Category: Recipes

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Farro with Crispy Prosciutto, Toasted Walnuts and Feta

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Farro is one of my favorite grains. It’s good for you, goes a long way and has a great texture. Crisping up prosciutto is also a great way to add texture and lots of flavor. The apricots, feta and walnuts balance out this ‘salad’ with sweet-salty-earthy flavors.

  • 2 cups pearled farro (dry)
  • 8 oz (1/2 lb) prosciutto
  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 1/2 cup feta
  • 1/2 cup scallions
  • 1 cup dried apricots
  • dash of nutmeg
  • glug of champagne vinegar
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • a couple of handfuls of spinach
  1. pre-heat oven to 350º F and spread walnuts on a small baking tray and toast for 8 minutes
  2. cook farro according to instructions (2 cups farro, 4 cups salted water)
  3. in a skillet heat one tablespoon olive oil and lay prosciutto in one flat layer, cook for 15 minutes on low or until brown on the bottom then flip each piece and continue cooking until crispy, remove from pan and let cool
  4. move farro to a large bowl when finished cooking and season to taste with remaining tablespoon olive oil, champagne vinegar and nutmeg
  5. dice dried apricots into small pieces, slice green onions, tear prosciutto and break walnuts into smaller pieces and crumble feta into the farro bowl
  6. when you’re almost ready to serve, roughly chop or tear spinach and stir into the salad

© 2016, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

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Pappardelle with Artichokes, Prosciutto and Baked Goat Cheese

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I got my mom this truffle artichoke sauce from World Market a while ago and we were waiting for the perfect recipe to use it in then we got a bunch of truffle swag when we went to Italy so we put together this truffle-centric recipe.
{serves 3}

  • 1 shallot
  • 6 slices prosciutto (1 1/2 oz)
  • 5 artichoke hearts (canned)
  • a few sprigs of thyme
  • drizzle truffle oil
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 pat butter
  • 7 crimini mushrooms
  • 3 goat cheese ‘medallions‘
  • panko bread crumbs
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/2 lb (8.8 oz) pappardelle
  • truffle artichoke sauce *

*not necessarily necessary, you could use a basic alfredo or a little cream or even go without…I found this one at world market

  1. pre-heat oven to 350º F
  2. on a baking sheet drizzle artichokes with truffle oil and insert the thyme sprigs between the leaves
  3. in a small bowl make a kind of paste out of a bit of olive oil, panko breadcrumbs, thyme leaves and a minced clove of garlic and roll goat cheese medallions in it
  4. throw those onto the baking sheet also and put the goat cheese and artichokes in the oven
  5. remove the goat cheese medallions after 30 minutes or once the outsides start to brown
  6. continue baking the artichokes for about 5 more minutes
  7. slice shallot and mushrooms
  8. in a small saute pan heat 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 pat butter, caramelize shallots over low heat, stirring occasionally until they turn a caramel color
  9. remove from pan, add more olive oil as needed (not much), then lay prosciutto strips in pan until they crisp up, then remove those and add the mushrooms
  10. stir occasionally until mushrooms are fragrant and look cooked through
  11. bring a large pot of water to boil and cook pappardelle according to package instructions
  12. pour truffle artichoke sauce (or whatever you choose to use, not if you’re using cream)  into a glass bowl and once pasta is just about done cooking, add 1/2 cup of the pasta water into the sauce to thin and stir to incorporate
  13. drain pasta and add thinned sauce, mushrooms and shallots, prosciutto, artichokes and goat cheese and garnish with more thyme

© 2016, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

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Quick Dill Pickles

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Yeah, I’m in the fermenters club. I’m not actually but I think I’d like to be. This was just a jar they gave us at the 2016 SD Fermentation Festival but that’s a whole other story. Anyways I love pickling things and it’s so easy! I threw these together yesterday to go with salmon tacos and they turned out great.

