Category: Main Dishes

Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi Sandwich

lemongrass banh mi - trust in kim

A little while ago I posted a recipe for tofu banh mi wraps, which were quite delicious. On Halloween I ate a lemongrass chicken banh mi from a place that my friend John loves in the West End of Vancouver. It was so tasty that I knew I had to feed John’s addiction for these things by making them for him at my house. So I found this recipe on thedilettantechef, and I love the flavour. Marinating the chicken overnight really infuses it with the lemongrass and other flavours. It is topped it off with some homemade pickled daikon & carrots, cilantro, Thai basil, cucumbers and optional jalapeño, and you’ve got the best sandwich ever.

I’m a bit of a sandwich snob – if I’m going to eat bread it has to be fresh and awesome, and if I’m going to eat a sandwich it has to be made on the spot, and have interesting flavours. Plus it has to contain a reasonable amount of fresh vegetables. No pre-made, plastic-wrapped sandwiches for this princess! This one passes my guidelines easily.

Be careful of the jalapeño – sometimes they are hotter than other times, so you might want to go easy on them if you don’t love them really hot. The jalapeños I bought for this one were so hot that our mouths and lips were on fire, and it took away from the flavour and enjoyment a bit.

For a later, gluten-free version, I used rice paper wraps to make up some sandwiches – loved that too!

What you need for the chicken:

  • 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts(~2 lbs)
  • 2 stalks lemongrass, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 red Thai chili pepper, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
  • a few teaspoons peanut or canola oil for frying

What you need for the pickled carrot and daikon:

  • 1 large julienned carrot
  • 1 cup julienned daikon (optional)
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons sugar or honey
  • a large pinch of salt
  • a large pinch of red chili flakes

What you need for the sandwich:

  • a fresh crusty baguette
  • cilantro
  • Thai basil (if you absolutely can’t find it you can substitute fresh mint)
  • cucumber, thinly sliced
  • soy sauce
  • mayonnaise
  • Sriracha sauce
  • jalapeño slices

What you do:

  1. The day before you want to make these sandwiches, or at the very least 3-4 hours before, prepare the marinade for the chicken. Cut each chicken breast or thigh into about 3 pieces. Place each piece between a sheet of parchment paper and pound it until it is about 2cm thick. Combine all the marinade ingredients in a sealable container and coat the chicken with the sauce. Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.
  2. You can also make the pickled carrot and daikon ahead of time. It needs at least a few hours to pickle the vegetables. Combine all the ingredients in a jar, put the lid on it and shake it up a bit, then refrigerate. If the liquid doesn’t quite cover the vegetables, make up a little more of it.
  3. To prepare to build the sandwiches, get the toppings ready. Chop the cilantro and Thai basil, and slice the cucumbers and jalapeño pepper. Add a little bit of Sriracha sauce to the mayonnaise and stir it up. Have the soy sauce and pickled veg on hand, and slice the baguette open hotdog style. I like to let people make their own sandwich, so I just lay all the ingredients out on a platter.
  4. To prepare the chicken, heat a heavy frying pan on medium high and add a little bit of the peanut or canola oil. When it is hot add some of the chicken, not crowding the pan. Fry until the first side gets some dark colour, just a few minutes, then flip it and fry the other side until cooked through.
  5. To serve, sprinkle a little soy sauce on the inside of the bread (you might remove a little bit of bread from the inside before doing this), and spread on a little bit of Sriracha mayo. Add the chicken and some of each of the toppings as you desire, and enjoy immediately.

Roasted Vegetable Salad with Roasted Garlic Dressing

roasted vegetable salad - trust in kim

Please trust me on this one – this is the perfect fall and winter salad. It is so flavourful because of the combination of roasted vegetables, and the roasted garlic dressing is to die for. I could eat this every day. It makes a great starter, but throw the optional nuts on and it can work as a main course.

