Tomato Mushroom Bisque

This was a pretty easy soup and was a nice twist on classic tomato soup.  We had these with Brazilian cheese rolls so if I were to get all “Top Chef” about our meal I’d call it a modern twist on grilled cheese and tomato soup.

 

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1 medium onion finely diced
• 1 teaspoon granulated onion
• 1/2 bunch of celery, diced
• 1 tablespoon basil leaf
• 8 oz. sliced button mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon oregano leaf
• 24 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 liter water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon honey

Melt the butter in a large soup pot. Saute the onion, celery, and mushrooms. Add the tomatoes and spices and cook for 2 minutes. Add the water and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the cream and honey and whisk well. Simmer 30 minutes. Serve with shaved Parmesan cheese

 

 

 

“Huevos” Rancheros Scramble

I’ve been making an effort to eat healthier foods by “sneaking” them into things.  This mock “huevos” rancheros recipe uses tofu instead of eggs and is alright.  It really doesn’t taste like huevos rancheros at all, but it’s a perfectly edible dish. We topped ours with salsa and mozzarella cheese.

14 -ounce blocks extra-firm tofu (8 oz. when drained)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1/2 tsp. cajun seasoning
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed, drained
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
corn tortillas, warmed
Garnishes: salsa, chopped avocado, grated cheddar, sliced scallions, and hot pepper sauce (optional)

Place tofu on a plate lined with several layers of paper towels (to absorb liquid). Using a fork or potato masher, smash tofu with the chili, cumin, salt, pepper, cajun seasoning, and turmeric.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and red pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3-4 minutes. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in tofu. Add beans; cook, stirring often, until heated through, 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Black Peppercorn Beef

This is one of our favorite easy beef recipes. Plus, since it calls for red wine, it gives us an excuse to have a nice glass or two with dinner. 

3/4 lb. beef tenderloin
2 tsp. chopped fresh or 1/2 tsp dry marjoram
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tablespoon margarine
1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms (about 3 oz.)
1 small onion
3/4 cup beef broth
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 Tablespoon cornstarch

Trim the fat from the beef. cut the beef into 4 3/4 inch slices. Mix the marjoram, sugar, salt, and black pepper then rub on both sides of the beef. Cook the beef in the margarine in a skillet over medium to high heat for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, turning once until brown and medium doneness. Remove the beef and keep warm
Cook the onion and mushrooms in the skillet over medium to high heat for about 2 minutes. Mix the broth, wine, and cornstarch then pour into the skillet. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir for about 1 minute then serve over the beef on a bed of rice or egg noodles.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Captain Console has a cold/cough and consequently requested Chicken Noodle Soup.  How could I turn down my poor bed ridden man.  This soup is really easy and really delicious.

2 small onions, cut into 1/4-inch dice
3 celery ribs, cut into 1/4-inch dice
4 carrots, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 teaspoon chopped thyme
6 cups (48oz.) low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
3 oz Thai stir fry rice noodles
3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 large chicken breast cut in small pieces (optional)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions, celery and carrots and cook over moderate heat, stirring, for 8 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for 1 minute. If using, add in the chicken and cook until white. Add the broth, water and bay leaf and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Stir in the pasta and simmer until tender, 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the peas. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.

Summer Vegetable Quinoa

It was 70 today so that’s close enough to summer for summer vegetable dishes.  I adapted this from Nicola’s Summer Couscous recipe. 

250 g quinoa
2 tbsp. oil
1 large shallot, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
pinch red pepper flakes
4 handfuls chard, chopped
1 small courgette, chopped
salt and pepper
200g sweetcorn
5 sundried tomatoes packed in oil, cut into strips
4 tbsp white wine
200 g peas
100 ml chicken or vegetable stock
bunch fresh basil, chopped
shaved or fresh grated parmesan cheese, for topping

Cook the quinoa according to packet instructions, then set aside.
Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the shallots then cook until tender, about 2 mins. Add garlic and chilli flakes and sauté for 30 more secs, stirring constantly. Turn heat up to medium-high then add the chard and courgette. Season with salt and pepper and sauté for 2 mins. Add corn, peas, and sundried tomatoes then saute for 2 more mins.
Add the white wine then scrape up brown bits from bottom of skillet with a wooden spoon. When wine is nearly gone, add the chicken stock and quinoa and cook until the stock is absorbed. Remove the pan from the heat, add the basil and stir to combine. Serve topped with freshly shaved or grated parmesan. Or leave to cool, pack into a lunch box and top with the parmesan.

Two Bean Tacos

We made these tasty protein rich tacos last night from a recipe I adapted from my friend and fellow food blogger Nicola.  I added a red pepper sauce with ground nuts that added some extra spice and protein. They were excellent and the feta added the perfect amount of salt.   

Two Bean Tacos

80 g dried green lentils 
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 can black beans, drained
100 g baby spinach
salt and pepper
1 small tin chopped fire roasted tomatoes
corn tortillas
feta cheese

Rise the lentils then put them into a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and cook until soft enough that you can smoosh them (about and hour).

In a large frying pan, heat a little oil and saute the onion, garlic, and 1/2 tsp cumin on a medium-high heat for about 7-8 mins.

Reduce the heat and add the cooked lentils, chopped tomatoes, spinach, black beans, and the rest of the cumin. Season and cook for 10 mins, stirring occasionally. Spoon into tortillas and top with feta.

Red Pepper Pecan Sauce

I got this from an article on NPR by Claire Adas

1/2 cup roasted red peppers
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup vegetable broth (or water)
1/4 teaspoon (or to taste) chipotle purée (I buy a small can of chipotle peppers packed in adobe sauce, purée it and keep it in the refrigerator)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and plenty of freshly ground pepper

You can roast peppers on your burners or broil them in the oven until their skins are blackened, and then put them in a bowl with a plate on top. After 5 or 10 minutes, peel off most of their skin, and trim the stem and seeds away. One pepper is about half a cup. In the winter I sometimes use roasted red peppers in a jar, packed in brine.
Combine everything in a processor or blender, and process until fairly smooth. You can serve this warmed in a saucepan or at room temperature.

Turkey and Ham Pie

Making an entire ham or turkey for two people usually means a lot of leftovers. That’s why I love this recipe for turkey and ham pie that uses up some of the turkey and ham in our freezer. It calls for a puff pastry crust but you can use a regular pie crust if need be.

1 lb. cooked turkey meat
1/2 lb. cooked ham
2 carrots, diced 1/4 c butter
1 celery stalk
12 shallots, peeled and left whole
1/2 lb sliced portabella mushrooms1/4 c corn starch
2 cups milk
2 tsp. fresh tarragon or parsley, chopped
seal salt
ground black pepper
10 oz. puff pastry dough1 beaten egg for glaze

Cut the turkey meat along the grain and cut the ham into strips of a similar size. Fry the carrots gently in the butter for a few minutes, then add the celery, shallots, and mushrooms, and continue to cook for about 5 minutes. Combine the milk and cornstarch then slowly add it to the pan, stirring or beating constantly to avoid lumps. Simmer it for a further 5 – 10 minutes before adding the turkey, ham, and seasoning. Remove from the heat, stir everything together well, and add the fresh herbs. Ladle the mixture into your pie pan and let it cook. You may do this hours before you need it or the night before. Preheat the oven to 400F.
Cover the pie with dough and brush it with beaten egg. Bake for 40 – 60 minutes or until golden brown and puffy.

Happy St Patrick’s Day!

For St. Patrick’s Day I made a Shepherd’s Pie. I adapted it from the America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook and it was awesome.

• 1 lb. 93% lean ground beef
• 3 Tbsp. water
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 in. hunks
• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 c milk
• 1 large egg yolk
• 8 scallions, green parts only
• vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 oz. white mushrooms, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp Maderia
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 4 tsp. cornstarch
• 5 oz. frozen peas, thawed

Toss the beef with 2 Tbsp or water, 1 tsp salt, 1/4tsp pepper, and baking soda in a bowl until combined.  Set aside for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the potatoes in a medium saucepan and add water to just cover them with 1 Tbsp salt.  bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce the heat to medium – low and simmer until the potatoes are just soft (8-10 min.).  Drain the potatoes and re

turn to saucepan.  Return the saucepan to low heat and cook, shaking the pot occasionally, until moisture has evaporated, about 1 min.  Remove the pan from the heat and mash the potatoes well.  Stir in the melted butter.  Whisk together the milk and egg yolk, then stir into the potatoes.  Stir in the scallions and season with salt and pepper.  Cover and set aside.

Heat the oil and add the onion, mushrooms, 1/4 tsp. pepper, 1/2 tsp salt, and cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are just starting to soften, 4-6 minutes.  Stir in the the tomato paste and garlic and cook until the the bottom of the the skillet is dark brown, about 2 minutes.  Add the Maderia and cook, scraping up any browned bits, until evaporated, about 1 min.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the beef in 2 in. chunks, and bring to gentle simmer.  Cover and cook until beef is cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes, breaking up the meat chunks with 2 forks halfway through cooking  Stir cornstarch and remaining 1 Tbsp. water together, and then stir the mixture into the filling and continue to simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.  Discard the thyme and bay leaf then add the peas.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Adjust the oven rack 5 inches from the broiler and heat the broiler. Pour the beef mixture into a pie plate then top with the mashed potatoes.  Broil until the potatoes are golden brown and crusty and the filling is bubbly, 10 to 15 minutes.

Maltese Stew

• 2 large shallots (or small onion), roughly chopped
• 4 large cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 400 g (14oz) diced stewing steak
• 250 ml red wine (preferably Chianti)
• 400 grams (14oz) tinned chopped tomatoes
• 1 lamb or beef stock cube
• half teaspoon brown sugar
• half a teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 medium potatoes, chopped in large pieces
• 2 large carrots, peeled, chopped into large slices
• 1/2 cup fresh peas

1. In a large saucepan, over a medium-high heat, heat the olive oil and add the onions, frying gently until soft, add the garlic, cook until browned. Keep on a medium-high heat, add the diced beef and turn over once or twice until browned. Pour in the red wine and stir, when the wine has begun to boil, add the chopped tomatoes, once it has begun to boil again turn down the heat to a gentle simmer. Add the lamb stock cube, pepper, curry powder, nutmeg and sugar and stir through, cover and leave to simmer on a low heat for 1.5 hours, so the sauce is simmering very gently without bubbling on the surface too much. Stir occasionally.
2. After the 1.5 hours is up, add the vegetables, cover again and continue to simmer on a low heat for a further half an hour. After the half an hour is up, uncover and simmer on a slightly higher heat for half an hour to make sure the sauce has reduced properly and vegetables are cooked through, stirring every now and then. If it appears to be reducing a little too quickly, pour in a little water from time to time. In the last few minutes of cooking time, stir through the peas gently so as to not break up the beef too much. The stew is done once the peas are cooked.