Make your cooking more celebration, less work

Cooking shouldn’t be a chore; it should be a celebration. To help achieve that, Chef Michael Chiarello has created some recipes with broth and panko bread crumbs.

“Any chef knows that the secret to truly great cooking is not any special technique,” says Chiarello. “To create incredible meals, all you need is high quality ingredients.”

Starting with a delicious wine is another way to turn any meal into a celebration. Let your evening shine with award-winning wines and cook up your own perfect meal with these and all of Michael’s recipes at ProgressoFoods.com. For more wine suggestions visit CavitCollection.com.

Asparagus Bundles

4 servings

Topping

1/4 cup Italian style crispy bread crumbs

Pinch gray salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel

1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Asparagus

1 teaspoon salt

1 large bunch (about 1 pound) asparagus, trimmed to even lengths

Unsalted butter for greasing baking dish

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Additional gray salt and freshly ground black pepper

8 thin slices prosciutto

1. Heat oven to 400°F. In small bowl, mix bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Add parsley, lemon peel and cheese; toss well.

2. In 3-quart saucepan, heat 4 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt to boiling. Add asparagus. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer about 4 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain.

3. Butter shallow baking dish. Toss cooled asparagus with 2 tablespoons olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Divide asparagus into 4 equal bundles. Arrange 2 slices of the prosciutto on a work surface so they slightly overlap each other. Top with 1 asparagus bundle and roll up carefully in prosciutto. Place in baking dish. Repeat with remaining prosciutto and asparagus. Flatten tops of bundles slightly; sprinkle with topping.

4. Bake about 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated and crisp. Serve immediately.

Wine Pairing: Prosecco or Merlot

Panko-Crusted Petrale Sole with Basil, Garlic and Orange

4 servings

Sole

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

4  1/2 teaspoons California chili powder

1 tablespoon gray salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 eggs, well beaten

1  1/2 cups crispy bread crumbs

1 pound petrale sole or other thin white

fish fillets (8 to 12 fillets), cleaned, skinned

1/3 to 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Garnish

2 tablespoons thinly sliced garlic

1 serrano or jalapeño chile, thinly sliced (1 tablespoon)

Gray salt and freshly ground black pepper

1  1/2 cups fresh basil leaves

1 tablespoon grated orange peel

1. In small bowl, mix flour, chili powder, 1 tablespoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; set aside. Line up 3 like-sized baking dishes or shallow bowls. Put the flour mixture in the first dish, the eggs in the second dish and the bread crumbs in the third dish. To bread the sole fillets, coat with flour mixture, dip into eggs, then coat with bread crumbs. Set aside on a platter or baking tray.

2. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat 1/3 cup of the oil over high heat. Add half of the fillets. Cook about 2 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp, then turn over and cook other sides 1 minute. Remove from skillet to a warmed serving platter; cover to keep hot. Cook remaining fillets, adding more oil if necessary.

3. Add garlic and chile to hot oil in skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir 2 minutes. Add basil; cook and stir 2 minutes to crisp. Toss in orange peel.

4. Arrange fillets on serving platter or individual plates, and top with the basil, garlic and orange mixture.

Wine Pairing: Pinot Grigio or Pinot Noir

Chicken and Pastina Soup

10 servings (1  1/2 cups each)

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3/4 -inch pieces

1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)

1/2 cup diced carrot (1 medium)

1/2 cup diced celery (1 medium stalk)

1 cup Progresso crushed tomatoes (from 28-ounce can)

2 cartons (32 ounces each) chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon gray salt or sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 dried bay leaf

1 cup uncooked acini di pepe pasta or other small round pasta (8 ounces)

2 cups chopped, lightly packed mustard greens, spinach, Swiss chard or other greens

1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1. In 5-quart stockpot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add chicken, onion, carrot and celery; cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender.

2. Stir in tomatoes, broth, salt, pepper and bay leaf; heat to boiling. Stir in pasta; reduce heat.

3. Cover; simmer 15 minutes. Stir in greens just until wilted. Remove bay leaf. Serve with a twist of additional freshly ground pepper and sprinkle of cheese.

Wine Pairing: Riesling

Radicchio Salad

4 servings

Dressing

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons honey

1/4 teaspoon sea salt, preferably gray salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salad

1 small head radicchio

1 bunch watercress

1 unpeeled Granny Smith apple

1. In 8-inch skillet, mix lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat, beating occasionally with wire whisk, until honey is dissolved. Remove from heat; beat in olive oil. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Let cool to room temperature.

2. Cut radicchio through the core into quarters; remove core. Cut radicchio crosswise into thin ribbons and place in large bowl. Remove thick stems from watercress; mix watercress with radicchio. Cut apple in half lengthwise; remove core. Cut apple crosswise into paper-thin slices (a vegetable slicer is handy for this). Add apple to radicchio and watercress. Toss with enough dressing to moisten salad.

Wine Pairing: Riesling or Pinot Grigio

Find hundreds of printer-friendly recipes at spokane.net/recipes