This recipe was taken from "The Complete Light Kitchen" by Rose Reisman. This soup is wonderful!! It looks good and it tastes great. I used this soup as an appetizer for 6 people but I will definitely be making it as a main meal.
2 tsp vegetable oil
2 tsp minced fresh garlic
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 1/4 cups chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped celery
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups peeled diced potato
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 red bell peppers, roasted
2 yellow bell peppers, roasted
1/4 cup chopped cilantro, dill or basil
1. Spray a non-stick saucepan with cooking oil, add the vegetable oil and place over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, carrot and celery. Cook for 8 minutes or until the vegetables are softened, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the stock and potato. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the carrots and potatoes are tender.
3. Purée the red peppers in a food processor until smooth. Add half the soup mixture and process until smooth. Season with black pepper and pour into a serving bowl.
4. Rinse out the food processor. Purée the yellow peppers until smooth. Add the remaining soup to the yellow pepper purée and process until smooth. Season with black pepper and pour into another serving bowl.
5. To serve, ladle some of the red pepper soup into one side of an individual serving bowl while, at the same time, ladling some of the yellow pepper soup into the other side of the bowl. Garnish with a sprinkle of cilantro.
Roasting Bell Peppers
Cut bell peppers in half and remove ribs and seeds. Lay the peppers out on a baking sheet and place (6 inches) under the broiler for 15 to 20 minutes, turning several times until charred on all sides. Alternatively, you can use a barbecue on medium-high heat. Place in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap; let cool and remove skin.
This recipe was taken from the Winnipeg Free Press Recipe Swap section (December 30th, 2009). I used 2 cloves of roasted garlic and they perfectly covered the top of the Brie. I assembled the Brie and toppings in advance and put it in the fridge until I was ready to heat it up. I used a 400g wheel of Brie and it was a good amount for 6 people.
1 or 2 whole heads of garlic (to taste)
5 ml or 10ml (1 or 2 tsp) olive oil
Approx. 450g wheel of Brie cheese
175 ml (3/4 cup) oil packed sun-dried tomatoes (drained and cut into thin strips)
80 ml (1/3 cup) pine nuts
Fresh baguette or crostini
1. Cut the top off each head of garlic (about 1/4-inch). Place in foil and bring foil up the sides but do not completely cover. Pour 5 ml (1 tsp) olive oil on top of each garlic head. Bake at 350F for about 40 to 45minutes. Let cool.
2. Place Brie in an ovenproof dish. Use a sharp knife to slice off top of rind. Squeeze garlic cloves out of skins and smash them slightly with your fingers (or put in a small bowl and use a fork) and spread on top of Brie. Top with sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts.
3. Bake at 400F until warm and softened, about 12 to 16 minutes. If nuts are getting too brown, cover loosely with aluminum foil. Serve warm with a spreading knife and slices of fresh baguette or with crostini. Will yield about 20 servings.
Another great one! This recipe is taken from "The Italian Way-Cooking with the De Lucas".
For the dressing:
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
4-5 basil leaves, torn into pieces
3 large tomatoes, each cut into 4 slices
12 bocconcini or 12 slices buffalo mozzeralla cheese
12 fresh basil leaves
1. Combine dressing ingredients and set aside. Arrange tomato slices on a platter. Top each with a bocconcini or a slice of mozzarella, drizzle with dressing, and garnish with fresh basil.
You have to make this! This recipe is taken from "Food" by Guy Fieri. Instead of buying a whole bottle of sake, I just bought a 300ml size of draft sake. The mirin I found at Supervalu.
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon roughly chopped garlic
2-inch piece ginger, plus 2 tablespoons peeled, roughly chopped ginger
2 green onions, roughly chopped, plus more for garnish
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 quarts of water
Yakitori Sauce (recipe follows)
Cilantro leaves, for garnish
Sesame seeds, for garnish
Cayenne pepper, for garnish
Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce (recipe follows)
Special Equipment: Twenty 6-inch bamboo skewers, soaked in water
1. In a food processor, pulse together the chicken, eggs, garlic, the chopped ginger, green onion, salt, flour, cornstarch, and panko until well combined. Form the chicken mixture into 1 1/2-inch balls. To keep the mixture from sticking to your fingers, wet your hands with water between rolling the balls. Place balls on a plate, leaving space between them.
2. Meanwhile, bring the water to a boil over high heat, then adjust the heat so that the water is at a simmer. Roughly chop the 2-inch piece of ginger and add it to the pot. Add 8 to 10 balls at a time into the water. Cook for about 6 minutes or until cooked through. (the balls will float to the top and change color; make sure there's no pink on the outside.). Remove from the water using a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Repeat until all the balls are cooked. When the balls are cool enough to handle, thread 3 per skewer, leaving 1/4-inch space between each ball.
3. Lightly oil a grill and preheat the grill to medium. Grill the skewers for 7 to 10 minutes, turning gently as they brown lightly. When the chicken is browned, lightly baste the balls with the yakitori sauce. Place the skewers on a serving plate and drizzle with additional yakitori sauce. Sprinkle with cilantro, green onion, sesame seeds, and cayenne pepper and serve immediately with the sweet chili dipping sauce.
Yakitori Sauce
(makes about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup sake
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1. Whisk together all the ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 2 minutes.
Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce
(makes about 3/4 cup)
3/4 cup sweet chili sauce
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon minced green onion
1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1. In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients.
A great bowl of soup on a cold night. I used about 5 cups of water instead of 3 since there wasn't enough broth once all the vegetables were added. This recipe is taken from The New Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen.
2 medium-sized ripe tomatoes
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
3 medium cloves garlic, crushed
1 stalk celery, minced
2 cups peeled, diced sweet potato
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. mild paprika
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. basil
A dash of cinnamon
A dash of cayenne
1 bay leaf
3 cups of water
1 medium bell pepper, diced
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
1. Heat a medium-sized saucepan of water to boiling. Core the tomatoes, and plunge them into the boiling water for a slow count of 10. Remove the tomatoes, and peel them over a sink. Cut them open; squeeze out and discard the seeds. Chop the remaining pulp and set aside.
2. Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven. Add onion, garlic, celery, and sweet potato, and sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add salt, and sauté 5 minutes more. Add seasonings and water, cover, and simmer about 15 minutes.
3. Add tomato pulp, bell pepper, and chickpeas. Cover and simmer for about 10 more minutes, or until all the vegetables are as tender as you like them. Taste to adjust seasonings, and serve.
