Category: Recipes

Cannellini Bean Vegetarian Meatballs

Wow that is quite a mouthful for the name of a simple recipe!

We were invited to a banquette where the organizers decided that the vegetarian alternative to spaghetti with meatballs dinner would be to leave out the meat; however, most vegetarians like protein so leaving out the meat is not a solution. So I decided to come up with a vegetarian alternative. This challenge got me this amazing recipe though so no complaints.

These bean balls are mouthwatering, even my corgi thinks it is meat. How do I know he likes it? He starts putting out his paw to shake my hand without being asked and he licks his bowl for another 10 minutes after he finishes eating hoping he can find some more.

Let’s talk about the cannellini beans briefly. They are the main ingredient and with their high protein content they replace the meat easily.

These beans originated in South America, most likely in Peru or Argentina. Today, they are popular all over the world but surely are a vital part of the Northern Italian cuisine. They are part of the kidney bean family so with its kidney supporting qualities they are beneficial during the winter time. Also, there is evidence that these beans help with diabetes and weight loss.

When trying to find a replacement for meatballs, cannellini beans seemed like the perfect choice. These nutty, earthy and savory flavored beans are a fabulous addition to this Italian staple. They taste more like chestnuts so they really add a lot of flavor to the dish. I would suggest to make the beans at home from scratch rather than buying the canned version. I could taste the difference for sure.

Enjoy this tasty dish!

RECIPE

Makes 10 bean balls (2 inch in diameter).

Ingredients

  • 1 cup dried cannelloni beans (15 oz canned), strained
  • 1 small yellow onion, grated or 2 Tbsp dehydrated onion
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • oil for baking
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs
  • a handful of hazelnut or walnuts, chopped
  • a handful of fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1/4 cup tomato sauce
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning,
  • 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp salt

Tomato sauce:

  • 1 bay leaf
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • garlic
  • 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
  • 1 Qt jar of tomato sauce

Italian seasoning

  • 1 tsp fennel, ground
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 1 tsp basil
  • 1/4 tsp chili pepper

METHOD

  • Preheat oven to 350 F.
  • Soak beans overnight or at least for 8 hours. Next day discard the soaking liquid. Add cold water and in a large pot cook the beans for 2 hours or until done. (Omit if using a can).
  • Coat a baking sheet with a thin film of oil.
  • Put the beans in a large bowl and mash them with a potato masher.
  • Add the rest of the ingredients chopped pistachio nuts, 1 egg, breadcrumbs, oil, tomato sauce, parsley, salt, Italian seasoning, garlic cloves, balsamic vinegar and onion.
  • Mix well.
  • Using about 1/4 cup of the mixture, form balls by rolling between the palms of your hands.
  • Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet evenly spaced.
  • Bake for about 30 minutes or until the balls have a nice golden brown color on the outside.
  • While the bean balls are baking, prepare the tomato sauce. Choose your favorite Pasta sauce, add 1/4 balsamic vinegar, 1 bay leaf, 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning, garlic and salt to taste. Cook for 10 minutes.
  • Boil a big pot of water and cook spaghetti according to its instructions.
  • Serve the bean balls with the warm with tomato sauce and spaghetti.
  • Garnish with parsley and Parmesan cheese.

enjoy!

Receipe, photos, text by twincitiesherbs.com.

Holiday dinner ideas

I associate the Christmas season with good food, heartwarming music and the company of friends and family. I can help you out with the food part but I leave the rest for you. Please check out holiday dishes from my earlier blogs, hope you can find one for your holiday dinner: festive salad, mouth-watering meat, fabulous vegetarian and tasty vegan dishes. Enjoy!

RECIPES

Traditional Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage Recipe

Vegan Russian Sour Kraut Soup (Shi) Recipe

Pork with prunes Recipe

Kale Salad with cranberries. Recipe

Festive Strudel with Lentils, cabbage & mushroom Recipe

Happy Holidays!

