RECIPE | Penne with Tuna, Lemon & Greens

Exactly one month after my last post, I finally have another recipe for you. Not because I haven't been cooking, but in between work, going to gigs, and going out with friends, I have been working on a time-consuming side project that is quickly coming to fruition. More details to come soon on the blog, Instagram, and Twitter.

In the meantime, here is my default recipe when I have no time to stop at the grocery store, chop vegetables, or dirty multiple dishes. I am slightly embarrassed about sharing such a non-recipe, but this is a great dish to have in your back pocket instead of resorting to takeout pizza or curry on those busy and/or lazy evenings. I always have lemons, pasta, canned tuna, and some sort of leafy green on hand so that I can be comforted by the fact that even at the most stressful times, I will be able to enjoy this for dinner at the very least. Because it is such a simple recipe, it is imperative to use good ingredients, particularly the tuna. If you think canned tuna tastes like cat food, I implore you to buy a good quality canned tuna in olive oil, such as the exceptional canned tuna by Ortiz, and give it another chance.


PENNE WITH TUNA, LEMON & GREENS

INGREDIENTS:
2/3 cup whole wheat short pasta, such as fusilli or penne

1 small can tuna packed in olive oil, drained

1 unwaxed lemon, zested

50g arugula or spinach, and/or 1 bunch parsley, leaves chopped

a few spoonfuls of capers (optional)
a few spoonfuls of toasted pine nuts (optional)
lemon-infused or extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle

DIRECTIONS:
Bring a pot of water to a boil and season with salt. Cook the pasta according to package instructions until just al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the pasta water, then add the pasta back to the pot over medium heat. Crumble the tuna over the pasta and add the arugula and/or chopped parsley, lemon zest, and optional capers and pine nuts, if using. Cook, stirring, until arugula wilts and tuna is warmed, about 1-2 minutes, adding reserved pasta water if it looks dry. Season with salt and black pepper to taste, then drizzle with olive oil to finish. Serve immediately.

Serves: 1
Time to table: 20 minutes
Equipment: pot, Microplane or fine grater, sieve

RECIPE | new potato salad + lemon rosemary pine nut pesto

I am unable to follow recipes. I have an uncontrollable urge to try to improve any recipe I come across, even if it is my first time making something. Sometimes that gets me in trouble (most often in baking where ratios need to be adhered to), but other times it results in developing something that becomes a kitchen staple, like my chocolate peanut butter muffins or this lemon rosemary pine nut pesto. I first made this for my cooking club as part of the grilled pear and goat cheese crostini recipe in Ottolenghi's Plenty, but immediately felt the need to augment the plain pine nut, olive oil and garlic spread with lemon and rosemary. (A combination I have written about before.) The resulting pesto has so much more use than as just a simple crostini spread, pairing well with mushrooms, potatoes, pasta, and just about anything else that rosemary and lemon complement. Even better, this spread takes less than ten minutes to make, is comprised of kitchen pantry staples, and keeps in the refrigerator for a week.

Pesto or James Turrell installation?

LEMON ROSEMARY PINE NUT PESTO
Adapted from a recipe in Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi

TASTING NOTES:
The pesto is also excellent as a spread for sandwiches, tossed with whole wheat pasta and brussels sprouts, or spooned over sautéed mushrooms /// You can substitute sage and other herbs for the rosemary.

INGREDIENTS:
70 grams (1/2 cup) pine nuts
1 garlic clove, peeled and coarsely chopped
8 tablespoons olive oil
zest of 1 organic, unwaxed lemon
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary (or fresh sage)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Serves: 12 one tablespoon servings
Time to table: 10 minutes
Equipment: food processor, Microplane or other fine grater

NEW POTATO & PEA SALAD WITH LEMON ROSEMARY PINE NUT PESTO

INGREDIENTS:
750 grams (about 1 lb 10 ounces) new potatoes, washed and gently scrubbed
1 cup frozen green peas
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
juice of one lemon (optional)
200 grams (7 ounces) baby spinach (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the whole potatoes. Boil the potatoes for 15-20 minutes, until almost tender. (Make the pesto while the potatoes are boiling.) Add the green peas and cook for another 3-4 minutes, until the potatoes and peas are fully cooked. (You should be able to pierce a potato with a knife.) Drain the peas and potatoes and set aside. Quarter the potatoes and place in a large bowl with the peas and parsley. Toss the potatoes (and optional spinach) with half of the pine nut pesto, and season with additional salt and black pepper to taste. Squeeze over the remaining juice of the lemon used to make the pesto (optional) and serve warm or cold.

Serves: 4 as a side dish or as a salad with greens
Time to table: 45 minutes
Equipment: large pot, large bowl, sieve

RECIPE | buckwheat lemon poppyseed muffins with cacao nibs

If you do not like the taste of buckwheat or tend to avoid hearty baked goods, these lemon poppyseed muffins are not for you. They have nothing to do with the saccharine-sweet, cake-like lemon poppyseed muffins enclosed in Starbucks' glass cases worldwide. However, these substantial, lightly sweetened muffins with the rich flavours of buckwheat, cacao, and lemon are perfect for a healthy winter weekday breakfast for a whole grain lover like me.

I made these gluten-free muffins for breakfast on Christmas Day, when I could not fit anything larger in my stomach after a filling Christmas Eve feast of paella*, churros y chocolate, and plenty of Cava. The buttermilk produces a lighter crumb than you would expect from something so deeply coloured, and the cacao nibs and poppyseeds provide a pleasant contrasting crunch.

*Christmas Eve paella is a tradition in my family despite the fact that we are not Spanish and it is not a Spanish custom. It stems from our practice of eating various seafood dishes on Christmas Eve in the Italian tradition ("la festa dei sette pesci," or "la cena della vigilia," more accurately), but then again we are not Italian either...

BUCKWHEAT LEMON POPPYSEED MUFFINS WITH CACAO NIBS
Adapted from Martha Rose Schulman's recipe in The New York Times

TASTING NOTES:
The lemon flavour becomes more pronounced as the muffins sit, so you may want to zest just one lemon if you prefer a more subtle flavour /// I also make these with 1/4 cup chopped dried figs or dates, 1/4 cup chopped dark chocolate, and orange zest instead of lemon

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/4 cups buckwheat flour
3/4 cup gluten-free flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup mild oil (I used canola oil)
1/3 cup honey
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 organic, unwaxed lemons, zested
2 tablespoons poppyseeds
1/4 cup cacao nibs
demerara sugar, to top muffins

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Lightly oil the muffin tin or use paper muffin cups to line the tin. Sift the dry ingredients together (flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt). Beat the eggs with the oil and honey, then beat in the buttermilk, vanilla extract, and lemon zest. (Use the measuring cup for the oil first, then the honey, so that the honey pours out easily.) Stir in the flour mixture, then the poppyseeds and cacao nibs. Divide the batter among the cups in a muffin tin, then sprinkle the tops with demerara sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until set and a toothpick comes out clean.

Serves: 12
Time to Table: 40 minutes
Equipment: 12 cup muffin tin, measuring cups, fine mesh sieve, electric mixer or whisk, two medium bowls, rubber spatula or wooden spoon