Farfalle with Blackeyed Peas, Mushrooms, and Shrimp

This is a hodge-podge recipe I put together from 2 recipes in "America's Test Kitchen: Winter 2010."

4 slices cooked bacon, finely chopped

500 g fresh mushrooms, sliced thin

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 (16 oz) can blackeyed peas, rained and rinsed

1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth

Salt & Pepper

1 large bunch fresh broccoli

500 g shrimp, deveined (and if frozen, thawed)

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, sliced

1/4 tsp salt (as needed)

2 Tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped

500 g farfalle pasta

In a large skillet, cook the bacon over med-hi heat until crisp, roughly 5 min. Remove and set on a paper towel-lined plate. Pour off all but a Tbsp of fat from the pan; add up to 1 Tbsp olive oil, if needed. Add mushrooms and cook over medium heat for 5 min, stirring frequently. Remove and set aside, covered with foil to keep warm.

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Wipe out skillet (there should be no oil left in the pan). Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil over med-hi heat. Add onion and cook for 3 min until softened. Add minced garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Add beans and broth and cook until slightly thickened, about 2 min.

In a separate skillet, sautee shrimp and sliced garlic in 2 Tbsp olive oil for 3 min. Add lemon juice and cook an addition 1-2 min, or until shrimp are pink. Remove from heat and stir in parsley.

Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the instructions on the box. Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl. Immediately add bean and onion mixture, and 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper, and toss well. Add shrimp and toss well. Sprinkle chopped bacon on individual servings.

Serve with steamed broccoli and crusty bread.

Makes 4 servings.

NOTES:

(a) This is an easy dish to amend based on the ingredients you have. If you don't like or don't have shrimp, use 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed. Cook as you would the shrimp (though an additional 2-3 min might be necessary to cook the meat through), and omit the lemon juice.

(b) Really any beans can be substituted in (I just happened to have an excess of pre-soaked blackeyed peas, so they made the cut!). Cannellini or green peas would work just fine. My blackeyed peas were cooked with bacon in salted water; the bacon is a welcome addition for flavor and the pre-salted beans meant I didn't need to add salt. To each his own.

(c) To make this vegetarian and vegan friendly is a snap. Obviously omit bacon (and anything cooked in bacon) and shrimp, substitute chickpeas or 2 cups cooked brown lentils for the beans (a better source of protein) and substitute vegetable broth/bullion for the chicken broth.

(d) If you're serving this for guests, be aware of the colors in the dish. You want ingredients to contrast with the color of the pasta, so if you're using a white bean (cannellini, chickpea), add a chopped red bell pepper to the onion, or 1-2 finely diced, de-seeded red chillies. If you use green peas, try steaming 2 sliced carrots on the side. Get creative and use whatever's in your fridge!

Tzatziki Topping

Prep/Total time: 15 min

1 cup cucumber, seeded and finely chopped

1/2 cup reduced-fat Greek yogurt

1/4 cup fat-free sour cream

1 Tbsp minced fresh mint or 1 tsp dried mint

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 tsp salt

For tzatziki sauce, combine all ingredients; refrigerate until serving.

NOTES:

(a) When chopping the cucumber, cut lengthwise first, then scrape out seeds with a teaspoon, leaving the cucumber with a crescent moon shape. This is necessary to keep the sauce from being too runny. Trust me, there will be oozing regardless (how else do you know your burger was delicious if you don't wear part of it?!), but de-seeding cuts down on that.

(b) Use Greek yogurt if at all possible. It's thicker and has a better flavor that regular plain yogurt. If you're torn between "reduced fat" or "Greek", use your best judgment - it won't make a catastrophic difference!

(c) Chilling the tzatziki for an hour or so will help it settle some and be less runny.

Greek Chickpea & Walnut burgers

This is a recipe I found in the September 2009 edition of "Taste of Home" magazine (courtesy of my Mommy -- thanks, Mom!). It's yummy, healthy, and a nice departure from the usual burger fare. The part that makes it "Greek" is the tzatziki topping (try saying THAT 10 times fast) - recipe on a separate blog - so feel free to leave it out. This recipe can be as healthy or less-than-healthy as you want to make it, so add cheese, cooked bacon, honey dijon sauce, or whatever your favorite topping is and just go mad!

