There’s nothing novel about pairing figs and gouda, but stuffing them both between two tortillas that crisp into a flakey buttery crust, takes the classic combo to all new heights. It may sound simple enough to do, but it took a non-standard approach to quesadilla making to get the result I was looking for.

To make a quesadilla, you’d normally assemble it first before throwing it in a pan and browning one side before flipping it and browning the other. Unfortunately, the indirect heat leaves the figs watery and green tasting, and the bulk of the figs keep the cheese from melting evenly. I knew that getting the figs to caramelize would require applying some direct heat to them.

One thought I had was to grill the figs first before adding them to the quesadilla. While this works in the flavor department, grilling sliced figs is a sticky nightmare and you end up with mush, losing about half the fig to the grill. Instead, I borrowed a technique I came up with for making cast-iron pizza on the stove before transferring it to a broiler. This gives the figs a chance to caramelize and the cheese a chance to thoroughly melt before it gets capped off with another tortilla and flipped back onto the stove to crisp the second side.

The caramelized figs concentrates their sweetness and imbues a honey-like flavor that provides a stark contrast to the nutty salty aged gouda. As a bonus, the time in the broiler renders one side of the quesadilla cracker-crisp providing a solid foil for the creamy melted cheese and ultra-sweet figs with pleasantly crunchy seeds.

Fig and Gouda Quesadilla

There's nothing novel about pairing figs and gouda, but stuffing them both between two tortillas that crisp into a flakey buttery crust, takes the classic combo to all new heights. (Recipe Credit: Marc Matsumoto of Fresh Tastes.)

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter softened
• 4 small flour tortillas
• 5.3 ounces figs (sliced into 1/4-inch thick wedges)
• 3.5 ounces shredded aged gouda

Directions

1. Move your oven rack to the top position and preheat a sheet pan in your broiler.
2. Divide and spread the butter on one side of all 4 tortillas.
3. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add one tortilla, buttered side down.
4. Sprinkle some cheese on top and then arrange half the figs on top. Sprinkle with some more cheese. When the bottom of the tortilla starts to crisp, transfer it to the sheet pan in your broiler and let the figs caramelize a bit on top.
5. While the first quesadilla is in your broiler, assemble the second quesadilla in your pan and transfer that to the broiler.
6. Once the pan is empty again, top the first quesadilla (the one you just took out of the broiler) with another tortilla, buttered side up. Flip this quesadilla into the empty pan so that the fresh tortilla is face down in the pan. Fry until crisp.
7. Repeat with the other quesadilla.

Yield: Makes 2 small quesadillas

The post A New Way to Pair Fig and Gouda: In a Quesadilla appeared first on PBS Food.

I know this sounds a little strange, but I’d take a tostada over a taco any day of the week. I love tacos, but I REALLY love tostadas. I think I like the crunch part the best. It’s almost like nachos but in more of a personalized form.

I personally like frying corn tortillas fresh and using those as tostadas, but of course, you could alway simply buy a tostada.

I made these breakfast-fied by smothering them with refried black beans (I’ll always choose black beans over pinto beans), an egg and a ton of accessories: avocado, tomatoes, hot sauce and cilantro.

They’re super quick to throw together and they’re perfect for a crowd because if you wanted to do, say, a tostada bar, you could add all of the toppings and garnishes to small bowls, fry off the tostadas and fry the eggs to order or make a big batch. This could also work with scrambled eggs, if that’s easier.

Breakfast Tostadas

Make a breakfast tostadas bar for your next brunch. Fry corn tortillas and offer a myriad of toppings. (Recipe Credit: Adrianna Adarme of Fresh Tastes)

Ingredients

• 6 to 8 corn tortillas OR tostadas 
• Vegetable oil 
• 6 to 8 large eggs 
• 1 (14-ounce) can of refried black or pinto beans, warmed
• 1/2 red onion, diced, for garnish
• 1/4 pint of cherry tomatoes, sliced
• 1 avocado, diced, for garnish
• 1 tablespoon minced cilantro, for garnish
• Hot sauce of choice, for serving

