Beef and Sun-dried Tomato Pita Pizza

Dinner tonight was originally planned as a grill-out meal, but the rain kept us inside. This is the rainy-day-no-grill version.

This recipe has been adapted from Bobby Flay's recipe featured in The Athlete's Palate Cookbook.

Prep time: 20 minutes + 4 hours marinating time
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients.

• 8 whole wheat pitas
• 1 beef tenderloin (8 ounces)
• 1 head garlic + 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup cooked white beans (I used a mixture of navy beans and pinto beans)
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme (I used about a teaspoon of dried, ground thyme)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and julienned
• 4 roasted shallots, thinly sliced*
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey

*I didn't realize that the shallots were supposed to be roasted until I got to the point where I was supposed to mix them with the tomatoes (that'll teach you to read the recipe all the way through first...). I preheated the oven to 425 degrees F, coated the peeled shallots in a little olive oil, and laid them on a roasting pan. Then I popped them into the oven for about 20 minutes (while the steak was in the pan) and sliced them when they were out and slightly cooled. It was kind of tricky-let's just say they didn't want to slice nicely. Also, this was a lot of shallots, and I'd definitely use less next time.


Directions.

• Marinate the beef with the head of garlic in 1/2 cup of the olive oil for 4 hours or overnight. Place the tenderloin in a large frying pan and cook on medium-high heat on both sides for about 6 minutes (each side), or less if you'd like the beef more rare. Let the tenderloin rest for a few minutes, then thinly slice.
• Puree the beans, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, 2 remaining garlic cloves, lemon juice, and thyme in a food processor until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste if necessary. Mix together the tomatoes, shallots, remaining tablespoon of olive oil, vinegar, and honey.
• Place the pitas in the oven on a low temperature for a few minutes before serving. This will allow them to warm up and toast slightly without burning.
• Spread each pita with a thin layer of bean puree, sliced beef, and tomato chutney. Serve immediately.

The pizza was very flavorful, even though we didn't grill the beef. The lemon and sun dried tomatoes provided almost a tangy taste, while the honey helped make things sweet. A word to the wise, don't eat this one on a first date. We ate a while ago but I still feel like I have garlic breath.

Our portions were filling, but this meal would be good paired with a spinach salad if you were craving something green.

Per Serving: 460 Calories          16 G Protein          48 G Carbohydrates          24 G Fat

Naan Pizza with Canadian Bacon, Asparagus, and Fontina Cheese

Since Isaac and I are both pretty active people, we attempt to eat healthy and make good meals that will benefit our exercise and training. Sometimes it's hard to find recipes that are full of protein and the right amount of carbs to compliment all the cardio we do. I mean, you can only eat chicken and broccoli so many nights a week. If you're like me, you don't like to eat the same thing twice in, well probably about a year. I'm all about changing it up and cooking a variety of things, even if some of the ingredients are similar. This drives Isaac crazy, but I think he secretly enjoys the adventure of attempting to cook something new every night.

My awesome friend Courtney bought me a cookbook for Christmakah last year. It's called The Athlete's Palate Cookbook, and it's a compilation of recipes by different chefs who are also athletes. It contains a ton of different, healthy recipes that are good for training days, race days, and recovery meals. Tonight's dinner was one of the easiest recipes I've made from this book, and definitely one of the best (so far). I guess you want the recipe, right?
Oh, and I hope this color makes you think of Canadian bacon.


This recipe feeds 4 (or 2 really hungry athletes)
Prep time: 10 minutes / Cook time: 15 minutes


Ingredients:

Chop chop.

2 (9") naan (8-ounce package)
1/3 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup prepared pesto (I made my own)
8 asparagus spears, tough ends snapped off, cut into 1.5" lengths
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil (or E.V.O.O if you're a fan of Rachel Ray...)
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
3 slices Canadian bacon, cut into thin strips
2/3 cup (about 2 ounces) grated Fontina cheese

Ready for round one in the oven.

Put it all together:

Oven rack should be at a lower-middle position. Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place the flat breads on a baking sheet. Mix the ricotta and pesto and dollop onto the breads. Toss the asparagus with the oil ad a light sprinkling of salt and pepper. Evenly distribute the spears, along with the Canadian bacon, over the naan. Bake until the breads are warm throughout and the asparagus is bright green, about 10 minutes. Remove them from the oven. Divide the fontina equally and top each naan with a portion of the cheese. Return them to the oven and continue to bake until the breads are crisp and the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes longer. Cut each naan into quarters, serving each person 2 slices, or half a naan.

Per serving: 360 calories, 18 G protein, 32 G carbohydrates, 18 G fat

**If you don't want to spend the big bucks on Fontina cheese, I'd go with a white cheddar or another soft Italian cheese. We also topped ours with grated Parmesan. What can I say, I like cheese.

Mmm. It was so crispy and good.

Buy the Cookbook HERE!