Category: Brunch

Cheesy Stuffed Mini Peppers


At one of our Chanukah parties recently (was Chanukah really that recent? It feels like ages ago!), my sister in-law decided to bring over some food for the low-carb dieters at the party. I was really intrigued by her idea of making stuffed shells without the pasta. Mini peppers stand in as a great replacement, adding color and sweetness to the dish. I decided to whip up my own variation by peppering up (pun intended!) a version of my mom’s famous lasagna recipe. Truth be told – I still made some stuffed shells for my pasta-loving kids, but I was more than satisfied with my lighter and lower-carb variation.

Cheesy Stuffed Mini Peppers

1 15 oz. container ricotta or reduced fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp oregano
pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper, to taste
1 10 oz. box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove water
1 bag sweet mini peppers
1 jar marinara sauce
1 8 oz. bag shredded mozzarella cheese

Method:

Preheat oven to 375. In a bowl, mix cheeses, egg, spices and 1/2 of the spinach. Pour half of the marinara sauce into a 9×13 pan. Dot with remaining spinach. Cut the tops off the mini peppers and remove the veins and seeds. Fill with cheese mixture and place in the pan on top of the marinara sauce. Pour remaining 1/2 jar of sauce over the peppers and sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes, or until peppers begin to soften. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes, until the cheese is browned and crisped around the edges.

VARIATION: For traditional stuffed shells, use large shell pasta in place of the mini peppers.

1 year ago: spinach pasta

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Cheese Latkes with Raspberry Sauce

If you follow my blog, you know that I’m not much of a baker. You also know that I’m working hard to stick to my diet plan. Which might explain why I’m not about to post a recipe for delicious, chewy, deep-fried jelly donuts or crunchy golden potato latkes. Instead, I decided to whip up a sort of deconstructed jelly donut in the form of cheese latkes with raspberry sauce. These fun mini cottage cheese pancakes are reminiscent of the classic chanukah treat with just a few less calories. Fry them up nice and golden, dust with powdered sugar, and don’t forget the whip cream!

Cheese Latkes
adapted from the Spice & Spirit Cookbook

3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 8 oz. container ricotta or cottage cheese (drain, if needed)
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
canola oil, butter, for frying

Method:

Mix all ingredients besides for oil until smooth. Heat up a skillet and grease with butter or oil. Add batter 1 tbsp at a time and fry until golden on both sides. Continue with remaining batter, adding additional oil or butter, as needed.

Serve with raspberry sauce, whip cream and a side of maple syrup.

Raspberry Sauce

1 bag frozen raspberries
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp water or raspberry liquor
1 tsp lemon zest

Method:

Add all ingredients to a pot and simmer over medium heat until raspberries are soft and fall apart when mashed with a spoon, about 10 minutes. Add to a blender and puree. Pour the raspberry mixture through a cheesecloth and squeeze out juice. Chill. Serve over pancakes or ice cream.

Alternatively, pipe some raspberry jam in the center of the latkes and dust with powdered sugar to resemble jelly donuts!

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Sea Bass en Papillote

En Papillote is French for “in parchment.” It is a popular method of baking fish by steaming it inside a folded pouch. Since the fish cooks in its own juices, all the flavors are concentrated, resulting in a light and tasty product. Typically, parchment paper is used to seal in the moisture, but foil can also work.

Classic en papillote preparation is done by folding the parchment paper over the fish and then sealing the edges by folding the parchment tightly all around. An assortment of vegetables is usually added, along with citrus and fresh herbs. You can experiment with different types of fish (whole or fileted) and veggies to suit your taste.

Sea Bass en Papillote

1 filet of sea bass (or any white fish)
1 bunch fresh dill
1 lemon
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
extra virgin olive oil
dry white wine
salt and pepper
parchment paper

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut a rectangular piece of parchment paper and fold it along the center. Rinse sea bass and pat dry. Place fish on one side of the parchment and season with salt and pepper. Top with fresh dill and lemon slices. Place red pepper slices closely around the fish. Drizzle peppers and fish with olive oil and a splash of wine and finish with a touch of salt and pepper. Fold the parchment over the fish and starting from either corner, begin sealing the pouch by twisting or folding the parchment all around. Place the pouch inside a pan and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for several minutes. Open the parchment (careful of the hot steam) and serve!

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Stuffed Roasted Eggplants

With the chagim behind us, I think we can all use some light and healthy recipes for a while. While I’m transitioning to a low carb diet, I don’t want to feel hungry, and I definitely don’t want to feel deprived. For me, the trick is to spice it up, so that I’m not left with bland and boring bowls of salad. Preparing healthy recipes that are packed with flavor helps to curb my cravings and keep me satisfied. Which brings me to this recipe…

Fire-roasted eggplants are traditionally used to make chatzilim or babaganoush, but using them as a base for the Israeli salad really turns this dish into a complete meal. I like to smear roasted garlic hummus on the eggplant when it’s piping hot and then load it with Israeli salad, sprinkle some chickpeas all around, and finish it with a drizzle of tahini and olive oil. Feel free to load on your fixings of choice. Feta cheese works really well too!

It seems like every recipe book I open has a different recipe for Israeli salad. You’d think it impossible to come up with so many variations, it’s a salad after all. But that’s just the thing. Israeli salad is almost as diverse as the people who eat it. Some like its texture to be chunky, others tiny. Some load on the fresh herbs, others stare clear. Take my husband and I. He’s squarely a tomato & cucumber kind of guy. No onions, no herbs. Just 2 simple veggies, in a ratio of 2:1. Me? I’m not too picky. Leave out the cilantro and I’m good to go. Feel free to follow my basic recipe below, or create your own.

What’s your favorite way to prepare Israeli salad? Share it with me in the comments below!

Roasted Eggplants with Israeli Salad
1 eggplant
1 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt
Israeli salad (recipe follows)
roasted chickpeas, optional
1/4 cup store-bought or homemade hummus
1/4 cup tahini
fresh parsley and lemon, for finishing
optional additions: falafel, shawarma, red cabbage salad, Israeli pickles, harissa

For the eggplants:

For optimum flavor, you can fire-roast the eggplants over an open flame on your stovetop. Because this is messy and time consuming, I prefer to broil them. To do this, cut the eggplant in half lengthwise and place flesh-side down on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and and sprinkle with salt and broil on high on the top rack for 20-25 minutes, until skin is charred and the flesh is soft. Turn over and sprinkle flesh with salt (and pepper, if desired).

For Israeli salad:

2 plum tomatoes
1/2 english cucumber
1/2 red pepper
1/2 red onion
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
fresh parsley, to taste

Method:

Finely dice tomatoes, cucumber, pepper and onion. Drizzle with olive oil, lemon and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with fresh parsley or chop finely and add to salad.

To plate, place 1/2 eggplant on a dish. Season with salt and pepper. Smear with hummus. Spoon Israeli salad onto eggplant, garnish with parsley and sprinkle on some roasted chickpeas. Drizzle with tahini and finish with a final squeeze of lemon.

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Fried Fish Sandwich


Growing up, fried flounder (with a side of mashed potatoes) was always on the menu in our house during the nine days, as well as erev Tisha B’av. The fish was always perfectly golden with a crunchy breaded coating; simple and delicious. When I married my husband, I found that fried fish was a favorite of his as well, except his mother made it with tilapia in a tempura-style batter, and served it with lemon wedges. No matter how it’s coated or served, in sticks or fillets, fried fish is a favorite everywhere. You’ll find many cafe’s serving it “fish ‘n chips” style, but my absolute favorite way to eat it is in a sesame sub with wasabi mayo.

Fried Fish Sandwich Essentials:

Fish: You can use any mild white fish such as sole, cod, flounder or tilapia.
Crispy Coating: bread crumbs, panko crumbs, corn flake crumbs, cornmeal, crushed potato chips, tempura batter, beer batter.
Bun: baguette, soft bun, kaiser roll, sesame roll, rye bread, whole wheat bread, ciabatta.
Sauce: mayo, tartar sauce, wasabi sauce, pesto, remoulade.
Veggies: lettuce, tomato, pickles or onions.
Accompaniments: french fries, sweet potato fries, potato chips, mashed potatoes, lemon wedges.

When frying fish, it helps to set up a dredging station and use separate tongs or forks for each coating. Most people like to dip the fish into flour, egg, and then crumbs of choice. Personally, i find that my fish comes out perfectly crispy when dipped into eggs and panko or bread crumbs. You can season the fish, crumbs, flour or eggs with spices of choice, such as, seafood spice, paprika, garlic, or salt & pepper.

For a quick and easy alternative, you can pan-fry frozen breaded fish fillets such as Dagim’s.

Fried Fish Sandwich

Sesame baguette
Wasabi mayo (recipe follows)
Fried flounder or tilapia (see my easy recipe here)
Rommaine lettuce
Plum tomatoes
Pickles

Method:

Pan fry fish. To prepare wasabi mayo, add 1-2 tbsps Gold’s wasabi sauce and 1 tsp lemon juice to 1/4 cup mayonnaise. Spread mayo generously on baguette. Top with fish and veggies. Serve with chips or fries.

TIP: When frying fish, prepare a cookie sheet with a few paper towels to absorb excess oil. If you layer the hot fish on top of each other, the steam will make the breading soft and soggy. Laying the fish out in a single layer will keep them crispy.

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