Roasted red pepper and haloumi "schnitzels"

Schnitzels (usually made from chicken) are basically a national food in Israel. Vegetarian versions are usually made from soy or tofu, but this veggie version is quite delicious (if a little luxurious).

This doesn't really have an organized recipe with quantities, so I'll just give instructions. 

Roasted Pepper and Haloumi "Schnizels" 

Take 1-2 bell peppers per diner. Cut around the stem in order to remove the stem and most of the seeds without destroying the shape of the pepper.  Place the peppers on a baking tin and bake in a hot oven (400 F/180-190 C) for about 30 minutes, or until the peppers are beginning to blacken and look ready to peel.  Remove the peppers from the oven, wrap in a plastic bag or in foil and allow them to cool. When they are cool, peel each pepper, trying to keep the peppers themselves intact.

Take a block of halloumi cheese (you can also use a different kind of melty cheese) and slice it into thin slices (about 1 cm/ half an inch thick), that are just long enough to fit in the peppers. Fill each pepper with one slice of cheese. 

In a shallow wide bowl crack 1-2 eggs and whisk them with a bit of salt and pepper. Pile a large pile of breadcrumbs (I used seasoned ones) on a plate. Dip each filled pepper in the egg and then coat in the bread crumbs. 

Heat oil for deep frying in a large skillet. When the oil is hot, place the "schnitzels" (in batches, if you are making a large quantity) in the oil, and fry for about 2 minutes on each side. Monitor how quickly they are browning. You don't want the breadcrumbs to burn, so if they begin to brown very quickly, lower the heat a little. 

Fry all the schnitzels and serve hot. 

Yogurt and Pasta Salad

This cool tangy dish is ideal for crazy heat-wave days like the one we are having today.
It is filling but at the same time light and cool.

It is from the Israeli vegetarian cookbook I mentioned at an earlier post.
The original recipe flavors the salad with a little bit of sumac, a nice lemony spice. I didn't have any on hand, so I used another middle-eastern spice, Za'atar. But if you have neither, just skip them.

Yogurt and Pasta Salad

Ingredients (for 4-6 portions): 

- 1 package (1 lb/500 gram)  short pasta

- 400 grams (2 small containers, about 2 cups) plain yogurt

- Juice from 1/2-1 lemon 

-  2-3 scallions (green onions) finely chopped

- Zest from 1/2 lemon 

- Handful of fresh basil, chopped 

- Salt and pepper to taste 

- Pinch of sumac or zaatar, to taste (optional) 

Preparation: 

1. Make pasta according to instructions on the package. Drain and wash under cold water until the pasta is cool. 

2. Meanwhile in a bowl combine the yogurt, lemon juice, scallions and lemon zest. Season with about 1/2 tsp of salt.  

3. When the pasta is ready and cool, toss the pasta in the yogurt dressing. Check seasoning and season with black pepper and additional salt as needed. Plate the pasta and top with basil and sumac or zaatar. 

Baked Ricotta Dumplings on French Lentils

This is another one from The Flexitarian Table and it came out really really well. The dumplings were savory and filling, and the lentils added a great hearty flavor to the dish.

You can make the lentils and the dumpling mixture in advance (keeping them in the fridge) and then just bake them together, so it can actually really well for guests etc.

The original recipe adds carrots and celery to the mixture and I've left it in the version I'm typing up here, but I actually left them out when I made the recipe. It's up to you. I also left out the nutmeg, because I find it has quite a dominant flavor and I don't always like it. Again, I leave it to your discretion.

Note that the lentils need to be soaked for at least 2 hours before cooking in this recipe, so take that into account! 

Baked Ricotta Dumplings on French Lentils

Ingredients (for 2-3 servings): 

- A few tablespoons of olive oil 

- 1 medium onion, finely diced 

- 1/2 large celery stalk, finely chopped

-  1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped

- 3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

 - 1 tsp finely chopped peeled fresh ginger

- 1 cup of lentils (This recipe would work best on small french lentils. I used Roland's green lentils, but it would also work well with black lentils. Regular green lentils will also work, but I wouldn't try it with red).

- 3 sprigs of thyme

- 1 bay leaf

- a few leaves of fresh sage (optional) 

- about 2 cups of water

- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice 

- 1 tsp salt 

- Black pepper to taste

For the dumplings: 

- 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs (made by processing 2-3 slices of bread in a food processor) 

- 2/4 cup whole milk ricotta cheese

- 1 large egg

- 1 large egg yolk 

- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

- Freshly grated nutmeg

- 1/4 tsp salt

- black pepper to taste

- 2 tbsp olive oil 

- chopped bell pepper as garnish (optional) 

Preparation: 

1. Soak the lentils for at least 2 hours or overnight. 

2. In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened. Add the celery, carrots, garlic and ginger, and stir for another 2 minutes. 

