Pithivier and Baked Beet (?) Falafels

Pithivier
Funny word isn't it?  French Pronounced pith-e-v-ehr more or less.  The dish is nominally named after a French town where it was thought to originate.  I saw this done on a recent Great British Bakeoff finale episode, and it looked really interesting, and simple.  

Basically it's a dish-less pie with a puff pastry crust and a signature swirl decoration in the domed top.  The filling is always mounded in the center to give it the dome top, and the top is always egg-washed to get a nice shiny crust.

1 box Puff Pastry

8 oz small whole Crimini mushrooms, quartered

8oz sliced White Mushrooms, chopped

1 cup stemmed Spinach

1 medium Red Potato, diced small
1/2 cup shredded White Cheese blend

2 Shallots, sliced

2 Tbsp Basil Pesto

¼ cup chopped fresh basil

1/8 tsp Coriander

1/8 tsp Tarragon

¾ cup shredded Italian Blend cheese

¼ cup Half & half

1 Egg beaten (for egg wash)

Saute the filling ingredients, reserving the cheese and half & half until the end. You want to draw out most of the moisture of the mushrooms and spinach. Add the cheese and liquid and toss until everything is combined and coated. You should have 2 cups or more of filling. Remove to a bowl to cool.

Mid-week I made this for Sally and I, as per the recipe above.  It really is big enough for 4 with a side veg or salad.   Then on Sunday I made a larger one for Brunch with Sally's Mum.  In that one I used a lot more potato and goat cheese instead of shredded mixed white cheese; and the filling came out tasting sorta like "loaded" hash browns!

Preheat oven to 400F. Place a baking sheet in the oven to heat.  I used a 2 piece pizza pan and heated the bottom piece, but a pizza stone and a peel would be ideal.  The pre-heated under sheet helps the crust cook quicker underneath, so you don't suffer from Soggy Bottom Breakdown!

Thaw and roll out the puff pastry into 2 disks, about 16" and 18" diameter, rolling them onto wax paper or other non-stick paper. 

Put the smaller disk on your peel and mound the cooled filling in the center.  I mean really mound it.  In reality this photo doesn't show nearly enough filling...

Drape the larger pastry over the top to form a dome. Crimp the edges of the two pieces of pastry together to form a seal and roll the edges up.

Using the tip of a sharp knife, score the dome with the traditional curved sun ray pattern and poke a hole at the center to let out steam. Egg wash the whole surface.

Bake the pithivier for 40-45 minutes until GB&D. 

Rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Baked Beet Falafel
What?   Yeah, that's right -- beets (or beetroot if you're Brit).  Grated.  In the falafel mix.

From the book The 8 Week Blood Sugar Diet by Dr. Michael Mosley. The book and its recipes are for those of us with Type 2 diabetes that can be controlled by diet and exercise to some degree.

Substituting beets and mushroom for parsley is an interesting attempt to update, and improve the nutrition, of an ancient dish that really needs no updating.

1/2 Red Onion, chopped

1 tsp Cumin seed

pinch of Cayenne

4 Mushrooms, finely chopped

1 can Garbanzos, drained rinsed

8 oz raw Beets, peeled, coarse grated

1 Egg

1 Tbsp Tahini paste

squeeze Lemon juice

Oil for brushing

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Fry the onion in a splash of oil, until soft. Add cumin, cayenne and mushrooms, cook a minute or so more.

Transfer to food processor, add the chickpeas, 2/3 of the grated beets, egg, tahini, lemon juice. Whirrr into a rough paste.

Transfer to a bowl. Fold in remaining grated beets. Salt & pepper to taste.

With wet hands form into 8 balls. Space balls on baking sheet. Brush with EVOO and bake 25 minutes until GB&D.  

Serve with some homemade Tzatziki -- plain yogurt with minced cucumber and julienned mint stirred into it.

Sally couldn't wait -- she was eating the 8th falafel while I was taking this picture!

I over-processed mine and got them a little too smooth in texture; so I made patties rather than balls.  But shape doesn't matter -- taste does.  And these taste basically like any other falafel I'm bought or made.  You can't really say it has beets in it.  But, the next time, I'll bake them hotter/longer so they have a crisper crusty surface the way pan fried or deep fried falafel do.  

