Tag Archives: vegetable recipes
The Copycat Chef: Roasted Vegetable Antipasto
One of the best things about many Milanese restaurants is the antipasti bar. You pay one fixed, economical price for a buffet plate full of vegetables, olives, calamari, salumi and cheeses, rather than order antipasti item by item as in New York. It’s a much cheaper and easier way to get a mealtime supply of veggies.
When I came back to the U.S., I couldn’t find a recipe that replicated the roasted zucchini in the delicious antipasti plate at Primafila, a little pizza place on a side street off the Duomo, pictured above. This recipe for a mix of roasted vegetables came close, but here’s a revised recipe, simplified further, which can be served as an antipasto or as a contorno. All fresh vegetables need is a little olive oil, lemon, pepper and salt to become the perfect side dish.
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Recipe: Toasted Corn and Tomato Salad
Corn is wonderfully good right now. If, like me, you find yourself buying more than you can eat, this toasted corn salad is a great use for extra corn and tomatoes. Farmer’s market produce like this should never go to waste when it’s sweet as candy in late August. (more…)
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Tagged American recipes, salad recipes, sides recipes, the copycat chef, vegetable recipes
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Recipe: Grilled Artichokes
This is one of those great minimalist Italian recipes that requires nothing more than super fresh produce, olive oil, salt and a little panache. It’s another artichoke recipe from Jib Girl Daniela, handed down through her family.
For the artichokes, trim and de-choke them as described in the Stuffed Artichokes recipe, then proceed from there. (more…)
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Recipe: Stuffed Artichokes
Artichokes can be a mystery to those of us who didn’t grow up with them. Alexandra Wentworth described them in The WASP Cookbook as “vegetables you scrape against your teeth” – not exactly something most of us could serve grandma at a holiday dinner.
But for many Italian Americans, they’re an essential part of family meals. After several kitchen disasters when I tried to make these on my own, I recruited my Italian-American friend Daniela, aka Jib Girl, to demonstrate how to make artichokes two ways: stuffed and grilled. The results were excellent, especially when you follow her technique for prepping the artichokes, stuffing them, and testing to see if they’re done. (more…)
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Caprese Salad
What’s so difficult about making caprese salad? On the other hand, if it’s so easy, why do so many restaurants not deliver? This summer salad of tomato, basil and mozzarella is quintessential Italian cuisine: excellent ingredients simply presented. But it takes technique to get the flavors to blend just so on the plate – otherwise it’s just mozzarella and tomato that happen to be in the same vicinity.
We experimented with several methods to arrive at one luscious whole. As expected, it depends a lot on sourcing top notch tomatoes in season, but there are a few more tricks that can elevate the dish from good to great. (more…)
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Jeanne’s Potatoes au Gratin
It seems like an easy dish: just potatoes and cheese, right? But this cold-weather staple can be boring if you just take the traditional French route. Luckily, my family was treated on Christmas Day to some of the best potatoes au gratin I’ve tasted. My future sister-in-law Jeanne Arnondin combined her mother’s recipe with a Food Network recipe for a dish that’s decadent and infinitely craveable. The key differences are fennel and Pecorino Romano, which brings a sharper umami flavor that a straight French preparation doesn’t have.
Make it with a simple beef tenderloin roast for an elegant but easy winter dinner party. (more…)
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Mexican Poblano and Tomato Salad
Mexican Cotija cheese isn’t for sale at New York’s fancy cheese emporiums, but you can find it in some corner bodegas. If your hunt for authentic cheese is successful, here’s a recipe for a Mexican salad for you. It ran many years ago – in the LA Times, of course.
Mexican Poblano and Tomato Salad
4 poblano chiles
2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried Mexican oregano, crumbled
3 tbsp. chopped cilantro
3 tbsp. lime juice
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 head butter lettuce
1/4 cup crumbled Cotija cheese
wedges of lime dipped in chile powder, for garnish
Roast the chiles on a gas burner or grill until charred all over. Place them in a Ziplock bag and close. Let them stand until cool, then slough off the charred skin. Core and seed them, then cut lengthwise into thin strips.
Toss the chiles with tomatoes, onion, garlic, oregano, cilantro, lime juice, and salt. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes. Arrange butter lettuce on four salad plates, top with pepper mixture, and sprinkle with Cotija cheese. Serve with lime wedges.
Serves 4.
Variation: If you can find requesón cheese, try substituting it for Cotija. Combine a 1/2 cup of requesón with the chili mixture, and instead of letting it all sit, heat it gently on the stove for about 5 minutes, until warmed through. Serve on top of cool butter lettuce, garnish with limes. Think of it as a salad version of La Superior’s rajas.
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