Eye for a Recipe

This recipe from Bon Appetit combines thinly sliced seared steak with gochujang, Korean hot pepper paste. Marinate the steak briefly before searing. Make a sauce with sesame seeds, garlic, gochujang, soy sauce, sesame oil, cider vinegar and sugar. Spoon half the sauce on a platter, top with thinly sliced steak and top that with the rest of the sauce. Serve with rice and lettuce leaves to use as wraps.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Gochujang usually contains preservatives, but I used O’Food brand, which is additive-free and available from Amazon.ca. Use tamari instead of soy sauce. I used Lee Kum Kee sesame oil and Allen’s apple cider vinegar.

Sear the steak

Make the sauce

Place sliced steak on top of sauce and top with more sauce and scallions

Serve with rice and lettuce to use as wraps

Ingredients:

2 1″- (2.54-cm-) thick boneless New York strip steaks (about 2 lb./900 g total)

2 Tbsp. (30 ml) Diamond Crystal or 1 Tbsp. (15 ml) plus ½ tsp. (2.5 ml) Morton kosher salt

2 Tbsp. (30 ml) vegetable oil

3 Tbsp. (45 ml) sugar, divided

2 Tbsp. (30 ml) sesame seeds

6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

¼ cup (60 ml) gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste)

2 Tbsp. soy sauce, preferably low-sodium

2 Tbsp. (30 ml) toasted sesame oil

1 Tbsp. (15 ml) apple cider vinegar

6 scallions, green parts only, thinly sliced

Flaky sea salt, cooked rice, and tender lettuce leaves (for serving)

Preparation:

Place the two New York strip steaks in a medium bowl; rub all over with salt, 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil, and 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) sugar. Let sit at room temperature at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, toast 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) sesame seeds in a dry medium heavy skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium heat, tossing often, until evenly dark brown, 5–8 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and add 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped, gochujang, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, apple cider vinegar, and remaining 1 Tbsp. (15 ml) sugar; whisk to combine.

Wipe out skillet and return to medium-high heat. When pan is very hot, cook steaks, turning every 2 minutes or so, until deeply browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 120 F (49 C)for medium-rare, 8–10 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes.

Spoon half of gochujang sauce on a platter. Thinly slice steaks against the grain and arrange on platter. Drizzle remaining sauce over. Top with 6 scallions, green parts only, thinly sliced, and sprinkle with a generous pinch of flaky sea salt. Serve with cooked rice and tender lettuce leaves alongside for making wraps. Serves 6.

From Bon Appetit

This is another great recipe from Jamie Oliver’s 5 Ingredients Mediterranean. Pull the sausage meat out of its casing to make meatballs, brown them and set aside. Cook vegetables and tomatoes, add feta and meatballs and bake for about a half hour. Cook’s note: I used finely chopped fresh onion, carrot and celery instead of frozen.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

I used Free From hot Italian sausages, Eden butter beans, Unico tomatoes and Krinos feta cheese. All are additive-free.

Remove sausage meat from casings and form into meatballs

Giant baked beans with sausage meatballs

Ingredients:

6 hot Italian sausages (1 lb/454 g)

12 oz (340 g) frozen or fresh chopped mixed onion, carrot and celery

1 x 24 oz (680 g) jar of giant butter beans or 2 x 15 oz (425 g) cans of butter beans

2 x 15 oz (425 g) cans of plum tomatoes

7 oz (200 g) feta cheese

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C). Place a large non-stick ovenproof frying pan on a medium heat with 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of olive oil. Pull the sausage meat out of the casings into rustic 1-inch (3-cm) balls and put straight into the pan. Brown all over for 3 minutes, then remove to a plate. Place the mixed veg in the pan and cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly, then tip in the beans (juices and all). Scrunch in the tomatoes through clean hands, season with black pepper, then bring to the boil. Finely break up and stir through half the feta, dot in the sausage meatballs, then coarsely break the rest of the feta into chunks and scatter on top. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden, thick and bubbling away. Serve as is or with a hunk of fresh bread for dunking and mopping up the sauce. Serves 6.

From 5 Ingredients Mediterranean

This recipe from Epicurious.com is a fast and delicious way to prepare fish. Pan-fry the fish and then add garlic, olives and rosemary. Add orange juice and stir. Divide fish and radicchio among plates and spoon the warm vinaigrette over. Cook’s note: I used branzino fillets instead of black bass.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

I used Jesse Tree kalamata olives, which are additive-free.

