Zucchini Mushroom Tacos with Homemade Tortillas

These delicious vegetarian soft tacos are my pick for I Heart Cooking Clubs 1st week cooking Chef Rick Bayless's recipes.  This is actually the first Rick Bayless recipe I've ever tried! I do not own any of his books yet (I have ordered one and it is on the way), so checked out a few from the library. I had heard of Rick Bayless before and knew he was known for Mexican cooking, but didn't know much else about him.  Thanks to IHCC I've now got a TiVo season pass for his show, "Mexico One Plate at a Time,"  (before IHCC I didn't even know he had a show!) and am looking forward to learning more about "true" Mexican cuisine throughout the next six months while IHCC cooks Rick Bayless recipes.

I love Mexican food and having lived in Texas for a little bit,  have experienced a little bit of everything from semi-authentic to Americanized Tex-Mex (which picky hubby and I love, we are always looking for a new Mexican place to try on date night).  I also love to cook Mexican (once again, more like American Tex-Mex) at home and we often have Mexican nights with the standard tacos plus enchiladas, chimichangas (these are often requested), burritos, etc. and lots of sides. I also love doing a Mexican buffet when hosting parties at our house since there is something for everyone to enjoy!

Zucchini Mushroom Tacos

Tacos de Calabacitas y Hongos 

adapted from Mexican Everyday

Serves 4

1 and 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 medium white onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick (I used 1/2 teaspoon onion powder)

3 ounces mushrooms (shiitake, oyster, portobello or the like), stemmed and sliced about 1/2 inch thick (you'll have a scant cup) -- okay, I used potobellos and weighed out 3 ounces and that was only one portobello...next time I would use a ton more mushrooms

One 15 ounce can diced tomatoes in juice (preferably fire-roasted), drained -- I used Muir Glen Fire Roasted

1 canned chipotle chile en adobo, seeded

1 and 1/2 teaspoons chipotle canning sauce

2 medium (about 12 ounces) zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Salt

1/2 to 3/4 cup (2 to 3 ounces) crumbled Mexican queso fresco or other fresh cheese such as feta or goat cheese -- I used feta since I had some on hand, but would love to try this with some queso fresco and goat cheese

12 warm corn tortillas, store bought or home made -- I made flour tortillas

Hot sauce for serving

Add the oil to a very large (12 inches) skillet and set over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring regularly until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook about 2 minutes more, stirring regularly, until their liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms are beginning to brown.  

 

While the mushrooms are cooking, pour the tomatoes into a food processor or blender. Add the chipotle chile and its canning sauce and process until smooth.

When the mushrooms are ready, add the tomato mixture and cook, stirring regularly, until the mixture has thickened to the consistency of canned tomato sauce, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Add the zucchini and continue to cook, stirring every once in a while, until the zucchini is cooked through but still a little crisp, 8 to 10 minutes.  Taste and season with salt, about 1/2 teaspoon.

Scoop into a bowl...

and garnish with the crumbled cheese.

