No-noodle Lasagna – La dolce vita

Enjoying the good life with abandon but without any of the guilt.

I’ve really been slacking on posting vegetable recipes regularly. It has been ages since my last Veg of the Week post.  But this discovery is so fabulous it really deserves the special honour of being vegetable dish of the month. Actually this is my most exciting discovery this year.

Now I thought I would lure you in by describing this as a no-noodle lasagna. If I had been more forthcoming in my description, I am sure I would have scared you off. But now I have got you reading, I will reveal what the best replacement is for regular lasagna sheets. It is not zucchini (too moist), nor aubergine (too chewy) it is…. white cabbage.

Crazy I know! But believe me, it works!!

I will own up that I really do not like white cabbage. I am still haunted by childhood memories of limp, grey, funky smelling cabbage leaves wrapped around greasy, tasteless rice and mince. Couldn’t stand the stuff.

Never thought I would ever post a white cabbage recipe, but here I am raving about the stuff. Once you briefly blanch the leaves in boiling water and layer them with a Bolognese sauce and cheese, you have the most amazing carb-free lasagna. The cabbage leaves have a comforting bite that is similar to al dente pasta sheets; lightly chewy but soft at the same time.

You can stick to your regular recipe for traditional Bolognese sauce. Just make sure you meat sauce is on the dry side as the cabbage sheets will not soak up moisture as lasagna sheets do. For this dish I added plenty of mushrooms to bulk up the sauce with some extra fiber and minerals. As you are being unconventional already, I suggest you skip the effort of making a béchamel and give the below combination of ricotta, cottage and cream cheese a whirl. I really enjoyed both the texture and flavour it added to the dish.

The result is an amazing lasagna that has the same comfort as a regular lasagna but is just that little bit healthier. And like a regular lasagna I feel that this one tastes even better reheated the next day. So, make sure you make a double portion…. at least.

Ingredients
(inspired by the blog ‘Simple Roots Wellness‘)
Serves 3-4

500g mushrooms
2 onions
2-3 garlic cloves
(300g-) 500g mince
1 can of peeled and chopped tomatoes
a pinch of chili flakes
1/2 tbsp honey
optional: a dash of Worcestershire sauce
salt, pepper
about 1/2 head of white cabbage (the outer leaves are a little handier then the ones closer to the core)
optional: 10g of chives
2 eggs
200g cottage cheese
100g ricotta cheese
100g (light) cream cheese
1 tsp mustard
100g cheese for grating

 

Recipe

Make the sauce

1. Bring a very large pot of water to the boil (I use the largest pot I have.)
2. Slice the mushrooms and fry them in a wide pot or large deep fry pan until just tender. Remove from the pan and set aside.
3. Chop the onion and fry in the same pan.
4. When the onions are translucent, mince the garlic and add it. Stir until fragrant.
5. Add the mince meat and stir, breaking it up, until the meat has just coloured.
6. Add the tinned tomato.
7. Season the sauce with chili, honey, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.
8. Allow the sauce to simmer whilst preparing the rest of the dish. Stir once in a while and add a little water if it starts to get too dry. (When you assemble the lasagna the sauce should be quite thick as the cabbage leaves do not soak up liquid as regular lasagna sheets do.)

Prepare the cabbage

9. Carefully peel the leaves off the head of cabbage. Cut out the thick ribs. You are looking for looking for the amount of leaves that will comfortably cover a teatowel when placed next to each other.
10. Place the leaves into the boiling water until they turn opaque (about 2-3 min, but can vary depending on the amount of water). Using a slotted spoon remove the leaves and lay them on a kitchen towel to dry. Depending on the size of your pot you might have to do this in a few batches.

Make the sauce

1. If using, chop the chives.
2. Whisk together the two eggs.
3. Add the ricotta, cottage and cream cheese and blend.
4. Season with mustard, salt, pepper and add the chives.

Assemble the lasagna

5. Heat the oven to 175C.
6. Place 1/4 of the meat sauce in the bottom of a dish (about 20x35cm).
7. Top with 1/3 of cabbage “noodles”.
8. Add 1/4 meat sauce and 1/2 the cheese mix.
9. Another layer using 1/3 of the “noodles”.
10. 1/4 meat and the rest of the cheese mix.
11. The rest of the “noodles”.
12. The remainder of the meat.
13. Bake in the oven for 20 min. The dish can be prepared until this step and then refrigerated to be finished another day.
14. Grate the cheese and sprinkle on top.
15. Bake for another 20 min.
16. Allow to rest before 5-10 min before serving.

 

Serve with

• A green salad made from lettuce leaves or green beans

Some of the health benefits of cabbage

• White cabbage are a Good source of vitamin C and folate and potassium
• Cabbage is filled with antioxidant power. This enables our systems to fight free radicals and clear up toxins, including potential carcinogens.
• The fiber in cabbage keeps your blood sugar levels from fluctuating and also regularizes bowel movements. Cabbage is anti – inflammatory vegetable
• Eating cabbage may also reduce the risks of heart disease, stroke and cancer, specifically colon cancer.
• It speeds healing of ulcers and improves digestive health.
• Raw cabbage cleans the waste from the stomach and upper bowels which improves digestion and reduces constipation.
  (Source: tarladalal.com)

 

More recipes replacing carb with veg

Zucchini Noodle Pad Thai

Tuna Zucchini Pasta

Cauliflower ‘couscous‘

Cauliflower Tabbouleh

Cauliflower ‘pasta’

Zucchini Pea Fritters

Pea Quenelles

Cauliflower Mash

 

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Spelt and Oat Muffins with Berries

Breakfast- (lunch-, high-tea-, snack-) muffins

This post is one big thank you to my dear friend MJ!

What for, you ask?

She was the one who got me blogging. She introduced me to the site “Tastespotting” – a real smörgåsbord of food blogs. And reading blogs inspired me to start my own.

Blogging made me discover that my passion for food is broader than just cooking. At some point I realized that I was really having fun styling food pictures and now I am learning that I might actually get pleasure from writing as well (“might” as sometimes stringing together words seems the hardest thing J ). Such a fabulous journey, so many hours spent doing something I enjoy.
….and she is the one who triggered this.

What is the occasion, you ask?

This week, for the first time, Tastespotting published a picture of mine. The result: 258 views in one day (and 200 the next). I was totally caught off guard. (Exactly as I was the first time somebody, who was not a friend, “liked” one of my posts.)

When I started this blog I had no clear goal in mind; one day I just found myself posting. The blog was about keeping a food dairy and about sharing my discoveries with friends; I never thought about any other visitors. By now I have made some lovely blogging friends and I have actually had responses from total strangers that have cooked recipes I shared (Can you imagine someone in Australia actually cooked my mum’s Ethiopian Lamb Stew?!).

What recipe could be good enough for the occasion, you ask?

How about one more thing that I am thankful for:  the recipe for those amazing muffins that MJ baked when I last visited her in Finland.

Just imagine: you are a house guest. You get to sleep in, but then the sweet scent of baking lures you out of bed and to the breakfast table where you are greeted with a tray full of fresh, golden muffins. And there you are, sitting at a kitchen table in sunny Finland digging into freshly baked muffins.

I’ve made these muffins several times since – gently sweet and brimming with goodness. They are just as fabulous with a quiet cup of afternoon tea as they are with a strong cup of morning coffee.

 

Ingredients
(slightly altered from ‘BBC Good Food‘)
12 muffins (around 180 kcal each)

1 ripe banana
2 large eggs
150ml low-fat yogurt (I use Total % Greek Yoghurt)
50ml canola oil (DE: Rapsoel, NL: Koolzaadolie ) alternatively you could use sunflower oil
100g apple sauce or puréed apples (I use my simple freezer apple sauce for this -about 1/2 apple)
4 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
200g spelt flour (the original recipe uses wholemeal)
50g rolled oats, plus extra for sprinkling
2 tsp baking powder
1  tsp baking of soda (NL: zuiveringszout, dubbelkoolzure soda, natriumbicarbonaat, DE: Natron)
1½ tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
100g (frozen) blueberries (or use raspberries as my friend MJ did)
2 tbsp mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower and flaxseed)

 

Recipe

1. Heat oven to 175C.
2. Line a 12-hole muffin tray with cup cake liners.
3. In a bowl mush the banana with a fork.
4. Heat oven to (180C) 160C fan/gas 4. Line a 12-hole muffin tray with 12 large muffin cases.
5. Mush the banana with the fork.
6. Whisk in the eggs.
7. Then add the yoghurt, oil, apple sauce, honey and vanilla. Mix well.
8. In a separate bowl combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
9. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and bring together quickly, but do not overwork.
10. Fold in the (frozen) blueberries.
11. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin.
12. Sprinkle with the extra oat flakes and seeds.
13. Bake for 25-30min until they are golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
14. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little.
15. They taste fabulous hot or cold (the next day)

Thank you M, for amazing memories of Finland, friendship and food 😉

Chicken Bulgogi Lettuce Wrap – Veg of the Week

Tasty and tender Dak (chicken) Bulgogi

Finger-licking good. What a fabulous discovery this dish has been. Each bite is like a little trip to some exotic and far-away land.

Bulgogi (불고기) is Korean and literally means “fire meat”. It usually consists of  marinated beef that is grilled, sometimes with the addition of green peppers or mushrooms.

The first time I made this recipe, I enjoyed it so much I had to indulge myself and prepare it again the next day. The list of ingredients might seem a bit daunting at first, but the preparation takes no time at all. You just mix a few spoon full of this, a dash of that and then you allow the chicken meat marinade for a while. When you are ready to eat, just cook some rice or make a little noodle salad. Then just toss the meat under the grill for a few quick minutes. Within no time you are wrapping delicate lettuce leaves around juicy pieces of meat. A fabulously exotic and light meal. Added bonus: you get to eat with your fingers.

And for those of you that own a table grill or raclette set: this is a great little dish to spice things up for your next evening of table top cooking.

Ingredients
(hardly apated from the blog ‘Spontaneous Tomato‘)
Serves 3-4

500-700g chicken fillet or thighs (or beef or pork)
3tbsp light or kikkoman soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp rice vinegar (at a pinch you could use apple cider vinegar)
1/2 tbsp cooking sake (or if you do not have any you could use mirin, Chinese rice wine or sherry)
optional: a few pinches of chili flakes
optional: pinch of sugar
2-3 cloves garlic
2 tsp fresh ginger
3-5 spring onions
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 head of butter lettuce leaves (this is the soft lettuce not the ice berg)
2 tsp roasted sesame seeds

Recipe

1. Cut the chicken into wide, flat slices. Place in a zip-lock bag or wide bowl.
2. Add soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar and sake to the meat.
3. If using add chili flakes and sugar.
4. Mince the garlic, grate the ginger and add.
5. Reserve one of the spring onions for decoration. Chop the rest and add to the meat.
6. Combine all the ingredients, cover and refrigerate 30 min (or up to 3 hours).
7. (Prepare your side dish – some steamed rice, cooked noodles or noodle salad)
8. Allow the grill in your oven to heat up.
9. Line a wide baking dish or tray with aluminium foil. Spread out the chicken and pour over the remaining marinade.
10. Place the chicken under the grill. Stir after about 4 minutes. Usually it takes around 8 min for the chicken to cook. Cooking time can vary a lot and depends on the amount of chicken and type of dish. Note: do not overcook the chicken, it will not brown but stay quite pale.
11. (Alternatively you can cook the chicken on a non-stick skillet.)
12. Cut the remaining spring onion into thin rings.
13. Sprinkle the chicken with the spring onion and sesame seeds. Serve with lettuce leaves and rice or noodles.

Serve with

• steamed rice or
• soba noodles or
• vermicelli noodles mixed with fresh chopped mint and coriander with a splash of sesame oil, lime juice and fish sauce

This post was added to Easy to Cook Meals blog. Please join us in Cunning Ladies’ Friday Party.

