le sauce

must make: feta-stuffed peppers and vegetable bouillon

High, high on my list of things to make are these feta-stuffed peppers. I have a subscription to Saveur and somehow, the image of these flirty peppers is even more tempting on the printed page. I believe I first saw it in one of the 2010 summer issues, and even though it hooked me immediately, it wasn't until I saw it recently featured on Saveur's fave recipes of 2010 list that I remembered them. I think these and a glass of wine are going to be dinner this weekend.

My friend Lulu has been raving about Yotam Ottolenghi's fried cauliflower with tahini recipe and she finally made it for herself. It sounds amazing. She notes, and I've noticed, that all of his recipes take some effort. So far I've been happy enough with the results to return to them and I'll be featuring his laksa curry in an upcoming post. She's convinced me to attempt his cauliflower recipe too.

And if anyone can make a successful vegetable bouillon, it's Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks, right? I have no issue with throwing onion, celery, carrots and herbs into water to make a nice vegetable stock, but sometimes a flavour-packed cube of bouillon is required. Freezing a batch of this paste is the answer, since I hate to use the salt-based cubes sold in stores.

 

warm red peppers and tomatoes, with sichuan pepper and vinegar

i love this--a lot. which is a little boastful to say, because i created this dish, but i really am so happy with it that i'm going to gush about it. i like how it tastes, of course, but i like how it looks too.  to me it's the kind of dish that you pass around at a casual dinner party. there's something about large pieces of peppers that i just love. they're slightly elegant, aren't they? smooth, shapely, vibrant, but totally approachable.

do you get it? is it just me?

but on to a more or at least equally important aspect: the flavours. and they're, well...

   

odd.

i realized that i was making something that was a cross between a chinese stir-fry and a warm salad, and that was weird. i wanted sauteed red peppers and ripe, beefy tomatoes, but i wanted warming sichuan peppercorns (which i can't get enough of) and the subtle sweetness and depth of cinnamon. i kept making it, and enjoying it, but it still made me frown curiously. but then i shrugged and and went so far as to add chinese red vinegar to it and was really, really happy i stopped overanalyzing it.

a slightly unusual, very simple, and (if you agree with me about the elegance of peppers) entertaining-worthy dish that i hope you'll try.

 

warm red peppers and tomatoes, with sichuan pepper and vinegar 

2 red peppers, destemmed and deseeded, cut into quarters lengthwise
3 large tomatoes cut into large pieces (or equivalent--a mix of large and whole cherry tomatoes is fine)
1 small red onion, halved and sliced thinly
1 tbs fresh thyme leaves, stems discarded
1/4 tsp sichuan peppercorns, ground
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (you can reduce this slightly for a milder heat)
1/8 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbs chinese red wine vinegar
2 tbs vegetable oil

heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat, then add the oil and allow it to get hot. add the peppers and onions and stir. cook, stirring occasionally for 8-10 minutes or until the peppers are softened and start to char. add the spices and salt, stir and cook for 2 more minutes. turn off the heat. immediately add the vinegar and tomatoes to the hot pan, stir gently and allow the tomatoes to get well incorporated. plate and serve hot or at room temperature, with grilled bread to mop up the juices.

serves 4.

artichoke and leek pasta

 

to be honest, i made this recipe because i love showcasing the beauty of sliced baby artichokes even more than because of their flavour. same reason i was moved to make a clear soup with sliced baby artichokes last spring. 

 

don't get me wrong. the texture and taste of artichokes is deliciously unique and satisfying in this pasta, particularly combined with the light flavour of spring leeks and punchy yellow banana peppers (which, by the way, you can omit if you or someone you're serving isn't a fan of spicy food). i'm just saying i'm a little in love with how 

gorgeous young artichokes are in every state. 

don't they just look like art? 

 

if you've never prepared fresh baby artichokes before, do not be intimidated. the prep work goes quickly and having them hang out in a lemon bath so they don't turn brown from oxidizing is not a big deal. and should yours discolour, don't sweat it. they will taste just the same, and you'll be eating the finished product too fast to notice anyway.

artichoke and leek pasta

6 baby artichokes
2 small or 1 large leek, white and light green part only, trimmed, sliced into rings and washed
1 hot yellow banana pepper, trimmed, deseeded, deveined and sliced into thin strips on bias (optional)
1/2 c finely grated parmesan cheese
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbs unsalted butter
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, peel washed
400 g of any uncooked short pasta you like

set a large pot of water to heat on the stove for the pasta.

squeeze the juice of the lemon into a medium bowl, fill with water and add the used lemon halves to the water as well.

tear off the outer layers of an artichoke until the long, pale, inner layers are exposed. trim the stems to just below the base, and trim off any hard, dark green around the base. cut off the tips, about 1/2 inch from the top. plunge the trimmed artichoke into the lemon water and let it soak. repeat with the remaining artichokes, covering each in the lemon water and leaving them there while you continue with the rest. discard outer leaves and trimmings. then, shaking off excess water from the artichokes and quarter them lengthwise on your cutting board. do not return the artichokes to the water.

check to see that your pasta water is starting to simmer. if it is at a full boil, reduce the heat slightly to bring it down to a simmer before proceeding.

heat the butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. add the artichokes, leeks and banana pepper (if using), and sauté for one minute. add salt and pepper, and cook for another minute, stirring, until the leeks and pepper soften. do not allow them to brown. 

using a pyrex measuring cup, very carefully scoop out half a cup of hot water from your pot, and pour it into your skillet. let the vegetables cook in the water, stirring occasionally, for about five minutes until the vegetables are cooked through and the liquid has reduced.  

meanwhile, bring your pasta water up to a boil again, salt the water well and add the pasta. cook for seven minutes or until al dente. (note: if the vegetables are done before the pasta, remove the skillet from heat and set aside until the pasta is cooked. return to heat before adding the pasta to the skillet.)

drain pasta and add it to the skillet. add half of the parmesan and stir through until the pasta and vegetables are well combined. remove from heat and transfer into serving bowls. top each bowl with remaining cheese and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and serve hot.

serves 4.

spicy sauteed carrots and banana peppers

(photographed by james piper) 

well look who it is. february! back again, cold, bleak and reeking of pink candy hearts. instead of wishing away the next four weeks i've decided to embrace at least the part about it being the month of love. i'm not suddenly going to start celebrating valentine's day (or digress into the reasons i don't) but on this blog, i am going to make this the month that i celebrate the people i love. my family and friends are great cooks and i love everything they serve me. i've picked some signature dishes of theirs and asked if i could share those recipes here. for the most part, i'll even be making the recipes alongside them, which is (crazy, hectic! and) fun. 

james has also agreed to participate and he's even shooting some of the pictures for me while i get my hands dirty cooking with my mom, dad and aunt. one of his recipes is up first!

 

(photographed by james piper) 

this is one of probably only three carrot recipes that you'll ever see on my blog. i have nothing against carrots, but i never think of making them the star of anything i'm cooking. to me, they have their place in soups or stews but never crave them, i never snack on them, i never have them on hand. i like the carrot curry that my mom makes, and that was about it, until james worked his magic on them. with no more than garlic and banana peppers, he made them something that i devour every time they're in front of me, and ask for on a regular basis. 

the carrots are cooked till their sweetness comes through; the garlic and banana peppers are all the flavour needed at that point--and the heat of banana peppers is a lovely match. that's the common thread between this dish and my mom's curried carrots--heat. carrots love spice. if you've never experienced that--you must!

(photographed by james piper) 

spicy sauteed carrots and banana peppers  

2lbs carrots, peeled (if necessary), trimmed and sliced thinly on a bias
3 hot banana peppers, trimmed and sliced on a bias
2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tbs vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt, plus 1/4 tsp
1/4 tsp pepper

heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. add garlic and sautee, stirring, for 30 seconds. add carrots and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add 1/2 tsp salt and the pepper. cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. add the banana peppers and the remaining 1/4 tsp of salt and stir. cook for 8-10 more minutes until the carrots are softened and fully cooked. serve with rice as a main course or as a vegetable side.

makes 4 large servings (or a side for 6-8).

a random bite of our father's day bbq! (plus, a garden update)

 

i think this past sunday, father's day, was the most gorgeous day of the year so far. it was warm, sunny, breezy, and my family and i sat at the table in the backyard, under the canopy tall, old trees for hours. to celebrate the special day, we had a barbeque and everything except the potato salad went on the grill, from the radicchio and peppers to the (meat-free) jerk "chicken" which was a huge hit. 

 

 

the jerk marinade was my friend's mom's recipe and this weekend was the first time i'd tried it. it was smoky, savoury, and almost perfect--except that despite using two scotch bonnet peppers (crazy, right?) it could have been hotter. i thought the recipe overlooked the "deseeding and deveining" step, but no. it turns out i should have thrown the whole peppers in, as the recipe implied. can't wait to try it again and i must ask to share that recipe with you. if you like jerk, i'm sure you'll love it.

one of the nicest things about sitting in the backyard on sunday was getting to enjoy the flowers that had newly bloomed. when we bought our house last year, james and i inherited a stunning back garden. we haven't lifted a finger this year and already the garden has given us something new to appreaciate every week. it was so well planned that as soon as something shrinks back, another gorgous set of flowers comes out of nowhere, like the fuschia and pale pink peonies (that's my mom holding them in the picture below, but she'd kill me if i posted the full picture) and what i thought was a really lazy flower with a tendancy to crawl along the ground. which apparetly i'm supposed to stake, my mother told me with just the tiniest bit of exasperation. i'm just amazed anything is growing in my presence at all! like our tomato plants whose canopies are getting so big (hooray!) and the summer squash...but notice the little rows of mache in their pretty rectangular box, as small as the last time i showed them to you. the strawberry plants are also too sad to show you at this time. the hard rains have been tough on them. *sigh* i hope to have better results to share with you soon. i try to be patient with these plants and send a lot of positive thoughts their way. but this weekend, i was probaby sending panic thier way, cuz i'm freaking out a little. i need those wild strawberries to happen!  it's the start of summer now, time is almost up!

   

  

i love you, food other people make for me...

i recently moved fairly close to a friend who loves going out for dinner or to each other's houses for dinner almost as much as i do. it's been so great! and getting better--on sunday we got together and had dinner in my backyard for the first time this year. the thing i love most about dining in with friends is having them make the same dish i might have, but do it totally differently than i would. this particular friend's channa masala is delicious but tastes totally different than my version, and the simple salad he brought on sunday was an even better example. i mean it was just a salad he threw together in minutes but i never put red peppers in my salad and the dressing he made was full of herbs from his garden--including rosemary, which again, i just never use in dressings. i always think that herb is too powerful and i sort of avoid it, but the dressing was delicious. the whole salad was, and it made me realize how much i enjoy experiencing someone else's style of cooking.

this particular friend has taught me a lot about how to whip up a meal for company in minutes without anyone really noticing how or when it came together--but more on his kitchen skills in another post. he may deserve one dedicated just to his efficient and laid back entertaining approach.

and speaking of upcoming posts, i'm looking forward to sharing a recipe next week for the pasta pictured above. actually, i'm looking forward to testing the recipe one more time too...it's going to become one of my favourites, i can already tell. two words: fried capers. one problem: i think i'm going to try to throw them on everything now. but more on that later. enjoy your weekend!

banana peppers and onions in oil

i feel like in the last year i've developed a thing for onions and banana peppers sauteed together. i've definitely developed a thing for banana peppers over any other type of bell pepper, because they're spicier and i like almost everything to be spicier. in fact, if there's one thing i don't like about banana peppers, it's that they loose so much of their spiciness in this recipe, probably because they're cut up. when my aunt stuffs whole banana peppers, for instance, they stay good and hot. but cut them up, i must, so that those tasty pieces can be spooned easily onto a piece of crusty bread.

eating this with bread was what i'd intended when i made this, because it reminds me of the bread and oil served to dinner guests at one of my favourite restaurants, niagara street cafe. it's a lush little treat with a subtle, sweet flavour at first and i find that the heat builds later. because the oil itself is just as important as the other two star ingredients (bread soaked in this oil is addictive), i use extra virgin olive oil, even though this recipe calls for a lot of it. for some reason, i never thought of using this as a relish until i had some with a frittata this morning. now i can't wait to try it on a sandwich or burger.  

i love you, spontaneous sunday lunches

ok, i already have spring fever! on top of enjoying unseasonably warm temps this past weekend, my family enjoyed a spread that definitely reminded me of an early spring meal. my parents were coming by and i planned to make some sort of casserole with rice and roast vegetables, and my mom wasn't supposed to bring anything. but when i started preparing to cook i realized i had way more vegetables on hand so i decided to roast them on their own and make a risotto instead of a casserole. and my mom just can't help herself and brings "just something small" she tried every time she comes over no matter what she said earlier.

brussel sprouts, carrots, beets and leeks are not spring vegetables, it's true, but something about how fresh and light the colours were before and even after roasting (to the left and right respectively above) felt...well, fresh and light! they tasted light too. i tossed most of the vegetables in just oil, salt and pepper and added some chopped sage to just the beets and carrots. 

and although risottos are warm, hearty fare, they always remind me of spring because i always see pretty pictures and recipes for spring asparagus or fresh pea risotto. i didn't have a recipe for the one i made this weekend and i didn't think to make notes on it as i went because this was a last-minute idea. but it turned out nicely-my dad really liked it! i sauteed the white part of a leek with some garlic and mushrooms, and added the leftover beet greens and stems i had on hand after roasting the beets. i used vegetable broth but i didn't have any wine on hand. at the end i added a pat of butter and parmesan cheese.

but i think the highlight of the meal was these stuffed pepper rings that my mother brought over. they were coated with panko bread crumbs on both sides so each bite was crispy and the filling was so savory. she saw a recipe on tv for this but it called for a meat filling. she minced mushrooms instead and sauteed them with onions and spinach, and then she added parmesan and almond slivers which i think the recipe called for. another twist she introduced was the addition of minced sun-dried tomatoes. these were packed with flavour--i had the leftovers the next day and they were even better. 

for dessert: a little pound cake, courtesy of my aunt who couldn't make it (who sends food even when they can't stop by? my family.) and mapleton's organic ginger ice cream which is so good that i'm worried that i've discovered it. and some hot jasmine tea. a really pleasant and mostly unplanned sunday lunch.