Tag Archive for 'spinach'

Baked Risotto with Asparagus, Spinach and Parmesan

Published on May 19, 2011 in Cookbooks + Cooks, Grains + Rice, Italian and Side Dishes. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

A few weeks ago, I was waxing rhapsodic about Patricia Wells’ fantastic Italian cookbook, Trattoria, which I’ve had for years and love dearly. I think the subtitle really says it all:  ”Healthy, Simple, Robust Fare Inspired by the Small Family Restaurants of Italy.” Yes, please. These are recipes that are not particularly hard to make, but the flavors are fresh and delicious and you feel good cooking them and eating them. It’s happy food. We like happy food here at WIG HQ.

So, the baked risotto. This is a good one, particularly now that asparagus is in season (although not for much longer!). And I used these gorgeous spring onions, but you could go with shallots too. It’s also another one of those great recipes that lends itself to experimentation and substitutions, depending on your mood and/or the current contents of your refrigerator. Mushrooms would totally kick ass in this; also, I could even see tiny little cubes of fresh tofu nicely nestled in there. The original recipe doesn’t call for any particular herb, but thyme, sage or basil would all be lovely. It’s also pea season, so peas with a bit of mint would be another great combo. The world’s your oyster, people…ooh, oysters? That could also work! OK, I’ll stop now, but you get the idea.

Most non-vegetarians would probably consider this a side dish, but we love it with a quick frittata or even a couple poached eggs on top. Yes.

And I am dutifully including a pic of the cooked final product. And while it’s not nearly as lovely and green green green as the pre-baked image, it tastes much better.

Baked Risotto with Asparagus, Spinach and Parmesan

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, minced
Sea salt, to taste
1 cup Italian Arborio rice
2-1/4 cups vegetable stock
4 cups loosely packed fresh spinach, roughly chopped
1 bunch fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into bite-sized diagonal slices
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
1 tablespoon basil, finely chopped
Zest of half a lemon
Hot pepper flakes, to taste (or black pepper)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 400ºF/205ºC.

In a large wide saucepan over a medium flame, heat the olive oil, then add the onion and salt. Cook until the onions are translucent and soft, about 3-4 minutes. Add the Arborio rice, stirring to coat with the oil. Add the stock, spinach, asparagus, nutmeg, basil, lemon zest, hot pepper flakes and salt and stir to combine. Bring just to a simmer, then stir in half the cheese.

Transfer to a one-quart soufflé dish, smooth out the top of the mixture, then top with the remaining cheese. Cover and bake until the rice has absorbed all the liquid and is cooked through, between 30-40 minutes. You want it to be moist, but not soupy. Serve immediately with a bit more cheese for good measure.

Quinoa Spinach Casserole

Published on March 14, 2011 in Beans + Legumes. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .


Ryan has been reminding me about the fact that I haven’t been making much quinoa lately, and he’s right. I was all jazzed up about switching over to quinoa for breakfast from our usual oatmeal, just for a change of pace, but then never really got around to doing it. I hate when that happens.

But as part of our “health kick” (see here for the first and last post about that…whoops) and because it’s the beginning of the week and we need to atone for our weekend sins, I thought a nice, clean quinoa recipe would be a great idea. I’ve been buying these giant vats of Earthbound Farm organic baby spinach (which keep surprisingly well, by the way), so I went hunting for ideas out there in Webland and prompting fell hard for a quinoa casserole recipe from the NY Times, which of course, has cheese in it. Not exactly part of the “clean” plan, but I figured that, for Ryan, I’d take half the recipe and do a non-baked version without cheese (and the kiddo and I can hoard all the cheesy goodness of the other half).

You can go in a lot of different directions with this dish too, which is nice. I used feta, but Gruyère, which is what the original recipe calls for, would be really nice and melty. You could also do chickpeas or another bean or cut that out altogether. Yet another flexible dish — this is becoming a habit (a good one though). Now if I can just keep up the healthy theme…

In the interest of my health (and bikini season, which is fast approaching), I’d love to hear about your favorite clean and healthy dishes. Me and my thighs thank you.

Quinoa Spinach Casserole

4 cups/6 ounces baby spinach*
1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups cooked quinoa, (1-1/3 cup uncooked)
3 large eggs
1 cup black beans, rinsed
3/4 cup (3 ounces) feta cheese, crumbled (3/4 cup)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage or thyme (or whatever you have on hand)
3 tablespoons Parmesan, grated or a few slices of fresh mozzarella

Preheat the oven to 400ºF/204ºC. Oil a 2-quart gratin or baking dish.

Heat a large sauté pan 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 need to do two batches). When the spinach is wilted, take off the heat and rinse it in a colander with cold water. Squeeze out as much water as you can and give it a rough chop. * If you use frozen chopped spinach, you can skip this step. Just thaw and squeeze out the liquid.

Wipe the pan out and heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic cook for about a minute. Add the spinach and season with salt and pepper.

Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl. Add the quinoa, beans, cheese, herbs, the onion and spinach mixture, and black pepper and stir to combine. Pour into a gratin dish and sprinkle with Parmesan or mozzarella, which is what I used this time. Bake until browned on top, about 20-25 minutes. Let it sit for a few minutes before serving.

Not Vegetarian Lasagna, Tofu Lasagna. There, I said it.

Published on September 20, 2010 in Italian, Main Courses, pasta and Tofu + Tempeh. 4 Comments Tags: , , , .

Embrace the tofu people. I remember when I first found this recipe in Real Simple magazine a long time ago. As I’ve yet to unearth my tearsheet recipe binders, I can’t tell you whose recipe it is, but I found it amusing that the author said she wished there was a way to not tell people that there’s tofu in this lasagna, the assumption being that if people know there’s tofu in this they’re not going to want to make it. I don’t know why I find this so amusing. Maybe because tofu is portrayed as this horrid thing, like crack or poop or something. I guess I’m so used to cooking with it, I don’t understand what the fuss is all about. But if you are one of those people that is intimidated or maybe grossed out by tofu, then, well, here’s your recipe. (I know, what a sales pitch.) But seriously. For those just venturing into the tofu arena, give this a go. It’s quite tasty and you may fool your family members into eating it as well. That is, if you need to. Some people have been known to willingly eat tofu. I know. Madcap!

There's tofu in that there bowl.

The thing I really like about this is that it’s a great way to get your protein in a pasta package. Which, while not impossible, is not as easy as it seems. And this is also my husband’s pet peeve about the vegetarian option in most restaurants (and yes, there’s usually only one). It’s usually a plate of pasta, but very rarely is there any protein in there. So you just get a giant plate of carbs and no protein. Not that I don’t love a giant plate of carbs — I do, I do, I could eat pasta every day and be a very happy woman — have you seen Italians? They do it. And they’re all very happy. Every last one of them. Sorry for the gross generalization, but Italians do know how to enjoy things. Admit it. Anyway, my point is that vegetarians need protein too. And why shouldn’t they get it in their pasta? I’m getting down from the soapbox now. Thank you.

NOTE: I’ve upped the spinach because it really shrinks down, so you need a lot to even get a sense that it’s there. Plus they sell fresh spinach in 6 ounce bags and I always ended up letting that last 2 ounces rot in the fridge, so just use the whole bag and you won’t be saddled with the guilt of being a Terrible Food Waster (like me). Also, you can use store-bought tomato sauce, but why would you when you can use this?

VegetarianTofu Lasagna

Adapted from Real Simple

1 pound soft or firm tofu (firm will give you a more crumbly texture)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan + another 1/3 cup for sprinkling on top
2 eggs
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons each minced fresh basil, thyme, and oregano, or 2 teaspoons each dried (but try to use fresh basil at least)
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, grated
32 ounces tomato sauce
2/3 of a 1 pound package of no-boil lasagna noodles
6 ounces fresh prewashed baby spinach (3 cups)
8 ounces mozzarella, shredded (2 cups)

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Crumble the tofu  into a bowl and add Parmesan, eggs, garlic, herbs, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

Lightly coat a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with vegetable cooking spray. Ladle enough sauce to just cover the bottom of the dish (about 3/4 cup or so). Cover with one layer of the noodles. You may have to break some pieces to get a good fit. Overlapping a little is okay too. Next goes half the tofu mixture; top with half the spinach, a third of the remaining sauce, and a third of the mozzarella.  Repeat the layers you just did: Noodles – Tofu – Spinach – Sauce – Cheese. Now this:
Noodles – Sauce – Cheese (feel free to add a bit more Parmesan along with the last round of mozzarella).

Cover with aluminum foil and bake 30 to 35 minutes. (FYI, I’ve frequently not had foil and it came out fine.) To crisp the top a bit, take the aluminum foil off for the last 5 minutes. Let the lasagna sit for 5 minutes before cutting into it.