Green Shakshuka

The monkeys and I have spent the winter mostly hibernating, eating comfort food and getting fat. But Spring is finally here! That means farmer’s market is revving up to full swing and new things are popping up every week that make me want to experiment in the kitchen.

In one of those perfect timing situations, the lovely Jenn Louis, a chef here in Portland, is releasing her new cookbook this month (in stores April 11th, woohoo!), aptly titled The Book of Greens! I was lucky enough to be eating at her restaurant, Ray, on the day the author copies landed  and bought the very first copy. Booyah!

The cool thing about this book is it gives you plenty of recipes for the “normal” greens you might be used to eating but also for lots of things that maybe you haven’t heard of or have never tried or didn’t know you could eat. I always get a few mystery items in my CSA boxes and this is going to be a huge help when figuring out what to do with them. This cookbook highlight greens I didn’t know existed and it goes way beyond salads.

This is the second recipe I’ve made out of this book and both have been delicious. I love my eggs and who knew there was a way of making them that I’ve never tried? Normally shakshuka is made with a red, tomato-based sauce but I’ve never seen a green version. Think salsa verde on steroids, with the eggs gently cooked right in the sauce. I love the zing of the tomatillos, balanced with a little spice and a lot of greens. You can eat this with challah toast, or do as I did, and serve it over rice for dinner. I also ate the leftovers over hash browns (don’t judge, you know how I feel about potatoes). This was so tasty.

Green Shakshuka!

Green Shakshuka
(a.k.a. Malabar Spinach Shakshuka, from The Book of Greens, by Jenn Louis)

1 pound tomatillos, husks removed and halved
4 oz. malabar spinach (I used regular spinach, or you could also sub chard)
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, plus a few sprigs for garnish
1 jalapeno, stemmed & cut into thirds (remove seeds and membranes if you want it less spicy)
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 small yellow onion (I used half since I have an onion hater in the house)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. ground caraway
1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
Sea salt
4 eggs
2 oz. sheep’s milk feta

Challah toast, rice or potatoes for serving

Combine tomatillos, spinach, cilantro, and jalapeno in a food processor. Pulse until all of the ingredients are finely chopped. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and process again until the ingredients are well mixed but not fully pureed. The texture of the ingredients should be fine, not chunky. Set aside.

Green things getting ready to get chopped up. Don’t worry, I squished them all down in there.

Over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil in a 10 inch skillet. Add the onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, caraway, and turmeric and cook, stirring often, until the onion is translucent, about 4 minutes. If the garlic begins to brown, decrease the heat.

Add the tomatillo mixture, season lightly with salt, and bring the sauce to a light simmer. Cook slowly until the sauce thickens, 8-10 minutes. Crack the eggs atop the spinach-tomatillo mixture, turn the heat to low, and cover the pan to allow the eggs to cook gently and steam. Cook the eggs until the whites all set, 4-5 minutes.

Spoon into individual bowls with the eggs on top, and garlic with the cilantro springs and feta. Serve immediately with challah toast, rice or potatoes (or for a low carb option, just eat it with a spoon)!

Serves 2.

 

 

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Turkey and Mushroom Quiche

You may be sick of turkey. Thanksgiving wasn’t that long ago and let’s face it: most of us overdose on the bird, and then the leftovers, and then we don’t want it for another year until it’s time to gorge again while giving thanks.

I, on the other hand, take advantage of the turkey sales at Thanksgiving time so I can have turkey the rest of the year too, because I like it and it’s so versatile to use in lots of recipes. This year I was also given the gift of a smoked turkey by my uncle and that stuff is just heavenly. Since my freezer was apparently designed by Keebler elves and won’t hold one frozen turkey, let alone two, these two feathered friends were instantly shredded and put into freezer bags and packed nicely into my tiny freezer, ready to use for whatever strikes my fancy. If you don’t happen to have a cache of frozen turkey at your disposal, simply purchase some cooked turkey from your deli or roast a small turkey breast or leg for this recipe. Or substitute other meat or veggies if you’d like, it’s your dinner after all. And quiche is a great way to use up whatever leftovers you may have lying around. Chicken would work great in this as well.

