Category: Poultry
Sausage and Kale Pasta
| April 7, 2013 | Filled under Italian, Main Dishes, Pasta, Rice, & Grains, Poultry, Vegetables |
Kale’s so hot right now. Right? Or are we over it? I mean it is kind of a winter green, but technically it’s spring now. Kidding. Regardless of what’s hot or not, or how unseasonably cold it still is outside (spring, where are you?!?), kale is tasty, full of nutrients and available year round. I’m always on the lookout for new ways to enjoy kale, whether it’s baked kale chips or a Tuscan salad with currants and Parmesan in lemon vinaigrette. And now it’s pasta turn to get kale’d.
This is a comforting supper with some healthy ingredients. Chicken sausage replaces fatty pork and really helps cut down on the calories. Before I went on a kale kick, spinach was my go-to green. I still like spinach a lot (makes me feel like Popeye) but kale is just a wee bit healthier - see why here in this food face-off. Organic brown rice pasta is great gluten-free option too.
In our house, we’re big fans of spicy food so lot of crushed red pepper flakes make their way into most pasta dishes, but I’ve only added a touch in the recipe for a bit of kick. For a kid-friendly version, the chili flakes can be omitted completely. For a dairy-free version, use Toffuti’s Better than Cream Cheese instead of grated fresh Parmesan.
Kale and Sausage Pasta (serves 4)
Ingredients:
- 4 turkey or chicken sausages, removed from casings (about 1.25 lbs)
- 1 bunch kale, about 12 ounces, washed, stems removed and chopped
- 1 shallot, minced
- 3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ tsp crushed red chili flakes (optional)
- 12 ounces gluten-free pasta
- 1 teaspoon anchovy paste (optional)
- 2 Tablespoons dairy-free cream cheese or grated parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and add pasta and cook according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water.
- Meanwhile, heat a large skillet to medium-high heat and add 1 teaspoon olive oil. Add sausage and break up with wooden spoon. Cook until golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside.
- Add remaining 2 teaspoons of olive oil to pan and add shallots and cook for 2 minutes. Add garlic, anchovy paste, kale, chili flakes, and 2 tablespoons of water. Stir with a wooden spoon, scraping up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.
- Add cooked pasta to kale mixture. Add ¼ cup of reserved pasta water and cream cheese (or parmesan cheese) and stir until pasta is evenly coated. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add more pasta water if needed. Garnish with parmesan cheese (if using), additional chili flakes and truffle oil.
Five-Spice Chicken Lettuce Wraps
| February 6, 2013 | Filled under Asian, Main Dishes, Pasta, Rice, & Grains, Poultry, Snacks & Appetizers |
Chinese New Year is this weekend and I’m new year prep mode. Unlike its January 1st counterpart, which is basically about a countdown followed by new years resolutions, Chinese New Year feels so much more celebratory. Typically, the weeks leading up to the new year involves cleaning and de-cluttering, so you can start the new year fresh. By throwing out the trash or the bad luck, you make room for good luck to enter your life.
Every year, my grandma treats the whole family to dinner at a Chinese restaurant (at last count, that would be about 25 to 30 of us that live in town, including her kids, grandkids, and great grandkids). It’s the one time of year that all the amazing cooks in my family don’t actually have to cook (and mess up the kitchen) and can relax and enjoy the festivities instead.
Classic Family Pic: Doesn’t my grandma look so young to have that many grandkids? Five grandkids are missing from the pic because they weren’t born yet. That’s my dad holding me in his lap on the far right.
After dinner, we all go to my parents house where the little ones get red envelopes with lucky money and then we start gambling. I have fond memories of all of us squishing around the table to play blackjack, which is the first card game we all learned to play. My dad is usually the dealer, with his ‘family house rules’ and we have a great time heckling him. And yes the eating continues here too. Usually fried shrimp chips, coffee, and clementines. Savoury, caffeinated, and sweet.
For this recipe, the five-spice powder gives the chicken a distinctly Asian flavour and isn’t actually hot spicy, more earthy and aromatic. The heat factor comes from the Thai bird chilis in the marinade and the toppings. Be careful, sometimes those little guys can be brutally spicy. I always de-seed before adding to the marinade to give it some kick, without being too overpowering.
My nephew is totally the Golden Child in his Chinese New Year outfit. Look at those delicious cheeks!
My niece and my dog Pucci dressed up for Chinese New Year in 2012. Cuteness overload.
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Honestly, this batch of chilis was so spicy, we picked them off the wraps after the photos were taken because they were melting our faces off (the ones in the marinade were perfect). But if you like heat, go for it. You can always leave them on the side and let your guests garnish as they please.
This recipe for lettuce wraps is a hybrid of many different food loves: chili chicken, Peking duck (the second course), and Vietnamese cool rolls. Over the holidays, I watched Jamie Oliver create something similar on TV, though he start plopping on raw tofu and lost me, but I loved his Asian fusion approach. This would be a great meal to put out for a crowd and it’s fun and festive to eat no matter what time of year. An Asian taco of sorts. And like all tacos, make sure to have lots of napkins on hand.
Wishing everyone a New Year full of happiness, health, prosperity and lots of good luck.
Here’s a more recent pic of some of us hamming it up in headpieces my sister brought back from her trip to China. So cute!
PS – I used a julienne peeler to get those pretty shreds of carrot.
Five-Spice Chicken Lettuce Wraps (serves 4 as a main)
Ingredients:
Five-Spice Chicken
- 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat and cut into 1″ pieces
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 Tbsp minced ginger
- 1 tsp five-spice powder
- 1 to 2 Thai bird chilis, de-seeded and finely minced
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro/coriander
- 3/4 tsp salt
- canola oil for frying
Lettuce Wraps and Garnishes
- 2 heads of iceberg lettuce
- 2 stalks green onion, finely sliced
- 1 medium carrot, julienned
- 1/4 cucumber, cut into matchsticks
- Handful fresh cilantro/coriander leaves
- 2 cups cooked rice noodles (cooked according to package instructions)
- Gluten-free hoisin sauce
- Sesame seeds (optional)
- 2 to 3 Thai bird chilis, finely sliced (optional)
Directions:
- In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients for chicken except canola oil and stir to combine. Cover and marinate in fridge for 30 minutes up to 2 hours.
- Prepare lettuce wraps. Carefully peel away leaves of lettuce from the head, trying not to tear the leaves, and trim excess ends with kitchen shears. Wash and dry lettuce leaves, and place on platter.
- In large non-stick frying pan over medium high heat, add one tablespoon canola oil. Add half of the chicken to pan and let cook for 2 minutes or until browned. Flip chicken over and cook other side for another 2 minutes or until cooked through and no longer pink inside. Remove chicken and place on paper towel lined plate. Wipe any brown bits from pan with a clean paper towel and add pan back to heat. Add one tablespoon canola oil and cook remaining chicken.
- Assemble wraps. Place about 1 to 2 ounces of rice noodles inside each lettuce wrap, followed by carrots, cucumber, and chicken. Add remaining garnishes and serve.
Golden Curry
| September 10, 2012 | Filled under Asian, Indian, Main Dishes, Poultry |
How do you get through dinners through the work week? Takeout? Frozen TV dinners? Meals from scratch? I tend to rely on all of the above since I’m not a huge fan of leftovers (exception is yam mein and pizza). Hubby D likes making a big batch Sunday night meal and reheating leftovers during the week, which admittedly cuts down on clean up and cooking. So with that game plan in place, it’s essential to get find meals that taste great as leftovers, and fast and easy curry is the perfect meal.
Some people think of curry as ‘spicy’ with burn-your-face-off type of heat rather than ‘full of flavour and aromatics’. There are so many curries in the world, spices and stews, and every region, culture, and family has their own unique way of preparing it. My family is from India and Pakistan, so our flavours and heat levels are a derrative of those spice-and-heat loving cultures. My mom makes a hearty and healthy vegetable curry with cauliflower, potato, and carrots while my aunts are known for their in-your- face spicy beef curry. As for me, I like to make Thai curries at home by my new fave is this golden curry that is mild yet full of flavour.
This curry is super easy to whip up and gets better as you re-heat it during the week. You can also freeze it and whip it out whenever you feel like some savoury comfort food. An added benefit of this dish is how cost-effective it is. Living gluten-free can rack up a serious grocery bill so finding healthy meals that don’t cost a fortune is a good way to balance the budget. Serve with some basmati rice and enjoy on a Sunday and all through the week.
Golden Curry Recipe (serves 4 to 6)
- 12 chicken thighs, diced
- 2 cups diced onions
- 2 cups diced carrots
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms
- 3 Tablespoons canola oil
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 4 teaspoons curry powder (I used 1 tsp hot Balinese curry powder and 3 tsp regular curry powder)
- 4 teaspoons fresh coriander/cilantro
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Heat large cast iron pot or deep sided frying pan on medium-high heat. Add oil and chicken and 1 teaspoon of salt and cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add onions and cook for 2 minutes, stirring to combine.
- Add mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes, stirring to combine. Add carrots and potatoes and curry powder and stir until all ingredients are evenly coated with curry seasoning.
- Add chicken stock and stir, scraping up any brown bits stuck to bottom of pot. Lower heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Garnish with coriander and serve with rice or bread.
Jerk Chicken Tacos with Sweet Mango Pepper Salsa
| June 5, 2012 | Filled under Main Dishes, Poultry, Sauces & Dips, Sides, Soup & Sandwiches, Southwestern, Vegetables |
*Jerk Alert* These are not your typical tacos. I heard about this amazingly unusual food truck in LA that does Korean BBQ tacos (think short rib tacos and kimchi quesadillas) and a lightbulb went off. Tacos, like pizza and sandwiches, can be topped with just about anything. So I started making tandoori chicken tacos with raita yogurt sauce with tomato and cucumber salsa. And then I combined spicy jerk chicken and some sweet mango salsa to create a tropical inspired taco. Sort of like going to Jamaica and Mexico all in one bite.
Juicy marinated meat baked off easily in the oven and fresh salsa on top of a soft corn tortilla is all kinds of yummy and is easy enough to whip up during the week. I buy my jerk seasoning in a jar and marinate overnight if possible, or in a pinch, just coat the chicken thighs in the sauce before baking. While the chicken is in the oven, I get my dice on and prepare the salsa and in about 30 minutes, dinner is done. A summer time meal that almost makes me feel like I’m on vacation. Almost.
PS – Jerk sauce can be super spicy so reduce or add as much as you like. Also, I fully admit that this is by no means the traditional way to cook jerk. But then again, this isn’t really a traditional taco. Keep calm and taco on.
Jerk Chicken Tacos with Sweet Mango Pepper Salsa (serves four)
Jerk Chicken
- 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat, rinsed and dried
- 1 Tbsp jerk chicken marinade (I used Grace brand)
- 1 tsp canola oil
Sweet Mango Pepper Salsa
- 1/2 large mango, finely diced
- 1/2 sweet pepper (yellow or red), finely diced
- 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
- 3 Tbsp red or Spanish onion, finely diced
- 3 Tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- juice of half a lime
- pinch salt
Tacos & Garnishes
- Soft corn tortillas (2 to 3 per person)
- Corn tortilla chips
- Lime wedges
- Shredded lettuce
- Hot sauce
Directions:
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. I a medium bowl, add chicken, jerk sauce, and oil and toss to evenly coat chicken. Marinate for 30 minutes up to overnight. Lay chicken flat in foil-lined baking dish and bake for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Let rest five minutes before slicing.
- While chicken is baking, prepare salsa and set aside. Heat a small frying pan to medium heat and add tortillas to warm through. Once tortillas is heated, store on a plate lined with clean dish towel and cover, or add to tortilla warmer. Continue until all tortillas are warmed. Serve chicken, salsa, and tortillas with lime wedges, shredded lettuce, corn chips, and hot sauces.
Asian Glazed Chicken Thighs
| May 14, 2012 | Filled under Asian, Main Dishes, Poultry, Sauces & Dips |
Summer is here and so is barbecue season. Sadly, I don’t have access to a barbecue at home – our condo is patio-less. But before you start feeling sorry for me, I DO have a trusty little toaster oven. This essential piece of kitchen equipment makes me feel like I have a double oven like in those fancy home magazines or on The Food Network. It heats up fast and doesn’t raise the temperature in our whole place like the big oven so on summer days when we would be grilling, we rely on our trusty toaster oven to cook up some tasty meals, like my fast flatbread pizza or these Asian-glazed chicken thighs. Plus, we can use it all year-long.
The flavours are sweet, salty, and distinctly Asian flavoured and the mahogany glaze is lip-smackingly good. Now if you don’t have a toaster oven, you can totally use a normal oven or your barbecue. The longer you marinade the meat, the tastier it’ll be, so anywhere from 1 hour to overnight will do the trick. The marinade is super easy and so tasty that you’ll be able to whip this up on a weeknight or make ahead for your next big summer bash. Cold leftovers are great with a salad. The possibilities are endless. Too bad summer isn’t.
PS – You save lots of calories and fat by removing the skin. Just yank it off by pull it over the bone – picture pulling a pant leg inside out (think skinny jeans). Your waistline and arteries will thank you.
Recipe Asian Glazed Chicken Thighs (adapted from Cooking Light)
Serves 5 to 6 (2 thighs per serving)
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons tamari gluten-free soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce (in case of allergies, replace with tamari soy sauce)
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chili paste (such sambal oelek or sriracha)
- 10 garlic cloves, minced
- 10 to 12 bone-in chicken thighs, skinned
- Cooking spray
- Pinch salt
Directions:
1. Combine vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce, honey, chile paste, and garlic, stirring until honey dissolves. Pour vinegar mixture into a zip-top plastic bag or dish just large enough for the chicken. Add chicken marinade and seal or cover. Marinate in refrigerator 1 hour up to overnight, turning occasionally. Remove chicken, reserving marinade.
2. Pre-heat oven to 425°.Place reserved marinade in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Cook for 2 minutes or until syrupy, stirring occasionally. Place chicken on a rack coated with cooking spray, and place rack in a roasting pan. Baste chicken with reserved marinade; sprinkle evenly with salt.
3. Bake at 425° for 10 minutes; baste. Bake an additional 10 minutes; baste. Discard remaining marinade. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until done. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Serve with green onions or fresh coriander to garnish.
Inside-Out Stuffing and Simple Roast Chicken
| April 11, 2012 | Filled under Main Dishes, Meat, Pasta, Rice, & Grains, Poultry, Sides, Vegetables |
Happy Anniversary to me! It’s been one year since the launch of freshnessgf.com and I’m so delighted with the end result – an online food journal full of recipes, stories, and photos. Honestly, my biggest thrill is when people tell me that they a) checked out my site b) tried a recipe and/or c) shared the site with their friends. It’s so totally humbling and gratifying that I fist pump every time.
In honour of this milestone, I thought I’d share one of my fave celebration recipes, stuffing with roast chicken. Notice that the stuffing is the main event here and the chicken, although delicious, is an accompaniment to its carb-tastic counterpart. My aunts make the most amazing stuffing, something our family gets to devour only three holidays a year – Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas. They also make the most moist, juicy turkey known to man and their holiday spreads are legendary for requiring a big appetite and some stretchy pants (this past Easter, there were no less than 20 separate dishes being served up – scroll to the end to see).
Since going gluten-free, I’ve had to give up on my aunt’s savoury stuffing but craving that distinct delicious comfort food, I ended up creating my own version. Now typically stuffing gets stuffed inside the cavity of a turkey, which is great for feeding large crowds lots of turkey and not so much stuffing. However, my version involves a lot of stuffing and a single chicken for roasting. The chicken is enough to feed three or four, but I make enough stuffing to feed quite an army. You can totally modify the recipe to make half the amount, but be warned, you’ll wish you had more leftover stuffing afterwards.
So the way to get all that stuffing is to layer the prepared stuffing underneath the chicken which gets roasted on top. So it’s inside out stuffing. I got the idea from Martha Stewart – to see a picture of the finished chicken and stuffing click here. I always make this when company is over and I keep forgetting to photograph it before I slice and serve. What makes this stuffing superior to traditional stuffing is how some parts get nicely crispy and browned, while other parts get squishy and moist from the juices of the chicken. Is your mouth-watering yet? Mine is just thinking about it.
One trick I picked up from my aunts is to make sure to use lots of onions. In my version, I use a combo of white onions, leeks, and garlic. Also, I use chicken sausage instead of pork, and I pick different flavours depending on the palettes of my guests. Heat loving friends got spicy Italian while D’s family got a milder honey garlic version. Either way, you can’t really go wrong.
This recipe takes longer than most of my other posts, but it’s still easy to whip up. Just saute the sausage and veggies, add the bread crumbs and stock, plop the chicken on top and stick it in the oven. While it’s roasting away, the aroma fills the house with the smell of a celebration, and in my case, it usually involves a glass of wine or bubbly.
Thanks again to all my lovely readers for your kind words and continued support. xoxoxo V
Inside-Out Stuffing and Simple Roast Chicken (Serves three to four with leftovers)
Adapted from Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
For the Stuffing
- 1 lb uncooked sausage, casings removed (about 4) – (Italian, chorizo, honey garlic all great)
- 2 cups sliced leeks, white part only
- 2 cup diced onion (about 2 medium or 1 large)
- 1 cup diced celery
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1 to 1 ½ cup chicken stock
- 10 cups day old, gluten-free bread cut into 1” cubes
- ½ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- Fresh ground pepper
For the chicken:
- 1 roasting chicken, about 4 lbs
- 1 lemon, cut into quarters
- 6 cloves garlic
- 4 fresh rosemary sprigs
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Special Equipment: Large Dutch oven, roasting pan, or large deep oven-proof skillet
Directions:
- Make stuffing. Heat pan over medium-high heat and add 1 teaspoon of canola oil. Add sausage meat and sauté, mixing and breaking up pieces with a wooden spoon. Continue to cook until slightly browned and cooked through. Remove sausage meat with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Add 1 tablespoon of canola oil to the pan and add leeks, onion, and celery. Saute for 2 minutes, or until ingredients start to soften. Add mushrooms and garlic and sauté for another 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of chicken stock and scrape brown bits off bottom of the pan. Remove from heat. Add cooked sausage meat, parsley, dried herbs, pepper and bread to mixture. Stir well to combine – each cube of bread should be moistened by stuffing mixture (add more stock if it looks too dry). Set aside.
- Prepare chicken. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place chicken, breast side up, on top of stuffing and tuck the wings underneath. Tie legs together with kitchen twine. Pat the chicken dry with paper towel. Rub skin with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Stuff inside cavity of chicken with lemon, garlic, and rosemary.
- Roast for 30 minutes. Rotate the pan and continue to roast for another 30 minutes. Chicken is done when meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees. Remove chicken from pan and loosely cover with foil for 10 minutes to rest before carving and serving. Meanwhile, remove stuffing from pan into serving bowl.
Count the 20 items at my family's Easter dinner spread. My family rules. Outsiders drool.
Mom’s Lemon Chicken
| August 22, 2011 | Filled under Asian, Main Dishes, Poultry, Sauces & Dips |
A few weeks ago, a well-known food blogger, writer, and mother to two young girls named Jennifer Perillo, suddenly lost her husband Mikey to a massive heart attack. He was helping their daughter ride her bike when his life was tragically and unexpectedly taken away. I cannot imagine her pain and my heart aches at the thought of her loss. Althought I do not know her personally, my eyes still well up when I think about her and her family. Yet she found the strength, just eight days later, to write a touch article here about the importance of family dinners.
I grew up in a family where we sat together for dinner every night. It didn’t matter if we were eating leftovers or takeout or a homecooked favourite, my sister and I would set the table and we all took our respective seats around the table to have our meals. That’s how we learned about each other’s day, shared jokes, vented our grievances, laughed, cried, and celebrated life’s little victories. And now that I’m married and my husband and I live in the city, I find we don’t sit down together as often as I’d like. The hecticness of work, friends, travel, classes, and the sheer grind of it all finds a way into our weekly routine more often than not.
So when he was getting ready to head out on a week-long international business trip, I made sure to take the time to prepare his favourite meals. We had Ah Poh’s Yam Mein one night and my mom’s Lemon Chicken the next. I remember as a kid how special we all felt when my mom would take the time to make lemon chicken and how spoiled they felt when I made my version for them. And so, before D’s big trip, I wanted him to feel spoiled, and lemon chicken it was.
While this dish is fairly simple, it’s not the quickest to whip up (and you know I’m a fan of quick dinners) so give yourself enough time. The chicken needs to be sliced, but you can buy prepped chicken tenders to cut this step. I butterfly the breasts, which just means you cut it horizontally to make the breast thinner. It opens up and make a ‘butterfly’ shape. I used to be so scared of raw chicken, and would wear plastic gloves. But with practice, I’ve toughened up and now it doesn’t freak me out. If you are scared, don’t be - just go for it. Be fearless. Or don’t and buy chicken tenders.
When making breaded chicken, it’s good to set up a dredging station. Dredging is basically the process of creating a dry layer, followed by a wet layer, finished with a crumb layer to create the breading. So here we use cornstarch, egg, and gluten-free bread crumbs. You dip the chicken in cornstarch to coat, then the egg, then the crumbs, shaking off the excess after each ingredient. At the end you have perfectly breaded chicken ready to fry. If you’re sensitive or allergic to eggs, you can substitute egg replacer and it works just fine.
I’m new to food blogging, and am pleasantly suprised to see it’s a supportive community. When news of Jennifer’s loss broke, there was an overwhelming amount of support for her and her family. To help her heal, she asked that people make her husband Mikey’s favourite peanut butter cream pie in celebration of his life. And to share that pie with someone you love. Thousands of people made that Pie for Mikey. It was on CNN. And there’s this lovely video by Todd & Diane that basically sums it all up.
While I didn’t partake in the Pie for Mikey, I will definitely be helping by supporting Bloggers Without Borders – a non-profit organization that is was formed by food bloggers Maggy Three Many Cooks and Erika Pineda-Ghanny of The Ivory Hut to help Jennifer and her girls during this difficult time. I follow Jennifer on twitter and her tweets about insurance and the US healthcare system are both infurating and sad. So if you too would like to help her out, you can donate here. Any amount will help. Jennifer’s grace and strength during this tragedy is inspiring, and as I was making the lemon chicken for D, I remembered her words “Instead of looking at dinnertime as yet another chore, seize it for the gift it really is — a time to come together as a family and talk about your day, say grace or clink glasses and cherish the moment with each bite.”
Recipe for Lemon Chicken – Gluten Free (Serves 2)
Easy Lemon Sauce (Enough for six servings)
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 2/3 cup water
- Rind from 2 lemons
- 2 Tbsp sugar (or more to taste)
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch with 3 Tbsp water (slurry)
Add lemon juice, water, and lemon rinds to a small sauce pan and bring to boil. Add the sugar until and stir until dissolved. To make the slurry, whisk together the cornstarch and water until there are no lumps. Add this to the lemon mixture and stir. Bring to boil and simmer for 2 minutes until thickened. If sauce is too thick, add a teaspoon of water at a time until you reach desired consistency. If sauce is to watery, make more slurry and add one tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency. Taste for sweetness (add more sugar if necessary).
Fried Chicken Strips (serves 2)
- 2 chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 slices
- 1 cup cornstarch or tapioca powder
- 1 egg, beaten (or 1 egg replacement equivalent)
- 1 cup gluten free breadcrumbs
- 1 lemon sliced into 1/4″ rounds (for garnish)
- Canola oil for frying
1. Set up cornstarch, beaten egg, and breadcrumbs in 3 separate shallow bowls. Dip one slice of chicken in the cornstarch to coat and shake off excess. Dip in egg to coat and drip off excess. Dip in breadcrumbs to coat and set aside. Continue until all chicken is breaded.
2. In a deep sided pot, pour enough oil so there is at least 2″ of oil. Heat on medium high heat. To test if oil is hot enough to fry, stick a wooden chopstick or handle of a wooden spoon in the oil. If you see tiny bubbles floating to the surface of the oil, it’s ready. Remove wooden stick. Add as many pieces of chicken to the oil as you can so that it’s full without being overcrowded (each chicken should have room to move around). Fry on each side for about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove chicken from oil and place on paper towel lined tray and continue until all chicken is fried.
3. Remove the lemon rinds from the lemon sauce and reheat. On a clean cutting board, slice the chicken into 1″ strips and place on platter. Place lemon rounds on top of chicken for garnish and pour lemon sauce over top. Serve immediately with rice and vegetables.
Aloo Chap (Spiced Meat and Potato Cakes)
| July 27, 2011 | Filled under Indian, Main Dishes, Meat, Poultry, Snacks & Appetizers |
Home cooking is a concept that I’ve been thinking about a lot in the last couple of months since my last post back in May. Since then, I moved from Scottsdale, Arizona back to my hometown of Toronto and in that time, l have lived in 5 hotels, my parents’ house, my inlaws house (AND gone to 5 weddings) before moving into our own loft downtown. And back in Scottsdale, we were in a temporary furnished rental for 3 months with our thngs in storage. So it’s been a long LONG time since I’ve seen a good deal of my stuff. And with this transient lifestyle, I’ve eaten at so many restaurants out of necessity that homecooking is something I’ve truly been craving.
It’s taken a while for me to get back into the swing of cooking at home. Time to find new grocery stores, find enough surface area to work on in our open concept kitchen, and find places to store all the stuff we unpacked. Finally, I feel like I’m there – home. And ready to get my home-cooking on. And for me, that means aloo chap – an Indian-Chinese word we use for potato cakes stuffed with spiced ground meat. It’s one of my family’s specialties.
Aloo is the Hindi word for potato – I thought it was a Chinese word until I was in my 20s. My first memory of eating aloo chap is going to one of my aunt’s houses a kid, my aunties working away to make a zillion aloo chaps assembly line style, and all of us cousins smothering the little potato rounds in ketchup before stuffing our faces. My aunts made two kinds – spicy for the grown ups and non-spicy for us kiddies. I think they must have used entire sacs of potatoes and half a cow to make enough aloo chaps to satisfy our entire family, and to have enough for leftovers to send home with everyone.
Now that I make them at home, I use ground turkey or chicken instead of beef, and gluten free breadcrumbs. Also, I pan fry them instead of deep frying for both health and cleanup laziness reasons. I know my adaptations are A-OK since I made these for my parents and they said they were just as yum as the ones my aunt’s make. This is a MAJOR compliment since these aunties are awesome cooks renowned for their massive spreads of all sorts of insanely delicious eats at our family functions. And now that I’m back in TO, I can enjoy this regularly. So happy to be home.
Aloo Chap (Spiced Potato Cakes)
Serves 3 – 4
Ingredients
- 5-6 medium sized yukon gold potatoes, peeled
- 2 tbsp canola oil, plus more for frying
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 2 Tbsp fresh ginger, finely minced
- 1 Tbsp ground coriander
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder or 1 finely diced chili pepper (optional)
- 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 4 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 lb ground turkey, chicken, or lamb
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup gluten free bread crumbs
Directions:
1. In a medium pot, boil potatoes for 15 minutes or until fork tender. Drain, mash, and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of oil on medium heat in a wok or frying pan. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, coriander, cumin, chili/pepper, cilantro and continue to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occassionally.
3. Add ground meat and peas and continue cooking until meat is fully cooked and quite dry. Add salt and lemon juice.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine mashed potatoes and meat mixture and stir until fully blended. Spoon 1/3 cup of the mixture into your hand and shape into a round patty. Gently roll patty in breadcrumbs until coated and set aside on baking sheet until ready to cook. Repeat until all the potato mixture is used.
5. In a medium frying pan add about 2 tablespoons of oil on medium heat. Add a few patties at a time and cook on each side until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Gently flip and cook the other side until golden brown. Continue until all the patties are done.
6. Serve hot with ketchup. For extra heat, add Tobasco or Mexican style hot sauce to the ketchup.
PS – you can also make these smaller and serve them as appetizers.
This is some of the cousins at a party sometime in the 80s. I'm absent in this picture... just like I was absent in many pix when I was in AZ. See how sad everyone is??? Except smiley Kim.
Singapore Noodles
| April 28, 2011 | Filled under Asian, Main Dishes, Pasta, Rice, & Grains, Poultry |
Singapore noodles are spicy rice noodles stir fried with curry powder and veggies. But I heard they don’t actually have Singapore noodles in Singapore? I guess it’s like how in China, they don’t call it ‘Chinese food’, just ‘food’? Have you been to Singapore and had these noodles?
It’s a spicy, simple, easy to make weeknight supper and considering my family is Hakka Chinese from India, these flavours definitely suit my taste buds. You can find it on the menu at most Chinese restaurants, but with this recipe you can make them at home instead – that way you can control the spiciness.
Chopping the veggies and chicken is the most time consuming part of making this whole dish – the cooking time is actally pretty fast. If you plan to make this on a weeknight, prep the veg and chicken the night before and put everything in the fridge. That way when you get home, you can just toss everything in the wok and eat in no time. Oh, and you can add bean sprouts too – they just need a rinse. No chopping = saving time. They didn’t look so fresh when I was shopping so I passed on them.
The noodles don’t take too long to soften (use hot or boiling water to speed up the process).
Coating the raw chicken in some GF tamari soy sauce and cornstarch is a Chinese technique to give the meat a more velvety texture and more flavour. It’s called velveting the meat and you can read more about it here. As for the vermicelli noodles, you can find them in the Asian aisle of your grocery store. In the Asian supermarkets, there are whole aisles dedicated to the different varieties noodles, which can be overwhelming. Don’t stress out – anything that says ‘rice stick’ or ‘vermicelli’ will work.
Recipe (serves 3-4)
Singapore Noodles (Gluten Free)
- 12 oz dried vermicelli rice sticks
- 4 Tbsp canola oil
- 2 organic chicken breasts, thinly sliced across the grain and cut into thin slices
- 1 tsp plus 2 Tbsp GF tamari soy sauce
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 onion thinly sliced
- 2-3 carrots, cut into 3″ matchsticks
- 2 celery stalks, cut into 3″ matchsticks
- 1 red pepper
- 3 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce
- 3 stalks green onion, thinly sliced
- salt and pepper to taste
Soak vermicelli in warm water for 10 minutes in hot water, until softened but not mushy. In a medium bowl, mix the chicken with 1 teaspoon soy sauce and cornstarch and mix until chicken is evenly coated. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large wok on medium-high heat and add half the chicken. Stirfry the chicken until just cooked, about 3-4 minutes. Remove chicken from wok and repeat with remaining chicken.
Add remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to wok and add onions; cook for 2 – 3 minutes until softened. Add carrots, celery and peppers and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add drained vermicelli noodles, curry powder, chili powder, turmeric, remaining 2 tablepoons soy sauce, and fish sauce. Toss until well combined – the noodles should be evenly yellow coloured and a bit powdery. Add back the chicken, green onions and salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and serve.
Chicken Meatballs with Pesto Gnocchi
| April 18, 2011 | Filled under Italian, Main Dishes, Pasta, Rice, & Grains, Poultry, Sauces & Dips |
One day I wanted to make meatballs but didn’t know what to eat them with. I didn’t feel like pasta, or a sub, or Ikea sauce, so what else do you do with meatballs? The Barefoot Contessa made her chicken meatballs into Italian wedding soup (yum!). Instead, I thought I’d do a GF gnocchi in a pesto sauce. I had made her chicken meatballs before but adapted them to be gluten, dairy, and egg-free and they were amazing – you don’t need the cheese in them at all. The secret ingredient is the sausage meat. So much flavour with so little effort is just how I like it.
I also had some leftover homemade pesto in the freezer, made with garlic, fresh basil, arugula, walnuts, olive oil, and Drunken Goat cheese (a mild Spanish cheese soaked in red wine for a few days, leaving it with a berry stained edible outer layer – I’m not fan of super strong cheeses so I use this instead of parmesan). You just toss the gnocchi with the pesto and some fresh arugula and you’ve got a simple fast meal when you want some comfort food. PS – this meal is very garlicky so keep those post dinner breath mints handy.
I first learned how to make homemade pesto in a cooking class at Dish Cooking Studio in Toronto. My biz partner J and I drunkenly victoriously outbid everyone at a charity auction to win the class where founder Trish Magwood taught us how to make a simple basil, pine nut pesto – so easy and so much fresher and tastier than the oily, jarred store bought pestos. I changed the recipe cuz I like the bite of a little arugula and the brain food qualities of walnuts.
The good news is both the meatballs and pesto recipes make more than you would need for a dinner for two so any leftovers can be frozen for the next time you need a no-effort comfort meal. Frozen extras = presto pesto.
Recipes
Chicken Meatballs (gluten/nut/dairy/corn free)
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Italian Wedding Soup recipe on FoodNetwork.com
- 3/4 lb ground chicken
- 1/2 lb chicken sausage meat (I used sweet Italian basil)
- 1/2 cup gluten free bread crumbs (I thew a couple of pieces of day old bread in a food processor)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
- 3 Tbsp soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
- 1 egg replacer (I use Ener-G brand)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp chili powder (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients together gently until just combined – do not handle too much or over mix. Gently roll about 1 tablespoon of the mixture into 1″ balls (doesn’t have to be perfectly round) and place on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
Basil, Arugula, Walnut Pesto
- 1/4 cup fresh basil
- 1/4 cup baby arugula
- 4 -5 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup walnuts
- 1/4 cup finely grated hard cheese (I use Drunken Goat as mentioned above.)
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Put the first five ingredients into a food processor and chop until finely minced. Add the olive oil one tablespoon at a time and blend until combined.
Gnocchi
I used Nuvo brand gluten-free gnocchi from Whole Foods. It’s very tasty, fresh and quick cooking. Cook the gnocchi in 4 litres of boiling salted water for 2 – 3 minutes. Drain and return gnocchi to pot on low heat. Stir through 2 tablespoons of pesto and a handful of fresh arugula. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and crushed red peppers (optional).
One day I wanted to make meatballs but didn’t know what to eat them with. I didn’t feel like pasta, or a sub, or Ikea sauce, so what else do you do with meatballs? The Barefoot Contessa made her chicken meatballs into Italian wedding soup (yum!). Instead, I thought I’d do a GF gnocchi in a pesto sauce. I had made her chicken meatballs before but adapted them to be gluten, dairy, and egg-free and they were amazing – you don’t need the cheese in them at all. The secret ingredient is the sausage meat. So much flavour with so little effort is just how I like it.
I also had some leftover homemade pesto in the freezer, made with garlic, fresh basil, arugula, walnuts, olive oil, and Drunken Goat cheese (a mild Spanish cheese soaked in red wine for a few days, leaving it with a berry stained edible outer layer – I’m not fan of super strong cheeses so I use this instead of parmesan). You just toss the gnocchi with the pesto and some fresh arugula and you’ve got a simple fast meal when you want some comfort food. PS – this meal is very garlicky so keep those post dinner breath mints handy.
I first learned how to make homemade pesto in a cooking class at Dish Cooking Studio in Toronto. My biz partner J and I drunkenly victoriously outbid everyone at a charity auction to win the class where founder Trish Magwood taught us how to make a simple basil, pine nut pesto – so easy and so much fresher and tastier than the oily, jarred store bought pestos. I changed the recipe cuz I like the bite of a little arugula and the brain food qualities of walnuts.
The good news is both the meatballs and pesto recipes make more than you would need for a dinner for two so any leftovers can be frozen for the next time you need a no-effort comfort meal. Frozen extras = presto pesto.
Recipes
Chicken Meatballs (gluten/nut/dairy/corn free)
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Italian Wedding Soup recipe on FoodNetwork.com
- 3/4 lb ground chicken
- 1/2 lb chicken sausage meat (I used sweet Italian basil)
- 1/2 cup gluten free bread crumbs (I thew a couple of pieces of day old bread in a food processor)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
- 3 Tbsp soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
- 1 egg replacer (I use Ener-G brand)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp chili powder (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients together gently until just combined – do not handle too much or over mix. Gently roll about 1 tablespoon of the mixture into 1″ balls (doesn’t have to be perfectly round) and place on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
Basil, Arugula, Walnut Pesto
- 1/4 cup fresh basil
- 1/4 cup baby arugula
- 4 -5 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup walnuts
- 1/4 cup finely grated hard cheese (I use Drunken Goat as mentioned above.)
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Put the first five ingredients into a food processor and chop until finely minced. Add the olive oil one tablespoon at a time and blend until combined.
Gnocchi
I used Nuvo brand gluten-free gnocchi from Whole Foods. It’s very tasty, fresh and quick cooking. Cook the gnocchi in 4 litres of boiling salted water for 2 – 3 minutes. Drain and return gnocchi to pot on low heat. Stir through 2 tablespoons of pesto and a handful of fresh arugula. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and crushed red peppers (optional).
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