Tag Archives: mushrooms

ASIAN-STYLE EGGPLANT “MEATBALLS”

Posted in Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by

Disclaimer: these are not meatballs, they are actually vegetarian. But it’s hard to avoid the association. Eggplant Balls? Eggplant Morsels? Nah, neither one works for me. Plus, “meatballs” is  the way Katie Lee referred to them in the FoodTV show The Kitchen, so I can always lay blame on her. Having said that, these are pretty awesome. A bit more work than you might expect, but worth it. What makes them a bit more involved is the fact that you must (according to Katie) process each component separately.  Other than that, a very straightforward method, for a tasty alternative to meatballs.

ASIAN-STYLE EGGPLANT MEATBALLS
(slightly modified from Katie Lee)

6 cups small cubed eggplant, peel left on (from 1 large eggplant)
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, quartered
1/2 cup unsalted raw cashews
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil
1 large egg, lightly whisked

Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place eggplant in a large mixing bowl and slowly drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Stir and drizzle in an additional tablespoon of oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Spread on a prepared baking sheet. Combine mushrooms and remaining teaspoon oil and spread on remaining baking sheet.

Bake eggplant and mushrooms 10 minutes, then stir and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Reduce oven heat to 400 degrees F. Pulse eggplant a few times in a food processor until coarse in texture. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Pulse mushrooms until coarse and add to the same bowl. Pulse cashews until coarse and transfer to bowl.  Add panko, ginger, basil, egg, salt and pepper to the mixture and stir to combine.

Use a small ice cream scoop or yours hands to scoop eggplant mixture into 12 balls and arrange on reserved lined baking sheet. Bake until crispy and browned, about 20 minutes.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This was our dinner on a Monday, so I prepared everything up to the final roasting on the day before. It would be too hard to make it after work, but if you can spread the preparation in two days, it is perfect. Less than 30 minutes and a nice dinner is ready for you. I took them into a more Italian territory by warming up some tomato sauce and serving with them. These are quite delicate, so don’t try to simmer them covered in the sauce, they might fall apart.  Mine were probably more fragile even, because since my eggplant was a bit small, I included one zucchini in the mixture.  Zucchini has quite a bit more moisture, and I should have adjusted the amount of panko to account for that.  I am giving you the original recipe, and advise you to stick with eggplant and mushrooms only.

Making them the day before also helps them retain the shape during baking, but you could stick them in the fridge for an hour or so and proceed with roasting.  It is nice to reduce the amount of meat we consume, so these are quite likely going into our regular rotation. They could work well also as appetizers, making them smaller and serving with a dipping sauce, perhaps a tahini-yogurt to keep with the Asian flavor, if so desired.  Two thumbs up from both of us, omnivores at heart…

 

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TURKEY STIR-FRY WITH ALMOND BUTTER

Posted in Poultry by

I was not going to blog on this recipe, since it was one of those improvised things, quickly assembled for lunch on a weekday. But I tasted a spoonful straight from the saute pan, and the “Must-Blog-This” alarm went off, loud and persistent. I quickly transferred some to a serving bowl  to be immortalized on camera. The almond butter takes this simple stir-fry to a higher level of deliciousness. Amounts for the recipe are pretty flexible, I was just using stuff that I had in the fridge so you can go with the flow and add a bit more of this, a bit less of that.  If you care about this type of info, this concoction would be low-carb and also Paleo-friendly. But what I really care about is that it is mighty tasty.

 

gary

TURKEY STIR-FRY WITH ALMOND BUTTER
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 pound ground turkey (preferably not super lean)
1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons almond butter (a must!)
5 ounces baby spinach, coarsely chopped
fresh lemon juice

Heat the oil in a large saute pan. Add the mushrooms, season with a little salt and pepper, saute for about 5 minutes.  Add the ground meat, Aleppo pepper, a little more salt and regular pepper, cook moving it around every once in a while, until the meat is golden brown.  Add the almond butter, incorporate well, keeping the pan in medium-heat.

