Archive for February, 2021

This tasty stir-fry from NYT Cooking is a quick weeknight meal. Make a simple sauce of water and honey and toss the chicken in flour, turmeric and salt. Cook the chicken for a few minutes, add chopped asparagus and then the honey mixture. Cook for a few more minutes until the chicken is done and the asparagus is tender.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Check the turmeric to make sure it does not contain colour or anti-caking agents. I used Marukan rice vinegar.

Turmeric-black pepper chicken with asparagus

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons (45 ml) honey

¾ teaspoon (3.75 ml) black pepper, plus more to taste

Kosher salt

2 tablespoons (30 ml) all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons (7.5 ml) ground turmeric

1 pound (454 g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch (2.54-cm) pieces

1 tablespoon (15 ml) canola oil

12 ounces (340 g) asparagus, trimmed and thinly sliced on an angle

1 teaspoon (5 ml) unseasoned rice vinegar or soy sauce

1 lime, cut into wedges (optional)

Preparation:

In a small bowl or measuring cup, stir together ¼ (60 ml) cup water with the honey, pepper and ½ (2.5 ml) teaspoon salt; set honey mixture aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, turmeric and 1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt. Add the chicken and toss until coated.

In a medium (10-inch/25-cm) non-stick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high. Add the chicken and cook until the turmeric is fragrant and the chicken is golden brown on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Add the asparagus, season with salt, stir to combine and cook until crisp-tender, 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the honey mixture and cook, stirring, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in the vinegar, if using. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with lime squeezed over top, if you like. Serves 4.

From NYT Cooking

This simple but delicious butter sauce from New York Times Cooking can be used for any kind of fish and would also work with shrimp or chicken breasts. Melt butter and oil in an oven-proof pan and add garlic, sliced olives and fennel or coriander seeds. Cook for a few minutes and then add the fish to the pan, off-heat. Spoon some of the sauce over the fish and then bake until the fish is just cooked through, 10-15 minutes. Squeeze some fresh lime juice over the fish and serve with more sauce, garnished with fresh herbs. I used cod, green olives and cilantro.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Use butter that contains only cream, with no colour added. Check the olives to make sure the oil or brine they are packed in does not contain preservatives or colour.

Sizzle the olives in melted butter

Spoon the olives and butter over the fish

Bake the fish until just cooked through

Fish with sizzling olive butter

Ingredients:

¼ cup (60 ml) unsalted butter

1 tablespoon (14 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup (250 ml) mixed olives, such as Kalamata, Castelvetrano, Moroccan or Picholine, pitted and sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced or finely grated

½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) fennel or coriander seeds, coarsely crushed (use the flat side of your knife or a mortar and pestle)

4 (1-inch-thick/2.54-cm) pieces flaky white fish fillet, such as cod (about 6 ounces/170 g each), patted dry

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 lime wedges, plus more for serving

¼ cup (60 ml) chopped cilantro or parsley, leaves and tender stems

¼ cup (60 ml) chopped dill, leaves and tender stems

Preparation:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C). Heat a large, oven-safe skillet over medium. Add butter and oil, and cook until butter melts and starts to sizzle, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in olives, garlic and fennel or coriander, and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.

Season fish fillets with salt and pepper, then nestle them in one layer in the skillet. Carefully spoon some of the butter mixture over the fish, basting the fillets, then transfer pan to the oven.

Bake until fish is opaque and flaky, 10 to 15 minutes, basting halfway through. Remove from oven and transfer fillets to serving plates.

Squeeze a wedge or two of lime into the butter mixture and spoon sauce over fish. Top with black pepper, cilantro and dill, with extra lime wedges on the side for squeezing. Serves 4.

From NYT Cooking

This hearty vegetarian salad from NYT Cooking combines savory, sweet and tart flavours. Toss cauliflower with hot pepper flakes, coriander, turmeric, salt and pepper and roast for about 25 minutes. While the cauliflower roasts, make the vinaigrette: a combination of shallot, raisins, preserved lemon, vinegar, honey, oil, salt and pepper. Brown the halloumi in a skillet. To serve, toss arugula with some vinaigrette and top with cauliflower, halloumi and avocado. Drizzle with more vinaigrette and sprinkle with parsley. Cook’s note: I used baby spinach instead of baby arugula. To make a quick version of home-made preserved lemon, use a vegetable peeler to remove five long strips of lemon zest from a lemon. Squeeze the lemon into a small bowl and add the zest. Stir in a ½ tsp (2.5 ml) salt and ½ tsp (2.5 ml) sugar and let stand for about 30 minutes. Chop the zest finely and add back to the juice before using.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Check the dried spices to make sure they don’t contain colour or anti-caking agents. Check the raisins for sulfites and the preserved lemon and halloumi for additives. I used Eden Organic red wine vinegar.

Roast the cauliflower

Sear the halloumi

Toss the greens with vinaigrette and top with cauliflower, halloumi, avocado, parsley and more vinaigrette

Ingredients:

1 large head cauliflower (about 2 pounds/900 g), cut into 1 ½ -inch (3.8-cm) wedges

½ cup (125 ml) olive oil

½ teaspoon (2.5 ml)  red-pepper flakes

1 ½ teaspoons (7.5 ml) ground coriander

¾ teaspoon (3.75 ml) ground turmeric

Kosher salt and black pepper

1 small shallot, minced (about 1/3 cup/85 ml)

¼ cup (60 ml) golden raisins

1 large preserved lemon, seeded, halved, seeded, then very thinly sliced (about 3 tablespoons/45 ml)

1 tablespoon (15 ml) red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon (5 ml) honey

1 (8-ounce/226 g) block halloumi

6 ounces (170 g) baby arugula (about 8 packed cups/2 L)

1 large ripe avocado, halved, pitted and diced

1 cup torn fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves and tender sprigs

Preparation:

Heat oven to 425 degrees F (218 C) and set a large rimmed baking sheet on the middle rack.

In a large bowl, toss the cauliflower with 3 tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil, the hot pepper flakes, coriander, turmeric, 1 ½ (7.5 ml) teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon (5 ml) pepper. Transfer to the hot baking sheet, spread in an even layer and roast until browned in spots and crisp-tender, tossing once halfway through, 20 to 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the vinaigrette: In a small bowl, stir together the shallot, raisins, preserved lemon, vinegar and honey with 3 tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil, ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) salt and ¼  teaspoon (1.25 ml) pepper. Set aside.

Prepare the halloumi: Cut the halloumi into 3/4-inch (1.9-cm) cubes and pat dry using a kitchen towel or paper towels. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet over high. Add the halloumi cubes and cook, stirring frequently, until browned, 2 to 3 minutes. (You’ll want to be fairly attentive, flipping frequently, as you want to make sure the cubes toast without burning or melting.) Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and season with pepper.

Toss the arugula with half the vinaigrette until lightly coated and divide among plates or shallow bowls. Top with the cauliflower, halloumi and avocado. Drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette, sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately. Serves 4.

From New York Times Cooking

This fabulous recipe from New York Times Cooking, is quick, easy and creates a deeply flavoured moist chicken dish. Marinate the chicken in fresh tarragon, garlic, oil, salt and pepper. Toss onions will oil and spread out on a baking sheet. Add the marinated chicken and fresh herbs. Roast for about 35 minutes, drizzle with vinegar and serve. Cook’s note: I didn’t use vinegar. I also added some asparagus to the sheet pan for the last 15 minutes of cooking.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

The ingredients in this recipe are additive-free, except for the sherry vinegar. Either omit or use a wine vinegar with only naturally occurring sulfites.

Place marinated chicken, onion and herbs on baking sheet

Roast until chicken is done

Sheet-Pan Tarragon Chicken with Onions

Ingredients:

½ cup (125 ml) finely chopped tarragon (leaves and tender stems), plus 4 whole sprigs

2 garlic cloves, finely grated or minced

2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, more for drizzling

1 ½ teaspoons (7.5 ml) kosher salt, more as needed

½ teaspoon (5 ml) ground black pepper, more as needed

3 pounds (1.36 kg) bone-in chicken thighs (skin on)

2 large onions, peeled and sliced (about 4 cups/1 L)

4 thyme sprigs

Sherry vinegar, to taste

Preparation:

In a large bowl, stir together tarragon, garlic, oil, salt and pepper. Add chicken thighs and toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least six hours, and up to overnight.

Heat oven to 425 degrees F (218 C). Spread onions out on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss well. Clear spaces on the baking pan, then place chicken pieces in the cleared spaces so the onions surround the chicken. Strew thyme and tarragon sprigs over onions and chicken.

Roast, tossing the onions after 15 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and the onions tender, 25 to 35 minutes. If the chicken skin or onions are not as brown as you’d like, run pan under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes at the end of cooking.

Place chicken on a platter. Drizzle onions with sherry vinegar and more salt and pepper if needed. Spoon onions around the chicken and serve. Serves 6.

From the New York Times