Muffin Tin Chef (14 page)

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the edamame and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Place the edamame, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and salt to taste in a food processor and process until the edamane has been reduced to tiny bits. Fill 12 medium muffin cups halfway with the rutabaga mixture. Make a small indentation in each with your finger and evenly distribute the edamame mixture among the cups. Top with the remaining rutabaga mixture. You may have some rutabaga left over. Bake until nicely browned on top, about 30 minutes. Let cool for several minutes before unmolding. To unmold, run a butter knife around the edges, place a flat object such as a cutting board over the muffin tin, and turn the muffin tin upside down.

 

EDAMAME-STUFFED RUTABAGA CUPS,
page 108

 

RICE-VEGGIE BAKE WITH ALMOND CREAM SAUCE,
page 110

Here's a nice package of whole grains and vegetables that also works well for weekday lunches.
Serves 4 V, G, F

For the Rice-Veggie Bake:
Bring the rice and water to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, until tender and the water has been absorbed, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°F. In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the shallot, bell pepper, and peas, and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 4 minutes. Stir in the thyme, salt, and coriander, and cook 1 minute more. In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs with the almond milk. Stir in the rice and the vegetable mixture. Divide the mixture among 10 medium muffin cups and bake until set, about 18 minutes.

For the Sauce:
Combine all the sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced by half, about 20 minutes. Carefully puree in a blender and serve over the rice cakes.

Kids and adults alike eat up this riff on an iconic side dish. If desired, gussy these up by adding diced ham or bacon. If avoiding gluten, use a gluten-free flour blend. You can omit the curry powder if you prefer to serve these with plain sour cream.
Serves 6 V

Steam or boil the potatoes until very tender. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl and mash with the butter, buttermilk or milk, flour, sage, mustard, eggs, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Make sure to leave the mixture slightly chunky. Divide the potato mixture among 12 medium muffin cups. Bake until set, about 25 minutes. Let cool for several minutes before unmolding. In a small bowl, stir together the sour cream and curry powder. Serve the mashed potato cups with the curry cream.

These savory muffins are ideal for a quick lunch fix. Similar to the other savory muffins in this chapter, these are best served warm. Try to use wild smoked salmon, which is a more sustainable option than farmed.
Serves 12

Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, chives, sugar, smoked paprika, if using, garlic powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs and whisk in the milk, sour cream, and oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir gently to combine. Fold in the bell pepper, cheese, and smoked salmon. Divide the mixture among 12 medium muffin cups and bake until golden on top and an inserted toothpick comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool several minutes before unmolding.

These slightly spicy cheesy pizza rolls are a great option when you need lunch in a hurry. You can use store-bought pizza dough or make your own using my no-fail recipe (see page 71).
Serves 4 V, F

Preheat the oven to 400°F. On a floured work surface, roll the pizza dough into a rectangle about 12 x 8 inches. Spread the chicken, red pepper, jalapeño, oregano, cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, and salt on top. Resist the urge to add too much topping, which can make rolling the dough difficult. Tightly roll up the dough and pinch the ends to seal. Slice into 8 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Drop the balls into 8 medium muffin cups and bake until golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool for several minutes before unmolding.

This recipe requires some extra kitchen time, but one bite into these amped-up rolls and you'll be glad you put in the effort. To save time, frozen spinach can be used. Just make sure to squeeze out the excess liquid.
Serves 6 V, F

In a small saucepan, warm the milk until just before it simmers. Transfer to a large bowl, stir in the yeast and let stand until the yeast has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the egg, olive oil, sugar, thyme, and salt. Stir in the all-purpose or bread flour and the whole wheat pastry flour until the mixture clumps together.

Place the dough on a floured work surface and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. If an indentation remains in the dough when pressed with your finger, it's ready for rising. Place the dough in a large bowl with a little oil, turn to coat, and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Set aside in a warm, draft-free place until roughly doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, blanch the spinach by bringing a large pot of water to a boil and filling a large bowl with ice water. Add the spinach to the pot and boil until bright green in color, about 30 seconds. Drain and transfer to the ice water for about 2 minutes. Drain and squeeze out as much water as possible between several sheets of paper towel or a clean kitchen towel. Chop the spinach.

Punch down the dough by pushing down in the center of the dough with your fist and then pushing the edges into the center using your fingertips. Transfer to a floured work surface and press into a square. Roll the dough into a roughly 20 x 10-inch rectangle, with the long end at the bottom of the work surface. Spread the spinach on top of the dough, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges. Sprinkle the feta cheese on top of
the spinach and tightly roll the dough into a long cylinder. Pinch the ends together to seal, and slice the cylinder into 12 equal pieces. Divide the dough pieces among 12 medium muffin cups with one of the spinach sides facing down. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for 1 hour in a warm, draft-free place.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake the rolls until the tops are golden, about 18 minutes. Let cool before unmolding. Serve warm.

These are not as dense as your typical biscuit, but all the wonderful savory flavors are still there. The biscuits are best consumed within a day of baking, or you can freeze them in an airtight container for several weeks.
Serves 5 V, F

Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a food processor, pulse together the whole wheat flour, all-purpose or bread flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and garlic powder. Pulse in the butter until mixture looks like coarse meal and the butter is no larger than small pebbles. You can also do this in a bowl with a pastry cutter. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and fold in the cheddar cheese and sage. Add the buttermilk and combine gently until a dough forms.