Ring in the new year with 3 new recipes

White bean salad with roasted cauliflower, leeks and radicchio with a lemon-caper dressing

Ingredients

Salad

• 1 cup dry white cannellini beans, or 2 cups canned white beans, drained, rinsed, and drained again.
• Salt to taste
• 1 small cauliflower, broccoli, or romanesco broccoli, cored and cut into small florets
• 1 large or 2 small leeks, dark green section removed and discarded (or save for making stock) and white and pale green section cut lengthwise, washed, and then very thinly sliced
• ½ head radicchio or endive, sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Lemon-caper dressing

• 1 ½ teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
• 2 scallions, very thinly sliced
• 2 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice, from 1 large or 2 medium lemons
• 4 ½ tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoon capers, drained
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. If using dried beans:  soak in a large bowl of cold water for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Drain the water and place the beans in a medium pot and cover with cold water and a dash of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour, or until tender. When you blow on the bean the skin should begin to shrivel back. Taste the bean to make sure it’s tender. Drain the beans.  If using canned beans: drain from the can, rinse thoroughly, and drain again.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the cauliflower florets, leeks and radicchio (in separate rows) on a large rimmed baking sheet and toss with the oil, salt and pepper. Roast for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cauliflower is just tender, the leeks are crispy and brown and the radicchio is thoroughly soft. Remove from the oven.
3. Make the lemon-caper dressing: in a small bowl mix the mustard, scallions, salt and pepper. Add the lemon juice and then the oil and mix until smooth. Add the capers. Taste for seasoning. The dressing can be made a day or two ahead of time.
4. To serve: gently mix the beans with the cauliflower and radicchio. Place on a serving plate or bowl. Spoon the dressing on top and then sprinkle on the leeks. Serve at room temperature.

Spinach, sausage and ricotta lasagna

Ingredients

The tomato sauce, noodles and parmesan cheese

• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, or 1 teaspoon dried
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary, or 1 ½ teaspoons dried and crumbled
• Pinch chile flakes or hot pepper sauce
• 7 1/2 cups tomato sauce or canned crushed tomatoes
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pound lasagna noodles*
• 1 ½ cups grated Parmesan cheese

The spinach

• 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
• 1 to 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 to 1 ½ pounds baby spinach or spinach with stems removed**
• ½ to 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Salt and pepper to taste

The sausage

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 ½ pounds sweet or hot Italian-style sausage, squeezed out of the casing (casing discarded)

The ricotta mixture

• 1 ½ cups whole milk ricotta cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, or 1 ½ teaspoon dried and crumbled
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil, or 1 teaspoon dried
• 2 eggs, whisked
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Make the sauce: in a medium pot heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, basil and rosemary, and a pinch chile flakes if you like. Cook for about a minute. Stir in the tomatoes or tomato sauce. Taste for seasoning and add salt, pepper and more chile flakes if you like. Simmer for 15 minutes over low heat. The sauce can be prepared a day ahead of time. Cover and refrigerate.
2. Prepare the spinach: in a large skillet heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the spinach in bunches, add salt and pepper and nutmeg, stirring until the spinach leaves are thoroughly wilted and soft. Remove to a bowl. Once you’ve cooked all the spinach let it cool and then, using your hands, squeeze out excess liquid and discard. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, pepper and nutmeg if needed. The spinach can be made a day ahead of time; cover and refrigerate.
3. Prepare the sausage: in a large skillet (you can use the same on you cooked the spinach in to save on excess dishes later) heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage (out of the casing) and cook, stirring, until golden brown and cooked through. Use a slotted spoon to remove the sausage from the skillet. You can prepare the sausage and day ahead of time; cover and refrigerate.
4. Prepare the ricotta mixture: in a bowl mix the ricotta, salt, pepper, olive oil, rosemary and basil. Mix in the eggs and Parmesan and make sure the mixture is thoroughly incorporated. You can prepare the ricotta day ahead of time; cover and refrigerate.
5. To assemble the lasagna: spoon 1 tablespoon of the remaining olive oil on the bottom of a 15 x 10 inch baking dish (also sometimes referred to as a lasagna pan). Add 1 cup tomato sauce, making sure to spread it around the entire bottom of the pan.
6. Prepare the noodles: if using traditional lasagna noodles (as opposed to no cook noodles), bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil over high heat. Have a bowl of cold water ready and a sheet plan or cookie sheet ready. Once the water boils, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and add a few noodles at a time, criss-crossing them in the pot so they don’t stick together and clump. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring gently. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in the bowl of cold water. Transfer to the baking sheet, arranging the noodles so they don’t touch and stick together. Place a clean tea towel on top for the next layer. Repeat with the remaining noodles.
7. Place one third of the noodles on top of the sauce. Add half the spinach, then half the ricotta mixture, then half the sausage and top with 2 cups of the tomato sauce. Sprinkle on ¼ cup of the Parmesan cheese.
8. Repeat: Place another third of the noodles on top of the cheese and then the remaining half of the spinach, the ricotta, the sausage and top with another 2 cups of the tomato sauce. Sprinkle on another ¼ cup Parmesan cheese.
9. For the final layer: add the remaining noodles, pressing down so they fit neatly in the pan. Top with the remaining 2 ½ cups tomato sauce. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle on the remaining 1 cup Parmesan cheese and 2 tablespoons of oil. Cover tightly with foil.
10. The lasagna can be made a day ahead of time up to this point.
11. To cook the lasagna: preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place on the middle shelf and bake for 45 minutes. Raise the heat to 400 degrees, remove the foil, and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the lasagna is bubbling hot and the cheese is melted.
12. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before cutting into servings. The lasagna will be too hot and fall apart if you try to cut it straight from the oven.

