This is the quintessential northern Italian type recipe that is simple, minimalist and will make you close your eyes at the first bite.This might be my most favorite oven roasted cauliflower recipe ever, and there’s a lot of them here at Spinach Tiger.

When I was tasting this dish, I thought of Marcella Hazan who wrote this legendary cookbook that stands worn-out in my kitchen. If you even dream of understanding authentic Italian cooking, this book is a must and get it in hardcover. You’ll have it for years.

She also writes a book called Ingredienti, Marcella’s Guide to the Market, that is simply charming and useful, as she believes ingredients almost outweigh a recipe, which should be non-complicated.

Buttery Oven Roasted Cauliflower Recipe Process

The cauliflower is sliced medium-thin, and fried in clarified butter, before roasting. You must clarify the butter, because you will be frying the cauliflower at medium high heat.

You can learn how to clarify butter here.

The cauliflower slices are then layered with salt, pepper, and authentic parmigiano-reggiano cheese and broiled for about five minutes.

The problem with cauliflower is that not all parts will slice the way you want them to. Some will crumble. That’s okay. Just put those to the side and fry those together. You can put them either in the center or middle of the layers. Put your best layers on top.

I call this cauliflower crack, as it’s buttery and gets flavor from parmigiano reggiano cheese.

Food should be made with the best ingredients you can find, and as few of them as it takes to create a culinary experience.

Take that in for a moment. Good food has finesse and draws you close to its source. When you taste this cauliflower, it should make you want to ask more about this dish, like what cheese is this, what butter did you use?

As simple this oven roasted cauliflower recipe is, it makes you want to know more about it.

I used unsalted Irish butter, because it’s amazing and makes grocery store butter taste like fake butter.

I used organic cauliflower, making sure to look for a head that had no black spots.

I used AUTHENTIC parmigiano-reggiano from Italy, not fake substitutes. You will pay more, but you will use less. Treat this king of cheese as it deserves.  It’s very subtle, yet has an umami flavor and it comes from the special cow’s milk produced by cows in a small protected area of Italy. Don’t buy pre-grated, as it begins to lose moisture immediately.   Don’t use pecorino in this recipe, as it will overpower the dish and be too salty.

I used or pink himalayan salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Use Cast Iron Pans to cook from Stove Top to Oven

Because I like to use high heats and place this under the broil, I used this size cast iron pan. If you have never cooked with cast iron, I urge you to invest in a few sizes. Not only are they affordable, they last through generations. I only purchased a few of my 14 cast iron pans, inheriting the rest. I use at least one of them  every single day.

Once the dish came out of the oven, I realized I topped it with some fresh basil, the only fresh I had. You can use fresh parsley or thyme, but I wouldn’t burden it with any stronger flavors, because the beauty of this dish is how nuanced it is.

If you like this, you’ll be inspired by this most popular cauliflower recipe, Cauliflower Hash, which is similar.

More Cauliflower Recipes

More Vegetable Dishes

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Buttery Oven Roasted Cauliflower Recipe

Buttery Oven Roasted Cauliflower with layers of Parmigiano Reggino

Course Vegetable Side Dish

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower
• 4 tablespoons clarified butter unsalted.
• Celtic Sea Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1/3 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
• fresh basil or parsley for garnish

Instructions

• Preheat broiler or oven to 425 degrees
• Trim Cauliflower, Slice medium thin sliced thickness, about 1/4 inch, not shaved
• Use a small cast iron pan that will make three layers.
• Heat clarified butter in pan. To make clarified butter, heat in medium heat and skim off all foam. What is left is clarified butter.
• Add cauliflower one layer at a time, not to crowd pan. Fry until nearly golden brown or golden on edges. Remove to dish, as you cook each layer.
• Season each layer with salt and pepper. Make sure each layer has some of the melted butter.
• Layer each with a parmigiano reggiano cheese.
• Save the nicest cauliflower pieces for the top.
• Sprinkle top with cheese.
• Either roast at 425 for about 10 minutes, until the cheese is golden, or place under broiler for about five minutes. You may need to watch this closely to not burn it.
• When it comes out of the oven, sprinkle chopped parsley or basil.
• Serve immediately.

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The post Buttery Oven Roasted Cauliflower Recipe with Parmigiano Reggiano appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I love shepherd’s pie, especially once the weather turns cold.

These low-carb cauliflower crust shepherd’s pie recipes are just as delicious as any shepherd’s pie or cottage pie with mashed potatoes. These are great for diabetics watching their glycemic count and for the paleo-keto life style.

If you make the cauliflower correctly (using no extra liquid), you’ll think they are potatoes.

In this version, I just added in butter and a drop of the water I boiled the cauliflower in. So simple. So easy. In the above version, I used left over bolognese sauce. You can take any ragu, stew, or meat filling and make a fantastic shepherd’s pie. Just save your leftovers like I did using the meat fillings below.

You want to make sure you brown the crust without burning it. You can brush it with butter or sprinkle freshly grated parmesan or use a cheese of your choice. In one version, I used cheddar.

The mistake I made in the past was putting my shepherd’s pie under the broiler. That can be a bit nerve racking. I’ve found that putting the shepherd’s pie in the oven and topping it off with a little butter and grated pecorino or parmigiano reggiano is a better way to go. No need to temp fate (burning) with a broiler.

Keep this recipe in mind once the holidays roll around. Make your favorite stew, and save the leftovers for a shepherd’s pie.

I used this cauliflower mash recipe. This was made with just olive oil, salt and pepper. You can also use butter. It looks just like fluffy mashed potatoes, the comfort food of all of our childhoods.

 Use Leftovers Make Cauliflower Crust Shepherd’s Pie Recipes

Number 1: I made this cauliflower shepherd’s pie with this left over roast beef, topped off with cheddar cheese.

Number 2: Use this Bolognese Sauce which is pictured at the top.

Number 3: You could also use the veal bolognese from this recipe. 

Number 4: Use leftovers from this Italian Beef Stew made with turips. (Just cut it up finer).

Number 5 Here’s one of my absolutely favorite ground beef recipes. Ground beef with Peas and Onions. This is super easy, better than it looks and everyone who makes this loves it. I

f you want to keep it low carb, try green pepper instead of the peas. Add kale and pancetta for an Italian take.

Number 6:   This is a bonus. If you want decadent, this is a more complex shepherd’s pie recipe of beef, veal and red wine. Just replace the potatoes with cauliflower.

No matter what you choose to do when making Cauliflower Crust Shepherd’s Pie, make it easy for yourself.

More Cauliflower Recipes from Spinach Tiger

One Pan Chicken and Cauliflower Rice

Shrimp Creole with Cauliflower Rice

Italian Wedding Soup with Cauliflower Rice

The post Five Low-Carb Cauliflower Crusted Shepherd’s Pie Recipes appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Let’s take a little Italian break. In between the sweet and aromatic flavors of Fall, I need salty, and in this very busy season, you probably need easy.

This is easy Italian comfort food. This is carbs. This is pasta. This is close your eyes food.

This is a dish you should  eat at least once in your life time, preferably in Italy.

But if you can’t get there this week, let me assure you that this does taste like what I had in Rome, only a little better, because I added some freshly made bread crumbs.

It’s a simple recipe, where it’s key to use very good ingredients.

If you want to know how to cook spaghetti carbonara with bacon, start with good ingredients. 

1. Buy a good spaghetti and cook it al dente. This is healthier, as starches are more slowly digested, and glucose is more slowly released into the blood stream. This is a bigger deal than you think, and eating seriously al dente might bring you pack to pasta. When you eat over-cooked pasta,  you will experience a peak in your blood sugar, and tend to eat more of everything. The Italians eat smaller portions of pasta than Americans which helps to explain why they are so thin compared to us, and they really are. In Rome, spaghetti alla carbonara almost has a crunch to it. We would think it was mistakenly not cooked, but it’s a wise way to enjoy pasta.
2. Use pancetta and fry it nice and crispy, but feel free to use a smokey bacon like Benton’s bacon. I used a little of both.
3. Use authentic Italian cheeses. Freshly grated pecorino romano and freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano will combine nicely, but if you must choose one, choose parmigiano-reggiano.
4. Use white wine and be sure to read my notes in the recipe. Wine and hot oil can be dangerous when combined.
5. Use very fresh eggs you buy at a farmer’s market or use pasteurized eggs. (some folks will disagree and think that the link between raw eggs and salmonella is a myth. I just don’t want to take chances with you.
6. Make sure to read the directions carefully, as to not turn the eggs into scrambled eggs.
7. Add the toasted breadcrumbs right at the end and enjoy.

