Pan-fried Trout with Bacon

Yes, another photo-less entry. Only because my camera has possibly died on me and I feel compelled to share this recipe with the world (or whoever reads this…).

I’m of the school that believes that everything tastes better with bacon. People always like to play the game with me where they name things thinking that they wouldn’t taste better with bacon and I prove them wrong. I won’t lie, I have a dream of having a caramel sundae with bacon. Think about it, sweet buttery goodness and crunchy salty bacon picking up on the saltiness of the caramel… think about it.

A few weeks ago I realized that I’d never cooked trout. For no reason. Luckily Loblaws had trout on sale so I bought some and threw it in the freezer for when the spirit moved me to try something new. The other day I decided that the time was now to give trout a try so I logged onto Epicurious.com and searched for “trout NOT smoked”. I threw “NOT smoked” in there because when I just searched for trout there were entirely too many recipes for smoked trout… who knew that was such a big thing?

As I was browsing through the recipes there were a LOT of recipes for trout cooked with bacon. And I mean A LOT. So i figured this was the path to go down. I chose this recipe from Bon Appetit circa 2001.  It was give 3.5 forks out of 4 and the comments were overwhelmingly positive.  A good start.

Not only is this dish delicious it also is super quick.  I would say from start to finish under 20 minutes for the fish.  There is minimal chopping required (only the green onions) and this can be done while you’re sauteeing the bacon.  I made a few substitutions as I was going along.  I realized at the last minute that I didn’t have any lemon.  I freaked out a little because I figured I would need the lemon to cut the saltiness from the bacon, capers etc.  But a quick google search revealed that I could substitute 1/2 tsp white vinegar for 1 tbsp lemon.  WHO KNEW!  I was going to use lime juice but I knew that was wrong… the vinegar was oh so right.  I also didn’t feel like buying fresh tarragon so I used dried.  It worked out just fine.

If I still had dinner parties this would be on my list.  It is such unexpected greatness.  Who would think that trout and bacon would blend so beautifully?  Granted, everything tastes better with bacon, but still!

PAN-FRIED TROUT with BACON

Makes 2 servings; can be doubled

4 bacon slices
5 tablespoons butter
2 8- to 10-ounce trout, boned
All purpose flour
1 cup thinly sliced green onions
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 teaspoons drained capers
2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon

Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Crumble bacon. Pour off all but 3 tablespoons drippings from skillet. Add 1 tablespoon butter and stir to melt. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Coat flesh side of fish with flour; shake off excess. Add fish, flesh side down, to skillet. Cook 2 minutes. Turn fish over. Cook until just opaque in center, about 2 minutes. Transfer fish to 2 plates. Pour off drippings from skillet; wipe skillet clean. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in same skillet over medium heat. Add all but 2 tablespoons onions; sauté 3 minutes. Stir in bacon, lemon juice, capers, and tarragon. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over fish. Sprinkle fish with 2 tablespoons green onions.

From Bon Appetit via Epicurious.com

Honey-Tamarind Baby Back Ribs

Every once in a while I eat something that makes my heart (and stomach) absolutely melt. It’s that moment where I take a bite and am absolutely blown away by what’s in my mouth.

About 3 hours ago I had that experience.

I’m doing a trial subscription to Food and Wine and was browsing through the most current issue when I came across this recipe for Honey Tamarind Baby Back Ribs. I scanned the ingredient list and realized that I had everything to make the recipe except for honey and ribs and decided to forge ahead anyway.

I precooked the ribs last night and then finished them off with the sauce tonight.  Let’s just say that as the ribs were warming in the oven I may have been eating spoonfuls of sauce.  Or maybe I won’t up to that… but I’d defend anyone caught sauce slurping.

And without further delay I present the recipe for the best ribs ever.

(Oh, and no photo because I inhaled the ribs entirely too quickly)

ACTIVE TIME: 20 MIN
TOTAL TIME: 3 HRS
SERVES: 4

Naturally tart tamarind keeps the honey-based barbecue sauce from becoming too sweet for the luscious, slow-cooked ribs. Opt for dark, runny tamarind concentrate instead of tamarind pulp, which needs to be soaked and strained before using; it’s available at Asian markets.

ingredients

• 2 racks baby back ribs (5 1/4 pounds)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup clover or other mild honey
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons tamarind concentrate
• 2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon Asian chile paste, such as sambal oelek

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 275°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Put the ribs on the baking sheet and season on both sides with salt and black pepper. Bake the ribs, meaty side up, for 2 1/2 hours, or until tender.
2. Meanwhile, in a food processor, blend the honey, ketchup, soy sauce, ginger, tamarind, garlic and chile paste until smooth.
3. Increase the oven temperature to 450°. Drain the fat from the baking sheet. Brush the ribs with the barbecue sauce. Roast the ribs, bony side up, for 10 minutes, until richly browned. Turn the ribs over, brush with more sauce and roast for 5 minutes, until browned. Brush the ribs with the remaining barbecue sauce and roast for 5 minutes longer, until deeply browned and glossy. Transfer to a cutting board and let stand for 5 minutes. Cut the racks into ribs and serve.

Sushi Bowl

Every once in a while I’ll make something new and think to myself how amazing it is that such simple ingredients can make such a great meal. The main ingredients in the sushi bowl are rice (duh), avocado, tofu and nori, nothing complicated at all but this may top my list as favourite comfort food.

Regular sushi is one of my favourite meals but I haven’t been out for sushi in ages for some reason. Every time I flip through Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Cooking I see this Sushi Bowl recipe and think that the picture looks delicious but never ever make it. Not sure why. A few weeks ago Heidi Swanson posted about it on 101 Cookbooks and I immediately felt like I just HAD to make it.

This is a perfect lazy Summer meal.  The dressing adds a great fresh and bright flavour to the dish and the fact that you can get away without using the oven makes it great for summer.   The key to the dish is great avocado and perfectly cooked rice.  My local corner store/fruit market always has huge, flavourful avocados for an ok price.  They are so buttery and delicious and actually taste like avocados.  Love them.  Brown rice is one of my favourite things as well so a bowl of avocado and brown rice is a piece of heaven.  The toasted nori adds a nice mildly fishy taste that adds a nice kick to the dish.

I haven’t made this again just yet but the almost brand new package of nori is calling my name and I’m thinking this dish is in order once again.  The next step is thinking about what else can be thrown in.  Maybe a hint of wasabi in the dressing?  Some seaweed salad might work great or some pickled vegetables.  If I didn’t despise cucumbers those could work as well.

Enjoy!

Sushi Bowl Recipe

2 cups short-grain brown rice
3 1/2 cups water
2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
2 (4-inch) square sheets nori seaweed
6 ounces extra-firm tofu

grated zest and juice of one orange
grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons (raw) brown sugar (reg. sugar is ok too)
2 tablespoons shoyu sauce (or soy sauce)
2 tablespoons (brown) rice vinegar

4 green onions, chopped
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

Rinse and drain the rice two or three times. Combine the rice, water, and salt in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, cover, and simmer gently until the water is absorbed, about 45 minutes.

Toast the nori in a preheated 300F degree oven or a medium-hot skillet for a few minutes. Crumble or chop coarsely.

Drain the tofu and pat it dry. Cut the block of tofu lengthwise through the middle to make four 1/4-to 1/2-inch thick sheets of tofu. Two at a time, cook in a dry skillet or well-seasoned skillet over medium-high for a few minutes until browned on one side. Flip gently, then continue cooking for another minute or so, until the tofu is firm, golden, and bouncy. Let cool, enough to handle, then cute crosswise into matchsticks (see photo). Repeat with the remaining sheets.

To make the dressing, set the sheets aside. Combine the orange juice lemon juice, and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Cook for 1 or 2 minute, the add the shoyu and vinegar. Return to a gentle boil and cook another 1 or 2 minutes, until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the zests.

When the rice is done, stir in 1/3 cup of the dressing and add more to taste. Scoop the rice into individual bowls and top with the toasted nori, green onions, tofu, avocado slices, and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.

Makes 4-6 servings.

(From Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson)

Poblano-and-Cheddar-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

I have a huge 3″ binder filled with recipes that I’ve cut out from various newspapers and magazines. I usually clip the recipes thinking “oh, i’ll make that soon” but the recipes pile up and often don’t get made. Every once in a while I’ll flip through the binder looking for something new and will be pleasantly surprised to find that recipe that I clipped 5 years ago.

That was almost the case with this recipe . Except that it’s from Food & Wine from February 2006.

What drew me to this recipe was the interesting combination of ingredients and the mysterious origin of the recipe. The combination of smoky poblano peppers, portobello mushrooms and cheddar sounded delicious… but what culture origin is it from? I typically associate poblanos with Mexican cooking but don’t really think portobellos are big in Mexico. Not that the origin matters at all… this recipe was FANTASTIC.

Have I mentioned that the mushrooms are also stuffed with rice (I used brown) and baby spinach? Seriously, this dish has managed to combine so many of my favourite ingredients. AND it was easy to make. The recipe says about 1 hour total but I think with some clever multi-tasking (and reading the recipe through first) could significantly reduce the time. Also, I’m not totally sold on the fact that you have to cook the mushrooms before you stuff them. I’ve made plenty of stuffed mushroom recipes that omit this step and turn out fine. I did it this time around and wasn’t convinced that the extra cooking added anything to the mix. You may want to reduce the amount of poblanos you use OR make sure that not a single seed gets in. I was lazy about the seeds, not that there were SO many in my dish, less than 10. But I found the dish had a tad more heat than I was after. I was hoping for a more mellow smoky flavour instead of actual heat. Next time I’d maybe use 1 and a half poblanos or buy smaller ones or something.

This was a great, light vegetarian meal. I was kind of lazy when I made this and didn’t make a side dish to go along with it. I’m not sure what I would serve. Maybe some oven roasted carrots? Sauteed broccoli rabe? Green beans? But seriously, these are so good you don’t need a side.

ingredients

• 2 poblano chiles
• 4 jumbo portobello mushrooms (about 6 ounces each), stemmed
• 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 cup baby spinach
• 1/2 cup cooked rice
• 1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro

directions

1. Light a grill or preheat the broiler. Roast the poblanos over the grill or under the broiler, turning, until blackened, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool. Peel, core and seed the poblanos then finely chop them.
2. Brush the portobello mushrooms with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill or broil the mushrooms over high heat, turning, until softened, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a plate, stem side down; let drain and cool.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, heat the remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the baby spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute. Transfer the spinach to a sieve and press out the liquid. In a bowl, mix the spinach with the rice, cheese, cilantro and poblanos. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Preheat the oven to 325°. Season the mushroom caps with salt and pepper. Spoon the rice mixture into the mushrooms, mounding it slightly. Transfer the mushrooms to a baking dish and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the top is lightly browned. Serve warm or at room temperature

(From Food & Wine)

Chickpea Burgers

I really should be studying for my GMATs right now but I’m so much better at procrastinating than I am at Data Sufficiency problems so WOMP wins this round. In fact, I left work right at 5 and didn’t go to the gym thinking that I would study my Friday night away. Instead I made dinner, watched The View, Gossip Girl and Grey’s Anatomy and went out for ice cream. But I digress.

I’ve been on a veggie kick recently. It’s like my body is steering me away from meaty meals and towards things chock full of veggies. Whenever I get a craving for veggie based dishes there are a few cookbooks that I turn to: The Whole Foods Market Cookbook , Moosewood Classics , and of course Super Natural Cooking.

I totally dig Super Natural Cooking and the website by the author, 101cookbooks (see the links section). What’s great about reading the website and cookbook together is that Heidi Swanson (the author) has written about many of the recipes from her book in her blog so you get a good backstory. That’s how I rediscovered this Chickpea Burger recipe.

What’s really neat about this burger is that the chickpea patties are actually used in place of a bun! You slice the patty in half and fill with your toppings. Kind of brilliant, the rationale being that having a bun and the burger can be a bit dry.

The burger was pretty yummy. It’s not a veggie burger in the same vein as a soy/imitation meat version, but is a standalone interesting creation. I followed the recipe mostly to a tee but didn’t make 12 mini burgers and opted instead for maybe 5-6 regular sized. I topped my burger with sprouts, tomatoes, vidalia onions and avocado. YUM.  The photo on 101cookbooks is so much nicer and makes the whole affair seem more delicate… I couldn’t construct a less rugged burger at all.  Believe me, I tried.

And for the record, I brought leftovers to work for lunch the next day and everyone was impressed.

Ultimate Veggie Burger Recipe

2 1/2 cups sprouted garbanzo beans (chickpeas) OR canned garbanzos, drained and rinsed
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 onion, chopped
Grated zest of one large lemon
1 cup micro sprouts, chopped (try brocolli, onion, or alfalfa sprouts - optional)
1 cup toasted (whole-grain) bread crumbs
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (or clarified butter)

If you are using sprouted garbanzos, steam them until just tender, about 10 minutes. Most of you will be using canned beans, so jump right in and combine the garbanzos, eggs, and salt in a food processor. Puree until the mixture is the consistency of a very thick, slightly chunky hummus. Pour into a mixing bowl and stir in the cilantro, onion, zest, and sprouts. Add the breadcrumbs, stir, and let sit for a couple of minutes so the crumbs can absorb some of the moisture. At this point, you should have a moist mixture that you can easily form into twelve 1 1/2-inch-thick patties. I err on the moist side here, because it makes for a nicely textured burger. You can always add more bread crumbs a bit at a time to firm up the dough if need be. Conversely, a bit of water or more egg can be used to moisten the batter.

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium low, add 4 patties, cover, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, until the bottoms begin to brown. Turn up the heat if there is no browning after 10 minutes. Flip the patties and cook the second side for 7 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the skillet and cool on a wire rack while you cook the remaining patties. Carefully cut each patty in half, insert your favorite fillings, and enjoy immediately.

Makes 12 mini burgers.

(From Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson)

Red Chile Enchiladas with Chicken and Melted Cheese

I think I’ll start a new tag for food crushes because I have to admit, I have many.

Ina and Mario are probably my biggest food crushes with Madhur Jaffrey steadily climbing up the ranks. My other love as of late is Rick Bayless ye of Mexican food. I’m currently working my way through Mexican Everyday which has been mostly hits with some misses. My latest venture ended up being pretty darned good.

This recipe isn’t particularly time consuming which made it surprisingly easy as a weeknight meal… or maybe I’m more ambitious than the average person on a weeknight. The worst of it was making the sauce. Cooking the peppers, blending everything together etc. It wasn’t even really that bad. My main complaint about the recipe is that I could not stretch my ingredients to make 12 enchiladas. I may have gotten 8 total. I’m not sure if I just didn’t have enough chicken or what but it did not go far at all. On another note I discovered that dipping the tortillas in the sauce, folding it over, spooning sauce on top and sprinkling with cheese is a DELICIOUS way to use the leftover tortillas. I would even make just the sauce and eat tortillas like that for breakfast or dinner.

For the record the recipe calls for Mexican melting cheese which I think (correct me if I’m wrong) can mean chihuahua cheese or queso fresco… it all mentions that you can use cheddar. Given the fact that I had some pre-shredded cheddar to clear out of my fridge I went that route and was totally satisfied with the outcome.

Red Chile Enchiladas with Chicken & Melted Cheese

4 med dried guajillo chiles, stemmed, seeded & torn into flat pieces
2 garlic cloves, peeled & quartered
1 28-oz can fired roasted diced tomatoes in juice
1/4 t cumin
1/4 t ground black pepper
1 T vegetable or olive oil, plus a little extra for the tortillas
2 c chicken broth, plus a little extra if necessary
12 corn tortillas
salt 1/2 t sugar
2 c coarsely shredded cooked chicken
1 c shredded Mexican melting cheese
1 small white onion cut into rings
cilantro for garnish

Turn on oven to 350. Set a medium skillet over medium heat. When it is hot, toast the chile pieces a few at a time, pressing them against the hot surface with a spatula until aromatic & lightened in color underneath, about 10 seconds per side. Transfer the roasted to a blender jar. Add the garlic, tomatoes with their juice, cumin & black pepper. blend until as smooth a consistency as possible.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over med-high heat. Set a medium-mesh strainer over the pan & pour in the sauce. Press through the strainer to remove bits of chile skin. Then cook, stirring until the sauce is reduced to the consistency of tomato paste, 5 to 7 minutes. Pour in the broth, reduce the heat to med-low and let simmer 10 minutes while you prepare the tortilla, filling & toppings.
Lay out the tortillas on a baking sheet & spray or brush lightly on both sides with oil, then stack them in twos. Slide the tortillas into the oven & bake just long enough to make them soft & pliable, about 3 minutes. Remove from the oven & stack them in a single pile; cover with a kitchen towel to keep warm.
Taste the sauce & season with salt, usually about 1 1/2 t, and the sugar. Stir in additional broth is the sauce has thickened beyond the consistency of light cream soup.
Spread about 1/2 c sauce over the bottom of a 13×9 inch baking dish. Stir another 1/2 cup sauce into the chicken. Lay out a warm tortilla, top with a portion of chicken & roll up. Lay seam side down in the baking dish. Continue filling & rolling the rest of the tortillas, then ladle the remaining sauce over the enchiladas & sprinkle with cheese.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the cheese is starting to brown. Sprinkle with the onion rings & cilantro.

Perogies

I admit, I can be a glutton for punishment with some cooking projects. Take perogie making. Sure the ingredients are fairly cheap (with the exception of the cheese but even cheddar isn’t that expensive) but the manpower required is intense. The making of the dough, the making of the filling, stuffing the perogies, crimping the edges… most people will just settle for the $3 bag of frozen perogies at the supermarket. The supermarket ones are just fine but I always enjoy a project… so perogie making it is!

I feel like whenever I refer to a recipe that I got from Canadian Living Magazine I always put some sort of disclaimer on it. Maybe I just have to embrace the fact that CL does some things very well. For example this perogie recipe which I’ve made many times over the years.

There’s nothing at all complicated about the recipe, it’s just time consuming. Ideal execution would involve an assembly line of willing family and/or friends. I had neither so it was just me, my perogies and my full series boxed set of Sex and the City (nothing says fun on a Sunday afternoon like perogie making and Mr. Big!). In the past I’ve added crumbled bacon to the filling which is great if you’re a bacon lover (I happen to think it should be it’s own food group).

I eat these perogies either boiled or friend. Boiled if I’m lazy or if they’re being packed in mu lunch. Friend if I’m feeling more ambitions. If I’m feeling particularly frisky I will sautée some bacon and onions together in butter and add the perogies and then serve with a side of sour cream.

It’s clearly health food.

These freeze really well.  I lay them on a cookie sheet covered in parchment in a single layer and when they’re frozen drop them in a ziploc bag.  If I had a team I’d double this recipe because 36 perogies is not enough.

Plump Perogies

Ingredients:

2 tbsp (25 mL) butter
1 onion, sliced
Sour cream
Dough:
3 cups (750 mL) all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp (7 mL) salt
1 egg
3/4 cup (175 mL) (approx) water
4 tsp (20 mL) vegetable oil
Filling:
1 tbsp (15 mL) butter
1/3 cup (75 mL) finely chopped onion
1 cup (250 mL) cold mashed potatoes
3/4 cup (175 mL) shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1/4 tsp (1 mL) pepper

Preparation:

Dough: In bowl, combine flour with salt. Beat together egg, water and oil; stir into flour mixture to make soft but not sticky dough that holds together in ball. If necessary, add 1 tbsp (15 mL) water at a time, being careful not to make dough sticky.

Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface; knead about 10 times or just until smooth. Halve dough; cover with plastic wrap or damp cloth. Let rest for 20 minutes.

Filling: Meanwhile, in skillet, heat butter over medium heat; cook onion for 3 to 5 minutes or until tender. Transfer to bowl and mix in potatoes, cheese, salt and pepper.

Working with one portion of dough at a time and keeping remaining dough covered, roll out on lightly floured surface to about 1/16-inch (1.5 mm) thickness. Using 3-inch (8 cm) round cutter, cut dough into rounds.

Place 1 tsp (5 mL) filling on each round. Lightly moisten edge of one half of dough with water; pinch edges together to seal and crimp attractively. Place on cloth; cover with damp cloth to prevent drying out. Repeat with remaining portion of dough.

In large pot of boiling salted water, cook perogies, in batches, for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes or until they float to top, stirring gently to prevent perogies from sticking together or to bottom of pot. With slotted spoon, remove to colander to drain.

In large heavy skillet, melt butter over medium heat; cook onion for about 5 minutes or until golden. Add perogies and toss to coat and warm through. Serve with sour cream.

(From Canadian Living)

Spinach in Puff Pastry

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I totally have a food crush on Ina Garten aka The Barefoot Contessa. It may even be more than a food crush, I kind of want to be her BFF. I have visions of myself ditching NYC for the weekend in favour of spending hours getting myself out to the Hamptons and arriving on Ina’s doorstep for a lovely country picnic. There will be some cheese, a delicious salad, perhaps some sandwich involving seafood, perhaps some cookies and a lovely fresh drink. Perhaps later that evening after whipping up a feast, Ina, Jeffrey and I will light a bonfire by the ocean and make s’mores whilst singing camp songs. Ok, maybe not the last part but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I really want to go to her Hamptons house and eat her food for days on end.

But I digress.

I’m a huge fan of Barefoot in Paris , I use it ALL the time and have yet to have a bad experience with it. Every once in a while I’ll decide to stay away from the tried and true in favour of something different. The photo of the Spinach in Puff Pastry has always seemed appealing but a little out of reach. Not sure what it is but pastry freaks me out. It’s why I don’t make my own pie crust. Granted, making my own puff pastry was never on the table but it still managed to freak me out. The other day I was feeling particularly ballsy and decided to whip this recipe up.

This recipe is actually pretty darn easy. No crazy techniques. No hard to source ingredients. Not even that much tims is required. The filling consisted of spinach, gruyere, parmesan, pine nuts, onions, garlic and spices. When I went to make it I thought that I had pine nuts in my freezer but didn’t and forged ahead without the pine nuts. No great loss.

There was absolutely nothing frightful about using my President’s Choice puff pastry. It was way too easy. I literally just opened the box and unrolled the two sheets and that was it. When I got to the step for the egg wash I realized that I didn’t have a pastry brush I attempted to do the eggwash with a spoon and some careful handiwork to no avail. I skipped it in the end. Sure, the finished product lacked colour but it was delicious. As in kind of incredible. I think I got two dinners out of this and a few lunches. It’s probably not the healthiest thing (cheese baked in a buttery crust) but if Ina isn’t counting calories that neither am I.

4 Tbsp	unsalted butter
2 cups	onions, chopped
1 Tbsp	chopped garlic, (3 cloves)
2 (10-oz) boxes	frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
1/3 cup	scallions, chopped, white & green parts (2 scallions)
1 cup	Gruyere cheese, grated
3/4 cup	Parmesan cheese, grated
4	eggs, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp	bread crumbs
2 tsp	salt
3/4 tsp	pepper
1/2 tsp	ground nutmeg
1/4 cup	pine nuts, toasted
2 sheets (1 box)	rozen puff pastry, defrosted in refrigerator overnight
1	egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp water, for egg wash

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat butter in saute pan and cook the onions over medium-low heat for 5-7 minutes, until tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Meanwhile, squeeze most of the water out of the spinach and place it in a bowl. Add the onion mixture, scallions, Gruyere, Parmesan, eggs, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, nutmeg and pine nuts. Mix well.

Unfold one sheet of puff pastry and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread the spinach mixture in the middle of the pastry, leaving a 1-inch border. Brush the border with the egg wash. Roll out the 2nd sheet of pastry on a floured board until it’s an inch larger in each direction. Place the 2nd sheet of pastry over the spinach and seal the edges, crimping them with a fork. Brush the top with egg wash but don’t let it drip down the sides of the pastry won’t rise. Make three small slits in the pastry, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake for 30-40 minutes, until the pastry is lightly browned. Transfer to a cutting board and serve hot.

This can be assembled a day in advance, refrigerated, and baked before serving.

(From Barefoot In Paris by Ina Garten)

Salmon Cakes

Every once in a while I’ll go to the supermarket and see random canned goods on sale and I’ll stock up for a “rainy day”. There are very few things that I enjoy out of a can. Italian sodas, coconut juice, baked beans (heinz or bush’s), some varieties of tuna and beans if I’m lazy (I prefer the overnight soak method… less salt and scum). When I was living in NYC I would always see cans of salmon on sale for $1/can. A dollar! A can! So one day I bought a few not being too sure of what to do with them. I couldn’t really see myself whipping up salmon sandwiches so the search began for a useful way to use up mechanically separated salmon bits.

The answer: Salmon Cakes! courtesy of Canadian Living Magazine. Canadian Living isn’t usually one of my sources for recipes. They are oversimplified and dumb down “ethnic” recipes with easily accessible “Western” ingredients. Not that there’s anything wrong with that but I just don’t think that spaghetti noodles are a good substitute for rice noodles in pad thai. But maybe that’s just me.

But give CL a pretty tradition recipe and they can do a good job. The great thing about this recipe is that if you have some canned salmon in your cupboard you’re pretty much set to go… with the exception of cilantro, I never have that just hanging around. It’s a great lazy weeknight meal but manages to be pretty satisfying. My only issue is that I’m never quite sure what to serve salmon cakes with. this time around I made some broccoli rabe because I had some in my fridge. But what’s another way to go? Maybe wild rice or something? There are already potatoes in the salmon cakes so a side of potatoes (or even another starch really) seems kind of excessive. Thoughts?

Ingredients:

2 large potatoes (1 lb/500 g)
3 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup (50 mL) chopped fresh coriander
1 tbsp (15 mL) Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1/4 tsp (1 mL) each grated lemon rind, pepper and hot pepper sauce
1 egg, beaten
2 cans (each 7.5 oz/213 g) salmon, drained and flaked
2 tbsp (25 mL) vegetable oil
4 lemon wedges

Preparation:

Peel and cut potatoes in half crosswise. In 6-cup (1.5 L) microwaveable dish, cover and microwave potatoes with 1 cup (250 mL) water at High for 10 minutes or until tender. (Or cover and cook in saucepan of boiling salted water for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender.) Drain.

In large bowl, mash potatoes until smooth; stir in onions, coriander, mustard, salt, lemon rind, pepper and hot pepper sauce. Blend in egg. Fold in salmon. Let cool for 5 minutes.

Using hands, shape into eight 3/4-inch (2 cm) thick patties.

In large nonstick skillet, heat half of the oil over medium heat; cook 4 of the patties for about 5 minutes per side or until golden. Repeat with remaining patties.

Serve with lemon wedges.

Goan-Style Shrimp Curry

I’m fascinated with Indian food. I fully admit it. It may even be my favourite food right now. It’s not that I even go out for Indian food that often, I probably have been to an Indian restaurant for at least 6 months. It’s more that there’s something about Indian food that makes me want to master the art of cooking Indian food. Seriously, if you even knew the number of chickpea curries I’ve attempted…

For whatever reason the dishes always turn out tasty enough but not as good as my fave Indian restaurant (Tabla in NYC) or even my fave cheap-n-dirty Indian restaurants (think 6th Street in NYC). But every once in a while I find a gem. This would be one of them.

This recipe appeared in the New York Times back in March. I’m not sure that I’d ever had a Goan-Style curry before but this recipe sounded like a winner. The ingredients were simple enough and all in my pantry. This gave me pause because sometimes I get in the mindset that if I’m not tracking down curry leaves or tamarind paste or something else kind of obscure, that the recipe won’t be authentic. But usually I can get over that especially if it’s an Indian recipe that doesn’t require me to grind spices by hand or make my own coconut milk.

I LOVED the results.  It was definitely a huge hit in my household.  I didn’t make any changes to recipe at all and probably wouldn’t do anything different the next time.  Now that I’m thinking about this recipe again I may have to add it to my meal rotation for next week…

GOAN-STYLE SHRIMP CURRY

Adapted from Suvir Saran and Hemant Mathur, Devi

Time: 25 minutes

1 1/3pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
1/8teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4cup canola oil
4 dried red chilies
1 3-inch piece ginger, peeled and minced
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
3 cups canned chopped tomatoes, with juice
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro.

1. Place shrimp in a gallon-size resealable plastic bag, and add 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper and cayenne. Mix well and refrigerate.

2. In a deep skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat, combine oil and chilies and stir 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and cook for 1 minute longer. Add ginger, onion, 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt and sauté until onion is soft and translucent, 5 to 8 minutes. Add garlic, ground coriander and turmeric and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.

3. Reduce heat to medium-low and add tomatoes. Stir, scraping sides and bottom of pot, for 1 minute. Increase heat to medium-high and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often.

4. Stir in curry powder and cook for 1 minute. Add coconut milk, bring to a boil, and add shrimp. Bring to a simmer and cook until shrimp are opaque, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in cilantro. If desired, serve with rice.

Yield: 3 to 4 servings.

(From the New York Times)