Category: appetizer

Gazpacho

gazpacho - trust in kim

Oh summer, I love you for so many reasons! One of them is homegrown, flavourful tomatoes. Also the gazpacho that I can make with them.

This is the taste of summer. This is one of the recipes that makes me do a happy dance.

I fell in love with gazpacho on a trip to Spain a few years ago, and managed to eat it almost every day of my two-week stay there. It is refreshing and full of flavour. There are many different types; here are some: green gazpacho, watermelon gazpacho, and another tomato gazpacho that is very similar to this one. All are awesome, but this one is the easiest, I think.

This is so easy to make, and quite healthy too. I made a batch and kept it in the fridge for a few days. The amounts are estimates; do what seems right to you. It’s hard to go wrong. You can always add more of something if you need to.

What you need:

  • 1 small cucumber
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes
  • 1/4 medium red onion
  • 1/2 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 large sweet red bell pepper
  • 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
  • 2-3 tablespoons good quality extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 slice of white bread (I used a whole wheat French bread)
  • salt to taste

What you do:

  1. Soak the bread in water for a few minutes, then squeeze the water out.
  2. Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and add whatever you think you need.
  3. Refrigerate for at least and hour before serving.
  4. Serve topped with some chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, or a drizzle of olive oil.

Green Salad with Roasted Beets, Walnuts and Goat Cheese

roasted beet goat cheese and walnut salad - trust in kim

This is a beauty of a salad. You can use red beets, but as you can see, I chose to use golden beets this time. I love the combination of beets, goat cheese and walnuts with the shallot dressing. Roasting the beets ahead of time makes this a quick salad to put together at the last minute.

This recipe comes to us from The Vancouver Sun’s book The Best Salads.

You can buy cooked beets, but I prefer the taste of home-roasted beets. The original recipe asked you to slice and bake the beets. I roasted them whole instead.

I bought a beautiful Okanogan, BC goat cheese from Dussa’s at Granville Island, Vancouver for this salad.

What you need for the salad:

  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper, or to taste
  • 2 tablespoons walnut oil
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot

What you need for the salad:

  • 5 beets (1 & 1/4 pounds in total)
  • foil for cooking the beets
  • 4 cups salad greens
  • 1/2 cup toasted walnuts
  • 1/4 cup soft unripened goat cheese
  • salt and pepper

What you do:

  1. Roast the beets ahead of time, or early enough that they have time to cool down before using in the salad. Wash, then cover each beet in foil. Bake at 400F for about 50 minutes. Test with a sharp knife to see if they are soft all the way through. When the beets have cooled, peel the skins off. Refrigerate if you are making them ahead of time. Take them out of the fridge at least an hour before using, so they can come to room temperature.
  2. After the beets come out of the oven, turn the oven off and put the walnuts on a baking sheet in the oven. Check them after about 5 minutes to see how they are doing. Keep them in the oven until they are lightly toasted – beware, though – even with the oven off they can burn easily. Let them cool, then put them in an airtight container if you won’t be using them right away.
  3. Combine all the ingredients for the vinaigrette and let it sit for at least an hour. This can be made ahead and refrigerated.
  4. Toss the greens with some of the vinaigrette and arrange on large plates for serving. Slice the room temperature beets and arrange them on top, along with some goat cheese and walnuts. Add a little more vinaigrette to the top if you wish. Salt and pepper to taste if desired.

Enjoy!

 

Grilled Zucchini with Za’atar Vinaigrette

grilled zucchini with za'aatar vinaigrette - trust in kim

 

I fell in love with Lebanese food the year I lived in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Now I seek out Lebanese recipes to experiment with at home. I found this one on David Lebovitz’s awesome site.

Za’atar is a combination of sesame seeds, sumac, and some herbs. Mixed with some mustard, oil and vinegar it makes a lovely dressing for grilled veggies. I made zucchini for this post, but later used it on other veggies as well, and all were delicious.

I can hardly wait until the zucchini in my garden are ready, and I can make this again.

