Midweek Indulgence

Just because it's Monday (or Tuesday, or Wednesday) doesn't mean you can make a meal that is a little fancy. There are a plethora of recipes that take little time, need only a few ingredients, and come out looking like a high-end restaurant chef did the job. Having a couple special ingredients helps, I alway have saffron and truffle oil in my pantry - they add specialness in an easy and deliberate way. I've used them both in the recipes below and you will see you don't need to put much effort forth to make something incredible.

Also a note on tinned fish because I use some in a recipe below. Yes, it's all the craze these days, but with good reason. The quality of these items is substantial (these ain't your daddy's sardines and smoked oysters). A couple of tins I keep in my pantry are octopus, scallops, stuffed calamari and clams. These are excellent pantry staples, it's instant protein that can be added to pasta, risotto, rice, salads and more. Some come in a lovely sauce, some are plain. But they all make it so you don't have to worry about your food 'going bad' or needing to defrost anything. You open a tin and dinner comes together in a flash. If you haven't tried these, I beg you to come into the shop and try them. Seriously.


Saffron Spaghetti with Octopus
Serves 2
*My first attempt at infusing dried pasta with saffron flavor was half-assed and worked 'ok' not great. I put some threads in the boiling water and cooked the pasta in it. The problem is, pasta cooks quickly, too quickly to infuse enough flavor into it. But if you par boil the pasta, just enough to make it pliable and cook it in a large pan 'risotto style' adding saffron infused broth is slow additions, it cooks slower and has the time to soak all that flavor in. And you're still done in about 30 minutes.

Ingredients
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 pinch of saffron threads
3 Tbls butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
12 oz spaghetti
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 - 4-4.8oz tin of Octopus (like Matiz Gallego or La Brujula)
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated Cravero Parmigiano Reggiano, plus more to finish
3 Tbls chopped fresh parsley
Prep
1. In a medium saucepan warm stock with saffron to infuse.
2. In a large saucepan heat the butter with the shallot over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes, until the shallot has softened. Meanwhile cook spaghetti in boiling salted water for about a minute, just long enough so it becomes pliable but is still underdone. Drain and place in the pan with the butter and shallot. Toss to coat noodles in fat as much as possible.
3. Add wine and stir until absorbed, about 2 minutes. Begin ladling a spoonful or two of stock, stirring into pasta and letting it cook until it’s completely absorbed. Repeat the proscess until all broth is absorbed (this should take about 15 minutes depending on your spaghetti, cooking times vary from brand to brand.
4. Add the octopus and toss with noodles until warmed through. Add pepper and Parmigiano and toss to coat. Finish with additional cheese and fresh parsley. Serve immediately.



Celery Root Velouté
Serves 6 
*This can be served as a starter or with a leafy green salad and some crusty bread for a main course. This recipe was adapted from Mimi Thorisson's cookbook French Country Cooking, a total favorite of mine.

Ingredients
3 Tbls butter
1 celery root, peeled and cubed
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cups whole milk
1 cup chicken stock (plus more if neccessary)
1 Tbls dijon mustard
Piment d'Espelette (available in the Dedalus pantry)
chives and truffle oil for garnish

Prep
1. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the celery root, season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Pour in the milk and stock and bring the soup to a simmer. Cover and reduce the heat and simmer until the celery root is tender, about 20 minutes.
2. Purée soup in blender, if too thick ass more stock to get to desired consistency. You want it thinner than mashed potatoes, but thicker than a cream. Stir in the mustard and season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm with a sprinkle of piment d'Espelette, a drizzle of truffle oil and sprinkle of chives.


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