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comfort food

The Most Comforting Roasted Sweet Potato and Chicken Tikka Masala

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A large, warming bowl of goodness. Super flavourful roasted sweet potatoes with juicy chicken, all tossed in a creamy sauce full of Indian spices. Take the Indian Classic and make it healthy and super delicious! Family friendly, vegan option, easy to make, perfect comfort food.

I love these Sundays, where you just relax all day long and when it comes to dinner, the whole family goes into the kitchen and cooks together. Something cozy, something comforting to round up the week. Something that warms you from the inside and makes your soul feel warmed. These are my favourite kind of dinners. And this Tikka Masala definitely is the ideal meal for such occasions!

What’s tikka masala?

Tikka Masala is a dish from in the Indian cuisine. Actually, it has been invented in Scotland by an Indian Chef. He originally made it with chicken, cream, yoghurt and spices. It also is called „Butter Chicken“ sometimes and nowadays is one of the most popular Indian Recipes around the world.

What’s special about this dish?

We are taking a regular curry and taking it next level while making it healthy! Instead of cream and butter we go for coconut milk, since this is a healthier and lighter version. Also, we don’t only do chicken, no, we add some sweet potatoes for even more flavour & vitamins. Plus, we are roasting, both the chicken and the sweet potato beforehand to bring out the flavour even more.

Is it healthy?

I would not see a reason why not. It is a completely balanced meal. Due to the chicken (that you could sub for chickpeas for example) we make sure to get enough protein in! The sweet potatoes are a great source of carbohydrates, fibre and they also are loaded with nutrients and vitamins. The greek yoghurt and coconut milk add a healthy amount of fat and even more protein.

Not to forget about all of the good Indian spices. Spices, when consumed in moderation, can have tremendous health benefits ranging from improving your digestion to preventing cancer. Crazy what these little powders can do right? When served with some rice or naan you get even more energy from the carbohydrates! So all in all, definitely a very balanced and nutritious meal!

How to make it:

We start by tossing the chopped sweet potato and chicken with some oil and spices before roasting them. As already mentioned, roasting them really brings out the flavour and it shortens the cooking time after. In the meantime we are preparing the curry paste which we need for the sauce. For this you need a food processor or a blender of some kind. To make this paste you need to blend together some onion, garlic, ginger and more spices and fry that off in oil so it gets fragrant. Once your whole kitchen smells like an Indian market, you need to add the sweet potato and chicken and also the coconut milk. Now we just let it simmer and intensify its flavour. Before serving, we stir in some greek yoghurt for extra creaminess and richness. Now it is time to garnish it with some greens, cashews and serve with rice or naan!

When and how to best have it?

Up to you! I love it as a cozy dinner but it also works great for meal prep. Actually, all curries work very well for meal prep because they only enhance their flavour the longer they are in the fridge. You can make this beforehand and just heat it up whenever you feel like it.

In terms of what to best serve it with, you could go for rice or naan or both (my favourite :)). But also something like quinoa, wholegrain rice or buckwheat would work great!

Substitutes/ vegan option:

  • Sweet Potatoes – pumpkin, cauliflower
  • chicken – chickpeas, tofu
  • greek yoghurt – regular yoghurt, plant based yoghurt

I hope that you will genuinely enjoy this as much as I do because I am really obsessed with this, especially on the colder days! Have fun cooking this and enjoy eating it!

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Super Comforting Roasted Sweet Potato and Chicken Tikka Masala

Heavenly comfort food in a bowl. Indian spices in a creamy sauce with perfectly roasted and juicy chicken and sweet potato

Course dinner, Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 20 Minuten
Total Time 30 Minuten
Servings 4 servings

What you will need

For the sweet potato & chicken

  • 1 tbsp Graham Masala
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp chili flakes
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ginger powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 600 g Sweet Potato (1 large one)
  • 600 g chicken breast

For the rest:

  • 1 large yellow onion
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger
  • 1,5 tsp graham masala
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp chili flakes (optional)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 400 ml canned tomatoes (puréed)
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 100 g greek yoghurt
  • rice, naan to serve with
  • cilantro and cashews to garnish

How to

First:

  1. Chop up the sweet potato into about 1 cm sized cubes. Cut the chicken (if using) into bite sized pieces. Combine the spices with the oil. Toss the sweet potato and chicken with the oil-pize mixture and lay out on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake at 180°C for 10 minutes.

  2. In the meantime blend the onion, garlic, ginger and remaining spices together until it has become a smooth paste. When the roasting is done, heat up theremaining oil in a pot and fry the curry paste in it for about 2 minutes until fragrant. Add the sweet potatoes, chicken, canned tomatoes and coconut milk. Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 10 minutes on medium-low heat.

  3. Before serving stir in the greek yoghurt. Then divide onto bowls and serve with some rice or naan. Garnish with fresh cilantro and cashews. Enjoy!

Love,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

Bolognese Stuffed Spaghetti Squash with Swirled Pesto Ricotta

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A very long name for a very simple dish. Comfort food at its finest but make it healthy. A little bit like Lasagna, but with a fall twist to it. Roasted pumpkin with creamy ricotta-bolognese filling, tangy pesto and a little molten cheese on top! Sounds pretty good right? 

What is Spaghetti Squash?

Spaghetti Squash is a type of squash (or pumpkin) that originated in North and Central America. The US also is where it became very famous first! Why? What it is being baked, you can basically scrap the pumpkin „meat“ with a fork and get a texture very similar to spaghetti. These pumpkin spaghetti also look very similar to the real ones. The similarities are what made this pumpkin be so popular. It is commonly used as a replacement for pasta in many dishes, since it is incredibly low in calories, and therefore gained popularity! 

What is special about this dish?

You have to know, it is like a pasta bake kind of dish. Just without the pasta. You still have a similar texture as in pasta, and get that whole pasta feeling because of the looks and the sauce, the spaghetti squash comes with but it is a much lighter version of a pasta bake. More vitamins and fibre, less calories and carbohydrates. It is really fun to switch this up a little once in a while.

And also, there is not just pumpkin, bolognese and cheese, but we have this amazing pesto ricotta swirl that really does take this dish next level. It adds so much flavour, creaminess and goodness to this whole dish, which is just amazing!

Is this dish healthy? 

Yes-ish. As a base we have a vegetable, with lots of Vitamin B, C and fibre. This already makes it really nutritious! (You can read more about pumpkin in my November top 5 blog post!). I would definitely say that any dish that has a vegetable as a base is healthy (at least healthyish) because it is nutritious.

Veggie Bolognese?

Then the filling: this is not super duper nutritious but it is not unhealthy. The sauce. I love to use a vegetarian bolognese because it is more nutritious in most cases. Also, I feel like it lightens up the dish plus it tastes amazing. I know, you may now be thinking, hm not sure about that! And I agree, there can be boring pasta sauces! Definitely! But not the one I like to use! If you have been following me for a while, you know that I have been moving to use the products from Pastafani because they produce delicious, high quality pasta products with Austrian ingredients. I tried out their vegan Bolognese and I need to say, with honestly, that it really is delicious! You can find it here and even get 10% discount on it with the code UNEPETITE10 ! I can only say that it definitely is worth a try!

Picture by Pastafani

So back to whether it is healthy or not. The base, yes. The sauce, depends on what you are using. A veggie bolognese, yes! A meat bolognese I would say healthy-ish. Then we have the ricotta and pesto (which you by the way can also get a super delicious one at Pastafani!)! Ricotta I would say is not super nutritious but also not unhealthy. It is higher in protein and lower in calories than regular cream cheese. Plus, super good for the soul 🙂 The pesto is high in vitamins and healthy fats, and it is green (doesn’t that basically already mean that it is healthy?). Then we just top it off with some cheese, not very nutrient dense but you know, a little cheese never hurt nobody.

How to make this?

This is not challenging at all. We start by preparing the spaghetti squash. For this cut it into half, season with a bit of olive oil, salt & pepper and roast in the oven. In the meantime we heat up the sauce. When the squash is done, we need to tear the „spaghettis“ from it. This is done by taking a fork and scrapping the pumpkin meat off the sides.

Now we just pour in the sauce, add a few dollops of ricotta and pesto, swirl everything around so it looks nice and marbled, top it with some cheese and bake it again. That’s all it takes to make this super delicious meal!

I genuinely hope that you will enjoy this recipe at least as much as I do and that you will make it on repeat! It is a delicious, comforting meal for cozy weeknights and weekends!

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Oven Roasted Bolognese Stuffed Spaghetti Squash with Swirled Pesto Ricotta

Comforting, Healthy, easy & delicious! A lighter version of a pasta bake, with seasonal ingredients: Baked pumpkin with a creamy bolognese, ricotta and pesto filling!

Course dinner, Main Course
Prep Time 15 Minuten
Cook Time 50 Minuten
Total Time 1 Stunde 5 Minuten
Calories 567 kcal

What you will need

  • 1 kg spaghetti squash
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • salt & pepper
  • 300 g (veggie) bolognese sauce
  • 100 g ricotta
  • 3 tbsp pesto
  • 50 g cheese

How to

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the meat is soft.

  2. In the meantime heat up the bolognese and season the ricotta with salt and pepper.

  3. When the squash is done baking, take it out of the oven. Grab a fork and scratch off the pumpkin "meat" from the edges. This will create a spaghtti like look.

  4. Pour in the bolognese sauce, divide the ricotta and add the pesto. Swirl everything together, so it is all combined and creates a marble-like look. Top with the cheese and bake for another 5-q0 minutes at 200°C until the cheese has molten.

  5. Serve & Enjoy!

Happy cooking,
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

Super Comforting Oven Baked Stuffed Cannelloni with Pumpkin Sage Ricotta

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Holy moly, this is a long name! But this dish deserves this. Really. I know that I say this for pretty much every fall recipe, but this is fall comfort food at its finest. Pasta (heaven itself) stuffed with creamy ricotta and pumpkin with sage, all added into a dish, tossed in a creamy pumpkin sauce and baked in the oven with some feta. If your mouth is not watering by now then I don´t know what makes it do so.

What is special about this dish?

The combination of flavors. Usually you would only get stuffed cannelloni with a tomato sauce or a Bolognese sauce and stuffed with ricotta and spinach. But not this recipe. Instead of the normal filling we are making a fall filling! Roasted pumpkin that is flavored with sage in a creamy ricotta mixture. The pasta also is not tossed in tomato sauce but a creamy pumpkin sauce and topped with feta rather than mozzarella! A few twists that make a nice and fun change.

Is this dish healthy?

Yes-ish. Well, the main ingredient is pasta. Pasta is a great source of carbohydrates and also protein. It has always had the reputation of being unhealthy, but this is not true at all. Pasta gives you a lot of energy (and a lot of happiness too) but it is not super high in other nutrients. If you want a meal that is more nutrient dense, you could long for wholegrain pasta, which is a healthier option with more fiber and nutrients!

Then we have ricotta, which is sort of a cream cheese but Italian stye (anything Italian style is good!). It is lower in calories than cream cheese and has about half of the fat of it and more protein! Plus, it tastes super good. Besides this we also have eggs, which are a great source of vitamin B12, and protein and not to forget about the star of the show: the pumpkin!

 

Pumpkin is the food of the month of November, so you can actually read a bunch about it in my Nomvember top 5 blog post! It is not only a very tasty, and the most popular fall vegetable but it also Is low in calories and high in nutrients! A great addition to any meal!

How to make it:

I am going to be honest; this dish is a bit of work and takes some time (which we now have in quarantine). The filling of each and every cannelloni requires some patience, but it is a very fun cooking activity as a family or friends! 

In terms of difficulty, this is not very challenging to make! You need to start with roasting the pumpkin with the sage and oil in the oven! In the meantime, you can boil the pasta. While this is boiling you can make the ricotta filling by mixing ricotta, Greek yoghurt, milk, vegetable broth and pumpkin. Fold in the rest of the pumpkin into the mixture.

Now you need patience. Fill every shell with the mixture and lay out in a baking dish. Pour over the sauce and crumble the feta! Now it just needs to be baked and then enjoyed with lots of enjoyment! 

I hope that you will genuinely enjoy this super comforting yet healthyish recipe and that it will become one of your fall staples! 

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Oven Baked Stuffed Cannelloni with Sage Pumpkin Ricotta

Comforting, healthish, delicious. An amazing fall twist on the classic packed with flavor! Enjoy!

Course dinner, Main Course
Total Time 1 Stunde
Servings 6 servings
Calories 449 kcal

What you will need

  • 1 hokkaido pumpkin (about 800g)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp fresh sage
  • 500 g cannelloni
  • 300 g greek yoghurt
  • 300 g ricotta
  • 300 ml vegetable broth
  • 100 ml milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp cardamon
  • 150 g feta cheese

How to

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Peel the pumpkin and cut into about 1cm sized cubes. Finely chop up the sage. Mix the pumpkin with the sage and olive oil and lay out on a baking tray. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the pumpkin is soft.

  2. In the meantime boil the pasta according to package instructions but undercook them by 2 minutes.

    In the meantime combine he greek yoghurt, ricotta cheese, egg, nutmeg, cardamon, salt and pepper until creamy. Fold in 2/3 of the roasted pumpkin.

  3. When the pumpkin is done baking, add 1/3 of it to a food processor along with the vegetable broth, milk, and about 1/4 of the ricotta mixture. Blend everything up until creamy.

    Take one piece of pasta at a time and fill with abotu 1 tablespoon of the ricotta mixture. Lay into a baking tray and repeat until all pasta and all of the mixture is used up. If there is some more of the ricotta mixture left, just blend it into the sauce again.

  4. Once all the pasta is filled, pour the pumpkin sauce on top and crumble the feta. Bake at 220°C for another 5-7 minutes! Serve and enjoy!


Happy cooking, 
Enjoy, 
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

Super easy roasted sesame miso eggplant with coconut rice

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The soft „meat“ of the eggplant, soaked with flavour of the sesame miso marinade combined with creamy coconut rice and a baby spinach salad. Way easier than it sounds. And so delicious. 30 minutes, full of flavour, healthy and comforting.

I have never been to Japan, unfortunately, but it definitely is one of the top destinations of my travel list. I just really like all of the flavours, spices and fermented goods in their cuisine. Since the current situation makes travelling a bit difficult, it is time for us to bring Japan home! Taking the delicious and decadent flavours and making masterpieces out of them in the kitchen! And also, here is no better way to start into the slightly colder season than with some good comfort food. Heating up the oven and baking and the bubbling food on the stove. A super soft on the inside eggplant and creamy rice is the perfect dish for such occasions.

What is special about this dish?

Kind of everything, to be honest. The eggplant that is prepared and soaked up with the slightly sweet but so delicious asian marinade and baked to perfection and the rice that is not you average side dish rice but made with much more flavour.

What is miso and where can you get it?

Miso is a paste made from fermented soy beans and salt. It originated in Japan and is typically used in Asian, especially Japanese cuisine. Probably it’s most common use is in miso soup, which you can find at most Japanese restaurants. There are several different kinds of miso paste, from black to yellow and sweet so sour. For this recipe, I would recommend using a yellow/ light one without added sugar since we are adding the sweetness ourselves.

You can find Miso paste at pretty much any asian grocery store. It also often can be found at health stores or organic markets because of its high content of probiotics (through fermentation) or speciality stores.

Is this dish healthy?

I would definitely say so! You get great nutrients such as vitamins and fibre form the eggplant and also healthy probiotics from the miso (although there won’t be as much due to heating it up). The rice adds some great carbohydrates and protein and the coconut milk adds a healthy dose of fats. The only thing you should note is that this dish is a bit high in sodium because of its Miso and soy sauce content. If you have issues with sodium or make it sodium reduced, you can long for sodium reduced soy sauce, which you can find at any supermarket!

Meal prep & friendly?!

Yes and yes! You can very well store this in containers and heat it up whenever you want to enjoy it. The flavours will stay and consistency wise the reheating won’t be a problem. It also is pretty family friendly and a great way to sneak some more veggies onto the plates. If in your family, someone cannot go without meat, an easy way to include this is to just add some chicken, prawns or any other meat/ seafood of your preference into the marinade and then just fry it up in a pan while the eggplant is baking!

I hope that you will enjoy this recipe and that it gets you a little bit excited for the colder season ahead of us!

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Super easy roasted sesame miso eggplant with coconut rice

Soft eggplant that is full of flavor and easy to make paired with some dreamy, creamy coconut rice and a fresh salad!

Course dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine asian, Japanese
Prep Time 5 Minuten
Cook Time 35 Minuten
Total Time 40 Minuten
Servings 4 people
Calories 530 kcal

What you will need

For the eggplant:

  • 2 eggplants
  • 1 tbsp Tahini
  • 3 tbsp miso paste
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • a few drops Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp hot sauce
  • 6 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup

For the rice:

  • 250 g rice
  • 200 ml coconut milk
  • 300 ml water

For the rest:

  • 4 handful baby spinach
  • 2 scallions (spring onions)
  • 2 tbsp sesame seeds

How to

  1. Cut the eggplants lengthwise. Carefully cut a grid-pattern into each half of the eggplant. This only is supposed to add some depth to the eggplant to soak up the flavor better. Do not cut the eggplant through!

  2. In a bowl/ tupperware combine all of the inrgedients for the sauce. Place the eggplant halfes, pattern side down in the marinade and let marinade for about 2-4 hours if you have got the time (if you do not, continue on from the next step).

  3. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place the eggplant halves on a baking tray and brush some of that remaining dressing into the grids. Bake the eggplant for 25-30 minutes. Take them out of the oven, heat it up to 225°C. Brush the eggplants again and bake for another 5 minutes.

  4. In the meantime add the rice along with the coconut milk, some salt and water to a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let simmer until all liquid is absorbed. Cover and let steam on very low heat for another 3-5 minutes until the rice is soft.

  5. Wash the baby spinach and toss it with some slat, pepper,a nd the remaining eggplant marinade.

  6. Divide the rice and salad onto the plates and add the eggplant on top. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, chopped up scallions and cliantro. Enjoy!

Happy cooking,
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière