all things food
Quick show of hands: Who likes pizza? (Cue us excitedly waving our arms in the air while grinning.) We like to have pizza at least once a week, and since we have the crust and toppings thoroughly sorted, we figured it was due time to share our go-to ho…
Quick show of hands: Who likes pizza? (Cue us excitedly waving our arms in the air while grinning.) We like to have pizza at least once a week, and since we have the crust and toppings thoroughly sorted, we figured it was due time to share our go-to homemade pizza sauce.
The best news? It’s so easy to make (1 pan, 20 minutes!) and packed with rich, herby tomato flavor.
This recipe was originally inspired by caprese salad! We wanted the classic tomato, basil, cheese trio married together with balsamic vinegar. However, we also wanted croutons in the mix (because bread!), so we ended up with an EPIC summer panzanella! …
This recipe was originally inspired by caprese salad! We wanted the classic tomato, basil, cheese trio married together with balsamic vinegar. However, we also wanted croutons in the mix (because bread!), so we ended up with an EPIC summer panzanella! The results were pretty stellar and we kept going back for seconds (and thirds). Even tomato haters are likely to fall for the classic flavors in this dish! Plus, just 10 ingredients and 30 minutes required.
Pizza always makes a bad day feel better, and there’s nothing nicer than a perfect slice of margherita pizza. Now you can make this recipe at home…
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Pizza always makes a bad day feel better, and there’s nothing nicer than a perfect slice of margherita pizza. Now you can make this recipe at home any time the craving strikes!
Pizza margherita, as the Italians call it, is a simple pizza hailing from Naples. When done right, margherita pizza features a bubbly crust, crushed San Marzano tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and basil, a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt. That is all.
Sure, you could add some tomato if you’d like, but only if the tomato is truly ripe, red and worthy. Authentic Neapolitan pizza margherita doesn’t require fresh tomato. Try making this pizza as written, and you won’t miss the tomato on top. Sometimes less is more.
This pizza is simple, fresh and a guaranteed crowd pleaser. It’s a delight to make and even better to eat. How about pizza tonight?
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This simple and summery cucumber salad features a bold herb vinaigrette, briny feta cheese, spicy red onions, and pretty edible flowers to top it all off. In case you’re sick of pickles but your garden keeps churning out the cukes like there’s no tomorrow… this quick and easy lettuce-less salad is a great way to […]
The post Cucumber & Feta Salad with Herb Vinaigrette first appeared on Love and Olive Oil.
This simple and summery cucumber salad features a bold herb vinaigrette, briny feta cheese, spicy red onions, and pretty edible flowers to top it all off.
In case you’re sick of pickles but your garden keeps churning out the cukes like there’s no tomorrow… this quick and easy lettuce-less salad is a great way to use up at least a few of them.
I may or may not have harbored a slight fixation with edible flowers this past spring, which lead me to fill my patio container garden with edible blooms in addition to my typical herbs. I meandered up and down the aisles of the nursery, phone in hand, googling various flora and fauna to see if they were in fact edible. While they didn’t have the chamomile flowers I was so hoping to find, I did end up with marigolds, borage (which I’ve grown and used before), and these gorgeous purple and white dianthus.
Needless to say, I was looking for an excuse to use some of my home-grown flowers in a recipe before the blooms withered in the summer heat, and this recipe is the result. Does it matter where the inspiration came from if the outcome is this delicious? I say not.
While I love that the purple and white of the dianthus matches the colors of the salad, I think marigold petals, with their peppery bite, would work equally well in this dish, as would arugula or radish flowers, or even herb flowers like chives or oregano (while I typically try to keep my herbs from flowering, when they do bolt I always try to put the flowers to good use).
Regardless of its origins, this recipe is perfect in its simplicity. While the recipe itself isn’t all that different from our always-popular tomato cucumber salad, we made the dressing a little bit different by adding an assortment of fresh herbs in addition to the olive oil and red wine vinegar.
Classic Pesto Recipe
A recipe for classic pesto sauce made with fresh basil and only five ingredients; use it for pasta, chicken salad, a spread on sandwiches, or pizza!
READ: Classic Pesto Recipe
A recipe for classic pesto sauce made with fresh basil and only five ingredients; use it for pasta, chicken salad, a spread on sandwiches, or pizza!
READ: Classic Pesto Recipe
What happens when you take thinly sliced vegetables, layer them in a dish, add a rich red sauce, plenty of herbs, and a cheesy topping? You get this insanely delicious Oven Roasted Ratatouille, aka “the vegetable dish that vegetable haters won’t be able to get enough of.” While this interpretation of ratatouille isn’t exactly traditional, […]
The post Oven Roasted Ratatouille appeared first on Budget Bytes.
What happens when you take thinly sliced vegetables, layer them in a dish, add a rich red sauce, plenty of herbs, and a cheesy topping? You get this insanely delicious Oven Roasted Ratatouille, aka “the vegetable dish that vegetable haters won’t be able to get enough of.” While this interpretation of ratatouille isn’t exactly traditional, I think you’re going to love it. It kind of reminds me of pizza, but like, made out of really pretty vegetables (and it certainly made my house smell like pizza).
