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.