chipotle red pepper hummus
August 6, 2011
This hummus has a bit of a kick to it, what with the chipotle and all. Great straight-up on a cracker. Spread it on a grilled veggie sandwich. Pile it on a veggie burger. It’s a variation of the hummus endorsed by Buddhist monks that I posted back in March 2010 and it rocks. I think they’d agree. And if you want to go smokey, not spicy, simply substitute the chipotle with smoked paprika.
2 cups chickpeas, cooked
2 inches ginger, peeled and cut into coins or grated
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1 tsp coriander seeds, toasted and ground
1/2 tsp chili chipotle powder
2-3 tbsps olive oil
1/4 to 1/2 cups of tahini
Juice of 2 lemons
1 roasted red pepper, skin and seeds removed
Salt
Prepare the chickpeas (either cook dried chickpeas or rinse canned chickpeas). Puree chickpeas with remaining ingredients and about 1/4 cup of water. Check consistency. If you want it less stiff, add more olive oil, tahini, and/or lemon juice. Add salt to taste.
two potato vindaloo
July 27, 2011
You probably know that vindaloo is an Indian curry dish. But you probably didn’t know that the name vindaloo is derived from the Portuguese dish “Carne de Vinha d’ Alhos” which is a dish of meat, usually pork, with wine and garlic. Crazy, no? The dish was originally modified in Mumbai by the substitution of vinegar for the wine, and the addition of red Kashmir chillies. It then evolved into the vindaloo curry dish in Goa, with the addition of plentiful amounts of traditional spice. The following recipe is plentiful, indeed, on the spice front so if you don’t have all of them, go out and get some. They are worth the time and effort – for all sorts of recipes, not just this one. I’ve adapted this recipe from Ottolenghi to streamline it a bit and modify the balance of texture and flavour! It’s sweet. It’s spicy. It’s hot. It’s satisfying. It’s great on a heap of freshly cooked plain rice.
8 cardamom pods, seeds extracted and crushed
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsps olive or safflower oil
12 shallots, sliced
1/2 tsp brown mustard seeds
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
25 curry leaves
2 tbsps chopped fresh ginger
pinch red pepper chili flakes, in line with your tolerance for heat
6 ripe tomatoes, chopped, or a can of whole tomatoes
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 3/4 cups water or stock
1 tbsp sugar
sea salt
3 cups baby potatoes, quartered
2 red bell peppers, roughly chopped
2 – 3 cups sweet potato, cut into chunks
cilantro, chopped
Heat oil in a large heavy pot or dutch oven. Add the shallots with the mustard and fenugreek seeds. Saute on medium-low heat until shallots are brown. Stir in all the spices, curry leaves, ginger, chili flakes and cook for another 2 or 3 minutes. Next, add the tomatos, vinegar, water, sugar and some sea salt. Bring to a boil, then leave to simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes.
Add the potatoes and simmer for another 20 minutes. For the last stage, add the sweet potato and bell peppers. Make sure all the vegetables are just immersed in the sauce (add more water if necessary) and continue cooking, covered, for about 40 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
Remove the lid and leave to bubble away while sauce thickens a bit. Add a healthy portion of chopped cilantro. Serve on plain rice and garnish with a bit more cilantro or some mint.
tian
July 24, 2011
According to wikipedia, a tian is a tall, conical earthenware cooking vessel used in the Alpes-Maritimes area of France, with most of them being produced in the town of Mougins. It is traditionally made from red clay and used to cook a traditional braised vegetable stew also called tian. Today, the modern version of vegetable tian is not a stew, but a freeform composite of roasted vegetables baked in a shallow dish. What wiki failed to mention is that it’s damn yummy.
2 tbsps olive oil
2 large onions, sliced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
sprigs of thyme
1 small eggplant, sliced
2 red peppers, sliced
4 small zucchini, sliced
2 large tomatoes, sliced
a bunch of basil
1 tbsp cane sugar
sea salt and pepper
Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet. Add onions and saute until they start to get soft. Add garlic and thyme and continue to saute until garlic becomes aromatic. Add white wine and cook down until you are left with a onion stew. Place onion mixture in the bottom of a casserole. Start to add your layered vegetables, starting with eggplant, then adding peppers, then adding zucchini. Before adding the final tomato layer, add a layer of basil. With each layer, brush vegetables with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. After adding the final tomato layer, sprinkle the tian with sugar. Bake in an oven at 400 degrees for 1 hour. Serve hot or warm.
tartelettes aux herbes du jardin
July 21, 2011
I just posted the fantabulous tarte aux abricots. In the same fantabulous magazine I found tartelettes aux herbes du jardin. Now I have to say that one of my favourite things about spring and summer are the fresh herbs. I have come to love, and rely on, fresh herbs. I don’t mind dried but they don’t hold a candle to fresh. So supermarket-basil, supermarket-thyme, supermarket-rosemary have to do in the dead of winter but as soon as they start popping up in the garden in the spring, I literally jump for joy. This little vegan French herby tartelette brings out the best of what you have in the garden, alongside herb’s best friends, onions and tomatoes. Again, God love the south of France.
1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup semolina
1/4 olive oil
mixed herbs, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
10 cl water
6 red onions, chopped
thyme
15 capers, chopped
7 black olives, pitted and chopped
3 tbsps olive oil
10 cherry tomatoes, chopped in half
fresh basil
sea salt
For the pastry: Put flour, semolina, herbs, sea salt and oil in a mixer. Start to mix while adding 10 cl of water until pastry starts to form into a ball. Cover in plastic wrap and let sit for one hour in the fridge.
For the filling: Heat oil in a heavy saucepan. Add onions and cook until onions are soft and transparent. Add a little salt, chopped capers and chopped olives. Set aside. Chop the tomatoes in half.
Divide the pastry into 6 rounds. Roll out each round until they are about 3 mm thick. Place fresh basil on top of each round. Then cover with a healthy serving of the onion mixture. Top with a few cherry tomatoes with the outsides facing up. Pinch the sides of the pastry so they form a nice enclosed shell. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. Serve with a nice salad and baguette. Fini.
tarte aux abricots
July 20, 2011
So it was a lazy hazy day in Prince Edward County and I was lying on the beach (see my view above) at Sandbanks Provincial Park. One of our favourite places to go. I was drinking a little chilled local rosé, reading some mags, and enjoying the sound of the kids frolicking. I had made it through a bunch of design magazines and decided to move on to Maisons Coté: Nos 100 Meilleures Recettes de Vacances. Did I hit the jackpot or what? I was expecting a lot of cheese, meat, and all those lovely foodstuffs associated with the French and instead I got a treasure trove of Mediterranean-inspired dishes that, lo and behold, happened to be vegan. God love the south of France. Feast your eyes on the tarte aux abricots below, only made with nectarines. Have you seen anything look as tasty as that?
220 grams flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
4 tbsps Grand Marnier
1 pinch of white pepper
3 tsps olive oil
5 tsps marmelade, of your choosing
a handful of apricots
a handful of currants
First, let me apologize for the following translation. Now, here’s what to do. In a mixer, combine the flour, baking soda, Grand Marnier, pepper, adding the olive oil last. Mix just until it forms a ball. Press the pastry into a pastry dish with your fingers and prick with a fork. Spread the marmalade onto the pastry and cover with apricot halves (rounded side facing up). Brush the surface with a little more marmalade and the currants. Bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes or until the crust is golden.
garlic scape pesto
July 19, 2011
There is an exception to every rule. In my world view there is very little that’s black and white and instead we live in nuance shades of gray. And so it is with my garlic scape pesto – beware you vegan followers – which is, alas, not vegan. But I love it. And I grow garlic, a lot of it. And while you can use scapes in soup, or sautéed or in dressings and sauces, I think pesto is perhaps their highest form. So I bring to you the v:gourmet exception which will make pasta sing, and will adorn any good crostini with pizazz. For those of you not familiar with the elegant garlic scape, they are the stems that grow up from the plant, twisting and turning, and producing a flower at the end. I should know – I just harvested 3000 of them! Bring it on.
2 cups garlic scapes, roughly chopped
2/3 cup parmigiano, grated
2/3 cup pine nuts
sea salt and pepper
2/3 cup olive oil
You can lightly sauté the garlic scapes or use them raw. Whichever route you take is good so throw them into a food processor with the parmigiano, pine nuts, sea salt and pepper. Blend thoroughly while slowly adding olive oil. Once blended to your desired consistency, taste, and adjust seasoning. Eat immediately or keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks or freeze to enjoy all year round.
fregola sarda mista
June 19, 2011
Some of you may not have heard of Fregola Sarda. I hadn’t until I saw it on a store shelf last week and decided and I had to buy it. Fregola is a tasty Sardinian pasta made out of coarse semolina. The pasta bits are toasted after they are dried, changing the color and creating a nutty flavor that I think could become quite addictive. It cooks like pasta, you can use it like pasta, but it has a totally different consistency (aka “mouth feel”) that makes it an interesting alternative to the regular pasta we get in the habit of using. I did a simple “mista” version with grilled veggies, olive oil, balsamic, and herbs. I will make it again. And again. And again.
1 package Fregola Sarda
1/4 cup olive oil
6 tbsps balsamic vinegar
variety of vegetables including fennel, peppers,onions, zucchini, grilled and chopped
fresh herbs (basil, thyme etc.), chopped
sea salt and pepper
Cook Fregola Sarda according to package instructions.
Meanwhile, grill vegetables. Chop veggies finely along with herbs. When Fregola Sarda is al dente, drain, and put in a nice big mixing bowl. Toss with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add grilled vegetables, chopped herbs, and slow roasted tomatoes. Toss. Add sea salt and vinegar to taste. Serve warm or keep in the refrigerator for a nice summer-y picnic lunch.
stinging nettle slaw
June 15, 2011
Okay all you v:gourmet followers, here’s a kooky one but good. I bought stinging nettles at the farmers market the other day and have been anxious to use them for all their amazing properties. This lacklustre weed makes up for its poor reputation by being packed full of iron, magnesium, potassium, calcium, vitamins A and C, and protein. Granted they require a little attention when handling to avoid the “stinging” part of “stinging nettle” but it’s worth the effort. You can use nettles like any green provided you either steam them first or, if raw, blend them well with other ingredients, both of which de-activate the sting. I decided to make a raw nettle dressing to add to some slaw as I find most slaw recipes a little uninspired. The nettle recipe gave it the zing and the zip I was looking for.
1/2 cup washed nettle leaves, handled with gloves
Juice of 6 lemons
4 tsps maple syrup
4 tbsps cider vinegar
2 tbsps shoyu or soy sauce
4 tbsps tahini
2 tsps fresh chopped ginger
2 cloves garlic
sea salt and pepper
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend well until really mixed. Add water if you need to thin out the dressing but this shouldn’t be necessary. Add sea salt and pepper to taste. Toss with chopped cabbage, red cabbage, and carrot. Serve with a tasty quinoa red bean and pecan burger or our favourite VLT.
creamy white bean dip with rosemary
June 7, 2011
They say necessity is the mother of invention which is true. But adaptability, necessity’s twin sister, also has the mothering gene. I felt like I needed more beans on the daily menu so found a recipe for a white bean stew. It did not pass the v:gourmet test so we turned it into a dip by sending it on a trip through the food processor. Yum. As a dip. On sandwiches (with grilled veggies and greens!). You name it. An adaptable cook is a happy cook.
3 cups beans, soaked overnight and cooked
olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
4 carrots, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground fennel seed
2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 cup white wine
sea salt and pepper
Heat olive oil in a heavy-bottomed dutch oven. Add carrots and onion and cook until tender. Add garlic and red pepper flakes for a few minutes until garlic is aromatic and the flavours come out. Add fennel seed, rosemary, cooked beans, wine, sea salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes more. Let cool slightly and then throw everything into a food processor and blend until smooth but still a little “rustic.” Add additional olive oil while blending if necessary. Taste and adjust seasoning. See? Happy cook.
pesto pizza
June 6, 2011
I blogged about pizza on the weekend after we had Saturday night pizza night with homemade pizza sauce, dough, toppings, the whole shebang. For lunch today I was keen to clean out the fridge of all weekend left-overs. I found pizza dough and toppings, but no pizza sauce. So I decided to try a pesto pizza with the dough smothered in kale and olive pesto and then lovingly “topped” with all the yummy grilled veggies we still had kicking around. For this rustic lunch sure to satisfy your chomps, just follow the instructions for pizza and pesto and throw it all together. Easy peasy pizza pie.
v:gourmet 