Category: Vegetables

recipes at my table

Fava Beans with Fried Eggs

Fava Beans with fried eggs

Fava Beans with Fried Eggs reflects another simple, but aromatic dish.  The flavour is in the simplicity of the ingredients.  I have to warn you that the aroma in the house will make you more than hungry for an extra helping.

Fava Beans weren’t always my favourite

When I was growing up, I didn’t like fava beans and we grew a lot of them in the garden.  I did like them raw.  My nonno would always take us for a walk in the garden to pick the vegetables we would bring to the table.  My nonna made fava beans in a variety of ways; sometimes she would brown some fresh pork shoulder and then add the beans.  I can still smell the beans hitting the pork.  Of course, she would add a little wine and you aren’t Calabrese unless you add some oregano.

Fava beans are high in dietary fiber and iron and are heart healthy.  An excellent article to read:https://draxe.com/fava-beans/

Served with rye toast, this is a complete meal. recipes at my table

recipes at my table
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Fava Benas with Fried Eggs

This is a simple aromatic and comforting dish.  

Course Main Course
Cuisine Home Cooking in Canada, Italian
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 4
Author Renata Solski

Ingredients

The Fava Beans

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large diced onion I like the onions chunky for this recipe
  • 1 can Fava Beans (broad beans)
  • 1 clove garlic cut in half
  • 1 cup diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • salt and pepper to taste

The eggs

  • 1 to 2 eggs per person
  • 1to 2 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Plating

  • Olive oil to drizzle optional
  • Romano or Parmesan Cheese optional

Instructions

The Fava Beans

  1. In a pan place olive oil, onion, garlic and oregano.  Sauté for a few minutes.

    Add the fava beans, tomatoes and half cup of water. Put the lid on the pot.  

    Simmer for 30 minutes. 

The eggs

  1. Place the olive oil in a frying pan.

    Make sure the oil is heated before dropping in the eggs.

    The eggs should be soft and the egg yolk will ad creaminess to the dish. However, if you don't like soft, you can cook them to your desired taste.  

    Salt and pepper to taste.

Plating

  1. Scoop out about 3/4 cup of fava beans onto a plate and place the fried egg on top.  

    Drizzle a little olive oil on top and sprinkle with Parmesan or Romano cheese.  

    Serve with toast or fresh bread. 

Recipe Notes

Remove garlic chunks before serving.  I mash them onto my toast and eat them.  🙂  Now that is Italian!!

 

 

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All in one pan meal: recipes at my table

Sheet Pan Chicken and Vegetables

Sheet Pan Chicken and vegetables

Sheet Pan Chicken and Vegetables is a meal all in one pan and easy to prepare.  Sometimes we need to make a quick, but healthy meal.  My nonna was one who could whip up a meal in minutes  She always had a lot of fresh vegetables on hand that became the centre of the dish. Potatoes are a  staple in an Italian kitchen; after pasta they are a favourite. I love them roasted and this dish brings out their flavour with some simple spices.

Remembering Stories about Chickens

There are more stories about chickens growing up as an immigrant.  One day the chicken farmer delivered two chickens to our house on Alexandra St. in Sault Ste. Marie, but he had a surprise.  In a crate he had two baby chicks.  They were the cutest thing we had ever seen; one was for my brother and one for me.  We had an old porch at the back of the house with a crawl space, and it was our job to take care of them.   The chicks lived there cared for by my brother Rollie and me.

We fed and nurtured them and they were our pets; we chased them around the yard.  I think we even tried to make a leash for them.  One day we came home from school and went straight to the backyard to find that the grown chickens were gone.  That night they were served for supper and needless to say we didn’t eat anything.  The immigrants in the early days often repeated their lifestyle from the old country.

Today, we would not think of bringing livestock into our neighbourhoods.  I do remember the laughter those baby chicks created; it also gave us a sense of responsibility and an understanding of partaking in bringing food to the table.  I treasure the memories and those experiences.

The vegetables spiced and oiled on the pan.

recipes at my table

The chicken rubbed with spices and oil and placed over the vegetables goes into a 375 F oven for 50 minutes.

recipes at my table

All in one pan meal: recipes at my table
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Sheet Pan Chicken and Vegetables

A full meal in one pan.  

Course Main Course
Cuisine Home Cooking in Canada, Italian
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 3
Author Renata Solski

Ingredients

The Vegetables

  • 10 baby potatoes
  • 2 peppers, one red one yellow
  • 1 sweet large onion
  • 1 bunch asparagus
  • 1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
  • 1/2 tsp dried basil
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 4 tbsp olive oil and more for drizzling

The Chicken

  • 3 Chicken Breasts
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 1/2 tbsp Mrs. Dash Original Blend
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

Presentation

  • olive oil for drizzling

Instructions

The Vegetables

  1. Wash the potatoes and cut them in quarters.

    Slice the peppers and onions.

    Snap the asparagus.

    Put all the vegetables in a bowl and add all the spices.

    Add the olive oil and toss.

    Spread onto a sheet pan.

The chicken

  1. Pour 2 tbsp of olive oil on the chicken to coat.

    Sprinkle the chicken breast with 1 tbsp of Mrs. Dash and the garlic powder.

    Rub everything into the chicken.  

    Place the chicken over the vegetables.

    Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 tbsp of Mrs. Dash.

    Drizzle everything with more olive oil.  


Cooking and plating

  1. Cook in a 375 F oven for 50 minutes.

    Serve on a platter or individually.  

    Place vegetables on the bottom and top with chicken. 

    Add a few vegetables over the chicken and drizzle with olive oil.  

Recipe Notes

Always have more olive oil for drizzling.  It keeps the chicken moist and crisps the vegetables.  

