Cheese Risotto

My "Impress You" dish. Don't you have one of those? I use it on everyone - dates, best friends, family, potential in-laws, for bribery, etc. I make this dish (usually with roasted chicken with thyme or rosemary and a nice salad) anytime I want to make absolutely sure that my food will impress and/or please. I like to make it with different cheeses - sometimes because I want to use up what's in my fridge, because a particular cheese is on sale, or because goat cheese makes it such a pretty white! BUT, my absolute favourite cheese to use is Asiago. And not that stuff from your average grocery store (although it will taste fine), it's too expensive and it doesn't have the same depth of flavour, the same nuttiness, or the right level of stink (that good cheese stink is the one I'm referring to here!). Try an Italian market or cheese counter - even Costco!

The first time I made risotto I used a recipe that called for lots of butter. However, since we are adding cheese to this at the end, I don't use any butter. I like to start with extra virgin olive oil instead. If you don't want to use cheese just add a tablespoon or so of butter at the end to get that optimal creaminess that is associated with risotto.

One more thing before the recipe: for rice use Arborio, Vialone Nano, or Carnaroli. Honestly, I have only ever used Arborio and this is mainly because it is easy to find and I think (could be wrong) cheaper than the other two. I have been able to find Scarpone's Arborio at Co-op stores. However, if you can't find these rices you can use short grain white rice. I find it takes a little longer to cook, but it works. You're looking for a high starch content here; it's very important to the final product.

And here's the recipe:

Cheese Risotto
Serves 6-8 as a side dish

• 900 ml chicken or vegetable broth (one tetra pack or better yet, homemade!)


• 1 cup Arborio rice (or other as described in post above)


• 3-4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil


• 3 cloves garlic, minced


• 1 small to medium sized onion, finely chopped (optional)


• 1/2 cup white wine


• 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup freshly grated Asiago (you can use more or less depending on your preferences.


• 2 Tbsp fresh, chopped parsley

Heat broth in a saucepan and keep it at a low simmer on the side - you will need the stock to be hot when you add it to the Arborio rice.

In a large heavy-bottomed skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat (not higher or else it wills smoke!). Sauté the onions for a few minutes, or until the onions are soft, then add the garlic and Arborio rice, stirring to coat with oil. Stirring often, let it cook for about 2 minutes or until you see a white spot in the middle of the grains of rice. Pour in the wine, letting it bubble away until the wine is absorbed.

Add a ladle full of broth and let it cook until it is absorbed, stirring occasionally to ensure it doesn't stick. Add another ladle full of broth and again let it absorb, again stirring to ensure it doesn’t stick. Repeat.

After about 20-25 minutes of cooking time taste the Arborio rice to see if it is al dente (tender, but still slightly firm to the bite). If it not yet al dente, continue cooking, stirring and adding broth until it is. If you run out of broth you may use hot water, but you need not use up all the hot broth if the rice is done.

Remove from heat and stir in the cheese. Sprinkle with the parsely, serve immediately and Enjoy!

Warm Brussels Sprouts & Apple Salad

I know it's been awhile since I've posted. School has been so busy that most of my evening are taken up with homework and my cooking hasn't been exemplary. Very sad. But, I will be done in December so we'll see what kind of an excuse I come up with next ;-)

I really like brussels sprouts, or at least when they are sauteed or roasted. If you've never tried them like this, and even if you think you hate them and will never, ever like them, you should try it this way at least once!

Warm Brussels Sprouts and Apple Salad
For 2

• 1 to 1.5 cups of thinly sliced brussels sprouts (just trim the end and slice)
• 1 granny smith or other snappy apple, cored, halved and thinly sliced
• Half a medium onion, any kind you prefer but red would be pretty, thinly sliced
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large clove garlic, diced
  
• Juice of one lemon
• 1 tsp fresh thyme
• salt and pepper

Squeeze a little lemon on your sliced apples so they don't turn brown.

Heat olive oil in frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add a couple pinches of salt and cook a few minutes more.

Add sliced brussels sprouts and cook another 5 minutes. Add apple, garlic, thyme, pepper and remaining lemon juice and cook another few minutes to incorporate flavours. You want the brussels sprouts to be golden on the edges. For example, the picture above shows a salad that still needs a few more minutes. I took a picture early so I could eat the food before it got cold!

