…Archive for the ‘recipes’ Category…
Onion Flatbread
Friday, February 10th, 2012
Have you not told me about the wonder that is fennel seeds?!? Seriously. Shame on you.
They make everything taste like sausage. Now, we all know I’m not a big meat eater, but I do love me some spicy sausage. And now, I can add fennel seeds to EVERYTHING to give it that lovely sausage-y taste. That is what you call “winning”, folks.
I had a couple friends over the other day and was looking for an appetizer I’ve never tried before. Naturally, I gravitated towards Smitten Kitchen and found this amazing onion tart with mustard and fennel seeds recipe. It’s a bit time-consuming but I had most of the ingredients in my pantry so it was low-cost. The only thing I needed to buy was onions to supplement the stash my mom had generously given me 
Smitten Kitchen’s recipe called for 3 pounds of onions but I had no idea how much that actually was and also couldn’t be bothered with looking it up so I ended up with an enormous amount of onions. FYI – 1 1/2 large onions would do the trick.
Here’s Deb’s recipe:
Ingredients:
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (a 1/4-ounce package)
1/2 cup warm water (105 to 115°F)
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
3 pound yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
2tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Directions:
Stir together yeast and warm water in a small bowl and let stand until foamy, about 7 minutes. (You’re supposed to start over if it doesn’t foam, but for whatever reason, my yeast never does! And I buy new packets all the time! Curious, curious)
Put 1 1/2 cups flour in a medium bowl, then make a well in center of flour and add yeast mixture to well.
Stir together egg, 1 tablespoon oil, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt with a fork. Add egg mixture to yeast mixture and mix with a wooden spoon, gradually adding flour, until a soft dough forms. Transfer dough to a floured surface and knead, working in additional flour (up to 1/4 cup) as necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
Transfer dough to an oiled bowl and turn to coat completely. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. I put mine on top of the radiator. Is that safe?
Again, my dough never really doubles, maybe grows 50%, but I’m too impatient to wait longer than an hour and a half. It’s probably because the yeast didn’t foam but I figure, it all tastes the same anyway. I’ve made this recipe twice now, and it’s been delicious both times, and both times, the dough didn’t rise much…
While dough “rises”, you’re going to want to slice up your onions VERY thinly. Again, don’t be fooled by this picture. You only need half of the onions shown here. Unless you’re a huge onion lover, then you can pile it on 
You know what helps when you’re slicing up onions for 10 minutes?
Lord of the Rings.
Heat the remaining 1/3 cup oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, then sauté fennel seeds until a shade darker, about 30 seconds. It’s going to get lovely and toasty!
Stir in onions, remaining teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, then reduce heat to medium-low and cover onions directly with a sheet of parchment paper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are very tender and golden brown, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.
The first time I made it, I waited until the onions looked like the above picture and put it on the bread. But the second time around, I carmelized them (the heat was medium-high) and while it basically tasted the same, it looked much better. So, you can do either but I wanted to throw it out there.
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Pat out dough on a large heavy baking sheet into a 15- by 12-inch rectangle, then brush mustard evenly over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border around edge. Spread onions evenly over mustard, then sprinkle evenly with cheese.
Bake until the crust is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.
Cut into manage-able pieces and consume!
Again, I loved this recipe so much, I made it the following week. It’s a great accompaniment to salads and it’s DELICIOUS cold. But, I’m someone who enjoys cold pizza, so maybe you’ll not want to eat it that way.
Smitten Kitchen calls this a “tart” but it’s really more of a pizza. But again, maybe it’s because my yeast didn’t foam and it’s actually not how it’s supposed to be… I should change the post name to… “What you get when the yeast doesn’t foam.”
Okay, I’m done writing.
Quinoa Patties
Wednesday, February 8th, 2012
I’ve been ranting and raving about these quinoa patties to anyone who has crossed my path in the last 2 weeks so I’m FINALLY putting the recipe up Quinoa is one of my favorite foods because not only is it versatile but it’s uber-nutritious. It’s a complete protein, high in fiber, and gluten free.
The only drawback to quinoa is that it can have a bitter taste if you don’t rinse it enough – and because they’re so tiny, you can’t just rinse it in a sieve. I usually put a paper towel inside the sieve and rinse and drain it that way. It’ll probably take a few minutes to do that, but SO worth it.
These patties are great hot or cold. I tried it with several condiments but I found that they’re best on it’s own – especially if you use a really quality parmesan or pecorino romano cheese. Yum.
Ingredients: (makes 6-7 small patties)
1 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
3/4 cups chopped scallions
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1 Tablespoon ground flax seeds
1/2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
Mix the quinoa, eggs, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the scallions, cheese, breadcrumbs, and flaxseeds and let stand for a few minutes.
Form the mixture into little patties about 1 inch thick (squeeze really tight!). If you find that the mixture is too wet to form, just add some more breadcrumbs or flaxseeds and water if the mixture is too dry.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the patties and cook until the bottoms are brown and flip – about 7-10 minutes on each side.
That’s it!
You can eat these with a cooked vegetable side or with a salad. Last night I made roasted broccoli for the first time and I’m pretty sure I’m in love. Why had I not made it before?!?! Anyway, my point is, this would be great with roasted broccoli
It’s great to bring for lunch because it doesn’t have to be re-heated but I did think they were best right out of the skillet.
Enjoy!
Barbeque Beans
Monday, January 30th, 2012
This is hardly a recipe but it’s one of my favorites, so I thought I would share. I know I’ve said this before but I love cannellini beans because they take the flavor of whatever you’re seasoning it with and also it’s so soft and buttery. YUM.
Since I don’t eat a lot of meat but LOVE barbeque sauce, I often eat cannellini beans sauted with sauce. It’s also really cheap and easy to put together and great with some veggies. Next time you’re strapped for time, give this a try!
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 can cannellini beans
1/3 cup barbeque sauce
Directions:
Heat up oil in pan on medium-high heat. Add beans and let them get a little color and crust on it.
Add barbeque sauce and enjoy!
It’s great with some veggies and sweet potato fries
I’m getting hungry just looking at this picture, although I realize it’s not going to look appetizing to most of you… Trust me, it’s delish.
