Although it’s a bit early to write about Pesach, it’s never too early to start cleaning out our pantries. Much flour and baking powder gets used up with our Purim baking — but what about the refrigerator door filled with condiments, the corn syrup, the various opened bags of pasta, dried beans and rice, and the boxes and boxes of cereal?
Despite the gratification I receive each spring as I clean out the pantry shelves, I enjoy the challenge of using up as much as I can before Passover. Chesbon nefesh — an accounting of our soul — is something we usually do at the beginning of the year, but I like an accounting of my kitchen as well, just after Purim.
I’m taking this one step further this year: I’m cleaning out the attic as well. My husband’s Berkeley High soccer trophies and letters, his scuba diving gear, our deceased cat’s scratching post (she died in 1996), badminton rackets, various and sundry computer components, curtain rods, a bed frame, carpet scraps, baseball cards, Mad magazines, baby clothes, a rocking horse and our children’s art projects have found other homes.
In our children’s world, they most likely won’t have all these things. They won’t have boxes of letters; their correspondence is by email and instant messaging. They won’t have record albums or cassette tapes; their music is on their iPods. They won’t have boxes of term papers and reports; their work is nicely saved on CD’s. Photo albums? Probably not; they save their pictures on DVD.
God willing though, they’ll still be eating and enjoying meals with family and friends. The important things will remain. This week’s column is devoted to cleaning out the fridge and pantry. It really is amazing how creative one can be if you try. Using the pizza dough as the canvas, create an artistic masterpiece by cleaning out the refrigerator (sun-dried tomatoes, olives, odds and ends of cheese). Use up your pasta and canned beans with a classic, homey Italian dish, Pasta e Fagioli.
Pasta e Fagioli | Serves 6
4 Tbs. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, through press
3 cups canned chopped tomatoes
2 tsp. fine sea salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. chopped rosemary
2 cups cooked beans
4 cups cooked pasta shapes
2 oz. grated Parmesan
2 Tbs. chopped flat leaf parsley
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and the tomatoes, and cook about 5 minutes. Add the salt, pepper, sugar and rosemary. Stir in the cooked beans and pasta, and simmer until heated through. Just before serving, toss in the grated Parmesan and the parsley. Serve warm.
Cornmeal Pizza Dough | Serves 6-8
1 Tbs. yeast
1 Tbs. sugar
1 cup warm water
1 cup semolina flour
1 cup white flour
1 cup coarse cornmeal
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. fine sea salt
In a bowl or food processor, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water. Add the semolina flour, white flour, cornmeal, olive oil and salt and mix everything together. Knead 15 minutes by hand or 3 minutes in the food processor. Let rise in a lightly oiled bowl until double in bulk. Roll out to a 12-inch circle and top and bake as desired, about 15 minutes in a preheated 425-degree oven.
Marinated Carrots | Serves 6-8
1/2 cup walnut oil
2 crushed garlic cloves
1/4 cup raspberry vinegar
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
2 lbs. carrots, peeled and thinly sliced into rounds
3 Tbs. chopped parsley
In a large bowl, combine the oil, garlic, vinegar, pepper, salt and sugar. Cook the carrots in plenty of boiling water for 4 minutes. Drain them, dry them on towels, and while they are still hot, drop them into the marinade. Add the chopped parsley just before serving, otherwise it will discolor from the vinegar.
Rebecca Ets-Hokin is a certified culinary professional. Visit her Web site at www.GoRebecca.com. She can be reached at [email protected].