Cooking from the Cupboard

Polenta, Sausage and Tomato Layers
This is one of those incredibly versatile dishes which is easy to prepare, immensely likable to just about every age group--especially teenage boys--with ingredients that can pretty much live in your cupboard or fridge. The better the ingredients you use in the dish, the better the result.

1 recipe Creamy Polenta (see recipe below)
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 Italian sausages, skin removed, coarsely chopped
Note: If your Italian sausages are not flavored with fennel seed, you can add ¼ teaspoon fennel seed to the sausage as you cook it
1½ cups home-made tomato sauce or a good one in a jar
12 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced ¼ to ½ inch thick
¼ teaspoon black pepper or Aleppo pepper

1. Make the polenta. See recipe below.
2. Preheat over to 375ºF. Butter a 2½-quart flameproof casserole.
3. Add ¼ cup Parmesan cheese to the hot polenta. Stir well. Pour into the prepared casserole. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of Parmesan.
4. While the polenta is cooking, sauté the sausage over medium heat, breaking up the pieces with a wooden spoon, until browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
5. Add the sausage to the casserole on top of the polenta, forming an even layer. Spoon on the tomato sauce, and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Top with the mozzarella in an even layer. Sprinkle the mozzarella with black or Aleppo pepper (or both).
6. Bake until bubbling, about 30 minutes. If the top is not browned to your liking, place the casserole under the broiler until browned, watching it carefully. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

6 servings
Adapted from Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins’ The New Basics

Creamy Polenta

3 cups milk
Note: You can substitute other liquids if you desire.
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons butter, melted

1. Combine the milk, butter, sugar, and salt in a heavy saucepan and heat to a simmer.
2. Slowly add the cornmeal, whisking constantly. Lower the heat and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture has thickened and leaves the sides of the pan, about 10 minutes.
3. Taste for salt. Add more if necessary. Serve topped with melted butter.
If you are using this with Polenta, Sausage and Tomato Layers or as a bed for the Bacon-Tomato-Corn Ragout, you don’t need to add the butter at the end.

Note: If you make this ahead, you have two options: (1) Set it aside in the pan and reheat it on the stove adding more liquid to loosen it up to your liking. Or (2) Remove from the pan and place in a microwavable bowl, adding more milk or other liquid to loosen it up before serving. Warm it on low heat in the microwave. In both options, keep adding liquid and stirring and heating until it is the consistency of mashed potatoes. Check for salt.

6 servings

Adapted from Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins’ The New Basics

Menu 5: Partially Persian

Persian Meat Loaf
I take my own photos, usually immediately before we sit down to eat. They are not styled. This photo, in particular, doesn’t do justice to how delicious this meat loaf actually is. But it is the truth. What you see on this blog is very close to what you will get when you fix a dish.

















1½ pounds ground lamb or beef or combination of the two
Note: It would also be possible to use ground turkey.
1 medium onion, grated in the food processor
¼ cup finely chopped green onions
¼ cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
¼ cup finely chopped celery leaves
1½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
¼ cup tomato paste
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 slice white bread, milk or water
chopped parsley and sumac to garnish, optional

1. Soak the bread in water or milk while you do the next steps.
2. Use the food processor to grate the onion and then to chop the herbs. No need to wash out in between the two.
3. Put the meat in a large bowl. Add all the ingredients except the bread. Squeeze the bread dry in your hands and tear into pieces. Add to the meat mixture.
4. Mix the ingredients with your hands until the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
5. Place in a loaf pan, or form into a round on a low-sided pan and bake for 1 hour in a 350ºF oven. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and sumac before serving.
Some people I know and love eat this with ketchup or barbeque sauce. Others enjoy it with yogurt.

4 servings
Adapted from Maideh Mazda’s In a Persian Kitchen

Roasted Potatoes

















2 pounds small thin-skinned potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil or smoked olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt

1. Cut your potatoes into bite-sized pieces. You might cut them in half or in quarters.
2. Place on a low-sided baking sheet or gratin dish in one layer. Drizzle the olive oil over the potatoes and sprinkle with salt. Mix together with your hands or a large spoon.
3. Turn on the oven to 400ºF and put the potatoes in the oven. No preheating is necessary.
4. Roast until the potatoes are golden brown, 30-45 minutes depending on their size and how cold they are. Stir or shake them once or twice while baking.
5. Serve at once.

If you are making these with the meat loaf, put them in the oven at 350ºF along with the meat loaf and cook until done. They will take a little longer because of the lower temperature. If they finish before the meat loaf, remove them from the oven. Reheat before serving.
Variations: Add 1 or 2 heads of garlic, broken into cloves, unpeeled, to the potatoes after about 15-20 minutes of baking. Or stir in some chopped rosemary at about the same time. Devise your own variations.

4 servings
My own devising, but not original to me

Cherry Tomato, Mozzarella and Corn Salad with Basil
You can vary the amounts of these ingredients according to your taste and what you have on hand.
















24 (8 ounces) bocconcini (small fresh mozzarella balls), drained
2 tablespoons O Meyer Lemon Oil
OR
2 tablespoons olive oil and zest of 1 lemon
Kosher salt
Crushed red pepper flakes or smoky hot paprika
Freshly ground pepper
A small amount of fresh lemon juice, optional
1 (10-ounce) basket small cherry tomatoes, preferably in a mixture of colors
1 cup sweet corn kernels, cut and scraped from 1-2 medium ears
About 12 large fresh basil leaves

1. In a large bowl, toss the bocconcini with the oil, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon red pepper or smoky hot paprika (or to your taste if you like it spicy). Cover and marinate overnight. If you are pressed for time, as I often am, skip the overnight part and proceed with the recipe.
2. Bring the bocconcini to room temperature. Cut the tomatoes in half if they are too large. Gently stir in the tomatoes and corn and adjust the seasoning, adding the lemon juice if you want. The salad can be prepared to this point up to 1 hour ahead.
3. Stack the basil leaves, roll them, cut them into thin strips and scatter the chiffonade over the salad just before serving.

6 servings
Adapted from Carrie Brown’s The Jimtown Store Cookbook