My Tomato-Basil Risotto

Since my best friend Véronique showed me how to make risotto, I was very eager to make more of the delicious, creamy, sticky rice dish. I made a very successful shrimp and lemon risotto this fall. Regular readers of this blog know how much I like the taste of tomato and basil, and when I was asked to bring a side-dish to a family meal, I decided to adapt the V-Wonder's recipe to make a big batch of gorgeous, gooey arborio to feed my in-laws.

The result was lip-smacking tasty, easy to pull-off and made a splendid and impressive offering to the big family meal. While it would be delicious devoured on it's own, it was also neutral enough to go along well with a wide range of main dishes.

Here is how to make this lovely and simple risotto, for 4 to 6 people:

1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved and tomatoes roughly chopped
Chicken or vegetable broth
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup white wine
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups arborio rice
1/2 tablespoon dried basil
1 small bunch fresh basil, leaves picked and finely chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigianno-Reggiano

Pour the juice from the can of tomatoes in a 4-cups measuring cup. Top with chicken broth until you have 4 cups of liquid. Pour that liquid in a small sauce pan, and heat over medium heat until it comes to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to keep it simmering.

Pour 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan, and on medium heat, sauté the onion and garlic until soft. Be careful not to brown the onion.

Sprinkle with the dried basil and add the tomatoes, being careful not to add any of the liquid from the can. Add the arborio rice and 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and stir so that all the grains of rice are coated in oil. Cook until the rice becomes translucent.

Add the wine and let it get fully absorbed by the rice, stirring constantly. Take a ladle-full of stock and add to the rice with a good pinch of salt. Stir to mix, and cook, stirring, until all the stock is absorbed.

Continue to add stock, one ladle at the time until the rice is al dente and creamy, 16 to 18 minutes. When adding the last ladle, also add the fresh basil leaves.

Take the rice off the heat, add butter, Parmigianno-Reggiano, pepper and mix well.

After trying it a few times, I have found that the trick to risotto is to use a wide pan (so that as much rice as possible gets heated up at the same time), an angled spatula to stir (to make sure no grain of arborio is left untouched - my stir-fry spatula is my favorite tool here), to taste often to test the rice's texture... and obviously to keep an eye on it. The change in texture and creaminess is visible as the cooking progresses and when you move the pan around and notice fluid waves of fragrant rice, you know you are on the right track. You also want to make sure nothing is sticking, so blast some good music, pour yourself a glass of wine and stir-away!

Eggplant and Chicken Macaroni Gratin

I have been mildly obsessed with baked pasta dishes lately. Maybe because fall is right around the corner, which generally means my appetite for comfort food increases dramatically. What can I say, I do not like cold (you gotta wonder why I still live in a country where it snows from October to April) and I make up for the miserable weather with awesome food.

This recipe was inspired by an improvised pasta dish my mother whipped up the last time I went to see her. Her version was good, but I reworked it to satisfy my carnivorous boyfriend's cravings, and make it into a sort of alla Norma twist on a classic mac-and-cheese.

I had a beautiful fresh eggplant from my father's garden (the eggplant was sooo cute and chubby, I felt kinda guilty chopping it), my basil plant was offering me gorgeous, huge green leaves and I had a ton of fresh local garlic in the pantry. This gratin is my farewell to summer, and acceptance of fall, season of ankle boots, chunky scarves and leather jackets.

1 eggplant, cut into small cubes
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
Olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 to 4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon chili flakes
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 package dry macaroni
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup mozzarella, grated

Place the eggplant cubes in a colander, sprinkle with salt and toss well. Sweat the eggplant for 30 minutes to an hour, then rinse under cold water and drain well. While the eggplant sweats, preheat a pan over medium heat. Cook the chicken cubes in a glug of olive oil, until tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Set aside. Drain the cooking fat from the pan, add more olive oil and put back on the heat. Cook the onion and garlic, until fragrant, about 3 minutes.

Add the eggplant, oregano and chili flakes. Fry up the eggplant cubes, tossing well until the are lightly browned on all sides.

Pour in the diced tomatoes and give the sauce a good stir. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat. Simmer the sauce, covered, for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook according to the package instruction, until almost al dente, and drain. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Remove the sauce from the heat and add the basil, chicken, ricotta and macaroni.

