Pasta Puttanesca

It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted. More time than I had planned, but as each month passed, I decided maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing that I’d taken a break. I wasn’t loving how I was feeling in this space or in the world of blogging as a whole. The thoughts that continuously crossed my mind: What is a blog? Who is it for? Why am I sharing my life and passion for food with the world? Is anyone reading it? Does it matter if anyone’s reading it?

Having some distance has helped answer a few of these questions. There’s no definition of what a blog has to be, how it looks, how it reads. My personal feeling is that a blog should be a welcoming environment, one that embodies the personality of its creator, and, hopefully, it will resonate with readers. Which is why I decided to return. Over the last few months, I have received emails and DMs from people who ask me when I’d start things up again. So, let’s give this a try. I can’t guarantee I will post often. I have a goal; one that I’m keeping in my head.

In my first dive back in, I’m starting with a dish that I have really grown to love. Pasta, for me, typically involve lots of butter and cheese. So, the fact that I appreciate this so much shows even without copious amounts of dairy, is a testament to how good a bowl of pasta puttanesca is. The richness comes from the olive oil and black olives and the blast of umami from anchovies. Fennel is an untraditional addition, but I am a big fan of the stuff and really like the subtle sweetness it provides. It was so good that the big pan I made almost didn’t make it past lunchtime.

Pasta Puttanesca

Yield:
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 small fennel bulb, chopped
Oil-cured black olives, sliced into rounds
3 anchovies packed in oil
24-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and crushed (with hands or fork)
2 tablespoons jarred capers
Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
1 lb spaghetti or linguine
Basil leaves, for garnish
Toasted panko (recipe below), optional

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente (following directions on the box).

Meanwhile, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large skillet set over medium-low heat. Add garlic and anchovies and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes, until garlic is lightly browned. Add chopped fennel and cook for 3 minutes, giving it a stir every minute or so.

Add the tomatoes and bring the heat up to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have broken down, approximately 10 minutes. Add capers, black olives, and red pepper flakes.

Drain pasta and transfer to the pan with the sauce. Using tongs, toss the pasta with the sauce. Drizzle in remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season with more salt, if desired.

Serve in bowls and garnish with fresh basil and toasted panko.

Toasted panko

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup panko
Kosher salt

Directions:
Melt butter in a medium-skillet over medium-high heat. Add panko and cook, stirring often, until it’s turned golden brown in color. Season with kosher salt, to taste. Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Baked Haddock Sandwich with Roasted Garlic Aioli (Recipe and Thrive Algae Oil Giveaway)

This post is sponsored by Thrive Culinary Algae Oil. Thank you for supporting these partnerships. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own. 

My cooking involves a lot of oil. That's not to say that my food's oily, just that I rely on it as an ingredient for many of our meals. On our counter, there are always a few bottles within arm's reach so I can quickly drizzle over vegetables, add to a hot pan, or whisk in salad dressing. For all of these, I've become quite fond of Thrive Culinary Algae Oil. Now, I'm often skeptical when someone reaches out to me with a product I've never heard of. It rarely falls in line with my cooking style. But I've been using Thrive in almost everything I've made these last few months, and it's found a permanent place in our kitchen. 

When I'm looking at oils, my main priority is that they do what they need to do and I've found that Thrive is a great multi-purpose oil. Its high smoke point (up to 495 degrees F) is perfect for frying, searing, sautéing and roasting. Its neutral taste is ideal for salad dressings and homemade mayonnaise. The added benefit is that Thrive is high in monounsaturated fats (the good kind of fats), making it an excellent alternative to butter and other cooking oils for those looking to help maintain heart health. 

This recipe felt like an appropriate way to showcase the versatility of the oil. Here I've used it in a variety of ways... roasting the garlic, preparing the aioli, and for baking the fish... resulting in a satisfying sandwich you can sink your teeth into.

Curious to try Thrive Algae Oil out yourself? Well, they have generously provided a bottle of oil to three lucky winners!  

Giveaway Details: 
To enter, leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite sandwich toppings are.  Eligible to US residents only (sorry international friends)! Giveaway ends at 12PM EST on Friday, February 23, 2018. The winner will be notified via e-mail. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, another name will be drawn. (Note: Be sure to fill out the e-mail field in the comment form) 

BAKED HADDOCK SANDWICH WITH ROASTED GARLIC AIOLI

Servings: 4 sandwiches

Ingredients:
For the baked haddock
1 1/2 lbs haddock fillet, cut into 4-ounce pieces
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
2 large eggs
Thrive Algae Oil 

To assemble burgers
Hamburger buns
Garlic aioli
Tomato slices
Pickle slices

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking pan with aluminum foil. Using a baking brush or paper towel, spread 1 tablespoon oil on foil.

Add flour to a shallow dish. In another shallow dish, add the panko breadcrumbs. In a shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs. 

Season haddock with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour, then egg, and finally panko. Transfer to baking pan. Repeat with all fillets. Bake in oven for 18-20 minutes, until flaky and golden brown. 

To assemble the sandwiches, spread garlic aioli on both halves of the hamburger buns, add a tomato slice to the bottom, followed by the fish and the pickles. Top with the second half of the bun. 
 

ROASTED GARLIC AIOLI

Yield: 1 cup aioli

Ingredients:
Whole head of garlic, outer skin removed
3/4 cups Thrive Algae Oil, plus more for drizzling on garlic
1 large egg yolk
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees with the rack positioned in the middle. 

Using a knife, trim 1/4" off the top of the head of garlic, which will reveal the tips of the cloves. Place heads of garlic (you can do 3-4 at a time), in the center of a large piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle a few teaspoons of the oil on top of exposed garlic cloves. Wrap tightly in aluminum foil and transfer to oven. Bake for 55 minutes (checking after 40 minutes), or until it turns a golden brown color. 

Let the garlic cool before handling. Press the bottom of the clove to push it out of its skin. The garlic can be used immediately or stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

To make the aioli, mash the roasted garlic in a large bowl until it turns into a paste. Add egg yolk, lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon salt and whisk to combine.   While whisking, slowly drizzle in the oil until the mixture begins to emulsify.  Continue to whisk in the oil until mixture has achieved a thick, mayonnaise-like consistency. Alternatively, this can be done using an immersion blender by placing the ingredients in the cup of an immersion blender and blending until it forms an aioli. It can be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Spinach, Mushroom and Goat Cheese Crepes

This past fall, I took a class at the Boston Public Market that focused on making crepes. Now, I can count on one hand how many times I've prepared pancakes, so crepes had yet to make it into my repertoire. I was excited to try something new and figured if anyone could teach me, the chef at Salt Box Kitchen could. I didn't realize just how fun and easy they'd be. It took a bit of practice figuring out how much batter I needed for the perfect thickness. But after a few failed attempts, I got the hang of it. The task of flipping each crepe wasn't as challenging as I'd anticipated. There's a chance they could tear around the edges, but they're surprisingly resilient.  And you know what's great?  Crepes can be made a few hours in advance, then warmed at the end (I'll often throw them in the microwave just before adding the filling). 

These have made their way into our weekly meal rotation. I find the spinach-mushroom combination is the ideal filling for brunch or dinner. If we have leftover smoked salmon in the fridge, I'll chop that up and add it to the mix. 

Spinach, Mushroom and Goat Cheese Crepes

Source: Crepe batter provided by SaltBox Kitchen
Yield: 6-8 crepes (depending on size)
Special Tools:  Blender (optional)

Ingredients:
For the crepes
5 large eggs
1 1/4 cups whole milk, plus more if needed
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
Butter

For the filling
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced lengthwise
2 cups fresh spinach leaves
1 lb cremini or white button mushrooms, trimmed, washed and thinly sliced
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
Black pepper
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, flour, and salt until thoroughly combined. Whisk in milk. Alternatively, you can put the ingredients in a blender, mix at low speed for 10 seconds and then high speed for 1 minute. Allow batter to rest for at least 30 minutes to an hour before making crêpes.

Meanwhile,  add olive oil to a saute pan set over medium heat.  Add onion and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms and chopped thyme and cook for another 3 minutes. Add spinach and cook until wilted. Season with salt and black pepper.

To prepare the crêpes, heat a shallow sauté pan or crêpe pan over medium-low heat. Add a small amount of butter to the pan (a couple teaspoons). Once the butter has melted, add 1 1/2 ladles of crepe mixture to the pan, just enough to coat the bottom (it may help to gently tilt the pan to allow it to spread).  Cook for about 1 minute, then, using a spatula, flip over crêpe and cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute. Transfer finished crêpes to a parchment-lined sheet tray. Crêpes can be served immediately, or frozen in layers between parchment and wrapped in plastic or freezer bags to use at another time.

Fill each crêpe with sauteed vegetables and crumbled goat cheese, and then fold the crepes.