Crispy Polenta with Kale & Sausages
This is a three part recipe, and each part requires a different level of commitment.
The sausages are the easiest of the group, throw em in the pan, and you couldn’t screw it up if you tried.
The kale- a two step process, and the polenta, the most complicated of all, but still shockingly easy!!
I’ll be honest, I don’t love polenta, except like this. Crunch crunch crunch. Oil. Cheese. Do I need to sell it more?
Crispy Polenta with Kale & Sausages
2016-07-28 17:57:42
Prep Time
2 hr
Cook Time
20 min
For the Polenta
- 2 Cups medium coarse or coarse ground cornmeal
- 6 Cups water
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tsp salt
- A handful of parmesan cheese, grated
For the Kale
- A Giant bunch of kale
- A full head of garlic, cloves separated, smashed with a knife, and roughly chopped
- A giant glug of good quality extra virgin olive oil
For the sausages
- Whatever sausages you like! I used chicken apple, and an Italian style with mozzarella.
For the polenta
- Preheat the oven to 350f, and set a rack on the middle level.
- Grease a heavy 12 inch dutch oven, add the cornmeal, water, olive oil, salt, and stir with a form or whisk until blended. The mixture will separate, but don't worry this is normal.
- Bake uncovered for 1 hour and 20 mins. Stir the polenta with a long-pronged fork, adjust the seasonings, and bake 10 mins more. Remove from the oven and let cool completely (note you can actually do this even a full day in advance.)
- When you are ready to eat, preheat the oven to 350, slice the polenta into 1 inch slices, and lay out on a non-stick cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle grated parmesan on top of everything.
- Bake the tray of polenta slices for 10 mins, before turning the oven to broil for 5 minutes until crispy and browned on the outside.
For the Kale
- Separate the stems out (compost them or something), and chop the leaves of the kale.
- Steam the kale in a covered pot with a few inches of water for 5 minutes.
- Drain, wipe out the pot, and put a giant glug of oil and garlic in the pot. Saute until aromatic, throw in the kale with a large pinch of salt, and saute for another few minutes in the oil and garlic.
For the sausages
- Slit them a few times, throw them into the pan, and fry until golden.
Notes
- Only the first part of the polenta is based on the cookbook sited above.
Adapted from The Best American Recipes 1999
Adapted from The Best American Recipes 1999
Victoria's Kitchen http://kitchenbyvictoria.com/
Key Lime Pie
Every year as a kid, my mother used to make a dozen key lime pies for the annual Church spaghetti supper.
It’s really easy, and everyone loves it. Creamy, yet tangy.
I’m not aware of the availability of graham cracker crusts in Europe… so for my Belgian friends consider this a ‘lime custard’, which you can put into dishes and serve as a custardy dessert in tiny ramekins.
You can also add whipped cream on top. My pop loves whipped cream, and to be fair it does make a great decoration, together with a little shaving of lime.
Key Lime Pie
2016-07-27 18:38:22
Serves 10
Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
3 hr
Ingredients
- 1 Graham cracker pie shell
- 1 15oz Can sweetened condensed milk
- 1/3/80 ml Cup lime juice
- 1 Tbsp grated lime rind
- 1/4 Tsp salt
Instructions
- Stir together the condensed milk, lime juice, lime rind, and salt.
- Stir until thickened (which happens as a reaction to the citrus and the milk).
- Turn the filling into the pie shell, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours before serving.
- Garnish with whipped cream and/or lime shavings.
Adapted from The Joy of Cooking
Adapted from The Joy of Cooking
Victoria's Kitchen http://kitchenbyvictoria.com/
Summer Minestrone with Fresh Pesto
Such a perfectly fresh summer soup. This just tastes like the garden.
If you can, do make the pesto yourself, it’s worth it. Also don’t turn up your nose at the butter. Untraditional, yes. delicious, also yes.
Cooking for a crowd? Make a double recipe, grill up some toasts, and serve with toast and salad- it’s way more filling than you might imagine.
Summer Minestrone with Fresh Pesto
2016-07-27 18:02:39
Serves 8
Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
1 hr
Ingredients
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Medium onion, chopped
- 2 Medium carrots, chopped
- 2 Celery stalks, chopped
- 1 Shallot, chopped
- 2 Leeks, chopped
- 4 Large garlic cloves, minced or pressed
- 1 (14oz) can chopped tomatoes, with liquid
- 1 zucchini, diced
- A bouquet garni consisting of 1 Parmesan rind, 1 bay leaf, and parsley stems, tied together with kitchen string
- 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini or other white beans, drained and rinsed
- A handful of green beans, cut into 1-inch segments
- A handful of yellow beans, cut into 1-inch segments
- ½ cup tiny soup pasta, such as tubetti
- Freshly ground pepper to taste & high quality salt
- Fresh Pesto- see below
- Freshly grated Parmesan for garnish
For the pesto
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp pine nuts
- 2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed with a knife and peeled
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 3 tbsp butter, softened to room temperature
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven and add the onion, carrots, celery, leeks, green and yellow beans, and shallot. Cook, stirring, until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes, and add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Continue to cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 more minutes. Add the garlic, stir together for about a minute, and stir in the tomatoes. Cook, stirring, until the tomatoes have cooked down and smell fragrant, about 10 minutes. Stir in 2 quarts water, the zucchini, and the bouquet garni, and bring to a simmer. Add 2 teaspoons salt, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer 45 minutes.
- While the soup is simmering away, make the pesto: Put the basil, olive oil, pine nuts, garlic and salt in the blender and blend until smooth. Once smooth, pour into a bowl, and mix in the grated parmesan cheese by hand. Once integrated, beat in the softened butter.
- Separately, cook the pasta in a different pot. This allows you to scoop the pasta and the soup separately into each bowl and the pasta never gets soggy.
- Once the 45 minutes are up on the soup, stir in the canned beans. Taste and adjust salt. Remove the bouquet garni. Grind in some pepper and taste and adjust seasonings.
- Serve in wide soup bowls, with a scoop of pasta, a dollop of pesto, and a sprinkling of Parmesan over the top.
Adapted from NY Times Cooking
Adapted from NY Times Cooking
Victoria's Kitchen http://kitchenbyvictoria.com/
Avocado, Orange & Onion Salad
Unusual? Yes. Delicious? Also yes. The combination of avocado, orange and onion is just wonderful, the textures, the tastes, all merried by a drizzle of balsamic. It’s painfully easy, and very attractive.
The biggest challenge you’ll face (if you live in Belgium), is finding ripe avocados and juicy oranges.
If you open your onion and it tastes a bit too strongly, you can ‘flash pickle’ it, by slicing it in a bowl, and covering the slices for 5 minutes with hot water and a few spoonfuls of apple cider vinegar.
Avocado, Orange & Onion Salad
2016-07-26 20:08:03
Serves 6
Prep Time
10 min
Ingredients
- 1 sweet onion
- 2 oranges
- 2 avocados
- High quality extra virgin olive oil
- High quality balsamic vinegar
- Fleur de sel
Instructions
- Slice the first ingredients to roughly the same thickness, and arrange nicely on a platter.
- Sprinkle salt, and drizzle on oil and vinegar.
Victoria's Kitchen http://kitchenbyvictoria.com/
Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Even someone without a sweet tooth can’t resist an oatmeal raisin cookie. Soft in the middle and packed with oats and raisins (obviously…) these are also on the more nutritious side of dessert.
Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
2016-07-26 20:06:34
Serves 10
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
15 min
Ingredients
- 1 cup/227g butter, softened
- 1 cup/200g brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1/2 cup/100g granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups/192g all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups/255g oats, uncooked
- 1 cup/150g raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Mix together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda cinnamon and salt). Set aside.
- Beat together margarine and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add in dry ingredients.
- Stir in oats and raisins; mix well.
- Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
- Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire rack.
Adapted from Quaker Oats
Adapted from Quaker Oats
Victoria's Kitchen http://kitchenbyvictoria.com/
Fiesolana: Italian Cabbage Salad with Ham & Fontina
Fiesolana: Italian Cabbage Salad with Ham & Fontina
2016-07-26 20:29:29
Prep Time
15 min
Ingredients
- 1 Head green/white cabbage , washed and chopped into tiny strips
- 1 Bunch parsley, washed, dried, and chopped
- 6 Slices of ham, chopped into tiny bits
- 8oz/220g Fontina cheese, chopped finely (see below)
- A Few spoonfuls of parmesan
- Olive oil
- Red wine vinegar or lemon juice, your pick
- Fleur de sel & pepper
Instructions
- Fontina is notoriously hard to grate or chop finely, because it’s quite soft. Cut it into relatively small bits, freeze it, and then put it into the food processor with a few tablespoons of parmesan. This will help it stay tiny.
- Combine all salad ingredients (cheese, cabbage, parsley, and ham).
- Drizzle olive oil, and toss.
- Add salt and pepper and toss.
- Drizzle vinegar, and toss. (DO NOT OVERDRESS THIS SALAD. It’s not about the vinegar right now. Just let the cabbage work it’s magic.)
- Taste and add whatever’s needed to make it perfect.
Adapted from The Best American Recipes 2002-2003
Adapted from The Best American Recipes 2002-2003
Victoria's Kitchen http://kitchenbyvictoria.com/
It is SO GOOD. There is barely any dressing, and yet the salad is so flavourful. It is perfect for a blisteringly hot summer day, and you’ll be able to eat a GIANT bowlful because it’s basically only cabbage with some fixins.
Serves 6 as a side dish or appetizer, 4 as a main course.
Fiesolana: Italian Cabbage Salad with Ham & Fontina
2016-07-26 20:18:43
Ingredients
- 1 Head green/white cabbage , washed and chopped into tiny strips
- 1 Bunch parsley, washed, dried, and chopped
- 6 Slices of ham, chopped into tiny bits
- 8oz/220g Fontina cheese, chopped finely (see below)
- A Few spoonfuls of parmesan
- Olive oil
- Red wine vinegar or lemon juice, your pick
- Fleur de sel & pepper
Instructions
- Fontina is notoriously hard to grate or chop finely, because it’s quite soft. Cut it into relatively small bits, freeze it, and then put it into the food processor with a few tablespoons of parmesan. This will help it stay tiny.
- Combine all salad ingredients (cheese, cabbage, parsley, and ham).
- Drizzle olive oil, and toss.
- Add salt and pepper and toss.
- Drizzle vinegar, and toss. (DO NOT OVERDRESS THIS SALAD. It’s not about the vinegar right now. Just let the cabbage work it’s magic.)
- Taste and add whatever’s needed to make it perfect.
Adapted from Best American Recipes 2002-2003
Adapted from Best American Recipes 2002-2003
Victoria's Kitchen http://kitchenbyvictoria.com/
Herby Rice
This is an easy one. Not even sure we can call this a recipe as such, but it’s a great side, and it looks lovely.
It can be served with Panko Encrusted Scrod, with the Bulgarian Stuffed Red Peppers with Feta, with anything!
Herby Rice
2016-07-25 05:09:13
Serves 4
Prep Time
15 min
Ingredients
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1 cup chopped fresh herbs (any combination you have available of parsley, dill, basil, or mint)- wash and dry them thoroughly
- Salt & Black pepper
- A large knob of butter
Instructions
- Cook the rice according to package instructions (in general it’s 1 part rice to 2 parts water in a pan, bring to the boil, turn the heat down, cover, and cook for 10 minutes on low heat).
- Once cooked, stir in the herbs, butter, salt, and pepper. Taste and continue to season until it tastes just right.
Adapted from Herbed Basmati
Adapted from Herbed Basmati
Victoria's Kitchen http://kitchenbyvictoria.com/
Mirin Glazed Salmon
Yum. Thanks Nigella. This is easy, fast, and delicious. To find the mirin and rice vinegar you may need to visit a specialty Asian food grocery store.
Mirin Glazed Salmon
2016-07-25 04:44:29
Serves 4
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
5 min
Ingredients
- 60ml/4 tbsp mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
- 25g/2 tbsp light brown sugar
- 60ml/4 tbsp soy sauce
- Pinch of powdered ginger
- 4 salmon filets
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 - 2 spring onions, sliced
- Rice- 4 portions
Instructions
- Cook the rice according to package instructions.
- If you are making a green side like broccoli throw it into the pan now.
- Mix the mirin, brown sugar and soy sauce in a shallow dish that will take all 4 pieces of salmon, and marinate the salmon in it for 3 minutes on the first side and 2 minutes on the second. Meanwhile heat a large non-stick frying pan on the stove.
- Cook the salmon in the hot, dry pan for 2 minutes and then turn the salmon over, add the marinade and cook for another 2 minutes. Sprinkle with a pinch of powdered ginger.
- Remove the salmon to whatever plate you're serving it on, add the rice vinegar to the hot pan, and warm through.
- Put the rice on the plate, topped with the salmon, and pour the on top, together with the spring onion strips.
Adapted from Nigella Lawson
Adapted from Nigella Lawson
Victoria's Kitchen http://kitchenbyvictoria.com/
Bulgarian Stuffed Red Peppers with Feta
This is my interpretation of a traditional Bulgarian recipe which sounds like Chushka Bjurek, that I had recently in Sofia when visiting one of my best friends in the world- kisses Bibs!!
