Recipe Creation: Cherry Tomato + Avocado Quinoa + Fried Egg

I often struggle to get a nice dinner on the table when I am just cooking for myself. Now that I have a little one crawling around, I usually alternate between throwing avocado or almond butter on toast and calling it a day.  However, this dish is just as perfect for one as it would be for many and it only takes minutes to prepare.  Just adjust the quantities based on how many mouths you are feeding.  I make the quinoa in advance and then throw in whatever I happen to be in the mood for.  Tonight I had fresh cherry tomatoes and avocado on hand so I sliced them up and threw on a handful of thyme along with the sautéed onions. Depending on your mood and appetite, you can top it all with a fried egg and crumbled goat cheese.   Enjoy!

Serves 1 (or many more)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cups cooked quinoa
• 1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
• 6 cherry tomatoes, sliced
• 1 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 avocado, diced
• crumbled goat cheese
• 1 egg
• olive oil
• sea salt

Directions:

-Heat olive oil in a medium sized skillet and add the onions.

-Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and barely brown (about 15 minutes).

-Then add the cooked quinoa, tomatoes and thyme to the pan.

-Add a splash of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt and stir.

-Remove from heat once the quinoa is warm and transfer to a plate.

-Add a splash more olive oil and fry an egg.

-Top the quinoa with a fried egg and some crumbled goat cheese. 

Recipe Creation: Sweet Corn + Cherry Tomato + Basil Frittata

Summer produce is my favorite: peaches, tomatoes, corn.... corn.... corn. Did I say corn?  If you don't already know by now, I have a complete corn obsession.  I would happily eat an ear a day, and often do.  As much as I love it straight off the cob, I also enjoy experimenting with corn and tossing it into different dishes.  This frittata is one such example and I'm thrilled with how it turned out.  Each forkful tastes like a bite of summer.  I also love this dish because it can be served for any meal and it's very baby + toddler friendly.  It's a one dish delight.  Enjoy!

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients:

• 6 large eggs
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• 3-4 basil leaves, torn
• 1 ear corn, cut off cob
• Parmesan, freshly grated
• salt & pepper, to taste
• olive oil (for greasing)

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and grease a 9-inch pie dish with olive oil.
-In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and add the water.
-Add the corn, tomatoes and basil to the pie dish and pour in the eggs.
-Season with salt and pepper and bake in the oven for 45 minutes.
-Remove from heat and sprinkle with parmesan while still warm.
-Let cool, slice + serve.

Restaurant (Re)creation: Terzo's Roasted Salmon with Farro, White Corn + Cherry Tomatoes

I always love dining at Terzo, but on my most recent visit, I had one dish in particular that I could not stop thinking about.  It was a perfectly roasted salmon over a bed of sweet corn, tomatoes and farro.  It was mild, buttery, and disappeared within minutes.  I looked across the table at my friend, Courtney, and she said, "you must recreate this."  You ask and you shall receive!  Luckily, I was able to find a great recipe from Bon Appétit to use as a starting point.  Then I swapped out the couscous for farro, and added sautéed white corn.  Though this dish does have a few moving pieces going on at once, it's a relatively simple one-dish meal and is both healthy and totally delicious.  Plus, you'll have plenty of corn and tomato farro for leftovers the next day.

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

For yogurt raita:

• 1/2 cup greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tbsp. chopped dill
• 1 tbsp. chives
• 1/2 tbsp. lemon zest

For salmon:

• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 bunch dill fronds
• 1/4 bunch thyme sprigs
• 1 lb. wild king salmon
• Kosher salt
• 4 oz. cherry tomatoes

For farro:

• 8 oz. cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tbsp. za'atar
• 1 1/2 tbsp. butter
• 2 ears white corn, cut off cob
• 1 cup farro
• Kosher salt

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 325 F and begin mixing the yogurt raita ingredients in a small bowl.

-Next, pour 2 tbsp. olive oil in a small roasting pan and top with a bed of herbs.

-Place salmon on the herbs and drizzle with the remaining oil.

-Season with salt, top with tomatoes, and roast in the oven for 25 minutes.

-Meanwhile, sauté the corn in 1/2 tbsp. butter and remove from heat.

-Mix the tomatoes, parsley, za'atar, corn, 1 tbsp. oil and salt in a medium sized bowl.

-Bring a pot of salted water to boil, add farro, and cook for 20 minutes.

-Drain farro, transfer to a large bowl, and stir in the remaining oil and butter.  

-Add the tomato and corn mixture to the farro and season with salt.

-Check the salmon and broil for 1-2 additional minutes, or until tender. 

-Cut the salmon and serve on mounds of farro topped with a generous dollop of raita.

Terzo

3011 Steiner Street

San Francisco, CA

(415) 441-3200

www.terzosf.com

Restaurant (Re)creation: Beretta's Eggplant Caponatina

This antipasto is a MUST when dining at Beretta.  It is tangy, light, and nutty and is the perfect appetizer to share while you are waiting for your main.  They offer the option of adding burrata, which just makes the dish all that more amazing.  I found the actual restaurant recipe online in a 7x7 article and just made a few tweaks.  Rather than frying the eggplant, I roasted it to lighten the dish a bit.  I also topped the caponatina with burrata (a must) and a little squeeze of lemon.  Other than that, you can thank Chef Ruggero Gadaldi for this beautiful creation.  Plus, it was featured in 7x7's 100 Things To Try Before You Die- so you can check one more dish off your list.

Serves 4-6 (as an appetizer)

Ingredients:

• 4 medium sized Japanese eggplants
• 1 stalk celery
• 1/2 basket cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1-2 tablespoons chopped basil
• 1 tablespoon capers
• 2 tablespoons chopped green olives
• 1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts
• 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup fresh burrata (optional)
• 1/2 lemon wedge, squeezed
• Olive oil, for roasting
• Salt & pepper 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Meanwhile, peel eggplants, leaving some stripes and cut into 1 inch cubes.

Toss with olive oil and season with salt a pepper.

Roast the eggplant cubes on a baking sheet for 20-25 minutes, or until tender.

Meanwhile, cut celery into 1/3 inch cubes and cook in boiling water for two minutes.

Remove celery, strain it, and let it cool.

Toss the eggplant, celery, tomatoes, capers, olives, and pine nuts together with with white balsamic vinegar.

Top with fresh burrata and season with salt and pepper.

Serve with toasted bread or simply eat it on its own!

Enjoy!


Beretta
1199 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA
(415) 695-1199
http://berettasf.com/