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Monthly Archives: August 2007
Roasted Figs
File figs under a fruit that I’d never eaten until I was an adult — unless you count fig newtons. I’d never thought of figs — until I had some dish, somewhere with figs. Actually, I remember exactly where: Little Italy in Montreal — I had a sweet and savory pasta dish with figs as a main attraction. And. They. Were. Delicious.
I wanted to see what would happen if I roasted them. Turns out they become soft and sweet. I roasted these with a little butter and honey. I think they’d be perfect served warm on top of vanilla ice cream as a sophisticated dessert — or spread on toast with goat cheese as a fancy canape.
Roasted Figs
6-8 fresh figs, cut in half lengthwise
1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. honey
Put the figs in a oven proof baking dish, cut side up. Melt the butter and honey in the microwave for 20-30 seconds. Pour the honey butter over the figs. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until figs are softened. You’ll end up with the figs and a bit of honey, figgy syrup (which would also be great over some vanilla ice cream!)
Shrimp and Cauliflower Curry
Sean and I went on a Penzy’s shopping spree today. We bought all sorts of fantastic spices — chili powder, cumin, peppercorns, cocoa powder, a few spice blends…and curry powder. We opted to buy sweet curry powder because we like to manage the amount of heat we add to our curry dishes using chiles or cayenne pepper.
With our new loot, I threw together this dish for dinner tonight. I did a little research to see how a curry is generally put together and this is basically a Thai-style curry using coconut milk as well as cilantro and lime as a garnish.
I loved how this recipe turned out; the curry was sweet and spicy and creamy — and a very pretty dish. Usually, I’m pretty critical of my own cooking, but tonight, I had no trouble patting myself on the back (although, I did make it a touch too spicy!)
You can easily tweak this to meet your own tastes. Add chicken or fish instead of shrimp. If you’re a vegetarian, simply ignore the shrimp and add some chickpeas in the end to add protein to your meal.
Shrimp and Cauliflower Curry
Serves 4
1 lb medium (41-50/pound) shrimp, shelled
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 large onion, thinly sliced
1 large red pepper, julienned
1 large carrot, sliced thin
2 small or 1 large sweet potato, cubed medium
1 large head cauliflower, cut into small florets
4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
1 red chile pepper, chopped*
2 tbsp. sweet curry powder
6 oz. coconut milk
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 cup chicken or seafood broth
Cilantro, to garnish
Lime, to garnish
Salt and pepper, to taste
In a large pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan. Sprinkle shrimp with salt and pepper to season and add to the pan. Cook 2-3 minutes or until pink and just cooked through. Set aside.
Set up a pot of water with a steamer basket. Steam the cauliflower until fork tender. Put the steamed cauliflower in a bowl and add the diced sweet potato to the steamer basket. Cook this until fork tender and set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the pan. Add the onions, carrots, and peppers. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger. Cook until the vegetables are cooked through and soft.
Add the curry powder, salt and pepper, coconut milk, broth, and brown sugar. Stir until well combined.
Add the cauliflower and sweet potato. Toss to coat with the sauce. If you’re sweet potatoes and cauliflower are on the underdone side, bring to a simmer, cover, and simmer until the cauliflower and sweet potatoes are done.
Add the shrimp and toss to coat.
Serve over brown rice and garnish with chopped cilantro and lime wedges.
* Use as much of the chile pepper as you can stand.
Posted in Asian, Carrots, Cauliflower, Chicken, Cuisine, Fish, Healthy, Main Dish, Meat, Recipe, Sweet Potato, Vegetables, Vegetarian
2 Comments
Herb and Feta Phyllo Wrapped Shrimp
This idea came to me as I was thinking about recipes I’d made at school. My practical exam for Food Service Fundamentals included phyllo wrapped, stuffed chicken. At the time, I really hated the recipe. Phyllo is tricky stuff at times and I was NOT happy I had to deal with it under pressure.
But looking back on that recipe, it was kind of neat. The phyllo dough helped make what would otherwise be a boring piece of stuffed chicken into something that looked fancy — and gave it quite a delightful crunch. I started thinking what else could I make using that technique and came up with this recipe.
I brought these to poker on Saturday night and everyone liked them, so I’d say this one is a keeper. It *is* a little time consuming to make — but if you’ve got some time and want to WOW people, give it a try.
A hint for working with phyllo*: when you’re not actively using it, keep it under plastic wrap covered with a damp tea-towel. And just have some patience. Luckily, phyllo isn’t expensive, so if you happen to rip a sheet (and you will!) don’t worry too much.
Herb and Feta Phyllo Wrapped Shrimp
1 lb. large (26-30/pound) raw, easy-peel, shrimp
1 small bunch Italian (flat leaf) parsley leaves, chopped fine
1 small bunch chives, chopped fine
Zest of two lemons
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled fine
1 package, phyllo dough, thawed
1 stick butter, melted
salt and pepper, to taste
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
To prepare your shrimp, peel the shrimp, but keep the tail part of the shell on (like you’d see for shrimp cocktail.) Then, cut each shrimp up the center through the middle vein up to the tail shell. The tail shell will keep the two pieces of shrimp together, but the shrimp will be able to lie flat (instead of curving like they do naturally.)
Place the shrimp in a bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Combine parsley, chives, lemon zest, and feta cheese in a bowl. Set aside.
Phyllo dough comes wrapped in a plastic bag. Inside the plastic bag, the dough is wrapped in another piece of plastic. Remove the phyllo from the first plastic bag. Use a sharp knife to cut the phyllo dough into three equal lengths through the second layer of plastic.
Unroll one section of dough and keep the others back in the plastic bag inside the fridge until you need them. Cover the phyllo that you are using with plastic wrap and a damp tea towel.
Carefully, lie one sheet of phyllo on the counter. Gently brush with melted butter. Place another piece of phyllo on top of the first. Brush this one with melted butter.
Sprinkle evenly with the herb and feta mixture. You will only need about two tablespoons — too much mixture and it will be hard to roll the shrimp into the phyllo at the end. Cover with a third piece of phyllo and gently pat down over the feta mixture. Brush the third layer with butter and place a fourth, and final, layer of phyllo. Brush with butter.
To recap, you’ll use: phyllo, butter, phyllo, butter, herb mixture, phyllo, butter, phyllo, butter.
Cut the strip of layered phyllo in half. Place a shrimp on the edge of each piece of phyllo. Roll each shrimp up gently and tightly forming what will look like a little cigar with the tail end of the shrimp sticking out one end. Brush the outside of each roll with butter and use the butter to help seal the seam.
Place on a rack that’s placed on top of a sheet pan or cookie sheet.
Repeat with the rest of the phyllo, herbs, and shrimp.
Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes or until the phyllo browns nicely and the shrimp are cooked.
* The Athen’s site has a lot of great information on phyllo including these tips on how to work with phyllo.
Posted in Appetizer, Cuisine, Culinary School, Fish, Greek, Meat, Recipe
5 Comments
Dinner in a Curry
That’s the kind of pun you get when I write an entry at 11:23 pm just before hopping into bed.
Tonight, it was *hot* — the kind of night where you don’t want to turn on anything that will heat the kitchen. Luckily, two nights ago, I roasted a chicken and had the white meat left for a chicken salad (because of course, we ate the dark meat first!) Now, I always make chicken salad with mayo, craisins, and almonds, but I thought tonight, I’d try something new and add some curry powder, sate seasoning, and Greek-style yogurt.
No pictures on this one because, well, the chicken salad just looked very beige — didn’t make for good photographs. But it definitely tasted good and that’s what really matters.
Curried Chicken Salad
Serves 4
2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced medium
1/2 cup dried cranberries (craisins)
1/4 cup whole roasted almonds, chopped roughly
1/2 cup low-fat Greek-style yogurt
1/4 cup light mayo
1 tbsp. sweet curry powder*
1 tsp. sate seasoning*
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
Put diced chicken, dried cranberries, and roasted almonds in a medium bowl.
In a small bowl combine the yogurt, mayo, curry powder, sate seasoning, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Whisk until all the ingredients are combined.
Stir the yogurt mixture into the chicken mixture until well combined. Serve on your choice of bread (we used flour tortillas to make wraps) with lettuce and tomato.
* I try to buy all my spices at Penzey’s. There’s a local Penzey’s a few towns over, but you can also order online. Their prices are reasonable, the products are really high quality, and you can find just about any spice you’d ever want.