Fresh Mozzarella Salad

This is an update of a salad I used to enjoy at one of favourite Italian restaurants in Yorkville. Unfortunately, they took it off the menu so I had to remake it at home.

They roasted the tomato slices in their wood-fired pizza ovens because Toronto tomatoes are brutal, particularly in the winter. I don’t have a wood-fired pizza oven, so I air-fried them with my Instant Pot Air-Fryer lid. You don’t want the tomatoes completely dehydrated, just enough to condense the flavour so it actually tastes like a tomato. Top the slices with a fresh mozzarella or better yet, a burrata and dollop homemade pesto mixed with a little prosecco vinegar and sprinkle some toasted Italian (or Spanish, as I had) pinenuts over the dish. Presto, you have a memorable appetizer.

The tomatoes really pop when you remove some of the moisture, a perfect foil for the rich fresh mozzarella

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

• 4-6 tomatoes, sliced in half, deseeded and air-fried
• 1 Fresh Mozzarella or Burrata
• 60 mL Pesto
• 30 mL Prosecco vinegar
• 15 g pinenuts, toasted
• 1 lemon, zested
• Fresh basil leaves

Directions:

• With everything at room temperature, lay the dehydrated/roasted tomatoes on the plate(s) and add the sliced mozzarella on top.
• Combine the pesto with prosecco vinegar and drizzle on top of the tomatoes and mozzarella. Sprinkle the lemon zest on top and garnish with the toasted pinenut and torn fresh basil leaves.

I wanted to try the newest rage, grated frozen tomato over the fresh mozzarella and although it was enjoyable, it isn’t practical if serving more than 4 people and it’s hot outside, the frozen tomato will melt too quickly.

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Low-Carb Cauliflour, Vital Wheat Gluten and Lupin Flour Gnocchi

Well, our journey through low-carb cuisine has not been bad, as attested by JT. I have been slowly converting many of our high-carb recipes to low-carb versions and it’s been rather fun. My latest creation is low-carb gnocchi. It has the chewiness and puffiness that regular flour gnocchi have without the carb-load. JT was impressed.

They are predicting our first really heavy snowstorm for this afternoon. Glad I made a few of these tasty morsels.

A Kitcheninspirations original recipe

This recipe makes 246 g of gnocchi dough about 50 gnocchi. 2-4 servings

Ingredients:

• 115 g cauliflower mash (see notes)
• 57.5 g Vital Wheat Gluten
• 57.5 Lupin Flour
• 10 g Parmesan Cheese, finely grated
• 11.5 g egg, beaten

To fry:

• 15 mL EVOO or butter

Directions:

1. Combine everything in the large bowl of your food processor and process with the plastic blade until entirely combined (the dough may not come together in a ball, but you will be able to form it into a ball).
2. Pour it onto a lightly floured* surface and form it into a ball. then divide it into smaller pieces to make into a roll. I weighed mine so they would be more accurate but you don’t have to.
3. Cook into boiling water immediately or freeze on a baking tray so they don’t touch each other.
4. Cooking is similar to regular gnocchi, they sink when they are raw and float when they are done.
5. If you’ve cooked them and wish to crisp them, heat a frying pan with the EVOO or butter and fry each gnocchi so they are golden and crisp on each side.

Low-Carb Gnocchi in a creamy Gorgonzola Sauce sprinkled with lemon zest to freshen it up.

This is a dinner I made with Cod wrapped in Serrano Ham and had gnocchi as a side.

Notes:

• Cauliflower mash is simply roasted cauliflower with a little EVOO until soft and blended with an immersion blender until smooth, I usually have leftovers so I made gnocchi with the leftovers.
• *Use Lupin flour or vital wheat gluten to dust your work surface.
• These are best fresh but do freeze well. I detected a slight change in texture while JT did not.

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White Minestrone

White Minestrone

A Kitcheninspirations original recipe

Makes 2.4 L hearty soup

Ingredients:

• 15 mL olive oil
• 1 leek, chopped
• 1.5 L stock (see notes)
• 15 g butter
• 4 stalks celery, diced
• 2 zucchini, diced
• 6 medium cremini mushrooms, diced
• Handful of spinach, roughly chopped
• 540 mL can of white beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 g oregano
• cocktail bocconcini, chopped
• Basil, chiffonade

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a stock pot. Add the leeks and wilt. Add the vegetable stock and corn broth and cook the leeks until they are falling apart.
2. Blitz with your best blender until smooth and creamy. Push through a fine sieve into a large glass measuring cup and set aside, discard the pulp.
3. Add the butter and melt, add the celery, zucchini and mushrooms and sauté until fork tender. Add the spinach and oregano and cook until the spinach has wilted. Add the white beans
4. Serve hot in small cups garnished with a sprinkle of the bocconcini and the chiffonade of basil.

Notes:

• I used a combination of corn broth and vegetable stock which gave the soup a beautiful flavour.

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A Zucchini slice like Scarpaccia

I am always on the lookout for easy, freezable appetizer recipes and this zucchini slice hit the spot. The funny story is that the recipe came into my sight on Instagram, it was one of those reels that pop up, it’s no one I was particularly following and as quickly as it came into my sight, it disappeared even quicker! It was late at night so I completely forgot to save it. But I never thought that would be a problem because as soon as I click on something, it comes up so frequently, that I get completely tired of it and wish I had never clicked. Until I tried to find that recipe! It disappeared off the face of the earth. Completely gone. Not even a Google search led me back to it. WTF! I searched for a few days, hoping it would grace my feed but no luck. And I had several zucchinis ready to use so I improvised. This is not the real Italian version of Scarpaccia, you can find that here.

A delicious slice of baked zucchini in a thin cakey base.

Zucchini Slice

A Kitcheninspirations original recipe

Makes 35 cm x 50 cm pan

Ingredients:

• 700 g zucchini, shredded
• 3 shallots, thinly sliced
• 10 g salt
• Zucchini water and extra water as needed
• 150 g All Purpose flour, unbleached
• 40 g cornmeal
• 30 mL olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• Pepper to taste
• Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated

Directions:

1. I shredded 1/2 of the zucchini, and thinly sliced the remainder. Combine the shredded zucchini and the shallots and sprinkle with half of the salt. Sprinkle the other half of the salt over the zucchini slices. Set aside in a fine sieve over a bowl overnight. Save the liquid that the salt extracts.
2. Preheat the oven to 380° F.
3. Squeeze any remaining liquid from the shredded zucchini in cheesecloth into the zucchini liquid bowl. Combine the flour, cornmeal and olive oil in a large bowl and mix to create a relatively liquid batter, adding water as needed. Add the pepper and mix in the grated zucchini well.
4. Line a large roasting pan (about 35 cm x 50 cm) with parchment and drizzle with olive oil. Turn in the zucchini batter and press into the length and width evenly (I used another sheet of parchment and rolled the zucchini out evenly). Add the zucchini slices to the top. Drizzle with olive oil.
5. Bake the zucchini for 45 minutes, then sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan cheese over the top and finish baking for an additional 15 minutes or until the bottom becomes crispy.

Notes:

• I found that many recipes online had egg in the batter, but just as many did not and because I wanted it crispy, I decided to try it without egg.
• My version is less cakey because it does not have egg in the batter.
• Drizzling the parchment with olive oil before pressing the zucchini batter into the pan, allows it to crisp up nicely.
• Dehydrating the zucchini overnight creates a much drier zucchini so it can crisp up nicely.
• Sprinkling with Parmesan does not seem to be original in Italian recipes.

 

 

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Apple Cranberry Bran Muffins

We had dear friends come up from America to stay with us as a layover to help mitigate a long, long travel day and I needed a quick and easy breakfast that we could grab before heading out for a busy day and these did the trick. They freeze well which makes them perfect for a quick grab-and-go snack, just pop them into a microwave and zap them until defrosted and slightly warmed.

They freeze well and defrost quickly in the microwave.

Apple Cranberry Bran Muffins

A Kitcheninspirations Original Recipe. Makes 12 good-sized muffins.

Ingredients:

• 150 mL 2% milk
• 400 g peeled and shredded apple (about 3 apples)
• 100 g bran buds
• 50 g cranberries, roughly chopped and rehydrated in hot water for 10 minutes
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 70 g plain Greek yogurt
• 300 g All Purpose Flour
• 60 g brown sugar
• 15 g baking powder
• 2 g salt
• 5 g cinnamon
• 60 g walnuts, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F (190° C). Brush the muffin cups generously with the Secret Release Formula (see notes). Set aside.
2. Combine the milk, eggs and yogurt and mix well. Layer this liquid with the bran buds, apple and cranberries making sure bran buds are covered in the wet ingredients, and set aside for 20 minutes. In another bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and walnuts and set aside.
3. Stir the bran bud mixture well after 20 minutes of soaking. Fold the flour mixture into the bran bud mixture until just combined.
4. Divide batter into 12 muffin cups evenly and bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes clean.

