Broa

Broa is a Portuguese yeast cornbread. I've eaten it in the Azores and made it a few times from Jean Anderson's The Food of Portugal. This loaf turned out especially well. I served it for the first course of a dinner with the neighbors, accompanied by Iberico cheese and Black Olive Pate.

Broa

Make a sponge by mixing 1 package dried yeast, 1/3 cup stone-ground cornmeal, and 1/4 cup warm water. Let work for about 40 minutes. I do this first step in the bread maker, and then add these remaining ingredients:

2/3 cup stone-ground cornmeal

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup scalded milk, or reconstituted evaporated milk

1 tablespoon olive oil

Scant teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups unbleached flour (more or less depending on humidity)

Mix and knead in bread maker, and let rise until puffy. Form a round loaf and let rise in a greased pie pan for 20 or 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 475 degrees--get it really hot!-- turn down to about 425 when you put the loaf in and then bake for 30 or 35 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool on rack.

For the Olive Pate: Wrap a whole head of garlic in a a double layer of aluminum foil and bake for an hour at 300 degrees. Let cool, and then squeeze out the softened garlic into food processor bowl. Add 1 cup pitted Kalamata olives and some fresh black pepper and puree. Serve with bread.

Broiled Radicchio Pasta

Your roasted pasta post, along with the lovely radicchio I bought the other day, inspired me to make this pasta last night. I love broiled or grilled radicchio -- it's so bitter and sweet and weird. So I made this easy and delicious dish in whcih the fresh mozzarella is sweet enough to balance out the radicchio's intensity. It made me feel better about winter. It would have been good with some wilted spinach or another sweet green, I think.

1. Roast a few cloves of garlic. I like to peel them, put them in a coffee mug or ramekin, and cover them with olive oil, then roast the whole thing at 250 degrees for 35 or 40 minutes -- that way you get some leftover garlic olive oil and can be happy. But the method you use here is faster (with a "hot oven" being only 300 or 325 in my case).

2. Soak about 10 sun-dried tomatoes in warm water (or not, if using oil-packed). When soft, dice up and mix with mashed gooey roasted garlic in big serving bowl.

3. Quarter the radicchio and brush it with olive oil. Broil or grill until quite brown but not charred, turning several times.

4. Make pasta. I used ziti.

5. Drain hot pasta and toss in big bowl with garlic and sun-dried tomatoes.

6. Add salt and pepper to taste and olive oil to moisten. Then toss in:

- 1 ball fresh mozzarella, cubed
- 2-3 tablespoons Parmesan
- the chunks of broiled radicchio

Fresh herbs would be good but it's winter and I don't have any.

That's it!

Roasted Cherry Tomato and Garlic Pasta

Susan told me how to make this when we were visiting them in Texas last week. She just gave me the general idea, so I hope this is what she meant. It was great, anyway.

Roasted Cherry Tomato and Garlic Pasta

2 cups cherry tomatoes

1 head of garlic, cloves separated but not peeled

Roast the garlic and cherry tomatoes in a hot oven for 20 or 30 minutes, or until garlic is soft and the tomatoes have collapsed and charred.

2 servings penne or other pasta

1 tablespoon olive oil

Pasta water

Red chile flakes to taste

Salt, pepper

Cook the pasta. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet. Squeeze the garlic out of the skins into the skillet and mash them into the oil. Add the cherry tomatoes and do the same. Put in a few tablespoons of pasta water to form a sauce. Season with red chile flakes, salt, and pepper to taste.

2 to 4 cups arugula leaves
Parmesan cheese

Drain pasta, but not too thoroughly, and toss with the sauce. Add arugula and toss until wilted. Serve at once, topped with grated Parmesan.

Curiously Satisfying

Here's one of my favorite starchy side dishes--although with some cheese it will do for a vegetarian main dish. I can't remember where I got the recipe, but I do remember the writer commenting that Italians loved bouillon cubes as a seasoning. I find the 12 cloves of garlic very bracing and restorative.

Penne with Garlic and Tomato Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

12 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed

1 16-ounce can diced or crushed tomatoes

1/2 bouillon cube

Salt and pepper to taste

In large skillet, saute garlic in olive oil over medium-low heat until pale gold. Add remaining ingredients and simmer together for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook enough penne for two. Drain, toss with sauce, and top with Parmesan cheese.