Secret Recipe Club: Mango Chicken Curry

It's time again for The Secret Recipe Club (SRC) again, hosted by Suzanne from The Bugs on my Windshield. Because SRC's reveal date is Monday, there won't be a Friday recipe this week.

This month I was assigned Angela's Kitchen. Angela's blog caters to the gluten- and dairy-free crowd. While some people might groan thinking: great, there won't be anything interesting here, I already knew better. My sister-in-law keeps a gluten-free diet and she and my brother blog about their gluten-free experiences in Western Canada. So back to Angela - I immediately knew there was going to be lots to choose from and I was right. What most people don't realize is that there is a ton of cuisine that is both naturally gluten- and dairy-free. So it wasn't about making something with gluten and dairy substitutes, but finding the cuisine that matches the dietary needs of the audience.

In the end, I chose to make her Chicken Mango Curry. Many curries are naturally gluten-free and many Eastern curries use coconut milk instead of cream - voila. No substitutes, just something that works for everyone.

For this particular recipe, I made some slight changes in process and substitutions to match Meredith's dietary needs (she doesn't like green beans) and my cooking style, and there was no need to freeze it for later (the leftovers were eaten the next day for lunch), however, it still keeps the spirit of Angela's original creation.

When we sat down to eat, Meredith said that it reminded her of the curries her mom used to make because of the sweetness of the mango, coconut milk, and raisins. Jeremy couldn't get enough of the zucchini so he shovelled his little bowl down as well. This is definitely a curry we'll be making again.

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Mango Chicken Curry

by Daniel Saraga March-12-2012

Meredith said that this curry reminded her of the curries her mom used to make because of the sweetness of the mango, coconut milk, and raisins. Adapted from Angela's Kitchen.

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 kilo chicken thighs, boneless, skinless, cut into 1" pieces
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 tbsp (rounded) garlic, minced
• dash salt
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cups zucchini, chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 1 mango, peeled and diced
• 2 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1 mango (yes, another mango), peeled and diced
• 1/3 cup golden raisins
• 3/4 cup coconut milk

Instructions

1. In a Dutch oven heat olive oil over medium-high heat and brown chicken for 3-5 minutes. Remove from pan to a bowl.2. Add onions, garlic, ginger and salt to pan and cook for around ten minutes, stirring occasionally.3. Add peppers and zucchini and continue to cook for 5-10 minutes, until peppers begin to soften.4. Add back chicken, curry powder, 1 mango, vinegar and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium and allow to simmer, uncovered for 25 minutes.5. Add remaining mango, raisins, and coconut milk. Stir and let simmer for 5 to 10 minutes and serve with rice.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 1 hour Total time: 1 hour 15 mins Yield: 3 servings

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Grilled Baba Ghannouj with Chinese Eggplant and Zucchini

I was contacted by the people at Three Farmers in Saskatchewan (Canada) asking if I'd like a sample of their new oil from a seed called camelina. Rarely do I turn away free stuff, so I agreed, and several weeks later, a teeny, tiny package arrived at my door:

Clearly, this must be some hot stuff if they only sent me about a half a cup's worth of the stuff. I imagine it's related to the amount of processing required to render a high-quality cold-pressed oil. It's only available at high-end retail outlets such as Pusateri's and The Cheese Boutique. You can check their website for other places in the GTA and across Canada.

Camelina is what's referred to as an aincent grain. The oil itself is rich in omega fatty acids, has a slight nutty flavour and an earthy smell (Meredith: "it smells like dirt, but the food tasted so good with it!")

According to the Wikipedia article on camelina, the seed has been busy in areas like biofuel production and animal feed as well, so it's clearly starting to pick up again in terms of popularity, even if it's not in the human consumption department.

Three Farmers has some good ideas behind it - a small collective of farmers working together to make a specialized product. Neat from a technical standpoint: each bottle comes with a QR code to help geographically locate where the seeds were harvested from.

Anyway, the day the oil arrived, I was already preparing Meredith a nice meal of grilled vegetables and fish. With the addition of the oil, I decided to do something different using those ingredients. To use more of the oil, I decided to turn the vegetables into a baba ghannouj, and I also used the oil on the fish before grilling to help the spices stick around.

Salmon served with the baba ghannouj, a baked potato and
some of the Haggis and Herring's famous salad with
balsamic vinaigrette.

Both dishes turned out spectacular. The oil wasn't overpowering and blended well with the flavours.

Grilled Baba Ghannouj with Chinese Eggplant and Zucchini

3 Chinese eggplants, cut into 1/2-inch rounds
1 zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch rounds
1 tbsp camelina oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
sea salt to taste
3 tbsp tehina
1/4 cup camelina oil

1. Toss the sliced eggplant and zucchini in 1 tbsp oil
2. Grill the eggplant and zucchini until soft on the inside and a bit crispy on the outside
3. Quickly puree lemon juice, garlic and salt in food processor.
4. Add tehina and camelina oil and puree again.
5. Add eggplant pulp and puree until smooth.

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Linked to Jane Deere's Fusion Fridays

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.

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Bleu Cheese Chicken Burger

Continuing the cottage story from last week - I really didn't do a lot of creative cooking. I did do a lot of grilling. One of the first meals I prepared that week involved a few prepared products, however, it's how it turned out in the end that is worth blogging about.

It all started with the giant green zucchini. We were given the enormous squash as a gift from a neighbour's garden just before we left for the cottage. We just packed it in the car with everything else. I knew I'd be able to use it over the course of the week.

Aside from a few basics, we had packed some cheeses, prepared chicken burgers (thank you, President's Choice), sausages, bread, buns and pastas. The first thing I wanted to do was make burgers.

It was when I opened the fridge at the cottage that I received some inspiration. There was a bottle of President's Choice Balsamic Glaze on the door. I knew that we were free to use the sauces, so I had to do something with it. I wanted to use it on the burgers. Chicken burgers can sometimes be a bit plain.

While preparing dinner, I realized that we needed to start on that zucchini right away. As soon as I started to slice into it, I realized that the slices were a perfect burger size. Then I remembered the bleu cheese in the fridge.

What resulted was a tasty, easy to make gourmet burger, if you ignore the basic bun that I used.

Bleu Cheese Chicken Burger

4 chicken burgers (beef acceptable)
4 slices zucchini rounds (cut to 1/2-inch thick)
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1/8 tsp pepper
4 hamburger buns (splurge and get something nice)
4 tbsp crumbled bleu cheese
President's Choice Balsamic Glaze

1. Grill the burgers following package directions.
2. Brush the zucchini with oil and sprinkle with pepper.
3. Grill the zucchini on medium-high for five to eight minutes on each side, until toasty, but not mushy or burnt.
4. Lightly toast buns on the grill.
5. Assemble the burgers: bottom bun; chicken burger; zuchini slice; 1 tbsp bleu cheese; balsamic glaze (to taste); top bun.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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)

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

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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

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Zucchini and Onions

• 3 tbs olive oil
• 1 large or 2 medium onions, diced
• 4-5 zucchini, peeled, seeded and cut into 3/4 cm rounds
• salt
• pepper

1. In a deep pan, heat oil on medium and fry onions until translucent.
2. Add salt, pepper and zucchini.
3. Cover and let simmer, stirring every couple of minutes until zucchini is soft.

Note: if mixture get too dry, add water.

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Vegetable Parmentier with Dill (Mashed Potato Sputnik)

• 5 cups potatoes, cut in 1" cubes
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp fresh dill, finely minced
• 1 carrot, cut into thin 2-1/2" spears
• 1 zucchini cut into slightly less thin 2-1/2" spears
• 1 tbsp butter
• salt
• letuce

For the potatoes

1. Boil potatoes with a pinch of salt until soft.
2. Drain and add butter, dill and olive oil and mash.

For the vegetables

1. In a pot of salted water,quickly blanche zucchini.
2. Remove zucchini with a slotted spoon and and rinse in cold water so it doesn't get limp.
3. Boil carrots with for 2-3 minutes until tender.
4. Melt 1 tbsp butter
5. Drain carrots and mix with zucchini, butter and a dash of salt.

Presentation

1. Divide the potatoes into two or three portions and in a wide bowl or a plate, mould into domes.
2. Stick carrot and zucchini spears into the dome.
3. Garnish (read: hide your creation) with lettuce to cover the shame.

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Vegetarian Chili

Photo by Keren Kurtz. Keren's variation uses kidney
beans and omitted the zucchini.

I've been meaning to make a chili for a while. Last week, I just decided to change the menu and go.

Meredith and I had eaten so much meat the previous week, that a vegeterian meal was going to be the way to go. Fortunately, I found a great recipe to use as a base, and I substituted from there based on whatever we happened to have in the fridge. Thanks, Emeril :-) I'll post a link to the original more complex and Dan un-friendly recipe (corn? ewwww) on Wednesday as well.

Vegetarian Chili

• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 3 onions, chopped
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 2 zucchini, diced
• 1 package (227g) fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespooon ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 can tomatoes
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 bottle tomato sauce
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 cup basmati rice, cooked according to instructions

1. Heat the oil and fry onions and garlic for 3-5 minutes.
2. Add the zucchini and mushrooms and cook for 5-8 minutes.
3. Add the chilli poweder, cumin, salt, cayenne and cook for another minute.
4. Add the tomatoes (break apart with a wooden spatula).
5. Add the beans and tomato sauce and bring to a low boil.
6. Reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes.
7. Add tomato paste to thicken and simmer on low for 5-10 minutes.

Serve with basmati rice.

(inspired by Emeril's vegetarian chili)
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Sweet and Hot Moroccan Soup

Photo taken by Bertrand Devouard

The colours of Morocco are just beautiful.

As fall approaches, I'm gearing up for soup season (I love soup season). My sweet and hot Moroccan soup is a great start using vegetables that are in season: carrots, zucchini and tomatoes.

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Sweet and Hot Moroccan Soup

by Daniel Saraga May-6-2009

My sweet and hot Moroccan soup uses vegetables that are in season: carrots, zucchini and tomatoes.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 5 tomatoes, chopped
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 4 cups water
• pinch saffron threads

Instructions

1. Heat onions, salt and cinnamon in oil for 3-5 minutes, then add garlic and heat for another 3-5 minutes.2. Add carrots, zucchini, tomatoes, raisins, cumin, paprika, cayenne, and lemon juice and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until vegetables are soft.3. Add water and saffron, bring to a boil and heat on low for 30-40 minutes.4. Puree and serve with couscous (or rice for gluten-free).

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 45 mins Total time: 1 hour Yield: 4 servings

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