Tag: Vegetarian

Creamy Roasted Garlic Soup, the Perfect Appie

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Roasted Garlic Soup

Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Course Appetizer, Side Dish, Soup
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 6 garlic bulbs
  • 2 Tbsps olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 1/2 shallot (peeled and minced, can use 1/4 small onion)
  • 1 small potato (peeled and cubed)
  • 4-5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
  • 2 Tbsps brandy
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • 1 pinch dried tarragon
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
  • salt and pepper (to taste)
  • 1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts (crushed into large pieces, for garnish)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350ºC/175ºF Set garlic bulbs in aluminum foil or dish with a cover, drizzle with the olive oil. Place in oven and cook for approximately 1 hour. Allow to cool until easily handled. Remove cloves from skin. Melt butter in pot. Add shallots and cook until just softened. Add the potato and garlic, stirring. Add the broth, brandy, wine and tarragon. Bring the soup to a light simmer for 20 minutes. Either blend in pot with a handheld blender, or blend in regular blender in batches, until smooth. Return to pot, add the sour cream and parmesan, stirring in completely. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place in bowls, sprinkle the hazelnuts on top and serve.
Keyword Garlic, Parmesan, Potatoes, Roasted Garlic, Soup

And now for the details…

Hiya folks. Sorry for the huge delay between posting. I’ve ended up with a relapse of my concussion, and as a result have been trying to limit my screen time to reduce my symptoms. Since I do need to stare at a screen all day for my job, the blogging has taken a bit of a backseat of late. BUT! I think things are starting to turn, so I am going to be spending a bit more time putting together posts. I’ve had plenty of time to cook, so I’ve got a lot of content in backlog! I just need to get the stuff I have written down into posts!

With that, let’s talk about today’s recipe. A roasted garlic soup. This luscious, velvety bowl of deliciousness is so comforting and luxurious-feeling with ultimately fairly inexpensive ingredients (minus the booze and nuts). It plates really nicely too, so you can impress your dinner guests by serving this as a beautiful (and delicious) appetizer. Y’know… when we’re able to have dinner guests again (*silent tears*).

To get this recipe started.. we need to roast the garlic. This part is super simple, just place the garlic in some tin foil (or a covered oven-proof dish if you’re not wanting to use foil), drizzle it with the olive oil, seal the package up, and place it in a 350ºF/175ºC oven. If you want to make it easier to access the garlic later, you can cut tops off to expose the very top of the cloves before drizzling with the olive oil, but I don’t really find it all that easier. Bake the garlic for approximately an hour.

When the garlic is cooked, remove from the oven, open the package up and let the garlic cool until cool enough to handle. Then, remove those delicious little nuggets of roasted cloves from the skin and set them aside.

Next, melt the butter in a pot over medium heat, then add the shallot or onion, and stir until just softened. Add the potato, and stir until the potato is coated with the butter. Next, add the garlic, broth, brandy, wine and tarragon, stirring well. In the recipe I suggest adding a pinch of tarragon. For any cooking beginners, you may ask: how much is a pinch? Well, if you were to reach into your spice jar and pinch a small amount of the spice between your index finger and thumb? That’s about a pinch.

Bring the soup up to a light simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes.

Next is how we get that nice, smooth texture. If you have one, you could use a hand blender to blend the soup right in the pot. I prefer to blend in a blender so the soup is soup-er smooth (yes I did that). If you have a smaller blender, you might have to do this in batches.

Once blended, return the soup to the pot, and add the sour cream and parmesan cheese until fully mixed. Can you use regular cream here? Absolutely. I just didn’t have any and going to get some just doesn’t seem like a necessary trip.

Finally, serve, topping with the hazelnut pieces, a drizzle of olive oil and some parmesan cheese, and serve.

Happy eating.

Super Simple Side of Roasted Butternut Squash

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Roasted Butternut Squash

Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Main Course, Side Dish

Ingredients
  

  • 1 medium sized butternut squash (peeled, cored and cut into chunks)
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp cane sugar (can use regular sugar)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 425ºF/220ºC. Place the squash pieces into a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle the spices over the squash. Toss the squash pieces to even cover the pieces with oil and spices. Lay out onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet in a single layer. Place in oven for 10 minutes. Take out of oven, flip the pieces and place back in the oven for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.
Keyword Baked, Butternut Squash, Vegetables, Vegetarian

And now for the details…

Always wanted to try making butternut squash, but not sure what to do with it? There are a number different options for butternut squash, you can mash it, turn it into soup, stuff it into ravioli… but one of my favourite ways to eat this squash is just by simply oven roasting it with some spices.

I haven’t had butternut squash in the house for quite awhile… the last time I made it, I dropped one of the raw pieces on the ground before they made it into the oven. And our dog swooped in and grabbed it, and ran off. Pretty normal for him, he loves vegetables (kale stalks are his favourite). But he also normally CHEWS before he swallows. Not so this time. Which resulted in a a sleepover for him at the animal hospital, and a very expensive vet bill for us… Thankfully, everyone’s okay, and needless to say, I was extremely careful to make sure none of the pieces fell on the floor this time.

Preheat your oven to 425ºF/220ºC.

We start by cutting the squash in half and scooping the seeds and guts out. Next, peel the skin off the squash. I find it is easier to do this by cutting the squash into quarters. If you find it really difficult, you can throw the squash pieces into the microwave for a minute or two to start the cooking process, which will really soften the flesh and make it easier to peel the skin off. Oh man… I just spent the day binge watching Criminal Minds, and that last sentence creeped me out a little bit…

Once the squash is peeled, cut it into cubes, about 1″ in size. Place those cubes in a medium sized mixing bowl. Drizzle with the olive oil. Then sprinkle the squash pieces with the spices, salt, and sugar. Mix well until the pieces have been thoroughly coated with oil and spices.

