Roasted carrots with scallion vinaigrette

May 1, 2019 Belinda

I get more excited about interesting vegetable dishes than meat or fish. Although I couldn’t be a vegetarian, I could happily eat this sort of dish 5 out of 7 days a week.
This recipe comes from the great food blog, #theoriginaldish Recipe by Kayley Howey

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Scallion Vinaigrette

1 tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, thinly sliced
4 scallions
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1/3 cup neutral oil (safflower, grapeseed, vegetable, etc.)
½ cup raisins
kosher salt

Roasted Carrots

½ cup raw hazelnuts
2 bunch long baby carrots, scrubbed and halved
olive oil
kosher salt
feta cheese, shaved or crumbled (as much as you’d like)
carrot top leaves, to garnish (optional)

Scallion Vinaigrette

Heat a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the shallots. Cook until tender and caramelized, just a few minutes, stirring often.
Lower the heat and toss in the scallions. Continue to cook for another minute.
Stir in the white wine vinegar and honey. Let the mixture come to a bubble and simmer for a minute. Turn off the heat.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and slowly drizzle in the neutral oil until emulsified. Fold in the raisins. Season with salt to taste.
Let the vinaigrette sit while you make the carrots.

Roasted Carrots

Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Lay the hazelnuts out onto a baking sheet. Roast for 5 minutes. Let cool just slightly and use a kitchen towel to rub the hazelnuts between your hands in order to remove the skins. Discard the skins. Roughly chop the hazelnuts and set aside.
Meanwhile, lay the halved carrots out onto a baking sheet. Toss with enough olive oil to coat them well. Spread them into one, even layer. Season with a pinch of salt.
Roast the carrots for 12-15 minutes, or until tender and slightly caramelized (time may vary depending on your oven).
Toss the warm carrots with the scallion vinaigrette. Serve them with the chopped roasted hazelnuts, feta cheese, and carrot top leaves (optional) on top.

Appetizer Vegetarian · Gluten Free · Nuts · Vegetable-related

Roasted Beets With Yogurt, Pistachios and Coriander

March 13, 2019March 13, 2019 Belinda

I seem to be in a beet-frame of mind, especially as I am coming across so many great recipes for them. The recipe is c/o Aaron Hutcherson.

This sophisticated side is easy enough for a weeknight, but fancy enough for entertaining thanks to a few unexpected additions: Seasoned Greek yogurt forms the basis of an effortless sauce, while toasted coriander seeds and chopped pistachios add texture. Roasting sweet, earthy beets concentrates their flavor, and a splash of balsamic balances out their sweetness. This dish can be prepared in advance and served hot, cold or at room temperature, but its assembly should be done just before serving so the toasted coriander seeds and roasted pistachios retain their crunch.

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8 small beets (about 2 pounds total)
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground coriander
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 tsp whole coriander seeds
1 tsp grated lemon rind
⅔ cup plain full-fat Greek yogurt
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
¼ cup roughly chopped roasted pistachios

Heat the oven to 400 F

Peel the beets, halve them, then cut each half into 4 wedges. Toss the beets with 2 tablespoons oil and the ground coriander on a rimmed baking sheet. Season generously with salt and pepper and spread out in an even layer.
Roast, tossing once halfway through, until almost fully tender, about 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, toast the coriander seeds in a small skillet over medium, shaking the skillet, until golden and fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
Set aside.
Season the yoghurt with salt and pepper, stir in the lemon rind and spread it on a platter.
Add the remaining olive oil and the balsamic to the roasted beets and toss to coat; season. Arrange the beets and their juices over the yoghurt.
Sprinkle with the chopped pistachios and toasted coriander seeds.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

Appetizer Vegetarian · Gluten Free · Vegetable sides · Vegetable-related · Whole30 compliant

Cauliflower steaks with walnut-caper salsa and lemon-yoghurt sauce

March 10, 2019 Belinda

This is a fabulous adaption of an Ottolenghi recipe by the food blog, Alexandra’s Kitchen. If you have a Le Creuset braiser it will help, as the shallow sides help caramelize the cauliflower steaks.The combination of the lemony yoghurt sauce under the cauliflower steaks and the walnut caper salsa on top is spectacular

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For the salsa:
1/2 cup walnuts
¼ cup olive oil, plus more to taste
2 tbsp drained capers, patted dry
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or more to taste
1/3 cup coarsely chopped parsley
1 tbsp dried currants
1 tbsp vinegar, such as white balsamic, sherry or red wine, plus more to taste
zest of 1 lemon
Kosher salt to taste

For the cauliflower:
1 small head of cauliflower
2 to 3 tablespoons grapeseed or olive oil
Kosher salt

For the yogurt sauce:
1 cup Greek yogurt, (I like Fage 5%)
1 tbsp fresh lemon, from about 1/2 a lemon
1/4 tsp kosher salt
parsley, optional

Make the salsa.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Toast the walnuts on a small pan or rimmed baking sheet, until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool, then use your hands to break the walnuts into small-ish pieces. Set aside.

Increase oven temperature to 425° for roasting cauliflower.

Heat the oil and capers in a small saucepan over medium, swirling often, until capers burst and are golden brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Carefully pour the oil and capers into a small heatproof bowl. Add the crushed red pepper flakes and currants. Let cool. Then, stir in the walnuts (leaving as much papery skin behind), parsley, vinegar, and lemon zest; season with salt. Taste.
If it tastes too sharp, add more olive oil by the tablespoon. (I almost always add 2 more tablespoons of oil.) If it needs more salt, add to taste.

Make the steaks.
Trim the cauliflower stem on the bottom to create a flat base. When I first made this, I trimmed away the greens, but now I like to keep the outer greens attached — they taste good roasted. Remove them if you wish.
Cut straight down through the center, then make another cut 1.5 inches away from the center on each side — you’ll likely get 2-3 steaks total. I used to save the cauliflower pieces that broke away for another day, and you definitely can do this, too, or you can sear and roast them right along with the steaks in the pan.

Heat the oil in one or two large skillets over medium-high. Add the cauliflower steaks and any florets/greens that broke away, if you wish. (If the steaks don’t fit in a single layer, you should use two pans or you won’t get a nice sear.)

Cook, gently lifting up cauliflower occasionally to let hot fat run underneath, until steaks are deep golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes. Turn steaks and season with salt. Transfer skillet to oven and roast until cauliflower stems are fork-tender, 15-20 minutes.

Make the yogurt sauce:
Stir together the yogurt, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. If you have leftover parsley from the bunch you purchased, and you think you might not use it anytime soon, chop it up finely and stir it in. Taste. Adjust seasoning to taste.

To finish: smear the yogurt sauce over a large platter. Top with the cauliflower steaks. Spoon the caper-yogurt sauce over top. Serve immediately or at room temperature.

Gluten Free · Vegetable-related

Cheesy, garlic, parmesan, spinach spaghetti squash

February 21, 2019 Belinda

This delicious garlic, parmesan spaghetti squash is great and it’s pasta-free!

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Serves 4
1 medium spaghetti squash (approx. 2-3lbs)
2 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp avocado oil or olive oil
5 oz fresh spinach chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp cream cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese plus extra for topping
salt and pepper to taste
Grated or sliced mozzarella for topping to taste

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Slice your spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds.
For easy cutting, feel free to stick your squash in the microwave to soften it up just a tad.
Pierce it a few times with a knife (to help vent so it doesn’t burst) and cook for for 3-5 minutes. The knife slides through way easier this way! Smaller squash will need about 3 minutes while larger ones will be good to go at 4-5 min.
Next grab a lipped baking sheet or a rimmed baking dish.
Rub the cut side of the squash with a teeny bit of olive oil and place on your baking dish/sheet cut side down. Roast for about 40 minutes, or until tender and easily pierced with a fork. Cooking time will vary a bit depending on the size of your squash, and larger squash will need to roast a bit longer to tenderize. Once ready, the once rock-hard exterior of the squash will be visibly softened with a tender interior.

The squash can be roasted and stored in the fridge for a few days if you’d like to meal prep and plan ahead for a speedier dinner.
While the squash roasts, start on the sauce.
In a medium pot or skillet, bring a drizzle of olive oil to medium-high heat and sauté the garlic until fragrant.
Next add the spinach and stir until wilted. Add your cream, cream cheese and parmesan cheese and stir well.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat.
Once the squash is done roasting, allow to cool until easily handled or pop on an oven mitt and use a fork to separate and fluff the strands of spaghetti squash.
Pour your sauce over each squash boat, stir to mix, and top with a little mozzarella cheese and additional parmesan cheese, if desired.
Bake at 350 degrees F for around 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

A few extra thoughts…
For a golden cheesy topping, flip your oven to broil on high for just a minute or two until lightly browned.
Feel free to add chopped cooked chicken if you’d like! Stir it in with the sauce and veggie noodles or serve it up on the side. Shrimp is also a tasty addition to the squash.