Eye for a Recipe

This recipe from Kitchn is an excellent side dish or vegetarian main course. Cook orzo pasta and set it aside, then sauté diced sweet potato, onion, garlic, ginger and mushrooms. Toss with tamari, balsamic vinegar and oil and return the orzo to the pan, cooking until it turns brown and toasty. Add some chopped kale or other hardy green, heat until it wilts and serve.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Look for a balsamic vinegar that contains only naturally occurring sulfites and use tamari instead of soy sauce.

Sauté the yam and onion

Add the garlic and ginger and continue to cook

Add mushrooms, cook to soften them and then add cooked orzo

Add chopped kale or other hardy greens and heat until wilted

Ingredients:

Salt

8 ounces (227 g) orzo pasta

Grapeseed, peanut, or vegetable oil

1 large sweet potato (about 12 ounces/340 g), diced

2 medium onions (about 1 pound/454 g total), finely diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon (15 ml) peeled and grated fresh ginger

6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps diced

1 tablespoon (15 ml) balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons (30 ml) soy sauce

3 big leaves Swiss chard or kale, stalks removed and leaves finely chopped (about 2 cups/500 ml)

Freshly ground black pepper

Shaved Parmesan cheese (optional)

Preparation:

Heat a large pot of water to boiling and salt it generously. Cook the orzo until barely al dente, about 6 to 7 minutes. Drain and toss with a generous drizzle of oil so that the grains of orzo are lightly coated with oil; set aside.

Heat a large sauté or frying pan (the largest you have — you want plenty of room and hot surface) over high heat. Drizzle in a little grapeseed or vegetable oil (not olive oil — you want an oil with a high smoke point) and heat until very hot. Add the sweet potatoes and arrange them in a single layer. Cook over high heat until they begin to caramelize and turn brown, about 4 minutes. Flip the sweet potatoes and cook for 3 minutes more.

Turn the heat down to medium and push the sweet potatoes up in a pile against one side of the pan. Add the onions to the center of the pan and season lightly with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are beginning to turn brown. Add the garlic and ginger and stir them into the onions. Push the onions off to the side of the pan, next to the sweet potatoes, where they will continue to caramelize.

Add the mushrooms to the hot center of the pan and cook for 4 minutes without turning them. Stir the mushrooms and cook for 4 minutes. At this point everything should be getting well-cooked; the onions should be quite dark brown and the garlic should be golden and soft. The potatoes should be softening.

Whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, and 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of oil. Pour this into the pan with the vegetables and mix everything together, scraping the bottom as you go. Cook for 3 minutes.

Turn the heat up to high, as high as it will go. Add the orzo gradually, shaking in a cup at a time, and stirring and scraping constantly. Cook, letting the orzo get browned on the bottom of the pan, then scraping it up, for about 5 minutes. You are developing a little more color and flavor on the pasta, and helping all the flavors combine.

Add the greens and cook until they’re barely wilted, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat, taste, and season as needed. Serve hot, with shavings of Parmesan if desired. Serves 4-6.

From Kitchn

I love sheet pan dinners. A protein, some veggies a nice sauce and dinner is ready. If you line the baking sheet with parchment or heavy-duty foil, you can even avoid washing it! This recipe from Canadian Living is quick, healthy and colourful. Make a quick vinaigrette with wine vinegar, mustard and shallots and toss some of it with green beans and cherry tomatoes. Place salmon on the lined baking sheet, surround it with the beans and tomatoes and bake until the fish is cooked through. Top with olives, capers and parsley and serve.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

I used Eden Organic red wine vinegar and President’s Choice Old Fashioned Dijon. Unico caper are additive-free, as are Silver Leaf Kalamata olives.

Arrange salmon, beans and tomatoes on a lined baking sheet

Bake until the salmon is cooked through

Sheet pan Mediterranean salmon

Ingredients:

¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil

3 tbsp (45 ml) red wine or white wine vinegar

1 tbsp (15 ml) grainy mustard

1 shallot, finely chopped

½ tsp (2.5 ml) each salt and pepper

1 skin-on salmon fillet, about 1 lb (454 g)

¼ tsp (1.25 ml) each salt and pepper

3 cups (750 ml) green beans, trimmed

3 cups (75 ml) cherry tomatoes

¼ cup (60 ml) chopped parsley

¼ cup (60 ml) pitted black olives

Caper berries for garnish

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425 F (218 C). Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

For the vinaigrette, whisk together oil, vinegar, mustard, shallot, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Reserve ¼ cup (60 ml).

Arrange salmon, skin side down, on prepared pan; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss green beans and cherry tomatoes with remaining vinaigrette and then scatter them around the salmon.

Bake until fish flakes easily when tested and vegetables are tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Flake fish into large pieces. Sprinkle with parsley, olives and capers (if using).

Divide fish and vegetables among plates; drizzle with reserved vinaigrette. Serves 4.

From Canadian Living

This recipe from the New York Times is perfect for a quick weeknight dinner. Cook the noodles, make the sauce and set aside. Then stir fry beef, ginger and spices and set aside. Cook the vegetables, return the beef and noodles to the pan and toss with the sauce. I substituted red pepper for the carrots.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Use tamari instead of soy sauce, which usually contains sodium benzoate.

Make sauce

Cook noodles and set aside

Cook beef and set aside

Add vegetables and cook until tender

Return beef and noodles to the pan and add sauce

Beef and broccoli lo mein

Ingredients:

1 (8-ounce/227 g) package lo mein noodles

Salt

3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced

¼ cup (60 ml) soy sauce

¼ cup (60 ml) dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons (30 ml) canola or grapeseed oil

1 pound (454 g) chuck or rib steak, thinly sliced against the grain

1 (1-inch/2.5-cm) piece of ginger, peeled and cut into rounds

¼ teaspoon (1 ml) black pepper

¼ teaspoon (1 ml) red-pepper flakes

1 head broccoli, cut into small florets (about 3 heaping cups)

2 carrots, shredded

3 scallions or green onions, thinly sliced

2 to 3 teaspoons (10 to 15 ml) sesame oil (optional)

1 lime, cut in wedges, for serving

Preparation:

Cook noodles in a large pot of boiling, salted water until tender, about 4 minutes, or according to package instructions. Drain and rinse under cold water. Meanwhile, stir together the garlic, soy sauce and brown sugar, and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of the oil in a large wok or skillet until hot and shimmering. Add the beef, ginger, black pepper and red-pepper flakes, and cook until crisp on the outside but still pink inside, 2 minutes. Season with salt, and move to a plate.

Add remaining oil to the wok and heat until shimmering. Add the broccoli and cook, tossing until crisp-tender, 2 minutes. Add ¼ cup (60 ml) water and steam the broccoli until bright green and some of the liquid has evaporated, 2 minutes more. Add the noodles, beef, ginger, carrots and soy sauce mixture to the pan, and toss over medium heat until coated and thickened a little, about 1 to 2 minutes. Salt to taste. Sprinkle with scallions, and drizzle with sesame oil, if using. Toss to coat and serve warm, with lime. Serves 4.

From the New York Times

This recipe from the New York Times combines tasty chicken thighs with caramelized lemon and shallots, white beans and kale. Brown the thighs, then set aside while you caramelize the lemon slices and shallot. Add the beans and then the kale, which will wilt slightly. Return the chicken to the pan, heat it through and serve!

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Make sure the beans do not contain preservatives. PC Blue Menu beans are a good choice.

Toss the lemon and shallot with salt and pepper

Brown the chicken thighs and set aside

Saute the lemon and shallot

Add the beans and kale

Return chicken to pan, heat through and serve

Ingredients:

1 lemon, thinly sliced, seeds removed

1 shallot, peeled and cut into thin wedges

Kosher salt and black pepper

2 ½ pounds (1.13 kg) bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs or breasts (about 4 to 6)

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 (15-ounce/443 ml) can small white beans (such as Great Northern, navy or cannellini) or chickpeas

1 bunch kale, ribs removed, leaves torn into large pieces

Flaky sea salt

Olive oil, for drizzling

Preparation:

Toss lemon slices and shallots together in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper; set aside. (This will lightly pickle the shallot and soften the lemon while you cook the chicken.)

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add chicken, skin-side down. Using kitchen tongs or a spatula, press the chicken evenly into the skillet so it makes good contact with the hot surface (which will promote browning). Cook, resisting the urge to check too frequently, until the skin is deeply golden brown (think of the color of a well-baked croissant), 5 to 8 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken pieces. At this stage, most of the fat should be rendered and the skin should be crispy. Flip and continue to cook until pieces are cooked through, another 7 to 10 minutes.

Using kitchen tongs, transfer chicken to a plate to rest, leaving all the fat behind. Add lemon and shallot to the chicken fat, standing back if you need because it will sizzle. Cook, swirling the skillet, until the lemon has started to caramelize and brown, 3 to 5 minutes. (It’ll smell like a mix of lemonade and caramel.)

Add the beans to the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, until the beans have started to brown a bit and soak up all of that caramelized lemon chicken fat, 3 to 4 minutes. Working in batches, add kale and toss to wilt, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go.

Return the chicken to the skillet, along with any juices that have collected on the plate, and cook for a minute or two, just so everything gets to know each other in there.

Divide the chicken, beans and kale between plates, making sure to top each serving with a few lemon slices. Sprinkle with flaky salt and a final few turns of pepper, and drizzle with olive oil. Serves 4.

From the New York Times