Enjoy!

Caprese di Forno

This is one of my favourite cold weather dishes. As soon as it's cool enough to use the oven regularly (the high here today in Calgary is only 11!) I promptly assemble this baked version of the traditional insalata caprese. The traditional salad is comprised of mozzarella (ideally mozzarella di bufala campana or fresh buffalo milk mozza), plum tomatoes and basil drizzled with high quality extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper. It's an excellent dish to serve on a hot day - very refreshing. Now, since it's not so warm, bake it!

Caprese di Forno

For 4

• 3 medium sized red or yellow potatoes (you choose), thinly sliced and peeled if you like.
• 3 medium sized tomatoes, plum/roma or beefsteak, thinly sliced
• 2 medium sized or one large onion, white or yellow, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Asiago or Parmigiano Reggiano
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh herbs - use: basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary
• 1/4 cup water
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350◦.

In a round dish (I used a big pie plate) spread the sliced onion evenly over the bottom. Salt and pepper. Next arrange a slice of potato then tomato and so on, starting at the edge to the pan, so that they are overlapping (see picture). Continue until all potato and tomato slices are used up. You may do more than one layer depending on the size of your pan and how much you want to make - just remember to salt and pepper each layer.

Pour water evenly over top of dish. Next, evenly sprinkly on the herbs and the cheese. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle on a little more salt and pepper.

Bake for about 1 hour or until potato is tender and the cheese is golden. If the cheese starts to brown too early just cover the dish with a piece of tinfoil.

Serve and enjoy!!

Brown Rice & Bananas

This dish contains more than brown rice and bananas, but since they are my favourite part of this recipe they get to star in the title! More often than not, by the end of the week I am left with bananas that will never make the trip to work without becoming too battered and bruised for my taste. Generally I toss them in the freezer for a future banana bread making frenzy - it's nice to make a few loaves or pans of muffins all at once (that recipe is upcoming, I just need to upload the picture!) - but sometimes I like to put them to another use.

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I just love the sweetness of the banana with the other savoury ingredients in this dish. The array of different textures is also very pleasing as is the satisfaction of knowing you are nourishing your body well with healthy food!

Brown Rice & Bananas

• 1 cup sweet, short grain brown rice (I just love all forms of sticky rice, but feel free to use any plain old brown rice for this)
• 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium sized sweet potato, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 medium or large onion, diced (I just used a regular spanish onion, but a sweet variety would be great!)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (some chopped fresh chiles would be great instead, just add to taste)
• 1-2 bananas, sliced

Cook rice in a pot on the stove top or in a rice cooker. Meanwhile, chop up all ingredients except for the bananas.

When the rice is almost done, heat your olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add the sweet potato first and sauté until soft, stirring often. Next, add the onion and red pepper flakes, sauté until all is slightly browned, stirring often. Add the garlic and sauté for about 2 more minutes, still stirring often.

Turn down the heat to low and stir in the rice. Once well incorporated, add the sliced bananas, stir again, remove from heat and serve.

**One thing to note: the bananas will not reheat well. If you plan to have leftovers just add the bananas to the rice once plated.

Enjoy!

Vegetable Medley

Well, I called this one "vegetable medley" because it's just one of those "let's see what's in the crisper" side dishes to have with dinner. I always try to use a variety of vegetables in different colours to get the best eye appeal - because I think it is true that you eat with your eyes. Follow up some beautiful looking food with some beautiful flavours and you have a winning combination. If you were to make this after work, or when pressed for time, you could easily have these veggies chopped up beforehand and then just throw it all together...

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Vegetable Medley

For 2

I never really measure in these types of recipes, feel free to add more of whatever you like.

• 2 shallots
• 1/2 lb or so of carrots - I used baby carrots and cut them down the middle
• 1 cup chopped greens - in this case, kale (my favourite!!) Be aware that some greens cook a lot faster than others! I prefer kale because it doesn't get wilty but retains a crunch.
• A quarter of one purple cabbage, shredded
• Juice of 1 lemon
• salt and pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil

Heat a good glug of olive oil over medium heat in a large sauté pan. Add shallots, cook for a couple mintues. Next add carrots and cabbage. Cook, stirring often until slightly tender with a little bit of a bite. Add kale, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Let cook for a few more mintues and voilà, you are done.

If you like a little heat try adding some crushed chile peppers or some chopped fresh chiles.

Enjoy!

Roasted Purple Potatoes

Yum...roasted potatoes! The closest thing to fries that I can justify eating more often than not! And when you can get your hands on beautiful purple potatoes such as these you really need no excuse, it would be sacrilege not to enjoy them. I got these guys from spud.ca, the organic produce delivery service I use. They also carry many more grocery, diary, and meat items, but I just use the service for produce. By using a delivery service you also help reduce fuel emissions by not having to drive yourself to the market every week. Every Thursday I look forward to my delivery. Check them out at spud.ca.

Anyways, on to the recipe...

Roasted Potatoes with Rosemary
What better to go with potatoes then rosemary?

• ~2 lb potatoes (can be any kind)
• 2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 sprigs rosemary, chopped
• sea salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400°.

Scrub (I rarely peel my potatoes - I just scrub them and cut out any green parts or eyes) and cut potaotes into evenly sized pieces - much like shown in picture above. Put in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, turn off and remove from heat.

Pour in olive oil, replace lid and shake to coat. Pour potatoes into a rimmed baking pan. Add rosemary and salt and pepper.

Bake for 20 minutes, flip and bake for another 20 minutes or until golden.

Enjoy!

Wild Rice Risotto

A couple weeks ago we had some friends over for dinner who are from Bulgaria. When they invited us to their house for dinner Slavy made a very delicious and excitingly ethnic array of Bulgarian food for us to sample. When it was their turn to come over for dinner we really wanted to offer some dishes that had a Canadian twist and hopefully something they hadn't had the chance to try before.

I come from a lake town in Northwestern Ontario. There, along the shoreline in certain places, grows wild rice. Given this, I generally have a small store of it in my cupboard. Besides maple syrup, wild rice is very Canadian - and better yet it symbolizes "home" for me - so it was something special and personal I wanted to share with our new friends as they had been so generous when they invited us to their home. Wild rice has a great nutty flavour, is great with poultry and game, and luckily for us, I have the tastier "wild" version (rather than cultivated).

I served the wild rice risotto with a herbed roasted chicken and roasted vegetables - just the thing for a cold Canadian winter dinner! That oven always warms up the kitchen so nicely - as well as warming up my appetite!

So, here is my recipe, it's pretty simple to whip up and I can guarantee that you'll like it. I used a variety of mushrooms that I found at the supermarket - but if you have access to wild mushrooms, I think that would make this dish very special.

Wild Rice Risotto
Serves 6-8 as a side dish

• 900 ml chicken or vegetable broth (always opt for the low-sodium if you don't have homemade)
• 1/2 cup wild rice
• 1 cup Arborio rice (you may use a short or medium-grained white rice if you can't find this)
• 3-4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small to medium sized onion, finely chopped
• 2 cups chopped mushrooms (I used brown button, portobello and cremini)
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup freshly grated Asiago (you can use more or less depending on your preferences. Parmigiano-Reggiano would also be nice, but I adore Asiago and it's cheaper than fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano)
• 2 Tbsp fresh, chopped parsley
• salt and pepper

In a medium-sized saucepan cover the wild rice with water by a good inch. You may use broth instead, just remember to buy extra, beyond the 900 ml called for in this recipe. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and let simmer over low heat for 45-50 minutes, or until some of the rice has "popped" and is slightly soft. It will still be slightly chewy - you do not want to cook it until it is all popped or else it will be watery and mushy. Drain.

Heat stock in a saucepan and keep it at a low simmer on the side - you will need the stock to be hot when you add it to the Arborio rice.

In a large heavy-bottomed skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the onions and mushrooms for a few minutes, or until the onions are soft, then add the garlic. Add the Arborio rice, stirring to coat with oil. Stirring often, let it cook for about 2 minutes or until you see a white spot in the middle of the grains of rice. Pour in the wine, letting it bubble away until the wine is absorbed.

Add a ladle full of broth with some of the wild rice and let it cook until it is absorbed, stirring occasionally to ensure it doesn't stick. Add another ladle full of broth with some wild rice and again let it absorb, again stirring to ensure it doesn’t stick. Repeat.

