Eye for a Recipe

If you don’t have a barbecue (or if it’s raining, again) you can still enjoy a juicy steak, courtesy of this one-skillet meal from Bon Appetit. Whip up a tangy mustard sauce, sear the steak in a cast iron pan and, while it is resting, sauté the vegetables.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Dijon and wine vinegars often contain sulfites or sodium benzoate. I use PC Old-Fashioned Dijon and Eden Organic red wine vinegar. Check the cayenne pepper to make sure it does not contain colour or anti-caking agents.

Make mustard sauce

Sear steak, let it rest and then slice just before serving

Saute garlic and scallions

Add peas

Add asparagus

One-skillet steak and spring vegetables with spicy mustard

Ingredients:

1 pound (454 g) boneless New York strip steak, patted dry

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

5 garlic cloves, 1 grated, 4 thinly sliced

⅓ cup (37.5 ml) Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon (15 ml) sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon (5 ml) honey

1–2 pinches cayenne pepper

⅓ cup (37.5 ml) plus 3 tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil

1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced, divided

1 10-ounce (283 g) bag frozen peas

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces

Preparation:

Season steak all over with salt and pepper. Whisk grated garlic, mustard, vinegar, honey, cayenne, ⅓ cup (37.5 ml) oil, and 1 Tbsp. (15 ml) water in a medium bowl to combine; season spicy mustard with salt and pepper.

Heat a dry medium skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium-high. Rub steak all over with 1 Tbsp. (15 ml) oil and cook, turning every 2 minutes or so and making sure to get color on the fat cap, until medium-rare (an instant-read thermometer inserted into the centre will register 120° F/49° C), about 10 minutes. Transfer steak to a plate to rest. Pour off oil from skillet, leaving crispy bits behind.

Heat remaining 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) oil in same skillet over low. Add sliced garlic and all but about 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) scallions (save those for serving) and cook, stirring often, until translucent and softened, about 3 minutes. Add peas and a splash of water and cook, stirring and mashing to break up slightly, until peas are tender, about 5 minutes. Add asparagus; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until asparagus is just tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Slice steak and shingle over vegetables in skillet. Drizzle some mustard sauce over steak and top with reserved scallions. Serve with remaining mustard sauce alongside. Serves 4.

From Bon Appetit

Stir-fries are a great way to get dinner on the table in a hurry. This chicken stir-fry from Bonnie Stern’s Simply HeartSmart Cooking is not only quick and tasty, it contains only 278 calories per serving. This is a very adaptable recipe – you could use pork or seafood instead of chicken and any vegetables you have on hand. I omitted the carrot and used sliced red onions instead.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

I use tamari instead of soy sauce because it uses alcohol as a preservative instead of MSG, sulfites or sodium benzoate. I use Imagine organic chicken stock, Spectrum sesame oil and original flavour Tabasco sauce (instead of the hot chili paste). A recipe for homemade hoisin sauce is below.

Use the vegetables you have on hand

Stir-fry the chicken until lightly browned

Stir-fry the chicken and vegetables until cooked through and tender

Serve over steamed rice

Ingredients:

Chicken

1 lb (500 g) skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 tbsp (15 ml) soy sauce

1 tbsp (15 ml) cornstarch

Sauce

2/3 cup (150 ml) chicken stock or water

2 tbsp (30 ml) hoisin sauce (see recipe below)

2 tsp (10 ml) sesame oil

1 tbsp (15 ml) rice wine or sake

1 tbsp (15 ml) cornstarch

Hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon (15 ml) tahini

1 teaspoon (5 ml) five-spice powder

2 tablespoons (30 ml) light soy sauce

2 tablespoons (30 ml) rice vinegar

½ cup (125 ml) miso paste

¼ cup (60 ml) water

1/3 cup (75 ml) honey

1 clove garlic, microplaned

Vegetables and seasoning

1 tbsp (15 ml) vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tbsp (15 ml) finely chopped ginger root

3 green onions, chopped

1 tsp hot chili paste or Tabasco sauce

1 sweet red pepper, cut in strips

1 carrot, thinly sliced

1 bunch broccoli, cut in 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces

2 tbsp (30 ml) chopped fresh cilantro

Steamed rice for serving

Preparation:

Hoisin

Add all hoisin ingredients to a small pot. Whisk together and heat over medium low, stirring often, until thickened (approximately 5 to 10 minutes). Bubbles will gently start to rise to the surface and the colour of the mixture will start to darken slightly.

Set aside to cool.

For stir-fry

Cut chicken into 1-inch (2.5 cm) chunks. In large bowl, combine 1 tbsp (15 ml) soy sauce with1 tbsp (15 ml) cornstarch. Add chicken and toss to coat well.

For sauce, combine stock, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, rice wine and 1 tbsp (15 ml) cornstarch. Set aside.

To cook, heat vegetable oil in wok or large non-stick skillet. Add garlic, ginger, green onions and hot chile paste or hot sauce. Cook for 30 seconds

Add chicken to skillet and cook until lightly browned. Add red pepper, carrot, broccoli and ¼ cup (50 ml) water. Cover and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until chicken is just cooked through and broccoli is bright green.

Stir sauce well and add to the chicken and vegetable mixture. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve over steamed rice and sprinkle with cilantro. Serves 4.

From Bonnie Stern’s Simply HeartSmart Cooking

The Barefoot Contessa’s latest cookbook, Make It Ahead, contains make-ahead instructions for every recipe it contains. This garlic and herb roasted shrimp is a terrific dish and so easy. Melt some butter, add olive oil, seasonings and lemon zest. Pour over the shrimp and pop the dish in the fridge. When you are ready to eat, roast the shrimp for about 15 minutes. Serve with crusty bread or rice, and a salad or green vegetable.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Use butter that contains only cream and look for shrimp with no additives.

Mix butter, oil and seasonings

Pour mixture over shrimp and top with lemon slices

Garlic & Herb Roasted Shrimp

Ingredients:

¼ pound (125 g/1 stick) unsalted butter

2 tablespoons (30 ml) good olive oil

2 tablespoons (30 ml) minced garlic (6 cloves)

2 teaspoons (10 ml) minced fresh rosemary leaves

¼ teaspoon (1 ml) crushed red pepper flakes

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 large lemons

2 pounds (1 kg) shrimp, peeled with the tails on

1 teaspoon (5 ml) coarse sea salt

4 slices country bread, toasted

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 C).

Melt the butter over low heat in a medium (10-inch/25-cm) sauté pan. Add the olive oil, garlic, rosemary, red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon (5 ml) kosher salt, and ½ teaspoon (2 ml) black pepper and cook over low heat for one minute. Off the heat, zest one of the lemons directly into the butter mixture.

Meanwhile, arrange the shrimp snugly in one layer in a large (12-inch/30-cm) round ovenproof sauté pan (or 10 x 13-inch/25 x  33-cm baking dish) with only the tails overlapping. Pour the butter mixture over the shrimp. Sprinkle with the sea salt and ½ teaspoon (2ml) black pepper.

Slice the ends off the zested lemon, cut five (¼-inch/6-cm-thick) slices, and tuck them among the shrimp. Roast for 12 to 15 minutes, just until the shrimp are firm, pink, and cooked through. Cut the remaining lemon in half and squeeze the juice onto the shrimp.

Serve hot with the toasted bread for dipping into the garlic butter. To make ahead, prep the dish and refrigerate it in the pan. Roast before serving. Serves 4.

From Make it Ahead by the Barefoot Contessa