From the Oct., 2013 Bon Appétit

Unlike summer when my idea of the perfect breakfast is a bowl of Grape Nuts buried under a mound of fat blackberries, something about the arrival of fall puts me in the mood for a more substantial start to the day—the sort of meal that could power me through a game of touch-football if I was ever inclined to do such a thing (which, of course, I’m not). For that reason, and because Alfredo and I are still trying to steer clear of flour and grains (though I did eat some couscous last night; it arrived with my dinner and I couldn’t resist), the attached frittata recipe jumped out at me, insisting I give it a try. That in and of itself was surprising, since as a rule I’m generally not much of a frittata fan. For one thing I prefer my eggs on the wet side—a quality that by its very nature a frittata can’t deliver—and for another, the dish has always struck me as a little played-out… the sort of thing you see on a menu and then glaze over. But this version had a few things going for it that got me excited, namely chorizo sausage, broccoli rabe, and grated cheddar cheese (which I swapped out for Manchego; more on that later).

Really it was the broccoli rabe that grabbed me initially, since I’ve been having a love affair with this leafy green for the past few months. I’m not sure why it took so long for me to warm to its charms, but now that I have I can’t get enough of its slightly bitter flavor, or with the way it lends itself to so many of the things I love—namely garlic, olive oil, and, of course, sausage. In fact, one of my favorite weeknight dinners of late has been sautéed broccoli rabe with chunks of hot Italian sausage, an idea that came to me as I was picking through a friend’s unfinished dish of Cavatelli Pugliese and discovered it wasn’t the pasta that interested me so much as the bits of sausage and strands of tender broccoli rabe that are the noodles’ co-stars. So here was a breakfast dish that combined those same two enticing ingredients, but wrapped them in an airy egg mixture, not to mention a glaze of salty cheese. In other words, what’s not to love?

Unlike an omelet where the various add-ons are introduced to eggs that have already been cooked through, a frittata generally calls for folding your various savory ingredients into the uncooked egg mixture, then pouring the combo into your skillet and allowing the whole thing to bake together—first on the stove and then under the broiler. In the case of this recipe, however, it’s the cheese (or a portion of it, anyway) and the whole milk that’s added to the eggs, and the resulting eggy mixture that’s then introduced to the other ingredients. These include half a medium-sized onion that’s been chopped and allowed to cook over medium heat alongside a ½ lb of fresh chorizo sausage (removed from its casings) for eight minutes or so, or until the onion is tender, the meat is brown, and your tongue is hanging out of your mouth because the combination smells so good. To this you add your pile of chopped broccoli rabe—seasoned generously with salt and pepper—a sizable mound that’s likely to push your skillet to capacity and make stirring a challenge (if so, introduce the greens in increments, adding the remainder as it cooks down).

Once the greens are tender (including the thick, stalky bits)—a state that will also mean the entire combination is now sitting comfortably in your pan—it’s time to reduce the heat to low and add the eggs, pouring the mixture evenly across the surface of the sautéed sausage and broccoli rabe. At this point you can pretty much step back and read the Sunday papers for a while, since the secret to a frittata is slow cooking. Here that means a relatively long 10 to 12 minutes, a period during which the contents of the pan will require nothing more from you than the occasional shake to discourage sticking. Once the edges are just set, sprinkle the surface with the remaining cheese and slide your pan under the broiler for four minutes or so, until the top of the frittata is golden brown and the center is set. Remove from the oven, slice, and serve—either warm or at room temperature. Which brings me to one of the distinct advantages of a frittata over other breakfast egg dishes: because of its baked, quiche-like quality, it doesn’t have to be eaten right out of the oven, but can be enjoyed hours, even a day, later. (Anyone for leftovers?).

And regarding my switch from cheddar to Manchego, I made the substitution for the simple reason that I’m leaning towards sheep’s- over cow’s-milk cheeses these days—and also because I love the nutty, salty flavor of Manchego (which I just happened to have a quantity of in the fridge). Cheddar will probably melt a little better, and no doubt it will imbue the finished dish with a sunnier, more lustrous appearance, but I liked the subtle, salty kick offered by the Manchego. Either way, the net result is a healthy, homey breakfast that can feed a crowd… or in my case, two over-eaters.

Ingredients:
—12 large eggs
—1/2 cup whole milk
—3/4 cup grated cheddar, divided
—Kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper
—2 tbs vegetable oil
—1/2 medium onion, chopped
—1/2 lb. fresh Spanish chorizo or hot Italian sausage link, casings removed
—1 bunch broccoli rabe, coarsely chopped

Directions:
—Preheat broiler. Whisk eggs and milk in a medium bowl. Mix in ½ cup cheddar; season with salt and pepper and set aside.
—Heat oil in a large skillet, preferably cast-iron, over medium heat. Add onion and chorizo and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened and chorizo is brown, 6 to 8 minutes.
—Add broccoli rabe; season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 8 to 10 minutes longer.
—Reduce heat to low and pour reserved egg mixture over vegetables. Cook, shaking pan occasionally, until edges are just set, 10 to 12 minutes.
—Top frittata with remaining ¼ cup cheddar; broil until top is golden brown and center is set, about 4 minutes longer.
—Cut frittata into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.
—Note: Frittata can be made 2 hours ahead. Let cool, then cover.

The post 10/02/13 • SAUSAGE FRITTATA appeared first on THE RECIPE GRINDER.

