30 posts tagged “mushrooms”
Let me first get a favor out of the way because I am selfish like that. ;) Remember those savory crepes with mushroom and goat cheese filling I made? I would really appreciate if you voted for them on the Ile de France site (and by voting, I mean rating them highly at the bottom of this page right here). If I win first (which doesn't look terribly promising right now, but as with voting of any type, I remain cautiously optimistic), I will be giving away a gift card on my blog, so there could be something in it for you, too! I think there is something a little...strange...going on with the voting right now but you didn't hear it from me. Someone may have to demand a recount!
Now that I've finished campaigning for your vote, let me share with you one of our staple meals. This meal was probably the second or third entry ever in this blog, but I had no picture (and, well, no readers) so I thought I would share it again. This is pretty much a chicken piccata, but without capers and with mushrooms. OK, so it's not really piccata but it's close enough.
I used to really dislike capers, which is why I started making this dish sans capers. I have to say that, now, I actually like capers but I never really think to buy them and this dish is pretty standard in our household so it's been left untouched. Tom and I like mushrooms. A lot. So we use a half pound for just the two of us. Normal people would probably use that for 4 chicken breasts. We are not normal and would probably be even happier using an entire pound.
To add a little oomph to my orzo, I stirred in some pesto (again, from the freezer. I cannot emphasize the greatness of freezing pesto in cubes enough), which was a great complement to the lemony chicken.
Chicken with Lemon Mushroom Sauce
Serves 2
2 Tbsp. flour
small sprig of thyme, chopped, or about 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
2 chicken breast halves
1/2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 lb. sliced cremini mushrooms
1 small shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup lemon juice (about one lemon)
1/4 cup chicken broth
salt and pepper
Season the flour with the thyme and salt and pepper. Lightly dredge the chicken in the flour mixture. Heat a heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat and add the butter and oil. Add the chicken and cook through, about 4-5 minutes per side. Set aside and keep warm.
To the pan, add the mushrooms and shallot and saute until the shallot is transparent. Add the garlic and cook an additional 30-60 seconds.
Add the wine to the pan, and as it's reducing, start scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in the lemon juice and chicken broth and reduce the mixture by about half.
Nutritional information (for a 4.5 oz chicken breast half): Calories: 270 / Fat: 8.2g / Saturated fat: 2.7g / Carbs: 11.8g / Fiber: 1g / Protein: 32.5
UPDATE: Vote for this recipe here!
A couple months ago, I received some camembert cheese from Ile de France (and you can see what I did with it here). It was delicious, so when I got asked to try another Ile de France cheese, I was on board. This time I went with goat cheese. I'd put goat cheese as one of my top 2 cheeses (the other being smoked gouda). It has a great taste, a nice tang, and a wonderful texture.
This Ile de France goat cheese is no different. It has a great tang that is not overpowering and it just melts in your mouth. The nice thing about logs of goat cheese is that when you cut pieces off to use in a recipe, you will inevitably have some crumbles that you can snack on as you cook dinner. :)
This cheese is great on its own and it's great in meals. Case in point: these savory crepes. I wanted to make something that had minimal ingredients to really showcase the cheese. I love goat cheese with mushrooms, so I went that route. I thought of making phyllo triangles or a tart but I ultimately ended on crepes because though I love crepes, I've never made them. I admit I was a little worried about tackling crepes. I am really terrible at flipping (anything) and my stove is very unlevel. But, these were so easy to make! I only had one crepe casualty and that's just because I was getting too cocky with how easily they were turning out for me, and decided to multitask.
Since I only used about half the goat cheese in this recipe, I was also able to use it in this farro bake, and one of our staple meals - chicken with goat cheese & sundried tomato sauce. All were delicious. Thanks, Ile de France!
Savory Mushroom and Goat Cheese Crepes with Balsamic Reduction
Makes about 12 filled crepes
Rosemary Crepes
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup AP flour
3 eggs
pinch of salt
a few grinds of pepper
1 cup milk (I used skim)
2 Tbsp. butter, melted and cooled
1 Tbsp. fresh chopped rosemary
additional oil or butter for greasing the pan (may or may not be necessary)
Put all the crepe ingredients together in a blender and pulse to combine. Pour the mixture into a bowl (this will make it easier to get the batter into the pan later), cover & refrigerate for one hour.
Heat an 8" nonstick pan or crepe pan over medium heat. I just used a little olive oil spray in my pan to make sure the crepes didn't stick but since there is melted butter in the batter you may not even need it.
Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to make your crepes. Fill the measuring cup about 3/4 of the way with batter and then add the batter to the pan. Tilt the pan around so the batter fully covers the bottom in a thin layer. Cook for about a minute and then once set, flip. Cook for another 40 seconds or so.
Mushroom and Goat Cheese Filling
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 shallot, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 lbs. assorted mushrooms (cremini, oyster, shiitake, etc.)
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
1/3 cup dry white wine or sherry
5.5 oz. Isle de France goat cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Heat the butter and oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the shallot, sauteing until translucent. Stir in the mushrooms, garlic and thyme. Reduce heat to low. Cook over low heat until the mushrooms have released their moisture, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Increase the heat to medium/medium high and add the wine. Deglaze the bottom of the pan and let the wine cook off until nearly all is evaporated. Season to taste. Off the heat, stir in the goat cheese. Add the filling to the crepes, roll them up, and place them seam side down (alternatively you could just spoon the mushroom mixture into the crepes and crumble goat cheese on top instead of stirring it in).
Balsamic Reduction
1 cup good quality aged balsamic vinegar
1 sprig rosemary
Bring the balsamic vinegar and rosemary to a slight boil over medium heat. Continue to boil lightly until the mixture has thickened, reduced, and become syrupy. Drizzle over filled crepes.
I've been wanting to try farro for quite a while now but my Whole Foods always seems to be out of it. I finally found some the other day (when I was there for something entirely different of course. It is a fact you cannot leave WF with less than 5 items. I have tried. Many times.), so I picked it up.
I had actually planned on making some sort of chicken/spinach/whole wheat pasta bake last night because I wanted to make something that would yield leftovers for lunches. But, I was not feeling pasta at all and, silly me, I ate a chicken pasta for lunch. D'oh. So for the last half hour of work, my mind kept wandering to what I could make tonight. I still wanted something one-dish that would yield leftovers. And then I remembered the farro. And THEN, I realized that farro ended in an O which meant I could submit this over to Jenn, Sara, and Michelle, who are hosting O Foods for Ovarian Cancer Awareness. Phew. I was racking my brain trying to think of something to make for this over the weekend with what I had on hand and came up with nada. So I was pretty happy to discover something on accident, since I really wanted to participate in this event. More details about Ovarian Cancer Awareness at the end of this post.
Now, I have never cooked with farro before so I'm not sure about the whole soaking thing. Some websites called for soaking the farro in cold water for 8 hours or more before baking. Other recipes just had you jump right into the boiling. I decided to soak the farro for about 45 minutes. Seemed to work just fine.
There is a very small amount of chicken in this recipe which is great for people trying to eat less meat, or simply cut down on costs. Of course, you can always add more chicken if you are not one of those people. Or, take it out entirely and make this a great vegetarian meal. I might add an extra egg or a little more cheese next time for added creaminess, but otherwise this was very tasty and filling. And wait till you see the nutritional information. You definitely won't feel bad adding an extra egg or some cheese if you want. :)
I really liked the farro. I would say it's very similar to barley in both taste and texture, but it's still a nice change of pace. I will probably stick with barley and other grains, though, because, while this is a whole grain, it is lower in fiber and protein than barley.
Farro Bake
Serves 6
1 cup farro (soaked or not. whatev.)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lb. sliced mushrooms
1 chicken breast (about 8-10 oz.), cooked and shredded
a couple dashes crushed red pepper
1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
1/3 cup sundried tomatoes, drained and chopped
10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess water
3 oz. goat cheese, softened
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp. grated parmesan or romano cheese
salt and pepper
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and add the farro. Cook until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion until translucent, and then add the mushrooms and garlic. Add a little salt and pepper and cook until the mushrooms have browned and lost most of their moisture. Stir in the chicken, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper to taste, and Italian seasoning and cook a few extra minutes to marry the flavors. Stir in the sundried tomatoes.
Preheat the oven to 375. Whisk the goat cheese and eggs together in a large bowl. Add a couple grinds of pepper. Allow the farro and chicken mixture to cool slightly before adding them both to the goat cheese mixture. Combine well and then pour into a casserole dish or pie pan that is lightly greased. Sprinkle with the romano cheese. Bake for about 35 minutes.
Nutritional Information Per Serving - Calories: 267 / Fat: 8.8 / Saturated: 3.6 / Carbs: 29g / Protein: 21.2g
O Foods for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. In honor of Gina DePalma, author of Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen and Executive Pastry Chef of Babbo Ristorante in NYC, who was recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer, Sara of Ms Adventures in Italy, Jenn of The Leftover Queen, and Michelle of Bleeding Espresso are asking you to donate to the:
and then, out of the goodness of your hearts and to be eligible for the OFoods for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month Contest, please do the following:
- Post a recipe to your blog using a food that starts or ends with the letter O (e.g., oatmeal, orange, okra, octopus, olive, onion, potato, tomato) and include this entire text box in the post;
OR
- If you’re not into the recipe thing, simply post this entire text box in a post on your blog to help spread the word about the event and Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.
AND
- Then send your post url [along with a photo (100 x 100) if you’ve made a recipe] to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com by 11:59 pm (Italy time) on September 30, 2008.
We will post a roundup and announce prize winners on October 3.
Prizes:
- 1 Recipe Prize for best “O food” concoction: $50 gift certificate to Amazon;
- 1 Awareness Prize for only publicizing event: Copy of Dolce Italiano cookbook.
———
From the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund:
- Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers in the United States and is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women; a woman’s lifetime risk of ovarian cancer is 1 in 67.
- The American Cancer Society estimates that 21,650 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the U.S. in 2008 and about 15,520 women will die from the disease.
- The symptoms of ovarian cancer are often vague and subtle, making it difficult to diagnose. There is no effective screening test for ovarian cancer but there are tests which can detect ovarian cancer when patients are at high risk or have early symptoms.
- In spite of this patients are usually diagnosed in advanced stages and only 45% survive longer than five years. Only 19% of cases are caught before the cancer has spread beyond the ovary to the pelvic region.
- When ovarian cancer is detected and treated early on, the five-year survival rate is greater than 92%.
Please donate to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund
and help spread the word!
Here's another meal we had...oh, about a week ago...that I'm just now getting around to blogging. I had never made pan-fried polenta at home, so I decided to give it a shot. I just can't seem to remember to set the polenta up early enough, so making this on a weekend worked well for me (but of course you can also make the polenta the night before). Rather than the standard parmesan, I decided to make my polenta with some myzithra--a very popular Greek cheese that also happens to be one of my favorites. Of course can substitute any kind of cheese you'd like, if you don't keep myzithra in your fridge like me. :)
Now, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but the husband and I love mushrooms. I think half my produce budget is dedicated to fungus. I decided to go out on a limb here and make a mushroom ragout. The limb was not so much the mushrooms or the ragout, but the lack of meat in a dinner. What can I say? We eat a lot of (lean) meat, but I've been thinking lately about trying to cut down on a bit. Mushrooms are nice and meaty in texture so it's a great way to do so.
This was a nice, comforting dish that tasted great. My only issue was that I meant to dredge the polenta wedges in a little flour--both for a better crust and to make sure they stayed together well--and I totally forgot. They still turned out great; though, just maybe not as pretty.
This meal serves 2.
Pan-Fried Polenta with Myzithra
1/2 Tbsp. butter
2 cloves garlic
1 small sprig thyme (leaves only)
1 1/4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
.5 cups milk
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup myzithra cheese
flour for dredging (optional)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper
In a medium sized sauce pan, melt the butter and then add the garlic and thyme, cooking until the garlic is fragrant. Add the chicken broth and milk and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and slowly start to add the corn meal, whisking constantly. Continue cooking the cornmeal over low heat, whisking, until thickened for about 5 minutes. Take the polenta off the heat, and stir in the myzithra (or romano or parmesan or whatever you want). Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Pour the mixture into a small baking dish (I lined mine with foil for easy removal/clean up). Refrigerate until firm, a few hours or overnight.
Cut the polenta into slices or wedges. If desired, dredge in flour. Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet and once hot, add the polenta to the skillet, browning on both sides.
Mushroom Ragout
1 Tbsp. butter
1 large shallot, diced, or about 1/4 cup diced onions
2 sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 lb. wild/assorted mushrooms (I used cremini, shiitake and yellow oyster)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup wine (I like marsala or red with beef broth, dry white for chicken or veg..it's really your call)
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/2 cup broth (any kind you want)
salt and pepper
Heat the butter over medium heat and add the shallot and thyme, cooking until the shallots are just translucent. Stir in the mushrooms, bay and garlic. Cook for about a minute or two, and then put a lid on the pot and reduce heat to low. Cook over low heat until the mushrooms have released most of their moisture and have browned, about 20-30 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Add the wine and bay leaf. Increase the heat and cook until the wine has evaporated almot completely. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for about a minute before adding in the broth. Continue to simmer until the mixture has thickened to the consistency you want. Season to taste.
I have been absolutely exhausted lately. I've been busy at home and on the weekends, and I've been working at a different office (that takes longer to get to/from) during the week. I've been neglecting blogs (including my own!) and emails, and I apologize.
Normally I have some sort of rambling at the beginning of my posts but today you're getting just the food! No rambling (for those of you who bother to even read my rambling, that is).
We had these chops last week so I can only hope that I got the measurements right because it's been a while. But, if I were to make these from scratch today this is how I would make them so I assume this is how I made them last week :) As you know, I am a smoked gouda fanatic and while it lends itself to many dishes and flavors, I think smoked gouda pairs best with pork. And when you add caramelized onions, mushrooms and thyme, the complementary flavors only enhance. Enjoy!
Pork Chops with Smoked Gouda, Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms
Serves 2
2 pork chops
1 oz. shredded or sliced smoked gouda
1 tsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. butter
1 yellow or vidalia onion, cut in half and sliced
2 sprigs thyme
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbsp. dry sherry or marsala
1/3 cup beef broth
salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 350. Slice a pocket into each pork chop and fill it with the gouda. Season the chops with salt and pepper. Heat an ovenproof skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Sear the pork chops for about a minute per side, just to brown them. Move the chops to a baking dish and cook in the oven until just slightly underdone.
Meanwhile, melt the butter to the skillet in which you pan-fried the chops, over low heat. Stir in the onions and thyme and cook over low heat until golden brown, stirring occasionally--about 15 minutes. Add the garlic and the mushrooms and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
Increase the heat to medium high and add the sherry. Scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan and cook until the sherry is almost completely evaporated, a couple minutes. Stir in the broth and cook it for another couple minutes to reduce it, slightly, too. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the pork chops back into the skillet, spooning the onions and sauce over them. Place the skillet in the oven for about 5 minutes or until the pork chops have cooked and the sauce has thickened slightly.
I'm a bit of a Kashi fanatic. At about 10:50 nearly every weekday morning, I eat a Kashi granola bar. I love the TLC crackers and I especially love the party crackers. Go Lean Crunch with fruit and Greek yogurt is a fantasic snack. Even the frozen dinners are good, and I hate most frozen dinners (though it's rare for me to buy a Kashi dinner because they are really expensive). The only thing I haven't really been enamored with are the cookies, but then, who wants a healthy cookie? If I am going to eat a packaged cookie, sign me up for Oreos or Girl Scout cookies.
I'm sure you already know, but Kashi products all contain their 7 whole grain blend, plus sesame seeds. One of my favorite Kashi products is the pilaf--the 7 grains in their simplest form. "Pilaf" is a little misleading because you'd think it had some sort of flavoring in it, but it doesn't. It's just the grains. I love it but for some reason, I have a really hard time finding it. It's been ages since we've had it and when I finally saw it in the store the other day, I knew I had to pick up a box.
Like rice or any other grain, you can jazz Kashi pilaf up any way you want, of course. I will say that I increase both the cooking time and the amount of liquid slightly from the box instructions. I don't think brown rice can cook in 25 minutes. At any rate, this application of the pilaf was basically just to use up some swiss chard and mushrooms that were on the verge of going bad. Combined with the sage and the nuttiness of the pilaf, this is a really earthy, yummy side.
Kashi Pilaf
Serves 4
1 Tbsp. butter
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 envelope (1 cup) Kashi pilaf
2.5 cups (scant) chicken broth or vegetable broth
2 cups swiss chard, coarsely chopped
3 Tbsp. fresh sage, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Stir in the garlic and mushrooms and cook an aditional 2 minutes or so, so they mushrooms begin to lose their moisture. Stir in the pilaf and coat it with the butter.
Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes or until the grains are just about cooked. Stir in the swiss chard and finish cooking, uncovered, an additional couple minutes until the grains are tender and the chard has wilted. Stir in the sage and salt & pepper to taste, if necessary.
