(Post by Avani)
A few months back, Jecques Pepin showed this very simple yet sophisticated recipe for baked oysters. On our recent trip to British Columbia, we bought fresh oysters and I remembered the recipe. This is my take on it since I didnt recall the exact details. The thing I definitely remembered was that oysters have a mild and delicate flavor profile, so we dont want to use too many ingredients to overpower them.
12 fresh oyseters, freshly shucked, in the shell
1 green onion, chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper. deseeded and chopped very fine
fresh lemon juice
Olive oil
Arrange the oysters on a baking sheet and drizzle with a couple of drops of olive oil per oyster. Sprinkle with a small pinch of jalapeno and green onions and a couple of drops of lemon juice. Bake at 350C for 4 minutes. Serve hot.
A lot of foodies claim to love raw oysters. I honestly didnt enjoy the experience. I thought I will be okay with the texture since I love sashimi, but overall it felt like seawater, sand and slime! But the baked oysters were amazing - the oven changes the texture completely and the mild jalapeno and lemon juice flavor neutralizes the saltiness of the oyster to make it a party in the mouth!!!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Fifteen minute kicked-up Pasta
(Post by Avani)
Although I love Italian food, it has taken me some time to warm up to anchovies and more so to start cooking with them. Decided to brave it and developed this simple recipe inspired from Rachel Ray's 30-minute meals show.
A small can of Anchovies fillet (6-7 small fillets), chopped
3 large cloves of garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups store bought marinara sauce
1 cup sliced white mushrooms
1/2 pound pasta (spaghetti/penne whatever you like)
10 small meatballs (I used sun-dried tomato and basil chicken meatballs from Trader Joes. Guys, dont frown...its a fifteen minute, kicked-up pasta!!)
Parsley
Shredded Jarlsburg cheese
Chpped black olives (optional)
Heat olive oil in a shallow, wide pan. Once the oil starts to ripple (dont let it smoke though), add chopped anchovy fillets, garlic and chilli flakes. Its important to add the fish before the garlic...we are not going for the burnt garlic flavor here! Feel free to change the amount of anchovies/chiili flakes and garlic to suit your palate. Whisk the mixture with a fork gently and reduce the heat to low.
The anchovies will almost melt in the oil and aroma will fill up your kitchen. At this stage, add the sliced mushrooms, chopped olives and the pasta sauce. If you have some extra time on hand, use grilled mushrooms (400C for 15 minutes in a thin layer with a splash of olive oil). Once the sauce heats through, add the de-frosted chicken meatballs and pasta. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Remember, the pasta sauce is already well seasoned. Garnish with chopped flat leaf parsley and grated cheese. I chose jarlsburg for its creamy, milky, neutral taste to cut through the strong anchovy flavor.
I have to admit that I am a convert now. Anchovies are yummy and if used in the right proportion, they will give a lot of depth to your sauce.
Although I love Italian food, it has taken me some time to warm up to anchovies and more so to start cooking with them. Decided to brave it and developed this simple recipe inspired from Rachel Ray's 30-minute meals show.
A small can of Anchovies fillet (6-7 small fillets), chopped
3 large cloves of garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups store bought marinara sauce
1 cup sliced white mushrooms
1/2 pound pasta (spaghetti/penne whatever you like)
10 small meatballs (I used sun-dried tomato and basil chicken meatballs from Trader Joes. Guys, dont frown...its a fifteen minute, kicked-up pasta!!)
Parsley
Shredded Jarlsburg cheese
Chpped black olives (optional)
Heat olive oil in a shallow, wide pan. Once the oil starts to ripple (dont let it smoke though), add chopped anchovy fillets, garlic and chilli flakes. Its important to add the fish before the garlic...we are not going for the burnt garlic flavor here! Feel free to change the amount of anchovies/chiili flakes and garlic to suit your palate. Whisk the mixture with a fork gently and reduce the heat to low.
The anchovies will almost melt in the oil and aroma will fill up your kitchen. At this stage, add the sliced mushrooms, chopped olives and the pasta sauce. If you have some extra time on hand, use grilled mushrooms (400C for 15 minutes in a thin layer with a splash of olive oil). Once the sauce heats through, add the de-frosted chicken meatballs and pasta. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Remember, the pasta sauce is already well seasoned. Garnish with chopped flat leaf parsley and grated cheese. I chose jarlsburg for its creamy, milky, neutral taste to cut through the strong anchovy flavor.
I have to admit that I am a convert now. Anchovies are yummy and if used in the right proportion, they will give a lot of depth to your sauce.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Visit to Port Alberni - Crab recipe
Had an amazing trip to Port Alberni, British Columbia. Where you ask is Port Alberni? It's a 3 hr drive from Victoria the capital of British Columbia, Canada. While it isn't isolated it takes a loooong time to get to.
First we took a long cross country flight to Seattle, then the light rail from the airport to Seattle downtown, then walked to the ferry terminal. From the ferry terminal we took a 3 1/2 hr ferry to Victoria. In Victoria dad picked up up for a 3 hr drive to Port Alberni... Was it all worth it. Yes for multiple reasons. Got to see family after a long time and also the natural sights around Port Alberni are spectacular.
Food:
Day 1: Sisters home made Tiramisu & Lasgania
Day 2: Morning - fresh corn and quinoa porridge - yes pretty tasty. Lunch - Left over Lasgania, poutine . Picked up fresh crabs & shrimp. Dinner: Sauteed Crab with Singaporean Chilli crab sauce, pan fried garlic-lime shrimp, pan fried indian style Salmon, Corn bhel, roasted bell pepper yogurt raita.
Day 3: Picked up Salmon from a fisherman in China creek - came home and had sashimi... was very fearful of getting Salmon parasites but phew no parasites. Dinner - crab cakes from left over crab meat and sabu-dana kichidi
Day 4: Lunch - Matterson House Restaurant in Ucluelet, BC - I had Oyster burger (yum), Dad had a yummy Halibut burger, others had Clam chowder with fresh baked bread, shrimp quesadillas, and amongst the best hand made burgers (mmm beef). Dinner - skipped it and had left over Tiramisu
Day 5: Lunch - Goats on the Roof lunch - mmm poutine, chicken pastries, clam chowder, fish & chips, ... Dinner - Seafood bisque made by sister and more Salmon Sashimi, Salmon-Fig-Parmesan bruschetta, wild rice salad.
On the way back my sister made us some salmon sandwiches - thank god, we were able to keep ourself stuffed during the looong ferry ride and the flight.
Unfortunately other than the Crab and Sashimi I didn't cook much and therefore have no recipe's. Have to say it was amongst the best food vacations even though we didn't go to any star chef restaurants and mom didn't have to slave away cooking indian food in the kitchen!
Crab Recipe:
Ask the fisherman to kill the crab by breaking it in two and cleaning out the guts.
Heat oil on medium, toss in 1 tbsp of onion (diced), and a 1 chopped thai chili. Let the oil pick up the flavour for 30 sec and toss in the Crab.
Cover and shake the pot to make sure the oil coats the Crab. Time for 2 min.
After 2 min pour in 1/2 cup of water cover and cook for 4 min.
Done !! The Thai chili gives the crab meat a nice mild heat - an awesome additon to the sweetness of the Crab meat.
First we took a long cross country flight to Seattle, then the light rail from the airport to Seattle downtown, then walked to the ferry terminal. From the ferry terminal we took a 3 1/2 hr ferry to Victoria. In Victoria dad picked up up for a 3 hr drive to Port Alberni... Was it all worth it. Yes for multiple reasons. Got to see family after a long time and also the natural sights around Port Alberni are spectacular.
Food:
Day 1: Sisters home made Tiramisu & Lasgania
Day 2: Morning - fresh corn and quinoa porridge - yes pretty tasty. Lunch - Left over Lasgania, poutine . Picked up fresh crabs & shrimp. Dinner: Sauteed Crab with Singaporean Chilli crab sauce, pan fried garlic-lime shrimp, pan fried indian style Salmon, Corn bhel, roasted bell pepper yogurt raita.
Day 3: Picked up Salmon from a fisherman in China creek - came home and had sashimi... was very fearful of getting Salmon parasites but phew no parasites. Dinner - crab cakes from left over crab meat and sabu-dana kichidi
Day 4: Lunch - Matterson House Restaurant in Ucluelet, BC - I had Oyster burger (yum), Dad had a yummy Halibut burger, others had Clam chowder with fresh baked bread, shrimp quesadillas, and amongst the best hand made burgers (mmm beef). Dinner - skipped it and had left over Tiramisu
Day 5: Lunch - Goats on the Roof lunch - mmm poutine, chicken pastries, clam chowder, fish & chips, ... Dinner - Seafood bisque made by sister and more Salmon Sashimi, Salmon-Fig-Parmesan bruschetta, wild rice salad.
On the way back my sister made us some salmon sandwiches - thank god, we were able to keep ourself stuffed during the looong ferry ride and the flight.
Unfortunately other than the Crab and Sashimi I didn't cook much and therefore have no recipe's. Have to say it was amongst the best food vacations even though we didn't go to any star chef restaurants and mom didn't have to slave away cooking indian food in the kitchen!
Crab Recipe:
Ask the fisherman to kill the crab by breaking it in two and cleaning out the guts.
Heat oil on medium, toss in 1 tbsp of onion (diced), and a 1 chopped thai chili. Let the oil pick up the flavour for 30 sec and toss in the Crab.
Cover and shake the pot to make sure the oil coats the Crab. Time for 2 min.
After 2 min pour in 1/2 cup of water cover and cook for 4 min.
Done !! The Thai chili gives the crab meat a nice mild heat - an awesome additon to the sweetness of the Crab meat.
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