Caprese Empanadas

Empanadas have got to be one of the greatest foods on the planet.  I mean really- what's better than a no-fork-required doughy treat with a surprise filling? I rest my case.

I expected this to be one of the recipes I had to sell to the Kef crowd--but I was surprised by how quick and easy this recipe turned out to be. I made the sad mistake of burning mine, so be careful in the final baking stage not to overcook. The dough is paleo-approved (the cheesy filling decidedly not so), and the great news is you can fill these guys with just about anything you like for a great result.

Have a great weekend!

Caprese Empanadas
Ingredients

For the Dough

• 1.5 c unsweetened shredded coconut flakes
• 1 c almond meal
• 1/2 c arrowroot powder (I know...I know. I didn't have it in my kitchen, either)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 TBS apple cider vinegar (lemon juice would be a good sub here)
• 1 TBS watered
• oil of your choice for brushing empanadas

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For the Filling

• 10 cherry tomatoes
• 5 oz mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup basil
• tomato sauce for dipping (optional)

Assembly
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grind the almond meal and coconut into a fine powder using a food processor.  Scrape the bottom and sides of processor bowl and grind again for about 2 more minutes.

2. Add arrowroot and salt to processor and mix again until combined. Add eggs and vinegar and mix in processor again until a cohesive dough forms--mine actually formed itself into a lovely dough ball. If necessary, add water 1 TBS at a time (I needed 1 TBS to get all the dough together). 

3. Gather the dough into a firm ball. Generously dust a sheet of wax paper with arrowroot powder and roll the ball in it to dust all sides. Place another sheet of wax paper on top and roll out to 1/8-inch thick (I was at BFKef's and used a wine bottle...make do with whatcha got). Use anything hard, round, and about 6 inches in diameter (I used a small Tupperware) to cut out 5-6 empanadas. You will probably have to cut a few, reform the ball and roll out two or three times in total to use all the dough.  Place your circles on an ungreased baking sheet.

4. To make the filling, finely dice and mix the basil, cheese, and tomatoes. Place on each circle 1-1.5 TBS  of filling --RESIST THE URGE TO OVERFILL. Fold in half and "crimp" the ends together to seal the empanada. Crimping an empanada requires about the same skill level as crimping your hair -- just get to scrunching. Once sealed, brush generously with oil.

5. Bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of your empanadas. To brown them, turn the oven to "broil" for the last two minutes--BUT BE SURE TO WATCH LIKE A HAWK. I left mine for about 30 seconds too long and nearly ruined the whole shebang. Let cool and enjoy! If you'd like, use a tomato sauce for dipping.

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Sweet 'n' Salty Almond Butter Cups

In the words of my dear friend GingerKef, "Wowowowowowowowowowow!" 

I've been eyeing all the iterations of homemade Reese's cups out there on the interwebs, but none have been exactly sugar-free--the recipes I've seen have called for some kind sugar for either the nut butter or the chocolate shell. That ends now.

I played around with these puppies last night, and was amazed to find how easy they really are.  BF Kef was HUGE fan and promptly enjoyed two of these fancy little treats. They're a little sweet, a little salty, and a delicious replacement for any Reese's lover.

You'll have lots of almond butter left over--keep it in a container at room temp and enjoy it on apples, bananas, toast, and everything else on which almond butter is awesome.


Ingredients

• 2 c slivered almonds
• 2 c unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4-1/2 tsp salt
• 10oz bag of unsweetened carob chip (or dark chocolate over 50% if you prefer)

Assembly
1. Preheat oven to 350. Put an ungreased cupcake tin in the freezer.
2. Spread almonds out on a rimmed baking pan. Roast in oven for 10 minutes, until lightly browned.
3. While almonds roast, put coconut and in a food processor. Blend until buttery, which will take about 10 minutes. About half way through, add the vanilla extract to keep the mixer moving.
4. Once roasted, let almonds cool for 2-3 minutes, then add the nuts, 1/4 c of the carob chips and salt to the coconut/vanilla mix in food processor. Blend until the mixture resembles a loose nut butter. Check for taste, and add another 1/4 c of carob chips if you feel so inclined. Set aside.
5. Heat a deep pot of water to a low boil. Remove cupcake tin from freeze. Place remaining carob chips in a handheld pot small enough to hold over the boiling water.  Stirring very frequently, place the small pot over the hot water (but try to keep bottom from touching water) and allow carob to melt. This will take 3-5 minutes. 
6. Using a spatula, divide the carob between each cupcake hole--each one should get enough to cover the bottom completely. Move quickly so the carob does not re-harden (if it starts to get firm again, put back over the boiling water for a few seconds and stir). It will not be pretty. Then, use the back of a metal spoon to smooth out the melted carob and push some up the sides of the tin. Again--it will not be pretty, just do what you can.
7. Add about 1 TBS of almond butter to each cupcake holder and smooth. We liked these without a top layer of carob--but if you have any left over, go ahead and pour it over the almond butter to make a final layer of "chocolate." Put cupcake tin back in freezer for 15-30 minutes. Once frozen, remove from cupcake forms and let come to room temperature before enjoying.

