Neighborhood Recipes collected by Melanie Olinto & Cassie Baxter
In my South End Home, there is a sign that hangs behind my stove that says “Cooking is Love Made Visible.” — I look at it every night when I make dinner. My family has lived in the South End for almost 15 years now and I have been helping people find homes throughout Boston for 14 years. All my gratitude goes to the amazing entrepreneurs and chefs who were gracious enough to embrace the idea of a neighborhood cookbook and share their recipes. All my love goes to these three boys and all the neighborhood kids who will have fun trying to replicate these dishes. —Melanie Olinto
Melanie Olinto’s
Steak Fajitas Adapted from Martha’s Vineyard Cookbook
As a mom of three high energy boys that are always hungry, this is my go-to recipe when entertaining. Though our South End condo can feel a bit small, it is always filled with neighbors, friends and lots of good food.
Steak Rub (works with chicken too) • 2 Tbsp paprika • 2 Tbsp chili powder • 2 tsp onion powder • 2 tsp garlic powder • 2 tsp cayenne • 2 tsp cumin Fresh Guacamole • 1 cup finely chopped red onion • 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro • 1/2 tsp salt • 1/4 tsp ground cumin • 1/4 tsp pepper • 4 ripe avocados peeled, seeded and mashed Fajitas • 2 pounds flank or skirt steak • 1 onion • 2 peppers • 2 Tbsp olive oil • 1 dozen One Mighty Mill tortillas • 1 cup sour cream
1. Mix the spice rub ingredients, cover beef and set aside in fridge for at least 1 hour. I usually make it the night before or in the morning after school drop off. 2. Slice onion and peppers removing seeds. Cook in olive oil in a cast iron pan until tender. 3. Grill the beef to your desired temperature. (Seven minutes for medium rare.) 4. Warm up tortillas in 300 degree oven for 2 minutes. 5. Slice the beef across the grain in 1/2 inch slices. 6. Serve with warm tortillas, pepper and onions, sour cream and guacamole on the side!
FINISH
S TA R T
Help the chef find the way back to the kitchen!
Snickerdoodles • • • • • • • • •
2 sticks unsalted butter 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 2 large eggs 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp kosher salt 2 tsp cream of tartar 1/4 cup ground cinnamon 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1. If you’re baking the cookies on the same day you prepare the batter, heat the oven to 350 degrees and position a rack in the center of the oven. 2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or by hand with a wooden spoon or an electric hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time until thoroughly
combined, 2 to 3 minutes total. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula to make sure that the eggs are completely incorporated.
6. In a small bowl, mix together the ground cinnamon and sugar. Drop the dough by rounded tablespoonfuls into the cinnamonsugar mixture and roll to coat.
3. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar. A little at a time, blend the flour into the butter and sugar on low speed.
7. Place the coated balls of dough on a baking sheet about 3 inches apart.
4. Mix until the flour is totally incorporated and the dough is homogeneous, about 30 seconds.
8. Bake until the cookies are golden brown on the edges and slightly soft in the center, 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.
5. For best results, scrape dough into an airtight container and let it rest in the refrigerator overnight (or at least 3 to 4 hours) before baking. The next day, heat the oven to 350 degrees and position a rack in the center of the oven.
9. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days. The unbaked dough can be stored for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
Flour Bakery • 1595 Washington Street
Chef Joanne Chang of Flour Bakery
Picco • 513 Tremont Street
Chef Tony Lawrence of Picco
Pizza Dough • • • • •
4 cups all purpose flour 1 3/4 cups room temperature water 2 tsp kosher salt ½ tsp instant yeast 1 Tbsp olive oil
1. Mix flour, salt, yeast in a medium bowl. 2. Add the water and oil mixing by hand until there is no more dry flour. 3. Dough mixture should be shaggy and loose but not soupy. 4. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or place it inside plastic grocery bag for 14-16 hours at room temperature. 5. After this 14-16 hour fermentation period scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a ball. Let the ball rise for 1½-2 hours.
6. Drizzle 3 tablespoons of olive oil on an 18x13 sheet pan. Spread/stretch the risen dough on the pan. If you have trouble with the dough shrinking let it rest for a couple minutes as you stretch. Once the dough is evenly spread and covers the oiled pan, cover and let rise 30 minutes. 7. Top lightly with your favorites, including sauce, mozzarella or any other cheese, roasted vegetables, sliced pepperoni and other cured meats. 8. Bake in a 500 degree oven until the sides are light brown then remove the pizza from the pan. Place directly on oven rack and bake a few minutes longer to give the bottom some extra crisp. 9. After it’s been baked, give it a little drizzle of olive oil and some grated Parmesan.
Myers + Chang • 1145 Washington Street
Ashley Lujares of Myers + Chang
Chocolate Tofu Mousse • • • • • •
8 oz high-quality bittersweet chocolate 3/4 cup white sugar 3/4 cup brewed hot coffee or hot water 1 pound silken or extra soft tofu, drained 1 tsp vanilla extract 3/4 tsp kosher salt
1. In a microwave or over a double boiler, melt the chocolate and set aside. 2. Combine the sugar and coffee (or water) together and stir until the sugar dissolves. 3. Pour the syrup into a blender and add the melted chocolate, tofu, vanilla, and salt. 4. Blend on medium speed until completely smooth, scraping the blender sides a few times as needed.
5. Remove the mousse from the blender and divide into serving bowls. 6. Let mousse firm up in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving. 7. Break up your favorite cookie with your hands into bite-size pieces, place on top of the mousse to garnish, then serve! 8. Mousse may be made up to 4 days in advance. Instead of dividing it into serving bowls, keep it stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Stir vigorously when ready to serve to loosen up the mousse before dividing it into serving bowls for a smooth appearance.
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times a day! Yum!
N U M BE R
Grammy’s Pimento Cheese This recipe comes from Julie’s mom, fondly known as “Grammy” to her South End kids, August and Theo. This cheese has been a top-seller at Formaggio for years. Formaggio donates all profits from the Pimento Cheese to the Blackstone Innovation School, just three blocks away!
• • • •
1 lb sharp cheddar, shredded 1/2 cup roasted red peppers 1/4 cup Hellman’s mayo A sprinkle each of garlic powder and black pepper
1. Mix all ingredients in a food processor or by hand in a big bowl. (Thin the mixture with half and half if you think that it’s too thick.)
2. Spread Pimento Cheese on baguettes, rolls, or bagels, or use it as a dip with pretzels, tortilla chips or celery sticks. 3. Create a Pimento Cheese sandwich with any type of bread with or without tomatoes, pickles and lettuce!
Formaggio Kitchen • 268 Shawmut Avenue
Julie Cappellano of Formaggio
Coppa • 253 Shawmut Avenue
Chef Brian Rae of Coppa
Cavatelli Chicken Broccoli Ragu • • • • • •
1 ½ Tbsp garlic 2 onions, diced 2-3 bunches broccoli, ground 1 ½ qts chicken stock 1 can diced tomatoes Spice sachet filled with bay leaf, thyme, peppercorns
Chicken Sausage • • • • • • •
5 boneless skinless chicken thighs 2 Tbsp chopped garlic 1 ½ Tbsp fennel toasted and ground 1 ½ Tbsp coriander toasted and ground 1 Tbsp smoked paprika 1 Tbsp chili flake Salt and pepper to taste
4. Add the cooked and ground chicken sausage to the stewing broccoli. 5. Add tomatoes and sachet to the pot and cook down at a low temperature for 1 hour. Taste and season as needed. Dough 1.
Whisk together flours and salt.
2.
Add water gradually and knead for 10 minutes.
3.
Shape the dough into your desired pasta shape right after it is made.
4.
Separate the dough into manageable portions. Roll each portion of dough into long, even, cylinder shaped pieces. Then cut each log of dough into lots of half inch long pieces. Roll each half inch section of dough into a small ball.
5.
Press each small dough ball with your thumb until they are all flattened in the middle. Then, place the back of a butter knife on the flattened dough and gently roll the knife and dough towards you so it makes the cavatelli shape, curling around the knife. Repeat until all of the dough is used up.
6.
Cook in boiling water for about 5 minutes.
Cavatelli Dough • • • •
4 cups Semolina Flour 4 cups “oo” flour ½ Tbsp salt 1 ¾ to 2 cups water
Ragu and Sausage 1. Sweat the garlic and onions down until soft in a large pot. Add the broccoli and stock. Cook until the broccoli loses its bright green color. 2. Grind the chicken and spices all together. Place on a sheet tray and cook in oven on 325 degrees, rotating the tray every 15 minutes. 3. Take the tray out of the oven. Any extra chicken sauce can be placed into the broccoli pot. Grind the chicken again.
