Roast Potatoes with Artichokes, Lemons, and Sage + Cinnamon-Thyme Mushrooms

I'm officially an Ottolenghi fanatic. I'd been drooling over his cookbooks in stores for a while—now I have one of my very own. Gorgeous full-page pictures ... vibrant, unexpected flavor combinations ... I could gush for a while.

Putting my culinary crush to practical use, I found weekend lunch inspiration from two different recipes in Ottolenghi. First, the Roast Potatoes with Artichokes, Lemon, and Sage: not much more complicated than your average sheet of vegetables browning in the oven. But somehow it's more. Could it be the careful timing? Potatoes, garlic, artichokes, and sage. Then lemons. Then cherub tomatoes and olives. A final sprinkling of parsley.

Or is it the flavor mix? The sweet tomatoes and creamy potatoes matched with a powerful sprinkle of sage and briny olives and artichokes.

All that's certain: I used to despise olives. I've spent the past few months eating them with diminishing winces. But here today, I was doe-eyed.

For another side, I found the flavor combination just a few pages back from the roast potatoes. Cinnamon, thyme, garlic, lemon, and mushrooms. A quick sautée and it was ready. The original recipe called for a variety of mushrooms as well as cinnamon sticks. I opted for just sliced white mushrooms (to save money) and ground cinnamon (because I forgot to double-check my pantry before I went to the store), and it was plenty delicious. I'll go the extra mile next time, and I expect it to be divine.

Salmon seared on a salt block for the final component. As it was my first time with a salt block, I followed these guidelines. On my electric range, I placed the block in a square cake pan (couldn't find my springform) and heated it up to medium-high in increments for about 45–50 minutes. Salt-and-peppered the salmon, rubbed it with olive oil, and cooked it for 6 or 7 minutes on each side, topping it with a Meyer lemon slice once flipped. Success!

Now on to pictures and recipes:

 

And here's how you make it...

Roast Potatoes and Artichokes with Lemon and Sage (adapted from Ottolenghi)
Serves 4 to 6 as side.

Ingredients:
1 lb. fingerling potatoes, scrubbed
1 lb. marinated artichokes, sliced 1/4-inch thick horizontally
4 cloves garlic, crushed
3 1/2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. fresh sage, coarsely chopped
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper
1 lemon, thinly sliced and seeds removed
9 oz. cherub tomatoes
heaping 1 cup kalamata olives, pitted
2 tbsp. coarsely chopped parsley

Method:1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. On the stove, place a large saucepan filled with well-salted water. Add potatoes and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes. Then drain and let cool slightly.
2. Halve the potatoes lengthwise and place them on a large rimmed baking sheet. Add artichoke slices, olive oil, sage, salt, and pepper. Mix well, then place in oven.
3. After vegetables have been roasting for 30 minutes, add lemon slices and stir mixture with wooden spoon. Return to oven.
4. After another twenty minutes, mix in cherry tomatoes and kalamata olives.
5. Remove from oven. Stir in some of the chopped parsley and use the rest for garnish.

Cinnamon-Thyme Mushrooms (inspired by "Mixed mushrooms with cinnamon and lemon" from Ottolenghi)
Serves 2 to 3 as side.

Ingredients:8 oz. sliced white mushrooms
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp. fresh thyme
2 tbsp. chopped parsley
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Juice from one lemon


1. Heat up olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic, thyme, cinnamon, and parsley and shake pan quickly to prevent sticking. Cook for 2 minutes.
2. Spread sliced mushrooms in a layer over the spices. Cook without stirring for a minute, then stir constantly for 3–4 minutes as mushrooms brown.
3. Serve hot or warm.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Turnips with Creole Mustard Jus

Oh, sauce. Make a good one and you'll be licking the plate clean. You'll be hiding in the corner of your kitchen sipping on it as an apéritif. You'll be brainstorming for future applications. You'll whip it up again the next night.

Creole mustard jus came into my life during a Test Kitchen I did for Country Roads Magazine. The dish was Prosciutto-Wrapped Quail complete with Creole mustard jus and mustard greens gnocchi. Such a wonderful sauce that it simmered along on the stove while I maneuvered my way through the more complicated aspects of the recipe (up to the elbows in flour and gnocchi dough, but loving every minute).

And so it found its way into my dinner the next night. I had brussels sprouts and turnips from the Baton Rouge gourmet grocery delivery service Indie Plate, and I wanted to put them to good use in a warm, full-flavored dinner. Winter in Louisiana is a brutal time, taking no prisoners.

I browned the vegetables in pancetta fat, drizzled them with Creole mustard jus, and then finished the pan off in the oven. Crisp, tender, and just what I needed. Now where to use this sauce next...

Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Turnips with Creole Mustard Jus
Serves 3–4 as entrée; 4–6 as side

Ingredients:
4 oz. diced pancetta
1 lb. brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
3 medium turnips, peeled and cut into 1–1 1/2 inch pieces 
Creole Mustard Jus
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Render pancetta in a medium cast-iron skillet. Once pancetta has begun to crisp, remove from the skillet and set aside.
2. Add brussels sprouts and turnips. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes until vegetables have begun to brown.
3. Pour Creole mustard jus over the skillet, then place in oven to cook for 30 minutes.
4. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with toasted pine nuts, and serve.

For Creole mustard jus:

Ingredients:
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup carrot, chopped
1/4 cup celery, chopped
1/2 tsp. tomato paste
3 tbsp. white wine
1 + 1/2 cups low sodium or
no-salt chicken stock
3 thyme sprigs
1 tbsp. Creole mustard


Method:

1. In a saucepan, sweat the onion, carrot, and celery in olive oil. Stir in the tomato paste. Cook one minute then deglaze with white wine. Add the chicken stock and thyme sprigs. Reduce by half or until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Strain the sauce into a clean saucepan. Add the Creole mustard and stir to combine. Leave on low heat until ready to pour on vegetables.

Brunch Tips: A New Year's Start

Long overdue for blogging! As such, I've made it eleven days into the new year without an update. The entry you're reading now comes especially belated because it highlights the first brunch—the first anything, actually—that I made in 2015.

To date it less: just consider it a lovely, filling meal pulled together after a late night out with friends, cocktails, and champagne toasts.

Rather than an improbably accomplished chore, this meal (consisting of asiago grits, fresh cherry tomatoes, roasted vegetables, pancetta scrambled eggs, and seasoned toast spread with strawberry preserves) was my way of wrapping 2015 in a bear hug. Welcome, welcome, welcome, new year ... what do you have in store?

 

Below I'll pass on some tips and strategies for pulling together your own hearty meal with low energy reserves and a variety of elements to manage.

• Roasted vegetables are simply made with a vibrant presentation. Just chop-chop your range of vegetables; toss them in a mixing bowl with olive oil, salt & pepper, and fresh (or dried) herbs; and then spread them out on your baking sheet. Roast at 400 F for about forty minutes, with a half-time toss/stir/pan rotation.
• For little "callbacks" (and a way to cut down on your ingredient list and clean-up time), repeat elements throughout your meal. A few cherry tomatoes, un-roasted, can be tossed onto the plate for a pop of color (fresh herbs too). The asiago grated into my polenta was sprinkled into the scrambled eggs as well.
• Speaking of polenta: oh, man! After a vigorous whisk at the outset, the polenta doesn't need much tending, just the occasional stir. Polenta, homemade chicken stock, asiago, and a hint of tomato paste melded into silky smooth deliciousness. Leftover polenta can be saved and chilled for polenta cakes later, a fancy mop for divinely good sauces. For another brunchy application of polenta and fresh produce, check out my take on Alice Waters' polenta torta.
• Confidence is key: Having a game plan, a mise en place, and a bit of choreography to your kitchen routine makes this late-morning activity enjoyable rather than panic-inducing. Twirl from oven to cutting board to fridge with a (slightly smug) mastery. If you have an audience, take care not break the fourth wall (especially when they shout "Brava!" or "When's this going to be ready exactly?") You are a god/goddess. Own it.

Other breakfast/brunch ideas from My Weekend's Cooked:

Eggs Hussarde (Classic New Orleans Breakfast)

 

Baked Egg Boats

Chickpea & Sumac Onion Salad with Roasted Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette

I've had a bag of dried garbanzo beans in the cabinet for a while, sitting next to the flax seed and coconut oil and other Things That Are Good for Me. I try not to let that shelf get too dusty.

On Saturday morning I bypassed my usual weekend ritual—gulping down coffee in bed and staring at my phone—and instead meandered into the kitchen with dinner plans forming.

Soaking beans, slicing onions, and sprinkling said onions with salt and sumac. Sumac is wonderfully tart, and after several hours in the refrigerator, the onions were mellowed, chilly, and full of flavor.

I had a few Meyer lemons in the fridge from the Baton Rouge gourmet delivery service Indie Plate. I wish I were one of those people with the overabundant Meyer lemon trees, because I could use them in the kitchen every single day. I used the bundle I got from Indie Plate to make salmon en papillote, a Sensation-style salad dressing, and now a roasted Meyer lemon vinaigrette complete with honey and balsamic. (Next time 'round: preserving and limoncello, for sure.)

