Greek food, Miscellaneous, Pork, Salads

Greek-style Pork Sandwiches with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce and Corn, Tomato, and Feta Salad

Sometimes I crave junky food. Really junky food, like cheese fries or donuts. This week, all I could think about was gyros, overstuffed with meat and oozing with tsatziki. Not wanting to drag my children out to not-so-clean-looking Oakland Gyros down the street and recognizing that my currently dieting husband wouldn’t eat there even if I did, I came up with a lighter version of this late-night classic. It didn’t totally curb my junk food craving, but it made for an excellent weeknight meal.

If you have any leftover corn in your fridge, the accompanying corn salad is a nice way to use it up. I like to cook all my corn on the cob as soon as I buy it to ensure the best flavor. Besides making a salad like the one below, the leftover corn (cut off the cob) also tastes great sauteed with butter, salt and pepper.

Greek-style Pork Sandwiches

Greek-style Pork Sandwiches with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

Serves 4

1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 pork tenderloins, about 1 1/2 lb (680 g) total
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 large pitas
1 tomato, halved and sliced thinly
1/2 small onion, sliced thinly
cucumber yogurt sauce, to serve (recipe follows)

In a shallow dish, whisk together the olive oil, thyme, oregano, red pepper flakes, and garlic. Place the tenderloins in the dish, covering with as much of the marinade as possible. Cover the dish and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, or up to 12 hours. While the pork marinates, make the cucumber yogurt sauce (below).

Preheat the outdoor grill. Remove the pork from the marinade and season liberally with salt and pepper. Cook the pork over a medium flame, turning over after 4 to 5 minutes, until cooked through, about 15 minutes total, depending on the size of your tenderloins. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes, then slice into thin medallions. While the pork rests, quickly toast the pita on the grill for about 30 seconds on each side.

To assemble the sandwiches, place the pork medallions on a pita. Top with tomatoes, onion, and cucumber yogurt sauce.

Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

Serves 4

1 1/2 cups (360 ml) yogurt, preferably Greek-style
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded and grated
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vinegar
pinch of sugar
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Whisk together all the ingredients in a medium bowl. Chill for at least 15 minutes before serving.

***

Corn, Tomato, Green Bean Salad

Corn, Tomato, and Feta Salad

Serves 8

6 ears of corn, husks removed
4 oz (110 g) green beans, trimmed and cut into 1‑inch pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 red onion, diced
6 oz (170 g) cherry tomatoes, halved
2 oz (60 g) feta, crumbled

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the corn until just tender, usually 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the corn, allow to cool and cut the kernels off the cob. In the same pot of boiling water, cook the green beans for 2 to 3 minutes, until crisp tender. Drain the beans and immediately plunge into cold water to stop them cooking. Cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, and salt. Add the corn, beans, parsley, onion, cherry tomatoes, and feta. Toss gently to coat. This salad can be served at room temperature or chilled. If chilled longer than 8 hours, the salad will become a bit watery (but still very tasty), as the salt and feta draw moisture out of the vegetables .

Beef, Pasta and noodles

Swedish Meatballs, Parsley Egg Noodles, and Corn on the Cob

My one and only chef friend, Christian, works at Tre Kronor, which was recently featured on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Though the Swedish meatballs highlighted on the show looked good, I think my own version would hold their own against them.

I’ve been tweaking this meatball recipe since college. The cookbook it came from was originally bought by my study-abroad friend, Annie, as a gift for the host family that she was staying with in Oaxaca, Mexico. Let’s just say that her relationship with the family wasn’t very positive. Examples? Well, their idea of vegetarian cooking was beans for every meal — breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Her shower was a cement stall adjoining her motel-like bedroom. And worst of all, a very friendly  male “cousin” attempted to corner her alone at every opportunity. Instead of dragging the cookbook back home to Madison, she gave it to me. The original recipe has no gravy but I’m a gravy fan, especially with good egg noodles. If you don’t feel like making up the gravy or if you can’t find good semi-condensed mushroom soup (I use Amy’s organic brand), these meatballs are great on their own.

For the corn, simply husk your corn and drop it into a large pot of boiling salted water. If fresh, the corn will need only 2 to 3 minutes to cook. Cook all your corn at once, even if you won’t eat it all at one meal. Corn flavor decreases and starch increases as it sits, so it’s best to cook it as soon after it’s picked as possible. Looking for ideas on what to do with leftover corn? Check out tomorrow’s post for a great corn, tomato, and feta salad recipe.

