Tag Archives: carrot

Comfort Foods for the Holiday Season

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and it’s my favorite time of the year too! One of the aspects of the holiday season I love the most is simply having wholesome meals with my friends and family. For me, every meal with people I love during the holiday season is a celebration. I cook something warming and comforting, I turn on the Christmas lights, I play the Christmas tunes, and we have ourselves a merry time. So I wanted to share with you some of the comforting dishes I like to make around this time of year. Explore below!

Easy Bolognese

Bolognese 9

 

As an Italian-American, I find few dishes more comforting than pasta with a chunky red sauce. Bolognese is a classic sauce you can use for pasta, gnocchi, polenta, spaghetti squash, or by itself with crusty bread. My recipe for Bolognese is simple and warms from the soul outward.

Stuffed Acorn Squash

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This is the one to make when you are looking to impress your guests. Sweet, savory, and spicy, Stuffed Acorn Squash is an indulgent, gourmet-style dish that has everything going for it. Get the recipe here.

Butternut, Brussels, and Bacon Pizza

Butternut Brussels Bacon Pizza 1

I love making seasonal artisan pizzas. For Fall and Winter, my go-to pizza is this Butternut, Brussels, and Bacon Pizza. Truly, this is one of the best pizzas ever. This is great for a weekend night in with friends while watching a Christmas movie. Get the dough here. 

Honey Roasted Carrot and Parsnip Soup

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This soup is a great easy weeknight meal served with salad and bread or can be used as an appetizer course. Both sweet and savory, this soup feels very seasonal and like something you would have in a Christmasy cottage somewhere in a fairy-tale. Learn to make it here. 

Johnny’s Tomato Soup

Tomato Soup 7.jpg

Sometimes, tomato soup just cannot be beat. While tomato soup isn’t the fanciest of dishes, it is often a great choice on a busy weeknight or when your guests are wanting to still eat healthy while also eating cozy. My Tomato Soup is warming, earthy, and slightly spicy and is completely vegan. I will serve this with a nice winter salad and some crusty bread and before you know it you have a full holiday meal. Get the recipe here. 

Christmas Biscotti

Christmas Biscotti 14.JPG

I am not much of a baker, but once a year I get in the kitchen and whip up a batch of my Christmas Biscotti. These biscotti have the flavors and colors of the season with cranberries, pistachios, orange zest, vanilla, Amaretto, and dark chocolate. These are an incredibly festive dessert and are also a great baked good to bring to potlucks or even present as a food based gift. Learn to make them here. 

Whatever you decide to cook for your loved ones this year, I hope that you have a very merry and tasty holiday season!

Slow Cooker Osso Bucco

Ciao friends! Today I am sharing with you a new recipe that utilizes the Slow Cooker to create a healthy variation of an Italian classic – Slow Cooker Osso Bucco! For those who are not familiar, traditional Osso Bucco usually refers to a specific cut of veal that is braised to fork tenderness in a concoction of wine, broth, vegetables, herbs, and spices, often served with a fresh herb gremolata. I typically do not eat veal because it is sad as hell, but luckily, you can achieve the warming and comforting qualities of Osso Bucco by replacing the veal with lighter, leaner, less sad protein choices like chicken or turkey, or even ¼ heads of cauliflower for a vegan variant. The next tweak to this Italian dish is to braise the protein in the slow cooker rather than on the stove or in the oven. By using the slow cooker, you guarantee tenderness and achieve greater freedom as you are able to allow the slow cooker to do the work all day so you can come home to fully cooked meal!

More or less a stewed dish with earthy herbs like rosemary and thyme and warming spices like cloves, Osso Bucco is a hearty, comforting dish that is perfect for fall and winter nights. I love making this dish with turkey around the holidays as it tastes and feels like a perfect holiday weeknight dinner. I recommend serving with a starch like mashed potatoes/sweet potatoes, risotto, or polenta to help soak up the sauce, and of course, lots of seasonal vegetables. Curl up with this dish and a Christmas movie and you are in for a cozy dinner treat!

Chop your vegetables and herbs…
Brown your chicken or turkey…
Put in the slow cooker….
Cook your veggies until tender…
Add in tomato paste and coat vegetables….
Add to the slow cooker with herbs, spices, and stock….
Cook it till its a yummy stew like this!
Plate.
Make your gremolatta…
Top with gremolatta….
Serve!

Slow Cooker Osso Bucco

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients:

  • 4-6 bone-in, skin-on chicken or turkey pieces (thighs and breasts)
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 large carrots, chopped
  • 1 stalk celery, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
  • 1 ½ tablespoons tomato paste
  • ½ cup white wine
  • ½ cup broth of choice
  • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 whole cloves
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken or turkey on both sides with ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and the garlic powder. Sear the chicken on both sides until golden-brown, 3-4 minutes per side. Remove the chicken from the skillet and place at the bottom of the slow cooker.

Add the onions, carrots, and celery to the skillet. Sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper. Cook till tender and onions translucent, 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and stir 1 minute until it coats the vegetables. Add the wine and deglaze the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Cook until evaporated. Pour the contents of the skillet into the slow cooker on top of the chicken.

Add the stock, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, and cloves. Mix well and cover. Cook on low for 5 ½ – 6 hours or high for 2 ½ – 3 hours.

Plate the chicken or turkey pieces, spoon over some of the sauce, and if desired, sprinkle with optional gremolata.

Optional Gremolata:

  • 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • Zest of half an orange
  • Zest of half a lemon
  • Pinch of salt and peper

Combine all in ingredients in a small bowl. Mix well.

Winter Vegetable Bowl

I am just one of those people who absolutely loves winter vegetables. While many dream of the bounty of summer all year long, the winter veggies like cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, parsnips and so on make me extremely happy. Recently while dining out, I had a warm winter vegetable salad featuring such winter produce tossed in a zingy horseradish vinaigrette; the dish was incredibly hearty, earthy, and satisfying and what’s more is the seasonality of it truly made me feel good in my body.

Thus, I went home and made my own variation of that good tasting and feeling dish. Roasted butternut squash, carrots, and parsnips provide hearty sweetness while roasted cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and kale give earthy savory notes. The addition of warmed cannellini beans contributes a buttery creamy element while dried cranberries add chewy tartness. Lastly, a balsamic horseradish vinaigrette makes for a sharp and at times sinus-clearing dressing that highlights the best of all the other ingredients. Inexpensive seasonal ingredients and pulled together with very little effort!

This Winter Vegetable Bowl is perfect served as is and vegan! Or you can add a simply cooked protein like chicken, salmon, or shrimp. I hope you enjoy this bowl of winter’s bounty!

Winter Vegetable Bowl

  • Servings: 2
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients:

  • 1 cup butternut squash, cubed
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into chunks at an angle
  • 1 large parsnip, peeled and cut into chunks at an angle
  • 2 cups cauliflower florets
  • 1 cup broccoli florets
  • 2 cups Brussels sprouts, halved or quartered
  • 8 ounces cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 cups kale leaves
  • ¼ cup dried cranberries
  • 2 tablespoons grated horseradish root
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1 ½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Salt & Pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the butternut squash, carrots, parsnips, cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts on the baking sheet, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and sprinkle with a teaspoon of salt and pepper, toss all together and arrange in an even layer. Bake 30-35 minutes until butternut squash is tender and the Brussels and cauliflower is browned.

On another small baking dish, place the cannellini beans and kale, place in the oven for the last 5 minutes that the other vegetables are baking just to warm the beans and slightly crisp the kale.

In a small bowl, whisk together the horseradish, balsamic, Dijon, and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil with a pinch of salt and pepper.

To serve, place an even amount of the vegetables, cannellini beans, and kale in pasta bowls. Drizzle with vinaigrette and toss to coat. Sprinkle the cranberries over the top. Serve and enjoy!

 

Arrange veggies on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Roast until tender!
Make the vinaigrette in a bowl.
Put the beans and kale in a pan and heat in oven in the last 5 minutes of cooking.
Add even amount of veggies, beans, and kale to each bowl.
Toss with the vinaigrette and cranberries. Serve!

