Pantry Collective

Someday soon I plan to host a make-your-own-Taco/Burrito/Nacho plate party. It’s been brewing for a while, and I’ve been testing recipes for all the different ingredients. Slow roasted chipotle-brown sugar pulled pork, spicy shredded beef, pico de gallo, guacamole, and this black bean and corn salsa. Maybe more… mojitos, some kind of coconut/lime dessert… I have a lot of ideas left to try. But for now, this salsa.

It’s amazing.

You can omit things you don’t like, add things you think are missing, whatever. I would say it’s pretty close to perfect as it is, but it’s not particularly spicy. You can leave the seeds in the jalepeno when you dice it up to add a bit more heat, or add some hot sauce or red pepper flakes. The corn, black beans, fresh cilantro, and red onion really make this salsa. It’s fresh and delicious on tacos or quesadillas or by the spoonful, whatever works for you. (Yeah, it might be ridiculous to eat it by the spoonful but I’m not gonna lie, I went there. SO GOOD.)

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It is so easy to make this rustic, savory tart. The possibilities of what to put in the filling are endless, too. Basically anything you think tastes good together is probably going to taste better when it’s baked in a pie crust! This is a hearty vegetarian version with leeks, potatoes, zucchini, and feta. The recipe utilizes a store-bought piecrust but feel free to make your own. I also used a lovely peppercorn studded feta. You could make this for lunch or dinner, or cut it into small slices and serve it as a hot appetizer at a small party.

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This side dish is crazy delicious. It’s pretty rich, so even though it seems like there’s not much once you’ve made it, don’t worry - you don’t need a lot for it to fill you up. The flavor combination is awesome. Caramelized onions and sweet squash and pungent gorgonzola… mmmm. Technically the original recipe calls for crispy fried sage, but I must be missing something, because when I tried to fry my sage it just turned black and gross. Needless to say, that didn’t make it into the dish. I chopped a little of the fresh sage I had left and tossed that in; it was delicious. Also, don’t overdo the gorgonzola - a little goes a LONG way. You can save the leftover gorgonzola for next week’s dish - Apple, Walnut and Gorgonzola Galette.

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This recipe intrigued me. I really like tuna, but a very rarely cook with it (tuna sandwiches, and every now and then a tuna casserole). Spicy tuna pasta in a wine sauce sounded really yummy, but I decided to add some half-and-half to make it just a bit creamy (it seemed like the right thing to do, what can I say?). It turned out really well; John and I both enjoyed it a lot and I’m excited for the leftovers. We ate it with a side of asparagus since it’s light on veggies.

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Peas and mint. I kept hearing it was a great combination, but I was (albeit apathetically) skeptical. I finally decided to try it, and guess what? It is a surprisingly good combination! Obviously, Martha would never lead me astray, so I used her recipe for Orzo with Peas and Mint. I was reminded again how much I love orzo, too!

This recipe was followed exactly (for once), so the ingredients and instructions below are taken right from the original, which you can find here.

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