Tag: gordon ramsay recipe

Minimal Monday: Roasted Tomato Risotto

I have a weakness for tomatoes on the vine. I think we all do, that’s why they are coming up with varieties that stay attached to their stems longer. It gives us the illusion that we just went out to the back forty and snipped them for dinner. Some of my favorites are these ‘strawberry’ tomatoes. You can actually roast them right on the vine.

Small tomatoes are perfect for roasting. Since you don’t cut them their juices stay (mostly) inside and the skins develop great flavor.

Lay them out on a baking sheet and drizzle with a little olive oil, salt
and pepper. Roast them in a hot, 425-450F oven for about 20 to 25
minutes. Check their progress through your oven window. You want to take your tomatoes just to the
brink of charring. They’ll burst open and collapse, but if you let them go too
far they’ll release all their precious juices into the oven instead of into your risotto

These strawberry tomatoes have great flavor, and they’re so pretty. You can spread the just roasted tomatoes onto some bruschetta, if you want to, but for this recipe you’ll puree them in a blender or food processor and get a rich tomato sauce. You’ll be able to see a few tantalizing specs of black char blended into the bright red giving you a hint of that wonderful fresh roasted flavor

Roasted Tomato Risotto ~~~adapted from Howlings.com

oven to 425-450F
1 lb strawberry or other small tomatoes, to make 1 cup puree
3 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 bay leaves
1/2 large onion, finely chopped
2 shallots, minced
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/4 cup dry sherry (or white wine)
5 cups water, or water mixed with chicken or vegetable stock
a large handful of fresh basil leaves
salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Lay out the tomatoes on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast the tomatoes for 20-25 minutes, just until they start to burst and collapse. Don’t let them go too far or they will burn. If your tomatoes are small, or your oven runs hot, this might take less time.
Puree the tomatoes in a blender or food processor until smooth. You are going to want 1 cup of puree for this recipe.
Put the water, or stock and water in a saucepan on the stove and bring up to a simmer. I like to add a couple of bay leaves to flavor the broth.
In a heavy bottomed pot heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and saute the onion and shallot for about 10 minutes until translucent. Stir often and don’t let them brown.
Add another tablespoon of oil and add the rice, stirring to coat. Stir the rice for a minute or so, and then add the sherry. Stir and let the liquid evaporate. It’s going to smell wonderfully.
Add in the tomato puree, and cook for a minute or two until the liquid gets absorbed.
Add your hot broth, one ladle at a time, stirring to allow the liquid to be absorbed by the rice before going on to the next addition of broth. I like to use a silicone spatula for this so you can scrape the bottom of the pot to prevent rice from sticking. Do this over a medium heat, so that the pot is always at a low simmer. Make sure your broth is at the same temperature. The whole process should take about 35-40 minutes.
Taste the rice a couple of times near the end to test for doneness. You want the rice to be tender, but not mushy. I like a little bite to it, like al dente pasta. Now’s the time to add salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste.
When you are satisfied that the rice is tender, take it off the heat and add in the cheese. Stir well until it’s completely incorporated.
Serve right away, garnished with the fresh basil and some extra cheese.

Hope you have a delicious week!

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Crispy Potato Wedges

I am all about crispy potatoes. They are probably my favorite way to eat potatoes, second only to those covered in a cheese sauce… I’ve found that too often I am faced with potatoes that are cooked just until fork tender rather than to the point of crisping their edges. I don’t like potatoes in general that much so if I am going to eat them, I would like for them to at least be good.

My Husband loooooves potatoes so I end up making them a lot as a side for dinner. He will eat them any way I serve them, as long as they are plain without any cheese or anything on them (which makes me sad). Since I have a preference though, I always try and crisp up our oven roasted potatoes. So that is what I am going to share with you. And it isn’t so much of a recipe that I have but a technique. I used to just dice up some potatoes, place them on a sheet pan, toss them with oil and seasonings, then put them in the oven. While most of that has remained the same, I’ve learned a few things.

#1- Avoid russet potatoes. Not all together, just for our purposes here. Russets are a starchy potato, best used for anything that doesn’t need to hold its shape such as mashed potatoes. New potatoes or “waxy” potatoes like the tiny red ones, fingerlings, etc. fall into this category. They hold their shape really well and are great for roasting. I used Yukon Gold potatoes for these wedges since they are large and can be cut into the best wedge shape, but you can use any of the new potatoes with the same technique and have wonderful results. Yukon Golds are actually a medium starch variety and can be used well for both mashing and roasting.

#2- Preheat your baking sheet. This allows the potatoes to start cooking almost immediately once they touch the pan. This speeds up the cooking process and creates a crispier exterior.

#3- Oil is your friend. Pleassssse don’t be afraid to use the oil here. Obviously they shouldn’t be swimming in an inch of oil, but the more oil you put on the potatoes, the greater “frying” effect it will have on them and thus- a crispier crust! I usually toss everything, including the oil, in a large bowl before putting on a hot sheet tray and that tends to yield good results.

#4- Be patient! Potatoes take a little while to cook in general, but if you want them to be crispy, they take that much longer. Just keep an eye on them in the oven, toss them after 20 minutes, then just let them go until they are as crisp as you’d like them.

1 lb yukon gold potatoes
3 Tb olive oil
1½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
optional additional seasonings: cayenne pepper, thyme, rosemary, etc

Preheat oven and sheet tray in a 450°F oven.
Meanwhile prepare potatoes: slice in half and then cut each half into 6 to 8 wedges, depending on the size of your potato. Toss into large bowl.
Toss potatoes in bowl with olive oil, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.
Take out hot sheet tray and pour potatoes along with all of the oil onto it.
Roast 20 minutes, take out and toss potatoes, flipping to cook on different sides, with a thin metal spatula.
Roast another 20 minutes or until desired crispness is reached.

Tagged as:
potatoes,
Sides,
Vegetables

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Healthified Mexican Meatloaf

It’s time for another round of ‘hide-the-veggies’!

This meatloaf is packed with flavor and loaded with vegetable on top of vegetable. The heaping half cup of zucchini in this recipe went entirely unnoticed by every mouth it came across. Sneaky, sneaky zucchini.

This is a great basic turkey meatloaf that I’ve put a bit of a mexican twist on to make it all the more interesting.

There were no complaints at the table, and leftovers (if you have any) make a fabulous sandwich! Topped with a bit more salsa and some 2% sharp cheddar slices, of course.

Healthified Mexican Meatloaf
TheSkinnyFork.com

The Skinny:
Servings: 5 • Size: 1/5 or 1 Slice • Calories: 186.5 • Fat: 2.3 g • Carb: 12.3 g • Fiber: 1.5 g • Protein: 28.7 g • Sugar: 1.9 g • Sodium: 446.7 mg

Ingredients:
1 1/4 Lbs. Extra Lean Ground Turkey
1/2 C. Zucchini, Grated & Squeezed Dry Of Moisture
1/2 C. Whole Wheat Bread Crumbs
1/4 C. Carrot, Grated
1/2 C. Healthified Restaurant Style Salsa, Divided (1/4 C. + 1/4 C.)
1 Egg White
2 Tbsp. Onion, Diced
2 Tbsp. Red Bell, Diced
2 Tbsp. Cilantro, Chopped
2 Cloves Garlic, Chopped
1/2 Tbsp. Taco Seasoning
Salt & Pepper To Taste

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. Mix all ingredients, except for the 1/4 c. reserved salsa, into a large bowl until well combined.

Press the meat mixture lightly into the prepared loaf pan.

Top with the remaining 1/4 c. reserved salsa and bake for 55-60 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before slicing into 5 equal sections to serve. I cut my section into 2 slices. So what you see pictured here is 1 full serving – not 2.

You can prepared this up to 24 hours ahead of time. Just keep covered with saran wrap in the fridge until ready to bake.

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gordon ramsay meatloaf