Pasta e Fagioli

 I'm going to date myself for a moment;  I remember when the first Olive Garden came to our town, close to 25 years ago!  I had never heard of it, but the food looked amazing on the commercials, so upscale and different than anything our town had to offer.  We went there shortly after opening and I had pasta e fagioli soup for the first time.  The menu described it as Italian chili, I figured how could it be bad and ordered a bowl.  It's been my all time favorite Olive Garden soup ever since.  Every time we go there I look forward to the soup.  The few times I've gotten salad instead of soup, I regret it every time.  Oh sure, the salad IS delicious, but the pasta e fagioli...I love it!  Tomato broth, loaded with beans and pasta tubes, lightly seasoned but so very flavorful.  It's really just so good!  And yet I never tried to make it at home.  Until now!

Knowing that I wanted Olive Garden pasta e fagioli I decided to just search for a recipe online rather than try to recreate it from memory.  Sadly it's been years since I've enjoyed the soup at the restaurant - so a recipe was in order.  Todd Wilbur of Top Secret Recipes usually does a pretty darn good job of imitating the original restaurant recipes.  A quick look through the ingredients list and I knew this was the recipe for me.   It had the veggies that are in the soup and most importantly of all (in this Witches' opinion) he used the correct pasta.  So many recipes out there call for shells or elbows, all fine substitutions but come on, if you're  recreating the recipe use the right pasta for crying out loud!  The recipe is very easy and pantry friendly, I had everything on hand except the V-8.  No problem, a quick trip to the store fixed that and we were on our way to pasta e fagioli heaven!

What can I say?  This soup is every bit as good as the Olive Garden's.  Better, actually, because I know what I put in it.  It's perfect on chilly fall days, paired with traditional breadsticks and salad it makes a great meal.  The entire family loved this soup.  So much that I made a second pot 3 days later for us to eat for lunches.   Pasta e fagioli is a budget friendly, kid friendly, yummy and easy to put together meal that the entire family will enjoy.  I hope you make a pot of it soon!

Pasta e Fagioli
makes 8 generous servings
source:  Olive Garden, Top Secret Recipes
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion diced fine (1 cup)
3 stalks celery chopped (1 cup)
3 carrots grated (1 cup)
3 cloves garlic minced fine
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
12 oz V-8 vegetable juice blend
1 T white wine vinegar
1 can cannolini beans (white kidney beans), drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1.5 t dried oregano
.5 t dried thyme
1 T  kosher salt OR 1.5 t table salt
2 cans water (I use the tomato sauce and diced tomato cans, that way I rinse out the tomato residue into my soup)
1/2 lb (1/2 box) ditalini pasta (short round tubes)

In a large dutch oven or soup pot brown the beef.  Drain off any excess fat.  Add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic.  Sautee about 10 minutes or until the veggies are starting to soften.  Add everything EXCEPT the pasta to the pot.  Stir well, bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook for 1 hour, stirring 2-3 times during the cooking process.

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and reserve.

Put about 1/3 c cooked pasta in each bowl and ladle hot soup over top.  Serve with grated cheese if desired.

Nutrition Facts calculated at SparkPeople recipe calculator 8 Servings Amount Per Serving Calories 369.0 Total Fat 12.7 g Saturated Fat 4.8 g Polyunsaturated Fat 0.7 g Monounsaturated Fat 5.2 g Cholesterol 42.5 mg Sodium 599.0 mg Potassium 872.9 mg Total Carbohydrate 45.2 g Dietary Fiber 7.3 g Sugars 6.5 g Protein 19.7 g

Chopped at Home: Beets, Endive, pork and sweet chili sauce

A round of Chopped at Home happend this past weekend at the Kitchen Witches' home.  Good friend and cooking buddy Eric brought the ingredients for our challenge.  This time we had the following to work with:

Pork Loin roasts (2 of them, rolled and tied from the butcher)
4 bunches of fresh beets
Endive
Sweet Chili Sauce

Our rules were simple:  Make something for dinner using the secret ingredients and any pantry items I had on hand and the meal needed to be as low carb as possible.

The beets were easy.  We decided to roast them with some olive oil, salt & pepper.  When they were half way done we drizzled them with the sweet chili sauce.  The sweetness of the beets was maximized by the roasting and the sweet chili sauce was a nice glaze.  The heat in the chili sauce wasn't very prominent, it really cooked out, but ever now & then you'd get a hint of spice and it was a nice contrast to the beets.  We decided to throw the endive into the roasting pan with the beets when they were 3/4 of the way done.  The bitterness of the endive was tempered by the sweet beet and chili sauce glaze.   I am a tried & true beet hater.  I even grew some a few years ago to see if homegrown beets would be better than store bought ones (turns out nope, beets taste like beets regardless of where they're grown LOL!).  But you know what???  These beets, they were amazing!!  Really really good.  Sweet, earthy and delicious.  They will definitely be made again!

Now, onto the pork!  A wet paste of dijon mustard, thyme, extra hot horseradish, garlic and S&P was made from my pantry ingredients.  I also had fresh parsley and rosemary on hand so I minced up a lot of that, too.  We decided to half the roasts, slather them with the mustard sauce and herbs then re-roll the pork into a nice bundle.  More mustard on the outside covered with the fresh herbs and the pork went into the oven.  It LOOKED good, the mustard paste tasted good, sure hope it is good!  Verdict:  Success!!  The strong flavors of the mustard rub accented and seasoned the pork perfectly.  The fresh herbs added a great spring time flavor, as well as color, and really lightened things up.  When the pork was paried with the beets, well it was divine!  Sweet beets, savory pork laden with herbs and mustard.  Yeah it was good stuff!!!  The pork is defiantly another hit and one I'll be making again!

This round of Chopped at Home was incredibly successful in this Witches' opinion.  Eric, I'm pretty sure that we'd hear Ted Allen telling us that we are indeed the Chopped (at home!) CHAMPIONS!  Now where's our check for $10,000??  Ha ha ha!

Beets and endive with sweet chili glaze
Makes 4 servings
4 bunches beets, washed and peeled
6-8 heads endive, trimmed and halved
about 4-6T olive oil
kosher salt and pepper
1 jar sweet chili sauce (or make your own, awesome recipe here!)

Herb and Mustard Roasted Pork
makes 4 servings
1 pork loin roast, about 1.5 lbs
2T dijon mustard
1/2 t dried thyme
1/8 t white pepper
1/2 t kosher salt
1 t extra hot prepared horseradish
4 springs rosemary
1/4 head parsley minced
Butches twine for tying roast

Prepare beets and endive:
Preheat oven to 450F.  Peel the beets and trim the tops & root end.  Put them into a roasting pan and drizzle with 2-3T oil, kosher salt & pepper.  Reduce oven to 375F after putting the beets in.  Roast beets for about 45 min, stirring twice during that time, then add about 1/2 bottle (or 1/2 c) sweet chili sauce.  Stir well to coat beets evenly.  Continue roasting for another 30 minutes.  Add trimmed endive to roasting pan, drizzle with the remaining oil and sweet chili sauce.  Stir well to coat endive in the reduced sauce glaze and roast for 30 min longer.  Bottoms of beets will be deeply browned and caramelized.