Directions

1. In a small or medium sauté pan, set over medium-high heat, add two tablespoons of olive oil. When the oil is hot, add a corn tortilla, frying it until crispy, about 1 minute, and then flipping it onto its other side for an additional minute or so. Repeat until you’ve worked your way through all of the tortillas. 
2. In the same sauté pan, add a teaspoon or two of additional oil, if needed. Fry each egg, one at a time, to your liking. I like to fry mine to about over medium, so about 2 to 3 minutes.
3. To assemble the tostadas, add a tablespoon or two of warmed refried beans to each tostadas and smother it around into an even layer. Top with an egg, some red onion, tomatoes, avocado, cilantro and a splash of hot sauce. 

Yield: Serves 6 to 8

Adrianna Adarme is a food blogger and author living in Los Angeles, California. She writes the blog A Cozy Kitchen, where she shares comforting, everyday recipes from her kitchen. She recently authored her first cookbook, PANCAKES: 72 Sweet and Savory Recipes for the Perfect Stack. She’s a lover of breakfast, pie (and sometimes even pie for breakfast), corgis and cute things. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.

The post Make at Home Breakfast Tostadas appeared first on PBS Food.

At 241 years old, the US is still a relatively young country, but that doesn’t mean we have any shortage of national traditions. Eating red, white and blue foods to commemorate Independence Day is a fun food tradition that I always take on as a culinary challenge. Last year, I showed you how to make a red, white and blueberry potato salad.

This year, I decided to focus on one color… Strawberries are often used for flag themed desserts, but I don’t see them being used very often in savory dishes, which is why I wanted to see if I could do something fun and delicious with them for a Fourth of July barbecue.

Although this strawberry barbecue sauce started off as a personal challenge, it turned out so good that I think I may actually prefer it to regular barbecue sauce. I served it here with a grilled chicken breast, but this would be equally good on other cuts of chicken, lamb or pork.

Because of the high sugar content, I don’t recommend glazing your meat with it until the very end, as it will burn quickly. Just rub your meat with some vegetable oil and generously sprinkled it with kosher salt and pepper before grilling it. Then you can brush the sauce on when the meat is almost done, flipping it over a few times to caramelize it a bit. If you don’t have a grill, you can also pan-fry your chicken and then glaze it a bit like how you’d make chicken teriyaki.

In case you’re wondering about the side, they’re blue mashed potatoes which I made using a neat trick with red cabbage to give them their vibrant blue color.

Strawberry Barbecue Sauce

Strawberries aren't only used in dessert. Use this strawberry barbecue sauce to sweeten up your normal bbq flavor. (Recipe Credit: Marc Matsumoto of Fresh Tastes.)

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup jam
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 4 teaspoons soy sauce

Directions

1. Add all the ingredients to a non-reactive pot and bring to a boil.
2. Cook the strawberry barbecue sauce, stirring regularly until it reaches your desired thickness (2-5 minutes).
3. Let the sauce cool completely before storing it in a jar, in the fridge.

Yield: Makes about 1 cup of sauce

The post Sweeten Your Patriotic Meal with Strawberry Barbecue Sauce appeared first on PBS Food.

You might be giving me a bit of side-eye because I put a salad in tacos and this is definitely one of those NOT traditional recipes. But I think it works…hear me out. Caesar salad actually was invented in Mexico. There are a lot of disputes about this but it definitely makes sense that it’s Mexican. I visited Cabo San Lucas last year and really wanted to head to the place that invented the caesar salad but wasn’t able to—it was a huge bummer.

This caesar dressing is eggless—woohoo! I adapted it from Burrell and it’s SO good. I love making it eggless because I actually don’t miss the thickness/egg yolk and everyone can eat it, worry free!

The romaine is tossed in the dressing and tops the best skinless, boneless chicken breast ever.

When I think of boneless, skinless chicken breast, I usually think of something that is dry and awful and terrible tasting. But this is quite the opposite. The marinade consists of lime juice, Ancho chile pepper, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper. It’s SO flavorful and I just cooked it in the pan until it was firm to the touch. I sliced it up and filled some tortillas with it. I then topped it with the caesar salad, an extra topping of dressing, some tomatoes and radishes and cilantro and OMG these tacos were so good.

