Tomatoes Stuffed with Grilled Wild Mushrooms and Parmesan Cheese

This side dish was described to me as a "Hot Latin Meal" by epicurious.com. I'm not sure exactly what this means, but it does get points for taste and presentation. If you've been paying attention, you'll see that I've done a stuffed tomato dish before. I've said it before and I'll say it again: there is nothing wrong with stuffing a healthy vegetable full of cheese. Nothing at all. In fact, I recommend doing it as often as possible. And if you can, combine that cheese with mushrooms. Talk about tasty. I did find it interesting that this recipe billed itself as a salad because it uses "green leaves" as a garnish. Now that's a stretch if I ever heard one...

I served this with pork stuffed chile rellenos, a great combination! 

Serves 4
Time: 30 minutes


Ingredients

1 cup sliced oyster, shiitake, or portobello mushrooms (I used dried ones which I rehydrated in hot water)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced shallots
1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
4 ripe yellow or red medium size beefsteak tomatoes
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 handful of mixed baby greens
Sweet Shallot Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Preparation

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan on med-high. Add the shallots and when soft, add the mushrooms, rosemary, and thyme. Cook until soft. Set aside. (You can also complete this step ahead of time, refrigerate the mushrooms and then bring them to room temperature when you're ready to stuff the tomatoes).

Meanwhile prepare the tomatoes. Preheat the oven to 325F. Using a sharp knife, slice the tops off the tomatoes either flat or in a zigzag pattern, you need them later so don't discard them. Using a melon baller or spoon, scoop out the insides. Set aside. Place the tomatoes into a 1-inch baking pan (you may have to adjust their bottoms if they don't sit upright) with their tops. Bake until the skin starts to wrinkle, about 15 minutes.

When the tomatoes are finished, remove the tops and stuff with alternate layers of the mushroom mixture and the cheese. Place the tomatoes back into the oven (without their tops) just until the cheese starts to melt, about 5 minutes.

Top each tomato with a bit of the mixed baby greens and a drizzle of the vinaigrette. Cover with tomato tops and serve.


Sweet Shallot Vinaigrette

Ingredients
1/2 cup minced shallots
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup canola oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Preparation

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook the shallots and sugar, stirring constantly, until the shallots start to soften and brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and combine the caramelized shallots, vinegar, and oil in a blender and mix until well blended. Season with salt and pepper. Chill for at least an hour before using. Use immediately or keep for up to 2 weeks.

Oven-Roasted Fish with Fennel

Ok folks, get ready, we've officially reached a new period of blogdom. It's high time I join the program and start showing actual (read: my) pictures of what this food looks like when cooked. Enough of the professionals. Time for the amateurs to step up. Although it'll be a few more years before the recipes on here stem only from my creativity, the pictures hopefully from now on will regularly be my own.
And don't let the poor lighting fool you on this one, this dish was absolutely amazing and gets major bonus points for taking less than half an hour to make!

From the New York Times, in their infinite wisdom:

Ingredients
2 pounds fennel with fronds still attached (3 medium bulbs)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, preferably a spring onion, chopped (about 1 cup chopped onion)
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 1/2 pounds firm white fish fillets, such as Pacific cod, Pacific halibut or striped mullet

Preparation

1. Trim the stalks and fronds from the fennel, and set them aside. Quarter the bulbs, cut away the cores and slice thin across the grain. You should have about 4 cups sliced fennel. Chop the fronds, and measure out 1 to 2 tablespoons (to taste).
2. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, nonstick skillet, and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until the onion begins to soften, about three minutes. Add the fennel and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until the fennel mixture is tender, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, stir together and cover the pan. Turn the heat to low, and continue to cook 5 to 10 more minutes until the mixture is very soft and fragrant. Stir in the chopped fennel fronds, and remove from the heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. While the fennel is cooking, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Oil a baking dish large enough for the fish to fit in a single layer. Season the fish with salt and pepper, and arrange in the baking dish. Cover with the fennel stalks you set aside. Cover the dish tightly with foil, and place in the oven. Bake 15 minutes.

