CutandBaste.com

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken legs, cleaned and trimmed of excess fat
• 1 large onion, chopped roughly
• 2 celery stalks, chopped roughly
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped roughly
• 3-4 garlic gloves, peeled and crushed
• 4-5 cups of milk
• 9-10 cardamon pods, crushed slightly
• 3/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 3/4 cup finely chopped carrot
• 3/4 cup finely chopped celery
• 1 cup green lentils

Prep:

1. In a deep saute pan or heavy pot, saute chicken in olive oil over high heat until nicely browned.  Remove and cover.
2. Add onion, celery, and carrots and saute for about 10 minutes.  Add garlic and cardamon, and saute for 1-2 minutes.
3. Add chicken back and add enough milk to barely cover the chicken.  Bring to a simmer and cook very slowly over low heat until internal temperature reaches 160 (it will continue cooking with the heat off).  Remove chicken and cover.
4. Meanwhile, saute finely chopped onion, carrot, and celery in a medium sized pot in olive oil over med-high heat for about 5 minutes until slightly wilted.
5. Add lentils and cook according to label instructions.
6. As lentils are nearing their finish, add some strained milk from the chicken mixture to add some creaminess.

Sources:

Chicken: Free Bird via Green Grape Provisions

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After the long awaited move to Brooklyn, we made it over to the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket last weekend.  I was hoping to find ramps for a pizza, but they are out of season so we picked up wild onion and garlic shoots instead.  We also found some incredible manchego cheese and homemade sausage.  Sunday night we did the pizza (recipe below) and last night we made some very tasty orzo with the leftovers (recipe to follow).

Sausage Pizza with Wild Onion and Garlic Shoots:

• 4 sweet Italian sausage, casings removed and chopped
• 1/2 cup marinara sauce or chopped canned tomatoes
• finely chopped wild onion (you can use all of the bulb and as much of the greens as you wish)
• finely chopped garlic shoots
• fresh pizza dough (recipe below)
• shredded young manchego cheese

Saute sausage over med-high heat until nicely browned and almost cooked through.  Remove and add onion and garlic to the saute pan.  Saute until transparent and wilted and remove.

Roll out dough and start with a very thin layer of tomato sauce.  Add sausage, cheese and onion/garlic mixture.

Bake on a pizza stone at 500 degrees until dough is cooked through and cheese is nice and bubbly.

Pizza Dough:

• 3 ½ cups flour
• 1 cup warm water (between 95 and 115 degrees F)
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 2-3 T honey
• 1 t salt
• ¼ cup olive oil

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water in a small bowl.  Add honey once yeast has been dissolved.
2. Add 1 cup flour to large bowl and mix in yeast/water mixture with wooden spoon.  Continue to add flour to bowl until a ball begins to form.
3. Transfer ball onto floured surface and begin kneading and incorporating flour until the ball no longer sticks to your hands.
4. Add ball of dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp kitchen towel, and set aside in a warm, draft-free area.
5. After about 45 minutes, the dough should have doubled in size.  Punch down the dough, so it deflates.
6. Cut the dough into thirds, cover again and let it sit for another hour.
7. Roll out dough into a nice even circle and transfer to a pizza slider.

• 1 lb spaghetti (cooked until almost al dente)
• 4-5 strips of bacon or pancetta, chopped
• 1 bunch of ramps, bulbs and leaves chopped separately
• 1-2 jalepeno peppers, chopped
• 1 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup cream
• Parmigiano-Reggiano, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch of chives, chopped

Saute bacon or pancetta in deep saute pan until nicely browned.  Remove and add the chopped bulbs of the ramps and jalepeno peppers.  Saute for about 5-7 minutes until the ramps are transparent.

Add white wine and reduce.  Add cream, bacon and spaghetti and cook until pasta is al dente.

Garnish with chives and Parmigiano-Reggiano.

• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 head roasted garlic
• 3 chipotle peppers
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 poblano peppers, chopped
• 2 jalepeno peppers, chopped
• 1 cup carnitas (see recipe below)
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese
• Cilantro

In a medium stock pot, blend garlic and chipotle peppers in chicken stock and bring to a slow simmer. This is the liquid used to cook the rice.

Saute onion and tomato paste over med-high heat until the onion is translucent.

Add rice and saute for a minute or so.  Add wine and reduce.  Add about 3/4 cup of stock at a time and reduce until the rice is al dente.

Meanwhile saute peppers over high heat for a couple minutes so they are partially cooked but still have some bite.

Fold cheese, peppers, and carnitas into the risotto and top with cilantro.

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Quasi-Carnitas:

• 1 lb pork ribs, butt or shoulder (boneless chops work well), cubed
• 1-2 Mexican beers
• Chicken stock and/or water
• Bay leaves
• Whole dried red chili peppers
• Few tablespoons cumin, chili powder and any other Mexican spices you like

1. Brown the cubed pork in olive oil.

2. Add all other ingredients, bring to a boil and simmer over low heat until the pork is cooked through.

3. Remove, let pork cool and shred.