Recipe for Artichoke Pastitsio with Basil Béchamel (Παστίτσιο με Αγκινάρες και Κρέμα Βασιλικό)

Is it possible to make vegetarian Pastitsio with more zest than its traditional namesake? The answer is an emphatic yes. Artichoke Pastitsio with Basil Béchamel is so alive with flavor it will make your tastebuds stand up and sing the Greek national anthem.

Pastitsio is a traditional Greek dish. As with most foods that’ve been around for a long time, there’s a million and one ways to make Pastitsio. Family and regional variations are the norm rather than the exception. A typical Pastitsio recipe has layers of tube pasta surrounding a meat-based tomato sauce and is topped with creamy béchamel.

When Tony Tahhan and Peter Minakis laid down a challenge to recreate Pastitsio using my own individual style, at first I was stumped. I’d already created a wonderful recipe for Pastitsio with Greens and was doubtful I could come up with anything better.

For nearly a week, I laid in bed at night coming up with Pastitsio ideas, and rejecting them all as uninspired. Then I went to Costco, lost my shopping list, and found my inspiration.

Losing the list forced me to go up and down every Costco aisle, something I rarely do, in hopes that seeing what was there might remind me of what we needed at home. Roaming the aisles helped, but also led to impulse buys (the exact reason I avoid wandering around without a list).

One of my impulse buys was a 65-ounce jar of Kirkland/Cara Mia marinated artichoke hearts. That’s right – a jar of artichokes weighing just over 4 pounds. I didn’t have any particular plans for the artichokes; even so, I had to have them.

That evening when I went to bed for my nightly game of Pastitsio, Pastitsio, What Kind of Pastitsio, a partial answer came almost immediately. I’d make my Pastitsio with marinated artichoke hearts.

In 1982, I bought the ground-breaking Silver Palate Cookbook. The day I bought it, before I had time to crack the book, I went to a friend’s house for dinner. She served tortellini and a spicy tomato sauce full of artichoke hearts. It was love at first taste. I asked for the recipe; she’d made it from the very cookbook I’d just purchased.

Pasta Sauce Raphael, the recipe I’d fallen in love with, was named after a cook at the Silver Palate, the New York City take-out shop that gave its name and recipes to the cookbook. Recently, I read an interview with one of the owner/authors, on the occasion of the Silver Palate Cookbook’s 25th anniversary. She said Pasta Sauce Raphael is one of the all-time most requested Silver Palate recipes. I understand why; it’s delicious.

Since I first encountered it, I’ve never stopped making Pasta Sauce Raphael, a blend of tomatoes, marinated artichoke hearts, herbs, and lots of black pepper. It’s always a hit, no matter to whom I serve it. Best of all, it’s made with pantry staples.

My well-used Silver Palate Cookbook has a notation that I made Raphael Sauce in July 1987 for Alaska Governor Steve Cowper when he visited our home in Bethel, Alaska. I also made it in 1990 when I catered a fundraising dinner in Juneau, Alaska for not-then-but-later Alaska Governor Tony Knowles. Both Governors loved Pasta Sauce Raphael. At least, they said they did and Alaska Governors never lie, right?

After settling on a Raphael Sauce variation for the Pastitsio filling, I needed a topping that would stand up to its robust flavors. I started with béchamel, the standard topping for Pastitsio, and enhanced it with fresh ricotta cheese and lots of fresh basil.

The end result, Artichoke Pastitsio with Basil Béchamel, was everything I wanted: spicy, but not overwhelming; layers of distinct flavors that taste good on their own and even better blended together; vegetarian, with no compromise on flavor; a recipe for slow evenings at home or rollicking dinner parties; creative fare that fits the traditional Pastitsio mold.

Most importantly, Artichoke Pastitsio with Basil Béchamel is distinctly my own style of food: colorful and bold tasting, using Mediterranean flavor principles and simple techniques. This is a recipe I’ll make again and again.

Artichoke Pastitsio with Basil Béchamel (Παστίτσιο με Αγκινάρες και Κρέμα Βασιλικό)
Serves 12 as a main course or 24 as a side dish
Be sure to crush all the peppercorns; most eaters won’t want to bite into large peppercorn chunks. Though 2 tablespoons of crushed peppercorns sounds like a lot, it's balanced by the mild pasta, cheese, and topping. (The original recipe for Raphael Sauce calls for a whopping 3 tablespoons of freshly crushed black peppercorns.) Don't cut up the artichoke pieces, leaving them large protects the flavor of artichokes from being lost in the spicy sauce. Instead of small jars of marinated artichoke hearts, it’s more cost-effective to buy large jars.

Sauce:
3 6-ounce jars marinated artichoke hearts (or 24 artichoke pieces and 3/4 cup of marinade from a giant jar of artichokes)
4 cups diced yellow onions, 1/2” dice
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt
1 tsp. Aleppo pepper or 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted
1 Tbsp. dried oregano, crushed
2 Tbsp. freshly crushed black peppercorns

Béchamel:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
4 cups whole milk
Salt
3 ounces parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 cup ricotta cheese, preferably whole milk
1 packed cup fresh basil leaves

Pasta:
1 pound Pastitsio pasta, small penne, or other hollow pasta
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Make the Sauce: Separate the artichoke pieces from the marinade. Remove as much oil from the marinade as possible; a fat separator makes this task easy. Discard the oil and reserve the rest of the marinade.

Sauté the onions, lightly seasoned with salt, in olive oil until the onions soften and start to turn golden. Add the Aleppo pepper and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, oregano, and crushed black peppercorns, bring to a boil, turn down the heat, and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.

Add the reserved artichoke marinade and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the artichoke pieces and simmer until the sauce is very thick, about 30 minutes. (The sauce may be made ahead to this point.)

Make the Béchamel: While the artichoke sauce is cooking, make the béchamel. Warm the milk over low heat or in the microwave; don’t bring the milk to a boil. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, thoroughly mix in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Slowly stir in the warm milk and cook, stirring, until the sauce is smooth and the thickness of heavy cream. Season with salt to taste. Stir in the 3 ounces of freshly grated parmesan cheese and take the béchamel off the heat.