  • 3 small cucumbers
  • 1 medium sized white onion
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 cups white vinegar
  • 1/2 tbsp black peppercorns
  • 1 tsp white sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 5 sprigs fresh dill
  1. slice cucumbers lengthwise into long thin strips and slice onion
  2. in a large jar or other glass container combine all pickling ingredients (except for the cucumbers and onions)
  3. when this vinegary mixture is all combined, add the cucumbers and onions and let sit for an hour or so
  4. these will keep in the fridge for at least a week

© 2016, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

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Salmon Tacos w/ Tzatziki and Quick Pickled Veggies

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{serves 3}

  • 1/2 lb salmon
  • 3 tortillas (maybe a couple more)
  • tzatziki sauce (garlic yogurt sauce)
  • lettuce or shredded cabbage, tomatoes, any additional taco fillings

for the quick pickled veg:

  • 3 small cucumbers
  • 1 medium sized white onion
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 cups white vinegar
  • 1/2 tbsp black peppercorns
  • 1 tsp white sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • 5 sprigs fresh dill
  1. slice cucumbers lengthwise into long thin strips and slice onion
  2. in a large jar or other glass container combine all pickling ingredients (except for the cucumbers and onions)
  3. when this vinegary mixture is all combined add the cucumbers and onions and let sit until ready to eat
  4. grill or bake salmon as preferred and assemble tacos

© 2016, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

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BLT-rritos

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Do you ever crave a BLT but don’t want the bread? Yeah, me neither but I’m trying to do this low carb thing and really wanted a BLT before super ripe summer tomatoes are a thing of the past so we decided to do BLT wraps and they were pretty good.

{serves 2}

  • 1 tbsp black truffle oil- you can also use plain old olive oil
  • 3 slices bacon
  • 1/2 avocado
  • 1/2 large heirloom tomato
  • a couple handfuls lettuce
  • 1/2 enoki mushroom
  • splash white wine
  • 2 oz truffle goat cheese- you can also use plain old goat cheese
  • 2 medium sized tortilla or wrap
  1. in a large sauté pan heat 1 tbsp black truffle olive oil over medium heat
  2. cut bacon in 1/4 inch pieces and add to the pan, stirring occasionally
  3. cut mushrooms into roughly same size and add to the pan, turn heat to low and continue cooking
  4. meanwhile slice tomato and avocado
  5. toast tortilla over burner (optional, but you definitely should), then spread avocado and goat cheese on the tortilla/wrap and fill with lettuce, tomatoes
  6. remove the mushroom/bacon concoction from the pan once it’s done, let cool a bit and add to the wrap and you’ve got a BLT-rrito!

© 2016, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

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Lamb Tacos with Many Sauces

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There are two types of people; those who LOVE lamb and those who just aren’t fans. We LOVE lamb. It pairs great with all these kind of mediterranean/middle eastern flavors.

  • 1/2 large white onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 pat butter
  • 1 lb ground lamb
  • sprinkle cumin (optional)
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 can (14 oz) fire roasted diced tomatoes
  • salt/pepper to taste

to serve:

  • tortillas
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta or other cheese of your choice
  • lettuce

sauces (optional but highly recommended) :

  1. in a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter and olive oil
  2. dice onion and mince garlic and add to the skillet, sauté
  3. then add the lamb and let it brown on the bottom before turning
  4. add in cumin and red pepper flakes
  5. once it’s all pretty evenly browned, add the tomatoes and turn it down to a simmer for 30ish minutes to let flavors develop, then turn the heat really low for another 15 minutes

© 2016, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

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Chocolatey Date and Banana Breakfast Bowl

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This one goes out to the late Beach City Burrito. Which closed a long time ago and has been many things since but still haunts my memory with its date shakes. When I was learning to surf as a youngin with my dad, the mention of a date shake was a sure fire way of getting me out there even in the worst conditions. They came in big styrofoam cups and were so creamy! What was their secret? We’ll never know. And I’m sure they were nowhere near healthy.

