Pasta e Vaianeia, Scottish Bread Update, Roasted Veg & Wheatberry Bowl, Carambola Treat,

Pasta e Vaianeia
That's Pasta and Green Beans, if you don't speak Italian.  My version of this regional Italian classic uses cubed Butternut Squash instead of potatoes and carrots as additional vegetables.

1 can White Beans
2 cloves Garlic
2 cups fresh Green Beans, tipped, tailed and halved
1-1/2 cups cubed Butternut Squash
1/2 box Rigatoni pasta
1 Tomato
1 Zucchini, chopped
Salt, Pepper, Thyme and Basil to taste

 Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta al dente to package directions.  Remove and reserve.  In the same water (add more as needed) cook the green beans about 1/2 hour until just tender.  Add the white beans, basil and squash and simmer about 15 minutes.

Add the (water) zucchini and whole tomato.  Cook 5 minutes, then smash the tomato in the pot and remove the skin.  Add salt, pepper and thyme to taste.  Fold in the cooked pasta and warm through before serving.

Carambola Empanadas
This is a simple and pretty as well as tasty dessert.  Trim the dark tips off of the ripe fruit before you start chopping and pureeing.

3-6 ripe Carambola, trimmed and finely chopped
1 Tbsp Ginger Cane Syrup (or cane syrup and fresh grated ginger)
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 box Puff Pastry sheets

Stew together everything but the pastry sheets until you get a thick textured 'glop' and the free water is evaporated.  Low and slow is best.  Or microwave for a 15 minutes before transferring to a sauce pan.   Allow the fruit to cool and thicken.

Pre-heat the oven to 400F.

While that's going on, start thawing the puff pastry, and cut each sheet into 9 squares.

Roll each square larger and fold into a triangle over a healthy tablespoon of the fruit mixture.  Seal the edges with a fork and/or eggwash the edges before folding.   Bake for about 15 minutes until GB&D.  Let them cool, at least a little, before devouring.

Scottish Bread Update
No need to soak that oatmeal in dairy overnight, as I told you a couple weeks ago!!

That means you can be at least somewhat spontaneous in your desire to make a loaf -- no longer do you have to start the process one day and finish the next.

You do need to give them about 4 hours of soak though.  I started the soak at 8AM the other day, and at Noon I added the flour, baking soda and salt, and made up the loaf.  

I will also say that this time I had to add almost no additional flour -- a bit less than 1/4 cup of bench flour to make a good dough -- and I increased the temperature to 400F and the time to 50-60 minutes.  Came out even better than the first loaf!

Italian Roasted Vegetables & Wheatberry Bowl
"Bowl" meals are all the rage these days.  It all started maybe 25 years ago with fast food places that served Rice Bowls -- a scoop of rice topped with stir-fried meat and/or veggies.  I remember a place in Prescott, AZ called Samurai Sam's that was very good.   I actually considered opening such a restaurant myself, on a couple of occasions.  At their best these restaurants supplied a healthy, inexpensive meal.  Not elegant, but tasty.  The restaurants seem to have faded away, but the concept has come home to family cooking.

Now, Bowl meals feature not just rice but all sorts of common and exotic grains, topped with a wide variety of things.  This FOK recipe has roasted veg and a splash of marinara sauce topping wheatberries -- whole grains of wheat stripped of their inedible outer coating.  You can easily substitute Farro or Bulgar Wheat if you can't find wheatberries at your local market.  Serves 4.

1-1/2 cups Wheatberries
5 cups Water
1 cup diced onion
4 cups chopped fresh or frozen Kale.  I used a mixture of frozen Kale and fresh Spinach.

Boil the wheatberries in the water for about 45 minutes, then add the onion and kale and cook an additional 15 minutes.  Season with a pinch of salt and fresh cracked black pepper.  Drain and reserve.

You can do this part of the recipe any time and store in the fridge until needed.

Preheat oven to 425F.  On a lined baking sheet place:

2 cups trimmed and halved Brussels Sprouts
2 cups Cherry Tomatoes or large chopped Beefsteak or Roma tomatoes
1 Zucchini split in half and sliced into 1/4" halfmoons
1 cup diced Bell Pepper, your choice of color
Balsamic Vinegar to taste

Season with Italian Seasoning, splash with Balsamic, and roast for 20-30 minutes until the Sprouts are tender.

You'll also need:
1 cup Marinara Sauce
1/4 cup toasted Pine Nuts
1/4 cup cut fresh Basil

To Serve:
Re-heat the wheatberry mixture and divide between 4 bowls.  Top with marinara and roasted veggies.  

Drizzle with additional Balsamic to taste, and garnish with pine nuts and basil.