Recipe Zest

Ingredients 1 bunch dandelion greens 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped 2 tbsp lemon juice Olive oil Chili flakes (optional) Method Cut off stems  Wash and rinse the greens Slice into 2" segments Bring water to boil in wok, and add the greens.  Let boil for about five minutes, stirring occasionally Drain greens and let sit to cool Squeeze out excess liquid.  At this point you will have about a golf ball sized remaining greens, and you will be wondering if this is enough to feed everyone Cook garlic in olive oil in the wok until golden, but not crispy Add in greens (do this over the sink, as it will splash the oil).  Stir and add more olive oil Cook until greens are warmed up.  Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice Serve as a side

Ingredients Zhoug Garlic 1/2 tsp ground coriander 1/2 tsp ground cumin Lemon juice Olive oil Fresh cilantro Salt Couscous 125g pearl couscous (aka Israeli couscous) 1/4 cup chicken broth 1/4 cup pistachios, roasted and chopped 14 cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered Lemon zest Poached Halibut 1/2 lb halibut Method In a pot on medium-low, toast the pearl couscous with olive oil until about half are golden brown Add chicken broth and bring to boil Cook until pearl couscous has absorbed all the liquid and is al dente.  You may need to add water occasionally if the liquid is almost gone and the pearl couscous is not yet cooked Remove pearl couscous from heat and let sit Finely chop the garlic.  Combine in bowl with ground coriander and cumin.  Add lemon juice and olive and mix.  Add in finely chopped cilantro.  Adjust olive oil, lemon juice and salt to taste Poach halibut in about 1/2 inch of salted water, until internal temp reaches 130F Lightly toss cooked couscou...

Ingredients 1/2 cup whole wheat flour  1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1 1/2 tsp sugar 1 tbsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 1 egg 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1 cup milk Blueberries Method Mix dry ingredients together Mix in egg, oil and milk.  Reserve a little bit of the milk, and add gradually until the mix can be poured.  If it's too thin, it won't be as fluffy Preheat skillet on medium Wait 6 minutes to allow mixture to mix and skillet to preheat Pour batter, add blueberries, cook until you can flip Flip, cook until done Notes A lot depends on the exact temperature of the skillet.  Too hot, it will burn before all the batter is cooked.  Too cool, it will be cardboardy The mixture will thicken in the 6 minutes, so you may need to add a little milk to allow it to be pourable.  Be careful, a 1/4 tsp can be the difference between too much and too little

Ingredients Tuna 1/2 lb ahi tuna steak Miso paste Sesame seeds (after grilling) Bok choy Bok choy Mr Noodles Mr Noodle package Oyster sauce Green onions Sesame seeds Sauce Lime juice Ginger (grated) Soy sauce Method Preheat bbq Baste tuna steak in miso paste Slice bok choy in half, and wash.  Trim tops of leaves.  Drizzle stems with olive oil Bring water to boil, add Mr Noodle noodles, and cook for 3 minutes.  Throw out the soup mix package Drain noodles, add oyster sauce, green onions and sesame seeds.  Add the green onions immediately after draining so that they slightly cook Sear tuna steaks to get grill marks, about 1 minute per side Plate tuna steaks and drizzle with sesame seeds Grill bok choy, cut side down, about 2-3 minutes, before leaves turn brown Mix lime juice, soy sauce and grated ginger.  Serve on side of tuna Notes Add chilis to the sauce to spice things up

Ingredients Pizza dough 1/2 ball mozzarella cheese 2 hot Italian sausages Cremini mushrooms Shiitake mushrooms Red onion Pecorino romano Arugula Method Prepare pizza dough 2 hours earlier Preheat bbq to high, with pizza stones on bbq Remove sausage from casing and fry until done Grate mozzarella cheese Slice mushrooms and finely slice onion Add all ingredients except arugula to pizza.  First sausage, then cheese, then mushrooms and onion on top (so they cook on the bbq).  Sprinkle with pecorino romano Bake in bbq until done, about 6-7 minutes Remove from bbq and add arugula on top