Well, life goes on so I guess I’ll just work on perfecting my rendition. This really wasn’t anything like ye old BCB date shake but it had dates and bananas and tasted really really good so.. there’s a connection.

  • 3 dates
  • 1 1/2 frozen bananas + a couple slices of a non-frozen one for garnish (optional)
  • 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder (unsweetened)
  • a few dashes cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp greek yogurt
  • 2 tbsp sunflower seed butter (or your nut butter of choice)
  • a splash water
  • chia seeds/ flax seeds
  1. pit dates and cut one in quarters for garnish (optional)
  2. in a blender blend frozen bananas, yogurt, sunflower seed butter, cocoa powder and some cinnamon and some water
  3. add water as needed for your desired consistency
  4. pour into a bowl (or cup, whatever floats your boat) and top with more cinnamon, seeds, banana slices and the last date

© 2016, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

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The Mean Green Smoothie Bowl

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So I’ve never been too much of a smoothie lover (wild, I know) but lately I’ve been getting into experimenting with different ingredients and things. I try to find ways to pack as many nutrients into my morning smoothies and that usually (*usually) translates to a pretty tasty way to start the day!

Looking to my parent’s freezer for inspiration, I found huge amounts of frozen spinach and thought I’d go for it. Spinach is pretty interesting. It has protein, fiber and tons of vitamins. It also blends in (literally ha!) with other flavors really well.

  • 1/2 banana
  • 2 tbsp sunflower seed butter- or your nut butter of preference
  • a couple of handfuls of frozen spinach
  • 1/2 cup frozen mango
  • splash of water
  • 1 green tea bag
  • flaxseeds/ chia seeds/ blueberries or whatever goodies you want to sprinkle on top
  1. basically just blend everything together… oh yeah, cut open the tea bag and pour contents in the blender. add water as needed, break apart spinach if it’s clumpy.

© 2016, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

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HOT Sauce

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My aunt has serranos coming out of her ears (not literally) and gave us a big bag full of them. They were all shades of green, orange and red and SUPER hot. To ensure this concoction was edible, we seeded some of them. We prefer things on the spicier side though so if you’re not so inclined you can totally tone it down by seeding more (or all, depending on the heat of your peppers and your tolerance for heat).

  • 2 dozen serranos
  • 4 medium sized tomatoes
  • 2 elephant garlic cloves or 12 normal garlic cloves
  • 1/2 a white onion
  • salt/pepper to taste
  • drizzle of olive oil
  • 1/4 cup white vinegar
  • 1/2 can fire roasted tomatoes
  1. pre-heat oven to 350º F
  2. halve and seed some of the peppers (depending on how hot you want it), drizzle w/ olive oil on a half baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes
  3. line another baking sheet and lay out the rest of the peppers, tomatoes, garlic (leave cloves in their skin) and onion (halve but leave in skin), drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 50 minutes
  4. remove and let cool
  5. in a food processor blend roasted chiles, tomatoes, garlic (w/out skin), onion (w/out skin), vinegar and the canned tomatoes until fairly smooth then taste and season to taste w/ vinegar and salt and pepper

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© 2016, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

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Tomato, Nectarine, Feta and Basil Summer Salad

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We have tons of super-ripe tomatoes and can’t stop buying stone fruit at the farmer’s market so we started playing around with this salad idea. We’ve made it at least five times this summer and it’s seriously the perfect combination of summer flavors, in my honest opinion.

{serves 4}

  • 3 large tomatoes
  • 3 firm but ripe nectarines (mix of yellow and white)
  • 6 sprigs basil
  • 1/2 cup sheep’s milk feta
  • 1 splash good quality olive oil
  • 1 dash balsamic
  • freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
  • a bed of arugula
  1. on a large plate lay a bed of arugula
  2. with your sharpest knife, slice tomatoes and nectarines
  3. arrange them on top of the arugula and crumble feta over the top of that
  4. then julienne the basil and arrange that
  5. then (right before you’re about to serve, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic and grind pepper over

© 2016, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

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