I’ll even go so far as to say that I kinda just wanted to eat it without the tortilla. If you’re trying to eat a bit healthier, that option has your name all over it!

Caesar Salad Tacos

Caesar salad in tacos?! Marinated chicken in lime juice, Ancho chile pepper, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper over romaine lettuce in tortillas- delicious. (Recipe Credit: Adrianna Adarme of Fresh Tastes)

Ingredients

• Chicken Breasts:
• Juice from 2 limes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground Ancho chile pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin 
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper 
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• Caesar Dressing:
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon anchovy paste 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 3 garlic cloves 
• 3/4 cup olive oil 
• For Assembly:
• 1 bunch of romaine lettuce, chopped
• Tortillas, for serving
• 1/4 pint cherry tomatoes 
• 2 to 3 radishes, thinly sliced
• 2 limes, quartered 
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro, for garnish

Directions

1. To Make the Chicken Breasts: In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, salt, Ancho chile pepper, cumin, coriander and cayenne. Place the chicken breasts in a resealable plastic bag or a baking dish. Pour the marinade over the chicken and turn it a few times until it’s evenly coated. Cover and transfer to the fridge to marinate for about 1 hour. 
2. In a large skillet, set over moderately high heat, add a few tablespoons of oil. When hot, add the chicken and cook for about 5 minutes per side, until firm to the touch. Transfer to a cutting board and allow to rest for about 5 minutes before cutting it.
3. To Make Caesar Dressing/Salad: To a blender, add all of the ingredients, except the oil, and pulse until smooth. With the blender running on low, pour in the olive oil and pulse until very smooth. 
4. To Assemble the Tacos: Toss the romaine lettuce with about a tablespoon of dressing until evenly coated. 
5. Add a few slices of chicken to each tortilla. Top with a handful of salad, an extra drizzle of dressing, some tomatoes, radishes and sprigs of cilantro. Repeat until you’ve assembled all of the tacos. Serve immediately.

Yield: Serves 4

Adrianna Adarme is a food blogger and author living in Los Angeles, California. She writes the blog A Cozy Kitchen, where she shares comforting, everyday recipes from her kitchen. She recently authored her first cookbook, PANCAKES: 72 Sweet and Savory Recipes for the Perfect Stack. She’s a lover of breakfast, pie (and sometimes even pie for breakfast), corgis and cute things. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.

The post Caesar Salad in Tacos?! Simply Delicious. appeared first on PBS Food.

This luscious little salad delivers serious crunch. The crisp juicy cucumber marries the toasty rye croutons and the whole crackling affair is coated in velvety dilly sour cream dressing. Pickled shallots, capers, and feta deliver tart and salty punches with each bite, leaving you wanting more.

This recipe came about from my combined love of summery cucumber salads and rye cucumber sandwiches. I wondered if there was a way to combine the two and beef up my usual light cucumber salad to turn into something more substantial, hearty, and packed with bolder flavors. This salad is the result and I’m so pleased with it. It pairs well alongside grilled trout or wild salmon, but also holds up perfectly well on its own.

Now. A few words on cucumbers… and sour cream… and pickled shallots. First, the sour cream. Please use full-fat, real sour cream if you make this recipe. I can think of few things that are as guaranteed to ruin a dish as the low-fat, artificially-soured gunk that tries to pass for “sour cream” on so many grocery store shelves. I will spare you a longer rant on the topic, but just trust me on this one. Life is too short for low-fat, artificially-soured cream. As for the pickled shallots… if you’re tempted to skip these, allow me a few words in their defense: yes, they do need to be made ahead but they take literally minutes to prepare and then all they have to do is marinate for a bit.

This salad is just not the best possible version of itself without them. They give it pizazz. The pickling mellows the onion flavour and leaves you with sweet tart goodness. (In a pinch, use red onions instead of shallots).

