4 chile chili

Chiles: chipotle, guajillo, ancho, pasilla

It’s winter time, comfort food time. And if you’re me and have a cupboard full of chiles, what else is there to do but make chili. So here’s one that’s a bit different than the usual. I can’t eat beans which is what most people put into their ground beef chili. Texas-style chili is often iade with big chunks of beef. I’m taking a middle road by using stewing beef cut up into really small pieces.

If you can’t find dried chipotles, you can always use canned ones. The chiles in this recipe are now fairly widely available either in local latin grocery store or most higher end chain grocery stores. It’s about a 6/10 on the heat scale.

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 chile ancho
1 pasilla chile
2 chipotle chiles
1 guajillo chile
4 garlic cloves
1 small onion
2 tomatoes
1 tsp mexican oregano
2 whole cloves
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp ground coriander seeds
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 cup beef stock
1 tbsp olive oil
1 pound stewing beef, cubed very small
1 heaping tsp sugar
1-1/2 tsp salt

Stem and seed the dried chiles, splitting them in half so you can flatten them. Heat up a comal or a non-stick frying pan and dry roast the chiles in the pan. Heat them for about 20 seconds on each side, flattening with a spatula, so they get soft. Be very careful not to blacken the skin otherwise your sauce will be bitter.  Place the roasted chiles in a small bowl
of boiling water for 20 minutes so they can rehydrate.

Thickly slice your onion and place it and the garlic cloves with their skin on in the pan or on the comal and dry roast them until they are nicely blackened. The garlic will get all soft and sweet. Remove from the heat and let cool then peel and put into the jar of a blender along with the onion, cut up tomatoes, oregano, spices, beef stock, softened chiles and about 1/2 of a cup of the chile soaking water (do not throw the soaking water away yet!).

Blend it all together for 2-3 minutes to ensure you have a smooth but not very thick paste.

Heat the oil in a medium sized pot and brown the meat.

Turn the pot back up to hot and add a bit more oil, then pour in the chile mixture. You should get a nice sear. Bring to the boil. You’ll need to add up to a cup more of liquid – water, stock, or chile soaking liquid (which will make it spicier) – so there’s sufficient liquid to simmer. Add sugar (to take away any bitterness) and salt. 

Bring to the boil, turn heat down to low, and simmer partially covered for an hour, checking frequently to make sure there’s still enough simmering liquid. Add more if it’s getting too dry, it should be saucy but not soupy.

Serve in bowls with tortillas or rice, some slices of avocado and sour cream. I ended up making some cheesy grits and it was super delish together. The chili is  lovely if made a day ahead so all the flavours have a chance to meld together. It’s easy enough to reheat just before serving.

© 2016 Gail J. Cohen

Avocado paletas

I adore Mexican paletas. They are so simple and make use of just a few simple ingredients to create lovely and light desserts. Mostly I go for the pure fruity ones but using the blessed, beautiful avocado makes for an incredibly rich and creamy taste treat without any added fat or dairy. Here's the super simple recipe.  You'll need some popsicle molds.

Yield: 6-10 popsicles

Ingredients:

1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 ripe avocados
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

Put the water and sugar in a small point and gently heat until all the sugar is dissolved. You're basically making a simple sugar solution. Let it cool.

Cut and pit the avocados and put them into a blender along with the lime juice and cooled sugar water.

Waz it up until it's smooth. Then pour the bright green mixture into the popsicle molds and freeze for at least two hours.

To serve, run a bit of hot water on the outside of the mold and gently remove the popsicle. Let the oohing and aahing begin.

10 things to tickle your tastebuds: Mediterranean edition

Recently returned from two weeks visiting the European countries along the Mediterranean. Beautiful seafood, everything so fresh. We ate in lots of markets, restaurants, bars, and on the street. Of course, wine and coffee are amazing practically anywhere so I don't touch on those but here are a few food highlights and suggestions in no particular order!

1. Lemon-based foods in southern Italy. The lemons that grow in Sicily, Naples, Sorrento and other areas in the south of Italy are just amazing. Even had a dish of meatballs wrapped in the leaves of lemon trees that was out of this world. But a real standout was a candy store  called Confettie e Agrumetti that we happened on in Sorrento that makes in-house “confetti alla crema lemoncedro,” which is basically a beautiful little sweet that is lemon cream wrapped in lemon candy shell. OMG!

2. Something with squid ink, just because black teeth at the table are sexy! And those who live in seaport actuallly know what to do with squid ink. In Valetta, Malta, there’s a little family run spot that serves a wicked tagliatelle neri agli scampi. It was super seafoody and definitely a unique flavour. In Barcelona, squid ink risotto was much the same but with a lot less chance of getting squid ink all over your shirt when you’re eating it.

3. Cured meats: I am sure for all time there will be a debate over whether prosciutto di Parma ham, or jamon Iberico is better. I’m putting my vote in for the Spanish version. Every time I ate the jamon, it melted in the mouth. In Italy, it was a lot more varied and often quite tough. Spanish salami also won the day for me over its Italian counterparts although to be fair I probably only tried a dozen or so of the hundreds of types of salami available in Italy.

4. Fresh cheese: ricotta, mozarella, buratta. Some are made with cow’s milk and some with the milk from water buffalos. Either way, fresh cheese anywhere in Italy is spectacular. One of the best was a little pat of ricotta that we were given as the amuse bouche before lunch at a Roscioli in Rome. But it doesn’t matter where you get it from if it’s made fresh because it will be simply amazing.

 
5. Calissons in Aix-en-Provence. Marzipan is a beautiful thing and the confectioners of Aix have been making these traditional sweets since the 15th century. The method for making them, like champagne, has been made “official” since 1991. The almond-shaped sweet has a base of almond-and-dried fruit paste topped with a layer of royal icing. A one-bite wonder that is surprisingly not too sweet.

6. Olive oil: Every country along the Mediterranean makes its own olive oil and claims its is the best. Again, I vote for Spanish olive oil over most of the others European nations but it’s worth trying some of the local organic olive oil no matter where you are. They are all different and you never know when you’ll hit on a spectacular one as we did in a small little shop in Arles, France where we found one from the Vallée des Baux de Provence that was made with mature black olives and had a very unique and deep flavour. Oh yeah, also just eat lots of olives.

7. Shrimp/scampi: Particularly in the tapas bars of Barcelona, you can have these gifts of the sea prepared many ways. One tapas bar served  whole fried spicy red shrimp. Now they were a bit finicky because they were deep fried with the head and shell on but the flavour was out of this world. A good tapas place will likely offer up a whole lot of shrimp options. Likely none will disappoint.

8. Ocotopus. The more tentacles the better my friend Michael always says. Often when you order octopus, it ends up being very rubbery but when the experts who live by the sea make it, you won’t be disappointed. Char grilled with just a bit of lemon and garlic sauce is my favourite.

9. Gelato. It’s good almost anywhere in Italy, where there are also a whole lot of artisinal gelaterias that have popped up. In Rome, there was one worth a long, long walk in the rain: Romana, which is quite near the Termini Station but not near to much else! Perhaps the best pistachio gelato I’ve ever had, and I have had a lot. Amorino Gelato in Valetta serves its gelato in the shape of a flower, which is darn cool.

10.  Gyro sandwiches, or as we like to call them, french-fry sandwiches. Beautiful, herby lamb or chicken cooked on the upright spit, sliced off, and made into a pita sandwich with tomatoes, garlicky tzatziki, and, of course, a few french fries. They’re available from street side vendors all over Athens. Follow it up with a bit of luscious baklava from a local bakery. It’s just better because you’re buying it in Greece.

I'm smokin' hot (sauce)

Every year I plant hot peppers in my lovely little garden. I tend to have a bit of a variety but every year I put in cayenne peppers because they never disappoint. This year I only had one plant but supplemented it with some serranos and jalapenos, so had a good variety of hot peppers. And at the end of the season, there are always lots left over. So what to do with lots of fiery little chiles?  Well make them into hot sauce, of course! 

Here's my quite simple hot sauce recipe from the archives:

Yield: about 100 ml

Ingredients:

1 dozen cayenne peppers
2 heads of garlic
3/4 cup of vinegar
salt
pinch of sugar

I had a lot of cayenne peppers and the others that I also grew, so threw a few of those in the mix, and made 4x the recipe.

.

First cut off the stem, slit, and remove the seeds of each pepper. Please do this with gloves. And don't touch your eyes, nose, or mouth while you're doing the deed. The burn is fierce.

