Rigatoni with Eggplant, Burst Tomatoes, and Basil-Pignoli Crunch

This is a wonderful time of year for this lusty pasta dish, surely one Cristforo Colombo might have enjoyed today.  I created a version of this dish for Bon Appetit last year but have made some adjustments since. Now I make it with mezzi rigatoni (a shorter version) and fresh buffalo mozzarella.  Any fresh mozzarella will do, and provola (smoked mozzarella) is also pretty divine.

Happy Columbus Day.  Enjoy the long weekend-- a great one for cooking.   To drink?  Try a high-end Barbera or re-discover Chianti.

1 unpeeled large eggplant (1-3/4 pounds), cut into 1/2 inch cubes 2 medium yellow peppers, cut into 1/2-inch squares 2 cups grape tomatoes 3 large garlic cloves 1/3 cup olive oil 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves 1 cup freshly-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano 1/4 cup pine nuts 28-ounces whole tomatoes in juice 1 cup heavy cream 1 pound mezzi rigatoni 1 pound fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Lightly oil a large rimmed baking sheet and add eggplant and peppers.  Cut tomatoes in half and add to baking sheet.  Using a garlic press, squeeze 1 garlic clove onto vegetables. Drizzle with oil and toss. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast until vegetables are tender, stirring often, 35 to 40 minutes.  Combine 2/3 cup basil, 1/2 cup Parmesan, pine nuts, and 1 garlic clove in a processor. Blend just until crumbly and season with salt.  Blend tomatoes with juice, cream, 1-1/3 cups basil, and 1 garlic clove in processor until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper. Cook pasta in pot of boiling water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally; drain.  Return to pot.  Toss with vegetables, sauce and 1/2 cup Parmesan.  Transfer to a 13x2x9 inch baking dish.  Sprinkle with mozzarella and pint nut topping.  Bake 25 to 35 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes and serve.  Serves 8

A Radically Delicious Recipe: Why Not Grill a Salad?

Grilled Romaine & Roma Tomatoes with Parmesan VinaigretteThis might be the perfect weekend to rev up your barbecue skills. All you need are some juicy thick steaks to complete the meal and serve them with my green "magic sauce" below -- its a vibrant salsa verde that is as easy to make as it is addictive. The salad takes only a few minutes on the grill until the lettuce and tomoatoes slightly blacken, imparting a desirable smoky taste and tender texture. Fresh oregano is a must. Follow with an offering of gorgonzola dolce and sweet grapes. Grill some marshmallows and drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar. No one has ever done that before!

3 very large romaine hearts 6 large ripe plum (Roma) tomatoes 2/3 cup olive oil, plus more for brushing 3/4 cup freshly-grated Parmigiano Reggiano 1 large clove garlic 2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice 1 teaspoon white balsamic vinegar 3 flat anchovies in oil 3 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves

Cut romaine in half lengthwise. Cut tomatoes in half through the stem ends. Put 2/3 cup oil in a food processor. Add 1/2 cup cheese, garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, anchovies and 1 tablespoon water. Process until smooth; add freshly ground black pepper to taste. Brush romaine and tomatoes lightly with oil. Sprinkle with salt. Grill over medium heat 1-1/2 to 2 minutes per side, until lightly charred. Transfer to a large platter. Drizzle with dressing and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Garnish with oregano. Serves 6

Magic Green Sauce (from Radically Simple) It takes only minutes, and four ingredients, to make this radically delicious sauce. That's magic enough, but the flavors coalesce so that even guests who don't think they like cilantro probably will.

1 cup packed cilantro leaves with a bit of their stems 1/4 cup capers plus 2 tablespoons brine 2 tablespoons chopped scallions, white part only 6 tablespoons olive oil

Combine the cilantro, capers, brine, and scallions in a food processor. Slowly add the oil and 2 tablespoons water; process until almost smooth. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Enjoy the weekend.

A Farmer's Market Meal

You can pretty much get everything on this plate at your local farmer's market.  After all, there are only 9 ingredients that make up this eternally spring meal. Although it's a bit gray and rainy today, I am off to the Union Square Market, the heart and soul of the city, to get the ingredients for tonight's dinner.  This image, from one of my earlier books, Recipes 1-2-3 Menu Cookbook (published in 1998), is attention-getting as it is stunning in its simplicity and restraint.  The three simple recipes include tender lamb chops under a "crust" of goat cheese and rosemary; a slow-cooked tomato layered with red onion "napoleon-style," and stir-fried watercress with garlic chips.  Only today, 14 years later when pea shoots are now the veg du jour, I may substitute them for the watercress in this recipe.  I may also, instead of the rosemary, use fresh lavender -- just a bit -- as my husband really likes it.  It is an unforgiving herb, however, as a little too much is...a little too much.  Goat cheese and lavender have great affinity and my husband often stuffs it under the skin of a large chicken and roasts it to perfection.  This menu brings great rewards for modest amounts of effort. Open an unexpected bottle of Domaine Clavel's Les Garrigues, a blend of syrah and grenache noir from the Languedoc, or choose a flowery Beaujolais like Chiroubles. Check in later for dessert.  I will see what's new and exciting at the market this morning!  One of life's simple pleasures is checking out what's on nature's agenda each week. Enjoy!