Fish with warm rosemary-olive vinaigrette

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil

4 4-5-ounce (113-141-g) black bass fillets, skin lightly scored

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons (45 ml) black oil-cured olives, pitted, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh rosemary leaves

½ cup (125 ml) fresh orange juice

1 small or ½ medium head radicchio, leaves torn into 1 ½-inch (3.8-cm) pieces (about 3 cups/750 ml)

Preparation:

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Season fish with salt and pepper and cook, skin side down, until skin is golden brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Turn fish and add garlic, olives, and rosemary to skillet. Cook, stirring garlic, olives, and rosemary occasionally, until fish is opaque throughout, about 3 minutes.

Add orange juice to pan and swirl to combine. Divide radicchio and fish among plates and spoon warm vinaigrette over top. Serves 4.

From Epicurious.com

This recipe for Moo Goo Gai Pan from NYT Cooking rivals your favourite take-out version of the dish. Slice chicken breasts into strips and marinate briefly before browning and setting aside. Add the remaining ingredients in stages and stir fry them, return the chicken to the pan and add the sauce. Cook until the sauce is thickened and the chicken is cooked through and serve over rice. Cook’s note: I used snow peas instead of sugar snap peas and omitted the water chestnuts.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

I have never been able to find additive-free oyster sauce, so I make my own by combining 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of tamari sauce with 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of sugar and 3 teaspoons (15 ml) of cornstarch. I made chicken broth with Better Than Bouillon paste and used tamari instead of soy sauce. Lee Kum Kee sesame oil and M’Lord bamboo shoots are additive-free. I used Yoshi mirin instead of Shaoxing wine or sherry.

Moo Goo Gai Pan

Ingredients:

1 pound (454 g) boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 tablespoons (45 ml) oyster sauce

5 tablespoons (75 ml) neutral oil, plus more as needed

2 tablespoons (30 ml) cornstarch

1 cup (250 ml) low-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon (15 ml) low-sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon (5 ml) granulated sugar

1 teaspoon (5 ml) toasted sesame oil

¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml) ground white pepper (optional)

1 medium carrot, peeled and thinly sliced into coins

1 (2-inch/5-cm) piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced into matchsticks

12 ounces (340 g) white button or shiitake mushrooms, or a mix, stemmed and sliced

4 ounces (113 g) sugar snap peas, trimmed and halved crosswise

1 (8-ounce/227 g) can sliced bamboo shoots, drained

1 (8-ounce/227 h) can sliced water chestnuts, drained

2 tablespoons (30 ml) Shaoxing wine, or dry Sherry

Steamed white rice, for serving

Preparation:

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then cut crosswise into ¼ -inch- (0.6-cm) thick slices. Place in a medium bowl and add 1 tablespoon (15 ml) oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon (15 ml) oil and 1 tablespoon (15 ml) water. Toss, sprinkle on 1 tablespoon (15 ml) cornstarch and toss again until each piece of chicken is fully coated. Let marinate for at least 10 minutes or up to 2 hours; refrigerate if marinating longer than 30 minutes, but bring to room temperature 15 minutes before cooking.

In a medium bowl, whisk ¾ cup (187 ml) chicken broth, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, white pepper (if using), the remaining 2 tablespoons (30 ml) oyster sauce and the remaining 1 tablespoon (5 ml) cornstarch until combined. Set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of the oil in a wok or large (12-inch/30-cm) cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high. Once the oil starts shimmering, add the marinated chicken in an even layer, cooking in batches and adding more oil, if necessary. Cook until the edges of the chicken are slightly golden brown and the meat no longer sticks to the pan, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook until golden, about 1 minute more. Transfer to a plate.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of the oil, carrot and ginger to the wok. Cook, stirring occasionally, until ginger is golden brown, about 30 seconds. Stir in the mushrooms. Add the remaining ¼ (60 ml) cup chicken broth and toss until everything is well combined. Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced by half. (This happens very quickly, about 30 seconds.) Add chicken and any reserved juices, sugar snap peas, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts, tossing until combined. Increase heat to high. Add Shaoxing wine and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.

Reduce heat to medium. Whisk the reserved chicken broth mixture once more and add to the wok. Stir until everything is well combined, the sauce is slightly thickened and the chicken is fully cooked, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a platter and serve alongside steamed white rice. Serves 4.

From NYT Cooking