Duck ragu lasagna

This one is a good one, a bit of work but well worth the effort! You can choose to roast your own duck but why not simplify thing and just pick up a ready Chinese roast duck (you can get them at asian grocery stores). What I do is I  shred the duck a day or two ahead and have it ready in my fridge just to speed thing up.  It is not a "pasta heavy" dish which is why I enjoy it so much and contrary to what it seems like at first glance, it is not heavy at all but filled with amazing flavours.

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1 cup (250 mL) dried shiitake or procini mushrooms
2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil
1 small cooking onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 celery rib, diced
1 cup (250 mL) fine ruby port
1 can (398 mL) diced tomatoes
1 bay leaf
½ Chinese roast duck, skin and bones discarded, about 1½ cups (375 mL) meat
¼ tsp (1 mL) salt plus more to taste
1 pkg (360 g) no-boil fresh lasagna noodles
1 pkg (300 g) frozen cut leaf spinach, defrosted, drained and squeezed dry
Scant 8 oz (230 g) fontina cheese, about 2 cups (500 mL), shredded, divided
1 tbsp (15 mL) butter
1 tbsp (15 mL) flour
½ cup (125 mL) milk
4 tbsp (60 mL) Parmesan, shredded, divided
¼ tsp (1 mL) pepper
½ cup (125 mL) Panko bread crumbs
2 tsp (10 mL) minced fresh rosemary
Drizzle of olive oil

 Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

Grease loaf pan and set aside. Put the kettle on to boil, then pour boiling water over dried shiitakes and let steep for 10 minutes.

 To a medium saucepan over medium heat, add olive oil, onion, carrot and celery. Sauté for 5 to 10 minutes, or until vegetables soften and start to take on colour. Add port, tomatoes and bay leaf, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and let cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add duck, stir, and cook for 2 minutes more. Remove bay leaf, taste for seasoning and add salt if needed.

Trim 3 lasagna noodles so that they’ll fit snugly into loaf pan. (Reserve remaining noodles for another meal. You can even slice them lengthwise to make fresh fettuccine.)

 Drain mushrooms, squeeze dry and roughly chop. Add to a bowl and stir together with drained spinach, 1 cup (250 mL) of shredded fontina cheese and ¼ tsp (1 mL) salt.

 In a small pot over medium heat, whisk together butter and flour. Let the mixture toast and bubble for a minute, then whisk in milk and 2 tbsp (30 mL) Parmesan. Whisk until thickened and smooth. Stir in pepper. This is your béchamel sauce.

In a small bowl, stir together Panko with remaining 2 tbsp (30 mL) Parmesan and rosemary.

 It’s time to build the lasagna. Spoon ½ cup (125 mL) of duck ragout evenly across the bottom of the pan. Top with a noodle. Add half the spinach mixture and top with ½-cup (125 mL) more ragout and some shredded fontina. Press down firmly. Add second noodle and repeat process. Press down firmly. Add third noodle and top with béchamel sauce, remaining fontina plus the Panko mixture. Press down firmly and drizzle with olive oil.

Place loaf pan in the middle rack of the preheated oven, uncovered, for 35 to 40 minutes, or until bubbling and golden on top. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe courtesy of LCBO Food and Drink magazine: http://www.foodanddrink.ca/lcbo-ear/RecipeController?language=EN&recipeType=1&action=recipe&recipeID=6946

Tuna steak with ginger, lime and cilantro sauce

This  is an amazing sauce/dressing for most types of fish. Tried it with seabass, halibut and now tuna! Works wonderfully with all. It's super simple and chances are you always have the ingredients on hand.  With the tuna, you can eat it hot or cold, it tastes equally fantastic.

What you will need...

1 4-6 oz tuna steak

1-2 tbsp of oil

salt and pepper

1 small avocado (optional, but goes wonderfully with the tuna)

Sauce

2 tbsp of freshly squeezed lime juice (one large lime should do)

1 1/2 tbsp of soy sauce

1 tbsp of finely chopped fresh ginger

1 tbsp of chopped fresh cilantro

1 tbsp of olive oil

Mix all the ingredient  for the sauce in bowl and set aside.

Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat.

Pat dry the tuna steaks, drizzle  with a little oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. When the pan is hot, add the steaks and cook for about 1-11/2 minutes per side until the outsides of the steak have browned but the inside is still pink, or until cooked to your liking. 

**once you turn the steak, drizzle with about a tbsp of the sauce and continue cooking

Take out of pan and slice. 

Top with remaining sauce and serve with a thinly sliced avocado.

Now, try and share....hahaha

Better Butter Chicken

After experimenting with so many butter chicken recipes, I believe I have finally come up with what my taste buds were searching for. YES! Seriously, this is really easy, healthy and quite fantastic! I usually use a combination of chicken thighs and breasts, but feel free to use which one you prefer. You have got to try it out!

Here is what you will need..

1.5lbs chicken  breast/thighs cubed

For the marinade

1/2 cup of full fat yogurt (I used Balkan style, you can also use Greek)

1 tsp of tumeric powder

2 tsp of garam masala

1 tsp of ground cumin

1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper (you can also use a fresh chilli pepper)

1 inch ginger root, grated

2-3 garlic cloves (depending on size)

1 tbsp of tomato paste

1 tbsp of lemon juice

1-2 tomatoes chopped (depending on size)

1 tsp of salt

Put all the ingredient in a food processor and blend until smooth.

In a bowl, coat the chicken in marinade, cover and set aside for 20 min to one hour (or up to 24 hours)

For the sauce:

3 tbsp of butter

1 tbsp of honey

1/2 onion, diced

1/4 cup of homogenized milk (or heavy cream), reserve until later

In pot/pan heat 2 tbsp butter over medium heat and sautee the onion until soft. Add in the chicken with all the marinade, honey and additional tablespoon of butter and cook over medium-high heat for 3-4 min.

Transfer to crock pot and cook on low heat for 3-4 hours or high heat for 1.5 hours.

Once cook time is up, add in the cream/milk.

If you don't have a slow cooker, preheat oven to 350 F. After cooking the the marinate in the pot, transfer to an over proof dish (with a lid) and cook covered for 25-30 min. Uncover, and cook for an additional 10 min.

Serve with basmati or cauliflower rice.

Unstuffed cabbage roll casserole

Who doesn't like cabbage rolls. These were a staple in my home while growing up, particularly in the winter months. Traditionally my mom uses pickled cabbage and adds a dry plum for some sweetness in each one. Also, we don't usually use tomato sauce. They are so good, but a pain to make. Here is my version of a deconstructed cabbage roll casserole.

1 lbs of ground beef (you can use pork/turkey/chicken)

1 large leek, thinly sliced (white and pale green parts only)

2 garlic cloves, minced or chopped 

1 cup of rice (I used a mix of brown and wild rice)

2 lbs of cabbage (small-med size head), chopped

1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes

2 tbsp of tomato paste

2 tsp of dried summer  savory or greek oregano

1 tsp of dried mint

2 tsp of sweet paprika

2 tbsp of olive oil (or oil of your choice)

4 cups of chicken broth (you can use veggie/beef broth or water)

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350C.

Over medium-high heat in a heavy bottom pan (I used my Dutch oven) brown the ground beef using 1 tbsp of the oil. Remove from pan.

Reduce heat to medium, add in second tbsp of oil and sautee leeks and garlic until soft (4-5 min). Check your heat setting and lower heat if needed because the leeks can burn easily. Add the rice and cook for 2-3 min. Add in your herbs and tomato paste and stir until well incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. 

Return the ground beef back to the pan. Stir in the diced tomatoes.

Add the cabbage and the broth. Stir well, making sure all is relatively well mixed together.

Put the lid on and let cook on the stove top for about 5-10 min, or until it comes to a simmer.

Transfer the mix in a casserole dish or if you are using a dutch oven it is all ready to go into the oven. 

Cook covered for 45 min, them check and see if the rice is cooked (mine was) and if not, you might need a bit more liquid so just add some more stock (maybe 1/4 cup more). Uncover and cook for an additional 10 min.

