Crispy tortilla bowls

Before we had children I used to regularly make crispy tortilla bowls when we had friends over for dinner. You can use the bowls to serve a hot or cold starter or a side-dish. I tend to serve them with a cold Chinese chicken salad or a hot noodle dish. I found this recipe years ago in an Annabel Langbein cookbook. She's a cook from New-Zealand, but one day I found a Dutch version of one of her cookbooks in a bookstore here in Belgium and it has become one of my cooking bibles.

I hadn't made these in a while, but recently I suddenly thought that the children would probably love this, and they did.

Crispy tortilla bowls

All you need is (whole wheat) small or medium sized flour tortillas, some small oven tins (I use my souffle tins and some small glass oven tins that fit into them, see pictures), and an oven, obviously.

And this is how you do it:

- Preheat the oven to 200 C (180 C for a fan-assisted oven).

- Put the tortillas in small oven tins. You will need to fold them a bit, although they tend to do that automatically if you stuff them in. Just be careful not to tear them.

- Now put another tin on top of the tortilla to keep it in place.

This is what it looks like:

- Put your tortilla bowl(s) in the oven for 10 mins.
- Take them out and lower the oven temperature to 180 C (160 C for a fan-assisted oven).
- Remove the tortilla bowls from the tins. The bottom will still be soft.
- Put them on an oven tray and bake them again, for 10 to 15 mins.
- When you take them out again, the entire bowl should be crispy.

Now you can fill them with a salad or a hot (side-)dish. I will soon post the recipes for the Chinese chicken salad and a noodle dish that can be served in the bowls.

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.


 

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!

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)