My adventure with this dish started when I read about an Eggplant Romesco pasta dish on another website. It sounded fun, and a little bit different, so I tried it out.

This is what I did to change it up a bit…

The thing that made me want to try this recipe the most was the eggplant. I’m a sucker for adding eggplant to things. This one was a little different – roasted eggplant, red bell pepper, tomatoes and almonds are puréed until smooth and served over pasta. Sort of a Romesco… but sort of not. It turned out pretty tasty, with a mix of flavours that was different from the usual tomato sauce. It was good… really good… but something was missing.

A nice pile of Tressé cheese to go with it...

With the eggplant, tomatoes and nuts, it seemed that a more Mediterranean slant was in order. I didn’t do much to change it up – I just added some thyme, some really (really) salty cheese and some spicy harissa (North African chili paste). Just a couple of simple tweaks, and it was perfect!

Mediterranean Romesco Pasta

based on this recipe, from Serious Eats

6 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 dried pasilla or ancho chile peppers
• 1 globe eggplant (about 1 pound), unpeeled, cut in large dice
• 2 medium red bell peppers, cut in large dice
• 1/2 medium red onion, quartered
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1/3 cup whole almonds (can mix in other nuts or seeds, like pine nuts or pepitas)
• 1 thick slice day-old bread
• 1 pound freshly cooked rigatoni
• 1 cup salty cheese (I used Tressé, Feta would also work well)
• chopped chives, to serve
• harissa paste, to serve (optional)

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the almonds and the bread on the same baking sheet and brush the bread on both sides with 2 teaspoons of the olive oil. Toast in the oven, flipping the bread halfway through, about 8 minutes total. Break the bread into pieces.
2. Raise the temperature to 400°F.
3. Set the dried chiles in a bowl and add boiling water just to cover. Weight with a small ramekin to keep the chiles submerged. Set aside.
4. Toss the eggplant, bell peppers, onion and garlic in 1 teaspoon salt, freshly grated black pepper and thyme. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, toss until evenly coated and spread out onto a baking dish. Place in the oven, to one side.
5. In a second baking dish, spread out the canned tomatoes with the juices. Place next to the other baking dish in the oven. If they don’t both fit on one rack, place on a lower rack.
6. Roast until the eggplant and peppers have browned, about 30 minutes, stirring once in a while. Remove from the oven.
7. After about 5 minutes, add the contents of the both baking dishes into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Chop and add the soaked chilis, toasted nuts and bread. Purée until smooth.
8. Serve over pasta. Top with a dollop of spicy harissa paste, a sprinkling of fresh chopped chives and some really salty cheese.

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It’s taken a while for me to figure out the best way to make a Stroganoff-ish dish that didn’t contain any meat. As a kid, we always ate Beef Stroganoff. I knew there would be a way to make a really tasty dish, using “meaty” mushrooms instead.

Mushrooms are one of my favourite dinner staples. Whether I have a recipe that calls for them or not, I always grab some when in the produce aisle. I’m pretty sure I get that from my mom. When in doubt, add MORE mushrooms (because, clearly, there are already some in the dish).

Nice big chunks of mushroom!

It seems rather fitting that I replace the meat in this dish with a variety of drunken mushrooms. Here, I have used some coarsely chopped portabellos and button mushrooms. If you want to go crazy with the mushroom varieties, go for it! I would recommend sticking with portabellos, however, because of their size and chewiness they are an important addition to the texture, as well as the taste, of the dish.

I’ve also added green peppers to the dish, for a fresh crunch. I need veggies in my dish (and I’m too lazy to make multiple courses)! You can leave them out, if you will be serving this with a veggie-full salad.

Did I mention the wine? Yes, there is lots of red wine in this. I think it’s important to the flavour, and much of the alcohol gets cooked off.

The Verdict:
After working this recipe a few times, I think I’ve finally got it to a place where it’s simple and full of flavour. I cut some stuff out, I added more of other things. It finally works for me, and the hubby likes it (and looks forward to it). Great weekday meal.