And finally, our dear friends the cukes. I encourage you to explore what’s available at your local farmer’s market and to use local and organic cucumbers if you can. Conventional cucumbers are repeatedly shown to be high in pesticide residues and it’s one of the vegetables that I highly recommend buying organic whenever possible. Plus there’s nothing like a fresh-off-the-vine juicy crunchy cucumber!

Finally, be sure to slice up the rye croutons and the cucumber cubes quite finely. Small, delicate bite-sized cubes make for a nicer presentation and offer up better bites (with better crunch!) that aren’t unwieldy.

Do let me know if you make this salad in the comments below. Bon appétit!

Creamy Cucumber Dill Salad with Rye Croutons

This luscious little salad delivers serious crunch. The crisp juicy cucumber marries the toasty rye croutons and the whole crackling affair is coated in velvety dilly sour cream dressing. Aube Giroux shares more about this dish in the Kitchen Vignettes blog.

Ingredients

• 3 medium cucumbers (about 4 cups cubed)
• 5 slices rye bread (about 2 cups cubed rye bread)
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp small capers
• 2 oz. feta, finely cubed (about 1/3 cup)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Pickled Shallots
• 5 to 6 small shallots (or 1 medium red onion)
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp water
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• Sour Cream Dressing
• 1/2 cup full-fat organic sour cream
• 2 tsp vinegar from the pickled shallots
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Half a small bunch fresh dill, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup chopped)

Directions

1. A few hours in advance or the day before, prepare the pickled shallots. Peel the shallots and slice them as thinly as you can. You should get about 1/2 cup of finely sliced shallots. Place them in a small jar and cover them with the apple cider vinegar. Stir in the sugar and water, and place in the fridge to marinate for a minimum of one hour, preferably overnight.
2. If you wish, peel the cucumbers (I like to leave the skins on if they’re organic). If using field cucumbers, de-seed them by slicing in half lengthwise and running a spoon down the center. (English cucumbers or baby cucumbers don’t need to be de-seeded). Finely chop the cucumbers into small cubes. You should get about 4 cups cubed cucumber.
3. Cut the rye bread into small cubes. Toss with 3 Tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt. Oil a baking sheet with the remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil and spread the cubed bread across it. Bake at 375F for about 10 minutes, or until the croutons are golden and crisp. Remove and allow to cool.
4. In a medium-large bowl, combine the cubed cucumber and cooled croutons. In a small bowl, mix together the sour cream, salt, and vinegar, and 2 Tbsp of fresh chopped dill (save the rest for garnish. Toss the cucumber and croutons with the sour cream dressing. Top with about 1 to 2 Tbsp of pickled shallots (shake off any excess vinegar and keep the rest for another dish), 1 capers, and finely cubed feta. Top with more chopped dill. Taste and season as desired with a bit of salt and pepper. (Be careful not to over salt this salad as the capers and feta are already quite salty). Serve within the hour so that the croutons maintain their crisp. (If you wish to make this a few hours in advance, add the croutons at the last minute so they stay crispy). Enjoy!

Yield: Serves about 6 people, as a side dish

Aube Giroux is a food writer and filmmaker who shares her love of cooking on her farm-to-table blog, Kitchen Vignettes.

Aube is a passionate organic gardener and home cook who likes to share the stories of how food gets to our dinner plates. Her work has been shown on television and at international film festivals. Her web series has been nominated for multiple James Beard Awards for Best Video Webcast (On Location). In 2012, she was the recipient of Saveur Magazine’s Best Food Blog award in the video category.

The post Picnic Ready: Cucumber Dill Salad with Rye Croutons appeared first on PBS Food.

This super-low-effort kimchi bean sprout stir-fry comes together in about 10 minutes from just a handful of ingredients that require very little prep. With savory tender pork, spicy pungent kimchi and crunchy bean sprouts, it’s an umami packed festival of colors, flavors and textures that tastes like it took a lot more effort to make.

