Personal Tartlets with various fillings

These little mini-tarts are a perfect party dish, because they are very easy to make, taste great, and are very easy to serve. These are just a few suggested fillings, but you can use whatever you want with the same technique.

I also made a gluten free version of these using Cup4Cup flour and the recipe here. It came out great (the tarts in the picture are gluten free).

Personal Tartlets

 

 To make these, you need to start out with a sheet of thinly rolled puff pastry, and a cupcake tin (one standard American pack of puff pastry made between 9-12 tarts for me).  Cut the puff pastry into squares, and line each hole of the cupcake tin with one square, to make little pastry "cups".  Fill the cups with whatever filling you want, and bake in a hot oven (430 f/200 C) for about 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden-brown and fully cooked.

Sweet Potato Filling (for 12 tartlets):
- 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into large chunks
- 1 pack of soft goat cheese
- A few sprigs of fresh thyme
- salt and pepper

Boil the potatoes in plenty of salted water, until soft. Drain and put in a bowl or return to pot. Mash the potatoes until quite smooth. Add the goat cheese and continue mashing until the cheese is fully incorporated into the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and thyme leaves.

Potato filling: 
- 3 medium potatoes (or 2 very large), peeled and chopped into large chunks
- 2 tbsp milk (optional)
- handful grated cheese (cheddar or whatever you like) (optional)
- 2 eggs
- Salt, pepper, paprika

Boil the potatoes in plenty of salted water, until soft. Drain and put in a bowl or return to pot. Mosh the potatoes until smooth, adding the milk to help with creaminess. Add the cheese and eggs and mix well until incorporated. Season with salt, pepper and paprika.

Cheese filling:
This really isn't so much a recipe as an idea. Basically, take a bowl, and in it combine a mixture of softer and harder cheeses, as well as an egg or two and some seasoning, to create a thick liquid filling which you can pour into the cups. For my filling I use: 1 medium package of 2% greek yogurt, 1 small package of cream cheese or mascarpone, 2 eggs, and a couple of handfuls of a mixture of grated Parmesan and mozzarella, seasoned with salt and pepper. You can also add fresh herbs to the mix.

Southern Style Rice and Beans

This colorful dish is perfect for potlucks and dinner parties, because the carnivores treat it as a nice side dish, while us veggies know that with rice, beans and vegetables, this actually works as a satisfying entree.  It's just as delicious at room temperature as it is warm, and you can make it more or less spicy based on your preferences. The recipe is from The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook.

Southern Style Rice and Beans

Ingredients (for 4 entree portions): 

- 1 cup white rice, uncooked
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small red bell pepper, diced
- 1 small green bell pepper, diced
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 2 small tomatoes, diced
- 1 chili or jalapeno pepper, de-seeded and finely chopped (if you don't like heat, you can leave this out. If you like more heat, leave some or all of the seeds and ribs in the pepper)
- 1 can kidney beans, rinsed
-  Salt and pepper
- Seasoning: you can either use about 1 tsp of a prepared cajun-spice mix, or you can mix together any or all of the following spices and season to your taste: garlic powder, cayenne pepper, chili powder, dried oregano, dried thyme.
- Fresh basil, chopped, to garnish (optional)

Preparation: 

1. Cook the rice according to instructions either in a rice cooker or in a pot with water, until just tender. When it's cooked, place in a large serving bowl or dish.

2. In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a large pan. Cook the bell peppers and onion for about 5 minutes, until they begin to soften (but they shouldn't get really soft), stirring occasionally.

3. Add the tomatoes and chili pepper and keep cooking for another 2 minutes. Add the kidney beans and keep cooking just to heat the beans.

4. Add the vegetables to the rice and mix well. Season to taste with salt, pepper and cajun spice/spice mix.  Garnish with fresh basil if desired.
 

Roasted Pepper and Goat Cheese Risotto

The idea for this recipe popped into my head just before I fell asleep a few nights ago, and I decided I just have to try it. It is not inspired by anything I've seen elsewhere, but is an original recipe. It came out rather well, too, if I may say so myself.

Roasted Pepper and Goat Cheese Risotto 

Ingredients (for 2 portions): 

- 2 large red peppers

- 2 tomatoes 

- 1 clove of garlic 

- 3 cups of vegetable stock/broth (if you absolutely can't get stock, water will do)

- 1/4 large onion, finely chopped 

- 1 tbsp butter

- 1 tbsp olive oil 

- 1/4 cup white wine

- 1/2 cup arborio/risotto rice 

- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

- a few tbsp fresh goat cheese 

- salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation: 

1) Heat oven to 400F/200 C. Slice the peppers in half and clean out the seeds and ribs. Slice the tomatoes in half. Place the peppers skin up on a baking tin, and the tomatoes skin down. Roast the peppers and tomatoes in the hot oven for about 30 minutes, or until the peppers are soft and their skins are blackened. Take out of oven and allow to cool.  

2) When they have emove the skin from the peppers and the tomatoes (don't worry if you can't get every tiny bit of skin off the peppers). Put the tomatoes and one of the roasted peppers into a food processor, add the garlic clove and process to a fairly smooth puree (it  should be fairly liquid). Slice the other roasted pepper into thin strips and save for later. 

3) Put the vegetable stock in a pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat so that it is just keeping the stock warm. 

4) In a wide pan heat the butter and oil together. Add the onion and allow to sweat over medium-low heat until the onion softens and becomes slightly translucent. Add the rice and stir for a minute or two, until the rice is also translucent. On medium heat, add the wine and cook, stirring frequently, until it is absorbed in the rice. Add one ladle of the stock into the rice and again cook, stirring frequently, until the stock is fully absorbed. Continue to add the stock, one ladle at a time, and allowing it to absorb while stirring until the rice is puffy and just tender (it should be 'al dente'). If you run out of stock, you can add warm water as needed. 

5) When the rice is cooked, stir in the pepper and tomato puree. Stir in the parmesan cheese, and then check the seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. Remember that the goat cheese will add a bit more saltiness, so do not over salt. Add the roasted pepper pieces, stir, and allow to heat through. Plate the risotto and crumble large chunks of the goat cheese on top of it. The goat cheese will melt and will be easy to stir through the risotto, giving it a lovely creaminess. 

Enjoy!

Pea Soup

This soup, which we like to call "witches' brew" in my family, has the advantage of being incredibly delicious and looking quite elegant, while at the same time being ridiculously easy to make.

Pea Soup

Ingredients (for 4-6 servings): 

- 1 package (4 cups) good quality vegetable broth (or 4 cups of water flavored with buillon powder, but this is less recommended).

- About 2 packages of frozen peas (I used 2x12 oz package, so total of 24 oz or about 700 grams, but you can play with the exact amount).

- 1 small onion, finely chopped (optional, and a bit of oil if you are using it).

- Salt and pepper to season.

- To serve: sour cream/creme fraiche, croutons (all optional)

Preparation: 

1. In a medium pot, saute the onion in a bit of oil until softened (if you are using the onion). Add the broth (if you aren't using the onion, just put the broth directly in the pot). Heat to a boil.

2. Add the peas into hot broth and cook for about 10 minutes, until the peas are mushy.

3. Using a stick blender (better option) or a food processor/regular blender, carefully puree the soup until it is completely smooth and green, without chunks of pea or onion in it. Reheat the pureed soup. I like the soup quite dense, but you can add broth or water to adjust the consistency to one you like. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Serve the soup hot. I like to serve it with a dollop of creme fraiche or sour cream and some croutons, but of course this is up to you.

Cheese Souffle

Souffle is one of those things that is notorious for being incredibly difficult to do. However, this recipe for souffle is actually pretty easy, and totally delicious. The only thing you need to worry about is the timing. The souffle takes about an hour (or an hour and fifteen minutes) to bake and you have to serve it as soon as it is ready, or else it starts deflating. Therefore, you have to carefully plan when you sit down to dinner, to make sure that you neither have to wait for the souffle to be ready nor serve deflated souffle.

Cheese Souffle

Ingredients (for 4 servings): 

1 cup grated cheese (I use chedder or mozzarella or a mix)

50 grams (about 3 tbsp) butter

3 tbsp flour (I use cornstarch or other GF option)

½ tsp salt

A pinch of paprika

1 cup low-fat milk (you can use full fat)

4 eggs , separated

Preparation 

1. Melt the butter in a medium pot. Add the flour, salt and paprika and stir to create a roux. Add the milk and cook on low heat, stirring all the time, until the mixture is bubbling and thickens. Remove from heat, stir in the cheese until it is fully melted. 

2. Whisk the egg yolks (!) until you get a relatively stiff yellow foam. Add the cheese sauce into the yolks and stir until it cools somewhat. 

3. Whisk the egg whites to a stiff foam, and fold the cheese mix into the foam. Pour into a heat proof souffle dish (a 5 cup dish). To give the souffle a little “hat”, run a knife in a shallow circle in the middle of the foam, about 1 inch from the edge.

4. Bake In an oven at 300 F, for about 1.25 hours, until a knife stuck in the middle comes out clean. Serve immediately. It goes well with a side of rice.
 

Pakoras (Spinach, Onion and Potato Snacks)

These are vegetable fritters with Indian spices and just a hint of heat, fried crispy in a chickpea batter and delicious.
They are best served with various chutneys. This recipe is from Indian Home Made Cooking. 

Pakoras

Ingredients (for about 30 pakoras): 

Spice Powder:

-1 tsp coriander seeds

- 1 tsp cumin seeds

- 1 tsp garam masala

- 1/2 tsp cayenne/chili pepper

- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds

For fritters: 

- 6 cups fresh spinach, finely chopped 

- 1 medium red potato, peeled and very finely diced

- 1 medium red onion, diced 

 - 1 fresh hot green chili pepper, very finely chopped

- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

- 2 cups chickpea flour (can be found in the "natural foods" section of many supermarkets)

- 1 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp baking powder

- 1.75 cups water 

- Canola oil for deep frying

Preparation: 

1. Mix the spices in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder and grind very coarsly. 

2. Combine the spice powder with the vegetables, chili, cilantro, flour, salt and baking powder and stir to coat everything with the flour. Add the water gradually and stir to create a batter. 

3. Pour several inches/cm of oil into a large skillet and heat over medium heat until the oil is hot (but not very hot. You want the potatoes to cook without the pakoras burning). Spoon 4-5 large spoonfuls of the mixture into the oil. Allow to fry for about a minute, then turn over and cook for another minute, then keep cooking, flipping occasionally, for about 5-6 minutes, or until cooked through and golden brown. 

4. Using a slotted spoon, remove the fried pakoras into a plate lined with paper. Keep doing this until you fry all of them. Serve hot with chutney.

Naan bread

Yes, it's once again Indian Food time at our house.
This time, we made Naan bread.The recipe is based  on the one here.
We made it GF with Cup4Cup flour and it came out very nice, but I'm not sure it'll work with other kinds of GF flour. 

Naan Bread

Ingredients (for 8 Naans): 
-1.5 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 cup warm water
- 1.5 tsp sugar
-3 cups all purpose flour
-1 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp ghee (clarified butter) or oil
- 3 tbsp yogurt or sour cream

Preparation: 
1. Add the yeast to the warm water and sugar. Leave aside for 10 minutes until it begins to bubble.

2. In a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a mixer) combine the flour and the salt. Add the yeast mixture, the yogurt and half of the ghee/oil. 

3. With your hands or a mixer, knead until a soft, elastic dough forms (if you use GF flour it will be less elastic).

4. Place the dough into a bowl, lightly oiling it to prevent drying. Cover the bowl and allow to rise in a warm area (if your house is not very warm, put it in a very slightly warmed oven) for 90 minutes, until about doubled in size.

5. Preheat oven to 200 C/400 F. Punch down the dough and divide it into eight equal balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a flat round, about 7-8"/ 18" in diameter.

6. Cover a baking tray with lightly oiled aluminum foiled. Put the naan's on the tray, making sure they don't touch each other (you will probably need more than one tray). Brush with oil/ghee and put in the hot oven, baking until the naan puffs and turns golden (this will take about 7 minutes), then turn around and bake a bit more (about 3 minutes). Remove from oven and serve.

Mac and Cheese

Normally, I'm a bit of a skeptic when it comes to home-made or fancy mac and cheese. The truth is, that there is just something about this dish that really requires it to be fluorescent orange and come from a blue box in order to give the right experience. However, after  a visit to S'mac in NYC, where the menu is comprised of endless variations of mac and cheese, and everything can be made gluten free too, we decided to give the home-made thing another try.
The result is neither florescent orange nor redolent of the satisfying-yet-artificial-flavors of the boxed version, but it is incredibly rich, delicious and wonderful.
The recipe here is from Comfort Food, by Williams Sonoma.

Mac and Cheese

Ingredients (for 4-6 servings, depending if it's a main course or a side): 
 - 7 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1.5 cup bread crumbs (gluten free will do. Fresh crumbs are ideal).
-  Salt and pepper
- 1 lb/500 grams small short pasta (elbow macaroni is preferred, but other shapes will do)
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour (gf options will do, either all purpose or even corn starch)
- 3 cups milk, warmed
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (or other sharp cheese)
- 2 cups shredded fontina cheese (or other milder hard cheese)
- 1/2 tsp dry mustard (optional)

Preparation: 
1. n a large frying pan, melt 3 tbsp of the butter over medium low heat. Add the garlic and cook, until tender but not browned. Add the bread crumbs, stir to coat and set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350 F/175 C. Oil a large and shallow baking dish, or individual baking dishes (or, if you want to go the S'mac route, cast iron skillets).

3. Bring water to a boil and cook macaroni according to instructions, until just al-dente (you don't want it too soft because it'll keep cooking in the oven). Drain and set aside, washing a bit to prevent sticking.

4. Add the remaining 4 tbsp of butter to the pasta pot, melt over medium heat. Stir in the flour. Reduce heat to medium-low and bring to a bubble, stirring so that the mixture doesn't brown. Gradually stir in the milk, raise the heat to medium and bring to a boil while stirring. Remove from heat and stir in the cheeses and mustard (if using). Season well with salt and pepper. Stir in the pasta.

5. Pour the pasta mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle evenly with the bread crumbs. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the crumbs are browned and the sauce is bubbly. If you have a broiler and your dish is broiler safe, you can broil it for a bit at the end to get that golden-brown crust.  Cool for abut 5 minutes, then serve hot.

Potato and Onion Pie

This is one of my favorite savory pies, filled with lots of onions and potatoes in a flaky crust.

To save time, you can also make this in a puff pastry crust or, if you want a low-fat version, with filo pastry.
To make it gluten free, you can use a good all-purpose GF flour for the crust. It should work.

I find the filling is at it's best when you take the time to finely chop the onions and potatoes into tiny cubes. I used my trusty onion chopper to chop both the onions and the potatoes.

Potato and Onion Pie 

Ingredients (For one large rectangular pie. You could probably make two smaller round ones from this): 

For the Crust:
- 3 cups   all purpose flour (GF will most likely work)
- 1 container (about 150 ml) plain yogurt (greek yogurt will work)
- 200 grams/7 oz butter, chopped into small cubes

For the Filling
- 3 large onions, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp of butter
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 large potatoes, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp flour (gf will work)
- 3 eggs
- 2 containers (about 150 ml each) plain yogurt (greek yogurt or sour cream will also work)
- Seasoning: Salt, pepper, minced onion (optional) 


Preparation: 

1. Combine all of the crust ingredients in a food processor (or work by hand) until a dough forms. Line a large rectangular glass baking dish (or a pie dish of your choice) with the dough by taking pieces of the dough and pressing them into the dish until the entire surface is properly covered.

2. Preheat oven to 180 C/350 F. In a large skillet, melt the 2 tbsp of butter. Add the onion and sugar and cook over medium heat until the onion is softened and golden. Add the potatoes and cook for another 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes begin to soften a bit. Add the flour and seasoning and keep stirring for another minute. Remove from heat.

3. Mix the eggs and yogurt into the the onions and potatoes, stirring well to prevent the egg from cooking from the heat. Season a bit more. If you don't mind eating a bit of slightly raw egg, test the seasoning and correct. If you do, just risk it (you can always sprinkle some salt over the top and the end).

4. Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes, until firm.