parmesan Archives - Ari's Menu

Pesto Parmesan Green Eggs & Ham

June 24, 2015 · by Ari ·

Hearty and full of flavor, pesto parmesan green eggs & ham are the perfect healthy breakfast, lunch or dinner!

I went to college in a verrrry small town in Idaho with approximately 2 breakfast options: The Bagel Shop, which was awesome, but more for for those 2am after the bar kinda nights, and The Breakfast Club, which was packed every single weekend morning with all the college kids making their visiting parents take them out for breakfast. Myself included.

I would always either get pancakes (with bacon and eggs and maple syrup on top, of course) or their almost-famous green eggs and ham with pesto and parmesan cheese. It was the bomb. I know nobody says the bomb anymore, but I am stuck in 1997. Don’t judge me. Anyway, I’ve been meaning to recreate this dish for a good long time, and after 20 hours of travel and a crap ton of jet lag, this super easy dish was the absolute perfect dinner.

Lately I’ve been eating a lot of eggs and I’ve been using Eggland’s Best eggs. Compared to regular eggs, Eggland’s Best eggs have 25% less saturated fat, 1o x more vitamin E, 4 x more vitamin D and 3 x more vitamin B12. If you’d like more information on their nutrition benefits, you can check out their nutrition info. They worked out great in this dish with the creamy pesto, and simple balance of flavors.

Pesto Parmesan Green Eggs & Ham

Author: Ari Ziskin

Recipe type: Breakfast

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 2-4

Hearty and full of flavor, pesto parmesan green eggs & ham are the perfect healthy breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Ingredients

4 eggs (I used Eggland's Best)
4 egg whites
small pinch salt
generous pinch pepper
2 tablespoons pesto sauce
large handful baby spinach
3 ounces chopped Canadian bacon
2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese (+ more for topping)
fresh basil for topping

Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and egg whites until well combined. Heat a medium-low nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray with nonstick spray (or olive oil or butter). Add eggs and season with salt and pepper.
Cook about ¾ of the way (about 5-7 minutes, depending on the size of your pan), stirring often using a spatula or wooden spoon. Add pesto, spinach, Canadian bacon and parmesan cheese, and cook until eggs are fully cooked and spinach has wilted.
Serve immediately topped with more parmesan cheese (if desired) and chopped fresh basil.

This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of Eggland’s Best.

Parmesan Garlic Brown Butter Spaghetti Squash

February 2, 2015 · by Ari ·

Bold, rich, nutty parmesan garlic brown butter spaghetti squash is the perfect comforting side dish. Tons of nutty, garlic-y flavor, low carb, gluten-free, and just 4 ingredients (+ salt and pepper)!

Welcome to the last week of my twenties. So I’m totally that person that is obsessed with my birthday. Like, on my whiteboard at school, there has been a countdown for about two weeks. I love to be celebrated, and I shamelessly love to be the center of attention. I feel like as long as I don’t become one of those people that needs any kind of attention (you know, the poor me, I’ll act crazy so people notice me types?), I refuse to become someone who feels ashamed of loving attention. Why do you think I majored in musical theatre? 😉

But have I mentioned how I’m spending the day of the big 3-0? Oh, you know, waking up at 3:30 am to leave on a 4am bus to a musical theatre competition in California with my students. I know. Luckily I love them, and I know it will be a fun trip, but I’d rather be drinking multiple old fashioneds with Steve and having a super sentimental birthday dinner at my favorite restaurant.

Ooooh, orrrrrr eating a big steak (Steve is the grill master) and a huge pile of this spaghetti squash at home. Because this dish is so freaking good, it is definitely birthday dinner worthy. In fact, it was totally fight over the leftovers worthy, and goes down in history as a tie for my favorite thing I have ever made with spaghetti squash.

I know, I know, with butter in the title and shots of literally pouring butter onto the food, this hardly seems like a healthy recipe, but honestly for the amount of butter per serving, it’s really not too shabby, and it is so, so, so worth it. The flavor of browned butter is so bold that a little bit goes a long way. It doesn’t hurt that the garlic is cooked in the browned butter. I diiiiie.

This was my first time using browned butter in a savory recipe. Actually, I just used it for the first time, like at all, a couple of months ago and, well, now I get it. As a recovering butter hater, let me just say: It’s totally worth it.

So dive in. Embrace the browned butter. It comes with a vegetable. 😉

Parmesan Garlic Brown Butter Spaghetti Squash

Author: Ari Ziskin

Recipe type: Appetizer

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 50 mins

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: 8

Bold, rich, nutty parmesan garlic brown butter spaghetti squash is the perfect comforting side dish. Tons of nutty, garlic-y flavor, low carb, gluten-free, and just 4 ingredients (+ salt and pepper)!

Ingredients

1 extra large (or 2 small) spaghetti squash, halved, seeded and scraped
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400. Rub spaghetti squash with olive oil and season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Roast until fork tender--the spaghetti squash should easily come out when scraped with a fork, about 40-60 minutes, depending on size.
To brown the butter melt in a medium pan over medium heat. Once butter is melted add garlic. Whisk constantly. The butter will start to foam first, then develop golden brown specs. Once you see the brown specs, turn off the heat and continue to whisk for an other 30 seconds, until butter is a nice amber color. Place on a cool surface to avoid continuing to cook and burning. The butter can burn very easily.
Once spaghetti squash has finished cooking, remove the inner flesh (the spaghetti-like part) and place in a large bowl. Toss with browned butter (I recommend not adding it all at once--you may not need it all), and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Serve topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese. Leftovers may be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to one week.

Parmesan Truffle Risotto with Grilled Salmon

January 7, 2015 · by Ari ·

Rich, creamy parmesan truffle risotto with grilled salmon is the perfect, FOOL PROOF comfort food! Ridiculously creamy without an ounce of cream, and tender, juicy salmon make this meal absolutely unforgettable!

Did I ever tell you about the time I made risotto like 4 times in two weeks? I’ve avoided it for so long because 1. I am the worst at cooking rice. And 2. I always thought risotto was a lot more unhealthy than it actually is. Or at least it doesn’t have to be unhealthy. Of course, I haven’t ventured out into trying brown rice and/or quinoa yet (on the list), but to accompany a healthy protein, I really don’t think it’s half bad.

Now I’ve had the risotto swimming in heavy cream, and OMG that’s delicious. I’m not one of those people that pretends they hate things like butter and heavy cream because that is the exact opposite of true, but I try to stay away for the most part. Mostly because moderation is not my thing. If I’m going to pour heavy cream into my dish, I am going to pour heavy cream into my dish, if ya know what I mean.

Anyway, my friends from Sizzlefish sent me SO MUCH FISH (Yes, for free. No, this post wasn’t required–I just loved it! Consider yourself disclosed 😉 )! Like the most fish I have ever seen, but it’s cool because they all hung out in my freezer in their perfectly pre-portioned packages until I was ready to hang with them. It’s seriously the most helpful meal prep thing you can have. They thaw super quickly, and you can get out one package if you’re cooking for just you, or more depending. I still haven’t cooked my way through all of it, and it took me a while to figure out just what I wanted to make with the fish. I love fish, but I don’t cook it very often. Finally I settled on risotto with salmon, and it was so good that I made the exact same thing like 3 days later.

Steve grilled up the salmon and it turned out perfectly juicy, and fall apart tender, and on top of the creamy risotto, I was in heaven. Truffle oil can be a bit pricy, but you really don’t need much, and it is SO worth it for the flavor it brings! One container will last you a long time, and trust me, you’ll be wanting to use it in everything. Especially this risotto. And you’ll also want to make it 4 times in a row.

Parmesan Truffle Risotto with Grilled Salmon

Author: Ari Ziskin

Recipe type: Entree

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 40 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the risotto:

1-2 tablespoons truffle oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 cup arborio rice
½ cup dry white wine (or replace with extra chicken broth if you don't use alcohol)
32 ounces mushroom broth
½ cup freshly shredded parmesan
salt and pepper
parsley for garnish, optional

For the grilled salmon:

4 salmon fillets (about 6 ounces each)
olive oil
salt and pepper

Instructions

To make risotto, coat a large pan with truffle oil (this should be about 1-2 tablespoons) and heat over medium low heat. Add garlic and shallots and toss until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add in rice and toss until browned, about 5-10 minutes. Add wine and stir to combine.
Add mushroom broth ½ cup at a time, stirring consistently. Wait until each half cup has been incorporated to add more. This process takes approximately 20-30 minutes. Season generously (to taste) with salt and pepper, and add parmesan.
To grill salmon, drizzle with olive oil and add a generous pinch each of salt and pepper. Unless you are extremely confident grilling fish, wrap salmon in tin foil (if you have a lot of experience grilling fish, you can place it straight on), then grill skin side first to desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side.
To serve, plate risotto, top with salmon and then add a touch of parsley if desired. Leftovers may be stored (preferably separately) in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Because I LOVED my Sizzlefish so much, I think you might too! Check out their website or follow on Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // Pinterest. Again, I was sent a super awesome care package from Sizzlefish, but all opinions are my own.

Pesto Parmesan Green Eggs & Ham

Parmesan Garlic Brown Butter Spaghetti Squash

Parmesan Truffle Risotto with Grilled Salmon

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