Tag Archives: melissaclark

Lemon olive oil cake

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Olive oil makes cakes moist and savory and altogether delicious in a very different way from butter. I’ve tried so many combinations of olive oil cakes and lemon pound cakes. This one is a winner every single time. It is a Melissa Clark recipe and the taste/effort ratio is off the charts.

Heat oven to 350 F and prep a 1 lb loaf pan (8 inch) with your anti-stick prep of choice (butter/flour, PAM baking spray, parchment)

Get dry ingredients ready and mix them around with a fork : 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour, 1.5 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

Get wet ingredients and combine with a whisk till sugar is dissolved- 1 cup sugar, 2 tsp lemon (or lime) zest, 3 tablespoons lemon (or lime) juice, 1 tablespoon poppy seeds, 1/2 cup buttermilk (or milk with 1/2 tsp vinegar) and 3/4 cup olive oil (the fruitier the better) with 3 large eggs

Mix the wet and dry ingredients till they just come together- don’t overmix! An occasional lump is fine. Pour in prepared pan and bake for 1 hour or so. Let your whole house smell of cake and deliciousness. Cool for 10 minutes and remove from pan

Make a glaze with 1/2 cup confectioners sugar and 1.5 tbsp lemon (or lime) juice. Poke holes with a skewer in the cake and pour glaze on top. You should let it cool before eating but this cake is impossible to resist.

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Spinach and Tallegio Risotto

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Spinach and Tallegio risotto

I love the funkiness and creaminess of tallegio – especially in grilled cheese so this recipe intrigued me immediately. It’s simply marvelous, the spinach, arborio rice and tallegio blend into a rich unctuous almost fondue like creaminess while still being fresh and green and summery

The recipe is modified from the Melissa Clark recipe linked below which is also modified from a River Cafe cookbook recipe.

Wilt 10 oz of spinach (one large container) in one tablespoon butter on the stove. Purée it with some salt and set it aside.

Use the same pan and sweat together 1 medium chopped onion, 3 cups celery, 3 cloves garlic with 5 tbsp of butter for around 10 min on medium heat. Don’t brown them and yes the quantities are correct and necessary.

Add 1.5 cups unrinsed arborio rice and roast till all the water is soaked up and the rice starts getting toasty pale brown (5 min)

Add ¾ cup of white wine (serve the rest of the bottle with the dish or drink it while cooking). Cook till the wine is all absorbed

You remembered to warm up a quart of vegetable stock right. The traditional method is to add a ladleful at a time as it’s absorbed while continuously stirring. I add the liquid all at once and stir every 3-5 minutes (serious eats did a blog post on this- the risotto is just as good). Add more hot stock if needed. Season with salt.

20 min later- the rice should be creamy and cooked. Add the spinach purée and 8 oz of tallegio (take the rind off with a knife and break the cheese into pieces – try not to eat all the cheese before it goes into the risotto) . Stir till cheese melted! This is a superlative recipe! It’s a keeper

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/13/dining/river-cafe-risotto-recipe.html

Spanish tortilla

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Spanish tortilla

 

Exactly like Melissa Clark- I’ve always been wary of any dish that starts with 1-2 cups of olive oil and I’ve been unimpressed with the Spanish tortillas I’ve eaten in tapas bars (vegetarian food is always an afterthought in these places)

 

But on a sunny Sunday morning, when you are waiting to hear from the on-call resident to see if you have to go back to the OR- it’s a perfect distraction. And most of the oil does get poured off.

 

I followed the recipe linked below. I chopped 3 large Russet potatoes (equal size cuts) and finely chopped one onion and poached all of it in enough oil to cover the potatoes for 15 min on gentle heat till the potatoes are soft and the onion is golden( I did add one dried chili to poach in the oil). Drain some of the oil – add 6 eggs to the potatoes with salt and pepper. Cook on the stove top till set and then in the oven (375F) for 10 min or so till set all the way through. I skipped the flipping over part and added 2 sauces , one is my tomato chutney and the other was a yogurt, parsley, garlic, olive and some of the drained olive oil sauce.

 

All I can say is that I’m really sad I waited so long to make this. This may have been the best brunch dish I’ve ever eaten. It should be great for brunch guests as well- everything can be done in advance till the eggs are added.

 

 

 

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/12/25/dining/a-potatos-postcard-from-spain.html

 

Cauliflower sheet pan pasta

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My favorite sheet pan recipe: based off a Melissa Clark NYT recipe. Roast cauliflower with cumin, salt and pepper – 450 for 20 min, add pasta , dollops of ricotta, garlic, capers and breadcrumbs with melted butter- back in oven for another 10. Serve with a squeeze of lime. A weekly regular at our house

Original recipe :https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018580-spicy-roasted-broccoli-pasta