Okay, this is the most recent Recipe Thread

[Urbane Guerrilla]

Quinoa One Skillet Meal, or, Garlic Chicken Stir Fry with Quinoa, Peppers, and Basil

Had some quinoa in a box, and there was a recipe on the back of the box. It's pretty flexible, turns out. I substituted beef strips for chicken, and didn't have any bell peppers.

Prepare quinoa in saucepan:

1 cup quinoa grains
2 cups chicken broth or stock

Soak quinoa in two or three times the volume of water to rinse away bitter flavor.
Simmer quinoa and broth together in saucepan until all of broth is absorbed.

While this is going on, prep everything else:

1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless Chicken breasts, cut in 1" pieces
4 TBSP Garlic Olive Oil, or increase garlic from amount below
1 sm Onion, sliced thin
1 red Bell Pepper, 1 yellow Bell Pepper, seeded and sliced thin
5 or more cloves Garlic, sliced thin or minced
20 leaves fresh Basil, julienned
Parmesan Cheese, grated
Salt & Pepper to taste.

With everything sliced and readied, heat skillet, add Oil. Saute Chicken 5 minutes or until golden. Add Onions and Peppers, sauteing one or two additional minutes; add Garlic and saute until Peppers are slightly limp but still bright (adds to dish's looks), a minute or two more. Season with Salt and Pepper.

Remove skillet from heat; add prepared Quinoa and julienned Basil, toss until Basil is well wilted. Garnish generously with Parmesan. I served it in soup plates.

For variation, add tomatoes, or use another meat, sliced thin the way you'd prep meat for stir frying. Beef or pork could stand to be marinaded for this recipe in something acidic and tenderizing. Some may like a little drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

Quinoa can be fixed in a rice cooker without trouble: one volume of quinoa to two volumes water or stock. With stock it comes off very like a pilaf.

[Urbane Guerrilla]

This is ratatouille by the classic, slow technique, but ratatouille can be cooked entirely on top of the stove and more quickly without peeling or seeding. It can be left chunky or cooked to a puree. Add cheeses such as feta, goat cheese, mozzarella or Parmesan at the end.

Ratatouille can be an all-vegetable entree, a side dish or a filling of crepes and pita sandwiches. It may be served cold, and ageing in the fridge improves it.

If you really don't want to peel the eggplant, take a very sharp knife and lop the skin off in six or eight pieces; you won't lose much flesh to this. Chop the zucchini and any other squash the same size as the tomatoes, about 1-inch cubes. With the eggplant it matters little if it is chopped so or simply sliced as it will meld into the tomatoes.

Ratatouille

1 Eggplant, 1 1/2 to 2 lb, peeled/trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes
About 1/2 c Olive Oil, divided
2 Zucchini, cut in 1/4" slices
1 large Red Bell Pepper, cored, seeded, sliced
1 large Green Bell Pepper
1 large Onion, sliced
2 c Tomatoes, chopped, seeded
1 TBSP Tomato Paste
1 TBSP Minced Garlic
1/2 c minced fresh Basil leaves (or 2 tsp dried)
1 tsp dried Thyme}
1 Bay leaf ...........}optional: Herbes de Provence herb blend may be substituted (rosemary, marjoram, basil, bay leaf, thyme) -- basically whichever you've got on hand. Try a little extra Thyme too.
Salt and fresh ground Pepper

Equipment other than oven: colander, skillet, casserole

In a colander, toss Eggplant with salt, let sit to draw bitter juices out, pat dry.
Preheat oven 350 F.

In large skillet over medium heat, warm 2 TBSP Oil until hot, add half of Eggplant, stirring occasionally cook for 5-7 minutes or until soft. With a slotted spoon, transfer eggplant into casserole dish. Repeat process with remaining Eggplant and same amount of oil. Cook, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes and transfer to casserole.

In 2 more TBSP Oil, saute Bell Peppers 5 min until softened and add to eggplant in casserole.

In same skillet, saute Onion in 1 TBSP Oil for 7 min or until golden, transfer to casserole.

Add Tomatoes to ingredients in casserole dish, and the Tomato Paste, Garlic, Basil, Thyme, Bay Leaf, Salt and Pepper to taste; stir to combine. Cover casserole and bake 30 minutes.

--The Best of France, Evie Richter

Serve with lamb, roast pork, grilled shrimp. Pairs with oven-browned potatoes or crusty bread. Red wine. Keeps well, and improves some with fridge ageing.

Originally Posted by Urbane Guerrilla

This is ratatouille ...Ratatouille can be an all-vegetable entree,...