3. Stir in the lentils, thyme, sage, bay leaves and water . Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 25 minutes. As you cook, check the dish occasionally to make sure there is enough water. At the end you want the lentils to have just a little bit of extra water, but not a lot. When the lentils are cooked, discard the bay leaves and thyme. 

4. Season the lentils with lemon juice, salt and some black pepper. Check seasoning and adjust as necessary. Put the lentils in a small oven safe dish (1.5 quart).Preheat oven to 375F/180 C. 

5. Make the dumplings: in a bowl combine the breadcrumbs, ricotta, egg, egg yolk and parmesan. Mixwell. Season with nutmeg, salt and black pepper, to taste. Carefully form the ricotta mixture into six large dumplings (this may actually be easier if you let the mixture rest in the fridge for a bit). 

6. Place the dumplings in the baking dish with the lentils. Drizzle olive oil over the top. Bake until the dumplings are lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Serve warm. If you want, put some chopped bell pepper over the top after cooking, for garnish.

Gluten free Chocolate Cupcakes with Pecan-Coconut Filling

At someone's recommendation I recently got Elana Amsterdam's Gluten Free Cupcake Book.
Initially, the recipes looked really exciting and interesting, but then I realized that every single recipe in the book uses agave nectar instead of sugar, and it doesn't even offer a substitution for sugar.
Now, I don't really see much reason to use agave nectar, especially in something you only eat once in a long time like cupcakes (and especially since agave is somewhat controversial health-wise), so I decided to try and convert the recipes back to sugar, and I experimented with this recipe, which came out pretty great.

The cupcakes themselves came out a little bit on the dry side, but once they were filled and frosted they were moist and delicious. They were particularly lovely after they had spent the night in the fridge.

GF Chocolate Cupcakes with Pecan-Coconut Filling 

Ingredients (for 9 cupcakes): 

For the Batter:

- 1/4 cup coconut flour 

- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp baking soda

- 4 large eggs

- 1/2 cup sugar syrup made by heating together 1 cup of sugar, 1/3 cup of water, and juice from 1/2 lemon in a saucepan over medium heat until the sugar is melted (but not browned). 

- 1/4 cup canola oil 

For the Ganache: 

- 3/4 cup heavy cream

- 1 and 1/3 cup (8 oz) bittersweet chocolate, chopped.

- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

- a pinch of salt 

For Pecan-Coconut Frosting: 

- 2 egg yolks 

- 1 cup coconut milk

- 1/2 cup sugar syrup (see above) 

- 1/4 cup coconut oil

- 3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut 

- 1 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped 

Preparation: 

1. Preheat oven to 350f/175 C. Line a cupcake/muffin tin with 9 paper liners. 

2. In a large bowl combine the coconut flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda. In another bowl whisk together the eggs, oil and sugar syrup. 

3. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk vigorously until just mixed. Scoop 1/4 cup of the mixture into each of the 9 liners. Bake for 17-20 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the middle of a cupcake comes out with just a few crumbs. Let the cupcakes cool in a pan for 1 hour. 

4. Meanwhile, make the ganache: In a microwave safe bowl combine the cream and chocolate and heat for 1 minute in the microwave. Mix well to allow the chocolate to melt into the cream completely until they make a smooth chocolatey cream. If after 1 minute the chocolate isn't completely melted, heat it for another 30 seconds and melt again. When the chocolate it fully melted, add in the vanilla and salt, and refrigerate until the ganache is spreadable. 

5. Also make the frosting: in a saucepan combine the egg yolks, coconut milk, sugar syrup and coconut oil. Heat until just simmering while stirring vigorously the whole time, then continue cooking on a simmer (but not a boil!) for about 5 minutes. Using a fine sieve, sieve the mixture into a bowl, and mix in the pecans and coconut. Allow to cool, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes, and the refrigerate until it is relatively spreadable. 

6. Build the cupcakes: peel the cooled cupcakes out of their lines. Cut each cupcake in half horizontally. Spread the coconut-pecan frosting on the bottom part of each cupcake, then top with the top half of the cupcake. Spread the ganache around the sides of each cupcake, then top the cupcake with more of the coconut-pecan frosting. Refrigerate to allow the frosting to harden. 

Enjoy!

Baked "Ziti"

 We had some prepared tomato sauce in the house that we needed to use ASAP, so we decided to go with a baked ziti. Technically I didn't use ziti to make this, but rather penne (actually, GF penne). I can't honestly imagine that it makes any difference. I think you could also make it with rotini or shells if that's what you have in the house.

My husband isn't a fan of ricotta, so we I used this recipe as my basis, but made some changes based on convenience and what I had in the house. 

Oh, and if you're a fan of baked pasta but like a bit more veggies in there, I can give you a little teaser that my mom's recipe for baked pasta with spinach should make an appearance in the near future.

