roasted veggies and rice with arugula pesto

With so many different kinds of vegetables available throughout the year, I cut, shred, dice and roast them almost on a weekly basis. I use them mixed with rice, quinoa, farro or pasta or simply alone as a side dish. With so many spices to choose from, every dish will have a unique taste.  This year the arugula in my garden is growing beautifully. I planted wild arugula last year so the plants just keep multiplying. So I decided to use the arugula to make a pesto.

wild arugula growing in the garden

wild arugula & wild garlic

ingredients

roasted vegetables:
3 med  onions, diced
3 stalks of celery diced
2 bell pepper (any color), diced
2 zucchini, diced
1 yellow squash, diced
1 tbsp arugula pesto
1 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

rice:
1 cup rice (any kind of rice, or quinoa)
2 cups chicken broth or water
Sea salt and white pepper, to taste

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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
Place the onions,  peppers, zucchini on the baking sheet then add the cloves of garlic (skins on). Drizzle with 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil then season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste; toss to coat evenly.
Place into the oven and roast for 20 minutes, stirring the mixture, after 15 minutes. Add the zucchini and squash then continue to roast for 15 more minutes.
Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Once the garlic has cooled, carefully remove the skin without squeezing the cloves. Slice the garlic cloves then sprinkle on top of the roasted veggies.

While the vegetables are roasting, heat the half of the olive oil in a pot over medium heat.
Add the rice and cook, stirring often so the rice doesn’t stick to the pan, for 2-3 minutes.
Add the chicken broth and season with sea salt and white pepper, to taste.
Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium low. Cover with a lid and let it cook for 20 minutes.

Remove the rice from the burner without removing the lid and let it sit for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the lid and fluff rice with a fork. Sprinkle with the roasted veggies; toss gently. Serve. Enjoy.

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rice & vegetable lasagna

If you like rice and lasagna, you will love this combination.  I picked up some fresh ricotta yesterday, so I added spoonfuls to the top for a nice cheesy crust.

Preheat oven to 350*

You will need some pesto to flavor the rice, so if you don’t have some already prepared this is an easy pesto recipe that won’t take long to make.

Cook the rice halfway and set aside.

Roast your favorite veggies.

Make a super delicious tomato sauce (not thick, more watery because the rice will soak it up)

Cut a few slices of zucchini, sweet potato, or any other favorite vegetable, for the middle of the lasagna.

You can even add a layer of spinach, arugula, swiss chard or rapini.

Cut slices of provolone or other cheese.

Grated parmesan cheese.

Mix the cooked rice with some olive oil, pesto, parmesan cheese, roasted vegetables and tomato sauce.

Mix the zucchini slices & sweet potato slices (or whatever you choose as your next layer) with pesto and a little olive oil.

Salt and pepper everything to taste.

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Spread half the rice mixture in a baking dish, followed by slices of zucchini and sweet potato mixture.

Add a layer of cheese and sprinkle top with pesto and olive oil.

Repeat layers. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese, add slices of cheese amd more tomato sauce.

Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly, 20 to 25 minutes.

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yellow pepper and eggplant stir fry

For a quick side dish or a full meal, stir fries are the quickest and most delicious way to cook your meal, especially at this time of year when you don’t want your fresh vegetables to cook for very long. These vegetables could have easily been served alone as a side dish. Here I cooked some noodles, but could have been rice, quinoa, couscous or amaranth. All would have been equally delicious. I love using ping tung eggplants for stir fries because they have no seeds and cut very easily into bite size pieces. Ping Tungs are the best Chinese eggplants you can buy. They are sweet, tender, superbly delicious and available at Herbivor Farm. Also because they are organic you can leave the peel on and benefit from all the great nutrients. Planning to buy more Ping Tung eggplants this week to make a few jars of eggplant preserves.

    

ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil

3 chopped shallots

3 chopped cloves garlic

5 yelllow peppers cut in medium size strips

2 ping tung eggplants cut in slices (be sure to leave the peel on – this is where most of the nutrients are)

1 cup mushrooms cut in bite size pieces

1 cup pea shoots

a handful of parsley, basil, celery leaves (add at the end)

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Place oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat

Add the onion and half of the garlic  (reserve the rest of the garlic for later)

Stir fry until onions are wilted and beginning to brown

Add peppers and cook for a few minutes, add eggplant and continue cooking for a few more minutes

Add mushrooms and continue cooking until eggplant and mushrooms are soft

Add a little water if pan becomes too dry

Add the rest of the garlic and stir fry to incorporate

Add salt and pepper to taste

Now add 3/4 of the fresh basil mixture stirring briefly to incorporate

Slide onto a serving plate and sprinkle the rest of the basil over top

Add to rice, noodles, quinoa or etc…

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arancini rice balls

 

 

 

 

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zucchini rice salad

Yet another use for the zucchini. This one is fast and simple to make.

ingredients

1 cup steamed rice (or quinoa, amaranth, pasta, bulgar, couscous)

salt and pepper to taste

chopped basil, parsley, green onions, celery leaves (any herb you like)

2 zucchini flowers (I use the flowers for color, you can use a red or orange pepper chopped)

1 cup shredded zucchini

chopped garlic

olive oil

parmesan cheese

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place rice in a big bowl

add all ingredients and mix well

add parmesan cheese before serving if wanted 

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