Tomato | I Can Cook That

Shredded Chicken Tacos with Tomatoes and Grilled Corn

Tacos are one of my favorite “quick dinners.” For the most part, it all comes down to assembly. I tend to make tacos more as a way to clean my fridge of various vegetables (lettuce, tomatoes, corn, avocados, etc.) but this recipe from the August issue of Cooking Light sounded so tasty I couldn’t wait for a fridge-cleaning day, went out, and bought these ingredients.

Ingredients:

2 ears shucked corn (or 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed)

1 package baby heirloom tomatoes

Salt and pepper, to taste

8 (6-inch) corn tortillas

1/4 rotisserie chicken

1 peeled avocado, cut into 16 slices

8 lime wedges

Preheat your broiler. Place the corn on a pan and broil the corn for 18 minutes, rotating every 6 minutes to allow for an even char. If you are using frozen corn kernels, allow them to thaw. No cooking/broiling needed — you can skip down to combining the kernels with the tomatoes.

While the corn is cooking, quarter the tomatoes. Shred your chicken.

Cut the kernels from the corn.

Place the kernels in a bowl and mix in the tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Heat the tortillas. Divide the chicken evenly among the tortillas.

Top each with 1/4 cup of the corn mixture and 2 avocado slices. Serve with lime wedges.

I loved the flavors in this dish. However, I don’t feel like the flavor of the corn had the chance to shine through, so I’d suggest using defrosted corn kernels to speed up the process. The colors of this are so pretty too! Heirloom tomatoes add extra pizazz, but using plain old cherry or grape tomatoes would get the job done.

Capellini with Shrimp and Creamy Tomato Sauce

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This weekend, I realized I was running low on tomato sauce in my freezer, so I whipped up a new batch to hopefully last me a couple months. I was left with an extra can of diced tomatoes and I also had some leftover capellini pasta from my Capellini with Clams and Saffron dish. Gourmet had a really delicious sounding recipe that incorporated both of these ingredients. The recipe is so quick, it is perfect for a week night dinner.

Ingredients:

1tablespoon olive oil

8 already cooked shrimp, deveined with the tails still attached, thawed

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 cup sweet (red) vermouth

1 (14- to 15-oz) can diced tomatoes

1/4 cup heavy cream

Juice from 1/2 a lemon

1/2 a box of capellini

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 teaspoon fresh chopped parsley, optional

The original recipe is linked above. I had already-cooked shrimp in my freezer (I meant to buy raw shrimp and misread the label, sigh) so I had to alter the recipe to make up for the precooked shrimp. My shrimp still had the tails attached because I think those are more attractive. Feel free to use whatever form of shrimp you’d like.

Start by thawing your shrimp. I just ran them under cold water for 3 minutes and allowed to dry in a colander.

Cook pasta according to directions. Drain and set aside. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and vermouth. and stir to combine. I left in the tomato juice from the diced tomatoes. You can drain the tomatoes before adding for a more chunky sauce. Heat until simmering.

Add cream and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for about 1 minute. Add in lemon juice.

Top the pasta with 2 shrimp per serving and spoon the broth over the pasta. Add the chopped parsley on top.

The sauce had a nice sweetness to it, but I think it could be further enhanced with a pinch of crushed red pepper to add a bit of heat. I regret not having fresh shrimp for this dish because the shrimp were relatively forgettable in my version. I like that my sauce was a little thinner than the original. I think this would be great (without the shrimp) as a reheated lunch after the pasta has had time to sit in the sauce.

Sausage, Pepper & Onion Sandwiches

I love making sausage and peppers. It is such a simple meal to make and is always well received. Sausage and peppers are a hearty meal and work well in both hot summer months as a sandwich, and also during the fall and winter as a chunky stew or over pasta. I purchased sweet Italian sausage to make a soup (which I have yet to actually make) that only required one sausage. I also had some peppers from my CSA share this week so this was a great option for dinner without having to purchase a bunch of new ingredients.

