Tag: broccolini
Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes, Asparagus & Broccolini with Toasted Breadcrumbs
Another pasta dish but completely different from yesterday… this has spring vegetables and is topped with the most delicious toasted breadcrumbs…
- 1 lb plum tomatoes, cut in half and seeds scooped out
- Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
Place the tomatoes face down on a lined cookie sheet. Drizzle the oil and sprinkle salt and pepper. Roast them for 3 hours until soft. Let cool and scrape off any lose skin. Chop the tomatoes and set aside.
- 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
- 1 bunch broccolini, trimmed and sliced in half
- Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Transfer the vegetables to a lined cookie sheet. Drizzle the olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper and roast for about 30 minutes. Take out and keep aside.
- ½ pound cooked pasta plus 1 cup of pasta water, penne or any kind
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 large shallot, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
Heat a large frying pan with the olive oil and butter. Add the shallot and garlic. Saute on medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and pasta water. Bring to a boil and simmer for a minute. Add the pasta and the vegetables. Mix well and season accordingly.
Toasted Breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup parsley, chopped
- 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Heat a medium frying pan with the olive oil. Add the breadcrumbs and garlic with the salt. Saute on medium heat, stirring constantly, making sure the breadcrumbs don’t burn. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes and keep aside and let cool. Once cool, add the parsley and cheese. Mix well and top the pasta before serving.
Minced Chicken with Black Bean Sauce
- 1 pound minced chicken (thighs)
- 1 tablespoons tamari
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
Add the chicken to a medium bowl. Dissolve the corn starch in the rice vinegar and tamari. Add the corn starch mixture, mix well and marinate for 2 to 3 hours. Keep refrigerated.
Sauce
- ¼ cup black bean sauce
- 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
Mix the black bean and sweet chili sauce. Keep aside.
- 2 to 3 bunches broccolini, cut the tops off and chop; cut the green stalks and chop, keep aside
- 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, grated
- 1 inch ginger, grated
Heat a wok like saucepan with the olive oil. Add the broccolini stalks, ginger and garlic. Saute on high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the minced chicken and cook while separating on high heat. Add the broccolini greens and mix well. Add the black bean sauce and mix well. Bring to a boil and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Check for seasonings and serve with rice or noodles.
Rice Noodles with Broccolini and Sausage
3 cups rice noodles cooked according to package instructions, cooled and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
- 3 sausage links, casings off and crumbled (I used chicken sausage)
- 3 garlic cloves, grated
- 1 inch ginger, grated
- 1 broccolini bunch, ends chopped off and the rest chopped
- 10 ounces Cremini mushrooms, sliced
Sauce
- 4 tablespoons tamari
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
Mix the tamari, mirin and vinegar in a small bowl and keep aside.
Heat a wok like pan with the olive oil on medium heat. Add the sausage and sauté over high heat, stirring constantly for about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté on high for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the broccolini and sauté for another 2 to 3 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and let cool. Add the rice noodles and the sauce. Mix well and taste for seasonings. Serve room temperature.
Lo Mein with Broccolini
Who doesn’t love noodles, especially those of us who try to watch their carbs through the week..
I recently purchased a bottle of dark soy sauce at a local Asian store. I love going into that huge, mega store. I can’t recognize majority of those ingredients but it is so much fun to roam through the isles. I try to use a little amount of soy sauce since it has so much sodium. With the dark soy sauce, a little goes a long way.. read more …
Broccolini Rice
I made this side dish with the fish I posted yesterday. I usually make brown rice for my family to keep things healthy. I have tried to make the rice as delicious as possible. I cook it with chicken broth and a tad bit of butter- it makes a big difference.
In this case, I didn’t have a lot of time of cook dinner- a problem most people have. So, I checked my freezer where I always keep packs of frozen brown rice from Trader Joes. It is great to have and use in a pinch. I decided to mimic the same flavors I used in the fish. I started with a shallot and some garlic. I added roasted cumin seeds and smoked paprika. I then added the broccolini and the rice and checked for seasonings. Lemon juice finished off the dish really well. It is great side dish to make with fish or any other meat..
read more …
Vegetable Udon Noodles served with Breaded Tofu
This is a great vegetarian meal with tons of flavor. After watching Food Inc, I am trying to incorporate more vegetables and different proteins (other than meat) into our diets. Besides being careful about where our chickens and beef are coming from, I am also very careful about buying local fruits and vegetables.
We all love tofu in our family but again- I have started looking for non-GMO soy products. I found this extra firm tofu at Whole Foods. I usually use tofu in a stir fry but this time I wanted to make something different. I decided to marinate tofu sticks and then use the same breading technique I use to make crunchy chicken fillets. The tofu sticks were delicious- crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside- really good.
I also found Udon noodles in Whole Foods- the best part is the noodles are made out of whole wheat. I chopped up some broccolini and used the shredded carrots I always have in the fridge and made a delicious noodle dish. It was a great looking dish and we all ate it up. My daughter loved both the noodles and the tofu.
Try this fabulous vegetarian dish and I bet your kids will love it…
read more …
Chicken with a Tamarind Glazed on a Crisp Noodle Cake
One of my favorite places to eat in our area is Khun Thai. It is a Thai restaurant in Millburn, NJ. We have been going there for many years now and all the dishes are really good.
One dish I always get (most of the time) is a grilled beef with a tamarind sauce. It is served with grilled vegetables and sticky rice. I find it very satisfying and relatively healthy. I always ask for extra tamarind sauce on the side. I wish they would sell the sauce in a jar- I would buy tons of it. It is salty, savory with a bit of spice- absolutely perfect in my book.
We went for dinner the other day to Khun Thai and yes I had the same thing. While I was eating it, I decided to make my own version at home. I knew I won’t be able to make an exact replica but it will be make take on the tamarind sauce.
I was reading the latest Food and Wine and a chef was featured who cooks with a lot of Thai and Chinese flavors. He made a chicken with a tamarind glaze on top of a noodle cake. I decided to use that as an inspiration and came up with my own version. I started with chicken stock and tamarind concentrate. I added a bit fish sauce- which is a great thing to keep in your pantry. It gives Asian dishes great nutty, salty flavor.
The noodle cake was very easy to make and a lot of fun to eat. My daughter loved it. I sauteed broccolini to serve with the meal. It was perfect- it looked gorgeous on the plate and the sauce was delicious. It definitely was not the same as the restaurant but it was still good.
Try it- you will love it, guaranteed…
Glaze
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate (available at Whole Foods)
- 2 to 3 tablespoons honey (to taste)
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
- 2 tablespoons cilantro stems, finely chopped
- 1 medium shallots, finely sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 1 green onion, green and white parts separated
Add the chicken stock, tamarind, honey, fish sauce and chili sauce to a small saucepan. Add the cilantro stems, shallots, garlic cloves and white part of the green onions. Bring to a boil and simmer on medium heat till it reduces to 1 cup. Keep aside.
- 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken pieces
- Salt
- 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Heat a large frying pan with the olive oil. Brown the chicken pieces on both sides, about 3 minutes each on high heat. Sprinkle salt generously on both sides. Add the tamarind sauce in the pan and bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes basting once. Take the chicken pieces out on a plate and boil the liquid till thickened, about 3 minutes. Place the chicken back in the frying pan and place it under a high broiler for 2 to 3 minutes, till the pieces are golden brown.
Serve on top of a crispy noodle wedge and some sauce on top. Garnish with the green parts of the green onion.
Crisp Noodle Pancake
- 4 ounces dried thin egg noodles
- 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
Boil the noodles according to instructions. Drain and spread onto a cookie sheet and pat dry. Heat a non-stick frying with 1 tablespoon olive oil and add the noodles, spreading them thin covering the pan surface. Take a spare lid and press down and cook for 8 to 9 minutes on medium heat. Invert the pancake onto a plate. Heat the same pan with the remaining olive oil and slice the pancake back now browning the other side. Cook for 8 to 9 minutes on medium heat. Once both sides are golden brown and crisp, slide the pancake onto a cutting board. Slice into 4 wedges and serve with the chicken.
Sauteed Broccolini
- 1 pack or a pound of broccolini
- 1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
Blanch the broccolini in boiling water for a minute. Take out and shock in cold water to retain the color. Heat a frying pan with the olive oil. Saute the blanched broccolini on medium high heat, about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Serve with the chicken and noodle pancake.