culinary exploration

Made a Rachael Ray recipe for roasted tomato vodka sauce that used mascarpone instead of heavy cream. I can’t wait to actually eat it!

Lentil Mushrooom Soup

Blogging so I have the recipe handy when I make this, probably this weekend.

RACHAEL RAY’S RATATOUILLE

Ratatouille is such an easy thing to throw together.  I love Rachael Ray’s ‘Week in a Day’ show because it’s just the way I like to cook for the upcoming work week.  Sunday has become my day in the kitchen - especially with football season upon us and the cold weather coming soon.  I go to the store early in the morning before it gets crowded and cook all day for the upcoming week.  I can take the chance to make my brown-bag lunches to take to work Mon-Fri AND make a couple dishes for dinner during the week so I have options for that meal and don’t have to spend a lot of time cooking after a long day at work. 

A big pot of veggie stew would make for a great portioned out treat to take into the office for lunch.  Plus there was tons extra that I threw in the freezer for a rainy day when I don’t feel like cooking (which isn’t that often). 

I cut out some steps from RR’s recipe, like making the garlic croutons and poaching the eggs… although when I ate it one night for dinner I definitely made poached up some eggs to add that burst of needed protein.  I also reduced the amount of rosemary because the sprigs I had were nice and plump.  It’s a great herb to add, but too much can be offputtingly overpowering.  Here’s the recipe, enjoy!! 

Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Salt
1 1/2 pounds eggplant, 1/2-inch dice
2 red bell peppers
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound firm, small zucchini, 1/2-inch dice
2 medium onion, 1/2-inch dice
1 sprig fresh rosemary, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
1 (28 oz.) can San Marzano tomatoes for sweeter stew, or diced fire roasted tomatoes, for smokier stew
1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar
4 extra-large or jumbo eggs
A handful fresh basil leaves, torn

Directions:
Salt the eggplant and drain it in a colander for about 30 minutes to remove the bitterness from the eggplant.

Meanwhile, blacken the skins of the red peppers over open flame on the stove or under a hot boiler.  If broiling, leave the oven ajar to allow the steam to escape. Put the blackened peppers in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool.  Peel, seed and dice the peppers.

While peppers cool, heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat with extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan.  Add the eggplant, zucchini, garlic, onions, rosemary and 1 teaspoon of herbes de provence or dried thyme. 

Season with salt and pepper, to taste, then cover the pot and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the tomatoes.  Stir in the red peppers and 1/2 tomato-can of water and bring to a boil over medium heat. 

Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes to concentrate the flavors.  Cool and store for a make-ahead meal.

To serve, bring the ratatouille back to a simmer over medium heat, covered, then uncover and stir in the balsamic vinegar.  Make 4 nests or wells in the ratatouille and crack an egg into each nest.  Cover the pot and cook the eggs to desired doneness, about 2 to 5 minutes.  Scoop the ratatouille and eggs into shallow bowls and top with croutons and torn basil.

SPICY SAUSAGE, KALE AND LENTIL SOUP

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that my TV is always tuned to Food Network.  Typically, if I’m not watching some show I recorded on my DVR - I’m watching anything on Food Network!  I caught an episode of Rachael Ray’s ‘Week in a Day’ show and immediately went to the store to make a pot of this soup.  The concept of this new show (which actually airs on Cooking Channel) is spending one day cooking to make a week’s worth of meals.  How genius is that?  Leave it up to RR to simplify cooking for us busy people.

Now this recipe caught my eye because it was the time of year when winter hasn’t quite decided to leave yet and those chilly days would creep up in the midst of a warm spring-like week.  The great thing about soup is you get a hearty and comforting meal, but you can sneak in an enormous amount of veggies too.  Sounds like a win-win to me!  Just last month I posted my experiment with Greek-style lentil soup.  Here is another way to incorporate lentils into your diet:

RACHAEL RAY’S SAUSAGE, KALE and LENTIL SOUP   

INGREDIENTS:
1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 LB. hot sausage, bulk or casing removed
1 onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped, leafy tops reserved
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 large Idaho (russet) potato, peeled and chopped into small dice
1 Fresno or Holland chile pepper, thinly sliced or finely chopped
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic, chopped or sliced
1/2 T. ground cumin
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bundle Tuscan, black, or dinosaur kale, stemmed and very thinly sliced
1/4 C. tomato paste
1 C. white wine
Freshly grated nutmeg
1 3/4 C. lentils
4 C. chicken stock
2 C. water

DIRECTIONS:
In a soup pot or large Dutch oven, heat the extra-virgin olive oil.  Add the sausage, breaking it into pieces and cook until lightly brown.

Add the onions, celery, carrots, potato, chile pepper, rosemary, garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper, and cook until soft (about 8-10 minutes).

Wilt in the kale and season the kale leaves with a sprinkle of freshly grated nutmeg.

Stir in the tomato paste for 30 seconds, then add white wine.

Cook to reduce by half, then stir in the lentils, stock and water.

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer the soup until the lentils are tender (about 35 minutes).

Serve immediately or cool, store, and reheat.  

Made this delicious Spinach Artichoke Baked Pasta for a “last supper” celebration with a friend on 5/21/11.  Since the rapture didn’t happen, it ended up being a tasty and comforting dinner.  Can’t argue with that!

My only suggestion is to increase the ratio of beschamel sauce to the pasta and veg.  I think since there are two 10 oz. boxes of frozen chopped spinach in the dish, it absorbed a lot of the sauce.  I like my baked pasta or mac-n-cheese to be super cheesy and saucey, I didn’t get that with this dish.

Saw the recipe on Rachael Ray’s ‘Week in a Day’ show (which is amazing BTW) and decided it had to be on my table ASAP. 

[Photo courtesy of Food Network]