Ethiopian Green Beans And Sweet Potatoes

Called Yataklete Kilkil, this dish is traditionally served during Lent as a main course but can be served any time of the year as a side dish. The recipe calls for canned stewed tomatoes, which replaced with homemade. It's delicious and easy to make. I also substituted sweet potatoes for potatoes, as Adrian prefers.

There was some extra, which Adrian thought would go well with egg for tomorrow's breakfast.

Homemade Stewed Tomatoes

Ingredients:
(make 2 cups)

• 2 large tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon onion, minced
• 1 tablespoon green bell pepper, minced

1. Bring a pot of water to boil. Blanch tomatoes for 10 seconds. Put under running water to stop cooking. Peel the skin and chopped into cubes.
2. Placed chopped tomatoes in a heavy saucepan. Bring it to boil. Cover and let cook for 15 minutes over lowest heat.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients. Taste and adjust with seasoning. Simmer, uncovered, for another 15 minutes. Stirring frequently until juices are reduced.

Yataklete Kilkil
Ingredients:
(make 2 servings)

• 1 Sweet potato, diced
• Green Bean, chopped
• 1/2 Tablespoon pure sesame oil
• 1 Clove Garlic, finely chopped
• 1 TB Berbere
  
• 1 Cup homemade stewed tomatoes
  
• 1/4 Teaspoon Fresh Lime Juice

1. Cover potatoes in boiling water and simmer for 12 minutes add green beans and cook for another 5 minutes. Drain.
   
2. In a separate saucepan, heat oil , fry garlic and berbere until fragrant.
3. Stir in cooked sweet potatoes and green beans. Fry until well coated. Add stewed tomatoes and fresh lime juice. Cook 7-10 minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently.

Tomato Salsa

The original recipe uses canned whole fire-roasted tomatoes. I refused to buy anything that I can make at home.

Ingredients:
(makes 2 - 3 cups)

• 4 medium-sized ripe but still firm tomatoes
• 1 Jalapeno pepper, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
  
• 1/3 Cup green onions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons pure sesame oil
  
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
  
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  
• 1/4 Cup cilantro leaves, chopped
  
• sea salt and ground black pepper

1. Put tomatoes under a broiler until the skin is blistered all over, remove from the oven, let cool, remove the skin.
2. In a large bowl, shred and break up tomatoes with fork and knife. Add jalapeno pepper, garlic, green onions, sesame oil and balsamic vinegar. Stir in oregano and cilantro. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
3. Keep refrigerated when not using. Can be store for up to 5 days.
   

Savory Tomato and Pesto Pie

This recipe caught my attention with this line "....this may look like a pie, ...., but it is really not a pie. So those of you who are afraid of pies can keep on reading." Maybe you haven't noticed but I have been dodging recipes that call for pie crust. What I like about this recipe is it has the consistency of biscuit dough but is not made from biscuits.

This dough is easy to work with and the pie is quick and easy to make. In fact, it gives me (a delusional) confidence to making pizza crust. What I'm saying is, this is by no means difficult culinary endeavor - you can make this pie. Yes, you. And it will most likely make whomever you feed it to immediately smile with delight and love you even more than they already do. As it did for me :)

Ingredients:

For the pesto

Go here for a traditional Italian basil pesto. You may also use arugula or spinach instead of basil. In my case, I put together what greens I managed to dig out from the fridge: basil, parsley and broccoli. It's true you can pesto many of the greens.

Makes about 1-1/2 cups (you'll need 1 cup)

1/2 cup roasted whole almonds
5 large cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
4 cups of mixed chopped basil, parsley and broccoli
1/2 cup finely grated pecorino romano cheese
3 small tomatoes, quartered
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1. Process the almonds and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. Add the mixed greens, pecorino romano, tomatoes, and salt and process until thoroughly combined.
2. With the food processor running, drizzle in the olive oil through the chute. Add more salt to taste if necessary and more olive oil if desired. This pesto will keep several days in the fridge, or you can freeze it.
   

Heat the oven to 190C.

For The Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
1 cup finely grated pecorino romano
3/4 cup milk

1. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Mix in the butter using your fingers until the largest pieces are pea-size. Stir in the pecorino romano. Pour in the milk and use a fork to gently form a soft dough. Do not overmix. Divide the dough in two pieces, making one slightly larger than the other.
2. On a generously floured surface, use a rolling pin to gently roll out the larger piece of dough into a circle about 12 inches across, rolling from the center outward. Sprinkle dough with flour if sticky. Gently fold the dough in half and transfer into a 9-inch pie pan. If the dough tears, simply press it back together with your fingers. Roll out the remaining piece of dough into a slightly smaller circle and set aside.
   

Assembling The Pie:

1 cup pesto, divided
2 large plum tomatoes, sliced lengthwise into 4 or 5 slices each
8 ounces mozzarella, grated
1/2 cup finely grated pecorino romano

1. Using a spoon, spread 1/2 cup of pesto over the bottom layer of dough in the pie pan. Layer about half of the tomatoes over the pesto. Cover the tomatoes with about 2/3 of the mozzarella. Layer on the rest of the tomatoes. Carefully spread the remaining 1/2 cup of pesto over the tomatoes. Cover with the remaining mozzarella and the pecorino romano.
2. Roll out the second piece of dough, and carefully place it over the pie. Fold the edge of the bottom piece over the top piece and press together to seal. Use your fingers to make a crimped design around the edge. If any dough falls apart, simply press it back together with your fingers.
3. Cut four slits in the top of the pie for steam to escape. Bake at 190C in the center of the oven until the crust is golden brown, about 40 minutes.
4. Let cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before serving. Crust edges may be sampled much sooner. (As with nearly any fruit pie, if you cut into it while it is still warm, some juice will seep out. If you plan to store any leftover pie right in the pan, simply drain off the juice so the bottom crust doesn't become soggy.) Or cool pie completely, cover, and refrigerate.
   

Breakfast Salad that could be put on dinner table, too

The original recipe calls for cubed cucumber, diced red bell pepper, and halved cherry tomatoes tossed together in olive oil vinaigrette dressing. I decided to use whatever there was in the refrigerator instead: diced green bell pepper, cubed beef tomatoes, parsley, chopped green beans, and frozen corn kernels.
Instead of serving over shredded lettuces, I served it over arugula leaves, sun dried tomatoes and topped with pine nuts. I over cooked the egg - instead of soft boiled (that would give a beautifully oozing yellow yolk), I got hard boiled eggs. Sprinkle with some crumbled goat cheese and you are ready to serve.
It's a delicious way to bring more vegetables to breakfast table. I bet it could just as well be served on dinner table, too.

Smoked Salmon Egg Florentine to start the day

Have I raved enough about my crave for breakfast yet? I get particularly excited on days when I don't have to leave home early. Well, late enough to have breakfast at home anyway. And this is one of those beautiful days.
I have made this egg Florentine many times before. It even got me a "I'm impressed" from my elder sister whose affection for me is so deep you can never tell from her face. It's also one of Adrian's favorite morning egg dishes. Although I doubt he recognized this one. It's simply because I finally used proper measurement for the white sauce instead of playing with the amount as I did. And, I added Smoked Salmon.
I don't eat much fish. Restaurant fish always come with funny taste. I'm very doubtful of their freshness. Having said that, I do enjoy sashimi. And I have to thank Adrian for introducing me to the store bought smoked salmon. They smell marvelous! I also did another dish with smoked salmon before.

Smoked Salmon Egg Florentine
I used apple cider vinegar for poaching the eggs. I did it with balsamic vinegar before. Although it worked but it browned the eggs. White vinegar would do if you don't use apple cider vinegar.

Ingredients:
Serve 2
4 eggs
A bag of spinach leaves, about 150gram
1 tomato, sliced
4 smoked salmon fillets (or more)
Milk, 150mL
1 Tablespoon flour
25 gram Cheddar cheese, grated
Shave Romano Cheese (Optional)

1. Add a splash of vinegar to a pan of water. Break one egg to a small bowl. When the water simmers, gently tip the egg in the pan. Scoop the egg out with a slotted spoon when ready. Rest on paper towel to drain off excess water. Repeat with the other eggs.
2. Preheat oven to 180C.
   
3. Cook spinach leaves with just the water clinging to it until just wilted. Remove from heat to a colander. Drain off excess water. Add a tablespoon of butter and pinch of salt and pepper.
   
4. Arrange spinach into to baking dish. Top each plate with 2 tomato slices and then 2 smoked salmon fillets. Cover the dishes with foil and let it bake for 20 minutes until the fish become flaky.
5. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, boil together milk, flour and butter. Stirring constantly until the mixture thicken. Add 1/2 the cheese and let melt. Remove from heat.
6. Distribute milk mixture evenly over the two dishes. Add the remaining Cheddar cheese to top. I added some shaved Romano too.
7. Shove the dish to the top layer of oven and let broil til golden brown.
   

Viva La Vida Breakfast!

Poached Eggs with Tomato and Banana Sauce & New Potato Wedge Omelette

There's no question how much of a breakfast person I am. I can skip lunch, and sleep on an empty stomach but NO ONE, absolutely NO ONE can take my breakfast away. I almost never skip breakfast. I would intentionally wake up early enough so that I can have a simple breakfast before I head out for Yoga. On days when I have the luxury of having long breakfast at home, I'd plan the menu a night before. Yes, that's how obssessed I am with my breakfast. I literally can have breakfast for morning, lunch and dinner. I'm sure Pee Wee would approve.

Poached Egg with Tomato and Banana Sauce

Kind of bizarre, isn't it? At the same time I couldn't resist to find out what it taste like. I'm always hesistant when it comes to poaching eggs. I'm intimidated by having to scoop the egg while the yolk is still runny. Actually I did a rather good job this time; without knowing what I did right..... I wish I had taken a picture before they were smothered by the sauce. Poached eggs are typically served over toasted bread. I didn't. I served it with a side of mixed greens with sun-dried tomatoes and blue cheese. I have to say that the taste of melted butter, sweetness of bananas and sourness of tomatoes blend very well together. The recipe uses water. But I like cream. It gives a sort of volume and creaminess to the texture. Yum~

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 banana, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
cream (adjust)

1. Boil a pan of water with two tablespoon of vinegar (I used apple cider vinigar) to simmer. Break egg into a bowl and tip it over simmering water. Repeat with the other eggs. When the eggs are set, remove from pan with slotted spoon and let dry on paper towel.
2. Melt a tablespoon of butter. Add chopped tomatoes and bananas. Fry for a minute. Stir in cream (or water if you don't like to use cream) and let simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
   
3. Pour the sauce over poached eggs to serve.
   

One of the things I like about writing this food blog is instead of just following the recipes, I now spend more time researching for nutrition information and the "how, why, where, when, what" of cooking. For instance, many times I come across recipes that use different varieties of potatoes: Russel, fingerling, new potatoes, etc. Are they that much different? So I found this Potato Council website from British.

Apparently there are thousands of different varieties of potatoes grown around the world. Potatoes are often categorized according to season. For instance, new potatoes are planted in the winter, ready for harvesting in spring or early summer. They are sometimes called early potatoes. Potatoes harvested in the late summer or early autumn, instead of being called "late" or "old", are known as maincrop potatoes.

They also differ in texture- some are firm and set, while others are fluffy, waxy, or floury. If you want to make a mash, you want a floury potato that has higher dry matter and brighter and more granular in appearance. On the other hand, waxy potatoes are good for salad because they are good at staying firm and keeping their shape.

So there's my homework. Nevertheless, when it comes to shopping for potatoes, there really isn't much to be sophisticated about. Regardless of the shape, size, colour, they are all labeled "potatoes". I guess if I wanted to, I could probably learn to distiguish them from the appearance. But I digress.

New Potato Wedge Omelette

I didn't bother to investigate if the potato I used was new potato or otherwise. It's just one of those washed potatoes in the supermarket vegetable corner. Don't be too excited by its name (as I did): it's very much a frittata made with potato. Or Spanish tortilla. I made a few adjustment to the recipe:

1. I added chopped fresh herbs - tarragon, parsley, oregano and thyme.
2. I used a mix of Cheddar and Romano cheese
3. Cream instead of milk
4. It was served with chili mayonaise on a bed of vinaigrette arugula and fresh cherry tomatoes with pine nuts.
5. I top the omelette with more quartered tomatoes before baking.
   

Ingredients

• 350g new potatoes, scrubbed and cut into wedges
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 100g sweetcorn
• 4 medium eggs, beaten
• Dash of milk
• Salt and black pepper
• 75g Cheshire cheese, grated

1. Place the new potatoes in a pan of lightly salted boiling water. Cover and simmer until tender. Drain.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan. (Add mixed herbs here if you are using). Add the sweetcorn and potatoes and fry for 1 minute.
3. Lightly beat the eggs, milk (or cream), salt, pepper and half the cheese (cheddar). Add to the pan and cook gently for 3-4 minutes until almost set.
4. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese (Romano) and place under a preheated oven until golden.
5. Cut into 8 wedges and serve with tomato ketchup and crisps of the flavour of your choice.