Sage-Flavored Gratin Dauphinois with Potato, Sweet Potato and Pink Turnips

Sage-Flavored Gratin Dauphinois with Potato, Sweet Potato and Pink Turnips
Serves 4 to 6 people

Ingredients

• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
• unsalted butter, for the baking dish
• 1 cup (240 ml) whole milk
• 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream
• 1 twig of thyme
• 1 lb and 9 oz (700 g) Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and sliced finely with a mandolin
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and sliced finely with a mandolin
• 5 small pink turnips, peeled and sliced finely with a mandolin
• 6 sage leaves, chopped finely
• sea salt and pepper
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1 oz finely grated Comté cheese

Instructions
1. Rub a 12 x 8.5-inch baking dish with two halves of one garlic clove. Butter the dish generously. Slice the halves of garlic and place them at the bottom of the dish. Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
3. In a pot, heat the milk and heavy cream with the remaining garlic halves and the thyme. Bring to a simmer and then stop the heat. Cover and let infuse for 30 minutes. Strain, discarding the garlic and thyme, and reheat.
4. Tightly arrange the slices of vegetables at the bottom of the dish, alternating between one layer of potato slices, one layer of sweet potatoes and one layer of turnips. Repeat until you run out of ingredients.
5. Add the sage and then pour the milk/cream batter over the vegetables — the milk should cover the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the nutmeg. Top with the grated cheese.
6. Bake the gratin for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until the top has a nice golden color. Serve warm as a side dish.


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Coffee-Flavoured Cake

Coffee-Flavoured Cake

Ingredients

• 4 oz butter (1 stick)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 good tablespoons treacle (or molasses)
• 2 cups self-rising flour (or make your own with 1.5 teaspoons baking powder + 1/2 teaspoon salt per cup of all-purpose flour)
• pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup strong coffee

Preparation

1. Cream butter and sugar, and add eggs one at a time. Beat well, and add treacle.
2. Fold in thoroughly sifted dry ingredients alternately with black coffee.
3. Fill two greased 8-inch sandwich tins (regular round cake pans).
4. Bake in a moderate oven for 25 to 30 minutes (I did it at 350ºF/180ºC). Leave in tins for a while.
5. When cool, fill and ice as desired.


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Spaghetti alla Gricia

Spaghetti alla Gricia

Ingredients
For two people
7 oz (150-200g) pasta
4-4.5 ounces of guanciale (hog jowl) cut into strips (pancetta, or thickly sliced smoked bacon if you can’t get guanciale)
3.5 ounces of freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese (or more or less depending on your tastes)
lots of fresh black pepper.
Optional:  2 tables spoons (30ml) white wine, red pepper flakes.
You will need a separate bowl to mix the final ingredients in.



If you know how to make spaghetti alla carbonara, you already know how to make this dish, with the liquid in the pan and the cheese working together. It’s so simple, but I will be explicit, just in case!

Grate the pecorino and set it aside. While the pasta boils, brown the guanciale until its cooked to your liking.
If you are using white wine: Add the wine to the rendered fat in the frying pan and heat the mixture thickens a bit, and sprinkle in a few spoonfuls of cheese. Once it has thickened, add the pasta to the pan and toss it to coat it well.  If you don’t have a large enough frying pan to toss the pasta in, the step of coating the pasta can also be done in the separate bowl, adding the remaining grated cheese, black pepper, and red pepper flakes if you are using them.

If you’re not using white wine, drain the pasta when it is still al dente, setting aside half a cup of the cooking water.  Add the pasta to the separate bowl, along with the guanciale and rendered fat, grated cheese, black pepper, and red pepper flakes if you are using them. Gradually add a bit of the pasta water until the pasta is well coated creamy, Jonathan uses a couple of tablespoons of water in his.  If the pasta still is too dry for your taste, add a bit more water.

Serve immediately, with extra cheese and black pepper on the side.


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Grilled Portobello and Peach Burgers

Grilled Portobello & Peach Burgers
Makes 6 burgers

Ingredients

• 6 portobello mushrooms
• 6 peaches
• 6 sweet potatoes
• 6 burger buns of your choice (If you don’t eat gluten, we have a quick gluten-free bun recipe on the blog.)
• 100 g fresh pea sprouts
• 5 small roman tomatoes, sliced
• 5 small spring onions, sliced
• fresh thyme
• olive oil
• salt & pepper

Marinade Ingredients

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 fresh rosemary sprigs
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 lemon
• salt & pepper

Guacamole Ingredients

• 4 avocados
• 5 small Roma tomatoes
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/4 cup parsley
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Preparation: Clean the portobello mushrooms by carefully removing dirt from the caps with a kitchen towel or cloth; you can use a little water if needed. Pat dry. Cut the peaches in halves and remove the pits.

Making the sweet potato fries: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut the sweet potatoes in 1-inch thick, 5-inch long sticks. Put them on a parchment-covered baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil, salt and thyme over them and put in the oven. The fries need around 30 minutes before they are ready, but you need to stir after 15 minutes.

Making the marinade: Pour olive oil in a small bowl. Add one chopped rosemary sprig, chopped thyme, mashed garlic, freshly squeezed lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Stir around. Use the other rosemary sprig to brush the mushrooms and peaches with the marinade. When the grill is ready, grill the portobello and peaches for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side, while you use the rosemary stick to brush the marinade over them one more time.

Making the guacamole: Chop avocados, tomatoes and parsley roughly. Add them to a small bowl with mashed garlic. Squeeze lemon juice over it, and mash everything with a fork. It’s okay if it stays a little chunky.

Assembling the burger: Slice the buns in halves. Let them get some color on the grill. When done, place a big dollop of guacamole on the bottom bun, and add pea sprouts, tomatoes, spring onion, one portobello mushroom and two peach halves. Add the top of the bun, and insert a stick to hold it all together. Enjoy!


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Absorption pasta with asparagus, pancetta and lemon zest

Absorption pasta with asparagus, pancetta and lemon zest
Serves 4-6

Ingredients
3/4 lb. (350g) good-quality penne (the cooking time of my penne lists an 8-9 minute cooking time)
2 or 3 shallots, finely sliced, or half of a small yellow onion, finely diced
2-4 slices of pancetta, chopped
1 bunch asparagus
1/4 lb. (115g) Feta cheese
Zest of one lemon
4 cups (960ml) Chicken stock
Kosher salt and freshly-ground pepper
2 tablespoons (30ml) Olive Oil

A few notes before you start: To make this vegetarian/vegan, just leave out the pancetta/cheese and use good vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.  All the pasta cooking times are approximate and will vary depending on the pasta you use.  The amount of chicken stock you use will vary, so keep all four cups called for in the recipe on hand, however you may not use it all!



Prepare the asparagus: Snap off the woody ends. Cut each stalk into angled pieces roughly the length and shape of the pasta. Keep the tips separate from the stalks once you have cut them, as you will add them to the pasta at different times later.
Prepare the pancetta: Put olive oil in a saucepan with tall sides over medium-high heat (I use a 4-quart saucepan for this amount of pasta). Once the oil has heated up, cook the pancetta to render the fat and crisp it up. Remove from the saucepan and and set it aside.



Cooking the pasta:
Add the sliced shallots to the pan and sauté until they start to soften, a minute or less. Add in the dry pasta and stir it around for one minute to coat it in the oil and shallots, toasting the pasta a little bit. Keep an eye on the shallots to make sure they aren’t burning.

Pour in 2.5 or 3 cups (600-720ml) of chicken stock and give it a good stir (the pasta should be nearly covered). Bring to a simmer and then reduce the heat to keep it from boiling. Cook for five to seven minutes, stirring occasionally.

When the pasta is about half done, stir in the asparagus stalks. Stir more frequently for two minutes as the stock cooks away, careful not to break the pasta.  You might need another splash of stock; you don’t want the pan to dry out all the way.  When the pasta seems to be getting close to done—test frequently!—add the asparagus tips.

Cook another minute or two, stirring constantly, until al dente.   Since this dish holds the heat and the pasta keeps cooking a little once you’ve removed it from the heat, you should err on the side of less—rather than more—cooked.

You should still have some thickened broth at the bottom of the pan; as you toss the pasta to season it this will coat everything and make it silky instead of sticky.

Remove from the heat and stir in half of the pancetta and three-quarters of the lemon zest. Season to taste, but remember that you’ll be adding salty feta on top.

Serve:Top each portion with crumbled feta, pancetta, and lemon zest.


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Butternut Squash Lasagna with Sage and Lemon butter

Butternut Squash Lasagna

Ingredients
1 or 2  Large Butternut squash – Peeled, cored and sliced thin 1/4  inch
10 to 14  Pasta Sheets – Cooked
1 handful  Spinach
6 cloves  Garlic
1 bunch  Italian Parsley
1 stick Butter (114g)
¼ Cup  Flour
3 ½ Cups Whole Milk
3 Cups  Shredded Mozzarella
½ Cup  Parmesan
10 each  Sage Leaves – Sliced Thin
1 each Lemon – Zest
Salt and Pepper and Olive Oil



Make the Lasagna

Pre-heat oven to 375F
You will need a 13x9x2 baking dish (a regular glass one or any type of casserole will do)
Drizzle the sheet tray with olive oil and place the slices of butternut squash on it, season with salt and pepper, repeat another layer until all the butternut is layered.  Cover with foil and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes until the squash is cooked yet still firm enough to break apart.

