Zucchini Fritters

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Yield 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds zucchini, grated
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large egg, beaten
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

• Place grated zucchini in a colander over the sink. Add salt and gently toss to combine; let sit for 10 minutes. Using a clean dish towel or cheese cloth, drain zucchini completely.
• In a large bowl, combine zucchini, flour, Parmesan, garlic and egg; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Scoop tablespoons of batter for each fritter, flattening with a spatula, and cook until the underside is nicely golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side, about 1-2 minutes longer.
• Serve immediately.

Baked Pesto Risotto Balls

Ingredients:

• Leftover Pesto Risotto (2 cups risotto with 1/2 cup pesto)
• 1/2 Cup of Italian Bread Crumbs, plus 1/8 of a Cup
• 1/2 Cup of Grated Parmesan Cheese
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 Egg
• Non-Stick Olive Oil Spray

Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
• Add your egg, 1/8 cup of your Italian bread crumbs, and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese to your leftover risotto and combine well by mixing with your hands.
• In another bowl combine your 1/2 cup of Italian bread crumbs, 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper.
• Roll your risotto mixture into bite size balls and then roll them in the bread crumb mixture.  
• Place onto a cooling rack that is sitting on top of a baking sheet to ensure that all sides of the risotto balls get crispy.
• Spray thoroughly with the non-stick spray.
• Bake for about 20-30 minutes until the risotto balls have browned nicely.
• Optionally, you can broil for the last 5 minutes to ensure good color.
• Serve with your favorite marinara sauce and fresh basil.

Celeriac and kohlrabi rösti

Serves 4-6 as a side dish, 2-3 as a light lunch with salad

1 small celeriac (about 325-350 g)
1/2 kohlrabi (about 100 g)
50 g chickpea flour
A handful of parsley, stems and leaves
1 egg
2 tbsp cold water
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cracked black peppercorns
Good quality olive oil, for frying

Scrub and peel the celeriac and peel the kohlrabi. Shred coarsely by hand or using the grating attachment of your food processor.

If using the food processor (I did), replace the shredding blade with the chopping blade.
Add the chickpea flour, thinly sliced parsley leaves and stems, beaten egg, water, and seasonings. Process, in brief bursts, until the contents are fairly evenly mixed. By hand, simply mix well.
Heat a good tablespoon of oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Drop tablespoons of this mixture into the hot oil and cook for 2-3 mins on each side, until browned and cooked through. Set aside in a warm oven until all the rösti are cooked (you may need to cook them in two batches).
Serve alongside meat or with a tomato-chili sauce as a snack or light lunch.

Crab Cakes with Ginger and Lime

From Simply Recipes

Asian inspired crab cakes with fresh crab meat, lime, ginger, and sriracha.

• Prep time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
• Cook time: 20 minutes
• Yield: Makes 16 appetizer sized crab cakes.

INGREDIENTS

• 8 ounces fresh lump crab meat, well picked through to remove any bits of shell
• 3 scallions, including green parts, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger root
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
• 1 teaspoon lime juice, plus a little more for sprinkling on at service
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce, depending on how spicy you would like the crab cakes to be
• 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp of panko bread crumbs for crab mixture plus 3/4 cup of panko bread crumbs for breading
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp butter
• Lime slices for garnish

METHOD

1  In a medium bowl, combine the scallions, cilantro, ginger, lime zest, lime juice, and mayonnaise. Stir in the lump crab meat and the panko to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 to 2 hours.

2 Using your clean hands, form the crab mixture into 1-inch diameter round balls.

3 Set out 3 bowls, one for flour, one for the beaten egg, and one for panko bread crumbs. Roll each crab ball in first the flour, then the beaten egg, and finally the panko. Set aside on a plate.

4 Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed sauté pan on medium high heat. Swirl in the butter. After the butter has foamed up and melted, place the panko coated crab balls into the pan and press down gently with a metal spatula. Do not crowd the pan, you may need to work in batches. Cook a minute or two, until golden brown on one side, then gently turn the crab cakes over and cook until golden brown on the other side.

5 Remove to a paper towel lined plate or to a sheet pan in a low oven to keep warm. Sprinkle with lime juice to serve, and serve with a slice of lime.

Apple Walnut Gorgonzola Turnovers

From Simply Recipes

• Yield: Makes 24 turnovers.

If using prepared frozen puff pastry sheets, they need to be defrosted in the refrigerator at least 3 hours before using.

