Creamy Roasted Red Pepper and Cauliflower Soup with Goat Cheese

Creamy Roasted Red Pepper and Cauliflower Soup with Goat Cheese

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutesServings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 red bell pepper, cut in half and seeds removed

• 1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 onion, diced

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped

• 1 teaspoon thyme, chopped

• 1 pinch red pepper flakes

• 4 cups vegetable broth

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

• salt and pepper to taste

directions

1. Place the red peppers on a baking sheet with the cut side facing down, broil until the skins are blackened, about 10 minutes, place in a sealable container and let 'steam' for 20 minutes before pinching the skins off and dicing.
2. Meanwhile, toss the cauliflower in the oil, place it in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast in a preheated 400F oven until tender and caramelized, about 20-30 minutes, mixing once in the middle.
3. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat and cook the onion until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
4. Add the garlic, thyme and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
5. Add the roasted red peppers, cauliflower, broth, paprika and goat cheese and simmer for 10 minutes before pureeing to the desired consistency with a hand blender.
6. Season with salt and pepper and serve garnished with goat cheese.

For Slow Cooker: Implement steps 1 & 2, optionally implement steps 3 & 4, place everything except the cheese in the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-10 hours or high for 2-4 hours before pureeing and mixing in the cheese while the soup is still hot so that it melts.
Option: Use jarred or frozen roasted red peppers to save some time.
Option: Use a can of white beans as the thickener instead of the cauliflower.
Option: Replace one cup of broth with cream or milk.
Nutrition Facts: Calories 328, Fat 16g (Saturated 6g, Trans 0),Cholesterol 20mg, Sodium 517mg, Carbs 30g (Fiber 7g, Sugars 14g),Protein 17g

A creamy roasted red pepper and cauliflower soup with tangy melted goat cheese!

Beets with Lemon and Almonds

From America's Test Kitchen Season 14:

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: We sought a streamlined recipe for beets that maximized their sweet, earthy flavor. To achieve this goal in less than an hour, we braised the halved beets on the stovetop in minimal water, reduced the residual cooking liquid, and added light brown sugar and vinegar. This flavor-packed glaze was just thick enough to coat the wedges of peeled beets. For flavor and texture contrast, we added toasted nuts (or pepitas), fresh herbs (or scallions), and aromatic citrus zest (or pungent freshly grated ginger) just before serving.

Serves 4 to 6

To ensure even cooking, we recommend using beets that are of similar size—roughly 2 to 3 inches in diameter. The beets can be served warm or at room temperature. If serving at room temperature, wait to sprinkle with almonds and herbs until right before serving.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2pounds beets, trimmed and halved horizontally
• 1 1/4cups water
• Salt and pepper
• 3tablespoons white vinegar
• 1tablespoon packed light brown sugar
• 1shallot, sliced thin
• 1teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1/2cup whole almonds, toasted and chopped
• 2tablespoons chopped fresh mint
• 1teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

INSTRUCTIONS

1. 1. Place beets, cut side down, in single layer in 11-inch straight-sided sauté pan or Dutch oven. Add water and ¼ teaspoon salt; bring to simmer over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until beets are tender and tip of paring knife inserted into beets meets no resistance, 45 to 50 minutes.
   2. Transfer beets to cutting board. Increase heat to medium-high and reduce cooking liquid, stirring occasionally, until pan is almost dry, 5 to 6 minutes. Add vinegar and sugar; return to boil; and cook, stirring constantly with heat-resistant spatula, until spatula leaves wide trail when dragged through glaze, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat.
   3. When beets are cool enough to handle, rub off skins with paper towel or dish towel and cut into ½-inch wedges. Add beets, shallot, lemon zest, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper to glaze and toss to coat. Transfer beets to serving dish; sprinkle with almonds, mint, and thyme; and serve.

Shepherd's Pie

This is a recipe that I firmly believe should be left to the taste of the cook. Please use your own judgement on the amount of each ingredient unless specified.

Watch the video of Ramsay at the end of the post to see it done by the best.

Ingredients:

The Filling:

Olive Oil (2 Tbsp)

Ground Beef, Lamb or turkey (about 1.5 to 2 lbs)

1 Large Carrot (grated)

1 Large Onion (grated)

Minced Garlic (I used 6 cloves)

Fresh Rosemary

Fresh Thyme

Salt

Pepper

Worcestershire Sauce (several splashes)

2 or 3 TB Tomato Puree or Paste (no more than a small can)

Vegetable or Chicken Stock (1/4 cup)

Fresh or frozen green beans

(I grew up with my Mom putting green beans in her  shepherd's pie so I also make mine with green beans)

And because it was St. Patrick's day I threw in some frozen peas.

Here is a recipe for the Mashed potatoes, I don't measure when I am making my mashed potatoes so you can use this recipe or one that you already have...but the egg yolks help hold the mash together for the pie.  For making them green I added the broccoli to the water the last 3 minutes of the cooking time, then because they float at the top I pulled them out with a strainer and put the broccoli in my food processor. I processed the broccoli while I was straining the potatoes, then once the broccoli was minced really fine I then added the broccoli to the potatoes and finished making my mash.

The Mash:

Golden Potatoes (about 1.5 lbs)

Heavy Cream (or milk) ( 1/4 cup)

Butter (3 1/2 Tbsp)

Salt

Pepper

Egg Yolks (2)

Parmesan Cheese (1/4 cup, minimum I just grabbed two handfuls and put that in)

Prep Work:

Dice the garlic

Separate your herbs from the stems

Separate your Egg Yolks

Peel and Slice your potatoes into even pieces

Open your can of Tomato Paste

Cooking the Potatoes:

This part is easy as pie (no pun intended), just boil some water, throw some salt and your potatoes in, and set a timer for 10 to 15 minutes – start on your filling.  Upon the timer going off, take your potatoes out and strain the water off. Put potatoes back into the pan, or into a medium mixing bowl. Mash the potatoes with their ingredients from above and keep warm (your filling should be about done by this point)

Cooking the Filling:

Pour Olive Oil into a hot, rather large pan, then add meat. Stir meat for a few minutes so it’s nice and brown, and broken into very small pieces. Add your Rosemary, Thyme, and Garlic, then stir some more. Quickly add your Carrot, and Onion, stir a little longer. The idea at this point is to get everything to a minced consistency.

Add Worcestershire Sauce, stir, add Tomato Purée, stir, add stock, green beans and peas cook for 3 more minutes. Taste, and season to your liking.

Final Instructions:

Scoop your meat mixture into a deep casserole or other oven safe dish and then spoon the mash over the top. Spread the mash over the top of the mix with the bottom of the spoon and then sprinkle a generous portion of Parmesan cheese over the top. Poke the top with a fork several times to give it a peaked look and stick it in the oven at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes to brown the potatoes and set the pie. Serve it up and watch people melt! Oh I love Shepherd Pie!

You can watch the video below to get a better idea of how it’s done.

Credits: All pictures taken by Me!

Mashed Sweet Potatoes Marshmallow Casserole

Ingredients

Peel and Cut sweet potatoes, put in a pot of boiling water and boil until soft, about 15 minutes.

After sweet potatoes are done boiling and they are soft, mash the sweet potatoes.

Mix Brown sugar, salt, butter and egg yolks together. Fold into mashed sweet potatoes.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Then Top with marshmallows and broil marshmallows until nice and golden brown.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups mashed sweet potatoes (real not canned)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 egg yolks
• marshmallows

Directions:

1. Peel and Cut sweet potatoes, put in a pot of boiling water and boil until soft, about 15 minutes.
2. Mix Brown sugar, salt, butter and egg yolks together.
3. After sweet potatoes are done boiling and they are soft, mash the sweet potatoes.
4. Fold ingredients into mashed sweet potatoes.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Then Top with marshmallows and broil marshmallows until nice and golden brown. Enjoy!

Credits: Pictures taken by Me!