Eye for a Recipe

If you are in the mood for a Tex-Mex meal, try this recipe from the February 2012 issue of Canadian Living. It would also be good to serve to a crowd on Super Bowl Sunday in a couple of weeks. Make a quick enchilada sauce, brown some ground beef, and sauté onion, corn and black beans. Then layer tortillas, the beef mixture and cheese, top with the sauce and more cheese, and bake. You could use ground chicken or turkey instead of beef. Once the dish was heated through, I put it under the broiler for a few minutes to brown the top.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

The ingredients in this recipe that could include additives and preservatives are the passata, chipotle peppers, black beans, tortillas, cheese and sour cream. Try Molisana brand passata, Herdez canned chipotles in adobo sauce, President’s Choice Blue Menu canned black beans, President’s Choice original flour tortillas and Loblaws No-Name sour cream. If you use low-fat sour cream be sure to check the label, as I find low-fat products tend to contain more additives. Cheddar cheese without colour is relatively easy to find.

Make the enchilada sauce

Brown the ground beef

Layer the tortillas, beef mixture and cheese

Top with sauce and cheese before baking

I browned it for a few minutes under the broiler

Garnish with sour cream and green onions

Ingredients:

2 cups (500 mL) bottled strained tomatoes, (passata)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp (30 mL) chili powder

1 tsp (5 mL) dried oregano

1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, chopped

1 pinch salt

1 lb (454 g) lean ground beef

2 tsp (10 mL) olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 cup (250 mL) rinsed drained canned black beans

¾ cup (175 mL) frozen corn kernels

3 large whole wheat or regular tortillas

1- ¼ cups (300 mL) shredded Cheddar cheese

¼ cup (60 mL) sour cream

1 green onion, thinly sliced

Preparation:

In small saucepan, bring strained tomatoes, garlic, chili powder, oregano, chipotle pepper and salt to boil; reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in large nonstick skillet, brown beef over medium-high heat, breaking up with wooden spoon. With slotted spoon, remove beef and set aside. Drain fat from pan.

Add oil to skillet; cook onion over medium heat until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add black beans and corn. Return beef to pan, stirring to combine. Stir in 1 cup of the sauce, mixing well.

Place 1 of the tortillas in greased 8-inch (2 L) square baking dish. Top with 1/4 cup of the cheese and half of the meat mixture. Repeat layers of tortilla, cheese and meat mixture once. Top with remaining tortilla and sauce. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake in 375°F (190°C) oven until cheese is melted, about 15 minutes. Slice and serve garnished with sour cream and green onion. Serves 4.

From the February 2012 issue of Canadian Living

This is a fast and tasty way to get more fish into your diet. Canned salmon is mixed with bread crumbs, cilantro, green onions, spices and eggs and then formed into patties. Quickly fry the patties and serve with a refreshing raiti sauce. If you don’t like cilantro, use parsley instead.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

The ingredients in this recipe that may contain additives and preservatives are the yogurt and tandoori paste. Look for a Balkan-style yogurt with no artificial ingredients. It is difficult to find spice pastes that are additive-free, so I usually make mine from scratch. A recipe for tandoori paste is below. Also be sure to use fresh lime juice, as concentrates are bitter and usually contain sodium benzoate.

Mix canned salmon with spices, bread crumbs, cilantro, scallions and eggs

Form the salmon mixture into patties

Fry patties for about 4 minutes per side

Serve with raita sauce

Ingredients:

½ cup (125 mL) plain yogurt

1/3 cup (75 mL) chopped fresh cilantro

2 green onions, thinly sliced

¼ English cucumber, coarsely grated and squeezed dry

2 tbsp (30 mL) lime juice

1 cup (250 mL) fresh bread crumbs

1 tbsp (15 mL) grated fresh ginger

1 tbsp (15 mL) prepared tandoori paste

2 eggs

¼ tsp (1 mL) cayenne pepper

2 cans (213 g each) wild sockeye salmon, drained and flaked

1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil

Tandoori paste

¼ tsp each of cayenne, salt, coriander, ginger, turmeric, cumin and paprika

2 tbsp plain yogurt

½ tbsp lemon juice

Mix all ingredients together.

Preparation:

In small bowl, combine yogurt, 1 tbsp of the cilantro, half of the green onions, the cucumber and lime juice. Set raita dressing aside.

In separate bowl, combine bread crumbs, ginger, tandoori paste, remaining cilantro and green onions, eggs, cayenne pepper and salmon, mixing well. Shape into eight 1/2-inch (1 cm) thick patties.

In large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat; cook salmon cakes until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side. Serve with raita dressing. Serves 4.

From the February 2012 issue of Canadian Living

We don’t have a barbecue at the apartment and one of the things we miss most over the winter is grilled baby back ribs. So I was delighted to see this recipe for Orange and Soy-Glazed Baby Back Ribs in the January 2012 issue of Bon Appetit. The ribs are parboiled for a couple of hours in water flavoured with soy sauce, garlic, cumin seeds and red pepper flakes. This renders the fat from the ribs. Meanwhile, make a sauce with spices, garlic, scallions, soy sauce, orange juice and honey. To finish the ribs, place them on a cookie sheet, brush with the sauce and broil for a few minutes on each side. Garnish with citrus zest, more sauce and enjoy!

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

The ingredient to watch out for in this recipe is the soy sauce. Use tamari, which is preserved with alcohol instead of sodium benzoate.

Parboil the ribs to cook them and render the fat

Parboiled ribs

Place parboiled ribs on cookie sheet, brush with sauce and broil

Garnish the ribs with sauce and citrus zest

Orange and soy-glazed baby back ribs

Ingredients:

3 ½ pounds baby back pork ribs, cut between bones into individual ribs (18–20 ribs)

1 cup soy sauce, divided

9 garlic cloves, minced, divided

5 teaspoons cumin seeds, divided

3 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes, divided

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

6 scallions (white and light-green parts separated from dark-green parts), finely chopped

1 ½ cups fresh orange juice plus zest from 1 orange

3 tablespoons honey

Zest from 1 lemon and 1 lime

Preparation:

Place ribs, ½ cup soy sauce, 3 minced garlic cloves, 2 tsp. cumin seeds, and 1 tsp. red pepper flakes in a large pot; add water to cover completely. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce to a simmer. Cover with lid ajar; cook until ribs are tender, about 2 hours. Drain ribs; set aside for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat; add remaining 3 tsp. cumin seeds and 2 tsp. red pepper flakes. Toast lightly until fragrant, about 30 seconds; add remaining 6 minced garlic cloves and white and pale-green scallions. Sauté until just soft, about 2 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup soy sauce, orange juice, and honey. Bring to a boil and cook until sauce is thick, 12–15 minutes.

Preheat broiler. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place ribs on prepared sheet; brush with sauce. Broil until sauce bubbles, 2–3 minutes. Turn, brush with additional sauce, and broil until ribs are heated through and sauce is bubbling, 2–3 minutes longer. Transfer to a platter. Drizzle with remaining sauce. Sprinkle dark-green scallions and citrus zest over. Serves 4-6.

From the January 2012 issue of Bon Appetit

This Classic Chicken Teriyaki recipe from the January 2012 issue of Food and Wine is light, tasty and doesn’t take long to make. Chicken breasts and peppers are sautéed and then topped with teriyaki sauce made from scratch—much better than the store-bought version. To make the chicken breasts thinner, cover them with plastic wrap and pound with a meat tenderizer mallet or cast iron frying pan. This does a good job on the chicken and is an excellent way to vent the day’s frustrations. I served the chicken and peppers with steamed rice and sautéed baby bok choy.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

The ingredients in this recipe that may contain additives and preservatives are the broth, mirin (rice wine vinegar) and soy sauce. I used Imagine brand chicken stock, which is all-natural. Mirin and soy sauce can contain sodium benzoate, so look for tamari instead of soy sauce and a brand of mirin that uses alcohol as a preservative. I used Kikkoman brand aji-mirin.

I used a red pepper and hot banana pepper

Pound chicken breasts and saute until cooked through

Saute peppers until they start to brown

Slice the chicken and serve with the peppers and teriyaki sauce

Ingredients:

1 cup chicken stock or low-sodium broth

1/3 cup sugar

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons canola oil

Steamed short-grain rice, for serving

Four 6-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breasts, lightly pounded

2 tablespoons mirin

1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons sake

2 large Italian frying peppers, cut into ½-inch strips

Preparation:

In a medium saucepan, combine the chicken stock with the soy sauce, sugar, mirin and sake and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to moderate and simmer until the teriyaki sauce is reduced to 1/2 cup and syrupy, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the chicken and cook over moderately high heat, turning once, until browned all over and cooked through, 8 to 9 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and let stand for 5 minutes.

Wipe out the skillet. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and heat until shimmering.

Add the pepper strips and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender and lightly charred, about 3 minutes. Transfer the peppers to plates. Slice the chicken breasts crosswise and transfer to the plates. Drizzle the sauce over the chicken and serve with rice. Serves 4.

From the January 2012 issue of Food and Wine

This frittata from the June 2003 issue of Canadian Living is a great dish for either brunch or a light supper. Asparagus and red pepper pieces are sautéed and then mixed with eggs and feta. The recipe said the frittata would be set in 7 minutes – it was more like 12 minutes when I made it. A few minutes under the broiler finishes the cooking and browns the top. You need a 9- or 10-inch ovenproof, nonstick skillet for this dish; a cast iron frying pan works very well. Save any leftovers for breakfast the next day – the frittata is just as delicious at room temperature.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

The ingredients in this dish that could have artificial ingredients include the butter, which may contain colour, and the feta cheese. Look for butter with one ingredient only: Cream. If you don’t use much butter, keep it in the freezer to preserve it. President’s Choice feta cheese in brine is additive-free.

Saute chopped asparagus and red pepper

Brown the frittata under the broiler for a few minutes before serving

Ingredients:

1 tbsp (15 mL) butter

2 cups (500 mL) trimmed asparagus, chopped

1 sweet red pepper, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tsp (10 mL) chopped fresh thyme, (or 1 tsp/5 mL dried)

1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt

1/4 tsp (1 mL) pepper

8 eggs

1/4 cup (60 mL) milk

1/3 cup (75 mL) feta cheese, crumbled

Preparation:

In 9- or 10-inch (23 or 25 cm) nonstick ovenproof skillet, melt butter over medium heat; cook asparagus, red pepper, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper, stirring occasionally, until tender-crisp, about 5 minutes.

In bowl, whisk eggs with milk. Stir into asparagus mixture; sprinkle with feta cheese. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until bottom and side are firm but top is still slightly runny, about 7 minutes. Broil until golden and set, about 1 minute. Serves 4.

From the June 2003 issue of Canadian Living

If you have had your fill of holiday turkey, ham and roast beef, try this delicious pasta with mussels in a spicy tomato sauce from the Holiday 2011 issue of Food and Drink. Arrabbiata is the Italian word for angry, but you can tone down the heat in this dish if you wish by reducing the amount of hot pepper. The recipe calls for San Marzano canned tomatoes, which taste better than regular canned plum tomatoes, so use them if you can find them. Penne rigate has ridges, meaning the sauce will cling to it, but regular penne would be fine. Be sure to discard any mussels that won’t close before cooking and any that aren’t open after cooking.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

The ingredients in this recipe that may contain artificial ingredients include the pancetta and tomatoes. Use nitrite-free bacon and a brand of tomatoes that contain only tomatoes (or tomatoes and salt).

Cut pancetta or nitrite-free bacon into thin strips

Garlic, hot peppers, onion and parsley

Saute bacon until crisp

Saute onions

Add tomatoes and cook until thick

Mussels Penne Arrabbiata

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

2 oz thinly sliced pancetta or bacon, cut into thin strips

1 onion, thinly sliced

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 hot red pepper, thinly sliced

1 28-oz can San Marzano tomatoes

12 oz penne rigate

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 lbs mussels, scrubbed

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley and/or basil

Preparation:

Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large pot. Add pancetta and sauté for about 3 minutes or until crisp; use a slotted spoon to transfer to a plate, leaving oil in pot. Add onion and sauté for about 5 minutes or until softened. Add garlic and hot pepper and sauté for 1 minute.

Add tomatoes and bring to a boil, breaking up tomatoes and scraping brown bits from pot. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring often, for 10 to 15 minutes or until thick.

Meanwhile, cook penne in a large pot of boiling salted water for about 11 minutes or until al dente. Drain well.

Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper, keeping in mind that mussels and pancetta will add salt. Stir mussels and half of the pancetta into sauce. Cover and boil gently for about 5 minutes or until mussels open. Discard any that do not open.

Divide penne among warmed serving bowls. Ladle sauce and mussels overtop. Sprinkle with remaining pancetta and parsley and/or basil. Serves 4.

From the Holiday 2011 issue of Food and Drink

This delicious side dish will be finding its way onto our table for Christmas dinner. These are not your typical Brussels sprouts – they are not boiled, nor do they turn that odd green colour that boiled or steamed sprouts tend to. Simply shred the sprouts in a food processor, sauté them in a pan that has just been used to crisp pancetta or bacon, and then combine with currants, maple syrup, mustard and the pancetta. Delicious!

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

To avoid additives and preservatives, use a nitrite-free bacon, currants without sulfites added and an all-natural mustard, such as President’s Choice Old-Fashioned Dijon.

Saute pancetta or bacon until crisp

Saute shredded sprouts in bacon fat, then toss with other ingredients

Shredded maple-mustard Brussels sprouts

Ingredients:

2 lb (907 g) Brussels sprouts

8 oz (225 g) pancetta or bacon, diced

1/4 cup (60 mL) dried currants

3 tbsp (45 mL) maple syrup

3 tbsp (45 mL) grainy mustard

1/2 tsp (2 mL) pepper

Preparation:

Trim ends of Brussels sprouts; remove any discoloured leaves. In food processor and using blade attachment, shred sprouts. Set aside.
In large skillet or wok, cook pancetta over medium heat until crispy, 8 to 10 minutes. With slotted spoon, transfer to small bowl.

Add sprouts to pan; cook until wilted, 8 to 10 minutes. Add currants, maple syrup, mustard, pepper and pancetta; toss to coat. Serves 10.

From the December 2011 issue of Canadian Living

This new find from the October 2011 issue of Real Simple is easy to make, tasty and colourful. Just coat chicken pieces (I used skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs) in a brown sugar-soy-lime juice sauce and roast until done. Meanwhile, toss red cabbage, carrots, scallions, mint and ginger with a quick dressing. I omitted the carrots and the slaw was still very tasty. I served the chicken and slaw with roasted potatoes. This recipe is perfect for a quick weeknight supper.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

To avoid additives and preservatives in this recipe use tamari instead of soy sauce, which often contains MSG and sodium benzoate. Be sure to use fresh lime juice – concentrates include artificial ingredients.

Dissolve brown sugar in soy sauce and lime juice

Add chicken pieces, turn to coat with sauce and place skin-side down; turn once during cooking

Roast chicken until cooked through

Meanwhile, combine ingredients for red cabbage slaw

Lime and soy-glazed chicken with red cabbage slaw

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

6 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 ½ to 3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces

¼ head red cabbage, thinly sliced (4 cups)

2 large carrots, coarsely grated

4 scallions, thinly sliced

½ cup chopped fresh mint leaves

1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 teaspoon sesame oil

kosher salt and black pepper

Preparation:

Heat oven to 400° F. In a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, stir together the sugar, soy sauce, and 3 tablespoons of the lime juice; add the chicken and turn to coat. Roast, skin-side down, until the sauce is simmering, about 10 minutes. Turn the chicken skin-side up and roast, basting occasionally, until cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes more.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss the cabbage, carrots, scallions, and mint with the ginger, canola oil, sesame oil, the remaining 3 tablespoons of lime juice, and ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Serve with the chicken. Serves 4.

From the October 2011 issue of Real Simple