The traditional Tobasco Sauce has "aged" peppers but in the age of instant gratification, I deepened the flavour by roasting the peppers a bit. I used my favourite Mexican style of dry roasting on the comal, but you can do it in a large non-stick frying pan or by broiling them in the oven until the skin turns a bit black. Some people suggest taking the skins off after the roasting but seriously, that's a bunch of fiddling around that takes up time I'll never get back. So I just tossed them, the garlic (which I also roasted but there's no need to), and the vinegar into the blender and wazzed it all up.

Once it's all lovely and liquidized, simmer the mix on the stove for about 20 minutes. At this point, the whole kitchen, if not house, will start smelling like hot sauce. There may be some burning eyes. It's all for a good cause.

Once the simmering of the flavours is done, run the whole thing through a sieve to clear out the pulp, seeds, and skin.

This, I would say is the time to add the salt, if you're not too busy forgetting to do it like I did, and sugar.

You need to prepare some jars to put this lovely concotion in. I didn't have any traditional style bottles so I used small jam jars (125 ml each). They need to be washed out with boiling water and new lids prepared in boiling water. Once that's all ready, pour the sauce in, seal and you're ready to go with some smokin' hot sauce!

Salata de berenjena (Eggplant salad)

Salata de berenjena is one of those dishes my family has been eating ever since I was a little kid and was definitely not something I enjoyed back then. But as a ‘grown up’ I love it. Simple, fresh ingredients that with a little TLC yield a spectacularly tasty appetizer or side dish.

This salad is also a great way to use up the less-than-perfect tomatoes from the garden at the end of the season.

It’s not a traditional salad but more along the lines of a ratatouille as almost everything is cooked. The salata is not something I make very often because it’s quite time consuming ̶ and really my parents have always made fabulous versions of it, so why mess with someone else’s success? Below is my dad’s version of this traditional Sephardi Jewish vegetable salad.

Leave yourself a bit of time – maybe 1.5 hours – to prepare it as there’s lots of slicing and frying. It’s also best made a day ahead but at the least in the morning if you’re going to have it for dinner. The vegetables need to marinate to realize their full deliciousness.

Yield: 10 servings

Ingredients

1 large eggplant, peeled and sliced
3 green or red peppers
3 tomatoes, thickly sliced
3 small potatoes, sliced
2 tbsp chopped parsley
oil for frying

Dressing:

1/3 cup white vinegar
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp salt

The slices of eggplant should be about 1 cm thick.  Salt and place in a colander to drain for 30 minutes.

While the eggplant is doing its thing, put your oven on broil with the rack near (but not right at) the top. Cut the peppers in half, remove the seeds, and place skin up on a foil-covered baking tray in the oven for 15 minutes. Bake until they are tender and their skin is charred and blistered. Remove from the oven and let cool, then peel and slice.

Start frying your potatoes in a large, non-stick frying pan. Don’t be shy with the oil but you are not deep frying them either. Continue to add frying oil as you need it along the way. Cook the potato disks to a lovely golden brown and drain on some absorbent paper when they’re ready.

Those who know more than I do suggest dipping the eggplant in a bit of milk before frying it so it absorbs less oil. I do it but can’t actually attest to whether it makes a difference. Either way, fry the slices of eggplant until they’ve got a little bit of black on each side (key says my dad) and then drain on some paper.

Gently fry the tomatoes. You want them a bit soft but if you fry them too long they’ll just turn into mush, so don’t overdo it.

Once everything is fried and cooled, layer the potato, eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes in a glass or ceramic dish. Sprinkle the parsley generously on the top. Mix the dressing and pour over the vegetables.

Let it cool completely before covering with cling wrap. If you are leaving it overnight, you can put it in the fridge but be sure to take it out a couple of hours before serving because it should be at room temperature for maximum flavour. Just before serving toss the salad gently to get all the flavours mixed up but without making the vegetables into pulp.

© 2016 Gail J. Cohen

Roasted butternut squash and poblano soup

Summer is over, leaves have changed, temperatures have dropped. It must be soup time!

While the weather has turned nasty, we’re still on the trailing edge of harvest season up here in the great white north and there were still a whole bunch of poblano peppers dangling from the bushes in my front yard. And in my world, soup and poblano peppers go together like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers – magic! 

