Garlic & Greens Spaghetti - Because Garlic Fest is just around the corner

GARLIC!!!!!!GARLIC!!!!!!!!GARLIC!!!!!!!!

Last year, by virtue of a glitch is the cosmos, I was asked to fill in as a guest judge at the Delray Beach Garlic Festival.  I suspect is was the universe pointing to one of the true lovers of all things garlic because clearly it was not pointing to a public speaker.  This year, another judge must have fallen into a black hole, as I was asked, again. to participate as a Judge.  (Someone seriously needs to do a better vetting process if I'm asked to speak with a microphone in hand)

In any event, to ready myself for the challenge I have re-invented Garlic & Greens Spaghetti from the Food Network Magazine Cookbook, Great Easy Meals. (Page 277 for those who want the original recipe)

This dish has everything my husband and I love.  GARLIC in abundance.  Fresh greens.  And, Pasta.

The modifications to this recipe were minimal.  We, of course, added more garlic than required and less EVOO.  We found adding two onions to the dish made it too sweet and lessened the recipe it to just one.  If you have followed us before, the standard pasta is replaced with brown rice pasta. (An FYI, we also tried it with linguine but much preferred the spaghetti version)

We attempted this recipe twice.  Once with grilled pork and the second time with blackened shrimp on top.  Both were delicious.  Both would be made again.

The original recipe suggests par boiling the greens, however we omitted that step.  I preferred to saute the greens in the onion/EVOO.  I hate to lose any nutritional value in the water bath and we both love sauted greens.

Ingredients
20 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onions, halved and sliced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more to taste
Kosher salt
12 cups torn winter greens, such as kale, chard, escarole or mustard greens (about 2 1/2 pounds)
12 ounces brown rice spaghetti 
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese


Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, cook the garlic in the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and crisp, about 3 minutes. (Be careful not to over-brown the garlic or it will taste bitter.) Using a slotted spoon, transfer the garlic chips to a paper-towel-lined plate. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons oil into a small bowl to use as a dip for crusty bread, if desired. 

Is there any better smell than a saute pan full of garlic?

When the water is boiling, Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente.  Our brand of pasta takes about 15 min.

Brown Rice Pasta has a different cooking method than traditional pasta.  Be sure to follow the instructions

Add the onions and red pepper flakes to the oil in the pan; cook, stirring, until the onions are light brown, about 10 minutes. Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt. When the onions are almost done, add the greens and cook, uncovered, until just tender,stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.

Greens and onion mixture with Garlic waiting in the background.

When the pasta is done, remove and reserve about 1 cup cooking water; drain the pasta and transfer to a serving bowl. Add the cheese and toss. Add the greens and some of the reserved pasta water and toss, adding more water as necessary to keep the pasta from clumping. Top with the garlic chips and protein of choice.

Almost ready to serve

Garlic & Greens with Blackened Shrimp

Garlic & Greens with grilled pork

Pan Roasted Shrimp with Citrus and Quinoa Risotto with Lemon

Recently, on a flight from Wisconsin to Florida I picked up the January issue of Food & Wine Magazine to occupy my time.  For four hours I poured over the fabulous recipes and wine pairings.  As an avid cook, I couldn't wait to get home and fire up the stove.  The "note" section of my smartphone was now chock full of ingredients to Google, wine and ingredients to purchase. The car ride from airport to home must have sounded like an episode from Food Network.

My head was spinning with ideas.  While so many of the recipes in the magazine caught my attention, most had ingredients outside of my health zone.  I am not one willing to be bland and taste-less even though I have eliminated what some consider staples of a regular diet. (No Gluten, No GMO, No corn, No sugar, No dairy, No peanuts, No Soy)  It was time to reinvent a few wheels...and here we are.  My versions of fabulous recipes from Food & Wine fit in to my very structured lifestyle.

And, what better way to start this blog than with Shrimp.  Is it not one of the universally loved sea foods?  The original recipe can be found in Food & Wine Magazine January 2014, pg 71.  (Eliminated from the original recipe:  butter and grilled country bread.  Added to the recipe:  coconut oil.  Change to recipe:  Head On shrimp not used and I use Himalayan salt)

We found the this dish to be so delicious!  So delicious, in fact, that we made it two nights in a row just to make sure it met our flavor standards.  The dish is easy and flavorful.  The olives and citrus turned out to be a fabulous flavor combination which was very unexpected.

My Version of Pan Roast Shrimp with Citrus

1 Poblano pepper—halved, cored and thinly sliced crosswise

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 cup mixed pitted olives, chopped

Two 1/4-inch-thick slices of lemon, halved

Two 1/4-inch-thick slices of orange, halved

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

rosemary sprig

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

¼ cup coconut oil

1 1/2 teaspoons pink Himalayan salt

1 1/2 pounds large shrimp

1.       Preheat the oven to 450°. In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients except the shrimp.

2.       Scrape the ingredients into a large ovenproof skillet and roast for 10 minutes.

3.       Remove from oven and add Add the shrimp and toss to evenly coat.  Cook another 10 min or until the shrimp are just cooked through. 

Since this dish originally was to be served with grilled country bread, I made a substitution of Quinoa, also a recipe from Food & Wine with some tweaks.  The original recipe can be found in Food & Wine Magazine January 2014, pg 70. 

My Version of Quinoa Risotto with Lemon and Roasted Tomatoes

( I really took more liberty with this dish since I wanted to service the shrimp dish over the risotto.  I'm sure it would be equally delicious with the tomato portion I eliminated)

   1 1/2 cups white quinoa, rinsed

2.     Kosher salt

3.     1/2 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

4.     6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

5.     1 1/2 teaspoons minced rosemary

6.     2 garlic cloves, minced

7.     Freshly ground pepper

8.     4 whole canned Italian tomatoes, drained and halved lengthwise

9.     1 lemon

10.  1 large shallot, finely chopped

11.  2 cups chicken stock

12.  1/4 cup crème fraîche, plus more for garnish ¼ cup coconut milk

13.  1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

14.  Finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

15.  Chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

1.      In a saucepan, bring the quinoa with 2 1/2 cups of water and a large pinch of salt to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is tender, 20 minutes. Let stand covered for 15 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

2.     Peel the lemon with a sharp knife, being sure to remove all of the bitter white pith. Working over a bowl, cut in between the membranes to release the sections. Cut the lemon sections into 1/4-inch pieces.

3.     In a medium saucepan, heat the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil until shimmering. Add the shallot and garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the rosemary and cook for 1 minute.

4.     Stir in the quinoa and stock and bring just to a boil. Simmer over moderate heat, stirring, until the quinoa is suspended in a thickened sauce, about 5 minutes. Stir in the 1/4 cup coconut milk, lemon zest, lemon sections. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the risotto into bowls; serve.

Food and Wine says: Pair it with California Savignon Blanc.  

Clearly the magazine knows what they are talking about, it was a great choice.

A side note:  The lined through items are the eliminated ingredients in the Risotto recipe.  I'm guessing you guys could figure this out....but why leave anything to chance. 

I'm really excited about our next test:  Herbed Lamb Meatballs with Rich Tomato Sauce.