Mojo Pork Steak, Quinoa Tabouli, Savory Carrot+ Soup

Mojo Pork Steak
Here's a simple lunch.  Add some "Spanish" rice to make it a dinner.  All you need is a bottle of Mojo sauce -- the Caribbean citrus & garlic marinade, some bell peppers, and a pork cube steak.

Saute the pepper strips in a splash of EVOO until you get some nice blackening along the edges, for extra flavor.  Then in the same skillet sear the pork steak and pour some of the mojo sauce around and under and let the first side cook -- say 4 minutes.  Flip the steak, add a bit more Mojo, and cook until the steak is done through -- maybe another 3-4 minutes. 
   

Listo!  A fabulous tasting quick lunch.


Quinoa Tabouli
Classic Tabouli (or Tabouleh) salad is bulgar wheat soaked with tomato juice, LOTS of chopped parsley, some chopped tomatoes, and maybe a bit of diced onion.  Really excellent lite meal for hot climates, especially if you can chill it for an hour or more before serving.   This version, from The Splendid Table on PBS, uses cooked, cooled Quinoa instead of bulgar wheat, and adds black beans for vegans who need their protein.

2 cups cooked Quinoa (follow package directions)
3-4 cups chopped Parsley
a couple dozen Cherry Tomatoes, quartered
4-6 Scallions cut into 1" lengths then split down the middle
1 can Black Beans drained and rinsed
1/2-3/4 cup fresh Lemon Juice
1/4 cup EVOO
Salt to taste (not much)

Toss the "dry" ingredients together in a large bowl to distribute everything.  Add the lemon juice, oil and salt to taste.  Toss again before serving.  

Chill for at least 1 hour before serving with crackers on the side.


Carrot, Chickpea & Farro Soup
Got giant carrots.  Got some farro.  Got a can of chickpeas.  Can I make a soup?   Of course I can!

4 cups shredded Carrot
1/2 cup dry Farro
1 cup diced Onion
1 tsp Cavender'stm spice blend
4 cups Water
1 cup Half & half
1 can Chickpeas

Bring the first 5 ingredients to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.  Take all but about half a cup of the cooked veg and liquid for a spin in your food processor to make a puree.  Return the puree to your soup pot.  Add the half & half plus the chickpeas with their liquid.  

Cover and simmer another 15-20 minutes, stirring to keep things from sticking.  

Serve with toast points and leftover Tabouli as a side salad.

The amazing thing that we both remarked on is that this tastes like cheese soup!  Sally said it was like Pimento Cheese soup; I thought mild Cheddar.  If you pureed this entirely, including the garbanzos, you'd have a darn good Vegan/Plant Based Whole Food  "cheese" sauce better than any we've tried making from the Blue Zones or Forks Over Knives recipe collections.  

Squash Marinara, Breakfast Pudding (yep!), Plowman's Supper, Food Porn and more!

Winter Squash Marinara
I know, I know, it's August.  But since we can buy winter squash any time of year, we can cook it any time of year.  I got this really long-necked Butternut squash this week and wanted to do something with steaks of that seedless neck.  This recipe will work with any winter squash, of course.  Regardless of type, thin slices broil/grill faster.

We don't often think of squash like this as savory, but the pairing of the somewhat sweet grilled slices of squash with the somewhat tart and tangy marinara is really superior.  I just used a jar of mushroom marinara sauce doctored with chopped mushrooms, onion, bell pepper... the usual suspects.  Try it; you'll like it!

Breakfast Bread Pudding
I described this dish in detail back in my February 18, 2018 post.  Sally needed a Breakfast Potluck dish, and I had both blueberries and the tag end of a loaf of challah bread on hand,  so this recipe came to mind.  Looks fabulous, tastes even better.

Simple "Plowman's Style" Supper
We had a big lunch the other day, so decided to have a lighter supper.  Sally had raved about this Norwegian Brown Cheese called Gjetost which they'd tried last month during their coastal cruise.  I ordered a 4 oz brick -- stuff is NOT cheap, but we'll make it last a long time.  Gjetost is a soft, somewhat caramel-flavored goat cheese made by boiling together whey, and cream or milk.  Perfect as part of a dessert course, especially with a somewhat tart fruit like apples or citrus.
Anyway, I made a Plowman's Supper for the two of us  -- a cheese plate, a fruit plate and bread plate that we could nibble on. 