Roasted butternut squash soup is also the poster child for Thanksgiving soups so as we’re between Canadian and U.S. Thanksgiving, now’s the time to bust it out. 

I wanted to put the two together. I did. It was delicious.

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

1 medium butternut squash, roasted
1 large or 2 small poblano peppers
1 onion, sliced
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
3 cups homemade chicken stock
4 fresh sprigs of thyme
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper

To roast the butternut squash peel, remove the seeds and then cut it into three inch cubes. Salt them and drizzle a bit of oil over them then spread onto a cookie tray covered in foil and bake in the oven at 425F for about 45 minutes. Flip them over at least once during cooking and remove when they’ve got a bit of crispy golden bits on the outside.

While the butternut squash is roasting, you can roast the poblano peppers. If you have a bbq or gas stove, char the skin over the flame. If you have an electric stove, put it under the broiler for 10-15 minutes turning it so all sides get charred. (Get your little garlic clove into this action as well to roast and sweeten it up).

Put the hot peppers in a bowl, cover them with a tea towel, and let them sit/steam for 10 minutes or more. The skin should now come off easily when you rub it. Remove as much of the skin as you can then cut out the stem and seed. Rinse the peppers to get all the black stuff off and remove the final few stubborn seeds. Slice them.

In a medium pot, heat the olive oil and melt the butter. Sautee the onions until lightly browned, about five minutes. Add the chopped garlic and sautee for another minute. Pour in the chicken stock and bring it to the boil. Add the sliced peppers, butternut squash, thyme, salt and pepper. Turn the heat down and simmer for half an hour.

Remove from heat and blend until smooth. Taste for seasonings and serve.

© 2016 Gail J. Cohen

Roast duck tacos

Sometimes you just need a break from chicken and duck is a great alternative. Not to mention, these are an excellent option for using leftover duck that you may have made for Thanksgiving or some other special occasion that had you experimenting with non-turkey options.

If you’re starting from scratch, this dish does take a while but it’s totally worth it. If you are using a frozen duck, which are available in most grocery stores, make sure it is completely defrosted before you start. You can use the first part of the recipe simply to make a delectable, spicy roast duck or you can go all the way and serve up some unusual tacos to a tableful of lucky dinner guests.

I have set up the recipe with the instructions for the roast duck first, followed by the one for the salsa, which stars my personal favourite poblano peppers.

Yield: 4-8 servings

Ingredients:

1 whole duck
2 tsp chipotle powder
1 tsp salt
pinch of black pepper

Sauce:
2 poblanos
2 tomatillos, husked and rinsed
2 serrano peppers
1 large tomato
2 garlic cloves
1/2 onion, thickly sliced
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp salt
Juice of half a lime

Garnish:
Chopped radishes
Chopped cilantro
Sliced or mashed avocado
Chopped tomatoes
Lime wedges

Corn tortillas

Roasting the duck

Preheat the oven to 450F

Clean the duck – ie: remove all the giblets, cut off excess fat etc. and rinse.  Prick the skin in all over and then gently put the duck in a large pot of boiling water for about 10 minutes. This action will give you super crispy skin down the road. Totally worth doing it even though you don’t need to. After 10 minutes, remove the duck from the pot and let cool.

Mix the chipotle powder, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl. Once the duck is cool, rub seasoning mix inside and out.  Place the seasoned bird breast up on a rack in a roasting pan and cook in the oven for 15 minutes. After that, turn the oven down to 350F and cook for another 40 minutes.

At this point, take the duck out of the oven and carefully turn it over so you don’t tear the skin. Also add about a 1/4 cup of water to the fat and drippings that have collected in the bottom of the pan. Return the duck to the oven for another 35 minutes. After that turn the bird one more time and cook for about another 15 minutes. It’s ready when the drumsticks feel loose. Don’t overcook though because it will be dry, rubbery, and stringy. Remove from the oven.

This duck is now spicy and delicious with some awesome crispy skin. Be sure to save the duck fat and juices that have collected in the bottom of the pan.

One duck provides enough meat for 6 to 8 people to have a large meal of off-the-charts duck tacos. So usually for four, I use half the duck and save the other half for other meals. Conversely, you can eat the fresh roasted duck right away because it is hot and delectable and then use the leftovers for tacos.