Mix well and transfer to the baking dish. Cover generously with the mozzarella.

Bake in the oven until heated through, and until the cheese is golden and bubbly, about 30 minutes.

Vegetarians can replace the chicken with a zucchini, chopped in half-moons, to keep the "late summer at the farmer's market" spirit of the recipe. Add them to the pan along with the eggplant, and proceed with the recipe.

This recipe makes a very tasty, creamy pasta casserole. The chicken is very tender, the eggplant gives a satisfying bite and the sauce is zesty and rich: it makes a filling and healthy substitute for the usual mac and cheese. It also makes a ton, so bring the leftovers with you for lunch! A nice helping of these will make the yellowing leaves and the migrating geese a bit less melancholy.

Pesto Lasagna or Lasagne Alla Genovese

Basil is one of those things I can't imagine living without. I use fresh leaves in my cooking at least 3 times a week, and what better time to use them than at their peak, right at the end of the summer heats? Basil will add a sweet herb-y taste to pasta sauces, meat dishes, and even desserts and cocktails! The plant is also lovely: keep it by a window where it will get lots of sunlight and generously water it everyday, and you'll always have fresh basil to flavor your food!

Pesto, it goes without saying, is one of my favorite things, ever. It's versatile, tasty, can be adjusted just to your taste, and it can easily be frozen for later use. I try to always have some pesto handy, because a tablespoon here or there can make almost any dish suddenly taste very sophisticated. Roast chicken? Pesto! Minestrone? Pesto! Grilled white fish? Pesto! The damn thing is addictive. So imagine a lasagne literally stuffed with it!!

This recipe makes a beautiful lasagne for hotter weather, because it is not as heavy as the tomato or meat sauce based ones, and if you make your own pesto, it is simply bursting with seasonal goodness (however, do not fool yourself into thinking this is diet lasagne!). Sure, it's a bit of work and a lot of assembling, like any lasagne, but the creamy blend of bechamel and pesto is to die for. It also looks really beautiful and smells amazing! I got inspired by a post of The Italian Dish, but used my own pesto and bechamel recipe to create this dream of a pasta bake.

10 to 20 lasagne noodles, pre-cooked (or no-boil lasagne noodles)

Pesto (makes about 1 cup):
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 large handfuls of fresh basil, leaves picked and chopped
Coarse sea salt
1 handful of pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 large handful of grated Parmesan cheese
Olive oil
Sea salt
1 squeeze of lemon juice

Bechamel (makes about 4 cups):
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) butter
4 cups milk
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon white pepper

Topping:
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Freshly ground black pepper

Pulse the garlic and basil in a food processor with a pinch of coarse sea salt. Add the pine nuts to the mixture and pulse again. Transfer to a bowl and add half the Parmesan. Stir gently and add olive oil slowly; you need just enough to bind the sauce and give it an oozy consistency. Season to taste and add most of the remaining cheese. Poor in more oil and taste again. Keep adding cheese and oil until you are happy with the taste and consistency. Add a little squeeze of lemon juice at the end.

In a heavy medium saucepan, melt the butter without letting it brown. Remove from the heat. Whisk in the flour, 1 tablespoon at the time until it is incorporated.

Heat up the milk in another cooking pot until just about to boil. Add ladlefuls of the milk to the butter and flour mixture. Put this mixture back on the heat and whisk. Add the nutmeg and white pepper.

When the milk is absorbed, add more, a little at the time and stir until all the milk is used up. Keep whisking until the sauce is velvety. If the sauce doesn't thicken, add some flour, one scant tablespoon at the time, stirring constantly until the desired texture is achieved.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In an 9 by 13-inch baking pan, place about 1/3 cup of the bechamel to coat the bottom of the pan. Lay first layer of lasagna noodles. Add enough bechamel to coat the noodles. Add some pesto and spread into the bechamel. Add a handful of the grated Parmesan.

Continue to layer the noodles, bechamel, pesto and Parmesan until the last layer of noodles (I got 4 layers of 3 noodles). On top of this, spread one layer of bechamel, add the rest of the Parmesan and top with the mozzarella.  Sprinkle the oregano on top.

Wrap tightly with foil. Bake for forty to forty-five minutes (if using regular, cooked noodles) or 50 minutes to one hour (if using no-boil noodles). Remove foil and bake for 10 minutes more, until top is golden. Check if the noodles are cooked through by piercing the lasagne with a fork. Cool 5 to 15 minutes before serving.

If you are a lasagne-newbie, you may be wondering if traditional pre-cooked noodles are better than no-boil noodles. While purists will want to kill me, I have to confess that I never really noticed a significant difference between the two: while pre-cooked noodles can have a more uniform texture, they can be harder to handle, and have a tendency to be sticky. No-boil noodles mean less dishes to clean, and a quicker assembly, but they need to cook longer...

Here is what you do if you want to pre-cook your noodles: cook them in boiling salted water, and take them out when they just start getting a bit malleable, after about 3 minutes. To make sure they do not stick together, lay the noodles, well separated, around the edges of the cooking pot and colander. When you assemble your lasagne, carefully lift them and lay them as desired in your baking dish. Do not cook them too early in the process because if they have time to dry out, they will become trickier to arrange.

If you are using no-boil noodles, make sure they are soaked in plenty of sauce because they absorb a lot of liquid. Leave the lasagne in the oven 10 to 15 minutes longer if you used no-boil noodles, and poke your lasagne with a fork, to make sure they are nicely cooked before cutting and serving.

Of course, if you are in a hurry, you can use store-bought pesto. I recommend the Fontaine Santé brand, because the consistency is nice and gooey, and not too paste-like (there is also no weird ingredients or preservative in that pesto, making it the sanest choice I have yet to find on the shelves). This is especially important in a baked pasta dish like this one, where the sauce helps cook the pasta. If the pesto is too thick, the results will not be as creamy.

I served this elegant lasagne to my pesto-loving brother, who almost licked his plate clean. Honestly, I was quite close to doing that myself. The sauce's texture thickens a bit in the oven, and mixes really nicely with the pesto: the Parmesan and crunchy golden mozzarella crust complemented the sauce perfectly. The only thing I might try differently would be mixing the bechamel and the pesto before spreading it on the noodles .

If you want to beef up this lasagne, add finely chopped broccoli or cauliflower (or both!) between the pesto and the Parmesan on the middle layers of noodles. The veggies will gently cook in the sauce, and you'll get healthy goodness with your luxurious pasta bake, making it somewhat less of a guilty pleasure. Serve it with a dry white wine, to balance out the sweet creaminess of the bechamel and the tang of the pesto.

Peach Pie Phobia

I don’t know why pie crust is such an intimidating thing to bake, but it gives me cold sweats. My mom makes an awesome pie crust: buttery and flaky, firm enough to hold gooey fruit fillings, but never brittle… You know, that perfect-mom-made-pie-crust thing… Living up to that is daunting, to say the least.

Pies have a reputation as something terribly tricky to make from scratch, and yet our mothers and grandmothers make it look so effortless. I had virtually no counter-space for a long time, so I had the ideal excuse to avoid attempting to bake a pie, but now that I have a giant granite-top kitchen island, that alibi no longer works... It's peach season, they are gloriously delicious and I wanted to make a gorgeous dessert with those wonderful fruits. Any kind of home-made pie just screams comfort, safety and homeliness; exactly what I was in the mood for! But I had to gather my courage and make crust…

It took a bit of cajoling, but my mother ultimately surrendered her pie crust recipe. It makes enough dough for 3 double-crusted, 9-inch pies, and can be frozen and thawed (at room temperature) for later use. It’s great for quiches and other savory pies (like the fall and winter classic chicken pot pie), so I suggest you go ahead and make a whole recipe and save your leftovers preciously.

I had flagged the recipe for the filling in “Vegan Pie in the Sky”, both because I passionately love peaches, and because I was really intrigued by the idea of adding some of my beloved basil in a pie! Basil is not just a sweet aromatic herb one can use in savory dishes: it tastes amazing with fruits! Some bars offer trendy cocktails made of strawberry or raspberry purée with basil and freshly cracked black pepper. And it is so freaking good!! I figured it would go just as well with the delicate sweetness of fresh summer peaches. If you don't enjoy the taste of basil and fruits together, you can omit it, and brighten the taste of this recipe's filling by using 3 tablespoons of finely chopped candied ginger and 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, another spice combo often used along with peaches.

