radish rose

fancy tuna pasta with lemon, capers and pine nuts :: by radish*rose

fancy tuna pasta with lemon, capers, and pine nuts

radish*rose 0 comment

What’s fancy tuna?  Fancy tuna, at least in my head, is the kind from Spain packed in olive oil:

fancy tuna packed in olive oil :: by radish*rose
fancy tuna packed in olive oil :: by radish*rose

I always would see these pretty cans in gourmet shops like Grand Central Market or Eataly and think, “But it’s packed in olive oil. HOW DECADENT. What on earth do you do with that?”

I am happy to report that it is indeed decadent, but guess what.  It makes perfect sense in pasta sauce.  You would probably be adding some olive oil to your pasta sauce anyway, so why not start with the fancy tuna in olive oil and only need to add a little more? Continue reading

spinach, quinoa, and feta salad with dried cranberries

radish*rose 2 Comments

Quinoa is fun to say (KEEN-wah… I like to sing it) and it’s definitely having a moment, due to being delicious *and* high in amino acids and protein. I make this salad at least once a week for a quick and scrumptious dinner for two.  If you make the quinoa and vinaigrette ahead (or buy pre-made), you can throw this together in a few minutes – no big deal.  It’s still pretty fast even if you make everything from scratch (quinoa takes about 20 minutes).  If your quinoa is still warm, you can still put it right into the salad and you’ll have a nice wilted spinach effect, if you like that sort of thing (if you don’t, just wait for it to cool). Continue reading

fiddlehead ferns with spring garlic and lemon

radish*rose 0 comment

Aren’t these fun looking? If Tim Burton designed a spring vegetable, it would be the fiddlehead fern.  I love the way they look!  But how do they taste, you ask?  If you like artichokes and asparagus, you will like the taste of fiddlehead ferns.  They are only available in the spring because they are literally baby ferns.  If left on their own they would grow into a big fern.  Crazy, eh?  So what do you do once you have brought this strange yet lovable vegetable home?  Read on!

If you don’t have spring garlic for this recipe (it is usually available around the same time of year), no big deal.  Just use scallions or green onions instead. Continue reading

spanish tortilla (potato and egg pie) :: by radish*rose

spanish tortilla (potato and egg pie)

radish*rose 2 Comments

Have you ever been to a tapas bar where they serve little plates of delicious small dishes to accompany your drinks (very good idea from Spain)?  There is almost always a version of Spanish tortilla on the menu – you get a big wedge of translucent potato slices with just enough egg to hold them together, often drizzled with garlic aioli (fancy mayo).  (This is not a tortilla like the ones you use to wrap a burrito.)

Turns out the reason for the beautiful translucent potatoes is OLIVE OIL.  A lot of it!!  Traditional recipes I looked at call for up to  1-1/4 cups.  YIKES.  Luckily, the venerable Cooks Illustrated has a version that “only” uses 1/2 cup.  Before you freak out, remember this is for a whole pie that you cannot possibly eat by yourself or all in one sitting. We ate one large slice each for dinner which was quite filling and probably contained 2 T. of olive oil. We accompanied it with mushrooms in Spanish sherry and our favorite kale salad.  Leftovers are absolutely delicious for breakfast the next day. Continue reading