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Spicy Roasted Cauliflower with Red Pepper Tahini

The links in these recipes are for products that I use and recommend.  

Roasted cauliflower with roasted red pepper tahini, fresh herbs, raisins and olives.

This Middle Eastern-inspired spicy roasted cauliflower is the perfect companion to roasted lamb and spiced chicken. With this vegetable side technique is just as important as the ingredients used. The cauliflower should be roasted so that it has deeply caramelized parts and is not mushy. To achieve this, use high heat and plenty of oil and cook uncovered turning frequently.

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Spicy Roasted Cauliflower with Red Pepper Tahini, Raisins, Olives, and Fresh Herbs

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 5 reviews
  • Author: Kara Taylor- Home Cooks Guide
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: Middle Eastern
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

This flavorful cauliflower dish compliments roast lamb and spiced chicken and main dishes inspired by South Eastern European, Greek, Middle Eastern, and North African cuisines.  This side dish is vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free.

Ingredients

Scale

1 head of cauliflower

1/4 cup oil 

1/2 cup Roasted Red Pepper Tahini – A delicious sauce for raw and roasted vegetables.

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup raisins (regular or golden)

2 Tablespoons Black Olives (preferable dry-cured), chopped

2 Tablespoons Cilantro leaves, chopped dill, and/or chopped mint

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450 F.

Cut the cauliflower into bite-sized pieces.  Place on a sheet pan in a single layer, drizzle with oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.  Using your hands, toss the cauliflower around on the sheet pan to evenly distribute the oil.

Roast the cauliflower, turning every 10 minutes for 20-30 minutes or until it is tender and deeply caramelized in some places.

While the cauliflower is cooking, combine the raisins and water in a microwave-safe container and microwave for 2 minutes.  Let the raisins steep in the water for 10 minutes or so.

To the raisins, add the tahini.  Microwave for another minute.  

When the cauliflower is done cooking, toss it with the tahini mixture and chopped olives.  If it seems too thick, add another tablespoon or two of water.  Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.  Sprinkle with chopped herbs.

Serve and enjoy!

High Hydration Sourdough Loaf with Chia Seeds

The links in these recipes are for products that I use and recommend.  

A high hydration sourdough loaf with chia seeds.

A light and airy sourdough loaf with an open crumb. Chia seeds and the addition of whole wheat flour make it extra nutritious.

This loaf was one of those happy accidents. Weighing out my ingredients in my mixing bowl, I let my mind wander for a moment, and when I looked down at the scale I realized I had added quite a bit more water than I intended. To save the loaf, and soak up some of the extra water, I threw in a handful of chia seeds. The resulting loaf – a super delicious sourdough boule with a nearly transparent open crumb. It didn’t last a day in my house!

Baking Schedule

I started this loaf after dinner and completed the bulk fermentation overnight. I shaped and refrigerated it in the morning and baked it around 3pm so it would be cooked and cooled for dinner.

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Sourdough Loaf made with whole wheat flour and chia seeds on a cutting board.

High Hydration Sourdough Loaf with Chia Seeds

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews
  • Author: Kara Taylor- Home Cooks Guide
  • Prep Time: 12 hours
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 13 hours
  • Yield: 1 loaf 1x
  • Category: Bread
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: n/a
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

A delicious and nutritious high hydration sourdough boule.

Ingredients

Scale

415 g (1 3/4 cups) warm water

100 g (scant 1/2 cup) sourdough starter

400 g (3 1/4 cup) high protein flour

100 g (3/4 cup) whole wheat flour

20 g (2 Tablespoons) chia seeds

10 g (1 Tablespoons) salt 

Instructions

Starting with water and starter, add all the ingredients to a large mixing bowl.  Using your hands or a wooden spoon, form a rough dough.  Let this sit for 20 minutes.

Using your hands, turn the dough a couple of times to form a ball.  Give the dough a “full turn” every 30 minutes for the next couple of hours.

Cover the dough and leave at room temperature (65-70 F) until doubled in size, about 10 hours.

Turn the dough out on a floured surface.  Let it sit there untouched for about 20 minutes.  Then shape the loaf.  Place the dough seam side up in a snug bowl lined with a well floured tea towel.  At this point, you can refrigerate the dough for 6-8 hours or continue with the next step.

Leave the dough in the shaping bowl for another 2 hours at room temperature, or 1 hour in a warmer environment such as on top of the stove while it preheats.

Preheat the oven to 475 F.

Invert the bowl with dough onto a piece of parchment sprinkled with flour or cornmeal or semolina.  Score the dough.

Transfer the dough to a cast iron dutch oven (not preheated), cover it and place it in the oven.  Bake for 40 minutes.

Reduce the oven temperature to 400 F.  Remove the lid and bake for another 10 minutes.

Remove the loaf from the dutch oven and place directly on the rack (on the parchment still is ok).  Bake for another 10 minutes.  

Remove the loaf from the oven and place it on a cooling rack.  Let it cool for 1 hour before slicing.

Equipment

Notes

Need some sourdough starter?  I’ll mail you some of my dried starter for free if you are 1) a subscriber, 2) update your email preferences to include your mailing address, and 3) shoot me an email about it.  My gift to you.  Instructions for using a dried starter can be found here.

Did you know you can dry Sourdough Starter?

Sourdough Starter – you can dry and store it.

For a long time, I’ve kept a back-up sourdough starter in my fridge just in case I killed the one I use regularly. This back-up starter sat there, neglected, taking up a valuable kitchen container and fridge space. Well, you don’t have to do that. You can dry the starter, bag it up, and then reconstitute it when you need it. This is a tip I learned from my mother-in-law. (Thank you Leslie, you’re the best!!) And now, I’m passing it on to you. It’s super easy.

How to dry your sourdough starter

  1. Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap or use a silicone baking mat.
  2. When it’s time to discard some active, bubbly starter, pour some out over the prepared baking sheet Use a spatula to spread it into a thin layer.
  3. Leave this tray at room temperature for a couple of days until it is completely dried. You will be able to tell by looking it at.
  4. Remove the starter from the sheet pan and bag it up.

How to use dry sourdough starter

  1. Mix 1 ounce dried sourdough starter with 1/4 cup lukewarm water.  Let the dry sourdough starter dissolve, stirring occasionally.  This will take up to 3 hours.
  2. Whisk in about 1/4 cup all-purpose flour.  It should be the consistency of pancake batter.  Add more water or flour as needed.
  3. Leave this out at 65-80 F until it starts bubbling (1-2 days).  
  4. “Feed” it without discarding any: Mix in 1/4 cup flour with about 1/8-1/4 cup lukewarm water.  It should, again, be a pancake batter consistency.
  5. The next day, discard or use (bread, waffles, crepe batter, etc) half of the starter.  Feed it again with flour and lukewarm water to a ratio of 1:1:1.
  6. Continuing using and feeding your starter daily.  If you skip a day, no big deal, just start feeding it again.  If you plan on baking more sporadically, you can store the starter in the fridge and pull it out to feed 1-2 days before you plan on baking.

And one more little trick….
Sometimes, my starter will be a little sluggish. Maybe a forgot to feed it for longer than I want to admit. Or I was running low on all-purpose flour and kind of skimped on it’s mealtime for awhile…. When this happens, I sprinkle in a little dry starter powder (from the bottom of the bag) during feeding to give it a boost. Works like a charm everytime.

Seriously Whole Grain Mustard: An easy all-purpose condiment that is sure to impress!

The links in these recipes are for products that I use and recommend.  

Seriously Whole Grain Mustard is the perfect condiment for charcuterie.

This whole seed mustard was one of the first products I created when I started Smokey Ridge Charcuterie. It continued to be one of our most popular condiments at The Farm Table for years. This mustard is all about texture and visual appeal. The mustard seeds have the popping texture of caviar and the multicolored little seeds add so much to the presentation of any dish. This mustard is not spicy or pungent. I use it on its own and as a building block to many other sauces, and salad dressings.

I purchase my mustard seeds from SFHerbs.com. Their prices are great (about $2.50/pound of mustard seeds), as is their quality, and they have a great assortment of spices, teas, and salts that you may want to add to your shopping cart. I’m sure you could find them on Amazon and Nuts.com as well.

This recipe is scaled for 1 lb of mustard seed which seemed like the most usable quantity for the home. It still makes 8 cups which is a pretty big batch and will last you a while or be enough to share with friends.

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Seriously Whole Grain Mustard Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 11 reviews
  • Author: Kara Taylor- Home Cooks Guide
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 55 minutes
  • Yield: 2 quarts 1x
  • Category: Condiment
  • Method: Stove top
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

This Whole Seed Mustard is a beautiful and versatile condiment that adds texture to any dish.

