Couscous-Stuffed Bell Peppers

Since I decided to become a vegetarian a couple of months ago, I've been looking for some new and exciting dinner recipes. When I saw this recipe on an episode of Giada At Home, I knew I had to try it. These Moroccan-inspired stuffed peppers are very easy to make and the result is absolutely delicious. You can find the recipe here. The only alteration I made to the original recipe was to substitute vegetable stock for chicken stock, and I don't think it lessened the flavor at all. I'm definitely planning to make these stuffed peppers again soon. I think they would be great to bring to a pot luck because the bright color of the bell peppers contrasted with the golden couscous stuffing makes for a wonderful presentation, and they really taste great. I hope you'll give this recipe a try, and be pleasantly surprised by how flavorful vegetarian dishes can be!

Step 1: Hollow out your bell peppers.

Step 2: Prepare your couscous and use a fork to fluff it up.

Step 3: Combine all the ingredients to make your filling.

Step 4: Stuff your peppers and bake them at 400F for 55 minutes.

Step 5: Enjoy your delicious vegetarian dinner! 

Boxty: Irish potato pancakes

Boxty is a regional dish from the county of Leitrim in the West of Ireland, where my Mom is from. It requires a few basic ingredients: potatoes, buttermilk, flour, baking powder and salt. The result is a crisp, savory pancake with a tangy flavor (from the buttermilk) that can be served for breakfast or dinner. Boxty is an integral part of Leitrim culture, exemplified by the rhyme: "Boxty on the griddle, boxty on the pan, if you don't like boxty, you're not a Leitrim man". It is easy to make, and I think it makes for an excellent comfort food dish. 

Ingredients:

• 6 large potatoes (Russet or Yukon Gold) peeled and sliced into eighths
• 1 cup buttermilk**
• 1 1/2 cups flour**
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

** These measurements are guesstimates, boxty-making is not an exact science. The way to make it is to add a small amount, combine and add more if necessary.

Here's what the batter should look like after it has been blended.

Instructions:

• Place the potato slices in a blender, along with buttermilk. Do this in batches so as not to overload your blender. I add buttermilk until it comes about 1/4 of the way up to the potatoes in the blender. 
• Blend until you have a smooth mixture.
• Pour the mixture into a large mixing bowl. 
• Slowly add the flour, whisking to combine. When the batter has reached a consistency similar to pancake batter, you have added enough flour. My mom's trick is to let the batter drip from the whisk on to the batter in the bowl and form a figure eight. If the figure eight sits on top of the batter without dissolving right away, it is thick enough. 
• Add the salt and baking powder.
• Pour the batter (about a large soup ladle full) into a hot frying pan, greased with vegetable oil. 
• When the pancake has bubbles throughout, it is ready to turn. It takes about 5 minutes total.
• To serve, spread with butter.

This pancake is ready to flip.

This recipe makes roughly 12 pancakes. If you don't plan on using them all on the first day, let them cool on wire racks. Place them in an airtight container (they will keep for several days), and reheat in a frying pan with oil or butter. I prefer them on the second day, as reheating them makes them crispier. 

Traditionally, boxty is served as part of a full Irish breakfast. That means alongside Irish rasher (bacon) and sausage, a fried egg and possibly some Heinz baked beans. All of the Irish ingredients can be found in Irish or British import stores, or in the import aisle of some grocery stores. It makes for a very filling meal. I hope you'll try it out, and that when you do you'll like boxty as much as I do! 

Roasted Tomato Soup

This recipe for Roasted Tomato Soup comes from the Food Network's Tyler Florence. It's the perfect soup to warm you up on a cold Winter day, and it's very easy to make.

Start with a variety of tomatoes, I like to use a mix of cherry, grape, roma, and heirloom.

Halve each tomato and remove the core, then place them on a baking tray along with slices of onion and whole garlic cloves. The grape tomatoes can be roasted whole. Roast for 30 minutes at 450 F. 

Here's what everything looks like after roasting.

Then, add all of the vegetables to a saucepan of chicken or vegetable stock, which has already been simmering. Add 1-2 bay leaves, and simmer for 20 minutes. 

After 20 minutes, remove the bay leaves and blend the soup. The recipe recommends adding cream to the soup, but I find that it tastes creamy enough without the cream, so I don't add any. 

Here's the finished product. It goes really well with a grilled cheese sandwich, or a Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuit.