Tag Archives: pesto

Grilled Eggplant, Halloumi and Pesto Burgers

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Here is a vegetarian grilled eggplant, halloumi and pesto burgers recipe that even meat lovers will go crazy for. This is perfect for weekend and holiday grilling.

Halloumi is one of my favorite cheeses. This salty, dense cheese is from Cyprus and is great for grilling. You can substitute halloumi with mozzarella, feta or paneer, but it just wont be the same :(

But if you do use any of the substitutions, remember that you don’t have to grill the mozzarella or feta. If using paneer, sprinkle it with salt after grilling.

The eggplant and halloumi won’t stick if your grill is hot and well-seasoned. If you are doubtful, spray some nonstick spray on the grill grates before starting it up.

Grilled Eggplant, Halloumi and Pesto Burgers Recipe

Makes 4 burgers

1 medium eggplant, weighing about 1 lb.
3/4 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/4th teaspoon dry Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper
4 oz halloumi cheese

To assemble the grilled eggplant, halloumi and pesto burgers
4 medium sized burger buns
4 teaspoons pesto
Mayonnaise, according to taste. Optional.
2 leaves of lettuce, cut in half
1 large tomato, cut into 4 slices

Cut the eggplant into ½ inch thick rounds, at its widest part. Save the remaining eggplant for another dish. Place the sliced eggplant in a shallow dish.

Whisk the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Italian seasoning salt and pepper together. When adding salt, keep in mind that the halloumi is an already salty cheese. Pour the whisked ingredients over the eggplant rounds, and toss well to coat.

Slice the halloumi into ½ inch thick slices.

Heat a grill on medium-high heat. You can use an outdoor grill or a cast iron stove top grill like I did.

When the grill is hot, arrange the eggplant slices on the grill, and cook for about 6 minutes on each side or till the eggplant is cooked.

Then grill the halloumi slices on both sides till golden grill marks appear, about 2 minutes per side.

If you don’t have a grill, you can cook the eggplant and halloumi in batches on a large skillet.

You are now ready to assemble the burgers.

Spread some mayonnaise, if using, on 2 halves of a burger bun. Take one half of a bun, and stack the grilled eggplant, halloumi and spread 1 teaspoon of pesto. Top it with tomato and lettuce. Place the other half of the burger bun on top.

Serve with fries or a chilled cucumber salad tossed with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

These burgers will go great with my blueberry lemonade or jalapeno lemonade.

Stuffed Baked Tomatoes with Ricotta, Sweet Corn and Pesto

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baked-stuffed-tomatoes3

Can I just say that this dish is spectacular to make while the lovely summer tomatoes are still around! This is a great make- ahead tomato recipe. Once youve stuffed the tomatoes, you could keep them covered in the fridge for a day or two before baking.

vine-ripe-tomatoes

Juicy, round, vine ripened tomatoes are just perfect for stuffing. Red or green peppers will also be great for stuffing.

scoop-out-tomatoes

Cut the the tomatoes in half horizontally. Scoop out the flesh and membrane using a spoon. Be careful not to scoop all the way into the skin. Save the tomato flesh for another dish that calls for tomatoes. Dab the cavities of the tomatoes with a paper towel. You need to dab away all the juice and moisture inside the tomatoes.

stuff-tomatoes-with-ricotta-filling

Mix together ricotta cheese, sweet corn, pesto, garlic and parmesan. Stuff the tomatoes with the filling. Then sprinkle bread crumbs on top.

drizzle-butter-before-baking

Place the stuffed tomatoes in a buttered or oiled baking dish. Drizzle a little butter or olive oil on top of the tomatoes. Bake till the tomatoes are soft, about 15-20 minutes. Then broil till the tops are golden. Done!

baked-stuffed-tomatoes2

They come out warm, smelling like basil, juicy on the inside and crispy-golden on top. The ricotta is creamy and the little bursts of sweet corn are oh-so-yummy. A perfect dish!

baked-stuffed-tomatoes

Serve these stuffed, baked tomatoes as a side dish. Or serve them with a green salad as a main course.

baked-stuffed-tomato

A sprig of thyme makes things pretty..

Ricotta, Sweet Corn and Pesto Stuffed Baked Tomatoes Recipe
makes 12 pieces
6 small tomatoes
8 tbsp Ricotta cheese
3 tbsp Parmesan cheese
3 tbsp store bought pesto
2 cloves Garlic, minced
6 tbsp Sweet corn
Salt, pepper (keep in mind that the parmesan and pesto already have salt)
10 tbsp Bread crumbs, I used Italian garlic and herb bread crumbs.
Butter or olive oil
Preheat oven to 400 f.Cut the tomatoes in half horizontally. Scoop out the flesh using a spoon. Dab the tomato cavities dry (See pictures above). In a bowl, mix together all other ingredients except tomatoes, bread crumbs and butter/olive oil.  Spoon this mixture into each tomato half. Top with bread crumbs (approximately 1 tbsp breadcrumbs per tomato half). Gently pat the bread crumbs down. Drizzle a little butter or olive oil on top of the stuffed tomatoes.

Place stuffed tomatoes in a buttered or oiled baking dish. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Then turn the oven to broil and broil till the tops are golden, about 1 minute.

Double Layer Summer Vegetable Sandwich with Hummus and Pesto

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 double-layer-summer-vegetable-sandwich-with-hummus-and-pesto

 This is an easy sandwich for a sweltering hot day, when you don’t feel like turning on your stove. With all the raw summer vegetables and brown bread, this sandwich is healthy too. Its a double layered sandwich, so its quite filling. I love the combination of creamy hummus and the basil pesto in this sandwich.

basket-of-garden-vegetables

 You’ll need a carrot, some baby radish, cucumber and tomatoes. All you have to do with the vegetables is slice them thin and toss them in olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Store bought hummus (I used Tribe 40 spice hummus) and pesto act as sandwich spreads. Use whatever bread you like. I prefer soft brown bread slices or pita pockets for this.

See my new flexible chopping mat  from Bed Bath and Beyond in the pictures below? I recently bought two of these and  I love them! They’re great if you are cutting a small amount of stuff. They’re flexible, take up no space at all and the best part is, you can throw them in the dish washer! 

hummus-and-veggies-on-sandwich

 You’ll need 3 slices instead of the usual 2 slices of bread. Start with the first slice. Spread some hummus on it. Then pile on the chopped carrots, cucumber and radish. I like to load the sandwich with lots of veggies!

place-second-slice-of-bread-on-top

 Put a little more hummus on the second slice of bread and place it over the veggies, hummus side down. Then spread some pesto on top of the second bread slice. See where I’m going with this?!

assemble-tomatoes-and-third-bread-slice

 Now come the tomatoes. Place them on top of the sandwich. Spread more pesto on the third slice of bread and top the tomatoes with it. I like to put the tomatoes on the top layer of the sandwich and spread pesto on the top slice of bread. The science behind that is that tomatoes taste great with pesto. Just like how I think the vegetables taste great with hummus. So each sandwich layer is assigned its own vegetable-spread pairing!

double-layer-summer-vegetable-sandwich

 Press down on the sandwich gently to compact everything. Then cut it in half. This sandwich will get soggy on you if you let it sitting around. So serve it immediately.

summer-vegetable-sandwich1

Double Layer Summer Vegetable Sandwich with Hummus and Pesto Recipe
makes 3 sandwiches (or 6 if you slice each in half)

9 slices of bread
1 small carrot
4 baby radishes
1/2 an English cucumber
1 small tomato
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
about 5 tbsp store bought Hummus or enough to spread on the bread slices
about 4 tbsp store bought Pesto or enough to spread on the bread slices
Salt and Pepper
Slice the carrot, radishes, and cucumber into thin slices. You should have about 2 cups (loosely packed) of chopped vegetables in total; chop less if you want fewer veggies in your sandwich. Combine the chopped vegetables with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and set aside. Slice the tomato into rounds.

Place one slice of bread on a work surface. Spread about 1 tbsp hummus on it. Arrange the vegetable slices on top. Spread a little more (about 1/2 tbsp) hummus on the second slice of bread and place it hummus side down on the vegetables. Spread about 3/4 tbsp pesto on the second slice of bread. Place tomato slices on top. Spread a little more pesto on a third slice of bread and place it pesto side down on top of the tomatoes.

Whole wheat Flat bread with Pesto and Beech Mushroom

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I went on a spur of the moment trip to Atlanta last week to see my friend M. In the 21 hours I was there, we managed to have three and a half delicious meals, a couple of drinks, broke M’s phone and got her car towed. Trying to retrieve M’s car from the towing lot at 4am was quite an adventure. The second most memorable part of the trip was the lunch we had at Cafe Intermezzo. For starters, M and I shared a fabulous wild mushroom flat bread. Ever since, Ive been wanting to recreate the dish at home. I used whole wheat flour and some wheat germ in my flat bread. I made a version of this food network recipe by Kathleen Daeleman. I topped it with some beech mushrooms I bought at the Asian store. Also known as Buna Shimeji or Bunapi, these Japanese mushrooms grow on beech trees – hence the name. For a little mushroom, these guys pack a lot of flavor. Baby bellas, white button mushrooms or shitake will all make great substitutes.

Ingredients

For the dough (if you don’t want to make your own, just use store bought pizza dough)

Whole wheat flour – 1 1/2 cup
Wheat germ – 1-2 tbsp, optional
Active dry yeast – 1 packet (8.75 grams)
Fresh Rosemary or thyme – 2 tsp finely chopped
Salt – 1 1/2 tsp
Sugar – 1/4 tsp
Olive oil – 2 tbsp
Water at room temperature – 1/2 cup
Hot water – 1/4 cup

For topping

Pesto – 4 tbsp
Red bell pepper – 1, cut into thin strips
Beech mushroom – 1 cluster. Substitute with white button, baby bella or shitake mushrooms
Garlic – 2 cloves minced
Salt
Pepper

Place the yeast and sugar in a bowl and add 1/4 cup hot water. Water temperature must be 110 to 115 F. Stir to dissolve. In a few minutes, the water will turn frothy like the picture above. To the yeast, add all remaining dough ingredients except the oil. Knead lightly to form a dough. Brush the dough with olive oil, cover and keep in a warm place for about one hour. I live in a cold climate, so I turn on my space heater to 80 degrees F and place the dough near it. In about an hour the dough would have doubled in size.

Place the dough on a clean work surface and knead it well for about 5 to 7 minutes. Divide the dough into 2 portions. Form each half into a long rectangle either using your hands or a rolling pin. Dust some flour on the dough if it is too sticky while rolling. Place the dough rectangles on a cookie sheet.

Pre heat oven to 400. Cut off the base from the beech mushroom cluster and separate the individual mushrooms. If using a different variety of mushroom, slice into pieces.

Spread pesto on the dough rectangles. Then sprinkle minced garlic over the pesto. Arrange the mushrooms and red pepper strips on top. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Bake flat bread in the oven for 12-15 minutes or untill the bread is lightly golden.

Some Tasty Variations

Try these toppings: caramelized onions, kalamata olives, sun dried tomatoes, zucchini, asparagus or pine nuts.
Sprinkle some cheese over the flat bread and then arrange the vegetables on top of the cheese(mozzarella, parmesan, fontina or brie will be great).
For a dessert flat bread, top with grilled pineapples and chocolate.
For a shortcut, use store bought pizza dough.

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