Sweet Potato Pasta with Caramelized Onions + Sausage

If you've been reading this blog, by now you know that one of my favorite ways to cook is by improvising with ingredients I have on hand in the kitchen.

I had a bit of a challenge this week. After a long holiday, the refrigerator was mostly empty, and there was little fresh produce on hand. As I dug around the kitchen, ingredients began to appear. I was excited to find a not-yet -expired tub of mascarpone cheese. Anything will taste great when slathered in this! A few sweet potatoes were already roasted, so that was a no brainer. Red onions are a staple but when cooked down with butter and cabernet vinegar, they are transformed into sweet, caramelized condiment. I can always count on fresh arugula greens from the garden to add a peppery flavor to anything I make. Dinner was shaping up nicely, indeed. Mission accomplished. Dinner served.

SWEET POTATO PASTA WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS + SAUSAGE

2 sweet potatoes, roasted, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces {best to make day before}
1 tablespoon rendered bacon fat or oil
8 sausage links or 2 large sausages
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 red onions, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch half-moon slices
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
250 grams {about 1/2 pound} dried egg yolk pasta, such as chitarra or fettucine
8 oz. mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano parmesan cheese
handful of washed arugula leaves, cut into chiffonade slices

Heat 4 quarts of salted water over medium high heat for the pasta.

In a 9" sauté pan, heat the bacon fat or oil over medium low heat. Slice the sausage into 1/2 inch pieces and cook slowly just until browned. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon onto a plate and set aside.

In the same pan over medium heat, add the butter and heat until melted. Add the onions, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occassionally, until the onions are starting to soften and become traslucent {about 10-12 minutes}. Add the vinegar and continue cooking over medium-low heat. Remove from heat and set aside until ready to use.

Cook the pasta until al dente, then drain. In a large mixing bowl, add the mascarpone and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese. Toss the warm pasta with the cheese mixture until well-coated. Add the sweet potatoes, onions, sausage and arugula. Toss gently, just until all the ingredients are folded together. Top with the remaining Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.


Serves four.

* NOTE: This would be a lovely vegetarian meal if you omit the sausage.
















Buon appetito!
copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

Time to get back into the kitchen

It has been raining furiously for the past few days, and I couldn't be happier. I love a downpour and darkened sky- it slows me down and makes me want to nestle somewhere cozy where I can hear the heartbeat of the rain on the rooftop.
It also brings me back into the kitchen. It has been a busy summer and I haven't spent as much time cooking as I wanted to. Like the seasons, sometimes we need to stop for a rest or to slow down to let new ideas simmer.

Fall is a perfect time to let life take a more abbreviated pace.
It is a time of stews and cobblers, roasts and root vegetables. It is a time to let the oven do most of the work.
Slow cooking. Cooking slowly.

One of my favorite fall dishes is a simple roasted chicken. I love starting the feast by basting the liver in butter until it is cooked, but still rosy pink on the inside. It is like a secret treat before the main meal. It reminds me of watching my mom make broth from the "goodies" harvested from inside the cavity. One of the many techniques she learned from her European mother that was later passed down to me. These days, you may have noticed at your favorite local restaurant, innards are definitely "in". Nose to tail, girth to giblet. But I digress.....

I am also dreaming of slow-roasted short-ribs. {PS: you must try some deliciously tender short ribs at my favorite local gastro pub Holeman & Finch}. And hearty soups and stews. One pot casseroles. Oven to table goodness. Light a fire and let it roar. Pour yourself a nice glass of red wine. Crank up the oven and join me in the kitchen.

Here is a recipe to get your taste buds ready for the fall harvest offerings. No innards here, just a celebration of this season's harvest root vegetables with inexpensive chicken thighs.

