After a long, busy day, this simple split pea soup is my go-to recipe for getting a healthy dinner on the table fast. The soup takes under an hour to make, with only about 15 minutes of hands on work, which gives you plenty of time to relax for a few minutes while your dinner bubbles away on the stove.

Even though I eat pretty much anything, I cook almost exclusively vegetarian, because my husband Jon does not eat meat or fish. Adding smoked Spanish paprika to this soup give it a smoky, savory flavor without the addition of ham. It tastes delicious when made with vegetable broth (or even just water if you are in a pinch), but chicken broth makes a fine substitution, too. Serve the soup with a simple side salad dressed with a lemon vinaigrette, and you’ve got yourself a light tasty supper that will keep your belly warm, something that is especially nice at this time of year.

Split Pea Soup with Smoked Paprika

Serves 4

You can find both dulce and picante Spanish paprika in the spice aisle of most super markets. The most common brand is El Rey de la Vera and it is sold in cute little red tins. I use both of these spices quite bit in soups and as a garnish.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup finely chopped carrot (about 2 large carrots)

1 teaspoon hot (picante) smoked Spanish paprika

1/2 teaspoon sweet (dulce) smoked Spanish paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup dry split green peas

4 cups vegetable broth

2 cups water

1/2 to 1 cups hot water (optional)

Pea shoots (optional garnish)

Instructions:

Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat. When it shimmers, add in the onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent (about 2 minutes). Add the carrot and cook until the onion begins to brown (about 2 more minutes). Stir in the hot and sweet paprika and salt, then add the split peas, broth and water. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to low. Partially cover the pot and simmer until the peas are very soft and begin to break apart, 30 to 40 minutes. Puree the soup in batches in a blender or with an immersion blender. If necessary, whisk in hot water to thin the soup to your preferred consistency. Divide the soup between bowls, drizzle with olive oil and garnish with a pea shoot, if using.

People who know me well understand that my thoughts never really follow a linear pattern. For instance, today I was walking our dog in the park and I saw this gorgeous big leaf maple tree. Its limbs spread out over a playground, shading the swing set and the seesaw. The playground and the tree made me think of my little nephew, Henry, who just moved to Vermont.

Thinking about Vermont naturally made me hope that Henry’s parents will bring us real maple syrup when they visit at Christmas. And once I stumbled upon the subject of syrup I had to consider pancakes, especially this Spiced Pumpkin Pancake recipe, which I found over the summer and filed away for cooler, rainier days, which have officially arrived.

Taking pictures and pondering what to make for breakfast over the weekend also made me think about this blog, which has been so neglected as I finished up my book and helped Jon start our store. For some reason (the tree? the weather? our dog rolling in mud? ) I felt inspired to dedicate myself to writing here again. I’ve drawn up a little plan of posts that have been lingering at the back of my mind gathering dust, and I plan to unveil them starting next week. I have set a modest goal of posting 3 days a week. Thanks for hanging in here with me while I got the whirlwind back under control. I’m excited to share ideas with you again. Happy weekend!

I don’t often cook the same recipe twice. Partly because I find it nearly impossible to follow a recipe exactly, even if it’s my own, and partly because there are just so many dishes that I want to try (or make up).

That said, I do make these recipes from my archive often during the winter. Of course, I might top this tart with softened shallots and leeks instead of onions, or I might swirl creme fraiche into the potato leek soup instead of the olive caviar, or substitute sweet potatoes for the butternut squash in the tacos.

Even though I definitely fall into the rule follower category in almost all areas of my life, when it comes to cooking, I’d rather have the act of making food be the imperative and the recipe be just a guideline.

Butternut Squash Tacos with Spicy Black Beans

Potato Leek Soup with Olive Caviar

Crispy Dumplings with Garlicky Greens

Arugula Pesto

This is my favorite time of year to cook because the both summer and fall vegetables share space in the garden. We have tomatoes (finally!), eggplant, and peppers ripening, and delicata and acorn squash, carrots, and beets are ready for harvest. The farmer’s market is full of greens, root vegetables, garlic, broccoli and cauliflower, plus cheese, yogurt and fresh pasta. I thought I’d share a couple of recipes that recently piqued my interest. And I’m curious, what do you like to make this time of year?

Brown Butter Tortelli

(Image via 101 cookbooks)

This recipe comes courtesy of the wonderful blog 101 cookbooks. I love it because it is so simple. Just pasta, butter, cheese and arugula. I often add arugula to pasta because I almost always have it in the garden and it’s spicy, nutty flavor plays well with cheese, butter and olive oil. Be sure to click through and read this recipe’s full post. It is full of beautiful pictures of Rome.

Savory Rugelach

(Image via Dana Treat)

Jon and I don’t have a TV. That doesn’t mean we don’t watch TV, we just use our lack of one as an excuse to visit with friends when we want to watch football or Mad Men. I found this recipe for cheese and olive stuffed rugelach on the wonderful Seattle-based blog Dana Treat. I am definitely using our next TV date as an excuse to make these little appetizers. I just started reading Dana’s blog over the summer and it quickly found its way into my RSS feed. Dana is a vegetarian, just like Jon, so her blog is the perfect resource for anyone looking to cook more vegetables.

Vanilla Apple Baked in Puff Pastry

(Image via Fennel and Fern)

The UK garden blog Fennel and Fern features beautiful garden tours, stunning photography, recipes and variety recommendations, which I always read with interest because the UK has a similar climate to the Pacific Northwest. These baked apples are my favorite kind of dessert—simple and not too rich. I cannot wait to make them!

Roasted Radishes

(Image via Leite’s Culinaria)

I’ve written before about my love for radishes and how I think they are unfairly maligned. So, when I came across this recipe for Roasted Radishes on Leite’s Culinaria a few weeks ago, I cursed our dog, Domino, for digging up the radishes I sowed in late August. Luckily most farmer’s market booths boast colorful radishes at this time of year. Roasting almost always makes any vegetable taste better. Radishes, I’m sure, are no exception.

If you listen closely, a collective sigh can be heard from gardeners around the West Coast. We had a royally bad summer. It was cold. It was cloudy. It was horrible tomato weather.

In the spirit of looking on the bright side, I’d like to think that this crummy season gives us the opportunity to try some new green tomato recipes. I asked for your ideas and you guys really came through, submitting recipes for everything from chutney, to sweet and savory pies, to green tomato jam, to fried tomatoes and “unfried” tomatoes.

So don’t throw all those rock hard tomatoes in the compost pile. Pick them and get creative. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find a recipe you love so much, you won’t miss ripe tomatoes. Thanks to everyone who submitted both their own recipes and published recipes. Let the cooking begin!

Celina loves the Squash, Bean and Cheese Enchiladas With Green Tomato Sauce from the Oregonian newspaper.

Sonia makes green tomato pickles with this recipe, but she substitutes green tomatoes for the cucumbers.

Monika likes this Green Tomato and Red Onion Relish recipe so much that she doesn’t even buy or make regular relish anymore.

Jessica recommends sauteing chopped green tomatoes with radishes and balsamic dressing and using the mix as a salad topping.

Sandy pointed out that the Ball Blue Book of Canning has a salsa verde recipe that calls for green tomatoes rather than tomatillos.

Flower thought that Green Tomato and Corn Salsa sounds good, and I totally agree. Probably because anything salsa related piques my interest.

This recipes sounds like a good excuse to make a batch of corn bread—Nicole has tried making Green Tomato Soup with Country Ham and reports that it is good, but she doesn’t blend it because she likes a chunkier consistency.

The word on the street is that the green gazpacho recipe in Molly Katzen’s “The Enchanted Broccoli Forest” cookbook is good. I haven’t tried it, but I do love the broccoli forest recipe. It’s such a classic.

Amy wants to try the No Sugar, Salsa-Like Green Tomato Relish recipe. It has apples, cider vinegar, onions, and peppers in it. Yum!

