Swiss Chard and Cheddar Soup

NOTE: This post was scheduled by Daniel Saraga of Haggis and Herring before he suddenly passed away.  We have decided to ensure his scheduled posts continue.  Daniel's wife Meredith posted her eulogy.  Please read more about our wonderful Daniel.

September cooled down right away, just the way I like it. I dislike hot-and-sticky August. Cool nights, warm soup, some hearty bread and a beer. That's my idea of a September dinner.

Earlier that week, I read Chaya's Swiss Chard Soup recipe and it inspired me. I knew I had to make my own version. You can read Chaya's post if you'd like to learn more about Swiss chard.

Well, I've made my first soup of the season, and according to Meredith, I've set the bar high. The cheese in the soup really complimented the beer. We nearly finished the entire pot ourselves - with barely enough left over for lunch the following day.

Swiss Chard and Cheddar Soup

2 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
2 carrots, chopped
4 cups chopped Swiss chard, cleaned and chopped
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
3-4 cups vegetable broth
1 can mixed chickpeas and kidney beans, drained
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup shredded old Cheddar cheese

1. Heat oil in a deep pot on medium and fry onions for 3-5 minutes.
2. Add garlic and carrots and continue fry for another 3-5 minutes.
3. Add Swiss chard and stir for 2-4 minutes, until wilted.
4. Add broth, beans, thyme, salt, oregano, and pepper, stir, cover and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce to medium and let simmer, covered for 30-40 minutes.
6. Remove 1 cup of vegetables into a separate container and and using an immersion blender, puree.
7. Add pureed vegetables back to pot, stir in cheese, and serve.

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes

Vermouth Chicken

NOTE: This post was scheduled by Daniel Saraga of Haggis and Herring before he suddenly passed away.  We have decided to ensure his scheduled posts continue.  Daniel's wife Meredith posted her eulogy.  Please read more about our wonderful Daniel.

I guess my friends and I are at that age when our parents are starting to get older and are moving out of houses they've occupied for 30+ years and into smaller places – apartments, condos or otherwise. You can imagine the fun of emptying a lifetime of accumulated stuff from basements. I'm not looking forward to helping out with that task when the time comes.

Our good friend, Dr. Karen, has been on such a mission for the last few weeks. Back in July, she uncovered a case of Vermouth which her father apparently "bought for next to nothing - practically free!" What on Earth was she going to do with it? Why, call up her friends and ask them what they'd do with a bottle, of course!

I immediately said "I'd cook with it," and started to look up what exactly Vermouth was, aside from one of the ingredients in a Martini.

To my surprise, I learned that Vermouth is actually a fortified wine, so it doesn't last long once opened. It really needs to be kept in the fridge once the seal is broken, and tossed after six months.

Now put up your hand if you or your parents have a half-empty bottle of Vermouth sitting in your liquor cabinet that's at least 14 years old. You should throw that out.

I also read that Vermouth can be used as a substitute for red wine in savoury dishes, and quickly found a recipe for Vermouth chicken. Not being satisfied with the original recipe, I rewrote it and adjusted many ingredients, including upping the amount of sauce (both literally and figuratively) and adding olives – you could just smell that it was begging for olives, seriously.

We served the chicken with baked potatoes, however, I think we'll serve it with rice next time.

Dr. Karen made her own, mostly following this recipe,
using less onion, putting the olives on top
afterwards, and serving it on top of spatzele,
a German pasta.

Vermouth Chicken

2 tbsp olive oil
1 kilo chicken legs
1 red onion, sliced
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp salt (if tomatoes are unsalted)
1/4 tsp fresh black pepper
1 cup dry Vermouth
1 can diced tomatoes
250g mushrooms
1/4 cup olives, sliced
1 small can (150ml) tomato paste

1. Heat olive oil on medium in a deep pan and brown chicken for 3-5 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and set aside.
2. Add onions, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper and saute for 5-8 minutes.
3. Add the Vermouth and quickly scrape any remains of chicken from the bottom of the pan.
4. Add the mushrooms and tomatoes and bring to a boil.
5. Add back chicken, reduce to medium, cover and let simmer for 25 minutes, turning chicken after 10 minutes.
6. Stir in tomato paste, add olives and reduce to medium-low. Cover and let simmer for another 5 minutes.
7. Let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes

Chicken Tikka Pie

A Friday in May ended up being a long day. By the afternoon, I was ready to get the heck out of the office and get moving on dinner. My original plan was to make a chicken dish using some leftover white wine, however, my friend Hungry Jenny changed my mind.

Jenny had published a porky tikka pie for her regular Friday Pie Day feature, and I loved the idea. It's just what we needed for dinner. Of course, I wanted chicken (since it's Friday), and I had a couple of ideas for minor changes to make it my own, but really, it's Jenny all the way.

My mini Corningware set isn't nearly as nice as Jenny's proper ceramic English pie plates, but they still held together, and it tasted great. I'm so glad I tried it out, and I'm sure I'll be making it again (if I'm not trying yet another of her pies.

Chicken Tikka Pie

1/2 kilo chicken, bonless, skinless, cubed
2 tbsp garam masala
2 tsp paprika
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tbsp minced garlic
2+2 tbsp olive oil
2 large tomatoes, cubed (around 500g)
2 cups mushrooms, sliced (around 150g)
1 medium onion, diced (around 100g)
2 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp sliced almonds
1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
4 medium potatoes (around 750g), peeled, chopped and boiled
2 tsp turmeric
1/2 cup milk
(4 small ceramic pie plates)

1. In a large bowl, combine the garam masala, paprika, ginger, garlic and 2 tbsp oil, and whisk together using a form. Add the chicken, mix well and leave for 15 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 350-degrees
3. In a large pan on medium heat, add the remaining oil. Brown chicken in oil for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add the tomatoes, mushrooms and onion, and stir.
5. Add the ketchup and almonds and let simmer for 5-7 minutes, stirring every 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Transfer mixture into four individual pie dishes.
6. Add the turmeric and milk to potatoes and mash together. Spoon potato mixture evenly atop each pie dish and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the potato begins to brown on top.

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes

Chickpea Stew

At the end of a week where we ate a lot of meat, I was happy to cook a meal that was vegetable-heavy and easy to prepare.

I had recently read a couple of vegetarian recipes involving chickpeas and this was the result of combining bits and pieces from each. I went easy on the spices, so the stew was pretty mild. I think you could easily double the garlic, chili powder, cumin and cayenne to get a more powerful flavour, but the vegetables themselves were still flavourful when topped with rice.

Jeremy rooted through his bowl and cleaned out all of the chickpeas. He seems to enjoy just about anything as long as it's accompanied by some sort of sauce or other flavouring. Lucky me.

Chickpea Stew

2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup diced yellow onion (about 1 medium)
1 cup diced carrot (about 1 large)
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups potatoes, cubed
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/8 tsp salt (if tomatoes are unsalted)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup vegetable broth

3-5 servings rice, prepared

1. Heat oil in a deep pan over medium-high heat. 
2. Add onions and garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes. 
3. Add carrots and continue to saute for an additional 4-5 minutes.
4. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce to medium and let simmer for 20 minutes.
6. Top with rice. 

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes

Cincinnati-style Buffalo Chicken Chili

Yes, another chili recipe. This one is mostly from scratch, tho. Inspired by a combination of different recipe concepts and what I happened to have available.

My original plan was to make buffalo chicken chili. However, we didn't have any bleu cheese. Not completely foiled, cheddar would still do. I also didn't have a proper wing sauce, so I used hot pepper sauce and compensated by frying the vegetables in butter instead of oil.

Then the issue of what to serve with it arose. We've had a lot of rice lately, so I suggested pasta. Of course, chili served on pasta and topped with cheese is really Cincinnati-style, so suddenly Cincinnati and Buffalo had to hash it out.

