Spaghetti Pomodoro without the Spaghetti (Spaghetti Squash with Fresh Tomato Sauce)

If you are like me, and probably like the rest of the west, you LOVE spaghetti with fresh homemade tomato sauce and fresh melted mozzarella and a drizzle of Parmesan. You would think that such a simple dish is a no brainer to find in any Italian restaurant, but actually it is. It is extremely rare to find really good pasta and homemade sauce- even in the finest Italian restaurants. I am not saying all.... but most are just not great.

The trick is you have to go to a place that makes their own pasta (impossible for your Gluten Free foodies) and fresh sauce, not some store bought commercialized can junk.

My father's two sisters live in Italy and growing up so did my mothers' sister, so I would visit Milano more times that you probably take the subway. Every night, we had pasta, and not too much variation from pasta pomodoro. Seems like the Italians like simple spaghetti and tomato sauce and that's it! Every night!

I remember how much I loved it and how I did not gain weight and neither did anyone in my family who ate pasta regularly. There must be something in their wheat (not Industrialized) and the way they just whip up some sauce from fresh tomatoes, that are so fragrant, I could wear it as perfume. Or maybe, just maybe- they are happy to eat. Eating is a joyous event. I never hear anyone talk about their weight and the fear of gaining weight from pasta.

In any event, I digress... Today's post is NOT about Spaghetti Pomodoro, as you may have been able to tell from the photos. Sorry for all the foreplay. It's about, the next best thing.... Spaghetti Squash with Pomodoro. No fat, made at home and really good. You can cut chunks of fresh mozzarella onto the spaghetti squash and bake for 10 minutes. Then for extra richness, add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Spaghetti Squash with Tomato Sauce

Yields: 2 servings

Ingredients

Spaghetti Squash

Tomato Sauce
1 pound Roma tomatoes
2 tablespoon olive olive oil
Small onion
2 to 3 small cloves of garlic
1/2 medium carrot
1/2 stalk of celery
Sea salt, to taste
Slivers of fresh basil, to finish

Directions for the Spaghetti Squash

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut the squash in half lengthwise. Place the halves cut side down, in a roasting pan. Pour a little water around them and bake for 40 minutes or until tender. Do not allow to burn- cover with foil if necessary.

Directions for the Tomato Sauce

1. Peel your tomatoes: Bring a pot of water to boil. Cut a small X at the bottom of each tomato. Blanche the tomatoes in the boiling water for 10 to 30 seconds, then either rinse under cold water or shock in an ice water bath. Peeling the tomatoes should now be a cinch.
2. Coarsely chop your tomatoes on a cutting board.
3. Finely chop the onion, and mince the carrot, celery and garlic.
4. Heat your olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Cook your onions, carrots, celery and garlic, if you’re using them, until they just start to take on a little color, about 10 minutes. I really like to concentrate their flavor as much as possible. Add your tomatoes and bring to a simmer, lowering the heat to medium-low to keep it at a gentle simmer. Simmer your sauce, stirring occasionally. At 30 minutes, you’ll have a fine pot of tomato sauce, but at 45 minutes, you might just find tomato sauce nirvana: more caramelized flavors, more harmonized texture.
5. Season with salt and serve. 

Best Shakshuka (Sunny side eggs in Fresh Tomato Sauce)

When you think of Sunday brunch, what images conjure up in your mind? Pancakes, eggs and some kind of bread?? Pancakes are a large part of the American Sunday breakfast/brunch. The carb thing is like a blob that takes up more space then you anticipate, and you wobble around Sunday in a daze. No wander Sunday football  exists, so that men can just sit around in a euphoric carb bomb like Al Bundy with hand in pants.  If you want to try something lighter and more tasteful, then try the quintessential Middle Eastern breakfast, Shakshuka.

On the other side of the Atlantic, in much of the Middle East, Shakshuka, a dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, chili peppers, onions, often spiced with cumin and traditionally served up in a cast iron pan is the breakfast of choice. I suppose they make do with their local, ripe tomatoes and  cage free eggs. No bread is needed for this dish, but you may just want to mop up the sauce with a pita (gluten free bread).

