Housecleaning, or Three Recipes

Okay, we're going to veer a little bit off-course today. Because 1. I have to empty my pantry; 2. We signed the lease two days ago and had to fork over a pile of money, so big a pile that I wouldn't be able to buy groceries for new recipes over the next 10 days even if I wanted to; and 3. My CSA is keeping me so flush with vegetables that if I don't cook them every night, I'll be knee-deep in slop.

Besides, didn't someone mention wanting to see the fruits of my type-A labor? Ask and ye shall receive, people.

First up, we have a dish that freed me of a quarter-bag of Pennsylvania Dutch Egg Noodles that I bought when Ben was wracked with some kind of flu (the flu I like to call E. coli but that the E.R. doctor insisted was just a bug. Without having done a culture. While hitting on me as my boyfriend lay defenseless on the cot between us. Thanks a lot, doc.) and that had been sitting in my pantry for at least a year.

You take a small onion (or a quarter of a Vidalia onion), dice it up, and fry it gently in a pan with olive oil until softened and translucent. Then you add three small zucchini that you've diced largely. Turn up the heat a bit so that the zucchini start taking on color and the onion sizzles and it all smells delightful. Start boiling your well-salted pasta water in the meantime. When the zucchini have colored quite well all over, add a handful of torn basil leaves and a handful of torn mint leaves along with a good pinch of salt. Flipping it all together with a spatula, cook the zucchini mixture until it's fragrant. Dump the egg noodles into the boiling water (a few handfuls were enough for two plates). Pull out a bottle of balsamic vinegar, add a spoonful to the zucchini mixture and cook it down, stirring all the while. There shouldn't be any liquid left in the pan. Drain the pasta and add the noodles to the pan of zucchini (adding some pasta water if necessary). Toss them together, grate a substantial amount of Parmigiano on top and eat while piping hot.

It's fresh and sweet and has just enough of that sixth sense deliciousness from the cooked-down vinegar and funky cheese.

Next, we have tomatoes filled with rice - an Italian classic that I am utterly obsessed with and don't eat nearly enough of. You take four large tomatoes (these are the first non-greenhouse ones I've found at the market this year, from my favorite New Jersey ladies in Union Square, and they are fantastic), cut the tops off and scoop out the insides, which you then chop up and reserve (along with all the liquid and seeds). Dice a small onion, or another quarter of the Vidalia onion you used for the dish above, and saute it gently in olive oil. After it has softened, add 1/3 cup of arborio rice to the pan and stir that around for a few minutes. Chop the tomato pulp and add all of it, plus 1/3 cup of water, to the onion and rice, fold in a few torn basil or oregano leaves and a good sprinkling of salt, lower the heat and simmer the rice, covered, for 10 minutes. Heat your oven to 350 degrees, spoon the par-cooked rice into the tomatoes, put them in a small, oiled baking dish, top them a few breadcrumbs and a drizzle of olive oil, and bake for an hour and 15 minutes. The tomatoes will shrivel a bit and become incredibly fragrant and sweet. Let them cool for a bit before eating.

The rice is hot and sludgy and delectable and the tomatoes are sweet and caramelized. To gild the lily, you could slice up potatoes and put them around the base of the tomatoes before putting them in the oven, as the Italians do (who else can combine rice and potatoes with such success?) - they get all oil-slicked and tangy from the tomato juices - but even without the potatoes, this is one of my favorite meals.

And then, because I realize it was a little cruel to tell you about "my" crostata and then not deliver the recipe, here you go:

Mix together 150 grams of sugar with 150 grams of softened butter. To this add 2 eggs, the grated peel of a lemon, 200 grams of flour (depending, you might need up to 50 grams more) and half a packet of this leavening (Amazon calls it yeast, but it's not, it's more like baking powder). Knead this together until well combined, then let it rest on a board for a bit while you preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Pat 3/4 of the dough out in a tart pan or a buttered spring-form pan and cover the dough with jam of your choice (we sometimes thin the jam with a glug of brandy over low heat before spreading it on the dough). Top the jam with the remaining dough rolled into strips and woven, lattice-style. Bake until golden-brown and the jam is bubbling, 30 minutes. Cool to room temperature before eating.

As for these beauties? They're what I've been eating when I haven't been staring at my pantry with glassy eyes. They came as a delightful surprise from the kind and generous folks at ChefShop. They're Lapin cherries and are the biggest, plumpest, juiciest cherries I ever did eat. So good, in fact, that I can't bear to do anything with them but pop them in my mouth, one by one. I'd love to cook with them, make a pie or a clafoutis or even just roast them and serve them over cornmeal cake (using up the rest of my cornmeal, polenta and grits, somehow), but these cherries are too good for all of that. If you can get your hands on some of these, do.

I'm off, friends, to scavenge boxes now. I'll be packing this weekend, with a beer in one hand and a handful of cherries in the other, and apparently eating a whole lot of corn-based gruel. Enjoy the weekend and the recipes and I'll see you all next week!