Measure out 1 1/2 cups of béchamel and set aside to mix into the pasta. Thoroughly mix the ricotta into the remaining 2 1/2 cups béchamel. In a blender or food processor, purée the basil and one cup of the béchamel-ricotta mix; stir this purée back into the remaining béchamel-ricotta mix.

Cook the Pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and cook the pasta until it’s al dente (the length of cooking time depends on the size of the pasta). Drain the pasta in a colander, and mix it with the reserved 1 1/2 cups béchamel.

Assemble the Pastitsio: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place half the pasta in the bottom of a well-oiled 9” x 13” baking pan. Sprinkle the pasta with 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese. Spread the artichoke sauce over the cheese, making sure the artichoke pieces are evenly distributed. Top with the remaining pasta and another 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese. Spread the Basil Béchamel over the pasta and top with the remaining 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350°F and cook for 40-45 minutes, or until the top of the Pastitsio is golden and set. Let cool for at least 15-20 minutes before cutting into squares and serving (if you cut Pastitsio immediately after removing it from the oven it will fall apart).

Recipe for Edamame Pesto Spread (Ενταμάμε Πέστο Σαλάτα)

I always keep a bag of shelled edamame beans in the freezer. They’re colorful, taste great, and very versatile.

Edamames are green soybeans, harvested while the pod is still soft and bright green. In Japanese, “eda” means branches and “mame” means beans; thus, edamames grow in clusters on the soybean plant’s many branches. Edamames are rich in fiber and protein and, like all soybeans, may have significant health benefits.

Last weekend I used them to make Edamame Pesto Spread, a garlicky bean spread loaded with fresh basil, fresh mint, and parmesan cheese. The recipe was inspired by, but quite different from, Marcella Hazan’s Ligurian Raw Fava Bean Spread in Marcella Cucina.

I often use edamames as a substitute for fresh fava beans in Greek recipes, such as braised favas with dill and onions or favas and potatoes baked in grape leaves (recipes for both are in Tastes Like Home: Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska). Recently, I used edamames in Seafood and Vegetable Stew with Rouille.

Except for the fresh herbs, which are readily available at most grocery stores, Edamame Pesto Spread is made with pantry staples. It goes together in minutes and can be served right away. As a result it’s a handy recipe to keep in mind for last minute entertaining, especially in summer when herb gardens flourish.

Edamame Pesto Spread (Ενταμάμε Πέστο Σαλάτα)
Makes about 2 cups
Serve as an appetizer with pita chips or thin slices of bread. Edamame Pesto Spread is also good in sandwiches or on pasta.

1/2 cup freshly grated (or finely ground in a food processor) parmesan cheese
2 cups shelled edamame beans (frozen), thawed
2-3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup whole mint leaves
1/4 cup whole basil leaves
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth, being sure to scrape down the sides of the processor bowl. Taste and add salt, freshly ground black pepper, or lemon juice, as needed.
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This is my entry for My Legume Love Affair, created and hosted by Susan from The Well-Seasoned Cook.

Grilled Cheese and Edamame Pesto Spread Sandwich

Andrea Camilleri's Montalbano with Recipe for Spaghetti with Eggplant and Tomato Sauce (Pasta alla Norma) (Μακαρόνια με Μελιτζάνες και Ντομάτες)

Andrea Camilleri, photograph by Pensiero

(From Greece)

English language books are hard to find on the island.

I carefully select those to bring with us, focusing on books we’ll both enjoy and want to reread. After several years, most books recede far enough into memory that rediscovering them is a pleasure. Since airlines have cracked down on weight limits, prudent book selection is more important than ever.

Two years ago my parents sent us the first six volumes of Andrea Camilleri’s wondrously good Inspector Montalbano series, set in Sicily and skillfully translated by poet Stephen Sartarelli. A few pages into the first book, I realized the series was perfect for the island. I quit reading and put the Camilleri books in my “bring to the island” corner.

Then my head exploded and I was off reading for longer than I’d planned. Shortly before we left for Greece this year, to my great joy, I finally was able to read books again. I dug out the Montalbano series and packed them for the trip.

I began getting to know Inspector Montalbano our first day on the island. One week later, thoroughly captivated by the cantankerous, world-weary, enigmatic inspector, I finished the last of the six books. I’m already looking forward to rereading them, but first I’ll track down and devour the rest of the series.

Here’s Camilleri/Sartarelli describing the inspector in the opening scene of The Terra-Cotta Dog (book 2):

To judge from the entrance the dawn was making, it promised to be a very iffy day – that is, blasts of angry sunlight one minute, fits of freezing rain the next, all of it seasoned with sudden gusts of wind – one of those days when someone who is sensitive to abrupt shifts in weather and suffers them in his blood and brain is likely to change opinion and direction continuously, like those sheets of tin, cut in the shape of banners and roosters, that spin every which way on rooftops with each new puff of wind. Inspector Salvo Montalbano had always belonged to this unhappy category of humanity.

Camilleri’s prose brings Sicily’s people, and its highways and byways, vividly to life. In the original Italian, Camilleri uses Sicilian dialect to create colorful characterizations and bring humor to stories that might otherwise be overly dark. Sartarelli effectively captures the dialect’s essence in his creative translation.

Inspector Montalbano loves to eat, and insists on doing so silently, the better to appreciate every nuance in the dishes set before him. He thinks poorly of those who cook badly, and when forced to eat bad food (“… shamefully overcooked pasta, a beef stew conceived by an obviously deranged mind, and dishwater coffee of a sort that even airline crews wouldn’t foist on anyone…”), he heads out for a meal good enough to lift him out of the gloom into which bad food plunges him.

In the course of investigating a disappearance in The Snack Thief (Book 3), Inspector Montalbano interviews a “well-dressed seventy-year-old lady … in a wheelchair.” When the interview is over, the woman invites the inspector to lunch:

“Well, signora, thank you so much …,” the inspector began, standing up.
“Why don’t you stay and eat with me?”
Montalbano felt his stomach blanch. Signora Clementina was sweet and nice, but she probably lived on semolina and boiled potatoes.
“Actually, I have so much to –“

“Pina, the housekeeper, is an excellent cook, believe me. For today she’s made pasta alla Norma, you know, with fried eggplant and ricotta Salata.”
“Jesus!” said Montalbano, sitting back down.
“And braised beef for the second course.”
“Jesus!” repeated Montalbano.
“Why are you so surprised?”
“Aren’t those dishes a little heavy for you?”
“Why? I’ve got a stronger stomach than any of these twenty-year-old girls who can happily go a whole day on half an apple and some carrot juice. Or perhaps you’re of the same opinion as my son Giulio?”
“I don’t have the pleasure of knowing what that is.”
“He says it’s undignified to eat such things at my age. He considers me a bit shameless. He thinks I should live on porridges. So what will it be? Are you staying?”

“I’m staying,” the inspector replied decisively.

Although food plays only a supporting role in the Montalbano books, Camilleri’s descriptions of traditional Sicilian dishes are inspirational. I read the above passage just before lunch and, coincidentally, had the ingredients on hand to make Pasta alla Norma. So I did.

Montalbano was right to stay for lunch with Signora Clementina. Eggplant and Tomato Sauce with Spaghetti is absolutely delicious.

Spaghetti with Eggplant and Tomato Sauce (Pasta alla Norma) (Μακαρόνια με Μελιτζάνες και Ντομάτες)
Serves 4 - 6
Pasta all Norma comes from Catania, a city in eastern Sicily, and is named after Catania native Vincenzo Bellini's famous opera, Norma. Traditionally, eggplant for Pasta all Norma is fried, as described by Signora Clementina. Because fried eggplant absorbs a lot of oil, I oven-roast it instead. If you want to fry the eggplant, sprinkle the eggplant slices with a lot of salt and let drain for an hour or so (salt collapses eggplant’s cell structure and helps reduce its oil absorption). Rinse off the salt, pat the eggplant dry, fry in olive oil until the slices are golden brown, and drain on paper towels.

Tomato Sauce:
2 pounds ripe tomatoes or 2 15-ounce cans whole tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 cup roughly chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or mint
Salt
1/4 olive oil
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. Aleppo pepper or 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Eggplant:
2 globe eggplants
Olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Pasta:
1 pound spaghetti
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 - 2 garlic cloves, grated or finely minced (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 – 1 cup grated or crumbled ricotta salata or myzithra

Make the Tomato Sauce: Put the tomatoes, onions, basil and salt in a large pot and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring regularly. Put the tomato mixture through a food mill to remove the skins and seeds. Return the tomato mixture to the pot with the olive oil and sugar. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring regularly. Taste and add salt, as needed.

Make the Eggplant: Preheat the oven to 450°F. Slice the eggplant into 1/2” cross-wise slices. Brush the slices on both sides with olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bake the eggplant for 15 minutes or until the eggplant slices are golden brown, remove from the oven, and let cool. Cut into 1” wide slices. Add the eggplant to the tomato sauce and stir gently, being careful not to break up the eggplant slices.

Make Pasta alla Norma: Cook the pasta in boiling, salted water until it is al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Return the pasta to the pot and stir in the reserved pasta water, olive oil, garlic, and freshly ground black pepper. Add all but 1 cup of the Tomato and Eggplant Sauce and toss with the pasta. Pour the sauced pasta into a large bowl and top with the remaining sauce and crumbled cheese. Serve immediately.
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This is my entry for Novel Food #5, hosted and created by Simona of Briciole and Lisa of Champaign Taste, both of whom love Inspector Montalbano. You can find the Novel Food #5 round-ups here and here.

Recipe for Eggplant Clafoutis (Κλαφουτί με Μελιτζάνες)

(From Greece)

Eggplant Clafoutis: I saw the reference in my blog reader and quickly went to find the recipe. Alas, while TS and JS at Eating Club Vancouver came up with the idea, they deemed their recipe “A. Weird. Failure.”

Though Eating Club hated their recipe, the more I thought about Eggplant Clafoutis, the more I wanted it. My craving was timely; I had an embarrassment of eggplant riches. A sack of eggplant sat in a cool corner of the kitchen (eggplant shouldn't be refrigerated) and the plants in our garden remain productive.

After two nights of falling asleep to thoughts of Eggplant Clafoutis, I broke down and made it.

Clafoutis (klah-foo-TEE) is a simple-to-make, country dessert from France, in which fruit is baked in a custardy batter. There are a million and one different clafoutis recipes. I’ve tried many of them, some wonderfully delicious and others only pretty darn good. The best clafoutis is light-textured and not too sweet, allowing the flavor of the fruit to shine.

I’ve never made or tasted savory clafoutis before, and couldn’t find an actual Eggplant Clafoutis recipe. Instead of a recipe, I used basic principles of sweet clafoutis-making for my savory version. The first step was deciding how best to pre-cook the eggplant (Eating Club used uncooked eggplant, which they deemed a mistake). Because I planned on serving this dish as a light lunch, I didn’t want it to be oily.

As eggplant cooks know all too well, it soaks up oil like a sponge. This is because eggplant flesh has many tiny air pockets just waiting to fill up with oil. According to Harold McGee, America’s preeminent food scientist, “the absorptiveness of eggplant can be reduced by collapsing its spongy structure before frying. This is accomplished by precooking it – microwave works well – or by salting slices to draw out moisture from the cells and into the air pockets.” On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen (2nd Rev. Ed.), Harold McGee, 2004. Based on personal experience, I agree with McGee that salting reduces, but doesn’t eliminate, eggplant’s sponge-like qualities.

While we’re on the subject of salting, some people recommend pre-salting eggplant to draw out its juices before cooking to remove alleged bitterness. Over the years, I’ve done repeated side-by-side tastings of salted and unsalted eggplant and have never detected bitterness in either version. It may be the bitterness meme is a holdover from days when eggplant was more bitter than it is today (McGee: “Farmers and plant breeders have worked for thousands of years to reduce the bitterness of … eggplants…”).

