Another winner from olive magazine! I didn't really expect to like this one, but it was awesome! Again, Sadie cleaned her plate! Who would have guessed bulgar would be such a hit?
Cinnamon chicken bulgar pilaf
cinnamon, 1/4 tsp
ground cumin, a large pinch
chicken thighs, 4 small
olive oil
onion, 1 small, finely chopped
garlic, 1 clove, crushed
bulgar wheat, 90 g (1/2 cup)
chicken stock, 2 cups*
spinach, 100 g, chopped (4 cups)
butter
toasted chopped almonds, 2 tbsp
Rub the spices and some seasoning into the chicken thighs and brown all over in a little olive oil. Cover and cook through.
Meanwhile, fry the onion in a little oil until softened, add the garlic and fry for a minute, then add the bulgar and stock and bring to a simmer. Cook for 12-15 minutes, until the stock has been absorbed. Add the spinach and stir until wilted, 1-2 minutes. Fluff the pilaff, dot with butter** and sprinkle with the almonds. Serve with the chicken and any juices.
Serves 2.
*The original recipe called for 150 mL (2/3 cup) of chicken stock. In my large frying pan, this liquid quickly dried up before the time was up. I ended up adding more and more stock, till I used about 2 cups total, and there was some left in the pan. I'm not sure how soft bulgar wheat is supposed to get (it was fairly chewy), but I found lots of liquid made it better.
**Oo ya, don't skip this step! Butter makes all the difference in the flavour!
From Foodland Ontario calendar, recipe for month of July. SADIE ATE EVERY SCRAP OF FOOD ON HER PLATE. Including potatoes. And tomatoes. I will make this recipe every single day from now on...
Family Steak and Vegetable Platter
1 lb (500 g) boneless Ontario Beef Top Sirloin or other grilling steak, 1-inch (2.5 cm) thick
1 lb (500 g) small Ontario Potatoes, scrubbed
8 oz (250 g) Ontario Green Beans, trimmed
2 Ontario Tomatoes, any colour, cut into wedges
2 Ontario Green Onions, thinly sliced
4 cups (1 L) torn mixed Ontario Salad greens
Dressing:
1/4 cup (50 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp (25 mL) balsamic vinegar
2 cloves Ontario Garlic, pressed
1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped fresh Ontario Thyme
2 tsp (10 mL) Dijon mustard
1 tsp (5 mL) Ontario liquid Honey
1/4 tsp (1 mL) each coarse salt and ground pepper
Dressing: In small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, garlic, 2 tsp (10 mL) of the thyme, mustard, honey, salt and pepper. Remove 2 tsp (10 mL) and brush one side of the steak with half. Place steak, dressing side down on greased grill over medium-high heat. Brush with remaining half of removed dressing; close lid and grill, turning once, until medium-rare, about 8 minutes, or until desired doneness. Transfer to cutting board and let stand for 10 minutes before thinly slicing across the grain.
Meanwhile, in large pot of lightly salted water, bring potatoes to boil; cook until just tender, about 10 minutes. Add green beans; cook for 5 minutes or until beans are tender. Drain vegetables and run under cold water; drain well.
Cut potatoes into quarters or halves (depending on size); arrange in section on large platter. Fill rest of platter with sections of beef, beans, tomatoes, onions and lettuce. Sprinkle with remaining dressing and with thyme; toss gently to coat.
Serves 4.
Oh, hello there, Blogosphere, miss me much? Let's not get all fussy about April, May or June, alright? What's done is done. Ah, July...
Just returned from vacation, and I'm happy to be flexing my cooking muscles in my own kitchen again. Greg declared tonight's meal the best one he's had in two weeks. I'm happy my cooking is better than Pizza Pizza and My Favourite Chinese Food.
In June, I flew twice to Nova Scotia, without my children in tow. Since I had time, I treated myself to two food magazines, one each from the YOW and YHZ airports. Tonight's meal comes from olive magazine, a British food magazine I was previously unfamiliar with. Now I have a pile of recipes I want to make, all involving weighed ingredients and Celsius oven temperatures. I converted for your ease. :)
Peppered pork schnitzel with watercress salad
dried breadcrumbs, 75 g (about 1 cup)
ground black pepper, 1 tsp
salt, to taste
egg, 1 large, beaten
flour for dusting
fast fry pork chops, 4 small or 2 large, about 300 g in total
oil (grapeseed or other high heat handling oil, plus olive for salad)
watercress, 2 handfuls
red onion, 1/2 small, finely sliced
cherry tomatoes, 10, halved
radishes, 2, sliced thin
lemon, 1, half juiced, half in wedges
mayonnaise, to serve (optional)
Mix the breadcrumbs, pepper and a good pinch of salt together and spread over a plate. Put the egg on another plate. Dust the pork in a little flour then dip in egg and coat in the seasoned breadcrumbs.
Heat 2-3 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan. Add the schnitzel and fry on each side for 2-3 minutes until crisp and golden.
While the pork is cooking, put the watercress, onion, tomatoes and radishes in bowl and dress with lemon juice, olive oil and season. Toss together, then serve with the pork, some lemon wedges and a dollop of mayo, if you like.
Serves 2.
Notice how the ingredient name comes before the measurement? It also doesn't tell you how high to heat the pan, or how exactly to dress the salad, like they expect you just to know. Those crafty Brits, making my brain work harder, or maybe just expecting me not to need my hand held.
This recipe is simple, simple, and it was pretty good. I just noticed now it calls for a lot of pepper (thus the title, doh!); I didn't use the amount called for, I just ground some over the breadcrumbs. The radishes were my own addition, when I found them in my crisper still looking good from whenever I bought them weeks (months?) ago. Do you see how much oil this recipe requires for frying the pork? Now that is an amount I can appreciate, non of this North American weight watching 1 tsp bullshit. (Sorry, Dad.)
To accompany, I made oven-roasted mini potatoes, a staple in our household, even though I am the only potato lover (what is wrong with these people?!). Take some baby potatoes, halve the big ones, toss them all with a couple of good lugs of olive oil, loads of salt and pepper, and roast at 425°F for about 30 minutes. For the last 5 minutes, throw in some diced garlic (lots, if you're a Sellers!). Delish.