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Spanakopita, Deconstructed

I've made no secret about it: spanakopita, practically the national dish of Greece, is no favorite of mine.  This indifference is, in large part, owed to the strong contrarian spirit that dominates at least two-thirds of my opinions ("Oh, you think puppies are cute? Let me tell you why I find that to be misguided...")-- but mostly it's just because I'd rather be eating my Aunt Lena's eggplant pie.  Why eat a spinach/lemon/feta concoction when you could be sinking your teeth into an amazing amalgamation of eggplant, tomato, and onion? I rest my case.

But, alas. Winter is coming and the days of eggplant for $0.99/lb (thank you New Jersey, third-largest eggplant producer in the world) are over. Way over. Seems the only things under $2.49/lb these days are greens. Mustard greens, spinach greens, beet greens. Spinach. Arugula. Kale. It's a slow boat ride back to berry season-- but at least we'll be full of iron.

So what's a good Greek girl to do? Break down and deal with the hand nature deals the Northeast or spend $86/week on groceries? With my hand forced, I turned to spinach.

I came up with this take on creamed spinach--a cornucopia of uber-Greekness. Olive oil, spinach, dill, creamy yogurt... it's almost enough to make me forget about that eggplant pie.

Almost.

Deconstructed Spanakopita, or: "Creamed" Spinach

Pay no attention to the pre-made salmon patty on the left.

Ingredients

•  9 oz spinach, rinsed and dried
• 1 medium-large bunch of kale, rinsed, dried, and shredded from the thick center vein
• 1 bunch dill, bottoms cut off and chopped into thirds
• 1 large onion, chopped roughly
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped roughly
• 2 tsp oregano
• 2 TBS olive oil 
• 7 oz Greek yogurt (Fage is best, but you do you)

Assembly  
**I made this with my food processor--if you don't have one, just finely mince the onions/garlic and skip the shredding of the greens. It won't have the same texture but the option's there.**

 1. Puree the onion and garlic together in food processor. Set aside.

2. Throw the kale in a big, deep pot. If you have room, throw the spinach in there too--otherwise, cook separately.  To cook, add a splash of water and cover the pot, heating over med-high heat.  After 2-3 minutes, open the pot and stir thoroughly to distribute the heat. Cook for another 1-2 minutes, until the greens are wilted (note: the kale will take longer so, if cooking together, make sure it is on the bottom first so it gets most of the heat).

3. Place the greens in a colander to strain the excess water. Use a spatula to press out any additional water.

4. Heat the olive oil and oregano in a saute pan over medium heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Pour the onion/garlic puree into the pan and mix with the oil.  Allow to heat over medium until fragrant and slightly carmelized,  6-8 minutes.

5. While the onion mixture cooks, run the spinach, kale, and dill through the food processor until it is a pulp. Set aside.

6. Once fragrant, take about 1/3 of the onion puree (does not have to be exact) and set aside to cool.  Add the pulped greens to the remainder and mix well to combine.  Cook all together for another 3-4 minutes, until spinach is heated as well.

7. While spinach heats, combine cooled onion puree with yogurt and mix well.

8. Once spinach is heated, combine  spinach and yogurt mixture. Enjoy!

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Maple Apple Frangipane

The windows are open, autumnal sunshine is pouring into my kitchen, and the sound of the Howard Homecoming is echoing down the block--the perfect day to put freshly-picked apples to use!

In the beginning of September, I messed around with this thing called frangipane and the results were underwhelming.  I swore not to be outdone by the French and their delicacies (NB: yes, the word "frangipane" is clearly Italian, but Wikipedia tells me it used to be "franchipane," which is apparently French... so I can still blame the fussiness of this almond filling on the French! Sorry, Sarkozypoo!) and I have finally circled back around to conquer this beast.

