mustard greens caesar with shrimp and anchovy croutons

some dinners take tons of recipe searching,

lots of cookbook reading,

and hours of thinking

just to get the food on the table.

and others?

so easy.

that's how it went

when i saw melissa clark's recipe

for raw mustard greens salad

with gruyere and anchovy croutons.

larry loves mustard greens,

(i'm a fan, too).

i love anything made with anchovy

(he handles them ok).

and, we both love gruyere and garlic.

i almost prepared

the salad as is,

but, last minute

made the decision

to add shrimp for a complete meal.

at home, i broke out a tube

of anchovy paste. you see,

i love anchovies

and i love the flavor

of the fillets, but i have

never been able to get past

the thin-as-can-be bones

that never quite melt with the

rest of the fish.

so, not always,

but often, i use anchovy paste, instead.

i usually use 1 teaspoon in

place of each fillet. this time i added

a bit more to really give this already

assertive salad some extra oomph.

i chopped garlic,

added it to the anchovy paste

and whisked in some olive oil,

which i'll admit i eyeballed.

(it was late.)

to make up for the olive oil

measuring laziness, i took the time

to remove the crusts from a lovely

loaf of bread before cutting into cubes.

(normally, i would convince myself

that the crusts wouldn't make a

difference. but, i guess i was not in

the mood for self-denial.)

i tossed the soon-to-be-croutons

with some of the garlicky anchovy-laced oil,

and half the gruyere that larry had grated while

i cubed the bread,

added a little salt and pepper and tossed

them onto a baking sheet. as they crisped,

i squeezed lemon juice and a little bit

more anchovy into the olive oil mixture,

then whisked in the rest of the gruyere.

i stemmed and tore up

8 cups of mustard greens.

and before we knew it,

the croutons were done,

the shrimp, tossed with the

faintest amount of olive oil,

salt and pepper, had been broiled

and i was mixing everything together

in a bowl.

we ate the first few bites silently,

pretty sure the dish would be

a hit, both quickly falling in love

with the not shy flavors.

and the next night,

even though i don't have

the tiniest clue what we ate for

dinner, i remember that i was

resentful that it wasn't this salad.

mustard greens caesar with shrimp and anchovy croutons

adapted from bon appetit

i think it's fair to say that there are a lot of ingredients that you have to really like to enjoy this salad: sharp and peppery mustard greens, in-your-face garlic, umami-rich anchovy and for our version, nutty aged gruyere. but, if you're not turned off yet, i think you'll love every bite. i will caution you that i used three large garlic cloves and next time, i will probably seek out more normal sized pieces.

2 tablespoons anchovy paste

3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press or finely chopped

approximately 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus 1-2 teaspoons olive oil for shrimp, divided

1/2 loaf country bread, crusts removed and cut into 3/4-inch cubes (3 cups)

4 ounces aged gruyere, grated (1 cup, packed)

1 pound large (20-25 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 bunch (about 12 ounces) mustard greens, center ribs removed and torn into bite-size pieces (8 cups)

1 large juicy lemon, juiced

heat oven to 375˚f. in small bowl, whisk together anchovy paste and garlic; gradually whisk in olive oil. in medium bowl, combine bread cubes, about 2 tablespoons anchovy-garlic oil mixture, 1/2 cup grated gruyere, salt and pepper; toss to coat.

place cubes in single layer on an aluminum foil-lined rimmed baking sheet coated with cooking spray. bake 20 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp, stirring occasionally. set aside.

change oven to broil.

in bowl, combine shrimp, remaining olive oil and salt and pepper. place on aluminum foil-lined rimmed baking sheet coated with cooking spray. broil 2 minutes; flip and cook 1 minute more, or until firm and just opaque.

meanwhile, in large bowl, combine mustard greens, croutons and remaining cheese. whisk 5 tablespoons lemon juice into anchovy-garlic mixture; season with salt, pepper, more lemon juice and more anchovy paste, if desired.

when shrimp are ready, combine greens, shrimp and dressing mixture; tossing to coat. divide among plates.

snapshot: garlicky whole wheat egg noodles with an olive oil fried egg

sometimes you just want something 

quick and satisfying, a dinner that 

yields a greater gift

than you feel you deserve for the work

you put into it. this bowl of pasta is it.

simply saute a ton of 

finely chopped garlic (i used about 6 cloves), 

a generous squeeze of anchovy paste

and a healthy sprinkling of red pepper flakes

in olive oil on low for at least 10 minutes,

stirring often to prevent burning. 

squeeze in the juice of a large lemon.

add about 1/2 pound 

al dente whole wheat egg noodles, 

a few splashes of the pasta's cooking water 

and a handful of grated parm

to the garlic mixture.

stir until pasta is well coated.

transfer pasta to bowls.

meanwhile, fry a couple eggs 

in a small amount of 

olive oil that has been heated

with a clove or two of quartered garlic,

until whites are just set and 

yolks are still quite runny.

top each bowl with one egg, 

let each person mix their own

and enjoy.