Mushroom Stroganoff

Based on this recipe.

4 servings

Ingredients:

• 12 oz extra wide egg noodles
• 1-2 teaspoons oil
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 portabello mushroom caps, coarsely chopped
• 8 oz button or crimini mushrooms, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon chili flakes (optional)
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 cup cream cheese
• 1 cup mushroom broth (can substitute another broth, or water)*
• salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped

*Note: Really fast mushroom broth can be made with a few dried porcini mushroom slices and some boiling water. Easy!

Preparation:

1. Cook egg noodles until al dente, rinse and drain well. Set aside.
2. Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat until hot. Add oil, sauté sliced onions until golden. Be patient, this will take some time.
3. Add all mushrooms and cook until the water is released. Add the garlic and chili flakes, and cook for another 2 minutes.
4. Deglaze the pan with wine, and cook until all liquid is almost all absorbed.
5. Add the green pepper.
6. Add broth, allow to come to a boil and lower heat to medium-low. Simmer for a few minutes, until some of the liquid is cooked down.
7. Melt cream cheese into the mixture and mix well. Turn heat down to low to keep warm – be sure the sauce doesn’t come to a boil.
8. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in egg noodles.
9. Topped with chopped fresh parsley and chives.

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I found this easy stuffed pepper recipe, and thought it would be a great one to share. It mixes some of my favourite recipe elements: fun spices and healthy ingredients. This dish is made with a bit of smoked sausage, but could EASILY be made vegetarian.

This recipe is a little different from most of the stuffed pepper dishes I’ve tried… and I have tried MANY, with varying degrees of success. Most of the dishes rely on a starchy rice filling, bound together with ground meat or egg. Vegetarians get the short end of the stick here, because without the benefit of the ground meat, you have to use more starchy white rice to hold it all together. The result is usually rather bland.

This dish doesn’t require that the filling have any kind of binding, because you only stuff the peppers to serve. It’s mostly for show, and I think it gives you more flexibility in the ingredients for the filling.

This dish can easily be adapted to accommodate any ingredients you have left in your fridge – veggies, meats, herbs, grains. I’ve retained most of the recipe I found (with the source clearly listed, of course!) only changing the technique and ingredients a little bit, to match my preferred method. Where it calls for ‘cajun seasoning’, you can use your favourite cajun blend. I’ve linked to my recipe for cajun seasoning, in case you want to make your own!

I liked the inclusion of brown rice, a bit of quinoa and kale in the dish, to add to the texture and add some nutrients. I actually used a blend of brown and wild rices, and it was fantastic. There is only a bit of sausage in this, and it’s used more for flavour than as a main ingredient. You could easily sauté some mushrooms in place of the sausage and add a bit of smoked paprika to achieve a similar effect. Simple!

The Verdict: This dish was very very simple to make, and looks nice enough to serve to guests! Since I didn’t have to worry about the filling sticking together, I could make it as saucey as I liked and season it any way I liked. The result was a very flavourful and healthy dish.

Cajun Stuffed Peppers

Mildly revised from this recipe on the foodnetwork.com. I didn’t change much, mostly just some of the cooking technique.

To make this vegetarian, just replace the sausage with 1/4 pound of chopped mushrooms and 1 teaspoon smoked paprika.

4 servings

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup long-grain brown rice (I actually used a blend of brown and wild rices, and it was fantastic!)
• 1/3 cup quinoa
• 2 large green bell peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 pound smoked andouille sausage, finely chopped (can substitute other smoked sausage, like chorizo)
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon cajun seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• large pinch of allspice (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 14 ounces canned diced tomatoes
• 1 small bunch kale, stems removed, leaves chopped (about 2-3 cups)
• salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation:

1. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the quinoa and brown rice and cook until all of the water is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes. Set aside.
2. In the meantime, bring about 1 inch of water to a boil in a deep sauté pan. Lay the four bell pepper halves cut-side down. Cover, and cook for about 5-7 minutes, until the pepper is tender but not too soft. Remove from pan, and set aside.
3. In the same deep sauté pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Cook the onion until softened, then add the sausage. Cook for about 5 minutes, until some of the fat is released from the sausage. Add the garlic, and spices and mix well. Cook for about a minute, stirring constantly.
4. Mix in the tomatoes and water, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium-low, place the kale on top, cover and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir, add saltand pepper, and simme for about 10 minutes.
5. Turn the heat down to low. Stir the rice and quinoa into the sauté pan. Let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes, to allow the juices to absorb into the grains a bit.
6. Spoon the grain mixture into the bell pepper halves and plate. Serve immediately.

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Philosophical question: is a “white” chili really a chili?

I haven’t got all of the answers, but one attempt and I was convinced that it should be a part of my life.
If you’re wondering why it’s called a “white” chili, when it’s clearly brown, there are a number of answers. For starters, instead of red kidney beans, black turtle beans, pintos or romanos, you use white beans. They could be white navy beans, white kidney beans or another style of white bean.

Most importantly, however, is what’s missing. “White” chili doesn’t feature red tomatoes, and isn’t heavy on red chilis. Instead, the heat comes from green peppers, such as jalapenos or poblanos. I was so inspired by the inclusion of green ingredients that I brought that theme into the rest of the dish – especially in the toppings, such as fresh green cilantro, avocado and pepitas (green pumpkin seeds).

White Chili - so delicious!

This dish was also a great opportunity for me to use the dried hominy I bought. In advance, I soaked the hominy for over 24 hours and cooked it for some time. It brings a mildly toasty flavour to the dish. If you can’t find hominy, you can also use corn kernels. This will bring a sweeter, crisper flavour than the hominy, and is very tasty. Sometimes, I like to add half and half – both ingredients have their place!

There are two special ingredients that really made the dish special for me, and really set it apart from your standard chili. Cocoa powder adds a dark depth to the flavour that is hard to describe – it certainly isn’t “chocolatey”. Give it a taste test before and after adding the cocoa, and you will understand the subtle but important role it plays.

On the other hand, the feta cheese is not subtle and brings a sharp tang to the dish. It breaks up the richness of the chili, and stops it from being overwhelming.

The Verdict:

This has been one of my favourite new dishes of the Winter, and I’m looking forward to perfecting it next year.

White Chili

This recipe was the jumping off point.

10 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons oil
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup celery or fennel, chopped
• 2 green bell peppers, coarsely chopped
• 1-3 poblano peppers, coarsely chopped (optional)
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon oaxaca 5-spice (oregano, black pepper, clove, allspice, something else)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chipotle chile (or smoked paprika if you don’t want to add heat)
• 3 cups cooked white navy or white kidney beans
• 1 cup hominy or corn kernels
• 2-4 cups of broth (preferably vegetable or chicken)
• 1 tablespoon cocoa
• 2 tablespoons ground pepitas (green pumpkin seeds)
• pepitas, whole, for topping
• cilantro
• feta cheese, crumbled, for topping
• tostadas (optional)

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
2. Sauté onions and fennel/celery until lightly browned. Add peppers (bell and poblano) and garlic until softened.
3. Add oaxaca 5-spice, chipotle/paprika and cumin and mix well.
4. Add beans, hominy and broth. Cover, bring to the boil, and turn the heat down to medium-low. Simmer for 20 minutes.
5. To a small bowl, add a bit of the broth to the cocoa and form a paste. Continue to add broth until the cocoa is evenly mixed in, with no lumps. Slowly add to the pot, stirring.
6. Simmer for about an hour.
7. Add ground pepitas to thicken a little bit.
8. Serve topped with feta cheese (or a Mexican cheese if you can get some!), fresh cilantro, whole pepitas and avocado. Some tostadas would go great with this.

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It’s hard to believe that I’ve been meaning to make this dish for almost a year now! I had intended to try it as soon as we got back from Jamaica, and then I decided to try it in the Summer, and BBQ the fish… and then I just forgot.

