Biscotti x 2, Chopped Bean Salad, Sprout Curry

 Cranberry-Orange Biscotti
First time I've ever made Biscotti!  I've eaten my share, but never for some reason made any.  Sally passed me this F0K recipe which hardly needed tweaking!  I did make a couple of substitutions (noted below) so I could make them with what I had...  Easy-peasy -- I'll be making more of these!

1/3 cup Orange Juice -- I used 1/3 cup water and 3 Tbsp frozen OJ Concentrate
2 Tbsp Flax Meal (flax seeds + spice grinder = Flax Meal)
3/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Unsweetened Applesauce
1/4 cup Almond Butter -- I used 1/4 cup Almond Flour + 1 Tbsp water to make a paste
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1-2/3 cup Whole Wheat Flour
2 Tbsp Cornstarch
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Allspice powder
pinch Salt
3/4 cup Craisins

Parchment line a baking sheet.  Preheat oven to 350F.  I used my Ninja Flip (tm) Airfryer-Oven.

Whisk together in a bowl the flax meal and OJ, until frothy.  
Whisk in the sugar, applesauce, almond butter, and vanilla.  
Stir in the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, allspice and salt.  Mix the dough thoroughly.  
Fold/knead in the craisins.

With a wet spatula, spread the dough out on the parchment,  into a 3-4" wide rectangle about 12" long.   Bake @350F for 26-28 minutes until risen and lightly browned.    Cool for 30 minutes.

Using a long Chef's knife, cut the bake into 1/2" wide strips 3-4" long.  Lay them one their sides on the parchmented tray.  Bake again for 5-6 minutes, flip them over and bake the other side for 5-6 minutes.  Cool on the tray for 20 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to come to room temperature. 


GF Almond Flour Biscotti
Our friend Toni needs gluten-free baked goods and asked if I knew a recipe.  I found this for her and tweaked it a bit:

2 cups Almond Flour

1/4 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 cup unsweetened Applesauce

1/4 cup Honey
1 tsp Orange Extract

2 tsp Orange Zest

1/4 cup dried Fruit (raisins, cranberries, any dried fruit you like

1/8 cup flaked Almonds

In bowl stir together the almond flour, salt and baking soda.  Add the honey, extract and zest and stir to combine into a ball.  Fold in the fruit and nuts.

With a wet spatula, form the dough into a rectangular 'patty' about 12" long and 4" wide on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes, remove from oven and cool for 25-30 minutes.  Slice into 1/2" thick sticks.  Lay them on their side on the parchment tray and bake again, 5-6 minutes per side,  until nicely browned.  Cool again before storing in a tight container in the fridge.

Chopped Bean Salad
Part Five-Bean Salad, part Chopped Salad.  Sally wanted a vegetarian salad with lots of plant protein; and this is what I came up with.

3 -4 cups (cans) cooked Beans --black, kidney, garbanzo/chickpea, cannelli, great northern, lima, fava, pinto, navy, cranberry, wax beans or green beans even
1/2-3/4 cup diced Red Onion
1 cup diced Bell Pepper -- red, yellow, orange, green
1/2-3/4 cup chopped Celery
You'll also notice that I added a small handful of leftover cooked, chopped asparagus tips
1/2 cup Commercial Balsamic Viniagrette -- I used White Balsamic Citrus Basil 

Toss everything in a large bowl and fold it all together.  Pour the dressing over and fold again. 

Can be served "as is", on a bed of lettuce and other  leafy salad ingredients,  or even over cool rice/quinoa/small pasta.

Similar to Cowboy Caviar (which I've written about before), but without the Tex-Mex spices.


Brussels Sprout Sabzi (Curry)!?
Yes you can make curried Brussels sprouts!  And Yes, they are delicious! Holly came home for Christmas and brought these Brussels sprouts "au naturale" so I decided to make this curry based on a recipe by fellow food blogger Swasti I found.

My primary comment is that the dish would be even more tasty if you roasted the cut sprouts first, then added them at the end, just long enough to heat through...

