Roasted Vegetable Orzo Salad

This Barefoot Contessa recipe is one of my favorite things in the whole world, so I can't believe I haven't posted it already. I've changed it up a bit with the vegetables and proportions, but the main idea is the same. It's great with grilled Italian sausage for a summer meal or by itself for lunch. Sometimes I add grilled or roasted chicken to the salad itself. It's a great combination of tart lemon, salty feta, and fresh vegetables. I think it's especially clever that she adds pine nuts - they are almost identical to the cooked orzo, so they are a delicious surprise.

A note about pine nuts: try to avoid buying them from China. Chinese pine nuts can cause "pine nut mouth" in some people: an unpleasant, metallic taste in the mouth that is harmless but can last for a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, pine nuts are really expensive right now, but you don't need to use a lot in this recipe.

You can change the amounts or types of vegetables in this recipe - it's very flexible.

Ingredients
2-4 zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2-4 yellow squash, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1-2 red bell pepper, 1-inch diced
1-2 yellow bell pepper, 1-inch diced
1 red or white onion, peeled and 1-inch diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
16 oz. orzo

For the dressing:
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2-3 lemons)
1/3 cup good olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

To assemble:
4 scallions, minced (white and green parts)
1/4-1/2 cup pine nuts
1 cup feta (use more or less to taste
15 fresh basil leaves, cut into julienne or ripped

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Toss the zucchini, squash, bell peppers, onion, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, and pepper on a large sheet pan. Roast for 30-40 minutes, until tender and lightly browned, turning once with a spatula.

Meanwhile, cook the orzo in boiling salted water according to package directions, until tender. Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the roasted vegetables to the pasta, scraping all the liquid and seasonings from the roasting pan into the pasta bowl.

For the dressing, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper and pour on the pasta and vegetables. Let cool to room temperature, then add the scallions, pine nuts, feta, and basil. Check the seasonings, and serve at room temperature or chilled.

Pan-fried Gnocchi with Golden Tomato Sauce

I found some beautiful yellow tomatoes at the farmers' market on Saturday. They taste a little more delicate than regular red ones, but you can use them interchangeably. I took the idea for this meal from one of my favorite vegetarian websites, 101cookbooks. It's a simple sauce - you don't need to peel the tomatoes. This recipe depends on fresh tomatoes, so I'd recommend making it soon before they go out of season.

We all loved this: fresh, bright sauce, crispy, crunchy gnocchi, and fragrant basil made for a great late summer supper!

Pan-fried Gnocchi with Golden Tomato Sauce

1 16 oz. package gnocchi, cooked according to package instructions

5 T. extra virgin olive oil, divided

2 lbs. yellow (or any good red) tomatoes - cored, seeded, and diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. crushed red pepper

Fresh basil, cut into ribbons

Parmesan cheese

Pan fry gnocchi in two batches, using 1 T. of olive oil for each batch. Stir occasionally until gnocchi is golden brown. Set aside.

Put remaining three tablespoons of oil in a pan with garlic, salt, and crushed red pepper. Heat over medium heat, stirring as needed, until garlic starts to turn golden - about 1 minute. Add diced tomatoes to the pan and simmer a few minutes, until tomatoes start to break down.

To serve, ladle some sauce onto plate. Top with gnocchi, grated parmesan, and basil.

Serves 3 adults or 2 adults and 2 children.

Black Beans and Brown Rice

Here's Martha Stewart's twist on red beans and rice. This meal is delicious - but you really need to put out a choice of toppings. Be sure to check the beans as they cook, because mine were done early.

Jack really liked this; Ben pretty much ate brown rice with shredded cheese and tomato.

FOR THE BEANS
8 cups water, plus more if needed
1 bag (1 pound) dried black beans, picked over, rinsed, and drained
1 jalapeno chile, halved and seeded
2 medium onions, quartered
5 garlic cloves, smashed
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper


FOR THE RICE
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cups long-grain brown rice
3 1/2 cups water

Make the beans: Bring water, beans, jalapeno, onions, garlic, vinegar, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper to a simmer in a medium pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender, about 1 1/2 hours. (Add more water, 1/4 cup at a time, if needed.) Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, make the rice: Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook onion and garlic, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and the rice. Cook until rice is slightly toasted, about 3 minutes. Add water, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, and gently simmer, covered, until rice absorbs water, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork, and season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with beans.

SERVING IDEA Serve beans and rice with jarred jalapenos, fresh cilantro, diced onion, chopped tomato, cubed avocado, sour cream, shredded cheese, and hot sauce.

Black Bean and Corn Enchiladas Verde

This is not a picture of my enchiladas. If I posted my picture, you would not want to make this recipe - green enchilada sauce does not photograph well. If you want to see what I mean, look up green enchiladas in Google images, and you'll see - the pea soup over tortillas look is not very appetizing.


But these were so good! I made them a few days after the 4th of July with some leftover corn salad (made from corn scraped off the cob).

Green enchilada sauce is made from tomatillos and is a little more fresh and tart tasting than red. It's widely available with other Mexican food products.


This is a rare recipe that I developed myself. The amounts are approximate.



Black Bean and Corn Enchiladas Verde



1 T. olive oil

1 T. lime juice

1/c. red onion, diced

1.5 - 2 cups of corn

1 can black beans (or 2 cups), drained and rinsed

1 can Rotel tomatoes, any kind

8-12 flour tortillas

1 large can (28 oz. +) green enchilada sauce (I often make my own, but didn't have time)

1 12-oz. package Queso Fresco (Mexican crumbling cheese - texture of feta)



Mix together corn, black beans, Rotel tomatoes, and diced red onion. Drizzle with olive oil and lime juice and stir to combine. Pour in 1/4 - 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce and combine.

Place a tortilla on a dinner-sized plate, and put 1/4 cup of the filling on one edge of a tortilla. Wrap it up, trying not to spill the filling out. Put the tortillas, seam side down, in a baking dish. Pour rest of enchilada sauce on top of tortillas, trying to cover completely. Crumble and sprinkle cheese on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Turn on a broiler for a couple of minutes (watching carefully) until enchiladas are slightly browned and bubbly.

Serve with sour cream, cilantro, hot sauce, etc.

Gratineed Gnocchi with Spinach and Ricotta

Nice picture, huh? Well, everyone including Martha Stewart shows the dirty pans in their food photography now, so I guess it's okay!

Unsurprisingly, I love this recipe. It follows my formula and is pure comfort food: creamy, cheesy, starchy. The spinach is delicous; remember that a little bit of nutmeg always makes spinach shine. It's amazing how this huge amount of spinach wilts down in the hot cream. This dish reheats well, too: the leftovers were great for lunch.

Gnocchi with Spinach and Ricotta

1 (1-lb) package potato gnocchi

2/3 cup heavy cream (I used half and half)

1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3 (5-oz) packages baby spinach

1/2 cup whole-milk or part-skim ricotta (I used part-skim)

2/3 cup shredded mozzarella

Preheat broiler.

Cook gnocchi in a 5-quart pot of boiling salted water according to package instructions (gnocchi will float to surface when done). Drain in a colander.

Whisk together cream, flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet, then bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking. Continue to boil, whisking frequently, until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add spinach in handfuls, tossing with tongs, and cook until wilted, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat, then stir in gnocchi. Spoon ricotta over gnocchi in 5 large dollops and sprinkle with mozzarella. Broil 4 to 6 inches from heat until cheese is browned and bubbling in spots, about 2 minutes. Season with pepper.

Giant Chipotle White Beans

I've had this recipe on my menu plan for weeks now, and I'm so glad I finally got around to making it last weekend. It is a recipe with several steps, so you may want to make it over a day or two. It's a great vegetarian meal that doesn't make you feel like something's missing. Flavorful, slightly spicy, warm, rich, and filling - yum!


Giant Chipotle White Beans (adapted from 101cookbooks.com)

1 pound of large, dried white beans (corona, giant limas, gigantes, or any giant white beans you can find), rinsed, picked over and soaked overnight - or up to 24 hours. You can follow the directions below, or if you'd rather use canned beans, use 2-3 cans of rinsed white beans.

Chipotle-tomato sauce:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 big pinches of red pepper flakes
2 pinches of salt
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves or 1 t. oregano, dried
1 1/2 tablespoons adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers or chipotle salsa

Cilantro Pesto:
1 medium clove of garlic
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
big pinch of salt

1 cup feta cheese

1 1/2 cup whole-grain breadcrumbs, toasted in a pan with 1 T. olive oil (I just used panko)

To prepare the beans: Drain and rinse the beans after their overnight soak. Then place them in a large saucepan and cover with an inch or two of water. Bring to a boil and simmer until the beans are cooked through and just tender. This can take anywhere from an hour to two hours (potentially more) depending on your beans, but do your best to avoid overcooking. Remove from heat, salt the beans (still in bean broth) with about a tablespoon of salt - enough that the bean liquid is tasty but on the salty side. Let the beans sit like this for ten minutes or so before draining and setting the beans aside.

In the meantime, make your tomato sauce. Place the 2 tablespoons olive oil, red pepper flakes, couple pinches of salt, and chopped garlic into a cold medium saucepan. Stir while you heat the saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute just 45 seconds or so until everything is fragrant - you don't want the garlic to brown. Stir in the tomatoes and the fresh oregano and heat to a gentle simmer, this takes just a couple minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the adobo sauce or chipotle salsa. Taste and correct seasonings.

Make the cilantro pesto by combining the clove of garlic and cilantro in a food processor. Pulse while you drizzle in the olive oil - alternately, you could do this by hand. Season with a bit of salt and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 425F degrees. In a 9x13 baking pan (or large oven-proof casserole/dutch oven) toss the beans with the tomato sauce. Sprinkle with the cheese and bake in the top-third of the oven for roughly twenty-five to forty minutes, I look for the cheese to start browning and any visible beans to get a bit crusty. Remove from oven and let sit for about ten minutes. Top the beans with the breadcrumbs and just before serving, drizzle with the cilantro pesto.

Serves about 6.