Chicken & Kale Pasta - Asian Style

Inspired by Mix & Match Meals and lots of recipes I've "Pinned"

Printable Recipe


Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves 2 -4

Ingredients: 
8oz/225g soba noodles ( I used whole wheat & buckwheat)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger root
1-2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced across
1 bunch kale (I used young purple kale), stems removed & leaves coarsely chopped
1-2 tbsp sesame oil
1-2 tbsp honey
1-2 tbsp soy sauce
1-2 tsp Asian chili sauce
2 tbsp fresh basil leaves, chopped
2-3 tbsp pasta cooking water (I actually just used tongs to transfer the noodles to the skillet which brought water with it)

  Directions: 

1. Boil and salt a large pot of water and cook your pasta.  Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water for the sauce. 
2. Drain pasta and return to the pot. 
3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet  over medium high heat
4. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook until they both start to brown
5. Add the garlic and ginger, toss for a minute and add the chicken, honey, soy and chili sauces.  Toss and cook until the chicken is coated with the sauce and add the chopped kale.
6. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink and then add the cooked pasta.  I just used tongs to transfer the soba from the pasta pot to the skillet.  
7. Toss and taste for seasonings

Julia Child's Soupe a l'oignon Gratinee des Trois Gourmandes

Julia Child's Soupe a l'oignon Gratinee des Trois Gourmandes
FromMastering the Art of French Cooking

Hands on time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 2.5 hours

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
1 ½ lbs/680g yellow onions, thinly sliced (no tears if you use the food processor, slicing blade)
3 tbsp butter (I used unsalted)
1 tbsp oil (I used canola)
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp sugar (helps with browning)
3 tbsp all purpose flour
2 quarts beef stock (I used boxed beef broth – lazy me), boiling when added to soup
½ cup dry white wine
Salt & pepper to taste
3 tbsp cognac
Rounds of hard toasted French bread
1-2 cups coarsely grated Swiss or Parmesan Cheese (I used Swiss & Gruyere…I couldn’t help my Montreal roots)
For Trois Gourmandes version just before serving…
1 tsp cornstarch
1 egg yolk
1 tsp Worcestireshire sauce
3 tbsp cognac

Directions:
1. Cook the onions slowly in butter and oil in a large, heavy bottom Dutch oven, covered for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.

2. Uncover, raise heat to moderate and stir in salt and sugar. Cook for 30-40 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are an even, deep, golden brown. Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 3 minutes.

3. Take the pot off the heat and blend in the boiling liquid. Add the wine and season to taste. Simmer, partially covered for 30-40 minutes. Correct seasoning.

If you are not serving right away, set aside.

4. Twenty minutes before serving, reheat soup to the simmer and add cognac or…for the full Trois Gourmandes version….

5. In a bowl, beat the cornstarch into the egg yolk, then Worcestershire sauce and cognac. Remove a ladleful of soup and add it to the mixture slowly with a fork. You don’t want to shock the egg yolk and curdle it. Add two more ladles of soup and blend. Pour this mixture back into the pot of soup and stir.

6. Preheat oven to 325°F/165°C and prepare individual oven proof soup bowls (Julia says you can do this in a large tureen…but not in my house!

7. Pour soup into each bowl, stir in some grated cheese (Julia adds a little grated raw onion, but I didn’t bother). Float a crisply toasted slice of French Bread (spread with a little butter, or not) on top of the soup (I like to cut the bread to fit the entire opening of the bowl) and add more grated cheese to completely cover it. Bake for 20 minutes and then under the broiler for a couple of minutes to brown the top a bit. Serve immediately.

Market Omelette

Market Omelette

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes

Serves 2

Ingredients:
enough extra virgin olive oil to "season" the pan
4 large eggs, well beaten
Filling:
2 leeks,white parts only, cleaned of sand and thinly sliced
2 handfuls of mushrooms, sliced (I used cremini, they're my "always have on hand" mushrooms, shitake, oyster, porcini all make great choices as does a combination
2 heaping handfuls of baby spinach
1-2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
3-4 heaping tbsp goat cheese (I used a garlic & cayenne blend)

Directions:
1. Heat a little extra virgin olive oil in small non-stick saute pans over medium high heat.

2. Saute the leeks for 2 minutes before adding the mushrooms. saute for 5 minutes - the leeks & mushrooms should start to turn golden. Add a couple of handfuls of baby spinach and toss about over the heat until the spinach wilts.

3. Remove from the pan and place in a metal bowl (keeps the heat better), add the fresh thyme and 2-3 tbsp of the seasoned goat cheese. Toss until the cheese is melted and evenly distributed (especially if you're making more than one omelette at a time). Set aside.

4. Cook beaten eggs in small non stick pans, tilting the pan so the egg mixture forms an even "crepe" (I used 2 pans - so we each could have our own perfect half moon delight.

5. Once it's almost dry in the center (just a couple of minutes usually, divide the filling between the two pans, arrange over half the egg "crepe" and fold the other half over it.

Grind some fresh pepper and sprinkle a little salt and serve...bread is optional.

Mussels, Chorizo & Leek Soup

Mussels, Chorizo & Leek Soup
Adapted from Food & WIne, March, 2008

Prep time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes

Serves 2

Ingredients:
½ cup dry white wine
1 tbsp shallots, finely minced
3-4 lb/1-1½ kg mussels, scrubbed & debearded
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
5 oz/141g dry chorizo, finely diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and finely diced
2 medium leeks, trimmed down to white & pale green parts only; thoroughly cleaned and finely sliced
1 small onion, finely diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 large plum tomato, finely diced
¼ tsp saffron threads, crumbled
3 cups low-sodium fish stock, clam juice (or as I did it…chicken broth)
½ cup heavy cream (I used 2% evaporated milk instead)
Salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped

Directions:
1. Have all your ingredients ready.

2. Bring the wine and shallots to a boil in a large heavy bottomed pot (I used a Dutch oven). Add the cleaned mussels, cover and cook over high heat until they open (about 5 minutes). Discard any closed shells. Strain the cooking liquid into a large bowl and reserve. Remove the mussels from their shells, reserving some unshelled for garnish, if desired. (It does look pretty!)

3. Clean out any sediment from the same pot and return to stove. Heat the olive oil and add the chorizo, carrots, leeks and onion. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are softened (about 8-10 minutes). Add the garlic, tomatoes and saffron and cook over moderate heat until fragrant (4-5 minutes). Add the fish stock and reserved cooking liquid and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook, covered over low heat for 30 minutes.

4. Add the cream (or evaporated milk) and simmer over moderately high heat for 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the mussels and thyme and simmer just until the mussels are heated through (about 1-2 minutes).

5. Ladle the soup into bowls, garnish with mussels in their shells and serve.