never craved cauliflower? you will now.

a few years ago, we discovered roasted cauliflower.

before then, cauliflower had always been that white vegetable

served raw

and often overlooked 

on supermarket crudites platters, 

beside a container of ranch or blue cheese dips.

but then, a friend mentioned to me 

how amazing most vegetables can become once roasted

and for some reason

boring cauliflower was the first thing that i thought of.

in the oven it morphs from a crunchy and somewhat bland veggie

into its sophisticated cousin: incredibly sweet, beautifully caramelized 

and so tender, it can only be thought of as a gourmet vegetable. 

and so, roasted cauliflower became a favorite.

 a while back, i watched tyler florence

demo a delicious looking spaghetti that boasted

golden cauliflower,

raisins

and

pine nuts.

but for some reason (some silly, silly reason)

i forgot about it and continued roasting away.

and then, spurred by a ridiculous sale,

(i bought the biggest head of cauliflower 

i've ever seen in my life for $1.49),

and a cabinet clean out that made me realize 

we were the proud owners of three (three!) boxes of golden raisins,

i remembered.

this was three-quarters of that giant head of cauliflower. when i started running out of room to cut, i realized it was time to put down the knife, back away and learn to love snacking on leftover white,  bland, crunchy veggies.

the method is slightly different than plopping them on

a baking sheet 

and sticking

them in the oven.

all this takes is a pan and a burner,

to first steam

and then caramelize,

but the results are just as good,

if not, maybe even a little better.

it looked delicious, as is, but we made some changes:

first, spaghetti is all well and good

for those of you with

grace 

and

the ability to

use a fork without

leaving a trail of your

meal all over the table,

but for me, 

spazzy person that i am,

i like nab-them-on-the-first-try pastas,

like rigatoni,

farfalle

and my new favorite, used here,

calamarata.

i also, and i know that this is

odd

and 

unusual,

have a very strong aversion 

to parsley.

so i left the recommended

1/2 cup of the chopped leaves out,

but feel free

to stir those in at the end.

to add a little extra sweetness and to capitalize on our new found wealth, i upped the raisins to closer to a half a cup. i also ended up squeezing in extra lemon juice because it really does wonders to brighten the dish. 

because we really love the dark parts of the cooked cauliflower best, i cut my florets extra small. this increases the surface area that touches the hot pan and decreases the center, which will not be directly exposed to the heat. if you like larger pieces, go for it. when you cook the florets, let them get decently dark. it's hard to appreciate their deliciousness when they're not boasting an abundance of spots. 

at this point, the florets were softened and tender, but not really sweet. when it looks like this, you probably have at least 10 minutes left in the caramelizing process.

another piece of advice, to reduce the amount of olive oil used (the original recipe calls for 1/2 cup), i opted to coat the panko with olive oil spray. a good idea - it totally works, they still come out golden and add unbeatable texture to the finished dish. however, a word of advice if you're like me and don't necessarily think these things through: light as can be breadcrumbs + powerized air = major cleanup. make sure to insulate the panko before spraying, otherwise, you're sure to find the tiny breadcrumbs for weeks to come. um, sorry, larry.

this is the color you're looking for from the baked panko

Sauteed Pasta with Cauliflower, Raisins and Panko

Adapted from Tyler Florence's Tyler's Ultimate

oh, i just realized i didn't mention the anchovies. please don't let them stop you from making this dish. i used anchovy paste instead of chopped fillets. the paste makes it even easier for the flavor enhancer to meld with the olive oil, providing a unique saltiness that is hard to match. most people will not even know you used it. promise.

1 pound pasta

1/4 cup pine nuts

3 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp. anchovy paste

1 head cauliflower, cored and cut into small florets

1 tsp. anchovy paste (or more to taste)

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

1/2 lemon, juiced (or more to taste)

Freshly grated Parm

Heat oven to 350˚F. Bring a large saucepot of water to a boil; cook and drain pasta according to package directions. In small skillet, over medium-low heat, toast pine nuts; shaking occasionally and keeping a close eye to prevent burning. Hint: if you start to smell them, take the skillet off the heat immediately. Set aside. Cook and drain pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in the largest skillet you have (I used 14"), warm olive oil over medium heat. Add anchovy paste and cauliflower and cook 2 minutes, or until the mixture starts to sizzle. Add 1/4 cup of water, sprinkle with kosher salt and toss the mixture. Cover and steam for 5 minutes, or until the cauliflower is somewhat tender. Remove the lid, crank up the heat to medium-high and let cook about 15 minutes, or until the cauliflower has deeply caramelized. 

Meanwhile, in bowl, toss the panko with olive oil cooking spray (or drizzle with olive oil, if desired) and a sprinkling of kosher salt; spread out on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown, shaking pan occassionally.

Add cooked pasta, toasted pine nuts and raisins to cauliflower mixture in skillet; let cook 30 seconds. Stir in lemon juice. Transfer pasta to serving bowls; sprinkle with toasted Panko and grated Parm.