The cheese plate had the Gjetost, some nice sharp white cheddar, and a sundried tomato-basil flavored cheese that I get from Aldi.  What goes with cheese?  Apples. 

So the fruit plate had slices of Fuji (top) and Crips Pink Lady (bottom).  

The real crunch came from the  fresh batch of Knekkebrød (crispbread) like the ones I made in my July 23rd post, served hot from the oven.  

For dessert we had mango turtles from our Co-Op box.

Eggplant Zucchini Casserole
This is a Blue Zones recipe that I had to tweak.  The result isn't really like Eggplant Parmesan, but has some of the features of that strata.

1-1/2 lb Eggplant, sliced 1/4" thin
2-3 medium Zucchini, sliced 1/4"thin
Salt to taste
1 Sweet Onion, chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 can Diced Tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh Basil, julienned
1+ Tbsp Italian Seasoning
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Lay the sliced eggplant and zucchini on paper towels to drain.  Sprinkle with salt as desired.

Saute the onion, tomatoes, bell pepper, garlic and make a sauce by adding a cup or so of water.

In a 9x9 baking dish lay down a bit of sauce, and then begin layering eggplant, sauce, Parmesan and zucchini.  End with sauce and then a dusting of Parmesan on top.  Bake in a pre-heated 400F oven for 45 minutes until everything is bubbly and lightly browned.  

The zucchini and eggplant surprisingly retain a decent amount of 'tooth'.   

Excellent as a main dish, served with crusty bread and/or a simple salad.


Ahumado Pollo Verde
That's Spanish for Smoked Chicken in Green Sauce.  Sally and some girlfriends went out for a "girl's dinner", and left me to my own devices.  I stopped at my local megamart, and in the Deli hot section I found a smoked half chicken for a good price.  A couple aisles over I picked up a can of diced green chilies and a can of salsa verde (red tomatillo-based salsa, not red tomato-based.  The aisle beyond that had a bag of salt-free tortilla chips.  

Shred out the chicken.  Lay down a bed of heated tortilla chips.  Pile on the chicken.  Spread the green chilies all around and top with the salsa verde.  Heat everything together in the microwave, and dive in!  Almost, but not quite nachos...

Magnifico!!


Food Porn
I'll never be as good a food photographer as my old Italian friend Luciano Furia, but I just had to share this photo of a bowl of sliced papaya...

Marinated Squash, Asparagus/Spinch/Garbanzo Salad, Bean-Broccoli Soup and more...

Marinated Winter Squash
I got this one from the Lidia Bastianich show Lidia's Kitchen on PBS the other day.  She serves the dish at room temperature, but you can warm the dish a bit as well; we did.

1 Butternut or other winter squash cut into 1/2" thin slices
1 cup Apple Cider or White Vinegar
1 Tbsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
6 cloves Garlic, peeled & sliced
1 Tbsp EVOO
Vegetable Oil for Frying
Fresh Basil leaves for garnish

For the marinade
Combine vinegar, sugar and 1/4 tsp of salt in a sauce pan.  Simmer on high heat until reduced by half.  Drop in the garlic, remove from heat, and cool.  Stir in the EVOO.

For the squash
Slice the squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds.  Then cut into half-rounds 1/2" thick (or slightly less) and peel.

Fry the squash in veggie oil for 3-4 minutes per side until forkable, crispy and caramelized. Drain on paper towels.  Dust with a bit of salt while the squash are hot and vulnerable.

Layer squash  into a serving bowl, adding basil leaves and a splash of marinade to each layer.  Cover and let marinate at least 3 hours to overnight before serving.

Asparagus, Spinach & Garbanzo Salad
I found the thinnest asparagus I've ever seen at Aldi's the other day.  The big stems weren't more than 3/16" diameter!!  This salad seemed like the perfect thing to do with the 'gus!

