Category: Main Dishes

Roasted Butternut Squash, Cauliflower and Onions with Tahini Sauce

Roasted butternut squash, cauliflower and red onions with tahini sauce, za’atar and pine nuts: otherwise known as my new favourite meal.  And it’s vegan and gluten-free, and it’ll make you feel good on a rainy fall evening – at least it did for me!  And I’m really looking forward to my leftovers for lunch tomorrow.  I got the idea for the recipe from a  Yotam Ottolenghi recipe.  I added the cauliflower because I think it is perfect with tahini sauce, and I changed the cooking method a bit, cooking the squash before cutting it, because it’s easier to cut when it’s soft.  I also used my tahini recipe instead of his.

I served mine on quinoa to make it a filling meal, but it would be great on a bed of greens too.  Feel free to leave out the za’atar and pine nuts if you want, and garnish with some fresh pomegranate or parsley.

What you need:

1 butternut squash

1 head of cauliflower, cut into small florets

2 red onions, cut into large chunks

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

For the tahini sauce:

1/4 cup tahini

1/2 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

dash of hot sauce

1/4 cup of warm water, or as needed

For the za’atar: (there are so many ways to make this, so make it up as you go along)

1 tablespoon ground sumac

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground sesame seeds

1/4 teaspoon ground anise or fennel seeds

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 425F.  To roast the veggies, first cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds.  Place the two pieces face down on a baking sheet and roast for about half an hour or until you can pierce it easily with a knife.

2. Put the onions and cauliflower pieces on another baking sheet, and toss them with the olive oil and some salt and pepper.  Put them in the oven with the squash for about 25 minutes.  About half way through the roasting, give them a stir.  The cauliflower should be a little browned when it is done.

3. Combine the tahini, garlic, lemon juice, salt and hot sauce.  Add the warm water gradually, adding enough until the sauce is a consistency you like.  I like mine pretty liquidy, so I can drizzle it.  You can also adjust the lemon and hot sauce to your liking.  I usually add a little more lemon.

4. To make the za’atar just combine all the spices.  If you have them whole and want to grind them, it’s going to be even tastier.

5.  To serve, cut the squash into chunks and serve it on a bed of quinoa or greens, then top with some onion and cauliflower.  Drizzle with the tahini, pretty liberally, then sprinkle on some pine nuts and za’atar.

Enjoy!

 

 

Turkey and Hot Italian Sausage Meatballs

Looking for an appetizer and wanting to make something for the meat-lovers coming to visit, I decided meatballs were the perfect thing.  I thought about what I would love in a meatball, and decided to improve on what I’ve done in the past.  I combined some favourites that I thought would work well together – the spice of the hot Italian sausages, the lightness of the turkey, a punch of flavour from the sun-dried tomatoes, and then some pistachios for a twist.  I put it all into a homemade tomato sauce, which is so easy, and I cooked them for a long time to make the sauce really thick and to give the flavours time to mingle.

I served them on skewers for appetizers, and the leftovers made a great topping for spaghetti squash.  Of course you could always go with the standby comfort food, spaghetti and meatballs.

What you need for the meatballs:

400 grams ground turkey thigh

400 grams hot Italian sausage, removed from casings (or chorizo)

1 egg

1/3 cup fine breadcrumbs

1 tablespoon finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes (or oven-roasted)

1 tablespoon fresh basil, finely chopped

2 teaspoons fresh oregano, finely chopped

2 tablespoons unsalted pistachios,  finely chopped

1/3 cup finely grated parmesan

1/4 cup onion, finely chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

What you need for the sauce:

1 small onion

1 large can pureed tomatoes

3 tablespoons butter

a little red wine (optional)

a rind from parmesan cheese (optional but amazing! save your rinds for this purpose!)

salt and pepper to taste

fresh basil, optional

What you do:

The sauce can be made ahead of time and refrigerated or frozen until you need it.  The whole recipe can be made ahead of time and reheated.  I think it`s even better the second time around.

1. Start the sauce first by simply emptying the can of tomatoes into a pot, then adding the butter and the cheese rind.  Put the whole onion into the pot – it will simmer to add flavour, and you will remove it at the end.

2. Bring the sauce to a low boil, and simmer for 40 minutes to an hour.  Add a little red wine or water if it`s getting too thick.

3.  Remove the rind and the onion, and add salt, pepper, and the optional basil to taste.  If you think it needs it, you can add a little brown sugar to the tomato sauce.

4.  If you made the sauce ahead of time, heat it up in a large pot.

5.  Combine all the meatball ingredients together in a bowl. I mix it with my hands because I’m going to use my hands to make the meatballs anyways.  Don’t mix the meatball mixture too much, just until it is combined.

6. Drop the meatballs directly into the sauce, on a low simmer.  Try not to stir them until they’ve had some cooking time, so they solidify and won’t break as easily.  Spoon some sauce over the tops of the meatballs, so they are all covered.  Cook for at least half an hour, but preferably longer, until the sauce is nice and thick.

Serve on pasta, spaghetti squash, or on toothpicks as an appetizer.

Tomato Pesto

I haven’t made this in ages, but now that I’ve reminded my taste buds, I’ll be making it again soon.  This is a twist on traditional pesto, with a base of tomato.  It’s so easy to make, and works well on pasta, spaghetti squash, or steamed julienned zucchini, which is pictured.

What you need:

1/3 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted and chopped (use pumpkin seeds if you don’t like pine nuts)

1  small can of tomato paste

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup chopped basil

1/2 cup grated parmesan

2 cloves garlic, finely diced

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup water

salt and pepper to taste

What you do:

1. Mix all the ingredients together.  If you have time, let it sit for about an hour.  If not, serve it on top of your favourite pasta or one of the other suggestions above.

 

Vietnamese Salad Rolls with Buckwheat Soba and Peanut Sauce

After a conversation with some Vietnamese friends about food, I suddenly had a craving for salad rolls.  They make a nice light meal, and they’re pretty easy to whip up.  I used buckwheat instead of rice noodles because I like them, and because I think they’re good for you. You can adapt the salad rolls in many ways, adding chicken or shrimp instead of tofu if you like. And if you really want to make it easy, forget about wrapping it, and serve it up in a bowl as a salad, with a little of the peanut sauce drizzled on top.

What you need:

buckwheat soba noodles, cooked and cooled

carrot, julienned

cucumber, julienned

puffed or smoked tofu, sliced

spinach or lettuce

cilantro

spring onion (optional)

rice paper wraps

For the peanut sauce:

1/4 cup unsweetened peanut butter

1 & 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar

1 & 1/2 teaspoons grated ginger (I keep it in the freezer so it grates easily)

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

2 tablespoons honey

a little hot sauce or chili flakes

2-4 tablespoons water to thin it down to the consistency you like

What you do:

1. Cook the noodles according to the package instructions, then run them under cold water and let them cool down.

2. To make the sauce, combine the peanut butter with the soy sauce, then add the rest of the ingredients, mixing it up until there are no lumps of peanut butter left.

3. Have all the filling ingredients ready to go before getting the rice wrappers ready.  To prepare the wraps, just put some hot water in a shallow dish, and let the rice paper sit in the water for about 10 seconds.  When it is pliable, remove it carefully from the water and place it on your working surface.  Place some spinach/salad in a strip down the middle, then add the rest of your fillings.  Don’t use too much filling or you won’t have an easy time closing it up.

4. To wrap, fold the bottom edge up a little, then fold one side of the wrap over the filling.  Now roll it up.

5. Serve it up with the peanut sauce, and you’ve got a great meal or appetizer.

Italian Wedding Soup

After a gorgeous summer of vacationing in very hot climates, I was a little shocked to come home to Vancouver’s fabulously moderate climate.  So shocked that in early September I had to make some soup to warm me up a little.  I started with a great homemade chicken stock, which makes all soups fabulous, then made up my version of Italian Wedding Soup.  I always thought it was called that because it was served at weddings, but I recently read that it is called that because greens and meat marry well together.  My version has turkey meatballs, because it seemed like a healthy thing to do.

