Pesto Stuffed Flank Steak

I am not a big meat eater, though at times the mood strikes me for a really good steak.  This recipe is for a grilled flank steak which is perfect for summer, particularly because it is stuffed with basil and parsley which are in season in your own back yard right now.  Throw it on the grill with your favorite grilled vegetable(s) and you have yourself a quick meal which doesn't require you to turn on your oven in the already hot summer.

Adapted from a recipe in the cookbook Canal House Cooks every day by Hamilton and Hirsheimer.

Pesto stuffed Flank Steak

2 loosely packed cups basil leaves

2 loosely packed cups fresh parsley leaves

2 cloves garlic, peeled

3 anchovy fillets

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup Parmesan

2 lb. flank steak

salt and pepper to taste

For the pesto, puree the basil, parsley, garlic and anchovy fillets in a food processor.  Add the Parmesan and pulse a couple of more times.  Use right away on the flank steak or remove to a small bowl and cover (as air will turn the pesto dark).

Butterfly the flank steak, opening the steak as you slice, but stop about 1/2 inch from cutting the steam into two pieces.  Press the meat flat.  Season both sides with salt and pepper.  Spread the pesto onto the meat, leaving about 1 inch space all around the edges.  Roll up the steak and tie with kitchen string every two inches.  Wrap in plastic until ready to grill.

Preheat the grill so it is medium hot.  Place the steak on the grill and turn it until it is browned on all sides, about 10 minutes.  Remove from the flame, but remain on the grill and let rest for about 10 more minutes.  Place steak on a cutting board and let rest another 10 minutes before slicing into 1-2 inch rounds.

Homemade basil pesto

Basil Pesto

If you have never tried to make your own pesto, you are missing out.  I highly recommend giving it a try as it is easy to do and doesn't take any time either.  Plus, you can use a variety of different herbs to change up the flavor and it makes a lot more than you can buy in the store.  The first pesto I made was one from Italian Immigrant Cooking by Elodia Rigante.  Once I realized how easy it was to make though, I now put in basically whatever I am feeling that day or what I have on hand.

Basil Pesto

1/2 cup basil (or whatever herb mixture you want to try)

3 tablespoons pine nuts (toasted)

2-4 tablespoons Parmesan or Romano cheese, finely shredded

6 cloves garlic, peeled

3/4 cup olive oil (more if you like it thinner)

1 tablespoon parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine all the ingredient in a blender until smooth.  Serve over pasta or gnocchi of choice.  Or you can try my ricotta gnocchi.  You can easily double this recipe.

Summer Farro Salad with Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Basil

Summer Farro Salad with Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Basil

In the past year or so, I have come to love farro.  A few years back, I was visiting a friend of mine in Maryland.  We went out to breakfast and she ordered a porridge, but instead of the traditional oatmeal, it was made with farro.  I am not a fan of oatmeal as it seems like a bowl of mush without any flavor to it.  However, the farro was a different texture and held it's form, so therefore I was curious.

A few years later, I came across a simple bean stew which served the beans over cooked farro.  This was the first time I cooked it.  (That recipe is also on this blog....here.)  The white beans and farro complimented each other well.  The beans soft and the farro gave it some chew for better texture.  So recently when I came across farro as a cold salad, I thought I have got to try it.  This recipe is based off of one from The Kitchn's blog.

Summer Farro Salad with Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Basil
1 medium vidalia onion, chopped
olive oil (I used a Greek extra-virgin from bikos.org)
1 cup farro
2 cups chicken stock
1/8 red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
 1/2 pint cherub cherry tomatoes (or other sweet cherry tomato), quartered
1/3 English hothouse cucumber, chopped into similar sized pieces to the cherry tomatoes
hand full of basil, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil and add the chopped onion.  Cook for a couple of minutes.  Do not brown.  Add farro and cook for a minute; coat each grain.  Add chicken stock and stir.  Bring to a boil and cook until farro is chewy. (Mine took about 15 minutes.)  Let the farro cool.  Add the red wine vinegar and olive oil.  Add the tomatoes, cucumber and basil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve at room temperature or chilled.  

Serves about 4

Timballo Pasta with Fresh Ricotta

Timballo Pasta with fresh Ricotta

Like the chilaquiles, this recipe is based off of heart of the artichoke by David Tanis.  I was intrigued by the pasta bake and started to read about it.  Then I discovered even the tomato sauce was homemade for this recipe.  I took it one step further and made my own ricotta cheese as well as it is quick to make and tastes so good when made at home.  Plus, it is much cheaper than buying a pound of ricotta which has been in the store for who knows how long.  This dish also reheats very well, so leftovers are great for lunch the next day.  It does make a lot given that it is based on a pound of pasta.  I used elbows, but the original recipe states anelli which are rings, but I could not find them.  Once you have the sauce and the ricotta, this dish is quick to assemble and bake, so makes a good weeknight meal also.

Timballo Pasta with fresh Ricotta

1 pound pasta
olive oil
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes
4 cups tomato sauce
1 pound fresh ricotta, room temperature
pecorino, grated
basil leaves, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, and boil your pasta for 12 minutes or as needed to reach al dente.  Drain and put in a large bowl.  Add some olive oil and season with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and red pepper flakes.  Heat the tomato sauce.  In a large oven-proof cake pan, spoon half the tomato sauce and half the ricotta.  Pour in all the pasta.  Then pour the rest of the tomato sauce and ricotta on top of the pasta.  Sprinkle with the grated pecorino.  Heat in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until hot all the way through.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with more pecorino and fresh chopped basil.

Tomato Sauce
1/8 cup olive oil
1 small onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
salt and pepper
4 pounds ripe tomatoes (peeled, seeded, and chopped)
basil (a spring or small hand full of leaves)

Heat the oil in a heavy pot.  Saute the onion until soft, about 10 minutes.  Add garlic, salt, pepper and cook for about a minute.  Add the tomatoes and basil and let the sauce come to a boil for about 5 minutes.  Reduce heat and cook for 75 - 90 miuntes.  The sauce will be done when it is not too thin, nor too thick.  Remove from heat.  Puree with a hand blender until appropriate smoothness.  This sauce is able to be frozen for later use.  (Makes about 4 cups)

Ricotta Gnocchi

One of the things I have been experimenting in this year is cooking more Italian food.  So this lead me to find a lovely Italian immigrant cookbook with tasty recipes which are easy to make, other than sometimes being time-consuming.  This was my second attempt at the ricotta gnocchi and both time it turned out lovely.  Added to that the pesto made from my own basil and you have a simple, yet filling dinner.  The book this recipe came from is called Italian Immigrant Cooking by Elodia Rigante.  Unfortunately, it is no longer published, but you can find it in the used book stores.

Ricotta Gnocchi

1 pound freshly made Ricotta cheese

1 egg

2 cups flour (maybe a little more if your ricotta is really wet)

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta and the egg.  Add the salt and pepper.  Gradually add the flour.  Knead on a floured counter.  Roll into finger-sized logs and then cut into equal length pieces (mine are usually about 3/4 inch each).

To cook: bring a pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the gnocchi and stir to be sure they don't stick.  Cook for about 10 minutes or until the gnocchi is floating.  You can serve immediately with whatever sauce you like or just some grated Parmesan cheese.  The above photo is made with homemade pesto.

These freeze well.  Or if you prefer to cook them all and not eat them all, you can reheat them in the oven with some Parmesan cheese grated over them.