One Victory, One Attempt

As I was going through the vegetarian cookbooks I checked out from the library, I came across this recipe which I thought sounded amazing. There was a brief story featured regarding the recipe. It comes from a restaurant (Green), that’s owned by a mom and son in San Antonio, Texas. This happens to be a well known meal at the restaurant. Reading the ingredients which consist of sweet potatoes, cinnamon, and nutmeg, I thought this would be a perfect Fall recipe. Since we live in Michigan and it’s cold even in April, I decided now would be as good of a time as any to try this dish.

I have never made gnocchi. I never even tried gnocchi until this past year when Ryan and I were vacationing in the U.P. and ate at a small family owned Italian restaurant. I ordered the gnocchi as I’ve always wanted to try it. It was very tasty. I had traditional gnocchi, which is why when I saw this recipe for sweet potato gnocchi I thought it sounded pretty interesting. If you’re like me, you’ve probably seen gnocchi served and thought that would be very hard to make. Technically it’s not that hard. 

By technically I mean that if you read the full recipe, the steps really aren’t hard to follow and there aren’t many ingredients. I thought I’d be golden in reproducing this dish. WRONG. I started the day before I cooked the gnocchi by preparing the dough and making the homemade marinara sauce. I have to say the original recipe does not include a lot of detail. I didn’t realize this until I started cooking. Lesson learned. With the lack of detail I had to look a few things up online as I was cooking. How long should I boil the sweet potatoes for before they’re cooked? How long should the marinara sauce simmer for? I know you’re thinking well you just simmer the sauce until it’s warm, however I’ve made sauces in the past where you assemble the sauce at least a day ahead of time so that the flavors really have time to be fully absorbed.

While searching online I learned that the potatoes should boil for about 30 minutes. I was not expecting this to take that long. That’s why when you make gnocchi, it’s wise to start the day before and save yourself some time on the actual cooking day. After the potatoes were cooked I followed the instructions and mashed them with the spices. Pretty easy. Then I added ‘about 11 ounces of flour’ as the recipe states. I’ve made plenty of dough to know that this dough was too sticky to roll with a rolling pin. I then added another cup of flour. I thought it was working as the dough seemed to gain a little bit of consistency, but after it was fully mixed the dough was still too sticky. After reading reviews online I learned that the dough is generally sticky, but you should still be able to roll it. Many reviewers caution against adding too much flower as the gnocchi will become chewy and won’t fully cook. I didn’t want to add too much flour so I followed another reviewers advice; put the dough in the fridge for a few hours. I had high hopes that if I left the dough in the fridge over night it would be more solid by the next day and I could easily roll it out. 

 

As I was making the gnocchi I decided to make the marinara sauce as well. Like I said in the past I’ve prepared sauces the day before, allowing the flavors to reach their full potential. I’ve had good with this method and decided to follow it even though the recipe didn’t suggest it. I’ve never made marinara sauce from scratch and after reading the simple list of ingredients I wasn’t sure if it would taste good. But I put everything together, let it simmer for a half hour, and cooled it down before storing in the fridge.

The next day I began simmering the sauce on the stovetop while I prepped the dough before boiling it. I plopped the dough onto the counter and was surprised that it was still sticky! There was no way I was going to be able to roll it. As an alternative I floured up my hands and pulled bits of dough forming them into balls. This was not an easy process and I had to re-apply flour as my hands became more gooey. I became frustrated as I pretty much knew these weren’t going to turn out right. I was ready to call it quits as I was starving (Ryan too) and the option of eating out sounded VERY appealing. Ryan convinced me to keep going and see what would happen. When gnocchi is fully cooked, the dough balls float to the top of the boiling water. I decided to try 1 piece to see if it worked before adding all the dough balls to the pot. It floated to the top so I added the rest. As I pulled them out and added them to the strainer, they didn’t look appetizing at all. But I know they’re dumplings and the marinara sauce typically hides their imperfections.

I served the gnocchi in shallow bowls like a restaurant typically does and covered them with the marinara sauce. It had been so long since I had gnocchi that I didn’t remember what the texture should feel like. Ryan and I ate them, but I wasn’t overly impressed with how they tasted. What we absolutely loved though was the marinara sauce! It tasted amazing. Who knew as I didn’t have high hopes for the sauce. Making it was really easy, so now I think we’ll be making our own sauce a lot more.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi 

Adapted from The Best of Vegan Cooking, by Priscilla Feral (Amazon Affiliate link)
Serves: 4 to 6
Prep time: 40 mins.
Cook time: 20 mins.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds sweet potatoes
• About 11 ounces all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

1. Cut sweet potatoes in half and boil in salted water.
2. Once potatoes are cooked, peel, mash and add: nutmeg, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
3. Add flour to potato mixture and knead until dough is smooth (but don’t overwork the dough).
4. On a floured table roll the dough out to a 1/4 inch thick. With a knife cut into 1 inch squares and drop into boiling water.
5. Remove the gnocchi with a strainer when they begin to float. Add sauce and serve.

Marinara Sauce
Adapted from The Best of Vegan Cooking, by Priscilla Feral (Amazon Affiliate link)
Serves: 4 to 6
Prep time: 5 mins.
Cook time: 20 mins.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 4 tablespoons fresh basil (chopped)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 2 cups crushed canned tomatoes

Directions:

1. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat.
2. Add ingredients in this order: olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, and herbs.
3. Simmer for 20 minutes.*

     *Recommendation: Make sauce the day before it’s needed. Simmer for 30 minutes and refrigerate once cooled.

A Much Healthier Version

My husband has been eating healthier lately and watching his portion size, so while I was at the library I thought it would be a good idea to look at the vegetarian cookbooks. I figured even if I didn’t find any main dishes I like I’m sure I’d discover some side dishes worth trying. As I went through the books page by page at home, I actually found myself bookmarking a lot of recipes for the future. This recipe for Stuffed Veggie Shells had an amazing picture accompanying it and the recipe looked similar to another recipe I’ve made a few times, except this one is much healthier. The recipe which I’ve made before, that I’m referencing, is for Spinach & Four-Cheese Manicotti (but stuffed in pasta shells) by Kittencalskitchen on food.com. The recipe is truly amazing. Both my husband and I love it. It’s definitely a dish you can cook for a fancy dinner and people will be impressed. When I’ve made it before I’ve kind of wondered how unhealthy it was for us. I guess I never really realized it until comparing the recipe against the Stuffed Veggie Shells recipe. Stuffed Veggie Shells calls for fresh broccoli and carrots in addition to the spinach. It also uses much less ricotta and mozzarella cheese, plus no cream cheese. I decided to make this meal knowing if we liked it, it would be a great alternative to our favorite dish.

As you can see from reading the ingredients and instructions, the majority of the filling for these shells are vegetables, with some ricotta cheese. The chopped spinach is the only vegetable that’s frozen, however you could definitely buy fresh spinach instead. Chopping the vegetables takes awhile so if you have time the day before I would suggest doing it then. That’s what I did and the night I cooked this dish it easily saved me 20 minutes. When it was time to prepare the carrots I chose to use my vegetable peeler and go down the length of the carrot until it diminished. This gave me nice thin slices, which I then cut in half, instead of trying to cut the carrot into thin matchsticks. After the vegetables are cut it’s really just a matter of cooking them and following the rest of the instructions to make the stuffing mixture. 

From previously making stuffed shells there’s a tip I’ve learned along the way that I’d like to share. Trust me, it will help you. When you’re boiling the pasta shells, make sure to stir them frequently. If you don’t they tend to stick together and will be harder to separate after you’ve drained them. Also, make sure to use a large enough pot. The water will take much longer to heat, but it’s much better than having water boil over the top because the pot is too full.

When the vegetable mixture is ready and the shells are done, use a large spoon to stuff the shells. You’ll find that you may need to pry open the shells with your fingers before you can begin stuffing them. You’ll also find that some shells may be ripped. If they’re ripped slightly, that’s okay, you can still use them as there’s a thin layer of sauce and cheese that cover the top hiding any imperfections. After each shell is stuffed, give it a gentle squeeze to hold the mixture together and make it more compact. 

Ricotta cheese added into the vegetable mixture

Ready to pop in the oven

In the end, when I pulled the shells out of the oven they looked amazing. I felt very proud, especially if they tasted as good as they looked. Ryan and I took our first bite and thoroughly enjoyed them. We both agreed that the Spinach & Four-Cheese Manicotti dish is amazing, but what this dish being so similar and much healthier, we vowed to make this meal from now on as its replacement. 

 

Veggie-Stuffed Shells

Adapted from Woman's Day Wednesday Night is Vegetarian: The Eat Well Cookbook of Meals in a Hurry, by Editors of Woman's Day (Amazon Affiliate link)

Serves: 6

Prep time: 30 mins.

Cook time: 35 mins.

Ingredients:

• 1 box (12 oz.) jumbo pasta shells
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 ½ cups chopped broccoli
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 jar (approx. 24 oz.) marinara sauce
• 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400˚F. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta shells and cook according to directions on package. Drain and cool (for a few minutes) before stuffing.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté broccoli, onion, carrots, and garlic for 3 minutes or until just tender.
3. Add spinach and a 1/2 cup of water. Cover with lid and cook 2 minutes.
4. Remove lid; cook until liquid is mostly evaporated. Remove from heat and add basil, ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, salt & pepper. Stir to combine well.
5. Spread approximately 3/4 (of the jar) marinara sauce on the bottom of a 13 x 9 in. baking dish.
6. Use a large spoon to fill each shell with the vegetable mixture. Arrange shells in rows inside baking dish. Spoon remaining marinara sauce over the tops of stuffed shells (they will not be fully covered). Sprinkle with mozzarella. Cover dish tightly with foil and bake for 35 minutes.

A Classic Dish

One of my favorite magazines is Real Simple.  It features crafts, cooking, decorating, and well pretty much everything that you wish you would have thought of.  I came across this recipe a few years ago after I had just moved out of my parent’s house into my own apartment.  I was drawn to this recipe because of its simplicity (I mentioned I was living on my own right?) and the fact that I don’t think I’ve ever tasted a bad pasta dish.

It’s hard to believe something simple, with so few ingredients, could be so rewarding.  But trust me, it is. This dish is what I would consider a ‘classic’ recipe.  When I hear classic, I automatically think of beauty, elegance, and grace much like Princess Diana.  Or I think about the old, boxy Mercedes and Volvo cars I see driving on the road today.  Even though they’re 15+ years old they don’t look one bit out of place.   Classic pieces are timeless and this is one of those dishes.

The steps to this recipe are very easy to follow, however here’s some things I’ve learned along the way:

1.   I didn’t know what bocconcini was however I’m glad I do now as you will literally find yourself eating the bocconcini straight off the cutting board.  Bocconcini is simply fresh mozzarella.  It’s typically shaped in small or medium sized balls and packed in water.  You can find this cheese not near the pre-sliced deli cheeses of your super market but near the finer cheese section.  Make sure to look at how many ounces are in the package before buying it.  I haven’t found one that’s a perfect 12 ounces, so I will typically buy two containers (totaling 16 oz.) and reserve the extra cheese for a quick snack after work.  Make sure to cut the cheese into bite size pieces as the cheese will melt when you add it to the hot pasta.  You’ll notice in the directions that the cheese and remaining ingredients are added at the end and cook for only 1 minute before the meal is done.  This seems like a short amount of time but after making this recipe a few times I understand why.  If you cook these ingredients longer than 1 minute the cheese begins to melt and combine with the other cheese pieces, producing good size globs of cheese.  Don’t worry I’ve had this happen a few times.  The dish is not ruined.  If anything you may want to use a knife to cut through it for serving.

  

2.   The original recipe calls for red bell peppers, however depending what time of year it is, red peppers can be expensive.  I’ve tried this recipe with red, yellow, and green peppers.  Because it tastes good with any color I buy the cheapest peppers. 

3.   Don’t forget to reserve the pasta water!!!!!!!!  The instructions call this out, however it’s very easy to forget when you’re busy in the kitchen.  The pasta water really helps enhance the flavors of this dish.  Trust me as I’ve had to add regular water after accidently dumping the water down the drain and it’s NOT the same.  Put a ladle or deep spoon next to the pasta as it’s boiling to help serve as a reminder.  I find it’s easiest to scoop the hot water out vs. pouring it into a measuring cup.

 

4.   I’ve made this recipe with arugula and without.  That was the first time my husband and I tried arugula and we didn’t really care for it.  Now the recipe is even more simple for me as I don’t add the arugula.  Even so, the dish still has such a great taste!  My advice….if you’ve had arugula before and liked it, definitely include it.  But if you didn’t like it or you’re not sure, just omit it from the beginning.  If you’re feeling adventurous you can always incorporate it next time.  

I haven’t made this recipe in awhile because I in all honesty I lost the magazine it was featured in.  When I started this blog I knew it would be a meal I’d want to share and that’s when I had the idea to search Real Simple’s website.  They had it!  Now I can easily access it anytime I want to make it.  When I made this dish after not making it for so long, my husband said how much he liked it and how we should make it more often.

Pasta with Peppers and Mozzarella
Adapted from Pasta with Peppers and Mozzarella, by Sara Quessenberry and Kate Merker
Serves 4
Prep Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces short pasta (penne or gemelli)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
•  2 bell peppers (you pick the color!), thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 bunches arugula, thick stems removed (about 6 cups)
• 12 ounces bocconcini (small balls of fresh mozzarella packed in water). Cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
•  ¼ teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot according to the package directions.  RESERVE ½ cup of the pasta water before draining the pasta.  Set aside reserved water and drained pasta.  Carefully wipe out the pot (use oven mitts as it will still be hot).
2. Heat the oil in the pasta pot over medium heat. Add the bell peppers and garlic.  Stir occasionally and cook 5 to 7 minutes or until the peppers are tender. 
3. Add the arugula, bocconcini, cooked pasta, reserved pasta water, and salt & pepper.
4. Mix well and cook until the arugula is just wilted, about 1 minute.