Eye for a Recipe

This new take on the classic puttanesca sauce from Food and Wine is delicious. Cook linguine until just short of al dente and reserve some of the cooking water. While the pasta is cooking, sauté scallion bulbs, garlic, anchovies, capers and hot jarred chiles. Add wine and cook until the liquid is almost evaporated. Add olives and scallion greens, season with pepper and remove from heat. Add the cooked pasta and cooking water and toss until the pasta is done and lightly coated in sauce. Fold in arugula and parsley and serve.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

I used Unico anchovies, Unico capers and President’s Choice garlic-stuffed green olives. I couldn’t find jarred Calabrian chiles that did not have sulphites added, but I did find Tutto Calabria brand Calabrian chili sauce that was additive free, so I used it instead. I used a white wine from Frogpond Farm that has a sulphite level below 10 parts per million.

Cook onions, garlic, anchovies, capers and chilies in oil.

Stir in remaining ingredients and toss - fold in parsley and arugula before serving

Ingredients:

1 pound (454 g) uncooked linguine

2 medium spring onions

½ cup (125 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

6 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 (2-ounce/57 g) can flat anchovy fillets in oil, drained

¼ cup (60 ml) capers, drained

1 tablespoon (15 ml) finely chopped jarred Calabrian chiles

½ cup (125 ml) dry white wine

1 cup (250 ml) Castelvetrano olives, pitted and coarsely crushed

¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml) black pepper

3 cups (750 ml) loosely packed baby arugula

½ cup (125 ml) loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Preparation:

Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil over high. Add linguine; cook, stirring occasionally, until 2 minutes short of al dente (pasta will finish cooking in sauce). Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup (250 ml) cooking liquid.

While pasta cooks, thinly slice spring onions, separating bulbs from greens. Heat olive oil in a large, high-sided skillet over medium. Add spring onion bulbs, garlic, anchovies, capers, and chiles. Cook, stirring often, until spring onion bulbs are softened and anchovies are dissolved, about 5 minutes. Add wine, and cook, stirring often, until almost evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in olives and spring onion greens; cook, stirring often, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Season with black pepper.

Add cooked pasta and reserved cooking liquid to skillet. Bring to a simmer over medium-high; cook, tossing vigorously, until pasta is al dente and coated in a light sauce, about 3 minutes. Fold in arugula and parsley. Divide evenly among 4 bowls and serve immediately. Serves 4.

From Food and Wine

This quick and tasty one-pan meal from NYT Cooking is a great way to use up leftover rice. Cook the bacon until crisp and set aside. Cook the cabbage and scallions in the bacon fat and add ginger and garlic. Add rice, soy sauce and cook for a few minutes. Push the rice to one side of the pan and add eggs that have been blended with the cheese. Scramble the egg mixture, add peas and more scallions and mix everything together. Serve the fried rice topped with the crispy bacon and with hot sauce.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Use bacon preserved with celery salt instead of nitrites; I use Free From brand. Use tamari instead of soy sauce. Genuine Parmigiano-Reggiano is additive-free; look for the name stamped on the rind. Original Tabasco hot sauce is additive-free.

Cook the bacon and set aside

Add the egg and cheese mixture and scramble

Add scallions and peas and mix well

Serve with bacon on top

Ingredients:

4 ounces (113 g) bacon, sliced into ¼-inch-(0.64-cm-) thick strips

Neutral oil, if needed

1 pound (454 g napa cabbage, chopped into 1-inch (2.54-cm) pieces (6 packed cups/1.5 L)

1 ¼ cups (310 ml) chopped scallions

Kosher salt and black pepper

2 tablespoons (30 ml) minced garlic

1 tablespoon (15 ml) peeled minced ginger

4 large eggs

½ cup (125 ml) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

4 cups (1 L) cooked and cooled rice (such as jasmine or basmati), preferably day-old

1 tablespoon (15 ml) low-sodium soy sauce

½ cup (125 ml) thawed frozen peas (optional)

Hot sauce, for serving

Preparation:

In a 12-inch (30-cm) non-stick skillet, cook bacon over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden and crispy, 7 to 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and transfer the bacon fat to a small heatproof bowl (you should have about 3 tablespoons [45 ml] of bacon fat; if short, add enough neutral oil to make 3 tablespoons [45 ml]).

Return 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of the bacon fat to the skillet and heat over medium-high. Add cabbage and 1 cup (250 ml) of the scallions; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is tender and lightly golden and all the liquid has evaporated, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, and stir until fragrant, 30 seconds.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine eggs and cheese and beat until well blended.

Reduce heat to medium and add rice and soy sauce. Season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until well incorporated and rice is warmed through, about 2 minutes. Push rice mixture to one side of the skillet. To the empty side, add the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml) bacon fat and the egg mixture, and allow it to set a little before stirring. Cook, stirring occasionally, until scrambled, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir scrambled eggs and the remaining ¼ cup (60 ml) scallions and the peas (if using) into the rice mixture until well blended.

Divide fried rice among bowls and top each with some of the reserved crispy bacon. Serve with hot sauce. Serves 4.

From NYT Cooking

This healthy and tasty recipe from America’s Test Kitchen can be made in a toaster oven or regular oven. Combine chickpeas, tomatoes, water, shallot, oil garlic, lemon zest and juice and seasoning in a baking dish. Rub cod with oil and spices and nestle into chickpea mixture. Bake until the cod is just cooked through.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Blue Menu chickpeas are additive free. Make sure the dried spices don’t contain colour or anti-caking agents.

Nestle cod into chickpea mixture

Bake until the cod is just cooked through

Baked cod with cherry tomatoes and chickpeas

Ingredients:

15-oz can (443 ml) chickpeas, rinsed

6 oz (170 g) cherry tomatoes, halved

2 tbsp (30 ml) water

1 shallot, minced

3 tbsp (45 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, divided

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 ½ tsp (7.5 ml) grated lemon zest plus 1 ½ tsp (7.5 ml) juice

1 tsp (5 ml) ground coriander, divided

1 tsp (5 ml) paprika, divided

½ tsp (2.5 ml) table salt, divided

¼ tsp (1.25 ml) pepper

Pinch cayenne pepper

2 6-8-oz (170-226 g) skinless cod fillets, 1 ½ inches (3.8 cm) thick

1 tbsp (15 ml) chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation:

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 F (204 C). Combine chickpeas, tomatoes, water, shallot, 1 tbsp (15 ml) oil, garlic, lemon zest and juice, ½ tsp (2.5 ml) coriander, ½ tsp (2.5 ml) paprika, ¼ tsp (1.25 ml) salt and pepper in 8-inch (20-cm) square baking dish or pan.

Combine remaining ½ tsp (2.5 ml) coriander, remaining ½ tsp (2.5 ml) paprika, remaining ¼ tsp (1.25 ml) salt and cayenne in bowl. Rub cod with 1 tbsp (15 ml) oil and sprinkle with spice mixture. Nestle cod into chickpea mixture and bake until od flakes apart when gently prodded with paring knife and registers 140 F (60 C), 20 to 25 minutes. Drizzle with remaining 1 tbsp (15 ml) oil and sprinkle with cilantro to serve. Serves 2.

From America’s Test Kitchen