ROASTED GREEN BEANS AND TOMATOES WITH TAHINI SAUCE

Posted in Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by sallybr

When you need a side dish to impress, consider this one. Two simple veggies (contrasting colors is a must), joined with a delicious tahini-based sauce. Tahini, that component that makes so many recipes shine, does a great job here!

ZA’TAR ROASTED GREEN BEANS AND TOMATOES WITH TAHINI SAUCE
(from the Bewitching Kitchen, inspired by many sources)

Cherry tomatoes (red or a mixture of colors)
Green beans, trimmed
about 2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 tsp za’tar (or to taste)
salt and pepper

for the sauce:
¼ cup tahini
juice and zest of 1 lemon
about 1/4 cup water (amount will vary according to your tahini)
drizzle of honey

to serve:
toasted sesame seeds

Heat the oven to 400°F. Coat the tomatoes with one tablespoon of olive oil, season with salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of za’tar. Place the tomatoes in a baking sheet in a single layer, large enough to hold them and the green beans later. Roast for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, coat the green beans with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, the remaining za’atar, salt and pepper to taste. Add to the tomatoes after they have been in the oven for 10 minutes. Roast all veggies together until the green beans are starting to brown (12 minutes or so longer). As they roast, make the sauce by mixing all the ingredients in a small bowl, adjusting the amount of water to make it a nice drizzling consistency.

Transfer the roasted veggies to a serving platter, add the sauce, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve right away.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Amounts are quite flexible for everything in this recipe, and I suggest you try the tahini sauce as you make it. Different brands, and also how well you are able to mix the tahini before measuring will have a big impact on the outcome. For my taste, lemon juice should be added with a heavy hand, but then a touch of honey mellows it beautifully. I almost added pomegranate molasses, but left that for a next adventure. When I brought it to the table, I heard a “oh, wow!” from the husband. And as we enjoyed it with juicy chicken legs, life seemed almost normal. Which is as nice a feeling as one can have these days.

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3May2020

CAULIFLOWER FOR COMPANY? YES, PLEASE!

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

Let’s imagine for a moment that dinner parties are still “a thing.” Those days feel like a lifetime away, but I know they will come back at some point. When? I have no idea. But when they do, allow me to offer a recipe for mashed cauliflower as your side dish. I promise you, this one will please every single one of your guests, even those who twist the nose at anything low-carb. The secret is topping the mash with roasted grape tomatoes (you can use yellow or a mixture). It turns into a luscious, satisfying, flavorful side dish that will go well with pretty much any protein you are featuring as the star of your show.

MASHED CAULIFLOWER WITH ROASTED GRAPE TOMATOES
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

1 large head of cauliflower
squirt of lemon juice
salt to taste
1/3 cup yogurt (low-fat is ok)
drizzle of olive oil
1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast (or grated parmigiano-reggiano to taste)
smoked paprika to taste
grape tomatoes (yellow or red)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
drizzle of balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

Start by roasting the tomatoes. Place them as a single layer on a baking dish covered with aluminum foil. Drizzle the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and season with salt and pepper. Roast at 400 F until they start to get golden brown and release some juices. Reserve.

Cut the cauliflower in florets and cook in slightly salted boiling water with a bit of lemon juice until fork-tender. Add to a food processor (ok if a bit of water goes with it), and add the yogurt, nutritional yeast, olive oil, and spices. Process until smooth, taste and adjust seasoning, or even a bit more lemon juice if you like. Transfer to a baking dish. Top with the roasted tomatoes, but don’t add too much of the tomato liquid, just a little bit.

Place in the 400 F oven for about 10 minutes to warm everything together. If the mashed cauliflower is looking more on the dry side, you can warm up covered with foil. If it seems a bit loose, warm it with no foil on top.

Serve right away with the main dish of your choice.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This was one delicious meal! The pork tenderloin is very similar to the one I shared recently, made in our smoker, with a bit less pepper. A little avocado and orange on the side, and we were ready to dig in. Felt like a dinner party…

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21Jun2011

ROASTED TOMATO SOUP

Posted in Soups, Vegetarian-friendly by sallybr

This post is a bit nostalgic, as this was the last recipe I made in the nano-kitchen, but we left L.A. before I had a chance to write it up. A very simple recipe designed with the idea of using ingredients hanging around before our departure from California. It turned out so delicious! Plus, it was a nice match for the weather we were having then. Now that the thermometers are wonderfully stuck in the high 90’s, the thought of soup is not particularly appealing, but this one would work equally well chilled.

ROASTED TOMATO SOUP
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

8-12 ounces of grape and/or cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 shallots, cut in half
1 garlic clove, unpeeled
kalamata olive oil (or another olive oil of your choice)
splash of balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
vegetable stock (or water)
2 Tbs orange juice
1 tsp orange zest
chives for garnish

Place the tomatoes, shallot pieces and garlic in a bowl and add enough olive oil to just coat them lightly. Transfer them to a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil or parchment paper, set the tomatoes with the cut size down. Sprinkle some salt and pepper all over, and a splash with balsamic vinegar.

Roast in a 425F oven for 20-25 minutes, until the tomato skins and the edges of the shallots start to get brown. Remove from the oven, let it all cool slightly, and using gloves peel off the skin of the tomatoes (you can leave them on if you don’t mind their texture in the soup). Squeeze the garlic out of its peel, and transfer it together with the tomatoes, shallots and any liquid accumulated in the pan to a food processor. Process it until smooth, pour into a sauce pan over medium heat, and add enough vegetable stock to give a consistency you like. Let it come to a gentle boil, add the orange juice, orange zest, taste for seasoning, and serve with chives sprinkled for garnish.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I had a mixture of grape and cherry tomatoes that needed to be used, and a couple of yellow grape tomatoes went into the mix too. Feel free to improvise, nothing can go wrong with this soup: add different types of herbs, or go for a cumin or cayenne blast. I had planned to make some parmiggiano crisps to serve with the soup, but the electric burners in the nano-kitchen failed, and I was left with a big lump of cheesy mess. Once the weather cools, I’ll revisit this soup – cheese crisps included – and add some mushrooms to the roasting pan. I bet a roasted tomato & mushroom soup will be very flavorful.

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13Apr2011

THE END OF GREEN BEAN CRUELTY

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

I’m talking about THIN green beans, of course… 😉

We learned about Michel Richard firsthand, at his wonderful, exciting restaurant Central in Washington DC. What a delicious experience it was! The bread – that keeps coming to the table, always warm and impossible to say no to – and the gougeres alone are worth stopping by. In his book Happy in the Kitchen, Michel Richard comments that most recipes for green beans cook them in boiling water, then quickly shock them in an ice-bath. However, he adamantly opposes this method when dealing with pencil-thin green beans. They are so delicate, so why would anyone furiously boil and shock the poor things, leaving them limp and lifeless?

I’ve been guilty of such green bean cruelty more than once, but I won’t ever do it again. When prepared by Michel’s guidelines, they are simply irresistible, even served without any embellishments. However, pairing these beauties with small roasted tomatoes didn’t hurt them a bit.

GREEN BEANS WITH ROASTED TOMATOES
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

for the green beans:
a bunch of pencil-thin green beans (amount enough for two)
1 Tbs olive oil
pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp orange zest
salt and pepper to taste

for the tomatoes
1 cup of grape tomatoes, cut in half
drizzle of olive oil
drizzle of balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Start by roasting the tomatoes. Spread them in a single layer on a small baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper for easy clean up. Drizzle some olive oil and balsamic vinegar, shake them around, and season with salt and pepper. Place in a 400 F oven until they get soft and start to brown around the edges, 20 to 25 minutes. Reserve, keeping warm.

Heat the olive oil in a non-stick skillet, add the red pepper flakes and the orange zest. Keep in a gentle heat for a couple of minutes, until the mixture starts to get fragrant. Increase the heat, add the green beans, and let them cook for a few minutes undisturbed, so that they get a little color where they make contact with the pan. Stir them around to coat the beans with the flavored oil, and saute for a little while longer, until the beans are cooked through, but still al dente. Don’t overcook! Season with salt and pepper, add the roasted tomatoes on top, and mix gently. Adjust seasoning, and serve right away.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Michel Richard’s main message is to cook thin green beans straight by sauteing in a small amount of fat. You can substitute butter or a mixture of butter and olive oil, or use a different type of oil, keep in mind that some – like walnut oil – burn at a lower temperature, so it’s best to add them close to the end of cooking.

The combination of green beans and orange zest, worked quite well in this recipe, with the touch of balsamic vinegar brought by the tomatoes. It was a nice side dish for our grilled flank steak, but if you want a fully vegetarian meal, add some pasta or couscous, a big salad and a thick slice of grilled bread. It’s more than enough for a tasty dinner. Just remember, be kind to the green beans! 😉

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