Orecchiette with Greens and Radishes

If you're anything like me, you've spent the last couple weeks indulging in some holiday meals and drinks and sweet treats. It's okay. We all do it. You might be feeling about ready to start your January diet. Well, why don't you wait an extra couple of days? 2011 isn't over yet. There's still time to sneak in one last not-so-healthy dinner of cheesy pasta topped with crunchy breadcrumbs. Would it help if I told you it had some vegetables in it (sauteed in butter, but still)? I promise, it's crazy delicious. Your New Year's resolutions can wait.

Orecchiette with Greens and Radishes
From Bon Appetit

• 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 3/4 cup coarse fresh breadcrumbs made from whole wheat bread
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 pound orecchiette
• Kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 bunch radishes (about 6-8), sliced into 1/4" rounds
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 2 bunches greens, such as escarole or chard, trimmed and chopped
• 1 cup finely grated Parmesan
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs and toast, stirring frequently, until golden and crisp, 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl; stir in lemon zest and red pepper flakes. Set aside.

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until tender but still firm to the bite. Drain, reserving 2 cups of pasta cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil and butter in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add radishes; cook, stirring often, until browned in spots but still crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl.

Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil and garlic to skillet; stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add greens and 1 cup pasta cooking liquid and cook, stirring often, until greens start to wilt. Add pasta and cheese; stir until cheese melts and sauce is slightly thickened, adding more pasta cooking liquid by 1/4-cupfuls if too dry. Stir in radishes, lemon juice, and pepper. Season with salt. Sprinkle with breadcrumb mixture.

Beet-Tomato Soup & Shaved Zucchini Salad

I've been looking forward to farmer's market season for months. Yeah, our local farmer's market technically goes all winter long, but only the meat/dairy people are there. It's not until May that all the produce farmers set up shop. We have a few weeks still before the veggies really hit their summer stride, but some really great springtime deliciousness can be found.

This soup & salad meal made use of some of the late-spring produce that I picked up yesterday. A big pile of tiny baby zucchini -- only about 4 inches long, and very thin -- became a shaved zucchini salad with sweet pistachios and salty parmesan. (Never eaten zucchini raw? It's great. It's got a really nice crunch to it.) And two bunches of beautiful beets got transformed into a delicious beet and tomato soup with cumin, kind of like a summery southwestern take on borscht. Together, they made a beautiful and wonderfully fresh Sunday dinner.

Shaved Zucchini Salad with Parmesan and Pistachios
From Food & Wine

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 pounds small, firm zucchini, very thinly sliced lengthwise on a mandoline
• 1/3 cup shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (about 1 1/2 ounces)
• 3 tablespoons lightly salted roasted pistachios

In a small bowl, whisk the oil with the lemon zest and juice. Season with salt and pepper. In a large bowl, toss the sliced zucchini with the lemon dressing. Add the Parmesan and the pistachios, toss again and serve.

Beet-and-Tomato Soup with Cumin
From Food & Wine

• 1 pound medium beets
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 medium shallots, thinly sliced
• 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin, plus more for garnish
• 1 quart vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• Creme fraiche (for garnish, optional-- I couldn't find any at the store, so left it out)
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley (for garnish, optional)

In a large saucepan, cover the beets with water. Bring to a boil and cook over moderately high heat until tender, about 1 hour; if necessary, add more water to keep the beets covered. Drain the beets and let cool slightly, then peel and coarsely chop.

Wipe out the saucepan and heat the olive oil in it. Add the shallots and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and chopped beets, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes release their juices, about 5 minutes. Add the 1 teaspoon of cumin and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the vegetable stock and tomato paste and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.

Puree the soup in batches in a food processor. Rewarm the soup in teh saucepan and season with salt and pepper if needed. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with dollops of creme fraiche (if using). Sprinkle with a little cumin and the parsley and serve.

Lemony Chard Stuffed Shells

This is one of my favorite veggie Italian dinners. It's got everything a great meal needs: pasta, protein, leafy greens, tomato sauce, a lemony zip... Plus, people tend to be kind of impressed by stuffed shells even though they're not very hard to make.

The last time I made these, I served them with some spaghetti squash, which was great because it goes so well with tomato sauce. This time, my grocery store was out of the squash, so I just cooked up a quick side of zucchini sauteed with lots of garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice, and some fresh basil. As you can see from the picture, it's not the most beautiful meal I've ever assembled, but it definitely hit the spot anyway.

Lemony Chard Stuffed Shells
From One Dish Vegetarian Meals

• 12 large pasta shells
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup minced shallots
• 1 bunch Swiss chard, washed well and coarsely chopped
• 1 block of firm tofu, blotted dry and crumbled
• Juice and zest of one lemon
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan or soy Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 cups tomato sauce, homemade or store-bought cans

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cook the pasta shells according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add the chard and cook until wilted, about another 5 minutes. Place this cooked mixture into a bowl and add the tofu, lemon zest and juice, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.

Using a teaspoon, stuff the cooked pasta shells with the filling until well packed. Spread a layer of tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish, arrange the shells on top of the sauce, and pour the remaining sauce over and around the shells.

Cover and bake for 30 minutes or until hot.

Variations: Add 1 cup of chopped mushrooms, if you're into that kind of thing (yuck). Just add them to the pan at the same time as the chard.