Pistachio & Cranberry Couscous

In a pinch for time, I needed a quick side dish to accompany dinner. This couscous was as flavorful as it was colorful.

Ingredients: *Serves 4

1 medium yellow onion
1 tsp. canola oil
1 c. chicken or vegetable broth
1 c. couscous
1/4 c. shelled pistachios
1/4 c. dried cranberries
2 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
S&P to taste

Directions:

Finely dice onion and place in non-stick saucepan with canola oil. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until browned. In small pot, bring broth to boil. Stir in couscous, remove from heat and cover with lid. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Reduce heat on saucepan to low. Rough chop pistachios and cranberries and add to onions. Fluff couscous with fork. Add to saucepan. Stir in olive oil until ingredients are well mixed. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot and enjoy!

Broccoli Challenge: Broccoli Cheddar Biscuits

For my final week of my Broccoli Challenge, I decided to do a bit of baking. And having just been to the South (more on my Charleston trip later), I was inspired to make biscuits.

1 c cooked broccoli florets
5 oz aged, sharp cheddar
2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tbs baking powder
8 tbs butter
3/4 c non-fat milk
1 egg white

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Steam cook broccoli florets, let cool. Finely chop cooled broccoli and set aside. Shred cheese and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, sugar and baking powder. Using a pastry blender, cut butter into flour mixture. Tip: Use cold or chilled butter. Flour cutting board or working surface for rolling dough, set aside. Make well in bottom of flour mixture and pour part of milk into well. Using hand, mix and kneed flour with milk, adding milk slowly.

Remove dough from bowl and place on prepared work surface. Kneed broccoli and cheese into dough until mixed throughout. Roll out dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut dough using 2 inch biscuit cutter. Place biscuits on buttered baking pan. In a small bowl, beat egg white with splash of water to make egg wash. Brush biscuits with egg wash using pastry brush. Bake biscuits until golden brown on top. Approximately 14-15 minutes. Remove from oven and serve warm, with butter.

Check out other Broccoli Challenge posts here, here and here. And check out the quick and easy Asian Sesame Broccoli over at Sonnemanland .

My tastebuds are happily freed from my broccoli rut. And I'm pleased to have expanded my broccoli repertoire this past month. Thank you to all who participated along with me! Cheers to cooking and eating broccoli.

Broccoli Challenge: Roasted Butternut Squash and Broccoli

For the third week of my Broccoli Challenge, I am embracing the change of seasons with a roasted vegetable dish. It’s hearty and healthy and can also offer a lot of flexibility. Throw in whatever root vegetables you have on hand – parsnips, sweet potatoes or carrots.

1 butternut squash
2 broccoli crowns
1 yellow onion
3 garlic cloves
1 lemon
1/4 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 c. pine nuts, toasted
2 tbs. olive oil
2 parsley sprigs
S&P

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Cut into 1 inch pieces. Cut broccoli florets at stem. Cut onion into quarters and then in half again. The goal is to have the veggies approximately the same size pieces for even cooking time. Crush garlic cloves and combine with vegetables in roasting pan. Drizzle olive oil and juice from one half lemon on veggies. Mix until veggies are well coated. Salt and pepper as desired. Cover pan with foil and roast for 20 minutes.

During cooking time, finely chop parsley and combine in small bowl with cheese and toasted nuts. Add juice from remaining half lemon and stir. Set aside.

Remove foil from roasting pan, stir, and continue roasting uncovered for another 20 min or until veggies are tender to the fork. Remove from oven. Discard garlic cloves and transfer to serving dish. Top vegetables with nut and cheese mixture. Serve hot and enjoy!

There is still one more week to join the Challenge – click here for more info. In case you missed them, click here and here for the previous Broccoli Challenge posts. See you again next Wednesday for another Broccoli Challenge report.

Also, check out the colorful brown bag lunch with broccoli at Healthy Eating Starts at Home.

Heirloom tomato bruschetta

Inspired by the vibrant colors at the farmers’ market this holiday weekend, I made bruschetta with heirloom tomatoes and fresh basil. And a special mention for the aged balsamic which just makes everything taste better.

1 lb. heirloom tomatoes
1 medium shallot, diced
1 clove garlic, finely diced
1 tbs. red wine vinegar
1 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
8 leaves fresh basil, cut chiffonade
Parmesan cheese
S&P

1 medium loaf artisan bread
Extra virgin olive oil
Aged balsamic vinegar

Wash, remove stems and cut tomatoes in half. Place in medium bowl. Add red wine vinegar and EVOO to bowl. Stir. Dice shallot and sauté in olive oil in small saucepan. Dice garlic and add to saucepan for 1 minute, do not burn. Add to bowl of tomatoes. Chiffonade basil (see tip below) and mix half with tomatoes. Salt and pepper to taste and let sit. Set remaining basil aside.

Cut bread in thin slices and place on sheet pan. Lightly drizzle bread with EVOO and aged balsamic. Place in oven on broil, watching carefully to not burn. Remove and place bread on serving dish. Pile tomato mixture onto bread slices. Garnish generously with basil and parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Tip: When cutting a chiffonade of basil, stack basil leaves on top of one another and roll lengthwise – almost like rolling a cigar. Then, cut thinly across the cigar roll resulting in thin strips of fresh basil.

Garlic dill fries

I’ve always loved French fries. They are my weakness (well, one of them, anyway). And fries accompanying a good, juicy burger is even better. But since I enjoy a healthier lifestyle than that of greasy burgers and fries, I often make them at home – oven-fried style. This time, I used sweet potatoes and seasoned with garlic and dill for something different. I’d never tried this flavor combo before and I have to say, I quite liked the earthy flavor of the dill with the sweetness of the potato.

1 large sweet potato, peeled
1-2 cloves garlic, freshly pressed
Olive oil
Dill
Parsley
S&P

Peel potato and cut lengthwise. Lightly drizzle with olive oil and season generously with dill, parsley, salt, pepper and fresh garlic. Mix thoroughly. Spread on baking pan and bake at 400 degrees for approximately 15 minutes. *Baking time will vary depending on thickness of cut fries. Crisp up by broiling fries for 2 minutes per side but keep an eye on them to avoid burning. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Roasted Accordion Potatoes

I'm always on the lookout for recipes good for entertaining. My general criteria for such recipes includes: moderately simple preparation, nice presentation and flavorful yet still on the healthy side of the cooking spectrum.

I recently found a new addition to my entertaining repertoire, courtesy of Smitten Kitchen – one of my favorite food blogs. Trying the recipe meant I would have to use a mandolin for the first time. From the many accounts of mandolin induced injuries I’ve heard, I was especially careful and methodical as I sliced my potatoes. I am happy to report that my mandolin use was injury-free – hopefully I didn’t just jinx myself for next time!

Other than creating my own recipe name, I mostly followed Smitten Kitchen’s recipe. I altered the recipe only slightly as I did not have any shallots on hand. Instead, I thinly sliced a yellow onion and layered within the potatoes slices. I also omitted the red pepper flakes and opted for freshly cracked pepper. Upon tasting, I was equally pleased with the presentation as I was with the taste.

Need a bigger helping?:
Smitten Kitchen