Baked "Ziti" 

Ingredients (for 6-8 portions): 

- 1 pound (about 500 grams) short pasta: ziti or penne is best, but other shapes can work. 

- about 3 cups of tomato sauce (I make a really simple one by taking a can of crushed tomatoes and seasoning it with salt, pepper, chili powder, oregano and garlic powder, but you can use store bought or make your favorite). 

- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese 

- 1/4-1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 

- about 1/2 lbs (250 grams) fresh mozzarella (either a large chunk or little balls), diced. 

- Seasoning: salt, pepper, chili flakes. 

Preparation: 

- Preheat oven to 400 F/ 200 C. Prepare pasta according to instructions until just al dente, then drain and wash under cold water to cool down a little. 

- In a large bowl, mix the pasta with the tomato sauce, half of the parmesan, half of the shredded mozzarella and half of the fresh mozzarella cubes. Season to taste with salt, pepper and chili flakes. 

- Take a large baking dish (9X13 inches, 22X32 cm, more or less) and oil it with oil spray. Fill the dish with the pasta mixture. Sprinkle the mozzarella cubes over the top of the pasta, then top with the rest of the parmesan and the rest of the shredded mozzarella.

- Bake uncovered in the hot oven for about 30 minutes, until the top of the pasta is crispy and the cheese is golden and bubbling. Serve piping hot. 

Asian Tofu Lettuce Salad

 A warm and flavorful tofu salad sitting on top of crisp fresh iceberg lettuce, topped with crispy rice noodles. Depending on the portion size, this can make a lovely appetizer, a snack or a complete meal.

This recipe was inspired by Chinese restaurant chain P.F Changs, which we go to because they have an extensive gluten free menu. One of our favorite dishes on their menu is the tofu (or chicken, for the meat eater) lettuce wraps. We found a recipe that looked very similar in Sheshet Asian, and decided to try using that recipe to make something similar to what we eat at the restaurant.

At the restaurant, they serve this with a side of "bowls" made from the lettuce, which you then use to wrap parts of the tofu mixture. But if the iceberg doesn't quite want to cooperate, you can just eat this as a regular salad, or you can use iceberg bits that aren't perfect bowls to use for the wraps.

Also, if you've been wanting to try tofu for the first time, this is a good recipe to use, because the strong flavors mask the blandness that tofu can sometimes have.

Asian Tofu Lettuce Salad

Ingredients (for 2-4 portions, depending if you eat it as an appetizer or full meal): 

- 1 pack extra firm tofu, cut into very very small cubes.
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon grass, very finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, very finely chopped or minced
- 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
- 1 small chili pepper, finely diced
- 2 tbsp soy sauce (or gluten free Tamari)
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 scallions (green onions) finely sliced.
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- a handful of mint, finely chopped
- a handful of basil, finely chopped
- a handful of cilantro, finely chopped (optional)
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- Crispy rice noodles, to top (optional)

To serve: iceberg (round) lettuce leaves (ideally "bowl" shaped, but don't worry about it), washed and dried. 

Preparation: 

1. Prepare the tofu: Heat the oil in a wok and stir fry the lemon grass, garlic, ginger and chili until they start to turn golden. Add the tofu cubes (they should really be very small, almost like "ground tofu"), and keep frying while stirring for another 2-3 minutes. Add the soy sauce and the lemon and stir well. Taste to check flavoring and if necessary add more soy sauce or lemon.

2. Turn off heat, and add the scallion, the sprouts, the herbs and the sesame to the salad, and mix.

3. Arrange a few leaves of lettuce on a plate, and top each leaf with some of the salad. If desired, top with some crispy noodles.

4. You can eat this with a knife and fork, but the fun way to eat it is to lift up a lettuce leaf, wrap it around the salad, and eat them like a wrap.

Basics: Crispy Rice Noodles

These crispy noodles are great as a garnish for salads or a little crunchy topping for stir-fries.

Crispy Rice Noodles 

To make these noodles, take a pack (or just a little bit) of rice vermicelli (rice sticks), and soak it in warm water for about 20 minutes, until they get a chewy texture. Drain and allow to sit in the colander to try for about 10 minutes. Tear the noodles up in order to make relatively small pieces. 

Heat some oil for deep frying in a wok or pan. When the oil is hot, take a little bit of the noodles and carefully sprinkle them into the oil. WARNING: the oil will sizzle a lot when the noodles touch it, so be very careful not to get splattered!
The noodles are ready when they are crisp and the oil around them stops sizzling, about 1 minute. Carefully remove the noodles with a slotted spoon and place on a plate lined with paper towel. Repeat with all the noodles.

If the noodles clump up during frying and you want smaller pieces, once they are fried it is easy to break them into smaller bits by lightly pounding on them with a spoon or knife.