Although I am lactose intolerant, I find the hard cheeses like parmesan aren’t too hard to tolerate, because they actually contain very little lactose.

What you need for the soup:

6-8 cups chicken stock

1 medium onion, chopped

olive oil

3 carrots, peeled and chopped into thin rounds

1 bay leaf

1/3 cup orzo pasta

1 bunch spinach, washed and roughly chopped

What you need for the meatballs:

400 grams ground turkey

2 tablespoon onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, finely diced

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup bread crumbs

2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped

salt and pepper

a pinch of nutmeg

1 egg

What you do:

1. Heat a little olive oil in a large pot on medium heat, then add the onion and cook it for a few minutes until it is softened.  Add the garlic and cook for another minute.  Add the carrot and cook for a minute or two.  Add the broth and the bay leaf.  Bring this to a boil – you will add the raw meatballs to this broth.

2. Combine all the meatball ingredients and mix them together a little with your hands – don’t over-mix.  Form the mixture into small meatballs with your hands, about a teaspoon or smaller in size.  Drop the meatballs into the soup as you make them, making sure you keep it on a low boil as you go. Once all the meatballs are in, allow the soup to cook for about 10 minutes.

3.  Add the orzo to the pot of boiling soup, stirring from time to time.

4.  When the orzo is cooked through, season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.  Now add the spinach and cook it briefly, until it wilts.

Buon appetito!

I had some of this soup for leftovers, and it was yummy, but the spinach wasn’t very green after the first serving.  If you plan to use it for leftovers, you might want to leave the spinach out, and add it when you reheat.

Confit de Canard avec les Pommes de Terre et Legumes

 

In France this summer I enjoyed eating duck on many occasions.  One night Corey and I made our own confit de canard dinner at a B&B.  We had this gorgeous outdoor space to cook and eat our meal in.  Duck confit is cured in salt, then cooked in its own fat.  And is amazing!  In France it is readily available, but not so much at home.  If you’re in Vancouver, I’ve heard you can buy it at Oyama Sausage at Granville Island.  The excess fat can be saved in the fridge to cook potatoes in the future.

What you need:

two legs of confit de canard

potatoes

1 zucchini, sliced about 2 cm thick

butter

2 tomatoes

salt and pepper

What you do:

1. Heat a frying pan on medium high and put the duck legs in it.  Cook them until they are nicely browned.

2. To cook the potatoes you can begin by either boiling them, or pierce with a fork and pop them in the microwave.  Then cut into thick slices.

3. Remove the legs from the pan and keep them in a warm oven.  Remove some of the fat from the frying pan, then add the potatoes.  Fry them until they are browned on each side. (If you want to make Perigord style potatoes, add some garlic and lots of parsley.  We didn’t get to try this, but our B&B host told us it was amazing, so that is how I’ll try it next time).

4. In another pan, heat a tablespoon or so of butter, then add the zucchini slices.  Brown them slightly on each side, then add salt and pepper.

5. Cut the tomato into slices and salt and pepper them.  If you have some balsamic reduction you can add some of that too.

Plate the duck, potatoes, zucchini and tomatoes and enjoy a gorgeous meal with a glass of red wine.  Ours was a Bordeaux.

 

The French countryside

Shrimp Ceviche

If you love seafood, this one’s for you, a nice summery dish.  It’s as easy as cutting up some stuff and letting it sit for a while.  You don’t cook the shrimp; that’s what the lime juice does.  It’s a nice appetizer or part of a light meal that you can serve with nacho chips.  It’s important to get really fresh shrimp!

I found the recipe here.

What you need:

1/2 tomato, diced

1/4 cup red onion, diced

1/2 cup cucumber, diced

200 grams fresh raw prawns, deveined and shelled, chopped

juice of 1 lime

1/4 of a Serrano chili, deseeded and finely diced

1/2 teaspoon salt

hot sauce

What you do:

1. Put everything except the hot sauce into a bowl, stir to combine everything.  Put it in the fridge for at least an hour.

2. Taste your ceviche, then add some hot sauce of you wish.

Ready to serve with some nacho chips!

 

 

Zucchini “Spaghetti”

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This is a summery twist on a standard comfort food.  It’s just some raw zucchini strips with a delicious tomato sauce.  I served it with chicken, but it makes a nice light and healthy meal on its own.  The sauce only takes about a half hour of cooking, and the zucchini just needs to be julienned, and you’ve got a great meal!

What you need:

1 zucchini

1 – 796 mL can of pureed tomatoes

1 small onion

a few tablespoons of butter or olive oil

a few garlic cloves

salt and pepper to taste

fresh basil

What you do:

1. Throw the whole onion, garlic cloves, butter and tomato sauce into a pot and cook for about half an hour, or more if you’ve got the time.  Take the onion and garlic out when it’s done, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

2.  Julienne the zucchini and plate it.  Pour some of the hot sauce on top of the zucchini, and top with some fresh basil.

Yum, easy and delicious!

Breakfast Arepas

On my recent trip to Quebec City I was treated to this great breakfast made by Eduardo.  He is from Venezuela, and he showed me how to make these traditional Venezuelan arepas.  They are the vehicle for whatever you want to stuff into them; we had egg and cheese in ours, and then some “dessert” arepas with nutella, cream cheese and jam.

What you need for the arepas:

1 cup corn flour

about 1 cup water

about 1/2 teaspoon salt

a little oil for frying

What you need for the eggs:

a few eggs

chopped onion

chopped tomatoes

diced garlic

salt and pepper

What you do:

1. Mix the flour, salt and water until there are no lumps.  Scoop some dough into your hands and roll it into a ball.  Then flatten it out and make the edges round.

2. Heat a frying pan with a little oil, then place the patties in the pan until browned on each side.

3. Heat the oven to 350F and place the arepas into the oven on the rack.  After 10-15 minutes, take one out of the oven to see if the inside is cooked.  To do this, take one in your hand and tap on it; it’s ready if it makes a dull hollow sound.

4. While they are baking, cook the onions and garlic for a few minutes in a little oil in a frying pan, then add the tomatoes.  Beat the eggs with a fork and add about a tablespoon of water and some salt and pepper.  When the onions and tomatoes have cooked for a few minutes, add the eggs to the pan and cook them.

5. To serve, slice the arepas open, spread on a little butter,  and then fill with some egg.  Add a piece of cheese if you like, and you’re set.

 

Le Croissant Quebecois de Kim

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This summer I am staying in a college dormitory for three weeks as I attend French classes at the College Merici. Our kitchen is equipped with just a pot and a pan and a few plates, cups and cutlery.  Not wanting to equip an entire kitchen, my roommates and I have been challenging ourselves to make delicious meals using few ingredients and cooking utensils.

For Saturday brunch I walked to the patisserie to buy the croissants, and then came home to whip these up.  Et voila!  Les Croissants aux oeufs, avec bacon et des tomates!

What you need:

croissants, 1 per person

eggs, 1 per person

bacon, 1-2 slices per person

tomatoes, 1 small tomato per person

salt and pepper

olive oil

What you do:

1. Fry the bacon until crispy, then drain it on paper towels. Remove most of the bacon fat from the pan.

2. Slice the tomatoes, then fry them in a little bit of the bacon fat.  Add salt and pepper, and cook a little on each side.

3. Crack the eggs into a bowl, add a little salt and pepper and mix them up with a fork.  Add a little water, about a tablespoon, and mix it in.

4. Remove the tomatoes from the pan and set aside.  Add some olive oil to the pan, then cook the eggs. I like to have the pan on medium high, then add the eggs.  I don’t stir them until they have cooked a bit on the bottom, stir a little, then let them cook again, stirring maybe once or twice more before they are done.

5. To prepare the croissants, slice them open, then put in some eggs, then add the tomatoes and bacon on top.

Bon apetit!