Easy as pie 6: Belgian Endives Pie with smoked salmon

For those of you who may not be aware: "Witloof Chicory (also called Belgian Endive) denotes the blanched, tight heads produced by forcing (or growing in the darkness) the big mature chicory roots in forcing structures." (http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/vegetables/endive.html).

Some people don't like Belgian Endives (witloof) because of the slightly bitter taste. There are ways of preparing it that make it taste less bitter. I've always loved the taste, even as a small child. Both of my children do, too, luckily (of course that may still change ;-)). 

One day, my 3-year-old daughter asked me to make a vegetable pie with Belgian Endives. One of my favourite ways to eat Witloof is with smoked salmon (instead of the traditional ham) and cheese sauce. So putting smoked salmon and cheese in the pie seemed the way to go. The children and I love this pie (husband is not a big fan of Belgian endives), so we hope you'll like it, too!

Belgian Endives Pie with smoked salmon

• 1 puff pastry pie base (supermarket)
• small bunch of chives, finely chopped
• 5 stumps Belgian endive (witloof), chopped
• 200 g smoked salmon, in small strips
• 60 g grated Parmesan cheese
• 60 g grated (old) Gouda cheese
• 150 g cottage cheese
• 1,5 dl condensed milk, unsweetened
• 1 tbsp flour
• 2 eggs
• a pinch of cayenne pepper and/or nutmeg
• salt and pepper

- Fry the chopped endive in a little butter in a pan until they are rather dry. Add some cayenne pepper and/or nutmeg.

- Preheat the oven to 200° C of 180°C for a fan-assisted oven. Beat the eggs and mix them with the cottage cheese, flour and condensed milk.

- Add the chives, parmesan, Belgian Endives and smoked salmon.

- Put the pie base in a (silicone) baking tin, pour in the filling, sprinkle with the grated Gouda cheese and put in the oven for 15 to 20 mins. 

Enjoy!

Easy as pie 5: Vegetarian Pumpkin Pie with spinach, goat's cheese and pecorino

As a child (and even still as an adult) I was never very fond of pumpkin. After my daughter started eating solids at 6 months, I started 'teaching' myself to eat chunks of steamed pumpkin whenever I gave them to her. Now I wonder why I used to replace the pumpkin with zucchini in all of my recipes for years and years ;-). I still don't really like 'sweet' pumpkin recipes, but prefer the ones that have strong contrasting tastes. This recipe is a perfect example of that. I found it in my favourite vegetarian cookbook, Handboek Ecologische Voeding - Velt, and didn't change anything because I thought it was perfect ;-).

Pumpkin Pie with spinach, pecorino & goat's cheese

• 1 puff pastry pie base (supermarket)
• 500 g of (orange) pumpkin
• 40 g spinach (fresh or frozen, if frozen, defrost first)
• 1 onion
• a bunch of spring onions
• 100 g cottage cheese
• 100 g goat's cheese (buche)
• 2 eggs
• 4 tbsp. or 20 g grated pecorino cheese
• 1 tbsp.olive oil
• a pinch of rosemary
• pepper
• salt

- Clean the vegetables. Chop the onion and the spring onions and cut the pumpkin into small pieces (approx. 1/2 cms).

- Heat 1 tbsp. of olive oil and glaze the onion. Add the pumpkin, a bit of water and a pinch of rosemary and simmer until the pumpkin is soft enough to eat (but not too soft, since you still have to put it in the oven.)

- Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a bowl and mix them with the cottage cheese and 2 tbsp. of the pecorino cheese (so half of the total amount of pecorino). Add small pieces of the goat's cheese and stir well.

- Allow the pumpkin to cool down and add it to the egg mixture once cool enough. Add the defrosted or fresh spinach (chop if necessary). Season to taste with salt and pepper.

- Put the pie base in a baking tin and and pour in the vegetable mixture. Sprinkle the remaining pecorino on top and immediately put the pie in the oven. Bake approx. 30 mins at 200°C (180° C for a fan-assisted oven).

Making tacos part 7: Vegetarian Taco Oven Bake

I made this fantastic vegetarian taco dish a while ago and the children both loved it (and so did the husband and I), so I've decided to add it to my blog. You can serve it with guacamole and a Mexican salad, or with different salsas. I think a tomato salsa or Picco de Gallo would go very well with it, too. The original recipe can be found in the 'Handboek voor ecologische voeding', Velt, one of my favourite cookbooks. I changed the quantities so you can use a full box of taco shells instead of just 8.