Bulgarian Stuffed Red Peppers with Feta
2016-07-25 04:33:06
Serves 4
Prep Time
1 hr
Cook Time
10 min
Ingredients
- 4 long sweet red peppers
- 2 eggs
- 6oz (180g) feta cheese or Bulgarian white cheese
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- A handful of freshly chopped dill
- A handful of freshly chopped parsley
- Light oil for frying (sunflower, peanut, coconut etc.)
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the batter
- 1 egg
- 4 Tbsp flour
- 4 Tbsp bread crumbs
Instructions
- Wash peppers, chop off tops and deseed. Roast under the broiler on very high heat (200-250c/400f).
- When one side of the pepper gets black, flip so that all sides get uniformly blackened.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for about 30 minutes until cool enough to handle.
- Remove peels of the peppers carefully with your fingers. Sprinkle with salt. (note you can do this part any time before cooking, I did it in the morning and made the peppers for dinner!)
- Break 2 eggs in a bowl and beat with a fork until frothy. Crumble cheese, add to the eggs and stir in dill, parsley and minced garlic clove.
- Spoon stuffing into each pepper, trying not to break their soft and tender skin.
- Take three plates and put the flour in one of them, the egg for the batter in the second and the bread crumbs in the third. Beat eggs for the batter until frothy.
- Put oil into a pan and turn heat to medium.
- Roll every pepper in flour, dip into the eggs and then into the bread crumbs. Put every pepper into the hot oil and fry for about 5 minutes on every side turning once.
- Remove from the heat and serve hot, with a side of salad and toast.
Victoria's Kitchen http://kitchenbyvictoria.com/
We are not actually convinced that it’s 100% true to the original, but it’s really good. We loved it.
I was lucky enough to bring back the real Bulgarian white cheese to make this. But regular feta is also delicious, and tastes almost identical.
Shrimp Stuffed Calamari
This dish became the focus of most of our attention this week. We woke up thinking, how can we get black pepper taralli? Should we make them ourselves? Should we schlep over to the fancy seafood store and buy them? HOW do you make them?
We did pulled out all the stops for this one. We called our Italian cousin for an authentic recipe, we bought all of the ingredients to make it at home, and we went to the fancy fish store to buy a fortune’s worth.
Day of cooking arrives. The moment we’ve all been waiting for.
The Taralli. Are. Rancid.
Thinking quickly we used some panko + a huge pile of black pepper and these came out completely amazing. I’ve still put taralli as an ingredient, if you can get ahold of them. But if you can’t, no bother!
Shrimp Stuffed Calamari
2016-07-07 17:41:42
FOR THE CALAMARI
- ½ cup black-pepper taralli, OR Italian breadsticks OR panko
- 1lb pound large squid (about 6), cleaned, bodies and tentacles separated
- A large glug of extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large spoonful unsalted butter
- 5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- Red-pepper flakes or another chile (aleppo, urfu, etc.), to taste
- ½ pound peeled shrimp, cut into small pieces
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- ½ teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
- Salt & Pepper to taste (if you do not use the black pepper taralli, use LOTS of black pepper
FOR THE SAUCE
- A large glug of extra-virgin olive oil
- Red-pepper flakes, to taste
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 large can crushed tomatoes
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 handful Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Make the sauce: In a wide, deep pan, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add red-pepper flakes to taste and the garlic, and cook until fragrant and just beginning to color. Stir in the tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper. Bring the tomatoes to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer the sauce for 15 minutes.
- Make the stuffing: Smash the taralli or the breadsticks until it forms coarse crumbs.
- Chop the squid tentacles finely, and pat them very dry with paper towels.
- In a large skillet, heat a glug of olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add the squid tentacles, and spread them out. Sear until golden brown, about 5 minutes, then add the butter, garlic and red-pepper flakes to taste. Cook, stirring, until the garlic just starts to color, about 1 minute.
- Add the shrimp, season with salt and cook until just pink, about 2 minutes. Add the wine, and simmer for 1 minute. Turn off the heat, and stir in the crumbs and lemon zest. The crumbs should look like wet, clumpy sand. If the mixture is too dry, sprinkle in a little more wine, and allow the filling to cool until just warm.
- Stuff each squid body with the filling, leaving a bit of room (the stuffing will expand as it cooks).
- Add the calamari and any extra stuffing into the tomato sauce pot, and keep it at a very gentle simmer.
- Cover the pan, and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally and adjusting the heat to make sure the sauce maintains a lazy bubble. Adjust with salt to taste. Garnish with the parsley.
- Serve with bread or pasta.
Adapted from NY Times
Adapted from NY Times
Victoria's Kitchen http://kitchenbyvictoria.com/
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