Comfort Food: Farfalle with Smoked Salmon, Red Onion and Capers and Remembering Rigsby’s

When I lived in Columbus, Ohio, one of my favorite restaurants was Rigsbys in the Short North neighborhood. The deliciously inventive food created by Kent Rigsby and his team was the best in the city, and one of their dishes, a farfalle pasta with smoked salmon, red onion and capers in a creamy sauce is still one of my favorite pastas of all time.

I love trying new things, and attempting to dissect the ingredient list and recreate the dish at home. My sister, her friend P.R. and I tried recreating this dish together a few times when I still lived there. P.R. finally got the recipe down and shared it with us, and I have been making this hometown dish here in NYC for family and friends for 22 years now. It is easy, delicious, elegant, and addictive, with protein loaded smoked salmon, heart healthy onions and that forever comfort food—pasta (in a creamy sauce, no less!). It makes both the health and comfort foods list. It is great as an appetizer portion and elegant as a main dish meal. With a green salad and crusty bread, you have a dinner party!

So, with gratitude to Kent Rigsby and his wonderful restaurant for creating this dish (and so many great memories of dinner at Rigsby's in my Columbus years!), I offer our inspired version of his Farfalle with Smoked Salmon.

1 lb. farfalle, cooked al dente according to package instructions (you can substitute your favorite pasta cut as well—I prefer farfalle)

2 tbsp. butter

1 large red onion, sliced thin

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 tbsps. capers

3 tbsps. vodka (I just use a shotglass and add a shot)

1 cup chicken stock

½ cup heavy cream

fresh ground black pepper

3-4 slices smoked salmon, julienned

In a skillet, melt butter and sauté red onion for about 5-7 minutes, until they start to soften slightly. Add vodka and stir, then add chicken stock, capers and pepper, and allow sauce to reduce by about half. Add heavy cream and mix sauce together well.

Toss freshly cooked pasta with sauce and smoked salmon. Serve.

Comfort Foods: Pasta with Shrimp and Cilantro Garlic Lemon Pesto

My daughter runs cross country for her high school track team. Now that spring training has started, she practices three times a week (and runs with her Dad on weekends when she is feeling really ambitious). Needless to say, she comes home from practice famished, and wondering how quickly dinner can be served.

This week, to get both protein and carbs to refuel her for practice, I made a pasta dish with sautéed shrimp and a pesto of garlic, cilantro, and lemon. She gave it a two-thumbs up—so I am thrilled that she likes something that is both healthy for her and quick for me to get on the table. Served with freshly grated parmesan and a green salad, it is a great weekday dinner.

½ pound favorite pasta, cooked according to package directions

½ pound shrimp, peeled, washed and deveined

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

Pesto

1 cup cilantro leaves, plucked from stems

2-3 cloves garlic

1/3 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons seafood or chicken stock (I use chicken)

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Juice of 1 lemon

Parmesan cheese for garnish

Mix all pesto ingredients in a food processor. Prepare pasta. Heat oil in a skillet. Add shrimp, salt and pepper. When shrimp is cooked, toss with pesto in skillet. Toss in pasta. Garnish with cheese, if desired. Makes 2 generous servings.

Healing Foods: Crusted Tuna Steaks with Quinoa Salad and the Facts on Flax

I have tried to maintain my healthy juicing and eating in 2011, even as I went through my 50^th birthday bender—a series of dinners and parties to celebrate my launch into a new decade. It’s been fun—but I am definitely craving the energy level that my healthy eating and juicing have given me after all the champagne drinking and cake eating of the last several weeks.

My daughter and I have been trying to get more flax into our diet, sprinkling flax seeds into salads and using flax seed oil in our dressings to give ourselves more of the powerful healing agents flax contains. According to my research, flax is rich in lignans, powerful antioxidants that help prevent many types of cancer. Flax is also a natural food that is the richest source of essential fatty acids (Omega 3’s and alphalinolenic acid). It is packed with fiber, and helps in fighting cholesterol, diabetes, cancer, constipation, menopausal symptoms and heart disease. It is also an immune system booster and powerful anti-inflammatory. Why wouldn’t we want more of that in our daily diet?

So, in order to test some flax recipes I created, I invited my favorite food critics and friends, the Lee family, to try a flax-inspired dinner. I made flax seed and sesame crusted tuna steaks, and paired it with an Asian inspired quinoa vegetable salad with cucumber, crunchy sweet peppers, shallots and cilantro. To satisfy my friend John’s love of spice, I made a dipping sauce to accompany the tuna with tamarind sauce, sushi vinegar and Korean red pepper paste. Marilyn added delicious garlic sautéed broccoli and a yummy green salad to the healthy mix, and we had a lovely weeknight meal. They assured me that the tuna and quinoa were blog-worthy, so I am inviting my friends to get on the flax wagon and try some recipes of their own with flax seed and flax seed oil. Here are mine…I hope you enjoy them!

