In recent years, chefs and home cooks alike have been putting their own spin on the classic ratatouille recipe. My twist is this Ratatouille-Inspired Orzo Salad. This recipe combines roasted vegetables with orzo pasta, basil and red pepper hummus instead of a red pepper sauce, creating a light and fresh dish that is perfect for a summer meal or meal prep.

To make this salad, start by roasting a mix of diced eggplant, summer squash, zucchini, red and yellow bell peppers, and cherry tomatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper. While the vegetables are roasting, cook the orzo according to the package instructions. Once both the vegetables and orzo are cooked, combine them in a large bowl with minced shallots, sliced basil, and a red pepper hummus dressing made with tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and paprika.

This Ratatouille-Inspired Orzo Salad is great for meal prep because it can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for up to five days. You can also customize the recipe to your liking by swapping out the vegetables for any seasonal favorites, such as butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, or sweet potatoes. If you need to make the dish gluten-free, simply substitute the orzo with a gluten-free pasta or rice. I also love how this is a vegan recipe!! Of course, you can add the dairy (goat cheese or feta would be delicious here.)

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Make a big batch of caramelized onions using this technique!

You know I love a video cooking tutorial, so here’s my video on how to make this recipe as well

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The reason I went on a meringue rant is because they are the main component of one of my favorite desserts: pavlova. It’s like a meringue “cake” with whipped cream and berries, or other fillings. For this recipe, I am making them smaller so everyone can get their own (not to mention, bake time is shorter.) I also skipped the whipped cream and I added a bright, zingy lemon curd instead. This, to me, is the epitome of spring. I finally finished it off with blueberries and raspberries. THESE ARE HEAVEN SENT!

So now that we got that out of the way, who’s ready to make these mini pavlovas?!

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My spin on coq au vin honors the traditional flavors of the dish, while adjusting some elements to meet my taste. If your taste is similar to my taste, you will love it. If you prefer the OG stewy coq au vin that we’re used to, then check out Julia Child’s recipe or the NY Times.

Back to my recipe. I did a few things differently here. First of all, I really don’t love boiled vegetables. (Do you?) So, instead of boiling my root vegetables throughout, I decided to boil them to cook internally, then halfway through the stew’s simmer time, transfer them to a sheet pan and roast with some potatoes until crispy. This way, they get the wine/stew flavor but also develop a crispy, caramelized and roasted texture that I love. If we’re going to make a recipe that takes over an hour…we better LOVE it.

I bumped things up another notch with some crispy seared maitake mushrooms (instead of traditional button mushrooms) and some green beans to serve with. Instead of adding the mushrooms and rest of the vegetables back to the stew, I just combine all of the elements in the bowl, and let each person choose how much of a stewy vibe they want.

Finally, the red wine I used in my recipe is totally different than the traditional nod to Burgundy (i.e: Pinot Noir or Gamay.) Pinot Noir would of course go beautifully here because it has an earthy element to it…however…most Burgundy pinots are pretty pricy. Now that I actually have a wine education I feel confident in this little switcharoo that I did here…which is to use a GSM (Grenache Syrah Mouverdre) blend from the Rhone Valley instead of a Burgundy. First of all, the prices from Rhone are more approachable than Burgundy. Second, I really like the taste that it brings to the chicken — the Syrah has a meaty/gamy element to it that blends beautifully with the Grenache, which has an herbal element to it along with ripe fruit. A nice, safe choice would be to get a bottle from Chateauneuf du Pape. You can drink whatever is left, of course.

If you don’t have cognac, use bourbon. If you don’t have either, just use some extra red wine. If you don’t want to use more red wine, use some chicken stock. THERE’S ALWAYS A WAY TO MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!

Make this gluten-free by substituting the flour used in the roux with a GF all purpose flour.

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They may be little, but there is so much flavor happening in these pastries.  Similar to my blackberry and brie puff pastry galette, we’re using pre-made puff pastry for these bad boys. I recommend using Dufour puff pastry from Whole Foods. I also tried using one from Pepperidge Farm and it didn’t yield that golden-brown result I was looking for.