About that Bacon

Pancetta may be called Italian bacon, but it’s quite different. It’s pork belly, not smoked,  cured in salts and spices. It has a pronounced flavor to it which often gives the dish its personality. While you can substitute bacon (for all the right reasons, do find one that has personality like Benton’s Bacon).

One of the more famous pasta dishes in Rome is  Pasta all’Amatriciana, which calls for tomatoes with pancetta and is ever so easy to make. Bolognese has pancetta, a long cooking dish,  this Ground Beef Italian Style, with kale and pancetta takes under twenty minutes.

Connect with me on Facebook. I’m starting to do Facebook Live, which will give you a preview of new recipes and videos I’m shooting for my cooking channel. Please follow.

More Pasta Recipes

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How to Cook Spaghetti Carbonara with Bacon and Bread Crumbs

A twist on pasta carbonara is tossing toasted bread crumbs at the end.

Course Pasta

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 8 minutes minutes

Total Time 23 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 8 oz. pancetta bacon, either or, or both (sliced into 1/4” inch pieces)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves smashed
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 3 large eggs I used pasteurized, but you can use very good farm fresh eggs
• 1/4 cup freshly grated pecorino romano
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano
• black pepper
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 pound spaghetti

Instructions

• Fry garlic in oil until golden and then discard. Add pancetta (or bacon). I used half bacon and half pancetta, but you can do this anyway you like.
• Once crispy, add wine. Before you do that, lower the heat, so the oil and wine do not form a geyser. Be careful, as you add wine, having a lid in hand. Cook for 1 or two minutes. Turn off heat.
• Break three eggs in bowl you will serving spaghetti. Do NOT add pasta back into pot and add eggs, as eggs will cook.
• Beat eggs and add in grated cheeses, pepper and 2 tablespoons parsley.
• Reserve an extra tablespoon of parsley for garnish (along with a bit of micro greens).
• Cook pasta al dente, drain well. (See notes on cooking pasta)
• Add to bowl with beaten eggs and toss. Reheat pancetta and add to pasta. Serve at once

The post Seven Tips on How to Cook Spaghetti Carbonara with Bacon and Bread Crumbs appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

When I was a child I didn’t eat any of these three ingredients. But, my palate is all grown up and I love garlic Brussels sprouts and parmesan cheese as long as the cheese is the real thing, freshly grated.

Garlic Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Parmigiano Reggiano

Parmigiano Reggiano is what I’m referring to. It’s the stinky hard cow’s milk cheese that denotes “Italian” flavor because it’s imported from Italy and known as the king of cheese. If cow’s milk is not a good option, then freshly grated, Pecorino Romano, a hard sheep’s cheese,  which is a bit saltier, is a good choice.

This is another one of those simple recipes that must be orchestrated properly, and in the end tastes a bit like a salty candy as the Brussels sprouts caramelize with flavors of roasted garlic and parmesan cheese.

If it’s your first time trying to roast Brussels sprouts, that must mean  you’re just getting to know this dark horse of a vegetable, and you’re in for a treat. Only recently trendy in the last decade, it’s hard to find a restaurant where Brussels Sprouts are not on the menu and that’s a good thing.

This is a food trend we won’t tire of easily, as proven by the many many Brussels Sprouts recipes here, including a few shaved Brussels Sprouts salads.

Tell me, what’s your favorite way to eat Brussels sprouts?

You may love this post, how to cook brussels sprouts 10 different ways, which highlights all my brussels sprouts recipes.

More Brussels Sprouts Recipes 

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Garlic Roasted Brussels Sprouts Parmesan

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with fresh garlic, fresh parmigiano reggiano cheese.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 pound Brussels Sprouts
• 1 to 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic thinly sliced
• dash paprika
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• red pepper flakes optional

Instructions

• Wash, trim Brussels sprouts. Cut them in half.
• Toss with garlic, olive oil, paprika, salt, pepper,.
• Roast in shallow baking pan at 400 degrees.
• Add the parmigiano reggiano at 10 minutes.
• Roast another 5 to 10 minutes.
• Season with more salt and pepper as needed.

The post Garlic Roasted Brussels Sprouts Parmesan appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

If it weren’t for my quest to make spinach lasagna, I may have never started Spinach Tiger.

One night six years ago, I googled  the words green lasagna in preparation for a dinner I was planning for Christmas Eve. I found a beautiful food blog, which led me to some food centric comradeship at a time when I had no foodie friends and  Nashville’s food scene was only starting to bubble.

I never found the recipe I was looking for, but I found a new passion.  I stayed up all night reading food blogs and it made such a difference in my mood that night that I decided I would start a blog, something I was sure I would never do.

I’m a private person and the idea of revealing parts of my life to the world scared me.  I thought, however, that a food blog is not a diary; it’s food and a safe venue in which to connect with the world.

Little did I know this isn’t exactly true. A blog of substantial traffic makes one a small public figure in the sense that you can never hide again, and eventually, opinions, attitudes, moods, and personality will surface.

Christmas marked the five-year anniversary and,  by coincidence, my best friend gave me this cutting board for Christmas. It was a total surprise. She had it carved with the Emily’s Candy font that I use for my watermarks. I never realized anyone even noticed the little hearts. This was one of the best gifts I’ve ever received, because it honors what I do, and it’s validating. True friends do these kinds of things.

The board was ordered from Chop It Chop It on Etsy. I had to give them a shout out.

The Spinach Lasagna Process

Finally, six years later, I’m posting the recipe I was looking for. It ended up being six layers of noodles and seemed to have just enough of everything between them. The top cheese was gooey, the inside creamy and the sauce just flavorful enough to pull it together but remain in the background. I used my grandmother’s basic Italian tomato sauce recipe, which is my second most popular post of all time. It’s perfect for lasagna, manicotti, etc.

It’s only one of the ways to make a spinach lasagna, not the only way. The most typical way is to chop up the spinach and the mix it in with the ricotta cheese. I wanted to make it a little prettier, so I placed baby spinach between the layers.

If you want to do it the other way, simply add two to three cups of freshly chopped spinach to the ricotta cheese. In lieu of fresh spinach, you can use frozen, as long as you drain it completely. If you do use frozen, you only need about one cup.

Lasagna can be a lengthy process. I made the sauce, grated the cheeses,  and mixed the ricotta cheese the night before. I bought a hunk of mozzarella at the deli, because the pre-grated stuff  is tasteless. I also use the real Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and grate it fresh before each use.

Lasagna is special and not a time for too much compromising, although I did use the no-boil noodles, which yields a good texture.

On Christmas day, it was a 10 minute ordeal to put this together and pop it into the oven.

Beautiful pictures were difficult. It was dark. It was Christmas. It was crazy in my house, so this is the best I could come up with amidst remote control cars zooming through the house. Mr. ST said this was the best lasagna I ever made. Each piece had six layers of noodles, and cut out easily, after 20 minutes of resting after it was baked.

Happy Five Years to Spinach Tiger. I hope you enjoy the spinach lasagna and many more recipes from Spinach Tiger. I’m going to follow up with ten things I learned about blogging in the last five years, so stay tuned.

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Spinach Lasagna

Spinach lasagna, and four cheese make for a wonderful six layer Christmas lasagna.

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 2 hours hours

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 3 hours hours

Servings 10

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• Homemade Tomato Sauce
• 2 Boxes of Ronzoni or other no-boil lasagna noodles order here
• 3/4 pound mozzarella cheese grated
• 3/4 cups parmesan cheese grated (can skip pecorino and use 1 cup parmesan)
• 1/4 cup pecorino romano cheese grated
• 2 pounds whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 2 cups fresh spinach
• parmesan cheese for serving

Instructions

• Make tomato sauce. Set aside.
• Mix ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, pecorino cheese, eggs, parsley, salt and pepper. Add in 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Reserve the rest for topping lasagna.
• Layer lasagna until you have made the layers as high as the pan you are using.
• The layers are as follows.
• Sauce, lasagna noodle, ricotta cheese mixture, spinach, noodles.
• Continue until you are at the last layer.
• Top with mozzarella cheese.
• Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes until the cheese is bubbly. You may want to top with some foil during the last 15 minutes if the cheese is starting to brown.

Notes

You can choose to mix chopped spinach into the ricotta cheese. Just wash, dry, and finely chop. You can also use frozen spinach. Use one cup or more to taste, but make sure it's completely drained.

The post Homemade Italian Spinach Lasagna appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

It’s till being debated on how this recipe was developed, as there are both Italians and Americans who stake claim to the recipe. The Williams Sonoma cookbook states that it was created by an Italian chef in Rome who made it for a vodka company wishing to promote vodka in Italy. That makes the most sense to me, as the onion and short cooking time reminds me of another famous Italian red sauce that Rome is known for.

It may be hard to believe that this is my first time making vodka sauce yet it’s been on my 2013 white board all year. I have a board with dishes I want to feature on Spinach Tiger, and I wanted to make vodka sauce. It has fallen out of favor in today’s culinary world but I have a thing for retro food, and it’s time to breathe some life back into it, in case you weren’t around in the 80’s when it was on every Italian menu in the States.

Amanda of Dancing Veggies  has vodka sauce on her blog, and I was reinspired to give it a go when I was assigned her blog to choose a dish to cook from for the Secret Recipe Club. Each month, we are assigned to select a recipe from a another food blogger and then we all reveal on the same day. If you see the links below you will see all the participants.

Amanda is a young newlywed who admirably taught herself to cook when her mother told her if she wanted something different, she’d have to cook it herself. She was a teen then, and set out to make food taste good for her own taste buds. My kind of girl, and maybe more moms should do this or whatever it takes to get children and teens to cook in the kitchen. You all know how passionate I am about that.

I didn’t follow her recipe exactly. Amanda used fresh tomatoes because she had far too many in her garden. She uses yogurt and , while I think that’s a brilliant idea, as there area few good Indian dishes that combine yogurt with tomato sauces, I chose heavy cream and added in a bit of butter in addition to the olive oil. While you’ll probably never see me eat a krispy kream donut, I’m a bit old school when it comes to butter and cream as both can smooth out a tomato sauce. I admit to also being a little heavy handed with the vodka both in and out of the sauce. Shhhh.

Penne Pasta is the typical pasta used to hold the thick creamy sauce, but I had vodka sauce on pizza last year in Memphis,  and it was quite memorable.  I still come from the camp that believes butter and cream are good ingredients to cook with and much healthier than anything jarred, canned, or processed. Of course, the tomatoes were San Marzano certified, as that is where I do my budget splurging. I hope you can find the irony in that I used it for some spaghetti squash for a light dinner last week and I do encourage you to use your creativity. Penne pasta is just the start of the places vodka sauce can travel.

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Penne Alla Vodka

Vodka Tomato cream sauce with penne pasta 1 tsp fresh parsley 1 tbsp fresh basil 2 tbsp greek yogurt (coconut or cow – soy tends to give a bad aftertaste)

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 onion diced
• 2 32 ounce cans whole San Marzano tomatoes
• 1/2 cup vodka
• handful fresh parsley
• few fresh basil leaves if you have it, don’t use dried
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup parmesan cheese freshly grated
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 pound of penne pasta

Instructions

• Heat olive oil in sauce pan. Put in onion and garlic until onion is softened, but don’t let garlic burn.
• Chop tomatoes and add tomatoes and juice into pot.
• Add in fresh herbs such as parsley and basil (remove later)
• Cook for twenty minutes.
• Add in vodka and cream.
• Stir, simmering on low for twenty more minutes.
• Stir in a 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• Add in crushed red pepper
• Cook pasta to a few minutes before pasta is done.
• Drain pasta reserving 1/3 cup of pasta water.
• Add pasta to sauce. You might also add in pasta water if needed.
• Finish cooking pasta in the sauce.
• Serve with more parmesan cheese

The post Penne alla Vodka appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Red Quinoa is a dish one cannot stop eating after the first bite. There is a lot going on with the varying textures from toasted quinoa, smoked almonds and raw Brussels sprouts, but it’s the powerful flavor from the king of cheeses, Parmigiano Reggiano, that makes this dish a true winner. This is truly a super food ensemble, and can be served  as a side dish or main vegetarian dish, as quinoa is a complete protein.

When Legends from Europe invited me to participate in a recipe contest, I was excited. I’m Italian. I appreciate the fabulous imported meats and cheeses of Italy. I got to choose either the cheese or meat category and I chose cheese and was assigned Parmigiano Reggiano.

I would have been equally content to be assigned one of the other cheeses, but Parmigiano Reggiano and I go back a long long way, and this cheese has had a prominent place in many recipes here. I grew up eating parmigiano reggiano, always grated freshly at the table. I used to be perplexed because the rind was hard and had writing on it, and through a little girl’s eyes, I didn’t understand that this meant something very special.

The Brussels sprouts are shredded with a mandolin, marinated for a while in olive oil, lemon and garlic and then briefly returned to the pan of toasted quinoa and smoked almonds. The cheese is added in to the quinoa which benefits greatly from its robust flavor and added in once again to finish the dish. The smokiness of the almonds is a nice compliment to the Parmigiano Reggiano.

This can be a first course dish or a side dish, but feel free to make it your main dish, your meatless Monday, or your vegetarian option at the Holiday table. However, you choose to serve Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad with Toasted Red Quinoa, be sure to use authentic Parmigiano Reggiano.

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Legends from Europe: Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad with Toasted Red Quinoa, Parmigiano Reggiano

A combination of raw shredded Brussels Sprouts, red quinoa, flavored with lemony dressing and Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese.

Course Side Dish or Salad

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 pound Brussels Sprouts
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 3/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese divided
• 1 cup uncooked red quinoa
• 1/4 cup smoked almonds chopped
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 6-8 sage leaves

Instructions

• Rinse Brussels Sprouts thoroughly. Remove some of the large outer leaves to roast. Toss the outer leaves with a little olive oil. Roast at 375 for 10-12 minutes or until the leaves are crispy. These will be used for garnish at the end,
• Using a mandolin, shred Brussels sprouts or using a chef's knife, slice thinly.
• Mix together olive oil, lemon zest.
• Mix Brussels sprouts with olive oil dressing just until sprouts are wet. Set aside. You will reserve the rest of the dressing for later.
• Cook quinoa. Rinse quinoa thoroughly in mesh strainer under running water for two minutes.
• Place in pot with two cups water and 2 teaspoons salt.
• Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover, cook for 15 more minutes.
• Place remaining olive oil in saute pan with 1 clove minced garlic. Lightly saute
• Add in one tablespoon butter and smoked almonds. Add quinoa.
• Stir for about two minutes to toast.
• Add in 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
• Pour toasted quinoa over the raw Brussels sprouts.
• In separate small saute pan, make a browned sage butter. Brown the butter on medium heat. Add in the remaining minced garlic with sage leaves, until leaves are crisp but not brown.
• Pour sage browned butter over quinoa and brussels sprouts. Mix thoroughly.
• Top with remaining Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and almonds, Roasted Brussels Sprouts leaves for garnish.
• Serve warm or at room temperature.

Legends from Europe is a 3 year campaign funded by the European Union and launched in the U.S. to increase awareness and celebrate “the legendary quality, tradition, and taste” of five authentic PDO products (Protected Designation of Origin) from Europe – Prosciutto di Parma, Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto di San Daniele, Grana Padano and Montasio.

The post Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad with Toasted Red Quinoa, Parmigiano Reggiano appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Roast beef, mashed potatoes, a smattering a root vegetables. Sounds like something in an American diner right? But, if you think about it, the Italians and French (especially in the north) eat red meat, and they prepare roast beef just like we Americans do, except they tend to cook with wine from their areas. In this case, Marcella is taking her inspiration here from the Piedmont Region of Italy, Stracotto al Barolo.

I’ll admit that it is not difficult to make a pot roast, but this is a 10 in comfort food.

I am so passionate about inspiring people to cook in their own kitchens instead of eating at the hands of take-out and restaurants that a biggest part of my zest is finding dishes you and I can cook at home, yet feel we have been treated out.

I invited neighbors over to enjoy this dinner. Steve travels and eats extensively in nice restaurants. His comments were “this tasted like a great meal out in a nice restaurant.” As it should be, and this is what we can experience frequently if only we know how.

The how of home cooking is simplicity. Home recipes should be understated yet delicious enough that you will return to them again and again.

Marcella did not fail on this recipe. Of course, the base is always the same, the onion, celery, carrot, chopped very finely as they become a part of the sauce. Please take caution when using wine and oil, as I had a little in-pot fire with one of the roasts. I had put the lid on to let the alcohol burn down. Bad idea, as when I took the lid off, a big whoosh of flame erupted. Cast Iron Enamel pots are the best friends in my kitchen for numerous reasons, but they are not to be taken for granted.

Cooking with Cast Iron Enameled Pots and a Little Caution

• Of course always follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Some of these will include:
• Do not rapidly alter temperature, taking a pot from cold to hot or hot to cold. They can crack.
• The pots heat up and RETAIN their heat, which is why they are called dutch ovens. They actually can get so hot, that when you open your oven, you will feel a big whoosh of heat. Always stand back.
• Do not use high heat. Even when a recipe calls for high heat, proceed with caution, using medium heat. Once on the stove, even the smallest flame can be enough to keep a continued simmer.
• Use Pot holders. This may seem like a given, but even the knobs of the lids will be very hot.

The pots you see above are a 7 quart and a 4 quart, which work perfectly for my needs. I am either cooking for two or for a crowd.

The Cooking Process
Start with good meat. I used two chuck roasts and cooked in two different enameled cast iron pans. During the last hour, I put the two together in one pot.

These are browned and ready to be braised in red wine to get that fork tender texture. I make my own beef broth and keep it frozen until I need it. You can use store bought, but get the best you can.

What to do with the Roast Beef Leftovers

You have to make this beef macaroni soup. It has kale, white beans, and meat broth to warm and fill you.

• Beef Macaroni Soup
• Homemade Beef Pie
• Roast Beef Hash

Major comfort food goodness all baked in a beef pie found at my favorite roast beef left over recipes.

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Pot Roast of Beef Braised in Red Wine, Mashed Potatoes

Delicious pot roast adapted by Essentials of Classical Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 4 hours hours

Total Time 4 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• olive oil
• 4 pounds boneless beef roast preferably chuck
• 1 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons onion finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons celery finely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups dry red wine see notes
• 1 cup or more of beef stock or 1/2 cup canned with 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped canned imported Italian plum tomatoes
• Pinch of dried thyme I used fresh
• 1 teaspoon fresh marjoram or 1/4 teaspoons dried
• salt
• black pepper freshly ground

Bolognese Style Mashed Potatoes

• Mashed Potatoes Bolognese Style
• Instructions
• 8 large red potatoes peeled, cut into large chunks (about 8 pieces per large potato)
• 4 -6 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup warmed milk you may not use it all
• sea salt
• white pepper
• 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup parmigiano-regianno
• nutmeg

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350
• I used a cast iron dutch oven for one pot cooking. If you don’t have a pot that goes into oven with a lid, you can cook this on top of the stove on a low simmer for 3-4 hours or (slow cooker) for several hours.
• Using an enameled-cast iron dutch oven or skillet, brown meat in olive oil on high on all sides. Set aside. If you using cast iron dutch oven, remove meat with tongs to another plate.
• Add butter and onions, until softened. Add in celery, carrots.
• Add in wine, cook off alcohol for about 5 minutes. Add broth, meat, tomatoes, thyme, marjoram, salt, pepper.
• Oven method: Make sure the liquid comes up about 3/4 of the way. Marcella suggests turning meat over every 20 minutes. I used cast iron pan that has a self basting lid and only turned the roast every 40 minutes. Roast in 350 degree oven to make sure the bottom doesn't burn.
• Stovetop Method: Keep lid on, cook on a simmer for 3-4 hours, turning several times.
• Slow Cooker: Completely submerge in liquid (adding more broth/water if necessary) and cook for several hours, 6-8.
• If roast is over 4 pounds, double all the ingredients, and be sure to use a pan that fits the roast. Too large of a pan will spread the liquid out to much.
• Wine Notes:

Wine Notes

• Barolo wine at my wine store starts at $46. Other suggestions included Barbaresco, Barbera, Syrah (from California or Australia) or Zinfandel. I chose Zinfandel for the cooking and drinking with this dish. Cabernet is good too.
• It is critical to use a decent wine in this dish. I made a six-pound roast and used the whole bottle, doubling all the ingredients. Use a freshly opened bottle; your dish will only be as good as the wine you use.

Bolognese Style Mashed Potatoes

• I made potatoes both with and without cheese and nutmeg and liked both versions for this roast.
• Prep potatoes, once meat is in oven. They can sit in a pan of cold water until ready to use.
• Once ready to boil, rinse again, start with fresh cold salted water.
• Mashed potatoes should be fluffy, not creamy, so as soon as potatoes are fork tender, drain and mash with fork or masher. Do not use an electric beater, as this changes the chemistry of the potatoes.
• To guarantee no lumps, use a ricer. Mash with butter. Slowly add warmed milk using just enough to make fluffy. Too much milk will yield gooey potatoes.
• Season with salt and pepper and parmesan cheese and a dash of nutmeg.

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When I ate my first fork full sitting at one of those charming outdoor restaurants in Rome, I was ready to just eat a dish of pasta (the way you eat a grilled cheese), but I remember stopping and saying, “whoa, what’s in this? It looks so very ordinary, and the way I think, I’m already eating tomorrow’s bowl when I haven’t finished todays. I came home and I made it several days in a row with fresh tomatoes and then I forgot about it, because summer was over and I thought this dish HAD to be made with fresh tomatoes. I was so positive that every plate of pasta all’ Amatriciana was made with fresh tomatoes, but now I’m not so sure.

I’m going to ask you to trust me that this is a spectacular sauce. It looks like just another dish of spaghetti. In fact, It looks like that 80’s hit, spaghetti pomodoro, that I don’t much care for as it usually reeks of garlic.

As I followed the instructions to chop canned Italian tomatoes, and drain the juice, I thought I might be disappointed. How wrong I was. There simply are no disappointments when cooking a Marcella recipe. The combination of butter, onion, and tomato is very sweet, made sultry with pancetta, and cut just right with hot pepper.

Retro Rose thought I used FRESH tomatoes. I fooled her.

There were three of us for dinner. Two of us were not very hungry. One whole pound of pasta completely disappeared, and that never happens. We are Italians. We eat good food every day. But, we were jumping up and down (almost) remarking over and over again that this is so good. Retro Rose already took home some of my pancetta and the recipe so she can make it.

So trust me, when Retro Rose gets excited about pasta, it’s a big deal, because she has never counted carbs in her life, and she eats pasta several times a week.

So if you don’t trust me, trust her. She’s been eating pasta for 74 years.

 I googled this sauce to see how others might be preparing this dish. I saw a lot of mistakes. 

I saw garlic.
Please, please do not use garlic in this. It will rob you of sweet onion taste.

I saw olive oil.
I’m not as picky on this, but if you do use olive, also use butter. Even though by the end of the dish you don’t really see butter and onions, you will taste them. They make the dish.

I saw bacon instead of pancetta.
While I can see that pancetta might be more difficult for some to purchase, it delivers a completely different taste than bacon. You can purchase just a small piece for this recipe at deli counters that sell Boars Head, if you don’t have access to an Italian market. Our local Whole Foods actually sells pancetta made here by a local farmer.

I saw canned tomatoes and fresh tomatoes. Good canned tomatoes are better than bad fresh tomatoes.

The Pasta
Bucatini, a thick, hollow spaghetti is the traditional pasta used in this dish. It’s the perfect pasta to cook al dente, and add a thick, dicey sauce must especially blanket a pasta with a bite to it. I have never once experienced a true al dente pasta in an Italian restaurant in America. But, that is all you get in Italy, and it’s so much more al dente than you might think. Keep in mind that pasta continues to cook once you strain it. If you think your “al dente”needs another minute, it’s done.

Normally, I have at least 2 pounds on hand, but just when I need it, my Italian market is out of it until late November. I use De Cecco kamut spaghetti. I love this pasta, find it meaty and, while it is NOT gluten free, it’s a great choice for those with wheat sensitivity.

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Cooking Italy - Pasta all’ Amatriciana, Not Just Another Dish of Spaghetti

I had Pasta all'Amatriciana in Rome, and this recipe is just as good.

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion diced
• 2 tablespoon butter
• 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/4 ”slice pancetta cut into 1”strips (1/2”wide)
• 1 1/2 cups Italian tomatoes diced,drained of juice
• 1/2 small dried hot chili pepper or 1 t chile pepper flakes or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or taste
• 1 pound pasta
• 1 tablespoon Pecorino cheese freshly grated
• 3 tablespoons Parmigiano Reggiano freshly grated

Instructions

• Saute onion in oil and butter on medium until it's pale softened, almost golden. Add pancetta, cooking for about 2-3 minutes.
• Add tomatoes, chili pepper, salt and simmer for 25 minutes. Taste and correct for salt and pepper.
• Toss pasta with sauce then add both cheeses.

Recipe for filling adapted from Marcella Hazan’sEssentials of Classical Cooking

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