Eye for a Recipe

This dish from the New York Times is a great way to use up the last of the season’s tomatoes. Clean and debeard mussels (discard any that are broken or remain open), and cook the pasta. Meanwhile, create a delicious topping of capers, garlic and breadcrumbs. Cook tomatoes with garlic and hot pepper flakes and set aside. Cook the mussels in wine and oregano and remove them from their shells (discard any mussels that remain closed after cooking). Reduce the liquid and then return the mussels and tomatoes to the pan. Add butter, toss with herbs and serve topped with the breadcrumb mixture.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Unico and Savor capers are additive-free. Use a butter without colour and freshly squeezed lemon juice. I used PC Black Label panko bread crumbs, which are additive-free and a white wine from Frogpond Farm with a sulfite level below 10 parts per million.

Rinse and debeard the mussels

Make the breadcrumb and fried caper topping

Cook tomatoes and garlic

Add cooked pasta and shelled mussels

Top with breadcrumb-caper mixture and serve

Ingredients:

Salt, as needed

8 ounces (226 g) calamarata, rigatoni or other short pasta

4 tablespoons (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons (30 ml) drained capers, patted dry

3 garlic cloves, 1 minced, 2 thinly sliced

⅓ cup (85 ml) panko bread crumbs

Large pinch of red pepper flakes

2 cups (500 ml) diced ripe, fresh tomatoes (2 medium tomatoes)

Freshly ground black pepper, as needed

Fresh lemon juice, to taste

½ cup (125 ml) dry white wine

3 large sprigs fresh oregano or marjoram

2 pounds (900 g) mussels, rinsed and debearded

1 tablespoon (15 ml) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces

¼ cup (60 ml) torn fresh basil or mint

Preparation:

Bring a medium pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions until 2 minutes shy of al dente. Drain.

As pasta cooks, prepare the bread crumbs: In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons (45 ml) oil over medium heat. Add capers and minced garlic, and let sizzle for 30 seconds. Add bread crumbs, and fry until both crumbs and capers are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Scrape the crumbs and capers onto a plate, and season to taste with salt.

Add remaining tablespoon (15 ml) oil to pot and let it get hot. Add sliced garlic and red-pepper flakes, and let sizzle until garlic is golden at the edges, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until tomatoes have softened and start to lose their shape, about 6 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer tomato solids to a small bowl, add lemon juice to taste, and set aside.

Add wine and oregano to the pot and bring to a simmer. Add mussels, cover and cook over medium heat, shaking the pot occasionally, until mussels have opened and are cooked through, about 4 to 7 minutes. Transfer mussels with a slotted spoon to a large bowl, and let cool slightly. Discard any unopened mussels.

Simmer the mussels liquid until reduced to a glaze, about 5 minutes. Discard oregano sprigs.

When mussels are still hot (but not too hot to handle), pull meat from shells and add to the pot with reduced mussel broth (discard shells). Add pasta, tomatoes and butter, and toss well. Taste and add more lemon juice and salt if needed.

Transfer mixture to a shallow serving bowl and toss with herbs. Top with bread crumb-caper mixture and serve. Serves 4.

From the New York Times

Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes tend to be time-consuming, but the results are usually well worth the effort. This chicken dish is no exception. Caramelize onions and sear chicken thighs. Combine rice, currants, onions and chicken, add water, cover and cook for about 40 minutes. Delicious!

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Make sure the currants don’t contain preservatives and the spices don’t contain colour or anti-caking agents.

Brown the chicken

Caramelize the onions and add the rice

Place chicken on top, add water and simmer for a half hour

Chicken with caramelized onions and cardamom rice

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons (45 ml) sugar

2 ½ tablespoons (38 ml) currants

4 tablespoons (60 ml) olive oil

2 medium onions, thinly sliced (2 cups/500 ml)

2 ¼ pounds (1 kg) skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs or 1 whole chicken, quartered

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

10 cardamom pods

Rounded ¼ teaspoon (1 ml) whole cloves

2 long cinnamon sticks, broken in two

1 ⅔ cups (300 g) basmati rice

2 ¼ cups (550 ml) boiling water

1 ½ tablespoons (23 ml) flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped

½ cup (125 ml) dill leaves, chopped

¼ cup (60 ml) cilantro leaves, chopped

⅓ cup (85 ml) Greek yogurt, mixed with 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil (optional)

Preparation:

Heat half the olive oil in a large sauté pan for which you have a lid over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion has turned a deep golden brown. Transfer the onion to a small bowl and wipe the pan clean.

Place the chicken in a large mixing bowl and season with 1½ teaspoons (7.5 ml) each salt and black pepper. Add the remaining olive oil, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon and use your hands to mix everything together well. Heat the frying pan again and place the chicken and spices in it. Sear chicken for 5 minutes on each side and remove from the pan (this is important as it part-cooks the chicken). The spices can stay in the pan, but don’t worry if they stick to the chicken. Remove most of the remaining oil as well, leaving just a thin film at the bottom. Add the rice, caramelized onion, 1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt and plenty of black pepper. Drain the barberries and add them as well. Stir well and return the seared chicken to the pan, pushing it into the rice.

Pour the boiling water over the rice and chicken, cover the pan, and cook over very low heat for 30 minutes. Take the pan off the heat, remove the lid, quickly place a clean tea towel over the pan, and seal again with the lid. Leave the dish undisturbed for another 10 minutes. Finally, add the herbs and use a fork to stir them in and fluff up the rice. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Serve hot or warm with yogurt mixture if you like. Serves 4.

Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi

This excellent dish from Bon Appetit combines fall mushrooms with pasta and a creamy, buttery sauce. Cook the mushrooms in batches so they become crisp; if there are too many in the pan they will steam, not brown. Add shallots and prepare the pasta. Add cream and cooked pasta to the mushrooms and simmer for a few minutes before adding butter, parsley and Parmesan. The recipes also calls for lemon juice and zest, but I prefer this dish without them.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

If using lemon juice, use freshly squeezed juice, not a concentrate. Check the butter to be sure it does not contain colour. Genuine Parmesan is additive-free.

Brown the mushrooms

Creamy pasta with crispy mushrooms

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp. (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

1 lb. (454 g) mixed mushrooms (such as maitake, oyster, crimini, and/or shiitake), torn into bite-size pieces

Kosher salt

2 medium shallots, finely chopped

1 lb. (454 g) spaghetti or bucatini

½ cup (125 ml) heavy cream

⅓ cup (85 ml) finely chopped parsley

Zest and juice of ½ lemon

2 Tbsp. (30 ml) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

½ oz. (14 g) Parmesan, finely grated (about ½ cup/125 ml), plus more for serving

Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Heat 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) oil in a large pot over medium-high. Cook half of mushrooms in a single layer, undisturbed, until edges are brown and starting to crisp, about 3 minutes. Give mushrooms a toss and continue to cook, tossing occasionally, until all sides are brown and crisp, about 5 minutes more. Using a slotted spoon, transfer mushrooms to a plate; season with salt. Repeat with remaining 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) oil and mushrooms and more salt.

Reduce heat to medium-low and return all of the mushrooms to the pot. Add shallots and cook, stirring often, until shallots are translucent and softened, about 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until very al dente, about 2 minutes less than package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup (250 ml) pasta cooking liquid.

Using tongs, transfer pasta to pot with mushrooms and add cream and reserved pasta cooking liquid. Increase heat to medium, bring to a simmer, and cook, tossing constantly, until pasta is al dente and liquid is slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.

Remove pot from heat. Add lemon zest and juice, parsley, butter, ½ oz. Parmesan, and lots of pepper and toss to combine. Taste and season with more salt if needed.

Divide pasta among bowls and top with more Parmesan. Serves 4

From Bon Appetit

This delicious one-pan fish dish from Bon Appetit combines curry butter-topped fish with roasted vegetables. Cook the vegetables for about 35 minutes. Meanwhile, make the curry butter. Place the fish on the vegetables, drizzle with the butter and cook for about 15 minutes or until fish is done. Cook’s note: I omitted the fennel and mint.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Make sure your butter contains only one ingredient: cream, with no colour added. Check your curry powder to ensure it does not contain colour or anti-caking agents. To make your own curry powder, combine the following ingredients (also ensuring they are additive- and colour-free).

Place fish on top of roasted vegetables and top with curry butter

Roast fish with curry butter

Curry powder

2 tbsp (30 ml) ground cumin

1 tsp (5 ml) crushed or ground fenugreek seed

1 tsp (5 ml) ground ginger

¼ tsp (1 ml) crushed dried dill

¼ tsp (1 ml) ground mace

¼ tsp (1 ml) ground cardamom

¼ tsp (1 ml) dried mustard

1/8 tsp (0.5 ml) ground turmeric

¼ tsp (1 ml) freshly ground pepper

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Roast fish with curry butter

Ingredients:

1 fennel bulb, sliced

1 large red onion, cut through root end into 8 wedges

1 lb. (454 g) baby Yukon Gold potatoes, halved if large

3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

4 Tbsp. (60 ml) unsalted butter

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 ½-inch (3.8-cm) piece ginger, peeled, finely chopped

1 tsp. (5 ml) curry powder

1¼ lb. (567 g) piece cod, hake, haddock, or pollock

Mint (for serving)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425° F (218° C) . Toss fennel, onion, potatoes, and oil in a 3-qt. (3 L) baking dish to coat; season with salt. Roast, tossing once, until vegetables are browned and softened, 35–40 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Mix in garlic, ginger, curry powder, and a pinch of salt. Simmer until color intensifies, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Season fish with salt and lay on top of cooked vegetables. Drizzle fish with curry butter. Reduce oven temperature to 350° F (176° C)  and bake fish until flesh easily flakes apart with a fork, 12–15 minutes.

Serve vegetables and fish with mint scattered over. Serves 4.

From Bon Appetit

This recipe for the New York Times is a Korean dish also known as cheese buldak. It sounds a little strange to melt cheese over chicken, but it is delicious and the version made by Internet star Emily Kim (aka Maangchi) has had seven million views on YouTube! I used regular hot pepper flakes and Sriracha instead of the Korean hot pepper flakes and red-pepper paste. The rice cakes are optional.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Check the red-pepper flakes and red-pepper paste for additives and colour. I used Simply Organic sriracha as a substitute for the gochujang and tamari instead of soy sauce. No-name pizza mozzarella is an additive-free low-moisture cheese.

Stir fry the chicken

Place the sliced cheese on top

Broil until melted and beginning to brown

Fire chicken

Ingredients:

¼  cup (60 ml) gochugaru (Korean red-pepper flakes)

2  tablespoons (30 ml) gochujang (Korean red-pepper paste)

3  tablespoons (45 ml) light brown sugar

3  cloves garlic, peeled and minced (about 2 tablespoons/30 ml)

1  (1-inch/2.54-cm) piece ginger, peeled and minced (about 1 tablespoon)

1  tablespoon (15 ml) soy sauce

½  teaspoon (2.5 ml) freshly ground black pepper

1 pound (454 g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into ¾-inch cubes

2  tablespoons (30 ml) neutral oil, such as canola or peanut

4  ounces (113 g) sliced Korean rice cakes (optional)

6 to 8  ounces (170 to 226 g) low-moisture mozzarella, thinly sliced

2  scallions, sliced, for garnish

Preparation:

Combine the gochugaru, gochujang, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, soy sauce and black pepper in a medium bowl and mix well. Add the chicken and stir until it is well coated.

If you’re using the rice cakes, swirl the oil into a large, oven-safe skillet set over medium-high heat and wait for it to shimmer. Add the rice cakes and cook, turning the cakes often, until they are a little crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the rice cakes to a small bowl and set aside. If you’re not using rice cakes, simply swirl the oil into the pan and move along to the next step.

Add the chicken mixture to the pan along with ¼ cup (60 ml) water. Cover and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring in the rice cakes halfway through, if using. Meanwhile, heat the broiler in your oven.

Remove the chicken from the heat. Cover the pan with the sliced mozzarella, then slide the pan under the broiler. Cook until the cheese has melted and browned in spots, about 2 minutes. Remove from the oven, and sprinkle with scallions. Serve immediately, with rice. Serves 4.

From the New York Times