Cooking under pressure - Turkey Meatballs with Marinara Sauce

I bought a new machine for my kitchen. A pressure cooker. Seemed like a good idea at the time. I love all kinds of kitchen nicknacks and tools, and am always looking for more additions to my kitchen repertoire. But, after I acquired this fairly expensive device, I let it sit in the hallway closet for about 3 months. I didn't even take it out of the box. I was scared. Fearful that it would blow up in my face. A friend told me that, no, it would not. These modern pressure cookers are safe, designed for proper release of pressure. Still intimidated, but almost convinced, I, of course, turned to the web. And read on-line that, yes, she was right. Safe as can be. I unwrapped the large package. Mm...sleek and beautiful. It'll look great next to my food mixer and processor.

So, I gave it a go. First, using the pressure cooker, I made a wonderful Tomato Sauce, thick and rich in flavor. While the sauce was doing its thing, I prepared the turkey meatballs. Then added the uncooked meatballs to the sauce, and put the pressure on again for another 4 minutes. That was it. Done! With gluten-free pasta and a side salad, dinner was served! If you prefer, it's easy to convert the recipe and make it on the stove-top.

For an easy dessert, we had vanilla ice-cream with hot fudge. Another quickie (no, not that kind) recipe!

Turkey Meatballs with Marinara Sauce

adapted from Cuisinart Recipe Booklet ~ Pressure Cooker

Ingredients for Marinara Sauce

2 tsp dried italian herbs; oregano, thyme, rosemary etc. (use what you have)

a pinch of red pepper flakes

2-3 tbsp good olive oil

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

3/4 cup finely chopped carrots

1/3 cup finely chopped celery

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

2 tbsp fresh, finely chopped basil, or 2 tsp dried basil

1/2 cup dry red wine

3 cans (14-15 ounces each) diced tomatoes

1 can (6-ounce) tomato paste

1/2 cup water

2 bay leaves

2 tsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Directions for Sauce

Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to the pressure cooking pot. Select Browning and let oil heat for 3 minutes. When oil is hot, add dried herbs, chopped onion, carrots, celery, garlic, basil, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring for 4-5 minutes until the onion becomes translucent.

Stir in wine and cook for another 3-5 minutes to reduce by about half.

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, water, bay leaf, sugar, salt, and pepper, and stir. Turn off.

Cover the pressure cooker with the lid, and lock lid in place. Select High Pressure and set timer for 20 minutes. When beep sounds, use Natural Pressure Release. When float valve drops, remove lid, tilting away from you to allow steam to disperse. Stir.

Prepare the turkey meatballs while the tomato sauce is cooking.

Turkey Meatballs

Makes 35 meatballs

Ingredients

1 lbs ground turkey

3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/2 tsp dried red paprika/pepper

1 egg

3 tbsp dried Gluten-Free breadcrumbs

2 tsp dried mixed italian herbs; oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary etc. (same as above)

1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg, or dried ground nutmeg

1 tbsp fresh, finely chopped parsley

1/3 cup grated parmesan

Directions

In a large bowl, add all the ingredients.

Mix until blended. Wet hands lightly, and roll the batter into 1 1/2-inch balls. Place the meatballs on a large platter or tray.

Place in refrigerator. When Marinara Sauce is ready, add the meatballs to the sauce.

Stir gently to cover the meatballs with the sauce. Cover with the lid, and lock lid in place. Select High Pressure and set timer for 4 minutes. When beep sounds, use Natural Pressure Release. When float valve drops, remove lid, tilting away from you to allow steam to disperse. Stir.

Cook the pasta. Ladle the turkey meatballs and the sauce over the pasta. Serve with a delicious salad of Romaine lettuce, avocado, mango, and beets, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Bon Appetit ~

Smaklig Måltid

Voila, dinner is ready!

A Winter Sunday ~ Turkey Mushroom Lasagna & Frozen Mexican Chocolate Mud Pie

On Sundays we usually relax and take it easy ~ read the paper while eating breakfast.

Go for a walk or hike in the woods.

Prepare dinner, most of the time just for the two of us; my husband & me.

Bake some delicious dessert, and then to top off the day, watch a movie. Nice way to spend the day!