ROASTED ROOT VEGETABLE STEW WITH CREAMY ARTICHOKE LEMON MASHED POTATOES

1 wedge of preserved lemon
3 parsnips
2 carrots or bunch of baby carrots
1 medium yellow onion
1 cup butternut squash or sweet potato pieces { use peeled vegetables, cut into 1/2 chunks}
3 Tablespoons olive oil
fresh thyme sprigs
1 cloves garlic , crushed
6-8 boneless chicken thighs
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. citrus fennel aromatic savory salt
1 cup Marinated Chickpeas with Garlic and lemon
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock or broth
1 cup Artichoke Lemon Pesto

Rinse the lemon wedge and remove the pulp and seeds with your thumb or back of a paring knife. Cut the wedges into thin crosswise slices. Peel and cut the parsnips into 1/2 inch pieces. Scrub the carrots clean and cut into 1/2 pieces or remove the green fronds from the whole baby carrots, leaving about 1/2 inch of green stem at the top. Cut the onion into half moon slices.



Toss the lemon and vegetables with oil, 1 teaspoon wild oregano salt and 1/8 teaspoon cracked black pepper. Place on a sheet pan. Add the garlic cloves. Sprinkle with sprigs of fresh thyme. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30-40 minutes, until the squash or potato can be pierced with a knife. Remove from the oven when done.

To prepare the chicken, mix the flour, cinnamon and savory salt. Dredge the chicken thighs in the flour mixture. Heat 3 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saute pan just until melted and foamy. Add the chicken thighs and cook on both sides just until browned. Remove the chicken from the pan. Deglaze the pan with the chicken broth. Stir in the artichoke pesto.



Add the chicken. Place the roasted vegetables with the chickpeas in the pan.Season to taste. Continue to cook over medium heat until chicken is cooked and sauce is thick. Spoon over warm artichoke mashed potatoes.





* To make the artichoke mashed potatoes, simply add artichoke lemon pesto to your favorite mashed potato recipe and enjoy!

Serves four.


Buon appetito!
copyright 2008 Alisa Barry

Saturday Market Meals

It's 8:00 am, already nearly 80 degrees hot and a blanket of humidity looming in the air. The market is bustling and early morning walkers with headphones skip by trying to beat the pace of the heat. I, too, head to the market early, ready to pick out the best of this week's offerings for my Saturday Market Meal. One of my favorite vendors, Woodland Farms, is already one table short and sold out of just picked hothouse tomatoes. I get in line {yes, a line!} to see what is left. Beautiful bunches of easter egg-colored beets peer out from a tumble of greens sprouting from their heads. I stash not just one bunch, but two, into my market basket. Already, I have found my favorite Saturday Market Meal ingredient .



Wash the beets thoroughly and remove them from the greens. Don't toss out the greens! Remove the leafy tops of the beets, wash and keep refrigerated. I am going to make them an essential part of our meal tonight.



Beets can be cooked in all kinds of ways- boiled and pickled are some old-timely favorites. I have found the best way to enhance the earthy yet sweet flavor of beets, especially the golden and chioggia varieties, is to roast them whole in the oven.
Drizzled with a good extra virgin olive and sprinkled with a savory salt, it is as easy as it can get.



I found some young, tender spring green garlic , but I usually crush a few cloves in their skins and add that to the mix.



The beets are carefully peeled.




ROASTED BEET AND SAUTEED GREENS
The foil roasting method creates a nice steam cooking, and makes clean-up easy as an added bonus.. This dish makes a great vegetarian lunch.

1 bunch beets { golden, chioggia or a variety of any locally grown beets} *NOTE: red beets will bleed into more delicate varieties.
Extra Virgin Olive OIl
Garlic cloves or fresh green garlic
1 Orange, zested and juiced
1 tsp. sherry vinegard
Salt & Pepper

Cook the beets for about 45 minutes to one hour in a 350 degree oven, until the beets are easily pierced with a sharp knife. Remove from the oven and let cool enough to touch. Peel the beets and disgard the skins. Keep the short green stems intact, if possible. They add a delicious dimension of flavor and are perfectly edible. Cut the beets into halves just before serving.

Cut the beet greens into large strips. Wash clean and dry thoroughly. Heat 2 Tablespoons of oil in a saute pan and cook greens over medium heat just until wilted. Add a Tablespoon of orange juice, the orange zest , a splash of sherry vinegar to taste.
Plate with halved beets. Drizzle with a good quality extra virgin olive oil.
This dish can also be served at room temperature, with fresh goat cheese and toasted walnuts.

Serves Two.

Buon appetito!
copyright 2008 Alisa Barry