I made farro and roasted butternut squash

I have been pretty curious about farro lately, and the other day I decided to finally give it a try.

VERDICT: It's my new favorite grain! It's more plump and rice-like than bulgar, and more arborio-like than plain old brown rice. You guys gotta try it.

I found this recipe on 101Cookbooks. It was hearty and delicious--a great healthy fall or winter meal. The only change I might make is not toasting the walnuts--it was too much with the other heavy flavors for my taste. Or maybe I'd use pine nuts instead.

Without further ado:

Farro and Roasted Butternut Squash

2 cups farro, rinsed and drained
2 teaspoons fine-grain sea salt
5 cups water (or stock)
3 cups butternut squash, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 large red onion cut into 1/8ths
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 cup walnuts, deeply toasted
3 tablespoons toasted walnut oil (or more olive oil)
1/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled (I found it needed more cheese than this, so I through in some feta, and I actually liked that better. The saltiness contrasts the sweetness of the balsalmic, squash and onions nicely.)

Preheat oven to 375.

Combine the farro, salt, and water in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the farro is tender, 45 minutes to an hour, or about half the time if you are using semi-pearled farro. Taste often as it is cooking, you want it to be toothsome and retain structure. Remove from heat, drain any excess water, and set aside.

While the farro is cooking toss the squash, onion, and thyme with the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a couple big pinches of salt on a rimmed baking sheet. Arrange in a single layer and place in the oven for about 20 minutes. Toss the squash and onions every 5-7 minutes to get browning on multiple sides. Remove from the oven, let cool a bit, and mince just 1/2 of the red onions.

In a large bowl gently toss the everything (except the goat cheese) with the toasted walnut oil (or olive oil). Taste and add a bit of salt if necessary. Serve family-style in a simple bowl or on a platter garnished with the goat cheese.

Serves 6-8 as a side, less as a main. (No way, Heidi. I had enough for several dinners and lunches for me and my roommates. I would guess 8-10 entree-sized portions!)

I made Gnudi w/ onion, sausage, wilted arugula + toasted walnuts!

So back in May, my parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary! I told them I would like to cook them dinner as an anniversary gift, but then we could never find a date that worked until the very end of July. But, finally, the day came around and I tried to figure out what to make.

All I knew was that I wanted to make something summery, and simple - but impressive. After looking at a few recipes, I decided to make GNUDI, the potato-less, lighter cousin of gnocchi. Even though I was a bit apprehensive about making something for the first time for such an important occasion (what if it comes out wrong??) I decided to just go for it.

Turns out, it was really not all that hard!! Phew. Here is what you need:

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Unsalted butter
1 bunch tarragon (I also think other herbs like basil, sage, rosemary, etc. would work.)
1 lemon
1 small white onion
1 egg
¾ lb fresh ricotta cheese
¼ lb freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
1/3 cup semolina flour
1 tbls all purpose flour
small bag whole, shelled walnuts
a bunch of baby arugula
sausage of your choice (optional) - I used D'artagnan brand chicken sausage with truffles - fancy! -(Mushrooms would be a good vegetarian alternative in this recipe.)
homemade or store-bought vegetable stock for poaching the gnudi (optional) - I just used water.

Make the Gnudi Mixture

In a small mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, one tablespoon chopped tarragon, egg, Parmigiano, half of the flour and the tbls of all-purpose flour. Using a wooden spoon, mix until the ingredients are well combined. Salt and pepper to taste.

Place the remaining flour in a shallow bowl. Using floured hands, pinch about a tablespoon worth of mixture and form into a little football shape. Dredge each through the flour in the bowl and onto a baking sheet. Continue this until you’ve made as many gnocchi shaped pieces as you can. You can either immediately poach them or cover with foil and refrigerate for up to a few hours.


(The lemon in the photo gives you an idea of the size of these.)

Poach the Gnudi

Bring either stock or plain water to a simmer (not boil). Take out the gnudi and drop 5 or so into the pot for about 2 minutes, or until they rise to the top of the liquid. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a clean flat baking sheet. Do this for all of the gnudi, being gentle and taking care not to break them as they can be delicate. Refrigerate for up to a day, or let rest for about a half hour before finishing the dish.

Make the toppings

Roughly chop the walnuts and toast them, either in a pan or an oven. Watch them closely so they do not burn! Sautee the onion in some butter or oil slowly in a large pan until translucent. Season with salt and pepper and some lemon juice. Chop and add sausage (or mushrooms) if using. Sautee until sausage (or mushrooms) are browned. Carefully add the gnudi to the mixture, gently stirring just to incorporate the ingredients and heat the gnudi. They are very delicate ! You don't want to break them. Add the arugula just for a moment, it will wilt quickly.

