Healthy Spicy Spinach Dip with Pine Nuts

Feeling a little guilty after the holiday indulgences? Well, here's a delicious little treat that you can enjoy with a clear conscience ~ A perfect little nibble with your favorite beverage, and it would make a great choice for a Superbowl party, too.




First a small amount of finely minced onion is sauteed with 1/4 cup pine nuts, when the onion and nuts are a deep golden color a little ground cumin, ground coriander, pure chili powder and a pinch of ground cayenne is stirred into the mix just in until fragrant. (I used chipotle chili for it's slightly smoky flavor).  While that mixture is allowed to cool you can combine the base of the dip/spread.
 Rather than sour cream or cream cheese, the base is nonfat, thick Greek-style yogurt (no guilt there!) I used Fage brand with 0 fat ~ I really like it's creamy, thick consistency.  For the spinach ~ you can use frozen, thawed chopped spinach but I just gently steamed 10-ounces of fresh baby spinach, squeezed out as much liquid as possible then finely chopped it up. I like the texture of the freshly steamed much better than the frozen spinach in this particular recipe.
To finish the recipe just combine the cooled onion-spice mixture with the yogurt-spinach mixture, stir until thoroughly mixed together, add salt to taste and stir again. I also stirred in a couple of drops of lemon juice, and garnished with additional pine nuts. You can make this up to 24 hours ahead, covered and refrigerated. You can stir in a little milk if you would like a thinner dip.
Serve with thin slices of toasted baguette, tortilla chips, toasted pita crisps, crudites.



This also makes a nice condiment for grilled chicken, fish, or beef. If you try it I hope you like it as much as I do!
Click here for a printable copy of the recipe.
Thanks for stopping by friends!

Swiss Chard and Parmesan Torte with Press-In Olive Oil Pastry

This is one of my "Go-To Tried and True" recipes ~ it might become one of yours as well.  It's easy to make, budget friendly, healthful and very tasty!

Here's the story ~
A dear friend of mine shared this one several years ago and it's been a favorite ever since. When she told me she discovered it in Patricia Well's cookbook "Trattoria" I was surprised, as I had bought that book when it was first published (1993 by William Morrow & Co.) and had made several of the the wonderful recipes, but somehow missed THIS one! So thank you my friend . . . Ciao, and you know who you are! :)
It is an easy recipe to put together, and I especially like that there is NO need to roll out the pastry ~ it is a press-in olive oil pastry ~ it bakes up almost cracker-like, sturdy and crispy so you can cut the slices thinly and pick the slices up with your fingers as an appetizer with a glass of your favorite beverage if you like.
Patricia explains that tortes similar to this one are a popular Mediterranean snack and can be found at pastry and snack shops in many parts of Italy, and some versions contain pine nuts and raisins.  I haven't tried either of those additions, but maybe next time. 

(Swiss Chard, I love it! But it you don't, you can use fresh spinach instead.)

Another wonderful thing about this recipe; it can be prepared ahead of time and is traditionally cut into thin slices and served at room temperature ~ (again,  just the perfect nibble with a glass of white wine as an appetizer.)  But I usually serve it warm from the oven for lunch or a light dinner with some sliced tomatoes with a vinaigrette drizzle ~ or some other kind of simple salad.  It certainly does have enough flavor so it tastes great at room temperature (and my friend and I agree, a slice is even tasty right from the fridge the next day.)
Patricia Wells ~ I love her cookbooks!

The steps for assembly:

Pastry ~ 


1 cup all purpose flour, a pinch of sea salt, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil.  That's it!



Put the flour and salt in a bowl and mix in the water.



The mixture will look raggedy ~



Stir in the olive oil ~



The dough will begin to clump together, you can use your hands to help it along, but no need to over mix ~ it's perfectly fine if you can see streaks of olive oil.



Press the dough into a shallow 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom.  I don't have a 10-inch pan so I use an 8-inch instead, (this one is a deep dish, but that doesn't matter.)   And don't worry, the dough does not have to reach all the way up the sides, whichever size pan you use.Set aside.

For the filling:



1 pound Swiss chard, tough stems removed. (I didn't quite have a pound this time ~ not a problem)*, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, 3 large eggs (they don't have to be from your own hens ~ as these are. :D) 1 cup grated Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese ~ do use the real stuff here, and grate your own.  It makes all the difference in the world.
* To prepare the chard, wash and shake off extra moisture, remove tough stems and discard. Tear or cut the chard leaves into pieces and cut into smaller pieces using a food processor fitted with the metal blade; best done in several batches.  Alternately you can just cut the chard leaves with a knife.  I've cut them into medium size pieces, and sometimes smaller pieces, it really doesn't matter.  Just try not to chop them too finely.
Place the chard in a wide frying pan, season with salt and pepper, then wilt over low heat, tossing a couple of times until most of the liquid is evaporated. This only takes about 2 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.




Crack the eggs into a medium size bowl (I just use the same bowl that  I mixed the dough in.)


Whisk until combined.


Add the wilted Swiss Chard and grated Parmigiano to the eggs



And stir to combine thoroughly.



Spoon the chard mixture into the pastry, then bake in a preheated 375˚F oven for about 30 to 45 minutes (the filling should be lightly be lightly browned and firm.)  Remove to a baking rack to cool to room temperature, or serve warm right out of the oven.  If you serve it at room temperature ~ cut it into thin slices (it's firm enough to eat with your fingers.)  When I serve it for lunch or dinner I cut it into larger slices as shown here.
If you try this one (and I hope you will),  I hope you enjoy!



For a printable copy of the recipe head over to my recipe blog by clicking HERE.

Recommended:

Wonderful book and highly rated by those who own it; just a few good pictures, but it is LOADED with wonderful recipes and great introductions and tips from Patricia for each one. You get a lot of great recipes, and tips for your money with this one, not a bunch of "fluff".

Years ago I used to only buy the shiny tinned tart pans from Williams-Sonoma, because they looked so authentic & *French*.  Although they look lovely on display on the French Baker's rack, I quickly tired of the extra care (to prevent rust, staining, etc.) I switched over to non-stick a long time ago, and haven't looked back. Save yourself the headache ~ get the non-stick!

Come see Foodie Friday with Designs by Gollum!

Thanks for stopping by today friends.
Cheers!  ~m.

Parmesan French Toast with Wilted Garlic Spinach

First, an explanation...If you've been following my blog for the past couple of weeks, you know I've been doing a lot of recipes from Donna Hay's Cookbooks. I'm a big fan of Donna's and have almost every one of her books. Actually I collect and have collected all kinds of cookbooks for over many, many years. I have read nearly every single one, but I don't cook from all of them, rather I use them for inspiration for my own recipes.

Donna HayPhoto from 'THE AGE', AustraliaBut Donna's books are different ~ with a photo for virtually every recipe, I really like the straightforward simplicity of her recipes.Bonus: They are generally very healthy, too.A home economist by trade, her focus is on fresh, modern food. And her food philosophy is "I want to making cooking simple for people, so they don't have to use too many pans when cooking. So there's not too much washing up", and "to keep ingredients to a minimum, choose three good flavours that go together, not seven."
I suddenly felt compelled to begin actually sharing some of the recipes I've made from her books, and trying new ones to share with you. This is one I had not tried before, it is from her magazine.Bruschettas and Crostinis are a favorite of ours so when I read this recipe, basically an amped-up version of those, I knew it would be one we might like.


It's a delicious, savory take on French Toast.









It's substantial, and best eaten with knife and fork because the bread is soaked in beaten eggs, finely grated Parmesan cheese, cracked pepper, then cooked just as you would French toast.









In the same pan, a clove of minced garlic is heated through, in a bit of butter, over medium-high heat to release its fragrance, the spinach is added for just a moment to wilt.







Then piled on top of the still warm, savory French Toast with more finely grated Parmesan sprinkled over all.

Um.... I just have to say that it is quite good. Dangerously good.

I could eat more than one. But I resisted. :)

I think this is best with thickly sliced French bread ~ I used a thick slice from the 5-Minute Artisan Bread (I had made a boule the previous day.)

It worked perfectly.

If you like the ingredients, I think you'll like the finished dish.

Click HERE for a printable recipe.

Please leave me a comment, and if you try this recipe

I hope you love it too!

Spinach Mini-Meatballs in Crispy Frico Cups

In yesterday's post, "Spinach-Meatball Minestrone with Tortellini" I mentioned how the meatballs are delicious as appetizers, so I always make extra (they freeze well.)

Usually I just warm the meatballs and served them with warm Marinara sauce for dipping (or in a chafing dish, together.)

This time I tried something a little different ~ I made Frico (or Parmesan Crisps) in free-form shapes and placed a mini-meatball in each cup along with a small spoonful of store-bought Artichoke Salsa.

These are very small; about two-bite size. They received thumbs up at my house.

You can make the frico ahead and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator, heat the meatballs in the oven (or microwave), then just dollop a little sauce, or salsa of your choice into each cup. It's good to serve them with cocktail napkins, or small plates as the crispy frico tends to crumble ~ oooh, but they are so good; a little salty and tender-brittle. You can sprinkle a little cayenne, smoked paprika, or freshly ground black pepper on them to shake the flavor up a bit.

There are several tutorials on making the Parmesan Crisps/Frico; I like Alton Brown's version (HERE) and the seasoning variations he suggests.

To form the cup or curved shapes:

Allow the crisps to cool for a moment after you remove the pan from the oven, then with a thin metal spatula place each crisp over an upended shot glass (or something similar), gently form the shape you wish then allow to cool completely. As the frico cool they will become crisp.

Please click HERE if you would like the recipe for the Spinach-Mini Meatballs, (it's posted on my alternate blog.)

Updated Spinach ~ Artichoke Dip

Fair warning! This one is going to spoil you for any other Spinach-Artichoke Dip.

When Cory featured a revised version of Hot Spinach-Artichoke Dip on his excellent blog "Culinary Cory", I was compelled to try it.

Cory explains that he saw a similar idea on Stacey's blog "Stacey Snacks".

Please go check them both out, there are always tempting recipes to try on each of their blogs, and their photography is exceptional.

This is a punched up, slimmed-down version of the dip and it is delicious! Less mayonnaise and no cream cheese allows for the flavor of the vegetables and good cheese to dominate.

Another notable difference is the Panko-Butter crumb topping. (I added a little freshly grated Parmesan cheese to the mix after melting the butter and tossing the crumbs.)

I really liked the idea of using canned artichokes, I used a can of artchoke crowns (as that's what I had on hand), and coarsely chopped them for good, chunky texture.

Instead of frozen spinach I used fresh baby spinach, as Cory did ~ I liked the milder flavor and non-fiberous texture that fresh spinach lends to the dish.

The only other change I made to Stacey and Cory's versions is that I added a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and a little finely grated lemon zest to the blend.

I served it with my homemade Rosemary Bread (the recipe can be found here on my blog. I used the same recipe, except I used chopped fresh rosemary and formed the dough into two baguettes this time. Then sliced and toasted it.

This is a delicious hot appetizer. I made it for my houst guests this week; it was polished it off in no time. Everyone loved it.

A huge thank you to both Cory and Stacey. This one goes into the 'keeper' file. :)