Goat cheese stuffed radicchio

July 9, 2012February 7, 2016 Belinda

Again, I am so keen to get this out, that I haven’t yet got a photo. Although I’ve made this several times and always to raves, I keep forgetting to have my camera handy!

INGREDIENTS:

2 heads radicchio

8 ounce goat cheese

1/2 cup pistachio nuts, lightly toasted and chopped

2 tablespoons minced shallots

2 tablespoons chopped Italian flat leaved parsley

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Halve radicchio heads down the middle. Cut out hard core and remove

several layers of inner leaves to hollow out a small hole for stuffing. Chop up radicchio leaves and combine

with goat cheese, pistachios, shallots, parsley and olive oil; season to taste with salt and black pepper. Fill

radicchio halves with stuffing. Bake until hot and golden, about 30 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings

Do-ahead · Egg based · Vegetable-related

Cauliflower cake

June 12, 2012September 9, 2022 Belinda1 Comment

This is another Yotam Ottolenghi recipe. I would post the whole book (Plenty) if I could as all his recipes are divine and different.

Serves 4 to 6

This is lovely served as a light supper alongside a salad of sliced cucumber, dill, mint, a little sugar, cider vinegar and rapeseed oil.
Kept chilled the cake will taste even better the next day. I am constantly amazed at what one can do with the humble cauliflower. We eat it in so many different ways and I will eventually enter all the different recipes.
Again Ottolenghi’s recipes are in metric, so I have tried to convert them, but to be safe, have added the metric measurements too.

1 medium cauliflower (about 1 1/2 lbs)
1 large red onion, peeled
a couple of tbsp olive oil
1/2 to 1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
10 large organic, free range eggs
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil (20 grams)
1 1/2 cups plain flour (180 grams)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
2 to 2 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese (220 grams)
Salt and black pepper
melted butter for greasing
2 tbsp black sesame seeds, black onion seeds or white sesame seeds

Heat the oven to 350F.
Break the cauliflower into medium florets, put them in a pot with 1 tsp salt, cover with water and simmer for 15 minutes or until very soft.
Strain and leave in the colander for 10 minutes to get rid of all the water.

While the cauliflower is cooking, prepare the batter.
Cut a few 1/4 inch rings off one end of the onion and set aside. These will go on top of the cake. Coarsely chop the rest of the onion.
Heat the oil in a pan and on a low heat saute the chopped onion and rosemary for about 8 minutes until soft. Remove from the heat and leave to cool down.
Add the eggs and basil and whisk.

Sift the flour, baking powder and turmeric into a large bowl and add the parmesan cheese, 1 1/2 tsp salt,
and plenty of ground black pepper.
Add the egg mix and whisk to eliminate any lumps. Add the cauliflower and stir gently, trying to keep some of the cauliflower florets whole.

Line the bottom of a loose bottomed 9 inch diameter with baking parchment then brush the sides of the tin with melted butter and sprinkle the sesame seeds onto the sides of the tin so they stick to the sides.
Tip in the cauliflower mix and arrange the sliced onions on the top.

Bake the cake in the center of the oven for 45 minutes until golden brown and set. Serve just warm or at room temperature.

Note This would be lovely served with my other eggplant cake (also on my blog) as a lovely lunch or supper party served with a salad. Very inexpensive too!

Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Salad

Cucumber and avocado salad with lime, mint and feta cheese

June 10, 2012September 9, 2022 Belinda

This comes from another great food blog ‘Kalyn’s Kitchen”

Serves 2 – 4

Ingredients

2 cups peeled and chopped English cucumbers (3-4 medium sized ones or 2 large)
salt, for drawing water out of cucumber
1 – 2 ripe (but not too squishy) avocados, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 – 2 tsp fresh lime juice, to toss with the avocado pieces
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint, measure after chopping
1/2 cup crumbled Greek (not French) feta, make sure you buy the solid block, not the crumbled.