Ingredients

Scale

1 lb (4.5 cups) Whole Mustard Seed.  Either all yellow seeds or mixed mostly yellow with some brown seed.

1 cup white wine vinegar

1 cup white vinegar

2 1/4 cup water

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup honey

3 3/4 teaspoons salt

Instructions

Rinse the mustards in several changes of water.

Combine the seeds with all other ingredients.  Soak overnight or for a couple of days.

Bring the mixture to a boil.  

Transfer to sterile storage containers and refrigerate.  This mustard will last for months in the fridge.  Alternatively, you could transfer to sterile 8 oz canning jars and process in a water bath for 15 minutes (at sea level).  Adjust processing time for your altitude.

Equipment

Notes

Some Variations to try:

Substitute sugar for lavender sugar

Add jalapeno or other spicy peppers

Add dry mustard powder

Add tarragon or other herbs

Stir mix this whole grain mustard with dijon for a spicier condiment with a great mustard seed texture.

It’s time we celebrate celery! Celery Root Soup Recipe with Fresh Celery Topping.

A celebration of celery. This soup uses celery root, celery stalk, celery leaves, and celery seed.

Celery is one of the most overlooked and undervalued vegetables. It plays a supporting role in mirepoix and the holy trinity – the vegetable bases that are essential to many Western European and Cajun dishes. It sometimes shows up on Fresh Vegetable Platters. Yet it is never really celebrated on its own and that’s a shame.

Celery is crisp and crunchy, sweet and yet, bitter and astringent at the same time. Its flavor is fresh. It stimulates and cleanses the palate. Most people use the thick stalks of celery and discard the rest to the compost bin. I’ve even seen Culinary School-trained chefs do this in my kitchen, to my dismay! The bright lime green leaves from the innermost heart of the celery head are the most flavorful part of the whole plant. And the thin yellow-white stalks at the very center are the sweetest and most-celery tasting part of all.

The innermost stalks and leaves are the most flavorful part of celery.

Celery root is creamy, sweet, and nutty. The celery flavor is soft but still prominent. Celery root (or celeriac) and the thick stalked celery are the results of two different selective breeding tracts originating from smallage, or wild celery.

This soup is a study in celery. The pureed soup is made from celery root and the fresh celery topping uses flavorful stalks and leaves from the center of the head, along with celery seed. You will never think of celery the same again.

I first experienced a similar soup at The Pearl Cafe in Missoula, MT. I developed this recipe from that experience and served this regularly while I was chef at The Farm Table.

The pureed soup is vegan and gluten-free. There is a tiny bit of creme fraiche in the topping, which could be omitted or substituted for a fully vegan/ dairy-free meal. Served with buttered bread or a side salad this makes a lovely light meal. Or serve it as an elegant appetizer.

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Celery Root Soup with Celery Remoulade

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Kara Taylor- Home Cooks Guide
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 2 quarts 1x
  • Category: Soup
  • Method: Stove top
  • Cuisine: French
  • Diet: Vegetarian
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Description

The soup uses celery in all its forms: celery root, celery stalks, celery leaves, and celery seed.  It’s simple yet elegant.  Perfect for a light meal or an appetizer.

Ingredients

Scale

Pureed Celery Root Soup

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, diced

3 celery stalks, diced

1 parsnip, peeled and diced

2 small-medium celery roots, peeled and diced

7 1/2 cups water

1 small russet potato, peeled and diced

1/4 cup white wine

1 heaping Tablespoon Salt

1/8 Tablespoon ground Pepper

A handful of chopped parsley leaves

Fresh Celery Topping

1 cup minced celery heart (tender small stalks and lime green leaves) *

2 Tablespoons minced shallot or onion

2 Tablespoons Seriously Whole Grain Mustard**

2 Tablespoons Creme Fraiche or sour cream

2 Tablespoons minced chives

1/4 teaspoon celery seeds

1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

For the soup

In a large pot over medium heat, sweat the onions, parsnip, potato, celery, and celery root in a little oil until soft and tender.  You are not trying to brown any of these vegetables.

Add the white wine and cook for a couple of minutes.

Add the water, salt, and pepper and bring to simmer.*

Cook until all the vegetables are very tender.

Remove from the heat, add the parsley.

