Lush green pastures

When it comes to food, going green is easy. And the easiest way of all is pesto. The great thing about pesto is that you can put pretty much anything in there. If you are the kind of evil parent that likes to hide vegetables, for example, children seem to be completely in denial about the contents of pesto, and long may that continue (we are all in this together - you do NOT want to be the one who lets the cat out of the bag...). More importantly, if you are a busy (or dare I say, lazy) person of a green persuasion, pesto is one of the quickest things around to prepare, provided you have a food processor ready and waiting. Green, quick, easy and vegetably, what more could you possibly want?

I owe this particular foray into the wonderful world of pesto to Jamie Oliver Magazine, which I often pick up when I pass through England. Jamie Oliver is now an institution in the UK, and pretty well known in the US too, thanks to his efforts to improve healthy eating. He isn't always my favorite British chef - too many vague instructions in the recipes for a rule-follower like myself (how much is a 'glug' of olive oil, for heavens' sake!), but that kind of vagueness is never a problem when it comes to pesto.


Rotini with Kale and Almond Pesto
Serves 6

6 oz roughly chopped curly kale (I used a bag of pre-chopped kale, stems and all)
2 oz almonds
1 garlic clove
juice of half a lemon
1/2 cup basil leaves
olive oil
2 oz grated parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve
1 lb wholewheat rotini

1. Blanch the kale in a large pot of boiling salted water for 3 minutes, and then drain in a colander.
2. Cook the pasta according to directions. When draining the pasta, reserve some of the cooking liquid and set aside.
3. Once it is cool enough to handle, squeeze the remaining liquid out of the kale, and put into the bowl of a food processor.
4. Add the almonds, garlic, lemon juice, basil and parmesan, and pulse to combine. Start slowly pouring olive oil into the food processor while it spins, until the pesto is smooth and the desired consistency is reached. NB you don't need the pesto to be too runny/oily, as you can use some of the pasta water to thin it out. See below.
5. Mix the pesto with the cooked pasta and enough of the reserved pasta cooking liquid to allow the pesto to coat the pasta nicely.
6. Sprinkle with additional parmesan to serve.

Comfort food taken to the next level

Just imagine if comfort food were an armchair. Now, not all armchairs are equal. There are those in posh hotel foyers which, when you sit in them, feel as if they are stuffed with some form of concrete, and are clearly there, not for comfort (as the armchair was designed to provide, dammit), but rather to go with the decor and look expensive. But in contrast, there are those armchairs into which one's rear end sinks gently, armchairs which seem to cradle your aching limbs. Why, there might even be a footrest, which at the slightest tug of a lever, emerges to prop up your tired feet. Oh yes, that is the nth degree of comfort. If armchairs aren't your thing, then how about beds, the place where if nothing else, we should feel enveloped in comfort. But there is a gulf of difference between a friend's second hand futon which has seen better days, and a new pillow-top mattress.

Lest you think I have finally gone off my rocker, and am now blogging about furniture, fear not! I raise these comparisons merely to permit myself some adequate means of describing just how comforting today's featured dish truly is. This, my friends, is the La-Z-Boy of comfort food. It is like a Sleep Number bed that just instinctively knows your ideal setting. It does not get more comforting than this, trust me.


Hash Brown Casserole
Serves 8

2 tsp olive oil
3/4 lb sliced ham, chopped
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 32oz packet of shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed and squeezed dry
1 large onion, diced
10 oz baby spinach, coarsely chopped
8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
8 oz shredded swiss cheese
8 eggs, beaten lightly
1 1/2 cups low fat cottage cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
2. Place the cottage cheese in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet and saute onion until soft and translucent. Add spinach and cook until wilted. Season with pepper and garlic powder.
4. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, onion mixture, chopped ham, cottage cheese, and all but a 1/4 cup each of the cheddar and swiss.
5. Stir in the lightly beaten eggs.
6. Spray a 9"x13" baking dish with oil spray and spread the prepared mixture into the dish. Top with the remaining cheese.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, by which time the casserole should be set in the middle and the cheese melted and turning golden. Serve with a green salad.

The Richest of Ragus

I know - another huge claim but honestly, this one is beautifully rich, and served over a bed of ooey gooey polenta there is nothing more comforting. You know I'm a bit chicken fan (just look at the breakdown of recipes by meat-type here). I make no apologies - whilst I like red meat, and will defend the right of all to eat it, and remain healthy, I do prefer to eat white meat more often than red meat. I am not a fan of dry chicken though, so I'm always on the lookout for recipes which allow chicken to remain succulent and moist and saucy. This is often difficult where chicken breasts are concerned, supposedly the healthiest cut, but often the driest and least tasty if cooked badly. However, when using a slow cooker, and burying morsels of chicken breast in a delicious Italian-style sauce, no one need fear, and this recipe is a good demonstration of that. It also makes good use of a great vegetable currently in season, namely fennel. If you're a fan of this feathered bulb, then save the fronds from the top to garnish the final dish. If, like my kids, you are deeply suspicious of anything that looks like dill (the work of the devil, if you listen to my opinionated daughter), then skip the fennel fronds, and stick with extra basil (about which she has no such unfounded suspicions).



Chicken and Fennel Ragu
Serves 6

olive oil
8 oz cubed pancetta
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 large chicken breasts (about 1 3/4 lbs) cut into 1" cubes
10 oz sliced brown mushrooms
1 large onion, chopped
4 large roma tomatoes, cored and chopped
4 TBSP tomato paste/puree
3 TBSP sun-dried tomato pesto
1 tsp dried oregano
3 TBSP chopped fresh basil
1 TBSP chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
grated parmesan cheese
additional chopped fresh basil to serve

1. Heat some olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the cubed pancetta and cook, stirring often, until browned and crispy. Use a slotted spoon to put the pancetta into the slow cooker stoneware.
2. In the oil and bacon fat remaining in the skillet, brown the chicken pieces in two batches so as not to overcrowd the pan (if you overload the pan, they won't brown as well). Move the chicken to the slow cooker stoneware.
3. Pour the wine into the skillet and deglaze the pan - using a spatula to scrape the chicken and bacon goodness from the bottom of the pan. Once the pan is clear of anything still sticking to it, tip the wine into the slow cooker with the meats.
4. Add the mushrooms, onion, fennel, tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, basil, thyme, fennel seeds and pepper to the slow cooker and mix well so that the meat is coated in the tomato paste.
5. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours.
6. Serve over polenta or pasta, sprinkled with parmesan and more basil (or chopped fennel fronds).

Scoops and scoops of soups

All modesty aside, I knocked it OUT of the park twice this last week, with two knock-out soups (yes, mixed sport metaphors, but who cares!). And you know that British people are shy, retiring souls when compared to their brasher American cousins, meek individuals who rarely blow their own trumpets (or indeed toot their own horns, if you must), so suffice to say, these two recipes (yes, a 'two for the price of one deal' today) must be pretty brilliant (or awesome, if you must).

I am still on my soup-kick, as the weather has been vacillating between mild but wet, and cold but dry, both of which leave me with frosty toes and a stomach that needs a spoonful or twenty of something warm and comforting, preferably with some crusty bread to mop up every last drop of the soupy goodness. And this week we are definitely in Mediterranean mood, as the first soup owes its flavor profile to Morocco, and the second is more Spanish in character. Both also highlight spices which don't often get to play center stage. In the first case, turmeric gets a starring role, a spice which in my kitchen is usually simply the poor man's version of saffron, and added solely to give a yellow tint, rather than allowed to shine. In the second, smoked paprika gives the soup its delicious earthy flavor. And in both cases, there are plenty of pulses to fill nice warm bellies and prevent any threat of family starvation. Like I said, these two are corkers and definitely to be repeated in my kitchen.



Harira
Serves 8 very comfortably
Adapted from The Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Judith Finlayson

2 15oz cans chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
canola/sunflower oil
2 large onions, chopped
6 stalks celery diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 TBSP ground turmeric
1 1/2 TBSP grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
3 14 oz cans diced tomatoes
6 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups dried red lentils
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

1. In a skillet, heat some canola oil, and fry the chopped onions and celery until softened and translucent.
2. Add garlic, turmeric, lemon zest and black pepper and cook, stirring constantly, for a further minute.
3. Add tomatoes and their juice and bring to a boil.
4. Transfer the mixture to the slow cooker. Add chickpeas and lentils and stir it all together.
5. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or high for 3-4 hours, by which point the lentils should be tender. Stir in the parsley and serve.



Smoky Lentil, Bacon and Spinach Soup
Serves 6 comfortably
Adapted from The Great American Slow Cooker Book by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough

12 oz diced pancetta
olive oil
2 onions, chopped
3/4 cup chopped carrots
6 cups chicken broth
1 1/4 cups dried brown lentils
2/3 cup (about half a 14oz can) diced tomatoes
1 1/2 TBSP tomato paste/puree
1 1/2 TBSP mild smoked paprika
3/4 tsp ground black pepper
4 cups chopped fresh spinach

1. Fry the pancetta in some olive oil until brown and crisp (about 5 minutes). Transfer to the slow cooker using a slotted spoon.
2. In the fat remaining in the skillet, fry the onions and carrots until the onions are softened and translucent (about 5 minutes). Scrape the contents of the skillet into the slow cooker.
3. Stir in the broth, lentils, tomatoes, tomato paste, smoked paprika and pepper.
4. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours, or high for 3 hours, by which point the lentils should be tender.
5. Add the chopped spinach and continue to cook on high for 15 minutes.