Category Archives: Food

Spiced Seared Eggplant With Pearl Couscous, by Julia Moskin

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The success of this dish depends I think on the sweetness of your eggplant. The one I used was not that sweet and if I make this again (which I probably will) I’d use Chinese Eggplants. Like many of the others who commented on the NYT Cooking app I would double the amount of eggplant from 2 cups to 4. Basically use an average size eggplant. I also didn’t have quite enough Israeli couscous so I used a mix of barley and couscous. This was a little bit of a pain because they have separate cooking times so I cooked the barley separately for 20 minutes then added it to the dish at the end with the couscous to cook another 10 minutes. But the barley was a great addition to the dish- I would definitely use it again. Finally like everyone said it is definitely better if served with yoghurt! Enjoy!

Pesto Fried Chicken by Dawn Perry

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Pesto is one of those staples that I always keep stocked in the fridge. It has the bonus of freezing well so with basil now in season I’ve been making huge batches. It was great to come across this recipe that offers another vehicle for all my pesto other than pasta. The recipe is simple:

Rinse and pat dry chicken breasts and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper

With a knife spread pesto on one side of the chicken, then dip in bread crumbs. Then spread pesto on the other side and dip in bread crumbs.

Heat a quarter inch of oil in a pan and brown on both sides (about 2 minutes per side). Serve with pesto for dipping.

My pesto is fairly salty so if I were to make this again I would not salt the chicken before adding the pesto, but other than this it was delicious!

I don’t really follow a strict recipe for my pesto but this is a good way to start:

Remove basil leaves from the stem and wash and spin dry well. Wet leaves dilute the sauce.

Put in a food processor with 2-3 cloves of garlic, a half cup of pine nuts, and a half cup of Parmesan.

Slowly add in the oil while processing.

Taste with a little bread and add salt as needed. If the pesto is a little bitter add more nuts and cheese.

Enjoy!

Even though I didn’t follow it exactly, this is a great recipe which produced a very moist flavorful swordfish. I’ve cooked my share of dry swordfish so this was a game changer as far as I’m concerned. The original recipe was supposed to be served on garlic toast but I skipped that part and added a few ingredients. Following is what I did:

Make a dry rub with the following:

1 Tbsp Curry

1 Tsp Paprika

1 1/4 Tsp Salt

1/4 Tsp Black Pepper

1/4 Tsp Tumeric

Pinch of Sumac

Mix together and rub generously all over the fish.

Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. When the oil is hot put the filet in and cook on one side for 3 minutes without touching it. Then flip the fish.

Cut up half a bunch of Lacinto Kale (you can substitute other greens like chard or mustard greens). This makes about 2 heaping cups.

Put the kale and 1 1/4 cup of grape tomatoes on the fish and cover with a lid. Cook for 5 minutes.

Plate and squeeze lemon over the whole dish. Delish!

Mediterranean Eggplant and Barley Salad, by Chelsea Kyle

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This is a salad which is a meal, with subtle flavors from the cumin, coriander and cayenne added to the broth in which the barley cooks.  Leftovers keep well for a mid week snack.

1 medium eggplant cut into 1 inch cubes
1 small zucchini cut into 1/2 inch rounds
EVOO
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 cup chopped scallions
1.5 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp cayenne
1.25 cups pearl barley (8 OZ)
1 14 oz can of chicken broth
3/4 cup water
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic minced
1/4 tsp sugar
1/2 lb of cherry tomatoes halved
1/3 cup Kalamata or other black olives
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion, rinsed and drained if desired
1 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup chopped mint
1/3 cup shaved ricotta salata

Preheat oven to 425F. Toss the eggplant and zucchini with 5 tbsp oil, 1 tsp salt, and pepper.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread eggplant and zucchini on sheet.  Roast 20-25 minutes until golden brown and tender.  Remove from oven and let cool.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in heavy pot over medium-high heat until hot, then add scallions, cumin, coriander, and cayenne and stir for 1 minute.  Add barley and stir until well coated 2 minutes more.  Add chicken stock and wter and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, covered 30-40 minutes.  Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes.  Transfer to flat sheet and let cool about 20 minutes.

Whisk together lemon, garlic, sugar, salt, pepper and 3 Tbsp oil in large bowl.  Add cooled barley, roasted vegetables, and remaining ingredients.  Scatter ricotta salata over top.

Fennel Celery and Olive Relish

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This is another Molly Blieden original, inspired by the relish in Bottino’s Tuscan Tuna Salad in Chelsea, New York.

Ingredients:

1 small fennel bulb sliced thin (with a mandoline if you have it)

1/3 cup green pitted Cerignola olives

3 stalks of celery cut thin at an angle

1/8 onion very thinly sliced

1/3 cup olive oil

1 tsp red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp mustard

Whisk the vinegar and mustard and olive oil. Combine the fennel, onion, olives and celery in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing on top, toss, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Fiddlehead Ferns with Garlic

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In a departure from my typical New York Times repertoire I’m sharing a Molly Blieden original. Fiddlehead Ferns are only in season in April, and even then difficult to find and pretty pricey. But they are worth the annual indulgence- crunchy, slightly bitter and earthy- they pair nicely with olive oil garlic and salt. I used a pound of fiddleheads, 3 large cloves of garlic, and a tsp of salt. Sauté over high heat and keep tasting to make sure you don’t overcook. Enjoy this special taste of spring!

Tuna Steaks Moroccan Style by Pierre Franey

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A few of the steaks were eaten before I had a chance to photograph this! It was very good- a nice change from the usual soy/sesame seasonings I use for tuna steak. I used only half a tsp of paprika and added half a tsp of sumac but otherwise followed the recipe. Main challenge for me was cooking the tuna enough but not too much. I used a pan on the stovetop but next time might try the broiler.