Vegetable Pastilla Recipes

VEGETABLE PAELLA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Core the tomatoes, cut into wedges and place in a medium bowl; season with salt, drizzle with a bit of olive oil and toss. Set aside.
• Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet or a paella pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, paprika, cayenne and saffron and season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens, about 5 minutes.
• Add the fennel wedges and cook until lightly browned on one side, about 5 minutes. Flip the fennel and add the baby artichokes and eggplant to the skillet; cook until slightly tender, about 4 more minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in the wine and simmer until reduced by about one-third. Stir in the rice and 1 3/4 teaspoons salt; add just enough water to cover the rice completely, 2 1/2 to 3 cups. Increase the heat to high and boil for 2 to 3 minutes. Scatter the haricots verts and 2 tablespoons capers over the rice. Remove the pan from the heat and arrange the tomatoes on top; drizzle with any tomato juices.
• Transfer the paella to the oven and bake, undisturbed, for 20 minutes. Scatter the remaining 2 tablespoons capers and the piquillo peppers over the paella. Turn off the oven but leave the paella inside to continue cooking until the rice is tender, 15 to 20 more minutes. Garnish with parsley, if desired

VEGETABLE PASTIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix together all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water until mixture forms a ball. Divide dough into 8 pieces, and shape into balls. Cover, and set aside.
• Heat olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in carrot, turnip, potatoes and mushrooms. Add water, bouillon cube, tarragon, salt and pepper. Cook for 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Roll each pastry ball into a circle, 6 to 8 inches in diameter. Place about 1 cup of filling on one half of each circle. Fold pastry over filling, and pinch edges to seal. Place on baking sheet, and brush with egg.
• Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until golden brown.

PASTA WITH VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Mix together the oil, vinegar, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to boil; add rotini and bring to a boil again. Cook until rotini is al dente; drain well. Return the rotini to the pot.
• While rotini is cooking heat oil in a frying pan and saute red bell pepper, green bell pepper, garlic and carrots. Cook until vegetables are softened. Place the broccoli in the frying pan and cook another 2 minutes.
• Pour the cooked vegetables into the pot with the pasta. Pour the vinaigrette over the pasta and vegetables. Toss to distribute vegetables and vinaigrette evenly.

PASTA WITH FRESH VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. , Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, saute carrots in oil until crisp-tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in tomatoes, broccoli, squash, green pepper and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until vegetables are tender, 8-10 minutes., Stir in pasta; sprinkle with cheese.

VEGETABLE PASTILLA WITH MOROCCAN FLAVORS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F/180°C. Prepare a 9 inch pie pan with oil.
• Working in batches as needed, put the parsnips, onion, garlic, apricots, dates, olives and almonds in a food processor. Pulse until the pieces are pea sized.
• Heat oil and red pepper flakes in a large skillet. Add the chopped vegetables and 1 cup of water. Season with salt and pepper.
• Cook, stirring occasionally, until the parsnips soften and the pan is mostly dry, about 15 minutes. Adjust the heat to prevent burning.Stir in the ras al hanout and cook for another minute. Turn off the heat and stir in the cilantro, lemon juice and zest.Taste and adjust the seasoning.
• Cut the phyllo dough into 9 inch squares.Put one square in the bottom of the pan, allowing the corners to drape over the sides. Brush with oil.Place another square at an angle and brush with oil. Repeat with two more sheets so the bottom of the pan is covered.
• Spread the vegetable mix evenly over the phyllo dough. Cover with 4 more sheets of phyllo as for the bottom, brushing each sheet with oil.Fold and tuck the edges of the phyllo into the pan to close the pastilla. Cut a couple small slits in the top. Cover with foil.
• Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the foil. Return the pastilla to the oven until golden brown, another 5-10 minutes.
• Combine the confectioners' sugar and cinnamon. Place into a small sieve and dust the top of the pie.Cut into wedges. Serve hot or at room temperature.

MOROCCAN PASTILLA

Steps:

• THE CRUST: If frozen, thaw out 1/2 pound (half a package) philo dough in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.
• THE MEAT FILLING: In a large pan, combine 4 chicken breasts (cubed); 1 small onion (coarsely chopped); 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoons fresh thyme (or 1/8 teaspoons dried); and 2 cups of water. At this point, you could also add any vegetables you like such as mushrooms (sliced); green peas, a potato (peeled and cubed); a carrot (peeled and diced); kernels of corn; etc. Bring to a boil and then simmer until the vegetables and meat are thoroughly cooked (20-30 minutes).
• THE NUTS: Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Place 1 cup almonds (finely chopped) in a shallow baking pan. Bake, stirring occasionally until golden brown (10-15 minutes). Cool.
• THE SPICES: In a small bowl, mix 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger, and 1/4 teaspoons ground nutmeg.
• THE ONION MIXTURE: In a large frying pan, cook 1 small onion (finely chopped), in 3 tablespoons butter or margarine until limp but not browned.
• THE OTHER FILLING: In a medium bowl, whisk together 6 eggs; 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped); 1 teaspoons salt; 1/4 teaspoons black pepper (freshly ground); and 2 tablespoons fresh mild mint or parsley (chopped). Add to the ONION MIXTURE (from above) and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until eggs are softly set. Remove from heat.
• THE PASTILLA: Melt 1 cup butter or margarine. Use a brush to grease a 9-inch springform pan generously. Unroll the sheets of the phyllo dough so that they lie flat. Cover the dough with waxed paper and a wet paper towel so that they don't dry out. Line the pan with 1 sheet of dough, allowing the dough to extend over the edge of the pan. Brush the piece of dough generously with butter. Top with another piece of dough and brush with butter. Continue this until you have 8 layers of butter-brushed phyllo dough.
• FILLING THE PASTILLA: For the filling, add a layer of THE MEAT FILLING (from above), THE OTHER FILLING (from above), and then THE NUTS (from above). Sprinkle THE SPICES (from above) over the nuts.
• Fold the remaining sheets of phyllo dough to fit the pan. Reserve 2 sheets for the topping. Stack the phyllo over THE NUTS, brushing each layer with butter. Fold the edges of the phyllo that extend beyond the pan in toward the center. Top with the last 2 sheets of phyllo, folded to fit the pan; tuck any protruding edges down inside the rim of the pan. Brush with the remaining butter.
• Using a razor blade or small sharp knife, cut through the top layers of the dough down to THE NUTS to mark the pie in 8 wedge shapes.
• Bake until well browned and heated through (45 minutes to an hour).
• Remove the pan sides.
• Sift confectioner's sugar and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon over the top.
• Serve immediately, cut into the marked wedges.

VEGETABLE PAELLA

Steps:

• Bring water to a boil in small saucepan. Add saffron, cover and remove from heat. Let stand 10 minutes.
• Heat olive oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper and onion and sauté until onion is golden, about 8 minutes. Add artichokes and garlic and sauté 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add rice and stir to coat with oil. Add chicken stock, escarole and tomatoes and bring to boil, stirring frequently. Add saffron water, paprika and salt. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook 15 minutes. Mix beans and peas into rice, cover and continue cooking mixture until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 5 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat. Let stand 5 minutes and serve.

VEGETABLE PAELLA

Steps:

• Dissolve the saffron in the vegetable stock.
• Prepare all the ingredients and have them lined up in front of you in the order listed above.
• Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan, add the onions and garlic, cover and cook for about 3 minutes until soft.
• Then add the peppers and peas, stir in, cover again and cook for a few more minutes.
• Make a well in the center, put the tomatoes in the well and the paprika on top.
• Then add the stock (with the saffron if you have it), but make sure it doesn't overflow: If it gets more then half a cm close to the rim of the pan, stop adding stock and just use less rice.
• Season with pepper and stir.
• Scatter as much of the rice as you think will fit over the stock, stir it in gently, then allow it to simmer gently until the liquid has absorbed and the rice is cooked. This should take about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Test a bit of the rice to see if it's cooked, add a bit of stock or hot water if it is not done.
• Stir in the parsley a few minutes before it has finished cooking, if you want to use it, then serve hot.
• Also nice cold eaten as leftovers.