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Polish Housewife

Polish recipes served up with tidbits of folklore, customs, and history

Cheese

Chleb z Papryczkami Jalapeño i Cheddarem (Jalapeño Cheese Bread)

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While Chleb z Papryczkami Jalapeño i Cheddarem (Jalapeño Cheese Bread) isn’t a traditional Polish recipe, it’s similar to many you’ll find on Polish food blogs, because if there is one thing Poles appreciate, it’s good bread. The recipe I’m sharing, which is also on Allrecipes.pl,  is originally from the cookbook Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen. Even though it’s from 1984, the book is still available on Amazon, (and if you puchase via the preceeding link, they’ll send me a few cents).  When this cookbook was new, Ed and colleagues ate at Paul Prudhomme’s restaurant while on temporary duty in New Orleans. The meal was so delicous, that he came home with the cookbook.

Chleb z Papryczkami Jalapeño i Cheddarem (Jalapeño Cheese Bread)

One of Ed’s Polish students spent several months here in Tucson training to upgrade to instructor pilot status. He arrived a month or 6 weeks before his wife and two sons. One of the most important questions he asked us was, where can I buy good bread for my family? I’m afraid the gummy white stuff that passes as bread in the United States wouldn’t cut it in Poland. The bread at our local Poznan supermarket was fantastic, all the baked goods were on par with an upscale bakery stateside.

This makes three loaves or two dozen rolls, so pop some in the freezer, or share the love and make some of your friends very happy with a gift of Chleb z Papryczkami Jalapeño i Cheddarem (Jalapeño Cheese Bread)!

Smacznego!

Lois

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Chleb z Papryczkami Jalapeño i Cheddarem (Jalapeño Cheese Bread)

  • Author: Polish Housewife
  • Prep Time: 2 hours
  • Cook Time: 1 hr
  • Total Time: -25670226.716667 minute
  • Yield: 30 rolls or 3 loaves
  • Category: Bread
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Description

A cheesy bread with a bit of spice from jalapenos

Ingredients

  • 8 cups flour, in all
  • 1 pound cheddar cheese, shredded (about 5 cups)
  • 3/4 cup jalapeno peppers, diced (I cut these with a knife and fork to avoid getting capsaicin on my hands and disgard the veins and seeds, if you like it hotter use the whole pepper)
  • 1/2 cup sugar, in all
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
  • 2 cups warm water (110 – 115 degrees)
  • 3 packages dried yeast
  • 3 tablespoons lard (just warm enough to melt) or olive oil

Instructions

  1. In a very large bowl, combine 7 cups of flour, the cheese, jalapenos, 7 tablespoons sugar, and salt
  2. Combine water, yeast, and 1 tablespoon sugar in another bowl, stir and let sit for about 10 minutes, it should be foamy on top and all the yeast should be dissolved
  3. Add the lard or oil to the yeast mixture and add liquid to the dry ingredients mix with dough hook or hands until the flour is all incorporated
  4. Knead on a lightly floured surface until dough is smooth and elastic, adding additonal flour as necessary, place in a greased bowl and turn to grease the top of the dough, cover and let rise until doubled in size, about an hour
  5. Punch dough down, divide into thirds, shape each into a ball and stretch, tucking ends under to give you a smooth surface, place in 3 greased loaf pans, cover let rise 45 minutes, bake at 325 for 50 – 60 minutes, rotating pans after 25 minutes, cool 10 minutes and remove from pans, cool to room temp before slicing
  6. Or to make rolls, divide each third into 10-1 1/2 inch balls, roll until smooth, place in 9 x 13 inch greased pan, rolls should be touching, cover and let rise 45 minutes, bake at 325 for 50 – 60 minutes, cool 10 minutes and remoe from pan

Farmer’s Cheese Vegetable Spread

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Batch #1

I first made this spread after a visit to a small Polish dairy farm  because I came home with some of their farmer’s cheese – made from the last evening’s milk.  I’d never used used this cheese before, but I’ve been told most Poles eat it sliced with salt and pepper.  One of my friends likes to have it drizzled with honey. I decided to make a Farmer’s Cheese Vegetable Spread.

My first attempt include such veggies as tomatoes and cucumbers. I’ve decided they contain too much water and make the spread too runny, so they’ve been dropped from subsequent versions.

Farmer's Cheese Vegetable Spread

Batch #2

This savory spead is often seen on hotel breakfast buffets in Poland. It’s delicous on toast, crackers, or as we’ve tried it most recently on the Bialy version of a bagel.

Smacznego!

Lois

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Farmer’s Cheese Vegetable Spread

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Polish Housewife
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: approximatley 2 cups
  • Cuisine: Polish
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Description

A savory cheese spread for toast or crackers

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces farmers cheese or Twaróg
  • 2 tablespoons sour cream
  • 4 green onions, thinly sliced
  • 6 radishes, finely diced
  • 1/4 cup finely diced onion
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 – 1 teaspoon salt (if your cheese is already salted use less)
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

  • Combine all ingredients
  • Spread on crackers or toast

 

Zapiekanka Polish French Bread Pizza

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If you spend much time at all in Polish cities, you’ll see folks walking around eating long skinny Zapiekanka Polish French Bread Pizza. They always look and smell terrific. Almost two years after my first visit to Poznan, curiosity got the better of me. As I was leaving Sweet Surrender one afternoon, rather than hop on my tram at Most Teatralny, I walked over to another corner of this busy intersection to order my first Zapiekanka.

Zapiekanka Polish French Bread Pizza

Zapiekanka dates back to the 1970s, and the small amount of free enterprise allowed by the Communist government, mała gastronomia, travel trailers or food trucks serving simple street food. Zapiekanka’s base is a baguette, cut in half lengthwise. Traditionally, it’s topped with mushrooms, melted cheese and on the very top, a squirt of ketchup. 

With food scarcity a thing of the past, Zapiekanka now comes with mind boggling topping choices. I think my first was kebab meat. The ones we made at home recently, had a slice of ham, sauteed mushrooms, cheese, and were topped with ketchup and everyone’s favorite garlic sauce, sos czosnkowy.

I made my own garlic sauce which is so versatile. You’ll find so many ways to use it! Ed pronounced it very Polish tasting and the perfect finishing touch. My prescribed recipe below is very basic, add to it as you choose just be sure to keep the melted cheese and sauces on top. For protein, you might try BBQed meat, cooked bacon, or salami. As you saute the sliced mushrooms, maybe you’d like to toss in some sliced onion or bell pepper.

As for the cheese, make it something that will melt well, cheddar, mozzarella, even Oscypek if you’re lucky enough to have some. To be authentic, add a squirt of ketchup on top of your Zapiekanka as it comes out of the oven, and any other sauce you like, garlic sauce, ranch, or 1000 island dressing. The amounts listed below are really just guidelines, like sandwich, soup, or pizza making, the rules aren’t so strict.

I look forward to hearing what toppings you’ve put together. We thought our homemade Zapiekanka were delicious!

Smacznego!

Lois

PS – this explains why Poles are likely to put ketchup on pizza, even though it already has a red sauce!

Zapiekanka Polish French Bread Pizza

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Zapiekanka Polish French Bread Pizza

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Polish Housewife
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Total Time: 30 mins
  • Yield: 4 servings
  • Category: Snack
  • Cuisine: Polish
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Description

Poland’s colorful and delicioius street food!

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf French bread
  • Ham, sliced thin (enough to cover the bread)
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 16 ounces mushrooms, sliced
  • 3 cups cheese, grated
  • Ketchup
  • Garlic sauce (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 300 F
  2. Slice the bread lengthwise and also crosswise, making 4 zapiekanka crusts
  3. Add a thin layer of ham or other protein on top of the bread
  4. Add mushrooms and butter to a pan and cook over medium high heat until lightly browned, stirring frequently
  5. Top Zapiekanka with mushrooms and sprinkle with cheese
  6. Bake about 10 minutes, until cheese melts and bread is just beginning to brown around the edges
  7. Top with a drizze ketchup and garlic sauce

