Thursday, January 21, 2010

Pan Bagnat

Have you ever made something and just KNOWN that it was going to be good? That describes this Pan Bagnat recipe, from Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook (1998). It's currently sitting in my fridge, because it's supposed to be left over night, and I can't WAIT to eat it tomorrow.

2 very ripe tomatoes, peeled
1 8-oz loaf day-old French or Italian bread--the crustier, the better
1/3 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 scallions (green onions), thinly sliced (white AND green parts)
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp EVOO
Freshly ground pepper and salt to taste.

To peel the tomatoes, cut a small X in the bottom of each tomato skin. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil and drop in the tomatoes for 10-15 seconds, just until the skin splits. With a slotted spoon, remove tomatoes to a bowl of cold water. Skins should peel off easily (this is just like blanching/peeling peaches).

Halve each peeled tomato horizontally (around the fattest part--if the part where the stem was is the north pole then you are cutting along the equator). With a spoon, scoop out the seeds and pulp. Dice the tomato shells.

Pull out the soft insides of the bread and tear into pea-sized pieces.

In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, bread, cheese, parsley, scallions, vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper.

Fill the bread loaf with the tomato mixture (you will have to mush it in). Close the bread and wrap tightly with plastic wrap.

Refrigerate overnight. Just before serving, cut into 4 pieces.

Makes 4 servings, 4 WW pts per serving (222 calories, 6g fat, 3g fiber).

I can't wait for this to be finished! This summer, when tomatoes are ripe, this may become a staple lunch for me (I doubt The Big Geek would view this as a complete meal). As a child I used to get into trouble for using up all the tomatoes making tomato sandwiches--this is the grown-up version of that!

WW Parmesan Turkey Meatloaf

I'm trying to lose a lot of weight, a few lbs at a time, and so have gotten out my Jenny Craig and WW cookbooks to try some old favorites and some new things. This meatloaf was one of those things. I tossed it together yesterday, but had to leave before eating it. I assume The Big Geek liked it since half of it was gone when I got home. I had some, cold, for lunch today, and I have to say I thought it was really good. It's easy, you can put it together ahead of time, and the leftovers are yummy.

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 lbs ground turkey
4 slices whole wheat bread, made into fine crumbs (a small food processor is great for this)
1/2 cup fat-free milk
1 egg white (recipe says lightly beaten, but I just tossed it in and it was fine)
3 Tbsp ketchup (I like Heinz Organic b/c it doesn't contain HFCS)
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves, crumbled
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

Heat the oil in a small nonstick skillet. Add the onions and saute until tender, 4-5 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 and spray an 8 x 5 loaf pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine all other ingredients. When onion is done, allow to cool slightly (so you don't burn yourself) and mix into turkey mixture.

Shape into a loaf and transfer to loaf pan.

Bake 50-60 minutes or until browned and cooked through. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Yum!

Next time I may chop up some celery and add it in with the onions--but don't tell The Big Geek. :)

As written, the recipe is 4 pts per serving (makes 8 servings): 181 calories, 9 g fat, 1 g fiber.