And conquer it I have.

Let's back up. Earlier this month, I met CousinKef and BabyKef for some fun fall activities that resulted in about 20 lbs of apples sitting in my kitchen waiting to be transformed into autumnal treats.

Why, yes, that IS what 19.3 lbs of apples look like!

Flash forward about two weeks, and we're in spinning class on a beautiful Saturday morning (why I didn't just ride my damn bike in this gorgeous weather is neither here nor there).  The way-too-peppy-for-8am instructor is talking some mess about how good the burn feels when it hits me: I am going to apple-ize the frangi-whatever and it is going to be delicious.

The result was amazing! This may be the creation I am most proud of since I made those out-of-this-word pork chops. There are three components, but none is particularly time consuming. I simplified the process by using a pre-mixed gluten-free pie crust (it is not a pie crust mix, per se, as you still have to add several ingredients--it just pre-combines all the weird flours you have to buy for $8.99/cup into one $3.69 mix and is enough for two pies. Awesome.)

I came, I saw, I frangipaned.  You're welcome.

Apple Frangipane With Maple Glaze
Ingredients

• Pie crust of your choice. I used the Glutino Gluten-Free Pantry Perfect Pie Crust Mix (which requires you to add baking powder, egg, butter, shortening, water, and vinegar). You can do whatever you'd like).
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• 2 c almond flour/meal
• 2 TBS liquor of choice--dark rum or cognac would be good, I used Godiva chocolate liquor because THAT is what your girl keeps around for emergencies, apparently
• 1 stick of butter, cold and cut into TBS portions
• zest of 1 lemon
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/3-1/2c honey
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• 1 large or 2 small sweet apples, peeled and sliced thinly
• 2 TBS butter, melted
• 6 TBS maple syrup (the 100% real stuff--please do not let me find you using IHOP brand or some crap like that.)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
  
  

Assembly  
1. Preheat oven to 425. Whatever pie crust you are using should be cold, so if you made it yourself, put it in a pie or tart pan and let chill in freezer. Once it has chilled for about 20 minutes, poke fork holes all over it and cover the tips with either a wreath of tin foil or a pie-crust shield. Cook until crust is just turning golden brown, which will depend on the crust but will probably take about 12-15 minutes. Set aside to cool. Reduce oven heat to 375.
2. Combine almond flour, liquor, lemon zest, lemon juice, and honey (start with 1/3 c honey and proceed to step 3. If at the end of step 3 the frangipane is not sweet enough for you, add honey and mix until you like the taste.)  A food processor or blender would be easiest, but if you do not have one then stirring vigorously will be just fine. 
3. Cut in the butter one TBS at a time until a thick, gooey paste has formed--again, I did this in my food processor and it took about 1 minute, but you can do it the old-fashioned way with a pastry blender or potato masher. (If you want to add more honey, now is the time.) Set aside.
4. To make the glaze, mix together melted butter, maple syrup, and cinnamon. Put thinly-sliced apples in a bowl and toss with maple glaze. 
5. Place the frangipane (almond mix) in the cooled pie crust and level off with a rubber spatula.  Arrange soaked apple slices however you would like on top in a single layer. Pour remaining maple glaze evenly over the tart. You will probably have a few gooey apple slices left over--eat them!
6. Cook tart until center is firm to touch, it took my little oven about 40 minutes--just start checking around 30 minutes or so. Let cool, enjoy! For added sweetness, whip up a half batch of maple glaze and drizzle a few drops on pieces immediately before serving.

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Sweet Potato Ginger Potato Pancakes

Spring is in the air friends! I just had my first single-layer-of-clothing run and my windows have been open since Sunday. Praise the LORD.

Last night I was feeling terribly lazy and even more gluttonous.  I had plenty of real vegetables in the house, but I had just seen this recipe so instead I looked past the zucchini and turned instead to my partner in deceptive-nutrition crime: the sweet potato.  Is this thing a starchy vegetable or a sweet treat? It's so unclear.  But once you shred it and fry it, the distinction becomes unnecessary-- starch or sweet, it's delicious.

I really love CRISPY- feel free not to burn yours

This is easy-peasey and could also double as a delicious hash browns recipe-- follow all the same steps, just don't bother to put them in patties before you fry 'em. I was eating them straight out of the pan- the the sweetness of the potato/ginger matched with savory fried onions and garlic was unbelievable!

Ingredients

• 2 large or 3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and shredded (either by food processor or grater)
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, diced
• 1.5 inch piece of ginger, grated (or 2 TBS ground Ginger)
• 2-4 eggs, beaten (start with two and see instructions below)
• Flour of your choice for dusting (I used chickpea flour)
• Olive oil for frying

Assembly 
 1. Squeeze as much water as possible out of your shredded sweet potatoes.  The most effective way is to scoop up about 1/3 c at a time and squeeze them in your fist over the sink.
2. Mix the sweet potatoes, onion, garlic, and ginger together in a mixing bowl using your hands.
3. Add in 2 beaten eggs and mix everything around.  Sprinkle with some flour (maybe 1/8c) and see how congealed the batter is by using a handful to make a patty. Does it stick mostly together? If so- proceed to step 4. If not, beat and add another egg (or two) and more flour. It won't be cookie-dough congealed, but they should form loose patties before you fry them. For reference, I had to use 4 eggs and about 1/2 c of flour.
4. Heat 1-2 TBS of olive oil in a sauce pan or on a skillet. Using about 1/4c of batter each, make 3-4 patties and place them in the hot pan, flattening with a spatula.  Feel free to make them bigger or smaller to your liking.
5. Cook on each side until fried, about 3-4 minutes per side.
6. Repeat 4-5 until you're all out of batter (duh).

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Cauliflower "mashed potatoes" and Wasabi-Sesame Salmon

Big big big big BIIIIIG news in my culinary life- 12 cup big news, in fact!  Thanks to Mama Kef and JimmyKef, I am now the very proud new owner of a grown-up food processor!

My cat is jealous of the new baby in the house.

 

 

No more trying to make soup in three batches, no more cleaning up leaked chick pea juice because I tried to make 3 cups of hummus in a 2-cup mini-processor, no more having to wash it out 6 times for one recipe.  This year, 15 April isn't just tax day; it's the day my Greek Easter game goes on some next level ish because I have this hot lil mama!  

Ok, ok- enough cheesing over this little gem and onto some cooking.  BF Kef has been raving over this cauliflower mash I made months ago but haven't made since because it was too much of a pain in my little food processor.  Eager to see what this machine could do, I decided to give the mash a whirl again.


Now, I am often accused of calling everything I make "easy."  I think this is a false accusation, and this recipe is a great example of how a few really simple steps can make a delicious meal without too much time or effort.  If you don't believe me, know that I prepped this meal while getting dressed, threw it in one of those insulated shopping bags, enjoyed a date at the National Sympony Orchestra with my boo (excuse you!), and then cooked the meal at his house.  So imagine how easy this would be if you cooked it all at once, in the same kitchen, and weren't trying to puree cauliflower while pulling on your pantyhose. (Granted I was MUCH aided by my fancy new food processor, but if yours is bigger than 2 cups, it will do the trick...even if yours is only a 2-cupper, it will just take like 3 batches-which isn't actually bad, I am just lazy).  My point is:  Healthy food does not need to be time-consuming food, people!

 Ok- without further ado, an easy date-night recipe for two:


Cauliflower "mashed potatoes" and wasabi-sesame salmon

Cauliflower Mash

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 1 TBS Olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 1/4-1/2c feta cheese
  
  
  
  Salmon
• 2 fillets of salmon
• 1/4-1/2 c wasabi peas
• 3 TBS sesame seeds (I just bought a sesame bagel and took them off)
• Black pepper, to taste
• 2-3 tsp olive oil

Cauliflower:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Cut caulifower from stem so only "trees" remain and place in a pot of water, let boil and immediately remove from heat. Sautee garlic and onions in oil until fragrant (2-3 minutes).
2. Put in food processor and mash to consistency you like.  
3. Mix mash, onions, garlic, and feta together.
4. Cook for 15-20 minutes, until edges of mash start browning.


Salmon:
1. Crush together wasabi peas, sesame seeds, and pepper.  You can do this by throwing them in a food processor or by putting them all together in a ziploc bag and crushing them with a rolling pin or wine bottle-whatever you have available.
2. Grease your fingers with olive oil and run them over both sides (if skinless) or non-skinned side of salmon.
3. Coat the fish in your wasabi-sesame-pepper dip.
4. Cook for 10 minutes at 350, or until you like how "done" it is. I like it medium-rare.

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