Eye for a Recipe

This one-pot meal from NYT Cooking combines onion, savoury spices and chicken with fragrant basmati rice. Cook the onions and spices until the onions are deep brown. Add the chicken, stock and rice, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 12 minutes or until the rice has absorbed the liquid. Remove from heat, let stand for 12 minutes and fluff with a fork. Serve garnished with dried apricots, almonds and cilantro. Cook’s note: I omitted the almonds.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Use butter that contains only cream or milk, no colour. Check the spices and dried apricots to make sure they don’t contain colour, preservatives or anti-caking agents. I used Better Than Bouillon chicken paste for the stock.

Weeknight fancy chicken and rice

Ingredients:

¼ cup (60 ml) ghee (or use unsalted butter)

1 large yellow onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced

6 green cardamom pods, crushed

3 whole star anise

1 ¼ teaspoons (6.25 ml) kosher salt, divided

6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 ½ teaspoons (7.5 ml) turmeric powder

1 pound (454 g) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into ¾ -inch (2-cm) pieces

2 ¼ cups (562.5 ml) low-sodium chicken stock

1 ½ cups (375 ml) basmati rice

¼ cup (60 ml) chopped dried apricots

¼ cup (60 ml) sliced raw almonds, toasted

¼ cup (60 ml) chopped cilantro leaves

Preparation:

In a medium saucepan with a lid, melt ghee over medium-high heat. Add onions, cardamom, star anise and ¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml) salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are soft and a very deep golden brown, about 15 minutes, lowering heat if necessary to keep from burning them. Add garlic and turmeric; cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes, or until very fragrant. Add chicken and cook for 4 minutes, stirring to coat chicken with the onion mixture.

Add stock and remaining salt, increase the heat and bring to a boil. Add rice, stir and cover. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the rice has absorbed liquid, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 12 minutes. Remove lid and fluff rice with a fork.

Transfer chicken and rice to a bowl, taking care to remove and discard cardamom pods and star anise. Garnish with apricots, almonds and cilantro. Serve at once. Serves 4-6.

From NYT Cooking

This lovely spring meal from NYT Cooking combines succulent salmon or trout with sautéed radishes and peas. While the fish is roasting, sauté radishes in butter and oil. Then add water, peas, capers, miso and mustard and cook until the peas are tender. Add more butter, season and stir in fresh dill.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Use butter without colour or preservatives. Green Giant frozen peas, Unico capers, Smart Miso white miso and President’s Choice Old-Fashioned Dijon Mustard are all free of additives.

Roasted fish with peas and radishes

Ingredients:

4 (6-ounce/170 g) skin-on salmon or trout fillets

¼ cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and black pepper

3 tablespoons (45 ml) unsalted butter

2 bunches radishes, halved

1 ½ cups (375 ml) fresh or frozen peas (no need to thaw)

2 tablespoons (30 ml) drained capers

1 tablespoon (15 ml) white miso

1 teaspoon (5 ml) Dijon mustard

¼ cup (60 ml) chopped dill or parsley

Preparation:

Heat oven to 425 degrees F (218 degrees C). On a rimmed baking sheet, coat salmon with 2 tablespoons (30 ml) oil, season lightly with salt and pepper and arrange skin-side up. Roast until fish is just opaque throughout and cooked to medium, 8 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, melt 1 tablespoon (15 ml) butter in remaining 2 tablespoons (30 ml) oil over medium-high. Add halved radishes, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and slightly softened, about 8 minutes. Add 1 cup water, the peas, capers, miso and mustard, and cook, stirring to dissolve the miso and mustard, until peas are tender, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter and simmer until a light sauce forms, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and stir in dill.

Divide vegetables among plates or shallow bowls and top with salmon. Spoon pan sauce on top and serve warm. Serves 4.

From NYT Cooking

This sheet-pan recipe from Food and Wine combines succulent chicken thighs with roasted potatoes and broccolini. Marinate the chicken in a yogurt-lemon-spice mixture. When ready to cook, toss potatoes and broccolini in olive oil, salt and pepper and arrange on a baking sheet. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on a second baking sheet. Roast the chicken and potatoes for 25 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the oven, flip and add the broccolini to the baking sheet. Return to the oven and cook for another 12-15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the veggies are tender. Cook’s note: I did not use the lemon slices.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

I used President’s Choice organic yogurt and Old-Fashioned Dijon Mustard. Use freshly squeezed lemon juice and check the dried spices to make sure they don’t contain colour or anti-caking agents.

Roast potatoes and broccolini on a separate baking sheet

Yogurt-marinated chicken thighs with potatoes and broccolini

Ingredients:

¾ cup (187.5 ml) plain whole-milk strained (Greek-style) yogurt2 tablespoons (30 ml) fresh lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, grated

1 teaspoon (5 ml) coarse-ground Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon (5 ml) paprika

¾ teaspoon (3.75 ml) ground coriander

5 tablespoons (75 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, divided

3 ½ teaspoons (17.5 ml) kosher salt, divided

1 ½ teaspoons (7.5 ml) black pepper, divided

3 pounds (1.36 kg) bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 8 small thighs)

1 pound (454 g) baby gold potatoes, halved

1 (8-ounce/227 g) bunch broccolini, trimmed

2 lemons, halved crosswise

Preparation:

Whisk together yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, mustard, paprika, coriander, 2 tablespoons (30 ml) oil, 2 teaspoons (10 ml) salt, and 1 teaspoon (5 ml) pepper in a large bowl until smooth. Add chicken thighs; toss to coat, rubbing yogurt mixture evenly over chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C) with racks in the upper and lower third positions. Toss potatoes and broccolini with remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, remaining 1 ½ teaspoons (7.5 ml) salt, and remaining ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) pepper in a large bowl until evenly coated. Arrange potatoes, cut sides down, in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet; set broccolini in bowl aside. Remove chicken thighs from marinade; place chicken, skin side up, on a second large rimmed baking sheet; discard marinade. Arrange lemon halves, cut sides down, around chicken.

Place baking sheet with chicken on upper rack and baking sheet with potatoes on lower rack of oven; roast for 25 minutes. Remove potatoes from oven, and flip using a thin metal spatula; arrange broccolini on baking sheet with potatoes. Return to oven; continue roasting until potatoes and broccolini are tender and a thermometer inserted into thickest portion of chicken registers 165°F (73.8°C), 12 to 15 minutes.

Skim off fat from chicken pan juices and discard. Drizzle pan juices over chicken and vegetables. Serve hot. Serves 4.

From Food and Wine

This tasty dish from NYT Cooking can be on the table in less than 30 minutes. Marinate shrimp briefly in a honey-garlic marinade (reserving some for later) and then cook the shrimp a few minutes on each side. Add the reserved marinade to the cooked shrimp, cook until the sauce thickens slightly, sprinkle with scallions and serve.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

I used thawed President’s Choice frozen shrimp, which do not contain additives. Use pure honey and tamari instead of soy sauce.

Honey garlic shrimp

Ingredients:

1 pound (454 g) extra-large or jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined (tails on or off)

1/3 cup (83 ml) honey

3 tablespoons (45 ml) soy sauce

1 tablespoon (15 ml) minced garlic (from 2 large cloves)

½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) grated fresh ginger

1/8 teaspoon (0.6 ml) crushed red pepper, plus more to taste

¼ teaspoon (1.25) cornstarch

1 tablespoon (15 ml) extra-virgin olive oil or vegetable oil

Thinly sliced scallions, for serving

Preparation:

Place the shrimp in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, combine the honey, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and crushed red pepper; whisk until smooth. Pour 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of the marinade over the shrimp and toss to coat. Marinate for at least 15 minutes at room temperature, or up to 1 hour in the fridge.

While the shrimp marinate, combine the cornstarch with the remaining marinade and set aside.

Lift the shrimp from the marinade to paper towels and pat dry; discard any marinade remaining in the bowl.

Heat a large (12-inch/30-cm) skillet over medium-high. (A cast-iron skillet will help the shrimp brown more deeply than a nonstick skillet.) Add the oil, swirling to coat the pan, then arrange the shrimp in the skillet in one layer. Cook for 2 minutes, until lightly browned on the bottom, then flip the shrimp and cook for 1 more minute.

Add the reserved marinade to the skillet and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until the pan sauce thickens. (If your shrimp are on the smaller side and already cooked through before it’s time to add the sauce, transfer them to the serving dish and reduce the sauce on its own. Pour the sauce over the cooked shrimp.)

Transfer the shrimp and sauce to a serving dish, sprinkle with scallions and serve. Serves 4.

From NYT Cooking