Seasonal Ontario Food

These were so yummy! We had no trouble (do we ever?) eating them all ourselves, with rice and peas on the side. If you were serving other Indian dishes with them, though, they would go further. Also they would go further if you are not the complete piggies that we are. You could cut the recipe in half but I suspect you could easily keep half in the fridge for cooking the next day. 

I liked the touch of red pepper, but it's not particularly traditional. Next time I might broil the peppers a bit before threading them on the skewers; they stayed pretty crisp even when the chicken was cooked.

 

2 to 4 servings

20 minutes to prepare chicken and marinade

2 to 24 hours to marinate

15 minutes to cook

 

 

4 to 6 cloves (1 head) garlic

2" piece of ginger

1/2 teaspoon cumin seed

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

1/4 to 1 teaspoon hot red chile powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro

1/4 cup coarsely chopped mint leaves

2 tablespoons very thick yogurt

the juice of 1/2 large lemon

   OR 1 large lime

1 tablespoon mild vegetable oil

2 or 3 (600 grams; 1.5 pounds) skinless, boneless chicken breasts 

1/2 large red or orange bell pepper OPTIONAL

Peel and slice the garlic, and put it in the bowl of blender with the ginger, also peeled and sliced. Add the spices and salt. 

Wash and dry the cilantro and mint. Trim the stems off the cilantro, chop it coarsely, and add it. The mint leaves should be picked off the stems and the stems discarded, except for the tender tips. Add the yogurt and purée the mixture, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. Scrape as much of it out as you can into the container in which you are going to marinate the chicken. 

Add the lemon juice to the blender and process to wash down the sides. Pour it into the rest of the marinade and add the oil. Mix well. 

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces. Add them to the marinade and turn them to coat them in it. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to overnight. 

If using bamboo skewers, soak them for at least 30 minutes first; several hours is better so I try to remember to start soaking them as the chicken begins to marinate. Thread the chicken on the skewers, keeping as much marinade on them as possible. If you like, put bite-sized pieces of red or orange bell pepper in between each piece of chicken. Lay them on a broiler pan and spoon half the remaining marinade evenly over them.

 

Broil for 5 to 6 minutes per side (2 sides) until cooked through. When you turn them over, spoon the remaining marinade over them before broiling again. Serve at once with rice or naan, and the vegetable dishes of your choice. 

 

 

 

 

 

Last year at this time I made Pizza Crackers. 

It's still greenhouse cukes, of course. We're only just planting ours today. Mint, parsley and cilantro are all up and useable by now, however. I didn't use any cilantro here, but you could. Other optional additions: a few chives and/or radishes now, melon or watermelon later in the season.

 

4 servings

20 minutes prep time

 

 

the juice of 1/2 lemon

3 tablespoons olive oil

a pinch of salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper

 

Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl or jam jar. 

2 or 3 small greenhouse cucumbers

100 grams (4 ounces) feta cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 or 3 tablespoons toasted pumpkin seeds (optional)

 

Wash, trim, and chop the cucumbers. Crumble the feta and mix it into them. Wash, dry, and chop the mint and parsley.  

Toss the salad with the dressing. This can be done up to an hour ahead to allow the flavours to blend, then sprinkle the salad with pumpkin seeds just before serving it. 

Last year at this time I made Potage Argenteil - Asparagus Soup.

This is a more local take on one of my all-time favourite dips; artichoke caponata. Well, not really caponata because mine never had capers in it (nobody here likes them much). 

 

I made this a couple of times; the texture without the lemon juice was better but the flavour was better with it. The take-away is that you should dry the asparagus thoroughly, even pressing it a little, to get as much excess moisture out of the dip as you can. Not tried; a couple of mushrooms cleaned and tossed in might help blot things up. Or add more juice. I don't know. Worth trying, though.

 

8 servings

20 minutes prep time

 

 

450 grams (1 pound) fresh asparagus

1/4 cup finely minced fresh chives

125 grams (4 ounces) Parmesan cheese

plenty of coarse, freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 to 4 tablespoons mayonnaise (light is fine) 

 

Wash and trim the asparagus. Cut off the tips, and cut the rest into inch-long pieces. Put the pieces into boiling water and boil for one minute. Add the tips and boil for a further 3 minutes. Immediately drain and rinse in cold water until cool. Drain very well - blot them with a tea towel until quite dry. 

Wash, trim, and mince the chives. Put them in a food processor with the grated Parmesan, the pepper, and the mayonnaise. Whiz briefly, then add the asparagus - pick out a few of the tips first to use as a garnish, if you like - and whiz briefly again. Scrape down the sides, and give the mixture a final whiz. The results should be chopped, but still retaining some texture. Transfer the caponata to a serving dish and garnish with the reserved asparagus tips. 

Last year at this time I made Roman Tomatoes.

There are a lot of versions of this simple but substantial German salad; here's mine. You can eat it as-is, but I think it is most often eaten piled on a good sturdy slice of rye bread as it's almost as close to being a sandwich filling as it is to being a salad. I'd be happy to put it in a wrap with a leaf or 2 of lettuce and call it lunch, certainly. But one of my favourite things in the summer if I can round up a few eaters, is to have a salad buffet with a variety of salads, and this would make an excellent candidate for that. Also nice with a bowl of soup on the side.

 

4 servings

15 minutes prep time

 

1/2 teaspoon honey 

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

2 teaspoons dill pickle brine OR apple cider vinegar

salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Mix the honey and mustard in a small jam jar or bowl. Mix in the mayonnaise, then the brine or vinegar. Season with salt and pepper, keeping in mind that other ingredients in this salad are salted - it's better to under-salt, and have to pass salt at the table than to overdo it here.