INGREDIENTS1 1/2 cups peeled, cored, chopped apples (use a good cooking apple such as Jonagold, Pippin, Granny Smith, Jonathan, Golden Delicious, Gravenstein, Mcintosh)1/2 cup chopped walnuts

• 1/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled)
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 2 7-ounce prepared puff pastry sheets (total 14 ounces)
• 1 egg, beaten

METHOD

1 Place chopped apples in a bowl, microwave on high heat for 5 minutes until apples are cooked through. Remove from heat and let cool. Drain excess moisture. Once cooled, chop further so that the pieces are between 1/4-inch and 1/2-inch square. (Note you can skip this step if you want; the main purpose is to get the apples to release some of their moisture before cooking into the pastry.)

2 Combine apples, walnuts, gorgonzola, thyme and honey in a small bowl.

3 Preheat oven to 400°F. Working with one puff pastry sheet at a time (leave the second one in the refrigerator until using it) roll out the pastry to a size of 9-inches by 12-inches. Cut into 12 3x3-inch squares (a pizza slicer works great for this). Paint 1/2-inch of border around each square with beaten egg (this will help the pastry seal). Place a heaping teaspoon of the apple walnut mixture in the center of the squares. Fold over the squares into a triangle shape, stretching the dough if necessary to cover the filling. Use the tines of a fork to crimp the edges. Place triangles on a silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet, with space between the triangles. Chill for 5 minutes in the refrigerator before baking, or chill while you prepare the second puff pastry sheet.

4 Whisk in a half teaspoon of water into the remaining beaten egg. Use a pastry brush to paint on the tops of the pastry triangles for a nice glaze. Place in oven and cook for 15-20 minutes until nicely puffed up and lightly browned. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Serve either warm or at room temperature. Can be made several hours in advance.

Nigella's Bar Nuts

Ingredients

• 4 cups unsalted mixed nuts (including peeled peanuts, cashews, brazil, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans & whole unpeeled almonds)
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary (from two 8cm / 3 inch sprigs)
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons sea salt flakes
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (Melted)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4/350ºF.
2. Toss the nuts in a large bowl to combine and spread them out on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven till they become light golden-brown, about 10 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, combine the rosemary, cayenne, muscovado sugar, salt and melted butter.
4. Thoroughly toss the toasted nuts in the spiced butter and serve warm. And once you eat these, you will never want to stop.

Bacon Candy

Makes 20 strips

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1.5 tsp chile powder
20 slices of thick-cut bacon (1.5lbs)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with foil. In a small bowl, whisk the brown sugar with the chile powder. Arrange the bacon strips on the foil and coat the tops with the chile sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes until caramelized and almost crisp. **It may be faster depending on your oven and the sugar makes them burn easily so check them after 18min. Transfer the bacon to a rack set over a sheet of foil to cool completely; serve.

The bacon candy can be made earlier in the day; store at room temperature.

Goat Cheese, Sausage and Mushroom Wellington (or Pizza!)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
• 1 lb Italian sausage
• 1 medium white or yellow onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 sprig of thyme, leaves removed
• 10-12 oz mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed, sliced
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Approximately 1 cup of goat cheese (this was spreadable so I dolloped it on; depending on your cheese you could also sprinkle on a dryer product or even use mozzarella if not using goat cheese).
• 1 egg

PREPARATION

1. Flour your counter a bit and roll out pastry so that it's about 1/2" larger on all sides after rolling.
2. Remove the casing, if any, from the sausage and scatter pieces in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the onion and saute together until the sausage is well browned and the onions are translucent.
3. Add the minced garlic and continue to saute for 1-2 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
5. Remove the sausage and onions from the skillet and add the olive oil. Saute the sliced mushrooms for 4-5 minutes until just softened. Add the thyme leaves and saute for another minute.
6. Layer the sausage mixture, mushrooms and cheese on top of the pastry, leaving enough on sides to overlap dough on top of the mixture. Wet the edges of the pastry and crimp all of the edges together.
7. Brush the egg over the pastry, put into the oven and bake for approximately 25 minutes until nicely browned.
8. Let cool for 5 minutes, then slice and serve.
For pizza:
9. Make or buy pizza dough, press into pan and layer the sausage mixture, mushrooms and goat cheese on top of the dough. Sprinkle with some Parmesan if desired and bake according to standard directions for your dough.

