Thursday, March 21, 2013

Baby Brussels Sprouts with Lemon Cream Pasta

Recipe from the view from great island. Pretty much use this sauce on everything.

Baby Brussels Sprouts with Lemon Cream Pasta

Baby Brussels Sprouts with Lemon Cream Pasta
1 pound baby Brussels Sprouts 
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt and fresh pepper
12 oz of your favorite pasta
1 cup heavy cream
the juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 cup freshly grated hard Italian cheese
parsley for garnish
  • Trim just the very bottoms off the Brussels sprouts and leave them whole.  You can halve them if yours are a little bigger.  Saute them in the butter and olive oil for about 10 minutes over medium heat.  Don't let them get too brown.  They should be al dente.
  • Cook your pasta to an al dente stage.
  • Add the cream to the sprouts and heat to simmering.  Simmer for a few minutes to let the cream reduce a bit and finish cooking the sprouts.  You want to sprouts to retain some of their bite. 
  • Add the lemon and zest to the cream and season with salt and pepper to taste.  
  • Slowly sprinkle in the cheese while stirring to melt and incorporate the cheese.
  • Add in the cooked pasta and stir to combine.  If the sauce is too thick, add some pasta water.  If it is still very thin, add some more cheese.
  • Serve with a garnish of parsley and lemon zest.

Roasted Butternut Squash Penne with Pistachio Pesto


Recipe from sprouted kitchen. It's amazing. The pistachio pesto is to die for. Made this for Cmas Eve.


ROASTED BUTTERNUT PENNE WITH PISTACHIO PESTO // Serves 4
Adapted from Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine, November 2010
I used a brown rice penne from Jovial pasta (a new favorite, the texture is wonderful for a GF pasta). I am not particularly fond of penne, for no good reason, and think small shells or some tagliatelle would work great too. The pesto can be made a few days in advance and kept in a covered container in the fridge. Any extra can be mixed with a splash of water and more lemon juice for a fabulous salad dressing. I would double it for that specific reason but I'll leave that up to you.

  • 2 lbs. (one large) butternut squash, peeled seeded and cut into 1'' pieces
  • 2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil or melted coconut oil
  • 2 tsp. smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp. sea salt
  • bit of fresh grated nutmeg
  • 8 oz. brown rice, quinoa or whole grain penne pasta
  • 2 huge handfuls (about 3 cups) well chopped baby spinach or swiss chard


  • // pistachio pesto //
  • 1 large/ 2 small cloves garlic
  • zest and juice of one meyer lemon or lime
  • 1/3 cup toasted, unsalted pistachio nuts
  • 1 jalepeno or serrano, seeded (I leave a few seeds for spice)
  • 1 cup packed herbs, such as cilantro, parsley, chives, basil
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan or pecorino, plus more for garnish
  • 1/4-1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • few pinches of salt and pepper

