Roasted Zucchini Medallions, Cheesy Wild Rice With White Beans, Tomato Coulis

Is it a stuffed zucchini? I'm not sure what to call this vertical creation, but that's what I was thinking about when I started making dinner - stuffed zucchini. The kind we're all familiar with that's sliced lengthwise, seeded, and overflowing with our favorite stuffing.

But while looking at the zucchini I had just picked, I noticed some larger ones and my mind starting working.

And before I new it, this dish was created.

How it was done

This dish works best with a wider zucchini to get a sturdy base. But, if you can't find one, slice a regular size zucchini on a diagonal to create a large enough base to build on.

Rice
Start by cooking rice according to instructions on the package. I used a 1 cup of rice portion.

While the rice is simmering . . .

Zucchini
. . . slice zucchini somewhere between 1/2 to 1 inch thick slices. Sprinkle a little extra virgin olive oil on a baking sheet, lay out zucchini slices and sprinkle them with a little more extra virgin olive oil. Season lightly with pepper. Roast for about 15 to 20 minutes, depending on your oven and slice size.

Check zucchini after 15 minutes or so. I don't like mushy zucchini so I tested for firmness and continued roasting a few more minutes until I was happy with the results. Remove from oven and set aside.

Back to the rice
When the rice is almost done, mix in 1 can of drained cannellini or navy beans, heat through until water is absorbed (can also be added when rice is completely done - wild rice seems to take longer to absorb water so I got impatient!). Then add about 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese (or your favorite kind). I used Cabot Clothbound Cheddar and I thought it tasted wonderful!

I pressed the cheesy rice mixture into a small casserole dish and when cooled down a little, I used a round cookie cutter to get the shape. But, to make it simpler, the rice mixture could be scooped right out of the pan with an ice-cream scoop and placed on top of the zucchini that way.

Tomato Coulis

The tomato coulis can be made in a food processor while the zucchini and rice are cooking. I used my small food processor for convenience. 

Chop one tomato. It's the perfect time to make this with fresh garden tomatoes coming in along with the zucchini. Add tomato pieces to the food processor, a small shallot and 1 large basil leaf like I used, or 2 medium, or 3 small. Salt and pepper to taste. Garlic would have been great but I didn't have any. Other herbs would be nice also, like oregano and/or parsley.

Set rice mixture aside. Don't refrigerate - I think it dulls the tomato flavor. The zucchini and rice can be made ahead but I think making the tomato coulis before serving will produce the freshest flavor.

Make it look pretty and serve!

Medium rare inside = perfect!

* * *

Leftovers

My daughter made her own creation one night with some of the zucchini medallions and coulis - she added leftover salsa, Parmesan cheese, and torn bread! And the rice mixture was a side dish with lunch one day. The last bit was lunch by itself another day.

Sweet Potato And Apple Soup Garnished With Sage Goat Cheese For Meatless Monday

Add to that title . . . And With A Maple Syrup Swirl!

Sounds delicious, but this post isn't so much about sharing a great recipe as it is about how I saved a botched dish.

The Mistake

This was the first dish I had made with the sweet potatoes. It was a gratin of sorts.

It looked great. But like I said, it tasted bland, bland, bland. So the pretty looking but pretty bland dish was wrapped and stayed in the fridge for a day until I decided to turn it into soup.

The Fix
To make the soup, I sauteed a large shallot and a celery stalk in a little oil olive. When tender, I added the rest of the botched baked sweet potato and apple dish (omitting the oranges), some vegetable broth, and simmered with a cover for 30 minutes.

After simmering for 30 minutes, I pureed the soup with an immersion blender. Seasoned to taste with salt and pepper. The soup seemed a little watery, so I simmered it uncovered until it reduced a little.

Sage Goat Cheese  

I minced two large leaves of fresh sage and mixed them with 2 ounces of softened goat cheese (the cheese softened while I prepared the soup). I spread some over toasted sourdough bread. 

Done!

Before serving, I swirled in a little maple syrup. 

 My son didn't like the soup. Well, three out of four isn't bad!

Ingredients and Method
Because of what happened here, it's hard to put an actual recipe together.  But these are the ingredients and this is probably the method I'd use to make this soup.  And it's really a lot easier than it looks!

1 large sweet potato, or 2 regular size,
    mine was a Jewel and was really large
1 or 2 apples
    I used 2 med golden delicious apples, with skins, because
    the sweet potato was so large
Olive oil,
    enough to coat so apples and sweet potatoes won't stick to pan
1/8 ts coriander,
    I chose coriander because of it's hint of sage, but why not try
    cinnamon, nutmeg or your favorites
1 large sage leave, minced, or 1/8 ts of ground sage
1 medium shallot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
32 oz. vegetable stock (could use less since I had to simmer it longer to reduce)

Peel and coarsely chop sweet potatoes and apples into similar size pieces. Toss with olive oil to coat. Spread over pre-heated baking sheet and bake until tender, 350 degrees for about 30-45 minutes. Check to make sure bottoms are not burning, maybe give them a toss. Meanwhile, saute in medium sauce pan diced shallot and celery in olive oil (or butter) until tender. Add sweet potatoes and apples, vegetable stock and simmer in covered pot for 30 minutes. Puree with immersion blender (or pour into food processor), if consistency is too watery, simmer until reduced to desired consistency. Or, if it's too thick, add more stock or water. Makes 4+ servings.

This recipe gave me the idea to use celery and onion (I prefer shallots):  http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/roasted-sweet-potato-apple-soup-00000000006606/index.html