Tag: side dish

Easy Garlic Broccolini

Broccolini, also known as baby broccoli, makes a fantastic, quick side dish and compliments just about anything from beef roasts, lamb, fish, turkey, chicken, lasagna and more.

It’s actually not a younger version of broccoli, but rather a natural hybrid between regular broccoli and a plant called Chinese broccoli. My family prefers it to broccoli and since it takes less time to cook, I make this at least once a week. It has longer, thin stalks with small florets and only needs a few minutes to cook. I make this side dish at least once a week – even my toddler eats it with no complaints!

The best part, it’s healthy and ready in under 10 minutes so if you’re cooking for the holidays or just a meal for your family and need an easy side dish, this is it! You can double it or halve it as you need.

Easy Garlic Broccolini
gordon-ramsay-recipe.com
Servings: 6 • Size: 1/6 • Old Points: 1 pts • Points+: 1 pts
Calories: 43 • Fat: 3 g • Protein: 1 g • Carb: 2 g • Fiber: 1 g • Sugar: 0 g
Sodium: 14 mg • Cholesterol: 0 mg

Ingredients:

2 bunches broccolini
6 cloves peeled garlic, sliced thin
1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
pinch red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:

Trim about 1 1/2 inches off broccolini stems and discard. Slice the brocolini in half lengthwise.

Bring pot of water to a boil. When boiling, add broccolini and cook 2 minutes. Quickly drain and run under cold water to stop it from cooking.

Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil and garlic and cook until golden, about 1 minute. Add the drained broccolini, season with kosher salt to taste and cook 1 minute, or until heated through.

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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)

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“Local” Roasted Beets with Goat Cheese and Walnuts – Kill Once, Cook Twice

They say if you video blog long enough, you’ll eventually
post a snuff film. Okay, so no one says that, but that’s what this roasted
beets with goat cheese and walnuts kind of felt like, as I harvested my
homegrown, and completely defenseless beet.

I was obviously kidding about vegetables being able to sense
pain, but the more I think about it, who knows? Anyway, until I find out
otherwise, I’ll assume the bloody root didn’t suffer for my pleasure, and just
enjoy its incredible goodness. It’s the same assumption I use when eating
chicken wings.

There are very few things that pair as perfectly as roasted
beets and goat cheese. Simply a match made in occasional-vegetarian heaven.
When you toss in some crunchy walnuts, foraged greens, and a simple walnut
oil/vinegar dressing, you have something that’s way beyond the sum of the
parts.

I really can’t think of a more perfect fall lunch. By the way, in addition to making a great mid-day meal, this would also work nicely as a fancy side dish come holiday time, and you have plenty of time to practice. I hope you give this a try
soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 portions:

1 or 2 tbsp walnut oil

1 roasted beet (*about 8 oz)

2 oz goat cheese

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup roasted chopped walnuts

2 tbsp champagne or sherry vinegar

thinly sliced beet greens and fresh chives to top

toasted walnut bread to serve with

*Note: Since beets come in all sorts of sizes, you’ll just
have to go by feel. Roast a beet or two, slice it up, see how much you have,
pick a baking dish that large enough for one layer, cover the bottom with
walnut oil, toss in the beets, fill in between with goat cheese, season, bake
and dress as you see fit.