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Ruth over at Once Upon a Feast has been hosting Presto Pasta Nights for a whole year now. Thanks, Ruth! I really wanted to participate in this week's roundup--the big PPN birthday--so hopefully I am not too late!
Speaking of events, for those of you who have posted your entry to Eat to the Beat, thanks for participating! I have seen some really delicious and really creative things. If you haven't emailed me your info, please do that. I am using my emails to do the round-up so I don't want to accidentally forget anyone. If you emailed me your info and you didn't hear back from me that either means I didn't get your email or I did, but you didn't get mine. The interwebs is crazy like that! So either way, please email me again. Thanks!
Anywho, like any "presto" kind of dish, this meal came together with ingredients I always manage to have on hand (OK, I did have a minor panic attack on Monday when I made pizzas and realized, to my horror, that I was out of goat cheese but I have since remedied that situation). It's a dish that's easy to prepare but definitely not lacking in flavor. The goat cheese gives this pasta a creamy consistency (and makes it a pretty color!) and is a *little* better for you than heavy cream. Plus, it just gives that little tang of extra flavor. I'm really glad I made enough to take leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
Penne with Goat Cheese-Tomato Sauce (and peas, mushrooms, and chicken sausage...)
Serves 4
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 (4-5 oz) hot Italian sausages, casings removed (I use chicken sausage)
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/4 tsp. (or to taste) crushed red pepper flakes
a few tbsp of wine or broth (not necessary but it's good for deglazing)
1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup frozen peas
3 Tbsp. fresh basil (more for garnish if desired)
1 small (4oz) log goat cheese
salt and pepper
10-12 oz. penne, cooked
Heat a large skillet or saute pan over medium heat, and add the olive oil. When shimmering, crumble in the sausage and saute until browned. Add the onion and saute for about 2 minutes before adding the mushrooms and garlic. Once the mushrooms and onions are tender, add the tomato paste and red pepper flakes. Cook for about a minute before adding a few splashes of broth/wine to deglaze the pan and scrape up all the browned bits.
Add the crushed tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer to combine the flavors, 10 or 15 minutes. Add the peas and heat through for a minute or two. Stir in the basil and the goat cheese. Remove from the heat and continue stirring until the goat cheese has melted into the sauce. Season to taste if necessary and combine with the cooked pasta.
I had every intention of making lasagna rolls yesterday. Aren't these supposed to be the "easier" alternative to lasagna? Me thinks not. I boiled my noodles to al dente (with some oil so that they wouldn't stick together), stirred them around as they cooked. Guess what? Half the noodles stuck together. When I tried to pry them apart from one another, I ended up with some interesting noodle shapes, definitely not suitable for the pretty lasagna rolls I had envisioned.
So, onto Plan B. A regular ol' lasagna (with the torn pieces hidden in the middle layer, of course). I decided to make a healthier-than-usual lasagna, and it turned out really well, even if it wasn't as pretty to photograph as rolls would have been. I wanted to make a vodka sauce with this, but I was out of cream, and after the noodle fiasco, I just decided to use some jarred sauce. I'm just going to say this is pretty healthful and leave it at that (without posting nutritional information), since so many things can vary that based on what you use. I personally used 9 whole wheat lasagna noodles, 2% mozzarella (full fat goat & romano cheeses) and about half a jar of jarred pasta sauce. I cut my lasagna into 6 servings, at 370 calories a piece.
Whole Wheat Chicken Lasagna
1/2 box whole wheat lasagna noodles; cooked al dente (this could vary based on size of the noodles; mine were shorter than regular)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. chicken, cooked and shredded or diced
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
oregano and basil, to taste
8 oz. cremini mushrooms, chopped
2 cups fresh spinach, coarsley chopped
4 oz. (1 small log) goat cheese
1 egg, beaten
1.5 cups pasta sauce
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup shredded or grated romano cheese
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 375.
Heat a large pan over medium heat and add olive oil until shimmering. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook until tender. Stir in the cooked chicken, garlic, oregano, basil and salt and pepper to taste. Add the spinach and saute for a few minutes to develop the flavors and wilt the spinach. Put the mixture into a bowl and cool slightly. Stir in the goat cheese and then the beaten egg.
Spray a baking dish with some cooking oil and then pour about 1/2 cup of pasta sauce over the bottom. Layer 1/3 of the noodles over the sauce, and then pour half the chicken mixture over the noodles. Repeat layering (sauce, noodles, chicken). Add a final layer of noodles, followed by the last 1/2 cup of sauce. Top with the shredded mozzarella and parmesan. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly.
On Saturday, Tom and I ventured outside in the freezing cold. It turns out this was not the best idea for me since I tend to fall when there is even a tiny bit of ice out, and there was more than a tiny bit on Saturday. Ah, it was a sight to see; me clinging for dear life to the fences along the sidewalk. But I still fell. Sigh. Luckily, it was for a good cause because we were headed to the meat market to buy something for dinner. I debated between lamb and veal and eventually landed on veal stew meat because it sounded good and it was much more cost effective (not that this mattered, of course, because we bought other things and ended up spending too much, anyway).
I debated between a veal stew or some sort of veal pasta sauce and landed somewhere in between, with what I guess I could (and will) call a veal ragout. The meat stewed for an hour so it was extremely tender and stew-like, and then I added some small pasta (ditalini) in at the end, so it was a great one-pot meal and extremely comforting on a blistering cold Saturday.
Ragout of Veal with Ditalini
Serves about 4
3-4 slices bacon, chopped
1 lb. veal, trimmed and cut into 1" pieces
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. mushrooms, quartered
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/3 cup marsala wine
1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1 bay leaf
2 cups ditalini pasta
3 cups fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
salt and pepper
Heat a pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chopped bacon and cook until it begins to crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Pour off all but 1 Tbsp. of the bacon fat.
Season the veal with salt and pepper. Add to the dutch oven and brown on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and saute until the garlic is fragrant, about one minute.
Add the marsala to the dutch oven and cook until it's reduced by half. Stir in the mushrooms, chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, thyme, marjoam, bay leaf, and salt and pepper. Bring to a light boil and then add the veal back in. Cover and simmer for an hour (or as long as you want).
Stir in the ditalini and cook, uncovered, until most of the liquid has been absorbed and the pasta is cooked. During the last 2 or 3 minutes of cooking, stir in the spinach so that it wilts. Add the bacon back in to warm through.
I love risotto but I don't make it too often because I try to limit my intake of "whites" and, well, I'm pretty sure that whole grain risotto doesn't exist. Even if it did, it would be an abomination! I've been wanting to try Giada's dirty risotto for a while now because it's a very hearty risotto, fit for a main course serving. Since it has a protein, veggies and a starch it's pretty much a meal in itself...but I did pair our dinner tonight with a baby spinach salad.
I did adapt the recipe (of course). I bulked up the veggies and the sausage a little bit, but used chicken sausage to lighten it up. I'm pretty certain you can find leaner chicken sausage but the spicy Italian from Trader Joe's I had on hand (which is SO good) was 190 calories a link. I added garlic, too (a Giada recipe without garlic? Almost as preposterous as an Elly recipe without it!). I was a little nervous about adding this into SparkPeople. Even with my modifications I thought it was going to be a calorie bomb. But, it's really not that bad at around 450 calories. It is slightly high in fat, but you can modify that by using leaner sausage, something in place of the pancetta, etc.
Tom and I both really liked this dish. I mean, what's not to like about a creamy, comforting meal like this? Definitely one to make again.
Dirty Risotto
adapted from Giada De Laurentiis
Serves 2
2 cups chicken broth
2 tsp. butter
1 link (4 oz.) spicy Italian chicken sausage, casing removed
1 oz. pancetta, chopped
1 small onion, diced
1 red pepper, chopped
4 oz. mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup arborio rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup pecorino romano
Add the chicken broth to a small saucepan and bring to a light simmer. Keep it on the stove, simmering, as you prepare the risotto.
Over medium heat, melt the butter in a large pan. Add the chicken sausage, crumbling it as you stir it in, and the pancetta and cook for a few minutes until browned. Add the onions, red pepper and mushrooms. Saute for a few minutes before adding the minced garlic. Continue cooking until the vegetables are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Add the rice and stir to coat, "toasting" it a little. Add the wine and cook it off until it's almost completely evaporated.
Add a ladel of the simmering chicken broth to the pan and stir continiously until almost absorbed. Continue adding chicken broth by the ladel, every time the rice has nearly absorbed it, until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite. Remove from heat and stir in the romano.
Nutritional Information, Per Serving, using Trader Joe's Spicy Italian Chicken Sausage: Calories: 451.5 / Fat: 19.5g / Carbs: 39.5g / Dietary Fiber: 2g / Protein: 24.8g
