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Posts tagged ‘basil’

Mar 20

ShrimpLemonSquidInkPasta-2
50 Comments

pasta that stands out in a crowd

Several years ago, three of us went to a newly-opened restaurant here in Portland by the name of Fin. Great name for a (primarily) fish restaurant, no? One plate after another was brought to us, bearing exquisite-tasting and exotic-looking creations, works of culinary art, in very small portions…each with just a few bites to share. We saw one on this tasting menu using “Squid Ink Pasta” and our eyebrows went up and our eyes grew wide and we looked at each other with question marks across our foreheads that read, “Dare we?” We did! And what a good move that turned out to be!

About a year later, Fin closed its doors…lost its lease, through no fault of its owners…the landlord just wanted another and quite different use for the property. We have so many very good restaurants in Portland, but we were sad to see Fin go.

How I’d like to thank them for first introducing us to this intoxicatingly delicious, love at first bite, pasta. The one thing I know to do is to share the good noodle news with you’s!

This wasn’t the way it was prepared for us the first night we dined at Fin, but I’ve been thinking of preparing it like this for quite some time. And, turns out, it was as good as a very good food dream can be.

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Before we get to the recipe, a word about the pasta. It’s hard to imagine, isn’t it? Pasta as black as winter’s midnight! It still has the tooth-feel of a good spaghetti or fettucini noodle, but with a certain inexplicable velvety silkiness. Don’t think for a minute that I mean slippery like an eel! I mean smooth (and please, when you say it, say it slowly, drawing out those oo’s!) It tastes a bit of the sea, a little briny, but not salty. It will cost you a little more, and it may be hard for some of you to find, depending on your markets nearby, but it’ll be worth the hunt and worth a few extra dollars (only a few!) for a meal…this…this..indescribably good.  (If you have trouble locating the pasta locally, you can order from Amazon. There are several names and sizes to choose from.  Here’s one Italian brand I like a lot –  the  link here.)

ShrimpLemonSquidInkPasta-5

I recently discovered a wonderful article in Cooks Illustrated on how to prepare (perfect, yes I’ll use the word) shrimp under the broiler. Being thus equipped, it was a cinch to put these two together. You’d have done it too…

ShrimpLemonSquidInkPasta-3

Shrimp & Squid-Ink Pasta with Lemon & Basil

This all comes together pretty quickly…once you get those rascally shrimp clean and deveined. But be sure to leave the shells and tails on…lots of good flavor in those shells, and they share it with the shrimp as they cook. (Though of course you’re permitted to take them off before you eat.) The cleaned & butterflied shrimp are then dropped into a brine for 15 minutes before cooking. That will give you plenty of time to gather the rest of your dinner.

Garlicky Roasted Shrimp

( serves 4 to 6 )

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Salt - ¼ cup

 Shell-on Jumbo Shrimp - 2 pounds (16-20 per lb)

Unsalted Butter – 4 Tablespoons

Vegetable Oil -¼ cup

Garlic – 6 cloves, minced

Red Pepper Flakes - ½ teaspoon

Black Pepper - ¼ teaspoon

Fresh Parsley - 2 Tablespoons minced

Garnish: Lemon Wedges

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Dissolve salt in 1 quart cold water in a large container. (It will take you some long minutes to prepare the shrimp so I wouldn’t add to the brine until you’ve got them all done so they’re all flavored equally.)

Using kitchen shears or a sharp paring knife, cut through the shell and devein but do not remove the shell. Using a paring knife, continue to cut the shrimp ½-inch deep, taking care not to cut in half completely. (See Illustration.)

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Submerge the shrimp in brine, cover, and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Adjust oven rack 4 inches from broiler element and pre-heat the broiler. Combine melted butter, oil, garlic, pepper flakes, and pepper in a large bowl. Remove shrimp from brine, pat dry with paper towels then add shrimp, along with the parsley, to the butter mixture. Toss well, making sure that the butter mixture gets into the interior of the shrimp. Arrange on a wire rack set into a rimmed baking sheet.

Broil until shrimp are opaque and shells are beginning to brown on the top side, 2 to 4 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through the broiling. Then flip shrimp over and continue to broil until second side is opaque and shells are beginning to brown, another 2 to 4 minutes, rotating halfway through. (Very doubtful this will require anything close to 8 minutes total time!)

