Linguine and meatballs with a tomato-cream gorgonzola and marjoram sauce

This came out as a result of an intense craving for a creamy-gorgonzola-y pasta dish a few weeks ago after a run.

I had all meatballs in the freezer I needed to use (click here for a recipe) and pretty much everything else was idly sitting in my pantry and fridge.

Here's what happened in Poupette's kitchen that day.



INGREDIENTS (2 people):
- 1/2 pack of dry linguine
- a large handful of small meatballs (click here for a recipe)
- a handful of fresh cherry tomatoes, reserve a few on the side for decoration
- 1 small basket of fresh cremini mushroom
- 1 medium onion
- 1 splash of olive oil
- 1/3 cup of heavy cream
- 1/4 cup of crumbled gorgonzola
Note: if you can, use gorgonzola dolce (a creamy, soft and almost sweet gorgonzola). I used the super acidic crumbly kind you can find easily in supermarkets here in the US, but it would have been orders of magnitude better with the dolce.
- 2 to 3 sprigs of fresh marjoram (oregano or thyme would work well as substitutes)
- freshly grated parmesan cheese for serving



RECIPE:
- bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the linguine al dente

- while the pasta is cooking, brown the meatballs in the olive oil over medium-high heat until golden but not yet cooked through, about 2-3 minutes

- in the same pan, saute the diced onion and sliced mushrooms over medium-high heat and deglaze the meatballs drippings with the moisture of the mushrooms, cover if necessary to create a steamy environment

- after 4-5 minutes, add the marjoram and fresh tomatoes and cook over medium heat until the tomatoes are soft (about 1-2 minutes). If it gets a little dry and starts to stick to the pan, add a ladleful of pasta cooking water and stir

- add in the cream and crumbled gorgonzola and cook over low heat until the meatballs are cooked through

- drain the pasta and serve hot sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper, a few fresh tomatoes and a healthy dose of parmesan shavings
- bon appetit!

Borscht (Eastern European beetroot soup)

I want to say my immense love of beets is behind the idea of this soup, but not at all! I actually do not even like beets that much. However, there is something so comforting about the piping hot vinegary taste of Borscht, not to mention the hypnotizing deep burgundy color of this delicious Eastern European soup...

I'd been toying with the idea of making Borscht for the blog (and for my tummy, too!) for a few months, when I saw a video on Youtube yesterday of a lady preparing one for her family. This was the trigger and I decided right then and there that I would be cooking Borscht for my next PITK recipe.

Here it is guys! Enjoy!


INGREDIENTS (for 4 people):
for the broth:
- 1.5 lbs pork belly, with rind
- 2 medium yellow onions, peeled and quartered
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and cut in large chunks
- 2 to 3 bay leaves (fresh or dry)
- 10 black peppercorns
- a big pinch of salt
- 12 cups of water
for the soup:
- 2 lbs of red beets
- 1/2 small head of green cabbage
- a bunch of fennel leaves (I should have used dill, but only had fennel at hand)
- 1/4 cup white vinegar (not pictured)
- a dollop of sour cream and a few dill/fennel leaves for serving (not pictured)

RECIPE:
- in a deep stock pot, heat a splash of vegetable oil and brown the pork (skin down), onions and carrots on high heat until caramelized

- season with a healthy pinch of salt, the bay leaves and peppercorns and add the 12 cups of water

- bring back to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for 1 hour

- drain the stock, discard the vegetables and thinly slice the meat against the grain after removing as much of the fat as possible

- bring the clear broth back to a simmer, then add the beetroots peeled and cubed and cook for 30 minutes on medium-high heat

- after 30 minutes, add the shredded cabbage, chopped fennel and meat into the soup and cook for another 15-20 minutes, or until the cabbage is cooked through. If the liquid evaporates too much, you can complement with beef broth, vegetable broth or just water

- when the vegetables are done, turn off the heat and add 1/4 cup of white vinegar

- serve piping hot, with a dollop of sour cream on top
- Enjoy!


Note: for a little extra oomph, you can serve the soup with pierogi-like mushroom dumplings (recipe coming soon)

Pot-au-feu (classic French beef stew)

Pot-au-feu (which translates into 'pot on the fire') has got to be one of the most famous and universally appreciated dishes of French cuisine. You will never find a French person who has not had this dish.
Click here for a little history and knowledge about the dish.

This wonderfully flavored, slow-cooking dish is a staple during the cold months of fall and winter; and it costs very little! It uses very cheap cuts of meat (typically chuck, oxtail, flat ribs and marrowbones) and seasonal vegetables (turnips, leeks, carrots and celery). It is served piping hot, alongside boiled potatoes and a ladleful of broth. The buttery marrow is spread on grilled sourdough and sprinkled with coarse salt... oooh, so good!

The great thing about this dish is that it makes tons of leftovers! Usually eaten cold, with Dijon mustard and cornichons (pickled gherkins), the meat can also be used for a sheperd's pie or in a grilled cheese sandwich with grated gruyere. In my family, the leftover broth was always reheated and used to cook tapioca beads (Perles du Japon) to eat as a light supper, with a slice of grilled sourdough.

It is really a great recipe to have in your repertoire! Try it, you won't be disappointed :)

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: this is my own recipe and it involves a lot of steps, but this is I think really worth the effort and time as the result is divine. You can also go ahead and put everything in one pot and cook for 3 hours, it'll still taste amazing and it's a lot less work- just not as pretty ;)

INGREDIENTS (for 4 people, 2 people with leftovers, or 1 person with TONS of leftovers):
- 2 onions, peeled and whole (one will be used to brown over an open flame)
- 3 leeks (or as many as you like, I just had 3 available), reserve the green parts of 1 leek
- 9 carrots
- 5 branches of celeri
- 5 cloves of garlic, still in their skin
- 4 smallish medium turnips, or 1 large yellow turnip (that's what I used, because can you believe that my supermarket was OUT of turnips??? In the middle of October?!)
- 1 bouquet garni (click here for recipe)
- coarse salt
- 20 black peppercorns
- 4 cloves, whole
- 2 lbs beef chuck, whole piece
- 1 lb oxtail
- 1lb lean flat ribs
- 6 marrowbones
- not pictured: 3 large Yukon gold potatoes
- flat leaf parsley for decoration


RECIPE (takes about 4 hours start to finish):
- Put coarse salt on the marrowbones and reserve in the fridge until ready to use

- Take one of the onions, cut it in half, wrap it in aluminium foil and brown it over an open flame

- Cut the vegetables the size you will want to have them in your plate, keeping in mind that if you cut them too small, they will turn to mush in the final presentation. For security, tie the leeks with cooking twine so that they retain their shape while cooking

- Stud the remaining onion with the 4 cloves and crush the peppercorns with a pestle

- In a large stockpot, brown 1 carrot, 1 celery branch and the grilled onion in a little olive oil; this will be the base for the broth. Reserve until ready to use and drain any remaining oil from the stockpot.

- Tie the chuck with cooking twine and put the meat into the stockpot, along with the browned veggies, garlic, pepper, bouquet garni, studded onion and 14 cups of cold water

- bring to a boil, and simmer for 2 1/2 hours on low heat. Skim the brown foam that forms on top of the water regularly. Make sure that the water does not evaporate completely, and cover if necessary.

- after 2 1/2 hours, the meat should be really tender and the broth reduced and concentrated with flavor. Reserve the meat on the side, toss the by-now-overcooked veggies and filter the broth into a pot, through a thin dish towel draped over a sieve. Be sure to squeeze out all the deliciousness into your broth, that's where all the flavor units are!

- Put the meat back in the stockpot and pour the clear broth over it.  Add the marrow bones and the quartered potatoes. Cover and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes

- Add the remaining vegetables (turnips, carrots, celery and leeks), and a little warm water if there is not enough to almost cover the veggies. Cover and cook for another 20 minutes over medium heat.

- Serve family-style, in a large dish

- Or in a single plate as follows: a little bit of each cut of meat, surounded by vegetables and a ladleful of broth. On the side, a slice of grilled sourdough slathered in buttery marrow and sprinkled with coarse salt.

- Bon appetit!!!