spinach » Living Lou

Garlic Parmesan Orzo

Up until a week ago I thought I hated orzo. I had a valid reason though, there was this one time when I had a bad experience. All I’ll say about said experience is plane food. I think it’s pretty self explanatory, but plane food is usually rather revolting, and orzo on a plane might just be the grossest meal I’ve ever had. Shudder. What was it then, you ask, that made me decide to try orzo again? A little something called The Secret Recipe Club. Which is a wonderful take on the idea of a recipe exchange, except it’s all done in secret and revealed on the reveal day, which is today!

This month I was assigned the blog The Jey of Cooking a wonderful, cleverly named blog written by Jey. Not only is she hilarious, as seen in a recent post where she talks about how her love of garlic means that she is most definitely not a vampire, but her blog is chock-full of delicious, simple and healthy recipes. I perused her archives, spending hours going all the way back to her very first post to decide what I wanted to make. I stumbled upon this recipe for Garlic Parmesan Orzo and was completely smitten when I read the list of ingredients, garlic, parmesan and spinach – a winning combination, the only issue, orzo. I conquered my fear and am so glad that I did so, this recipe for garlic parmesan orzo will blow. your. mind. It’s one of my new favourite recipes and I can’t wait to make it again.

Garlic Parmesan Orzo
Recipe source: The Jey of Cooking originally from All Recipes

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked orzo
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 cups spinach, finely chopped
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp milk
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Cook orzo, following the directions on the package.

In a large pan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add garlic, cooking for 4 minutes, or until tender. Turn off the heat and add the chopped spinach and cook for a minute, allowing to wilt. Next add the Parmesan, orzo, milk, salt and pepper. Allowing the cheese to melt into the orzo.

What I love about this recipe is not only does it taste heavenly but it is also extremely simple to make. After eating this orzo, I can definitely say that I am no longer a hater of all things orzo.

- Lou

Summer Salad

Who doesn’t love a good salad in the summer? It’s light, cool, and requires no use of the stove. Sounds like a winner to me! With both Independence Day and Canada Day behind us, and after all the burgers, macaroni salad, potato salad and hot dogs, and then we can’t forget the pies, cupcakes and cookies, I think we all need a little salad in our lives. And I mean real salad, not the cream loaded, potato and macaroni versions we’re so fond of during these summer months.

Sometimes sharing a recipe for a salad can be kind of pointless, I mean duh, lettuce and cucumber plus oil and vinegar = obvious. But this salad, is one of my favourites. It combines simple ingredients that we all have on hand to create the ideal main course salad. There’s protein from the beans, flavor from the roasted red peppers, capers and sun dried tomatoes, and the dressing is an all around winner. And the best part about this salad, not only is it vegetarian but it’s vegan too! I know some people are afraid that vegan food is bland, but let me tell you, this salad does not skimp on the flavor. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Summer Salad (serves 4)
Recipe by Lou

Indredients

1 roasted red pepper, chopped (see post, How to Roast a Red Pepper)
1 19 oz can bean medley, drained and washed
1 1/2 – 2 inch piece of cucumber
1 green onion, finely sliced
3 cups baby spinach
1/4 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
1 tbsp capers
salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste

For the dressing:

2 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

Directions

To make the dressing, in a small bowl, squeeze lemon. Drizzle in olive oil, whisking to combine. Whisk in the oregano.

In a large bowl, stir roasted red pepper, and bean medley together. Cover with dressing and toss to coat. Add remaining ingredients and serve. Season with salt and freshly cracked pepper.

Enjoy this salad, sometimes I like to change it up and throw a few hot pepper flakes and avocado in there as well. This summer salad is a fabulous base to let your imagination run wild.

- Lou

Seared Scallops with Spinach

Scallops are one of my favourite ingredients to cook with. They seem so elegant, but you would never guess that they are so easy and simple to cook. You could easily serve this spinach and scallops dish to company, or, serve it as a regular weeknight meal. The best part about this dish is not only is it healthy, and made with very few ingredients, but it comes together in less than 10 minutes. Did you hear that? 10 minutes.

I think that this is the perfect dinner for those summer nights when you’re all grilled out. I don’t know about all of you, but after countless dinners of hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken and sausages, I’m in the mood for something a little fancier – and something green. The scallops only take a few minutes to sear and the spinach takes mere seconds to wilt in the hot pan. Since this dish has very little hands on time, it means you won’t be slaving over a hot stove during these scorching summer months.

