Entree | Little Speck on Big Planet

Start of Summer Pasta Salad

The other night I made this fantastic pasta salad to enjoy on a warm early summer evening out of the deck with my hubby. All the ingredients, except for the red onion, I sourced locally from my farmers market. This came together really fast and was easy. My measurement are approximates as I did not record the actual weight of the produce.

Summer Pasta Salad with Green Beans

Summer Pasta Salad with Green Beans

1/2 of red onion, sliced

3/4 pound green beans, trimmed and broken into 1.5 inch pieces

2 large tomatoes, cored and chopped

1.25 pound of small ravioli (Got this from our local pasta shop Gallettas.)

Big handful of fresh basil, chopped

3 Tablespoons of balsamic fig vinegar

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

2 Tablespoons olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Saute the red onion in some olive oil until it caramelizes. Add to a big bowl.

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the ravioli and green beans. Cook until the ravioli is done and the green beans are nice and bright and still have a little crunch to them. (Note, you may have to stagger the addition of pasta to beans depending on the size of your ravioli and the cooking directions that come with them.) Drain and rinse under cold water to halt further cooking. Let all the extra water drain off before adding to the big bowl.

Add the diced tomatoes and fresh basil to the bowl.

Whisk together the balsamic vinegar and mustard. Slowly add the olive oil and whisk until combined. Pour over salad and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

No Comments

Kristen, June 10th 2010 | Tags: green beans, pasta, tomatoes
Posted in Entree, Salads

Broccoli Rabe – My new favorite veggie

A couple of weeks ago I was feeling bored and uninspired in the veggie department. I was flipping through my Greens Glorious Greens cookbook and stopped on an item I wasn’t that familiar with. So I went out to the grocery store and came home with a bunch of broccoli rabe. If you aren’t familiar with this green veggie, and you pick up a bunch, you first question is probably, “What part do I cook?” And the answer is all of it. I chop about a bottom inch off each stem where it is a little thicker and sometimes looks a little dry. Then I just take my knife and just chop the rest of the plant up into 1 inch pieces; stems, leaves and florets in all. What’s great about broccoli rabe is that you don’t have to cut it pretty as you will use everything.

Broccoli rabe falls into the category of greens that I would refer to as bitter. To tame their bitterness you need to blanch them first. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the broccoli rabe and let cook for about 1-2 minutes. Drain and then press out all the water from the broccoli rabe.

The recipe below was inspired by something I saw in an Eating Well magazine. I modified to make it more of a main dish meal.

Broccoli Rabe, Cannellini Bean, and Orzo Toss

3/4 cup orzo

1 bunch of broccoli rabe, cleaned and chopped

1 small yellow squash, and cut in half on the vertical axis, then slice each half into 1/4 inch half moons

3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1.5 teaspoons herbes de provence

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 15 ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

Juice from 1/2 lemon

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Cook orzo according to package directions

Blanch your broccoli rabe following the instructions above.

Heat some olive oil over medium heat in a large pan. Add the yellow squash and saute until it just starts to turn brown. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add the blanched broccoli rabe, stir to combine.

Remove from heat and stir in herbes de provence, pepper, cannellini beans, lemon juice and orzo. Top with the feta cheese.

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Kristen, March 25th 2010 | Tags: broccoli rabe
Posted in Entree

Winter French Lentil and Root Vegetable Salad

This is one of my favorite winter meals. It is very grounding and filling with all the root vegetables and lentils. Plus it uses beets which I love because they are like getting two vegetables for the price of one. You can use both the roots and leaves in this recipe!

I apologize for the delay in getting this picture up. I know promised some of you that it would be there yesterday. I had some internet issues that were beyond my control, but now we are good to go.

