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As Spring Arrives
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The Pulse of Princeton: What are you most looking forward to when spring hits Princeton?
Did You Know?
Tuesday, March 19th at 11:06pm is the Spring Equinox, the transition from winter to spring
In 2023, New Jersey residents lost nearly $252,000 to fraud
On March 26th, the spring rowing season opens on Lake Carnegie (with Men’s Heavyweight)
Peas are the earliest vegetables that you can plant in NJ
4 cups marinara sauce (see Ragu Sauce recipe, below)
3 cups béchamel sauce
4 medium zucchinis, sliced
10 medium cremini, shitake or oyster mushrooms – or a combination, sliced
2 pieces baby spinach
4 sprigs of thyme
1 small head of cauliflower
½ onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
grated parmesan cheese
Directions:
Preheat the over to 400°F
Lay the zucchini slices on a large non-stick baking sheet or line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Brush the vegetables with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden and soft. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Divide the cauliflower into small florets. Place in the op part of a steamer set over salted boiling water. Steam the florets until tender but still firm, about 8 minutes.
Heat a medium skillet over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and sauté the minced onion and garlic for 1 minute or until just golden brown. Add the mushrooms, sauté until all the water has evaporated and they are cooked. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet, sauté the remaining garlic and the spinach, cook until just wilted. Set aside.
Blanch the pasta sheets, one or two at a time, in boiling salted water for 1 minute. Remove with tongs or a large slotted spoon and lay them flat on top of a clean kitchen towel.
To assemble, cover the bottom of a baking dish with a layer of tomato sauce. Cover with pasta sheets cut to fit the pan, overlapping them to avoid any gaps. Layer the zucchini on top. Cover with béchamel sauce and grated cheese.
Cover with another layer of pasta and tomato sauce Layer the mushrooms. Cover with pasta, béchamel and cheese Layer the wilted spinach and cover with tomato sauce.
Finally, arrange a layer of pasta, cover with béchamel sauce and cheese, and lay down the cauliflower. Cover with a layer of pasta and tomato sauce. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
Bake in the over for 40 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Remove from the oven and let it rest, covered for 15-20 minutes before serving.
Ragu Sauce
Ingredients:
6 ounces onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
6 ounces tender celery ribs, coarsely chopped
6 ounces carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
½ cup olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 cup dry red wine
4 pounds canned crushed tomatoes
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Place the onion, celery and carrots in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped but not purée.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over high heat. Add the minced vegetables; lower the heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
Add the ground beef, stirring with the back of a spoon to loosen the meat, breaking it up and blending it with the vegetables. Cook, stirring often to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot, until the meat is browned, about 15 minutes.
Add the red wine and reduce for 5 to 7 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 1 hour, stirring once in a while. The sauce should be thick. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Preheat oven to 350°F, then combine brown sugar and water until dissolved
Add pumpkin seeds and mix well.
Place the pumpkin seed mix on a baking sheet-pan with baking paper and cook for about 8 minutes. Stir after 4 minutes.
Soup Directions:
Take acorn squash halved and seeded, add olive oil and drizzle on squash.
Place the squash onto a baking sheet-pan cut side down. Bake in Preheated oven (350°F) until the flesh of the squash is easily pricked with a fork. About 30-35 minutes.
While acorn squash is baking, dice vegetables 2 inches side.
Remove squash from oven, let it cool until squash can be handled then scoop squash’s flesh into a bowl and set aside.
In a pot over medium-high heat, place olive oil then cut vegetables and sauté for 6-7 minutes. Pour in the squash flesh, spices and give a stir. Add vegetable stock, reduce heat, and bring to simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
Pour the mixture into a blender no more than half full, cover and blend in batches until smooth season with salt and pepper.
Return to pot. Thin the soup with veg stock or water if desired.
Final plate
Pour hot soup into a soup bowl, place the candied pumpkin seed in the middle and add 1 pinch of cayenne powder to give nice spice to it.
Soak the beans in water three inches above the beans and let it rest covered overnight.
For the pork brine combine all the ingredients, give a nice stir, once everything is well mixed add to the pork and let it rest covered in the fridge overnight.
Chop ½-inch size: carrots, onion, celery, jalapeno and bacon. Slice the garlic thin. Roughly chop kale as well.
Cook the beans
Drain the beans, place in a large pot, pour water two inches above beans, add thyme and bay leaf.
Season with touch of salt and pepper and bring to a gentle simmer. If foam develops from beans, skim off and repeat. Add more water as needed to keep beans submerged.
Cook at low heat for about 35-45 minutes until the beans are tender but not falling apart. Remove from the heat.
The Day Of
Take the pork chop out of the brine, pat dry with paper towel. Season with salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven at 325°F, then preheat skillet at medium-high heat and add olive oil. When it’s shimmering hot, sear the pork chops 3-4 minutes until each side is golden-brown.
Remove from skillet and place on a sheet pan in the oven for about 5-6 minutes.
Remove from oven and let rest for 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, using the same skillet, place the bacon and cook for 2 minutes at medium-high heat, then add carrots, garlic, onion, jalapeño and cook for 3 minutes.
Then add the chopped kale and continue cooking for 2 minutes.
Add the beans cook for 2 minutes.
Add vegetable stock and butter, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 5 minutes.
Add Salt and pepper to taste.
Make sure you taste everything. That is the key!
Bread crumbs
Tear apart baguette as finely as possible, add salt, pepper and olive oil and cook at 350°F in a preheated oven for 6 minutes.
The final Plate
Once the pork chops are rested and the beans cassoulet is finished, place the beans on the plate then add pork chop on top and finish with the toasted bread crumbs. Voilà!! You have an amazing Pork Cassoulet!
Slice peeled sweet potatoes on a mandolin very thinly, place in a bowl and cover with cold water.
In a medium saucepot, melt butter, add onions and garlic and cook until completely soft. Add flour and cook, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes. Add in milk and whisk continuously until completely combined. Bring to a simmer and let thicken up.
Once mil mixture is thick, add in pepper, nutmeg, sage thyme and sale to taste. Cook a further 5 minutes and remove from heat.
Grease a 7×9 inch casserole dish. Drain potatoes.
Lay down 1/3 of the potatoes slightly overlapping. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon 1/3 of the béchamel sauce over potatoes, sprinkle with some parmigiano and repeat this two more times, finishing with the parmigiano.
Cover with foil, place on a sheet tray and back in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 30 minutes. The top should be nice and golden brown. If needed, you can brown it under broil for a few minutes.
Remove from over and let stand for at least 20 minutes before cutting.
Place the onion, celery and carrots in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped but not purée.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over high heat. Add the minced vegetables; lower the heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
Add the ground beef, stirring with the back of a spoon to loosen the meat, breaking it up and blending it with the vegetables. Cook, stirring often to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot, until the meat is browned, about 15 minutes.
Add the red wine and reduce for 5 to 7 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 1 hour, stirring once in a while. The sauce should be thick. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Ingredients:
Ingredients (4-5 servings)
Ingredients:
