Restaurant (Re)creation: Nopa's Baked Butter Beans with Oregano, Breadcrumbs + Feta

Oh Nopa, how I love thee.  Leave it to Nopa to create the perfect comfort dish to warm you on these frigid San Francisco evenings (yes, we are still in California, but its seriously cold!)  Rather than using dried beans and soaking them, I decided to streamline the chef's recipe and use canned butter beans.  Please don't judge me for this substitution, but soaking dried beans just isn't in my weekday timeline.  I also decided to use fire roasted crushed tomatoes and basil pesto instead of cilantro pesto.  Anyhow, it all worked out great and my carnivorous husband devoured it with no complaints!  I mean, how can you not love baked beans, tomatoes, feta, breadcrumbs & pesto?  It's the culinary equivalent to a fireplace, cashmere blanket, and a good book.  You just can't put your fork down!

Serves 2-4

Ingredients

• 1 14 oz can of butter beans
• 1 14 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 1/2 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
• 1/3 cup crumbled feta
• 1/2 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons pesto
• Salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

-Drain and rinse the butter beans and preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

-In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

-Add the garlic and onion and cook over low heat for 8-10 minutes, or until softened.

-Add the tomatoes, oregano, and water and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes.

-Mix the butter beans and tomato sauce in a baking dish and sprinkle with feta.

-Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, or until cheese begin to bubble.

-Remove the dish from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes.

-Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a small skillet and add the bread crumbs.

-Cook over high heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring often.

-Top the beans with a dollop of pesto and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.

~Enjoy~

Nopa

560 Divisadero St.

(415) 864-8643

nopasf.com

Recipe (Re)creation: Crispy Low-Sodium Sweet Potato Wedges with Lemon-Chive Yogurt Dip

I developed this recipe for a LOVE YOUR HEART RECIPE RALLY that a friend of mine does annually.  Her blog, SODIUM GIRL, is totally inspirational and full of mouthwatering low-sodium dishes. This recipe rally was particularly challenging for me because I happen to LOVE salt. However, many people (and their bodies) do not love salt and obviously need to find other flavor boosters to make up for the absence of salt.  That is where herbs and spices enter the picture!  I usually cook with herbs and spices anyways, but if you kick them up a notch, you don't even miss the salt.  I promise.

Our recipe rally mission was to take a typically salty, crave-worthy dish and create a low-sodium version of it.  I chose sweet potato wedges since they are a current obsession of mine and I wanted to see if I, the lover of salt, would still like a salt-free version.  After seasoning the sweet potatoes with different combinations of herbs and spices (and doing a lot of taste testing- thank you husband!), I decided on not one, but two different versions that I just had to include.  One is a hot and spicy version, and one is a mixed herb version.   The cooling yogurt dip is also low-sodium and pairs beautifully with those savory little sweet potato wedges.  So easy, breezy, and totally low-so (haha, and no one will even know).

Serves 6, as a side

Ingredients:

For sweet potato wedges:

3-4 medium sized sweet potatoes, unpeeled
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chipotle chili powder
1 tsp chili flakes
2 springs of rosemary, stems removed and chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme
1/2 tbsp dried (or fresh) oregano
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp corn starch
Olive oil

For yogurt dip:

1/2 cup greek yogurt (Fage 2%)
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh chives, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Slice sweet potatoes in even wedges (about 8 wedges per potato).

Generously brush each wedge with olive oil and a little sugar and a little corn starch (it helps them caramelize and get crispy).

Put the spices on one plate and the mixed herbs on another.

Rub half of the wedges (individually) in the spices and half of the wedges in the herb mixture.

Make sure that each wedge has ample spices or herbs covering it.

Place wedges on a baking sheet and spread out evenly.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, then take the sheet out, rotate the wedges and return them to the oven for another 10 minutes, or until they start to brown.

Reduce the oven temperature to 200 degree F and bake for another 5 minutes, or until crispy.  Remove from oven to cool.

Meanwhile, scoop the yogurt into a small bowl and mix with lemon juice and most of the chives.  Garnish the top with the remaining chives.

Serve the sweet potato wedges with the lemon-chive yogurt dip.

Who knew low-so could taste so good?

Restaurant (Re)creation: Kokkari's Grilled Lamb Chops and Roasted Potatoes

~ From top: Lamb chops on the BBQ, Perfectly Grilled Chops,

(Re)creation plated and ready to be devoured ~

If you know kiwis (like my husband), you know they love their lamb.  I was racking my brain for the perfect dish to serve on Valentine's Day and then it came to me: grilled lamb and potatoes!  (I mean, what guy wouldn't love that combo?)  Kokkari is very well known for their lamb so I decided to use a recipe from the Kokkari Cookbook that I recently bought.  This recipe is simple and requires very little time.  While it may look like a lot of ingredients, many are repeated in each preparation, so you don't have to buy very many items.  Perfect for a weeknight Valentine's Day meal.  (And yes, the kiwi thoroughly enjoyed it).

Serves 4 (generously)

Ingredients for lamb: 

• 2 8-rib racks of lamb, trimmed and cut into single rib chops
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 2 tsp dried oregano, crumbled
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Sea salt
• 2 lemons, cut in wedges
• Fresh Oregano springs for garnish, optional

Ingredients for potatoes:

• 3 large Yukon Gold potatoes, each peeled and cut lengthwise into 6 wedges
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• Sea salt and ground pepper

Ingredients for Kokkari Dressing:

• 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp capers, rinsed and minced
• 2 tsp minced shallets
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp minced flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 tsp chopped fresh oregano 
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
• (Optional: bunch of arugula)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.  

Put the potatoes wedges in a large bowl and toss thoroughly with olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper.  

Arrange the wedges in one layer a non-reactive baking dish.

Drizzle with lemon juice and 1/2 cup of water around (not on) the potatoes.

Bake for 20 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake for another 20 minutes (or until potatoes are browned and the water has evaporated.  

Remove from heat and let cool for at least 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat grill on high (for lamb).

Put the lamb chops on a work surface and pound with your fist until it is evenly thick.  

Combine the garlic powder, pepper, and oregano in a small bowl.  

Press the seasoning blend on both sides of the meat, including the meat on the bones.  

Before grilling, drizzle olive oil on the seasoned chops, using your fingers to coat the meat evenly.  Season with salt.

Grill the chops, turning once, for about 3 minutes on each side (for medium rare). 

While the chops are cooking, whisk together the dressing ingredients.

Squeeze 2 lemon halves over the chops before taking them off the grill.

Serve the chops hot with a side of potatoes and a bunch of arugula (optional), all drizzled with dressing.

Garnish with lemon wedges and oregano sprigs.

Kali orexi (enjoy)

Kokkari

200 Jackson Street

San Francisco, CA

(415) 981-0983

www.kokkari.com