When I am feeling extra hungry I add some broad beans to the dish and a tickle of feta cheese. Try it, it will not disappoint and is so filling. My husband found this recipe online and modified it a bit. We garnished it with a side of spinach leaves, chummus, cherry tomatoes and baby grapes for a little punch.

Happy Husband Enjoying Sunday Brunch

Shakshuka (Sunny side eggs in Fresh Tomato Sauce)

Serves 5-6

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium onion, peeled and diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium green or red bell pepper, chopped
4 cups ripe diced tomatoes, or 2 cans (14 oz. each) diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon chili powder (mild)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
Pinch of cayenne pepper (or more to taste-- HOT!)
Pinch of sugar, to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
5-6 eggs
1/2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley (optional, for garnish)

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a deep, large skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Saute onion for a few minutes until the onion begins to soften. Add garlic and continue to sauté till mixture is fragrant.Your nostrils wont let you down.
2. Add the bell pepper, sauté for 5-7 minutes until softened.
3. Add tomatoes and tomato paste to pan, stir till blended. Add spices and sugar, stir well, and allow mixture to simmer over medium heat for 5-7 minutes till it starts to reduce. At this point, you can taste the mixture and spice it according to your preferences. Add salt and pepper to taste, more sugar for a sweeter sauce.
4. Crack the eggs, one at a time, directly over the tomato mixture, making sure to space them evenly over the sauce. I usually place 4-5 eggs around the outer edge and 1 in the center. The eggs will cook "over easy" style on top of the tomato sauce.
5. Cover the pan. Allow mixture to simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the eggs are cooked and the sauce has slightly reduced. Keep an eye on the skillet to make sure that the sauce doesn't reduce too much, which can lead to burning.
6. Garnish with the chopped parsley, if desired and serve. 

Curried Sweet Potato Latkes

Who said that latkes has to be made strictly from potatoes? Although it's a custom that came from
East Europe. Being that potatoes was the main crop, potatoes were used and then fried in oil, symbolic of the oil from the Hanukkah story that kept the Second Temple of ancient Israel lit with a long-lasting flame that is celebrated as a miracle.


The word "latke" itself is derived (via Yiddish) from the Russian/Ukrainian word meaning "patch." I suppose that the latke is patched together with some flour and eggs, and that may be how the name was derived. I love the Yiddish language... somehow the words they come up with sound so slapstick.

On the last week of the CSA I belong to,  the farm delivered sweet potatoes. Although the word potato is in sweet potato, it originated in Central America, no where near Europe. Although it is believe that Christopher Columbus brought sweet potatoes to Europe. In any event, now that you got a little culinary history,  I thought of making latkes with these and spicing it up with some curry. After all... I am a Mizrachi (Eastern Jew) Jew and I have to add my own personality to these. I also like the fact that eating something orange, that almost looks like a flame, illustrates the "Festival of Lights" with savory, aromatic and melt in your mouth deliciousness.

I made a batch of these for a Chanukah party I was invited to, and it's a good thing I took these photos before I took them, because they were gone within 5 minutes flat. That's how good they are. This recipe is inspired from Joan Nathan's Jewish Cooking in America.

Curried Sweet Potato Latkes

Makes 16 pancakes

Ingredients
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled (3 medium sized sweet potatoes)
1/2 cup All-Purpose Gluten Free flour
3 teaspoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup Rice milk or soy milk
Light olive oil, for frying

grated sweet potatoes

flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and spices

Dollop of batter to form latkes in olive oil

  
Directions

1. Grate the sweet potatoes in a food processor fitted with a grating disc.
2.  In a separate bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and spices.
3. Add the beaten eggs and rice milk to the dry ingredients to make a batter. Add in the grated potatoes and mix. The batter should be moist, but not runny. If it is, then add a little flour.
4. Heat a thin layer of oil in a large skillet. Drop a tablespoon of mixture to form the latkes. Fry for about 2-3 minutes on each side. They should form a golden crust on the outside and be moist on the inside.

Coleslaw Salad with Peanuts and Lime Dressing

I have been out of commission for the last 2 weeks. Not by choice... actually I had no choice, no power, and no heat due to Hurricane Sandy. I am sure you have heard of this notorious hurricane that moved slowly across the eastern seaboard only to collide with a No'easter. Long Island was in the dark.
It knocked nearly all electric out for 2 weeks. While I am grateful, we got the power restored and my home is intact, during that entire time I did not cook. So, my diet was a bit haphazard due to my disorientation of this whole ordeal.

My CSA along the eastern tip of Long Island somehow managed to deliver fresh produce to my garage, which is the central depot in my area. Their thinking was that so many people who like me were on a poor diet for the last 2 weeks could use a boost of healthy organic produce. They were right.

So this week, among the wide assortment of vegetables, I made this quick and easy salad made from cabbage and cilantro. It's Indian inspired and in South India, they eat a variation of this salad cooked. If you though that coleslaw was a german side to a tripple decker pastrami sandwich, know that the Indians thought of it first.

The easiest way to cut up cabbage is to cut it up into cubes and then toss in the food processor to grate. If you don't have a food processor, you can always practice your knife skills slowly and methodically cutting the cabbage into fine ribbons.

Coleslaw Salad with Peanuts and Lime Dressing
Serves 6 


Ingredients

1 1/2 cups unsalted raw peanuts

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

   1/2 of a medium-large cabbage
  1 basket of tiny cherry tomatoes, washed and quartered
  1 jalapeno chile, seeded and diced
  3/4 cup cilantro, chopped
  2 tablespoons olive oil
  1/4 teaspoon + fine-grain sea salt

1. In a skillet or oven (350F) roast the peanuts for 5 to 10 minutes, shaking the pan once or twice along the way, until golden and toasted.
2. Cut the cabbage into two quarters and cut out the core. Using a knife shred each quarter into whisper thin slices. The key here is bite-sized and thin. If any pieces look like they might be awkwardly long, cut those in half. Combine the cabbage, tomatoes, jalapeno, and cilantro in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl combine the lime juice, olive oil, salt. Add to the cabbage mixture and stir to combine. Just before serving toss in the peanuts to retain their crunch. Taste and adjust the flavor with more salt if needed.

Zucchini & Carrot with Tofu in a Coconut sauce

A few years ago, I went to Costa Rica’s Vista Del Valle (View of the Valley). It's a lush self-sustaining hotel that grows its own produce, has an estuary, tropical birds and a butterfly garden pitched atop a mountain that is carved into the tropical forest. Below you will find some of the photos from our trip. The restaurant uses all the produce that grows in the forest, creating surprising dishes from Earth gifts. The head chef there served this dish to me from El Rosario, Costa Rica who graciously shared this simple and outstanding Zucchini & Carrot with Tofu in Coconut Sauce. I decided to post it now, because I just got some fall carrots from my CSA and had some zucchini to throw in. At the bottom of this post you will find directions on how to purchase tofu and make it taste outstanding. 

Race Horses flown in from Spain

Outdoor restaurant overlooking the lush mountains. Even the tables are made from the trees that fall in the forest.

Zucchini & Carrot with Tofu in Coconut Sauce

Follow post to the bottom where I make suggestions on how to purchase and make tofu taste great.
Serve this dish over jasmine rice and garnish with some fresh basil for a beautiful presentation.

Serves 4

ingredients

3 tablespoons canola oil

1 (16 ounce) package of firm tofu, pressed and drained (click on link for directions) and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 medium onion