Notes

If you ketchup or other sauce doesn’t have a squirt top, add some to a sandwich bag and snip one corner, you now have a bag for piping your sauce

 

Twaróg (Polish Farmer’s Cheese)

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Twaróg, also known as ser biały, white cheese, is a pot cheese or farmer’s cheese.  I made a batch this weekend because I wanted to make a Polish cheesecake. I didn’t expect to fall in love, but I have. After one day in the fridge, the curds that I blitzed to make them creamy and smooth for my pastry had a wonderful, tart, salty taste with just a hint of sweet. I can imagine using this cheese in so many ways, in recipes that I might have previously made with cream cheese, Brie, or ricotta.

Whip up your own batch of twaróg, a delicious Polish farmer's cheese. It's easy to do and makes a super tasty cheese. Keep reading for serving suggestions!

I could serve it with a tart jam or pepper jelly on crackers. I can also imagine popping twaróg into the oven with brown sugar and pecans, serving the melted, caramely goo over little triangles of pumpernickel. It would also be delicious mixed with finely diced or grated veggies. If you run it through a food processor, it would also be fantastic on a toasted bagel.

In case you’re wondering, this is also the cheese that you would use for my favorite, pierogi ruskie, filled with cheese and potato.

The twaróg was surprisingly easy to make, but I found that I like the taste better after it had aged in the fridge overnight, so I’ll recommend  not making it at the last minute even though you could.

You can toss the liquid left behind, but many people like to save the whey for smoothies, soups, or bread making; just use the whey for part of the liquid in your recipe.

The cheese I whipped up made a wonderful cheesecake, the best sernik I’ve ever tasted. There are two key differences between American and Polish cheesecake. Polish desserts are less sweet; other than that, it’s all in the cheese.

Smcznego!

Lois

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Twaróg (Polish Farmer’s Cheese)

★★★★★ 5 from 6 reviews
  • Author: Polish Housewife
  • Prep Time: 35 mins
  • Cook Time: 25 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 10 ounces
  • Cuisine: Polish
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Description

a wonderful homemade cheese that can be crumbly or creamy

Ingredients

  • 2 quarts whole milk
  • 2 cups butter milk
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon to 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (to taste, less for sweet, more for savory uses)

Instructions

  1. Heat milk to 181 F, turn off heat
  2. Add buttermilk and vinegar
  3. Stir until curds form
  4. Let sit for 10 minutes
  5. Line a colander with cheese cloth
  6. Using a slotted spoon, ladle the curds into the cheesecloth
  7. Wrap the cheesecloth around the curds, squeezing gently
  8. Let sit for 30 minutes and squeeze again
  9. Break the cheese into curds and season with salt
  10. Use as curds or you can make the cheese creamy in a food processor or by pushing the curds through a sieve and mashing with the back of a wooden spoon

 

Bacon Wrapped Figs

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figs, bacon, goat cheese on a bed of greens with a roasted hazelnut vinaigrette 

For most of my life, I have not been a fan of figs. I remember a eccentric church member, we’ll call her REW, stopping by my office years ago with a basket full of figs that she’d hoped to give away. When I declined, REW cut off a hunk of fig, shoved it at me saying, “taste it!” She forced me at knife point, so to speak. Despite her forceful nature, I again had to decline, explaining the the texture was too gritty for me. REW proceeded down the office hallway with her figs looking for a more appreciative recepient.

 

Figs goat cheese bacon greens hazelnut bacon wrapped figs

The theme of our time in Poland could be described as “try new things” or “try everything you can.” When my friends from the Poznan International Ladies Club were raving about the figs with goat cheese wrapped in prosciutto they’d sampled recently, I had to give this a try at home. If your history with figs has been like mine, let me suggest that you try them roasted. It’s a totally new experience, not at all gritty!

We began to talk about planting a fig tree when we returned to Arizona. Figs are one of the few fruit trees to thrive in our hot climate. When I mention his to my mother, she said not to buy one because they had a fig tree they would happily give us. We now have a fig tree that comes with a story.

Fig tree Figs

Our tree has grown from a cutting taken from one of the first fig trees brought to the area by the Spainish. The young tree was intended for the Mission Garden, part of the Rio Nuevo project. Rio Nuevo was a downtown revitalization project that fizzled out during the recent economic slump. During this delay, the little fig in a six inch pot was given to our family friend, the late Bunny Fontana. Bunny was a brilliant, charming man, but he would have been the first to admit that he was not a gardener. He said as much when he gave the six inch pot with the now five foot tall fig tree to my mother.

My parents moved the tree to a 5 gallon container and had hoped to harvest enough figs to make something similar to this dish, thinking it would be fun to serve Bunny figs from his tree. The tree grew a lot, but it never produce more than one ripe fig at a time.

Figs

Our fig tree has been in the ground for almost two years. The one fig at a time trend continued until this summer. Now, we’re finally getting a harvest with which you can do something. This summer, we’ve had fig pastries, figs in bacon, and if my luck holds out, we might even have fig jam, a wonderful addition to a charcuterie platter.

We’ve been eating bacon wrapped figs with goat cheese all summer, but only recently added the hazelnut dressing and greens. It’s a winning combination!

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Bacon Wrapped Figs

  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Cook Time: 25 mins
  • Total Time: 30 mins
  • Yield: 8
  • Category: Appetizer
  • Cuisine: Mediterranean
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Description

Quick and easy to make these figs are a yummy appetizer or the perfect topping for an elegant salad,

Ingredients

  • 4 figs
  • Honey (optional)
  • 1/2 cup goat cheese
  • Sprig of fresh thyme
  • 4 slices bacon, cut in half crosswise

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Remove stems from figs and slice in half lengthwise
  3. Fill the cavity in the fig center with honey, if using
  4. Top each fig half with a tablespoon of goat cheese
  5. Sprinkle with thyme leaves, if using
  6. Wrap each fig with half of a bacon strip and secure with a toothpick
  7. Bake for 25 minutes or until bacon is crisp
  8. Serve as is, or place atop a bed of spring greens and drizzle with roasted hazelnut vinaigrette (recipe below)

 

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Roasted Hazelnut Vinaigrette

  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Total Time: 5 mins
  • Yield: About 1 cup
  • Category: Salad dressing
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Description

The perfect topping for a green salad or try it on grilled chicken!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 3/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • Water, if needed

Instructions

  1. Add hazelnuts and garlic to a food processor or blender, process until almost smooth
  2. Add oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar and blend until well combined
  3. If too thick, thin with a few drops of water

 

Cheesy Zucchini Boats

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cheesy zucchini boats

We’re past “National Sneak Some Zucchini onto Your Neighbors Porch Day,” but the squash is still abundant this time of year.  Let’s take advantage of it since we’re all looking for ways to incorporate more veggies in our menus. Tonight we tried a recipe that’s a keeper! This cheesy zucchini has just enough cheese to give the zucchini great flavor. Zucchini is great for that. Without a strong flavor, it takes on the taste of whatever you cook with it. In this case, cheese and garlic, YUM! Besides great taste, with multicolored veg and a a geometric appearance, it makes for a beautiful presentation.

I’ve run the recipe for cheesy zucchini through the recipe analyzer tool on calorie count part of about.com. I love the recipe analyzer feature (found under tools) and use it often. How about you? Are you a label reader? What do you use to analyze a recipe?

You’ll find my results from the calorie count website below. With 7.7 g of carbohydrate, cheesy zucchini boats is one the high side for weight loss on a low carb diet, but it is a good source of potassium which is often lacking on low carb plans. It gives you a nutritional analysis of your recipe just as if you were buying this in a package at the store. Sometimes the results are surprising. Sometimes it’s good news. Sometimes it makes me think twice about preparing something.

I used the recipe analyzer to find out how healthy Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Chocolate Tweed Angel Food Cake is. Great new! I made the mistake of doing the same with Paula Deen’s Coconut Cake. The news was not so encouraging! The news for cheesy zucchini boats is better than Paula’s cake, so give it a try.

