Tag: Veggie

Roasted Squash & Feta Sandwich

On By lukephillaryhIn Veggie2 Comments
Roasted Squash and Feta Sandwich recipe
Orange you glad this squash sandwich is for dinner?

While Hillary and I love our summertime tomato salads and fruit cobbler, cold-weather cooking is really when we hit our stride. We’re in our groove when the oven has been on 400ºF all evening or a ragù has been simmering for the last two hours. Throughout November, December, January, and February, there’s one thing in particular that pushes our culinary prowess: leftover squash.

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Rustic Summer Veggie Galette

On By lukephillaryhIn Veggie2 Comments
Vegetarian galette with tomato squash zucchini
Close up, to show off that crust

This summer Luke and I noticed a surge in galette popularity. Every food related Instagram account I follow posted at least one galette pic. Most posted two – a savory and a sweet. If anything, it’s a surprise galettes are not already more popular. Compared to a pie or tart, they’re way less intimidating and require no special equipment. No pie tin or tart ring necessary, all you need is a basic baking sheet. Galettes have a free form construction that allows for greater improvisation. They are also more forgiving. You don’t have to agonize over rolling the dough into a perfect circle. A little extra dough here and there can be easily remedied – just fold it over!

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Bonne Maman Jar Gazpacho

On By lukephillaryhIn VeggieLeave a comment
gazpacho soup in Bonne Maman jam jar
Not tomato juice, but chilled, drinkable soup

I’ve always been wary of gazpacho. Bad batches can end up tasting like salsa or tomato juice. Often, you have an urge to over spice it. Tomatoes, some mild veggies, a little bit of salt and vinegar – how could these ingredients be enough for a flavorful, satisfying soup? But if you start adding a little bit of heat or some extra garlic you begin to veer dangerously close to Bloody Mary sans vodka territory. No one wants a virgin Blood Mary.  Lots of Americanized recipes list bread chunks or croutons in their ingredients, in order to add a little bit of thickness and texture. Or worse, they leave the soup chunky. This is called salsa. And while it’s better than a virgin Blood Mary, you don’t want to sip on salsa.

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Sunday Morning Blueberry Muffins

On By lukephillaryhIn Ode to NYT2 Comments
Blueberry muffins simple recipe Julia Moskin recipe
Blueberries + Carrots + Walnuts = Perfection

Pancakes? Too sweet. Bacon and eggs? Too greasy. Yogurt parfait? Eh, been there, done that. Oatmeal? Don’t even ask. Sunday morning breakfast can be full of options, but with half of the weekend already over you deserve to be picky. You may want to lay in bed all day and treat yourself to an indulgent breakfast; or keep it lean before a 5 mile run. Hillary usually wants to be lay in bed a little bit longer while I’m gearing up to go…we compromise with a long walk. Whatever your appetite, day’s plan or mood, these whole grain blueberry muffins will surely satisfy.

This recipe comes from Julia Moskin via The New York Times. We omitted the orange streusel topping because we wanted these muffins to still have some simplicity. Filled with carrots, blueberries, oats, walnuts – there’s nothing more you really need. Indulgent, but still healty-ish, it’s the perfect way to start your morning. And if you take sometime to make these on Sunday morning, you’ll have muffin breakfasts for the rest of the week!

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
  • 2/3 cup yellow cornmeal (preferably fine-ground)
  • 2/3 cup rolled oats (not the instant version)
  • 2/3 packed light brown sugar
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tsp nutmeg (or additional cinnamon)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 3/4 cups buttermilk
  • 1 1/3 cups coconut oil or neutral oil like canola
  • 2/3 cup maple syrup or honey
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups grated carrots or tart apple
  • 1 1/2 cups blueberries
  • 1 cup chopped toasted walnuts

Directions:

  1. Assemble all the ingredients on your table / countertop for birds-eye Instagram photo. You are baking on Sunday morning, it deserves documentation.
  2. Heat oven to 425°F. Heavily butter your muffin tin or use paper liners.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flours, cornmeal, oats, sugar, baking powder and soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt
  4. In a smaller mixing bowl, mix together the wet ingredients: buttermilk, oil, maple syrup and eggs.
  5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and carefully mix. Don’t over mix, the batter can be a bit lumpy. Stir in carrots, blueberries, and walnuts.
  6. Let the batter rest for 15-20 minutes. You can use this time to post the earlier “prep” photo to your Instagram story. After resting, give the batter a light stir to make sure it’s thick and fluffy.
  7. Plop enough of the batter to almost fill the muffin indentation. Mound the center so you’ll get nicely rounded tops.
  8. Place tin in oven and reduce temperature to 400°F. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Cool muffins in the tin on a rack for 5-10 minutes and then remove.