This past sunday, we did just that. I love trying out new recipes and found a recipe for an amazing looking pie in Cooking Light Magazine; Mexican Chocolate Cream Pie. My challenge is always to make the recipe gluten-free. Reading through the recipe, I came to think of the frozen mud pie they serve at Joe's American Bar & Grill, which is one of my husband's favorite desserts. I've never made one, so I decided to adapt the Cooking Light recipe and make it into a Frozen Mexican Chocolate Mud Pie. I was up to the task. It was not that hard, but it did take several steps before we could dig in; bake the crust, make the filling, freeze, fill with ice-cream, freeze, fill with whipped cream, and freeze again. With dessert all set, what then, to make for dinner?? After looking through some cookbooks, I decided on Turkey Mushroom Lasagna. A combo between the recipes I found in Barefoot Contessa @ Home, and Every Day Italian by Giada De Laurentiis. Yes, it was a great dinner. The lasagna turned out fabulous, if I do say so myself, and OMG, the pie was so worth the time. Totally delicious!

Turkey Mushroom Lasagna

kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

10 oz dry gluten-free lasagna noodles, I used BiAglut PastaMia Lasagna Noodles

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 1/4 lb. ground turkey breast

3 cups Marinara sauce, make your own, or store-bought (I used 1 jar, 25 oz)

4 tbsp red wine

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp gluten-free ketchup

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp ground red pepper

1 pound portobello mushrooms

3 tbsp butter

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tomatoes, sliced and coarsely shopped

3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, or use your favorite cheese topping

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil with 1 tablespoon salt. Add the lasagna noodles and cook according to package (BiAglut Noodles took 4 minutes). Make sure the noodles are al dente; the center of the pasta should remain somewhat hard so that it won't overcook and become soggy when baked). Drain, then rinse the noodles under cold water to stop the cooking. Cover lightly with a damp towel to prevent the pasta from drying out. Set aside.

Slice and chop the mushrooms to 1/4-inch thickness. Heat 1 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp olive oil in a large sauté pan. When the butter melts, add the mushrooms, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until mushrooms are tender. Set aside.

In a large saute pan, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground turkey and 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp ground pepper, and sauté until turkey is lightly brown, breaking up any large clumps. Add the marinara sauce, tomato paste, garlic, wine, ketchup, and ground red pepper. Simmer the sauce for 10 minutes. Taste for extra salt and pepper, if needed. Set aside.

Spread 2 tbsp butter over a 13x9-inch baking dish.

To assemble the lasagna, spread some of the turkey-marinara sauce in the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange a layer of noodles on top, then some of the mushrooms and some chopped tomatoes, then another layer of noodles. Repeat a layer of sauce, noodles, mushrooms and tomatoes. Top with a final layer of noodles and a thin layer of sauce. Sprinkle with the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.

Bake the lasagna for 35-40 minutes, or until the top is browned and the sauce is bubbly and hot. Allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes and serve hot.

Frozen Mexican Chocolate Mud Pie

Adapted from The Best of Cooking Light 13: Special Edition

Crust:

1 1/2 cups gluten-free graham crackers crumbs, store-bought or make your own*

2 tbsp light brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp kosher salt

2 tbsp egg white

2 tbsp butter, melted

Canola Cooking Spray

Filling:

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp fresh orange juice

1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp ground red pepper

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 3/4 cups 1% or 2% reduced-fat milk

3 oz dark chocolate, chopped, plus 1 oz for decoration

14 oz gluten-free coffee ice cream

Whipped Cream

1 1/2 cups heavy cream, whipped

1 tbsp confectioner's sugar

pinch of kosher salt

Gluten-Free Chocolate Syrup, or Fudge Sauce; store-bought, or your own

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

To prepare crust: Add graham crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, salt to the bowl of a food processor.

Pulse to blend the dry ingredients in the food processor. Add the eggs and melted butter. Pulse to blend into sticky dough. Press the crumb mixture into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate coated with canola cooking spray.

Bake the pie shell for 15 minutes or until lightly toasted; cool completely on a wire rack.

To prepare filling; combine sugar and next 7 ingredients (through egg yolks) in the bowl of a stand mixer, like a Cuisinart, stirring well with the whisk attachment.

Place milk in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until milk reaches 180 degrees or until tiny bubbles form around edge. Make sure not to boil the milk. Gradually add hot milk to egg mixture, whisking constantly in the mixer. Return milk mixture to the pan; cook over medium heat 10 minutes or until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add 3 oz of the dark chocolate; stir until smooth.

Place pan in a large ice-filled bowl for 10 minutes or until chocolate mixture cools, stirring occasionally.

Spoon filling into crust, and cover surface of filling with plastic warp. Freeze for 3 hours, or until set.

Remove the ice cream from freezer and soften in the microwave for 15-20 seconds. Spread the ice-cream over the frozen filling. Return to freezer for 1 1/2 hours, or until set.

Spread the whipped cream over the frozen pie. Return to freezer for 1 hour, or until set.

Drizzle the pie with chocolate syrup or fudge sauce. For decoration, grate 1 oz of the dark chocolate over the pie. Return to freezer for 30 minutes, or until ready to serve.

Smaklig Måltid ~

Bon Appetit!

*Graham Crackers

1 cup Anna’s GF Cake Flour Mix, or your own favorite blend*
1 cup brown rice flour
¼ cup quinoa flour
1 tsp xantham gum
1 tsp salt
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp baking soda
½ cup light brown sugar
1 ¾ tsp cinnamon

Mix all ingredients together in a food processor.

Add 10 tbsp chilled butter

Add to food processor until crumble like texture.

Add 4 tbsp honey, and 1 tsp vanilla extract, and blend.


Add 6 tbsp water, blend until forming dough. Gather the dough ball and refrigerate at least 1 hour (or overnight), covered.

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Using 1/4 of the dough, work in more corn starch/ flour if necessary. Roll out on a piece of parchment paper, about 1/3-inche thickness. Cut out squares (2-3”), prick lightly with fork, and sprinkle with some sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes, or until golden.

Makes 4 trays of cracker. Remove from oven, cool slightly before placing on racks. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

*Anna's GF Cake Flour Blend

2 cups brown rice flour

2 cups white rice flour

1 cup potato/or corn starch

1 1/4 cups tapioca starch

Everything but the kitchen sink soup.

I craved a warm bowl of comfort for lunch. Soup. Hot and nourishing. Today, I'm home sick with a cold. Nothing bad, but enough to make me want to curl up on the couch with a good book and do nothing but drink tea and read a good book. Or settle down underneath a blanket and watch a couple of movies. I actually sat on the couch and worked on my computer. But I got hungry. After looking through the pantry for canned soup, because when you're home sick, you shouldn't have to cook. I was out of luck. There was nothing but 4 cans of organic pumpkin puree, 2 jars of spicy harissa, 1 jar of applesauce, 1 jar of dijon mustard, and cans of pineapple, artichoke hearts, mandarins. But I did find some packages of chicken broth. Chicken broth. Good. I'll make my own soup. The quick kind. The kind where you just heat up the broth and throw in whatever you can find. So I did. A very simple recipe. Healthy, and tasty too!

Everything-but-the-kitchen-sink-soup

chicken, beef or vegetable broth

assorted vegetables, fresh or frozen:

1 large parsnip, chopped

corn

spinach

green beans

red and/or yellow peppers

3 stalks of celery

1/2 onion, sliced thin

1 can of tomatoes, coarsely chopped

Kefir lime leaf, if desired

1-3 garlics, finely chopped

small piece of fresh ginger

salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

ground paprika, to taste

Pour the broth into a large pot and bring to a boil. Add everything else.

I took a couple of handfuls of each vegetable and added to the broth.

Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 7 minutes.

Add salt, pepper, and ground paprika to taste.

Pour and serve.

Swedish Fish ~ cured and pickled.

I just made some Gravlax with Hovmästarsås, cured salmon with mustard-dill sauce and Glasmästarsill, pickled herring with carrots, leeks and red onion. Both are now curing and pickling in the refrigerator for a couple of days, to be served on the 24th of December. Christmas Eve is the day Swedes celebrate Christmas with a fantastic food buffet, a true Swedish Smörgåsbord, with different kinds of herring and salmon, meatballs, beet-sallad, sausages, ribs, Jansons Frestelse-a potato gratin dish with anchovy (creamy and delicious), among other things, and of course a ham.