Our trip to Jamaica co-incided with J’s birthday last year, so I can pretend that I purposely held off posting this until his birthday this year… yeah, I totally meant to do that. So, Happy Birthday J! Where are we going to travel this year!?

Scotch Bonnett - totally intact... I'm too chicken to eat this one!

One of the best things I ate in Jamaica was Escoveitch Fish. Actually, I first tried some Escovetich Salsa and fell in love with the tangy condiment… only to find out that it was an offshoot of one of Jamaica’s best known dishes. Strangely, to me, Escoveitch Fish is another dish that people in Jamaica tend to eat for breakfast!! Like the Ackee and Salt Fish, this is a dish that I’m happy to eat any time and would fit in really well with my summer food plans.

The Verdict:
This turned out pretty good, but I think I’ll have to work on it a bit more. To start, I should have used a thinner fish. I used cod. J thought that the marinade was too vinegary. I probably should have made the dish the night before, put the fish (with marinade) in the fridge overnight “the way you’re supposed to” and find a way to reheat it the next day (maybe a second pan fry?).

Regardless, I think it was a neat experiment to try and combine the spirit of a Jamaican dish I enjoyed so much with cooking techniques and ingredients I enjoy at home. Will work on it this summer  and update later. Maybe I’ll return to the idea of a BBQ version. That would be a good way to heat it back up!

… and, in case you’re wondering, the title is a reference to a 1990 song by the Canadian MC, Michie Mee. Takin’ charge, and livin’ large!

Escoveitch Fish, Canadian Style

Based on this recipe. I served this with the rice and peas dish from a previous blog post.

4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 lime
• 2-3 white fish filets (I used cod – something thinner, like Tilapia, may work better)
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 scotch bonnet pepper de-seeded, de-veined, and diced (I used 1/2 teaspoon scotch bonnet purée)
• 1 bell pepper sliced into very thin strips (various colours is nice)
• 1/2 cup of any white vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 clove of garlic diced finely
• 10 to 12 whole allspice berries
• 6 whole black pepper corns

Preparation:

1. Marinate the fish in lime juice and a sprinkling of salt for about an hour or two.
2. When it is time to fry the fish, pat it dry and sprinkle with black pepper. Cook the fish on a well oiled, hot grill until the outsides are seared and the fish is almost entirely cooked (timing will depend on thickness of fish). Do not overcook – it will continue to cook in the sauce.
3. In a deep sauté pan, add the onions, peppers (scotch bonnet and bell), vinegar, water, garlic, allspice and peppercorns. Allow the mixture to come to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer for a few minutes to cook the vegetables.
4. Add the cooked fish filets, coat in the sauce, turn off the heat and let sit, covered, for about 10 minutes.
5. If you wish to eat the fish hot, you can do so. Otherwise, put the fish and marinade in a container and refrigerate overnight (see my notes above).

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To be honest, I think I just needed to make something that included Sichuan Pepeprcorns. I’ve had them for a while, but haven’t really used them. This dish is a bit of a mash-up of a few things, and is full of veggie goodness!

I don’t tend to make one main course, with a few side dishes. Whenever possible, I like to make a big-ass main course that’s full of veggies. When I started looking up Sichuan dishes, most of them were one-vegetable side dishes. I decided to improvise.

The main thing I wanted to highlight was eggplant. I really love eggplant, and it’s great at soaking up flavours. I thought this would be a good vehicle for the sichuan peppercorns and other tasty things. Seeing other recipes for green beans and tofu, I decided to combine them into one dish. They worked together really well, with the crisp green beans, the fried tofu and the soft and flavourful eggplant.

Another thing to consider, when looking at the recipe below, is that I try to not buy too many condiments. For years, I had filled my cupboards and refrigerator with condiments – some only being used once a year! I decided to stop doing that, after throwing away so many half-used bottles of ‘stuff gone bad’. Wasting good ingredients makes me feel bad – and I’d rather make a substitution than buy every single variation on soy sauce or bean paste that a recipe calls for. It may not give exact results, but I’m OK with that.

The Verdict:

Not bad, but a little bit oily – and, to be honest – I think all of the flavours overpowered the Sichuan Peppercorns! That sounds so negative, but really it was a tasty dish! One mistake I made, that I have corrected in the recipe below – I added the fried tofu too soon, and it turned out mushy instead of crispy. This should be added back in at the last minute, to keep it crispy. If you aren’t coating and frying the tofu, I would recommend putting it in earlier to give it a chance to absorb some of the flavours.

Sichuan Inspired Eggplant and Green Beans

inspired by this recipe, this recipe and this recipe.

8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 lbs firm tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• Cornstarch to dust the tofu
• 1 medium – large eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)
• 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns, ground in a mortar and pestle
• 1/2 cup broth
• 6 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic, chopped
• 1/2 tablespoon ginger root, chopped
• 1 tablespoon hot bean sauce (I used brown miso, and added chiles to the recipe see some substitutions options here)
• 1/2 lb green beans or long beans
• 1/2 tablespoon Chin Kiang vinegar (I used balsamic vinegar, see some substitutions options here)
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 stalks scallion, chopped

Preparation:

1. Pour enough oil into a large frying pan or wok to come 1/4 inch up the sides and heat. Lightly coat the tofu cubes in cornstarch, then add to the hot oil. (You’ll need to fry the tofu pieces in a few batches so they don’t stew in the pan.). Continue to turn the cubes until they are lightly browned on all sides, with a crispy coating. Transfer finished pieces to paper towels to drain off the excess oil.
2. Combine the soy sauces, wine, sugar, salt, sichuan peppercorns and broth in a small bowl.
3. Heat the oil in a wok, then turn to medium heat; stir fry the eggplants until soft, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
4. Stir fry the chopped garlic and ginger for a few seconds; add the hot bean sauce (or miso and chiles) and then add the combined seasoning sauce and bring to a boil.
5. Add the eggplant and cook about 1 minute until the sauce is gone.
6. Toss in the green beans and cook for a couple more minutes..
7. Add the vinegar and sesame oil; continue to stir fry.
8. Finally mix in the chopped scallion, top with fried tofu and serve.

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Eating vegetarian can sometimes be tricky, because you have to really think about ways of getting the protein you need. On the other hand, I know so many meat eaters that don’t get enough of the nutrients you usually get from veggies! Hahaha. I guess we’re really all in the same boat here.

In the winter months, it’s easier to remember to eat legumes because they are perfect in hearty, warming dishes like Fakkes (Greek lentil soup).

Don’t ask me how to pronounce Fakkes. I dated a Greek guy in high school, and I was SO SURE he pronounced it kind of like fahk-keys. Online, I’m mostly seeing people state that it’s pronounced more like fahk-kess. I’m sure it’s just my memory being a bit of a bozo.

In any case, my odd pronunciation didn’t stop me from finding some recipes online to draw from. As usual, I skimmed through a bunch, decided on how I would do it and picked the one most like my chosen method to list as the inspiration recipe. Looking at the ingredients – and even as I was making it – I was not convinced that my soup would turn out flavourful enough. It doesn’t call for many spices, or any complicated liquid ingredients. At first, it seemed rather watery, but it did eventually come together and make an incredibly hearty soup.

The Verdict:

I was really surprised at how easy and tasty this was! Rather impressed, after having some really good Fakkes at a local diner. This is great with some crusty bread, or even a side salad or veggies. It didn’t require any soaking of the lentils, but then you do stew it for a couple of hours. I’m thinking that presoaked (or even canned?) lentils could shorten the cooking time, but could impact the flavour of the broth. Possibly also a great crock pot dish!

Greek Fakes (Lentil Soup)

based on this recipe.

4-6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups dried brown lentils, washed and drained
• 1 medium onion, finely chooped
• 3-4 cloves garlic roughly chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• red chile flakes, to taste (optional)
• 1 cup canned diced tomatoes
• Salt & pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Heat olive oil In a large pot, over medium heat. Add onoin, garlic, and celery and sauté until onion is translucent.
2. Add oregano, bay leaves, chile flakes, tomatoes, salt, pepper and approximately 6 cups of water. Allow to come to a boil.
3. Cover and simmer for 1 to 2 hours, until the lentils are tender and the broth is flavourful.

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The main reason I chose to make Pozole is for the hominy, or what I’ve been describing as “big-ass corn”.

Every time I walk through Kensington Market, I see the dried hominy out front of the Mexican grocers, and wonder what people use them for. At the time, I didn’t know they were called ‘hominy’ – the signs said other things, and I never actually asked. I was always really intrigued by the big-ass corn, though.

Hominy, or 'Maiz Mote Pelado'

Not long ago, I was reading about hominy and found out that it’s commonly used in stews, including Pozole. A relative of corn, it’s also used to make corn flour, used in tamales and corn tortillas. I got some great advice from someone who worked at the shop, and he pointed out the difference between the hominy I needed and the others. For Pozole, you need to get the hominy that has been skinned, ‘mote pelado’.

Hominy, hominy, hominy

I ended up buying canned hominy, as well as dried. Since this is the first time I’m using hominy, I thought it would be best to use the canned. Next time, however, I will be cooking them up from dried.

How do they taste? Not like corn kernels, so I really don’t recommend substituting (although some recipes will say you can). Cooked hominy tastes much more like corn chips or corn tortillas – a nice toasty flavour, and a soft texture. It might be closer to popped corn than niblets.

The Verdict:
Oh yeah, I made a stew with the hominy! This was a really fun stew that I would recommend to anyone who likes chili, but wants to mix it up a bit. It’s a great excuse to use poblanos and tomatillos, if you can get them. It’s easy to make as a vegetarian or meatatarian dish. Not a boring brothy soup, it’s hearty, a little bit tart, a little bit spicy and very satisfying.

Poblano Pozole

based on this recipe from Epicurious.com.

6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1/4 cup diced celery
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, divided
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 pound protein (I used seitan)
• 1 1/2 cup cooked hominy (can use canned, if drained and well rinsed)
• 1/2 cup diced Poblano pepper
• 3 ounces canned tomatillos, diced (I used 4 oven-roasted tomatillos)
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoons dark chile powder
• 1 dried Guajillo chile, whole (optional)
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander (optional)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 3/4 cups light-flavoured stock (i.e. vegetable, chicken, etc.)

Preparation:

1. Sauté onion and celery in oil in a large heavy pot, over medium-high heat. Add 1 tbsp cilantro and garlic in panand cook until the onion softens.
2. Add protein and brown on all sides (approximately 5 minutes for seitan or tofu, and about 10 minutes for raw meat).
3. Add Poblanos and tomatillos, stir well. Add hominy, cumin, chili powder, Guajillo chile, coriander, oregano, salt, pepper and stock.
4. Bring to the boil. Lower to medium-low heat, cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes.
5. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon cilantro; serve.

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This month’s Daring Cooks’ challenge is to braise something. I’m not sure if I’ve ever braised anything before – maybe by accident. Instead of taking my chance with something meaty, I chose one of my favourite, under-appreciated veggies – fennel.

At first, I thought I might try braising a piece of lamb, but I didn’t get my act together. My eyes kept being drawn back to the fennel recipe. Poor little fennel, so often overlooked by people that don’t know what to do with it, or don’t like the taste of licorice. I’ve always loved fennel, but usually use it in the same ways… making it the perfect thing for me to braise.

Braised Fennel - incredible sauce!

It’s pretty rare for me to use fennel in a way that really makes it the star of the meal. It’s most often an ingredient in the mix, getting a little lost. Braising, however, made it soft, mild and quite buttery (with the addition of just a wee bit of butter). I was really surprised at the lovely sauce that developed out of the juices and herbs. It made me wish that I had made up some rice or mashed potatoes to pour the sauce over.

