Recipes from the Editor

By Paula O'Brien, Editor The simple mixture of flour and water, shaped and boiled, is found the world over. Noodles have their own personalities across cultures, but every dish shares that “comfort food factor” that makes you feel at home, no matter where you happen to be.

Pastina

Makes 2 servings From Italian cuisine, pastina is a quick and easy recipe with just a few ingredients. Whip some up, ladle into your favorite bowls, and enjoy the simple, warm “hug” of this delightful dish.

¾ cup pastina or orzo 2 Tbsp reserved pasta cooking water 1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste 2 eggs 2 tsp unsalted butter 1/2 - ¾ cup freshly-grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Freshly ground pepper Boil one quart water in a saucepan. Add pastina and salt and cook until most of the water is absorbed, 3-4 minutes or whatever the instructions on the 4 package suggest. You want the pasta to be soft, not al dente but not mushy either.

Turn off heat and drain pasta, reserving about 2 Tbsp of the cooking water. Return pasta to the pan.

Lightly beat the eggs. Then, in a small and steady stream, slowly add the pasta cooking water to the eggs as you stir continuously; this will temper them so they don’t “scramble” in the next step.

Stirring constantly, slowly add the egg mixture to the pasta, letting it cook in the hot pasta.

Add butter, ½ cup of cheese and pepper. If pasta is still a little runny, add a little more cheese. Divide into 2 portions and top with more parmesan and pepper as desired.

Tsukemen

Makes 2 servings This Japanese dish combines a salty, spicy broth and satisfyingly bouncyfirm noodles…served separately until you dip the noodles briefly into the broth and eat them! The broth/dipping sauce is stronger and saltier than if you were going to drink it, since the noodles are in it for just a short time.

12 oz noodles – green tea, ramen, udon, somen, or regular spaghetti

Dipping Sauce

1 Tbsp canola oil 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 small shallots, finely chopped 2 Tbsp ginger, peeled/finely chopped 2 Tbsp white miso paste 2 Tbsp red miso paste 2 Tbsp soy sauce 3 cups water 2 tsp sugar 2 tsp powdered chicken or veggie stock 1 tsp chili oil 2 tsp sesame oil 2 Tbsp sesame seeds

Toppings

4 scallions, chopped on bias 4 Tbsp bonito flakes (optional)

Pinch of cayenne (optional)

Furikake (optional) In a pot over medium heat, add canola oil, garlic, ginger and shallots and cook until shallots are translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Mix misos and soy sauce; stir until it’s a soft paste.

Turn off heat and add chili oil, sesame oil, sesame seeds. Transfer to another container and refrigerate for at least 1 hour for flavors to meld.

Cook noodles. Drain, rinse under cold water and drain again. Divide noodles between two bowls. Divide tsukemen (dipping sauce) between two bowls and add toppings. To eat: Twirl a mouthful of noodles around chopsticks or a fork, dunk into tsukemen and then pop into your mouth!

Shisk Barak

Makes 4 servings Shisk Barak can be considered the tortellini of Arabic cuisine, traditionally made with a minced meat stuffing and a yogurt-based sauce. Assembling these delicious little pouches can take some time, but the result is well worth it and they freeze well so you can double up on the recipe and have more for later.

Dough

3 cups all-purpose flour 1 Tbsp powdered milk (optional) 1 Tbsp granulated sugar 1 tsp salt 1/3 cup vegetable oil 1 cup water

Filling

¼ lb ground meat – beef/lamb/combo of both 2 Tbsp toasted pine nuts 1/2 small onion, diced ¼ cup parsley/cilantro/combo of both 2 garlic cloves ¾ tsp smoked paprika 1 1/2 tsp allspice

Big pinch ground cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

Yogurt Sauce

32 oz plain yogurt or labneh 1 1/2 tsp salt 2 Tbsp cornstarch 2 cups water

Pinch crushed red pepper, optional

Garnish

Cloves from 1 head garlic, crushed 1-2 Tbsp olive oil 3 Tbsp dried mint Prepare dough by hand or stand mixer using paddle attachment. Start with flour, sugar, oil and powdered milk (if using) in a bowl and slowly pour water in as you mix everything together. Cover dough and let rest ½ hour as you prepare filling. In food processor, add onion, garlic, fresh herbs and pulse. In a pan, sauté these ingredients with ground meat, allspice, smoked paprika, cumin and a little salt and pepper. Cook until browned well, add toasted pine nuts and adjust salt/ pepper to taste. Set aside. Once dough has rested, cut in half. Roll out each half onto a lightly-floured board to about ¼ inch thick. Using a 3–3 ½ inch round cookie cutter, cut small circles and add 1 tsp of filling to one side of each one. Fold the dough over the filling so it looks like a half-moon, pinching at the seams. Pinch ends of the dumpling together, overlapping them to look like tortellini. Repeat this step until all the dough is used up. Place dumplings onto an oiled nonstick pan. Bake at 400° for about 10 minutes until lightly browned, broiling for an additional minute if you want more color. Note: If you want to freeze dumplings, allow to cool at this point and place them in the freezer.

Blend together yogurt, cornstarch, salt and 2 cups water. Add mixture to a pot, cooking over medium heat until the sauce starts to thicken and then boil, about 10-15 minutes. Sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon. Add dumplings and cook for 10 minutes in the sauce; they should be floating to the top. In a pan, sauté crushed garlic in olive oil until crisp. Add to yogurt sauce and garnish with dried mint. Serve warm.