Food Lust People Love

Sunday, March 7, 2021

Red Cabbage Apple Mandarin Salad

Crunchy and light, this Red Cabbage Apple Mandarin Salad is a great side dish with seasonal cabbage, citrus and crisp apples to brighten a winter day.

This salad is inspired by one created by Chef Katy Sparks that I found a few years ago when I was searching online for winter salads. We love salads all year round and this one is one of my favorites because of the mix of tart and sweet with the added boost of flavor from the orange syrup.

You will have some of the orange syrup left over. Drizzle it over pancakes or even hot buttered toast. Hope it brightens your day too!

Red Cabbage Apple Mandarin Salad

If you can’t find mandarin oranges, use clementines, navel oranges or whatever sweet citrus you do have to hand. Blood oranges would be good in this salad too. Larger oranges can be cut into big sized pieces. I’ve given the weights of my onion, cabbage, apple and mandarins below but know that if yours weigh a little more or less, it’s all good. This salad is very forgiving. It’s also easily doubled or trebled.

Ingredients

For the mandarin orange double syrup:

1/2 cup or 50g sugar

1/4 cup or 60ml water

zest peeled thinly from 1 mandarin (see photo below)

For the salad:

1/2 Spanish onion (6.5 oz or 184g whole)

1/4 cup or 60ml walnut or cider vinegar

1/2 large green apple (9.5 oz or 270g whole)

1 small red cabbage (about 1 lb or 450g whole)

2 tablespoons mandarin orange double syrup

3 mandarin oranges (each about 2.3 oz or 65g whole)

Method

First, to make the mandarin double syrup, heat all the ingredients in a small pot over a low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Set aside to cool. Store in a clean jar.

Slice the onion as thinly as you can and put it in a large bowl with the vinegar.

Cut the half apple in half again and remove the core. Slice it as thinly as you can and toss the apple slices in the vinegar with the onion. This will keep them from turning brown.

Discard any tough outer leaves of the cabbage. Cut it in half and then remove the core. Slice the rest of the cabbage as thinly as you can. Add the orange syrup to the apples and onion and toss to combine. Add in the cabbage and toss again.

Peel the mandarins, carefully removing all of the white pith. Separate into pegs.

Add the mandarin pegs to the salad and toss again. Serve the salad at room temperature or chilled.

Enjoy!

Happy Sunday FunDay! Today we are serving up healthy salads we hope you will enjoy! Check them out below. Many thanks to our host, Sneha of Sneha's Recipe.

Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad from Palatable Pastime
Golden Apple & Potato Salad from Sneha's Recipe
Irish Cheddar Honey Mustard Broccoli Salad from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
Japanese Potato Salad from Karen's Kitchen Stories
Kale Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Red Cabbage, Apple, Mandarin Salad from Food Lust People Love
Sesame Chicken Salad from Making Miracles
Super Nacho Taco Salad from Amy's Cooking Adventures

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Torta di Rigatoni

Torta di Rigatoni is a showpiece pasta dish with simple, delicious ingredients including a rich meaty Bolognese sauce and flavorful farmer’s cheese.

I’ve adapted this recipe from one I read in delicious.uk magazine summer before last. I could have sworn I wrote down which issue I’ve found it in so I could share but I’ve found it online for you now so it’s all good. It’s one of Gennaro Contaldo’s from his cookbook, Gennaro’s Pasta Perfecto.

In its original form, it’s vegetarian, made with a simple tomato sauce and cubes of mozzarella for the cheese, no meat involved. That would certainly have been easier but I'm always up for a challenge.

Years ago, as Jamie Oliver was first starting out, Gennaro was one of his mentors when they worked together at Carluccio's, so I’ve come across his wonderful Italian recipes many times over my years of adoring Jamie.

This may be one of my favorites with or without my adaptation of a meat sauce.

Torta di Rigatoni

For this dish I used a fresh milk farmer’s cheese because I love the flavor and richness, something like a dry, slightly saltier ricotta. Also it crumbles so nicely, the better to push it into the rigatoni. You could also use a milder grated cheese or cubed mozzarella, like in the original recipe, if you prefer.

Ingredients

For the sauce:

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for the pan

1 lb or 450g ground beef

3 cloves garlic

1/2 yellow onion

1 can (14.5oz or 411g) diced tomatoes

1 can (6oz or 170g) tomato paste

3 sprigs fresh oregano, plus extra minced leaves for garnish

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon baking soda

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

For the torta:

about 10 oz or 340g rigatoni

14.5oz or 411g fresh farmer’s cheese, crumbled

To serve:

Grated Parmesan

Method

In a large Dutch oven over a medium high heat, brown the ground beef in the olive oil, crumbling it into the smallest bits possible with a wooden spoon, as you do.

Meanwhile, mince the garlic and onion.

When the beef is nicely browned, even crunchy in places, turn the heat down and add in the garlic and onions. Cook until they are soft and translucent.

