Eye for a Recipe

Smoked salmon, sour cream with chives, a crispy potato cake — this simple but rich and satisfying combination would be a great dish to make for your valentine this weekend.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Use butter that does not contain colour and make sure the sour cream is additive-free. Look for naturally smoked salmon.

Grate the potatoes and toss with butter, flour, salt and pepper

Press the potato mixture into a heavy skillet

Cook until browned on one side, then flip and cook until done

Skillet Rösti with Smoked Salmon

Ingredients:

½ cup (125 ml) melted unsalted butter, divided

1 tbsp (15 ml) vegetable oil

3 russet potatoes, peeled, grated and squeezed dry in clean tea towel

2 tbsp (30 ml) flour

½ tsp (2 ml) kosher salt

¼ tsp (1 ml) black pepper

3 tbsp (45 ml) snipped chives, plus more for garnish

1 cup (250 ml) sour cream

Generous 9 oz (275 g) smoked salmon or smoked trout or gravlax

Preparation:

Add 1 tbsp (15 ml) melted butter and 1 tbsp (15 ml) vegetable oil to 8-inch (20-cm) skillet and heat over medium heat.

Add grated potatoes to a large bowl and toss with remaining melted butter, flour, salt and pepper. Toss until well combined.

Tip mixture into hot pan and press down firmly with hand or spatula to help it form a solid cake. Cook over medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes or until it is golden brown underneath (you can check the colour by gently lifting up the edge of the rösti with a spatula, but don’t do this too early as the rösti may come apart).

When nicely browned on the bottom, loosen rösti from the pan with spatula and slide it onto a plate (remember, the skillet handle will be hot). Place another plate on top and holding both plates together, flip them over. Carefully slide browned-side-up rösti back into the skillet and continue cooking for 6 to 7 minutes more, or until golden brown on bottom and cooked through. Remove from heat and slide rösti onto a serving plate.

Stir chives into sour cream.

Top warm rösti with curls of smoked salmon and dollops of chive sour cream, plus more chives for garnish if you please. Serves 2-3

From Food and Drink

This grilled chicken and corn dish from the August 2014 issue of Food and Wine is perfect for a late-summer lunch or casual dinner. Grilled chicken, corn and scallions are tossed with cherry tomatoes, herbs and a tangy jalapeño-lime dressing. If you want the dressing to be less spicy, don’t use the seeds from the jalapeños. Cook’s note – be sure to zest the limes before juicing them.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Use fresh lime juice, as the concentrates contain sodium benzoate and are very bitter.

Season the chicken with oil, rosemary, salt and pepper

Leave one layer of the husk on the corn and soak for 10 minutes

Grill the scallions for five minutes and the chicken and corn for 15-20 minutes

Grilled Chicken and Corn with Jalapeño-Lime Dressing

Ingredients:

Jalapeño-lime dressing

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons minced jalapeños (with seeds)

1 ¼ tablespoons kosher salt

½ teaspoon pepper

Salad

4 ears of corn

2 bunches scallions, halved

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

Pepper

Four 6-ounce boneless, skin-on chicken breasts

1 tablespoon rosemary leaves, chopped

1 pint Sun Gold tomatoes, halved

¼ cup thinly sliced basil

Chopped chives and finely grated lime zest, for garnish

Preparation:

In a bowl, whisk all of the ingredients for the dressing.

Light a grill. Remove all but the last layer of green husk from the corn. In a bowl, soak the corn in water for 10 minutes, then drain.

In a bowl, toss the scallions with 2 tablespoons of the oil; season with salt and pepper. In another bowl, coat the chicken with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and the rosemary; season with salt and pepper.

Grill the corn, scallions and chicken over moderate heat, turning occasionally, until the corn and scallions are lightly charred and the chicken is cooked through, 5 minutes for the scallions and 15 minutes for the corn and chicken. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes, then thinly slice across the grain.

