Chickpea Meatballs

Oh hey, it's me, the somewhat negligent blogger here at Petit Gateau... I'm sure you remember me.  The recipe I'm sharing with you today is one I had to make just hours after I saw it.  Usually when I find recipes that suit my tastes, I copy the link, dog-ear the page, or store their location somewhere in the back of my head (though that last one doesn't always work).  I hardly ever see something that I have the motivation (and ingredients) to make the very same night, but Chickpea Meatballs?  I was hooked. 

I've experimented with meatless versions of recipes that have the word meat in the title before: see"Meat"loaf, which by the way turned out wonderfully.  I ended up really liking these "meat"balls, too.  Although I think mine may have dried out a bit, so make sure, as the recipe says, not to over bake them.  Also, the sauce is very key here (especially if you over-bake yours like I did) so make sure you have one you like.  Alone, I thought the meatballs were a touch bland, but with the sauce, some extra fresh basil, and a bit of Parmigiana cheese on top, they were a great healthy comfort food.

Chickpea Meatballs
These could probably be made vegan by subbing in 2 flax eggs and nutritional yeast instead of Parmigiana cheese. If you decide to try out a vegan version, I'd love to know how it turns out!
Makes about 18 meatballs
Adapted, slightly, from linden & rosemary

1 can chickpeas, drained and thoroughly mashed (I use a fork but food processor would be magic)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 a yellow onion, minced
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
heaping 1/4 cup fresh basil, finely chopped, plus more for serving
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup bread crumbs (whole wheat if you have them)
1/4 cup grated Parmigiana cheese, plus more for serving
Lots of cracked black pepper
1/4- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves, minced
olive oil

your favorite pasta sauce, for serving [my favorite jarred sauces: Rao's (splurge), Newman's Own Sookarooni (budget)]

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.

Combine all the ingredients (except for olive oil and sauce) in a large bowl. Ingredients should be well mixed and you should not see any whole chickpeas. Roll right away or refrigerate until ready to use.

Roll generous tablespoons of the mixture in your hands to create balls and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle tops with a tiny bit of olive oil. Bake for 22-24 minutes until the meatballs are lightly browned on the outside (don’t overcook or they will dry out).

While the meatballs are baking, heat the tomato sauce in a large pot, covered, on medium heat.

Making sure the sauce is hot and slightly bubbling. You can then put the meatballs into the sauce and stir them gently until well coated or serve them separately, as I did.

Spicy Spaghetti with Fennel and Herbs

 

You probably wouldn't know it from this blog, but I love spaghetti.  When I was younger, my favorite food was spaghetti bolognese, but since I've grown up, my diet has changed it's focus to lighter dishes, a lot less meat, and not so much spaghetti.  While I still love a good pasta dish, I hardly ever choose it when I go out because I'd rather have something more exciting, something I couldn't easily whip up at home.  

The last time I ordered pasta (pappardelle alla bolognese) was at Sfoglia, a wonderful Italian restaurant with locations in New York City and Nantucket, and it did not disappoint.  Neither did the rest of the meal, which included mussels in a tomato broth, my first arancini (SO good), homemade Italian cookies, gelato, and a goat cheese and berry tart, but I'll stop bragging.

Anyway, the point of all this is that I haven't made or eaten spaghetti in a long time.  It's not often that a pasta dish catches my attention, but this one did.  I saw the recipe in last months issue of Bon Appétit and though it's relatively simple, it includes a lot of flavors that complement each other nicely.  There's the anise-flavored bite of the fennel (bulb and seeds), brightness of the lemon juice, hit of spice from the chiles, saltiness of the pancetta, pungency of the garlic, and creaminess of the Pecornio.  If you're looking for a simple yet inventive pasta dish, this just might be it.

Spicy Spaghetti with Fennel and Herbs

I made some small changes such as using less pasta, less cheese, and less oil (as usual all my changes are below and you can click the link fro the original recipe).  The original recipe also said to use packaged pancetta but I'd suggest buying a hunk of it from the butcher if you can, that way you can cut thicker chunks. I also added sriracha to mine at the end because it wasn't quite spicy enough for me.

Adapted from Bon Appétit

Ingredients

3 ounces pancetta (Italian bacon), chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 garlic cloves, chopped

2 large red jalapeño chiles, seeded, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)

2 large fennel bulbs, stalks trimmed, cut into thin wedges with some core attached

1 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth

4 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley, divided

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons crushed fennel seeds

3/4 pound spaghetti [I used whole wheat]

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano or Pecorino Toscano cheese, divided

1- 2 tablespoons hot sauce (optional)

Preparation

Sauté pancetta in large skillet over medium heat until pancetta is golden. Using slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to paper towels. Add 1 tablespoon oil to drippings in skillet. Add garlic and chiles; sauté over medium heat 1 minute. Add fennel; cook until beginning to soften, 5 minutes. Mix in broth, 2 tablespoons parsley, lemon juice, and fennel seeds. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until fennel is very tender, 20 minutes (I did not cook mine this long to leave a little bite). Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook pasta until tender; drain. Reserve 1 cup cooking liquid. Return pasta to pot.

Uncover skillet with fennel mixture and return to high heat. Cook until almost all liquid is absorbed, about 4 minutes. Add fennel to pasta. Stir in 1 tablespoon oil, 1/4 cup cheese, and pancetta. Add cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls if dry. Toss pasta; transfer to serving bowl. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons parsley over. Serve with extra cheese.

Vegetables with Pasta

Meals for one is something I find there aren't enough of in cookbooks and food magazines. A lot of the time, I am just cooking for one and I don't really want to have leftovers because chances are, I won't be very excited to eat them-- especially not for a week straight. Also, I don't know about you, but I find it tough to cook for one. Half a cup of penne pasta in a pot of boiling water looks like next to nothing, but I can assure you this meal was very filling and that whole yellow bowl was filled to the brim (I forgot to take a picture before I dug in).

So here, I offer you a healthy meal for one called "Vegetables and Pasta" because too often I find that "Pasta with Vegetables" turns out to be mostly pasta with five or so pieces of broccoli. I wanted this dish to be vegetable heavy and pasta light to make it more nutrient dense but also because the vegetables are usually my favorite part anyway. Many of the ingredients I used are inspired by a similar dish my friend Pamela used to make quite frequently for dinner in college. It always looked and smelled delicious, but for some reason, I never cooked pasta all that much.

The small amount of goat cheese in it adds just a touch of creaminess, but not enough to make the dish heavy by any means, while the bright citrus flavor from the juice and zest of the lemon make this much more of a summer ragú than a cheesy winter comfort food. I enjoyed it quite a bit and then wondered why I didn't make it more often at school.

Vegetables with Pasta

Serves 1

Ingredients

1/2 cup whole wheat penne

1/4 medium vidalia onion, finely chopped

3/4 large zucchini, quartered and chopped

juice and zest of half a small lemon

2 roma tomatoes, chopped

pinch or two of salt to taste

~ 1 tablespoon goat cheese

1- 2 tablespoons reserved pasta water

parmesianno-reggiano to grate over top

Preparation

Boil salted water for the pasta and in the meantime chop all vegetables. Drain the pasta after it's cooked, reserving some pasta water, and return the now empty pasta pot to the stove. Thinly coat the bottom of the pot with olive oil and let heat for a few seconds. Add the chopped onions and cook for a minute or two before adding the zucchini. Add the lemon juice and zest and after two or so more minutes, add the tomatoes and salt. Cook until the tomatoes have slightly broken down (about a minute) and add the pasta back into the pot. Next add the goat cheese and reserved pasta water and mix until cheese is melted and pasta and vegetables are coated. Pour into serving bowl and garnish with grated parmesan cheese.

From Homemade Marinara Sauce to Lamb Ragú with Mint

Finally! It's been a long time since I've cooked anything interesting. First it was because I was drowning in school work and then because I got sick, but now, finally, I have time again.

I actually watched Giada make this dish on her show a few weeks ago and it has stuck with me ever since. It looked so wonderful and simple when I saw her make it on t.v., but also rather sophisticated in terms of flavor.

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I am not the biggest fan of lamb. Usually I find it way too tender and think it has a kind of odd aftertaste, but there have been a few select lamb dishes I have enjoyed. One extremely memorable one was a hummus topped with ground lamb at a terrific Middle Eastern restaurant in Washington D.C. called Mama Ayesha's. I think I liked that dish so much because of the innovative combination but also because the lamb wasn't as tender when it was ground.

So, since this dish looked so appealing when Giada made it on her show, I decided I had to try it. Also, even though a ragú is heavier than a marinara sauce, the flavor of the lamb is subtle and the mint freshens and lightens the whole dish making is suitable for spring.

The only change I made was adding the mint on top as a garnish rather than stirring it in because I was hesitant as to how it would taste. Overall, I thought it worked in the dish but I don't necessarily think it needed it. For me, the lamb ragú was just as good without the mint.

Marinara Sauce

Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 celery stalk, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

Preparation

In a large pot, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour.

Lamb Ragú with Mint

from Giada De Laurentiis

*This recipe says that it serves four, but I halved it and still had enough to feed four people.

Ingredients

1 pound rigatoni pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 shallots, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 1/2 pounds ground lamb

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup red wine

4 cups marinara sauce, store-bought or home made

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, torn

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

Preparation

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet warm the olive oil over high heat. Add the shallots and the garlic and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the ground lamb, salt, and pepper. Cook until the lamb has browned and the juices have evaporated. Add the wine, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan using a wooden spoon. Simmer until the wine has reduced by half. Add the marinara sauce and simmer over low heat until the flavors have blended, about 10 minutes. Add the mint and ricotta and stir until mixed. Add the pasta and stir to coat. Serve immediately.

Japanese Noodle Salad with Sesame Miso Dressing

I ventured over to the Asian Farmers Market in search of the wonderful Japanese spice mixture picture below, which I first tried in LA at a place called Hide Sushi. Hide Sushi was much more traditional than most sushi I've seen in the U.S. aka no outrageous rolls garnished with "crunch' and the like. But despite my love for shrimp tempura rolls, it was wonderful, and once we sat down the line was out the door. Everything was so fresh and the menu included more traditional Japanese appetizers like cucumber salad and pickled cabbage (yum).

They also had this amazing spice blend which I used to give my spicy tuna rolls a bit more of a kick. It was so good that I even started sprinkling it on the pickled cabbage. Anyway, I went to the Asian market on a mission for this spice. But when I was there I thought it would be the perfect time to pick up some things I could use to make a dish for my friend's potluck later that night.

I decided on making a Japanese inspired noodle salad with soba noodles, tons of vegetables, sesame seeds and a dressing made from miso paste. There was a whole lot of chopping involved in this salad, but I would argue that it is very much worth it.

This salad is also so versatile. You could easily add tofu or shredded chicken or beef to give it some more protein. Or add different ingredients to the very basic sauce such as ginger, honey, lime juice, crushed peanuts etc.

Japanese Noodle Salad
When I originally made this salad I went a little crazy with the toasted sesame seeds and added what I thought was too many, so in the recipe below I have taken down the measurement a fair amount.

Ingredients

10 oz soba noodles*

1/3 head napa cabbage, shredded (regular green cabbage would work as well)
1 tablespoon peanut oil or vegetable oil

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped or shredded

1 1/2 cups broccoli, chopped small

1 1/2 tablespoons miso paste

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 1/2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1- 2 tablespoons water
3 stalks scallions, thinly sliced (white end removed)

1 tablespoon black sesame seeds, toasted

Preparation
Bring about 8 cups of salted water to a boil in a large pot, once boiling, add soba noodles and cook about 5 minutes until desired consistency is reached. Two minutes into boiling add chopped cabbage to the water with noodles to blanch.

Drain the noodle and cabbage mixture and add peanut oil to the empty pot. When oil is heated, over medium high heat, add the rest of the vegetables: broccoli and carrot first because they cook the slowest, and bell pepper right at the end. Once the vegetables are cooked but still crunchy remove from heat and pour into the colander with noodle and cabbage mixture. Run under cold water until cool then transfer to a large bowl.

Mix miso paste, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar and water in a small bowl until miso paste dissolves. Add sauce mixture into bowl with noodle/vegetable mixture and mix until everything is coated. Garnish with scallions and toasted sesame seeds.

~A little Orange House Spice, which I just found out is called shichimi togarashi (more on that here) sprinkled on to will give this salad some welcome heat.

*Japanese buckwheat noodles, should be available at an Asian market or international grocery store

Creamy Green-y Pasta

So this is how I used the leftover grated zucchini from the zucchini bread.  I actually wish I had a Cuisinart with detachable grater attachment at school because it was SO fast and so easy to grate this zucchini for the bread.  I also really loved eating the grated zucchini with spaghetti because of their similar shapes.  I didn't work with any kind of recipe when I made this so I'll only provide some rough guidelines here.  Feel free to ask any questions though!

Creamy Green Pasta

Ingredients

spaghetti or linguini pasta

grated zucchini

frozen peas

olive oil

heavy cream

cornstarch

grated parmesan cheese

nutmeg

salt

pepper

Preparation

Boil pasta until al dente (about 8- 10 minutes).  While pasta is boiling, saute zucchini and frozen peas in a small amount of olive oil.  Remove zucchini and peas from pan and set aside.  Place the pan back over low heat and add heavy cream, pasta water, parmesan cheese and nutmeg and stir until cheese has melted.  If the sauce is not thick enough add more cheese or some cornstarch.  Once the sauce is fairly thick and creamy add sauteed zucchini, peas and cooked pasta to the pan.  Mix well, add salt and pepper to taste.

Fall Harvest Pasta

Yesterday I went to the Farmer's Market close to my house and was really surprised at how great everything looked and how much variety they had. Usually the market by my house is not so great (bruised produce, not a big selection) but yesterday (and hopefully the rest of this season?) was definitely an exception. I bought a bunch of stuff there for only $9, which made me feel a lot less guilty than my trip to Whole Foods the day before when I bought not much at all for $54.
Seeing all the seasonal fall vegetables really made me want to try cooking something with them. I've only made butternut squash once before and the result was less than pleasing and I've never cooked with kale but I thought I might as well go for it. How hard could it be?

Very hard actually, butternut squash that is. It is so hard my shitty knives and even my good knife had quite a bit of difficulty cutting though it, but it was definitely worth it. The baked/ broiled squash cubes were so tasty, they kind of reminded me of sweet potato fries. I couldn't stop popping pieces into my mouth while the rest of the food was cooking.
Pretty pomegranate from the Farmer's Market

Fall Harvest Pasta

Ingredients

1 butternut squash, cubed

about 1 1/2 cups kale, chopped

1/2 medium red onion

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pasta

2 tbsp olive oil

2 large cloves garlic

parmesan cheese

cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cube butternut squash, coat with 1 1/2 tbsps olive oil, spread onto a baking sheet and sprinkle with cayenne and salt. Bake for 20 minutes, broil for about 10 until slightly browned and crisp on the outside. While the squash cooks, boil water for the pasta and saute an onion and garlic in remaining 1/2 tbsp olive oil. After the onion is translucent, add the kale and saute. Drain the pasta and combine with cooked vegetables in a large bowl, mix, add more olive oil and salt if desired. Grate some parmesan cheese over top.

Pappardelle Pasta with Fresh Roasted Vegetables

Yesterday afternoon my boyfriend and I went to the Soulard Market to get some food for dinner later that night. It's so nice to go there because the market is huge, everything is fresh and really well priced. They even had some live turkeys and... er, I guess it can't get much fresher than that, right? We didn't really have anything particular in mind for dinner so we just ended up picking out a bunch of fresh vegetables like these miniature sweet peppers, which were $1 a box.

Later on we passed a stand with lots of different varieties of pasta. They had so many combinations I'd never even heard of or thought about like chocolate linguini, lemon, tangerine, and beet flavored pasta, and so many other colorful mixes of orzo and rotini. We settled on some whole wheat toasted onion pappardelle because I think the thickness of pappardelle just makes it heartier and more flavorful, plus it looks pretty.  I'm pretty sure I could actually taste the toasted onion when we had the pasta and it pleasantly reminded me of the dry lipton soup mix I used to use to make french onion dip when I was little.

Before we started cooking I looked at some recipes for pasta with eggplant because since it's only recently that I started liking eggplant, I've never cooked with it before. Most of the recipes I read talked about roasting the eggplant in the oven instead of sauteing it, which is how I usually cook my vegetables. So I decided to roast all the vegetables (except the tomatoes and some onion which I used for a light sauce) in the oven.

Pappardelle Pasta with Fresh Roasted Vegetables
Ingredients

1/2 lb pappardelle pasta

2 tomatoes

1/2 medium eggplant

7 miniature sweet peppers (or 2 regular sized)

3/4 large zucchini

1 yellow onion

5 cloves garlic

2-3 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tbsp butter

pinch of oregano and red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

parmesan cheese for grating

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Chop the eggplant, peppers, zucchini, 2 cloves of garlic and 1/2 the onion in medium chunks. In a casserole dish or glass baking pan toss the chopped vegetables with 1 tbsp olive oil and some salt and pepper until coated. Place in the oven and roast for 25- 30 minutes*.  

While the vegetables are cooking put a large pot of water on the stove for the pasta then chop the tomatoes and finely chop the other half of the onion and 3 cloves of garlic.  Once the water is boiling add the pasta and cook until al-dente.  Add the onions and garlic to a hot pan with the butter and 1 tbsp olive oil. Cook until slightly browned, then add tomatoes, oregano, red pepper flakes and simmer until the tomatoes have cooked down.  Add some pasta water to the sauce if it cooks down too much (I added about 2-3 tbsp).

Remove the vegetable from the oven and toss in the pan with the tomato sauce. Plate the pasta and cover with vegetable sauce and grated parmesan cheese. Serve.

*This is how long I roasted them and I found that some of the vegetables had gotten a little soft for my taste; however, I usually like my vegetables very very crunchy.  To avoid this perhaps it would be better to only roast the eggplant and brown the other vegetables in a pan with some oil.