Details: Makes about 24 small/medium sized muffins

Spicy Pan-Roasted Cauliflower

On By lukephillaryhIn VeggieLeave a comment
roasted cauliflower cast iron skillet NYT Food recipe
Cauliflower with a kick

Cauliflower is a versatile vegetable. Cauliflower can be steak. It can be mashed potatoes. It can even be pizza. Cauliflower rice is sneaking into recipes everywhere, turning carbohydrate laden meals into gluten-free miracles. But cauliflower is also delicious just as cauliflower. It needs no Hollywood movie before and after transformation. This recipe, courtesy of The New York Times, highlights cauliflower’s inherent sweetness and adds some kick. When cooked perfectly (which is easy to accomplish), you’ll have beautifully browned florets, tender but with a little bit of crunch. Quick and simple to make, we’ve been enjoying this recipe as a healthy weekday veggie meal. It’s also great as a sneakily addicting and seriously impressive side. Take a night to celebrate cauliflower for being cauliflower! It’s a star vegetable, all on its own.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cauliflower head
  • 2 TBS olive oil
  • salt & pepper, to taste
  • 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
  • 1 garlic clove, grated or finely minced
  • 1/2 tsp freshly chopped rosemary
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley
  • zest of 1 small lemon
  • 1 red fresno chile, thinly sliced (optional, for a spicy garnish)
  • extra lemon, for serving

Directions:

  1. Quarter the cauliflower and cut out the core. Cut the quarters into 1/2-inch thick slices. Chop down the larger slices so that they are all about floret size.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add cauliflower, tossing to coat in the olive oil. Season generously with salt and pepper.
  3. Continue to stir and flip the cauliflower, letting the slices brown as they cook. Watch the heat – you want to keep the cauliflower pieces sizzling but not scorching. Cook until tender and can easily be pierced with a fork, about 10 to 12 minutes.
  4. Add crushed red pepper, garlic, rosemary, parsley, and lemon zest. Stir well to coat and cook 1 minute more. Garnish with sliced chile, if you like spice, and serve with lemon wedges.

Details: Serves 4 as a side, 2 as a main. Can easily be doubled to serve more!

Sweet Potato Tacos

On By lukephillaryhIn Hillary's DishesLeave a comment
Sweet potato and black bean tacos
Weekday deliciousness

I’ve been making this meal since college. It’s inexpensive, healthy, easy, and quite tasty. And with the sweet potato’s recent growth in popularity (in 2015, farmers produced more sweet potatoes than in any year since World War II) this recipe turns out to be in vogue as well! For Luke and I, sweet potato tacos are a reliable weekday meal. We often neglect this recipe, as it’s almost too basic. But, when we made it recently and spruced up our tacos with a couple extra fixings we looked at our plates and both said, “Damn! These tacos are kinda good looking!” Like, cover of a magazine good looking. We decided they’re worth sharing. This recipe is somewhat of an original, though the black beans are a riff on a Goya recipe, courtesy of the back of the can. Shout out to Goya Foods!