Winter French Lentil and Root Vegetable Salad

1 large red onion, sliced

1.5-2 lb root vegetables, diced (turnip, beet, parsnip, celeriac, carrot, etc…)

1-2 Tablespoons olive oil

Salt and Pepper

¾ cup French lentils, rinsed

1 bay leaf

1 small shallot, minced

1 tsp Dijon mustard

¼ cup fresh parsley, minced

3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic

beet greens, removed from stems and coarsely chopped

Preheat your oven to 425. Toss the onions and root vegetables with the olive oil, salt and pepper in a large roasting pan. Roast for about 35 minutes, or until the vegetables are lightly brown. Give the pan a good shake once or twice while roasting so they brown evenly. Remove from the roasting pan and place in a large bowl.

Place the lentils and the bay leaf in a medium saucepan. Make sure the lentils are covered by at least 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let the lentils simmer for 15-20 minutes. If the water level in the pot gets to low, just add more water so the lentils are covered. Once lentils have reached the right consistency, drain them and place in the bowl with the roasted vegetables.

If the salad is to be enjoyed immediately, dress the lentils and vegetables while they are hot. If you are making this to enjoy later, let the lentils and vegetables cool to room temperature and then dress them.

To make the dressing, combine the shallot, mustard, parsley and balsamic vinegar in a bowl and whisk together. Once combined, slowly whisk in the olive oil. Pour the dressing over the lentils and vegetables and toss to combine.

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the garlic and saute 30 seconds. Add the beet greens and saute until it wilts and the garlic is evenly distributed among the leaves. Add the beet greens to the rest of the salad and toss together.

No Comments

Kristen, January 25th 2010 | Tags: beet, French lentils
Posted in Entree, Salads

Red Lentil Pancakes

I had some leftover cooked red lentils in my fridge and was looking for something to do with them. I came across this recipe in Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian Cookbook. I followed the recipe for the most part except that his called for just soaked lentils that you puree while I had pre-cooked ones which I just mashed up. Here is what I did.

Red Lentil Pancakes

1 cup cooked red lentils, smashed up Red Lentil Pancakes

1/2 cup sliced green onion

1 carrot sliced into thin matchsticks

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

1 Tablespoon minced ginger

2 Tablespoons garam masala

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs whisked

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir until a batter forms. In a large nonstick pan, heat a high heat oil (I used grapeseed) over high heat. Add 3 separate spoonfuls of batter to the pan and flatten them out so there is a large surface area. Cook about 4 minutes, flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes. (I needed to use two spatulas to sucessfully flip the pancakes without them breaking.) Repeat until you run out of batter. (I got 6 pancakes though a couple of mine were a little large.)

I served this with some brown rice, unsweetened applesauce from a local orchard, and a big green salad.

No Comments

Kristen, January 13th 2010 | Tags: red lentil
Posted in Entree

Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

Looking at my recipes as of lately, I seem to be stuck on butternut squash.

My inspiration for this recipe came from purchasing some ravioli at our local farmers market this past weekend. We have a store here called Galletta’s, it’s an Italian deli that also makes their own pastas. Growing up in an Italian family, I appreciate the amount of work and time that goes into making ravioli. My Nana used to make dozens and dozens of them to feed us at family gatherings. Nana is no longer with us so I was thrilled to see Galletta’s offering their pastas at the farmers marekt. I typically think of doing something tomato based when it comes to pasta, but I wanted to try something different. Here is what I came up with.

Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

2 heads of garlic, remove white papery skin but leave the cloves together

1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced in 1/2 inch pieces

1 teaspoon dried sage

Roasted Butternut Squash Sauce

1 cup water

3/4 cup half and half

Salt and Pepper to taste

Cut the top quarter off both heads of garlic. Place on aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil, wrap tightly in the foil and roast for 40 minutes at 425. Remove and allow the garlic to cool enough to be able to handle the cloves. Press out the garlic pulp into a medium saucepan.

Toss the butternut squash on a dark roasting pan with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for about 30 minutes at 425. Stir the butternut squash about half way through the roasting time to brown all sides. Add the squash to the garlic in the saucepan.

Add the dried sage, water, and half and half to the same saucepan. Puree with an immersion blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste and warm the sauce over medium low until hot.

Pour the sauce over the pasta of your choice.

Note: You may need to add more liquid depending on the size of your particular butternut squash. If the sauce is too thick, add a little more water or half and half to smooth the sauce out.

I served this with some steamed broccoli.

3 Comments

Kristen, December 16th 2009 | Tags: butternut squash
Posted in Entree

Roasted Garlic and Butternut Squash Pizza

Thanksgiving is usually a low key holiday for hubby and me. We also don’t usually have what most people would consider a traditional dinner. One year we had tacos and last year I made this pizza. It was so good that it has earned the right to be transferred over from my old blog.

If you are looking for something different for your Thanksgiving meal, and have a small group, this is an easy recipe to up the quantity on to make 2 even 3 pizzas.

Roasted Garlic and Butternut Squash Pizza

Pizza dough ball (either make your own or by a pre-made ball of dough)

2 heads of garlic

1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice

2 ounces asiago cheese, shredded

4 ounces soft goat cheese

1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped

Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste

Remove the outer paper skin from both heads of garlic but do not separate cloves. Cut the top 1/4 inch of the heads of garlic. Place each head a square of aluminum foil and drizzle with some olive oil. Wrap the foil tightly around each head of garlic and roast at 425 for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow them to cool enough to be handled with bare hands. Separate the cloves and push out all the yummy garlic pulp.

Spread the butternut squash out on dark roasting pan. Toss with olive oil and roast at 425 for about 20 minutes.

Roll the dough out on a pizza stone and stab several times with a fork to let the steam escape while it bakes. Bake for 15 minutes at 350. Remove from oven. Spread the garlic pulp over the crust. Top with the roasted squash. Sprinkle the asiago over the squash and add dollops of goat cheese. Finish with the fresh rosemary, salt, and pepper. Put the pizza back in the oven for 10 minutes. Allow it to rest about 10 minutes before slicing.

A must for every kitchen is a pizza stone, if you don’t have one, get it here.

No Comments

Kristen, November 20th 2009 | Posted in Entree, Pizza

Gluten Free and Egg Free Chickpea Patties with Lemon-Tahini Sauce

For the past 9 years I have been a part of a cooking group. We get together every 4-6 weeks and try new recipes out on each other. Each one of us brings a different part of the meal, I was in charge of the appetizer for this past gathering. I was inspired to make these patties as one of our members has a daughter who has an egg allergy. When you have food allergies, it can make it difficult to enjoy food like the rest of the allergy free world. These chickpea patties, or falafel as they are sometimes called, are made gluten free and egg free by using chickpea flour and water to make the binder. Chickpea, or garbanzo bean flour, can be purchased at well stocked grocery stores, health food stores or here.

These Chickpea Patties were inspired by a recipe I found at Vegetarian Times, in fact, shockingly I changed very little of it. The Lemon-Tahini Sauce is my own creation.

Chickpea Patties with Lemon-Tahini Sauce and Sauteed Kale

Gluten Free and Egg Free Chickpea Patties

1 cup chickpea flour

2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup hot water

15 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

3 green onions, chopped

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

Combine the chickpea flour, cumin, chili powder and salt in a bowl with a whisk. Add hot water and the rest of the ingredients and mix until everything is combined. In a large nonstick skillet, heat some olive oil over medium heat.

Add about a 1/3 of a cup scoop of the chickpea mixture to the hot pan, you should be able to fit 4 in your pan. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, then flip the patties and cook 2-3 minutes on the other side. Transfer to a plate and repeat the above procedure with the rest of the chickpea mixture.

Lemon-Tahini Sauce

1/2 cup tahini

1/4 cup water

juice of 1.5 lemons (a little more then 1/4 cup)

3 Tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Combine everything together in a bowl. When you first start mixing it, it will look rather separated and like something is wrong. Keep stirring and it will turn out fine.

I served this for our dinner tonight with some sauteed kale, YUM!

No Comments

Kristen, November 9th 2009 | Tags: chickpeas
Posted in Entree

Broccoli Rabe, Cannellini Bean, and Orzo Toss

3/4 cup orzo

1 bunch of broccoli rabe, cleaned and chopped

1 small yellow squash, and cut in half on the vertical axis, then slice each half into 1/4 inch half moons

3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1.5 teaspoons herbes de provence

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 15 ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

Juice from 1/2 lemon

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Cook orzo according to package directions

Blanch your broccoli rabe following the instructions above.

Heat some olive oil over medium heat in a large pan. Add the yellow squash and saute until it just starts to turn brown. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add the blanched broccoli rabe, stir to combine.

Remove from heat and stir in herbes de provence, pepper, cannellini beans, lemon juice and orzo. Top with the feta cheese.

This is one of my favorite winter meals. It is very grounding and filling with all the root vegetables and lentils. Plus it uses beets which I love because they are like getting two vegetables for the price of one. You can use both the roots and leaves in this recipe!

I apologize for the delay in getting this picture up. I know promised some of you that it would be there yesterday. I had some internet issues that were beyond my control, but now we are good to go.

Winter French Lentil and Root Vegetable Salad

1 large red onion, sliced

1.5-2 lb root vegetables, diced (turnip, beet, parsnip, celeriac, carrot, etc…)

1-2 Tablespoons olive oil

Salt and Pepper

¾ cup French lentils, rinsed

1 bay leaf

1 small shallot, minced

1 tsp Dijon mustard

¼ cup fresh parsley, minced

3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic

beet greens, removed from stems and coarsely chopped

If the salad is to be enjoyed immediately, dress the lentils and vegetables while they are hot. If you are making this to enjoy later, let the lentils and vegetables cool to room temperature and then dress them.

To make the dressing, combine the shallot, mustard, parsley and balsamic vinegar in a bowl and whisk together. Once combined, slowly whisk in the olive oil. Pour the dressing over the lentils and vegetables and toss to combine.

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the garlic and saute 30 seconds. Add the beet greens and saute until it wilts and the garlic is evenly distributed among the leaves. Add the beet greens to the rest of the salad and toss together.

Thanksgiving is usually a low key holiday for hubby and me. We also don’t usually have what most people would consider a traditional dinner. One year we had tacos and last year I made this pizza. It was so good that it has earned the right to be transferred over from my old blog.

If you are looking for something different for your Thanksgiving meal, and have a small group, this is an easy recipe to up the quantity on to make 2 even 3 pizzas.

Roasted Garlic and Butternut Squash Pizza

Pizza dough ball (either make your own or by a pre-made ball of dough)

2 heads of garlic

1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice

2 ounces asiago cheese, shredded

4 ounces soft goat cheese

1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped

Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste

Spread the butternut squash out on dark roasting pan. Toss with olive oil and roast at 425 for about 20 minutes.

A must for every kitchen is a pizza stone, if you don’t have one, get it here.

These Chickpea Patties were inspired by a recipe I found at Vegetarian Times, in fact, shockingly I changed very little of it. The Lemon-Tahini Sauce is my own creation.

Chickpea Patties with Lemon-Tahini Sauce and Sauteed Kale

Gluten Free and Egg Free Chickpea Patties

1 cup chickpea flour

2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup hot water

15 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

3 green onions, chopped

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

Combine the chickpea flour, cumin, chili powder and salt in a bowl with a whisk. Add hot water and the rest of the ingredients and mix until everything is combined. In a large nonstick skillet, heat some olive oil over medium heat.

Add about a 1/3 of a cup scoop of the chickpea mixture to the hot pan, you should be able to fit 4 in your pan. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, then flip the patties and cook 2-3 minutes on the other side. Transfer to a plate and repeat the above procedure with the rest of the chickpea mixture.

Lemon-Tahini Sauce

1/2 cup tahini

1/4 cup water

juice of 1.5 lemons (a little more then 1/4 cup)

3 Tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Combine everything together in a bowl. When you first start mixing it, it will look rather separated and like something is wrong. Keep stirring and it will turn out fine.

I served this for our dinner tonight with some sauteed kale, YUM!

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