feel food club

Lunch/ Dinner

Veal Stuffed Zucchini Cannelloni

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This dish basically is a lighter twist on stuffed cannelloni – just without the cannelloni. When I was in the kitchen creating this dish, I actually did not mean to recreate cannelloni or put a lighter twist in them. I just let myself experiment. After finishing cooking, when I ate this dish I realized that it actually looked like the typically Italian pasta. It tasted sooo good. Just all the flavors and textures worked really well together. The crunch of the zucchini, the texture of the ground meat, the softness of the melted cheese, and the intense flavor of the tomato sauce. 

It is a little work, to make this dish, so it is not the perfect dish to have as a quick dinner, but it is if you have some more time and want to cook it together with someone else on a date night or a family dinner. I really, really like this dish because it is family friendly, still sneaks in some vegetables and kind of is a lighter twist on a baked pasta dish.

I decided to use minced veal as a meat simply because I really like the flavor and it is pretty lean. If you prefer to use beef, turkey, pig, or even a vegetarian mince that would work too. I just think that the veal doesn’t overpower the other ingredients but still brings a nice flavor and texture. Also, it makes the dish a little bit more Italian because in Italy, veal is used very often. When frying it in the pan, don’t leave it in there for too long since it shouldn’t be completely cooked through as it would get dry in the oven. Also if you do not have an oven safe pan, you can use any other oven safe dish to bake the “cannelloni” in.

The Ricotta that is in the filling along with the meat gives this entire dish such a delicious richness and hearty flavor, which I realllllyyy like. Of course, you can use cream cheese or curd cheese instead but it won’t be the same. Ricotta just has this little something and this instant-Italian twist on every dish you use it in, so I would not substitute it with anything else. All the herbs that are packed into the Ricotta just give it a freshness and make it real good. Never skip the herbs & spices!

When baking the zucchini in the oven, the sauce will get more liquid since the zucchini will loose water. I personally like it because you can pour some more onto your plate but if you prefer to having it thick you can blanch the zucchini strips in simmering water for a few minutes and dry them with a paper towel. This is quite a lot of work because there are a lot of them, so I leave this step out and go for the thinner sauce. Especially when there is not too much time then I’d recommend not doing this extra step.

All in all, this is a pretty simple Italian inspired dish. It is a little bit of work but really fun to make and such a great way to lighten up stuffed cannelloni. I know that some Italians would come and beat me up now if I keep calling this “cannelloni” but it is really good. A dinner that all of your family is going to love!! If you do make it, be sure to share it with me on Instagram and tag me with @uneptcuisiniere or #unepetitecuisiniere. I’d love to see it! 

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Veal Stuffed Zucchini Cannelloni

A delicious lighter twist on the traditional italian classic. Made with ground veal and herbed ricotta, which is all packed into nourishing Zucchini and topped with fresh tomato sauce and molten cheese. Just good.

Course dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 30 Minuten
Cook Time 20 Minuten
Total Time 50 Minuten
Servings 4 people
Calories 370 kcal

What you will need

  • 2 Zucchini
  • 1.5 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 White Onion
  • 2 Cloves Garlic
  • 400 g Ground Veal can substitute for any other meat
  • 200 g Ricotta
  • 1 Egg Yolk
  • 1 tbsp Minced Basil
  • 1 tbsp Minced Sage
  • 1 tbsp Minced Oregano
  • 400 ml Tomatoe Sauce
  • 50 g Parmesan Cheese Do not use pre-grated ones if possible since the quality is alway lower
  • 50 g Mozarella Cheese Buffalo is best

How to

That´s how it works:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C. With a peeler, peel of strips of the Zucchini that are about 1-2mm thick. In a pan heat up the olive oil. Meanwhile finely mince the onion and garlic. Once hot add them to the oil and cook them for about 1 minute. Add the meat and generously salt and pepper. Cook for about 5-8 minutes, it does not have to be completely cooked through. 

  2. In a bowl mix the Ricotta with the egg yolk, the fresh herbs, salt, and pepper. On a flat surface lay out about three to four Zucchini strips* at a time, depending on how big they are, slightly overlaping. 

  3. Grate the parmesan cheese and chop of the mozarella into about 1.5 cm large pieces. 

  4. At the lower end of them spread one tablespoon of the Ricotta mixture and 1 tablespoon of the minced veal on top. Carefully roll them up and place them aside. Continue until there is no Zucchini and Meat left. 

  5. In an oven-safe dish or pan spread half of the tomato sauce. Carefully place the Cannelloni horizonatlly in it. Top them with the rest of the tomato sauce and the different cheeses.

  6. Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes, so the cheese has all molten and the Zucchini is cooked through. Serve with some fresh basil and enjoy!

Notes

*if you want the dish to be less watery, blanch the Zucchini strips in simmering water for about 1 minute here. Then transfer them into an ice bath and pat them dry. Continue to follow along the recipe. 

I do not think that this step is necessary because I like it to be saucy but this depends on your preference.

Fall Tabbouleh Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

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Who doesn´t love a stuffed potato. Maybe with some sour cream and beef, or with roasted vegetables and guac or whichever combination you like. Roasted potatoes with some sort of stuffing is just such a comforting and easy meal. I love it on weeknights because everyone can pick their one fillings and it is just a family meal. Because they are so versatile I like to add a twist in them whenever I make them. Sometimes I make them a little more American with loads of cheese, sometimes Mexican with salsa and avocado, sometimes a mix.

This time I decided to not only switch up the filing a little but also go for sweet potatoes instead of normal potatoes. I honestly love sweet potatoes and I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of this before. The crispy skin and the soft inside is just so good combined with the spices. In order to really get those spices into the potato, you have to use oil when baking it. Without oil, it won´t ever get that deep flavor and that crispiness. I use a spice mix that consists of most people´s pantry staples. It just intensifies the sweetness of the potatoes but gives them an extra kick. 

I wondered what filling would go well with sweet potatoes and a thousand ideas crossed my mind until it came to me to just combine two of my favorite dishes. Stuffed potatoes & tabbouleh! If I wouldn’t had created that myself I would have called it genius. It literally tastes so amazing. It’s going to be your new favorite. Easy weeknight and easy to prep, perfect meal prep dish, ideal for weekends when the family and friends are coming together, just perfect for any occasion.

That warm and soft sweet potato and the freshness of the tabbouleh just go so well together. Paired with the super delicious Tahini Sauce it is just so good! Since tabbouleh is a pretty summery dish I think I added a fall twist to it. Some small chopped up apples, raisins, nuts, and some Swiss chard. I tossed it together with the Couscous and dressed with simply Olive Oil and lemon juice. It helps bring out the flavor but doesn’t overpower them. The different fruits and veggies add such a variety in flavor, a great crunch, and so much color. It feels like eating the rainbow with this salad. 

The real addiction in this dish is the Tahini Sauce. So Good. Really simple ingredients, Tahini, lemon juice, mustard, water, vinegar, and oil. It just has such an amazing flavor and because of the Tahini it makes the dish a little more oriental. The lemon gives a great contrast to the hearty ness of the sweet potato and paired with the guac (which technically is optional, but actually not) you won’t go back to sour cream. The drizzle on top is so satisfying and damn good.

This entire combination of warm sweet potato, crunchy tabbouleh, creamy guac and refreshing Tahini dressing is bomb. It is not complicated to make which will make it your new favorite dish. So easy to meal prep and prepare in general as you can roast some sweet potatoes in the weekend and make some of that good tabbouleh and just take it whenever you need. If you do make it be sure to tag me on Instagram with @uneptcuisiniere or with #unepetitecuisiniere and leave a rating. I honestly really really like this dish and I hope that you will like it too!

