spinach and ricotta "soufflé"

I made an excellent turkey lasagna, and had a lot of leftover ricotta cheese. Clearly I couldn't let good ricotta cheese go to waste, so I created this dish. It was great with a salad of mixed greens (with a Dijon vinaigrette) and a glass of wine for dinner, but even better for breakfast over the next few days, sliced and reheated in the microwave, with a piece of whole wheat toast.

spinach and ricotta “soufflé”
serves 4 for dinner

4 large eggs
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 T olive oil
10 oz fresh baby spinach
2 c ricotta cheese
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 T chopped fresh dill

Preheat oven to 350. Butter an 8-inch soufflé dish.

Warm the olive oil over medium heat in a large sauté pan. Cook the spinach until wilted, then chop and cool completely. Squeeze out excess moisture.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, salt and pepper until blended. Mix in the spinach, then add the remaining ingredients, and stir until blended.

Pour the mixture into the soufflé dish and smooth the top. Bake, uncovered, for one hour, or until the center is firm.

blueberry muffins

I know the name of this blog is "dinner with lindsay" not "breakfast with lindsay", but these blueberry muffins are still worthy. The recipe comes from an obscure cookbook called "From Moose to Mousse", given to me by my Mainer brother who picked it up at a store called Marden's - Maine's equivalent of Building 19 or Big Lots. Certainly best with fresh summer blueberries but also great with frozen - just cut the amount of frozen berries to 3/4 cup.

blueberry muffins
makes 12

1 large egg
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (or a mix of whole wheat and all-purpose, up to 3/4 c. whole wheat)
1/2 c. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. blueberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Beat egg, milk, and oil together lightly with a fork. Mix the dry ingredients together, and add to the egg mixture. Stir until just combined.

Add berries to the batter and stir until just mixed in.

Pour batter into a standard 12 cup muffin tin, lined with paper liners or buttered. Fill each cup halfway. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

corkscrew pasta with caramelized onions, swiss chard, and fontina

This pasta dish is perfect for a cold winter night.

I used cellantani pasta which is almost identical to cavatappi. Gemelli would be the next best substitute, I think.

Wine pairing: a California Zinfandel. I drank Jed Steele's Shooting Star Zinfandel from Mendocino County.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 lb corkscrew pasta
1 1/2 T. unsalted butter
1 large yellow onion, halved and sliced thin
pinch of dried thyme
1 medium bunch of Swiss chard, removed from stalks and chopped into smaller pieces
8 oz fontina cheese, shredded
pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook the pasta until al dente, per package directions. (If you overcook it a little, don't sweat it - I got a couple of phone calls during the pasta cooking and missed al dente by a minute, and it turned out fine. PS - who makes phone calls anymore?) Drain the pasta and set aside,

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly oil a 3 qt glass or ceramic baking dish or lasagna pan.

Melt the butter in a medium saute pan, over med-high heat. Add the onions and stir to coat with butter. Cook, without stirring, for several minutes until the onions start to brown. Sprinkle with a pinch of dried thyme (if you're fancy, you can certainly use fresh herbs). Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are caramelized, about 20-25 minutes. Add the Swiss chard and cook until the chard is softened, about 3-5 minutes.

Put the onion and chard mixture into a large bowl and mix with the drained pasta. Mix in about 3/4 of the shredded cheese, as well as a small amount of salt and pepper (only a small amount - Fontina is salty). Pour into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 of the cheese.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

CSA Inspiration: Roasted Beets

Roasting beets is super easy. They take a while to roast in the oven but the hands-on time is minimal. I line the baking sheet with foil to make for easy cleanup, because every once in a while the beet sugar leaks out of the foil wrapping and creates a dreadful mess. Once you've roasted the beets, you've got a great addition to salads. I like mine in a salad with mesclun, green leaf lettuce, or red leaf lettuce, with either goat cheese or avocado. I make an easy red wine vinaigrette to dress the salad.

Roasted Beets

Preheat the oven to 400. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Trim the greens from each beet, wash, and wrap tightly in foil. Place on the baking sheet and roast until tender. The roasting time will vary based on the size of the beet: as little as 30 minutes for very small beets; about 75 minutes for baseball-sized beets.

Once the beets are tender, remove from the oven and remove the foil wrapping. When the beets are cool enough to handle but still warm, slip off the skin. Chop or slice to use in salads.

CSA Inspiration: Beet Greens AND Spring Garlic

Last time I did a CSA, I never knew what to do with the spring garlic (also known as green garlic). This time around I’m coming up with lots of uses for it. As for beet greens, they are delightful sautéed with olive oil and garlic, but they are also great as a component in a more complex recipe. This gratin is hearty and will satisfy even the most devoted carnivore in your group of friends. I would imagine that it would keep well as leftovers, but I can’t say for sure as the four of us (two vegetarians and two omnivores) basically scraped the bowl clean.

Beet Greens, Spring Garlic and Pearled Barley Gratin

1 large bunch of beet greens

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 head of spring garlic, chopped

Salt to taste

½ tsp. fresh thyme

3 large eggs

½ cup skim milk

Freshly ground pepper

2 cups cooked pearled barley (or brown rice)

½ cup grated Gruyere cheese

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil, and drop the beet greens in. Blanch for one minute. Rinse with cold water, squeeze out any excess water, and roughly chop. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375°. Oil a 2 quart oval baking dish with olive oil.

Heat the oil over medium high heat in a large skillet. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 8 minute. Add the garlic and a large pinch of salt. Continue to cook another minute or so, until the garlic is fragrant. Stir in the cooked greens and thyme, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, beat together the milk and eggs. Add ½ tsp salt, and pepper to taste. Stir in the greens and onion, the barley, and the cheeses. Mix together well. Pour into the oiled baking dish.

Bake for 40 minutes until sizzling and lightly browned on top. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 4.

In The Pantry: Barley

Here are instructions for cooking pearled barley. You'll need this recipe if you're going to cook the beet greens & barley gratin recipe published today. Barley is also a great substitute for brown rice as a side dish.

Basic Pearled Barley

1 c. pearled barley, rinsed
3 c. water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 Tbsp. butter

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat.

Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 30 minutes. The barley is done when all the liquid is absorbed and the barley is tender. Add a little more water, a tablespoon or two at a time, if the barley is not quite done, and cook for a little while longer.

CSA Inspiration: Broccoli Rabe

Broccoli rabe is another one of those vegetables that I do not love, but am compelled to cook when I find it in my CSA box. Blanching the broccoli rabe prior to sautéing it may seem like an unnecessary extra step, but blanching takes away some of the bitterness of this assertive green. My dinner guests loved this preparation when I served it last week as an accompaniment to my beet green and barley gratin.

Sauteed Broccoli Rabe with Garlic and Red Pepper Flakes

1 large bunch broccoli rabe

Salt

3 Tbsp. olive oil

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

¼ tsp. red pepper flakes, or to taste

Peel any large stalks of the broccoli rabe. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil, and drop in the broccoli rabe. Cook for 5 minutes, then drain, squeezing out any excess water. (I prefer to leave the broccoli rabe intact, but you can coarsely chop if you prefer.)

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook about 30 seconds, until the garlic becomes fragrant and just begins to color. Add the broccoli rabe and cook, turning repeatedly so that it is coated with the oil, about 5 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Serves 4.