Black Pasta with Roasted Garlic & Orange Sauce, Focaccia, Roasted Red Pepper Bruschetta

I promised recipes, and while I may not always post them in a timely manner, I always keep my word!  Here are the recipes for this weekend's dishes:


Black Pasta with Roasted Garlic and Orange Sauce

I created this recipe a few years ago in an attempt to impress a guy. Since I’ve always heard that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach and I knew that the object of my affection liked high-quality food, I wanted to show off a little and serve something ostentatious. I picked up a bag of black pasta from a local producer at the farmers’ market (this was before I knew where to find squid ink!), and I decided that a sauce based on orange and roasted garlic would look original and memorable. Unfortunately, while the pasta water was boiling, the guy texted me to tell me he wasn’t coming. At first I was devastated, but once I tasted the final product my pain was alleviated – more pasta for me!

1 navel orange
1 head roasted garlic
½ c. white wine
1/4c. chopped Italian parsley (plus extra sprigs for garnish)
Drizzle olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Chile flakes

Zest one orange using a zester (you can buy one for about $10 at any good kitchenware store). Divide the zest in half – one half goes into the sauce, the other is set aside for garnish. Peel the remaining skin and as much of the pith as possible from the orange, divide into segments, and slice each segment into half-inch chunks.

Remove the cloves from 1 head of roasted garlic and put them in the blender with the orange segments, half the orange zest, and the wine, parsley, and olive oil. Puree until liquefied, adding more wine and olive oil if necessary.

Transfer puree into a saucepan large enough to hold all cooked pasta, and cook over low heat until the sauce is hot

While you are making the sauce, cook a batch of black pasta. Once pasta is done, drain it, add it to the pan with the sauce, and toss until all pasta is coated. Season with salt, pepper, and chile flakes.

Divide equally among 4 shallow pasta bowls, garnishing each with a pinch of the remaining orange zest and a sprig of parsley.

Roasted Garlic Focaccia

This recipe is time-consuming, but not labor intensive - active prep lasts approximately 20 minutes; the rest of the time is spent waiting for the dough to rise.  This is a perfect recipe to make on a lazy Sunday during football season, as most of the active work can be done during commercial breaks if you measure your ingredients ahead of time!   

For dough starter:

2/3c. warm water

2.5t. active dry yeast
1c. flour

For dough:

2.5c. unbleached flour, plus extra for dusting
1 head roasted garlic
1/3c. water
1/3c. olive oil, plus extra to grease bowl and pan
1/3c. white wine
1t. salt

Olive oil, salt, and oregano for topping
Equipment: two large mixing bowls, cookie sheet lined w/ aluminum foil, water-filled cake pan

First, make the dough starter. In a mixing bowl, combine 2/3c. warm water and the yeast. Cover with a dish towel and let this sit for 10 minutes or until the water looks murky and bubbly around the edges.

Next, add 1c. of the flour to the bowl. Stir until all the flour is incorporated into the water and a sticky dough forms. Again, cover with a dish towel and let this sit for 30 minutes. During this time, the dough should puff up a little. Use this time to remove the individual cloves from a head of roasted garlic – if the individual cloves are soft like a paste, set them aside. If any are still a little firm, chop them up a bit and set aside. Also, coat the inside of the clean mixing bowl with a splash of olive oil and set aside.

Now it’s time to make the dough. Add 2.5c. flour, prepared roasted garlic, 1/3c. water, olive oil, white wine, and salt to the mixing bowl containing the dough starter. Combine all until fully incorporated and dough is formed. Turn the dough out onto a clean countertop dusted with flour, and knead the dough for 8-10 minutes, dusting the countertop with more flour if the dough starts to stick.

Once the kneading is complete, put the ball of dough into the mixing bowl coated with olive oil. Cover with a dish towel and set aside to rise for approximately one hour, or until the dough has doubled in size. In the meantime, line the cookie sheet with aluminum foil and grease the foil with a splash of olive oil.

Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto the greased cookie sheet. Stretch the dough so that it covers the cookie sheet. Once the dough has stretched, use your fingertips to create “dimples” in the dough – the surface should not be even. Be careful not to poke holes in the dough – small craters will do the trick. Once you’ve dimpled the dough, cover it with the dish towel and let it rise for an additional 45 minutes. Use this time to preheat the oven to 425, placing a water-filled cake pan on the bottom rack of the oven (this creates steam inside the oven).

Once the dimpled dough has risen, remove the dish towel and brush your dough with a thin coat of olive oil, and sprinkle it with a few pinches each of salt and oregano. Now it is time to bake – place the cookie sheet on the middle rack of the oven, above the water pan. Lower the oven temperature to 400, close the oven, and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Remove the focaccia from the oven. Once it is cool enough to handle safely, slice it up and serve it with Roasted Red Pepper Bruschetta, or with seasoned olive oil for dipping.

Variations –replace the head of roasted garlic with ¼ cup of one, or a combination, of the following: capers, slivered oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, minced olives, gorgonzola crumbles, chopped fresh herbs, etc. The possibilities are endless.




Roasted Red Pepper Bruschetta

6 slices roasted red peppers
1/4lb. provolone, sliced thin
1 small clove garlic, sliced paper-thin
2T. olive oil
1T. white wine
1T. chopped parsley

Preheat the broiler. In a shallow baking dish, place the roasted peppers in one thin layer. Next, evenly sprinkle the garlic slices across the roasted peppers. Drizzle with the olive oil and the white wine. Now, layer the provolone across the top of the pepper and garlic layer, making sure all the peppers are covered.


Place under the broiler and broil until the cheese is melted and starting to brown at the edges. Remove from oven, sprinkle with parsley, let cool slightly, and serve pepper slices over focaccia bread.



I do hope you'll try these recipes!