PORK TENDERLOIN WITH SOY, GINGER, AND LIME
(adapted from Everyday Food)

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used grapeseed)
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 pound), trimmed of excess fat and silver skin

In a medium bowl, combine soy sauce, vinegar, lime juice, oil, and ginger. Add pork to the marinade, turning to coat well on all sides. Marinate in the fridge for several hours to overnight.

Remove meat from marinade, and pat it dry.  Season it very lightly with salt, and grill for 7 minutes on a hot grill.  Turn the meat to grill the opposite side, and grill for 6 minutes more.  Without opening the grill, turn the heat off and let the meat stay inside for 5 minutes.   Remove the meat from the grill, tent it with foil, and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

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TOASTED ORZO WITH OLIVES AND LEMON
(adapted from Everyday Food)

1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound orzo (1 + 1/4 cup)
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Salt and ground pepper
1/4  cup slivered black olives
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium pan over medium-high heat. Add the orzo and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.  Add 2 cups of water and lemon zest, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cover, and simmer until orzo is al dente and liquid is absorbed, 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in olives, parsley, lemon juice, and remaining tablespoons of olive oil, if desired (I omitted this step).

ENJOY!

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Comments:  What a great dinner this was! Ready in less than 30 minutes, all I had to do was make the marinade at lunch time (but you can do it in the morning, if you don’t go home for lunch), and by the time we came home from work, dinner was a cinch to make.

I used the 7-6-5 grilling method for the pork tenderloin, because it works well with pretty much any type of marinade or dry rub.  It is easy to take care of the rest of the meal when all you have to do is set a timer and move the meat around when it goes off.

Toasting the orzo is what makes this side dish so special.  I’ve used a similar method before in one of the simplest and greatest recipes I’ve made last year, the “Carrot Nib Orzo”.  If until now you’ve only treated orzo as a normal pasta, boiling in salted water, please try either of these recipes, you will be more than pleasantly surprised by the improvement in taste and texture.

ONE YEAR AGO: Weekend Pita Project

TWO YEARS AGO:  Mandioca Frita 101 – Fried Yucca Root (Brazilian Food at its best!)

Potatoes have enough starch to produce a creamy and smooth texture when cooked and mashed.  Other veggies like cauliflower, broccoli, even parsnips, end up with a more watery and grainy texture.  For that reason, most recipes will coach you into adding a lot of butter, heavy cream, or some type of cream cheese.   Sally Schneider, author of  “The Improvisational Cook,” came up with a very clever twist: she cooks the veggie in milk (low fat is fine), and adds to the cooking liquid an apple and a little bit of pasta (like angel hair).  The result is amazing.  Never in a million years I expected Phil to urge me to blog about a cauliflower recipe. His exact words were:  “make sure you really pump this recipe up, it’s awesome”!

CAULIFLOWER AND APPLE PUREE
(adapted from “The Improvisational Cook“)

1 medium cauliflower, core and leaves removed
1 small apple, peeled and cored, chopped
1/2 quart low fat milk
1/2 quart water
1/2 ounce angel hair pasta, broken in pieces
1 tsp salt
pinch of sugar
ground white pepper

Cut the cauliflower florets and stems roughly into pieces. Add the pieces to a pan with the milk/water, apple, bring to a gentle boil.  Add the pasta, salt, and sugar.   Cook, stirring every once in a while, until the cauliflower is tender (25 minutes).

Remove 1/4 cup from the cooking liquid and reserve. Strain the vegetables (the rest of the milk/water can be used for soups later), place them in a food processor and puree for a couple of minutes, until completely smooth.  Make sure to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice.  If too thick, add some of the reserved cooking liquid.

Return the puree to the pan, place it over very low heat, add white pepper, taste, and adjust the seasoning with more salt and pepper.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Schneider’s book is perfect for those who like to use recipes as a starting point instead of a rigid set of rules.  She opens each subject with a section called “Understanding,” explaining the reasoning behind the recipes in that section.  Finally, she offers  suggestions to improvise on your own.
I absolutely love this approach!

This puree is silky-smooth, you won’t taste the apple, but it really does something to “tame” the cauliflower flavor, so even those with “cauliflower issues” will be pleased.   Of course, because there’s a small amount of pasta in it, this dish won’t be as low in carbs as a pure cauliflower version, but it is still  much lighter than mashed potatoes.   Sometimes, it’s exactly what we crave…

ONE YEAR AGO: Vegetarian Lasagna

TWO YEARS AGO:  Brazilian Pao de Queijo (Cheese Breads)  – a classic!

3 beefsteak tomatoes
1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Asiago cheese
2 Tbs fresh parsley, minced
1 tsp Herbes de Provence
slight drizzle of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the tomatoes in 1/4 inch thick slices, and place them with a little overlap on a broiler-safe type of dish.

Mix the bread crumbs with the cheese and the herbs and sprinkle all over the tomatoes.  Season them with salt and pepper (Asiago cheese is salty, use less salt than you normally would);  drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the tomatoes (use a spray bottle if you prefer), place the dish under the broiler for 3 minutes or until it starts to get golden on top.    Serve right away.

ENJOY!

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Comments:  This recipe may very well change my mind about keeping beefsteak tomatoes around the house.  They stand up to the broiler nicely, and the salty/cheese crust on top is a nice complement to the juiciness of the tomatoes underneath.   Phil  said that he could imagine this dish on the menu of an American steakhouse, next to a substantial T-bone steak, grilled medium rare.   We took a more humble route, and served them with flank steak, and grilled zucchini slices.   Summer dining: simple, light, and quick to put together.

ONE YEAR AGO: Tour de France Final Stage: PARIS

TWO YEARS AGO: Snickerdoodles with a Twist

Israeli couscous has an interesting history. It indeed originated in Israel,  in the 50′s,  with the name of “ptitim.”  It was conceived in a time of austerity, as an attempt to deal with the scarcity of food, including the almost complete disappearance of rice.  Back in Israel it remains a popular food item for kids, available in all sorts of cute shapes, like stars and hearts, to please the young audience.  Abroad, Israeli couscous became a trendy gourmet ingredient, as we all know well.  It’s versatile and has less tendency to form lumps than regular couscous. It can be dressed up in countless ways and it’s equally tasty warm or cold, as in this delicious salad, adapted from a recent issue of Food and Wine.

ISRAELI COUSCOUS SALAD WITH ARUGULA PESTO
(adapted from Food and Wine magazine)

6 cups packed arugula (6 ounces)
2 cups Israeli couscous (12 ounces)
2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup full fat yoghurt  (or low fat if you prefer)
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup red cherry tomatoes, halved
1 English cucumber, peeled and diced

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the 6 cups of arugula and blanch for 10 seconds. With a slotted spoon, transfer the arugula to a colander. Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking, drain well and reserve.

Add the couscous to the boiling water and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes.  Taste to make sure you don’t overcook it.  Drain, and spread on a large baking sheet, drizzling with a very small amount of olive oil (use a spray bottle if you have it) to prevent the little balls from sticking. Let it cool to room temperature.

In a small skillet, toast the pine nuts over moderate heat, tossing, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Let cool.

Squeeze the excess water from the arugula, coarsely chop it, and place it in the bowl of a food processor. Transfer the arugula to a food processor. Add the pine nuts, garlic, cheese and the 2 Tbs of olive oil, processing until the arugula and pine nuts are chopped. Immediately add the yogurt, process until smooth, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer the couscous to a large serving bowl and stir in some of the pesto, using as much or as little as you like.  Gently fold in the tomatoes and cucumber pieces.  Adjust seasoning, and….

ENJOY!

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Comments:  We loved this recipe!   And I’m especially happy about my modifications of the arugula pesto.  Purists may roll their eyes, but I reduced the fat content of this baby to levels previously unknown to mankind!  Imagine my audacity, going from 1/2 cup of olive oil in the original recipe to 2 Tbs  olive oil  + 1/3 cup of yogurt!  That, my friends, is a drop from 954 calories down to 175.   I am not a fat-o-phobe, but I’ve played with yogurt and buttermilk long enough to learn that they often substitute well for oil, as illustrated in this example: the acidity in the yogurt kept the arugula bright and it added an interesting sharpness to the pesto.   Of course, you may also ignore my adaptation and use the full amount of olive oil. As Emeril Lagasse says, “…you won’t hurt  my feelings.”  

Olive oil is one of the healthiest options among fats, but any fat packs a huge load of calories.  If you struggle with weight issues (who doesn’t?), then be attentive to the amount of olive oil in your recipes and restaurant foods.  Salads are deceptively high in calories. Consider asking for dressing on the side, and use it sparingly.  Another dangerous option that seems healthy and light:   buffet platters of grilled veggies, such as eggplant and zucchini. They are  prepared with a substantial amount of olive oil, and eggplant in particular soaks it up like a sponge.  Be aware, make the right choices, and exercise portion control.  When you’re cooking at home try my low-cal pesto and see what you think.  It’s good to splurge with the real thing sometimes, but it’s also wonderful to find an alternative that makes you feel good when you leave the table. 

ONE YEAR AGO:  Heavenly Home-made Fromage Blanc

TWO YEARS AGO:  Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce