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French Friday: Zucchini & Tomato Casserole

carrie — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 11:30:47 +0000

Officially named Tian de légumes this French vegetable casserole makes great use of late summer vegetables. The dish originates from Provence which in the southeast corner of France near Italy. Tian refers to a layered and baked vegetable dish. I got this recipe from a French Cookbook I bought on my 29th birthday while in Paris. I went to a specialty cookbook store and asked in very poor French for a book of classic recipes. I ended up buying a book titled “Le Meilleur de la France” (The Best of France) as it had some step-by-step pictures (good if your French isn’t up to par) and vignettes about various French specialties (e.g. bread). Unfortunately I won’t be able to cook my way through the whole book as some of the ingredients are next to impossible to buy… Anyone ever see boudin noir at their local butcher?

Zucchini & tomato casserole (Tian de légumes)

Prep time: 40 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: 4

This veggie casserole is a great side dish for grilled fish or other meats. You can cut down the prep time by not peeling the tomatoes. Add bread & salad for a nice dinner.

Ingredients:

5 small zucchini
4 cloves garlic, pressed
pinch nutmeg
3 large tomatoes
2 small red onions, diced
1 cup parsley leaves, minced
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup gruyère, grated
olive oil
salt & pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cut a cross in the bottom of each tomato with a paring knife.
Meanwhile, cut zucchini into diagonal 1/4-inch thick slices. Sauté zucchini in a pan over medium-low heat with 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Press garlic cloves over zucchini. Sauté 7 minutes, until zucchini pieces begin to get tender. Spread as bottom layer in casserole dish.
Spread grated gruyère over zucchini.
Once water is boiling drop each tomato into water for 20 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon to a cutting board. Now you are able to easily peel the skin off each tomato. Cut tomatoes in half crosswise and remove seeds. Dice tomato.
Add 2 Tablespoons olive oil to pan. Increase heat to medium and add diced onion. Sauté for about 5 minutes, until onions begin to get tender. Increase heat to medium-high and add tomatoes, parsley, wine, salt & pepper to taste. Let mixture cook just until most of the juice has evaporated. Spread over grated cheese layer.
Bake entire casserole in preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Sweet Potato and Feta Salad

carrie — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 11:00:01 +0000

If you make one thing this week it should be this salad. It was spectacular! The saltiness of the feta plays nicely with the sweetness of the vinaigrette and sweet potatoes. Not to mention the red onions. The combination was sublime. This salad is great for a barbeque as the sweet potatoes can be cooked on the grill. Alternatively, you can cook the sweet potatoes under the broiler (as I did). Pictured above is half a recipe. Just go ahead and make the full recipe. You will love it!

Sweet Potato and Feta Salad

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

4 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch thick slices
3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 large handfuls of spinach
4 Tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1/2 small red onion, sliced into half-moons
1/2 cup crumbled feta
3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons honey
1 Tablespoon whole-grain or Dijon mustard

Directions:

Simmer sweet potatoes in water for about 5 minutes, until just tender. Drain, cool and toss with 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt & pepper.
Grill (or broil) sweet potatoes for 2-3 minutes on each side until tender & char-grilled.
Whisk together remaining 1 Tablespoon olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey and mustard.
Toss spinach, pine nuts and onion together in a serving bowl. Sprinkle feta over the top. Place grilled sweet potatoes on top of spinach mixture. Drizzle with dressing.

Notes:

Adapted from Olive Magazine

Quick Pickled Beets & Carrots

carrie — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 16:09:45 +0000

One of the easiest pickling recipes I’ve come across. The pressure cooker to infuse the beets & carrots with the pickling brine in record time.

Ingredients

2 medium beets, scrubbed, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 medium carrots, cut on the diagonal into 1/4-inch slices
1 small onion, peeled and thinly sliced
3/4 c. apple juice or water
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar

Directions

Combine all ingredients in the pressure cooker. Lock lid in place and bring to high pressure. Lower heat enough to maintain high pressure and cook for 4 minutes. Reduce pressure with a quick-release method. Remove lid and test beets – if not tender, replace cover and allow to steam in residual heat until done.

These can be refrigerated up to 2 weeks. Mine didn’t last that long though.

Eggplant Caponata

carrie — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 16:07:48 +0000

The transformation of the eggplant and other vegetables in only two minutes to a stew-like concoction that seems as if it simmered all day amazes me every time! This recipe is very adaptable to different flavorings. If you prefer a less sweet dish skip the raisins & substitute apple cider or red wine vinegar for the balsamic.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 small eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 t. salt
1-2 T. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
2 ribs celery
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 c pitted green olives, smashed
1/3 cup raisins
1 T. capers
1 14 oz can stewed tomatoes, crushed (or diced tomatoes)
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

Sprinkle the eggplant cubes with salt & set in a colander. Weight the eggplant and let sit for as long as you have, ideally 1 hr.

Heat the olive oil in the pressure cooker and saute the onion until soft. Add the garlic and saute another 30 sec. Add the rest of the ingredients.

Lock the lid in place and bring cooker to high pressure. Lower heat to maintain high pressure & cook for 2 minutes. Reduce pressure with a quick release method. Remove the lid and test the eggplant – if not tender, replace the cover and allow to steam in residual heat until done.

Serve & enjoy. This would be good over rice or pasta. The dish is best if it has a chance to sit for an hour or so but I found it quite flavorful just after cooking, too.

Smattering of new recipes

carrie — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:34:24 +0000

You will all notice I’ve been absent and not posting much. I have been cooking but haven’t had the time to update the site will full posts (pictures, recipes, etc.). To make up for this I thought I’d share several of the best new recipes I’ve tried over the last few months. In no particular order:

Puree of Chickpea Soup – from the NY Times

Swiss Chard & Sweet Potato Gratin – from Smitten Kitchen

Whole Wheat Biscotti – I made these into lemon whole wheat biscotti by adding some lemon juice and lots of lemon rind

Granola Bars – from Smitten Kitchen

Pumpkin Spice Syrup – Yummy in a latté. I put the recipe & latté directions in a new post.

Mixed Greens with Garlic, Cumin and Paprika – A great veggie side dish. I posted the recipe in a new post.

Blue Cheese Vinaigrette – from the Joy of Cooking. Quite possibly the best dressing recipe! It is a basic vinaigrette made with apple cider vinegar and crumbled blue cheese. I’ll post the recipe once I get home and have access to the book