Originally posted 5-19-2014, updated 7-8-2021.
Ratatouille is a classic French dish made of stewed vegetables, like tomato, zucchini, eggplant, onion, and bell pepper. It’s rich, comforting, and perfect for sopping up with a piece of crusty artisan bread or ladling over a bowl of polenta. As with most recipes that have been around for generations, there are many interpretations of ratatouille, and I definitely took mine in a different direction.
Rather than stewing the vegetables together in a pot, I chose to make an oven roasted ratatouille, which is a common alternative to the stewed version. Not only is oven roasting the sliced vegetables super pretty, but it’s a little more hands-off than stewing vegetables in a pot, which I appreciate. I also added marinara sauce to the bottom of my casserole dish which ends up mixing with the juices from the vegetables and creating the most delicious sauce (get some bread ready for dipping). Lastly, I topped with cheese, which definitely isn’t the norm for ratatouille, but it sure was delicious! And it really created that pizza-like effect.
This recipe is extremely flexible. I’ve given some approximate weight values for the vegetables below, but you can really use whatever size you have available and whatever you can squeeze into your baking dish. But a word of advice–once sliced the volume of the vegetables always ends up being more than you estimated, so err on the side of smaller vegetables.
And you don’t have to make the vegetables line up or alternate perfectly in the dish. Just squeeze the slices in there and you’ll be good! I promise it will still taste great even if it doesn’t look perfect. ;)
The size of the dish you’ll need will probably vary a bit with the size of your vegetables, but I would suggest using something in the neighborhood of a 9″x11″ rectangular casserole dish, or a 3 quart round dish. You can use a dish made with glass, ceramic, or metal.
Oven roasted ratatouille makes a delicious side dish for grilled or roasted meat, like Herb Roasted Pork Tenderloin, Garlic Butter Baked Cod, or Herb Roasted Chicken Breast. You could also serve this as part of a vegetarian meal by pairing it with something like a rich and creamy risotto or serving it on top of a bowl of polenta.
For this recipe, I used one small eggplant (about 1 lb.), one yellow onion, one yellow squash (1/2 lb.), one zucchini (½ lb.), and three Roma tomatoes. The eggplant, squash, zucchini, and tomatoes are the vegetables that will get layered pretty in the dish, while the onion will be hiding underneath in a base layer.
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Thinly slice the eggplant, squash, zucchini, and tomatoes. You want everything to be similar in height when placed in the casserole dish, so for pieces with a larger diameter, you’ll want to slice those in half (I did this for the eggplant and larger ends of the squash and zucchini). Aim for ⅛-inch thick slices.
Thinly slice the onion. Spread 1 cup marinara in the bottom of a large casserole dish. Sprinkle the sliced onion over top.
Layer the vegetables in the dish standing up on their sides, like cards in a card catalog (wait, did I just date myself??). They do NOT need to be perfect. Just start squeezing them in as best you can. It’s nice to try to alternate them in a pattern, but once you get toward the end you might have more left of one type of vegetable, so just start popping them in there anywhere they’ll fit. Drizzle 1 Tbsp olive oil over top. Sprinkle ½ tsp dried basil, ½ tsp dried oregano, ⅛ tsp freshly cracked pepper, and ¼ tsp salt on top of the vegetables.
Transfer the dish to the preheated 400ºF oven and roast for 40 minutes.
After 40 minutes, remove the dish from the oven and sprinkle 1 cup of shredded mozzarella on top. Return the dish to the oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and creamy.
Top with a little chopped parsley, then serve!
So delicious… and it’s just begging for a beautiful baguette to bathe in it. Mmmmm. You’ve got to spoon some of that sauce from the bottom of the pan onto your plate!
Closer look? So pretty. I ❤️ vegetables!
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Imagine this: rich, bright tomato sauce infused with buttery olive oil, fresh garlic, and tons of crushed red pepper flakes. The result is a vibrant red sauce that takes garlic and heat to the next level!
I’d been dancing around making arrabbiata pasta…
Imagine this: rich, bright tomato sauce infused with buttery olive oil, fresh garlic, and tons of crushed red pepper flakes. The result is a vibrant red sauce that takes garlic and heat to the next level!
I’d been dancing around making arrabbiata pasta for years because I love spicy pasta, but never had I taken it to this level of fiery, garlicky drama! And when I tossed the sauce with penne, it was instant love.
This stone fruit caprese is sponsored by ALDI. It’s stone fruit season and I could not be more excited! Bring on all the wonderful, juicy fruits! Starting with this summer stone fruit caprese salad. It’s such a fun twist on classic caprese and will be your new favorite dish for summer entertaining. Plus, it’s a […]
The post Summer Stone Fruit Caprese with Basil Vinaigrette. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.
This stone fruit caprese is sponsored by ALDI.
It’s stone fruit season and I could not be more excited! Bring on all the wonderful, juicy fruits!
Starting with this summer stone fruit caprese salad. It’s such a fun twist on classic caprese and will be your new favorite dish for summer entertaining. Plus, it’s a recipe that doesn’t require turning on your oven in the summer heat. And it will come together in minutes.
Cue all the exclamation points! That’s a win for everyone.
Today I’m partnering with ALDI again to bring you this delicious stone fruit caprese salad! When I say that ALDI has an incredible, affordable selection of super high-quality summer produce… I’m not kidding. Look at these beauties!
The cherries are absolutely fabulous, we have been going through them like crazy. The peaches and nectarines are a dream too!
Just walking through ALDI inspired me to make this stone fruit caprese because the produce was fantastic. They are my go-to store for stunning seasonal eats.
We are such seasonal eaters and I love having a unique recipe on hand that on takes a few minutes. Classic caprese – tomatoes, mozzarella and basil – is obviously a staple in the summer for us. But this stone fruit version is such a fun twist on the salad and something you can throw together in no time at all!
For the base of this caprese, I started with the Emporium Selection Fresh Mozzarella Balls. ALDI also has these in a pre-sliced version, as well as marinated mini mozzarella balls for ease! This is one of those recipes where you can make it your own and use whatever variety of fresh mozzarella you love.
Then, on to our stone fruit. I went with fresh peaches, nectarines and cherries. As we dive later into summer, you can add on delicious fruits like plums too! The stone fruit is juicy and flavorful and the perfect complement to the soft fresh mozzarella.
My favorite part? I used the Specially Selected Extra Virgin Olive Oil and lots of fresh basil to make my basil vinaigrette. I could drink this vinaigrette – it is a DREAM! Not only is it vibrant and gorgeous in color, it tastes wonderful. You won’t be able to get enough. It’s great on this stone fruit caprese, but also will become a summer staple for you. Use it on traditional caprese salads, on salads at dinner, for bread-dipping, for drizzling on roasted vegetables – the options are endless. (more…)
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This weeknight burst tomato burrata pasta is perfect for summer dinner! Burst tomatoes, garlic, parmesan, basil and melty burrata is a dream come true on your summer table. So fresh and comforting. This may be my ultimate summer weeknight meal. I mean… can you blame me?! Those burst tomatoes. Melty burrata. Garlic and olive oil. […]
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This weeknight burst tomato burrata pasta is perfect for summer dinner! Burst tomatoes, garlic, parmesan, basil and melty burrata is a dream come true on your summer table. So fresh and comforting.
This may be my ultimate summer weeknight meal. I mean… can you blame me?!
Those burst tomatoes. Melty burrata. Garlic and olive oil. Tons of fresh basil. The pasta!!
It’s everything in a skillet that is so deliciously summer and comforting and warm. And SIMPLE.
Oh yes.
This is a super simple dish with a few ingredients but it will blow your mind in terms of flavor. It’s all I want to eat.
Burst tomato pasta isn’t a new thing around here! We absolutely adore this roasted garlic butter burst tomato bucatini dish too – again it’s simple in terms of ingredients, but has so much flavor. The good news is that this dish here with burrata is so much easier – no need to roast the garlic and make a butter. Everything can go into one skillet and get all merry and delish.
I like to kick things off here with a slightly spicy garlic oil. My garlic sauce pasta is always a huge hit, and I wanted to take some notes of flavor from that. So we start with a bunch of garlic cloves and red pepper flakes. Then let the tomatoes burst in that incredible oil. They take on so much flavor while at the same time melting into the oil. It sort of creates a burst tomato oil in a way, with hints of garlic and spice.
You could seriously use the oil itself to dip some fresh sourdough in. Or drizzle on vegetables. It’s fantastic.
What I reeeeeally love about this recipe is that even though tomatoes aren’t perfect yet where I live, lettings them burst in a skillet gives them a ton more flavor. Sort of like slow roasting them. So it means you can technically make this dish any time of year and be happy.
One the tomatoes have burst in the garlicky oil, toss in some cooked pasta and lots of basil. Once everything is combined and coated in our little makeshift sauce, throw on the burrata cheese.
I love burrata SO much in this dish because it continues to melt into the warm pasta and bring everything together. You can toss it as much as you’d like, so it disperses the cheese or you can leave the burrata in fresher chunks and serve it that way.
Just look at that melty cheese and garlicky, saucy pasta. LOVE. (more…)
The post Summer Weeknight Burst Tomato Burrata Pasta. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.
Summer Pasta Salad Who is ready for summer? Both of my hands are raised. Our boys are currently working on our summer bucket list and they have come up with some fun ideas. It is going to be a busy summer, but I don’t mind being busy if it is all…
Summer Pasta Salad Who is ready for summer? Both of my hands are raised. Our boys are currently working on our summer bucket list and they have come up with some fun ideas. It is going to be a busy summer, but I don’t mind being busy if it is all fun. Of course, we…
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