 

1 1/3 cups slivered radishes

2/3 cups slivered Gruyere, Emmentaler, Gouda or similar cheese

1 slice dill pickle

2 tablespoons minced chives OR green onion

3 tablespoons minced parsley

 

Wash, trim, and sliver the radishes. Cut the cheese into similar sized and shaped pieces. Dice the dill pickle fairly finely, and wash, dry, and mince the herbs. 

 

Mix everything together and toss with the dressing. Serve with buttered rye bread.

Last year at this time I made Baked Trout with Creamy Leek & Dill Sauce.

Last time I was in a civilized place - and apparently my definition of "civilized place" is "has a Chinese/Asian grocery store" - I stocked up on tau pok. It freezes extremely well, and I freely admit it is my favourite form of tofu. In spite of consisting of deep fried chunks, it is really not greasy and the resulting chewy/airy texture is terrific. If you think you don't much like tofu and it is the texture that puts you off, this is a good way to try it again and see.

There are a number of traditional recipes for stuffing and steaming tau pok. My take on it combines things from 2 popular versions, mostly as a matter of expedience; other than the tau pok itself these are all ingredients I can get around here. 

I found the oyster sauce added a necessary punch of saltiness to these - in spite of the fish sauce, they were not really salty in themselves. If you don't have any oyster sauce, add a bit more fish sauce or double the salt in the filling.

 

16 to 20 pieces

1 hour - 20 minutes prep time

assumes puffs are steamed in 2 batches

250 grams (1/2 pound) ground pork OR chicken

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1/4 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon arrowroot OR corn starch

1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger

2/3 to 1 cup finely chopped green onion OR chives

2 teaspoons mild vegetable oil to oil dish

1 package (185 grams; 6.5 ounces) fried tofu puffs (tau pok)

about 1/2 cup chicken stock

oyster sauce

cilantro 

Put the ground meat in a bowl with the fish sauce, salt, pepper, and arrowroot. Peel and grate the ginger, and add it. Wash, dry, trim, and chop the green onions or chives very finely and add them. Mix everything very well. 

Set up your steamer; it should hold the stuffed tofu in a dish. Mine would only hold half at a time so I set up 2 dishes to go into it. Lightly oil the dish or dishes, and turn the heat on under the steamer. If you are doing it in two rounds, be sure there is plenty of water in it, or that you can add boiling water to top it up if needed. 

Meanwhile, stuff some tofu. Cut a slit in one side (top) of each puff and put in a bit of the filling You can stuff in more than you might think and I found it useful to score off the bowl of filling to make sure it was being more-or-less evenly divided. There were 18 puffs in my package, but they are plainly hand-cut and varied a bit in size so quantity may not be exact either. Arrange them in the oiled dish(es) in a single layer, stuffing up. Place them in the steamer and pour a little chicken stock on them; just enough for them to be sitting in about 1/4" of it. Steam for 20 minutes. If you have a rack or similar thing that can go under the plate to be steamed, and which has handles to allow it to lift the plate out, that is very helpful.

If you have a second dish, check the water level, and steam it for 20 minutes with a little chicken stock in the same way. 

These will be very hot when they come out, and the spongy tofu holds some of the broth to burst out and burn you when bitten, so let them sit for a full 10 minutes before serving. Garnish them with a drizzle of oyster sauce and a sprinkle of chopped cilantro, if you like. 

Last year at this time I made Sorrel Soup.

Egg pies are very common in Ukrainian cuisine, often in the context of Easter and mostly made with a yeast-raised dough. This one is more like the Russian "lazy" pies I have been making for the last few years, with a baking powder batter encasing, in this case, hard boiled eggs and green onions along with some other herb if you can get it. The result is an excellent breakfast, brunch, or lunch dish that goes together very easily and doesn't take all that long to bake either. 

 

I used spelt flour, as I so usually do; it worked very well. 

 

4 to 6 servings

1 hour - 30 minutes prep time

 

4 large eggs

1 bunch green onions

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley OR dill

salt & freshly ground black pepper

 

Put the eggs in a pot of water to cover, and bring them to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, then remove from the heat and cover. Let them sit for 10 minutes, then place them in cold water to cool. 

 

Wash, trim, and chop the herbs. Peel the eggs, chop them coarsely, and add them. Season with salt and pepper.

1 1/4 cups whole spelt flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup thick yogurt

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon unsalted butter 

Mix the flour, salt, and baking soda, ideally right in the measuring cup. Mix the mayonnaise and yogurt in a mixing bowl, and break in the eggs and mix one at a time. 

 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a 9" pie plate with the butter. 

 

Mix the flour into the wet ingredients until well blended. Spread about half the batter in the prepared pie plate, then sprinkle the eggs and herbs evenly over them. Dollop the remaining batter over the eggs and herbs until they are covered. 

 

Bake at 350°F for 30 to 35 minutes, until cooked through. Let rest until just warm or room temperature before serving. Keep any leftovers well wrapped in the fridge, but bring them back up to room temperature to serve. However, this is best freshly made.

 

 

 

 

Last year at this time I made Leek & Sorrel Quiche.

I was a bit startled to write up this post then go to last year's date and see that I had made something extremely similar then. The thing is though, I make a lot of fried patty things; usually some variation on Vegetable Patties. They provide carbohydrate, protein, and vegetable all in one dish. Sometimes I make a little salad to go with them, but usually it's just the patties, and they are lunch; quick and satisfying. 

 

Some sort of sauce is nice to finish them off. I don't make the Apple Butter Chutney much anymore, alas, as it has too much sugar, so it's usually garlic-yogurt or a mix of half and half chile-garlic sauce and mayonnaise. The yogurt is probably the best choice for these, as it was with last year's iteration. Leftovers? Not too carby for most people to put them into a bun with some sauce and a slice of tomato and lettuce leaf. If you want to reheat them, a minute or so on each side in a hot skillet is better than the microwave.

