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
Fresh Mozzarella Salad
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.
Merry Christmas! Hope everyone is having a wonderful time.
We spent the month of November in Arizona again, although it might be our last time this time. But we say that. Every. Single. Time. We see our dear American friends and get in a load of sunshine to boot! The weather was beautiful and slightly warmer than last year, we had high twenties (celsius) most of the daytime and mid-teens at night. Perfect for leaving the windows open for sleeping.
We did a lot of walking and hiking. The National Parks have beautiful trails that are reasonably priced and there are many free parks too. We fed our resident bunny and, inadvertently fed our resident Road Runner (sadly a bird crashed into our window and he died on impact and fortunately, the road runner didn’t mind and he scooped up the bird and took him home for a late Thanksgiving Dinner!) At least, we did not have to deal with it.
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Of course, we always have a party at the end to use up pantry ingredients and this time was no different, I came up with this recipe to use flour, oil, cheese, and herbs.
The oven was gas and baked rather unevenly.
Pantry Clean Out Crackers
A Kitcheninspirations original recipe
This recipe makes about 2 sheets approximately 25 cm x 38 cm (10 x 15 inches)
Ingredients:
125 g “00” flour
40 g cheese, finely grated
30 mL olive oil
80 mL water
Pinch of salt
3-6 g dried herbs
Directions:
Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl.
Transfer to a clean surface and knead by hand until the dough becomes smooth and everything is evenly distributed. Rest the dough for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Roll out the dough into a thin sheet about the size of the baking sheet. Transfer to the parchment lined baking sheet and bake for xx minutes or until lightly browned and crisp.
Cool and break into chip-sized fragments. Serve with your favourite dip.
We adore Ramen soup, we have it a few times a month during the cold weather. I used to freeze the actual Ramen soup but since I have downsized my freezer, I am always on the lookout for a more compact way of freezing dishes so I developed this batch Ramen soup base.
This batch Ramen soup base recipe is based on Just One Cookbook’s Miso Ramen recipe; my version gives you 10 single-serve dishes! Batch cooking saves a lot of time for quick meals in the future and it’s not difficult; I’ve figured out a way to freeze only the soup base without the bulk of the liquid! You simply defrost the Ramen base, add your liquid, then you bring it to a boil and you’re done! Easy peasy!
Of course, Ramen is all about the inclusions, roasted chicken, roasted pork etc., and to make it even easier, how about using shredded rotisserie chicken or as I have done below, leftover shredded rib meat! I like to prepare my Ramen egg the night before so it has time to take in the flavours of the marinade but it also works about an hour before you serve. Other inclusions could be grilled corn, peas, edamame, green onions or mushrooms, many of these veggies I have in the freezer ready for use. This time I used ready-made Ramen noodles but if you have the time, whip up a batch of homemade Ramen noodles and dry them out in small batches, and store in an air-tight container for a quick Ramen lunch.
Just pop one of these into a soup pan and add water, boil and you’re done!
Batch Miso Ramen Soup Base
Makes 562 g soup base (enough base for 10, 2-servings of Miso Ramen Soups)
Heat the roasted sesame oil in a large frying pan. Add the pork and shallots and cook until the pork is no longer pink.
Combine the sake, roasted garlic paste, ginger, white sesame seeds, doubangjiang and sugar and mix well. Add this to the cooked pork mixture and mix it into the pork so it is evenly distributed. Cook until the sugar is dissolved.
Combine the bouillon and the miso and mix well. Add this to the pork mixture and stir well until it is evenly distributed in the pork.
Remove the pork mixture from the heat and spread the mixture onto a sheet to cool completely. Once cool, divide the mixture into 10 even single-portion servings and freeze individually. I froze 9 and used one for our meal that evening.
Preparing the Miso Ramen Soup from the soup base:
Remove 1 packet from the freezer and defrost overnight in the refrigerator OR add 600 mL water (see notes) into a soup pot and drop the frozen packet into the water; heat until defrosted completely and hot. Taste for seasoning; the original recipe had additional salt but I find bouillon and Miso salty enough so I don’t add any extra but it’s up to you.
Cook the Ramen noodles as per packet. Add either 1 packet of cooked noodles per bowl (I usually do half a packet per bowl) and top with inclusions of your choice; pictured below is shredded leftover rib meat, half a Ramen egg, grilled corn, green onions and cooked mushrooms. Serve hot.
Ramen Egg directions:
Bring a small pot of water to a soft boil (water should be deep enough to mostly cover the egg). Carefully place the egg (see notes) into the water and set your timer for exactly 7 minutes. Once the 7 minutes is done, remove the egg and place it in an ice bath to immediately stop the cooking process.
Peel the egg.
Add 15 mL soy sauce and 15 mL mirin to a small cup, add the peeled egg and fill the cup with water just enough to cover the egg, stir. Place a spoon on the egg to hold it down in the liquid and refrigerate overnight or at least one hour before serving, left on the counter. Allow the egg to come to room temperature if you have refrigerated it overnight. Cut the egg in half and serve a half per serving.
Notes:
I usually add the raw pork tenderloin with the shallots to my small food processor and I process it until it is finely chopped.
You can use plain water, but I usually use whatever stock I have on hand; today’s soup was made from leftover whey and corn cob broth both adding a lovely depth of flavour to the soup. I also added half a piece of dried kombu into the stock as it defrosted overnight. I removed the kombu before serving.
I was only able to find spicy doubanjiang but I do not find 10 mL overwhelming in 10 portions of soup base but you may use more or less as is your taste.
