The Every Day

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January 21st, 2012

My first recipe: feta & sweet potato stew!

Tonight I made my first original recipe (well, aside from when I saute vegetables and throw a sauce on it) and I was very pleased with how it turned out! Spicey, slightly creamy with a little bit of tang from feta and a little sweet from the potatoes.  So here it goes: my feta and sweet potato stew:

1 large or two medium sweet potato, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic minced

1 can chickpeas

1 can chopped tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 carrot

2 stalks of celery

1/4 of a bulb of fennel

1/4 teaspoon cayanne pepper

1 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1 t paprika

1 t dried thyme

1 teaspoon salt

3 1/2 cups water or vegetable stock

100g feta cheese, roughly chopped 

2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for roasting

Heat the oven to 350F. Coat the sweet potato with olive oil and toss with salt. Roast in the oven for 40 minutes. Meanwhile roughly chop the carrot, celery and fennel and put into a food processor until it’s finely minced. 

Heat the olive oil in a pot, add the onion and cook until just gone soft.  Add the garlic and cook for a minute more.  Add the carrot, celery and fennel mix and cook for five minutes.  Then stir in the tomato paste and spices and cook for two minutes before adding the chickpeas, thyme and stock  

Simmer for 10 minutes, then add the sweet potato and feta, simmer for five minutes more.  Taste to adjust seasoning.  The stew should be quite thick but you can thin it out with more water/stock if you prefer something closer to soup. ENJOY!

December 7th, 2010
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Dumplings With Radicchio Taken from the NYT Dining & Wine section.  I made this for Thanksgiving dinner but I think it’s a great wintery recipe to be enjoyed while it’s still cold and snowy outsitde.  It’s dead simple to make and seriously delicious.  The dumplings are super light and pillowy, but if you prefer a firmer texture, add more gluten-free flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to the pasta dough. Ingredients 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin puree 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 1 cup store-bought gluten-free flour blend (I used regular flour which worked fine) Salt 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 medium onion, finely chopped 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 1 small head radicchio, sliced into 1/4-inch strips (about 2 cups) 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley Preparation 1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, eggs, flour and 1 teaspoon salt to make the dough. 2. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and red pepper flakes and cook until softened, about five minutes; remove from the heat and set aside. 3. When the water comes to a boil, use a teaspoon to scoop up the dough and form a dumpling, then carefully slide the dumpling off the spoon and into the boiling water. Continue forming dumplings until half the dough is used. Cook until the dumplings float, then simmer for about two minutes; remove with a slotted spoon and add to the saucepan with the onion. Repeat with the remaining dumpling dough. 4. Return the saucepan with the onion to medium-high heat. Toss in three-quarters of the radicchio and stir gently until just wilted, about two minutes; season with 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste. To serve, divide the dumplings and sauce among four bowls and top with the remaining radicchio and parsley. Yield: Serves 4.

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Dumplings With Radicchio

Taken from the NYT Dining & Wine section.  I made this for Thanksgiving dinner but I think it’s a great wintery recipe to be enjoyed while it’s still cold and snowy outsitde.  It’s dead simple to make and seriously delicious.  The dumplings are super light and pillowy, but if you prefer a firmer texture, add more gluten-free flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to the pasta dough.

Ingredients

1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin puree

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup store-bought gluten-free flour blend (I used regular flour which worked fine)

Salt

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 small head radicchio, sliced into 1/4-inch strips (about 2 cups)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preparation

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, eggs, flour and 1 teaspoon salt to make the dough.

2. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and red pepper flakes and cook until softened, about five minutes; remove from the heat and set aside.

3. When the water comes to a boil, use a teaspoon to scoop up the dough and form a dumpling, then carefully slide the dumpling off the spoon and into the boiling water. Continue forming dumplings until half the dough is used. Cook until the dumplings float, then simmer for about two minutes; remove with a slotted spoon and add to the saucepan with the onion. Repeat with the remaining dumpling dough.

4. Return the saucepan with the onion to medium-high heat. Toss in three-quarters of the radicchio and stir gently until just wilted, about two minutes; season with 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste. To serve, divide the dumplings and sauce among four bowls and top with the remaining radicchio and parsley.

Yield: Serves 4.