Rosalie Cooking Class
Ned’s Groceria
Onion Jam Heat 2 tbsp. walnut oil in a sauté pan. Prepare and thinly slice any onions you like. Spring onions are nice this time of year. The onions should be very finely sliced. About two or three cups is good. Cook onions over low heat with a tsp. of salt. Stir often. After they soften, maybe ten minutes, add the peel of two lemons which you grind in the food processor, the juice from the lemons, and a cup of cider or white wine vinegar, and a scant cup of sugar. Continue cooking over low heat about thirty minutes until it appears jammy, glistening etc. Great on bruschetta, or in sandwiches or as accompaniment to meat or fish.
Warm Chocolate Cakes.
You can prepare these in advance which is so great. Butter and lightly flour about 6 small ramakins. Tap out the excess flour. Preheat the oven to 450 if you are going to serve soon. Over a double boiler place 4 squares of good bittersweet chocolate and a stick of butter until the chocolate is almost melted. Meanwhile beat 2 eggs and 2 egg yolks together with a quarter cup of sugar until light yellow and thick. Stir melted chocolate and butter together and while it is still warm pour into the egg yolk mixture and then quickly beat in 2 tbsp. flour. Divide batter amongst the molds. At this point you can refrigerate them for several hours. Bring to room temp before baking. Bake molds on a tray for 12 minutes only. The center will be quite soft but the sides will be set. Unmold by inverting on a plate. The cake will fall out. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream. You could faint they are so good, right?
Pasta with fresh peas Please enjoy the fresh pea season. Heat three tbsp. olive oil in a pan. Add three cloves of garlic and sauté a few minutes. Do not brown. Add a few flakes of red pepper. Quarter two cups of fresh small pear or cherry tomatoes and sauté for fifteen minutes. Add a cup of chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add a cup oil shucked peas and cook until the peas are tender. In the meantime bake a pound of sausages until brown in the oven. When slightly cool cut into one inch rings and add to the pea, tomato mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with a good Parmesan and a few sprinkles of fresh basil.
Pasta with no tomato Same as above except use three cups of chicken broth and a half cup of pesto instead of tomatoes. Toss with plenty of Pecorino Romano and then serve with additional cheese.
See you in two weeks. We are going to do one of my favorite risotto dishes and I am going to teach you some good stuff about grilling……..a perfect marinade which we will serve with flank steak (cuisine of the poor, after all) and a yummy almond cake with a fresh berry coulis. See you then.