Phyllo Wrapped Steelhead Trout with Saskatoon Savory Sauce on CBC's Weekend Morning Show. Something that any kid could make...

This morning I presented this dish for CBC's Weekend Morning Show, with guest host, Laurie Hoogstraten.  It really is very simple to prepare with impressive results. 


Phyllo Wrapped Steelhead Trout with savory Saskatoon sauce

1 fillet Steelhead Trout (naturally raised in Warren Manitoba, available at Gimli Fish, from Watersong Farms http://www.watersongfarms.com/)
2 cups sliced mushrooms (white button, crimini, shitake, chanterelles, etc.)
Optional:  1/4 cup chèvre in mushroom mixture
3 tbs butter (1 for sautéing mushrooms, and 2ish melted for buttering phyllo pastry
1 tbs olive oil
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 shallots, minced
Dijon mustard, to lightly cover the fillet
3-4 sheets Phyllo

Cut filet into serving sized pieces and set aside in the refrigerator. Thaw phyllo and prepare mushrooms as follows:

On medium-high heat, sauté shallots until translucent and add the mushrooms. Sauté until mushrooms are soft. Deglaze with white wine or Mirin (optional). Set aside and let cool.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. For the phyllo dish: Lightly coat the fish piece with Dijon Mustard and place on phyllo sheet, cut to fold and cover only. Top with sautéed mushrooms. Fold pastry over fish and mushrooms and brush with melted butter. Bake for 12 -15 minutes, until brown and depending on the thickness of the fish.

Saskatoon Sauce

1 cup Saskatoons (frozen, wild, available from Gimli Fish)
1 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
¼ tsp dried thyme
1 tbs Dijon Mustard
salt and pepper, to taste
½ cup red wine or port

Heat pat to medium high heat and add butter and olive oil. Add Saskatoons and cook until soft. Add mustard, seasonings and red wine. Cook until shiny. Serve over Phyllo Wrapped Steelhead Trout.

Enjoy! 

Later that day...

And for the D.A.Niels Tajine Cooking demo....

Moroccan Beef Stew (can use lamb)
2 lb beef roast, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 tbs ras el hanout
1-2 tbs olive oil
1-2 tbs butter
good pinch saffron
2 large tomatoes, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 green peppers, seeded and diced
1/2 - 1 cup prunes
2-3 tbs honey
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup red wine
salt, to taste
Slowly sauté onions on medium-low heat with olive oil until they begin to caramelize. Stir in Ras el Hanout spice blend. Turn up heat to medium-high and add butter and saffron. Brown meat well on all sides and add tomatoes and other vegetables. Add broth, prunes and honey. Add red wine and salt and let simmer for 1-2 hours, depending on using the tajine and toughness of the meat. Meat should melt in your mouth when done.
Serve with flat breads, rice, couscous or bulgur.
Enjoy!

Marak (Tajine) of Red Cabbage with Tomatoes and Olives
¼ cup olive oil 
1 medium head red cabbage (can use cauliflower), cored and small slice
2 tsp sugar
2 ripe or canned tomatoes, chopped (I’m using 2 tbs good tomato paste with tomatoes)
2 tsp hot smoked paprika
2 tsp toasted ground cumin
4 garlic cloves, grated into paste
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbs chopped flat leaf parsley
Juice of ½ lemon, to taste
 ½ preserved lemon (see chef for details)
12 green-ripe olives, pitted

1. Heat oil in tajine over low heat.  Add cabbage and sugar and cover with lid or with parchment paper and the lid and cook gently for 10 minutes.  Raise heat slightly and add a splash of water.

2. Add tomatoes and paprika and continue to cook, covered for a few minutes.
3. mix cumin and garlic and add with ½ cup water to tajine.  Cook gently for 20 + minutes.
4. Add the parsley and lemon juice.  Garnish with the slivered lemon and olives (or cook in with tajine).  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Saturday on CBC's Weekend Morning Show - Brandied Farmer's Sausage with honeyed apples

 I will be presenting the following recipe tomorrow on CBC's Weekend Morning Show with host Terry MacLeod.  This isn't your Dad's Farmer's Sausage.  It is, a take on a Spanish Tapa.  Great for holiday entertaining.

Enjoy!

Brandied Farmer’s Sausage with apples

1-2 Farmer’s sausages, sliced on the bias ~ 1”  ( I used Pioneer sausage, low salt easy peel)
2-3 apples, cut into thin wedges  (I used Granny Smith)
2 tbs butter (Local Notre Dame butter!)
½ cup honey
¼ tsp cinnamon
good pinch black pepper
Brandy, to deglaze (or your favourite non-cream liquor)  I used a Polish, Old Krupnik honey liquor

Heat skillet and add Farmer’s sausage and butter and brown.  Half way through cooking, add apples, honey and cinnamon.  Cook until meat is fully cooked.  Add Brandy or favourite liquor.

To serve, skewer or lay out on platter with toothpicks.

Later, I will be demonstrating Tajine cooking at D.A. Niels with the following recipes;

Moroccan Squash Tajine

1 small butternut, hubbard or winter squash, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 medium chopped red pepper
1/4 cup chopped black olives
1/4 cup chopped dates
1 medium onion, chopped
1 head garlic (loose cloves)
2 tbs olive oil
juice of half a lemon
1 tbs turmeric
1 heaping tablespoon Ras El Hanout *
Splash of Rosewater**
1/2 chopped pickled lemon (just the peel)***
Pinch of salt
Optional: eggplant, zucchini

Place all ingredients together in a casserole dish (traditional cooking vessel is a tajine). Cover and bake at 350F for about 45 minutes. If cooking on the stovetop, cook covered at medium heat for about 30 minutes or until the vegetables are fork tender. Serve with rice or couscous or bulgur.

Enjoy!

Osso Bucco

 
 1 cup all-purpose flour
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 pieces Beef shank (call for fresh at Millad's Grocery Mart on Notre Dame)

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

1-3 tbs butter

1 onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 lemon, zest peeled off in wide strips with a vegetable peeler
1 head garlic, cut horizontally through the middle
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 bottle dry red wine (use an Amarone related wine for fullest flavour)
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can low-sodium beef broth (I had homemade chicken broth on hand instead)
1 (28-ounce) can whole San Marzano tomatoes, hand-crushed

Put the flour in a large shallow platter and season it with a fair amount of salt and pepper. Dredge the meat in the seasoned flour and then tap off the excess (extra flour will burn and make the dish off-tasting).

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat and hit it with a 3-count drizzle of oil. Add the butter and swirl it around the pan to melt. Sear the meat, turning carefully with tongs, until all sides are a rich brown caramel color. Drizzle with a little more oil, if needed. (Do this in batches if the shanks are big and look crowded in the pot.) Remove the browned meat to a side plate. There will be a lot of flavor left over in the bottom of the pot. You're going to use that to create your sauce.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Using the same pot, sauté the onion, celery, carrots, lemon zest, garlic, bay leaves, and parsley over medium heat. Cook the vegetables down until they start to get some color and develop a deep, rich aroma. Season with salt and pepper; add a little oil if needed. Nestle the meat back in the pot. Pour in the wine and let it simmer down for 20 minutes, until the wine has reduced by half. Reducing is key for intense flavor. Add the beef broth and tomatoes and stir everything together. Cover the pot and put it in the oven. Braise for 1 and a 1/2 hours. Then remove the cover and continue to cook for another 30 minutes. The sauce should be thick and the meat tender and nearly falling off the bone.
Remove bay leaves.

Enjoy!