Comments

[aileen]

Such fine Concoctions from Luisa's Pantry! Balsamic, aye? I will definitely be trying that! I think one of my favorite take-away insights from your site is the art of vinegar. I'm still doing little jigs of joy from discovering the combination of a dash of vinegar with farro plus tomatoes plus corn! Best of moving adventures to you!

[Molly]

Oooh, I got those Lapin cherries too! We've been eating them by the handful. So very, very good.

And thanks for sharing your stuffed tomato recipe, m'dear, and your crostata! After this wedding craziness blows over, I'm going to give them a go. Can't wait.

xo

[Bobbie]

Thanks for posting the crostata recipe! I know this isn't the right time (good luck with your move), but I'd love to see a photo of "your" crostata someday.

So, any idea what the difference is, between the lievito and what we know as "yeast?"

[Caroline Lubbers]

Very creative "pantry" meals. Those tomatoes look delectable!

[Mary]

I second the vote on the crostata photo (please), but maybe later after the dust has settled in your new place. Isn't the Pane degli Angeli just baking powder that's flavored with vanilla? Could you tell us how much a half a packet is? Grams or teaspoons would be fine. Sorry to be a bother. Good luck with the move.

[Luisa]

Aileen - vinegar is such a GOOD thing, I'm glad you're agreeing! As for the balsamic here, just make sure it's not too much otherwise the "sauce" gets too acidic and sweet. Enjoy!

Molly - we are lucky indeed. I feel like I keep eating them and the bag is still full! :) Hope you're staying above water these days, but something tells me you are, with grace. xo

Bobbie - sorry, I amended it in the post, it's actually baking powder and the kind I use is flavored with vanilla powder.

Caroline - mmm, they were. Just finished the leftovers for lunch. They're almost better when cold!

Mary - the packets are 16 grams each, so that's 8 grams, which apparently equals 1.6 teaspoons...

[Mary]

THANKS! I'm going to make this tomorrow.

[Lydia]

Pantry clean-out can be fun! Looking forward to see what creations come out of your new kitchen, and what goes into your pantry from the shops in your new neighborhood.

[david]

Deb said she'd help with the move.

Don't eat all those cherries quite yet!

[j]

hi. this isnt a comment on this particular post. just wanna say you were my first blog crush and now i'm obsessed with blogs! so, i guess i love/hate you. j/k
now i pretty much never use recipesource/allrecipes/epicurious/etc cuz i just search trusty food blogs. so much better, less disappointment when you got a foodie's review to go with the recipe. have tried a # of yours. and yep, yer feedback never lets me down. also, your new obsession- pioneer lady- very entertaining indeed.

[Christine]

Good luck with the move! May it be as stress free as possible.

You know, I have two zucchinis in my pantry that were going to be sauteed *almost* the exact same way for pasta. Only after seeing your recipe I'll have to add the dash of balsamic, I've never done it that way before and as soon as I saw it I knew you were a genius.

[dana]

Luisa, while those tomatoes look delectable (and I will in all likelihood prepare them--N will be in heaven), I'm here to complain about the fact that you haven't addressed Mark Bittman's "101 Easy Summer Recipes" from the Weds. Times. Seriously, 75% of the recipes involve cooking something with bacon and pouring it over pasta. There are two recipes that include hotdogs. I mean, C'MON! We need you to weigh in.

Perhaps *after* the move. :)

[karin]

I just found your blog by googling for Finnish meatball recipes. You had posted one in December, fantastic! The tomatoes look delicious, I will make some next time I have company.

[Susan from Food Blogga]

I just ate the most fabulous bread crumb stuffed tomatoes and have been inspired to make some. Now, it looks like I'll be making some with rice stuffing too. Mmmm. Good luck with the move!

[Luisa]

David - I'm trying not to, but it's hard! So hard.

J - glad I've been able to provide you with entertainment! So please don't hate me...

Christine - a genius! Well, I don't know. But vinegar does make so many good things better. Hope you liked the pasta!

Dana - oh please, I don't even read his pieces anymore. And that one was a perfect example of why. A week later, it's still one of the top-emailed too...what's up with that? hugs to you and N.

Karin - glad you found the meatball recipe! Those were a big hit.

Susan - thank you!

[suburbangourmet]

Wow! What a fabulous looking dish! Interesting techniques too; I've definately got to try this.

[Alizah]

First the comment, then the question:
C: Don't torture yourself with corn-based gruel! I say, throw the box away and eat things that make you feel good before you move. You might think that you will feel a surging sense of accomplishment the moment that you pour the last of the cornmeal into the sticky pot (take a moment to notice the greasy steam dripping down your kitchen walls as you cook your winter potion in the height of summer!); while in fact I would argue that any such satisfaction would pale in comparison to the greater cheer of tossing the odds and ends and cooking the meal you want...
Q: Were the Lapin cherries (what are rabbit cherries, anyway?) even better than those on your grandfather's trees? Really?? Truly???