Some of the health benefits of butter lettuce

• Vitamin A and beta carotenes. Just 100 g of fresh, raw-lettuce provides 247% of daily vitamin A, and 4443 µg of beta-carotene (Carotenes convert to vitamin A in the body; 2 µg of carotene is considered equivalent to 1 IU of vitamin A). These compounds have antioxidant properties. Vitamin A is required for maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin, and is also essential for vision. Consumption of natural fruits and vegetables rich in flavonoids helps to protect the body from lung and oral cavity cancers.
• Vitamin K. Which has a potential role in the bone metabolism where it thought to increase bone mass by promoting osteotrophic activity in the bone cells. It also has established role in Alzheimer’s disease patients by limiting neuronal damage in the brain.
• Folates and vitamin C. Folates require for DNA synthesis and therefore, vital in prevention of the neural tube defects in-utero fetus during pregnancy. Vitamin C is a powerful natural antioxidant; regular consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals.
• Zea-xanthin (1730 µg per 100 g), an important dietary carotenoid in lettuce, is selectively absorbed into the retinal macula lutea, where it thought to provide antioxidant and filter UV rays falling on the retina. Diet rich in xanthin and carotenes is thought to offer some protection against age-related macular disease (ARMD) in the elderly.
• It also contains good amounts of minerals like iron, calcium, magnesium, and potassium, which are very essential for body metabolism. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Copper is required in the production of red blood cells. Iron is essential for red blood cell formation.
• It is rich in B-complex group of vitamins like thiamin, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), riboflavins.
• Regular inclusion of lettuce in salads is known to prevent osteoporosis, iron-deficiency anemia and believed to protect from cardiovascular diseases, ARMD, Alzheimer’s disease and cancers.
  (Source: Nutrition and You)

Ricotta Strawberry Cake – 2 yr blogiversary

Airy cheesecake bliss

Happy blogiversary to me!

It is crazy to think that it is two years ago that I shared my first post. I really have been having so much fun on the way. Amazing to realize that I must have spent hundreds of hours cooking, clicking, sharing….and eating!
One thing I never expected is how much I would enjoy taking photographs of food. It really has become such a large part of the experience. It amazes me to see how my clicks have changed over time. By now I actually feel proud of them once in a while. And the best thing about it is that this development really felt effortless. It is such a fabulous reminder that change does not have to come to us through hard work. When you do something you enjoy, results flow to you with ease.

2012 – Salmon Burgers

 

2014-Chicken Halloumi Skewer

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Ingredients

(hardly adapted from the blog ‘Italian Chips’)
1 small 15 (-18)cm cake
Serves 6

250g ricotta
50g honey
35g flour
3 eggs
zest of 3/4 lemon
1 vanilla pod (or 1 tsp vanilla essence)
6 strawberries

Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F).
2. Line a 15 (-18) cm baking tin with parchment paper: cut a circle the size of the base and cut a strip to go around the sides.
3. Use a mixer to beat the ricotta with the honey.
4. Separate the egg yolks. Reserve the whites and add the yolks to the ricotta.
5. Also add the lemon zest, vanilla beans, flour to the ricotta and mix until well combined.
6. Whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.
7. Gently fold the egg white into the ricotta mix.
8. Pour the mixture into the cake tin.
9. Cut the strawberries in half and place them on top. Push them down just slightly.
10. Bake the cake for about 40 min until golden brown and set.
11. Allow to cool to room temperature before serving. Personally I like it best from the fridge (which means you can have it the next day as well).

Red and Green Salad For Good Luck – Veg of the Week

In this dish green (wood) red (fire) come together not to burn but to cool.

Preparing my previous post, in honour of the Lunar New Year, I discovered a world of traditions and beliefs that I knew hardly anything about. As the celebration of the Chinese New Year spans 15 days I thought I would take the chance to post some of the facts I discovered. But first about today’s recipe:

This salad with bean sprouts is one of these simple dishes that hardly deserve the name recipe, but it appears on my table regularly as it is quick, tasty and healthy. It goes wonderfully with Asian flavours and is a great contrast to hot and spicy foods. Every time I eat it I realize that I prepare bean sprouts much too rarely – they have such a delicate flavour and are so good for you.

And I decided it is the perfect dish to go with this post as the bean sprouts are combined with cucumber – green for wood – and tomatoes – red for fire – which come together into a wonderfully cooling salad for this fiery year.

So here are 8 facts you might not know about the Lunar New Year and the Year of the Wood Horse (8 because that is a lucky number in China).

1) The Chinese zodiac – or Shēngxiào – is a calendar system originating in the Han dynasty (206-220BC), which names each of the years in its 12-year cycle after an animal: the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig, in that order. According to the system, the universe is made up of five elements – earth, water, fire, wood and metal – which interact with the 12 animals, resulting in the specific character of the year ahead. (Guardian)

2) Year of 2014 is Wooden Horse. Because Wood (tree) is connected to the color of Green. Therefore, 2014 is the Year of Green Wood Horse. (Chinese Fortune Calendar)

3)  Horse hour of Chinese Horoscopes is from 11am to 1 pm. Sunshine generates lots of heat during the Horse hour. Therefore, horse is connected to heat, fire and red.

4) Horses like the social activities, because horses like show off themselves. Since horse is a social animal and red is also connected to love, therefore. Horse is treated as a Romantic Star in Chinese Horoscope. (Apanache)

5) Horse is one of Chinese favorite animals. Horse provides people quick transportation before automobiles, so people can quickly reach their destinations. Horse even can help people to win the battle. Therefore Horse is a symbol of traveling, competition and victory. That’s why Horse is connected to speedy success in China. (Apanache)

6) But……Feng shui masters are talking about a hot – literally – 2014, with temperatures melting people’s brains and a propensity towards earthquakes and volcano eruptions.(RT)

7) It’s estimated that a sixth of the world celebrate Chinese New Year, including more than 1 billion Chinese citizens. Which results in one of the world’s largest human migration as Chinese workers travel home to their families for Chinese New Year. In 2010 an estimated 210 million hit the planes, buses and trains – the equivalent to the whole population of Brazil packing their suitcases. (Go Hong Kong)

8) And last but not least: foods to be eaten at New Year include

– uncut noodles – a symbol of longevity
– fish for abundance – as the word for fish in Chinese is a homophone for abundance
– fried egg rolls – a symbol of wealth as they look like gold bars
– dumplings – for wealth
– Shrimp – for happiness and joy
– Lettuce – for rising fortune as the word is near homophonous “to make money”
– Mandarins (especially with leaves intact) – for happiness
– Eggs – for prosperity

Asian Bean Curd Rolls

Prawn Dumplings

Marbled Chinese Eggs

 

 

 

 

 

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Ingredients

(adapted from ‘De complete Asiatische Keuken’)
Serves 3-4 as a side dish

150g green beans
100g bean sprouts
12 cherry tomatoes (about 150g)
1 cucumber
1 red chili
coriander or mint leaves
2 tbsp rice vinegar (alternatively apple vinegar)
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp sugar

Recipe

1. Bring some water to the boil.
2. Cut the ends off the beans and cut them in half. Cook the beans 5-7 min in boiling water until barely tender (without the lid on the pot, to keep them green).
3. Toss in the bean sprouts for the last 30 secs (this kills off any bacteria and in my opinion improves the taste).
4. Drain the beans and sprouts and immediately rinse with cold water (or even cool in ice water).
5. Cut the tomatoes in half and place into a salad bowl.
6. Cut the cucumber into wedges. (Cut the cucumber in half, cut each half into four pieces lengthwise and then into slices.) Add to the tomatoes and then toss in the beans and sprouts.
7. Chop the chili (Serve separate if the dish should not be spicy otherwise) Place in a small bowl and combine with rice vinegar, lime juice and sugar.
8. Dish can be prepared a little ahead up to this point. When you are ready to serve, toss the vegetables with the dressing. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
9. Chop mint or coriander leaves and sprinkle on top.

Tips & Variations

• Add some cubed fresh cucumber
• Dry fry some dried shrimp, grind to a powder and sprinkle on top
• Add some chili sauce to the dressing

Serve with

The variations are endless, but I found this salad goes well with

• Rich and spicy coconut curries
• Thai Fish Cakes

The 8 bullets on the Lunar New Year are enough facts for one post. I will share with you how incredibly healthy bean sprouts are another time J