Peeling fresh peaches is not that complicated, but it requires an extra bit of effort if you don’t want to butcher the delicate fruits. Score the peaches by carving an X at the bottom of the fruits.

Bring a very large pot of water to a boil, and while it heats up, prepare a big bowl of ice water (cold water and lots of ice cubes). When the water is boiling, put the peaches in for a minute, then transfer them to the bowl of ice water with a slotted spoon (that process is called blanching, by the way). 

When they have cooled enough to be easily handled, simply peel off their fuzzy skin using the cuts you’ve made as a starting point (a vegetable peeler works great for this). The boiling will have made the skin very easy to remove. You can now cut your peaches into thin slices (about ¼ inch thick). Watch your fingers, because peeled peaches are slippery bitches!

If you are using frozen peaches because you got a massive craving for this pie in the middle of February, let the peach slices thaw in a sieve placed over a big bowl until they are no longer frozen-solid, but don’t let them get too warm and mushy. Frozen peaches are usually sliced pretty thick, so you need to slice them even thinner, and if they get too soft, it will get messy! Check them regularly, and when they are partially thawed, just soft enough to cut through, slice them thinly.

Crust:

6 cups non-bleached all-purpose flour (5 ½ cups for the dough, and ½ cup for surfaces)

2 tablespoons baking powder

½ teapoon salt

2 cups high-quality vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces

1 large egg, beaten

¼ cup white vinegar

1 2/3 cup whole milk, and extra for brushing

Filling:

6 cups sliced peaches (about 8 peaches)

3/4 cup organic cane sugar

1/4 cup non-bleached all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

8 average-sized basil leaves, snipped into small pieces

1/8 teaspoon salt

Sift 5 ½ cups of flour, the baking powder and the salt together in a large bowl. In a 2-cups measuring cup, mix the egg and vinegar, and add milk until you have 2 cups of liquid. Add the shortening to the dry ingredients, breaking it up with the fingertips or pastry cutter and rubbing it into the dry ingredients until it is crumbly and mixed in.

In 3 additions, add the wet ingredients to the dry, blending well with the hands between each addition: spread your fingers to scrape the bowl well while mixing. Blend until all the liquid ingredients are just incorporated, being careful not to over-mix. The dough should be moist and homogenous.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.

While the dough chills, score, blanch and slice the peaches. Mix all the filling ingredients together in a bowl just before you are ready to fill the lower pie crust.
 

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Sprinkle flour on the working surface and on a rolling pin. Take a fist-sized piece of the dough and form it into a ball (1 fist-sized piece should equal 1 crust, so in theory, you should have 6 fist-sized balls of dough: I suggest you separate and freeze the dough you won’t use right away at this point). Place the ball of dough on the working surface and flatten it with the rolling pin. Work the dough in a roughly circular shape by rolling outwards. The dough should be about 1/4 inch thick, maybe a wee bit thicker for the bottom crust.

Once the dough is rolled out to the desired size, fold it in half, place it in the pie plate, and unfold. Gently press the dough into the plate and smooth it out. Brush the edges with a pastry-brush dipped in milk. Roll out the top crust portion of dough.

Fill the bottom crust with the filling. Fold the top crust in half, create slits or cut outs to let steam escape, then delicately lift it, place it on top of the filling and unfold. Using the fingertips, the back of a spoon or a fork, pinch the dough around the edges to join the two crusts firmly and trim off the excess dough with a butter knife.

Lightly brush the top crust with milk. Bake for 25 minutes. Lower the heat to 350 degrees and slip on a pie crust shield. Bake for an additional 20 minutes. The filling should be bubbling and the crust should be golden. Place the pie on a cooling rack and cool for at least an hour before serving.

I am way too lazy to do lattice crusts, but I still wanted to decorate the top crust with something prettier than boring old slits to let the steam escape (by the way, you absolutely need to have holes of some kind in the top crust, because if steam from the baking fruits cannot escape, your pie will explode; so unless you want your creation to look like the Vesuvius, post-eruption, make sure your pie can breathe!).

