Stuffed Cauliflower

With Thanksgiving in the U.S. not too far away, you might be thinking about a side dish to accompany the big bird. Or you might just want to make this to serve this as your main course for a weeknight dinner, as I did recently. I added some cooked carrots on the side, and with the stuffed cauliflower enveloped in pastry crust, it made for a delicious and very filling dinner. It's easier to make than it looks so don't be afraid to try. I first saw this on Instagram from an Italian blogger, @andreagiuseppucci. He used Swiss chard, ricotta, anchovies and capers in his stuffing but mine uses spinach, ricotta and parmesan cheese. 

Start by trimming away all the green leaves at the base of the cauliflower.

Using a paring knife, I made a little concave indentation at the center, but be careful not to carve out too much of the center stem, or you're likely to loosen the florets. You'll need them all to stay attached to the center stem for this to work.

Next you'll boil the entire cauliflower in water for about 6-8 minutes. It will cook more in the oven.

Make the filling, and place into a plastic pastry bag. Cut off the tip, then insert it into each crevice of the cauliflower and squeeze the filling inside. If a little filling squirts out the side of the cauliflower, just wipe it off and add it back to the center.

Fill as much as possible, including a layer of filling on top (this will become the bottom after cooking.) You will have extra filling (I used the leftover filling in some ravioli a couple of days later, but you could also just butter a small dish and bake it at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes).

You can use a homemade crust, but I made it easy on myself and used a store-bought crust. Try to find a oven-proof pan that is slightly bigger than the cauliflower. A springform pan would be ideal, but mine were too big. I found an aluminum pie tin in the basement that was just perfect. Position the piecrust into the pan, then add the stuffed cauliflower. Crimp the pastry all around the cauliflower. It doesn't have to be fancy. Just make sure there aren't any large gaps between the pastry and the cauliflower. Smear the top with softened butter.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour at 375 degrees. During the last fifteen minutes, sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top. If it's not brown enough, crank up the temperature to 400 degrees for a few minutes.

It really does make for a great presentation.

When you cut into it, your family and guests will be in for a surprise. Not only does it look inviting, but it tastes great too.

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Stuffed Cauliflower

1 head of cauliflower

10 oz. bag of spinach or box of frozen spinach, thawed and drained

2 cups ricotta cheese

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

salt, pepper to taste

a dash of nutmeg

1 pie crust, purchased or homemade

a couple of tablespoons of softened butter

a sprinkling of parmesan cheese for the top

Trim the cauliflower of all green leaves and carve a small hole in the center, being careful not to dislodge the florets from the center stem. Boil for 6-8 minutes, then drain thoroughly. You can do this part ahead of time -- even the day before.

Squeeze the spinach thoroughly and place in a food processor, along with the parmesan, ricotta, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Process until smooth.

Put the stuffing into a plastic pastry bag and cut off a little of the bottom tip. Insert the tip into the cauliflower and try to get stuffing into all the crevices, finishing with a layer on top.

Use a casserole, springform or aluminum foil pan that is just slightly bigger than the cauliflower. Spray it with PAM, or smear with a little oil or butter. (This may be an unnecessary step, but I wanted a little insurance that the pastry wouldn't stick.) Place the pastry into the pan, then the cauliflower over the pastry, with the stuffing on the inside. Crimp the edges of the pastry close to the cauliflower, then smear the cauliflower with the butter.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until the pastry looks browned, sprinkling with parmesan cheese for the last 15 minutes of baking.

Let it rest for a few minutes, then use a serrated knife to serve. If using as a side dish, it should serve about 8 people. If using as a main course, it will serve about 4 people.

Fazzoletti (Pasta Handkerchiefs) stuffed with ricotta and Swiss chard

 

OK, now don't turn away because you don't want to make your own pasta. You can buy fresh lasagna sheets at many supermarkets (although they won't be spinach pasta, most likely) and present your family and friends with this delicious pasta dish. You can even make it ahead of time and keep it in the fridge ready to bake at the last minute. Think of this as free-formed ravioli that are much easier to make and just as delicious. I stuffed them with ricotta and Swiss chard, but you could just as easily use spinach, or even forgo the greens and make a strictly ricotta filling. But if you go the Swiss chard route, you'll roughly chop the greens, then saute them in a little olive oil until cooked through - just a few minutes should do it.

