vegetable

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Apples

May 31, 2017 by Marisa 27 Comments

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Apples are a perfect medley of sweet and savory. Combined together, you’ll find they compliment any fish or poultry dish while providing a unique and delicious way of teasing your taste buds.

Roasting potatoes alongside another vegetable or even in this case combined with apples, is my favorite way of serving up the yummy spud.

These distinctive crescent shaped and thin skinned fingerling potatoes are a perfect match with a great baking apple such as the Cortland or Empire. Really though, any apple that holds its shape when baked will do for that matter. However, I wouldn’t use the McIntosh as this variety gets mushy and falls apart when roasted.

Also, look for apples with bright red skins that will provide a lovely contrast to the more palish yellow skin of the fingerling potato.

Keeping the seasonings to a few simple ingredients allows a nice balance between sweet and savory.

Aside from the customary salt and pepper, I added dried organic mountain oregano which I use quite often when making any kind of roast. You can purchase the dried stalks whole and keep in plastic bags for months since these retain their natural fragrances and pair brilliantly with meats or vegetables.

All that’s then needed is a generous drizzle of good quality olive oil and a few squirts of fresh lemon juice to make the flavors pop.

Add a little love to your next meal with a side dish of Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Apples and enjoy with your family and friends!

Buon Appetito!

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Apples

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Apples, a perfect medley of sweet and savory and a delicious compliment to fish or poultry.

Course Vegetarian

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 4

Author Marisa

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds fingerling potatoes sliced in half lengthwise
3 medium red apples cored and cut into wedges ( I used Cortland apples )
2 tablespoons olive oil
freshly squeezed lemon juice from half a lemon
1 teaspoon dried oregano I used an organic brand
fine sea salt to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Line a large baking sheet pan with parchment paper (for easy cleanup).
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss to coat all over.
Transfer the potato and apple mix to the prepared sheet pan while spreading them out in a single layer.
You'll want to leave some space between the potatoes and apples so that they roast beautifully.
Roast for about 30 minutes, turning the slices over after 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and enjoy while still warm.

Oven Roasted Potatoes and Fennel

November 6, 2016 by Marisa 31 Comments

Oven Roasted Potatoes and Fennel, is a simple yet delicious vegetarian dish combining two of my favorite vegetables and also makes an excellent side dish to any main meal.

Fennel is a super crisp vegetable that can be eaten raw as is or sliced thinly and tossed in a salad such as this refreshing Fennel and Pomegranate Salad. I actually love to snack on this slightly sweet vegetable with it’s subtle licorice flavor. In texture it is much like celery but way more tasty.

All parts of the fennel are edible. From the bulb, the stalks and the fronds which are mostly used as an herb seasoning or garnish.

But did you know that fennel is just as delicious when cooked? When cooked, fennel turns soft and sweeter.

The sweetness of this vegetable pairs beautifully in a spicy tomato sauce, much like my Mussels Linguine with Tomato Fennel Sauce.

However, lately I’ve been loving it roasted alongside the ever so humble potato with a simple drizzle of olive oil, seasoned with fresh rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper. You’ll find these Oven Roasted Potatoes and Fennel to be quite easy to put together and hardly requires any fuss at all.

Every time I combine and cook two vegetables this way, I find it easier to fill half my plate with nutrient-dense foods and at the same time reduce calorie intake!

Also, If you are looking to reduce starchy foods in your diet but adore potatoes like I do, combining them with a non starchy vegetable is a great way of doing so.

I love to use my wavy crinkled cutter when slicing potatoes as the ridges cradle all those delicious flavors. But you can really slice them any way you want. Just make sure that both the potatoes and fennel are sliced fairly equal in size. This ensures that they cook evenly.

You will want to use the largest sheet pan that you have and spread the vegetables out in one single layer. This way both the potatoes and fennel will brown beautifully and crisp up around the edges.

I used an 18 x 12 x 1 inch baking sheet, which is fairly big, any yet a few of the vegetables overlapped just slightly.

These Roasted Potatoes and Fennel pair perfectly as a side dish with any red meat, poultry or fish but exceptionally well with salmon!

Buon Appetito!

Oven Roasted Potatoes and Fennel

Oven Roasted Potatoes and Fennel. A simple, delicious vegetarian dish combining two favorite vegetables and makes an excellent side dish to any main meal.

Course Vegetarian

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4

Author Marisa

Ingredients

4 medium potatoes sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1 fennel bulb sliced into 1/2 inch wedges (see note)
2 tablespoons of olive oil plus more for drizzling
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
salt and pepper to your taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. (I used an 18x12x1 sheet pan)
Place the sliced potatoes and sliced fennel in a large bowl.
Add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper to the vegetables.
Toss to combine and then spread them out in one single layer onto the prepared baking sheet.
Drizzle with a little more olive oil.
Roast the vegetables in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes or just until they are tender and are a rich golden brown.
Serve while still warm.
NOTE
Slicing fennel is really quite simple. First start by cutting off the stalks from the bulb (you can reserve the stalks for making soup).
Cut the fennel vertically in half and leave the hard core attached, then slice into 1/2 inch wedges.
Leaving the hard core attached will insure the wedges stay intact.

Parmesan Crusted Potatoes with Asparagus

April 22, 2016 by Marisa 38 Comments

Parmesan crusted potatoes with asparagus is a simple dish which features just a few ingredients that can be prepared on any busy weeknight.

I have come to realize that I haven’t yet shared a vegetable recipe here on the blog before! So let me remedy that with this supper easy vegetable dish!

It’s just wonderful served alongside steak, chicken or even fish. You can even go vegetarian by topping the roasted vegetables with a fried egg. Yummy!!

These Parmesan crusted potatoes with asparagus are oven roasted to a golden brown perfection. Topping the vegetables with grated Parmesan cheese for the last 5 minutes of roasting time, develops a delicious crunchy crust. This imparts another layer of goodness to the vegetables that make them so irresistible.

Grelot Potatoes

My family is a huge potatoes fan…like really huge! My mom was never able to prepare enough potatoes to satisfy everyone at family gatherings! We would often find ourselves wrestling each other at the diner table for her oven roasted potatoes. For some reason, unbeknownst to us, my nephew Gab would end up with most of them on his plate! Go figure!

I used a delicious combination of red, yellow and blue little creamer potatoes. They’re thin skinned, buttery and nutritious and also pair so well with the fresh asparagus.

If you can’t find creamer potatoes in your area, any other baby potatoes will do. Just remember to cut them into equal sizes so they cook evenly.

Lining a baking sheet with parchment paper will ensure that the potatoes do no stick to the pan and…easy clean up!

Toss the potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread the potatoes out in a single layer, giving them room to brown and bake for 20 minutes.

When you’re ready to add the asparagus to the pan toss the asparagus with olive oil, salt and pepper. Then simply nestle them between the potatoes and bake 15 minutes more.

Sprinkle with the grated Parmesan cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes. The cheese melts and develops wonderful golden brown crust over the vegetables. Simply delicious!

If you make this recipe remember to tag @marisasitaliankitchen on Instagram so I can see your creation!

Parmesan Crusted Potatoes with Asparagus are oven roasted to a golden brown perfection and makes a wonderful side dish to any meat, chicken or fish.

Parmesan Crusted Potatoes And Asparagus

These Parmesan crusted potatoes are a healthy and delicious combination of red, yellow and blue Grelot potatoes. The vegetables are oven roasted to a golden brown perfection.

Course Vegetable

Cuisine Vegetarian

Servings 4

Author Marisa

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds grelots potatoes or any baby potatoes of your choice cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 pound asparagus tips trimmed
2 tablespoons plus 1 tablespoon of olive oil
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium sized bowl, toss the potatoes with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper.
Spread on the prepared baking sheet, in a single layer.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.
Using the same bowl, toss the asparagus with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper.
Remove the pan with potatoes from the oven and flip the potatoes over.
Add the asparagus to the pan and bake along side the potatoes for 15 minutes.
Sprinkle with the grated cheese and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese is golden in spots.

Chicken and Kale Soup

March 31, 2015 by Marisa 3 Comments

After a busy afternoon running errands, there is nothing more welcoming than a big bowl of home made chicken soup. This soup is chock full of healthy, hearty vegetables. Lots of vitamins in a bowl…yummy!

I always start my soup base with a holy trinity of onion, carrots and celery. It is a wonderful way of building up flavors for your soup. I then add whatever greens I may have on hand, but let me say that kale has become my new favorite leafy green vegetable. Kale is being called, ” the queen of greens” and a “nutritional powerhouse”.

There is really not much effort required in making this soup, except for chopping some vegetables. And it is even more easy with store bought rotisserie chicken. I cut up three quarters of the chicken to use in this soup but you can use the whole chicken if you wish, just increase the amount of liquids to compensate.

Round off this soup with a crispy salad and some crusty bread for a complete meal.

This recipe will serve 4-6 people.

Ingredients:

1 tbls olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
2 cloves of garlic. minced
2 tbls tomato paste (I like to use the concentrated tomato paste that comes in a tube)
1 bunch of kale, chopped (hard stem removed and discarded)
8 cups of chicken broth
3/4 of a cooked rotisserie chicken (skin and bones removed then chopped)
1/2 cup filini or orzo (tiny shaped pasta)
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, carrots, celery, minced garlic, tomato paste and sauté for about 3 minutes stirring occasionally. Next add the chopped kale to the pot with salt and pepper to taste and stir till the kale wilts, for about a minute or 2. Pour in 1/2 cup of the chicken broth stirring to release any brown bits then add in remaining broth and the cooked chicken. Cover and bring to a boil. Once it starts to boil stir in your tiny shaped pasta, reduce heat to low and simmer till noodles are cooked. So Simple:)