Check the fish; if you can cut into it with a fork, it is done (cod will cook more quickly than halibut). If it is still tough in the middle, cover and return to the oven for five minutes. Remove from the oven and check again. Remove the fennel stalks from the fish and discard.

4. Place the cooked fennel on a platter or on individual plates, top with the fish fillets and serve.

Yield: Serves four.
Advance preparation: The cooked fennel will keep for two days in the refrigerator.

Wild Mushroom Soup

A few years back my mom gave me a Soup magazine, knowing my penchant for meals in a bowl. I've made a few of them over the years but this one was called into being by a recent late spring cold. There's nothing better when you're feeling down than a warm bowl of homemade soup. Of course, I was tempted by the old tried-and-true Chicken Noodle, but I gave this one a whirl and I was very happy I did. Same homemade flavors, hearty and soulful. It also took about 45 min., just about the limits of energy when you're feeling down and out. Of course, it also helped that it was raining cats and dogs outside, another perfect excuse for making soup.

Time: 45 min.

Ingredients

2 lb. sliced assorted mushrooms (button, crimini, and shiitake all work here. I also used dried porcini mushrooms, see note below about rehydrating them)

1 cup onion minced

2 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup dry sherry

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 cups chicken broth (or 2 cups chicken broth + 2 cups of the water you used to rehydrate the porcini mushrooms. It should be a dark brown color and will deepen the flavor of the soup. )

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 cup cream

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

Salt to taste

Preparation:

-Slice/prep the mushrooms.
-Saute onion and garlic in olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook 5 minutes, or until soft, stirring often.
-Add mushrooms to the pot, increase heat to high, and saute until moisture evaporates. Reduce heat to medium.
-Stir in sherry, lemon juice, paprika, and pepper. Simmer until sherry has nearly evaporated, then add broth.
-Increase heat to high, bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer gently for 20 minutes.
-Meanwhile, whisk cornstarch and soy sauce together to dissolve, then stir into simmering soup to thicken.
-Finish the soup by stirring in the 1/2 cup cream and chopped fresh dill.

If you like, garnish the soup with sour cream, lemon slices, and even more fresh dill.

Baked Quinoa with Spinach, Cheese, and Chorizo

I'll admit it, I've been on a bit of a quinoa kick recently. My friends started making salads featuring the trendy new grain and I've jumped on the quinoa bandwagon. It's just so versatile! Taking the place of rice, couscous, pasta, really any starch, it's much lighter and fluffier and works great with just about everything.

This recipe is from the Recipes for Health section of the New York Times, from their own experiments with 'unusual' grains. I substituted the cheeses and added some chorizo which made it a bit heartier for a one-dish meal, but this recipe seems foolproof. I also added some chili pepper in (cayenne and achiote) for the spice lovers among us. But feel free to experiment, adding in your own ingredients to suit your taste!

1 6-ounce bag baby spinach
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 plump garlic cloves, minced
4 cups cooked quinoa (1 cup uncooked) (For Quinoa cooking instructions see here)

2 large eggs
3 ounces cheddar cheese or Gruyere , grated (3/4 cup)
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
1 ounce Parmesan, grated (1/4 cup)

3 ounces diced dried Spanish sausage (chorizo)
chili pepper (to taste, approx. 2 tsp)

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Oil a 2-quart gratin or baking dish.
2. Heat a medium frying pan or a wide saucepan over medium-high heat. Wash the spinach and without spinning dry, add to the pan and wilt in the liquid left on the leaves after washing. You may have to do this in 2 batches. As soon as the spinach wilts, remove from the heat and rinse with cold water. Squeeze dry and chop. Set aside.
3. Wipe the pan dry and heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in it over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir with the onion until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the spinach and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.
4. Beat the eggs in a large bowl and add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir in the quinoa, the onion and spinach mixture, the Gruyère/cheddar, the chorizo and the sage. Add freshly ground pepper and stir the mixture together. Scrape into the gratin dish. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the top and drizzle on the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Place in the oven and bake until nicely browned on top, about 25 minutes. Remove from the heat, allow to sit for about 5 minutes, and serve.
Yield: Serves 4 to 6
Advance preparation: The cooked quinoa will keep for 3 or 4 days in the refrigerator. The recipe can be made through Step 3 several hours or even a day ahead. The gratin can be assembled several hours ahead.