Add the spinach and stir until wilted. Right before serving, squirt some lemon juice all over the meat. Adjust seasoning if needed.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

served
Comments: I’ve mentioned many times I was a picky eater as a child. Very. One of my favorite things to eat was ground beef and rice, which Mom called “picadinho.” Ground beef and rice. I know, so exciting, right? One summer we were all in my Grandma’s home in São Sebastião, a beach town between São Paulo and Rio, and my Aunt Sônia was getting ready to feed her three very spoiled Siamese cats.  She cooked a big batch of ground beef and rice for them, and I was fascinated! Those cats were very lucky to get my favorite food on a daily basis.  From then on, whenever Mom would make me “picadinho“, both me and my Dad would call it “comida de gato” (Portuguese for cat’s food). I was actually complimenting her cooking, I suppose Dad was more in his usual teasing mode. Good times. Decades passed by, but ground meat (chicken, pork, beef) is still something I resort to often for my lunch, although usually with additions that would make my younger self leave the table screaming in horror. When I make some, I always ask Phil  “would you like some comida de gato?”  It is blatantly clear that I am a lovely wife…

Wanna say it like a native? Click …

Turkey Stir-fry with Almond Butter, from Bewitching Kitchen

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CREAMY BROCCOLI AND MUSHROOM CASSEROLE

Posted in Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by

One more time I am sharing a recipe from the super athlete Mike, who runs the blog The Iron You. For those who like to experiment with a lower carb or Paleo nutrition, eggs are a fundamental ingredient. Great source of protein and fat, they are so versatile: you can make a nice omelette, frittatas, egg muffins, egg bakes, adding all sorts of ingredients from meats to veggies. I eat a lot of eggs each week for lunch, usually sunny side up or scrambled, sometimes hard-boiled, but at dinner time I opt for more elaborate uses, souffle’ being a favorite when I don’t mind splurging a little.  This casserole is quite low in carbs, but feels like splurging. Satisfying without making you feel uncomfortably stuffed. Perfect side dish, if you ask me…

Broccoli Casserole1

CREAMY BROCCOLI AND MUSHROOM CASSEROLE
(slightly modified from The Iron You)

1 ½ pounds broccoli florets
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
1 pound white button mushrooms, sliced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon fine grain salt
½ teaspoon sweet paprika
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup full fat coconut milk

Heat oven to 350°F  and place a rack in the middle. Grease a 9×13 baking dish with olive oil.
Place an inch of water in a saucepan with a steamer and bring to a boil. Steam the broccoli for 5 minutes, until tender but still firm. Remove from the heat and let cool.

While the broccoli cools, melt coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the shallot and celery and sauté until translucent and fragrant, about 5 minutes.   Add mushrooms, thyme, salt, paprika, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Sauté until mushrooms have browned a bit, about 8 minutes.

When broccoli florets have cooled down a little bit, chop the larger ones into bite-sized pieces. Add broccoli to the skillet and gently stir until combined. Pour the broccoli-mushroom mixture into the prepared baking dish. In a bowl whisk eggs with coconut milk and pour over broccoli mixture. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until golden-brown.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: If you google recipes for low-carb egg bakes or egg muffins, you’ll end up with thousands of hits to choose from. For the most part, they can be divided in two categories: those that use just eggs to bind the ingredients, and those that rely on dairy (quite often heavy cream).  I am not too fond of recipes that use only eggs because they end up with a rubbery texture I don’t care for. As to the ones loaded with heavy cream, they feel overly rich for my taste. This recipe solves both problems, the texture is perfect, and it has just the right amount of naughty…   We enjoyed it back in December, actually.  Obviously, it’s taking me a while to share,  but the weather is still appropriate for casseroles. Make it and you will fall in love with it too. You can add different veggies, in fact soon I intend to try a version using carrots and zucchini. I might even get my spiralizer out just for fun, and a bit of added naughty.

Mike, thanks for all the great dishes you blog about, two thumbs up for this one!

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