Ingredients:

4 sausages (I used sweet Italian. feel free to use hot sausages instead)

2 green peppers, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 cups crushed tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 rolls

1 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

1 teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a saute pan over medium-high heat. When heated, add the sausages and cook until browned, turning the sausages so they cook evenly.

While the sausages are cooking (about 10 minutes), chop your garlic, onion, and peppers.

Remove the sausages from the pan and set aside.

Using the same saute pan, lower the hear to medium. Add the garlic, onions, and peppers to the pan and cook until fragrant, about 5 minutes.

Add the 1.5 cups of crushed tomatoes. Feel free to add a bit more if you’d prefer yours a little more “saucy.” Add in the tomato paste, basil, dried parsley, and dried oregano.

Stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and add in the sausages. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook for 3-5 more minutes or until the sausages are warm. Cut the rolls almost in half, but not fully. You want the sauce to be able to settle at the bottom of the bun.

To serve, add 1 sausage to each bun. Spoon the onions, peppers, and tomato mixture over the sausage. Add some Parmesan cheese and/or parsley if you prefer.

If you have an outdoor grill, you can alter this recipe to grill the sausages and add to the pan at the end. This recipe can also be used over pasta, just chop up the sausage into bit sized pieces. This is a pretty messy meal so be sure to have plenty of napkins on hand. Enjoy!

Pesto Pasta Salad

I am in a pasta salad making mood, so I decided to make one more batch for this weekend. I already made one pasta salad for this weekend, but I have a bunch of these ingredients on hand from other recipes and I don’t want them to go bad over the long weekend. I used a recipe from My Recipes as a base and substituted ingredients I already had, and ended up with this Pesto Pasta Salad!

Ingredients for the pesto:

1 or 2 bunches of packed fresh basil

1 bunch of packed fresh parsley

4 garlic cloves, minced

Juice and zest from 1 lemon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup walnuts (or toasted pine nuts)

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Ingredients for the salad:

1 box gemelli or other short pasta

1 small container plain 2 percent Greek yogurt

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

3 small cucumbers, sliced

1 red onion, chopped

1/2 cup feta cheese

Cook the pasta according to the “al dente” directions on the package. Drain and run under cold water. Set aside.

To make the pesto, combine the basil, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, pepper and walnuts in a food processor. (I ended up being just short of 1/3 cup walnuts, so I also added in a few toasted pine nuts.) Blend until smooth. Pour in olive oil and blend until there is a thick paste. Add the Parmesan and combine until blended. Add more salt and pepper, to taste.

Prepare all of your vegetables. After chopping the red onion, run it under cold water to remove some of the bite. Slice your cucumbers and halve your tomatoes.

Combine the pesto and Greek yogurt in a large bowl.

Add the pasta and vegetables and toss to coat.

Because I am making this for the weekend, I only made a tiny batch fully mixed so I could taste it. The pesto mixture is so so creamy that you honestly might not even need the feta. The tomatoes and red onions add a wonderful contrast to the pesto and the cucumbers add a nice crunch to the salad. I will try to take some photos this weekend of the fully assembled salad, but if it is anything close to what I just sampled, I think my friends will be happy.

Yum

Pesto Pasta Salad

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

Pesto:

1 or 2 bunches of packed fresh basil
1 bunch of packed fresh parsley
4 garlic cloves, minced
Juice and zest from 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup walnuts (or toasted pine nuts)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salad:

1 box gemelli or other short pasta
1 small container plain 2 percent Greek yogurt
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
3 small cucumbers, sliced
1 red onion, chopped
1/2 cup feta cheese

Instructions

Cook the pasta according to the “al dente” directions on the package. Drain and run under cold water. Set aside.
To make the pesto, combine the basil, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, pepper and walnuts in a food processor. (I ended up being just short of 1/3 cup walnuts, so I also added in a few toasted pine nuts.) Blend until smooth. Pour in olive oil and blend until there is a thick paste. Add the Parmesan and combine until blended. Add more salt and pepper, to taste.
Prepare all of your vegetables. After chopping the red onion, run it under cold water to remove some of the bite. Slice your cucumbers and halve your tomatoes.
Combine the pesto and Greek yogurt in a large bowl.
Add the pasta and vegetables and toss to coat.

