Tag Archives: onion

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Vegetable Spring Rolls

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Guys, these are DANGER and I’m crushin’ hard.

I mean, they’re so savory, so crisp, so irresistible…I can’t stop thinking about them!

For that crisp, shattering exterior, I use the super-thin spring roll wrappers found in the freezer section of an Asian market. I’m a texture girl and those super thin edges are the money bits. For reals. Most of vegetables are quickly stir-fried to retain some texture in the finished roll…except for the mushrooms, which are cooked down to nutty perfection. Ginger, soy, and fish sauce make an appearance, as well. The dipping sauce is an easy mixture of sriracha, maple syrup, and a teeny bit of fish sauce. These would be perfect for the upcoming game-day, but you might want to make a double batch or more as, in my experience, I never seem to make enough when I share these spring rolls with anyone.

Vegetable Spring Rolls

Makes 2 dozen mini spring rolls. 

There is a great Asian market not far from where I live that stocks fresh/frozen/pantry items from all over Asia. It’s pretty much amazing. I urge you to seek out a market in your area if you haven’t already…there are so many fun ingredients to be found! I used a mini wrapper that they stock, but you could use the regular size. Just use 2-3 times more of the filling per roll. These wrappers are not the translucent rice ones, or the thicker, wonton-like ones. You are looking for the ones that are square and look like the thinnest of crepes. They come frozen, so just leave them in the refrigerator for a few hours to overnight to defrost. While the wrappers can be delicate to peel apart, they do have some stretch. 

1 quart of oil (I used canola), for frying, plus 2 teaspoons

8 ounces (about 4 loosely packed cups) shredded cabbage

1 small carrot, peeled and julienned or grated coarsely

4 ounces cleaned mushrooms, stems and caps, diced

1/4 large onion, sliced thin

2 loosely packed cups spinach

1 Tablespoon grated, fresh ginger

2 teaspoons fish sauce

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 Tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

24 mini spring roll wrappers (or 12 if using regular sized ones)

water for sealing

Dipping Sauce:

3 Tablespoons Sriracha

2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon fish sauce, or to taste

In a small bowl whisk together the ginger, fish sauce, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Set aside.

In a very hot wok or large skillet, stir fry the cabbage, carrots, onion, and spinach with 1 teaspoon of oil until the vegetables are just starting to soften and some of the edges start to brown. Scrape the vegetables into a bowl and set aside to cool. Meanwhile, cook the mushrooms with the remaining 1 teaspoon of oil over medium heat with a pinch of salt to help release the liquid. Continue to cook the mushrooms until they turn golden brown. Scrape into the bowl with the vegetable mixture. Stir the ginger-soy mixture into the filling mixture to combine. Allow the filling to cool to room temperature before beginning the wrapping process. You can do this step the day before and refrigerate, covered, until ready to use. If the filling is wet after refrigerating, just drain the liquid so the spring rolls don’t become soggy. 

Whisk together the dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl.

Place a spring roll wrapper on a flat surface so that it looks like a diamond, keep the rest of the wrappers covered by a damp tea towel. Place about a tablespoon of filling  on the lower 1/3 of the wrapper, fold the bottom point over the filling and roll 2/3 of the way up. Fold in sides, wet the final point lightly with the water, seal, and place on a plate. Repeat with the remaining filling and wrappers.

Heat 1 quart of oil (4 cups) in a high-sided pan (I like to use a wide saucepan with tallish sides), you will know it’s hot enough when you stick a skewer or chopstick into the oil and bubbles immediately form on the stick. Fry the spring rolls in batches until golden and crisp, anywhere from 3-4 minutes. Drain spring rolls on paper towels and serve hot and crisp with the dipping sauce.

 

 

 

 

 

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Cilantro-Chicken Meatball Soup

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Albondigas!

That’s what I think/say when I make anything with meatballs. It’s just a reflex and since it means “meatballs” in spanish, it works. Don’t test me on my knowledge of foreign languages, though…okay? Cause, I will surely fail. Food SO is much easier to understand.

Anyway, this soup begins with searing little, spoonable chicken meatballs flavored with lots of fresh cilantro, some sauteed onion and garlic, and a bit of minced jalapeno for heat and excitement. Once the meatballs are brown and crispy-golden we sauté some more onion and garlic, another jalapeno, plus some carrots. There’s some corn (frozen is totally acceptable) and zucchini in there for health and science. Dried New Mexico chiles ground into a powder and cumin flavor and color the broth. More cilantro is added to brighten the party and bring the soup together. This soup is hearty, but not heavy. The clear broth is light but packed with subtly spiced chile flavor and the meatballs are tender and so flavorful with the cilantro and aromatics. This soup is so warming and with a super cheesy quesadilla on the side, it’s perfection on a cold day.

Cilantro-Chicken Meatball Soup

I find whole, dried New Mexico chiles in the international aisle of my regular supermarket. They are always affordable and pack a lot of flavor. The chiles vary in spiciness, but aren’t ever really super-hot-blow-your-top way. The spice is mild to medium, but you could certainly sub in your favorite chile powder. 

Meatballs:

1-2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 cup minced onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno (seeds and ribs removed if desired), minced

1 lb. ground chicken

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

salt/pepper

In a sauté pan heat olive oil and sauté onions, garlic, and jalapeno. Sprinkle lightly with salt and cook over medium until onions are tender and translucent  Scrape into a bowl and set aside to cool.

In a mixing bowl mix together the cooled onion/jalapeno mixture with the ground chicken, cilantro, egg, and breadcrumbs. Add salt (I used about 3/4 teaspoon) and pepper. Mix gently to combine well. Refrigerate the mixture until ready to shape and sear meatballs.

Soup:

meatballs

2 Tablespoons oil (I used grape seed, light olive or vegetable oil work too)

1/2 large onion, diced fine

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno (seeds and ribs removed if desired), sliced

4 dried New Mexico chiles

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 carrot, sliced

1 zucchini, sliced

1 cup frozen corn kernels

6 cups low-sodium chicken stock

cilantro to garnish

salt and pepper to taste

Shape meatballs, I shoot for something that fits nicely in the spoon and can be eaten in one bite–think larger than a marble, but smaller than a cherry tomato. Heat 2 Tablespoons oil over medium high heat in the bottom of a dutch oven or soup pot. Sear the meatballs in batches until deep golden brown all around. Place seared meatballs in a dish and set aside.

Over a gas burner (you could also do this in a hot oven, it may take a few more minutes), lightly char the chiles–the idea is to make them extra dry for easier grinding and to add a touch of smokey flavor. Cool chiles and grind in a spice grinder to a medium-coarse powder. Mix chile powder with cumin and oregano in a small bowl. Set aside.

Add the onion to the remaining oil and whatever brown bits are left in the pan. Sprinkle lightly with salt and sauté, being sure to scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pan, add the carrots. Cook until onions are just translucent and carrots begin to soften, add the garlic and jalapeno, cook an additional minute. Stir in the ground chile and other spices. Add the corn, zucchini, meatballs, and chicken stock. Bring the soup to a boil, taste for salt and season as needed. Reduce the soup to a simmer and cook an additional 15 minutes, until the zucchini is tender and meatballs are heated through. Serve hot with additional cilantro for garnish.

 

 

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Spaghetti Squash Pancakes

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If I’m being real, which is how I try to be with you all–a real deal human being, not some faceless internet blogging cyborg–I often struggle with everyday decision making. For the most part, I’ve got the big stuff on lock, but it’s the little, seemingly inane things that I can’t get a grip on. I know I can’t be the only one (read, please tell me I’m not…), who has this harrowing problem.

For example, it takes me far too long to choose a lip balm. Like, an average of 15 minutes. FIFTEEN MINUTES…choosing a dang lip balm. I will waffle over my decision, sometimes even making a choice, only to turn back at the last minute to choose another. As if, somehow, my life hinges on this decision…which it certainly does not. I know this and yet, it still happens on the regular.

This applies to other things besides lip balm–pretty much all bath and body products fit in here–and even when I do have a preffered product, if something is a mere dollar cheaper, it will throw off my game. I blame it on too many choices…and, well, my crazy brain.

It’s silly, really, but indecision is totally in my nature.

This wishy-washy way also translates to recipe naming. I almost never follow a recipe word for word. I gotta freestyle, you know? While I usually don’t have trouble switching it up recipe-wise, I still struggle with the name game. I mean, I try not to get too long winded with the titles–I don’t want to just have a list of ingredients up there–and sometimes I try to be clever, but it often comes out weird. When I was making these pancakes, I couldn’t decide what to call them–a fritter? pancake? cake? Le sigh.

