Risi e Bisi served with Caprese salad

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 ribs celery, finely chopped
• 2 ounces pancetta, cut into small cubes
• 1 1/2 cups of small grain brown rice parboiled for 13 minutes or arborio rice
• 8 cups of water or chicken stock, heated until hot
• 1 1/2 cups of shelled peas
• 3 garlic scapes, finely chopped
• 1 cup of cava or dry white wine
• 2-3 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup parmigiano-reggiano
• salt & fresh ground black pepper

1. Add the olive oil 10- to 12- inch heated sauté pan and cook the pancetta for a minute or two. Combine the onions, celery, and garlic scapes and cook over medium heat until they are softened but not browned.

2. Add the rice and stir for 2 minutes, until it is amost opaque. Add 1 cup of cava or wine and stir until the wine has evaporated. Add enough water to barely cover the rice (about 1 cup) and cook, stirring until the water is absorbed. Keep adding water, one ladleful at a time, and stirring constantly. After about 15 minutes taste the rice; it should still be al-dente but getting close to being done.

3. Add the peas and continue to cook for about 4 more minutes, adding a bit more water, until the rice is tender and creamy yet still al dente. The risotto should be quite moist.

4. Add the butter and Parmigiano, mix quickly and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Ingredients

1 large can of San Marzano tomatoes

5 tbsp unsalted butter

1 large onion, cut in half

that’s it!

Add all three ingredients to a heavy sauce pan and let it simmer for at least 45 minutes. I probably let it simmer on low for more than an hour as I set the water to boil to cook the past late in the process. Stir once in a while, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pan. This sauce was incredible fragrant. Once it is ready, discard the onions (I saved it for some future use) and serve over spaghetti. You may want to test for salt; I found the flavours so pronounced that I hardly needed any salt. I also followed Smitten Kitchen’s advise and skipped the parmesan cheese on this one. We moaned at every bite. Was it the world’s best tomato sauce? I don’t know but the flavours were certainly indescribable.

*If you ever need to make anything that calls for canned tomatoes, look for San Marzano. The difference is astounding.

Recipe below the fold

Ingredients

5-7 sundried tomatoes, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 large shallot, chopped

1 bunch kale (I used purple kale)

1 cup corn niblets

1 cup yellow cornmeal [I used Bob's Red Mill's wholegrain medium grind cornmeal]

1 cup spelt flour [also Bob's Red Mill's]

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup butter, chopped

1 large egg

Preparation

Soak the chopped sundried tomatoes in a bowl of hot water.

In a medium bowl, combine cormeal, flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. If using butter, cut the butter into the mixture with two knives or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In another bowl, whisk together the egg and kefir until well blended. Add to the cornmeal mixture. Mix until thoroughly moistened.

Heat a 10-inch cast iron or heavy oven safe skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and stir fry the shallots until soft, add garlic and cook for another minute. Incorporate the sundried tomatoes (drained from the water) and corn niblets and mix in. Add chopped kale and cook until wilted (about 2 mins), adding salt to taste.

Fold the kale mixture into the cornmeal and return it into the cast iron skillet and bake at 350 F for 25-30 mins. Let it rest for 10 mins and serve immediately.

We are having friends over for dinner tonight and since we slept in, breakfast needed to be something quick. Alan said “we can just have some eggs with toast”. As he stepped out the door to pick up some milk and bread, I quickly chopped a couple small tomatoes (one yellow, one red), a small piece of fresh mozzarella, and a few basil leaves. Sprinkled with some olive oil it would be an ideal accompaniment for our eggs. As I mentioned before, I’m really into vegetables for breakfast.

I then whisked together four eggs with a bit of milk while I preheated my cast iron skillet. Once the skillet was nice and hot, I melted a teaspoon or so of butter and swirled it around. I then added the eggs and stirred it slowly with a wooden spoon. At some point in this process, I was casually browsing Deborah Madison’s book Local Flavors, where I came across a recipe entitled Fried Eggs with Sizzling Vinegar. It was very simple – after frying eggs, any style, remove them from the pan and add another 2-3 tsp of butter to the hot pan. Add to it a finelly chopped small shallot. Cook it for a minute or so and then add about 1 tbsp of sherry vinegar (or red wine vinegar) and swirl it around to allow it to reduce a bit. Serve immediately on top of the eggs.

For an extra minute or two of preparation it really jazzed up the meal quite a bit. Serve with a few slices of French bread.

Last week I tried the tomato sauce from Loffredo Farms and I was blown away. It was SO tasty. I bought another jar this week and ordered a box of 12 for next week. I’ll save them for the cold winter months when we have no more tomatoes around…

Notice the flowers on the right bottom corner:

Alan devoured his meal in no time at all:

We capped the meal with a glass of white wine and a simple dessert made of cantaloupe served with a tablespoon of maple syrup, which we ate in our balcony watching the sunset.