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Italian Pasta Salad

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It’s almost July 4th weekend, so I am preparing a bunch of dishes for me to trek down to the beach.

I tend to make food that can marinate for a day or two so that I have time to make it without rushing around right before we leave. This time around, I decided to make a pasta salad based off my mom’s version.

Ingredients:

1 box of tri-colored pasta
1 can of pitted black olives, sliced
1 package of cherry or grape tomatoes
1/2 cup corn kernels
1/2 can of black beans, rinsed
6 mozzarella balls, halved
small jar of artichoke hearts, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 jar roasted red peppers, roughly chopped
Italian dressing (recipe below)

Ingredients for Italian dressing:

1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white wine or rice vinegar
1 1/3 cup olive oil or canola oil

Continue reading Italian Pasta Salad

Shrimp Tomato Basil Linguine with Warm Goat Cheese Rounds

I had some left over goat cheese from my Orecchiette with Swiss Chard, Red Peppers and Goat Cheese dish. When I was looking for recipes, I came across this one for Shrimp Tomato Basil Linguine with Warm Goat Cheese Rounds from Cooking Light. I had no clue how seafood and goat cheese would be together, but was willing to find out!

Ingredients:

1 (16 oz) box linguine
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 (4-ounce) package log-shaped goat cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium (~1 cup) onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 plum tomatoes (~2 1/2 cups), roughly chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil

Continue reading Shrimp Tomato Basil Linguine with Warm Goat Cheese Rounds

Paella

I wanted to challenge myself this weekend, so I decided to try to make paella. I don’t own a paella pan, and I honestly have no idea how to cook paella, so this should be quite the experience. I used a mixture of a recipe from Tyler Florence and one from Cooking Light, keeping my personal taste in mind.

Ingredients:

2 Spanish chorizo sausages, thickly sliced

1 Spanish onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons parsley (fresh if you have it)

1 (15-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped

1/2 teaspoon paprika

2 cups rice, whatever you have (long, short, doesn’t matter)

2 quarts plus 2 cups water

1/3 cup flour

1 cup dry white wine

2 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon saffron threads

1 (8-ounce) bottles clam juice

1 dozen littleneck clams, scrubbed

2 pounds mussels, debearded and scrubbed

Olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 cup sweet peas, frozen and thawed (optional)

Lemon wedges, for serving (optional)

Begin by cleaning and de-bearding the mussels. I couldn’t handle doing this, so thankfully my boyfriend was willing to help.

That wiry-looking thing on the right side of the mussel, that’s the beard. To remove, pull towards the hinge part of the mussel and tug.

yuck

The beards won’t hurt you if you eat them, but they don’t look particularly appetizing. Scrub the mussels to remove any gook that might be left on them. Discard any mussels that are open or cracked. Do the same with the clams. Put the clams and mussels in a mixture of 2 quarts water and 1/3 cup flour for 20 minutes. This helps to remove any sand that may still be in the mussels and clams.

Add the chicken broth, 2 cups water, 1 cup white wine, clam juice and saffron to a pot over medium heat. Simmer, without boiling, then reduce to low to keep warm.

Heat a tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Place the cut chorizo in the pan and cook until browned. Remove and set aside.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the chopped onions, garlic and parsley. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and paprika and cook for 5-10 minutes until fragrant.

Add the rice, stirring to coat the rice.

Pour in the saffron broth, simmering for 10 minutes.

Add chorizo, clams and mussels, tucking the clams and mussels into the rice.

Cook for 15 minutes without stirring, until the rice is fluffy and you can smell the rice at the bottom beginning to toast. (This is known as socarrat… paella is supposed to have a toasted bottom.)

Remove from heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes (it will be really, really hot). Serve with lemon wedges and peas if desired. Season with salt and pepper if needed.

I have to give myself a little pat on the back for this one (as well as my boyfriend for his wonderful de-bearding skills). Although I was craving a bit more saffron taste, this dish really turned out well overall. It is quite a bit of work, but it produces a whole lot of food, at least 8 servings. As always, don’t eat any clams or mussels that don’t open. A bunch of my clams didn’t open, kind of a bummer. I also think the next time I make this, I would reserve the liquid from the tomatoes and add that in as well for a little extra flavor.

All Gone.

Gazpacho

The warm days in Philadelphia keep on coming, so I think it’s time to attempt making the summer favorite: gazpacho. I wanted to do an heirloom gazpacho, but I am presently cooking out of Wilmington and the local store does not carry any. Sigh. I used this recipe from Cooking Light and just changed some of the ingredients to fit what I could find in the store.

Ingredients:

2 seeded peeled cucumbers, plus 1 for garnish

1 chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion

1 coarsely chopped red bell pepper

6 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 large tomatoes, chopped seeded & peeled

1 garlic clove, minced

1 finely chopped yellow pepper, for garnish

1 finely chopped orange pepper, for garnish

1 finely chopped tomatillo, for garnish

8 pieces of garlic bread (optional)

To begin, prepare all of your ingredients. Peel and seed 2 cucumbers. To learn how to seed a cucumber, check out my post here. Roughly chop the onion and red bell pepper. To peel a tomato, prepare a bowl with ice water and bring another pot of water to a boil.

On the bottom side of the tomatoes, cut an X into the skin.

When the water is boiling, place 2 tomatoes at a time into the water.

Keep in the water for 15 to 20 seconds, remove, and place in the ice water.

Once cooled, use a knife to peel away the skin from the X.

Repeat with remaining tomatoes.

To seed the tomato, cut the tomato in half and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Discard the seeds and roughly chop the tomatoes.

Prepped Veggies

To make the gazpacho, combine first 9 ingredients (up to the garlic).

Add 1/3 of the mixture to a food processor and blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl and repeat with the remaining 2/3 vegetable mixture. Cover and chill.

When ready to serve, spoon gazpacho into bowls. Finely chop your yellow and orange peppers and tomatillo. Combine the peppers and tomatillo.

Add 2 tablespoons of the mixture to each bowl. If you’d like, you can also add a piece of garlic bread (or just a crusty piece of day old bread), 1 tablespoon goat cheese, or a teaspoon of sour cream.

This would also be a nice appetizer. Pour the gazpacho into shooter glasses and top with a teaspoon of the pepper tomatillo mixture.

You can also use the gazpacho as a pureed salsa. Prepare garlic bread. Put on a plate with a bowl of gazpacho in the center with a spoon. Guests can spoon gazpacho on top of the bread, or use the bread to dip into the gazpacho.

Fresh Salsa

I wanted to make quesadillas, and it called for salsa. I realized I had all of the ingredients needed to make my own on hand, so I decided to try coming up with my own salsa.

Ingredients:
3 chopped and seeded tomatoes
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 garlic scape, finely chopped (or 2 garlic cloves)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup corn kernels (I just used frozen)

I have no clue why I put olive oil in the pic, sorry

To make the salsa, first rinse the chopped onions under very cold water. This will help remove some of the bite associated with raw onions.

To seed the tomatoes, cut off one end of the tomato and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds.

Dice the tomato.

Chop the scape as finely as possible

Cut the cilantro.

Combine the onions, garlic, chopped tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, corn, and salt. Allow to refrigerate for a few hours to get the best flavor, or overnight.

