Risotto with Asparagus, Spinach, Peas and Parmesan

We are having our January thaw with temps in the the 60 degree (F) range. I so much appreciate that promise of spring. The warmth and sun made me want to cook this comforting and fresh tasting risotto. It's creamy and absolutely perfect for a cool, spring-like day. 

Ingredients (serves 4):

6 cups chicken broth

5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

1 shallot, finely diced

2 cups Arborio rice

1 cup dry white wine

2 cups asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces (fresh or frozen and thawed work)

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

Two handfuls fresh spinach leaves (about 1 cup, packed) chopped

1 cup grated parmesan

Salt and/or pepper to taste

Parsley to garnish

Directions:

Heat the broth over low heat in a medium saucepan.

In a large, heavy bottom pan, melt 4 Tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the shallots. Cook, stirring constantly, until the shallots are soft and fragrant, but not brown.

Stir in the rice, making sure the rice is well coated. Cook, stirring often, for about 4 minutes.

Add the wine and cook until the wine is almost completely absorbed. Add several ladlesful of the broth-enough to cover the rice- and cook, stirring often, until the broth is absorbed.  Keep adding more broth, letting each addition become absorbed before adding more.

Continue adding the broth and stirring for about 8 minutes.

Add in the asparagus and adding more broth until the rice is soft.

Add in the spinach leaves and peas and cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes. Stir in the last Tablespoon of butter and the cup of parmesan. Stir vigorously for a minute until the risotto becomes creamy and the butter is completely melted. Taste for seasonings and add salt and/or pepper if you wish.

Serve immediately with extra parmesan and parsley.

Creamy Cabbage, Leek and Swiss Casserole

Oh my goodness. Please try this recipe the next time you have some cabbage that you don’t know what to do with. The cabbage is cooked long and slow, allowing it to become a sweet, tender, gently flavored vegetable. I am watching what I eat, so I was hesitant to include bacon, but then I realized that 3 strips of ‘ready bacon’ only has 80 calories and 5 g of fat. That chance really paid off. This casserole is tender, creamy, luscious and simply wonderful. Plus, CARAWAY!  One of my favorite flavors that I don’t get often enough.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon canola oil

3 slices pre-cooked bacon slices, chopped

4 cups shredded cabbage

1 cup sliced leeks (or onions)

2 teaspoons caraway seeds

2 teaspoons Dijon or stone ground mustard

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1 cup fat free half and half

1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

Black pepper to taste

1 cup shredded low fat Swiss cheese

1 Tablespoon grated parmesan cheese

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 1.5 quart casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the chopped bacon. Cook until the bacon just starts to crisp. Add cabbage, leeks and caraway seeds. Cook, stirring often,  for 10 minutes or until the cabbage starts to wilt and the leeks begin to turn transparent. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the mustard, vinegar and sugar. Gradually whisk in the half and half, flour, salt and pepper. Stir in the Swiss cheese.

Add the cabbage mixture to the cheese mixture and toss thoroughly. Pour into the prepared casserole dish and top with the parmesan cheese.

Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes or until the parmesan is golden brown and the sides of the casserole are bubbly.

Steak Flavored Roasted Chickpeas

This is a seriously good snack for anybody who likes crunchy, salty, and crispy things. I admire all the people who roast their chickpeas with exotic seasonings, but I like a simple approach.  Oh, and these little beauties have a lot less fat and much more protein and fiber than chips. Just sayin’.

Ingredients:

2 (15.5 ounce) cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas) drained and rinsed.

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon steak seasoning (I like Montreal Steak or Chicago Steak seasoning)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Toss the drained chickpeas and olive oil together on the baking sheet and sprinkle with the steak seasoning. Toss everything together with your fingertips and bake for 1 hour (add an extra 15 minutes if you want them really crunchy), stirring halfway through. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.

Just so you know, I am only posting calories, fat and fiber information on here for myself. I always need to come back to what I am doing and why. This helps me a great deal, so I hope you can bear with me when I say that chickpeas (which I haven’t learned to like raw—yet) are kind of nutritional powerhouses. A half cup of raw chickpeas has 120 calories, 2 grams of fat and 6 grams of fiber. 

Cucumber and Onion Crispbread Sandwich

Today is one of those days that is absolutely frigid, but seems so clean and fresh! It’s 9 degrees F, but the sun is bright, the sky is blue and the little bit of snow sparkles. I call these days “Swedish Days” because I always think this is what Sweden must be like in winter-just gorgeous. Definitely puts me in the mood for something crisp and clean, like this open faced sandwich.

Ingredients (4 servings) :

For the cucumber and onion salad:

½ cup white vinegar

1 cup water

2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

2 cups thinly sliced cucumber

1 cup thinly sliced white onion

1 to 2 teaspoons dried dill

1 teaspoon capers

For assembly:

8 crispbreads (about 3 by 5 inches)-usually found by the crackers in the store

½ cup farmer’s cheese (or drained cottage cheese)

A few thinly sliced radishes

A few cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

Coarse sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Directions:

Make the salad by combining the vinegar, water and sugar in a non-reactive, microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute or until the sugar dissolves. Add in the cucumber, onion, dill and capers and let marinate in the refrigerator for 30 to 60 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. This salad gets better over time, so if you can let it marinate longer, please do so.

Place the crisp breads on a work surface and divide the farmer’s cheese evenly between them, spreading it out to the edges. Lift some of the salad out of its liquid and let the excess liquid drip off. Place on top of the farmer’s cheese then top with a few radish slices, a piece or two of cherry tomato and sea salt and pepper to taste.

So, now that the recipe is done, I just want to say that I am so thrilled with finding Lifeway® Farmer’s Cheese. I got it on a whim when I saw it at Fresh Thyme® market, which is similar to a Lucky’s®, if you have one of those close. Anyway, it is worth searching out—it is so rich, creamy and tangy. Plus, it is probiotic, has 40 calories for 2 Tablespoons, with only 1.5 grams of fat and 3 grams of protein. Pretty damn impressive.

I also was happy to find Kavli® Crispy Thin All Natural Whole Grain Crispbread. Three (count ‘em 3!) pieces is only 50 calories, with no fat, no cholesterol and 2 grams of fiber.

Bagna Cauda

A former co-worker gave me this recipe from her mother many years ago and it is one of my favorite things in the world. ‘Bagna Cauda’ means ‘hot bath’ so I’m told because vegetables are dipped in the warm sauce. This is a great, quick appetizer to put out instead of the usual, hum drum crudité platter. I know-you are going to tell me you don’t like anchovies. Trust me, this will change your mind. When anchovies melt, they develop a rich, deep nutty flavor that is incredible. You can keep the bagna cauda warm by putting it in a butter warmer over a tea light if you like. .

Ingredients:

4 Tablespoons butter

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, minced

4 anchovy fillets

Pinch of sea salt

Assorted vegetables like radishes, celery, grape tomatoes, carrot sticks, Cipollini onions, etc.

Directions: Heat butter and olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat until the butter melts. Add the garlic and cook until the garlic is fragrant and soft, but not brown. Turn the heat to medium low and add the anchovies. Cook, stirring, about 10 minutes until the anchovies dissolve. Add a pinch of sea salt and serve warm with vegetables. 

Swiss Chard Ricotta Dumplings with Tomato and Fontina Cheese Sauces

I happen to love dark, leafy greens and I love having both a red sauce and a white sauce on my baked pastas (like cannelloni), so here you go. These dumplings are soft little pillows of goodness. They practically melt in your mouth. If you don’t want to go through all of these steps, just make the dumplings with thawed spinach, use a jarred marinara for the tomato sauce and simply sprinkle the fontina and Parmesan cheeses over the top before baking. You won’t be sorry.

Ingredients (serves 6):

For the dumplings:

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1/3 cup chopped pancetta (about 2 ounces)

¼ cup finely chopped onion

5 packed cups of  Swiss Chard that has been de-stemmed, cleaned, dried and chopped (can sub out 2 two 10 ounce packages of frozen spinach thawed and squeezed dry OR collard greens—whatever dark leafy green you like)

1 teaspoon salt

1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese

4 egg yolks

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Pinch freshly grated nutmeg

4 to 6 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

About 1 cup flour for rolling the dough

6 cups water for boiling

2 teaspoons salt for boiling

For the tomato sauce:

1 Tablespoon butter

¼ cup finely chopped onion

1 (28 ounce) can tomato puree

Salt to taste

For the fontina cheese sauce:

3 Tablespoons butter

3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 cups milk

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup grated fontina cheese

¼ cup grated Parmesan

Directions:

For the dumplings: Heat the Tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the chopped pancetta and cook just until it just starts to brown. Add in the onion and cook for about 3 minutes until the onion is soft, but not browned. Add in the Swiss chard and salt and cook for about 8 minutes until the chard wilts and there is no more liquid in the bottom of the skillet. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, egg yolks, Parmesan and nutmeg. Stir in the chard mixture and combine thoroughly. Add the flour by Tablespoons until the mixture becomes a soft but firm dough that doesn’t stick to your hands. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to firm the dough up.

Spread the 1 cup of flour in a large shallow bowl and remove the dough from the refrigerator. Shape the dough into small balls about the size of a walnut and then flatten them slightly into a disk shape. Roll the dough in the flour, shake off any excess, and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment. You will end up with about 40 dumplings.

To cook, bring a large pot of water up to a boil and add 2 teaspoons salt. Drop the dumplings in about 6 at a time until they rise to the surface-about 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a large plate. Repeat until all the dough is used.

For the tomato sauce:

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook about 3 minutes until the onion is soft. Add the tomato puree and salt. Cook for 10 minutes until the sauce is simmering. Turn the heat to low and keep warm.

For the fontina cheese sauce:

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Using a whisk, add the flour and combine thoroughly. Gradually whisk in the milk and bring to a simmer. Add the fontina a handful at a time, stirring after each addition until the cheese melts. Add in the Parmesan and nutmeg and stir. Turn the heat to low and keep warm.

Assembly and Baking:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray a 3 quart casserole dish with cooking spray.

Ladle in enough tomato sauce to cover the bottom of the casserole dish. Lay the dumplings in the tomato sauce. Ladle on more tomato sauce and then some of the fontina cheese sauce.

Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until the cheese sauce is bubbling. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving.