Archive for May, 2019

This Asian-inspired take on wedge salad from Food and Drink is a tasty vegetarian dish. Make the sesame-soy dressing, sauté mushrooms, scallions and ginger and set aside. Cut cabbage into wedges and top with the dressing, mushroom mixture and other ingredients. For a heartier main-course salad, add 1 cup (250 ml) cooked shelled edamame or 1½ cups (375 ml) shredded cooked chicken or cooked shrimp.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

I used Marukan rice vinegar, tamari instead of soy sauce and all-natural peanut butter.

Cut cabbage into wedges

Make dressing

Sauté mushrooms, onions and ginger

Top cabbage with mushroom mixture, dressing and garnishes

Ingredients:

Sesame-soy dressing

⅓ cup (80 ml) cold-pressed soybean or canola oil

¼ cup (60 ml) unseasoned rice vinegar

2 tbsp (30 ml) soy sauce

2 tbsp (30 ml) tahini or peanut butter

1 tbsp (15 ml) honey

2 tsp (10 ml) sesame oil

Hot pepper sauce

Salad

1 tbsp (15 ml) sesame seeds

2 tbsp (30 ml) cold-pressed soybean or canola oil

8 oz (225 g) cremini or white mushrooms, sliced

2 green onions, sliced

1 tbsp (15 ml) minced ginger

½ Savoy or green cabbage

Sesame-soy dressing

½ English cucumber, julienned

¼ cup (60 ml) fresh cilantro leaves, torn

Radish or mixed microgreens or seedlings

Chopped peanuts

Preparation:

For the dressing, combine soybean oil, vinegar, soy sauce, tahini, honey and sesame oil in a tall cup to use an immersion blender, or in an upright blender, and purée until thick and emulsified. Season to taste with hot pepper sauce. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week (let warm slightly before using).

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add sesame seeds and toast, stirring, for about 3 minutes or until golden and fragrant. Immediately transfer to a bowl and let cool.

Return skillet to medium-high heat and add oil. Sauté mushrooms for about 6 minutes or until liquid is released and almost evaporated. Add green onions and ginger and sauté for 2 minutes or until mushrooms are lightly browned and onions are softened. Transfer to a bowl and let cool slightly.

Cut cabbage half vertically into 8 wedges and arrange on 4 serving plates, overlapping slightly. Pour Sesame-Soy Dressing over cabbage wedges, dividing equally, then top with mushroom mixture, carrot and cucumber. Sprinkle with cilantro, microgreens, peanuts and reserved sesame seeds. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

From Food and Drink

This tasty recipe from Real Simple combines spicy chorizo sausage with chicken thighs, scallions, red onion and garlic. Serve with a rice-pasta pilaf.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

I used PC chorizo, which is nitrite-free and Imagine Organic chicken stock.

Cook the dried pasta until brown and combine with the rice before adding water

Brown the chorizo

Put onions and chorizo into pan and place browned chicken on top, then roast until chicken is done

Garnish with scallion greens and serve with pilaf

Ingredients:

4 ounces (113 g) dry-cured Spanish chorizo, cut into ¼-in (0.63-cm) pieces

4 6-oz. (170 g) bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

¾ (3.75 ml) teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon (5 ml) kosher salt, divided

1½ pounds (680 g) spring onions (about 4 bunches), bottoms halved lengthwise, tops thinly sliced

1 small red onion, cut into ½-in (1.27-cm_ wedges

6 cloves garlic, smashed

1 tablespoon (15 ml_ olive oil

1 ounce (28 g) angel hair pasta, broken into 2-in (5-cm) pieces

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

1 cup (250 ml) long-grain white rice

2 cups (500 ml) low-sodium chicken broth

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450°F (232°C) Cook chorizo in a 12-inch (30 cm) cast-iron skillet over medium-high, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate using a slotted spoon.

Season chicken with pepper and ¾ tsp (3.75 ml) salt. Add to skillet, skin side down, and cook until skin is browned and crisp, about 6 minutes. Transfer to plate with chorizo.

Add halved spring onion bottoms, red onion, garlic, and chorizo to skillet and stir to combine. Place chicken, skin side up, on top of mixture and transfer skillet to oven. Roast until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of thighs registers 165°F (74°C), about 15 minutes. Remove from oven.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium pot over medium-high. Add pasta and cook, stirring often, until browned, about 2 minutes. Stir in yellow onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in rice, broth, and remaining ¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml) salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, covered, until rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 3 minutes.

Top chicken with spring onion tops and serve with rice pilaf. Serves 4.

From Real Simple

This excellent recipe from Bon Appetit is great Sunday dinner comfort food. Grind coriander and fennel seeds, combine with citrus zest, oil pepper flakes and paprika and rub the mixture over the chicken. Roast the chicken in water, wine, tomato paste and garlic. While the chicken rests, strain the sauce and pour over the chicken and potatoes. Cook’s note: I used regular paprika instead of smoked paprika. Be sure to add water partway through roasting to keep the sauce from evaporating.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Check the spices to make sure they don’t contain colour or anti-caking agents. I used a white wine from Frogpond Farm with a sulfite count of less than 10 parts per million and Imagine Organic chicken stock. The No Name and Unico brands of tomato paste are additive-free.

Crush coriander and fennel seeds

Rub spiced oil into chicken

While the cooked chicken stands, strain the sauce

Citrus-and-chile-rubbed chicken with potatoes

Ingredients:

1 3½–4-lb. (1.6-1.8 kg) chicken

Kosher salt

1 Tbsp. (15 ml) coriander seeds

1 Tbsp. (15 ml) fennel seeds

Zest of 1 small orange

Zest of 1 medium lemon

¼ cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp. (15 ml) mild red pepper flakes (such as Aleppo-style, Maras, or Urfa)

1 Tbsp. (15 ml) smoked paprika

¾ cup (180 ml) low-sodium chicken broth or water

½ cup (125 ml) dry white wine

1 Tbsp. (15 ml) tomato paste

4 garlic cloves, crushed

2 lb. (907 g) medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled

2 Tbsp. (30 ml) finely chopped parsley

Preparation:

Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season generously inside and out with salt. Tie legs together with kitchen twine. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and let sit 1 hour at room temperature.

Preheat oven to 425° F (218° C). Coarsely grind coriander and fennel seeds in spice mill or with mortar and pestle. Transfer to a small bowl and add orange zest, lemon zest, oil, red pepper flakes, and paprika; mix well. Pat chicken dry with paper towels, then rub all over with spiced oil.

Whisk broth, wine, and tomato paste in a cast-iron skillet or 3-qt. (2.8 L) enameled cast-iron baking dish to combine. Place chicken in the center and scatter garlic cloves around. Roast chicken, turning pan halfway through and adding an additional ¼ cup (60 ml) water if pan looks dry, until chicken is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of breast registers 155° F (68° C), 50–60 minutes (temperature will climb to 160° F/71° C as chicken rests). Transfer chicken to a cutting board and let rest 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, strain liquid left in pan through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof measuring glass or small bowl; discard anything in sieve. Taste; season sauce with salt if needed. Set aside.

Place potatoes in a large pot and pour in cold water to cover by 1 inch (2.54 cm). Add a large handful of salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are fork-tender, 25–30 minutes. Drain and transfer potatoes back to pot.

Cut potatoes into large pieces (or, if you can handle the heat, break up with your hands). Pour reserved sauce over potatoes. Add parsley, season with salt, and gently toss to combine.

Place chicken on a platter and serve potatoes alongside. Serves 4.

From Bon Appetit

This recipe from Bon Appetit is easy to make, quick and tasty. Blitz hot peppers, garlic, fish sauce, salt and oil in a blender and toss with raw shrimp. After the shrimp have marinated for a few minutes, cook them in a hot pan until cooked through and slightly charred. Add basil and toss until it wilts.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Cock brand fish sauce has no preservatives. Look for frozen shrimp with no additives. If buying fresh shrimp, check to make sure it has not been treated with a preservative.

Marinate shrimp in mixture of chiles, garlic, fish sauce, salt and sugar

Stir fry shrimp until cooked through and beginning to brown

Toss in basil, stir until it wilts and serve

Ingredients:

3 hot chiles, such as jalapeno, coarsely chopped

6 garlic cloves, smashed

¼ cup (60 ml) sugar

2 Tbsp. (30 ml) fish sauce

1 tsp. (5 ml) kosher salt

4 Tbsp. (60 ml) vegetable or grapeseed oil, divided

1 lb. (454 g) large shrimp, peeled, deveined

2 cups (500 ml) basil leaves (about 1 bunch)

Lime wedges (for serving)

Preparation:

Blend chiles, garlic, sugar, fish sauce, salt, and 3 Tbsp. (45 ml) oil in a blender until smooth. Transfer marinade to a medium bowl and add shrimp; toss to coat. Let sit 10 minutes.

Heat remaining 1 Tbsp. (15 ml) oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Just when oil begins to smoke and working in batches if needed, add shrimp, leaving marinade behind, and cook, turning once, until lightly charred around the edges, about 1 minute per side. Remove pan from heat. Add basil and toss vigorously until basil is wilted.

Transfer shrimp mixture to a platter. Serve with lime wedges alongside. Serves 4.

From Bon Appetit