Sheet-Pan Potato Gnocchi with Tomatoes, Arugula, & Basil

One more summer sheet-pan dinner! 🙂

I recently made a delicious skillet gnocchi dish developed by Ali Slagle for The New York Times which was very reminiscent of this dish. Apparently, Ali Slagle inspired Sarah Jampel to create this version for Bon Appétit.

I loved that this variation incorporated arugula- one of my favorites- and coated it with a dressing made with roasted garlic. It was a quick, easy, and tasty summer meal. Great.

Yield: Serves 4

• 1/2 large red onion, cut into 1/2-inch thick wedges (I cut it into 8 wedges)
• 2 to 4 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 4 cups (2 pints) cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1 17.6-oz. package shelf-stable or refrigerated potato gnocchi (I used Trader Joe’s)
• 4 T extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling, if desired
• 1 1/2 tsp Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp Morton kosher salt, divided, plus more
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 to 3 cups baby arugula (I used 3 cups of my CSA arugula)
• 1 cup basil leaves, large leaves torn
• 2 oz Parmesan, shaved (I used Parmigiano-Reggiano)

1. Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 425°. (I set my oven to convection roast.)
2. Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper.
3. Toss onion, garlic, tomatoes, gnocchi, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and 1 1/4 tsp Diamond Crystal or 3/4 tsp Morton kosher salt on a rimmed baking sheet to coat. Season generously with pepper and toss again to combine.
4. Roast, stirring once or twice, until gnocchi are golden and starting to crisp, most of the tomatoes have burst, and onion is golden, 25–30 minutes.
5. Remove garlic from baking sheet, peel, and place in a small bowl. Mash with 1/4 tsp salt (garlic should be quite soft). (I used 4 cloves of garlic.)
6. Whisk in lemon juice and remaining 1 tablespoon of oil into the mashed garlic. Season dressing with pepper and more salt, if needed.
7. Add arugula, basil, and Parmesan to baking sheet and drizzle dressing over; toss to combine.
8. Divide among plates and drizzle with a little more oil, if desired.

Roast Chicken with Roasted-Garlic Pan Sauce

This dinner was like a mini-Thanksgiving feast. 🙂 I served the chicken with roasted gold and sweet potatoes, broccoli, and acorn squash. The incredibly flavorful, rich sauce made the meal complete.

This recipe was adapted from Food and Wine, contributed by José Andrés. It was inspired by the rotisserie chicken and sauce made by the Morales family at El Asador de Nati in Córdoba, Spain. The sauce incorporates the pan drippings with an entire head of roasted garlic. Wonderful.

• one 4 1/2- to 5-pound chicken, patted dry
• Kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 head of garlic, halved crosswise, plus 
2 cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup minced yellow onion
 (I used 1/2 large yellow onion)
• 1/2 cup minced green or orange 
bell pepper
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 bay leaf
• pinch of dried thyme

1. Preheat the oven to 425°, preferably on convection roast.
2. Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper and place in a large ovenproof skillet (I used a 12″ sauté pan) along with the head of garlic, cut sides down. Roast for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until 
an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part 
of the chicken breast registers 160°. (I used the oven probe.)
3. Transfer the chicken 
and garlic to a cutting board; let rest for 15 minutes. Pour the pan drippings into a heatproof bowl.
4. Meanwhile, in the skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, bell pepper, minced garlic and a generous pinch of salt. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes.
5. Add the wine, bay leaf, thyme and the reserved pan drippings.
6. Squeeze the roasted garlic into the sauce and bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over moderately low heat until slightly reduced, 5 minutes.
7. Discard the bay leaf. Transfer to a blender, add 2 tablespoons of water and puree until very smooth. Season the sauce with salt and pepper. (I used a Vitamix.)
8. Carve the chicken and transfer to a platter. Drizzle with sauce and serve additional roasted-garlic pan sauce on the side.

Mexican Lentil Soup with Roasted Garlic & Chilies

It’s been a while. Belated Happy New Year! 🙂 Although I haven’t been posting, I have been cooking, of course.

It has been absolutely freezing here. Freezing. My husband requests some sort of chili or stew for dinner in cold weather. Needless to say, I have a handful of wonderful new cold weather soups to share.

This vegetarian “chili” incorporated both ancho and chipotle chiles as well as roasted garlic. My favorites! 🙂 I also loved the pop of flavor from all of the fresh herbs. It was flavorful and fabulous. An added bonus was that the flavors developed over time and the soup was even better the following day.

This recipe was adapted from one of my favorite vegetarian cookbooks, Fields of Greens: New Vegetarian Recipes from the Celebrated Greens Restaurant by Annie Somerville. I doubled the recipe, increased the lentils and tomatoes, used whole San Marzano tomatoes, substituted fresh thyme for oregano, and increased the heat by using additional chipotle chile puree.  I also modified the technique to roast the garlic.

Yield: Serves 10

• 1 pound of brown lentils
• 12 cups cold water
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 fresh sage leaves
• 2 fresh oregano or thyme sprigs
• 2 heads of garlic
• 4 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 28 oz canned whole San Marzano tomatoes, with juice
• 2 red onions, diced, about 4 cups
• coarse salt
• 2 tsp cumin seed, toasted and ground
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 carrots, diced, about 1 cup
• 2 small red and/or yellow bell peppers, diced, about 1 cup
• 4 T Ancho Chile Purée (from 1 large or 2 small chiles, see below)
• 1 tsp Chipotle Purée, (from 1 chile in adobo sauce) plus more, to taste (I added an additional 1/2 tsp)
• 2 T chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish, as desired
• 2 T chopped fresh oregano, for garnish

1. Sort and rinse the lentils and place them in a soup pot with the water, bay leaves, sage, and oregano/thyme sprig.
2. Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat, and cook, uncovered, at a gentle boil for 15 to 20 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Remove the herbs.
3. While the lentils are cooking, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, preferably on convection. Rub the whole garlic heads with a little olive oil, wrap them together in a packet of aluminum foil, and seal it closed. Place directly on the oven rack and roast for about 30 minutes, until soft.
4. When the garlic has cooled, slice off the top of each head and squeeze the garlic out of its skin. Purée with the tomatoes in a blender or food processor and set aside.
5. Make the Ancho Chile Purée: Pull the chile(s) apart at the stem end and remove the seeds. Place in a small bowl and cover with hot water, allowing to soak for 15 to 20 minutes, until softened. Place in a blender or food processor; add a small amount of the soaking liquid and process to a smooth purée, adding more liquid if needed.
6. Make the Chipotle Chile Purée: Using a blender or food processor, purée one whole chile with additional adobo sauce until smooth. Unused purée can be stored in a jar in the refrigerator.
7. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. (I used a 4 quart pot.) Add the onion, 1 teaspoon of salt, the cumin, and the dried oregano; sauté over medium heat until the onion is soft, about 7 to 8 minutes.
8. Add the carrot and peppers and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes.
9. Add the chile purées, the puréed tomatoes and garlic, and 2 teaspoons of salt; simmer for 10 minutes.
10. Combine the beans and their broth with the vegetables, partially cover, and cook over low heat for 30 minutes. Add salt to taste.
11. Adjust heat, as desired, by adding additional ancho or chipotle purée. (I added an additional 1/2 tsp chipotle.)
12. Sprinkle in fresh herbs (cilantro and/or oregano), as desired, just before serving.

One Year Ago:

• Pork Chile Verde

Two Years Ago:

• Chorizo-Potato Tacos

Three Years Ago:

• Pressure Cooker Mushroom Chili
• Pressure Cooker Masoor Dal (Split Red Lentils) with Spinach

Four Years Ago:

• Khatti Dal (Sour Lentils), Hyderabad-Style
• Fresh & Wild Mushroom Stew

Five Years Ago:

• Chilkewali Mung Dal (Split Green Mung Beans), Mumbai-Style
• Spinach with Garlic & Cumin

Six Years Ago:

• Egyptian Red Lentil Soup