Lunches from the Market on CBC's Weekend Morning Show

This morning I will be presenting the following dishes on CBC's Weekend Morning Show with host Terry MacLeod.  Lunches can easily be prepared in advance for a great experience, and save money.

Yellow Split Pea Soup with smoked Berkshire hock (Wildfire Farms)

1 onion, chopped

1 smoked pork hock (available at Wildfire Farms at St. Norbert�s Farmer�s Market, Zinn Farms)

1 tbs olive oil

2-3 carrots, peeled and diced

2 ribs celery, chopped

2 cups yellow lentils (try varieties such as green split peas, red lentils, etc.)

1 tbs Cajun spices (equal parts hot smoked paprika, cumin, and chipotle)

1 tsp salt (to taste)

Pepper, to taste

4-6 cups water or broth

Heat a large soup pot over medium-high heat and add olive oil, onion, carrots, celery, Smoked Ham Hock. Saut� until soft. Add lentils and stir through. Add water or broth and bring to a boil. DO NOT ADD SALT YET!

When the meat on the hock is tender to fall off of the bone, remove from the pot, and piece out the meat, discarding the skin and bones. You may, at this time, choose to pur�e the soup and adjust the liquid content. Lentils will continue to expand so allow for that when adjusting for thickness of soup. Chop up meat and add back to soup if using meat. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy on a cold day with some hot toast on the side.

Crusty Rustic Bread Recipe (easy bread recipe with great results from Inn at the Crossroads in Game of Thrones)

Ingredients:

3 cups of water

1 1/2 Tablespoons of Coarse Salt

1 /1/2 Tablespoons of Yeast (2 packets)

1-2 Tbs. honey

6 1/2 cups of all purpose flour (I use Prairie Flour from Elie, MB for this recipe)

Flour to dust dough ball

Run your tap until the water is warm, just about body temperature.  If it is too hot, it will kill the yeast.

Add the yeast and honey to the water and mix it up. Don�t worry if all the yeast does not dissolve; it will finish mixing in the flour.  At this point, add the flour and salt and begin working into the mixture.  You can use a spoon, but will probably have to dig in with your hands to finish the job.

Shake some extra flour out on the counter. To knead the dough, dump it out onto a clean, floured countertop.  Knead for around 5 minutes, pushing with the heel of your hand, then gathering the dough back into a lump.  Add a little flour at a time as needed if the dough is too sticky. Knead until the dough becomes one big mass; You will know when the dough is ready by poking it: if the dough bounces back, you�re all set.

Now place your dough into a clean bowl, cover with a towel, and let sit in a warm place for about 2 hours. You can also let it rise overnight by putting it in the refrigerator, where it will rise more slowly.  You can even let the dough sit in the fridge for a couple of days, at which point it will begin to take on a slight sourdough taste.

Once your dough has at least doubled in size you are ready to form it into loaves.  Divide the dough into thirds. This is the only time you really handle the dough. You need to pull it down to form a ball, tucking all the ends in at the bottom. The ball should be semi smooth.

Now, sprinkle a dash of cornmeal on a baking sheet and place the dough on top. The corn meal keeps the bread from sticking. Allow to rise for about 40 minutes.  Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Before putting the bread in the oven, dust the top with a bit of  flour and make some light slices into the dough for that artisan look. You can make the loaves any shape you like, although a larger loaf will take longer to bake.

One final trick to a nice loaf of rustic bread is to make the crust crusty.  To achieve this, fill a second baking dish or a broiler pan with water and place it under the rack where your bread will go.  The steam from the water adds a nice crunch to the loaf.  Place your risen loaves in the oven, close the door, and bake for around 30 minutes to start.  The crust should have a dark brown color, and the loaves should sound hollow when you tap them.

You will be tempted to break into the hot bread, but if you can stand to wait, it will give the bread a chance to really settle into perfection.  Serve the bread sliced, plain, with seasoned olive oil, honey, or your favorite butter.

Seared Tuna Sandwich

2 slices Rustic Loaf (above recipe, or, wonderful sourdough bread from Old Church Bakery at St. Norbert�s Farmer�s Market)

1 Wild Caught Ahi Tuna Steak (Available at Gimli Fish)

1 generous tbs favourite spice blend for coating tuna (I used a smoked paprika, cumin, chipotle blend today)

Favourite sandwich toppings: I�m using pesto, a little mayo, Dijon Mustard, cheese, etc.

Coat tuna steak in spices (or sesame seeds, pepper, dried herbs, etc.).  Heat pan to medium-high to high heat.  Add sesame or olive oil and sear tuna steak on each side for 1 minute.  Remove steak from heat and let rest.  

Toast bread and prepare with your favourite fillings.  Cut tuna steak to fit into sandwich, wrap and enjoy your lunch!

Gluten Free Lunch!

Corn Tortillas (Available at Dino�s Grocery Mart on Notre Dame)

Assorted microgreens (available at Fresh Forage Microgreens Sunday at The Forks Farmer�s Market)

Cooked Quinoa (available at Tamarack Farms at St. Norbert�s Farmer�s Market)

Salsa (try the recipe below with Farmer�s market offerings: Late Summer Salsa Mexicana (served with toasted tortillas)

Options: black beans, refried beans, cheese, etc.

Bring ingredients for lunch, lightly toast the tortillas in a toaster or toaster oven, and assemble.  Enjoy!

