Side

Citrus Beet Salad with Fennel and Pumpkin Seed Oil

March 4, 2018 By Caroline

Gorgeous jewel-tones, earthy beets, licorice-scented fennel and citrus bursting with flavour—this salad brings it all together. But what really makes this special and takes it over the edge is the Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil. Made in the Austria in the region of Styria, the oil has a distinctive nutty, rich taste with a deep green hue. Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil is made from a unique pumpkin variety that produces seeds without shells. These seeds produce rich oil with a darker green colour when compared with regular pumpkin seed oil. It tastes amazing drizzled over salads and should not be used for cooking or heating—it is meant to be enjoyed straight up.

I was introduced to the idea of the venerated Pumpkin Seed Oil by long-time family friends, Frank and Etta. With a twinkle in his eye, Frank leaned over during dinner and asked me, “Have you ever tried Austrian Pumpkin Seed Oil?” I had to admit I had not only never tried it, I’d never even heard of it. He explained it is very rare and hard to find in Canada, but in Austria where he was from, it was a celebrated condiment to be used on everything from ice-cream to salads to cheese. He spoke of it with such nostalgia and affection, it left an impression on me.

Imagine my delight when I found a tin of the precious oil at my regular grocery store! It is touch and go and not always available there, but I’ve also seen it at a few gourmet food shops in Toronto and noticed you can order it online via Amazon as well. It is very expensive, but truly unlike any other oil I have ever tasted. It carries a nutty taste with more richness and greater intensity than that of Walnut oil. It complements the earthy roasted beets and serves as a lively rich counterpoint to the citrus in this salad.

To begin, trim, rinse and chop the beet greens into ribbons, and set aside. Wrap the beet roots in foil and roast in a preheated 400° oven for about an hour until tender. Allow to cool, then peel the beets and slice each one into 8 wedges.

Trim and slice about half of a large fennel bulb into strips, and place in a large bowl. Add the reserved beet greens and chopped cilantro. Drizzle freshly squeezed orange or lemon juice over the salad with a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Toss to combine.

Cut peel and pith from the oranges and slice into segments, adding them to the bowl. Stir gently to avoid breaking the fruit. Plate the salad, and drizzle a generous amount of Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil over the plates just before serving.

Earthy, roasted, sweet, sour and nutty—this delicious salad is a feast for the eyes. A beautiful dish that’s great to share with guests, yet easy enough to make for a weeknight side salad.

From time to time I find myself leaning over, speaking in a hushed voice to a foodie friend, “but have you tried real handcrafted Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil?” I’m a Pumpkin Seed Oil convert now, seeking to impart the sense of reverence and love for this special liquid of greenish golden hues as Frank did for me.

5 from 2 votes

Citrus Beet Fennel Salad with Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil

Bursting with flavour and gorgeous jewel tones, this salad drizzled with nutty Pumpkin Seed Oil is a feast for the eyes and palate.

Course Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine Austrian

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Servings 4

Ingredients

3 beets with greens
1 naval orange
1 blood orange
1 tbsp fresh orange or lemon juice
1/2 large fennel bulb, sliced
chopped cilantro to taste
sea salt
fresh ground pepper
Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil

Instructions

Prepare beets: remove greens, rinse, dry and chop into ribbons. Set aside. Clean beet roots, and wrap in foil. Add to a preheated 400° oven and roast for 1 hour, until tender. Allow beets to cool, then peel and slice each beet into 8 wedges. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine sliced fennel, beet greens, cilantro, salt, pepper and juice. Remove peel and pith from the oranges and slice into segments. Add to the salad bowl and toss gently.
Plate the salads, and drizzle the Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil over top just before serving.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Squash and Apples

January 15, 2018 By Caroline 9 Comments

Bored with your vegetables these days? What you need is a good trio—the Luke, Leia and Hans of dinner! Brussels sprouts, butternut squash and apples are the unlikely characters to connect this veggie plot together. Roasting brings out the caramelized bitterness of the sprouts, the earthy sweetness of the squash and honey-tart apple flavours in the most perfect way. Add some fresh herbs, walnuts for crunch and drizzle with maple syrup for a vegetable dish that is totally delish, yet super healthy at the same time.

To begin, prep your brussels sprouts by removing the outer leaves, trimming the bottoms and slicing them in half (for really large sprouts, cut into thirds or quarters—the goal is for all the pieces to be roughly the same size for even roasting). I find a heaping two-cup measuring cup does the trick, you don’t need to be too precise.