Meyer lemon semifreddo with a pistachio-maple brittle topping

The crust

• 5 ounces gingersnaps or ginger cookies
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus butter for greasing the pan
• The Semifreddo:
• 1 pint (2 cups) heavy cream
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon or Meyer lemon zest, from 2 to 3 lemons
• 7 egg yolks
• ½ cup lemon juice (from the lemons you zested)
• ¼ teaspoon fine salt

The pistachio brittle topping (optional)

• 2 tablespoon butter
• ¾ cup shelled salted pistachios
• 2 ½ tablespoons maple syrup

Instructions

1. Make the crust: in a food processor or blender, whirl the cookies until finely ground. In a small bowl mix the cookies and the melted butter.
2. Liberally grease the bottom and sides of the cake pan. If using a loaf pan, line the bottom with plastic wrap leaving an overhang of around 2 inches. Place the cookie crust mixture into the bottom of the cake or loaf pan, pressing down to make a compact crust.
3. Make the semifreddo: in a large bowl whip the cream until soft peaks form. Add the vanilla and whip for another 10 seconds. Refrigerate.
4. In a small bowl mix the sugar and lemon zest using your fingers to make sure the zest is fully incorporated into the sugar.
5. Set a pot filled with about 2 inches water over medium heat until simmering and not boiling. Choose a medium large metal or glass bowl that can sit safely on top of the pot of water and, using a hand held electric beater, whisk the yolks for 2 minutes. Add the lemon sugar, lemon juice, and salt and whisk for 5 minutes, or until fluffy and slightly thickened. Remove bowl from heat and whisk another 5 to 6 minutes until the mixture has thickened and doubled in volume. Gently fold in the whipped cream, making sure it’s incorporated into the lemon mixture.
6. Spread the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth down the surface with a soft spatula. Top with plastic (or if you used a loaf pan simply pull the sides of the plastic that you lined the pan with over the top surface). Freeze until firm, about 8 hours or overnight.
7. Meanwhile make the pistachio brittle: in a medium skillet heat the butter over medium heat until just sizzling. Add the nuts and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Drizzle on the maple syrup and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the nuts are coated with maple butter and the mixture is beginning to thicken.
8. Spread on parchment paper making sure not to let the nuts clump, but spread them out in a single layer. Let the nuts set for about 20 minutes. You can make the brittle ahead of time; seal in foil.
9. Remove the semifreddo from the freezer about 5 to 10 minutes before serving. (It’s very hard to cut a good slice if it's totally frozen.) Place the pistachio brittle on top. Cut into thin pieces.