Flax and Sesame Crusted Tuna

3 tablespoons grapeseed or olive oil

2 tuna steaks (about 1-1 ½ inches thick

¼ cup black and white sesame seeds

¼ cup flax seeds

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon chili pepper

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Mix all dry ingredients on a shallow bowl or plate. Dredge steaks on each side to crust with seed/spice mixture. Heat oil on high heat in a shallow skillet. When hot, add steaks. Cook for 3 minutes each side for medium rare steaks (less if you like them rare). Allow to cool for 5 minutes, slice into ½ inch thick slices and serve.

Quinoa Salad with Vegetables

1 cup dried organic quinoa

2 cups water

1 tablespoon flaxseed oil

1 shallot, chopped fine

1 small yellow pepper, chopped fine

1 small red pepper, chopped fine

½ cup chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons sushi vinegar (seasoned rice vinegar)

4 tablespoons flaxseed oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp flax seeds (optional)

Put quinoa, water and 1 tbsp.oil in a saucepan over medium heat. When it begins to boil, reduce heat to low and cook for about 15-20 minutes until liquid is absorbed. Cool slightly.

Stir shallots, peppers, cilantro, vinegar and oil together. Add quinoa. Season to taste with salt, pepper and flax seeds.

Spicy Dipping Sauce

¼ cup organic tamarind sauce

1 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar

1 generous teaspoon Korean red pepper paste

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Serve with tuna steaks

Comfort Food: Norcino Pasta (Butcher's Spaghetti)

One of my favorite New York restaurants, Beppe, closed its doors a couple of months ago. Beppe was a warm, welcoming space with delicious Italian foods prepared by chef Cesare Casella. Cesare grew his own herbs, both in clay pots outside the restaurant and in his own garden, and generously flavored his foods with herbs, both fresh and fried. His Tuscan fries—french fries with quick fried herbs and sea salt were a favorite of many returning customers, including me.

But my favorite dish there was a simple bowl of Norcino pasta, or butcher’s spaghetti. It is such a delicious, satisfying and comforting dish—so simple in its ingredients and so pleasing to the palate—it became my only main course as I went back again and again with friends to introduce them to this amazing comfort food. The mix of flavors and spices is complex and rich, and as hard as I tried I could not seem to replicate it at home. A friend and I found a recipe on an Italian website which came close—but it did not quite match Cesare’s dish.

I recently came across a blog written by Cesare (Italian Cooking in the Loop) in which he divulges the recipe for this revered dish. Imagine my delight when I saw HIS recipe, and realized that I could make this at home for my family. I am certain it will become a staple in our comfort food repertoire.

And since my daughter and I promised to start making comfort foods from different cultures and countries on our Sunday cooking days, we will gladly make this one. Grazie Mille, Cesare, for generously sharing this recipe with your fans. Comfort food—with a lovely Italian accent.

Norcino Pasta (Butcher’s Spaghetti)

2 tablespoons roughly chopped garlic

1 1/2 cups roughly chopped red onions

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

2 1/2 pounds hot sausage, casings removed and meat crumbled

1 cup dry red wine

3 1/2 cups canned whole tomatoes, with their juice, pureed or finely chopped (You can also buy pureed tomatoes, but whole ones are less acidic and of higher quality)

Large pinch crushed red pepper

Large pinch grated nutmeg

Large pinch ground cloves

Large pinch ground cinnamon

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 pound spaghetti or tagliatelle

Grated Parmesan cheese, for finishing

In a food processor puree the garlic and onions to a coarse paste.

Coat the bottom of a large skillet with the olive oil. Add the garlic and onion paste and the rosemary and sauté over medium heat until the mixture begins to color, 10-15 minutes.

Add the sausage meats, stirring with a wooden spoon to break them up. When the sausage is brown, add the wine and reduce completely, 8-10 minutes

Add the tomatoes, crushed red pepper, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and 4 cups water. Season with salt and pepper. Cook over low hear for 3 hours, adding additional water, a little at a time, if the mixture starts to look too dry. When the sauce is ready, skim off the excess fat and adjust the seasonings.

Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until just under al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.

