Category: Vegetables

Mashed Potato Vegetable Stuffed Peppers:Recipes at My Table

Mashed Potato Vegetable Stuffed Peppers

Mashed Potato Vegetable Stuffed Peppers

Cooking peppers in the house reminds me of my childhood.  There is something about the smell of peppers roasting that is devine.  Nonna cooked peppers in many ways.  She often stuffed them with a variety of ingredients and today I want my mashed potatoes and vegetables all in one dish.  I wonder if nonna would approve?  Mashed Potato Vegetable Stuffed Peppers is a variation on a traditional stuffed pepper and good.

Peppers are healthy; they are low in calories and rich in vitamin C.  They are crunchy and appealing to the eye.  Kids love them alone or with dip.  I always keep a bunch sliced and ready to eat as a snack.  Be aware that they are in the “carb” group.  They rank amongst the world’s healthiest foods: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?dbid=50&tname=foodspice

I like to have a variety of sides when company comes over  This dish combines vegetables and my potato in one.  What could be easier?  It is a great dish for a buffet and spoons out easily.  Your vegetarian guests will love it as a main.  These few ingredients will provide an wow dish that leaves everyone smiling.

Always start with the best fresh vegetables.

Instant potato flakes are your best friend in the kitchen.

Zucchini shredded on a box grater.

Carrots shredded on a box grater.

Everything goes into the potatoes with the spices.

Sprinkle the peppers with a little Italian seasoning.

The Mash looks delicious!!

All assembled and ready for a 375 F oven.

Mashed Potato Vegetable Stuffed Peppers:Recipes at My Table

Out of the oven and ready for the cheese topping.

Mashed Potato Vegetable Stuffed Peppers: Recipes at My Table

Mashed Potato Vegetable Stuffed Peppers:Recipes at My Table
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Mashed Potato Vegetable Stuffed Peppers

An all vegetarian dish.  

Course Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine Home Cooking in Canada, Italian
Keyword Mashed Potato Vegetable Stuffed Peppers
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 10
Author Renata Solski

Ingredients

  • 5 small assorted peppers cut lengthwise
  • 1 3/4 cup potato flakes
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 2 cups shredded zucchini 2 medium
  • 1 cup shredded carrot 1 large
  • 1 tsp sun kissed tomato spice Epicure brand
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning

Toppings

  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan
  • 1 cup four cheese Italiano blend

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 F.

    Wash, dry and cut the peppers lengthwise.  

    Scoop out all the seeds.

    Take the 1 tbsp olive oil and grease a 9 X 13 pan.

    Nestle the peppers into the pan.

    Meanwhile place the potato flakes in a bowl and pour in the hot water.

    Mix and let it sit.

    Use a box grater for the zucchini and carrot. 

    Put the vegetables into the potatoes and sprinkle with the sun kissed tomato spice.

    Mix well.

    Sprinkle the Italian seasoning all over the peppers. 

    Place about tbsp of filling into each pepper and press down gently with a fork.

    Place in a 375 F oven for 45 minutes.

    After 45 minutes remove and sprinkle with the blended cheeses.

    Return to the oven for another 15 minutes.

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Zucchini Potato and Eggplant Bake: Recipes At My Table

Zucchini Potato and Eggplant Bake

Zucchini Potato and Eggplant Bake

This dish comes together quickly and is a casserole that you can take to a potluck. It really fills the house with all the traditional Italian aromas.  Zucchini Potato and Eggplant Bake is an easy dish with big flavours.  I slice the vegetables on a mandoline and then smother them with good olive oil and Italian spices.  The layers have little dollops of marinara sauce in between and there is plenty of cheese to glue everything in place.  A tribute to my nonna Emilia, who made tantalizing dishes in the kitchen every day.  With a few ingredients, a good imagination and a passion for cooking Emilia’s daily creations brought us to the table.

I love layering vegetables in a casserole type dish.  It makes it easy to bake and present.  A layered casserole is easy to freeze and makes a nice take-along for any potluck or dinner party.  It is important to slice the vegetables all the same size.  I love my mandoline for this reason.  Also make sure that you dry all the vegetables; you don’t want a soggy casserole.  In this baked dish, I am easy on the red sauce.  Sometimes, more equals better taste.

If you like this, don’t forget to go back and try:  https://recipesatmytable.com/tiella-with-zucchini-and-potatoes/

The vegetables sliced and ready.

I spice and oil the vegetables.

I mix the cheeses and the breadcrumbs.

The sauce comes out and I am ready to assemble.

The first layer of potatoes and notice how I use small dollops of sauce.

The next layer of zucchini completed.

Then the eggplants go into place.

The second layer of potatoes makes up the top and no sauce this time.

All golden brown when it comes out of the oven.

Zucchini Potato and Eggplant Bake: Recipes At My Table
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Zucchini Potato and Eggplant Bake

A nice dish to take to a potluck.  

Course Side Dish
Cuisine Home Cooking in Canada, Italian
Keyword Zucchini Potato and Eggplant Bake
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 5
Author Renata Solski

Ingredients

  • 1 large eggplant sliced lengthwise
  • 2 medium zucchini sliced lenghtwise
  • 6 medium russet potatoes sliced lenghtwise
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 cups 4 cheese Italian shredded mix
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan
  • 1/2 cup Panco bread crumbs
  • 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
  • olive oil greasing pan and drizzling over top

Instructions

  1. Slice eggplant, zucchini and potatoes lengthwise using a mandoline.

    In a bowl mix the shredded cheese, grated parmesan and Panco bread crumbs.

    Put the sliced vegetables on a large sheet pan and coat them with the 2 tbsp of olive oil, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. 

    Keep each vegetable separate.

    Use a 9 X 13 baking dish.

    Add a little olive oil to the bottom and place a layer of potatoes, dot with some marinara sauce and put 1/4 of the cheese over it.

    Follow with a layer of zuchini and do the same.

    Next place the eggplant and to the same.

    The last layer is the potatoes.  Do not dollop them with sauce.  Only put the cheese over this last layer.

    Drizzle a little olive oil over them.

    Cover and place in a 375 F oven for 45 minutes.

    Uncover and place back in the oven for another 15 minutes until golden brown. 

Recipe Notes

If you don't own a mandoline and want to buy one, read this article: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/cooking-tools/best-mandoline-slicer/g4827/best-mandolines/

 

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Squash Soup With Oranges

Squash Soup With Oranges

A friend asked me the other day, how I come up with my recipes.  Well, I cook like an Italian in Italy.  What is in my refrigerator?  Today I have squash in the pantry and I need to use it.  I think of soup and thus my Squash Soup With Oranges. The oranges, cinnamon and nutmeg I add as part of my Sicilian upbringing.

Some people say that soup is a fall and winter food, but we ate it throughout the year.  Nonna always had a pot of it simmering on the stove and it ensured that we ate all our vegetables.   We also drank bone broth when we came home from school.  Who knew that those simple things kept us healthy?

I am also experimenting with spices and I attended a spice workshop with Devanni Peters who teaches yoga here in Leamington.  She focused on Ayurvedic Spices and how they are good for the body.  I find myself trying to fuse these new found spices in Italian and creative cooking.  Today these new flavours spice up my soup. Growing up we had few spices in the cupboard; however, it was amazing what flavours nonna conjured with oregano, garlic, salt and pepper. It amazes me in Sicily how the Moroccan influence changed their cooking.   

If you want to know more about garam masala go to: https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-garam-masala-995690

Butternut squash is not a vegetable that is often used in an Italian home.  Over the years, it has become a favourite at our house.  It is very good for you and has many health benefits.  I love that it aids in keeping  my bones strong.  It is a great source of potassium and aids digestive health.  Anything that helps keep us healthy is on my table these days.  For more information read: https://www.organicauthority.com/health/8-incredible-nutrition-and-health-benefits-of-butternut-squash

Simple Ingredients

I use a large knife to peel the squash.

Cube the squash.

Onions and spices in the pan and everything toasts.

The squash hits the pan.

Some of the other ingredients include Orange Juice, broth and an apple.

Everything is in the pot for softening.

Add the milk and pulse everything.

Plated and finished for the table.

 

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Squash Soup With Oranges

A great way to bring more potassium to your table.  

