CHEZ PANISSE CHEFS
ITALIAN ROSEMARY CAKE
A simple weeknight Italian pasta for just a couple of people-Pasta al Limone, another Little Jewel from the Kitchen.
Italian genius, just a few on-hand ingredients create a quiet plate of pasta for two. I love simple Italian cuisine and Pasta al Limone is a prime example of rustic, simple food.
There is nothing to learn, just create a simple lemon sauce and toss with hot pasta-done!
No special equipment required, basic kitchen equipment will do. One medium sauce pan, my favorite here, is all that is required is to make the simple sauce along with a pot to boil the water for the pasta. The ingredients are simple as well, lemons, Pecorino Romano cheese, olive oil, a knob of butter and pasta, that’s it.
It’s no secret at Bijouxs I display my love of all things citrus and also the back story. Oranges and lemons were a big part of my growing up and the smell and taste is etched in my memory. Currently I have a large orange tree, but I am wanting to plant a lemon, oh, could I find an Amalfi Lemon tree to plant?? There are a plethora of lemon recipes (well, over 20 to be exact) on my Bijouxs website, the all time winner is this one, which still gets lot of views.
Does the world really need another Arrabiata Sauce recipe? I asked myself that question then tried this Really Rich Arrabiatta Sauce plant-based recipe, it now adds to the Bijouxs Little Jewels from the Kitchen.
My love for my cultural family recipes, most of which are either French, Italian, or Homestyle Nebraska cooking, prompted me to try yet another version of Arrabitta Sauce. I shared so many Italian recipes on my Bijouxs website, I have lost count. Some favorites you might like to try include my break the website Lemon Tiramisu and Garlicy Italian White Beans for starters.
I share over 500 recipes on my website with ad-free access and a printable recipe card–I think my site is a winner. I designed the site over 10 years ago using a clean, black & white design. My food photgraphy has remained lush, but uses only real food from cooking the recipes. I do not employ any foood stylist tricks, what you see is what you get.My photography has been featured in many publications. Did I mention I also have 3 cookbooks, those are available digital or print right here. Yup, I designed those too.
This sauce is really rich, yet is remains a healthy vegan recipe. I enjoy cooking plant-based dishes for many of my meals. In Italy the focus is on simple and this sauce is a perfect example. The combination of fresh tomatoes PLUS a rich Italian tomato paste create a sauce dense with flavor. The addition of red chili pepper flakes and a little balsamic vinegar finish the sauce.I use a organic ancient grain spaghetti to keep the healthy thing going.
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Bijouxs has lots of love for Olive Oil cakes. Baking got me through the days of cooking confinement. Thank goodness that is all behind us. I bring you Marsala Olive Oil Cake, another Little Jewel from the Kitchen.
Marsala Olive Oil Cake is a version of the the now famous olive oil cake, Torta di Olio, from Maialino Restaurent in NYC. I posted my citrus take on that cake here. I love to see recipes get passed around, and changed, as happens many times with most of us who cook. Just a little more of this and less of that. I saw this cake by Chef Camilla Marcus, via Eye Swoon and adapted it. Just what I needed another olive oil cake recipe! One reason I love these sturdy olive oil cakes it that they are not a bit fussy and one-bowl wonders. I chose Marsala for the fotified wine, I feel Marsala is under utilized for baking. Marsala was a popular cooking wine back when I started my food education.
This cake is a recipe I photographed during the dark days of the confinement. I was able to get some groceries delivered so I kept calm and cooked. Was it really two years ago? I built quite an archive during that period, with about 20 more recipes that are waiting to be shared. “Cooking can keep a person who tries sane” this truth from John Irving.
So, let’s keep cooking with Bijouxs Little Jewels from the Kitchen.
Fresh Fennel is a little jewel to include in your garden. The fragrant green fronds create a rich green pesto, another little jewel from the Bijouxs kitchen.
I have always included fennel in my gardens, even now in my tiny garden at my bungalow up the Central Coast. I was gifted a large fennel plant from a neighbor’s garden. Fennel bulbs multiple, so my neighbors dug up a large clump of bulbs to share. Turns out fennel is fussy about a transplant, there is a long tap root and you really have to keep if watered during its adjustment time. I cut back the fronds and planted in rich planting mix, after a few months my fennel is thriving.
I have used the bulbs in a variety of recipes, cooked and raw in salads. Fennel has a mild anise/licorice taste. You will see many times fennel a part of Italian cuisine. The bulbs can be braised, with cream and cheese, also roasted and put into salads and pasta. One of my favorites is this Blood Orange, Fennel & Radicchio Salad. Thinly sliced fennel adds the crisp crunch to the beautiful salad made colorful with rich hues from Blood Oranges.
So, what to do with all the luxuriant fronds that accompany the fennel plant? What came to mind was a pesto, which I have made with greens other than basil. After a checking the internet I discovered that you can basically just substitute fennel fronds in place of the basil-so simple. Many times, if I do not have pine nuts, I swap out walnuts in my pesto, as I did in this recipe. I used the basic ratios of my original basil pesto recipe.
There are of course many ways to use the pesto, just as you would use basil pesto. I liked this pesto as a dip for a steamed artichoke or spread on a sandwich or tossed with pasta. Fennel a little garden jewel.