Meatless | I Can Cook That

Blueberry Mushroom Risotto

Blueberry Mushroom Risotto. Hear me out. I know you read the title of this post and probably thought I’ve officially lost it. But I promise you this is amazing. I first heard about this bizarre combo in a book called The Flavor Thesaurus: A Compendium of Pairings, Recipes and Ideas for the Creative Cook. This book is fantastic. It lists pairings, common and strange, to help make your cooking a bit more adventurous. I page through it all the time, and have learned some yummy pairings. But the one that has stuck out to me the most is the mushroom and blueberry combination.

Apparently northern Italy cooking commonly pairs fruit with mushrooms according to the book. Who knew? My fellow Philadelphian (and internationally known chef) Marc Vetri also has a porcini and blueberry lasagna in one of his cookbooks: Il Viaggio Di Vetri: A Culinary Journey.

So when I found myself the proud recipient of a bunch of mushrooms from To-Jo Mushrooms, I knew it was finally time to try it out. It has been a really crummy, rainy day so I was craving comfort food. Risotto is a perfect rainy day food: hearty, creamy, and absolutely delicious! I’m a huge fan of mushroom risotto so I was excited to try this spin on it. In the past, I’ve made a traditional Mushroom Risotto, as well as a Wild Mushroom Farro Risotto.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 cup shallots, sliced
3 slider mushrooms, sliced (or 2 large portobello mushrooms)
1/4 cup assorted dry mushrooms, optional (I used a mixture of morel, chanterelle, and trumpet mushrooms)
1 teaspoon salt, divided
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried sage
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
4 cups beef stock
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup fresh blueberries
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
salt and pepper, to taste

Continue reading Blueberry Mushroom Risotto

Mediterranean Chickpea Burger with Ranch Tzatziki

I am so happy that it is finally grilling weather again! There is nothing better than hanging out with friends and family in the back yard, grilling up some burgers, and playing games. Last night I was able to go to my first barbecue of the season and I couldn’t be happier about it. I look forward to many more this summer!

I am an unapologetic lover of cheeseburgers. I never get sick of them. But eating a cheeseburger, oh, once a week all summer is not a good habit at all. I’ve stayed away from veggie burgers for the most part because I was never a fan of the texture. But when MorningStar Farms contacted me about their new Veggie Mediterranean Chickpea Burger I was intrigued. There is a vegan pizza place in Philadelphia called Blackbird Pizzeria that has Chickpea Parm that I’m kind of obsessed with, so I was really looking forward to trying a chickpea burger too!

The chickpea burgers also have spinach, Roma tomatoes, and Greek herbs and spices mixed in which deliver a ton of flavor without the fat and calories. These burgers are just 110 calories per burger and have 70% less fat than ground beef.

Morningstar Farms is also giving away a prize pack valued at over $80 to one reader! I’ll have more details below!

To highlight the Mediterranean flavors in the burger, I decided to make a Tzatziki style topping and finish it off with some feta cheese. Tzatziki is normally made with a strained yogurt, cucumber, lemon, and mint. I decided to make a topping that is in the style of tzatziki but uses tomatoes and dill with a touch of a ranch dressing dry packet to really amp up the flavor.

Ingredients:

4 Morningstar Farms Mediterranean Chickpea burgers
4 hamburger buns
2/3 cup 0% fat Greek yogurt
1 plum tomato, seeded and chopped
1 lemon
1 teaspoon of Ranch dressing dry packet
1/2 teaspoon dill, plus more for garnish
feta cheese, to taste

Continue reading Mediterranean Chickpea Burger with Ranch Tzatziki

Vegetable Couscous Salad

The weather in Philadelphia decided to take a break from the cold and give us two days of summer! We hit temperatures above 80 degrees so I wanted to prepare a light meal that didn’t involve much time over a stove. This Vegetable Couscous Salad from Cooking Light is perfect for summer dinners. It also travels well, so it would be a great addition to a barbecue, just make it ahead of time and bring it with you!

Ingredients:

Dressing:

1/3 cup water
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (.6 ounce envelope Italian dressing mix) or Italian spice blend

Salad:

1 1/2 cups water
1 cup uncooked couscous
2 cups chopped red bell pepper (I used two peppers)
2 cups chopped tomato (I used two beefsteak tomatoes)
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Continue reading Vegetable Couscous Salad

Slow Cooker Marinara

Making a large batch of marinara sauce and freezing it for later use makes dinner on really hectic weeknights significantly easier. My mom used to make pots upon pots of tomato sauce during the first snow of the season which always made the house smell oh so good, especially after coming in from the cold. We haven’t had our first snow yet, but that’s not going to stop me from trying out this slow cooker marinara from Cooking Light. The sauce can be frozen and used for months.

The original recipe used fresh tomatoes but I hate peeling tomatoes and the plum tomatoes this time of year just aren’t very attractive. So I used the next best thing, canned whole peeled plum tomatoes. If it’s summer when you make this, go for the fresh ones!

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 cups chopped onion (about 2 onions)
3/4 cup sliced carrot (about 2 carrots
1/2 cup diced celery
1/4 cup minced garlic (a good dozen garlic cloves)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted tomato paste
1/2 cup dry red wine (such as cabernet sauvignon)
3 28 oz cans of Whole Peeled Plum Tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
3/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Continue reading Slow Cooker Marinara

Pasta with Wild Mushroom Sauce

Oh pasta, how I love you. Pasta, or any Italian food for that matter, is my ultimate comfort food choice. I was sent Lidia Bastianich’s newest cookbook: Lidia’s Favorite Recipes– 100 Foolproof Italian Dishes, from Basic Sauces to Irresistible Entrees, which after my first page through, I already knew would be one of my favorite cookbooks. Lidia Bastianich obviously knows her Italian dishes, she’s been in the cooking industry for most of her life; she has a number of best-selling cookbooks, owns 6 restaurants, and is basically the face of Italian cooking on PBS. I’m also happy to let you all know that I will be giving away one copy of this awesome cookbook! More on that after the recipe…

The cookbook makes Italian recipes approachable. A lot of the recipes include childhood favorites of mine, Chicken Parmigiana, Spaghetti and Meatballs, and Italian Wedding Soup. There are recipes that the photos look so fantastic I can’t wait to try them (I’m specifically talking about the rice balls. Oh. My. Goodness.)

But I had to test out the cookbook with my favorite Italian staple: a pasta dish. The Tagliatelle with Wild Mushroom Sauce sounded just wonderful. But something didn’t want me to make this recipe. My supermarket didn’t have wild mushrooms or tagliatelle! Well, the show must go on. This is my somewhat adapted version of the recipe, Pasta with Wild Mushroom Sauce.

Ingredients: (makes 6 servings)

Salt and pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, crushed and peeled
1 1/2 pounds fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, sliced and baby bella mushrooms
4 fresh sage leaves
1 cup chicken stock (or vegetable stock to make vegetarian)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 pounds fresh or dry thin pasta (spaghetti, tagliatelle, etc.)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Continue reading Pasta with Wild Mushroom Sauce

Cream of Tomato Soup

“The secret of good cooking is, first, having a love of it. … If you’re convinced that cooking is drudgery, you’re never going to be good at it, and you might as well warm up something frozen.”

– James Beard

James Beard is basically the father of American cooking as we know it today. He, along with the beloved Julia Child, is basically the “foodie” community’s version of The Beatles. As Julia Child put it, “in the beginning, there was James Beard.” So when I was offered to review a new compilation of some of his best recipes, I couldn’t wait to dig in. The cookbook, The Essential James Beard Cookbook: 450 Recipes That Shaped the Tradition of American Cooking is in stores beginning today.

The cookbook is filled with what we think of today as quintessential recipes: coleslaw, potato salad, pot roast, chicken pot pie. But James Beard’s travels through France as well as inspiration from the Chinese cooks who worked at the hotel his mother owned. Each page is filled with both new and different recipes as well as classic approaches to everyday food (ex. roasting a chicken). The editors did a great job of going through and adding notes to help enhance the recipes as well, including insight into what an ingredient is and what can be substituted.

I really had a tough time choosing a recipe to do this post. It’s really tough to pinpoint what James Beard is known for, because, well, he’s known for everything! I finally settled on his Cream of Tomato Soup recipe.

This recipe, passed down from his mother, is a classic comfort food choice. I loved the idea of making a family recipe and was intrigued by the process. (The onset of Hurricane Sandy may also have had some input into my decision.)

Ingredients:

2 28-oz cans of Italian plum tomatoes, undrained
1 cup Beef Stock
1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
2 whole cloves, smashed
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoon all purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted
2 cups heavy cream
Chopped fresh basil or fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

This recipe is adapted from James Beard’s The Essential James Beard Cookbook

Potato and Wild Mushroom Soup

This past weekend was one of my favorite September events: the Kennett Square Mushroom Festival. That’s right, an entire festival dedicated to fungi. And it’s amazing. Kennett Square’s main street (State Street) shuts down to accommodate blocks of vendors, there are cooking demonstrations, soup contests, and mushroom eating contests. There is even pumpkin mushroom ice cream. All in celebration of the mushroom. (Fun fact: Kennett Square is considered the Mushroom Capital of the world).

Naturally, I picked up a bunch of mushrooms which I will now be using to cook all week. mmm. Because today was the first “fall” feeling day, I decided to use some of the mushrooms to make a soup. I wanted to stay away from a creamy soup so I used potatoes to thicken it up. I found the inspiration for this soup in The Flavor Thesaurus by Niki Segnit (one of my favorite books for food pairings).

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 lb wild mushrooms, chopped
3 cups vegetable stock (or chicken or beef stock)
1-2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon rosemary
Salt and pepper, to taste

Continue reading Potato and Wild Mushroom Soup

Summer Lemon-Vegetable Risotto

As I hear rumblings of all things pumpkin just around the corner (yay!), I realized that my days of beautiful, fresh vegetables are numbered (boo). Which means I needed a recipe that used some of summer’s best. This risotto recipe from Cooking Light fit the bill: Asparagus, Sugar Snap Peas, Zucchini, Yellow Squash.. mmm.

Ingredients:

8 ounces asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
8 ounces sugar snap peas, trimmed and cut in half
5 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 (8-ounce) zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
1 (8-ounce) yellow squash, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
4 3/4 cups organic vegetable broth
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
1/4 cup beer (I used a pilsner)
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Continue reading Summer Lemon-Vegetable Risotto

Open-Faced Sandwiches with Mushrooms and Fried Eggs

Brunch appeals to my indecisive side: I love not having to choose between breakfast or lunch. Philadelphia is a huge brunch town so almost every weekend I have the opportunity to have an awesome brunch at a local coffee shop or restaurant. This weekend, I decided to stay home for brunch and try out this delicious sounding recipe from Cooking Light. The recipe includes mushrooms, a fried egg, tomatoes, and pesto … did they make this recipe especially for me?!

Ingredients (this makes 4 servings):

4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided (I used basil olive oil)
1 cup thinly sliced shallots, divided
3 portobello mushrooms, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
8 teaspoons refrigerated pesto (or fresh, check out my recipe here)
4 (1 1/2-ounce) slices Italian bread
2 ounces grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (about 1/2 cup)
4 large eggs
8 (1/4-inch-thick) slices beefsteak tomato
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

The wonderful people at Nudo sent me a new product on their site: the Squadra Italiana Set which includes cold press olive oil, olive oil with Sicilian chillies, and a free tin of extra virgin olive oil stone ground with fresh basil. These olive oils are absolutely wonderful on their own, to just dip breads in. But I wanted to add that extra punch of basil to this dish so I used the basil olive oil to add a little bit more flavor. Expect these tasty olive oils to show up in quite a few posts in the coming weeks. (You can get your own Squadra Italiana Set here)

If you’re making your own pesto, do that first. It takes maybe 5 minutes and tastes considerably better (at least I think so).

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add 2 teaspoons olive oil to the pan and swirl to coat. Add 2/3 cup shallots and cook for 3 minutes.

Add the chopped mushrooms and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the wine, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, scraping the pan to loosen up the brown bits. Cook for 2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, stirring occasionally. Remove the mushroom mixture from the pan and keep warm. Preheat your broiler.

Return the pan to medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon oil to the pan, swirling to coat. Add the remaining 1/3 cup shallots and saute for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from pan and keep warm.

Spread 2 teaspoons pesto over one side of each bread slice. Top each slice with 2 tablespoons cheese.

Broil for 2 minutes and set aside.

Return the pan to medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil to the pan and swirl to coat. Crack the eggs into the pan and cook until whites set, about 4 minutes.

Boy did I botch this egg. Oh well, it will still taste good!

Top each bread slice with 2 tomato slices.

Divide the mushroom mixture evenly among the bread slices. Top each serving with 1 egg. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon pepper, shallots and basil.

This is quite the meal!

I loved the meatiness of the mushrooms which went so well with the egg. Tomatoes are in season right now so they were absolutely perfect in this dish. And my pesto was pretty darn good if I do say so myself 🙂 This meal, although it’s called a “sandwich” definitely required a fork and knife, and even then got a bit messy. But that’s part of the fun!

Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes and Garlic

This week is my favorite week of the summer: I received my first batch of tomatoes from my CSA. I love tomatoes oh so much (if you haven’t figured that out with all my posts including tomatoes as an ingredient). As a kid, I used to eat them whole, dipping them in ranch dressing. Not much has changed, except now I choose to dip them in hummus instead. Although I do love a good fresh, juicy tomato, there is something wonderful about a cooked tomato. Cooking Light‘s latest issue was (as usual) on point with a lovely, simple pasta recipe that includes tomatoes, garlic, basil … and not much else.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon kosher salt
8 ounces uncooked fettuccine
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 pints multicolored tomatoes (I used cherry/grape tomatoes)
5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, shaved
1/4 cup small basil leaves

Continue reading Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes and Garlic

TIP #2 for T-fal’s Healthy Summer Challenge, Meatless (One)day

Have you ever heard of Meatless Monday? It’s a campaign that began in 2003 encouraging people to cut out meat from their Monday meals. Monday was chosen as a way to start your week off more healthy. I am a big fan of Meatless Monday in general but I find it difficult to reserve one day a week specifically to go meatless. I prefer a much more flexible approach, where I try to cut meat out of three meals within my week.

The point of Meatless Monday is to eat a healthy meal as a substitute, adding a little more vegetables or whole grains to your diet instead of always making protein the star of the meal. I am by no means a vegetarian, and honestly never will be. But Americans in general tend to consume way too much protein. According to meatlessmonday.com, “going meatless once a week may reduce your risk of chronic preventable conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity.”

It’s honestly pretty darn easy to do once you make a mental note to try it out. I have plenty of meatless options on my blog to help get you started. Some of my favorites include (in no particular order):

Black bean tostadas with salsa and avocado

Black Bean Soup with Orange Jalapeno Salsa

Ratatouille

Beet Risotto

Chunky Vegetarian Chili

Creamy Spring Pasta

Zucchini Fusilli

Hummus and Vegetable Pizza

If you are in need of more inspiration, one of my favorite vegetarian cookbooks is Herbivoracious. (Michael Natkin, the author, also has a pretty snazzy blog. Check it out here.) Michael’s recipes are truly wonderful (the black bean soup above is one of his) so be sure to pop over to see them.

Do you already participate in Meatless Monday? What is your favorite meatless meal to prepare?

Beet Risotto

I love the taste of beets, but preparing them is so time consuming that I tend to avoid buying them. Most recipes involving beets require you to roast the beets and then peel them. I came across a recipe for beet risotto in Food and Wine that just cooked the beets on the stove top in significantly less time. This risotto recipe is supposed to turn a beautiful red color from the beets. I didn’t get the same bright red color but I still love how it looks!

Ingredients:

3 cups chicken stock or water
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped
2 large beets peeled and finely chopped, plus thinly sliced beets for garnish
1 cup arborio rice
2 ounces young pecorino cheese, freshly grated
1 teaspoon poppy seeds, plus more for garnish

Continue reading Beet Risotto

Butternut Squash Agnolotti with Toasted Hazelnut Cream Sauce

What is it about nuts that go so wonderfully with pumpkin and butternut squash dishes? Walnuts, pecans, and hazelnuts just pair so nicely with the flavors of squash. When I first received Buitoni’s Butternut Squash Agnolotti, I knew I wanted to make a hazelnut cream sauce with it. Hazelnuts, like most nuts, taste significantly better when toasted. I have no idea why this is, but I feel the need to always heat nuts for a little while to increase the flavor.

Ingredients:

1 package of Buitoni’s Butternut Squash Agnolotti
1/2 cup hazelnuts, blanched
1 stick of butter
1/4 cup sweet vermouth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
a pinch each of ginger, allspice, and nutmeg (1/8 teaspoon or less)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Sage leaves, for garnish

Continue reading Butternut Squash Agnolotti with Toasted Hazelnut Cream Sauce

Butternut Squash Agnolotti Pasta Salad with Walnuts, Golden Raisins, and Snow Peas

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you might have picked up on my obsession with pumpkin and butternut squash. I attempt to limit my gourd intake to the September and October months, but every now and then I still need my fix outside of those months. Butternut squash seems to be more socially acceptable, especially in pasta form. Buitoni’s Butternut Squash Agnolotti is the perfect way for me to have this delicious ingredient year-round.

Agnolotti is just a type of ravioli. This specific agnolotti is a “half-moon pasta filled with oven-roasted butternut squash, Impastata Ricotta, aged Parmesan and Grana Padano cheeses, accented with amoretti cookie crumbs. I traditionally use a brown butter sage sauce with butternut squash ravioli because they are a perfect pair. I wanted to try something a little different with this agnolotti, so I instead made a cold pasta salad. It has been so unbearably hot in Philadelphia that I thought this would be a perfect (and timely) twist.Also, don’t forget to enter my giveaway to win a bunch of Buitoni goodies and free Buitoni pasta!

Ingredients:

1 package of Buitoni’s Butternut Squash Agnolotti
½ cup butter
1 shallot, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves, roughly chopped
½ cup walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
A handful of golden raisins, or to taste
1 cup snow peas
The juice of one lemon
Salt and pepper, to taste

Continue reading Butternut Squash Agnolotti Pasta Salad with Walnuts, Golden Raisins, and Snow Peas

Chilled Creamy Cucumber Soup

Cucumbers are everywhere right now, and as much as I love just eating them raw, I thought it might be a nice change to try to use them cooked. Cucumber soup, chilled, sounds oh so refreshing doesn’t it? I found this recipe for Chilled Creamy Cucumber Soup from Eating Well. It uses an avocado and some plain yogurt, making a really creamy delicious soup. Plus, it only takes 35 minutes to make (it is additional time to chill).

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, diced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 cups peeled, seeded and thinly sliced cucumbers, divided
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth, or reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 avocado, diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
1/2 cup low-fat plain Greek yogurt

Begin by prepping all your ingredients. Mince the garlic, dice the onion, peel, seed, and slice the cucumber, and dice your avocado. (I added a squeeze of lemon juice over the avocado to keep it from browning).

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add your onion and garlic to the pot, stirring occasionally. Cook for 4 minutes.

Add the lemon juice and cook for another minute. Add the cucumber, broth, salt, pepper, and cayenne (optional) and bring to a simmer.

Reduce heat and simmer for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the cucumbers are soft.

Add thesoupto a blender (be careful), removing the center of the top of the blender. Add the avocado and parsley.

Place a paper towel over the open hole before blending. Blend on low until smooth. (I just do all of this in the pot using an immersion blender, I find it less hazardous hehe).

If you want to eat the soup hot, pour into a serving bowl and stir in the yogurt. Top with cucumber slices and garnish with parsley. If chilling the soup, refrigerate for at least one hour, then stir in the yogurt and garnish before serving.

The soup is smooth, a little tangy from the Greek yogurt, and ends with a slight hint of spice. I like mixing in the parsley and chopped cucumbers into the soup to give it some texture.

I love what I call “after work recipes.” I can make this when I get home and can eat before 8 pm. For an even more refreshing soup, try substituting mint or dill for the parsley.