La Platicona Habla: Tastes, Passions and Pursuits

These little french green beans were so tasty looking, I threw them into the cart without a single thought about how I'd cook and eat them. For the umpteenth time, Jamie Oliver gave me inspiration beyond my expectations. The best part, is that this dish is very portable for a pinic or lunch the next day.

You will need:
- 4 handfuls of fresh green beans, stalk ends removed
- 3 tsp of French mustard
- 4 tbsp of red or white wine vinegar
- 7 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 minced garlic clove
- 1 tbsp of capers
- handful of chopped fresh italian parsley or chervil

Step One: Bring a pot of water to a fast boil and drop in the beans. Cook for 5 minutes; drain immediately.

Step Two: While beans cook, combine mustard, vinegar, garlic, salt & pepper in a large bowl. While whisking this mixture, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Add capers and herbs at last. Add in cooked beans and toss until coated. Serve beans as a side with whipped potatoes, pasta, or bread.

Labels: green beans, salad

I was a bit afraid to try this Carbonara dish because the egg method was a bit odd--it requires a whole egg rather than a separated yolk and cream. Nonetheless, I tried it and it turned out fantastic. This recipe, like so many others here, is from the Jamie Oliver cookbook I've been drooling over since I bought it. I have to say, however, that I was a bit disappointed with the blandness of the dish, so I perked it up with some garlic and chile piquin. Next time, I'd even add some fresh basil or rosemary to bring out the depth of the mint flavor.

You will need:
- 1 lb (1/2 a box) of Farfalle Pasta (bowties)
- 1 egg
- 7 tbsp of cream
- 10 slices of pancetta or bacon, roughly chopped
- 3 handfuls of shelled spring peas (use frozen peas)
- 2 sprigs of mint, roughly chopped
- 2 handfuls of grated parmesan cheese
My own variation of this dish requires 3 garlic cloves

Step One: Cook your pasta according to directions. When 2 minutes remain for cooking time, add frozen peas. Drain when done, but reserve about 1/2 c of the cooking liquid. Return the pasta to the pan with the reserved cooking liquid.

Step Two: While pasta cooks, cook bacon or pancetta in a pan over medium heat. Drain off as much fat as possible. Cook until edges are nice and crisp. Also, while pasta cooks, whisk the egg and cream with salt and pepper in a small bowl.

Step Three: When pasta finishes cooking, add the chopped mint, minced garlic, chili piquin, and toss well. Keep the pan warmed over low heat and add the bacon and egg/cream mixture. Keep stirring together until warmed very through and through, but be sure not to allow the egg/cream mixture to curdle over the heat. Keep stirring for about 5 minutes and remove from heat. Add parmesan; serve and eat immediately.

Just so you know, it is impossible to reheat this dish without curdling the cream, so this is not one of those dishes I'd pack for lunch the next day. So go ahead- gorge yourself.

Labels: herbs, pasta, peas

I sort of stole this recipe from the Whole Foods market as I passed the potato and soup bar and sampled a bit of what they called "mullagatawny" soup. The soup is a red lentil puree with coconut milk. I had to make up the proportions of the ingredients, so feel free to adjust them to your own palette. Also, if you liked the daal and tomato soup, this will be a variation of that soup that you may like to try.

You will need:
- 2 c of red lentils (daal)
- 5 c of liquid: 3 c vegetable stock, 2 c of water
- 1 can of light coconut milk
- 3 tbsp of tomato paste
- handful of chopped cilantro
- 2 tsp of cumin powder
- 1 thumb size piece of fresh ginger, grated on a zester
- 3 cloves of minced garlic
- 2 tsp turmeric powder
- juice of 2 limes
- salt & pepper to taste

Step One: cook the lentils in a small stock pot with the 5 cups of liquid. Cover the pot and simmer over medium-high heat for 1/2 hour or until cooked. Be sure to stir often so they don't stick. Set aside.

Step Two: in a blender, combine the spices (minus the cilantro), garlic, ginger, and the cooked lentils. Once blended, return mixture to the stock pot and cook over medium heat while you add the coconut milk, tomato paste, and lime. Cook for another 7-10 minutes until thoroughly heated. Serve with fresh cilantro and lime wedge.

The aroma of this dish is just fantastic. I suggest eating it with grilled pita bread and a side salad.

Labels: coconut milk, lentils, soup, spices, tomatoes

Lydia Bastianich is the genius behind Felidia restaurant in NYC and a host of fabulous cookbooks. Surprisingly, she is nowhere to be found on the Food Network. No, this lily in the bog of faster food television is dedicated to a cooking philosophy that appreciates the act of cooking as a medium for love, nourishment, and even seduction.

