Category Archives: Main Courses

Shredded, Roasted Brussels with Tiny Pasta and Cheeses

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I hate to say it, but I think I’m over winter vegetables. Don’t get me wrong, I love meals with simple roasted root vegetables with olive oil and garlic, but, I seriously crave fresh Summer tomatoes and grilled corn…and sugar snap peas… I do enjoy all seasons, but I’m ready to end this Winter chapter and move on. I am so looking forward to seeing the trees bud and daffodils and lillies…Ok, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Tonight’s dinner. I had some Brussels sprouts in my fridge that needed to be used. I was going to make a raw, slivered salad with a light honey dijon, white balsamic vinegar dressing, but decided against it and made something up instead. I had some shallots, tiny pasta shells, breadcrumbs, pecorino and Bulgarian feta. So, I mixed it all together in a 9×13 baking dish and roasted it for about 45 min, or until the Brussels were crispy. I added the chopped almonds last minute (read: after I put the dish in the oven for 5 minutes) and I’m glad I did because they gave the dish a nice crunch. I have to say, it was pretty freaking delicious and super simple. Mind you, I didn’t really measure anything, so, just eyeball the ingredients until you’re satisfied with how it comes together.

  • 1 bag/container of Brussels sprouts, thinly sliced
  • 1- 1 1/2c. tiny pasta shells cooked, al dente
  • 1 medium shallot, sliced
  • olive oil
  • 1/3c. bread crumbs
  • 1/3C shredded Pecorino cheese
  • Handful of crumbled Bulgarian feta
  • Handful of chopped almonds (or, hazelnuts if you have them)
  • Crushed red pepper
  • Salt/pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cook pasta until al dente, drain. Wash, trim and thinly slice the Brussels sprouts, add both to the 9×13 baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil. (You can also spray the baking dish with cooking spray). Add bread crumbs (I used the Progresso Italian ones rather than the Panko breadcrumbs I also had on hand), shallots, almonds, shredded pecorino and feta. You can stir it up at this point if you choose. Bake at 400 for about 35-45 minutes, or until the Brussels sprouts are browned. I prefer them a bit crispy. I had the meal with a nice, crisp white wine (Grüner). Hey, it was a long work day. Oof. I’m sure there are typos above.

Orzo Chickpea Salad with Artichoke Hearts, Arugula, Lemon and Thyme

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It’s gloomy, windy and raining (is it October? really?)…so, I decided to have something a little “spring-y” for dinner. What’s more spring-like than lemon and thyme? Well, maybe many things…but, it tastes like spring and summer to me. Besides, I’m not in full-fledged roasted root vegetable mode yet. (I did, however make some roasted butternut squash risotto last week and it was super delicious).

This recipe just came together pretty quickly in my head. If you don’t have orzo I think it’d work well with farro too. If you want it more spring-like add some raw asparagus.

  • 1c orzo, cooked
  • 1 can chickpeas, rinsed, drained
  • 1/2 can of artichoke hearts, chopped (and 1/4 cup reserved liquid from artichoke hearts)
  • 3-4 handfulls of arugula, chopped
  • 1/4c oil-cured Moroccan olives, chopped
  • 3-4 sprigs of thyme leaves
  • zest and juice of 1 medium-sized lemon
  • 2-3 TB olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Cook orzo according to directions (until al dente). No need to cool orzo. In a medium-sized bowl, add to chickpeas and remainder of ingredients. You may want to add less oil and a little more of the reserved liquid from the quartered artichoke hearts, it’s up to you. Like I said, this recipe is pretty adaptable.

Whoops and Asparagus Risotto

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Okay, so I seemed to have punked on the Christmas cookie recipes, though I did make four kinds (Russian tea cakes, espresso crinkles, world peace cookies and margarita cookies). Ah, next year I’ll be better at posting recipes. Really, I swear. Moving on…Sunday dinner.

I didn’t have much in my vegetable crisper or in the cupboard, and I didn’t want to go to my fruit/veg market again (it seems like I go every day), so I used what I had on hand. Well, that, and I’d had a taste for risotto, plus, I had asparagus. I figure if you ever want to impress someone or yourself, for that matter, have a risotto recipe at hand and get good at making it. It really is fairly easy to make and it comes together pretty quickly too. It’s weird, when I think back, I used to be afraid of making risotto. I guess I thought it’d turn out over-cooked and mushy (it did once, but I still ate it). Since then, I’ve overcome my “fear” and (gotten much better at making it) I’ve made different varieties: mushroom, butternut squash, and tonight, asparagus. It’s pretty much the same steps with a few additions/subtractions here and there and it comes together in about 30 minutes!

  • 2 Shallots, chopped finely
  • 2 TB of butter, plus 1 TB
  • 1 C. white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)
  • 1 C. Aborio rice
  • 1 carton (32oz) of vegetable stock. I use Kitchen Basic, no sodium
  • 1 pd. asparagus, washed, trimmed, cut into bite-size pieces
  • Fresh thyme or rosemary (optional)
  • 1/2 C. shredded Pecorino-Romano (optional)

Heat stock and keep on low simmer. You don’t want to add cold stock each time to the rice.

I used my 3.5 qt. saute pan for this and it worked perfectly. On a medium to low burner, saute the shallots and butter until they’re soft, about a minute. Add the rice, stir to coat well. Cook that until it’s translucent, a couple more minutes. Add white wine, stir well. Wait until the wine evaporates, then add a ladle of warm stock to just cover the rice, stir again. The heat on the burner shouldn’t be too high, but the rice/stock should simmer. Wait until the liquid evaporates and continue to add until the rice is al dente. (You want it almost cooked through, and you don’t want mushy rice). Just before you add the last ladle, add the remaining tablespoon of butter and the asparagus, then add the stock. Let that evaporate. At this point the asparagus should be tender-crisp and bright green, while the rice is creamy. If you’re using cheese, you can add it at this point too. Now, you’re done! Your kitchen will smell wonderful and you’ll feel like you’ve accomplished something. Simple, eh?

Vegetarian Mushroom Soup

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The aroma of sautéeing mushrooms, onions, garlic, butter and a dash of Cabernet Sauvignon filled my apartment. Oh, my, was I going to have a nice meal this evening. I had, had mushroom soup in mind for awhile and actually had never made it (I know, weird, right?) until last night. It’s a really simple recipe that comes together pretty quickly. You can use portobello, white or cremini mushrooms, or whatever you have on hand. I used a combination of portobello and white. It’s also a recipe that you can tweak, which is what I did after finding a basic recipe online. Enjoy with a piece of crusty French bread and a glass of wine!

  • 1TB butter, (may need 2)
  • 1 small onion, chopped (or you could use a shallot too)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1-2 tsp of dried thyme (I also added 1 tsp. of rosemary
  • 4-5 cups of sliced mushrooms (I used 6 cups because they cook down)
  • 1 medium potato, diced
  • 1/4 C. flour
  • 4 C. vegetable stock
  • 1/4 C. red wine
  • Salt and pepper to taste

1. In saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, add the onions and garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook until softened.

2. Add mushrooms and potato, continue to cook over medium heat. Add the wine if you are using wine. Let simmer until the vegetables are tender. About 10 minutes.

3. Add flour, stir and break up any lumps of flour. About 1 minute. Add vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the broth is thickened.

(Somewhat lazy) Lactino Kale Pesto and Lumachine

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I was going to make some butternut squash risotto for dinner later, then I realized that I only had one carton of vegetable stock. Well, that wouldn’t do because I need 6-8 cups of stock. I didn’t feel like going outside and interrupting my work flow, so, the risotto will have to wait another day. And here I was all jazzed about risotto. Oh well. I searched in my fridge (which makes it sound like I have a bottomless vegetable crisper) and decided to use the lactino kale and make some pesto. So, I made it, tasted and adjusted and I’m still not sure about it. I added toasted walnuts, a clove of garlic, extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper…BUT, it was still too bitter. Hm. So I added dash of white balsamic vinegar, some lemon zest and half a lemons worth of juice. Still not too sure. I will try it later. If it’s a fail, well, that’s okay. We should embrace our failures as much as our successes. I froze more than half the huge portion and will eat the remainder this week. After all, it’s just me here. No one to impress, really..

I wanted to use tiny shell pasta or even orzo for this. Of course you can use penne, rigatoni, or a tube pasta. Or, you can use a grain like couscous, farro, or barley too.

Kale Pesto

  • One bunch of lactino kale, washed trimmed
  • 1/3 -1/4 C. extra virgin olive oil
  • Handful of toasted walnuts
  • Zest of one lemon
  • 1-2 cloves of garlic
  • Juice of 1/2 a lemon (optional)
  • Dash of white balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar (optional)
  • Salt, pepper to taste
  • Dash of red pepper flakes

Concerning the kale, I cut off the very end of the stalks but used most of the stems in addition to the leaves. (Hm, maybe that’s where some of the bitterness comes from?). Put all ingredients in a food processor until well combined. You may only need 1/3 cup of oil. If you have walnut oil, you could use that instead too. If you don’t have walnuts, use almonds. Those are good too. I don’t like pine nuts, hence they’re not in the recipe. Serve with warm pasta. Also, don’t drain out all the pasta water. While adding the pesto to the pasta in the bowl, add a few ladles (1/2 cup) of the pasta water. The starchy water makes the sauce creamier/thicker and helps with the consistency.