I thought the sauce turned out a little thin, however, I opted to not add any tomato paste. I also thought that the chili needed more spice. I added additional sauce when I served it. It could simply be because of the sauce I used. I'll leave it up to your own personal tastes.

print recipe

Cincinnati-style Buffalo Chicken Chili

by Daniel Saraga June-8-2012

Cincinnati chili is served on pasta and topped with lots of cheese. It's a great alternative to tortilla chips.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp oil
• 1/2 kilo ground chicken
• 1 tbsp garlic, minced
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 1/2 cup celery, diced
• 1/2 cup carrots, diced
• 1 cup beer
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can mixed beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup hot sauce (or more, to taste)
• to taste salt and pepper
• 4 servings spaghetti, prepared according to package directions
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (we were out of bleu cheese :-(

Instructions

1. brown the ground chicken, garlic, paprika, oregano and cumin in 2 tbsp oil over medium-high heat, using a potato masher to evenly break up the pieces.Set chicken aside.2. Heat on medium and add onions, celery and carrots. Let simmer until tender (10 minutes).3. Transfer the chicken back into the pan and add the tomatoes, beans, and hot sauce and bring to a boil.4. Reduce heat to medium-high and let simmer for 30 minutes to reduce the liquid.Serve on top of pasta, topped with cheese.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 1 hour Total time: 1 hour 15 mins Yield: 4 servings

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes

Cornie's Home Made Chicken

The story of Cornie's is an old one for us. On our first cruise, Meredith and I ended up hanging around a beach in St. Maarten for much of the day sitting in beach loungers, reading, drinking beer and eating chicken.

Cornie's was a little shack with a patio near where we rented our loungers and beach umbrella. The initial attraction was the two-for-$3 bottles of beer, but lunch was a pleasant surprise.

At the counter, there was a large pot of chicken slowly cooking on a burner. We were told it'd be ready by lunch time and lunch was great. There was something in it that reminded me of my grandmother's Saturday afternoon chicken dish, and I liked how it tasted - so I asked for the recipe. I didn't get much out of it aside from some ingredients (no quantities) and a general order of what to add when scratched on a piece of paper.

Knowing that I'd eventually lose that paper (and I did - I have no idea where it went), I typed out the instructions and emailed it to myself. Once a year or so I'd look at it and say to myself "I should really give this a try soon." It wasn't until this March that when deciding what to make for supper, I gave Meredith the option of me giving Cornie's chicken dish a try (as an experiment), or another of my standards.

Meredith chose Cornie's chicken and when I left work that day, I picked up the ingredients and got to work. I think the real trick to this is to let it cook for a long time, to let the flavours blend, the chicken fall to pieces, and the sauce to thicken. I don't claim to have nailed the quantities of ingredients on the first try, but it's good enough and tasted great. I've been avoiding excess amounts of sodium so I used no-salt canned tomatoes, low-sodium soy sauce and low-sodium ketchup. Either way, with those products as part of the process, there's likely no need to add any extra salt.

Our friend who joined us for dinner that day pointed out that the recipe was a variation of a frickazee.

Meredith thought that there was a little too much lime in the mix, so I'll actually discard the lime after the marinating next time, instead of letting the lime pieces cook in the stew (I've reflected that in the instructions as well).

print recipe

Cornie's Home Made Chicken

by Daniel Saraga April-6-2012

This chicken recipe is from a small eatery in St. Maarten.

Ingredients

• 1 kilo chicken legs or thighs
• 1 lime, quartered
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 3 tbsp canola oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 1 tbsp garlic, minced
• 1 can tomatoes, diced
• 3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

Instructions

1. Place the chicken in a large ziplock bag and squeeze juice from lime quarters into bag. Add squeezed lime and vinegar, close and shake bag to coat chicken.2. In a small bowl, whisk together the ketchup, soy sauce, onion powder and garlic powder, and add to the bag of chicken, shaking to coat evenly. Refrigerate for at least an hour, or overnight if possible.3. In a dutch oven, heat oil on medium.4. Add onions and celery and fry for 3-5 minutes.5. Add garlic and fry for another minute.6. Add tomatoes, potatoes and chicken (discard the lime pieces) and bring to a boil.7. Reduce to medium-low and let simmer for at least 60 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sauce should be thick and chicken should be falling off the bone when done.
Note: always check the label for gluten-free labelling on prepared sauces (e.g., ketchup and soy sauce).

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 1 hour 10 mins Total time: 1 hour 25 mins Yield: 4-5 servings

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes

Hummus with Meat (hummus bi-lahm)

Whenever my brother-in-law comes to town, we frequently end up eating middle-Eastern food, and his most recent trip was no exception.

The very first time I met him, I had just returned from Israel determined to duplicate the amazing felafel I had near the Western wall. It was served wrapped in a huge piece of thin, round flatbread, contained every salad imaginable (eggplant salad, hummus, moroccan carrots, beet salad, etc., etc.) and it had French fries in it. It was unbelievable. Our apartment smelled like felafel for a week after all of the deep-frying.

The next time, we took him to our favourite Israeli-Mediterranean restaurant, Me Va Me, where Meredith and I had one of our first few dates. On that date, Meredith and I shared a large salad plate (with various Mediterranean salads) and had a couple of pints - more than enough for two people. After finishing, Meredith asked me "why doesn't all baba ghannouj taste like that?" to which I answered, "It does. You just haven't been eating baba ghannouj. You've been eating generic grocery store fake baba ghannouj. If it was real, it wouldn't have mayonnaise in it!" She hasn't eaten the fake stuff since.

Me Va Me's Shawarama is also top notch, as is their felafel, an inexpensive add-on to a salad plate if you're not going to indulge in shawarama or their excellent grilled fish.

Anyway, for this most recent visit, it was actually a coincidence that I was making this particular dish, as I didn't know he was coming at the time. We weren't expecting to see him until Thanksgiving. I had just been reading about different ways to serve hummus when I came across a few article that mentioned serving it with meat, and I realized that I could have a complete meal quite quickly.

One of my tricks when working with ground meat is to use a potato masher in the pan to evenly break-apart the meat.

Hummus with Meat (hummus bi-lahm)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground sumac
500g ground chicken, beef, or lamb
salt and pepper, to taste
1 batch of hummus, already prepared
2-3 tbsp raisins
toasted pine nuts (not pictured above)
1 tomato, sliced chopped

1. Heat oil in pan on medium and saute the onion until translucent.
2. Add the cinnamon, turmeric, coriander, cumin garam masala and sumac, and stir for 1 minute.
3. Add the ground chicken, using a potato masher to gently break up any large pieces as the meat cooks.
4. When the chicken is nearly done, but some liquid still remains at the bottom of the pan, stir in the raisins.
5. Continue to stir until chicken is done and most of the liquid has evaporated.
6. To serve, spread the hummus on a broad platter or shallow bowl. Top with the chicken mixture and garnish with sliced tomatoes and toasted pine nuts.

Serve with warm pita.

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes

Grilled Ratatouille

Looking at the recipes I've published during the last month or so, I realized that since fixing my barbecue, I've been grilling quite frequently. In a previous life, I barbecued Moroccan sausages 12-months a year. As long as I had a beer in my hand and I was bundled up, I was good. I might restart that tradition.

Ever since I saw the movie Ratatouille, I've wanted to try making my own version of the vegetable stew. I even found a couple of recipes that follow the signature dish from the movie. The presentation is just as beautiful in real life as it was on screen, however, it was a little too much for me. I wanted something more rustic (read: less complicated preparation).

When I saw Alea's grilled ratatouille, I thought I had found what I was looking for as a starting point, but I didn't realize what I was getting myself into. I took Alea's idea of grilling the vegetables before the finer chopping, chose my own vegetables and quantities (similar to hers), and added some tomato sauce as well.

Where things went south for me was in the cleaning department (I like one-pot dishes): I used more bowls than I thought I would for the prep (with all of the vegetables soaking in oil); chopping the vegetables after grilling, but before adding them to the pot with sauce also got messy. Really messy. I'll make sure to take appropriate measures next time and avoid a much bigger cleanup job than I had originally anticipated.

Taste-wise, it was a huge hit. Everyone loved it. I'll definitely be making it again.

A couple days later, for the benefit of the movie-going crowd, I served the leftover ratatouille over linguini (har, har).

Grilled Ratatouille

2 yellow zucchini, sliced into 1cm rounds
2 green zucchini, sliced into 1cm rounds
1 purple eggplant, sliced into 1cm rounds
2 sweet onions, peeled and sliced in half
2 red peppers, seeded and sliced in half
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and sliced in half
8 roma tomatoes, sliced in half
1/2 kilo portobella mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 pint tomato sauce
1/2 cup red basil, chopped
salt

1. Preheat the grill.
2. Brush or toss vegetables with olive oil.
3. Grill the zucchini, eggplant and onions for 10-15 minutes (turning to grill all sides).
4. Grill the peppers, tomatoes and mushrooms for 6-10 minutes (turning to grill all sides).
5. In a dutch oven, heat a small amount of olive oil on medium and add garlic. Stir for 1 minute.
6. Add tomato sauce and simmer on low.
7. Meanwhile, chop grilled vegetables and add them to tomato sauce.

Serve with sliced baguette.

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes

Israeli Salad

For a family gathering, I decided to make some shawarama and salads. Not wanting to make a regular lettuce salad, and not wanting to chop up a ton of parsley for tabouli, I decided to make an Israeli salad.

Now I must admit, this is a slight variation on the traditional Israeli salad that only contains cucumber and tomatoes, however, the variations are still within the boundaries of acceptable salad. The big difference, however, is in the preparation. Apparently, it's a big contest as to who can chop their vegetables smaller. The smaller the vegetables, the more fancy-pants the salad. I just didn't have the time or the will to to that, so mine is in more reasonable chunks. I'm not going to get worked up about it.

Israeli Salad

2 cucumbers, seeded and diced
2 red peppers, seeded and diced
3 medium-large tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 vidalia onion, diced
2-4 tbsp mint, chopped
1 tsp sumac (substitute ½ tsp salt if not available)
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup olive oil
3 tbsp lemon juice

1. combine all ingredients and toss

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes

Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad

Guest Chef: Mom

For the last Friday of a vacation week, we were heading to my parents for lunch and relaxing on their patio. A couple days earlier, my mom had called me, very excited about a recipe she saw for a pasta salad in the Toronto Sun. Not wanting to ask why on earth she was reading the Sun, I asked her about the recipe and it sounded great. She prepared it for the Friday lunch.

The salad tasted great. The flavour mostly comes from both roasted and picked vegetables. My mom was especially excited about the recipe because it's very easy to prepare ahead of time. The vegetables can be roasted a day or two in advance and refrigerated, and the rest of the salad comes together quite easily. Mom also switched things up a bit and used roasted garlic (and more garlic than the original recipe stated) and was more liberal with the balsamic vinegar (but she didn't remember how much more liberal).

Although the recipe calls for some parmesean cheese for garnish, I actually think that adding 1/2 cup feta cheese immediately before serving would really do the trick. Not having any feta on hand, we weren't able to try it.

Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad

• 1 red onion, sliced
• 2 zucchini, cut lengthwise into thick strips
• 8 stalks asparagus, ends trimmed
• 1 250g package cremini mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• salt
• pepper
• 1 package (500g) rotini pasta
• 1 medium jar (340ml) marinated artichokes, drained and roughly chopped
• 3 roasted red peppers, skinned and cut into strips
• 4 cloves roasted garlic, minced
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup sliced pimiento-stuffed olives
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2-3 basil leaves, chopped
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup feta cheese (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400-degrees and line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Toss onion, zucchini, asparagus and mushrooms in olive oil, salt and pepper and transfer to cookie sheets.
3. Grill the vegetables in the oven for 5 minutes, turn and continue grilling for another 5 minutes until tender and crispy
4. Remove vegetables from oven and let cool. Roughly chop vegetables and transfer to a container if preparing in advance. Cook pasta until al dente following the package directions, rinse and drain.
5. When ready to serve, in a large bowl, toss pasta, grilled vegetables, artichokes, roasted peppers, garlic, tomatoes, olives, oil, vinegar, parsley, basil and feta cheese and serve.

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes

Rice Salad from Leftovers

Once in a while, I end up with bits and pieces of a few meals hanging around. Usually some rice (I frequently make too much) and bits of vegetables left over from a salad.

On this particular occasion, I had to clean out the fridge to make space for a party and the six or seven dishes I was making. I grabbed the rice, some bits of vegetables and my mom's salad dressing and threw this together in a couple of minutes.

Rice Salad from Leftovers

• 1-2 cups rice, cooked and cooled
• 1/2 tomato, diced
• 1/3 cup cucumber, diced
• 5-6 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
• 2 tbsp Greek salad dressing

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, toss and serve.

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes

Chicken Tajine with Zucchini

It was the first nice Friday in spring - warm enough to sit on the patio for a bit after supper as the sun set, with the crazy lights attached to the fence all lit up. It was also the Friday of a very busy and taxing week at work, so I was ready to get cooking as soon as I got home. I needed to decompress.

Meredith did her own research to find a recipe that she wanted to try, and she picked a good one. John Spottiswood's chicken and eggplant tajine. John is one of the founders of Cook, Eat, Share, and is an excellent chef - I've tried his recipes before.
I didn't feel like eggplant, so I substituted zucchini, and substituted another spice (just because I didn't have it on-hand), and the result was excellent. John's choice of adding fennel seeds gave it a unique aroma.

print recipe

Chicken Tajine with Zucchini

by Daniel Saraga June-24-2011

This chicken and vegetable tajine uses fennel seeds to add a unique flavor. It's also gluten-free.

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cups onions, chopped
• 2 red peppers, sliced
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1tbsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp coriander, ground
• 1 tsp fennel seeds, ground
• 1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
• 1 tsp cumin, ground
• 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• 1 tsp thyme, dried
• 1 28oz can diced tomatoes
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 4 medium chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 zucchini, diced into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat and add theonions and peppers. Saute for 2 minutes, then add the garlic. Cover and cook until onions are soft, about 8 minutes. 2. Add the paprika, salt, turmeric, coriander, fennel, pepper, cumin, ginger and thyme and 3. stir for 1 minute. 4. Add the canned tomatoes and lemon juice and bring to boil.5. Add the chicken and zucchini and stir. Bring to boil and reduce heat to medium.6. Cover, and let simmer for 25 minutes. 7. Uncover and simmer for 20 minutes. taste and add additional lemon juice, salt or pepper if necessary. 8. Serve on couscous or rice. Garnish with cilantro and almonds or simply stir in cilantro and almonds before serving (that's what I did).

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 1 hour Total time: 1 hour 15 mins Yield: 6 servings

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes

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.

print recipe

Pisto Manchego (Zucchini, Onion and Red Pepper Stew)

by Daniel Saraga June-17-2011

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: 15 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 45 mins Yield: 6 servings

print recipe

Sofrito (Sweet Tomato and Onion Sauce)

by Daniel Saraga June-17-2011

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: 5 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 20 mins Yield: 2 cups

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes

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.

print recipe

Shakshuka (Israeli Eggs Poached in Spicy Tomato Sauce)

by Daniel Saraga June 15, 2011

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: 5 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 35 mins Yield: 3-4 servings

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes

Aloo Mutter Butter Paneer (Potato, Peas and Cheese)

Note: this entry is linked to the Real Food Holidays Blog Carnival – Shavuot 2011 blog carnival. It's certainly not a traditional Jewish dish (unless you're one of my Jewish friends from India, in which case, this dish isn't breaking news), but it does highlight a different and tasty way to eat your Shavuot cheese outside of the more traditional European blintzes and cheesecake.

At the wedding of two very good friends of ours, we were treated to some very, very good Indian food. Our favourite dish was basically deep-fried cheese and potato balls in a very yummy sauce. I found the recipe quite quickly, however, balked on actually cooking it up because of the deep-frying involved.

Shortly after, I found some paneer at the local grocery store and it was sitting in the fridge for a few weeks - quietly waiting. The opportunity came up at the end of March and I decided to use it in a butter-chickeny-kinda sauce with some other vegetables.

I winged the recipe and it tasted great.

print recipe

Aloo Mutter Butter Paneer (Potato, Peas and Cheese)

by Daniel Saraga May-27-2011

A great alternative to butter chicken, this dish uses soft Indian cheese as the main protein source.

Ingredients

• 2+2 tbsp butter
• 2 onions, minced
• dash salt (if butter is not salted)
• 1 tbsp ginger, minced
• 1 tbsp garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds, crushed
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 1 28oz can tomatoes
• 400g paneer, cut into 1/2" cubes
• 2-3 potatoes, boiled and cut into 3/4" cubes
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1/4 cup half-and-half cream
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Instructions

1. Melt butter in a dutch oven on medium and fry onions with salt until translucent.2. Add garlic and ginger and stir for another 1-2 minutes.3. Add fenugreek, garam masala and tomatoes, stir and bring to a boil.4. Reduce to medium-low, cover, and let simmer for 20 minutes.5. Puree mixture with an immersion blender and let simmer for another five minutes.6. Add paneer, potatoes and peas and let simmer for up to five minutes.7. Stir in remaining butter, cream and cilantro, and let simmer for 1-2 minutes until warm again.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 40 mins Total time: 50 mins Yield: 6 servings

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes

Chicken Madras

Between taking photos of past recipes that previously didn't have photos, and trying new things, I've found myself cooking more Indian dishes lately. Many I haven't tried before.

I want to make my way through more standards, like Vindaloo or Tandoori. I guess it's just going to take time. Fortunately, I have more than willing diners to help me eat my way through my creations.

My latest adventure was to tackle a Madras dish. From my research, the recipes vary immensely. The one I found to use as a base looked the most interesting. It was originally meant for a smaller quantity of red meat, not chicken, but I'm flexible.

I also made the mistake of defrosting the wrong package of chicken, so I ended up with chicken breasts, bone-in cut in half. The chicken was fall-off-the-bone soft, however, I really wanted to mix it in with the rice - not possible when you're looking out for small bones.

I'm not sure how authentic it was, but hey, I can always do another variation!

print recipe

Chicken Madras

by Daniel Saraga April 27, 2011

This spicy curry goes well with rice or naan.

Ingredients

1 tbsp garam masala1 tsp ground cinnamon1 rounded tbsp curry powder1 tsp ground black pepper1/2 tsp salt1/2 tsp cayenne pepper2 tbsp brown sugar4 garlic cloves, crushed1 rounded tbsp grated ginger1/3 cup lemon juice1/2 cup olive oil1 kilo (2 lbs) chicken breasts, thinly sliced1 can diced tomatoes

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the garam masala, cinnamon, curry powder, black pepper, salt, cayenne, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, lemon juice and olive oil.2. Stir in sliced chicken, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.3. In a deep pan, brown the chicken over medium heat until oil separates.4. Add the tomatoes, stir and let simmer on medium-low for 30 minutes.Serve with rice

Details

Prep time: 1 hour 15 mins Cook time: 45 mins Total time: 2 hour Yield: 6 servings

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes