Umami and elevating pantry pasta

I love figuring out meals of random things in the pantry. I haven't been to the grocery store because we have all the leftovers from the party. But we're tired of them. And, we'll be dining out all weekend (it's G's birthday), so double the reason to just eat what's in the cupboards and fridge.

I was dying for some spaghetti and meatballs, inspired by the cover of the latest Bon Appetit, where there's a large, hearty dish full of my favorite childhood comfort food!  But the only things tomato-related in our house were a can of diced tomatos and tomato soup. That was good enough!!! I knew I could do better than any jarred sauce with these items. All I needed to do was add umami to it to give it the slow cooked, savory flavor.

 This is what I did:

Sauteed aromatics (celery, garlic, and onion).

Sprinkled in a tablespoon each of dried basil and a savory seasoning (any earthy seasoning will do)

Added the can of diced tomatoes

After it cooked down for five minutes, I added a bit of beef stock to give it richness

We didn't have any tomato paste, so I used condensed tomato soup, which was a bit sweet...

...I cut the sweetness with Maggi, a really great Umami-packed liquid seasoning, akin to soy sauce, but better. It really helped to make it savory and hearty tasting.

To bind the sauce a bit, I added some flour, stirring constantly to avoid lumps.

Finally, a bit of wine. It gives it another dimension of flavor. About 1/4 cup of good wine (that you'd drink)

We actually had some pre-made gorgonzola and spinach meatballs! I first baked them, then added them to the sauce to simmer.

Meanwhile, I tossed a simple salad with olive oil and vinegar

I added hot pepper flakes to my plate, as a nod to "Puttanesca," the original pantry pasta!

If I do say so myself, this was SUCH a lusty meal. There's something about the hearty, simmered, tomato sauce with all the umami flavor which drenched the creamy tendrils of angel hair....

We had it with this equally mmm, mmm screw top Shiraz. It's 93-point rated Schild Estates Barossa Shiraz, 2005. I highly recommend it. It's not expensive and tastes indulgent in an earthy way (kind of like the pasta).

To cleanse our palates, we topped the green salad with a bit of pomello and avocado. YUMMMMM.

Since this was a pantry meal, you wouldn't use a recipe (and wouldn't necessarily go shopping for canned tomato soup to make spaghetti and meatballs). Improvisation is the best way to cook. So I won't give my own recipe here. The idea is to make the most of whatever you have on hand. The guidance on this is to add a good umami flavor base to whatever you're cooking. It can turn simple and random things in your cupboard into great meals. For more on umami, go here.

But if you really, really need one, here's Bon Appétit's Spaghetti and Meatballs All'Amatriciana:

Click on each page to print recipe

Pantry Meal: Eggs and Bacon Pasta (aka Carbonara)

Yep, another pantry meal. When you're either too lazy or too poor to go grocery shopping, getting creative (or back to basics) with what's in the fridge and pantry can yield quick and yummy results.

Sautee the bacon in a little olive oil and add garlic.

Beat together two eggs and add grated parmesan. Meanwhile, boil the pasta (along with, if desired, broccoli or whatever green cruciferous veg you want to get rid of).

Drain pasta (and veg), reserving a little bit of cooking liquid, to the bacon and garlic. Toss. Then add the egg mixture to the pan (make sure it's off the heat).

We added a little bit of truffle salt to turn up the earthiness.

We had it with this Burgundy that Tim gave us at one of our dinner parties in March.

Buon Appetito!

Food Advice Fridays: Pantry Meals & Umami

Dear Roganista:



You often write about "pantry meals". What do you consider a pantry meal? What's your favorite?



- Hungry in Ashburn



*****************



Dear HIA:



A pantry meal is the product of an improvised, make-it-up-as-you-go recipe created by pulling together whatever ingredients you have in your pantry, refrigerator, or freezer. Of course the ingredients should make sense together, but sometimes odd combinations can result in something pretty tasty. At the very least, I try to up the umami-ante. What's umami you ask? It's the "fifth taste" as they say. It's that savory, brothy, earthiness found in things like red meat, hard cheeses (like Parmesan), soy, and mushrooms. I find that whatever I make, as long as I focus on highlighting that fifth taste, it can turn humble pantry ingredients into something delicious.



I always have the following ingredients on hand: Parmesan, soy, chicken bouillon, Worcestershire, fresh garlic, garlic and onion powder, canned tomatoes, beef stock, dried mushrooms, and some sort of protein.



My favorite thing to make is the pedestrian, but accessible chili. It's never the same recipe twice, but we love it in our house.

Ever since we returned from our honeymoon, we've been busy with entertaining and going out, but have not been very good about grocery shopping for our daily needs. So one night last week we had to make due with a pantry meal.



I had all the staples I highlighted above. Looking in the freezer, I spied some ground turkey and I knew I had some kidney beans and brown rice. In the refrigerator there were a couple stalks of green onion leftover from a dinner party. In the spice drawer, I had cumin and some smoked paprika someone had given me for my bridal shower. Perfect. That was all I needed to whip up a nice, hearty chili.


Roganista's Never-really-a-recipe Chili recipe:

All you do is saute about two cloves of chopped garlic in oil. Add the meat (about one pound) and brown it. Add 1/4 cup of Worcestershire or a few splashes of soy sauce. (These savory condiments add a lot of rich umami depth.) Then add a large can of crushed tomatoes, a can of kidney beans (liquid and all), 1 to 3 tablespoons of smoked paprika, 2 tablespoons (or more if you like) of chili powder, 1 tablespoon cumin. Blend it all together. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and let it simmer. To give it that long, slow-cooked taste, mix a bit (about 1 tablespoon) of chicken bouillon with 1/4 cup of water and add to the mixture. After about 45 minutes, you got yourself easy chili. Serve over brown rice. Umami-lishes

Party Leftovers: A Sort of Steak Pizza

It never fails: Leftovers after a party. But it's great when they're nice leftovers. For the "Italian Summer" party, our friends, Eileen and Jeff brought over three different loaves of fresh-baked artisan bread. Of course there was so much food, we didn't even touch two of the loaves.

So for dinner Monday night, I decided to make a sort of open faced sandwich/steak pizza with the leftover meat and the bread.

I just topped the warmed Turkish barbari bread with little bit of blue cheese (because blue cheese and beef are awesome together), basil from the potted garden, tomatoes, and the steak.

I've said it before, I love getting creative with whatever is leftover or around the house!

Holishke (Stuffed Cabbage)--Forging ethnic meals of leftovers

We had NY strip steaks the other night. There was a bit leftover, along with some brown rice from a meal earlier in the week. I had also purchased some cabbage this weekend--for what I'm uncertain. Then there were the baby zucchini for which I intended soup. Now what to do with these displaced elements?

Stuffed cabbage (aka Holishke). But I made a north African take on the traditional Jewish recipe, by adding the two fresh herbs that we needed to eat (cilantro and mint), and by not at all following any type of recipe...making it up as I went along (as usual).





1. Dice 1 cup each of meat and vegetables (here I use leftover NY strip, zucchini, and cabbage); a clove of garlic; and 1/4 cup each of mint and cilantro.

2. Wash and blanch the largest outer leaves of the cabbage--about six--in hot water and set aside on a cookie sheet or tray

3. Sautee garlic and vegetables together in 1 tbsp olive oil until soft. Then add meat.

4. Let sautee mixture cool for about 10 minutes.

5. In a bowl with beaten egg, add cooked rice (I used leftover brown rice) and then the meat and vegetables after they've cooled. Toss in whatever fresh herbs (we had mint and cilantro which gave the dish a Med/N. African flavor).

6. Meanwhile, heat up tomato sauce. We only had canned diced tomatoes to which I added a very handy basil paste (much better than dried basil) and seasoned it. Simmer for about 25 minutes.

7. Place about 2 tbsp of the rice mixture on a blanched cabbage leaf and fold inward like a burrito along the spine.

8. Place rolled cabbage leaves, foldside down, on bed of the tomato sauce.

9. Top with remaining sauce and bake covered in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes.

10. Enjoy it with a 1998 BV Reserve Tapestry (or whatever else you have in the wine "cellar").

A Little Southwest with Night Grilling

There are basic taste notes with each culture's cuisine. Italian cuisine includes garlic and basil, Vietnamese typically includes fish sauce and cilantro, and similarly Southwest cooking includes cumin and grilling. Tonight, we made another very simple pantry meal with nothing more than frozen tuna, canned black beans, tomato, and garlic (and some fresh herbs).

I think I'm developing an acute case of laziness. The dishes I've created lately (with the exception of the mussels) have been pantry meals. Here's yet another. It includes:

1 Can of black beans















1/3 cup of olive oil for dressing

















fistfull of fresh herbs (whatever you or your neighbor have on hand)--in this case it's parsely and peppery Greek basil

















2 Tbs vinegar--in this case Champagne vinegar (you can use lemon juice or any other type of acid)

1/2 cup diced tomatoes (isn't this lovely? we picked it from Hollin Farm the other weekend)

mix all together with 1 Tbs cumin and season with salt and pepper

We thawed out two frozen tuna steaks (conveniently individually cryopacked, found at our local Costco!) in a bowl of cold water. This only takes about 45 minutes and is much better than using the microwave...

Made a quick marinade of 2 Tbs coarse ground mustard, 1/3 cup Worcestishire, 1 tsp cumin, chopped garlic, and 3 Tbs olive oil--marinate for about 20 minutes (it doesn't take long)

Then grill the fish for about 1.5 minutes aside (check out Mr. Roganista's skillz, kids...all done by flash light! Notice the final tap tap--so fancy)

Voila, quick Southwest tuna on blackbean salad by candle light on the deck...