Vegan Queso Fundido with Rioja Sauce

This queso fundido with  rioja sauce is absolutely the best! The flavor is very intense and rich. I served it on garlic toast along side some marinated mushrooms and corn fritters. It is not a true queso fundido, which traditionally has loads of meat and dairy cheese; it's better because it uses a creamy almond cheese. (You can find the Simple Almond Cheese recipe that I use HERE.)

The Rioja Sauce is the base for the queso fundido: it has everything good in it - tomato sauce, red wine, green olives, garlic, garlic, garlic and olive oil.

I served the sauce on my potato torte (HERE)  which was the perfect accompaniment. This sauce is much too concentrated to serve over pasta, so think of it as a dipping sauce, or a drizzling sauce or even something to spoon over your main meal. (Still eating chickens? It would be great over grilled tofu.)

In a recent post I mentioned that my mom inspired my potato torte and this rioja sauce was also inspired by her. See my note that suggests to serve the potatoes with rioja sauce?

I've been in a cooking dead-zone lately, so being with my mom and her incredible meals very much inspired me to get-back-in-the-cooking-saddle and put a meal on the table.

Any way, try the sauce. Try the fundido. Let me know.

Here's what you need:

1/4 C olive oil (I cut back on this)

1/4 C minced garlic (I did not cut back on this)

1 C dry red wine

28 oz can crushed tomatoes

2 T capers

1 C good green olives - leave them whole for a pretty presentation

2 T dried basil

Here's what you do:

Warm the garlic in the olive oil until it is cooked - NEVER brown your garlic - use a low heat. Add the remaining ingredients and continue to simmer until the sauce is thick and cooked down.

To Make the Queso Fundido:

Spoon some sauce into an oven proof serving dish (or a cast iron skillet). Spoon some Simple Almond Cheese over the top and bake until bubbly. NOTE: the rioja sauce really, really intensifies during its time in the oven! Perfect for garlic toast.

Goddess Nicoise – Isa Chandra

Well, I ended up actually seeing a Snowy Owl the other day – he was just sitting there, looking right down at me. No need to mention that I spent an hour searching for him, drove down every single muddy country road in the county and ended up half-way down some farmer’s driveway just so I could get this photo. Admit it – it was worth it! Isn’t he great?

Mr. Living Cookbook (aka Tim) also spotted some of these gorgeous birds and his photos are spectacular – so I must share them also.

I think spring might be just around the corner *FINALLY* here in West Michigan, so I bet the Snowy Owls will head up north soon.

Warmer weather (that means in the 20s and 30s folks) means my taste buds crave salads. This one comes from Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra. She does all things well. The dressing is excellent and can be drizzled on all kinds of stuff.  

Here’s what you need:

16 oz chick peas, drained and rinsed

½ pound of small red potatoes, quartered and steamed until fork tender

½ pound of fresh green beans, stems removes and steamed until fork tender (did you know you can steam the potatoes and beans in the same pot? Start the potatoes first and add the beans when the potatoes are almost done. )

Red onion – sliced super thin to taste (I think I left these out – not a huge raw onion fan)

1/3 C good black Greek olives, pitted – whole or sliced in half

8 C leaf or romaine lettuce

1 C cherry tomatoes

Green Goddess Garlic Dressing

2 average size garlic cloves, peeled

1/2 C fresh chives, cut in 1 inch pieces

1/2 C  fresh Italian flat leaf parsley

2 T tahini

2 T nutritional yeast

1 T white miso

1/3 C water

2 T lemon juice

Arrange the salad on a large platter. Blend dressing ingredients until smooth in a high speed blender or food processor. Drizzle dressing liberally over veg.

Note: Isa likes to smash the chick peas, but I prefer them whole. Isa likes to add capers, but I can’t stand them. Isa also likes more garlic, but I refrain from too much raw garlic. 

Warm Mediterranean Barley Salad

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Question: Is barley the unsung hero of the grain world?

Here’s what you need:

1 ½ C pearl barley

3 C water plus more if it needs it

1 C garbanzo beans (or more to taste)

½ C Kalamata olives, chopped

¼ C pine nuts

½ C onion, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

¼ C lemon juice

3 T olive oil, plus more for the pan

2 T red wine vinegar

1 t cumin

½ t coriander

Salt and pepper to taste

4 C baby kale, stemmed and cut in small pieces

Here’s what you do:

Bring 3 C water to boil in a big pot. Add the barley and 1 t salt. Bring back to boil, lower to simmer, cover and cook for about 30-35 minutes. I had to add more water a few times. When the barley is tender and most of the liquid is gone, set it aside.

Make the dressing by whisking together: lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar, cumin, coriander, salt, and pepper.

 In a large skillet, warm 1 T olive oil and sauté the onions, garbanzos and pine nuts. When the onions are tender, add the garlic and olives. (This is the most wonderful combination of flavors and aromas!)

