Archive | main courses RSS feed for this section

Gateau des Crepes

14 Jul

I got this recipe idea from a Martha Stewart’s magazine… since I saw it, I have been meaning to make it myself.

We got together a few friends from my French group to celebrate la Fête de la Bastille – France’s  National Holiday – and it seemed only fitting to make one of this gateau to celebrate.

I modified the recipe a bit to make it more vegetarian – particularly made spelt crepes without any eggs.  The results are fabulous and extremely delicious.  The filling is basically the same exact filling as the mixture we made for our Spinach Croquetas, but added some gruyere cheese to make it more French and decadent.

GATEAU DES CREPES

½ medium onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, smashed lightly
2 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
2 tbs spelt flour
2 cups plain soy milk
2 ounces of cream cheese (optional)
1 ½ cups Gruyere cheese, grated and reserving ¼ cup for garnish
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 cups frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
12 egg-free Spelt Crepes
 
  1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the butter and olive oil.  When the butter has melted, add the chopped onion and the 2 smashed garlic cloves.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook until the onions cook and look translucent.
  2. Take out the garlic clove pieces.  Add the spelt flour to the onion mixture and stir to become a paste.  Cook the paste moving it around for a few minutes to make sure there will not be raw flour taste later on.
  3. Slowly add the soymilk to the flour/onion paste and whisk it all while adding the milk.  The sauce will thicken once the mixture boils a few minutes. 
  4. After the sauce has thickened, take off from the heat and add the cream cheese, gruyere cheese.   Mix well together to make sure the cheeses melt.  Take out about ¼ cup of white sauce and place it aside.  Add the dried spinach.  Mix well to incorporate the spinach well into the sauce.  Set aside.  The sauce will thicken while standing, and this is a good thing.
  5. After the spinach sauce has cooled, we’ll assemble the crepe stack…
  6. Pre-heat oven to 450F.
  7. On a rimmed buttered baking sheet, place one crepe.  Slather with about 1 tbs of spinach sauce until almost the edges.  Place another crepe on top, slather again with spinach sauce.  Repeat this same thing 11 times and finish off the gateau with the 12th crepe. 
  9. Top the last crepe with about 2tbs of the reserved white sauce.  Place the reserved gruyere cheese on top.
  10.        
  11. Place gateau on the oven for 10-15 minutes until the cheeses melt and create a golden lovely top.

 

Allow the gateau des crepes to cool off a bit before slicing into wedges, just like any other cake.  I served this alongside a green salad with a mustard vinaigrette.

 

 

When I made this, the oven was not fully at 450F and the gateau slid out of place and the filling spilled a bit out into the baking sheet.  I have asked if someone else had this same issue, but no replies so far.  I think the oven was too cool still and instead of just heating the filling and making the top golden, it just melted the cheese all over again.  Maybe using the broiler would be a better alternative.

The next few times I have used my leftover crepes, I have rolled them up and served them individual style.  This makes more sense to eat alone or for just two people… and it’s just as delicious.

Tags: , , ,

Brandad-Stuffed Piquillo Peppers

7 Jul

Today, July 7, the Fiestas de San Fermín start – the festival celebrating the patron saint of Pamplona, Spain.  Every year, from July 7 until the 14, Spain gets up early to watch 5 bulls run through the streets of Pamplona when thousands of people are running in their way.  I do not condone or agree with the Corridas de Toros, at all.  But the Encierros is sort of the “revenge of the bulls”, IMHO.

zezenburu_gcabecera_logo

I can’t believe it’s been 3 years since my last trip to Spain.  I believe that I was Spaniard in some other life… because I love the country, the food, the people…  last year, I took this opportunity to showcase a few Spanish recipes made the vegetarian way.  I enjoyed it so much that decided to do it all over again…

Bacalao, or salted cod fish,  is something I used to enjoy a lot before I went vegetarian, but I have found that frozen tuno can be molded and seasoned into tasting like many types of seafood dishes.  One of them being brandad – a mixture traditionally made with bacalao and potatoes.

Here is how I did it…

 

BRANDAD-STUFFED PIQUILLO PEPPERS

6 roasted piquillo peppers
½ cup of Tuno Antipasto recipe
2 medium-sized russet potatoes, boiled
A drizzle of olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

 

  1. In a medium-sized bowl, mash the potatoes well using a potato masher.  Mix together the Tuno Antipasto and season with salt and pepper.  Drizzle a bit of olive oil to give it added gloss.
  2. Take the roasted peppers and carefully stuff them using a small spoon.  Place them in a shallow gratin dish and drizzle again with a little olive oil.
  3. Roast in a 400F oven for about 15 minutes until the peppers dry a bit and the filling is warmed up.

