Name: Shulamit's Lasagna
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 1 h 5 min
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: 8-9 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 (9 ounce) Box barilla no-boil lasagna noodles; 2 Eggs; 1 (15 ounce) Container ricotta. I suggest a high quality whole milk one; 5 Cups shredded mozzarella cheese; 1⁄2 Cup parmesan cheese (optional but why wouldn't you add more cheese?); 1 lb Ground beef or 1 lb sausage; 2 (24 ounce) Jars Rao's marinara OR 1 jar Rao's, 1 jar Pomi pureed tomatoes; 6 Cups fresh spinach; 6-8 Cloves crushed garlic (don't judge me); 3 T Italian seasoning; Bunch of scallions (about 6), thinly sliced

Shulamit’s Unreal Lasagna with Ground Beef and Spinach

November 4, 2018 by Eva Louise 3 Comments

One of the many perks of having a new baby is people come to your home to shower you with love, gifts, and delicious food. Needless to say, I was beyond thrilled when my childhood babysitter Shulamit came over toting a huge pan of lasagna. After a lovely afternoon catching up, she wasn’t barely back to Jersey before I snarled down half the pan. I had to go sit in the living room with my hands under my butt to keep from eating the whole damn thing before Ray got home. Every day after that, I woke up each morning thinking about her lasagna so I knew I needed her recipe so I could move on with my life.

The lasagna recipe is extremely important but we need to talk about Shulamit. She’s this tall, gorgeous, Jewish amazon with dark hair and sparkling eyes (not relevant but still feels important to highlight).

Best babysitter everrrrr + my little squid

Ok, actually wait…if you’re just hankering for the recipe just scroll straight to it.

Now that those lasagna addicts have cleared out, she was THE BEST babysitter. The kind that would bring a bag of fun activities and crafts to our house each visit, the kind that was stern but fair, the kind you didn’t want to disappoint no matter how hard you reeeaalllyy wanted bend all your baby brother’s fingers back and put your thumbs in his eyeballs.

She taught us practical things like how to clean our room when it was paralyzingly messy (start from a corner and fan out), that a cup of Lipton tea should be 1 part tea, 1 part milk, and 1 part sugar (yummmm) and most importantly, she was one of the first people to expose me to food writing.

Ok, it was really rudimentary and my claim is a total stretch but, one of her babysitter bag activities was writing a “cookbook.” She had us staple pieces of paper together and decorate the cover. I got as far as scribbling “Monkey balls” on the first page with no meaningful list of ingredients or thoughtful instruction, but I’ll give her credit for sparking my initial interest in food. Funnily enough, her mother is a phenomenal chef and her sister is an extremely successful food writer.

So whether you’re a babysitter, an aunt, or a friend you never know the lasting impact you may have on a child. Such a beautiful thing!

Ok, at last, my take on Shulamit’s unreal lasagna. It turns out she did a riff on this recipe here but kept it vegetarian, added a whack ton of scallions, and did a mix of Rao’s marinara and Pomi pureed tomatoes. So, since I can’t follow a recipe for my life I did a riff on her riff (so meta). I added the ground beef back in from the original (it’s honestly delicious without it but Ray is a carnivore), hit it with some fresh spinach for some greenery, and a filthy amount of garlic (I got one of those huge bags of peeled garlic from Costco so you KNOW I went wild). But the real hero here is the no boil Barilla lasagna sheets. Man those things a game-changer. Make this tonight. Extra points if you make this for someone who just had a baby!

1 vote

Shulamit's Lasagna

Prep 40 mins

Cook 1 hour, 5 mins

Total 1 hour, 45 mins

Yield 8-9 servings

adapted from this Genius recipe: Barilla No Boil Lasagna

Ingredients

1 (9 ounce) Box barilla no-boil lasagna noodles
2 Eggs
1 (15 ounce) Container ricotta. I suggest a high quality whole milk one
5 Cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1⁄2 Cup parmesan cheese (optional but why wouldn't you add more cheese?)
1 lb Ground beef or 1 lb sausage
2 (24 ounce) Jars Rao's marinara OR 1 jar Rao's, 1 jar Pomi pureed tomatoes
6 Cups fresh spinach
6-8 Cloves crushed garlic (don't judge me)
3 T Italian seasoning
Bunch of scallions (about 6), thinly sliced

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375.
In bowl, combine beaten eggs, ricotta cheese, 3 cups of the mozzarella cheese, parmesan, scallions, salt and pepper.
Set aside.
Brown the ground beef, add italian seasoning, crushed garlic, salt and pepper.
Once browned add fresh spinach and wilt, cooking off any excess water.
In a 13X9X3 pan, spread enough sauce to thinly cover bottom of pan.
Layer in the order, 4 uncooked lasagna noodles (they will overlap), then 1/3 part of the ricotta cheese mixture, half the browned meat and 1 cup of marinara sauce.
Next layer, 4 uncooked lasagna noodles, 1/3 part of the ricotta cheese mixture, and 1 1/2 Cups sauce.
Next layer, 4 uncooked lasagna noodles, remaining ricotta mixture and remained meat, 1 cup of sauce.
For top layer, 4 uncooked lasagna noodles, remaining sauce, and remaining mozzarella.
Bake covered with foil for 50-60 minutes.
Uncover and continue cooking until all the cheese is melted on the top (about 5 minutes).
Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Courses Dinner

Cuisine Italian

Best-ever 4 minute Instant Pot Rice

October 25, 2018 by Eva Louise Leave a Comment

If Ray could live off one food for the rest of his life, hands down it would be rice (Ok…and lamb). I was historically impartial to rice (I’m a mashed potatoes kind of girl), but I was forced to fall in love with it during my pregnancy once I started slowing down and had to pass the dinner-making reins to Ray. The important thing to know about him is he has 2 speeds in the kitchen:

1) a slow cooked simmered something that requires to be served over rice and;

2) the trifecta: protein on grill + sautéed greens + well…rice.

So it was safe to assume that from April to August, I ate rice for dinner. Therefore it’s also safe to assume that Sebastian is made of 50% rice…and conservatively 50% Ben & Jerry’s New York Super Fudge Chunk.

Ray is a man of simple pleasures and simple flavors so my best-ever 4 minute Instant Pot Rice is inspired by his with an Eva flare (read: just more spices). It’s a great base recipe with infinite ways to pump it up, so I have full confidence this will become a go-to dish in your house no matter what.

By the way, we’re those weirdos who are obsessed with their Instant Pot , who always want to sell everyone on the glory, the magic that is the Instant Pot. Like, you can’t come into my kitchen until you sit through my infomercial about this amazing appliance. So I’m telling you, this is a recipe for THE perfect, most flavorful, fragrant rice and the Instant Pot does all the heavy lifting. Also… if you DON’T own one of these or even worse, you own one and don’t use it every night (hi, Marina!) then you’re not living your best life. You’re just not and I can’t even argue with you about it, it’s just fact. OK?

Fragrant 4-minute Instant Pot Rice

Prep 2 mins

Cook 4 mins

Inactive 10 mins

Total 16 mins

Yield 4-6 servings

Ingredients

1 cup thoroughly rinsed basmati or jasmine rice
1 cup chicken stock (or any stock).
1 T olive oil
4 cardamom pods, broken open
2 tsp cumin seeds (ideally toasted but not required)
pinch of salt
1 bay leaf

Instructions

Place all ingredients in the Instant Pot and stir.
Close lid and valve and set to "pressure cook" on high for 4 minutes.
Once cooked, release pressure valve and let sit for additional 10 minutes. DO NOT take off lid until 10 minute resting period is done. Sip wine, set the table, call your mom while you wait.
Fluff and serve.

Notes

If you don't have stock or broth on hand you can stir one heaping teaspoon of "Better Than Boullion" into warm water as a replacement.

Courses Dinner

Seared Scallops and Fennel Risotto

October 16, 2018 by Eva Louise 1 Comment

Nothing feels more triumphant than expertly mastering a difficult dish. For me, it’s my seared scallops and fennel risotto. And I know I’m awesome at it because it’s hands down the most requested dish I make for special occasions. I’ve been making (and perfecting) it for almost ten years and I think I’ve finally got it down. As for the risotto, this one features fennel but you could easily do a butternut squash and sage one, a beet root one, a pesto one…the list goes on.

A note on the scallops, since you know, I’m like, THE expert. Searing scallops is not easy, it takes patience and a hot-ass pan. The trick is to not be afraid of the heat and to not be tempted to shake the pan or peek under the scallops before they are actually ready. The reward is crispy and tender scallops and a buttery, fragrant risotto. An important thing worth emphasizing: be sure to get “dry” or “diver” day boat scallops. Fishmongers often store scallops (and most seafood) in a salt solution to maintain freshness and make the appearance of the seafood more plump. Avoid this at all cost- and yes, day boat scallops are more expensive. If you don’t, that’s a one-way ticket to squishy, squeaky, wet scallops and you’ll get annoyed and curse me and never attempt these again.

Keep practicing with this one!

1 vote

Seared Scallops and Fennel Risotto

Prep 45 mins

Cook 1 hour

Total 1 hour, 45 mins

Yield 2-4 servings

Ingredients

For the scallops

1 pound (about 12- 15) dry day boat scallops
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

For the risotto

1 cup arborio (risotto) rice
1 medium fennel bulb, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3-6 garlic gloves (per your preference)
1 onion, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup cheese from a block of good salty parmesan or pecorino
1/2 cup good dry white wine
6-8 cups chicken or vegetable stock
3T ish olive oil
salt and pepper

Instructions

Line a cookie sheet or large platter with 2 layers of paper towel.
Prepare the scallops by rinsing them thoroughly to remove sand and the muscle on the side of each scallop. This is a tough, fibrous piece that looks kind of like the tab on a soda can. Feed it to your cats or dog and make them happy.
Place clean scallops on the paper towel-lined cookie sheet and dry as thoroughly as possible. They should be almost sticky they are so dry. Keep them on the paper towel and place in fridge.
De-core and chop fennel into small 1/2 inch cubes. Fennel doesn't breakdown as much as an onion does when cooked so whatever size you chop it to, assume it will stay that size. Keep a few fronds for garnish at the end if you're feeling fancy.
Chop onions; peel and slice or crush the garlic.
In a dutch oven or large pot, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil. Once glistening, add the risotto rice and toast for about 3 minutes then add fennel, onion, salt, pepper and half your portion of garlic and sauté until onion and fennel are soft.
In a separate saucepan, heat stock or broth and keep on low to simmer. More on this below.
Take swig of wine, then deglaze pan with a good glug or 1/2 ish cup of it. Once wine has evaporated, ladle in one cup of warm broth into the risotto and continue to add a ladle at a time until each cup is absorbed by the rice. Be patient with this step. It's kind of annoying but makes the risotto really creamy and tender without the cream! The risotto will tell you ultimately how many cups it needs so don't worry if you have a little broth left over in the small pot.
Once risotto starts to soften (about 20 mins), add remaining garlic, a huge whack of good salty cheese, about 1/2 cup and check in on your salt and pepper levels.
Start heating a large skillet (NOT a non stick one) for your scallops on high. Coat with 2 ish tablespoons of olive oil, depending on your skillet size. Pull scallops out of fridge and sprinkle one side with salt and pepper. Note: we waited to salt the scallops until the last second to avoid drawing water out of them. Goal is to keep them as dry as possible to get the best sear.
Wet your finger under the faucet and flick water off your finger into the oil in the skillet. It should hiss, spit and pop when you do this. If it doesn't, wait and try again once pan is hotter. Only when the skillet passes the water test, carefully place scallops seasoned side down into the pan. Let sear for about 3-4 minutes and then flip. If the scallop is properly seared, it shouldn't stick to the pan and you should see the brown carmelization creeping up the side of the scallop. This takes practice. Finish second side for 2 mins and transfer scallops to a platter or just turn off the burner.
Check on your risotto, adding any remaining stock to finish cooking the rice. If needed, add fresh crushed garlic, salt, pepper depending on what you think it needs. Garnish with some more cheese and the reserved fennel fronds.
Spoon some creamy risotto onto a pretty plate with 4-6 scallops nestled on top and be sure to drizzle any scallop juice from the pan or plate onto the dish before serving.

Palm Springs: the World’s Best Jetlag Cure

February 11, 2015 by Eva Louise Leave a Comment

Those lemons…

The Jet Lag Cure: soft scrambled eggs with cilantro, avocado and radish salad with the sweetest grapefruit/pomelo…at 4am.

It’s so icy, cold and miserable here in New York. I’m doing anything to distract myself from my frostbitten misery so to help ease the pain of this arctic tundra, I’d like to ~~drink heavily~~ go back to two weeks ago when I was in the desert. After a long business trip to Europe, I met the family in Palm Springs for Sissy’s 30th birthday. Mom and Dad rented a big, beautiful house with a totally tricked out kitchen and BBQ. Keep in mind, the only thing I care about after these long, cooking-less business trips is making the most luscious, proper breakfast (because I wake up at 3am and have nothing to do. Thank you 9-hour jet lag!) and being in the kitchen as much as possible, so this was heaven.

