Jamie Oliver's Cucumber Salad - Take Two

Last time I blogged about this salad (March 2010) we ate it so quickly that I didn't get a chance for any pictures. I made it again last night and so here is an updated post! Also, I made a couple of changes to the recipe. The original calls for natural yogurt but I used Créme Fraiche (2 tbsp) and found it was so much better.  40% milk fat will do that I guess! I also omitted the mint per my husband's request. Instead of a fresh chili (which I could not find at my local store today) I used red chili flakes.  The original post is here and will give you all the instructions on how to prepare the salad. Try it - you'll like it!

Pasta Salad with Cherry Tomatoes, Feta and Zucchini Ribbons

A super summery cold pasta salad like this is perfect for a picnic lunch at the beach.  Easy to throw together in the morning before you head out it's a great little lunch that will satisfy big and small kids.  You can of course make your own variation based on what you have in the fridge. 

I used penne pasta (cooked according to the package and then rinsed under cold water) and tossed with crumbled feta, cherry tomatoes and zucchini ribbons. For the dressing, I used olive oil, some apple cider vinegar, salt & pepper.  Remember, depending on the size of your salad the amount of dressing you need to make will vary. For most vinaigrette dressings, try to keep your oil to vinegar ratio at 3:1. Be adventurous if you like and add in herbs, spices, onions, shallots, lemons or honey or try different types of vinegars (raspberry, balsamic etc.). Whisk to emulsify in a glass or ceramic bowl or shake in a mason jar to incorporate.

Making zucchini ribbons is very easy. Just wash the zucchini and cut off the ends. Next grab your vegetable peeler and start 'shaving' off thin lengthwise strips of zucchini stopping and turning when you see the seeds.

Turkey Sliders with Pesto, Fresh Mozzarella & Caramelized Onions

Good things come in small packages as they say...these mini turkey burgers are no exception!  These are very easy to whip up for dinner and serve with either homemade potato wedges or salad.  I topped mine with fresh mozzarella, pesto and caramelized onions.  If I had the time, I would have made some home made pesto but settled for store bought this week. If you want to make the onions but aren't sure how - check out this post for French Onion Soup and follow the instructions there but reduce the quantities unless you plan on making the soup too!

Ingredients & Preparation: Makes approx. 8 mini burgers

• 1lb ground turkey
• 1 egg
• 2 slices of bread, made into crumbs
• 1 tbsp Dijon
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 2 tbsp green onion, diced
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil
• dinner rolls or mini burger buns

Toppings

• fresh mozzarella
• pesto
• 1 onion, sliced and caramelized

Whisk the egg and mix through the ground turkey.  Add all the other ingredients and form into small balls so you have approximately 8.  Heat a large frying pan and add some olive oil. Add the turkey burgers and cook on medium heat turning half way to brown both sides. Cook them low & slow until cook all the way through.  Lightly toast the buns.  Put your burgers on the buns, add your toppings and enjoy!

You could do the burgers on the grill just take care they don't fall though the cracks!

"Loaf Pan Lasagna" with Cottage Cheese & Spinach

The one thing that I don't like about making lasagna for our small family of 3 is that half of it goes to waste. I do love leftovers but somehow they always get pushed to the back of the fridge, forgotten about until cleaning day. And that doesn't end well.
I tried a new thing yesterday - making mini lasagnas in the meat loaf pan. I am not the first person to do this but for some reason it had never occurred to me before - it's magical! Half the cooking time and one pan equals one dinner for a small family. This recipe makes two loaf pan sized lasagnas so eat one tonight and freeze the other for a rainy day.

Now I know some people have a thing against cottage cheese so you can easily substitute ricotta in this recipe if you must...

Ingredients & Prep - Makes 2 loaf pans. Each serves approx. 2 adults & 2 kids with small appetites.  Recipe adapted from the meatier version on the blog Hogwash.

• 2 cups 2% cottage cheese
• 2 large eggs
• dried basil
• dried oregano
• salt & pepper to taste
• fresh minced garlic to taste
• 3-4 cups marinara sauce
• 2 cups frozen shredded spinach, thawed (I like to use frozen spinach because once you microwave it to thaw, you can easily squeeze the excess water out and it removes that pesky task of washing, chopping, stemming, cooking the fresh stuff).
• 2 1/2 cups of mozzarella, shredded
• 1 box no bake lasagna noodles.  Try to get the flat edge lasagna noodles that are smaller than traditional noodles. I like to use the Garofalo brand. They look like the noodles in the picture below. Perfect for a loaf sized pan.

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Whisk the eggs to blend in a mixing bowl, and season with basil, oregano, garlic, salt and freshly ground pepper. Stir in cottage cheese, and set aside.
3. Thaw the spinach and squeeze out excess water.
4. Spread 1/4 cup of the marinara sauce on the bottom of each of two loaf pans. Add a sheet of pasta to each, followed by another 1/4 cup sauce, 2/3 cup of the spinach, and 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella. Next, add another sheet of pasta, followed by 1/2 cup of the cottage cheese mixture. (It will be slightly runny, that’s okay.) Top each with another noodle, then 1/4 cup sauce, and divide the remaining spinach between the two pans. Top each spinach layer with another 1/4 cup mozzarella, then a sheet of pasta, and divide the remaining cottage cheese mixture between the two pans. Finally, top the cottage cheese with the last of the pasta. Divide the remaining sauce over the noodles, spreading it to cover them all the way to the edges. Sprinkle each with about 1/2 cup mozzarella.
5. Cover each pan tightly with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil, and bake another 15 minutes uncovered, until cheese is melted and beginning to brown. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
6. To freeze cooked lasagna, let cool to room temperature, then cover the top with foil, wrap in plastic, and freeze up to 2 months. Transfer to refrigerator 24 hours before baking, with foil on top, for 20 to 30 minutes at 350F, or until hot all the way through.

Stacked Caprese Salad

Hands down these are my favourite individual salads to make especially for a group of people if you are trying to be a little fancy but don't have much time! They look so nice on a dining table if plated on a white plate with a drizzle of good quality, rich olive oil.

I picked up some gorgeous vine tomatoes the other day and knew I had to make these for dinner. One thing I find harder to find is fresh mozzarella. Where I live there aren't too many specialty cheese boutiques so I make do with the fresh mozzarella at the grocery store. Still yummy but not quite the same. Keep in mind, this cheese is the soft, round cheese packed in water not the ball of firm mozzarella.


Ingredients & Prep: Serves 4

• 1 ball fresh mozzarella
• 4 vine ripened tomatoes
• bunch of fresh basil
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Wash and slice the tomatoes into equal sized pieces.  Arrange on salad plates alternating mozzarella and basil. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil. Allow guests to add salt if they prefer and offer fresh ground pepper at the table.

13 Bean Soup

I love Bob's Red Mill products and like to try as many different things in their line as I can.  I bought this soup mix thinking it was an all-in-one mix with stock/flavouring etc. but turns out it was just the beans - 13 types of beans, but still just beans (and a few lentils).

As instructed on the package, I soaked the beans overnight and for most of the next day to get them a little softer. I drained and rinsed the beans and then boiled them for 3 hours on low with 2 1/2 quarts of water and 2 chicken bouillon cubes.  Once they were quite soft I added more water to thin out the soup, tomato paste, garlic, onion, salt & pepper and the juice of 1/2 a large lemon.

Overall, the bean mix made a great starting point for this soup.  If you are looking for a way to get more fibre into your diet and/or a vegetarian source of protein, this is the way to go (but use vegetable bouillon instead!).

Ingredients: Serves 6-8

• 2 cups mixed beans
• 2 1/2 quarts water
• 2 bouillon cubes
• 1 onion, diced
• 15 oz can tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• juice of 1/2 large lemon

Jamie Oliver's Real Mushroom Soup

I have a fascination with making soup and even though it is about 28 degrees I had to try this the other night. Fresh mushrooms from Ontario are all over the markets right now and I was able to get a couple of lbs for a great price.  What better time to make a "real" mushroom soup? My parents have just returned from the UK and made a point to stop in at one of JO's restaurants in London. I am now the proud owner of a Jamie Oliver's Italian jute (hemp?) tote bag, 4 white & blue cloth serviettes, 2 JO tea towels and a stolen appetizer menu (thanks to my Mum). In honour of Jamie and to make up for the stolen menu, I decided to try out his soup recipe!


Ingredients and Preparation: Serves 6
Recipe taken directly from Jamie Oliver's book "Jamie's Dinners".

• a small handful of dried porcini
• olive oil
• 600g (1.5 lbs) mixed fresh wild mushrooms (chanterelles, girolles, trompettes de mort, shitake, oyster), cleaned and sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
• 1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped
• a knob of butter
• a handful of fresh thyme, leaves picked
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 litre chicken or vegetable stock, preferably organic
• a handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
• 1 lemon
• optional: truffle oil

Place the porcini in a small dish, add boiling water just to cover, and leave to soak. Get a large casserole-type pan nice and hot, then add a good couple of lugs of olive oil and your fresh mushrooms. Stir around very quickly for a minute, then add your garlic, onion, butter and thyme and a small amount of seasoning. After about a minute you'll probably notice moisture cooking out of the mushrooms and at this point add half of your porcini, chopped up, and the rest left whole. Strain the soaking liquid to remove any grit, and add it to the pan. Carry on cooking for about 20 minutes until most of the moisture disappears.

Season to taste, and add your stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for around 20 minutes. I usually remove half the soup from the pan and whiz it up to a purée at this point, then pour it back in, adding the parsley and mascarpone, and seasoning carefully to taste.

You can serve this soup as you like, but there are a few things to remember when finishing it off. Mix together a pinch of salt and pepper with the zest of one lemon and the juice of half of it, then spoon a little of this into the middle of the soup. When you go to eat it, stir it in and it gives a wonderful flavour. Other things you can consider are little slices of grilled crostini put into the bottom of the bowls before the soup is poured over. Or you could even quickly fry some nice-looking mushrooms – like girolles, chanterelles or oysters – and sprinkle these on top of the soup. If I was going to use truffle oil, then I would use it on its own – a few drips on the top just before serving.

What to do? I am no longer living in Suburbia.

Do I need to change the name of the blog to match my new location? I am technically no longer in the suburbs but more of a small town with one set of traffic lights.  Deep thoughts this Saturday evening.

Now that we are finally settled into the new house and almost organized in the kitchen I hope to get back to blogging some fantastic recipes this summer...made a delicious pasta tonight with asparagus, tomatoes, vidalia onion and artichokes but ate it before I had a chance to photograph it. Long day at the beach equals a hungry family.

Menu planning starts back up again tomorrow.