Once you make the decision on how to proceed with consuming this bird, let the portion for tacos cool then remove the skin and shred the meat into a bowl.

Making the salsa

While the duck is cooking, you can prepare the salsa. Start by roasting the poblano peppers. If you have a bbq or gas stove, char the skin over the flame. In this case, it’s a bit more complicated if you have to use the oven. You can either wait until the duck is cooked or put them under the broiler beforehand for 10-15 minutes, turning so all sides get charred.

Put the hot peppers in a bowl, cover them with a tea towel, and let them sit/steam for 10 minutes or more. The skin should now come off easily when you rub it. Remove as much of the skin as you can then cut out the stem and seed. Rinse them to get all the black stuff off and remove the final few stubborn seeds. Cut them up into a few large pieces and put into a blender jar.

On a comal or in a large non-stick frying pan, dry roast the garlic (leave it whole with the skin on), slices of onion, tomatillos, and tomatoes. All the vegetables should be nicely charred with the tomatoes and tomatillos just starting to ooze some juice. Put all but the garlic into the blender. Let the soft, blackened garlic cool then peel and chuck in the blender. Add the cilantro, salt, and lime juice and blend for about a minute.

In a small saucepan, pour two or three tablespoons of the duck fat/dripping mixture. When hot pour in the salsa mixture. You will get a tremendously satisfying sizzle from this operation!  Turn the heat down and let it slowly bubble away for 10 minutes or so until it turns a deeper shade of green. Check the seasonings.

Now let’s make some tacos

Warm the tortillas in the microwave either in a paper towel or tortilla warmer.

Fill them up with the shredded duck, a couple of spoonfuls of the salsa, and the garnish of your choice.  Serve with lime wedges. Enjoy!

© 2016 Gail J. Cohen

What to cook with your tomato harvest II: Tomato tart

With the abundance of tomatoes from the garden, I had been threatening to make this for weeks. It’s a great way to use up a bunch of the cherry or grape tomatoes in your garden, particulary because when it rains it pours with the little ones. I used smoked gouda because I really enjoy the smoky flavour and feel it pairs really well the tomatoes. It’s also a pretty fast weekday recipe and served with a salad makes a nice light lunch or dinner.

Yield: 2-3 servings

Ingredients

1 tart shell recipe or 1 frozen pie shell

2 dozen heirloom cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp chopped fresh herbs – chives, basil, thyme
pinch of salt
100 g smoked gouda, grated

Once you’ve cut the tomatoes in half, place them innards up on a cutting board and cover them with a paper towel or two to remove some of the liquid. Leave it for about 10 minutes or so, then simply discard the paper towels.

Preheat your oven to 325 F

I used the frozen pie shell because it makes this whole operation faster and with less cleanup. Plus I don’t enjoy fiddling with making crust. But if you choose to make crust, here is an easy recipe from BBC Good Food [http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2983/basic-shortcrust-pastry].

If using frozen, make sure to take it out at least a half an hour before you need to start using it. Follow the instructions for the pastry if you’re making it or remove the defrosted shell from the foil pan it’s in and place pastry in a tart pan (the one with the bottom that comes out). If you’re feeling adventurous, you can free form your pastry and make it look rustic.

Either way, once your pastry is ready, spread the dijon mustard all over it. It should be about the same thickness as you use on a sandwich so use a bit more or less than above if necessary. The lay the tomato halves on the pastry alternating them so some are skin up and some are insides up.  Sprinkle the fresh herbs and a bit of salt on the tart and finish off with a layer of the grated cheese.

Place in the oven. Cook for 20-30 minutes until the cheese and crust are browned and the tomatoes have given off most of their liquid. Remove from the oven and let stand for a few minutes, then slice and serve!

You can't beet this curry

I used to live right in downtown Toronto and just down the street in Cabbagetown was an unassuming Sri Lankan restaurant in a somewhat ramshackle old house. I can’t remember how I first ended up eating at Rashnaa there but I do remember that it was a taste revelation for me and I have probably eaten there more than anywhere else in the city. Most of the time I would order the mutton kottu roti, which is a spicy, meaty, plate of wonderousness. When something is that good, why stray, but at some point I started ordering a side of one of their vegetable curries. Now they have a lot of the standard ones but they also have a few special ones that they don’t make every day, so it’s a bit of a lottery if they’re going to have them on the day you decide to eat there.