Next, lay parchment paper down on a large cookie sheet. Then lay the squash pieces in a single layer on the sheet. Place the squash in the oven for 10 minutes.

Take the squash out of the oven and turn the pieces over, then place back in the oven for another 10 minutes, or until the squash is tender and has caramelized/browned slightly.

Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Happy eating.

Gorgeous and Green Citrus Cucumber Salad

Cucumber Salad

Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Course Salad, Side Dish

Ingredients
  

  • 1 large english cucumber (sliced thin)
  • 1/2 cup fresh parsley (chopped)
  • 1 small shallot (sliced thin)
  • 1 avocado (peeled, pitted and cut into pieces)
  • 1 orange (juiced)
  • 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • salt and fresh ground pepper (to taste)

Instructions
 

  • Slice the cucumber and shallots very thin. Place in a bowl, and mix in the parsley, shallots, and avocados. Add the orange juice, vinegar, and oil. Mix well, then stay and pepper to taste. Serve.
Keyword Avocado, Cucumber, Orange, Salad, Salad Dressing

And now for the details…

Well folks, we are over halfway through the quarantine 14 day challenge, coming into day 8.

Today’s recipe is nice and simple. And since spring is attempting to be upon us, and warmer weather is around the corner, I figured it was appropriate to share a recipe that really could be likened to summer in a bowl. It’s nice and fresh, with a citrus kick from the orange juice, and richness provided from the avocado.

I use my Japanese knife for slicing the vegetables super thin. A quick sidebar for how much I love my Japanese knife… I really love this knife. And it’s not just because it was a gift from my grandma (a gift given with a coin, so as not to sever our relationship). Well maybe it’s partially because it was a gift from my grandma. But also… because the knife is beautiful. And works so well. I have only sharpened it once in the almost six years of owning it, and it is incredibly sharp (as the ends of fingers I have almost sliced off can attest). The knife is from a line called Kumo, for cloud, which is what the pattern on the knife seems to exhibit. Japanese knives have a different angle than traditional western blades, and are sharper than western blades, which makes them great for slicing things very thinly. It’s an awesome knife.

If you don’t have a super sharp Japanese blade? Well, a mandolin could also work. Or as sharp a knife as you may have. Maybe you just have better knife skills than I do. Possible. My knife skills could use work (as the ends of fingers I have almost sliced off can attest).

Cut the cucumber as thin as you can. Same with the shallot. Add them and the parsley to a bowl.

Toss the vegetables together, and add the avocado.

Squeeze the orange juice in, add the vinegar and oil, then add the salt and pepper to your flavour preference, and serve. It is that easy.

Happy eating.

Fennel and Kale Salad with Grainy Mustard Dressing

Fennel, Kale and Potato Salad with Grainy Mustard Dressing

Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Course Salad
Servings 2 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 fennel bulb (cored and sliced thin)
  • 2 kale leaves (destalked and sliced thin)
  • 4 small potatoes
  • 1 Tbsp mayonnaise
  • 1 Tbsp grainy mustard
  • 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 lemon (juiced)
  • 1 garlic clove (shredded)
  • 1/4 cup Emmentaller or Swiss cheese (shredded)
  • salt and pepper (to taste)

Instructions
 

  • Wrap the potatoes in aluminum foil and place on preheated bbq or oven for 10 minutes on medium high heat. Place the kale and fennel in a bowl. Mix the mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, juice, and shredded garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once the potatoes have cooled enough to touch, cut into 3-4mm slices and add to the bowl. Toss the veggies with the dressing. Serve.
Keyword Kale, Potatoes, Salad Dressing

And now for the details…

Okay, so this dish was totally another one of those “what do I have in the fridge” moments to bring something together at the last minute. I was having a friend over for dinner, already had steak on the roster, but needed a veggie to go with it. The result? A garlicky, creamy salad that has a freshness hit from the fennel, the added bite of the potatoes and earthiness of Emmentaler cheese.

If you have no Emmentaler, fret not, readily available “Swiss cheese”, as we know it in North America, is actually based on Emmentaler cheese. Because, yep, you guessed it, Emmental is a region in Switzerland. (Fun fact: did you know that the holes in Swiss cheese are known as “eyes” and if the cheese has no eyes, it is considered “blind”?)

Let’s get to the cooking.

Before starting to assemble the salad, we need to cook the potatoes. I used the barbecue, since it was already on to cook the steaks for our meal. But you could always cook them in the oven, or even boil them, as alternatives. I cleaned the potatoes well, since I wanted to keep the skins on, and placed them in tin foil, then cooked them for about 10 minutes. They were just wee, so they didn’t need much time to cook through. Adjust your cooking time as you need, depending on what size of potatoes you are using.

Now prepare the rest of your veggies. Slice the fennel thinly, and chop the kale into bite-sized pieces. Allow the potatoes to cool after they have been cooked; if you add them hot to the salad, they will melt or cook the other ingredients and the results will be quite different.

Slice the potatoes into little medallions, and add all the veggies to your salad bowl.

Whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, and garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste. I used my handy-dandy garlic grating plate to get a nice garlic paste going. If you do not have a garlic plate, grate the garlic with a fine grater right into the dressing bowl, trying to allow any garlic “juice” to make its way into the dressing. Next, grate the cheese, adding it to the bowl with the salad dressing.

Toss everything together gently, trying to avoid breaking the potatoes up into little pieces. Serve, and enjoy!

Happy eating.