Smoky Red Peppers Stuffed with Tofu Ricotta, Spinach and Pine Nuts

This dish came about because I had a little bit of leftover filling from making the stuffed eggplant this weekend and didn’t know what to do with it. When I saw the peppers in the refrigerator I knew they would be the perfect vessel to hold the filling. I used the smoker because I didn’t put it away from making the smoked mushrooms yesterday. You could just as easily bake this in a 350-degree oven. I included wilted spinach and golden raisins to give this dish a touch of southern Italy.

Smoky Red Peppers Stuffed with Tofu Ricotta, Spinach and Pine Nuts
Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/2 cup wood chips
2 medium red peppers (I used 1 purple and 1 red)
6 cups of baby spinach, raw
2 tablespoons of golden raisins
4 tablespoons of tofu, firm
½ tablespoon of raw cashews
½ garlic clove
1 tablespoon of pine nuts
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Soak your wood chips for at least an hour so that they are thoroughly saturated when you begin smoking.

Cut the peppers in half top to bottom. Remove the seeds and veins. If the peppers won’t sit upright make a tin foil snake to cradle the peppers in while they are being smoked.

Rough chop the baby spinach and sauté until it is wilted. Rough chop the golden raisins. You want each raisin to be cut once. Add the raisins to the spinach and move everything to wire sieve. Press down on the spinach and raisin mixture to remove as much water as possible. You can also squeeze it dry in your hands.

To make the filling, put the tofu, cashews and garlic into the food processor and process until it is smooth. Put the tofu mixture into a bowl. Add the pine nuts, and spinach and stir to thoroughly combine.

Place the filling evenly into the peppers.

Drain the wood chips and place them in the bottom of your smoker. Put the peppers (in the smoker tray on the rack) on top of the wood chips. Close the smoker and turn the heat on high for 5 minutes. After five minutes reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 20 minutes. Then you want to check the filling to see if it has firmed up a little (like a frittata). It will still be a soft (like a cheese) but will have become a cohesive mass.

Your peppers will give off a little liquid while cooking. Use your finger to keep the filling in the pepper and pour off the liquid while the peppers are still hot. I found they were cool enough to pick up in about five minutes. Cool the peppers to room temperature and refrigerate until you are ready to eat.

I served these cold on top of greens dressed with lemon. They would also be good warm or hot, but I wanted them to top a salad.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 297.95
Calories From Fat (42%) - 125.96

Total Fat - 15.05g
Saturated Fat - 1.43g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 234.12mg
Potassium - 1159.75mg
Total Carbohydrates - 24.38g
Fiber - 6.45g
Sugar - 13g
Protein - 23.27g

Comments:

This recipe turned out well. It was lightly smoky and flavorful. Golden raisins added a little sweetness in random bites. The cooking method kept the pepper crisp. The filling was rich and creamy and very much like cheese. Overall I am very pleased with this dish. I had it today for lunch on top of lettuce that was dressed with a little lemon juice and that acid helped to cut through the fat of the filling.

Fava Beans with Toasted Bread and Tofu Tahini Sauce

This is variation of the chickpea dish that our favorite Lebanese restaurant makes. In addition to changing the bean I added the tomatoes and lemon and eliminated the oil. I also changed the yogurt to silken tofu. Overall I am very happy with how well this dish came out.

Fava Beans with Toasted Bread and Tofu Tahini Sauce
Serves 6

Ingredients:

½ yellow onion, finely diced
4 Roma tomatoes, finely diced
1 ½ cloves of garlic, grated
¼ teaspoon of cumin
¼ teaspoon of coriander
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 pound of small dried fava beans, cooked until tender
6 small whole wheat pita breads (or substitute low fat pita chips)
8 tablespoons of silken tofu, tahini and garlic dip
3 tablespooons of almond milk, or less
¼ cup of pine nuts, toasted

Directions:

Cooke the onion, tomatoes, garlic and lemon juice until onions are tender. Add the cooked fava beans and heat over low until hot.

