Archives for May 2017

Gremolata with Roasted Leg of Lamb

Gremolata is an accompaniment served with savoury dishes. Osso Bucco (cross-cut veal shank) is a Classic Italian dish where Gremolata is used. Gremolata is made from a blend of three very distinct ingredients: fresh garlic, lemon and mint. I like to use Gremolata a bit differently. I make it as an accompaniment in a dish called Gremolata with Roasted Leg of Lamb. The combination of fresh spring mint with fresh garlic and lemon make a very fresh tasty addition to the roasted lamb.

Plated Roasted Leg of Lamb with Gremolata

Ingredients for Gremolata are crushed in a Mortar and Pestle

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Cream of Fennel and Gruyere Soup with Sherry

By Denise Pare-Watson

Making soup is one of my most satisfying cooking activities and it is something that I do often. Most of the soups that I make start the same way with a mirepoix, which quite simply is a mixture of onion, carrot and celery. This particular soup, Cream of Fennel and Gruyere Soup with Sherry is unique in that it only includes two vegetables, and has a subtle flavour with a silky bisque-like texture.

This versatile soup can be served hot, warm, room temperature or cold in vichyssoise style. It can be made ahead and refrigerated. For longer storage, I freeze the soup base in FoodSaver pouches and add the cream and cheese when the soup is thawed and rewarmed for serving.

Cream of Fennel and Gruyere Soup starts with a fennel bulb | urbnspice.com

This is a Fennel Bulb – a delicious vegetable that provides completely different flavours when eaten raw, cooked, or roasted

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My Mom’s French Canadian Tourtière

By Denise Pare-Watson

CHC CANADA 150 FOOD BLOG CHALLENGE SERIES

Prelude: I am a proud Canadian. When the Culinary Historians of Canada invited food bloggers to participate in the “CHC Canada 150 Food Blog Challenge”, I knew that I wanted in! What a great way to celebrate and honour Canada’s 150th birthday by featuring a different Canadian dish or discussing a topic which reflects on what it means to be Canadian. For the month of May, in honour of Mother’s Day (May 14), CHC invited food bloggers to share recipes relating to mothers, recipes and techniques passed on by our mothers or grandmothers, or from our mother’s culture. I am honoured and proud to share a historical and famous recipe for My Mom’s French Canadian Tourtière.

Food has been such a significant part of my French Canadian heritage and some of my clearest childhood recollections are about food. It is not only the memories of the food that are so clear but the smells, the tastes and the surroundings that are so vivid. Holidays would not be the same without Mom’s tourtiere. In our family, the Christmas Eve menu always included a large tourtiere to enjoy before midnight mass.

Skip to Tourtière Recipe

There are a number of food traditions that are very important to my family, but my Mom’s famous tourtière is the most requested. I have had many versions of tourtière – from chefs colleagues, relatives and friends, but none can compare to my “Little Mom’s” French Canadian Tourtière. (More on “Little Mom”).

My Mom’s version of tourtière is more savoury than traditionally prepared tourtière due to the use of sage and poultry seasoning as opposed to the warm spices typically used (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and allspice). Mom always insisted on a mixture of ground meat: beef, veal and pork. This combination makes a huge difference in the overall taste and texture of the tourtière filling. The aromatic fragrance of the tourtière mixture simmering is magical. Writing about it makes me nostalgic. Although I have adapted the process somewhat, I follow her recipe method and always make enough to share with family and friends, which was her tradition.

My Mom’s French Canadian Tourtiere

My Mom’s French Canadian Tourtière became quite famous in a small village in Ontario. Everyone loved it when she made her tourtière pies for church or village social events. As a matter of fact, the ladies of the village church approached her many years ago for her tourtière recipe to make and sell the pies for the parish fundraising efforts. She not only generously shared her tourtière recipe – she also taught them how to make it….

How to Make Chive Oil

By Denise Pare-Watson

My herb garden is one of my favourite places to sit and relax and enjoy the long warm summer. In the early spring, the chives, mint and other perennial herbs are popping out everywhere. I have already snipped chive stems (known as scapes) several times to garnish Savoury Rhubarb Compote with Pork Medallions and Frilly Frittata. I still have more than enough chives to make a bottle of Chive Oil. I remember making this tasty green oil for Dinner Class in culinary school. Everyone was intrigued with the result and the chive oil was circulated around the kitchen to drizzle onto white bean soup, and drizzled drop by drop onto grilled salmon, and also used in a vinaigrette for a baby greens salad. In this post, I will show you How To Make Chive Oil.