I use Chef Michael Smith’s handy tip for keeping fresh ginger on hand all the time. He washes the root and allows it to dry, then he simply freezes it in a little zip-lock bag. You can use a fine micro plane to grate the frozen ginger, no need to peel as the peel pulls away from the frozen ginger as you grate it, or it may grate so finely, you won’t even notice it.
To get the hard-boiled egg to peel cleanly, give the raw egg a good tap on each end on the counter until you hear a distinct click (don’t tap to break the shell). That click is the outer membrane coming loose from the shell, it will make it much easier to peel.
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.
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.
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
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.
You will recall my post about rice paper chips a few weeks ago, these rice paper nori bowls are a logical extension. I needed something to hold some poké salmon mix I was going to serve as quick little bites during cocktails and I thought of this version. The rice paper becomes crispy as does the nori but both will soften up depending on how long your filling sits inside. For simplicity, I used this for my poké filling and it worked out beautifully.
These little bite-sized are flavourful morsels.
Rice Paper Nori Cups
A Kitcheninspirations original recipe
Makes about 16 bite-sized nori cups
Ingredients:
1 sheet square rice paper
1 sheet nori
Directions:
Wet the nori on both sides and shake off excess water. Lay the nori onto the rice paper right to the edge (my nori was a little smaller than the rice paper, I just cut strips to fill in the edges so there is no waste). Roll the nori with a small rolling pin to make sure there are no air bubbles.
Lightly oil the exterior of four microwave-proof pinch bowls (these will give the nori shape). Lay them open-side-down on a microwave-proof plate.
Cut the nori into 16 squares. Lay one square nori-side down onto the outside of the pinch bowls and microwave for 30-40 seconds or until the rice paper has cooked and the squares are shaped like a bowl. Allow them to cool for a minute and then remove them from the bowls and set them open-side-up on a plate. Continue until you have cooked all the squares. Allow the Rice paper nori bowls to cool completely before you fill them with your favourite filling but don’t do it too soon as the moisture may soften the cups.
Notes:
You can make them as large or as small as you wish. The only thing to keep in mind is that they will shrink about 40% of their original size.
You can fill them with dips, cream cheese, deconstructed California rolls, and Steak Tartare, the possibilities are endless.
There are many recipes online but they shallow fry them, I chose to microwave my cups. If you shallow fry them, you would have to figure out how to get them into a cup shape.
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:
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.
Preheat the oven to 380° F.
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.
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.
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.
Talk about an easy recipe. And they satisfy the crunch aspect of snacks! Plus they’re not unhealthy! And I usually have a packet of rice paper in my pantry! All winners in my books.
I developed this “recipe” in response to an air-fryer version I saw on my Instagram feed; their version took too long to “fry” and was too fiddly. These Rice paper chips remind me of the mystery shrimp chips you get at Thai restaurants, they’re super crispy and melt-in-your-mouth, just like shrimp chips. But they are not deep-fried! They are microwaved!
Each sheet makes about 36 chips, less than .30g of carbs per chip! Easy AND Healthy? Where do I sign up?
I used square rice paper sheets that are made for Fresh Rolls. They need to be fresh and not brittle so they cut cleanly, but you could snap them into irregular shapes if they’re not fresh (I’m unsure that they’ll all microwave at the same rate though).
Using large kitchen shears, cut each sheet into six even strips, then cut each strip into six even rectangles. Place on a piece of parchment paper (no need to carefully place them, they don’t stick together) and microwave for 30-40 seconds on high. Immediately pour finished chips into a bowl and season with sea salt. Done!
Easy peasy. You can thank me later.
These melt in your mouth without sticking to your teeth (like some rice paper chips do)
Our dear friends, Andy and Mark invite us to Dim Sum every so often on Sundays. We really look forward to it because many of the dishes are new to us and I haven’t quite figured out how to make them…yet. This shrimp and meat dumpling is a real favourite, they are chuck full of chunky pieces of shrimp in a flavourful mixture of pork.
This is an example from the restaurant. I reheated using my Instant Pot Air Fryer.
I love that they are pan-fried and oh, so crispy on each side, tender and flavourful on the inside. These really hit the spot and freeze very well. They freeze well and it is so easy to pull out a few, steam them up and pan fry in a pinch. I love having a selection of appi’s available in my freezer for last minute additions to a dinner party.
This is an example from the restaurant.
Shrimp & Pork Pan-fried Dumplings
A Kitcheninspirations original recipe
Makes 18 dumplings
Ingredients for dumpling filling:
18 won ton wrappers
175 g pork, finely minced
175 g shrimp, peeled, deveined and roughly chopped
35 g green onions, coarsely chopped
15 g ginger, finely chopped
15 g roasted garlic purée
30 g flour
5 g sugar
15 mL sesame oil
15 mL soy sauce
25 mL egg whites
45 mL high flash-point oil, like peanut oil
Directions:
Combine the pork, shrimp and green onions and mix well.
Combine the ginger, roasted garlic, flour, sesame oil, soy sauce and egg whites and mix well.
Add the ginger mixture to the pork and shrimp and mix well.
Wet all four sides of the square won ton wrappers and place 15 mL of the shrimp mixture into the centre, bring each side up to the centre, and seal to each other.
They may be frozen at this stage.
When ready to serve, steam the dumplings for 7 minutes or until an internal temperature of 165 is reached. Continue until you have steamed all of the dumplings.
Heat the peanut oil in a frying pan and add the dumplings to sear the each side until crispy. Serve warm with the sauce below.
Ingredients for the Dipping Sauce:
15 mL soy sauce
15 mL seasoned rice vinegar
5 g puréed roasted garlic
5 g grated fresh ginger
5 mL toasted sesame oil
5 mL honey
1 green onions, minced
Directions for the Dipping Sauce:
Combine all of the ingredients and mix well. Serve with hot dumplings.
