Meatless Mondays - Roasted Tomato and Swiss Chard Pappardelle

 

Roasting tomatoes and garlic brings out the sweetness inherent to both. When combined with the sharp cheese, creamy pine nuts and fresh herbs this dish is simple yet the flavours are full and comforting. I recently made this dish for a friend of mine who is expecting and does not want to eat anything but tomatoes!! For her, I removed the vermouth and used Parmesan instead of Chevre, which was equally good!

Roasted Tomato and Swiss Chard Pappardelle

2 pints mixed cherry and grape tomatoes
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed and roughly chopped
1 bunch fresh herbs (I've used rosemary, oregano, basil and thyme)
1 bunch Swiss chard
 2/3 cup dry vermouth

fresh or dry pappardelle pasta nests (about 375 g)   
10-15 fresh basil leaves, chopped

1/4 cup pine nuts
small bunch Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped  

handful of fresh basil, chopped

olive oil
salt and pepper 

Chevre / Parmesan / Pecorino

1.    Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

2.    In an oven proof dish, combine 2 T olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, bunch of fresh herbs (reserve parsley and handful of basil for later use), and a large pinch of salt and pepper (about 1.5 t of each). Roast for 10-15 minutes. (keep an eye on them, they are done when they are well blistered). Remove from oven and set aside (This can be done ahead of time and then you can reheat them when you make the sauce). When you are ready to use, remove the bunch of fresh herbs and discard. 

3.    Boil water for pasta and add 1 T salt to the water. Add the pasta, and cook according to package directions.  

4.    Meanwhile, in a separate saute pan, brown the pine nuts in the dry pan, remove, and set aside. 

5.    Chop Swiss chard. In the same saute pan as above, heat 1 T of olive oil, add Swiss chard, salt and pepper, and saute until Swiss chard is wilted.  

6.    When the Swiss chard is wilted, add the tomato mixture and simmer for 2-3 minutes until the flavours come together. Add half of the fresh chopped herbs (parsley and basil), and 3/4 of the pine nuts. Stir to combine. 

7.    When the pasta is done, drain, but retain at least 1 cup of the cooking water. Add pasta to the pan with the sauce and toss to combine. If it seems like it needs more liquid, add some of the cooking water, about 2 T at a time, until the sauce coats the pasta. 

8.     To serve, top with remaining herbs, pine nuts and the cheese of your choice. 

 

Summer Garden Salad

As summer winds down this week, I am coming to terms with the end of another warm season. The leaves are just starting to change and soon we will be seeking the warming comfort of stews, homemade bread and soups. Summer always passes too quickly, with so many exciting obligations, cottages, vacations, pools to be enjoyed! I never get as much time to blog as I plan!

I wanted to spend this last week celebrating our garden. This year we had a huge garden. It was a lot of work but we have been harvesting the benefits for months now. By far the star of our garden this year was the beautiful tomato. We planted, in total, 67 plants. Yes, a tad excessive. But we have had fun trying all of the new heirloom varieties. I can say that I have eaten tomatoes, in some form, at almost all meals for about two months now and I am still craving them. I think I could live on tomatoes like these, daily, for the rest of my life! So, many of the recipes this week have that theme (perhaps I will call it an homage to the tomato).

My first recipe, however, is created from a mixture of many of the vegetables in our garden. All of the veggies, herbs and lettuce used in this salad come from the garden (save and except for the pine nuts). This is an easy summer classic garden salad. I make it regularly throughout the season. It is an excellent way to celebrate the harvest, add whatever you have fresh on hand!

Summer Garden Salad

3 or 4 large handfuls of lettuce (I used arugula and Boston bib)

1 bunch of french breakfast radishes, sliced thinly

large handful of mixed herbs (I used chives, basil, mint, oregano and parsley)

large handful of fresh mixed grape tomatoes, halved 

garden cucumber, sliced thin

small handful of toasted pine nuts

Dressing:

 

Salt 

Pepper

Olive Oil

Lemon Juice

Dijon Mustard

White Balsamic Vinegar

Meatless Mondays ... Quinoa Burgers!

This recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart's "Whole Living Website". The website is full of fantastic recipes which are healthy and really delicious! She also has ideas for life balance, green living tips, fitness ideas and lots more information designed to help the reader live a full, balanced and healthy lifestyle!

This recipe is my favourite veggie burger recipe. As summer has arrived (semi-officially, marked by the Victoria Day weekend last weekend and the Memorial Day weekend for Americans this past weekend) it is the beginning of burger season in my house!! The recipe calls for pitas, which are great, but I also love them on whole wheat English muffins!! If you skip the Tzatziki sauce and replace the egg with egg substitute, you can make this recipe vegan!

Quinoa Burgers

1/2 cup rinsed quinoa, cooked

1 medium carrot, chopped coarsely

6 T, chives, chopped finely

15 ounces white navy beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup plain dried breadcrumbs

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 T ground cumin

1 t coarse salt

1 t ground pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

Tzatziki Sauce

1/2 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt

1 T lemon zest

1 T fresh lemon juice

1 small clove garlic, chopped fine

1/2 English cucumber, shredded and drained

Place the carrots in the bowl of a food processor, fitted with the chopping blade attachment. Pulse until the carrot is very finely chopped.

Add cooked quinoa, chives, beans, breadcrumbs, egg and spices to the carrot. Pulse until mixture is combined but still slightly chunky.

Form into four equal sized burger patties. Refrigerate for half an hour, or until firm.

Heat oil in a non-stick skillet (I prefer a cast iron skillet) over medium heat. Cook burgers until browned and cooked through, approximately 8-10 minutes per side.

To make sauce, combine ingredients in a bowl and serve!

Quinoa Salad

What a beautiful way to start the Week! I am in love with all of the fresh flavours of this salad, the crunchy pine nuts, the creamy beans, the chewy quinoa and the crisp veggies combined with the smokiness of the grilled zucchini and the tart citrus dressing! The best part? Don't tell anyone ... it's super healthy!   

QUINOA SALAD

1/2 cup dried quinoa, rinsed 

2 medium zucchini 

1 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped 

1 cup English cucumber, de-seeded and chopped 

1/2 medium yellow sweet pepper, chopped

1/4 cup pine nuts 

1/2 cup navy beans

1/4 cup fresh dill

Juice and zest of one lemon 

juice of one lime

1-2 T olive oil 

salt and pepper

How to Cook Quinoa: There is some debate about the proper ratio to use when cooking quinoa. I usually use a 1:2 ratio of quinoa to liquid. For the above recipe I combine 1 cup of water mixed with half of the lemon juice and all of the the lemon zest as well as a bit of salt and pepper. I usually cook my quinoa in my rice maker, but if you don't have a rice maker you can also bring the quinoa and water to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for approximately 15 minutes or until the water is absorbed. Then, remove the quinoa from the heat and let stand, covered for ten to fifteen minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve!

 Cut zucchini into long strips, lengthwise. Grill over a grill pan. Let cool.  Chop into bite sized pieces.

Toast pine nuts until browned. Let cool. 

Combine cooked quinoa, chopped vegetables, pine nuts, beans, fresh dill,
remaining lemon juice, lime juice and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
Toss to combine. 

Serve! 

~ Serves 4 as a side salad / 2 as a dinner salad ~

Whole Wheat English Muffins

On this glorious spring day, I thought, what better way to celebrate the Royal nuptials then to make English muffins!! These are whole wheat with a honey flavour. They are really great fresh, or toasted with some butter or peanut butter. I also love them topped with scrambled eggs, garlicly sauteed spinach, and goat cheese.

Cheerio!

Whole Wheat English Muffins

~ makes 12 muffins ~

1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees)
1 T active yeast
2 cups whole wheat flour, plus 1/4 cup for kneading
1 cup all purpose flour
1 t salt
1 cup 2% milk
3 T canola oil
2 T honey
1 egg
cornmeal

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Sprinkle yeast over warm water and let sit for ten minutes until frothy.

Combine flours and salt in bowl and set aside.

Warm milk over medium high heat until bubbles just start to form. Add honey and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat.

Combine egg, water, yeast, oil, and half of the flour with the milk mixture. Add remaining flour mixture and stir to combine.

