Fancy in a Flash

Because I believe you can never discuss the topic enough, I'm going to present to you a couple of easy meals that are also quite impressive. They come together quickly enough to make on a weeknight, but are fancy enough to serve guests. It's a balance I'm constantly trying to achieve. Finding recipes that are quick is not a difficult task, finding recipes that look impressive is also easy to do, but finding recipes that straddle the line of easy and fancy are great treasures that you should keep in your recipe repertoire.

These two have become go-to's for me. Not only are they easy to execute, but the ingredients won't break the bank either, lots of them I had in my pantry anyway. Vinegar, pasta, canned tomatoes, garlic, onions - these things are always in-stock at my house, everything else is easy to source.


Weeknight Bolognese
Serves 4

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoon butter, separated
1 small onion, diced fine
1 medium carrot, shredded
4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
½ pound lean ground sirloin
½ pound ground pork
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, cut up with their juice
1 handful of fresh basil leaves, left whole
1 parmesan rind *optional
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound dried pasta, such as rigatoni
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving


1. Put the oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in a large, deep skillet over medium heat, add chopped onion and cook and stir until it has become translucent, then add the shredded carrot and chopped garlic. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring vegetables to coat them well.

2. Add the meat, a large pinch of salt and a few grindings of pepper. Break the meat up with a wooden spoon, stir well and cook until just browned. Add oregano, red pepper flakes and tomato paste, stirring constantly to ‘toast’ the tomato paste and incorporate everything. Add the wine and let it simmer until it has mostly evaporated. Then add the tomatoes, the basil leaves and the parmesan rind (if using) and stir thoroughly to coat all ingredients well. When the sauce begin to bubble, turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer about 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a small handful of salt and the pasta, cook according to the directions on the box.

4. While the pasta cooks, finish the sauce. Remove the whole basil leaves and the parmesan rind. Add the nutmeg and cream and the last of the butter. Stir everything together and simmer gently another 5 minutes. When the pasta is ready, add it to the pan with the grated Parmesan and toss to coat. Serve hot with more freshly grated Parmesan on the side.



Vinegar Marinated Chicken Thighs with Brown Butter Baby Turnips
Serves 4
*Adapted from Bon Appetit May 2015

Ingredients
2 lbs skin-on bone-in chicken thighs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup distilled white vinegar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 bunches baby turnips, leafy greens removed and reserved, turnips quartered, halved if small (alternatively you can use radishes or a combination of the two)
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped


1. Season chicken with salt and pepper and place in a large baking dish. Pour ¼ cup vinegar over chicken and let sit 15–20 minutes. Remove chicken from marinade and pat skin dry. Reserve baking dish (no need to wipe it out).

2. Preheat oven to 400°. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium. Working in batches, cook chicken, skin side down, until skin is golden brown and crisp, 8–10 minutes; turn and cook until other side is just browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer chicken to reserved baking dish skin side up; reserve skillet. Bake chicken until cooked through and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part registers 165°, 10–12 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, heat butter in same skillet over medium-high. Add turnips, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and tender, about 5 minutes. Add greens and toss to coat; add garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mustard greens are just wilted and garlic is soft, about 2 minutes. Serve greens and turnips with chicken.

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