 

Serve alongside a green salad for a light supper or by itself as a tapa.  They’re super easy to make and very filling.

Jonathan loved this dish and he didn’t even suspect it had soy tuna in it… the flavors are so good, he just gobbled them up.  That’s the way to introduce your omnivore friends to your vegetarian cooking – don’t tell them all the ingredients before tasting anything.  People are prejudiced if you tell them of any soy product substitutes.  Have them taste the food first, and after they’re in love with it, reveal the details, if you want to…

Viva España and enjoy the next few days of San Fermín and Spanish recipes, OLÉ!!

Tags: , ,

Eggplant Milanese

3 Jul

I have to be in the mood to eat eggplant…  I like it, but I have to be in the mood for it.  However, I am ALWAYS in the mood for fried eggplant.  It could be the Latin in me that gravitates to anything fried.  But that’s the truth…

Ever since my friend Tania returned from her first trip to Paraguay, she and I have both been in love with her fried eggplants.  She always saves me a batch every time she makes them at home. When she makes them at the yoga center, they’re the only thing on my plate.

She learned them from a woman in our yoga center there, in Coronel Oviedo in Paraguay. And on that side of the world, they call MILANESAS anything that is breaded and fried.  Talk to any Argentinean, Chilean, Uruguayan, etc. and they’ll call milanesa what I called growing up empanadas… and the most common thing to “empanar” was a chopped steak.  Now that we’re vegetarians, we need to “empanizar” something else… and these Eggplants Milanese are truly SOMETHING ELSE!!!

 

EGGPLANT MILANESE

3 small eggplants, I like to pick the lightest eggplants possible = less seeds
3 tbs of tamari 
1 tbs ume plum vinegar
About 1 tbs  + 1 tsp of garlic and herbs seasoning, divided
2 cloves of garlic, minced finely
3 cups of cornstarch
¼ cup of milk
3 cups of quick-cooking oats, ground as finely as possible in a food processor
Canola Oil for frying

 

  1. Peel and slice the eggplants using a mandolin slicer.
  2. Place eggplant slices in a glass container and season with tamari sauce, vinegar, minced garlic and 1 tbs of the garlic and herbs seasoning.  I drizzle the tamari over the eggplant slices little by little using a measuring spoon and massage the slices to cover – like giving the eggplant some color.  It may seem like there’s not enough tamari to season, but the salt in it will allow the eggplants to purge and the end product will be a lot of water in the bottom of your glass container.
  4. Cover the container and marinate the eggplants in this mixture for at least 2 hours.
  5.  After the marinating time has elapsed, prepare a breading station using 3 containers, 2 larger and 1 smaller one.  In the first larger one place the cornstarch, in the second smaller hand place the milk and season with the 1tsp of remaining garlic and herbs seasoning. 
  7.  And in the third larger container, place the ground oatmeal.  Also, set a cookie sheet covered with foil or parchment paper to set the eggplants after breading.
  8. And using your right hand for the dry stuff and your left hand for the wet stuff (hey, I’m a righty, but you can switch if it works better for you), we start to bread…  take an eggplant with your right hand and place in cornstarch to coat.  With your left hand pick it up and dunk into seasoned milk.  Place it in the oatmeal dish with that same hand.  With your right hand, cover the eggplant with more oatmeal and pat the oatmeal so it sticks to the eggplant well.  After wards, press on the eggplant to make sure the oatmeal breading sticks well.  Place on the cookie sheet waiting for it to be fried.  Repeat the process until all eggplant slices have been breaded.

Here you have 3 options:

  • Store in plastic freezer bags for frying at a later time – you can store these in the fridge for about a week or in the freezer for about 3 months.  Mine never last that long there.

To Store:

Place a piece of parchment or even wax paper in the plastic freezer bag. Place as many breaded eggplant slices as you can in a single layer, without any overlaps or touching.  Place another piece of paper and keep on stacking.  I can usually make three layers of eggplant per bag.  Store in fridge or freezer flat so the eggplants retain their shape.

 

  • Fry away to eat immediately – following we’ll show you plating and serving ideas for this
  • Fry away to eat in another dish tomorrow – I’ll share this in a later post we’ll call Eggplant Gratin…

For Frying: 

  1.  
    1. Just take a small skillet with about ¼ inch of canola oil.  Bring to temperature for frying, which I usually measure by inserting the end of a wooden spoon in the oil and making sure there are bubbles around the spoon.
    2. Place a few slices of eggplant in and fry a few minutes on both sides until golden.  These eggplants are sliced so thin you don’t need to cook them for a long time.  If you fry them until they’re light brown, usually they’re be too cooked on the inside.  So err on the side of caution and not let it go too far.
    4. Take them out of the oil and place them onto a plate covered with paper towels to absorb all the excess oil.  Allow them to cool off a bit before serving.

 

I love serving these next to a nice garden salad with a few wedges of lime, or even a yellow lemon.  I learned to eat empanadas with lime or criollo lemons and to me they cut a bit some of the greasiness of the frying.  These are crispy, crunchy and kind of creamy inside.  They’re awesome…

I have also used them in sandwiches, in pastelones and shortly you’ll see my take on an Eggplant Gratin dish…  really tasty.

Tags: , ,

Simpler Popeye Pizza

21 Jun

This Popeye Pizza has become a real pizza staple flavor in my house… even for my friend Annie Mariel, this is our go-to pizza flavor we prepare at home now.  It’s the perfect midnight snack… 😉

But I have never made this pizza recipe for anyone at the yoga center, so I thought it would be a perfect flavor to enter into the Pizza Contest we were having a few weekends ago.  I would just have to simplify it that same way we had simplified it for our midnight snack raids – because at 2AM, I am no fan of taking out 3 different cheeses and grate by hand  to make pizza.  Here is my simplified version with no compromising on taste…

SIMPLER POPEYE PIZZA

1 flatbread
A handful of Italian Cheese blend of shredded cheeses
Parmesan Cheese, grated – hey ,I buy it pre-grated and sometimes I use the green can too…
A super mound of baby spinach, about 2-3 handfuls
Salt and Pepper to taste
A drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

 

  1. Pre-heat your toaster oven to 450F.
  2. Place the flatbread on a cookie sheet…  I use the small cookie sheet from my toaster oven.
  3. And top with the topping in this order – first place the Italian cheese blend, enough to cover the bottom of the flatbread. Then sprinkle the parmesan cheese.  Top with the mounds of fresh baby spinach.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and finish with a small drizzle of olive oil.   
  4. Place in oven for about 5-10 minutes, until most of the spinach wilts and the cheese on the borders gets some golden brown flecks.
  5. Slice it and enjoy. 

 

I love this pizza, Annie Mariel loves it, Jonathan loves it, my mom loves it…  I am telling you it’s a real hit.  And after a night of partying 😉   – it really hits the spot…

 

 

Do you think I could have won with this Popeye Pizza at the Pizza Contest??    I wouldn’t doubt it…

Tags: , , ,

Pizza Rosa – my take on a classic from Pizzeria Bianco

16 Jun

I am a pizza fan and I love to find new interesting flavors for my pizzas…  When I was watching an episode of The Best Thing I Ever Ate on Pizzas, I learned about the Pizza Rosa from Pizzeria Bianco.  It sounded strange and delicious too…

I have heard of Bianco before – on TV, from Martha Stewart… but Pizzeria Bianco is in Phoenix, Arizona and I have no plans to visit Phoenix anytime soon.  So the only way to try the flavors of this pizza is making it myself.  And the ingredients were not so foreign to me – red onions, parmeggiano reggiano cheese, rosemary and PISTACHIOS?!?!?!  Yep, Arizona pistachios to be exact.  Well, my pistachios would have to be from Walgreens, but I was intrigued nonetheless on how this would turn out.

My take on PIZZA ROSA from Pizzeria Bianco

1 flat bread or store-bought pizza dough round
Red onions, thinly sliced using a mandoline in the thinnest setting
Pistachios, shelled and ground in a food processor
Pecorino romano cheese, grated
Italian Cheese blend of shredded cheeses
Fresh Rosemary needles, chopped finely

 

  1. Pre-heat your toaster oven to 450F.
  2. Place the flatbread on a cookie sheet…  I use the small cookie sheet from my toaster oven.
  3. And top with the topping in this order – first place a small amount of the Italian cheese blend (about a small handful), then spread the onions, then the pistachios, then a light shower of the freshly grated pecorino romano cheese and finish off with a sprinkling of rosemary.  My fresh rosemary has dried in the fridge so I just crumbled it with my fingers.
  5. Place in oven for about 5-10 minutes, until the cheese on top gets some golden brown flecks.
  6. Take out and wait about 1 minute for the cheese to set, slice it and enjoy. 

You will make this pizza time and time again.  The pistachios are an unexpected ingredient, but they work with the onions and cheese.  Now I know why it was on the Best Thing I Ever Ate list…

Do you think I could have won the pizza contest with this Pizza Rosa???  I think so…

Tags: , , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →