Roasted Vegetable Tortilla Stack

Roasted Vegetable Tortilla Stack
From blog The Three Cheeses

Servings:  6
Cooking time:  30 – 40 minutes prep, 30 – 40 minutes baking

*Note we did not use ground beef, but the dish can be made with it, so left it in as an “optional” ingredient

Ingredients:
1-2 packages of your choice of tortillas (you’ll probably need just less than 10 tortillas –  purchase tortillas that are the right size for the pan you will be using—springform works best, but a deep round casserole or ceramic dish works well too)
vegetables for roasting: eggplant,  sweet potato, zucchini, onion, mushrooms, bell peppers
1/2 small jar basil pesto
1 medium sized jar  tomato-based pasta sauce (or your own homemade)
about 2 cups grated mozzarella or cheddar cheese

optional: 1 lb cooked ground beef, 1 medium jar of creamy pasta sauce

Directions:

Slice your root vegetable(s) into thin pieces and microwave until they are soft the whole way through, but not mushy. (You can also roast them if you prefer, but microwaving them is a lot faster!). Slice up your softer vegetables (eggplant, onion, mushrooms, peppers/capsicums, zucchini, etc.) and toss lightly with oil and a few spices, such as basil, oregano, or rosemary, and roast for about 20 minutes in the oven, until softened but not mushy.

If you’re adding in ground beef, now’s the time to cook it. Cook just until you can no longer see any pink, and drain any excess fat or juices.

Once all of your vegetables are fairly pre-cooked, it’s time to start layering!  Grease your springform pan or casserole dish if they aren’t nonstick. Start by putting a tortilla down in the pan, and spread about 1-2 tsp tomato pesto evenly onto it. Arrange one kind of vegetable on it, then spoon 3-4 generous tbsp over top of either the tomato or cream sauce. Sprinkle a handful of cheese. Place another tortilla overtop, spread again with tomato pesto, and arrange with a different vegetable combination. I usually alternate my layers between plain yam/kumara with the tomato sauce and eggplant/mushroom/onion with the cream sauce. If you’re adding in meat, layer it with the tomato sauce. Alternate your tortilla and vegetable layers until you’ve filled your pan, finishing with a final tortilla with a little bit of pesto spread over the top, and a light sprinkling of cheese.

Cover your pan with tin foil, then bake at 350 F for 40 minutes, until cooked through. Remove the tin foil from the top in the final 5-10 minutes to let it go golden and crispy. Serve with a dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream.

 

Bánh Bò Nướng: Vietnamese Honeycomb Cake

Bánh Bò Nướng: Vietnamese Honeycomb Cake

by Gina Planas

Ingredients

  • 200ml (½ can) of coconut milk
  • 1 cup white sugar (I use just a bit less)
  • About ⅓ of a 20mL bottle of Buko Pandan flavoring
  • 2 cups tapioca flour/starch
  • 2 ½ teaspoons of SINGLE ACTING baking powder*
  • 6 eggs

Instructions

  1. In a sauce pan over low heat, add the ½ can of coconut milk and the 1 cup sugar. You’re basically just melting the sugar here so it will only take a few minutes. Turn the heat off then add the Buko Pandan flavoring. I usually put about ⅓ of the small bottle, but it all depends on how much flavoring you want your cake to have. To me, ⅓ – ½ is just perfect.
  2. Let stand for about 10-15 minutes or whenever it totally cooled down.
    Preheat the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.
  3. In a mixing bowl, whisk the 6 eggs (don’t over beat the eggs).
  4. When the coconut milk/sugar mixture is completely cool, mix this to the beaten eggs along with the 2 cups of tapioca flour + 2 ½ teaspoon of single acting baking powder. Again, don’t over mix. The consistency should be watery.
  5. Pour the batter in a bundt or cake pan (sprayed liberally with cooking spray) and bake for 40-45minutes.**

Gina’s Tips

*Substitution for SINGLE-ACTING Baking Powder :

  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • ¾ teaspoon cornstarch

**I guess this will depend on your oven. I followed instructions in the past to bake it 50-60min and I noticed that the ends end up being way too dry while the inside is moist and chewy. So I started to experiment and lessened baking time, making the entire cake moist and chewy with no dry ends (of course if you prefer the first, you can bake longer so it’s up to your preference).

Rosemary Roasted Asparagus + Tomatoes with Toasted Sunflower Seeds

Rosemary Roasted Asparagus + Tomatoes with Toasted Sunflower Seeds
Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen – Ashley Covelli

1 pound asparagus, trimmed
12 grape tomatoes, halved (I used a mix of red, yellow, orange & brown)
1 shallot, sliced into 1/4-inch thick pieces
3 sprigs rosemary
1/4 cup mustard-lime vinaigrette (or your favorite citrus vinaigrette)
3 tablespoons toasted sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to 425°F. Place all ingredients except sunflower seeds on a baking sheet, tossing to coat, and spread out in a single layer. Roast for 10 minutes, stir and roast for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and top with toasted sunflower seeds before serving. Enjoy!