Cauliflower Soup

The other night we were watching America's Test Kitchen and they made this amazing cauliflower soup with pretty much just cauliflower.  It looked amazing.  And it is.  

ingredients:

1 head cauliflower
7 tablespoons unsalted butter (cut into 7 pieces)
1 leek, white and light green parts, halved and sliced thinly
1 small onion, thinly sliced
salt & pepper
4 ¹⁄₂ cups water
¹⁄₂ teaspoon sherry vinegar 
chives

Clean the cauliflower, pull off the leaves and cut out the core.  Trim and slice thinly.  Cut 1 ¹⁄₂ cups florets and reserve for later.  Trim the rest of the cauliflower into 1/2 length cross cuts and divide this portion in half.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter into a 5 quart pan.  Over medium low heat, sauté the onion and leek with 1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons of salt until softened, but not yet browned.  About 7-10 minutes.

Add 4 ¹⁄₂ cups of water and increase heat to high.  Add half of the cauliflower and the core, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Let simmer gently for 15 minutes.  After 15 minutes, add the rest of the sliced cauliflower and cook an additional 15-20 minutes.

While the soup is simmering for the final 15 minutes, melt the remaining 5 tablespoons of butter in a sauté pan and add the florets.  Sauté over medium heat until the florets and the butter are both browned, about 15 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the florets to a small bowl and toss with vinegar and coarse sea salt, set aside.  Pour browned butter into a small bowl.

Ladle soup into blender and pulse until smooth.  Wipe out your soup pot and return the soup to the pot over a low simmer.  To achieve your desired consistency, you may have to add up to a ¹⁄₂ cup more of water.  To serve, garnish with florets, chives and drizzle with browned butter.

Quick, Easy & Delicious Butternut Squash Soup

I came across this recipe a long time ago, I don't remember where or how, but a few weeks ago I finally decided to make it.  It has quickly become a favorite.  Soup with some grilled cheese "dunkers" and you can't go wrong.  

ingredients: Butternut squash (I buy the pre-cut kind) - 2 cups + 1 diced onion + spices (1 teaspoon curry powder, 1 teaspoon cumin & ¹⁄₂ teaspoon cinnamon) + 1 cup coconut milk + 5 cups water

Heat up some olive oil, add the squash, onions & spices and cook until soft.  (About 5 minutes) Add in the coconut milk & water.  Bring to a boil, turn the heat down and cook for 6-10 minutes until the squash is soft.  Purée with a hand blender.  Taste and add salt - you will need quite a bit (it won't taste good until you get some salt in there!).  Start with a teaspoon and then add as you taste.

Serve with cilantro and some grilled cheese sandwiches!

Serves 4

Recipe adapted from Mark Bittman

Fattoush

The other day we found fattoush.  R and I went to Cicchetti to celebrate my birthday and the waitress suggested the fattoush salad.  It was delicious - very light and refreshing.  When we got home we looked for some recipes and found about a hundred different variations.  Basically, raw vegetables make the base for the salad with bits of toasted or fried pita served on top.  I started with Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi's version from, Jerusalem, and then changed it up slightly to try to make it closer to the one we had at dinner. The dressing for this salad is amazing, it's so fresh and clean -  I don't even miss the cheese!  And the best part - the kids like it.  They get a pita taco, basically a quarter of a pita folded over the salad.  They even eat the lettuce!

for the Greek yogurt sauce:

ingredients:

1 cup Greek yogurt

³⁄₄ cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk

Whisk the yogurt and milk in a bowl and leave in the fridge until bubbles form on the surface.  Let it sit for at least 3 hours or up to a day. 

for the dressing:

ingredients:

1 tablespoon dried mint 

2 cloves garlic, crushed 

3 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice 

¹⁄₄ cup olive oil

2 tablespoon cider or white wine vinegar 

¹⁄₂ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste 

1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, plus more to taste 

1 tablespoon sumac

Combine all the ingredients in a medium sized mason jar.  Shake until well combined.  

*Note: any extra dressing will keep in the refrigerator for several days

for the salad:

ingredients:

3-4 pita breads 

3 large tomatoes, diced 

4-5 radishes, thinly sliced
¹⁄₂-1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped

¹⁄₂ red (or orange) bell pepper
2 green onions, thinly sliced 

1 tablespoon fresh mint, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped 

¹⁄₂ head of romaine
sumac to garnish

Cook the pita breads.  When cool enough to handle cut them into bite sized pieces and set aside. Assemble the salad and add the dressing to taste.

Divide the pita pieces among 6 plates.  Drizzle the yogurt sauce on top of the bread.  Place the salad on top of the pita and garnish with sumac.  Enjoy!

