Minestrone Soup

Feb 23, 2015

Ready in just an hour, and loaded with vegetables and beans, minestrone soup is a delicious and nutritious weekday meal. Serve with a fresh garden salad and warm crusty bread.

Prep. time: 15 mins  •  Cook time: 45 mins
Makes: 8 servings (approx. 1 1/2 cup each)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup minced white onions
• 1/4 cup chopped zucchini
• 1/4 cup fresh or frozen cut green beans
• 1/4 cup celery, finely diced
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 (15 oz) can red kidney beans, drained
• 1 (15 oz) can white beans or great northern beans, drained
• 1 /2 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup carrots, julienne
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
• 1 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 1/2 cups hot water
• 3 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1/3 cup small shell pasta, optional

Directions

1. In a large stock pot, heat two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add onion, celery, garlic, green beans, and zucchini and saute in the oil for 5 minutes or until onions begin to turn translucent.
3. Add vegetable broth, drained tomatoes, beans, carrot, hot water, and spices.
4. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Add spinach and pasta (if desired) and continue to simmer for another 20 minutes.

Roasted Root Vegetables

Feb 16, 2015

This is a simple, tasty dish you can really feel good about eating. Packed with a bounty of vitamins and minerals, root vegetables are also an excellent source of complex carbohydrates and dietary fibre. Turnips, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips (and even beets if you wish), seasoned with fresh herbs and garlic then oven-roasted until tender and browned.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds root vegetables (potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, beets), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces – Note: Cut carrots 2 1/2-inch lengths, with about a 1-inch diameter
• 5 oz small shallots, peeled
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 head garlic, separated into cloves and peeled
• Fresh herbs – rosemary, thyme, basil, etc., chopped

Or Use a Dry Seasoning Mixture:

• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Place the root vegetables and shallots in a shallow roasting pan.
3. Toss the vegetables with the olive oil and season to taste with salt, pepper, and herbs. Spread vegetables in an even layer in pan.
4. Roast on the middle oven rack for a total of 45-50 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. After 30 minutes, add the garlic cloves to the vegetable mixture. Continue to cook and stir for the remaining time, or until the vegetables are tender and evenly browned.

Shepherd's Pie

Feb 16, 2015

When there’s a chill in the air turn to this hearty comfort food. Unlike traditional Shepherd pie that uses ground beef and sometimes a stout ale, this recipe uses hearty chunks of beef, along with a variety of vegetables, simmered in a rich red wine sauce.

Inactive time: Overnight chilling  Prep time: 25 mins  Cook time: 3 hours  Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 to 3 lb stewing beef
• Fresh thyme, large sprig
• 3 whole garlic cloves, smashed
• 3 fresh bay leaves
• 3 cups good quality red wine
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tbsp vegetable or olive oil, (or more as necessary for browning meat)
• 4 sticks celery, chopped
• 1 large onion, cut into chunks
• 6 large carrots, cut into chunks
• 7 oz Baby Bella mushrooms, each cut in half
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Pinch brown sugar
• 3 tbsp white flour
• 1 Tbsp tomato purée
• 2 beef stock cubes
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

For the topping:

• 3-4 cups mashed potato

Directions

1. Place the beef in a bowl with red wine, garlic, freshly ground pepper, thyme sprig, and bay leaves. Place in the refrigerator and marinate overnight.
2. The next day remove meat from the marinade with a slotted spoon and place on a plate. Remove thyme sprig, bay leaf and garlic cloves. Reserve marinade.
3. Heat oven to 300°F.
4. Combine 2 cups flour with 1 tablespoon salt, and one tablespoon pepper. Working in batches, dredge the beef in the flour mixture. Shake off any excess flour.
5. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large pot brown the meat over medium heat, about 6 minutes. Turn meat frequently to brown evenly. Remove meat and repeat process for each batch. Add more oil for each batch if necessary. When all the meat is done add the vegetables to the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for 2 more minutes.
6. Sprinkle sugar over the vegetables, then sprinkle 3 tablespoons of the flour over vegetables and stir together. Cook for a few minutes until vegetables start to brown, stir in the tomato purée and then add the reserved wine marinade and Worcestershire sauce. Deglaze by using a spoon to scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add browned beef along with any juices, that may have accumulated in the plate. Crumble in the beef stock cubes. Add just enough boiling water to cover the meat and vegetables (about 1 1/2 to 2 cups). Season with salt and pepper and bring everything to the boil, stirring well. Pour mixture into a Dutch oven (or other oven-proof dish), cover and place in the oven for 2 1/2 hrs or until the meat is tender.
7. To make the pie: Heat oven to 400°F. Pour meat and vegetable mixture into a casserole dish. Top with mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with grated Asiago Cheese, if desired. (Note: you can either spread the potato mixture over the filling or pipe it on. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.