The Taste Traveller

orzo with green beans, cherry tomatoes and zucchini

Like with quinoa awhile back, I've been on a bit of an orzo kick here. I know it isn't as healthy as quinoa but on these hot days it's so light and so versatile and a fun starter for fresh salad dishes. So, here I present a salad using totally diffferent vegetables and herbs than the orzo salad recipe I posted a few weeks ago. Mint and lemon play a key role here too - freshly-squeezed lemon is just wonderful with orzo and the mint was so good-looking in the produce store that I couldn't resist. It adds a refreshing hint with the vegetables. The zucchini and beans are local - always a bonus. You could easily add more shallots and more lemon to this, according to your taste. I served this with chopped, cooked chicken breast, to make it a one dish dinner, but the following day it was served as a side. Let the zucchini and shallot soften quite a bit in the saucepan, before setting aside to cool. It makes it all wonderfully soft with just a bit of crunch coming from the steamed green beans. This would work well with fresh basil or other herbs as well - in my case the mint was the best looking of the selection so I went with that. My measurements are a little rough, so feel free to add more of less of any of the vegetables. 

Serves 2 to 4 (depending on what you are serving it with)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 to 3/4 cup (125 ml to 175 ml) orzo, uncooked (more or less depending on your preference)
• 2 cups (500 ml) approximately,  fresh green beans (or one large handful)
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 1 shallot, peeled and chopped
• 1 handful of fresh mint, chopped (or more if you like)
• 4 to 6 cherry tomatoes (or more!), slice in half or quartered
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil (mostly for cooking the zucchini and shallot, but a little can be added to the salad once put together)

Method:

Cook orzo by adding to about 3 cups of boiling water and cooking until al dente (about 8 to 10 minutes). 

Drain, rinse with cold water and drain again. Set aside. 

While orzo is cooking chop the zucchini, shallot, tomatoes, green beans and mint. 

Chop the ends off of the green beans and cut in half so each piece is about 2 to 3 cm (1 to 1 1/2 inches) in length.

Steam the green beans slightly, so they are soft, yet firm and still a bright green. remains bright green and firm - about 3 to 5 minutes. Rinse with cold water when cooked. Set aside. 

Saute the zucchini and shallot in a pan in about a tablespoon of olive oil until soft on medium heat. I find the slower I do this the better so allow at least ten minutes and even turn the heat right down and let them sit for longer if you have time. Set aside to cool or if doing well ahead, place in the refrigerator. 

Meanwhile, chop the mint. Set aside. 

Chop the tomatoes (quartered is about right). 

Squeeze the lemon juice into a measuring cup or bowl, and remove seeds. Set aside. 

Add the drained, cooled orzo to the serving bowl. 

Add the other ingredients, including the freshly-squeezed lemon juice. Add the olive oil (if using). Add a few grinds of sea salt and black pepper. Taste. Add more lemon or salt and pepper to taste. Serve or place in refrigerator for later. This will keep well for a few days. It's great with some tinned tuna mixed in and I also tried it with a little pesto - very good. 

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summery orzo salad

A hot summer evening meal calls for easy preparation, fresh flavours and lighter combinations. This was a combination I came up with in the last week to satisfy these criteria. How easy this is to modify according to what you have in your fridge or pantry and add to with anything else you feel like. You could even make this a one dish scenario by adding grilled fish, prawns, tofu or chicken (or steamed fish or chicken). Fancy a steak as your protein of choice? This would work well with that too. 

The key here is a variety of textures and lots of freshly-squeezed lemon juice. Orzo is so light and wonderful with the fresh lemon juice, but you could easily replace this with quinoa (which is healthier by far), couscous, or your favourite rice or noodle.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 to 3/4 cup (125 ml to 175 ml) orzo, uncooked
• 1 cup (250 ml) broccoli (mostly crowns), chopped
• 1 cup (250 ml) frozen or fresh peas
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) pinenuts, toasted
• 1 to 2 tablespoons (15 ml to 30 ml) sundried tomatoes in oil, chopped (3 to 6 sundried tomatoes)
• 1 to 2 tablespoons (15 ml to 30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) oil from sundried tomatoes in jar
• juice of 1 lemon (or more)
• 1 tablespoon of lemon rind
• salt and pepper to taste

Method: 

Cook orzo by adding to about 3 cups of boiling water and cooking until al dente (about 8 to 10 minutes). 

