Avgolemono Greek Lemon Chicken Soup with Rice

This is a bright beautiful soup. And, I admit, slightly addictive. If you are tired of the traditional chicken soup, add a little lemon, rice and egg and you've got a delicious dish. The recipe below assumes you are using pre-made stock. This soup can also be made from a tradition chicken soup made from scratch.

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup carrots, shredded (optional)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, thinly chopped (fennel is a great substitution/addition)
1 1/2 quarts of organic low sodium chicken stock (or water and right amount of bouillon cubes/base)
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 boneless chicken breasts, quartered
1 lemon
2 bay leaves
2-3 egg yolks
1/2 cup orzo pasta or rice
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS
Wash and dry the chicken. In a large stock pot, heat one tablespoon olive oil on medium heat. Sauté the onions, carrots and celery until Sauté until no longer pink and beginning to brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Mix in a pinch of salt and cracked pepper. Remove from the pan and set aside in a large bowl.

Add the chicken pieces to the pot, and sauté until no longer pink and starting to brown. Add wine to deglaze the pan. Return onion, carrots and celery to the pot. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Add bay leaves.

Bring to a boil 3 quarts of water in a large tea kettle (you may have to do this a few times depending on the size of the tea kettle, or you can just add the water cold and bring to a boil). Add water to pot and bouillon cubes. If using stock, add 3 quarts of stock to pot instead of the water/bouillon. Raise heat to medium/high.

Add rice or orzo after soup is boiling and cook until tender. Squeeze the juice of the lemon into the soup.

In a separate bowl, separate the yolks out. Beat the egg yolks until slightly frothy. Ladle about a cup of the hot broth into the bowl and continue to beat the eggs. Do this one more time, beating the eggs with the hot broth. Stir in the egg/broth mixture to the soup pot and reduce heat to low.

Remove the chicken pieces from the soup and dice. Add the diced chicken back into the soup.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 6 to 8 servings.

Linguine Fine with Garlic Pork Sausage and Spinach

From food

INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound Garlic & Wine Pork sausage, casing removed,crumbled
5 ounces baby spinach, fresh
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 (16 ounce) package Linguine Fini (De Cecco)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Parmesan Cheese, shredded, 3 tbsp
Spinach, fresh, 5 oz
Butter, salted, 1 tbsp
Kosher salt, 2 tsp
Pepper, black, 1 tbsp


DIRECTIONS

Cook pasta in rapidly boiling salted water as directed on the package, until al dente. Drain in a colander, reserving 2 cups of pasta water.

Toast the panko crumbs in a small skillet using 1/2 tablespoon of the butter. Set aside.

In sauce pan, sauté sausage until brown. Drain excess oil.
Add garlic and cook for a minute more. Add the pasta water, and incorporate the parmigiana cheese until the cheese is dissolved. Add pasta until coated in the sauce.

Add spinach leaves and stir until they are also in the mixture and wilted. Cover for a minute if needed to cook spinach.

Toss in panko crumbs and serve.

Number of Servings: 4

Spicy and Sweet Italian Sausage Meatballs and Linguine Fini with Mushrooms

From food

INGREDIENTS

1 medium onion, chopped
1 sweet Italian sausage
1 spicy Italian sausage
1 cup panko bread crumbs
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 package crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 cup white wine
3 tbsp fresh basil, chiffonade-style
1 cup shredded or grated parmigiano reggiano cheese, fresh
1 package linguine fini pasta
Kosher salt
Cracked pepper
1 tsp pimenton ahumado (smoked paprika)
extra virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS
In a pasta pot, cook the linguine fini in salt water with a little olive oil until al dente. Reserve 2 cups of the pasta water before straining and set aside.

For both the sweet and spicy Italian sausages, remove the casing and roll into bite-size balls on a plate. In a bowl, pour panko crumbs and a little kosher salt and pepper. Roll the meatballs into the panko until breaded and transfer them to a separate plate. In a cast iron pan, heat some olive oil on medium high heat until hot. Place all meatballs in the hot oil. Cook until brown on the bottom, and turn with tongs. When the meatballs are browned on all sides, remove from pan and set aside. In the same pan, add more oil if necessary and sauté onions until soft. Add garlic, a dash of pimenton and 1/3 of the basil. Add the crimini mushrooms and sauté until cooked through, browning slightly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add 1/2 cup of pasta water and 1/2 cup of white wine to deglaze the pan. When heated through, stir in 1/4 cup of the parmigiano until completely incorporated into the mixture. Heat through. Return the meatballs to the pan. Heat through, and repeat the pasta water/wine/cheese process until a sauce begins to form. Add the remaining basil and paprika. Salt and pepper to taste. When the sauce begins to thicken, stir in the cooked pasta in batches until fully coated by the sauce.
Serve with additional basil, parmigiano cheese and pepper. Enjoy!

Endive & English Pea Salad

Unfortunately, I don't have a picture, but this recipe was delicious. I used English peas bought still in the shell. You could try this recipe with frozen peas, but it might not taste as fresh.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup freshly podded English sweet peas
1 meyer lemon
1 lime
1 small orange
2 scallions (green onion) finely sliced
1 Belgian endive
1 red Belgian endive
2 slices of prosciutto
Extra Virgin olive oil
kosher salt
Freshly cracked pepper
1 tsp pimenton ahumado (smoked paprika)
Fresh shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano

DIRECTIONS
In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil. Boil peas until just tender. Remove from water and place in ice-water immediately. Set aside. Juice the lemon, lime and orange. Wash and pat dry four leaves of yellow endive and four leaves of red endive. Set aside. On two salad plates, drizzle a little olive oil using a pour spout. Set two yellow endives criss-crossed with two red endives on each plate (be creative). Drain the peas. In a small bowl, combine the peas with the scallions. Drizzle olive oil on top, add a good pinch of salt and pepper, and pimenton ahumado. Mix. Add citrus juices. Spoon peas and scallion salad into the four endive leaves on each plate. Rip a prosciutto piece in half and set on each side of the plate. Garnish with parmigiano shavings. Serves 2.

Coq Au Vin

INGREDIENTS

1 whole chicken, cut up
1 or more cups chick stock (homemade preferred)
2 slices pancetta or thick bacon
1/2 cup flour
2 tbsp butter
kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper
1 bulb fennel, sliced
2 cups mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups pearl onions, peeled
2 carrots, cut in 2-inch pieces
1 large potato, cubed
2 1/2 cups Burgundy or pinot noir wine
5 sprigs fresh thyme
Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

DIRECTIONS
Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or cast iron pan. Add the pancetta and cook over medium heat until lightly browned. Remove the bacon to a plate.

Lay the pieces of chicken out on paper towels and pat dry. Rub the chicken with salt and pepper. When pancetta is set aside, brown the chicken pieces in batches in a single layer for about 5 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Remove the chicken to the plate with the bacon and continue to brown until all the chicken is done. Set aside.

Add the carrots, potatoes, onions, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper to the pan and cook over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add mushrooms and cook until lightly browned. De-glaze the pan with the Burgundy. Stir in the chicken stock and add the fresh thyme. Bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is tender.

Combine 1 tbsp of butter and 1/4 cup of flour together and stir into the mixture. If needed, combine remaining butter and flour to thicken coq au vin. Add more wine if more liquid is required. Bring the stew to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes. Season to taste. Serve hot.

Rasam Soup

INGREDIENTS:
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 garlic cloves
1 small tomato, diced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp curry
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp whole cloves
1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp tamarind paste
1 cup dry lentils
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 cup water

DIRECTIONS
In a sauce pan, add a small amount of oil and butter, add mustard seed and cover on medium high heat. Listen until the mustard seeds splutter or pop like popcorn. They will turn black. Remove from heat temporarily and allow to cool. Return to heat and add garlic, spices and tomatoes. Saute until a paste. Add chicken broth, water and lentils. Stir in cilantro. Boil for 20 minutes or until lentils are soft. Ladle into bowls or thali dishes and garnish with cilantro to serve. Serve like soup or eat it with rice. Serves 4.

Braised Short Ribs - Parisian-Style

This is the first time I've tried to cook short ribs. This is a combination of a couple of recipes but mainly comes from Tyler Florence's Bistro-Style Short Ribs recipe from the Food Network. I replaced the celery with fennel. I also didn't have the fresh herbs, and so they were omitted. I also added the pancetta to the recipe. I have to say that this may be one of my favorite dishes yet. I will definitely try this again.








INGREDIENTS
4 short ribs (angus beef)(approx. 1.5 lbs)
1 small onion, chopped
½ fennel, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 small tomato, quartered
3 cloves garlic, quartered
1 slice pancetta or bacon
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tsp ground thyme
1 glass good, dry, red wine (I used a Cotes-du-Rhones)
1 cup beef bouillon (or 1 cup water and 1 beef bouillon cube)


DIRECTIONS
In small food processor chop onions, fennel, carrots, garlic and tomato until achieving a thick pulp. Set aside.

In a dutch oven, fry pancetta/bacon until slightly brown. In a plate, season short ribs with salt, pepper and ground thyme. With tongs, sear short ribs with pancetta and drippings and drizzle of olive oil until browned on all sides. Set aside and drizzle lightly with olive oil.

Add the vegetables pulp and saute in the pancetta and drippings from the ribs. Cook on medium about ten minutes. Add wine and beef stock. Bring to a boil. Gently place short ribs in liquid (to cover), reduce heat and cover with a lid leaving a small corner to steam. Simmer for 2 hours on medium-low or until the beef falls off the bone. Serve with garlic mashed potatoes or rice.