FoMu • 655 Tremont Street
Chef Deena Jalal of FoMu
Blueberry Oatmeal Bars • • • • • • • •
3/4 cup blueberry jam (home made or store bought) 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 1 cup oat flour 1/4 tsp baking soda Pinch of salt 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats 2 Tbsp maple syrup ½ cup coconut oil
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease one 8-inch square pan, or line with parchment paper. 2. Combine brown sugar, oat flour, baking soda, salt, and rolled oats. Mix in the coconut oil using your hands or wooden spoon.
3. Press 2 cups of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the jam to 1/4 inch from the edge. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the top, and lightly press it into the jam. A little lemon zest is yummy, as well! 4. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until lightly browned. 5. Allow to cool before cutting into bars. 6. Store in sealed containers at room temperature for a couple of days or freeze individually and defrost as you want them!
Connect the dots to make a sweet treat!
Toro • 1704 Washington Street
Chef Josh Elliott of Toro
Tortilla de Patatas • •
11 eggs whisked 2 large russet potatoes peeled, quartered and sliced 1 small onion diced 2 cups olive oil
4.
Heat a non-stick pan until just under smoking.
5.
Add 1 tbsp of canola oil until smoking, then add egg mixture.
1.
Place potatoes in pan and cover with olive oil, salt and pepper. Cook until tender.
6.
Mix curds around for 15 seconds, reduce heat and make sure the tortilla has come together and isn’t sticking to the pan.
2.
In pan cover onions in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook until tender.
7.
Using a cake stand, invert the plan and slide the other side into the pan.
8.
Repeat the process until both sides are colored and center is firm.
• •
3.
Once potatoes and onions are cooked, strain off the fat and place in bowl. Add eggs and about 6 ounces of olive oil and season.
One Mighty Mill • 68 Exchange Street
Chef Tony Rosenfeld of One Mighty Mill
Basil Hummus One Mighty Mill is bringing back wheat you can eat by building a mill in Lynn, Massachusetts. They are starting with bagels, tortillas and pretzels made with wheat grown in Linneus, Maine and ground fresh daily.
• • • • • • • •
0.75 oz bag fresh basil, washed and patted dry 1 15-1/2 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 3 Tbsp tahini 1 lemon, zested (about 1 tsp) and juiced (about 1/4 cup) 2 Tbsp cold water Kosher salt 1/4 tsp ground cumin 1/4 cup olive oil
1. Add the basil, chickpeas, tahini, lemon zest and juice, water, 1/2 tsp salt and cumin to a food processor and process until finely chopped, about 20 seconds. 2. With the machine still running, add the oil in a thin stream and process until the mixture is smooth and uniform. Season with salt to taste and serve or set in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
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Fruits Apple Orange Mango
Apricot Pear Melon Cherry
Kiwi Lime Plum Lemon
Mida • 782 Tremont Street
Chef Douglass Williams of Mida
Ricotta Dumplings Ricotta Dumpling
Dumplings
• • • • • • •
1. To start, take a large sauce pot and fill halfway with water. Place a heavy pinch of salt in the water and place it on high heat and bring to a simmer.
4 cups ricotta cheese 1 cup finely ground Parmesan 2 whole eggs 2 pinches salt 2 pinches pepper 1 pinch ground nutmeg 2 cups flour
Quick tomato sauce • • • • • •
2 Tbsp olive oil 2 26 oz cans of crushed San Marzano tomatoes 2 cloves garlic, crushed & chopped 1/4 cup Sherry vinegar Pepper and saltto taste Pasta water
• •
Parmesan, fine ground Basil leaves, ripped in half
2. Grab a large mixing bowl. Place all ingredients except for the flour in the bowl. Mix all of them together for no more than one minute. The mixture should be structured. 3. Add the flour in two parts, gently mixing the flour in with a rubber spatula until all the flour is incorporated. Set aside. Tomato sauce 4. Start by lightly sautéing the crushed garlic in olive oil until light brown. Add the crushed tomatoes and the remaining ingredients.
5. Bring to a gentle boil. Keep on low, adjust taste with salt and pepper. 6. Take the dumpling mix and scoop out golf ball sized dumplings with a large soup spoon and place gently into the water, being careful not to splash. Cook on a low simmer for 3 minutes. 7. Remove one dumpling to taste. Carefully remove dumplings from the water and carefully place directly into the tomato sauce pan. Turn up the heat to medium on the tomato sauce and cook till desired consistency, about 3 minutes on medium heat. Stir in ripped basil. 8. Then turn off heat to the sauté pan and portion in plates for you and your guests. Garnish with ground Parmesan and serve.
SRV • 569 Columbus Avenue
Chefs Michael Lombardi & Kevin O’Donnell of SRV
Meatballs Meatballs
Panada
• • • • • • • • •
1. Put all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and allow the bread to soak for at least an hour.
1 lb ground beef 1 lb ground pork 5 large cloves garlic 3 Tbsp salt 1 cup chopped parsley 2 Tbsp ground black pepper 3 oz grated Pecorino cheese 3 oz grated Parmesan cheese Pinch of ground nutmeg
Panada • • • •
2-3 large eggs 5 oz bread 8 oz milk 8 oz ricotta
2. Crush all the ingredients by hand to make a thick paste. Meatballs 3. In a bowl combine the pork and beef. 4. Meanwhile, in a small container on the side mix the nutmeg, black pepper, salt, grated pecorino and Parmesan cheeses, and parsley. 5. Chop the garlic into small consistent pieces either by hand, in a food processor, or using a garlic press. Mix the garlic into the other seasonings.
6. Add the seasoning mix into the bowl with the meat and then pour in the hand crushed panada. 7. Mix all of the ingredients together until you have one consistent batter. 8. Roll the meatballs to your desired size and bake in a 400 degree oven until just cooked through. 9. Serve the meatballs in a simple tomato sauce either as is or with your favorite pasta shape.
Complete the chef’s face and hat!
Orinoco • 477 Shawmut Avenue
Chef Carlos Rodriguez of Orinocco
Shrimp Ceviche Blanched Shrimp
Ecuadorian Ceviche
• • • • • • • •
• • • • • •
10-12 shrimp 1 1/2 cups carrot 1 1/2 cups celery 3 cups onion 1 Tbsp salt 1/2 oz cinnamon sticks 1/2 oz star anise 1 Tbsp black pepper
3.
Use a spoon to put 3/4 cup of the salsa roja down on the bottom of the plate. Arrange the blanched shrimp on top of the salsa and then top the shrimp with the remaining salsa.
4.
Garnish the shrimp with the remaining ingredients and enjoy!
1. Boil water with all the ingredients except for the shrimp. Place shrimp in the boiling water for 30 seconds then place them immediately in ice bath. Salsa Roja • • • • • • • • •
1 Tbsp Tabasco 4 Tbsp tangerine juice 8 Tbsp ketchup Pinch salt 1 1/2 cups tomatoes 3 Tbsp red jalapeño 3 Tbsp green jalapeño 1 cup white onion 1 1/2 cups red pepper
2. Roast all vegetables on the grill or in the oven, and then blend with liquid ingredients. Adjust salt as needed.
½ cup blanched shrimp 1 cup salsa roja ½ Tbsp cilantro 1 Tbsp finely chopped red onions ½ Tbsp cancha corn (needs to be fried) ½ Tbsp red jalapeño
Wink & Nod • 3 Appleton Street
Chef Louis DiBaccari of Wink & Nod
Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies Cookies • • • • • • • • • • •
4 cups flour 1 1/2 tsp salt 1 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 stick butter 2 cups light brown sugar 1 cup dark brown sugar 1 1/2 cups white sugar 3 eggs 3 yolks 2 Tbsp vanilla extract 9 oz chocolate chips
6. Add in eggs & vanilla extract slowly to emulsify. 7. Add tahini. 8. Add flour to incorporate. 9. Add in chocolate chips. Honey Strawberry Sauce 1 pint strawberries • 3 Tbsp honey • 1 tsp fresh mint
1. Melt butter. 1. Mince strawberries place in mixing bowl. 2. Pack brown sugars tight in measuring cup. 2. Stir in honey and mint. 3. Start with sugars, salt, baking soda. 4. Whip with paddle attachment on first speed using a stand mixer. 5. Next add melted butter.
3. Serve over vanilla ice cream alongside your tahini chocolate chip cookies.
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Melanie Olinto Residential Real Estate Advisor melanie.olinto@compass.com 617.817.0775