spork me

Harissa, Yogurt and Tomato Lamb Shanks with Zucchini, Pea and Mint Salad

I had a drawer full of zucchini when I saw this recipe from Gourmet magazine, but I hadn’t started a day ahead. I made my own version of the harissa with some different chilis I had around, and tried a slow cooker attempt at the lamb. It worked exceptionally well, it was spicy, sweet and creamy, and easy to put together.

Ingredients (lamb shanks)

1/4 cup Harissa
2 lamb shanks
1 tin tomatoes
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup fresh oregano and cilantro
Juice of 1/2 lime
Half an onion, sliced
Salt, pepper and olive oil

Coat the lamb shanks in salt and pepper, and brown in a hot pan with a few tablespoons of olive oil. Sauté the onion, then toss in the rest of the ingredients and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Add the lamb back, and pressure cook for 40 minutes, or cook on low heat for about 3-4 hours, covered. You could even leave it in the slow cooker for the day.

Remove the lamb and reduce the sauce. Serve with a scoop of the sauce, and the zucchini salad.

Zucchini Fritters with Sunny Side Up Egg

Ingredients

1 zucchini, grated and water pressed out (press the crap out of it!)
Zest of 1 lemon
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup wheat flour
Salt and pepper
Olive oil for frying

Mix the ingredients; the mixture should be fairly dry but stay together. Fry for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden.

Serve with a sunny side up egg, or fresh tomato and a poached egg, or anything else you want for breakfast.

Green Frittata

Use this recipe, and replace the veggies with whatever you have around. I threw in all my leftovers that were almost off and it was delicious.

Zucchini Fritters with Poached Eggs and Tomato

The lemon zest in this is really citrusy and flavorful, but I prefer big flavors and without it it would have been too bland. Press as much water out of the zucchini as you can and use the wet and dry ingredients to get the right texture so it sticks together and forms patties.

Ingredients:

1 zucchini, grated and water pressed out
Zest of 1 lemon
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup wheat flour
Salt and pepper
Olive oil for frying

Mix the ingredients; the mixture should be fairly dry but stay together. Fry for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden.

Serve with fresh tomato and poached eggs.

Zucchini and Butter Bean Baked Eggs

Ingredients:

1 can of tomatoes
1 zucchini, sliced
1 can of butter beans, drained
1/4 cup white wine
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme or rosemary
1/2 cup ricotta
2 eggs
Salt, pepper and olive oil

Saute the zucchini and herbs for about 5 minutes with olive oil, salt, and pepper, in an oven-proof skillet. Add the white wine and cook down for 2-3 minutes before adding the beans and tomato. Bring to a simmer and break up the ricotta over the top. Make 2 small holes for the eggs and break the eggs into them. Season again, and bake for 7 minutes at 200C / 375F.

Pan-Roasted Chicken with Mixed Mushrooms and Zucchini

I bought a pack of fancy mushrooms, and this recipe both provided a nice dinner, as well as enough leftover veggies to mix into pasta, with a big of grated cheese, to bring to work for lunch. A one pan meal, and takes about 30 minutes.

Ingredients:

2 chicken legs with thighs
1/2 bunch chopped thyme leaves
2 portabello mushrooms, quartered
Several handfuls of other mushrooms (oyster, enoki, king brown, trumpet… whatever you can get your hands on. Equivalent of 2 of those grocery store containers)
1 red onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves
2 small zucchini, sliced
Salt, pepper and olive oil

Pat dry chicken skin and season with salt and pepper. In a hot oven-proof skillet, add a couple tablespoons of olive oil and brown chicken, skin side down, for about 5 minutes on high heat. In the meantime, mash the garlic with some salt in a mortar and pestle. Flip the chicken and cook for 2 minutes before removing from the pan. Saute the onions, garlic and thyme for 2 minutes, then add your mushrooms and zucchini, coating with the oil and pan juices. Throw your chicken on top, and bake for 20 minutes at 200C / 375F. Served with bread and a small wedge of brie.

Baked Zucchini and Smoked Ham Hash with Eggs and Brie

Another weekend breakfast option, this used up the leftovers from my fridge but turned out pretty well.

Ingredients:

3 cups grated zucchini, water pressed out a bit
1 onion, sliced
1 cup diced ham
Handful of fresh herbs (sage, basil, thyme etc)
Juice of half a lemon
Brie or other cheese
4 eggs
Olive oil, salt and pepper

Sauté onion with some olive oil in an oven proof skillet until soft. Add ham, zucchini and herbs. Cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the water has cooked out. Season with salt and pepper, and top with lemon.

Crack the eggs into holes in the zucchini hash, bake for 2 minutes in a hot oven, then top with cheese and bake for 2 minutes more with the grill on.

Five Minute Lasagna

This isn’t fancy, it’s my answer to “the pizza guy will take an hour… now what?” It takes 5 minutes to put together, get your stopwatch out.

Ingredients (serves 4):

2 cans of diced tomatoes
2 cups of ricotta cheese
1 cup of shredded cheese
2 cups of shredded vegetables (I used zucchini and sweet potato)
1 cup roughly chopped / ripped up fresh basil (or other herbs)
1/2 cup water
Lasagna sheets
Olive oil, salt and pepper

Turn the oven on to 200C / 375F. In a 9x13 pan, cover the bottom with half of one of the cans of tomato. Layer on lasagna sheets in a single layer. Top with half the veggies, 1/3 of the ricotta, 1/3 of the basil, half can of the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and layer on more lasagna sheets. Repeat, topping with another layer of lasagna sheets. Pour the water over, then top with the remaining tomato, ricotta, basil, and the shredded cheese. Season and drizzle on a bit of olive oil. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes, then uncover and bake for another 10.

Steak with Crispy Brussel Sprouts and Zucchini Salad

Ingredients:

2 steaks
3 or 4 sprigs of rosemary
5 or 6 cloves of garlic
Salt pepper and olive oil
8 or so brussel sprouts, sliced in half
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp nutmeg
Sliced almonds to garnish
2 small zucchini, shaved in slices
Juice of half a lemon
Punnet of cherry tomatoes, cut in half

Mash up the garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil. Rub into the steak with the rosemary sprigs and let marinate at least overnight.

To cook, remove from marinade and sear on the grill or in a grill pan for 3 minutes on each side. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

For the salad, mix zucchini, lemon and tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper.

In a hot pan seasoned with oil, nutmeg, salt and pepper, add the brussel sprouts face down. Cook for 3-4 minutes before adding the balsamic vinegar, and cooking for a few minutes more. Flip over and finish in the oven for 15 minutes until almost burned. Top with almonds.

Roasted Chicken with Zucchini and Basil

Quick weeknight dinner, and would go well with most veggies if you don’t have zucchini. Really it just gets tossed together and stuck in the oven, but the flavors are really nice together if you have fresh herbs and verjuice.

Ingredients:

4 chicken thighs (could be boneless like mine, but the bone would probably be better) - dredged in flour
1/2 bunch of fresh basil
1/4 cup verjuice
Juice of 1 lemon
2 small sliced zucchini
1 small onion, sliced thin
12 or so green olives
2 medium tomatoes, quartered
Sprinkle of nutmeg
3 garlic cloves, mashed up with salt
Olive oil, salt and pepper

Brown the chicken in olive oil on the stove in an oven proof skillet, then add the onions and mashed garlic for a minute before tossing in the rest of the ingredients, seasoning with salt and pepper. Get it simmering and mixed up before baking for 30-40 minutes at 200C / 375F.