Pasta with Peas + Fruit Crisp

Spring is here! I can tell because I have so many good, fresh things to eat in my refrigerator. Oh yeah, and all the flowers blooming and stuff.

Here’s a simple spring dish: pasta with peas, bacon and mint. While the pasta is cooking, mince and fry a few slices of bacon until crisp. Turn the heat down, add a cup or so of peas and some chopped mint. Season with salt and pepper. Warm the peas gently and mix with the cooked pasta. Garnish with grated Parmesan or similar cheese. This sauce works very well with a filled pasta like cheese ravioli.

Having a surplus of berries, I made the fruit crisp recipe in Mark Bittman’s Food Matters for dessert. I thought this was a very nice recipe, particularly good mixed with vanilla yogurt (I’m sure ice cream would work just as well). My two-year-old turned up his nose at it, though, even though it contained three different berries. I just can’t get that kid to eat his dessert.

Cranberry Scones for Breakfast, Chicken Stew for Dinner

Occasionally, I like to bake, but I don’t like to have large batches of leftovers sitting around tempting me. A while back, I picked up a cookbook called Small-batch Baking, a collection of recipes for 2 or 3 servings of a variety of baked goods. The recipes I’ve tried have been either hit — very successful — or miss — total failure. Since baking is so precise, I suppose it’s not easy to scale down recipes. Making them is sometimes not easy either; how exactly do you measure 2 teaspoons of cold butter?

Yesterday, I felt like doing a little baking, so I made the Orange Cranberry Oatmeal Scone recipe from Small-batch Baking. This recipe was a hit. It produced two large, crumbly, hearty, tender oatmeal scones dotted with dried cranberries. I think the recipes that don’t need to be so precisely measured definitely work better.

I also felt like having a proper dinner, so I made a chicken stew in the slow cooker. First, I browned cubed chicken with some onion on the stovetop. Then, I added that to the slow cooker along with some whole garlic cloves, a bay leaf and thyme. I finished with 1 part sherry vinegar to 2 parts chicken stock, just enough liquid to almost cover the chicken. I cooked it on low for 4 hours and served the chicken with a little of the sauce over linguine. The chicken was fork-tender and nicely flavored.

To go with it, I made some simple but decadent peas with bacon. I boiled frozen peas for about 2 minutes. In the meantime, I sauteed a little chopped bacon in some butter. When the bacon was starting to crisp, I added some diced onion and continued cooking until the bacon was done. Then I reduced the heat to low and stirred in the peas to warm them. I finished with a little lemon juice. Delish!

How to Make Croquettes

I have been making croquettes — or little fried cakes — for a long time now. They are always popular, and for me they are comfort food. I usually make them with mashed potatoes or beans. It didn’t occur to me that I could use another vegetable until I found Mark Bittman’s recipe for spinach croquettes. But then I realized that the basic croquette is a versatile recipe that can be adapted quite freely. And since it requires cooked vegetables, it is the perfect vehicle for using up leftovers.

Last night I made croquettes with leftover cooked kale. They were surprisingly good, and even the baby ate three small ones. I would also try making them with other greens, artichoke hearts, broccoli, carrots, corn, peas, sweet potatoes or winter squash.

I served them dry, though, which I would amend for next time. Croquettes really need some kind of sauce to be complete. My husband suggested hollandaise sauce, which would be quite decadent and delicious. But even something as simple as a pesto, salsa or aioli would work. But even without the sauce, they are yummy and very quick to make. If you have time to chill them beforehand, all the better.

Basic Croquettes

Yields: about 6 croquettes

• 2 cups cooked vegetable, either mashed or chopped fine
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• ½ cup cheese, grated
• ¼ cup breadcrumbs, plus more for cooking
• seasonings of your choice: chopped onion, fresh herbs, seasoning mix, etc. plus salt and pepper to taste
• 4 tbsp. oil
• ¼ lb. cooked, flaked fish or ground meat (optional)
• Hollandaise sauce, pesto, salsa, aioli, or other mayonnaise or dipping sauce to serve

Combine the vegetable, eggs, cheese, breadcrumbs and seasonings in a bowl, and mix well. Add the meat, if using — these will make the cakes more of an entree than a side dish. If the cakes aren’t holding together, add more breadcrumbs. If they are too dry, add more beaten egg to bind.

Form the croquettes into cakes. You should have at least 6, or you can make mini-cakes to get more. Lay on a sheet of wax paper on a plate and cover with wax paper. Chill for at least half an hour and up to a day.

Heat the oil over medium-high. Dredge the cakes in breadcrumbs. When the oil is shimmering, fry the cakes until well browned, about 5 minutes per side. You may have to cook the cakes in batches depending on the size of your pan.

Serve with the dipping sauce on the side.

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• Mashing Vegetables Beyond Potatoes (simplycooking.wordpress.com)

Mashing Vegetables Beyond Potatoes

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Lately, I have been experimenting with mashing a wider range of vegetables than the standard potato. And why not? The baby loves mashes, even when he’s turning his nose up at vegetables in general. For adults, they are comfort food. Everyone’s happy.

What is the difference between a mash and a puree? Generally, purees are smoother, more like baby food consistency, and in our house at least, we don’t like to eat them as side dishes. I prefer to use a puree as part of another dish, such as a soup or dip. I mostly puree in the food processor so I can choose from a wider range of vegetables (such as broccoli, mushrooms and eggplant, to name a few), although I will occasionally use a finer sieve in the food mill to puree.

I always serve mashes on their own as sides. I like to leave mashes a little chunkier than purees and to enrich them with butter and cream, milk, buttermilk or sour cream — whatever I have on hand. If I am serving the mash right away, I use a potato masher to make quick work of mashing the vegetable and mixing in the additions. If I am planning to serve the mash later, I’ll use the food mill with its coarsest sieve instead, and I’ll mix in the butter and dairy when I’m reheating.

For mashed potatoes, choose the russet, white or Yukon Gold varieties. These varieties have more starch and are better suited to mashing, although I will mash large red potatoes, if that’s what I have. Other vegetables that mash well are carrots, celeriac, parsnips, peas, sweet potatoes, turnips and winter squash.

A new vegetable often benefits from being mashed with potatoes so it’s not entirely unfamiliar. Mashed potatoes and celeriac (or celery root), for instance, has a wonderful nutty flavor. The baby likes mashed vegetables like turnips and winter squash mixed with cooked apples — not a favorite of mine, but if he’ll eat it, I’ll go for it. I like to experiment with strong flavor additions to enliven a mash. Salsa, pesto or herb purees, roasted garlic and cheese are all great additions to try.

Here is the basic technique:

1. Select the vegetables you want to mash and pre-cook them. Most vegetables can be peeled, cut into chunks and  boiled until tender. You might choose to bake starchier vegetables, such as russet potatoes, sweet potatoes and winter squash.
2. If you are serving the mash immediately, transfer to a large bowl. Add ½ tbsp. butter and 1 tbsp. cream, milk, buttermilk or sour cream per serving (just eyeball it). Salt and pepper to taste.
3. Using a potato masher, mash until the vegetables are the desired consistency, the butter has melted and the cream is incorporated. Mix in any other flavorings with a rubber spatula.

If you are not serving the mash right away, omit the butter and dairy. Use a potato masher or food mill to mash the vegetables, and either freeze or store in the refrigerator. Before serving, add the butter and dairy. Reheat over low until heated through, stirring frequently.

Mashed vegetables, including potatoes, can be frozen. Usually, I freeze them without the butter and dairy, which I add when reheating. To freeze as individual servings, scoop the mash into muffin tins. Once frozen, store in ziploc freezer bags, and just remove the number of servings you need.