Turn out onto board knead, adding more flour, one tablespoonful at a time, for several minutes, until it is no longer sticky.

Place in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel and let rise for at least one hour in a warm part of your kitchen, until it has roughly doubled in size.

When dough has risen, roll onto board which is dusted well with cornmeal, into a ½ inch thickness and cut into 3 inch rounds.

Fry in a skillet, which has been dusted with cornmeal, over medium heat, for 5-7 minutes per side, or until browned.

Bake in oven until sides are set and insides are soft but no longer gooey.

Let cool on a rack.

Split with a fork or with a knife, and enjoy!

This recipe is a combination of a few that I found on the site but is adapted, for the most part, from the website, recipetips.com.

Meatless Mondays ... Hummus !!

I have been observing "Meatless Mondays" for the past little while. The initiative was born in WWI wherein families in America were asked to reduce the amount of meat they ate as a way to aid the food crisis in war torn Europe. The effort returned in WWII and was a success. Around the turn of the 21st century, the program was re-introduced as an effort to reduce American obesity and to reduce carbon emissions which resulted from large scale farming.

I am attempting to incorporate more than one meat free day per week into my diet, for health reasons and for environmental reasons. Don't get me wrong, I am absolutely a carnavore. I could not be a vegetarian, and I have no interest in giving up meat entirely. I do, however, know that if we all ate a little bit less meat, there would be a decrease in the strain that large scale farming has on our environment.

Okay, enough preaching already!!

One of the easiest and (in my opinion) tastiest vegetarian/vegan lunches that I prepare on a near weekly basis is homemade hummus. Hummus is a very popular Middle Eastern dip/spread. I think if people knew how much better homemade hummus is, as compared to store bought, they would not hesitate to break out the food processor!

If you are feeling really inspired, you can get dried chickpeas and soak them overnight. Then in the morning, change the water and then bring them to a boil and simmer them for 45-60 minutes, or until tender. If you are not feeling particularly inspired, or if you are short on time, canned chickpeas work just as well!

Chickpea Hummus

2.5 cups cooked or 19 oz can, chickpeas

1-2 T tahini

juice and zest of half of one lemon

1-2 cloves garlic

1-2 T olive oil

salt and pepper

Combine ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and blend until well mixed. If mixture seems to thick, thin with a bit of water, up to one quarter cup.

Serve w/ vegetables and whole wheat pita for dipping!

Pappardelle with Mixed Mushrooms and Mozzarella

This recipe is from my favourite new iPhone app "Jamie Oliver 20 Minute Meals". It is a fantastic app for those who want a quick and brainless weeknight dinner idea, that does not include frozen processed "food". Every recipe I have made has been flawless.

Pappardelle with Mixed Mushrooms and Mozzarella

1 recipe fresh pasta, cut into pappardelle (or 1 lb dried)

1 lb mixed mushrooms

1 bunch fresh flat leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped, stems chopped fine

1 lemon

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 oz Parmesan, freshly grated

1 5oz ball fresh mozzarella cheese, torn into pieces

4 T creme fraiche

2 T butter

olive oil

sea salt and black pepper

Bring salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to directions.

Clean mushrooms with a dry brush to remove any dirt (DO NOT wash mushrooms, they are little sponges that will absorb all the water you let them and then they will taste like dirty dishwater when you cook them!)

Heat butter and a bit of oil over high heat in a large skillet. Add garlic, parsley stems mushrooms, salt and pepper to skillet. Fry until mushrooms are well browned (5-6 minutes).

When the pasta is cooked, scoop out about a cup of water and set aside. Drain pasta. Add the zest of the lemon, the creme fraiche, half of the Parmesan, the mozzarella, juice of half of the lemon and half of the remaining parsley to the mushroom mixture. Toss to combine. Add the pasta and about half of the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce. If needed, add remaining pasta water.

Adjust seasonings.

Serve sprinkled with remaining Parmesan, parsley and a bit of extra virgin olive oil.

Grilled Vegetable Panzanella

This late spring / early summer salad demands the freshest ingredients. The salad is so simple yet it is bursting with flavours. On a warm night when I don't want to cook in the house, I will grill up some fish or meat and accompany it with this salad. If you toast the bread on the grill outside, you can cook the entire meal without using your oven!