The corn will defrost in the fridge

There is nothing like fresh salsa. This recipe can be adapted to what makes you happy as well; feel free to add some jalapenos or another hot pepper to add some spice. As I’ve said before, a lot of color in a dish makes me so happy. The red, green and yellow brighten up the whole meal. There is enough flavor in this salsa to serve at a party with some tortilla chips, but I can’t wait to try it with my quesadilla!

Yum

Fresh Salsa

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

3 chopped and seeded tomatoes
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 garlic scape, finely chopped (or 2 garlic cloves)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup corn kernels (I just used frozen)

Instructions

To make the salsa, first rinse the chopped onions under very cold water. This will help remove some of the bite associated with raw onions.
To seed the tomatoes, cut off one end of the tomato and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds.
Dice the tomato.
Chop the scape as finely as possible
Cut the cilantro.
Combine the onions, garlic, chopped tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, corn, and salt. Allow to refrigerate for a few hours to get the best flavor, or overnight.

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Salad with Hoisin Vinaigrette and Crisp Panko Chicken

My fridge looks like a forest. I kid you not. I have two of my three shelves of my refrigerator filled with leafy greens. I didn’t want to have just a plain old boring salad, so I decided to try this recipe from Cooking Light (April 2006).

Ingredients for chicken:
1/2 cup panko
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound chicken breast tenders
Cooking spray

Ingredients for salad:
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 spring garlic, minced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup chopped green onions (scallions)
1/4 bunch of romaine lettuce
1/4 bunch of red leafy lettuce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. To cook chicken, add first 4 ingredients (panko through pepper) to a bowl.

Mix to combine. Add chicken one at a time, tossing to coat. Transfer the chicken to a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.

Bake for 15 minutes or until chicken is done and lightly browned.

To prepare salad, combine vinegar and next 7 ingredients (through minced garlic) in a bowl.

Prepare your lettuce by washing and rinsing the Romaine and red leafy lettuce. Tear with your hands and add to a bowl.

Add halved tomatoes and green onions.

Add vinegar mixture, tossing to coat. Transfer to individual plates and top with the chicken.

Wow. This dressing was fantastic. It has a bit of spice to it without any heat. The chicken was crispy on the outside but really tender on the inside. The original recipe used a clove of garlic instead of spring garlic, but I think the raw mature garlic would be too overpowering. It also called for white wine vinegar, but for some reason I had rice vinegar on hand instead. I will most certainly use this recipe in the future!

Tomato Sauce

My mom and aunts make mean tomato sauce. But sadly, they have not signed on to making sure my freezer is sufficiently filled with their delicious sauce. So I’ve finally broken down and attempted my own. Tomato sauce is quite adaptable, you can really throw in whatever you wish. Here’s my attempt at making a tomato sauce my Italian relatives would be proud of…

Ingredients:
2 cans of crushed tomatoes
1 can of pureed tomatoes
1/3 cup of red wine (whatever you already have opened will do)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons each of parsley, oregano, basil, and thyme
1 bay leaf
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper
1 shallot, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil

Begin by preparing the garlic and shallots. I happened to have shallots on hand, so that’s why I used them instead of an onion. Shallots kind of taste like sweet onions with a bit of garlic to them, so I thought that would work well in the sauce.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and shallots and saute for 1 minute.

Add the cans of tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, spices, wine, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir and bring to a boil. (Be careful, the tomato sauce pops up). Feel free to add more spices or sub in whatever you’d like.

see?

Lower the heat and cover. Simmer for 1 hour. If the sauce seems too thin, add a teaspoon of tomato paste to the sauce. Be sure to remove the bay leaf.

Tomato sauce always tastes better after its been frozen and has had time to meld all the flavors, so I still don’t know how well it turned out. I did have a bit with some spaghetti right after it finished cooking and so far, so good. I can already tell it doesn’t stack up to my family’s sauce, but hey, not to shabby for a girl with freckles if I do say so myself 🙂 I wish I had thought ahead and made meatballs with the sauce too. Meatballs add a nice earthiness to the sauce that really enhance the sauce. Next time…

Summer Garden Salad

When I usually make salads, I tend to just throw in there whatever I happen to have in my fridge. I received romaine lettuce and radishes as part of my CSA this week, so I thought it was time to explore new salad recipes. I found one on myrecipes.com, originally from the May 2008 Cooking Light magazine. This one caught my eye immediately; look at those colors!

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 teaspoons honey

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons olive oil

4 cups shredded romaine lettuce

1 container grape tomatoes, halved

1 sliced peeled cucumber

1 chopped orange bell pepper

2-3 larger, thinly sliced radishes

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

1 small yellow squash, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

1 avocado, mashed

Combine the first five ingredients (lime juice through black pepper) in a bowl. Gradually add the oil, mixing with a whisk.

Prepare all your veggies.

Combine the lettuce and the next 6 ingredients (all but the avocado) in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over the mixture and toss to coat. Top with avocado.

I somewhat unjustifiably feel like I’m eating healthier when there are a bunch of colors in my food, so this dish made me super happy. The key to this salad is to use the freshest ingredients possible. The dressing was very flavorful and the Dijon mustard gave a good amount of acidity to the salad so no vinegar is really needed in the dressing. The original recipe called for chopped avocado, but I failed miserably in my attempt so I mashed it up to save it. Feel free to use chopped avocado instead; it probably looks more aesthetically pleasing. The recipe also called for yellow pear tomatoes, but I wanted a pop of red in the dish so I substituted in grape tomatoes.

Grilled-Steak and Arugula Salad with Mustard Caper Vinaigrette

My parents graciously gifted me with an order of Omaha Steaks. My only issue is that I rarely make steak (chicken and veggies are my staples) so I went in search of something other than just grilled steak and potatoes. Food and Wine had a recipe that not only sounded delicious, but also included steak and one of my CSA ingredients of the week: arugula. Double win.

Tell me you don’t want to eat that.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds sirloin steak, about 1 inch thick

6 tablespoons olive oil

Salt

Fresh-ground black pepper

2 generous handfuls of arugula, leaves washed and torn in half

1 container of grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon red- or white-wine vinegar (I used red)

2 tablespoons drained capers

If you have an outdoor grill, light the grill before prepping your ingredients to allow it time to heat up. I used my nifty little indoor grill. You could also use the broiler in your oven. Coat the steak with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Season the steak with salt and pepper.

Add the steak to the grill or to the broiler and cook for 5 minutes.

Flip the steak and cook for another 5 minutes for medium rare (adjust to your taste). Transfer the steak to a carving board and let rest for 5 minutes.

Cut the tomatoes in half. I ended up using the whole plastic container (I really like tomatoes).

Place the arugula on two individual plates. Top the arugula with the cherry tomatoes and sprinkle with some salt.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the mustard, vinegar, capers and season with salt and pepper.

This looks disgusting. I swear it tastes good!

Add the remaining 5 tablespoons of oil slowly, whisking to combine.

Still a horrific photo. I apologize.

After the steak has had time to rest, slice the steak on the diagonal.

Place the steak on top of the salad.

Fancy.

Drizzle with vinaigrette.

What a tasty dish. The original recipe called for anchovy paste for the vinaigrette but I didn’t have any so I omitted it. I honestly don’t think it’s necessary; there was enough salt and tangy-ness from the capers. Spinach can be used instead of arugula, but I think the spiciness of arugula goes really well with this dish. The steak on its own was simple and tasty, and with the vinaigrette it was absolutely fantastic. I will most certainly make this recipe again!

Chickpea and Spinach Stew

A friend sent me this recipe from Food & Wine, and I somehow had all of these ingredients on hand (yes, including the saffron and golden raisins… don’t judge me). This recipe said it would take 30 minutes, so I thought it would be a great weeknight meal, plus any time I can make something somewhat healthy, it’s a win.