McGee says modern eggplants can turn bitter when they’re grown in dry conditions, which North American supermarket eggplants are not. Interestingly, McGee says salting doesn’t actually eliminate bitterness, but may reduce “our perception of the alkaloids” thus “suppress[ing] the sensation of bitterness.”

In any case, I rarely bother with pre-salting eggplant. The best ways to avoid oily eggplant are to “steam-fry,” oven-roast, or grill it. I use steam-frying for eggplant chunks, oven-roasting at high temperature for slices, and grilling whenever we have a fire going. To steam-fry, eggplant is briefly sautéed, which helps develop its flavor, and then steamed in a covered pan until the eggplant is fully cooked. I like letting steam-fried eggplant char a little as it cooks, the smokiness adds wonderful flavor to the finished dish.

Since I wanted chunked eggplant in the clafoutis, I steam-fried it. This worked well; it brought out eggplant’s subtle flavors that are sometimes masked by too much oil or tomato sauce. After spreading the cooked eggplant over the bottom of a springform pan, I topped it with cheese, sautéed onions, and a batter flavored with basil and garlic.

The finished dish was full of flavor, and slices of it, paired with a tomato and onion salad, made a delicious, warm from the oven, lunch. The next day I served Eggplant Clafoutis cold, cut into diamonds, as part of an appetizer table (mezedes – μεζέδες) and it disappeared quickly. Like its sweet siblings, savory clafoutis is equally good served warm or at room temperature.

This recipe for Eggplant Clafoutis was “A. Great. Success.” Many thanks to Eating Club Vancouver for the inspiration.

Eggplant Clafoutis (Κλαφουτί με Μελιτζάνες)
Serves 4 – 6 as a main course or 12 – 16 as an appetizer

Eggplant:
1 pound eggplant, peel left on and cut into 1” chunks
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Water

Clafoutis:
1 cup grated graviera, kasseri, or asiago cheese
2 cups diced onion, 1/2” dice
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup strained yogurt
3 tbsp. minced fresh basil or mint
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 eggs

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Steam-Fry the Eggplant: Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over high heat. Add the eggplant chunks, lightly season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and quickly stir the eggplant to brown it. When the eggplant starts sticking to the pan add 1/4 cup of water, stir to distribute, cover the pan, and reduce the heat to medium high. Let the eggplant steam until you can hear it sizzling (which means all the water has cooked off). Add 2 Tbsp. of water, stir to distribute, and cover the pan. Repeat until the eggplant is just cooked through. If the eggplant chars a little in between doses of water, all the better; the char adds good flavor to the finished dish.

Make the Clafoutis: Grease the bottom and sides of a 9” round springform pan or 9”x9” square pan (if you want to serve the clafoutis upside down, in addition to greasing the pan, line the bottom with greased waxed or parchment paper. Arrange the cooked eggplant on the bottom. Sprinkle the grated cheese evenly over the eggplant.

Sauté the onion, lightly seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper, in olive oil until the onions soften and start to turn golden. Stir in the red pepper flakes, if using, and cook for one minute. Evenly distribute the onion over the grated cheese.

Sift the flour and whisk in 1/4 tsp. salt. Whisk in 1 cup milk, yogurt, basil, garlic, and freshly ground black pepper. Taste and add salt or freshly ground black pepper, as needed. Whisk in the eggs and remaining milk, and continue to whisk until the batter is smooth. Pour the batter over the ingredients in the pan.

Put the clafoutis on the preheated oven’s center rack. Bake 20 – 25 minutes, or until the clafoutis is puffed up and golden on top. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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This is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted this week by Zorra from Kochtopf.

Recipes for Crispy Zucchini Flowers with Cheesy Potato-Basil Stuffing & Radish Horta (Κολοκυθοανθοί Γεμιστοί με Τύρι, Πατάτες, και Βασιλικός & Χόρτα)

Zucchini flowers are a seasonal treat that appear only briefly. Every year, I look forward to their arrival.

The flowers are fragile so must be used soon after picking. As a result, the only zucchini flowers available in Alaska are sold at farmer’s markets or grown in home gardens.

I was thrilled to arrive at the farmer’s market this morning and find a profusion of zucchini flowers. I immediately grabbed a bag and started picking out perfect specimens.

While I was making my selection, three different people asked me how to use the flowers. “Fry them in tempura batter, stuff them and fry them, cook them like stuffed grape leaves, cut them up and put in frittatas or omelets…,” I drifted off as the questioners’ eyes glazed over.

Besides the zucchini flowers, I also bought fresh basil. Waiting in line to pay, I imagined a stuffing for the flowers flavored with basil and cheese. The flavor of this stuffing was crystal clear in my imagination; I couldn’t wait to try it out.

The result was worthy of the year’s first zucchini flowers. The beer batter was light and very crispy, and contrasted wonderfully with the creamy potato-based stuffing. Basil contributed its herby essence, while the cheese tied all the flavors together.

To round out the meal, I made Horta, a traditional Greek dish of boiled greens dressed with olive oil and lemon. Any variety of edible greens may be cooked as Horta. Tonight I used fresh radish leaves, a tasty green that too often ends up in the garbage.

Part of the reason radish greens aren’t often eaten may be their fuzzy surface. I suspect a more important reason is the leaves of supermarket radishes are usually so beat up they’re no longer worth eating.

Garden fresh radish greens are definitely worth eating. When they’re tiny, and before they get too fuzzy, radish greens make a spicy addition to fresh salads. Once they get older, I prefer cooking the greens to improve their texture and mouth feel.

For more information about cooking with zucchini flowers, my friend Maria of Organically Cooked in Hania, Crete, uses them often: baked in the oven, stuffed and cooked with grape leaves, stuffed and cooked with stuffed tomatoes and peppers, and added to a green onion pie.

Crispy Zucchini Flowers with Cheesy Potato-Basil Stuffing (Κολοκυθοανθοί Γεμιστοί με Τύρι, Πατάτες, και Βασιλικός)
Serves 4 as an appetizer or 2 as a main course
Bringing frying oil to the correct temperature helps protects against greasy food. To keep the oil at temperature, don’t fry more than four stuffed flowers at a time.