Notes:
The filling for dumplings are not pre-cooked, so you really need to make sure that steaming them cooks the proteins through.
I was pinched for time, otherwise, I would have made my own dumpling wrappers. You can find the recipe here.
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:
Wash the potatoes skins well.
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.
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.
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).
You may spray them with some good quality EVOO or leave them plain like I did.
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.
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”.
When totally cool, store chips in an air tight container.
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.
Lentil Hummus Soup
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:
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.
Add the tahini, roasted garlic purée, and cumin and cook on low for 1 minute.
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.
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.
Spring Green Soup
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:
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.
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.
Add the lime juice and stir well just before serving.
Allow the soup to cool completely before freezing leftovers. Do not freeze pasta or rice because it will turn to mush.
As the weather is warming up, we are allowing ourselves to once again dream of patio days sipping on summery cocktails and enjoying the company of friends. These lazy days require some lazy snacks and I have just the tasty and healthy snack for you if you have an air fryer. I have the Instant Pot with the air fryer lid, and let me tell you, it works wonders! We don’t fry a lot so I didn’t want an appliance that just did one thing so this air fryer lid addition to my Instant Pot is the perfect solution.
These spiced chickpeas are so crispy and crunchy, they disintegrate in your mouth like a chip would and then the spice creeps up on you, just a little with tantalizing flavours of cumin, coriander, garlic and smoked paprika with a hint of heat, salt and sweetness. Just perfect for a glass of prosecco or Cava. Cheers!
Air Fried Spiced Chick Peas
Makes enough for 4 as a cocktail snack.
A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe
Ingredients:
1 can 540 mL chickpeas, drained, rinsed and dried
40 g cornstarch
30 mL olive oil
2.5 g cumin
2.5 g coriander
2.5 g granulated garlic
2.5 g smoked paprika
2.5 g sea salt
15 g honey, divided
Directions
Mix the cumin, coriander, garlic, paprika, and sea salt until well combined.
In a large sieve, sprinkle the cornstarch evenly over the chickpeas (I did mine in two batches). Drizzle the olive oil over them and mix well.
Add the chickpeas to your air fryer and fry at 400° F for 15-20 minutes, pausing halfway to stir and separate them. I air-fried the recipe in two batches as my air fryer is not huge and I only wanted one layer so they really crisp up.
Confirm that the chickpeas are crispy (and not creamy in the centre) and pour them into a bowl and sprinkle with half the spice mixture. Drizzle with half of the honey and mix until well-coated. Return the chickpeas to the air fryer and fry for an additional 5 minutes (so the honey caramelizes). Pour onto a cookie sheet to cool completely. Repeat with the second batch.
Notes:
The spice mix is totally up to you. Just plain salt and pepper would be nice too.
I wanted to get this cute little presentation onto the blog so I don’t forget about it next year. It’s so simple, it’s not even a real recipe, but here it is. I think I saw it on my Facebook feed but it immediately disappeared and I cannot find it, sorry. We had a bunch of kids in the mix so I diluted the boursin with cream cheese, it was still plenty flavourful and the kids loved it too.
Boursin Christmas Tree Dip Plate
Makes 4 little Christmas trees of various sizes (about 250 g of dip)
Ingredients:
150 g Boursin dip (I used one package of the fine herbs and garlic), room temperature
125 g plain cream cheese, room temperature (half a package)
1 bunch of parsley, finely chopped
1 green onion, finely chopped
a handful of dried cranberry, cut into small triangles
Bread and crackers for serving
Directions:
Combine the Boursin and cream cheese and whip with a small hand mixer until thoroughly combined.
Using a small piece of plastic wrap, take some of the dip and form it into a cone shape using the plastic wrap to protect your hands, do this three more times. Varying heights will look best.
Combine the parsley and green onion on a plate.
Roll each cone into the parsley and green onion to cover the outside. Place little cranberry pieces into each tree to decorate it.
Serve on a large platter that can accommodate the bread and crackers.
If you are not serving this immediately, refrigerate covered so it doesn’t dry out. Bring to room temperature to serve.
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:
Soak the sliced onions in cold water while you make the batter.
Preheat the oil to 350° F.
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.
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.
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!
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.
Shrimp Gyoza
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:
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.
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.
To make the wrappers, roll each sausage out to a manageable thickness and run it through the KitchenAid pasta roller from #1 to #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.
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.
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!
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.
In early October, JT and a friend went to Buffalo to see a hockey game (hockey is absurdly expensive in Toronto and it was a nice male bonding trip). I had a friend over for dinner and I served mussels. I had about 12 left over and thought I’d like to try this Spanish recipe to preserve mussels. They turned out quite delicious so next time I’m at the Fish Monger, I will get a bag to make a batch of these tasty treats.
While the cooked mussels have a soft and spongy texture, the preserved mussels are much meatier to the bite, which makes them a bit more filling and not unpleasant at all.
Interestingly enough, I did not see these on any menu while we were in Spain, or maybe I didn’t notice them. When we are in Spain again, I will definitely search them out because they are tasty.
I may have tasted one to be sure they were worth blogging about.
In a small saucepan, combine the olive oil, garlic, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, cinnamon, black pepper, and lemon peel and heat gently to a very low boil for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the paprika, vinegar, and salt and stir well.
Put the mussels into a clean glass jar and top with the warm liquid with all of the spices. Stir well. Put a lid on the jar and set it in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.
To serve, remove the mussels from the marinade making sure there are no little bits sticking to them.
Strain the marinade. Add one mussel to a half shell and drizzle with a little of the oil mixture. Serve cool.
Notes:
My summer herb garden finally gave into winter so I’m using dried herbs for this recipe. The slow cooking will bring their flavour out into the marinade but fresh is preferred.
I reduced this recipe to cover the few leftover mussels I had.
I garnished my mussels with sliced scallions and diced pickled hot peppers.
During the final days of September, my brother came to visit, I hadn’t seen him for about a year. He was back for a month from his new home, abroad in the Caribbean. I thought I’d make the cheese sticks that we enjoyed so much during our early days of adulthood. I’ve updated the recipe below. They were very well received.
Cheese Straws
Ingredients:
280 g all-purpose flour
5 g salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter (cold), cut into small cubes
110g cheese
1 egg, beaten
1-2 tbsp water
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400° F.
Whisk the egg and water together until homogeneous, set aside.
Add the flour, salt, butter, and cheese to the large bowl of your food processor. Plus a few times to mix thoroughly and add the egg and water and whiz until a smooth ball of dough forms.
Roll the dough to an even thickness of about 2 mm between two sheets of parchment paper. Cut into even sticks. Bake for 10-14 minutes until lightly golden. Cool on a wire rack and serve. Baked sticks may be frozen, thaw in the fridge overnight and allow to come to room temperature before serving.
These are rather moreish, don’t let their unassuming look mislead you.
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.
Olive oil (enough to coat the pan about 0.5 cm deep)
Directions:
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.
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.
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:
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.
This roasted red pepper dip popped into my life via America’s Test Kitchen, a show we routinely watch to fall asleep to. I was incredibly intrigued when they mentioned that this is a Syrian version of our Spanish favourite, Romesco Sauce. This tasty dip uses Aleppo pepper flakes and sumac which I don’t use regularly in my cooking but had some at home. Like Romesco, it uses a nut to thicken the dip but Instead of almond flour, the recipe calls for toasted walnuts. Boy, what a difference, the walnuts lend a delicious earthy flavour. This dip is definitely going to be in our repertoire.
Toast the walnuts with a little of the olive oil until golden and you can smell them. Allow to cool.
Combine all of the ingredients in the bowl of your small food processor (I used a magic bullet because I wanted it smooth) and process until smooth. You may wish to add olive oil until the desired consistency is achieved.
Garnish with a few chopped, toasted walnuts.
Notes:
The recipe I used had quite a bit of breadcrumb which I have deleted from the recipe because I found it made the dip too thick and thickened it as the dip aged. I prefer a slightly runnier dip.
I substituted the balsamic vinegar for the pomegranate molasses because I didn’t have any and it was fine, to be honest, it’s just a building flavour and doesn’t depend on it entirely.
We used the dip as a topping for lamb burgers we had and it was OUTSTANDING!
Upon our return from Spain, I was missing being there so I made the Almond Tuiles of Sevilla (Tejas Dulces de Sevilla). They are delicious but it got me thinking about a savoury version. We had brought home some wonderful cheese called Old Amsterdam and I thought it would make a delicious snack. They are light and airy and crisp. They are strong enough for dip, but tasty on their own. I love how rustic they look from just breaking them apart.
Savoury Cheese Tuiles
Makes about 20 cm x 30 cm sheet
Ingredients:
1 egg
30 g cheese (I used Old Amsterdam)
1 g salt
1 g smoked paprika
50 g flour
Directions:
Beat the egg until it reaches the ribbon stage (about 5 minutes), add the salt and smoked paprika and mix well, then fold in the flour.
Spread evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet and sprinkle the cheese over it evenly and bake at 275° F for 20-35 minutes or until it has totally dried out and developed a golden colour.
Cool entirely and once cool break into shards. Serve at room temperature.
One of our most memorable meals in Spain was at the beautiful One Star Michelin restaurant in Retama Restaurant within La Caminera Hotel. We should have stayed at the hotel, but we had already booked something in Valdepeñas, a short drive away. We chose The Traditional menu, without wine pairings (I react poorly to some heavier reds and whites aged in oak casks).
As part of a course, we were served a wonderful little bite of Atascaburras, a typical dish of the La Mancha Region. The story goes that two shepherds and their donkeys were isolated after a big snowfall, with only salt cod, potatoes, garlic, and olive oil at hand, and in their desperation, they created this dish to feed themselves and their donkeys over several days until they were rescued. This dish is often eaten during a snowfall and it is said that the water to boil the potatoes and cod in should be freshly fallen snow. Obviously, there was no snow in sight but the story and delicious flavour of these little cod fritters were definitely calling to me. They called them fritters in the restaurant but they were not deep-fried, I suspect the chef used a Takoyaki pan to sear the small balls. We were served one each. Traditionally, this dish is usually served on a platter with bread or crackers. Since I don’t have a Takoyaki pan, I chose to serve it as a dip. In modern times, a boiled egg is used to garnish the dip but it was not traditional. I chose to use a hard-boiled egg yolk, grated on top of the dish as a garnish.
The atascaburras was served as a round ‘fritter’
Atascaburras
Makes about 500 mL dip
Ingredients:
300 g potato (I used Yukon Gold)
300 g salt cod, soaked and rinsed several times over 48 hours
130 mL olive oil
1/2 clove of garlic, finely minced
Salt to taste
1 egg yolk, hard-boiled
Red pepper oil
Directions:
Cook the cleaned but unpeeled potato in water for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, add the prepared salt cod and cook an additional 10 minutes. Reserve the water.
Add both the cod, potato and garlic to a blender (I used a magic bullet because it really emulsifies beautifully). Add the olive oil and emulsify, adding a little of the reserved water to make a smooth, creamy dip. Taste and salt if necessary.
