Roasted Peppers Stuffed with Ricotta and Spinach

Too many peppers this year! 70 plants, what on earth was I thinking. I've been preserving many of them but there's still loads of them so now I need to dream up ways of eating more of them now. So here's one dish that I whipped up for dinner recently that got rave reviews from Dave so I knew I needed to write it up because I won't remember how to make it again the next time he wants it.

Blanched chard can be substituted for the spinach. Sautéed chopped onions can be substituted for the dried onion. (I used dried onion for the sake of expediency). Chopped fresh sage or sage cooked in brown butter should be a nice addition to the filling. Or onion and sage sautéed together in butter or olive oil should be good too. Hmm, and since I just wrote a post about corn chicos, some presoaked chicos might be tasty too.

12 ounces ricotta, preferably sheepmilk
2 ounces freshly grated parmesan
1/4 ounce dried sweet onion, chopped (no need to rehydrate)
1/2 teaspoon mild pepper flakes
Freshly grated nutmeg
5 ounces blanched spinach measured after squeezing out excess moisture, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt (or more, I'm watching my salt intake these days)
9 or more roasted sweet peppers such as Ajvarski
Olive oil
Dry coarse breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Lightly oil a 8 x 12-inch oval gratin dish or equivalent sized baking dish.

Mix together the ricotta, parmesan, dried onion, pepper flakes, nutmeg, spinach, and salt.

Leave the roasted peppers intact but slit down one side so that they open like a book. Place a couple of tablespoons or so of the ricotta filling on one side of a pepper and fold the other side over to cover the filling. Repeat for the rest of the peppers using all the filling. Place the peppers in the baking dish with the seams to the side. Pack the peppers tightly into the dish so there are no gaps between the peppers, this keeps the filling from oozing out.

Scatter the dried breadcrumbs generously over the top of the peppers and then drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Bake for 50 minutes to an hour, until the dish is bubbling merrily all around the edges. Let sit for at least a few minutes or longer before serving.

Makes 3 to 4 main course servings or more as an appetizer.

Mustard Greens and Apple Galette

Sounds a bit weird perhaps, a savory galette of mustard greens with apple? But the hint of sweet and tart apple is a very nice complement to the slightly bitter bite of mustard greens and comes together nicely with the nutty whole wheat pastry and tang of sharp cheddar cheese. My husband who is generally not a fan of bitter things took note of the bit of bitterness but found the galette to be delicious. He ate a quarter of the galette with gusto. I carried the apple theme to the accompanying simple salad of Red Iceberg and Three Heart Butterhead lettuces tossed with sliced apple, toasted sliced almonds, and a lemony honey-mustard vinaigrette.

1 recipe Whole Wheat Galette Dough

About 1 pound mustard greens
About 2 tablespoons roasted peanut oil or other oil
1 small onion, chopped
3-4 ounces Pink Beauty apple (half of a large apple), cut into 1/4-inch dice, no need to peel
About 1 tablespoon fermented sweet pepper paste
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
4 ounces Cheddar cheese, grated on coarse holes of a box grater
About a tablespoon of creme fraiche or heavy cream or an egg yolk thinned with a bit of water

Prepare the galette dough and refrigerate it while preparing the filling.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the mustard greens in batches, about 15 seconds per batch, allow to drain and cool in a colander. Gently squeeze some of the moisture out of the greens. Stack the greens so that the fat stems ends can be sliced about 1/4-inch thick and set aside, slice the leafy parts about 1/4 inch thick also. Don't be fussy, some fat stems will be a bit leafy and some leafy parts will be a bit stemmy.

Heat the oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Saute the onion until translucent. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the diced apple and pepper paste and saute until the pepper paste is incorporated. Add the chopped mustard green stems and continue to saute a few minutes, then stir in the leafy parts and add salt to taste. Continue to saute until any excess moisture cooks off, turn the heat up again if necessary. You don't want the filling to be too wet or the pastry will become soggy but you don't want the filling too be dry either. Set the filling aside to cool as you roll the galette dough.

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Cut a piece of parchment paper at least 12 inches wide.

Roll the galette dough out to about a 16-inch circle. Transfer the dough to the parchment paper, it may be larger than the paper but after folding the sides of the dough over the filling it should fit. 

Arrange the filling over the dough leaving about 2 inches uncovered all around. Season the filling with freshly ground black pepper and grated nutmeg. Add more salt if necessary. Scatter the grated cheese evenly over the filling. Fold the edges of the dough up over the filling but don't be fussy about arranging it. Brush the folded over portions of the dough with the creme fraiche. Slide the pastry on the parchment paper onto a large flat baking sheet.

Bake in the middle of the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes, I use the convection fan so it speeds up the baking and makes for a nice brown crisp crust.

Transfer the baked galette to a cooling rack for a few minutes before slicing and serving. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Makes 4 main course servings or 6 to 8 appetizer servings.

Zucchini "Lasagna"

A massive glut of zucchini and an avoidance of carbs led to an experiment with using zucchini as a substitute for pasta for a meatless lasagna. I think I'm on to something here but the method still needs some work.

Zucchini is full of water so simply slicing zucchini and layering it with the other ingredients would just lead to a soupy mess. I've had a lot of success using fully dehydrated zucchini rounds in veggie stuffed frittatas where I simply toss the dried zucchini in with the rest of the veggies and don't even bother to reconstitute the zucchini. The zucchini slices absorb moisture and flavor from the other veggies and the eggs as the frittata bakes. I tried using partially dehydrated zucchini to try to mimic al dente pasta in the lasagna. This version was very good but it was still a bit too soupy.

I didn't weigh how much zucchini I used but it was 5 good sized Romanesco zucchini about 8 to 10 inches long and about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.

For my first attempt I sliced the zucchini lengthwise into 1/4-inch thick slices using a mandoline. Then I salted the slices (no measuring, a few generous 5 finger pinches of kosher salt) and let them sit for 1/2 hour to draw out some moisture. I then rinsed and dried the slices and let them dry in a dehydrator set to 125ºF for almost 2 hours, they were still moist and quite pliable, maybe about half the volume of the fresh slices.

I layered the zucchini with 2 cups of tomato sauce, 12 ounces of sheep's milk ricotta, 8 ounces of buffalo mozzarella, and an unmeasured amount (fairly generous couple of handfuls) of finely grated parmesan, and some drizzles of extra virgin olive. I used an oval gratin pan that's about 9 x 12 inches.

The "lasagna" baked at 350ºF for 30 minutes and then another 10 minutes at 325ºF until the top was nicely browned. We at it after it sat for about 30 minutes.

Adjustments for the next attempt:

- Allow the zucchini to sit with the salt for an hour and then increase the time in the dehydrator. 3 hours perhaps?

- Bake at 325ºF for the entire time. 45 minutes?

Stracciatella Soup with Brussels Sprouts

The Brussels Sprouts Challenge continues. Stracciatella is an Italian soup that in its most simple form is hot broth into which you stir a mixture of beaten eggs and parmesan cheese. The eggy mixture form shreds or rags, i.e. stracciatella. I've seen riffs on the soup that add spinach or basil or pasta or white beans, or rice, or bread crumbs, or semolina, even tiny meatballs. You get the drift, it is endlessly adaptable. So why not Brussels Sprouts?

I used the sprouts that I had on hand in the fridge which came out to 7 ounces after shredding them on a mandoline. It was probably about 8 ounces before shredding them because I keep the stems long to use as a handle when slicing them on the mandoline and then the stems go into the compost bucket. My homemade stock tends to be a bit concentrated so I added water. Plenty of Italian recipes I read use bouillon cubes instead of stock. Do whatever works for you. I love the flavor and umami of Vietnamese fish sauce (Red Boat is the best IMO), but it's totally optional here. Lot's of recipes added some lemon zest to the egg mixture as well as nutmeg, I thought a hint of cinnamon might be nice instead and I did like it.

2 tablespoons butter
About 1/3 to 1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots (I didn't actually measure)
7 ounces, more or less, Brussels sprouts sliced 1/8-inch thick on a mandoline
1 quart stock, chicken, meat, or veggie or use instant bouillon
1 cup water
1 tablespoon fish sauce (totally optional but the extra umami is great)
3 large eggs
1 1/2 ounces grated parmesan cheese, plus additional
freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of ground cinnamon, optional
freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute until the shallots are soft. Stir in the Brussels sprouts and add the stock, water, and fish sauce. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to a simmer and cook until the sprouts become tender or are done to your liking. Taste the broth for salt, remember that the parmesan is salty so don't add too much.

Beat the eggs with a whisk and then whisk in the cheese, nutmeg, and cinnamon if using it.

Bring the soup back up to a near boil. Slowly pour the egg mixture into the soup while stirring the soup with a whisk. Continue stirring until the eggs are completely cooked. Serve immediately with grinding of black pepper over each bowl, top with additional cheese if desired.