Finally I added fresh mint and parsley and a drizzle of pomegranate molasses, which I first made as part of a homemade cocktail kit for Country Roads Magazine.

Then I served!

Chickpea & Sumac Onion Salad with Roasted Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette 
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
3 cups chickpeas, cooked*
1 white onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons sumac
1 tablespoon salt
10 leaves fresh mint, chopped
1 bunch parsley, chopped
Pomegranate molasses

2 tablespoons olive oil

For the roasted Meyer lemon vinaigrette (sourced from Sandwich Sunday):
2 Meyer lemons, halved
2 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon balsamic
3 tablespoons olive oil

*I used dried chickpeas and soaked them for a few hours before soaking another hours in a pot of boiled water removed from heat. I then used fresh water to cook them, simmering, for another two hours.

Method:

1. Make ahead: In a medium-size bowl, combine onion slices, sumac, and salt. Cover and chill for several hours.

2. For the vinaigrette: Preheat oven to 400. Place lemon halves (cut side down) in a baking dish, alongside unpeeled garlic cloves. Roast for 25—30 minutes, until lemon tops have begun to brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Then squeeze out roasted garlic into a small prep bowl. Mash, then squeeze in lemon juice. Add honey and balsamic, then whisk in olive oil.
3. To make the salad, combine chickpeas, onions, mint, and parsley in a large bowl. Pour in vinaigrette, olive oil, and pomegranate molasses. Toss and serve.

Grilled Tuna Steaks with Lemon Caper Butter Sauce

A delicious, brightly tangy sauce will carry you far. "I could eat this for breakfast," said my fiancé. We mopped up every last dribble of this lemon caper topping last night. I'd be cruel not to pass the recipe along.

I just moved into a new house (read: new kitchen) this week, and I spent my first weekend morning arranging the spice cabinet, stacking my oh-so-useful kitchen cart, and reseasoning cast iron.

We ended the day with plump tuna steaks, rubbed with olive oil, sea salt, and freshly ground rainbow peppercorns, then grilled in my shiny, renewed cast iron grill pan. Asparagus, chopped and grilled with herbes de Provence.

And that lemon caper sauce. The capers were sautéed in a little butter and lemon juice until aromatic. Then as the tuna steaks came to bold-lined fruition, I added bits of cold, cold butter to the skillet until the capers were frothing and warm.

Spooned it over the tuna steaks and dinner was served. (We paired with a tall glass of Lucky Bastard ale.)

Now to envision dozens and dozens of future uses...

 

Grilled Tuna Steaks with Lemon Caper Butter Sauce
Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients:
2, 6-oz. tuna steaks (about 3/4-inch to 1-inch thick)
Olive oil
Sea salt
Cracked black pepper
For the sauce:1 oz. capers, drained and chopped
1 teaspoon butter for sautéeing, plus 2 tablespoons chilled and separated into small pieces
Freshly squeezed juice from one lemon
Salt and pepper (to taste)
For the asparagus:
1 bunch, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
Herbes de Provence

Method:

1. In a small pan, heat 1 teaspoon butter over medium heat until frothing. Add capers and sautée for 20 seconds, until aromatic. Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper and continue to cook—stirring frequently—until liquid has evaporated (about 2 minutes). Remove from heat and reserve.

2. Using a medium skillet or grill pan (I used the same pan for the asparagus and tuna to conserve—carried-over seasoning was a bonus), heat up one tablespoon olive oil or medium-high heat. Add asparagus and herbes de Provence. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 to 6 minutes, until asparagus is bright green. Reserve in a small, covered bowl to keep warm.
3. Rub tuna steaks with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Heat up lightly oiled grill pan to medium-high heat. Grill tuna steaks for 5 minutes on each side, until sides are white and opaque.
4. While tuna grills, return the capers to medium heat in pan. Add chilled butter, bit by bit, until melted, browned, and bubbling.
5. Spoon sauce over tuna steaks, surround with a ring of asparagus, and serve.

Kenyan Braised Kale & Tomatoes

Here's another quick and easy recipe! After the decadence of Thanksgiving, it's welcome. I don't have my usual smattering of pictures ... and they didn't particularly feel like necessary guidance. The joy of this recipe is in its basic goodness: a heap of greens swimming in spiced tomato juice. In Swahili, they refer to this style of meal as sukuma wiki ("week-pusher" or "stretch the week"), due to the ready supply of kale and other greens in the country. It stands alone wonderfully as a main course, and you're not breaking the bank (or scale) to indulge.

Find the recipe below for your replicating pleasure.

