Broccoli with Caramelized Onions and Pine Nuts

I don't know about you, but I get seriously tired of steamed broccoli. I'm dieting right now, and I know it's a really great vegetable, but after so many nights of it I just want something else. Don't get me wrong I eat other veggies, but steamed broccoli is an incredibly quick and easy thing to prepare so it get's thrown into the rotation with a little more regularity.

I think this recipe has a lot of potential. I think the next time I make it rather than steaming the broccoli I'm going to roast it, which, while taking more time, will bring out a nice nutty flavor that I think will mesh well with the additional nuttiness of the pine nuts and the sweetness of the vinegar. I also feel like it could do with a little heat, but I'm not sure what.

This recipe isn't perfect as far as diets go, onions have a lot of sugar (though they do prevent heart disease) and pine nuts have some added fat, but it's good fat, so I'm not going to worry too much. I think next time I'm going to do garlic, sun-dried tomato and red pepper flakes instead of the onion and vinegar.

3 tablespoon(s) pine nuts, or chopped slivered almonds
2 teaspoon(s) extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup(s) chopped onion (about 1 medium)
1/4 teaspoon(s) salt, or to taste
4 cup(s) broccoli florets
2 teaspoon(s) balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. Toast pine nuts (or almonds) in a medium dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until lightly browned and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl to cool.
2. Add oil to the pan and heat over medium heat. Add onion and salt; cook, stirring occasionally, adjusting heat as necessary, until soft and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, steam broccoli until just tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. 

4. Once the onions are finished add vinegar (the original recipe didn't do this, but it will coat things more evenly and pick up some good pan flavors).

5. Add the nuts, onion mixture and pepper; toss to coat. Serve immediately.

No pictures today! Sorry

Roasted Romanesco

So my produce box came with one of the strangest veggies ever. Romanesco, also known as Roman Cauliflower, it is completely bizarre looking. It looks a little like a miniature alien city. Here's a picture!

See! Crazy right?

I'm pretty sure my Mom has made it for me before but I couldn't really remember, so I didn't want to do too much to it, because I wanted to get a good feel for the flavor. I decided to roast it, and then promptly made my boyfriend cook dinner, so he should probably be writing this post.

Overall I liked the flavor of it quite a bit. It was hard for me to eat cause Chris went a little nutso with the red pepper flakes, but what I could taste was pretty yum. Roasting brought out a really nice nutty flavor similar to what happens when you roast broccoli, but it overall it had a much more similar flavor to cauliflower. Anyway here's the recipe

Ingredients:
1 medium head fresh Romanesco, cleaned & chopped in to bite-size florets
5 medium cloves garlic, diced
1/8 cup olive oil
Salt & Pepper

Pinch Red Pepper Flakes

1/4 of a lemon (wedged)
1/4 (or less) cup grated fresh parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375F degrees. 

2. In a bowl toss romanesco, garlic, olive oil , red pepper flakes and salt 

3. Roast on a baking sheet for about 20-40 minutes or until just tender

4. Squeeze lemon over it

5. Sprinkle cheese over the top

Lentil and Veggie Soup with Italian Sausage

This is definitely going to be one of my new favorite early spring soups. It's easy to double and freezes well. You could easily put in a whole pound of sausage, but I'm trying to lose some weight so I kept it minimal. The original recipe called for escarole, which I'm sure would be delicious, but I had a head of cabbage so I used that instead. The flavor was really good, the vinegar adds a nice tang. Overall just really tasty, very comfort food and chock full of veggies which is nice. You could even add some canned diced or crushed tomatoes if you want a little more zing. 

It is not the prettiest soup though, so no pictures this time!

Ingredients
1 2/3 cups lentils (11 ounces), rinsed well
5 cups water
3 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 bay leaf
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped, divided
1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
.5 pound spicy Italian sausage links, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 pound escarole or 1/2 Medium head of cabbage, chopped (4 cups packed)
1 to 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar


1. In a 5-6 quart pot brown sausages in olive oil, about 7 minutes. It does not need to be cooked through as long as casings are evenly brown. Transfer sausage with a slotted spoon to a bowl.
2. Reduce heat to medium and cook onion, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaf, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. 

3. Add lentils, broth and water. Simmer, uncovered, until lentils are tender.
4. Stir in escarole/cabbage and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. 

5. Add sausages and cook until cooked through.

6. Stir in vinegar to taste and season with salt and pepper. Discard bay leaf.