When the barley is almost done, stir in the kale, cover and allow to cook for about 5 more minutes.

To finish the salad, mix everything together well. Serve warm.

(printable recipe)

Baked Fish – Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution

Not a fish eater? You don’t know what you are missing (I apologize if I sound like your mother....) I predict you just might change your mind after tasting this. (Again, I apologize if I sound like your mother....)  This was A+ Excellent! You can find the original recipe here. Other Food Revolution recipes I have made are found here. 

Here’s what you need:

3 cloves garlic

Fresh basil

1 T olive oil

1 jalapeno or Serrano chili

28 ounce can diced tomatoes

Salt and pepper

1 T red wine vinegar

4 x 5 ounce white fish filets, such as cod or sea bass – skin off and bones removed

¼ C good quality Greek black olives, pits removed. 

Here's what you do: 

Start by cooking the garlic and pepper in some olive oil. Cut a slit in the pepper to get some of the spicy goodness out of it and into your sauce. 

Add the tomatoes, smash it all together, being sure to get the juice out from the pepper. Simmer for about 20 minutes or so. Add a tablespoon of red wine vinegar to give it a boost. 

Snuggle the fish down in the sauce - I was lucky enough to have fresh white fish here, but any mild fish would be nice - not salmon.... Sprinkle on the basil and olives. (It actually looks like I may have used parsley.... these photos are from a while ago.... whatever...)

Put the whole thing in the oven at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the fish is done - Don't over cook it! Serve with pride - it's a thing of beauty. 

chicken marbella

Adapted from The Silver Palate Cookbook

I’m pretty sure many of you have made this chicken dish before because as I was researching it, I found it everywhere. Everywhere, except for my recipe box that is. I can’t believe I’ve missed this one – it’s really good. We ate this late on a Sunday evening after a long afternoon of snowmobiling. Chicken roasting in the oven creates the best smells in the kitchen. This dish is full of the great flavors of the Mediterranean: olives, wine, capers, and amazingly - prunes. It’s that classic combo of sweet and salty. This is definitely a keeper!

Here’s what you need:

1 chicken, quartered, bone-in, skin-on (I cut the breasts in half to create 8 pieces of chicken)

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 T dried oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ C red wine vinegar

¼ C olive oil

½ -1 C pitted prunes (my favorite part of the entire meal)

¼ C pitted Spanish green olives (or more)

¼ C capers with a bit of the juice

3 bay leaves

¼  C light brown sugar

½ C white wine

Optional - parsley for garnish

Here’s what you do:

Create a marinade by mixing the garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, vinegar, oil, prunes, olives, capers and bay leaves. (Save the sugar and wine for the next step.) Rub this marinade all over the chicken and under the skin. Cover and refrigerate over night.

The next day, place chicken in a single layer in a 9 x 13 baking dish and spoon marinade evenly over chicken. Also, sprinkle the brown sugar over each piece of chicken. Pour the wine around the pan. Bake for about 1 hour at 350 degrees. Test for doneness by piercing thickest part of a thigh and making sure the juice runs clear and yellow. There should be no pink juice at all.

With a slotted spoon, remove the chicken to a baking sheet and place under the broiler to crisp up the skin, being careful not to burn it. Drain the remaining sauce through a wire sieve into a small sauce pan reserving the olives, capers and prunes. Set this sauce pan in a bowl of ice and allow the fat to congeal. (It took about 5 minutes or so.) When the sauce has cooled sufficiently, remove the fat, and quickly heat up the gravy on the stove.

Return the olives, capers and prunes to the chicken. Serve the sauce over the chicken or on the side in a gravy boat. We had this with rice which was the perfect accompaniment for that glorious gravy.

(printable recipe)

I’m curious to know how many of you have made this. Am I really the last one on earth to discover this beauty?

Greek pasta and spinach salad

Greek Pasta and Spinach Salad

When it's too hot to even think of cooking, I think cold salads. This is a quick and refreshing idea for a light meal on a hot day.

Salad ingredients might include:

feta cheese

tomatoes

cucumbers

good black olives- pitted

salad peppers

thinly sliced sweet onions

short, fat pasta

baby spinach leaves

diced, cold chicken breast

Here's a great way to cook chicken breasts:

use breasts with the bone in and the skin on

drizzle with olive oil and liberally season with salt and pepper

place them skin side up on a baking sheet - be sure to use one that has sides, not the flat kind

roast in a 350 degree oven for about 35-40 minutes or until the juices run clear and a knife inserted into the thickest part of the meat slides out easily

cool for 1/2 hour

peel off the skin, tear the meat away from the bone and slice

The dressing is very light:

lemon zest (I used the entire lemon)

lemon juice (fresh is always best)

olive oil

a touch of sugar

dried oregano

Don't over dress the salad...... perfect for those super hot summer days!