jukeboxdiver

Bonnie and Larry have retreated to Deep Creek, Maryland for the weekend, Michael is toiling away at boot camp, and I have the house to myself, so what do I do? I cook.

Last night for dinner I made Stracciatella egg-drop Soup that I saw Giada make in a 60 second short on Food Network, along with a Potato, Leek, Zucchini, and Feta Cheese tart that was… in a phrase… TO DIE FOR. I found the recipe in Real Simple but altered it a little bit to my liking!

2 small zucchini (one yellow, one green)
2 leeks (white and light green parts)
1 lb red tomatoes, ultra-thinly sliced
1 store-bought, pre-made 9″ pie crust
3/4 c. crumbled feta cheese
fresh dill (to taste)
1 egg, beaten, for egg wash
Olive oil
kosher salt and cracked pepper
parchment paper

I preheated the oven to 375 Fahrenheit.

First, I cut the leeks and zucchini into half-moons and sliced the potatoes. Then, I coarsely chopped the fresh dill, keeping in mind I wanted to sprinkle a little on the tart’s shell.

I heated olive oil in a large frying pan on medium heat, and when it started to simmer, added the leeks and zucchini, cooking until tender (about 5-6 minutes). While the vegetables cooked, I put the pie crust on a piece of parchment paper, rolling it out to about a 12″ diameter. When the leeks and zucchini were done, I turned the heat off, and added the feta cheese and dill. I added the potatoes, salt and pepper, and tossed the veggies to mix everything up.

I piled all the veggies on the pie crust, leaving a 2″-3″ border. I folded up the sides of the pastry, brushed it with egg wash, and sprinkled on the dill.

After sliding the parchment paper onto a cookie sheet, I popped that puppy in the oven and baked it for 55 minutes.

and…. BAM! Voi -freakin’ -la, people, this thing was so delicious, I’m eating the rest of it for lunch!

As for the stracciatella, I heated up some chicken stock. In a bowl, I beat a few eggs, and flavored them with freshly chopped basil, parsely, and parmesan cheese (I used a LOT of basil).

When the chicken stock got hot, I poured in the egg mixture slowly, stirring as I went. This created little tasty delicate drops of eggs. Added some spinach, stirred and served! Easy, fast, healthy, delicious.

If I had more time, I would have added some browned italian sausage and  barley, but the egg and spinach alone is super tasty.

That’s all for now– but next is whole-wheat flatbreads with lamb, mint, and yogurt as well as a plum galette. Wahoo! Now, to David’s boat on the river with Lu and a book. Heaven.