Serves 6

Recipe adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi's, Jerusalem

Red Lentil Soup with Lemon

The first time I had this soup I wasn't a huge fan, but it was easy and healthy so I made it again.  The second time around I really enjoyed it - it is delicious and very clean tasting.  We serve it with a big salad and some naan or pita bread.

ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil, more for drizzling
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Pinch of ground chili powder or cayenne, more to taste
1 quart vegetable stock
1 cup red lentils
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
Juice of 1/2 lemon, more to taste
Chopped fresh cilantro.

In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons oil over high heat until hot. Add the onion and garlic.  Sauté until golden - about 4 minutes.

Stir in tomato paste, cumin, salt, black pepper and chili powder or cayenne, and sauté for 2 minutes longer.

Add stock, 2 cups water, lentils and carrot. Bring to a simmer, then partially cover pot and turn heat to medium-low. Simmer until lentils are soft, about 30 minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary.

Using an immersion blender, purée half the soup then add it back to pot. Soup should be somewhat chunky.

Reheat soup if necessary, then stir in lemon juice and cilantro. Serve soup drizzled with good olive oil and dusted lightly with chili powder if desired.

Serves 4

From the New York Times , 01/09/2008

Caesar Salad with Croutons

This is our Saturday pizza night salad.  It's clean, refreshing and goes great with pizza.  My husband makes the dressing with olive oil, vinegar, and garlic.  The croutons are optional and we don't make them all the time, but they are delicious!

for the croutons:

Good quality bread, about 2 cups cubed
olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 325°F.  Place the bread cubes on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and mix to lightly coat the bread cubes.  Add garlic, salt and pepper and mix again.  Spread the bread in a single layer on the sheet and bake for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and crunchy.

for the dressing:

ingredients:
4 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
¹⁄₂ Tablespoon worcestershire sauce
2 Tablespoons lemon juice

Mix all of the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

for the salad:
¹⁄₂ head of romaine, chopped
cherry tomatoes, halved or quarted
parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper

Mix the salad ingredients together in a salad bowl.  Add the croutons and toss with the dressing. Serve immediately.

Serves 2 large servings or 4 small

Falafel, Pita and a Salad

Lately, we have been making a lot of simple salads and putting them on top of homemade pita bread (store bought pita doesn't even come close).  We top the salad with falafel and tzatziki.  It is delicious!

The falafel recipe is from Yotam Ottolenghi.  We have his book, Plenty, which does not have a falafel recipe, but I figured he must have one.  He does.  And we made it.  It is amazing!  

The falafel.  It looks so perfect and delicious.

The pita, falafel, tzatziki salad

for the pita bread:

ingredients:

1 Tablespoon honey 

2 teaspoon active dry yeast 

15³⁄₄ oz. (3¹⁄₂ cups) unbleached all-purpose flour; more as needed 

2¹⁄₂ oz. (¹⁄₂ cup) whole-wheat flour 

1¹⁄₂ teaspoon kosher salt 

1¹⁄₂ cups lukewarm water, divided

2 Tablespoons olive oil; more for the bowl

In a small bowl, mix the honey with ¹⁄₂ cup lukewarm water and stir in the yeast. Let sit until the yeast has started to foam, 2 to 3 minutes.

Put the flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.  On low speed, mix in the olive oil until fully incorporated, about 2 minutes. Add the yeast mixture and 1 cup lukewarm water and mix until fully incorporated, 2 to 3 minutes more. Raise the speed to medium and knead the dough until it comes away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball that is smooth, elastic, and no longer sticky, 4 to 5 minutes. If the dough seems too wet, add more all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon at a time. Raise the speed to medium high and continue to knead for 5 minutes. 

Oil a medium bowl, transfer the dough to the bowl, and roll to coat it with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.  Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead two or three times to remove any air bubbles.  Roll the dough into a log and divide it evenly into 10 pieces.  Form each piece into a ball (at this point you can freeze what you aren't ready to use.  Just wrap each ball tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag.  When you are ready to use the dough bring it to room temperature and continue with the directions) and then roll into disks about ¹⁄₄ inch thick and 6 inches in diameter.  Lightly oil two rimmed baking sheets.  Put the disks on the baking sheets, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until just doubled in thickness, 30 to 45 minutes.  Prepare a medium-high gas grill fire, leaving one burner off, or prepare a charcoal fire with a hot zone and cool zone by pushing the coals to one side of the grill. Brush a cast-iron griddle or skillet lightly with olive oil and put it on the grill over the cool zone. (This can also be done on your stove top) When very hot, cook the pitas in batches on the griddle until starting to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and continue cooking until lightly golden on the bottom and the pitas are cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes more.  Cool on a wire rack.  If stuffing, cut the pitas in half and carefully separate the layers with a fork.

Makes 10 pitas.  Recipe by Mary Karlin, "Grilled Pita Bread", Fine Cooking, Issue 105

for the falafel:

ingredients:

1¹⁄₄ cups dried chickpeas

¹⁄₂ medium onion, finely chopped (¹⁄₂ cup in total)

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 Tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 Tablespoon finely chopped cilantro

¹⁄₄ teaspoon cayenne pepper

¹⁄₂ teaspoon ground cumin

¹⁄₂ teaspoon ground coriander

¹⁄₂ teaspoon ground cardamom

¹⁄₂ teaspoon baking powder

3 Tablespoon water

1¹⁄₂ Tablespoon all-purpose flour

About 3 cups sunflower (or vegetable) oil, for frying

¹⁄₂ teaspoon sesame seeds, for coating

Salt to taste

Place the chickpeas in a large bowl and cover with cold water at least twice their volume. Set aside to soak overnight.

The next day, drain the chickpeas well and combine them with the onion, garlic, parsley and cilantro. Pulse the mix in batches, pulsing each for 30 to 40 seconds, until it is finely chopped and holds itself together. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the spices, baking powder, ³⁄₄ teaspoon salt, flour and water. Mix well by hand until smooth and uniform. Cover the mixture and leave it in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or until ready to use.

Fill a deep, heavy-bottomed medium saucepan with enough oil to come 2³⁄₄ inches up the sides of the pan. Heat the oil to 350°F.

With wet hands, press 1 tablespoon of the mixture in the palm of your hand to form a patty or a ball the size of a small walnut.

Sprinkle the balls evenly with sesame seeds and deep-fry them in batches for 4 minutes, until well browned and cooked through. It is important they really dry out the inside, so make sure they get enough time in the oil. Drain in a colander lined with paper towels and serve at once.

Serves 4: Makes about 20 balls

Recipe from Jerusalem: A Cookbook, by Yotam Ottolenghi

for the tzatziki:

ingredients:

1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded grated or finely chopped

2 cups plain, whole-milk, greek yogurt

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 lemon, juiced

¹⁄₈ cup dried dill, more if desired - just add it in slowly

salt and pepper to taste

In a medium bowl combine the cucumber, yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, and dill.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. This can be made a few hours ahead - just cover and refrigerate. 

Adapted from Bobby Flay's, Boy Gets Grill, Cucumber-Yogurt Salad and Toasted Walnuts

for the salads:

ingredients:

pita bread

romaine, chopped

tomatoes, chopped

onions, chopped

cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped

1-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

tzatziki sauce

falafel

feta, if desired

Start with a pita bread.  Pile on romaine, tomatoes, cucumber, onions and garlic.  Add falafel (about 4/person), the tzatziki and feta.  Drizzle with some good olive oil.  

Enjoy and if you are actually able to pick it up, as my husband says, "don't break the grip"!  

Crustless Quiche

This quiche is a quick, easy and delicious idea for dinner.  As long as you have milk and eggs you add just about anything to it.  The one I made below is diced ham, leek and cheddar, but any meat, veggie, cheese combo will work too!

ingredients:

6 eggs
1¹⁄₂ cups 2% milk
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
2 leeks, white and light green parts chopped
1 cup diced ham
dash of tabasco sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil for the leeks

Preheat the oven to 400°F.  Lightly whisk the eggs and milk and set aside.  Sauté the leeks in some olive oil, over medium heat, until soft.  About 5 minutes.  Add the leeks and the rest of the ingredients to the milk and eggs.  Pour into a 9 inch pie/baking dish and bake for 30 minutes or until puffy and golden brown on top.

If you using other vegetables either roast or sauté them before mixing them in with the eggs.

Serve with some toast and a big green salad.

Serves 4

Curried Carrot Soup

Between our own garden and the CSA we belong to we have ended up with a lot of carrots! I am not a huge raw carrot fan, but I found this recipe and it is really quite good.  My 16 month old drinks glasses of it and my 3 old uses it as a dip for her grilled cheese sandwiches.  It makes a great tomato soup alternative and is super easy to make.

I put a dollop of yogurt on the kid's soup to cut the heat of the curry

ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter 

1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon curry powder
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 quart vegetable stock
2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 

whole milk, plain yogurt
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish (optional)

Heat butter in a Dutch oven or large (4- to 5-quart) saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, curry powder, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes.

Add broth, carrots, and 21⁄2 cups water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover, and simmer until carrots are tender, about 20 minutes.

With an immersion blender (if you don't have one just use a regular blender - just be careful not to put too much hot liquid in at once) puree soup until smooth. Add butter and more water to thin to desired consistency. Check the seasonings. If you used homemade vegetable stock you may need quite a bit more salt. Reheat, if necessary. Stir in lemon juice. Serve garnished with yogurt and cilantro, if desired.