While that is working start on your roux: ½ stick of butter in the pot and melt until almost browned, whisk in the flour and continue to cook for about 30 seconds, slowly whisk in the milk and bring to a boil, Add the garlic and continue to cook at a medium heat until mixture thickens. Transfer the mixture to the blender and blend in the Spinach/parsley. Season with salt and Pepper.

Rub the Baking dish with a little butter and begin the layers: Cream Sauce, pasta, Mozza, Parma, butternut – Repeat. Make sure the top layer has cheese on top. Cover with Foil and Bake for 40 minutes, remove foil and bake for another 15 or until the top is crispy golden brown. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving

Serve with Sage/Lemon Brown Butter: In small sauté pan bring the remaining butter to a light brown color – Very hot and bubbling add Sage, Zest, salt and Pepper. Spoon over a little on each piece.

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Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Hoisin Peanut Sauce

Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Hoisin Peanut Sauce
For the vegetarians/vegans out there, feel free to substitute the shrimp with grilled tofu. And for all you carnivores, simply add grilled pork, beef or chicken. In addition, mix and match any of your favorite vegetables.

Ingredients
For the rolls:
** 1 lb. fresh shrimp
** 1 cucumber, cut into thin, long strips
** 1 red pepper, cut into thin long strips
** 1 head of green lettuce, any kind
** 1 bunch cilantro
** 1 bunch mint
** Rice paper
** Rice vermicelli noodles

For the dipping sauce:
** 1 large clove garlic, minced
** 1 tsp olive oil
** 1/4 cup organic peanut butter
** 2 tsp. hoison sauce
** 1/4 cup water (more if needed)
** Sriracha chili sauce (optional)




Method

Bring a saucepan to a boil on medium heat. Add shrimp and poach for 3-4 minutes until bright pink. Allow to cool to room temperature. Remove skins, devein and slice in half crosswise. Set aside. Bring a medium saucepan filled halfway with water to a boil. Once a rapid boil is reached, add rice vermicelli noodles, cover and immediately remove from heat. Set timer for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, drain noodles in a colander and rinse with cold water to stop cooking. Allow to dry at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Meanwhile, begin to prepare the dipping sauce. Heat a small small saucepan with olive oil on medium-low heat. Add garlic and saute quickly, about 20 seconds. Do not let garlic burn. Add peanut butter and hoisin sauce and continue to stir. When sauce begins to incorporate and thickens up, add water. Adjust to taste and continue to add water, 1 tbsp. at a time, if it becomes too thick. Remove from heat and set aside.

To assemble rolls, dip single sheets of rice paper into hot water. Allow excess water to drain and quickly place on a plate. Once rice paper becomes pliable and soft, add shrimp, softened noodles, cucumbers, red peppers, cilantro and mint. Carefully roll closed and slice in half. Serve with hoisin peanut dipping sauce.

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Chinese Chicken Salad with Spicy Ginger Dressing

Chinese Chicken Salad with Spicy Ginger Dressing
Serves 2
Feel free to substitute the chicken with grilled tofu, shrimp or any protein of your liking.

Ingredients

• 1 boneless chicken breast, skin removed
• 1 medium-sized Napa (or Savoy) cabbage, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, shredded
• 1 small tomato, thinly sliced
• 1 mango, thinly sliced
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 2 tbsp. roasted sesame seeds
• handful of fresh mint, chopped
• handful of cilantro, chopped
• handful of roasted peanuts

Spicy Ginger Dressing

• 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha chili sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preparation

1. To poach chicken, place the breast in a small saucepan and add water, about 1 inch above the chicken. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiled, immediately lower heat to a very slow simmer and partly cover for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the chicken to cook in hot water for another 15 minutes. Once cooled, shred chicken and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the spicy ginger dressing.

3. Add the cabbage, chicken, carrots, tomato, mint and cilantro to the large bowl and toss gently. Top with mango slices and roasted peanuts. Garnish with scallions and roasted sesame seeds, and serve immediately.


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Spicy Roasted Broccolini Quinoa Salad

Spicy Roasted Broccolini Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

• 1 bunch broccolini, stalks trimmed
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1–2 tbsp crumbled goat cheese
• 1 handful cherry tomatoes, halved

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Cut the broccolini into bite-sized pieces, about 1 1/2 inches.
3. Place broccolini on a parchment-lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Squeeze the lemon over the raw broccolini and season with salt, pepper and the red pepper flakes. Toss to make sure each piece is coated.
4. Roast for 15 to 18 minutes in the pre-heated oven, until stalks are tender and the heads of the broccolini are just lightly browned. Remove from oven and set aside.
5. In a medium-sized pot, combine the quinoa and vegetable stock. Bring the liquid to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Let the quinoa cook until all the liquid has been absorbed, about 15 minutes.
6. Once the quinoa is fully cooked, fluff with a fork, and toss in the roasted broccolini, crumbled goat cheese and cherry tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and serve.



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