Simple cooking in a complicated world

Posts from the ‘Sauces’ category

Pan Roasted Salmon with Dill Sauce

Pan roasted salmon with dill sauce: a classic restaurant technique that is super easy to replicate at home and just as delicious. 

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This Friday is Good Friday, one of the most solemn days in the church calendar for all Christian denominations.  For Catholics, this is also a day of fasting, abstinence, quiet reflection, and penance.  The idea behind fasting is to imitate Jesus, to show an appreciation and a cognisance of the suffering He endured.  The notion and practice of fasting has changed over the centuries.  At one point, fasting meant only one meal for that day, a meal that abstained completely from meat, eggs, fat, dairy, alcohol and any other “luxury” ingredients.  Today, the church has adapted a more lenient interpretation that often consists of simple meals centred on fish, absent from more indulgent ingredients.  This is the tradition we observed in my family home growing up.

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My dad was pretty strict when it came to fasting.  Everyone in the house had to observe the no meat, no eggs, no sweets rule, including the kids.  The only thing that exempted you was if you hadn’t made your First Communion yet.  So by the age of 7 or 8, once you made the sacrament you were required to fast.  Today, I think most parents would classify this as an example of child negligence or something.  In reality, there is no harm in not eating meat for one day or telling your child they can’t eat chips or candy bars until Easter.

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The Perfect Pancakes with Blueberry Syrup

A healthier, but oh so tasty pancake to be enjoyed on Shrove Tuesday or any day of the week.

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Last year around this time, I shared with you a Croatian tradition for Shrove Tuesday, krafne.  These light and airy doughnuts with a hint of lemon zest, a filling of jam and a smattering of icing sugar, is a common indulgence all around Eastern Europe for the last day before Lent.  What was once a necessity to prevent the spoiling of rich foods such as eggs, butter and milk during the fasting period of Lent, today it has become like most traditions, a connection to days passed and a symbolic gesture of preparation to this solemn time in the Church calendar.

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In English-speaking Canada the traditional food that is consumed on this day of gluttony is the pancake.  A custom brought to North America by the British, it is still enjoyed by many Canadians to mark Shrove Tuesday.  But even more so, a good pancake recipe is an essential recipe to have in your repertoire for special weekend breakfasts and family brunches.

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Sweet Chili Sauce

Sweet chili sauce has probably landed in your fridge or pantry at one point or another. It’s a common condiment for Asian dishes, spring rolls or chicken fingers; but did you know you can make your own and make it really good? I was dumbfounded at how easy it is and resolved to never buy a jar again. After reading this recipe, I guarantee you too will see the light and feel compelled to have a hand at making this pantry staple. Soon enough you will find yourself rationalizing about odd sweet chili pairings, just to eat some more of it. Like I did the other day; roast pork, the kind made on the spit (I can hear the Croats out there gasping) rolled up in a tortilla with sweet chile sauce and shredded broccoli slaw or barbecued Italian sausages accompanied by a spoonful of sweet chile sauce. If you like sweet and you like spicy, the combinations while may seem odd at first, need to be trusted and pursued because they are ultimately lip-smacking delicious.

I came across this recipe in an issue of Chatelaine magazine. While most women my age buy Vogue, Cosmopolitan or In Style, my two favourite mags are Chatelaine and Canadian Living – pretty odd eh? I like to read things that pertain to me, that can inspire me that I can eventually obtain, not fashion magazines with pages of emaciated models with peacock-esque hair, neon makeup and haute couture – that is not and never will be me. That’s also why you will never see me with a celebrity gossip magazine. My rationale is why should I care so much about people who I will never meet or never aspire to emulate. I would much rather spend my free time reading about things that can actually affect me or better me.

Four years ago I had a knock at my then apartment door, by a salesman offering a magazine subscription for not one magazine, or two or three, but five!  Five magazines for $15 a month!  Great deal, a unbelieveable deal, considering the price of one ranges from $4 to $6.  So I happily signed up and loved the stacks of magazines I received each month –  Maclean’s, Chatelaine, Canadian Living, Style at Home and House and Home – my faves!  There’s something about getting a new magazine in the mail, the anticipation of the information it holds, pictures it showcases and knowledge it shares that gets me all excited to curl up on the couch, open one up and immerse myself in its glossy pages.