Turkey and Mushroom Quiche

Turkey and Mushroom Quiche

1 pie crust (homemade or premade – I like the Pillsbury ready-to-use, refrigerated crust)
1 cup cooked smoked turkey, chopped or shredded
1 cup mushrooms
1 clove garlic, minced
1 leek, white and light green parts, sliced
1/4 tsp. dry Italian seasoning
Salt & pepper
5 eggs
1 3/4 cup half n half
4 oz. goat cheese

Preheat oven to 425˚.

In a skillet, head a drizzle of oil or butter in the pan and add the leek, garlic and mushrooms. Sauté 2-3 minutes. Add Italian seasoning. Cook a minute or so more until veggies are soft and then remove from heat.

In a bowl, beat 5 eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper and the half n half. Set aside.

Unroll dough and press into a 9 inch pie pan. I like to dust the bottom of the crust with a bit of flour so it doesn’t stick. Crimp edges. Put turkey in the bottom of the crust. Top with veggie mixture. Place dollops of goat cheese all around. Pour egg mixture over the top.

Carefully place in the oven. Cook at 425˚ for 15 minutes. Turn temperature down to 375˚ and cook another 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before cutting. Slice into wedges and serve. Yummy hot or cold.

Farmers Market Frittata

Not sure what you guys do with your Saturdays but mine usually start at farmers market. I go and get a mocha from the coffee cart and then start my rounds. This usually includes eating enough samples to qualify as breakfast and filling up my giant market bag so full I can barely carry it back to the car.

For this frittata, you can put just about anything in it that you happen to have on hand. This week I had purchased zucchini, cherry tomatoes, goat cheese and red onions. And eggs! Don’t forget the lovely eggs from happy happy chickens who wander around and peck things and live like chickens should. Feel free to substitute ingredients if there is something you like better or need to use up!

This makes a dandy breakfast, but I’ve also been known to serve it with a giant green salad and call it dinner.

Farmer’s Market Fritatta

Farmer’s Market Frittata

1 zucchini, sliced
Handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
1/3 cup red onion, sliced
Goat cheese
Parmesan
5 eggs
Salt & pepper

Chop veggies. Beat eggs with a bit of salt & pepper in a bowl. Set aside. Heat 10″ skillet over medium heat. Add a bit of olive oil. Add onion and cook for a minute or two. Add zucchini and tomatoes. Sprinkle with a dash of salt and pepper. Cook for 1-2 minutes until zucchini is barely tender.

Veggies in the pan. Just a quick saute is all they need to bring out the flavor!

Pour eggs over veggies. Swirl to cover veggies evenly. Dot with goat cheese and sprinkle with a bit of parmesan.

If some of your veggies stick out don’t worry about it, it will all come together just fine.

Cover and turn heat down to medium low. Cook for 5-10 minutes until eggs are set on top. Cut into wedges and serve hot. Pairs perfectly with a side of fruit or salad.

 

 

 

Individual Spinach Quiche in Phyllo

There’s just something about food made in tiny individual forms that makes me happy.  I’m really not sure why.  They are so cute and delicious and let’s face it, it’s fun to say you ate 4 quiche for dinner.

Instead of the traditional pie crust, I used phyllo dough for the crust in these.  I was in the mood for something light and flaky and it was the perfect solution!  As an added bonus, they were also really pretty and had a satisfying crunch.  Since you’re making individual servings they are also really easy to customize to different tastes if you have a mushroom or feta hater among you.

This recipe makes a dozen quiche, but don’t be surprised if everyone eats three or four.  If you have some left over, they are great for breakfast the next day, but the phyllo will lose its crunch after a night in the fridge.

Individual Spinach Quiche in Phyllo. How pretty is that?

Individual Spinach Quiche in Phyllo

1 package phyllo dough (you will probably only use half of it)
2 tbsp. butter, melted
1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
4 oz. mushrooms
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups half n half
Pinch of nutmeg
Salt & pepper
Feta cheese
Pine nuts

Preheat oven to 375˚.  Spray a muffin pan (regular size, for 12 muffins) with cooking spray and set aside.

In a bowl, whisk together eggs, half n half, nutmeg and a bit of salt & pepper.  Set aside.

Unroll your phyllo dough and cover with a slightly damp towel so it doesn’t dry out.  On a clean surface, lay out one sheet of phyllo dough.  If you haven’t worked with phyllo before, be warned it is quite fragile, but it’s not tragic if it tears. If it does, just set the pieces side by side and keep going.  Brush lightly with melted butter (it does not have to be perfect).  Top with another sheet and brush lightly with butter.  Repeat with another 3 to 4 sheets, until you have a stack of 5-6 sheets of dough.  Cut into 6 squares.

Yes, it looks like paper. It even feels like paper. But it tastes like dough. It’s magic!

Place each square into a muffin well, pressing to shape the square to the bottom of the well.  Repeat process with another 6 sheets of dough, and press into the other wells, making 12 pie crusts.

Tiny pie “crusts”

Saute mushrooms in a small skillet until browned.  Put a few mushrooms in the bottom of each quiche.

Mushrooms. Don’t like mushrooms? Just leave them out.

Squeeze liquid from thawed spinach.  Place a wad of spinach in each quiche and spread out a bit.

Top with a few crumbles of feta cheese (or any other cheese you’re fond of).

Pour egg mixture over the top of the veggies and cheese, being careful not to overfill.  This is most easily accomplished by using a measuring cup with a spout or a small ladle. Top each quiche with a few pine nuts.

Bake for 20-30 minutes until egg mixture is poofed up and crust is golden brown.  Let sit for 5 minutes or so to cool and set up.  Use a butter knife to carefully lever each quiche out of the pan and transfer to a plate.  These are great served with a big green salad.

When they are done, they look like this. Yum!

 

 

Thanksgiving Leftover Fritatta

Fritattas are my favorite dumping grounds for leftovers.  I have used everything from potatoes to rice to tortillas for the base, but up until now, I’ve never used stuffing.  But I had a bunch left from Thanksgiving and, while I’d happily just eat a bowl of it, I forgot to snag any gravy from mom so this time I decided to do something different with it.  I also added some of the leftover roasted veggies.  Now you could also add a little turkey if you want…but I saved mine for sandwiches.

Thanksgiving Leftover Fritatta

Thanksgiving Leftover Fritatta

1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup mixed veggies (I used leftover roasted carrots and green beans)
1 cup Thanksgiving stuffing
4 strips bacon
5 eggs
1/4 cup shredded cheese

Heat a 10″ skillet over medium heat.  Cook bacon until crisp.  Remove and drain on paper towels.  Discard the grease in the pan.

One of the most useful things I’ve learned from Pinterest. Put a piece of foil in a bowl, pour your grease into it. When it cools and solidifies, simply lift it out and throw it away. Genius!

If needed, add a drizzle of olive oil.  Sauté the onion for 1-2 minutes.  Then add the roasted veggies.  Stir and cook until onion is tender.

Leftover veggies.

Add stuffing and cook until heated through.  Chop bacon and add to stuffing mixture.

Stuffing and bacon into the mix.

In a bowl, beat eggs with a pinch of salt & pepper.   Pour eggs over everything and swirl around to coat.  Don’t worry if it doesn’t cover everything.  Sprinkle with cheese.

Almost there!

Turn heat down to medium low, and cover.  Cook 10-15 minutes, or until top is set.  Cut into wedges and serve.

Spinach-Feta Omelet with Pine Nuts

I’ve given up buying cereal.  Whenever I do, we each have a bowl and then watch it sit on the shelf thereafter, slowing going stale.  Suffice it to say none of us are big fans of the stuff, in spite of the occasional craving.  I feel better and less hungry throughout the day when I have a bit of protein in the morning instead.

This delicious omelet makes a perfect breakfast or lunch.  The pine nuts add a nutty touch that works beautifully with the spinach.  Add them near the end of sauteing the veggies, since they burn easily.

Spinach-Feta Omelet with Pine Nuts

Spinach-Feta Omelet with Pine Nuts

1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
3/4 cup baby spinach, coarsely chopped
1 tsp pine nuts
2-3 tbsp. feta cheese
2-3 eggs
Salt & pepper

Beat eggs with a pinch of salt & pepper and set aside.

Heat a medium skillet (I prefer a 10″ skillet for omelets) over medium heat.  Add a drizzle of olive oil and rub around skillet to coat entirely.  Add onion and sauté 2-3 minutes, until tender.  Add spinach and pine nuts.  Cook, stirring frequently another minute or two, until spinach is slightly wilted.  Remove veggies to a plate.

Keep an eye on the veggies so your pine nuts don’t burn!

Add eggs to the skillet.  Swirl around to coat the bottom of the pan.  Using a spatula, push or lift the edges of the egg, tilting the pan so the runny egg fills the empty spot.  Keep doing this until there is no runny egg.  You will end up with a bumpy, moon crater surface of an omelet, with the egg mostly cooked but still glossy on top.

Scatter cheese all over the surface, and then put the veggies just on one half.

Yum!

Cook a minute until cheese starts to melt, fold omelet over, slide out of the pan and serve immediately.

Kale Over Easy Tostada

After my Halloween debauchery, I decided to detox from all the sugar with a three day juice fast.  I drank four fresh vegetable/fruit juices per day, and ate a light vegetarian dinner each day.  I think it did the trick.  After a splitting headache for two days, I felt much better and stopped craving sugar.  While the juices were delicious, by the time my fast was done I was juiced out.  But still had a lot of juicing veggies left.

While I normally eat a lot of vegetables, kale and chard are not among my favorites, so I’m trying to find creative ways to use them up.  I really liked how this tostada turned out.  The onions and garlic add so much flavor to the kale, and a quick sauté brightens the taste and softens the texture.  With the yolky egg on top, it was a great combo.  I might actually buy kale to make this again.

Kale Over Easy Tostada

Kale Over Easy Tostada

For each tostada:
1 tostada shell
2-3 kale leaves, coarsely chopped (discard stems)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1-2 eggs
1 oz. shredded cheese (I used white cheddar)
Salsa (optional)
Salt & pepper

Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a medium skillet.  Add onion and sauté 2-3 minutes.  Add garlic and kale and cook another 2 minutes,  until kale is slightly wilted and onions are translucent.

Just cook until kale is wilted but still bright. You don’t want to cook it to death.

If desired, heat tostada shell for a few seconds in microwave (just so it isn’t cold), and top with kale mixture.  Break eggs into the same skillet, sprinkle with salt & pepper and cook until they are done as much as you like.  I like mine over easy, which means cook just until the whites are set (not clear), then flip or cover to cook the other side briefly, removing them while the yolk is still runny. Place eggs on top of kale.

Top with cheese and salsa and enjoy!

Hearty Red Potato Fritatta

When you hear fritatta your mind might automatically head for breakfast-land.  But this also makes a dandy lunch or dinner, served with a side of fruit or salad.  This week it landed in brunch territory, alongside three cups of tea and a pile of Honeycrisp apple slices.

I often use leftover baked potatoes for this one, but if you don’t have any, a quick spin in the microwave will do just fine.

Hearty Red Potato Fritatta

Hearty Red Potato Fritatta

2 red potatoes
1/4 cup onion
1/4 cup red pepper
2-3 strips bacon
1 cup fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
5 eggs
Salt & pepper
1/2 cup white cheddar cheese, shredded

If you aren’t using leftover baked potatoes, poke all over with a fork and stick in the microwave.  About 4-5 minutes on high should have them fork tender.  Remove and dice.

In a small bowl, beat egg with a pinch of salt & pepper and set aside.

In a medium skillet (I like to use a 10″ skillet for these), cook bacon until crisp.  Remove to paper towels to drain and dispose of all but a tablespoon or two of the bacon grease.  Add onion and pepper to the pan and sauté a couple of minutes until tender.  Add potatoes and a pinch of salt & pepper.  Stir to combine.  Add spinach and stir into the mixture.  Make sure veggie and potato mixture is evenly distributed in the pan.  Pour egg mixture over the top.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Turn heat down to medium low and cover.  Cook another 5-10 minutes until top is completely set.  Slice into wedges and enjoy!

Tomato Quiche Cups

I love quickie breakfasts.  Even more, I love quickie breakfasts that are delicious.  Baked eggs are an easy and very tasty way to start the day.  Ever since I bought my ramekins, these have been coming out of my oven on a regular basis.  What I really love about them is that there are so many variations!  Whatever your imagination (and refrigerator) can dream up will most likely turn into a tasty breakfast.

Sometimes I just break the eggs into the cups on top of the veggies and meat.  But I was in the mood for something a bit fluffier so I added a little cream and beat it into the eggs for a more quiche-like texture.  The result?  Fluffy, light and oh so good!

So pretty and so good!

Tomato Quiche Cups

For each cup:

1plum tomato, diced
1 oz. hard salami, cut into matchsticks or small cubes (1-2 tbsp)
2 slices brie cheese
2 eggs
1 tbsp. heavy cream
Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray your ramekins with cooking spray.  Place tomatoes and salami in the bottom.

Tomato & salami. Feel free to sub bacon or pepperoni, or leave out for a vegetarian version.

Top with brie.

Top with brie. Feel free to use a different cheese if you prefer (or no cheese).

Whisk together eggs, cream and a pinch of salt & pepper.  Pour over veggies and cheese.

All ready to go in the oven. Be sure to make on a baking sheet, just in case they spill over just a bit as they cook.

Place ramekins on a baking sheet (sometimes they poof up so much you get a little overflow so this is a good idea).  Bake 15-20 minutes until eggs are set.  The quiche will be poofed up when you first take it out.

Let sit for a couple of minutes.  The eggs will settle as it cools, looking more like this:

Deflated a bit after cooling a few minutes. Dig in!

Baked Huevos Verde

On the rare occasion I have leftover enchilada ingredients, my favorite thing to use them for is breakfast.  If you don’t have leftovers, this sauce takes mere moments to make and will keep in the fridge for a week.  Use beans, meat or veggies you might have left over or just use eggs and cheese.  Either way you stack it, it’s going to be delicious!  I had a bit of black beans and chicken, mixed with a dab of sour cream (my enchilada filling) so I used that in mine.

Baked Huevos Verde

Baked Huevos Verde

For each ramekin:

Corn tortilla
Leftover chicken and/or black beans and/or veggies (optional)
2 tbsp. salsa verde (see below for recipe)
1-2 eggs
Queso fresco
Salt & pepper

Verde Sauce:
12 oz. tomatillos (7-8 large)
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 jalapenos, stemmed and seeded
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
1/3 cup chopped roasted green chiles (or one 4 oz. can)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 garlic cloves, chopped

Preheat oven to 375˚.

To make verde sauce:  Remove husks and stems from tomatillos and put in a small saucepan.  Cover with water; boil for 10 minutes or until tender.  Drain and transfer to a blender with the rest of the sauce ingredients.  Blend until smooth.

Homemade verde sauce. So quick and easy!

Use a knife to cut your tortilla, making 4 slices, but leaving the center uncut.

4 small slices, going from the edge toward the center, leaving about an inch in the center uncut.

Spray your ramekin with cooking spray.  Fold tortilla into the ramekin in a little bowl shape (if you cut all the way through it’s no big deal, just stick it in there anyway, overlapping the pieces to fit).

Overlap the cut edges to make a little bowl shape in the ramekin.

Add a bit of veggies, meat or beans if you are using them.

Beans, meat or veggies on the bottom (if using).

Add 2-3 tablespoons of verde sauce.

I love love love this sauce.

Break 1-2 eggs into the ramekin on top of the sauce.

Add eggs. Depending on the size of your ramekin and how much veggies you added, you may be able to fit two eggs in here.

Sprinkle with queso fresco and a dash of salt & pepper.  Bake for 15 minutes, or until eggs are set and whites are cooked.  Serve hot!