Monthly Archives: October 2012

Swiss Chard Tart

23 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by in Appetizers, Fall, Mains, Vegetables

≈ 6 Comments

Swiss chard is by far my favorite leafy green vegetable. Growing up in an Italian household with a backyard garden, swiss chard picked and cooked the same day was a common occurrence – lucky me! I love its earthy flavor, especially this time of year when the leaves and stems are particularly sweet and tender. This tart is a warm fall treat served alone as an appetizer, or as a simple supper alongside roasted beets and a small salad. Oh, and of course with a glass of wine!

Ingredients:
*Serves 6 for an appetizer, 4 as small side
  • 1 small bunch rainbow swiss chard, stems and leaves finely chopped
  • 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 2 tblsp butter
  • ½ tsp grated nutmeg
  • 2 whole eggs, 1 egg yolk
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • ½ cup grated fontina cheese
  • 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry dough, thawed
  • Salt, pepper

Preheat oven to 425º. Place the sheet of puff pastry dough into a tart pan, pressing the dough up the sides. Cover and chill until ready to fill.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the onion and cook until translucent and soft but not browned. Add the swiss chard and cook until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Season the mixture with the grated nutmeg, salt, and pepper, and set aside to cool.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and cream. Add the cooled onion and swiss chard mixture, and half of the grated cheese. Pour the mixture over the puff pastry in the tart pan and top with the remaining cheese. Place in the oven for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350º and cook 15 minutes longer until the filling is set and slightly browned on top. Bon appétit!

Butternut Squash Flatbread

17 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by in Fall, Mains

≈ 8 Comments

Which do you prefer – salty or sweet? You know, food preferences say a lot about you!

This flatbread is a perfect balance of salty-sweet. Roasted butternut squash and caramelized onions stand up to the contrast of the slight bitterness  and crunch of radicchio. Bits of prosciutto and nutty fontina cheese add the salty and savory element that make the flavors explode.

Ingredients
*this recipe makes 3 flatbreads about 12×9 each
  • 1 butternut squash, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 yellow onion, sliced
  • store-bought pizza dough, room temp, divided into 3 sections
  • 2 cups shredded fontina cheese
  • 1/4 lb prosciutto, torn into small pieces
  • 1 cup chopped radicchio
  • 2 sprigs of rosemary
  • olive oil, salt

Coat the butternut squash slices in olive oil and salt. Roast in a 400º oven until soft and slightly caramelized. At the same time caramelize the onions in olive oil a sauté pan.

Turn the oven up to 500º. Roll out and stretch the pizza dough as thinly as possible; I use a rolling-pin and my hands. Transfer the dough to an oiled 12×9 sheet pan. Top with butternut squash slices, caramelized onions, and shredded fontina. Sprinkle with the torn prosciutto, radicchio, and rosemary needles. Drizzle the entire flatbread with olive oil, and bake in the oven on the lowest rack for 5-7 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the bottom is browned and crisp.

Lemon and Herb Roasted Chicken

08 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in Chicken, Mains

≈ 2 Comments

Okay, I have to brag for a minute. I never order chicken at a restaurant because I  absolutely believe I make the best roast chicken. I also love the process – it smells delicious while cooking, and I can’t resist eating the wings and picking at the crispy skin as soon as it comes out of the oven. It also makes for great leftovers, and of course I use the carcass to make soup! I have a tiny oven that won’t even hold a roasting pan so I use a small chicken and use a little Le Cruset oval stoneware dish.

Ingredients:

  • 1 small chicken (under 3 lbs if possible)
  • 3-4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 shallot, half minced the other half in tact
  • A few sprigs of rosemary
  • 2 lemons, halved, and the zest of one
  • 1 head of garlic, halved horizontally
  • 1 red or yellow onion, peeled and quartered
  • 2 carrots, halved
  • Salt, pepper

Preheat the oven to 400º. Pat chicken dry and season inside cavity, and all over the outside, with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, combine the butter, minced shallot, lemon zest, chopped rosemary, and salt. Loosen the skin of the chicken around the breast and legs with your fingers, and spread the butter mixture under the skin and all over the flesh. Stuff the cavity with 2 lemon halves, the garlic halves, the shallot, and 2 whole sprigs of rosemary.

In the roasting dish, arrange the onion quarters, carrots, and the lemon halves so that you can prop the chicken on top of them. Prop the chicken up as high as possible so it gets evenly browned. Roast for about an hour, depending on the size of your chicken. I usually rotate the entire dish a few times during cooking to make sure it’s browning evenly. Let the chicken rest for 10-15 minutes before carving.

Roasted Broccoli with Parmesan, Lemon, Basil and Pine Nuts

03 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by in Sides, Vegetables

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This recipe for roasted broccoli is just delicious. It’s adapted from Ina Garten’s Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli – I omitted the garlic and scaled down the recipe using just one head of broccoli. Roasting broccoli makes it nutty in flavor and keeps its crunch beautifully. The lemon, pine nuts, basil and parmesan bring this dish to perfection. This is a great side to roasted chicken.