Love and Olive Oil

Potato Leek Pancakes with Red Onion-Apple Compote

Another recipe discovered while ogling the images over at tastespotting…

If only potato pancakes didn’t take so long to cook, I’d make them every week. Every day even! But seeing as the act of cooking dozens of hockey-puck size pats of potatoes takes upwards of an hour and a half, we’ll save these for the rare occasions when we make the conscious decision to stand in the kitchen for that long.

That said, these were well worth the extra effort. They are a ‘twist’ on the typical latke - with leek instead of onion, and a sweet and sour compote that becomes beautifully pink.

Potato Leek Pancakes with Red Onion-Apple Compote

Makes about 15 pancakes. Recipe from Marcias Kitchen.

Ingredients
Compote:
1 large Granny Smith apple
1 small red onion
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
splash of brandy

Pancakes:
3 large Idaho (russet) potatoes, scrubbed, peeled, and shredded
2 leeks, white and light green parts only, trimmed, cleaned, and sliced very thin
1 egg
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2- 3/4 fresh ground black pepper
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions
To make compote:
Slice the onions as thin as you can, Core, but don’t peel the apple. Chop it into a small dice- about 1/4 inch.

Melt the butter in a medium sauté pan. When it starts to bubble add the onions. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes until limp. Add the apples, liquids, and sugar. Continue to cook for a couple minutes until the apples start to caramelize a bit. Will keep for several days in the fridge.

To make pancakes:
Put the shredded potatoes into an (old) dish towel. Wrap and squeeze all the water out of the potatoes. Combine in a large bowl with everything but the oil and butter. Mix very well.

Heat a griddle or sauté pan over med high heat and add enough oil and butter to coat the pan.

Working in batches, place small portions, about 2 tablespoons of the potato mix onto the hot griddle. Flatten the pancake with the back of a spatula. Repeat. Add more butter/oil as needed. Cook until bottom is golden, then flip.

To serve, add a little finishing salt and a grinding of pepper- then place a small dollop of the red onion-apple compote on each pancake.

Filed Under: Main Dishes, Vegetarian
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Poached Pear and Goat Cheese Salad with Candied Pecans

I’m the plan ahead type when it comes to groceries. I like to buy a week’s worth of food at a time, knowing exactly what we’ll be cooking each night of the week.

And doing this every single week, I’ve learned a few things.

Namely, make the list when you’re hungry. And go shopping when you’re not.

It makes the final bill much more tolerable.

I found this recipe in one of my rushed and hunger-crazed list making sessions, which are easier if I’m browsing a site like tastespotting.com with my stomach growling. It’s like eating with your eyes. I can easily find a week’s worth of new and unique recipes there in 15 minutes. Then I wipe the drool off of my chin, slam a granola bar, and head off to the store.

Poached Pear, Pecan, and Goat Cheese Salad

Makes 3-4 servings. Adapted from Laylita’s Recipes.

Ingredients
Poached Pears:
3 firm pears (we used Bosc)
3 cups white wine
¾ cup of sugar
1 cinnamon stick
4 strips orange peel

Herbed Goat Cheese:
6oz goat cheese, room temperature
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh herbs, such as thyme or basil

Vinaigrette:
4 tablespoons white wine, sherry, or pear vinegar
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium sized shallots, peeled and chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Candied Pecans:
1 cup whole, shelled pecans
1 teaspoon water
1 egg white
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup granulated sugar

About 6 cups of mixed greens

Directions
Heat the wine, sugar, cinnamon and orange peel in a large saucepan, stir occasionally. Meanwhile, peel the pears, cut them in half and core them; add them to the wine mix once it boils. Cook until the pears are tender but still slightly firm, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.

With a fork, thoroughly combine goat cheese, garlic, and herbs. You can also use a food processor if you’d like.

To prepare the vinaigrette combine all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender until emulsified.

To make candied pecans, pre-heat the oven to 275 degrees F. Separate one large egg. Add the egg white to one teaspoon of cold water to form an egg wash. Toss the pecans in the egg wash. Combine sugar, salt and cinnamon. Mix this with the pecans. Distribute the pecans in one layer on a cookie sheet and place in the oven. Let them cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring every so often. Remove pecans from oven and let cool.

To serve, toss the salad greens with the vinaigrette and arrange on a plate. Place each ½ pear on top of the salad greens or slice and arrange on top of the mixed greens. Top with crumbled herb goat cheese and cooled pecans. Serve immediately.

Filed Under: Healthy, Pseudo-Gourmet, Ramblings, Salads, Vegetarian
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‘Disappearing’ White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Continuing my strange cravings for chocolate and nuts…

I decided I wanted white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. I NEEDED white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. But I didn’t just stop there, I wanted to make my own vegan white chocolate as well. Ever since I saw the recipe over at BitterSweet, I knew I had to try it. I bought some cocoa butter and soymilk powder, waited far too long for them to arrive (needless to say this has been a long craving in the works). It was surprisingly easy to make, and when I chopped it up for the cookies and popped a few bites in my mouth, was ridiculously delicious. Definitely not the cheap white chocolate you’re used to buying in the stores.

When the cookies finally came out of the oven, the delicious cookies I had been craving for so long, I eagerly bit into one. And bit again. And again. Where was the white chocolate? I was getting crunchy bites of macadamia nut, but that creamy concoction I had sampled earlier? Nowhere to be found.

Hence the ‘disappearing’ white chocolate in the title of this post.

Yup, vanished. Melted into oblivion.

The cookies were surprisingly good, nonetheless, which is why I’m repeating the recipe here, but I’ve got to figure out where I went wrong with the white chocolate - what I need to change about it so that it actually lasts 10 minutes in a hot oven.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Makes approximately 2-3 dozen cookies. Recipe from Betty Crocker.

Ingredients
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 ounces white baking bars (white chocolate), cut into 1/4- to 1/2-inch chunks
3 1/2 ounces (about 1/2 cup) macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped

Directions
Heat oven to 350°F. Beat sugars, butter, shortening, vanilla and egg in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, or mix with spoon. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt (dough will be stiff). Stir in white baking bar chunks and nuts.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light brown. Cool 1 to 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Filed Under: Chocolate, Dairy-free, Desserts
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Roasted Asparagus Soup

We made this the other day - kind of a ‘winging it’ recipe.

And we’ve since forgotten how we made it.

It was good. But I can’t repeat the recipe, because there was none.

Oops.

I know it involved sautéing some onion, celery, and carrot in olive oil. Then adding chicken/vegetable broth. Roasting asparagus in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil until soft. Then blending it all together, with some soy creamer and more broth. There might be some thyme in there too?

Note to self: either write things down as you’re cooking, or come and post it right after you’ve eaten it. Because self, your memory sucks.

Indeed.

Filed Under: Ramblings, Soups, Vegetarian
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Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa and Cilantro Lime Sauce

I always love a good fish taco. And as good as our last recipe was, these were better. I love mangos. I love lime. I love cilantro. Combine them altogether in a sweet and spicy salsa on top of some good fish - delicious.

Maybe it’s because of some recent sketchy fish experiences we’ve had with frozen fish, but we’ve decided to treat ourselves to some nice fresh fish at Whole Foods. Rather than going for the boring old mahi or tilapia, we though we’d try something new we’d never heard of - Amberjack. It was firm enough that it didn’t fall apart, but still tender and flaky. It made for some delicious fish tacos, that’s for sure! If only Tennessee was closer to the coast so we could have really fresh seafood more often. :)

Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa and Cilantro Lime Sauce

Makes 2 servings. Recipe from Culinate.

Ingredients
1 lb. flaky white fish, such as halibut, tilapia, sole, or snapper (we used Amberjack)
4 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 Tbsp. soy sauce

10 to 12 corn tortillas
3 cups shredded cabbage

For Lime Sauce:
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 cup low-fat yogurt
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped or pressed
Salt

For Mango Salsa:
1 bell pepper (red, yellow, and/or orange), deseeded and chopped into ¼-inch squares
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, deseeded and diced
2 just-ripe mangoes, peeled and chopped into ½-inch square chunks
1 handful cilantro, washed, dried, destemmed, and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lime
Salt to taste

Directions
Prepare the fish marinade by combining the fresh lime juice with the vegetable oil and soy sauce in a rectangular glass or ceramic dish. Add the fish, turn to coat, and leave to marinate while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Prepare the chipotle-lime sauce by combining the mayonnaise, yogurt, sour cream, lime juice, chipotle chile, and chopped garlic in a bowl. Season to taste with salt.

Prepare mango salsa by mixing all ingredients together in a medium-large bowl and season to taste with salt.

Remove fish from the marinade and grill or sauté until cooked through. Warm the tortillas, either in the oven, microwave, or saute in oil. Set out individual bowls of the sauce, salsa, and shredded cabbage.

For each individual taco, place some of the fish (breaking off chunks of the cooked fillets) on a tortilla, drizzle with the chipotle-lime sauce, and top with cabbage and mango salsa.

Filed Under: Fish, Healthy, Main Dishes
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