Transfer your soup to a blender in batches and puree or until very smooth.  Or you can use your immersion blender to blend the soup directly in the pot.**

Make the Remoulade

While the soup cooks, mince the celery heart, leaves, chives, and shallot and combine in a small mixing bowl.  Add all the other ingredients.  Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed and set aside.

To serve

Fill your bowls with the soup and place 1-2 Tablespoons of the remoulade on top.  Enjoy!

Notes

*You could certainly substitute water for home-made chicken broth or vegetable broth, however for pureed vegetable soups that are highlighting a single vegetable, I find plain water is best.

** This is a whole seed mustard that is not spicy.  There really isn’t a good store-bought substitution that I have found.  I don’t recommend using dijon as it is just a very different flavor.  The best substitute would be to boil some whole mustard seeds until tender or just omit this.

**A vitamix or other powerful stand mixer will get this really smooth and creamy.  The immersion blender will be result in a more rustic soup with flecks of parsley in it.

Roasted Red Pepper Tahini – A delicious sauce for raw and roasted vegetables.

An all purpose dipping sauce for cooked or raw vegetables.
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Roasted Red Pepper Tahini

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews
  • Author: Kara Taylor- Home Cooks Guide
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: n/a
  • Total Time: 0 hours
  • Yield: 6 cups 1x
  • Category: Sauce
  • Method: Blend
  • Cuisine: North African & Mediterranean
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Description

This sauce is slightly sweet and spicy with a prominent sesame flavor.  It compliments roasted and fresh vegetables, falafel, savory fritters, and flatbreads.

Ingredients

Scale

3 large (18 oz) Canned Roasted Red Peppers*

1/4 cup roasted or smoked garlic (or 3 cloves fresh)

1 cup boiling water

1 teaspoon smoked paprika (or paprika)

1 teaspoon Chili Powder (I use Ancho Chili Powder)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 Tablespoon honey

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1 (15 oz) can Tahini (if separated with oil on top, include the oil)

1/2 Tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar

Instructions

Place all ingredients in a blender bowl or an 8 cup pitcher (if using an immersion blender) with the tahini on top.  

Blend.

Notes

*If you would like to use fresh made roasted red peppers, increase the vinegar by a little bit.

You can spice this up by adding more cayenne or using a spicy roasted pepper like poblano or anaheim.

Spiced Rye Sourdough Bread (Pumpernickel) with Fennel, Orange, and Caraway

The links in these recipes are for products that I use and recommend.  

A fragrant sourdough loaf.

Rye breads are a staple throughout Northern and Eastern Europe and Russia where they are often seeded with caraway and other spices or whole rye berries. Rye flour is low in gluten, will rise less during fermentation and prefer a longer slower ferment. These dark dense loaves compliment smoked salmon, pate, salty meats, mustard and horseradish.

My mother, Sue, requested a dark rye bread to serve alongside our New Years Day ham dinner. I hadn’t really ventured into pumpernickel bread so I had to do some research. I knew there would be caraway involved but was surprised to find many recipes calling for coffee and cocoa powder and one that also added fennel seed and orange zest, which I thought sounded really amazing. Fennel and orange are one of my favorite winter flavor pairings.

This recipe here is an amalgamation of several recipes that I found in my research plus my own bread-making intuitions. The result – a deliciously fragrant loaf with prominent but not overpowering caraway and fennel. The orange and espresso are very subtle. On my next batch, I may increase the orange and espresso a bit and try adding the cocoa powder just to see, because I’m curious. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Baking Schedule

Rye flour is lower and gluten and ferments differently than all wheat bread. I find that a longer ferment at cooler temperatures works better. I  start this bread in the afternoon, turning it occasionally until bedtime, then move it to a cool place (my garage) until early morning.  When I wake up, I shape it and place it into a bowl for its final rise for several hours.  Cooking it midday.  It won’t double in size, and that’s ok.

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2 dark rye sourdough loaves on parchment..

Spiced Rye Sourdough Bread (Pumpernickel)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 3 reviews
  • Author: Kara Taylor- Home Cooks Guide
  • Prep Time: 20 hours
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 21 hours
  • Yield: 1 loaf 1x
  • Category: Bread
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: Scandanavian
  • Diet: Vegan
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Ingredients

Scale

6 grams (1 Tablespoons) Fennel Seed, coarsely chopped

2 grams (1/2 Tablespoons) Caraway Seed, coarsely chopped

5 grams (1/2 orange) zest

2 grams (1/2 Tablespoons) instant espresso powder or coffee powder*

380 grams (1 3/4 cup) warm water

80 grams (1/3 cup) starter

250 grams rye flour

250 grams High Protein Bread Flour

10 grams salt

36 grams (2 Tablespoons) molasses

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients.  I always start with water and starter and end with the salt, that’s just my habit.  With your hands or a wooden spoon, mix it to form a course dough.