Sweet and Sticky Chicken

11/2-2 lbs of chicken thighs (I used boneless, skinless)
1/4 cup of soy sauce
1/3 cup of honey
1 tbsp of rice wine vinegar
4-5 tbsp of freshly squeezed lime juice (approx. two limes)
2 garlic cloves,  minced
1/4 tsp of dried chili flakes (optional)

Preheat oven to 400C.
Combine all of the above in a small sauce pan.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 4-5 min.  Take off the heat and set aside.
Pat dry the chicken thighs and line them close together in a pre-greased pan. Pour the sauce over them  and cook for 45 min  to 1 hour,  turning once half way through cooking.
Once done, serve with extra sauce drizzled over top and I added some toasted sesame seeds.

Coconut Lime Curry Chicken with smoky roasted cauliflower

Lately I have been buying whole chickens and been butchering them myself. It's really quite straight forward and definitely more economical.  This way everyone gets their favourite part of the chicken too. I leave bone in, it is so much juicier, particularly  when barbecuing.  This is again a simple dish to prepare. The ingredients for the marinade/sauce get mixed into a bowl,  put your chicken pieces in a Ziploc bag and pour the marinade over the chicken. Seal the bag and let it sit for 40 minutes to 3 hours.

For the marinade..

2-3 tbsp of grape seed oil or coconut oil

1 cup of full fat canned coconut milk (my favourite brand is Aroy-D)

3 tbsp of honey

1 large lime, juice and ze

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2 tbsp of soy sauce

1 tsp of cumin 

2 tsp of curry powder

1 tsp of salt

1/4 tsp of cayenne  pepper (optional)

11/2- 2lbs of chicken of your choice

lime and cilantro for garnish

Let's put it together.

Once you put the chicken on the grill or pan. Pour the remaining marinade into a small saucepan.

Bring to a full boil and boil for 4-5 min, reduce to a simmer and cook for an additional 3-5 min.

If you don't feel comfortable with this step just double the marinate and use half for the marinade and the other half for the sauce.  

Zucchini Noodle Pad Thai

If you like pad thai, you will love this dish. I was testing it out yesterday and wasn't sure how it will turn out so I didn't take pics along the way but it ended up being super delicious.  Compared to traditional pad thai, the ingredients for the sauce are much simpler and I bet ya you already have them in your fridge/pantry. The zucchini noodles held up great, but feel free to use regular rice noodles. I used shrimp, but you can also use chicken or both.  

What you will need...

3-4 servings

For the sauce

3 tbsp of all natural peanut butter (you could also use almond butter)

2 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp of honey

1 tbsp chili paste (you can use more if you like it spicy)

juice of a lime

Rest of ingredients

2 large zucchini (spirilized)

1 large carrot, julienned or spirilized

1 bell pepper, sliced into thin strips (you can use yellow, red or orange)

3 cup of bean sprouts

1 small onion or 2 shallots, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp of fresh ginger, grated or minced

3 tbsp of coconut oil or oil of your choice

2 eggs, scrambled (I like to scramble the eggs separately, but feel free to do it as you cook the dish)

1 lbs of raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used medium size shrimp and that was about 31-40 shrimps)

Garnish

1/4 cup of chopped roasted peanuts (or cashews)

1/4 cup of chopped fresh cilantro

lime wedges

Let's prepare it..

In a microwave safe bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce and put in the microwave for about a min, just to warm it up;

In a large heave bottom pan or wok, heat up the oil over medium-high heat and add the onion, garlic and ginger. Stir-fry for about a minute;

Add  the shrimp and stir-fry for an additional 2 minutes, or until slightly pink;

Add in the carrots and peppers and cook for  about a minute;

Add scrambled eggs (or if you choose scramble in pan) and  half of the sauce; 

Toss in the zucchini noodles (or rice noodles) and bean sprouts and add the remaining sauce;

Toss and stir-fry until zoodles/noodles are tender and well incorporated with  the sauce, about 3-5 minutes;

Garnish with peanuts,  cilantro and lime wedges.

