Upside-Down Tart with Red Onion

This onion tart has become popular at my home and also quite appreciated when I serve it to my guests so I would like to save this recipe here. The tart is so nice thanks to that perfect dough it is made with. It is flaky as puff pastry but ;not so dry. It is also slightly short and sandy. Because the dough is baked on top of the tart it is not get the moisture from the layer of vegetables and remains crunchy once baked.

This particular tart with red onion is a kind of cold weather dish, but it can be made with a different vegetable depending on season turning it into a spring or summer version. It also can be made with fruits as a dessert. There are no eggs or cream added to the filling just a little bit of goat cheese, and an apple which adds the extra sourness to the tart.

Upside-Down Red Onion Tart

Ingredients:

For the dough--for a 10-inch shallow baking form:
1 cup all purpose flour,
1 stick (8 tbsp) cols unsalted butter, cut into thin slices
4 tbsp iced water,
1 tsp salt,

For the onion layer:
2–3 red onions peeled and sliced in a medium thick slices,
1 cooking apple, preferably sour, peeled, cored and cut into thin wedges,
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese,
1 tsp fresh or dried thyme,
salt and pepper to taste,
olive oil for frying.

Preparation:
1. Sift flour onto a working surface. Add salt and butter. Coat the butter with flower. Using fingers smash butter with flower until you get pieces similar to cornflakes, with as much flour as possible incorporated in the butter.
2. Sprinkle cold water on top of the mixture and start to make a ball scraping the dough using a scraper or a wide blade knife. Make a ball by scraping, pressing and folding the dough until almost a smooth ball forms. It can still have some visible pieces of butter in it.
3. Finally, roll out the dough between 2 sheets of plastic foil to an inch thick layer, fold in three and put in a refrigerator for 30 minutes.
4. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Roll it out again with a rolling pin to an inch thick disk and fold in three again. Repeat two times. When the dough is folded for the third time wrap it in a plastic foil and chill for 20 minutes in a refrigerator.
5. To prepare the filling, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan. Add onion slices and fry until slightly brown. You can try to preserve the whole slices for a nice presentation, or just mix them.

6. Transfer the fried onion from the frying pan to the bottom of the baking form coated with oil. On the same frying pan heat one tbsp of olive oil and fry apples until soft. Spread them on top of the onion. Season with salt and pepper and finish with thyme.

7. Preheat oven to 375F.
8. Roll out the dough to a 10-inch circle. Transfer it on a rolling pen to the baking form so it covers the onion.

9. Pierce the dough a few times with a fork and bake for about 40 minutes until the top is dark gold.
9. Cool the tart slightly, cover with large serving plate and flip over on the plate. Cut and serve.

Pasta with Roasted Walnut Pesto

Pasta is not only very easy to make but can also be made from almost any ingredients. After the excesses of holiday cooking I now enjoy very simple dishes that can be made from whatever I have in my kitchen. This pasta is a perfect example of what I mean. It is made with walnuts, which are easy to store and I always have in my pantry. Walnuts are one of the most healthy nuts, a source of omega-9 fatty acids, zinc, selenium and antioxidants. My kids do not appreciate walnuts so I made this pasta to smuggle walnuts into their menu.

The recipe is my own combination of different walnut sauces which I tried from various Italian cookbooks. It can be made similarly to a traditional pesto sauce with just an oil, or it can be enriched with a little bit of cream. It is best served with spiral type of pasta which gets nicely coated in pesto.

Pasta with Roasted Walnut Pesto

Ingredients:
1 box of fusilli or rotini pasta,
1 cup of roasted walnuts pieces,
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs,
1/3 cup fresh parsley,
1-2 garlic cloves,
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil,
2-3 tbsp warm water or table cream,
2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan,plus extra for serving,
a pinch of grated nutmeg,
salt, pepper to taste

Preparation:
1. Cook pasta in plenty of water.
2. Roast walnuts in the oven or on the frying pan until light brown. Rub between hands to remove dried skins.

3. Place walnuts, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, Parmesan, and oil in a bowl of a small food processor.

4. Run the engine until the content of the bowl turns almost into a smooth sauce. If the sauce is too thick, add either water or cream, until the sauce reminds a thick cream.
5. Season the pesto with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
6. Pour over the hot pasta, toss, and finish with shredded Parmesan on top.

Baked Rice with Pumpkin and Feta

This light and colorful rice dish is a perfect recipe for this pumpkin season. It comes from the Mediterranean cuisine. I found it in one of the Italian magazines which I brought from Italy. The dish is quite similar to risotto and calls for the risotto type of rice, preferably Carnaroli or Arborio. It is started as risotto, but because it is then baked in the oven, it does not require constant stirring. It is made with Feta cheese instead of Parmesan and finished with two garnishes—fried sage leaves and pine nuts. Sage adds extra flavor and aroma to the delicate taste of rice, pine nuts bring in some crunchiness to a smooth texture of the dish, so it is worth adding both to obtain that full and rich taste at the end.



Baked Rice with Pumpkin and Feta

Ingredients:
1 cup risotto rice (if available Carnaroli),
1 lb peeled and cut into small cubes pumpkin,
1 medium onion, chopped,
1/2 cup white wine,
2 and 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock,
1/2 cup Feta,
1 tsp hot pepper flakes (optional),
2 tbsp roasted pine nuts,
3/4 cup milk,
salt,
2 tbsp butter,
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil,
12–16 sage leaves.

Preparation:
1. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pot. Add pumpkin cubes and fry for about 2–3 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.


2. Preheat oven to 325 F.
3. In the same frying pan heat another 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add onion and fry until transparent. Add rice and toast together for 1–2 minutes. Pour in wine, and let simmer until wine evaporates.
4. Add pumpkin and stock to rice, season with salt and bring to boil.
5. Transfer rice to a large baking dish and bake for 20–25 minutes.
6. In a medium bowl crumble Feta and mix with roasted pine nuts and hot pepper flakes if used.



7. In a small pot bring to boil 2 tbsp butter. Add washed and dried sage leaves and fry for 2 minutes.
8. Remove rice from the oven. Pour in milk and gently mix and bake for another 10–15 minutes.
9. Once again remove rice from oven and spread Feta crumbles on top. Bake for 5 minutes until Feta melts.
10. Remove rice from the oven, finish with melted butter and sage leaves and serve.

Zucchini Spaghetti with Fresh Tomato Sauce

A few years ago a friend gave me as a gift a spiralizer, a simple tool which makes any long vegetable into spaghetti threads. At the time I got it it was not available in the US stores. In the past year or two a spiralizer became easily available in many American stores so today I decided to post a recipe for a vegetable dish with the use of a spiralizer.

Many vegetables, for example carrot, squash, cucumber or zucchini can be spiralized. My favorite became green zucchini which I make often in the fall when local big zucchinis are available. And in that case the bigger zucchini the better. I make a zucchini spaghetti which is a simple dish of fried zucchini with tomato sauce on top. This is not only an easy dish but also almost entirely made of fresh and pure vegetables, an excellent dish for any fastidious vegan and gluten- or lactose-free diet believer. I shred some Parmesan on top of the sauce but the dish is very tasty also without it.



Zucchini Spaghetti with Fresh Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:
6 large green zucchinis,
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil,
4 medium tomatoes,
1 small onion, chopped.

Preparation:
1. Blanch tomatoes in hot water, peel off and cut into cubes.
2. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a medium pot and add onion. Fry on a medium heat until transparent. Add tomatoes and simmer for about 5 minutes.
3. Spiralize the zucchinis.



4. In a large frying pan heat 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add minced garlic and fry until gold. Add spiralized zucchini and fry on a high heat tossing it often until all the water evaporates. Zucchinis should be cooked but still firm. Do not salt them as they will release too much water and become very soft and overcooked. The bigger zucchinis the less water they will release.



5. Turn off the heat and season the zucchinis with salt and pepper. Transfer them to the plates, spoon the tomato sauce on top and serve.

Cauliflower in Tahini Sauce

The start of the cauliflower season prompted me to write today about a very simple yet delicious cauliflower dish. It comes from Lebanese cuisine. I have made it quite often ever since I tried it first at my friend's the past summer. Almost everyone who tasted it complemented an interesting and unusual combination of cauliflower and tahini. I have been often asked for the recipe, which I share today.

The whole secret of the dish lies in the right combination of the tahini sauce ingredients. The sauce should be not too thick and rather tart in taste to contrast the mild taste of the cauliflower. Cauliflower can be cooked or roasted, and it can be just white or, in one of the now fashionable yellow or purple color to make it more fancy.