Prepare pork:
Mix the wet rub by combining mustard, thyme, salt & white pepper and horseradish into a small bowl.  Stir well to combine.  Finely mince the parsley and rosemary.

Unwrap pork and remove the butcher twine/wrap.  Slice pork roast in half long wise.  Slather the inside cuts of the pork with the mustard mixture, about 1T for the inside.  Sprinkle herbs on the mustard and press both halves of the pork together.

Using butchers twine tie the roast back together, using 3-4 knots.  Coat the outside of the roast in remaining mustard mixture and then encrust it with the remaining herbs.  Place crusted roast on a sheet pan and bake for 60 minutes, or until a thermometer reads 145F minimum for medium-med well cooked pork, up to 160F.  Do not let it cook longer than 160F.  Remove roast and allow to rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing.  Remove and discarding strings as you slice the roast.  Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie

 Is there anything that ranks higher on the comfort food meter than a pot pie?  I didn't think so.  Pot pie is really one of my favorite dishes of all time.  Sure it's basically a chicken soup or beef stew in a crust, but man, something happens to that soup or stew when you add pastry.  It changes from ho hum, albeit delicious, to holy hell that's GOOD stuff!  Just ask anyone, I can pretty much guarantee you that pot pie is a comfort king amongst your friends and families.  Now imagine what a rock star you'll appear to be to those pot pie lovers when you present this fresh baked, home cooked, pure deliciousness of a pie.  And best of all, it's really not that hard to do!

Being a Kitchen Witch, I make my own pie dough.  The food processor makes quick work of it and it's always tasty and delicious.  If you aren't a pastry maker feel free to use refrigerated pie crust, it comes in a red box and you unfold the sheets of pastry and put it into your own pie pan.  If you don't have a pie pan (and that's OK!) get a frozen pie shell for the bottom and use the boxed pastry for the top crust.  Pie plate problem solved!   Look for refrigerated pie crust by the eggs & cheese, that's where it is in my store.

The Witch uses chicken thighs in her pot pie, it makes a richer more flavorful gravy and I like the flavor of dark meat better.  If you like white meat you can use breast meat, however the flavor won't be as rich.  Breast meat is also a lot harder to shred, so you may have to cut it into cubes.  No matter, it'll still be delicious, regardless of the type of chicken you choose to use.  I added a few green beans to this pot pie, they were on sale this week and their bright green pop of color was nice in an otherwise golden pie.  Frozen or fresh peas could be used instead.  As always, add or subtract the veggies based on what your family likes, but a mix of carrots, celery, onion, potato and either bean or peas can't be beat!

Chicken Pot Pie
makes 8 servings, 1 slice each
For Chicken stew filling
1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts (thighs will be a LOT more flavorful)
2 carrots, sliced into rounds
2 ribs celery, sliced
1/2 medium onion fine mince
2 cloves garlic, diced fine
1 russet potato, peeled and diced into 1/4 in chunks
about 10 green beans sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 t dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 T butter
kosher salt & pepper to taste (about 1.5t salt and 1/4 t pepper)
EITHER 1 t Better than Bullion chicken flavor OR 1 chicken bullion cube OR 1 can chicken broth
6 cups water * if using chicken broth then reduce to 4 cups water
2T corn starch
1 egg for eggwash

For Crust:
4T very cold butter cut into cubes
4T vegetable shortening
2.5 cups flour
1.5 t kosher salt
1/2 c (give or take 2T) ice water

Make crust first by combining flour, salt and fats into a food processor bowl.  Pulse 4 times to cut fat into flour.  Add 1/3 c water, pulse 2-3 times and test to see if it can form a ball by squeezing dough together.  If not add more water, 1T at a time, until dough will stay together when squeezed.

Divide dough into 2 sections, one slightly larger than the other.  Form dough into a disc about 3/4 inch thick and wrap both in plastic wrap.  Chill in refrigerator for 1 hour before rolling out.

Make chicken stew next.  Heat a medium size pan over medium high heat and melt butter.  Once it stops foaming add the onions, celery, carrots and garlic.  Sautee for about 5 minutes until the onions are translucent and other veggies are starting to soften slightly.  Add the chicken, herbs, salt & pepper and water.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a low simmer, cover and cook for 25-30 minutes.

Remove the chicken and the bay leaf from the cooking liquid and allow to cool (discard bay leaf).  Add the potatoes to the cooking liquid and cook for 10 minutes.  Potatoes will not be fully cooked.  Thicken the sauce with the cornstarch dissolved into 2T water, making a slurry, add the slurry to the stew stirring well.  Increase heat to a rapid simmer and gravy will begin to thicken considerably.  You want this pretty thick, a lot thicker than normal gravy, so it doesn't just run out of your pot pie.   Once chicken is cool shred it and remove any fat and gristle.  Add chicken and cut green beans to the stew and stir to coat everything.  Turn heat off and set aside.

Roll dough out using the slightly larger disc for the bottom crust.  Place bottom crust into a pie pan and dock (poke with a fork) the bottom and sides slightly to release air while baking.  Fill the crust with the stew.  Roll out remaining disc of dough to make top crust.  Crimp the edges together well.  Brush top with eggwash and cut a few slits in the top dough to release steam.  Place pot pie on a baking sheet (to catch any drips) and bake in a preheated 350F oven for 45-60 minutes, or until pie is golden browned and gravy is bubbling through the vent slits.  Allow pie to cool for 15 minutes before slicing and enjoying!

Nutrition Facts calculated at SparkPeople recipe calculator Amount Per Serving Calories 349.9 Total Fat 16.0 g Saturated Fat 6.8 g Polyunsaturated Fat 3.9 g Monounsaturated Fat 4.1 g Cholesterol 67.5 mg Sodium 787.7 mg Potassium 449.9 mg Total Carbohydrate 37.2 g Dietary Fiber 2.9 g Sugars 1.3 g Protein 13.6 g

Chicken and dumplings

Chicken and dumplings is one of our favorite meals here in the Witches' household.  It gets made at least once a month and no one is ever sick of it.  Comforting, homey, savory and delicious, chicken and dumplings is comfort food in it's finest form.  One of the things I love most about it is that it's not heavy and fat laden like a lot of wintery soups and stews can be.  I also love it because it's chock full of veggies and I know that the Little Witch will eat veggies if it's in chicken and dumplings.

When frozen veggies are on sale I stock up my freezer with them.  Soups like this are a great place to use these veggies, when their fresh counterparts are out of season.  Change it up with different veggies and it's a new dish each time you make it.  I've found it to be a great vehicle for trying out new tastes with the little ones, too.  Anything enrobed in a delicious chicken broth is bound to be good.

The dumplings are soft and pillow like.  If you don't have a food processor to make the dumplings you can use a pastry blender or 2 forks to cut the butter into the flour.  If all else fails you can use a prepared baking mix (bisquik) instead of the flour, salt, baking powder and butter.  The dumplings are dropped into the simmering stew which does two things; it steams and fluffs the dumplings and  it thickens the stew.  I hope you treat yourself and your family to a pot of this delicious and hearty stew soon!

Chicken and dumplings
makes around 6 generous servings
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs (can use breasts, see notes)
6 cups chicken stock
5-6 carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
3 ribs celery, sliced
1/2 onion diced very fine
1 t dried thyme
2 T fresh minced parsley
kosher salt to taste (around 1.5-2t) and ground pepper
choose up to 2 (1/2 c. each) optional veggies:  frozen corn, peas, green beans, broccoli, diced potatoes, whatever your family likes
Dumplings
1 1/4 c all purpose flour
1.5 t baking powder
1.5 t kosher salt
1 egg white
1/4 c water
1/4 c milk
1/4 c (1/2 stick) cold butter, diced

In a dutch oven or other large pot add everything except the optional veggies.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a low simmer.  Allow to simmer for 45 min.  Remove the chicken thighs to a plate to cool slightly before shredding.  If you are using chicken breasts only cook them for 25-30 minutes before removing.  


After removing the chicken taste the broth for season.  Adjust salt & pepper if needed.   Add optional veggies to the stew at this time.

Shred the chicken and discard any gristle and fat pieces.  Set aside.

Make the dumplings - in the work bowl of a food processor add your flour, baking powder and salt.  Pulse to incorporate.

Add the cold diced butter.  Pulse 5 times using 1 second bursts of power.  The mixture should resemble coarse meal or damp sand.  Pour flour mix into a bowl.

In a separate small bowl mix the egg white, milk and water.  Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and combine with a fork until all flour is dampened.  A few lumps are OK, just don't overwork the batter.  It will be like thick pancake batter.

Add the shredded chicken back to the stew and stir well.  Stew needs to be at a bare simmer, not too many bubbles breaking the surface, to cook the dumplings.  If the stew is simmering too rapidly it will break apart the dumplings.

Using a tablespoon size scooper or 2 spoons, scoop dough into balls on top of simmering stew.  Try not to let dumplings touch when being dropped into stew.  Once all the dough is added cover the stew and allow to steam cook for 10 minutes.  DO NOT OPEN THE LID until the 10 minutes is over or the dumplings will not cook properly.

Once the dumplings are cooked they'll float to the surface.  Sprinkle with minced parsley before serving.

Nutrition Facts calculated at SparkPeople recipe calculator chicken Amount Per Serving Calories 324.6 Total Fat 11.1 g Saturated Fat 5.7 g Polyunsaturated Fat 1.2 g Monounsaturated Fat 3.2 g Cholesterol 78.8 mg Sodium 1,351.0 mg Potassium 782.7 mg Total Carbohydrate 34.5 g Dietary Fiber 3.6 g Sugars 3.8 g Protein 23.8 g

Zucchini Cakes

It seems that the Kitchen Witch has a love/hate relationship with zucchini.  If you've read this blog for any length of time you'll know that zucchini is something that is a staple in the Witches' garden.  Every year I say I won't worry or over plant, and yet every year I have a mini freak out -  will they grow?  Will they produce?  Will I have beautiful zucchini this year? And because it's me, every single year I over plant, too, just in case one or 2 of the plants don't do well.  In 3 years, I've never had an unsuccessful zucchini crop.  They're always TOO successful!  Despite my fretting over the wee plants in the early days they grow and become big time producers.  Before I know it I've gone from "oh my I hope they grow" to "holy shit someone needs to come get some of this zucchini!!" If you remotely like zucchini I highly recommend growing them yourself.  It's SO easy, they're very low maintenance plants, and have never failed to produce.  Oh, and the love/hate thing is because I absolutely love zucchini but as the season wanes on I grow to hate it...after all zucchini for 3 meals a day is only awesome for a few days.

Now that you've been informed about the trials and tribulations of zucchini growing, let's get to the point of today's post, shall we?  Zucchini cakes!  Oh sure they've been done before but boy, are they good!  A few weeks ago my girlfriends and I were out to lunch.  I spotted zucchini cake sliders on the menu and thought now that sounds good!  I ordered them and indeed, I was right, they WERE good!  So promptly I went to the store to buy zucchini (it's not zucchini season in Colorado currently, much to my dismay) so I could recreate these babies.  They seemed pretty basic in their ingredients, zucchini, red bell pepper and feta cheese, with some binders to hold it together.

The Witch decided to use an egg as one of the binders along with some panko breadcrumbs.  Not much, I wanted the veggie to be the star of this cake, but enough to hold it together.  The panko is very light in texture, not dense like traditional bread crumbs can be.  It helped the cakes have a nice firmness to them with out being dense or heavy.  The crunch of the red onions provided a nice contrast to the soft zucchini.  As the cakes brown the zucchini takes on a fantastic flavor, browned zucchini is the only way to eat it in this Witches' opinion!  As the cakes cook the feta softens and melts, adding it's salty flavor to each bite.  These zucchini cakes are a taste sensation, low in calories and vegetarian!   Sounds like a great lunch or side dish idea to me!


Zucchini Cakes
makes 4 cakes, 2 cakes per serving
1 medium zucchini (about 7-8 inches long) shredded
about 2T diced roasted red bell pepper
scant 1T fine diced red onion
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c panko bread crumbs
1/4 c feta cheese
approximately 1/2 t kosher salt
a pinch pepper, or to taste
about 1-2T olive oil for cooking

Shred zuccini using large holes on a box grater.  Squeeze zucchini to remove excess liquid.  Put squeezed zucchini into a small work bowl.  Add the diced roasted red peppers, garlic, onion, panko, feta and S&P.   Pour the beaten egg over top and using a fork, gently mix.  You'll want a cohesive mixture with no obvious pockets of dry bread crumbs or uncoated veggies.

Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  Once hot scoop zucchini mix into 4 patties, about 1/4 c each.  Make about 1/2 inch thick by 3-4 inches diameter.  Cover skillet and fry cakes on first side until golden browned, about 5 minutes.  Cakes will still be very fragile so be careful when you flip them.  Gently flip and continue cooking covered on second side, until browned and cakes hold together.   Serve and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator Amount Per Serving Calories 223.8   Total Fat 16.8 g Saturated Fat 4.9 g Polyunsaturated Fat 1.5 g Monounsaturated Fat 9.3 g Cholesterol 109.2 mg Sodium 562.1 mg Potassium 339.6 mg Total Carbohydrate 11.4 g Dietary Fiber 1.6 g Sugars 2.4 g Protein 7.3 g

Stuffed Pumpkin with Cheese, Bacon and Chipotles

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Halloween may be over but that's no reason to say good bye to the beloved pumpkin. The orange squash is king of Autumn and until December 21, it's still Autumn, so bring on the pumpkin recipes! Today I happily share with you a pumpkin stuffed with cheese, bacon and chipotle chilies. Holy cow, this thing is good! And rich! And delicious!! This gorgeous dish was found at the Homesick Texan's site. I'm not from Texas (I'm from Michigan!) but this dish makes me homesick for Texas as well!!

The stuffing in this pumpkin is filled with all sorts of deliciousness: French bread cubes, Gruyere and white cheddar cheeses, thick cut bacon and spicy smoky chipotles. A touch of garlic, cumin and cream crown the already rich and flavorful filling. After a long 2 hour baking time the pumpkin is tender and easily scrapes out of it's shell. The sweet and yet bland squash play perfectly with the spicy and rich filling.

Stuffed pumpkin makes a great lunch on its own or would be perfect as a side dish. It'd also be very welcome on the Thanksgiving table. Imagine if you will, the beautiful turkey, golden brown and fragrant, the bowl of red glistening cranberry sauce, fluffy white mashed potatoes, rich brown gravy and this, amazing orange whole baked pumpkin stuffed with cheesy spicy goodness. It's truly a vision of delicious loveliness!

Stuffed Pumpkin with Cheese, Bacon and Chipotles
Source: Homesick Texan
Makes: 4 servings

One 3-to-4 pound pie pumpkin
Salt and black pepper to taste
4 ounces French bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 pound Gruyere, shredded (1 cup)
1/4 pound white cheddar, shredded (1 cup)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 or 2 chipotle chiles en adobo, diced (depending on how fiery you want it)
1/4 pound cooked bacon, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Small pinch of nutmeg
1/2 cup heavy cream or half-and-half

Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8x8 pan or baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.

With a sharp knife, cut a circle around the pumpkin stem about 1 inch away from the stem. Remove the top and clean out the seeds and stringy bits from inside the pumpkin. (You can save the seeds for roasting, if you like.) Lightly salt and pepper the inside of the pumpkin.

Toss together the bread cubes, shredded Gruyere, shredded cheddar, garlic, diced chipotle chiles and cooked bacon, and stuff into the pumpkin. Stir the cumin and nutmeg into the cream, adding a bit of salt and black pepper to taste. Pour cream mixture into pumpkin over bread and cheese.

Place the top back on the pumpkin, and place the pumpkin into the baking pan. Bake for 2 hours or until filling is brown and bubbling.

To serve, remove the top and spoon out portions of the filling along with bits of the cooked pumpkin. You can either leave it in the pan, or by using the foil or parchment paper, you can carefully lift it out of the pan and place it on a platter. Serve warm.



Nutrition Facts calculated at SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 497.3
Total Fat 30.4 g
Saturated Fat 18.7 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.8 g
Monounsaturated Fat 5.4 g
Cholesterol 101.9 mg
Sodium 1,691.2 mg
Potassium 1,004.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate 37.5 g
Dietary Fiber 4.9 g
Sugars 4.2 g
Protein 21.9 g

Israeli Couscous salad with beans and tomatoes

Israeli couscous, have you all seen or tried this yet? Ever wonder what the heck it is? Well, Israeli couscous isn't a strange and exotic grain. It's not a grain at all, rather, it's pasta, just like all couscous. Yes, you read that right, ALL couscous is really just tiny beads of pasta that cook up super quick due to their tiny size. Israeli couscous is no different except its beads are larger than normal couscous, making them more pearl like. They cook up very fast also, less than 10 minutes, and are tasty! I like to get my Israeli couscous from the health food store, they have it available in bulk and you can buy as much or as little as you'd like. It's really really cheap, too, bonus!

Israeli couscous is toasted from the factory. Personally, I wanted more of that roasty toasty flavor so I decided to further brown my couscous in melted butter. Nothing wrong with that! A small amount of onion was added for flavor, but not so much that it overwhelmed the delicate toasty flavor of the couscous. The Witch used chicken broth to cook the couscous in for additional flavor, but if you're looking to make this dish completely vegetarian water or veggie broth would work just fine also. As the couscous cooks it releases a lot of starches which make the texture of the cooked Israeli couscous more like a good risotto than couscous.

Because this was an entire meal I knew that I needed some protein in there somewhere so I added white beans that I have in my pantry. The soft texture and gentle flavor of the cannellini bean was delightful against the soft, rich creamy flavor of the couscous. Having an abundance of cherry tomatoes from the garden it was a no brainer to add a handful of the sweet red treats into the couscous. Feta cheese was in the fridge and its flavors as well as very granular texture again worked fabulously with the couscous. Now all it needed was a dressing! In a small mason jar, or any jar with a lid, add the juice of half a lemon, a touch of honey to counteract the tart of the lemon and 2 parts olive oil. I just eyeballed the amount in the glass jar, when it looked like I had a 2:1 ratio of oil to lemon juice I stopped. It was about 3T of oil. A touch of garlic and fresh herbs including mint, oregano and parsley completed this easy and tasty dressing. The dressing will make a lot more than you need for one serving, you'll actually be able to get about 3 couscous salads out of this dressing, so save the leftovers in the fridge for another tasty salad.

The final results of this are savor, rich, creamy, tart, sweet and plain yummy. The herbs in the dressing added great flavor, just enough to keep you interested in taking another bite. The tomatoes give bursts of sweet tart flavor that counter the rich creamy taste of the couscous. A nice salty tang is provided by the feta and the creamy beans kept me full for hours! This recipe was developed as a quick and easy lunch for myself. Imagine my surprise when the Little Witch wanted to try some (shock!) and then declared that she LOVES couscous and wanted more! (double shock!) If you're looking for a quick lunch, easy side dish or a meatless main course, look no further than this Israeli couscous dish. Enjoy!


Israeli couscous salad with beans and tomatoes
makes 1 main dish sized serving
1/2 c Israeli couscous
3/4 c chicken broth OR water
2 t butter
1 T minced onions
1 T minced green pepper (optional)
6-8 cherry tomatoes
1/3 c white beans (cannellini beans), drained and rinsed (1 can will make 3 salads)
2T feta cheese
3t dressing, recipe follows

Lemon herb dressing
makes enough for 3 salads
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 parts olive oil, approx 3T
1t honey
1 clove garlic sliced thin
pinch kosher salt & pepper
fresh minced herbs: parsley, mint and oregano (small bit of parsley, 5 leaves each mint & oregano)

Make dressing first: combine all ingredients in a small lidded jar and shake well to mix. Set aside.

Prepare salad:
In a small sauce pan heat butter over medium high heat until it foams. Once the foaming stops add the uncooked couscous, stir to coat all pearls in butter. Toast for 2 minutes then add the onions. Stir to coat onions in butter and continue to toast for 3-4 minutes longer, until couscous is browned and smells nutty.



Add the broth or water and bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer. Add the beans, cover the pan and allow to cook for about 5 minutes. Check couscous for tenderness, if soft all the way through then drain couscous of any remaining liquid. Return to pot. Add the dressing, tomatoes and feta, stir well to coat everything evenly. Enjoy!



