Garlic Scape and Spinach Pesto

Recently a coworker brought in a huge bag of garlic scapes from his garden to share, and I was happy to accept a few handfuls, as I've never had them before and I rarely turn down an opportunity to try a new vegetable.

 

They look kind of alien-ish, I think. The tops will (I believe) bloom into flowers if not trimmed at this stage.

I always love to try new kinds of pesto, so I whizzed these guys together with some spinach (the garlicky flavor of the scapes by themselves was almost overwhelming), parmesan cheese and nuts, and a drizzle of olive oil of course. Tossed with some whole wheat rotini and some fresh mozzarella, and dinner was a snap.

I cooked 1 lb of pasta and used the entire batch of pesto in the recipe below, along with 8 oz fresh mozzarella chopped into bite sized pieces. Some chicken, sausage or tofu would be a nice addition, or some additional veggies like zucchini and mushrooms. I added a few leftover roasted cherry tomatoes, which added a nice contrast to the rich pesto and mozz.

Garlic Scape and Spinach Pesto
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:
8-10 garlic scapes, chopped in 1" pieces
4 ounces spinach leaves
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup toasted almonds and/or walnuts (I used 1/4 cup of each)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
about 1/4 cup olive oil (or more to taste)

Directions:
In a food processor or blender, combine all ingredients except the olive oil. Process/blend for 20-30 seconds, then drizzle in the olive oil and continue to process until smooth. Can be made a few days ahead of time (cover with olive oil and store in the refrigerator) and can even be frozen (ditto on the covering with olive oil).

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Fried Rice with Spring Vegetables and Spiced Pork

When I think of fried rice, I usually think of my fifteen-year-old self and my one vegetarian friend at the time, sharing a pound and a half of grease from the food court at the mall. Not a good association! Fried rice can be very healthy and versatile depending on what you do with it.


I saw a recipe for fried rice with spiced pork on Cooking by the Seat of my Pants and thought it sounded fantastic. The marinade for the pork was particularly interesting, filled with warm spices and even molasses. I was intrigued, to say the least. I didn't have five spice powder, so I improvised with a combo of cloves, coriander, ginger, cayenne pepper, and mustard powder. I think it's close enough to the real thing.

But the best part about fried rice is that it can be mostly prepared ahead of time. Cook some extra rice and refrigerate it, mix together the marinade and pour it over your thinly-sliced protein of choice (I think tofu would be amazing with this marinade) and refrigerate it overnight.

The next day, chop whatever veggies you have - I used some lovely shiitake mushrooms and some crunchy broccoli raab, as well as some green garlic (also used in the marinade).

Then it's time to work quickly. In a large skillet or wok, heat a small amount of neutral oil over medium-high heat. Take the pork/tofu/whatever protein you are using out of the marinade and cook for a few minutes on each side, then remove to a plate. Add the veggies to the skillet and cook for another few minutes, then add the leftover rice. Stir to break up the clumps. Beat a few eggs and pour over the rice, stirring well until the egg is fully cooked.

Serve immediately, and top with extra green garlic and some sriracha. I think this is a much better memory of fried rice - I'll keep it around for a while.

Project Pork: The Shoulder

It's been a while since my last Project Pork post! I learned a lot from that experience and I feel a lot more confident in my ability to cook a large hunk of beast flesh. Plus, my sister gave me a probe thermometer for Chrismukkah (my family's blended winter holiday), which helps ease my worries about under/overcooking - I can just set my desired cooking temperature and the thermometer alarm will go off when the meat reaches that temperature. I am still learning about the best place to put the thermometer though, there can be some big variations in temperature especially in cuts like this that have a bone through them.

For this pork shoulder I decided to go with a simple Mark Bittman recipe for classic Puerto Rican pernil. It involves making a paste of onion, garlic, oregano, vinegar, olive oil, and a couple of spices - I used cumin, paprika and chili powder. You just rub the meat with the paste, let it sit for up to 24 hours, and then roast at a low temperature for several hours.

It took about 3.5 hours for this 4-lb shoulder to reach a "safe" temperature of 160F. The savory garlic-herb smell in my apartment was almost unbearable at this point. 

We definitely cut off a few bites and ate them as-is (with plenty of finger-licking), then mixed another portion with barbecue sauce and made some simple tacos with corn tortillas, spinach and plain Greek yogurt.

We have so much leftover pork! We're planning to make an almond butter satay sauce (due to peanut allergies) for tonight's leftovers, and maybe make put some of the rest of it on a pizza, with apples and cheddar. I love how the flavor of the garlic-spice rub is so versatile!


Puerto-Rican Style Roasted Pork Shoulder
Adapted from Mark Bittman

Ingredients:
1 4-to-7-pound pork shoulder

4-6 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 small onion, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon dried oregano (or 2 tablespoons fresh)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:
Cut off excess (but not all) fat from the meat.
Put all of the remaining ingredients (garlic through olive oil) in a food processor or blender and puree for about 10 seconds. Rub the mixture all over the meat, be generous. Place the meat on a rack on a baking sheet and refrigerate overnight up to 24 hours.
Heat oven to 325F and place meat in a roasting pan. Roast, turning every hour or so until it reaches 160F. Let rest about 15 minutes before cutting into chunks.

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Here are some other pork shoulder recipes that look fantastic:

Beer-braised in a dutch oven at The Kitchn

A wintry recipe with fennel and orange at Leite's Culinaria

And the Pork Queen has an entire blog devoted to pork shoulder!

Cheesesteak Pizza

Yeah, that's right. Cheesesteak Pizza. I saw this on Fake Ginger and thought it sounded like the perfect way to use up some leftover steak. And a good excuse to buy garlic-herb spreadable cheese.

I've been making pizza for a while now but I really want to make it more often. If I plan ahead and make the dough the night before, it can rise in the refrigerator overnight and then it's not too much work to put together the next day. As it was, I did not plan ahead with this and I had a hard time waiting long enough for the dough to completely rise (my apartment is not very warm). Anyway, it was still delicious and fun to make. I didn't get a chance to photograph an individual piece because we gobbled it up too quickly!

Step 1. Cut one green pepper and one small onion (I used half a large onion) in thin strips about two inches long. Get out your pizza dough, whether homemade or storebought. And get out your leftover steak (about 4 ounces, 1/4 pound) and slice it into thin strips too.

Step 2. Cook the veggies in 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat for about 15 minutes until well browned, stirring every few minutes. In the meantime, make the sauce: in a small bowl mix together 1/4 cup milk and about 1/2 cup garlic-herb flavored spreadable cheese - Anywhere from Alouette or Boursin to Laughing Cow or even a soft goat cheese could be nice.

 Step 3: Add the sliced steak to the veggies, turn the heat to medium-low, and pour the sauce on top. Mix it up and let it all melt together. Also, roll out your dough at some point.

Step 4: Place the dough on an oiled baking sheet.  Pour the toppings on the dough, then top with a cup of shredded cheese - I used a mozzarella/provolone blend. Add some parmesan too if you like. Place in a preheated 450 degree oven for 12-15 minutes.

 Step 5: Dig in!