Ingredients 130g rigatoni (or other tube pasta) 1 Italian pork sausage 100g guanciale 1 cube tomato paste 20 cherry tomatoes, halved 1 onion, chopped 2 egg yolks Pecorino romana Method Bring pot of unsalted water to boil.  Add pasta and cook until about 4 minutes before done; reserve about 1/2 cup to 1 cup pasta water.  Add salt to remaining water and cook pasta until 2 minutes before done Add tomatoes to pot with a little water, and bring to boil.  Squish tomatoes to separate from skin.   Add tomato paste Remove sausage from casing and fry until cooked.  Remove from pan.  Fry onion until translucent and remove from pan.  Fry guanciale until browned Add sausage, onion, guanciale, tomato sauce and pasta to pot.  Add reserved pasta water.  Cook until pasta is done Beat egg yolks with pecorino (this will thicken up, so do this just before adding to pasta) Add egg & cheese mixture to pasta, stir to mix and serve immediately Notes Based o...

Ingredients Trout, skin on Asparagus Almonds, slivered Butter Dill sauce  Method Add trout skin side down to skillet, with pat of butter.  Turn on stove to medium and let heat up (this will prevent curling).  Fry until trout reaches 110F, then flip for 30 seconds and remove from skillet Toast almonds on stovetop with a little butter Add asparagus and a little butter to frying pan and fry, uncovered, until done (test with a fork) Serve with dill sauce

Ingredients 2 bunches ramps Fresh morels + butter to cook 130g pancetta 50g peas 1/4 cup chicken stock 130g bucatini Method Bring pot of unsalted water to boil, the less water the better Cook pasta until about 2-3 minutes before being done.  Reserve 1/2 cup of the starchy water.  Add salt to pot and cook until pasta is almost done.  If using frozen peas, heat in the reserved water Cut the white parts of the ramps into 1/4" slices, and the red / green parts into 2" pieces Fry pancetta and remove from pan.  Dump out extra fat Add white parts of ramps to pan and cook until no longer strong Add red parts of ramps, and the morels to pan and cook until the morels have softened.  You may need to add some butter (the pancetta fat will be too heavy for the mushrooms). Add peas and pancetta to pan, chicken stock and reserved (unsalted) pasta water Add pasta to pan Let everything simmer over low heat until there is just a little liquid left, enough to coat the pasta plus a...

Ingredients Pork tenderloin, about 1lb Corn on the cob Yellow potatoes, cubed 1/2 tsp baking soda Vegetable oil 1 tbsp paprika Dry rub 1 tbsp paprika 1 tbsp brown sugar 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp black pepper Salsa verde 1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped 3 anchovy fillets, finely chopped 2 tbsp capers, finely chopped 1 tbsp lemon juice 1/2 garlic clove, finely chopped  1/4 olive oil Method Preheat bbq with hot and cool zones, and oven to 400F Salt the pork.  Overnight is best, 1-2 hours before is okay, but just before cooking works too Add the dry rub to the pork just before cooking.  You may need to add some olive oil to get the rub to stick (per Serious Eats, the only ingredient that gets absorbed over time is salt).  Place on cool zone on grill.  Grill until internal temperature reaches 145F Boil potatoes in salted water with baking soda, until cooked, about 8-10 minutes.  The baking soda creates more starchiness on the surface of the potatoes (according to...

Ingredients 2 whole branzino, butterflied Zhoug (we buy this pre-mixed at  Hooked ) Thyme sprigs Yellow potatoes, sliced about 1/8 inch thick Tomato & Cucumber salad Cherry tomatoes, halved Baby cucucumber, diced Smoked paprika Olive oil Salt Orange & Olive salad Green salad leaves Orange, cut into small slivers Green olives Olive Method Preheat bbq to max, and oven to 400F Boil sliced potatoes until cooked, about 8-10 minutes.  Don't overcook as they will fall apart Place sliced potatoes on baking sheet and bake in oven until dried out, about 30-45 minutes Prep branzino, salting inside and out, and add a couple sprigs of thyme in each Grill branzino about 6-7 minutes per side, until fish reaches 180F Combine ingredients for each salad Plate branzino on top of sliced potatoes, with salads on the side.  The zhoug can be served either on top of the fish or in a side dish Notes I had some corn in the fridge so microwaved for 4 minutes, then grilled to get some c...

Ingredients 3/4 lb black cod, filleted and skinned Miso marinade (we buy this pre-mixed at Hooked ) Japanese mushroom rice 1 rice cup Japanese short-grain rice (or jasmine) Sliced mushrooms (shiitake, shimeji, and/or king oyster) 1 tsp dashi powder (Japanese soup stock) 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp fish sauce 1 clove minced garlic, roughly chopped 1 stalk green onion, sliced 1 tbsp butter Stir Fried Bok Choy Baby Bok choy 2 cloves garlic 2 tbsp vegetable oil Method Preheat bbq to about 500F Wash and rinse bok choy.  Sit to fully dry on paper towels Add dashi to 1 cup water and stir to mix Add dashi broth, soy, fish sauce, garlic and rice to rice cooker.  Arrange mushrooms on top.  Cook rice Cover bottom and top of fish with marinade, in foil pushed up around fish (but not covering top).  Most recipes suggest marinating overnight but per Serious Eats this doesn't really do much of anything, so I don't bother About 10 minutes after rice finishes cooking, quickly open the l...

Ingredients 1 cup chicken stock 1 pkg unflavoured powdered gelatin 1 tbsp paprika 1/2 lb beef tenderloin steak 150g button mushrroms 120g pearl onions 2 tbsp butter 2 sprigs thyme 1 tsp soy sauce 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp fish sauce 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard 1/2 white wine 1/2 cup sour cream 140g dried egg noodles Fresh parsley Method Add gelatin powder to chicken stock and let sit Season steaks with salt, pepper and paprika.  Pan fry using vegetable oil on medium heat, searing the outside, until the temperature reaches 125F.  Remove from pan and let sit Add button mushrooms to pan on medium heat and cook until they have released some liquid and just starting to brown, about 8 minutes Add pearl onions & butter and continue cooking, until the mushrooms are browned, about 7 minutes Add thyme and cook, stirring, until fragrant. Add soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, fish sauce, and mustard and cook, stirring, until mostly evaporated, about 30 seconds. Turn off heat Add juice...

   French Onion Soup Ingredients 8 - 12 onions Tbsp vegetable oil 1/4 cup flour 4 - 6 cups beef broth (vegetable broth works) salt pepper 1/2 Tbsp dried thyme 2 bay leaves 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce 200 g of Gruyere cheese Toasts 1/2 day old baguette pepper olive oil Method Caramelize the onions with the oil (in a pot big enough for whole soup) Add flour and cook 2 minutes Add broth, thyme, bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper to taste While the soup cooks, slice and sprinkle the bread with pepper and olive oil Toast the sprinkled breads Assemble the soup in oven-safe ramekins (assembly order from bottom to top is: soup, cheese, toasts, cheese) Broil until the top cheese is bubbly and coloured Notes I always make extra toasts with cheese on them that don't go into the broiled soups. I serve these on the side and dip them into the soup.

Ingredients 2 branzino, filleted Za'atar Cucumber, diced Cherry tomatoes, halved Red pepper, diced Onion, thinly sliced Parsley Lemon juice Olive oil 2 yellow potatoes, sliced thinly Method Preheat oven to 400F.  Arrange branzino fillets in baking sheet and sprinkle with za'atar Bring pot of water to boil.  Add sliced potatoes and cook until done, about 10 minutes.  Be careful not to overcook as the potatoes will fall apart Drain water.  Spread potato slices on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake in oven until the thinnest ones start to brown.  Remove from oven and let sit Bake branzino to 150F, about 10 minutes In the meantime, toss the cucumber, red pepper, tomatoes, onion and parsley.  Dress with olive oil and lemon juice to taste Notes The salad is lebanese-inspired.  We've also had with pitas instead of potatoes; however potatoes and branzino are a classic pairing that we really like

Ingredients 2 chicken legs and thighs 1 onion, thinly sliced 2 fresh chorizo sausages 1 cup basmati rice 1 1/2 cup chicken broth 1 red pepper, thinly sliced 10 green olives, preferably Spanish, preferably unpitted 1/4 cup sliced almonds Method Remove sausage from casing and fry until cooked.  Remove from pan Fry the onion until caramelized.  Add back the sausage and rice, and stir for a minute or two Add onion / sausage / rice mixture to rice cooker Use the chicken broth to deglaze the pan, and add to rice cooker Add olives (pushing into the rice mixture) and then red peppers on top Cook rice Toast the almonds, either frying with butter or in the oven Grill chicken and serve on top of rice. Sprinkle with toasted almonds Notes Loosely based on a LCBO recipe , although they have far too many ingredients for my liking.  There's enough flavour in the chorizo, there's no need to add more paprika and garlic Usually when cooking rice I use a 1:1 ratio water:rice plus a little mo...

Ingredients Trout 1/4 cup almonds, slivered 1/2 lemon juice Small bunch parsley, chopped Unsalted butter Method Salt trout and place skin-side down on heated grill. Grill to 130F Fry almonds in butter until golden.  Stir in parsley and turn off heat.  Add lemon juice Serve over grilled trout Notes Serve with sides of fresh corn and green beans and boiled potatoes with butter and parsley Supposed also works with brussel sprouts and balsamic Salt the trout at least two hours ahead and dry out in the fridge for best results.  This is a Serious Eats trick

Ingredients Peach filling 2 peaches, skin on, cut into cubes 1/2 tbsp lemon juice 1/2 tbsp bourbon 1 pinch kosher salt 1 pinch grated nutmeg 1 drop almond extract (optional) Biscuit topping 1/4 cup flour 1 tbsp sugar 1/4 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp kosher salt 18g unsalted butter 2 tbsp milk Method Preheat oven to 400F Combine peaches, lemon juice, bourbon, salt, nutmeg and almond extract.  Scrape into two ramekins.  Bake for 10 minutes  Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Cut butter into dry ingredients.  Stir in milk until mixture comes together; do not over-mix Drop flour mixture on top of peach filling Return to oven and bake until topping reaches 206F.  The duration will vary -- it's taken between 12 - 20 minutes Let cool for 30 minutes before serving Notes Use parchment paper under the ramekin in case the filling overflows Based on a recipe from Serious Eats Use a glass cutting board (or at least a cutting board that you don't cut garlic or o...

Ingredients 140g bucatini (any long pasta will do) 130g pancetta, chopped into 1/4" cubes 50g peas 2 bunches ramps 1/4 cup white wine 1/4 cup chicken stock Method Bring pot of unsalted water to boil and add pasta.  The less water there is the more concentrated the starchy water will become  Fry pancetta in skillet until browned and crispy Wash ramps and cut into leaves, stems and whites Cook the ramp whites in a little bit of the fat from the pancetta.  When softened, add the white wine and cook until the wine has cooked off.  Turn heat to low Add chicken stock, purple parts of ramps, cooked pancetta and peas Add some of the water from the pasta to the ramps, and then salt the remaining pasta and water, and finish cooking the pasta Using tongs, transfer the pasta to the other ingredients.  Add the ramp greens and toss until the greens have wilted.  Ideally there will be just a small amount of liquid remaining, which will be absorbed by the pasta after plati...

Ingredients Pork chops Paprika New potatoes Mushrooms Pearl onions 1 tsp Soy sauce 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 1 sprig thyme 1/4 cup red wine 1/2 cup chicken broth 1/4 cup sour cream Parsley Method Salt pork chop and let sit at least one hour on rack in fridge Boil potatoes until done (about 10 minutes).  Set aside Cut mushrooms into quarters and cook at medium heat with butter until nicely browned.  Don't over-stir Add pearl onions to mushrooms and cook until softened Add soy sauce, Worcestershire, Dijon and thyme and stir, about one minute Add red and continue cooking until almost all the liquid has evaporated.  Turn off stove. Discard thyme Rub paprika over pork chops and grill over high heat until done (145F), then let sit Bring chicken broth to boil, and then drizzle into sour cream while whisking, until all the chicken broth has been incorporated into the sour cream (a Serious Eats trick) Add chicken broth & sour cream mixture to mushroom...

Ingredients 1 lb ground lamb 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped 1 tsp cumin 1/4 tsp cinnamon 3 cloves, ground 3 pods cardamon, ground 1/2 tsp salt Method Mix all the ingredients in a bowl Shape into koftas Grill at high heat until interior reaches 160F Notes We've also made with other ground meat, such as beef You can do steps 1 and 2 ahead of time and then refrigerate until later in day