cooking

Fancy Mac & Cheese Recipe

Gillian

We hosted our first big EatWith event last night and had an absolute blast. We had more than 20 guests, and it was such a great mix of interesting, cool people from all over.

Brian made his amazing slow-cooked BBQ pork, setting up the grill on our wee balcony and tending to it lovingly all day. We also made crudité, tzatziki, bulgar salad, coleslaw, bourbon-chipotle BBQ sauce and a new version of mac and cheese we’re experimenting with.

fancy-mac-cheese-sign

True to my American roots, I love mac and cheese in all its forms, and I’m always looking for my new favorite recipe. This one turned out really well. A few people asked for the recipe, so here it is! You can be flexible with the kinds of cheese you use – feel free to play around with combinations and see what you like. I’m not sure there’s a wrong way to make delicious cheese sauce.

IMG_5199

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Fancy Mac & Cheese

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Serving Size: 6-8

Fancy Mac & Cheese

Ingredients

  • 4 cups dried macaroni (about 400 g)
  • 5 tablespoons butter (about 70 g)
  • 5-8 tablespoons flour
  • 2 - 2 1/2 cups whole milk (500-750 ml)
  • 2 teaspoons dry ground mustard
  • 1 1/3 lb. cheese, grated (about 600 g) - I used aged white cheddar, Grana and a semi-curado Spanish cheese that reminded me of Monterey Jack
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 6 yellow onions, sliced thinly
  • Panko bread crumbs
  • Grated black truffle (optional)
  • Salt, pepper, other spices/herbs to taste
  • Olive oil
  • Extra butter

Instructions

  1. Heat a small amount of olive oil and butter in a non-stick pan on medium-low.
  2. Add sliced onions and cook until golden brown and caramelized, stirring frequently, about 30-40 minutes. Set aside.
  3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, adding a generous handful of sea salt.
  4. Cook macaroni for a few minutes less than the cook time on the package (it should be too firm to eat, not yet al dente). Drain and set aside.
  5. While the pasta water is boiling, melt 5 tablespoons of butter in a sauté pan on medium-low heat.
  6. Add 5 tablespoons of flour, whisking constantly to remove lumps and to keep from burning. The consistency should be a slightly thickened liquid (I added a few more tablespoons of flour here to make a bit more dense). Cook for 5 minutes, whisking constantly.
  7. Stir in milk and dry mustard slowly. Cook for 5-10 minutes on low heat, stirring often.
  8. Add a small cup of the sauce to the bowl holding the beaten egg, whisking constantly.(This is called tempering and gradually raises the temperature of the egg without scrambling it.)
  9. Mix in cheese, reserving a small amount of Grana for the topping. The consistency should be thick and creamy.
  10. Taste sauce and add salt, pepper and other spices or herbs to taste.
  11. In a small pan, toast a few generous handfuls of panko breadcrumbs in a little butter for a few minutes.
  12. Add macaroni and caramelized onions to cheese sauce and mix well.
  13. Transfer mac and cheese to a casserole dish. Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture and leftover Grana on top.
  14. Bake at 375 degrees F/ 190 degrees C for 20-25 minutes, until the topping is golden brown.
  15. Sprinkle a little grated black truffle on top if you're feeling extra fancy.
https://www.travelingtotaste.com/2015/02/01/fancy-mac-cheese-recipe/

Tartiflette Recipe: A Feast of Cheese, Bacon & Potatoes

Gillian

The French dish tartiflette is everything you want in a winter comfort food. It combines rich cheese, bacon and potatoes in melty amazingness, and it’s guaranteed not to result in any leftovers. You’re probably supposed to eat it after a long day of skiing in the Alps, but since I don’t ski or understand the cold, I think it’s acceptable to eat it any time there’s a little chill in the air.

tartiflette-recipe

Our lovely friends Marylise and Joan invited us over for a pre-Christmas dinner and made a to-die-for tartiflette. We had an entire conversation about how you should pace yourself while eating it because it’s so rich and filling that it’s easy to overdo it and end up with a belly ache later… and then we licked the pan clean. It was too good to stop.

I asked Marlyise for her secrets and consulted a few recipes before making my own tartiflette for family in New Orleans. Some recipes have you parboil the potatoes before baking, others have you pan-fry them. I opted to pan-fry because it worked better for our timeline, but I think either way would work well.

References:

The tartiflette was delicious, if I do say so myself. Everyone liked it, from my parents to my wee toddler nephew. We’ll be having this one again.

