Eye for a Recipe

This simple dish from Grilling magazine makes a great appetizer or main course. Make the citrus-chile dressing and use half to marinate uncooked, shell-on shrimp while you preheat the grill. Grill the shrimp until cooked, 5-6 minutes. Add chopped cilantro to the remaining dressing and serve with the shrimp.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Look for frozen shrimp with only salt added. Use freshly squeezed lime and lemon juice; concentrates contain sodium benzoate.

Make the chile-lime dressing

Marinate shrimp in half the dressing

Shrimp with chile-lime dressing

Ingredients:

3 lbs (1.4 kg) uncooked, deveined large shrimp

¼ cup (60 ml) chopped fresh cilantro

Oil for grill

Dressing

1/3 cup (82.5 ml) freshly squeezed lime juice

1/3 cup (82.5 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice

½ cup (125 ml) olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tsp (10 ml) sugar

2 tsp (10 ml) coarse salt

3 fresh long red or yellow hot chiles, sliced thinly

Preparation:

To make dressing, combine all the ingredients. Place shrimp in bowl with half the dressing.

Prepare grill for medium heat. Brush grate with oil.

Grill shrimp in a grill pan or place shrimp on skewers. If using wooden skewers, be sure to soak them in water for an hour before grilling so they don’t burn up on.

Grill shrimp until cooked through, 2-3 minutes per side.

Stir cilantro into remaining dressing and serve with the shrimp. Serves 4.

From Grilling magazine

This recipe from Food.com is a great accompaniment to grilled meats and can also be a vegetarian main course. Combine cooked and cooled pasta with red onion, celery and fresh herbs and toss with a vinegar-mustard-mayo dressing. Cook’s note: I used green pepper instead of celery. Add the dressing while the pasta is still moist.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Use freshly squeezed lemon juice or pure white vinegar. I use President’s Choice Old-Fashioned Dijon and Hellman’s original mayo. Check the dried spices for colour and anti-caking agents.

Cool and creamy macaroni salad

Ingredients:

1 pound (454 g) elbow macaroni

½ small red onion, minced

2-3 celery ribs, chopped

¼ cup (60 ml) minced fresh parsley leaves or cilantro leaves

2 tablespoons (30 ml) juice from 1 lemon or 2 tablespoons (30 ml) white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon (15 ml) Dijon mustard

1/8 teaspoon (0.6 ml) garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon (0.6 ml) cayenne pepper

1 ½ cups (375 ml) mayonnaise

Pepper and salt to taste

Preparation:

Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Stir in 1 tablespoon (15 ml) salt and the pasta into the boiling water and cook, stirring often, until nearly tender, about 5 minutes. Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water until cool, then drain briefly so that the macaroni remains moist. Transfer to a large bowl.

Stir in the remaining ingredients and let sit for 5-10 minutes. If made ahead of time, refrigerate and stir again before serving. Serves 4-6.

From Food.com

This recipe from NYT Cooking takes advantage of the season’s ripe corn and juicy tomatoes. Layer corn, tomatoes, onion and fresh herbs on a platter and drizzle with salt and olive oil. Top with grilled chicken thighs coated with a dry rub of salt and chili powder. Cook’s note: I cooked the corn first and cut the kernels from the cob; I used kernels from two cobs instead of one. I omitted the oregano and added a chopped habanero pepper.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Check the chili powder to make sure it does not contain colour or anti-caking agents.

Layer the corn, tomatoes and onion

Grill the chili-rubbed chicken thighs

Serve the chicken over the corn, tomatoes and onion

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds (680 g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, patted dry

3 tablespoons (45 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing the grill grates

1 tablespoon (15 ml) chili powder

Kosher salt

1 ½ pounds (680 g) large ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 ear of corn, kernels cut from the cob (about 1 cup/250 ml kernels)

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh oregano leaves (optional)

Preparation:

Heat the grill to medium-high. In a medium bowl, coat the chicken with 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil, the chili powder and ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) salt; set aside. (You can do this step up to 1 day ahead; refrigerate and bring to room temperature before cooking.)

On a large platter, layer the tomatoes, corn kernels, red onion and fresh oregano (if using). Season with ¾ teaspoon (3.75 ml) salt and drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil.

When ready to grill, clean the grates with a grill brush or crumbled foil ball, then lightly grease the grates. Grill the chicken until browned and cooked through, and it releases easily from the grates, 5 to 7 minutes per side. (If flare-ups occur, move the chicken to an area of the grill with smaller flames underneath. For a gas grill, close the lid between flips, listening and peeking occasionally for flare-ups.)

Transfer the chicken to the platter. Let rest for 5 to 20 minutes before serving. Serves 4.

From NYT Cooking

This summer favourite from Kitchn has the unbeatable combination of cucumbers, sour cream, red onion and dill, with a bit of vinegar, oil and mustard added. Cook’s note: to reduce the salt in this recipe, rinse the cucumbers after they stand and pat dry.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

No-Name sour cream, Allen’s apple cider vinegar and President’s Choice Old-Fashioned Dijon mustard are all additive-free.

Sour cream and dill cucumber salad

Ingredients:

2 pounds (907 g) cucumbers (about 4 medium), peeled and thinly sliced crosswise

¼ cup (60 ml) sour cream

1 tablespoon (15 ml) apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil

1 teaspoon (5 ml) Dijon mustard

1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced

¼ cup (60 ml) chopped fresh dill

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Place the cucumbers in a large colander and toss with a couple of large pinches of salt. Set the colander in a large bowl or in the sink and let the cucumbers stand 30 minutes at room temperature to release some of their water. Meanwhile, whisk the sour cream, vinegar, oil, mustard, a pinch of salt, and a few grinds of pepper together in a large bowl; set aside.

Gently pat the cucumbers dry with a paper towel. Add the cucumbers, red onion, and dill to the dressing and toss gently to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Serves 6.

From Kitchn