adds a negligible amount of fat) and fat-free vegetable or chicken broth or stock, from a box, from the grocery store. While I do love homemade stocks, to assure that meat stocks are fat-free, ya gotta go with the box!

To puree this soup you can either use a traditional blender or an immersion blender, which my mother affectionately calls "the outboard motor". Both will work just fine, so whichever you've got will do!


Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

• 2 Large butternut squash, sliced from head-to-toe (lengthwise) and seeded
• 3 Granny Smith Apples (or other tart cooking apple), peeled, quartered, and seeded
• Fat-free vegetable or chicken stock or broth (whichever your taste prefers)
• 2 cloves garlic, skin removed
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 pinch yellow curry powder (optional)
• 1 pinch nutmeg (optional)
  
• Nonstick cooking spray, such as Pam
  

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.
2. Place squash, cut-side up, on baking sheet, along with apples. Place garlic cloves in hollows of squash (from where you removed the seeds). This will help the garlic to roast evenly without burning.
3. Spray squash, apples, and garlic with nonstick spray. Lightly coat with salt and pepper.
   
4. Roast in oven until squash is fork-tender; anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the thickness of your squash. Remove and let cool until squash can be handled.
5. Using a large spoon, scoop the cooked squash out of its skin and place it in your blender (or, if using an immersion blender, in a pot), along with the apples and garlic. Make sure you leave all the skin out of the blender, as the skin does not taste good.
6. Add approximately 1 cup of broth or stock to your squash and begin pureeing. Add more as necessary, until a smooth, thick, and creamy soup has formed. Reheat on stove-top over low heat, stirring frequently. Add optional spices now.
7. Once hot, adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve with crusty bread.