Pumpkin Fettuccine Alfredo

Different and Yummy. From cookieandkate




Pumpkin Fettuccine Alfredo


Fettuccine tossed with a creamy and comforting, alfredo-like pumpkin sauce, rosemary, Parmesan and spices. You can make your own pumpkin purée (see notes for instructions) or, for a quick meal, use canned pumpkin purée. It’s great both ways!
Ingredients
  • 1/2 pound (8 ounces) whole wheat fettuccine (linguine would also work)
  • 1 generous tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary, plus more for sprinkling on top (a 3-inch sprig of rosemary should do it)
  • 2 cups low-fat milk
  • 3 ounces goat cheese cheese, cut into big chunks
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree*
  • pinch red pepper flakes
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • shaved Parmesan cheese for topping
Instructions
  1. Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta until al dente (consult directions on package). Drain and set aside.
  2. Heat a 10 to 12-inch saucepan over medium heat and add butter. Once sizzling, whisk in flour and stir to create a roux, until bubbly and golden, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add in milk, rosemary and red pepper flakes. Stir constantly and increase the heat a little bit, if necessary, until the mixture begins to bubble and thicken, about 5-6 minutes.
  3. Add in goat cheese, pumpkin, cinnamon, salt and pepper, whisking until smooth and thickened into a sauce. Season with additional salt (don’t be shy) and pepper to taste. Add cooked pasta to pan and toss to combine. Remove from heat and serve immediately; top each serving with a sprinkle of finely chopped rosemary (necessary), red pepper flakes (optional, if you like spice like me) and Parmesan shavings.
Notes
  • Adapted from How Sweet It Is.
  • Serves two generously or three to four with sides.
  • Whole wheat noodles work particularly well here because they retain more of a bite and lend texture to a dish that might otherwise end up mushy. I used Mara’s Pasta fettuccine, which I like, but any brand will do.
  • If you don’t like goat cheese, let me first say that I don’t understand you even though I used to be one of you… but I still love you. Try substituting mascarpone cheese or cream cheese or any melty cheese (fontina would be good) for the goat cheese.
  • Gently reheat leftovers with a splash of milk.
  • *To make your own pumpkin purée: preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Use a sharp chef’s knife to cut off the top-most part of the pumpkin where it meets the stem. Slice the pumpkin into two, from the top through the bottom. Use a large metal spoon to scoop out the seeds, reserving them for roasted pumpkin seeds if you’d like. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Brush the flesh of the pumpkin halves with a light coating of olive oil and place facedown on the baking sheet. Roast until the skin is easily pierced with a fork, about 45 to 55 minutes. Turn the halves over and let them rest until cool enough to handle. Use a large spoon to scoop the flesh into a food processor or high-powered blender (I found that I could just pull the skin off). Blend well. Measure out one cup for this recipe. Once the rest has cooled down, store it in the fridge, covered, for a few days or in an air-tight bag in the freezer for up to a few months.

Sweet Potato Burrito Smothered in Avocado Salsa Verde

Love the Avocado Sauce. Recipe from cookie and kate.



Sweet Potato Burrito Smothered in Avocado Salsa Verde
Burritos filled with roasted sweet potato and black beans, smothered in a simple but flavorful avocado salsa verde sauce. See notes for how to make these in advance.
Ingredients
Burritos
  • 2 medium sweet potatoes
  • 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked hot paprika (or chipotle powder)
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
  • sea salt and black pepper
  • 4 to 6 whole wheat tortillas
  • 2 roasted red peppers (I used jarred)
  • 2 cups cooked black beans or 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1+ cup shredded Jack cheese
Avocado Salsa Verde
  • 2 ripe avocados from Mexico
  • 1 cup mild salsa verde, jarred
  • 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons fresh jalapeño, deseeded and roughly chopped (optional)
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 1/4 cup packed cilantro leaves
  • up to 2 tablespoons water, to thin as necessary
  • sea salt, to taste (optional)
Toppings
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
  • 1 small red onion, finely chopped
  • finely chopped jalapeño (optional)
  • sour cream
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Scrub and peel the sweet potatoes. Chop them into large, bite-sized chunks, about 1 to 1 1/2-inches wide/long and 1/2-inch deep. Toss the sweet potatoes with the olive oil, cumin, smoked hot paprika, cayenne pepper and salt and pepper. Make sure they are lightly coated in oil on all sides. Pour the sweet potatoes onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Arrange the sweet potatoes evenly in a single layer. Do not overcrowd. Bake for about 45 minutes, flipping the sweet potato chunks halfway, until they are golden and caramelized around the edges.
  2. Make the avocado sauce: in a food processor or a good blender, combine the avocado flesh, salsa verde, garlic, jalapeño (skip this if your salsa is spicy) and lime juice. Blend. Add the cilantro and blend again. Add water to thin out the sauce if desired; the sauce should glop easily off a spoon. Taste and blend in some sea salt or add another squeeze of lime if necessary. This sauce should taste like a real kick in the mouth; you’ll know you’re done when you can’t stop going in for another spoonful of the stuff.
  3. Make sure the oven is still on at 450 degrees Fahrenheit.* Place your tortillas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. In the middle of each tortilla, put down a couple strips of roasted red pepper, then pour 1/3 cup black beans down the center and top it all with 1/3 cup roasted sweet potato chunks. Sprinkle 1/4 cup or more of jack cheese on top. Pull one edge of the tortilla over to the center of the burrito, then pull the opposite edge over to overlap a bit. Gently roll the burrito over. Repeat with remaining burritos. Bake your burritos for about 5 minutes on the middle rack, until the cheese is melted and the tortillas are lightly crisp.
  4. Carefully transfer each burrito to a plate. Smother it in avocado sauce, sprinkle with ample romaine lettuce, some chopped red onion, jalapeño if you’d like and a dollop of sour cream. Go at it with a fork.
Notes
  • Roast the sweet potatoes ahead of time and warm them up a bit before assembling the burritos for a quick weeknight meal. You could also bake a batch of them and wrap them up for later, reserving the avocado sauce and toppings for the last minute.
  • The taste of the avocado sauce is dependent on the type of salsa you use. I recommend a basic, mild salsa verde made with tomatillos.
  • The avocado sauce will keep well in a bowl in the fridge for a few days. Cover the surface of it with with plastic wrap to minimize contact with air and help ensure that your sauce doesn’t go brown.
  • If you have leftover sauce, it doubles as a stellar salad dressing on romaine lettuce.
  • *You don’t necessarily have to bake these burritos (warm tortilla, black beans and sweet potatoes should melt the cheese) but I preferred the faintly crunchy exterior of the baked burrito.
  • This burrito could easily be made vegan by omitting the cheese and sour cream. Still delicious, I promise!
  • Peeling sweet potatoes is SO easy with this sharp, cheap little vegetable peeler.
Disclaimer: This is a working partnership with Avocados from Mexico and Muy Bueno Cookbook and I was compensated for recipe development. Opinions expressed are my own, always. The truth is I love avocados!
Want more recipes? Receive new p