Ingredients:
1 cup water
10 ounces baby spinach
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
Kosher salt
Pinch of saffron threads
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch of ground cloves
Pinch of freshly ground pepper
Two 15-ounce cans chickpeas with their liquid
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 large tomato—peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup golden raisins
Crusty bread, for serving

To cook the spinach, boil the water in a pot and add the leaves. Stir frequently until wilted (about 2 minutes). Drain the spinach in a strainer, pressing the leaves against the sides to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Coarsely chop the spinach and set aside.

In retrospect, I feel like using frozen chopped spinach that has been defrosted would work just as well, and save some time.

Using the flat side of a knife, mash the garlic into a paste with 1/2 teaspoon salt and the saffron.

kind of coarse, but oh well

In a small bowl, mix the garlic paste, paprika, cumin, cloves, and black pepper and mash until combined.

Stir in 1/4 cup of the chickpea liquid.

To seed the tomatoes, cut the tomato in half and use a spoon to remove the seeds.

I decided not to peel the tomato because I wanted the pieces to retain their shape. Feel free to peel them, it will make for a more soft and more incorporated into the dish.

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a dutch oven or pot. Heat over high heat and add in the onion and tomato, (I forgot about the onion, oops) and stir occasionally until soft, about 3 minutes.

Add the spiced garlic sauce to the pot and cook for 1 minute.

Add the chickpeas and the liquid they came in to the pot. Add the raisins and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Add the spinach, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil on top and serve with some crusty bread.

This didn’t have as much hit-you-over-the-head flavor as I was expecting (when cumin is in a recipe, I tend to prepare for some kick). But, the more I ate, the more I really enjoyed it. If I make this in the future, I will probably use more tomato, I was really craving more. Also, I hope to remember to use onion next time! Darn me. This is one of those dishes that will probably taste better the next day, when all the flavors have time to meld. (Update: it was delicious the next day!)

it’s great as an appetizer too

Tomato Soup with Chickpeas and Pasta

I try to bring my lunch into work at least four times a week, but sometimes I am just too exhausted at the end of a week day to think about and prepare a lunch for the next day. Soups in general are great for these days; you can make a huge batch on Saturday, freeze it in single portions, and then grab when on the run. Food and Wine had a “fast” soup recipe listed so I thought I’d try it out (most soups take at least an hour to prepare).

The original recipe is linked above. I made a few substitutions, based on what I already had in my house.

Ingredients:
7 cups diced tomatoes with their juice (two 28-ounce cans)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 /2 teaspoons dried sage
2 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
2 cups water
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup orzo
2 cups drained and rinsed canned chickpeas (one 19-ounce can)
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1/3 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving

First puree the tomatoes with their juice in a food processor or blender. Feel free to puree at much or as little as you want. If you like your soup a bit chunky, only pulse the blender a few times.

In a large pot (and I mean large– my Dutch Oven was almost too small!), heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. (The original recipe called for 1 whole onion. That seemed like quite a lot of onion for my tastes, so I used half of the onion in my ingredients photo.) Stir in garlic.

Add the pureed tomatoes, sage, broth, water and salt to the pot. Bring to a boil. Stir in the pasta and chickpeas. Bring the soup back to a boil.

Reduce the heat and partially cover, stirring occasionally.

Partially covered? Sure

Cook for 15 minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Stir in the parsley, pepper, and grated Parmesan. Serve topped with an additional sprinkle of Parmesan.

Finished Dish

I was impressed with how quick this recipe was, maybe 35-45 minutes from start to finish. What made it even more manageable was during the down time (10 minute cooking of onion, waiting for it to boil, etc) I was able to clean up the mess I was making.

The soup was really tasty and deceptively fresh tasting (that parsley really helped!). If you like a little kick, I think a few drops of hot sauce during the final boiling stage would be a nice addition. If you don’t have and dried sage on hand, the recipe suggests substituting rosemary or marjoram.

This dish would be great to sop up with garlic bread or even a cheesy toast. I’m excited to have this for lunch some time next week!