It's monday and this is the first meat-free monday post I've written in a while. Fall is in a full swing here in Switzerland and the sun has worked up the force to beat the fog, so I decided to make something easy and fast that didn't need a lot of work and soak up the nice weather as much as possible. I still wanted some comfort food though, which is why I turned to a risotto recipe from Donna Hay. Her oven-baked risottos are fool-proof and absolutely delicious. It's like magic - throw all ingredients into a oven-proof tin, give them a quick stir and let your oven cook the rice for 30 minutes until it's perfectly creamy and cooked. And you're free to do whatever you like in the meantime.
This recipe is from Donna Hay's latest book "the new easy" which features a ton of new, fast recipes that need little prep, but nevertheless offer a ton of flavor. The recipe happens to be vegetarian and can be tweaked into being vegan, so it's a perfect meat-free alternative.
Here's the recipe:
30g (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 onion
2 tablespoon lemon thyme
2 cloves of garlic (optional, as always)
250g (8.8 oz; 1 1/4 cups) arborio rice (or any risotto rice you have on hand)
1l (32 fl.oz; 4 cups) chicken or vegetable stock
1 tablespoon lemon zest (from 1 medium organic lemon)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
80g (2.8 oz; 1 cup) grated parmesan (or a vegan cheese substitute)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 handfuls fresh basil (1 package of 20g)
1) Preheat the oven to 200°C (395°F). Dice the onion finely. Press the garlic cloves. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and cook the onion and thyme for 5 minutes until the onions has softened. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
2) Add the onion-garlic mixture to your oven-proof baking dish. Add the rice and stock, give it a stir and cover with aluminium foil. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
3) If you didn't buy grated parmesan, grate the parmesan while the risotto is baking. Grate the lemon zest as well. Cut the basil leaves into thin strips.
4) When the risotto has cooked, stir through the parmesan, lemon juice and lemon zest and basil and season with salt and pepper.
© Donna Hay "the new easy", p. 133.
Yield: 4 portions
Active preparation time: 10 minutes
Total preparation time: 40 minutes
Here's how mine turned out:
I love how quick and easy you can assemble this risotto. I also adore the flavors. If you're looking for a risotto that's suitable for fall, try Donna's version with sweet potato and bacon.
This risotto has just the right amount of freshness from the lemon while the basil and parmesan round the flavor and take you straight to a sun-filled day in Italy - in your mind at least. You can perfectly eat this on its own or serve it along some saltimbocca (if you're not on meat-free monday).
Have fun trying and have a lovely, sunny, golden fall week!
How was your weekend? Did you dig in to some baking? I did, if not cake for once, but bread. One of my boyfriend's most vivid memories is from a holiday he spent in Israel eating pita bread as a side for dinner almost every day. When he returned, he was raving about it so much, I decided to make it for him. Of course, I don't go out to buy some at the supermarket which you could obviously, but decided to try my hand at home-made pita bread. I was baffled by how easy it is and how amazing and satisfying the end result was. It is pretty fast as well. The best thing? You need 4 ingredients most of you will already have at home.
I got the recipe from Food52. They have a few recipes for pita bread on their site but I was drawn to the picture accompanying the recipe for a whole wheat pita. I used all all-purpose flour, because my boyfriend was skeptical as to how a whole wheat pita would taste, so I obeyed, but trust me, I won't stop until I've planted some whole wheat pita bread on him.
Here's the link to the recipe: http://food52.com/recipes/20445-whole-wheat-pita-bread
And here's my adaptation:
1 tablespoon dry yeast (1 sachet of 7g)
375 ml (1.5 cups) warm water (lukewarm)
1 teaspoon salt
525g (3.5 cups) all-purpose flour
1) Dissolve the yeast in the water and let it sit for 5 minutes until the yeast starts bubbling up to see it's active.
2) Add the salt and the flour. Knead with a kitchen machine or electric mixer until a forms. Continue kneading for about 8 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add a little more flour if it is too sticky.
3) Turn the dough onto a lightly flour-dusted surface. Divide it into 8 equal portions. Roll into balls, then flatten them to 1 cm high disks. Place the breads on a baking tray lined with baking paper and set aside to rise for 30-40 minutes until slightly puffed.
4) Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F). Place the tray in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes until light golden.
Yield: 8 pitas
Active preparation time: 15 minutes
Total preparation time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Now get creative! What we like to do is slice a little piece off the pita and cut a pouch on the inside. Then fill with whatever you like. I've hosted a pita evening where we served the pitas along small falafel balls, pan-fried chicken breast and pan-fried ground beef. For vegetables we served tomatoes, salad and corn. And as a sauce classic cocktail sauce along with sour cream that we tweaked with a little paprika powder, salt and pepper. This makes a great main course, but feel free to use the pitas on their own as a side dish for your next barbecue.
Here's how it looks:
I am sorry the lighting it a little bad. I was at my boyfriend's home but still wanted to take pictures of this to introduce you to. The first time we made these everything was gone so fast I didn't succeed taking a picture. But let me assure you, this is absolutely delicious and the pitas look beautiful all round and puffed.
Have fun trying!
Hi guys!
So it's monday and I have a vegan treat for you today. Artichokes are starting to come into season at the moment, so if you're lucky you'll get wonderfully large ones at your grocery store or a local farmer's market. I haven't eaten any artichokes at all until about two years ago, but that's when I have started loving them. They are incredibly versatile. You can use only the bottoms as a vegetable, use the hearts in a pesto or eat all of it. Today's recipe comes from Gwyneth Paltrow's "Notes from my kitchen table". Here's the recipe:
4 artichokes
150ml extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt
freshly ground black pepper
200g (7 oz) day-old bread, cut into 1 cm cubes
450g (15 oz) cherry tomatoes
handful fresh basil leaves
1 lemon
1) Cut the top 2 cm (1 inch) off the artichokes as well as the tough outer leaves and stems and discard. Rub the cut face with lemon juice. Steam the artichokes for 45 minutes. If you don't have a steamer, heat water in a large pot until boiling. Take a sieve, put the artichokes in and hang the sieve above the boiling water. Turn the heat to medium and put a lid on the pot.
2) Meanwhile, quarter the tomatoes. Whisk together 125ml olive oil, red wine vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Fold in the bread cubes. If they're really dry, add a spoonful of warm water. Using your hands, crush in the tomatoes and stir in the basil. Let the bread mixture sit while the artichokes are cooking.
3) When the artichokes are cooked through, let them sit for 10 or 15 minutes until cool. Using a soup spoon, scoop out the thistly chokes. Squeeze lemon juice over the cavity of each artichoke and stuff with the bread salad. Drizzle over the remaining olive oil. Serve at room temperature.
Active preparation time: 10 minutes
Total preparation time: 1 hour
Serves: 4
© Copyright: Gwyneth Paltrow, "Notes from my kitchen table", p. 206.
Here's how my stuffed artichoke looks:
First of all, let me tell you how much I adore the colour. The intense red of the tomatoes, soft yellow-orange from the olive oil-soaked bread cubes and the green from the artichokes - absolutely beautiful. And the taste lives up to how it looks like. Being vegan (which is supposedly boring according to some of my friends...) this dish really combines so much flavour. A slight acidity from the vinegar and tomatoes while adding sweetness at the same time. The bread and olive oil add richness and creaminess. And the leaves from the artichokes have an almost flesh-like consistency. Combining all these different flavours and textures guarantees a satisfying dish at any time.
Have fun trying!
Hi guys!
It is Monday and I am pretty sure by now you all know what that means. Yes, exactly, there is a new vegetarian recipe coming your way and really love today's pick. I have already featured a Goop recipe in an earlier blog and today, I want to share their recipe for Lentil "Meatballs" with you. The recipe takes a little time, but it is super easy and the result is perfect. Here is the link to the recipe: http://goop.com/recipes/dinner/lentil_meatballs
I will write the steps I took down for you as the original recipe adds oven-roasted tomatoes and a basil oil to accompany the lentil balls.
1) Cook the lentils according to packet directions. One cup of raw lentils will give you two cups once their cooked. Grate the parmesan.
2) Preheat the oven to 170°C (375°F). Cut one onion into fine pieces, heat some olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Sauté for a minute. Add the garlic (I omitted it) and dried herbs along with a pinch of salt and pepper and sauté for another minute or two until soft and fragrant.
3) Place the lentils along with the tomato paste and a little olive oil in a food processor or blend with a handheld blender until smooth.
4) Beat the eggs in a bowl. Add the ricotta or greek yoghurt and mix until combined. Add the lentils and mix until smooth. Add the onion-herb-mix for the pan, the parmesan and bread crumbs and season generously with salt and pepper. Mush together until combined.
5) Roll the mixture into balls. Place the balls on a baking tray and bake for 8-10 minutes, then turn and bake them for 5 more minutes.
Yield: about 32 meatballs
Active preparation time: 30 minutes
Total preparation time: about 1 hour and 15 minutes (30 minutes cooking time for lentils included)
Here's how my "meatballs" look like:
As I said a little earlier on, I didn't add the oven-roasted tomatoes or basil oil, but I opted to but my meatballs and serve them over a big bowl of salad. The lentils will give you a healthy load of protein and carbs to get you through until your next meal - without the fat ground beef from "normal" beef patties would add.
Here's how my lunch today looks like:
The "meatballs" have a really nice flavour from the roasted dried herbs and a slight hint of tomato sweetness from the tomato purée which also gives them their reddish color. I used regular green lentils, nothing fancy like puy lentils or beluga lentils. These are such a great vegetarian alternative to the classic beef pattie and I am going to make them again some time very soon. The leftover I've got might be perfect to put in a sandwich in slices and take for lunch with me.
Have a great start of the week and, of course, have fun trying!
Hi guys!
Monday again and time for a little vegetarian treat. I have been savouring autumn's produce lately and have been diving into a few pumpkin recipes. Today's recipe comes from Jamie Oliver's "Cook with Jamie", one of his books I am actually using on a regular basis. I am not completely convinced by his books, as the recipes are for a large number of servings most of the time and a lot of the recipes feature ingredients I am not particularly fond of. The recipe for this pumpkin risotto hit a soft spot with me the first time I made it and I enjoy making it during autumn and winter still. The pumpkin is baked with cinnamon and chili before being added to the risotto and Jamie finishes his version with crumbled amaretti biscuits.
Here's the recipe:
1 cinnamon stick, broken in pieces
1 dried red chili
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, for seasoning
olive oil
1 medium butternut squash
1 onion
600g (21 oz) risotto rice
1l (4 cups; 32 fl.oz) vegetable broth, warmed
100g (2/3 stick) unsalted butter
80g (1 cup) finely grated parmesan cheese
1 cup amaretti biscuits, crumbled
1) Preheat the oven to 200°C (392°F). Ground the cinnamon stick and chili in a mortar. Cut the squash in four pieces, rub each fourth with olive oil, then with the spice powder. Put the squash on a baking tray and bake for 45 minutes until the squash is soft and caramelised.
2) While the squash is baking, cut the onion in small pieces. In a large pan, heat one tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Cook the onion for about 5 minutes until soft. Add the risotto rice and steam for about 1 minute. Add one cup vegetable broth, turn the heat to high and bring to the boil. Turn the heat to medium and let the risotto cook for about 25 minutes until the rice is tender, adding the broth one cup at a time as soon as the liquid has evaporated - stirring occasionally.
3) When the risotto is cooked, add the grated parmesan cheese. Cut the baked squash in pieces and add to the risotto as well. If using the amaretti, sprinkle them on the risotto right before serving.
Serves: 8
Active preparation time: about 30 minutes
Total preparation time: about 50 minutes
Here's how it looks:
I normally omit the amaretti biscuits so they are not in the picture as well. I love how this recipe combines the flavours of autumn and winter so perfectly by using squash and cinnamon. This is the perfect recipe if you want to try something new with a surprising touch.
Have fun trying!
Hi guys!
The weekend always lends itself to preparing dishes that take a little more time and require a little more work than the average weeknight dinner. I try taking this time whenever possible, because it makes me happy. It basically makes everyone happy as my family loves fresh, home-made pasta. I know it sounds like a tough thing to do, but it is pretty easy once you've worked up the guts to give it a try.
Here's the recipe per Person:
100g (2/3 cup) all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1) Place the flour and salt in a bowl. Using your kitchen machine or hand blender with dough hooks, combine the flour with the egg. If there is flour left, add 1/2 teaspoon of water to make sure all is combined. You can also combine it with your hands.
2) Take the dough out of the bowl and knead it for about 5 minutes until it is nice and smooth. Make sure it is not sticky. It shouldn't be dry, but not too wet, either.
At this point, the dough should rest for at least 1 hour. You can also prepare it one day and leave it in the fridge over night.
Now get your creativity going. There's endless ways to form pasta. I normally choose the form depending on what kind of sauce I have. I like classic spaghetti with tomato sauce or in pasta carbonara and wider forms like pappardelle with a chunkier sauce.
As I paired my pasta with sun-dried tomatoes and prosciutto di parma, I have chosen to go with a broader type, the pasta is called lasagna ricce. We have a pasta machine and a few different attachments.
If you don't have a machine, you can roll out your dough until it is really thin, dust it with some flour so it doesn't stick, layer it in two or three layers and slice it to make spaghetti, linguine or pappardelle.
Here's how they turned out:
Hi guys!
It's Meat Free Monday again and I've been looking for something other than pasta or rice this week, so I've chosen gnocchi. Originating from Italy, they are little small potato-flour-rounds cooked in salted water. I love that they are incredibly versatile. You can pair them with any sauce you like. Paired with cheesy, creamy Gorgonzola sauce they are a classic dish, but they are just as tasteful accompanied by a light Tomato sauce or any type of pesto. You can buy them at any grocery store or get down to business and make them yourself. It's not as hard as you might expect. I am going to take you through the recipe step by step. It's actually quite fool-proof.
Here's the recipe:
1 kg starchy potatoes
coarse sea salt
100g (2/3 cup) all-purpose flour
salt
pepper
2 egg yolks
Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F). Line a baking tray with salt. Be sure to use a generous amount. The salt will help absorb the moisture from the potatoes which is crucial for ending up with fluffy gnocchi. Place the potatoes on the baking tray and cook them in the oven for 1 hour.
When they're cooked, scrape the flesh out of the shell with a tablespoon and place in bowl. Mash the flesh using a masher or a ricer. The texture might vary depending on what tool you're using. I am using a masher.
Add the flour, salt and pepper for seasoning and mix to combine. Add the egg yolks and stir until a uniform mixture. Knead the dough for about a minute on a lightly dusted surface. Don't knead your dough too much, because the gluten will be set free and make your gnocchi tough rather than light and fluffy.
Split the dough in half. Roll each half to a string of about 2cm width (a little less than one inch).
Cut the string into 2cm (little less than one inch) pieces and spread on a flour-dusted baking tray. Use measuring tape or a ruler to ensure even-sized gnocchi. They should be the same size to make sure they are cooking at the same time later.
At this point, you can freeze any excess gnocchi. I like to make a huge batch and freeze them for later use. That way, you have to work once and can benefit from it later.
Making gnocchi is a great Sunday project when you have some spare time. I have thrown mine in the oven with a few different kind of vegetables and a splash of basic tomato sauce. I will share the recipe with you tomorrow!
Have fun trying! I promise it's worth the effort!
