winter side dish Archives - Proud Italian Cook

I love my spring form pans I use them for so many things, I think I have every size they make. They’re great for layering vegetables that are “glued together” with various cheese, as in this torte.
This recipe was born from small containers of roasted vegetables I had tucked away in my fridge, and one large sweet potato, and I must say it turned out mighty good, a different variation than my zucchini, eggplant version.

You can’t get a better side dish because everything is all contained in one flavorful wedge!

I started with very thinly sliced sweet potato, it makes a nice sturdy base to start off with. Then each layer a different vegetable which in the end it will make it look pretty when cut into a wedge. In between each layer sprinkle grated cheese and shredded cheese like mozzarella or asiago for the “glue” to hold the layers nicely together. End with another sturdy vegetable like sweet potato or even sliced butternut squash, top with a sprinkling of more cheese.
I used a 6 inch spring form pan that was deep and allowed me to have many layers, just remember to press down in between, place the pan on a baking sheet so you won’t have drips in your oven when cooking and cover the top with foil. Roast at 425 for 20 minutes, then take the foil off and roast another 15 minutes or until the top is golden. Let it rest for 30 minutes or even longer before you slice it into wedges.

Use your imagination and the vegetables of your choice, here’s a list of what I used for my winter vegetable torte.
No doubt I will be making this again!
Follow along with me on Instagram to see what else I’m cooking up during the week!

Sunday Roast Chicken and Winter Sides

Sunday is a good day to roast a chicken, the smell permeates the air and all is good. There are virtually thousands of ways to roast a chicken and we all have our favorites, mine will always consist of fresh herbs like thyme and rosemary, lemon, and roasted heads of garlic, the sweet garlicy pulp gets smeared all over your chicken or you can use it in your pan gravy, amazing!

But no matter how you cook up your chicken, your going to need some sides to go along with it.

The following are some sides I made throughout the fall and winter but never posted, they’re great not only with chicken but with any cut of meat. Some I saw in a magazine and tried, and some my own, either way you’ll love the taste!

Green Beans and Walnuts with Lemon Vinaigrette. Whisk together 2 tablespoons of shallots, 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard, 1/3 cup of olive oil and the juice of one lemon. Pour over 1 pound of cooked green beans that are still warm, season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Garnish with 2/3 cup of coarsely chopped toasted walnuts and lemon zest.

Thyme Roasted Apples and Onions with Cider Glaze. Reduced down apple cider makes a syrupy sweet glaze that flavors and coats the apples and onions perfectly, this goes great with pork!
This can be done a day ahead. Boil and reduce 4 cups of apple cider for around 1/2 an hour, then whisk in 5 tablespoons of butter, and 1 teaspoon of salt.

Toss apples and onions in a bowl along with fresh thyme and some of the glaze, place in a shallow baking dish and roast at 425F. The last 10 minutes of roasting raise the temperature to 475F, pour the rest of the glaze all over, add more thyme, cook till fork tender but not mushy.

Fontina Stuffed Sweet Red Peppers. I don’t know the proper name of these peppers, but they are very thin fleshed and really long, like 5 or 6 inches. I love them and they make a quick side dish for chicken or pork cutlets or any type of grilled meat, and they look pretty too! Carefully cut the pepper lengthwise, take out the seeds, place on a baking sheet and roast at 400F until slightly tender, they don’t take very long to cook. Remove from oven and place your fontina cheese inside, back in the oven till melted. Garnish with sliced kalamata olives and fresh chopped parsley.