Orzo with Asparagus, Mascarpone and Chives

The other day I asked K to pick up a bunch of asparagus. Now, I meant one bundle of asparagus. He thought I meant a lot of asparagus so he brought home three bundles. Reminds me of the time I asked him to bring home zucchini and he bought a cucumber. Cutie :). So, having a lot of asparagus on hand, I decided to make my favorite dish that celebrates roasted asparagus. I love the fabulous flavor that develops from roasting asparagus, as opposed to steaming or sautéing it. Although, in my opinion you can’t really go wrong with asparagus unless you overcook it—that is just wrong.

Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables. They are sweet and tender and work with so many different flavor profiles. They are an excellent source of vitamin K, folate, vitamin C and vitamin A. Asparagus is great for heart health, nourishes our digestive tract and it’s high folate content is essential for expecting mothers. Asparagus also contains fiber, many B vitamins and is an excellent anti-inflammatory.

Print Recipe
INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds asparagus, trimmed and cut on a diagonal into small pieces (about 6 cups)
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound orzo*
• 1 8-ounce container mascarpone cheese
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• sea salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 450°F. Place asparagus on a baking dish and toss to coat with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until asparagus is tender, about 10 minutes. (Can be prepared ahead; let stand at room temperature.)

Cook orzo in large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain orzo, reserving 1 cup cooking water. Return orzo to the pot and stir in mascarpone, 2/3 grated Parmesan cheese, asparagus and 3 tablespoons chives. Toss over medium-low heat until pasta is coated with sauce and mixture is heated through, adding reserved cooking water by 1/4 cupfuls until the sauce is to your liking. (I usually use ¾ of cooking water total because the orzo soaks up the sauce. Although it looks moist in the beginning, it definitely needs the extra water to keep it from drying out.) This should take about 3 minutes.

Mound orzo in a large shallow serving bowl. Sprinkle with almonds and remaining chives and Parmesan
cheese.

* If you are not eating gluten, this recipe can easily be made with your favorite grain or gluten-free pasta. The best gluten-free pasta I have ever had is Jovial.

Balsamic Pears with Honey Black Pepper Cream

Everyone who knows me knows that I love pepper…I put it on everything. People seem most surprised when I add fresh cracked pepper to fruit (sidenote—it is so good on cantaloupe). When I saw a recipe in Health magazine for balsamic poached pears, I knew I had to play around with it. The combination of sweet and savory in a low glycemic dessert was too good to pass up. I love the use of Bosc pears, which are available in most grocery stores year round.


Pears are a good source of vitamin C, folate and dietary fiber. This recipe leaves the skin of the pear on, which is important considering most of the vitamin C content is in the skin.  Pears provide some potassium and iron, but most importantly pectin and cellulose. Pectin is a soluble fiber that helps control cholesterol levels and cellulose is an insoluble fiber that regulates digestion. There is no refined sugar in this recipe, only honey. 

Print Recipe
INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Bosc Pears, cleaned well, sliced in half and cored
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

• 8 Fl OZ (236 mL) heavy whipping cream, organic if possible
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper (finely ground), plus more for finishing the dish

 DIRECTIONS:


Preheat oven to 400 F. Whisk honey and balsamic vinegar together.

Pour melted butter into a baking pan. Arrange pears, on top of butter, cut side down. Roast for 20 minutes.


Pour balsamic mixture over the pears and roast for about 10 minutes more. You may choose to occasionally baste the pears with sauce during these 10 minutes.


Meanwhile, whip the heavy cream with the honey and the freshly cracked
black pepper.

Place each pear on a plate, cut side up. Whisk together the sauce that has now formed in the pan and spoon it over the pears. Top with the freshly whipped cream and sprinkle with extra pepper to your liking.

Lebanese Vegetable Soup

It is finally starting to feel like winter in California. In celebration of the season that embraces warm jackets, snuggling and hearty meals, I will be posting some of my favorite soups in the weeks to come. One of my favorites is Lebanese Vegetable Soup: hearty vegetables and chickpeas floating in a medium-spiced tomato broth. The best part about this soup for me is the chickpeas. They really round out the dish and add much needed protein.

Chickpeas, also called Garbanzo Beans, are a great source of cholesterol-lowering fiber. This makes them an important food for those with diabetes, insulin resistance or hypoglycemia. Chickpeas are an excellent source of the trace mineral, molybdenum, which is an excellent detoxifier. Like most legumes, chickpeas are excellent at lowering cholesterol, decreasing the risk of heart disease and providing energy. Chickpeas are also a great source of iron, phosphorus and manganese.

Topping off the completed soup with some yogurt ensures a complete protein in this meal and helps aid digestion.

Print Recipe
INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 cups chickpeas
• 10 marinated artichoke hearts, sliced thinly
• 1 potato, peeled and cut into ½ inch chunks (try to make them as uniform as possible)
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped or 1 can crushed plum tomatoes 
• 1 quart vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• optional: lemon wedges, yogurt, chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot and add chopped onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Cook for 8-10 minutes. Add coriander, bay leaf and cayenne and stir to coat vegetables. Add potatoes, tomatoes (and their liquid if you are using canned tomatoes), broth and 2 pinches of sea salt. Bring soup to a boil, cover, reduce heat to simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

Add chickpeas and cook soup until potatoes are tender, about 5 more minutes. Add artichoke pieces, and simmer for 3 minutes so the flavors can meld. Season with sea salt and pepper to taste and remove bay leaf before serving. Serve garnished with yogurt, chopped parsley and lemon.

Ras el Hanout Spiced Crackers

The spice jar I reach for most often in the kitchen is Ras el Hanout. It is a spice blend that literally means "top of the shop” or "head of the shop", because it is the best spice mixture a merchant has to offer. Ras el Hanout usually contains 25-30 ingredients; however some blends contain up to 100 ingredients! It originated in Morocco and is used throughout the Middle East and North Africa to flavor fish, pastillas, couscous, rice, lamb...pretty much anything. The baseline ingredients for Ras el Hanout are usually ginger, coriander, cinnamon, black pepper, turmeric, nutmeg, allspice and cloves. I order mine from Zamouri Spices, which contains (in addition to the baseline ingredients) grains of paradise, lavender, ajawan seeds, kalajeera, galangal, oris root, rose buds and much more. 

A few friends have recently been diagnosed with Celiac Disease, so I have been trying out new gluten-free recipes. I recently went to one’s house and wanted to bring over a snack she could enjoy. I decided to make some crackers flavored with Ras el Hanout. Not only are these crackers gluten-free, but the presence of Ras el Hanout means they are loaded with nutritional benefits. With so many spices it is impossible to name all the beneficial properties, but many of these ingredients are great for lowering blood sugar, nourishing the digestive system and preventing inflammation. I also added some nutritional yeast for extra protein, B vitamins and flavor.

Print Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup sifted gluten-free baking mix of your choice (and extra for dusting)
• 1/4 teaspoon Ras el Hanout  (and extra for sprinkling)
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt (and extra for sprinkling)
• 2-4 tablespoons water

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Mix all dry ingredients together well. Stir in the olive oil and then add water one tablespoon at a time. You will know that you have added enough water when a smooth dough forms.

Knead the dough until it is pliable and the ingredients are incorporated. Then, roll it into a ball, wrap in plastic and set aside to rest for 15 minutes. Dust your work area and rolling pin well with the flour. 

After the dough has rested for 10 minutes, divide it in half, put half on the floured surface, and sprinkle with flour. Roll it out until it is as thin as possible (one time when I made these, I used a pasta roller to make an especially thin cracker). Cut the dough into squares, or use a ravioli press (as I did here) to make a decorative looking cracker. Prick each cracker in the middle with a fork and place on a lined baking sheet.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, watching carefully as these can easily over-bake! Remove from the oven and allow them to cool and become crispy. Sprinkle with optional sea salt and Ras el Hanout. After they have cooled, you can keep them in a sealed container. If they get soft, pop them in a toaster oven for a few minutes until they crisp up again. I served these with fresh cheese and sliced heirloom tomatoes. I think they would be great with a dip like hummus.

