Saturday, January 17, 2009

What's for dinner (tons of recipes!)

Kyrie's great post about food inspired me so much that I decided to write one myself!


This is an old photo of Aïsha and JF!

Here are some of our favorite recipes!

Shrimp and pesto pizza

Corn tortillas or Azim bread (we like Que pasa)
uncooked shrimps in pieces (could be replaced by cooked salmon)
pesto and olive oil (mix of half and half to spread on tortillas)
Thin slices of onion
Capers
Raw cheddar grated

Cook 10 min at 400 F


Merguez and goat cheese pizza

Corn tortillas or Azim bread
Tomato sauce (or simply crushed tomatoes)
Uncooked merguez (or other good organic sausages) in pieces
Thin slices of onion
Goat cheese
Raw cheddar cheese grated
A few drops of maple syrup

Cook 10 min at 400 F

And really, any toppings will do! The girls love to make their own pizzas!



I made my own gluten-free and dairy-free version (delicious crust made out of sprouted sunflowers and pumpkin seeds, crispy almonds, nutritional yeast, 1 egg, some spices and butter).




Oven Roasted Kale

Wash kale and roughly chop

Place in a bowl and toss with olive oil to coat; add salt and pepper
to taste. If desired, you can also add a dash of tamari.

Place on a baking sheet in a pre-heated 400F oven and roast for
10 mins or until edges of leaves become crisp. You can also broil them 3-4 minutes to make them more crispy, but stay nearby, they burn quickly!

Remove from oven and enjoy.


Good old liver and bacon with a twist (from Jamie Oliver)

Serves 4

12 slices of bacon (nitrite-free, of course!)
some butter
a small handful of fresh sage leaves
1 lb 6 oz calves’ or lambs’ liver, trimmed of sinews and cut into strips
flour to dust
2 medium onions, peeled and finely sliced
sea salt and black pepper
4 T. red or white wine vinegar
4 heaping tablespoons of butter

Get a big iron cast frying pan nice and hot. Add bacon, cook until crispy on both sides. Remove to a plate. Add butter to the bacon fat in the pan, sprinkle in sage leaves and cook for 30 sec. Remove and put with bacon.

Dust your liver in a little flour, shake off the excess. Put aside. Add onions to the pan with a good pinch of salt. Cook a few minutes, remove when softened. Heat up the pan once more with a drizzle of olive oil, add liver and cook in two batches over really high heat for a minute on each side to caramelize and seal in the flavor (don’t overcook, leave it a little pink). Then put the onion, sage and bacon back in the pan with the vinegar, butter and liver. It will sizzle and split, becoming creamy and saucy. Season to taste, and serve with buttery mashed potato with loads of jarred creamed horseradish. You can also add a little heavy cream or crème fraîche to make the mash nice and oozy.

Enjoy! This is a very NT recipe!


Eggplant, feta, spinach and gound beef dish

1 big eggplant
Juice of half a lemon
1 ½ c. feta cheese, diced
1 c.grated raw cheddar
2 bags of baby spinach
ground beef

Peel eggplant and slice. Put on large cutting board or cookie sheet, salt and let stand for 30 min to let the water out. After 30 min, absorb the water with some Scott Towel.

In the meantime, heat butter in a large pan and cook the ground beef. Add salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Boil a bit of water at the bottom of a big saucepan and when it is boiling, throw the spinach in, put the lid on and let wilt 3 minutes.

In a large rectangular baking dish, put a layer of sliced eggplant, the beef, the feta, the spinach and another layer of sliced eggplant. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top.

Bake 35-40 min at 350 F.


Alyss' Kefir Bread Empanadas

This is a great recipe from a moderator of the DiscussingNT yahoo group.

Makes 8 individual sized turnovers kefir bread (appox 2 pints of kefir with enough flour to make a dough, see recipe below)
1/2 pound of ground beef
1/2 an onion, chopped
cumin and chile powder
salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 tbs tomato paste and 1tbs water
approx 1 cup mashed potatoes (leftovers.. seasoned with salt and pepper, butter and cream, etc)
a little bit of shredded cheddar cheese

Fry up ground beef, breaking it up as it cooks. Season with salt and pepper. When it is almost cooked through add onion, chile and cumin. When onion is soft add garlic and cook for another minutes. Add tomato paste and water, stir to combine.
Combine meat mixture with potatoes. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Divide the dough into tennis ball sized lumps and stretch/roll dough into approximately 4 inch rounds.
Place a small mound of filling in the dough (use less than you think you would need, and make sure the filling isn't too hot when you are filling the turnovers) and top with a little grated cheese. Fold dough over to make a half circle and crimp edges. Place turnovers on oiled cookie sheet. (I did the filling on a floured board to make sure the dough didn't stick and rip)
Preheat oven to 350 and let turnovers have a final rise for about 20 minutes. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, or until the dough is cooked and browned top and bottom.


Kefir flat bread

Ingredients
• 250 g/ 1 3/4 cup/ 9 oz unbleached white bread flour
• about 3/4 cup kefir
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon clarified butter (ghee) or butter
Oven at 220ºC, 425º F, gas mark 7.

The day before add enough kefir to your flour in order to make a nice kneading bread dough. Do not forget the salt. Knead until the dough is elastic and smooth. Place in a bowl, cover with cling film and leave overnight in a warm place. I leave mine in the airing cupboard. Next day, when the dough is well risen and before it collapses, knock it down and divide into little lumps. I usually made 16 little ones, but you can make bigger ones if you like. Stretch them out by hand so that the dough is about 1/2 cm thick. Place on a well oiled tray dusted with maize meal, cover with oiled cling film and leave in a warm place for about half an hour or until risen. Before baking, gently brush the tops with the melted fat of your choice as this gives the bread an extra touch of luxury. Bake for about 5 to 8 minutes or until they have coloured a bit. Watch out that they don't get toasted, this bread should be soft. Serve at once or keep wrapped in a cloth until needed.
These little flat buns don't keep that well. However you can revive them, by sprinkling with water and placing them in a hot oven or grill, just for a few minutes. You can, before baking, sprinkle the buttered tops with poppy or nigella (charnuska) seeds. Or even with some garlicky herb butter. Delicious!
I have also used this kefir dough as a pizza base. For that just make enough dough the day before for your usual size pizza. As a rough guide for each cup of flour you need a third of a cup of kefir. If you haven't got enough kefir to spare, top it up with water. With luck the bugs in the kefir grains will not let you down.


Boursin pasta

This is a great quick meal!

1 Boursin cheese
mushrooms, spinach, red onion
cream
spelt or buckweat pasta

Cook onions and mushrooms in butter, add spinach until wilted. Add Boursin cheese in the pan and let it melt. Add some cream to make a sauce and salt and pepper. Throw on pastas!


And some recipes in French!


Pasta in bianco

2 gousses d’ail hachées finement
1/3 T. de beurre
1 lb de tagliatelle, fettucine ou spaghetti blancs de marque italienne ou bio President's Choice
½ à ¾ de T de parmesan frais râpé Parmigiano Reggiano ou Grana Padano (rien de pré-râpé)
1 paquet de prosciutto
Qqs tomates fraîches
Sel de mer et poivre du moulin

Dans une petite poêle, faire fondre le beurre et y faire revenir l’ail qqs minutes. Faire cuire les pâtes al dente dans un grand chaudron d’eau salée. Réserver ½ T. d’eau de la cuisson des pâtes (c’est ça le secret de la réussite des pâtes!).

Mettre le beurre à l’ail dans un grand cul de poule préchauffé au four. Y ajouter les pâtes cuites et environ 5 à 6 c. à table d’eau de cuisson ainsi que le parmesan, ainsi que pas mal de sel et un peu de poivre. Avec deux cuillères de bois, bien remuer jusqu’à l’obtention d’une sauce crémeuse.

Ajouter du prosciutto en mcx et des tomates fraîches en dés (qui peuvent préalablement avoir été ajoutées au beurre à l’ail au début). Bien brasser et servir aussitôt. Ajouter du parmesan râpé au besoin.


Pizza pitas

Pour 4-5 pizzas

Pains pita de blé entier
3 grosses tomates coupées en dés
½ t. d’olives noires dénoyautées et tranchées en mcx
2-3 gousses d’ail
1/3 de t. de basilic frais haché
1/8 t. d’huile d’olive
sel, poivre
1 petit rouleau de chèvre
Cheddar ou mozzarella râpé

Bien mélanger tous les ingrédients sauf les fromages. Étendre sur les pains pita à l’aide d’une cuillère trouée afin de ne pas trop détremper les pains. Ajouter le chèvre par petits mcx et parsemer de fromage. Cuire à 400 F environ 15 min. Griller au besoin.

Salade d’amour

2 T. de riz cuit (basmati blanc)
3 T de fèves (mung) germées
1 petite laitue romaine hachée
2-3 branches de céleri tranchées
1/2 de T. de raisins secs
1 T. de champignons tranchés
1 T. de noix de cajou salées

Vinaigrette :
¼ T. de sauce soya ou tamari ou Bragg (j’aime faire moitié Bragg, moitié tamari)
½ T. d’huile de tournesol
2-3 gousses d’ail écrasées

Tout mélanger. Faire une heure avant de servir si possible.


Couscous de ma mère

3 carottes en rondelles
½ chou vert ou chinois tranché
1 petite aubergine épluchées et en dés.
2 courgettes (zucchinis)
1 oignon haché
1/2 T. de pois chiches cuits
1 boîte de tomates en dés
1 T. de bouillon de poulet
¾ c. à thé sel
1 c. à thé de cumin
1 c. à table de tamari
poivre au goût
Sauce Harissa (ou autre sauce piquante) au goût

Choix de viande (toutes ou une seule)
saucisse merguez
cuisses de poulet
agneau

Semoule ½ T. par personne

Faire revenir les légumes dans le beurre. Ajouter pois chiches, tomates, bouillon et les épices et cuire 20 minutes. Au besoin épaissir avec de la fécule d’amaranthe.

Faire cuire la viande et la semoule à part.

Servir sur la semoule avec la viande par-dessus.

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