Olive Filone Panzanella with Capers

I've seen recipes for panzanella for several summers now but could never decide if stale bread soggy with vinegar and fresh tomato juices was something I wanted to try. The soak-your-garlic-bread-in-marinara side of me wanted to go for it, but the gags-on-soggy-slimy-things side wasn't sure she wanted to waste a perfectly good loaf of bread. The huge harvest of basil in my garden this summer and my search for recipes using basil made the decision for me. The abundance of delicious fresh tomatoes the next few months make this a great summer choice too. I bought a loaf of olive filone (an olive studded loaf) and took the plunge. I was pleasantly surprised.

The bread was more dressed in the vinaigrette than soaked in it and there was something lovely about the contrast between the sweet, fresh tomatoes and basil, the saltiness of the pickled olives and capers, the buttery softness of the bread, and the crunch and heat of the red onion. On a hot day (it's supposed to get to 105' with the heat index around here today) this can't be beat with a glass of chilled white wine or a cold, light beer. Even my husband, who is very much part of the soggy-bread-is-icky camp enjoyed this. I served it with shrimp marinated in Italian dressing. And, in the interest of full disclosure, all we had on hand was Lime Bud Light, so there you go. This would also be tasty with some greens tossed in.

If you can't find olive filone (I got mine at the Harris Teeter bakery up the street), don't sweat it. Panzanella works with any crustier bread, like a baguette, especially if it's a day old or more.

Disclaimer: We ate this faster than I could get a picture, so the photo above is one off the internet, just for an example. Also, I could not tell you if this is an authentic panzanella, only that it's very tasty and the way we like to eat it. My husband's family is half-Italian and we grew up in a big Irish/Italian area with tons of Italian-immigrant restaurants and food traditions. But I have never had this at a family dinner or eaten at any restaurant that served it, so I have no point of reference but my own taste buds. But the tastebuds, they likey. Also, my four-year-old would not touch this as is but will eat all the components separately, especially if I give him a little olive oil to dip his bread in. We're trying to raise a good Italian/Irish/French/American here.

Olive Filone Panzanella with Capers
4 cups stale olive and herb filone loaf, cubed (one small loaf)
3-4 medium, vine-ripened, fresh tomatoes, quartered and cubed
1/2 cup red onions, sliced
6-7 leaves of fresh basil, chopped roughly
1 Tb minced garlic
2 Tbs capers, drained
3 Tbs red wine vinegar
olive oil
sea salt
cracked black pepper

Toss bread, tomatoes, onions, basil, garlic and capers together gently. Sprinkle with vinegar then oil, salt and pepper to taste. Toss gently until everything is lightly coated and seasoned. If you get extra vinegar/oil soup at the bottom, toss it together once more and drain off the excess. If too dry, add a little more of the vinegar 1 tsp at a time. Let sit in the fridge for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Southwest Salad with Grilled Peaches

Sorry for the delay in getting up this recipe. This should make two adult-size salads with enough grilled chicken, peaches, tortilla chips and black beans for two kids to eat separately. Or add in another head of romaine to make two additional kid-sized salads as well. The peaches can be ripe or under ripe. Grilling them makes them jammy and soft--delicious! I use the Newman's Own Lime Vinaigrette on this too:

Southwest Salad with Grilled Peaches

4 large peaches washed, pitted and cut into wedges
olive oil
salt and pepper
4 chicken breasts
1 large head of romaine
2 cups fresh spinach leaves
All Week-long Black Bean Salad (see previous post)
crushed tortilla chips

Toss peach wedges lightly in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on a piece of foil and grill 1-2 minutes each side. Set aside. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Grill until done. Let cool and cut into strips. Wash and chop lettuce and spinach and arrange on two plates. Top with black bean salad, grilled peaches and chicken, and dress with lime vinaigrette. Top with crushed tortilla chips to taste and serve with Newman's Own Lime Vinaigrette.

Scrambled Huevos Rancheros

Yet another black bean salad recipe. Seriously though, my mouth starts watering just looking at these. I like the tortillas a little crispy, kind of like a fritata. Drain the black bean salad before topping the eggs so it doesn't get soggy. Using eight eggs gave me enough to make two heaping fritatas with enough left over for the boys to eat plain eggs. Enjoy for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Scrambled Huevos Rancheros

8 eggs, scrambled
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 small corn tortillas
1/2 cup black bean salad
oil
salsa

Preheat oven to 400'. Brush tortillas lightly on both sides with oil and bake 5 minutes until slightly golden. Sprinkle each tortilla with 1/4 cup shredded cheddar. Place back in oven for another 5 minutes until toasted. Top with scrambled eggs and 1/4 cup black bean salad and salsa to taste (I used salsa verde).

Baja Lime Tilapia with Green Rice Recipe (free Minute Rice coupon)

As mentioned in the last post, here is the recipe for my Carolina version of Baja Lime Tilapia with Green Rice. Both are great together when rounded off with chips and salsa (I like the smokey/salty flavor of Pace's Salsa Verde) and All-week-long Black Bean Salad. Tilapia is light and not at all fishy. Even my almost-five-year-old will eat it, especially when prepared this way. I've also included a link to Minute Rice's Website where you can get a $.50 coupon if you don't mind giving a little info. Anything I can do to make my life easier and yours.

Baja Lime Tilapia with Green Rice

Tilapia:
5 fresh Tilapia filets (or if frozen, thawed)
2 limes, washed and sliced
sea salt
Old Bay seafood seasoning

Rice:
2 cups cooked brown rice
juice of 1/2 lime
small handful finely chopped cilantro
large pat of butter or spread
1 TB salsa verde if desired

Preheat oven to 400'. Place the tilapia filets on parchment paper. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and Old Bay seasoning. Place 2-3 slices of lime on each. Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes or until fish is opaque and firm to the touch but not brown and "crispy-looking" around the edges. Garnish with extra chopped cilantro and fresh lime wedges if you're having company. Serve hot.

Meanwhile, toss hot rice with butter and salsa (if desired). Fold in chopped cilantro and stir in lime juice to taste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

All-week-long Black Bean Salad & free Newman's Own coupon

My mixing helper with our Black Bean Salad

I love recipes that I can make once and re-use throughout the week over and over again without getting tired of it. This black bean salad is one of those recipes that the whole family loves. I pick out some black beans and mash them for Ben, and Linc eats it as is with any meal. This week, I used /will use this salad as 1.) a side salad for dinner (Baja Lime Tilapia, Black Bean Salad and Green Rice), 2.) as a relish/salsa dip with tortillas for snacking throughout the day, 3.) as part of my Grilled Peaches Southwest Chicken Salad, and 4.) on huevos rancheros this weekend. Yes, that's a heck of a lot of black beans and but they're so lean, tasty (in this recipe anyway) and CHEAP! And it's versatile. If I don't have tomatoes on hand, I'll leave them out. If I'm in the mood to add red peppers, I throw them in. Make the recipe your own. I have. :-) I'll post my (most recent) version of the salad recipe below and then post the above recipes (fish, chicken and eggs) in coming posts.

*For a quick, easy dressing, I like to use Newman's Own Light Lime Vinaigrette (click here for the coupon). It does make the salad a little more wet and you'll get better flavor from squeezing in 1-2 small limes (or even substitute 3-4 Tb of red wine vinegar if you don't have limes on hand) and adding a little canola oil (don't use EVOO as it congeals in the fridge), salt, pepper and sugar to taste. But if you want quick and easy--and light!--that N.O. dressing is fantastic. And you can use it on the chicken salad later too.

All-week-long Black Bean Salad
2-15.5 oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced finely
3 hothouse tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed or chopped finely
1/2 cup diced purple onion
5 TB fresh chopped cilantro
1 cup N.O. Light Lime Vinaigrette
salt and fresh ground black pepper

Toss in a bowl; mix gently. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Chill before serving.

Super Easy Tuscan Roasted Veggies and Pasta

I'm always looking for dishes that I can make into "grown-up food" that my preschooler will eat too. I set aside some plain pasta with lots of parmesan cheese and raw veggies for his plate, and Rich and I get to eat the recipe below. Everyone is happy! I got this idea from Everyday Food, a Martha Stewart magazine. If you don't have capers on hand, you can substitute some chopped olives (green or calamata). Capers are pretty cheap and easy to find in the pickle aisle at the grocery store. If you like a stronger garlic taste--and I do--you can also use a garlic press and add 3 of the garlic cloves before simmering the vegetables in the pasta water instead of roasting them. I wouldn't use all 5 garlic cloves if you use this method, unless you have very understanding friends or only communicate by phone or email.

Easy Tuscan Roasted Veg & Pasta
1 large red bell pepper cut into strips
1/4 purple onion cut into strips
1 small container of grape tomatoes, whole
5 cloves garlic, still in their paper skins
1 Tb olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tb Italian herbs (basil, oregano, parsley mix usually)
5 or so leaves of basil chopped roughly
2 Tb capers
8 oz pasta (I like to mix whole wheat and white farfalle pasta), boiled and drained
1/4 cup hot pasta water

Toss peppers, onion, tomatoes and garlic cloves in oil and season with herbs and salt and pepper. Place on a foil-lined sheet and bake at 400' for 10 minutes or until soft and slightly blackened or roasted. Let cool. Remove garlic from skin and roughly chop. Reserve 1/4 cup of water from boiling pasta and add all roasted veg and garlic to it. Simmer for a few minutes until thickened. Toss in cooked pasta, chopped fresh basil and capers. Add a little extra olive oil, if desired, and shaved parmesan on top. Enjoy!

Yes, I'm still alive...

Admittedly, it's been a few weeks since I last posted. Vacations, out-of-town visitors, busy family life and all lame excuses aside, I just haven't been in the mood to cook anything worth writing about. I'm a bit of a manic cook--baking something new every week one month and then eating burgers and pasta for the next 30 days. But summer is coming and with it all the joys of fresh fruits and veggies. Surely something will inspire me soon....like a garden?

This year we're keeping our garden simple (after bigger, more elaborate plans): red peppers, cherry tomatoes and basil. We already have mint, rhubarb and parsley from last year. I harvested the first crop of rhubarb and we picked strawberries this week...that sounds promising. My mom always made the best strawberry rhubarb pies. Rich still talks about them. Maybe I'll give it a try this week. And the parsley, tomatoes and mint make me think of tabouleh salad. Mmmm. I can't wait for the basil to kick in, so I can make some more pesto to put up in the freezer. I'm warming up now. Stay tuned...