Penne with Shrimp, Feta, and Spring Vegetables
This is the ultimate one-pot dish. It is so light and lemony and a wonderful way to feature asparagus and snap peas. Start to finish it takes no more than 15 minutes to prep and cook.
Archives for the month of: May, 2014
Splayed Roast Chicken With Caramelized Ramps, Garlic and Capers
You know I love this roast chicken recipe, but since it is the beginning of ramp season I was excited to try this recipe from The New York Times that has been pinned to my Pinterest recipe board for two years. The oven gets your kitchen pretty hot so don’t do it on a super warm day. If you can get your hands on ramps the recipe is definitely worth a try. They are so good cooked in the chicken juices. Yum!
Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
1 lb. fingerling potatoes
olive oil
1 TB. chopped, fresh rosemary (optional)
salt and pepper
Toss all ingredients together on a baking sheet. Roast for 25-30 minutes until the potatoes are tender and a little bit browned.
This week’s meal plan is a celebration of spring. It features many of the vegetables that I’ve been waiting all winter to eat: spinach, asparagus, snap peas, ramps and even rhubarb! Last Saturday, I visited the Boro Hall Greenmarket for the first time in awhile and was so happy to see piles of ramps and rhubarb. I snatched them both up even though I had no idea what I’d do with them. That’s what I love most about this time of year – meal planning shifts from recipe-driven to ingredient-driven. You have to embrace a little uncertainty but trust me, you’ll be rewarded!
Meal #1: Chicken Saltimbocca + Sautéed Spinach
Meal #2: Pork Chops with Rhubarb-Cherry Sauce + Roasted Asparagus
Meal #3: Splayed Roast Chicken With Caramelized Ramps, Garlic and Capers + Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
Meal #4: Penne with Shrimp, Feta, and Spring Vegetables
Your grocery list, excluding the usual pantry items:
spinach – 2 large bags or bunches
ramps – 1 bunch
asparagus – 2 bunches
snow peas – 1/2 lb.
rhubarb – 8-10 ounces (about 5 to 6 stalks)
onion – 1
fingerling potatoes – 1 lb.
sage – 1 bunch
mint – 1 bunch
rosemary – 1 bunch (optional)
lemon – 2
chicken broth – 1 small can
penne pasta – 1 box
feta – 4 ounces
dried cherries – 1/2 cup
pine nuts – 1/4 cup (optional)
capers (If you don’t already have them)
chicken cutlets – 4 (6 to 8 ounces each)
thinly sliced prosciutto – 4 slices (3 ounces)
whole chicken – 1 (approx. 4 1/2 lb.)
pork chops – 4 (6 to 8 ounces each)
shrimp – 1 lb.
dry white wine – 3/4 cup
Pork Chops with Rhubarb-Cherry Sauce
The salty, fatty pork and the sweetness of the sauce together is so delicious. This is a great dish when you are deep into rhubarb season and can’t eat any more compote. I love the addition of the dried cherries.
Roasted Asparagus
My go-to method of preparing asparagus.
1 bunch of asparagus – ends trimmed
olive oil
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss trimmed asparagus with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and roast for 15-20 minutes until tender and a little bit browned. Sprinkle some grated Parmesan cheese over to serve.
Chicken Saltimbocca
What’s not to love? You have prosciutto, sage and a white wine sauce! And, it takes practically no time to prepare. This would make a lovely dinner party dish simply because it is so pretty.
Sautéed Spinach
Popeye would approve!
2 TB. olive oil
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 TB. pine nuts (optional)
2 bags or bunches of spinach, washed and dried well
salt and pepper
lemon wedge
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, when the oil begins to shimmer add the garlic and pine nuts, saute for 1-2 minutes. Add spinach to the pot and stir; as it wilts it will release water. Let the spinach saute for another 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently, until most of the water evaporates. Add salt and pepper to taste, and squirt lemon juice over the spinach to serve.
Grilled Tuna Steaks
I love tuna steaks so much – the rarer the better! I made this Ina Garten recipe for Patrick’s birthday and it was deliciously simple.
Dipping Sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 TB. lemon juice
1 ts. Sriracha
pinch of sugar
Mix all ingredients and let sit while you prepare the tuna steaks. Pour into individual small bowls for dipping.
Sesame Broccoli
Basically roasted broccoli, but with an Asian twist!
Salmon and Potatoes in Tomato Sauce
This is delicious and very simple. However, I am starting to notice that a lot of Martha’s recipes do not provide enough time for the potatoes to cook through. I recommend letting the potatoes cook for 15-20 minutes after you first add them to the tomatoes and before you add the salmon. Also, I see no reason to remove half of the tomato sauce, unless you really want to. We did have some sauce and potatoes left over, but I think they would be nice with some eggs for another dinner or brunch.
I don’t know what was up with this week, but for some reason I made a lot of meals with Asian ingredients and flavors. The great thing about using Asian ingredients is that they often add a great burst of flavor with very little work or time. So, for this week’s meal plan I’m featuring two of these dinners – the pork stir fry and grilled tuna steak which when paired with my dipping sauce may remind you of sushi.
Meal #1: Salmon and Potatoes in Tomato Sauce
Meal #2: Pork Stir Fry with Asparagus and Sugar Snap Peas
Meal #3: Grilled Tuna Steaks with Dipping Sauce + Sesame Broccoli
Meal #4: Pasta Carbonara with Leeks and Lemon
Your grocery list, excluding the usual pantry items:
onion – 1
shallots – 2
lemons – 2
asparagus – 1 lb. bunch
sugar snap peas – 1 1/2 cups
broccoli – 1 large head or 1 lb.
leeks – 4
ginger – 1 piece
small white potatoes – 3/4 pound
fresh parsley – 1 bunch
Kalamata olives – 1/2 cup
diced tomatoes – 2 cans (28 ounces each)
sherry – 1 bottle (it’ll keep)
sesame seeds – small package (they’ll keep)
short pasta (penne) – 1 box
rice (if you don’t already have it)
soy sauce (if you don’t already have it)
Sriracha (if you don’t already have it)
brown sugar (if you don’t already have it)
rice vinegar (if you don’t already have it)
sesame oil (if you don’t already have it)
corn starch (if you don’t already have it)
eggs – 2
pork tenderloin – 1, 12-16 ounce piece
bacon – 6 slices
salmon fillets – 4 (6 ounces each)
tuna steak – 4 1-inch pieces
Pork Stir-Fry with Asparagus and Sugar Snap Peas
It is a little early in the season to be bored with asparagus, and trust me I am not, but sometimes I get bored with the typical cooking methods – steaming or roasting.
Note: I used regular cooking sherry that I bought at the grocery store, but if you don’t have that you can find a bunch of suggestions for substitutions on Serious Eat’s online forum.
This is so delicious. From the name you would think that it is a recipe for a popular Chinese takeout dish, but it actually is more North African in flavor. Using ingredients that you probably already have – cinnamon, paprika, lemon and honey – elevates this dish from your typical weeknight, chicken dinner.
Couscous
Perfect for sopping up the delicious sauce. Follow directions on the box.