Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Strawberry-rhubarb Dessert Topping

It's the beginning of Strawberrypalloza at the Haggis and the Herring. Yesterday, we went strawberry picking at Whittamore Farms, and it was a bumper crop. We were placed at a remote end of the field where, apparently, nobody has ever picked strawberries before. We weren't even there for 30 minutes before we had a giant bucket full of beautiful strawberries!


With a trip to the farmer's market, we also picked up some rhubarb and other goodies before heading home. Meredith spent the rest of the day making three different strawberry-based recipes and prepping a fourth for the next day... and that didn't stop her from taking a few work-related calls in between. The first recipe, a dessert topping, turned out so very, very tasty. The original recipe called for far more sugar and red food coloring. Neither were necessary for these excellent results.

Strawberry-rhubarb Dessert Topping

  • 4 cups rhubarb, chopped
  • 10 oz fresh strawberries, chopped
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup quick-cooking tapioca
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  1. In a large microwave-safe dish (e.g., Corning), combine the rhubarb, strawberries, water and tapioca and let stand for five minutes.
  2. Cover and microwave on high for six minutes. Stir and cook for an additional four minutes or until the rhubarb is soft.
  3. Stir in the sugar, recover and microwave for an additional two minutes.

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Friday, June 24, 2011

Rickard's Blonde Hot Chicken Roti


Beer Libre!

A couple weeks ago, I was contacted by my friends at Rickard's with a new set of recipes that really inspired. As regular readers know, I enjoy cooking with beer, and I've already made mustard, soup, and stew with various beers. The recipes are for a new beer, Rickard's Blonde, not yet available in Ontario. Rickard's Blonde is  a great-tasting pilsner. The bonus for us was the sample that would soon arrive in the mail.

When the package arrived by courier, I got a laugh out of the note that arrived in the box.

Clearly an attempt to slow you down from immediately cracking open (and likely spraying yourself with) a well-shaken can that spent the better part of a day bouncing around in a courier van!

In the package of recipes, one stuck out - it was a grilled chicken sandwich in an interesting marinade. I decided to modify the marinade to turn it into a a Caribbean chicken roti with potatoes. The original marinade recipe called for Scotch bonnet peppers. Unfortunately, the local grocery didn't have any in stock, so I used two jalapeno peppers.

The result was an awesome tasty chicken roti with potatoes in a thick sauce. There was just enough heat with the flavour that you felt the warmth for a short while after finishing the meal. Perfect.

Rickard's Blonde Hot Chicken Roti
  • 3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1-2 chili peppers (Scotch bonnet, habanero or jalapeno), stem and seeds removed
  • 1 cup Rickard's Blonde beer
  • ½ cup water
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 2 tsp garam masala or ground allspice
  • ½ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 kilo chicken thighs or breast (boneless, skinless) diced
  • roti for serving
  1. Boil potatoes in salted water for 5 minutes and drain.
  2. Combine garlic, onion, pepper, beer, water, salt, brown sugar, thyme, garam masala, nutmeg and turmeric and puree using an immersion blender.
  3. Heat oil on medium in a deep pan and brown chicken for 3 minutes. Add potatoes and sauce mixture, cover and bring to a boil.
  4. Reduce to medium and let simmer uncovered for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve on roti. Makes 4 servings.
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    Wednesday, June 22, 2011

    Pisto Manchego (Zucchini, Onion and Red Pepper Stew) and Sofrito

    Back when I took some general interest culinary courses at George Brown, I learned to make a vegetable stew called a Pisto. The original recipe called for eggplant and half a recipe's worth of a sauce called sofrito.

    I made it so often for a while that Meredith and I overdosed on it and I hadn't made it in a few years since.

    Wanting to cook more vegetable dishes, I remembered how good the pisto tasted and found the recipe. Not wanting eggplant, I upped the peppers and used the entire sauce recipe (I like sauce). It's just as tasty as we remember.

    Without overdosing again, we'll start eating this once in a while.


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    Pisto Manchego (Zucchini, Onion and Red Pepper Stew)
    This Spanish vegetable stew is a meal on its own.
    Ingredients
    • 2+2 tbsp olive oil
    • 4 bell peppers, chopped
    • 2 large onions, chopped
    • 3 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/8" thick
    • 1 sofrito recipe
    • 2 garlic cloves
    • 1/2 tsp cumin
    • salt
    Instructions
    1. In a dutch oven, heat 2 tbsp olive oil and add the peppers, onion and salt. Cook over medium heat until peppers are soft and set aside. 2. Heat the remaining 2 tbsp oil and add the zucchini. Continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini is soft. 3. Add the pepper and onions back to the mixture along with the sofrito. Let mixture come to a gentle simmer.4. Using a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic, cumin and a dash of salt into a paste and stir it into the pan.5. Cook an additional 10 minutes before serving.
    Details
    Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 6 servings



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    Sofrito (Sweet Tomato and Onion Sauce)
    This sauce is a key ingredient in the pisto, however, it's also good on its own in pasta, over rice or baked with chicken.
    Ingredients
    • 1 28oz can diced tomatoes
    • 1 onion, chopped
    • 1 garlic clove, bruised and minced
    • 2 tbsp olive oil
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 2 tbsp sugar
    Instructions
    1. Place all ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a boil.2. Turn heat down and let simmer for 15 minutes for sauce to thicken.3. Using an immersion blender, puree minture.Unused sofrito can be frozen.
    Details
    Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 2 cups
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    Friday, June 17, 2011

    Shakshuka (Israeli Eggs Poached in Spicy Tomato Sauce)

    During Passover, my family tends to eat lots of eggs. Mostly because eggs are in just about everything during Passover. But this particular meal wasn't inspired by that. Instead, it was inspired by a tweet I made earlier that week.

    I'd been wanting to make Shakshuka for months, but I never had an incentive. And things were busy. When the tweet went out, Meredith saw it and hinted that I should consider it for dinner that week, and the wheels started turning.

    As a Passover dish, it's excellent (well, if you serve it with matza instead of pita, slightly less excellent), as it's tasty and full of protein. I'd say that it's one of those dishes that could easily be served as breakfast, lunch, or dinner.



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    Shakshuka (Israeli Eggs Poached in Spicy Tomato Sauce)
    Shahshuka is an excellent lunch or dinner, served with warm pita and Israeli salads.
    Ingredients
    1/4 cup olive oil3 jalapeno peppers stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped1 onion, chopped5 garlic cloves, minced1 tsp ground cumin1 tbsp paprika1 can diced tomatoes5 eggs1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled1 tbsp parsley, chopped
    Instructions
    1. Heat oil in a deep pan over medium-high heat. 2. Add peppers and onions and stir occasionally for six minutes. Onions should be soft and slightly browned. 3. Add garlic, cumin, and paprika, stirring frequently for 2 minutes.4. Add diced tomatoes and liquid, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 5. Reduce to medium-low, stir and make five wells in the thick sauce. 6. Crack eggs over wells, cover and cook for about five minutes, until yolks have set.7. Baste the eggs with tomato sauce using a small spoon and sprinkle feta and parsley.
    Details
    Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 3-4 servings
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    Wednesday, June 15, 2011

    Wordless Wednesday: Awesome Cupcake

    ignore the horizontal lines across Cooke Monster's
    face. The result of a camera phone photo.
    Okay, so it's not wordless, just less wordy than usual.

    The above cupcake was baked and decorated by a colleague's 11-year-old daughter for a charity bake sale.

    I see a career in baking in this child's future.

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    Monday, June 13, 2011

    Secret Recipe Club: Mushrooms and Potato Stew

    No Wednesday post this week because I joined the secret recipe club. The secret recipe club assigns you a member blog and you choose a recipe from that blog to make. You're not obligated to stick to the exact recipe, but instead, you can adapt it to your own taste or style.

    I was assigned Cook Book of Trial and Error, by The Cooking Rookie. There were a lot of unfamiliar recipes and methods to choose from. Wanting to play relatively safe the first time through, I chose a potato and mushroom stew. It calls for the stew to be cooked in the oven, in a dutch oven - I've never done that before. My first throught was "I really hope my Jamie Oliver pot comes out in one piece!"

    The recipe itself, named Chanterelles and Potato Stew called for chanterelle mushrooms, some chicken stock and a tablespoon of brandy. Since the recipe is from a site that emphasizes trial and error, I'm hoping that I'm forgiven for the liberties I took with it.

    First, I couldn't find chanterelles, so I bought some portabella mushroom instead (and a good helping of white mushrooms as well). I also didn't have any brandy, but I did have some wine left from the previous evening and a bit of brown sugar to sweeten it up.

    The one mistake I made was the time I chose to start cooking - we ended up eating about an hour later than planned.


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    Mushrooms and Potato Stew
    This stew, inspired by the The Cooking Rookie, uses mushrooms and white wine for a tasty vegetarian bowl of comfort.
    Ingredients
    • 2 tbsp canola oil
    • 2 medium onions, finely chopped
    • 4 garlic cloves, minced
    • 300g portabella mushrooms, chopped
    • 450g white mushrooms, chopped
    • 1.3 kilos potatoes, diced to 1/2 inch
    • 2 tbsp butter
    • 1 cup white wine (or rice wine for gluten-free)
    • 1 tsp brown sugar
    • 1/4 tsp salt
    • 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
    Instructions
    1. Preheat oven to 375-degrees.2. In a dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat and saute onions until translucent and they start to brown.3. Add garlic and saute for another 1-2 minutes. 4. Add mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes.5. Add potatoes, butter, wine, brown sugar, salt and pepper, stir and let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.6. Remove from heat, stir, cover and transfer to oven. Bake for 90 minutes.Note: in the event that you don't have an oven-proof pot, The Cooking Rookie recommends reducing the heat to medium-low, covering and stirring every 20-30 minutes. The potatoes with be a little mushed, but it will taste the same.
    Details
    Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 4-6 servings



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    Friday, June 10, 2011

    Horseradish Cole Slaw

    I saw an interesting recipe for a cole slaw that had horseradish in it, and it got me thinking. I haven't put horseradish on much aside from gefilte fish in quite a while. And I needed to buy some prepared horseradish anyway since Passover was just around the corner.

    I used to use President's Choice horseradish mayo in mashed potatoes to make what I called "wasabi mashed potatoes." Meredith likes horseradish on roasts. I actually can't remember the last time I made a roast.

    Anyway, I'm quite picky when it comes to cole slaws. I don't like them too creamy or too sweet, so I had to do my own thing. I also had to use my fancy-pants Rickard's Sweet 'n Hot mustard. The horseradish I bought wasn't very hot at all, which was a little disappointing, but it was still tasty and didn't hurt our guest.

    Next time, I might consider using the PC horseradish mayo as part of the recipe instead of using prepared horseradish.


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    Horseradish Cole Slaw
    This creamy cole slaw has a spicy zing.
    Ingredients
    • 1/2 cup cider vinegar
    • 1/4 cup sugar
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
    • 400g (approx 1 bag) cole slaw/shredded cabbage and carrot
    • 1/4 cup sour cream
    • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
    • 2 tbsp prepared horseradish
    • 1 tbsp mustard
    Instructions
    1. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper.2. Toss vinegar mixture with cole slaw, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.3. In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream, mayonnaise, horseradish and mustard.4. Toss with cole slaw mixture, cover and refrigerate for another 30-60 minutes.
    Details
    Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 4 cups
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    Wednesday, June 8, 2011

    Egg Masala

    On nights without Meredith I don't always go all-out when preparing dinner. I usually make eggs of some sort.

    However, on this particular Thursday night, I decided to finally make an Indian egg dish. The week before I had seen a great one at Sunshine and Smile so I was ready to go.

    The recipe called for a tablespoon of cumin seeds, and the result was a bit too cumin-heavy, so in the final recipe, I recommended 1 tsp instead. Overall, it's a nice flavourful egg dish and although it takes a short while to prepare, it's a welcome change to a folded egg with cheese.


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    Egg Masala
    This savory egg dish uses toasted cumin to give a smoky flavour.
    Ingredients
    2 tbsp oil4 large eggs, hard boiled, peeled and toweled dry4 garlic cloves, finely chopped1 tbsp ginger, finely chopped1 tsp cumin seeds1 medium tomato, finely chopped1 tsp chili powder1 tsp corriander powder3/4 cups water2 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
    Instructions
    1. Heat oil in a deep non-stick pan on medium heat. Saute eggs until browned and set aside.2. Add garlic, ginger and cumin seeds and saute for two minutes.3. Add onions and salt and cook until onions are translucent.4. Add tomatoes, corriander and chili and cook for additional 3 minutes.5. Transfer mixture to a blender, add 1 cup water and blend mixture until liquefied and pour the mixture back into the pan.6. Add eggs and bring mixture to a boil.7. Add cilantro, reduce to medium-low and let simmer for 10-15 minutes.8. Add eggs and bring mixture to a boil.Add cilantro, reduce to medium-low and let simmer for 10-15 minutes.
    Details
    Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 4 eggs
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    Friday, June 3, 2011

    Baked Pakoras

    Welcome to my paroka pity party.

    Browsing the food blogs I read one Friday evening I read what I considered a revelation: you don't need to deep-fry pakoras. Kathy Gori says so, and she knows her stuff.

    I was so excited to try the recipe the following Sunday. I had mushrooms available and some broccoli that Jacob didn't eat from the week before so I didn't even need to buy anything. Score.

    The recipe looks easy, and it's yet another good application for the chickpea flour I have. The final result isn't deep-fried pakoras, but it satisfies your pakoras cravings. Let's be honest: you can't beat deep-frind.

    I did have some problems with the recipe: the batter stuck to the pan (but I used a non-stick cookie sheet with cooking spray - I should've used oil and tinfoil). I'll probably make the batter thicker next time (there'll be a next time) and use some other vegetables (probably cauliflower, as Kathy did).

    I also burnt them a bit, although I think it has something to do with the temperature in the oven and the thin batter. So they didn't look great either.

    But in the end, they tasted okay, and really, it was nothing some chutney didn't fix.


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    Baked Parokas
    These parokas are a tasty way to use vegetables.
    Ingredients
    • 1/2 kilo mushrooms, washed
    • 1-2 cups broccoli florets
    • 1 cup chickpea flour
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
    • 1/2 tsp turmeric
    • 1/2 tsp chili powder
    • 1/2 tsp garam masala
    • 3/4 cup water
    Instructions
    1. Preheat the oven to 500-degrees.2. In a large bowl mix together chickpea flour, salt, coriander, turmeric, chili powder, garam masala and water. (Note: Kathy says that the batter should be as thick as pancake batter. Add water or flour as necessary.)3. Dip mushrooms into batter, one at a time, and place them onto a greased or non-stick cookie sheet.4. Bake mushrooms for 8-9 minutes, turn, and bake again for another 9-10 minutes.
    Details
    Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 8-10 servings
    Recipe from Kathy Gori's Colors of Indian Cooking.

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    Wednesday, June 1, 2011

    Creamy Chicken and Noodle Bake

    After a difficult week in March, Friday night was just going to be the two of us. We just needed some comfort food, but we had no idea what to make. I was very tempted to get some take-out or pack us all in the car for something as simple as Swiss Chalet.

    Then I found it. Girlichef did it again and right on time! I nearly followed her recipe to the tee and the result was fabulous.

    That, some Caeser salad and a movie was the perfect ending for Friday.



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    Creamy Chicken and Noodle Bake
    This casserole is pure comfort food.
    Ingredients
    2 tbsp canola oil500g ground chicken400ml (1 can) tomato sauce1/4 tsp saltto taste pepper1 package egg noodles1/2 cup sour cream1-1/4 cup cottage cheese1 cup green onions, sliced2 cups extra-old Cheddar cheese, shredded
    Instructions
    1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees.2. In a pan, heat the oil and brown the chicken. Add tomato sauce, salt and pepper (freshly ground preferred), stir and let simmer for 15-20 minutes.3. Boil noodes according to package directions until al dente. Drain and in a separate bowl, mix with the sour cream, cottage cheese. green onions and more pepper.4. Grease a large casserole dish with pan spray or oil.5. Spread half of the noodle mixture in the bottom, then add half of the meat mixture and half of the cheddar cheese. Repeat the layers again (noodles, meat and cheese).6. Top with half of the meat and half of the cheese. Repeat.7. Bake for 20 minutes, uncovered until cheese has melted.
    Details
    Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 1 large casserole dish
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