Almond-Turmeric Potatoes

I will never look at a potato the same way again.  This is hands down the most delicious potato side-dish I've ever had, and it's really quite easy.  If you own a mandoline slicer, break it out for this dish, otherwise you'll really be testing your knife skills.  Otherwise, though, it pretty much brings itself together.

The potatoes are super-thin and melt in your mouth, the onions are sweet and caramelized to a blissful point, and the almonds provide a nice texture contrast.  The turmeric tints everything a beautiful golden hue.  The flavors are subtle and exotic at the same time.  It's magnificent.

These potatoes go well with anything from steak to seafood, so remember to try this one out the next time you need a supporting cast on your plate.  I, for one, am planning on eating turmeric potatoes for lunch tomorrow.

Almond-Turmeric Potatoes

adapted from The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper

serves 3 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS:

good quality extra virgin olive oil

1/2 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

salt and freshly ground black pepper

3/4 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled, sliced as thin as possible

a splash of low sodium chicken or veggie broth (about a tablespoon or so)

handful of sliced almonds, toasted

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Generously film olive oil over the bottom of a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid.  Set the pan over medium-high heat.  Layer in the onion, turmeric, and some salt and pepper.  Top with the potatoes, and season with more salt and pepper.  Cook, without stirring, for about 6 minutes or so, until onion starts to soften and brown.  Don't stir, but peek under the potatoes to look for color.

2.  Add the broth and cover the pot.  Reduce heat to low.  Don't stir, but shake the pan occasionally.  Check to make sure there is still some liquid on the bottom of the pan periodically.   If needed, add some more broth.

3.  Cook for 15 minutes, or until there is a syrupy brown glaze on the bottom of the pan, the onion is coloring, and the potatoes are tender.  Remove the pan off the heat and let it stand, covered, for 5 minutes.

4.  Taste for seasoning - add more salt if needed.  Just before serving, sprinkle with the toasted nuts.  Scoop down from the bottom to get all the glaze and onion when serving up the potatoes.

Enjoy!

Sweet and Spicy Peanut Soup (CEIMB)

This week's pick on Craving Ellie in My Belly is a very different sort of soup.  Ellie's name for it suggests it is primarily peanut flavored, but the main element is really sweet potato if you ask me.  This is a nice medley of rich and delicious flavors, featuring an unexpected peanutty creaminess. 

I made a change to the recipe and added some wine, but I actually wouldn't recommend it.  I felt like the wine distracted from the other flavors and didn't quite fit in.  Also, mine turned out quite thick because I used a large sweet potato (even though I cut Ellie's recipe in half), so pick the size of the sweet potato knowing it will directly influence the thickness of the soup. 

I wouldn't say this is one I'll make again and again, but it's different, interesting, and rather tasty.  If you're looking for a sweet potato soup to write home about, I'd suggest trying this one as well.

Sweet and Spicy Peanut Soup (CEIMB)

adapted from Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave

serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 tablespoon canola oil

1/2 large onion, diced

1/2 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 carrot, peeled and diced

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

pinch freshly ground black pepper

1 clove garlic, minced or pressed

1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed

3 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup no-salt-added canned diced tomatoes, with juices

1/3 cup creamy natural peanut butter

1 teaspoon honey

salt to taste

peanuts for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Heat oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat.  Add onion, bell pepper, and carrots, and cook, stirring, until veggies soften, about 5 minutes.  Stir in cayenne, black pepper, garlic, and ginger and cook for 1 more minute.

2.  Stir in sweet potato, broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, until potatoes are tender, about 25-30 minutes.

3.  Turn off the heat.  Puree soup using an immersion blender (or in batches in a regular blender, then return to pot).  Stir in peanut butter and honey over low heat until the peanut butter melts.  Season to taste with salt.  Serve garnished with peanuts.

Enjoy!

Italian Chicken Pie

Once in a while, we come upon a recipe that we want to mentally bookmark, dogear, put a gold star on, or somehow put a permanent reminder to come back to it.  Again, and again, and again.  This is one of those recipes.  It is easy, delicious, and would please just about anyone.  This is one that I want to remember to make for my kids some day.  It's going to be one of those go-to Friday night family dinner recipes. 

Okay, have I sold it enough?  My husband described this as a cross between chicken parmigiana and deep dish pizza.  Only guess what?  It's not nearly as unhealthy as either of those things.  It has all the yummy flavors you associate with Italian food - tomato, garlic, oregano, basil - plus cheese and chicken, and a tender crust.  Yum!

I reduced the recipe, as I often do, but if you double it for a larger group, make it in a 9-inch pie dish and get the whole pie experience. 

Italian Chicken Pie

adapted from The Best Casserole Cookbook Ever

serves 3-4

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

1 cup diced cooked chicken breast

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella, divided

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1 clove garlic, minced or pressed

1 cup of canned diced tomatoes with their juice

1/4 cup whole wheat (or all-purpose) flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup nonfat milk

1 large egg

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 400.  Coat a small baking dish (size isn't that important - go with a fairly shallow rectangular one if you have it, or divide among ramekins) with cooking spray.  Sprinkle the parmesan cheese in the bottom of the dish.

2.  Scatter chicken over the parmesan.  Top with 1/4 cup of the shredded mozzarella, the oregano, and basil.  Mix garlic with diced tomatoes and juice, and spread evenly over all. 

3.  Make the topping: in a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add oil, milk, and egg, and continue whisking until the mixture is smooth like pancake batter.  Pour over the chicken mixture in the pan.

4.  Bake, uncovered, for 30-35 minutes, until set and golden brown.  Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella.  Let sit 10 minutes before serving. 

Enjoy!

Orange and Black Currant Scones

My mother and I started a tradition on the first anniversary of my grandmother's passing.  We decided that everyone in our family, wherever we may be, should have a cup of tea on behalf of Nanny (that's what we call her) every year on January 5.   She loved her nice cups of tea, often to the tune of about four cups a day.  Some of us take the tradition a little farther and go for afternoon tea, which she also loved - my husband and I have been known to race to a local English tea room after we got off work on a January 5, when they were due to close in about 10 minutes.

This year I decided to make scones to have with some tea at home.  I took a recipe for scones and made it even more English, if that's possible, by adding black currants.  Black currants are a severely underrated fruit in the United States.  I don't know why little kids in the U.S. aren't plied with them from an early age.  In England they flavor all sorts of candies, jams, drinks, desserts, and other baked goods.  Black currant has been one of my favorite flavors for as long as I can remember.  And as an added bonus, they are loaded with Vitamin C and antioxidants.

In these scones I used dried black currant berries.  These are not to be confused with plain old Zante currants, which are small hard little black things, more like mini raisins.  These are juicy little berries with a rich sweet-tart flavor.  If you have a hard time finding them, you could substitute raisins, dried or fresh blueberries, dried cranberries, or whatever you like.  If you can find them, though, I highly recommend the black currants.  They set these scones over the edge, and even the orange zest alone gets these scones pretty close to that edge.  I'm pretty sure Nanny would have loved them.

Orange and Black Currant Scones

adapted from Gourmet Today

makes 8

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (all-purpose is okay)

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick (8 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

1 cup dried black currant berries

1/2 cup skim milk

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 large egg, separated

1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Put a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 375.

2.  In food processor, pulse together flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse pebbly sand.  Transfer to a large bowl and stir in currants.

3.  Stir together milk, cream, yolk, zest, and vanilla in a small bowl.  Add to flour mixture, stirring just until a cohesive dough starts to form.  Do not overmix.

4.  Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead until it just comes together.  It will be sticky, so prepare to get your hands dirty.  Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet and pat gently into a 7 inch round.

5.  Lightly beat egg white and brush onto the top of the scones.  Sprinkle with remaining teaspoon of sugar.  Cut into eighths, but do not separate.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown all over.  Let cool 15 minutes before separating.  Serve warm.

Enjoy.  Love, Sparkle

Roasted Winter Vegetables over Polenta

I realize my blog is starting to look like the What-to-Serve-Over-Polenta blog.  I can't help it.  Polenta is just that good.  It's kind of like pasta - a great bed to host any delectable topping you choose to accompany it. 

I am cheating a little bit in calling these "winter" vegetables, since green beans are not really a winter vegetable.  But I wanted something green to provide some color contrast, and they are delicious little beasts.  Halved brussels sprouts would be magical in this dish.  The original recipe called for cauliflower, but I'm still having trouble getting out of the "meh" camp when it comes to cauliflower.  Forgive me. 

You can cook the polenta whatever way you like - the stovetop method is probably best here, since you have to roast the vegetables at such a high temperature that the polenta would cook too fast if you had it in the oven, too.   But experiment and see what you like. 

Here it is, then, another lovely and simple meal with lovely, versatile polenta as the base.

Roasted Winter Vegetables over Polenta

adapted from Eating Well in Season

serves 3

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups cubed butternut squash

2 cups halved brussels sprouts, or green beans

1 leek, white and light green parts, chopped

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper

pinch of garlic powder

1 1/2 cups low sodium vegetable broth

1/4 cup cream or milk

1/2 cup polenta, or coarsely ground cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 475.  Toss the veggies with oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a bowl.  Lay out on a rimmed baking sheet.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring halfway through, until tender and brown in spots.

2.  Meanwhile, combine broth and cream in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil, whisk in polenta, rosemary, and a bit of freshly ground pepper.  Reduce heat to low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until thick and creamy, 10 to 15 minutes.  Stir in cheese; remove from heat. 

3.  Serve vegetables over polenta.

Enjoy!

Honey Harvest Quinoa

I think everyone knows, whether they like to admit it or not, that breakfast is truly the most important meal of the day.  I am not a licensed nutritionist, but believe me, I've read enough about food and health for all of us.  Save yourself the trouble and take my word for it - if you're trying to eat better, to lose weight, to prolong your life, to boost your immunity, any and all of the above - eat a nutritious breakfast.

Here is a great recipe for you to try this out.  It's different from the same-old cereal or oatmeal (not that there's anything wrong with cereal or oatmeal).  It takes a lovely little under-appreciated seed called quinoa and turns it into a slightly sweet, protein-packed hot cereal.  Yum!

You can play with this as much as you like - maple syrup instead of honey would be great.  Pecans or walnuts or any other nuts instead of the almonds would be great.  The original recipe used dried cranberries, but I had some gorgeous raisins on hand so I used those instead.  The quinoa is your oyster.  Or something like that.  As it is, though, the recipe is nutty and just sweet enough to be a very enjoyable breakfast indeed.

Honey Harvest Quinoa

adapted from Ellie Krieger's So Easy

serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cups quinoa, rinsed in a fine mesh strainer

1 1/4 cups water

1 small Gala apple, cored and cut into small chunks

1/4 cup skim milk

1 tablespoon honey, plus more for serving

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons unsalted butter (optional)

2 tablespoons raisins

1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Put the quinoa and water in a small pot over high heat and bring to a boil.  Reduce to simmer and cover.  Cook for 5 minutes.

2.  Add apple chunks and continue to cook, covered over low heat, until water is absorbed, about 10 minutes more.

3.  When the quinoa is cooked, stir in the milk, honey and cinnamon, and cook until milk is heated through, about 1 more minute.  Spoon into serving bowls and top with a bit of butter if using, along with the raisins and nuts.  Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Leek and Potato Soup

I'm back!! And just in time for the new year. 

We had a lovely vacation earlier this week, which is why I haven't been posting at all.  I do have to say that I missed cooking, mostly because I missed eating home-cooked food.  Having three meals out at restaurants in a day is not such a treat as it may seem.  I don't know how people who don't cook can take it. 

The bad news is that we both caught colds on our vacation, so our happy new year meal, and my re-entry to the land of cooking, is a simple and healthy soup.  You can practically feel the vitamins seeping into you with each bite.  And of course, it's delicious. 

This is a very simple version of potato-leek soup; not as fancy as the version I posted about here, but tasty in its own right.  It's I-want-to-be-done-good-to soup.  And it gets the job done.

Leek and Potato Soup

adapted from Jamie Oliver (Jamie's Food Revolution)

serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups low sodium vegetable broth

2 leeks, white and light green parts only, cleaned and chopped

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 large carrot, chopped

1 large celery stalk, leafy tops included, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced or pressed

3/4 pound baby Yukon gold potatoes, cubed

freshly ground black pepper and sea salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Bring the broth to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Reduce heat to low and keep warm.

2.  In a medium Dutch oven or heavy soup pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add leeks, carrot, celery, and garlic.  Cover the pot partially and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until veggies are tender.

3.  Add the broth and potato and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer and cover partially.  Let simmer for 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.  Serve the soup chunky, or puree if you like.

Enjoy!