Place in an oven for 15-20 minutes on 250° F to just warm up. Serve in a low-sided dish with grated egg yolk as garnish and sprinkled with a little red pepper oil.
No, that is not cheese, it’s grated hard-boiled egg yolk.
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:
Sauté the onions and peppers in a splash of olive oil. Add the chorizo and red wine, if using
Sprinkle with pine nuts, salt and pepper and serve with crusty bread.
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:
Heat the oil to 350° F
Fry only 5-6 at a time until golden, place on an absorbant cloth to soak up any excess oil.
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).
You may have noticed from my other socials that we have escaped Toronto and finally headed to Spain. Our first trip in February was cancelled by you know what. We are here for 51 days. The sun and relative warmth have been life-altering. I wake up just to see the sunrise on the Mediterranean (it’s not that bad, 7:30-ish during our stay).
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Our kitchen in the flat (my cousin’s flat) is challenging from a size point. I have fitted it with most of my favourite tools so I can do most things but finding a place to do them can be a challenge. Most people who rent do take away or go out to one of the many restaurants in this little village. The Spaniards like to eat late (9pm would be considered an early dinner) but I find it difficult to eat that late, so we end up going out for lunch and having a light dinner around 7pm. Although the first few attempts to lunch were failures as many places don’t open until at least 1:30 (we don’t eat breakfast) and they close between 2-5pm for Siesta. Don’t get me started on Siesta, it is a beloved ritual in the smaller centres. This little recipe was developed to take us through cocktails one evening.
Retro Olive Balls
A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe
Makes 8 pastry-wrapped olives
Ingredients:
15 g unsalted butter, room temperature
60 g cheese, we used manchego
60 g flour
15 g roasted garlic purée
Salt, pepper to taste
water to bind
8 olives
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Combine everything but the olives in the small bowl of a food processor and process until combined. If the dough still doesn’t come together, add a few drops of water and pulse until it comes together.
Divide the dough into eight equal portions. Roll each portion into a small circle and wrap around each olive, rolling in your hand until it is smooth. Repeat until all of the olives are wrapped.
Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet until golden, serve warm.
A delicious buttery pastry enveloping a Manzanilla Olive.
Notes:
I used unpitted Spanish Manzanilla Olives because it is what I had at home, black olives or even pimento-stuffed olives would be lovely with this recipe. Make sure you mention to your guests that the olives are with pitts.
Double or triple this recipe for more tasty little balls.
We’re getting into patio season here in the Big Smoke and patio season means glasses of vino and cocktails with friends on our cozy covered patio. I never like to serve alcohol without something to nosh on and I had a couple of dips in the freezer that needed a little flatbread. This recipe whipped up very quickly and because it is not a yeasted dough, no rising was required. They do puff up quite a bit, so roll them on the thinner side.
Quick & Easy Flatbread
A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe
Makes 4 flat breads about 20 cm (8 inches) in diametre
Ingredients:
300 g “00” flour
8 g baking powder
2 g baking soda
160 g Greek yogurt
20 g olive oil
45 g water
125 mL olive oil for frying
Directions:
Mix the dry ingredients well; combine the wet ingredients and whisk well. Combine the dry and the wet and kneed for a minute or two.
Divide into four equal balls (mine were 133 g) and roll out to about.5 cm thick.
Heat the olive oil to 350° F and fry each side of the flatbreads until the inside temperature is 150° F. Cool on kitchen paper to absorb excess oil. Serve warm or grilled and cut into wedges.
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:
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.
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’.
I started watching a couple of Ontario-guys on Facebook who try to prove or disprove crazy videos they’ve seen, mostly of food but it can also be science or cleaning and such. They are a bit goofy which makes them rather charming. Their girlfriends sometimes participate in these videos by making some outlandish foods. This traditional Georgian potato, cheese-stuffed bread was one of them. The recipe looked so good, I had to do a little research and make my own. Their recipe was fairly straight forward using baking powder and not yeast bread dough, but the research showed that most of the recipes were yeasted bread dough, so I went with that. Then I found a few that had egg in them which gives the bread a wonderful, chewy texture. Then there is the mashed potato and cheese stuffed inside. OMG, so good. My recipe makes four disks about 20 cm in diametre, cut into eight portions. The bread freezes very well. Remember to put it in the refrigerator overnight to defrost, then allow it to come to room temperature before baking. We went through two bad boys in two days and I sent a third one to a friend who was going to visit her parents! The fourth one is under lock and key in the freezer, I’m saving it for a special time! I will definitely be making this recipe again and again!
Soft, pillowy mashed potatoes with the sharp feta (or goat) and gooey mozzarella makes for a more-ish starter.
Kartofdzhyn (Cheese and Potato Stuffed Bread)
A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe
Makes 4 stuffed bread rounds about 20 cm (8 inches) each
Ingredients for the Bread:
6 g quick yeast
8 g granulated sugar
120 mL milk, at 110F
460 g bread flour
6 g salt
215 g Greek yogurt
2 eggs
Olive oil for the dough
1 egg yolk, whisked for brushing the dough
Directions:
Combine the yeast and sugar with the warm milk and allow to proof for about 10 minutes (it should froth up)
Add the flour and salt to the large bowl of your stand mixer and mix lightly.
Combine the Greek yogurt and eggs with the frothy yeast mixture and whisk until well combined.
Add the liquid ingredients to the flour and knead with the hook for 10 minutes. Stop the mixer and allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes, then resume kneading for about 15 minutes or until the dough comes away from the bowl.
Coat the dough with olive oil and allow to proof for about an hour, or until doubled in size.