9-10 oz small Brussels Sprouts, halved
3/4 cup chopped Red Onion
3/4 cup chopped Tomato (I used yellow cherry tomatoes)
1 Tbsp Garlic-Ginger Paste
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds not ground
1/4 tsp Turmeric 
1/2 tsp Chili Powder
pinch salt
1 tsp Coriander powder
1/2 tsp Fennel seeds
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
1/2 cup frozen peas
squirt of Lemon Juice to finish

To hot oil add the ginger-garlic paste and cumin seeds.  cook until the seeds start to pop.  
Add the onion and fry until soft.
Add the tomatoes, turmeric and salt and cook until mushy.
Add the other spices and cook a couple minutes more.
Add the peas and (roasted) sprouts.  Reduce heat, cover and cook until things are heated through.  
Add a squirt of lemon juice and serve alongside rice or dal or flatbread...

Mushroom Ragout, Mediterranean Soup, No-Knead Foccacia Boule

Mushroom Ragout
Got mushrooms?  Make ragout!  Ragout is an Italian sauce usually made with ground meat and tomatoes -- marinara sauce is a ragout or ragu.  Mushroom ragout is an old vegetarian version of the sauce which may or may not incorporate tomatoes.  My no-tomato version is loosely based on one by Giada De Laurentis.

1 lb Mushrooms -- any kind, chopped
1 medium/small Red Onion, diced
3-4 cloves Garlic
1 cup Red Wine
1 Tbsp Savory -- the herb
optional:  2/3 cup grated or shredded Parmesan, chopped parsley, butter

Saute the onion and garlic in a splash of oil/butter until soft.  Add the mushrooms and continue cooking until they soften too.  Now add about a cup of red wine. 

Continue cooking until the wine is evaporated.  Lastly add 2 cups of water and the Savory, stir, and continue cooking until the broth is at least 50% reduced. 

Add any or all of the optional ingredients, stir  and cook to incorporate them and thicken the mixture.

Serve over polenta cakes, pasta, rice, or  as a stand-alone side dish.  Also great on toast or an English muffin, or as filling for an omelette!

Mediterranean Soup
Take last week's leftover Pasta with Two Veg, add some leftover zucchini and eggplant pieces, sauté some mushrooms, and start it simmering in about 5 cups of water.  Add a 'brick' of frozen leaf spinach, some extra herbs and spices, and there you have at least two more meals!

No-Knead Focaccia Boule
Made a large batch of focaccia dough so we'd have fresh hot bread to go with that Mediterranean Soup.  Divided the batch in half -- one to make a regular flat focaccia, the other to make this "boule".  I baked it in a 9" diameter  Pyrextm mixing bowl to get this lovely dome shape.

4 cups AP Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 packet Quick Rising Yeast
Rosemary
EVOO

Measure the flour into a large bowl.  Add the salt and about a tablespoon of dried rosemary and stir to combine.    Bloom the yeast in 2 cups of warm water, stirring to dissolve the yeast completely.

Make a well in the flour and add half of the yeast water. With a wooden spoon start stirring the flour/water mix.   Add the rest of the water and stir strongly for 2-3 minutes to get a good mixture.

Cover the bowl with a warm tea towel. I nuke a slightly damp towel for about 30 seconds.  Cover the dough.  Put the covered dough is a warm-ish place to rise.  Here in Florida I often set in on a table outside on our covered lanai.  

Allow the dough to rise for 1 hour.   Transfer to prepared (greased/sprayed) baking containers -- two 8" round cake pans or a 5x9" loaf pan,  or some combination of pans, dividing the dough with a spatula as you 'pour' it into each container.  You can even cut it into smaller pieces and make mini loaves or baguettes.  

Allow the panned dough to rise for another 20 minutes and then brush the tops with EVOO and sprinkle with more rosemary.  Bake at 450F for 30-45 minutes to an internal temperature of 190-220F.   Rest for 10-15 minutes before removing from the baking dishes.