Drain, rinse with cold water and drain again. Set aside. 

While orzo is cooking chop the broccoli and sundried tomatoes. 

Steam the broccoli slightly, so it remains bright green and firm - about 4 to 5 minutes. To save time, add the peas to the same steamer/pot. Rinse with cold water when cooked. 

Place the pinenuts in a saucepan over medium heat and move around to toast just until lightly brown. Remove from pan and let cool. Set aside. 

Squeeze the lemon juice into a measuring cup or bowl, and remove seeds. Set aside. 

Add the drained, cooled orzo to the serving bowl. 

Grate the lemon grind into the bowl with the orzo.

Add the broccoli, peas, pinenuts, sundried tomatoes, lemon juice, sundried tomato oil and olive oil. 

Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Mix well. Serve or cover and place in the refrigerator for later. Keeps well for a few days.  

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beet, apple and chocolate chip cake

This is one of the best cakes I've ever eaten. Seriously. I am not a big cake eater, and this is probably about the third cake I've ever made from scratch - really. But, I have eaten enough cakes to know what I like and this one is simply amazing! Not only that but with beets in it - it fits in with my efforts to eat well and make (and share) recipes that are at least somewhat healthy! If you're thinking a cake with beets sounds a bit odd, it does, but it isn't odd at all. They add a certain sweetness and it all tastes just right. I've had this recipe around for awhile (like so many others) - it's from an older issue of Alive magazine, published here in Vancouver. It's a great recipe for kids - both to make with you or just to serve to them. They'll love that it's a delicious and moist cake - you'll love that you've got a good bit of vegetable and fruit in them at the same time. I cut down the sugar from the original recipe and I think I can safely say you could even cut it down more. I did not cut down the butter, because - well, it's nice to have a bit of butter and unsalted butter at that - and I was worried it would be too dry if I did. 

The batter was almost unreal looking - the most fun looking batter I've ever seen. It was incredibly fluffy and well, as you can see here, the colour is a fantastic bubble gum pink! Unfortunately you do not end up with a pink cake! 

You'll end up with more puree than you need for this recipe - so feel free to make less, cut the amount of beets and apple - but it freezes really well and I made another delicious recipe with the puree a few days later (post about that soon) so it was handy to have. 

 
 
 Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp (5 ml) baking soda
• 1/2 tsp (2 ml) baking powder
• 1/4 tsp (1 ml) salt
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) granulated sugar (I used closer to a cup)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup (250 ml) beet apple purée (see below for recipe)
• 1 1/2 tsp (7 ml) vanilla extract (or 1 tsp of vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp of almond extract)
• 1/4 cup (50 ml) chocolate chips or raisins (I used chocolate chips but I think raisins would work great here too)

For Beet Apple Purée

• 2 beets, peeled and chopped
• 2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped

Method - Beet Apple Purée:

Place the 2 peeled and chopped beets and the 2 peeled, cored and chopped apples in a saucepan with enough water to just cover them. Cover and bring to a boil. 

Simmer until a fork can easily pierce the beets, about 15 minutes. Drain well. 

Purée beets and apples in a food processor or use your hand blender (if using blender you may have to do this in a few batches). 

Cool to room temperature before adding to the cake batter. I made mine well ahead and refrigerated it. 

Method - Cake:

Preheat oven to 350⁰ F (180⁰ C). 

Grease an 8 in (20 cm) square pan or line it with parchment paper. I lightly greased mine but next time would try the parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking soda, baking powder and salt. 

Place butter in another large bowl. Using an electric mixer, gradually beat in sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, beet apple purée, and vanilla extract. The mixture may look curdled, and that is fine. 

Gradually beat the flour mixture into the beet apple mixture. Once it is thoroughly combined, beat for one additional minute. 

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Sprinkle the chocolate chips (if using) evenly overtop and gently press down into the batter. 

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes on middle rack, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. 

Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan, peeling off parchment (if using). I rushed this process a little and ended up with the cake sticking and coming apart a bit. So, don't rush here, let it cool down significantly before attempting to remove it from the pan. It's a very moist cake. 

Allow to cool completely before slicing into squares. Again, I rushed this part and didn't end up with nice squares as a result. 

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