Daring Braised Fennel

The Verdict:

This was unexpectedly incredible. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, but it was great! It’s a great side dish for fish and meat, and will convert anyone who doesn’t think they like fennel!

The March, 2012 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Carol, a/k/a Poisonive – and she challenged us all to learn the art of Braising! Carol focused on Michael Ruhlman’s technique and shared with us some of his expertise from his book “Ruhlman’s Twenty”.

Braised Fennel with Thyme

Based on Ruhlman’s 20 cookbook, posted in the Daring Kitchen challenge for February 2012.

4-8 servings

Ingredients:

• All –purpose flour, for dredging
• 2 fennel bulbs, each quartered lengthwise
• 2 tablespoons mild-flavoured oil
• 1-2 cups mushroom broth (can substitute another broth, or water)
• 1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
• 2 tablespoons butter
• salt, to taste

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4.
2. Dredge the cut sides of the fennel in flour.
3. Heat oil a cast iron dutch oven (with lid) over medium-high heat. Brown the floured sides of the fennel.
4. Pour in broth until it covers 1/2 inch of the fennel.
5. Add herbs, butter and salt and bring to a simmer.
6. Cover, and place in oven. Cook for 20-30 minutes, until fennel is tender.

Take advantage of the sauce by serving it on top of rice or pasta!

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This is me totally cheating, because I didn’t lift a finger to make these! Let’s say I delegated a little…

These alfajores are sweet and crumbly, and filled with tooth-shattering dulce de leche. Also, they are great with Scotch.

This partly started when a friend posted a link to the recipe on Facebook. I thought ‘hey, I have a ginormous jar of dulce de leche in my fridge’ and sent the link to J with the note “Dude, you’re totally making these for me!”. At the time, we still had quite a few farmers’ market butter tarts left, so we decided to wait to make the alfajores until we were out of butter tarts.

Fast forward many months, to J mentioning the crazy jar of dulce de leche in the fridge… it was time.

Argentinian Alfajores in progress

Let’s get serious for a moment. I’m terrible at baking. I try – really, I do! Every time I try to bake something sweet, something goes wrong. J, on the other hand, is great at it. He makes pizza dough, artisan breads, loaves… he’s a dough whisperer or something. So yeah, I left the alfajores in the hands of someone I thought could pull it off.

I’m a smart girl.

Argentinian Alfajores and Scotch - mmmmmm

The Verdict:

The alfajores were amazing! They were incredibly messy to eat – very, very crumbly. So incredible. Is there really much more I need to say about it?

Argentinian Alfajores de Maizena

Based on this recipe.

10 completed “sandwiches”

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups corn starch
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 pound butter (1 stick), room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon whisky
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (we used dried lemon zest powder – it worked great!)
• 1 cup (approximately) Dulce de Leche

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Sift all the dry ingredients together.
3. Cream the butter with the sugar by whipping together with a wisk. Add the egg yolks, the vanilla extract, the whisky and the lemon zest.
4. Make a well in the middle of the sifted dry ingredients, and fill with the wet mixture. Carefully integrate the wet mixture into the dry, making a crumbly dough. Be sure not to overwork the dough.
5. Once you have a rough dough, make a ball by pressing the different pieces together with your hands.
6. Cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 30-60 minutes.
7. Flour the counter to prevent the dough from sticking. Roll the dough out to 1/2 centimeter thickness. Use a round cookie cutter (we used a 2″ diameter), and cut out as many rounds as you can. Roll the scraps together and repeat until you have used all of the dough.
8. Place rounds on a cookie sheet and bake for about 15 minutes. Check after 10 minutes, and ensure they don’t turn golden. The colour should remain white.
9. Place cookies on a cooling rack.
10. Once cooled, create the “sandwiches” by carefully adding a dollop of dulce de leche (roughly a teaspoon full) and placing another cookie on top. Press the top cookie gently to spread out the dulce de leche.

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