Make the spinach pasta (or buy fresh lasagna sheets) and cut into  four inch squares. It's ok if they aren't perfectly square, or if they're a bit smaller or a bit larger.

Then briefly cook them in boiling water, and drain on paper towels.

Mix the filling ingredients - the cooked Swiss chard, ricotta, parmesan cheese, egg, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Dab a bit in the center of each pasta square.

Fold over into a "sort of" triangular shape.

Place into a buttered shallow baking pan. It's ok if they touch a bit but try not to overlap them. Use a second pan to accommodate the rest of the fazzoletti.

Place a slice of mozzarella on top, sprinkle with parmesan, chopped walnuts and finish with a sage leaf.

Bake for about 20 minutes, and serve. (I had to remove and replace the sage leaves because they got too dark in the oven.)

Slice into this goodness and enjoy. Drooling allowed.

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Fazzoletti (Pasta Handkerchiefs) stuffed with ricotta and Swiss chard

(Makes about 12 stuffed fazzoletti)

For the Pasta:

(You may get more pasta than you need for this recipe, so just cut the rest into fettuccine and use another day.)

1 10-ounce box frozen spinach

2 cups 00 flour

2 eggs

pinch of salt 

For the Filling:

1 cup ricotta, preferably drained overnight

1 small bunch of Swiss chard, chopped roughly and sautéed in 2 tablespoons olive oil until soft

1 egg

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

a few gratings of nutmeg

salt, pepper

To Finish:

1 8 oz. ball of fresh mozzarella

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

fresh sage leaves

Instructions:

1. FOR THE PASTA:
2. Drain the spinach thoroughly, squeezing out all the water you can with your hands.
3. Then press it with paper towels to get out any remaining water.
4. Place the spinach and the two eggs into the food processor to break down the spinach.
5. Start adding the flour.
6. You may need as little as a cup and a quarter of flour.
7. It’s easy to add more flour later, but much harder to work the dough if you place too much flour into the food processor.
8. Add just enough flour and process until the dough comes together into a ball.
9. It will be sticky.
10. Place the dough onto a wooden work surface, add more flour until the stickiness disappears and the dough seems more “homogenized” and softer.
11. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a bowl and let it sit for at least 1/2 hour.
12. Roll the pasta into sheets, then cut into approximately 4" squares.
13. Boil the squares until al dente, then place on paper towels to drain before stuffing.

FOR THE FILLING:

Mix the ricotta with the cooked Swiss chard and the rest of the filling ingredients.

ASSEMBLY:

Dab a hefty tablespoonful of the filling into the center of each pasta square. Fold one edge toward the opposite edge, forming a sort of triangle.

Place each triangle into a buttered baking dish, trying not to overlap them. There should be just one layer. Use more baking dishes if needed.

Cover each triangle with a small slice of fresh mozzarella, some walnuts and a sage leaf.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

If necessary, remove the sage leaf and replace it with a fresh one before serving.

Apple Cinnamon Cake

 It's that season here in the Northeast U.S. when apple cake recipes are as ubiquitous as falling leaves, but of all the apple cake recipes I've baked and eaten, this one (from The Sweetest Menu) takes top billing. It's hard to resist that crunchy swirl of cinnamon/sugar/butter that permeates the flavorful cake with its moist, tender crumb. There's no butter in the batter, only vegetable oil and Greek yogurt. You don't even need a mixer -- a wooden spoon and bowl will do. Drizzle with a little confectioner's sugar glaze to make it even more delicious. It's great at room temperature but divine eaten a little bit warm.

Place the dollops of cinnamon sugar on top and swirl a bit with a knife or spoon to incorporate.

The heavenly aroma wafting throughout the house will draw everyone to the kitchen.

It will be hard to resist digging in but if you don't want the confectioner's sugar glaze to melt, don't apply it hot from the oven. Wait a wee bit till it has cooled off somewhat. I'll be making this on repeat all fall. I hope you will too.

