I’m going to say something that will hurt my credibility with children everywhere. Here it is: I like broccoli. In fact, it’s my favorite vegetable. My go-to preparation for broccoli is to season it with Old Bay or garlic powder and then to steam it. But, if I’m honest that gets a bit boring sometimes so I have to find new ways to eat my vegetables. And that’s the thing, I like vegetables and I know I have to eat my vegetables, but I don’t always know how to do it in an exciting way that will make me want to eat my vegetables. That’s why I’m always doing green smoothies or baking it in to something. 

I know people do all kinds of cool things with vegetables, and make them the centerpiece of their meal, and thereby they eat less meat, and as a result those people are friendlier to the environment. I want to be that kind of person all the time, but I’m not that person all the time. Sometimes I don’t have much in the fridge or cupboards and I’ve had a long day at work and I’ve been dreaming of a heaping bowl of pasta and so when I get out of the tube and pop over to the Sainsbury local I buy pasta, sauce, and a single veggie as an afterthought.

So how do you make that afterthought become something glorious that shines on its own? By roasting it. I think all vegetables taste better roasted, and roasted broccoli is no exception. This recipe is adapted from the Amateur Gourmet‘s recipe “the best broccoli of your life.” The first time I made it I didn’t tell Ryan that it was supposed to be mind blowingly good because I wanted to see what he would say. And he tried it, and then said that it was incredibly good.

Roasted broccoli is delicious because the florets get a little soft and the flavor gets rich and caramelized. Even better, some little bits get crispy and dark and that crunch is so tasty. And finally, you can season your broccoli and really let that flavor settle in, in a way that’s not possible when you sprinkle a bit of salt after cooking.

Here is the best endorsement I can give this recipe: I find this broccoli so good, I eat it like popcorn. Meaning, if the broccoli finished first while I’m making dinner, I’ll pick up a piece with my hands, pop it in my mouth, and eat it while I finish cooking. If there’s some leftover and I’m doing dishes and haven’t cleared everything, I’ll snack on it some more. I’ll eat this broccoli alone, without an accompanying main dish. Broccoli that you snack on and can’t get enough is an amazing thing.

A few notes on ingredients… it seems like a lot of olive oil and it kind of is. But you want the broccoli to be nice and coated otherwise it will come out too dark and burnt and will taste like charcoal (and that’s not what you want). Second, I highly recommend using coarse sea salt instead of regular table salt. I think the granulated sea salt gives a nice crunch and a fresh flavor to the broccoli. If you can’t be bothered, just use a little less table salt and it should be fine. And finally, sometimes I like to sprinkle a little Parmesan at the end – it’s nice but I think it’s valuable to learn to love vegetables without cheese, which is why I didn’t include it in the recipe below. Is that blasphemous to say? If so, I’m sorry.

Adapted from Amateur Gourmet.

Messy level: Very easy to make and without a lot of dishes or clean up. I love this because you basically prep it and put it in the oven and forget about it until it’s done. It’s exactly the kind of easy, mess-free side you need for weekday dinners.

Roasted Broccoli

 

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Ingredients

• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus a little more if needed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon chili flakes
• lemon wedge
• lemon zest, optional

Instructions

1. Heat your oven to 425°F/220°C.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. [Note: a rimmed baking sheet is nice in case you go crazy with the olive oil, but it's not necessary]
3. In a medium bowl stir together the broccoli, olive oil, garlic, salt, and chili flakes. Stir so that everything is well coated.
4. Spread the broccoli mix on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with more olive oil if you're feeling so inclined.
5. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the edges are browned and everything is fork tender.
6. Remove from the oven and squeeze the wedge of lemon so juice gets all over everything. Optional: sprinkle a little lemon zest over the broccoli if you want a little more lemony flavor.
7. Serve warm and devour.

3.3.3070

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Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about sandwiches. I’m been dreaming about this amazing smoked meat sandwich we had in Montreal. It was simple, just meat, rye bread, and mustard but the size of it was massive and the taste was delicious. I still regret not getting a second one immediately after I finished the first. I’ve also been dreaming about the turkey cranberry sandwich I used to have at Earl’s Sandwiches when I lived in Arlington. That sandwich was like Thanksgiving any time of year.

But those are specialty sandwiches, and although I sort of need to find a specialty sandwich place here in London, I’ve turned my attention to takeaway sandwiches.  You know, the kind you can just grab on the go. I’ve found I don’t often like the takeaway sandwiches, and usually it’s because of too much mayonnaise. But I did find some local flavors I like, such as coronation chicken, tuna and sweet corn, or salt beef and gherkins. However, nothing has truly been cutting it. The sandwich I am craving and missing is such a simple one! It’s the Mediterranean sandwich from Potbelly in the US. Once I got thinking about it, I was sure I could recreate.

I discovered this sandwich the summer after I graduated with my Masters in Museum Studies from NYU. I felt like having a Masters meant I should have a real job and be a professional, whatever that means. But instead, I was working at a temporary science exhibit in a place that had no air conditioning and no plumbing. In DC. IN. THE. SUMMER. If you don’t know DC in the summer, it’s like 95°/35° all the time and it’s about 1000% humidity. A woman who lived in the apartment building upstairs and regularly brought her granddaughter to the exhibit would sometimes offer us water and popsicles. It was so hot that the plastic balls in one of the exhibits would become misshapen so the exhibit no longer worked. Needless to say, I didn’t feel especially professional sweating it out and I hadn’t thought that this was where my degree would take me.

My one solace from the heat was Potbelly restaurant around the corner. There I could enjoy cool air and a bathroom. I’d buy a cold water and a Mediterranean sandwich and luxuriate in the comfort of the restaurant and the food. The Mediterranean sandwich might not look like much, but for me, it has a special significance because it was there for me during frustrating time. And besides, it is freaking delicious. I love Mediterranean flavors, as I told you when I confessed that I eat tons of Greek salad when Ryan is away. I love the crunchy, salty, oily, creamy combination of fresh and canned vegetables all coated in cheese and hummus.

I love this recipe also because it allows you to have a little freedom. For example, use whatever hummus you like. I found lemon and coriander (cilantro) hummus here and loved it. But I think regular, garlic, or roasted red pepper would all be amazing. I used a jar of roasted red peppers because I like the roasted flavor and I didn’t feel the sandwich needed additional crunch. However, feel free to use fresh peppers if you like that flavor better. Also, I mixed all the ingredients, minus the hummus, together and then stuffed the pita. I like this because it makes the bites diverse. If you like layering your ingredients for uniform flavor bites, that works too. Do what you like, just be sure to enjoy this in a cool and comfortable place.

Messy level: Ordinarily a sandwich is an easy one spoon recipe. I’m giving this two spoons just because you have to do a little chopping, draining, and mixing. The added steps create more dishes, but help make the sandwich more delicious.

Copycat Recipe: Potbelly's Mediterranean Sandwich

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

Copycat recipe for Potbelly's Mediterranean sandwich. I am counting one serving as two halves of a round pita. Depending on size of pitas, this recipe will make 2-3 servings.

Serves: 3

Ingredients

• ½ cup artichoke hearts, drained from a jar
• 2 roasted red peppers, drained from a jar
• ½ cup roughly chopped cucumber
• ⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2-3 tablespoons hummus (any flavor you like)
• 2-3 pita pocket rounds (size depends on how many sandwiches you get)

Instructions

1. Preparation note: If you haven't already prepared the cucumbers, chop them now. I cut the whole cucumber lengthwise in quarters. Then I chopped along those quarters and made tiny little wedges. (As if you cut coins of cucumbers then cut those circles into quarters) However, shape doesn't really matter, it just needs to be easy to stuff in your sandwich.
2. Cut the roasted red peppers into slices. Again, size isn't so important, just medium length slices that can easily be stuffed into a sandwich.
3. Scoop the artichokes out of the jar and let excess oil or water drain off. You can pat them with a paper towel if you want them especially dry. Put the artichokes in a small bowl.
4. Add the chopped cucumber, sliced roasted red peppers, and feta cheese to the small bowl with the artichokes.
5. Mix the sandwich ingredients until things are mixed up and a little cheese looks like it's gotten stuck to everything.
6. Cut the pita rounds in half and open the pita pockets. Using a knife generously spread hummus inside each half of the pita pocket. You don't have to measure, but about 1 teaspoon should do. If you like more, do more. [Note: If you make sandwiches from 3 pita rounds, then you'll use a total of 1 tablespoon of hummus]
7. Fill the pita pockets with your mixed sandwich ingredients. Depending on how much you fill and the size of your pita pockets, you'll have about 2-3 sandwiches.
8. Serve the sandwiches on a plate. Spoon a large dollop of hummus on the edge of the plate. Use this for dipping your sandwich or any vegetables that fall out. The more hummus the better!

3.2.2925

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But the other reason I haven’t cooked much is that I love cooking for other people and I haven’t had much opportunity to do that. That is until a few weeks ago when I had a girls night at my apartment. It was one last big blow out with my girls before London. The eight of us (not all pictured below) had a potluck and we ate and we drank and we ate some more. In addition to piñon, we had salad, pizza, cheesecake, chips and dip, and raisin bread. Aren’t pot lucks excellent?! You get to eat all kinds of things!

We also talked and told old stories from college and new recent stories. We laughed and laughed and laughed. And finally we dragged ourselves away from the table, we put on some heels and we went out dancing. At the end of the night we came home, ate more food, had a sleepover, and then the next day I made them watch Orange is the New Black. Best night ever. I felt loved, I danced my heart out, and my feet hurt in the morning. It was an absolute blast. Some photos are below. Some are nice and some are weird… so it goes.

But back to cooking. Having everyone over was also the perfect reason to make something off of my recipe bucket-list. I love sweet plantains and I have been wanting to make this recipe forever, I just needed a captive audience. This is lasagna-like only because meat is layered between things and then baked. Otherwise, the ingredients aren’t that similar.

I was making it as the girls arrived and when I opened the door a few people immediately said, “something smells good!” That is always a good sign. I think sweet plantains and meat may sound like a weird combination, but it totally works.  Everyone said they liked it, and it has an excellent array of flavors. Try it out.

I adapted this recipe from Wilo Benet’s Puerto Rico True Flavors. I used ground turkey instead of beef to accommodate dietary restrictions. I also cooked the plantains in a skillet instead of in the oven. And finally, I seasoned the meat how I felt like it and didn’t use the cookbook recipe at all. Anyway, have some people over and try it out.

Ingredients: 

4-5 ripe plantains

3 oz green beans, trimmed and cut into small pieces

1 lb ground beef or turkey

olive oil

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1/4 cup sofrito

2 tbsp cilantro

3 eggs

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300°

2. Peel the plantains and cut lengthwise into about 4 pieces. To peel the plantains, cut off the ends then score lengthwise. Slowly peel the skin from the fruit. Use your knife to scrape what won’t peel off. Plantains don’t peel like bananas.

3. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, put in the plantain slices. Fry until they brown a little bit,then flip. Place them on a paper towel to drain the oil. You will have to do this step in batches.

4. Steam the green beans. I did this by putting a little water in a pot, putting a steamer in the pot, adding the green beans, then cooking on high while covered for about 5-7 minutes.

5. In another skillet, heat some oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, saute the onions and garlic until they are soft and browned (5ish minutes)

6. Add the red pepper and sofrito. Cook for about 7 minutes.

7. Add the ground meat. Break it up using your spoon. Cook until entirely cooked through. When it’s done cooking place on paper towels to drain excess grease.

8. Turn off the heat and stir in the cilantro and steamed green beans. Mix!

9. Oil the bottoms and sides of a 8″x8″ casserole dish.

10. Arrange a layer of plantains on the bottom of the dish.

11. Top the plantains evenly with the meat. Press down with your hands or with a spoon to make it all fit tightly.

12. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl. Pour (or spoon/brush) half of the egg over the meat. This egg will help bind your end product.

13. Top the meat with the remaining plantains.

14. Pour the remaining egg over the plantains.

15. Place in the oven and cook for about 35-40 minutes.

16. Slice and serve!

Messy level:  This is a four spoon recipe. You need three burners to cook the meat, green beans, and plantains. You also need a dish for the oven. And you have to drain two things to get the grease out. That makes for a lot of dishes!! Also peeling and cutting the plantains is messy work – I had that goop all over the kitchen!

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