Basic Swiss Role Cake With Whipped Cream Filling

This is a prefect, not too sweet desert for mid afternoon. It may look a little complicated at first glance, but in fact it is very easy to make. Just follow the steps.

What you will need:

For the cake:

Vegetable oil, enough for greasing pan

5 large eggs

35g white flour

30g corn flour

80g white sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

For the cream filling:

1.5 cups 35% heavy cream (you can replace it with your favorite jam as well)

1/4 cup white sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Grated chocolate for garnishing

How to make it:

Preheat the oven at 450F.

Line an approximately 30 by 25 cm tray with parchment paper and grease well.

In a large bowl add 2 whole eggs plus 3 egg yolks (save two of the egg whites in another bowl) and sugar. Using your electric mixer beat until light and creamy (about 5 min).

Add the flour mixture in 3-4 additions and mix well using a rubber spatula.

In another bowl, using an electric mixer beat the two egg whites until soft peaks form.

Add egg whites into flour mixture in 3 addition and stir well using a rubber spatula.

Pour the batter into the prepared tray and smooth it out evenly to the edges. Tap the tray few times on the counter top to get rid of any bubbles. Bake on the oven for 7-10 min or until the top is lightly golden and firm to touch (Avoid over baking otherwise the cake will get tender and hard to roll).

Take the tray out of the oven, and dust with powdered sugar.

Loosen the edges of the sponge cake with a knife and turn it out on a clean kitchen towel. Dust the the other side as well.

If desired, trim the edges to get a cleaner rectangle ( I just skipped this step).

Now, start rolling the sponge cake to form a log.

Set aside to get to room temperature, then put in the fridge for an hour or so to cool.

Meanwhile, start making your cream filling. Just remember it is very important to leave the cream in the refrigerator until you are ready to whip it.

Simply pour all the ingredients into a medium size bowl. Using your electric mixer start whipping on low speed and increase to medium. You want keep whisking until the cream starts up to take volume and the trails in the cream becomes stiff. If you took your whisk out of the cream and the whipped cream held firmly to the whisk then your whipped cream is ready. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Now, take the sponge cake out of the refrigerator and unroll. Spread 3/4 of the  whipped cream evenly  onto the cake, leaving about an inch from the edges. Then start rolling the sponge cake without the towel.

Spread the remaining cream filling all over the roll and garnish with grated chocolate if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Bulgarian stuffed peppers

This is a dish I grew up with and is traditional  Bulgarian dish. It has many regional variations, so no particular way is the "right way". I altered the original recipe a bit, in that instead of regular white, long grain rice (which you are more than welcome to use) I used quinoa, wild and brown rice.

You can use any peppers you desire. I prefer the long red peppers but couldn't find any, so I used cubanelle peppers. Also, I only had four peppers so ended up having a lot more of the filling, so I just spread it around the peppers in the pan. 

What you will need...

2 tbsp of olive oil

1 carrot, finely diced

1 medium onion, finely diced

1 celery rib, finely diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes

6 long red peppers, or cubanelle , tops removed, seeded and membranes cleaned out 

1 -1.5 lbs of lean ground beef

3/4-1 cup of rice (if using regular white rice, make sure you rinse it well)

I used 1/2 quinoa and 1/2 cup half wild and brown rice mix

1 tbsp of sweet paprika

2 tsp of dried summer savory (or oregano, if you don't have that on hand)

2 tbsp of fresh parsley, chopped 

1 tbsp of fresh dill, chopped (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

For the sauce:

4 tbsp of full fat yogurt (I use the balkan style, which is 6% milk fat)

1 tbsp of flour

2 eggs

a pinch  of paprika 

and 2-3 tbsp of the liquid from the cooked peppers

  

How to prepare it...

 In a large pan, over medium heat sautee the celery, onion, carrots and garlic until soft.

 Add in the rice,  gently fry it until it's translucent, if using white rice. If using quinoa, wild rice mix, cook for 2-3 min. 

 Add in the ground beef and fry until it is almost cooked through.

Stir in the diced tomatoes and cook about 5 min,  or until the rice starts absorbing the liquid.

Add in your spices/herbs and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Salt the inside of each pepper and stuff with ground beef/rice mixture.