This reminds me of something I used to do from time to time.
I used to do a mix of a lot of great spices cornmeal, cornflour, and flour and put it in the processor then coat-dredge-coat-fry; green tomatoes, eggplant (preferably Asian), zucchini, summer squash and anything else that is seasonal and good fried. All very young and cross cut and on the same large platter when done.
That way you don't know what you are getting.
There were always good dipping sauces too.
It was a fave with friends and family, I miss doing it.

[skysidhe]

Originally Posted by Urbane Guerrilla

This is ratatouille by the classic, slow technique, but ratatouille can be cooked entirely on top of the stove and more quickly without peeling or seeding. It can be left chunky or cooked to a puree. Add cheeses such as feta, goat cheese, mozzarella or Parmesan at the end.

Ratatouille can be an all-vegetable entree, a side dish or a filling of crepes and pita sandwiches. It may be served cold, and ageing in the fridge improves it.

If you really don't want to peel the eggplant, take a very sharp knife and lop the skin off in six or eight pieces; you won't lose much flesh to this. Chop the zucchini and any other squash the same size as the tomatoes, about 1-inch cubes. With the eggplant it matters little if it is chopped so or simply sliced as it will meld into the tomatoes.

Ratatouille

1 Eggplant, 1 1/2 to 2 lb, peeled/trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes
About 1/2 c Olive Oil, divided
2 Zucchini, cut in 1/4" slices
1 large Red Bell Pepper, cored, seeded, sliced
1 large Green Bell Pepper
1 large Onion, sliced
2 c Tomatoes, chopped, seeded
1 TBSP Tomato Paste
1 TBSP Minced Garlic
1/2 c minced fresh Basil leaves (or 2 tsp dried)
1 tsp dried Thyme}
1 Bay leaf ...........}optional: Herbes de Provence herb blend may be substituted (rosemary, marjoram, basil, bay leaf, thyme) -- basically whichever you've got on hand. Try a little extra Thyme too.
Salt and fresh ground Pepper

Equipment other than oven: colander, skillet, casserole

In a colander, toss Eggplant with salt, let sit to draw bitter juices out, pat dry.
Preheat oven 350 F.

In large skillet over medium heat, warm 2 TBSP Oil until hot, add half of Eggplant, stirring occasionally cook for 5-7 minutes or until soft. With a slotted spoon, transfer eggplant into casserole dish. Repeat process with remaining Eggplant and same amount of oil. Cook, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes and transfer to casserole.

In 2 more TBSP Oil, saute Bell Peppers 5 min until softened and add to eggplant in casserole.

In same skillet, saute Onion in 1 TBSP Oil for 7 min or until golden, transfer to casserole.

Add Tomatoes to ingredients in casserole dish, and the Tomato Paste, Garlic, Basil, Thyme, Bay Leaf, Salt and Pepper to taste; stir to combine. Cover casserole and bake 30 minutes.

--The Best of France, Evie Richter

Serve with lamb, roast pork, grilled shrimp. Pairs with oven-browned potatoes or crusty bread. Red wine. Keeps well, and improves some with fridge ageing.

oh yum-0 UG


Here's one I want to try.

Clam Bake Stoup Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray, 2007
See this recipe on air Tuesday Sep. 04 at 6:00 PM ET/PT.

Show: 30 Minute Meals
Episode: Clam Up





2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 pound kielbasa, diced
4 cups (half a 32-ounce bag) frozen diced hash browns
1 large onion, chopped
4 ribs celery, chopped
1 bay leaf
5 to 6 sprigs fresh thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 rounded tablespoon seafood seasoning (recommended: Old Bay)
4 large ears corn on the cob or 3 cups frozen kernels
1 (15-ounce) can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1 quart chicken stock
4 dozen littleneck clams
Hot sauce, to taste
1 lemon, zested and juiced
Handful fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
4 jumbo sourdough English muffins, split
3 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons chopped chives

Heat a large soup pot with extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the kielbasa and brown for 2 minutes; add the potatoes, onions, celery, bay, thyme, and salt and pepper and let the veggies soften up 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Pat shrimp dry and toss with a rounded tablespoon (a generous palmful) of seafood seasoning.

Invert a small bowl and place at the bottom of a larger bowl. Shuck corn and stand on end on the small bowl. Scrape off kernels. Add corn to soup pot.

Add the tomatoes and stock to the pot. Cover and bring to a boil. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and clams and replace the cover. Cook until shrimp are pink and firm and the clams have opened up, 5 to 6 minutes. Finish stoup with hot sauce, lemon zest and juice and a handful of parsley.

While the seafood cooks, toast the English muffins. Soften the butter in the microwave. Mash the garlic cloves with a little salt and make a paste. Add the chives and garlic paste to the softened butter and mix. Rub hot toasted muffins with garlic/butter mixture and chop into large dice.

Serve stoup in shallow bowls with muffin croutons. Place an extra bowl at each setting to collect shells as you eat your Clam Bake Stoup.