While the beans are getting warm tear the pitas into bite size pieces and dry toast in a cast iron pan until crispy.

Make the sauce by combing the silken tofu, tahini, and garlic dip and almond milk (one tablespoon at a time) into the blender or food processor. Add almond milk until you reach the consistency you like.

To serve the dish, place the beans in the bottom of the bowl. Pour a drizzle of the tofu tahini mixture on top and garnish with the toasted pine nuts. Surround the exterior of the beans with the crispy bread shards. Traditionally the bread is placed on the bottom of the dish and the beans put on the top. My husband likes this served with the bread shards on top so that is the way we eat it. Feel free to layer this any way you wish.

Serve hot.

Nutritional information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 415.9
Calories From Fat (18%) - 74.92

Total Fat - 9.12g
Saturated Fat - 1.04g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 293.88mg
Potassium - 1113.86mg
Total Carbohydrates - 61.69g
Fiber - 25.18g
Sugar - 8.21g
Protein - 29.54g

Comments:

This dish has good flavor and I particularly like the interplay of textures with the soft beans, creamy tofu topping and crunchy bread shards. The flavor is definitely Middle Eastern, but not overpowering. If you like things acidic a little fresh lemon juice added at the end when you are plating would be very nice.

Crispy Baked Eggplant Filled with Tofu Ricotta and Pine Nuts

This dish is a vegan version of a restaurant dish from Sue and John's wedding anniversary this year when we all went out for dinner. The original dish was made with ricotta and was shallow fried. I have had this on my list to make healthy for about six months (sorry for the delay guys). The tofu ricotta worked extremely well as filling for the eggplant. Tofu firms as is cooks so the texture was perfect in between the eggplant slices. Raw cashews added richness to the filling. Pine nuts were included because they were in the original dish.

Not surprisingly this dish was the favorite this evening of my omnivore parents, who both had seconds, and took the leftovers home. If you are looking for a decadent dish for a party with both vegans and omnivores I suggest this one. If you want to take this over top you can drizzle it with basil or chive oil. This would also be wonderful served on a bed of homemade tomato sauce.

Crispy Baked Eggplant Filled with Tofu Ricotta and Pine Nuts
Serves 8

Ingredients:

2 globe eggplants, sliced ¼ - ½ inch thick
14 ounces of firm water packed tofu, thoroughly drained
¼ cup of raw cashews
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
1 ½ teaspoons of kosher salt
½ teaspoon of garlic powder
½ teaspoon of oregano, dried
¼ cup of pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons of whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons of almond milk
1 ½ cups of whole wheat panko bread crumbs
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Place the eggplant slices of a half sheet pan lined with paper towel. Place paper towels between the layers of eggplant slices (I had two layers). Top the pan with another pan and weigh it down lightly (I used a couple of empty Pyrex containers. You want the eggplant to give off its excess liquid so the final dish won’t be soggy. I allowed mine to sit undisturbed for about an hour.

Squeeze the tofu dry as you can get it and place in a colander while you process the cashews.

Put the raw cashews in your food processor and process until the nuts are finely ground. Add the tofu, garlic, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and oregano. Process until everything is thoroughly fine and smooth. Stir the pine nuts into the mixture by hand (you want them to remain whole for texture) and move the mixture to the refrigerator until you are ready to make the eggplant sandwiches.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line two baking sheet pans with parchment.

I find it easiest to line up the eggplant (top and bottom) first. Spread the tofu onto half the eggplant sandwiches and top with the matching eggplant slice.

Dust each sandwich with whole-wheat flour to make the breading stick. Dip each sandwich into almond milk and then into the panko breadcrumbs. I like to allow the sandwiches to dry out a little (10 minutes) before I proceed with the baking. I think this helps the coating to stay on the sandwiches.

