Category Archives: One Dish Wonders

Penang Style Thai Curry

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Thai curries are always perfect if you really are looking for lots of flavour in every bite.  In Thailand, 1 chicken breast easily serves a family of 4 in a curry dish – lots of vegetables help out, and of course you won’t want to miss a drop of the curry so your rice is perfect to soak it all up.  This version is vegetarian, served with barbecued chicken, but it is easy to add whatever protein you are inclined to use.

Penang Style Curry served with Thai Barbecued Chicken and fragrant jasmine rice

Whatever vegetables you use are totally up for discussion – take what is in season and use that, or if you need to scrape something together at the last moment keep a jar of baby corn, water chestnuts and bamboo shoots in your pantry!

You will need:

whatever vegetables you plan to use chopped and ready

any meat sliced very thin and ready to go in

For this basic curry use:

1 tbsp red curry paste

1 tbsp massaman curry paste

1/2 onion, coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced or sliced

1 inch ginger, minced or sliced

galangal root (fresh if you can get it, but powdered if not available in your area)

lemongrass (again fresh is best but powdered is a decent standby)

tamarind paste

1 can coconut milk or cream

kaffir lime leaves

1 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp raw sugar

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce

peanut oil

cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped

Heat peanut oil, stir in onion, garlic and ginger.  Allow to soften but not brown.  Stir in curry pastes, and allow curry to cook for a couple of minutes, then add galangal, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves.  Slowly add half the coconut milk, and allow the sauce to fully incorporate.  Gently simmer ….. then add most of the coconut milk – reserving some in case your curry is too spicy.

Add as many vegetables as you like – if you want this to also be a meat curry, this is the time to add raw, thinly sliced meat.

During one of my cooking classes in Thailand I was advised to add the meat, then NOT TO STIR until the meat is cooked through.  

Allow the meat and vegetables to cook through, and taste.  This is plenty spicy enough for our family, but if you like more heat add either freshly chopped chile or red chili flakes.  If, on the other hand, your family is not keen on spice at all just start with 1 tsp of each of the curry pastes, and oh so gently, gradually increase the amount of paste.

When you remove the curry from the heat stir in the lime juice, sugar, fish sauce and soy sauce.  All Thai dishes contain the 4 essential elements of sweet, sour, salty and spicy from these ingredients.

It may take a bit of playing around to get the taste of Thailand into your kitchen, but you will be so glad you did!

Lemon Herb Chicken Linguine

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This light and fresh summery pasta is perfect for a sunny day – takes so little effort and won’t heat up your kitchen either!

CHICKEN

4 chicken breasts

2 tbsp minced fresh herbs – basil, parsley, oregano

1 heaping tbsp dijon mustard

1 lemon – juice and zest

2 tbsp olive oil

Marinate all above ingredients in a ziplock bag for a minimum of 1 hour, and preferably overnight.  (My favorite trick is to have this already made and in the freezer, pull it out in the morning and you are ready to proceed when you get home from work!)

Grill chicken breasts until no longer pink inside, and juices run clear.  Allow to rest while you cook the pasta.

PASTA

1 pack linguine noodles (or honestly, whatever you like!)

broccoli – broken into little trees (about 1 1/2 – 2 cups) or snap peas!

1 lemon, juice and zest

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tbsp of your best extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp roughly chopped basil

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Cook linguine in a pot of well salted water – for the last 3 minutes toss in a generous handful of broccoli heads.  Drain pasta, reserving some of the liquid.

In large serving bowl toss the cooked broccoli and pasta with the lemon juice and zest, minced garlic, crumbled feta, basil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Drizzle the olive oil over top, and add just enough pasta water to allow you to toss the pasta easily, and it creates just a light bit of sauce.

Slice chicken on the diagonal, and serve over the pasta.

Seafood Paella

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The seafood paella is so versatile, and can easily be transported between economy and luxury depending on what type of seafood you use.  This version is top of the line!  Nothing but delicious fresh shell fish, and  some chorizo sausage for that little bit of heat.

Preheat oven to 350

3 tbsp vegetable oil

1 small red onion, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 1/2 cups rice

2 wine cured, dried chorizo sausages, sliced

4 cups chicken stock (hot)

1 tbsp saffron threads

1 tbsp each chopped basil and oregano

1 tsp turmeric

10 scallops

10 prawns (in shell – deveined)

10 clams

10 mussels

2 small lobster tails, split lengthwise

1/2 cup whole black olives

1/2 cup quartered artichokes

1/4 cup minced sun dried tomatoes

6 thin slices each – red, yellow, orange and green peppers

2 lemons

2 tomatoes

scallions (green spring onions)

parsley

In paella pan (or other flat saute pan that can go in the oven) heat oil and saute onion until soft, add garlic and chorizo sausage.  Stir briefly then add dry rice.  Toast rice lightly and continue to stir.

Add saffron threads, turmeric and herbs to chicken stock.

Add chicken stock one cup at a time to rice mixture, allowing rice to absorb liquid before adding more.  Once you have 3 cups chicken stock introduced and the rice is starting to soften, add the artichokes, sun dried tomatoes and olives.  Stir well, and gently nestle the seafood in – pushing the shells deep into the rice so that it is almost covered.  Reserve the lobster tails to arrange last.  At this point most of the liquid should have been absorbed so you can add the last bit of chicken stock.  Arrange the strips of colored peppers in a pinwheel on top of the paella – cover with tin foil and allow to finish in the oven – about 20-30 minutes.

While paella is in the oven, diced the tomatoes and warm gently in a saucepan.

Test for doneness with a fork – gently scoop out some rice and if it is cooked through take a peek to make sure your shells have opened – this should be all the cooking time the fish needs.  The shells are incredible when they fill with the rice mixture hiding the little nugget of a clam or mussel.

Remove from the oven, pile your cooked tomatoes in the center of the dish, and scatter parsley and green onions over top.

Make sure to serve with lemon wedges – encourage everybody to squeeze lemon on their serving – it really brings out the flavour.  Have a spare empty bowl at the table for all the shells.

Tan Tan Noodles

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This has been one of our family favorites for years, and one the girls always request when coming home – I hope you like it just as much!

Cooking with Asian ingredients may look intimidating at first, mainly because the ingredient list is so lengthy, but once you have all the supplies it is quick and easy to do so many different dishes.  I always recommend having all the ingredients chopped, and at hand before you start cooking.  Wok cookery is quick!

 

BROTH

  • 2 tbsp peanut oil
  • 6 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
  • 8 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp chile oil
  • 8 tbsp Chinese black bean paste
  • 6 scallions (green onions) chopped finely
  • 2 tbsp Chinese chile paste
  • 5 tbsp LOW SODIUM soy sauce
  • 6 tbsp peanut butter
  • 4 tbsp tahini paste, even better with Chinese Sesame paste
  • 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth

For Tan Tan deluxe – 1 pound ground beef or pork

ASSEMBLY

  • thin asian noodles, cooked and drained
  • green onions – sliced thin
  • cilantro – chopped
  • peanuts – chopped and toasted
  • bean sprouts – rinsed well

METHOD

In a medium saucepan, with heavy bottom, heat the oil over moderate heat.  Add the ginger and garlic and cook for about 3 minutes – or until they begin to turn golden brown – watch carefully so they don’t darken too quickly (burnt garlic is bitter).  Add sesame oil, chili oil and the black beans.  Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Add green onions and cook 2 minutes.  Stir in the chile paste and soy sauce – stir to create a smooth sauce.  Add the peanut butter and tahini, again stirring to create a smooth paste.  Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

It’s important to take time to cook all the above ingredients as listed, it helps build the flavor.

Add the broth slowly and reduce the heat to medium low.  Let the sauce simmer for at least 15 minutes to allow flavours to blend and the broth to thicken.  Taste, taste, taste!!  You should have a rich broth, full of flavour and layers of tastes.  If you like it richer, play  with all the broth ingredients until you get the balance you personally prefer – you may like it spicier so go ahead and add more chili oil or even some chili flakes.  If you like more of a peanut flavour, add more peanut butter – all so easy to do and get your preferred flavour balance.

To serve place noodles in bowl, add broth.  Scatter green onions, cilantro, bean sprouts and peanuts over top.

If you like the Deluxe Version – brown the ground meat and drain off any fat – add 1 or 2 ladles of the broth and allow the beef to soak up the liquid.  When serving, sprinkle the meat on top of the noodles before adding the broth.

 

Have everything ready before you start cooking. Yes, I know broccoli isn’t listed, but I couldn’t resist serving some steamed broccoli on the side.
If you want the rich flavour, stop here, if you want it more soup like, add more chicken stock.

Roasted Potato Fennel Soup

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If you aren’t sure about fennel – trust me – this is a great place to start!  The soup is so hearty and just packed with flavour.  

2 pounds red potatoes, unpeeled and quartered

good olive oil                                                                

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 cups yellow onions, diced

2 cups chopped fennel bulb

1 cup sliced leeks

2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock

1/2 cup heavy cream

Garnish:  finely sliced chives and crispy bacon bits (those little purple flowers on the chives are great as part of your garnish or in a salad too!)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In large bowl, toss potatoes with olive oil, garlic salt and pepper.  Spread on baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes, until cooked through and just starting to get a bit crispy.

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in large soup pot – saute onions, leek and fennel until translucent and tender – should be around 15 minutes.  Add roasted potatoes, including any tasty little bits stuck to your roasting sheet.  Cover with stock.  Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer uncovered for about 1 hour, until all vegetables are soft.

Using an immersion blender, puree until soup is smooth and velvety.

If you are using a regular blender, puree in batches.

Be very cautious to leave the lid slightly ajar or the center portion removed to allow steam to escape any time you are blending hot ingredients.

Once the soup has been blended, remove from heat – stir in heavy cream and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve with Baking Powder Biscuits or Crispy Gouda Herb Cornmeal Muffins

Fettuccine Alfredo ….ish

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I love pappardelle pasta – if you make (or buy good quality) pasta these hearty noodles are so perfect for holding on to a sauce.  Tonight’s version was a way of using up leftover chicken from my Moroccan Spice Chicken. Another favorite to serve with the alfredo is panko crusted chicken – love the crunchy texture with the creamy pasta.

500 gm pappardelle pasta

kosher salt

1/2 cup butter

2 leeks (white and tender green parts) thinly sliced

1/2 cup sliced red onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup good white wine

1 tsp mustard powder (or dijon mustard)

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup cheese (I like to use mostly parmesan reggiano, but you can add a bit of other cheese as well, mozzarella, ementhal, romano … etc)

chili flakes

salt and pepper

cooked chicken/prawns/ham – whatever you have left in the fridge … or leave it as is – you will still think it is the best alfredo!

Melt butter in saucepan – add leeks and onions, cooking until tender and translucent.

While onions are cooking, add your pasta to the boiling water and cook just until al dente.  Remove from heat, drain and keep warm.

To your onions, add garlic cloves, mustard, white wine, chili flakes to taste (start with 1/2 tsp and see how you like it!), and cream.  Heat through, remove from heat and stir in cheeses. If you are adding any of the cooked protein, this is the time to do it.

Toss it all together, season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with extra parmesan cheese to grate over the top.

Moroccan Quinoa Salad

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SALAD

3 cups cooked quinoa                                                                         

1 cup canned black beans, rinsed well

1/2 cup finely diced red onion

1/2 cup each finely diced red, yellow and orange peppers

1/3 cup diced sun dried tomato

1/2 cup olives

GARNISH

1/4 cups chopped fresh mint

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

DRESSING

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

Toss cooked quinoa with vegetables into bowl.  Drizzle with dressing, and just before serving mix in the fresh herbs, garnishing with the toasted almonds.

Serve with Moroccan Spice Chicken

Chicken and Chorizo Paella – Casa Katarina style

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Once upon a time I had a really fun Spanish Tapas Bar … one of our specialties was Paella.  We served either a meat paella, a seafood paella, or the specialty of the house – Paella Parellada combining the best of all!

Olive oil

2 cups rice

4 cups good quality chicken stock (1 tsp saffron threads & 1 tsp turmeric powder added)

3 chorizo sausages, thinly sliced

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces

1/2 red onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 stalks celery, finely sliced

1 zucchini, quartered and sliced

1/2 red and yellow pepper – diced

1/2 cup sliced green beans

1 tsp each dried oregano, parsley, basil

1/2 cup whole olives

1/2 cup quartered artichoke hearts

salt and pepper to taste

2 roma tomatoes, diced

1/2 cup scallions, thinly sliced

2 tbsp fresh parsley, roughly chopped

lemon wedges

Remember – all recipes are just guidelines!  Use whatever vegetables and meat you have on hand.  This particular recipe is for a meat paella – but feel free to do this with your own appetite in mind.  One of our favorites is a seafood paella – and so impressive!  Watch for a photo of that one of these days …..

Heat olive oil in paella pan (or other casserole style dish that is not too deep and can be used on both the top of the range and in the oven).  When oil has heated, add onions and sweat just until translucent.  Add chicken breast and cook until almost cooked through – stirring just enough to allow bits of carmelization on the meat.  Add the fresh vegetables and saute lightly.  Stir in dry rice, seasonings and stir for a few minutes to allow the rice to heat up a bit, and brown lightly.

Heat chicken stock and dissolve saffron threads along with turmeric powder.

Slowly pour 3 cups of chicken stock into rice/vegetable/meat mixture and allow to cook just until most of the liquid has been absorbed.  Stir in the chorizo sausage, olives and artichoke hearts.  Add the rest of the chicken stock if needed.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Go creative – add thinly sliced colored peppers to the top around the dish before covering with tin foil, or your lid, and baking at 350 just until rice has full absorbed and is fluffy.

Saute tomatoes only until heated through and pile in the center of your paella – scatter with scallions and parsley.

Be sure to serve with fresh lemon wedges to be squeezed over top – this really brings out the flavour!

Quinoa Couscous Salad

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Here we go again – salads without exact measurements, but a general idea.  Recipes are really just ideas on a sheet of paper, what is important is taking them and making them your own – use ingredients that you love!

equal portions of cooked quinoa and couscous

quartered and thinly sliced cucumber

chopped tomato

chopped black olive

diced red onion

feta cheese

fresh basil, mint and dill

salt and pepper

DRESSING

juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

6 tbsp good quality olive oil

1 generous tsp dijon mustard

1 garlic clove

salt and pepper to taste

Toss all salad ingredients together first and allow to sit for a few minutes while you mix up the dressing.  Whisk all dressing ingredients together, and toss with salad … TASTE for salt and pepper, and only add as needed – remember the olives and the feta cheese are salty all by themselves!

Thai Curries …. not just 1!

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All curries in Thailand start out the same way, and then you proceed with each variation … we ate this dish served on a boat restaurant on the Mekong River … pretty amazing!

Any Thai curry can be a meal in a dish – just add any protein you are craving at the moment, and serve over rice.  

If you do add meat – I did learn in Thai cooking classes that you add it to the curry, thinly sliced, and gently dropped in, then do not stir until it has cooked through – that way you avoid any raw meat flavour and your curry still has such a rich, but light flavour.

Heat a bit of oil in the bottom of pan and add 1 cup coconut milk and 1 tbsp curry paste,(choose one of the following)  along with lemon grass, galanga, chili peppers to taste (start with 1!) and ginger. Cook until slightly thickened over med heat. Add meat, whatever you choose, remember that in Thailand only a little bit of meat goes a long way!  onion and cook a bit. Add 1 more cup coconut milk and water as necessary. Add vegetables. Remove from heat.

SEASON WITH
(for all curry dishes)
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp palm sugar

Adjust seasonings as necessary.

MASSAMAN CURRY
Precook potato and carrot to add when meat is cooked. With 2nd cup of coconut milk add 2 tbsp chunky peanut butter and 2 tbsp tamarind. Serve with crushed peanuts and cilantro over top.

Massaman Curry

GREEN CURRY
Same as above but using green curry paste and a variety of different vegetables

RED CURRY
Same as above but different! Always use red curry paste and add pineapple.

PENANG CURRY
Same as above with the addition of kaffir lime leaves.
Reserve some of the coconut milk to swirl in the top
of the curry at serving time along with fresh basil.

I can’t say it enough … taste and season, season, season.  Your curry should have a full bodied flavour, many complex notes and so full of taste you can not get enough of it!