• About Camine
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Main Course
    • Sides
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast / Brunch
    • Desserts
    • Soups
    • Salads
    • Misc
  • My Food Stories
  • My Cookbook
  • Classes
  • About
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Main Course
    • Sides
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast / Brunch
    • Desserts
    • Soups
    • Salads
    • Misc
  • My Food Stories
  • My Cookbook
  • Classes
  • About
  • Contact
  • About Camine
  • Contact
  • Newsletter
  • Blog
  • Cradling the Foods We Love for the People We Love.

Cradling the Foods We Love for the People We Love.

Beef / August 22, 2018

Picture

I often cook with metaphors as my guide. I tell stories with my food. And the two recipes I feature in this post definitely fit that theme. They’re dishes that celebrate something on the outside enveloping something wonderful on the inside. A cradling of sorts of the most yummy variety.

Why? There are certain instincts we cannot ignore. And as women, nurturing others is just in our souls. (I know quite a few men who just totally get this concept as well!) We want to cradle those we love, soothing the wounds of life by encircling others with a protective embrace. It seems wrapping ourselves around special things just feels good. Shouldn’t this also apply to the foods we love?

Each of these may seem uncomplicated. But I like to take everything to the next level of “bling-ness” which of course has to do with never ignoring the small details.

​I chose to leave the stems on my poblano peppers so that each vessel had more personality. It gave it more animation, more reality. And all “hugs” are real, yes? By adding carrots and onions to the meat mixture you create a very moist and smooth filling. Moistening it with homemade tomato sauce seasoned with a good quality cumin, (there are a gazillion different cumin variations!) helped the insides stay a little more structured. And it all rested on the nutty and herb flavored farro.

Picture

Picture

Picture

Why poblanos? Well, they yield ever so gently to being roasted. Keeping their structure but till fork tender, the swirling shape of their skin offers a hint of feminine beauty. Yeah, this dish definitely is comfort food.

Picture

Next on the list of nuzzling nourishment is this quick and lip-smacking appetizer I created to wake up a mid-week meal. Farm to table zucchini that are just the cutest size, (and also featuring a darling stem I just couldn’t part with,) are gently cored to receive a tangy filling of cheese, mayonnaise, spinach, and some preserved lemon which I use is so many things. Click here to get that recipe.

​Wrapped in prosciutto like a bambino in a receiving blanket these last-minute beauties stole the whole show and baked to perfection in just minutes.

Picture

After making these dishes, you’ll definitely feel more like a true nurturer of others, cradling them in the best culinary hug ever!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Beef and Vegetable Stuffed Roasted Poblanos

Over Stock Simmered and Seasoned Farro

Serves 4


Ingredients:

2 large poblano peppers, halved and seeded with stems still on
½ C tomato sauce
½ lb lean ground beef
2 small cloves of garlic chopped finely
5-6 heirloom cherry tomatoes
1 medium sized carrot diced
2 T chopped white sweet onion
2 T oil
1 t good cumin powder
½ t cayenne pepper
¼ t allspice
Salt and pepper to taste


Method:

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Rub 1 T olive oil all over poblanos and season generously with salt and pepper. Place in a small baking dish so that the peppers are about 2 inches apart. Roast for about 20-25 minutes or until done and there is slight blistering.
  • Heat a saucepan and add about 1 T oil. Add the carrots, onion, garlic, cherry tomatoes and cook until translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the hamburger to the veggie mixture and cook until done. Add the tomato sauce and seasonings and mix well. Heat through. Taste again and add salt and pepper as needed. Ladle ¼ of the beef mixture into each of the poblano halves and put back in oven for about 5 minutes to heat all the way through. Serve with a generous garnish of cilantro, over farro cooked with chicken stock and seasoned with your favorite multi-spice seasoning*. Farro takes about 30 minutes to cook so adjust your preparation time accordingly)
  • (* I used Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute: https://www.ebay.com/p/Trader-Joes-21-Seasoning-Salute-Blend-2-2oz/691174114?iid=222830611203&chn=ps )
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Prosciutto Wrapped Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Zucchini

The addition of rosemary and preserved lemon make these rock star appetizers!

Serves 4


Ingredients:

4 medium sized slender zucchini of uniform width and at least 6 inches long, halved and seeds scraped out
1/3 C mayonnaise
Enough cooked spinach to make 1/3 C that is densely packed, and ALL water squeezed out (I wrap it in paper towels twice and squeeze with my hand. It MUST be dry)
1/3 C grated fresh parmesan cheese
1 heaping T white sweet onion diced small
½ t good paprika
½ t kosher salt
¼ t cracked black pepper
1 T thinly sliced preserved lemon rinds
8 large prosciutto slices
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 T olive oil


Method:

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Rub the olive oil all over the zucchini halves using hands. Not soaking but covered. Lay them on a foil lined baking sheet. In a bowl combine the rest of the ingredients except for the prosciutto slices and rosemary. Stuffing mixture should be thick. Add more mayo or spinach as desired. Divide the stuffing evenly and press into the 8 halves. Sprinkle with a bit more salt and pepper if desired. Wrap each half with the prosciutto and bring it around tightly to seal by pressing the meat together. It should stick. Lay rosemary sprigs over and then roast for 20 minutes. Remove and eat!
  • Note: I use a grapefruit spoon to scrape out the seeds of the zucchini and create an area about ½ inch deep. Doesn’t have to be very deep. You do want most of the zucchini flesh.
  • Make preserved lemons. It is easy! I use Ina Garten’s recipe here: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/preserved-lemons-recipe-2012376
  • poblano peppers
  • proscuitto
  • zucchini
Previous Post
Summer, and Time, in the Summertime.
Next Post
A Fusion of Fabulous Flavors Brings Summer to a Close.

Camine Pappas

Hi! I'm Camine Pappas

I have a deep desire to radically transform our everyday approach to cooking by insisting we view the process through a lens of gratitude and wonder.
I help you master and interpret the short-list of core techniques and processes you will need to begin achieving culinary success so everyone wearing an apron can find a way to make friends with the science of cooking and fall in love with all its possibilities.


LEARN MORE
Purchase Book
Latest Posts
  • Olive Oil, The Backbone of Flavors for This Traditional Chicken, Bean, and Vegetable Soup
    November 06, 2023
  • You Would Never Guess This Familiar Flavor is Gochujang
    April 29, 2023
  • Celebrating Life during A Night Of Bling Cuisine!
    January 31, 2023
Categories
  • Appetizers
  • Breads and Muffins
  • Breakfast/Brunch
  • Desserts
    • Cakes and Breads
    • Cookies and Bars
    • Miscellaneous
    • Pies and Tarts
    • Puddings and Parfaits
  • Main Course
    • Beef
    • Chicken
    • Lamb
    • Meatless
    • Pasta
    • Pork
    • Seafood
    • Turkey
  • Misc.
    • Cocktails
    • Sauces, Relishes and Jams
    • Snacks
  • Salads
    • Jello Salads – (Family Traditions!)
    • Main Course Salads
    • Salads/Vegetarian
    • Salads/With Meat
  • Sauces/Condiments
  • Sides
    • Includes Main Course Recipe
  • Soups
    • Soups/Stew Vegetarian
    • Soups/Stew with Chicken, Turkey
    • Soups/Stews with Beef, Veal, Pork
    • Soups/Stews with Lamb, Veal
  • Soups/Salads
Load More
Archives
  • 2023
  • 2022
  • 2021
  • 2020
  • 2019
  • 2018
  • 2017
  • 2016
  • 2015
  • 2014
  • 2013
Previous Post
Summer, and Time, in the Summertime.
Next Post
A Fusion of Fabulous Flavors Brings Summer to a Close.

Get the cookbook!

Let's think about food preparation as art, and flavors as adventurous stories. Say ‘goodbye’ to safe sequences, or copycat flavors, and use your senses to curate the perfect meal. My recipes help your kitchen come to life as I share anecdotes about food chemistry, and fun shortcuts that conquer menu-mediocrity. my cooking style is one that combines everyday ingredients into sensuous layers that wake up the bored palate as I reveal easy-to-understand tips, tricks, and hacks so everyone can prepare and serve Bling Cuisine with confidence and joy!

PURCHASE COOKBOOK

Follow us Ifeellikecooking

Pork loin with an amazing gravy simmered with basi Pork loin with an amazing gravy simmered with basil and spring onion and garnished with the fresh parts of same! #caminecooks #blingcuisine #ifeellikecooking #summerfood #justaddherbs
When you find good scallops, they beg you to make When you find good scallops, they beg you to make them like this: #caminecooks #blingcuisine #ifeellikecooking #plated
Just use what you have. Just love the ingredients Just use what you have. Just love the ingredients into a dish you’re proud of. Just don’t sweat it. — (rosemary wine vinaigrette for the mmmmmmm!)
HAPPY 4th, everyone!🇺🇸🎆😎🎉 #caminecooks #blingcuisine #homechef #foodography #ifeellikecooking #supersalads
Adventure in my kitchen! Make a tapenade with red Adventure in my kitchen! Make a tapenade with red pepper and green olives and lemon. Sauté trout that’s been marinated in brown sugar, grainy mustard, cider vinegar and soy. COULDN’T STOP snarfing! #caminecooks #blingcuisine #ifeellikecooking #pescatarian #homechef #goodeats
So French! So made in Charlotte. 😂 puréed fres So French! So made in Charlotte. 😂 puréed fresh apricot with mustard seed and other yumminess. Served over puréed cauliflower  #caminecooks #blingcuisine #ifeellikecooking #frenchchicken #makeittonight
Ahhhhhh. Every bite was exciting! #caminecooks #bl Ahhhhhh. Every bite was exciting! #caminecooks #blingcuisine #ifeellikecooking #plating #steakdinner dinner
FIND CAMINE ON
  • Recipes
  • Main Course
  • Sides
  • Appetizers
  • Breakfast/Brunch
  • Desserts
  • Soups
  • Salads
  • Misc
  • My Food Stories
  • About Camine
  • Classes
  • Youtube

© Camine Pappas 2025

Privacy Policy

© Photo and Recipes 2025

DA MADE BY DIGITAL ALCHEMY