Zucchini Ricotta Risotto

I know, I know, I haven't posted in days! Just about 2 weeks, actually. =( It's been a busy two weeks, with not much time to cook, take pictures, and then write. Plus, my Mom and Sister came down to visit, and we ate out while they were here, so there was also less need to cook. But, needless to say, I'm back! This week is still pretty busy, but I decided that we just needed to make time and make something scrumptious. Since Greg and I now work the same shift (hooray!), we made this risotto together for lunch. It was so fun to cook with him! It just felt great to have something cooked for the next day. We tend to cook dishes that will feed us for at least two days. I always feel so relaxed when the cooking is done, and we eat so much better. I just need to remind myself of this whenever it seems that there isn't enough time.

I found this recipe in a vegetarian cookbook at Barnes and Nobel (our regular cheap date). Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the book it was from! But, it looked so great that I had to write down the gist of the recipe. The original recipe only called for you to season the dish with salt and pepper. That sounded a bit to bland. We used nutmeg, oregano, rosemary, cayenne pepper, bay leaf, and of course, salt and pepper.

Using ricotta in the rice really helped make this seem super super creamy and fattening, without adding ANY fat! We also added a bit of parmesan after the ricotta for more flavor, but it was about 1/4 C. of parmesan for about 6 servings of rice! That works out to 2 tsp parmesan per serving, which is 20 calories and 1.5 g of fat.

When Greg took a bite, he said "this is heavenly", which roughly translates to "we'll make this again for years". We were trying to think of what we might do next time when we make it. Neither of us are big mushroom fans, but we both think that the nutty flavor of the risotto would go great with mushrooms. Maybe stuffed into a portabella cap?

Recipe: Serves 6-8 as a side

1 C. dried rice.
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1/3 C. ricotta cheese
1/4 C. parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
3 gloves garlic, minced
4 C. chicken broth (recipe called for 3 C. chicken broth and 1 C. white wine, we didn't have any wine, so we used all chicken broth)
2 medium zucchini, sliced into rounds and then quartered
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil

-Heat oil on a large skillet to medium heat. Add garlic and onion and cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.

-In a separate pot, bring chicken broth to a simmer.

-Add rice to the skillet once the onion is cooked. Stir to coat with oil. You may need to add more oil. "Fry" the rice until it is mostly translucent and smells nutty. About 2-5 minutes, careful not to burn it.

-Once the rice is ready, start adding about 1/3 C. of liquid to the rice at a time. Stir continuously until the liquid is mostly absorbed. Continue this process until there is about 1 C. of liquid remaining. Once there is only 1 C. remaining, add the liquid, spices & zucchini to the rice. Cover and turn down to a simmer. Let cook for about 20-30 minutes until rice is completely cooked.

-When the rice is cooked and most of the liquid has been absorbed, add the ricotta and parmesan. Stir to evenly incorporate. Serve warm.

-Enjoy!

Moroccan Chicken

Yum, yyyyuuummmmmm, YUM! Well if you couldn't tell, we really enjoyed this dish. I found the recipe on epicurious while searching for recipes that have chickpeas. Ironically, I forgot to add the chickpeas. The name lead me to do a bit of research on Moroccan food. It appears that this is actually based on traditional Moroccan cooking! I was so impressed. All of the spices, and cooking method for this particular cut of meat checked out to be fairly authentic. I used chicken thighs, and the less ideal cuts of meat are cooked in a Tajine (large pot) in a sauce, creating a "stew". Very cool.

All of the flavors in this are very familiar to American tastes, so if you are even a bit adventurous, this would be worth trying. One word of warning, it is very aromatic, so crack open a window while cooking!

I made this while Greg was at work, and he had a re-heated serving once he got home (10pm..better than midnight!). It was even great re-heated. I was a bit nervous to see if he would like it or not, but after one bite he started getting his tell tale "let's make this one again" smile.

Recipe: (doubled version from epicurious, serves 4-5)

2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
1 pkg chicken thighs or meat with bone and skin (~2.5lbs)
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp lemon zest, fine
3 tsp flour
3 C. chicken broth
2 TBS honey
1 C. chickpeas
2 C. rice, cooked
1/2 onion, chopped

-Cook rice as directed by package. If you are using dry grains, when there is about 20 minutes left on the rice, start cooking the chicken. If you are using instant rice, start cooking when you return the chicken to the pan after searing (step 5).

-Heat oil in a very large skillet (large enough so that the pieces of meat do not touch) around medium high to high. I actually had to use two skillets, splitting the ingredients in half into each.

-Season chicken with sea salt and ground black pepper. Sear skin side down.

-Remove chicken, set aside.

-Reduce heat to medium, add chopped onion, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, lemon zest & flour. Stir to create a paste. About 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and honey. Stir to combine. The sauce will be very thin and water like at this point.

-Add the chicken, skin side up. Turn down to a simmer and cook for 8-10 minutes, until cooked through. Leave uncovered so the sauce can reduce.

-Once the chicken is cooked, remove from pan. Add chickpeas and continue to simmer for 3-5 minutes.

-Serve chicken over rice. Pour sauce with chickpeas on top of chicken.

-Enjoy!!!

Pumpkin Pasta

Even if it might be 80 degrees outside, it is fall! This is one of my favorite comfort foods. It sounds interesting, and looks interesting, but let me assure you that it is wonderful. We saw this recipe in a Rachel Ray cook book, titled Pumpkin Cauliflower Pasta. I like pasta, squash, and cauliflower, so I thought "why not". There are a decent number of flavors going on here, and it tastes like it would be more difficult to make than it really is.

Over time, we've changed the herbs/spices we use and the portions of ingredients. The recipe calls for chicken broth. We've tried both vegetable broth and water, but they just don't add near as much flavor, so chicken broth it is. I've used both parmesan and feta cheeses, and a combo of both (depending on what is in the fridge). The original recipe calls for heavy cream. We started by using skim milk instead, and lately we've just been leaving that out all together. The pumpkin puree really makes a nice texture for the sauce.

I know we've served this to guests before, and I'm sure we'll serve it to more people for years to come.

8 oz whole wheat pasta
1/2 C. pumpkin puree
1/4 C. parmesan cheese
1 C. Chicken broth or liquid of choice
1 head of cauliflower cut into florets, or 1 16 oz bag of frozen cauliflower, thawed (but the florets in the bags tend to be a bit too big)
2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
1 1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

-Bring water a to a boil. Cook pasta as directed

-While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium high. Add garlic, rosemary, thyme. Cook for about 2 minutes.

-Add cauliflower. Stir to coat with oil. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.

-Once pasta is cooked, drain & return to stock pot. The cauliflower should be done soon. Once the cauliflower is done, pour into the pasta. Add pumpkin puree, nutmeg, cinnamon, ground pepper, salt and parmesan. Stir to combine. Serve warm.

-Enjoy!