Roasted Roots

Again, Trader Joes deserves the compliments here for this easy side dish. In the vegetable section, there is a box of pre-cut mix of sweet potatoes, yams, and turnips. I decided they would make excellent roasted vegetables to go along with the chicken I was making for dinner. This is definitely not a recipe you measure. Eyeball everything and you should be fine.

Ingredients:

Any vegetables, cut into cubes for roasting
Olive Oil
Dried sage and thyme
Garlic powder
Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. Place the vegeatbles into a glass baking dish.
2. Drizzle olive oil over them enough to coat evenly.

3. Season the vegeatbale, using about 1 tsp each of sage and thyme and garlic powder. Toss to coat evenly.

 

4.  Roast at 425* F for about 20-30 minutes until the edges are golden brown.  Check on them while cooking and toss them so they cook evenly.

Farro Salad

My cousin Anna from Italy came to visit last summer and made a farro salad for my family. She showed me one method, but after talking to her, I realized it's somewhat like a pasta salad, where there are thousands of recipes for it, and you pretty much add what you like. So you can follow my lead and use these ingredients or add whatever you enjoy. 

Farro is a grain found in the Tuscany region of Italy and it can be found here in the states, but mostly in stores like Whole Foods. Here it is called spelt, so if you find that you can substute it in this recipe or even use a different grain like brown rice or barley. If all else fails, use a small pasta like orzo.

Ingredients:

1 cup farro

1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed

1/2 can pickled beets, chopped

1/2 can baby corn, chopped

1/4 cup chopped onion, white, red or green

1/4 cup chopped carrots

1/2 cup chopped tomatoes, any kind, this time I used a variety

2 tbsp capers, chopped

1-2 tbsp Olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Optional: diced cooked chicken breast

Directions:

1. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add a generous pinch of salt to the water. Add the farro and cook for about 30 minutes. It will be done when it is soft like pasta but still with a little bite to it. Drain the farro when finished and put it into a bowl.

2. While the farro is cooking, chopped all of the ingredients and add it to a large bowl.

3. Add the cooked farro to the bowl and drizzle with olive oil, probably a couple tablespoons worth. Add the red wine vinegar, and salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

4. Let it sit for about 10 minutes, then taste. Add more salt and pepper or vinegar if needed. Keep in a air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week. This amount will make enough for 5-6 servings.

Antipasto

Antipasto is the Italian word for appetizer, but for my family it refers to this specific dish.  We make it every year for Christmas. Sometimes I like to make it just to eat for lunch with crackers or to top a salad. It's really easy to make, and uses a lot of ingredients that you can keep on hand. You can also make it ahead of time and freeze it for later. And trust me, it is not a very fishy dish, even though there is a whole can of tuna in it.

Ingredients:

1 can tuna in oil (do not discard the oil)

1 small jar Giardineira (pickled vegetables)

1 small can of mushrooms.

1 small can of black olives

1 small jar marinated artichokes
1-2 tbsp of capers

1 can tomato sauce

An assortment of crackers and/or sliced baquette pieces

Directions:

1. Pour the giardeineria into a bowl and cover with water. You want to get rid of some of the briney taste. Let soak for about ten minutes. After soaking, strain the vegetables and rinse a couple times to get rid of any extra brine.  You don't want to add any unnecessary liquid to the antipasto.

2. All of the canned ingredients can be strained as well, except for the tuna. The oil in the tuna has lots of flavor and will give it a good texture.

3. Next, dump all ingredients except the tomato sause into a food processor. Pulse until it is all chopped finely. You may need to stop to stir once or twice to get all the large chucks chopped.

4. Once the mixture is finely chopped, add in the can of tomato sauce. Mix until combined. Taste the Antipasto and add salt and pepper to your liking. Sometimes you may need to add a pinch of sugar as well to balance the acidity.

5. Place the mixture in a bowl, and serve with crackers and/or bagquette slices.