27 posts tagged “sage”
Lisa of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice happily inaugurated the first Daring Cooks challenge, and they have chosen a ricotta gnocchi recipe from the stunning cookbook by Judy Rodgers, named after her restaurant, The Zuni Café Cookbook. Now I have never made gnocchi before this challenge. Isa has a potato gnocchi recipe in VwaV, but I never tried it, because we don't like the potato-dough ball combo. But the light and delicate ricotta gncchi is completely another story.
To make the vegan ricotta gnocchi, I followed the instructions by Shellyfish of Musings From The Fishbowl. I made one recipe of the classic Tofu Ricotta (recipe on PPK) but used 7 cloves of garlic to have a garlicky flavor and also added a little bit of rubbed sage. The tofu ricotta was made 24 hours in advance and sat in the fridge to allow the flavors to take hold.
To serve the gnocchi, I made the simple butter sauce in the original recipe. I find it very satisfying and goes extremely well with the garlicky ricotta gnocchi.
For the gnocchi sauce:
8 tablespoons (227 grams/1/4 pound/4 ounces) butter, sliced
2 teaspoons water
When the gnocchi float to the top, you can start your sauce while you wait for them to finish cooking.
Place the skillet over medium heat and melt the butter. Swirl it gently a few times as it melts. As soon as it melts and is incorporated with the water, turn off the heat. Your gnocchi should be cooked by now.
A side note: I have still been settling into my new kitchen and all the stuff in it. So more cooking and baking will come shortly, I hope.
Mixed Vegetable and Tofu Bake
(Makes 4 large servings)
What you need:
Veggie Mix:
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced or finely chopped
1/2 large green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 large yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups mixed gourmet mushrooms (baby bellas, chanterelle, shiitake mushrooms)
1 cup green beans, ends discarded and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. Italian herb seasoning
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
2 cups water-packed artichokes, or roasted artichokes packed in oil, drained well and roughly chopped
3 large tomatoes, seeded and diced
Tofu Mix:
1 pound extra firm tofu, drained
1/4 cup plain soy milk
1/4 cup vegetable broth
1 Tbsp. tahini
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. sea salt (or to taste)
Healthy dose fresh cracked black pepper
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
What you do:
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Saute the garlic, peppers, mushrooms, and green beans for about 12-14 minutes until the mushrooms have released some juice and green beans a bit softer. Add the herbs and continue to cook for a minute. Add artichokes and tomatoes and mix well. Cook for 3-4 minutes. When done, remove from heat and set aside.
In a food processor, blend smoothly all the ingredients for the Tofu Mix. When done, mix this mixture with the Veggie Mix very well. Taste to adjust the seasoning.
Pour the mixture into an oiled casserole dish and bake for 40-45 minutes until slightly brown on the edges and on top. It should be rather firm. Cool for at least 20 minutes before digging in. Serve warm.
Crustless Asparagus and Potato Quiche (Vegan)
Adapted quite a bit from this recipe by Johanna of Green Gourmet Giraffe
(Makes 4 servings)
3 small potatoes, diced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2/3 cup carrot, grated
5-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp. Italian herb seasoning
1 tsp. dried dill weeds
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 block extra-firm tofu
1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. plain soy milk
1 1/2 Tbsp. sesame tahini
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat the oven at 350F.
1. Simmer diced potatoes for 15 minutes until soft. Drain, and set aside.
2. Sauté carrots, garlic, spring onion, and asparagus (except for the reserved spears) for 6-7 minutes. Add the herbs and mix well. Cook for one more minute. Remove from heat, and set aside.
3. Blanch the reserved asparagus spears in boiling water for 15 seconds.
4. In a food processor, add everything from tofu to salt and pepper, and blend very well.
5. Mix the cooked potatoes, sautéed vegetables, and tofu mix in a large mixing bowl. Combine well.
6. Pour everything into an oiled 9-inch cake pan or a flan dish. Arrange asparagus spears on top of the mixture with cut ends in center and heads at the edge to create a star or spokes pattern.
Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes. It is cooked when golden brown on top and firm to touch. Serve warm.
I have planned to make a rather bland but nourishing soup out of potatoes, but before I knew it, I completely cut potatoes out of the equation, and I was determined to somehow make polenta a star of the show this time, not in the deep-frying pan. So this is how the recipe came about.