Ingredients:

  • 2-4 sweet potatoes (depending on size), cut into 1-inch pieces
  • olive oil
  • salt & pepper, to taste
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 can black beans
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 jalapeno finely chopped (optional)
  • 1 TBS red wine vinegar
  • 1 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1/4-1/2 cup water
  • 8-10 soft tortillas
  • cilantro, finely chopped (for topping)
  • feta cheese, crumbled (for topping)

Directions:

  1. Begin by roasting the sweet potatoes. Preheat oven to 425°F. In a bowl, mix the sweet potatoes with 1-2 TBS olive oil, cumin, chili powder, and 1 tsp salt and pepper. Move sweet potatoes to a large baking sheet and spread evenly. It’s best if each sweet potato has some breathing room. You don’t want them overlapping! Roast for 30-35 minutes, making sure to check halfway through. Give em a shake so they get a little brown on all sides.
  2. While sweet potatoes are roasting, make the beans. Heat 1-2 TBS olive oil over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan. Add onions, bell pepper, and jalapeno. Cook for about 6 minutes, or until onions are translucent and peppers are soft. Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes more. Pour in the beans, with their juices. Fill the can with water a little less than halfway. Stir water around to make sure all the contents of the can are loose and pour into saucepan.  Add red wine vinegar, oregano, and 1 tsp salt. Bring beans to a boil and then simmer uncovered. Simmer for 15-2o minutes, or until sauce has thickened.
  3. When sweet potatoes are finished, mash slightly on the sheet. You want them to be a little chunky.
  4. While everything is finishing up, we advising warming up your tortillas. Either for 1 minute in the microwave, or a little nicer, individually in a skillet (this will give them a bit of charring).
  5. Assemble your tacos to your liking! We start with a base of sweet potatoes, a scoop of beans, a few drops of Valentina Salsa Picante, some freshly chopped cilantro, and a scattering of feta cheese.

Details: Serves 2-4. You’ll have plenty of beans, so roast more sweet potatoes if you’re trying to feed a few more mouths!

Panzanella with Mozz + Herbs

On By lukephillaryhIn Ode to NYTLeave a comment
Panzanella mozzarella cheese Melissa Clark recipe
Panzanella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh

There’s still time – tomato season isn’t over yet! This is a perfect end of summer salad. It combines some of our favorite seasonal ingredients, tomato, cucumber, and basil, with year-round essentials, namely cheese (mozzarella) and bread. On self-respecting nights, when we manage not to finish off a whole baguette, we let a portion go stale and make this delicious Tuscan bread salad the next evening for dinner.  Traditional panzanella calls for stale bread, uber ripe tomatoes, a dressing of olive oil and red wine vinegar, and sometimes onions and basil. This oomph-ed up version comes from our favorite lady Melissa Clark. The cucumber adds freshness and crunch and the mozzarella makes it a heartier salad, worthy of eating as a main meal instead of a side. Make sure to enjoy this salad before summer is officially over!

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 of a baguette or rustic loaf (preferably stale) cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 6 TBS olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 tomatoes, use a mix of varieties and colors!
  • 6 oz mozzarella, cut or torn into bite-sized pieces
  • 2 shallots (or 1/2 red onion) thinly sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, grated to a paste
  • 2 TBS red wine vinegar
  • 1 TBS chopped fresh oregano or thyme (or a combination)
  • pinch of red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 cup Persian or English cucumber, cut into thin quarter pieces
  • 1/2 cup torn basil
  • 1/4 cup roughly chopped parsley
  • 1 TBS of capers, drained

Directions:

  1. Heat oven to 425ºF. Spread bread pieces onto a baking sheet and toss with 2 TBS olive oil and 1/2 tsp salt. Bake until golden brown and dried out, about 7-15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
  2. Cut tomatoes into pieces just a bit smaller than the bread cubes. Put them into a large bowl and then thinly slice the shallots lengthwise.
  3. Add the shallots into the bowl and use a microplane to grate 2 cloves of garlic into a paste. Along with the garlic paste, add 1 TBS vinegar, oregano or thyme, 1/4 tsp salt, and red pepper flakes.
  4. Cut up the mozzarella into bite-sized pieces and add to the bowl, toss everything together and set aside.
  5. In a medium bowl, combine 1 TBS vinegar, mustard, 1/2 tsp salt, and black pepper. While continuously whisking, add 4 TBS olive oil one-by-one to the dressing. Stir in cucumbers, basil, and parsley.
  6. Add bread pieces, dressing, and capers to the large bowl and mix well. Let it sit and soak for at least 30 minutes, up to 6 hours. You can keep chilled in the fridge. Add extra oil, vinegar or salt if needed!

