ZUCCHINI FRITTATA WITH ROASTED TOMATOES AND GOAT CHEESE

Posted in Side dishes, Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by sallybr

Sometimes inspiration for a meal comes from unexpected sources. My friend Denise sent me a message with a photo of her dinner and four simple words: you must make this. She got it in a publication from her grocery store in England, showcasing their seasonal fresh ingredients. It joined zucchini with roast tomatoes and goat cheese, and looked great. I ask you, what’s not to love? To make things even more interesting, the zucchini receives the spiralizer treatment, although you could obviously do a coarse shred or a fine slicing. Don’t let the lack of a spiral cutter stop you. I used my Tarte Tatin pan, which sits patiently in the pantry waiting for the opportunity to shine. It is simply perfect for this type of recipe, so if you own one, open your horizons beyond the classic French dessert.

ZUCCHINI, ROASTED TOMATOES AND GOAT CHEESE FRITTATA
(adapted from Lakeland, UK)

12 cherry tomatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
15g butter
1 medium shallot, sliced
1 large zucchini, spiralized (use green or yellow, depending on availability)
5 eggs
2 tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp herbes de Provence
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
125g goat cheese, crumbled
kalamata olives, pitted and halved, to taste

Heat the oven to 400 F (200 C). Place the cherry tomatoes on a small roasting tray and drizzle over the olive oil. Cook for 10 minutes and set aside.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a round, non-stick 8-inch pan that can go in the oven, brushing it over the entire base and up the sides to prevent the frittata from sticking. Cook the sliced shallot over a medium heat until softened. Add the spiralized courgette and cook for 2-3 minutes, until slightly softened.

Whisk the eggs in a Pyrex cup, add the herbs the Provence and season with salt and pepper. Add the eggs to the pan with the crumbled cheese, and top with the roasted tomatoes and black kalamata olives.

Cook over a low heat for 10-15 minutes, until the frittata is beginning to set, but the top is still a little runny. Finish off under a hot oven until the top of the frittata acquires a golden color. Leave in the pan for 1-2 minutes before turning out onto a plate and cutting into wedges.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This goes for our regular rotation, for sure! I think I slightly overcooked the bottom of the frittata this time, but it did not compromise the flavor at all. From the original, I had three modifications. Used herbes de Provence instead of rosemary (a texture thing for me), added a little heavy cream to the egg mixture, and included kalamata olives as topping. Because, as you might have heard years ago, I am a kalamata-cheerleader. We had a couple of very tiny slices as leftovers, and they were still quite amazing after a brief heating in our small electric oven, just to kill the cold from the fridge.

A very simple and flavorful dish, that you can modify to suit your taste with different veggies, herbs, and maybe adding some coconut milk instead of heavy cream. Yes, that could work quite well…

ONE YEAR AGO: Playing with Pectinase

TWO YEARS AGO: Poached White Asparagus with Lemon and Pistachios

THREE YEARS AGO: Dan Lepard’s Saffron Bloomer

FOUR YEARS AGO: Fesenjan & The New Persian Kitchen

FIVE YEARS AGO: Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beets

SIX YEARS AGO: Pasta Puttanesca

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Miche Point-a-Calliere

22Feb2015

THE SECRET RECIPE CLUB: HERBED GOAT CHEESE SOUFFLES

Posted in Secret Recipe Club, Small Dishes by sallybr

Herbed Goat Cheese Souffle
Last Monday of February, a month that used to be my favorite. Summer in Brazil, carnival (not that I was that much into it, but still, a big break from work in the height of the summer was always well-received). That all changed 23 years ago, when I first moved to France and then, a couple of years later permanently to the US. February is now a month I do my best to survive. I count the days for it to be over to get some hope of life percolating back into my veins. ANYWAY, I am sure you are not here to read me whine and pout. Instead, you are here for the reward of a revelation: which blog was my assignment for this month’s adventure with The Secret Recipe Club: it was the The Wimpy Vegetarian! I literally screamed with joy when I got the email notification, because as a regular reader of Susan’s blog, I felt totally at home “stalking” it. You should visit her “About” page, but let me just say that when she decided to become a vegetarian, or as she put it “to focus more on a plant-based diet“, her husband was not exactly thrilled. He went along with it for a while, but at some point started referring to “farro” as “horse food“. No bueno, folks. But Susan fought back using all the culinary skills accumulated from her classes at Tante Marie Cooking School, and turned veggie dishes (horse food included) into concoctions her husband could not resist. She succeeded big time, and her blog is there to show us how. There were so many dishes I bookmarked as tempting possibilities, but I narrowed them down to these: Rustic Cauliflower and Tomato Gratin, Arepas Rellenas (I even have the special flour to make them, so I must get to this recipe at some point), Skillet Baked Corn Pudding, Farinata (another recipe I’m always dreaming about), Sweet Potato Biscuit Pillows (excuse me, I need to wipe drool off the side of my mouth), Broccoli-Cheddar Quinoa Casserole Tart. Susan is a fantastic cook and often enters – and wins – cooking contests, so pretty much anything on her site feels quite special. Pay her a visit, and become a subscriber, even if you are not a strict vegetarian.

For my assignment, I went with very elegant Herbed Goat Cheese souffles. They turned out amazing!

HERBED GOAT CHEESE SOUFFLE
(from The Wimpy Vegetarian)

1/2 teaspoon dried lavender
zest from 1/2 medium lemon
3 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
pinch of salt
freshly ground black pepper
3 ounces fresh soft goat cheese
1 ounce ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon honey
3 eggs, separated
1/4 cup low-fat milk
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour (I used 4)
butter for the ramekins

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Prep the ramekins by smearing them with butter and sprinkling grated Parmesan cheese on the bottoms and around the sides. Set aside.

Rub the dried lavender between your fingers to reduce as much as half of the buds to a powder. Combine this with the lemon zest, 1 tablespoon of Parmesan, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the goat cheese, ricotta, 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese, thyme, honey, egg yolks, milk and flour together. Stir well to completely combine. Add to the reserved lavender mixture.

In a small bowl, whip the egg whites just to a firm peak. Be careful not to get them too firm, or they’ll be difficult to fold into the cheese-yolk mixture. Fold the beaten egg whites into the cheese-yolk mixture in thirds using a large spatula. It’s fine to have lumps of egg whites in the mixture – it will not be smooth. Place the ramekins in a baking dish and fill the dish with hot water one-half the way up the sides of the ramekins. Carefully spoon the cheese-egg mixture into the ramekins, filling them 2/3 full.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until browned on top and springy – firm to the touch. Remove and allow to cool in the ramekins for 15 minutes. The souffles will collapse and start to pull away from the sides of the ramekins. Run a knife around their edges and turn the ramekin upside down. The souffle should slide right out.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: What I loved the most about the recipe was the inclusion of lavender. It gave the souffle a sort of unusual component, Phil could not guess what it was, but once I told him it was lavender he could detect it. You need to add just a small amount, it is quite potent, don’t go crazy with it. I was also surprised by the method of preparing the base, as I always make a bechamel type sauce. For this recipe, you mix it all and do not pre-cook, it goes straight into the oven, in a water-bath environment. Because I was afraid the mixture was a bit too liquid, I added double the amount of flour. Not sure it was necessary, but they ended up with a very nice texture, and un-molded easily.

This is the type of recipe that would be perfect for entertaining, or for that special dinner for two, candlelight and all… a first date, a first year anniversary, you catch my drift. Any meal will be special when these are part of the menu!

Susan, it was a great pleasure to indulge a little more deeply into your blog, I hope you also had a blast with your assignment this month…

For my readers, the usual reminder to poke the blue frog at the end of my post. She will take you to plenty of great recipes made by my fellow virtual friends at The Secret Recipe Club.

ONE YEAR AGO: Barley Risotto with Peas

TWO YEARS AGO: Jammin’ Blueberry Sour Milk Pancakes

THREE YEARS AGO: Scallops with Black Pasta in Orange Cream Sauce

FOUR YEARS AGO: Stir-fried Chicken with Creamed Corn

FIVE YEARS AGO: Potato, Cheddar, and Chive Torpedo (one of the best breads I ever made!)

25Mar2013

SECRET RECIPE CLUB: PORTOBELLO CAPS STUFFED WITH GOAT CHEESE AND PROSCIUTTO

Posted in Appetizers, Secret Recipe Club, Side dishes by sallybr

The month of March brought a little too much snow and cold to The Little Apple, but we escaped to warmer weather for a week, arriving from Brazil right before the last Monday of the month. Why is the last Monday of the month so important in the food blogging world? Well, by now you should know it’s The Secret Recipe Club Reveal Day! This month, with all our activities and travel, it was a bit of a stretch to participate, but I’m very glad I did. I was paired with a blog I had not visited before, The Saturday Evening Pot. The host is a trained chef, and that immediately got the adrenaline pumping in my system as I browsed his site in search of recipes. He cooks for a family of four: himself, his wife, and two kids, but to make things a lot more interesting they have food sensitivities that need to be taken in account. Not an easy task. He does so beautifully, though, and in his site you will find extensive nutritional information for all recipes and plenty of advice for adapting recipes in case you face similar issues. I highly recommend a visit to The Saturday Evening Pot. It did not take me very long to choose a recipe, because I’ve been thinking of trying stuffed Portobello mushrooms for quite some time. Great opportunity to go for it, wouldn’t you say?

PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM CAPS STUFFED WITH GOAT CHEESE AND PROSCIUTTO
(from The Saturday Evening Pot)

3-4 large Portobello mushroom caps
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
4-6 ounces crumbled goat cheese
3-4 slices prosciutto

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Using a small dinner spoon, remove stems from mushroom caps and scrape out brown ribbing on underside of mushroom caps. Lay mushroom caps, stem side up, on sheet pan. Brush each lightly with olive oil. Bake approximately 10 minutes or until mushroom browns lightly.

While mushrooms are baking, take each slice of prosciutto and cut using a chiffonade pattern. Set aside.

Remove mushrooms from oven and turn oven setting to broil. Drizzle each mushroom cap with a small amount (approximately 1/4 teaspoon) of balsamic vinegar. Spread vinegar evenly with the back of a spoon over inside of mushroom cap. Place one slice shredded prosciutto in each mushroom cap and sprinkle goat cheese on top of prosciutto. Place sheet pan under broiler and melt cheese until lightly browned. Remove and serve immediately.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Delicious recipe, we will definitely be making this over and over and over, adding all kinds of goodies on the Portobello base. My only modification was to use fig balsamic vinegar, but other than that, I followed his recipe to a T. Three mushrooms were more than enough for Phil and I, we even had half of the small one leftover. We enjoyed them as our main dish, next to a little spaghetti with olive oil and lemon zest. You may notice there is no salt in the recipe. Both goat cheese and prosciutto can be very salty, particularly when you roast them, so make it as written and see how you like it. I love salt, but did not miss it. For a full vegetarian version, sun-dried tomatoes could replace the prosciutto, or a mixture of black olives, roasted red bell peppers… this is a nice basic method to improvise according to your mood.

If you want to see the other recipes made by friends in my group, click on the blue frog that is smiling at you at the bottom of the post.

ONE YEAR AGO: Orange and Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

TWO YEARS AGO: Pistachio-Walnut Sourdough Bread

THREE YEARS AGO: Cottage Loaf and Yeasty Dogs

11Jun2010

GOAT CHEESE-STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

Chicken breasts are often part of our week-night menu, so I’m constantly searching for new ways to prepare them. I adapted this recipe from Cooking New American, a compilation of Fine Cooking recipes that never seems to leave my kitchen. Dinner was ready in less than 30 minutes, with an aura of sophistication and great flavors. Not a bad to ending for a very frantic Wednesday…

CHICKEN BREASTS STUFFED WITH GOAT CHEESE AND SUNDRIED TOMATOES
(adapted from Fine Cooking)

3 oz. fresh goat cheese
1 Tbs. milk
1 clove garlic, minced
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 Tbs. chopped sundried tomatoes
fresh oregano leaves (or herbs of your choice), minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine

In a small bowl, mash the goat cheese and milk together until smooth. Mix in the garlic, red pepper flakes, sundried tomatoes, and the oregano. Season the mixture with salt and pepper.

On the thickest side of each breast, cut a long pocket. Using your fingers, stuff the goat cheese mixture inside, closing by pressing the flesh together. If you want, close with a toothpick.

In a large frying pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken on one side until golden brown, 5 to 6 min. Turn the breasts over, season with salt and pepper, and set a small lid on top of them (use a lid that is too small to cover the whole pan, but large enough to enclose the meat). Continue to sauté until the chicken is cooked through, 8 to 10 more minutes.

Transfer the chicken to a warm serving plate. De-glaze the pan with the wine, scraping up any sticky bits until the liquid reduces to a glossy syrup. Drizzle the reduction over the chicken and serve.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Joanne Weir, the author of the original recipe, says that “this recipe is fun to play with.” She definitely has a point: just keep the basic method of thinning the goat cheese with a little milk, then flavor this mixture in any way that you desire. The presence of the filling, and the fact that the meat cooks under a lid for most of the time, prevents the delicate chicken from drying out.

Sometimes I browse forums in which single guys and girls with little cooking experience ask advice on what to prepare for that special someone coming over for dinner. This recipe is a perfect choice: simple, elegant, and light. A little pasta, a green salad, not much else is needed. Of course, wine, candles, and good music… 😉