Sweet Potato Swiss Chard and Smoked Turkey Sausage Pie

I'd had this post ready to publish this past week and poof...it vanished on me. Ugh. With life as we know it around here lately I just didn't have the time to re-write it until now. Being blessed with a huge box of CSA produce is awesome...but with all the produce showing up at one time it can present some havoc in my fridge and with overload my brain with what I want to do with it all! This past week we were blessed with among a ton of other veggies a large bundle of swiss chard. Normally I go the easy but delicious route of sautéing it with some fresh minced garlic, olive oil and a dash of vinegar once it's wilted. Lately though I've been on a kick of making things that can be served hot or cold...as the weather warms up is so nice to have the option. For this dish the initial inspiration came from Martha Stewart's Swiss Chard Pie and the rest from my brain. The result...mmmmm!! You be the judge and give it a go yourself.

Let me know how it goes!!

Sweet Potato Swiss Chard & Smoked Turkey Sausage Pie

*makes one large pie

Ingredients

pie crust

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup olive oil

1/2 cup cold water

3/4 tsp coarse salt

1 egg yolk & 1 tsp water, mixed for basting onto top crust

pie filling

1 sweet potato, chopped in 1/2 inch cubes

1/2 red onion, chopped in 1/2 inch cubes

salt & pepper

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp olive oil (to toss together for roasting)

4 cloves garlic minced or 2 tsp minced garlic

1 lg bunch of swiss chard = 5-6 cups, stems diced & leaves torn

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 Tbsp all purpose flour

1 lb smoked turkey sausage, diced or crumbled

Directions

pie crust

In a bowl or mixer combine flour, olive oil, cold water, and coarse salt. Stir first with a fork to combine and then knead by hand on lightly floured surface, or with kneading attachment for around 1 minute. Cover dough with damp towel or plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. 

pie filling

In a medium sized bowl mix your chopped sweet potato & red onion together with a generous dash or two of salt (I use kosher) & pepper, along with your red pepper flakes, onion powder and garlic powder. Drizzle olive oil over and then mix well. Lay out on parchment covered baking sheet and roast at 425F for 15-20 minutes stirring midway. Once finished let cool slightly and then place in bowl to mix with other ingredients. Turn oven down to 400F.

Heat a large, high sided, skillet over medium heat and then put your chopped turkey sausage and diced stems of swiss chard. Saute until chard begins to soften. Add in leaves and cook, stirring often, until leaves are wilted. Add to bowl where potato onion mixture is. Fold mixture together. Add parmesan and 3 Tbsp flour. Gently mix to combine. Place in pie crust when ready.

to assemble & bake

Spray deep dish pie pan/round cake pan (8in wide x 2in deep) with PAM or oil. Separate dough into two pieces; 2/3rd and 1/3 respectively. Roll out 2/3rd of the dough on a floured surface and then press into pie pan. Put filling on top and then take remaining dough, roll it out and then use it to cover the top of the filling. Press edges together and then baste the top of the pie with your egg yolk water mixture. Make sure to keep off edges of pie pan or it will burn! Take a knife and make small slits across the top of the pie. Bake 40 to 45 minutes at 400F until top is golden brown. Enjoy hot, cold or at room temperature! 

*If baking from frozen bake for 1 1/2 hrs...starting in cold oven.

Broccoli with Ground Turkey Spanakopita

My kitchen is in serious broccoli overload right now...our CSA has been blessing us with loads of the delicious green vegetable these past couple of weeks, and I have been having fun experimenting with new ways of using it. Yesterday I came across a recipe for Broccoli Spanakopita that I thought sounded like a tasty starting point and jumped right into creating my own by tweaking it and adding a few other ingredients.


Start by chopping garlic, onion and broccoli. Then sauté it in a pan for around 10 minutes until slightly soft. Remove from pan and place in a large bowl to cool. Add a dash of salt and pepper - to taste. In the same pan cook your ground turkey with seasonings. Once cooked add into the same large bowl that the broccoli mixture is in. Stir to combine. Once slightly cooled (no longer steaming) add in your eggs and 3/4 cup feta until all is fully mixed together.

Lay one filo sheet down on a flat surface and paint with melted butter. Lay an additional sheet on top of the first and then put 2-3 tablespoons of your turkey broccoli feta mixture and roll up.

 Brush tops of spanakopita with butter and then place seam down on baking sheet. Bake for approximately 20 minutes at 400F flipping halfway through so that filo browns/crisps evenly. Makes ten spanakopita.

Recipe

preheat oven to 400F

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 onion diced (I used a red onion)

3 cloves garlic minced

1 lg head broccoli

salt and pepper

1 lb ground turkey

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

dash of red pepper flakes

3/4 cup crumbled feta

2-3 eggs

20+ filo dough sheets - Some of the spanakopita I wish I'd have wrapped one more sheet around to have a more even outer shell.

melted butter - for basting on filo sheets

**Directions written into text above. Enjoy!!

Recipe adapted from Steamy Kitchen

There's Nothing Like Your Own Kitchen. Pumpkin Curry & Baked Naan Bread

I know, I know, I know....it's been over two months since I've posted any recipes. Do I have a good excuse? Hmmmmmm....well I have lots of excuses that's for sure!

After spending the better part of the past two months in the states visiting family and friends I'm back in Korea and starting to settle in again. It's not like I didn't cook while I was away...it's just it isn't the same when your digging around in someone else's cooking space. There are never the same items in someone else's pantry, their spices, bowls, utensils...I could go on and on. Needless to say I am loving being back in my own cooking space; albeit be it a small one. After being gone for so long one of the very first dinners I made....something that is almost my "chicken soup for my soul" go to food lately, was Pumpkin Curry and Baked Naan.  The original recipe for the Curry came from Jula, a friend of mine from Thailand, and it's slowly morphed itself into what it is today. The original Naan recipe I found on Allrecipe.com and tweaked it until I found the consistency I fell in love with.  Mmmmmmm...it's so good to be home!!

Pumpkin Curry

2 Tbsp Red or Green Curry Paste

1 Can Coconut Milk (I use light if I can find it)

1 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

1 Small Squash or Pumpkin, Chopped into inch sized pieces

1/2 lb to 1lb. Pre-Cooked Meat/Tofu of your choice (Duck, Chicken, Pork, Lamb, Shrimp & Tofu are all delicious)

1 Sm. Can Chopped Pineapple, drain before using

Optional: Additional Veggies - Eggplant, Green Beans, 1 Sm. Can Chopped Pineapple (drain before using)

2 to 3 Kaffir Lime Leaves, thinly sliced (use only if on hand, adds flair and a little extra flavor to dish when sprinkled on top when serving)

Directions

In a large stir fry pan mix curry paste with coconut milk & the tablespoon brown sugar. Mix in squash/pumpkin and any other vegetables. Cook at medium low heat until pumpkin is almost fully cooked. Add in pre-cooked meat or tofu.If you find the curry is too thick at any time add in water or broth a little at time until your desired consistency. Once pumpkin/squash is cooked add in can of chopped pineapple and allow curry to combine for a few more minutes. Serve on rice, barley or quinoa. Dish into bowls and sprinkle with the shredded kaffir lime leaves. Naan is also a delicious accompaniment. Enjoy!!

Naan

Time: 2hrs

1pkg. Active Dry Yeast

1 Cup Warm Water

1-2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

3 Tbsp. Milk or 1/2 & 1/2

1 Egg, beaten

2 tsp. Garlic Salt

3 Cups Bread Flour (I use 1 cup whole wheat/2 cups white flour)
1-2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1 Tbsp. minced Garlic (optional)

Directions

Heat oven to Max Temp. or Grill to 500F.

In a large glass or plastic bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and add in sugar. Let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy. Stir in milk, egg, garlic salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Mix in minced Garlic. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a cloth and let rise for 1 hour, or until dough has doubled in volume.

Punch down dough and then make dough into small balls. Cover and let rise for another 30 mins. Roll each of the balls out 1/4 in thick. Place bread onto baking sheet and put into MAX heated oven. Allow to cook for 3-5 min on each side. Place into large piece of tinfoil to keep warm while cooking others. ***Can also be cooked on a grill; Naan bread will cook much faster on grill, 1-2 min per side. Yum!!

Original Naan Recipe from Allrecipes.com

Time & Sourdough Pizza

Time and life fly by when your having fun; learning, laughing and loving. Is amazing to look back at the past 8 months and see how a place that at first felt so foreign feels surprisingly normal now. Korea isn't a place that I/we want to live for a long time...in fact our year here will be more than long enough, but it has taught us so much about the simple pleasures in life, how vital they and the people we surround ourselves are to a happy existence anywhere we may be, and for that alone I am immensely thankful for.

Lately I've been stung by the sourdough bee...I love baking but sourdough is something I'd never thought to try, nor had time to really investigate enough that I felt comfortable to delve into.  It all started when one of my friends here came by to chat one afternoon as I was making some pizza dough for dinner. She said that she LOVED sourdough pizza crust, and did I know how to make some? I told her that I'd never made anything sourdough before, but that I liked sourdough bread and would investigate a little, see if I could successfully make a starter, and then if so, we'd try our hand at sourdough pizza crust.

After reading and reading about sourdough starters I decided to go with a starter recipe that contained a little yeast so that I'd hopefully have a starter that I could use within a week or two.   Here's what I decided to start with:

2 1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast

2 cups Water, 110 degrees F

3 1/2 cups Bread Flour

1 Tbsp Sugar

After 7 days of covering it loosely with plastic wrap & leaving it on the counter to ferment while stirring it 3 times a day I decided it was time to try using my starter. In my investigations I came across a recipe that sounded promising from another blog; My Sister's Kitchen and decided to give it a go.  The original recipe named "BK’s Sourdough Pizza Crust" called for 1tsp yeast in the sponge, but I decided to forego it as I thought my sourdough starter was strong enough on it's own. (since I'd added yeast in the first place) If you are interested in trying the recipe below if you don't think that your sourdough starter is very strong you might think about adding the yeast. 

Sourdough Pizza Dough

  Makes 4 thin crust pizzas

Ingredients:

Make a sponge with:2 cups warm water 1 c. sourdough starter 1 T. sugar 2 t. salt 2 c. flour 1 t. yeast (optional) When the sponge is bubbly and frothy, mix in 1 T. olive oil and knead in an additional 4 to 4 1/2 c. bread flour.  Directions: Let the dough rise for at least 3-4 hours. If it rises too big before your ready to use it just punch it down a little and let it keep rising. When you are ready to use it break off a large piece and roll it out thin. Should make at least 4 large thin crust pizzas. 

We decided to grill the pizzas but I've also since made the recipe and baked them indoors. Outside it took 10-15 min on the grill for the pizzas to cook & less than 5 minutes for them to be eaten :) Indoors I baked them on the hottest setting of my oven for 15-20 min...took about the same amount of time for us to eat them however ;-)  Thanks for the inspiration Lee Anne!!