The Perfect Tomato Salad

serves 4 as a side dish

3 tablespoons best-quality olive oil
1/4 cup best-quality balsamic vinegar
1 pint grape tomatoes, rinsed and halved length-wise (cherry tomatoes are a fine alternative)
1/4 loosely packed basil leaves, sliced thin, as in a chiffonade
coarse salt
freshly ground pepper
Heat the olive oil and a little less than half the vinegar over a low flame until bubbling and just beginning to reduce, about 2 minutes. Toss the tomatoes with the hot liquid, sliced basil and salt and pepper to taste. Go easy on the salt, you'll add more just before serving. Cover and allow to sit out before serving, up to 4 hours. Just before serving, reduce the remaining vinegar in the same manner as before: over a low flame, watching it bubble until it begins to reduce in volume. Toss the tomatoes in their own juices, then drizzle the newly reduced vinegar over the mixture and toss lightly. Add a final sprinkling of coarse salt, to taste.

Slow-Cooked Broccoli with Crunchy Lemon Breadcrumbs

serves 4 to 6 as a side dish 1 1/2 pounds broccoli
3 to 4 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt
Red pepper flakes (optional)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups fresh, roughly textured breadcrumbs (made from stale bread)
Flaky sea salt (such as Maldon)
1 lemon
Freshly ground black pepper
Break down your broccoli as follows: Cut the thick stems from the florets, peel and cut them into 1-inch chunks. Break the florets into pieces. If the garlic cloves are small (the size of an almond) leave them whole. Cut larger cloves into halves or quarters.
Pour the olive oil into a large pot (4 quarts or so) that has a tight-fitting lid. Add the broccoli, starting with the stems and followed by the florets, and garlic and a pinch of salt. Add about 2 or 3 tablespoons of water and put on the lid. Place over a medium low flame and cook until you can hear the liquids starting to simmer (about 10 minutes.) It's OK to peek in the pot to see how things are going. Turn the flame down as low as possible and continue cooking until the broccoli is limp and completely soft, about another hour. Turn off the heat but keep the lid on.
In a large frying pan, heat up the oil and butter and add the breadcrumbs (and optional red pepper flakes) and sauté until the crumbs begin to brown. Add a small pinch of the salt and turn off the heat. Using a microplane or a fine grater, carefully grate just the peel from the lemon and toss in with the crumbs.
To serve: Remove the broccoli from the pan with a tongs until the only thing left in the pot are the cooking liquid and the garlic cloves (which will be quite soft.) Smash the cloves against the sides of the pot and mix them into the liquid and pour it over the broccoli. Sprinkle on the breadcrumbs, grind some fresh pepper over everything and serve.

Empanadas with Corn Filling ("Humitas")

Makes 12 small or 8 large empanadas
For the dough:
3 cups flour
1 1/2 sticks butter, chilled and cut into cubes
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
8 tablespoons cold water
For the filling:
4 cups fresh corn (approximately 1 bag of frozen corn is fine)
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon mustard
3 tablespoons milk
1 small squeeze of lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
For assembly:
1 large egg, whisked
Sea salt or Maldon salt to taste (for garnish)
In a food processor, pulse to combine the flour, butter and salt. Whisk together the egg and the water and add in individual tablespoons until dough just comes together. Press into two discs and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for about 30 minutes to an hour in the fridge.
In a large skillet on medium heat, cook the corn and green onions in olive oil for about 3 minutes. Add garlic, mustard, milk, lemon juice, paprika, salt and sugar, and cook for 5 minutes more until the corn is soft and spices have melded. In a food processor, pulse about 3 or 4 times, until the mixture is homogenous but leaving a few corn kernels whole.
Remove dough from fridge, and roll out on a floured surface as thin as you can, about 1/4 inch or so. Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut round circles using the back of a small saucer (I used a 3-inch for small empanadas and a 6-inch for larger empanadas).
Transfer rounds to a parchment–lined baking sheet. Place 1-2 tablespoons of filling into the center of each round, folding in half and crimping with a fork to enclose the pastry. Brush the tops with egg and dust with a little sea salt or Maldon salt, if you have it. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, until empanadas are golden brown.
Serve immediately with white wine or lemonade.