Chives in the Spring

Chive Oil is drizzled onto a plated salmon dish | urbnspice.com

Chive Oil is drizzled onto a plated salmon dish as garnish or drizzled on top of the salmon fillet or vegetables for a fresh springtime taste

How To Make Chive Oil:

CHEF TALK: Making Chive Oil is an easy process and in this post, I used 2 methods. Method One: Blanch the chives for a few seconds, add the blanched chives to grapeseed oil; puree the chives/oil mixture, strain and bottle; or Method Two: Gently heat the chopped chives in a neutral oil such as grapeseed (or other neutral tasting vegetable oil), puree and strain the mixture through a fine mesh strain and bottle. I prefer the blanching method because the chlorophyll pigments are retained and provide a very fresh appearance to the chive oil. The heating method produces a slightly less vivid green colour.

INGREDIENTS:

One large bunch of Chives, chopped)
1/2 cup Grapeseed Oil

METHOD ONE – Blanch the Chives:

Prepare an ice bath: In a large bowl, half fill with water and ice cubes. Place a medium-meshed sieve in the bowl.
Fill a small saucepan with water, and bring to a boil.
Just before blanching the chives, add 1 tablespoon of sea salt to the water. CHEF TIP: Salt helps to maintain the colour and flavour of the chives.
Add the chives to the boiling water and blanch for a few seconds to set the colour.
Lift the chives out of the water with a slotted spoon, and immediately plunge into the ice water.
Remove the chives from the ice bath and drain well on a dry towel.
Pour the grapeseed oil into a blender (or an immersion blender). Add the chives. Blend to liquefy the ingredients. Allow the mixture to rest and steep for 30 minutes.
Strain the mixture through a fine-meshed strainer over a measuring cup. CHEF TIP: Allow the mixture to slowly strain into the measuring cup. Pour the chive oil into a bottle for use.
Refrigerate the chive oil and use within one month. To use, shake the oil and bring it to room temperature.

METHOD TWO: (Chives Simmered in Oil)

In a small saucepan, place the 1/2 cup grapeseed oil and the chopped chives.
Simmer slowly to allow the chives to release their colour into the oil. The oil will start to bubble and sizzle. This should only take about five minutes. Cool slightly.
Using an immersion blender or blender, liquefy the ingredients. Allow the mixture to rest and steep for 30 minutes.
Strain the mixture through a fine-meshed strainer over a measuring cup. CHEF TIP: Allow the mixture to slowly strain into the measuring cup. Pour the chive oil into a bottle for storage and use.
Refrigerate the chive oil and use within one month. To use, shake the oil and bring it to room temperature before using.

Here is your visual step-by-step procedure How to Make Chive Oil:

Chives in the Spring

A bunch of Chives ready to chop and blanch

Ice Bath: A medium meshed sieve makes it easy to drain the blanched chives | urbnspice.com

Prepare an Ice Bath: A medium-meshed sieve makes it easy to drain the blanched chives

Pureeing the chives and oil | urbnspice.com

Pureeing the chives and oil in a blender or with an immersion blender

Chives pureed and steeping | urbnspice.com

Chives pureed and steeping before straining

Chive Oil ready to bottle | urbnspice.com

Chive Oil is strained and ready to bottle

This is how to use your Chive Oil to make a fresh tasting vinaigrette:

CHIVE OIL VINAIGRETTE

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup Chive Oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 Tablespoon finely chopped chives

METHOD:

In a blender, combine all ingredients except fresh chives and blend until smooth. CHEF TIP: I use an immersion blender and a 2 cup glass measuring cup to make this vinaigrette.
Add the finely chopped chives.
Use immediately or store in a glass jar for up to one week. Bring the vinaigrette to room temperature before using.

LEARNING TIPS:

Please CLICK the link above to access my UrbnSpice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:

Blanching
Ice Bath
Straining
__________

You Might Also Enjoy:

How to Chiffonade

How to Caramelize Onions

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If you try this recipe for How to Make Chive Oil, please leave me a comment below with your feedback.

You can find me on social media (see links below) – just be sure to tag @urbnspice and #urbnspice so I am sure to see it. Enjoy!

Denise Paré-Watson

The Urbnspice Chef

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How to Chiffonade

By Denise Pare-Watson

UrbnSpice Tips and Techniques Series

Chiffonade is a knife skill that is easy to learn. This post will show you How to Chiffonade using leafy tender greens, such as mint, basil, lettuce leaves, kale and similar greens.

Chiffonade is a simple technique of stacking leaves; rolling the leaves into a tight (often referred to as cigar shaped) cylinder, and then cutting very fine ‘slices’ of the rolled up leaves. With a sharp knife, you can quickly create fine shreds of leafy greens such as kale to add to soups, or basil or mint to add as a garnish to salads or drinks, or piles of shredded iceberg lettuce packed into a loaded sandwich.

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Sausage and Egg Breakfast Burritos

By Denise Pare-Watson

It is always a good idea to have a backup of breakfast items that you can quickly heat up as you head out the door. These Sausage and Egg Breakfast Burritos are easy to make little packets to help make your morning routine easier. It will take only a few minutes to make several of these breakfast burritos and can be stored in individual baggies and refrigerated or frozen to have on hand for breakfasts.

Sausage and Egg Breakfast Burritos

CHEF TALK: The package of flour tortillas that I buy has 8 tortillas (labelled medium size and measuring between 6 – 7 inches in diameter). The recipe below will make 8 breakfast burritos. Follow the assembly of the burritos in the step-by-step photographs following the recipe.

Yield: 8 small breakfast burritos

INGREDIENTS:

For the Scrambled Eggs:

4 large eggs
1/4 cup milk or light cream (about 60 ml)
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black Pepper
1 Tablespoon finely chopped green onion, optional
___________

For Breakfast Burrito Assembly:

8 whole wheat or white flour tortillas (6 – 7 inch), room temperature (leave them in their storage bag to prevent drying out)
8 breakfast sausage, cooked (See CHEF TIP below)
1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese (or as needed)
Mayonnaise, as required

METHOD:

For the Scrambled Eggs: In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper (green onion, if using).
Preheat a medium-size frying pan over medium-high heat. Add a drop of oil or butter (or both).
Pour in the egg mixture and immediately reduce the heat to medium-low. Using a spatula, gently move it across the bottom and sides of frying pan to form large, soft curds.
The eggs are done when they are softly set and fluffy and there is no uncooked liquid remaining in the frying pan. The scrambled eggs will be set but not dry. This will only take a few minutes. Remove from the heat to cool slightly in the pan while you get the rest of the ingredients ready.
For Assembly of the Breakfast Burritos: Place the flour tortillas in a single layer on a cutting board or countertop with the rest of the ingredients close at hand to begin assembly of the burritos. (Follow the step by step photos below the recipe). CHEF TIP: Tortillas will dry out easily so to prevent this when constructing, use a damp cloth to cover the tortillas to maintain freshness.
Drizzle a little mayonnaise onto the middle of each tortilla.
On each flour tortilla, place the following ingredients as shown in the photograph: one scoop of scrambled eggs; one cooked sausage; 1 – 2 Tablespoons of shredded Cheddar cheese.
Bring one edge of the tortilla over the ingredients; then each side of the tortilla over the first fold. Now, flip the package over the last edge so that the folds are now underneath the burrito. Repeat with the remaining Breakfast Burritos. CHEF TIP: Smear a little mayonnaise under the last fold of the tortilla to help adhere the tortilla edges together.
Preheat a frying pan over low to medium heat. Place a little oil or butter (or both) in the frying pan and place the burritos fold side down into the frying pan. Brown slowly to a golden brown, flip the burrito over and brown on the other side. Cool for a few minutes before cutting in half to serve.
TO SERVE: Serve immediately or refrigerate and reheat when required. For longer storage, freeze the breakfast burritos in small sealing bags and rewarm them in the microwave.

CHEF TIP: For an easy way to cook the sausage, place the amount required (or bulk amounts) on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast at 350°F, periodically shifting the sausage to ensure a golden colour all around (approximately 20 minutes). Use immediately or refrigerate to reheat as needed. For longer storage, freeze the pre-cooked sausage in airtight containers.

How to assemble the Sausage and Egg Breakfast Burrito:

LEARNING TIPS:

Please CLICK the link above to access my Urb’n’Spice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:

Parchment Paper
____________

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The Ultimate Breakfast Pastry – Bostock

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If you try my recipe for Sausage and Egg Breakfast Burritos, please leave me a comment below with your feedback. Don’t forget to pin this recipe for later!

Denise Paré-Watson

The Urb’n’Spice Chef

Follow me on Social Media

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Tag me @urbnspice on Instagram and hashtag #urbnspice

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