I was very excited to get Brussels sprouts in my CSA this week, they’re one of my favorite things! You can do a lot with them- pizza toppings, shaved raw for salads, roasted and tossed with a buttermilk/lemon dressing (my favorite!) This time I thought I would try something new, so I made a quesadilla! It was very easy to make and perfect for a quick weeknight meal. I also smashed some roasted garlic into my Greek yogurt to use as a sour cream substitute to be a little healthier. Ingredients: Brussels sprouts (about 20 small/medium sized) shaved 1 large shallot, sliced Smoked mozzarella 2.5 ounces Pancetta Flour or whole wheat tortillas 1/2 cup Greek yogurt 2 large garlic cloves Salt and pepper, to taste Preheat the oven to 350 and roast the garlic until soft, about 20 minutes. Remove and smash into the Greek yogurt, set aside. Alternatively, you can mince the garlic and cook with a little olive oil in a pan and mix into the yogurt. I just love roasting it! To make the filling, add some olive oil to a pan cook the pancetta. Next add the onions and cook until translucent, about 1-2 minutes. Lastly, add the brussel sprouts and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove and set aside. In the same pan, place a tortilla and add some smoked mozzarella to one side, followed by the brussel sprout mixture. Fold the tortilla in half and let cook for about 1-2 minutes before carefully flipping and cooking for another 1-2 minutes. Repeat with other tortillas. Cut in half and serve with Greek yogurt! 
Monthly Archives: November 2014
Kale & Butternut Squash Pizza With Ricotta
Pizza is one of my favorite things to make- the toppings are endless! And there’s something special about pulling a homemade pizza out of the oven. For me, it’s important to get the crust nice and thin, otherwise you feel like you’re eating a loaf of bread with stuff on top of it. Sometimes when I am feeling ambitious I will make my own pizza dough, but on a weeknight after work I tend to just grab a ball of dough from the grocery store, or better yet, I buy some at my local pizza place for a few bucks. Once you make your own pizza you’ll never go back to the boring stuff!
Ingredients:
1 small bunch kale, roughly chopped
1/2 large butternut squash, peeled and cubed small
1/2 small red onion, chopped
3 garlic cloved, minced
1 cup fresh ricotta cheese (plus more for topping)
Parmesan cheese, for topping
4-5 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon paprika
Pizza dough, enough for (1) pizza
Salt and pepper, to taste
Olive oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the squash on a baking sheet, and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake in oven for about 20 minutes or until fork tender. Next, add some olive oil to a pan and saute the garlic and onions until translucent. Add the kale and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes.
On a floured surface, roll out the pizza dough. Place on a floured baking sheet and drizzle with a little olive oil. Spread the ricotta cheese all over the pizza, then add the kale mixture and the butternut squash. Top with some more ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper. Cook for 25 minutes or until crust is golden. In the meantime mix together the honey and paprika. Let cool for a few minutes then drizzle the spiced honey over the top of the pizza. Alternatively, you can leave on the honey on table for guests to drizzle themselves!
Mitzuna Quiche with Ham & Ricotta
I love quiche, it is so easy to make and you can really add anything you want and it’ll be delicious! I had a bag of mitzuna which I haven’t cooked with much, so I wanted to see what I could do with it. Mitzuna is a green that looks similar to arugula but has a more of a bitter, peppery taste to it. It was a little strong for me to make a salad with (unless I mixed it with other greens) so I decided to make a quiche with it, and it ended up being one of my favorite quiches I have made so far! Rather than making the usual crust I decided to use thinly sliced potatoes instead, which I loved, because potatoes and eggs are just meant to be together. I will definitely be making this again!
Ingredients:
1 large potato (or two medium) half cut the long way, and the rest sliced (see photo)
2 cups mitzuna, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 red onion, chopped
4 pieces Canadian bacon or ham (about 1 cup worth chopped)
6 eggs
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
Olive oil
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat some olive oil in a large skillet and add the long sliced potatoes, cooking until slightly golden and fork tender. Plate and repeat with the other sliced potatoes. In the same pan, saute the garlic and onion until translucent. Add the mitzuna and cook until wilted, then toss in the ham and cook until heated through. In a large bowl beat the eggs and ricotta together, then add the Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt, pepper, and lastly the mitzuna mixture.
