Tag: dinner

Baked Ziti

delicious penne pasta topped with grated cheese in macro shot
Print Recipe

Baked Ziti

This was actually based on a cannelini recipe that we found here: https://www.recipetineats.com/wprm_print/23117
We didn't have cannelloni shells, so we punted, and it turned out really good!
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: dinner, pasta
Servings: 4 servings

Equipment

  • 2 qt. pot for sauce
  • 4 qt.+ pot for pasta
  • 13"x9" pan We use a Pyrex pan

Ingredients

Sauce (you need LOTS! – NOTE: you can also use a 25 oz. jar of good marinara):

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion finely chopped
  • 4 garlic clove minced
  • 1 bay leaf fresh (sub dried)
  • 1/2 tsp each dried thyme and oregano
  • 1/3 cup tomato paste
  • 800 g / 28 oz canned crushed tomato
  • 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock/broth low sodium
  • 1/3 cup Chardonnay or other dry white wine sub more stock
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1/3 tsp black pepper
  • 2/3 cup basil leaves roughly torn (recommended but not critical)

Filling:

  • 250 g / 8 oz frozen chopped spinach thawed (Note 1)
  • 500 g / 1 lb ricotta (we used fresh farmers' market – yum!) full fat please (Note 2)
  • 1/3 cup parmesan finely shredded
  • 1 cup shredded cheese Mozzarella, Colby, Cheddar, Tasty, Gruyere, Swiss
  • 1 egg
  • 1 large garlic clove minced
  • Grated fresh nutmeg just a sprinkling or 1/8 tsp nutmeg powder (optional – we didn't add)
  • 3/4 tsp cooking / kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

Pasta and topping

  • 1 lb. pasta ziti or penne work best
  • 1/3 cup parmesan finely shredded
  • 1 1/4 cups shredded Mozzarella
  • More basil and parmesan for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Sauce (if not using jarred):

  • Sauté – Heat oil in a small pot over medium high heat. Add garlic, onion, bay leaf, thyme and oregano. Cook for 3 – 4 minutes until the onion is translucent. Add tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
  • Reduce wine – Add wine, increase heat to high and let it simmer rapidly until mostly evaporated (about 2 minutes).
  • Simmer – Add tomatoes, stock, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir then simmer on medium low for 20 minutes.
  • Blitz – Remove bay leaf then blitz with a stick blender until smooth. Simmer for 1 more minute then remove from the stove
  • Basil – Stir in basil then cover to keep warm until required.

Filling:

  • Squeeze spinach – Place spinach in a colander and press out most of the liquid (don’t need to thoroughly squeeze dry).
  • Mix filling – Place Spinach in bowl with remaining Filling ingredients. Mix, taste, adjust salt and pepper to taste (different cheeses have different saltiness).

Assemble & Bake:

  • Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan).
  • Smear/Spread ~1 cup of Sauce on the base of the pan (stops pasta from sliding around).
  • Distribute a layer of about 1/2 the pasta
  • Spread the ricotta-spinach filling more or less evenly on top of the pasta
  • Distribute the remainder of the pasta on top of the filling
  • Pour/spread the remainder of the sauce over the pasta (it should cover
  • Bake covered (but naked) – Cover with foil, then bake for 30 minutes.
  • Cheese it! Remove foil, scatter over parmesan then mozzarella. Return to oven for 15 minutes until cheese is melted.
  • Serve, garnished with extra parmesan and basil if desired.

Notes

1. Spinach – Though the recipe calls for frozen, we used fresh. To use fresh, use about 500g/1 lb sliced spinach leaves or baby spinach leaves, saute with a little oil to wilt down and remove excess liquid (important!). Cool then proceed with recipe.
2. Ricotta – We used fresh ricotta from the farmers’ market, and it was terrific! Use whole milk ricotta. Low fat ricotta is harder and drier, so it’s more difficult to pipe into the tubes plus once baked, is not as juicy and moist. Avoid Perfect Italian brand in tubs. My favourite is Paesanella.
3. For FREEZING or refrigerating uncooked: Add extra 3/4 cup water* into Sauce, cook Sauce per recipe then blend* until smooth. Place filled, uncooked cannelloni in single or multiple dishes, cover with sauce (will look like LOTS!) then cheese. Cover, cool then freeze / refrigerate.
On the day of, thaw then bake per recipe (covered then uncovered). OR bake from frozen, bake covered 35 minutes then uncovered 10 minutes.

Middle Eastern Chickpea Bowls

Print Recipe

Middle Eastern Chickpea Rice Bowls with Savory Pistachio Rice & Garlicky White Sauce

COVID brought us Hello Fresh — and Hello Fresh brought us this dish, which has become a regular vegetarian meal chez Kudler-Vaughn
https://www.hellofresh.com/recipes/middle-eastern-chickpea-bowls-5eb082c2ff8d2876ce4bf9a2
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mediterranean, Middle Eastern
Keyword: rice, vegetarian
Servings: 2 people

Equipment

  • •Paper Towel
  • •Strainer
  • •Zester
  • •Small pot
  • •Baking Sheet
  • •Small Bowl

Ingredients

  • 1 Red Onion
  • ¼ ounce Cilantro
  • ½ ounce Pistachios ContainsTree Nuts
  • ½ cup Basmati Rice
  • 13.4 ounce Chickpeas 1 can
  • 4 tablespoon Sour Cream
  • 1 clove Garlic
  • 1 Lemon
  • 4 ounce Grape Tomatoes
  • 1 unit Veggie Stock Concentrate I leave this out most often
  • 1 tablespoon Shawarma Spice Blend See notes
  • 1 teaspoon Hot Sauce I use Chilula, but Sriracha works
  • 2 teaspoon Olive Oil
  • 2 tablespoon Butter
  • Kosher Salt
  • Pepper

Instructions

Prep

  • Adjust rack to top position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry all produce.
  • Halve, peel, and cut onion into ½-inch-thick wedges; mince a few wedges until you have 2 TBSP.
  • Peel and mince or grate garlic.
  • Roughly chop pistachios.
  • Drain and rinse chickpeas; pat very dry with paper towels.
  • Roughly chop cilantro.
  • Zest and quarter lemon

Cook Rice

  • Melt 1 TBSP butter in a small pot over medium-high heat.
  • Add minced onion, half the garlic, half the pistachios (save the rest for serving), half the Shawarma Spice (you’ll use the rest in the next step), and a pinch of salt.
  • Cook, stirring, 1 minute.
  • Stir in rice, ¾ cup water, stock concentrate, and a big pinch of salt.
  • Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low.
  • Cook until rice is tender, 15-18 minutes. Keep covered off heat.

Roast Veggies & Chickpeas

  • Meanwhile, toss onion wedges, tomatoes, and chickpeas on a baking sheet with a large drizzle of olive oil, remaining Shawarma Spice, pepper, and a few pinches of salt.
  • Roast on top rack, tossing halfway through, until veggies are tender and lightly charred and chickpeas are crispy, 18-20 minutes.
  • TIP: It’s natural for chickpeas to pop a bit.

Make Sauce

  • While veggies and chickpeas roast, in a small bowl, combine sour cream and remaining garlic to taste.
  • Season with salt.
  • Stir in water 1 tsp at a time until mixture reaches a drizzling consistency.

Mix Rice & Toss Veggies

  • Fluff rice with a fork; stir in 1 TBSP butter and half the cilantro.
  • Season rice with salt and pepper.
  • Once veggies and chickpeas are done, remove from oven and toss with lemon zest.

Serve

  • Divide rice between shallow bowls.
  • Top with veggies and chickpeas.
  • Drizzle with garlicky white sauce and hot sauce to taste.
  • Sprinkle with remaining pistachios and cilantro.
  • Top with lemon juice to taste; serve with remaining lemon wedges on the side.

Notes

You can find shawarma at some markets, but unless they specialize in Middle Eastern/Mediterranean food, it’s hard to find. Fortunately, it’s not hard to make, and really tasty.
Here’s a shawarma recipe that I’ve used:
      •  1/4 cup ground black pepper
      •  1/4 cup ground allspice
      •  1/4 cup garlic powder
      •  2 tablespoons ground cloves
      •  2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
      •  2 tablespoons ground nutmeg
      •  2 tablespoons ground cardamom
      •  1 tablespoon chili powder
      •  1 tablespoons dried oregano
      •  1 tablespoon salt
Mix the ingredients and store in a closed airtight bag, jar, or bottle.
https://littlespicejar.com/shawarma-seasoning/