Pumpkin Risotto ~ Thanksgiving Vegetarian Style!

October 9, 2015September 26, 20227 Comments

This is a vegetarian dish! But, if you eliminate the cheese, this would make an excellent vegan dish.

It started a few years ago….

While having dinner with my serious foodie friends. I scrunched my nose when one friend ordered pumpkin risotto for their main course.

We would all have a taste of everyone’s main on our bread plates before we started.
The Pumpkin Risotto was the winning dish!

Ingredients

Pumpkin Risotto

Servings: 8-10
Time: 12 + 18 mins cook time
Difficulty: medium
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INGREDIENTS
2Tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 1/2 cups carnaroli rice
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup apple cider
4 cups vegetable stock
3 cups diced fresh ‘pie’ pumpkin
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh sage
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
3/4 cup walnut pieces
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat 4 cups of vegetable stock. Keep warm.
2. In a large heavy bottomed pan with high sides, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with salt, about 1/8 teaspoon as the onions become sweet tasting. This helps to layer the flavours.
3. Add carnaroli rice and cook a few minutes longer to coat all rice kernels in oil but not browning.
4. Add wine and stir until it is completely absorbed.
5. Add apple cider and ladle in hot stock one cup at a time.
6. Add ‘pie’ pumpkin, sage and thyme and cook until all liquid is absorbed. About 18 minutes. (Mix, but do not keep stiring)
7. Before serving add walnuts, salt and pepper (to taste), olive oil and grated parmigiano.

Every fall Pumpkin Risotto is on the menu. The flavour is stunning! You would swear that there is butter and cream in this risotto but it is completely absent.
Carnaroli Rice: This is partially due to the cooking method as well as the substitution of the classic arborio rice with CARNAROLI Rice.

COOKING TIP 👨‍🍳
Most chefs will argue the cooking time should be only 18 minutes. A chef’s school instructor told me that the famous chef who’s pumpkin risotto I fell in love with lets his risotto sit and cook without stirring. At the end he just gives the risotto a toss. So far, I have been reluctant to try this method as I have put so many good ingredients in it. One day?

Make sure that you buy edible pumpkins and not the ones that are meant for carving. Pumpkins belong to the winter squash family along with butternut, acorn and spaghetti squash. Pumpkins grown for eating ( not carving ) are called: sugar pumpkins, sweet pumpkins, cheese pumpkins, pie pumpkin & some heirloom varieties.

TASTE TEST Results You Need To Know: I baked fresh pumpkin in the oven for 60 minutes at 350F. After it was baked and cooled, I opened a tin of pumpkin puree and tasted both of them. What a difference! The tinned pumpkin had a muddy taste while the ‘pie’ pumpkin tasted divine! I vow to never buy tinned pumpkin again!

Pumpkin has many health benefits. They are a great source of carotene which is one of our major antioxidants that helps to protect us against certain kinds of cancer (particularly lung cancer) and heart disease. Pumpkin aids in blood sugar metabolism and the health of the pancreas. Along with the vitamins and minerals, pumpkin is helpful in the relief of bronchial asthma, and promotes healthy lungs and throat. European folk medicine acknowledges pumpkin as a remedy for respiratory and digestive ailments.

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Ratatouille ~ With Pizzaz

October 2, 2015March 5, 202010 Comments

I am so in love with the beautiful flavour of the fresh tomatoes that linger on in the season that I had to make some to enjoy them. So I decided to make ratatouille. In the beginning of the process the eggplant got charred to carbon in literally minutes in my Vulcan convection air oven. So not to give up I moved to a frying pan and made the ratatouille anyway substituting poblano peppers for the eggplant. My Italian friend said it was the best ratatouille she had ever had! Gone was the bitterness that was imparted by the eggplant and the heat of the poblano was not really noticeable. It added just a background of mild heat and umami if you will. We used this as an accompaniment for our meal and as a filling for our omelets the next morning. Yummy! Here is the recipe. Yet another healthy sugar free, gluten free one.

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INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 sweet onion
4 cloves garlic
2 zucchini
1 tablespoon lemon thyme
1 yellow bell pepper
1 poblano pepper
2 tomatoes (skin removed)

INSTRUCTIONS

1) Dice and saute onion in oil a few minutes until translucent
2) Dice and add garlic and saute for a few minutes longer
3) Dice zucchini and add to pan along with the lemon thyme
4) Next add diced yellow and poblano peppers and saute a few minutes longer
5) Dice the tomatoes and add to the pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook a few minutes longer.

The resulting ratatouille will taste more like vegetables and is not dripping in tomato sauce. It lacks the bitterness that eggplant imparts. It is so fresh, tasty and versatile. Serve it with your meal, in your lasagna, and in your omelets. Adding this with cheese to your morning omelet will also enhance the flavours and it is great for single servings and it has multipurpose uses. This is for the “who’s- got-time?” – to cook – crowd but we want to eat tasty and healthy food!

Your Foodie Tip

October 1, 2015February 21, 201651 Comments

The easiest way to peel a tomato is to cut an “X” on the end, place it in boiling water or whatever water you may have boiling on the stove like stock, soup, pasta water. After a minute or two drop it in ice water and it will peel very easily. The procedure is the same for peaches, nectarines and the like.

Did You Know?
If you drop your lemon into boiling water for a minute or two and then roll it on your counter, you will get more juice out of it? I watched one of our most famous Italian chefs in the city do this. Of course he had lots of pots boiling at any given time. You then roll it on the counter, cut it and juice it.
In addition, if you use one of those new juicers that you just press, cut the end off the lemon and you will find it’s easier to juice and again you will get more juice. If you have too many lemons, you can grate and freeze the rind and then juice the lemons and freeze the juice.

Manhattan Clam Chowder -20 Minutes!

September 25, 2015January 10, 202211 Comments

Diet Soup ~ Nutrient Rich Seafood

The Shanty Bar owner finally gave me his secret recipe to Manhattan Clam Chowder with mussels This recipe uses a combination of clams and muscles. I call it a “MOCK” clam chowder. You had to get to the Shanty early in the day since they would always run out of the soup by 3:00 pm. The Shanty is gone now. But, the soup lives on! An original recipe from S.S.F. and The Shanty. A salute and a cheer to Dick, Shanty owner! 🍻 🍺 . If you are suffering from anemia. This is the soup for you! [6 oz clams= 132% daily iron]

It’s so easy to make and s-o-o-o-o-o delicious. My Kids gobble up this soup!

musselsandclams — Clams Are Small, Round and Light Colored. Mussels are Darker and Long Shaped

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INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
8 oz. slices mushrooms
1/2 of a 750 ml bottle of white wine
1 28 oz can of plum tomatoes
1 8oz. bottle clam juice
1 5 oz. can baby clams
2 lbs. mussels
5 leaves fresh basil
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (to taste) or 1 tiny red pepper 🌶️
1 tablespoon chopped flat leafed parsley
3 mild Italian sausages (optional – instead use 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of fresh ground fennel or anise)

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat oil in heavy soup pot or cast iron pot.
2. Slice onions and add to pan. Heat until translucent.
3. Slice and add garlic and hot pepper. Saute for a few minutes.
4. Add mushrooms and cook another 2 minutes.
5. Remove sausages from casings and fry them breaking up with a wooden spoon. Fry about 5 minutes. If you skip the sausages – add a dash of ground fennel or anise. The way they do at the restaurants. (You will know where that great flavour comes from)
6. Add wine and cook for 20 minutes.
7. Add the can of plum tomatoes roughly breaking up the tomatoes with your hands or a spoon.
Add the bottled clam juice and canned clams (or fresh de-bearded clams) . Bring to a boil. Add the basil leaves along with the chopped parsley.
8. Add the mussels which have been rinsed, and the opened ones discarded. Cover and cook for 3 minutes until all the mussels have opened.
9. If any of the mussels will not open discard them.

Cook for 3 minutes - until the mussels open — Cook for 3 minutes – until all the mussels open

Serve “Mussel Soup Supreme” with garlic bread.

FOOD TIP: When your raw mussels are open, tap them on a hard counter. If they do not close then discard them as they are dead and can make you sick. If they close then they are fine to cook and enjoy. Check your clams for a beard. Simply pull them out and discard any broken clams. The Italian sausage gives a pleasant mild fennel flavour to the soup. If you don’t add sausage then add a dash of fennel, if you have it around. The spices are up to you, if you want to experiment. A bit of oregano might be nice.

VARIATIONS You can add lobster, shrimps, scallops or any other seafood you have on hand to make this into a seafood soup. If you are adding raw lobster to the soup then add that first as it takes longer to cook. It will turn pink and then add any shrimp or scallops last since they require only a few minutes of cooking or they will become tough and rubbery. If you add canned lobster include the liquid from the can for more flavour. You can add almost any fish except salmon. It has too much of a strong flavour for this dish. Sherry can also be added while you are cooking these last bits of seafood. Sherry complements the flavour of the seafood.. . .
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Mussels and Pork — Portuguese classically make dishes which **combine mussels and clams** in beautiful **copper cataplanas** like this one.

NUTRIENT-RICH
Mussels and clams are a rich source of many essential vitamins and minerals, such as the B vitamins, vitamin C, folate, iron, phosphorus, manganese, selenium and zinc. They outshine most other foods when it comes to their vitamin B-12, selenium and manganese content. A 3 ounce portion of moist-heat cooked blue mussels provides 20.4 micrograms of vitamin B-12, protein 40%, cholesterol 16% [far less than clams 40%, yet protein is 100%] according to NutrientFacts.com. Vitamin B-12 is essential for a healthy nervous system, the formation of red blood cells and proper growth and development. The same amount meets 108 percent of the DV for selenium and 288 percent for manganese. Selenium is important for immune system function and supports the thyroid gland, while manganese is involved in bone health and energy metabolism. Mussels are rich in sodium as well which is why this soup did not need any salt added.

Pear Almond Tart Recipe (Gluten Free)

September 18, 2015February 21, 201630 Comments

The soft, sweet pear makes this Fall fruit perfect for enjoying fresh or for using in healthy recipes like a “Pear Almond Tart”. Pears are harvested and plentiful this time of year. Bonus: A gluten free dessert!
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INGREDIENTS

6 pears
1/4 teaspoon dried ginger powder
1 cup ground almonds
4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar substitute plus 1 tablespoon
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
pinch of salt
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Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350F and butter a 9 inch ring mold or removable bottom tart shell.
2. Peel, half and core pears and toss in ginger and 1 tablespoon sugar substitute.
3. Toast the ground almonds lightly for 10 minutes on a baking sheet lined with a piece of parchment. Let this cool slightly.
4. Mix almonds, eggs, sugar substitute, almond extract, vanilla extract, grated ginger, pinch salt in a food processor or blender.
5. Lay pear halves in the ring mold and pour batter into pan and spread evenly. Bake for 40-50 minutes.

DID YOU KNOW: In the Odyssey, Homer called the pear a “gift from the Gods.” Pears are a member of the rose (Rosaceae) family of plants. High fiber pears help protect us from the development of —> type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stomach cancer. Pears have been linked to prevention of osteoporosis since Boron (in pears) aides in retaining calcium in your bones. When you need an energy boost, have a pear or a slice of “Pear Almond Tart” instead of a candy bar. It works!