The only salt that should go in is with the wild rice; halloumi is salty and will provide ample more. I keep meaning to rinse halloumi before I use it, just to see if it could be a little less salty.

 

4 servings

1 hour to cook the wild rice plus time for it to cool

20 minutes to make and cook the patties

 

3/4 cup wild rice

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/4 cups water

Place the wild rice, salt, and water in a rice cooker, and cook. This can be done up to a day in advance. 

1 medium carrot

1 small onion

1 clove of garlic

1 tablespoon mild vegetable oil

1/3 cup minced parsley OR cilantro

250 grams halloumi cheese

1/4 cup potato starch

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 teaspoon rubbed savory OR thyme

2 large eggs

mild vegetable oil to fry

 

Peel and grate the carrot. Peel and finely chop the onion. Peel and mince the garlic. Heat the oil in a small skillet and cook the carrot and onion gently over medium heat until softened, stirring regularly. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or so. Transfer to a mixing bowl and let cool slightly. 

 

Wash, dry, and mince the parsley or cilantro. Grate the cheese. Add both to the mixing bowl of vegetables, along with the cooked and cooled wild rice, with any clumps in it broken up. Add the potato starch, seasonings, and eggs. Mix well. The mixture will be very loose and lumpy, but don't worry. Once you get it into the pan and cooking, it will rapidly become more co-operative.

 

Heat enough oil to generously cover the bottom of a large skillet, and ladle spoonfuls of the mixture in. Spread them to form neat, 1/2" thick patties. For the first 30 seconds or so, you can push the edges inwards to form neater shapes. Then cook them over medium heat for a total of 3 minutes per side, until firm and well browned. Add a little more oil as you turn them or if making new patties, if needed to prevent sticking.

 

 

 

 

Last year at this time I made... uh, this is embarrassing, actually... Carrot-Halloumi & Dill Fritters with Garlic Yogurt. Very much the same principle, with a slight change in ingredients. This one would also go well with Garlic Yogurt.

We really enjoyed these but as with a lot of dishes that include a carb, protein, and vegetables and yet don't seem quite sufficient to be the entire meal, I am at a bit of a loss as to how to classify them, and what to serve them with. They might make a nice appetizer, or if you want to serve them as a main course I think a bit of salad might be a good choice to accompany them; maybe this cold spinach salad. If you are serving a crowd, they could also just be one of an ensemble of other Korean dishes.

 

12 small omelettes - 4 to 6 servings

30 minutes prep time

2 bundles (100 grams) bean thread (cellophane) noodles

2 to 4 green onions

1 small carrot

2-3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon sugar

5 large eggs

mild vegetable oil to fry

parsley to garnish

chile-garlic sauce to taste

 

Put a small pot of water on to boil, then boil the noodles for 5 minutes. Drain them well and snip or cut them into short segments. 

 

Meanwhile, wash, trim, and finely chop the green onions. Peel and grate the carrot. Mix these in a mixing bowl withe the drained noodles, and season with the soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper and sugar.  

Break in the eggs and whisk until well blended. Heat a griddle or frying pan with enough oil to cover the bottom. Ladle in the egg mixture to form small omelettes. Once the bottoms of the omelettes are set, fold them in half, and cook until done, turning them over as required. Once they are set and very lightly browned transfer them to a serving plate, and continue cooking more omelettes until they are all done. Add more oil as required. 

I put the parsley on just to give a touch of colour, but it went really well with them. Maybe next time I will put some right in. Chile-garlic sauce provided the finishing touch.

 

 

 

 

Last year at this time I made Pizza Strata.

I've made meat patties with potato in them before, quite early in the history of this blog, in fact. Much as I liked those Gehacktes Rinderschnitzel, these are more complex and spicy and have quite a different feel (and taste!) to them. 

 

As ever, when grating potato to be cooked in a pan, it is so important to squeeze out as much liquid from them as possible. That hasn't changed. Also dredge them generously in flour - I prefer barley flour for this - to give them the distinct crispy finish.  

Eat them with rice and salad, or in a wrap with lettuce and pickles. You could make them a bit larger and put them in a bun too, I suppose; why not? 

These are Ürgüp Köftesi because they are koftas (meatballs) from Ürgüp, in Turkey.

4 to 6 servings

45 minutes prep time

 

2 tablespoons semolina OR bulgur

1 medium onion

2 to 5 cloves of garlic

500 grams (4 medium; 1 pound) potatoes

1/4 to 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley

500 grams (1 pound) ground beef or lamb, or mix

1 large egg

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon allspice berries

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

1/2 to 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper

1/3 to 1/2 cup barley or wheat flour

mild vegetable oil to fry

 

If using semolina, it can go straight into the mixing bowl. But if you are using bulgur, it should be soaked in boiling water while you prepare the other ingredients, then drained. 

 

Peel the onion but leave the base plate on. Use that to hold onto while you grate the onion finely into a strainer. Peel and grate the garlic. It can go into the mixing bowl. Wash the potatoes and trim them, or peel them if you like, and grate them onto a board. Then, take them by handfuls and squeeze well over the sink to remove as much liquid as possible. Add the drained handfuls to the mixing bowl, then give the onion a final press and add it too. Wash, dry, and finely chop the parsley and add it. Add the ground meat and egg.

 

Grind the salt and allspice berries together, then add them with the remaining seasonings. Mix very well by hand. 

Spread the flour over a plate. Form the mixture into 12 to 18 equal sized balls, and flatten them to a 1" thick disk. Dredge them in the flour. 

Heat a good layer of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry the köftesi for 4 to 5 minutes per side, until nicely browned. Test one to be sure the juices are running clear, then let them rest for 5 minutes before serving. 

