Eye for a Recipe

Perfect for a weeknight supper, this recipe from Real Simple combines chicken thighs with a tangy zucchini salad. Pound the chicken thighs into thin cutlets so they cook quickly. I used green pepper instead of celery in the salad.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Black olives and Parmesan can contain additives and colour. I use Pilaros brand olives and President’s Choice Parmesan. Always use freshly squeezed lemon juice as the concentrates contain sodium benzoate.

Dress the salad 5 minutes before serving to soften

Chicken cutlets cook quickly

Chicken thigh cutlets with zucchini salad

Ingredients:

2 zucchini (about 1 pound/500 g), thinly sliced lengthwise or shaved with a vegetable peeler

2 celery stalks, thinly sliced

½ cup (125 ml) fresh parsley leaves

¼ cup (60 ml) pitted oil-cured black olives, halved

2 tablespoons (30 ml) fresh lemon juice, plus 1 lemon, thinly sliced

¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil

Kosher salt and black pepper

¼ cup (60 ml) shaved Parmesan

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, pounded ¼ inch (0.64 cm) thick

Preparation:

Combine the zucchini, celery, parsley, olives, lemon juice, 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of the oil, and ½ teaspoon (2 ml) each salt and pepper in a large bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes to allow the vegetables to soften slightly. Top with the Parmesan.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with ½ teaspoon (2 ml) each salt and pepper. Cook, in 2 batches, until browned and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to serving plates. Add the lemon slices to the skillet and cook just until browned and softened, about 1 minute.

Top the cutlets with the lemon slices and serve with the salad. Serves 4.

From Real Simple

Tagliatelle is a long, flat egg noodle that looks like fettucine. In this recipe from Lucy Waverman, it is paired with a delicious meat sauce. It’s a perfect supper for a stormy January evening.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

I used Unico tomatoes and tomato paste and Imagine brand organic chicken stock instead of the beef stock. Check the label on the mushrooms and cheese to ensure they are additive-free and do not contain colour. I used a red wine with a sulfite level lower than 10 parts per million.

Tagliatelle is a long, flat egg noodle

Brown the meat until no pink remains

Simmer the sauce

Tagliatelle with bolognese sauce

Ingredients:

½ cup (125 ml) dried porcini mushrooms

1 cup (250 ml) boiling water

One 796 mL can tomatoes

¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil

1 cup (250 ml) finely chopped onion

½ cup (125 ml) finely chopped carrots

½ cup (125 ml) finely chopped celery

1 tsp (5 ml) chopped garlic

1 tbsp (15 ml) chopped parsley

12 oz (375 g) ground beef

12 oz (375 g) ground pork

Salt and freshly ground pepper

½ cup (125 ml) red wine

1 cup (250 ml) beef stock

1 tbsp (15 ml) tomato paste

¼ cup (60 ml) whipping cream

Pinch nutmeg

1 lb (500 g) tagliatelle

½ cup (125 ml) grated parmigiano Reggiano

Preparation:

Soak mushrooms in boiling water for 20 minutes. Strain and reserve mushrooms and liquid separately. Finely chop porcini mushrooms and reserve. Strain tomatoes and reserve juice for another use. Chop tomatoes and reserve.

Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add onions, carrots and celery and cook gently for 10 minutes or until vegetables are very soft and beginning to brown. Stir in garlic and parsley and cook for 3 minutes more.

Add beef and pork and sauté until meat looses its pinkness, about 5 minutes. Add reserved mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Add wine and boil until wine is mostly evaporated and mixture is saucy. Stir in stock, mushroom soaking water, tomato paste and tomatoes.

Bring to boil, reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 1 hour. Re-season and add whipping cream and nutmeg. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes longer or until flavours are combined.

While sauce is cooking add tagliatelle to a large pot of boiling salted water and boil for 5 minutes or until tagliatelle is al dente. Drain well.

Toss tagliatelle with sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Serves 4.

From Lucy Waverman

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

Everyone should have a good spaghetti and meatballs recipe in their arsenal, and this one from the Barefoot Contessa is a classic. The meatballs, which contain three kinds of meat, are simmered in a savoury tomato sauce. Serve on top of cooked spaghetti and sprinkle with lots of Parmesan cheese. This recipe takes a little time to prepare, but your family and friends will love it!

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

White bread, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, nutmeg, red wine and canned tomatoes may contain preservatives, colour or sulfites. The bread and bread crumbs should contain only natural ingredients. I used a wedge of President’s Choice Parmesan cheese and red wine from Frogpond Farm that had no sulfites added. Buy whole nutmeg and grate it on a microplane grater – it will taste much fresher than pre-ground nutmeg, which can include anti-caking chemicals. I use Unico canned tomatoes, which contain only tomatoes and salt.

The meatballs are made with veal, pork and beef

Make about 15 meatballs, two inches in diameter

Brown the meatballs well

Saute the onion and garlic in the same pan

Deglaze the pan to incorporate the delicious brown bits, aka fond

Simmer the meatballs in the tomato sauce

Serve atop cooked spaghetti and sprinkle with Parmesan

Ingredients:

For the meatballs:

½ pound ground veal
½ pound ground pork
1 pound ground beef
1 cup fresh white bread crumbs (4 slices, crusts removed)
¼ cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 extra-large egg, beaten
Vegetable oil
Olive oil

For the sauce:

1 tablespoon good olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)
1 ½ teaspoons minced garlic
½ cup good red wine, such as Chianti
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, or plum tomatoes in puree, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For serving:

1 ½ pounds spaghetti, cooked according to package directions

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Place the ground meats, both bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper, nutmeg, egg, and 3/4 cup warm water in a bowl. Combine very lightly with a fork. Using your hands, lightly form the mixture into 2-inch meatballs. You will have 14 to 16 meatballs.

Pour equal amounts of vegetable oil and olive oil into a large (12-inch) skillet to a depth of 1/4 inch. Heat the oil. Very carefully, in batches, place the meatballs in the oil and brown them well on all sides over medium-low heat, turning carefully with a spatula or a fork. This should take about 10 minutes for each batch. Don’t crowd the meatballs.

Remove the meatballs to a plate covered with paper towels. Discard the oil but don’t clean the pan. For the sauce, heat the olive oil in the same pan. Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the wine and cook on high heat, scraping up all the brown bits in the pan, until almost all the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, salt, and pepper.

Return the meatballs to the sauce, cover, and simmer on the lowest heat for 25 to 30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through. Serve hot on cooked spaghetti and pass the grated Parmesan cheese. Serves 6.

From Family Style by the Barefoot Contessa