Batter:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups beer

Stuffing:
3/4 pound potatoes (1 large)
1/2 cup freshly grated kasseri or fontina cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated kefalotyri or parmesan cheese
1/4 cup milk or half-and-half
1/4 cup basil chiffonade (cut in thin shreds)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

8 large zucchini flowers
Oil for frying (I use canola oil)

Make the Batter: Mix the batter ingredients until they are smooth. Refrigerate while you make the stuffing and fill the zucchini flowers.

Make the Stuffing: Wash the potatoes and boil in salted water until you can easily pierce them with a fork. Drain well. Mash the potatoes with a fork and add the remaining stuffing ingredients. Mash again until the stuffing is creamy and the ingredients well-mixed.

Prepare the Zucchini Flowers: Gently brush any dirt off the flowers; don’t get them wet or they’ll be impossible to handle. Stand one zucchini flower up in a small glass, jar, or vase. Open the zucchini flowers and remove any garden hitchhikers inside. Leave the stem attached; it makes dipping the stuffed flowers in batter and adding them to the hot oil easier. I used to remove the stamens, as many people do, but now I leave them in and think they add good flavor.

Stuff the Zucchini Flowers: Spread the flower opening so it’s wide enough to accept the large tip of a pastry bag or the cut-off corner of a sturdy plastic bag. Fill the bag with stuffing mix and pipe it into the zucchini flower. Fold three of the five flower points over the stuffing, leaving the remaining two points loose. Repeat with the remaining zucchini flowers. The flowers can be made several hours ahead to this point and refrigerated until ready to cook.

Fry the Stuffed Flowers: Heat 3/4” of oil in a Dutch oven until it is 350°F – 360°F. Dip the stuffed zucchini flowers in batter and fry until the flowers are nicely browned on both sides, turning them halfway through. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately.

Radish Horta (Χόρτα)
Serves 1
Multiply the recipe as many times as you like; the point is greens from one bunch of radishes only serve one person. Any edible green may be cooked and served this way. The greens will taste fresher if you add lemon juice at the last minute.

Greens from one bunch of radishes
Olive Oil
Fresh lemon juice
Salt

Wash the greens very carefully, discarding any damaged leaves or stems. Cook the greens in boiling salted water for 3 – 5 minutes, or until they are just tender. The cooking time varies depending on the age of the greens, so don’t overcook.

Drain well. While the greens are hot, dress them with extra virgin olive oil and salt to taste; this helps merge the flavors of greens and olive oil. Just before serving, drizzle fresh lemon juice over the greens and toss well. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Recipes for Mango and Feta Salad & Pan-Fried Scallops with Mango Salsa (Μάνγκο και Φέτα Σαλάτα & Χτένια με Μάνγκο Σάλτσα)

Fruit and cheese pair beautifully.

Pears and blue cheese, apple and cheddar, watermelon and feta: all are wonderful combinations.

When I came across Mango and Feta Salad on Feeding Maybelle, I started craving it immediately. Feeding Maybelle is my Taste and Create partner this month.

Taste and Create is an event created and organized by For the Love of Food in which food writers are paired with a randomly assigned partner, and asked to cook and review one recipe from their partner’s blog. Although there are many wonderful recipes on Feeding Maybelle’s blog, I had to try the Mango and Feta Salad.

As is usually the case in Alaska, the grocery store mangos were rock hard. I bought them anyway, and ripened them at room temperature in a brown paper bag. Mango is ripe when it yields to a gentle squeeze (similar to testing avocados for ripeness).

Mangos have a very large, flat seed. The easiest way to remove the seed is to cut off half the mango flesh as close to the seed as possible. Cut off the second mango half as close to the other side of the seed as you can. You’ll be left with two large pieces of mango and a seed encircled by mango flesh.

With the proper technique, cutting up mango is easy. Cut crosshatches in the flesh of each mango half, being careful not to cut through the skin, and push up from the bottom so the mango half is inside out. Cut off the mango chunks and discard the skin. Peel the flesh surrounding the seed and cut off as much mango flesh as possible (or chew it off as a chef’s treat).

The mango is now ready to eat or use in a recipe.

With my mango ripened and cleaned, I turned to the Mango and Feta Salad recipe. Sweet mango, salty feta, herby basil, and spicy pepper dressed with best quality extra virgin olive oil made a wonderful salad and a perfect lunch.

I liked the salad so much I made it again for dinner, only this time I diced the ingredients to make a salsa and added minced jalapeños and red onions. I served the Mango Salsa with Pan-Fried Scallops for a light and delicious summer supper.

Mango and Feta Salad (Μάνγκο και Φέτα Σαλάτα)
Serves 1 as a meal and 2 as a side salad
Adapted from Feeding Maybelle

1 ripe mango, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
1/4 cup crumbled feta
1 tsp. minced basil
1 Tbsp. best quality olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Lightly toss the mango, feta, basil, and olive oil together. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately.

Pan-Fried Scallops with Mango Saltsa (Χτένια με Μάνγκο Σάλτσα)
Serves 2
It you don’t like spicy food, use only 1 Tbsp. jalapeño.

Mango and Feta Salsa:
1 ripe mango, peeled and cut into 1/2” dice
1/3 cup crumbled feta
2 Tbsp. minced red onion
1 – 2 Tbsp. minced jalapeño
1 Tbsp. minced fresh basil
2 Tbsp. best quality olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Scallops:
12 large scallops (about 1 pound)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. olive oil

Wash the scallops, removing any tough muscle clinging to the scallops' sides. Dry them well and season on both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Make the Salsa: Lightly toss all the ingredients together. Taste and add salt or freshly ground pepper, as needed.

Cook the Scallops: Heat the olive oil over high heat in a frying pan large enough to hold all the scallops. When the oil is very hot, add the seasoned scallops, and cook on the first side for 2 – 3 minutes, depending on the scallops’ size. Turn the scallops over and cook for 2 minutes more. Except for turning them over the one time, do not move the scallops or fidget with them while they cook. The scallops will brown better if they aren’t repeatedly turned.