Add in the canned tomatoes with any juice and another whole can of water.

Stir in the tomato paste. Tuck the oregano and bay leaf into the sauce.

Bring to the boil, then lower the heat. Simmer the sauce, covered, for about 30 minutes or until the diced tomatoes have fallen apart completely.

Discard the bay leaf and the oregano stems. Stir in the baking soda. This helps neutralize some of the acid in the tomatoes, making the sauce a bit sweeter. Season to your liking with the salt and pepper. Set the sauce aside to cool.

I transferred mine to a bowl so I can use the same Dutch oven to boil the rigatoni. A quick rinse is good enough before boiling water. Because who wants to wash another pot?

To see about how much rigatoni you need to boil, line your springform pan (mine is 9 inch or 23cm in diameter) with foil that goes up beyond the sides and brush the inside with olive oil. I also like to add a circle of baking parchment to the bottom to guarantee I can remove the torta from the pan nicely.

Now set one side of the pan on a cutting board or folded towel and fill it a little more than halfway with raw rigatoni noodles standing up.

Cook these noodles according to package instruction in salted water till almost al dente. They need to be firm enough to still stand on their own still.

Drain the rigatoni and rinse with cool water. Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Cover the bottom of your lined pan with a couple of spoons of the sauce.

Tip the pan at slight angle and start stacking the drained, cooled rigatoni so that the ends will face up when the pan is level.

Continue until the pan is completely full. If you have a couple of cooked rigatoni leftover, just eat ‘em.

Crumble the farmer’s cheese with a fork.

Push some of the crumbled cheese into the rigatoni with your clean fingers.

Then spoon over some of the sauce.

Repeat this filling and saucing until half of your cheese is used and about two-thirds of the sauce.

Pour the remainder of the sauce over the tops of the rigatoni.

Lift the sides of the foil and sprinkle on the rest of the cheese.

Bake your torta di rigatoni in the preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown and bubbly.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool for about 10 minutes. Gently run a knife or spatula around the outside of the torta to loosen it from the foil.

Open the spring form pan and transfer the whole foil package to a cutting board. Remove the foil and put the torta on a serving platter. Sprinkle with the minced oregano.

Cut into wedges to serve with some freshly grated Parmesan.

Enjoy!

This month my Foodie Extravaganza friends are sharing noodle dishes in celebration of National Noodle Month! Many thanks to our host, Sue of Palatable Pastime. Check out the other recipes below:

Instant Noodles Egg Masala by Sneha's Recipe
Linguine with Salmon and Cilantro Pesto by Karen's Kitchen Stories
Penang Char Kway Teow (Malaysian Noodles with Crab and Sausage) by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Sesame Ginger Noodles by A Day in the Life on the Farm
Taco Stuffed Pasta Shells by Making Miracles
Thai Coconut Curry Noodles by Magical Ingredients
Torta di Rigatoni by Food Lust People Love
Tsuivan (Mongolian Noodles with Meat and Vegetables) by Tara's Multicultural Table

Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays by cooking and baking together with the same ingredient or theme each month. Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board.

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Sunday, February 28, 2021

Saucy Pepperoni Roasted Chicken

These saucy pepperoni roasted chicken thighs are a quick but delicious meal for a busy night. Serve them with large green salad or over pasta for a complete main course.

We love crispy skin on roasted chicken so I was looking for a way to add in flavor without covering that gorgeous skin. One day, as I was examining the contents of my refrigerator and cupboards, this idea came to me. Tomato sauce with pepperoni, but only knee-deep so that chicken thighs can still turn a lovely golden brown.

The chicken juices meld with the pepperoni and tomato sauce that cooks down as the liquid evaporates in the oven, making the most wonderful sauce for pasta.

Saucy Pepperoni Roasted Chicken

I used Italian passata, which is uncooked tomato puree, but if you can’t find it in your local grocery store, by all means use regular tomato puree. Or, if you’d rather start with uncooked tomatoes, puree canned crushed tomatoes in a blender. I’ve given the weight of my chicken thighs below but if yours weighs a little more or a little less, no worries.

Ingredients

4 chicken thighs (about 1 lb 14 oz or 850g)

2 cloves garlic

1-2 sprigs fresh oregano

2 cups or 500g Italian passata

3 1/2 oz or 100g spicy pepperoni, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon sugar

fine sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 bay leaves

For garnish: fresh oregano leaves

To serve (optional):

cooked pasta

crushed red pepper

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C. Line the bottom of your baking pan with the pepperoni. My package had 48 slices of pepperoni and I used every single one.

Peel and chop the garlic. In a mixing bowl, combine the passata with the garlic, oregano leaves and sugar.

Remove the excess fat from the chicken thighs and lightly salt and pepper them. You can also remove the bones if desired but that’s not absolutely necessary. I didn't remove the bones but I did open the thighs up so I could rub some salt and pepper inside.