Broccoli Soup with Dubliner Cheese

Broccoli Soup with Dubliner Cheese

1 cups chopped broccoli
2 chopped leeks
2 celery stalks
3 tbsp butter
32 oz chicken broth
6 oz Dubliner cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper
Dried thyme

Rinse and chop the leeks and celery. 
Melt butter and sauté the leeks and celery.
After 10 min, add the chicken broth and broccoli.  On a low flame, cook for 30 min.
Use an immersion blender and blend for 5 min.
Add the grated cheese until it incorporates.
Add the heavy cream.
Add salt, pepper and thyme.
Stir and serve.

Moujadara with Bulgur

this dish i had at a middle eastern restaurant called Alfanoose on Pearl St, Manhattan.  i thought i'd try it.  i mixed and added the ingredients of two recipes.

Moujadara with Bulgur

1 cup dry green lentils, rinsed and picked over 

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup bulgur wheat
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onions, finely chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Pinch grated nutmeg
Pinch allspice 

2 large onions, thinly sliced

2 tbsp tomato paste

parsley to garnish

directions

1. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat and add the onion slices.
2. Cook for 45 minutes, stirring frequently, until brown and caramelized.
3. If they begin to burn, reduce heat to medium or even medium-low.
4. Remove onions from pan and set aside.
5. Add lentils, spices, tomato paste, and chicken both to the same pan and boil for 15 minutes, uncovered.
6. Stir in bulgur, salt and pepper then bring to a simmer.
7. Place a lid on the pan then reduce heat to low.
8. Cook for 15 additional minutes then fluff with a fork.
9. add some water if the lentils are still hard. cook until done.
10. Spread pilaf on a platter and top with caramelized onions and chopped parsley. Serve with plain yogurt.

 

Gnocchi

i was 23 when i first made gnocchi.  at 23 i didn't have the same type of preparation equipment as i do now.  it was easier this time, 27 years later.

Gnocchi

1 (1-pound) russet potato
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg, beaten to blend 

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup shaved Parmesan/Romano cheese

cook and mash the potato well. Mash in the salt and pepper. Mix in 3 tablespoons of the egg; discard the remaining egg. Sift the flour and the cheese over the potato mixture and knead just until blended. keep the flour out in case.  the dough may be to sticky.

use a rolling pin and roll it out to 1/2 in (as shown).  cut the dough into 1/2 in strips (as shown). cut the dough into 1-inch pieces. Roll each piece of dough over a wooden paddle with ridges or over the tines of a fork to form grooves in the dough.

 

cook the gnocchi in a large pot of boiling salted water until the gnocchi rise to the surface, about 1 minute. Continue cooking until the gnocchi are tender, about 4 minutes longer.