Pasta e Fagioli

You know, I get a certain satisfaction out of trying something new. Food-wise, anyway. For the longest time I couldn't really stand to eat pasta without some kind of tomatoes or tomato sauce... but I'm expanding my horizons. Slowly. I still can't eat it with just plain olive oil. Too... pasty.

But I like pasta, and I like beans, so I thought I'd try this one out. Apparently it's an Italian classic... but not being Italian, or a foodie, I wouldn't know. Hits the spot on an icy January evening, though.

I got this recipe from the Joy of Cooking - 75th Anniversary Edition, but I made a few modifications to suit my diet. This is the version I made.

PASTA E FAGIOLI
1/2 lb dry cannellini beans
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
(2 tbsp minced parsley - didn't have this, but it would have been awfully pretty)
3 garlic cloves, pressed
2 cups vegetable broth or stock, or more as needed
1 cup gluten-free quinoa-corn elbow macaroni
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese, or more as needed

1. Rinse beans and pick over for shriveled or broken beans and little pebbles. My dad always used to bite into really hard things in his food at dinnertime and then frown and try to figure out what it was. I wonder if they were pebbles.



2. Cover with an inch of water and let soak for up to 8 hours. It's supposed to improve digestibility for those with bean-sensitive guts. My gut is quite accustomed to beans and it makes no difference, so I just soaked them for three hours to see what would happen. They just got wrinkly.



3. Discard soaking water and cover again with an inch of water. Bring to a full boil, then reduce heat to medium-low or low, partially cover, and let simmer for an hour and a half. Test them after about 70 minutes for doneness (ie: you can mash them easily and they're not crunchy). Drain and let cool.



4. Heat oil in a stockpot over medium or medium-high heat. When it shimmers, add onion, carrot, celery, and parsley (if you're using it). I wish I had parsley :-(

5. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until onion is golden-brown. Well. My onion never turned golden brown, even after 15 minutes. So when it started to get soft I just proceeded. Sigh.



6. Add garlic and cook for one more minute. Stir and add beans, mashing lightly and stirring to incorporate. It should look all soft and mashy. Yum.



7. After about a minute, pour in the broth and increase heat to high. Bring just to a simmer, then turn heat to medium-low. Partially cover, and let cook for five minutes.

8. Add macaroni and salt to taste, and stir lightly to incorporate. Simmer for an additional 15 minutes, or until the macaroni is al dente (cooked through, but gives some resistance to the teeth). Add about a cup more broth, or however much you need to get the consistency you want.

9. Lighly stir in black pepper and cheese, and serve with a little more cheese on top. Oh, it would look so much prettier with parsley. But you know what? It tasted good anyway.



PROS: Warm, chunky, thick, healthy, filling
CONS: very yellow... and a little bland


I apologize for not updating very often. I have a very busy schedule. I'm going to try to get in at least one blog per week though, at least for the quarter. I've penciled it in :-)

Of course, I am not sure if anybody is reading this because nobody comments. Fortunately, my plight is an easy one for you to remedy. So go ahead... make my day.

New Look...

Well, I've finally ditched the template and made my own layout. I hope it works for everyone. Let me know if something doesn't show up right...

Buckwheat-Corn Pancakes, part II

I've been working on this recipe for the past few months and I'm pretty happy with it so far. Better than the first version, certainly. The only catch is that I don't ever seem to have buttermilk on hand when I'm making it, so I've been using various combination of sour cream, milk, and/or lemon juice instead. I think buttermilk would be better. But I don't know until someone tries it and tells me.

These substantial, down-on-the-farm pancakes develop a sweet, crispy exterior while maintaining a moist and fluffy interior. The molasses adds a layer of earthy sweetness that is well-balanced by the more delicate flavor of honey.

BUCKWHEAT-CORN PANCAKES (part II)
2/3 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup corn flour
2 tbsp cornmeal
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg, separated
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp full-flavored molasses (not blackstrap)
1/2 cup blueberries, fresh corn kernels, or other topping/filling of your choice


1. Whisk or sift together the dry ingredients (flours, leavening and salt) in a large bowl. It's helpful to sift if you have clumpy baking powder, because then, you know... it gets distributed and all. Just a thought.

2. Whisk egg white with buttermilk in a 2-cup liquid measure and bring to room temperature by partially submerging in a bowl of warm water and stirring periodically. If you have cold ingredients, it will coagulate the melted butter, which sucks a lot. You don't want clumps of butter here. It's not a pie crust, you know.

3. Reserve yolk in a small bowl while melting butter in a small saucepan or double boiler. Add honey as butter is nearly melted. Slowly drizzle melted butter and honey over the yolk, whisking constantly to avoid cooking the yolk. Stir in the molasses.

4. Add yolk mixture to buttermilk and whisk to combine well. Pour into large bowl with dry ingredients, and whisk until most of the flour is moistened but it's still a little lumpy. If you over-mix it, the bubbles created by the baking soda and powder will collapse and die like the fragile little creatures they are. Then you'll get really flat, dense pancakes. So be gentle.



5. Let batter rest for a few minutes while you preheat a heavy skillet over medium heat. I love cast iron for pancakes, it creates an unbeatable crust. Stainless doesn't really cut it, and I never recommend cooking in a nonstick pan, but that's just me. Use what you have.



6. Test the heat of your skillet by adding a pat of butter. If it foams but does not readily brown, the skillet is the proper temperature. If it browns quickly, it's too hot. If it slowly melts, it's not hot enough. Adjust! When it's just right, ladle or scrape some batter (it will be nice and thiiiick) onto the hot, buttered skillet. Spread it out some, or you'll get a lump rather than a pancake. Sprinkle your blueberries or corn on top. Whatever you want, really.



7. After the edges start to set and large bubbles appear in the middle of the batter, it's ready for flipping. This is fun. Flip it now. But try not to mess it up. Because half-cooked pancakes are very sensitive to this sort of activity and are prone to folding up on themselves, adhering to the sloped sides of your skillet (rather than the more desirable flat surface), or missing the pan altogether. This is not good.

8. Cook until bottom is crispy and brown, and then set aside on a rack to cool or keep warm in a 200°F oven while you cook the other pancakes. Add butter to the skillet before cooking each pancake, or they'll stick and won't get as crusty and beautiful. Don't stack them until they're ready to eat, or they'll get all soggy. Ew. Serve with butter, maple syrup, extra blueberries, or whatever you have that you think goes well with buckwheat pancakes.





PROS: sooo fluffy and delicious. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Hearty yet light.
CONS: batter is so thick it can be difficult to work with. I don't really care, though.


PS: I got a new camera for Christmas! Woohoo! This is my first blog using my new Sony Cybershot DSC-W80. YAY!