Tag Archives: basil

Potato Zucchini Gratin

4 Jul

I got the inspiration for this dish by a recent post from Heidi from 101 Cookbooks.  When I read her recipe I realized I had most the necessary ingredients waiting for me in my kitchen.  And what I didn’t have, I would substitute and improvise…

I had received a couple of great zucchinis from my CSA box that I was wondering how to cook…  Heidi and her recipe came to the rescue.  Thanks a lot.

 

 Potato Zucinni Gratin

POTATO ZUCHINNI GRATIN

3 medium russet potatoes, washed well and peeled
1 medium sized zucchini
¼ teaspoon of sea salt
About 1 ½ tbs of basil/parsley oil
About ¼ cup of grated parmesan cheese
About ¼ cup of freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Canola Oil Spray
About 2 tbs of fresh whole wheat breadcrumbs
Some additional sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

 

  1. Spray a medium-sized pyrex dish with canola oil spray and sprinkle with about 1 tbs of breadcrumbs.  Shake the pyrex so the breadcrumbs coat the dish as much as possible… just as if you were flouring a pan to bake a cake…  Set aside.
  2. Using a mandoline, slice as thinly as possible the zucchini.  Place in a colander and sprinkle about ¼ teaspoon of sea salt and let them drain some if its moisture out. 
  3. Sliced Zuchinni
  4. Using the same mandoline, slice as thinly as possible the potatoes. 
  5. Sliced Potatoes
  6. Place in a bowl and add the basil/parsley oil, the grated parmesan cheese, the Pecorino Romano, some salt and pepper.  
  7.  After about 5 minutes after salting the zucchini, squeeze them to release as much moisture as possible.  Using a paper towel pat them dry.  And add them to the bowl with the potatoes.  Toss well to combine potatoes, zucchini and seasonings.
  8. Place the seasoned veggies into the breaded pyrex dish.  Place them with your hands trying to create layers after layers of potato and zucchini.  It does not need to be perfect, but try to lay them all flat.
  9. Potato Zuchinni Casserole - Prep
  10. Sprinkle some added breadcrumbs over the top and add a bit more parmesan and Pecorino Romano cheese to create a nice crust on top.
  11. Because I do this in a toaster oven, I never preheat… but place it in a 400F oven for about 30-45 minutes – the perfect amount of time to allow you to take a shower and meditate.

 

I had this with some goat cheese toasts on the side… The potatoes cook well and the zucchini tastes perfect in it.  It was super good. 

Thanks again to Heidi at 101 Cookbooks… this will definitely be a go-to recipe from now on…

                Gratin and Goat Cheese 2

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Basil Parsley Oil

2 Jul

I did this flavored oil to season a nice Tomato Salad with Goat Cheese Toasts… but I was surprised how versatile the oil has proven to dress and season many other recipes.

 

Basil Parsley Oil

 

BASIL PARSLEY OIL

A small handful of parsley – mostly leaves
A small handful of basil leaves
About 1/3 cup of olive oil
Sea Salt – 1 turn around the food processor bowl
About 4 turns of the pepper grinder

 

  1. In a food processor mix together all the ingredients and process until the herbs are chopped super fine.
  2. Let it rest room temperature for about 1 hour so the flavors mix well together before using.

 

If you’d like, you could strain it… but I like it chunky.

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Tomato Salad with Goat Cheese Toasts

1 Jul

I LOVE tomatoes!!!!  I just love them immensely… they might well be my favorite vegetable.  I am stuck between potatoes and tomatoes as my favorite, and I am just realizing that possibly neither of them is actually a vegetable.

Oh well, vegetable or not, I have been receiving way too many tomatoes in my weekly CSA box that I have been finding creative ways to have them.  Although growing up I used to just slice a tomato as a way to add “a salad” to my plate and, to this day, I still do it when I am too lazy to wash lettuces and cut up other salad components.

Something I recently started doing (or stopped doing would be a more accurate expression) is to not place tomatoes in the fridge.  With the temperatures being so hot here in PR, I always believed tomatoes would spoil way too quickly if they were left sitting on a counter.  Well, they eventually can spoil, but you can safely leave them there for a good week and they will be perfect.  The taste of a tomato is definitely better and more intense if it’s left at room temperature.  Apparently there is a component in the tomato that is shuts down its flavor permanently if the tomato is kept in the fridge.

This is a tomato salad made to celebrate the lusciousness of tomatoes… 

 Tomato Salad 2

TOMATO SALAD WTH GOAT CHEESE TOASTS

Tomatoes – organic and local preferably to ensure their freshness and flavor
1 whole-grain demi-baguette, sliced on a bias
Salt/Pepper to taste
Drizzle of olive oil
About 2 oz of goat cheese – left at room temperature for a few minutes
About 1 tbs of Basil/Parsley oil

 

  1. Slice tomatoes as you wish – in slices across its equator, pole to pole… however you prefer.
  2. Drizzle baguette slices with olive oil, some salt and pepper and toast in a toaster oven until they’re golden around the edges.  Slather them with goat cheese
  3. Place sliced/cut tomatoes on a plate.  Drizzle basil/parsley oil and sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper.  Place goat cheese toasts on the side…

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Fresh Fettuccini with Barely-Cooked Fresh Tomato Sauce

3 Jun

This was an exercise in maximizing the concept of fresh, seasonal and local cooking…  even though the dish initially looks more Italian, but this is Puerto Rican cooking at its utmost expression. Why?

Because the main components of this meal were grown or produced right here in Puerto Rico:

  • The pasta is freshly made here in San Juan by my friend Karla from nudi pasta…
  • The tomatoes and basil for the sauce came from my CSA box… as did the mesclun greens and the cucumber for the salad
  • The green peppers in the sofrito came from the CSA box too and the “ají dulces” came from my aunt’s backyard

I have made marinated/un-cooked tomato sauce before, but I just wanted to see if I could pull-off a sauce that did not need to be on the stove for hours to achieve a deep flavor.  I believe we have reached success here.  Also, fresh fettuccini is super delicate… I am not used to cooking pasta so little. So a friend gave me the idea to cook the pasta in the same sauce, instead of boiling it first.  It actually turned out really nice… even though I feel I have not yet mastered the art of cooking fresh pasta to perfection.

 Fett w- BC Tom Sauce

FRESH FETTUCCINI WITH BARELY-COOKED FRESH TOMATO SAUCE

3 small organic tomatoes, chopped
2 sprigs of fresh basil, leaves and stems separated
1 tsp sofrito
1 tsp tomato paste
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tbs olive oil
½ package of whole-wheat fresh fettuccini

 

  1. In a medium skillet with tall sides over medium heat, pour the olive oil and the sofrito. Cook for a few minutes while you chop the tomatoes.
  2. Add the basil sprigs and leaves.  Cook for a minute and add the tomato paste.  Stir to combine.  Add the chopped tomatoes with all its juice… make sure you have all the seeds and juice to make the sauce liquidy. 
  3. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add the balsamic vinegar.  Cook for about 5 minutes so the flavors combine.
  4. Barely-cooked Tomato Sauce
  5. Add the fresh fettuccini to the sauce and toss to combine well.  After a few minutes, turn the stove off and cover to allow the pasta to cook with the steam and heat of the sauce.

 BC Tomato Sauce

Enjoy with a nice tossed salad using any seasonal vegetables you might have on hand.  I used mesclun greens and cucumbers with a light lemon vinaigrette.

If you would like to see other recipes of Seasonal Pastas… visit the Serious Eats website were a round up of various recipes are featured as part of the weekly feature Cook and Tell.

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Chunky Tomato Sauce

1 May

I started making this sauce because I wanted to try some techniques I learned from one of my favorite chefs, Jamie Oliver.  When I was at London’s Heathrow Airport doing a stop over a few years ago, I bought this cooking magazine with a small booklet inside with various Jamie Oliver recipes. 

Jamie talked about frying the basil and adding balsamic vinegar to the sauce to give it a special kick…  I have always seen chefs add wine to sauces and it was very welcoming to me to know I could also do it with vinegar and get a similar result.   BTW – This was the same magazine where my favorite whisk came with…

This is also one of the recipes made with basil from my CSA box…

 

 chunky-tomato-sauce1

CHUNKY TOMATO SAUCE

1 jar of whole peeled tomatoes
1 jar of fire-roasted tomatoes
1 tbs olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced thin
1 handful of basil, washed well and leaves removed from the stems
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
Salt and Freshly cracked pepper

 

  1. In a tall skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic slices and the basil stems.  Sauté for a few minutes to infuse the oil with garlic and basil taste.  Add the basil leaves and sauté a bit.
  2. Add the tomatoes to the skillet.  Stir to combine well.  Season with salt and pepper, and add the balsamic vinegar. 
  3. When the sauce starts to boil, lower the heat to medium low and cook uncovered for about 25-30 minutes, until the sauce reaches your desired consistency.  I like it chunky…  If you prefer it more liquidy, cook for less time.
  4. Remove the basil stems before serving.

 

Toss with your favorite noodle pasta or use it in a Pita Pizza Margherita.

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