These vegetables stay crispy and the chicken is moist.  

If you don't eat meat you can cook these vegetables alone and serve with rice or noodles.  

 

Thinking about the fresh chickens my grandparents bought, I did a search on the best chicken to buy and found an interesting article from the globe and mail :https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/food-trends/the-best-chicken-youll-never-have/article20738802/

What do you think???

 

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Red Lentil Soup: recipes at my table

Red Lentil Soup

Red Lentil Soup

Red Lentil Soup reminds me of lunches when I was in elementary school.  My brother and I walked home from St. Margaret’s School in Sault Ste Marie and the house always smelled of fresh cooked meals.  My dad worked shift work and sometimes we had our big meal at lunch and sometimes we had soup.

An array of colours for this soup. Red Lentil Soup Ingredients: recipes at my table

Spoiled Italian Children

We were spoiled with love and good food as children.  Sometimes mom would make lunch seem like a far away vacation.  We had a little porch that led to the kitchen and on a nice spring day, she would set-up our lunch in there.  The windows made it seem like we were on vacation.  I love those memories.

Lentils in Italian Cooking

We used lentils a lot and once again, simple flavours and ingredients are the best.  Lentils are considered a poor man’s food, but their nutritional value and their flavour are definitely worth exploring.  They are a good source of protein and grace the tables of all cultures.  A short history of Lentils http://www.cliffordawright.com/caw/food/entries/display.php/id/61/

Red Lentil Soup: recipes at my table
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Red Lentil Soup

Course Main Course
Cuisine Home Cooking in Canada, Italian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 4
Author Renata Solski

Ingredients

The Soup

  • 1 cup dried red lentils rinsed
  • 1 small onion diced
  • 2 celery stalks diced
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 clove garlic sliced
  • 3 cubes frozen spinach
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 3 tbsp olive oil use 2 to start keep one for drizzling
  • 2 cups each of vegetable or chicken broth and water
  • 1 tbsp pesto I have fresh frozen that I made this summer.
  • 1 bay leaf

Instructions

The Soup

  1. In a large pan add 2 tbsp of olive oil.  

    Add the garlic, oregano. Cook one minute. Salt and pepper.

    Follow with the onions and celery.  Salt and pepper. Drizzle with some olive oil. Cook another 2 minutes. 

    Add the rinsed lentils. More salt and pepper. I like to use salt and pepper in layers: it really flavours the ingredients to stand alone.  

    Pour in the broth and the water.

    Add the pesto and spinach.  

    Put a bay leaf in and cook on medium/low for 30 minutes.

    Remove the bay leaf.

    Serve with olive oil and shaved parmesan.  

Recipe Notes

I use frozen spinach a lot; it is a great value.  I like the cubes because you can add as much as you like to soups, sauces, etc.  

The lentils turn green after cooking and not to worry. http://www.cooksinfo.com/red-lentils

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Eggplant Parmigiana

Eggplant Parmigiana

Eggplant Parmigiana is a famous dish; wherever you travel there is a different version.  If you are Italian, your family has its favourite recipe for this.  This is my version and I like it because it can also be a wonderful vegetarian meal.  We eat it as a meal with fresh bread and of course a good glass of wine.  I hope you enjoy this version.

At home with parmigiana

My nonna Emilia just fried the eggplant with nothing on it and then layered it with sauce and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.  Sometimes I do it this way.  Today, I am breading it because I want it to stand alone on a platter and be served almost as a piece of chicken Parmigiana.

We ate a lot of eggplants growing up and I still do because the health benefits of this vegetable are overwhelming. They are full of vitamins and nutrients and are also a low carb low-calorie food.  Although, this recipe does add calories with the coating and the frying, but it is all part of the goodness. This dish is associated with Naples and southern Italy including Calabria and Sicily.  For a little bit of history on this food visit:https://notonlykitchen.org/2016/07/26/eggplant-parmigiana-recipe-and-history/  

This link also shows the original version of the eggplant parmigiana and like all other dishes we have changed the ingredients over the years.  I remember mom frying the eggplant and layering it on a platter with sauce and Parmigiano cheese.  It was also excellent.

The eggplants lined up.

Simply placed on the plate; this parmigiana can stand alone.

Look at the layers

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Eggplant Parmigianna

These stacks of eggplant are a full meal.  

Course Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 6
Author Renata Solski

Ingredients

The Eggplants

  • 2 medium firm eggplants
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup cold water
  • 1 1/2 cups Italian style bread crumbs
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup Shredded 4 Cheese Italiano for the assembly
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese for the assembly
  • 1 Fior di Latte Mozzarella fresh mozzarella balls

Instructions

Preparing the eggplant

  1. Wash the eggplants and slice them lengthwise.  I used a mandolin to get thin even slices.  1/8 of an inch.

    Season with salt and let them sit for 20 minutes.

Cooking the eggplant

  1. Prepare a dredging station.  Mix the 2 eggs with the 1/4 cup cold water and beat.  Put the flour in a plate.  In the last plate mix your breadcrumbs and cheese.  

    Dip each slice of eggplant into the flour, egg and then bread crumbs.

    Set a skillet on medium/high with at least 1/2 inch of canola oil.

    Fry each slice until golden brown.

    Put on a plate covered with paper towels.

    Once they are all cook, assemble by lining a large pan with parchment paper.

    Lay out the eggplants and spoon some marinara sauce over each and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon parmesan cheese and 1 tbsp of grated 4 cheese Italiano, follow with another eggplant slice and sauce.  

    On the top of each stack place one or two slices of Fior Di Latte mozzarella.

    Put in a 375 F oven for 10 minutes. 

    Serve these stacks as a main or a side dish. 

 

 

 

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