The trick to all the flavor is twofold. The first is the kimchi, which is loaded with over a dozen ingredients, like ginger, garlic, onions and cabbage that are lacto-fermented, boosting their umami producing amino acids. I find that some supermarket brands of kimchi taste more like spicy sauerkraut than kimchi, so be sure to find a full-flavored kimchi to get the most flavor into your stir-fry. Homemade kimchi is the best, but if you don’t happen to have a Korean grandma in your life, you can check out my kimchi recipe for a detailed tutorial.

The second trick, is one I covered a few weeks ago in my sesame snap pea chicken recipe, and it’s to marinate the meat and then coat it with potato starch before stir-frying. The starch helps the thinly sliced meat to retain its moisture and flavor and prevents the stir-fry from getting watery.

While mung bean sprouts would also work, I like the more substantial texture of soy bean sprouts for this dish as it adds a nice crunch, with little edamame-like beans at the tips of each sprout. They also tend to be a little longer and lankier than ordinary bean sprouts making this dish like a low-carb version of my kimchi pasta.

Kimchi Bean Sprouts

This super-low-effort kimchi bean sprout stir-fry comes together in about 10 minutes from just a handful of ingredients that require very little prep. (Recipe Credit: Marc Matsumoto of Fresh Tastes.)

Ingredients

• 6.5 ounces pork, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon sake
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons potato starch
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 4 ounces kimchi
• 4 ounces soy bean sprouts
• 1 scallion (finely chopped)

Directions

1. Add the pork, sake and soy sauce to a small bowl and stir to combine. Add the potato starch and mix in well.
2. Heat the sesame oil in a frying pan over medium-heat until hot.
3. Add the marinated pork to the pan. Use a spatula to break up the pork so there are no clumps and spread the pork into a thin layer. Let the pork brown on one side and then stir fry until it’s about 80% cooked.
4. Add the kimchi and stir-fry until the pork is well coated with the juices from the kimchi.
5. Add the bean sprouts and stir-fry until the bean sprouts are cooked through and there is no liquid left in the pan.
6. Adjust salt to taste.
7. Garnish with the scallions and serve.

Yield: Makes 2 servings

The post 10 Minute Kimchi Bean Sprouts appeared first on PBS Food.

In a month full of tacos, this is the second recipe I’m bringing you and I’m super excited about them.

Last weekend I was in Sun Valley—a part of Los Angeles I never venture into—to gather some home supplies. While I was shopping and browsing aisles of countertop options, I realized I hadn’t eaten ALL day and needed food ASAP. I looked at good ol’ Yelp and found a place with really good reviews that was located in a Chevron gas station.

I was a little reluctant, mainly because I thought it might be a chain restaurant, but after we entered the Chevron and I took a look at people’s plates (and there were a lot of people!), and my initial worries vanished. The food was DELICIOUS. I ended up with a veggie burrito (people raved about it) and it was filled with the best tasting sautéed zucchini. I was so grateful that the veggie option wasn’t an afterthought, instead it was the star of the menu.

Inspired by this meal, I decided to season zucchini, squash and corn with spices and salt. I like to salt zucchini at the end of the cooking so they don’t release too much water. I also don’t like cooking it down too much. The filling is flavorful and easy to throw together. I like to garnish it with some cotija cheese, some fresh cilantro and I love burning the edges of my tortillas just a little bit. That extra char flavor is my favorite.

Calbacita Tacos

Ever expect zucchini, squash and corn tacos to be bursting with flavor? Throw some cotija cheese, cilantro and avocado on top for the full effect. (Recipe Credit: Adrianna Adarme of Fresh Tastes)

Ingredients

• Calbacitas: 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 1/4 red onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground Ancho chile powder 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper 
• 1 small zucchini, diced 
• 1 small squash, diced
• 1 ear of corn, kernels removed
• Salt to taste
• For Serving: 
• Guacamole
• Corn or flour tortillas 
• 2 ounces cotija cheese, crumbled 
• Limes, for serving

Directions

1. In a large saucepan or skillet, set over medium heat, add the olive oil. When warm, add the diced onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Next, add the garlic and spices; mix until the onions are thoroughly coated in the spices. Then add the zucchini, squash and corn. Give it a good mix and cook until slightly softened, about 10 minutes, stirring the mixture intermittently. Salt to taste. I ended up adding about 1 teaspoon. 
2. To assemble the tacos, fill the corn tortillas with a few spoonfuls of the zucchini mixture. Top with a sprinkling of cotija cheese and a dollop or two of guacamole.

