Tag: Pecorino Romano

Lightened Up Green Bean Casserole with Shallot Crumb Topping

Not your Momma’s Green Bean Casserole!

Confession: I strongly dislike mushy green beans.

Year after year I’ve been asked to post a lighter green bean casserole, and I’ve opted out because the thought of mushy green beans in canned soup with fried onions just doesn’t do it for me. I’m very particular about how I like my green beans, I love them roasted so they get a little browned^[1], cooked until tender crisp. I like them sauteed with a little garlic and oil^[2], I even love them in a salad^[3]… but frozen or out of a can… I can do without them.

But, seeing how so many of you love green bean casserole, and after getting a Williams Sonoma Catalog with a (not light) recipe inside, I was inspired to give this a try.

I blanched my green beans for 2 minutes so they wouldn’t turn to mush. If you like your green beans soft, I would boil them for 5-7 minutes.

I made a mushroom sauce with milk and chicken stock instead of heavy cream. After tasting it, I thought it needed a little extra something, so I added some Pecorino Romano.

That fixed the flavor problem! Then came the topping, I wasn’t about to fry onions so I chopped up some shallots and decided to go with a toasted bread crumb topping instead. Next time I may add a little bacon to this (yes, there will be a next time). Put it in the oven and crossed my fingers. When it came out of the oven I served myself a plate and thought it was pretty good! In fact, I had to servings, but this was my lunch so I didn’t feel guilty.

Tips: Next time I make this I will cut the green beans in half, I think it would be easier to serve. Panko would work great in place of the bread crumbs. Adding a little bacon or pancetta to the crumbs would be delicious in my opinion. You can certainly halve this to feed a family of 4. Hope you enjoy!

Lightened Up Green Bean Casserole with Shallot Crumb Topping
Adapted from Williams Sonoma^[4]
gordon-ramsay-recipe.com
Servings: 8 • Serving Size: 1/8 • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 4 pts
Calories: 160 • Fat: 6 g • Carb: 22 g • Fiber: 4 g • Protein: 7 g • Sugar: 2 g
Sodium: 280.5 mg (without salt)

Ingredients:

2 lbs green beans, cut in half, trimmed and washed

For the topping:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup shallots, finely diced
1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1 tbsp grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp dried thyme (or 1 tsp fresh)

For the green beans:

1 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup shallots, minced
16 oz sliced mushrooms, (I used cremini)
1/4 cup flour
1 cup reduced sodium chicken stock (or vegetable for vegetarian)
1 cup 2% milk
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Directions:

Boil a large pot of water, when boiling add green beans and blanch for 2 minutes (or 6-8 minutes if you like them softer). Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water to stop them from cooking.

Meanwhile make the topping, heat a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and sauté about 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally until golden brown. Reduce heat to medium-low, add breadcrumbs, grated cheese and thyme; sauté until golden brown, about 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently, careful not to burn.

Preheat the oven to 375°. Lightly spray a 13 x 9 inch baking dish.

Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and sauté 1 to 2 minutes. Add mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and sauté 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Sprinkle flour over the mushrooms, stir constantly for about a minute, then slowly add chicken stock, then milk. Bring to a low boil, and cook stirring occasionally until thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in Romano cheese.

Add blanched green beens and mix well, season with salt and pepper as needed; pour into prepared baking dish.

Top with toasted bread crumbs and bake about 30 minutes.

References

^{^} roasted so they get a little browned (www.gordon-ramsay-recipe.com)
^{^} sauteed with a little garlic and oil (www.gordon-ramsay-recipe.com)
^{^} salad (www.gordon-ramsay-recipe.com)
^{^} Williams Sonoma (www.williams-sonoma.com)

Cheesy Baked Pumpkin Pasta

Whole wheat pasta baked in the oven with a quick pumpkin sauce
made with bacon, shallots, pecorino cheese and a touch of rosemary then topped with mozzarella cheese. This is such a great Fall dish and my husband loved how it turned out!

I’m really excited to share this pasta dish, because I finally found a brand of whole wheat pasta that me and my family actually likes. Even my husband couldn’t believe it was whole wheat and thought they had to be lying. The brand is Delallo^[1], and I honestly can’t say enough good things about them.

It’s definitely more of a high end pasta in price, but for me good pasta is worth paying more for. Not only is their pasta 100% whole grain, it’s also organic and cut with bronze plates which is always my favorite kind of pasta. But what really gets me excited is they sell their whole wheat pasta in every pasta shape you can think of, from standard spaghetti, linguini and penne, to the more exotic shapes like orecchiette, gemelli and fusilli bucati just to name a few. I found a few of those shapes in my local supermarket, but you can also buy them on their website^[2].

Back to this pasta dish, I wanted to make this quick so I opted for canned pumpkin. But you can make your own homemade pumpkin puree^[3] which in my opinion always tastes best! You could also use butternut squash in place of pumpkin if you wish and if you’re eating gluten free you can certainly use brown rice pasta.

Canned pumpkin really has no taste, so I added flavor my sauteeing some bacon and shallots, then I added a little fresh rosemary and Pecorino Romano to mimick a pumpkin pasta gnocchi dish I love ordering out, then thinned it out with some chicken broth. My husband just happened to walk in the door when it was ready, and I love getting his opinion because he’s brutally honest – and he loved it and even went back for seconds.

Baked Penne with Pecorino Pumpkin Sauce
gordon-ramsay-recipe.com
Servings: 4 • 1 generous cup • Old Points: 6 pts • Points+: 8 pts
Calories: 307 • Fat: 7 g • Protein: 16 g • Carb: 49 g • Fiber: 8 g • Sugar: 5 g
Sodium: 237 mg (without salt) • Cholesterol: 14 mg

Ingredients:

8 oz Delallo^[4] uncooked whole wheat pasta (use brown rice pasta for GF)

2 slices center cut bacon, chopped

1 shallot, minced

15 oz homemade^[5] or canned pumpkin puree

1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth

3 tbsp grated Pecorino Romano cheese

salt and fresh pepper to taste

1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped

1/4 cup shredded Pecorino Romano cheese

1/2 cup shredded part skim mozzarella (I recommend: Polly-O)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 9×9-inch baking pan with oil spray. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium heat add chopped bacon and sauté until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add chopped shallot and cook 1 minute. Add pumpkin, chicken broth and 3 tbsp Pecorino Romano, stir and add salt and pepper to taste; simmer about 8 – 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package instructions for al dente. Drain and add the pasta to the pumpkin sauce and mix well.

Transfer to the baking dish and spread evenly. Top with the remaining shredded Pecorino Romano and mozzarella.

Cover and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until mozzarella is melted and the edges are lightly browned. Let it cool 5 minutes, then divide into 4 equal portions.

This can be prepared up to a day in advance and stored, tightly covered, in the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.

Makes 4 servings.

References

^{^} Delallo (www.delallo.com)

^{^} website (www.delallo.com)

^{^} homemade pumpkin puree (www.skinny-bits.com)

^{^} Delallo (www.delallo.com)

^{^} homemade (www.skinny-bits.com)

Cauliflower Fritters

This is a delicious way to prepare cauliflower. It’s similar to the taste of a potato pancake and makes a fabulous side dish – your kids will love them!

My Sicilian friend Julia is a wonderful cook. I remember the first meal I ate in her NYC apartment; lamb chops and fried cauliflower which she calls broccoli a pasteta^[1]. She joked that day you can fry a sponge and it would taste good – she’s probably right. These are a lightened version of her recipe, made with Pecorino Romano, parsley, egg, garlic, white whole wheat flour and just enough oil to saute them in a pan.

Cauliflower Fritters
gordon-ramsay-recipe.com
Servings: 8 • Size: 2 fritters • Old Points: 2 • Weight Watcher Points+: 3 pt
Calories: 139 • Fat: 6 g • Carb: 14 g • Fiber: 4 g • Protein: 7 g • Sugar: 1 g
Sodium: 269 mg • Cholest: 61 mg

Ingredients:

6 cups roughly chopped raw cauliflower (from 2 small heads)

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 cup white whole wheat flour

2 extra large eggs, beaten

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp grated Pecorino Romano

1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped

1/3 cup hot water

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt and pepper

4 teaspoons olive oil

Directions:

Steam the cauliflower in 2 1/2 cups water over medium heat until tender, about 5 to 6 minutes. Drain and quickly rinse under cold water to stop it from cooking. Chop the cauliflower into smaller pieces with a knife once steamed and measure to make 5 cups. Set aside the rest for another use.

In a large bowl, combine the steamed cauliflower, flour, garlic, eggs, grated cheese, parsley, 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt and pepper. Add water so that batter becomes slightly more dense than pancake batter.

Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-low heat, add 1 teaspoon of oil coating bottom of the pan. Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to form fritters. You can fit 4 fritters at a time, flattening them slightly with the back of the measuring cup. Cook until golden brown, about 2 1/2 to 3 minutes on each side. Repeat with the remaining oil and batter 3 more times.

Adapted from Julia’s Healthy Italian ^[2]

References

^{^} broccoli a pasteta (juliashealthyitaliancooking.blogspot.com)

^{^} Julia’s Healthy Italian (juliashealthyitaliancooking.blogspot.com)

Posts navigation

1 2 Next