I make this dish often just as a lunch dish and eat it with pita bread, but it can also be served as a side dish to accompany grilled meats.



Cauliflower in Tahini Sauce

Ingredients:
1 large cauliflower,
4 tbsps tahini paste (available at Middle Eastern groceries),
3-4 tbsps freshly squeezed lemon juice,
1 garlic clove, minced,
salt and pepper to taste,
fresh chopped parsley.

Preparation:
1. Cook cauliflower until soft but still firm. Drain.
2. Pour tahini paste in a medium bowl. Add 4 tbsps of water, then start adding lemon juice, alternating with more water to obtain a creamy sauce with the consistency of a heavy whipping cream. Add minced garlic and season with salt and pepper.



3. Pour the sauce over the cauliflower and finish with chopped parsley.

White Beans with Greens and Tomatoes

Although dry beans often come to mind as a winter, comfort food, today's recipe for a bean dish is a perfect transitional dish from winter to spring. It is not a very rich as a bean dish can be, thanks to fresh herbs, spinach and tomatoes.

Bean dishes are quite popular in the Mediterranean cuisine, especially northern Italian. The inclusion of Feta cheese suggests that this one comes actually from the Greek culinary tradition.



White Bean Baked with Greens and Tomatoes
(Serves four)

Ingredients:
1/2 pound dry cannellini beans, which must be washed and soaked overnight in water,
1 medium onion,
1/2 bunch of spring onion, finely chopped,
1/2 cup chopped dill,
6 oz bag of baby spinach,
1 lb plum tomatoes, cut into small cubes,
1 cup crumbled feta cheese,
6 tbsp olive oil,
salt and pepper.

Preparation:
1. Put the beans in a large pot, cover with water and cook on a medium heat until beans are cooked but still very firm. Drain the beans and save about a cup of water.
2. Preheat oven to 375F.
3. In a large frying pan heat 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add chopped onion and fry until transparent. Toss in spinach leaves and cook them until wilted and water evaporates. Add chopped spring onion and dill and cook together for about 2 minutes.



4. Mix the beans with cooked greens. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to an oven proof dish.
5. Drizzle the remaining 4 tbsp of olive oil on top of the beans. Pour in about half a cup of the leftover water from cooking the beans. Cover the top of beans with chopped tomatoes and sprinkle with crumbled feta.



6. Cover the baking dish with a lid or aluminum foil and bake for about an hour, until the beans are soft. If the water evaporates and beans are still hard, add extra water and let it bake a little longer.



Serve hot alone or with country breads.

Fettuccine with Cheese and Black Pepper (Cacio e Pepe)

This recipe is just another proof of the culinary genius of the Italians. Simple and wonderful. I decided to share this recipe today as I think this is the kind of comfort dish that tastes particularly good on a cold winter day. Besides, it is the recipe that my son asked me to write down, so he could cook it one day, when he goes to college.

I never heard about this pasta until my last visit to Rome. My friend and host explained to me that it was in fact a very Roman dish and gave me the recipe. After I came back I made this pasta at home for my kids and instantly it became their most favorite pasta dish. Another simple and tasty dish that makes everyone happy.

There are basically two ingredients in this pasta black pepper and cheese. And again they should be of the best quality. Pepper should be full of flavor and fresh, Tellicherry would be most desirable, and cheese should be Pecorino Romano and Parmigiano Reggiano, preferably imported. If you have these ingredients, a delicious dinner is ready in no time.



Fettuccine with Cheese and Black Pepper

Ingredients:
3 tbsp coarsely, freshly ground black pepper, preferably Tellicherry,
2 tbsp olive oil,
2 tbsp unsalted butter,
1 lb fettuccine pasta,
1 cup freshly ground Pecorino Romano, plus some to finish,
1/2 cup tbsp freshly ground Parmigiano Reggiano to finish
salt.


Preparation: 1. Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water until still firm but cooked.
2. Grind the pepper and cheese.


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3. While pasta is cooking, heat butter and olive in a large frying pan. When bubbles appear add ground black pepper and fry while stirring continually for about 2 minutes until the flavor of the pepper is released.



