Tag Archives: parmesan cheese

Eggless Potato Soufflé

22 Jul

Purists out there will lynch me… I know this is not a traditional egg-based potato soufflé, but it sure rises in the oven just like a soufflé does. I believe it’s the power of mashing and whipping the potatoes by hand that gives them that airy and fluffy consistency. Even though they have lots of cheese, they still feel light and airy.

This is a nice twist to a regular mashed potato dish… hope you enjoy it too.

 

EGGLESS POTATO SOUFFLÉ

3 large russet potatoes, scrubbed, peeled and cubed
¼ onion, grated finely
1 ½ cups ricotta cheese
½ cup sour cream
4 tbs melted butter
Salt and Pepper to taste
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
Olive oil Spray
  1. In a medium saucepan, place the potatoes with water going about ¾ of the way up the potatoes. Do not cover them completely with water, I find they cook faster with less water. Salt the water generously. Boil the potatoes until fork tender.
  2. Drain the cooked potatoes and return them to the same hot saucepan and add the grated onion, ricotta, sour cream, butter. Mash until the potatoes and mix-ins are fully incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste. I sometimes add a little bit of olive oil… but only sometimes if I feel the mixture is too dry.
  3. Pre-heat oven to 350F.
  4. Take a 9” x 11” glass baking dish and spray with cooking spray. I sprinkle the parmesan cheese on the baking dish and shake it around so the parmesan sticks to the spray in the pan creating a coating. If there is any excess parmesan cheese, add it to the mashed potatoes.
  5. Pour the mashed potatoes onto the baking dish. Smooth out the top and sprinkle some additional parmesan cheese on top.
  6. Bake for about 30 minutes for the cheeses to fully blend and melt into the potatoes. You’ll see how the potatoes will fluff up just like a soufflé does…

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Asparagus Tart

29 Oct

I have been staying with my sister in Southern Florida during the arrival of my first nephew… and I decided to make a bunch of recipes that could be quite challenging or expensive to make in Puerto Rico – challenging because not all ingredients are readily available anywhere, and when you finally find the ingredients you need they’re not as fresh as you would like or are very expensive to just try out a recipe.

 Such is the case with this tart… I had seen a version of this recipe a few years ago and now I said it was time to try it out. But of course, I can’t seem to follow a recipe to a “T”. I couldn’t remember where I had read this before or the specifics on all the ingredients.

 So I had to start all over again with a recipe all my own. I think I may need to thank Martha or someone else at the Food Network for the inspiration…

 

ASPARAGUS TART

 

 1 package puffed pastry, thawed in the refrigerator for about 3-4 hours
 1 package of thin asparagus, trimmed of the woodsy part in the bottom
 About ¾ cup of Parmesan cheese
 About 4 oz of goat cheese
 Garlic Salt and Pepper
 Olive Oil
 Some spelt or whole wheat pastry flour to roll out the pastry

 

  1.  Preheat oven to 425F.
  2. Open up each sheet of puff pastry and with a little flour stretch it just a bit… enough to kind of erase the creases but not that much that the pastry sheet would not fit the baking tray you have.
  3. Using a paring knife, score a ½ inch border around the pastry sheet but be careful not to cut through the pastry.
  4. Prick the inside of the pastry using a fork. Prick especially the corners to make sure the inside will not puff up when cooked in the oven. Make sure the border you created is not pricked… you want the outside border to puff up.
  6. Scatter Parmesan cheese on the pricked portion of the pastry. Sprinkle it evenly all over the bottom. Start placing asparagus one next to the other, tips facing out and alternating one tip towards the right and the next tip towards the left. You just want to make it look pretty… no matter how you place the asparagus, it’ taste good all the same, so no worries.
  7. After you create a whole layer of asparagus on top of the pastry, sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper. Drizzle some olive oil on top. Afterwards, place dollops of goat cheese on top of asparagus.
  11. Bake in oven for about 25 minutes… or until the edges are puffed up and look golden brown.

 

I made this recipe the other day for my sister, brother in law, uncle, my sister’s mother-in-law, mom… everyone was impressed. The flavors are spectacular. Even my uncle who is super quiet said I graduated myself in the kitchen – he’s not used to tasting my cooking at all. My sister’s mother-in-law was so pleased she told me she wanted to learn how to make it to replicate it again at home.

This will definitely become part of my repertoire for when people come over to visit… or even to impress my next boyfriend.

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