What are we eating ? | Economic recipes to start the year

Just before the weekend, all readers who cook ask themselves this eternal question: what are we going to eat? In order to inspire you, The Press suggests some suggestions for seasonal recipes that will make your mouth water.

Peckish: Israeli couscous salad with Swiss chard

This salad is so simple and packed with flavor. It can be served as a meal, for lunch, or as a side dish for dinner. Israeli couscous is made with the same ingredients as regular wheat semolina, only much larger. As for sumac, it is a spice with a tangy taste originating in the Middle East. They are easily found in supermarkets. Two ingredients to discover!

Yield: 4 servings

Preparation: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups raw Israeli couscous
• 1 drizzle of olive oil, for cooking
• 1 bunch of white or red Swiss chard, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 tbsp. sumac
• A few pinches of dried oregano
• 2/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup chives, chopped
• Microgreens, to taste
• Olive oil, to taste
• Salt pepper

Preparation

• 1. Cook the couscous in salted boiling water for about 18 minutes or until you obtain the desired texture (more or less crunchy). Drain and let cool.
• 2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, sauté the Swiss chard, bell pepper and garlic in a drizzle of olive oil over medium-high heat. Once the vegetables have become tender, add the lemon juice, sumac and oregano. Mix well and season.
• 3. Add the couscous, feta and chives to the vegetables. Drizzle with olive oil, season well and serve with sprouts, if desired.

Posted in The Press+ 1^er March 2018.

Quickly done well: crispy fish fillets with almonds

4 servings

Preparation: 15 minutes

Cooking: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 to 6 fillets of sole, tilapia or halibut (400 g, about 14 oz)
• 40 g (1/3 cup) all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 75 g (3/4 cup) almonds, ground
• 50 g (1/4 cup) cornmeal
• 1 C. teaspoon dried oregano
• The zest of 2 lemons
• 2 tbsp. tablespoon olive oil or butter
• Salt and pepper

Preparation

• 1. With absorbent paper or a clean kitchen towel, pat the fish fillets dry. To book. In a deep dish, put the flour. In a second deep plate, beat the eggs. In a third deep plate, combine the almonds, cornmeal, oregano and lemon zest. Salt and pepper.
• 2. Pass the fish fillets one by one in the flour and let the excess fall off. Dip them in the eggs, then coat them with the almonds. Reserve on a large plate.
• 4. In a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tbsp. tablespoon oil and cook half of the fish fillets for 3 minutes or until golden underside. Flip and continue cooking for 3 minutes or until the flesh is opaque.
• 5. Repeat with the other fillets in the remaining oil. (You can cook all the fish fillets at the same time if the pan is large enough.)

Accompaniment: serve with baked sweet potato fries and a green vegetable.

Ratings

The almond-based coating helps to increase the fibre, good fats and vitamin content of the meal, more than the breadcrumbs often used to bread foods.

This recipe can be offered to babies from 9 months.

Source: recipe from the book Knowing what to eat — Babies, 21 days of menusby nutritionist Stéphanie Côté.

Published on lapresse.ca on March 15, 2018.

Call me boss! : Norman style chicken

Every time she visits her in France, Inès asks her grandma Claire for this recipe. Serve with fresh pasta or mashed carrots or potatoes.

Preparation: 45 mins

Cooking: 30 mins

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 227g white mushrooms
• 2 tbsp. tablespoon salted butter
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) 35% cream
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 4 small chicken fillets or 2 large ones
• 4 sprigs of fresh chives

Preparation

• 1. Clean the mushrooms with a slightly damp paper towel and cut them into 1 cm slices.
• 2. In a frying pan, place half the butter and heat it well. When it foams, put the mushrooms in it and mix them over high heat, then salt them. The water will come out of the mushrooms, so let them simmer gently for four minutes, then add half the cream, a little pepper and the lemon juice, then turn off the heat.
• 3. Cut the chicken fillets into small cutlets 2 cm thick, 5 to 7 cm long and 3 or 4 cm wide, following the grain of the meat well.
• 4. In a skillet, heat the remaining butter over medium heat. When it is hot, put the chicken cutlets in it to sear them on one side for three to four minutes, turn them over and let them cook for four to five minutes. Salt and pepper. Add the mushrooms, the rest of the cream and simmer for four minutes.
• 5. Finely chop the chives to garnish the dish when serving.

Posted in The Press+ September 13, 2018.

Guilty pleasure: small chocolate “touski”

Catherine Martin calls these little snacks “touski”, because you are free to put “anything” lying around in the pantry: dried fruit, cereals, nuts, lark. The addition of peanut butter, which can be replaced by soy or almond butter, in case of allergy, makes it possible to obtain a dough that holds together better and slightly camouflages the taste of chocolate. “You’ll notice less if it’s not top quality,” says the pastry chef.

Makes 8 muffins

Ingredients for the device

• 6 cups bread cubes of any kind (household bread, crusty bread, pastries, etc.)
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup cream
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup golden brown sugar
• 1/4 cup of butter
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped dark chocolate
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped milk chocolate
• big sugar

Ingredients for the icing

• 1/2 cup 35% cream
• 1 cup dark or milk chocolate, coarsely chopped, your choice

Preparation

• 1. Soak the bread cubes in the milk and cream for about twenty minutes.
• 2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bain-marie (or in the microwave, as desired). Remove from the heat, then add the beaten eggs and brown sugar, and mix well.
• 3. Pour the chocolate mixture over the soaked bread, then spread it all, slightly crushing the bread cubes, in muffin molds (8, approximately) or a single square mold (20 cm x 20 cm).
• 4. Sprinkle with sugar before baking for 25 to 30 minutes at 190°C (375°F), until the muffins are golden brown.

The puddings can be eaten as is, but will be even better topped with chocolate ganache prepared by mixing 125 ml of boiling 35% cream with 1 cup of chocolate cut into small pieces.

Posted in The Press+ on April 15, 2017.

Health ! : banana milk

Originally from Quebec, the one who currently lives in Germany made a great discovery at the start of the year: banana milk. She posted the recipe — simple as pie — on her Instagram account.

Ingredients

• 1 large ripe banana
• 3/4 cup of water
• 1 C. lucuma powder
• 1 C. hemp seeds
• A pinch of Ceylon cinnamon

Preparation

• 1. Put the ingredients in the blender until everything warms up a little.
• 2. Pour over granola or cereal.

Source: recipe by Aryane Héroux-Blais, from the Valises et gourmandises blog.

Published on lapresse.ca on February 9, 2017.