Yield: Serves 6

Adrianna Adarme is a food blogger and author living in Los Angeles, California. She writes the blog A Cozy Kitchen, where she shares comforting, everyday recipes from her kitchen. She recently authored her first cookbook, PANCAKES: 72 Sweet and Savory Recipes for the Perfect Stack. She’s a lover of breakfast, pie (and sometimes even pie for breakfast), corgis and cute things. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.

The post Triple Veggie Threat: Calbacita Tacos appeared first on PBS Food.

Eggplant is one of those controversial vegetables that people either love or hate. I think a large part of why it gets such a bad rap is that it’s a fairly difficult vegetable to work with. Without the right technique it can end up tough, spongy and dry, or watery and flavorless, or just plain greasy. I’ve shared a few of my favorite eggplant dishes here before, like Baba Ghanoush and Eggplant Dengaku, but today I wanted to share a technique for making a salad inspired by Eggplant Caponata.

While I love a rich, flavorful traditional Caponata, it can be a bit of work, and isn’t quite as light as I’d like during the warmer months of the year. This salad still includes loads of creamy pan-fried eggplant, but I’ve topped them with a fresh relish made of red bell peppers, sweet onions and tomato. Aside from providing a stunning juxtaposition of colors, the relish is crisp, sweet and sour which brings an enjoyable contrast in taste and texture to this dish.

To keep the relish for getting watery, I borrowed a technique I developed for my pico de gallo recipe and added a room temperature thickening agent, in this case, chia seeds. They provide just enough viscosity for the relish, and you don’t even need to cook it!

While you can serve this right away, I like to let the flavors meld overnight in the fridge.

Eggplant Salad with Red Pepper Relish

This salad includes loads of creamy pan-fried eggplant topped with a fresh relish made of red bell peppers, sweet onions and tomato. (Recipe Credit: Marc Matsumoto of Fresh Tastes.)

Ingredients

• For relish:
• 2.8 ounces red bell peppers (~1/2 pepper, diced)
• 2.3 ounces sweet onion (~1/4 sweet onion, minced)
• 4.6 ounces tomato (~1 small tomato, diced)
• 1 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoon chia seeds
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• For eggplant:
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 pound Japanese eggplants (trimmed and quartered lengthwise)
• flakey salt (to taste)
• flat-leaf parsley (for garnish)

Directions

1. To make the relish, stir together the bell peppers, onions, tomato, vinegar, chia seeds, sugar and salt. Set aside to allow the relish to thicken.3
2. Prepare a paper-towel lined rack.
3. Add the olive oil to a frying pan and heat over medium-heat until hot. Add half the eggplant with one cut-side down and fry until golden brown, turn the eggplant so the other cut-side is down and fry until that side is golden brown as well. Transfer to a paper towel lined rack to drain. Repeat with the remaining eggplant.
4. Once all the eggplant has been fried, pat the eggplant with some paper towels to remove any excess oil and then generously salt the eggplant with your favorite flakey salt (kosher or Maldon work well).
5. To assemble the salad, place the eggplant on a plate and then top with the red pepper relish. Garnish with flat-leaf parsley.

Yield: Makes 4 small servings

The post Eggplant with Red Pepper Relish is the New Summer Favorite! appeared first on PBS Food.

One of my favorite soup recipes is this one I made a few years ago that I titled Chorizo-Spiced Squash Soup. It is vegetarian, with not a lick of actual chorizo, and instead plays off the borrowed spices used in chorizo. I was obsessed with turning everything chorizo-spiced but for some reason it never hit me to put it on cauliflower and then in tacos…until a few days ago when I was brainstorming ideas for taco month!

The fusion of spices tossed in cauliflower creates a light and delightful taste for tacos. If you want to make the tacos vegan, simply swap to vegan tortillas (sometimes lard is used but it’s not super common in supermarket tortillas), and skip the cheese.

These are a super quick weeknight meal, too. They come together very easily and are pretty hands off. Make it like a buffet style and there’s very little assembly required!

Chorizo-Spiced Cauliflower Tacos 

Completely vegetarian, these cauliflower tacos borrow chorizo spices and create a savory, easy-to-put-together meal. (Recipe Credit: Adrianna Adarme of Fresh Tastes)

Ingredients

• Chorizo-Spiced Cauliflower:
• 1 head of cauliflower, cut into small florets 
• 4 tablespoons olive oil 
• 2 teaspoon Ancho chile powder
• 2 teaspoon ground cumin 
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne
• Teeny pinch of ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• For Assembly:
• Corn or flour tortillas
• Handful of fresh cilantro leaves, chopped 
• 1 lime 
• Sliced radishes 
• Sour cream 
• Avocado

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. On a parchment lined baking sheet, lay out the cauliflower. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, chile powder, cumin, oregano, coriander, cayenne, cloves and salt. Pour it over the cauliflower and toss together. Transfer to the oven to roast for about 15 to 20 minutes. 
2. To assemble, add a few spoonful to warmed tortillas and top with cilantro leaves, a squeeze of lime, sliced radishes, sour cream and cubed avocado. Serve immediately! 

Yield: Serves 4

Adrianna Adarme is a food blogger and author living in Los Angeles, California. She writes the blog A Cozy Kitchen, where she shares comforting, everyday recipes from her kitchen. She recently authored her first cookbook, PANCAKES: 72 Sweet and Savory Recipes for the Perfect Stack. She’s a lover of breakfast, pie (and sometimes even pie for breakfast), corgis and cute things. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.

The post Taco Bout Delicious: Chorizo-Spiced Cauliflower Tacos appeared first on PBS Food.

With tender chunks of zucchini in a spicy Arrabbiata sauce, this easy delicious pasta is the perfect one-pot meal for a busy weeknight dinner. Instead of boiling the pasta and making the sauce separately, they’re cooked together saving time, energy, and water.

First, some zucchini, onions and garlic are sauteed to bring out their flavors and sweetness. Then a can of tomatoes, water, penne and the seasonings go in and get cooked together until the pasta is cooked through. That’s all there is to it! Because the penne cooks in the sauce, the pasta is literally filled with the sauce, and the starch from the pasta gives the sauce the perfect pasta coating consistency.

Anchovies are a great way to add some umami to a pasta sauce, which is why I normally add them to my Arrabbiata, but to make this vegan-friendly, I’ve substituted soy sauce, which makes for a good substitute. That’s because soy sauce contains loads of umami boosting amino acids which work in tandem with the glutamates in the tomatoes to stimulate the umami receptors on your tongue.

While this makes for a delectably light pasta on its own, if you’re not vegan, crumbling some gorgonzola on top adds both richness and depth to this penne turning it into a vegetarian dish that even a meat-lover will enjoy.

One Pot Tomato Zucchini Penne

With tender chunks of zucchini in a spicy Arrabbiata sauce, this easy delicious pasta is the perfect one-pot meal for a busy weeknight dinner. (Recipe Credit: Marc Matsumoto of Fresh Tastes.)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• .5 ounces garlic (about 2 large cloves, minced)
• 5 ounces onion (about 1/2 onion, diced)
• 8 ounces zucchini (about 2 small zucchini, cubed)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 14.5oz can stewed tomatoes (tomatoes and liquid roughly smashed)
• 2 teaspoons red chili flakes (to taste)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 8.5 ounces penne
• ground black pepper (to taste)
• flat-leaf parsley (for garnish)

Directions

1. Add the olive oil, garlic, onion, zucchini and salt to a large pan and saute until the garlic and onions start to brown.
2. Add the water, stewed tomatoes, chili flakes, soy sauce and penne and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Turn down the heat to maintain a simmer and cook for 10-12 more minutes or until the penne is cooked to your liking.
3. Adjust salt and pepper to taste and garnish with parsley.

Yield: Makes 3-4 servings

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