Samosa Inspired Cauliflower

I am always looking for new and delicious (and easy to make) side dishes. We love diverse ethnic seasonings from around the world, so I am also always looking for ways to include those favorite flavors in our everyday meals. Here is a perfect example of that attempt being very successful.

I saw a picture in a magazine in the last few months that inspired me. It had cauliflower and peas, and the cauliflower had a gorgeous yellow hue. Its flavor profile was close to one I had in my mind, but it had a whole bunch of ingredients I don't typically have on hand. I knew the flavor I wanted, but I wasn't quite sure how to get there (I had tried a similar dish with much less success once before). I wandered through a handful of cookbooks without really getting any closer to where I wanted to be. Suddenly, it dawned on me that the flavor I was thinking of (I suppose because of the peas and the obvious Indian spice inspiration) was the filling one finds in many samosas! I was off! I have a recipe for potato and pea samosa filling that I love and I simply adapted that here. The result was fantastic! What a delightful change of pace, and so tasty and beautiful, too.

Samosa Inspired Cauliflower
Yield: 4 servings

2 TBS vegetable oil
1 cup diced onion
1 head cauliflower, cut up
2 tsp grated ginger
2 tsp spice mix (see below)
3 TBS water
1 cup frozen peas
salt, to taste

Spice Mix:
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/8 tsp cayenne (or more, if you like spice)

Mix the spices together and set aside. Prepare the onion and cauliflower and then heat a medium skillet or Dutch oven over medium to medium-high heat. Add the oil, let it heat, and then cook the onion until soft and gently browned. Add the cauliflower, the ginger, 2 teaspoons of the spice mix, and the water and cook, covered, until the cauliflower is just tender (5-10 minutes). Remove the cover and add the frozen peas. Let heat through. Season with salt to taste. Serve immediately.

Spinach Pie

Now here's a recipe that's been getting a workout in my kitchen lately. It's a little reminiscent of a spinach quiche, but it's not so eggy. If you like spinach one iota, you'll love this! Not only does this pie taste great, but it's also pretty easy to make. The only caveat I'll put in there is to be careful what spinach you use... I tried once to make this a super easy to make dish by using thawed frozen spinach. What a let down! The spinach was so fibrous that it made it very hard to cut and eat the pie. That said, even making the pie from a bag of fresh baby spinach is not too time consumptive. You simply chop the spinach up, put it in simmering water for a few minutes, and drain. That's the hardest part of this pie.

And I'm not lying there. The crust on this bad boy is soooooo easy. You can use any old crust you want, including store bought, but I purposefully made an easy crust to go with this spinach pie so that I can make it in a second. Simply mix together the flour, melted butter, and salt until it resembles crumbs.

Then add the water and mix using your hands until it is evenly moist. Lastly, dump the crumbs into your pie tin (or glass) and press it into place. No rolling, no chilling. Yay!

Mix together the filling and pour it into the shell. Bake for about forty minutes and you've got dinner! For a vegetarian meal, it's pretty satisfying, and it makes darn good leftovers!

Spinach Pie
Yield: 8 servings

Crust:
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
5 TBS melted butter
dash salt
3-6 TBS cold water

Mix the first three ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Then add the water, starting with the smallest amount and adding as needed, until the crumbs are evenly moist and will hold together when pressed. Dump the mixture into a greased pie dish (I prefer a glass dish here). Press evenly into place.

Filling:
24 ounces fresh baby spinach
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
2 eggs
dash salt
1 tsp minced garlic

Bring a pot of water to a boil on the stove. Meanwhile, chop the spinach into small pieces. When the water is simmering, cook the spinach for 2-3 minutes. Drain in a colander. Let drip dry, but do not press dry. In a bowl mix together the cooked spinach and the remaining ingredients. Pour into the pie shell and bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for about 40 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Let cool five minutes before serving.

Majadra

I know what you must be thinking... two posts in two days! Stop the presses! It is somewhat exciting. My little boy is starting to go to bed earlier and earlier. Tonight, he was in bed asleep by 7:30. To top it all off, my husband is out of town on business. My time is my own this evening. It doesn't happen that often these days, so I figured I'd make the most of it.

I celebrated by making another of those sandwiches I've been so fond of lately and then made a big old pot of this delicious dish. It may not be much to look at, but, boy, does it have some flavor! Majadra is of Lebanese origin and has rice, lentils, and caramelized onions. It also has a hint of spice and is absolutely delightful. You can serve it as a side dish or a main dish. I like to fill a bowl full to the brim and eat it with a spoon. It's very tasty. The best part is that it makes a decent amount and it tastes just as good reheated the rest of the week. It makes a perfect leftover lunch.

The other nice thing about it is that it's pretty simple to make. While it's not fast, it takes about an hour to complete it, the actual prep work is minimal and involves slicing an onion. That's it! Really! Okay, you also have to slice open a lemon for a little bit of juice, but, who's keeping track?

You start by putting the lentils on to simmer and caramelizing the onions. These two tasks take about the same amount of time, about half an hour. When the onions are starting to develop some really nice color, throw in a small stick of cinnamon. If you don't have a stick, you can also add just a dash of ground, but the stick adds more of an aromatic component to the dish rather than a flavor you taste with your tongue.

Once the lentils are tender and the onions are caramelized, you add the Batsmati rice to the onions to toast slightly. Then you add the drained lentils, boiling water, and cumin; cover it; and cook for twenty more minutes. After twenty minutes, you open the pot and fluff the rice. Spritz a couple teaspoons of fresh lemon juice over and add salt to taste (I think I added between 1/2 and 1 teaspoons).

Majadra
Yield: 6-8 servings

1 large onion, halved and sliced thinly
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup green lentils
water to cover lentils by 1-2 inches
1  2" cinnamon stick
1 1/4 cup Batsmati rice
2 cups hot water
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
salt to taste

Heat a large pot and the oil over medium to medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very golden, about 30 minutes. Adjust the heat as needed to keep them from burning. At the same time, put the lentils in a sauce pan and cover with water so that it is one to two inches above the top of the lentils. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer to cook for 25-30 minutes. The lentils should be tender about the time the onions are done. If the lentils are done before the onions, simply turn off the heat and let them sit. Drain the lentils once the onions are done.

When the onions are about 5 minutes away from being done, add the cinnamon stick and stir. Once the onions are nicely golden, add the rice and toast, stirring occasionally, for 3-5 minutes. Add the lentils, the cumin, and the water. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce to a very gentle simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. After twenty minutes, turn off the heat. Let sit 5 minutes. Remove the cover, add the lemon juice and salt and fluff gently with a fork.

Cheesy Broccoli Soup

A few months ago, a friend moved away to a new duty station and gave me a grocery bag full of frozen food items she couldn't take with her. The assortment included two large bags of frozen broccoli florets. From the first moment I saw them, I immediately had an urge to make a cheesy broccoli soup. I finally got around to it the other night. This is such a quick and easy soup to make and it is filling and so mouth satisfying. I made it with non-fat milk because that's what I had on hand, but it would be even better with 2% or whole milk. When you use a lower fat milk, it is not usually the flavor that suffers, but the mouth feel. Feel free to use whatever type of milk works for you!

Cheesy Broccoli Soup

Yield: 4 servings

3 strips of bacon, diced

1 medium-small onion, diced

1/4 cup flour

4 cups milk, warm

1 Knorr vegetable bouillon cube (or similar)

1 16 oz bag frozen broccoli florets

2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

salt & pepper to taste

splash of heavy cream (optional)

Heat a 4 quart pan over medium high heat. Add the pieces of bacon. Cook until the bacon has rendered its fat and browned. Spoon out the bacon onto a paper towel lined plate and set aside. Add the onion to the oil and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is tender and translucent.

Add the flour to the onion and fat and cook, stirring constantly, for one minute. Mix the warm milk and bouillon cube and then slowly add to the flour mixture, stirring with a whisk continuously. Add the broccoli and let the mixture come to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the broccoli is tender. Remove from the hear. Add the cheese, salt & pepper, cream (if using), and cooked bacon and mix thoroughly. Serve and enjoy!

Moroccan Style Chick Pea Soup

Everyone seems to assume that because I currently live in Florida that it's all sunshine and warm weather for us all winter. While I can't say we never experience that combination, in the panhandle, there's plenty of cold and dreary to go around. It seems we go through little phases of the not so nice weather. The difference between here and real winter up north is that we get a lot more breaks of beautiful weather through the winter.

It seems like we've been going through one of those not so nice phases. While two days ago was a stunningly beautiful day, today and many of the other days in the last two weeks have been cold and/or dreary. And you know what cold and dreary means? Soup! Lots and lot of soup!

This soup is wonderful for a couple of reasons. The first is that it can easily be made in less than half an hour. Another reason I like it is since there is no meat in it, I can make it spur of the moment on those evenings when I've forgotten to thaw out something for dinner. The last really great thing about it is the taste. Those Moroccan spices with the cinnamon and cumin really make this a warming soup. Yum!

Moroccan Style Chick Pea Soup
Yield: 4 servings

2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp cumin powder
1/8 tsp cayenne powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper
4 cups vegetable broth (I like Knorr vegetable broth cubes)
1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
2 15-oz cans chick peas, drained and rinsed
1 tsp sugar
2 cups fresh spinach

Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat in a 6 quart or larger pot. Cook until onions are soft and slightly browned. Add the spices and stir to mix. Add the broth, stirring to remove any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the tomatoes, chick peas, and sugar. Let cook 15-20 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat and add the spinach, stirring to wilt it. Serve immediately.

