Fall Salad & Crostini

The other night I had time (a catering-gig-free-night)to cook dinner for us and I spoiled mr. a rotten, one of my favorite things to do. I whipped up a meal from things I had hanging out in the fridge. First I started off with pan seared foie gras (left over from catered dinner) over thinly sliced caramelized bosc pear on olive oil crostini finished with a balsamic reduction. They were inhaled to say the least! Then we moved on to Roasted Cauliflower with Gremolata Crumbs, which again was really quickly eaten up. We rounded out the meal with this delicious in season warm butternutsquash salad. Once the fall begins, I cannot seem to have enough butternutsquash! See recipe below. It keeps wonderfully in the fridge for days. I am just finishing the left overs as I write this! Enjoy!

Warm Butternut and Chickpea Salad with Tahini Dressing
Adapted from Orangette, who adapted it from Casa Moro

Yield: 4 servings

For salad:
1 medium butternut squash (about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed
1/2 teaspoons ground allspice (I skip this)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
One 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (1 1/2 cups)
1/4 of a medium red onion, finely chopped (I caramelized them! Yum!)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

For tahini dressing:
1 medium garlic clove, finely minced with a pinch of salt
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons well-stirred tahini
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more to taste

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

In a large bowl, combine the butternut squash, garlic, allspice, olive oil, and a few pinches of salt. Toss the squash pieces until evenly coated. Roast them on a baking sheet for 25 minutes, or until soft. Remove from the oven and cool.

Meanwhile, make the tahini dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic and lemon juice. Add the tahini, and whisk to blend. Add the water and olive oil, whisk well, and taste for seasoning. The sauce should have plenty of nutty tahini flavor, but also a little kick of lemon. You will probably need to add more water to thin it out.

To assemble the salad, combine the squash, chickpeas, onion, and cilantro or parsley in a mixing bowl. Either add the tahini dressing to taste, and toss carefully, or you could serve the salad with the dressing on the side. Serve immediately.

Do ahead: Molly says this salad, lightly dressed, keeps beautifully in the fridge, that you should hold a little of the dressing on the side and that it can be reheated in the microwave.

Breaking the fast

I had my friend Alexis over a few days ago this is what we ate for breakfast/brunch. It is a riff on huevos rancheros, greek baked eggs, with a bit of spanish kick to it. Enjoy!

Tomato and Feta Baked Eggs
(makes generous 2 servings)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large shallot (diced)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes (chopped, I used half the can only)
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1 handful fresh herbs (chopped, I used parsley)
1/2 cup feta (crumbled)
4 eggs



Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Add the shallot and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
4. Add the tomato, oregano, cumin, smoked paprika, salt and pepper and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 5-10 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and mix in the fresh herbs and feta.
6. Divide between two individually sized baking dishes, indent the centers with a spoon and crack the eggs into the indentations.
7. Bake in a preheated 425F oven until the sauce is bubbly and the egg whites have just set, about 8-14 minutes.

Conscious Chocolate

Theo Chocolate, my latest chocolate obsession. Walking aroud wholefoods the other day I stopped to taste a free sample. Free chocolate...'yes thank you very much'. I asked the lady at the stand which one was her favorite, I took a piece, savored, and before she finished her sentence I was hooked. Some people talk about chocolate the way other people talk about wine and cheese. To be honest I don't fully get all the nuances, this chocolate was simply ridiculously delicious. I bought two of their 75% cacao bars. Needless to say we inhaled them. I looked at their website and they are a really cool company. They are the first and only organic and fair trade chocolate producers in the United States. Chocolate with a conscience.

Olla New York

I am so happy to finally share with you my new website, Olla. A huge big thanks to my dear friend, computer genius and talented writer, Nina, who more than helped me put it all together. Thanks Ninis! I am excited about this new adventure, although it has been going on for a while, this website makes it all the more "official". I look forward to sharing with you all culinary journeys. xx

Clean

I have been feeling a bit tired lately and I am sure it is due to too much "tasting" (eating all) sweets while at work. Sugar will do that do you, next thing you know you hooked. So, I decided to give sugar a rest and cleanse my body using Dr. Junger's book Clean as a guide. His cleanse is a 21 day cleanse that is really doable because you still eat and have enough energy to keep going about your daily routine. What this cleanse does is essentially cut out all the foods and substances (i.e. dairy, gluten, meat, , processed foods, sugar, alcohol or caffeine) that interfere with the detoxification process. I am on day four )17 to go)of my cleanse wohoooo! Last night I had the most delicious miso soup with shitake mushrooms and watercress, I thought I'd share with you. Enjoy!



You can eat this as is or add extra vegetables if you would like (zucchini, carrots)
Miso Soup with Watercress
adapted from Goop

SERVES: 4
TIME: 30 minutes

Ingredients
6 cups of water
30 grams of dried bonito flakes
3 or more dried shitake mushrooms (you can buy them pre-sliced)
6 Tbsp of miso paste, whatever kind you like—sweet white miso makes a nice, light soup while aged barley gives a full, robust flavor (i like to use both)
2 cups watercress leaves

Heat the water in a small soup pot and when bubbles form around the edge, add the bonito. Turn the heat down and simmer for two minutes. Turn off the heat and let the broth sit for five minutes. Strain the broth into a clean pot, discarding the bonito. Add the shitakes and wakame to the broth and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Remove the mushrooms (you don't have to do this is they are already pre-sliced). Discard the thick stems from the mushrooms, thinly slice the caps and slip them back into the soup.
In a small bowl, combine the miso paste with a bit of the broth and whisk to combine. Pour the mixture back into the pot and let the soup simmer, being careful not to let it boil. Add the watercress at the last minute, just to wilt it, and serve.

Image via Goop

Fall has arrived

I have been busy working and also finishing up my website which I can hopefully (crossing fingers) share with you next week.
I leave you today with this list of Ten Human Needs:

affection
creation
freedom
identity
idleness
participation
protection
subsistence
transcendence
understanding

Ten human needs as identified by leading Chilean economist Manfred Max-Neef.

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