Swedish Meatballs

Swedish Meatballs
adapted from From Wisconsin: More Than a Cookbook by Laurie & Debra Gluesing

Serves 6

5 tablespoons butter, divided
1/2 cup (about 90 g) finely minced onion
1 egg
1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
1/2 cup (about 60 g) bread crumbs
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 lb (450 g) ground beef
3/4 cup (175 ml) water
8 oz (225 g) crimini or white mushrooms, sliced
1 x 14-oz (400‑g) can of semi-condensed cream of mushroom soup (half a can of Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup can be used in lieu of semi-condensed soup but the flavor won’t be as good)
1 cup (240 ml) milk

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet. Add the onion and saute until golden. Remove the onions from the pan.

While the onions cook, beat the egg in a mixing bowl, then stir in the milk and bread crumbs. Set aside for 5 minutes.

Combine the bread crumb mixture with the onion, salt, sugar, allspice and nutmeg. Stir in the beef and blend well. Shape into 1 1/2‑inch balls and brown on all sides in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Pour the water into the skillet and simmer for 15 minutes.

While the meatballs cook, saute the mushrooms in a separate skillet with the remaining tablespoon of butter until tender, about 6 to 7 minutes.

Remove the meatballs from the pan. Whisk the soup and milk into the pan with the meat drippings until well combined and smooth. Heat just to boiling, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the cooked mushrooms and meatballs to the gravy. Serve with egg noodles.

***

Parsley Egg Noodles

Serves 6

1 lb (450 g) egg noodles
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup (30 g) fresh parsley, chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain and toss with the butter, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.

Potatoes, Poultry

Garlic and Fennel Barbecue Roasted Chicken, Herbed Goat’s Cheese Mashed Potatoes, and Steamed Green Beans

Necessity really is the mother of invention. Today I decided to make a special roast chicken dinner for the family since my errand load was light and Sam, my two-year-old, was in day care for most of the day. I spent a good half hour prepping and stuffing the chicken. When I went to put the chicken into my preheated oven, the oven gave me a big, cold surprise — a broken ignitor and no way to bake my chicken. After scurrying around for the oven’s owner manual and briefly contemplating broiling a whole chicken (the broiler unit still worked), I quickly lit a heap of coals in our Weber, threw on the chicken a few minutes later, and hoped for the best. Fortunately, my last-minute experiment was a complete success. The chicken took on a smoky flavor that wonderfully complimented the fennel stuffed inside it. Thank goodness for cooking disasters. Modern eating might become too boring without them.

Fennel Garlic Chicken


Garlic and Fennel Barbecue Roasted Chicken
adapted from Bon Appétit, October 2003

Serves 4 to 6

1 large or two small fresh fennel bulbs, trimmed, each cut into 6 to 8 wedges
5 tablespoons olive oil
6 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
whole chicken (about 3 1/2 lb/1.5 kg)
1 lemon, halved

Cook the fennel in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender when pierced with a knife, about 8 minutes. Drain and transfer to a bowl. Mix in 2 tablespoons oil, the garlic, 1 tablespoon each thyme and rosemary, then the salt and pepper.

Preheat the grill for indirect cooking. Rinse chickens inside and out and pat dry. Rub the chickens inside and out with lemon, squeezing some of the juice into the cavities. Rub the outside of the chickens with 3 tablespoons oil, then the remaining herbs. Sprinkle the chickens generously with salt and pepper. Loosely stuff the chickens with the fresh fennel mixture. Tie the legs together and place the chicken, breast side down, in a roasting rack.

Roast the chicken on the grill using indirect heat for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, flipping the bird every 30 minutes. When ready, the chicken juices run clear when pierced with a fork in the thickest part of the thigh and the leg should move easily away from thigh. Transfer the chicken to a platter and garnish with fennel fronds.

***

Herbed Goat’s Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Serves 4

4 potatoes, any variety, peeled and cut into 1‑inch cubes (I used large russet potatoes)
2 oz (60 g) goat cheese with herbs, crumbled
1/4 cup (60 ml) half and half
1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
2 tablespoons (30 g) butter, diced
salt and pepper, to taste

Place the potatoes in a large pot of water set over a high heat. Heat to boiling, then reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and roughly mash them with a potato masher. Mash in the goat’s cheese, half and half, 1/4 cup of milk and the butter until well combined. Mix in additional milk until the potatoes reach the desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper (I added about 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper).

