This is really simple and yummy. Can be a side dish or a main with baby spinach or field greens.

Ingredients

• 1 med clove garlic, finely minced (about 1 tsp)
• 1/2 shallot, minced (about 1 tsp)
• 1 tbsp capers, chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
• pinch salt
• 1 tin white kidney beans, rinsed and well drained (low/no salt)
• 1 tin flaked tuna, drained

Method

1. Mix garlic, shallot, capers, parsley, olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a medium bowl and whisk well to make a simple vinaigrette
2. Add beans & tuna and mix well
3. Let sit for 15-20 minutes for the flavours to meld a bit

Serve as a side dish or just as a simple meal. Squeeze more lemon juice over if you’re into that sort of thing.

Sole is pretty boring, generally, so I decided to jazz it up a bit. The ingredients list makes this look way more complicated than it is. Takes about 15-20 mins to prepare, and 25 mins to bake. I also totally failed to take a picture of this, but will next time.

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp parsley, minced
• 2 tbsp chives, minced
• 2 tbsp tarragon, minced
• 1 tbsp thyme leaves
• Zest from 1 lemon
• 2 tsp dijon mustard
• 4 filets of sole, no skin
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 med shallot, minced
• 1 tin white kidney beans, well rinsed and drained
• 1 tin diced tomatoes (low sodium)
• Juice from 1 lemon
• Salt & pepper

Method

1. Heat oven to 325.
2. Mix the parsley, chives, tarragon, lemon zest, and half of the garlic together in a small bowl.
3. Heat a saute pan over med heat and heat the olive oil. Toss in the shallot, thyme, and the rest of the garlic & saute for a minute or two.
4. Add the beans to the pan and continue sauteing for 3-4 mins. Add the tomatoes and heat until simmering. Stir in the lemon juice, and some salt and pepper to taste. These should simmer for 8-10 mins or so while you’re preparing the fish bundles.
5. While the beans and tomatoes are simmering, lay filets out on a cutting board, skinned side up. Spread the dijon over each in a thin layer (this should use up all the mustard). Sprinkle the herb/zest mixture over the filets. Drizzle the garlic butter over the filets, including all the garlic. Roll the filets up into bundles, starting at the tail end, and secure with 2-3 toothpicks each.
6. Pour the tomatoes and beans into a glass* 8″ x 8″ baking dish. They should be in an even layer and slightly soupy.
7. Nestle the 4 sole bundles into the tomatoes and spoon tomatoes and beans over each so the fish won’t get dried out. Grate fresh pepper over it all and bake for 20-25 mins.

Fish is cooked through when it’s 130-140 on an instant read thermometer, or opaque all the way through. Serve in pasta bowls, removing the toothpicks, with plenty of the tomato & bean mixture.

* glass is vital for baking anything with tomatoes in it — a metal pan or dish will just taste weird and tinny and don’t do it. Don’t be like me.

Quick cocktail recipe for the holidays (there may be more of these):

1. 2oz gin (Tanq or Tanq 10 works well)
2. 1 tbsp rosemary simple syrup
3. 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
4. Chilled club soda to top

Build over ice in a highball or med highball. Stir.

Made this for dinner tonight (blurry, oversaturated pic courtesy my iPhone). Tasty, but feel free to adjust the garlic and red pepper flakes as you see fit. We like us some garlics.

Ingredients

• 2-3 mild or hot Italian sausages
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1-2 tsp hot red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 med zucchini, chopped into rough chunks
• 1 yellow pepper, chopped into rough chunks
• 1 med red onion, chopped into rough chunks
• 1-2 tsp fresh oregano (or 1/2-1 tsp dried)
• 1 large tin diced tomatoes (796ml, 28oz)
• Fresh ground pepper
• Penne or other chunky pasta
• Fresh shredded parmesan to serve

Method

1. Fry the sausages in a saute pan over med heat. When done, slice and throw the slices back in to the pan to brown up a bit more. The trick here is to get all sorts of nice brown bits all over the sausages because that makes ‘em yummy.
2. Leave the sausage rounds in the pan and add the olive oil. Then toss in the minced garlic, shallot, and red pepper flakes. Saute that all together for a couple of minutes.
3. Throw in the zucchini, pepper, and onion. Saute those for a couple of minutes, then add the oregano and a few gratings of fresh pepper. Stir a few times, then add the diced tomatoes with all the juices and stuff.
4. Bring up to simmer, and let that go for 10-15 mins…the idea is to let the tomatoes cook down and become more of a sauce. This is a matter of taste, really, so you can cook it for as long as you like, just don’t totally overcook the veggies.
5. While the sauce simmers, bring a big pot of water up to boil and cook your pasta when the sauce is almost done.
6. Serve in big ol’ pasta bowls with lots of parmesan cheese and fresh pepper.

I think that’s it. I just kinda make these up as I go, so feel free to riff on this. Sometimes I’ll add a tin of white kidney beans, or other veggies, etc.

This is my standard method for cooking salmon for a weeknight dinner. It’s fast and crazy easy — start to finish is about 40 mins, including prep time. You can do a bunch of different variants as well, but this is what we’ve had the last few times. This version feeds 2, but the math is pretty straightforward.

Ingredients

• 2 salmon filets
• 1 lemon
• 12-16 cherry tomatoes
• olive oil
• fresh ground pepper

Equipment

• 2 sheets of tin foil, each large enough to fully & loosely wrap a filet
• Baking sheet

Method

1. Heat the oven to 375.
2. Lay the two sheets of tinfoil out on the counter, and pour a bit of olive oil in the center of each.
3. Place the salmon skin-side-down on the oil.
4. Grate fresh pepper over the salmon — not a whole lot.
5. Slice the lemon so you have 8 slices, not including the end bits. Put 4 slices across the top of each bit of salmon.
6. Slice the tomatoes in half and put those on top of the lemon slices, cut side down.
7. Carefully fold the tinfoil up to contain everything, and tightly seal the edges so steam and liquid won’t escape. It’ll end up as a sealed packet with air inside over the salmon.
8. Place these on the baking sheet and cook for 25 mins or so — the salmon should be opaque all the way through. I tend to err on the side of slightly overcooking these, so don’t worry about it too much.

And that’s it. If you want to get fancy you can toss in a sprig or two of tarragon, or maybe a couple of basil leaves. Serve with steamed spinach or a salad.

Simple, insanely yummy.

Ingredients

• 2 racks baby back pork ribs, cut in half
• 9-12 cloves garlic, smashed and rough-chopped
• 3 large onions, sliced
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 6 sprigs fresh oregano
• 10-12 dried chilis
• 2-3 tbsp black peppercorns
• Water
• BBQ sauce of your choice (Mad Dog Original, here)

Method
Heat oven to 300 (275 if you have more time, 325 if you have less).

Scatter half the onions, garlic, thyme, oregano, peppercorns, and chilis on the bottom of a roasting pan. Place ribs in pan, overlapping slightly. Fill pan with water until ribs are 2/3rds submerged. Scatter the rest of the onions, garlic, thyme, oregano, peppercorns, and chilis over the top of the ribs (it doesn’t have to be tidy). Cover roasting pan tightly with 2-3 layers of tinfoil (or cover, if your pan has a cover…mine doesn’t).

Put ribs in the oven for around 3 hours. They will be fully cooked and fork-tender when they’re done.

Remove ribs from pan, leaving behind basically all the other stuff. Let cool a bit, then slather with BBQ sauce and grill to caramelize. Do a few coats of the sauce and take your time, it’s worth it. You’re worth it.

Serve with Bourbon baked beans, Fennel-cabbage coleslaw, and beer. Then watch some hockey.

Whipped this up last night for a fennel & celery salad (pretty much my favourite salad).

Ingredients

• 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced or grated (a microplane grater is a wonder here)
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest (see above re: microplane grater)
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp honey (or brown sugar, mirin, etc…something sweet)
• Dash salt

Directions are simple: put everything into a bowl, bottle, or jar and whisk or shake to combine.

The fennel & celery salad is insanely simple:

• 2 bulbs of fresh fennel (aka: anise), sliced as thinly as you can manage
• Roughly the same amount of thinly sliced celery
• An ounce or so of parmagiana cheese strips (make these by using a vegetable peeler on a hunk of the cheese — long, thin strips)

Toss these with the vinaigrette. Ta dah.

Straightforward polenta with a bit of added cheese. This is not a low fat recipe, by any stretch of the imagination.

Ingredients

• 4 c chicken stock or water
• 1/2 c milk
• 1 c polenta (corn meal)
• 1/2 c ricotta cheese
• 2 oz shredded parmagiana cheese
• 3 tbsp butter

Directions

1. Bring chicken stock to a low boil in a medium sauce pan.
2. When boiling, whisk in the polenta, pouring it into the stock a little at a time and whisking well — do this slowly to avoid lumps. Note: it will thicken quickly…do not be alarmed.
3. Once the polenta is all stirred into the chicken stock, turn down to low (pretty much as low as your burner will go), and cover. Whisk vigorously every 10 mins.
4. After 20 mins, whisk in the milk. Continue to cook on low, stirring every 10 mins for another 20 mins.
5. At this point, grab a spoon and taste the polenta. Depending on how coarsely ground your cornmeal is, it could be done now, or you might need to keep cooking it. If it’s grainy, keep cooking. It should be soft and creamy.
6. Stir in the ricotta cheese, then, once that’s well blended, stir in the parmagiana cheese. After that’s all incorporated, stir in the butter.
7. That’s it. Fantastic as a bed for braised meat, sliced steak, mushroom ragu, etc etc etc. Keeps well, and solidifies (like jello!) when cool so it can be sliced and fried or grilled. Yum!

It’s not mine, I just made it exactly according to the recipe which lives over here on Robert Love’s website: Okinawan-style braised beef short ribs. Seriously, I wouldn’t change a thing. Eat them.

Read this article in the Atlantic yesterday and decided to give it a try. The article doesn’t give a precise recipe, so I’ve deciphered it the best I can below (making a minor substitution and leaving out the semolina). I just made it. It’s really damned good.

I really have no idea whether this can be properly called “zdir” since I’ve been unable to locate an actual recipe (or any other information) about it. Either way, it’s crazy tasty with a good solid spicy punch. If you don’t care for spicy food, skip the harissa and chilis. If you do like spicy food, you have to try this.

• 2-3 dried red chilis (I used 2 Sanaam chilis)
• 1 oz olive oil
• 3-4 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 tsp harissa (this is a lot, I might halve this next time…it’s potent stuff)
• 2 tsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp ground caraway
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tin diced tomatoes + juice (28fl oz)
• 1/4 c water
• 1 tbsp preserved lemon, chopped
• 1 tbsp capers, chopped
• 1 tbsp olives, chopped
• 1 tbsp sundried tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tsp dried mint (or to taste)

1. Soak chilis in a bit of water for 15-20 mins. Chop finely.
2. Pour olive oil into a pot and heat over med-low, when warm add garlic + let steep for 5 mins or so. Don’t saute the garlic…just let it warm through and flavour the oil.
3. Turn up the heat a bit and add tomato paste, harissa, and a bit of the tomato juice. Whisk together well and simmer for a few mins.
4. Add chilis, caraway, and coriander to the paste. Simmer another few mins.
5. Pour in diced tomatoes with their juices and the extra 1/4 cup of water. Add chopped sundried tomatoes, and mix well. Simmer over low/med-low for 20 mins or so. Add more water if needed.
6. Optionally, if you have an immersion stick blender, use that now to chop up the tomatoes a bit. If you prefer a chunkier soup, or if you don’t have an immersion blender, just skip this part.
7. Quickly rinse the chopped preserved lemon, capers, and olives (just to get rid of the excess vinegars/etc). Stir these into the soup. Let sit on low to heat through for another 10-15 mins.
8. Remove from heat, stir in dried mint, serve.