Grilled Vegetable Panzanella
1/4 loaf crusty day old bread, cubed
2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 sweet pepper, cut into thirds, seeds removed
3 large leeks, white parts only
1 large bunch asparagus, tough ends removed
1 large bunch basil, chopped
zest and juice of one lemon
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup good quality olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Toss bread with olive oil and toast until dry.
Combine tomatoes and bread in a large bowl.
Cut leeks in half, lengthwise.
Combine leeks, pepper and asparagus and toss with olive oil and salt and pepper.
Grill leeks, pepper and asparagus until vegetables are soft. Remove blackened skin from peppers. Chop all vegetables roughly, and toss with bread, tomatoes and basil.
Combine lemon juice, zest, vinegar and olive oil in a separate bowl. Pour half of dressing over salad and toss to combine. Add more dressing, as needed, until salad is dressed to your liking. Adjust seasonings.

Gorgonzola, Fontina and Truffle Macaroni & Cheese

Whilst wandering through St. Lawrence market, Sarah K and I came across one of our favourite cheese shops and after tasting some of the most beautiful Italian cheeses that either of us had found outside of Italy, it was decided that we would make a "grown-up" version of mac & cheese.

Gourmet comfort food has been a food trend that has been on the rise for quite a while now. I am all for it! I love the combination of soul satisfying familiar foods, heightened to food-for-the-gods by using the world's most beautiful ingredients.

Gorgonzola, Fontina and Truffle Macaroni & Cheese

1 lb fresh pasta (your choice, we used Gemelli)

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 bunch fresh thyme, chopped roughly

2 cups milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 T Dijon mustard

1 t fresh nutmeg

3 T truffle paste (we used black truffle paste)

350 g Fontina Val d'Aosta cheese, shredded

300 g gorgonzola cheese

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs, toasted in olive oil

salt and pepper

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Melt butter in saucepan over medium high head. Add flour and stir until combined. Continue to stir over heat until roux is slightly browned.

Whisk in wine to combine. Whisk in thyme, milk and cream and continue whisking until mixture is very smooth. Cook over medium heat until mixture almost comes to a boil. Sauce should thicken as it cooks.

Remove from heat and whisk in nutmeg, Dijon, truffle paste and fontina cheese. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Meanwhile, cook pasta for 2 minutes in salted boiling water. It should still have a bite to it. Drain well.

Combine pasta with sauce.

Crumble gorgonzola cheese into the mixture and stir to combine.

Pour mixture into well buttered baking dish and top with bread crumbs. Drizzle with olive oil.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until top is browned and pasta is bubbly.

Serve with a well-chilled Chablis!

White Pizza with Arugula

I am a sucker for homemade pizza. It is so simple, and the flavours are so worth it. It is so much better than take-away or those cardboard frozen pre-made pizzas. If you don't want to go to the trouble of making your own crust, many grocery stores sell pizza dough in the refrigerator section. Alternatively, you might be able to order some dough from your local pizzeria. Jamie Oliver's recipe is fairly fail safe, especially if you kneed it for the recommend amount (10 minutes or more). This is my version of a white pizza. I have played around with the cheeses over the years, chevre, fontina, pecorino and fior di latte all work well.

White Pizza

~ Serves 6 ~

one recipe Jamie Oliver's pizza dough

1 cup basil pesto

3 cloves garlic, sliced thin

425 g ricotta cheese

1 cup shredded asiago cheese

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

4 cups baby arugula

1 oz parmesano-regiano cheese

good quality extra virgin olive oil

well aged balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

Pre-heat a pizza stone at 500 degrees, for at least two hours prior to making the pizza.

Prepare dough according to recipe provided in link. Section dough into six equal balls. Roll out balls into roundish pizza form. Place 2 T of pesto on each pizza. Divide the ricotta among the pizzas, by the heaped spoonful. Divide the remaining cheese and tomatoes among the pizzas.

Bake pizzas for 7-8 minutes or until crust is bubbled and golden brown.

Toss arugula with olive oil, balsamic, salt and pepper. Divide among pizzas.

