Keto Tuna Melt in Puff Pastry

This is a really good pastry - all keto!  I think you will love it.  If you love tuna melts, the combo of these two are simply sublime.  I picked up all of my special flours at an organic grocery, here in town at  Pomme in Coquitlam and I always get my Almond Flour at Costco which is good and very inexpensive!  

Oven 400 degrees

Pastry:  5 tbsp. vital wheat gluten, 1/4 almond flour, 2 tbsp. oat flour, 1 tbsp. coconut flour, 1/4 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp. xanthan gum, pinch of salt, 1/2 cup chilled butter, 1/3 cup cold water plus another 1 tbsp.  

Egg Wash:  1 egg, 1/2 tbsp. water, whisk together.

Tuna Melt:  1 can water packed tuna, drained, 3 tbsp. mayonnaise, 1/2 celery chopped, 2 tbsp. red onion, 1 tsp. dried parsley, pinch of pepper, 1 tsp. lemon juice, 1/4 cup cheddar shredded.

Mix dried ingredients and then cut the cold butter into the flour.  Add the water and then mix or knead the dough.  The dough will be almost creamy. Maybe if you mix by hand it won't be.  I put mine in the food processor.  Dust your hands with more vital wheat gluten and shape dough into a ball and put into a Tupperware or Saran Wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

In the meantime, mix up tuna mixture and set the oven to 400 degrees.

When you take the dough out of refrigerator, dust the counter again and roll out into a rectangle with a rolling pin.  You can either make individual pies or as I did, one big one like a roll.  

Once you roll it out, lift with a large spatula and put onto a very lightly Pam sprayed baking pan.  Layer tuna melt mixture on 1/2 side of dough.  Roll up the other side over tuna melt mixture and seal roll.  I did find the dough warms up quickly so can fall apart a little, just have confidence and work your roll like you are sculpting a masterpiece!  When you are done, brush egg wash over dough and decorate with dried herbs or fresh dill like I did!

Pop into the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes.

.This is 4 servings.

Zucchini Fritter's with Mint and Lotsa Feta!

I absolutely love the flavor combos in this recipe from Nigella Lawson's Forever Summer Cookbook.  I have served these delicious fritters as appetizers for years and everyone loves them.  Yes they can be reheated, but they are so extra good straight out of the frying pan!  Enjoy! P.S. I used lemons the other night because I had no limes.  

Ingredients

4 zucchinis (approximately 1 1/2 pounds), 5-6 green onions, 9 ounces of feta cheese, small bunch fresh parsley, chopped, small bunch fresh mint, chopped, plus extra to sprinkle over at the end, 1 tbsp. dried mint, 1 tsp. paprika (I love smoked paprika), scant 1 cup all-purpose flour, salt and pepper, 3 eggs, beaten, olive oil for frying, 3-4 limes.

Mixing It Up

Coarsely grate the zucchini with either the grating blade in the food processor or by hand (I prefer by hand, it's very quick). Spread zucchini on tea towel and leave for 20 minutes to get rid of any excess wetness.  Put the chopped green onions in a bowl and crumble in the feta.  Stir in the chopped parsley and mint, along with the dried mint and paprika.  Add the flour and season well with salt and pepper.  Gradually add the beaten egg and mix thoroughly before stirring in the drained, grated zucchini.  Don't be alarmed by the unflowing straggly lumpiness of this batter; it's meant to be this way.

Fry Them Up in a Pan

Heat a few tbsp. oil in a large frying pan and drop heaped dessertspoons of the mixture into the hot oil, flattening the little cakes down and with back of spoon as you go.

Cook these little patties for about 2 minutes each until golden and then transfer to a couple of waiting plates.

Chop up limes and tumble around plate of fritters. Sprinkle more chopped mint  and eat as are or spritz some lime juice over! 

Ricotta Bruschetta with Sweet and Spicy Tomatoes by Giada De Laurentiis

 Oh, this is so, so good.  You will love this!  I my entire family sure did and it was the perfect appetizer to the dinner I made.  I highly recommend making this as soon as you can!  It's easy and simple, but oh so fabulous!

I used regular sized tomatoes and quartered them.  This recipe calls for cherry tomatoes.

Tomatoes

Two 10 ounce containers of cherry tomatoes, 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed, 2 sprigs fresh basil, torn, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/2 tsp. kosher salt.

Spicy Honey

1/2 cup honey, 1 1/2 tsp. Calabrian chili paste (I picked up mine at an Italian deli, but any hot paste will do), 1/4 tsp. salt.

Bruschetta

1 cup ricotta, at room temp., 1/4 tsp. kosher salt, 1/4 cup olive oil, 4-6 slices ciabatta 6 fresh basil leaves, chopped.

Directions 

Preheat oven to 400 for the tomatoes.  Put them onto a baking tray and toss in garlic and basil.  Cover with olive oil and pop into the oven for 30-40 minutes.

For the honey, put into a pot with 2 tbsp. water and chili paste on medium and simmer for about 5 minutes taking off the heat to cool.

Brush bread with 2 tbsp. olive oil and toast in the oven (or grill) until toasty light brown and take out of oven. cooling slightly  Then mix 2 tbsp. of olive oil into ricotta with salt and divide amongst all the toasts, topping with tomatoes, drizzles of honey and basil flakes.

So good!  Enjoy!

Left Over Brie Stuffed with Black Pepper and Garlic Powder

 I found this recipe while I was in Paris.  It was just a simple Brie cheese sliced in half and then sprinkled well with black pepper and garlic powder granules. It is seriously delicious.

I also just sliced a brie cheese in half and used left over truffled pesto that we had left over from Christmas.  I wrapped up in parchment and tin foil and popped into the freezer for when we have company in the future.  Easy and fabulous as an appie with crackers or bread or on the side with a salad.

For the pepper garlic mixture it is simply 1/2 tbsp. freshly ground black pepper and 1/2 tbsp. garlic powder granules.

  

Parmesan Rind Broth

I love making a Parmesan Broth to add to risotto when I make it.  Not unlike premade chicken or turkey broth, this is nice to have on hand to add extra, easy flavor to risotto or soups, sauces, roux or pot of beans.  It's super easy and you can add additionals if you like, such as garlic, parsley, or a chicken bouillon cube. Once it's done, cool and pop into the freezer.

4-6 cups water, 1 or 2 Parm rinds, 1 cup white wine, 1 bay leaf.  Put all pot, bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour.

Fennel, Leek and Parmesan (Rind) Soup

One delicious way to use up your Parmesan rinds, is to pop one into a steaming hot pot of soup.  The Parmesan rind will concoct the perfect umami - umami aka the 5th flavor.  While the soup may not be a show stopper, the flavor certainly is and off the charts.  Enjoy!

2 tbsp. olive oil, 4 garlic cloves, minced, 2 carrots, diced, 2 celery, diced, 2 leeks, white parts only and washed extremely well and thinly sliced, 1 fennel bulb, sliced, 1 tomato, diced, 2 bay leaves, 8 cups water, 1 large Parmesan rind, or 2 small ones.

Heat olive oil in pot over medium heat and add carrots.  Cook for 5 minutes until soft and then add all of the other vegetables, but put the garlic in 2 minutes before you add broth so it doesn't burn.  Add water, Parm rind, bay leaves and bring to a boil.  Then turn the soup down to low to simmer and cook for about 1 hour with lid on.

Enjoy!

New York Times Tofu with Roasted Balsamic Tomatoes and Onions

 

From The New York Times

Baked Tofu with Roasted Balsamic Tomatoes and Onions

RECIPE 

1 (14-16 ounce) package of firm or extra firm tofu, 1 ½ tsp. kosher salt, ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper, 3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tbsp. cornstarch, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. dried oregano, 1 pint cherry tomatoes, 1 large red onion cut into ¼ inch wedges, 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced, 1 ½ tsp. balsamic vinegar, plus more for finishing, ½ cup fresh cilantro or parsley.

Slice up tofu and drain on paper towels for at least 15-30 minutes. Then cut tofu into cubes and season with salt and pepper.

Put parchment paper on a cookie sheet.  In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 tbsp. oil, cornstarch, garlic powder and ½ tsp. oregano.  Add tofu to corn starch mixture and gently toss until tofu is coated.  Dump tofu onto one side of cookie sheet. In a bowl toss together tomatoes, onion, garlic balsamic, and remaining ½ tsp.

oregano, a pinch salt and pepper.  Drizzle remaining oil into bowl and toss to combine.  Put veggies onto the other side of the cookie sheet and pop into the oven.  Cook for about 35 minutes, flipping the tofu part way through.  Garnish with your preferred green!  Got rave reviews on this!

My Favorite Frittata

This has got to have been my best frittata yet - I just went for it not giving an ounce of consideration as to who likes what or who might not like what and let me tell you, everybody loved, loved loved it!  I even had, "Wow!  This is amazing."  So you can trust that this recipe will turn out well.  However, if you are cleaning out your refrigerator, this is what frittatas are for and to boot (pardon the pun) it's Italian!  

Here is the secret which I would come to learn after making hundreds of frittatas over the years by simply mixing it up and putting into the oven.  Cook it in an olive oiled pan (cast iron preferably) over the stove FIRST, then put the whole pan into the oven.   When you cook it in a pan on the stove first, the bottom sets and gets perfectly crispy.  This is what you want.  Also, I added absolutely no liquid to it such as milk.  Here is my clean out the fridge recipe, but remember, make it your own! 

Recipe

8 eggs, 1/2 zucchini, 1/2 large onion, 6 large mushrooms, 6 marinated artichokes, 4 oil packed sundried tomatoes (all diced nice and small), 1/4 pesto from a jar, 1/2 cup fresh Parmesan, grated, 1 cup shredded old cheddar cheese (to be put over top), 2 tbsp. fresh dill, 4-6 slices prosciutto, then finally, last night's leftover roasted tomatoes and garlic (probably 1/2 cup).  Feel free to roast tomatoes and garlic to add to this delicious frittata. Garnished with sliced tomato and thinly sliced peppers. 2-3 tablespoons olive oil for pan and Pam spray for the sides of pan.

Mix up your eggs and all of your vegetables, prosciutto, pesto and parmesan in a bowl.

Then get your cast iron pan hot with olive oil on medium high heat before you put egg mixture in.  I also pan sprayed the sides.

When pan is hot pour your egg mixture in.  Turn the heat down to medium and cook for about 5-10 minutes.  Run a spatula around the pan and egg so you can lift up slightly to check the bottom.  When the bottom is nicely brown and set, top with cheddar cheese and garnish.  

Pop into a 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes.  Very delicious and what a way to use up what you have in your refrigerator!