Nutrition Facts calculated at SparkPeople recipe calculator
Salad only, no dressing 1 Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 459.6
Total Fat 9.6 g
Saturated Fat 4.8 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2 g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.2 g
Cholesterol 25.0 mg
Sodium 308.7 mg
Potassim 294.2 mg
Total Carbohydrate 16.6 g
Dietary Fiber 4.8 g
Sugars 0.7 g
Protein 17.7 g

Nutrition Facts calculated at SparkPeople recipe calculator
Lemon herb dressing only -- 3 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 130.5
Total Fat 14.0 g
Saturated Fat 2.0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2.0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 10.0 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 96.3 mg
Potassium 14.9 mg
Total Carbohydrate 2.9 g
Dietary Fiber 0.1 g
Sugars 2.1 g
Protein 0.1 g

Roasted corn and jalapeno cheddar polenta

Polenta is like the red head step child of the side dish world. Most people don't even know what polenta is here in the US. Its only when its referred to as grits, as most southerns know it as, that it gets any recognition. And, unfortunately, the recognition isn't that warm or welcome. Why, I wondered, are people so frightened of polenta. Is it the name? Do people just not know what it is? Could it be the texture? Could it be that maybe they've just never had good polenta? My best guess is a combination of all the above. I hope today that I can demystify polenta and introduce some of you to a new and tasty side dish.

Polenta is corn meal that's been slow cooked to rehydrate it. As mentioned it is known as grits in the south. But please, don't let the name grits turn you off. Yes there is a texture to polenta. However if it's cooked properly it won't be gritty or rough, rather the corn meal softens and becomes al dente and delicious. It has a great corn flavor and stands up well to rich and hearty dishes. There are different grinds to polenta, from instant (not recommended) to coarse grind super slow cooking ones, the choice is yours. Most supermarkets will have 'quick cooking' polenta available and the Kitchen Witch feels that this is a great place to start. After you've made it and decide you love its wholesome corny goodness then please try the coarser grinds, I hear they're loads tastier. I have a bag of Bob's Red Mill coarse grind polenta in the pantry and can't wait to try it! The quick cooking variety will take about 20 minutes to cook up into a creamy corny pudding. What you add to it to flavor it is pretty much endless!

When I created this side dish it was to accompny green chili pork stew. I was looking for something that would go well with the stews liquidy part and what pairs better than corn? I had an ear of corn in the fridge which I roasted under the broiler - you could of course do this over your grill - knowing that the sweet corn would add bursts of flavor as well as a roasted smokiness. Jalapenos seemed natural, they go well with corn as well as the green chili. Onions & garlic add the background flavors to make it more dimensional and the cheese adds the final layer of deliciousness. I left most of the seeds and veins in the jalapeno and honestly it was NOT hot at all. I could have used another 2 peppers before any heat was felt. Use your discression on how hot you want it for your family. I served this polenta in its creamy puddling like form but polenta is the master of make overs! If creamy pudding isn't your thing, no worries, simply pour your polenta into a sheet pan lined with plastic wrap and allow to cool. Once cooled you can slice your now firmed up polenta into any shape you desire and pan fry it in a bit of oil until its golden browned, flip and brown on second side. The exterior has a crispy brown exterior and the inside is a smooth creamy treat. This is a great way to use up left over polenta and its awesome with eggs.

I hope you try polenta in the future and embrace it as a quality side dish that the whole family can enjoy! Play around with the ingredients and add ins, making each batch as individual as you are. Happy cooking!


Roasted corn and jalapeno cheddar polenta
makes 4 servings
1 cup polenta (coarse corn grits)
3 cups chicken broth
1 ear of corn roasted and kernals cut from cob
1/2 onion diced
1 jalapeno diced
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 c cheddar cheese
2 T butter
1 t kosher salt
black pepper to taste

Begin by roasting the corn in the oven. Set your oven rack on the highest setting and put it on broil. Place the shucked corn cob on the rack under the broiler. Roast until you have a few blackened kernels, rotate and roast evenly all over cob. Don't be alarmed if you hear popping, this is normal if your corn is very fresh. Its the liquid in the kernel expanding as it heats and essentially 'popping'. The popping is usually my indicator that I need to check the corn. Once roasted remove from oven and allow to cool, then cut the kernels off the cob once cool enough to handle.

In a sauce pan heat the butter over medium high heat. Add onions and sautee for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and diced jalapeno, sautee for 5 min longer until the garlic starts to toast slightly and the onions have softened. Add the roasted corn kernels and stir well to coat in the fat.

Add the chicken stock to the veggies in the pan. Using a whisk slowly whisk in the polenta. Whisk until all polenta is incorporated then switch to a wooden spoon. Bring the polenta up to a boil then reduce the heat to low. Cover polenta and cook for 15-20 minutes (or to instructions on package) stirring often to avoid scorch spots and lumps. Once polenta has cooled remove from heat and stir in the cheddar cheese, serve and enjoy.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 296.9
Total Fat 12.0 g
Saturated Fat 6.9 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 3.5 g
Cholesterol 30.4 mg
Sodium 1,685.6 mg
Potassium 183.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate 38.5 g
Dietary Fiber 1.6 g
Sugars 1.7 g
Protein 9.0

Summer Squash Gratin

The Witch has some SERIOUS over achievers in her garden right now. Yes folks, its that time of year again, ZUCCHINI and CROOKED NECK SQUASH is here!! Yay says the Witch as she pulls her first veggies out of the garden. Hooray for my beloved green zucchini and tasty yellow crooked necks! My mind swims with ideas on how to prepare these treats from the garden. But after a few weeks the song changes from YAY zucchini! to UGH! more freaking zucchini?? What the hell am I supposed to do with all of these???? After your friends and family have taken on their fair share you're still left with TONS of green and yellow fruits and the usual prep method of planks sauteed in olive oil until golden brown just isn't seeming as delicious as it did 2 weeks ago.

So after some serious squash overload I went to my favorite go to place for recipes, blogs! While browsing I saw that Siri over at Siriously Delicious had posted one for Summer Squash and potato gratin. Gratin you say? Hmmm...I like cheese. Yes, gratin it is! Cheese is a key component to gratin. A quick trip through the fridge shows Emmental Swiss cheese, something the Little Witch picked out (she has great taste! What can I say?), a small chunk of mozzarella and as always Asiago. Those 3 cheeses sound pretty darn good together, the swiss for a robust cheese flavor, the mozz for the melting factor and Asiago has a pungent flavor that's just delicious.

When seasoning the dish I kept it simple, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder. Powder?? Yes, powder. I used garlic and onion powder fairly often, in specific dishes, mostly because I like the way they perform in some ways. In dips, sauces and dressings the powders are great because you don't get a sharp bite that you can get from fresh garlic and onions. I like it in marinades too, as the garlic powder won't burn like fresh garlic will. The main reason you'll see me use onion powder or dehydrated onions in place of fresh is because my Witchy Sissy has an onion allergy, poor thing, and can't have fresh onions. Powdered or dehydrated is fine, however. So when I know she'll be eating a dish I'll use the powdered stuff. In the case of this gratin I used it for 2 reasons: I wanted a light flavor of onion, this is a squash gratin, not an onion one and I feared a fresh onion would overpower the squashs' delicate flavor. And 2, my Sissy was going to be eating it. 'Nuff said! The simple seasonings really highlighted the flavors of the squash and cheese resulting in a delicious side dish that makes me excited to pull more zucchini and crooked neck squash out of the garden. Thank you, gratin!