Terry pointed out that Lynn Rosetto Kasper had a great column in the Seattle Times with a bunch of green tomato recipes. The slow-grilled ribs basted with green tomato jam sound totally tasty.

Kathy from Texas found that the Food Network has a lot recipe ideas for green tomatoes, including Emeril Lagasse’s Hot-n-Spicy Green Tomato Soup, Paula Deen had both a Green Tomato Pie and a Green Tomato Cake with Brown Butter Icing. Seriously, leaves it to Paula Deen to somehow combine brown butter and green tomatoes! I think I’m definitely going to try that recipe.

My friend Amanda also makes green tomato pie, she doesn’t really use a recipe….but kind of eye-balls it. The basic ingredients are a whole pile of green tomatoes, sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and pie crust. She says it kind of tastes like very lemony apple pie!

Elizabeth’s Green Tomato Chutney

This recipe was shared by Elizabeth of La Vida Desconocida

For those of us living in less-than-hot climates where we’re often left with tons of green tomatoes at the end of the season and no pleasing recipe to do away with them, I present to you: Green Tomato Chutney. Yum. The first time I made it I used a variety of cherry, Roma, and bigger variety tomatoes, so literally any green tomato you have can participate in this delicious sauce.

Here is the recipe, more or less. All the ingredients are based on how many tomatoes you use but luckily it is not an exact science.

Green tomatoes (as many as you have – I used about 2 lbs in this one), diced (no need to de-skin)

1-2 green apples, diced (depending on how many tomatoes you’re using)

Chopped onion (1 medium or large)

Raisins (1/2 cup or so)

Apple cider vinegar (about 2 cups, or until the liquid covers most of the ingredients)

Brown sugar (about 1 cup)

Fresh chopped or zested ginger (not too much – about a teaspoon)

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by “caramelizing” the onions in a bit of sugar and a splash of vinegar for about 10 minutes. Then toss everything else in, cover and simmer until it tasted delicious (about an hour). You need a good amount of vinegar, which should turn syrupy and thick with the sugar. If it’s too liquidy you can simmer with the lid off and then let stand, uncovered, for the first 20 minutes while it cools.

This is delicious served hot or cold with sausages and any grain, especially wheat berries or farro. Also, you can jar it since it doesn’t have any butter or oil in it!

Fried Green Tomatoes

This recipes was shared by Deb.

Ingredients:

3 or 4 medium size green tomatoes, they should be a milky green color, on the verge of turning orangey/pink, but still very firm
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
6-8 fresh basil leaves, snipped or chopped finely
– about 1 Tbsp dried and crumbled basil
oil for frying – canola or olive, but the pan needs to be very hot and the olive oil may ’smoke’. About 1/4 cup, of either.

Procedure:

Wash and core the green tomatoes, slice about 3/4 inch thick. Cover the bottom of the pan with the oil for frying, and heat till a drop of water dropped into the oil, spatters and hisses. The oil needs to be very hot in order that the tomoato slices do not get mushy as they cook. Combine cornmeal and parmesan cheese, mixing well, and dredge or coat the tomato slices on both sides (a plastic bag works well). Drop tomato slices into hot oil, turn after about 3 minutes, to brown the other side. Serve immediately.

Unfried Green Tomatoes

This recipe was shared by Jenny Fox of the Svelte Gourmet. She also recommends substituting these unfried tomatoes for eggplant in an eggplant parmesan recipe!

Serves 4

2 large green tomatoes

1 egg

1 cup Parmesan cheese (shredded, NOT grated)

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Pinch cayenne pepper

Olive oil or cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mist a baking sheet with olive oil or cooking spray. Slice tomatoes between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. Beat egg. Combine Parmesan cheese, panko and spices. Dip each tomato slice in the egg, then into the breading mixture, pressing to coat both sides. Place breaded slices in a single layer on the baking sheet. Mist tops with olive oil or cooking spray and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. No need to flip them.

Green Tomato Mincemeat

From Deb.

An old-fashioned favorite, without the suet. Requires about 2 hours of slow simmering and 25 minutes in a water bath canner, but can also be frozen, once cooled.

Ingredients:

6 pounds green tomatoes

2 pounds tart apples

2 cups raisins

4 cups brown sugar

2 cups strong brewed coffee

1 lemon, grated rind and juice

2 tsp grated orange peel

1/2 cup vinegar

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground allspice

Procedure:

Wash and core the tomatoes and apples, removing any blemishes and cutting into quarters. Add raisins and coarsely chop or process in a food processor. Place in a large, heavy bottomed kettle or pot, add the remaining ingredients and simmer over low heat for about 2 hours. Be sure to stir often or it will scortch. Pack into hot pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace, seal and process in boiling water bath canner for 25 minutes. Allow to cool, undisturbed for 24 hours, check for seal and then store.

Serving Size:

8 to 10 pint jars

Green Tomato and Sausage Pie

This recipe comes from Grace.

Who doesn’t like pie? And everything tastes better with bacon. I always make GREEN TOMATO AND SAUSAGE PIE. The recipe probably came from Cook’s Illustrated many years back, and has survived some modifications. Here is how I make it:

1 9″ pie crust (recipe below)

1 lb breakfast sausage, chorizo or bacon

6-12 cubed Green Tomatoes or Tomatillos (i.e. goes well with chorizo, etc.)

2 cups sliced mushrooms, any kind

1 medium onion, diced

3 T flour

1.5 cups grated swiss cheese (or jalapeno-cheddar, etc.)

Make Pie Crust (double it and freeze half for later …)

1.5 cups flour

1 T sugar

0.5 tsp salt

0.5 cup frozen unsalted butter (1 stick)

3 T cold water

Mix dry ingredients

Grate butter with a cheese-grater (refrigerator-cold works too, but frozen butter results in flakier crust)

Gently mix butter into flour with cold spoon

Add cold water and gently roll into a ball and flatten.

You can chill for 30 min at this point, or just roll out.

Place in pie-plate and pre-bake at 350^F for 20 min [Cover with foil and weigh down with dried rice, beans or pie-weights].

Make Pie Filling

Brown sausage (cook completely) and set aside.

Saute onions in 1-2T remaining sausage grease.

Add mushrooms and cook down, set aside.

Cook tomatoes and let some of the water evaporate.

Add the flour to thicken the tomato juice, then add the mushrooms, onion, and sausage together.

Put the sausage-tomato-mushroom filling into the pre-baked pie-crust and cover with cheese (or put half the cheese into the hot pie crust, layer on the filling, and add more cheese to the top).

Bake at 400^F for 20 minutes

Eat hot, or freeze for later.

Green Tomato Relish

Cari reports that this relish recipe from Whole Foods Cooking (Goldbeck, Nikki & David) is tried and true.

Ingredients:

3 pounds green tomatoes, chopped (about 7 cups)

2 medium onions, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 large green bell pepper, chopped (about 3/4 cup)

1 cup cider vinegar

6 Tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon celery seed

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Chop vegetables by hand or in a processor. Combine with remaining ingredients in a 3-quart pot and bring to a boil.

Simmer uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Ladle into warm, sterilized half-pint or pint jars, leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch headspace.

Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Makes 4 1/2 pints

Green Tomato Sauce

Cari hasn’t tried this recipe, but notes that is from the same cookbook as the relish recipe above and that she has 54 tomato plants, no cloche and freezer space, so she is willing to try any green tomato recipe!

1 medium onion, cut up

1 clove garlic

1 hot chili pepper

1 1/2 pounds green tomatoes, cut up (about 5 cups)

1/4 cup parsley

2 fresh basil leaves

1 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a processor fitted with a steel blade or in a blender. It may be necessary to do batches in a blender. Puree until evenly mixed but still somewhat chunky.

A little water may need to be added if using a blender.

Transfer to a pot and bring to a quick boil.

Use what you need and freeze the rest, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.

One of the best reasons to grow vegetables is you get to eat food that almost no one else has access to. Arugula blossoms. Green coriander seed. Fennel pollen. Garlic scapes. Foods that are so special and delicate that they never find their way into a grocery store and only show up sometimes at the farmer’s market. I thought I had sampled almost all of these little gourmet extras, but it turns out I had a fabulous crop growing in my garden and I didn’t even realize it: fava greens. I always grow favas for their delicious beans, but a student in my Kitchen Garden Series class told me he makes pesto with his fava bean greens. I immediately went home and sampled a leaf.

Hello! The greens are fabulous. Big, succulent, and with a faint fava-y flavor.

I couldn’t wait to try cooking with the greens. Since my favas haven’t flowered yet, I decided to be prudent and only snipped off one pair of leaves from each plant. This yielded one packed cup of greens. Not nearly enough for pesto, but plenty for an extra special lunch.

I hurried into the kitchen, tossed a couple of slices of olive bread under the broiler to toast and wilted the greens in just a bit of oil. Then I rubbed the toast with garlic, drizzled it with my favorite olive oil, and layered on a thick slice of ricotta salata cheese, the fava greens, and slices of warm boiled egg. I ate the toasts on my porch in the sun. It was perfect.

Garlic Toasts with Wilted Fava Greens, Ricotta Salata, and Hard Boiled Egg

I used rosemary olive bread for the toasts and eggs from our chickens. Very fresh eggs are difficult to peel, so I always try to hard boil eggs that are at least a week old.

What you’ll need:

2 eggs

1 packed cup of fava greens

1 tsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling

2 thick slices of good bread

1 clove garlic, peeled

Ricotta salata cheese

Directions

Place the eggs in a medium saucepan and fill it with cool water (the eggs should be covered by about an inch of water). Bring the water to boil over high heat. Begin watching the pan carefully when little bubbles begin rising up. As soon as the first big bubble breaks on the surface, set a timer for one minute. When the timer buzzes, remove the pan from the heat and let the eggs sit for exactly one more minute. Then drain off the hot water and run the eggs under cold water until they are cool enough to handle. Peel immediately. The eggs will have perfectly cooked whites and yolks that have just barely solidified at their core. (This timing was developed in my kitchen, which is at sea level. You may need to add more time if cooking at a higher elevation.)

Meanwhile, rinse the fava greens in cool water. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the wet fava greens into the pan and toss until they are just wilted (30 seconds or less).

Toast the bread lightly. Rub the garlic clove over the surface of the toasts and then drizzle with olive oil. Top each piece of toast with a thick slice of ricotta salata cheese, fava greens, and slices of hard boiled egg. Sprinkle kosher salt and freshly ground pepper over the eggs. Serve immediately.

There should be at least another 1/4 cup of caramelized onions strewn across this tart shell, but they never made it out of the pan. I ate them, a little bit at a time, until I was sure the onions had reached a sufficient level of buttery brown goodness. And that is the problem with this tart. It is elegant and so easy to make—if you can resist eating up all the onions with a spoon!

Caramelized Onion Tart

I was inspired to make up this recipe by a bunch of tennis ball-sized Walla Walla sweet onions that I harvested earlier this fall. They were beginning to sprout, so I cut them in half, removed the green shoots and then sliced them thinly. I ended up with about five cups. You can use any sweet onion in the recipe, and if you have any random white or red onion chunks leftover in the fridge, slice those up and throw them in, too.

What you’ll need:

1 sheet of puff pastry

2 large sweet yellow onions (about five cups thinly sliced)

2 tablespoons butter

Salt

¼ pound Gruyere cheese, grated (about 2 cups)

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1 egg, lightly beaten

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. On a floured surface, roll the pastry out into an 8- by 16-inch rectangle. Carefully transfer it to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Using a sharp paring knife, score the pastry 2 inches in from the edges to create a rectangular border. Inside the border, use a fork to poke rows of holes spaced at ½ inch intervals. Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. If the center puffed up, use the back of a spoon to depress it, being careful not to crush the border. Don’t worry if the tart shell isn’t a perfect rectangular shape—it tastes just as good when it has lovely rustic borders.

Meanwhile, melt the butter over medium high heat in a large, heavy bottomed dutch oven. Add in the onions, sprinkle them with salt, and toss to coat. After about a minute, when the onions begin to sweat, turn the heat down to medium low. Partially cover the pan and let the onions cook, stirring occasionally, until they are very soft and caramel in color (about 40 minutes). Remove from the heat and set aside.

To assemble the tart, sprinkle half the cheese over the center of the pastry shell. Sprinkle the onions and thyme in an even layer over the cheese. Top the onions with the remaining cheese. Brush the border with the egg wash. Return the tart to the oven and bake until it is heated through and the edges are a deep golden brown (10 to 15 minutes).

I know that the idea of putting tofu in a sandwich gives many people pause, but please, hear me out.

First of all, you need to understand that the tofu in this sandwich is fried to a crispy golden brown. Then it is stuffed between creamy mashed avocado, caramelized onions, and sliced tomatoes. The whole concoction is drizzled with pink peppercorn balsamic vinaigrette and held together with toasted bread.

It’s the kind of sandwich that drips all over your plate and requires lots of napkins. It’s the kind of sandwich that tastes good with salt and vinegar potato chips and beer. It’s the kind of sandwich that makes people who claim they hate tofu reconsider.

It is a really, really good sandwich.

Savory Tofu, Avocado, Tomato Sandwich

Jon and I shared the Ode to Purple Parlor Tofu Sandwich at Muddy’s Coffeehouse, a café in Portland, Oregon a few weeks back. I set out to recreate it as soon as we got home because tomatoes and sweet onions are practically spilling out of our garden right now.

The key to this recipe is to use extra firm tofu. I used firm tofu the first time around and it just doesn’t set up or fry as well as extra firm. Also, don’t be shy with the vinaigrette. It really weaves all the different flavors together—and the leftovers taste good drizzled over roasted carrots and on green salads, too.

For pink peppercorn balsamic vinaigrette:

1 large clove garlic

Salt

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

6 large basil leaves, minced

Freshly ground pink peppercorns.

For sandwiches:

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 package of extra firm tofu

1 avocado

1 tablespoon sour cream

1 large sweet onion, sliced

2 medium tomatoes, sliced

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 slices sandwich bread

Instructions for vinaigrette:

Finely mince the garlic and mash it with a pinch of salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, mustard, and garlic. Continue whisking as you pour the olive oil in a slow steady stream then stir in the basil. Add salt and freshly ground pink peppercorns to taste.

Instructions for the sandwiches:

Heat half of the oil over medium high heat in a cast iron skillet or non-stick pan. Add the sliced onions, toss to coat them with oil, and sprinkle a big pinch of salt over them. Turn the heat down to medium and cook the onions slowly until they soften and turn an even, deep brown (about 30 minutes).

Meanwhile, cut the block of tofu crosswise into six slices. Wrap each slice in a double layer of paper towel and press on it gently with your palm to remove extra water. Discard the wet paper towels. When the onions are done, remove them from the heat and set aside. Return the pan to the burner and heat the remaining oil over medium high heat. Add the tofu and cook until golden brown on the underside–be patient, this takes about five minutes and works best if you leave the tofu be. Flip the tofu over and cook until browned. Remove from the heat, cut each piece in half diagonally, and set aside.

Lightly toast four slices of seeded sandwich bread. Drizzle each slice with balsamic vinaigrette. In a small bowl mash the avocado with the sour cream and a bit of kosher salt until smooth. Spread the avocado liberally on two slices of the bread. Top the avocado with a mound of onions and then layer three or four triangles of tofu over the onions. Place a few slices of tomato over the tofu and spoon a bit more balsamic vinaigrette over the tomatoes. Top each sandwich off with a second slice of bread—balsamic vinaigrette side down. Slice the sandwiches in half and serve with a pile of napkins.