Late Summer Salsa Mexicana

Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients:

1 small white onion, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces (about 1/4 cup)

1 red mirasol or jalapeno chile, stemmed, seeded (if you wish) and finely chopped

1 pound late summer tomatoes, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces

1/4 cup (loosely packed) chopped fresh herbs, lemon verbana, chives, cilantro (thick bottom stems cut off), or any combination of herbs you may like

Juice of 1 lime

Salt

Scoop the onion into a strainer, rinse under cold tap water, shake off the excess and transfer to a medium bowl. Add the mirasol chile, tomatoes, herbs and lime. Stir well, taste and season with salt, usually about 3/4 teaspoon. This salsa is best if eaten within an hour or two, but it will keep for a number of hours in the refrigerator.

Wedding Celebrations! Vegan

I'm so excited and honoured to be catering a dear friend's wedding reception this week.  It will be all vegan but, unless they are reading this blog, they likely won't notice the lack of meat and dairy.

The weather was perfect for a lovely garden party wedding reception. 

Menu:
Vegetable Samosas with Imli sauce
Roasted yellow pepper hummus, Rabat Eggplant, Turkish pomegranate white bean dip and Greek Fava Beans with Afghani Naan platters
Assorted mushrooms pat� with truffles
Stuffed Grape Leaves
Almond stuffed fresh dates with tahini honey sauce (yes, honey was approved :))
Belgian Endive with Pomegranate Walnut Paste
Halvah (plain and pistachio)
Moroccan Charoset
Three-tiered Turkish style fruit trays with candles and caramelized sugar


Tea Station with Moroccan Mint and Turkish samovar with saffron sugar, brown sugar cubes and cherry jam (Russian Style)
Manitoba Punch with Solberry

Warming Soups for Winter

Tonight I will have the pleasure of presenting these four warming soups for winter for the Assiniboine Park Conservancy and the MLCC.  Stay tuned for some photos and beverage pairings and tasting these this winter at Arkadash Bistro and Lounge.

Red Pepper soup with bulgur, chickpeas, mint and chile

7 oz dried chickpeas

� cup olive oil

1 onion, finely diced

1 long red pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 long red chile, seeded and finely chopped

1 tsp dried mint

1 tablespoon pekmez

14 oz can chopped tomatoes

1 � quarts vegetable stock or water

3 oz course bulgur

� cup shredded mint leaves

� tsp hot paprika

juice of � lemon

Soak the chickpeas overnight in plenty of cold water

Heat the oil in a large, saucepan.  Saut� the onion, pepper chile and mint over a low heat for 5-8 minutes until softened.  Add the pekmez and saut� for another minute.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas and add to the pan with tomatoes and stock.  Bring to boil and then lower heat and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes.  Add the bulgur with the remaining liquid and simmer, covered, for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

When ready to serve, stir in the shredded mint, paprika and lemon juice.  Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and serve hot.

Pekmez is a grape molasses found in specialty food stores.

Easy Crab Bisque

1 onion, finely sliced

2-4 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups chopped tomatoes

2 cups vegetable stock

1 cup cream

good pinch saffron

2 cups white wine

� cup basil

salt and pepper, to taste

dried chilies, to taste

1 cup chopped crab meat (available at Gimli Fish)

Saut� onions and garlic until soft in a large pot.  Add tomatoes and all ingredients except for the crab meat.  Cook until soft and then remove from heat and pur�e using an immersion blender.  Return pot to heat and add chopped crab meat.  Bring to boil and simmer until serving.

Enjoy!

Moroccan Butternut Squash Soup

1 yellow onion, chopped
pinch coarse salt
1 1/2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 lbs butternut, kabocha, or calabaza squash halved, peeled and seeded and cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks (about 6 cups)
2 tbs tomato paste
1 tsp La Kama Spice Mixture (1 tsp each of ground ginger, turmeric and white pepper, good pinch of grated nutmeg, 1/2 tsp each of cinnamon and optional cubeb pepper)
1/2 cup heavy cream or creme fraiche
1/2 lb crumbled chevre
1 tsp or more to taste Harissa paste (available in select stores, including Herat Foods on Pembina)

salt and pepper, to taste

1. Cook onion in heavy bottomed pot or casserole dish (tajine) on medium low heat with the olive oil until the onions are soft, about 10 minutes
2. Add the squash, cover with parchment paper and/lid and cook for 20 minutes.
3. Add tomato paste, spices and 4 cups of hot water and bring to a boil. Then simmer until the squash is tender, about 20+ minutes. Remove from heat.
4. Blend in batches or with an immersion blender until smooth. Add the cream and 3/4 of the cheese and the harissa at the end. Pur�e until velvety.
5. Bring up to heat and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve into warmed bowls and top each portion with a light sprinkling of the remaining cheese.

Enjoy!

Dal

2 cups red lentils
1 medium onion, diced
1 inch ginger, grated
3-4 cloves garlic, grated
2 tbs curry spice blend
2-3 tbs olive or vegetable oil
2-3 tomatoes, diced
1 cup spinach leaves
~ 4-6 cups water
~ 1 cup yoghurt
salt, to taste
optional, 1 tbs brown sugar to round out taste and cut acid

In a larger pot, bring lentils and water to a boil. In a separate pan, heat oil and saut� onion until translucent. Add spice blend and cook until softened. Add ginger and garlic and be careful not to burn. When the water in the lentil pot is boiling, add hot onions and spices to the pot and stir. Simmer and add vegetables. Bring to a gentle boil. Stir in yoghurt and test for salt.

For a full protein, serve with rice.

Enjoy!