Mexico City-Style Quesadillas (Empanadas) with Cheese and Chile or Mushrooms

I have an intense fear of frying. Don't get me wrong, I love eating the result, but the process itself is a bit daunting. I'm still nursing oil scars from the last time I attempted to manipulate hot liquids. Anyway, scars were worth this particular venture, another Rick Bayless-inspired Mexican banquet. I used masa harina purchased from my local Whole Foods (local being London) and it worked perfectly in the recipe. The key is the baking powder, it makes the masa fluff up when cooking in the oil.

Don't feel you have to keep these two versions separate either. Mix the mushrooms with the cheese, put in more peppers, less, whatever strikes your fancy. I also added in some minced turkey meat with seasoning to satisfy the carnivores in my crew. They all worked perfectly. Because, honestly, what isn't good fried?

Now Rick Bayless calls these Mexico City Quesadillas. To me, they're empanadas, basically due to the fact that you deep fry them in oil. Mmmmm. Oil. Regardless, they're delicious and really, who's to quibble with names?

Makes 12 turnovers

Recipe from Season 6 of Mexico - One Plate at a Time

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Ingredients

Dough
1 pound fresh-ground corn masa,
OR 1 1/4 cups powdered masa harina mixed with 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons hot tap water
2 tablespoons lard or vegetable shortening
1/4 cup flour (use 1/3 cup if working with powdered masa harina)
A generous 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 scant teaspoon baking powder

Cheese Filling (See Note)
10 ounces (about 2 1/2 cups) grated melting cheese like Monterey or a mild cheddar
1 large fresh poblano chile, roasted, peeled and cut into strips

Mushroom Filling (See Note)
12 ounces mushrooms, rinsed or wiped clean (I used dried porcini mushrooms, after soaking them in warm water for about half an hour- absolutely delicious)
1 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil
1/2 medium white onion, finely chopped
2 fresh serrano chiles (or 1 jalapeno), stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh epazote (optional)

Vegetable oil to a depth of 1-inch

Note: One recipe of either the cheese filling or the mushroom filling will be enough to fill all 12 turnovers. If you make both fillings, you'll need to double the dough recipe for 24 turnovers.

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Directions

1. The dough. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix the masa (fresh or reconstituted) with the lard or shortening, flour, salt and baking powder. Work in a little water, if needed, to give the dough the consistency of soft cookie dough. Divide into 12 balls and cover with plastic wrap.

2. The fillings. If you are using the cheese, divide it into 12 portions and press each portion into a flat oval about 2 x 2 1/2 inches. Set them aside with the strips of chile.

If working with mushroom, pulse them in a food processor until quite finely chopped. Heat the lard or oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring regularly until all the liquid has evaporated. Add the onion, chile and epazote, and cook, stirring frequently, several minutes more, until the onions are soft. Scrape into a bowl. Taste and season with salt, usually about 1/2 teaspoon.

3. Form the molotes. Using a tortilla press, flatten a ball of the dough between sheets of plastic to make a medium-large (5-inch) thickish tortilla. Remove the top piece of plastic. Lay a portion of your chosen filling across half of the uncovered tortilla, making sure to leave a 1/2-inch border around the edge. If the filling is cheese, top with a strip of poblano. Slip a hand under the plastic beneath the uncovered side of the tortilla, then carefully fold the tortilla over the filling. Press the edges together to seal.

Peel the plastic off the turnover and lay on a tray covered with plastic wrap. Continue making the remaining masa balls into turnovers. Cover with plastic wrap.

4. Fry the turnovers. Heat the oil to 375 degrees, then fry the turnovers 2 or 3 at a time, until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels and keep warm in a low oven until all are ready. Serve right away.