This morning, I had the pleasure of presenting Coffee Marinated Hangar Steak on CBC's Weekend Morning Show with guest host, Laurie Hoogstraten.
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups strong coffee, room temperature (I used Ethiopian Yergicheffe, from Green Bean Coffee, with notes of cocoa, available at St. Norbert's Farmer's Market)
2 tbs favourite spice blend (I used Ras el Hanout, but Mitmita, and others would work nicely)
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tbs. olive oil
1 small shallot, chopped or grated
1 Hangar Steak (Available at Wildfire Farms at St. Norbert's Farmer's Market)
Kosher or sea salt, to taste
Whisk shallot, garlic, coffee, mustard, brown sugar, oil in a medium bowl. Pour mustard into a resealable bag and add the steak, seal the bag and coat. Marinate at room temperature for an hour or refrigerate overnight.
Prepare the grill for medium-high heat. Remove steak from bag, season and grill, turning every few minutes, 8-10 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let rest 10 minutes before slicing.
Serve with wonderful breads that you can find at Old Church Bakery, found on Saturday at St. Norbert's Farmer's Market and in Steinbach.
Don’t Throw It Away 2.0
This morning, on CBC's Weekend Morning Show with host Terry MacLeod, I presented the following recipes with items that many people throw out.
Last year, I encouraged cooks and people who love things from the garden and farmer’s markets to not throw radish leaves away. I have a couple of recipes for them on my blog. Now, I see people throwing carrot and beet tops away. These delicate leaves are delicious and so easy to make into many dishes.
Carrot Top Pesto
1 bunch carrot top greens, chopped (today from Almost Urban Farms at St. Norbert’s Farmer’s Market)
2-3 bunches basil (or chives, cilantro, etc.) (Fresh today from Reimer’s at St. Norbert’s Farmer’s Market)
3-5 cloves garlic
¼- ½ cup parmesan reggianno or Padano
½ cup walnuts (or almonds or pine nuts, or, pumpkin seeds)
1 (+/-) ground black pepper
Olive oil
In a food processor or blender, grind up garlic and nuts, and cheese if cut and not grated. Add chopped carrot greens and basil or other herbs and pepper. Drizzle in olive oil as it blends until a smooth paste or the consistency that you desire.
Use on pasta, fish, seafood, as a compound butter for steaks, in sauces, etc.
I’m serving it today on linguine from Nature’s Pasta.
Stuffed Beet Leaves
1 lb ground beef (or lamb) (I used Wildfire Farms ground beef, available at St. Norbert’s Farmer’s Market)
1-3 shallots, sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1-2 tbs Turkish Baharat (or your favourite seasonings)
½ finely chopped pepper (optional)
2 tbs chopped fresh dill
1 tbs good tomato paste (Available at Millad’s)
2 tbs pomegranate molasses (optional, available at Millad’s)
Salt, to taste
½ cup bulgur (can use cooked rice, quinoa, etc.)
½ cup stock (I used chicken stock that I make and freeze)
1 bunch beet leaves
Chicken stock for cooking
Preheat oven to 350F.
Sauté the shallots until soft and add the ground beef. After browned, add vegetables, seasonings and cook until soft. Add tomato paste and pomegranate molasses. Stir in the bulgur and add stock. Simmer until the bulgur is softened. Set filling aside.
Line a baking dish with a few beet leaves. Stack the beet leaves for stuffing. You can soften the rib by gently running your finger along it, to make rolling the leaves easier.
Fill each leaf with the meat filling and roll like a small burrito or dolma. Place each roll in the baking dish on top of the leaves. Add chicken stock to the baking dish and bake for 30 minutes, or until soft.
Serve hot, cold, or warm. Top with yoghurt tahini sauce or a cream sauce with dill.
Enjoy!
Quinoa Stuffed Zucchini
1 large zucchini, halved and sliced lengthwise, cutting out centre marrow
Centre marrow of zucchini, chopped
2 shallots, sliced
½ green or red pepper, finely chopped
1 tomato, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs Turkish Baharat
Olive oil
Pinch salt
5 fresh dates, pitted
1 tbs good tomato paste
¼ cup wine, tea or juice, to deglaze
1 cup cooked quinoa
Options: chopped mushrooms, green onions, chilies
Preheat oven to 350F. Bake zucchini pieces with a pinch of salt and a drizzle of olive oil, until almost soft. Prepare filling.
In a medium saucepan on medium heat, heat olive oil and add sliced shallots and minced garlic. Add remaining vegetables and cook until soft and most moisture is cooked out. Add all seasonings, dates and tomato paste. Deglaze and cook until soft. Mix in cooked quinoa.
Spoon filling into zucchini pieces and bake until crisp on top and zucchini is soft. Serve hot, cold or warm.
Enjoy!
I’m preparing these quinoa burgers now for tomorrow’s CBC Weekend Morning Show segment. They are coming along nicely and the Tamarack Quinoa works perfectly with this recipe. http://www.tamarackfarms.ca/
Quinoa Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers (adapted from Bonappetit, January 2016)
1 small sweet potato
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
1 portobello mushroom (or 5-8 crimini mushrooms)
½ small zucchini
1 small shallot, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup cooked quinoa (from about ½ uncooked) (Tamarack Farms available at St. Norbert’s Farmer's Market and Downtown Hydro Market)
¾ cup dried breadcrumbs (panko)
1½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
4 Pretzel or Sourdough Brioche (Available at Old Church Bakery at St. Norbert’s Farmer’s Market
Guacamole, tomato chutney, sprouts, etc.
Wash and prick sweet potatoes all over with a fork and place on a paper towel in the microwave for 3-5 minutes, until soft, depending on the microwave. Fastest and easiest method and won’t heat up your kitchen with the oven.
Remove the skin from the sweet potato and mash the flesh with a fork. Set aside.
Grate zucchini and mushrooms. Heat a small skillet with olive oil and cook shallot with pepper flakes until translucent. Add zucchini and mushrooms and cook until moisture has been released. Transfer to a bowl with cooked quinoa (1 1/2 cups water : 1 cup quinoa, boil, stir and simmer for 15 minutes). Season and mix with salt and pepper. Let cool.
Add breadcrumbs (panko), lemon juice and about 1/4 cup of mashed sweet potato, adding more as a binder as needed.
Divide mixture into 4 portions and form into patties. Heat 2 tbs oil in a medium skillet on medium heat and cook 2 patties at a time, until golden brown.
Serve burgers with Old Church Bakery pretzel buns or Sourdough Brioche with your favourite toppings, guacamole, tomato chutney, etc.
Enjoy!