Also known as the ‘king bolete’ and cep in French, porcini is what the Italians call the Boletus edulis mushroom. It’s what I call it too because it’s the Italian styles of preparation that I use most in my cooking. Nothing compares to the flavor that porcinis add to soups and sauces or as toppings for bruschetta or filling for pasta; or just sautéed in butter and olive oil and eaten by all by themselves.

Foraging for mushrooms is like going on a treasure hunt in the forest*. There must still be a hunter/gatherer part of my brain that kicks in when it needs to. At first when I arrive in the mushroom woods I don’t see anything. Then a little stump or cap catches my eye and I look around to see that there are dozens more all around that I hadn’t seen moments before. Few thrills equal that of discovering a patch of porcinis growing in the forest!

You don’t need to go foraging yourself to taste these delicious mushrooms. Porcinis can be found dried in many stores and ordered online dried or frozen. Sometimes they even appear fresh at farmers markets in the fall. They are often expensive but don’t let that discourage you from trying them at least once. Since porcinis dry so well – indeed many believe that drying intensifies their flavor – I would recommend trying them in that form first.

Cooking with dried mushrooms is easy; you just have to rehydrate them. Here’s what you do. Put the desired amount of dried mushrooms in a bowl, then another bowl of the same size on top of the mushrooms to weigh them down. Next pour hot water (from the tap works fine) on the mushrooms until they are covered – the second bowl is to keep them submerged. Let sit for about 20 minutes or until the mushrooms are soft and feel more or less like fresh mushrooms. Remove them from the water and treat them just like they were fresh. Don’t throw away that liquid though! It’s now a flavorful mushroom broth and can be added to whatever you’re cooking to deliver more mushroom flavor. I pour it through a coffee filter first to remove any grit.

Porcini Crostini

Simple and delicious, this recipe delivers pure porcini flavor and is super easy to make.

Take about 2 cups of coarsely chopped porcinis (fresh or rehydrated) and toss them in a hot pan with a little olive oil and a little chopped oregano. Add a pinch of salt and cook until the mushrooms give up their liquid and just start to turn golden brown along the edges. Remove from heat.

While the porcinis are cooking, slice a baguette into rounds, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and place on a cookie sheet into a 375º F oven for about 7 minutes or until just crispy.

Spoon little mounds of the porcini mixture onto the toasts, perhaps sprinkle a garnish of fresh chopped herbs on top, arrange on a platter and serve.

Porcini Stuffed Ravioli

This recipe is a bit involved but it’s worth the effort and gets easier every time you make it. The ravioli freeze well so I usually make a big batch; freeze meal sized portions in separate containers, and pull them out for dinners over a few months. If you do freeze them, be sure to first freeze them laid out on a cookie sheet so that when you combine them in containers they don’t stick together.

Ingredients

Fresh Pasta

½ lb all-purpose flour
½ lb durum semolina flour
4 eggs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon cold water (approximate)

Filling

1 pound / 6 cups finely chopped porcini mushrooms (fresh or dried and rehydrated)
1 ½ cup grated pecorino romano cheese
¾ cup finely chopped walnuts
2 shallots finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh oregano finely chopped
Olive oil for sautéing
1 egg
Pinch of salt
1-2 grinds black pepper
Pinch of grated nutmeg

Making the Pasta

Put the two flours into a food processor fitted with the cutting blade and give it a pulse to mix. Combine eggs, oil, and water and with the food processor running pour into the top so that the dry and wet ingredients into a dough. Run the processor until the dough gathers into a ball – you may need to add a little more flour or a little more water depending on the mix.

Remove the dough ball from the food processor and place on a well floured surface. Divide into four equal pieces. Roll out the dough pieces into sheets using a rolling pin to about 1/16 inch thickness or use a pasta machine and roll to thickness of number 4 setting. Set sheets aside layered between floured tea towels and make the filling.

Making the Filling

Saute the shallots, oregano, and a pinch of salt in olive oil over medium heat until softened. Add chopped porcini and cook until they have given up all of their liquid and just start to brown. Remove from heat.

Combine cheese, walnuts, and porcini mixture in a bowl and then mix in egg, pepper and nutmeg.

Making the Ravioli

Put a sheet of pasta on a floured surface and lay out little teaspoonfuls of filling on the pasta sheet. Space them out so that there is about as much space between them as they are big. Next, using a pastry wheel, pizza cutter, or knife, trim the sheet around them so that there is enough of a flap to close over the filling like a book. Fold the flap over the filling and gently press around the edges to seal the pockets. Then cut the ravioli apart and along their edges to further seal them. Set aside on floured tea towels.

When you’re ready to cook, place them gently in boiling salted water. They should only take a few minutes to cook, keep an eye on them and test them to know for sure. Ravioli are fragile and should not be poured out with the cooking water through a colander. Instead, lift them out with a slotted spoon or pot insert.

Serve with grated pecorino romano or parmigiano cheese and a drizzle of good olive oil.

*A word of caution about mushroom foraging: there are some mushrooms that are deadly poisonous so if you are new to foraging go with an expert. Do not trust books as a means of identification and never eat a mushroom unless it’s been approved by an expert.

I’ve gotten to know Willi and DigginFood through my older sister Betsy, whose posts you’ve read on Raspberry Clafoutis, Summer Risotto and Basil Ice Cream over the past few weeks. Between the two of us, Betsy is the more devoted chef. Although I love to cook (and eat), I very regularly find myself heading over to Betsy’s house for her Sunday night, family dinners or stopping by to grab one (several) of the latest baked goods she’s made. Although I can’t quite compete with my sister’s culinary repertoire, I made a discovery last summer that I hope the readers of DiggnFood will enjoy as much as I have — the discovery was grilling fruit.
 
I learned how to barbecue from my dad, whose barbecuing was a regular dinner ritual growing up (and is, to this day, on our visits home). The ritual typically included sitting on the steps to the back yard across from my dad, often smoking a cigar, reading the news paper and listening to sports radio. In between our “news hours” as we liked to call them, my dad would tend to his Weber and teach me the ways of the charcoal grill.
 
Although a bit more high maintenance than gas, I love grilling with charcoal. Below is a really simple way to get a charcoal grill going (with a chimney, an indispensable barbecuing tool) and some tips that my dad taught me during our many hours in the backyard.
 
In addition to the grilling, there is the fruit. Last summer I was home in San Francisco and my parents had some peaches from the market as well as some figs from my grandfather’s fig tree in Stockton, California. We were barbecuing some halibut and I mentioned to my dad it would be interesting to try the peaches and the figs on the grill, to which he agreed. Onto the grill with the fish went the peaches and figs sliced in half, which resulted in a delicious summer dinner.
 
The fruit charred and caramelized, enriching the peach and fig flavor and textures. Both worked perfectly with the fish and could also marry well with any kind of meat or chicken, not to mention a large scoop of ice cream. I’ve also often thought the figs would be incredible with a rich, salty cheese as well. It is such a simple combination, a grill and some fruit, and yet is incredibly delicious, healthy and versatile.
 
Enjoy and have fun grilling!

Barbecue How To

-Fill the top of the chimney with charcoal and stuff the bottom with 2 sheets of newspaper

-With the chimney sitting in the barbecue with the grill off, light the newspaper and tilt the chimney up against the side of the barbecue

-Check the chimney every 5 minutes to make sure it is heating up, in about 15 or 20 minutes there should be flame above the briquets and to the top of the chimney

-Using the handles on the chimney, carefully pour the briquets into the barbecue (I usually pour them in a mound in the center)

-Put the grill back on the barbecue and let it heat up for about 10 to 15 minutes

-You will know when the grill is hot enough when you put your hand over the heat and can’t hold it there

The Fruit

-I bought some peaches, apricots and cherries at the farmer’s market to grill but numerous other fruits will work well

-After washing and halving the fruit, place the halves face down on the hot grill and cover the grill (anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes depending on how hot your fire is)

-Flip the fruit and cover the grill for another 5 to 10 minutes

-Depending on how cooked you like your fruit, you can leave it on the grill for a bit more, or remove it and enjoy!