4. Drain the fettuccine, saving about a cup of drained water.
5. Add pasta to the pan with pepper and toss it so it is covered with pepper. Add about 4 tbsps of the saved hot water.
6. Pour in both cheese and mix with pasta. If pasta is still too dry add extra water and mix. Serve immediately and finish with freshly ground Parmigiano Reggiano.

Chickpea Flour Gnocchi with Tomato Sauce

In one of the Italian culinary magazines I found a chickpea (garbanzo) flour gnocchi recipe which seemed very easy and quick to make. It called only for two kinds of flour and there was no special preparation ahead. I could not wait to make them. I invited my Italian friend over to help me translate the recipe and to try the result. As it turned out it was her first time ever to make gnocchi. We had a lot of fun making them. I used a special mandolin, which I brought from Italy, and she used a fork to form them. Both methods were equally productive and in no time our delicious lunch was ready.

My friend wrote down the recipe to make it at home for her kids. She often asks me for the recipes of the dishes I make but for the first time in my life I introduced a true Italian to an Italian dish. All the ingredients used in the recipe are easily available in food stores and chickpea flour can be found in a diet section of food market or any Indian food store.



Chickpea Flour Gnocchi with Tomato Sauce
(Serves four)

Ingredients:
1 cup chickpea flour,
1 cup all purpose bleached flour,
1 cup (150ml) water,
3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese,
2 tbsp pine nuts,
15 fresh basil leaves,
2 garlic cloves,
1 can (14 oz) of crushed tomatoes,
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sugar,
salt and pepper.

Preparation:
1. Using a small food processor purée 10 basil leaves, pine nuts, and Parmesan cheese.
2. Mix both flours with 1/2 tsp of salt.
3. In a medium pot bring to boil 150 ml water. Pour in both flours and using a wooden spoon beat it until a smooth paste forms. Turn off the heat.
4. When the dough cools down a little bit, add basil paste, and working with hands knead a smooth dough.



5. On a working surface dusted with flour, roll out the dough into thin (about 1/2 inch-thick) snakes. Cut each into inch-long pieces. Using a mandolin, or squeezing each gently with a fork form gnocchi. Leave them to rest for 30 minutes.




6. In the meantime, heat the oil in a frying pot, add two pieces of garlic and fry it until gold. Discard the garlic from the oil and add crushed tomatoes, the remaining basil leaves, salt and pepper. Simmer on a low heat for about 20 minutes.
7. Boil a large pot of water with salt. Dump in gnocchi and cook until they appear on the surface. Let them boil for about 5 minutes. Drain.
8. Transfer the gnocchi to serving plates and finish with tomato sauce.

Farro with Dried Porcini and Sage

Farro is one of the oldest wheat varieties. In recent years it has become very popular, especially among vegetarians and foodies who always look for new sources of nutritional values, as farro is an excellent source of fiber, minerals, and vitamin B.

In the modern cuisine farro is often used in place of traditional grains, especially rice. It is easy to cook and more forgiving as it is hard to overcook it. Cooked farro has a stronger taste and firmer texture than rice but some appreciate it for those qualities. For the same reason it is also often used in salads.

One of the way to serve farro is a dish similar to risotto but lighter since it does not include cream or cheese. This particular dish is made with dried porcini, so popular in both Polish and Italian cuisines. If you don't have dried porcinis, you may make it with white cup mushrooms (about 1/2 lb). The recipe calls for sage leaves which give that dish a very nice seasonal flavor. It can be served alone, as a vegetarian dish or to accompany roasted meats.



Farro with Dried Porcini and Sage

Ingredients:
1 cup farro, washed,
1/3 cup dried porcini soaked for 1 hour in 1/2 cup of cold water,
4-5 cups vegetable or beef stock,
1 small onion, chopped,
6-8 fresh sage leaves, cut into strips,
1/4 cup plus extra 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil,
salt and freshly ground pepper.

Preparation:
1. In a large pot heat half of the oil. Add chopped onion and fry until transparent. Add sage leaves and fry for another minute.
2. Add farro and the rest of the oil to the pot. Stir it so farro is well coated with oil.
3. Drain and cut porcini into thin strips. Add them to farro. If you like a stronger taste add also the water in which the porcini were soaked.



