Recipe Type: Main, Dinner, Casserole, Pasta, Tuna, Fish
Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 3
There’s no canned cream of mushroom soup allowed in this Tuna Casserole!
Ingredients
2 C cooked rotini rice pasta
1 shallot, chopped
1 watermelon radish, grated
2 carrots, grated
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 C mushrooms, chopped
2/3 C peas (frozen)
1 t dijon mustard
1 t lemon juice
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 T cornstarch
1/2 C water, divided
1 C pasta water
pinch cayenne
1/2 t dried basil
1/2 t dried parsley
1 t garlic sea salt (or regular sea salt)
pepper
1 can tuna
1/3 C parmesan cheese, grated (plus a little more for topping)
Instructions
Cook pasta. While it cooks, heat pan, add shallot, carrots, radish, and mushrooms, and 1/4 C water. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, peas, tuna, and seasonings; cook 1 minute.
Whisk cornstarch with 1/4 C water, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, and dijon. Pour over veggies, bring to a boil and cook for a minute or two.
Stir in cheese.
Add pasta water and stir.
Taste and adjust seasonings.
Let sit for a few minutes before serving so pasta can soak up the sauce.
Serve topped with a little bit of parmesan cheese.
This week, I had the‚ privilege‚ of making dinner for a sick friend and his wife. When someone’s ill, there isn’t much one can do to help (doctors and nurses are excluded from this statement). So being able to provide food is a blessing to those of us who want to do something, but other than praying for healing, can’t make it better.
It’s also the case when a new baby arrives. You can’t fix the sleepless nights, but you can bring dinner over so the exhausted parents can have a break. (Hint hint, Andy and Laura, Geoff and Angie, Sean and Paige… If you’re reading this, please can I make you dinner?! I freely admit that it is mostly just an excuse for me to get to hold your wee child. Oh wait, you’re not reading this, because you’re hanging out with your new small person… Right.)
On Tuesday, after making the Roasted Broccoli and Fried Egg Sandwiches for my show, I made this Minestrone Soup for dinner. It was a kinda last minute idea. I had most of the ingredients, and Husband picked up a few extras on the way home from work. It was a chilly day and soup just seemed essential, plus it seemed like a good meal to bring to friends.
I’ve made Minestrone so many times. I’ve written it down twice. Tim loved this particular version so much that, even though it’s probably not too different from some of the others, I wanted to record what I’d done. When he yells that “it’s so freaking good”, it’s hard not to. 🙂
I had it for lunch again the next day. It was just as good, and maybe even a little better.
1 head broccoli diCicco, chopped (including leaves and stems)
3 carrots, chopped
1 shallot or onion, chopped
1/4 C water
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 C peas
1 C kale (or spinach), chopped
3 T balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 to 2 t salt
1 1/2 to 2 C diced tomatoes
2 T tomato paste
1 1/2 to 2 C garbanzo beans, cooked
1 1/2 to 2 C cannellini beans, cooked
3 C vegetable stock
3 C water
1 T Italian herb mix (or a bit of each: oregano, thyme, and basil)
1 t fresh rosemary
1 T lemon juice
lemon wedges, for serving
parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
Heat soup pot, add olive oil; add broccoli, carrot, shallot, and 1 t salt. Cook covered over medium-low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1/4 C water, cook covered for 5 minutes more. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes. Add vinegar, tomato paste, kale/spinach, broccoli greens, and peas; cook 2 minutes.
Add stock, water, and herbs; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook 10-20 minutes, or until veggies are tender. Add 1 T lemon juice.
Cook pasta, but do not add to soup. Drain and keep warm.
Add beans to soup, cook 3 minutes.
Taste and adjust seasoning.
Place a scoop of pasta in a bowl, add soup, and top with parmesan cheese and a squeeze of lemon.
Notes
This could be made in the Crock Pot too. Add the lemon juice and spinach in the last 30 minutes of cooking. Just cook the pasta separately. Leftovers can be frozen, without pasta.
I made this Chili 3 weeks ago. It was what we had for dinner the day I made Mache and Citrus Salad for the show. Tim asked if I’d made the Chili for the show. I said no. He practically yelled, “What?!! It’s so good!! You have to make this on your show!!”
Well, ok, if you feel that strongly about it!
Of course, after getting some form of winter squash in our Abundant Harvest Organics‚ box almost every week for about the past 2 months (not a complaint. I love squash), the following two weeks were without squash. Figures, right!? Well, this week it’s baaaa-aaack. And I made Chili with it.
Squash is roasted and paired with black beans in this hearty chili.
Ingredients
1 butternut squash, peeled, and cut into 1/2″ to 1″ cubes
1 T butter
1 T plus 1 t olive oil, divided
2 carrots, chopped
6 cloves garlic, diced
1 shallot, chopped
1 T lemon juice, divided
1 T maple syrup
dash t cayenne
1/4 t red pepper flakes
pinch cumin
1 t plus 1/4 t salt, divided
1/4 t pepper
1/2 T apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 C vegetable stock
2 1/2 C black beans, cooked
1 T parmesan cheese/serving, grated, for topping
lemon wedges, for topping
1/2 slice bacon/serving (opt.), cooked and crumbled
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 375F. Toss squash with 1 t olive oil, 1/4 t salt, and a pinch of pepper. Roast on a baking sheet for 45-60 minutes, or until squash is tender (amount of time will vary depending on size of cubes). Check part way through roasting time to be sure it’s not burning. Rotate pan/flip squash if desired.
Cook bacon. Drain on paper towel and discard grease. Set aside.
Heat soup pot. Add butter and remaining oil and brown (being careful not to let it burn). Add salt, pepper, cayenne, red pepper flakes, cumin, onion, and carrot. Cook 10 minutes, covered, over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.
Add garlic. Stir and cook 1 minute. Add vinegar, 1/2 T lemon juice, and maple syrup. Cook 3 minutes.
Add remaining lemon juice, beans, squash, and stock. Turn heat to medium-high and bring to a boil; cook 10 minutes. Turn heat down to low and cook 10 minutes more. Stir occasionally, and add more stock or water if needed.
Serve topped with bacon, parmesan cheese, and a lemon wedge to squeeze over top.
Nutritional information includes bacon. Nutritional information without bacon: (Per serving) Calories: 370 Fat: 9.25 Carbohydrates: Same Protein: 13.54
Eight different kinds of dried beans are soaked overnight, rinsed, then simmered for hours and hours on the stove. They make up this creamy soup and are complimented by flavors like lemon, balsamic vinegar, parsley, and garlic.
Ingredients
1 T olive oil
4 C dried 8 bean mixture, soaked overnight, and rinsed
1 large shallot, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
pepper, to taste
pinch cayenne
pinch ginger
1 bay leaf
3 T balsamic vinegar, divided
4 C stock (chicken, veggie, or beef)
4 C water
4-6 C stock or water, as needed
2-3 T lemon juice
1/2 to 1 t salt
1 T dried parsley
Instructions
Heat soup pot. Add oil. Add shallot, carrot, garlic, and beans. Stir and cook 1 minute. Add pepper, ginger, cayenne, bay leaf, 1 1/2 T balsamic vinegar, 4 C stock, and 4 C water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer (medium-low heat) and cook for 4-5 hours, or until beans are tender. Check every 30 minutes, stirring and adding more liquid as needed, about 4-6 C in total.
Add parsley, lemon juice, salt, and remaining balsamic vinegar. Cook 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning and lemon juice as needed.
Notes
Delicious with Cornbread and a citrusy beer! For vegetarian or vegan, use a vegetable stock.
