Tag: cheese

Warm Kale, White Bean, and Anchovy Salad

Posted on by Claire

warm kale, white bean, and anchovy salad

It’s weird what foods you miss being away from home. I knew that I’d miss peanut butter and good quality dark chocolate, both difficult to find around here (or expensive once you do find them). But I’d never guessed that I’d start craving kale. It was nowhere to be found in Buenos Aires, and I’ve been really hoping to make a raw kale salad. When I came across some at an organic store here in Montevideo, I was really excited – I know, I know, this is kale we’re talking about, but there’s nothing like satisfying a craving! Sadly, it was too tough to eat raw.

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Hot Crash Potatoes

Posted on by Claire

hot crash potatoes

When I was in college, I wasn’t much of a chef. I definitely preferred buying a fast food burrito to cooking a meal for myself. But I slowly started learning very basic recipes and cooking them over and over – grilled cheese with tomato, egg in the hole, that sort of thing. These hot crash potatoes, though, were one of my favorites. A more ambitious dish than the rest of what I was cooking at the time, since it involves boiling and then baking the potatoes, meaning 45 minutes to an hour of cook time, though most of it is only spent waiting.

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Taco Salad

Posted on by Claire

taco salad

Have I mentioned that it’s spring here in Buenos Aires? I’ve always preferred warmer weather, but it’s been a little weird seeing November on the calendar while going through a heatwave – temperatures were up to the mid-90s recently! (That’s Fahrenheit, of course; I still haven’t made the adjustment over to Celsius.) Given the weather, I’ve been eating a lot of salads, but in true Argentine fashion, I just can’t help topping them with meat (like my Thai steak salad) – it’s cheap and good quality here and adds extra protein to the meal. I think this recipe for taco salad could be easily adapted to be vegetarian, however, by omitting the ground beef and adding more beans (a mixture of black and pinto beans would be my suggestion).

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Blue Cheese, Walnut, and Raisin Dip

Posted on by Claire

blue cheese walnut and raisin dip

I don’t like to show up empty-handed when I go to visit someone. But I don’t always have the time to bake something (my usual go-to since most people have trouble turning down baked goods). I’ve found, however, that not only are homemade dips quite easy to make, but they’re also usually a hit, since they’re so easy to snack on while chatting and relaxing with friends. This blue cheese, walnut, and raisin dip is easier than most to make and tastes amazingly complex, with a great variety of textures and flavors (and, of course, the combination of savory and sweet that I can never resist).

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Crustless Mushroom and Greens Quiche

Posted on by Claire

crustless mushroom and greens quiche

As I mentioned Friday, the knob to control the oven temperature here isn’t labeled with actual temperatures or even gas marks. So I wanted to try cooking something fairly forgiving to test out the oven. I thought a simple crustless quiche would be a great option – easy, tasty, and healthy. I didn’t have anything to bake it in, but then I realized that the oven-safe sautee pan that we’d brought along (yes, I didn’t just bring a whole lot of spices for my kitchen) was perfect for the task. I like my quiches to be absolutely packed with vegetables, so I put as many mushrooms and greens as I could in here, as well as some chopped walnuts on top for a nice crunch.

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Mushroom and Black Garlic Pasta

Posted on by Claire

mushroom and black garlic pasta

While there are some ingredients I’ve had difficulty finding here in Buenos Aires (like canned beans), there are others that I’ve been surprised to see in abundance. Black garlic, which I’ve never once seen on a grocery store shelf back in DC, is mysteriously present in multiple stores here. The vendor at the vegetable stall I bought it from warned me that it was not intended for cooking but rather meant to be eaten medicinally, but I’d heard of black garlic before and knew better. If you taste a clove plain, it’s hard to believe this is garlic at all – the fermented ebony-colored cloves are sticky-sweet, with flavor reminiscent of a balsamic reduction or tamarind paste, but there’s still a hint of mellow garlic flavor in the background.

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Corn and Roasted Pepper Empanadas

Posted on by Claire

corn and roasted pepper empanadas

In continuing with this week’s theme of empanadas, here’s yet another tasty filling. There are a lot of steps here, from roasting peppers to grating and cooking down corn, but although they aren’t so easy to make, the sweetness of the corn and roasted peppers makes the resulting empanadas incredibly easy to eat. I’d never grated fresh corn before, but I can see myself using this technique in the future for other corn fillings or dips or even just a savory (or sweet!) corn puree.

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Mushroom, Shallot, and Fontina Empanadas

Posted on by Claire

mushroom shallot and fontina empanadas

As I go through the different empanada fillings I prepared, I think I may have to declare this one my personal favorite. While they all turned out quite well, I’m always a fan of anything with mushrooms. On top of that, the savory-sweet flavor here from the inclusion of raisins and balsamic vinegar is right up my alley. And it’s really quite an easy preparation, too, for quite a complex resulting flavor. If you’re planning on making smaller empanadas, you may want to dice the mushrooms and shallots instead of slicing them to make it easier to get exactly the right-sized scoop of filling.

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Spinach and Three Cheese Empanadas

Posted on by Claire

spinach and three cheese empanadas

Everyone talks about how popular carne (meat) is over here in Argentina, but no one prepared me for how much the Argentines love their queso (cheese). While the variety isn’t quite the same as back home, there are still plenty of cheeses in the supermarket, and ham and cheese sandwiches are everywhere. And it seems like any empanada that doesn’t have meat in it has cheese instead. These spinach and three cheese empanadas are heavy on the cheese, but maybe the spinach in there can help you feel a little healthier about making these. But the taste should really be justification enough.

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Black Bean Dip

Posted on by Claire

black bean dip

After realizing how easy it is to make hummus, I’ve been experimenting with other bean dips, too. They’re quick and simple to prepare, usually a big hit at parties, and great to have around for snacking if you’re like me and sometimes find yourself suddenly hungry and in need of immediate food. This classic black bean dip is packed with Mexican flavors from paprika, cumin, lime juice, and a chipotle pepper. Well-matched with corn chips, but I actually prefer using fresh carrots, bell peppers, and cucumbers for dipping – healthier and, in my opinion, tastier, too.

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