I don’t know if I’m the only parent who routinely forgets to save food for the kids.  Around here it happens at least once a week: I get carried away enjoying my food and *expletive* it’s gone and the kids are still hungry.  After managing to cook a meal for the family, while keeping 2 eyes on the kids, I have to come up with something else.

Well, I like making my own gnocchi, but the evening inevitably ends with me staring in the fridge wishing I hadn’t been so selfish.  Doubling the recipe isn’t really an option, because of the labor involved in cooking them.  Perhaps I just haven’t gotten a good system down, but it doesn’t really make a difference at this point.

So I tried packaged gnocchi, and I’m not ashamed to say I like it.  And I can easily cook enough for the whole family with a little leftover.  This is one of those meals that I look forward to making because cooking goes so fast, it’s the perfect balance of light and filling, and bursts with flavor.

gnocchi with broccoli, tomato, olives, capers & pine nuts
serves 4

1/3 cup olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons, divided
1 3/4 lb. ripe tomatoes, chopped
generous 1/4 cup green olives, chopped
2 spoonfuls capers
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 cup pine nuts
1 3/4 lb. broccoli, broken into bit sized pieces, stem peeled and chopped as well
2 lbs. packaged potato gnocchi
big handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Heat 1/3 cup of the oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat.  Drain the excess juice from the tomaotes, if any, and reserve. Add the tomatoes to the pan and fry until tasty.  This may be as quick as 1 minute if the tomatoes are ripe and in season.  Add the capers, olives and reserved tomato juice.  Heat through.  Remove from the heat and cover.

In a small frying pan, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil over very low heat.  Add the pine nuts and garlic, and fry very gently until first the garlic is cooked through, then the pine nuts and garlic turn golden.  Remove from heat and reserve.

In a large pot of salted boiling water,  cook the broccoli until crisp-tender.  Remove with a slotted spoon or spider whisk.  Add the gnocchi to the same water and cook according to package directions, about two minutes or until they float to the top.  Drain.

Toss together the gnocchi, broccoli, tomato mixture, pine nut mixture and parsley and serve.

I take bean dishes for granted. To me, they are the go-to meal-foundations that boneless skinless chicken breast recipes used to be, before I came to my senses. When I don’t know what to cook, I put on a pot of beans, like I used to defrost a chicken breast or two. Beans take a little more planning if you cook them fresh, but there’s no nasty raw meat mess to carefully clean up, and they taste better. Sure, the chicken breast might have a chance if it weren’t stripped of the dignity of skin and bones, but as-is, it’s beans every time for me. Plus the beans cook unattended with plenty of time to figure out what to put with them. And a tip: you don’t have to soak them before cooking. You might end up with a few broken beans, but who cares?*

My bean routine is as follows:
-measure out about 1/2 cup of dried beans per person (main dish portion)
-cover with about 3 times as much water, (less if they have been soaked)
-bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, let cook on low for 2-4 hours
-salt ONLY when they are almost cooked through (salt toughens the skins and prohibits the water from softening the beans during cooking.)
-check every hour, as convenient, to make sure the water is covering the beans, and stir

The creative part is adding aromatics to the beans while they are simmering. This time I added dried New Mexican style chiles, (a good substitute for the sweet Spanish Nora chile), plenty of unpeeled garlic, and a few sprigs of herbs. A couple of onions got caramelized, some eggplants braised until silky smooth in just enough tomato sauce, and some no-knead bread was popped in the oven.  Chickpeas on their own have an amazing pot liquor, but the chiles made for a deeply flavored dish that I couldn’t get enough of.  I just about cried when Romeo offered the leftovers to his dad.

If you are having trouble getting excited about chickpeas or pintos, check out Rancho Gordo’s heirloom beans.  Steve Sando’s enthusiasm is contagious. (And adding “heirloom” to any ingredient makes it sexier, not to mention “Indian woman.”)

*Cannellini (not to be confused with navy) beans are the exception -they fall apart- so soak them first for salads.  Other applications should be fine.

Spanish-style chickpeas and eggplant with caramelized onions

2 cups dried chickpeas
7 cloves garlic, unpeeled
3 sprigs parsley, plus more for garnish
3 New Mexican dried chiles
10 sprigs thyme
2 onions, sliced
2 large eggplants
14 oz. can whole plum tomatoes or 6 fresh plum tomatoes, chopped
olive oil, about 1/3 cup, separated
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Put the beans in a heavy pot and cover with plenty of water (about 6 cups.) Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Add garlic, parsley, chiles, and thyme. Cover and let cook for 3-4 hours, but check after two. (The time can vary depending on the age of the beans.)

Caramelize the onions: heat a frying pan over a medium-low burner. Thinly coat the bottom with olive oil and add the onions. Cook slowly until the onions first become very soft, and then pick up a reddish-brown color. Set aside.

Peel (if you like) and chop the eggplant into slightly large bite-size pieces. Cook in a generous amount of oil with a sprinkle of salt. When the edges soften and the flesh is glossy, add the tomatoes and juice. Cover and simmer for 1 hour or until very soft.

When the beans are approaching tender, add salt to taste -don’t be shy. Let cook about 15 minutes more, then remove the garlic, parsley, chiles and thyme stems. Squeeze the garlic out of the skins and scrape the flesh of the chiles, return both back to the pot.
Add the beans to eggplant mixture, check for seasoning and let simmer 15 more minutes. Top with caramelized onions and flecks of fresh parsley leaves.

Once or twice, not so long ago we had an empty refrigerator and an empty wallet and I made this dish with carrot top greens.  It satisfied.  Carrot tops! And you know, times are tough.  This recipe is very forgiving.  Try them here if you need to.    Otherwise choose a thick-leafed green like kale, kohlrabi leaves, chard, beet tops, or collards and be thankful.

This very simple pasta relies on contrasting textures and a couple of bold flavors to give you a lot for your effort and dollar.  It’s has lightly creamy pasta, with a garlicky breadcrumb topping.  If you’ve ever been wary of leafy greens, this is the place to start.  The texture is outstanding -crisp on the edges, tender in the middle.

You might not have a jar of preserved lemons sitting around, but this recipe itself is reason enough to prepare one.  And if you do so,  I’ll give you a few more reasons in a month or so when they are cured and ready to use.   Until then, substitute the juice of 1 fresh lemon. Chopped fresh whole lemons won’t work.

pasta with preserved lemons, fried greens and breadcrumbs

serves 3-4

1 large bunch of greens or equivalent mixed greens, such as kale, chard, kohlrabi leaves, collards, beetroot tops
1/2 cup of olive oil, or more as needed
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
8 oz. cream cheese or mascarpone
1/4 preserved lemon, chopped
1 lb. pasta

Julienne the greens a little fatter than normal.  Heat the oil in a frying pan over fairly high heat.  Add the greens in batches and cook until tender and crispy.  Remove from the pan.  Add or pour out the olive oil if necessary to result in about 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan.  Turn down the heat to medium-low and cook the garlic and red pepper flakes until the garlic starts to soften.  Add the breadcrumbs and cook stirring until the oil is absorbed and the breadcrumbs turn golden brown.  Set aside.

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water that has been generously salted.  While the pasta is cooking, whisk the cream cheese until smooth and softened (if you have a stand mixer, use that).  When the pasta is almost done cooking, add a little pasta water to the cream cheese and continue whisking and adding pasta water until thinned to a sauce consistency.  Stir in the preserved lemon.

When the pasta has cooked, drain and return to the pan.  Toss thoroughly with the cream cheese mixture until evenly coated.  Top with the bread crumbs and greens and toss gently.  Serve immediately.

Years ago Romeo went to Malta for a study abroad program and brought me back a tiny book: Cooking with Maltese Olive Oil by Matty Cremona.  It seemed like a pretty lousy gift, even to Romeo, whose best thought was “well, I guess this fits the bill.”  For being a cookbook, it doesn’t have much in the way of recipes, and even the 18 or so salads she explains read more stream-of-consciousness than detailed-guide to a particular dish.

It took me years to finally dig in -you have to know your shit to make some of these suggestions work.  But what I see now is a hundred clever ideas disguised with boring names like “courgette (zucchini) salad.”  Under this particular entry is list of ingredients for one of the best marinades/salad dressings I’ve ever tasted.  You can use it to simply marinate zucchini.  But I wouldn’t stop there.  I’m using it to marinate mushrooms, pour over lightly boiled vegetables, brush over vegetable (and meat) kebabs on the grill and to marinate lamb or chicken.  If you find another favorite way to use it, let’s hear it.  If your the type who just wants a nice-and-neat recipe, you can’t go wrong with the warm vegetable salad spelled out below.

Maltese dressing
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup parsley leaves, chopped
1/4 cup mint leaves, chopped
1 1/2 - 2 lemons, depending on size and juiciness
1 cup olive oil
kosher or sea salt, to taste
freshly ground pepper, to taste

In a large mortar and pestle, crush the fennel and coriander seeds.  Add the garlic and pound to a paste.  Add the chopped herbs and the zest of one lemon and mash together.  Juice both lemons and stir in with the oil.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Alternately, grind the spices and then place all ingredients in a blender, or use a jar and a hand-held immersion blender.

Warm Maltese Vegetable Salad

Don’t be afraid of boiling vegetables.  As long as you check them often and don’t forget about them, they don’t have to be soft and mushy, lose their flavor or leech their nutrients.  They come out very cleanly flavored and delicious.

1 head cauliflower (this is a nice place to use yellow or purple varieties)
1/2 bag frozen peas
1/2 bag frozen fava or lima beans
1 zucchini
3-4 oz. feta or 2-3 oz. sheep’s milk feta, to taste (optional)
approximately 1 recipe Maltese dressing

Halve the zucchini lengthwise, then thinly slice into semicircles.  Add enough dressing to cover slightly and refrigerate for about 2 hours.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and salt generously.  The water should taste as salty as a tasty soup broth.  Cook peas until just tender and tasty.  Remove from the water with a spider-skimmer or slotted spoon to a medium bowl.  Repeat with the fava or lima beans, taking care that they are no longer dry and starchy.  Repeat with the cauliflower, until just tender.  Do not over cook.

Add the marinated zucchini and all the dressing to the bowl with the cooked vegetables.  Crumble the feta into the bowl, add more dressing if necessary -don’t skimp- and toss. Serve with crusty bread.

Fennel and Cauliflower Gratin with Olives

1 head cauliflower broken into bite-size florets

olive oil

1 bulb fennel, trimmed of stalks and sliced

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

heaping 1/2 cup olives, pitted and roughly chopped

5 oz. ricotta cheese

1 1/2 cups bread crumbs

3 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350.

Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Add salt and cauliflower. When tender but still firm, drain.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a frying pan over med-high heat.  Add onions and fennel and cook until until the fennel is tender and picks up a little color. Add garlic and olives and cook a couple minutes more.  Remove from heat.

Gently toss the cauliflower, fennel and olive mixture, ricotta, salt and pepper (to taste) and pour into an oiled baking dish.  Mix breadcrumbs and parsley and pat on top of the vegetables, and drizzle olive oil over the top.

Bake for 30 minutes or until heated through and the top is golden.

Serve with polenta oven fries, if desired.

Polenta Oven Fries

6 cups water

1.5 cups polenta

salt, pepper and olive oil

Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan.  Add a couple of pinches of salt and slowly wisk in the polenta.  Turn down heat to a simmer and cook until very thick.  Pour into a nonstick cake pan and let cool.  After cooling, turn out polenta onto a large cutting board and slice into batons.  Place on broiler pan, brush generously with olive oil and broil until crisp and golden.  Season with salt and pepper while still hot.

I’ve thrown away fresh artichokes on three different occasions.  There.  I said it.  Don’t tell my grandma Norine.   And the first time I was served a whole one at a restaurant, I very nearly cried.  Ask Romeo.  It’s just that they are so intimidating.

The last three times (all this spring) I bought artichokes, I’m relieved to say, I put them to good use in this pasta dish, which tastes exactly what I want every pasta dish to taste like.  It’s got peas and slow roasted tomatoes bursting with sweetness.  There’s a garlicky white wine sauce with a splash of lemon and little flecks of fresh parsley.  But the fresh artichokes…  they brown so beautifully in the olive oil, unlike frozen or jarred.  So you’ve got to conquer fresh artichokes.

Sometimes you just need to dig in.  Get a lemon or two.  Fill a bowl with water and add some lemon juice.  Start snapping off the leaves, rubbing with lemon as you go.  Keep going until the leaves are yellow.  Your halfway there.  Chop off the top just above the ridge.  With a paring knife, trim the rough part where the leaves were snapped off.  Slice the whole thing in half lengthwise (including the stem.)  Spoon out the fuzzy choke.  Trim the stem until just the tender part is left.  Plonk in the bowl of water.  You’re done.  Unless you’re still trying to figure out where to chop the top off, in which case you should check out Becks & Posh’s guide, which is much better than mine.

Although the artichokes are the highlight of this dish, very often the slow roasted tomatoes get eaten right out of the oven, 1/4 of them gone before they even get tossed in the pan.  So you might want to make extra.

Artichokes, Peas and Slow Roasted Tomatoes with Pasta

serves 3-4

Make sure to start the tomatoes the day or night before, as they take 10-12 hours to cook.

adapted from World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey

1 lb. tomatoes (with salt, sugar and olive oil to slow roast)

4 large artichokes

6 T olive oil

4 garlic cloves, lightly crushed and peeled, but left whole

salt

1/2 cup water

3 T dry white wine

6 T finely chopped fresh Italian parsley (just use the leaves, washing and drying them before chopping)

1 T fresh lemon juice

freshly ground black pepper

1 lb. whole wheat shells or penne pasta

Preheat the oven to 175 or as low as it will go.  Cut the tomatoes in half and place closely together on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt and sugar.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Bake for for about 10-12 hours.  I often stick them in the oven before I go to bed and take them out in the morning.  The tomatoes should be a shriveled, but still a little juicy.  Chop into 1 inch pieces and set aside.

Prepare the artichokes until you are left with just the hearts.  Slice thinly, and pat dry with a paper towel while you are heating the oil in a large frying pan over med-high heat.  Add the garlic cloves and artichoke hearts and stir until golden brown, adjusting the heat as necessary to make sure they pick up nice coloring.  Sprinkle with salt, and add water, wine and peas.  Bring to a simmer and cook until peas are tender.   Uncover and add parsley, lemon juice, pepper, and salt to taste.  Turn heat down and cook gently for a 2 minutes.  Add the tomatoes, stir and turn off the heat.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Salt generously.  Add the whole wheat pasta, and cook until still firm, but no longer grainy.  Drain, return to pan, and toss with the artichokes, peas and tomatoes.   Check for seasoning and serve at once.