September 2019 – Buen provecho…2022

15 Minute Thai Basil Chicken

When life gives you lemons…oops…a great Thai basil plant, one makes more Thai food, right? This 15 minute recipe was incredible. You do not have to use Thai basil, but the taste will be a little different. In place of the Thai chilies, I used a few drops of Sriracha sauce.

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15 MINUTE THAI BASIL CHICKEN

Prep Time: 6 mins Cook Time: 9 mins Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
1 red bell pepper, chopped
8 ounces green beans
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, coarsely chopped
4 sliced shallots
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 minced Thai chilies, or to taste
1 cup very thinly sliced fresh Thai basil leaves
Jasmine rice, to serve

Heat the oil in a wok or heavy, high-walled skillet over high heat. As the wok is heating up, whisk together the oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, and sugar until well-combined. Set aside.

Add the bell pepper and green beans to the hot wok. Stir-fry for one minute. Add in the chicken and stir-fry, breaking apart as you go, until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes.

Stir in the shallots, garlic, and Thai chilies. Cook until fragrant, about 1 more minute. Then, pour in the prepared sauce. Continue to cook until the sauce begins to glaze onto the meat, about 1-2 more minutes.

Stir in the Thai basil leaves and cook until the chicken is completely cooked through, the basil is wilted, and the liquid has mostly evaporated. Serve warm with rice.

Maple Peameal Bacon Roast

After finally getting together all of the ingredients to make MY OWN peameal bacon, I was ready to savour the flavour of a peameal bacon roast! For those not familiar with peameal bacon, it is an Eastern Canadian thing. A pork loin is brined for 5 days and rolled in a crust of cornmeal and placed in the refrigerator for a few days before slicing OR freezing for future use. If any of you are interested in the recipe for making your own peameal bacon, drop me a line. For now here is the roast recipe…

Maple Peameal Bacon Roast

1 – 3 1/2 lb. peameal bacon
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons fresh chopped rosemary
1 teaspoon fresh black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sea salt (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F or 180 C

Cut six 1 inch slits across the roast. Place on a rack in a large rimmed baking pan lined with foil.
Combine maple syrup, Dijon mustard, rosemary, salt and pepper. Brush the mixture over the roast.
Bake in centre of oven for 25 minutes and baste with remaining mixture.
Bake for another 50 minutes OR until thermometer registers 130 F/55 C
Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Makes a great dinner with some roasted vegetables of mashed potatoes and a side dish of green beans!

Baked Feta Cheese with Olives and Lemon

If you should get invited to a Spanish ‘tapas’ party, this makes a perfect dish to bring. Okay, in English we might say appetizer, in French hors d’oeuvres ??? No matter it was another great find on Pinterest. It was also quick to prepare.

Baked Feta Cheese with Olives and Lemons

Ingredients

one block of sheep’s milk feta (sold in the brine) about 10-14 ounces
1/3 cup good extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1/2 large lemon
1 – 2 cups mixed olives* (recipe calls for whole and pitted) see below
a few sundried tomatoes chopped
3 Tbsp fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
a few coarse grindings of black pepper

Instructions

Set oven to 350F
Put the feta in a gratin dish or other small ovenproof dish that you will also serve out of.
Pour the olive oil into the dish, followed by the lemon juice. Arrange the olives* (I would suggest using ONLY sliced olives as they whole ones fall off when you lay them on the cheese when serving) around the cheese, with the rosemary. I quarter the squeezed lemon half and throw that in as well. Sprinkle the red and black pepper over all. I also added some slices of sundried tomatoes.
Bake for about 15 – 20 minutes, or until hot and bubbling. I loosely laid a sheet of foil over mine. You can finish under the broiler if you like for a little charring effect.
Serve hot with toasted bread

Red Thai Roasted Cauliflower Steaks

We likely all grew up with cauliflower smothered with Velveeta cheese. I was never quite sure that I didn’t like the cheese best? As my taste buds have matured I was willing to give roasted cauliflower a chance. I also like Thai foods. Grand slam for this recipe. You can certainly adjust the amount of Thai red curry paste you like, but as is the recipe is not all that hot. Give it a try and stop looking at that whole cauliflower and thinking CHEESE!

Red Thai Roasted Cauliflower Steaks

Ingredients

1 whole cauliflower head
1 Tbsp red curry paste
2 Tbsp olive oil (plus a little extra to coat pan and for little pieces)
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
Remove the leaves of the cauliflower and then wash
Place the whole cauliflower head on a cutting board, with the stalk of the cauliflower facing up; then slice with a large, sharp knife into about 1 1/2″ thick slice, aiming to get 4, but if it’s a small head, you’ll get about 3. It isn’t a perfect science. Expect small pieces to break off (save these).
Coat the bottom of a large cast iron skillet or sheet pan with a little olive oil
Place your “steaks” on the pan
Mix together the red curry paste, olive oil and a little salt and pepper (based on your preferences – I go heavier on the pepper and wait until I taste later to add salt).
Coat the cauliflower steaks on the side facing up (only) with the red Thai curry/oil mixture and then pop into the oven for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, take the smaller pieces and put them into the bowl, add a drizzle of olive oil and a little salt and pepper.
After the 20 minutes, ip the “steaks” and add the small pieces
Roast for another 10-15 minutes or until soft in the middle and slightly charred. Enjoy!