After about 20 minutes of cooking time taste the Arborio rice to see if it is al dente (tender, but still slightly firm to the bite). Add some salt and pepper. If it not yet al dente, continue cooking, stirring and adding broth until it is. General cooking time is between 25-35 minutes. If you run out of broth you may use hot water, but you need not use up all the hot broth if the rice is done. Just make sure you get all the wild rice in there!

Remove from heat and stir in the butter, cheese and parsely. Serve immediately and Enjoy!

Squash and Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweet Squash.

Instead of pining over the loss of summer veggies and fruits for another year, welcome autumn by embracing (and eating of course!) what's in season.
It's a wonderful time of the year to have your pick of a variety of squashes. I always love picking one out - so many different shapes, colours and uses. Here's one use that you're sure to enjoy:



















Squash and Sweet Potato Bake:

• 1 large butternut squash
• 2 medium to large sized sweet potatoes (so, if you use a smaller squash, just reduce the amount of sweet potato - you're aiming for more or less equal quantities of each. Also, if you make a smaller quantity you may want to reduce the amount of onion.)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 tbsp butter or extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350°- 375°

Cut the butternut squash in half, lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and lay the halves on a baking pan. Cut the sweet potatoes in half, lengthwise, lay on baking pan.

Bake squash and sweet potato for a half an hour to 45 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven, let cool until you can handle.

Meanwhile, briefly sauté the diced onion in a pan with butter or olive oil over medium-high heat until translucent.

Scoop out flesh of both squash and sweet potato and mash up with fork or potato masher. Stir in sautéed onions. Spread into a casserole dish and heat at 350° for about half and hour, or until heated through.

Enjoy!

The Best Green Beans

My parents have always grown yellow and green beans in their garden. Fresh vegetables from your own garden are always a treat. I miss that garden (sigh), except for that weeding part.

So, what's better than growing your own? Eating of course!

I would like to share a fantastic, and very simple, recipe with you that has kept me eating beans for a long time now:


The Best Beans Ever:

• 450g or 1 lb fresh green or yellow beans, cleaned and trimmed


• 1 or 2 garlic cloves, crushed using a mortar and pestle or the back of a heavy knife (alternately you can buy crushed garlic in a jar, use about 3 tsp)


• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar


• 3 tbsp olive oil


• Salt and pepper

Boil beans until quite soft, about 8 minutes, or until desired tenderness. Drain. Add all other ingredients, toss and serve.

**If beans are unavailable you can use broccoli - adjust the cooking time to 3-5 minutes, you want to retain the colour and some crunch.

FYI:

"Green beans are ready in July and can be enjoyed all summer. Choose bright green beans that are long, slim, and do not have large seed protrusions—this indicates an older, tougher bean. Avoid beans with very noticeable blemishes, or a withered look. Store them in the refrigerator in a clear plastic bag. They will last three to five days. "
From: http://www.foodtv.ca/

Enjoy!

Soba Veggie Salad with Sesame Oil Dressing

I love salads, but I get bored fast eating the same thing (except with pizza!). Day after day of regular tossed salads just isn't exciting enough. Alongside these meatballs, which are pork meatballs with an almond sauce (drool) is a soba noodle and veggie salad with a tasty sesame dressing. I like making different salads as it is a great opportunity to clean out your crisper. With all the fantastic fresh produce available right now, what better time then to get creative with veggies?

Soba Veggie Salad with Sesame oil dressing:
(for 2)

Any of the soba noodles I've ever bought come in packages that contain 4 individually wrapped servings each good for 2 people in this recipe, which makes it easy. Soba noodles are Japanese noodles made of buckwheat flour. If you can't get soba noodles, you can use vermicelli, it will taste great.

• soba noodles (or vermicelli)
• half an english cumcumber, chopped
• 1/2 cup edamame (fresh soy beans. Peas or beans would be good too)
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• a few green onions, chopped

Cook the noodles according to the directions on the package. Rinse under cold water until cool. Add these to a salad bowl with all the chopped veggies.

To make the dressing, add to a lidded jar:

• 1/2 tsp sesame oil, or to taste (be careful with this, it's very potent!)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1-2 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar (you could use white wine vinegar instead)
• the juice of one lemon
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp red chili paste, or 1 small chopped chile (optional)

Shake the dressing in the jar until all the sugar has dissolved and it becomes emulsified. Toss the dressing with the salad and eat! Hope you enjoy this.

Check out this link to learn more about Soba noodles: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soba