Eye for a Recipe

This new find from the July 2010 issue of Bon Appetit is a perfect summer lunch or light dinner. Cooked pasta is tossed with a cilantro-lime pesto and shrimp sautéed in tequila.

To avoid additives and preservatives in this recipe, use fresh lime juice, as concentrates contain sodium benzoate. Buy feta cheese with no additives (I use Tre Stelle) and fresh or thawed frozen shrimp that has not been treated with sulfites or other preservatives.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups packed fresh cilantro leaves, plus 1/4 chopped
1/4 cut (scant) chopped green onions
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tablespoon chopped seeded jalapeno chile
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound linguine
1 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 tablespoons tequila
1/4 cup crumbled Cotija or feta cheese

Directions:

Blend 1 1/4 cups cilantro leaves and next 4 ingredients in processor until coarse puree forms. With machine running, gradually add 1/2 cup oil. Season generously with salt. Pesto can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

Cook linguine in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, but firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and cook until almost opaque in center, about 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat; add tequila. Return skillet to heat and stir until sauce is syrupy, about 30 seconds. Add pesto; stir to coat. Remove from heat.

Add pasta to sauce in skillet; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Divide pasta and shrimp among 4 plates. Sprinkle dish with cheese, chopped cilantro, and serve. Serves 4.

From the July 2010 issue of Bon Appetit, adapted from Tejas Texas Grill & Saloon

This new find from the July 2010 issue of Bon Appetit is a great side dish for grilled foods and would make an excellent entrée for vegetarians. I was a little skeptical about the amount of smoked paprika, but it imparts a delicious heartiness to the salad.  If you make this, I suggest you prepare the quinoa according to the directions on the package instead of the ones below, which produced a soggy mess of quinoa porridge. When I tried again, following the directions on the package, it turned out fine.

To avoid additives and preservatives in this recipe, be sure your Sherry vinegar has no sulfites added or substitute another type of wine vinegar. Some feta cheeses also contain artificial ingredients; I use Tre Stelle. I could not find canned chickpeas that were additive-free, so I cooked them from scratch. It’s easy to do, although it does require some advance planning. Simply soak a cup of dried chickpeas in cold water overnight, covered, in the fridge. The next day, drain the chickpeas, cover them with cold water in a saucepan and bring them to a boil. Lower the heat and cook, uncovered, until the chickpeas are tender, 75 to 90 minutes. One cup of dried chickpeas makes two cups cooked and you can freeze any you don’t use in the salad.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups quinoa (9 to 10 ounces), rinsed, drained

4 cups (packed) baby spinach leaves

2 15- to 16-ounce cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed, drained

1 3/4 cups 1/3-inch cubes unpeeled English hothouse cucumber

1 1-pint container multicolored baby heirloom tomatoes, halved (2 1/2 cups)

1 cup (packed) fresh mint leaves

1 1/2 cups coarsely crumbled feta cheese (about 7 ounces), divided

1/4 cup Sherry wine vinegar

2 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1/2 cup olive oil

Preparation:

Place quinoa in large saucepan; add enough salted water to cover quinoa by 1 inch. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until quinoa is tender, 15 to 16 minutes. Drain. Chill until cool.

Meanwhile, combine spinach leaves, garbanzos, cubed cucumber, halved tomatoes, mint leaves, and half of feta cheese in extra-large bowl. Add cooled quinoa and toss gently to blend.

Whisk vinegar and smoked paprika in small bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Season dressing with salt and pepper. Pour dressing over salad; toss to coat. Season generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle remaining feta over. Serves 6-8.

From the July 2010 issue of Bon Appetit

I love bocconcini cheese, I love roasted red peppers, I love basil and I love balsamic vinegar, so you might say that this is my idea of the perfect appetizer. You can also make it ahead and it looks very pretty.

This appetizer was featured in the Holiday 2006 issue of the LCBO’s wonderful magazine Food & Drink, but it’s also perfect for summer entertaining because it gives you an opportunity to make pesto when basil is at its height.

Bocconcini are small, semi-soft, white and rindless unripened mild cheeses. They are typically sold packed in liquid and come in a variety of sizes, from a bit smaller than a golf ball, to the pearl-sized mini-bocconcini. I couldn’t find mini-bocconcini, so I just quartered the larger ones. Tre Stelle brand contains no artificial ingredients. Pilaros makes roasted red peppers with no additives or preservatives; if you can’t find them you could always grill and peel the peppers yourself.

Be sure to use balsamic vinegar with naturally occurring sulfites or that is labeled “no sulfites added”. The recipe calls for prepared pesto, but I just whipped some up in the food processor using extra-virgin olive oil, pine nuts, garlic, parmegiano-reggiano and fresh basil.

Ingredients:

One 200 g tub mini-bocconcini
2 tbsp (25 mL) prepared pesto
Pinch pepper
2 roasted red peppers, patted dry
Aged balsamic vinegar

Drain bocconcini and pat dry; set aside. Whisk together pesto and pepper in bowl. Add bocconcini and toss to coat evenly. Slice peppers into ¼-inch-wide (5-mm) strips. Wrap each strip around 1 bocconcini and skewer onto toothpick. Repeat with remaining peppers and bocconcini. Skewer 2 bocconcini onto each toothpick, if desired. Alternatively, pierce 1 side of pepper strip through toothpick and through 1 bocconcini, then pepper and another bocconcini forming an “S” around the bocconcini. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar before serving. Makes about 17 to 36 pieces (depending on method used).

From the Holiday 2006 issue of Food & Drink

In honour of Canada Day, the summer 2010 issue of homemakers includes recipes from every province and territory. The recipe from Ontario is a strawberry shortcake with a twist – the cake is moist and redolent of pepper, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. I decided it was the perfect dessert for our friend Allan’s birthday dinner. Special thanks to Allan and Eileen for taking this wonderful photo!

To avoid additives and preservatives in this recipe, be sure to use butter that does not contain colour and vanilla that is a pure extract, not artificial.

Spiced Strawberry Shortcake

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

5 eggs

1/3 cup sour cream or buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp black pepper

¾ tsp baking powder

½ tsp each ground ginger and cinnamon

¼ tsp each baking soda, ground cloves, nutmeg and salt

4 cups hulled and sliced strawberries

2 ¼ cups unsweetened whipped cream

Preparation:

Line 9×5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. In large bowl, beat butter with sugars until light and fluffy; one at a time, beat in eggs until light and creamy. Stir in sour cream (or buttermilk) and vanilla; batter will look curdled.

In separate bowl, whisk together flour, pepper, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves, nutmeg and salt; blend into batter.

Scrape into prepared pan, smoothing top; bake in centre of 300-degree F oven until skewer inserted in cake comes out clean, about 90 minutes. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Carefully lift cake from pan, remove parchment paper and transfer to rack; let cool completely. Can be wrapped in plastic and stored at cool room temperature for up to two days.

Slice cake. Spoon strawberries over cake slices and top with whipped cream. Makes 12 servings.

From the summer 2010 issue of homemakers

This caponata from the July 2010 issue of Food and Wine is wonderful on fish, but would also be great served with crackers as an appetizer.

I don’t have access to fresh fish very often where we live, so I grilled frozen sole fillets instead. Any mild-tasting fish would work well.

Many of these ingredients can contain additives and preservatives, including the tomato sauce, white wine, white wine vinegar, marinated artichoke hearts, green olives and capers. To find a white wine low in sulfites, check out the organic wines listed LCBO’s Vintages catalogue or website. The amount of sulfites in the wine is listed – my husband can tolerate wine with less than 10 parts-per-million. A good source of organic wines (and you can order it by the case and have it delivered) is Frogpond Farm in Niagara-on-the-Lake (www.frogpondfarm.ca).

Spectrum brand white wine vinegar has no sulfites added and the marinated artichoke hearts and capers made by Unico are all-natural. Hunt’s Tomato Sauce is additive free, as are the Pilaros brand garlic-stuffed green olives, available at Costco.

The fish was delicious, served with roasted asparagus and steamed rice.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for rubbing

4 tender celery ribs, diced (1 cup)

1 onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/2 cup prepared tomato sauce

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 pound marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1/2 cup pitted green olives, chopped

1/4 cup pine nuts

3 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons small capers, drained

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

3 tablespoons shredded basil

Six 7-ounce skinless mahimahi fillets (or other mild-tasting fish fillets)

Directions:

In a large, deep skillet, heat the 1/4 cup of olive oil until shimmering. Add the celery, onion and garlic and cook over moderate heat until just softened, 4 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, wine, vinegar, artichokes, olives, pine nuts, sugar and capers and season with salt and pepper. Simmer until the vegetables are tender and the liquid is reduced, 8 minutes. Stir in the basil and let cool. The artichoke caponata can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Light a grill or preheat a grill pan. Rub the fish with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill over moderately high heat, turning once, until cooked through, about 9 minutes. Transfer the fish to plates, top with the caponata and serve.

From the July 2010 issue of Food and Wine.

The potato salad is the real star of this meal, which is from the June/July 2010 issue of Cook’s Country. The preparation is unusual, in that the potatoes are thickly sliced and microwaved until the edges are just translucent. They are then grilled and tossed with a vinaigrette, roasted red peppers, capers and parsley.

The finished product looks beautiful – be sure to toss with the potatoes with the vinaigrette when they are still warm from the grill, so they soak in all the luscious flavours.

I served the pork and potato salad with coleslaw, for a very quick and satisfying weeknight meal. To avoid preservatives and additives in these recipes, be sure to use a white wine vinegar that has no sulfites added or that is labelled “contains naturally occurring sulfites”. Also be sure to scrutinize the labels of the roasted red peppers and the capers. I use Pilaros brand roasted red peppers and Unico capers.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin and Garlicky Potato Salad

Ingredients:

2 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and sliced 3/4 inch thick

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 tbsp white wine vinegar

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp brown sugar

Salt and pepper

1/2 up drained jarred roasted red peppers, chopped

3 tbsp drained capers (rinse to reduce saltiness, if desired)

3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

2 pork tenderloins (1.5 to 2 lbs. total)

Preparation:

Toss potatoes and 2 tbsp oil in a large microwave-proof bowl. Cover with plastic wrap (leave a small opening to let steam escape) and microwave on high until edges of potatoes are translucent, 4-7 minutes, shaking bowl (without removing plastic) to redistribute potatoes halfway through cooking. Meanwhile, combine vinegar, garlic, 1 tsp sugar, and 1/4 tsp pepper in large bowl. Slowly whisk in remaining oil until emulsified. Stir in roasted peppers, capers and parsley.

Combine 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and remaining sugar. Pat pork dry with paper towels and season with salt/pepper/sugar mixture. Grill over hot fire until browned on all sides and meat registers 145 degrees, about 12 minutes. Grill potatoes until charred and tender, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer pork to cutting board and tent with foil. Toss grilled potatoes with dressing to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Slice pork and serve with potato salad. Serves 4.

From the June/July 2010 issue of Cook’s Country

The herbs in our garden are tender and lush right now. The first round of cilantro is done but the second one is coming along nicely. The oregano, chervil, sage, rosemary, dill, mint, chives, tarragon, summer savory, marjoram and thyme are doing well and we are just days away from harvesting basil and flat-leaf parsley.

Summer Savory

Here’s a simple recipe from Canadian Living’s The Barbecue Collection that uses fresh thyme, oregano and rosemary on lamb chops. The chops are rubbed with the herbs, fennel seeds, garlic, salt and pepper and then quickly grilled.

Chops ready for the grill

I served these with pouch-grilled fingerling potatoes: On a double layer of heavy-duty foil, combine fingerling potatoes (halved lengthwise) with olive oil, some garlic cloves (unpeeled), coarse salt, freshly ground pepper and fresh herbs. Fold foil into a pouch and grill over a hot fire, turning occasionally, for about 15 minutes.

Herbed lamb chops with pouch-grilled fingerlings

Herbed Lamb Chops

Ingredients:

1 tbsp each of chopped fresh thyme, oregano and rosemary

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed

1 clove garlic, minced

½ tsp black pepper

¼ tsp salt

4 lamb chops, well trimmed

Preparation:

Mix together all ingredients and rub all over lamb. Grill, covered, on greased grill over medium-high heat, turning once, until desired doneness, about 8 minutes for medium rare.

From Canadian Living’s The Barbecue Collection

I don’t cook with buttermilk very often, and, when I do, I usually end up throwing out at least half the carton. But I have seen so many chicken recipes lately that use buttermilk as a marinade that I thought I’d give it a try. After making this recipe from the June 2010 issue of Martha Stewart Living, I think I’m a convert! I cut the recipe in half, because I was only cooking one chicken, and let it marinate for a full day. It was delicious – moist, flavourful and well-seasoned.

I served the chicken with an old favourite – the green bean and potato salad featured on the cover of the July 1994 issue of Bon Appetit. Laced with red onion and basil and dressed with a balsamic-mustard vinaigrette, this is a nice change from traditional potato salad. If you can’t find the recipe online, let me know and I’ll post it here.

Grilled Buttermilk Chicken

Ingredients:

4 cups buttermilk

15 garlic cloves

1 cup fresh rosemary or thyme

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

3 whole chickens (3 lbs. each), cut into 8 pieces each (then halve breasts on the diagonal)

Safflower oil, for brushing

Directions:

Combine buttermilk, garlic, herbs, 2 tablespoons salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper. Divide chicken between 2 baking dishes. Cover with marinade, turning to coat. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight, turning chicken occasionally. Remove chicken from refrigerator 30 minutes before grilling.  Heat grill to medium with direct and indirect heat zones. Brush grates with oil. Remove chicken from marinade, and pat dry with paper towels. Grill breast halves, thighs, and drumsticks, skin side down, over direct heat for 10 minutes. Flip, move to indirect heat, and grill, covered, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of thighs registers 165 degrees, 10 to 15 minutes. Grill wings over direct heat, flipping often, until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Serves 12.

From the June 2010 issue of Martha Stewart Living

Canadian Living featured this recipe from its new barbecue cookbook in the June issue of the magazine, so I thought I’d give it a try. While the end result was quite tasty, I would make a few changes to the original recipe. First, I don’t really understand why the recipe suggests cutting the steak into strip prior to grilling. To me, this is a recipe for dry meat, not to mention how tricky it would be to keep the strips from falling through the grill grate. So I left the steak whole and sliced it after letting it stand, tented with foil, for 10 minutes.

The second odd thing about the recipe is that the salsa is pureed in the blender. I did this and, while the result was flavourful, it was a strange pink colour and runny. A coarsely chopped salsa would have been much better. The barbecued vegetables turned out fine.

Finally, because the recipe calls for soft flour tortillas, these are more like fajitas than tacos. But maybe I’m just being picky; they did taste good!

Steak Tacos

Ingredients:

1 lb thin beef grilling steak, cut into 2-inch strips (I left the steak whole)
¼ cup lime juice
1 onion, sliced
2 sweet peppers, sliced
1 tsp minced garlic
½ tsp black pepper
6 flour tortillas

Serrano Salsa

4 tomatoes

2 serrano peppers, seeded (I used a jalapeno)
1 clove garlic
½ tsp salt
¼ cup chopped fresh coriander

Preparation:

Toss together beef, lime juice, onion, sweet peppers, garlic and pepper. Let stand for 30 minutes or, refrigerated, up to 4 hours.

Serrano Salsa: Core tomatoes and blanch for 1 minute; drain and peel. In blender (although I think it would be better roughly chopped), purée together tomatoes, serrano peppers, garlic and salt. Stir in coriander.

Grill steak, onion and peppers on greased grill over high heat, turning once, until onion and peppers are soft and grill-marked, and steak is rare to medium-rare, 3 to 4 minutes. Slice peppers. Serve steak, onion and peppers in tortillas with Serrano Salsa.

From the June 2010 issue of Canadian Living