Honey Roasted Carrot and Parsnip Soup

One of the best parts of travel is indulging in the foods of the lands in which you are visiting. You enjoy the distinctive flavors and cooking styles, and maybe even receive a little culinary inspiration to take home with you! When I was in Scotland this past October, my mum and I stopped in at a little place that had been recommended to us by several locals: Clarinda’s Tea Room. Clarinda’s Tea Room is a truly quaint establishment with soft tea-time-like décor, serving up affordable, comforting, tasty breakfasts and lunches along with a bounty of cakes, scones, biscuits, and of course, tea.

We enjoyed lunch at Clarinda’s, opting for the half sandwich and soup special. That day, the soup du jour was a Honey Roasted Parsnip Soup, and it was delightful. Being Scotland in the autumn, the weather is quite gray, cool, and rainy, and so many seasonal dishes feature hearty root vegetables that are warming and comforting; this soup was exactly that.

Clarinda’s Tea Room – Honey Roasted Parsnip Soup

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Whilst eating the soup, I received the inspiration and came up with the concept for my own root vegetable soup. Just over a week after returning to America from the United Kingdom, I put that culinary inspiration to the test and this was the very tasty result!

My version! Honey Roasted Carrot and Parsnip Soup

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This Honey Roasted Carrot and Parsnip Soup is both sweet and savory, soulfully warming and superbly comforting. It reminds me of that Parsnip Soup I had at Clarinda’s, and is in many ways a colorful cousin to that soup. Sweetly roasted carrots and parsnips, savory sautéed onions, pungent garlic, and woodsy thyme and rosemary give this soup great depth of flavors that contrast and complement one another. The addition of cannellini beans makes this soup even heartier with a boost of protein, but also helps the soup to become creamy when pureed without the addition of any dairy products. This soup is completely vegan, requires very few ingredients, and can be put together in a pinch!

I’m really proud of how this recipe has turned out, and am even more taken with it as it was conceived in Scotland; now, anytime I make it, I will always remember my incredible journey there. And all of us can eat this soup for its great and cozy flavors that are perfect to be enjoyed all fall and winter long!

Honey Roasted Carrot & Parsnip Soup

Serves: 4-6 | Prep Time: 50 minutes | Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

  • 2 large or 3 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 3 large or 4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 sprig fresh thyme, leaves removed from stems
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary, chopped
  • 1 15 ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 5-6 cups vegetable stock
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Arrange the parsnips and carrots on a baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, the honey, half of the salt and pepper, and the thyme leaves. Toss until all the carrots and parsnips are coated well. Roast for 30 minutes until tender and slightly caramelized. Remove from the oven.

Over medium-high heat, heat the remaining olive oil in a large soup pot. Add the onion and season with a pinch of salt and pepper, cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the roasted parsnips and carrots, toss all together. Add the beans, vegetable stock, rosemary, and bay leaf. Season with remaining salt and pepper. Stir. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, and continue to simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.

Uncover and remove the bay leaf. Puree by use of immersion hand blender or by transferring the soup to a food processor in small batches. Puree until completely smooth. Serve and enjoy!

Like this recipe? Let me know in the comments! Did you make this recipe? Tag me on Instagram @johnnylapasta!

True Food Kitchen Newport Beach

Last month, I revisited one of my favorite restaurants in Orange County: True Food Kitchen. Located at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, CA, True Food Kitchen is one of twenty restaurants spread out across the country. As the name suggests, True Food Kitchen emphasizes quality food that is healthful and nutritious as well as seasonal, sustainable, innovative, and delicious.

True Food Kitchen is one of those restaurants that at once makes you feel healthier just for being present in the building while also getting you excited for a truly fantastic meal. The space is open, warm and inviting. A color scheme of bright green, soft yellow and honey woods help to convey the focus on fresh and healthy. The open dining room with high ceilings is set up to feel all at once collaborative and communal while also spacious enough for diners to enjoy conversations privately with their friends and family. Large wood islands stacked with vibrant produce and ingredients divide the diners from the visible kitchen, allowing guests a chance to see the ingredients they will be eating, the preparation of said ingredients and the chefs that make all of the magic happen. I can’t speak for the other True Food Kitchen locations, but the Newport Beach location also offers two different private dining rooms which can be rented out for private parties and events as well as a very nice, semi-private outdoor space complete with heating lamps and fire pits. The restaurant also boasts a beautiful full bar in one half of the dining room, making it easy to grab a drink while waiting for your table or to simply stop in for a cocktail and an appetizer. It’s all very casual and comfortable, but also classy and fun, and it possesses a very clean, organic feel. At any rate, I feel right at home here!

PLEASE EXCUSE THE PICTURE QUALITY – FORGOT CAMERA THAT NIGHT AND USED IPHONE!

View into the restaurant from the bar.
Dining room. People enjoying!
Patio.
Private event space.

Now, let’s get to the part you’re all waiting for: the food! One of the best parts of True Food Kitchen and its concept is that it offers a seasonal menu. So the menu options change several times throughout the year and highlight the foods that are in season and at their very peak for freshness and flavor. Remember my article on seasonal eating, its importance and why we should practice more of it? Well, True Food Kitchen has the same beliefs as I do and they help to make it easier for diners too.

I took my mom with me to True Food Kitchen for dinner before our annual Fashion Island Christmas Shopping date. We were there in mid-December so the menu being offered was the “Volume One: Winter” menu. Fall and Winter foods are my favorite: the root vegetables and hearty greens, the earthy herbs, and the warming braises and stews; so this menu was right up my alley!

True Food Kitchen Roasted Seasonal Vegetable Board

Roasted Seasonal Vegetable Board

For our first course, along with our wine of course, we split the Roasted Seasonal Vegetable Board. A literal board of roasted winter vegetables like sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, cauliflower, beets, mushrooms, and Brussels Sprouts, served with two different dipping sauces: an avocado green goddess dip and a pimento cashew cheese spread. To be completely honest, I could’ve eaten this entire board by myself and called it my dinner. These winter vegetables, which again are my favorite, appeared to be dressed with little more than olive oil, salt, and pepper, but were roasted to absolute tender perfection which intensifies the natural flavors of the vegetables. The dips were fantastic compliments to punch up the produce just a bit more. The pimento cashew cheese spread added a nice heat, but the avocado green goddess dip was just phenomenal as it added a nice sweet richness because, avocado. Vegan and Gluten-Free, this is a dish anyone could eat with a very happy heart.

True Food Kitchen Braised Bison Short Rib

Braised Bison Short Rib – Split Plate

Next, we decided to split the Braised Bison Short Rib. When it’s Winter and cold outside, I love a good, hearty, braised dish that fills me and warms me from the inside out. This was the dish for exactly that on a rainy and unusually cold Newport Beach night at Christmas time. A large bison short rib braised slowly with lots of flavorful cooking liquids (I think there was red wine in there) to the point where the meat was so tender it shredded at the slightest touch of your fork and dissolved in your mouth, served with a creamy and savory cauliflower mash and earthy sautéed Swiss chard that acted as the perfect light sides to the meat. This entrée was masterfully done. Honestly, I like bison, but it does sometimes taste a bit gamey and plainer than say a beef short rib; but you could not tell at all with this bison. The dish packed tons of rich and developed flavors that hit all the marks of a good braised meat dish. A generous portion, mom and I were glad we split; and the best part – they split the dish for us ahead of time so we didn’t have to fuss with it at the table! That is a great point about True Food Kitchen, they cater to all needs; these guys are more than happy to split your dish, omit an ingredient, substitute, add, whatever you want! Even the pickiest and neediest of eaters can find or create something here.

True Food Kitchen Flourless Chocolate Cake

Flourless Chocolate Cake

You cannot go to such a restaurant and not have dessert, right? Right. A Gluten-Free Flourless Chocolate Cake was our choice this night – we are chocoholics. This decadent and moist cake is made of nothing more than cocoa, eggs, and almond butter, baked till warm and gooey and topped with a touch caramel and sweet vanilla bean ice cream. Dear Lord, Dear God. This dessert was simply perfection; it had all the things I love in a dessert and with very little guilt. Couldn’t have been happier! You simply must get dessert when you come here, they are all great and innovative, ideal with a cup of fair-trade coffee or tea that True Food Kitchen also offers.

All in all, our experience was yet again wonderful. A warm and healthy atmosphere with delicious seasonal foods that are both nutritious while also pleasing to the tongue and stomach. I adore True Food Kitchen and am a regular guest there; it really has something for everyone. Omnivores and carnivores, vegetarians and vegans, gluten-frees and special needs, the folks at True Food have something for you, and if they don’t, they will make something for you. It’s affordable for a nice-ish dinner out; great for a catch up meal with friends, a casual date, a quick cocktail and appetizer, or even a celebration. I would recommend True Food Kitchen to anyone! Here’s to hoping there is one by you!

You can learn more about True Food Kitchen here.

Easy Bolognese

I don’t know about you, but I don’t find anything as comforting as a bowl of pasta with a rich, hearty meat sauce (sorry vegetarians, I practice Meatless Monday and yoga, but I am Italian thru and thru). When I was growing up my mom often made pasta with Bolognese sauce when it was chilly outside. Curling up with that bowl of pasta and watching a good movie was simply the best…and it still is! Bolognese is something I now make on the regular during Fall and Winter. It’s inexpensive, simple, rustic, hearty, and it can actually be decently nutritious if you use grass-fed organic meat and control your portions.

Now, there are lots of Bolognese sauce recipes in the world and some of them can be slightly complicated and require hours of cooking, but my recipe for Bolognese is fantastically easy and rather quick! Serve with your favorite shape of pasta, on spaghetti squash, or even by itself in a bowl with some crusty bread. My Easy Bolognese will quickly make you feel like you’re dining in Tuscany! Buon Appetito!

Easy Bolognese

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 large carrot, chopped
  • 1 large celery stalk, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons crushed garlic
  • ½ lb ground beef (preferably grass-fed organic) (or substitute 1 lb Beyond Meat Beef Chunks!)
  • ½ lb ground pork (preferably grass-fed organic) (or skip if you use 1 lb Beyong Meat Beef Chunks!)
  • ½ cup red wine (preferably a chianti or darker)
  • 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • ¼ cup fresh flat leaf Italian parsley, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 pinch red pepper flakes
  • Salt & Pepper
  • ¼ Pecorino Romano Cheese

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, season with a pinch of salt and pepper, and sauté for about 5 minutes until tender. Add the carrots, celery, and 1 tablespoon of the crushed garlic, season with an additional pinch of salt and pepper, and sauté for 3-4 minutes longer. Add the beef and pork. Using the back of a wooden spoon, break the meat up into small chunks, cook until the meat is browned and slightly caramelized, about 7-8 minutes. Pour in the red wine and cook until the meat absorbs the wine completely. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, remaining 1 tablespoon of garlic, half the parsley, the basil, the bay leaf, the red pepper flakes, a pinch more salt and pepper, and half of the pecorino cheese. Stir together. Allow to come to a simmer. Reduce the heat the medium-low and cook uncovered for 45 minutes to an hour until sauce is slightly thickened. Serve with the remaining pecorino and parsley. Enjoy!

Pro-tip: If you make pasta or spaghetti squash, toss the pasta or shredded squash with additional pecorino cheese and olive oil, then place into pasta bowls, and serve the Bolognese sauce over the top. Allow the guests to mix the sauce into the noodles or squash as they like on their own.

 

Saute onions till tender. About 5 minutes.
Add the carrots, celery, and 1 tablespoon of garlic and saute till tender. About 3-4 minutes.
Add the pork and beef.
Break up the meat into small chunks using the back of a wooden spoon. Cook until browned and crispy. About 7-8 minutes.
Add the wine and cook until completely evaporated.
. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, remaining 1 tablespoon of garlic, half the parsley, the basil, the bay leaf, the red pepper flakes, a pinch more salt and pepper, and half of the pecorino cheese.
Stir together. Allow to come to a simmer. Reduce the heat the medium-low and cook uncovered for 45 minutes to an hour until sauce is slightly thickened.
Serve with pasta or spaghetti squash. Sprinkle with additional cheese and parsley. Enjoy!

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