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Hot Days | Cold Soba Noodles

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It’s not surprising to have hot days in August, but man oh man!, has it been brutal lately here in NYC. On top of this, lately my days are filled stomping up and down the concrete canyons of the city. This means that if not prepared I’m catching meals on the go. Often this translates into wasted time searching expensive tasteless food, which I often regret. These cold soba noodles are quick to make, easy to transport, and fantastically soul satisfying. 

soba noodles-165

 

Preparing fresh soba noodles- A Stack of Dishes

I purchase my noodles fresh, which oddly I find are less costly than the dried versions. Even better is the fact that they cook up in just a few minutes. So pot on, water to boil, toss in for 3, and boom! Good to go. How how cool is that?

At first I thought I would make a peanuty version of cold noodles. You know the kind, with the cucumber chunks added [Read more…] about Hot Days | Cold Soba Noodles

Rustic Free Form Asparagus Tart

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Free Form Asparagus Tart - A Stack of Dishes

This is a first for me. With all my years of baking and cooking I’ve never made a free form tart, sweet or savoy. The beauty of it is that this rustic free formed asparagus tart was not entirely planned. It was more of a- well I’ve got this, and I’ve got that, and I don’t have the other thing…

You see, last night I had a few friends over. All relatively new friends, and a couple that I had yet to meet who are new to the neighborhood like myself. Now that I am settled into my new place I have the where-with-all to do some entertaining- which, as you know, is my absolute favorite thing to do. However, my place is small, and not all my baking bits and bobs made it into the tiny, albeit genius, storage system I have here. Alas dear Alice, there is only so much space in this Wonderland.

I also have a superbly ridiculous stove in this new place. A mere 24″ wide, which offers great challenges to my pot and pan array. Not everything fits!  On top of that, the inside does not have rack ridges for the entire height of the oven space, especially in the middle. What that translates to is that the things I am baking are either too low in the oven, or too high.

So far this has lead to a few too many burnt bottoms. Can you imagine? A professional baker for nearly 25 years and I am burning things now?

I do not lament however, it’s part of the learning curve- I WILL make this work. Nothing, my friends, is ever perfect. Nothing ever, so why fight it?

So back to tart making. For my guests I planned this long tart, but at this moment I have only the one pan.

Asparagus Dill Tart - A Stack of Dishes

I had some leftover filling, a bunch of pastry dough, and just a few asparagus spears, and some of the trimmed ends. I also had a bit of goat cheese left over in the fridge that I felt I should use up too. So this is what happened- No pan=free form tart on parchment paper. No available cookie sheet that fits the oven so I used the broiling pan top piece.

Free form asparagus tart-A Stack of Dishes

This all went very well, but as you can see from the dark paper, I placed it on the bottom rack of the oven first. That paper got toasty pretty fast, which cast off a bit of smoke. The result was the piercing scream of my smoke detector.

Who was it that said it’s not party unless the smoke alarm goes off? Somebody? Anybody? Ha! well, it made me laugh (and flap wildly at the smoke detector to get the damn thing to simmer down). 

In the end, even when things don’t go exactly as planned- with good food and good people, it’s always a success.

Don’t you agree?

Free Form Asparagus Tart

(or traditional tart pan too)

makes two

 

1 recipe of pastry dough

2 cups whole milk ricotta

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 clove garlic, minced

1 bunch asparagus

1/4 cup minced dill weed

2 oz goat cheese

drizzle of olive oil

 

Prepare the dough, roll it out and either press into a tart pan and trim, or lay flat on a sheet of parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium sized bowl combine the ricotta, eggs, milk, garlic and some salt and pepper. Stir to thoroughly combine. Fill tart pan with ricotta mix, alternatively spread filling in center of free form tart, covering 2/3 of the circle. For the long tart I simply place the asparagus on top and sprinkled with dill. For the free form tart I chopped the asparagus ends (not the dried out part) and tossed them on top along with the dill.

Then I coated the long spears with a little olive oil added them on top. Then I simply folded up the sides of the dough. My dough was soft and very breakable, so I just tucked and patched where I needed to. All part of the charm. In the end I pulled up the heads of the asparagus so that they stuck out from under the dough. A sprinkling of goat cheese on top and an extra drizzle of olive oil on top and into the oven it went.

Depending on the pan and the thickness of the filling, baking time should take about 35 minutes. I keep an eye on mine since this oven seems to have a mind of it’s own- and with the free form tart, after I nearly burned down the house I moved it up to the higher rack. Baking as an art- not a science. Hoo yah!

Serve warm-preferable amongst friends.

Seared Tuna with Coriander Mint Noodles

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Seared Tuna with Coriander Mint Noodles ~ A Stack of Dishes

 Many years ago the New York Times had one of  their food writers (Craig Claiborne?) perform an interesting series. Once a week he would randomly knock on an unknowing NYer’s door and prepare a spectacular meal using only the ingredients in the larder at that moment. 

When I first heard of this I thought, What fun! What an interesting challenge! However, the series did not last long because, alas, most people do not keep much other than pasta and champagne in their small New York apartments. I don’t recall any of the meals that were produced. What I do remember is that they were more than I would have imagined- simple but still somewhat profound.

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This dish was a mid-week event. It had been a hard day that warranted a rejuvenating meal, preferably one with little effort. A quick rummaging around in the fridge produced some leftover noodles from family card night and a bag of cilantro. In the freezer were sealed packs of tuna that I had been shifting around for the last few months that needed just a few minutes of thawing. Once all that was pulled out onto the counter, I then took a quick jaunt out to the yard for some mint and basil from my still blossoming pots.

And there you go. Something divine with what was on hand. Yeah, I know, I keep things around that many don’t. I’m guilty of hoarding exotic ingredients such as the black sesame seeds- but that’s my tweak. Use whatever you have on hand. Dried herbs mixed with oil is also wonderful as a crust on fish or chicken, and by the way, this sauce over noodles with the remnants of that rotisserie chicken is pretty awesome too.

Even with modest ingredients and little time to prepare, making food to be shared always brings out the best in all aspects. I say this because it can be terrifying to invite a friend or two over with little forethought or preparation, but as you know, it’s not just delicious food on a plate that makes the meal, it’s the communion and circle of sharing around a table. And besides, just throw in that bottle of champagne and you’ll really have a party!

Seared Tuna with Coriander Mint Noodles ~ A Stack of Dishes 

Please, I’m curious to know- What is your last minute throw together meal for friends? 

Seared Tuna with Coriander Mint Noodles
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454 calories
56 g
39 g
11 g
32 g
2 g
204 g
506 g
10 g
0 g
9 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
204g
Servings
4
Amount Per Serving
Calories 454
Calories from Fat 99
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 11g
18%
Saturated Fat 2g
10%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 5g
Monounsaturated Fat 4g
Cholesterol 39mg
13%
Sodium 506mg
21%
Total Carbohydrates 56g
19%
Dietary Fiber 4g
16%
Sugars 10g
Protein 32g
Vitamin A
14%
Vitamin C
5%
Calcium
14%
Iron
26%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Does this look wrong?
Ingredients
  1. 1 lb fresh or frozen tuna
  2. 1/4 cup black sesame seeds (regular are ok too)
  3. 8 oz spaghetti
  4. 1/2 cup cilantro, minced
  5. 1/3 cup fresh basil, minced
  6. 1/2 cup fresh mint, minced
  7. 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  8. 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  9. 2 tablespoons honey
  10. 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
Instructions
  1. Wash the fish and pat dry. Place seeds on a small plate and press the tuna into the seeds. Set aside.
  2. Bring a large pot of water to boil with a generous pinch of salt. Cook the noodles until done, 12-15 minutes. Drain and rinse.
  3. Warm a cast iron pan over medium high heat and add 1 tablespoon grape seed oil and coat pan. Sear the tuna for 1-2 minutes on each side until a thin layer of fish is cooked and the seeds are toasted. Set aside.
  4. In a small bowl combine the lime juice, cilantro, mint, basil soy, honey and sesame oil and whisk to combine.
  5. Arrange noodles onto 4 plates, add the tuna and spoon sauce over each plate and serve.
Notes
  1. You may substitute other fish here- salmon, shrimp, etc.
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calories
454
fat
11g
protein
32g
carbs
56g
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