Bruschetta

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This bruschetta always reminds me of that scene in the movie Julie & Julia. You know the one, at the beginning of the movie when she is thinking about starting a blog. Anyway, every time I see that scene my mouth waters and I have to make some. Even if it’s not tomato season.

It’s usually a summer kinda dish so when I crave in the cold seasons, I just warm up the tomato mixture slightly before serving it on the bread. Enjoy!

Serves 2          Difficulty Level: pretty easy and quick

  • 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons chopped red onion
  • Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup chiffonade basil leaves – click here to watch a video on how to chiffonade
  • 4 1″-1.5″-thick slices of baguette or French bread
  • 3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Since the tomatoes are the main attraction in this dish, choose ones that are juicy and flavorful, like heirloom, or vine-ripened ones. Cherry tomatoes also work.

In a small bowl, mix the chopped tomatoes, garlic, and onion. Add about 2 teaspoons of olive oil, season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Stir in the basil. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. It’s best to let it sit for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day ahead, but most of the times I am not that patient. When I make this dish it’s because I have a craving and I need to have it ASAP!

Bruschetta

Heat about 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a medium pan. Add the sliced bread and fry on both sides until lightly brown and crunchy.

Place two pieces on each plate. Divide the tomato mixture into four portions and place on top of the bread slices. Enjoy with a knife and fork or devour by picking it up with your hands. Guess which one is my favorite way to eat it?

Variations:

  • Make it lighter by toasting the bread with no oil instead of frying it.
  • Make it lighter by not adding any olive oil to the tomato mixture.
  • In a pinch, and if you are absolutely desperate, for example if you are stranded on a deserted island, you can use chopped canned tomatoes. Let the juice drain completely.
  • Serve it slightly warm – but not cooked – if it’s chilly outside.

Do Ahead:

  • The tomato mixture can be made up to 1 day ahead.
  • The baguette can be fried one day ahead and heated in the toaster when ready to serve. But only if you are serving this to company and don’t want to spend your time in the kitchen while they are there. It’s really at it’s best when it’s made fresh.

 

 

Spicy Thai Green Curry Beef with Eggplant

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The ideal Thai dish will have a harmonious balance of sweet, salty, spicy, and sour. That’s why it’s so satisfying to eat. And I am guessing you love happy tastebuds as well since you are looking at this recipe.

I also love cooking Thai dishes because usually it’s quick and fairly easy. The other plus is that you can do almost all the prep ahead of time so when it’s time to make dinner, it will take just a few minutes. I have some suggestions for you at the end of the recipe under the Do Ahead section.

I gave this recipe a rating of easy because really – it is pretty easy to make. But then I added intermediate because some of the ingredients may require some searching at the grocery store or going to a specialty store.

Thank you to my friends – Alex for cooking with me, and Goody for video taping.

Serves 4          Difficulty Level: easy to intermediate

  • 3-4 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 pound sirloin steak, cut into thin, bite-sized strips
  • ½ pound Japanese eggplants, about 2, sliced on the bias
  • 1-2 tablespoons of green curry paste (recipe follows, or use store-bought)
  • 2 ½ cups coconut milk
  • 4 kaffir lime leaves, chopped
  • 1-2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1 teaspoon palm sugar (or granulated sugar)
  • A handful of Thai basil leaves
  • 2 Thai chilies, sliced thinly for garnish

Heat some oil in a large sauté pan or wok. Add the sliced beef and sauté, stirring frequently, until the beef is almost cooked, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside for later.

Next, add more oil if necessary (Enough to cover the whole surface of the pan.) Sauté the sliced eggplants until brown on both sides, stirring frequently. Remove from pan and add to the cooked beef.

Heat about 2 tablespoons oil in the same pan. Add 1 tablespoon green curry paste and fry until fragrant. Stir in half of the coconut milk and stir. Cook for about 5-6 minutes, until an oily sheen appears.

Add the kaffir lime leaves, fish sauce, and sugar. Stir in the remaining coconut milk. Bring back to a simmer and add the sautéed eggplants and beef and heat through. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Add the Thai basil leaves just before serving. Garnish with Thai chilies. Serve warm with rice.

