Meatless Luscious Fun: Piquillo Pepper Dip!

It’s been two weeks of fun and friends during the July 4^th break. WooHoo – almost everyone seems to have taken some time off. I love parties when I get to take a dish – its my chance to show others how good food can taste, and surprise them with how good it is for them!

Just like you, I never seem to have enough time before the get together to prepare. Visions of elaborate dishes dissolve quickly when reality hits, and its almost time to hop in the car. Here’s one of my favorite go-tos, an appetizer that friends request often. Super fast using the food processor, versatile and full of flavor, this dressing can be served with raw veggies, (like the picture above), as a dressing on a big green salad, or as a dipping sauce for grilled mushrooms, potatoes, shrimp or chicken.

Piquillo peppers are from Spain, and in Spanish the word means “little birds beak”. When the small red beauties are out of their jar, you can see the distinctive shape. Sometimes I have a hard time finding them in the regular grocery store, but I can always find them at the international market. (If you can’t find them, you can use a jar of roasted red peppers.) Piquillos are sold in jars, and you may notice the price is significantly higher than other red peppers. Why? After roasting, each pepper is peeled by hand and packed in the jars. More labor equals more cost. Ooooh, but when you taste the piquant, not spicy flavor, you’ll agree that they are worth it!

Piquillo Pepper Dressing and Dip

6 Roasted Piquillo Peppers

1 Garlic Clove

1 TB Chopped Parsley

2 TB Sherry Vinegar

½ Tsp Smoked Paprika

½ Cup Light Mayonnaise (I like Kraft Reduced Fat Olive Oil Mayo)

1 TB+ White Wine

Sea Salt and Freshly Cracked Black Pepper to Taste

Drain the Piquillo peppers. Place the peppers, garlic, parsley, vinegar and paprika and purée the mixture until smooth. Add in the mayonnaise and pulse until smooth. Add the white wine until desired consistency and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Meatless, Luscious and Fun: Individual Veggie Gratins for Dinner Tonight!

One of the things I love about this recipe? The color. As I've admitted before, I'm easily amused by bright colors and anything sparkly. So when a ramekin of bright veggies turns up, I'm all about it. For me, more color, more better! Because I've spent so much time working on healthy eating and translating dietician advice into realistic recipes, I know that the more color in food, the more nutrition it brings. 

Whoa, but what about the taste each color serves up? How about the green earthy taste of the broccoli in this dish, the red and orange crunchy-sweet-and-warm bite of the peppers, the saltiness of the olives and the yellow sharp-tangy goodness of the cheese? Color brings more than nutrition, it brings taste too! 

Individual Cheddar and Broccoli Gratins

4 Cups Broccoli Florets, Chopped Coarsely

4 Cups Sweet Mini Peppers, Chopped Coarsely

4 TB Olive Oil, Divided

2 Garlic Cloves, Grated

Pinch of Cayenne

8 Oz (Light) Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Coarsely Shredded

1/3 Cup Pitted Oil Cured Black Olives, Coarsely Chopped (You can find these at the grocery store or a speciality market. In a pinch, 

1 Cup Whole Wheat Panko Crumbs

Pinch of Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

Fresh Tomato Coulis for Garnish*

Step One

Preheat the oven to 400F. Coat 6 ramekins with non stick spray.

Step Two

Microwave the broccoli for 2 minutes or until crisp tender

Step Three

In a large skillet, heat 2 TB of the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cayenne and cook just until fragrant. Remove from the heat; add the broccoli and peppers and stir. Toss half of the cheese and the olives with the vegetables.

Step Three

Transfer to the ramekins and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.  In a small bowl, toss the crumbs with the remaining 2 TB of olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the crumbs over the cheese. Bake in the top of the oven for about 6 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling and the crumbs are golden. Serve hot, topped with a TB of tomato coulis

Fresh Tomato Coulis*

2 Ripe Roma Tomatoes, Seeded, Chopped and Drained

1 Tsp Chopped Fresh Parsley

1 Tsp Olive Oil

¼ Tsp Fresh Lemon Juice

Pinch of Sea Salt and Pepper

Mix the ingredients together in a small bowl.

Meatless, Luscious, Fun: San Francisco the Eaters City - Roasted Red Pepper Dressing or Dip!

I'm in San Francisco this week eating and drinking my way through the city - and oh! also learning from others in the culinary world at my professional culinary conference. Oh, the pictures I can take... of food, food and did I mention food? This is an eaters paradise. And the wine culture out here? Heaven.

Inspired by all the fabulous food and drink, I had to share my take on beautiful crunchy veggies and savory dip. This recipe is definitely a keeper. Serve it as a dressing or dip - you'll love the smoky roasty flavor of the peppers combined with the slightly salty cheese. Just the thing to get everyone in the house excited about eating their veggies!