Lightly coat each eggplant sandwich with a little drizzle of olive oil. I tried spraying it with oil but it causes some of the breading to come off. I used a total of 1 tablespoon of oil for all the eggplant sandwiches. Bake the sandwiches for 15 minutes and check to see if they are ready to be flipped. The top will be more brown than the bottom. You may need to add a little oil if the sandwiches are dry (mine didn’t need it). Cook an additional 15 minutes on the second side.

Serve these hot.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 201.12
Calories From Fat (40%) - 79.84

Total Fat - 9.44g
Saturated Fat - 0.98g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 541mg
Potassium - 500.69mg
Total Carbohydrates - 21.83g
Fiber - 6.11g
Sugar - 3.7g
Protein - 10.96g

Comments:

My omnivore parents devoured this dish. Both of them told me this was their favorite dish tonight. I thought it was good, but honestly felt it was a little too rich for me. Adding an acid to this may have made it a little better for me. I think next time I will serve this on a bed of tomato sauce.

Whole Wheat Pizza with Fresh Tomato, Basil, Balsamic and Pine Nuts

Finally, the last pizza crust from last weekend is coming out. I can now safely say the pizza crust holds fine for a week in the refrigerator. I stored mine on a half sheet pan that I wrapped well in plastic film.

Today’s pizza is light and fresh. I used a tomato from the local farmers’ market this morning, basil from the yard, and my favorite balsamic vinegar. I couldn’t resist a little drizzle of good olive oil as the finishing touch. This is one of my favorite pizzas. I like the freshness from the basil and the lightness. The balsamic vinegar adds just the right amount of richness without being too heavy.

Whole Wheat Pizza with Fresh Tomato, Basil, Balsamic and Pine Nuts
Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/5 of the whole wheat pizza dough recipe
1 large ripe tomato, sliced thinly
a little kosher salt for the tomato
½ tablespoon of good balsamic vinegar
12 – 14 fresh basil leaves, cut into thin ribbons
½ tablespoon of pine nuts, toasted
½ teaspoon of unfiltered extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with the pizza stone on the top rack.

Prepare the pizza crust according to the directions. If you made the crust previously, as was the case at my house today, remove the pizza crust from the refrigerator and allow it to gently reheat on the top of the stove while the oven comes to temperature.

Meanwhile slice the tomato as thinly as possible and sprinkle it evenly with a little kosher salt. You want the liquid to come out of the tomato now and not when it is on top of your pizza crust.

When the oven has come to temperature use a paper towel to blot the water from the tomato. You want the tomato as dry as possible, without becoming obsessive.

Place the tomato slices on top the pizza crust (which is now on the pizza peel). Sprinkle the tomato slices evenly with the balsamic vinegar. Slide the pizza into the oven and cook for 8 minutes.

Remove the pizza from the oven and top with the fresh balsamic, toasted pine nuts and good olive oil. I also add freshly cracked black pepper because I husband thinks everything is better with pepper.

Serve the pizza while it is still hot.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 325.47
Calories From Fat (23%) - 73.48

Total Fat - 9.97g
Saturated Fat - 0.73g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 247.05mg
Potassium - 270.35mg
Total Carbohydrates - 61.12g
Fiber - 7.16g
Sugar - 4.6g
Protein - 9.18g

Comments:

This is one of my favorite pizzas to make. I know many people think it can’t be pizza without cheese but I love this pizza. Good fresh local tomatoes are very important to this pizza since there are so few flavors. I also use an 18 year old balsamic, again because there are so few flavors. The basil came from our garden and was picked a few minutes before I used it. The unfiltered olive oil was used because it has a bigger olive flavor. A good quality extra virgin olive oil would also be fine.

Whole Wheat Pizza with Fresh Tomatoes, Basil Pesto and Almond Feta

My parents love it when I make homemade pizza. Since the weather was gorgeous and cool today I decided to make pizza for our weekend dinner with the parental units. Needless to say the omnivores had dairy cheese on their pizza. We used almond feta that I had stashed in the freezer for our pizza. The almond feta worked well on the pizza in terms of flavor. It doesn’t melt like dairy feta but I think taste is more important. The basil pesto on the bottom keeps the crust from getting soggy. Overall this was a great pizza that both my husband and I really liked. The nutritional information was also better than I expected given how much we enjoyed the pizza.

Whole Wheat Pizza with Fresh Tomatoes, Basil Pesto and Almond Feta
Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/5 of the whole wheat pizza dough recipe
1 large fresh tomato sliced thin and blotted of liquid
½ tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup of fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon of pine nuts
½ clove garlic
2 tablespoons of almond feta
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Prepare the whole wheat pizza as described in prior recipe. Par cook the pizza as described in the prior recipe and continue with the recipe below.

Slice the tomato as thinly as possible and lay it in a single layer on your cutting board. Blot the excess moisture from the tomato so that it doesn’t make you pizza wet.

Prepare your pesto by putting the oil, basil, pine nuts and garlic in the food processor and pulsing until it is pureed.

Spread the pesto on the pizza crust. Top the pesto with the sliced tomatoes and dollop the almond feta on top the tomatoes. Bake in a 500 degree oven for 3 minutes and serve hot.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 369.04
Calories From Fat (33%) - 120.94

Total Fat - 15.47g
Saturated Fat - 1.33g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 140.84mg
Potassium - 292.53mg
Total Carbohydrates - 59.97g
Fiber - 7.45g
Sugar - 3.04g
Protein - 10g

Comments:

Both my husband and I enjoyed this pizza. It was thin and crispy like pizza that you get in Italy. We thought the almond feta worked very well on the pizza. The pesto flavor comes through, as does the acidity in the almond feta. This pizza will be making future appearances at our house. We had this pizza and a big green salad tonight for dinner and it was more than filling enough.

Expect to see more pizza recipes on the blog this week. I have three more par cooked pizza shells to use this week.

Shaved Asparagus with Lemon Vinaigrette and Almond Feta

I was looking for another way to use fresh asparagus and decided to try to shave it and see how that worked in a salad. The texture is nice, but this is a time consuming salad.

The sun-dried tomatoes are included for their lycopene and cancer fighting abilities. The pine nuts and almond feta were added to provide healthy fat and textural variation.

This a nice combination of flavors that I will be using again in the future.

Shaved Asparagus with Lemon Vinaigrette and Almond Feta
Makes 4 appetizer salad servings

Ingredients:

1 lemon, juiced and finely zested
2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, grated
salt and pepper, to taste
1 pound of asparagus, tips removed and stems shaved with a vegetable peeler
2 tablespoons of almond feta
2 sun-dried tomatoes, julienned
2 teaspoons of pine nuts, toasted
4 cups of mesclun greens

Directions:

Make the lemon vinaigrette by whisking together the lemon juice, olive oil, lemon zest, and garlic. Add salt and pepper to the vinaigrette to taste.

Trim about an inch of the woody ends from asparagus. Trim the last few inches of the asparagus with a vegetable peeler, if it is tough. Cut the tips of the asparagus and put them into the vinaigrette. Using the same peeler, turn the asparagus stems into asparagus fettuccini shapes.

Put the asparagus in the vinaigrette and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

When ready to serve remove the asparagus from the storage container. Toss the greens in the vinaigrette left in the bottom of the storage container. Place the greens on a salad plate and top with a mound of the shaved asparagus. Top the salad with the asparagus tips. Crumble the almond feta on top. Decorate with a few sun-dried tomato slivers and sprinkle the pine nuts on top.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 75.05
Calories From Fat (50%) - 37.44

Total Fat - 4.35g
Saturated Fat - 0.52g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 120.09mg
Potassium - 385.82mg
Total Carbohydrates - 7.79g
Fiber - 3.71g
Sugar - 2.88g
Protein - 3.76g

Comments:

This salad has a great taste, but it is a little bit too time consuming to make if you are in a rush to get dinner on the table.

Shaving the asparagus with a potato peeler works even though it takes a while. I will be saving this technique for special occasions, or when I have a lot of time in the kitchen. To make the asparagus easier to shave buy only the largest asparagus you can find. They are much easier to handle. Also the technique works better if you start at the bottom of the asparagus and peel toward where the tip should be.

On the other hand the flavors were great together and would make a nice topping for a cracker, pasta or pizzette.

Whole Wheat Pasta with Sun Dried Tomato Pesto and Dandelion Greens

We are going out for dinner tonight, which means we won’t be eating as healthy as we do at home. I decided to throw together a very quick whole grain pasta for lunch today. I don’t usually make 4 ingredient dishes, but that is what I made today.

Whenever I make pasta I always undercook it a little. When pasta is cooked al dente (slightly undercooked) it is a lower glycemic food. Neither my husband nor I have glucose tolerance issues. However, I see no reason to make my pancreas, or his, work harder than necessary.

This pasta is low in fat but high in flavor from the dandelion greens, sherry vinegar and sun dried tomatoes, and is packed with nutrition. The lycopene in the tomatoes is thought to help prevent a growing list of cancers. The dandelion greens are reported to reduce blood pressure, cholesterol as well as fight cancer. It is hard to tell if any of these foods will actually do what is reported, but as long as you like the taste does it really matter?

Whole Wheat Pasta with Sun Dried Tomato Pesto and Dandelion Greens
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

13.25 ounces of Whole Wheat Rotini
6 tablespoons of sun dried tomato pesto (recipe below)
13.5 ounces of dandelion greens, trimmed and julienned
2 tablespoons of pine nuts

Directions:

Cook the pasta is 6 quarts of boiling salted water for 2 minutes less than the package indicates.

When the pasta has 5 minutes remaining on the timer begin to make the sauce. Start with 6 tablespoons of tomato pesto in a large skillet. Add the dandelion greens and ½ cup of the pasta cooking water. Cook over medium heat so the dandelion greens will wilt. If the greens become too dry add a little more pasta cooking water. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce when the timer goes off, put a lid on the pan and turn off the heat. Allow the pasta to stand covered for 2 minutes so that it will absorb the sauce.

Serve the pasta hot or cold with the pine nuts and salt and pepper to taste.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 447.03
Calories From Fat (12%)- 54.94

Total Fat - 6.44g
Saturated Fat - 0.23g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 456.51mg
Potassium - 373.86mg
Total Carbohydrates - 86.26g
Fiber - 14.64g
Sugar - 6.74g
Protein - 16.17g

Comments:

The pasta has a nice sun dried tomato flavor that isn't overwhelming but is the dominant flavor in this dish. The dandelion greens lose a lot of their bitter flavor when cooked. Next time I may double the dandelion greens in this dish. I liked the textural variation that you get from the pine nuts. This dish will need a little pinch of sea salt added when serving.

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
Makes ¾ of a cup – serving = 1 tablespoon

Ingredients:

½ cup of sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained of their oil
¼ cup of sherry vinegar
2 tablespoons of water
2 cloves of garlic
½ teaspoon of kosher salt

Directions:

Put everything the food processor and puree until the paste is smooth. Store the unused portion in the refrigerator until needed.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 7.25
Calories From Fat (7%)- 0.54
Total Fat - 0.07g

Saturated Fat - 0.01g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 125.68mg
Potassium - 84.14mg
Total Carbohydrates - 1.71g
Fiber - 0.29g
Sugar - 0.85g
Protein - 0.35g

Comments:

This sun dried tomato spread has a nice background of acidity from the vinegar. I use it on pasta, pizza, and to top whole grain crackers that are spread with almond feta. It can also be thinned out with a little water or tomato juice and used to dress a salad. I also like to toss it into cold pasta or rice salads and use it with roasted vegetables.