Roasted Vegetable Pasta Primavera with Sicilian Pesto

I had wanted to do a recipe that highlighted spring. As I was brainstorming, I realized that I have no pasta or truly vegetarian dishes in my recipe list. Thankfully, I remembered from a Cutthroat Kitchen episode that pasta primavera utilized spring vegetables, which led me in this direction. I was so impressed that I took some to work for my lunch.

Here’s a quick history lesson on pasta primavera. Despite the name, it’s an American dish. The exact origins are debatable, but one of them is when the late Sirio Maccioni and his wife were on vacation in Nova Scotia and used ingredients they had on hand.

Normally the vegetables in a primavera are sauteed, but I chose to roast my veggies in the oven to make it healthier. I also made a whole wheat pasta from scratch with my Cuisinart pasta maker to emphasize the theme of fresh ingredients. In terms of the vegetables, comb your produce section or farmers market for any seasonal vegetables and choose your favorites. I recommend choosing as many different colors of veggies as possible for variety and visual appeal. You can use any type of seasonal veggies, but I think this dish is best with spring and summer veggies.

As for the pesto, I felt that instead of the traditional cream sauce, I figured a pesto would help add a fatty feel to the dish. Sicilian pesto is like a standard basil pesto, but with the addition of tomato and it usually has almonds instead of pine nuts. But, you can make the pesto with any kind of nuts or leafy greens.

Even non-vegetarians will love this pasta dish. Feel free to add some protein if you want, like tofu, chicken breasts, even shrimp or canned tuna. It is very versatile for any type of palate. Plus, it is a great way to get some veggies in your diet, and maybe get your kids to eat their vegetables. I hope you try it out and like it. Respond to me through my email at the bottom of the page or through my social media accounts. And remember; keep your appetites big and imaginations hungry.

Some notes before we dive into the recipe:

I developed the recipe using raw nuts. If using salted nuts, skip the salt in the pesto. If you choose to add seafood, omit the cheese altogether. I also recommend drawing out the moisture from the zucchini and summer squash with salt before chopping it to prevent it from being too mushy while it cooks. As for the pasta, salt the pasta water liberally and DO NOT for any reason add oil to your pasta water because that will take away flavor and prevent the sauce from adhering to the pasta.

Ingredients:

1 pound of your favorite pasta (you can use leftover, dried, or fresh pasta)

A pound of a variety of your favorite vegetables, chopped and sliced depending on the veggie (I used: asparagus, shallots, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, and summer squash)

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tbsp dried Italian herbs

1 tsp red pepper flakes to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

For the Sicilian Pesto:

1/2 dozen red cherry tomatoes

2 garlic cloves

1/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted

4-6 fresh basil leaves

A dash or 2 of lemon juice

1 tbsp Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino cheese

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes to taste

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F

For the pesto, add all ingredient except oil to blender. Pulse until everything is combined. Then with the blender going on a slow speed, add the oil in a slow stream until at desired consistency. You can make the pesto a few hours ahead, and it will keep in the fridge for about a week.

For the veggies, toss in bowl with the herbs, lemon, and seasonings. Place on foil lined baking sheet and roast in oven for 25-30 minutes.

Meanwhile cook pasta according to directions. Once the vegetables and pasta are ready, add both to a large serving bowl, add the pesto, and toss to coat. Top with some shaved Parmigiano if desired, and serve.

Serves about 4

 Wild Boar Banh Mi

One cuisine that I have not shown on the site is street food. As a person who regularly packs their own bag lunch for work, it gave me the idea to think of a street food recipe as those would typically fit the category of a portable food. Sandwiches are popular on the go food, so I thought I’d do my take on one of my favorite sandwiches, the Banh Mi.