Creamy Celeriac Soup with croutons

This delicious dish uses this forgotten vegetable, celeriac. The sweet and bitter celeriac is the perfect vegetable to eat as we enter the colder months. It can nicely offset the heaviness of other dishes that we eat during the holidays. The celeriac along with the potatoes are cooked in a stock and are infused with thyme and bay leaves. Serve with cream and some croutons or hazelnuts on the top. Enjoy!

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS
  • oil
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 large garlic cloves
  • 1 tsp dried or 2 tsp fresh thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 1/2 lb celeriac root, peeled and cut into 1/2 ” chunks
  • 1/2 lb potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2″ chunks
  • 1 slice of bacon, cut into small pieces (optional)
  • 4 cup of vegetable or chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup hazelnuts or croutons
  • chopped parsley
  • crushed red hot pepper to taste

PREPARATION

Cook bacon on medium high heat, in a little oil for 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Sauté the onion in a little oil for about 5 – 10 minutes, stir often. Gently fry the garlic for a short time, do not burn. Add the thyme, bay leaf, celery, the potato chunks, bacon pieces and the stock. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to medium low heat. Cook for about 40 minutes or until all the vegetables are nice and tender.

Remove the bay leaf and let the soup cool off to room temperature. Pour in the cream. Puree the soup. You can use an immersion blender or a regular blender.

Add salt, pepper and red hot pepper to taste.

Serve with hot with croutons or hazelnuts and parsley.

If using hazelnuts, heat up a pan and lightly roast the hazelnuts for 6-8 minutes. Make sure they are toasted on all sides. Chop the cool hazelnuts. Serve on to of the soup.

Enjoy!

Photo and text by twincitiesherbs.

Gin cocktail with cucumber and basil

This is a savory, refreshing summer drink made with gin, basil and cucumbers.

Serves 1 drink

Ingredients

  • 1 shotglass of gin (I used Prairy organic gin)
  • 1/2 – 1 shotglass of simple syrup (Please see recipe below)
  • 1/2 cup spritzer water
  • 5 basil leaves or more to garnish
  • 8 thin cucumber slices
  • pinch of ground black pepper
  • juice of 1/2 lime or more to garnish
  • pinch of salt
  • ice, optional

Methods

  • Make the simple syrup. It is very easy. Slowly cook 1 cup of water with a 1 cup of sugar in a small pot. Be careful not to boil it. When you see a nice thick syrup, it is done. Take off heat and let it cool. You can refrigerate what you don’t use for later use – if not used up in a few days.
  • Preapre the drink in a jar big enough to hold 1 cup of liquid. Add the gin, the simple syrup, spritzer water, lime juice, basil leaves, cucmber slices and salt. I also like to put in the lime peel. Put the top on and mix well. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Remove the plant material before serving.
  • Add ice if you wish.
  • If you don’t have time to put the drink in the refrigerator, you can use a muddler to gently bruise the vegetables with the simple sugar to get the juice out for a few minutes and then procede with the rest of the recipe from above.
  • You can garnish with fresh basil, cucumber slice and lime slice if you wish.

enjoy!

Shakshuka with pitta bread

This is a tasty vegetarian dish that can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It is made with simple ingredients that you most likely have in your kitchen. The eggs are poached in a delicious sauce made of tomatoes, green peppers, onions, garlic and the warming spices of North Africa. I served this dish with home-made pita bread, Hummus and Eggplant Parmesan.

Shakshuka is made throughout Middle Eastern countries today and there are numerous recipes around; however, it originated in Northern Africa. This recipe uses the lovely spices of Northern Africa, the special trio of cumin, coriander and paprika. Enjoy!

RECIPE

Ingredients

  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 3 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 green pepper
  • 2 clove garlic
  • 1 tsp ground cumin powder
  • 1 tsp ground coriander powder
  • 1 tsp ground paprika
  • 2 large tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup tomato sauce
  • hot pepper flakes to taste
  • 4 eggs
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup parsley
  • 1/4 cup mint leaves
Pita bread

Methods

  • On medium high heat, sauté the onion in olive oil for 5 minutes.
  • Add the green peppers and continue sauteing while stirring frequently for another 5 minutes. Add the spices (cumin, coriander, paprika), stir for 1 minute and add the garlic.
  • Quickly add the diced tomatoes and the tomato sauce, stir. Cook for 5 minutes.
  • Turn down the heat and let the mixture simmer for 15 minutes covered.
  • Uncover and let the dish cook for another 5 minutes or so until the sauce thickens.
  • Using a wooden spoon, clear some space in the sauce or make a ‘well’ and drop 1 egg in. Do this three more times with the other eggs. Cover and let the eggs poach in this lovely, well seasoned sauce until the whites are set and are not runny.
  • Uncover. Add salt, pepper, parsley, mint leaves and hot pepper flakes.
  • Serve it warm with pita bread (recipe).
  • I also served it with Hummus (recipe) and Eggplant Parmesan (recipe).

Source

  • Photos: twincitiesherbs.com

Dutch baby with berries

Berries are ready! An easy way to use these delicious berries for breakfast is to make a dutch baby. Dutch baby is made with three basic ingredients: milk, eggs and flour. Watch it puff up in the oven and wow your friends and family with this delicious breakfast. Make sure your guests are seated at the table when you bring it out because it settles pretty fast.

RECIPE

4-6 servings

You will need a 10″ (2″ deep) oven proof skillet or something similar in size.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup white flour
  • 1 cup of milk
  • 5 eggs
  • berries (2 cups), sliced
  • 4 Tbsp butter, divided
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  • 3 Tbsp sugar

Methods

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.

2. Mix milk, flour, eggs, salt, melted 2 Tbsp butter, vanilla extract until no lumps remain. You can use an electric mixer on medium speed for 1 minute if you wish.

3. Let it rest for 1 hour. You can make it the night before too.

4. Gently warm up the remaining butter in the oven proof skillet. Pour in the batter. Make sure the batter is at room temperature if after taking it out of the fridge.

5. ATTENTION! Do not open the oven door until the dutch baby is done. Bake for 20 – 30 minutes or until the top is nice and golden brown.

6. Let it cool for 5 – 10 minutes. Serve warm.

7. I served it with the berries, maple syrup and chopped nuts.

enjoy!


Photo and text by twinctiesherbs

Rhubarb muffins

If you are like me and just can’t get enough of rhubarb right now, try these delicious, filling muffins. The tangy rhubarb works nicely with the whole wheat dough. They were gone fast in our house …

RECIPE

Ingredients

  • 2 cup whole wheat flour (or white flour)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1/2-3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 cup rhubarb stalks, chopped into 1 inch pieces
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 2 tsp fresh or 1 tsp dried ginger, grated
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375 F.
  • In a large bowl, cream the butter and the sugar with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy or use an electric mixer.
  • Lightly beat in 1 egg and mix in 1 cup buttermilk.
  • Sift the dry ingredients together: flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt.
  • With a spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until just barely combined, then add 2 cups of the fresh rhubarb and fold until evenly distributed.
  • Let the dough rest for 8 hours. Omit if using white flour.
  • Bake in a preheated oven for 25 – 30 minutes until a toothpick poked into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.
  • Cool for 10 minutes, then run a knife around each muffin to release from the tin and turn out onto the rack. Put the muffins on a wire rack and let them sit for another 10 minutes.

Enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Recipe, photo and text by twincitiesherbs.

Mushroom tempeh stroganoff

This new spring energy is as vibrant as it can be. Simple vegetarian dishes would be very nice to eat right now. I would like to share my recipe that I have been cherishing for years and making in the spring. This is a vegetarian take on the classic beef stroganoff dish. I used the nutty tempeh to replace the meat and added mushrooms to create this delicious dish. Enjoy!