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Fall Tabbouleh Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Super comfortable and healthy fall dinner

Course dinner, Main Course
Prep Time 30 Minuten
Cook Time 50 Minuten
Total Time 50 Minuten
Servings 2 people
Calories 650 kcal

What you will need

For the Sweet Potatoes:

  • 1 large Sweet Potato about 500-600g
  • 1 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 tsp Pepper
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp Paprika Powder
  • 1/2 tsp Chili Powder
  • 1/2 tsp Curcuma Powder

For the Tabbouleh

  • 70 g Couscous
  • 3 stalks Swiss chard
  • 1/2 Apple
  • 100 g Tomatoes
  • 1 small Red Onion
  • 1/3 Cucumber
  • 1/2 Yellow Bell Pepper
  • 1 tbsp Chopped Parsley
  • 1/2 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1.5 tbsp Lemon Juice
  • Salt & Pepper

For the Tahini Sauce

  • 1 tsp Tahini
  • 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
  • 1 tsp Maple Syrup
  • 1-2 tbsp Almond Milk can substitute for water
  • 1 tbsp Water
  • 1.5 tbsp Lemon Juice

To finish it off:

  • 1 small Avocado
  • 1 stalk Spring Onions finely chopped

How to

Thats how it works:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Cut the sweet potato in half. In a samll bowl mix all the spices together with the oil. Brush both sides of the cut sweet potatoes with the oil-spice mixture and place o a baking tray. Once the oven is heated up, place them in and bae for about 45-50 minutes.

For the Tabbouleh:

  1. Prepare the Couscous according to the package instructions. Chop the tomatoes, the bell pepper, the appla, the cucumber, and the swiss chard in cubes, a little smaller than 1cm. Finely mince the onion. In a large bowl add all of the vegetables, the couscous and the parsely. drizzle the lemon juice and olive oil on top and gently combine everything until is it well mixed through.

For the Tahini Sauce:

  1. Add all of the ingredients into a small bowl and mix or into a small blender and blend until you get a smooth and runny consistency. If you prefer to have it thinner, add more water or almond milk, if you want it thicker, add more Tahini.

To finish it off:

  1. Smash the avocado and generously salt and pepper it. Take the sweet potatoes out of the oven and place them on two plates. With a fork carefully smash the inside of the potatoes and take some of the smashed filling out so you have more space for the filling. Add the Tabbouleh into the muld you just created. Top with some of the mashed avocado and drizle with the Tahini sauce. Serve as it is or with a small side salad if you prefer. Enjoy!

Fall Harvest Salad (V, S)

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Fall is officially here and the temperatures are going down. Although the weekends are still super nice and sunny, you know that fall is here as soon as the leaves start to turn red, brown, and yellow and the first chestnuts are lying on the ground. Fall is such a great season, such beautiful colors and beautiful landscapes. So beautiful. Fall also means comfort foods to me and hot soups. But only because the season changes doesn’t mean just eating unhealthy comfort foods. There are so many great seasonal foods you can pack into super delicious salads. 

With this salad I tried to bring all of the beautiful fall colors into one bowl. The orange in the pumpkin, the red in the pomegranate seeds, the yellow in the pear, the brown in the almonds, and the green from the spinach. It is like eating the rainbow. A lot of people see salads as summer-food but I think that they are a great way to switch up things and not only eating soups and heavy dishes. This one is super refreshing because of the dressing but still really hearty because of the war roasted pumpkins, and the nuts. 

I used Delicata Squash because I think it works great in Salads and or roasting. It has a slight sweet taste and is not quite as dense as for example Hokkaido pumpkin. It is super simple to bring out the flavor and it roasts for only 20 minutes which I think is really great. I seasoned it very simply because I think that otherwise it would overpower the flavor of the rest of the salad. You can use any pumpkin you like but the roasting time will vary depending on the type of pumpkin. 

As a base I decided to go for baby spinach because of its mild flavor and it soaks up the flavor of the dressing easily. I simply love the slightly buttery taste and texture. If you do not like spinach you can go for anything else, lambs lettuce would work great too but I would not recommend kale because it needs more heartiness in a dressing to taste really good in a salad. You can also do a mix of different ones, it would work really great too if you decide to make it a little fancier! The pear on top adds some sweetness and soft butter-like texture, which goes really well with the salad base and the crunch of the toppings. 

For a little crunch I added the pomegranate seeds and the almonds. You can buy prepackaged pomegranate seeds but I like to to buy a whole pomegranate and take them out myself. It is a little work, takes maybe like ten minutes but you do not need unnecessary plastic packaging, they are fresher, and they last for longer, which I think is great. The almonds just give the whole salad some richness, healthy fats, and protein. I really like the heartiness and kind of dryness of almonds as I think they pair very well with the soft, juicy roasted Delicata Squash but some walnuts would work really well in szuch a salad too! Walnuts are a great seasonal food in fall and also regional here in Austria but I unfortunately did not have them on hand when I made this salad.  

For the dressing I decided to use Tahini because it is my favorite ingredient when it comes to salad dressings. It makes it so incredibly creamy and tastes so good! Also Tahini is a great healthy fat and contains a lot of vitamins. I mixed it with some Dijon mustard, lemon juice, a little olive oil, some of the pomegranate juice that ran out when I took out the seeds, and a tiny splash of maple syrup. Just mix it all up and voila, so delicious!

I really like this salad to enjoy as a light lunch and making it fresh but it also works great as meal prep if you store the dressing separately. It comes together really quickly and simple and is such a great healthy fall dish! If you decide to recreate it, make sure to tag me on Instagram with @uneptcuisiniere or with #unepetitecuisiniere! I hope you will enjoy and like it as much as I do.

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Fall Harvest Salad

A healthy and delicious salad to enjoy al of the seasonal foods that fall brings us.

Course Main Course, Salad, Side Dish
Prep Time 20 Minuten
Cook Time 20 Minuten
Total Time 25 Minuten
Servings 2 people
Calories 379 kcal

What you will need

For the Salad:

  • 200 g Baby spinach
  • 1/2 Pear
  • 1/2 Pomegranate
  • 400-500 g Delicata Squash
  • 1/2 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 30 g Almonds

For the Dressing:

  • 1 tbsp Tahini
  • 2 tbsp Pomegranate Juice
  • 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
  • 1/2 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
  • 1/2 tbsp White wine vinegar

How to

Thats how it works:

  1. Cut the Delicata squash into about 1cm thick slices. Remove the seeds and place them in a bowl. Generously salt and pepper them and mix the with the Olive oil. Place them on the baking tray and make sure that they do not overlap. Bake them in a preheated oven at 180C for about 20 minutes.

  2. While the pumpkin is baking, wash the spinach and the pear. Plcae the salad into a bowl and cut the pear into about 1.5cm large cubes. roughly chop the almonds. Cut the pomgranate in half and take out the seeds. I believe it is easiest to carve them out with a fork into a bowl and then take out the parts from the shell thaat came with it. Add the two fruits to the spinach along with the chopped up nuts.

  3. Add all the ingredients for the dressing into a bowl and mix well until combined. By now the pumpkin should be cooked through, so take it out of the oven. Mix the dressing with the salad, divide it onto two plates and top it with the roasted squash. Serve and enjoy!

3 Tomato Gnocchi with Garlicky Prawns

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If you have ever been to Italy you know how a sauce with fresh tomatoes tastes. Creamy, sweet, tangy, fresh, natural, just delicious!! My family and I, we go to Italy every year, at least twice and eating some kind of pasta, gnocchi or risotto with fresh tomatoes is a staple there! I can’t spend time in Italy without eating the delicious Italian tomatoes.

Well, now I am back from holidays, back from Italy and only dreaming about those incredibly delicious tomatoes (not sure if you already know, but I am a tomato addict!! Favourite food of all time), and if I buy a tomato sauce at the store it is far from what you´d get in Italy. I’m not saying that they are not tasty but just not comparable with what you would get in an Italian restaurant. But as I was really craving a tomatoey dish with all the flavor I decided to start experimenting and finally created this super delicious 3-tomato gnocchi.

I was able to find some local, big, austrian tomatoes in different colors and shapes, at the farmers market, which I really liked (the more local the better!!), and all were organic from farmers around and did not contain any chemicals or anything else they didn’t need. I honestly loved the variety of color and really liked the different shapes, which made every single tomato unique. I definitely prefer them having different shapes and sizes without any artificial stuff in them than having 10 tomatoes with exactly the same color, the same shape, and the same taste, which 1) is boring & 2) not natural! I also found some small honey tomatoes which are my favourite! (Best snack ever!) They are sweet, have a great texture and just every bite is treat. The third kind of tomato I used was tomato paste, to intensify the flavor, and I would definitely not leave out when making this because it does make a difference!!! 

I also used fresh basil from our garden, white wine from the vineyard next to our house, and some sour cream from Austrian farmers (if you want to make a vegan version of this sauce, either leave out the sour cream at all or substitute it with coconut cream or another vegan cream cheese substitute)! The prawns that I used were from Italy and I bought them frozen so that they are really fresh. For this dish I used parted tiger prawns because I do not like to have small prawns where there only is one bite. I’d recommend peeling them before grilling or frying them since I believe that it is easier do this before than after cooking but if you prefer peeling it after to give it a look then that works too! 

When it comes to gnocchi I would always recommend using fresh ones. I personally do not like the packaged ones a lot since most of them only tend to become more and more the longer you chew them. You can either make them yourself or if you have a gourmet food store or an Italian store close to where you live, Idaho recommend buying fresh gnocchis there because the quality of fresh ones is just better. I used frozen ones I made over a year ago, which was not the best decision because they were in the freezer for pretty long, so they turned very mushy as soon as I cooked them. It didn’t make a difference in taste but in the looks. So if you can, use as fresh ones as you can get. Of course, if you do not like gnocchi, the sauce also tastes really really good with some pasta or even with rice!

I always make this dish when I start to miss Italy, and it is especially delicious in summer when the tomatoes are fresh, seasonal, and so flavorful. It also is a really healthy and balanced dish. You get some good carbs and vitamins out of the potatoes in the gnocchi, a lot of vitamins and antioxidants from the tomatoes, healthy fats from the olive oil, and some protein from the prawns. It is such a delicious and simple dish that will please the entire family and satisfy all your needs. I hope that you will like this dish and if you have any questions just leave them in the comments, I will answer you! If you are recreating it, just leave the hashtag #unepetitcuisiniere and I will see them!

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3 Tomato Gnocchi with Garlicky Prawns

A delicious & quick weeknight dinner

Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 13 Minuten
Cook Time 10 Minuten
Total Time 23 Minuten
Servings 2
Calories 584 kcal

What you will need

Thats what you will need:

  • 500 g Tomatoes lrge, and best different colours
  • 200 g Cherry tomatoes
  • 20 ml Olive Oil
  • 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
  • 1 Chili
  • 1 tbsp Sour Cream
  • 125 ml White Wine
  • 3 Garlic Cloves
  • 300 g Tiger Prawns
  • 300 g Gnocchi
  • 1 handful Basil

How to

Thats how it works:

  1. Cut the large tomatoes into 2cm cubes. Half the cherry tomatoes. Peel and finely slice one garlic clove and chili. In a big pan heat up half of the olive oil. In a smaller pot start bringing some water to a boil. When hot add the tomato paste to the oil and stir well until everything is well combined. Then add garlic and chili into the Oil and saute until it starts to turn golden-brown. Add the tomatoes into the pan and saute them for about 3 minutes. Pour the white wine over the tomatoes and add the sour cream and let it all simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. Generously salt and a little pepper. If it gets too thick, add some more wine, if it is too thin add some more sour cream or let it simmer for a little longer.

  2. Meanwhile peal the prawns, slice the other 2 garlic cloves, and add the remaining olive oil into a pan and heat it up. Cook the Gnocchi in the boiling water for about 3 minutes (depending on the Gnocchi you have), until soft. Fry the prawns with the garlick in the oil for about 2 minztes on each side.

    Cut the basil into thin strips and add into the sauce. Keep a few leaves for the garnish.

  3. Drain the Gnocchi and add to the tomato sauce. Divide it onto 2 plates, add the prawns and garnish with basil.

    Serve & enjoy!