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You may think now to plop these beauties onto pasta – and how lucky! That’s the very thing I’m recommending!

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the pasta!

I’ve paired this pasta with a couple herbs and with lemon, three ways – the tart juice, the bright zest, and the Incomparable Preserved Lemon. (You can omit the preserved lemon if you wish, but I don’t know why you would! : ]  If you still haven’t made your own, you can buy them already prepared. In an upcoming Spreenkle I’ll share a quick trick for making a reasonable facsimile much faster in your freezer – or Google it and you’ll see the method. I still prefer the slower method though.)

Squid-Ink Pasta with Lemon & Basil

( serves 4 with shrimp )

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Squid-Ink spaghetti, fettucini, linguini, capellini (your choice) – 8 ounces

Juice of 1½ – 2 Lemons

Lemon Zest – from the juiced lemons

Preserved Lemon (the rind only, finely-diced) – from ½ lemon – rinsed well, pulp removed

Unsalted Butter - 3 Tablespoons

Extra-virgin Olive Oil – 3 Tablespoons

White Wine - a good Splash

Basil Leaves – 16 medium to large ones

Italian Parsley – 1½ Tablespoons chopped

Salt – to taste

Freshly-ground Pepper – to taste

________ Read more

Dec 1

28 Comments

Spreenkle #7

Keeping our herbs fresh longer.

It’s been a long time since we had a little trivia from in and around spree’s kitchen. So here’s one for you (and there’s a stack of others in the wings.)

Basil hates the cold. There’s no softening the truth of it. Turns all black and soon slimy if put in the vegetable bin of the refrigerator. If it can’t be in the sun, basil likes being out on your counter, in the warmth of your kitchen. Give the stems a fresh cut, put them in a glass of tepid water, cover them with a plastic bag or cloche and they’ll last for days and days. They may be so happy they’ll put down roots.

Spreenkle#7-1

If you won’t be able to use your basil up before it starts to wither, you can puree it with olive oil, spoon into ice-cube trays and freeze. Once frozen, spill them into a zipping freezer bag where they’ll be happy for ages.

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On the other hand, Cilantro (aka fresh coriander) doesn’t seem to mind the cold of the fridge. But it does still prefer its stems in water. Give the stems a fresh trim, place them in a glass of water, cover them loosely with a plastic bag and place on a shelf in your fridge. They’ll be happy for a good week. (Possibly more.) Parsley (when asked) prefers the same treatment as cilantro.  If you can’t decide what to do with all that parsley within the week – try turning it into salsa verde! So easy to make, and it’ll freshen up just about anything you drizzle it on. Sage will be happy in a refrigerated & covered glass of water too. Best to change their water every couple days.

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May 9

BlueberryKiwiSalad-4
36 Comments

green salad with blueberries, kiwi & goat cheese

For at least the next several weeks we have a three-part kitchen. The refrigerator is still where it belongs, but next week will be heading to the garage. Our prep space is on a long craft table set up in the dining room in front of the window – where until recently I took photos to share with you. We have the bare necessities there – the sorts of things you’d likely find at a campsite – well, okay, maybe an RV park, minus the generator. The clean up space (and the nearest water) is in our laundry room, about 100 yards (or more) away from everything. That’s also where we keep our espresso machine, because how could we consider going camping without it?

Between the clean-up space and the prep space are some stairs. On this side of the stairs are our dogs. On the other side of the stairs, a demolition crew going in and out the front door. Separating the two, at the base of the stairs, is a dog gate that I climb over with arms full of food, cutting board, salad bowl, etc etc etc. If you had a few minutes and you’re into pratfalls, you’d get a kick out of it. I’m bringing armloads of stuff to my office to prepare a salad and then to photograph it. So as you can imagine, there are a lot of “steps” involved in preparing something around here, especially something to share with people of such enormously good taste as yourselves. A lot of “foot-steps” that is. Apart from that, we’re keepin’ it simple around these parts. Here it is another Wegetable Vednesday and the show must go on!

This morning I headed to another one of Portland’s Farmers’ Markets, and this time I brought big girl camera and cash. This market too is on Portland’s park blocks, but smaller, cozier than last week’s. And, sadly, no fiddles. But there were glorious flowers and loads of beautiful vegetables and herbs to choose from.

I’m kind of a freak for salads, so I head to the greens first. But I’m apprehended by the perfume of fresh bouquets of mint and tender pillowy leaves of basil. And the greens, half of them were shades of purple! How could I resist? Another vender was selling goat cheese. Into the basket. (See those orange beets in the photo above? Those made it home too, but didn’t make it to the salad.) What did make it into the salad: the greens & the purples, the goat cheese, mint and basil, some plump bursty blueberries – and kiwi just ripe, back  at our campsite. They got tossed into a bowl, drizzled with olive oil and (blueberry infused) balsamic. But never mind if yours isn’t blueberry flavored, any balsamic you love will do! A little salt and pepper, glorious! Took a few photos then feasted simple!

(No amounts will be specified – just wing it! Have fun! We’re camping!)

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Sep 23

TomatoSoup-1-2
5 Comments

cream of fresh tomato soup ~ with roasted tomatoes & basil

We pick up where we left off, with buckets full of vine-ripened tomatoes and the nagging, only partially-answered, question: What am I supposed to do with all these? They’re beautiful, of course, and we love them and all, we really do –  but this time of year, for many of us with children starting back to school, schedules changing, all the hurrying around, and so many things threatening to fall through the cracks if we don’t give them our attention, we look at those vines, heavy to the point of breaking, and those fruits, ready to spill their ripe goodness on the ground, and we find ourselves momentarily glaring at them even, and begging, oh please! Can’t you see I don’t have time for this!? Well, here’s a bit of good news – you just may. In about 30 minutes of active prep time  (and very little expense) you can have 8 servings of a most delicious soup, and have found a place for 4 whole pounds of those tomatoes.

Cream of Fresh Tomato Soup with Roasted Tomatoes & Basil

  • 4 Tablespoons good olive oil (divided)
  • 4 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes (divided) (2 pounds cut in half; 2 pounds coarsely chopped)
  • 2 red onions, chopped (1½ cups)
  • 2 carrots, un-peeled, chopped
  • 1½ teaspoons sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
  • ¼ cup packed chopped fresh basil leaves, (plus more to garnish)
  • 3 cups chicken stock (preferably home-made) (or as a vegetarian option, a good vegetable stock)
  • 1 Tablespoon salt
  • 1½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 3/4 cup cream
  • croutons, as garnish

In this recipe, half the tomatoes are oven-roasted, deepening their flavors and caramelizing their sugars. When these come out of the oven, they’re then added to the pot of already-brewing soup.

Preheat your oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using half of your tomatoes, cut them in half, place in bowl and toss them with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Place them single-layer on your baking sheet and roast for 30 to 40 minutes. (Time depends on size of your tomatoes. You’ll want them oozing their juices and brown, even slightly charred in places, but of course not burnt. Check after 30 minutes.) In the meantime, coarsely chop the remaining 2 pounds of tomatoes and set aside. Heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat until shimmering. Drop in the onions and carrots and sauté until very tender, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the chopped tomatoes, sugar, tomato paste, basil, stock, 2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper and red pepper flakes. Stir well. Bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes, until the tomatoes are very tender. As soon as the tomatoes in the oven are finished roasting, add them to the pot, along with all their caramelized juices.

Add the cream to the soup and stir for a minute. Remove from heat. If you have an immersion blender, now’s the time to use it. Blend the soup in the pot until it’s a satiny smooth purée. Otherwise, using your counter-top blender and working in batches, ladle the soup into the blender and purée. (As a safety precaution, don’t fill too full and cover the lid with a folded kitchen towel.)

Reheat the soup over low heat until hot and serve with crispy croutons and julienned basil leaves. (Or even teeny whole basil leaves if you have them.)

Deeply flavored, almost profoundly satisfying,  warm comfort in a bowl.  (sigh)

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Aug 26

9 Comments

from the herb garden – basil pesto

Thunder rolled and rumbled last night, so uncommon for us here in Western Oregon. The wind picked up, and finally the rain fell, not thunderstorm-hard, but gentle. It was a welcome sound, soothing even. When I woke this morning, everything had a shimmer about it as if sprinkled by little beings while we slept, unaware.

Summer mornings, I love to walk around the yard, inspecting and inhaling, sometimes still carrying my cup of coffee with me. I had a plan for dinner, so the herb garden was the first place I went this morning. It was positively brilliant and buzzing with life.  (I’m not particularly fond of spiders, but even they were doing lovely things.) For the last several days, my husband’s been out of town. I wanted to welcome him home with one of his very favorite things – pasta tossed in homemade pesto, made with heaping handfuls of basil from our garden. Something about him smacking his lips pleases me so much.

Basil Pesto

SO incredibly easy to make, and it’s heads above anything you’ll buy. I don’t mean to brag. But it’s true. (I suppose it would be true of almost any homemade pesto.)  It’s all about the fresh! (Well, and always about the love.)

Though traditionally made with a mortar and pestle, it’s a time-consuming method, so I’m giving instructions here for a food-processor or blender. If one day you feel like doing something barefoot in your kitchen and you’ve got the time, put on some romantic Italian violin music, bring out that heavy mortar and pound away as aromatic clouds of basil and garlic engulf you. (Someone may just come up behind you and kiss your neck.)

  • 3 packed cups of tender, young basil leaves
  • 3 heaping Tablespoons pine nuts
  • 1½ teaspoons coarse salt
  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil (or more to taste)
  • 3 plump garlic cloves, minced finely
  • ½ cup freshly grated cheese, preferably a combination of Parmesan and Pecorino Romano (otherwise all Parmesan) – with extra reserved for serving
  • (more salt to taste, if needed)
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May 9

Greens & Goat Cheese Salad

Leafy Green Salad with Lemon-Basil Goat Cheese

Ok…since you ask…If I were stranded on a desert island, what would I most want in the way of food? Salads! Well, of course.  They’re so versatile and wear so many hats, and in most cases, they’re still quite full of living foods. I like that about them! But even if you pleaded with me, I couldn’t possibly pick a favorite. You’ll see a lot of them appearing here. Naturally you can make all kinds of salads by instinct or whim, without any guidance at all, but every once in a while, we find ourselves in a rut, and at times like those we might even look for someone to just TELL us what to make. So here you go…make this…

(But only if you like the idea of creamy little rounds of goat cheese marinating in lemon zest, basil and olive oil.)

As part of last night’s dinner, we had lemon risotto. Lucky for me, there was a just enough left to put on a plate with a fresh green salad for lunch. I love days like these!

Leafy Green Salad with Lemon-Basil Goat Cheese

  • 6 to 8 ounces of your favorite goat cheese
  • 1 tsp. grated lemon zest
  • 1/2 tsp. finely minced garlic
  • 2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 6 to 8 cups arugula or mixed baby greens, washed and dried
  • 4 to 6 fresh basil leaves
  • optional: 1 baguette or loaf of country-style bread, sliced (to spread the cheese on)

Balsamic Vinaigrette

  • 2 T. Balsamic vinegar
  • 5 to 6 T. olve oil
  • Salt and Pepper

Use either a mold or just your hands, and gently form the goat cheese into 4 disks of about 2-inch diameter (1/3 to 1/2-inch thick.) In a small bowl, mix the lemon zest, garlic, oil and a pinch of salt. Place the rounds of cheese on a plate, season with fresh ground pepper and evenly drizzle the mixture over them. Cover the plate and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Make the dressing: Whisk together the balsamic vinegar and olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Place arugula or greens in a bowl and add the desired amount of dressing. (Go light at first.) Divide the greens among the plates and top each with a little wheel of goat cheese, including the mixture it was marinating in. Sliver the basil with a sharp knife and sprinkle over the cheese. Place a couple slices of baguette on each plate if you choose.

When I’m looking for salad inspiration, I’ll often turn to a great little book, Raising the Salad Bar – Beyond Leafy Greens (Inventive Salads with Beans, Whole Grains, Pasta, Chicken and More.) You might want to check it out. The above recipe comes from this fine book by Catherine Walthers.

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(for printer-friendly version of this recipe, click here.)

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