Life-changing Korean Kimchi Wraps

Ohh the coconut mushroom recipe..and the kimchi and ...all of it. Perfect.


Korean Lettuce Wraps


Fermented Kimchi
Day 1
2 lbs / 1 kg Napa cabbage
2 tbsp coarse sea salt
Day 260 ml / 4 tbsp rice vinegar3 tbsp Korean chili flakes or powder (buy in asian stores)2 tbsp unpastorized honey2 tbsp grated fresh ginger3 spring onions, sliced in bite-size pieces
Prepare the cabbage by removing the outer leafs, slice lengthwise half, then again in quarters. Remove the core and cut into 2 inch / 5 cm pieces. Place cabbage in a large non-reactive bowl, sprinkle with salt and toss well to combine. Place a smaller plate on top and a heavy bowl or books to weigh down. Set a side for 24 hours.
Rinse the cabbage well in cold water to remove the salt and squeeze out the excess water. Mix rice vinegar, chili, honey, ginger and spring onions in a large bowl. Then add the cabbage and toss well to combine, use your hands or a wooden spoon. When mixed, place in a glass jar or crock pot, close the lid and leave in room temperature for 2-3 days. Then place in the fridge for 4 days before you can eat it. If you don’t open the jar you can keep it in the fridge for weeks (probably months).
Pickled Cucumber Salad
Day 1
1 cucumber
1 tbsp coarse sea salt
Day 2
1 spring onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp Korean chili flakes or powder (buy in asian stores)
1 tsp unpastorized honey
2 tsp rice vinegar
Wash the cucumber and cut lengthwise in half, then thinly slice. Place in a small non-reactive bowl, sprinkle with salt and toss well to combine. Place a smaller plate on top to weigh down (no need to place something heavy on top). Set a side for at least an hour.
Rinse the cucumber well in cold water to remove the salt. Now add onion, garlic, chili, honey and vinegar and toss well to combine, use your hands or a wooden spoon.When mixed, place in a glass jar, close the lid and place in the fridge for 1-2 days. Ready to eat.
Sesame Marinated Baby Spinach
200 g fresh baby spinach 
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil 
1 tbsp rice vinegar 
1 tbsp soy sauce 
1 tsp honey 
1 tsp minced garlic 
1 spring onion, very thinlysliced
Rinse the baby spinach and place in medium mixing bowl. Add all ingredients and toss well so every spinach leaf is coated. Leave to marinate for 15 minutes before serving.
Coconut & Ginger Mushrooms2 tbsp coconut oil, ghee or olive oil
500 g (4 cups) mixed mushroom, we used shiitake, oyster and brown mushroom
3 tbsp grated fresh ginger
3 tbsp shredded coconut
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 lime, juice
Prepare the fresh mushrooms by simply wipe them off with a damp paper towel (do not wash them with water, as they will only absorb the liquid and get mushy when cooked). Slice the mushrooms in large bite-size pieces. In a large frying pan, heat oil or ghee, then add mushrooms.  Add the mushrooms, toss a couple times to coat them in oil. Add ginger, coconut and soy sauce. Cook for a couple minutes, and shake pan and leave to fry gently for 5-7 minutes. When the mushrooms have browned nicely, add a knob of coconut oil or ghee and the lime juice, and toss again so everything is mixed. Ready for serving.
Kimchi (recipe below)
Pickled Cucumber Salad (recipe below)Sesame Marinated Baby Spinach (recipe below)Coconut & Ginger Mushrooms (recipe below)

