Savory Squash Pie

12 Monday Mar 2012

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Savory Squash Pie

As the countdown to Pi(e) Day continues, I’ve made a couple of savory pies for dinners. The first is an adaptation of this recipe that I substituted in several places with what I had on hand. Turned out great, and will be a general formula for future savory pies for sure!

Ingredients:

  • 1 9” pie crust
  • 2 acorn squash (or 1 butternut squash) , seeds removed and meat cut into chunks an inch or less
  • 1 onion, diced
  • .25 cups grape seed oil
  • .25 cups dry white wine
  • .25 tsp salt + more to taste
  • .25 tsp fresh ground black pepper + more to taste
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup fresh whole wheat bread crumbs
  • .5 cups walnuts, chopped
  • .5 cups shredded Parmigiano Reggiano

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400° and toss the squash chunks in half of the oil plus the salt and pepper. Roast the squash on a baking sheet for 20-30 minutes until golden. You can simultaneously prebake your pie crust for 10-15 minutes if you like.
  2. In the meantime, sauté the onion over medium heat in the other half of the oil. After 5 minutes, add the white wine and cook it down for another 5 minutes or so.
  3. If you’re making homemade bread crumbs, toast 2 to 3 pieces of bread until they are dry, break them into chunks and toss in a food processor. You can also add the walnuts and cheese as these three together will make the crumb mix.
  4. When everything is done, mix the roasted squash, sautéed onions, lightly beaten egg, and half of the bread crumb mix together in a big bowl.
  5. Scoop filling into the crust, sprinkle remaining bread crumb mix on top, and bake for 30-40 minutes until the crust is golden. Let sit for 10 minutes before slicing.

Make sure to also: wash those squash seeds, toss them in oil, salt and pepper and roast them on a baking sheet for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Yum!!

“Cold” Spaghetti

11 Sunday Mar 2012

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Cold Spaghetti

The pasta itself is warm – it’s the sauce that’s cold. And it’s the perfect dish for spring and summer – fresh and beautiful.

I’ve had, and loved, this recipe for years. It came from my childhood bestie’s family and I’ve been making and adapting it since I was in high school. In other words, it’s easy and never gets boring – because it’s incredibly flexible.

Cold Spaghetti Ingredients

Here’s the basic recipe, followed by some of the ingredients that you can add to customize it:

  • 2 cups diced fresh tomatoes – I recommend roma or cherry
  • .25 cups chopped green onions
  • .25 cups minced parsley
  • 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped – less if you aren’t in love with garlic like we are
  • .25 cups extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tsp dried oregano or mixed Italian herbs
  • 1 tsp kosher or sea salt plus more for pasta
  • 2 tsp fresh ground black pepper plus more for pasta
  • .25 cups shredded Parmigiano Reggiano plus more for garnish

Some additional ingredients – I usually add at least one of these to make the flavor more complex:

  • Olives, diced – I prefer black pearl olives for this as kalamata or green could overwhelm in my opinion
  • Artichoke hearts, chopped
  • Sundried tomatoes, chopped
  • Flavored oil such as basil or garlic
  • Red pepper flakes (start small!)

Stir all ingredients together in a bowl. Taste as you go and adjust to your preferences. Refrigerate for at least two hours so the flavors can marry. Serve over hot spaghetti or angel hair pasta that has been tossed in more oil, salt and pepper. Garnish with additional cheese.

Enjoy!

Creamy Tahini Dressing (vegan)

08 Thursday Mar 2012

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Creamy Tahini Dressing Ingredients

This dressing is similar to the Annie’s Goddess dressing that’s so popular and delicious. It’s creamy enough that you do not miss having feta or goat cheese in a salad. I recommend it on a spinach salad with cucumbers, garbanzo beans and sunflower seeds…or on pretty much anything else, it’s that delicious.

This recipe yields a fairly thick dressing, so if you prefer something thinner you can add more lemon juice or even a little water.

Put the following in a blender until the garlic has been fully incorporated:

  • .5 cups tahini
  • .5 cups extra virgin olive oil
  • Juice from 2 large or 3 small lemons
  • 2 tbsp Bragg Liquid Aminos
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tsp fresh ground pepper or more to taste

Note: If you don’t have red wine vinegar on hand, I suspect that apple cider vinegar would be a good substitute and contribute a little different but comparable brightness.

Blackberry & Apple Tart (or is it a pie?)

07 Wednesday Mar 2012

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Blackberry and Apple Tart

Probably a pie, since I used a pie crust – even though I made it in a tart pan and arranged the ingredients like a tart.

But the distinguishing characteristic of this recipe is its tart flavor – by which I mean a distinct zippiness and pucker. So if you’re tired of too-sweet pies, here’s the antidote.