There were two surprises for me in this recipe: I’ve never really enjoyed turnips before, and I never imagined roasting apples with other vegetables, but I enjoyed every bite.

I made 1/4 recipe of the dressing since this was the first time I was making it, just in case I didn’t like it. I will definitely make more next time, as I imagine it would be good on top of many other foods. If you come up with other ways to use this dressing, please leave a comment so I can try it too. It will keep in the fridge for about a week.

This recipe  comes from Candle 79 restaurant in Manhattan, as printed in Brendan Brazier’s Whole Foods to Thrive. Thanks for sharing!

Serves 4

What you need for the dressing:

  • 1/4 cup garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons water (or more)
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon white miso
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • tiny pinch of nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

What you need for the salad:

  • 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 2 cups new potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 cup baby turnips, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 2 medium-sized beets, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 2 medium apples, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • arugula
  • toasted walnuts or pecans (optional)

What you do:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
  2. Place the peeled garlic cloves in a baking dish and add olive oil until they are covered. Cover the dish with foil and roast for about 25 minutes. When they have cooled slightly, remove the garlic and put it in a blender (I used an immersion blender). Keep the olive oil to use at another time, like for a stir fry or tomato sauce.
  3. Add all the other ingredients for the dressing to the blender, and blend until smooth. Add a little more water if necessary.
  4. When the garlic is roasted turn the oven up to 400F.
  5. Place all the cut vegetables and apples in a large bowl and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.
  6. Spread the vegetables in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for about 35-40 minutes, until tender. Mine were slightly browned, which I really enjoyed.
  7. Toss the vegetables in about 2 tablespoons of the roasted garlic dressing.
  8. Arrange the arugula on plates and top with the roasted vegetables. Sprinkle with some nuts if you are using them, and add a little more dressing if you wish.
  9. Serve immediately!

Enjoy!

roasted vegetables - trust in kim

John’s Tuna Sashimi

Tuna Sashimi - trust in kimOh, my mouth is watering as I type this.  This is one of the simplest and most pleasant ways to eat tuna.  And one of my favourite things to eat, period.

My friend John brought a piece of frozen tuna up to the cabin this summer and served it with buckwheat soba.  It is so tender and tasty, and takes only minutes (a minute?) to prepare.  The vital factor in the success of this dish is the quality of the fish. Only the very best will do. If you’re in Vancouver Fujiya on Clark, or Seafood City in the Granville Island Market are sure bets to get amazing quality tuna.

What you need:

  • the freshest sushi-grade ahi tuna you can find
  • spring onions/scallions
  • soy sauce
  • chopsticks
  • small bowls for soy sauce

What you do:

  1. If the tuna is frozen then take it out of the freezer about an hour before you want to serve it.  If it is fresh you will want to put it in the freezer for about 20 minutes before serving.  This makes it easier to cut.
  2. Slice the tuna with a very sharp knife. Arrange the tuna on a plate.
  3. Chop the green part of a spring onion and sprinkle them on top of the tuna.
  4. Each person should have a small bowl of tuna to dip their tuna in. Serve immediately.

Wondering what to do with the root and white part of the spring onion? Did you know that you can grow them to use a few days later, or just enjoy watching them grow? Here are the simple instructions.

 

Nicoise Salad

nicoise salad - trust in kim

Niçoise salad makes a great meal salad. I made this one in the summer, and am finally getting around to posting it now.  Of course you can make it in the winter, but just make sure to try to get the freshest tasting ingredients.  A good bet for tasty winter tomatoes is to buy cherry tomatoes; they seem to have more flavour. It is still September, so I still have a few tomatoes on the vine that I’m going to use to make this again soon.

Oops! I never measure when I make salad dressings, so I’ve given approximations. When the dressing is mixed you’ll have to taste and see if you need a little more of anything.

Part of what makes this a successful recipe is that you add some of the dressing to the potatoes while they are hot. When they are still hot they absorb the dressing really well. No more of those cold, bland potatoes sitting on the side of your niçoise salad!