Note: We were able to procure reblochon – a soft washed-rind, stinky cheese – by means I cannot reveal, but if that is hard to find, you could look for a similar substitution. There are “reblochon-style” cheeses, and I’ve also read about using gruyère or other cheeses you would use in fondue. Go to a cheese shop or a grocery store cheese counter and see what suggestions they have.

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Tartiflette

Tartiflette

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ - 3 lbs. potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped or diced
  • 1 onion, thinly sliced
  • ½ lb. bacon or lardons, diced
  • 1 cup white wine
  • 1 lb. reblochon (or reblochon-style) cheese, cut into thin slices
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. In a sauté pan, cook bacon until browned and starting to crisp. Remove bacon onto paper towels.
  3. Drain grease from the pan, except for 1-2 T.
  4. Add onions, cooking for a few minutes until they start to soften and turn golden.
  5. Add wine and let simmer until it’s reduced by about half.
  6. Add the potatoes, bacon, salt and pepper and cook until the potatoes are just tender (adding more wine if you like).
  7. Grease an ovenproof casserole dish, and spread half of the potato mixture in an even layer on the bottom.
  8. Spread half the cheese slices on top. Repeat with one more potato layer and one more cheese layer.
  9. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the cheese is golden and bubbling.
https://www.travelingtotaste.com/2015/01/24/tartiflette-recipe-a-feast-of-cheese-bacon-potatoes/

On Resisting Takeout: Easy Thai Noodle Stir-Fry

Gillian

It is a daily challenge to make a healthy dinner instead of grabbing takeout from the many tempting places in our neighborhood. And I do love to cook. But when we don’t plan ahead, and it’s 8 p.m. and the hangries are coming on… well, a kebab or a wok stir-fry someone else has prepared starts to look pretty appealing.

Sometimes I give into takeout’s siren song, and I enjoy every bite. But I know it’s not great for our budget or our health to do it as often as it crosses my mind, so I try to have a few easy recipes to draw from that I actually look forward to.

The wok takeout places are our default for fast food: you choose your noodles, your sauce and your protein, and they stir-fry it to order with veggies. It’s tasty and cheap, and because it has vegetables in it, it feels healthier. But I’ve been working on making our own version at home with whatever we have on hand. It’s cheap, it makes a ton – so we have leftovers for days – and it’s delicious and much less greasy than the takeout version.

stir-fry-veggies

If we have chicken, I’ll add it to the hot wok first, browning it on all sides, and then adding the veggies. But more often, I’ve been making it with just veggies. If you use a good portion of something hearty like squash or sweet potato, it’s really filling (even meat enthusiast Brian agrees) and a great way to use up produce you don’t want to spoil.

The “recipe” below is just a basic framework. I do it differently every time, and it’s very forgiving and adaptable. I’d love to hear any variations you try!

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Thai Curry Veggie Stir-Fry

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Serving Size: 6

Thai Curry Veggie Stir-Fry

Ingredients

  • Fresh vegetables, cut into cubes (suggestions include: squash, carrots, potatoes, cabbage, snap peas, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, bell peppers)
  • ½ can- 1 can coconut milk
  • 1 package rice or egg noodles
  • Curry paste or powder
  • Oil
  • Soy sauce
  • Sriracha hot sauce
  • Ginger, garlic, fresh basil or cilantro (optional)

Instructions

  1. Heat a small amount of oil over medium-high heat in a wok or large pan.
  2. Add the heartier veggies that will take longer to cook (such as squash and potatoes) and stir-fry until they start to soften a bit. If they begin to stick to the pan, add a little more oil, water or broth.
  3. Add the rest of the veggies, as well as curry paste/powder, soy sauce, ginger and garlic (if you’re using them), and cook for a few more minutes.
  4. Add the coconut milk, stirring well to mix in the spices, and let simmer until the veggies start to become tender. Season with soy sauce and hot sauce to taste.
  5. Meanwhile, boil water for the noodles. When the veggies are just about done, cook noodles until al dente (usually 1-2 minutes).
  6. Drain noodles and add them to the veggies (along with fresh herbs if you’re using them), mixing well and turning off the heat.
  7. Serve with extra herbs and hot sauce.
https://www.travelingtotaste.com/2015/01/21/on-resisting-takeout-easy-thai-stir-fry/

How to Make Mix-and-Match Enchiladas

Gillian

I make enchiladas at least once a month, usually when I have a random assortment of leftovers and vegetables I need to use, and I am craving something a little spicy. What I like best about enchiladas is that you can make them a thousand different ways, and they’re almost guaranteed to be delicious no matter what you put in them. My commitment to creating authentic Mexican cuisine is minimal, so it frees me up to try a lot of possible combinations.

pork-veggie-enchiladas

My basic formula is:

  1. Put a few cups of cooked beans or leftover chicken, pork or beef into a mixing bowl. (This is an excellent use for slow-cooker pulled pork or dried beans that you soak overnight, then cook on low all day in the slow cooker.)
  2. Mix beans or meat with sour cream (or Greek yogurt), a few generous handfuls of shredded or crumbled cheese, chopped cilantro, salt and pepper.
  3. Lightly sauté some veggies in olive oil.
  4. Take flour tortillas (or corn tortillas that have been softened by microwaving them briefly or sautéing them in a little oil) and add generous dollops of beans or meat and veggies in the center.
  5. Roll the filled tortillas up, and nestle them in a casserole dish, seam down.
  6. Cover with enchilada sauce and bake, adding more cheese on top for the last few minutes.

A few recipe ideas: 

  • Pork, spinach and pepper jack cheese
  • Chicken, red peppers and cheddar cheese
  • Pinto beans, zucchini and goat cheese
  • Black beans, squash and cotija or feta cheese

Any variations you would add to the list?

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Bean, Mushroom, Red Pepper & Cheese Enchiladas

Bean, Mushroom, Red Pepper & Cheese Enchiladas

Ingredients

  • Enchiladas:
  • 1 1/2 - 2 cups cooked pinto beans (about 1 16-ounce can)
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped
  • 1 cup wild or white button mushrooms, diced
  • 1 red pepper, diced
  • 1 - 1 ½ cups sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 bag shredded cheese (about 200 g or 8 oz)
  • 10-12 small flour tortillas
  • Salsa or hot sauce (optional)
  • Pickled jalapeños (optional)
  • Avocado (optional)
  • Salt and pepper

  • Sauce:
  • 1 large can whole peeled tomatoes
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • Olive oil
  • Spices to taste (chili pepper, cumin, salt, pepper, oregano, cayenne, etc.)

Instructions

  1. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a pan and sauté pepper, onions and mushrooms for 5-8 minutes, until vegetables start to soften. Preheat oven to 375° F.
  2. Make the sauce in a separate saucepan: sauté garlic in olive oil for 1-2 minutes, then add the tomatoes and their juices, crushing them well with your hands as you go and breaking them up more with a spoon or spatula. Season with spices and let simmer uncovered for about 15-20 minutes. Blend with an immersion blender if you want a smoother sauce.
  3. In a large bowl, mix pinto beans, cilantro, sour cream and half the bag of cheese. Add a few good shakes of salt and pepper, and mix well.
  4. Grease a 9 x 13 casserole pan with a bit of olive oil to keep enchiladas from sticking. Place heaping portions of bean mixture and veggie mixture on a tortilla, roll it up and place it seam side down in the pan. Repeat until the pan is full and you use up all the filling.
  5. Pour the sauce over the enchiladas. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for about 40 minutes.
  6. Take the enchiladas out of the oven, remove the foil and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Return to the oven and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the tortillas are starting to get crisp on the edges.
  7. Serve with extra toppings: sour cream, jalapeños, salsa, hot sauce, avocado, lime, cilantro, etc.
https://www.travelingtotaste.com/2014/12/07/how-to-make-mix-and-match-enchiladas/

Gumbo-Filled Arancini (Rice Balls)

Gillian

We made a big pot of chicken-sausage gumbo last weekend and had just enough leftovers to make this wondrous dish.

Gumbo-filled arancini. Life-changing, y’all. I’m obsessed.

We fell in love with arancini – Sicilian fried rice balls – when we lived in Naples (the ones filled with meat sauce are my favorite) and have been dying to try this New Orleans variation for some time.

Do yourself a favor, and take the following steps immediately:

  1. Make a huge pot of gumbo – we played around with a combination of recipes (one from our friend Kathleen and one from The New Orleans Cookbook) – and invite people you like to come share it with you. This is an excellent idea for, say, a football game. Bonus points if it’s the Saints game.
  2. The next day, make these gumbo-filled arancini, and prepare to be amazed.
arancini-preparation
Prepping the gumbo and rice balls
rice-balls
Starting to look more like arancini
arancini-before-frying
Breaded arancini, ready for frying
gumbo-arancini
Gumbo arancini with extra gumbo

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Gumbo-Filled Arancini

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Gumbo-Filled Arancini

Ingredients

  • Leftover rice
  • Leftover gumbo
  • 3-4 eggs
  • Breadcrumbs
  • Vegetable oil
  • Hot sauce

Instructions

  1. Take the rice out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before you start cooking so it has time to warm up a bit. Take the gumbo out of the refrigerator just before you are ready to use it.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, blend leftover rice with 2 beaten eggs until it is slightly sticky and holds together.
  3. Beat remaining egg(s) in a small bowl and set aside. Pour breadcrumbs into a separate bowl and set next to the egg mixture.
  4. For each rice ball, make two small patties out of the rice. Add a dollop of gumbo to the center of one patty, then place the second patty on top. Form the two patties into a round shape.
  5. Dip each rice ball in egg mixture, then roll in breadcrumbs.
  6. Heat 2 inches of vegetable oil in a pan until it is hot but not smoking. Fry arancini in the oil, turning so that each side turns golden brown. Remove from pan and place on paper towels.
  7. Serve with a small bowl of gumbo and extra hot sauce.
https://www.travelingtotaste.com/2014/11/03/gumbo-filled-arancini-rice-balls/

Garbanzo, Bulgar & Veggie Fritters With Mint Tzatziki

Garbanzo, Bulgar & Veggie Fritters With Mint Tzatziki

Gillian

I have a tendency to cook as though I am feeding the entire Duggar family instead of two normal-ish adults. As a result, we often have leftover grains and beans to get creative with.

This week, we had a ton of extra bulgar and a bag of dried garbanzo beans begging to be used, so I cooked up some tasty (and shockingly vegan, minus the tzatziki sauce, which I do think is a necessity) fritters.

The great thing about this kind of fritter is that you can adapt it to fit whatever you have on hand. We’ve been eating a lot of bulgar lately (quick cooking instructions: 2:1 ratio of broth or water to bulgar; boil liquid, add to bulgar, cover and let sit for 30 minutes), but you could easily substitute couscous or rice. We also happened to have chard and peppers, but you could use zucchini, carrots, spinach, whatever your little heart desires.

Of course I made twice the amount in the recipe below, so I did not actually cut down on the leftover count. You get a fritter! And you get a fritter! Fritters for everyone! I think tomorrow I’m going to add poached eggs to them and call that brunch…

mint-tzatziki-sauce
Easy mint tzatziki sauce
swiss-chard-peppers
Sautéed chard and peppers
chickpea-veggie-mix
Garbanzo and veggie mixture
chickpea-chard-fritter-in-pan
Delicious fried goodness

 

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Garbanzo, Bulgar & Veggie Fritters With Mint Tzatziki

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Serving Size: 4

Garbanzo, Bulgar & Veggie Fritters With Mint Tzatziki

Ingredients

  • Fritters:
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked garbanzo beans (about 1 can)
  • 1 small bunch Swiss chard, tough parts discarded and roughly chopped
  • 1/2 red pepper, diced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked bulgar (or couscous, brown rice, etc.)
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Flour
  • Olive oil
  • Spices and herbs to taste (salt, pepper, cumin, red pepper flakes, mint, cayenne, etc.)

  • Mint Tzatziki Sauce:
  • 1 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 T. olive oil
  • 1 T. vinegar
  • Small handful of fresh mint, finely chopped (or a few T. of dried mint)
  • Salt

Instructions

  1. Make the tzatziki by mixing all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate while you make the fritters.
  2. Heat a little olive oil in a large frying pan. Sauté onion, pepper and Swiss chard until onions are soft and chard is wilted. Drain excess liquid using a strainer, and set aside.
  3. Add garbanzo beans, lemon juice and garlic to a food processor and combine until it forms a rough paste. Add chard mix and spices and blend until mostly smooth.
  4. Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl and add bulgar, adjusting spices if necessary.
  5. Heat a thin layer of olive oil to medium-high heat in a frying pan. Form small patties from the mixture, and coat in flour.
  6. Fry patties in oil until crispy and brown on each side, a few minutes per side. Serve with tzatziki sauce, salad and bread.
https://www.travelingtotaste.com/2014/10/24/garbanzo-bulgar-veggie-fritters-with-mint-tzatziki/

Grits & Grillades: New Orleans Brunch in Barcelona

Gillian

One thing Americans – and New Orleanians in particular – do exceptionally well is brunch. Long, leisurely, mimosa/cocktail-fueled, this-is-my-only-plan-for-the-day brunch.