Blackberry and Apple Tart Ingredients

Ingredients:

  • 1 pie crust
  • .5 cups butter
  • .75 cups brown sugar
  • .5 tsp cinnamon powder
  • .25 tsp lemon zest (adjust for desired pucker)
  • .25 inch slice of ginger root, peeled
  • .5 cups water
  • 4 cups baking apples, peeled and cored and cut as you like
  • 2 cups blackberries, rinsed and patted dry

Instructions:

  1. In a large pan, melt the butter over medium heat and then stir in the brown sugar, cinnamon, lemon and ginger
  2. Mix in the apples and water and simmer for 10 minutes – use only enough water to come less than half way up the apples
  3. Add the blackberries and cook for 1 more minute
  4. Remove from heat and allow to cool to handling temperature
  5. In the meantime, roll out your pie dough and place in a 9” pie dish or 10” tart dish
  6. Add the filling by scooping into the crust with a slotted spoon so you can easily control the amount of liquid – be sure to find that chunk of ginger and pull it out!
  7. Any leftover filling and liquid can be blended to make a syrupy topping – also, I drizzled a bit on half way through baking for color and texture
  8. Bake for 50-60 minutes at 350°, remove and allow to stand before serving

I bet this would also be wonderful with pears instead of apples, in which case I might leave out the lemon zest altogether and emphasize the ginger.

Basic Homemade Pie Crust

07 Wednesday Mar 2012

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Basic Homemade Pie Crust

I’m not much of a baker, but with Pi Day in a week I’m occupied with…bad puns, evidently. But also pies!

And while I may still be refining my technique for perfectly flaky crusts, I do have the theory down. The way to a flaky crust is to allow pockets of air to form in the dough while it bakes. This happens when small pieces of butter melt and the 20% of butter that’s actually water forms steam.

So to get flakiness you need chunks of butter, not a dough where the butter is fully incorporated. And two things support this: how much you mix it (or how little, as the case may be) and maintaining a cold temperature so the butter stays hard.

This basic recipe will yield enough for one pie with a top and bottom crust, or two pies with open tops.

Basic Pie Crust Ingredients

Ingredients:

  • 2.5 cups flour
  • 1 cup butter, cubed and chilled
  • 1 tsp salt
  • .5 cups ice water

Instructions:

  1. Mix the flour and salt
  2. Slice in the butter – some people use knives or pastry blenders, some use food processors – the trick is to stop when you have tiny butter balls coated with flour
  3. Add the ice water (not the ice…) 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough holds together when you pinch it
  4. Shape the dough into 2 balls, wrap in plastic and let sit in your refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days
  5. Sprinkle a clean surface with flour and use a rolling pin to flatten the dough into a 12” circle

Note: I used 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1.5 cups unbleached white flour – probably a better choice for the crust of savory pies than for sweet pies.

Balsamic Marinated Beets

29 Wednesday Feb 2012

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Beets

I love beets but I’ve always just oven roasted them (how-to at bottom). That’s super easy and also quite efficient if you’re baking other things at the same time. But it’s not very “special.” So to class it up for some friends who were coming over, I borrowed from this recipe to make marinated beets. And the result is awesome – very flavorful and excellent texture.

Combine the following in a large stock pot and simmer for 30-45 minutes:

  • 6 red beets, peeled
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 4 cups water
  • .5 cups balsamic vinegar
  • .25 cups salt
  • .5 cups sugar

The time difference will depend on the size of your beets – they’re done when you can insert a knife easily to the center.

Also, if you’re cooking golden beets instead of red, you can substitute champagne vinegar to preserve their color.

And here’s a great way to use those beautiful beet greens: in a risotto!

If you want to oven roast your beets instead: Rinse them but leave the skins on and individually wrap in tin foil with a drizzle of grape seed oil. Then pop into the oven for 30-45 minutes at 350 degrees. Skin usually slides off easily when done.

Fennel Lentil & Sausage (vegan style!)

21 Tuesday Feb 2012

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Fennel Lentil and Sausage

A couple weeks ago it was a beautiful sunny day in Seattle – an unseasonably early week of Spring that only served to get everyone’s hopes up. So I took full advantage and walked to Pike Place Market for some fresh fish and produce. One thing I picked up was this fennel:

Fennel

These fennels?

I’ve never cooked with fennel before, and evidently I’m the only one because I posted on facebook for suggestions and got an impressive response. (Guys, who didn’t tell me about fennel? What else do I need to know?)

I tried several of the recipe recommendations including a fennel salad thanks to comments from Adam, Lauren and Linsday, as well as garnishing cioppino with the fuzzy top part thanks to Adrienne and Heather. And this one came from Evan with the warmest wishes of all: “It’s high in fiber…stay regular!”

Fennel Lentil and Sausage Ingredients

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup dried green lentils
  • 4.5 cups water
  • 1.5 tsp salt – I love Celtic Sea Salt for flavor and mineral content
  • 1 fennel bulb, diced (stalks removed)
  • Fennel fronts, chopped
  • .25 cups olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 4 Italian Sausage – I used these vegan guys here
  • 3 tbsp Italian parsley, chopped
  • .5 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar plus more to adjust flavor when done

Instructions:

  1. Cook lentils in water with .5 tsp salt uncovered for about 15 minutes – you want them to be just tender but not falling apart
  2. In a high-edged pan over medium, heat oil and stir in onion, carrot, fennel bulb, fennel seeds and remaining salt – cook for 10 minutes until vegetables are tender
  3. Drain lentils and stir into vegetable with .25 to .5 cups of the cooking liquid
  4. Remove from heat and stir in parsley, pepper, fennel fronds and vinegar
  5. In the meantime, heat the vegan sausage and cut into chunks – you could just add them into the vegetables to heat at the same time or use a separate skillet if you want to brown them (and if you’re using real meat, definitely cook fully in a separate skillet, then cut into chunks)
  6. Serve the lentil and vegetables with a few chunks of sausage on top and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil plus more vinegar and/or salt to taste

Stay regular, friends!

Tomatillo Chipotle Salsa

20 Monday Feb 2012

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Tomatillo Chipotle Salsa

I almost never buy salsa anymore, not since I got a food processor last year, because fresh homemade salsa is super easy and delicious. Here’s one of our favorite recipes.

Ingredients:

  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • .5 tsp chili powder
  • .5 tsp chipotle powder
  • .5 tsp salt
  • .5 cups onion
  • 3-4 garlic cloves
  • 1-2 tsp fresh jalapeno (optional per your heat preference)
  • 1 cup cilantro
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 3-4 tomatillos, papery wrappers removed and rinsed
  • 1-2 tomatoes

Salsa Ingredients

Instructions:

  1. Pulse the spices, salt, onion and garlic until finely chopped (here’s where jalapeno would go in)
  2. Add cilantro and lime juice, pulse several times
  3. Add tomatillos and tomatoes, pulse until they are the texture you prefer
  4. Between each step make sure to scrape the sides of the food processor with a spatula so all the ingredients get incorporated evenly

I like to separate the chunky part and use the juices to season my Spanish rice, etc.

One other note: this is a great way to use the cilantro stems since they are getting finely chopped anyway, so you can use the pretty top leaves for garnish.

Risotto with Beet Greens

20 Monday Feb 2012

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Risotto with Beet Greens

Risotto is such a treat – plus it’s easy to make and extremely flexible. The one consideration with risotto is that you do need to stir it pretty constantly, so plan to spend 30-40 minutes by the stove (aka, pour yourself a glass of wine and relax). With a basic technique in mind, you can vary the recipe for whatever you have on hand or find fresh at the local farmer’s market. It also satisfies that pasta craving for my gluten-free friends.

I had some beet greens that I needed to use, so that’s what last night’s risotto featured. I balanced the greens with lemon juice for brightness and red pepper flakes for a little kick of flavor.

Ingredients:

  • .25 cups olive oil
  • 2 bay leaves
  • .25 tsp red pepper flakes (up to this amount, adjust down for less heat)
  • .25 tsp ground black pepper
  • .25 tsp thyme (optional)
  • 1 onion finely chopped
  • 6 cloves of garlic
  • Greens from 3-6 beets – stems removed and chopped, leaves chopped
  • 1 cup Arborio rice
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • Juice from 1 lemon
  • .25 cups pine nuts
  • 4 cups vegetable broth – heated in separate pot on stove ready to ladle in
  • 2 tbsp butter (optional)
  • 1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions:

  1. In a large high-edged pan heat the oil over medium heat and season with the bay leaves, pepper, red pepper (this is when to add the thyme if you use it)
  2. Add the onions and stir until they begin to turn translucent, then stir in the garlic and beet stems
  3. Add Arborio rice and stir in so that it absorbs any oil and cooking juices
  4. Add wine and stir until absorbed
  5. Add pine nuts and lemon juice and stir until absorbed
  6. Add broth one ladle at a time until absorbed – you may not use all 4 cups, judge how much the rice will take and adjust to your liking
  7. Stir in parmesan cheese (and butter if you use)
  8. Fold in beet greens until they wilt down and start to incorporate, but still have good color
  9. Garnish with additional parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, drizzle of olive oil

You can also substitute pearl barley for the Arborio rice, for a high-fiber version!