Strangely, the very day after I read this post about pasta with broccoli romanesco on the blog Rachel Eats, I went to the local farm stand and lo and behold, there were several heads of delightfully emerald broccoli romanesco.  I’ve never cooked this vegetable before, [...]]]>

Strangely, the very day after I read this post about pasta with broccoli romanesco on the blog Rachel Eats, I went to the local farm stand and lo and behold, there were several heads of delightfully emerald broccoli romanesco.  I’ve never cooked this vegetable before, though I have often admired its geometric spiral patterns, natural fractals, and lime-green color.

(By the way, is anyone besides me obsessed with Caprica?  Don’t you think this romanesco would be perfect served in a sci-fi series?  It’s so alien and weird and futuristic looking.)

Now, I’ve cooked it three times in the past week, all in this pasta, which I thought delicious and absolutely satisfying.  A perfect lunch for one or two, as it takes no effort, and you get to craving it.  I didn’t even try cooking my supply of broccoli romanesco any other way – this was so good.

It’s simply a take on an oil-and-garlic sauce, jazzed up with red pepper flakes and deliciously mushy broccoli.  Yes, deliciously mushy!  Because you mash up the cooked, almost overcooked, tender broccoli, and it helps to coat the pasta with its own warm, earthy flavor.  And then you toss the whole lot with parmesan, which is the best sauce.

Broccoli romanesco has a good honest broccoli flavor, but the texture of the florets is like a cauliflower.  Which is nice, because the cauliflower texture lends itself well to creaminess.

I guess I was supposed to use a large tubular pasta, but whole wheat spaghetti was all I had in the pantry, and I thought it worked fine.  I happen to like the nuttiness of whole-wheat pasta, perhaps because I’m a little nutty myself, and really, whole-grain pastas are getting better and better these days (didn’t you read that article in the New York Times?)

Aside, let me reiterate how happy I am to be exploring such a wonderful variety of fruits and vegetables.  I feel that living here on the Central Coast, people truly GLORY in their food, in the freshness of their produce.  You can go to a local restaurant and the staff are bragging about how sweet their cherry tomatoes are that day, and laughing when your eyes nearly pop out of your head when you taste them, they are THAT good.  In the same token, how nice to find fresh and unfamiliar vegetables at the local market, and to cook them in new ways!

Pasta with Broccoli Romanesco
From Rachel Eats
Serves 2

1 small-medium head of broccoli romanesco (about 2 cups of trimmed florets)
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 to 1 tsp red pepper flakes
200g dried spaghetti
salt and pepper
parmesan cheese

Boil the broccoli in a pot of salted water until tender, about 10 minutes.  Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and use the lime-green water (it looks like Italian soda) to cook the pasta.

Heat the oil gently in a pan (not a non-stick one) over low heat.  Add the red pepper flakes and smashed cloves of garlic, and heat for a few minutes until you can REALLY smell the garlic.  Then add the broccoli, stir to coat with oil, season liberally with salt and pepper, and cover.  Let the broccoli cook gently in the pepper-garlic infused oil until very tender, another 5 minutes or so.  Mash up the broccoli and the softened pieces of garlic with a fork (this is why you didn’t use a non-stick pan).

When pasta is done, drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water.  Put the pasta into the pan with the broccoli mixture, and toss to coat.  Add some extra pasta water if the sauce is too dry.

Serve with copious amounts of parmesan cheese grated over the top and then tossed into the pasta, where it well melt and become all savory and gooey and delicious.

What does “gourmet” really mean? One of the reasons I started this blog was because I don’t like how a lot of “foodies” act snobby and superior when it comes to “gourmet” ingredients and food.

Case in point – I was doing a Google search [...]]]>

What does “gourmet” really mean? One of the reasons I started this blog was because I don’t like how a lot of “foodies” act snobby and superior when it comes to “gourmet” ingredients and food.

Case in point – I was doing a Google search for a bottled salad dressing that I like. I usually make my own dressing, but I’d had this bottled honey-dijon dressing before and liked it. You know, sometimes it’s nice to have a bottled dressing to mix things up a bit, and this one claimed to be all-natural. Well, I came across this “foodie” forum where some poor man had innocently asked which of this brand’s dressing people liked. Poor, poor man. He didn’t realize that his question would unleash a page of belittling, superior, and almost rude comments. One person said that making a salad dressing was (for him/her) as easy as boiling water, and therefore s/he couldn’t understand why anyone would want a bottled dressing. Some people refused to answer the question without knowing what was in the salad. One person said s/he thought “this thread was a joke”. I could go on.

I’m generalizing of course. Most people were very nice and helpful. But the few so-called gourmets who liked to hear themselves talk (or type I guess), and tell people that they’re not a cook if they use bottled dressing, really stood out. I mean, geez Louise, can’t you ask a simple question these days and expect a simple answer?

