Tagged: vegetarian

Main Dish / Photo Gallery / Recipes / Side Dish

Crustless Spinach and Broccoli Quiche

Spinach and brocolli quiche

Crust-less Spinach and Broccoli quiche is an amazing savory dish. This is my go to dish for meatless hearty lunch, but I also prepare it as a side dish.

Did you know that 2 cups of Spinach has only 20 calories and 2 cups of Broccoli has 60?

 


Ingredients:

1 pound package frozen broccoli spears or (1 bunch fresh)

4 cups fresh Baby Spinach (approximate)

1/2 small onion (finely minced)

6 eggs

1 cup whole milk

1 cup shredded cheese

1 tablespoon melted butter or margarine

1/2 teaspoon salt

crushed black pepper

Preparation:

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Steam or cook broccoli in a small amount of water until tender. Drain, chop into small pieces and place in a bowl. Cook spinach in a skillet with butter and cook until slightly wilted. Drain any moister and add to the broccoli. Let mixture cool.

Beat eggs with milk, salt and pepper. Add to the broccoli mix and mix well.

Grease a deep dish souffle pan or baking dish with margarine or cooking spray. Add broccoli mix evenly submerging the mix into eggs. Top with the cheese.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes until a tooth pick comes out clean.

Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Gallery / Recipes / Side Dish

Portuguese Heirloom Tomato & Chick Pea Salad

 

Tomato season is almost here! If you’re lucky enough to live in a Portuguese community you probably have already tasted Portuguese Heirloom tomatoes. I grew up eating these tomatoes which my parents called “Bull Heart Tomatoes” planted every year in their backyard garden.

Nothing compares to them which of course means, that I have to carry on the tradition with my own family. Here are some photos of my tomato crop.

We’re lucky enough to have a Portuguese neighbor that grows them from seed and sells the plants ready to transplant for a ridiculous price of 3/$1.00!

But don’t worry if you don’t live in a Portuguese community. The tomatoes are very popular now, and there are many online sites that sell the seeds. Visit the links at the bottom of this post for more information.

Here are some popular varieties. Please note that these links are for informational purposes. I can not give warranty to the product or the availability on these websites.

DaCosta’s Portuguese Tomato

A regular leaf plant with high yield of huge ribbed pink beefsteaks that are mostly round, 1 lb+, similar to variety called Joe’s (Portuguese), but with slightly larger and more ribbed fruits. This tomato is not always the delicious tomato you have described though. It tends to mature earlier than the others and is unpredictable in taste. (http://gianttomatoseeds.com/tomato_seeds.html)

Joe’s Portuguese

A regular leaf, large pink fruits 12-16 oz, round ribbed beefsteak shape, good flavor, meaty with few seeds. 80 days, indet., regular leaf, 8-18 oz pink beefsteak fruit, excellent flavor, high yield. http://www.doublehelixfarms.com/joes-portuguese

Michael’s Portuguese Monster


Growing up to 4.5 pounds, you’ll have to put this next one on a full size platter:regular leaf, very large fruits to 3 lbs, original seed said to have come from 4.5 lb fruit, from M. Johnson, Loule Market, northern Portugal 2006.

 

 

Neves Azorean Red

Tony Neves and his family immigrated from the Portuguese island of the Azores and settled in the Boston area. The family brought with them their prized family heirloom tomato seeds. (http://www.tomatogrowers.com/NEVES-AZOREAN-RED/productinfo/4484/)

 

Gran’s Portuguese Neighbour

The most widely grown heart shaped tomatoes in Portugal. They grow medium to large pink blunt heart shaped fruits, excellent flavor. It typically weighs under one pound. From wikipedia: regular leaf, high yield of medium size pink hearts with blunt end, some fruits are slightly ribbed, excellent balanced tomato flavor, do not let it get overripe as the fruit quality quickly deteriorates; very few seeds, especially in early fruits, 6-12 oz.

 

Portuguese Heirloom Tomato and Chick Pea Salad

Ingredients:

1 can Chick Peas

2 large Portuguese tomatoes (or any meaty variety)

1/2 small red onion thinly sliced

2 tbsp chopped olives

Salt

Pepper

1 – 2 tbsp Olive oil

1 – 2 tbsp Wine Vinegar

2 tbsp chopped parsley

Crumbled Blue Cheese, Gorgonzola, farmers cheese

Suggestion: You may also add; chopped hard boiled eggs or canned tuna for a different Portuguese flavor!

Instructions:

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve. Enjoy!

 

Credits:

http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/wiki/Category:Portuguese_Tomatoes

http://gianttomatoseeds.wordpress.com/2012/12/06/portuguese_monster/

http://www.heritageharvestseed.com/tomatoespq.html

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/157975/

http://www.doublehelixfarms.com/joes-portuguese

 

Photo Gallery / Soups

Sopa de Feijão Verde – Portuguese Green Bean Soup

 

I’ve recently been asked to add more Portuguese soup recipes to this site. Today I made one of my family’s favorite’s to share with you.

This recipe for Sopa de Feijão – Portuguese Green Bean Soup, is a beautifully flavored and hearty soup that you can enjoy all year round!

When I make this soup in the summer, I normally use a heirloom variety of green beans from my vegetable garden known as Romanos – also known as Italian green beans.

The flat beans are superior in quality because they have a nutty, meaty taste and smooth tender flavor.

I love this variety of beans and use them in all of my recipes requiring green beans. They’re very easy to grow and require little maintenance other than lots of watering and a some miracle grow!

If you’re not familiar with this type of heirloom green bean ask some of your Portuguese friends who are gardeners and they can help you find some.

In the winter I buy the packages of frozen Italian green beans which you can find in the frozen vegetable section of your supermarket.

In my recipe, I use pasta instead of potatoes which many cooks usually use, but I’m not a big fan of potatoes!

If you prefer to use potatoes, just substitute 2 cups of potatoes instead of pasta but you’ll have to cook and puree the potato along with the vegetables.

This recipe is very easy to prepare since it’s made with the staple ingredients you already have in your kitchen.

Ingredients:

1 large chopped onion

3 large chopped carrots

1 stalk celery

1 large clove garlic

3 tbsp olive oil

1 large bay leaf

1 can white northern beans

1  9 oz box (Romano – Italian) green beans

8 cups water

2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable if you prefer)

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp pepper

2 tbsp any tomato sauce or 1 small ripe tomato

2 cups small Penne or (substitute potato if you prefer)

 

Instructions:

In a large soup pan, saute the trinity (onions, carrots and celery) in olive oil until translucent. Add the chicken broth, garlic, water, tomato, and seasonings. Bring to boil and cook on medium until vegetables are tender.

Remove pan from heat. Remove the bay leaf and add 1/2 of the can of white beans. Puree the soup with an immersion blender to desired consistency. I like the soup a little chunky but its up to your taste.

Place the soup back on the stove on medium heat. When it comes back up to a boil, add the pasta, green beans, and remaining white beans.

Cover and let it simmer on medium heat for about 20 minutes or until the pasta is cooked. Add more seasoning if desired.

Enjoy with some delicious home made bread.

Here’s the recipe:  Portuguese Pão de Milho !