Smacznego!

cheesy zucchini nutritional info (2)

4 WW points

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cheesy zucchini

Cheesy Zucchini Boats

  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 30 mins
  • Total Time: 40 mins
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Side dish
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Description

A flavorful vegetarian dish, perfect for summer!

Ingredients

  • 2 zucchini squash
  • olive oil
  • salt & pepper
  • thyme, parsley & chives (or other favorite herbs)
  • 4 – 5 cherry tomatoes, sliced
  • 1/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C)
  2. Wash the zucchini, and cut off the stem end
  3. Slice in half lengthwise, and place in a baking dish
  4. Brush with olive oil
  5. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and herbs
  6. Place sliced tomatoes on top and sprinkle with grated cheeses
  7. Bake for about 30 minutes, until squash is tender and cheeses are melted

 

Cheesy Zucchini Boats

 

Tarta Szparagowa – Asparagus Tart

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Tarta ze Szparagami or Asparagus Tart, delicious for any meal of the day

With two kilograms of this seasonal veg in the fridge, I was bound to make a cheese and asparagus tart!

As is so often the case in Poland, our friends downstairs know someone, who knows someone who is growing organic asparagus. Our friends buy a lot of the asparagus every year at this time, we’ve been the recipients of part of their annual organic asparagus haul.  Two kilograms of asparagus is more than I would usually buy at one time, but this is so fresh that it’s keeping well. So far, we’ve wrapped asparagus in bacon; we’re preserving asparagus in brine, and now a tart.

2014-05-28 06.29.03   2014-05-28 07.59.12

I loved the taste of this tart, but I’m disappointed in the appearance. I should have added the asparagus last, so they would be more apparent, but I was concerned about fitting the entire 500 grams of asparagus into my pastry shell, so they were placed first (and buried by the cheese.) So this will be a case of do as I say and not as I do. The pastry is a sage crust , one I use for my savory galettes. It’s nice to work with and adds a lovely texture and flavor. If you have some yummy fresh asparagus, give this a try. It’s one of those dishes that I could eat for any meal of the day

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asparagus cheese tart

Asparagus Tart with Sage Crust

  • Prep Time: 90 mins
  • Cook Time: 25 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hour 55 mins
  • Yield: 6 - 8
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Description

A wonderful sage crust encasing a little custard with a lot of asparagus and cheese – perfect for summer

Ingredients

for crust:

  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 3/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dry sage)
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 4 to 8 tablespoons cold water

for filling:

  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • dash cayenne
  • 4 ounces cheddar cheese, grated
  • 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1 pound fresh asparagus spears

Instructions

for the crust:

  1. To make the dough, pulse the flours, butter, sage, and salt in a food processor until it has the texture of a coarse meal. (I’m not intimidated by making pie crust, so I usually don’t bother with using the food processor – too many parts to wash, but in this case, it seemed like the best way to insure the sage was finely chopped and evenly distributed.)
  2. While pulsing, slowly add ice water, using just enough for the dough to form a ball. Don’t overwork it.
  3. Shape the dough into a 5 inch disk, wrap in plastic, and chill at least one hour.

for the filling:

  1. Preheat oven to 375.
  2. Roll out dough to fit your baking pan; I used a shallow 8 x 11 pan.
  3. Place dough in pan, trim crust, I just cut it at the top of the pan, no fancy fluting or anything.
  4. Mix the eggs, cream, salt, pepper, and cayenne, and pour into crust.
  5. Sprinkle with cheeses.
  6. Remove the woody ends of the asparagus by holding the bottom and middle of the stalk and snapping.
  7. Add asparagus to the pan, lining it up side by side.
  8. Bake for approximately 25 minutes.
  9. Allow to set up for 10 minutes before slicing.

Notes

Reheat in a 350 degree oven for 5 – 10 minutes, microwaving will make it soggy.

asparagus tart

Truffle Gouda Grilled Cheese

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Truffle Gouda from Whole Foods – pricey, but worth it!

While I was in Tempe, Lauren made her favorite sandwich for me – a grilled cheese made with truffle gouda.  To add to the truffle flavor, she used a truffle oil to brown the bread.  A different spin on the old classic – very tasty!

Zucchini Pancakes

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Our produce bin has been full the last few weeks with our Bountiful Baskets purchases.  Over the next few days, let me share some of the new recipes we’ve tried with our fruit and veggies.  The first thing we made was zucchini pancakes.

I’ve gotten pretty good at making potato pancakes while we’ve been in Poland, so this was right up my alley.  The recipes and technique are very similar.  The only difference is that the zucchini gets a much needed flavor boost from the addition of cheese and spices.  Let’s face it, potatoes taste great on their own, but zucchini is pretty neutral flavor-wise and will just take on the taste of whatever you pair it with.   So it needed a little more than just egg and flour.

Because these are so much like potato pancakes, I’ll suggest that you consider topping them with sour cream or goulash.

Lauren and I both enjoyed these for dinner, and the leftovers heated up in the oven were great the next day.

Adapted from:  Allrecipes

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Zucchini Pancakes

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Polish Housewife
  • Yield: 20 pancakes
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Description

Think potato pancakes, but made with zucchini

Ingredients

  • 2 cups grated zucchini
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup chopped green onion
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon dried oregano or thyme
  • pinch red pepper flakes
  • canola oil, for frying

Instructions

  1. Spread zucchini on a paper towel to remove any moisture
  2. Beat eggs
  3. Add onion, flour, cheese, baking powder, salt , oregano or thyme, and pepper flakes to eggs
  4. Stir in grated zucchini
  5. Add 2 – 3 tablespoons of oil to a large frying pan, over medium heat
  6. Carefully place heaping tablespoons of mixture into hot oil, spreading a bit with the back of the spoon (don’t over crowd the pan, you’ll need room to maneuver a spatula for flipping, you’ll fry several batches)
  7. Fry until golden brown, 2 – 3 minutes on each side
  8. Drain on paper towels

Low Carb Parmesan Crisps

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As we’ve been eating low carb, I’ve missed the crunch of a cracker, a chip, or a baguette. Tonight we filled that void with some Parmesan crisps to go with our salads. We were both pleasantly surprised with the result, a crisp, satisfying cracker-like crisp. I think next time I’ll make these much smaller and serve them with a spinach dip. I love lightly brown, bubbly Parmesan; it is the best part of French Onion Soup, don’t you think?

Ingredients

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used the large side of the grater)
a pinch of the following herbs: dried parsley, dried thyme, red pepper flakes (this could be whatever you like)

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350
  • Grate the cheese directly onto lined baking sheet and tossed with the spices (I lined one pan with foil and the other with parchment; the paper was a much better choice, no tendency to stick. Two pans for 5 crisps? Yeah, I know; we have a very small oven.)
  • Divide the mixture into five piles, spreading them out to flat disc shapes, about 3 inches in diameter; these were 4 inches in diameter after baking, so leave some space in between
  • Bake 5 – 10 minutes, until golden brown.

PS- Some of our crisps seemed to get all of the spice. Next time, I may separate and shape the cheese first and then sprinkle it with spices. I think you could also shape these, as I have with almond lace cookies – while still hot, wrapping the circle around a wooden spoon handle or chopstick to form a cylinder or draping over an overturned bowl or cup to shape the crisp into a bowl.

My recipe analyzer had this to say about the size I made today and the size I plan to make next time (1 inch diameter). I suspect the calories and fat content may be a little less than indicated because the fat tended to cook out and remain on the parchment paper.

 

PS – I’ve begun making these with sliced cheese too, something like pepper jack cheese (a whole slice or cut into cracker sized bites), just nuke or broil until bubbly and crisp.

5 crisps: 86 cal, 5.7g fat, .8g carb, 0g fiber, 7.7g protein
15 crisps: 29 cal. 1.9g fat, .3g carb, 0g fiber, 2.6g protein