Cooking San Francisco

Asparagus with Parmesan Breadcrumbs

We've just bought our first asparagus of the season and it's great to have you back, old friend!  Our favorite preparation method of the moment is broiling. It produces the same depth of flavor as roasting but in much less time. It's just important that you keep a close eye on the oven, as the high temperature will turn your tender green stalks to charcoal sticks if you aren't paying attention. (Honestly, for attention-challenged people like ourselves, this is the hardest part of this recipe). We think freshly made breadcrumbs work best for the topping. We put two pieces of sourdough bread in the food processor and ground them to the desired crumb size then added the cheese, zest, salt and pepper. If you already have bread crumbs, it's fine to toss everything together as the recipe states.

1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
2 pounds asparagus, tough ends snapped off

1. Adjust oven rack so that it sits 6 inches below heating element and heat broiler. Toss breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese and lemon zest with 1 tablespoon olive oil in bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Toss asparagus with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil on large rimmed baking sheet and season well with salt and pepper. Spread asparagus in single layer on baking sheet and broil, shaking pan halfway through, until asparagus is tender and lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes.

3. Transfer asparagus to broiler-safe baking dish. Spoon breadcrumb mixture over asparagus and broil until lightly browned, 30 to 60 seconds, watching carefully. Serve.

Serves 4

Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 8 min
Total Time: 18 min

Marcella Hazan's Simple Tomato Sauce

For those who think that some of the best recipes are also the simplest, this time-honored, classic tomato sauce is for you. It's thick, rich, sweet and is the product of just one of the many authentic Italian recipes brought to us by Marcella Hazan. Mrs. Hazan began publishing cookbooks in the 1970s, with the updated compilation, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking , hitting the shelves in 1992.  Over the last few years Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter has hit the blogosphere (see smitten kitchen and orangette to name just two).

So far we've used this sauce on homemade gnocchi, penne pasta, and as a pizza sauce and it's fabulous in a variety of situations. We doubled the recipe so that we would have leftovers to freeze and added a little less butter than the original recipe stated. You can use whatever canned tomatoes you prefer. Generally, we use organic whole tomatoes that we pour directly into the stockpot and crush with our hands to get the desired level of chunkiness. Some family members prefer a smoother sauce so we've also been known to use one can of whole tomatoes and one can of pure tomato sauce.

Marinated London Broil

 

This delightfully uncomplicated recipe comes from our friend Alicia's stepfather Barry. The marinade combines salty and bold (Worcestershire and garlic) with fresh and bright (parsley and lemon) to pack a powerful punch of flavor to the beef. Technically, London Broil is a preparation method not a cut of meat, and meat labeled London Broil is usually top round roast or flank steak. If you use these cuts, be sure to slice the cooked meat thinly and against the grain. We often use Chateaubriand or other large boneless sirloin steaks for this recipe because it is a bit more tender but still has great flavor. It can be more expensive, so if you use a cheaper cut of meat, you can pound it slightly with the flat edge of a meat tenderizer. Also, we find it helpful take the meat out of the refrigerator about an hour before cooking so it will cook more evenly.