Dressing Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp fresh lime juice

Directions

Peel the cucumbers and scrape out the seeds, if they are large. Cut the cucumber into half inch pieces and put into a colander. Sprinkle with a generous amount of salt and let it sit for 30 minutes. make sure you put a bowl underneath as there will be a fair amount of liquid that the cucumbers give off.
After 30 minutes use paper towels to blot the moisture and salt from the cucumbers.

While the cucumber is draining peel the avocados and chop into 1/2 inch pieces. Put the avocado into a large salad bowl and gently toss with the 1 to 2 tsp fresh lime juice.
Wash the mint and chop finely.
Whisk together the olive oil and lime juice to make a dressing and measure out 1/2 cup of crumbled feta.

Add the drained cucumbers, mint and dressing to the avocado and combine.
Then gently stir in the crumbled feta into the salad ingredients.
Serve immediately.

This salad doesn’t do well sitting in the fridge for too long

Breakfast · Do-ahead · Egg based · Meat

Breakfast Strata

June 10, 2012September 9, 2022 Belinda

Another gorgeous and easy breakfast/brunch dish.

Serves 4 to 6 people

6 slices of a good dense Italian loaf cut 3/4 inch thick
1lb Sweet (or spicy) Italian sausage meat
1 tsp Dijon mustard (or less of English Colmans if you can take the heat)
1 heaped cup grated or shredded strong cheddar cheese. it’s always better if you buy it whole and mature then do it yourself
4 extra large (or large) eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup half and half
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
dash of freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp Worcester sauce

Trim the crusts from the bread and fit it all into the bottom of a 10 by 16 inch baking pan.
Brown the sausage meat, using a fork and press down forcing the lumps to disappear until it’s crumbly and drain off any excess fat. Stir the mustard into the sausage meat.
Spoon the cooked sausage meat evenly over the bread and sprinkle evenly with the grated cheese.
Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl (eggs, milk, half and half, salt, pepper, nutmeg and Worcester sauce) then pour the mixture over the cheese and sausage mixture.
Bake at 350F for 25 to 30 minutes until hot, bubbly and set.
Note
This can be made the day before and kept in the refrigerator. Allow extra time for bakiong if it’s been refrigerated

Appetizers

Caramelized onion, apple and bacon in phyllo cups with gorgonzola

June 10, 2012February 7, 2016 Belinda

This is a variation on the previous blog recipe with the addition of apple and bacon. Outrageous huh?

Ingredients

2 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
2 tbsp olive oil
2 large yellow onions, sliced (1/4 inch slices)
1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and chopped finely
1 packed tbsp brown sugar
4 strips hickory smoked bacon, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup good gorgonzola cheese, crumbled. (Please don’t buy that ready crumbled stuff, it’s not Italian and tastes like wallboard)
26 mini phyllo shells from 2 x 1.9 oz packages in the freezer section. Prepare/cook according to the instructions

Directions

To make the caramelized onions, heat 2 tbsp butter and olive oil over medium low heat in a large non stick skillet.
Add the onions, cover and cook for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove the lid, and cook an additional 15 minutes or until beautifully caramelized.
To make the apples and bacon, heat the chopped apples in the remaining 1/2 tbsp butter and brown sugar in a small pot over medium heat. Saute for 10 to 12 minutes or until the apples are softened and lightly browned.
Wipe the pan clean and place the bacon in it. Saute over medium heat or until crispy and browned, stirring occasionally. Drain on paper towels.

To assemble the shells, place the caramelized onions, cooked apples and bacon and salt in a small bowl and mix well.
Evenly distribute the mixture among the mini phyllo shells. Top evenly with the crumbled gorgonzola.
You can put them in the oven at 400F for about 5 minutes until the gorgonzola is melted, but you don’t have to. I rather like the melty cheese on the top. Watch them incase the pastry starts to burn though.

This recipe makes 13 servings of two phyllo cups each.

Appetizer Vegetarian · Appetizers

Caramelized onion tart with gorgonzola and brie

June 10, 2012February 7, 2016 Belinda

If you can’t find fresh tarragon you can use crushed fennel seeds (about 1/2 tsp) and sprinkle over the tart. to replace the tarragon.
Makes 9 – 12 appetizer sized squares

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
4 cups sliced onions, sliced root to top into 1/4 inch slices (about 2 large onions)
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp ground pepper
8 oz frozen puff pastry, (defrosted in the fridge for a couple of hours)
3 oz chilled brie, rind removed and diced
3 oz gorgonzola or other blue cheese, diced
2 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon (or 1/2 tsp or so of crushed fennel seeds)

Directions

Heat the oil in a large deep pan on medium heat. Add onions and cook for about 10 minutes or until wilted and stating to brown. Add the sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper.
Reduce the heat and cook gently for 25 to 30 minutes or until richly caramelized.
Add a little water if the onions look like they’re starting to dry out. Cool.

Roll the pastry into a 10 by 14 inch rectangle, or whatever shape you want. Place the pastry on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Prick with a fork at a couple inch increments to prevent the pastry from forming big bubbles while baking.

Spread the onions over the pastry, all the way to the edges of the pastry. Dot with the cheese, sprinkle with the tarragon. Refrigerate if not baking immediately.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400F for 18 to 20 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the pastry is crispy.
Cool for 5 minutes then cut into wedges or squares and enjoy!

Appetizers · Do-ahead · Fish · Gluten Free

Tuna tapenade

June 10, 2012September 9, 2022 Belinda

This is one of Ina Garten’s recipes and is delicious as a quick starter to put over toasted crostini.
I beg you to use Italian tuna in olive oil, not American tuna, as it has twice the flavor.

Makes about 36 crostini full.

10 – 12 oz canned Italian tuna packed in olive oil
2 tsp anchovy paste
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
2 tbsp minced fresh flat leaf parsley, plus extra for garnish
1 tbsp grated lemon zest
2 large cloves garlic, minced (about 2 tsp)
3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tbsp good olive oil (plus extra for brushing the bread slices)
1/3 cup Italian mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup pitted and chopped Kalamata olives
1 tbsp drained capers
1 tsp Kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
36 slices French bread sliced diagonally

Drain all but 1 tbsp of the oil from the tuna then flake the fish into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade.
Add the anchovy paste, thyme, lemon zest, garlic and parsley and pulse a few times.
Add the lemon juice, 3 tbsp olive oil, and the mascarpone cheese and process until smooth.
Add the olives, capers, salt and pepper and pulse just to incorporate.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Meanwhile heat a grill or use a heavy ridged flat pan. Slice the French bread diagonally and brush with olive oil and put on the grill until lightly browned. You can also put the slices on a sheet pan and roast at 400 F for about 6 minutes or until toasted.
Set aside and allow to cool slightly.
Mound the tapenade on the toast pieces and sprinkle with the extra chopped parsley and serve on a large platter.

Do-ahead · Holiday Food · Meat · Vegetable sides · Vegetable-related

Brussel Sprout gratin

June 10, 2012September 9, 2022 Belinda

This is a recipe from a fellow blogger called “The View from Great Island”
This will get you addicted to brussel sprouts if you weren’t already, like me!

Preheat the oven to 350F I would say this serves 5 – 6 as a side dish, but 4 for a main dish.

5 – 6 cups brussel sprouts, trimmed and halved
4 slices bacon
3 shallots, sliced
Oliver oil
3 tbsp Marsala wine
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 heaped cups grated Gruyere cheese
2 tbsp butter
fresh thyme leaves
freshly ground nutmeg
zest of half a large lemon
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk

In a large pot, snip the bacon into 1 inch pieces and saute over medium heat till it starts to get brown and crisp.
Add in the shallots and brussel sprouts and saute for a few minutes.
Deglaze the pan with the Marsala wine, stirring up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
Put a little olive oil in the bottom of an oval gratin dish and spread out half of the sprouts in the dish.

Season well with salt and pepper, the fresh thyme leaves, lemon zest and a dash of nutmeg.
Sprinkle half of the cheese evenly over the top. Dot with a tbsp of the butter and season with salt and pepper.

Top with the remaining sprouts and the past cup of cheese. Dot with the last tbsp of butter.
Mix the milk and cream together and pour it gently over the whole dish.
Bake for about 40 minutes or until bubbly and browned.