Next, chop up your butternut squash (about 2 cups as well). I like to buy a package of pre-cut squash from the store. It saves all that prep time peeling the skin, and a whole butternut would be too much for this recipe. No need to peel the apples, just cut them up into half-inch pieces and toss everything together in a large 9×13″ baking dish, with some shallots and some fresh rosemary, thyme or sage, whichever you have on hand. Season generously with salt and pepper, drizzle with some olive oil, and stir it all together.

Roast, uncovered, for about 35–45 minutes until the edges of the squash and outer leaves of the sprouts are dark and golden. No need to stir, just let it roast in place to get all those nice dark golden bits.

The photo above gives a good idea of how the vegetables should look when they are ready. Aren’t roasted brussels sprouts just gorgeous?! Finally when serving, I like to let people grab their own walnuts to place on top, and drizzle the maple syrup on top to their liking. Overall the combination is so simple and so good. It makes a great side dish with pork chops. With more walnuts and maybe a bit of goat cheese, this could also be a meal on it’s own. Who said vegetables can’t be the star of dinner? With the right trio, veggies triumph over all. May the syrup be with you!

4.75 from 4 votes

Roasted brussels sprouts with butternut squash & apples

The perfect trio of vegetables to shake up your vegetable routine.

Course Side Dish

Servings 6

Ingredients

2 cups Brussels sprouts
2 cups butternut squash, peel removed, cut into 1" pieces
2 cups apples (1–2 large apples) cut into 1" pieces
2 shallots, roughly chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
fresh rosemary or sage, chopped to taste
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
maple syrup to taste
1/2 cup walnut halves, toasted

Instructions

Toss first seven ingredients in a 9x13" baking dish. Roast in a preheated 375° oven for 45–55 minutes. Veggies are done when there are dark golden areas on the outer brussels sprout leaves and squash.
Serve with maple syrup and walnuts on the side, for each person to top up their veggies as desired.

Recipe inspired by The Occasional Vegetarian’s Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Butternut Squash, and Apple with Candied Walnuts on Serious Eats.

Bacon Cheddar Green Onion Scones

October 11, 2017 By Caroline 2 Comments

Savoury, crisp, buttery and melt-in-your-mouth—this is an excellent scone I love to serve with my fav butternut squash soup. These really hit the spot served warm with a little extra butter served on the side, because you can really never have too much butter! The green onions round out the bacon and cheddar and add something a little unexpected to these scones that really takes them over the top.

Based on Emeril’s Bacon Cheddar Cheese Scone recipe, I follow the original pretty closely except I typically use half-and-half cream rather than heavy (whipping) cream. I also prefer to cut in the butter first, as I find when trying to do this with the cheese and the onions at the same you aren’t able to blend the butter with the flour as well as I would like for optimal dough cohesion.

Above you can see the cheddar and green onions going in to the dry ingredients—you can see how the butter has already been cut in. Once the cheddar and green onions are well integrated, I add the bacon which will break up a bit more as you mix it in, which is just fine.

Once you’ve added the bacon, the cream is added and you can lightly work this into a dough. You need to knead the dough enough that you can’t see any more areas of flour and it’s just holding together. You don’t to overwork it. Then you divide the dough into two even halves. Either on a floured countertop, or directly on the prepared parchment, press each half into a flattened disc about 7″ wide. The disks need to be placed onto a parchment lined baking sheet.

Cut each disc of dough into eight wedges, making 16 scones. Brush on some additional cream to create a lovely golden colour on the baked scones.

Warm out of the oven, the scones are crisp, buttery and flakey. At the same time they aren’t too heavy and I find the texture to be somewhat light for a scone. This recipe is a real keeper, I hope you’ll give it a try and let me know how it turned out!

Bacon Cheddar Green Onion Scones

Savoury, crisp, buttery and melt-in-your-mouth—an excellent scone I love to serve with my fav butternut squash soup.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 22 minutes

Total Time 52 minutes

Servings 16 scones

Ingredients

4 slices bacon
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
6 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 cup half-and-half cream plus 2 tbsp

Instructions

Prepare a large baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper. Preheat oven to 400°.
Cook bacon strips until they are crisp (I like to place bacon on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake at 400° for 15 minutes, flipping half-way through). Drain on paper towel dabbing off excess grease. Roughly chop and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and pepper. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or two knives until the texture consists of fine lumps. Add cheese and green onions, cutting the cheese into the flour mixture. Add bacon and combine. Add 1 cup of cream and work with your hands to mix into a sticky dough. Combine just until flour isn't visible and the dough holds together, don't overwork it.
Split dough into 2 equal halves. Flatten each half into a circle on the parchment lined baking sheet, about 7" in diameter. Cut each circular disk into 8 wedges. Spread out the pieces to leave a 1/2" space between them. Brush the tops lightly with the remaining cream.
Bake until golden brown, 20–22 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve warm.