Roasted Red Pepper Caesar Dressing or Dip

1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Tsp Soy Sauce or Tamari

4 *Roasted Red Peppers

2 Whole Garlic Cloves, peeled

Zest and Juice of a Lemon

3 TB Red Wine Vinegar

2 Tsp Dijon Mustard

2 TB Light Olive Oil Mayo

1/2 Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

Add the ingredients to a food processor.  Puree and enjoy!

* Check out How to Roast a Pepper! 

Meatless, Luscious, Fun: Strawberry Breakfast Cobbler

Ditch the bacon, lose the sausage biscuit, and dive into a luscious juicy bowl of cobbler for breakfast! Now, you may think I am advocating dessert for your morning meal, but NO...This cobbler is full of fruit, grains and protein. (But it is fun to think about being a little naughty for breakfast:) Wash and chop your strawberries the night before. Toast up the topping, too. The next morning, spray the pan, add the strawberries and topping and pop it into a 350F oven. By the time you are glamorous and ready to face the day, your coffee will have brewed and you will have cobbler for breakfast. Does it get better?

Try it - It will make you smile - I promise!

Strawberry Breakfast Cobbler
2 Cups Oatmeal
1/2 Cup Sliced Almonds
2 TB Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Unsweetened Coconut Flakes*

1 Orange, Zested and Juiced
1 Large Basket Fresh Ripe Strawberries
Non-fat Greek Yogurt for Garnish

Step One
Toss the oatmeal, almonds, sugar and coconut together and place it on a sheet tray. Bake it for about 20 minutes on 350F, or until it starts to turn brown. Remove from the oven and set aside. Keep the oven on.

Step Two
While the topping is baking, slice or chop your strawberries. (The size is your choice - I like big messy hunks of fruit.) Add them to a bowl in which you have placed your juice and zest. Stir well.

Step Three
When you have finished chopping, and your topping is done, spoon the strawberry mixture into a butter- flavored-non-stick-sprayed 9" x 12" dish. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit and spray one more time. Slide into the 350F oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until bubbly and golden. Serve with a big plop of non-fat greek yogurt on top!

* Buy the coconut flakes at Whole Foods, Trader Joes or an international market. If you are like me, you didn't know about unsweetened coconut flakes when you were growing up. I thought all coconut came in a blue can or bag and was so so sweet, it made my teeth hurt. Good news! Unsweetened coconut is deliciously coconutty, and just naturally a little sweet.

Luscious, Meatless, Fun: Kitchari - Indian Spiced Rice and Lentils

I love lentils. Orange, yellow, brown, green, black, you name it – I like them. I didn’t grow up eating lentils, for me they were an adult discovery. When I found dal, the name of legumes in Indian food, I fell in love. For years I ordered two things in every Indian restaurant I frequented. I didn’t prefer the tikka masala or butter chicken, oh no. At the top of my order were Dal Tadka, the yummy Lentil Curry, and Saag Panar, the delicious fresh cheese and spinach dish that is spicy and soothing at the same time.

So it was my sister who first introduced me to Kitchari, the lentil and rice combo that is full of flavor and is light and super easy to prepare. I like to make a double recipe and have leftovers to scoop into naan bread later in the week. See if this recipe doesn’t make you and your family happy eaters for dinner and lunch the next day and for snacks the following.

Kitchari

2 Cups Brown Basmati Rice

2/3 Cup Red Lentils (or any color you can find!)

6 Cups Water

2 EACH Zucchini, Yellow Squash, Sweet Potato, chopped

2 TB Olive Oil

½  Cup Chopped Green Onions + more for garnish

¼ Cup Pumpkin Seeds

2 TB Garam Masala

1 TB Freshly Cracked Black Pepper

3 TB Braggs Amino Acids* (optional)

1 Cup Coconut Milk

¼ Cup Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice

Sea Salt and Freshly Cracked Pepper

Step One

Place the rice, lentils and water in a stockpot. Bring a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered for 15 minutes.

Step Two

Add the zucchini, yellow squash and sweet potato to the pot, layering them on top of the rice and lentils. Cover again and cook until the mixture has absorbed all the water – about 20 minutes.

Step Three

In a sauté pan, heat the oil and cook the green onions and pumpkin seeds with the turmeric, garam masala and a good grating of black pepper. Cook until the green onions are wilted about 5 minutes. Stir in the Braggs, coconut milk and cook and stir until warm. Add in the lemon juice.

Step Four

Spoon the coconut mixture into the cooked rice and veggie pot and gently stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper and garnish with the green onions.

*For this recipe I like to use Braggs Amino Acids. They are a liquid amino acid that you can find in the health food section of your grocery store. They add a delicious “umami” taste to the dish without salt, fat or calories.