Posts from the ‘Meatless/Vegetarian’ Category

Feb 16

Featured Recipe- Kale and Apple Salad

For this weeks Featured Recipe I wanted a fresh and delicious salad. We all need our fresh vegetables and fruits every day and I am always searching for a tasty recipe. I love salads and my new best friend is Kale, it’s packed full of vital nutrients and whether you eat it cooked or raw your body will thank you for it. This salad is a meal in itself, think about it, kale, apples, cabbage,fennel, wild rice a delicious citrusy dressing, your taste buds will do the dance of joy. I love this salad on it’s own, but it can accompany a protein also, there are so many different things you can add to this if you want, some grilled chicken or tofu would be fantastic. I am making this salad again with some Himalayan Red Rice instead of wild rice, quinoa would also be a wonderful addition. Try it in pita bread and take it to work or school. The possibilities are endless. Check out Hannah’s beautiful blog Blue Kale Road, its packed full of healthful delicious recipes that are family friendly and in my opinion are a celebration of fresh, natural foods.

Photo by Blue Kale Road

Kale and Apple Salad
Inspired by PCC’s Emerald City Salad
Serves 4-6

1/4 – 1/2 cup lemon juice (depending upon taste and amount of kale)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 large crisp apple, diced (my favorite variety is honeycrisp)
3/4 cup fennel, thinly sliced and chopped
1 cup red cabbage, chopped
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1 bunch organic kale (lacinato or curly green – I like to use a combination of both), ribs removed and finely chopped
1 cup cooked wild rice

Whisk 1/2 cup lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and salt in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients to the bowl and toss (use your hands – it’s fun and will distribute the dressing more evenly). Taste for additional lemon juice, salt or pepper and add as desired.

The salad can be made a couple of hours ahead and chilled.

Feb 1

2 Comments

Basmati Rice With Bayberries (Zereshk Pollo)

Served with Roasted Chicken

I learned Persian cooking years ago and am dredging up some of the recipes that I made many moons ago. Zereshk Pullow or Basmati Rice with Bayberries is one of many traditional Persian dishes. One thing you will find when learning the cuisine of Iran is that recipes vary from family to family and region to region. This is how I was taught to make it. Persians cherish their rice dishes and one thing that separates rice cooked in the Persian way from most other methods of preparation is what is called “Tahdig” its the crisp crust that forms at the bottom of the pot when you are cooking the rice. The rice is par cooked and steamed. Zereshk pullow is basmati rice laced with bayberries and layered with yogurt infused with saffron. I always served with roast or braised chicken. I was taught two ways to make this dish, one you serve the chicken separately and the other method is to layer shredded roast chicken and steam it along with the rice. I prefer it on the side so that is what I am featuring in this recipe.

THE YOGURT MIXTURE

3/4 of a 35.3 ounce container of plain yogurt. I like to use 2% or full fat yogurt

generous pinch of saffron

salt to taste

THE RICE

3 cups basmati rice

1 cup zereshk or if you cannot find them use dried unsweetened cranberries

2 tbs butter divided

Pour the rice in a bowl and run cold water on it rinsing until the water is pretty clear. Add more water to cover the rice add a tbs of salt and let rice sit for an hour.

Add the yogurt to a bowl and mix in the saffron and salt. Stir well and refrigerate for 30 minutes so that the saffron infuses the yogurt.

NOTE: I like to use a non stick pot to ensure that the tahdig comes out nicely if you don’t have a large non-stick pot just make sure that the bottom of the bottom of the pot is well oiled when you add the rice.

Add water to a large non stick pot and salt it well at least a tbs. Bring to a rolling boil. Drain rice and add to the pot stirring well. You are par cooking the rice so it only takes 10-15 minutes. Drain rice into a colander and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Let the rice sit for about 15 minutes. During that time take the yogurt out of the refrigerator. Once the rice is drained sccop out approximately 2 cups and put into a bowl, add about 1/2 cup of yogurt and mix well. Add the Zereshk to the remainder of the rice, make sure they are distributed well. Dry your pot and coat the bottom with some neutral oil, add 1 tbs of butter and when the butter has melted add the rice mixed with the yogurt, spread evenly in the bottom of the pan. Now add a third of the rice mixed with the berries, on top of that a layer of the yogurt, then another layer of rice etc… ending with a layer of rice. Place a tbs of butter on top of the rice. Lay a paper towel or thin tea towel on top of the pot and place the lid on securely. Turn heat to high and let it build up steam for 5 minutes, lower heat to medium and steam for 40-45 minutes. You will notice that you can smell the rice and the towel will be damp.

I like to serve with roasted chicken and drizzle the pan juices onto the rice for added flavor.

To dislodge the tahdig all you have to do is put some cold water in the sink, sit the pot in it for 30 seconds and then invert onto serving platter.

Zereshk

Jan 30

3 Comments

Ricotta Polenta with Mushroom Tomato Sauce

Creamy Polenta with Tomato and Mushrooms

I made home made ricotta the other day and had 4 cups of the delicious whey left, discarding it was not an option, adding to breads, cakes are all great options and I will definitely do that for my next batch. I used Jennifer Perillo’s recipe for ricotta and it’s amazing. I wanted something quick, nutritious and easy to prepare. Polenta is creamy and comforting and is a nice change from pasta or potatoes. I used all the whey that I had and also added the left over ricotta. If you don’t have whey using water works just fine. The sauce takes only minutes to make I had some pretty nice tomatoes and cremini mushrooms I needed to use so I incorporated them into this quick sauce with some shallot and garlic and finished with a nice handful of fresh italian parsley. The parsely give it a fresh taste that I really love. Grate some cheese on top and you have yourself a quick and delicious meal in minutes.

4 cups whey or water

1 cup polenta (corn meal) I used stone ground

pinch of salt

1/2 cup ricotta (well drained)

2 tbs butter

black pepper (2 or 3 turns of the pepper mill)

In saucepan add the whey or water and pinch of salt, bring to a rolling boil. Whisk in the polenta, don’t dump it all in add slowly while you are whisking it thickens very quickly. Lower heat to low and continue whisking until its done. It takes approximately 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat add the butter and stir, now add the ricotta. Stir until its all incorporated. Cover pan and set aside while you make the sauce.

8 oz cremini mushrooms sliced

1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes

1 clove garlic peeled and minced

1 shallot peeled and chopped

handful italian parsley chopped

olive oil for pan

salt and pepper to taste

Put some olive oil in a saute pan and heat on medium high. Add the shallots and cook until they become soft and translucent. Add the garlic and continue to cook until they start to caramelize. Now put the mushrooms in and continue to cook until the mushrooms become soft and lightly browned, add the tomato and cook until the tomato becomes soft and cooks down. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat. Add the chopped parsley.

Spoon some polenta on the plate and top with the sauce. This is a great meatless Monday option, I am making some sauteed kale to go with it.

Jan 27

10 Comments

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Who doesn’t love a grilled cheese sandwich, melty gooey cheese, grilled bread, whats not to love. I participated in Lets Bake and Made Rustic Italian Bread and what better platform for a grilled cheese than home made bread. In keeping with the theme of the Italian Bread, I used pesto, fresh mozzsrella and oven roasted tomato. I am not happy just slicing a tomato on this sandwich so I roasted them in the oven drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I guess this is kind of like a grilled Mozzarella Caprese, it has all the components. This is a pretty basic sandwich, nothing elaborate but its delicious and makes a wonderful meal.

Hot off the grill

For 1 sandwich

2 slices bread sliced 1/2 inch thick

2-4 slices tomato cut 1 inch thick (tomato is not in season use the best you can find plum or campari are a good choice)

1 tbs pesto

4 slices fresh mozzarella

Olive oil

Heat oven to 425 degrees, lay some parchment on small sheet pan, put tomato slices on parchment sprinkle each side of the tomato with salt and pepper, drizzle some balsamic vinegar and olive oil on each slice. Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until tomato becomes soft and starts to caramelize. Remove from oven and set aside.