Let the dough sit covered on the counter for 20-30 minutes, then give it a full turn.  Continue turning every 30-60 minutes for the next 5-6 hours.  (For more guidance on how to do this and the other steps of the process, check out How to Make Sourdough Bread)

Transfer the dough to a cool place for another 10 hours (or leave it at room temperature for another 6-8 hours).

Turn the dough out on a floured surface.  Let it relax there for 20 minutes.  Then shape it and place it seam-side up in a bowl lined with a floured tea towel.  Cover it and let it rise for another 4-6 hours.

Preheat the oven to 500 F.  

Invert the dough onto a floured sheet of parchment.  Transfer the parchment and dough to a dutch oven (not preheated), cover and bake for 30 minutes. 

Reduce the heat to 425 F, remove the lid and cook for another 20 minutes.  

Remove the loaf from the dutch oven and place directly on the oven rack (on parchment is fine) and bake for another 10 minutes.  

Transfer to a cooling rack and let it cool for 1 hour before slicing.

Equipment

Home-Made Chashu Pork for Ramen

Chashu Pork is a Japanese-style pork belly braised in a sweet-salty soy marinade with ginger and garlic. This is the melt-in-your-mouth pork that tops bowls of ramen at your favorite noodle joint.

Pork belly is one of my all-time favorite cuts of meat to work with because it has so many different expressions: Dry-Cured Bacon, Italian Lardo, and pancetta, pork belly confit, a Porchetta Roast covered with crispy crackling…. and Chashu Pork. Chashu is super tender meat with gelatinous skin all rolled up into a log for easy slicing.

It is really easy to make Chashu at home and a fun weekend project. Simply buy a skin-on piece of pork belly (you may need to order this ahead of time from your grocery meat department), roll it into a log, tie it with butcher twine, and braise it in a simple soy marinade. Then let it cool completely in the braising liquid and use it over the next couple of days for ramen and rice dishes.

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Home-Made Chashu Pork for Ramen

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews
  • Author: Kara Taylor- Home Cooks Guide
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 4 hours
  • Total Time: 4 hours 15 minutes
  • Yield: 2 lbs 1x
  • Category: Meat
  • Method: Braise
  • Cuisine: Japanese
  • Diet: Low Lactose
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Description

Japanese-style braised pork belly for ramen and rice.

Ingredients

Scale

2 1/2–3 lb piece of skin-on pork belly

2 cups soy sauce

2 cups water

1 cup sake

1/4 cup burnt honey (see note)

1/4 cup sugar

4 inch piece of ginger, halved or quartered lengthwise

8 green onions

1/2 cup sugar

Instructions

Roll the pork belly into a log and tie it with butcher twine.

Place the pork belly into the smallest sized pot that will fit it snuggly.  Cover with water and bring up to a boil.  Simmer for a couple of minutes.  Drain and rinse.

Add all the other ingredients to the pot with the pork belly.  Let this sit at room temperature to marinate for at least 3 hours, or refrigerate overnight.  

Preheat to oven to 275 F.  Bring the pot with the pork belly and marinade up to a simmer on the stovetop.  Transfer to the oven and cover with a lid left slightly ajar.

Braise for approximately 4 hours, turning the pork belly every 30 – 45 minutes.  It is done when a skewer can be inserted all the way through with little resistance.  At this point, the skin will be very fragile so be careful handling the pork belly.  It will firm up once cooled.

Place the chashu in a ziplock bag.  Strain half the marinade into the bag, squeeze the air out, and seal.  Refrigerate until ready to use.  

Strain the rest of the marinade and set aside to use as seasoning later on or for making ramen eggs or drizzling over rice or grilled vegetables.

Melt-in-your-mouth braised pork belly for ramen.

When ready to use, remove from refrigerator and marinade and thinly slice.  You can reheat in a frying pan with a little of the marinade or simply dip it in the hot ramen broth for a moment before you serve it.

I usually cut this in half, tightly wrap one half with plastic wrap and freeze for later.

