Fried Couscous Salad

I have to admit that I don't really like Giada. She has always seemed a little pompous to me and I absolutely can not stand how she will insert Italian words with a really thick, fake accent into her dialogue. I happened to glimpse a clip of her show as I was flipping channels the other day and this recipe caught my attention.

Unlike most of Giada's recipes, this one looked fairly simple and didn't require a ton of hard to come by ingredients. It did take a little looking to find Ricotta Salata. I ended up going to a specialty Italian deli in town since none of the regular stores in my area carry it. If you can't find it, you could substitute a different crumbly cheese such as Feta.

The recipe cooked up quickly and was really tasty. Vince raved about it and has requested it again. It is a great side dish for those nights when you want something easy but different than plain old rice. I served it with eggplant the first time and with salmon the next time I made it. It definitely has an Italian taste going on so be sure to pair it with something that the cheeses will go well with.

Fried Couscous Salad

Adapted from FoodNetwork Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients
2 Cups Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 10 oz Box (1 1/4 Cups) Couscous
1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 teaspoons Minced Garlic
4 oz Ricotta Salata Cheese, crumbled into 1 inch pieces
1/4 Cup Sun-Dried Tomatoes (packed in olive oil), chopped
1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Dressing:
1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken broth and salt to a boil.
2. Remove from heat and add the couscous.
3. Cover until all of the liquid has been absorbed and the couscous is tender, about 6 minutes.
4. Using a fork, fluff the couscous to break up any lumps.
5. In a large non-stick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
6. Add the garlic and cook until golden, about 1 minute.
7. Increase the heat to high and add the couscous.
8. Cook, stirring constantly, for 6 minutes.
9. Continue to cook the couscous, stirring every 5 minutes, until toasted. This will take about 25 minutes.
10. Transfer the couscous to a large serving bowl and cool for 5 mintues.
11. Add the cheeses and tomatoes.
12. In a small bowl, whisk together all of the dressing ingredients.
13. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss until all of the couscous is coated.

Yields: 12 Servings (1/2 Cup per serving)

Lasagna Stuffed Shells

I can't remember having stuffed shells. I'm sure at some point in my life I did, but I just don't remember it. They look good, and they smell good, but they are filled with evil, evil cheese. I wanted to try them out but honestly didn't think they would be good with nothing but pasta and tofu in them. Then I found a different recipe and my whole view changed.

I have already perfected dairy-free lasagna. I love it but it is a pretty heavy dish. Tons of pasta, sauce, meat...well, tons of everything really. These shells seemed like the perfect solution. I could have the taste of lasagna that I loved but in a smaller commitment. I love how they turned out. I will be making these again, once my freezer stash has dwindled.

Lasagna Stuffed Shells

From Allrecipes.com

Ingredients
1 Box Jumbo Pasta Shells (about 40 shells)
1 Pound Ground Turkey
12oz Firm Tofu
8oz Veggie Shreds Parmesan/Mozzarella Mix Flavor
2 Large Eggs
1 1/2 Jars Tomato Sauce (I used Tomato & Basil flavor)

Directions

1. In a large stock pot, bring about 4 quarts of water to a boil.
2. Once the water is boiling, salt the water generously and add the shells.
3. Cook the shells for about 10 minutes. You want them to be slightly under-done.
4. While the shells are cooking, cook the turkey in a skillet and set aside.
5. In a bowl, mash together the eggs, tofu, and veggie shreds.
6. Once the shells are cooked, remove from the water and rinse with cold water.
7. Spread tomato sauce on the bottom of two 9x13 baking pans (or 3 8x8 pans).
8. Take a shell and spoon about a teaspoon of turkey into the bottom of it.
9. Next, spoon a heaping teaspoon of tofu mixture onto the turkey.
10. Place the shell into a baking dish.
11. Continue with the remaining shells.
12. Once all of the shells are in the pans, spoon tomato sauce onto the top of each shell.
13. Bake the shells at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, just until the cheese/tofu is melted.

Optional: Feel free to cover the tops of the shells/sauce with more shredded cheese.

Yields:12 servings

These are really filling and very yummy. They freeze well too. The best part is the stats.

Squash & Spinach Stuffed Rotolo Pasta

Jamie Oliver is awesome. I've been watching the Food Revolution on ABC Friday nights. I've been a fan of Jamie's cooking for awhile but this show is what really sparked me to start cooking more food from scratch. In the show, he tries to get the public schools in Huntington, West Virginia to change the cafeteria menus to healthy food. He sets ups a "kitchen" in town where he gives free cooking lessons to anyone that walks in. He does fund raisers to have the cafeteria cooks retrained on how to cook actual meals, instead of just adding water and reheating precooked junk. It really is fun to watch the transformation and his enthusiasm for healthy cooking is infectious.

So, I took what Jamie was teaching in the schools and applied it to my own life. Basically, he says that you can still eat the food you love, you just have to make it healthy. So the journey began. There have been some disasters and some pretty good finds. I'm slowly adding to my recipe rotations and having fun trying new stuff.

This recipe is an adaptation from one of the recipes in the book Jaime's Italy.

This is a great summer meal. It is light and filling. There is no heavy sauce to go along with it, although Vince thinks this is a great tragedy. It is also very pretty. It makes a great presentation for guests.

Now don't panic, but you will be making your own pasta for this recipe. Deep breaths...really, it will be ok. It is not that hard to do. I'll walk you through it step by step. Just take it slow and it will turn out beautifully. I promise.

Squash & Spinach Stuffed Rotolo

From Branny Boils Over

Pasta

Ingredients

1 & 1/2 Cups Flour
3 Large Eggs
1/4 Teaspoon Salt

Directions

1. Place the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl.
2. Make a hole in the center of the flour.
3. Break the eggs into the hole.
4. Whisk the eggs until pale yellow.
5. Continue whisking while slowly incorporating the flour.
6. Continue to incorporate the flour until a dough has formed.
7. Once a dough ball has formed, begin to knead the dough until it is no longer sticky.
8. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface to roll out.
9. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a large rectangle shape. It should measure about 10 inches by 15 inches. It should be about 1/4 inch thick.
10. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap until ready for use.

Filling

Ingredients

1 Small Squash (I used acorn)
3/4 Teaspoon Coriander
1 Teaspoon Fennel Seeds
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Minced Garlic
About 2 Cups Baby Spinach Leaves
1 Tablespoon Butter/Margarine
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1 Cup Ricotta Cheese (I used Soft Tofu)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Cut the squash into quarters.
3. Scoop out the seeds and place the squash, flesh side up, into a baking dish.
4. With a mortar and pestle, grind the fennel seed with the coriander and salt.
5. Season the squash with the ground spices.
6. Cover the squash with tin foil and place in the oven for 25 minutes.
7. After 25 minutes, remove the foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and let cool.
9. Once cool, scrape the flesh out of the skin and into a bowl.
10. Mash until smooth.
11. In a large saute pan or skillet, melt the butter and brown the garlic.
12. Add the spinach and cook until completely wilted.
13. Add the nutmeg and toss.

Assembly

Directions

1. Lay out a large piece of cheese-cloth or a clean dish towel (bigger than the pasta).
2. Lay the pasta onto the cloth.
3. Spoon the squash across the long end of the pasta that is closest to you.
4. Spoon the spinach across the pasta right next to the squash.
5. Spoon the cheese/tofu across the remaining edge of the pasta, be sure to go all the way to the edge.
6. Begin slowly rolling the pasta up, jelly-roll style. Start at the squash end and roll towards the cheese/tofu. Roll fairly tight but don't squish out the filling.
7. Use the cheese/tofu to seal the end of the pasta to itself.
8. Wrap the cloth/towel around the rotolo.
9. Tie the cloth on each end and 2-3 times in the middle using kitchen twine.

Cooking

Directions

1. Fill a large pasta pot (or stew pot) with about 6 inches of water.
2. Generously salt the water and bring to a boil.
3. Once the water is boiling place the rotolo (towel and all) into the water. You may need to place a plate or other object over the rotolo to keep it from floating to the top of the water.
4. Boil for 25 minutes.
5. After 25 minutes, remove from the water and place on a cutting board.
6. Carefully unwrap the rotolo and slice into 1/2 - 1 inch pieces.

Yields: 6-8 servings

I served this without any sauce but Vince "needed" it. He has an aversion to pasta without sauce. *sigh* He put basil tomato sauce on it, which I would not recommend. If anything, I would do a light cream sauce but it was really yummy without anything.