Banh Mi is a popular sandwich and street food in Vietnam. It is usually a baguette filled with meats (usually marinated pork and a pate), fresh and pickled veggies (traditionally cucumber, chilies, carrots and daikon radish), and other condiments (usually mayo, a chili sauce and chopped cilantro). For my version, I used wild boar tenderloin I bought from Beck & Bulow. I made my own: marinade, pickled veggies, spicy mayo, and chicken liver pate for this, and it turned out amazing. This recipe makes at least 2 servings, which enabled me to take one serving for my work lunch. I’ll admit, I did go very non-traditional by using a ciabatta demi-baguette, but it was able to withstand the recipe and hold up well. This recipe was also developed using the sous vide for the boar, but will work with other cooking methods.

You can do this with marinated pork tenderloin, steak, chicken breasts, even firm tofu if you’re a vegetarian. Try this recipe out and give me your feedback by either at the email address at the bottom of the page or on my social media pages. As i say, keep your appetites big and imaginations hungry.

 For the marinated boar tenderloin:

2 boar tenderloins

1 tbsp red miso

1 grated garlic clove

a nub of grated ginger

1/2 a chopped scallion

1 tbsp lite soy sauce

1/4 tsp sesame oil

1/4 tsp fish sauce

squeeze of lime juice

Directions:

Clean the sinew off the tenderloins using a skinning knife (you can find these at most department or cookware stores). Place boar in vacuum sealer bag.

Mix the ingredients for the marinade in a small bowl. Add to bag with the boar. Seal the bag with your vacuum sealer according to your manufacturer’s instructions. (If you don’t have a vacuum sealer, place in a gallon size Ziploc bag and press the air out with the water displacement method.)

Set your sous vide cooker to 130F (medium rare), put meat in the water bath when ready and cook for 3 hours. While I usually prefer red game rare, I find wild boar to be best at medium rare.

Once finished, remove from water and bags, pat dry, and sear in a raging hot pan or grill for about 45 seconds per side (this helped me get the hard sear I wanted). Remove from heat and slice as thin as possible on the bias.

 Now let’s get everything else ready.

You need:

1 demi-baguette

Chopped mint

Chopped cilantro

A few sliced shishito peppers

A couple spoonfuls of mayonnaise

1/8-1/4 tsp your favorite hot sauce (Adjust the amount depending on your hot sauce and spice tolerance. I used a reaper chili hot sauce, which is said to be the world’s hottest chili)

Directions:

Slice bread in half and down the middle. Place on foil lined sheet pan and toast under preheated broiler until nice and browned, as pictured above. Keep an eye on the bread to prevent burning

Mix mayo and hot sauce in a bowl.

Get your spread ready.

 Time to assemble your banh mi:

Spread pate on bottom piece of bread and spicy mayo on top piece (if you’re a vegetarian, skip the pate and spread both piece of bread with the mayo).

Layer everything on the pate coated piece of bread in this order (as shown in the picture): boar, pickled veggies, chopped cilantro and mint, and the shishito peppers.

Top with the mayo coated piece of bread, enjoy.

I hope I inspired you with this tasty sandwich.

 Butter Basted Opah

 I was at the Beverly Hills Farmer’s Market a couple weeks ago with my family and happened to stumble across opah from the fish supplier. This was a fish that I had been dying to cook for a while, but could not find it until recently. Opah, AKA moonfish, for those unfamiliar, is a deep water fish from the Pacific that has several cut and uses like nice meaty fillets from the loins, bacon from the belly, the pectoral and adductor muscles that are good for ground fish applications, and much more. This recipe will also work with other firm and meaty fish like: cod, mahi-mahi, shark, swordfish, marlin, even tuna and halibut, cooking times may need to be adjusted with other fish. Try this for yourself and net me know if you are inspired. The piece I used serves 2-4 people.

Ingredients:

1 Opah fillet (my piece appeared to be from the top loin)

A handful of fresh thyme and oregano sprigs

1/2 a lemon cut into thin slices (I used pink variegated lemons, which flavor wise are sweet and less sour like Meyer lemon, but a bit more floral)

2-3 tbsps butter

Salt and pepper, freshly ground

Directions:

Pat Opah dry with paper towels. Cut into portions and season all over with salt and pepper

Put butter in pan and melt over medium-high heat.