Notes

Burnt Honey

I stumbled upon this ingredient trick by accident.  I had a little honey in the bottom of a large mason jar that had solidified.  So I put it in the microwave and pressed start.  Three minutes were left on the timer from the last time it was used.  I had intended to only let it go for 30 seconds or so but I got distracted digging around for a pacifier for my fussing baby.  When I got back to the honey, it was all bubbled up and the color of mohagony.  I could tell by the appearance of the bubbles that it was going to cool to a hard caramel.  It smelled of toast with notes of dandelion.  It was less sweet, with more acidity and a pleasant bitterness.  I added it to my braising liquid and was really happy with the nuanced sweet-earthy flavor it imparted. It may be one of the new seasoning agents in my kitchen.

Quick Clam Carbonara Recipe

I have always loved Pasta Carbonara. A simple dish consisting of pasta, salty pork, egg yolk, parmesan cheese, and pepper. The simplicity of the ingredients gives space to focus on technique.

I ended up with a bunch of chopped clams in my fridge after a project at the restaurant. Clams and bacon are a classic pairing and I was hankering for pasta so I threw this Clam Carbonara together with some of my home-made Dry-Cured Bacon.

The trick with Carbonara is in getting a perfectly silky sauce, thickened with egg yolk, that doesn’t curdle with the heat. You do this by mixing the egg yolk with grated cheese and removing the dish from the heat before you add the egg mixture while stirring constantly. Reserve some pasta water to thin the sauce to your desired consistency. Too little water and the sauce will be kind of gummy and sticky. If you have leftovers, reheat very gently adding a little water as needed.

Start to finish this is a 30 minute meal. Perfect for busy weeknights.

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Clam Carbonara

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews
  • Author: Kara Taylor- Home Cooks Guide
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: Pasta
  • Method: Stove top
  • Cuisine: Italian
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Description

A simple Pasta Carbonara that plays off the sweet-salty pairing of clams and bacon.

Ingredients

Scale

1/2 lb pasta

1/2–1 cup drained chopped clams

1/3 cup diced bacon

1/2 onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup chopped parsley

1/2 cup pasta water

3 egg yolks

1/2 cup grated parmesan

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Boil pasta to al dente.  Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water (plus some extra in case you want it).  Drain the pasta.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine the egg yolks with grated cheese. 

In a skillet, sauté the bacon until it is crispy and has rendered fat in the pan. 

Add the onions, and garlic, and sauté until soft and transparent, about 3-5 minutes. 

Add the drained chopped clams (reserving clam juice for another use) and cooked pasta.  Cook while stirring for another 1-2 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the heat.  Slowly add the egg mixture while stirring constantly. 

Add 1/2 hot (but not boiling) pasta water and chopped parsley.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add more pasta water if you would like a thinner sauce.

Serve with more grated parmesan and pepper at the table.

Notes

This recipe makes 4 small-ish servings or 2 large servings.  You may want to double it for a family of 4 or serve it with salad and bread.

The Best Dry-Cured Bacon with Maple, Garlic, and Thyme.

The links in these recipes are for products that I use and recommend.  

Cure your own – it’s easy!

This dry-cured slab bacon recipe is sweet, savory, and herbacious with pure maple syrup, fresh garlic, and lots of fresh herbs. This was one of my original products when I opened Smokey Ridge Charcuterie and The Farm Table and it continued to be the most popular product I made for 10 years running. I’ve adapted it here for the home kitchen and hope you enjoy it.

Curing your own bacon is a great “Intro to Charcuterie” project. It takes a solid week (8 days to be precise) but is really easy so long as you have a kitchen scale, a thermometer, and some refrigerator space that you can spare for a bit.

Before starting this recipe…

The recipe below is scaled for 10 lbs which is the approximate weight of one pork belly, but it is also an easy unit for scaling. For best results and safety, please scale this recipe to the actual weight of your pork belly. For example, if your belly weighs 9 lbs, you would multiply the quantity of each ingredient by 0.9. If your pork belly weighs 12 lbs, you would multiply the quantity of each ingredient by 1.2. If you were making a whole pigs worth of bacon, say 24 lbs of belly, you could scale this recipe by a factor of 2.4.

This recipe calls for curing salt #1 (check out this post for a comprehensive discussion on salt). The actual amount of sodium nitrite is 200 parts per million – a very small amount. This ingredient adds to the rosy hue of ham and bacon and in my opinion, makes a better-tasting product by preventing oxidation. In some products, sodium nitrite plays an important role in food safety by preventing the growth of clostridium botulinum (the bacteria responsible for botulism). However, it does not add much to food safety for this product as you are curing it under refrigerated temperatures and cooking it and cooling it relatively quickly so if you would like to omit it, go ahead. Just be aware, that bacon made without it will not be pink (or quite as tasty).

If you would like to use the curing salt, but don’t want to buy a large amount to try out this one recipe, I have scads of it and can mail you some for free if you are one of my subscribers. Just update your preferences to include your mailing address and shoot me an email requesting some curing salt.

You will want to get a pork belly without skin for this recipe. If you can only find skin-on bellies, it is easier and you’ll lose a lot less if you cure and cook the belly with the skin on and then cut it off than it is to cut it when raw (and slippery).

How to use dry-cured slab bacon.

Having slab bacon on hand in the refrigerator is a real treat! Here’s a couple of ideas of what you can do with it:

  • You can slice it into strips and fry it as you would store-bought bacon.
  • Make lardons to top salads or soups. Simply dice it 1/4″ or so, and fry it until crispy.
  • Use it in place of ham in soups and bean dishes. Start the soup by sauteing the bacon. Then add your veggies and sautee in the bacon fat before adding your broth.
  • Bacon skewers. Cut strips 1/8 inch thick, thread them onto a skewer, brush them with maple syrup, bake until crispy and serve them as an appetizer. This makes a great party appetizer.
  • The possibilities are really endless.

Dry-Cured Bacon vs. Wet-Cured Bacon

The bacon you buy in the store is wet-cured or brined. This process adds water weight. The dry-curing process pulls water out of the pork belly, creating a more concentrated bacon flavor. This means that when you are cooking bacon in the pan, it will not release nearly as much water. You will want to use a lower heat when frying this bacon and watch it as it can go from perfect to overdone quickly, especially if you are cooking at high temperatures.

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Dry-Cured Bacon

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Kara Taylor- Home Cooks Guide
  • Prep Time: 8 days
  • Cook Time: 4 hours or so
  • Total Time: 8 days 4 hours
  • Yield: 1 belly (about 10 lbs) 1x
  • Category: Meat
  • Method: Smoker
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Gluten Free
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Description

This is bacon for bacon connoisseurs.  

Ingredients

Scale

10 lbs pork belly (skin-off)

100 grams salt

100 grams brown sugar

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 bunch fresh thyme (about 20 sprigs or so)

10 crushed garlic cloves

12 g pink salt

10 grams whole black peppercorns

10 bay leaves

Instructions

Get a weight on your pork belly and scale the recipe accordingly.

Remove the pork belly from the package and pat it dry with paper towels.  Transfer it to the container you will be curing it in.  You may want to cut the pork belly into more manageable sized pieces and that is fine to do so in this step.

In a mixing bowl combine all the dry ingredients except for the bay and thyme.  Mix this around to evenly distribute the curing salt and break up any clumps of brown sugar. 

Pork Belly in tub with maple syrup and cure

Add the maple syrup and mix.  It will form a grainy paste.

Spread this paste all over the belly, top and bottom.    Sprinkle the thyme sprigs and bay under and over the belly.  Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 days.

Pork Bellies rubbed with cure paste and herbs

Remove the curing belly from the refrigerator.  The salt will have pulled water out of the meat and created a brine in the container.  Using your hands, turn all the pieces of bacon (so what was on top is now on the bottom) and rub everything with the brine.  Cover and refrigerate for another 3-4 days for a total cure time of 7 days.

Remove the bacon from the refrigerator.  Rinse the cure off of the pork belly.  Pat it dry and lay it out on a rack in a single layer.  Refrigerate for one day.  If you are doing this during the winter in colder climes, you can leave the bacon out in your garage for this step, just make sure the area is clean and the overnight temp in the garage is under 41 F but not freezing.

Preheat your smoker to 180-225.  Smoke until the bacon reaches an internal temperature of 140-145 degrees.

Cool the bacon.  

At this time bacon can be cut, used, wrapped, vacuum sealed and/or frozen.  This bacon will last at least 2 weeks in the fridge (longer if vacuum sealed and unopened), or 6 months in the freezer.

Equipment

Notes

If you do not have a smoker, you can cook this in an oven set to 225, on a rack placed over a sheet pan.  Add half of the salt as smoked salt to add a smokey flavor.