Add the spaghetti to the sauce with 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Continue cooking 2 to 3 minutes for the pasta to absorb some of the sauce, adding more pasta water if the mixture becomes too dry. Sprinkle with parmesan and serve.

Healing Food: Farfalle with Butternut Squash and Sage Butter

My friend Gabs is an Italiophile. She lived there, speaks it fluently, and talks of her love of Italian food with an adoring, faraway look in her eyes. Now that she has finished the last of her chemo treatments, I have been looking for great Italian dishes that she can eat just for the pleasure of it---along with a glass of lovely Italian wine! So, since the fall season is upon us, I chose to cook with one of my favorite farmer’s market picks of late: butternut squash.

Butternut squash is abundant at local farmer’s markets, and winter squash is full of healthy vitamins and nutrients. It is an excellent source of vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene—which prevents the oxidation of cholesterol in the body), a very good source of vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber and manganese. In addition, winter squash is a good source of folate, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B1, copper, vitamin B6, niacin-vitamin B3 and pantothenic acid. And fresh sage has long been used as an anti-inflammatory and memory enhancer in herbal medicine.

The butternut squash is cut into chunks, sautéed in a bit of butter until softened, then steamed with a bit of chicken stock. Then, the sage is sautéed in a browned butter, and the squash and sage mixtures are tossed with farfalle pasta (or your favorite pasta). I have made this dish with fresh ricotta cheese stirred in (or with a dusting of freshly grated parmesan) and without, and both are comforting and delectable.

So when she is up for it, I will host a celebratory dinner in her honor. She braved her chemo with a grace, strength and determination that made me proud. I am happy to celebrate her health and recovery with the circle of friends that she inspired with her amazing example. Salute, Gabrielle!!!

1 butternut squash, peeled seeded and cut into 1 inch chunks

2 tbsp. butter or olive oil

½ cup chicken stock

6-8 sage leaves, julienned into thin slices

1 stick butter, clarified to remove the butterfat and dregs

salt and pepper to taste

Optional: ½ cup fresh ricotta cheese or ½ cup parmesan, freshly grated

1 lb farfalle (bow tie) pasta, cooked

In a sauté skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add butternut squash and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add chicken stock and allow the squash to simmer until fork tender. In a separate skillet, heat the clarified butter and add the julienned sage, until the butter comes to a simmer. In a bowl, toss the pasta with the squash, butter and sage and season with salt and pepper. Add the ricotta at this time, if desired. Garnish with parmesan cheese.

Healing Foods: Chef Peter Yurasit's Pasta with Chunky Basil Pesto and Watercress

This week, my friends and I took a cooking class with New York chef and caterer Peter Yurasits. Peter is an amazing chef, known for using local and organic produce and products in his cooking. Our class included basil and watercress from his very own garden, as well as other fresh and delicious ingredients.

The Provençal themed menu was sublime. We started with seared slices of foie gras with an endive salad, then moved on to a pappardelle with chunky basil pesto and fresh watercress (recipe below!), roasted lamb chops with a creamy potato gratin, and finished with Tarte Tatin, a yummy caramelized apple tart. We paired our sumptuous food with wines from Provence, and savored every minute of our evening all together.

Now that farmer’s and produce markets are starting to offer locally grown foods of the season, introducing all of you to Peter’s pasta dish is a great idea. Not only will it give you a chance to try a delicious dish with the freshest ingredients, but the ingredients themselves carry great nutritional benefits. Organic garlic is crushed with basil leaves, sea salt and olive oil. Once the pasta is cooked al dente, the pesto is tossed with the pasta, freshly grated parmesan cheese, and a generous handful of fresh watercress leaves. Packed with vitamins, watercress is an excellent source of B1, B2, B6, C and E. It is also an excellent source of manganese for bone health and liver support, and carotenes for visual health. It is a good source of calcium and fiber as well.

This pasta is excellent as a main course, appetizer or side dish with your favorite protein. Thank you, Peter, for the wonderful cooking class, and for introducing all of us to this delicious, healing dish……

Pasta with Chunky Basil Pesto and Watercress

1 lb. pappardelle pasta

3 tablespoons butter

2 cups fresh basil leaves, washed

4 cloves garlic

1/2 cup olive oil

2 teaspoons sea salt

2-3 cups fresh watercress

1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Using a mortar and pestle, crush garlic, salt, fresh basil leaves into a chunky paste. Add olive oil and mix well to combine flavors.

Prepare pasta according to package directions. When pasta is al dente, drain and toss with butter, then add the pesto. Fold in the parmesan cheese and watercress. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.