Pesto Braised Zucchini & Fennel with Shallots

I've been looking for reasons to run my oven lately. It's been so damned cold here that the warmth and aroma of slowly cooking food appeals to something primal in me, I think. I wouldn't mind camping out in front of my oven the way our elderly cat is camped out in front of the heat vent in the living room. Now, you can certainly braise food on top of the stove, or even in a slow cooker, but neither of them give you the same cozy, warm home. And once everything is in the oven, there's not so much for the cook to do but have a glass of wine, or a nap.

Braising involves cooking food partially submerged in liquid at a simmer. A pot roast or meat stew is a braise, but some of my favorite braises involve vegetables. Braised vegetables become meltingly tender, and absorb all the flavors they've been bathing in. Wonderful cold weather food.

Last week's recipe for Butter Braised Asparagus is a quick braise without much prep needed on your part. This braise of Pesto Braised Zucchini & Fennel with Shallots takes a few more minutes, but the resulting dish is luscious, with great depth of flavor and it reheats beautifully. I always pray for leftovers. It's one of my favorite dishes to serve beside simply baked chicken or fish, which can, incidentally, be popped into the oven next to the zucchini at the right time.

Pesto Braised Zucchini & Fennel with Shallots

Ready for the oven, just needs to be covered and baked.

Note: This is vegetarian and gluten free as written, if you prefer a vegan version, use all olive oil instead of the butter and oil, and use the basil and oil puree carried in many supermarkets, instead of traditional basil pesto, as it usually contains cheese.

Ingredients:

2T unsalted butter
1T extra virgin olive oil
2 fennel bulbs, trimmed and cut into sixths (reserve some fronds for garnish)
3 small to medium zucchini, cut in half through the middle, then halved lengthwise
8 large shallots, peeled and halved
2T basil pesto
1T lemon zest
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup water or stock
salt and black pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.  Lightly oil a shallow 2-3 quart oven-to-table baking dish.

2. Heat the butter and oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium high heat. as soon as the butter begins to brown very slightly, add the fennel, with a cut side down. Lower the heat to medium and cook until the fennel is browned on one side, then flip and brown the other cut side. Cook about 10 minutes total. Remove the fennel to the prepared baking pan.

To get the fennel browned you may have to turn it a few times.

3. Add the zucchini to the oil in the pan, and raise the heat if necessary to brown the cut side quickly. You want the zucchini to be mostly raw. Remove the zucchini to the baking pan, and then arrange the zucchini and fennel alternately, and tuck in the cut shallots in between. Salt and pepper liberally.

4. Add the pesto, the zest, the wine and the water to the frying pan, swirling to blend. Bring to a simmer for a minute, and pour it evenly over the vegetables in the baking dish. Cover with a lid or foil, and bak for about 1 hour, or until the fennel is tender. Test it with a fork or the tip of a paring knife. garnish with the reserved fennel fronds if you wish.

Pesto Braised Zucchini & Fennel with Shallots in
my favorite baking dish from Kitchen Kapers

Serves 6.

From Garden to Plate: Spinach, Cauliflower & Cheddar Bake

Spinach, Cauliflower & Bell Pepper Bake

Now that we've joined the Big Green Egg cult, I haven't cooked a single piece of meat in the house, unless you count a pan or two of bacon. While I used to be the BBQ Girl around here, regularly loading and running a smoker full of apple logs and briskets while my disinterested DH watched baseball, I am now Kitchen Girl. The Egg has kindled a new interest in outdoor cooking in him and I am relegated to the side dishes. For the moment...I'll be back out there as soon as I can.

Meanwhile, though, it has given me a man-free kitchen to whomp up something to go with the manly burnt offerings (actually he hasn't burned anything, but it sounds good). And when you cook the meat outdoors, there is no roasting pan to wash. So it's all good and I pretty much love our Egg as much as he does, maybe more, since I've wanted one far longer. But I digress...

Remember I was whining about  the slim pickings in the garden last Friday? Well, it still is producing a little of this and that. All good.  Some shallots dug a few weeks ago, garlic, and bell peppers. And I got a very small cauliflower at the farmers market on Friday which, when you are aiming for low- carb, is a godsend. It made the base for a good cheesy dish that's somewhere between a casserole and a crustless quiche. You can add or subtract whatever you don't like here, but the eggs and sour cream proportions need to stay constant, or, well, you have an entirely different dish...possibly not bad, but different.

Note: to grate cauliflower, just scrape it on the big holes of a box grater, or chop it medium-fine in a food processor. To cook it, I just sauté it in a bit of butter until soft. If you want to keep this dish vegetarian, either use vegetarian Worcestershire sauce, or Pickapeppa sauce which has no anchovies in it.

Homegrown peppers and shallots.

Spinach, Cauliflower & Cheddar Bake

3 cups of grated cauliflower, cooked soft
1T extra virgin olive oil
1 large shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced 1/2"
5 oz. baby spinach
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. Cholula or other hot sauce
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Oil a 9" square oven-to-table baking dish. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick frying pan, and add the shallot, garlic and bell pepper. Sauté on medium heat until the pepper is soft and the shallot is limp. Stir in the spinach a bit at a time and cook until it just wilts. Turn off the heat and set aside in the pan to cool for a minute or two.

Infinite possibilities with fresh-from-the-garden vegetables.

Whisk together the eggs, sour cream hot sauce and Worcestershire in a medium bowl. Stir in the cheese, and the vegetable mixture from the pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake for 45 -60 minutes until brown at the edges and bubbly. Good side with grilled meat or as a vegetarian main with a salad.

Serves 4-6.