vermicelli, fine noodles made from brown rice, cooked according to the package

crispy lettuce leaves, rinsed and separated
gochujang sauce (buy in asian stores)
other fermented vegetables like carrots (in the picture), sauerkraut, fermented soy beans etc.
fresh cilantro / coriander
Assembling: Lay a salad leaf on your plate. Fill it with noodles, mushrooms, cucumber kimchi, fermented kimchi, spinach, fermented carrots, a dollop gochujang sauce and some fresh coriander. Use your fingers to carefully tuck it into a wrap or parcel. Take a big bite!

Red Curry Lentils

Had this with fresh oranges, and sauteed brussel sprouts.From pinchofyum


Red Curry Lentils


Ingredients
  • 1½ cups lentils, rinsed and picked over
  • ½ large onion, diced
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons red curry paste
  • ½ tablespoon garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon curry powder
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon minced ginger
  • a few good shakes of cayenne pepper
  • 1 14 ounce can tomato puree
  • ¼ cup coconut milk or cream
  • cilantro for garnishing
  • rice for serving
Instructions
  1. Cook the lentils according to directions. Drain and set aside.
  2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onion and saute for a few minutes until fragrant and golden. Add all the spices (curry paste, garam masala, curry powder, turmeric, cayenne, sugar, garlic, ginger) and stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomato sauce; stir and simmer until smooth.
  3. Add the lentils and the cream. Stir to combine and simmer for another 15-20 minutes (the longer, the better)! Serve over rice and garnish with cilantro.

Meyer Lemon Loaf

Kind of a Meyer Lemon Fanatic. Love this from sprouted kitchen




MEYER LEMON LOAF // Makes one 9'' loaf
Adapted from the Grapefruit Pound Cake in The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour. I wanted to play around with some gluten free flours and came out with the amounts below. I realize it may be a high maintenance combination for some of you, and a GF All Purpose blend of your choice would be fine as well. If there is no need for you to make it gluten free, use the unbleached all purpose, but I wanted to give the option for those that prefer or need it this way. The original will pop up in the center, the GF version stays slightly flat on top. My oven is being moody and the temperature has been inconsistent, so mine fell. Tastes fabulous regardless of appearance.
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup whole milk yogurt, buttermilk or coconut milk
  • 2 heaping Tbsp. meyer lemon zest
  • 2 Tbsp. meyer lemon juice
  • 2 tsp. lemon extract
  • 1/3 cup turbinado sugar
  • 1/2 cup natural cane sugar
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 1/2 cup rice flour
  • 1/3 cup oat flour
  • 1 Tbsp. flaxseed meal
  • 1/2 tsp. sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • lemon glaze
  • 1/3 cup meyer lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp. natural cane sugar