Once melted and heated, add Opah to pan and reduce heat to medium.

Add herbs and sliced lemon. Tilt pan towards yo so that melted butter pools on one side. Use a spoon to baste the fish with the melted butter (this process is called arroser).

Sear on each side for about 4 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillets. My pieces were of uneven thickness.

Flip with a fish spatula (you can find fish spatulas in the cookware section of any department or grocery store like Target). Continue cooking on the other side and butter basting for about another 4 minutes, again depending on thickness. Opah fillets should be treated like wild salmon, around medium-rare or a little under.

Once ready, plate and enjoy.

I served my Opah with some red dandelion greens and sunflower microgreens that I tossed in a blend of blood orange olive oil and raspberry balsamic vinegar, which I got at the same farmer’s market. The fish was amazing. The butter basting gave it a nice crust and the lemon and herbs accented the mild flavor of the fish. It was so good that I took the leftovers for my lunch the next day at the office. I hope you all like it. Contact info is on the bottom of the page. Always keep your appetites big and imaginations hungry

 Spanish Surf ‘N’ Turf with Romesco Roasted Cauliflower

For Labor Day, I thought I’d do something special. I thought what better way to honor the end of grilling season than with surf ‘n’ turf, one of my favorite combinations. Inspiration partly came from my childhood. I grew up on Long Island where fresh seafood is common, and my dad used to travel to Spain for business trips when I was younger. I did get to visit Spain, without my family, while in college and loved the Mediterranean vibes and cuisine. I chose to use very Spanish proteins, octopus tentacle (purchased at a great seafood market in Santa Monica) and Solomillo Iberico de Bellota (a breed of pork from Spain’s black Iberico pig, basically the Kobe beef of pork). Romesco is a tomato based Catalonian sauce paired with proteins, usually seafood. I love roasted cauliflower and decided to toss it with that for more flavor. This was another recipe that shows my love for elevated and fresh cuisine.

For the turf, I used Solomillo Iberico de Bellota that I got through Marky's. Bellota means the pig was fed on a diet of: fruits, nuts, and acorns, giving it some nice intramuscular marbling. I kept the seasoning simple with just salt and pepper to let the natural flavor shine. To cook it, I broke out my sous vide and cooked it in the water at 127F (rare to almost medium rare) for 2 hours. You’ll think I’m nuts for cooking pork to that temperature, but hear me out. While it’s OK to do pork medium rare nowadays, Iberico pork should be medium rare. And unlike the pork we often get at the store, Iberico pork can be eaten rare, which is traditional in Spain. Don't believe me, here's an Iberico recipe I found on Marx Foods that says Iberico can be done rare.

 Now for the turf. The octopus tentacle was purchased (precooked) at Santa Monica Seafood in Santa Monica. They have a wide selection of fresh seafood to choose from. I coated it in a marinade using the following ingredients:

Juice and zest of 1/2 a lemon (I used a Meyer lemon I got at Whole Foods)

2 cloves chopped garlic

2-3 tbs olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

and, Dried herbs (I used a dried Italian blend)

Marinate the tentacle for an hour, you can do this for 1/2 hour in the fridge and then another 1/2 hour at room temp.

Once the Iberico is cooked and the octopus is marinated, sear them over raging high heat. I used my grill sheet to get the job done. Give the Iberico about 2 minutes, turning every third of the way to brown each side. For the octopus, turn it until nice and charred, about 3-4 minutes turning periodically.

 Time for the Romesco roasted cauliflower. But first, let’s make the Romesco sauce.

You will need:

1 whole tomato(peeled, seeded, and chopped)

1/2 a roasted red bell pepper (peeled, seeded and chopped, you can use jarred roasted peppers as well)

2 chopped garlic cloves

1 small handful freshly chopped Italian parsley, with tender stems

1/2 lemon, juice and zest (I used the other half of the Meyer lemon)

Pinch each of smoked paprika and cayenne pepper

1 slice stale baguette, chopped and toasted (this helps thicken the sauce)

Small handful Marcona Almonds, toasted (The ones I used were salted, if that is the case you don’t need to add salt)

Fresh ground black pepper

Drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions:

Put all ingredients except oil in blender and pulse on higher speed until more finely chopped.

Then, blend on a slower speed and add the oil in a slow steady drizzle. I recently learned that slowing down the blender when adding the oil also helps it distribute better, and it worked. You can make the Romesco a few days in advance and refrigerate it until ready.

 Now for the cauliflower. I was lucky to find a Romanesco cauliflower at Whole Foods. To make the roasted cauliflower, chop it up into pieces and toss them, tender leaves as well, in the Romesco. Then put on a foil lined sheet and and roast in a 375 degree over for 20-25 minutes, or until caramelized and charred to your liking. Then serve and enjoy. I went for a more restaurant quality presentation to showcase the beauty of the ingredients. I also roasted some king oyster mushrooms that I tossed in the extra octopus marinade with the cauliflower cause I love mushrooms with red meat.

Final verdict, chef approved. The Iberico had the right amount of texture and flavor from the marbling. My octopus was charred beautifully and played well with the marinade. And, the Romesco was a delicious pairing with the cauliflower, which gave it a roasty, nutty flavor.

I will be honest, I had wanted to do octopus for a while, but only recently found a good place that carried it. This is another recipe that reflects my culinary point of view, by taking the time to make sure each component is executed well and tasty. To conclude, I want to hear what you like to use for surf ‘n’ turf because it does not have to be lobster and filet mignon. It is an interchangeable pairing because of the endless possibilities or sea and land proteins to choose from. You can use your favorite meat and seafood for this dish instead of the octopus and Iberico. Contact info is on the bottom of the page, let me know if you get inspired. Until next time, keep your appetites big and imaginations hungry.

 Sous Vide Venison Filet Mignon with Mustard Herb Butter and Beet Carpaccio Spring Salad

I wanted to develop a recipe that showed my strongest culinary skills and passions. They are: fine dining, fresh exotic ingredients, modernist techniques, and innovative flavor combinations. This recipe shows them all. I made this recipe for my parents last weekend, and it was a hit. It was so good my mother cannot stop mentioning it, and it is an accomplishment when I get my parents to enjoy rare meat. Some of the salad ingredients were picked up the same day from the farmer’s market, which allowed for seasonality. I came up with the idea for the compound butter to help give the lean venison some much needed fat as red game meats have almost no fat and can dry out easily. This is a good recipe for spring and/or summer because it uses fresh ingredients and can be served outdoors on a warm spring or summer evening. I hope you try it out and let me know if you enjoyed it.

Ingredients:

4 venison filets (the filets I used were New Zealand venison ordered from Meat N’ Bone and appeared to be from the ribeye part of the backstrap)

A little salt and pepper

For the compound butter:

2-3 tablespoons softened butter (use really good butter because you want the flavor, I used Kerrygold Irish butter)

1 tablespoon whole grain mustard

Handful of fresh herbs, chopped (I used: parsley, thyme, oregano, and a little rosemary)

A couple drops of Worcestershire sauce

For the salad:

Beets, peeled and shaved (the exact number depends on their size)

Segments of 1 fresh tangelo

Fava beans, removed from the pods (use as many as you need for serving)

Optional, treviso leaves, cleaned

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Juice and zest of 1 lemon (adjust the amount of juice to get your preferred flavor balance)

Freshly ground pepper and flaky sea salt

A little honey for sweetness

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I emphasize this a lot, use good quality olive oil for condiments)

Directions:

For the venison:

Remove meat from packaging and pat dry.

Season with salt and pepper.

Put in sous vide bag and use vacuum sealer to suck the air out and seal the bags. If you do not own the right bags or a vacuum sealer, you can put the meat in a Ziploc bag and press the air out using the water displacement method.

Fill a plastic tub with water, insert immersion cooker (I used and Anova cooker) and set to your desired temperature (I set it to 125F to keep it rare and tender). Red game meats like venison cannot for any reason be served past medium rare (130F) because their muscle structure and lack of fat makes them toughen and dry out more easily if cooked past 130F.

Once your sous vide is up to temp, put bags with meat into the water bath, cover the tub with a lid and leave in the water for 2 hours.

After time is up, remove bags from water, then remove meat from the bags and pat dry again.

Meanwhile, make the compound butter:

Combine: butter, herbs, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce in small bowl until well mixed, mashing butter with a fork in the process. Then set aside in the fridge to chill until ready for use. I decided to make a torchon by wrapping and rolling my butter in plastic wrap, shaping it into a log as I wrapped it. Then I stuck it in the freezer for a couple hours to help it firm up. If freezing your butter, let it soften in the fridge for 30 minutes to make it more plyable.

For the beet carpaccio salad:

Peel the beets and shave thin, I shaved them to 1/8” think on a mandolin. Mandolin’s are very sharp and can take off a finger if used incorrectly, so use care when working with one. Shell the fava beans from the pods. The husk on each bean is usually removed before serving. But, if you are as lucky as I was and get them the same day from the farmer’s market, you can leave the skin on the beans. The husks are edible if the beans are very fresh. Then make the dressing. Whisk: Dijon mustard, lemon, thyme, honey, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a bowl, adding oil in a slow stream as you mix for better distribution. It only took a couple of minutes to reach my desired consistency, but adjust the amounts for your personal taste. Set aside until ready to serve.

After you cooked the venison in the sous vide, rub it with some fat, I rubbed it with some of the compound butter for flavor, and sear it for 30-60 seconds a side. I decided to sear it on the grill. To plate, layer the beet slices, then surround with the: beans, tangelo segments, and, if using, the treviso leaves. Then drizzle salad with dressing. Choose your plates carefully to make the dish stand out visually. If you want, you can also top the salad with shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano. Then plate the venison next to the salad, topping it with a slice of the butter. I also made some portobello caps with the dish, and capped the meat with the mushrooms for presentation. Enjoy. Serves 4.

The butter was a perfect accompaniment to the venison because it both added fat and could take on the gamey flavor of the lean meat. The salad was also great because it had the right balance of: acidity, sweetness, bitterness, and earthiness that could serve as a supporting role to the main protein. I chose this type of salad because I wanted my side to be fresh and light to serve as a counterpoint for the hefty protein.

To conclude, I enjoyed developing this recipe because I got to show my best culinary interests and skills. I gravitate more to a fine dining style because of how it focuses on attention to detail. Not only in taste, but also in: quality, plating, and execution of your ingredients. It is also a style that makes good use of fresher ingredients, which to me shows more respect to where our food comes from. This style of cooking may be intimidating to some, but if you practice you may be able to develop your own take on gourmet cuisine. Use your imagination, and before you know it you may develop a meal worthy of the best chefs. My email address is at the bottom of the page, I would love to get feedback from you, especially if you end up trying the recipe for yourself. I hope I inspire you to get out of your culinary comfort zones. I hope to hear form all of you.

Pomegranate Vinaigrette

Over the weekend, I was experimenting around in the kitchen. I had received some pomegranates in the mail earlier this week and thought to make a pomegranate vinaigrette. I did look up some recipes to get an idea of what I needed for this. After consulting recipes, I unleashed my innovative side and came up with this recipe. My family enjoyed the vinaigrette so much they saved the leftovers for lunch the next day. Seriously, if refrigerated properly, it keeps well the next day without breaking, unlike most vinaigrette’s. It also makes for a tasty way to enjoy a super-food like pomegranates, which are full of vital nutrients that can lower risks for several health problems like prostate cancer and heart disease to name a few. Try it out for yourself and let me know if you enjoyed it.