What you need for the salad:

  • one large free-range egg per person
  • tomatoes
  • fresh green beans, or a mixture of green and yellow
  • tender salad greens
  • new potatoes, cut in half
  • olives (niçoise if you can find them – I could not – kalamata work too)
  • (niçoise salad often has tuna on it; add that if you wish)

For the dressing:

  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • white wine vinegar
  • olive oil

What you do:

  1. Begin by placing the eggs in a small pot; cover with a lid and let this heat up until they have just barely reached a boil.  Now turn off the heat, keep the lid on and set the timer for 12 minutes. Pour the hot water out of the pot and place the eggs in cold water. There are many methods for boiling egg – in this one we don’t actually boil it; boiling an egg makes it tougher.  12 minutes works for a large egg; use more or less time with different sizes of eggs, and longer if you are at a high altitude. When they have cooled (I actually like to add them when they are still slightly warm) you can peel and quarter them.
  2. Place the halved potatoes in a pot with some salted water and bring to a boil.  Cook until you can pierce the potato easily with a sharp knife. You will need to prepare the dressing while they are cooking.
  3. Chop the onion.  Add the Dijon, sugar, a pinch of salt and a few grindings of pepper to a bowl. Mix the onion into this.  Now slowly add a few tablespoons of white wine vinegar as you mix with a fork until combined.  Drizzle in a few tablespoons of olive oil, constantly mixing with the fork, and stopping to taste as you go. Add as much olive oil as you think tastes good, then adjust the salt and pepper to taste.
  4. When the potatoes are cooked, drain the water.  Keep the potatoes in the pot and add about half of the dressing to them while they are still hot, and then give them a gentle stir.  Set them aside to cool.
  5. Bring another liberally salted pot of water to a boil while you clean and cut the ends off the beans. Some of the salt will absorb into the beans as they cook. Have a large bowl of ice water waiting for the beans when they come out. Cook them for only a few minutes; they should still be bright green and tender-crisp. I say better to err on the side of undercooked. As soon as they are done, drain the boiling water and add the beans to the ice bath. Leave them there until completely cooled.  This stops the cooking process, so you don’t end up with sad wilted beans. I like to drain them and then roll them in a clean dish cloth to dry them off.
  6. Wash the tomatoes and cut into wedges if you are not using cherry tomatoes.
  7. Toss the salad greens with a little bit of dressing, then arrange on the plate.  Decorate with the beans, potatoes, eggs tomatoes and olives. You can add a drizzle more dressing if you want. I like to add another little sprinkle of salt and pepper to the top.

 

Roasted Pepper and Tomato soup

roasted pepper and tomato soup - trust in kim

 

This is a flavourful, somewhat spicy, and quite healthy soup – a perfect storm for me.

I created this soup to use up some chicken stock and red peppers that I had in my fridge, as well as some fresh corn that a friend brought over.  I’ve never made such a big batch of chicken stock, and ran out of room in my tiny freezer – this was a great way to use it up.  It’s got roasted bell and poblano peppers, as well as a dried ancho chile pureed into the tomatoes – I think the anchos are what takes this recipe to the next level, and I will definitely use this strategy of adding flavour into recipes in the future.

This would be great topped with avocado, or cilantro, or some Mexican crumbling cheese. And a wedge of lime to squeeze in.

Just a word about the roasted peppers: I know that some people like to get rid of every trace of the skin by washing the peppers, but I like to keep little bits of the skin on. This way it reminds me of the amazing sauces I ate in Mexico.  You always knew they were homemade and delicious if they had those flecks of black skin in them.

What you need:

  • 1 dried ancho chile
  • 1 – 398mL/14 oz fire roasted tomatoes
  • 1 red, orange or yellow bell pepper
  • 1 poblano pepper
  • olive oil
  • 1/2 a large sweet onion, diced
  • 1 chicken breast or 2 thighs (omit for vegetarians!)
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 – 425 grams / 15 oz can of pinto beans, drained
  • 2 ears of fresh corn (substitute with peaches and cream canned corn  – I don’t personally like frozen)
  • 4-6 cups chicken broth (substitute vegetable broth)
  • optional:
  • lime
  • avocado
  • Mexican crumbling cheese
  • cilantro
  • hot sauce for those who like it

What you do:

  1. Roast the peppers over a gas stove or barbecue, turning frequently with tongs until all the skin is charred and black.  Place in a container fitted with a lid until it cools a bit, 10-15 minutes.
  2. Roast the dry ancho chile very briefly over the flame, then remove the stem and seeds.  Add this to a blender along with the can of tomatoes.  Puree until smooth.
  3. In a large pot over a medium flame drizzle in a little olive oil (I use less than 1 tablespoon).  Add the onions and cook, stirring from time to time, for a few minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for another few minutes, but don’t let the garlic brown.
  4. Add the chicken, if you are using it, and let that cook for a few minutes before pouring in the broth and tomato/ancho mixture. Let this simmer for 15-20 minutes. Remove the chicken and chop it up, then add it back to the soup.
  5. Meanwhile, remove the blackened skin from the peppers, then remove the stem and seeds.   Chop the peppers, then add them to the soup.
  6. Drain and rinse the beans and add them to the soup.  Cut the corn off the cobs and add that to the soup.  Let this simmer for a few minutes, then season with salt and a little pepper to taste.
  7. Garnish with toppings of your choice.

Green Chile Chicken Soft Tacos

green chile chicken soft tacos - trust in kim

Last weekend I got together with some friends and made an amazing Mexican meal.  We made our own soft corn tortillas with various salsa toppings, and this awesome chicken filling.   We also had some homemade refried beans and a nice light jicama salad. And of course some beer – Negro Modelo is my favourite Mexican beer because it is a little darker than most.

This is another Rick Bayless recipe, from his Mexican Everyday cookbook.  So far every recipe of his that I’ve tried has been so delicious, and the meals I had at his restaurant Xoco in Chicago were out of this world.

You can buy the tortillas if you don’t want to make them; just warm them up before serving. The homemade ones were the best, but a lot of work. If you get everyone involved and have a bit of an assembly line going it could be fun (well, I think so, but other people seemed to disagree that this this might be an option for next time).

This recipe serves about 4 people.

I like for people to be able to dress up their tacos to their liking, so it’s great to have a variety of toppings.  Here’s a list of possibilities (you don’t have to do them all!); I would choose at least two salsas and a few other items.

What you need for the chicken filling:

  • 2 large poblano peppers
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
  • 1 large white onion, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
  • salt
  • about 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • jalapeno or other hot pepper slices

What you do:

  1. Roast the poblano peppers over a gas stove or a barbecue, turning often with tongs.  The skin should become all black.  Place the peppers in a sealable container and leave for about 15 minutes to cool and let the skins soften.
  2. Turn your oven on very low.
  3. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until they are golden but still have a bit of crunch to them. Place these in a heatproof container and put in the oven to keep warm.
  4. Rub most of the blackened skin off the peppers and remove the stem and seeds.  Cut into 1/4 inch strips and add to the onions. Season with salt and return to the oven.
  5. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Place the skillet on medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of oil. Lay the chicken in the pan when the oil is hot. Brown on one side for about 5 minutes, then the other for about 4 minutes. When the meat has cooked add the lime juice and garlic to the skillet. Cook for about a minute, turning the chicken to coat in the lime juice, until the lime had formed a glaze over the chicken. (We didn’t cook the chicken all the way through in the pan – we added the garlic and lime and let it glaze the chicken, and we threw the chicken on the grill before slicing it – this gave it that nice smoky flavour).
  6. Cut the chicken into 1/4  inch strips and toss with the onions and poblano peppers. Taste and see if you need to add more salt.
  7. Serve in fresh warm tortillas with a choice toppings.

homemade tacos - trust in kim

Banh Mi Wraps – Gluten-free, Vegan & Scrumptious

banh mi wrap - trust in kim

This is a little something I invented for a super healthy dinner recently.  This summer I tasted my first Banh Mi sandwich, a Vietnamese dish which seems to be very popular these days.  I loved it, but I wanted to make a healthier version, and something for people who can’t eat gluten or are trying to stay away from it.  So I made this version with tons of veggies, and chose to put in tofu instead of meat.  I also made it once with shrimp, but I preferred the tofu version because the sauce it is made in is so yummy. If you substitute meat make sure it is something with a flavourful sauce – there are tons or recipes available on the internet.

So the idea for the rice paper wrap is mine, but the sauce for the tofu comes from Mark Bittman.  I made his recipe a little simpler by using the tofu right out of the package; his recipe calls for cutting, freezing and thawing the tofu – way too much work! And it also tasted great this way.

You can alter the fillings, but it really needs to have some cilantro, cucumbers, jalapeno slices, pickled carrots, and something with a sauce, like tofu or meat.

What you need for the caramelized tofu:

  • 1 – 14 oz package extra-dry tofu
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 & 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce (or use 2 & 1/2 tablespoons more soy if you don’t use fish sauce)
  • 2 & 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 & 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar

What you need for the pickled carrot daikon:

  • 1 large grated or julienned carrot (and some daikon if you want)
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon sugar or honey
  • a large pinch of salt
  • a large pinch of red chili flakes

What you need for the rest of the wraps:

  • cucumber cut into matchsticks
  • Sriracha sauce
  • cilantro, chopped
  • 1 jalapeno, thinly sliced
  • 1 red bell pepper cut into matchsticks (optional)
  • 1/2 cup spinach, chopped (optional)
  • pea shoots (optional)
  • spring onions, sliced

What you do:

  1. Make the pickled carrots/daikon ahead of time. Just combine the water, rice vinegar, sugar or honey, salt and chili flakes and stir to combine.  Then add the carrot and give it a little stir.  Let this sit for at least 1/2 hour or overnight.  I made mine a day ahead of time. Double the recipe if you add daikon.
  2. Thinly slice the onion.
  3. To make the caramelized tofu put the sugar into a large skillet over medium-low heat  with 1 tablespoon of water. Cook for about 10 minutes, shaking the pan from time to time, but not stirring – not stirring is an important to get your sugar to caramelize properly.  ( watch a video on how to caramelize here) It will be done when it is a golden brown colour. When the sugar has caramelized, slowly add the soy sauce and fish sauce. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, for about 8-10 minutes, or until the onion is softened. Add the tofu and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes or until the tofu has absorbed a lot of the sauce.  Add the tablespoon of rice vinegar and remove from the heat.
  4. Boil some water to prepare the rice paper.
  5. Get all your topping chopped and ready to assemble the wraps.
  6. To prepare the rice paper, pour some very hot water into a dinner plate or shallow pan.  Place one sheet of rice paper into the water and let it sit for a few seconds, until it becomes more pliable, but not so much that it tears apart easily.
  7. Remove the rice paper from the water and place fillings in the middle, leaving room to fold the edges into a wrap.  Add vegetables and tofu with sauce, then top with some jalapeno slices and Sriracha sauce to your liking. Fold the bottom of the rice paper part way up then fold the left and right sides over each other, leaving the top open.
  8. Eat it right away. The rice paper doesn’t like to be kept waiting, and will turn crusty. I like to let people add what they like to their own wraps, so I just lay out all the options and they can go to it.

banh mi toppings - trust in ki

Bocconcini, Cherry Tomato and Pesto Pizza

pizza - trust in kim

Time again for making pizza in the brick oven up at the cabin.  My Opa built it over 30 years ago, in the same style as the one they used when they lived in Paraguay.  Of course, those of you without a Paraguayan brick oven are welcome to use a regular oven, and this is the process I will describe here.

