In the above photo (larger version on flickr) are all the ingredients (except for the pasta and olive oil) we used yesterday. This dish can be done with just spinach or just swiss chard, but we had a nice mix of fresh things that we decided to combine and I think it’s the best version we’ve made yet.

But the ingredients. In the lower left is green garlic. This is basically just a young garlic plant, although it’s getting a bit late in the season for it so this particular one was already starting to form individual cloves and had a tough woody interior stalk I had to cut out. Green garlic kind of looks like green onion (but on steroids) and has a wonderful garlic flavour that isn’t super intense. You use it like green onion, although since this one was more mature the white part we added like we would garlic.

In the upper left is sea asparagus or salicornia. This breaks the 100 mile part of the diet, but it was harvested wild this week and brought to Toronto (albeit by unknown means, not very eco-minded of us) but has a wonderful saltiness from the sea. It’s nice to crunch on raw but also gave us nice flavour and all the salt we needed in the final dish. It’s also super sustainable as you basically can’t over-harvest – it keeps coming back.

In the top right, slightly out of focus (and, in focus, right of centre), is organic spinach grown right in the GTA, harvested last Sunday or Monday morning. It has the tenderness of baby spinach from California but is the size of regular spinach. The flavour is mild but more pronounced than the stuff from California and never leaves that weird cooked spinach feeling in the mouth that I find the California stuff yields.

In the middle-right and looking kind of like an oak leaf is “baby” kale. It’s not really baby and it’s a particular variety I don’t remember, but it’s grown right in Etobicoke in what amounts to backyard gardens and is harvested young and super tender. It can be eaten raw or lightly cooked. Obviously, we lightly cooked it.

Last, in the lower right (and middle) is swiss chard, which was grown in the GTA and harvested last Monday morning. It has such a wonderful fresh and crisp flavour and is much more tender after cooking than the regular supermarket stuff.

And you thought this was a recipe? Well, it is. It’s just ridiculously easy is all so I talked about our nice ingredients first.

Ingredients:
Pasta (we just use a whole package)
Greens (however much you like)
Garlic (again, as you like it)
Chili peppers (fresh or dried flakes, to taste)
Ricotta Cheese
Pine nuts (preferably toasted)
Olive oil (extra virgin folks, the rest ain’t worth having)

1. Set water to boil for pasta.

2. Rough chop the greens. They’ll wilt some so don’t try to make them too small, but long pieces of greens are less fun to eat. Peel regular garlic cloves and either cut ‘em small or have your garlic press ready.

3. Add pasta to boiling, salted water. A third to halfway through cooking time set olive oil over medium heat (or slightly less than that) in a large pot (like a wok) that you can add pasta to. Add garlic to oil as it’s heating, once it sizzles add chili flakes if you’re using them.

4. Once the pasta is nearly done add swiss chard stems and/or any other parts of the greens that need a little extra time to cook. Drain the pasta.

5. Add greens to pan and toss. After no more than a minute add the pasta and toss well. Add more oil if it seems too dry. Add a pinch of salt to taste (ideally kosher or sea salt).

6. Serve. Each individual should add ricotta and pine nuts to taste (or do it for them for attractive presentation).

7. Eat, enjoy, etc.

We made this yesterday with an integrale organic pasta that was super delicious with the greens and used a 6% ricotta that was quite nice, but would have been nicer with either more fat or perhaps made by an artisan and not a big (Ontario) dairy, but we used what we had. Any fresh cheese would be nice, btw, so give things like queso fresco a chance if you’re not a ricotta person.

OK, so that’s the recipe and our delicious new pasta.

Tomatoes, cilantro and green onion

So, using Bayless’ recipe as a mental map, Epicurious.com’s Lentil Salad with Tomato and Dill recipe as a visual guide, I created Lentil Salad with Tomato & Cilantro.

Finished Lentil Salad with Cilantro and Tomato

This is a very simple and healthy recipe to accompany all sorts of meals. I highly recommend sautéing chayote, a Mexican squash, to accompany it, and/or serving the salad on top of baby spinach. A number of other vegetables, especially ones that retain a crispness or solidity but don’t have an overpowering flavor, would go well with the salad too. And by all means, substitute (or combine) a preferred herb for the cilantro (parsley, dill, basil, etc).

In any case, without further ado, here is the recipe. With Epicurious’ proportions in mind, I aimed for 4-6 hearty side dish portions.

1.5 cups dry lentils (I used standard green lentils)
6 cups water (or broth of choice)
2 cloves garlic (chopped or crushed through a press)
3/4-1 pound tomatoes, diced (I used grape tomatoes)
Large bunch cilantro, stems removed and roughly chopped
5 large green onions, chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Over high heat, bring water, lentils, garlic and salt to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer, uncovered, until lentils are firm but tender, about 15 minutes.

While lentils are cooking, prepare and combine tomatoes, garlic, cilantro and green onion in a bowl. Add oil, vinegar pepper and salt, mixing well. Time saving tip: Combine in your serving dish. You can do this step a few hours ahead of time, simply cover ingredients and keep in the fridge.

When the lentils are finished, drain the water thoroughly and while still hot combine with the other ingredients. Mix well and taste; add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot or room temperature. Garnish with additional cilantro or serve on a bed of spinach.

Dry green lentils waiting to be cooked

Bon appétit!

Yes, finally, a post of the recipe that inspired our blog’s name! It’s also another “what we had for dinner tonight” post. Lately we’ve been enjoying this dish with shrimp; we get the bag of small salad shrimp from the Trader Joe’s freezer section and toss them in just before adding the pasta and broccoli to the pan. They add a great bite-sized delicious flavour!

For more photos of the cooking process, click here. Otherwise, enjoy the following receipe.

Pasta e Broccoli della Famiglia Mercuri

rIAm’s mother has made this recipe for as long as rIAm can remember. Using fresh and classic Italian ingredients, this dish can be on the table in less than 30 minutes. Quick preparation and delicious flavours keeps this recipe in regular rotation in both rIAm’s & jft’s, and rIAm’s family’s households.

1 pound (454 g) farfalle, or other pasta shape
1 head of broccoli, stem included
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
6 large cloves finely chopped or crushed garlic, or to taste
Red pepper flakes to taste
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus extra for serving
Salt to taste

Wash broccoli, peel stems and cut all into bite-size pieces. Steam broccoli until crisp-tender, or boil broccoli with pasta during last few minutes of pasta cooking so pasta absorbs broccoli flavour. Cook pasta according to package directions for al dente preparation. When pasta is 5 minutes from ready, heat garlic and oil on medium-low in a pan large enough to hold all ingredients. As garlic begins to sizzle, add red pepper flakes and cook for one minute longer. Be sure not to burn garlic. Add broccoli, and toss to coat with oil. When pasta is done, drain well. Add to broccoli mix, and toss together over medium heat. Add cheese, salt, and more olive oil if desired, and toss well. Remove from heat and serve immediately, preferably in pasta bowls. Sprinkle with more cheese to taste. Serves 6.

Variations from rIAm & jft:
> Add in pre-cooked shrimp when adding broccoli.
> Substitute steamed cauliflower or other favourite greens (e.g. spinach, swiss chard, rapini).

Our version went a little something like this, but it can be modified quite easily to suit your tastes.

4 poblanos*, stems & seeds removed
2 hot peppers* (e.g. jalepeno, serrano, etc)
2-4 additional small peppers* (we used several grown in our garden that aren’t sweet, but aren’t really hot either. If you like bell peppers, adding one in place of these would be nice too)
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or put through a press
1 medium white onion (or 2 small), roughly chopped
2 medium tomatoes* (or 1 15oz. can of tomatoes), diced
2 ears cooked corn, cut from cob
2 cups Chihuahua cheese (or other melting cheese)
1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil (we used grapeseed oil)
salt to taste
2-4 oz. tequila (optional, but recommended!)

*Note: We left the skins on all of these ingredients, and this recipe reflects that choice. The next time we make the dish, we would take the time to roast and remove the skins. This would be a bit nicer to eat, bring out extra flavor of the ingredients, and then take less time in the pan to cook.

Heat oil in a large, heavy pan, on medium to medium-high heat (we used our nice All-Clad saute pan with great success). When the oil is hot add the poblanos and other peppers (if you’ve pre-roasted the peppers, don’t add the peppers until later). Saute the peppers until they are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and saute until the onion begins to soften. Now add the garlic and mix in, along with some salt. Add half the tomatoes, another pinch of salt, and let the tomatoes cook down. Add the corn with another pinch of salt and mix well. Saute, stirring infrequently, for several minutes. Add the rest of the tomatoes and let them cook down.

Let the mixture lightly brown on the bottom and then stir and repeat. Add the tequila, being sure to use the liquor to deglaze the pan (as long as you’re not using a non-stick pan). Let the tequila cook off and the flavor to be taken in by the ingredients. Add the cheese, stirring it all around and then simply letting it melt into the dish. Once the cheese is melted, you are ready to serve. We made delicious tacos, sprinkled with some chopped cilantro, but it would be just as good served with tortilla chips.

We left ours in the hot pan while we ate, making each taco as we were ready to eat it. With a heavy pan this works well. To use a serving dish, I recommend warming the dish in the oven while cooking. Take the dish out of the oven just before serving and transfer the cheesy mixture to the warm serving dish, and it will keep the food warm and nicely melted.

Buen provecho!

~Carrots, peeled, cut into thin sticks (to your liking, thinner = less cook time)
~Basil to taste (rough chop the fresh variety)
~Butter (be generous)

Enclose it all in an aluminum foil pouch and put it on the grill or in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the carrot is done to your liking. Then eat and enjoy. Couldn’t be easier, and it’s gosh darn good!

I tried this out tonight with about a pound of farmer’s market carrots, ~20 leaves (varying sizes) of fresh basil, a pinch of Renee’s new favorite food (kosher salt) and the smallest dash of dried tarragon. Plus of course a generous helping of unsalted butter (probably 2 tbsp).

But it would work a lot of different ways. So try something and let me know how it goes.

But we had to do something with the fruits of our labor (duh!), and lucky for us, tomato + peppers + basil + extra virgin olive oil = tomato salad. Very delicious tomato salad. (see photo)

It feels unbelievably good (to taste buds and heart) to eat a fantastic dish with nothing but our own ingredients mixed with a bit of olive oil. Especially right after a meal that consisted of carrots and potatoes from the farmer’s market and zucchini from my future grandfather-in-law’s garden.

I love this time of year… eating amazing fresh food everyday with an amazing partner by my side.