Tag: herbs

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Spanakopita

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We love spanakopita. We also just went to Costco and bought a pound bag of spinach so it seemed only natural to make spanakopita. This is definitely not traditional, but we tried to use what herbs we had growing and make it a little easier and healthier with just sautéing everything and dumping it on the pastry- nothing wrong with that!

  • 1 puff pastry
  • 4 large kale leaves
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped of each; basil, mint and parsley
  • 3/4 lb spinach
  • 1/2 large sweet onion
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 6 oz feta
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts
  • pomegranate seeds for garnish

{serves 6}

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[wilt your greens but not too much]

  1. pre-heat oven to 400º F and bake the puff pastry for 15 minutes (on a baking sheet) it should balloon up; after pre-baking lower heat to 350º F
  2. dice onion and mince garlic
  3. in a large nonstick skillet heat olive oil over medium heat then add onions and garlic, stir occasionally until opaque
  4. add mustard seeds and some red chili flakes if desired
  5. meanwhile, clean and roughly chop kale, spinach, basil, parsley and mint
  6. then add the greens to the sauté pan and lower heat, cook until wilted and dark green (see above photo), add pine nuts and crumble 3/4 of the feta into the mix, remove from heat
  7. with a slotted spoon (to leave behind liquid) move the greens onto the puff pastry, leaving about a 1/2 inch border
  8. bake for about 20 minutes or until the pastry is starting to brown, then remove from oven and crumble the rest of the feta over the top then put under broiler for 2 minutes on high or until cheese starts to get brown
  9. remove from oven, let cool for a couple of minutes then garnish with pomegranate seeds and additional herbs

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© 2016, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

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Tomates Farcies (Stuffed Tomatoes)

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{serves 8 as a hearty side}

  • 8 large tomatoes
  • salt/pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp butter (or 2 tbsp olive oil if you’re not feelin it)
  • 1 large shallots
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 16 oz spinach (fresh)
  • 1 grilled (or baked) and chopped sausage (spicy Italian preferably)
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 cup chopped roasted red peppers (jarred/canned works fine)
  • 1/4 cup chopped pistachios
  • 5 oz fresh goat cheese
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 cup chopped basil
  • 1 tbsp chopped thyme and rosemary (plus more (not chopped) for pretty garnishes)
  • 8 dollops kalamata olive tapenade
  • 3 oz freshly grated parmesan cheese

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  1. pre-heat oven to 350ºF; cut tops off of tomatoes and scoop out the insides with a melon scooper (leaving a 1/4 inch or so thick wall so they don’t completely collapse (reserve the insides)) ; then lightly salt the insides
  2. heat olive oil and butter in a skillet over medium heat; meanhwile chop garlic and shallot
  3. once butter has melted add the garlic and shallot and sauté until they’re opaque then add the spinach and sauté until slightly wilted then take off heat and let cool
  4. at this point the salt in the tomato bowls will have probably brought out some water, add that to the tomato insides bowl
  5. in a large mixing bowl combine the goat cheese, parmesan cheese, spinach concoction, 3/4 cups of the tomato insides, pistachios, roasted red peppers, red pepper flakes, breadcrumbs, sausage and herbs
  6. then bake at 350º F for 20 minutes, remove from oven, top with the tapenade dollops and put the tomato hat/lids back on and bake for another 10 minutes

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© 2016, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

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Herby Summer Gratin with Squash and Cauliflower

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  • 1 head of cauliflower
  • 1 medium sized summer squash
  • generous sprinkle turmeric
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbsp mustard
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 pack dill (15ish sprigs)
  • juice of 1/2 of a lemon and zest of a full lemon
  • 1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
  • 10 leaves sage
  • 2 tbsp asiago
  • pinch nutmeg
  • 5 pats butter
  • pepper
  • 2 shallots
  1. parboil cauliflower for 10 minutes (so that it’s still firm but easily stab-able with a knife), then let cool
  2.  cut cauliflower and squash into 1/2 inch pieces and put them in a big pot
  3. mince garlic and add to the pot
  4. add chicken broth, mustard, turmeric, nutmeg, 1/2 the dill (destemmed and minced), lemon zest and lemon juice
  5. add pepper to taste then mix in an egg
  6. pre-heat oven to 350º F
  7. in a small bowl combine bread crumbs, the other half of the dill (destemmed and minced), sage and asiago (grated or cut in really small pieces)
  8. melt 3 pats (fat slices) butter and incorporate into the bread crumb mixture
  9. in a large, shallow baking dish spread cauliflower-squash mixture evenly and bake for 45 minutes
  10. meanwhile melt the other 2 pats butter (and a splash olive oil) over medium low heat and slice shallots
  11. put them in the melted butter and let them cook slowly
  12. remove from oven and spread bread crumb mixture over the top and continue broil for 2 more minutes
  13. serve with extra mustard!

© 2016, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

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Celery, White Bean Soup

  • 1 bunch celery
  • 1/2 large white onion
  • 1 can cannellini/white beans
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 sprigs each rosemary and thyme
  • pepper and salt
  1. mince garlic and add it to a large pot with olive oil
  2. dice onion and add to pan with 1/2 cup of the chicken broth and the herbs
  3. drain the beans and slice the celery
  4. add them to the pot along with the rest of the chicken broth
  5. add pepper and salt to taste
  6. great with some grainy bread

© 2014 – 2015, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

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Salmon with Roasted Mustard Potatoes

Tonight marks the first night of being upperclassmen in college. Yoykes. In honor of this right of passage we are making salmon, that my roommates’ dad caught, for dinner. Just like freshman year when we were the weirdos dressing salmon with olive oil and garlic at our dorm desks and gingerly carrying it over to the communal kitchen to hopefully find a clean pan or tray and not be bothered while we cooked and enjoyed our feast… Except for now we have a super cute and completely equipped kitchen. It’s going to be a good year.

 

  • 1 lb baby potatoes
  • 3 sprigs rosemary
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 a lemon
  • 3 tbsp dijon mustard
  • few grinds black pepper
  • sea salt
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp balsamic
  • 1 thick, 8 in slice of salmon
  1. cut lemon into slices then into half-moons
  2. lay lemons flat in the pan then pour potatoes over
  3. keep garlic in skin and wedge in between potatoes, place rosemary in as well
  4. drizzle olive oil, balsamic, mustard, pepper and salt over the top
  5. bake at 300° F  for 20 minutes then remove and stir around, poke potatoes with a knife of fork
  6. bake for 20 more minutes then remove and cut potatoes in half, turn heat up to 350° F
  7. cut salmon in half and place it in the middle of the potatoes and bake 25-30 minutes or until salmon is cooked

© 2014, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

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