Lamb Chops with Goat Cheese & Rosemary 8 thick rib lamb chops 6 ounces fresh goat cheese 3 tablespoons finely snipped fresh rosemary or lavender

"French" the chops, cutting all meat from the bones to the "eye" of the chops; or leave them as they are.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  In a small bowl, mix goat cheese with 2 tablespoons rosemary or lavender.  Season chops with salt and pepper and steak in a large nonstick skillet until browned, about 2 minutes on each side.  Pack approximately 1-1/2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture on one side of each chop to cover completely.  Place chops in oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until desired doneness, but still rare in the center.  You may brown the cheese for 30 seconds under the broiler.  Scatter remaining herbs on top.  Serves 4 "Short-Stack" Tomatoes and Onions These can be made ahead of time and reheated for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.

4 medium-large ripe tomatoes, about 1-1/2 pounds 2 large red onions 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Slice 1/4-inch from top and bottom of each tomato.  Cut each tomato into 3 thick slices.  Re-assemble each to look like whole tomato. Peel onions and slice 1/4-inch thick.  Layer thicker onions between tomato slices, ending on top with a thin slice of onion.  Drizzle 1 tablespoon oil over each and season with salt and pepper.  Place a short skewer in center of each stack to help hold together.  Place in shallow baking pan and bake 1-1/4 hours.  Baste with pan juice twice.  Remove from oven and let rest 15 minutes.  Carefully transfer to plates and spoon pan juices on top.  Drizzle with more oil and sprinkle with sea salt.  Serves 4

Watercress (or Pea Shoots) Saute with Garlic Chips

3 large bunches watercress or 12 ounces pea shoots 4 large garlic cloves 3 tablespoons olive oil

Remove woody stems from watercress.  Peel garlic and slice paper thin, lengthwise.  Heat oil in a large skillet until hot.  Add garlic, cook 15 seconds until crisp, then immediately remove.  Add watercress or pea shoots.  Cook over high heat for 1 to 2 minutes until just wilted.  Stir in garlic chips and salt to taste.  Serve immediately.  Serves 4

A Nice Main Course

It's always interesting to me which recipes people choose when flipping through a cookbook -- mine or anyone else's.  What makes us stop at a particular page and say "eureka" -- that's for me?  There are a variety of factors, to be sure.  A compelling title, an interesting combination of ingredients or the ingredients themselves, the ease or difficulty in making the dish, a connection to a taste memory (yearning), something utterly familiar or wildly experimental.  That we all can "taste in our heads" before even lifting a fork to our mouths is what informs that moment. Mmmmmm.....that sounds delicious, we say to ourselves, and immediately write down the list of ingredients and run off to the store.  My "Pork Loin in Cream with Tomatoes, Sage & Gin" is such a recipe.  It helps that there are two gorgeous photos of the dish  -- as a whole roast surrounded by burst grape tomatoes in a burnt umber sauce and as a single generous serving where the fresh sage looks hyper-real.  But perhaps its greatest asset is that it simultaneously feels comforting and a bit exotic.  Many reviewers, and several friends, have chosen this dish as a semaphore of the 325 radically simple dishes in my book.  On Sunday, the New York Times food editor/book reviewer Christine Muhlke chose it, too. The recipe is a riff on an Italian classic in which pork is cooked in milk flavored with juniper.  My version is much simpler but equally divine.   You can augment the sauce by adding some dry white wine in addition to the gin.  It's lovely served with a platter of sauteed broccoli rabe and small potatoes roasted in extra-virgin olive oil and sea salt.  You might begin this meal with a platter of melon draped with the best prosciutto you can afford or a simple salad of wild arugula, toasted pine nuts, slivers of fresh pear and bits of gorgonzola cheese.

You may use a commonplace pork loin that you find in your supermarket, but if you trade up for a fattier, more flavorful heritage pork variety you will get superlative results.

I, too, might make this for dinner -- my friend who canceled a few weeks ago is coming tonight!

Pork Loin in Cream with Tomatoes, Sage & Gin I prepare this in a medium size-paella pan;  you may use any metal flat-bottom shallow ovenproof casserole or skillet that allows for the tomatoes to be arranged in a single layer.

12 large fresh sage leaves 4 large garlic cloves 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1-1/2 teaspoons dried Greek oregano (or any dried oregano with flavor!) 2-1/2 pound center-cut pork loin, tied and lightly scored 1 pint grape tomatoes 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/4 cup gin, or more to taste

Process 6 sage leaves, the garlic, oil, oregano and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a mini processor to a fine paste.  Rub all over the pork.  Cover; let sit at room temperature 30 minutes or refrigerate up to 4 hours.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Heat a very large ovenproof skillet or medium paella pan until very hot.  Brown the pork on all sides, about 5 minutes.  Scatter the tomatoes around the pork; cook 1 minute.  Pour 1/4 cup cream over the pork.  Roast 40 minutes.  Add the 6 remaining leaves, the remaining 1/4 cup cream, and the gin.  Roast 14 to 20 minutes longer, until tender.  Transfer the pork to a cutting board.  Place the pan on the stovetop and boil the sauce, adding more gin, salt, and pepper, until slightly reduced, 1 minute.  Slice the pork and serve with the sauce.  Serves 6