Plate up the gnudi and season with some more grated Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and lemon juice.

I served this with a kale salad with mint and lime dressing and some baby heirloom tomatoes that I marinated in oil, garlic and salt + pepper.

For dessert I made a fruit salad with multi-colored plums, blueberries, and marinated it for a few hours with some honey, lime juice and chopped mint. We had it with vanilla ice cream!

Man, it was a pretty awesome summer dinner!! Happy anniversary to my parents.

"Well, SURELY this isn't gonna be disgusting." (The BEST baklava EVER) by Alena and Faryl

The day started on an UP note, Alena and Faryl (us), got Chipotle on our way to pick up Alena's FREE Cuisinart food processor!!!! And POST processor pick-up; guess what?! We were gonna make BAKLAVA!
We chose between two very competent recipes and decided on the one from Epicurious.

We wrote it on a piece of pape so we didn't have to move the computer.
(It looks like E.T. is helping to hold it for us.)

Middle Eastern Nut-Filled Multilayered Pastry (Baklava)

Ingredients:

(We cut the amounts in this recipe in half.)

Syrup:

* 3 cups sugar, or 2 cups sugar and 1 cup honey
* 1 1/2 cups water
* 2 tablespoons lemon juice
* 2 tablespoons light corn syrup (optional) - We left it out!
* 2 (3-inch) sticks cinnamon (optional) - We put it in!
* 4 to 6 whole cloves, or 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)- We left it out!


Filling:

* 1 pound blanched almonds, pistachios, walnuts, or any combination, finely chopped or coarsely ground (about 4 cups)
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 1 to 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves or cardamom (optional)


* 1 pound (about 24 sheets) phyllo dough
* About 1 cup (2 sticks) melted butter
or vegetable oil - (go with butter, seriously.)

SO. With the newly acquired CUISINART we thought to ourselves, let's fire this baby up and grind up some pistachios, walnuts and almonds! We lifted the heavy thing out of the box. (Did I mention we carried it from 111th street to 92nd?) To our dismay, the Cuisinart in the box did not resemble the shiny, stainless steel model pictured above. In size and shape, yes, the similarities were there, but this guy was probably circa 1978 - complete with some very stylish (for the time) tan and brown plastic attachments. AESTHETICS ASIDE -- It looked sturdy and functional. Everything a Cuisinart should be. We assembled it, plugged it in and....


nothing happened. The shiny metal blade remained inert. The machine was still.

Hell no, we thought. We carried this thing in our little arms all the way from 111th street! It HAS to work!

We moved some pieces around, unplugged, plugged back in, tried again. Nada.

I (alena) wanted to cry a little. BUT - didn't. We found that Nick's coffee grinder served as an excellent nut grinder too. We moved on:

1. To make the syrup: Stir the sugar, water, lemon juice, and if using, the corn syrup, cinnamon sticks, and/or cloves over low heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Stop stirring, increase the heat to medium, and cook until the mixture is slightly syrupy, about 5 minutes (it will register 225 degrees on a candy thermometer). Discard the cinnamon sticks and whole cloves. Let cool.

2. To make the filling: Combine all the filling ingredients.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12-by-9-inch or 13-by-9-inch baking pan or 15-by-10-inch jelly roll pan.

4. Place a sheet of phyllo in the prepared pan and lightly brush with butter. Repeat with 7 more sheets. Spread with half of the filling. Top with 8 more sheets, brushing each with butter. Use any torn sheets in the middle layer. Spread with the remaining nut mixture and end with a top layer of 8 sheets, continuing to brush each with butter. Trim any overhanging edges.

5. Using a sharp knife, cut 6 equal lengthwise strips (about 1 3/4 inches wide) through the top layer of pastry. Make 1 1/2-inch-wide diagonal cuts across the strips to form diamond shapes.

6. Just before baking, lightly sprinkle the top of the pastry with cold water. This inhibits the pastry from curling. Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 300 degrees and bake until golden brown, about 15 additional minutes.

7. Cut through the scored lines. Drizzle the cooled syrup slowly over the hot baklava and let cool for at least 4 hours. Cover and store at room temperature for up to 1 week. If the baklava dries out while being stored, drizzle with a little additional hot syrup.