The homeowners had a lemon and grapefruit (maybe a pomelo?) tree in the backyard that I was completely obsessed with…that’s basically the punch line of this whole story. Nothing else mattered really. Oh, except Sissy turning 30, our amazing adventure to Joshua Tree National Park, and Palm Canyon, and the fact that it rained in the desert. Those were pretty amazing too. But the real highlight for me was putting all that citrus to use, serving up seriously decadent and zesty meals like an al fresco lunch of grilled leg of lamb and a lemony red bulgar salad, and for dinner, herb and lemon marinated Mahi Mahi with a simple salad drizzled with lemon vinaigrette and cocktails made with vodka and fresh squeezed lemonade. Let’s just say, my family does not have scurvy.

Thank you, Palm Springs and your bountiful citrus trees! You definitely proved to be the world’s best jet lag cure! Can we go back now?!

Check out some pics from the trip, but first, the cutest pic of Sissy and me! Can’t believe she’s so…OLD! Jk…love you Kippy.

Can you even process the cuteness?

Together again after both being on business trips for most of January!

The view from Joshua Tree National Park

The great furry palms of Palm Canyon

The Karmic Boomerang is real! New Year, new beginning for me

September 30, 2014 by Eva Louise 2 Comments

L’shana tova to my fellow Jews! The leaves are starting to turn, the air is getting crisp, acorns are raining from the trees, my fingers are swollen with salt from all the brisket eating. Fall and the New Year have arrived! The spring and early summer proved extremely challenging for me to the point where I neglected the kitchen and my blog – a sure sign of my emotional unrest. Stingray and I were wrestling out of a transformative rough patch, our Manhattan apartment was making my skin crawl, work was keeping me up at night, my cats were still at my parents house in Massachusetts, and I was suffering from two severe stomach ulcers.

All parts of my life were in complete disarray but I felt like I didn’t even have the energy or interest to turn it all around. Luckily, I had several incredible trips planned for the summer which helped get my head and heart in a more positive place. The universe must have felt my distress because all that negative energy has boomeranged back to me in the most incredible ways – I moved into my dream apartment in Brooklyn with Stingray and the kitties, my health is fully restored and best of all, Stingray proposed to me under the shade of an oak tree at the Gristmill in my hometown of Sudbury.

While I’m not a particularly spiritual or existential person, I have a new found love, fear and respect for the power of positive thinking and the belief that if you put something into the universe it will truly come back to you. With my heart, health and mind fully restored I can’t wait to get back to my bloggy, the last thing I should ever let go of in these times uncertainty and unrest.

Stingray took this photo of me 5 years ago on his first trip to my hometown

Stingray took this photo of me 5 years ago on his first trip to meet my family in Sudbury

Eva and Stingray sitting in a tree…

Our new happy home!

The fuzzies are home

Guest Post: A Day in the Life of a Berry Pie Addict

July 9, 2014 by Eva Louise Leave a Comment

Ok, ok…Don’t get too excited; I didn’t bake or take the photo for this luscious, sinful berry pie. My food photo crush, Jaime, took it. I’m secretly obsessed with him….and want him to be my best friend and cooking mate forever and forever…and I want to live inside his Instagram account (@immediatelycookies)…and eat everything in it. Today I have the privilege of having Jaime pen, or should I say pie? (Hahaha! Pie pun. Sorry. Couldn’t resist) a guest post for the bloggy. Take it away, Jaime!

My name is Jaime, and I’m a pie addict.

The other day I was at the farmer’s market in San Diego’s scenic Little Italy to buy pie ingredients, and I was particularly drawn to the pervasive smell of peaches and cherries filling the air. Stone fruit season is upon us! Of course, as always, I’m mainly drawn to the smell of meat, and the Thyme of Essence booth hooked me up with some fennel chili salami. Their display is always beautiful and their dried meats give me strength until my next coffee fix. And yes, I have high blood pressure. I made my way down the street and found myself at the Patisserie du Soleil booth, where I sampled delicious French macarons and lemon mascarpone tarts. Chef Michel was featuring some killer mushroom risotto to pair with his quiches this week, and it all looked so delicious, but the best part was the pile of cakes he had set up next to his fresh bread basket.

And suddenly, my mouth was filled with amazing mocha coconut macaroons at the Rickaroons stand. They make vegan, gluten free macaroons that are packed with flavor, and they were the perfect things to combat my swiftly developing food coma. For some reason when I left I wanted to do yoga, which I haven’t wanted to do in like ten years.

… Wait, sorry, I got distracted… Back to pies! Much to my horror, as I walked down the long aisle of farm stands devouring every bit of free sample I could get my hands on, it registered that it was the last week of Ranier cherry season! Then I realized I hadn’t made a single cherry pie this year! I can’t be blamed for not realizing that it was cherry season; in San Diego there are no perceivable seasons. Yes, the flood of cherry blossom pictures on Instagram in April should have alerted me to the upcoming cherry season, but I am a blind fool!

Anyway, the end of cherry season is upon us, and as I stuffed like 30 Raniers into my mouth it became clear to me that I had to A.) give the farm stand some money for wrecking their sample supply and B.) make a pie out of their remaining cherries. So I got some. Around this time of year, the Ranier cherries are extremely ripe and sweet. They are pretty much mini peaches. When I got home, I taught my friends how to make pie dough and we watched Pacific Rim. Here’s how we made each pie:

Pie Dough:

2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
6-7 tbsp ice cold water
¾ cup + 2 tbsp cold Crisco (warm Crisco will result in a flakeless crust)
Heavy cream for brushing

Combine the salt and flour in a large bowl. Cut the cold Crisco in by jabbing it into the flour with your fingers. Add the water, one tablespoon at a time, until a dough forms. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and cool it for about an hour. This cooling stage is very important. The dough will be highly sticky and difficult to work with if it is warm.

Mixed Berry Pie

4 cups mixed berries, washed and dried well
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
pinch cinnamon
pinch nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 425. Lightly flour a work surface and rolling pin. Cut the dough in half and roll each half out to fit a 9-inch pie pan. Gently mold one of the rolled out dough halves into a pie pan so that the edges are hanging over the sides. To make the filling, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and let sit for five minutes. Do not wait longer than this or the berries will become a complete mush mess. Add the filling to the pie pan and top with the remaining rolled out dough half. Brush with heavy cream to achieve a perfect golden brown finish. Bake for 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 325 and bake for another 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for about ten minutes and then transfer to the refrigerator for 30 mins.

This pie comes out great every time and it can be served cold or hot. I like it cold with some fresh berry sorbet and basil cucumber water, which is just water with cucumber and basil in it. It’s the perfect way to enjoy a hot summer afternoon.

Ranier Cherry Pie

4 1/2 cups ranier cherries
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp cornstarch
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of cinnamon

This pie is sweet, but earthy. It is best served warm with vanilla bourbon ice cream, or just vanilla if you don’t feel like making your own vanilla bourbon. Eat it with some warm apple cider, even though it’s summer, because the combination is just that good.

Season (In)appropriate: Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

June 13, 2014 by Eva Louise 2 Comments

In a sea of summer soups like gazpachos and celery veloutés, turkey chili doesn’t exactly have an obvious place in the summer repertoire, but I like turkey chili and I like my slow cooker so who’s to say I can’t make a classic winter dish in summer? I’m not entirely sure if my turkey chili is healthy, but I use ground turkey instead of beef and add tons of beans and peppers which are good for you so…let’s say it’s healthy. There’s a lot of great slow cooker turkey chili recipes out there which are helpful reference, but I mostly wing it and adjust flavors every few hours. That being said, check out my basic recipe below in case you too want to add some extra heat to your summer in the form of turkey chili!

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

1lb ground turkey
2 small onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 red pepper, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1.5 T chili powder
1 T smoked paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
hot sauce (my recipe here)

Heat skillet to medium-high heat and brown ground turkey. Drain and add a drizzle of olive oil and mix in 1 of the chopped onions to the turkey. Cook until softened. Transfer the onion and turkey to the crock pot and add the peppers, crushed tomatoes, crushed garlic, chopped onion and seasonings. Mix well. Cook in crock pot for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high. In the last hour, add drained and rinsed can of beans. Fold in a few shakes of hot sauce before serving for some extra heat.

Serve with a dollop of low-fat sour cream or Greek yogurt and a few cubes of avocado (if you have one miraculously handy).

Easy, Healthy Homemade Granola

June 5, 2014 by Eva Louise 2 Comments

Bathing suit season is now upon us and since most of my mental energy is spent lusting over Shake Shack Burgers, lobster rolls (Red Hook or Luke’s) and truffle pizzas I need to get really creative in veering my taste buds towards more healthful options this summer. Luckily, I love salads and vegetables (almost) as much, so finding bikini-friendly lunch and dinner options is mostly manageable. However, it’s the healthy breakfast replacements that really trip me up. No joke, I could be a professional breakfast burrito or bacon-egg-and-cheese-on-a-croissant eater. This means things like yogurt parfaits, fresh fruits or granola don’t have a chance with me. But alas, I discovered a loophole in my brilliant~~ly flawed~~ food logic. It turns out I love granola if I make it myself! So here’s my recipe for a super easy, healthy homemade granola. Not too sweet with plenty of nutty goodness, it (kind of) keeps me away from the good ol’ American breakfast.

Luscious granola collage

Homemade Granola

2 cups rolled oats
1 cup walnuts/pecans
1 cup sliced almonds
1.5 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup salted pepitas
short dry 1/2 cup of maple syrup (as in, don’t fill it all the way to the top)
1.5 T apple pie spice (or some combination of cinnamon, ginger, clove and/or allspice)

Directions:

Bake at 375 for 20 -25 mins. Stir after first 10 mins, then 10 mins after so it doesn’t burn. Let it cool then toss in dried cherries, ginger, apricots, cranberries or any type of your favorite dried fruit. Serve over low-fat yogurt or almond milk and you’ll be on your way to the best morning ever!

A Grill’s Best Friend: The Cedar Plank

May 19, 2014 by Eva Louise Leave a Comment

My cedar plank salmon with fresh herbs

Oh jeez, oh jeez! Summer is just around the corner and I’m already smackin’ my lips thinking about all the delicious things I want to throw on the BBQ. Fancy grilling tools like spatulas in the shape of American flags, pig-shaped BBQs, or inappropriate aprons like the ones with naked man or human-sized turkey print (my preferred choices) are obviously important, but all my votes go to the cedar grilling plank as the most essential BBQ accessory.

I soak the cedar planks in water for 4 hours (to keep them from burning), then place a simply-seasoned salmon filet on top before placing on the grill. The woody aromas completely penetrate the salmon; the tree sap caramelizes around the filet and it’s just **sigh**… yea…wow. Amazing. You must try it.

Food52’s ears must be burning because they are featuring a 4-pack of grilling planks on their Provisions website right now and One King’s Lane is featuring a Plank Grilling Cookbook. Get ’em while they’re hot!

Food52’s Grilling 4-pack. Photo by James Ransom

One King’s Lane is selling Plank Grilling by Dina Guillen

Springtime Delight: Ramp Pesto Polenta with Morel Mushrooms

May 15, 2014 by Eva Louise Leave a Comment

I’m back in New York this week from a business trip in Nigeria and I’m still lusting over this ravishingly rampy polenta I made for Stingray and me right before I left. He’s eating meat again (praise, Jesus!…I’m Jewish, but whatever) so I convinced him to make his luscious oven-roasted chicken to accompany my side dish. I can’t wait to get back in the kitchen this week!

Ramp Pesto Polenta with Morel Mushrooms

Serves 4 generous portions

1.5 cups polenta
3 cups water
1 small container of Greek yogurt
1/2 cup Pecorino Romano
1/2 cup fresh morel mushrooms
2 gloves garlic

For the pesto:

1 bunch fresh ramps, rinsed
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup Pecorino Romano
zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
S/P to taste

Rough chop ramps and toss into food processor with pine nuts, cheese, lemon juice and zest. While food processor is running, drizzle in olive oil until mixture is proper, creamy, pesto consistency. Add salt and pepper and add more lemon juice or olive as needed. Set aside.

Cook polenta per box instructions. General rule is usually 1 part polenta to 2 parts water/milk. Boil water and slowly add in polenta. Be sure to stir constantly so it doesn’t get clumpy. Reduce heat and let simmer until cooked (5-7 minutes approx).

Fold in container of Greek yogurt and Pecorino. Add salt and pepper to taste. I added a pinch cayenne to mine, it was nice. Turn off heat and push to back burner.

Heat medium-sized pan to high heat. Add 1 T of butter and splash of olive oil so butter doesn’t burn. Add morels and let sear for 1-2 minutes before poking with a spoon. Once tender and brown, crush 1-2 cloves of garlic into the mushrooms and let soften 1-2 more minutes.

Pour polenta on a beautiful dish, spoon ramp pesto on top and finish with the morel mushrooms and you’ve got the taste of Springtime for supper!