Slice the bread, spread pesto on one side of each slice. Add 2 slices of mozzarella, lay tomato on top of mozzarella and add the other 2 slices of mozzarella. Place skillet on med/high heat and let it get hot. Put your sandwich together and brush the top slice of bread with olive oil. Carefully place the olive oil side down in the skillet now brush the other slice with oil. Let it grill until its golden brown then flip it over and grill the other side.

YUM!

Jan 17

2 Comments

Roasted Garlic and Broccoli Rabe Pizza

Pizza

I entered this recipe in a Whole Foods contest for roasted garlic. It makes a great pizza but just as easily converts to a low carb vegetable dish by eliminating the pizza dough entirely. I used a whole garlic bulb, that may sound like a lot but when you roast garlic it loses the pungent, sharp flavor that raw garlic has and you can use considerably more to get that garlic taste.

First I roasted the whole garlic bulb, I love the smell of garlic and my kitchen was filled with the aroma.

1 whole bulb garlic

Olive Oil

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees. Cut 1/2 inch from the top of the bulb of garlic. Add about an inch of olive oil to a bowl and place garlic cut side down in the olive oil. Let sit for 15 minutes. Lay a sheet of foil on baking sheet. Place garlic on the foil and pour the rest of the olive oil directly onto the bulb. Fold into a packet and put in the oven. Bake for 40 minutes then turn the oven off and leave the garlic in the oven until it cools, approximately 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and squeeze half of the soft garlic into a mixing bowl, mash with a fork.

The roasted garlic

To make the pizza you can use your favorite recipe for pizza dough or a prepared dough that you can get from your local pizzaria or supermarket.

Ingredients:

1 lb broccoli rabe

Mashed half bulb of roasted garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp lemon zest

pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

pecorino romano or your favorite type of cheese (grated and shaved)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 2 tbs salt, clean the broccoli rabe and remove tough stems. When water is boiling put the broccoli in and boil for 10 minutes. Prepare an ice bath, take the broccoli out and place directly in ice bath. Lay some paper towels on the counter and when the broccoli has cooled lay out in one layer on the paper towel so it can dry.

To the bowl with mashed garlic add the 1/4 cup olive oil, lemon zest, crushed red pepper and some ground black pepper (add salt if you like but be careful not to add to much as the cheese is salty. Stir and set aside.

Heat oven to 500 degrees

Press pizza dough onto your pizza pan, brush with some olive oil and sprinkle grated pecorino romano on the dough. Arrange the broccoli rabe and shave some cheese on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes the pizza crust will be golden brown. Remove from oven, grate little more cheese on top and drizzle with olive oil.

Jan 15

2 Comments

Root Vegetable Potage

Hot soup on a cold day!

6 cups flavorful chicken or vegetable stock (preferably homemade)
4 medium size potatoes (I like yukon gold) peeled and quartered
4 carrots cleaned, peeled and chopped into chunks
1 medium turnip cleaned, peeled and cut into quarters
2 parsnips peeled cleaned and chopped into large chunks
1 large onion quartered
2 large cloves garlic thinly sliced
good size handful of mint chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil to cook garlic and mint
sour cream for topping soup
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup heavy cream (optional)

Coat bottom of large pot with a little olive oil heat on med/high and add diced onions. Cook until onions are soft. Add the stock, now add the potatoes, carrots, turnip, and parsnip. Cook on med/high until vegetables are very soft. Remove from heat and puree either using your immersion blender or food processor. Add the butter and optional heavy cream. Adjust seasoning to taste.

In small fry pan on medium heat add the olive oil, now add the garlic and cook until its just starting to brown, add the chopped mint and cook on low heat for a minute or two, you don’t want the garlic burned but it should be crisp kind of like a garlic chip. Ladle some soup into a bowl, add a dollop of sour cream and spoon some of the garlic and mint over the sour cream.

ALTERNATE METHOD; Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees, line a sheet pan with parchment or aluminum foil, lay the cut carrots, parsnips and turnips drizzle with olive oil and bake for 30 minutes. They will just start to brown. Remove from oven and add as in step 1 along with the raw potatoes.