Notes: Serves 3-4 as a main meal, 6 as a side.

French Tomato Tart

On By lukephillaryhIn VeggieLeave a comment
Tomato Tart David Lebovitz recipe
Tomatoes and the tart! Perfect for a picnic.

Luke’s dad Scott is a masterful tomato grower. In a small community garden plot in Philadelphia Scott has harvested many pounds of tomatoes, a combination of varieties he carefully selects – Speckled Peach, Amish Paste, Marmande, Golden Honey Bunch are a few of his favorite. He’s truly perfected the science of tomato growing, even conducting taste tests. In past summers, Luke and I have had the privilege of enjoying Scott’s tomato bounty, making oodles of bruschetta, homemade tomato sauce, Caprese salad – gustatorily transporting ourselves to Italy. This year, in accordance with fairness and good governance, Scott’s community plot has been ceded to another gardener. And sadly, without Scott’s crop, Luke and I have completely forgotten to enjoy any of summer’s tomatoes! Thankfully, that changed this weekend. We selected three beautiful farmer’s market tomatoes and journeyed from Italy to France. This fresh, bright tomato tart makes a perfect summer lunch or light dinner. Bring to the park for a Provençal picnic!

Recipe courtesy of David Lebovitz – a classic food blogger, but new favorite!

Ingredients  – Dough:

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 9 TBS chilled butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 2-3 TBS ice water

Ingredients – Tart filling:

  • 2-3 TBS dijon mustard
  • 2-3 large ripe tomatoes, cut into slices
  • 2 TBS olive oil
  • 2 TBS minced fresh herbs (thyme, chives, tarragon)
  • 6 oz goat cheese, cut into rounds
  • salt & pepper, to taste

Directions – Dough:

  1. Tart dough: Mix flour in salt in a medium sized bowl. Add the butter and use your hands or pastry blender, to break in the butter until the mixture is crumbly.
  2. Mix the egg with 2 TBS of cold water. Make a well in the center of the dough and add the beaten egg mixture. Stir the mixture with your hands until the dough holds together. If it’s not coming together easily, add an additional TBS of water.
  3. Form dough into a ball and transfer onto a big sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap in plastic and flatten into a disc. Refrigerate for an hour (or up to 24 hours).
  4. Remove dough from fridge and let thaw out slightly. On a lightly floured service using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough. Rotate the dough and add more flour to surface, as needed, to ensure dough doesn’t stick. Roll out dough so that is large enough to cover the bottom and sides of a 9-inch or 10-inch removable tart pan.
  5. Transfer the dough to your tart pan and press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of your pan.

Directions – Filling:

  1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
  2. Spread an even layer of mustard over the bottom of the tart pan and let sit for a minute or so to soak in.
  3. Arrange the sliced tomatoes in a single layer (a little overlap is ok). Sprinkle with 1 TBS of fresh herbs and drizzle with olive oil. Top with salt and a freshly ground black pepper.
  4. Arrange the goat cheese slices on top and sprinkling with remaining herbs.
  5. Bake the tart for 30 minutes, until the cheese is nicely browned around the edges. Let cool for ten minutes, then enjoy! Perfect for a summer lunch.

Details: Makes 1 9-inch or 10-inch tart

Summer Vegetable Soup

On By lukephillaryhIn VeggieLeave a comment
Vegetable soup Mimi Thorisson recipe
summa summa sixteen

It is finally officially summer! The farmers’ market is overflowing with luscious fruits and vegetables begging to be turned into a delicious seasonal feast. And there is no more archetypal summer meal than soup. Oh-kaaaay…so that’s a completely sarcastic statement, but Luke and I both feel this soup deserves serious summer status! 1) It requires no oven use whatsoever 2) It includes many of summer’s best bounty aaand 3) This soup manages to be light and healthy (entirely veggie!!) but also extremely flavorful and nuanced (especially when parm broth is used). Luke and I strongly advise that you blast “Summer Sixteen” while chopping up all of these veggies. Making this delicious soup is an ideal way to celebrate summer.