It was within these magazines where I came across a number of articles on canning and home preserves and one particular article that was not only interesting but provided me with some ammo against my husband.  I have been on his case to build me a fruit cellar in our basement.  Fruit cellars – or like my parents and grandparents call it “the celery room” not celery because they store the vegetable in there, but because they’re immigrants and that’s how they say it – were once part and parcel with homes that have basements, but now a days with new homes and how they’re built, they actually charge you extra, even though it’s less work for the contractors.  For example, if you have a porch like we do, that porch needs to also have a foundation like the rest of the house, or else one day during your morning coffee you may actually sink into the ground.  This foundation beneath the porch and in your basement, in the past was left open.  These days they fill it in with dirt (which does not need to be filled in) and tell you that if you want a fruit cellar it’s going to cost you more, when in reality they can just not fill it in and you’ll in turn have your very own fruit cellar, or celery room, whatever your fancy.

So this article in Maclean’s talked about a movement towards home food preservation and that people are actually closing off spaces in their basements, cutting wholes in their foundation for cold air circulation, all in the effort to have cold storage not only for their jars of beautiful home preserves but bushels of root vegetables, potatoes, apples and the like, to keep for the winter months – I love it!  People are really starting to take an active role in what they eat, how they buy it and are making better choices that will not only provide them with better tasting and nutritional food, but a more sustainable way of life.  Now if I can only get my husband to replace “Gonza’s play house” with a fruit cellar, I’d be all set!

Don’t mind my messy basement.
Remnants from the previous owner: a playhouse for his son Ryan. When we moved, in our Kum Goran (bestman) and Nick’s best friend, renamed it “Gonza’s Club House” – Goran’s nickname.
With a little time and a lot of Nick’s craftiness, this may one day be the site of my future fruit cellar!

Sweet Chili Sauce  

The recipe I made for this post is quadrupled the original recipe.  I had a lot of chilies from the garden that I wanted to use so I had to increase the quanitites.  If you would like to make enough chili sauce just for one meal, then go to the link that I included from Chateliane magazine, below and use the measurements there.  While you’re at it, try that recipe before barbeque season is over – it’s a good one!  

You can increase or decrease the heat by the amount and variety of chilies you are using.  The chiles pictured above are what I used.  They’re from my garden and to be honest with you, I don’t remember what they’re called.  What I can tell you is that they are the size of a jalapeno and about the the same amount of heat as well, so they’re pretty ,mild compared to most chiles.  If you’ve ever had the stuffed hot peppers with feta, that’s about the amount of heat we’re talking about.  If you are using smaller chilies – because often, the smaller the pepper, the hotter it is – then I would cut back on the quantity, as it will be quite intense.  Regardless of variety, do be careful and wear gloves.  Don’t be a hero like me by seeding, deveining and chopping 8 chilies and then rub your eyes, I can tell you it’s not very pleasant.  Also, if you do forget to put gloves on, be prepared to experience a burning sensation all over your hands for the next 24 hours, regardless of how many times you scrub those mitts!

Adapted from “Chicken, Shiitake and Asparagus Skewers with Sweet Chili Sauce,“ Chatelaine, June 2012

Makes 1 and 1/2 cups

10 to 12 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

8 red chili peppers, seeded and chopped

1 1/3 cup white vinegar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon salt

Whirl garlic with red chili peppers in food processor until finely minced, scraping down sides as needed.  Add vinegar and pulse until combined.  Transfer to a small saucepan set over medium-high heat.  Add sugar, honey and salt.  Bring to a boil.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is syrupy, about 20 minutes.  You can serve this sauce hot or cold and it stores well in the refrigerator when jarred.  If you find that it has become too thick when cooled, simply add some water and reheat until combined.

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Sataraš (Satarash)

To many of my ethnic Croatian readers this posting is totally unnecessary.  Sataraš to a Croatian is like tomato sauce to Italians or salsa to Mexicans; it’s a staple that arrives to the table without even a glance at a recipe or reaching for a measuring cup.  Even for me, a perfectionist to the core, a lover of recipes and proponent of protecting the integrity of dishes created by others, lets loose and relaxes when it comes to making sataraš.  Ultimately, it’s really difficult to screw this up and pretty much anything goes – well sort of.