So I want you to know, that even though this post is called “Homemade Gourmet Pizza”, no one is going to judge you for ordering from Domino’s or Little Caesar’s or whatever’s closest to your house. Or for eating a whole bag of Crazy Bread by yourself.

It’s just called “gourmet” because it uses a few ingredients that you wouldn’t necessarily find at your local pizza joint, toppings that are normally associated with more expensive gourmet pizzas. But you can use the crust and add anything you like, of course. And it’s E-A-S-Y.

Homemade Gourmet Pizza with Wild Mushrooms, Broccoli and Sweet Potato
Don’t be intimidated by making your own crust – this one is so easy and fast, even I can do it.
Makes 2 9×12 pizzas.

Pizza Dough
2 tsp dry yeast
1/2 tsp sugar
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
1 cup warm water
1 tbsp olive oil

Toppings
1/3 cup sun-dried tomato pesto
¾ cup chopped broccoli florets
½ cup thinly sliced wild mushrooms (I used shiitake)
1 medium sweet potato
¼ thinly sliced red onion
1 ½ cups grated cheese (I used Gouda, because that’s all I have)

Preheat oven to 400F or 200C.

First, make the dough. Proof the yeast by mixing it in a bowl with the sugar and water (water should be about the temperature of a hot Jacuzzi). Let it sit 5 minutes until it starts to foam. If it doesn’t foam, throw it out and try again (your water might be too cold or too hot…it should be about 40-45 Celsius). If it still doesn’t work, you might need to get new yeast.

Meanwhile mix the flour and salt together in a bowl. Add the yeast mixture and the oil, and stir together with a spoon. Use your hands to shape it into a ball, and knead it for 2-3 minutes until smooth and homogenous (I like to knead it right in the bowl as it picks up any extra floury bits). Remove the ball of dough from the bowl, grease the bowl with a light coat of oil, and put the dough back in, turning to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise while you prep other ingredients.

Peel sweet potato and chop into ½ inch dice. Toss with a bit of salt, thyme and olive oil, just enough to coat, and roast in oven for about 20 minutes, until cooked through. While potato roasts, prep other vegetables if you have not yet done so.

When potato is done, turn oven up to 500F. Divide dough into two equal portions. Roll each into a 9×12 rectangle (or make circular pizzas, whatever you like!) and place on a baking sheet.

Spread thinly with sun-dried tomato pesto (a little goes a long way, but add more if you want a strong tomato taste). Sprinkle evenly with cheese and toppings. Add some salt, pepper or herbs if you like.

Bake in blazing hot oven for about 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbling and crust is browned.

It’s been raining and cool these last few days, making us long for something warm and cosy as we huddle together on the couch.  There has been a drought for the past month in Fujian province, so the government shot a bunch of weather missiles [...]]]>

It’s been raining and cool these last few days, making us long for something warm and cosy as we huddle together on the couch.  There has been a drought for the past month in Fujian province, so the government shot a bunch of weather missiles up into the air to induce rain.  Oh boy did it work.  Non-stop pouring for 2 ½ days.

So on one of these rainy days I peeked into the fridge and spied a head of broccoli and not much else.  Broccoli soup it was!  Not having a recipe handy, I just kind of improvised, and it turned out great!  I think I’ve converted Chris to soup drinking.  He liked the apple-butternut squash soup I made a month or two ago, and he even enjoyed a cauliflower soup I made recently.  Now he’s happily slurping down the green stuff too!  Whoo hoo!  Who says people don’t change?

What do you crave on a rainy day?

Have you noticed something in common in the past three posts?  Yes, we are severely in need of some more bowls.

By the way, have you checked out Chris’ food photography tutorial yet?  If you’re a beginner photographer, he’s got some great explanations (in layman’s terms!) of some photography basics.

Cumin-Spiced Broccoli Soup

The potato in this soup gives it creaminess, so no added milk or cream is necessary.  We did like it with a dollop of yogurt though.

1 large head broccoli
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 potato, peeled and cubed
2 cups water
2 cups low-sodium chicken stock (or veggie)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 bay leaves
pinch of cumin
salt and pepper
plain yogurt (optional)

Cut broccoli into florets, and chop the stalk into small pieces (you may want to peel off the tough bits of the stalk).

In a soup pot, sauté the onion and garlic in the oil over medium heat until softened.  Add broccoli stalks and potato cubes and brown slightly.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add water, stock, and bay leaves.  Simmer until broccoli stalks and potatoes are tender (about 15 minutes).  Add broccoli florets and simmer another 5 minutes or so until tender.

Remove the bay leaves.  Purée the soup in a blender in batches (or use an immersion blender to purée it in the pot).  Return to pot, stir in pinch of cumin, and adjust salt if needed.

Ladle into bowls and dollop with a bit of yogurt.  Serve with grilled cheese sandwiches, or garlic toasts, or whatever sounds good to you.