This recipe is adapted from Mimi Thorisson’s soupe au pistou, which can be found in her cookbook A Kitchen in France.

Ingredients – Soup:

  • 3 TBS olive oil
  • 2 onions, thinly sliced
  • 2-3 medium carrots, minced
  • 1 leek, white and light green parts, thinly sliced
  • 2 zucchini, minced
  • 8 oz green beans, cut in half lengthwise
  • 4-5 tomatoes, peeled, deseeded, and chopped (or 1 15-oz can chopped tomatoes, with juices partially drained)
  • 5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1 bunch basil, roughly chopped
  • 1 TBS herbs de provence
  • salt & pepper, to taste
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 5-6 cups water or preferred broth (chicken, vegetable, parm)
  • 8 oz kidney beans (pre-soaked or from a can)
  • 8 oz white beans (pre-soaked or from a can)
  • 1 cup elbow macaroni

Luke and I topped our bowls with a simple mix of basil, garlic, olive oil, and a touch of salt, mashed with a mortal & pestle:

  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • handful of basil leaves, finely chopped
  • 1 TBS olive oil
  • pinch of salt

Directions:

  1. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, leek, zucchini, green beans, tomatoes,  and garlic. Saute for 5-8 minutes, stirring to make sure the vegetables cook evenly. Add the basil, herbs de provence, and salt and pepper. Saute for 2 minutes more.
  2. Add your chosen liquid and bring to a boil. Once boiling, simmer for 15-20 minutes, uncovered.
  3. Add the uncooked macaroni and cook until al dente, 8-10 minutes, and then stir in the beans.

Serve immediately! If you like, top with basil mix and shaved parm.

Details: Makes lots of soup! Six hearty servings.

Recipe Revisiting – Chickpea + Spinach Curry

On By lukephillaryhIn Exotic3 Comments
chickpea spinach indian curry bon appetit recipe
Revisiting a favorite

In our short cooking careers, Luke and I have shuffled through some go-to meals – recipes we can whip up whenever and they’ll always leave us satiated. In college, I used to make a chicken breast in a skillet dinner with a surprisingly delicious marinade of ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar, and lemon juice. I probably made it on a weekly basis. And yet, since graduating I haven’t whipped up my “Simple Tasty Chicken” recipe even once. Blame cooking fatigue. Some meals you can only make so many times. But all recipes do deserve a second chance. We’ve made a similar version of this chickpea, spinach, tomato curry before and it could definitely be categorized as a “go-to meal.” So when I came across a similar recipe on BA’s Instagram I was inspired to revisit one of our favorite weekday dinners. The result is a bit stewier, perhaps more “curry” like. Will it replace our original? Who knows! All part of the process. The delicious and simple combination of chickpeas, spinach, and tomato is getting some love again and that’s all that matters.

Ingredients:

  • Olive oil
  • 4 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1-2 jalapeños, coarsely chopped
  • 1 TBS chopped ginger
  • 1 pound spinach
  • salt & pepper
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 1/2 tsp curry powder (our mix includes a lil’ bit of everything – turmeric, cumin, coriander, chili powder)
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 2 15-oz cans chickpeas, rinsed
  • 1 24-oz can whole peeled tomatoes
  • 4 TBS plain yogurt

Directions:

  1. Heat 1 TBS oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, jalapeños, and ginger and cook until fragrant and softened, about 4 minutes. Working in batches (1 handful at a time) add the spinach. Toss to wilt and then add more. Cook until fully wilted, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a food processor (blender, hand blender, even a mortar and pestle works) and pulse until coarsely chopped. Season with salt and pepper. Wipe skillet.
  2. Heat another TBS of oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, 5-6 minutes. Add the spices and stir so that they evenly coat the onions. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  3. Add chickpeas and tomatoes with juices. Squeeze the whole tomatoes with your hands to break down. If the mixture seems in need of extra liquid, add 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.
  4. Turn off heat and stir back in spinach puree then add yogurt, a TBS spoon at a time. Fully mix the TBS of yogurt before adding another. This will prevent curdling.

Serve with naan, samosas, basmati rice and garnish with cilantro – whatever you prefer!

Details: Serves 4