All about artichokes (and photography of course!)

Last week was a very fun week. I had another feature on one of my favorite blogs, design*sponge, and found out I placed third in this month's DMBLGIT with this image - thanks Grace, Regine and judges for a great week!

The recipe I developed for design*sponge was inspired by spring and all of the new herbs and vegetables appearing in the markets, including one of my very favorites, artichokes. The secret to this dish is using frozen artichoke hearts, which greatly speeds up prep time and makes the dish a breeze! I've found some great frozen artichokes at Trader Joe's. Feel free to experiment with cheeses in this dish. You want something with good flavor (and meltability), but not something that will over-power the artichokes. Here's to spring!

On an unrelated note, a photographer friend, Steve Adams, asked me to remind everyone that the International Conference on Food Styling and Photography: Style without Borders is being held this year from June 12-15, 2009 at Boston University. Full details and a downloadable registration form are available here. Unfortunately, registration has now passed but if you are really interested perhaps there's something you can do. . .


Artichoke casserole
(serves 6)

1 pound frozen artichoke hearts
1 3/4 cups whole milk
1 3/4 cups aged Fontina cheese, freshly grated
1/2 cup fresh ricotta
1 1/2 cups fresh spinach, julienned
1 leek, white and light green parts only, well washed and cut into rounds
1 extra large egg, lightly beaten
3 Tbs fresh tarragon leaves, chopped
3 Tbs fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 Tbs all purpose flour
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper (plus more to taste)
1/2 tsp good sea salt (plus more to taste)
Olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 350˚ F. Cook artichokes according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat a few tablespoons of oil in a heavy-bottomed sauté pan and sauté leeks until translucent.

Drain water from artichokes and add artichokes, salt and pepper to pan and sauté for a couple of minutes. Add herbs, and sauté for 30 seconds. Add milk and flour, mix well and simmer for ~10 minutes until mixture thickens a bit and flavors are infused throughout. Slowly add a few tablespoons of the hot milk mixture to the lightly beaten egg in a separate bowl to temper the egg.

Remove pan from heat. Add the egg mixture to the pan, followed by the spinach and the cheeses. Stir until cheese melts and ingredients are well combined. Add additional salt and pepper if desired.

Pour into a 7×10 casserole dish. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 35-45 minutes or until casserole is set (check after 35 minutes). Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving. Garnish with parsley.

Easy appetizer: white bean dip

I’ve had a package of large dried white beans in the pantry for a little while and have been thinking about making a bean salad with them. That was until I saw a package of hand-made artisanal crackers at the specialty store and couldn't resist them. And they were calling for a white bean dip.

I love dips and spreads. If I had my choice I’d have a mezze platter every day of the week with hummus, babaganouj, some cured meats, some olives, and a maybe and artichoke or bean dip!

Making a dip doesn’t take much time – most of the time is inactive time. Make sure you buy dried beans from somewhere that has a reasonably high turnover – you don’t want old beans, which will take longer to cook and yield a less pleasing result.

White bean dip

1 lb dried white beans such as cannellini beans
1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 sprigs fresh thyme
Olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Sea salt
Italian flat leaf parsley for garnish

Soak beans overnight in a generous amount of cold water. Rinse and pick out any debris. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, sauté onion and garlic with thyme in a few tablespoons of olive oil until onions are translucent. Add beans and cold water to cover beans by a few inches. Bring to a full boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until beans are tender 1-2 hours. Remove thyme.

Drain beans and place in blender with ¼ cup olive oil and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. Purée, adding additional olive oil slowly to adjust texture as desired. Finish with a sprinkling of chopped parsley, sea salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.

Hearty winter soup: beans, cabbage and farro

I hope you all enjoyed a fun New Year’s Eve and relaxing New Year’s Day. Ours was pretty low key. We had dinner at home and then popped into a friend’s party later on. We were back well before midnight. Today we ran errands and did a lot of long overdue organizing. Not too exciting, but satisfying to get done.

The weather here has turned particularly cold and blustery. It’s the time of year that’s best suited to nesting at home, keeping warm, and eating comfort foods. I’m turning to some of my winter favorites – beans and cabbage.

I’ve written about Rancho Gordo heirloom beans before. They have become a cult favorite among those who love beans and who love artisanal products and not without good reason: they are unusual, full of flavor and cook well. I’ve often found that typical store-bought have been sitting on the shelf so long they take a long time to cook and shrivel up when re-hydrated. These are produced in small quantities and turn over quickly, thereby having none of those problems.

A terrific hearty soup using one of their varieties appeared in Metropolitan Home in November. As soon as I read it, I knew I had to make it. Conveniently I had all of the shelf-stable ingredients on hand and only had to supplement them with the few additional fresh ingredients. Farro is a new favorite of mine and I was excited to try it in a soup. The soup is thick, hearty and filling and sings of all of the good things about winter.

p.s. Rancho Gordo has a new cookbook out. I have not had a chance to take a look yet.

Heirloom bean and farro soup with savoy cabbage

1 pound dried borlotti beans
1 cup farro
3/4 pound savoy cabbage, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 oz. pancetta, minced
1 large yellow onion,minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
2 Tbsp Italian parsley, minced plus more for garnish
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
1 cup finely chopped can (San Marzano, preferred) tomatoes
2 teaspoons kosher salt

Soak beans overnight in water to cover generously.the next day,drain the beans and put them in an 8-qt pot with 3 quarts cold water. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, skimming any foam. Cover partially and adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until the beans are beginning to soften, about 45 minutes.

Stir in the farro and the cabbage. Return the soup to a simmer, partly covered, 30-45 minutes more.

While the beans and farro cook, heat the olive oil and pancetta in a skillet over moderate heat. Let the pancetta sizzle and render some of its fat, but do not let it brown. Stir in the onion, garlic, rosemary, parsley and hot pepper flakes. Cook, stirring until the onion is soft, about 10 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes, raise the heat to moderately high, and cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thick and the tomatoes have softened, about 5 minutes.

Stir the contents of the skillet into the soup pot and simmer, partially covered, for 15 minutes. Season with salt. Garnish with more minced Italian parsley before serving.