Eye for a Recipe

Merry Christmas everyone!

This quick dish from the New York Times turns a plain fish fillet into something special. Melt some butter and stir in garlic, thyme, curry powder, ginger and lemon zest. Pour the sauce on the fish, squeeze some lemon juice over the top and broil for about five minutes.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Use butter that contains only cream. Check the curry powder to make sure it does not contain colour or anti-caking agents. Use fresh lemon juice, as the concentrate is bitter and contains sodium benzoate.

Make the lemon-curry butter

Pour the sauce over the fish and broil

Broiled fish with lemon-curry butter

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons (60 ml) unsalted butter

4 garlic cloves, finely grated or minced

1½ tablespoons (25 ml) minced thyme leaves

1½ teaspoons (7 ml) curry powder

1½ teaspoons (7 ml) grated ginger

¼ teaspoon (1 ml) fine sea salt, more as needed

¾ teaspoon (3 ml) finely grated lemon zest

Ground black pepper, to taste

4 (6-ounce/175 g) blackfish, flounder or hake fillets

Fresh lemon juice, for serving

Dill fronds or fresh parsley, for serving

Preparation:

Heat the broiler. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in garlic, thyme, curry powder, ginger and ¼ teaspoon (1 ml) salt; heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in lemon zest.

Season fish with salt and pepper and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour sauce over fish and broil until fish is flaky and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Top with a squeeze of lemon juice and fresh dill, and serve. Serves 4.

From the New York Times

Who doesn’t love chicken wings? We do, but don’t like the mess and calories that go along with deep frying them. So I was happy to try this recipe from Mark Bittman, which cooks the wings either under a broiler or on the grill (I used the broiler). Toss the wings in a little oil, broil for 10-15 minutes on each side, toss with hot sauce and then return to the broiler or grill to make them brown and crispy.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Frank’s Red Hot sauce is additive free. Make sure your butter contains only cream. I used white vinegar.

Mark Bittman's Minimalist Buffalo Chicken Wings

Ingredients:

3 pounds (1.36 kg) of chicken wings

Neutral oil (like canola)

Salt & pepper

1/3 cup (75 ml) relatively mild hot sauce, like Frank’s Red Hot

4 tablespoons (60 ml) melted butter

1 tablespoon (15 ml) sherry vinegar or white vinegar

1 tablespoon (15 ml) minced garlic

Blue cheese dressing and celery sticks for serving (optional)

Preparation:

Pat the wings dry very well with paper towels (this will help them crisp) and, if the wings are whole, cut them into 3 sections, saving the wing tips for stock. Toss the wings with a little neutral oil to keep them from sticking, salt them lightly, and spread them on a baking sheet, leaving at least an inch of space between each wing.

Heat the broiler with a rack 4 to 6 inches from the flame. (Alternately, heat a charcoal or gas grill; the fire should be moderately hot and the rack 4 to 6 inches from the heat. Leave one side of the grill cooler for indirect cooking.)

Broil in the oven on a sheet pan until the wings are evenly well-browned and crisp, flipping them midway through. This should take 20 to 25 minutes overall, but will depend on the strength of your broiler, so peek often! (If using the grill, put the wings on the cool side of the grill. Cover the grill and cook, checking and turning once or twice, until most of the fat has been rendered and the wings are evenly well-browned and crisp, 15 to 20 minutes.)

While the wings cook, in a large bowl, combine the hot sauce, melted butter, vinegar, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste (you won’t need much).

When the wings are browned and crisp, add them to the bowl with the sauce, and toss to coat. Return the wings to the pan, leaving excess sauce in the bowl, and broil for a few minutes until sizzling and nicely browned on both sides, flipping once. (Or put the wings on the hot part of the grill and cook, uncovered, turning as necessary.)

Serve hot with the extra sauce on the side or, for extra spicy, saucy wings, toss back in the sauce before serving. Blue cheese dressing and celery sticks on the side are a good idea. Serves 4-6.

From Mark Bittman

Salmon with Winter Slaw

Amid all the holiday feasting, you may start to crave some lighter fare. This salmon with winter slaw, adapted from Canadian Living, fits the bill nicely. Whip up the dressing and mix it with the slaw; let it stand for 30 minutes to slightly wilt the cabbage and kale. Then roast the salmon until just cooked through. I used green cabbage instead of red and peanuts instead of cashews and they worked well.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Use natural honey and Dijon without sulfites; I use President’s Choice Old-Fashioned Dijon. Make sure the nuts, coriander and Parmesan do not contain preservatives or colour.

Dress the salad and let stand for 30 minutes

Salmon with winter slaw

Ingredients:

Dressing

¼ cup (60 ml) + 2 tbsp (30 ml) cider vinegar

2 tablespoons (30 ml) liquid honey

1 tablespoon (15 ml) Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) salt

¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml) pepper

½ cup (125 ml) vegetable oil

Winter Slaw

8 cups (2 L) packed thinly sliced red cabbage

4 cups (1 L) packed thinly sliced kale

1 cup (250 ml) raisins

1 cup (250 ml) chopped unsalted cashews, toasted

½ cup (125 ml) packed thinly sliced red onion

½ cup (125 ml) crumbled Parmesan cheese

Salmon

Skin-on salmon fillets (about 4.4 to 6.6 lbs/2 to 3 kg total)

1 (15 ml) tablespoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt

1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground coriander

½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) pepper

fresh parsley (optional)

lemon wedges (optional)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C).

Dressing: In small bowl, whisk together vinegar, honey, mustard, salt and pepper; gradually whisk in oil until blended.

Winter Slaw: In large bowl, toss together cabbage, kale, raisins, cashews, red onion and Parmesan; add dressing, tossing to coat. Let stand for 30 minutes.

Salmon: Meanwhile, arrange fish, skin side down, on large rimmed baking sheet; drizzle with oil. Sprinkle fish with salt, coriander and pepper, pressing lightly to adhere. Bake just until opaque, 8 to 10 minutes; turn oven to broil. Broil until fish is browned and flakes easily when tested, 4 to 6 minutes. If you prefer not to broil the fish, heat oil in an oven-proof skillet over high heat and sear the salmon for a minute on each side (start with the skin side up). Then place the skillet in the oven and bake until the salmon is done. Remember that the fish will keep cooking after you take it out of the oven, so don’t be afraid to remove it while it’s still slightly pink in the centre.

Sprinkle with parsley (if using). Serve with Winter Slaw and lemon wedges (if using). Makes 6 to 10 servings.

From Canadian Living

We love bagels, but it’s hard to find ones without additives and preservatives. So I was looking forward to trying this recipe in the Toronto Star, which is adapted from one in Feast: Recipes & Stories From a Canadian Road Trip. It takes a bit of time, but the results are worth it — the bagels are light and chewy with a hint of sweetness. Rolling the dough and forming the loops takes a bit of practice — not all of my dough loops held together — but they still tasted good! If you want your bagels to be less sweet, reduce the sugar by 1 or 2 tablespoons (15 to 30 ml). If you prefer a denser bagel, reduce the rising time to 30 minutes.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Make sure your oil and honey are preservative-free.

Mix water and yeast and let stand until beginning to foam

Once dry ingredients are mixed into wet, form into ball, knead for 10 minutes and let rise until doubled in size

Roll dough into 8 inch/20 cm lengths and form into loops

Boil bagels, four at a time, in honey-sweetened water

Then bake, changing rack position and flipping halfway through

Ingredients:

1- ½ cups (375 ml) warm water

1 tbsp (15 ml) active dry yeast

5 tbsp (75 ml) white sugar

3 tbsp (45 ml) vegetable oil, plus extra for coating dough

2 tbsp (30 ml) maple syrup

1 egg, beaten

4 cups (1 L) all-purpose flour, plus extra for sprinkling

1- ½ tsp (7 ml) salt

12 cups (3 L) water, for boiling

1/3 cup (80 ml) honey

Sesame and poppy seeds for garnish

Preparation:

In a large bowl or stand mixer bowl, combine water and yeast and let sit for about 5 minutes, or until mixture begins to foam (meaning yeast is active).

Add in sugar, oil, maple syrup and egg and stir until sugar has dissolved.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine flour and salt. Stir until well mixed.

With dough hook attachment on lowest speed, stir large bowl, adding in flour-salt mixture 1 cup (250 ml) at a time, leaving about 30 seconds between each cup. Using a spatula, scrape down any flour that sticks to the sides. Continue stirring until dough is sticky and consistent in colour without visible streaks of flour.

On a lightly floured countertop, place dough and sprinkle about 1 teaspoon (5 ml) flour on top. Knead dough for about 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic, adding more flour as necessary but don’t overdo it — dough should be sticky but pull away from hands and countertop easily. Shape dough into a ball and set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, add ½ teaspoon oil. Roll dough ball in bowl until covered. Cover bowl with damp tea towel or plastic wrap and let dough rise for 1 hour, or until it doubles in size.

When dough is nearly ready, in a large pot over high heat, add water and honey and bring to boil.

Preheat your oven to 425 F (220 C) with one rack at top and another on bottom.

Punch down dough, place on counter and divide it into 12 equal portions. Roll each portion into roughly 8-inch-long (25 cm) rope, then bring ends together, rolling ends until they stick together, forming a loop.

Using a large slotted spoon, place bagels gently one at a time into boiling water. Cook 3 or 4 at a time. Do not let bagels overlap. Boil for 90 seconds, flipping bagels halfway. Remove with the spoon and place on cooling rack.

Let bagels cool about 5 minutes. Coat with sesame seeds or poppy seeds.

On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, place bagels about 1/2 inch (1 cm) apart. Place on the top rack in oven. Bake for 10 minutes. Flip bagels and place sheet onto bottom oven rack. Continue baking until tops are golden-brown, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Remove bagels from oven, transfer to cooling rack and let sit 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Bagels can also be stored for several days in a zip-lock bag; allow to cool fully before bagging.

Enjoy with cream cheese and smoked salmon, tomatoes, avocado and/or capers.

From the Toronto Star