Prep: 30 min + chilling

Grill: 10+ min

2 eggs

1/2 cup dry whole wheat bread crumbs

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 medium carrot, shredded

1/3 cup crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese

1/4 coarsely chopped onion

1/4 cup Greek olives

4 sprigs parsely, stems removed, chopped or 1 tsp dry parsley

1 Tbsp lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 tsp each salt & pepper

1 can (15 oz) chickpeas or garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

Whole wheat hamburger buns

In a food processor, combine first 11 ingredients (stop at the chickpeas); cover and pulse 4 times. Add chickpeas; pulse until chopped. Refrigerate for at least 45 min.

Shape chickpea mixture by 2/3 cupfuls into patties. IN LARGE SKILLET: Over med-hi, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil. Add 4 patties; cook for 3-4 min, then turn and cook for another 3 min, pressing down slightly on the burgers. Remove from skillet and place on a paper towel-lined plate. ON THE GRILL: Coat grill rack with cooking spray before starting the grill. Grill burgers, covered, over medium heat for 3-5 min on each side or until a thermometer reads 160 F (70 C). Serve on buns with your favorite topping.

Makes 8-9 patties, depending on size.

NOTES:

(a) Be sure all your ingredients are chopped to roughly the same size (onion, walnuts, feta cheese) so there are no big chunks in your patties. Over-processing makes the mixture too runny and you'll have to add bread crumbs to make it hold its shape, which "waters down" the taste of the burger!

(b) Shred the carrots with the largest holes on your shredder. This keeps excess liquid to a minimum and, honestly, makes a prettier burger.

(c) My family loves doing burgers on the ol' George Foreman grill, but this burger does NOT stand up well in that format! In my experience, the skillet works best. Use a skillet with low ridges if you want to give your burgers a "grilled" look.

(d) The olives really aren't optional in this one, though if you prefer regular black or green olives, feel free to substitute. The olives are needed to balance out the strong taste of the feta. Make sure the olives you pick have a good taste on their own, because you'll definitely be able to taste them in the burgers!

(e) Try to drain the chickpeas as much as possible after rinsing, but be prepared to add an additional 1/3 to 1/2 a cup bread crumbs if your patties are too sticky or won't hold their shape after refrigeration.

Fresh Blackeyed Pea Salad

This is a recipe I picked up from Central Market while I was at home in Dallas over Christmas. It's pretty similar to "Texas caviar," though I'd like to think a little better for you. Who knows though....

1 cup blackeyed peas, fresh
1 onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped (leave the seeds in for a spicier dish!)
1 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1/4 lb. cheddar cheese, cubed (optional)
1/4 cup San Pasqual Dressing (or you can substitute any other vinaigrette, or make your own)
Salt & Pepper

Cook peas in salted water till firm-tender, about 12 minutes (no more than 15), drain and set aside to cool. In a medium size bowl, combine the peppers and onions with the cheese (if using). Add cooked peas and vinaigrette. Toss well and check for seasoning. Serve as a main course with crusty bread or crackers.

NOTES:
(a) Soak the fresh peas overnight to make cooking easier (long soaking also makes beans less "gassy"). For added depth and flavor, cook the peas in water with a teaspoon of salt and 3 or 4 pieces of uncooked bacon, cut into 1" sections. If you do this, save the liquid when you drain the peas, then use it to cook dirty rice to go with your salad, to make a more complete meal. For a veggie version, leave out the salt and bacon and use vegetable broth/bullion.
(b) If you choose to use cheese, make sure it's a mild-flavored cheddar (monterey or pepper jack might also be nice), or the cheese will greatly overpower the rest of the dish! You can always omit it completely, or just use a half cup or so of freshly grated parmesan.

Makes 4 servings as a side, 2 as a main dish.

After only 10 months....

.....this blog has a purpose! Feeling somewhat inspired by "Julie & Julia," the flick I watched TWICE (we were delayed on the tarmac for hours at Heathrow) on the flight home for Christmas (and even more inspired by my love of cooking, a love that took me rather by surprise, to be honest), I've decided to expand upon my 140 character tweets and actually write up what I'm cooking. I confess, the benefit is mostly for myself, since on more than one occasion I've cooked something, discovered quite unexpectedly that it was delicious, and then couldn't find it later to replicate. As a result, in the 7 months I've been in Prevessin, France, I've cooked the same dish only a half dozen times or so. Chicken fajitas have been done mulitple times, but since they don't require a recipe anyway, they don't count.

And so this is where, henceforth, I shall chronicle my life in cuisine. Good times!

**incidentally, I'm extremely open to suggestions! Mommy, Kissy, Bird, that especially means YOU!