Seared Scallops with Spinach (serves 4)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

12 scallops, halved
1-2 tbsp olive oil for frying
3 tbsp butter
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tbsp dried parsley
1 bunch of fresh spinach
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Using kitchen shears, slice scallops in half horizontally. Heat oil over high heat, and just before it smokes add scallops in one layer, you will have to cook scallops in 2 batches. Starting from the outside and circling in to the center.

Cook for 2 minutes on the first side, and using tongs, flip scallops over and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Scallops should have a nice sear on both sides. If not, flip again and cook for another minute before removing from skillet.

Once all the scallops are cooked, there will be a nice layer of dark flavor at the bottom of the pan. Add in 2 tbsp of butter and the white wine to de-glaze the pan. Using a wooden spoon, scrape all the flavorful bits from the bottom. Add in the remaining butter, and parsley, season with salt and pepper. Place the spinach in the pan and cook for a minute, allowing to wilt. Turning with tongs to coat in the sauce.

Serve scallops on top of wilted spinach, pour any extra sauce over the scallops.

Well, that’s one of my favourite, simple, summer dinners. Anyone else not in the mood for burgers tonight?

- Lou

Crustless Spinach Quiche

It’s day 2 of our Royal Wedding Extravaganza, but it’s also Meatless Monday, which means I’ll be posting a meatless meal from our brunch menu – Crustless Spinach Quiche!

This quiche is such a great dish because having no crust means that there are only a few minutes of hands on time. It’s also the quintessential brunch dish, despite being of German and French origin, I think it will work pretty well for our British Brunch menu. Packed full of spinach, cheddar and mozzarella cheese with a subtle hint of nutmeg, this is a flavorful and easy dish for any brunch or dinner.

Crustless Spinach Quiche (serves 6)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients
6 eggs
3 cups chopped fresh spinach
1/2 cup 2% milk
1 small Spanish onion, chopped or grated
3/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp paprika

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine eggs, milk and onion in a bowl. Add the chopped spinach, cheeses, pepper and paprika.

Butter a quiche dish and pour mixture into dish.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Enjoy your quiche, keep posted for another Royal Wedding Brunch recipe tomorrow!

- Lou

Spinach Risotto

When my brain is on overload (i.e. senior year stress) there are certain things which help me deal with said work load, things like making risotto. The repetitive process of stirring the rice, adding liquid, then stirring again is very comforting. For about thirty minutes, instead of thinking about the 1.9 million things I need to do, all I have to focus on is risotto. And let me tell you, in the middle of 3 essays, one seminar and other homework assignments, 30 minutes of risotto making is an extremely welcome break.

When we received our weekly basket of organic produce, I was struck with an idea, inspiration was bubbling inside of me: risotto + spinach = perfect Meatless Monday meal. I’m not sure that I have ever mentioned my love for spinach, but it’s a pretty deep relationship, and the best thing about it? It’s mutual, unlike chocolate and um… more chocolate, spinach is good for the body as well. And well, everyone knows risotto is my favourite, so this really is a no brainer.

Spinach Risotto (serves 4)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients
1 cup Arborio rice
1 small onion, finely chopped or grated
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
3-4 cups warm water*
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 bunch fresh spinach, 8-10 oz chopped
salt & (lots of) pepper to taste

* I used water instead of vegetable/chicken stock to keep sodium levels down. Feel free to substitute stock instead, although using water did not hinder the flavors.

Directions

In a pot over medium heat, bring water to a simmer.

In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat, add the onion and saute until translucent (about 5 minutes). Next, add rice and stir until coated in oil.

Add wine to rice, and continue to stir until the liquid is absorbed by the rice.

Next, begin adding the liquid in 1 cup additions. Stirring constantly until the water is absorbed. Once water is absorbed, make another addition of water, and repeat until the rice grains are creamy on the outside and somewhat tender on the inside. (3-4 cups worth of liquid.) This entire process should take between 15-18 minutes.

When rice is cooked, remove from heat. Add in spinach and Parmesan. Stirring to combine, spinach should wilt from the heat of the rice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. I find a lot of pepper adds a nice touch to this dish.

Have a great Meatless Monday everyone.

- Lou