1 lb fresh Asparagus -- thinner is better, but any will do.
1 can Garbanzos, drained, rinsed and dried
3-4 handsful of fresh Spinach
2" length of 2" diameter Daikon
1 Red Bell Pepper
2 Shallots, although onion and garlic would work too
Italian Seasoning to taste
Ground Coriander to taste
White Pepper to taste
2 Lemons, juiced

Preheat the oven to 425F

Cut the asparagus into 1" or shorter pieces, toss it with some EVOO in a bowl.  Then spread the pieces on a non-stick baking sheet.

In the same oil bowl, toss the garbanzos with a bit more EVOO.  Spread them on a second baking sheet.

When the oven comes to temp, put the asparagus and garbanzos in and set the timer for 15 or 20 minutes.

Slice the daikon into thick matchsticks (3/16").  Slice the red pepper into thin strips.  Slice the shallots thin.   Reserve all the veg.

Chop the spinach into 1/2" ribbons, then wilt it with some water in the microwave or a skillet.  Spread to cool.  Reserve.

When the asparagus and garbanzos are done, spread them out on paper towels to drain and cool.

In a large bowl, toss all the ingredients together to combine.  Add the spices and toss again.

Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing as a simple dressing.  You could also make a simple lemon vinaigrette, but squeezing lemon quarters in simpler.


White Bean Broccoli Soup
This was one of those "I've got this and I've got that, I wonder what they'd be like together" sort of things.

1 lb dry White Beans
2 large stalks Broccoli
White Pepper
Thyme
Kombu seaweed
Cumin
Coriander
Optional -- a couple shots of Lizano, the Costa Rican "ketchup" found on every restaurant table

Cook the beans according to package directions, with about 3 sq. inches of Kombu snipped into pieces in the water, and a Tablespoon of thyme.  The kombu basically dissolves as the beans cook.  Both seem to help reduce the gas effects of eating beans.

Meanwhile chop up the broccoli florets and steam them.  Reserve some tiny florets for garnish.

When the beans are done, put about half of them and half the steamed broccoli in your food processor and take it for a whirrrrr.  Add water as necessary to get the puree process going.

Put the puree in with the whole beans & broccoli, and add the other spices to taste.

We discovered by accent while eating leftovers, that, of all things,  a shot of Lizano sauce in the soup really kicks thing up a notch or to!!!  I wouldn't add it to the pot, but serve the Lizano alongside the soup.

Well, the soup was certainly tasty enough.  But MAKE SURE YOU HAVE PLENTY OF BEANO ON HAND. It didn't bother me much at all, but someone had a lot of gas...


Mum's Birthday
Sally's Mum turned XX (never ask a woman her age), so for Sunday Brunch I made a 9 Gem Korma style curry with brown rice, and a Mango Upside Down Spice Cake with a side of  Mango FroYo.

Nine Gem Korma
"Nine Gems" refers to "nine ingredients".  In this case, cubed Rutabaga, Purple Potato, Yam, diced Onion, Almonds, Raisins, Red Bell Pepper, Yellow Bell Pepper, and Yellow Tomato.  The ingredients are braised together with broth, yoghurt, or water and spices.

For this dish, the spice I used was the classic Garam Masala -- a slightly sweet, medium hot blend of coriander, cumin, cloves, black pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Other additions can include turmeric, fennel seed,  ginger, mustard seed, tamarind and star anise.  You can make your own, but it's easiest just to buy it at your megamart or an Indian Grocery.  I used about 2 Tbsp in this whole dish.  You can use more, if you like, of course.

Korma is a curry with a relatively thick sauce.  So once the 9 Gems are cooked, you can thicken the sauce with additional yogurt, a bit of flour, or just cook it down a bit like I did.  My sauce was a bit thin, but we were hungry!


Mango UpsideDown Spice Cake w/Mango FroYo
You've read my description of Mango Upside Down cake recently for Sally's birthday.  Also my recipe for making Mango FroYo.

This time I made a larger cake and I used Spice Cake mix rather than Gingerbread.  The Spice Cake mix is still head and shoulders better than pretty much anything, but not as rich as Gingerbread cake.

The cake turned out better this time.  I think for Sally's cake I had too much of the sugar syrup...