Vegetarian

Mushroom Ravioli with a Balsamic Butter Sauce and Toasted Walnuts

February 25, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

This mushroom ravioli is really easy to make if you don’t have time to make your own ravioli from scratch. Unfortunately I don’t have the tools (yet) to make my own pasta so hopefully I will be able to enjoy this recipe from scratch eventually. This is actually my boyfriend John’s recipe (he ate a lot of this during his bachelor pad days). He definitely did better than most bachelors with this delicious and easy to make recipe. The balsamic to butter sauce ratio is important as there needs to be enough butter to tame the bitterness of the balsamic vinegar. The sauce should be a medium brown color and not have a lot of bite to it. I let the sauce simmer on very low heat to let the balsamic vinegar caramalize a little while the pasta was cooking. The walnuts and sauce are perfect with the woodsy flavors of the mushrooms. The only thing I wish I did was get a good rind of parmigiano reggiano for this recipe.

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Baked Moroccan Potato Fries with a Yogurt Dipping Sauce

February 23, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

I have found myself taken with the flavor of Moroccan seasonings for a while now and I’m always trying to figure out new ways to use them. Since I regularly make my Moroccan chicken I try to mix things up a bit with side dishes. This time I tried a Moroccan style french fry with a yogurt dipping sauce. The fries were so good and had just the right amount of crispiness on the outside. Baked potato fries are a lot healthier than regular french fries as they are simply tossed in olive oil and roasted in an oven. I sprinkled a little ginger on them along with a little harissa chili paste which brought a nice heat to them. Then I drizzled honey and lemon over the fries and baked them for an hour or so. This allows the inside to get tender while its baking at a lower temperature. The secret to getting a good crispy outside is to broil the fries for about 10 minutes at the very end. The broiling process helps caramelize the outside and evaporates any extra lemon juice on the pan. The dipping sauce was the perfect accompaniment to cool down this spicy and sweet Moroccan side dish.

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Farfalle with Preserved Lemon and Sun-dried Tomatoes

February 17, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

I have a lot of preserved lemons now that they are ready to use. I thought that a nice pasta dish would taste great with those lemons and this is what I came up with. It came out pretty well and all the flavors tasted good together. The sun-dried tomatoes, lemons, olives, and capers were delicious. I was originally going to use diced tomatoes but when John suggested sun-dried tomatoes I had to try it. I didn’t add any cheese but I think this recipe would be great with a little feta or parmesan on top.

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Curried Yogurt Rolls

February 5, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

Recently I made a tomato based curry, and I thought that a curried roll would be a great way to accompany the stew. I came up with this recipe for a warm, curried biscuit with yogurt. They are a bright yellow color from the turmeric in the dough. Flavors of cardamom, cinnamon, and caraway are all present along with the rich and tangy flavor of yogurt. The house smelled amazing from the spices’ aroma. The crust was just crunchy enough to get a nice contrast against the soft, warm inside part of the roll. They were perfect as an appetizer with butter, or for scooping up that list bit of curry in the bowl. I will be making these again the next time I make a curry dish!
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Tomato Curry Stew with Chickpeas and Potatoes

February 3, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

This stew is a staple recipe for me as it is easy to put together and is healthy and flavorful. When I want something light and healthy this is one of my favorite go to recipes. I use the slow cooker and all it requires is chopping the veggies and throwing everything in the crock pot to cook for about 8 hours. All the veggies get nice and soft and the flavors of the curry marinate until the stew is bursting with good curry flavor. I served it with warm curried rolls and topped with yogurt.
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Moroccan Roasted Sweet Potatoes

January 30, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

Whenever I make Roasted Moroccan Chicken I roast russet potatoes in some spicy Harissa paste and honey for a side dish. This time I had some nice sweet potatoes in the refrigerator so I thought I would try them with the Moroccan dish instead. I figured the additional sweetness of the potato would balance nicely with the chili paste. It turns out I was right as the balance of the sweet potato and the spicy chilies were a really good combination! I love contrasting flavors in general and this definitely had that going for it. I simply tossed the sweet potato pieces in olive oil and spread the chili paste over the potatoes along with a couple dashes of coriander and cinnamon. I used just a touch of honey to bring out the flavors of the sweet potato. This side dish was the perfect accompaniment for the chicken and a great pop of color on the plate.

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Moroccan Roasted Carrots and Beets

January 27, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

One of my favorite main courses is the recipe for roasted Moroccan Chicken with Preserved Lemons. I am always thinking of new sides to go with the spicy and savory flavors of this dish. I had some beets in the refrigerator and I thought a warm roasted vegetable salad would be a great accompaniment to the main course. I was not let down as the warm beets and carrots were so good with the chicken! The carrots, onions, and beets are simply tossed in oil and seasoned with Moroccan spices and baked in the oven. The earthy vegetables went very well with the spicy and sweet seasonings so I will definitely be making this again.
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Mexican Pickled Red Onions

December 19, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

I had never tried pickling anything for a recipe before but it turned out to be surprisingly easy and was a delicious condiment on tacos. A simple pickling technique is to submerge the onions in vinegar, salt, and sugar for several hours. You can also add acidic juices and spices to provide more flavor. In this recipe I used orange, lime, and apple cider vinegar for a vibrant citrus flavor. I also added a little fresh oregano which tasted great with the onions. After a few hours, the onions soften and turn an even brighter shade of red. Another way to get the onions even softer is to blanch them prior to pickling. This will be a great condiment on mexican food and even sandwiches so I plan to use it again soon!

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Mashed Potatoes with Goat Cheese and Dill

November 27, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Mashed potatoes is a side dish that has become a staple on many Thanksgiving tables. The great thing about mashed potatoes is you can add different ingredients to it and change a plain recipe into a more flavorful one. This Thanksgiving I decided to try mixing goat cheese and fresh dill into the potatoes. The goat cheese gave it a creamy tanginess, and tasted great with the fresh dill! Potatoes are so easy to make and I always leave the skins on (especially if they are red potatoes). Overall the addition of the goat cheese and dill was a success and I will definitely have this on the table on Thanksgiving next year.

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Cranberry Sauce with Pinot Noir

November 25, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

I ended up making quite a bit of cranberry sauce this year for Thanksgiving. The nice thing is that it can be stored in the refrigerator or even frozen. Cranberry sauce is easy to make from scratch and tastes fresh and tangy–a perfect topping for a roast turkey or slathering on a piece of bread for a leftover turkey sandwich. I normally go with an orange-ginger cranberry sauce but this year I tried making it with pinot noir. I really enjoyed this version of cranberry sauce, and the addition of the pinot noir gave it a more full-bodied flavor.

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