These pancakes are made with spaghetti squash, but their flavor is super similar to a potato pancake. I added some carrot for sweetness and lots of onion for that savoriness I love in a vegetable pancake. These make a great side, but also a little snack to go with something cold–beer or a cocktail would be my preffered accompaniment. I served these with a cooling sour cream and spicy hot sauce. The edges where the squash tendrils fray, are the perfect lacy-crisp bite. In the end, it was simple…when in doubt, go with something familiar.

Spaghetti Squash Pancakes

Adapted from Martha Stewart

The yield here depends on how large and flat you like you pancakes. Since I live for the crispy bits, I made mine pretty thin and yielded about 18-3inch pancakes. Be sure to squeeze/drain as much liquid from the squash as possible, ensuring a crisp and light cake. Leftover spaghetti squash is perfect for this recipe, but you could prep one just to make it…I wouldn’t judge ya. I followed this recipe from Tracy for the squash prep. 

2 cups cooked and drained spaghetti squash

1/2 onion, finely diced

1 carrot, shredded

1 jalapeño, seeded and finely diced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

2 eggs

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

oil for pan frying, I used grapeseed

preheat the oven to 300*F.

Whisk together the eggs and flour until combined. Add the spaghetti squash, onion, carrot, jalapeño, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Fold into the batter.

In a non-stick skillet pour in enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan, about 1/8 inch up the sides. Heat the oil over medium-high heat and drop heaping spoonfuls of the vegetable batter into the pan, pat the batter into a flat cake with the back of the spoon. Fry the cakes a few minutes on each side until golden brown and crisp. Place the finished pancakes on a sheet pan and keep warm in the oven. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve warm.

 

 

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Recipe…Method? Black Beans

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Are you a dried bean evangelist?

No?

Me neither.

I usually just go the canned route. I don’t usually think that far ahead.

This week though, I totally did. I was at the store doing some grocery shopping and decided to go for the dried beans.

I was just feeling ambitious is all, and guess what?

It really wasn’t all that technical.

Plus, those dried black beans were so tiny and dainty…I couldn’t resist!

I mean, soak some beans in cold water over night and throw ‘em in a pan with some other tasty goods, simmer, and done.

After the soaking those beans were a little more plump, shiny, and oh-so-pretty.

Yeah, I said it, black beans = pretty.

There’s really not a lot of hands-on happening here, just time and a little bit of forethought.

Who knew?

Lots of people I’m sure, but not me.

Now, I do though, and I feel all fancy-pants about it.

Learnin’ stuff everyday…

So, put on your fancy-pants one of these days and try it out.

Water, beans, salt, garlic, onion, a little cilantro, and jalapeno turn into a delicious, bean studded elixer and you’ll wonder why you never attempted this whole dried bean thing before.

You won’t regret it, I promise! ‘Cause when those humble, dried beans are bubbling away you’ll know some kind of magic is happening in that pot.

Simple Black Beans

So, this isn’t really a recipe, just a basic method on how to cook up some dried black beans.

You could really do this with any dried bean, in whatever quantity you want. You can also make this even simpler and cut down on the extra ingredients–like, if you happen to be adverse to cilantro or spicy things, you can just skip out on those. You could even add different herbs and dried spices (oregano! cumin!). You could even use stock, but I think water works just fine…those beans have their own flavor. Do what you want.

the night before:

1 cup dried black beans

Place 1 cup of black beans in a large bowl and cover with water. Make sure there are at least 2 inches of water over your beans as they will absorb a lot of it.

get cookin’:

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

1/2 of a large, yellow onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, smashed

a few sprigs of fresh cilantro

soaked beans

1 tablespoon olive oil

a big pinch of salt, to taste

At this point you can either drain your beans of the soaking liquid (I did) or use it to cook with.

In a medium sauce pot or in a deep, covered pan (I used an enameled, cast-iron braiser) place beans, olive oil, jalapeno, onion, garlic, and cilantro into your pan. Cover completely with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. At this point, add your salt. Cook an additional 30 minutes to 2+ hours. My beans were tender after about 1 1/2 hours, but it really depends on how old your dried beans are. Start checking the beans for doneness after about 1 hour.

I implore you not to pour off the cooking liquid. It is an elixer of the bean gods. The bean liquid is SO, SO delicious. I left mine in the pan and mashed the beans with the liquid…liked refried beans without the refrying! You could also leave the beans whole, bathed in the cooking liquid…it has a TON of flavor, so don’t waste it!