Summer Salad of Peach and Fig

August 15, 2017 By Caroline Leave a Comment

Ahhh, peaches, your time has finally come! Niagara peaches in their prime are ideal for this gourmet salad. This recipe focuses on top notch ingredients from the sweetest, juiciest peaches, to beautiful fresh figs, blackberries and good quality balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and honey. Add some goat cheese, Prosciutto, pistachios and arugula, and you’ve got a showstopper that couldn’t be any simpler to make. Don’t worry about being precise with the measurements, adjust to suit your taste and you really can’t go wrong.

I used a good quality Italian balsamic vinegar, Malden sea salt flakes and Savannah Bee Company’s Sourwood honey, but any good quality versions of these would be fantastic.

To create this salad, start by tossing the arugula with some olive oil. Toss to combine, and lay it out on a plate. With my square plates I found using a diagonal line made for a pretty arrangement. Next, place your sliced peaches and figs on top. Add some blackberries in between. Then twist a few strands of Prosciutto and weave into the salad. Cut a few pieces of Prosciutto in half and twirl into roses and place around the salad to complete the design. Add soft goat cheese in dabs. Finally, sprinkle with balsamic, toss on some freshly roasted pistachios, drizzle honey all over and season with a pinch of sea salt flakes.

The end result is almost too beautiful to eat! I promise, it tastes as good as it looks.

Summer Salad of Peach and Fig

A beautiful salad that elevates amazing summer produce into a show stopping and delicious dish.

Course Lunch, Salad

Prep Time 15 minutes

Servings 2

Ingredients

2 cups Arugula
1/2 tbsp Olive oil
2 Peaches
6 Black mission figs
10 Blackberries
6 slices Prosciutto
2 oz soft goat cheese
Balsamic vinegar
Honey
Pistachios a handful, toasted
Malden sea salt

Instructions

Toss Arugula with olive oil. Divide between 2 plates.
Core and slice peaches into 6–8 pieces each. Slice figs in half vertically. Place peaches, figs and berries evenly over the arugula to create a balanced arrangement.
Twist two slices of Prosciutto and weave into salad on one of the plates. Cut a third piece in half and twist each into a rosette and place onto the salad. Repeat on the second plate.
Drop crumbled pieces of goat cheese evenly between the two plates. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and honey. Add pistachios and a pinch of sea salt flakes. Serve immediately.

Pistachio Parsley Mint Pesto (with Flank Steak)

August 1, 2017 By Caroline 1 Comment

It all started with the parsley. I came back from vacation and my herb pots were practically exploding with the most perfect, ready to eat parsley. But what to do with it all? I searched out a few options and decided to make a pesto. I whipped up this recipe from Serious Eats, and I have to say, the pesto is so beyond spectacular that I renamed the recipe to put the pesto first. Don’t get me wrong, it goes great with the flank steak, but it would be amazing with pasta, vegetables, on bread, and just straight up with a spoon!

You start with the amazing ingredients above. I used raw, unsalted pistachios, and toasted them for 10 minutes at 350° to bring out their full aroma and flavour. This is an important step not noted in the original recipe, although it did call for roasted nuts. Personally I think roasting them just before blending makes for deeper flavours.

Close up of the finished pesto. The parsley and mint get a nice lift from the lemon juice, and then the Parmesan just takes it all up a notch adding a nuanced nutty flavour that compliments the toasted pistachios so well.

Next, on to prepping the marinade for the steak (actually do this first, as you want to marinate the flank steak at least 4 hours before grilling). It’s pretty quick to chop everything up to prep this. I ran out of large ziplock bags, so I spread the steak out on a plate, and spread the marinade all over it, before folding it into a glass baking dish and popping it into the fridge. Another note: I like to score my flank steaks lightly on the diagonal, to help the marinade soak in. It also makes for nice looking lines after it has been grilled as the lines will show nice and golden. Do this just before you coat the steak with the marinade.

The way the juices gather in the score lines—drool inducing!

The final product—remember to slice the meat against the grain. You will want to dip everything on your plate into that pesto (and lick the plate). Get the recipe here.