If I had to describe the flavor, I would say that these are like if Caprese had a really sassy, younger, Gen-Z cousin. They are like knock offs of a classic with a lot of funky flare. Instead of tomatoes, we have these tart and sweet peaches. Then, we have this tangy, creamy burrata. Spice is found in the basil and a pop of black pepper. All of this is tied together with the salty prosciutto, sweet honey, and the buttery, flaky crust. It’s just INCREDIBLE.

Making these pastries is so easy and takes less than an hour. The hardest part of the recipe is just getting the ingredients, which you can typically find at any grocery store. If you’re vegetarian, skip the prosciutto. It’ll still taste amazing. There’s a little video tutorial below for your viewing pleasure!

 

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What is a Galette?

A galette is a French style free-formed crust with sweet or savory filling. It’s basically pie and tart’s wayyyy more chill, easy going cousin. Some differences: First, a tart uses a straight up & down crust, and is baked in a baking dish of some kind (think spring-form pan or sheet pan) while a galette is baked right on a baking dish, and usually has a more rustic edge and a little flatter, depending on what it’s filled with. That’s actually the real beauty of a galette- since it’s free-form, you don’t need any special equipment, and the rustic look it’s meant to have means it’s great for amateurs. In simple terms: you really can’t f*ck it up. In this version, I am using puff pastry not traditional dough so it’s going to come out flakier and lighter, compared to a traditional galette that would be a little more dense and crunchy. Either way you want to make this it’s going to come out amazing!

Now for the filling … you can follow this recipe to a tee, OR make it your own. There’s really so much room for personal expression here, everything from the herbs to the cheese to the fruit to the honey is interchangeable. I’m using a nice brie here, but camembert or any kind of creamy goat or sheep’s milk brie works great as well. For the fruit on top, I went with blackberries because I love the color and the tartness they add to the creamy cheese, but you could substitute blueberries, strawberries… even peaches! Feel free to get creative with the fruit/cheese/herb combo here. The only thing I want to note is that you’ve got to use fresh fruit- frozen will make the dough too soggy.  You could even make a fruit compote with a few different types and a little sugar if that’s what you’re feeling. Have leftover pie filling? This is a great use for that. If you are going straight up dessert, that might be the way to go if you want it a little on the sweeter side. 

What’s up with this Homemade Lavender Honey?

Obviously this sounds pretty intense, but let’s be real, I made it, so it’s not. Traditionally, you’d take sprigs of culinary lavender and let it soak in some good quality honey for like a month…. but I don’t have time for that and I doubt you do either. So instead, I’m infusing lavender with water and reducing that in some honey so that it picks up the flavor. You can also buy store bought lavender honey. Or, you can use regular honey and the dish won’t suffer at all.  I just love lavender so that was a personal choice.

This galette is a real stunner and I recommend bringing it as an appetizer or dessert to share- it’s sort of like a sweet and savory and SUPER rich pizza, so eating this solo might take its toll. Either way, you’ll be whipping up an incredibly beautiful and delicious final product that looks like something only a pro could create!

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Homemade dough is a labor of love, whether it’s croissant dough or puff pastry, which I use for this recipe. I’m not a professional pastry chef, so I am leaving the dough to the professionals for this recipe. All you need is some thawed puff pastry sheets- I used DuFour Puff Pastry, you can find it on Amazon or at Whole Foods! You also need a mason jar, drinking glass or biscuit cutter to cut the dough into circles, an air fryer or oven (anything you can do in an air fryer, you can do in an oven!), powdered sugar, and some raspberry jam. The whole process takes 30 minutes or less and you’ll be enjoying warm, flaky cronuts. If you’re a visual learner like me, feel free to check out the reel I posted on Instagram for a quick 30 second tutorial on how to make these!! 

 

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Here are just a few occasions where cronuts will absolutely slay. Showing up with a plate of cronuts is a sure fire way to make friends (speaking from experience!) Breakfast with friends. Neighborhood BBQ or gathering. Baby shower. Bridal shower. Birthday party. Self soothing Sunday morning where you need something sweet and delicious. Literally any time that you’re craving something easy and delicious – you can just make one at a time!

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This recipe was born like a lot of my other recipes: because I had the ingredients lying around and I wanted to make something fun with them. What’s great about this tart is that it’s its “own thing,” meaning it’s *similar* but different enough than pizza, and it’s *similar* but way more decadent than a simple Caprese salad. It’s crusty, buttery, cheesy, hearty, refreshing, herby, next-level and oh, so special.

What is Caprese?

If you aren’t familiar with Caprese and you’r reading this like “wtf?” let me give you the rundown on my favorite salad made of cheese. Caprese stems from Insalata Caprese which means Capri salad in Italian. It’s a traditional summer salad said to come from the island of Capri. Italians enjoy it as a simple side dish made with fresh tomatoes, sweet basil, and mozzarella, drizzled with balsamic vinegar. It features the colors of the Italian flag and can also be made as a pizza, pasta, or a sandwich. The fact the Italians categorize Caprese as a salad is extremely important to me because it debunks the myth that salads have to have lettuce, or that salads can’t have cheese. I love you, Italy. I really do. Thanks for being you.

Let’s talk about this Parmesan Crust…

The parmesan crust that I make in this recipe is a traditional pie crust infused with shredded aged parmesan. I recommend grating your own cheese because you get a finer consistency and much better quality taste and aroma. I do want to note that it’s important to use a food processor for this step for it to easily turn out perfect. If you don’t have one, you can also make a perfect crust, but it will require the pinching method, where you meticulously pinch the butter into the layers of flour as if you were making a pie crust. This is also called “cutting the butter into the flour.”

Sounds amazing, but an I use pre-made pie crust?

If making the crust isn’t sounding fun to you…do not fret. You can use regular old store-bought pie crust.  A pre-made pie crust isn’t going to have as many flaky layers, but using one doesn’t hurt if you want to save time. You can also top it with Parmesan before the first baking stage to achieve a similar Parmesan-infused quality that the homemade crust will give you.

Why do I have to bake the tart crust before adding the filling?

This probably wasn’t a question you were wondering, but I wanted to throw it in here because this step is important!!! The reason we bake the crust before filling it is because it can get very soggy when adding the tomatoes (which have a ton of water.) Something else that’s important during this step is to weigh down the center of the crust so that it doesn’t rise. Lots of people use pie weights for a purpose like this, but I just used dried chickpeas. You can use weights or really any dried legume on top of parchment paper. If you do use dried legumes, you can store or reuse them as pie weights later on…but don’t try and eat them because they will probably taste weird.

Can I make this tart with other toppings?

YESSSS. If you don’t vibe with Caprese, here’s another favorite of mine. Add tomatoes with balsamic, gruyère and caramelized onions. You can make this 100% French or make the Italian spin that I did. Another option is prosciutto with figs and salted honey….brie…. oh jeez…literally anything that goes with Parmesan, honestly.

I don’t have a tart pan, can I use something else?

I didn’t have one either! I used a sheet pan and made a rustic-style flat crust with larger edges. I just rolled it out and shaped it into this giant rectangle toaster streudel looking thing. But you can make it any shape that your heart desires so long as you bake it before you put the filling in. No one likes soggy tarts.

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Partnership or not, this is a super easy appetizer, lunch or snack option that I would definitely be enjoying no matter what! Portofino Tuna is simple, smooth and elegant. They have Italian style tuna (yellowfin or albacore) which is hand selected, then canned with extra virgin olive oil and sea salt. Their products are high quality and extremely accessible. I always have a few cans in my pantry for salads, bowls or …you guessed it…toasts!! Or melts! Can’t forget the beloved tuna melt while we are here.

This recipe incorporates garlic confit, which I’m linking my recipe to here. If you don’t have the time or energy to make garlic confit, don’t worry!! You can just roast some garlic or cook in a pan until fragrant and soft and use that instead. The only thing I would steer clear from is using raw garlic because that can be really harsh and mess with your stomach.

This recipe can be whatever you want it to be. Don’t want to make pesto? Use pre-made pesto or chopped basil. Don’t have cherry tomatoes? Cook some canned crushed tomatoes in a skillet and spread on top of the bread? Can’t find sourdough? Use whatever bread YOU like! It’s really that easy! The important thing here is that you are using high quality tuna. You know I’m going to tell you to go buy Portofino Tuna because I genuinely believe it’s a superior high quality Italian style tuna brand that elevates any dish.

By the way, you can find Portofino Tuna on Amazon or click here to find where it’s available in stores.

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