I make gravlax every Christmas and Midsummer. It's easy to make ahead of time and always a crowd pleaser. I love to serve the gravlax with the mustard-dill sauce on a slice of gluten-free pumpernickel bread or on a crackers, along with a glass of Champagne!

I haven't made the pickled herring in years. Instead I've bought a jar of herring at IKEA or at the food market. Not the same, not by a long shot! This year, I knew it was time to revive my mother's old recipe. I have really missed the authentic flavor of the fish, carrot and onions cured in a spicy and sweet brine. The herring fillets need 2 days to pickle and will then lasts up to a month in the refrigerator. Delicious on crackers or served with steamed potatoes.

Gravad Lax ~ Swedish Style Cured Salmon

with Mustard-Dill Sauce

Ingredients

2 pounds fresh salmon, center cut*

1 large bunch of dill, coarsely shopped

4 tbsp kosher salt

4 tbsp sugar

2 tsp whole white peppercorns, crushed

Mustard-Dill Sauce, recipe follows

Directions

Cut the salmon in half crosswise and place half the fish skin side down in a deep dish. Wash and towel dry the dill. Combine the salt, sugar, and crushed peppercorns in a small bowl and rub a third of the mixture over one piece of fish. Rub another third on top of the second piece of fish.

Put the dill on the bottom piece of fish and place the other half of salmon over the dill, skin side up. Match thick end of top salmon piece with thin end of the bottom piece. Rub the skin of both fish halves with the last third of the mixture.

Place the salmon in a large plastic bag, ziploc bag works well, and seal. Move to a dish. Put a weight on top of the fish, a heavy can or platter works fine. Refrigerate the salmon for at least 1 1/2 and up to 2 1/2 days, turning it every 8-12 hours. After 1 1/2 days, remove and taste the gravlax to see if it's done. You want a smooth, silky salmon, but not too salty. If the salmon is not finished curing, reseal bag and return to fridge.

To serve: Lay each piece of salmon flat on a cutting board, remove the dill, and salt-sugar mixture. With a long thin slicing knife, slice the salmon in thin slices as you would for smoked salmon. Serve with gluten-free crispbread and mustard-dill sauce. Sprinkle som fresh dill on top. Enjoy!

Mustard-Dill Sauce:

3 tbsp mustard

3 tbsp dijon mustard

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

3/4 cup canola oil

3/4 cup fresh dill, shopped

1/8 tsp ground white pepper

1/8 - 1/4 tsp Kosher salt, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a food processor, except the oil. While blending, slowly add the oil through the upper opening of the food processor. Blend until you have a smooth and creamy sauce. Or blend together in a medium-sized bowl. Slowly adding the oil to all the other ingredients, while whisking vigorously. Serve with the gravlax.

*Freeze the fresh salmon for at least 2 days before defrosting and curing. This kills of any potential parasites.

Mamma's Glasmästarsill ~ Swedish Pickled Herring

1 lb natural herring/Matjes fillets*

3 cups white vinegar

3 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp whole white peppercorns, crushed

3 bay leaves

15 whole cloves

6 tsp whole allspice, crushed

1 bunch or fresh dill, coarsely chopped

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 large red onion, sliced

1 leek, sliced

Rinse the herring fillets under cold water. Place the fillets in a container of cold water and chill in the refrigerator for one hour.

Heat up the vinegar with the sugar and all the spices. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let the brine cool to room temperature.

Remove the herring from fridge and drain out the water. Cut the fillets in 1" pieces. Layer the herring in a large glass jar with the sliced onion, leeks, carrots and dill.

Pour the brine into the glass jar, making sure to cover the top layer with the liquid. Seal the jar and place in the refrigerator. Wait at least 2 days before eating.

*You can find whole or sliced Matjes fillets in jars, in the refrigerated section of most grocery stores.

Photos by Anna Simon unless otherwise specified; www.cookcheif.com, recipe.openoutcome.org.