While the scallops are cooking, warm the plates (this is easiest to do in a microwave; put the dry plates in the microwave for 1 minute on high). Place equal amounts of mango-feta salsa in the center of each warmed plate. Arrange the scallops around the salsa. Serve immediately.

Greek Cookbooks: Tastes of the Sea with Recipe for Halibut and Red Pepper Souvlaki (Kebabs) with Green Herb Sauce (Σουβλάκι Ψαριού με Πράσινη Σάλτσα)

Καλό Πάσχα! Happy Easter! Χριστός Ανέστη! Christ is Risen! Αληθώς Ανέστη! Truly He is Risen!

We’re just back from Antonia’s house where we ate too much Easter dinner. Antonia goes all out every year with an amazing Easter spread: lamb, moussaka, pastitsio, spanakopita, tsoureki, koulourakia, and salads of every kind. On Easter, no one leaves Antonia’s house - or any Greek’s house - hungry. The amount of food is similar to what one sees at an American Thanksgiving dinner.

I’m never eating again. At least not until tomorrow.

Last week we had our first fresh halibut of the year and broke out the grill in its honor. Halibut is a flatfish with white meat. An average-sized halibut weighs about 25 pounds (a little over 10 kilos), although large halibut can weigh over 500 pounds (about 225 kilos). Frozen halibut is fine, but the texture and flavor of fresh halibut is far superior, so it's always a happy day when the new halibut season starts.

Because halibut is meaty, it makes wonderful kebabs, aka souvlaki. I usually make halibut souvlaki with onions and bay leaves, but last week I used a new recipe from an award-winning Greek cookbook called Γεύσεις της Θάλασσας (Tastes of the Sea).

For this Halibut Souvlaki, chunks of fish are alternated on a skewer with red pepper pieces and topped with an herby, garlicky green sauce. The full-flavored sauce nicely complements the smoky red peppers and mild fish. The original recipe used two kinds of fish on the skewers; next time I make this, I’ll use both salmon and halibut.

Halibut and Red Pepper Souvlaki (Kebabs) with Green Herb Sauce (Σουβλάκι Ψαριού με Πράσινη Σάλτσα)
Serves 4
Adapted from Γεύσεις της Θάλασσας by Βασίλης Φραντζολάς (Tastes of the Sea by Vasilis Frantzolas) (Πατάκη 2004)
This quick and easy recipe packs a lot of flavor. It’s perfect for a mid-week meal, and is tasty and pretty enough to serve to company. Any fish that can be cut in large chunks may be substituted for the halibut.

Souvlaki:
1 1/2 pounds skinless halibut fillets (or 3/4 pound halibut and 3/4 pound salmon)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 red bell peppers

Green Herb Sauce:
1 packed cup parsley leaves
1/4 packed cup basil leaves
1/4 packed cup mint leaves
1 Tbsp. whole grain mustard
8 anchovy filets
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Cut the fish in 1 1/2” chunks. Mix it with the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and freshly ground black pepper and let it marinate for 30 minutes while you prepare the remaining ingredients. Don’t leave the fish in the marinade for longer than 30 minutes or it will begin to “cook.”

Cut the red peppers in half lengthwise and remove the stems and seeds. Cut each half pepper into lengthwise thirds, and cut each third in half crosswise.

Put all the sauce ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and add salt or freshly ground black pepper as needed.

Starting with red pepper, alternate the peppers and fish on skewers. Season lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Grill over a hot fire, or on a white hot cast iron grill pan. Halibut cooks very quickly, and is dry when overcooked, so watch it carefully.

Serve the skewers drizzled liberally with herb sauce.
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This is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted this week by Margot from Coffee and Vanilla.

Recipe: Parsnip Gnocchi with Pearl Onions, Peas, and Mushrooms

Last week I was rambling around the internet and came across a picture of “Parsnip Gnocchi and Chanterelles.” The photographer (Kevin) had enjoyed the dish, which also included peas and pearl onions, at Summit Restaurant in Colorado Springs. The concept captured my imagination.

Too bad there wasn’t a recipe. Even so, it looked possible to recreate using the picture as a guide.

Luckily, I had all the ingredients on hand. Parsnips and mushrooms came in my latest Full Circle Farm CSA box. The pantry held a bag of pearl onions; I’d bought too many for Mushroom Stifado. A bag of peas from last summer’s garden was languishing in the freezer.

I immediately got to work making parsnip gnocchi. When the dish was done, it tasted as good as Kevin's picture looked. I’m already planning to make it again.

Roasted Parsnip Gnocchi with Pearl Onions, Peas, and Mushrooms
Serves 4 - 6
The gnocchi are surprisingly simple to make because, unlike some gnocchi recipes, this dough is easy to handle. Putting ridges in the gnocchi isn't necessary (and they're faster to make if you don’t). The ridges help gnocchi pick up flavors from the other ingredients, so I generally do it. No doubt the finished dish would taste better with wild mushrooms, but it tasted wonderful with the cremini I used. Pearl onions and mushrooms need to be sautéed in batches to ensure they brown properly; if you try to brown too many vegetables in a pot at one time, they’ll steam rather than brown. Because the vegetables are cooked and salted separately, be careful about how much salt you add to any individual vegetable or the finished dish may be too salty.

Parsnip Gnocchi:
2 pounds whole parsnips
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
3/4 - 1 cup flour, plus extra for flouring surfaces

Vegetables:
2 cups pearl onions (1 pound) or 14 ounces frozen pearl onions, thawed
4 – 6 Tbsp. butter
2 cups sliced or quartered mushrooms
2 cups blanched and halved crosswise sugar snap peas
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil or chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tsp. minced garlic

Make the Gnocchi: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Wash and dry the parsnips. Rub them with olive oil and wrap them in aluminum foil. Roast for 30 – 40 minutes, or until they are easily pierced with a skewer or knife; the exact length of time depends on the parsnips’ size. Let cool, then skin the parsnips.

Purée the parsnips in a food processor. Mix in the parmesan and 3/4 cup flour. Dump the dough on a floured surface. Knead lightly, adding flour as necessary to prevent the dough from being sticky.

Divide the dough into 2” balls. Using your fingertips, roll out each ball on a floured surface into a long, 3/4” diameter, rope. Cut the rope into 3/4” pieces. To make ridged gnocchi, roll each piece of dough off the back of a fork, pressing lightly down as you roll. Put the finished gnocchi on a floured surface, in a single layer, while you cook the vegetables.

Cook the Vegetables: If starting with dried pearl onions, peel them and cut an X in the root end to help hold the onion layers together. An easy way to peel the onions is to drop them in boiling water for a minute and then slip off the peels.

Melt 2 Tbsp. butter over medium heat in a pan large enough to hold all the ingredients. Sauté half the pearl onions, lightly seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper, in the butter until the onions are well browned on all sides and cooked through. Be careful not to burn the butter; turn down the heat if necessary to prevent burning. Remove the browned onions from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Repeat with the remaining pearl onions, adding butter as necessary.

In the same pan, sauté half the mushrooms, lightly seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper and adding butter as necessary, until they are well-browned on both sides. Remove the browned mushrooms from the pan with a slotted spoon, add to the onions, and set aside. Repeat with the remaining mushrooms, adding butter as necessary.

In the same pan, sauté the peas, lightly seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper, until they are almost, but not quite, done. Remove the peas from the pan with a slotted spoon and add to the other vegetables.

Finish the Gnocchi and Vegetables: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Gently add half the gnocchi to the water and cook until the gnocchi float to the surface. When the gnocchi float, use a slotted spoon to remove them from the water and put them in the pan in which the vegetables cooked. Repeat with the remaining gnocchi.

Over medium heat, gently toss the gnocchi to lightly coat them with butter. Add the vegetables, basil, and garlic, and toss gently to combine. When all the vegetables are heated through, serve immediately.
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This is my entry for Grow Your Own, an event created and hosted by Andrea’s Recipes.

Recipes: Red Pepper Soup & Pizzettes (Σούπα με Κόκκινες Πιπεριές & Πιτσάκια)

My first cookbooks were homemade, full of hand-written recipes and clippings from newspapers and magazines. Because I lived on next to nothing, I glued the recipes on old pages of notes I’d taken in classes that had ended.

In those days, before the internet, interesting food writing was hard to find. Now it’s easy. It seems as if new food blogs pop up every day. The challenge is sorting the wheat from the chaff in the abundance of online recipes.

Jenn of The Leftover Queen has made it easier to investigate the multitude of food blogs by maintaining a comprehensive listing of them. In addition, Jenn writes an article on The Leftover Queen every Friday highlighting some of her favorite blogs.

Another way to learn about new blogs is an event called Taste and Create organized by For the Love of Food. In this event, food writers are paired with a randomly assigned partner, and asked to cook and review one recipe from their partner’s blog.

This month I was paired with Tart Reform, a blog written by a smart woman who is thrilled about starting law school in the fall. The name of her blog is a clever play on the phrase “tort reform,” a political effort undertaken by insurance companies and major corporations to deny full compensation to those who are injured by another’s negligence.

Tart Reform includes many dessert recipes; the author is a dedicated baker. I rarely make desserts anymore, the result of marrying a man who doesn’t like sweets. Since I inherited a sweet tooth from my father, when I make desserts they end up in my belly or, more accurately, on my belly. Sadly, it’s better for me to admire Tart Reform’s lovely desserts than to make them.

Instead, I made Red Pepper Soup, a recipe posted on Tart Reform’s blog last July. I’d originally thought of following Tart Reform’s lead and making the soup with green peppers for a festive St. Patrick’s Day soup. However, Tart Reform warned strongly against doing so, and said the soup “looks just like the goo from Ghostbusters” when made with green peppers. Not interested in having a Ghostbusters’ prop for dinner, I stuck with red peppers.

Red Pepper Soup, originally published in a New York Times article by Marian Burros, was quick and easy because it doesn’t require pre-roasting or peeling the peppers. With a bag of Costco red peppers (in Alaska, $6.50 for 6 peppers), the recipe made a reasonably priced dinner for 4.

The soup is delicious and beautiful. A small amount of crushed red pepper flakes and minced thyme highlight its sweet red pepper flavor.

The peppers aren’t peeled, so bits of pepper skin remain in the soup after it is puréed. The original recipe left in the skins, but I didn’t like the soup's texture with them in it. It took 2 minutes to strain them out, leaving the soup with a pleasingly silky texture.

The original recipe suggests serving the soup with a dollop of crème fraiche and sprigs of thyme. Although we tried this suggestion and it tasted fine, we preferred the soup with a drizzle of best quality olive oil and a sprinkling of minced thyme.

I served the soup with Pizzettes, another recipe from Tart Reform’s site. Pizzettes are nothing more than mini-pizzas; the original recipe came from Giada’s Family Dinners by Giada De Laurentiis.

I made the Pizzettes twice; once with gorgonzola as Giada called for and the second time with mozzarella, which was Tart Reform’s recommendation. We preferred mozzarella Pizzettes, although the ones with gorgonzola were also tasty.

Pizzettes are easy to make, even with putting together my own pizza dough (the original recipe used store bought). The concept is one I will use again; pizzettes make a terrific appetizer. They tasted great hot, and retained their flavor at room temperature, so could easily be made ahead for entertaining.

Red Pepper Soup (Σούπα με Κόκκινες Πιπεριές)
Serves 4
Adapted from Marion Burros, New York Times (September 21, 2005) via Tart Reform
The amount of red pepper depends on how spicy you like your soup and the heat of your dried red peppers. When I first read the recipe, I was concerned 1 cup of liquid wouldn’t be enough, but I shouldn’t have worried. There is plenty of liquid because peppers are full of moisture and the soup is cooked covered. If you don’t mind pepper skins, there’s no need to strain the soup. Red Pepper Soup may be served hot or cold, and may be frozen for later use.

2 cups sliced onions
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. chopped garlic
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup dry white wine
6 large red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded and cut in 1” chunks
1 cup vegetable or chicken stock
4 tsp. minced fresh thyme, plus extra for garnish
Crème fraîche or sour cream, for garnish (optional) OR
Best quality extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling (optional)

Sauté the onion, lightly seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper, in olive oil until the onions soften and start to turn golden. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine and boil until only 1 Tbsp. liquid remains.

Stir in the peppers, stock, and thyme, and lightly season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring the liquid to a boil, cover, turn down the heat and simmer for 30 – 40 minutes, or until the peppers are tender

Using a stick blender, blender, or food processor, purée the soup until it's smooth. Strain the soup with a Foley food mill or strainer to remove the tough pieces of pepper skin. Taste and add salt or freshly ground black pepper, as needed.

Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with extra virgin olive oil, crème fraiche, or sour cream. Sprinkle with minced thyme and serve immediately.

Variation: Drizzle with a blender pesto of 2 Tbsp. fresh thyme, 2 large cloves garlic, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/4 cup olive oil. This is good drizzled directly into the soup, and is particularly attractive (and tasty) when used in combination with crème fraîche.

Pizzettes (Πιτσάκια)
Makes 40 2 1/4” mini-pizzas
Adapted from Giada’s Family Dinners (Crown Publishing Group 2006) via Tart Reform
Pizzettes are pizza dough cut into small circles and baked with a topping. I indented the dough before adding the toppings so they would stay on the pizzettes when the dough expands during baking. The oil is necessary at the end to bring out the full flavor of fresh basil. When I tried a basil topping without oil, the basil lost much of its flavor (the volatile oils dissipated when the cut basil hit the hot pizzettes). As with pizza, the topping for pizzettes is limited only by one’s imagination.

Dough:
1 cup warm water
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. yeast
2 – 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt

Topping:
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
1 1/2 cups seeded and diced tomatoes, 1/2” dice
1/4 cup shredded fresh basil (basil chiffonade)
2 – 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Salt

Make the Dough: Mix the water, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Let sit for 10 minutes. Using the mixer’s paddle attachment (or by hand), stir in the salt and enough flour to form a soft dough. Switch to the dough hook attachment. Knead on low speed for 5 minutes (or by hand), adding flour as necessary to prevent the dough from sticking to the bowl. Put the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap fixed to the bowl with a rubber band, cover with a dish towel, and let rise until doubled in size.

Make the Pizzettes: Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Roll out the dough until it is 1/4” thick. Using a 2” – 2 1/2” round cutter, cut out as many circles as you can and place 3/4” apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Gather the remaining dough together, roll it out, and cut into circles. Use a glass (or other circular object) slightly smaller than the dough circles to indent their centers.

Sprinkle the dough rounds with crushed red pepper flakes, top with shredded mozzarella, and then with diced tomatoes. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes or until the cheese melts and starts to turn golden. If baking two sheets of pizzettes at one time, rotate the baking sheets after they've been in the oven 5 minutes.

While the pizzettes are baking, mix the basil and olive oil. As soon as the pizzettes come out of the oven, top each one with a little basil and olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with salt, and serve immediately.

Seven Seafoods 2007: Recipe for Spicy Pesto Grilled Shrimp (Γαρίδες με Πικάντικο Πέστο)

Spicy Pesto Grilled Shrimp was on our 1993 Christmas Eve menu. My recipe notes from that year conclude, “Extraordinary! Very very good!!!”

Once I found the notes, I had to include Spicy Pesto Grilled Shrimp on our 2007 menu. I couldn’t ignore those exuberant exclamation marks.

This extremely flavorful dish is simple to put together and cooks quickly. As with many of my favorite foods, it is a little messy to eat. We started out with cloth napkins and quickly shifted to a combination of paper towels and licking our fingers and lips.

Spicy Pesto Grilled Shrimp tastes best when cooked on an outside grill, but it’s also very tasty when cooked inside on a very hot cast iron grill pan. Since it was cold and snowy here this Christmas Eve, we wanted to stay inside where we were warm and cozy beside our burning Yule Log. I opted for the grill pan.

In 2007, as in 1993, we agreed Spicy Pesto Grilled Shrimp was “Extraordinary! Very very good!!!”

Spicy Pesto Grilled Shrimp (Γαρίδες με Πικάντικο Πέστο)
Serves 2 as a main course or 4 for appetizers
As you peel the grilled shrimp, your fingers will get covered with pesto which transfers to and flavors the sweet meat of the shrimp. If you prefer a stronger pesto flavor on the shrimp, cut open each shell down the back of the body only; be sure to rub pesto into the openings. For extra flavor, don’t forget to suck the heads. This dish should be spicy. Since the heat in jalapeños and serranos can vary from mild to very hot, be sure and taste the peppers as you are mixing the pesto. If your peppers are mild, mix in a teaspoon (or more, to suit your taste) of sambal oelek (ground red chiles).

1 pound head-on, shell-on shrimp
2 Tbsp. minced ginger
3 Tbsp. minced garlic
3 Tbsp. minced jalapeño or serrano peppers
1/4 cup minced Thai or sweet basil
1 tsp. coarse salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. sherry
1 tsp. dark sesame oil
3 Tbsp. olive or peanut oil

Wash the shrimp and dry them well. If desired, cut the shrimp shell down the back on the body only; do not remove the shell. Put the shrimp in a bowl.

Put the ginger, garlic, peppers, basil, salt, pepper, sherry, sesame oil, and olive oil in a blender or small food processor and puree to form a pesto. Scrape down the sides of the blender and puree again.

Thoroughly mix the pesto into the shrimp. I prefer doing this with my hands to make sure the pesto goes into all the shrimps’ nooks and crannies. Marinate the shrimp for 1 – 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Grill the shrimp on an outside grill or on a cast iron grill pan that has been preheated until it is white hot. Shrimp cook very quickly; depending on their size, they will be done after being on the grill for 2 – 3 minutes per side.

Serve with crusty bread and plenty of napkins.