Tag: Garlic

Wintertime Farro Bowl

by Maria


Farro Bowl005

One of my favorite things to have my grandma cook is arroz cubano. When she and my grandpa come to visit from Brazil the menu usually looks something like this:

Tortilla de Patata
Paella
Pollo Tia Ely
Arroz Cubano
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

One of these things does not fit. But that’s a long story.

Arroz cubano is pretty fancy. It’s white rice shaped into a mound using a mug, then topped with tomato sauce and a perfectly fried egg. Definitely a classic stretching-the-grocery-budget meal, and definitely a kid-pleaser. Anything is immediately more exciting when it looks like a volcano and can be smashed. That’s a fact of life.

Luckily, these days I’m about 1% more sophisticated than my rice-volcano-smashing 8-year-old self, and so I came up with this warm farro bowl that has all the nostalgic goodness of arroz cubano. This is the perfect starter meal if you’ve never cooked farro before—it’s quick cooking, simple, and pretty darn foolproof. The key is to keep tasting your farro and adding more liquid if it needs it—it’ll be done when it’s firm but not crunchy.

Farro Bowl002

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Crackpeas (a.k.a. Crispy Chickpeas)

by Maria

Crackpeas002

These chickpeas are beyond addictive. Jarrett and I first had them at AS220 in Providence, a nonprofit restaurant/bar/music venue/art galley/hipster kind of place. One of the book designers at work recommended it after I asked her for a place with cheap, but high quality and innovative, food and drinks and a fun vibe (i.e. The Perfect Restaurant).

Jarrett and I walked in and immediately Did. Not. Fit. In. It was like a bad sitcom where there’s a loud record scratch, everyone stops talking, and turns to look at the intruders. Jarrett was in a dorky plaid flannel shirt and his trademark Winchester hat, and I was wearing a dress, heels, and pearls. We were the only un-inked, un-pierced, un-down-with-that squares on the premises.

We kind of scuttled over to a table and tried to look like we were being ironically nerdy as some sort of social statement. I try this move a lot. It never works.

So we decided to fix it by ordering EVERYTHING.

Crispy Chickpeas

We ordered an outstanding pulled pork pasta, a butternut squash soup, an intensely cheesy and massive bowl of mac and cheese, a side dish of roasted Brussels sprouts, and these chickpeas.

You know these chickpeas are what’s up when I say they were better than mac and cheese. The mac and cheese was darn good, but I kept going back to these chickpeas and having my mind blown with each bite. They are ultra crispy, have amazing garlic flavor, and just take on such a rich, hearty crunch that you won’t even recognize them as chickpeas.

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Pesto Pasta Salad for Holiday Travel

by Maria

Pesto Pasta Salad 1

I know every magazine, website, and TV show has been sharing endless recipes for holidays meals…but what do we eat to get us there? I know I’ll be spending the next month and a half on a series of buses, trains, planes, and cars to get home for Thanksgiving and the holidays. And it is not fun to spend $12 on a mediocre burger at the T.G.I. Friday’s at the airport.

Pesto Pasta Salad 2

So why not make my own veggie-packed, just-as-yummy lunch to go? That’s what this recipe is all about.

Pesto Pasta Salad

Pesto Pasta Salad 3

This has all the components of an awesome meal: ready in 15 minutes; easily adaptable to whatever veggies you have on hand; healthy; well-rounded; oh-so- delicious; and easily packed up for your next long trip! By making the pesto without pine nuts you also save quite a bit of money, and you won’t have to worry about eating it near anyone who has nut allergies.

1 serving

Nut-Free Pesto
½ cup basil leaves
1 small garlic clove
¼ cup Parmigiano Reggiano
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Pasta Salad
½ cup short whole wheat pasta (I used strozzapreti from Severino.)
½ cup baby spinach
¼ cup cherry tomatoes
5-6 kalamata olives
1/8 of a medium cucumber

Fill a medium pot with water and place it over high heat to boil. While it heats up, you can start the pesto. Place all the pesto ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Pesto Pasta Salad 4

If the water is boiling, go ahead and add the pasta and 1 tablespoon salt.

Quarter the cherry tomatoes and chop the cucumber to be about the same size. Slice the olives and roughly chop the spinach, then place all the veggies directly into your Tupperware or other to-go container.

If the pasta is ready, strain it, stir a bit of olive oil onto it so it doesn’t stick, then place it in the refrigerator to cool for a few minutes.

Once the pasta is cool, add it to the container with the veggies, spoon in the pesto, and toss everything until it’s coated in the pesto. Enjoy on your next trip!

Pesto Pasta Salad 5

Note: I highly recommend using an extra rubber band around your to-go container. Unless you’re cool with having a purse full of pesto.