POLENTA WITH FRESH HERBS AND GORGONZOLA

It's time for our weekly Food Matters Project recipe. Our host this week is Sandra of Meadows Cooks. Sandra chose Mark Bittman's recipe for Polenta Cakes with Garlicky Mushrooms. The garlicky mushrooms sounded divine however I was serving mushrooms at a small dinner party this weekend so I went with a fresh herb and Gorgonzola take on this recipe.

I mixed the polenta with milk and water and stirred until it started pulling away from the sides of the pan. When it was creamy and thick, I added some Parmesan cheese, butter, and fresh herbs. Spread all of this on an oiled baking sheet in let it firm up in the fridge for a few hours. When firm, cut the polenta into squares (or any shape you want) and top with a slice of Gorgonzola cheese. Back in a 400~ oven for about 15 minutes, until the cheese has melted and is bubbling.

I would call this comfort food all dressed up! I served this as a side with a grilled beef tenderloin but this would make a fantastic appetizer.

POLENTA WITH FRESH HERBS AND GORGONZOLA

1 1/2 cups coarse cornmeal

3 cups water

3/4 cup milk

1 TBSP. chopped fresh basil

1 TBSP. chopped fresh thyme

1 TBSP. chopped fresh rosemary

5 TBSP. grated Parmesan cheese

2 1/2 TBSP. butter or olive oil

8 oz. Gorgonzola

Put the cornmeal and a pinch of salt in a large saucepan. Slowly whisk in the water and milk until smooth. Set the pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, whisking continuously. Lower heat and whisk until thick, 10-15 minutes.

Remove from heat and whisk in the butter (or olive oil) Parmesan cheese, and fresh herbs.

Lightly oil a baking sheet and pour polenta onto the pan. Spread with a spatula until about 1/2 inch thick. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm (about 2 hours).

Preheat oven to 400~. Lightly oil a baking sheet. Cut firm polenta into squares or any shape you like. Top each square with a slice of Gorgonzola cheese. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until cheese has melted and is bubbly.

For our other members take on the recipe click here.

ASPARAGUS FLAN

This weeks Food Matters Project recipe was chosen by Lan of Angry Asian Creations. Lan chose Mark Bittman's recipe for Coconut Flan. As you may know I usually go for savory over sweet so I used the recipe as my inspiration and made asparagus flan. This flan has just a few ingredients, is simple to make and went very well with roasted salmon and potatoes. After baking the flan I topped it with some browned panko crumbs for a nice crunchy texture.

For some sweet takes on the recipe click here.

ASPARAGUS FLAN

2 lbs. asparagus (trimmed)

olive oil

salt and pepper

3/4 cup low fat milk

3 large eggs, beaten

3/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese

Preheat oven to 500~. Spread trimmed asparagus on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast asparagus in the oven until the tips start to brown and the stems turn bright green (about 10 minutes). Cool asparagus, cut off some tips for garnish.

In food processor puree the asparagus with the milk. In a large bowl whisk together the asparagus puree and the eggs. Fold in the cheese and season with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 375~. Brush small ramekins with oil and fill with the asparagus mixture. Place ramekins in a large baking pan and pour enough water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the edges start to brown. Remove flan from molds and garnish with browned panko crumbs and asparagus tips.

Recipe adapted from Vegetarian Times

WHITE BEANS WITH TONS OF FRESH HERBS

This week I'm hosting The Food Matters Project. I chose Mark Bittman's recipe for Pureed White Beans with Tons of Herbs. I thought this would be a great recipe for our group because as Mark suggests, you can puree it for a smooth texture or just mash the beans for a lumpier texture. He suggests turning it into a dip or as a base for chicken or fish. The possibilities are endless. I just served them right from the pan because they were so good.  I used parsley, cilantro, and mint for my mild herbs and oregano and tarragon for my stronger herbs. I was curious as to how all these different herbs would taste when mixed together and it was a pleasant surprise.

For the other members creative takes on this recipe click here.

PUREED WHITE BEANS WITH TONS OF FRESH HERBS

by Mark Bittman

This puree has a stunning green color from all of the fresh herbs and is the perfect dip-warm, cold, or at room temperature-for toasted bread or crudites. Or serve it as a main dish under bits of crumbled bacon, sausage, or prosciutto, or a small piece of simply cooked chicken or fish.

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for garnish

1 leek, white part and some of the green, trimmed, well rinsed, and chopped; or 1 onion, chopped

1 cup chopped mixed mild herbs, like parsley, cilantro, mint, basil, or chervil

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano, tarragon, or thyme

3 cups cooked or canned cannellini, navy, or other white beans, drained, liquid reserved

About 1 cup bean-cooking liquid, stock (for homemade, see pages 135 to 140), or water, or more as needed

Salt and black pepper

Put the butter and oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the leek and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is soft, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped herbs and cook a minute or 2 more.

If you want the mixture super-smooth, transfer it -along with the beans-to a blender, food processor, or food mill and process, adding as much liquid as you need to make a smooth but not watery puree. If you want a lumpier texture, mash the beans right in the pan with a fork or potato masher, adding liquid slowly to get them as soupy as you like.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper; taste and add more if necessary. Heat and serve immediately or keep warm over low heat for up to an hour or so. Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil if you like.

CILANTRO LIME BASMATI BROWN RICE

This is my go to recipe for Mexican style rice. It pairs well with Mexican dishes and also Indian dishes. I really like the nuttiness of the basmati brown rice. It's flavorful and healthy. 

Cilantro Lime Basmati Brown Rice

·         1-1/2 cups (1 pound) uncooked basmati brown rice

·         4 cups (1 quart) vegetable broth (low sodium preferred)

·         2 garlic cloves, minced

·         1/4 cup fresh lime juice

·         1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil

·         1/2 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or more, to taste, if using low-sodium broth)

·         1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano (Mexican preferred)

·         1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

·         1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

·         1-1/4 cups fresh cilantro, chopped

·         ½ - 1 jalapeno, finely chopped

Add rice and vegetable broth to 3 quart pan; bring to boil over high heat, give it a quick stir, cover and lower heat to lowest simmer setting. Continue to simmer on low for 45 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand covered for 5 minutes, or until any remaining liquid in bottom of pan is absorbed. Fluff with fork.

While rice cooks, whisk together the garlic, lime juice, olive oil, salt, oregano, cumin, and pepper. Pour over cooked rice, add the cilantro, and lightly toss with fork until combined. Taste and add salt, if desired.

Freezes and reheats well. Rice and broth may be cooked in a rice cooker instead of on stove top. Recipe may be doubled or cut in half.

Recipe slightly adapted from The Yummy Life.

STUFFED ZUCCHINI BLOSSOMS

It's been kind of crazy the last couple of weeks. Taking care of someone special for a week, camera broke, camera got fixed, camera broke again! Bought a new camera, packing for our trip to Europe and purchased an I Pad so I could blog during our trip. WHEW....time to stop and smell the flowers.

Zucchini flowers, growing in our back yard. No more excuses, I need to make them now! Something I have wanted to do for a very long time.

I have learned a lot about these lovely blossoms. Each zucchini plant has male and female blossoms. The male blossoms grow from a stem on the plant and the female blossoms grow on the end of the zucchini. If you pick the male blossoms you cut  the end of the stem and then you have an easy way to dip them in the batter. Another lesson....they open early in the morning and close during the day and evening. I went out in the afternoon to pick my beautiful flowers and this is what I found.

Closed blossoms. What the ?!? Well, now that I am a flower child veteran, I can tell you that stuffing and cleaning the closed blossoms is a real pain. It's hard not to tear them, and the bugs hide inside. It took a while but I got them cleaned (bug free) and ready to cook. The males have a stamen inside that is bitter so be sure to pull that out. The females have pistils so pull that off too.

I made the batter, letting it sit for an hour before adding the egg. Carefully stuffed them with some cream cheese, goat cheese, and fresh herbs. I used this mixture of cheese because I already had it in the fridge. Next time I will use ricotta cheese. Then I dipped them in the batter and fried in some olive oil.

I try to avoid fried food, but this was pan fried, not deep fried, so I felt better about that. :)

Oh yum! The batter was light and crispy and the herby melted cheese was delish. I think I like the flowers better than the zucchini itself. I can't wait to try them again with different fillings.

                                                     

STUFFED ZUCCHINI BLOSSOMS

16 zucchini flowers

BATTER

1 cup unbleached white flour

1/2 tsp. sea salt

3/4 cup warm water

1 large egg

FOR THE STUFFING:

1 cup cheese, ricotta or cream cheese and goat cheese

3 TBSP. finely chopped herbs (parsley, sage, oregano, basil and thyme)

sea salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup olive oil for pan frying.

For the batter, mix flour, salt and warm water in a large bowl. Set aside and let stand for 1 hour. Just before dipping the flowers into the batter, whisk in the egg.

For the stuffing, mix together cheese, herbs, salt, and pepper and set aside.

To stuff the flowers, remove the stamen or pistils, carefully open the flowers. Use a dessert spoon to spoon in a small amount of the stuffing into the base of each flower.. Twist the petals so the the stuffing is held inside. Place on a baking sheet.

Heat a large heavy-bottom skillet to high heat. Add the oil. When the oil is hot, dip each flower in the batter and add them to the pan. Saute for 2-3 minutes until golden. Flip the flowers and continue to saute for 1-2 minutes until golden. Repeat until all the flowers have been used, reducing the pan to medium high heat when the pan is very hot so the oil does not burn.

To serve, overlap 4-6 flowers in the center of each plate and serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.

ASPARAGUS WITH GOAT CHEESE AND ARUGULA SAUCE

This is a super quick and really good way to serve asparagus. Give it a try!

                                                    ASPARAGUS WITH GOAT CHEESE AND ARUGULA SAUCE

12 oz. asparagus, trimmed
1 1/2 cups arugula, thoroughly cleaned
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus a little more
freshly ground pepper
salt
1 log goat cheese, about 5 ounces
1 small radish

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt and the asparagus, and cook until it's just tender, about 4 minutes. Remove from the water and plunge into an ice bath. Drain the asparagus and set aside. Reserve some arugula leaves for garnish, and roughly chop the rest of it. Place the chopped arugula in a blender. Add the garlic and olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Blend until a smooth puree forms, adding more olive oil if necessary.

Arrange the asparagus on a serving platter. Slice the log of goat cheese into 1/2 inch thick discs and layer them over the asparagus spears. Spoon some of the arugula sauce over the cheese. Wash the radish and thinly slice it. Place some radish slices around the plate. Garnish with the reserved arugula leaves and serve.

Serves 4

COUSCOUS WITH GINGER, ORANGE, ALMONDS AND HERBS

I made this couscous to go with the Salmon Panang. It is a great side to go with Asian dishes or it would be nice as a side to a simple sauteed chicken breast.

The couscous cooking.

The finished dish.



    COUSCOUS WITH GINGER, ORANGE, ALMONDS & HERBS

2 tablespoons  olive oil

1/2 medium  yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1 clove  garlic, finely chopped

2 tablespoons  finely minced fresh ginger

1 cup  fresh orange juice (about 3 oranges), strained

1 tablespoon  unsalted butter

9 ounces  (1-1/2 cups) couscous

1 teaspoon  kosher salt; more to taste

1/2 cup  slivered almonds, toasted

1/4 cup  chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1/4 cup  chopped fresh cilantro

  Zest from 1 orange

  Freshly ground black pepper

 In a medium straight-sided skillet or a large saucepan with a tight lid, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until soft but not browned, 8 to 10 min. Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook for 2 minutes. Add the orange juice and simmer rapidly until the liquid has almost completely evaporated, about 10 min., stirring as needed to prevent the juice from caramelizing. Add 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, add the butter, couscous, and salt. Stir to combine. Cover and let stand for 15 min. With a fork, fluff the couscous. Stir in the almonds, herbs, and orange zest to taste. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4-6

Recipe from  Fine Cooking Magazine

SWEET POTATOES...TURN DOWN THE SUGAR AND TURN UP THE HEAT!

Dinner the other night was my basic roast chicken, sauteed spinach and SWEET POTATO. Sweet potatoes are naturally sweet. Adding brown sugar or maple syrup and then marshmallows on top of it is uhhhh...not my favorite. I like taking something that is perfectly sweet and turning it into something HOT and SPICY!

                  Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes with Chipotle Chili

4 small sweet potatoes of similar size, scrubbed
1 to 2 tsp. olive oil
1/4 cup sour cream; more for serving
1/2 to 1 chipotle chile in adobo, minced to a paste
2 TBSP. unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 lime cut into quarters

Heat the oven to 425~. Put the potatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet and rub them with olive oil. Cook until tender, about 50 to 55 minutes. Set on a rack to cool but leave the oven on.

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, slice off about the top one-quarter (lengthwise) of each potato to expose the interior. Scoop out the flesh of each potato and put in a medium bowl. Leave about 1/4 inch of sweet potato attached to the skin to help retain its structure.

Mash the sweet potato flesh, sour cream, chili paste, butter and salt until smooth. Taste to see if you want more heat. Add more chipotle paste if desired. Mound the mixture into the potato skins and set them in a baking pan. Bake the stuffed potatoes at 425~ until hot, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve with lime wedges and more sour cream.

Serves 4

Be sure to squeeze the lime juice on this. It really makes these extra good.