Polenta Minestrone
(Makes 4 servings)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
8-9 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 cup carrots, cut into matchsticks or finely diced
1 1/2 cups portobello mushrooms, sliced
2 tsp. Italian herb seasoning
1 tsp. dried basil
Half (6-oz.) can tomato paste
1 cup organic vegetable broth
3 cups water
2 cups tomatoes, finely diced and juice reserved
1 tube store-bought polenta, cubed
2 tsp. dried parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
1. Saute onion, garlic, celery, carrots, and mushrooms over medium heat in a large pot for 9-10 minutes until onions and celery soften and turn translucent.
2. Add Italian herb seasoning, basil, and tomato paste and mix well. Cook for 2 minutes.
3. Pour in the vegetable broth and water. Add tomatoes and polenta. Turn to boil and lower heat to simmer. Simmer for 25 minutes.
4. Turn off heat. Add parsley, salt and pepper. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
Notes:
1. I used half a can of tomato paste because I really wanted a very tomato-y soup, but you can easily use from 2 teaspoons of that to any amount you feel like.
2. If you don't like polenta, feel free to use potatoes, like I originally planned. It will be great too. Though the creamy polenta cubes do lend a very pleasant texture to the soup overall.
3. The herb mix can be easily adjusted to suit different tastes and moods. Fresh herbs will be great.
I am submitting this soup to Souper Sundays, an excellent event started and hosted by Deb of Kahakai Kitchen. If you are interested in sharing your soup recipes with other soup lovers, please see here for more details.
First of all, a big "Happy Birthday" to Presto Pasta Nights for turning two tomorrow! I sadly missed the previous four weeks because of the work, but I was in time for the big Two-Year Birthday Bash. Without any further ado, here is our pasta dish - it really is my hubby's invention. He makes really tasty pastas within 10-15 minutes.
We're all so used to having a ready-made spaghetti sauce from a jar and generally when we use fresh tomatoes, we are accustomed to cooking them into a mush. We happen not to like over-cooked tomatoes. Tomatoes, when gently cooked, already turn slightly acidic, which is not good for the body if consumed in a large quantity. Over-cooked tomatoes are far worse. Why not preserve most of the freshness and goodness of the juicy tomatoes and enjoy our meals more that way?
Fresh Tomato Spinach Pasta
(Makes 2-3 large servings)
5-6 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
7-8 large cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
4-5 tomatoes, carefully diced, seeds discarded and juice reserved
5 tsp. freeze-dried chives
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. sweet paprika
1/2 tsp. dried sage
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 1/2 cups mashed pinto beans (cooked or canned)
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
Salt and pepper to taste
10 cups fresh spinach
Sunflower seeds for garnish
1. Saute garlic in oil over low-medium heat for about 5-6 minutes until garlic is golden. Take care not to burn garlic.
2. Add all herbs and mix well. Cook for 1 minute.
3. Add tomatoes and the preserved juice thoroughly mix. Cook for 2 minutes or to desired softness.
4. Mix in the mashed beans and heat through.
5. Remove from heat. Mix in nutritional yeast and salt and pepper. Adjust spices according to your own preferences.
6. Cook pasta al dante, according to the package instructions. We used kamut spirals (9 minutes). In the last 30 seconds, throw in fresh spinach and heat through only. Drain very well and press lightly with a wooden spetula, especially because cooked spinach locks in a lot of water.
7. Mix in the cooked sauce and thoroughly combine. Plate, and sprinkle with some sunflower seeds on top as garnish.
Enjoy!
I'm sending this pasta dish to Presto Pasta Nights, a great event started by Ruth of Once Upon A Feast and she will hosting the coming Two-Year Birthday Bash tomorrow.
I have seen many people make these banana sour cream pancakes by Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa Family Style). One of them is Rebecca of Ezra Pound Cake. Her pancake photo looks really gorgeous, so I tried her version of these pancakes today. A great recipe with great results. I simply skipped eggs and used agave nectar instead of the sugar. I had to add more milk to the batter but everything turned out fabulously delicious. Nothing beats a stack of pancakes with melting butter and pure maple syrup, at least when you really crave for some warm pancakes.
I also tried baking my chickpea cutlets in Veganomicon this time. I would have to admit that I liked the fried version a little more. But it was still worth one try.