A fish with history

Dinner was a snatch last night ~ Tilapia with Citrus Bagna Cauda~ thanks to a great recipe by Giada De Laurentiis. I have several of her cookbooks and enjoy her cooking shows. The recipes are always solid; easy to follow and the results are delicious. I found this dish on the Food Networks website.

Yesterday, when I went to the grocery store to get the usual stuff; milk, butter, eggs, I passed the fish counter. I knew I wanted to make Gravlax for the holidays, so I stopped to get some fresh salmon. But should I get farm-raised or wild? Wild, which by the way, I know I 'should' get for various reasons, but hardly ever do. I like the extra fat in the farm raised fish, and truthfully, I love it. It's much more flavorful and it makes an amazing tasting Gravlax. The salmon is cured Swedish style with tons of dill, white pepper, sugar and kosher salt, and served with a dill-mustard sauce. It's a staple on any self-respecting Swede's Smörgåsbord. And so delicious on some crispbread. But since the fish is cured while raw it must be placed in the freezer, either before or after curing, for at least 2 days. The freezing process kills any existing parasites. The fishmonger wrapped up the salmon and asked if I wanted anything else? I looked around to see what else looked good.

Tilapia ~ goes by many names; "St. Peter's fish," from the story in the Gospel of Matthew, where the apostle Peter catches a fish that carries a coin in its mouth, and also "Zeus faber." According to Wikipedia, these species are found in the Sea of Galilee and some Asian countries. Tilapia is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish and they inhabit a variety of fresh waters, including streams, ponds, and lakes. Some other interesting facts: Historically, they have been of major importance in fishing in Africa and have become of increasing importance in aquaculture. But this fish can become problematic. It's an invasive species in new warm-water habitats, whether deliberately or accidentally introduced. Yet, it's now the fifth most important fish in fish farming, because of its large size, rapid growth, and palatability. China and Egypt are the largest producers in the world. Commercially grown tilapia are almost exclusively male. Who knew??

Well, I got me some of St.Peter's fish for dinner. Went home. Placed salmon in freezer, then searched the web for tilapia recipes. And this is what caught my eye ~ Tilapia with Citrus Bagna Cauda Sauce. Sounded intriguing, but what the heck was bagna cauda? Searched the internet again...found out that it's a rustic butter sauce. Yes, butter! Melted butter sautéed with garlic and anchovy. Add some fresh orange and lemon juice along with the zest and you're done. I gave the recipe a try since I happen to like anchovies, tweaked it a bit. Added some shallots and replaced the basil with thyme. The dish turned out great! I served the fish over wild rice, roasted cherry tomatoes and broccoli. Healthy and delicious. Note: I didn't tell my husband about the anchovy.

Tilapia with Citrus Bagna Cauda

Roasted Broccoli and Cherry Tomatoes over Wild Rice

Recipe curtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

Serves 4

Ingredients

3 tbsp butter, unsalted

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus 2 tbsp

4 anchovy fillets, minced

4 tbsp minced shallots

1 1/2 tsp minced garlic

2 tbsp orange juice, fresh or store-bought

2 tbsp thinly sliced fresh thyme

1 tsp lemon zest

1 tsp orange zest

4 skinless tilapia fillets

1 1/2 cups broccoli, cut into 2" flowerets

1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, assorted colors

Ground paprika

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Wild rice, cooked according to package

Directions

Preheat oven to 225 degrees F. Prepare wild rice according to instructions on package. Cook the butter and 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil in a heavy medium saucepan over low to medium heat just until the butter is melted, stirring frequently. Add the anchovies and stir until the anchovies dissolve, about 2 minutes. Add the shallots and garlic, and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Remove from the heat. Stir in the orange juice, thyme, and lemon and orange zests. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and freshly ground pepper. The sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, then cover and refrigerate. Rewarm before using.

Rub fish with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika. Place broccoli and tomatoes in a roasting pan big enough to hold the vegetables and fish fillets. Drizzle the broccoli and tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and add fish. Return to oven and roast for another 6-8 minutes until fish is just opaque in center.

Serve the tilapia with wild rice and the roasted vegetables. Drizzle the sauce over and serve.

Fish photos from Wikipedia and www.overtonfisheries.com. Cooking photos by Anna Simon.