Cakes, Fruit, Pork, Slow cooker

Pork Chops and Red Cabbage, Pan-roasted Patty Pan Squash, and Mom’s Apple Cake

Depending on who you ask, we have been blessed or cursed with an early fall here in Wisconsin. The air is crisp but the sky is still blue and sunny. I usually love fall, not for the leaves or cooler weather, but for the return to school when I was younger, the start of field hockey season when I played it, and the presence of hearty vegetables and fruits in the market after I learned to cook. I’m actually dreading this fall though, since I return to work after a wonderful summer of maternity leave with my new daughter, Anabelle. While I still have the chance, I’m going to spend September baking cakes, simmering soups, and slow cooking meats. October (and my return to work) will come soon enough.

Today’s menu is in honor of the cooler weather and the basketball-sized head of red cabbage in last week’s CSA delivery. In my adaptation of Bon Appétit’s version of pork chops and red cabbage, I cooked the cabbage in my Crock-Pot instead of on the stove for an hour. Not having to watch an open flame frees up your day considerably. The apple cake was made the day before and actually improved after sitting at room temperature for 24 hours. The cake was wonderful after dinner but would be just as good for breakfast with a cup of coffee or tea. The patty pan squash recipe is a repeat from last month’s Crusty Chicken Thighs with Mushroom Sauce post.

Pork Chops and Red Cabbage

Pork Chops with Red Cabbage
adapted from Bon Appétit, February 1995

for the cabbage:
1 tablespoon olive oil (only needed if making on the stove top, not in a slow cooker)
1 small head red cabbage or 1/2 large head red cabbage, thinly sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper

for the pork:
1 teaspoon olive oil
4 x 5‑oz (140‑g) 1/2‑inch-thick, bone-in pork chops
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1/8 teaspoon dried sage
1/3 cup (80 ml) chicken broth
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

For the cabbage, combine the cabbage, onion, garlic, salt and oregano in a slow cooker. Cook on high for about 4 hours, until the cabbage is tender, stirring occasionally. (If you don’t have a slow cooker, follow the original recipe: heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over a medium heat. Add the cabbage, onion, garlic, salt and oregano and cook until cabbage and onion are tender, stirring occasionally, about 50 minutes.) Stir the balsamic vinegar into the cooked cabbage and season to taste with salt and pepper. (This can be prepared up to 3 hours ahead. Cover skillet/slow cooker and let stand at room temperature. Bring to a simmer before continuing with recipe.)

For the pork, heat the oil in another heavy large skillet over a medium-high heat. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper and rub with the oregano and sage. Add the pork chops to the skillet and fry until cooked through, turning once, about 8 minutes.

Transfer the cabbage to a platter. Place the pork chops atop the cabbage. Remove the skillet from the heat. Add the chicken broth and balsamic vinegar to the skillet. Stir with a wooden spoon, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Pour the sauce over the pork and serve.

***

Mom’s Apple Cake
from Smitten Kitchen

6 apples (Note: I used 7 small Early Goldens)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
5 tablespoons sugar
2 3/4 cups (330 g) flour, sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (240 ml) vegetable oil
2 cups (400 g) sugar
1/4 cup (60 ml) orange juice
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a tube pan. Peel, core and chop the apples into chunks. Toss with the cinnamon and sugar and set aside.

Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, orange juice and vanilla. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ones, then add the eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the bowl to ensure all the ingredients are incorporated.

Pour half the batter into the prepared pan. Spread half the apples over it. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a tester comes out clean. (Note: I baked my cake a full 1 1/2 hours and it was a bit overcooked, even though the tester still didn’t appear to be clean.)

30-minute meals, Pasta and noodles, Salads, Seafood

Spicy Seafood Fettuccini and Mediterranean Pepper Salad

Happy Labor Day to our American readers! If you’re looking for a tasty salad to set out at today’s barbecue, I have the recipe for you. The Mediterranean Pepper Salad from today’s menu is easy to prepare and best yet, it can sit for hours or even overnight in your fridge while its flavors meld. This was a first-time recipe for me. I chose it because I had to use up three bell peppers. Three peppers is an odd amount — too many to use in a stir-fry or omelette and not enough for stuffed peppers. Smitten Kitchen came through with a perfect three-pepper preparation that I’m already craving again.

The seafood pasta recipe is from a cookbook my in-laws gave me for Hanukkah several years back. While typing up this recipe, I realized I never made any other recipe from the cookbook though there are plenty more that intrigue me. Be on the lookout for Gorgonzola Ravioli with Sweet Red Pepper Cream or Chicken Breast with Goat Cheese and Sun-dried Tomato Salsa in future posts.  Hmm, now I’ve made myself hungry.

Spicy Seafood Fettuccini
adapted from Pacifica Blue Plates by Neil Stuart

Serves 6

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lb (225 g) firm fish, such as swordfish, skinned and cut into 1‑inch cubes
1/4 lb (110 g) bay scallops
18 medium to large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 large red bell peppers, julienned
4 scallions, sliced thinly
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon Spanish paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 large or 2 small tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup (120 ml) fish stock or water
6 tablespoons (90 g) butter
1 lb (450 g) fettuccine or other flat pasta, cooked and drained

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over moderate heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the seafood and cook, stirring, for another minute. Add the red peppers, scallions and seasonings. Cook for 2 minutes and add the tomatoes, stock, and butter.

Increase the heat to high and cook until the sauce begins to thicken, about 3 more minutes. Serve over the fettuccine.

***

Pepper Salad

Mediterranean Pepper Salad
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Serves 8

1/4 cup (60 ml) red wine vinegar
1/4 cup (60 ml) cold water
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 red onion, cut into a 1/2‑inch dice (use less if your onion is huge)
3 bell peppers, your choice of colors (I used 2 green and 1 purple)
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
4 oz (110 g) firm feta cheese
4 oz (110 g) pitted Kalmata olives
6 to 8 oz (170 to 225 g) grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Swish together the red wine vinegar, water, kosher salt and sugar in a small bowl until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Add the red onion and set it aside.

Meanwhile, time to practice your knife skills. Core and seed your bell peppers and chop them into 1/2‑inch pieces. Chop the cucumber and feta into similarly sized chunks. Put your peppers, cucumber, feta, olives, and tomatoes in a large bowl.

By now, your onions will have lightly pickled, both sweetening and softening their blow. Drain them and add them to the other vegetables in the large bowl, but reserve the vinegar mixture. Pour a quarter cup of the vinegar mixture over the salad, then drizzle with olive oil. Season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper, or to taste. Toss evenly and serve at once, or let the flavors muddle together in the fridge for a few hours.

Cookies

New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

We have a fellow expat friend who throws a big 4th of July barbecue every year. There’s a group of expat regulars who go most years, from Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Michigan and New Hampshire, and I always get a kick out of how we all end up in Chris’s back yard in County Meath, so far from where any of us call home. Anyway, Matt took it upon himself the first year we went to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies from his favorite childhood Betty Crocker recipe to bring with us. While I wouldn’t say that I turn to that old American stand-by for inspiration these days, it’s a perfectly good cookie recipe, good enough to earn us the nickname the Cookie Couple ever after. We bring a double batch every year and they’re always eaten up or hoarded within minutes of being set out. I’m told there were some disappointed barbecue regulars the year we couldn’t go when my daughter was born on the 4th of July.

This year, the barbecue was pushed back to Labor Day since our friends were back in the US for the 4th, and instead of dusting off Matt’s old recipe again, I decided to make the consummate chocolate chip cookie from The New York Times that was published last July. I made the dough on Thursday afternoon so that it would have 36 hours to rest before I baked the cookies on Saturday morning. Resting the dough apparently allows it to fully soak up all the liquid from the eggs, resulting in a drier, firmer dough that bakes to a better consistency, and gives the cookie “bass notes of caramel and hints of toffee” (who knew cookies had bass notes?). The real genius touch, though, is Dorie Greenspan’s addition of a sprinkle of fleur de sel on top (though I prefer the bigger flakes of Maldon sea salt). They’ve been blogged about all over the place, and I certainly won’t be saying anything new when I tell you it really is a damn good cookie. As the NYT itself says, “Doubt it? There’s only one way to find out.”

The New York Times Consummate Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from The New York Times

Makes about 24 cookies

I’ve only ever made these using plain flour (instead of cake flour and bread flour) and they turn out just fine. I’m sure the chocolate disks they talk about in the article are fabulous, but I just use plain old milk chocolate chips and the cookies are still good. I like to freeze some of the dough (see note below) to bake some cookies another time. Nothing makes you feel like a domestic goddess like having a stash of frozen homemade cookies in the freezer.

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (240 g) cake flour (or all-purpose)
1 2/3 cups (240 g) bread flour (or all-purpose)
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt, such as kosher
2 1/2 sticks (280 g) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups (210 g) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (225 g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
1 1/4 lb (570 g) bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60% cacao content (or your regular brand of chocolate chips)
sea salt, such as Maldon or fleur de sel

Sift the flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low, add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds, being careful not to overmix. Drop the chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap directly against the dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. The dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

Scoop 4 x 3 oz (75 g) mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto each baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 15 to 20 minutes (you don’t want to overcook them and make them hard). Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then slip the the cookies onto a wire rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with the remaining dough, or reserve some dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day.  (Note: I have also successfully frozen the dough by rolling it into the 3 1/2 oz (100 g) portions specified here, then tightly wrapping each ball individually in cling film and popping them into the freezer. This way you can take out as many as you’d like to bake another day. When you want to bake them, set the oven to the same temperature, but just cook them for a couple more minutes.)

Mexican food, Poultry, Rice

Chipotle Lime Chicken Salad Wraps with Potatoes and Avocado and Mexican Red Rice

When Kelly and I decided to start this blog earlier this summer, we weren’t sure what the copyright implications of sharing recipes online might be. I’ve been reading cooking blogs for years and had always wondered about it, never for a minute believing that all the bloggers out there were writing off to Gourmet or Ina Garten’s publisher to formally ask permission to use their recipes. But when it came time to start my own blog, would I lie awake at night like the Amateur Gourmet, fretting that the Barefoot Contessa would bring the full weight of the law down on me for posting her lemon fusilli recipe?

We set our minds at rest after reading the US Copyright Office guidelines and this Washington Post article, but what about adapting a recipe to the point where you can call it your own? Where do you cross the line from having to acknowledge the source to you being the source? Take these chicken salad wraps, for example. I was looking through my Mexican Everyday cookbook and saw Rick Bayless’s recipe for Chipotle Chicken Salad Tacos with Avocado, Red-Skin Potatoes and Romaine. I liked the sound of most of it, but decided to ditch his vinaigrette with oregano for a dressing of mayo, chipotle, lime and cilantro instead. I also used flour tortillas instead of corn, turning these into wraps instead of tacos. I played around with the quantities specified in the ingredients list and pretty much wrote the instructions from scratch too. Is all that enough to call this recipe my own? Or should I stick with the guidelines issued by the International Association of Culinary Professionals and use the words “adapted from,” “based on” or “inspired by?” In the interests of sleeping soundly, “inspired by” sounds good to me.

Chipotle Lime Chicken Salad Wraps with Potatoes and Avocado
inspired by Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless

Makes 8 wraps

for the wraps:
2 large potatoes or 6 small new potatoes
8 large flour tortilla wraps
3 handfuls sliced romaine leaves, sliced 1/4 inch across
1/2 red onion, finely chopped and deflamed (optional)
2 ripe avocados, cut into 1/4‑inch cubes

for the chipotle lime chicken salad:
1 tablespoon minced canned chipotle chillies (or 1 teaspoon dried chipotle chillies, available from Seasoned Pioneers, or a few dashes of chipotle Tabasco, to taste)
juice of 2 limes (you could add the zest too if you want an even stronger lime flavor)
1 cup (30 g) cilantro, chopped
1 cup (240 ml) mayo
4 chicken breasts, poached and coarsely shredded (or about 3 cups of any shredded chicken, such as leftover roast chicken)
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until fork tender, about 7 to 10 minutes, depending on their size. Drain and allow to cool, then cut into 1/4‑inch cubes.

To make the chipotle lime chicken salad, add the chipotle chillies, lime juice (and zest, if using) and cilantro to the mayonnaise, stirring well to combine. Add the shredded chicken to the chipotle lime mayo, mixing well to make sure all the chicken is coated with mayo. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To assemble, spread some of the chicken salad on a tortilla, then top with potatoes, lettuce, onions and avocado. Roll up tightly and cut in half on the diagonal. Repeat with the remaining wraps.

***

Mexican Red Rice
from Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless

Serves 6 to 8

Rick Bayless also gives a few riffs on this dish: halved garlic cloves, chopped red, white or green onion and sliced mushrooms can be sautéed along with the raw rice. Cubed peeled carrots, parsnips, butternut squash, even Jerusalem artichokes or kohlrabi can go in with the salsa. Chopped snow peas or green beans can replace the peas. Or boost the flavor with a roasted poblano pepper, fresh corn kernels and a handful of chopped cilantro, arugula or watercress leaves, all added along with the peas.

1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
1 1/2 cups (270 g) white rice
1 cup (240 ml) good-quality tomato salsa
1 cup (240 ml) chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (210 g) frozen peas

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Set a medium ovenproof saucepan or casserole dish over a medium heat. Add the oil and rice. Stir frequently until the grains of rice turn from translucent to milky-white, about 5 minutes – don’t worry if some of them brown. Add the salsa, broth and salt. Stir a couple of times, then let the mixture come to a full boil.

Cover the pan and set in the middle of the oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Uncover, add the peas and re-cover. Bake for 5 minutes longer, then remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff the rice, releasing the steam and mixing in the peas.

30-minute meals, Cakes, Fruit, Italian food, Potatoes, Vegetarian main dishes

Gnocchi with Tomato, Spinach and Ricotta and Brandied Plum Cake

One of the great things about cooking is that the more you do it, the easier and faster it gets. (Though I’ve also become my own worst enemy in that regard — I do almost all the cooking, even on weekends when I could otherwise have a break from it, because I’m so much faster at it than my husband.) When you know that you can pull together a dinner in the time it takes for water to boil and some pasta to cook, or that you can cook some fresh fish in less than 10 minutes, frozen pizzas start to lose their appeal.

But even though I love to cook, there are plenty of days too when I don’t have the energy or am pressed for time to get something on the table for two hungry little kids. And as much as I prefer to cook from fresh, unprocessed ingredients, there are certainly worse convenience foods to have in your pantry than a jar of pasta sauce and a packet of potato gnocchi. Store-bought potato gnocchi cooks in 2 or 3 minutes, making it the ultimate fast food, plus a nice change from pasta. Check out all the quick and easy recipes for gnocchi from the UK’s Olive magazine for more inspiration.

If you like the sound of brandied plums but don’t have time for the cake, just make the plums on their own, which takes only 10 minutes. Serve them with vanilla ice cream, with the syrup drizzled over — no one will complain about not having them in a cake.

IMG_9243

Gnocchi with Tomato, Spinach and Ricotta
adapted from Olive, November 2005

Serves 6

You could vary this recipe by using your favorite pasta shape instead of gnocchi, and stirring 1 tub of ricotta cheese directly into the sauce along with the spinach to make it nice and creamy. Do I even have to say that bacon would be good in this too?

2 x 18-oz (500‑g) packs store-bought potato gnocchi
2 x 14-oz (400‑g) good-quality jars of tomato sauce
7 oz (200 g) baby spinach, washed
2 x 9‑oz (250‑g) tubs of ricotta cheese
a handful of freshly grated Parmesan, to serve

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Cook the gnocchi according to packet instructions and drain. Meanwhile, heat the tomato sauce, add the spinach and stir until wilted. Put the gnocchi in a lightly oiled ovenproof dish, pour the sauce over and dot with blobs of ricotta. Scatter the grated Parmesan over and pop into the hot oven until bubbling and golden, about 10 minutes.

***

Brandied Plum Cake
inspired by The Kitchen Diaries by Nigel Slater

Serves 12

This cake is very moist, so it doesn’t really need the brandy syrup drizzled over it at the end, though it’s a nice touch. Instead, you might like to save it in the fridge to drizzle over vanilla ice cream another time. If you have any leftover plums that won’t fit on top of the cake, save them to have with yogurt for breakfast.

for the brandied plums:
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons brandy
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
16 ripe plums, stoned and quartered

for the cake:
3/4 cup (160 g) butter
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup (90 g) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup (100 g) ground almonds
1/2 cup (50 g) walnuts, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 9‑inch springform pan and line the base with a piece of parchment paper.

To make the brandied plums, combine the sugar, brandy and cinnamon in a frying pan. Cook over a high heat, stirring often, until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat, add the plums and cook until they are soft but still hold their shape, about 5 minutes. Transfer the plums to a bowl with a slotted spoon and set aside. Reserve the brandy syrup left behind from the plums.

Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time to the butter and sugar. Sift the flour and baking powder together and fold them gently into the mixture with a spatula. Fold in the ground almonds and chopped walnuts.

Scrape the mixture into the lined springform pan. Place the quartered plums on top of the cake mixture (they will sink into the cake as it bakes). Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. If you think the top of the cake is browning too much, cover it with tin foil. Remove the cake from the oven and leave to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before releasing the sides of the pan. Serve with some of the reserved syrup spooned over the top of each slice.

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