Summer Squash Gratin
makes 8 side dish servings or 4 main dish servings
1 zucchini
1 yellow crooked neck squash
3 oz good quality Emmental Swiss cheese
2 oz mozzerella cheese
1 oz Asiago or Parmesean cheese
1 t Kosher salt
1/4 to 1/2 t ground black pepper
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t onion powder
4 sprigs thyme OR 1t dried thyme
about 1/2 c heavy cream (a little less is just fine)
1/2 c fresh bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350F

Slice crooked neck squash in half and remove the seeds if desired. The larger the squash get the more pronounced the seeds are. Its a personal preference, if you dislike the seeds, remove them, if not leave them in.

Using a food processor with a slicing disc OR a mandolin slice the zucchini and yellow squash into thin rounds. Place slices on paper towel to absorb moisture. You will want a single layer of squash on each towel, yes you'll go through quite a bit. Don't skimp on this step or you will have a watery gratin.

Shred cheeses and reserve cheese.

Spray a casserole dish with non stick spray.

Begin assembling the gratin

First layer: yellow squash first. Use about 1/2 of the yellow slices in the first layer. Sprinkle squash with about 1/4 t kosher salt, some black pepper and a light dusting of garlic and onion powder. Next layer 1/4 of the shredded cheeses on top of the seasoned squash slices.

2nd layer: zucchini rounds. Use 1/2. Season as above (salt, pepper, onion & garlic powder) then top with 1/4 of the cheese. Pour 1/2 the cream over the squash on this layer.

3rd layer: Yellow squash, seasoned as above and add the thyme, then cheese.

4th layer: Remaining zucchini slices, seasoned and the remainder of the cheese. Pour remaining cream over top of the cheese. Top the cheese with the bread crumb.

Bake at 350F for 45 minutes or until browned on top and bubbly. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before serving so the cheese has time to solidify before slicing. Enjoy!


Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 127.3
Total Fat 9.6 g
Saturated Fat 5.9 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2 g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.2 g
Cholesterol 30.2 mg
Sodium 372.7 mg
Potassium 169.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate 4.2 g
Dietary Fiber 0.8 g
Sugars 1.3 g
Protein 7.9 g

Cheesy veggies with bacon

It was a typical week night: The Witch has been busy (probably playing on facebook or blogging, but busy nonetheless) and suddenly, the Husband is home! Oh joy, its so good to see you Husband but holy crap! When did it get so late? What's for dinner??? I should have thought about this hours ago! A quick inventory yields pork chops, I decide to simply bread and pan fry them. We'll need vegetables, of course. What can I get the girl to actually eat? More importantly, what do I have on hand?

A can of corn. Zucchini. Cherry tomatoes. Onions, garlic, of course. And bacon. Bacon, why yes! The little Witch loves bacon, I can get her to eat the veggies if there's bacon in them. Hmm...there's extra cheese in the fridge too. She likes cheese. The combo of cheese and bacon would be the double whammy to veggie consumption I was sure of it!

And I was right! She passed up everything else on the plate and demolished the veggies. She even had seconds!! And much to everyone's surprise, she ate it ALL, zucchini and cherry tomatoes included. She claims to hate zucchini, and I saw her start to tell me that she wasn't going to eat that part, but after she put it in her mouth all doubt was gone. This side dish was a hit to say the least - I hope you enjoy it as well!

Cheesy veggies with bacon
makes 4 servings
4 strips bacon, sliced into bits
1/4 onion diced fine
1 clove garlic minced
2-3 ears corn, taken off cob OR 1 drained can of corn
1 zucchini diced
about 15-20 cherry tomatoes OR 3 roma tomatoes diced
4 oz cheddar cheese shredded
1/4 c white wine or water

Cook the bacon in a large sautee pan until crispy. Remove and drain bacon, reserve for later use.

In the same skillet use 4 T of the rendered bacon fat, discarding the rest, and cook the onions and garlic until they start to brown, about 5-7 minutes. Add the diced zucchini and cook until golden, another 10 minutes or so. Stir frequently to avoid hot spots & burning. If using fresh off the cob corn add it now too.

Once the zucchini has started to turn golden add the corn (if using canned) and cherry tomatoes. Stir well to coat everything in the bacon fat. Cover and allow to cook another 5-10 minutes, stirring ever few minutes.

Deglaze the pan with the wine or water. Stir well scraping the bottom to dissolve the cooked on browned bits. Simmer for 4-5 minutes to reduce liquid.

Once the tomatoes burst add the cheese in an even layer over the top and cover with bacon pieces. Cover and remove from heat. Allow cheese to melt, about 2-3 minutes and serve.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
4 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 217.8
Total Fat 14.0 g
Saturated Fat 7.3 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.6 g
Monounsaturated Fat 2.8 g
Cholesterol 39.8 mg
Sodium 417.4 mg
Potassium 303.8 mg
Total Carbohydrate 13.9 g
Dietary Fiber 4.6 g
Sugars 0.8 g
Protein 9.0 g

Spanakopita

My first experience with spanakopita was with my Aunt Katina. She's from Greece and these were always one of her specialties. I remember small triangles of some awesome flaky pastry with cheese and something green in them and that they were amazingly good. My mom always heated them up in our toaster oven - they were a perfect little snack! Little did I know that 'those triangle things that Aunt Katina makes' had a real name and that you could actually get them from other places than Aunt Katina! Who knew?

This recipe might not be an authentic Greek version, I don't know if they use cream cheese or Asiago cheese, my guess would be not. The Kitchen Witch uses these cheeses because, well, they're delicious and work well with the spinach. Something both versions do have in common is the use of feta cheese, its salty sharp tang is what makes this spinach pie delicious. Well, that and the filo dough, and the butter. Mmm...butter...

If you've never worked with filo don't fear it! It's not as hard as it looks. You'll find filo (or phyllo) dough in the frozen section of your grocery, where pie shells are. One box has 2 sleeves of dough in it, and you'll use less than 1/2 of one sleeve for this recipe. Allow the dough to thaw completely before using it, if its even a little frozen it will rip and tear. Been there, done that. Unroll the filo dough and cover it with a damp towel. Have your butter melted and the pan that the dough is going into ready to go. Work quickly as the thin sheets of pastry like to dry out but do not be alarmed if the dough tears. Its very thin and this is to be expected. Honestly, after its all baked no one will ever know if your pastry is pieced together because it kept ripping or if it stayed in one nice sheet. Again, I've had both happen, they both ended up fine.

Spanakopita can be made in a large pie form as I've done here, or you can make smaller appetizer sized ones by folding a bit of filling into strips of buttered filo dough and folding into triangles. Both versions can be frozen with great success. Enjoy this Greek delight!