So before I continue I want to give a shout out to all of my non-Croatian readers who have perhaps tried one of the recipes from the motherland, contemplated making it or simply appreciated it for what it is, delicious, simple and heart warming food.  If you’ve ever been to a Croatian wedding and had schnitzle and sataraš, or maybe you’ve been invited to a Croatian wedding in the past and remember yourself dreading having to sit at a table with a bunch of people speaking a foreign language or listening to polka music all night long. But somewhere, deep inside of you, you look forward to it because you can’t wait to sink your teeth in to a fat schnitzle slathered with red sauce.  And then, maybe after a good meal, some shots of šljivo (plum brandy) and a bottle or two of wine, the polka starts to sound pretty good and you’re learning Croatian swear words from the groom’s father while drinking more šljivo with him at the bar. Then the next thing you know, you find yourself on the dance floor, hand in hand with a middle-aged Croatian woman on your right and a cute girl on your left laughing and shaking her head at you while she tries to teach you the basket weave shouting, “Left step, right over, left step, right back,” as you dance your first Croatian line dance to the wail of the accordian.

As I said earlier, sataraš is a main stay in the Croatian kitchen, like salsa is to the Latin culture, in fact it very much resembles salsa.  When my husband brought schnitzle and  sataraš leftovers to work one day he came home telling me that next time I have to make more for the guys at work who were asking if he had anymore “chicken and salsa.”  At it’s core, it contains all of the same ingredients as salsa, but while salsa is made up of uncooked vegetables, sataraš is slowly stewed until the vegetables are tender, flavours have melded and juices concentrated.  And unlike its Latin counterpart that is served cold or a room temperature, sataraš is served hot.  While my family has always had sataraš with breaded chicken, veal or pork cutlets – aka schnitzle – I know that it is also enjoyed as a vegetable stew with hearty piece of bread or as a side dish with roast pork and potatoes.

With as many ways as there are to consume sataraš there are just as many ways to prepare it.  It’s often made at the end of summer when there are an abundance of tomatoes, peppers and onions in the garden and as such, it is a great way to use up a surplus of these veg.  In theory, you can really add any kind of vegetable (I’ve seen it made with the addition of carrots and celery, which I”m not a huge fan of)  and it can be made in the winter with canned tomatoes, but in my opinion, nothing beats a big pot of sataraš with fresh summer vegetables.  So instead of making it with canned tomatoes and imported peppers, make a big batch now and can it for the winter.  Of course you don’t have to eat it with schnitzle either; it also serves as a fantastic base for other dishes.  This batch of sataraš provided a ton of leftovers which I transformed into a base for my chicken enchillada filling – ironic isn’t it!

Sataraš

I really debated about putting measurements into the ingredient list for this recipe because I don’t want you to get bogged down with specific quantities while making this dish, because you frankly don’t need to concern yourself with that.  So instead I am going to provide you with a ratio, a ratio of how many vegetables are required in relation to the others.  The largest quantity of the three vegetables required to make this dish is peppers, the second is tomatoes, then finally onions, all in a 3 to 2 to 1 ratio.  For example, if you have 3 peppers, you should have 2 tomatoes and 1 onion, or 6 peppers, 4 tomatoes and 2 onions and so on.  It’s really that simple.  But if you don’t have enough peppers for this ratio or maybe you have more tomatoes than needed but you would like to get them off your counter, then go ahead and throw it in the pot.  There really is no way to screw this up – just don’t put celery in it, please. 

Quantity varies

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 part onion, chopped

2 to 3 cloves or garlic, minced

3 parts medium to large, peppers seeded and chopped coarsely (bell, shepherds, banana, hungarian, anything goes)

1 hot pepper or chile, minced (optional)

2 parts medium to large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped (plum, beefsteak, earl girls, you guessed it – anything goes!)

Vegeta to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot (a wide and shallow pot is ideal as it allows the moisture to evaporate more quickly than a deep pot) over medium heat, pour in oil and sweat onions for 5 minutes until translucent.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Place the peppers in the pan and cook until they are almost tender about 10 to 15 minutes, depending on how many peppers you are cooking.

Meanwhile,  prep your tomatoes by scoring them with an “x” and placing them in a pot, large enough to hold them all.  Cover with a lid and steam them over medium-low heat for 5 to 7 minutes.  When you notice the skin beginning to pull away from the flesh, remove from heat and allow to cool.  When cool enough to handle, peel and core the tomatoes.  Slice them in quarters and seed them by squeezing each quarter over a bowl to catch the extra liquid and seeds (you can strain this liquid from the seeds and reserve the juice incase your sataraš  becomes to thick during the cooking process).  While it may seem like an unnecessary step, seeding the tomatoes are in fact very important, as too many seeds will make the sataraš bitter.  Chop the quarters into chunks and add to the peppers and onions.  Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered until most of the liquid has evaporated and you are left with chunky stew, that resembles, well – salsa!

Season with Vegeta, salt and pepper and serve hot over schnitzle or however you choose.

I have an included an in-depth step-by-step guide to home canning from Bernardin in case this recipe inspires you to try a hand at preserving your own food.  It’s a totally worth the time and effort!

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Rubbed Argentinean-Style Flank Steak with Chimichurri

 

I hopped off the organic produce bandwagon quite a while ago.  I was never sold on the benefits of organic fruits and vegetables especially since it is such an ambiguous and arbitrary process.  Not only are the parameters on qualifying organic produce different in Canada and the U.S., but there simply is no standardized process anywhere.  What makes one product organic, may not make another product organic.  Instead, I have opted in spending my money on what is fresh and local. 

Meat, on the other hand, is a different story.  Here is one area where I have no problem spending a little extra cash in order to get a superior product.  And thanks to my local butcher, VG Meats I get local, responsibly raised meat.  The pièce de résistance at VG’s is their beef.  These happy, grass-fed cows graze in pastures and are raised, butchered and processed all by the Van Groningen family.  The beef is then dry aged for maximum flavour and tenderness, lending to the superior qualities any shopper at VG’s is familiar with.  My husband and I rave about VG to all of our family and friends and whenever we do, my husband likes to tell they story of when he bought a $22 New York strip for a stir fry!  After he selected the cut and proceeded to pay, he knew he probably didn’t pick the right one for a simple stir fry.  Nevertheless, he brought it home, I cooked the stir fry and let’s just say he still raves about it to this very day.  It was the most flavourful, tender and juicy cut you can imagine and the most satisfying stir fry we ever ate. 

VG are also purveyors of pork, chicken and carry lamb and veal when it’s available from their farms.  On their gigantic price board that includes all of their meats, lamb and veal is labelled as, “our farmers are growing their stock,” a good sign when it comes to local meats – if it’s not available locally at that time of year, then it’s not available at their store either.  They also carry in-house, specialty cured meats and sausages, farm fresh eggs and gourmet food products such as the highly acclaimed Stirling Butter, labeled as the best butter in Canada by Toronto Life Magazine and The Globe and Mail, due to its high fat content and likeness to European varieties. Another favourite product that VG carries is Kolzik’s mustard.  A Canadian company dedicated solely to making quite possibly the best mustards out there.  If you’ve ever been through the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto, walked past their shop and sampled their selection, you know what I’m talking about.  From XXX Hot to my favourite, Horseradish mustard, the options are endless. 

Quite possibly the best part of the shopping experience at VG are the wide range of specialty cuts that are available.  From tomahawk steaks, thick rib eye steaks still attached to the rib that is trimmed of any remaining meat, leaving behind something that resembles a giant lamb chop, to flat-iron steaks, skirt steaks, hanger steaks brisket and my favourite, flank steaks.  If by any chance they don’t have the particular cut you’re looking for, they are more than happy to get it for you, as I have learned on a few occasions.  Needless to say, the service is impeccable. 

Back to my favourite cut and the focus of today’s post – the flank steak.  This cut is my favourite for its versatility, flavour and economic factor.  It’s a cheap piece of meat and it can feed a lot of people.  Since it’s cheap for its size and weight, the first thing that should pop in your mind is that it needs a little special attention in its preparation.  When you’re selecting steaks, or any cuts of beef for that matter, you can use the price as a gauge on how it should be prepared.  The cheaper the cut like the flank, chuck, brisket, the more TLC it needs, i.e. marinating, slow and low cooking times, or short and fast cooking times like the flank requires – fans of well done steak should probably stay away from the flank.  More expensive cuts require a lot less fiddling around and actually, the more you fuss the more you take a way from the natural flavour and tenderness of the meat, so it’s best to leave these cuts alone and flavour with ample seasoning, some oil, garlic and herbs, if you like.

