mozzarella Archives - Cook By Book

Tag: mozzarella

22
Sep
2013

Baked Orzo with Spinach, Corn & Asparagus

categories: Dinner, Fall, Lunch, Quick Fix

Okay, I have a pattern. On this blog. I write either about desserts or pasta here. I have a proof. But what can I say?! They are two of my favorite things. The weather here is not helping the matters either. This rainy, gloomy weather forces me to switch on the oven almost everyday! It makes me add cinnamon to every sweet stuff I bake so that the house smells like Fall. I am craving soups and wearing cardigan while going out. Gosh, how I am in love with the weather right now!!

You guys know I am all for skinny dishes. But that does not mean I do not like eating overloaded cheesy goodness. In fact, I LOVE it so much but just NEVER make it. I can’t bring myself to add a pound of cheese to any dish knowingly. Period.

This dish here is in no way skinny. But not unusually loaded either. Something in between. A dish I would dive in. It is everything I had hoped and dreamed for in baked pasta. There’re pillows of corn and asparagus throughout. There are decadent, gooey cheese pulls stretching from every forkful. And it is easy. Yes, as easy as this simple mac-n-cheese I know how to make. So make it NOW as there is no reason to keep yourself away from such a bliss.

Baked Orzo with Spinach, Corn & Asparagus

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Orzo, a rice shaped pasta
1/2 cup corn kernels
8-10 spears of asparagus cut into 1-inch pieces, hard/woody ends discarded
1 Tbsp olive oil
5-6 shallots, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
2 Tbsp tomato pest
1/2 cup spinach leaves, packed, roughly chopped
3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, shredded
1/3 cup Mozzarella cheese, small cubes of 1/2 cm
salt, to taste
freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp oregano flakes
1/4 tsp red chili flakes
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/2 cup reserved pasta water

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 180ºC / 350ºF. Boil a pot of water with generous sprinkle of salt. Add Orzo, corn kernels and asparagus to the boiling water. Let it boil for 2 minutes and after that save 1/2 cup of water. Drain Orzo, corn kernels, asparagus and set aside.
Simultaneously heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add oil to the hot pan and once oil is shimmering, add the shallots, garlic and celery. Cook for 3 minutes or so till shallots turn translucent. Add tomato paste, Orzo, corn kernels, asparagus and cook for 3 more minutes. Off the heat. Immediately mix-in spinach leaves.
Add Parmesan, Mozzarella, salt, pepper, oregano, red chilli flakes, lemon zest and pasta water and mix well.
Transfer mixture to a small oval or 6×6-inch square ovenproof baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes, then bake for 15 minutes without the foil. (You can change ratio of foil-on to foil-off time as per your preference for crunchy pasta lid.) Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes:

*You can use whole-wheat Orzo or replace Orzo with any other small-sized pasta.
*I used pasta water and did not feel that the dish was lacking in flavor at all. But if you do not like using water then use vegetable stock.

Share this recipe:

24
Aug
2013

Caprese Pasta Salad

categories: Dinner, Lunch, Quick Fix, Salads, Sides, Summer

It’s my Mother’s Birthday today! She is the most special woman in my life. She is my first best friend and I have had heaps of special moments with her. She handed down so many traits of hers to me… We both love bags, shoes, clothes and FOOD! She is such an awesome cook!

As already confessed in my intro page, I never learnt to cook before I got married and being such a great cook that she is, my mom was quite concerned about that part. She sincerely wrote down all her recipes in a diary for my convenience and gifted it to me on my D-day. That is my most prized possession and a lovely gesture on my mom’s part! I should soon get down to posting few of her special recipes!

Among many things my mother and I share, we both LOVE pasta! So aptly, I am posting a very simple pasta salad which is very refreshing and flavorful. I’m sure my mom would have enjoyed this thoroughly if I could make this for her at home for tonight’s celebration. But we are distanced by miles hence a virtual birthday dish will have to suffice! 🙁

I love Caprese in any and every form!

You must remember I once created this unusual ice-cream with it and these skewers served with pesto!

This time I brought together 2 of my favorites and created this dee-lish caprese pasta salad. Of course with a twist… I added capers for a little tang! And it really did wonders. This salad is so beautiful, adorned with pear tomatoes and bursting with basil! Hope you enjoy this as much as we did!

Happiest of Birthday Mother! Cheers!!!

Caprese Pasta Salad

Servings: 4-5 as a side and 2-3 as a light lunch/dinner

Ingredients:

For salad:

2 heaping cups bow-tie pasta
Around 20-25 pear tomatoes, sliced
25-30 small cubes of Mozzarella
2 Tbsp capers, drained & washed
1/4 cup thinly sliced basil leaves

For dressing:

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
A pinch of red chili flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Cook pasta in generously salted boiling water according to package directions till al-dante. Drain and rinse with cold water.
In a large bowl, add pasta, sliced tomatoes, Mozzarella cheese cubes, capers and toss.
In a small bowl, take all the ingredients mentioned under dressing and whisk.
Add the dressing to the large bowl of salad ingredients and toss well. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Let it chill in refrigerator for half an hour. Top with sliced basil leaves just before serving.

Share this recipe:

13
Aug
2013

Caprese Skewers & Spinach Walnut Pesto

categories: Appetizers, Dinner, Dips & Sauces, Entrée, Lunch, Quick Fix, Salads, Sides, Summer

So I made some Caprese skewers.. They are so dang cute! Of course there is absolutely no need of a recipe to make them. It’s just cherry tomatoes, basil leaves and Mozzarella cheese on thrown together on a stick seasoned with salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. That simple! Making these is a child’s play and they’ll rock any party! It can be served as an appetizer or as a last course with favorite cocktail or wine! 😉

I served these skewers with spinach walnut pesto.. Hmm… seems interesting?! Require a recipe for another quick pesto? Then read on.. I have told time and again that pesto is my fave. It is so versatile. I made a big enough batch for only 2 of us in the house and served it with these skewers, made dinner with some spaghetti, threw some in my breakfast omelet and made some grilled cheese for lunch. Phew!

So let’s get down to the recipe business!

Caprese Skewers:

Ingredients:

cherry tomatoes, halved
fresh Mozzarella balls
basil leaves
extra-virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper, as per taste

Directions:

Skewer the cherry tomatoes alternating with basil leaves and Mozzarella balls. Once they are all skewered, drizzle with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and serve alongside spinach walnut pesto.

Spinach Walnut Pesto

Ingredients:

3 cups spinach leaves
2 cloves fresh garlic
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted or untoasted (I’m lazy & used untoasted)
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
3 Tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper, to taste
3/4 cup olive oil to begin with, add more as and if required

Directions:

Blend all the ingredients in a food processor till smooth puree is formed. Add more olive oil as and if required. Store in an air-tight container and refrigerate up to 4-5 days.

Share this recipe:

23
Jun
2013

Caprese Ice-cream

categories: Entrée, Ice-creams, Summer

Does the title of this post shock you? Do you think it’s a typo? Nope… It is exactly what you read it is. Caprese Ice-cream… It has tomatoes, basil, Mozzarella cheese and whatever else an authentic Caprese Salad is supposed to have!

A perfect summer entrée for your guests!

It is the last day of the week-long ice-cream marathon going on here and I wanted to come up with an out-of-the-box flavor! A unique ice-cream which you have never read about on any other blog or probably (I’m just guessing) have never had it at any of the sophisticated restaurants! A treat I have specially created for you!

Our favorite summer salad made into an ice-cream!

It is actually a mix between ice-cream and sherbet.

It’s beautiful pink color will be a complete deception for your guests till they take a first bite of it!

It has a very refreshing kick from basil and is light on palate due to tomatoes.

We cook the tomatoes and basil leaves with olive oil on low-heat thus extracting basil flavors completely. The sieved puree is then mixed with Mozzarella cheese, salt, pepper, sugar mayonnaise and whipped cream.. Freeze it overnight and just before serving blend it to a smooth consistency like how we made our frozen whip and serve immediately!

You can even add roasted~peeled~pureed red bell paper to add a different dimension to it!

Trust me it is a perfect start to your elaborate dinner party. Just double the recipe if serving a larger crowd.

Caprese Ice-cream

Serves: 4 | Serving: 1 scoop | Yields: 4 scoops

Ingredients:

15-17 cherry tomatoes
1/2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
4-5 basil leaves
salt and freshly cracked pepper, as per taste
1 Tbsp finely grated Mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp mayonnaise
A dash of lemon juice
1 Tbsp caster sugar
3 Tbsp fresh Medium fat cream (40%)

Directions:

Add tomatoes, olive oil and basil leaves in a saucepan and cook it covered on a low-flame for about 4-5 minutes till the tomatoes have soften, stirring occasionally. Pass them through sieve to remove the skin, seeds and leaves.

Season the puree with salt and pepper. Add grated Mozzarella, mayonnaise and lemon juice to it.

In a separate bowl, whip the cream and sugar together till you get a soft peak. Fold in the tomato mixture in a cream mixture and scoop it in a airtight container. Freeze it overnight.

Just before serving, add the frozen ice-cream to your blender and process it till you get a smooth consistency. Scoop and serve in individual glasses topped with basil or mint leaves.

*The last step of blending before serving is MUST as the tomatoes have high water content and therefore the ice-cream straight out of the freezer will be icy.

Enjoy!

Share this recipe:

12
Jun
2013

Spinach, Corn & Egg Strata

categories: Breakfast

Today, I bring you a no-hassle, breakfast recipe.. Great for a weekday when everything is so crazy that breakfast is the last thing on your mind and even greater for your laid-back weekend as it takes pretty much zero-effort to whip it up!

Treat your dad on Father’s day morning with this and I am sure he would be really pleased!

You just throw all the ingredients together the night before but to be honest, I love how undemanding yet flavorful this dish is! The recipe makes two hefty portions and let me warn you, we were full after eating only half! So truly a great brunch option! 😉

Spinach, Corn & Egg Strata

Prep time: 10 mins | Bake time: 45 mins | Total time: 55 mins

Ingredients:

4 pieces bread
2 handfuls of spinach
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup corn kernels
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp oregano powder
salt and pepper as per taste
1/3 cup mozzarella cheese

Directions:

The night before, tear up bread into small pieces and slice up the spinach. Place in 2-4″ ramekins. Top with corn kernels. Whisk together eggs, milk, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, salt and pepper. Pour over bread and spinach. Top with cheese and cover with cling film. Place in refrigerator overnight.
In the morning, preheat oven to 375 F/180 C. Remove cling film and cover each ramekin with aluminium foil. Place on a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes remove aluminium foil and continue to bake uncovered for another 20-25 minutes or until egg mixture has set and strata has puffed. Serve warm.

Recipe adapted from Naturally Ella

Share this recipe: