Wide Green Noodles with Cauliflower & Mustard-Shallot Butter

I have to share this dish because it was a reminder of an important lesson: Not every dish will be a complete success. It’s the risk taken when trying new recipes- even if they are from a trusted resource.

I am also sharing this dish because I think it can be rescued! I have updated the recipe below. The fresh pasta was lovely, with wonderful color and texture, so that portion of the dish has remained untouched. The mustard-shallot butter was overwhelmingly potent in the finished dish, so the proportions have been modified; I reduced the mustard and shallots by at least one-half.

This dish was so pretty and loaded with wonderful flavors! I was really disappointed that it wasn’t as delicious as it sounded or looked. Especially because it was particularly time-consuming to prepare. 😦 This recipe was adapted from The Greens Cookbook: Extraordinary Vegetarian Cuisine from the Celebrated Restaurant by Deborah Madison with Edward Espé Brown.

Yield: Serves 2 to 4

For the Fresh Herb Pasta:

• 1 cup loosely packed herb leaves (I used a mixture of basil and parsley)
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• large pinch coarse salt
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp olive oil
• water, as needed

To Complete the Dish:

• 1 recipe Fresh Herb Pasta, about 7 oz (recipe above)
• 7 T unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
• 1 T strong Dijon mustard
• 1 large shallot, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar, or more, to taste
• large handful of arugula, roughly chopped
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 2 sun-dried tomatoes, cut into small pieces
• 4 cups cauliflower, broccoli, and/or romanesco cauliflower florets, cut into small pieces
• thin strip lemon peel, very finely slivered
• coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• freshly grated Parmesan, for garnish

To Make the Fresh Herb Pasta:

1. Wash the herbs and dry them as thoroughly as possible.
2. Chop them very finely, I used a mini-food processor, and measure out no more than 3 T.
3. Combine the herbs with the flour and salt.
4. Add the egg and the oil, and combine until distributed throughout.
5. Press together to form a dough. If it is too dry, add drops of water, a few at a time, to moisten it and help it come together. (I used 2-3 tsp of additional water.)
6. Turn the dough out onto a counter- I put it onto a piece of plastic wrap. Form into a ball.
7. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes, until it feels smooth and supple. (I added a little bit more water while kneading as well.)
8. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and set it aside to rest for at least 30 minutes, preferably for one hour.
9. Roll the dough through the pasta machine, starting at the widest setting, and reducing until desired thickness is achieved. ‘(I rolled mine out to level 6.)
10. Cut the strips into desired noodle length, typically 12-inches. Then cut the dough into 1/2-inch wide noodles. (I actually chose to cut mine crosswise into shorter 1/2-inch wide noodles.)
11. Dust with semolina flour or flour, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside.

To Finish the Dish:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2. Cream 4 T of the butter with the mustard, shallot, garlic, vinegar, and arugula. (This can be done ahead of time, covered, and set aside until needed.)
3. Melt the remaining 3 T butter in a small frying pan, add the bread crumbs, and fry them until they are crisp and browned.
4. When you are ready to cook the pasta, salt the boiling water.
5. Melt the mustard butter over a low flame and cook to soften the shallots. Add 1/2 cup pasta water and the sun-dried tomatoes.
6. Steam the cauliflower and/or broccoli in the microwave for 3 to 4 minutes, until tender. Alternatively, the cauliflower and/or broccoli can be dropped into the boiling pasta water, returned to a boil, and cooked for about 1 minute, until tender.
7. Add the cooked cauliflower and/or broccoli to the butter.
8. Next, cook the pasta for about 2 to 3 minutes, until al dente. Add it to the butter.
9. Add the sliced lemon zest to the butter.
10. Toss well with tongs, season with salt and pepper.
11. Serve garnished with the bread crumbs and freshly grated Parmesan.

One Year Ago: Garlicky Spaghetti with Mixed Greens

Two Years Ago: Tropical Carrot, Turmeric, & Ginger Smoothie

Three Years Ago: Spinach-Potato Soup

Four Years Ago: Creamy Mushroom Pappardelle

Five Years Ago:

• Tortilla Española 
• Cannellini Beans with Cabbage and Pasta

Cauliflower Tagine

This dish was the perfect way to celebrate my beautiful CSA cauliflower. Although the base of this tagine was a bit spicy, the cauliflower and cheesy breadcrumb topping offset the spiciness and created a perfect balance. Because I didn’t have the Tunisian spice blend, Tabil, on hand, I was able to create the spice blend myself. The spiciness in the final dish could be easily modified by adjusting the amount of red pepper flakes in the spice blend.

The tagine recipe was adapted from Food and Wine, contributed by Nancy Harmon Jenkins. I reduced the amount of olive oil to lighten the recipe. I also included a leek as well as green and yellow bell peppers from my CSA share. The spice blend recipe was adapted from Epicurious.com. It was a full-flavored and fabulous vegetarian casserole.

For the Tabil Spice Blend:

Yield: about 3 tablespoons

• 1 1/2 T coriander seeds
• 2 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 T caraway seeds
• 1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1. Finely grind all ingredients in a spice mill.

Note: The remaining spice blend can be reserved in an airtight container at room temperature.

For the Tagine:

Yield: Serves 6

• 8 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1 leek, cut into half moons and rinsed
• 10 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons sweet paprika
• 2 tablespoons Tabil (recipe above)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 1/2-pounds cauliflower (about 1 to 1 1/2 heads), cored and cut into 2-inch florets
• 1 cup fine dry bread crumbs
• 3 ounces, 1 cup,  Gruyère cheese, shredded
• 5 large eggs, beaten

1. Preheat the oven to 400°, preferably on convection.
2. Lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish with cooking spray.
3. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and leek and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes.
4. Add the garlic, bell pepper, paprika, Tabil, tomato paste and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pepper softens, about 7 minutes.
5. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and water and simmer for 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to the prepared baking dish.
6. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the cauliflower until just tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and pat dry. Spread the cauliflower in the baking dish.
7. In a small bowl, toss the bread crumbs with the Gruyère and season with salt and pepper.
8. Stir in the beaten eggs; spread the mixture over the cauliflower.
9. Cover with foil and bake in the upper third of the oven for 15 minutes, or until bubbling around the edges.
10. Uncover and bake for about 15 minutes longer, until browned and crisp on top.
11. Let the tagine stand for 10 minutes before serving.

One Year Ago:

• Fried Eggs with Greens & Mushrooms
• Arugula Salad with Corn & Burrata

Two Years Ago:

• Simple Caesar Salad
• Clams Casino #2

Three Years Ago:

• Roasted Zucchini with Thyme

Four Years Ago:

• Warm Lentil Salad with Seared Tuna & Fresh Herb Vinaigrette
• French Green Lentil & Beet Salad with Orange-Mustard Vinaigrette

Five Years Ago:

• Butternut Squash & Sage Risotto
• Pad See Ew