Roasted Balsamic Vegetable Pasta with Mint & Yogurt

Serves 2 to 3 as a main dish
1 small head of cauliflower, cut into small florets
1 medium eggplant, sliced into 1/2-inch cubes
1 small onion, cut into wedges
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1/2 pound bowtie or other pasta
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup mint, chopped
Roasted red pepper flakes to taste
3 tablespoons Greek yogurt, or more to taste
Preheat oven to 450° F. Line two or three baking sheets with parchment paper (you can also use foil, but be sure to spray foil with cooking spray before adding vegetables). Arrange cauliflower florets, eggplant cubes, onion slices, and tomato halves (cut side facing up) on baking sheets. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes, stir and shake up the vegetable pieces, and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes or until vegetables are browned and softened.
While vegetables are roasting, cook the pasta in salted water. Mix the balsamic, olive oil, mint, and red pepper flakes (if desired) with a fork until blended.
Combine roasted vegetables with pasta and toss with balsamic dressing. While hot, add yogurt and toss to coat evenly.
Notes:
• Make sure to leave enough space between the vegetables when roasting so they brown and caramelize rather than steaming
• Cut vegetables in slightly larger than bize-sized pieces -- they will shrink when cooking. Keep the sizes fairly uniform to make sure everything cooks in the same amount of time.
• Depending on the size of your oven, you might need to roast the vegetables in batches.

Egyptian Tomato Soup

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 medium brown onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (4 ounce) jar diced pimientos
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juice; or 1 pound fresh tomatoes
1 (14.5 ounce) can low sodium chicken broth, or 2 cups homemade chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 limes cut into wedges
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a large stockpot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and garlic, cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the pimientos and tomatoes, cover and cook gently for 10 minutes. Add the stock, chili powder and paprika and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Using an immersion blender (or transfer to a food processor or blender), puree until almost smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with fresh lime squeezed on top.

Slow Cooker Barbacoa Beef

Makes enough meat to stuff 30 tacos
4 chipotle peppers (from a can) plus all the adobo sauce it sits in
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 red onion, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 head garlic, peeled and cloves smashed
5 dry bay leaves
2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 tablespoon kosher salt
Juice of 4 limes
1/2 cup cider vinegar
5 to 7 pounds beef brisket
4 to 6 cups beef or chicken stock


Stir together chipotle peppers and sauce, cilantro, red onion, garlic, clove, salt, lime juice, and cider vinegar in the insert of a slow cooker (if you have a food processor, pulse till combined first before adding). Place the brisket on top of this mixture. (I like to cut my brisket in two pieces so it fits better in the slow cooker.) Add stock to cover the meat and place bay leaves on top. Use tongs to move the meat around gently to combine everything and put the lid on.
Cook on HIGH for 4 hours. Once finished, turn crock pot to WARM and let sit for 6 to 8 hours.
I like to make mine before bed and then let it sit on WARM overnight. This allows the meat to cook fully and then come to a point where it can be shredded easily and will essentially fall apart when pulled with a fork. If you don't have overnight to accomplish this, another hour of cooking on HIGH will get the job done. The meat will not be as tender, but will still be tasty.
Remove meat from slow cooker and place on rimmed baking sheet. Use two forks to pull the meat apart. Discard the fat, if desired. If you plan on frying it again before use, the small fat bits are extra tasty and should be kept! Place shredded beef in large bowl and ladle cooking liquid over the top a few scoops at a time. You want the meat to hold the liquid but not swim in it.
To keep it warm for guests you can return it to your slow cooker after you have removed the remaining liquid. That liquid is extra tasty and can be frozen into ice cube-sized portions to be used in other dishes later, if you so desire. Serve with fresh tortillas, onion, cilantro, and salsa.
Note: This recipe makes roughly 30 tacos, give or take. You can make two recipes back to back in your slow cooker for the initial 4 hour cooking time (or two slow cookers at the same time) and then add the meat to the same slow cooker to sit overnight since the meat will have reduced in size. This will allow 60 tacos of meat to be finished up at the same time.