ending february on a decadent note.
Hello everyone.
Yesterday’s chili was a big disappointment. Although it had tons of flavor and heat, I wasn’t into it. I guess I need to find a more traditional recipe.
Today, I decided to try out a macaroni and cheese recipe that did not involve baking, as I do not have a casserole dish. I experimented with a new ingredient (seems to be the current theme): creme fraiche. For those who have either never heard of creme fraiche, or just have no idea what it is in general, it’s akin to sour cream. Creme fraiche is thick, and has a high content of butterfat. It is not sour, and is often used in sauces because it doesn’t curdle when cooked. It’s really luscious and creamy, but it also has a hint of buttery flavor. It’s good. Actually, very good I’m thinking.
classed-up mac and cheese
Although mac and cheese typically involves cheddar, I decided not to go that route. I used what I had on hand, which was brie and manchego. They made a very nice pair. As you can see, I had a weird mix of pasta, as well. I’ve been trying to get rid of all the pasta I have.
Macaroni and Cheese
about 4 cups of pasta
approximately 1/4 cup of creme fraiche
1/2 cup of manchego cheese, shredded
1/2 cup brie, chopped into small pieces (can’t really shred brie)
Method:
1. Boil lightly salted water in a medium saucepan. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.
2. In a smaller saucepan, boil a little water. Create a double boiler: place a bowl over the pan just above the water level (you do NOT want the water touching the bowl). Place the creme fraiche into here and melt. Then, slowly add the rest of the cheese while stirring. Do this until everything is melted and creamy. If the sauce isn’t creamy enough for you, then add a little more creme fraiche.
3. Strain the pasta and put it back into the saucepan. Coat the pasta with the sauce, and serve. Garnish with some parsley, green onions, or even a few cracks of black pepper.
I thought this mac and cheese was really good. It wasn’t too cheesey, but it was still decadent. The cheeses I used were fairly mild, so they went very nicely with the flavor of the creme fraiche. It all tasted rather buttery and nutty, yet light and creamy because of the brie. I thought a nice squeeze of some lemon would have worked very well with this.
Tomorrow, a bit of Persian cuisine. The last time I promised Persian food, I did not pull through. This time, however, it’s going to happen (the chicken is marinading as I write). Jujeh kebab with my first ever attempt at potato tahdig. It will be good.
a take on spaghetti con acciughe e mollica
Good evening, all.
I’m not a huge fan of pasta. Most of the time, I find it really uninspiring and mediocre. I’ve never had homemade pasta, so this could be why I’ve been reluctant to get into it.
However, in spirit of quick meals, I chose to make a spaghetti dish tonight. Spaghetti con acciughe e mollica is essentially spaghetti with bread crumbs and anchovies. To mine, I added a tomato, mint, thyme, spinach, a leek, some lemon and some feta cheese.
spaghetti
Revamped spaghetti con acciughe e mollica
inspiration for this was found here
Ingredients
about two handfuls of spaghetti (so, maybe…a little less than half a box?)
about two handfuls of spinach (but you can really add however much you want..)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 TBSP crumbled feta cheese
12 anchovy fillets packed in oil, minced — reserve the oil (remove the spine of the fish and fry them up for later! the bones are so delicate, you can eat them with no problem)
1 leek, white and tender green parts only, thinly sliced
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
2 sprigs thyme, minced
2 sprigs mint, minced
1 tomato, diced
3/4 cup bread crumbs, toasted
pepper to taste
juice of half a lemon
Method
Get all your ingredients together. Mince the garlic, anchovies, herbs. Dice the tomato, chop the leek, get everything nice and organized.
Throw your breadcrumbs on a small skillet over low heat. I used panko bread crumbs, but you can use whatever you have on hand. Toast them until they’re evenly browned. You’re going to want to shake them every now and then because they’ll burn quickly.
In a medium saucepan, start boiling some water. Dump your spaghetti in, and cook until al dente (I cook my spaghetti for about 5-7 minutes because I like it preeetttyyy al dente).
While the spaghetti is cooking, heat the anchovy oil and extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet with sides over medium heat. Dump your garlic, anchovies, and leek in. Sautee that for about a minute. Then, add the tomato. Sautee for another minute or two. Add your spinach, thyme, and mint. Cook until the spinach has wilted. At this point you’ll be able to decide whether you want to add more spinach or not, as it loses a lot of volume once it wilts.
Drain the spaghetti and put it in the skillet. Reduce the heat to low. Add about half of the breadcrumbs and toss well. Add the feta and the rest of the breadcrumbs, remove from the heat. Toss again. Squeeze some lemon juice on it, toss a little bit more, and serve.
I garnished it with a little bit of mint I had leftover. I think the dish came out quite well. It’s a fusion dish, I guess, and a very satisfying one at that (particularly after an hour of kickboxing!). I have never used anchovies before, so this was a bit of an experimentation. I think a lot of people tend to assume that adding anchovies to a dish means it’ll reek of fish and taste horribly salty and fishy. This is not the case at all whatsoever. The anchovies add a hint of salty greatness, and I guarantee even your most anti-fish diners would never know they were in the dish. I will definitely be using them in the future.