Vegetarian Taco Oven Bake 

Serves 4

• A box of Taco Shells (12 shells)
• 6 large potatoes
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 large onion (or 2 medium-sized ones)
• 1,5 dl cream
• 100 g grated Emmental cheese
• 1 tsp. Taco Seasoning
• 1 tbsp. olive oil

Can be served with:

• Guacamole
• Tomato Salsa
• Picco de Gallo
• Sweetcorn & red bell pepper salsa
• (Mexican) salad

 - Scrub the potatoes and boil them in their jackets. Once cooked, put them aside to cool down. Once they have cooled down enough, you can peel them and slice them (slices should be approx. 0,5 cms thick). It's a bit of a messy job, but they taste fantastic this way. Sprinkle some salt on top of the slices.

- Chop the bell peppers into small squares. Put them in a pot and add some water until they are covered, then cook for 5 mins. (If your children are still very small, you might want to cook them for a bit longer, until they are soft.)

- Slice the onions so you get onion rings. Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the onion rings and the taco seasoning. Fry the onions until they are glazed.

- Depending on the size of your oven dishes, you can make do with one very large oven dish, or use 2. I used 2, so I poured approx. 1 dl of cream into 1 oven dish, and 0,5 dl in the smaller one.

- Then put first potato slices, then onion rings and then bell peppers into each taco shell and put them in the oven dishes. Cover everything with grated cheese and put the dishes in the oven at 220°C (or 200°C for a fan-assisted oven) for15 mins.


 

Easy as pie 4: Spinach pie (vegetarian)

I promised I would also post some recipes for vegetable pies with a crust made from scratch instead of a store-bought one. Here's the first one:

Spinach pie

Dough:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 75 g butter
• approx. 2 tbsp cold water

Spinach mixture:

• 1/3 cup cream cheese (I use Philadelphia)
• 2 large eggs
• 125 ml milk
• 1 tbsp pesto
• 1 spring onion, chopped
• 1 tsp horseradish sauce (from a jar)
• 1/2 tsp mustard
• 1/2 cup grated cheese (I tend to use parmesan and/or Gouda)
• 2 to 3 handfuls of finely chopped spinach (either fresh or defrosted, the more you use, the greener the pie)
• salt, pepper and nutmeg

- Put flour, salt and butter in the blender and grind it into crumbs. Then start adding water whilst the machine is still running,  until the dough turns into a ball. Use a quiche pan with removable bottom (approx. 20 cms) and make sure the dough covers the bottom and (part of) the sides as evenly as possible (this is the hardest part, I promise ;-)). Then cover the dough with parchment paper, fill it with rice or baking beans and put it in the oven for 12-15 mins at 200°C (or 180° for a fan-assisted oven).

- In the mean time, prepare the filling. Mix the cream cheese, eggs and milk. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend them until you get a smooth, green cream. Pour this into the baked crust and put it back in the oven for approx. 30 mins at 180 °C (or 160°C for a fan-assisted oven), until the top becomes slightly brown (as you can see in the picture above). Serves 4.

You can also make 2 spinach pies and put one in the freezer. 

Making Tacos Part 6: Chicken Tacos

This is another recipe with hard taco shells. Again, you can use other meat or even fish, or make vegetarian tacos. Also, if you have a little one who still has trouble with the hard taco shells, you can replace them with a soft corn tortilla. I simply buy a grilled chicken at the market to make these tacos, but you could obviously also fry or grill the chicken yourself.

Chicken Tacos

Serves 4

• 1 box of taco shells (12 taco shells)
• 1 small grilled chicken
• the juice of 1 lime, freshly squeezed
• 1 or 2 tbsp. taco seasoning
• a few handfuls of lettuce
• 1 or more salsas: guacamole, tomato salsa, sweetcorn & bell pepper salsa, ...
• sour cream

- Mix the warm grilled chicken meat with 1 or 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning (I use 2, but if you're not used to spicy food, you might prefer to use only 1. If you like very hot food, you could try 3 ;-)). Add the lime juice and stir well with a fork.

- Heat the taco shells in the oven according to the instructions on the box.

- Fill each shell with approx. 2 spoonfuls of spicy chicken, some lettuce and a spoonful of each salsa and the sour cream. Enjoy!

Making taco's part 5: Tacos with minced meat

After making the taco seasoning and one or several salsas, it's time to make tacos! The first recipe is for tacos with minced meat, but I'll also post one for tacos with chicken. Obviously you can use other meat or even fish, or make vegetarian tacos.

Tacos with minced meat (veal)

Serves 4

• 1 box of taco shells (12 taco shells)
• 250 g minced veal
• 1 or 2 tbsp. taco seasoning
• a few handfuls of lettuce
• 1 or more salsas: guacamole, tomato salsa, sweetcorn & bell pepper salsa, ...

- Mix the minced meat with 1 or 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning (I use 2, but if you're not used to spicy food, you might prefer to use only 1. If you like very hot food, you could try 3 ;-)). Then fry the meat in a pan until brown.

- Heat the taco shells in the oven according to the instructions on the box.

- Fill each shell with approx. 2 spoonfuls of minced meat, some lettuce and a spoonful of each salsa. Enjoy!

Making tacos part 4: Tomato salsas

There are 2 different types of tomato salsa that I like to make when we eat fajitas or tacos. I will give you both recipes, so you can pick your favourite (or make both of them).

Tomato Salsa

- 4 or 5 tomatoes, peeled and chopped

- 125 ml taco sauce (store bought, mild or hot, pick your favourite)

- 2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh coriander

- salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients, either with a spoon for a thick salsa, or in the blender for a thin one. You can keep the salsa in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.

Picco De Gallo

- 2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped

- 1 small onion, peeled and chopped

- 4 cloves garlic, crushed

- 4 tbsp. finely chopped fresh coriander

- 2 tbsp. lime juice

- 2 tbsp. olive oil

- salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients with a spoon and put the salsa in the fridge for 30 mins before serving it. This salsa should be eaten on the day you make it, it doesn't keep well.

Making tacos part 3: Sweetcorn & red bell pepper salsa

This salsa is one that my children absolutely adore. They both tend to eat rather large quantities of it. It's very nice with tacos, but obviously also can accompany any other Tex Mex food you may want to serve.

Sweetcorn & red bell pepper salsa

- 1 cup sweetcorn, cooked (fresh or from a jar or can)
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 tbsp. fresh coriander, chopped (you could use fresh mint if you prefer)
- 1/2 tbsp. garlic, crushed
- a sprinkle of chili powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp. oil
- optional: 1 avocado

Mix all ingredients (except for the avocado). Keep the salsa in the fridge until you want to use it. You can keep it for 2 - 3 days. If you want to, you can add 1 chopped avocado to the salsa just before you serve it.

Making tacos part 2: Guacamole

Some of you have probably made guacamole before, but for those of you who haven't, here's a nice and quick recipe:

Thick Guacamole

- 1 large avocado
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 1/2 red onion, chopped
- 1 tsp. garlic, crushed
- the juice of 1 lemon
- salt and pepper to taste

Chop the avocado and mix it with all of the other ingredients. Serve within the next 2 hours, otherwise the avocado will start turning brown.

Making Tacos part 1: Taco Seasoning

I thought I'd put something a bit more 'elaborate' on my blog for a change. But to keep it simple, I'll keep the different 'steps' for this recipe separate. I've mentioned before that we all like Tex Mex food, see also my recipe for quesadillas. Most children also like taco shells, so I've started to make tacos every now and again.

Instead of buying all the salsas and the seasoning, I make them all from scratch so I really know what's in them. The only thing I buy ready made at the supermarket are the taco shells.

Taco Seasoning (spicy!)

Approx. 30 grams of taco seasoning

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried fried onions (or onion powder)
• 1/4 teaspoon pili-pili (crushed red pepper flakes)
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, dried onions or onion powder, pili-pili flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container.

Easy as pie 3: Zucchini, peas & salmon quiche

Since both of my children love to eat salmon, I invented this quiche for them. It's delicious!

Zucchini, peas & salmon quiche

Serves 4

• 1 puff pastry pie base (from the supermarket)
• 1 (green) zucchini (peeled and sliced)
• 2 handfuls of frozen peas (the sweetest you can find)
• 2 salmon fillets (in cubes)
• a handful of  grated cheese (I think I used gruyere cheese)
• 150 g cottage cheese
• 1,5 dl condensed milk (unsweetened)
• 1 tbsp wheat flour
• 2 eggs
• olive oil
• tsp of dill
• (salt) & pepper

- Briefly steam or fry the zucchini slices (4 or 5 mins). They should still be crunchy, as you still have to put it in the oven. Season with dill and salt and pepper to taste.

- Cook the peas briefly in boiling water until they start 'floating'.

- Preheat the oven to 200°C (or 180°C for a fan assisted oven). Beat the 2 eggs and mix them with the cottage cheese, the flour and the condensed milk.

- Put the pie base in a quiche or pie pan (I tend to use a regular silicone pie pan, which means I have to 'fold' the dough a bit at the sides.)

- Now put the zucchini on top of the pie base. You can just throw it in and spread it out a bit, or you can create nice circles with it, that's what I do ;-). Then add the raw cubes or slices of salmon and decorate with the peas.

- Sprinkle with the grated cheese.

- Pour the egg 'mixture' on top of the vegetables and put it in the oven for 15 - 20 mins.

Enjoy!

Omelette with champignons & grilled bell pepper

This omelette is a bit like a frittata (Italian omelette).  My 3-year-old daughter loves mushrooms, so she asked for a champignon omelette. This one does take up a bit more time since you have to grill the bell pepper, and removing the seeds and skin afterwards is a bit of a messy job. But it's worth it, since grilled bell pepper has a fantastic taste.

Omelette with champignons & grilled red bell pepper

Serves 4

• 250 g champignons, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper
• 2 garlic cloves
• handful of grated parmesan
• 4 eggs
• pepper
• (salt)

- Wash a red bell pepper and put it underneath the hot grill in your oven. When the skin turns black, turn it (obviously you need oven mitts) and keep doing this until (almost) the entire skin has turned black. Then put it in a plastic bowl and put on the lid, so it can 'steam' inside the bowl. Once it has cooled down, take it out of the bowl and remove the seeds and skin.

- Preheat the oven to 180°C or 160°C for a fan-assisted oven.

- Heat the olive oil and fry the garlic briefly then add the sliced champignons. Season to taste with pepper and/or salt. Don't fry them too long, as you still have to put them in the oven.

- Cut the fried bell pepper into strips.

- Beat the eggs with salt and/or pepper in a bowl, and add the champignons, grilled pepper and a handful of grated parmesan. Stir well.

- Grease a (silicone) pie pan with a little olive oil and pour in the mixture. Put it in the oven for 20 - 30 mins.

This can be served with rice, pasta, potatoes,... and also eaten cold on a picnic or day trip.

(Dutch recipe available on demand)

Rice Salad with salmon, sweet chili-lemon sauce & peas

This is an ideal lunch for daytrips. I like to prepare it in the morning, put it in a Tupperware bowl and take it with me, but you could also prepare it the day before and put it in the fridge.

Rice salad with salmon, sweet chili lemon sauce & peas

Serves 4

• 4 fillets of salmon
• 125 ml Thai sweet chili sauce
• 60 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup of boiled rice (preferably still hot)
• 1 cup of boiled peas (or more, and/or sugarsnap peas)

 - Put the salmon in an ovendish and season with pepper and/or salt to taste. Mix the sweet chilisauce with the lemon juice and pour it over the salmon fillet.

- Pre-heat the oven to 250°C or 220°C for a fan-assisted oven and leave the salmon in it for 5 to 6 minutes. Mix the fish and the chilisauce with the peas and/or sugarsnaps and chill for a couple of hours.

The salmon is also very nice as a hot dish, served with rice and spinach (and then you could replace the lemon juice with lime juice, as well).

(Dutch recipe available on demand)

This is not a cauliflower soufflé

Usually when I have cauliflower left over I make soup with it, but this time I decided to try something different. So I made this with some cauliflower that had already been cooked the day before, but of course you could use a fresh one and cook it or steam it first.

It doesn't look like a cauliflower soufflé, even though cauliflower is the main ingredient:

And it's not a 'real' soufflé (since it's not necessary to separate yolks from egg whites in this case), but it's very similar (and easier to prepare). I served this with cherry tomatoes, jacket potatoes and hamburgers, but there are lots of other options.

'Fake' cauliflower soufflé

• 400 g cauliflower (cooked or steamed)
• 3 tbsp milk (or soy milk, or cream if you prefer)
• 4 tbsp chopped chives
• 2 eggs
• pepper
• (salt)
• oil (I used rapeseed oil)

First put the cauliflower in the blender and blend it, then add all of the other ingredients except for the oil and blend it again. If you don't want the 'puree' to turn green you could leave out the chives, too, and just stir them in with a spoon.

Preheat the oven to 180°C or 160° for a fan-assisted oven. Grease 4 soufflé cups with a little (rapeseed) oil. Put the cauliflower 'puree' into the cups with a spoon. Put them in the oven for approx. 20 mins.

My children (17 months and 3 years old) both loved this, and of course you could prepare this with other vegetables (broccoli, spinach, carrots, ...), too...

(Dutch recipe available on demand)

Easy as pie II: Vegetarian broccoli, champignon & cherry tomato pie

I made this vegetable pie on a lazy sunday, so I used dough from the supermarket instead of making it myself. This time I used fresh shortcrust pastry. You could use puff pastry as well, but I think shortcrust is nicer for this combination of vegetables. I haven't forgotten my promise to post some recipes with dough made from scratch, I definitely will do that at some point!

Broccoli, Champignons & Cherry Tomato Pie:

• 1 shortcrust pastry pie base (from the supermarket)
• 300 g broccoli florets
• 250 g champignons (quartered)
• a handful of cherry tomatoes (the sweetest you can find)
• 2 handfuls of  grated cheese (I used a mixture of parmesan, rigatello & mozzarella)
• 150 g cottage cheese
• 1,5 dl condensed milk (unsweetened)
• 1 tbsp wheat flour
• 2 eggs
• olive oil
• a pinch of thyme
• tsp of marjoram
• (salt) & pepper

- Briefly steam or cook the broccoli (4 or 5 mins). It should still be crunchy, as you still have to cook it in the oven.

- Fry the champignons in olive oil. Again, don't fry them too long as they still have to spend 20 mins in the oven. Season with thyme, marjoram and salt and pepper to taste.

- Preheat the oven to 200°C (or 180°C for a fan assisted oven). Beat the 2 eggs and mix them with the cottage cheese, the flour and the condensed milk.

- Put the pie base in a quiche or pie pan (I tend to use a regular pie pan, which means I have to 'fold' the dough a bit at the sides.)

- Now put the broccoli on top of the pie base. You can just throw it in and spread it out a bit, or you can create nice circles with it, that's what I do ;-). Then add the champignons and decorate with the cherry tomatoes.

- Sprinkle with the grated cheese.

- Pour the egg 'mixture' on top of the vegetables and put it in the oven for 15 - 20 mins.

(Dutch recipe available on demand)

Cold soup for hot days (or teething pains): cucumber soup

Yes, I know, it's very definitely not a hot day in Belgium today... But my nearly 17-month-old has been eating cold soup nearly every day for the last month or so. He loves soup in general, but the cold soup is especially popular when he's teething.

This week I made a classic: 

Cold cucumber & yoghurt soup

• 3 cucumbers, seeded and roughly chopped
• 350 ml Greek yoghurt
• 250 ml vegetable stock, chilled
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint (and if you want, some extra to garnish)
• salt and ground black pepper
• paprika for sprinkling
• (4 spring onions, cut into lengths and finely shredded to garnish)

- Purée the cucumbers in a blender until smooth. Add the yoghurt and stock and pulse briefly to combine.

- Pour the soup into a plastic bowl. Stir in the mint and salt and pepper to taste, then chill for at least 2 hours.

- When you serve the soup, sprinkle each portion with paprika, and if you prefer, some more mint and/or spring onions.

(Dutch recipe available on demand)

Lazy Sunday Food: Zucchini and Bacon Omelette

Omelette, tortilla or frittata is so easy to make, and there are so many different combinations of vegetables and/or meat/fish you can use. I bake my omelettes in the oven, as that, according to me, is quickest and gives the nicest results.

I made this one with lots of zucchini and bacon. Normally I tend to use 4 eggs (sometimes even less), but in this case I think I used 5 because I feared 4 wouldn't be enough to hold the omelette together.

Zucchini and bacon omelette:

• 100 g bacon, slices or lardons
• 2 zucchini (or approx 400 g, as sizes can vary a lot)
• 1 onion
• 5 (large) eggs
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp tarragon
• (salt)
• pepper

- Preheat the oven to 180°C or 160°C for a fan-assisted oven.
- Either slice the zucchini and then cut the slices in half, or dice it, if you prefer.
- Chop the onion.
- Heat the olive oil and fry the bacon briefly or until it's brown, according to your taste.
- Add the onions and once they are glazed, stir in the zucchini and fry for approx. 5 mins.
- Beat the eggs with the tarragon, salt and/or pepper in a bowl, and add the bacon, zucchini and onion. Stir well.
- Grease a (silicone) pie pan with a little olive oil and pour in the mixture. Put it in the oven for 20 - 30 mins.

This can be served with rice, pasta, potatoes,... and also eaten cold on a picnic or day trip.

(Dutch recipe available on demand)