Magic Sauce

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon fresh oregano leaves
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
2 medium cloves of garlic, smashed into a paste
1 well-crumbled bay leaf
pinch of red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon + fine grain sea salt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Gently warm the olive oil over medium-low heat in a skillet or pan, until it is just hot. When hot remove from heat.
While the oil is heating, lightly pound the rosemary, thyme, and oregano in a mortar and pestle.
Stir the paprika, garlic, bay leaf, red pepper flakes, and salt into the oil. Then add the bruised herbs and lemon juice.
You can use this now, but know - the oil just gets better as it ages over a few days. Keep it in a refrigerator for up to a week/ten days-ish. It thickens up when cold, so if you need it in a liquid state, place it in the sun or in a warm place for a few minutes.
Makes ~2/3 cup.

Prep time: 5 min - Cook time: 5 min

Linguine with Garlicky Bread Crumbs

Ingredients

• 1 slice day-old hearty white bread (such as Pepperidge Farm), torn
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 8 ounces uncooked linguine

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

Preparation

Preheat oven to 250°.
Place bread in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure 2/3 cup. Place breadcrumbs on a baking sheet. Bake at 250° for 30 minutes or until dry.
Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and let stand 5 minutes. Return pan to heat. Stir in breadcrumbs, and cook 6 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently.
Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain. Place pasta in a large bowl. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil, breadcrumbs, parsley, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper; toss gently to combine. Serve immediately.

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.