Cheesey Rice Cakes with Marinara Sauce

I have been wanting to make cheesy rice balls since the day I first had them at a food show last year.I made these into small circular patties instead. These rice patties have a nice crispy exterior, encasing a creamy and cheesy, rice filling. They are great on their own or with a side of Caesar Salad.

 Ingredients makes 12

4 cups cooked * Italian * style rice,cooled

300g grated Gouda cheese ( or mozzarella or other cheese you like)

1 tsp dry oregano

 4 garlic cloves, minced

 pepper to taste

 chopped parsley to taste

For the bread Crumb Coating

 1 cup dry bread crumbs

2 tsp dry oregano

1 tso dry basil

2 tsp garlic granules

salt and pepper to taste

Combine the cooked rice, grated cheese ,oregano, garlic parsley and pepper in a large bowl, using your hands, combine all the ingredients until thoroughly distributed.Divide the rice mixture, and form 12 patties about an inch or so thick.

Combine the ingredients for the bread crumb coating in a shallow dish. Dip the rice patties into the bread crumb mixture and ensure even coating. Set the patties on a baking sheet and refrigerate while making the marinara sauce.

For the marinara sauce;

2- 796ml can of chopped tomatoes

1 cup water

6 garlic cloves, minced

8 sprigs fresh oregano, leaves only

8 sprigs fresh basil, leaves only

2 tbsp brown sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients for the marinara sauce in a large pot and simmer over a medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Use a hand held blender to puree the sauce, ensuring to allow the sauce to remain some what chunky.

You want the sauce to be pretty thick… if it is not at this point, than return the sauce to the heat, and simmer until the sauce reaches desired consistency.

Heat a shallow non stick pan with enough oil to come up about half way each rice patty, over a medium – medium high heat.

Remove the rice patties from the fridge, brown each patty in the hot oil for about 3-4 minutes per side until golden brown.

 Serve with the Marinara sauce and extra herbs for garnish.

Carmelized Bacon and Onion Tart

 Ingredients *9 inch tart

For the pastry

1  2/3 c flour

8 tbsp cold butter, cut into small pieces

3-4 tbsp cold water

Place the flour in a large bowl, and work the butter into the flour using your fingers until it resembles bread crumbs, stir in the cold water, 1 tbsp at a time until the dough comes together.  Shape the dough into a disk, wrap with plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

For the filling

2 tbsp butter

5 medium size onions, peeled and thinly sliced

3 slices of thick cut bacon, or 5 slices of regular bacon, diced

50g Swiss cheese, grated or sliced

30g Havarti cheese grated or cubed

1/3 cup 35% heavy cream

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 large egg

Salt and pepper to taste

 To make the filling, melt the butter in a large pan over a medium heat, throw in the onions and allow the onions to slowly brown, and soften, about 20 minutes or so. Add the bacon to the pan and continue to cook the onions allowing the bacon fat to render off, about 15 minutes.  Take off the heat and allow the onions to cool.

Pre heat the oven to 345*f

Roll out the pastry dough on a lightly floured surface using a rolling pin, to about a 1/8 of an inch thick, and lay the dough over a 9 inch tart pan, gently pressing the dough into the sides and cutting off any excess dough away.

Fill the tart with the onion and bacon mixture, layering the onions with the cheese. In a small bowl combine the heavy cream, minced garlic and egg, season with salt and pepper and whisk, pour the egg mixture over the onions, bacon and cheese mixture in the tart shell.  Sprinkle with paprika for some colour.

Bake for 45 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden.

Mushroom and Red Pepper Israeli Cous Cous, with Garlicky Mustard Roast Chicken Thighs

 

 I love Israeli cous cous and was all out for a few months because I hadn’t had the chance to get to bulk barn to buy any. By chance I came across some at the organic foods store near my home and finally was able to stock my pantry with some! Because I made the cous cous in a large pan and not a pot, I believe that more of the beef stock evaporated than was absorbed into the cous cous therefore I had to keep adding more liquid that would probably not be necessary had I used a pot with a lid. Having said that, for this cous cous recipe I am calling for 3.5 cups of stock rather than the 5 cups that I used, however more stock or water can always be added should you find the need to add it.

 Ingredients for the cous cous- serves 2- 4

3 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 long sweet pepper, sliced
4-5 white button mushrooms, sliced
3 garlic cloves minced
1/4 cups Israeli cous cous
3 1/2 cups beef stock
1-2 kale leaves, finely sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and grated

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, add the onions, sliced pepper, and mushrooms, cook until the veggies begin to soften, about 3-5 minutes. Next, add the cous cous and minced garlic to the pot, stirring for about 2 minutes, and allowing to cous cous to “toast” a little bit.  Finally add the beef stock, the sliced kale leaves, and grated carrot.
Simmer the cous cous for 15-20 minutes, covered and stirring occasionally, until the cous cous has softened, adding extra liquid if needed. Season with salt and pepper.
 
Ingredients for the chicken- serves 2-4

4 chicken thighs, skinned and bone in
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper
1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup water
2-3 tsp Dijon mustard
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp brown sugar

Pre heat the oven to 375*f

Line a baking tray with parchment paper ( I also lined my tray with foil to make for easier clean up! ), place chicken pieces on the baking tray, brush with the olive oil and season with the paprika, salt, and pepper.

Bake the chicken for 30 minutes until it starts to brown. Mean while,combine the remaining ingredients in a small pot over a medium heat, simmer for literally just 2 minutes, just to blend the flavors together.

Remove the chicken from the oven and pour the sauce over each piece, return the chicken to the oven and continue baking for another 15 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink on the inside.

Banana And Bran Breakfast Muffins

It has been quite some time since I have made some muffins, and so I took a shot at making some  healthy banana bran muffins. I used olive oil instead of butter and I can say that I will most definitely use olive oil in my muffins as it is a healthier choice.

makes 9

2 large over-ripened bananas
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup bran
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Pre-heat oven to 375*

place the bananas and brown sugar in a large bowl and use a fork or potato masher to crush the bananas until smooth.
 Add the eggs, olive oil and vanilla, and combine using a wooden spoon. Throw in all the dry ingredients and stir just until combined.

Divide the batter between 9 greased muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and a tooth pick inserted into the middle of the muffibs comes out clean.

Vegetable Chili Soup

This Chili Soup was a real last minute dinner fix, a quick look in the pantry revealed a half used packet of chili seasoning and among other delicious pantry type goods, black beluga lentils. By chance I also had marble cheese and sour cream in the fridge and this delicious and very satisfying soup was born… I must admit, the best dishes are the last minute , what the hell am I going to make for dinner, ones…..

 Makes 4 – 6 servings
1 tbsp olive oil
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1 red pepper, diced
1.5 L beef stock
1.5 tbsp + 1/2 tbsp chili seasoning
1 medium tomato, diced
1/4 cup italian style rice
1/8 cup black beluga lentils, rinsed
small handful of curly leaf parsley, chopped
salt and pepper
sour cream and grated cheese to serve

Sweat the carrots, onion, garlic and pepper in a large pot with the olive oil for 5 minutes until the onion is softened and transluscent. Add the beef stock to the veggies along with the 1.5 tbsp of chili seasoning, and diced tomatoes, cover the pot and allow the soup to simmer for about 15-20 minutes until the veggies are softened.  Remove the pot from the heat and use a hand held blender to puree the soup, leaving the liquid just slightly chunky. Add the rice and beluga lentils along with the remaining chili seasoning and chopped parsley. Simmer uncovered, until the lentils are cooked, about 15-20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with sour cream and grated cheese.