French Onion Soup - Comfort in the Cold

 In the midst of another blizzard and cold snap, French Onion Soup to the rescue!  First, the stock:

 

Beef Stock

2 (ish) kg beef bones for stock
4 carrots, peeled and large diced
3 celery, large diced
2 Spanish onions, large diced
4 tablespoons tomato paste (a Turkish or Italian variety is richest)
1 leek
1 bunch parsley
4 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
8 peppercorns
1 cup red wine

Method:
1. Place beef bones in a large roasting pan and roast in a 375ºF oven for 45 minutes, or until the bones begin to become golden brown.
2. Place the onions, celery and carrots on top of bones and place back in oven and roast another 30 minutes or until the vegetables begin to brown.
3. Coat bones with tomato paste and place back in the oven again and roast until tomato paste until it starts to brown but do not let it burn, approximately 15 minutes.
4. Place bones and vegetables into a large stock pot along with remaining ingredients. Cover the bones with cold water and bring pot to a simmer.
5. While bringing the pot to simmer, place the roasting pan over a burner and add the red wine. Scrape the bits from the bottom of the pan using the wine to deglaze the pan, add wine and bits to the stock pot.
6. Once water comes to a boil, set to a low simmer, and skim the stock of scum and fat for the first two hours.
7. Leave stock pot on a low simmer for about 4 hours. Periodically skim excess fat from the top of the pot and add water if necessary.
8. Remove pot from heat and strain stock through a fine sieve. Place into individual containers and store in the refrigerator for up to a week or the freezer for up to a month. 

Next, the soup

French Onion Soup

3-8 red onions, depending on size and personal tastes, shredded 

drizzle olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

sprig of thyme

a few litres beef stock

red wine, or cognac

toasts and cheese (Emmenthal, Oka, or other sharp white cheese)

Sauté the onions in olive oil until translucent and soft.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add beef stock and simmer.  Add wine or cognac.  Simmer for about an hour.

Prepare toasts with cheese.  Ladle soup into oven-proof bowls.  Place cheese toasts on top.  Broil until browned.  Serve and enjoy!

 

 

Squash Pancakes, a Korean snack in time for Hanukkah

 Happy Hanukkah!  A miraculous time of frying in oil!  

These light, vegan and gluten-free (if desired) squash pancakes are a Korean snack that work nicely as fried Hanukkah treat.

 

Korean Squash Pancakes

 

1 small squash, peeled, seeded and grated (not spaghetti squash, but most other kinds, including pumpkin.  Small, as in Acorn Squash, or enough to make 4-6 cups grated)

2 tbs sugar

1 tbs salt

Tamarack Farms Yellow Pea flour, to create batter texture. (May use AP flour, wild rice flour, rice flour, etc.  Use what you would for gluten-free cooking, or without regular flour. ) Quantity of flour depends on the amount of liquid in the squash.

 

I tested a few methods.  One recipe suggested not to grate the squash or put it through a food processor grater, as she didn't wish to clean it up, and recommended fine match-stick cutting of the squash.  I found that I had the best results with grating it.  

Grate the squash and mix with the salt and sugar.  Let sit for 10 - 30 minutes.  You will see liquid in the bowl.  You need the liquid.  

Mix in enough yellow pea flour or desired flour to make a batter.  Let the batter rest.

Fry pancakes in oil, until crisp on each side, about 6-8 minutes.  Enjoy immediately, with some soy sauce or hot sauce, or save for later service.

Enjoy!

Chicken Souvlaki

 There are many ways to prepare this dish, and there are many similarities between Turkish and Greek dishes. I’m using my Turkish Baharat but it is also excellent with Duq’qah. It is also one of the few recipes that I use chicken breast, but thighs are excellent as well. 

Chicken Souvlaki 

(Serves 4)

4 chicken breasts, cubed

1-2 tbs Turkish Baharat or Duq’qah (or a combination of cumin, mint, pepper, cinnamon, coriander)

1 tsp salt

3-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped 

Good drizzle olive oil 

2-3 tbs lemon juice 

Mix all ingredients together and let marinate, in the fridge, for a few hours. 