Adapted from the Jan., 2001 Gourmet 

Few conversations are less promising than ones that begin with the words: “I had the most amazing dream last night!” Such is the nature of our unconscious wanderings that they’re never as interesting to the person hearing about them as they are to the mind in which they unspooled (unless, of course, you’re Sigmund Freud). Still, at the risk of putting you to sleep, I’m going to share with you one small detail of a dream I had last night, since it says so much about the impulse behind this posting. In my dream I’ve returned to the gym after a too long absence, only to discover that A) all the lockers are in use, and B) the gym floor has been taken over by a small, but very busy gourmet food shop (imported hams, French cheeses, shelves of fancy tomato sauces… you get the idea). In other words, because all the lockers were “full,” I couldn’t give my body what it needed (or wanted)—namely some exercise, and a break from all the rich foods I’d been eating.

Not surprisingly that’s exactly what I’ve been feeling for the past few weeks, a period in which I indulged extravagantly in the full range of holiday goodies, then immediately left on a 10-day adventure in Morocco—a journey where exercise was limited (lots of walking but little else, unless you count a 30-minute camel ride) and the meals were rich, starchy, and hard to refuse. And so in addition to being desperately in need of becoming reacquainted with my health club’s treadmill, I’m also ready to say goodbye to all those carb-laden foods… at least for the next day or so. Which brings me to this week’s posting for spicy kale soup, a recipe I first tried several weeks before diving into the season of gluttony and one I immediately earmarked as an ideal (and painless) way to get the year off to a healthful start.

Well, sort of… because while the recipe may feature an abundance of kale, it also calls for a ½ lb of Spanish chorizo, an item that’s not likely to show up on the American Heart Association’s favorite foods list anytime soon. Still, the kale’s the undisputed star here; it’s this that imbues the soup with both its dominant flavor and rich green color—a hue that practically screams “healthy!” And, of course, few foods in the good-for-you category are as easy to say yes to as kale (especially when paired with anything salty or spicy), which goes a long way to explaining why kale has become such a favorite item on restaurant menus in the last few years, and why I can’t get enough of it.

That compulsively eatable quality is on vibrant display with this soup, in large part because the leafy green is only introduced in the final minutes of cooking, once the various other ingredients have been sautéed and/or browned and added to the pot—a bit of timing that ensures the kale doesn’t lose its bright, grassy flavor and that the pleasantly rubbery leaves don’t turn to mush. As you might have guessed, it’s the elements that make up the soup’s base, namely the onion (and the garlic if you’re using, an addition I recommend) and the potato, that require longer on the stove-top, and it’s here that the cooking starts, a process that involves sautéing the onions and garlic until golden brown, then adding the sliced potatoes and cooking the mixture together for another four minutes or so. Next up is the liquid, which the recipe stipulates as eight cups of water. Here I propose a minor tweak, replacing four of those cups with low sodium chicken broth—a change that produced a richer, more satisfying flavor. Either way, once this mixture has had 15 minutes or so to simmer and the potatoes are tender, place a potato masher or hand blender inside the pot and pulverize the potatoes until they are coarse and chunky and the consistency of the liquid is more stew than broth.

At this point it’s time to add the sliced chorizo, previously browned for five minutes or so (roughly 2½ minutes per side), and given a few more minutes to drain on several sheets of paper towel. Although the recipe calls for adding sliced rounds of chorizo to the soup, I cut each round in half because the full round simply struck me as too large for my soup spoon. In any case, once the sausage has simmered five minutes or so along with the other ingredients—and for the spicy flavor of the sausage to permeate the broth—it’s time to add the kale, each leaf separated from its rib and sliced crosswise into 1/2-inch strips (something most efficiently achieved by folding the leaf into thirds before cutting).

If all this sounds ridiculously fast and easy, you’re right—a rib-sticking soup in little more than half an hour. What’s more, with its deep flavors and rewarding chunks of sausage and potato it has the homey quality that’s the perfect antidote to even the chilliest winter evening. Of course, like any soup or stew the flavors only improve with an overnight stay in the fridge, though if you’re like me it’s unlikely to last that long. And no wonder: add a hunk of French bread and a glass of red wine, and this dish makes cold weather something to celebrate.

Ingredients:
—1 large onion, finely chopped
—3 tbs olive oil
—1½ lbs boiling potatoes, such as Yukon Gold
—8 cups water (TRG note: low sodium chicken broth can be substituted for 4 of the cups)
—1/2 lb Spanish chorizo, cut into 1/2” pieces (TRG note: I cut each disk in half)
—3/4 lb lacinato or regular kale, center ribs removed and leaves cut crosswise into thin slices.
—3 cloves chopped garlic. (optional)

Note #1: Lacinato kale is also sold as Tuscan, Cavelo Nero, or black kale.

Note #2: Regular kale can be substituted but Lacinato has an artichoke-like sweetness that makes it ideal here.

Directions:
—Cook onion and garlic (if using) in oil in a 5-quart pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until pale golden. Meanwhile, peel potatoes and cut crosswise into thin slices. Add to onion and cook, stirring occasionally, 4 minutes. Add water (and broth, if using) and salt to taste and simmer until potatoes are very tender, about 15 minutes.
—Cook chorizo in a large nonstick skillet over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
—Coarsely mash potatoes in pot with potato masher (do not drain). Stir in chorizo and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in kale and simmer until just tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt.

Makes 6 servings

The post 01/10/13 • LUSTY KALE SOUP appeared first on THE RECIPE GRINDER.