Though I make my own variation of spaghetti sauce rather than following my mom’s recipe, this process reminds me of family and of growing up. I strongly identify with the foods of my heritage – part Polish, part Italian – and I refuse to purchase jarred pasta sauce because I grew up with homemade. There is something beautiful about cooking food with a deep family connection.
I think it’s time that I declared this to the world: I love foods made with cornmeal. Cornbread? Fantastic. Corn muffins? Delicious – especially with some fresh fruit mixed in. Grits? Be still, my heart. And then…there’s polenta.
A few years ago, I was making polenta on a regular basis. It was a staple in my diet thanks to its affordability and versatility. A cup of cornmeal, once cooked, makes four to six hearty servings, and it can be served as breakfast, lunch, or dinner depending on the topping. So why did I stop making it? Good question. Thankfully, I remedied this last week as I work to stick to a tighter grocery/dining out budget.
My system has been to make a batch of polenta at the beginning of the week, and then throughout the week as I’m cooking dinners, I’ll have a variety of sauces and other toppings to bring with the polenta for lunches. In the past week and a half, I’ve topped my lunches with eggs over-easy and arugula; sausage, olives, and goat cheese; tomato sauce with ground beef; and, my current favorite, sauteed asparagus and mushrooms with lemon juice, butter, and thyme.
That last one is the perfect meal for spring, and I can’t resist eating it.
Polenta
2 c water
1 c unsweetened almond milk (or milk of your choice)
1 c polenta (corn grits)
2 tbsp salted butter
black or white pepper
Combine water and almond milk in a medium-sized pot, and bring to a boil over high heat. When liquid reaches a rolling boil, turn heat down to low and stir in polenta. When polenta and liquid are combined, add butter and stir. Continue to simmer, stirring regularly, until polenta reaches a thick oatmeal consistency. (Note: The instructions I’ve read say that polenta will take 20-30 minutes to cook. Mine usually reaches the thick consistency within 10 minutes. Cooking time may vary for you.)
When polenta has thickened, add pepper to taste and stir. Turn off heat and serve.
You can also pour the polenta into a rectangular baking dish – mine is 1-1/2 quarts – and refrigerate, covered overnight. After that, you can slice pieces, reheat, and serve!
Lemon Butter Asparagus and Mushrooms
3 c sliced crimini mushrooms
2 c asparagus, chopped into one inch segments
2-1/2 tbsp salted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp dried thyme
pepper to taste
In a non-stick pan, heat 2 tbsp olive oil and 2-1/2 tbsp salted butter. When butter has melted, add asparagus and mushrooms. Saute until asparagus is tender, about 7-10 minutes. Add lemon juice, thyme, and pepper. Serve over polenta or as a side dish.
I’m kind of in love with garlic scapes. They remind me of some weird vine out of a horror novel – think The Ruins – and I think they’re really tasty. I usually chop them up and use them in dishes in lieu of garlic cloves…until now. Because last week, Madura Farms Mycomedicinals, the mushroom purveyor at my local greenmarket, was giving away a shopping bag full of scapes to every customer. How could I pass that up?
The same Saturday that I came into my scape bounty, I had the pleasure of meeting Jennifer of In Jennie’s Kitchen. I like her approach to food – how could I not, with her passion for Italian cuisine? – and she’s wonderful to chat with in real life! At any rate, I was browsing around her website for recipes, and I came across her garlic scape pesto. That fit my qualifications: Uses lots of scapes at once? Check. Freezer-friendly? Check.
Of course, at the same time I was readying myself to make the pesto, my oregano was flowering like crazy. By crazy, I mean that there were flowers and buds on about half the plant. I like oregano, and I can take a hint.
I used Jennifer’s recipe as a jumping-off point and added some other flavors I enjoy. I used it on roasted chicken – I’ll tell you about that soon – and I always love pesto on pasta and bread. I think I need to go home and make some more.
Garlic Scape and Oregano Pesto (adapted from Jennifer Perillo)
Makes one cup.
12 garlic scapes
1/3 c almonds
1/2 c grated Romano cheese
1/4 c oregano
4 basil leaves
1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/4 tsp salt
juice from 1/2 lemon
1/4 c + 1 tbsp olive oil
Add the scapes, almonds, cheese, oregano, basil to a food processor, and pulse until they are finely chopped.
Add the butter, salt, and lemon juice, and pulse until the ingredients begin to blend.
Begin adding the olive oil one tbsp at a time, until you reach desired consistency.
Eat on everything.
I love hummus, and it seems like every time I find my dream hummus at Whole Paycheck, they stop carrying it. This happened about a year ago with their in-house edamame hummus – which I have yet to recreate – and then again a few months ago, with their smoky harissa hummus.
Since I haven’t had it in a while, I can’t guarantee that I’ve been able to precisely replicate it; however, the recipe below is a more than adequate stand-in. It’s garlicky, the harissa adds an amazing spicy kick, and the pumpkin seed oil provides a delicious nutty note.
Harissa Hummus
1 can chickpeas (or 1 c that have been soaked and cooked chickpeas)
2 large garlic cloves, minced to a paste (or use a garlic press)
1/4 c tahini
juice from 1 medium lemon (approximately 1/4 c)
1-1/2 tbsp pumpkin seed oil* (plus a little extra drizzled on top before serving)
1 tbsp harissa (plus a tiiiiiiiiny bit on top before serving)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coarse kosher salt
I remove the skins from my chickpeas because that’s what my dad and I did when we made hummus together; it’s definitely more labor-intensive, but the finished product is smoother and has a better mouthfeel. I usually pinch the chickpeas between my thumb and forefinger to remove the skins, though I found some other methods online that people say work for them.
Blend all ingredients together using an immersion blender or food processor.
Makes about 1-1/2 cups.
*I was fortunate enough to get Styrian Kernöl from my friend Kay; if you can’t find it, I’d recommend substituting Stony Brook Oils, or olive oil would work in a pinch.
I tend to have very specific food cravings. I’m sure they correlate to nutrients that my body needs; however, what comes through to my brain is “Tomato soup, NOW!” or “Cheeeeeeeeeeeeese.” Lately, my cravings have been of a more healthy variety, including quinoa (No really, who craves quinoa?), tofu, greens, and cannellini beans. When my body asks for certain foods, I try to eat those things, so I’ve been coming up with different ways to use them than my usual stand-by recipes.
In some ways, this is a “what do I have around that needs to be used?” recipe. You can use any sort of greens you want, though I think the smokiness of the tea works really well with collards. You could roast tomatoes instead of bell peppers for the sweetness. And of course, you could use basil instead of arugula in the pesto, as is traditional.
Pesto Pasta with Sweet and Smoky Vegetables
For roasted bell peppers:
2 red or orange bell peppers
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
For pasta and collards:
16 oz pasta (1 bag or box)
1 bunch collard greens
1 tea bag lapsang souchong
1 tbsp butter
1 15-oz can cannellini beans (or equivalent of dried beans, soaked and cooked)
Pesto (recipe below)
Salt and pepper to taste
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. While oven is heating, place pine nuts from pesto recipe (below) on a small tray in the oven to toast. Slice bell peppers in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Mix together olive oil, salt, and pepper. Put pepper halves on a baking sheet, skin side up, and brush olive oil mixture over peppers.
Remove pine nuts from oven when they begin to brown after five to ten minutes, and prepare pesto. When oven reaches 450 degrees Fahrenheit, put peppers in the oven on the top rack. Roast for 20-25 minutes, or until skin begins to bubble and darken.
While oven is pre-heating, roughly chop collards and rinse beans. Put water on to boil when the peppers go into the oven. Cook pasta according to directions on the box or bag.
While pasta is cooking, add about a cup of water and the butter to a medium pot. When water approaches boiling, put the lapsang souchong tea bag into the pot. Allow the tea bag to simmer for a few minutes, and then add the collard greens. Once the greens have wilted, drain the tea water, add the beans to the pot, and heat for a minute or two. Sprinkle on salt and pepper to taste.
Drain the pasta, mix the pasta and the pesto, and slice the bell peppers. You can either mix all vegetables into the large pasta pot to serve, or portion out pesto pasta and then top with peppers, greens, and beans.
Arugula Pesto (adapted from How it all Vegan!)
2 cups fresh arugula
1 cup fresh parsley
2 tbsp grated parmesan, romano, or asiago cheese
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
3 tbsp miso
1/4 – 1/3 cup olive oil
Blend all ingredients in a food processor* until you reach desired consistency.
*I have a little 3-cup kind, and if I add the arugula and parsley in two portions, it’s plenty big enough.
