Pancetta & Green Beans - Weekend Recipe

Sometimes I choose a recipe just because of the comfort food quotient.  This is one of those.  I could eat green beans at every meal, they are my favorite.  I love them fresh and grow them in the garden and buy them at the farmer's market and get some from friends, and purchase frozen bags of them at Trader Joe's.  Now a sprinkle of chives and this recipe is warm comfort manna from heaven!

Green Beans and Pancetta with  Browned Butter

2  lb. thin green beans or haricots verts, trimmed

4  oz. pancetta

2  shallots, thinly sliced

6  Tbls. butter

6  oz. peeled and roasted  chestnuts, sliced

2 Tbls. fresh Chives, clipped

In 4-quart saucepan cook green beans, covered,  in boiling salted water 4 to 7 minutes or until crisp­  tender. Drain; set aside.  In an extra-large skillet cook pancetta over medium heat until crisp. Drain pancetta on paper towels, reserving drippings in skillet.  Reduce heat to medium-low. Add shallots to reserved drippings. Cook for 4 minutes or until golden brown and beginning to crisp, stirring frequently. Using tongs, transfer shallots to a paper towel-lined plate. Season to taste with salt. Add butter to drippings in skillet. Melt butter over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low. Continue to cook, without stirring, for 4 minutes or until butter becomes light brown and fragrant. Reduce heat to low. Add chestnuts, green beans, and pancetta. Cook 2 to 4 minutes to heat through, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately topped with shallots and chives. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

EACH SERVING  213 cal

If you want to know how to roast your own chesnuts (there is a pun in there somewhere) here is the recipe for that too!

 

HOW TO  ROAST CHESTNUTS

Use the tip of a sturdy paring knife to cut an X on the flat side of each chestnut. Arrange chestnuts in a single layer in an ungreased baking pan. Roast at 425°F for 15 minutes,  tossing once or twice during cooking. The outer shells will start  to brown and pull apart at the X.  Cool slightly. While still warm, peel the chestnuts, then roll in a clean kitchen towel to remove the thin, papery inner skins.

Recipe for Today - Thanksgiving sides - Sweet potato

The basis for this side dish is gremolata.  Traditional gremolata is an herb condiment, made with parsley, lemon peel and garlic. In this recipe, Parmesan and walnuts add richness and crunch that enhance the potatoes and parsnips in the recipe that follows.

GREMOLATA:3/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

For gremolata, place walnuts in a food processor; cover and process until coarsely ground. Transfer to a small bowl; stir in the cheese, parsley, lemon peel and juice, oil, garlic and nutmeg. Sprinkle over vegetables

Roasted Vegetables with Gremolata RecipeIngredients
3 pounds sweet potatoes (about 4 large), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 pound parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch lengths
6 shallots, quartered
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Directions:
Place the potatoes, parsnips and shallots in a greased shallow roasting pan. Drizzle with 4 tablespoons oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 425° for 45-50 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Drizzle with lemon juice and remaining oil.

Serve witht he Gremolata on top or on the side.  Or use the Gremolata to season your main dish, like turkey or chicken.

Recipes for Today - side dishes

So many times recipe books focus on the entrée and not the accompaniments.  So when I found a uniquely titled cookbook during a trip with my husband to visit my parents in North Carolina, I just had to buy it.  It was called “Everything but the Entrée.” 

We ran across a place that has been hard hit by the recent economic times.  It was a Craft/Artisan shop called Tamarack that focuses on items made in West Virginia.  Right on Interstate 77/64 (Exit 45) it was a great respite after traveling through the mountains in PA.  There were artists in residence like potters and glass blowers, musicians, some playing live (and we were there in the off season), and the most amazing selection of hand-crafted items from glass to wood, and beads to blankets.  It was amazing.  And the Food Court was darn tasty! 

I think it lost some state funding recently which is really too bad because it was a must stop on every trek to North Carolina or other places south.  According to their website, they are still open 8 AM to 8 PM, so you can stop too!  I was very impressed with the state of West Virginia that it would recognize and promote it local artists and crafts people because I am not sure I would have ever experienced these items if that shop had not been there.

On one of our first visits there I picked up a cookbook put out by the Junior League of Parkersburg, West Virginia.  It was called “Everything but the Entrée.”  (You can get yourself a copy by writing to the Junior League at P.O. Box 4051 Parkersburg, WV 26104.)  In this wonderful hardcover book they had breads, breakfast and brunch items, salads, side dishes, desserts and more.  We actually planned a brunch for January 1 using recipes we read while traveling back to Illinois on that very trip.

Sprinkled through the book is information on the amazing projects of the Junior League throughout is longer than 75 year history.  I have not had as much fun reading a cookbook as I did this one and I have never even been to Parkersburg, WV, but I feel like I have visited.

Since that purchase I have been more attentive to the sharing of recipes not only to make a main dish but also to make side dishes.  So today I thought I would share three recipes for quick and easy side dishes using my herb blends from the Backyard Patch.

Orzo and Herbs

This recipe is quick and simple and you can use several different seasoning blends to make it a different dish every time you serve it.

7 cups water

1 cup orzo

2 tsp. olive oil

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

2 to 3 Tbls. Backyard Patch herb blend -- any one of these will work:

            Savory Salt Substitute

            Butter N Cheese Herb Mix

            Grilled Meat Rub Herb Mix

            Italian Seasoning Blend

            Meat Seasoning Blend

            Soup & Salad Seasoning

            Vegetable Seasoning

Bring water to boil in a large pot.  Stir in the orzo and cook for 6 minutes.  Place the herbs, oil salt and pepper in a serving bowl.  When the pasta is ready, drain and add it to the bowl.  Toss well and serve wither hot or cold.

Asparagus Carrot Squash Toss

8 ounces asparagus, cut diagonally into 1 inch pieces

8 ounces carrots, cut into Julienne strips

1 yellow squash, sliced

3 Tbls. melted butter or margarine

3 Tbls. lemon juice

2 tsp. Marcy’s Dill Dip Herb Mix

salt to taste

Place asparagus, carrots and yellow squash in a steamer basket.  Set over boiling water in a Dutch oven and steam for 8 to 10 minutes or just until tender crisp.  Transfer the vegetables to a serving dish.

Combine Butter, lemon juice and herbs in a bowl.  Pour over vegetables and toss gently.  Serve immediately.  Serves 4 to 6.

Sweet and Sour Green Beans

4 slices of bacon (optional)

1 large onion, finely chopped

¼ cup vinegar

2 14 ounce cans of green beans

  (You can also use 1 pound fresh or frozen green beans to make this as well, but you will need to steam the beans first)

1 package of Patch French Dressing Herb Mix

Black pepper

Cook the bacon in the skillet until crisp.  Remove to paper towels and drain.  Save the drippings.  Crumble the bacon.

Sauté the onion in the bacon drippings (if not using bacon then use 1 Tbls. canola oil.)  Stir in vinegar, French Dressing Herb Mix and pepper to taste.  Cook uncovered for 3 to 5 minutes. Add the undrained green beans and bacon to the skillet.  Simmer uncovered to at least 5 minutes until heated through. Serve hot.  Makes 4 to 6 servings.

It was great with a steak and I think it would also be good with pork chops or pork roast.