When I first began learning to cook, I had trouble experimenting with and adapting recipes. If I followed a recipe to a T, I’d often have much more success than when I tried to veer off the path.
Slowly, through lots of trial and error, I began understanding the basic principles and techniques of building flavor. For example, I remember the “aha” moment when I discovered that stews almost always followed the same pattern of sauteing aromatics, deglazing the pan with liquid, and simmering vegetables or meat over low heat until flavorful and tender.
* Scroll down to go straight to the recipes! *
Now, years later, one of my favorite cooking tricks (and modes of experimentation) is to take a familiar dish and give it a bit of a twist by adding a unique pop of flavor.
Here are some examples:
Pepper Jack Mac and Cheese: I added a kick to classic mac and cheese by substituting pepper jack cheese in place of cheddar.
Tomato Poached Fish with Orange and Fennel: Tomato and fennel are commonly found in seafood dishes, and orange and fennel pair nicely in salads. I wondered, what if I combined all three? The tomato adds acidity and umami, the orange adds tang and sweetness, and the fennel adds herbaceous, sweet notes to the dish.
Lilia’s Mafaldine with Pink Peppercorns: Replacing black pepper with pink peppercorns for a twist on cacio e pepe a la Lilia in Brooklyn.
Not every combination you try will work, but when it does, boy is it good! This week’s recipes feature two successful spins on classic dishes. The first is a weeknight-friendly stew of pasta e ceci with spicy gochujang (a Korean fermented pepper paste). The latter is a rich, creamy take on pots de crème with yogurt and hints of orange.
Weeknight Dinner: Creamy Gochujang Pasta e Ceci
This spicy variation on pasta e ceci will be your new go-to stew during the winter! It’s so cozy and full of flavor.
Pasta e ceci, or pasta with chickpeas, is a popular peasant dish found in Southern and Central Italy. There are endless variations of the dish, but typically it features a stewy mixture of chickpeas, pasta, chickpea broth, and cheese.
The twist: A dollop of gochujang produces a spicy, umami flavor to contrast the rich, creamy broth. A quick touch of oil with parsley and garlic brightens the whole dish.
Should This Dish Be More Soupy or Stew-y?
This is totally dependent on your preference and the pasta you use! Fresh pasta will be starchier and more stew-like. Ditalini is going to be soupier. But you can always add more liquid to thin out the stew to your desired consistency; this is why I recommend a range of 2 to 3 cups broth.
Choose Your Own Adventure With Pasta Shapes
I recommend ditalini (or another small tubular shape), pastina, or maltagliati for this creamy gochujang pasta e ceci. I’ve tested different shapes and here are the results:
Ditalini: Ditalini produced the least amount of “starchiness” in this dish. I love using it when I want a slightly looser, more soup-like stew as you can see in the photos here. You’ll probably need 2 to 2 1/2 cups broth max.
Pastina: When I tried the recipe with pastina, I found that they absorbed a lot of the liquid and released a good amount of starch. It created more of a thick, porridge-like texture with 2 cups of liquid. I personally loved the texture, but it’s definitely not as soupy so you could definitely add more stock to compensate.
Maltagliati: Maltagliati, meaning “badly cut pasta,” is a term used to refer to irregularly shaped pieces of pasta. For example, when making fresh pasta, you can save the irregular end pieces for soups and stews like this one. I tried this with some nests of dried fettuccine; I broke the noodles into 2-inch pieces of pasta that I added to the stew. I loved how creamy the end result was from the starchiness of the pasta!
Bottom line: Ditalini produces a soupier stew, while pastina will give you a thicker stew. But either way, you can easily adjust the broth as you go.
What to Serve With This Stew
Serve this with a bright green salad or a citrus salad. This is a rustic dish, so I recommend pairing it with something really bright and refreshing.
Or, for a complete and hearty meal, add some kale or spinach after cooking the pasta in the broth just before taking the pot off the heat.
Grab the full recipe, plus all of my tips, tricks, and answers to your questions below ↓
Weekend Project: Chocolate Orange Yogurt Pots de Crème
Pots de Crème are rich, creamy, pudding-like desserts most commonly made with chocolate. This version balances the richness of the chocolate with the addition of yogurt and orange zest.
What Are Pots de Crème?
Pots de crème are a French dessert similar to a pudding. The name translates to “pot of cream” referring to the actual pudding and the pot itself. Traditionally, they were served in cute little porcelain pots, but you can use any sort of ramekin or small glass jar that you like.
What You Need to Know
These pots de crème very cleverly use the help of a blender to yield a smooth and creamy texture. This smart tip comes from the Cafe Sucre Farine!
The chocolate, egg, orange zest, and other flavorings are blended up first and broken down into small bits. Then, boiling hot cream is slowly poured as the blender continues running, melting the chocolate and turning the mixture into a smooth liquid, the consistency of thickened hot chocolate. After a few hours in the fridge, the pots de creme set into a creamy, velvety pudding. Here, the addition of creamy skyr offers a subtle touch of tang to the pudding, cutting its richness.
Use a Scale: For the most accurate results, use a scale. I tested this recipe exclusively with a scale (except for the smaller amounts that are listed in teaspoons or tablespoons). However, I have included a converter button on the recipe card if you don’t have one.
Use Full-Fat Products: This is not a recipe where you want to substitute the dairy products for low-fat! The fat is necessary to produce a rich, creamy custard-like texture; otherwise it may be too runny.
Grab the full recipe, plus all of my tips, tricks, and answers to your questions below ↓
That’s all for this week!
-Karishma