Green Curry Paste

  • 15 Thai chilies
  • 2 lemongrass stalks, chopped
  • 3 shallots, sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 tablespoon chopped galangal
  • 4 kaffir lime leaves, chopped
  • ½ teaspoon lime zest
  • 1 teaspoon chopped cilantro root (or 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves)
  • 6 black peppercorns
  • 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon shrimp paste (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Combine all the ingredients together thoroughly in a mortar and pestle or in a food processor until smooth. Add the oil, a little at a time, and blend well between each addition. Makes about 1 cup.

Leftover curry paste can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Variations:

  • To make it vegetarian or vegan, you can omit the fish paste in the curry paste and use soy sauce instead of fish sauce.
  • Use other vegetables like bell peppers, carrots, bok choy, broccoli, zucchini, or cauliflower.
  • Make it lighter, by using light coconut cream
  • Serve with white rice, brown rice, noodles, quinoa, faro, or other grains

Do Ahead:

  • Make the curry coconut sauce up to 5 days ahead. Sauté the beef and eggplants when ready to eat and combine with the sauce.
  • Mise en place (A method of preparing and organizing ingredients before you start cooking.) all the ingredients, except the eggplant up to 3 days in advance. Eggplant can be sliced one day ahead.

 

Roasted Kabocha Squash & Black Bean Tacos with Chili-Lime Crema

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If you’ve never had this underrated squash, I recommend you give it a try. Kabocha squash is available year-round, but is at its best in late Summer and early Fall. The flavor is slightly sweet and has the same texture as butternut squash. It’s rich with vitamin A that is good for immunity, eyes, skin, hair, and healthy white blood cells. It’s also is a good source of iron.

The hardest part about this recipe is cutting and peeling the Kobocha, also known as a Japanese pumpkin. But here is a trick. Cut it in half and microwave for about 2-3 minutes. This will help soften the skin, therefore easier to peel. All else fails, leave the skin on. It is actually edible.

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Serves 3-4    Difficulty level – easy peasy

  • ½ medium Kabocha – about 1-1.5 pounds
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • sea salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • ½ cup roughly chopped cilantro
  • 1/3 cup diced or thinly sliced red onion
  • 1 cup shredded Romaine lettuce
  • ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1 avocado sliced for topping
  • 1 lime cut into wedges

For the chili-lime crema

  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (less if you don’t like it spicy, more if you do)
  • zest of 1 lime
  • 1 teaspoon lime juice
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 425°. Start by cutting the ends off. Then cut in half, seed, and peel.

Chop the Kabocha into small cube-ish pieces – about ½” x ½”. The shape doesn’t matter so much, as long as they are about the same size so they will cook evenly.

Toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, and pepper. (Note: You can roast the whole squash and save half for snacks, to put in a salad, or soup.) Roast in the oven until soft and slightly brown about 20-25 minutes.

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In the meantime, mix the black beans, ground cumin, about ¾ of the red onion, and cilantro in a medium bowl. Once the squash is cooked, add to the bean mixture and toss to coat.

Warm the tortillas on a griddle pan and keep warm by wrapping in aluminum foil, kitchen towel, or tortilla warmer if you have one.

To make the chili-lime crema, mix all the ingredients together. Set aside.

Put the lettuce, extra chopped onion, feta, avocado, chili-lime crema, and lime wedges on a platter for self-serving. Serve the squash and bean mixture, along with the condiments and warm tortillas.

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Variations:

  • Make it lighter and use non-fat Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.
  • Make it low carb and add all the condiments to the squash mixture and turn it into a salad.
  • Use other winter squash or sweet potatoes instead of Kabocha.
  • Use other kinds of beans like pinto, white beans, or kidney beans.
  • Add some cooked rice to the squash and bean mixture.
  • Add black olives to the squash and bean mixture.
  • Make it a tostada by keeping the tortillas on the griddle until crisp.
  • Make it into enchiladas by adding some cheese, rolling them up, putting them in a baking dish, adding enchilada sauce on bottom and top, with some cheese, and baking them at 375° for 20 minutes.

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Do Ahead:

  • Kabocha squash can be roasted 5 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.
  • The mixture can be make 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated and reheat in a pan on the stove or in microwave.

 

Roasted Butternut Squash & Ginger Soup with Herbed Croutons

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What is it about soup that is so comforting? Is it that it warms you all the way through from heat to toe to your soul? Or that it naturally slows you down because it’s hard to eat a hot soup fast. One of the reasons I love soup is because it is usually pretty easy to make, there is not a whole lot of planning involved, it’s quick, and most of the times you can make soup out of leftovers.

I remember as a kid my mom was very good at repurposing leftovers, and we had learned that by the third day if she hadn’t come up with something more creative, she was going to turn it into soup!

Even my daughter in kindergarten said her favorite food is soup. Not pizza, not pasta, not ice cream, soup. That’s my girl!

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I am labeling the difficulty level as “intermediate” but that’s only because this recipe is not your typical throw-in-the-pot-all-the-ingredients-and-let-it-cook kind of soup. There are a few parts to prepare separately and you will need an emersion blender or blender to puree it. I do have a quicker, easier version in the Variations sections below.

Serves 6       Difficulty level – intermediate

Ingredients:

For roasting the butternut squash:

  • 1 large butternut squash – about 1.5 – 2 pounds
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • pinch of freshly ground pepper

For the soup

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 3 tablespoons peeled and chopped ginger, separated into 2 and 1 tablespoon portions
  • 1 carrot, cut into ½ “ pieces
  • Crème Fraiche and pumpkin seeds for garnish – optional

For the croutons

  • about 2 cups cubed hearty bread like baguette or french bread
  • 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½-1 teaspoon dried thyme

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425°. Cut, seed, peel, and chop the butternut squash into cube-ish pieces. The shape doesn’t matter so much, as long as they are about the same size so they will cook evenly. Toss with 2 tablespoon olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Roast in the oven until soft and slightly brown about 25-30 minutes. Lower the heat to 375° for the croutons.

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In the meantime, melt the butter in a large pot. Add the chopped onion, garlic, and 2 tablespoons of ginger. Sauté in the butter until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots and sauté for another 5 minutes.

Add the roasted squash and enough vegetable stock to cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil.

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Lower heat to low and use an emersion blender to puree the soup. Alternatively, puree in a Vitamix. If using a Vitamix, 1, be very careful because the soup will be hot. And two, you will need to do it in 2 batches. Keep warm.

Toss the cubed bread with olive oil and thyme. Bake in the 375° oven until crisp, about 5-7 minutes.

Add the rest of the chopped ginger, stir, and serve hot with the herbed croutons.

Butternut squash soup

Variations:

  • Use chicken stock instead of vegetable stock. In a pinch, you can also use water.
  • Add about ½ cup cream or crème fraiche right after you puree the soup for a richer flavor and texture.
  • Short on time? Instead of roasting the butternut squash, throw it in the pot after the onions and carrots are sautéed. Add the stock, cover with a lid, and cook until soft, about 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the cut.
  • Instead of butternut squash, use Kabocha squash, acorn squash, pumpkin, or sweet potatoes.

Do Ahead:

  • Butternut squash can be roasted 5 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.
  • The whole soup can be made 5 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.
  • The croutons can be made up to one day ahead

 

Just for Halloween…

 

Frisée Salad with Bacon & Poached Egg

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Lyonnaise is another name for this popular French bistro salad since it is from Lyon, France. Warning: Although a salad, it is not diet food. Warning #2: Your tummy and taste buds will be doing the happy dance after just one bite!

The curly, crunchy, yet delicate lettuce is tossed with crisp bacon, (Traditionally, lardons are used.) and crunchy croutons that are cooked in the bacon fat. Finally, it’s topped with a creamy poached egg.

The lemon vinaigrette creates a perfect balance as it cuts through the heaviness of the fat from the bacon and the croutons.

This is a semi-recipe. Meaning I am listing the ingredients, but no the amounts.

Difficulty level – Intermediate

Ingredients:

  • Frisée lettuce
  • bacon, cup into strips and cooked until crispy
  • baguette, cut into cubes and cooked in bacon fat
  • Poached egg
  • For the dressing, combine 1 clove of garlic, minced, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 3 Tablespoons lemon juice, 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil.

Variations:

  • Make it light by baking the croutons instead of cooking them in bacon fat
  • Make it a warm salad – after cooking the bacon and the croutons, toss the lettuce and dressing in the pan and let it heat through and until the lettuce is a little soft. Add the bacon and croutons to the pan and toss. Serve on a plate with the poached egg on top.

Do Ahead:

  • The dressing can be made about one week ahead and kept in the refrigerator.
  • The bacon can be cooked a few days ahead. Bring to room temperature before using.
  • The croutons can be made up to one day ahead. Bring to room temperature before using.