4. Pour in 2 cups of stock and bring farro to boil, then let it simmer on a low heat stirring frequently. Follow with the rest of the stock until farro becomes tender. This will take 40-50 minutes.
5. Serve the dish hot drizzled with 2 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil and decorated with sage leaves fried in butter.

Turnip Lasagna

I have never tried turnip before but this month I ate it already twice. Last week, my Afghan friend invited my whole family for dinner and, at my request, she made a very autumnal dish made from turnip and meat. It was very aromatic and delicious and I will post a recipe for it as soon as I get all the details of it.

Yesterday, I made a dish that I will share today. It was inspired by a recipe from an Italian cooking magazine, but I made a lighter, vegetarian version of it just to use a box of an already opened ricotta cheese. The dish is easy to make and can be prepared ahead. It can be served alone, as a gluten free vegetarian main course, or served with breads.



Turnip Lasagna

Ingredients:
4 medium turnips, sliced in 1/8th inch-thick slices,
2 cups milk,
16 oz ricotta cheese,
1 large (27 oz) can of crushed tomatoes,
2 tbsp olive oil,
2 garlic cloves, minced,
1/3 cup shredded asiago cheese,
salt and pepper to taste,
fresh parsley to garnish.

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Place the sliced turnip in a medium pot and cover with milk. Bring to boil and simmer for about 5 minutes, until just softer but still firm. After that, drain the milk.
3. In another pot, heat the oil, add garlic and fry it for 2-3 minutes. Pour in tomatoes and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
4. Place 1/2 of the tomato sauce on the bottom of a medium oven-proof dish. Spread a third of the turnip slices. Then on each slice spread half of the ricotta cheese.



5. Put another layer of turnip slices. Cover them with another layer of ricotta and then again with turnips. Generously season with salt and pepper on top.
6. Pour over the rest of the tomato sauce and finish with the shredded asiago cheese.
7. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 20 minutes, until lasagna bubbles. Remove the foil and let the cheese melt until it turns gold.
8. Cool the lasagna and serve with chopped parsley on top.

Bread and Kale Gnocchi

During my recent vacations in Poland I did not cook at all but ate a lot. I enjoyed Polish food and most of all Polish bread. I think we have one of the best breads in the world and the richest variety of it.

In any Polish home it is almost religious to have plenty of bread in a bread box. But, because we are so obsessed with bread, we often buy too much of it. Then, on the next day, we cannot resist buying a new batch straight from the bakery, fresh and warm and this way we repeatedly end up with significant amounts of old bread which, although still good on the next day, cannot compete with the fresh one.

Unfortunately, we do not recycle bread, not even to feed animals. The only way then to use old bread is to cook with it. Today's recipe, which comes from the Italian cuisine where this gluten loaded delicacy is also very popular, is one of the great ideas how to recycle old bread. Not surprisingly, Italians being Italians use bread leftovers to make yet another variety of gnocchi.

For this particular recipe I used different types of old bread which I happened to have, mostly whole wheat and country style. Just to make it more healthy and nutritious I added kale, which also enriched the taste of my gnocchi, which can be served with butter or butter fried sage.



Bread and Kale Gnocchi

Ingredients:
2 lb of one or two-day old bread, such as country style, cut into smaller chunks,
1/2 lb kale, preferably Tuscan,
3 eggs,
1/2 cup all purpose flour,
salt,
a pinch of nutmeg,
6 tbsp unsalted butter,
8-10 sage leaves
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan.

Preparation:
1. Place bread in a large bowl and cover with milk. Let it soak for about an hour. Squeeze the milk well out and place the bread in a food processor.
2. Chop roughly kale and blanch it in a hot water. Drain well on the colander and add to the soaked bread. Puree all the ingredients until smooth.
3. Transfer the mixture to the large bowl. Sift in flour, add eggs, 1/3 cup Parmesan, salt and nutmeg. Mix well.



4. Bring to boiling a large pot of salted water. Scoop a portion of the mixture on a soup spoon and drop into a pot by dipping the spoon in boiling water. Let the gnocchi afloat and cook on a low temperature for about 4 minutes.



5. Drain the first batch of gnocchi and follow with the remaining batter.
6. To finish the dish, fry the butter in a small pot until it bubbles. Add sage leaves and fry them until crispy for about a minute. Pour the hot butter and sage on gnocchi and finish with Parmesan.