Serves 4

Adapted from Martha Stewart Recipes

Ricotta Pie

This is one of those kid-friendly, super fast and easy dinners that we make about once per week.  The recipe is from my mother-in-law and is one that my husband ate a lot of growing up!  Good thing he likes it.....

ingredients:

1 lb good quality, whole milk, ricotta
3 eggs
7-10 swiss chard leaves, lightly steamed
1 cup mozzarella, sharp cheddar or your favorite cheese

parmesan
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  After steaming the swiss chard lay it on a towel to dry.  Meanwhile mix the ricotta, cheese, eggs and salt and pepper in a medium bowl.  Chop the swiss chard and add it to the bowl.  Mix.  Pour the ricotta mixture into a 8 inch baking dish.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.  Bake for about 50 minutes until golden brown and puffy.

It makes a complete meal when served with brown rice and a salad.

Serves 4

Recipe from TM

Black Beans and Garlic Rice

You can certainly use black beans from a can but they are really easy to make.  We make a batch every week - they are great for quesadillas or for an extra for L & M.  

The garlic rice is a treat in our house (we usually eat short grain brown rice) but it is the best white rice you'll ever eat.  It comes to our house from some long time friends from Brazil.

Black Beans:

1 Cup dried black beans
4 Cups water
salt
olive oil

Look over the black beans and pick out any that are broken.  Add the beans and water to a 2 quart pot. Sprinkle with some salt (less is more - you can always add more at the end) and a little olive oil.  Bring the beans to boil and boil for about 4 minutes.  Turn the heat down to medium-low (the beans should be just barely simmering) and cook for about 2 hours or until beans are soft and cooked all the way through.

Makes about 2 ¹⁄₂ cups.

Garlic Rice:

1 Cup white Jasmine rice
water
4 large garlic cloves
salt
olive oil

Smash and peel the garlic cloves.  Put them in a mortar and pestle and add a generous helping of salt (about 2 teaspoons).  Mash the garlic until it forms a paste (the salt makes it easier to mash so add more salt as needed).  (If you don't have a mortar and pestle you can sprinkle the salt directly onto the garlic and mash with the back of a knife.  Coat the bottom of a saucepan with a little olive oil.   Heat the oil over medium high heat until hot.  Add the garlic paste and stir for a few seconds.  Add the rice and mix until the rice is coated with the oil and garlic.  Add really hot tap water to the rice.  Fill the pan until the hot water is about 1 inch above the rice.  Boil for a minute or two and then turn the heat down to the lowest setting.  Cover and cook until the rice is tender - about 20 minutes.  Don't worry if the rice gets brown on the bottom - this is the best part.

Makes about 3 cups.

Grilled Eggplant Parmesan Stacks

Ingredients:

2 eggplants
olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 large fresh mozzarella ball, torn into pieces
grated parmesan cheese
marinara sauce

Slice eggplant into ¹⁄₄ inch thick slices.  Layer the slices in a colander, sprinkling salt on each layer.  Set aside for ¹⁄₂ an hour.  Rinse, drain and then pat the eggplant dry.  Preheat your gas or charcoal BBQ grill on high.  Drizzle the eggplant with olive oil, salt and pepper and place on the grill.  Grill for a few minutes, until the eggplant has some grill marks.  Flip and grill for a few minutes on the other side.  Remove from the grill. (In lieu of a BBQ the broiler in the oven works just fine - place the eggplants on a cookie sheet, broil for a few minutes until beginning to brown, flip and broil for a few minutes on the opposite side.)

Preheat oven to 450° F.  In a shallow baking dish make 4-6 stacks (depends on size of eggplants and how big you want your stacks) of eggplant.  Stack 2 eggplant slices, layer on a few pieces of mozzarella, sprinkle of parmesan and repeat.  2 eggplants, mozzarella and parmesan. Pour marinara (more or less depending on how much sauce you like) over the stacks, layer the top with mozzarella and parmesan and bake for about 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling and brown.

To serve place each stack on a plate, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with parmesan.

Serves 4-6

*This easily made in casserole style by layering sauce, eggplant and cheese in a 9x13 inch baking dish.

Indian Vegetable Curry

Ingredients:

1 can light coconut milk
12 oz. cauliflower florets, cut into bite-size pieces (about 3 cups)
2 large carrot, sliced 1/4 inch thick on the diagonal
1 medium yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced lengthwise
1 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 tsp. curry powder
Kosher salt
1 15-oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 medium plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
3 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro

In a 12-inch skillet set over medium-low heat, stir together the coconut milk, ginger, garlic, curry powder and 1 tsp. salt.  Add the cauliflower, carrot and onion, . Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, cover and cook, stirring often, until the cauliflower is tender when pierced with a knife, about 10 minutes.

Stir in the chickpeas, and tomatoes and continue to cook until the chickpeas are heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cilantro, season to taste with salt, and serve over rice or with flatbread.

Adapted from Fine Cooking 122 , pp. 14
February 21, 2013