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Apple Cinnamon Cake

(From "The Sweetest Menu"

Ingredients

Apple cake

• 210 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 150 grams (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
•  2 large apples, peeled and roughly chopped, mixed with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 120 ml (1/2 cup) vegetable oil
• 120 ml (1/2 cup) Greek yogurt

Cinnamon topping

• 50 grams (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Sugar glaze

• 30 grams (1/4 cup) icing sugar or powdered sugar, sifted
• 1–2 tablespoons milk

• Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease and flour an 8 1/2" springform pan.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Add chopped apples mixture and stir briefly to combine.
  3. In a separate bowl, add eggs, vanilla, oil and yogurt. Whisk briefly just to break up the egg yolks.
  4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and gently mix with a wooden spoon until combined – but be careful not to over mix. Spoon batter into prepared tin.
  5. To make cinnamon topping, combine cinnamon, sugar and butter. Mix together until lumpy and wet. Sprinkle over cake batter and using a spoon, mix lightly into batteer.
  6. Bake cake for approximately 30-35 minutes (mine took more like 40-45 minutes) or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Transfer cake to a wire rack to cool completely.
  7. To make the glaze, mix together sugar and 1 tablespoon of milk. Stir until smooth. If the glaze is too thick, add an extra tablespoon of milk. Drizzle glaze all over the cake.

Blame It On The Baklava

Gone two weeks in Greece and I gained 5 pounds, even though I ate fish for dinner 99 percent of the time. Blame it on the baklava, one of my favorite desserts. More than 40 years have passed since I first tasted baklava at a fund-raiser for my children's nursery school. I've been making it since then (but not too often since it's highly caloric) using a recipe given to me by the woman who made it for the school. For years now, I've been thinking about posting that recipe, but never got around to it. However, since returning from Greece last week, and having just made it to serve to my Italian chit-chat group yesterday, the time was right to post here.

First let me say I ate my fair share of baklava while in Greece, (as the scale revealed) some quite good and one just so-so. Let me also state that the baklava I make (recipe below) is every bit as good as any that I ate in Greece, and dare I say, even better? Yes, I know, you may think I'm exaggerating, but truly, I've served it to Greek friends and to someone who has traveled to Greece a number of times, and they agree with me. I know it seems strange, since the recipe is from the now-extinct McCall's magazine, but I think I know why this recipe is so darn good: 1. The syrup is infused with oranges and lemons, while most recipes use only lemons, and 2. It uses both walnuts and almonds, while most recipes call for only one type of nut. That combo makes this recipe irresistibly delicious.

Meanwhile, while in Greece, my first baklava was from a bakery on the island of Naxos. I couldn't wait to dig in and started eating it in the car. It was really good, and especially crispy on top. I should have waited to eat it with a fork rather than gobble it down using my fingers.

The second one had pistachios, which I do love, but it turns out, not so much in baklava. If Paul Hollywood (of "The Great British Bakeoff" fame) were judging, he'd say "It's a bit stodgy." The addition of ice cream was a nice touch though.

This one from a bakery in Athens was good but lacked much flavor.

And this one eaten at a restaurant in Athens was probably the best I ate while in Greece. Again, extra points for ice cream on the side.

But my homemade baklava still beats out any of the above. It's not even hard to make, provided you buy store-bought phyllo pastry (who makes phyllo from scratch anyway?)

The most important thing is to keep the unused phyllo sheets covered while working with the recipe, buttering every other sheet (I told you it had lots of calories).

Sprinkle the nut mixture in several layers.

When you've used up all the phyllo, slice through the top layer only, making diamond shapes, and if desired, poke a whole clove into each section. Bake.

Drizzle the honey/syrup mixture over the top while it's still hot, then let it cool before serving. As you can see, it makes a lot. I hope you have a crowd coming, but if not, it freezes pretty well too, although it won't be as crispy as when you first make it.

And if baklava isn't enough to entice you to visit Greece, here are a few photos that might put a bug in your ear:

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From McCalls's Magazine 

BAKLAVA

FOR THE SYRUP:
3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups honey
1 (2-inch) cinnamon stick
4 lemon slices
4 orange slices
FOR THE BAKLAVA:
1 pkg (1 lb size) prepared phyllo-pastry leaves, 15 by 12 inches, about 32 leaves*
2 cups finely chopped or ground walnuts
1 cup finely chopped or ground blanched almonds
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups sweet butter, melted

TO MAKE THE SYRUP:
In medium saucepan, combine 3/4 cup sugar and 3/4 cup water. Bring to boiling, stirring to dissolve sugar; add honey, cinnamon stick and lemon and orange slices. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Strain; cool. Should measure 2 1/2 cups.