The apples give them the moisture that oil normally does in muffin recipes.

Notes:

• Secret Release Formula: 3 mL unflavoured oil, 15 g vegetable shortening and 15 g flour. Mix well and brush baking tin generously.
• I will try a recipe without the brown sugar next time but it only adds 19 calories and 5 g carb

 

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Un-fried Potato Chips (Crisps) revisited

We had some dear friends over for a BBQ and I thought I would like to serve potato chips knowing how much they love them but I wanted to treat them to guilt-free chips that are not fried! These little devils are cooked in the Microwave and boy are they good. The secret is to soak them in cold salted water with a little acid, I used vinegar but you could use lemon or lime juice to help prevent oxidization. The salted water actually seasons them so you needn’t add salt after they are cooked (it wouldn’t stick to the chip anyway like it does when they are hot out of the deep fryer).

Unfried Potato Chips (Crisps)

Serves about 3-6 people

Ingredients:

• 3 good size white or red skin potatoes (large diameter)
• 30 g sea salt (more if you prefer a saltier chip)
• 100 mL white vinegar (to prevent oxidation and add a little flavour)
• 2-3 L very cold water for soaking

Directions:

1. Wash the potatoes skins well.
2. Dissolve the sea salt in very cold water (I used an immersion blender to help dissolve the salt). Pour into a large bowl of very cold water, add the vinegar and stir.
3. Cut the potatoes in half diagonally; then, using a wafer-thin mandolin slicer, slice from the cut end of each potato, tossing the cut slices into the cold salt water bath and allow them to sit in the bath for 5-10 minutes.
4. Remove slices from the water and lay them in one in a single layer on a clean linen cloth (allow to sit for 15 minutes, this will help with cooking them).
5. You may spray them with some good quality EVOO or leave them plain like I did.
6. Lay a layer of clean, unprinted paper towel in the microwave and layer potato slices on the paper towel so they do not touch each other. Microwave on 100% for 2 minutes or until some get a bit of colour. Open the microwave door and allow the hot humid air to escape for at least 1-2 minutes (it will allow the machine to cool down). Then cook for an additional minute on high, if needed, watching carefully as they burn quite easily. I found the slices I placed in the centre of the turntable cooked faster than the outside slices so I moved my larger slices into the centre. The slices will continue to cook a little after you remove them so don’t worry if they are a wee bit wobbly, but they shouldn’t be overly wobbly, they will crisp up.
7. Remove the slices from the paper towel and cool completely before putting them into an air-tight container. Repeat until all of the slices are “fried”.
8. When totally cool, store chips in an air tight container.
9. Serve with your favourite homemade dip.

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Spicy Cornbread

• 105 g finely ground corn meal (not corn flour)

• 100 g all-purpose flour

• 50 g granulated sugar

• 3 g baking powder

• 2 g salt

• 1 egg, lightly beaten

• 175 mL milk

• 2 finely sliced green onions (~30 g)

• 50 g finely diced jalapeños or hot chili peppers (or more if you really like it hot!)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400° F with your cast iron pan until the pan is smoking.

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Lentil Hummus Soup

Years ago, back before the internet, I purchased an old Weight Watcher’s cookbook at a garage sale that I’ve long since divested myself of. In this cookbook was a tasty hummus soup that I made a few times at the cottage when we didn’t feel like much for dinner. This is my version of the recipe.

The soup comes together quickly, no need to soak the lentils, they cook within 10 minutes. Don’t salt the water they cook in otherwise the skin will become a bit tough. I puréed the somewhat cooled soup in my Magic Bullet and it made a lovely, velvety-smooth soup. Serve the soup drizzled with really good olive oil and Aleppo peppers.

Makes about 500 mL soup

A kitcheninspirations original recipe

Ingredients:

• 135 g red lentils, rinsed and picked through
• water (to cover lentils)
• 45 g tahini
• 35 g roasted garlic purée (or fresh garlic to taste
• 12 g cumin
• 400 mL chicken stock
• 30 mL lemon juice
• Olive oil to serve
• a sprinkle of Aleppo peppers

Directions:

1. Add the lentils to a good size soup pot and just cover with cold water. Bring to a soft boil and cook the lentils until softened thoroughly and the water is mostly absorbed.
2. Add the tahini, roasted garlic purée, and cumin and cook on low for 1 minute.
3. Add the chicken stock and water and purée until desired thickness is achieved. The lentils will get thicker as they cool, so don’t add too much stock to start because when you reheat it, it will be too runny, add stock little by little until your desired thickness is achieved

Notes:

• We use roasted garlic because it is a milder, nutty flavour than fresh garlic.
• Toppings are pretty versatile but we like olive oil with Aleppo peppers for a touch of heat.
• I would imagine this soup freezes well but it comes together so quickly, I only make enough for one meal.

 

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Spring Green Soup

The weather in Toronto was certainly not as spring-like as we had hoped when we planned to return from our stay in Europe, otherwise, we would have stayed a lot longer! We did have a week of incredible but unseasonably warm weather in early April but that didn’t last long. We are back to grey, overcast, rainy, snowy spring so on such a day, I decided to let the garden inspire me because even though we humans find this weather unacceptable, the garden is in full bloom, bursting with green and colour! I created this simple, yet tasty green soup. Use homemade or good-quality chicken stock (and my secret ingredient) to make a tasty broth and add all the green veggies you have on hand. For me, it was frozen sweet peas, frozen broccoli, leeks, frozen green beans, some shredded kale, celery and some ripe avocado. If you want it a little more filling, add rice or gnocchi or my favourite, Hungarian csipetke (which is just pasta dough, pinched into small dumplings and cooked right in the soup).

A delicious combination of green vegetables in a rich, flavourful broth.

A kitcheninspirations original recipe

Makes about 1.5 litres of soup

Ingredients:

• 15 mL garlic-infused EVOO
• Handful of each green vegetables: frozen sweet peas, frozen broccoli (separate stems), leeks, frozen green beans, some shredded kale, celery and some ripe avocado, all cut into similarly sized pieces.
• 1.5 litres chicken stock
• 15 mL white miso paste (secret ingredient)
• a splash of fresh lime juice

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large soup pot and sauté the leeks and broccoli stems until soft. Add about half of the kale and wilt. Add the stock with the miso paste and heat until the miso (secret ingredient) has melted and the kale is rather soft. Purée this into a relatively fine soup.
2. Add the remaining vegetables and heat through. I allowed the soup to steep for a couple of hours and reheated it when ready to serve.
3. Add the lime juice and stir well just before serving.
4. Allow the soup to cool completely before freezing leftovers. Do not freeze pasta or rice because it will turn to mush.

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Onion Bhaji revisited

Happy New Year! Hope your holidays were lovely. We had Christmas Eve with my cousin’s family in their new home. It’s so exciting to have a new home and be able to decorate and start from scratch. The dinner was fabulous and it was a lot of fun opening presents with them.

Just before Christmas, we had another progressive dinner with our neighbours. This time, the theme was Indian and we were charged with the hors d’œuvres and appetizers. I (obviously), made onion bhaji to start and then we had a cup of Mulligatawny soup. These dinners always have too much food so I kept it small. These bhajis turned out so good, I decided I wanted to keep the recipe for the future. I served them with store-bought Date and Tamarind Chutney.

Onion Bhaji Revisited

Makes about 20 bhajis, depending on size. For the original recipe, please click here.

Ingredients:

• 2 sweet onions, finely sliced

• 100 g gram flour (chickpea flour)

• 5 g baking powder

• 4 g Aleppo chilli flakes

• 4 g turmeric

• 100 mL water
• 1 L vegetable oil for frying

Directions:

1. Soak the sliced onions in cold water while you make the batter.
2. Preheat the oil to 350° F.
3. Add the gram flour, baking powder, Aleppo flakes and turmeric to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Slowly add 90 mL of the water to form a batter and mix well. Strain the onions and add them to the batter, adding about 10 mL of water, if necessary. Mix to coat the onions.
4. When the oil is 350° F, scoop a generous tablespoon of the bhaji mixture into the hot oil and fry until golden and the internal temperature is 200° F. Remove the bhaji from the oil onto a paper-lined tray and allow to drain the oil. Continue until you’ve fried all of the bhaji batter.
5. To serve, reheat the bhaji on a sheetpan in a 275° F oven for 12 minutes or until the internal temperature is 125° F.

These were gobbled up in nothing flat. I froze an additional batch I made and they are still fabulous reheated!

 

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Shrimp Gyoza

It’s dinner party and cocktail party season so the team at Kitcheninspirations have been busy making and freezing party food so we are never caught empty handed. The filling for these tasty little bites comes together very quickly and if you don’t have time, store-bought wonton wrappers will do the trick.

For original gyoza wrapper recipe, please click here.

Makes 20 gyoza

Ingredients:

• 120 g AP unbleached flour
• 65 g water, boiling
• pinch of salt
• cornstarch for dusting
• 5 mL sesame oil
• 75 g shrimp
• 2 scallions, finely diced
• 5 g ginger, finely grated
• 10 g roasted garlic
• 20 g carrot, finely grated
• 10 mL soy sauce
• 8 g cilantro leaves, finely chopped
• Butter or grapeseed oil to brown gyoza
• Sesame seeds and cilantro for garnish

Directions:

1. Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Add boiling water to the flour and salt mixture slowly to make a dough, turn out to a surface and knead for about 10 minutes until smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. Heat the sesame oil in a pan and add the shrimp and stir fry. Stir in the scallions, ginger, roasted garlic, carrot, soy sauce and cook for a minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool thoroughly. When cool, add the cilantro and mix well.
3. To make the wrappers, roll each sausage out to a manageable thickness and run it through the KitchenAid pasta roller from #1 to #4.
4. Cut into 7.5 cm (3 inch) rounds. Wet the edges of each round, spoon 5 mL (1 tsp) of the filling into the centre and fold in half and seal the edges. I used a handy pleater like this one to get perfect pleats.
5. Steam each one for 3-5 minutes. When cooked, melt butter or grapeseed oil in a cast iron pan. Pan-fry each one on one side only so it is golden and crispy. Serve with your choice of dipping sauce.
6. Freeze uncooked gyoza on a piece of parchment and once frozen add to a ziplock bag for future use. Frozen gyoza will cook in 3-5 minutes!
7. To serve, melt about 15 g of unsalted butter with 30 mL of grapeseed oil and fry one side of each gyoza. Serve sprinkled with sesame seeds and bits of cilantro.

Serve these tasty treats with a sweet and salty soy sauce.

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“Chinese Scallion” Pancakes

The weather is still lovely in the big smoke so we continue entertaining on our back deck. I’m always looking for something a little different and these scallion pancakes truly fit the bill. I first saw the recipe on Mi Mi’s blog and was immediately intrigued. Mi Mi’s pancakes were more of a thicker bread and she admitted she had forgotten a final step, so I scoured the internet for “my” recipe. The one I posted below is a compilation of several recipes that I read through. The pancake itself is a very thin, but super flavourful. Crispy, chewy and full of flavour a veritable trifecta! We just had them with a simple dipping sauce and they were absolutely delicious. Thank you Mi Mi for drawing my attention to this tasty treat.

These pancakes are crispy and chewy at the same time.

Makes 4 pancakes appetizer-sized portions. Don’t kid yourself, you’ll probable eat two.

Ingredients:

• 150 g AP flour
• 3 g salt
• 93 g cold water
• 6 scallions, green parts only, finely sliced
• Olive oil (enough to coat the pan about 0.5 cm deep)

Directions:

1. Combine the flour and the salt and mix well. Add the water into the centre of the flour mixture and mix until the water is absorbed into the flour. Knead the dough with your hands for 5-7 minutes or until quite elastic. Cover lightly with olive oil and allow to rest for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
2. Divide the dough into two or four equal portions and roll out using the KitchenAid pasta maker to the finest thickness. The dough will be very sticky so flour or grease your surface to prevent sticking.
3. Sprinkle the sliced scallions (and whatever additional spice, if using) over the rectangle and roll up from the long side. Then, roll the log onto itself like a scroll. Roll the scroll out to about 20 cm diameter. Cook on medium heat until the pancake is golden on both sides. Cut into wedges to serve. Serve with the dipping sauce below.

Dipping sauce ingredients:

• 15 mL soy sauce
• 15 mL sesame oil
• 15 mL Mirin or sweet rice wine
• Sesame seeds

Dipping sauce directions:

1. Mix all of the ingredients together and serve with the cooked pancakes.

Notes:

• You can add a variety of other spices like Chinese Five-spice, Aleppo pepper flakes, or mint to name a few.
• I used cold water because from what I’ve read, it will make the dough chewy, hot or boiling water will apparently make it crispier. I wanted chewy and figured it would be crispy from the pan frying and I was correct.
• The green part of the scallion is apparently softer so it won’t poke through the dough but mine did anyway and it did not alter the flavour or texture.
• Use either flour or oil to prevent this very sticky dough from sticking everywhere. I used flour on this one.
• To make the rolled dough more manageable, you can roll two smaller lengths and stick them together because when they scroll and you roll them out, you won’t notice a difference.
• Most recipes call to roll the dough into a circle at first but I wanted a very thin dough so I just made sheets using my KitchenAid pasta machine and it worked out fantastic.

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Sautéed Peppers with Pine Nuts

Sometimes it’s just the simplest things that are the best. While we were in Spain, we had a lot of tapas, they serve tapas every time you order a glass of vino. Sometimes it is as simple as delicious olives, or sometimes it’s a little ham sandwich. While we were in Granada, we slipped into this adorable little bar and ordered a couple of glasses of vino with some tapas. Before we even had our first sip, they brought out a good quantity of homemade potato chips and these little round sandwiches (about 7-10 cm in diameter). If we hadn’t already ordered a selection of cheeses and charcuterie, we would have been done! And they would not have been offended. This is Spain, where a glass of good quality wine is €3.50 (less than $5) AND it comes with food! And there is no expectation of tipping, most restaurants add a small service fee per person so you needn’t worry about it.

We were sitting at home one evening when we decided to have a glass of vino and JT asks what we were having for hors d’œuvres! I had to scramble a bit because I hadn’t pre-made anything for the freezer but I did have some incredible peppers (did I mention how wonderful vegetables taste in Spain?) so I sliced them thinly and sautéed them and presented them with some toasted Spanish pine nuts. They were fantastic! So simple. If you’re serving a crowd, you might want to add a splash of red wine and some sliced chorizo, served with crusty bread of course. This is definitely going into my repertoire because I always have peppers at home.

I haven’t stipulated quantities because it’s what you have on hand. I used about a half of pepper each of the red and yellow and about 1/4 of an onion.

These are some of the sweetest peppers we’ve ever tasted.

Sautéed Peppers with Pine Nuts

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

 Ingredients:

• Red peppers, deveined and seeded, cut into strips
• Yellow peppers, deveined and seeded, cut into strips
• Onion, thinly sliced
• Splash of olive oil
• Pine Nuts, toasted
• Salt and pepper to taste

 Ingredients:

1. Sauté the onions and peppers in a splash of olive oil. Add the chorizo and red wine, if using
2. Sprinkle with pine nuts, salt and pepper and serve with crusty bread.

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Pantry Clean Out Peanut Butter Cookies

We’re coming up to our last few weeks in Spain and I’m thinking about how to use up all the groceries we bought. I probably shouldn’t have bought a pack of sugar (about 350 g) but it was only about €0.50 so I’m not going to kill myself but I will give an honest go of using some of it. Peanut butter is not a common ingredient in Spain (most likely all of Europe) and is therefore expensive (€6.00 for a 500 g jar) but JT loves the stuff, so we splurged. We’ll be away for about 9 days of the last 18 days in Spain so I wanted to start on my pantry cleanup sooner than later.

I didn’t want to buy another package of butter so I needed a recipe that did not use it. Fortunately, this one is an old favourite, slightly modified to incorporate pantry ingredients. The 30 g portions make a decent size cookie but not large by any stretch of the imagination. The butter is not beaten into the peanut butter (mainly because I didn’t have a mixer) just mixed in well, without too much exertion which makes it an easy cookie recipe. I’ll be definitely keeping this one in my repertoire.

Delicious cookies with just the right amount of chewiness.

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes 19 cookies about 30 g each

Ingredients:

• 250 g crunchy peanut butter (natural, no salt or sugar added)
• 2 eggs
• 80 g flour
• 165 g sugar
• 3 g salt
• 50 dark chocolate with sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
2. Combine the peanut butter and eggs and mix well.
3. Combine the flour, sugar and salt and mix well.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well.
5. Portion out 30 g balls and flatten slightly with your palm. Dot the chocolate pieces onto each one evenly.
6. Bake for 8-12 minutes at 350° F.

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Fried Cheese Tortellini

I always create a menu plan for every week and when we arrived in Spain, it was no different. I like to schedule meals out in a restaurant but if they don’t work out, I also like to have something easy to fix on hand, dried cheese tortellini was one of these things. We had been out for lunch at one of our favourite Italian places and the couple at the table next to us ordered the fried cheese tortellini and I was inspired, they looked so delicious. I have made fried pasta before but used North American dried pasta and it wasn’t good, they were too thick and ended up really hard and difficult to eat so I didn’t bother posting about them. These little gems are different, they are crispy, chewy little parcels filled with cheese! They are wonderful. I tested up a batch of 18 and found them quite successful so I fried up the entire package! I froze them for when we reunite with our dear friends Paul and T from Arizona, they came for a visit in early May. Just pop them onto a parchment-lined baking pan and bake at 350° F for about 10-12 minutes. Serve with salsa, romesco sauce or any one of your favourites. Make sure you make a bunch because they are addictive.

They are crispy and chewy little parcels of deliciousness.

Crispy Fried Cheese Tortellini

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes as many tortellini as your package has.

Ingredients:

• 1 package dry cheese-filled tortellini, cooked through
• 500 mL high flash-point oil
• dipping sauce, your choice

Directions:

1. Heat the oil to 350° F
2. Fry only 5-6 at a time until golden, place on an absorbant cloth to soak up any excess oil.
3. Serve warm with your favourite dipping sauce.

Notes:

• Cook your pasta to slightly overdone, this will provide the best crunch.
• Cook your pasta in advance so that you can totally drain them and allow them to slightly dry out on a paper towel or parchment (this will prevent the oil from splashing when the water hits it).

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Deluxe Egg Salad

Truth be told, I re-invented some leftover devilled eggs into this deluxe egg salad. The creamy egg yolks made perfectly rich and luscious creamy egg salad. I upped the ante by adding a small, ripe avocado. Winner, winner, egg salad!

I think I’ll make egg salad this way all the time.

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes enough for 2 large croissant sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 4 left over devilled egg halves (see notes on how I jazzed these up), roughly chopped

• 2 additional hard-boiled egg, roughly chopped
• 15 mL mayonnaise
• 5-10 mL lemon juice
• 2 scallions, finely chopped, plus more for garnish
• ~10 cm of cucumber, finely diced
• 1 small, ripe avocado, finely diced
• Add salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Combine the devilled egg filling with the additional hard-boiled egg yolk with the mayo and lemon juice, whisk well.
2. Stir the scallions, cucumber and avocado together, mixing well. Spoon the egg yolk sauce over the eggs and fold in, completely mixing with the eggs.
3. Serve in a croissant with additional finely chopped scallions as garnish.

Delicious stuffed into a croissant.

Notes:

• When I made the devilled eggs, I whipped the yolks with mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and room temperature goats cheese and a little finely chopped scallions. Salt and pepper to taste.

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Turk-ish Eggs

I saw this Nigella Lawson recipe on my friend Mimi’s socials and in reading Nigella Lawson’s description of it made me want to try it. I was able to source the Aleppo pepper flakes at my favourite spice store in Kensington Market, Carlos’ House of Spice. I called it Turk-ish because I altered the recipe somewhat but you can click on the original here.

Creamy and tangy against the rich Aleppo butter sauce.

The Aleppo pepper flakes are not burning hot, there is mild heat but even I can take it so it’s pretty mild. It has a lovely fruity taste that comes through in the nutty brown butter. The tangy yogurt is beautifully mellowed by the brown butter sauce. It’s a lovely dish that is totally guest-worthy.

Turk-ish Eggs

Please click here for the original recipe

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 200 mL Plain Greek yogurt
• 10 g roasted garlic purée
• 2-4 g Sea salt flakes or kosher salt
• 30 g unsalted butter
• 15 mL extra virgin olive oil
• 2-5 g Aleppo pepper/Turkish red pepper flakes
• 2 large eggs, cold
• 10 mL lemon juice, divided
• 1/2 avocado, mashed with a fork
• Toasted bread

Directions:

1. Whisk the yogurt and roasted garlic in a bowl over a bain-marie and gently warm the yogurt, set aside.
2. Warm two bistro bowls.
3. Melt the butter and gently cook until the milk solids turn golden brown, remove from the heat and stir in the olive oil, Aleppo pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt. Set aside.
4. Gently bring a low-sided pan, filled with water to a light boil and turn it down so there are no visible bubbles. Meanwhile, crack each egg into a fine-mesh sieve and allow the loose whites to drain away, slide into a ramekin. Add 5 mL lemon juice into each ramekin with the drained egg. Gently lower each egg into the simmering water and cook until desired consistency (we love runny yolks 3-5 minutes).
5. To serve, divide the yogurt into the two bowls evenly spoon the mashed avocado into the centre. Place a poached egg on top and drizzle with the Aleppo butter sauce. Serve with lots of toast.

Notes:

• The addition of avocado is not authentic in this recipe, I had a half that needed using. It was a beautiful creamy texture against the yogurt.
• If you think two slices of toast will do, make two more, you’ll need it to soak up the yogurt-butter-egg sauce!

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Celery, Zucchini and Avocado Cream Soup

My brother loaned us his cottage for the last week of January. Yes, it is a lot colder up there but it is extremely beautiful with the pristine, sparkling snow and the occasional visit from wildlife. I needed to clean out the fridge before we left and created this tasty and satisfying soup. Pair it with a scone or grilled cheese and you have the perfect winter-time lunch. The measurements are not important here because I was just using up some less-than-perfect produce, it’s just an inspiration for future soups.

JT bought me the KitchenAid Vegetable Sheet Cutter to help me cut down our carbs so I had a lot of zucchini cores leftover which played right into this delicately flavoured soup. I was going to add cream but then I had a very ripe avocado that would meld perfectly into this winter meal.

Celery, Zucchini, and Avocado Cream Soup

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes 1.45 L soup

Ingredients:

• 15 mL EVOO
• ~ 1/2 a bunch of celery, roughly chopped
• ~ 1 zucchini, roughly chopped
• ~ 1 small Vidalia onion, roughly chopped
• 5-10 sprigs of parsley
• 1 L chicken stock
• 1 small Avocado, peeled and pitted
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large pot, heat the EVOO, add the celery, zucchini, onion, and parsley, and cook until softened. Add the stock and simmer for 30 minutes or until all of the vegetables are very soft. Add the avocado.
2. Blitz with your immersion blender or allow to cool and purée with a Nutri Bullet or VitaMix for a smooth and creamy soup. Strain through a fine sieve to remove the celery ‘hairs’.
3. Serve hot.

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Green Goodness Bowl

We usually have small quantities of a lot of different produce leftover as we approach shopping day, you know, a little of this, a little of that. That is where this bowl came from — it was an inspiration to use up the small portions of veggies before they were past their prime. The recipe is just whatever you have on hand, so I have not posted actual quantities, but there is no denying that this bowl is a keeper! It’s filled with flavour, texture, crunch against the creaminess of the avocado dressing. 

Lots of flavours and textures make up this tasty bowl.

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Ingredients:

• Greens, shredded
• a handful of Chickpeas, cooked
• about half a Mango, small dice
  
• 1/2 Avocado, small dice 
• Cheese, small cubes
• a handful of Pearl barley, cooked
• a handful of vinegar coleslaw
• a couple of good pinches of Sunflower Seeds, toasted

Directions:

1. Place the greens at the base of the bowl and add each ingredient on top, into its own quadrant, leaving the sunflower seeds to garnish after you have dressed your bowl.
2. Dress with the avocado dressing (recipe below) and garnish with the sunflower seeds. Serve immediately.

A delicious combination that is satisfying.

Green Goodness Dressing

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes enough dressing for 2 bowls.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Avocado
• ~ 15 mL mayonnaise
• ~ 15 mL greek yoghurt
• ~ 15 mL lemon juice
• pinch of tarragon
• water, to thin

Directions:

1. Add all of the ingredients with the exception of the water to a tall, thin jar made for your immersion blender and blend until smooth adding water, little by little to make it loose enough to pour.

Notes:

• It is more flavourful to have sweet, salty and savoury things. 
• I like to toast the barley for a nuttier flavour when cooked.
• Alternatives to mango: craisins, raisins, grapes.
• Alternatives to chickpeas: lobster meat, crab meat, tuna, chopped ham, edamame.
• Alternatives to barley: rice, bulgar, Isreal couscous, couscous.
• Additions: peas, corn, diced peppers.
• Alternatives to sunflower seeds: pepitas, roasted walnuts, roasted peanuts.

 

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Broccoli and Cheddar Soup

It’s been wickedly cold here, and by wickedly cold, I’m talking -21° C or -5.8° F! I have only been able to think about soup. I love brothy soups but JT is not as much of a fan, he prefers creamed soups so I like to mix it up. I had purchased too much broccoli for Christmas day dinner so I had a small crown leftover along with a not-so-perfect-looking romaine, so this recipe was a result of these two leftovers.

Broccoli and Cheddar Soup

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes just over a litre of soup

Ingredients:

• 1/4 Vidalia onion, roughly chopped
• 15 mL EVOO
• 1 fist-sized head of broccoli, roughly chopped
• 1/2 romaine lettuce, shredded
• 1 L chicken stock
• 5 cm x 5 cm Parmigiana rind, cut into smaller pieces
• 30 g of cheddar, shredded
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. In a hot pan, cook the onion in the olive oil until translucent, add the broccoli and romaine lettuce and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock and the Parmigiana rind and simmer for about an hour or until everything has softened.
2. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth. If using a traditional blender, allow to cool a bit so the steam doesn’t blow off the lid.
3. Serve with some shredded cheddar sprinkled on top.

Notes:

• The romaine didn’t end up adding much flavour but it did help with thickening.
• Use vegetable stock if making vegetarian.
• The Parmigiana also helps to thicken the soup.
• I used both orange and white cheddar because that is what I had.

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Zucchini Rösti

I’m always on the lookout for low-carb options, not that I don’t love my carbs, they are just not as kind to me as alternatives, so I like to balance our intake with some low-carb options. I created this recipe when I had purchased too many zucchini’s and I thought it would make a nice alternative to the potato rösti that we are used to, I was wrong, it was significantly better than I expected. There is only cheese in this, no other binder! Other recipes use egg but it made a frittata-like pancake instead of rösti, which should be crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. This recipe is definitely a keeper! 

Zucchini Rösti

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes 2 dinner portions or 4 appetizer portions

Ingredients:

• 250 g zucchini, coarsely grated
• 50 g Parmigiana, finely grated
• 50 g Gruyère, coarsely grated
• 2 g salt, divided
• Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Place the grated zucchini into a bowl and toss with 2 grams of salt, allow to sit for about 30 minutes.
2. Strain the zucchini and salt mixture and squeeze out as much water as you can. Taste for seasoning and add a little more salt if necessary, keeping in mind that some cheeses are saltier than others.
3. Toss the strained zucchini with the cheeses and add pepper to taste.
4. Heat a seasoned cast iron pan or non-stick frying pan to medium heat, then lower to medium-low.
5. Add about half or a quarter of the zucchini mix to the pan and press down into a pancake about 1 cm tall. Cook until the edges are golden, gently loosen the cheese all around and beneath the patty, it may have stuck a little on the pan and flip repeat for the other side. 
6. Serve hot as a base for fish, steak, chicken or even a poached egg.

Cheesy delicious goodness in every bite.

Notes:

• Other cheese that would work: low moisture Mozzarella, Appenzeller, Cheddar etc. I would avoid feta, cream cheese, brie, etc.
• There is no need for oil or butter, the cheese will render and the oils will help fry the Rösti.
• If you don’t have time to wait for the salt to squeeze out all of the moisture from the zucchini, you may use it as is, just note that the inside will be much softer than if you had removed most of the moisture.
• If you don’t have a seasoned cast iron pan or a non-stick pan, add a piece of parchment to the pan before adding the zucchini mixture, this will allow the cheese to caramelize and release from the pan easily.
• I served Serrano ham wrapped cod with a dollop of Greek yogurt.

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Cantaloupe Salsa

Back in mid-July, after a full-day of working on our deck project, we needed some appetizers for cocktails one evening. I didn’t want to spend a lot of time making them because I was pooped. I saw local cantaloupe and I immediately thought of the simple, yet tasty cantaloupe wrapped in Proscuitto (we used Serrano ham from Spain). It totally hit the spot. When I was selecting the melon, I wasn’t able to smell it as I usually do because we are still mandated to wear masks so I just picked one and I was lucky, it was wonderful. We had about 1/8th of it, so I had to figure out what to do with the remainder (other than eating it for dessert). I came up with this fresh, tasty recipe to go with some fish I had broiled, it was delicious.

Cantaloupe Salsa

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes about 250 mL salsa

Ingredients:

• 150 g cantaloupe, finely diced
• 50 g cucumber, finely diced
• 1/2 small avocado, finely diced
• 1 green onion, finely sliced
• Fresh Basil and Mint, in a chiffonade
• 15-30 mL freshly squeezed lime juice
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Combine all of the ingredients, tasting and seasoning as required.
2. Serve chilled with fish or barbeque.

 

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Warm Salmon Dip

This post was inadvertantly published on the same day as another, so we apologise if you’ve already seen/been here. Also, this post was written during our first foray out of lockdown.

We have continued to entertain one couple at a time outdoors, keeping well below the allowed maximum of five (outdoors only). Our space allows for four people socially distanced, any more, we’re less than two metres (six feet) apart and we are not comfortable with that.

I try to make meals that are hearty and warm. This is one such dip I made as an hors d’œuveres for friends who came for lunch (the main was JT’s Bœuff Bourguignon). That day in February was 6° C (43° F) outside but our heater warmed our little area to 15° C (59° F) which made it very comfortable with light coats on (in fact, my friend came seriously over dressed and had to peel layers off to be comfortable).

It’s quite romantic eating outside in the winter, and even my naysayer hubby is loving it. In fact, most of the negativeness has come from the men, the women are all over being outside but once the guys experience our little cozy nook, they are sold. Just like this dip, one taste and you’re sold. I make a similar dip using canned crabmeat but I must tell you that this salmon dip is so much more flavourful.

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes about 375 mL dip

Ingredients:

• 250 g Cream Cheese, room temperature
• 1 tsp dill (dried is fine)
• 2 tsp horseradish (the original recipe called for horseradish cream, but I never had horseradish cream on hand)
• 20 g red onion or shallot, finely minced
• salt & pepper to taste
• 25 g celery, finely minced
• 150 g canned salmon, without skin or bones. It’s about 1/2 cup, or one can give or take.

Directions:

1. Combine all of the ingredients and mix well (a light-duty hand mixer is perfect for this).
2. Season with salt and pepper.
3. If you are making this for the future, line three 125 mL or half-cup ramekins with plastic wrap.
4. Divide the mixed dip into the three ramekins pressing into the ramekin so it will retain the shape. Try not to have too many folds so that the plastic comes off easily. Carefully twist the plastic wrap to seal. Place the ramekins in the freezer. Once the dip has frozen to the ramekin shape, remove the frozen dip and label it and return the shaped dip to the freezer until needed. Put your ramekins away.
5. About 30-40 minutes before serving, pre-heat the oven to 375° F. Remove plastic wrap from the frozen dip and pop the shaped-frozen dip into the original ramekin you used to freeze it. Place on a cookie sheet (it may boil over depending on how full your ramekin was) and bake for 30-40 minutes or until dip is bubbling in the centre.
6. Remove the baked dip, garnish with a smoked salmon rose and serve with papadams, crostini, crackers or even sliced cucumbers.

A warm, boldly flavoured salmon dip that is perfect for outdoor entertaining.

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Thai Green Curry “Risotto”

I love to cook Asian flavours, particularly in the warmer weather, it just feels right. One such warm and balmy evening I came up with this interesting twist on an old favourite: Thai Green Curry “Risotto“! It’s definitely not traditional so I’ve omitted the cheese because I didn’t like the flavour combination but I have an alt in the notes if you still want cheese in it. It’s creamy, even though I used Jasmine rice and I kept it monochromatic adding only green veggies. It was a definitely a winner!

Thai Green Curry “Risotto”

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes 2 dinner-sized servings or 4 appetizer servings

Ingredients:

• 1 small shallot (about 25 g)
• 15 mL EVOO
• 60 mL Green Curry Paste
• 160 g jasmine rice, rinsed well
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• 300 mL chicken stock
• 100 mL coconut milk
• 50 g green beans (cut into 1 cm pieces)
• 150 g bay scallops
• 50 g frozen peas
• 2.5 mL lime juice

Directions:

1. In a small Dutch oven, heat the oil and add the shallots and cook until translucent. Add the kaffir lime leaves.
2. Add the rice and toast for a minute or so. Add the green curry paste and cook until fragrant.
3. Pour in the chicken stock about one-third at a time, stirring occasionally, cooking the rice until all’onda. Add the scallops and cook until they are 125-130F or you can panfry them like I did.
4. Turn down the element and stir in the coconut milk, add the vegetables and heat through.
5. Add the lime juice to taste. Remove the kaffir lime leaves to serve.

Deliciously creamy “risotto” with the flavours of Thailand.