So I used cookie cutters once my top layer of dough was rolled out, cut a few stars out, put the top layer on, then laid my cut-out shapes on top, as decoration, and sprinkled the whole thing with a pinch of cane sugar. Pretty thrifty, huh? It would have been a bit more precious with mini-cookie cutters, made especially for pie decorating, but I didn’t have enough time to hunt any of those down. If the cookie-cutters stick to the dough, just dip them in a bit of flour and carry on. Remember to work quickly because as the dough warms up between your fingers, it can distort the shapes.

For a first-time pie-baker, I think it ended up looking pretty bitching!

If you already have a pie-crust shield, congrats: you are a domestic nerd! Personally, I had never heard of such a contraption before I thumbed my way through “Vegan Pie in the Sky”, but I have been known to be out of the loop. If pie-making is something you can see turning into a passion, go ahead and buy one, but if you are broke or feeling DIY, you can make one out of tin foil! Simply follow these instructions, and you are all set: http://noemptychairs.me/recipes/how-to/how-to-make-your-own-pie-crust-shield/ The shield is basically there to make sure the edges of the pie don’t overcook and become brittle and dry, but I know many cooks who have baked without one for ages and still make delicious pies. Try baking one pie with and one pie without: if it makes a significant difference, keep using it.

Here is another thrifty trick if you don’t have a rolling pin (not everyone does: don’t judge!): use a standard bottle of wine, full, with the label removed. Flour it well, and roll on! The trick is to flatten dough with even pressure, so a cylindrical bottle weighted down with water (or wine, if you bottle is brand new!), works just as well as the rolling pin.

How did my peach pie taste, you ask? Well, if you must know... it was delicious!! The peaches got very soft (but not liquid), almost like a compote. I couldn't really taste the basil, but I suppose its taste infused the peaches with yumminess, because that is what fresh basil tends to do. As for the crust, there is a reason my mom swears by that recipe. The texture is rich, buttery and flaky, and it was strong enough to hold the deliciously syrupy peach filling. In other words, a great success, for a first-timer! I am very, very proud of Pie #1. She's so prettyyyyyy!

And my boyfriend tried to steal the leftovers and I had to chase him around our apartment to get the pie plate back. I am not even joking.

Sure, pie-making is time-consuming work, and it can be messy. But it is nowhere near as hard as I had imagined, and it is very rewarding when you watch this gorgeous piece of pastry cool on the kitchen counter. Its even more rewarding when you wolf down a big piece! My first pie was definitely not perfect, but it was awesome and it gave me quite a boost of confidence in my cooking abilities! If you are looking for a baking challenge, conquer the art of pie-making, and nothing will get in your way again!

"Bow-Ties Are Cool" Pasta

You wouldn’t know it by looking at me, but I have serious geek tendencies.  I love good sci-fi and weird fiction, and I seriously believe they deserve as much credit as “serious” literature. I am pretty sure that my mom, who is a total Trekkie and a “Lord of the Rings” fanatic, is largely responsible for that. No, I wasn’t taught Klingon or Elvish as a child (whew!), but “Next Generation” was my “Sesame Street” and “The Hobbit” was my bedtime reading.

However, my boyfriend gets the credit for introducing me to “Doctor Who”, which I had inexplicably never watched before I met him. Yes, I am very late on the band-wagon, I realize that. I missed the David Tennant years because I was busy with things like so-called higher education and trying to keep a punk band functional, so “my” Doctor is definitely Matt Smith. And yes, I think bow-ties are cool, and I feel the need to declare as much every time I make farfalles, commonly known as bow-tie pasta.

Farfalle are named after the word farfalla, which means “butterfly” in Italian, and they are awesome with all kinds of sauces, particularly creamy and tomato-based ones. And when life ruffles you up, is there anything as wonderful as a big bowl of pasta? Yes, I know: eating the pasta while watching the “Doctor Who” marathon on Space!

Now, don't worry: this isn't a "fish-stick and custard" pasta sauce, but it does include fish in the form of canned tuna, and some unexpected yet delicious flavor combination.

From "Cook with Jamie", geeky-fied by me!

1 package dry farfalle
Olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
1/2 to 1 fresh chile, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 bunch fresh basil, leaves coarsely chopped
1 (28-ounce) can plum tomatoes
2 (10 ounce) cans tuna in olive oil, drained and flaked
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 lemon, juiced and zested
Freshly grated Parmesan

Preheat a splash of olive oil over medium-low heat in a large pan. Add the onion, chile and cinnamon. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the onion is softened and slightly sweet.

Turn the heat up to medium and add the tomatoes, tuna and some salt and pepper. Break the tomatoes up using the back of a spoon and bring to a boil.

Turn the heat down and simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package instructions. When the pasta is cooked and drained, mix in with the sauce along with the basil leaves, lemon juice and zest and handful of Parmesan. Mix together well, adding a bit of the pasta’s cooking water if the sauce needs loosening up.

Dose the chile carefully, because too much heat drowns out the other flavors, which are awesome. Also, if canned tuna isn't your thing, feel free to used canned salmon instead: both fishes taste lovely with the other ingredients. Just make sure you get boneless, skinless and dolphin-safe canned fish!

The sauce is spicy, chunky, zesty and colorful; a great twist on simple tomato sauce. Served with cute little bow-ties, the whole thing is damn near irresistible! This dish goes really well with a red wine I recently discovered: Le Jaja de Jojo, a simple dry syrrah that's tasty with almost everything.

Have fun watching the new "Doctor Who" season, nerds!

Tomato, Olive and Basil Risotto

My best friend if one of those infuriating intuitive cooks, who eyeballs all her quantities, throws random stuff in the cooking pot, doesn't write anything down and always makes delicious food. I have a love-hate relationship with her cooking method: I love it because it's freaking good, and I hate it because I can never reproduce her stuff at home. The only method that works is to lure her in my kitchen with the promise of dessert, then watch her every move and take manic notes.

Risotto is something I had tried making once, and it turned out too dry. For Miss I-Cook-With-My-Eyes-Closed (I love you, V!), risotto is something she considers a quick meal. I had been anxious to watch her at work and figure it out.

This is her recipe, and it is to die for! Creamy, sticky and flavorful. Everything a risotto ought to be! She also had a few important tips to share concerning cooking risotto:

• Use a spatula with an angle to stir, to avoid some rice getting stuck at the bottom of your pan and not cooking well.
• The rule of thumb for the liquid/rice ratio is: 3/1. For example, in the recipe below, she used 3 cups of broth and tomato liquid for 1 cup of arborio rice.
• Keep the heat relatively low; risotto should cook very slowly, so adjust and reduce the heat to keep it slow and constant.
• Never stop stirring! The rice first needs to absorb the fattiness from the butter and oil at the beginning of the process so it can release it's starch at the end, and constant stirring is vital for a creamy and sticky risotto.

Now, to your pots and pans!

1 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
6 Kalamata olives, finely chopped
1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes, juice reserved and tomatoes coarsely chopped
Chicken broth
1/2 tablespoon dried basil
1 small handful fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 cup arborio rice
3/4 to 1 cup grated Parmesan

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup butter, cut into 4 squares

Pour the juice from the can of tomatoes in a 4-cups measuring cup. Top with chicken broth until you have 3 cups of liquid. Pour that liquid in a small sauce pan, and heat over medium heat until it comes to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to keep it simmering. In a large sauce pan, heat the onions, garlic and 1 piece of butter in 1/4 cup of olive oil, over medium-low heat. Sprinkle with the dry basil. Mix and cook until the onions are soft. Add the olives and about half the tomatoes, being careful to add no liquid from the can. Add another piece of butter, 1/4 cup olive oil and the arborio rice. Cook, stirring constantly for an entire minute. Add 1 ladle of the liquid. Cook, stirring constantly, until all the liquid is absorbed. Add another ladle and repeat the process. Keep adding the tomato-chicken broth mix in ladlefuls and stirring until the mixture is creamy until you run out of liquid. The whole process may take up to an hour, because the more liquid is added, the longer it takes to absorb. When adding the last ladle, also add the fresh basil leaves. When the mixture is thick and sticky, remove from the heat, add a third piece of butter and the Parmesan. Mix well until they are both fully incorporated. Let the risotto sit, covered for 3 to 4 minutes, so the flavors blend.

Yes, I noticed half the tomatoes and the final piece of butter were never thrown in the pot, but that's the V-Wonder's way. My job was only to write down what she did. The really important thing is that this risotto was the BOMB! I can say in all honesty that it was the best risotto I ever ate, and that I can only pray I'll be able to do this again without her in the kitchen.

We enjoyed it as a side-dish to some pork tenderloin cooked in mustard and beer (another one of her eyeballing miracles), but I could have easily fed exclusively on that risotto. The glass of Arrogant Frog red wine that I had with it was perfect.

Every Friday evening should feature such good friends and good food! Much love and gratitude to the lovely Véronique for sharing her magic with me! <3

Pasta Alla Norma

Pasta Alla Norma is such a spectacular Sicilian recipe that it was named after the equally spectacular Bellini opera "Norma". I am not opera connoisseur, but I am a pasta expert and this dish is definitely worth an aria of praise. It's an elegant vegetarian sauce, with typically Sicilian, bold flavors.

My love for eggplants is no secret, so combining them with pasta in a lovely sauce full of tomatoes and basil sounds to me like a stroke of pure genius. If you can't find ricotta salata, don't freak out: ordinary ricotta does the trick. You can also use Parmigiano Reggiano, but don't grate it finely; use the biggest holes of your grater to get chunky pieces, instead of a dusting. As for the pasta, penne rigatte and spaghetti are the traditional choices (but I used fusilis for the pictures cuz I think they are the cutest pasta!). Here's what you need to make this recipe for 4 hungry folks:

1 large, firm eggplant
Olive oil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon chili flakes
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1 large bunch fresh basil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 (14-ounce) cans plum tomatoes
Sea salt and ground pepper
1 package dry pasta
1 cup ricotta salata, for garnish

Cut the eggplant into quarters, lengthwise. Cut them, across the length, into finger-sized pieces. Put the eggplant pieces in a colander, sprinkle with salt and let sit for about 30 minutes. Rinse well and pat dry. Preheat a large pan over medium-high heat and add a glug of olive oil. Fry the eggplants, making sure the oil coats all the pieces well. Sprinkle with the oregano. Use tongs to turn eggplants until they are golden on all sides. Proceed with the eggplants in batches, if needed. Turn the heat to medium and add the chile, onion and garlic. Stir everything and add a swing of white wine vinegar and the canned tomatoes. Break them up with the back of a spoon so that they aren’t too chunky. Turn the heat down and simmer 10 to 15 minutes, taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Add half the basil leaves to the sauce and stir well. Cook the pasta according to package instructions until al dente, drain, then add to the sauce, adding a bit of the pasta’s cooking water if needed. Mix well to cover the pastas in sauce. Divide between serving bowls and sprinkle with the remaining basil leaves and some ricotta.

You can also cube your eggplant instead of slicing it all fancy like I did, but that really boils down to presentation of your dish. I like it when what I cook looks pretty, and if you do, it's worth the extra effort.

I've also read one recipe where the eggplant was roasted, instead of fried. I haven't tried it, but if you are looking for a way to cut the grease from the frying, this is a great option. To roast an eggplant, slice it in half lengthwise and sprinkle with salt, to sweat. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchemin paper. Give the eggplant a few minutes, then rinse it and pat it dry. Brush each half thoroughly with olive oil and place them, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Roast for 1 hour. The eggplant will "collapse" and the bottom will look a bit caramelized. Let it cool until you can cut them without burning your fingers, and cut it into chunks (or slices) as desired. Throw them in a pan over medium heat and proceed with the recipe.

By the way, roasted eggplant is an awesome veggie to serve as a side-dish, straight from the oven, with a drizzle of lemon juice and a sprinkling of dried thyme.

Even if I personally think that a life without cheese is simply not worth living, here's a little tip for vegans who want to enjoy this delicious sauce: basil-tofu ricotta, straight from the pages of "Vegan with a Vengeance". It won't fool any cheese-lover's palate, but it makes a very decent substitution for the veg-heads!

1 pound firm tofu, pressed
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
10 to 12 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 cup nutritional yeast

In a large bowl, mush the tofu up with your hands until it is crumbly. Add the lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and basil. Mush with your hands again until it has the consistency of ricotta cheese; this may take up to 5 minutes. Add the olive oil, stir in with a fork. Add the nutritional yeast and mix all the ingredients well with the fork. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. This recipe wields about 2 cups.

A chianti is the ideal wine to serve with pasta all Norma, but any dry Italian red wine can stand in.