Potato Salad with Bacon and Barbecue Sauce

Serves 10 to 12 as an appetizer

• 4 pounds small red or yukon potatoes
• 1/2 cup lean bacon, preferably applewood-smoked
• 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
• 1/3 cup mayonaise
• 2 tablespoons mustard
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped tarragon
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. In a large pot, cover the potatoes with salted water. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and cook until fork tender, about 30 to 35 minutes. Drain the potatoes, rinse under cold running water, and cut into quarters. Place the potatoes in a large bowl and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until crispy, about 5 or 6 minutes. (You don’t need any additional oil, as the bacon will provide enough oil for itself for cooking.) Remove the bacon and drain on paper towels. Finely dice the bacon once it is cool enough to handle.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the barbecue sauce, mayonaise, mustard, and vinegar. Pour the mixture over the potatoes and carefully fold until well-mixed. Let stand for 10 to 20 minutes so the potatoes absorb the dressing.
4. Carefully mix in the shallots, bacon, parsley, and tarragon. Add the salt and pepper to taste. Mix everything once more and serve.

Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

Ingredients

• 2 ounces rice vermicelli
• 8 rice wrappers (8.5 inch diameter)
• 8 large cooked shrimp - peeled, deveined and cut in half
• 1 1/3 tablespoons chopped fresh Thai basil
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 leaves lettuce, chopped
•  
• 4 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic chili sauce
•  
• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped peanuts

Directions

1. Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil. Boil rice vermicelli 3 to 5 minutes, or until al dente, and drain.
2. Fill a large bowl with warm water. Dip one wrapper into the hot water for 1 second to soften. Lay wrapper flat. In a row across the center, place 2 shrimp halves, a handful of vermicelli, basil, mint, cilantro and lettuce, leaving about 2 inches uncovered on each side. Fold uncovered sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper, beginning at the end with the lettuce. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
3. In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce, water, lime juice, garlic, sugar and chili sauce.
4. In another small bowl, mix the hoisin sauce and peanuts.
5. Serve rolled spring rolls with the fish sauce and hoisin sauce mixtures.

Crostini with Prosciutto, Figs, and Mint

Epicurious  | February 2006

By Jamie Oliver

• 1 loaf of ciabatta bread, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 1 large clove of garlic, peeled and cut in half
• Good-quality extra virgin olive oil

• 6 large ripe figs
• 12 slices of prosciutto
• Small bunch of fresh mint
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Freshly ground black pepper

Grill your slices of ciabatta. While they're still hot, rub them gently with the cut side of the garlic and drizzle with good-quality extra virgin olive oil.

Tear the figs in half, then drape a piece of prosciutto over each of your hot crostini and squash a piece of a fig on top. Finish with mint leaves and serve drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil, a drop of balsamic vinegar, and some freshly ground black pepper.

Fresh Vegetable Spring Rolls with Two Dipping Sauces

Recipe courtesy Bobby Flay

Prep Time: 1 hr 30 min

Ingredients

• 1 cup shredded Napa cabbage
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 1/2 cup finely sliced green onion
• 1 red pepper thinly sliced
• 6 large shiitake mushrooms, grilled and sliced thin
• 2 cups bean sprouts
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 8 very thin 8-inch square spring roll wrappers

Directions

Combine all vegetables in a bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Lay the spring roll wrappers on a flat surface, pointed edge toward you. Put a 1/8 of the filling in the bottom third of the wrapper, bring the pointed edge over the filling, fold in the sides tightly. Dab the top pointed edge with water and roll tightly. Serve with sauces.

Garlic-Soy Dipping Sauce:

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 1 teaspoon hot sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• Pinch of sugar

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.

Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon hot chile oil
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth, add cilantro just before serving.

Spicy Goat Cheese & Butternut Squash Triangles

From http://adventurescooking.blogspot.com/2012/02/spicy-goat-cheese-butternut-squash.html

Ingredients:

1 and 1/4 Cup Butternut Squash Puree
5 Ounces Goat Cheese
3/4 Cup Butter, melted
1/4 Cup Instant Mashed Potato Flakes
(1) 16 Ounce Package Filo Dough, thawed
1 Tablespoon Siracha, or your preferred hot sauce
1 Clove Garlic, minced

Mix together the butternut squash puree, garlic, and mashed potato flakes in a small bowl until well blended. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Take one sheet of the filo dough and lay it out on a clean flat surface. Brush it very lightly and quickly with the melted butter, then fold the sheet in half length-wise and brush the exposed surface very lightly with the melted butter. Then fold it in half length-wise again and brush the exposed surface again very lightly with the melted butter. The filo should be very long and narrow like in the pictures later on.

Now take a slightly heaping 1/2 teaspoon of the butternut squash and slightly heaping 1/2 teaspoon of the goat cheese and place them on top of each other at one end of the filo dough. Place a drop of the chili sauce on top and fold the corner of the filo up and over the filling to the opposite side. Continue folding as you would fold a flag, which you can see in the photos below.

Once you get to the last turn, brush the outside of the triangle with melted butter and brush the last fold of the filo dough with the butter to help it stick. Place the triangle on the baking sheet, seam side down. Repeat this process until all of the filo has been used.

Place the tray in the oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the outside of the triangles are golden brown. Allow to cool for 20 minutes before serving, as the filling will still be very hot

Mushroom Bruschetta

1 portobello mushroom, stem removed, and cut into small pieces
handful of oyster mushrooms, on the smaller side, or slice larger ones into stems
1 small garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1/4 cup high quality balsamic vinegar
1 baguette sliced thinly
olive oil
2 large garlic cloves to rub over the baguette

Heat oven to broil. Rub each slice of baguette with the large piece of garlic. Using a pastry brush lightly coat each slice with some olive oil. Toast in the oven until golden. Remove and set aside. Gently heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan over low heat, add the shallots and minced garlic, slowly cook until caramelized in color; about 10 minutes. Add the portobello mushroom, and cook until lightly browned; about 5 minutes. Add the oyster mushrooms, stir, and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the thyme and season with some black pepper. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside in a bowl. Add the balsamic vinegar to the frying pan, and bring to medium heat. Using a wooden spoon, keep stirring until reduced in half, about 4 minutes. Lower the heat, and stir the mushrooms and their juices into the reduction. Serve on the slices of toasted baguette.

Spiced Carrots with Cumin and Fresh Ginger Recipe

1 1/2 pounds carrots
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon agave, or 1 tsp. honey
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder, or cayenne pepper
salt and pepper, to taste

On medium high heat, place the carrots in a large pan with coconut oil, agave and 1/3 cup water. Season carrots with cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper and stir occasionally. Cook for about 20 minutes, until caramelized and tender.

Total time: 25 minutes
Yield: 2-4 servings

Tomato, Parmesan, and Prosciutto Bruschetta

Makes 20-25 servings

2 large beefsteak tomatoes, diced into small cubes
2-3 cloves garlic, minced in a press
1 tsp dried oregano
1 TBSP dijon mustard
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
2 TBSP, plus additional for croutons, extra-virgin olive oil
1 baguette, cut into 1/2" slices
4 slices prosciutto, pan seared until crispy, then crumble into large pieces
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, shaved or grated
Salt and freshly ground pepper

In a medium sized bowl, mix the tomatoes, garlic, oregano, mustard, balsamic vinegar, and the 2 TBSP of olive oil. Season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover and let sit in the fridge for at least 25 minutes. The longer it sits, the better the flavor.

Pre-heat broiler to high and position the rack to be in the top third of the oven. On a baking sheet, arrange the slices of baguette in one layer. Brush each slice with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and freshly ground pepper. Toast in oven until the edges are golden brown.

Top each slice with the marinated tomatoes, Parmesan, and a piece of prosciutto. Sprinkle with a bit more freshly ground pepper. Serve and devour.

Eggplant Salad Toasts

Makes about 8 toasts; double the recipe if you’d like to eat the salad straight or use it in one of the ways suggested above

1 medium eggplant, about 3/4 pound, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil plus additional for oiling baking sheet
1/4 teaspoon salt
Black pepper
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/4 cup crumbled crumbled feta
1 scallion, thinly sliced
8 1/2-inch slices of baguette, brushed with olive oil (I used 1-inch slices in the photos, then decided they were too thick)
1 small clove garlic, peeled and halved

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet or roasting pan. Toss eggplant, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and a generous amount of black pepper together in a medium bowl until evenly coated. Spread on prepared baking sheet and roast for about 25 minutes, moving pieces around occasional so they evenly brown. For a cold salad, let the eggplant cool a bit before mixing it with red wine vinegar, feta and scallion. For a warm salad where the feta glues itself to the eggplant a bit, toss the vinegar, feta and scallion together when the eggplant just comes out of the oven. You’ll want to eat the warm salad quickly.

Broil or toast baguette slices then rub them with a garlic clove before heaping on eggplant salad.

Jalapeno Bacon Stuffed Potatoes

Total Recipe cost: $4.82
Servings Per Recipe: 6
Cost per serving: $0.80
Prep time: 10 min. Cook time: 90 min. Total: 100 min. (mostly passive cooking time)

INGREDIENTS
3 medium to large russet potatoes
1 cup cheddar chees
6 oz. applewood smoked bacon
3 small jalapenos
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup milk
1 Tbsp fresh cracked pepper to taste
salt and pepper


STEP 1: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Wash the potatoes well and prick with a fork (I do this along the line where I will be cutting them in half later so as not to weaken the skin "shell"). Bake the potatoes for approximately 1 hr. You can check them at 45 minutes, they should be slightly soft when squeezed.

STEP 2: While the potatoes are cooking, cut the bacon into "bit" sized pieces and cook in a skillet over medium/high heat until they are crispy. Spoon them out of the grease and drain on folded up paper towels. Set the bacon aside.

STEP 3: Slice the jalapenos down the center and scoop out the spine and seeds. If you like it extra extra hot, leave some seeds in. Chop the remaining jalapeno pieces into small bits and set aside.

STEP 4: When the potatoes are done cooking, remove them from the oven and turn the oven down to 350 degrees. Let them cool for ten minutes or so and carefully slice them in half length wise. Using a sharp spoon, scoop out the flesh of the potatoes into a bowl leaving some still attached to the skin to give it support.

STEP 5: Add the butter, milk, salt and pepper to the scooped out potato flesh and mash it up good until it is light and fluffy. Stir in the bacon pieces, jalapenos and 2/3 cup cheddar cheese.

STEP 5: Refill the potato shells with the mashed mixture. Top each with a little bit more cheddar (about 1/3 cup total). Place the stuffed potatoes on a baking sheet and bake in the oven until the cheese has melted and browned slightly (about 30 minutes).

NOTE: Use as much or as little jalapeno as you like. My three peppers were very small and the mixture was still extremely spicy. Another option would be to use pickled jalapenos which tend to be slightly less spicy (and you may have some left over from your Pork and Pineapple Burritos).

Six ounces of bacon is about half of a regular sized package. You can freeze the unused portion and keep it handy for making more bacon bits or cook off all of it and freeze the unused cooked bacon bits!

If you are going to freeze your potatoes, refrigerate them first and then once they have chilled wrap them tightly in foil or plastic wrap, place them in a zipper freezer bag and date and label them. Frozen potatoes are also great to bring for lunch because they will stay cool (and safe) for hours until you are ready to reheat and eat!

mushrooms stuffed with spinach and pancetta

what you need:

4 large field mushrooms
1 bag of spinach, forget the weight, sowwy as the princess would say!
100g pancetta cubes
1 garlic clove
30g dried or fresh breadcrumbs(fine without too)
50g grated parmesan cheese
4 tbsp olive oil
sea salt and black pepper

what to do:
-pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees.
-wash and rinse your spinach and cook in a dry pan for 2-3 mins until wilted. Drain and squeeze out as much liquid as possible and finely chop.
-cut the stalks out of the mushrooms and finely chop.
-heat your oil and add your onions and garlic and cook over a low heat for about 10 mins until soft but not coloured.
-add your pancetta and mushroom stalks and cook for 5 minutes.
-add your spinach, breadcrumbs and 1/2 your parmesan to the pan, season and toss together.
-arrange your mushrooms rounded side down on a baking tray, season and divide your stuffing between the mushrooms. Top with parmesan cheese.
-cook for 15 mins until crisp and golden.

Tomato and Onion Salad with Tahini Dressing

Yield 4 servings
Time 30 minutes

By: Mark Bittman

Ingredients
1 medium red or white onion, peeled and diced
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 garlic clove, peeled and minced, or to taste
1/3 cup tahini paste
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
4 medium tomatoes, cored and chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped

Method
1. Soak onion in salted cold water while preparing other ingredients, about 30 minutes. Whisk or blend together garlic, tahini and cumin, and add lemon juice; the mixture will become very thick. Thin with hot water, a tablespoon at a time, just so the mixture can be spooned. (It will thin further when tossed with tomatoes.) Season to taste with salt and pepper.

2. Toss onion, tomatoes and parsley with dressing. Taste, adjust the seasonings and serve.