Course Soup
Cuisine Home Cooking in Canada, Italian
Keyword Squash Soup With Oranges
Prep Time 21 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 41 minutes
Servings 6
Author Renata Solski

Ingredients

  • 1 medium butternut squash cubed 1/2 inch
  • 1 onion
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp dried fennel
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 3 cups water or vegetable broth
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large apple or pear cubed 1/2 inch
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup yogurt
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 2 clementine oranges segmented
  • garam masala garnish

Instructions

  1. Sautée the onion in the olive oil.

    Stir in the cinnamon, garam masala and fennel and toast them.

    Add the water or broth.

    Place in the squash and apple.  

    Bring to a boil and simmer on medium for 20 minutes.

    Add milk and warm it up.

    Pulse soup with a hand blender or food processor.

    Put back into pot and add orange juice, salt and pepper. 

    Warm it through.

    Ladle into bowls and add a dollop of yogurt.  I swill it through.  

    Dress with orange segments and a garam masala of your choice.  

Recipe Notes

I used Kapha Masala which was homemade, part of my more mindful eating and Ayurvedic diet.  

 

 

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Four Cheese Italian Scalloped Potatoes: Recipes at My Table

Four Cheese Italian Scalloped Potatoes

Four Cheese Italian Scalloped Potatoes

Before I discovered scalloped potatoes at my friends’ homes, we had our own version.  We often fried potatoes in the shape of a pie and it was the cheese that acted like glue.  Four Cheese Italian Scalloped Potatoes brings together my favourite cheese and olive oil to make this crispy layered potato dish. Another name for scalloped potatoes in cooking is Gratin and this refers to the type of dish used to cook the potatoes.  Prepared in a shallow casserole dish, these types of potatoes consist of eggs, butter and milk for a sauce.

My nonna Emilia was the queen of cooking potatoes.  Her fried potatoes would fill the streets in Little Italy with irresistible aroma.  Even in her little town of Figline Vegliaturo in Calabria Italy, friends were drawn to her house by the aroma.  They often thought that she made an elaborate meal; however, she simply fried potatoes adding garlic and oregano. Like nonna Emilia, I like simple, but good ingredients.  This recipe will not disappoint you.

This dish could also serve as a main.  I would serve it with a salad.   If you like this dish, don’t forget to check out this previous recipe: https://recipesatmytable.com/tiella-with-zucchini-and-potatoes/

Slice the potatoes lengthwise on a mandolin.

Olive oil and seasoning go in next.

All the goodness of cheese in a bowl.

Place some parchment paper on the bottom of a springform pan.

Half the potatoes go in with a little drizzle of olive oil.

The rest of the potatoes go in and then the last layer of cheese.

Four Cheese Italian Scalloped Potatoes: Recipes at My Table

All golden and out of the oven.

Four Cheese Italian Scalloped Potatoes: Recipes at My Table

The rim comes off the pan and the layers are all browned.

Four Cheese Italian Scalloped Potatoes: Recipes at My Table
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Four Cheese Italian Scalloped Potatoes

These potatoes will be a hit at your table!!

Course Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine Home Cooking in Canada
Keyword Four Cheese Italian Scalloped Potatoes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 6
Author Renata Solski

Ingredients

  • 6 russet potatoes cut on mandolin
  • 1/4 cup olive oil tossing
  • 11/4 cup four cheese Italiano ( reserve 1/4 for top) parmesan, provolone, emmental, mozzarella
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan
  • 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. Set oven to 400 F.

    Prepare a 9 inch springform pan.  Place a parchment paper round on the bottom.  Grease sides with a little butter or olive oil.

    Use a mandolin to slice the peeled and washed potatoes.

    Toss the potatoes with the olive oil, cheese, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper.

    Put half the potatoes into the pan and drizzle a little olive oil over them.

    Place the remainder of the potatoes in the pan, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the remainder 1/4 cup of cheese.

    Cover with aluminum foil and place into oven for 45 minutes.

    Remove from oven and lift off foil.

    Place back into the oven for another 15 minutes, reducing heat to 375.  

    Remove and I topped it with caramelized onions today.  

 

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