LOOKING FORWARD

 

LOOKING FORWARD

           New Year’s resolutions or aims seem to be ‘de rigeur’ for the start of each January. Most years this has been a time to inventory my pantry and rediscover new recipes for those items languishing in the back of the cupboard. Often in the past, it has also been a time to take a winter holiday in a warmer climate. Travel, being what it is these days, another way to achieve these aims is to step in the kitchen and revisit recipes with a foreign flavor and plain seasonal warmth.

          Many easy pasta and bean recipes from Southern Europe have sausage as one of the ingredients. Chorizo and Linguica are the two most common sausage varieties for these dishes and are readily available in our supermarkets. They both originated in the Iberian Peninsula and are featured in many dishes from Spain and Portugal, as well as Italy and Greece. Both are spicy pork sausages that are smoked and cured. Spanish chorizo is ready to eat sliced. Supermarket ground chorizo on the other hand needs to be cooked for a dish.  

                                   Pasta with Greek flavors and crisp sausage

          Cook ½ lb. Penne or Rigatoni pasta according to package directions and drain, reserving ½ cup pasta liquid.

          Brown to crisp, 1 ½ cups diced Linguica or Chorizo in a pan, set aside and drain any extra fat from the pan.

          Briefly sauté 2 finely chopped garlic cloves and ½ julienned red pepper in 1 tblsp. olive oil. Stir in: ½ tsp. oregano, ¼ tsp. hot pepper flakes, ¼ cup pitted halved Kalamata olives, 1 tblsp. chopped capers, ½ tsp. salt, ½ cup pasta liquid, 1 tblsp. white wine vinegar, the drained pasta and sausage. Heat for 2 minutes, stir in 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley and remove from heat. Serve with diced or crumbled Feta cheese.

          Winter squash is a wonderful source for warming seasonal dishes. You can bake it and savor the special flavor with butter, or you can roast it for its caramelized flavor. For a more exotic flavor, to remind you of southern climes, there is spiced squash soup. For best creamy texture use Butternut or Kabocha squash.

                                 Spiced squash soup with apples

          Rinse squash, cut in half, scoop out the seeds and bake in a 375-degree oven, face down in a shallow pan, for 45-60 minutes until easily pierced with a fork. Cool slightly and scoop out the flesh from peels.

          In a 4 qt. pot heat 1 tblsp. olive oil and 2 tblsp. butter and sauté coarsely chopped: 1 onion, 2 stalks celery, 2 garlic cloves, 2 medium apples peeled and cored, and 1 inch peeled finely chopped ginger for 5 minutes.  Stir in 1 tsp. ground coriander, 2 tsp. cumin, 1 tsp. tumeric, 1/8 tsp. hot pepper flakes, 1 cup dry white wine, 4 cups chicken stock, 1 cup water, salt and pepper and the squash. Cook on low heat for 30 minutes, cool slightly and puree in a blender in batches.

          To serve, reheat and thin with water or chicken broth to desired consistency. Ladle the thick soup in bowls, and top with a dollop of sour cream and toasted pumpkin seeds.

          Baked apples are one of the easiest deserts to make and they have the added benefit of low fat if you are concerned about your waistline after the holidays. This old-fashioned comfort food can be dressed up resort style by baking them in red wine, rather than water.

                                         Red wine baked apples

          Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut ¼ inch from the blossom end of 6 large baking apples (Granny Smith, Cortland, Braeburn, Honey Crisp or even Fuji) and core the center. Put the apples in a baking dish, just large enough to hold them. Sprinkle with 2 tblsp. fresh lemon juice.

          In a small bowl mix 3 tblsp. raisins, 2 tblsp. chopped pecans, ½ cup sugar, ¼ tsp. cloves and ¼ tsp. nutmeg. Fill the cored apples with this mixture and drizzle with 2 tblsp. honey. Pour 3 cups red wine around the apples and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until apples are easily pierced by a fork.

          Remove apples and boil down the wine sauce until syrupy. Spoon over the apples and serve warm or at room temperature.

           Looking forward to new culinary adventures from my cupboard to foreign climes.

 (I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)