The assemble, cover the bottom of a pie dish (which has been lightly rubbed with butter or non-stick spray) with the smaller potatoes, covering the best you can. Use the longer sliced potatoes along the edges. Pour in the egg mixture and bake for about 30-40 minutes or until the egg has set. Let cool for 5 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!
Golden Beet Ravioli With Brown Butter
There is a little restaurant in Brooklyn called Testo that I love to go to with friends. Every time we go, one of us orders the beet ravioli- it’s so delicious and has such a nice light earthy taste to it. I decided to make it at home with some golden beets that I had. I took a shortcut with the pasta and used wonton wrappers, but you can make your own dough if you have the extra time! For the sauce I just made a simple brown butter as I didn’t want the sauce to outshine the beet flavor. They came out great! I think Testo would have been proud.
Ingredients:
1 package wonton wrappers
3 golden beets, peeled and quartered
4 garlic cloves
1/3 cup walnuts
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
Parmesan cheese, for serving
Fresh parsley (optional)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the beets and garlic on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and roast for 25 minutes or until fork tender. Add the walnuts to the pan for the last 5 minutes.
Place the beets, garlic, walnuts, and ricotta in a food processor. Blend until smooth then salt and pepper, to taste. To make the raviolis, wet the perimeter of two pasta wrappers and add a spoonful of the beet mixture to the center. Place the second wrapper on top and press the edges together until sealed all the way around. Repeat until you have the desired amount of raviolis. I cut my wrappers into circles with my pasta trimmer, but you can leave them square or simply fold in half for a triangle shape!
Place the raviolis in a pot of boiling salted water. I always add a drizzle of olive oil to my water to help prevent the pasta from sticking together. Boil for about 4 minutes. In the meantime, heat 4 tablespoons of butter in a pan over medium high heat, cooking until the butter begins to turn golden brown and has a nutty fragrance. Plate the raviolis, and top with the browned butter, Parmesan cheese, and fresh parsley.
Eggs Florentine With Kale
Eggs Florentine is one of my favorite breakfast items, so when I woke up to a cold rainy morning, I decided to stay in and make it at home! It is usually made with spinach, but I used kale instead this time. I made my own hollandaise (it’s easier than you think!) but a few places sell it pre-made, like Trader Joes.
Ingredients: (serves 1)
1 cup chopped kale
1/2 small white onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 eggs, poached
1/3 cup feta cheese
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Holladaise:
2 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
Salt and pepper, to taste
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Heat some olive oil in a pan over medium heat and saute the garlic for a minute. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Next add the kale and cook until it wilts down a bit, about 5 minutes. Add the feta cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Keep on low heat until ready to plate.
Next make the hollandaise! Add about two cups of water to a pot and bring to a simmer, keep on low. Melt the butter in the microwave and set aside. In a metal mixing bowl, add the egg yolks and lemon juice, whisking vigorously until it thickens and almost doubles in size. Next, place the metal bowl on top of the pot and turn off the heat. Immediately start whisking very fast, slowly pouring in a tablespoon or so of the melted butter. Don’t stop vigorously whisking the entire time! Add a little more butter and repeat until all the butter is added. Make sure to do just a little butter at a time. Set aside and whisk in a little black pepper, cayenne, and a few sprinkles of lemon juice.
To poach the eggs, boil some water in a medium sized pot. Add about a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar (helps make them fluffy!) and pour the eggs in one at a time. Cook for about :30-:60 seconds before removing them with a slotted spoon. I usually lift them slightly out of the pot and gently poke the centers until it feels a little firm but runny in the center.
To plate, place some of the kale mixture on your toasted English muffin, then top with poached eggs and hollandaise!
the petite beet 