Monday, August 10, 2009

Couscous stuffed peppers

Source: SELF

This is so good, and used several items from last week's CSA box. The stuffing recipe made way more than 4 pepper-worth, so we just ate the rest as a side.

Ingredients
  • Vegetable-oil cooking spray
  • 1 1/4 cups fat-free chicken or vegetable broth
  • 2/3 cup couscous
  • 4 large bell peppers, mixed colors
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 6 oz zucchini, quartered lengthwise then sliced across thinly
  • 6 oz yellow squash, quartered lengthwise then sliced across thinly
  • 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
  • 15 oz canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 4 oz crumbled feta cheese (about 1 cup)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350, and spray baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Boil broth, add couscous, remove from heat and cover
3. Cut the tops off peppers, and remove seeds and membranes. Boil peppers in a large pot for 5 minutes. Drain upside down. Place in baking dish.
4. Saute onions and squash with salt, oregano, and fennel seeds over medium heat until soft.
5. Remove onion / squash mixture from heat and stir in tomatoes, chickpeas, couscous, and feta cheese.
6. Fill peppers will couscous mixture, bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Zucchini Fritters

Source: Nigella Lawson, Cookstr

Sorry, no pics. Ate these too fast.

I substituted smoked gooda cheese for the feta. I know, smoked gooda doesn't resemble feta at all, but I love it and I had a huge chunk of it from Sam's club so I was going to use it, damn it! It was delicious and I make no apologies. This is a great use for zucchini and summer squash while it is in over-abbundance. BTW, these would make an awesome little appetizer if made bite-sized.

Ingredients
  • 4 zucchini (approx. 1½ pounds)
  • 5–6 scallions, finely chopped
  • 9 ounces feta cheese
  • small bunch fresh parsley, chopped
  • small bunch fresh mint, chopped, plus extra to sprinkle over at the end
  • 1 tablespoon dried mint
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • scant 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • salt and pepper
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • olive oil for frying
Instructions
1. Grate the zucchini and spread out on paper towell to drain about 20 minutes
2. Mix herbs and cheese, add flour
3. Add egg to flour / herb / cheese mixture, and then mix in zucchini
4. Heat oil in pan, plop in zucchini mixture, and fry until golden brown