Eye for a Recipe

When I saw this recipe in the July 2016 issue of Bon Appetit, I knew I had to make it. Aside from containing so many of my favourite ingredients — roasted red peppers, basil, olives, cheese —it looks absolutely gorgeous. And you can even make it ahead! Bake red pepper halves with anchovies, garlic and basil and then top with a delicious basil oil, cherry tomatoes, cheese and olives. The recipe calls for ricotta but you can use bocconcini or buffalo mozzarella.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Make sure the anchovies and cheese have no preservatives added. I used President’s Choice garlic-stuffed green olives, which are additive-free.

Top halved peppers with anchovies, garlic and basil

Roast until tender and slightly charred on the edges

Top with cherry tomatoes, olives, cheese, basil oil and serve

Ingredients:

4 red bell peppers, halved, seeds and ribs removed

6 oil-packed anchovy fillets, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 cup (250 ml) basil leaves, divided

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons (30 ml) plus ⅓ cup (75 ml) olive oil

1 pint (500 ml) cherry tomatoes, halved

⅓ cup (75 ml) fresh ricotta

¼ cup (60 ml) pitted small black and/or green olives

Flaky sea salt

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375° F (190° C). Place bell peppers, skin side down, in a shallow baking dish and top with anchovies and garlic. Tear ¼ cup (60 ml) basil leaves over top, season with kosher salt and black pepper, and drizzle with 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) oil. Bake until peppers are tender but still hold their shape and are slightly charred around edges, 35–45 minutes. Let cool. Refrigerate if not serving right away.

Meanwhile, blend remaining ¾ cup (175 ml) basil and remaining ⅓ cup (75 ml) oil in a blender until smooth; season basil oil with kosher salt and black pepper.

Arrange bell peppers on a platter. Top with tomatoes, ricotta, olives, and more basil, then drizzle with basil oil and season with sea salt and black pepper. Serves 8.

From the July 2016 issue of Bon Appetit

This quick and tasty dish from Martha Stewart is cooks in one pan on top of the stove. Brown the chicken and set it aside, then sauté garlic, artichokes and olives. Stir in stock and thinly sliced lemon, return the chicken to the pan and cook until the chicken is done. Cook’s Note: If you can’t find frozen artichoke hearts, the jarred marinated ones work just fine.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Make sure the artichoke hearts and olives are additive free. I use Imagine Organic chicken stock.

Brown the chicken

Sauté the olives and artichokes

Add the stock and lemons, return chicken to pan and simmer until done

Braised chicken with artichokes, olives and lemon

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (3 ½ pounds/1.6 kg), cut into 8 pieces and patted dry

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

12 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly smashed

9 ounces (255 g) frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and halved

6 ounces (170 g) green olives, such as Castelvetrano (1 cup/250 ml)

1 tablespoon (15 ml) chopped fresh oregano, plus leaves for serving

2 tablespoons (30 ml) all-purpose flour

2 cups (500 ml) low-sodium chicken broth

1 small lemon, sliced into paper-thin rounds

Cooked orzo, for serving

Preparation:

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a large straight-sided skillet over medium-high. Add oil, then chicken, skin-side down, in a single layer. Cook, turning, until browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic and artichokes; cook until golden brown in places, 5 to 7 minutes. Add olives, oregano, and flour; cook, stirring constantly, 30 seconds. Stir in broth and lemon, scraping browned bits from bottom of pan. Return chicken, skin side up, and any juices to pan; bring to a simmer. Partially cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of chicken (without touching bone) registers 165 degrees F (74 C), 10 to 12 minutes. Remove lid; continue simmering until sauce thickens slightly. Serve over orzo, sprinkled with oregano leaves. Serves 4.

From Martha Stewart Living

This pasta dish from Martha Stewart Living is quick and tasty. Roast eggplant and tomatoes, sauté some sausage meat and then combine with cooked pasta, olives and cheese. Cook’s note: Smaller Japanese eggplants are best for this dish; if you can’t find them, slice a larger eggplant crosswise and then cut into coin-sized pieces.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Use sausage and olives with no additives or preservatives and cheese that does not contain colour.