What you need:

  • 1 kg zucchini
  • 2 tablespoons sherry or cider vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
  • pinch of salt
  • 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (plus some for the zucchini)
  • 4 teaspoons za’atar
  • 1/4 teaspoon sumac (optional)

What you do:

  1. Slice the zucchini to 1/4 inch, as evenly as possible so you don’t have parts that burn. Using a mandoline works well. Toss the slices in a some olive oil.
  2. Combine all the rest of the ingredients to make the vinaigrette.
  3. Heat the grill and brush it with some olive oil. Grill the zucchini slices until they are charred on each side.
  4. Arrange the zucchini on a platter and pour some dressing over the slices.

 

Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil Cream Cheese Spread

sun-dried tomato cream cheese spread - trust in kim

This cream cheese spread makes a great appetizer with a loaf of fresh bread or crackers. A friend of mine used to always buy this spread when we were having wine and appies, and another friend, Sarah, makes her own delicious version. This recipe is a combination of what I guessed to be the ingredients in the store-bought version, and some tips from Sarah.

The one difference with my recipe is that I made my own oven-dried cherry tomatoes. I make up a big batch, and they keep for a long time in the fridge.

Make this recipe at least an hour ahead of time so the flavours have a chance to mingle.

What you need:

  • 1 – 250 gram tub of spreadable cream cheese (or Tofutti non-dairy cream cheese)
  • 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
  • a few sun-dried cherry tomatoes packed in  olive oil (or oven-roasted to make it even better)
  • 1 clove garlic, finely minced
  • a few sprigs fresh basil, chopped
  • a little freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • salt and pepper to taste

What you do:

  1. Combine the mayonnaise and cream cheese.
  2. Chop and add the cherry tomatoes, minced garlic, basil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
  3. Taste and adjust the amounts of anything you think you need more of.
  4. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
  5. Garnish with a sprig of basil, and serve with a loaf of freshly baked bread or crackers of your choice.

Roasted Root Vegetable Chips

roasted root vegetable chips - trust in kim

Even though I know they are so bad for me, I really really love potato chips. I never ever buy them unless it’s a special occasion because I know I will not be able to leave a single chip in the bag. I’ve tried some of those fancy root vegetable chips, and loved them too.

Looking for a healthy alternative, I figured I could make my own root vegetable chips at home, using much less oil than the store-bought bags of chips. The trick is getting them very thinly and uniformly sliced. To do this I used a mandoline.

The picture of the roasted chips above was taken before I decided I needed to put them back in the oven to get a little crisper. They should look more browned than in that photo.

What you need:

  • 1 small potato
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 parsnip
  • 1 beet
  • olive oil
  • salt

What you do:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
  2. Slice the vegetables as thinly and uniformly as you can.
  3. Place the vegetables in a bowl and drizzle with a tablespoon or two of olive oil, and some salt.
  4. Spread the vegetables in one layer on a baking sheet. Keep each type of vegetable together; the roasting time varies between the vegetable types.
  5. Roast for about 15 minutes, then check the chips. If some are done, remove them, then let the rest continue to roast, checking every 5 minutes until they are done. They will get crisper as they cool.
  6. It’s best to eat these the day you make them, as they will get a little soft.

sliced root vegetables - trust in kim

Long Leek Pie

P1040972

This is a really great appetizer, with a picture that doesn’t do it justice. But trust me, it’s yummy and it’s easy.  A winning combination.

It’s puff pastry topped with leeks that have been simmered in white wine and herbs, then topped with goat’s cheese or crème fraîche. Did you know that some people don’t like goat’s cheese? It’s true, and crème fraîche isn’t a bad substitute for those people.

The recipe is from Yvette van Boven’s cookbook, Home Made. It serves 4-6 people. Mine was smaller, but a lot for two people.

What you need:

  • 4 sheets all-butter puff pastry
  • 3 leeks 
  • ¾ cup white wine
  • butter
  • a few thyme sprigs 
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • ½ cup aged goat cheese, grated or crumbled, or 1/2 cup crème fraîche
  • 1 egg white, loosely beaten  

What you do:

  1. Cut the leeks into three sections, removing the bottom and the dark green leaves. Wash the leeks, then simmer in the white wine, butter, thyme, salt, and pepper for about 20 minutes. Remove the leeks from the simmering liquid and pat them dry.