Serve hot!

Fresh pasta with spring artichokes, asparagus, pine nuts and goat cheese

As promised, here is my recipe for artichoke pasta with goat cheese. You can make it with store-bought fresh pasta, or dry pasta (white or whole wheat), but making fresh pasta is much easier than it sounds, and it can be quite comforting as kneading the dough can be quite a therapeutic way to work out the days stresses!

I have used multiple recipes over the years for fresh pasta, but the easiest (never fail) recipe is from Italian home cooking guru Lidia Matticchio Bastianich's book Lidia's Family Table. Here is the recipe:

Fresh Pasta
2 cups all purpose flour
2 jumbo free range eggs
4 T good quality olive oil
3 T cold water
pinch sea salt

Make a well in the middle of the flour. Add remaining ingredients to well.


Slowly mix egg mixture into flour. Incorporating sides of well into egg mixture until fully incorporated.


Kneed for 5-10 minutes or until pasta is soft and springs back when pressed. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and let rest, at room temperature, for at least 30 minutes (or refrigerate overnight if you are preparing in advance).


Divide pasta into three sections. Roll out pasta and cut into lengths according to your preference.



Pasta with Spring Artichokes, Asparagus, Pine Nuts and Goat Cheese


Ingredients
2 T olive oil
2 T butter, unsalted
2 cloves garlic, minced
5-7 baby artichoke hearts, quartered
5-10 sprigs of asparagus, bottom shaved and tough ends removed, cut into 2 inch pieces
zest of one lemon
1 large glass dry white wine or dry vermouth
1/4 cup free range chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
4 T goat cheese
1/4 cup fresh chives, minced
pasta recipe (above)
freshly ground pepper and sea salt

Toast pine nuts in a dry pan over high heat until browned, remove and set aside. Heat oil and butter over medium high heat. Add garlic, artichoke hearts, asparagus and lemon zest. Saute until softened. Add wine and stock. Reduce by half. Add mascarpone and pine nuts and stir until cheese is melted. Adjust seasonings. Cook pasta for 2-3 minutes in salted boiling water. Reserve 1-2 cups pasta water and drain pasta. Add pasta to vegetables and toss. Add reserved pasta water if pasta seems dry. Serve sprinkled with goat cheese and chives.

Baby Artichoke Risotto with Lemon Thyme

I first made this recipe while living in Florence, Italy for the summer after my second year of law school. We had a gorgeous produce shop, two doors down from our apartment, and we would stop in daily to see what was fresh and seasonal so that we could plan our night's dinner around the ingredients. One spring day they had a beautiful display of purple baby artichokes. I brought a huge bag of them home and made this risotto that night and a fantastic pasta the following evening (I promise to provide that recipe at a later date!).

Spring baby artichokes are just starting to emerge at farmer's markets across the province. I was going to prepare some pictures on how to clean them but I think this fantastic slide show provides more than enough assistance on the subject.

If you would like to make this dish vegetarian, you can easily substitute chicken broth for vegetable broth.

~ Serves 4 ~

Baby Artichoke Risotto with Lemon Thyme
2 T olive oil
2 shallots, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 t lemon thyme, removed from stems
5-7 baby artichoke hearts, quartered
3 hand-fulls arborio rice
1 large glass dry white wine or dry vermouth
4-5 cups free range chicken stock
2 oz parmigiano-reggiano, grated finely
sea salt and freshly grated black pepper

1. Heat chicken broth over high heat until boiling, reduce heat and keep reserved at a simmer.
   
2. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and shallots and saute until golden.
   
3. Add artichoke hearts and saute until browned.
   
4. Add thyme and rice and mix until rice is translucent. Season rice with salt and pepper.
   
5. Add wine, scrape up all the brown bits and stir until absorbed into rice.
6. Add the broth to the rice mixture, one ladle at a time, stirring after each addition until the liquid is fully absorbed before you add the next ladle full.
7. After about 20-25 minutes, start to taste the rice. Add small ladles of broth until the rice is al dente, or the texture you prefer.
   
8. Add parmesan and stir until melted. Adjust seasonings.
   
9. Serve with shavings of parmesan.