Spanakopita
makes 8 wedges
12 oz bag frozen cut leaf spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
4 green onions sliced very thin
4 oz cream cheese
1 cup feta cheese
1/4 c asiago cheese, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t dill weed, dried (if using fresh double the amount)
a few gratings of fresh nutmeg or a pinch ground nutmeg
1 t kosher salt
1/8 t white pepper
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter, melted
7 sheets filo dough

Combine everything BUT the butter and the filo dough sheets. Mix well.

Preheat oven to 400F

Using an 8x8 pan butter the bottom and sides liberaly with melted butter. Lay 1 sheet of filo dough over the pan, making one edge flush to the sheet of dough and the other overhanging. Press into place and up the side. Brush that sheet of dough with melted butter. Place another sheet of filo over the 1st one, leaving another edge hanging off. Repeat 2 more times so each side of the pan has a piece of overlapping filo dough.




Spread the spinach and cheese mixture evenly into the pan.



Bring the overhanging sides up and over the cheese mixture, buttering each layer before folding the next over top.

Butter 2 full sheets of filo dough, fold in half and lay on top. Press into place. Butter top layer.

Using a sharp knife cut the pie into wedges or squares before baking.



Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 212.9
Total Fat 16.1 g
Saturated Fat 10.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.6 g
Monounsaturated Fat 3.9 g
Cholesterol 50.3 mg
Sodium 600.9 mg
Potassium 174.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate 11.1 g
Dietary Fiber 1.6 g
Sugars 0.5 g
Protein 7.2 g

Chopped at home week 1: Babaganoosh & A Pork Roulade

Here's the second dish we made during our Chopped at Home playdate. The first dish you'll remember was Pork Wonton soup. Please allow me to introduce the rest of the ingredients we had to work with for this first challenge.

2 Chinese eggplants
3 tomatoes
2 red bell peppers
1 pork loin roast
a bunch of Chinese herbs

Recently I went to a cooking demo where the Chef made a garam masala spice blend - he sampled it to us via some fantastic babaganoosh with roasted red peppers and it was fabulous. I've never been much of an eggplant fan until I tried this babaganoosh, it was really flavorful and addictive. So when presented with 2 large Chinese eggplants I immediately thought of babaganoosh and the fabulous garam masala which I just happened to have all the spices to make it. Turns out my buddy was thinking babaganoosh as well, awesome! So we whipped up a batch of the spice blend and we roasted the veggies. Then we stood there and asked each other, "Ok, now what? We still have this pork loin to use up" and that's when we decided to pound out the loin, slather it in babaganoosh and roll it up roulade style.

We seared the pork rolls in a hot cast iron pan then finished them in the oven. They were pretty darn good I have to say. The babaganoosh filling turned out to be more of a tunnel of babaganoosh rather than a spiral roll but meh, that happens. The flavors blended nicely with the pork and the garam masala spices were really good with it. Would I make this again? Absolutely, with a few changes. First of all, it made a TON of babaganoosh (which we did enjoy with pita chips later that week) so keep that in mind. Second, I don't know that I'd go thru the messy work of making it into a roulade again; rather I'd cut the loin into chops, cook them & serve the babaganoosh as a side dipping sauce. But the flavors were really good and it was fun to work with different ingredients off the cuff.

So that leaves the Chinese herbs. We decided the best idea was to determine WHAT these strange herbs were before using them. Its a DARN good thing we did, too; turns out that we got a medicinal herbal packet, one of them you had to boil 9 times before its considered safe for ingestion. Another one claimed to be "Flavorless, sweet and neutral, however it could cause hallucinations as well as damp excretions" Needless to say we decided to forgo the herbs. There'll be another cooking playdate this weekend, who knows what we'll make next!

Babaganoosh Pork Roulade
Makes about 4 cups of babaganoosh
Pork Roulade serves 4 people
2 Chinese eggplant sliced 1/4 in thin (regular eggplant can be used if the Chinese variety can't be located)
3 tomatoes, halved and seeded
2 red bell peppers, halved and seeded
4 oz cremini mushrooms
Olive oil
kosher salt
pepper
1 T Garam masala
Pork Loin roast
butchers twine or cotton string for tying

Preheat oven to 400F. Distribute vegetables between 2 sheet pans. Drizzle vegetables with about 3 T oil for each pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast. Check veggies half way and rotate pans if needed. If they're not browning much add a bit more oil. Once they've browned remove from oven.

Put roasted vegetables into the work bowl of a stand mixer along with the spices and puree, adding up to 4 T olive oil. Puree until you have a smooth mixture.

Pretty it isn't, however it is darn tasty!

~*~Kitchen Witch Tip: No food processor? No worries! This babaganoosh would be quite good in a chunky fashion as well. Simply chop all the roasted veg to your desired consistency then add the spices and stir. Next time I make it I'll leave it chunkier, more like a salsa~*~

To make the roulade:

Preheat oven to 350F

Cover counter tops with plastic wrap, you'll need 2 overlapping sheets. Dampen counter before laying plastic out for best adhesion. Cut roast in half and cover with plastic. Using the smooth side of a meat mallet pound out the meat to 1/4 in thick, trimming any tendons as you go.



Salt and pepper the meat. Spread babaganoosh over it evenly. Roll the pork along the long side and tie with butchers twine in a running knot. Sprinkle the roll with garam masala. Repeat with 2nd half of meat if you had to cut your roast in half as we did. (click here for more info on how to tie a roulade)



Sear tied roll in a hot cast iron skillet on all 4 sides, placing pan in oven once you start the sear on the last side. Cook pork until internal temperature of 150F is reached. Allow meat to rest at least 5 minutes before removing twine and serving.

Miso glazed chicken stir fry with asparagus and scallions

If you're read this blog with any regularity you'll know that Asian flavors are a favorite of the Witch household. Which is why when I asked the Husband what he wanted for dinner, and he promptly replied "Asian" I was not surprised. Rather I was wondering what I could do that I haven't done recently.

The first thing I knew I had to do was get some green vegetable. Last weeks teriyaki lo mein, while delicious, was missing a green veg component and I was bound, set and determined NOT to make that mistake twice. So off to the grocery store we went. Broccoli was my original intent of vegetation, however when I saw asparagus on sale I quickly changed my mind. A comment of "Ooh, asparagus Mom, can we get that please?" from the little Witch sealed the deal. Something Asian with asparagus it was! I also grabbed a bunch of scallions, which were on sale too, and started planning my meal.

Velveting the chicken is my go to method for all Asian inspired dishes. Its really simple, takes 30 minutes of marinade time, and the results are hands down the best way to go. If you love the soft, melt in your mouth chicken you get from Chinese restaurants, you'll love velveting! For more details about velveting please read this post. Best of all, the ingredients you'll need to produce this silky smooth soft chicken are pantry staples, can't beat that! If you don't stock white wine in your house you can substitute 1 T chicken stock and 1 T rice vinegar.