TO MAKE THE BAKLAVA:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Remove pastry leaves from package. In small bowl, mix walnuts, almonds, sugar, ground cinnamon and nutmeg. Place 2 pastry leaves in a 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 1-inch jelly-roll pan; brush top leaf with some of melted butter. Continue stacking leaves, 14 in all, and buttering every other leaf. (Keep rest covered with damp towels to prevent drying.)

Sprinkle with third of nut mixture. Add 6 more leaves, brushing every other one with butter. Sprinkle with third of nut mixture.

Layer 6 more leaves, brushing every other one with butter. Sprinkle with the last third of nut mixture.

Stack remaining pastry leaves on top, brushing every other one with remaining melted butter and buttering top pastry leaf. Trim edges, if necessary.

With sharp knife, cut through top layer on long side; make 8 diagonal cuts at 1 1/2-inch intervals. Then, starting at one corner, make 9 cuts, on diagonal at 1 1/2-inch intervals, to form diamonds. (Cut through top layer only; do not cut through layers.)

Bake 60 minutes, or until golden and puffy. Turn off heat. Leave in oven 60 minutes; remove.

Pour cooled syrup over hot baklava. Following diamond pattern, cut all the way through baklava. Cool in pan - to absorb syrup - on wire rack.

*If phyllo is frozen, thaw in refrigerator.

Makes 35 pieces
From: Recipelink.com
Source: Magazine: McCall's Cooking School, Number 8, 1980, 1981

Sausage and Rice Stuffed Eggplants

More eggplants? Well, vegetable gardens are prolific this time of year. My eggplants this year have been producing more quickly than rabbits in heat, and it's hard to keep up with them all. The eggplant "fries" from my last post have been a big hit, but man does not live by eggplant fries alone. Stuffed eggplants hit the right notes for my husband, with a filling of Italian sausage, rice, mozzarella and parmesan cheese. It's like eating eggplant parm but with the extra benefit of more protein. If you're vegetarian and want to eliminate the sausage, it will still be delicious. 

I started with these "fairy tale" eggplants, which I've never grown until this year. They're tiny, even when mature, reaching only three or four inches in length. They tend to morph from white to yellow when they ripen, with a purple striation that turns beige when cooked. But you can use those longer, glossy, all-purple eggplants too. I trimmed most of the green from the top (see the one that isn't trimmed below as well as the ones that are trimmed) but left a little nub at the top to keep the eggplants from opening up too much.

Make a crosshatch in each one, being careful not to break the skin. Smear with some olive oil, salt and pepper.

Then flip them over and bake at 350 degrees for 1/2 hour.

They'll come out of the oven looking like this. 

Scoop out the insides, being careful not to break the outer shell, if possible.

Chop the interior into small pieces.

I saved some of the interior for later use to make eggplant "meatballs." Cut up a mozzarella, and use half in the stuffing, then save half to spread on top.

Mix all the filling ingredients together.

Spread some tomato sauce on the bottom of a pan, then place the stuffed eggplants on top. Spread the remaining mozzarella and a little more tomato sauce over everything.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes, covered with aluminum foil, but remove the foil for the last 15 minutes. Sit down and enjoy these beauties.

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Sausage and Rice Stuffed Eggplants

8 small "Fairy tale" eggplants, or three large eggplants

3 cups cooked rice (brown or white)

1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1 lb. Italian sausage (raw)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

8 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated 

salt, pepper

minced parsley

marinara sauce

Trim the stems of the eggplants but leave a little "nub" at the top to help keep it together when it bakes in the oven. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, then make crosshatch marks on each half, being careful not to cut through the skin. Rub with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and place skin side up on a cookie sheet. Bake in a 350 oven for 30 minutes.

Remove the eggplants from the oven and when they are cool enough to handle, scoop out the interior with a spoon. Using a sharp knife, chop the cooked eggplant into small pieces.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, add the rice, parmesan cheese, raw sausage, eggs, salt, pepper, parsley and about 1/2 of the mozzarella, keeping the other half aside to use on top.

Add the chopped eggplant to the bowl, along with 1/2 cup of marinara sauce. Mix everything well, then stuff into the eggplants.

Line a casserole (or two as I did if using the fairy tale eggplants) with some marinara sauce. Place the eggplants in the casserole and then top each eggplant with more of the mozzarella and more of the marinara sauce. Cover with foil and bake in a 350 for 45 minutes or until the sausage is cooked and the dish is piping hot. Remove the foil during the last 15 minutes.