Fry or grill until fully cooked. Enjoy with pita bread and tzatziki. 

Easy and elegant saffron tomato scallops

 Easy and elegant seared scallops with a saffron tomato sauce 

(For 2-4 people)

4-6 scallops per person, dried well and seasoned with salt and pepper 

Available at Gimli Fish 

1 onion, thinly sliced 

2-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped 

Butter, for sauce and searing the scallops (1 tbs for sauce, 1-2 tbs for searing)

Good pinch of saffron 

1 cup of tomato passata or crushed tomatoes 

1/4 - 1/2 cup of red wine (alternatively, orange juice, for a lighter, summery flavour)

Favourite herbs

Salt and pepper 

Dry and season the scallops and set aside until the end. 

In a small saucepan, heat saffron and butter on medium heat. Add the thinly sliced onions and cook until translucent and beginning to brown. Add remaining ingredients. 

Heat pan for the scallops to medium high heat to high heat. Add butter. Place each scallop in the pan and let sear, without turning, for one- 2 minutes, swirling the butter around.  When they have developed a nice brown crust, turn them over and repeat. 

Serve the scallops immediately over the sauce, on a plate. 

Enjoy!

Roasted or grilled Duq'qah Spatchcock Chicken or Cornish Game Hen

 Impress yourself and your guests!  This is so easy to prepare, with excellent results.  

Duq'qah Spatchcock Chicken (or Cornish Game Hens)

1-2 chickens, depending on number of guests, or, generally 1/2 Cornish Game hen per guest

Dijon mustard, to coat the hens

Duq'qah (Dukkah, Duckah, etc), to coat the hens

drizzle olive oil

Sprinkle salt, to tastes

With Kitchen shears, cut out the spines of the hens, and reserve for chicken stock (in a freezer for later use).  Flatten the hens and coat lightly with the Dijon mustard.  Coat again with the Duq'qah and pinches of salt.  Chill until ready to cook.  

Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Place hens in a roaster or prepare for the grill, with a drizzle of olive oil.  Roast, flattened in the pan, for about an hour, or until the meat is loose from the bones.  If on the grill, heat low and slow and turn hens every few minutes, until cooked through.  

Let the meat rest.

Cut at the table.  Enjoy!

Live local, Love local, and how to make it

Tomorrow morning, I'll be on CBC Radio's Weekend Morning Show, with guest host, Marjorie Dowhos, to talk about our wonderful local products.

I'll be preparing a Mango Martini, with Get Cheeky Foods Mango chutney and Patent 5 Elettaria Gin, and two pizzas, with Old Church Bakery pizza dough.  The first is a Turkish pizza with blue cheese, Nature's Farm egg, and Fertile Farm microgreens.  The second pizza is with a Zinn Farm Berkshire Pork Tenderloin that I have marinated and BBQ'd, with hoisin and greens.

The farmers and producers that are vendors at St. Norberts Farmers Market come from over 30 communities across the province.  A couple of producers drive in over 3 1/2 hours for market day.  The economic and cultural reach of one market is more that just around the city of Winnipeg.

We are all lining up to go into stores.  This quick line up with vendors outside and under the canopy, is one line up for over 60 stores. 

Enjoy the recipes and thank you for supporting local.

 

Mango Martini

Juice of one orange (I used a blood orange)

1 -2 oz Patent 5 Elettaria Gin (or Patent 5 Vodka)

1/2 oz Disorrono

1-2 tsp Get Cheeky Mango Chutney

Zest of orange

Shake in martini shaker over ice, serve straight in a martini glass or with cold tonic water as a highball.

Koniya Turkish Pizza

Such a lovely and simple pizza to prepare.  It is simply blue cheese mixed with fresh herbs and an egg.  Here, I used a Nature's Farm egg, mixed with Buttermilk Blue Cheese, from DeLuca's, and herbs and microgreens from Fertile Farm.  The base is wonderful pizza dough, from Old Church Bakery.  

Berkshire Pork Tenderloin on fluffy flatbread

I used the same pizza dough, from Old Church Bakery, but I marinated Berkshire Pork Tenderloin from Zinn Farm, and grilled it with the 7-6-5 method.  I served it on the pizza, with a little hoisin sauce and greens.

 Marinade for Pork Tenderloin or Pork Belly

1 tablespoon oil
5 slices ginger
2 scallions (cut into 3-inch pieces)
3 star anise
1 cup shaoxing wine
1 cup light soy sauce
¾ cup dark soy sauce
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
5 cups water

Let the Pork Tenderloin marinate for several hours or overnight.  

On a hot BBQ, Place tenderloin and cook on medium heat for 7 minutes with the lid closed.  Turn, and cook for 6 minutes with the lid closed.  Turn the heat off and leave to rest, with the lid closed for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat, let rest, and slice.  Marinating liquid can be cooked and thickened with a little corn starch and used as a sauce.

 

Enjoy!  

Fair Trade Month of Chocolate, etc. Dark Chocolate Layer Cake, or cupcakes.

 There are always reasons.  So many great reasons for choosing to make your food, using Fair Trade products, local, and ethically raised.  Imagine knowing that no child labour, or slaves were used, for you to enjoy the foods that you do.  

We are celebrating Fair Trade month in May.  I will be posting recipes and information about products throughout the month.  Here is the birthday cake to get started.  

 

 Look to MCIC for more information on Fair Trade as well as events.https://www.mcic.ca/fair-trade/what-is-fair-trade

Dark Chocolate Layer Cake

1 cup butter.  I use the wonderful, local Notre Dame butter.  I spoke with the owner and he assures me of the quality.  It is soft at room temperature.

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs.  I use Nature's Farm for a few reasons.  They are excellent, local and I need to use a commercial egg for my products.  If you have access to farm fresh eggs, use them.

1 tsp vanilla.  I make vanilla with beans that I got from Kerala, South India.  Vanilla is very expensive because it is quite labour intensive.  I visited a fair trade spice plantation and purchased the beans directly.  I soak them in bourbon for a while.

2 cups flour.  I use Prairie Mills Flour, again, for a few reasons.  It is always an excellent product, local, and a great price.  After NAFTA, we have been losing local mills to large corporations. 

1/2 cup dark cocoa powder.  I use more like a cup, for this recipe, as well as additional buttermilk.  I use a Fair Trade dark cocoa by Callebaut.  It is available at DeLuca's. 

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup buttermilk +  I made kefir with Stoney Brook Creamery.  They are located in Steinbach and produce amazing organic dairy products.  They are also available at the St. Norberts Farmers Market.

In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy and well incorporated.  Add eggs, and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

Alternate mixing into the butter mixture with thirds of dry and buttermilk. 

Spoon into 2 greased and parchment paper-lined cake pans (9 inch)  Bake at 350ºF for 30 - 35 minutes, until tester comes out cleanly.  Let cool and remove from pans after 20 minutes.  Let cool completely.

Layer or frost as you wish.  Each cake can be cut into two layers.

I'll be preparing this recipe as cupcakes.  They bake for 15 - 17 minutes.

Ganache

8 ounce dark chocolate callets, or chopped chocolate.  I used Callebaut Dark, which is Fair Trade.  It is available at DeLuca's, Sobey's Cash and Carry, and other locations.  Camino chocolate is also excellent.

1 cup heavy cream or whipping cream.

1. Heat cream on the stovetop until just simmering.  Do not boil, or it could separate.

2. Place chocolate callets (chips), or chopped chocolate into the saucepan and cover for 2 minutes. 

3. Whisk cream and chocolate until smooth and shiny.  Set aside and let cool until workable for spreading or dipping.  It can be whisked as a frosting texture as well.

Enjoy!

Rose Harissa Baked Halibut with Beurre Blanc

 I had a beautiful piece of Halibut filet, from Gimli Fish, and I wanted to prepare something French Classical, easy, fusion-potential, and, did I already mention easy?  Beurre Blanc is, indeed, a very easy to prepare, Classic French sauce.  

I put my own Rose Harissa, thinly spread, onto the filet and set that aside in the fridge.  Preheat the oven to 350ºF.  Beurre Blanc can also be served with asparagus, and other fish, such as salmon, steelhead trout, Arctic Char, etc.  Bake the filet, with adjustment for thickness, at 350ºF for 15 minutes.

I served this with Basmati Rice Pilaf, and creamy spinach.  

Beurre Blanc

 
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup white-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper, or to taste
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces and chilled  ( I confess to using salted butter)
Options:  thyme, tarragon, or sorrel

Boil wine, vinegar, and shallot and optional herb in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until liquid is syrupy and reduced to 2 to 3 tablespoons, about 5 minutes.
Add cream, salt, and white pepper and boil for 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium low and add a few tablespoons butter, whisking constantly. Add remaining butter a few pieces at a time, whisking constantly and adding new pieces before previous ones have completely liquefied (the sauce should maintain consistency of hollandaise), removing the saucepan from heat occasionally to cool mixture, so that it won't split.
Remove from heat, then season to taste with salt and pepper and pour sauce through a medium-mesh sieve into a saucepot pressing on and then discarding shallot and optional herbs. Serve immediately.  It can be made in advance, just gently reheat.

Butternut Squash Soufflé

Please note:   Soufflés are not as difficult or fussy as the movies depict.  In fact, you can prepare the mixture in advance for hours, prior to putting into the baking dish and baking.  It is a delicate product, but not scary.  I used amazing local products, such as, organic butternut squash, grown by Kelly Ditz, wonderful and consistent eggs, by Nature's Farm, Prairie Mills Flour, and Notre Dame butter.

 

Butternut Squash Soufflé

Preheat oven to 425º F

Part 1:
Make a Béchamel Sauce by combining the following with a small whisk over a double boiler or Bain Marie;

3 tbs. Butter
1/2 cup flour
Add a scant cup cold milk (3/4 cup)
and continue to whisk over the steam heat until thickened.
Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Part 2:

Sauté 1 chopped onion,
1 half roasted butternut squash
1/4 cup toasted almonds

Blend squash mixture to a smooth paste and set aside.

Part 3:

Add squash mixture to bechamel and whisk in. Then add 4 – 5 egg yolks from large eggs.
Fold in 4-5 egg whites, whisked to stiff peaks.

Use a buttered and floured soufflé mold or 6 smaller ramekins. Pour in the mixture and bake in the oven at 400ºF for 30 minutes (less time if using ramekins) without opening the door during cooking, until well-risen and a deep golden-brown on top.

Serve immediately. Enjoy with a light salad with a vinaigrette. Try with a chocolate fondue for dessert.

Enjoy!

Comfort food with easy and big flavours. Creamy tomato vodka spaghetti with Duq'qah shrimp and scallops

 What's for dinner?  What do I have on hand?  Spaghetti, cream, tomato paste, shrimp, scallops, etc.  

Put them together and what do you have? 

Creamy tomato Vodka Spaghetti, with Duq'qah shrimp and scallops

Spaghetti, for 2 +

1 tbs butter

drizzle olive oil

1 onion, sliced

1 cup cream

2 tbs good tomato paste, with 1/2 cup water (+/-)

1 tbs pesto

1/2 cup white wine or vodka, or combination

1/2  tsp white pepper

Options:  chopped spinach, sautéed mushrooms, etc.  

Shrimp and Scallops, for 2+

1 rounded teaspoon Duq'qah

salt, to tastes

Butter, for the scallops and shrimp

 Prepare the sauce by heating oil and butter in a saucepot and adding sliced onions.  When the onion is translucent and beginning to brown, add the cream, tomato paste with water, pesto, wine and/or vodka, and season.  

Time the cooking of the pasta with the finishing of the cooking of the seafood.  Toss the seafood with the Duq'qah and a pinch of salt.  Heat a pan with butter and cook, about 2-3 minutes per side, basting with the butter.  

Toss the spaghetti with the sauce, top with grated parmesan and top with the cooked seafood.  

Enjoy!

Mussels! With Mushrooms, Beer, and Cheddar, with Sweet Potato oven Fries

Every once in a while, we feel like having mussels and fries.  We had mushrooms on hand, as well as cheddar, so, Mushrooms, Beer, and Cheddar Mussels.

1 lb PEI mussels, available at Gimli Fish

1-2 tsp butter (I use the local Notre Dame butter)

Drizzle olive oil

1 cup sliced mushrooms

grated nutmeg 

white pepper, to tastes

salt, to tastes

1 onion, sliced

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (crumbled blue cheese is also wonderful), mixed with 1/2 tsp corn starch and 1/2 tsp flour

1-2 cups beer (I used Farmery's Hoppy Beer)

1/2 cup cream, optional

1/2 cup chopped green onions, with whites

optional, chilies, cilantro

Scrub and clean off the mussels.  Only use closed mussels or ones that can close.

In a large enough pot for the mussels with a lid, cook the butter, mushrooms and onions until soft.  Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.  Add Beer and Cream  Slowly add the grated cheese, that has been tossed with corn starch and flour.  Bring to a simmer. 

 

Stir in the mussels and cover the lid.  Cook for a couple of minutes, until all of the mussels are open.  Transfer to a large bowl, pouring the sauce over the mussels.  Garnish with cilantro, or other greens, and serve immediately.  Wonderful with Sweet Potato fries.  For simplicity, they are also available at Gimli Fish.  I baked them and tossed them with a bit of smoked paprika. 

 

Enjoy!

Chocolate Soufflé for 2 or 3

 Chocolate Soufflé

On New Year's Eve, my daughter requested something special for breakfast.  As I was already doing 5 other things, sure! 

This recipe for chocolate soufflé is relatively easy to prepare, if you get everything ready first.  Nature's Farm egg whites whip up so wonderfully, this recipe makes 3 ramekin soufflés.

Chocolate Soufflé

1+ tbs melted butter, for brushing inside the ramekins and as an ingredient

2 tbs white sugar

2 ounces dark chocolate callets (chips, or broken pieces)

1 tbs flour

4 1/2 tbs milk

pinch salt

1 large egg yolk

2 large egg whites

pinch of cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 375ºF.  Have a baking dish that fits 2-3 ramekins.

Brush the insides of the ramekins with melted butter, and then coat with white sugar, keeping the extra sugar poured off for the soufflés.

Place chocolate in a metal bowl over a water bath.  Do not let the bowl touch the water or come to a boil.  In a separate saucepan, use melted butter and whisk in flour.  Cook and stir until thickened and incorporated, for about a minute.  Transfer to the melted chocolate.  Add salt.  Add egg yolk and keep the bowl warm over the water bath.  

Whip egg whites with a pinch of cream of tartar, until a soft peak, adding the sugar, 1/3 at a time.  

Mix almost half of the egg whites with the chocolate mixture.  Then gently fold in the remaining egg whites.  Divide mixture into the ramekins.  Place in the baking dish and bake for 12-15 minutes, until the soufflés have risen.

Serve, and enjoy immediately.

Easy Vietnamese Lemongrass Cornish Game Hen (but you can also use Chicken)

 A Cornish Game Hen seems to be just the right size for two.  It takes less time to cook, and, in the sharing, adds a romance to the meal.

This Lemongrass marinade can be used on chicken, parts or whole.  The ingredients are readily available, and, if you have people that don't like cilantro, there is none in this recipe.

Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken

1 Cornish Game Hen (Or chicken)

1/4 cup lime juice

3 tbs fish sauce

pepper, to tastes

2 tbs brown sugar

2 tbs canola oil (I admit to using olive oil)

1 tbs soy sauce

4+ cloves garlic

2+ stalks white parts of the lemongrass, chopped (I used frozen, chopped lemongrass)

1 shallot, or half of a red onion

Blend all of the marinade ingredients and let the hen marinade for a few hours, in a non-reactive container.

Grill, or sauté hen, on medium heat, turning to brown on both sides, until tender throughout.

Serve with salad, and a wedge of lime, to squeeze over the hen at the plate.

Enjoy!

Light Rye Bread, not to be taken lightly

 A similar recipe has been posted to my refrigerator for years.  Finally, I've made it, loved it, and made it again.  This is adapted from the Robin Hood recipe, for the flour ratios. 

Light Rye Bread

 

 4 tbs honey

1 tsp sugar

2 1/2 cups warm water (test on inside of wrist)

5 tsp dry yeast (I used Instant yeast)

1 tbs salt

2 tbs oil

6 - 8 cups flour (1:1 ratio of white to dark rye flour)

4 (ish) tbs cornmeal (optional, for baking sheet)

Glaze (optional)

2/3 cup cold water

1 tsp cornstarch

Dissolve honey and sugar in the warm water in the mixing bowl.  Sprinkle yeast on top and let stand for 10 minutes.  Mix in salt and oil and slowly add the flours, mixed together, in the mixer with the dough hook.  Knead on low spead until the dough is soft, leaves the sides of the bowl, and is not sticky.  

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter or board, and knead a few minutes longer.  Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover.  Let rise in a warm place until doubled. 

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. (200ºC)

 Punch the dough down and turn out the dough.  Cut into two equal pieces and form loaves, tightly, so as to not have large air pockets or spring apart.  Place loaves onto the cornmeal on a baking sheet, cover, and let rise until doubled.   Make slashes into the loaves and let rest for a few minutes. Glaze, if wanted.

The Glaze:  Combine the water and cornstarch in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil, whisking and let cool.  Brush the entire surface of the loaves with glaze just prior to baking.

Bake at 400ºF  (200ºC) for 25 minutes or longer.  Test bread by knocking on the bottom of the loaf.  If there is a hollow sound, the bread is ready.  If not, bake for a longer time. Cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Duck, Duck, Duck

 Last weekend was Canadian Thanksgiving.  As we are all having smaller gatherings in the time of Covid -19, I prepared a duck instead of the traditional turkey dinner.  I did make Bubbat though, as a part of tradition.

I will definitely do this again!  Just perfect!

Brined Duck three ways

1. Brine, breast, and sauce.

  I made Oolong tea and cherry juice in a large container, salt, sugar, with thyme, savoury, star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, and bay leaves. And ice and water to cool down. You can use the smokier Lapsang Souchon tea, and the tannin will cut the fattiness of the duck.

Then I added the duck that I had cut the neck and spine out of, and scored the meat. I let that chill for a day.

Then, pat it dry and I pieced it. I slow roasted the drumsticks and I seared the breasts in olive oil, on both sides until firm. I removed them from the pan to rest and added the fat to the drumsticks.

In the wiped out pan, I sautéed a sliced shallot in olive oil, and added cherry preserves, Dijon mustard, port and a little red wine,rosemary, and butter. Salt and pepper.

Sliced the breasts on a bias and it was awesome!

2. Legs/drumsticks

In a 250ºF oven, I placed the brined duck drumsticks in a casserole dish, with rosemary, thyme, and a little olive oil.  I roasted these until the meat started to come off of the bone.  I let it cool and rest.  This can be enjoyed with lentils as a cassolet,  with duck stock in risotto, polenta, wonton soup, etc.

3. Duck Stock

Roast remaining duck bones with good tomato paste until browned.  Place in a large stock pot with onion, carrots, bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper, star anise, and carrots.  Cover with water and bring to a boil.  Simmer for several hours, all day.  Let cool and strain.  Enjoy with polenta, risotto, wonton soup, etc.

Happy Celebrations!  Enjoy! 

Pasta alla Nerano - Magical Zucchini pasta that is creamy without cream

 

This amazing pasta dish is creamy, without cream, and so satisfying.  I used garlic and zucchini, from Heart Acres Farm CSA.  I used a good amount of Pecorino and Parmesan Regianno cheeses.

Pasta alla Nerano

1-2 zucchini, sliced in rounds

1 -2 cloves garlic, sliced

1 cup, or a good amount, of grated Percorino and Parmesan cheeses

Olive Oil, for sautéeing

salt, and white pepper, to tastes

Spaghetti, and some pasta water

Have your ingredients prepared and ready for the complete dish, aka, mise en place.  

Sauté garlic in olive oil until it starts to turn golden.  Place garlic and olive oil in a small blender container.

Sauté zucchini slices until they turn light brown on both sides.  Set aside and place 1/3 or sautéed zucchini into the blender container.

Cook pasta and reserve up to one cup of pasta water.  Drain pasta from the cooking pot but keep water hot in the pot, and set aside.  Blend the zucchini with 1/4 cup pasta water, salt, and white pepper.  Add pasta to the hot pan with a little olive oil and add the blended zucchini.  Put the remaining cooked zucchini in the pasta water and cook for a few seconds before draining and adding back to the pasta pan.  Add the grated cheese and cook down until creamy.  Add pasta water as needed.  

Serve immediately, and enjoy!

Turkish Treats: Fresh beans, marinated chicken, and rice pilaf

 Today is a day for Turkish Delights.  These dishes are so easy to prepare, when you simply get prepped.

Fresh green and yellow beans are in season now, and plentiful.  These are available from Fairlane Farm, on Saturdays at the Bronx Farmers Market.

Turkish Green Beans (Zeytinyağlı Taze Fasulye)

1 pound of fresh green beans or
1 pack of frozen green beans (either French style or Italian cut)
1 big onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, sliced or chopped
2 big fresh tomatoes, finely chopped, grated, or blended or 1 can of petite diced tomatoes
1/4 tsp sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup hot water
salt

optional
1/8 tsp ground cumin
pepper/ crushed pepper
1 tbsp tomato paste

If you prefer beans with a bit of crunch and are not mushy, try parboiling the beans for 1-2 minutes in salted boiling water, drain and cook as follows but reduce cooking time.

-If you're using fresh green beans clean and trim them to 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces.
-Heat the olive oil in a pan and cook the chopped onions and garlic until lightly brown.
-If you want to use tomato paste add it at this point and stir for a min.
-Add the beans and stir them until they slightly change color (app. 6-8 mins).
-Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 mins and then add sugar (cumin and pepper), water, and salt. -Cover the pan and cook with low heat until the beans are soft (30 mins with frozen beans - 45 mins with fresh ones).
I cook it for far less time as I don’t like very soft beans.

This is traditionally served cold, but it's good when it's warm too.

Enjoy! 

 

Rice Pilaf

2 cups Basmati Rice
scant 4 cups water
1 onion, thinly sliced, or shallots
pinch saffron
olive oil
salt
1/4 cup each of chopped nuts or pumpkin seeds, dried fruit, (such as barberry, currants, raisins, Afghani Tut, or chopped apricots)
A heavy bottomed pot

Heat the oil on medium high heat and add the saffron, to let it bloom in the oil.  Add the onion or shallots and sauté until brown,  Add the rice and coat with the oil.  Add salt, nuts and fruit. 

Turn the element on high and add the water.  Bring to a boil, stirring.  Cover, and set to medium low for 20 minutes.

Grilled Turkish Chicken (Serves 2-4 people)

4 Boneless skinless chicken thighs
2 tbs Turkish Baharat*
3-4 shallots, grated or one small onion grated
2 tsp lime juice
1/4 cup good olive oil
1/4 tsp paprika (can used smoked)
pinch salt and pepper

Combine Turkish Baharat, grated shallots, lime juice, olive oil, paprika and salt and pepper in a bowl. Place chicken thighs in the bowl and cover completely with the marinade. Place in fridge and let marinate for 6 hours. Grill 4 minutes a side on a very hot BBQ grill.

Optional:  Marinate a large amount of chicken pieces, skinned thighs and drumsticks, for example, and roast or grill.