Ingredients for the Filling:
2 medium yellow potatoes (about 230 g), boiled
30 g butter
30 g roasted garlic purée
2 scallions, finely chopped
100 g feta cheese or goats cheese
230 g mozzarella
6 g salt
Directions:
Mash the potatoes with butter and roasted garlic, then beat with a whisk beater until light and fluffy. Fold in the scallions, cheeses, and salt and set aside.
Directions for the dough disks:
Divide the dough into four equal portions. Roll out each portion evenly to a circle about 25 cm (10 inches).
Add one-quarter of the filling to the centre of each round and pull in each side to form a sealed disk. Flip over and gently roll out to about 20 cm (8 inches). Pierce the top of the disk with a fork and brush each dough disk with the egg yolk. Set aside while the oven preheats or freeze on a baking sheet and transfer to a plastic zip-lock bag for the future.
If baking at the moment, put a cast-iron pan into the oven and pre-heat the oven to 400° F. Add one disk to the hot pan and bake for 20 minutes. When done, remove from the heat and brush the top with some more olive oil. Serve warm.
Way back in January, we were getting some seriously cold temperatures. I had a ham bone leftover from Christmas Eve that I wanted to use and what better use is a rib-sticking split pea soup? I was able to get 6-8 portions out of the soup, about 250 mL or a cup each, it’s pretty thick. The soup is fairly filling so if you want to make it last a little longer, add a bit more stock to thin it down.
Fall Split Pea Soup with Ham
Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
Directions:
175 g finely chopped onion
100 g celery, diced
100 g carrots, diced
65 g pancetta, cut into small slices
20 g garlic, finely chopped
10 cumin
1”5 g smoked paprika
3 cups water
4 cups homemade chicken stock
430 g split peas
175 g cooked ham, diced
In a pressure cooker cook the pancetta until crispy then add the onions and until translucent.
Add the split peas and sautée for a minute.
Add the garlic and cumin and sautée for about 30 more seconds (or until you can smell the aroma), add the ham, water and stock. Now add the paprika and cinnamon stick.
Seal the cover and cook under pressure for 45 minutes or until the split peas have softened (I use a fairly low setting). You should check the water level twice during the process to make sure it hasn’t boiled down to nothing, stir. If the liquid is too reduced, add more.
Serve with a dollop of low fat Greek yogurt and home made bread.
We had dear friends over for Christmas Day dinner last month. I had made a bunch of regular gyozas and wanted some for my Gluten-Free besty. After much research, I found several recipes and came up with my own. This recipe has the elasticity that steamed gyozas have but it also packs an incredible crunch when fried to a golden brown on one side. JT couldn’t tell that they were gluten-free! I’m thinking they may even make incredible ravioli!
Gluten-Free Gyoza Wrappers
A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe
Make 15 gyoza wrappers
Ingredients:
50 g gluten-free all-purpose flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
33 g tapioca flour
4 g xanthan gum
0.1 g salt
40 g boiling water
10 g vegetable oil
Directions:
Combine all of the dry ingredients and mix well.
Combine the boiling water and vegetable oil and pour into the dry ingredients, mix well until it comes together. Set out to a lightly GF floured board and knead for a few minutes. Cover tightly in plastic wrap and allow to rest for about 15 minutes.
Cut the dough into four portions and roll out to about 2 mm thick using the KitchenAid pasta dough attachment, roll the dough and fold it onto itself several times on #1. Then roll the dough out from #1-#4. Use like any gyoza dough being careful to cover it tightly with plastic wrap when not in use.
Steam the GF gyozas for about 3-4 minutes, they should bounce back if you gently poke them.
Notes:
Keep the dough tightly covered with plastic wrap when not in use, it dries out very quickly.
Rub a little water on one side of the seam before closing so that they don’t come apart when steaming.
The gyoza will puff up when you steam them.
The uncooked gyoza feeze well. Freeze on a parchment-lined sheet and for about 30 minutes, drop into a ziplock bag. I wouldn’t leave them for more than 30 minutes on a sheet uncovered because they dry out.
Most recipes did not have the addition of tapioca flour or vegetable oil; I added the tapioca flour to improve the elasticity that gluten-free flour lacks and the vegetable oil was needed to help the dough from drying out.
You will need to roll out the dough by hand to get it through #1, but you’d have to do that with regular pasta dough too.
The gyoza is chewy and crunchy like a real gyoza should be!
I was finishing off making some spanakopita with store-bought phyllo pastry and had run out of the pastry with enough filling to make about 4 additional pieces (don’t you hate that?) so I decided to try my hand at a quick phyllo dough. It worked out extremely well so I thought I’d document the process. It’s getting dark so early these days, so you’ll need to excuse the horrible light in my photos.
Quick Phyllo Pastry
Makes about 4 sheets 15 cm x 30 cm (enough for 4 triangles)
Ingredients:
50 g all-purpose flour (10.5 ounces)
15 mL olive oil
2.5 mL red wine vinegar
1.5 g salt
25 -45 g water
Directions:
Mix all of the ingredients together until you get a uniform, soft dough that does not stick. Knead for a few minutes. Set aside, wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Divide into two equal balls and roll out, thin enough to see through. I used my KitchenAid pasta maker to the thinnest setting.
Let me begin by saying that this is not an authentic Thai pumpkin soup but it is a sophisticated blend of Thai flavours that make a super creamy and flavourful dish. I used a small white pumpkin which makes this beautiful lightly pumpkin flavoured, pale celery coloured soup. I garnished it with lightly toasted pumpkin seeds but lightly toasted coconut shavings would be gorgeous as well.
We recently had friends over for brunch and I had expected that it would be cold out and that soup would be a well-received course. We lucked out and had an exceptional November day so we sat outside for hors d’oeuvres and then retreated inside for the main course and back outside for dessert. Even though it wasn’t cold at all, particularly on our heated patio, the soup was very well received. This recipe is a keeper.
Thai-inspired Pumpkin Soup
A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe
Makes about 1.5 L of soup
Ingredients:
430 g pumpkin, roasted and cubed
15 mL roasted garlic purée
1 kaffir lime leaf
5 mL galangal, finely grated
5 cm lemongrass, sliced lengthwise and pounded to release flavours
1 L chicken stock
30 g coconut milk powder
50 g creamed coconut
toasted pumpkin seeds for garnish
Directions:
Combine the roasted pumpkin, garlic purée, kaffir lime leaf, galangal and lemongrass and sauté on medium-low until you can smell the gorgeous aromas. Add the chicken stock and bring to a rolling, gentle boil for about 45 minutes; you are trying to infuse the stock with the Thai aromatics. Taste and continue to boil if necessary to infuse more flavours.
Once the chicken stock has been infused, remove from the heat and blitz the stock with a stick blender until all of the flavourings are puréed. Allow to cool on the counter for 1-2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
Strain the soup through a fine sieve, pressing the pulp until you get most of the liquid out, discard the pulp.
Return the highly aromatic stock to a pot and reheat gently. Add the coconut milk powder and blitz with a stick blender until smooth. Continue to heat without bringing it to a boil. Add the creamed coconut and blend well.
Serve with toasted pumpkin seeds as garnish.
Notes:
You may substitute a can of coconut milk including the cream instead of the coconut milk powder and creamed coconut, I forgot to buy it and resorted to things I had in my pantry.
Blitzing the aromatics with the stock is unconventional but it really does impart a sophisticated blend of Thai flavours that is a little more forward than just simmering the flavourings in the stock.
To make this totally vegetarian, substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock.
As you know, Thai food is a carefully weighted combination of salty, sweet, sour and bitter and this recipe incorporates all of those flavours and imparts a significant amount of umami. Personally, I find coconut milk sweet enough so my recipe does not include sugar but it would be entirely up to you; if you use sugar, I would use cane sugar.
I had a few plums leftover from the plum cake recipe and I decided to make a tasty hors d’oeuvres for cocktails the following evening. They come together quickly and are very tasty. The amount of honey needed will depend on how tart the plums are. The sweet, honey-infused goats cheese with the tart plums and salty Serrano Ham are a perfect taste sensation.
Soft, sweet goats cheese pairs very well with the tart plums and salty Serrano Jamon.
Plums with Honey infused Goats Cheese wrapped in Serrano Jamon
Makes 6 pieces (2 servings)
Ingredients:
3 plums (should be bite-sized)
15-20 mL Manuka Honey
50 g goats cheese, at room temperature
3 slices Serrano Jamon
Directions:
Cut plums in half, remove stone.
Combine the honey with the goats cheese and mix well.
Mound the cut sides with the honey and goats cheese combo and wrap with half a slice of Serrano Jamon, spear with a skewer.
We were having the Boyz over for a trip down memory lane in May, we had just come out of a 100+ day, hard lockdown and were finally permitted to have less than five people in our backyards so we jumped on it! The Boyz are Andy and Mark, they own a lovely Irish Pub in Leslieville called The Roy. I met Andy many years ago when we both worked at a design firm and have been friends ever since. Andy and Mark love to travel and they love to travel to Spain. Way back in 2020, before the world fell apart, we happened to be in Spain at the same time so we met up in Malaga. We soon realized that our friendship had gotten a lot deeper because of our shared love of Spain. Sadly the last year and a bit has not been kind to restauranteurs and the Boyz are definitely feeling the pinch so when we were allowed people over, I thought I’d create a night of tapas for a trip down memory lane with food. And who doesn’t love an entire night of eating?
Many of the recipes I served have appeared on the blog, but this one is new and so delicious, I had to post it. This is a compilation of several recipes online and my tapas books so I don’t have a reference. When you say croquetas, I immediately think of creamy potatoes but this one is not made with potatoes (although it would have been delicious too), it’s made with a thick béchamel, and you know how I adore béchamel! As you can see from the menu, it was served later in the evening and people were getting pretty full, but not one was left on the plate! Not one.
Selection of Spanish cheeses, crackers, grapes, nuts
Croquetas de Jamon Serrano y Manchego
Makes 16 croquettes, about 26 g each
Ingredients:
80 g serrano ham, finely chopped
50 g shallot, finely chopped
50 g manchego cheese, coarsely grated
30 g butter
15 mL EVOO
60 g all-purpose flour
200 mL milk
Pinch of salt
1 large egg
45 g panko
20 g manchego cheese, finely grated
500 mL peanut oil
Directions:
Heat the butter and olive oil in a pan, add the shallots and cook until translucent.
Add the flour and stir well and cook for a couple of minutes. Whisk in the milk and stir until thickened. Stir in the Serrano ham and 50 g of the coarsely grated cheese.
Spread the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and allow to cool completely.
Once cool, shape into little ovals about 26 g each. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Whip the egg with a fork in a small bowl. In another small bowl, combine the panko and the finely grated Manchego cheese.
Dip each oval into the egg and coat thoroughly, then plunge each one into the panko mixture and coat well, storing each one on a clean parchment-lined pan.
Heat the oil to at least 350 F and fry each croquette until golden. Serve immediately or hold on a baking sheet and reheat in a 350 F oven until warmed through.
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:
In a small Dutch oven, heat the oil and add the shallots and cook until translucent. Add the kaffir lime leaves.
Add the rice and toast for a minute or so. Add the green curry paste and cook until fragrant.
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.
Turn down the element and stir in the coconut milk, add the vegetables and heat through.
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.
Way back in April we had an outdoor Indian evening with a single neighbour and for hors d’œuvres I served Pork Samosas. They were delicious and so moreish. They are not the traditional deep-fried samosa, but they are baked phyllo pastry versions. I can tell you that they didn’t last long.
A delicously flavourful, crispy triangle.
Baked Pork Samosas
A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe
Makes about 16 two-bite samosas
Ingredients:
15 mL vegetable oil
1/2 shallot, finely chopped
200 g ground pork
5 g garam masala
5 g curry powder
10 g cumin
5 g grated ginger
10 g roasted puréed garlic
200 g mix vegetables
50 g frozen peas, thawed
10 g cilantro leaves, chopped, plus extra for garnish
1/2 pack phyllo pastry
150 g unsalted butter, melted
Directions:
Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and sweat the shallot until translucent.
Add the pork and cook until no longer pink, mix in the ginger and garlic and stir well.
Sprinkle the garam masala, curry powder and cumin over the cooked pork and stir until fragrant. Remove from heat and mix in the vegetables and cilantro. Allow to cool completely.
Cut each phyllo sheet into 5 cm widths and brush with melted butter.
Starting at one end, dollop a tablespoon of the pork mixture and begin folding in a triangle pattern like illustrated below.
Brush the tops with more melted butter. Bake in a preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden and heated through. Serve with peach chutney.
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.
Add the cream cheese and stir until it has melted into the vegetables.
Add about three-quarters of the feta and stir well into the warm dip. Reserve one-quarter of the feta for garnish.
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!!!
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:
Prepare a large sheet of parchment paper by spraying it with non-stick spray. Set aside.
Heat the chicken stock with the roasted garlic purée, extra virgin olive oil and sea salt until a slow boil.
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.
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.
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:
Add everything into a small food processor and process until you have achieved the desired consistency.
Serve as a dip or portioned onto each cracker like a canape.
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.
Cheese Crisps
A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe
Makes about 12-15 crisps
Ingredients:
400 g old cheddar cheese, grated
Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 400° F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone matt.
Spread the cheese out on the matt as thinly as possible so that the grated pieces are interlaced.
Bake for 4-6 minutes or until the cheese has entirely rendered and is starting to become golden but not burned.
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.
Several years ago, I replicated some French Onion Soup Pillows from a long-gone, favourite restaurant. They somehow managed to get the delicious French onion soup into a dumpling that exploded when you bit into it. It was unexpected and wonderful. I was thinking about making them again when I discovered some cooked beef gyoza filling in the freezer and I was inspired to make a Japanese version of our beloved French Onion Soup Pillows, and Self-Saucing Gyoza were born. They’re a little more fiddly than normal gyoza because you have to make the sauce and allow it to set overnight, but it’s totally worth it. Now I wish we could have friends over so I could serve them these delightfully explosive bites, damn you Covid.
Soak the gelatin leaf in cold water until soft. Wring out the water and add it to a small saucepan.
In the same saucepan, combine the broth, soy sauce, hoisin Sauce and Mirin and whisk over low heat until the gelatine has melted. Cool and pour into a small rectangular plastic container (container should allow sauce to be a minimum of 70 mm deep). Refrigerate overnight until set. Cut into 25 cubes.
Make up the gyoza as per recipe and add one gelatine cube per gyoza. Freeze gyoza on parchment paper individually, add to a ziplock bag for future use. Cook gyoza as per recipe.
The gelatin melts into a delicious sauce within the gyoza.
Notes:
You may wish to make your gyoza wraps a bit thicker than normal so the sauce doesn’t leak out while cooking.
Over the holidays, I received some lovely sourdough starter and I made sourdough bread (as though we needed it!). I’m always a little distraught discarding some of it so I adapted an old recipe I brought back from Hungary to utilize the discard and a little of the fed starter, it worked out very well. I’ll definitely keep this in mind for future baking.
Sourdough Cheese Sticks
Makes 1 30 cm x 42 cm sheet, cut to whatever size you desire.
100 g discard sourdough starter plus 30 g fed starter
125 g Greek Yogurt
100 g shredded cheese (sharp cheddar works well, freshly grated Parmesan is best)
5 g Salt
20g shredded cheese
Directions:
In the large mixing bowl of your stand mixer with the scraper attachment, blend flour, butter, starters, 100 g cheese and salt until incorporated, then switch to a dough hook and add the Greek yogurt and knead until smooth ball forms.
Allow to rest in a warm dark place for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 375° F
On a piece of parchment paper, roll out dough to about 1/2 cm thickness.
Cut into 7-10 cm x 2 cm sticks.
Sprinkle with remaining cheese and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
Slide cheese sticks on the parchment paper onto a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is golden and melted.
Re-cut sticks, if necessary, while still warm. Serve warm or at room temperature.
These are very tasty served warm.
Notes:
Use a flavourful, hard cheese (like cheddar, gruyere or Jarlsberg) is best for this treat.
I use a pizza cutter with a kitchen ruler to cut the sticks, it makes it very easy. If you cut the sticks after you sprinkle with cheese, your cutter will take up most of the cheese!
In the original recipe, there is an egg wash on the top, I omitted this time because I figured the cheese would stick regardless, but it does add a lovely sheen which I will not omit next time.
These cheese sticks freeze well. To reheat, spread in a single layer, cheese side up on a baking sheet and bake at a low 200° F for 10-15 minutes or until defrosted and slightly warm.
A delicious combination of green vegetables in a rich, flavourful broth.
Kitcheninspirations 