Lydia often cooks with her toddler grandchildren crawling all over her, stirring pots of hot tomato sauce and managing not to overcook her homemade pasta in the process. Watching her PBS cooking show, you see this Italian grandmother graciously floating around her very modest kitchen dolling out dishes you swear you can smell in your living room. Well, one lazy afternoon while visiting with my mama, we happened to catch an episode of Lydia's home kitchen while she made the most simple calabasa salad with summer squash out of her garden. I replicated this dish for a light supper with a hearty bread and crab apple butter and couldn't have been happier. I hope all this talk of Lydia will inspire you to try some of her other delicious recipes from her various cookbooks, and discover (as I have) the exquisite simplicity of her many creations (i.e. gnocchi).

You will need:
- 3 yellow squash (medium or small)
- 3 zucchini
- 1/2 red onion finely sliced
- 7 tbsp of red wine vinegar
- 5 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
- handful of chopped Italian Parsley
- fresh cracked pepper and sea salt

Step One: In a stock pot, bring water to a boil and add your squash and zucchini in WHOLE. Lydia warns that cutting of the stems or cutting these in half will result in soggy squash. Cook for about 7 minutes.

Step Two: Remove squash from the water and place in an ice bath to cool. When chilled, cut the stems off the squash and cut into small pieces; set aside.

Step Three: In a large bowl, pour in the vinegar and while whisking, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until well incorporated. Whisk in salt and pepper to taste. Add onions, Italian parsley, and squash. Toss thoroughly so squash is coated well.

Serve this salad with bread, or even as a side for grilled fish.

Labels: onion, salad, yellow squash, zucchini

I realize that you may not recognize me, but here I am--again!
La Platicona has received a make over.
There are still some bugs that need to be worked out, but rest assured the Baking Fool will certainly take care of that.

So dear reader, please bear with me while I experiment with this new template that I hope will be easier for you to navigate. For now, be sure to expand your browser to the full size in order to properly see the sidebar (I know, I know, I should really fix that--but, it's like that missing right signal light on my car that I just can't seem to bring myself to fix!). If you have any comments on the look, or the broken links, feel free to leave your 2 cents. Ciao for now, I promise more recipes very soon.

Split peas, part of that lovely legume family, were the focus of my culinary experiment after eating a delicious bowl of yellow split pea soup from a middle eastern restaurant in Denver. I savored every bite of this soup and attempted to decipher all of its ingredients. While I was unable to do just that, I did manage to come up with a darn close version.
My only regret is that I did not cook the split peas long enough, so they turned out a little tougher than I would have wanted. This yellow split pea recipe will almost complete the split pea/daal soup array of recipes posted on this site. If you’ve never tried split peas, I suggest starting with the green split pea soup recipe first because its flavors are more common than the seasonings used for this dish.

You will need:
- 2 c of yellow split peas (pick through them and pick out the rotten ones)
- 3 c of vegetable or chicken stock
- 4 c of water
- ½ finely diced yellow onion
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tsp whole cumin seeds
- handful of chopped flat leafed Italian parsley
- juice from 1 lime
- salt & pepper to taste
- basmati rice, cooked

Step One: In a crockpot, combine the split peas, stock, water, spices (except Italian parsley), garlic, and onion. Put the crockpot on low and cook all day while away at work, or on high for 4 hours.
If you don’t have a crockpot, place the garlic and onions in a stock pot and sauté with 3 tbsp of olive oil. When translucent, add spices, split peas, stock, and water. Bring to a boil; turn this down to medium and cover it. Cook this for 1-2 hours until the peas are very soft. Stir this so it won’t stick to the bottom.

Step Two: When cooked, add the juice of one lime and stir in the Italian parsley. Correct the seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve this over cooked basmati rice, or eat as a soup. If you want more liquid, add more stock (1 c at a time) and cook for another 10 minutes until warm.

Labels: Italian parsley, lemon, split peas

Polenta is a corn based mush that is eaten soft, like cream of wheat, or solid like a corn cake. Italian dishes using polenta vary in texture and flavor, and difficulty. Despite my efforts to find raw polenta, I could only locate a pre-cooked version at the grocery store that appeared in the pasta and rice aisle as a sausage link.
I chose a plain polenta in order to flavor it however I pleased. The solid loaf of polenta had to be carefully unwrapped and patted dry with a paper towel. I decided to simply cut pieces from the loaf and lightly fry them in olive oil. Alternatively, I could have put the entire loaf into a pan and cooked it down into a mush, flavoring it as I pleased, but I wanted to test an unadulterated version. I treated this dish like the corn gorditas dish, and paired it with other vegetables and sides. I suggest you try it like this first, to see if you fancy the flavor, and then experiment with other cooking methods.

You will need:
- a loaf of pre-cooked polenta
- 3 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 clove of minced garlic

Step one: Unwrap the polenta loaf and slice off 1/2 inch thick rounds. In a large saute pan, heat your olive oil over medium-high heat until it pops (add the garlic and if the oil sizzles, it's ready).

Step Two: Place up to 5 roudns in the bottom of the pan and fry each side until golden brown - about 4 minutes.

Step Three: Serve the cakes over a bed of field greens and top with pesto.

I served these polenta cakes with a side of tomato wedges that I cooked for a few minutes in the same saute pan, and some asparagus. The verdict: well, the polenta is rather flavorless and the pesto really helped pick up the taste, so next time, I will cook the polenta with a little water down to a mush and add some garlic, herbs, and maybe even some leeks to give it texture and flavor. But, the pesto on top wasn't bad.

Labels: pesto, polenta

I absolutely adore chickpeas, whether in a soup or on a salad, the texture and matte flavor is a wonderful addition to your legume family. Chickpeas are native to southwest Asia and have been cultivated for over 9,000 years. They are unique in the legume family for being nearly 5% oil by weight, as opposed to 1-2%. Chickpeas, a.k.a. garbanzo beans, form a main staple in India where the legume is hulled and split to make chana dal, a ground flour for pakoras, papadums, and fried goods. If you eat at Graze restaurant in Albuquerque, the chef makes these great chickpea french fries by molding chickpea flour into little french fry shaped sticks and lightly frying them.

So anyways, I decided to whip up a batch of fresh hummus for some dinner guests last week and it turned out marvelous. Hummus is basically a chickpea spread that is flavored with salt, lemon, parsley, and olive oil. It is a great lunch spread for vegetarian sandwiches, and makes a good appetizer for a dinner, and finger food for a cocktail party.

You will need:
- 2 cans of garbanzo beans, drained
- 3 cloves of minced garlic
- handful of chopped flat leafed italian parsley
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 c of olive oil
- 1 tsp of kosher salt
- pepper to taste

Step One: In a food processor (if using a blender, add 1 can of beans, and slowly add the second so as not to over fill the blender container), combine the beans, garlic, parsley, pepper, and salt. Roughly blend.

Step Two: Add lemon juice and turn blender on high. Through the hole in the top of the blender or the food processor, slowly drizzle in the 1/2 c of olive oil, adding more if necessary. The consistency should be that of a bean dip, and should not be runny. You can experiment with flavors by adding a handful of roasted red peppers or kalamata olives.

Scrape the dip out of the processor or blender and serve in a bowl; drizzle the hummus with olive oil. Eat hummus with toasted pita bread (you can heat it in the oven for a few minutes), a side of olives and peppers goes well with this.

Labels: garbanzo beans, Italian parsley, lemon, olive oil

Jamie Oliver's family dinner cookbook has a killer simple
recipe for onion soup. He debates whether onion soup is really French or not, and I can't say whether it is some cruel British joke, or a way to get a cook to cry. I can say, however, that this soup is rather simple, but slightly time consuming, and requires a good heavy bottom stock pot.

I also discovered how "forte" gruyere cheese really is when it sits under a broiler to toast, so if you aren't prepared for an overwhelming smell of feet, I suggest you try a milder melting cheese.

You will need:
- a heavy bottom stock pot, preferably one that does not have teflon;
- 3 tablespoons of butter;
- 3 tbsp of olive oil;
- 3 large white onions cut in half and sliced thinly;
- handful of picked over fresh thyme;
- 2 bay leaves;
- 4 large cloves of crushed garlic;
- 6 c of stock (vegetable, chx or beef);
- 1 c of white wine.

Step One: In a large stock pot on medium-low heat, cook the butter, olive oil, thyme, bay leaves, garlic, and onions with the lid on the pot for 15 minutes. Stir this every few minutes to avoid sticking and burning.

Step Two: Remove the lid and cook onions on medium-high heat for 7 minutes, stirring often until the onions carmelize, literally turning golden in color. Add wine to cool off the onions. Reduce heat to medium and add the stock. (I used chicken stock but I don't recommend it. Frankly, I would try mixing 3 c of beef stock and 3 cups of chicken or vegetable stock. Simmer this over medium heat for 10 minutes.)

Step Three: If you don't have oven safe bowls, then cut slices of rustic french baguette and toast them int he oven with a generous helping of gruyere on top. Using the oven's boril function, these should toast in 3 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on them so they won't burn! The cheese should be slightly browned and bubbling on the bread. Serve the soup in warm bowls and place the cheesy bread on top. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

If you have oven safe bowls, take that bread, throw it in each bowl, smother it with cheese and bake under the broiler for 3-4 minutes until the cheese browns. Remove the bowls from the oven carefully, and serve hot.

Labels: herbs, onion, soup