3 carrots, julienned

2 zucchinis, trimmed and julienned

½ cup Coconut Milk 

½ teaspoon red pepper

1-teaspoon sea salt

Brown Jasmine Rice or your favorite rice, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat that skillet over high heat. Add about 2 tablespoons of oil. Spread over the surface of the pan. Pat the tofu dry one more time and put it in the skillet it in a single layer, with plenty of room around each piece. Don’t crowd the pan, or the heat will drop too much and the tofu will steam, not brown. You will probably need to do this in two batches if it's too crowded. Cook on one side until it is deeply golden brown, then flip. If you are doing cubes, it becomes impractical to get all sides of every piece, so instead you’ll just toss them every minute or so and hope to get most of them.  When both sides are done, remove to a plate. 
2.  In the same skillet, heat remaining oil over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion, stirring and shaking the pan, for about 7 minutes or until it just begins to turn translucent. Add the carrots and sprinkle with salt so that the carrots will sweat. Cook, stirring often for 5 minutes. Then add the zucchini and stir to combine with all the other ingredients. Cover the skillet, reduce the heat and let simmer for another 5 minutes.
3. Uncover the skillet, add the tofu to the vegetables and stir gently. Pour in the coconut milk and red pepper and stir to distribute evenly. You can add salt to taste if you like. 

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Crispy Pan-Fried Tofu

I use this method in lots of recipes, and frequently for simple stir fry weeknight meals. It is easy to do, takes just minutes, and the results are far superior to simply cutting up cubes and throwing them in your stir-fry.


Step 1: Buy Good Tofu. Find a store that moves a lot of tofu so you are getting the freshest tofu available. You want the stuff packed in a rectangular, water filled box (or maybe wrapped in plastic), in the refrigerator section, not the shelf-stable boxes. Choose an extra-firm tofu with the latest expiration date you can find. If you open it and smell more than a tiny whiff of sourness,  or it feels slimy, it isn’t going to be good.

Step 2: Dry Your Tofu. Open the package, drain out the water, and press it. You can follow another post I wrote I pressing tofu here. Cut the tofu into desired cubes or slabs. What we need to do is get the surface of your tofu dry so that it browns up on the skillet. Put down a clean dishtowel. Lay the tofu out in a single layer on said dish towel. Put another clean dishtowel on top and pat well, all over, to remove as much surface moisture as possible. It will also reduce dangerous and unpleasant sputtering when you put it in the skillet.

Step 3: Pan Fry Your Tofu. The optimum pan for this job is a cast iron skillet.  It holds a ton of heat, and develops a lovely non-sticking surface. You will cook this over very high heat, in a flat bottomed skillet because it allows the tofu to stay in contact with the hot surface for longer periods of time.

So: preheat that skillet over high heat. Add about 2 tablespoons of a neutral vegetable oil that can tolerate a high smoke point, like sunflower oil or canola oil. Spread over the surface of the pan. Pat the tofu dry one more time and put it in the skillet it in a single layer, with plenty of room around each piece. Don’t crowd the pan, or the heat will drop too much and the tofu will steam, not brown. You will probably need to do this in two batches if it's too crowded.

Cook on one side until it is deeply golden brown, then flip. If you are doing cubes, it becomes impractical to get all sides, so instead you’ll just toss them every minute or so and hope to get most of them.  When both sides are done, remove to a plate. Don’t add the vegetables and sauce on top of the tofu. It will ruin the crust. Instead, remove the tofu from the pan, do your vegetables, then add the tofu back just in time to marry with the sauce.

                                     

Kale & Potato Curry

We just celebrated Rosh Hashana in the sign of Virgo where attention to systems, health, details and routines are all up and in the lime light during this time. It is a time we renew ourselves and start over in this new year. Intentions and goals set during this time find energetic support by the newly born year. I ended my year with submitting my manuscript to my publisher for my upcoming cookbook Silk & Spice: Mindful Eating for the Vegetarian from the Silk Road  due out in Fall 2013. It was a three year process to formulate and write my cookbook, and although I am ecstatic that it's getting published, I am a bit sad that this project of mine is over. It was my companion for a long time. We cooked, tweaked and revised together until we got to perfection. I will write another post about the process of writing my cookbook. For me, this Rosh Hashana is about introspection and food, and connecting them both in a way, where food can be used to grace ones life with Gods presence. I will be working on my next labor of love, Spiritual Kneading for Rosh Chodesh which is about taking the physical matter of dough and kneading it as a means to clear the mind and connect with God and your innermost goodness.

And speaking of goodness, I just made this Kale & Potato Curry dish utilizing Falls' typical produce, which shines on your face like a warm summers day with these golden potatoes. If you want to make it ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze it, leave out the yoghurt and add it at the last minute, just before serving.

Servings 4

Ingredients

1 bunch kale
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 onion, halved and finely sliced
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, minced
l ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
l ½ teaspoon ground cumin
l ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 cardamom pods, smashed
4 medium potatoes, cut into bite size chunks
1 cup plain (full-fat) yoghurt
1½ tablespoons tomato purée
small bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped
small handful of almonds, cashews or pistachios, toasted and chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Separate the kale from the stalks and roughly chop the leaves.
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the onion and saute until just golden.
3. Meanwhile, pound the garlic, chili and ginger together with a pinch of salt to a paste. Add to the onion and cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes. Tip in the rest of the spices and stir for a minute or two.
4. Add the potatoes and chopped kale and saute, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes, so that they are well coated with the spice mixture.
5. Pour in enough water to just cover the vegetables. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes until the potatoes are just tender. Add the kale, stir and cook until just wilted.
6. In a bowl, whisk together the yoghurt, tomato puree and some of the hot liquid from the curry. 
7. Remove the curry from the heat, stir in the yoghurt mixture, return to the heat and warm through very gently (if it gets too hot, the yoghurt will curdle). Stir in most of the cilantro.
8. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Scatter over the toasted nuts and remaining cilantro, then serve with rice.

Olive Oil Cake with Red Wine Glaze

In the last post, I told you about a cooking class I took with Jennifer Abadi at Natural Gourmet Institute in NYC. She introduced this olive oil cake, which has it's roots in the Mediterranean. Her specialty, like mine is to teach and write about dishes from the Silk Road. Jennifer's predominant focus is on Syrian cooking. Mine is Central Asia. In any event, all countries along the Silk Road have influenced each other in one way or another. The traveling caravans, not only passed through the countries, but picked up a dish and morphed it. Much like the game of telephone.... you say a message and then some where along the line, the message has completely changed, but maybe a word here and there has remained. Same holds true for this cake. As cake moved to Europe, butter became the fat and flavor of the cake, probably because olive oil was virtually non existent.

You might think, a cake is a cake. Flour, sugar, eggs and butter. Presto! Typically when we think of cake, we think of butter, but here the olive oil is used for fat which is pretty standard in the Medditerenean. Much better and healthier than butter, and yet it also gives it a rustic flair. This cake has a slight crunch at the edges, like a beloved one at a nearby coffee shop. And above all else, it has lemon zest for flavor and red wine which needs little in the way of a supporting cast.But I know, you’re just here for the cake. And you should be, as it meets all of the aforementioned cake batter requirements, but gets a little pretty boost from the red wine. Wine and olive oil are wonderful together; they both have bitter undertones and fruity finishes and in this cake, you taste both things with each bite. 

Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients

For Glaze:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup unrefined whole cane sugar

1 tablespoon red wine

For Cake:

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3 cups All Purpose Gluten-Free flour

3/4 cup unrefined whole cane sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 1/3 cups extra virgin olive oil

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup water

2 tablespoons red wine (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease a standard loaf pan.

2. In a medium size mixing bowl combine all 3 glaze ingredients and mix well. Set aside to

prepare batter for cake.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine baking powder, flour, sugar, cinnamon, and cloves and mix well.

4. Add the lemon zest and mix again.

5. In a separate large mixing bowl combine the olive oil, eggs, water and red wine

(optional). Add to the dry mixture above, and mix well until it becomes a smooth batter.

6. Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan. Place the pan on the center rack of the preheated

oven and bake for 20 minutes.

7. Gently pull the rack out just enough to pour the glaze over the entire top of the cake.

Carefully slide the cake back into the oven and bake an additional 15 to 25 minutes, or

until a toothpick inserted into its center comes out clean (time will depend upon the heat

of your oven and size of your pan).

8. Remove cake from oven and allow to cool at least 30 minutes before inverting the pan and

dislodging the cake. Turn cake upright and sprinkle with additional sugar if desired.