Makes 4 to 6 portions.

Green Chile Pudding Soufflés

I used a recipe for sweet corn pudding soufflés as a template for this preparation. This was a great way to use up a package of the frozen roasted Sonora Anaheim chile peppers from my garden. One thing that is really convenient about pudding souffles as opposed to regular poofy souffles is that most of the preparation can be done in advance. The pudding soufflés are baked twice, the first baking can be done hours in advance of serving them. For the final bake the puddings are removed from the ramekins that they were baked in, placed on a baking sheet or oven proof serving dish, then baked with some cream until they are warm and puffy. These make a great first course or a vegetarian main dish. We enjoyed them as a main dish accompanied by a green salad.

About 14 oz. roasted peeled seeded green Anaheim peppers, chopped
2 cups whole milk
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons Oaxacan Green cornmeal, or use 4 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon Oregano Indio, or dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs, separated
2 1/2 ounces Mount Toro Tomme, finely grated, an aged dry Jack would be a good substitute
1/2 cup heavy cream or Crème fraiche
Smoked paprika

Blend half of the peppers with half of the milk in a blender or with a wand blender to make a smooth puree. Blend in the rest of the milk.

Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large saucepan, add the cornmeal and stir to mix, Allow to cook gently for a few minutes until the cornmeal becomes fragrant. Whisk in the pepper mixture until blended and smooth. Bring to a simmer. Allow the mixture to cook gently, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes, until thickened. Season with the oregano, cumin, and salt.

Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining butter. Stir in the egg yolks one at a time. Stir in the cheese and stir until the cheese has melted. Stir in the remaining chopped peppers. Transfer to a large bowl and allow the soufflé base to cool a bit.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter 7 or 8 ramekins, be sure to get the rims, and place them in a baking dish.

Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks and gently fold them into the soufflé base. Ladle the mixture into the ramekins, filling them to the rims. Pour in enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Place the dish with the ramekins in the oven. The little soufflés should take about 30 minutes to cook, but check after 20 minutes in case there are hotspots in your oven. When done, the soufflés should be puffed up and brown on top. Immediately remove them from the oven, take them out of the water bath, and allow them to cool. The soufflés will fall. They can be made up to this point several hours in advance of serving.

Ten minutes before the soufflés are to be served, turn them out of the ramekins and place them, right side up, in individual gratin dishes that have been smeared with a spoonful of crème fraiche or use one large baking dish. Top each soufflé with another spoonful of crème fraiche. Put the baking dishes in the oven for about 8 minutes, or until the cream is bubbling slightly and the soufflés have swelled up. Remove the soufflés from the oven. If they've been baked on one large dish place each one on a warm serving plate and pour the cream from the baking dish over the soufflés. Shake some smoked paprika over all and serve immediately. 

Note: The soufflés were looking close to finished at 20 minutes but were still quite jiggly. They continued to puff up over the next 10 minutes. At 30 minutes they were still somewhat jiggly but quite brown on top. Perhaps I'll cover them with a sheet of aluminum foil for the last 10 minutes the next time I try the recipe, either that or reduce the oven temperature to 375ºF. They seemed to be baked enough though and once cooled they came out of the ramekins fairly easily, I scooped out the little bit of souffle that stuck to the bottom and placed in the gratin dish and plopped the souffle on top.  It came out great.

20 minutes

25 minutes

30 minutes

The corn soufflé recipe called for 6 ramekins of an unspecified size. I guess my ramekins were too small, I had to enlist a 7th one of a different shape and still had a spoonful of mixture left. My ramekins hold 7 ounces when filled to the rim, that other one holds a bit more and it has a rim with an outward curving lip which made for a different shaped top. I like the effect with the straight rim. Next time I'll probably make eight slightly smaller souffles with the straight sided ramekins.

Fresh Fava and Ricotta Spread

1 1/2 cups shelled and peeled fresh fava beans
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chopped mint
4 ounces drained whole milk ricotta cheese

Cook the favas in simmering water to cover for about 5 minutes, or until tender, depending on how mature they are. Drain, chop in a food processor, then add the lemon juice, olive oil, cumin and salt. Process until smooth. Add the mint and ricotta and process to blend in. Taste for seasonings.

Variation: Reserve the cooking liquid from cooking the beans. Follow as above, thin the spread with some of the reserved cooking liquid to make a dip.

Makes about 2 cups of spread.