My three favourites are beet, spinach, and okra. None of which are easy to replicate. I have scoured the internet for recipes for all of them and tried a few but not had the best luck. This is the closest I’ve come to Rashnaa’s beet curry and is adapted from a recipe at My New Roots. Joy factor also ratched up as the beets came out of my own garden.

One of the things that I really like is the flavour of curry leaves, which are an aromatic leaf from a citrusy tree and are completely unrelated to curry powder. They are incredibly fragrant, and not at all spicy, giving off a nutty scent when cooked. They apparently also have tremendous health benefits. You can buy curry leaves fresh and dried in most Indian and even some regular grocery stores.

Yield: 3-4 servings

Ingredients

2 – 3 medium-sized beets
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
20 dried or 15 fresh curry leaves
2 green chiles, finely chopped
1 stick cinnamon
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp. salt, plus more for finishing
1 cup full-fat coconut milk
juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Peel beets and cut them into matchsticks. You might want to wear gloves for this to avoid getting bright pink hands.

In a medium-sized pot over medium-high heat, melt coconut oil. Add the mustard seeds, stirring constantly until they start to pop. Quickly add the coriander, curry leaves, chiles, and cinnamon, stir well, and fry for a minute.

Add the onion and saute until they are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for another minute.

Add beets, salt, and coconut milk, bring to a simmer, reduce heat low and cover. Simmer gently so the coconut milk doesn’t split, for about 20 minutes until the beets are fork tender.

Once the beets are done, turn off the heat and stir in the lime juice. Check your salt levels and then gently fold in the cilantro.

Serve hot with rice and any other vegetable curries you might like.

The beautiful beet curry along with a chicken in onion gravy, smoked eggplant and herbs, and a mushroom curry.

What to cook with your tomato harvest 1: Shakshuka

Shakshuka, the traditional Israeli breakfast dish, is an easy and fantastic way to use the glut of tomatoes that home gardeners get in late August and early September. When I was a kid my father occasionally made (or more likely asked my mother to make) heuvos con tomate, a traditional sephardi Jewish dish. It was always very special because it was a very unusual treat. This shakshuka recipe is pretty much the same thing and probably why I like it so much. And as a bonus, it is pretty low calorie and low fat!

At this time of year, I’m eating at least one tomato meal a day. Yesterday was a three-tomato-meal day. I choose to plant heirloom tomatoes in my garden, so generally I do not cook with them but when you’re bringing in armfuls of the beauties each day, you have to do something with them.

For the most part, the tomatoes I have also vary in colour from yellow, to orange, to green, purple, and red so the sauces made with them don’t tend to be the traditional deep red you expect but more often a lighter orange. Don’t be fooled by the colour, the taste is pure essence of tomato! So use whatever tomatoes you have around but freshly picked ones will definitely give you the best flavour.

Yield: 2 generous servings

Ingredients:

2 large or 4 medium tomatoes of any type
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 roasted red pepper, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 fresh chile (serano, thai, jalapeno, or cayenne), seeded and chopped (optional)
2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs: oregano, parsley, thyme, and/or basil
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp kosher salt
pinch of sugar (optional)
Pepper to taste
4 eggs

Boil some water and blanche the tomatoes so you can easily remove the skins. Once you remove the skin, dice the tomatoes. You can remove the seeds if you want, but that is not time in my life that I like to spend, so mine has seeds!

Chop the onion, garlic, and chile pepper. Heat the oil over med-high heat in a medium-sized frying pan (I prefer cast iron for this dish). Saute the onions for 5 minutes or so until they start turning golden brown. Add the garlic and saute for another minute.

Add the tomatoes, roasted red pepper, herbs, cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper to the pan. The chile is optional but the heat adds a nice dimension to the dish. This amount won’t make it too spicy but if you’re not too keen on the heat, you can use half a chile instead. Check the flavour and if it’s very tangy, you can add the pinch of sugar.

Simmer over med-low heat for at least 10 minutes, you don’t want the sauce to be too watery. Often with garden tomatoes there is quite a bit more liquid than store bought so you should simmer until most of the liquid is evaporated, up to 18 minutes or so. Check your seasoning and add more salt and pepper if you need it.

Once the sauce is a good consistency, gently crack the eggs over the sauce and delicately place them in the pan. Cover and steam until the eggs are done to your liking. I prefer runny yolks, which usually takes about 5-6 minutes. If you prefer the white and/or yolk harder, just cook for a couple more minutes.

To serve: using a large serving spoon, gently take one spoonful of egg and the shakshuka at a time and spoon into a flat, wide bowl. Sprinkle with the chopped fresh parsley and serve piping hot with some crispy toast on the side.

© Gail J Cohen 2016

Boerie burgers: when sausage just ain't right

Hands down, if I have the choice for sausage, it’ll always be South African boerwors. Problem is that it’s often hard to find – although if you’re in the Toronto area, Oakville-based Florence Meats does the best one around, no question – and sausages are not the easiest to make, so we don’t eat it all that often.

On a recent trip to South Africa, I tried to eat boerwors at every opportunity but I’m not gonna lie, I was often let down. But . . . then there was McDonald’s. Laugh all you want but each country always has some local speciality and it just so happened that when we were there it was boerie burgers. So of course we had to have them and they turned out to surprisingly be the best boerwors of that particular trip.

As it’s now summer in the northern hemisphere, grilling on the bbq is where it’s at, and regular old hamburgers can sometimes get a bit boring. So I thought why not give it a try with the boerie burger. The thing is that the spice mixture is what it’s all about so if you don’t get it right, they aren’t going to be good. Here’s my first kick at the can. It's pretty good but can always stand a bit of refining.

Yield; 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 cup of breadcrumbs
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp water
¾ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 ground cloves
1/2 tsp sugar
pinch of ground nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon black pepper

I start off mostly with whole spices and just put them all in a mortar and pestle and grind them so the flavours are the freshest. A coffee grinder also works well and gets the grind very fine.

Mix the breadcrumbs, water, and vinegar together in a bowl. Add the spices and meat and gently combine. Form into patties (whatever size makes you happy. I prefer to have slightly larger, flatter patties because they often shrink on the grill).

Heat your grill to sizzling, then turn down to medium and grill for 4 minutes or so a side for med-large patties. Serve as you would any burger (sauteed onion are grand with it - but no cheese please). However, if you really want to get that South African feeling, whip up some monkey gland sauce (no monkey involved) to top them off.

© Gail J. Cohen 2016

Beet risotto is pretty in pink

I tried growing beets in the garden this year and the crop did not disappoint. The sugary yet earthy flavour of these vegetables can't be beet! I first tasted this beautiful, sweet, deep red beet risotto at Mistura restaurant in Toronto many years ago. I had to figure out how to make and since then, it's become a staple. I cobbled together this recipe from a variety of places and some trial and error. So rich and gorgeous. It can be made with any beets so the colour can vary from gold, to pink, to a deep ruby.

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

3 medium beets
3 cups chicken stock
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small white onion, minced
3 shallots, minced
4 cloves garlic, mince
1 1/2 cups white wine
2 cups Italian short grain rice, such as carnaroli or arborio
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese plus curls for garnish
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

Wash and peel beets. Place beets in a medium saucepan, add 3 cups stock and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 40-45 minutes or until fork tender.

Remove two of the beets and allow to cool. Grate and set aside. (Reserve remaining beet for eating or if you want a really beety risotto just add it in as well)

In a medium, wideish pot, heat olive oil and 1 tbsp butter over medium heat. Sauté the onions and shallots for about 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and continue to sauté for another minute.

Pour the rice in the pot and stir to coat.

Add the wine to the rice mixture and bring to a boil, letting it bubble up for about 2 minutes.

Now is the time for patience: Add the red beet stock, one ladle at a time, to the rice. Before adding the next ladle of stock, let the rice absorb all liquid in the pan. After the first 3 ladles, add the grated beets. Continue adding stock one ladle at a time and cook for about 20 to 22 minutes or until cooked to desired doneness. I don't like there to be and hardness in the centre of the bite, but others might like it a bit less or more done than I do.

When your're happy with the doneness factor, traditionally it should be a bit "soupy", stir in remaining butter and parmesan cheese.

Serve it right away and finish with cheese curls.

Forgot to take a pic of the final product, I was so excited to eat it. Here's a beet innards pic instead.