Serve with the warm tortillas and hot sauce for everyone to make soft tacos.

~~~~~

These were very yummy, nice fresh flavor with a little kick! I made them for dinner one night while picky husband was working late (he doesn't like mushrooms or zucchini) for the kids and myself and was pleasantly surprised when all three kids ate their tacos and liked them!  Score one for Rick Bayless! They said they were a little spicy but not too much and loved the feta cheese.  I often make veggie tacos but never like these! These were a delicious change of pace and I will make them again for sure, just adding some more mushrooms since three ounces was not enough mushroom for a mushroom fan like me :) 

Spanakopita Rolls

Don't these look so delicious? I love Spanakopita, Greek Spinach Pie, and I always order it at any Greek restaurant I am fortunate enough to visit. It has always been a favorite of mine and I remember having it as a child when I visited Greektown in Detroit with my mom. No visit to Greektown (or any Greek restaurant) is complete without Spanakopita and Saganaki -- Opa!!

Over at I Heart Cooking Clubs this week the theme is Go Green! and even though I already posted one entry for Go Green! week, this Angel Hair Pasta with Zucchini, Mint, and Feta, that was a recipe I made last fall and I wanted to do another Tessa Kiros "Green" recipe this week. I settled on her Spanakopita Spinach Pies in her book Foods From Many Greek Kitchens. After reading through the recipe, I realized that these weren't the traditional spanakopita that I think of that is baked in a big dish and cut into squares, nor was it the second way I think of spanakopita, appetizer style folded into little triangles of phyllo, nope, these were rolled up "cigar" style -- how fun!

Spanakopita Rolls

adapted from Tessa Kiros -- Food From Many Greek Kitchens
changes in italics

5 tablespoons olive oil

1 and 1/2 cups chopped green onions with some green (okay, sorry to be a spoil sport but I hate onion in my spanakopita although it is almost always there when commercially prepared, that is why I usually make my own and leave the onion out, which is what I did this time as well)

1 pound 9 ounces spinach leaves, about 2 bunches, washed, drained, and shreded (I used 2 frozen 9 ounce packages, defrosted in the microwave)

1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh dill, include some stalks (I used 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed)

salt

7 ounces feta, coarsely shredded (crumbled is what I used)

2 eggs (I dropped this down to 1 egg to hold it all together, I don't like when it gets too eggy)

freshly grated nutmeg

freshly ground black pepper

phyllo pastry / dough (this recipe yeilded 1/2 roll, phyllo here is packaged with two individually packaged rolls per frozen box, next time I would double all of the ingredients and make two pans worth to use up the whole opened roll of phyllo) 27 sheets cut to 9 by 10 inches

olive oil, for brushing

To make the filling, choose a nonstick pot that is large enough to take all the spinach. Add the oil and put over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until softened. Add the spinach and a little salt, and cook, covered until the spinach wilts, turning it through a couple of times. Flick in a little water if necessary, but there should be enough coming from the spinach. Now uncover and simmer until the spinach softens and most of the water has evaporated.

Here is what I did since I used frozen spinach, defrost in the microwave for 6 minutes (per package), with a silt in the package and the spinach in a bowl. Let cool. Open the bags carefully, they are super hot, and dump the spinach into a colander to squeeze the water out.

Remove to a bowl to cool. It was at this point I added the 5 tbsp olive oil.

Add the dill, feta, eggs, nutmeg, and a few grings of pepper. Mix thoroughly and taste a little for salt.

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 12 and 3/4 by 8 inch baking dish. I used a glass 9 by 13 pyrex dish. Cut your phyllo sheets and keep them covered with a dish cloth to prevent them from drying out. I did not cut mine, just rolled them up in the size they were cut in the package, one sheet per spanakopita roll. Now you will have to work quickly so that the pastry doesn't dry and crack, keeping the phyllo you are not working with covered with a dish cloth.

Lay one phyllo sheet flat on a work surface and brush it well with olive oil. Lay another sheet neatly on top, brush it with olive oil and repeat once more, so that you now have 3 layers. I did not do this and just used the sheets as the sizes they were cut as packaged, brushed with oil, and there was plenty of phyllo on the roll.

Now dollop 2 heaped tablespoons of filling along the short end, leaving a border of about an inch.

Drag the filling into an even line, then roll up the pastry fairly tightly into a cigar shape starting from the spinach end, making one full turn, then turn and tuck the sides over and continue rolling. Brush the surface with oil -- I skipped this and brushed the rolled rolls with a little butter before putting them into the oven. Make 8 more rolls in this was and as they are finished, arrange them in the dish side by side so they all fit touching in a row running from one short side to the opposite side, like soldiers all lined up.

Here they are with my baking helper, ready to go into the oven.

Bake for about 30 minutes (I baked mine 35 for optimum golden browning) or until golden. Cool a dash before serving, as these are best eaten warm. We thought they were great cooled a little too, I even like them just slightly warm.

~~~

I thought these were wonderful, one of my favorite Tessa Kiros recipes for sure! I love, love, love the rolled shape and wonder why I hadn't thought of that before. They would be perfect for a Greek dinner or appetizer party. Not that I know I can make two pans worth with one roll of phyllo dough this will help immensley with planning and not wasting phyllo dough! Picky husband does not like spinach and my six year old son did not want to try these, but my daughter and my youngest (my baking helper) had one and liked them even though I know the spinach is a tough sell. Thank goodness they are feta fans and the enjoyed the feta flavor. I will be making this again for sure and if you like spanakopita, or even spinach and feta, give these a try as soon as possible!

Angel Hair Pasta with Zucchini, Mint, and Feta

I made this dish last October, which I'm sure is obvious with the pumpkin tablecloth and such. I didn't get around to posting it then and this week, over at I Heart Cooking Clubs the theme of the week is Go Green! -- so I figured this fit the bill. I love zucchini, feta, and pasta, and the mint was an intriguing addition, so I had to give this dish from Tessa Kiros' book, Apples for Jam, a try. Plus, how could I not when I had some fresh mint growing in my herb garden?

This is my herb picker, my sweet little four year old who is the only one home with me during the day this year, sniffle, sniffle. Hard to believe next year he will be in kindergarten and I will not have a little baking buddy :( Looks like we'll have to have cooking together time after school.

Looking at these just makes me smile. He is such a silly guy.

Tongue out for maximum mint picking concentration :) Okay, enough kid pictures, on to the recipe...

Angel Hair Pasta with Zucchini, Mint, and Feta

adapted from Tessa Kiros -- Apples for Jam

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 small zucchini, finely sliced, I doubled this to 4 and sliced them about 1/2 inch thick

2 cloves garlic, peeled and squashed a bit

salt

1/2 teaspoon dried mint, I used fresh -- about 20 leaves, chopped

3/4 cup feta cheese, I upped this to 1 cup

1 and 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

2/3 of 16 ounce package angel hair pasta / capellini -- I used the whole box since I upped the veggies and cheese

olive oil, to serve

grated parmesan cheese, to serve

Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick frying pan and add the zucchini and garlic.

Saute over quite high heat until the zucchini are cooked through and golden in places. If the garlic starts to burn, sit it on top of the zucchini.

Season very lightly with salt and remove from the heat. Toss in the mint, crushing it between your fingers, and add the feta and lemon juice to the pan.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling salted water, following the package instructions. Drain the pasta, not too thoroughly, and save a little cooking water. (I'd say about 1/2 cup) Toss the pasta directly into the zucchini pan, if it fits. If not, return it to its own pan and add the zucchini sauce.

Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil and toss quickly and thoroughly to mix it all through (add a little cooking water if it seems at all dry). Serve immediately with parmesan and an extra drizzle of olive oil, if you like.

~~~

This was a nice simple lunch for my four year old and myself. It was very mildly flavored so if you like the flavors of zucchini and feta, you would probably like this. I remember having leftovers of this and they reheated fine in the microwave. Not a knock you down with flavor type of pasta, but it had a nice light and refreshing taste from the lemon juice and mint and was a yummy lunch for sure.

Baked Penne with Feta and Olives -- I Heart Cooking Clubs

This week at I Heart Cooking Clubs the theme was Pot Luck, and let me tell you, I bet this would be one of the first dishes to 'clean out' at a pot luck because it is so delicious!

After seeing Deb's yummy pot luck pasta dish I had a serious pasta craving and paged through Bittman's How To Cook Everything Vegetarian until I found a suitor -- Baked Ziti! Bittman calls this old school baked ziti with red sauce a short-cut to lasagna and a pot luck staple -- perfect :)

In the preface to this recipe he says, Whatever you do, don't overcook the pasta! It should be too tough to actually eat when you mix it with the sauce, which will make it perfect after baking.

There are a few variations of the basic recipe listed and I went with the Baked Ziti with Goat Cheese and Olives version, but swapped the ziti for penne and swapped the goat cheese for feta. In the variation you are to swap out the original 1 lb mozzarella in the recipe for the goat cheese, and being the cheese lovers we are, I decided to just use 1/2 the mozzarella and half the goat cheese amount (as feta) so we got some of both cheeses.

Baked Penne with Feta and Olives

3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp minced garlic (I used 5 cloves of roasted garlic, smashed)
1 - 28 ounce can tomatoes, chopped, with their liquid (I used two 14 ounce cans of San Marzanos)
1 lb ziti or other large cut pasta (penne worked well as a ziti substitute)
1/2 lb mozzarella
1/2 lb crumbled feta
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
1 cup pitted olives, in large pieces (I mostly halved them and quartered a few)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and preheat the oven to 400.

Add the olive oil to a large pan, add the garlic and cook for a minute or so, then add the tomatoes and olives, bring to a boil. *I added 2 tbsp sugar to the tomato sauce, I was brought up on and love a sauce with a touch of sweet* Turn the heat down so that the mixture bubbles and gently cooks, stirring occasionally, while you cook the pasta; don't let the sauce get too thick.

Cook the pasta until just tender; it should still be too hard to eat. Drain it, don't shake the colander, let some water still cling to the noodles. Toss the pasta with the sauce and about half of the mozzarella and feta.



Grease (or spray with cooking spray) a large 9 by 13 baking dish and pour or spoon the pasta mixture in. Top with the remaining mozzarella and feta and the parmesan.


Bake until the top is browned and the cheese is bubbly, 20 to 30 minutes.

This was such a flavorful dish, even with such minimal ingredients. I absolutely loved it the first night. Those who tried it loved it too, but some people, like picky husband, could not be persuaded to try this because of the (small!) hunks of tomato and, gasp, black olives. Sigh. I almost always have to make two meals because he is so picky. Oh-well. This is one of my new favorite baked pasta dishes and I can't wait to try Mark's other variations. I don't know how anyone could pass on this one, it smelled amazing with the the garlic and the feta, who can resist a cheesy saucy baked pasta?

Feta Cheese Fondue with Walnuts and Parsley -- Tyler Florence Fridays

This week for Tyler Florence Fridays I tried Tyler's Feta Cheese Fondue with Walnuts and Parsley...yum!

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups whole milk (I used skim milk with no problems)
6 ounces feta cheese
2 scallions minced
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (I did not have to add any salt or pepper)
1/4 cup walnuts toasted and finely chopped

In a 2 quart saucepan over medium heat, melt butter the stir in the flour. Stir the 2 together into a paste. Whisk in the milk to create what the French call a bechamel sauce. Drop the temperature a little and simmer the sauce for about 10 minutes so it thickens and the flour taste cooks out. After that it's easy, just fold in the crumbled feta, scallions, and parsley. Season it with salt and a little cracked pepper.

Once the cheese melts it is officially fondue, you can either use a fondue pot with a candle or just leave it in the pot and have everyone eat from there.

Finish it with the walnuts tossed on top. I like to cut up bite size pieces of bread and melon or maybe pitted olives and prosciutto, either way this is always a holiday hit.

I made this for our New Year's Eve party along with some fresh bread and other dippers. The bread was my favorite for this fondue. I doubled this recipe and added an extra 4 ounces of feta since I had it on hand and noted in the foodnetwork reviews that it needed more feta flavor. I am a huge feta cheese fan and fondue fan so I was really excited to try this recipe. It did not dissapoint! My husband doesn't like fondue (yeah, this is the same guy who doesn't like cheesecake) but he does tolerate feta -- but would not try it in fondue. Oh-well -- more for the rest of us. I mainly doubled this because my Rival electric fondue pot seems to have a large capacity and I didn't want it to look like there wasn't much in there -- but I really didn't need to double this recipe. I ended up only using half and putting the rest in the fridge for what I think will be a yummy pasta sauce later this week.

I'm really glad I tried this recipe and did enjoy it especially the added crunch from the walnuts. I think pistacios or pinenuts would be a great substitution of you are not a walnut fan. What a fun pick that I would probably never have gotten around to trying if it wasn't for TFF :)