Butternut Squash and Potato Pie with Tomato, Mint and Sheep's Milk Cheese

I got three butternut squash out of my garden this summer- I saw this recipe and thought my squash coupled with my mint, parsley, and tomatoes and LPO's potatoes- this was sure to be a winner! I have amended the recipe below (less mint than originally called for).

Butternut Squash and Potato Pie with Tomato, Mint and Sheep's Milk Cheese
Serves 6 as a side dish or 3 to 4 as a main course

2 sprigs fresh mint leaves, shredded
5 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/4 pounds butternut squash, quartered, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced crosswise
1 large ripe tomato, halved, seeded and grated, or a few spoonfuls of drained, diced tomatoes from a can
2/3 cup grated hard sheep's milk cheese, like Greek mizithra or Spanish manchego
1/4 cup fresh ricotta
1 1/2 pounds red or Yukon Gold potatoes, thinly sliced
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the mint, parsley, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, or a little bit more to taste, and the pepper. Remove and reserve half the mixture. Add the squash to the bowl and mix well. Add the tomato, and the hard and fresh cheeses and toss to combine.

2. Toss the potatoes with the reserved garlic-herb mixture and add another 1/4 teaspoon salt. Place half the sliced potatoes on the bottom of a generously oiled 2 1/2-quart baking dish. Taste a small bit of the squash-tomato mixture for seasoning, adjust if needed, and spread on top, covering with the remaining potatoes. Pour the milk over all, dust with the flour (preferably through a sieve) and drizzle the oil on top.

3. Bake for 40 minutes. Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees and continue to bake for 30 minutes, or until the gratin is brown and the liquid is nearly absorbed. Allow to rest for 15 minutes before serving.

**Delicious! I would recommend using your food processor for most of the prep work-otherwise you'll be grating and slicing for a long time...

Quinoa with olives and roasted tomatoes

I found this recipe on the smittenkitchen site. I changed out the couscous for quinoa and followed the rest of the recipe. Quinoa is super easy to make- remember it is 2 to 1 (liquid to quinoa).


Pearl Couscous with Olives and Roasted Tomatoes
Gourmet, September 2002
Makes 6 servings
For roasted tomatoes and dressing
2 pt red grape or cherry tomatoes (1 1/2 lb)
3 large garlic cloves, left unpeeled
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
For couscous
2 3/4 cups chicken broth
2 1/4 cups pearl (Israeli) couscous
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup Kalamata or other brine-cured black olives, pitted and chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
Roast tomatoes and make dressing: 
Preheat oven to 250°F.
Halve tomatoes through stem ends and arrange, cut sides up, in 1 layer in a large shallow (1-inch-deep) baking pan. Add garlic to pan and roast in middle of oven until tomatoes are slightly shriveled around edges, about 1 hour. Cool in pan on a rack 30 minutes.
Peel garlic and puree with oil, water, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup roasted tomatoes in a blender until dressing is very smooth.
Make couscous: Bring broth to a boil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan and stir in couscous, then simmer, uncovered, 6 minutes. Cover pan and remove from heat. Let stand 10 minutes.
Spread couscous in 1 layer on a baking sheet and cool 15 minutes. Transfer couscous to a bowl and stir in remaining ingredients, dressing, roasted tomatoes, and salt and pepper to taste.
Do ahead: Roasted tomatoes, dressing, and couscous can be made 1 day ahead and kept separately, covered and chilled. Bring to room temperature before proceeding.

**Nice salad. The dressing made the quinoa turn a bit orange. It was OK, quite mellow.

Zucchini pancakes with semi-dried tomatoes and marinated feta

This recipe came from a newspaper- I can't remember the source. I looked for it on the web, but couldn't find it.

2 C grated zucchini
4 eggs
1/4 C+  flour
1/2 C parmesan (can sub feta)
pepper and salt
1/2 t nutmeg (optional in my opinion)
2 T chopped mint
1 t sea salt
olive oil

Place zucchini in a clean, dry towel and gently squeeze out any excess moisture. Place into a medium sized bowl with the eggs flour, parmesan, pepper, nutmeg, mint and salt. Mix together with a wooden spoon.

Heat a heavy-based fry pan over medium heat and add oil (optional depending upon your pan). Using a third-cup measure per pancake ladle mixture into the pan and cook each pancake 2-3 minutes on each side till golden brown and cooked through.

Serve with feta and sun-dried tomatoes.

**I one and a half timed the recipe- it made 7 very large pancakes. Delicious and easy.

Quinoa Tabouli Salad with Chickpeas

One of my favorite summer salads. I used to use bulgher until wheat became an allergy issue in this house. Now I use quinoa and love it. This recipe comes from The New Moosewood Cookbook. I found the recipe on-line on the food.com website . However, what you see below is how I've adapted it over the years. Depending on what is in season, I'll add the tomatoes or if I have kalamati olives, I'll add them. I usually add chickpeas for the protein.

• 1 1/2 cups quinoa
• 3 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• pepper
• 3 scallions, finely minced
• 1/2 cup minced flat-leaf parsley, packed
• 8- 10 mint leaves, minced
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced or 4 roma tomatoes,diced
• 1/2 cucumber,  minced

1. Cook the quinoa in the water for about 15 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed.Fluff up the quinoa.
2. Emulsify the lemon juice and oil. Then mix in the salt, garlic, pepper, and scallions.
3. Chill for 30 minutes.
4. Before serving, add the rest of the ingredients.

 

 **Delicious, as always.

**Made a different time, with black olives, tomatoes, and carrots.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

I love these rolls wrapped in rice paper. They are perfect for a warm day. You can find a multitude of recipes on-line for the fillings and for the sauces. Here is what we did:

For the spring roll
Cucumber, cut into long slices
Carrot, long peels
Tot Soi, washed and left whole
Basil, cut into strips
Mint, cut into strips
Parsley
Tempeh, cut into strips
Rice vermicelli

For the Sauce
1/4 C hoisin sauce
2 T almond butter
1 t rice venegar
1 garlic, crushed
1 squirt Thai hot sauce

In bowl of warm water, dip each rice paper wrapper for about 3-5 seconds (depending on rice paper thickness). Do not over soak your rice paper wrapper! Place on work service and allow rice paper to soak up water and become gelatinous and pliable (about 30 seconds to 1 minute, again, depending on the thickness rice paper).
On top 1/3 side closest to you, lay noddles and greens on the bottom for added strength to the wrapper. Then place herbs and other vegetables. Roll up spring roll about 1/3 way through, then fold in the sides.
Serve with hoisin almond dip (or any other sauce).

**Delicious. Keeper.

Spring Fettuccine

The basis of this recipe comes from Fettucini alla Primavera. I will be using more vegies than it calls for. Since I've never made this recipe- we'll see what changes as it gets made. The recipe below is what I intend to make- not the recipe on the link.

6+ oz frozen baby peas
1 C zucchini, sliced and cut in half
1 cup frozen edamame
1 C baby carrots, peeled
1 1/2 oz butter
1 small white onion, finely chopped
1 lb brown rice fettuccine
4 oz ham, diced
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 C cream
1/2 C low-fat milk
fresh mint
freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (parmesan) for serving

Take peas out of the freezer. Drop the edemame into a saucepan of lightly salted boiling water. Bring the water to the boil, then cook the beans for 3-4 minutes. Drain. Plunge the carrots into lightly salted boiling water and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until tender. Drain. Steam the zucchini until al dente. Put the butter into a medium-sized frying pan and add the chopped onion. Cook gently until very tender. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in plenty of gently boiling well-salted water until al dente. Add the edamame, carrots, and zucchini to the onion in the pan and cook for a few minutes more, until hot. Add the ham and season the sauce with a few pinches of salt and plenty of black pepper. Pour in the cream and let it bubble up for a few minutes (don't over-reduce it). Turn off the heat.As soon as the pasta is cooked, drain it over the peas and turn it all into a heated serving bowl. Add the mint to the sauce, then pour all the contents of the pan on top of the pasta. Toss well and serve immediately with freshly grated parmesan cheese. Serves 4-6

 **Delicious! I used 2 large carrots, 2 small zucchini, half a larger bag of baby peas, and a whole small  bag of frozen edamame. Because of the extra veges, I put in 3/4 C whole cream and 3/4 C of 2%. I didn't cut the mint up, but put in some leaves whole. Keeper for sure!

Zucchini Fritters

I've tried a fair few zucchini fritter recipes. This is my favorite so far. You can get the recipe online at cuisine.co.nz 

6 small zucchini
salt
3 spring onions, chopped
2 T parsley, chopped
1 T mint, chopped
1 T dill, chopped
1/2 C feta cheese, crumbled
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 C flour

Grate the zucchini into a colander, sprinkle with salt and leave to drain for 30 minutes. Squeeze out moisture by hand then wrap them into a towel to get the rest of the moisture out. Transfer to a bowl and add the onions parsley, mint, dill, feta cheese, eggs, and salt and pepper to taste.

Mix well then blend in the flour. Drop by tablespoons into a hot skillet and fry till golden. Turn and cook the second side.

Delicious with yogurt. Makes 24 small ones.

 **Yummy!

Lentils, Rice, and Chickpeas

This recipe came from the Israel chapter of a cookbook called The Global Gourmet. It looks good and filling.


3/4 cup lentils
1/2 cup rice
2 cups water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 large cloves garlic
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 cups tomato sauce
1 teaspoon salt
Several good grinds of black pepper
1 small bunch fresh mint leaves,
   finely chopped, or 2 tablespoons
   crushed dry mint
2 cups cooked or canned chickpeas, drained
Good handful of flat leaf
   parsley leaves, finely chopped
Plain yogurt, for garnish

1. In a pot, combine the lentils, rice, and water. Bring to a simmer; then cover and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes, until all the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered.
2. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan and sauté the sliced onion over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is a rich golden brown. Remove the onion from the pot, leaving behind as much of the oil as possible. Set the onions aside.
3. In the same saucepan, sauté the chopped onion and the garlic in the remaining oil, stirring, until the onion wilts and just begins to turn golden. Stir in the cumin.
4. Add the tomato sauce, salt, pepper; mint, and chickpeas, then add the reserved lentils and rice. Mix well, then cook, stirring occasionally, over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Just before serving, stir in the parsley.
5. Serve hot, garnished with the reserved caramelized onions, and pass the yogurt.

**So easy to make. Delicious with the fresh mint. Served with yogurt. Great leftovers.

Potato and Feta Salad

I got this recipe from a cookbook in New Zealand. This was in the Spring chapter. I have not tried it. It suggests that this can make a perfect lunch or dinner for a busy day. It also suggests that it can be served on its own.

500g, 1 1/4lb small new potatoes
5 spring onions, green and white parts finely chopped
1 T rinsed bottled capers
8-10 black olives
115g, 4oz feta cheese
3 T finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
2 T finely chopped fresh mint
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Vinaigrette
6-8 T extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lemon, or to taste
2 salted or preserved anchovies, rinsed and finely chopped
3 T fresh dill, finely chopped
3 T Greek yogurt
1 t french mustard

Preparation

Leaving the potatoes whole, in their skins, cook in boiling salted water for 25-30 minutes or until tender. Don't cook them too long to become mushy and start to disintegrate.
Drain the potatoes and leave to cool.
When cool enough to handle, pull the skins off with your fingers.
Cut the peeled potatoes into quarters or cubes if the potatoes are large.
Place in a large mixing bowl.
Crumble the feta cheese over the potatoes.
Add the spring onions, capers, olives, fresh herbs, freshly ground salt and black pepper.
Toss gently, just enough to mix, being careful not to break the potatoes.

To make the vinaigrette
Place the extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, and anchovies in a small bowl and whisk together thoroughly for a couple of minutes until the dressing thickens and emulsifies.
It if doesn't thicken, you may need to add more olive oil.
Whisk in the mustard, yogurt, dill and mustard and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pour the dressing over the potato salad and toss gently until the salad is mixed and coated with the dressing.

If you have time, the flavours will be enhanced if you leave the salad at room temperature for 1 hour before serving.

**We had the potato salad with grilled chicken and steamed broccoli. I ended up not using feta. The salad was delicious! Everyone loved it.

Lamb Pasties/Meat Pies

Tonight we're having the leftover lamb, transformed into little meat pies. Here is the recipe for Lamb Pasties.

Makes 4

8 oz (225)g rich shortcrust pastry
6-8 oz (175-225g) lean cooked lamb, diced or coarsely minced
2 t chopped fresh mint
1 T grated onion
salt and pepper
2 oz (50g) peas, cooked
2-3 T cream
beaten egg to glaze

Preheat the oven to 425.
Roll out the dough and cut into four 7 inch rounds.
Mix together all the remaining ingredients except the beaten egg and divide between the dough rounds.
Dampen the edges, bring them together and press firmly to seal. Crimp.
Place on a greased baking sheet and brush with beaten egg.
Bake in preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until golden brown.

**I made my own pastry with spelt flour. I used defrosted frozen peas.
This was tasty enough- still a bit lamby for my kids. It was easy to make and an OK way to use up the lamb. I put chutney on mine-  mint would have been nice. Ketchup got added to another one. I think it could have used more mint and onion.

Persian Tomato and Cucumber Salad

Recipe can be found here: http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/Persian_Tomato_and_Cucumber_Salad

1 cucumber
1 tomato*
1 onion
mint
salt
1/4 C lemon juice
2 T olive oil

*used the little sugar plum tomatoes- cut in half


Chop all the vegetables finely. Mix them with the mint, lemon juice and olive oil.

*I whipped the olive oil and lemon juice together and then added it to the vegetables. As you can see, I chopped in chunks- not finely.

 

** Delicious salad! Just a hint of mint, nice crunch. Great compliment to the kebabs.