The dough, which needs to be started the day before, and the sauce recipes are from A16 Food and Wine by Nate Appleman and Shelley Lindgren. This is my favourite pizza crust and I believe it is worth the extra effort, but I hear there is also some really good ready-made pizza dough out there, like the one at Trader Joe’s.

This recipe makes enough for 3-4 medium-sized pizzas with a thin crust.  Of course you can make yours with any toppings you like, but I recommend that more is less. I’ve only included toppings for one pizza here, so you can come up with a few other ideas for toppings for the other ones. Our favourite combination of toppings this time around was the prosciutto and mushroom one, but I didn’t manage to get a picture of that one.

What you need for the crust:

  • 1/4 teaspoon yeast
  • 1 & 1/2 cups warm water
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 4 cups “oo” flour or all-purpose (I used all-purpose)

What you need for the tomato sauce and toppings for one pizza:

  • one 28-ounce can of tomatoes (San Marzano if you can find them)
  • 1-2 teaspoons salt
  • 7-8 baby bocconcini, sliced
  • 10-12 cherry tomatoes, halved and seeds removed
  • a few tablespoons of pesto, store-bought or this recipe
  • about 1/2 cup grated smoked gruyere, or cheese of your choice

What you do:

1. Begin preparing the dough a day before you want to make the pizza. You can do this by hand, but it’s just a bit more work. Pour the warm (not hot – just body temperature) water into a mixer fitted with a dough hook and then sprinkle the yeast on top.  Leave it for about 10 minutes and it should become foamy – if it doesn’t your water was the wrong temperature, or the yeast is dead.  Stir in the olive oil and salt.  Add the flour and mix on low for 2 minutes.  Knead on medium-low for about 10 minutes – it will pull away from the bowl and begin to look smoother.  Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let it rest for 5 minutes. Knead once more on medium-low for 10 minutes – it will be smooth and quite soft.  If it seems much too sticky you can add a little more flour.  Coat a bowl with a little olive oil and then coat both sides of the dough with olive oil, placing the dough in the bowl.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge over night.

2. In the morning remove the  dough from the fridge and punch it down.  Fold the sides of the dough under and put it back in the bowl.  Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let it sit in a warm (not hot) place until about 2 hours before you are going to use it.

3. Punch the dough down and divide it into 4 pieces.  Form them into balls and cover them with a damp towel for about 2 hours.  By this time the dough should have doubled in volume.  If it starts to get a skin on it you can spray it with a little water.

4. To prepare the sauce, just put the tomatoes and juice into a bowl and squish them into little bits with your hands.  Add the salt.

5. Preheat the oven to 500-550 F.

6. To form the crusts, shape the dough into a disk with your hands.  Push down in the center with your palm and pull the dough out gently with your other hand, rotating slightly until you have a crust that is about 10-12 inches/25-30 cm in diameter with a slightly raised edge. (or you can use a rolling-pin) Dust your baking pan generously with flour and place the crust on it.  I don’t have a proper pizza stone or pan, and the baking tray I used worked just fine.

7. Spread some tomato sauce onto the crust, then the tomatoes, dollops of pesto, bocconcini slices, and the gruyere on top. 

8. Bake for 6-7 minutes, until the crust is crisp and golden, and the top is bubbling.

Paraguayan brick oen - trust in kim

Panfried Garlic Trout with Zucchini

panfried garlic trout - trust in kim

Although I didn’t fish this summer I was lucky enough to be gifted some rainbow trout: two from my dad and one big one from my Uncle Peter and niece Courtney.

For this recipe I tried to recreate a fish dish I had in Mexico once, which had a lot of garlic and olive oil on it.  This turned out a little different, partly because I don’t know how to fillet and served the fish whole, but it was its own kind of awesome.  The sauce was great on the fish, and also made this my new favourite way to serve zucchini.  Good thing there’s so much coming up in my garden right now!