Chop the scallions into 1-inch pieces. Remove the husks and cut the corn kernels off of the cobs. Transfer the scallions and corn to a large bowl; add the tomatoes, basil and half of the dressing and toss. Transfer the salad to a platter. Top with the chicken and garnish with chives and lime zest. Serve the remaining dressing at the table. Serves 4.

From the August 2014 issue of Food and Wine

Now that the weather is warmer, I’m craving potato salads and fresh herbs. This recipe from the May 2014 issue of Canadian Living includes both. Boiled baby potatoes, roasted salmon, hard-boiled eggs, chives, dill and sliced pickles are combined with a lemon-mustard dressing. Delicious!

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Be sure to use freshly squeezed lemon juice and a grainy mustard with no sulfites or sodium benzoate. I use President’s Choice Old-Fashioned Dijon. Instead of cornichons, I used dill pickles. Strub’s Kosher Pickles contain no preservatives.

For perfect hard-boiled eggs, cover eggs with cold water, bring to boil, remove from heat, cover and let stand 18 minutes

Boil baby potatoes until tender

Roast the salmon and flake it with a fork

Add herbs and pickles

Egg and salmon potato salad

Ingredients:

4 eggs

1 pkg (680 g) baby yellow-fleshed potatoes, scrubbed

400 g skinless salmon fillets

1/4 tsp (1 mL) each salt and pepper

2 tbsp (30 mL) lemon juice

4 tsp (18 mL) olive oil

4 tsp (18 mL) grainy mustard

2 tbsp (30 mL) chopped fresh chives

1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped fresh dill

8 cornichons, sliced

Preparation:

Place eggs in saucepan; pour in enough cold water to cover by at least 1 inch (2.5 cm). Bring to boil. Remove from heat; cover and let stand for 18 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool, about 2 minutes; drain again. Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Peel off shells; cut eggs into quarters.

Meanwhile, in large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes; drain. Let cool just enough to handle; cut into quarters.

Meanwhile, place salmon on parchment paper–lined rimmed baking sheet; sprinkle with half of the salt and pepper. Bake in 350 F (180 C) oven until fish flakes easily when tested, 12 to 15 minutes. Flake with fork.

In large bowl, whisk together lemon juice, oil, mustard and remaining salt and pepper. Add potatoes, salmon, chives, dill and cornichons; gently toss to coat. Scrape onto serving platter; top with eggs. Serves 6.

From the May 2014 issue of Canadian Living

I like the recipes in Real Simple magazine because 1. They are real simple, and 2. They combine ingredients in imaginative ways. I would never think to make a salad of oranges, endive, chopped almonds and chives, but it was delicious. Topped with simply prepared artic char and served with couscous on the side, this is a quick, easy and tasty supper.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Use a wine vinegar without sulfites added, and check the label on the almonds to make sure they have no preservatives added.

Chop almonds and chive for the salad

Separate the endive heads into individual leaves

The recipe calls for Arctic char, but almost any fish would work

Mix the salad ingredients together

Arctic char with couscous and citrus salad

Ingredients:

1 cup (250 ml) couscous

4 clementines or 2 small oranges, peeled and sliced into rounds

2 tablespoons (30 ml) sherry vinegar or white wine vinegar

¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil

kosher salt and black pepper

1 head endive, leaves separated

¼ cup (60 ml) chopped roasted almonds

2 tablespoons (30 ml) chopped fresh chives

4 6-ounce (170 g) pieces boneless, skinless arctic char or salmon

Preparation:

Cook the couscous according to the package directions.

Combine the clementines, vinegar, 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of the oil, and ¼ (1 ml) teaspoon each salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Add the endive, almonds, and chives and toss to combine.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

Season the fish with ½ teaspoon (2 ml) salt and ¼ teaspoon (1 ml) pepper. Cook until opaque throughout, 3 to 4 minutes per side.

Serve the couscous topped with the citrus salad and fish, drizzled with any remaining dressing. Serves 4.

From the April 2014 issue of Real Simple