The mixture will keep, well-sealed, for 24 hours in the fridge, so they can be made ahead or cooked in 2 batches. 

Last year at this time I made Bean, Belgian Endive, & Blue Cheese Salad.

I'm giving instructions for making this as 1 large pie, but I actually made one medium pie (for my mother and I) and a couple of individual pies (for Mr. Ferdzy). This will all make sense when I also tell you that the medium pie was made with chopped lamb liver (could have use beef, or chicken for that matter) and the smaller ones had regular ground beef in them. The kind of meat you use in these is really very flexible; it just has to be chopped up fairly finely. 

This is another relative of the Russian pies made with some combination of yogurt/sour cream/mayonnaise, and no complaints here. It was lovely. 

As with the meat, the herbs can be changed around. If there's anything that's immutable, I'd say that lots of onions are required. 

It feels strange publishing a Russian recipe at the moment, but let's try to remember that people are not their nation's politics. I'd like to share a story I heard of a woman in our town, a friend of my mother-in-law's. She used to go around and share her history with high-school students. She came from Poland (I think), and was a teenager during WWII. When the Russians came in from the east, she was on the road as a refugee. She was seized by a band of Russian soldiers, raped, and left to die in a snow-bank. A little while later another band of Russian soldiers came along, who pulled her out and gave her medical treatment and took care of her until she could get to a better situation. 

Let's remember that every society has its smashers and its menders. Let us be on the side of the menders and support them wherever we can find them.

 

8 servings

1 hour 30 minutes - 45 minutes prep time

 

 

1 1/2 cups whole spelt flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup cold unsalted butter

1/2 cup thick yogurt

 

Mix the spelt flour with the salt and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Grate in the butter, pausing to dust the flour over it every so often. Rub the butter into the flour until evenly distributed but still in little lumps. Mix in the yogurt to form a ball of stiff dough. Cover and set it aside.

 

3 medium onions

3 cloves of garlic

1 medium carrot 

1 tablespoon bacon fat or mild vegetable oi

1/4 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

 

Peel and chop the onions. Peel and mince the garlic. Peel and grate the carrot. 

 

Heat the fat or oil in a large skillet and cook the onions and carrot gently over medium heat, stirring regularly, until softened and reduced. Add the garlic and seasonings. Add the ground or finely chopped meat, and cook until browned but still with a fair bit of pink showing. Remove the pan from the heat. 

Wash, dry, and chop the herbs. 

Roll out the pastry to fit your pie plate(s). Spread the filling out in it evenly, and sprinkle with the chopped fresh herbs. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 

1 cup thick yogurt

1/4 cup mayonnaise

3 large eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

Whisk the mayonnaise into the yogurt, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Season with the salt and pepper, and whisk again. Pour this evenly over the prepared pie(s). Shake them gently to settle the topping into the meat. 

Bake at 375°F for 45 to 50 minutes for a single pie, or for 30 to 35 minutes if you have made 6 single pies. In any case the filling should be just set in the middle, and show some brown spots. 

Let rest for 10 to 15 minutes before serving; also fine at room temperature.

This is as simple a little lentil soup as one could make; but very tasty nonetheless. Summer savory and paprika are typical seasonings in Bulgarian cuisine. When I first discovered this, I exclaimed "I'm a Bulgarian cook and didn't even know it!" 

 

Well, not quite. But I have gotten more interested in Bulgarian cuisine this winter, as you may have noticed. This is not quite the original Bulgarian soup as I found it, but close enough. The original did not have the vinegar added as it cooked, but vinegar was mixed with garlic and salt and swirled though the finished soup. I prefer to add it to the soup in good time to allow it to mingle and mellow, and to use a more Turkish finish of garlic yogurt. Since the Bulgarians also use garlic and yogurt in quantity, I'm sure I am not the first to do so. If you don't want it you don't have to; but we thought it a very good addition.   

I'm saying 15 minutes prep time, but you can't wander away for the hour of cooking - it does want stirring every so often.

 

2 to 4 servings

1 hour 15 minutes - 15 minutes prep time

 

 

2 teaspoons summer savory

2 teaspoons sweet paprika

1 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper

 

In a small bowl; set them aside.

 

1 large onion

2 or 3 cloves of garlic

1 medium carrot

2 tablespoons sunflower OR olive oil

1 cup green or brown lentils

6 to 7 cups of water

3 to 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar OR white wine vinegar 

 

Peel and chop the onion. Peel and mince the garlic. Peel and dice the carrot finely. 

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot. Cook the onion and carrot gently over medium heat, for 5 to 10 minutes,  until softened and very lightly browned. Mix in the garlic, give it another minute, then add the lentils and 4 cups water. 

Simmer gently for about 45 minutes, stirring regularly, until the lentils are tender. Add more water as it cooks down to keep a thick but soupy consistency. When the lentils seem to be done, add the seasonings and the vinegar. Simmer for a further 15 minutes or so, again stirring regularly and maintaining the consistency. 

Serve plain, or with a dollop of Garlic-Yogurt. 

This is the time of year when people often find themselves with a lot of hard-boiled eggs left over, and it's always nice to have something a little different to do with them. These are quick and simple, and who doesn't like cutlets? (Yeah, I know - somebody doesn't. Not me though; I just love them.) 

 

Eat them plain or put them in a sandwich. Have them for breakfast or lunch. Add a little sautéd garlic andd/or mushrooms. Bind them with a little leftover mashed potato instead of the flour. There are lots of possibilities with these. 

 

5 or 6 cutlets - serves 2 or 3 

30 minutes prep time

4 large eggs

1 or 2 green onions or 1/4 cup minced chives

salt & freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon barley or wheat flour

1/4 cup grated firm cheese, optional

1 large egg

1/3 cup fine dry breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons mild vegetable  oil

 

Put the 4 eggs in a pot with water to cover and bring them to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, then cover the pot and let them sit in the hot water for 10 minutes. Rinse under cold water until they are cool. 

 

Peel and mash the eggs fairly finely. Season them with salt and pepper to taste. Add the flour, and the cheese if you are using it. Break in the raw egg, and mix to smooth mash. 

Spread the breadcrumbs on a plate. Divide the mixture into 5 or 6 equal portions, and flatten each one into a patty. Press each one into the breadcrumbs on both sides. 

Heat the oil over medium heat. Fry the patties until golden-brown on each side; about 3 minutes per side. Serve at once. 

 

 

 

 

Last year at this time I made Carrot & Sauerkraut Soup.

There are a lot of Spanish potato dishes made with this technique but somewhat varying seasonings, with a wide variety of names, often reflecting the locale where the variant is typical. The technique in question is to fry the potatoes first, then stew them in a sauce. The sauce will almost always contain paprika, and I have yet to see a version without garlic, so I am calling this Potatoes in Garlic Sauce. 

 

I put some chorizo in this, because the first version I saw had it, and I got a little fixated on it. Many recipes don't call for it, and I don't think it is at all required, especially since good chorizo can be hard to find. (I got President's Choice, because it was all I could get, but I'm here to tell you that it is best described as bad chorizo.) 

 

Tasty food is described in Spanish as "rico", that is to say; rich. High calorie foods, preferably in the form of meat, have traditionally been regarded as what food should be; perhaps not surprising in an impoverished place with more grazing than arable land, and a lot of labour to be done. In reality though, a dish like this would have been vegetarian much more often than not. The oil and potatoes still keep it plenty "rico". 

I've seen this technique in Hungarian dishes as well; if you want to go in that direction, omit the saffron, go a little lighter on the garlic, and use Hungarian paprika. If you want to put in sausage, use a dry smoked Hungarian sausage instead of the chorizo, and there you are. 

To my amusement, this reminds me of a favourite dish from my high school days, when I would order French fries with gravy from the school cafeteria, then douse them generously with vinegar and ketchup. I haven't seen leftover French fries in, uh, two years at least, but should such a thing ever reappear, I think toasting them up in a skillet and finishing them in a sauce like this would be a very reasonable way to have them.

 

I forgot to toast my flour; it should be done before you get started. I don't think it was a dire omission. 

 

2 to 4 servings

1 hour - all working time

 

600 grams (3 or 4 large) potatoes

2 to 6 cloves of garlic 

1 medium onion

125 grams (1/4 pound) good dry chorizo

1/4 to 1/3 cup mild vegetable OR olive oil 

Wash and trim the potatoes; peel them if you like. Cut them into thick (1/4"/1/2 cm) slices, placing them in a large bowl of cold water as you work. Let them stay there until you are ready to start cooking. 

Peel and trim the garlic, and cut each clove into 3 slices. Peel and chop the onion - set it aside. If using chorizo, chop it into medium dice. 

Heat the oil - enough to cover the bottom of the pan by the thickness of the potatoes - in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic cloves and let them fry until a pale straw gold, stirring to keep them cooking evenly. This won't take more than a minute or two. Remove them with a slotted spoon to a food processor or (more traditionally) a mortar. 

Lift the amount of potatoes you can fry at once from the water, and pat them dry. Fry them in the oil until a good golden brown on both sides; turn them as needed. Transfer them with the spoon to a plate as they cook, adding more dried potato slices to take their place, until they are all done. This is a slow process; allow 30 to 40 minutes depending on the size of your skillet and how brown you want them. Even if you like them fairly pale, they do need to come out of this process about half cooked so don't rush them - turn down the heat instead.

 

3 tablespoons chopped parsley

1/4 to 3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Spanish paprika (de la Vera)

1/4 teaspoon saffron threads

1 teaspoon toasted barley OR wheat flour

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar OR white wine vinegar

1/2 cup water OR broth

1 tablespoon chopped parsley, again

 

While the potatoes fry, chip away at making the sauce. To the garlic add the washed, dried, and roughly chopped parsley, the salt, paprika, and saffron. Grind to a relatively smooth paste. Then add the flour, mix, and stir in the vinegar. 

 

Once all the potatoes are cooked and removed to a plate, drain the oil out of the pan. Don't wash it; in fact leave just enough oil to now put in the onion and cook it until softened and lightly browned. Add the seasoning purée to the pan. Use the water to swish out whatever utensil you made the paste in, and add that to the pan as well. Gently return the potatoes to the pan. Simmer for a further 15 or 20 minutes until the sauce has thickened to coat the potatoes. Serve at once, with the remaining chopped parsley sprinkled over the top. 

Last year at this time I made Balsamic Carrots.

Marinated mushrooms were a popular party food when I was a kid, back in the '60s and '70s, and I really liked them. Our old family recipe from that time was: clean and prepare the mushrooms and put them in a jar with a bottle of commercial Italian dressing overnight. Various home-made efforts have frankly never been quite as good until now. 

 

The breakthrough I need to make them from scratch was the realization that they need enough oil. I was always trying to make them less oily, but the oil is absolutely required. This recipe is adapted from one I found in a cook book of recipes from Luchow's, a famous New York German restaurant, published in the 1950s, although in addition to omitting 2 cups of white wine (!) I have cut the brine in half. It's plenty. Strain it off in any case when you to to serve them. Next time I think I would also dust them with a tablespoon or so of fresh finely minced parsley as they get served, just to brighten them up a bit.

You can stick them on toothpicks as a picklish appetizer, or serve them with salad. They would make a nice topping for steak or chicken, or go into sandwiches.

 

8 to 12 servings

30 minutes prep time - 24 hours rest time

 

1 small onion OR 2 shallots

2 cloves of garlic

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns

1/2 teaspoon rubbed savory OR thyme

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper

the finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon

the juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar OR white wine vinegar

 

Peel and mince the onion or shallots. Peel and mince the garlic. Put them, with all the other ingredients, into a 2-quart non-reactive pot (stainless steel or glass). 

 

450 grams (1 pound) small white button mushrooms

1/4 cup finely minced parsley

1 clove of garlic

Clean and trim the mushrooms. If they are larger than a single bite, cut them in half. Wash, dry and mince the parsley. Peel and mince the garlic. 

Bring the marinade to a boil and boil for 3 minutes, then add the mushrooms and boil for 5 minutes. Remove them from the heat and allow them to cool for another 10 minutes or so. When cooled to just barely warm, mix in the parsley and remaining garlic. Transfer them, with the marinade, to a very clean (or better, sterilized) 1-litre (quart) jar. Allow to cool completely and keep stored in the fridge until wanted; 24 hours to 4 days - best at the 24 hour mark. 

Last year at this time I made Red Cabbage with Pears.

I love cauliflower, but it can be awfully pale and flabby looking. Just a little spice makes it look so much more appetizing and adds a lovely flavour.  (And nothing calls out for a little parsley over the top like cauliflower.) 

Four cups is an awful lot of cauliflower to have "left over", but it could absolutely be cooked in advance by a day or so, and re-cooked in the spices for about 5 minutes longer than called for in the recipe. In either case, it won't do the cauliflower any harm to get a bit browned in spots, in fact it's an improvement.

 

4 servings

20 minutes prep time

4 cups (1/2 a large) cauliflower florets

2 tablespoons sunflower OR olive oil

1/4 cup chicken OR vegetable broth

1/8 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/8 teaspoon saffron threads

1/16 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika

1/16 teaspoon ground turmeric

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

 

Wash, trim, and cut the cauliflower into bite-sized florets. Put a pot of water on to boil for them, and boil them for 5 minutes then drain well. 

 

Meanwhile, mix all the remaining ingredients except the parsley in a small bowl, rubbing the saffron between your fingers as you put it in. Give it a stir until well combined. 

 

When the cauliflower is draining, heat the mixture in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the drained cauliflower and cook for another 5 minutes or a bit longer, until the liquid is absorbed or evaporated and the cauliflower begins to brown slightly. Sprinkle it with the chopped parsley and serve at once.  

Last year at this time I made Costillas Guisadas con Patatas - Spanish Stewed Pork Ribs with Potatoes.

This Italian dish is usually served at room temperature, as an antipasto, but it is also delicious hot as a main course. You could throw some other things into it, if you liked. Anchovies are a common addition, believe it or not. Good quality Italian tuna must not be quite as salty as what I buy at Costco, although to be fair, once the other ingredients were in it was not as salty as I feared it would be, and it could have absorbed an anchovy or two, especially if it was served as an appetizer. Capers or chopped olives could be used instead - just a few of them. 

I made a double recipe, and with three of us eating it, there was enough left over for another generous serving. The exact quantity of peppers is hard to pin down - it will depend very much on their size and configuration. Use tiny ones for an appetizer and larger ones for a main dish. If you use large peppers such as Red Shepherd, use smaller specimens of them  - they can get large enough that just one could swallow up an entire batch of the filling. 

You could omit the cheese if you don't want it. If you do use it, it should be a somewhat mild and lower salt cheese - aged cheeses tend to have a lot, and I think would be a bit too much with the tuna. I used Friulano, which I really like - it has all the delightful boingy qualities of mozzarella, with a more interesting flavour. I also threw in a few leftover potatoes to fill up the gaps around the peppers; if you want to add potatoes to your pan they should be at least par-cooked to be done in the same amount of time as the peppers.

 

2 to 3 servings

1 hour 15 minutes - 45 minutes prep time

 

 

6 to 8 small apple peppers (such as Doe Hill)

OR 3 or 4 medium sized peppers (such as Bell or Cubanelle)

OR 2 larger peppers (such as Red Shepherd) 

Wash the peppers. Cut a slit lengthwise in each pepper, then down and around the stem. Remove the stem and any seeds, etc, from the core of the pepper, leaving a hollow shell. Be careful not to break them. 

Broil them under the broiler until slightly softened and blackened in spots. Turn to broil them evenly. Set them aside to cool while you make the filling, and turn the oven to 375°F.

1 tin (133+ g drained) chunk or solid tuna

1 slice stale bread

1 medium egg

1 small tomato (about 3 to 4 tablespoons chopped)

2 to 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley 

the finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon

freshly ground black pepper to taste

75 grams (3 ounces) Friulano, mozzarella, ricotta or similar mild cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil

 

Drain the tuna and put it in a small mixing bowl. Cut or tear the bread into coarse crumbs, and add them to the tuna. Break in the egg. Peel (if you like) and dice the tomato, and add it to the bowl. Wash, dry and mince the parsley, and add it. Season with pepper, and mix well. If the mixture does not seem moist, you may need to add a little water - just a spoonful. It should be moist, but not wet, and hold its shape. 

 

Grate or finely dice the cheese, and mix 2/3 of it into the stuffing. Divide the stuffing amongst the peppers, and lay them in a shallow baking pan that will hold them fairly snugly, and which has been greased with the olive oil. Divide the remaining cheese over the peppers, and cover the pan, with foil if it hasn't got a lid. Bake for 30 minutes at 375°F for 30 minutes, then remove the lid (or foil) and bake for a further 15 minutes. These can be served hot or at room temperature, as a main dish or, if you have stuffed a number of smaller peppers, as an antipasto or appetizer.  

Last year at this time I made Cauliflower and Pepper Sauté.

We're cleaning up the garden and gleaning the last few eggplants, peppers, and tomatoes. Hence this dish. Not too much to say about it; it's a tasty dish of chickpeas stewed with vegetables. It takes some time but is not too heavy on the work requirements. Serve it with some rice or bread as a meal in itself, or a little salad on the side would add some greenery and crunch. 

 

3 to 4 servings

1 hour 30 minutes plus - 45 minutes prep time

NOT including cooking the chick peas

 

3 cups cooked chick peas

500 grams (2 medium; 1 pound) eggplant 

1 medium onion

1 medium red OR green pepper

3 to 4 cloves of garlic

500 grams (4 medium; 1 pound) tomatoes

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1/2 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/8 to 1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes

the juice of 1/2 lemon

2 to 3 tablespoons minced parsley

Cook the chick peas - you will need about 1 1/2 cups raw - by soaking them for several hours to overnight, then changing the water and simmering them for 1 to 2 hours until tender. I've been cooking them in the instant pot for 8 minutes, but I soak them in boiling (to start) water for only a couple of hours - 5 or 6 minutes will likely be enough if you soak them overnight. This can be done up to a day ahead.

 

Put a pot of water on to boil. 

Wash, trim, and chop the eggplant into bite-sized pieces. (You could peel it first if you like.) Peel and chop the onion. Wash, trim, core, and chop the pepper. Peel and mince the garlic.

Blanch the tomatoes in the boiling water for 1 minute, then transfer them to a bowl of cold water. When cool enough to handle, peel and chop them. 

 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. 

 

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a shallow 2-quart pan that can go from stove-tip to the oven, over medium-high heat. Fry the eggplant until softened and lightly browned all over, turning as needed to cook all sides. Transfer them out of the pan for the moment. 

Add the remaining oil to the pan, and add the onion and pepper. Cook, stirring regularly, until softened and lightly browned. Add the garlic and spices, and stir in until fragrant; about another minute. Add the tomatoes and mix in well. Remove the pan from the heat. 

Mix in the cooked chick peas and eggplant, adding a little of the cooking water if the tomatoes don't look like they will be juicy enough. There should be just enough liquid to keep the chick peas from drying out as they bake, and you can add more as they cook if necessary, so err a bit on the side of caution. Add the lemon juice. 

Bake the chick peas for 45 minutes to an hour, until moist and saucy, avoiding both soupiness and dryness. Stir several times and check the liquid level as they cook. Garnish with a little chopped parsley and serve. 

Last year at this time I made Melanzane alla Pizzaiolla.

Apparently this dish, which is sort of the Egyptian version of fast food hamburgers, was invented in the 1970s by a butcher named Hawawshi, who sold them in Cairo from a cart. 

 

It's a simple mixture of spiced meat with some vegetables, stuffed into pita bread halves (in Egypt they use a slightly thicker but similar bread called baladi; if you can get it you should use that) and baked or grilled until the meat is cooked. 

 

Many recipes call for wrapping the mixture in a homemade bread dough, but it's at least as common just to use pre-made bread. I was perfectly happy with whole wheat pitas. I've made these a couple of times, once right on the parchment and once on a rack to keep them out of the oil that exudes as they bake. It helped, but didn't make as much difference as I expected, so if you don't have one, don't worry. Some people call for cooking these in a panini grill. I haven't tried that, but I plan to. Also, you can fill these and freeze them for later. Thaw in the fridge before cooking. 

 

Keep the vegetables as dry and well-drained as you can to keep the hawawshis from getting soggy. Be sure when you are filling them to get the meat spread right to the edges, and in a thin, even layer. For this reason, cut and open all the pitas before you start filling - it will be hard to get them open properly otherwise.   

 

4 servings

50 minutes - 20 minutes prep time 

 

1 small onion

1/4 large red or orange pepper

1 medium plum (paste) tomato

1 or 2 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup chopped parsley 

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons fresh chopped mint OR 1 teaspoon rubbed dry mint

3/4 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon cumin seed

1/2 teaspoon coriander seed

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 to 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (to taste)

400 grams (14 ounces) ground beef OR lamb OR blend

2 large OR 3 medium pita breads

a little olive oil 

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. If you have a rack you can put over it, it's a good idea to keep the hawawshi off the paper.

 

Peel and chop the onion finely, and put it in a mixing bowl (along with everything else, up to the pita bread). Wash, trim, and chop the pepper finely. Chop the tomato finely, and salt it - set it aside to drain. It should be quite dry when added to the bowl. Wash and dry the herbs, and chop them finely. Grind the cumin and coriander seeds and add them with all the other herbs.

Add the beef or beef and lamb mixture, and mix well by hand.

Cut the pita in half and gently be sure they are completely open. Fill each half with a proportionate quantity of the filling, pressing it right up to the edges in a thin, even layer. Brush each filled half pita lightly with olive oil and lay it gently on the rack (or parchment paper, if you haven't got one). 

Once they are all filled and on the tray in a single layer, bake them for 15 minutes at 400°F. Turn them over and bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes, until crisp and browned. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. 

Last year at this time I made Cauliflower Fritters.

Real falafels are not terribly difficult to make, but they do require the chick peas to be soaked in advance, and then they must be mixed in a food processor. All of which is very do-able! But sometimes you want something just a little simpler. Or maybe you are just out of chick peas, but have some quinoa, in which case you could make these instead. I don't think they are quite as good as the real thing, but somehow just cooking the quinoa in advance then mixing by hand makes them feel easier. They are still pretty darn good! Moreover, this is an excellent way to use up leftover cooked quinoa.

I do assume you have chick pea flour on hand; I use it for just about every kind of fritter and lots of other things too and could not get along without it. 

Unless and until you wrap these up in pita bread, they are gluten free. I haven't made these into a patty and eaten them in a bun yet, but I am very likely to. In that case I expect to get 6 patties.

 

The quinoa has some of the sandy texture of the soaked chick peas in the original falafel recipe but they are a little softer in texture. The flavour is really pretty close. 

 

I made these twice before posting; the first time they fell apart in the pan as I had not added enough chick pea flour. On my second go 'round, they were fine, but I found that, unlike the first time, I had to add a little water. This had less to do with the amount of chick pea flour, and more to do with differing moisture levels in the cooked quinoa. The second batch of quinoa sat a little longer, I think. In any case, you may or may not need to add some water at the end of mixing - it must be moist enough to form a ball when squeezed, but really no moister.

 

4 to 6 servings

45 minutes prep time - NOT including cooking the quinoa

 

2 cups cooked quinoa

1/4 cup finely diced white OR green onion

1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cumin seed

1/4 to 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (to taste)

1 cup chick pea flour

none to 2 tablespoons water

oil to fry

 

To cook the quinoa: it is easiest to use leftover cooked quinoa, but to produce 2 cups cooked you will need approximately 3/4 cup of raw quinoa. To cook 3/4 cup quinoa, add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1 1/4 cups water. Cook it in the rice cooker, or in a small pot on the stove over low heat (once boiling); it will take approximately 20 minutes and should be cooled to room temperature before you start the falafels. 

Peel or trim the onion and chop it finely. Wash and dry the cilantro and parsley and chop them finely. Put them in a mixing bowl with the prepared quinoa. Be sure the quinoa is broken down so each of the grains is separate, not stuck into large clumps. 

Grind the salt and cumin seed, and add them to the bowl with the Aleppo pepper and chick pea flour. Mix well. 

If the cooked quinoa is moist enough that the mixture can be squeezed together to form a ball, do not add any water, but mix by hand until you have stiff, not very crumbly dough. If it is too dry for this, add a little water, a spoonful at a time, until you are able to get it to hold together, but do not add enough to make it moist and soft - it should be quite stiff. 

Divide the dough into 16 equal portions and roll each portion into a ball. 

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet or aebleskiver (or appam) pan over medium heat. If you are using the latter, a teaspoon or so in each compartment will be sufficient; otherwise add enough to shallow-fry the falafels. Cook over medium heat until browned and crisp, turning to cook evenly all over. They will need 2 or 3 minutes per side; if they are browning too fast reduce the heat. Set them on paper towel as they are cooked. 

Serve warm or at room temperature, with salad or wrapped in pita (with some salad). If you like, serve with one or both of the following sauces. 

1/4 cup tahini

the juice of 1 small lemon

a little water

Mix the tahini with a little of the lemon juice until smooth; continue adding and mixing until all the juice is in. Slowly add a little water and continue mixing until the sauce is the texture of mayonnaise. 

chile-garlic sauce

mayonnaise

Put as much chile-garlic sauce as you think is likely to be eaten in a small bowl. Add about an equal amount of mayonnaise or a bit less, and mix. If you think it needs more mayonnaise add more to achieve the balance you like. 

Last year at this time I made Beet Salad with Red Onions & Parsley.

This is a very traditional soup, in poblano growing areas. Ontario is not a traditional poblano growing area, but things change. They certainly can be grown here, and every so often you luck out and find some at the grocery. Or else you grow them yourself, which is what we did. They are a really delicious chile, with a distinctive flavour and ideally just a flicker of heat to make them even more interesting. 

 

I have to say we have run into some difficulties growing them. The first attempt involved seeds purchased from OSC, and the strain they sold had plainly been selected for blandness. We were very disappointed in them. This years variety, for which we sourced seeds in the USA, went to the other extreme - the peppers are surprisingly hot. I didn't mind and enjoyed the soup a lot anyway, but Mr. Ferdzy and my mother would have liked them to be a little more as they should have been. 

 

You should probably taste your chiles once they have been roasted. If you think they are not hot enough, add a little pickled Jalapeño brine to the soup. If they seem too hot, I suspect the best plan is to replace some of them with some other, milder, green pepper - maybe some Cubanelles.

 

4 servings

30 minutes to prep the chiles

45 minutes to make the soup

 

500 grams (1 pound) fresh poblano chiles

1 medium onion

1 stalk of celery

3 to 4 cloves of garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cumin seed

1 teaspoon rubbed oregano

2 tablespoons barley or other flour

OR 1/4 cup cooked rice 

2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil

3 cups unsalted chicken OR vegetable stock

the juice of 1 small lime

2 to 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1/2 cup diced or grated Monterey Jack or similar cheese

 

Turn the broiler on to preheat for a few minutes while you wash the peppers. Broil them until the skin blisters and darkens, then turn them until they are evenly broiled all over. Allow them to cool enough to handle, then peel off the skins and discard them. Remove and discard the stems and seeds as well. Chop the peppers roughly. 

 

This can be done up to a day ahead, in which case keep them in the fridge in a covered container. 

 

Peel and dice the onion. Wash, trim, and chop the celery. Peel and mince the garlic. 

 

Grind the cumin seed with the salt and mix with the minced garlic, oregano and flour or rice; set aside.

 

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot or deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and celery, and cook for about 10 minutes,  until softened and reduced, and lightly browned in spots. A couple minutes before they are done, add the garlic and seasonings and mix in well. 

Mix in the prepared chiles, and cook for another few minutes. Add the chicken stock and simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring regularly. 

Transfer the soup to a blender or food processor. Add the lime juice and cilantro, and blend until smooth. 

Return the soup to the pot and add most of the grated cheese. Gently heat the soup until the cheese is melted and the soup is steaming hot, but do not let it boil. Serve at once, garnished with the last of the cheese and a little more chopped cilantro if you like. 

Last year at this time I made Chick Peas with Ham & Spinach.