Parmesan Dutch Baby with Creamy Mushrooms

Lately I’ve been working my way through a cookbook I’ve had for several years, Smitten Kitchen Every Day. The Vegetarian Mains section has won my heart (and appetite). Every recipe I’ve made has been delicious and weeknight doable. Yay!

The book even includes a recipe that makes two (and only two) large oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookies. You can satisfy your big cookie craving without having to fight not to keep eating cookie after cookie, which is what usually happens when I bake.

Last summer Dutch baby pancake recipes seemed to be everywhere, and I finally tried a breakfast version. Wow! The special treat that pancakes bring, but without the hands-on stove-top flipping they require. Plus, they were so darned cool looking with their rumpled one pan presentation. 

A Dutch baby isn’t going to feed a crowd but is plenty for two with a tossed salad or four as a side dish with a main course. This recipe is a nuanced, hearty concoction that won’t leave you feeling weighed down. I sub homemade cashew cream for the called-for heavy cream; use whichever you prefer—I’m not sure you’d be able to tell the difference. Enjoy!

• Servings: 2-4
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Slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen Every Day by Deb Perelman

Creamy Mushrooms:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium shallot, minced

8 ounces cremini mushrooms, cleaned and chopped small

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon dry white wine or dry vermouth (I used vermouth)

3 tablespoons heavy cream or cashew cream (cashew cream recipe can be found as part of this recipe)

Dutch Baby:
4 large eggs, room temperature

½ teaspoon kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

½ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup milk, room temperature (I’ve made this with both skim and whole milk and really couldn’t tell the difference)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes

3 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives or parsley, for garnish

Place a 10- or 12-inch cast iron pan (or other similar sized ovenproof skillet) in your oven and preheat it to 425 degrees F.

To make the creamy mushrooms, heat a large skillet or sauté pan over medium heat and add the butter and olive oil. Once the butter is melted, add the shallot, and cook until soft, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper to taste, and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, until mushrooms have released their liquid and it has cooked off.

Add the wine, reduce the heat to medium-low, scrape up any brown bits and cook off the wine, which will take a minute or two. Stir in the cream, and as soon as it simmers, which will be almost immediately, remove from heat. You’ll be briefly heating this up again so it’s warm when you top the Dutch baby with it.

To make the Dutch baby, in a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, salt, and pepper until well combined. Add the flour and whisk until mostly smooth, then whisk in the milk. It’s okay if there are lumps.

Remove the hot skillet from the oven (use thick hot pads!) and add the three tablespoons of cubed butter. Swirl it around in the pan until it melts. Pour the batter into the pan and, carefully, return the pan to the oven. Cook for 15 minutes when the pancake should be brown in places and rumpled. Sprinkle with Parmesan and return it to the oven for a minute or two to melt the cheese. During the last few minutes of the Dutch baby cooking, heat the mushrooms over medium-low heat so they are warm.

Remove the pancake from oven and spoon the creamy mushrooms over it. Garnish with chives or parsley and cut into wedges. Serves 2 as a main dish with a tossed salad or 4 as a side dish with a main course.

Portabella Pot Roast

For the last couple weeks, I was on the lookout for something special to make for our Valentine’s dinner and kept coming back to a recipe called portabella pot roast. The picture accompanying the recipe was just so pretty! There were aspects of the recipe I liked, but it didn’t seem like the dish would have a whole lot of flavor. After looking at several other recipes with similar names, I took some flavor bits from a couple and applied them to that recipe with the pretty picture.

It turned out to be absolutely delicious! Layers of complex flavors and the comfort a meaty dish with hearty vegetables brings. A crisp green salad and homemade bread rounded out the meal. A very special meal! And as a bonus, being quick and easy, this doesn’t need to be relegated to “special” times—it would even work on a weeknight. Enjoy!

• Servings: 4-6
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Adapted from this Better Homes and Gardens recipe

8 four-inch portabella mushroom caps (about 12 ounces), stemmed and gills removed

12 oz. baby gold potatoes (or a mix of gold and red), halved if large

12 oz carrots with an inch of tops

1 large sweet onion, cut into 8 wedges

3 cloves garlic, sliced

3 or 4 sprigs of thyme

1 cup vegetable stock or broth (I used Better Than Bouillon No Beef Base)

1/3 cup dry red wine

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (Annie’s and Whole Foods 365 brands are vegetarian)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

¾ teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Freshly grated horseradish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large Dutch oven or 13×9 baking dish, layer mushrooms, potatoes, carrots, onion, garlic, and thyme. Mix together stock, wine, and Worcestershire. Pour over vegetables. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Cover with lid or foil and bake for 45-60 minutes, until vegetables are tender.

Remove pan from oven and, using a tongs or slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to a serving platter. Pour cooking liquid from pan into a small saucepan and, over medium heat, bring to a boil. Boil gently, uncovered, for 5-10 minutes until reduced by about half. Spoon over vegetables. Sprinkle with freshly grated horseradish. Makes 4-6 servings.

Mushroom French Dip with Horseradish Mayo

Do restaurants still have French dip sandwiches on the menu? I remember back in high school or college eating them when dining out, but don’t recall seeing them on menus after that. Maybe I just didn’t notice once I became a vegetarian.

When I saw a mushroom version online recently, warm food memories of the traditional sandwich came flooding back. The chewy roll, the tender beef, and oh, the au jus! Honestly I don’t remember cheese and caramelized onions on the sandwich, but what I ate probably wasn’t authentic, and I’m sure it would have been loads better with those two additions.

Since my go-to beef replacement over the last almost 30 years has been mushrooms in some form, this moved to the top of my “must make” list. Truly a multi-dimensional meal, the bite of horseradish in the garlicky mayo; the rich, meaty mushrooms; the soft, sweet caramelized onions; creamy Provolone; and the complex au jus come together on toasty French bread for a sensory overload of deliciousness. When Pete deemed this one of the best things I’ve ever made, well, I felt a duty to share. You’re welcome!

• Servings: 4
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Adapted from this Pinch of Yum recipe

Horseradish Mayo:

½ cup of your favorite mayonnaise (if you’re mayo averse, I highly suggest Vegenaise Better than Mayo brand—no eggs, no dairy)

2 teaspoons prepared horseradish

2 cloves garlic, finely grated

Pinch of salt

Seasoned mushrooms:

6 large portabella mushroom caps or more if they’re smaller (about 18 ounces total), wiped clean, gills scraped off, and sliced about 1/3 inch thick

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons Montreal steak seasoning (store-bought or homemade; I made a scaled down version of this recipe) or just use salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Caramelized onions and au jus:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced

¼ cup dry sherry

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (Annie’s and Whole Foods 365 are both vegetarian)

1 tablespoon reduced sodium tamari or soy sauce

2 cups vegetarian “beef” broth (I used 2 teaspoons Better than Bouillon No Beef Base with 2 cups hot water)

Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

To complete the sandwiches:

4 demi baguettes or one long baguette cut into four sections

Butter or buttery spread, optional

Provolone cheese slices

To make horseradish mayo, whisk ingredients together in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

To prepare the mushrooms, warm the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced mushrooms and sprinkle with steak seasoning. Cook, tossing mushrooms occasionally, until they release their liquid, it has cooked off, and mushrooms are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Set aside.

To caramelize the onions and make the au jus, melt the butter in a heavy skillet, preferably cast-iron, over medium heat. Add onions and cook, tossing occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until they are golden brown, about 30-40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Add the sherry to the onions and cook until the sherry has evaporated. Add the Worcestershire, tamari, and the broth. Increase heat to medium and bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer for 5-10 minutes until slightly reduced. Taste, and add salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.

Place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and dump the mixture into the strainer, separating the onions from the au jus. Set both aside.

Halve the baguettes horizontally and spread with butter (optional). Place on a sheet pan. Divide mushrooms among bottom bread sections and cover with Provolone slices (cut to fit if slices are wide). Transfer pan to the oven and toast the open sandwiches for about 5 or 6 minutes.

Remove from oven and top the mushroom/cheese side of sandwiches with caramelized onions. Liberally spread top sandwich portions with the horseradish mayo and put sandwich tops on bottoms. Serve each sandwich with a small bowl of au jus for dipping. Make sure to have plenty of napkins and enjoy! Makes 4 sandwiches (no judging if the two of you eat all four portions; that might have happened here).

Falafel with Creamy Tahini-Yogurt Sauce

I don’t know why, but earlier this summer I started craving falafel. And Foxy Falafel, my go-to source for truly great falafel, is limited to curbside pick-up during the pandemic. Deep-fried food just doesn’t travel well, and I’m thinking it wouldn’t be as amazing by the time I got it home.

This led me to look for an authentic recipe that would satisfy my craving. I found it and must share—it’s that good! Plus, it’s not deep-fried–yay! Golden brown and crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside with all those signature falafel herbs and spices, it’s served with a creamy tahini-yogurt sauce, thinly sliced radishes, cucumber, red onion, and tomatoes from our garden. All piled on a whole wheat tortilla or, if you have time, stuffed in my whole wheat pita bread, it’s a nutritious, delicious all-in-one meal.

There’s nothing difficult or time-consuming about this other than the need to plan ahead and start soaking the dried chickpeas the night before (canned chickpeas won’t work here). And after soaking, you don’t have to cook the beans, which makes this recipe even easier! Everything else comes together quickly enough for a weeknight meal. A very special weeknight meal! Enjoy!

• Servings: 4
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Adapted from this Downshiftology recipe
This recipe is naturally gluten-free and all that’s needed to make it vegan is to use a tahini sauce without the yogurt, like this one.

1 cup dried chickpeas (canned won’t work in this recipe)

About half of a medium yellow onion, roughly chopped

1 cup fresh parsley, in between loosely and tightly packed

1 cup fresh cilantro, in between loosely and tightly packed

1 medium jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 heaping teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

Several grinds of black pepper

2 tablespoons chickpea flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

Grapeseed or avocado oil for pan-frying (or another neutral oil of choice)

Tahini-yogurt sauce, recipe follows

Flour or corn tortillas or my whole wheat pita bread

Accompaniments:
Thinly sliced radishes, cucumbers, red onion, diced tomato

The night before you plan to make the falafel, place the chickpeas in a pot and cover with water by 2-3 inches (the chickpeas will triple in size and you want to make sure they stay submerged). Cover pot and set aside.

The next day, drain and rinse the chickpeas and add them to your food processor (after draining, I dump them onto a clean kitchen towel and pat them dry before putting them in the food processor).

Add the onion, parsley, cilantro, jalapeño, garlic, cumin, salt, cardamom, and black pepper to the food processor and process until the mixture is the texture of coarse sand (you may have to stop and scrape down the sides a couple times).

Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the chickpea flour and baking soda. Cover and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Place a cooling rack on a baking sheet and place it in oven.

Heat a cast iron pan over medium heat. Add a couple tablespoons oil. When oil is hot, form falafel mixture into balls (I used a #30 cookie dough scoop, which is about 1 ½-2 tablespoons) and place in hot pan. Flatten slightly with a spatula. You’ll have to do this in batches—don’t crowd the falafels.

If the mixture seems too wet, add another tablespoon of chickpea flour. If it seems too dry, add a tablespoon of water (I didn’t need to do either both times I have made this recipe).

Cook the falafels for about 3 minutes, until golden brown on the bottom. Flip and cook another 3 minutes. Remove to rack in oven to stay warm. Repeat with remaining falafel mixture. You will probably need to add more oil to the pan.

Serve in warm tortillas or pita with a swoosh of tahini-yogurt sauce, several falafels, tomato, radish, cucumber, or other toppings of choice. Makes about 4 servings or 18-20 falafel.

Creamy Tahini Yogurt Sauce
From this Feasting at Home recipe

¾ cup plain Greek yogurt (I used 2%)

¼ cup tahini

2 garlic cloves, grated on a micro-plane

Juice of one medium lemon

½ to 1 teaspoon kosher salt (my tahini was salt-free, so I used the full teaspoon)

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Wisk all ingredients in small bowl until thoroughly combined and creamy. Can make a day or two ahead of time. Cover and refrigerate until use.

 

Spaghetti with Cauliflower Meat Sauce

A little over two years ago when I posted this Cauliflower Taco Meat recipe, I mentioned wanting to tweak it with Italian seasonings to be used in things like lasagna, spaghetti sauce, and stuffed peppers. Well, it took me two years and several versions, but it’s finally exactly what I wanted it to be.

This hearty, meaty spaghetti sauce of my dreams will now be in regular rotation in our kitchen. Versatile cauliflower, along with meaty portabellas and healthy omega-3 fat-packed walnuts comes together with herbs and a rich red sauce to create a spaghetti dish I’m confident could hold its own in a cook-off against one made with ground beef.

You could use your favorite red sauce recipe, jarred marinara, or the quick homemade version I included that’s pulled from the headnotes of the Smitten Kitchen’s Stuffed Eggplant Parmesan, which sounds amazing in its own right.

Both the cauliflower meat and the sauce, if you’re making your own, can be done a day or two ahead, which would make this perfect for a weeknight.

To give it an extra dose of veggies, I sautéed some chopped onion and spinach from our garden with a little red wine before adding the sauce and meat. Feel free to leave that out if you’d like. Served over whole wheat spaghetti and topped with a little parmesan (omit for a vegan version) and fresh basil, you’ve got an amazing comfort food meal without the typical saturated fat and cholesterol. What could be better!?! Enjoy!

• Servings: 4
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Cauliflower Meat
3 cups cauliflower florets

1 ½ cups chopped cremini mushrooms

½ cup chopped walnuts

¼ cup tomato sauce

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon fennel seeds

½ teaspoon onion powder

¼ teaspoon dried marjoram

Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet.

Place cauliflower, mushrooms, walnuts, tomato sauce, salt, fennel seeds, onion powder, marjoram, and pepper in the bowl of a food processor and pulse on and off until the texture of ground beef. I found it easier to get the right texture by doing this in two batches, half of each ingredient in each batch. The first time I made it I did it all at once and half of it was almost like a paste—still tasted great, but just not the right texture. Transfer mixture to the baking sheet and spread it out in an even layer.

Bake for 30 minutes, stirring once at the half-way point.

Spaghetti or marinara sauce–homemade, jarred, or this quick Smitten Kitchen recipe:
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a pot over medium, add 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and a pinch or three of red pepper flakes, and a little dried oregano, if you wish. Cook for one minute. Add a 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (it will splatter, be careful) and stir (I used a can of whole San Marzano tomatoes and crushed them with a potato masher once in the pot). Cook at a simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until you get the saucy consistency you want. This yields 3 cups.

To bring it all together
8 oz. regular or whole wheat spaghetti

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

½ of a medium yellow onion, chopped

A couple handfuls of fresh spinach, chopped

A splash or two of red wine

Salt & pepper

Freshly grated parmesan cheese, optional

Torn fresh basil leaves for garnish

Place a big pot of well-salted water on the stove and bring to a boil. Cook spaghetti according to package instructions. Drain and return to pot to keep warm.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and sauté for several minutes until beginning to soften. Increase heat to medium-high and add spinach and red wine, plus a little salt & pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach has wilted and wine has mostly cooked off.

Turn heat back down to medium and add 2 to 2 ½ cups red sauce. Add about half of your cauliflower meat (reserve the rest for another batch). Bring to a simmer and cook until heated through.

Pile pasta into bowls and top with cauliflower meat sauce, parmesan, and basil. Take a big whiff of all this wonderfulness, and dig in. Makes about 4 servings, with enough “meat” left for another batch.

Oregano-Hazelnut Pesto

Right now, we’re experiencing the kind of growing weather where everything is thriving. That perfect combination of sun, heat, and humidity that has your garden practically exploding. Especially my herbs. It’s times like this that I start to panic and wonder how will I ever use all the basil, sage, thyme, tarragon, and oregano.

Today my panic was focused on the oregano. Our tomatoes are weeks from being ready so that great tomato-oregano combination won’t happen for a while, but my oregano plant badly needed trimming. I began to wonder if there is such a thing as oregano pesto or would that be too strong a flavor? Yes, oregano pesto is a thing, my online research told me, and I was intrigued by a recipe that used hazelnuts in the pesto. That partial bag of hazelnuts buried in my freezer would finally get used!

It’s been a while since we’ve had pasta, so why not an oregano pesto penne pasta? Shallots for good measure, some quality parmesan because hello, Italian pasta dish, and a little lemon zest to finish. I’ve included the recipe below the pesto instructions–I think you’ll like it!

Fully prepared not to like this oregano version, I was pleasantly surprised and now have a new favorite pesto. The oregano was not overwhelming, and the hazelnuts brought a lovely, unique flavor. I’m looking forward to using some the of the leftover pesto on pizza this week. Enjoy!

 

• Servings: 1 1/2 cups
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Inspired by this recipe

1 cup fresh oregano leaves (discard the stems)

½ cup unsalted hazelnuts

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salt

In a small skillet, toast hazelnuts over medium-low heat until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Stir often so they don’t burn. Cool slightly.

Place oregano leaves, hazelnuts, lemon juice, and garlic into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until well mixed. With machine running, slowly drizzle in olive oil. Scrape down sides and process until mixture is mostly smooth. Add salt, to taste.

Refrigerate, covered, until use. Keeps about 4 days. Freeze for longer storage.

Great on pasta (recipe follows), a little mixed into scrambled eggs, as a dip for good quality bread, in place of red sauce on pizza, or a dollop swirled into a bowl of soup. Makes about 1 ½ cups pesto.

Penne Pasta with Oregano-Hazelnut Pesto, Shallots, and Lemon Zest

8 oz. penne pasta, regular or whole wheat

1 medium shallot, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Oregano-hazelnut pesto (about half of above recipe)

¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, optional

Grated zest of one lemon

Cook pasta in a pot of well-salted boiling water, according to package directions. Reserve about ½ cup of pasta water before draining.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes.

Return drained pasta to pan and add shallots, pesto, parmesan (if using), and about a third a cup of reserved pasta water. Toss to coat pasta until sauce becomes creamy. Add a little more pasta water if necessary. Transfer pasta to serving bowls, top with lemon zest and additional parmesan, if desired. Makes 3-4 servings.

Strawberry Dutch Baby

It just doesn’t seem appropriate now to write about light-hearted things like recipes and food with the recent murder-by-cop of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the ensuing riots (not to be lumped in with the peaceful protests), which have now spread across the country. I want to share recipes, but it seems so frivolous and unimportant at this time. However, we all need to eat, so here goes…

I’ve heard of Dutch babies before but had never had or made one. Lately it seemed recipes were everywhere I looked, and I took that as a sign I should join the party.

Apparently Dutch babies aren’t actually Dutch. They are a German pancake that earned the moniker Dutch when someone confused the word Deutsch with Dutch. So, there you have it.

Regardless of the name or origin, they are easy, versatile, and delicious. I’ve made sweet versions with both apples and strawberries and I plan to make a savory one soon (just omit the sugar in the batter and add a few grinds of black pepper) with some veggies and a sprinkling of grated cheese when done. And unlike regular pancakes, you can relax while it’s baking with no need to stand over the stove flipping flapjacks. Enjoy!

• Servings: 2-4
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Adapted from New York Times Cooking

One Dutch baby serves two generously and four for a lighter meal. You’ll get more of the signature puffing and rumpling if your milk and eggs are at room temperature to start.

3 eggs, room temperature

½ cup milk, room temperature (I used skim)

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

½ cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon (optional if using strawberries, but a must with apples)

Pinch of nutmeg

Pinch of salt

3 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes

About 3/4 cup of sliced strawberries or apples

Pure maple syrup, for serving

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. and place a 10-inch cast iron pan in the oven.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla, flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until very well combined (could also do this in a blender, but I didn’t want to have a blender to clean).

When oven reaches 425, carefully remove pan from oven and add butter. Once it’s melted, scatter strawberry slices on bottom of pan. Pour batter into pan and carefully return to the oven. Cook for about 18 minutes, until pancake is puffed and golden (do not open the oven door—try to determine if it’s done through the window). Turn oven off and leave pancake in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and cut into wedges. Serve with pure maple syrup or whatever toppings you’d like. Makes 2 generous or 4 smaller servings.

 

Layered White Bean and Spinach Enchiladas

Last week I cooked up a pot of cranberry beans with a little onion, carrot, and celery and then couldn’t decide what to do with them, so they sat in the fridge for a few days until I got some inspiration. With it no longer being wise to run to the grocery store on a whim, cooking during a pandemic has become adjusting recipes to what you have on hand. I’ve been doing a lot of that lately, with mostly good results.

Not sure what made me think of a recipe I cooked a few years back for layered enchiladas. The original recipe calls for chicken and I probably made it with seiten or mock duck in its place. I figured the cranberry beans in the fridge could be the “meat” and spinach would be included too because when I ordered a package of baby spinach in my co-op curbside pick-up order, they gave me a one-pound package. That’s a lot of spinach to use up while it’s still fresh—it’s been going in everything lately!

I made a quick homemade enchilada sauce, but you could use store-bought if you’d rather. Because my cooked beans already had onion in them, I didn’t add more, but I included them in the recipe instructions assuming most people will either use canned beans or won’t have added onion when they cooked their dried beans.

Cranberry beans (also called borlotti beans) are soft and dense with a velvety, rich texture. I ordered mine from Rancho Gordo, which I’m told has some of the best heirloom beans around. You could use any dried white bean or pinto bean, and canned would work as well, but the texture will be a little different.

Out of necessity, pretty much all recipes right now are flexible, so you can vary the cheeses, the additional vegetables, and as I mentioned, the bean variety. Not being sure how all these flavors would come together, I was fully prepared for this to not really work. But it did. It was damned delicious, in fact, and was actually one of the best twists on a recipe I’ve ever made. Pete and I agreed it needs to be shared. Enjoy!

• Servings: 4
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Adapted from this Williams Sonoma recipe.

1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

1 yellow onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

2 cups cooked cranberry beans or other white beans (or substitute rinsed, drained canned beans)

1 3/4 cups red enchilada sauce (canned or homemade—this is the recipe I used)

9 corn tortillas, each about 6 inches in diameter (mine were 5” and worked fine)

3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

3/4 cup shredded smoked cheddar cheese

3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Sliced green onion tops for garnish

Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large nonstick sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, 6 to 7 minutes. Add beans and spinach to pan and cook until spinach has wilted and reduced.

Spread 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 3 1/2-quart round Dutch oven. Arrange 3 tortillas in a single layer on the sauce, overlapping them as needed to cover the sauce. Top with a generous 1 cup of the bean-spinach mixture, 1/2 cup of the sauce and 1/4 cup of each cheese. Repeat the layering 2 more times, alternating the direction of the tortilla layers and finishing with 1/2 cup sauce and 1/4 cup of each cheese.

Transfer to the oven and bake until the ingredients are heated through and the cheese is melted and the sauce bubbly, about 30-40 minutes. Remove from the oven and garnish with green onions and cilantro. Slice into wedges. Makes about 4 servings.

Creamy Lentil and Spinach Stew

Like many of you during this time of stay-at-home directives and all-but-essential errands being curtailed, I’ve come to rely on recipes that pull from the pantry and use ingredients most often kept on-hand.

Last night, I decided that lentils and spinach would take center stage in our dinner. I googled lentil & spinach recipes and combined a couple. The result was this delicious stew that I served over brown rice. The veggies can be customized to what you have on hand, celery, mushrooms, leeks, etc., and if you don’t have spinach, kale or Swiss chard would be nice substitutes. Don’t skip the drizzle of olive oil and red wine vinegar at the end—it brings the yum factor over the top! Enjoy!

• Servings: 4
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Adapted from this Taste of Home recipe and this Pinch of Yum recipe

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Half a yellow onion, chopped

1 carrot, diced

½ a green bell pepper, chopped

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup dry white wine

1 cup uncooked green or brown lentils, picked over, rinsed, and drained

2 small Yukon gold potatoes, chopped (about 1 cup)

4 cups vegetable broth/stock, divided

1 bay leaf

½ teaspoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (the Annie’s brand is vegetarian)

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/3 cup milk or cream

3 to 4 cups fresh baby spinach, chopped

Olive oil and red wine vinegar for final drizzling

Hot, cooked brown rice

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add onions, carrot, and green pepper, and ¼ teaspoon salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes until the veggies have softened. Add the wine and stir, making sure to scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.

Stir in the lentils, potatoes, 2 cups broth, bay leaf, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper. Bring to a simmer and put a lid on the pot to partially cover. Simmer for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding more broth, as needed, to keep the lentils just covered (I used almost all of the remaining 2 cups).

When the lentils and potatoes are tender, mash some of the potatoes against the side of the pan to give a creamy texture.

Remove the bay leaf and stir in the milk/cream and the spinach. Cook until spinach has wilted. Taste, and add more salt and pepper, if necessary.

Serve over brown rice and drizzle with a little extra-virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar. Makes about 4 servings.

 

Mujaddara (Lentils and Brown Rice with Caramelized Onions)

A few weeks back I had a recipe fail making stuck-pot rice and lentils for the first time. Part of the instructions said the “rice should smell toasty but not burned and you might need to check on it once or twice if you’re making it for the first time.” Well my rice never really smelled toasty, and at the end, when the recipe said to turn the whole pan of rice and lentils out onto a platter, the bottom, which becomes the top, was completely charred. Plus, the lentils were undercooked.

I was crushed! This delicious-smelling meal I was so looking forward to was ruined. I pulled off the charred layer and salvaged what wasn’t burned. It tasted okay, but obviously not how it was supposed to, and the experience had me craving a good lentil and rice meal.

Then a few days ago I came across a recipe for Mujaddara, a Middle Eastern dish of lentils and rice with caramelized onions. It was a similar dish to my huge failure, but without the hard-to-get-right “stuck-pot” part. I had found my redemption recipe!

Once I found the first Mujaddara version, I looked for more and combined aspects of a couple of them. These instructions will work with regular green or brown lentils, but not red, puy (French green), or black beluga lentils. Make sure to use brown basmati rice; white won’t work here because cooking times are different.

The cumin, allspice, and bay leaves give this dish warmth and the somewhat crispy caramelized onions lend a really pleasant textural component and a subtle sweetness. A little cool creaminess from the yogurt and a nice kick from the harissa and you’ve got yourself the lentil and rice dish of your (okay, my) dreams. But you will love it too. Enjoy!

• Servings: 4-6
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Adapted from Milkstreet and Cookie & Kate

4 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

3 bay leaves

1 tablespoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

1 ¾ teaspoons fine sea salt, divided

Freshly ground black pepper

5 cups water

1 cup uncooked brown basmati rice, rinsed and drained

1 cup brown or green lentils, picked over for debris or pebbles, then rinsed and drained

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 large onions, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced

½ cup sliced scallions, light green and green parts only, divided

Plain Greek yogurt (whole or 2%), for serving (omit to keep this vegan)

Harissa or sriracha, for serving

Combine the garlic, bay leaves, cumin, allspice, 1 ½ teaspoons of the salt, and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper in a large stockpot or Dutch oven. Add 5 cups of water and stir. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

When water comes to a boil, stir in the brown rice, lower heat to medium, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Make sure to keep water at a strong simmer. Stir in the lentils and return to a simmer. Cover, turn the heat down to medium-low, and cook until the liquid is absorbed and the rice and lentils are done, 20-25 minutes.

While rice and lentils are cooking, warm olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onions and cook, stirring only occasionally at the start then more frequently once browning begins at the edges of the pan, until the onions are deeply caramelized and crisped, 20-25 minutes; adjust the heat down if the onions brown too quickly.

Using a slotted spoon or fish spatula, transfer the onions to a paper towel–lined plate and spread evenly. Sprinkle with the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and set aside; the onions will crisp as they cool.

When the lentils and rice are tender, remove the pot from the heat. Uncover and lay a tea towel across the top of the pan, then replace the lid and let stand for 10 minutes (this will absorb the steam).

Remove the stockpot lid, discard the bay leaves, and smash the garlic cloves against the side of the pan with a fork. Add about three quarters of the scallions and parsley, reserving the rest for garnish. Gently stir and fluff the rice with a fork. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.

Transfer the rice/lentil mixture to a large serving platter or bowl. Top with the caramelized onions and the remaining scallions and parsley. Serve hot or at room temperature. Top with yogurt and harissa. Makes 4-6 servings.