Kenyan Braised Kale & Tomatoes (Sukuma Wiki)
Yield: 4 servings

Note: I did not use onion, though most recipes in this fashion call for it. I went for garlic instead, since I had it on hand, but I see no reason why you can't throw in a little of both.Ingredients:1 pound of kale, cut from rib and chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1  teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
Sea salt
Cracked black pepper
3 vine-ripe tomatoes, chopped
Fresh-squeezed lemon juice (to garnish)

Method:1. Heat up olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add in garlic and stir gently for 4–5 minutes.
2. Sprinkle in turmeric, cumin, and coriander. Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
3. Cook down tomatoes for 2–3 minutes, stirring often.
4. Raise heat to medium-high. Add in kale one handful at a time, stirring to combine with each addition. Once all kale is added to the pot, pour in one cup of water. Stir greens again, then reduce heat to medium and cover the pot.
5. Cook for twenty minutes. Then season to taste and serve hot, squeezing lemon juice over each bowl.

Roasted Broccoli with a Twist

There's not much to this recipe—and that's the beauty of it. I find myself craving roasted broccoli almost always, and tonight I indulged myself, while adding enough spice and variety that it felt blog-worthy.

Garam masala rained down with might. Ginger grated softly in the aftermath. All resulting in a sharp, dynamic heat, the sort that keeps you serving up forkful after forkful in wonder.

I'm saving this recipe as much for myself as for you. Hope you enjoy!

Roasted Broccoli with a Twist
Yield: 3–4 servings

2 cups broccoli florets, chopped
2 cups cauliflower florets, chopped
1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 heaping tablespoon garam masala
2 inches of ginger, freshly grated

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. In a medium mixing bowl, combine broccoli, cauliflowers, and tomatoes. Drizzle on olive oil and sprinkle garam masala and ginger on top. Toss to combine.
2. Spread vegetable mixture evenly across 9x12-inch baking dish. Roast in oven for 30 minutes, tossing halfway through. Serve.

Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad

Oh, man, here's a new favorite! Brussels sprouts suffer a bad rap, and to their dissenters I usually counter, "Well, you just haven't had them the right way."

When I say that, I'm referring to roasted. Trimmed and halved, salted and spiced, and seared to golden-crusted goodness. But now I've got a new incarnation to tout when people give me grief about b-sprouts.

Raw—and grated directly into the salad for a mild and pleasant crunch. Heck, you don't even have to tell your kids or your picky friends that they're eating Brussels sprouts. Unless you get a kick out of being right.

Kale, bitter on its own, is mellowed by a lemon-dijon dressing, toasted almond slices, and a finishing sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan.

Lightly dressed, full of strong, healthy ingredients, and it'll slide easily onto a holiday sideboard. Give it a shot!

Kale & Brussels Sprouts Salad (adapted from Epicurious)
Yield: 8–10 servings (as side)

1 bunch kale, sliced into thin ribbons
8 oz. Brussels sprouts, grated finely
1/3 cup almond slivers
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup Parmesan, freshly grated
Salt
Pepper

For the dressing:1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt
Pepper

1. For the dressing, combine all ingredients except olive oil, whisking together thoroughly. Set aside to let flavors meld.
2. In a large bowl, add kale and grated Brussels sprouts.
3. Heat up tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet. Add almond slices and toast, turning often, until golden (about 3–4 minutes). Reserve on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt.
4. Add almond slices to bowl. Finish dressing by adding 1/2 cup olive oil and whisking to combine.
5. Dress salad, then sprinkle on cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Serve!

Roasted Butternut Squash Quinoa

Just in time for the blessedly dipping temperatures, this full-flavored side accompanies the Pan-Seared Gulf Grouper I made for Country Roads Magazine's Test Kitchen. Sweet, nutty squash spiced with smoked paprika and cinnamon, drizzled with olive oil and roasted. Folded into a quinoa and arugula mixture and tossed rapidly with red wine vinaigrette and honey.

Calling this one a success! I've never actually had a pumpkin spice latte, so consider this my method for heralding fall. You can find the grouper recipe—with an achingly good, silky sundried tomato and caper topping—right here.

Roasted Butternut Squash Quinoa
Yield: 3–4 servings

Ingredients:

1 large butternut squash, peeled and diced into 1-inch pieces
Olive oil (for roasting)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup quinoa, uncooked

1 cup vegetable broth

1 cup water

4 ounces baby arugula

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup toasted pecans

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. In a large mixing bowl, toss squash with paprika, cinnamon, salt and pepper, and drizzled olive oil. Place the butternut squash on a sheet pan and roast for 15 to 20 minutes, turning once, until tender.
3. Meanwhile, cook quinoa according to package directions, using half vegetable broth and half water for the liquid.
4. Stir arugula into cooked quinoa. Add red wine vinegar and honey, tossing rapidly. Fold in the roasted squash.
5. Serve, adding a sprinkle of toasted pecans to each plate.

The Great Zucchini Basil Caper!

Summer's winding to a close, and while I'll readily say sayonara to the mind-melting heat, I find myself in premature mourning for the produce.

Especially when I happen upon a gem like this, adapted from Food52. A flavorful mélange of herbs, garlic, and pickled flower buds acts as a delicate, gauzy shawl to Madame Zucchini. Nothing fried or heavy. No cheesy blanket to stifle your summer vegetable. Just a quick sauté, a "knife pesto," and a finishing sprinkle of fresh herbs and pecans.

So let's accent our zucchini, shall we? 

Sautéed Zucchini with Basil, Mint, and Capers (adapted from Food52)
Serves 2–3.

Ingredients:

2 medium zucchini, sliced (1/4-inch thick)
Olive oil (for sauté)
4 cloves garlic
1 heaping tablespoon capers
5 leaves basil
10 leaves mint
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
Salt
Pepper
2 tablespoons chopped pecans
Fresh basil and mint leaves, torn (for garnish)

Method:

1. In a medium skillet, heat up 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add half of zucchini slices and sauté, flipping occasionally, until golden-brown on both sides (about 10 minutes). Reserve slices to the side and add in second batch of zucchini. Cook in same manner.
2. Meanwhile, combine garlic, capers, basil, and mint on cutting board and chop together, creating a sort of "knife pesto" (quoting from Food52). Set mixture aside.
3. Once second batch of zucchini is browned, add back in the rest of the zucchini, along with the red wine vinegar and the herb mixture. Turn off heat and toss gently, until zucchini is coated.
4. Serve, sprinkling each plate with pecans and torn herbs. 

Stuffed Tomatoes à la Grecque

Here's another outing with Indie Plate ingredients. Indie Plate is a Baton Rouge, La.-based grocery delivery service, sourcing from farms and artisans all around the regions and then bringing that bounty straight to your doorstep.

Rotten tomatoes you toss at things you find odious and offensive (like bad movies, for instance). Fresh, local tomatoes...you treasure those babies. You find a way to spotlight that natural sweetness and bright color.

And then I guess you eat them or whatever. Your mileage may vary!

To glorify my lovely tomato babies (which came from Morrow Farm out of Ponchatoula, La.) I turned to the masterful Gastronomique. French cooking can be daunting, no lie, but the recipe for stuffed tomatoes à la grecque was simple enough and served my aim to make something simple, well-spiced, and pleasing to the eye.

My one problem: someone stole my damn saffron. I am just mad about saffron (that is, my kitchen's current lack of it)! (It is probably not stolen. I misplace things.) So anyway, I substituted turmeric and the world moved on.

Ultimately, I produced two tomatoes teeming with toasted, spiced rice and golden raisins. And now you'll be able to as well! Recipe follows.

Stuffed Tomatoes à la grecque (from LaRousse's Gastronomique)
Serves 2 as side or appetizer.

Ingredients:2 homegrown tomatoes
1/2 cup jasmine rice
1/2 cup golden raisins
Pinch of powdered saffron (I used turmeric as a less costly substitute)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Pinch of cayenne
Bouquet garni (mine consisted of 1 stalk celery, 1 medium carrot, 1/2 medium white onion, all chopped, and two sprigs thyme—tied up in cheesecloth which was folded over just once)
Olive oil

1. Soak the golden raisins in 1 cup lukewarm water until they swell, then drain.
2. Heat two tablespoons olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add rice and toast, stirring frequently, until the grains become transparent.
3. Add 1 cup boiling water to saucepan, stirring to make sure rice does not stick to bottom of pan. Add saffron, salt and pepper, cayenne, and bouquet garni.
4. Return rice to a boil and then cover and simmer until rice is all the way cooked (about 20–30 minutes).
5. Preheat oven to 475. Slice the tops off the tomatoes (reserving tops) and remove pulp and seeds. Season the inside of the tomatoes with salt and then turn them upside down to drain in colander.

6. Once the rice has cooked, drain and cool before stirring in raisins. Taste and reseason as desired.
7. Dry the hollowed tomatoes and then drizzle 1 teaspoon olive oil inside each tomato. Fill each tomato with mixture and then replace the sliced top.
8. In an ovenproof dish coated with oil, place each tomato, nestled closely together. Bake for about 15–20 minutes or until tomatoes have started to soften.
9. Serve immediately.