Baked Pasta Alla Norma (aka Spaghetti Pie)

Found this recipe in Bon Apetit, and I had an open can of tomato paste in the fridge I wanted to use up. Also, I was taken by the name— spaghetti pie sounds like everything that is right in this world.

From Bon Apetit

Ingredients

• 1 medium globe eggplant, peeled, cut into ½" pieces
• 2 pints cherry tomatoes
• 8 garlic cloves, smashed
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for skillet
• ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, plus more for sprinkling
• Kosher salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 4 oz. finely grated Parmesan, divided
• 1 lb. spaghetti
• 2 Tbsp. drained capers
• ½ cup torn basil, plus a few whole leaves

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Combine eggplant, tomatoes, garlic, ¼ cup oil, and ½ tsp. red pepper flakes in a large ovenproof skillet, preferably cast iron. Season generously with salt and toss to combine. Roast, shaking skillet once or twice, until eggplant is tender and tomatoes burst, 25–35 minutes. Let vegetables cool while you prepare the pasta (watch out for the hot handle when you take the skillet out of the oven). Reduce oven temperature to 400°.
2. Whisk eggs and tomato paste in a medium bowl until smooth, then whisk in about three-quarters of Parmesan.
3. Cook spaghetti in a pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Immediately drain pasta in a colander and shake to remove excess water; transfer pasta back to pot.
4. Add cooled vegetable mixture to pot with pasta. Wipe out skillet and drizzle in a little oil; roll around in skillet to coat. Add egg mixture to pasta and toss vigorously with tongs until pasta is evenly coated. Add capers and ½ cup basil and toss again to combine.
5. Transfer pasta mixture to skillet and press gently into an even layer. Top with remaining Parmesan, a few whole basil leaves, and an extra sprinkle of red pepper flakes.
6. Bake pasta until surface is nicely browned, 30–35 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before cutting into wedges for serving.

Notes:
Ugh, I wanted to like this dish SO BADLY but it would need some doctoring if I were to make it again.
I only had a 10and 1/2 inch cast iron skillet, and when I piled in the veggies to roast, It overflowed, so I split them up into two dishes. I used 1 and 1/2 cups tomatoes (though that was probably mistake, should have used the whole amount), and I used parmigiana grana padano blend instead of straight parm. Otherwise I followed the recipe to a Tee. It turned out visually cool, but dry. Definitely needed some extra sauce. The spaghetti on the bottom of the pan got a little over charred but I kind of liked the crunch. It would need double the sauce — maybe an extra egg and tablespoon of tomato paste, and more cheese for me to consider making this again.

Picture:

Middle Eastern Savoy Cabbage Salad

Saved this recipe an old finecooking magazine, and we had leftover cabbage from Thanksgiving, so decided to make it. Savoy cabbage has crinkly leaves perfect for soaking up a thick dressing and still remains crunchy.

Recipe:

From finecooking
https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/middle-eastern-savoy-cabbage-salad

1 day ahead and refrigerated, covered. Servings: 4 to 6Middle Eastern ingredients like lemon, yogurt, cumin, and coriander flavor a creamy dressing that crinkly Savoy cabbage soaks right up. It’s a lovely accompaniment to grilled lamb. Use regular yogurt for the dressing; Greek yogurt is too thick. If you have extra dressing, use it as a dip for vegetables or to dress another small salad.

• 1/2 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced

• 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 tsp. ground cumin

• 1 tsp. ground coriander

• 2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

• 1 Tbs. finely grated lemon zest

• 2 tsp. honey

• Kosher salt

• 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (not Greek)

• 1 small head Savoy cabbage, halved, cored, and sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick ribbons (12 loosely packed cups)

• 2 medium carrots, peeled and shaved into ribbons with the peeler (about 2 lightly packed cups)

• 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

• 1/4 cup chopped salted pistachios

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 
  
• Soak the onion in cold water to mellow it, about 20 minutes. Drain.
• In an 8-inch skillet, heat the oil, cumin, and coriander over medium-low heat until the spices are fragrant, about 2 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Add the lemon juice and zest, honey, and 1/2 tsp. salt to the spices in the pan and stir to combine. With a silicone spatula, fold in the yogurt until well combined.
• Put the cabbage, carrots, mint, and onion in a large serving bowl. Toss the salad with about two-thirds of the dressing. Let sit for about 10 minutes to soften the cabbage. Sprinkle the chopped pistachios over the salad. Grind some black pepper over the top and then drizzle with more dressing to taste. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, and serve

Notes:

I used homemade 2% yogurt and it worked fine. I liked the dressing! This salad holds up well and tasted pretty great the following day as well. The mint is key. You could probably add lentils to make it more hearty. Any hard nut (like almonds) would probably work too. Regular green or red cabbage would probably work for this as well.


Pictures

breakfast Cookies with Dates

Ever in pursuit of healthy, on-the-go breakfast options for the DH, I stumbled across the recipe when I went down a bit of a foodblog rabbithole, and thought it would be excellent. Sweetness comes from the dates, and it has a lot of oats and seeds for fiber and fullness.

Recipe:

Directly from blog occasionally oats: 

https://www.occasionallyeggs.com/2018/02/oatmeal-breakfast-cookies.html

Ingredients

• 220 grams / 2 cups rolled oats divided
• 110 grams / 3/4 cup raw sunflower seedsdivided
• 60 grams / 1/4 cup raisins
• 50 grams / 1/4 cup chia
• 40 grams / 1/4 cup pepitas
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 120 grams / 1/2 cup dates*
• 70 grams / 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 60 ml / 1/4 cup oat milk or another non-dairy milk

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F and grease or line a large baking sheet.
2. Place 110 grams / 1 cup of the oats and 70 grams / 1/2 cup of the sunflower seeds into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Mix on high for a minute or two, until a coarse flour forms. Place the flour into a large bowl and stir in the remaining oats, sunflower seeds, raisins, chia, pepitas, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda.
3. Blend the dates, coconut oil, and milk in the food processor until the dates have broken down and a paste forms. Add this to the oat mixture and use your hands to mix until fully combined.
4. Form large balls with the dough, each about a heaping 1/4 cup in size. Press them with your hands to flatten to about 3cm high and place onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all of the dough has been used, and then bake for 13-15 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are golden.
5. Remove from the oven and cool for about ten minutes on the baking sheet before removing and cooling fully on a rack. They'll be a little fragile until they're completely cool. Store in a sealed container on the counter for up to three days** or freeze.

My Notes:

I pretty much followed the recipe exactly. I added a 1/2 tsp more cinnamon (probably, I’m terrible about measuring spices), and used kosher instead of sea salt. I used the weights for everything (even the coconut oil and dates, which I thought ended up being more in quantity than the volume listed. I used almond milk and put a splash or two more to get the date paste runnier. Because it was a cold day, the coconut oil was solid, so heating the milk before adding it into the food processor helped melt the oil. I used half dried cranberries and half raisins. I probably would press the cookies down further— they didn’t really spread for me. Made 10 cookies.

I liked the cookies! Just the right hint of sweetness. Lots of chewing required but would be excellent with coffee, I can tell. Definitely would make again. 

Pictures

Crumb topped pumpkin loaf

I have had this recipe for ages (9 years!) and finally, finally have come around to making it.

Recipe from Family Circle Magazine, October 2009 (https://www.familycircle.com/recipe/quickbreads/crumb-topped-loaf/)

Ingredients:
Loaf:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 egg

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

Topping:

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

• 1/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/3 cup walnuts, finely chopped

• 1 teaspoon confectioners' sugar (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.

1. Mix flour, baking powder, pie spice and salt in small bowl. Beat egg and sugar in large bowl. Beat in pumpkin, oil and vanilla until smooth. Make a well in center of flour mixture. Add egg mixture. Stir just until moistened and batter comes together. Fold in walnuts. Spoon batter into prepared pan.

1. Mix butter, brown sugar and flour in small bowl until crumbly. Stir in walnuts. Sprinkle over batter.

1. Bake loaf at 350 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes, until wooden toothpick tests clean. Cool in pan on rack 10 minutes. Turn out onto rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar; slice.
2. 
   

Nutrition Information for Crumb-Topped LoafServings Per Recipe: 12Per Serving: 28 mg chol., 4 g sat. fat, 2 g fiber, 105 mg sodium, 31 g carb., 14 g Fat, total, 259 kcal cal., 4 g pro.

My notes:
I used Libby's canned pumpkin-- not sure if that is considered "solid pack" pumpkin, but it worked. I did about one heaping cup.
I added the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, and not vice versa.
It didn't seem like a lot of batter, but there's quite a bit of topping that the 9 X 5 X 3 pan was necessary so that the topping didn't overflow. However, I'd consider a smaller loaf pan just so that the loaf doesn't come out so squat and short.
I baked it for 50 minutes, it seemed dry. Next time I'd start checking at 45 minutes.
I used my own spice blend and added cinnamon, cardamom, ground ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. I probably doubled the overall amount of spice.
I added a pinch of salt to the crumb topping.
Overall the recipe comes together easily and tastes good-- the topping is the highlight, really. I probably won't make again because I'd want more bread to topping ratio. I might just make the topping again for another recipe.


Pictures