The sauce was next on my list. There was about 2T of my homemade teriyaki sauce left over in the fridge, adding that seemed like a great idea. I augmented the sauce with a bit more white wine, a little water and a big heaping scoopful of white miso paste. Miso paste can be difficult to locate, its taken the Witch years, and I do mean YEARS to find it locally. Finally I found it in the refrigerated section of my health foods store. It was $6 and should last me for at least 4-6 recipes. Not too shabby! If you can't find miso paste locally there are a lot of merchants online that you can order it from. Miso is soybean paste. The texture it gives the sauce is reminiscent of peanut sauce, thick, creamy and delicious. Its flavor is delicate and savory, perfectly matched for velveted chicken and tender asparagus. The lighter the miso, the gentler the flavor: it ranges from the very mild white or yellow to red and brown, getting more intense in flavor as the color darkens.

The Kitchen Witch is beyond pleased with the results of this dish. The flavors were light, delicate and yet bold all at once. The bright green colors of asparagus and scallion paired beautifully with the white chicken and golden sauce. Miso glazed chicken stir fry with asparagus and scallions is one of the best Asian inspired dishes to come out of the Witches' kitchen yet. I do hope you try and enjoy it as much as we did!

Miso glazed chicken stir fry with asparagus and scallions
makes 4 servings
4 scallions, sliced, greens sliced and reserved for garnish
1 carrot sliced thin
1 stalk celery sliced thin
1/2 bunch (.5 lb) asparagus spears, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 t ginger freshly grated
4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced fine
2 chicken breasts sliced thin against the grain
1 egg white
3 T white wine, divided
3 T corn starch, divided
1 t kosher salt
3 T canola oil, divided
2 T teriyaki sauce (my recipe is here)
1/2 c water, divided
2 T soy sauce
2 T white miso paste

Begin by marinading the chicken in the velveting marinade:
slice chicken thin (1/8 in) across the grain, place into a medium size bowl
coat chicken with salt, toss with fingers to evenly distribute
next add 1 T white wine and mix again with fingers to evenly distribute
add egg white and mix with fingers, taking care not to froth the egg white
add 1 heaping T of the corn starch, coating each piece using fingers to distribute
finally add 1 T canola oil, using fingers to distribute evenly
Cover with plastic wrap and allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Prep your veggies while chicken is marinading.
Prepare the sauce by combining the teriyaki sauce, 2 T white wine, remaining corn starch, 2 T water and the miso paste. Stir well to incorporate all ingredients.

After chicken has marinated bring a pan of water to the boil. Once boiling add 1/4 of the chicken, stir well to break up any clumps. Once the outside turns white, about 30 seconds, remove from water and reserve. Repeat with remaining chicken until finished.

Heat a large sautee pan or a wok over high heat. Add 2 T canola oil. Add the ginger and garlic, stir fry for about 30 seconds, until very aromatic and it just starts to brown.

Add the prepped vegetables next. Stir well to evenly coat in oil/garlic/ginger mixture. Stir fry for about 1 minute. Add 1/4 c water and cover. Allow to steam for 2-3 minutes.

Add parcooked chicken. Stir fry about 2 minutes before adding the sauce mixture. Once chicken is cooked thru and veggies are crisp tender, add the sauce. Stir well as sauce thickens quickly. Cook about 1 minute longer. Serve with hot cooked rice.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 350.5
Total Fat 12.3 g
Saturated Fat 1.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 3.6 g
Monounsaturated Fat 6.5 g
Cholesterol 68.4 mg
Sodium 533.9 mg
Potassium 902.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate 23.5 g
Dietary Fiber 4.6 g
Sugars 2.2 g
Protein 47.1 g

Fried Rice - with chicken and veggies

Fried rice is something that the Witch craves like nothing else. For years she tried to make it at home and had little success. Ok, no success. Turns out there are a few tricks to making successful fried rice at home, and lucky for you the Kitchen Witch is here to share those secrets.

First secret: You DO need cold cooked rice. And this does NOT mean minute rice. I've tried many many times to use minute rice and the results are dismal. Having a rice cooker helps immensely as well, if you're rice cooking challenged like the Witch is. I got my rice cooker - its a small 3 cup one - for $10 at Walgreens. It works great, too!

Second secret: Have all your ingredients ready to go so you can just cook, not prep & then cook. Stir frying goes fast. From start to finish we're looking at 5 minutes of cooking time, max. Having all your veggies, eggs and meat ready to go will only assist you in the cooking process. Don't ignore this secret!

Third secret: Cook in batches. Don't try to cook the veggies, then cook the eggs and then add the rice. You will end up with a nasty, ugly mess of egg covered veggies and slimy rice. Been there, done that. Cook the veg first, remove it. Cook the eggs, remove them. Cook the rice then add everything else back to the pan, stir it all together and that's that!

Fried rice isn't that hard once you learn the techniques. Experiment with the veggies and flavors that you like the most. Its a great way to use up left overs and recreate them into a whole new, yummy and different dish. Enjoy!

Fried Rice
makes 4 generous servings
3 cups cold cooked white rice (basmati is nice)
3-4 T oil
4 green onions sliced thin, including 1/3 of the green part (reserve 1T for garnish)
1 carrot diced fine
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red or green bell pepper, diced fine
1 stalk celery sliced thin
4 eggs, whipped for scrambled eggs
3-4 T soy sauce
1 chicken breast, cooked and diced
1 handful of frozen peas

*~*Kitchen Witch Tip: Prep all your ingredients and have them ready to go. This is very important when making fried rice or stir fries because they move quick and you won't have time to slice & dice while the 1st step is cooking. Take the time to gather your mies en place (a French term meaning everything in its place, as in set up before cooking) and you'll have a far greater success.~*~

Heat a wok or large cast iron skillet over high heat. Once its screamin' hot, literally smoking, add 1 T of the oil and the veggies. Stir rapidly to ensure even cooking and avoid burning. Cook the veggies for 1-2 minutes or until they start to brown and wilt. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add a touch more oil to the hot pan. Add the whipped eggs. Scramble eggs and remove from pan once they've just set up. You will be adding these back to the rice so a little underdone now is fine, they'll cook longer later in the process.

Add the remaining oil to the hot pan. Add the cold rice and press it down into the pan to maximize surface contact. Let it cook undisturbed for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Using a spatula stir fry the rice, scraping up any cooked on bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook rice until its nicely fried and has color on most of the grains. Add the soy sauce, chicken, veggies and 3/4 of the scrambled eggs. Stir well to incorporate all ingredients. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until everything is warmed through.

Transfer cooked fried rice to a serving bowl and top with remaining eggs and reserved green onions. If desired drizzle with soy sauce before serving.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 413.6
Total Fat 16.4 g
Saturated Fat 2.5 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 4.0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 8.3 g
Cholesterol 246.7 mg
Sodium 1,033.2 mg
Potassium 632.5 mg
Total Carbohydrate 41.8 g
Dietary Fiber 1.7 g
Sugars 2.8 g
Protein 24.9 g