What you need:

  • 1 large trout for 2 people (or course you can try this with other fish)
  • 1 head of garlic
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 1/3 cup chicken broth (or vegetable if you prefer)
  • 2 small zucchini or one larger one

What you do:

  1. Chop all except two cloves of the garlic to a medium-small size.  Chopping is preferable to using a garlic press because the press makes it mushy, and you want to have some pieces of garlic for this recipe.
  2. Heat a large frying pan (large enough to fit the fish) to medium and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  When it is hot add the chopped garlic and cook, stirring, until it is lightly browned.  Pour  the garlic and oil into a bowl and add the chicken broth and salt to it.  If your broth was salty you won’t need to add much or any salt.
  3. Start the grill.  Of course you don’t need to use a grill because you’re going to cook in a frying pan, but I don’t like my home to smell like fish so I chose to cook it outside. I cooked the garlic inside, but this can also be done on the grill.
  4. Cut the zucchini on a diagonal about 2 cm thick.
  5. Season the fish with salt and pepper, inside the cavity of the fish if you’ve got a whole one, or just on top if you have fillets.
  6. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, let it heat, then add the 2 cloves of garlic which you have cut in half.  Let this cook until the garlic has begun to brown.
  7. When the grill is hot put the frying on it and place the fish in it, keeping the olive oil and large garlic pieces in the pan, and put the lid down.  Cook on each side for 7-8 minutes, depending on the size of the fish.  When it is done remove the fish from the pan to a serving plate and cover to keep warm.
  8. Place the zucchini slices in the frying pan and cook for about 3 minutes per side, so it is still firm in the inside.  Add half of the garlic and chicken broth sauce and stir to coat the zucchini. Let the sauce heat up for a minute or so.
  9. Spoon some garlic sauce into the cavity of the fish, then arrange the zucchini around the fish on the platter.

Bon appetit!

 

Cilantro Guajillo Chili Tofu

cilantro guajillo chili tofu - trust in kimguajillo chili tofu - trust in kim

This is one of my favourite new recipes, and I’ve made it a few times this summer already.  I can honestly say that this is my favourite tofu recipes I’ve ever made, and right now one of my favourite meals period.  And I’m not a vegetarian!

The guajillo chili salsa is a garlicky olive oil sauce with orange juice and cilantro – packed with flavour, which is just what tofu needs.  I make up a recipe of the salsa and keep it in the fridge to use on various foods, including grilled chicken and shrimp.  This time I served it on a bed of greens with grilled fresh zucchini. Another time I made it with spinach and my favourite dressing. 

What you need:

  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 head garlic, chopped
  • salt and pepper
  • juice of 1 large orange
  • 2 dried guajillo peppers, cut into strips (I use kitchen scissors to do this)
  • 1 bunch cilantro, washed and dried
  • 1 block medium-firm tofu

What you do:

  1. I like to prepare the guajillo chili salsa a while before I need to use it so the flavours have a chance to mingle.  To begin, heat a frying pan to medium heat and add the olive oil.  Add the garlic, pepper and a liberal amount of salt, and stir once in a while.  When it is slightly golden add the orange juice and guajillo pepper strips, seeds and all.  Let this simmer for a few minutes. Set aside to cool, then use an immersion blender or food processor to blend with the cilantro, stems and all.  Season to taste with salt and pepper; I find it usually needs a bit more salt. Refrigerate to use when you wish.
  2. Pat the tofu dry on a towel then slice about 1.5 – 2 cm thick.  Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and add the tofu strips. Spoon about one teaspoonful of guajillo chili salsa on each strip of tofu, then flip them.  Let them fry for about 2-3  minutes on that side, then add another teaspoonful of salsa to the other side and fry that for another 2 minutes or so until it has darkened a bit.
  3. When you remove it from the pan make sure to scrape up any baked-on bits of salsa and spread them over the tofu.  So tasty!

guajillo chili in olive oil - trust in kim