Monthly Archives: June 2015

Roasted Summer Vegetables With Burrata

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My sister and I had made a snap pea and burrata salad from Bon Appetit for our other sisters baby shower a few years ago, and to this day we still dream about it. It was so simple and fresh. This is a take on that recipe, but with much more vegetables and a scallion dressing!

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar snap peas, ends trimmed and strings removed
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch rounds
1 small head of broccoli
1 medium burrata cheese
1/4 cup scallions, chopped
1 lemon, juiced
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss the zucchini and broccoli in some olive oil and roast on a baking sheet until cooked through and slightly browned. While that cooks, get a pot of boiling water going, and boil the sugar snap peas for about 2-3 minutes. Remove and place in an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Once cool enough to handle, cut about half of the pea pods in half the long way, and removing a few of the peas of each.

For the dressing, blend the olive oil, lemon juice, and fresh scallions in a food processor. Salt and pepper to taste.

Add the peas to the baking sheet with the roasted zucchini and broccoli, and toss it all together. Plate and add chunks of fresh burrata cheese, then drizzle with the dressing. I also added a pinch of Malden salt as well!

 

 

Broccoli & Potato Pizza

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I’ve never made a pizza that I didn’t like, they’re fail proof! When I have the extra time I make my own dough, but for the most part I buy it at Trader Joe’s or at my local pizza place for a few bucks. The important thing is the oven temp. I like a thin pizza and cook it on the pizza stone, so I usually do it at 400 or so. But some people crank it to 425 or higher. Once you make your own pizza at home you’ll never order it again!

Ingredients:
1 pizza dough
2 garlic cloves
1 mozzarella ball, sliced
4 fingerling potatoes, sliced
1 broccoli head, chopped
1 egg
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss the sliced potatoes in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside. Turn oven up to 400 degrees. On a floured surface, roll out your dough to desired thickness. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, or use a pizza stone if you have one.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook the broccoli for 1 minute, then transfer to a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process. Next, saute the garlic in some olive oil for about a minute, making sure not to burn it! Brush the dough with the garlic olive oil, then add layers of mozzarella cheese, potato, and broccoli. Cook the pizza for 15 minutes, then remove it from the oven and crack and egg in the center. Place back in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the white is set but the yolk is still runny. Remove from oven and with a fork break the yolk so it runs a bit onto the pizza (the best part!) and serve right away. Enjoy!

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Homemade Bagels With Garlic Scape Cream Cheese

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I’ve always wanted to try making my own bagels, and it seemed easy enough, but turns out they are a bit time consuming! Mostly because you need to let the dough rise for 2+ hours throughout the process. But I will say that they are SO WORTH the 700 hours it takes to make them! I immediately ate two for “dinner” when they came out of the oven, then had another one for breakfast as soon as I woke up. This led me to the obvious choice of bringing the rest of them into the office as to avoid eating all 12 bagels over the weekend. I tried a few toppings (plain, everything, cinnamon sugar, and poppy seed) but the options are endless, so it’s fun to play around. I highly recommend making your own bagels if you have a rainy Sunday afternoon in your future!

Ingredients: (makes 12)
Adapted from Food Network

1 medium Yukon gold potato, chopped into large chunks
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 (1/4 ounce) packet active dry yeast
2 garlic scapes
Cream cheese
1 egg

Start by making the dough. In a pot of water, boil the potatoes until fork tender and reserve the water. Mash the potato in a bowl until smooth, adding bits of the reserved water as needed. Next add the honey and olive oil and mix well.

In a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, salt, and yeast. Add the potato mixture and mix on medium until the dough forms and is stiff but malleable, about 8-10 minutes. You can add bits of the reserved water here as well if the dough is too dry. Turn the dough out on a floured surface and knead by hand until the dough is smooth and bounces back when you give it a press. Add a little olive oil to a large bowl and toss the dough in it until coated with oil. Cover with a damp dish towel and set aside in a warm area until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 1/2-2 hours.

When the dough has fully risen, punch it down in the bowl (it will deflate) then roll it out into a log shape on a lightly floured surface. Cut 12 equal pieces and roll them into balls then place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Cover with a damp dish towel again and let sit for 20 minutes. Next, create a hole in the center of each bagel with your thumb and index finger, then stretch and turn the ring until you have a 2 inch center. Return them to baking sheet again and let rise for another 20 minutes under the damp cloth. In the meantime, get a large pot of boiling water going and preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

When the dough is ready, drop 1-2 bagels into the boiling water at a time. Let cook for 30 seconds on each side, then transfer to a rack to dry before placing back on the parchment lined baking sheet.

**at times the dough was hard for me to work with and got very sticky, so I simply dipped my hands in a little bit of water as I went to help manage the dough a little better. Not sure if this is a recommended method by the professionals, but it worked for me!

FINALLY, put all the bagels into the oven and cook for 10 minutes. Remove and brush with the egg wash, then top with whatever your little heart desires. Place back in the oven for another 10 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving, as they will continue to cook and fluff up on the inside during this time.

I chose to eat mine covered in garlic scape cream cheese, which I made by roasting the garlic scapes in the oven, then mixing them with the cream cheese in my food processor. For the cinnamon sugar bagel, I think my plan will be to muddle some fresh strawberries into the cream cheese! I LOVE CREAM CHEESE ANYTHING.

Vegetable Stuffed Summer Squash

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My mom has always made this summer squash gratin that I love, which uses onions, breadcrumbs, and herbs. So this was my inspiration when making this stuffed squash. Normally I would have put some crumbled sausage in there, but wasn’t in the mood for meat, so I went with an all veggie version. I would have loved to have cooked these right on the grill, but here in NYC backyard space is hard to come across – so in the oven they went! The best part of cooking this meal was having a FaceTime date with my tiny nephew while I cooked. He’s my virtual sous chef! (insert a million hearts here)

Ingredients: (serves 2)
2 summer squash, cut in half and pulp removed
1/2  yellow onion, chopped
10 baby bella mushrooms, chopped
2 cups Swiss chard, finely chopped
2 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/3 cup Italian bread crumbs
Salt and pepper, to taste
Olive oil

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large pan, sauté the garlic and onion until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the Swiss chard and mushrooms, and cook until the greens are wilted. Next add the red pepper flakes, Parmesan cheese, and bread crumbs. Salt and pepper to taste. Fill the squash “boats” with the vegetable mixture and top with extra Parmesan cheese. Place in oven for about 30 minutes or until the squash is cooked through. Plate and serve with a simple side salad. Enjoy!

 

Spring Vegetable Potato Salad

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One of my favorite things to look forward to in the warmer months is potato salad! There’s something about it that bring me back to my moms house, standing there with a fork eating it right out of the container. What’s great about potato salad is you can make it so many different ways. Warm, cold, with a mayo base, with a vinegar base, different veggies, chopped eggs – the possibilities are endless! This time I decided to fancy it up with my fresh CSA veggies and some creme fraiche. It was DELICIOUS. And as suspected, I ate most of it standing in my kitchen before actually putting it in the fridge.

Ingredients:
10 fingerling potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch rounds
1 cup green peas
1 kohlrabi, chopped into matchsticks
2 scallions, greens chopped and bulbs kept whole to roast
1/2 cup creme fraiche (or more to taste)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the cut potatoes and whole scallion bulbs on a baking sheet with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake for about 30 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown. Remove and let cool.

In a food processor, mix together the creme fraiche, lemon juice, and roasted scallions, then salt and pepper to taste. In a large bowl, toss together the potatoes, kohlrabi, peas, chopped scallions, and creme fraiche mixture. Add a little more salt and pepper as needed. Enjoy!