recipe

Jul

2018

Bisque Recipe

We have a ton of tomatoes in the garden this year. We moved to Ontario - the Niagara region and wow!!! All sorts. The flavours are just crazy wonderful. Yvonne made Tomato Brisque yesterday and as I have several people requesting the recipe, here it is:

Saute one small onion and three cloves of garlic in olive oil.
Add one cup of chicken broth.
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
5 chopped basil leaves(fresh) (You know how we like basil!)
LOTS of chopped tomatoes(LOTS)

Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes
Add juice of one lime
Stir

At this point Yvonne took half the soup and put in a blender then poured it back with the original half. You can blend all if you want smooth or as we did, leave do it half and half.
Depending on how much you make, you could freeze some at this point.
Add some cream before serving. To taste.
We put the cream in and then blended it. But if you plan on freezing some don't add the cream.
Garnish as you like.

We ate it all over two days so there wasn't any left to freeze! 🙂

Feb

2017

Marty’s Breakfast Omelette

I’m told that one should have two cups of vegetables per day. Cooked. Uncooked. Whatever – just get that two cups into you every day. This second or third hand from some celebrity chef or other. I couldn’t find the source quickly so… – if you know you can leave it in the comments.

I grew up in the 60s so was exposed to the books of Adelle Davis and her philosophies on nutrition and eating. “Breakfast like a King” she says. So, most days my first breakfast(I also like the Hobbit form of two breakfasts when I can) consists of a pretty healthy omelette.

Ingredients:

Three eggs

Zucchini

Green Onions

Mushrooms

Heavy Cream

Hard Cheese(Pecorino)

Salt

Pepper

Different Spices(Berbere or often ‘Whatever’ from AceCurriestogo.com)

Sometimes I will alternate Feta and Spinach for the Pecorino)

Sometimes I add Basil Pesto or Sundried Tomato paste for something a little different as well. The Basil Pesto is great!

Pretty simple really. Sauté the veggies until the onions are, well, sautéed. I mix the eggs with the cream, salt, pepper and whatever spice I feel like that morning and pour over the veggies. Grate the cheese into the eggs while in the pan. Cover and let cook about halfway on a low/medium heat – don’t let cook too fast. Meanwhile oven is on low broil. Once eggs are partially cooked uncover the pan and put in the oven. Keep the light on in the oven so you can see when ready. This will depend on how far along you cooked before placing in the oven. Timing is going to be different for every stove top and every oven. I can usually tell when done by the aroma. Remove from the oven(please use an oven mitt) and serve. You can cover for a minute if you want – sometimes it comes out the pan more easily when you do this.

I garnish with my homemade Peach Chutney or Mango Chutney and usually a bit of hot sauce.

Don’t over cook the veggies before you put the eggs in. Don’t be shy on the cheese. Don’t ever be shy with the cheese.

Mar

2015

Recipe: Pork Tenderloin Stuffed With Prosciutto

Ingredients:
One pound piece of pork tenderloin
A bunch of fresh basil leaves
2-8 tablespoons of hard cheese grated(I use Asiago or Grana Padano – I have them handy for my gnocchi recipe)
2-8 tablespoons of sun-dried tomato paste
6 -10 slices of prosciutto ham
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Salt and pepper

Olive paste
2/3 cup pitted black olives
2-3 garlic cloves
4 tablespoon olive oil

1. Trim away excess fat(if you want – I have always found that fat increases the taste – so trim after cooked if there is too much)
Slice the pork lengthwise being careful not to go all the way through.
2. Open out the pork and salt and pepper inside
3. Lay a bed of basil leaves inside
4. Mix the sun dried tomato paste and grated cheese together and lay on top of the basil. (The original recipe on this called for a couple of tablespoons of each but this was not nearly enough. I used quite a bit more and was glad I did. It really adds to the overall flavours.)
5. Press the pork back together and wrap with the ham. Start with one over each end and hold those in place with the other pieces. Don’t be shy with the ham.
6. Place in a pan/dish – I used a glass baking dish – seamside down. Brush with a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Place in the oven preheated to 375F. 30-40 minutes.
7. For the olive paste: you can blend the olives, garlic and olive oil or finely chop the garlic and olives and just mix in a bowl with the oil.
8. Cut the cooked pork thinly and serve.
9. We served with sliced tomato and avocado sprinkled with salt, pepper, basil and olive oil.
Note: try different stuffings. I’ll probably add a bit of spinach next time or maybe some dried fruit.

Oct

2014

Recipe: Stir Fry Lamb

This recipe take longer to tell than to cook.

Ingredients(extremely flexible)

Lamb sausages (pork chops or boneless/skinless chicken will do as well but by far our favourite is lamb)
Fresh green onions
Cherry or some sort of small tomatoes(any tomato will do – something with a lot of taste)
Feta cheese(dry)
Mushrooms
Zucchini
Red pepper
Pasta
Basil
Ground pepper
Olive Oil
Butter
Salt
Turmeric (use very lightly if I’m cooking with chicken instead of lamb)
Mint Sauce(with the Lamb)

I first get a pot of water going for the pasta as it take the longest. Start the other items to time them to the completion of whatever kind of noodles that you are using. Salt the water, add a bit of oil and when boiling throw in the appropriate amount of pasta. Note: This meal is not heavy on the pasta; I essentially cover the bottom of the eating bowl or plate, not heap it.

I get lamb sausages that are already spiced so there is no need to add anything to them. If you use chicken or pork, oil them and season with salt, pepper and basil to taste.

Grill them if you can.

Vegetables: Mushrooms, Zucchini and Red Pepper. Grill if you can or fry. If you fry, wait until everything else is almost done before starting – I put zucchini in longer, then the mushrooms and the peppers for only a minute. Covered. With lots of butter and a little oil(I cook with grapeseed oil a lot). Try not to cook the veggies too much.

If you grill the vegetables as well, then lightly oil and season with the salt, pepper and basil as well.

Garnish: Chop green onions(two or three) into a bowl that you can use for serving. Half the cherry tomatoes and add them(a handful or two). Add a good handful of Feta cheese(I use cow Feta) with a bit of pepper and basil. The Feta I use is pretty salty so extra salt is not needed. Just before you serve, add a bit of good olive oil and stir.

When the meat is cooked, cut into bite sized pieces.

Presentation: I use wide soup bowls(from Ikea) for this dish. Put a small amount of noodles on the bottom of the dish. Add the vegetables(the grilled or fryed) and then the meat. The garnish is on the table and is added as desired. Use a bit of mint sauce if you are using lamb.

This is best served with a decent Chianti.

I think I’ve covered everything here. A very flexible recipe. Use what you have. My garnish though, is pretty much always the same – incredibly refreshing.

Enjoy,

– Martin

Tomato Bisque Recipe