Notes:

• I add the lime juice to brighten the flavours without salt.
• This is neither an authentic Thai nor Italian recipe. I just thought the green curry and jasmine rice lent itself to the traditional dish. This green curry does not have cheese in it but if you want it creamier, try a little cream cheese stirred into the curry right at the end.
• Use any protein you wish, chicken or shrimp would be great too.

Bay scallops add the perfect amount of sweetness to this flavourful dish.

Note:

• Rice portion was updated July 17 to reflect two servings.

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Warm Spanakopita Dip

Warm Spanakopita Dip

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes about 250 mL dip

Ingredients:

• 15 mL garlic-infused EVOO
• 30 g shallots, small dice
• 160 g zucchini, grated
• 70 g spinach, finely chopped
• 0.5 g dill weed
• 50 g cream cheese
• 70 g Greek feta, crumbled, divided
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized pan and sweat the shallots until translucent. Add the zucchini and cook until softened. Add the spinach and wilt completely. Season with the dill and stir well.
2. Add the cream cheese and stir until it has melted into the vegetables.
3. Add about three-quarters of the feta and stir well into the warm dip. Reserve one-quarter of the feta for garnish.
4. Reheat the dip and serve with pita bread.

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Cream of Celery Soup

Spring came early to Toronto, with warm, sunny days as early as the first week of April! Buds burst on trees and shrubs and we waited with bated breath for the blooms in hopes that we wouldn’t get a spring frost. A good spring always has rain and we’re OK with that as long as we get some sunny days interspersed to keep our mood elevated and this spring was perfect. The rainy days were a touch cooler (still above freezing) but cool enough to crave soup. JT has been a real trouper this winter, eating without complaint, my favourite brothy soups but his true love are creamed soups so I thought I’d create this creamy, tasty soup on a rainy mid-April day. I served this with Cheesy Onion Scones!

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes about 400 mL soup

Ingredients:

• 15 mL EVOO
• 50 g sweet onion
• 300 g celery hearts, tender leaves included, roughly chopped
• 50 g cauliflower florets (as a thickener)
• 400 mL vegetable stock
• 7.5 mL lemon juice
• Salt to taste
• 30 mL table cream

Directions:

1. Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a soup pan and sweat out the onions until translucent, add the celery and cook on medium/low for about 3 minutes.
2. Add the cauliflower florets and vegetable stock and simmer until all of the vegetables are soft.
3. Purée until smooth and taste for acidity and salt, add as required. Keep warm until ready to serve.
4. Just prior to serving, add 30 millilitres of table cream, stir well.

Celery in North America doesn’t have a strong anise flavour, it’s very mild.

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Polenta Bites with Mediterranean Tapenade inspired by Yotam Ottolenghi

I am constantly on the lookout for new hors d’oeuvres/finger food that I can insert into my cocktail repertoire. I came across this tasty recipe in early April when I was looking around for something to make with polenta. I loved the crackers because I’ve already made Polenta Fries, Polenta Crisps, and Polenta Choux Pastry. Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipe includes a beautiful tapenade but I didn’t have parsley and I wasn’t going to go out for just one ingredient as we had just stepped into our THIRD State of Emergency Lockdown, so I improvised with baby arugula, and I must say, it’s darn tasty, I may even substitute the parsley with arugula going forward.

Don’t let the dark edges fool you, they are the best part!!!

Polenta Bites with Mediterranean Tapenade

Recipe inspired by Yotam Ottolenghi

Makes about 35 little crackers and enough tapenade for about 6 or 8 crackers.

Ingredients for the Polenta Bites:

• 350 mL chicken stock
• 15 mL roasted garlic purée
• 15  EVOO
• 2.5 g sea salt
• 75 g fine cornmeal
• 40 g finely grated parmesan
• 5 g chopped chives

Directions for the Polenta Bites:

1. Prepare a large sheet of parchment paper by spraying it with non-stick spray. Set aside.
2. Heat the chicken stock with the roasted garlic purée, extra virgin olive oil and sea salt until a slow boil.
3. Slowly pour in the cornmeal and stir vigorously until all has been incorporated into the water and it is beginning to thicken, add the grated parmesan and chives and cook, stirring constantly until very thick.
4. Pour the hot mixture onto one half of the prepared parchment and fold the other half over it. Using a rolling pin, roll out to about 2mm thick. Even out the edges (cooks treat) and cut into 3 cm squares. Allow to cool completely.
5. Preheat the oven to 425° F (I used convection) and bake the polenta bites for 20 minutes. Remove the sheet from the oven and flip the crackers over so that the top is the bottom and the bottom is the top and try to separate the crackers and move them around on the parchment so they bake evenly. Bake for an additional 20 minutes. Cool completely.

Green olives, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts and peppery arugula make a very tasty tapenade.

Ingredients for the Mediterranean Tapenade:

• 5 Green olives (with pimento)
• 6 Kalamata olives, pitted
• 4 quarters Marinated Artichoke Hearts
• 2 small handfuls of baby arugula
• 1 green onion about 15 cm long, roughly chopped
• 30 mL EVOO
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions for the Mediterranean Tapenade:

1. Add everything into a small food processor and process until you have achieved the desired consistency.
2. Serve as a dip or portioned onto each cracker like a canape.

 

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Cheese Crisps

These are super quick and easy to make. They don’t keep well, particularly if your house is a bit humid so plan to bake them just before you want to eat them or if they get a bit soggy, just pop them into the oven to dry them out a bit.

Deliciously crunchy and cheesy crisps.

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes about 12-15 crisps

Ingredients:

• 400 g old cheddar cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400° F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone matt.
2. Spread the cheese out on the matt as thinly as possible so that the grated pieces are interlaced.
3. Bake for 4-6 minutes or until the cheese has entirely rendered and is starting to become golden but not burned.
4. Carefully remove from the oven and pull the parchment onto a cutting board. With a pizza cutter, cut into wedges. Allow to cool completely. Serve immediately.

Notes:

• I use a rimmed baking sheet because the oils from the cheese may slide onto the oven and burn.
• Parchment may burn so a silicon matt is preferred.

 

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Warm Spinach and Artichoke Dip

We had Friends over outside for dinner in early December and they brought this dip as contribution toward dinner, it was wonderful so I asked for the recipe; unfortunately I don’t know where it’s from.

Warm Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Makes about 200 mL

Ingredients:

• 250 g of cream cheese softened
• 30 mL mayo
• 15 g each Parmesan and old cheddar shredded, mixed
• 15 mL Roasted Garlic
• 65 g artichoke hearts chopped
• 60 g blanched spinach drained and chopped

Mix all above and place in lightly greased pan and top with shredded mozzarella. Bake at preheated 350° F for about half an hour.

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Caramelized Onion and Lentil Soup

Caramelized Onion and Lentil Soup

Serves 2 (about 400 mL)

Ingredients:

• 150 g sweet onion, sliced thinly
• 15 mL EVOO
• 100 g dry red lentils
• 500 mL beef or vegetable stock
• 1 bay leaf
• Gruyère crisp for garnish.
• 2 g salt
• Water

Directions:

1. Caramelize the onions with olive oil with a little salt.
2. Cook the lentils with the bay leaf in the stock until soft. Remove the bay leaf, discard.
3. Combine the caramelized onions with the cooked lentils and purée until smooth, adding a little stock until desired consistency is achieved.
4. Serve in French onion soup bows garnished with the cheese crisp.

Notes:

• You can eat the crisp like a cracker, or you can crumble it into the soup for texture and flavour.

A creamy, hearty soup that will help keep you warm on these chilly winter days.

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Broccoli, Avocado and Cilantro Soup

Winter means soup weather to me and I’m always trying to change it up from the regular repertoire. This soup was developed to use some excess cilantro before it bit the dust. Cilantro haters, please move along, nothing to see here!

The bright green colour is joyful, don’t you think?

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

• 300 g broccoli
• 70 g sweet onion
• 30 mL olive oil
• 1 avocado
• 15 g cilantro
• 1 tbsp green curry paste (or to taste)
• 250 mL coconut milk (not the cream)
• 250-375 mL chicken stock
• 15 mL roasted garlic purée
• Splash of fresh lime juice
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Chop broccoli and onion into medium-small pieces and coat generously with olive oil. Roast at 375° F until tender.
2. Combine the roasted broccoli, onions, avocado, cilantro, green curry past, coconut milk, about half of chicken stock and roasted garlic puree and blend until very smooth, adding more chicken stock at achieve the desired viscosity for the soup. Push the soup through a fine sieve into a medium-sized pot and re-heat on medium-low.
3. Season to taste. Serve hot garnished with small roasted broccoli florets and cilantro.

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Mushroom Bolognese

I have been meaning to create a recipe for a vegetarian Bolognese sauce forever, not because we’re vegetarians but because it’s good to mix it up with a vegetarian meal every so often. JT always asks me what’s for dinner with bated breath so he could look forward to it; when he asked about that day, he looked slightly disappointed. He actually said he was lowering his expectations so he wouldn’t be disappointed because he adores Bolognese and couldn’t imagine a mushroom version would/could be better. Boy was he wrong! Dinner was pretty silent that night, mostly because he couldn’t shovel the food in fast enough! After he finished he said that it was significantly better than he thought it would be. That’s one for the good guys.

If you’re vegetarian or vegan and you’ve been missing the rich, flavourful meaty bolognese, this recipe is for you. The mouth-feel is similar, particularly if you don’t pulverize the mushrooms and walnuts too much. But it’s the slow and low cooking that brings out all of the flavours.

Mushroom Bolognese

Serves 2 generously

Ingredients:

• 30 mL EVOO
• 1/2 carrot, finely diced
• 1/2 celery rib, finely diced
• 1/2 shallot, finely diced
• 1 large portobello mushroom cap, finely chopped
• 2 white mushrooms, finely chopped
• 50 g walnuts, chopped
• 125 mL milk or cream
• 125 mL white wine
• 10 mL puréed roasted garlic
• 250 mL passata of San Marzano tomatoes
• 15 mL tomato paste
• 15 mL Hungarian Sweet Paprika Paste
• Pinch of baking soda (see notes)
• Pinch of sweet smoked paprika
• Sea salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• Parmigiana

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a small, enamel skillet. Add the carrots, celery and shallot and cook until semi-soft.
2. Add the mushrooms and walnuts and cook until most of the mushroom liquid has evaporated. Add the milk or cream and cook until it has evaporated. Do the same with the wine.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Pour into a slow cooker or crockpot and set to high and cook for 2-3 hours.
5. Serve on al dente (homemade) pasta of choice garnished with freshly grated parmigiana.

Notes:

• I used portobello and white mushrooms because that is what I had on hand, a mixture of wild mushrooms would be delicious too.
• Baking soda chemically changes the PH of things, tomatoes become much less acidic (I even throw a pinch into my coffee, it literally changes coffee from acidic to alkaline!), I prefer to use baking soda than to add sugar, which many do.
• I used a slow cooker because our stove is gas and I prefer not to have an open flame on for a few hours. If you don’t care or have an electric stove, feel free to simmer in the same pot on the stove but do simmer.
• I’m not sure how non-dairy milk will flavour the dish so if you’re vegan, omit the milk or cream.
• I used walnuts because I like their meaty texture and earthy flavour, pecans would be a good alternative.
• I whipped together the pasta using 1 egg and as much flour that it can absorb, then I ran it through the Kitchenaid pasta maker from 1 to 7. Then I hand cut the pasta into irregular widths and lengths. The fresh pasta is really worth the effort, it’s so much lighter than store-bought dry pasta.

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Thai Basil Eggplant

Mid last month, I made a batch of Mulligatawny Soup and had some leftover eggplant, so I searched for a recipe for Thai Basil Eggplant that reminded me of a delicious dish served by a hole in the wall Ma and Pa shop when I worked in the corporate world. This one fits the bill.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 250 g Japanese or Chinese eggplants
• 45 mL toasted sesame oil, divided
• 5 g roasted garlic puréed
• 5 g toasted sesame seeds
• Good handful of basil leaves, plus more for serving
• 30 mL unseasoned rice vinegar
• 10 mL soy sauce
• 15 mL Sweet Thai Chili Sauce

Directions:

1. Chop the eggplant into eighths. Heat 30 mL sesame oil in a large pan and cook the eggplant chunks until slightly golden and somewhat soft in the centre, about 6-8 minutes.
2. Add the garlic purée and sesame seeds and toss to coat well. Add the basil leaves and cook until wilted.
3. Stir the vinegar, remaining sesame oil and soy sauce into the sweet Thai chili sauce and mix well. Drizzle half of the sauce into the eggplant and cook stirring often until the eggplant has entirely softened.
4. Serve hot with the remaining sauce drizzled over it and additional Thai Basil leaves as garnish.

I never said it was authentic Thai.

 

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LCBO’s Leek and Mushroom Tart

Way back in 2009, I blogged about this recipe from the LCBO magazine, Leek and Mushroom tart but I didn’t have a photo of it. It’s quite a tasty tart, particularly if you use puff pastry as the base. It’s definitely not something we eat often so I thought I’d splurge and reblog about it. It makes a lovely brunch dish.

Makes one tart 35.5 cm x 11.4 cm x 2.5 cm (14″ x 4.5″ x1″)

For the original recipe, please click here.

Ingredients:

• 375 mL Evaporated Milk or heavy cream
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 large egg
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 30 g unsalted butter
• 250 g mixed mushrooms (shiitake, porcini, cremini, oyster etc.), stems removed where necessary and thickly sliced
• 1 medium wild leek cleaned well and cut into thin slices
• 30 mL white wine
• 2.5 mL chopped fresh thyme
• One 35.5 cm x 11.4 cm x 2.5 cm tart shell, partially baked
• 2 long slices of prosciutto, or 4 small rounds, cut or torn into smaller bits

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
2. Place Evaporated Milk or heavy cream and garlic cloves in a large pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil then turn the heat down to low and simmer gently for 25 minutes or until milk is flavoured with the garlic and reduced to 250 mL and garlic is very soft. Set aside to cool. Remove garlic cloves, mash with a fork and return to cream. When cool add egg and beat until uniform. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Heat 15 g butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes or until browned. Season with salt and pepper to taste and scrape into a bowl.
4. Add the remaining 15 g of butter to pan and heat over medium heat. Add leeks and sauté for 1 minute or until they are softened. Add wine and thyme to pan and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more or until leeks are limp and the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat.
5. Arrange mushrooms and leeks in the tart shell and pour milk over top (making sure that mushrooms and leeks peep through the cream.
6. Top with prosciutto (this will get very crispy).
7. Bake for 30 minutes or until set and lightly golden. Allow to cool 10 minutes before serving.

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Baja Mexican Spicy Beans with Lime Sauce and Salsa

In mid-July, we were one of five couples invited to a socially responsible BBQ at a friend’s house. They put three tables together outside giving us ample space to distance ourselves. Each couple was asked to bring something and this marvellously flavourful side was one of the dishes someone brought. Everyone asked for the recipe, including me! I chose to make it as a dip for a summer evening cocktail party, socially responsibly distanced, of course. Each couple had their own plate!

The beans and lentils are packed with flavour, the salsa and lime yoghurt just up the ante.

Baja Mexican Beans and Lentil Dip with Lime Sauce and Salsa

From Bowls of Goodness: Vibrant Vegetarian Recipes Full of Nourishment By Nina Olsson

For the original recipe please click here

Ingredients for the Salsa:

• Home grown vine ripened tomatoes, chopped
• 1 green onion, chopped
• Juice of 1 lime

Directions:

1. Combine all of the ingredients and set aside.

Ingredients for the Baja Sauce:

• 150 mL sour cream or yoghurt
• Juice of 1 lime
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Combine all of the ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate until needed

Ingredients for the Beans:

• Olive oil
• 2 shallots, diced
• 200 g dried navy beans (400 g cooked)
• 100 g dried lentils du puy (200 g cooked)
• 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 avocado, finely diced
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp smoked sweet paprika
• 3/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Cook the beans and lentil until softened, rinse.
2. Heat oil in a frying pan and add the shallots until caramelized, add the garlic and cooked beans and cook until they can easily be mashed about 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Serve in a bowl or on a plate drizzled with the Baja Sauce and Salsa with baked tortilla chips

I chose blue tortilla chips because they were gluten-free and organic.

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Pickled Daikon

We just love Asian flavours, particularly in the summertime. The food is light, fresh and easy to eat on these endless, hot, muggy, summer days. I’ve made quick-pickled daikon in the past as a garnish but this time I wanted something that will serve a few meals. I love Nami’s no-nonsense approach to authentic Japanese food so her blog Just One Cookbook is generally my go-to and this was no exception. I did make a minor change by omitting the heat and reducing the sugar (even though she warned against it). I love the fresh crunch of this daikon pickle. But be warned, the daikon odour will penetrate everything and it is potent! I put the Lamp Berger on every time I open the jar!

Pickled Daikon

For the original recipe, please click here.

Makes about 500 mL

Ingredients:

• 454 g fresh daikon, julienned thinly
• 45 g sugar
• 30 mL rice vinegar
• 5 mL mirin
• 2 g salt

Directions:

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a tightly sealable container (you may wish to double bag it because it really stinks up the refrigerator).
2. Mix well. Seal the container and place in the fridge for 2 days.
3. After 2 days, rinse well and strain. Sterilize a jar and add the daikon to the jar, seal and refrigerate. Will keep for about 1 month.

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Low Carb Hoisin Sauce

We are always looking for ways to eat healthier, reduce the amount of sugar and carbs in our diet. I cook a lot of Asian flavours, particularly in the summertime, but unfortunately many of the store-bought sauces have a lot of sugar. Case in point, a popular brand begins its ingredient listing with, wait for it, SUGAR! So in an effort to be healthier, I came up with this recipe.

Makes about 125 mL sauce.

Ingredients:

• 30 mL Low Sodium Soy Sauce
• 9 g almond flour (see notes)
• 10 g erythritol (see notes)
• 2.5 mL rice vinegar
• 2.5 mL toasted sesame oil
• 2 g white soybean paste
• 2 g garlic
• 15-30 mL water

Directions:

1. Combine everything but the water in an immersion blender and blend until smooth.
2. Transfer to a small saucepan and cook over low heat until it has thickened and darkened. Whisk in the water to the desired consistency.

Notes:

• Instead of almond flour, you may use tahini (reduce or omit sesame oil) or smooth peanut butter.
• Erythritol is a sugar substitute that apparently does not spike blood sugar levels. See this article.

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Mille-Feuille Vegetarian Lasagna

My friend David of Fine Dining at Home (blog on hiatus) put me onto this recipe on his instagram; it looked absolutely delicious, so, then and there, I decided I wanted to make it. I renamed the recipe mille-feuille lasagna because the number of layers reminded me of one of my favourite pastries. I won’t lie, this is a labour-intensive recipe, but then again, what lasagna recipe isn’t? I will say that it is well worth the effort. The homemade pasta is so delicious, light and somewhat crispy. The spinach and basil layers against the creamy béchamel and the stringy mozzarella are divine! Don’t skip the resting and searing step, it really makes the recipe.

Mille-Feuille Lasagna

For the original recipe, please click here.

Makes one 21.6 cm x 11.4 cm (4″ x 7″) loaf pan, about 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 300 g Spinach, blanched
• ~50 g basil, blanched
• 125 mL passata
• 15 mL tomato paste
• 15 mL roasted garlic, puréed (fresh is fine too)
• 300 g mozzarella, ground

Directions:

1. Combine the spinach and basil and wring out the water well. Set aside.
2. Combine the passata, tomato paste and garlic and mix well. Set aside.

Ingredients for the Béchamel:

• 30 g butter
• 40 g flour
• 500 mL milk, warmed

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a medium, heavy-bottom pan. Whisk in the flour and mix well. Cook on medium-heat for 2 minutes.
2. Slowly add the warm milk and whisk. Whisk the sauce until smooth and creamy. Cool completely.

Ingredients for the Pasta:

• 1 large egg
• 125 g Flour (“00”)
• Salt

Directions:

1. Add the egg to the small bowl of a food processor and whisk. Add the flour and salt and pulse until it forms into a soft dough.
2. On a lightly floured surface, knead gently a few times until it comes together into a smooth ball. Cover in plastic wrap and allow to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
3. Using a pasta maker, create 12 sheets that are #8 thickness on the kitchenaid pasta maker. Cook the sheets in salted boiling water for 1 minute or less. Cool in an ice bath, remove and dry off.

Ingredients for the Spinach Pesto Sauce:

• 150 g spinach and arugula
• 30 g ricotta or cream cheese
• 30 g pesto
• 200 mL milk or cream
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Blanch the spinach and arugula, immerse in ice water to stop the cooking. Wring out as much water as possible.
2. Place spinach, arugula, cheese, pesto and milk into a bullet and purée until smooth. Season to taste.
3. Press through a fine sieve into a heatproof container, set aside.

Final Assembly:

1. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper, it will make it easier to pull out.

2. Add one pasta sheet to the base, follow with

• • A thin layer of spinach,
  • Another pasta sheet
  • A layer of passata
  • Another pasta sheet
  • A layer of béchamel
  • Another pasta sheet
  • A layer of cheese
  • Another pasta sheet

3. Repeat until all the ingredients have been exhausted ending with a pasta sheet and cheese on the top.

4. Bake in a 350° F preheated oven for 50 minutes or until cheese has entirely melted and béchamel is bubbling.

5. Allow to cool completely. When cool, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate 24 hours.

6. To serve, cut into 5-6 slices and reheat in the oven. Then sear one side on a non-stick frying pan.

7. Serve on a bed of warmed spinach pesto sauce (recipe above) with a little crème fraiche.

The pasta crisps up on the seared side to give you a wonderful crunch against the creamy textures of the cheese and spinach and basil layers. 

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Lemon Olive Oil Tart

We have been watching America’s Test Kitchen to help us fall asleep, taking our minds off the news and the ugly reality of late. This recipe was on Season 20 and I was taken right away. We love lemon and this one definitely ticks a lot of boxes, it’s not sickly sweet and it IS sooooo lemony. If you like lemon, I urge you to make this tasty treat. Note that I did not love their pastry recipe so I substituted my tried and true Viennese Pastry recipe.

I decided to brulée the top just as my favourite French Bistro does with their Tarte au Citron (which incidentally takes two days to make!)

Please click here for the original recipe from America’s Test Kitchen.

Makes about six 8 cm pastry shells with a total of 300 mL lemon curd filling

Ingredients for the pastry:

• 145 g all-purpose flour
• 60 g sugar
• 2 g salt
• 114 g unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 egg yolk
• ½ tsp pure vanilla
• 1 tsp finely grated lemon rind

Pastry Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. Put all ingredients into a food processor and process JUST until the dough sticks together (over-processing will cause tough pastry). Divide into six even discs and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Lightly flour your board and roll out the pastry to fit your preferred pan (I used 8 cm round pans). Dock the bottom with a fork several times.
4. Blind bake the crust 30 minutes or until golden. You may need to reshape the pastry, mine got all puffy and misshapen because I didn’t refrigerate long enough and it was a super hot day.

Ingredients for the curd:

• 70 g sugar
• 10 g AP flour
• Pinch of salt
• 2 large eggs plus 1 large yolk
• lemon zest of one lemon
• 130 mL lemon juice
• 40 mL extra-virgin olive oil

Directions for the curd:

1. Add all of the ingredients to a small, heavy-bottom pan and cook on low heat until it is 160F, and just slightly thickened.
2. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve for a velvety finish. Refrigerate with an oiled parchment placed on top to prevent a skin.
3. Pour into the prepared, hot shells and bake for 8-12 minutes until the centre jiggles a bit.
4. Allow to cool completely before serving.
5. Sprinkle with sugar and brulée the top, just as you would with crème brulée.

Notes:

• Fresh lemon juice is essential for a clean, lemony flavour.
• ATK felt that the olive oil helps the lemony flavour shine better than butter.

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Caramelized Onion Tart with Brûléed Gruyère

Caramelized Onion Tart with Brûléed Gruyère

KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes one 20 cm (8 inch) tart. Serves 4 as a main course or 6 as an appetizer course.

Ingredients:

• 240 g sweet onions, thinly skiced
• 15 g butter
• 15 mL cognac
• 2 large eggs
• 30 mL milk
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 60 g gruyère cheese, grated
• Salt and pepper
• 1 single pie crust, blind baked

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
2. Heat the butter in a pan until melted, add onions and cook until caramel in colour. Deglaze pan with cognac, set aside.
3. Whisk to combine eggs, milk, nutmeg and season.
4. Spread cooked onions into the pie crust evenly, pour in the egg mixture and bake for 10 minutes.
5. Cover the tart with Gruyère and continue to bake until cheese is melted and somewhat brûléed. Cover crust with foil if getting too dark.
6. Allow to stand for 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Almond Flour Pie Crust

Makes one 20 cm (8 inch)  pie crust.

Ingredients:

• 100 g almond flour
• 8 g psyllium husk, ground
• 30 g unsalted butter, cold
• 30 mL egg whites
• 20 g toasted sesame seeds
• Salt

Directions:

1. 1. Preheat the oven to 375° F.
   2. Add everything but the sesame seeds to your food processor and pulse to make a soft dough. Remove and gently kneed in the sesame seeds.
   3. Roll between 2 sheets of parchment paper to fit a 20 cm (8 inch) tart pan. Press into the pan and up the sides evenly. Dock the pastry well.
   4. Blind bake the tart shell for 12-15 minutes, covering the sides if they bake too quickly.

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