Flank steaks are often called marinating steaks because they benefit from a good bath in a flavorful marinades; some olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, fresh chilis are great.  You can also slather on spicy and pungent rub, which is what I did here.  Most of the time when we’re grilling, I prepare the meat, seasoning and marinating it accordingly, and my husband will do the grilling.  When I marinate the meat, he often complains about flare-ups from the oil dripping down into the flames – of course he doesn’t let some of it drain away before throwing it on the grill.  So to appease him and keep him helping me with the coking process – which is a huge effort, except when it has to do with grilling – I have been flavouring most of my meats with rubs.  Lots of flavour with no flare-ups!  The rub I use for this recipe, a blend of cumin, coriander, chili, cinnamon and oregano adds a huge flavour boost to the outside of the steak, but doesn’t cover up the beefiness that still shines through the centre of the steak.  

What makes this steak truly sing is a good drizzle of chimichurri over the charred meat.  Chimichurri is probably my favourite grilling condiment.  It’s a sauce that originates in Argentina and being from the land that consumes the most beef in the world (and I bet you thought it was the U.S. – didn’t you?) you can bet that the Argentineans know how to serve up their beef!  This stuff is amazing on just about anything, from grilled fish to chicken to vegetables; it freshens up and imparts such a fantastic punch of flavour to anything it dresses.  It’s spicy, acidic, crisp and bold and when mixed with the robust flavours in the rub, it’s a flavour explosion in your mouth! 

Unfortunately there isn’t a VG Meats in every city out there (locations) but there are many good butchers all over and these butchers more often than not carry superior products and cuts.  If you haven’t tried flank steak in the past, give it a try real soon.  It’s great in fajitas, sandwiches, salads, pastas, really anywhere; all it takes is a little imagination and ingenuity.

Rubbed Argentinean-Style Flank Steak with Chimichurri

The most important thing to remember when grilling flank steak is not to overcook it.  Medium- rare to medium is as far as you should go; anything over will make for a tough steak.  Another good tip to remember is to slice the meat on a bias (tilt your knife on a 45 degree angle).  This will give you wider slices which just looks a lot nicer.  Finally, cut the steak against the grain (for a flank steak that usually means, cut on the narrower end).  Doing this ensures a more tender slice of meat, as you are making the muscle fibres shorter rather than at its full length if you were to slice with the grain.

Adapted from “Latin-Style Flank Steak”, Fine Cooking and “Mixed Grill with Chimichurri”, The Food Matters Cookbook, Mark Bittman

Serves 4 to 6

2 one pound flank steaks or 1 two-pound steak

2 Tablespoons chili powder

1 and 1/2 Tablespoons ground cumin

1 Tablespoon ground coriander

1-1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Salt

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

Chimichurri

2 cups fresh parsley

Salt and pepper

3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon chile flakes

Mix all of the spices (except the salt) in a small bowl.  Coat steaks in a thin film of oil and rub the spice mixture onto both sides of the steak.  Set steak aside for half an hour at room temperature.

Meanwhile prepare the chimichurri.  In a food processor, combine parsley, garlic, salt and pepper and 1/4 cup of olive oil and pulse for 10 seconds.  Scrape down the sides of the vessel and add the vinegar and chile flakes.  While the food processor is running, slowly pour in the remaining olive oil and process until smooth.  Taste and correct seasoning.

Heat a gas grill to medium high (you should be able to hold your hand 2 inches above the grate for 3 to 4 seconds). Sprinkle both sides of the steak with salt. If your grill has a hot spot, position the thicker end of the flank steak nearer the hottest part of the fire. Grill until medium rare, about 4 to 5 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the steak.  If using an instant-read thermometer, the temperature should read 130 to 140 degrees farenheit at the thickest point of the steak.

Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let it rest for 3 to 5 min. Slice across the grain and drizzle with some of the chimichurri.  Serve the steak accompanied with the chimichurri.

 

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