Tomato and Bean Soup

I've been a little more pressed for time this week than I anticipated. But I'm trying to eat better, too. A week of indulgent eating while out of town for spring break means I need to rein things back in. After having spinach salad for dinner the last two nights, I was ready for something a little more substantial. But what to make? I was in a hurry and hadn't thawed anything out.

Who knew such a delicious soup could result from such humble ingredients? I spied a can of cannellini beans and a can of diced tomatoes. About twenty minutes later, I was eating dinner! Hallelujah!

Tomato and Bean Soup
Yield: 4 servings

1 TBS olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
2 large garlic cloves, peeled
1 rib of celery (with greens, if possible), diced
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs fresh oregano
1/8 tsp pepper
4 cups vegetable broth
1 - 15 oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 - 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained and rinsed
2 - 1" slices of lemon rind
1 TBS minced fresh basil
rind of Parmigiano Reggiano (optional)
salt to taste

Saute the onion, garlic, and celery in the oil over medium heat until the onion is translucent. Add the herbs, pepper, and broth and cook at a simmer until the celery is tender, about 10 minutes. If you have a rind of cheese that you plan to add, add it when you add the herbs.

Drain and rinse the beans and tomatoes (this can be done together). Fish out the garlic cloves, herbs, lemon rind, and - if used - the cheese rind and discard. Add the beans and tomatoes and cook over medium heat for 2-4 minutes. Add the minced basil. Lastly, add salt to taste. Because every broth is different, the amount of salt needed with vary. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

NOTE: When a recipe calls for vegetable broth, I reach for Knorr's broth cubes. Out of all the bouillon out there, it is the only one I've found that consistently has a great broth flavor for a reasonable price and can-free convenience.

Stuffed Mushrooms

These mushrooms are one of the first recipes I ever developed, and they received rave reviews. Perhaps that initial success was one of the things that contributed to my continued dabbling in the culinary arts. Anyway, that was a long time ago, but I've been making them ever since. While they are a little more labor intensive than a lot of the dishes I do, they're certainly not difficult. They involve making a simple filling and then baking for 30 minutes.

Stuffed Mushrooms
Yield: 10-12 mushrooms

10-12 large mushrooms with the stems removed

2 TBS butter
10-12 mushroom stems, chopped
1/2 cup minced onions
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp minced fresh sage (or 1 tsp dried)
1 tsp minced fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp dried)
1 1/2 cup diced, packed spinach
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 tsp salt or to taste

1 TBS melted butter
1/8 cup white wine
1/8 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium skillet, over medium-high heat, melt the butter and add the onions, garlic, and mushroom stems. Saute until softened and lightly browned. Add the spinach and saute for another minute or two. Add the wine to deglaze the pan. Stir to loosen up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the cream, cheese, and bread crumbs. Stir gently to mix. Be careful not to stir too much once the bread crumbs are added as the stuffing can become pasty. Place the mushroom caps in a baking vessel. I like to use a cast iron skillet, but any heavy baking dish will do. Fill the caps with the stuffing. Do not pack down too tightly. Sprinkle the tops with Parmesan cheese. Mix the last three ingredients together and pour in the bottom of the baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Minestrone Soup

This is a really wonderful soup. I especially enjoy making it in the summer when I can use a lot of items out of my garden. But you can make it at any time of the year. It makes a good amount of soup, but it freezes well and also makes great leftovers. In fact, I think it tastes better on the second day. I'll often make this for company, but cook it up a day or two ahead of time. Then I simply reheat it to serve. Be sure to top it with generous amount of a grated cheese such as Parmesan, Asiago, or Romano.

Minestrone Soup
Yield: 10-12 cups

3 TBS olive oil
2 TBS minced garlic
1/4 cup green onions, chopped (green parts too)
1 medium onion, minced
1 cup chopped celery, leaves included
2 carrots, shredded

2 15 oz cans tomato sauce
2 15 oz cans diced tomatoes (with juice)
6 cups water
1 15 oz cans red kidney beans
1 15 oz cans cannellini beans
2/3 cup cilantro, chopped

2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp pepper
1 TBS dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 TBS dried basil
1 TBS dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried rosemary

2 small zucchini, halved and sliced
1 cup small shells

Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot over fairly high heat. Add garlic, onions, celery, and carrots to the oil and saute for about 1 minutes, until they begin to soften and brown slightly. Add the next two batches of ingredients (do not add the zucchini or shells yet). Stir to mix. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for one hour. Add zucchini and cook for 15 minutes and then add shells and cook for 15 minutes more. Soup is then ready to serve or you can cool it and store in the refrigerator to serve another day. Keeps for up to five days in the refrigerator and can be frozen for up to one year.