Roast the eggplant and tomatoes

Remove sausage meat from casings and saute

Penne with roasted eggplant, tomatoes, sausage and olives

Ingredients:

4 cups (1 L) cherry tomatoes, preferably a mix of red, orange, and yellow

4 Japanese eggplants, cut crosswise into ½ -inch (1.27 cm) rounds

4 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled

2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1 pound (450 g) penne

4 links sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed

1 cup (250 ml) pitted Kalamata olives

½ cup (125 ml) grated Pecorino Romano, plus more for serving

Small fresh basil leaves, for serving

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (218 C). Divide tomatoes, eggplants, and garlic between two rimmed baking sheets. Drizzle with oil; season with salt. Toss to combine, then spread in a single layer. Roast until eggplants are tender and browned in spots, about 25 minutes.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add salt. Cook pasta 2 minutes less than instructed on package. Drain, reserving 1 cup (250 ml) pasta water.

Meanwhile, heat a large saute pan over medium-high. Cook sausage, breaking it into small pieces, until browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Add reserved pasta water; cook, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan, until almost evaporated.

In a large bowl, combine eggplant mixture, sausage, olives, pasta, and cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Top with basil and serve immediately, with more cheese alongside. Serves 4.

From the March 2015 issue of Martha Stewart Living

This recipe from Martha Stewart Living is perfect for entertaining. You can use a whole chicken, cut up, or chicken pieces. Roast the chicken with lemon and orange juice, wine, dates and thyme, adding olives partway through. Once the chicken is done, boil the sauce to reduce it and serve over the chicken.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Use fresh fruit and their juices. Dates may contain sulfites, so read the label carefully. I used a white wine from Frogpond Farm with no sulfites added and President’s Choice garlic-stuffed green olives.

Squeeze juice over chicken and nestle citrus wedges into chicken

The chicken takes about 40 minutes to cook

Roasted chicken with dates, citrus and olives

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (about 5 pounds/2.25 kg), cut into 10 pieces

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

3 tablespoons (45 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

1 lemon, quartered

1 orange, quartered, plus ½ cup (125 ml) fresh juice (from 2 to 3 oranges)

¼ cup (60 ml) dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc

12 large soft dates, such as medjool or khadrawi, halved and pitted

3 sprigs thyme

1 cup (250 ml) large green olives

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (232 degrees C). In a large roasting pan, season chicken with salt and pepper; drizzle with oil. Squeeze lemon and orange over chicken, then add fruit to pan. Add wine, orange juice, half of dates, and thyme. Roast 25 minutes.

Remove pan from oven; rotate chicken pieces if browning unevenly. Add olives and remaining dates. Roast until a thermometer inserted in chicken breast (avoiding bone) registers 160 degrees F (71 degrees C), about 15 minutes more. Transfer chicken and citrus to a platter.

Place roasting pan over high heat, mashing some of dates with the back of a wooden spoon, until sauce is reduced and thickened, about 3 minutes. Pour over chicken; serve. Serves 6.

From Martha Stewart Living

This is another recipe from the Barefoot Contessa’s new cookbook, Make It Ahead. It is very easy, nutritious and, of course, you can make it ahead. If you aren’t adept at making a good seal with the parchment paper packets, use a stapler!

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Use fresh lemon juice because the concentrates contain sodium benzoate. I use President’s Choice garlic-stuffed olives.

Place fish on parchment and add seasonings and olives

The fish will steam inside the parchment and be done in about 15 minutes

Herb-roasted fish

Ingredients:

4 12 x 16-inch (30 x 40 cm) pieces of parchment paper

4 8-ounce (250 g) boneless fish fillets, such as snapper or cod

2 teaspoons (10 ml) kosher salt

1 teaspoon (5 ml) freshly ground black pepper

4 tablespoons (60 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice

4 tablespoons (60 ml) good olive oil

8 large sprigs fresh thyme

8 large green olives with pits

2 egg whites, lightly beaten

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 C).

Place one fish fillet on a piece of parchment paper and sprinkle it with ¼ of the salt and ¼ of the pepper. Drizzle 1 tablespoon (15 ml) each of the lemon juice and olive oil over the top of the fillet. Lay two sprigs of thyme on top and place 2 olives next to the fillet. Repeat with the other three fish fillets.

Brush the egg whites around the edges of the parchment paper and fold in half. Carefully fold the edge of the parchment paper under and around the fish to make a package. Repeat for the other three packages. You can prepare the packages and refrigerate for up to one day. When ready to cook, place the package on a sheet pan and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until the fish is cooked through. Serve hot in the parchment paper. Serves 4.

From the Barefoot Contessa’s Make It Ahead

This one-dish meal from Real Simple couldn’t be easier to make. Toss quartered plum tomatoes, olives, garlic, oil and thyme in a roasting dish. Then add chicken legs and roast for about 40 minutes. The chicken is tender with crispy skin, and the tomatoes, olives and garlic are caramelized. I used thighs and drums instead of whole legs, and 1 tsp (5ml) dried thyme instead of fresh.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

I use the garlic-stuffed green olives from President’s Choice, which are free of additives and preservatives.

Nestle the chicken legs into the mixture of tomatoes and olives

Roast about 45 minutes

Saucy baked chicken legs with olives and tomatoes

Ingredients:

1 pound (500 g) plum or small tomatoes, halved if large

½ cup (125 g) pitted green olives

8 cloves garlic, quartered

2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil

1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh thyme leaves

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken legs

Kosher salt and black pepper

Bread, for serving

Preparation:

Heat oven to 425° F (218° C) with a rack in the highest position.

Toss the tomatoes, olives, garlic, oil, and thyme in a 3-quart (3 L) baking dish.

Season the chicken with 1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt and ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) pepper. Nestle the chicken, skin-side up, in the vegetables.

Bake until the chicken is browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest leg (avoiding the bone) registers 165° F (74° C), 40 to 45 minutes. Serve with the bread. Serves 4.

From the October 2014 issue of Real Simple

This is a great weeknight dinner because everything is roasted together on a single baking sheet. Inexpensive chicken legs, potatoes and olives are tossed with a mixture of bay leaf, fennel seeds and crushed red pepper flakes and then roasted for 35 to 45 minutes. For easy clean-up, line the baking sheet with non-stick foil.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Check the spices for colour and anti-caking agents. Olives may contain preservatives; I use Pilaros brand from Costco.

Toss the chicken, potatoes and olives with the spice mixture and arrange on pan

Cook until the chicken is done, 35-45 minutes

Roast chicken with potatoes and olives

Ingredients:

1 bay leaf, crushed

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes; plus more for serving (optional)

1½ pound fingerling potatoes, halved

½ cup pitted Kalamata olives

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 chicken legs (thigh and drumstick; about 3 lb.)

½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves with tender stems

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450°. Pulse bay leaf, fennel seeds, and ½ tsp. red pepper flakes in spice mill until finely ground.

Toss potatoes, olives, 2 Tbsp. oil, and half of spice mixture in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper.

Place chicken on a rimmed baking sheet and rub with remaining 2 Tbsp. oil; season with salt and pepper and rub with remaining spice mixture.

Arrange potato mixture around chicken. Roast until potatoes are fork-tender, chicken is cooked through, and skin is crisp, 35–45 minutes. Serve chicken and potato mixture topped with parsley, lemon zest, and more red pepper flakes, if desired; spoon pan juices around. Serves 4.

From the October 2014 issue of Bon Appetit

This recipe from the Barefoot Contessa is one of my favourite pasta salad recipes. Fresh tomatoes, black olives, fresh mozzarella and sun-dried tomatoes are tossed with cooked pasta and then dressed with a tangy vinaigrette. Top with grated Parmesan and chopped basil and you have a wonderful side dish or vegetarian lunch.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

It can be difficult to find sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil that do not contain sulfites. You can dry your own, or look for a sulfite-free brand, such as Mediterranean Organic. Check the ingredients on the olives and fresh mozzarella. I use Pilaros olives (available at Costco) and Tre Stella bocconcini cheese. Red wine vinegar can contain sulfites – I used Eden Organic brand. Unico capers are additive free. Make sure the Parmesan does not contain colour.

Fresh and sun-dried tomatoes, olives and fresh mozzarella

Pasta with sun-dried tomatoes

Ingredients:

½ pound (225 g) fusilli (spirals) pasta

Kosher salt

Olive oil

1 pound (454 g) ripe tomatoes, medium-diced

¾ cup (188 ml) good black olives, such as kalamata, pitted and diced

1 pound (454 g) fresh mozzarella, medium-diced

6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped

For the dressing:

5 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained

2 tablespoons (30 ml) red wine vinegar

6 tablespoons (90 ml) good olive oil

1 garlic clove, diced

1 teaspoon (5 ml) capers, drained

2 teaspoons (10 ml) kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon (3 ml) freshly ground black pepper

1 cup (250 ml) freshly grated Parmesan

1 cup (250 ml) packed basil leaves, julienned

Preparation:

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water with a splash of oil to keep it from sticking together. Boil for 12 minutes, or according to the directions on the package. Drain well and allow to cool. Place the pasta in a bowl and add the tomatoes, olives, mozzarella, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes.

For the dressing, combine the sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, capers, salt, and pepper in a food processor until almost smooth.

Pour the dressing over the pasta, sprinkle with the Parmesan and basil, and toss well. Serves 6-8.

From the Barefoot Contessa