Warming Meatball and Kale/Escarole Soup

I tore this recipe out Fitness magazine last October, and finally made it last week! Also, when I made the meatballs, they completely stuck to the bottom of my pan, so my soup had hunks and crumbles of meatball, rather than nicely formed balls, but the flavor was still great, and it was a good way to eat some healthy vegetables! If I made it again, I'd cook the meatballs in a non-stick pan, even though you are supposed to cook them in the pot that everything else will eventually be added to.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb./250g lean ground beef/beef mince

6 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

6 Tbsp plain bread crumbs

1/4 cup (60ml) finely chopped parsley

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 large onions, finely chopped (about 2 cups)

2 carrots, peeled and cut into coins

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

8 cups packed shredded kale or escarole,

rinsed and drained

3 (14.5 oz) cans low-sodium chicken broth

(approx. 1250 ml chicken broth)

1. Combine beef, 4 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, parsley, salt, pepper and eggs in a large bowl. Form into 24 meatballs, using about 1 level tablespoon for each.

2. Heat 1 Tbsp. of the oil in a stockpot (or separate non-stick frying pan) over medium-high heat. Add meatballs; cook on each side until nicely browned and transfer to a plate.

3. If you used a separate frying pan for the meat, now add remaining tablespoon of oil to your stockpot along with the onions, carrots and garlic. Cook 10 minutes, or until vegetables are soft. Stir in kale or escarole; cook 3-4 minutes.

4. Add meatballs and broth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve soup with remaining Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

Nutrition per serving: 205 calories; 15 g protein; 15 g carbohydrates; 10 g fat (3 g saturated); 4 g fiber.

Chicken, Black Bean and Tortilla Casserole

This new recipe came out of The Big Book of Casseroles, and is quick to prepare if you buy ready-cooked, diced chicken. It's less expensive if you poach your own chicken before-hand, but takes an extra 20-30 minutes to prepare, poach and cool/chop the chicken pieces. Your choice! It was a big hit with D, who had 2nd helpings.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can (14.5 oz/425g) chopped tomatoes, including juices,

lightly pureed with a hand blender or in a food processor

1/2 cup jarred tomato salsa

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp dried oregano

3/4 tsp salt

Fresh ground pepper to taste

2 cans black beans, rinsed & drained

3 cups cubed cooked chicken breasts

(I used 3 full breast pieces)

8 corn tortillas

3-4 cups (375-500g) grated Monterey Jack cheese

(I usually find grated Jack cheese at larger Sainsbury's)

Optional toppings:

Sour cream

Avocado slices

Sliced green onions

Chopped olives

Salsa & hot sauce

Directions:

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, warm oil. Add yellow onion, bell pepper and garlic and saute until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, salsa, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper and mix well. Stir in beans and chicken pieces.

2. Preheat oven to 350F/180C. In a 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking dish lightly coated with cooking spray or oil, spread 1/3 of the chicken & bean mixture over the bottom. Top with 4 tortillas and sprinkle with 1 cup (250 ml) cheese.

3. Add another 1/3 of the bean & chicken mixture, 4 more tortillas and 1 cup cheese. Finish with remaining bean and chicken mixture, and 1/2 to 1 cup cheese. Cover and bake, 40 minutes. Remove lid, add remaining cheese and bake until bubbly and lightly brown, about 10 more minutes. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Serve with toppings as desired.

Creamy Baked Gnocchi with Spinach

This is another recipe from Giada De Laurentiis great cookbook Everyday Pasta that I made this past week. Since we've had snow and frost here for the past 2 weeks, I am in major comfort-food mode, and this hit the target in a big way. I measured out everything ahead of time and it was really fast to assemble and bake once we got home from the gym in the evening.

Ingredients:

2 (17oz/500g) packages potato gnocchi (make sure

you use the vacuum-pack type, not the kind that

comes hard & dried in a box)

3 cups (750ml) heavy cream/double cream

1 cup (250ml) chicken broth or reduced-sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup (60 ml) all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1/4 tsp ground or fresh-grated nutmeg

12 oz/375g fresh baby spinach (seems like a lot but it wilts down)

3 oz/100g fresh goat cheese

1/2 cup (125ml) grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 400F/200C.

2. Place the gnocchi in a lightly greased 9 x 13 x 2 inch baking dish. Set aside.

3. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the cream, chicken broth and flour over medium heat. Continue whisking until the sauce is simmering and thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the salt, pepper and nutmeg and stir to combine. Add the spinach in batches and toss until all spinach is coated in the cream.

4. Pour the cream and spinach mixture evenly over the gnocchi and gently spread the spinach out to cover.

5. Crumble the goat cheese over the spinach. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese. Bake until the top is golden in places, 25 to 30 minutes.

Treacle Tart

I made this classic English dessert back in August before I started my blog, but I included the recipe I used on another post for my other blog, An American Gal's Survival Guide to Life In England, so if you are interested in making one, click here to view the recipe. Treacle Tart is best served with clotted cream, but if you are making this in the U.S., clotted cream is unlikely to be available, so you can either serve with a rich, chilled vanilla pudding or a creamy vanilla-bean ice cream.

Enjoy!

Salmon & Peas Bake

Made this with a big green salad for a quick & easy post-holiday dinner last night. I forgot to take photos of the meal, but the fish was tasty, so I thought it was worth sharing the recipe. This recipe came from The Big Book of Casseroles, though it's not a traditional casserole: 

Ingredients (serves 4 to 6):

1/4 cup light mayonnaise

1/2 tsp dried tarragon, crumbled

1 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 tsps fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

freshly ground pepper

3-4 salmon steaks or fillets (1 1/2 to 2 lbs total weight/750 to 1000g)

1 1/2 cups fresh peas, or frozen peas, thawed

Lemon wedges for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 425F/210C. In a small bowl, mix mayo, tarragon, parsley, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

2. Spread a thin layer of the mayo mixture on the bottom of a 6-inch x 10-inch baking dish. Add salmon. Spread remaining mayo mixture over top of salmon pieces

3. Bake, uncovered, 8 minutes. Sprinkle peas around the edge of the dish. Bake until fish flakes and peas are tender, about 6 minutes longer. Garnish with lemon wedges and serve.

Zuccato di Pannetone

I saw Jamie Oliver's pal, Italian chef Gennaro Contaldo, give out this recipe on a Christmas cooking program and it sounded divine, so I copied it down as notes (no specific recipe was given). He said that this translates to "Pumpkin of Pannetone" because it uses leftover Pannetone bread to make a pumpkin-shaped dessert. I winged it on the assembly, and it turned out great!

Ingredients (Serves 10 to 12)

1 loaf Italian Pannetone bread

1 small bag candied fruit

100g (1/2 c) dark chocolate chips

500g ricotta (2 tubs)

100g (1/2 c) whipping cream

small handful flaked/slivered almonds

small glass of rum mixed with some water or Vin Santo liquer

Sugar

Cocoa powder

1. Layer a few long sheets of clear plastic cling film inside a medium or large mixing bowl so that

the ends of the plastic extend outside the bowl by 6"-10" on either side.

2. Slice Pannetone into 1" slices and layer in bowl, starting with the bottom and overlapping, so that you have a solid layer of Pannetone around bowl edges. Drizzle rum & water mixture over dry bread.

3. In a medium bowl, mix together the ricotta, candied fruit, chocolate chips and flaked almonds. Add in some whipping cream and sugar (to taste) until the mixture is sweet and creamy, but not too liquidy. Remove 1/2 of ricotta mixture to a separate bowl. Add in some cocoa powder to reserved ricotta (start with 1 Tbsp) to give it a chocolatey taste and appearance.

4. Spoon white ricotta mixture into bottom of Pannetone 'bowl'. Add a 2nd layer of Pannetone over the ricotta and drizzle with rum mixture. Spoon cocoa ricotta mixture into bowl and add the final layer of Pannetone. Note: If your mixture doesn't go up to the top of Pannetone slices around the edge of the bowl, just peel off the extra Pannetone and add to the top layer over the ricotta cream. Sprinkle some rum mixture over the final layer of Pannetone.

5. Wrap hanging ends of plastic cling film over the top of the Pannetone until covered; press down. Top with a heavy plate or two and refrigerate overnight.

6. When ready to serve, unwrap bottom of Pannetone, then remove from bowl and turn out onto a plate, removing the remaining cling film. It should be bon-bon shaped. Sift cocoa powder over the top of the dessert and serve chilled. Alternate topping: melt 200g/6oz. dark chocolate with a knob of butter and pour over chilled Pannetone before serving.

Butternut Squash Two Ways

I had a large, 2-pound butternut squash left over from our Thanksgiving table decorations, so I decided to turn into two dishes: Butternut Squash Risotto (non-vegetarian) and Thick Lentil, Garlic & Butternut Stew (Vegetarian). The risotto was a perfect, warming, 'comfort food' meal yesterday afternoon after D and I scraped the snow off the car and went for mile-long swims at the gym pool, and I'm planning to serve the stew with some fish and lamb during the next few days.

Butternut Squash Risotto (serves 4)

taken from Martha Stewart's Living CookbookThe Original Classics

5 cups/1250 ml chicken stock (home-made or store bought)

1 lb./500g raw butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch dice (about 2 cups)

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

4oz./125g pancetta, cut into 1/2 inch dice

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 & 1/2 cups Arborio (risotto) rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

2 Tbsp roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley or tarragon

(I used a dash of dried tarragon as well as the parsley)

1. In a saucepan, combine the stock and squash; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low; let simmer (squash will not cook completely).

2. Meanwhile, warm the oil in a medium saucepan (large enough to hold the finished risotto) over medium-low heat. Add the pancetta; cook, stirring, until the fat is rendered and the pancetta is crisp, about 8-10 mins. Using a slotted spoon, remove pancetta and set aside on a paper towel to drain.

3. Add the onion and garlic to the rendered fat; cook, stirring, until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the rice, raise heat to high, and continue stirring until the edges of the rice are translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the wine; cook, stirring until the wine is absorbed, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium high; season with salt and pepper. Add about 1 cup/250ml of the hot stock and squash. Cook, stirring, until nearly all the stock is absorbed. Continue adding stock and squash, about 3/4 cup (180ml) at a time. Cook, stirring, allowing each addition to be nearly absorbed before adding the next, until rice is creamy but a little firm in the center, 20 to 25 minutes. (Some of the squash will start to disintegrate and will start to form a golden, creamy paste around the risotto). Stir in the parsley or tarragon and reserved pancetta. Serve. Note: Martha suggests topping the risotto with toasted pumpkin seeds, if desired, but I skipped this option.

Thick Lentil, Garlic & Butternut Stew (serves 4)

taken from Sonja Edridge's recipe in Waitrose's October Everyday Recipes

Note: I halved the recipe and it made 4 side dish portions

4 Tbsp mild olive oil

4 stalks celery, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

5 tomatoes, roughly chopped

200g/7oz red lentils, washed

1000g/2lbs. raw butternut squash, peeled

and cut into 3/4-inch dice (about 4 cups)

600ml (2 & 1/3 cups) vegetable stock

1. Heat a large, non-stick pan with 1 Tbsp of oil. Add the celery and cook for 4 minutes, stirring, to soften, then add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes.

2. Add the tomatoes, lentils and butternut squash. Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer, then cook for 20-25 minutes (adding a little water if necessary) until the liquid has been absorbed and the lentils are cooked.

3. Season well and spoon into bowls. Drizzle in the remaining olive oil and serve with rustic or crusty bread. Note: I cooked the stew a little longer until it was nearly the texture of mashed potatoes and plan to serve it as a side dish, rather than a meal. You may also wish to season with salt and pepper--I did.