Arrange in a pan. 

If you have any remaining mix, spread it around the peppers. Add in just just under a cup of water to the pan (usually the same amount of water  as rice).

 Bake in a preheated oven at 350F for 45-50 min.

Once your peppers are cooked. You can prepare the sauce.

In a cold sauce pan, mix together yogurt, and flour, beat in the eggs. Over low-medium heat, heat up the sauce until it comes to a gentle simmer, stirring continuously. Add in the juice from the cooked red peppers and season with salt. The sauce will thicken.

Walnut Frittata

This nutritious, tasty, and extremely easy to make frittata is my choice when I am not sure what I should make for breakfast, lunch, or supper. Here are the ingredients that you will need:

6-7 eggs

1/2 cup ground walnut

3-4 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley (or you can go with combination of fresh herbs such as cilantro, thyme, mint, basil,.. or don't add any, still tastes awesome)

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Salt and pepper to taste

3 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil

Instructions:

In a medium sized bowl, mix walnut, chopped veggies, and  minced garlic. In another bowl, whisk the eggs.  Pour the eggs into the veggie mixture and  mix well using a fork.

Heat up 3 tbsp of olive oil or vegetable oil in a nonstick skillet. Make sure your oil is hot but not smoking. Swirl to coat evenly.

Stir the fritatta mixture and pour  into the pan. Cover the pan (very important if you want your frittata to puff up) and cook over low heat until one side is golden (about 10 min).

Shake the pan to make sure the frittata is not sticking. Turn the frittata, cover the pan again and let the other side to cook as well. Carefully slide the frittata onto a round platter. Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature with a side salad.

Energy boost protein oatmeal raisin cookies

These cookies were a staple in my home years ago and I had forgotten about them until a few mornings ago when I was desperately craving oatmeal raisin cookies. Soft, chewy cookies are my weakness.I noticed that I had some over-ripe bananas on hand and decided to whip up this old favourite of mine. The cookie is versatile and depending on what you have in your pantry you can make it to suit your taste. I like to do a cocoa nibs or dark chocolate chips, dried unsweetened cherries with chocolate protein powder combination as well.

What you will need...

1 cup of oats 

1/2 cup of vanilla protein powder

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

1/2 tsp of cinnamon

2 tsp of chia seeds

1/4 cup of almond butter, or peanut butter (all natural)

1/4 cup of raisins (no sugar added)

1/4 cup of shredded unsweetened coconut

1/4 cup of walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease baking sheet, I use coconut oil spray. 

In a large bowl, combine rolled oats, shredded coconut, protein powder, chia seeds, cinnamon. In a separate bowl mix together mashed banana, vanilla and nut butter of your choice. Mix in your raisins and nuts.

 Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and stir until well combined.

I use a table spoon to portion them out.

Bake for 8-10 min.

Healthy Scotch Eggs

Scotch eggs are usually deep fried and rolled in bread crumbs which is fine and dandy and delicious. But my version is something you can have without the unhealthy stuff and trust me, enjoy just as much.

So, these combine three great ingredients -  eggs, sausages and bacon!  Have them for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack on the go.  I like them hot or cold. I use whatever sausages I have in my fridge/freezer (usually homemade or you can just throw in your favourite spices with your choice of ground meat). If you buy sausages, try to get ones that are free of gluten, sugar, MSG and by products. If you can't find ones that are 100% natural, try to get organic ones. 

For this recipe, I used home made italian sausages.

Serves two for a meal or .

What you will need...

3 italian sausages (or sausages of your choice)

3 slices of bacon, chopped (optional)

4 eggs (soft boiled and peeled)

How to prepare them...

Preheat oven to 375F.

Remove sausages from casings and add to food processor, add in the bacon and blitz 1-2 min or until well incorporated.

Divide mixture into four equal parts.

 Shape each portion into a flat round and place an egg on each.

 Wrap the sausage around and enclose the egg completely.

Use a muffin and grease with coconut or olive oil.

Place scotch eggs in tin and bake for 30-35 min.

 Serve hot or cold with your favourite veggies or have as a snack.