Ginger Maple Pumpkin Butter

My mom asked me the other day to make her more jam for her breakfast. Unfortunately, the berries that work best for making jam are completely out of season. As we brainstormed different options, we came up with pumpkin butter! Traditionally, pumpkin butter is made with a lot of refined sugar...not the best way to start the day. After messing around with a bunch of ingredients, I came up with a pumpkin butter that is sweetened with honey and maple syrup and flavored with warming spices like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger. I made ginger the star in this recipe, because I love pairing a sweet flavor with a strong, savory one and eating ginger is a fabulous way to start the day.

Pumpkins are high in alpha-carotene, lutein, beta-carotene, vitamin C, potassium, magnesium and zinc. They are a great source of fiber, which helps to curb the appetite. The phytonutrients found in pumpkin protect the eyes and skin from oxidative damage. Also, the phytosterols present reduce blood cholesterol, enhance the immune response and decrease the risk of some cancers.

Print Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1 3/4 cups or 15-oz can pure high-quality pumpkin
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup (I prefer Grade B because it has a bolder flavor)
• 2 tablespoons apple juice
• 1 teaspoon ginger*
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon*
  
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS

Combine the pumpkin, maple syrup, apple juice and ginger in a saucepan over medium heat. Stirring constantly, cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until thickened. Stir in the spices and salt, and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from heat, and transfer your pumpkin butter to a small bowl or jar. Let it cool completely before covering and refrigerating.

*If you want your pumpkin butter more on the sweet side, use 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon ginger.

Sunday Night Chicken

Sunday nights are usually not a popular night. The realization that the weekend went by way too quickly is upon us, and most of us have to get ready for school or work the next day. K and I like to have a nice Sunday night dinner, a mini-Thanksgiving if you will, to ease comfortably into the week. Our favorite Sunday night comfort meal is roast chicken. Now, I have searched all over for the best recipe. I have tweaked other recipes and tried my best, but nothing compares to Ina Garten’s Lemon Chicken that is in her book Barefoot in Paris.

Before I even go into the health benefits, please consider buying grass-fed, pastured, organic chickens which are raised the old-fashioned way. There are plenty of family farms who care about their animals and provide them with healthy diets and lifestyles. Their meat is much healthier and tastier than industrial chicken and the nutritional information I will be providing really only applies to a chicken raised in this manner.

Chicken is high in protein, tryptophan (that is where the comfort comes in), selenium, B3, B6 and phosphorus. B3, or niacin, is important in protecting against cancer, age-related cognitive decline and blood sugar regulation. B6 is important for energy and cardiovascular health. It also works hand-in-hand with B3 to regulate metabolism, and supports a variety of metabolic reactions. Selenium is an essential component of thyroid hormone metabolism, antioxidant defense systems and immune function. And chicken, like all protein-dense foods, are important for the regulation of mood and stress management (including depression, anxiety and sleep). And for those of you who may be horrified at the idea of putting butter on chicken skin, you can always take it off after you cook it. Although we often hear how dangerous it is to eat fat and cholesterol, it is truly important to get good quality cholesterol and saturated fat in your diet.

Print Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (4 to 5-pound) roasting chicken
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• extra-virgin olive oil
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 lemons, quartered
• 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Take the giblets out of the chicken and wash it inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers. Pat dry.

Toss the onion with olive oil in a small roasting pan. Ensure the onions are tossed well or they will burn a bit. Place the chicken on top and sprinkle the inside of the cavity with salt and pepper. Place the quartered lemons inside the chicken. Brush the outside of the chicken with the melted butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. You are supposed to then tie the legs together with kitchen string, but I usually skip that part. Tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken so they don’t burn.

Roast for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh. Cover with foil and allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Ina serves this over croutons (which is amazing), but since I don’t eat much gluten these days, I serve it with brown rice, vegetables, the cooked onions and topped with the pan juices. It is so delicious! The top gets nice and brown from the butter, and the breast meat stays juicy and tender due to the moisture from the onions.