  2. While the leeks are simmering, stack the puff pastry and roll it out lengthwise. Use the back of the knife to score a rectangle just a few centimetres inside the edge; this will form a border. Place the leeks next to each other inside the border of the puff pastry.

  3. Top the leeks with goat cheese or crème fraîche, and brush the outer edges with lightly beaten egg white. (I put a little bit of freshly grated parmesan on top of the crème fraîche)

  4. Bake for about 25 minutes at 400°F. The edge will rise and become browned.

Enjoy it while it’s hot!

Seared Sea Scallops on Greens

seared scallops on greens - trust in kim

This

is

my

favourite

food

in the world.

Awesome! So delicious. I can die happy now. Hopefully I will live to eat these again, though.

Yes, I love papaya, blueberries, duck confit, lemon tarts and chocolate croissants. But this, the sea scallop, is my all-time favourite. And because of that I never cook them. They are so precious that I fear I will ruin them, and a ruined, over-cooked scallop is an atrocity.

So when I set out to cook this I did my research, found the very best scallops I could lay my hands on, and carefully crafted this dish. I got some beautiful fresh large sea scallops at Seafood City on Granville Island, for those of you in Vancouver. Fresh, not frozen scallops are a must here. If you want an awesome meal, that is.

Simple is the key – the scallops speak for themselves, so you have to do very little with them, except season and cook them carefully.

What you need:

  • the freshest sea scallops you can find, 2-3 per person depending on their size
  • good quality olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • salad greens
  • 1 lemon

What you do:

  1. Make the salad dressing before cooking the scallops. Grate a little lemon zest, then combine some lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the amounts of the ingredients to your liking.
  2. Salt and pepper one side of the scallops, using a little more salt than you think you should, as some will come off in the cooking process.
  3. Get your salad greens ready on the plates. You want to be able to plate the scallops and eat them immediately.
  4. Heat a frying pan on high, but not a non-stick one. Add some olive oil to the pan and wait until it gets very hot – if the pan isn’t hot enough the scallops will stick to it. Add the scallops with the seasoned side facing down. You should hear quite a sizzle; if not the pan isn’t hot enough. Season the top side of the scallops. Let them sear for about 1 & 1/2 minutes (less time if they are smaller) ; it’s better to undercook them than overcook them. Turn the scallops over and sear the other side; the cooked side should be nicely browned. You will see they are no longer translucent, meaning they are now cooked.
  5. Place the cooked scallops on top of the salad greens and serve as soon as possible. You could add a little squirt of lemon to the scallops if you want, but I didn’t because the dressing was lemony enough.

Enjoy the best food ever. Hope you love it!

 

Healthy Air-popped Popcorn with Olive Oil and Nutritional Yeast

healthy popcorn - trust in kim

This is one of my absolute favourite snacks. I know, butter on popcorn is delicious. But so is this! And olive oil has so many health benefits. One that I just found about is that it can help prevent osteoporosis because it aids in calcium absorption. As well, nutritional yeast has many nutrients, including B vitamins. You can adjust the amount of salt in this homemade popcorn, if that is a health issue for you.

Many a savoury craving have been done away with by this bowl of goodness. Right now I’m using a Tuscan herb infused olive oil to drizzle on it, but I’ve typically used a nice extra-virgin olive oil. There are a lot of infused olive oils out there these days, so you could experiment with them.

I used to make popcorn in the microwave – throw the kernels into a paper bag, fold the top over a little and nuke it, turning the microwave off as soon as the popping stops. This was an excellent method until one day when the bag caught on fire and melted the inside of my microwave. Now I use the stove top method.

What you need:

  • popcorn kernels, a few tablespoonfuls per person
  • olive oil – good quality extra-virgin, or an infused one
  • salt and freshly ground pepper
  • nutritional yeast

What you do:

  1. Place the popcorn kernels in a large pot that isn’t too heavy (unless you have super strong wrists) and put the lid on it. Have a large bowl standing by.
  2. Turn the stove on high heat and place the pot on it, giving it regular shakes. As soon as you hear the first pop you have to keep shaking, so the popcorn doesn’t burn, and each kernel has a chance to pop. As soon as you don’t hear any popping take the pot off the stove.
  3. Lift the lid carefully (some of those unpopped guys like to jump out at this point) and pour the popcorn into the bowl.
  4. Drizzle a little olive oil onto the popcorn. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Add a tablespoon or two of nutritional yeast. Mix it all up so the popcorn is evenly coated. Taste and add more of whatever you think it needs. Eat it while it’s still warm.

Enjoy! And know that it is as good for you as it tastes.

Mushroom and Duck Risotto

mushroom and duck risotto - trust in kimAfter roasting a duck that came from this farm, I saved some meat and made a broth with the bones. The final product even tastier than the roast duck dinner. I used the duck broth, some of the meat, white wine, lots of wild mushrooms and some parmesan to give it loads of flavour. This would also be great without the duck, maybe using some chicken, or a vegetarian dish using vegetable broth instead.

Risotto isn’t difficult to make; it just takes some attention, as you need to stir it frequently and add the liquids slowly so it ends up with a nice creamy texture.

I found this recipe on the blog ‘Bossy Italian Wife.’ I changed the recipe a little by mixing some Parmesan into the risotto instead of just using it as a garnish. I also used wild mushrooms rather than button, but feel free to use what you can find or like. Also I didn’t have gravy to add to the risotto, but it was really good without it.

This makes two generous portions, or can be used as an appetizer for four people.

What you need:

  • a few teaspoons of duck fat
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 cups duck stock (kept warm on the stove)
  • 1 cup white wine
  • some leftover duck meat, pulled apart with a fork or your hands
  • 150 grams or more (5 ounces) mixed wild mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/2 cup arborio rice
  • 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese plus a little to garnish

What you do:

  1. Heat the duck fat at medium-high heat in a medium-sized pot.
  2. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook until they begin to brown.
  3. Add the rice to the pot and stir it for about a minute, allowing it to brown. Turn the heat down to medium.
  4. Add the wine to the pot and stir until it is absorbed into the rice. Don’t rush this process. Some good music will allow you to enjoy the stirring, and you’ll end up with the best risotto.
  5. Add a ladle-full of stock to the rice, stirring until it is absorbed. Keep adding, stirring, allowing each portion of stock to be absorbed before adding more. It should take about 20-30 minutes to cook the rice completely. Towards the end of the cooking time, begin testing the rice by biting into a piece to see if it is done. If it is still crunchy, keep cooking.
  6. When the rice is done add the duck meat and Parmesan. Let the duck heat through, then serve immediately, topped with a little more Parmesan cheese.

 

 

Prosciutto-Wrapped Grilled Endive

prosciutto wrapped grilled endive - trust in kimThese prosciutto-wrapped endive are a super easy, super delicious appetizer. I made it for a French roasted duck dinner recently, and it was a tasty way to start a meal with an aperitif of Lillet and sparkling water.

I usually find endive to be a bit too bitter for my taste, but grilled and paired with the salty meat is the perfect combination.

I got the recipe from seriouseats.com. I left off the walnuts because my guest doesn’t like them.

Serves 2

What you need:

  • 3 endive
  • 6 very thin slices of prosciutto or jambon de Bayonne
  • olive oil
  • salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • 1 slice fresh lemon
  • toasted walnuts (optional)

What you do:

  1. Slice the endive in half lengthwise. Drizzle each half with a little olive oil, then add some salt and pepper.
  2. Wrap each half in one piece of prosciutto.
  3. Heat a grilling or frying pan to medium heat.
  4. Grill for 4-5 minutes per side (my endives were on the small side, so 5 minutes was a little too long), until the endive is soft and the prosciutto has become crisp.
  5. Plate the endive and squeeze the lemon juice over top. Crumble the walnuts on top, if you are using them, and eat right away.