Say what you will about our excess and indulgence… in this case, I support it.

sazerac

We have recently started hosting meals through EatWith – a website that allows you to share meals in people’s homes all over the world. It’s basically Airbnb for dining, and when we first moved to Barcelona, being a guest was a wonderful way to meet new people and eat delicious food. And since we pretty much already do this kind of thing on our own (two extroverts who really love food and parties), it made perfect sense for us to become EatWith hosts.

Last weekend, we hosted our first New Orleans brunch and made one of my all-time favorites: grits and grillades. I had never had grillades (or grits for that matter) until I moved to NOLA. It’s a slow-cooked meat dish – made with beef, veal or pork – in a thick, flavorful gravy, served over creamy, buttery grits. So a light, healthy breakfast.

It’s easy to make, but it does take a long time to cook, so I advise making it the day before. The flavors are even better the next day, and all you have to do is reheat it and make the grits before people come over (you’re going to want to have people over: it makes a ton). We made our own chicken and beef stock, but you can also use store-bought.

Get the recipe below!

chicken stock veggies
The building blocks of a good stock
Chicken and beef stock
This is not at all excessive.
wine bottle meat mallet
We don’t have a mallet.
judgy cow
I’m sorry, disapproving cow!
steak
Trimming the steak
holy trinity
The Holy Trinity
mimosas
Mimosas?
brunch
Lovely guests

We used these recipes as references:

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Grits & Grillades

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes

Serving Size: 10

Grits & Grillades

Grillades is a slow-cooked meat dish served over creamy grits, perfect for a New Orleans-style brunch.

Ingredients

  • Grillades
  • 4 pounds boneless beef steak (round steak or stew meat)
  • 4 cups beef broth
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 3 medium onions, diced
  • 2 medium bell peppers, diced
  • 5 ribs celery, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • Flour
  • Vegetable oil
  • 1 large can whole peeled tomatoes
  • 5 fresh tomatoes, blanched, peeled and cored (optional)
  • Creole seasoning mix (We used some of Emeril's Essence and Tony Chachere's)
  • 3 bay leaves
  • Dried tarragon and basil
  • Salt and pepper

  • Creamy Grits
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 cup coarse ground cornmeal
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 8 oz. cream cheese

Instructions

  1. Trim the fat off the beef. On a floured surface, use a mallet or blunt utensil to pound to about 1/2 inch thickness.
  2. Cut beef into long strips or small squares. Salt generously and set aside on a plate.
  3. In a large, heavy pot, heat a generous layer of vegetable oil to medium-high. Season meat with Creole seasoning mix and pepper, then brown it in batches on all sides (a few minutes per side).
  4. Remove the meat and set aside. Add onions, bell peppers and celery to the drippings and cook until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.
  5. Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, beef stock and red wine, and bring to a boil.
  6. Turn the heat down to medium-low and stir in bay leaves, tarragon and basil.
  7. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the meat is very tender and falling apart (at least 2 hours).
  8. In the last 40 minutes of cook time, prepare the grits. Bring milk and water and salt to a boil over medium heat.
  9. Slowly pour in the cornmeal to the boiling liquid, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Turn the heat down to low and whisk continuously for the first 5 minutes.
  10. Cover the grits and whisk every few minutes. Turn off the heat after about 25-30 minutes and stir in butter and cream cheese, adding salt and pepper to taste.
  11. Pour a ladle of grillades over the grits, and serve with hot sauce.
https://www.travelingtotaste.com/2014/09/24/grits-grillades-new-orleans-brunch-in-barcelona/

 

Poached Eggs & Crispy Breakfast Potatoes

Gillian

Our last CSA included five wee little potatoes, which were not quite big enough to make mashed potatoes or tortilla. So I turned them into a quick brunch using a few other ingredients we had in the house. We live on the third floor, which is actually the fourth floor European/ fifth floor American, so I try to avoid unnecessary stair climbing when I’m hangry.

I used the Pioneer Woman’s breakfast potatoes recipe as a guide and added a couple of poached eggs on top (plus a healthy serving of ketchup). My poached eggs never turn out quite as pretty as I’d like, but they were perfectly runny and delicious, and I’m working on new techniques to improve their aesthetics.

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Crispy Breakfast Potatoes

Crispy Breakfast Potatoes

Ingredients

  • 5 small potatoes, washed and unpeeled
  • 1/2 bell pepper
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • Salt, pepper, other assorted spices
  • Olive oil and butter

Instructions

  1. Cut the potatoes, peppers and onion into medium chunks.
  2. Add garlic and toss with a good glug of olive oil and a bit of softened or melted butter. (I find it's most effective to mix the ingredients with clean hands.)
  3. Season liberally with spices.
  4. Bake at 425 degrees F/ 218 degrees C for 25 minutes, gently turning them once or twice.
  5. Turn the oven up - in my case, as high as it will go to 250 degrees C (482 degrees F) - and bake for another 20 minutes. Check on the potatoes occasionally to turn them or take them out if they're starting to get scorched.
  6. Serve with poached eggs.
https://www.travelingtotaste.com/2014/09/15/poached-eggs-crispy-breakfast-potatoes/

 

This is what we signed up for.

Brian
beets beets beets beets
CSA Experiment #1

As previously reported,  we recently joined a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). We had a couple of reasons for doing so, but one of them was to push ourselves into cooking with things we don’t normally buy.

Challenge number one: Beets.

Neither of us had any experience with buying and/or cooking beets, so when basket #1 arrived with two of them we did what reasonable people do: we left them on the counter for days hoping they would prepare themselves to be eaten.

This did not work, and eventually we took to the interwebs to look for creative solutions, and I was surprised to find there are lots of amazing-looking dishes to be made using beets.

Not really following any one of them in particular, the beet preparation went like this:

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Beet and Goat Cheese Crostini

Ingredients

  • Beets
  • Olive oil
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • Goat cheese
  • Salt and pepper
  • Sliced bread

Instructions

  1. Heat a small frying pan with a little olive oil
  2. Trim the skin off of the beets (beware, this will make your hands and your cutting surface red)
  3. Cut beets into small cubes
  4. Sauté on low heat until the beets are tender (about 40 minutes)
  5. Remove tender beets and add a few heavy dashes of salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar and olive oil
  6. Use an immersion blender (or food processor or blender) to purée until smooth
  7. On a piece of sliced bread, add a splash of balsamic vinegar, spread a hearty portion of goat cheese, and then spread the beet purée
  8. Consume and repeat step seven until you run out of one or all of the ingredients
  9. (Several recipes suggest wrapping the beets in aluminum foil and baking in place of sautéing, and I’m sure there are merits to both.)
https://www.travelingtotaste.com/2014/09/13/this-is-what-we-signed-up-for/

The end result is pictured above and turned out surprisingly well.

The moral of the story is get out there and try cooking with something new, even (or especially) if you don’t know where to start with it. It doesn’t need to be fancy or complicated, but playing with a new ingredient can open the door to a variety of other ways to prepare it.

Now I’m actually looking forward to the next time beets show up in the basket so we can make something crazy, like beet and goat cheese ravioli.

Joining a CSA in Barcelona

Gillian

I have a very important announcement to make. Brian and I just joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). It’s just a few blocks away from our apartment in the Gràcia neighborhood of Barcelona, I walk by it every day and I can’t believe it’s taken us so long to sign up.

Every Tuesday will henceforth be known as “Christmas.”

CSA in Barcelona

Els Bandolers de Gràcia
El Carrer Verdi 12
08012 Barcelona
Phone: 93 217 27 85
elsbandolersalcamp@gmail.com

Hours:
Monday to Thursday: 11:00 – 22:00
Friday and Saturday: 11:00 – 15:00, 17:00 – 22:00. Closed Sundays.

Els Bandolers de Gràcia is a great little store where you can buy produce and local artisan products, such as wine, beer, honey and chocolate. The produce comes from local and organic farms in Catalunya, and the CSA is a fantastic deal. Here’s how it works:

1. You sign up and pay a 30-euro registration fee, which includes two baskets – cestas – (you trade an empty one for a magically full one each week).
2. You choose either Tuesdays or Thursdays to pick up your cesta.
3. You pay each week when you get your basket. We signed up for the pequeña, which is still a ton of food for two people and costs 13 euros. The media is 18.50 euros and the grande is 28 euros.

We are only two weeks into our membership, and I already notice an improvement in our enthusiasm and creativity with preparing fresh fruits and vegetables. It’s like a game show: race against the clock to figure out A) what things are and B) how to combine them in an edible fashion.

Mystery greens? Braise them with pancetta, olive oil and balsamic! Potatoes and onions? Breakfast fries! Insanely delicious ripe plums? Eat as many as you can in one sitting, then make a quick stovetop jam with the rest before they go bad! Everything else? Throw it in a pot, you’ve got yourself a stew!

If you’re looking for a CSA in Barcelona, this place is glorious.