RECIPE

Serves 4-6 people

Ingredients

  • 1 pkg tempeh (500 gr)
  • olive oil
  • 1/4 cup of shallots, finally chopped
  • 1 Tbsp flour
  • 16 oz mushrooms (oyster, crimini, portobello, white button)
  • 8 oz green vegetable (spinach, broccoli)
  • 1 tsp Hungarian paprika
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 1/2 cup wine
  • 1 cup stock (vegetarian or meat)
  • salt
  • red hot pepper flakes, optional
  • few springs of thyme
  • 10 cherry tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup cream
  • black pepper
  • parsley
  • pasta
  • graded cheese (Parmesan)

Method

  • Sauté the tempeh in a little oil for 10 minutes or until the sides are nice and brown. Set aside.
  • Make the pasta according to its directions. Set aside.
  • In a large pan, heat some oil. Sauté the shallots for 5 minutes on medium high heat.
  • Add the mushrooms and continue sauteing for another 5 minutes. Sprinkle in 1 Tbsp flour, stir for a few minutes. Add the paprika and garlic. Stir for 1 minute.
  • Add the wine and the cold stock. Stir making sure there are no knots left from the flour. Add the thyme,vegetables, red hot pepper flakes (if desired), tomatoes and cook for 15 minutes covered.
  • Take out larger thyme pieces.
  • Take off heat. Add salt, pepper, parsley and cream.
  • Add the tempeh cubes so it can soak up some of the liquid.
  • Serve over pasta with graded cheese.

enjoy!

Recipe, photo and text by Twincitiesherb.

Lemon meringue cake

The lemon yellow color can bring sunshine into our homes! This delicious dessert could become the center piece of your Easter celebration instantly. The tart and tangy lemon filled cake is topped with the fluffy sweet meringue. I like using lemons in baking because they offset the sweetness of desserts and give an interesting flavor. Also, it is packed with the important theme of Easter, eggs of course. It is super easy to make and delicious at the same time. In our house, my daughter will be making it for Easter this year.

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

Crust

  • 12 Tbsp (165 gr) butter, at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla concentrate
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, cut and sifted

Lemon filling

  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice + the zest (2-3 fresh lemons)
  • 1/4 cup flour

Meringue

  • 3 egg white, room temperature
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1/3 cup sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 325 F (170 C). Set the rack in the middle of the oven. Grease and line a 9″ baking dish with parchment paper.

Separate the 3 eggs for the meringue now as it is easier to do when eggs are cold. Make sure they are at room temperature when you beat them.

Make the crust. Cream the sugar, vanilla extract and the butter. Gradually add the flour with salt mixing by hand just until a crumbly ball forms.

Place the prepared dough in the pan. Using your hands press against the bottom and about 1 inch (2 cm) up the sides. Poke the dough with a fork about 6-8 times. Bake for 20 minutes or until the dough has a nice golden brown color.

Make the lemon filling. In a medium sized bowl whisk the eggs, sugar, lemon juice and zest and the flour together. Make sure you grade the lemons before you can them up. (It is almost impossible to zest a cut lemon).

When the crust is done baking, remove it from the oven. Pour the lemon filling over the crust and return it to the oven for 30-40 minutes, until the filling no longer jiggles and the center is mostly set.

Make the meringue in the last 5 minutes before the shell is done baking. In a clean, medium bowl, use an electric hand mixer to beat the egg white until stiff peaks form. Add about half of the sugar and the cream of tartar, whip for 30 seconds. Add the rest of the sugar and whip until combined.

Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a large tip or zip-lock bag with a corner snipped off. I piped the meringue on the top covering the entire surface making large peaks each time.

Return to the oven for 10 – 12 minutes, until the meringues are lightly browned.

Let cool completely, then refrigerate for 1 hours.

Serve at room temperature.

enjoy!

Text, recipe and photo by Twincitiesherbs.

Welcome spring (recipes)

“She turned to the sunlight

And shook her yellow head,

And whispered to her neighbor:

“Winter is dead.”

A.A. Milne – When We Were Very Young.

Spring is my favorite time of the year, not only we start getting more fruits and vegetables but also it is so uplifting to experience nature coming alive and bursting with energy, to hear the birds chirping and seeing animals active again. Please check out my posts from last year on Spring eating (post) and other early spring recipes. Recipes: Hot and sour burdock soup (recipe), Spinach lasagna (recipe) and Sorrel/nettle stew (recipe). enjoy!

Source of the poem/Picture

Welcome Spring!

Jan van der Kooi: Seeking beauty