Garlic

Italian Potato-Sausage Soup

March 11, 2018 By Caroline 5 Comments

A hearty meal with a healthy dose of veggies, this Italian Potato-Sausage Soup is one of the first recipes I ever made. I remember the first time I tried it, I confused a clove of garlic with a head of garlic, so I used 2 whole heads of garlic by mistake! The result, while rather pungent, actually wasn’t half bad 🙂 I learned my lesson for next time and it’s been a favourite dish for over twenty years now! The sausages give the broth a wonderful spicy flavour complimented by the fresh red peppers. Topped with shaved Parmesan cheese and some chives, it comes together quickly for a delicious lunch or dinner.

The original recipe came from a book I had picked up, 30-minute Meals from the Academy. An oldie but a goodie, this book has lots of simple recipes that are easy to pull together and taste great. The book put an emphasis on the mise-en-place method of prepping and cutting all of your ingredients before beginning to cook anything. This was an important lesson to learn when I first starting out—I still remember frantically trying to keep up with prepping ingredients while cooking because I hadn’t thought through how long the prep work would take (and being a newbie in the kitchen, I wasn’t exactly sous chef material!) True to the book, I still prep and chop everything for this recipe before getting started on the stove.

It’s worth noting that the quality of sausages you buy will greatly affect the final dish. Rather than the basic grocery store sausages that can be very fatty and overly salted, I go to a good quality butcher offering house made, smaller-batch sausages instead. I find they tend to be much leaner and the spices and overall flavour is so much better. They freeze well, so you can always buy enough for several recipes to avoid too many special trips to the meat shop. I adapted the recipe to include the extra step of removing the sausage casings. It only takes a couple of extra minutes and makes the sausage pieces more meatball like. I also found that while the larger piece sizes recommended for the veggies look quite gourmet, they are hard to manage and not very user-friendly while eating. Instead I go with bite-size pieces that fit easily into a spoon—no extra cutting/wrangling required while eating!

The sausages start off steaming in a small amount of water, then the water is drained and they are browned on all sides. Once brown, the sausages are removed from the pot and set aside. Olive oil is added, and the veggies are sautéed. I start with the onion, followed by garlic, seasoning and potatoes. I add the red peppers near the end as I like them to remain just a tiny bit crisp. Once the veggies are just slightly golden in places, it’s time to add the broth and tomato paste. The reserved sausages go back in, too.

At this point you just need to cook everything for about 15 minutes or so, until the potatoes are soft and cooked through. Do a taste check for salt and pepper, adding more if needed. A nice crusty baguette with butter on the side round this out for a tasty dinner or hearty lunch.

To serve, ladle into bowls and top with shaved parmesan pieces and some chives or green onions. Twenty years later, I still make this regularly and it’s a real crowd pleaser. This recipe is a keeper and I hope to make it for another twenty years.

Hearty and delicious, a tomato broth with lot of fresh vegetables and sausage

5 from 1 vote

Italian Potato Sausage Soup

A hearty soup loaded with bright red peppers, garlic, potatoes and sausage that is quick and easy to make.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 5 people

Ingredients

3 Italian Sausages
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small red onion, quartered and sliced
550 g baby potatoes, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
2 red peppers, cut into bite-sized pieces
156 ml tomato paste (5.5 oz)
900 ml chicken broth (30 oz or 4 cups)
salt to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste
handful of chives, diced
Parmesan cheese, shaved

Instructions

Trim, chop and prep all ingredients. Remove casings from sausages and cut into 1" pieces, forming little sausage meatballs.
In a large covered pot over medium-high heat, simmer sausages in 1/4 cup water for four minutes. Drain water, increase heat, and brown sausages on all sides (for about five minutes). Remove sausages and set aside.
Heat olive oil in pot. Add onions and sauté for four minutes. Add garlic, potatoes, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for another five minutes. Add red peppers and cook for two minutes.
Add tomato paste, broth and reserved sausages. Bring to a boil and simmer for fifteen minutes, until potatoes are softened and cooked through. Test for seasoning and add more salt if needed.
To serve, ladle into bowls and top with shaved Parmesan, freshly ground pepper and diced chives.

Roast Garlic Herb Marinated Chicken Thighs

September 13, 2017 By Caroline Leave a Comment

Refuse to let go of summer—you can keep your BBQ going well into the fall (and sometimes early winter)! This bright green herb sauce with roasted garlic makes a wonderful marinade for chicken thighs. Make the marinade and coat the chicken the day before, for an easy dinner the next day that can be pulled together in time it takes to heat the grill and cook the chicken. Throw a couple of peaches (or figs would be great too) during the final 5 minutes or so of grilling for nice contrast to the garlicky, herbacious chicken.

To roast the garlic, take a full head, and slice off the tops to expose the cloves. The cloves are at different levels so I cut the tops from each row/level separately rather than a straight cut across the top, to maximize the garlic. Drizzle or spray with a touch of olive oil, wrap in foil, and roast at 375° for about one hour, until the cloves are soft when pierced with a knife. Allow to cool, and pop out the cloves with a butter knife into your food processor or mini-chopper.

Clean and prep your herbs, no need to chop them as you’ll be putting them into a food processor to blend with the roasted garlic. Parsley and mint work well to offset the garlic and give the sauce it’s amazing green colour.

Add the remaining marinade ingredients into the food processor and blend until the herbs are finely chopped and the texture is smooth.

Next, loosen the skin on the chicken thighs and rub the marinade under the skin, and then all over the outside the chicken, before placing into a bowl. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least one hour—if you can do this the night before, even better.

Finally, remove the chicken about 30–45 minutes before grilling to take the chill off the meat for more even cooking. Heat the grill to about 400°, and brush with olive oil (or spray carefully with non-stick spray). Note: with all the olive oil in the marinade, the flames can really jump up when you put the chicken on the grill, so allow excess marinade to drip off into the bowl before placing the meat on the grill. Start the chicken thighs skin side down, and grill until the skin is nice and crispy, then turn down the heat and flip the chick over to finish cooking at a lower heat.

Plate with your peaches or figs, and serve!

Roast Garlic Herb Marinated Chicken Thighs

Tender grilled chicken with an herbacious-garlic kick and crispy skin. The marinade can be made in advance to make this a quick weeknight dinner you can get on the table in 30 minutes.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

Marinade

1 head roasted garlic cut top off garlic head, roast at 375°, wrapped in foil, for 1 hour until tender
2 cups packed parsley
3/4 cup packed mint leaves
3/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt

Chicken Thighs

8 chicken thighs with bones and skin
salt
freshly ground pepper
4 peaches, split into halves, pits removed
olive oil

Instructions

Squeeze cooled garlic cloves out of the head into a small chopper or food processor. Add remaining ingredients. Blend until herbs are finely chopped and a sauce forms.
Loosen skin from chicken thighs, and spoon herb sauce under the skin. Rub more sauce all over the outside of the thigh, and transfer to a bowl. Repeat with remaining meat. Cover and transfer to a fridge for a minimum of one hour, or overnight.
Remove chicken from fridge and allow to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Heat a BBQ to 400°. Spritz grill with olive oil or cooking spray, then carefully add meat, skin side down, to the hot grill (all that olive oil can create big flames, so shake off excess oil/sauce before placing on the grill). Grill for approximately 10 minutes until the skin is well crisped and dark in colour.
Reduce heat to 300° and flip chicken pieces skin-side up, positioning them in indirect heat (turn a zone in the BBQ way down or off, placing chicken into that zone). Cook over lower heat for another 20 minutes or so, until the meat is cooked through. (Temperature should be 165°—I press down on the chicken with my tongs to get a sense of the firmness to see how cooked they are. Firmer meat means more cooked).
During the last seven or so minutes, mist the peach halves with olive oil and place on the grill, starting skin side up. Get some nice grill lines, then filp and finish cooking the peaches until juices are flowing and the fruit has softened.
Serve the chicken and peaches together on a platter.

Garlic Lime Chicken with Mango Salsa and White Bean Quesadillas

June 18, 2017 By Caroline Leave a Comment

This summer inspired feast is the perfect thing to tuck into on a patio with an ice cold beer (or a white wine sangria). Juicy mango forms the base of a salsa that is the perfect accompaniment to seared chicken. Even on its own, the chicken is lively with fresh garlic, lime juice and cumin. Quesadillas grilled with cheese, spinach and a white bean puree round out the plate. It also makes for great leftovers, holding up well for a day or two after it’s made.

There are multiple recipes outlined to bring together for the final ensemble, but everything is quite easy and the whole thing can pulled together in about 60 minutes. Not to mention any of the three recipes are great on their own or paired with other dishes—for example the mango salsa would also make for a mean topping on fish tacos. But back to this recipe grouping—our plan of attack: start by cutting and prepping all of the ingredients, sauté and blitz the beans into a puree, and then while the chicken is cooking, stir together the mango salsa and assemble and sear the quesadillas. Let’s get started.

Once you’ve cut and prepped everything, create the quesadilla bean puree filling. Cook the beans with olive oil, spices and shallots until the beans soften and the shallots are slightly golden.

Remove from heat, and add to a mini-blender with lime juice. Puree until smooth.

Prep the quesadillas: start with one whole wheat wrap, spread it with the bean puree, add baby spinach and top with cheese.

Next, prep the chicken. You’ll want to remove the tenders, and then slice each breast open like a book to stuff with limes, fresh garlic, salt and pepper. Then close them back up to seal the limes and garlic inside.

Add chicken to a large saute pan with olive oil. Add additional garlic to the pan, pouring half of the lime juice on top, and sprinkle with cumin. Flip the chicken half-way through, pour the remaining lime juice over, and sear well.

To finish cooking, I like to turn the heat down to a low setting (2–3 on my induction cooktop) and cover the pan with foil (or a lid if you have one). I find this slow finish makes for a juicy and tender final product.

Finally, mix the ingredients for the mango salsa and cook the quesadillas.

Bring it all together and dinner is served!

Don’t forget to save some for lunch tomorrow…

Garlic Lime Chicken

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts tenders removed
2 tbsp garlic finely chopped
1 lime cut into 8 slices
1 lime juiced
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp cumin

Instructions

Remove tenders from chicken breasts, and slice each breast starting from the thickest point, cutting partway through until you are able to open the breast like a book. Season with salt and pepper to taste
Sprinkle half of the garlic over the opened chicken breasts. Place 2 lime wedges at the centre, and fold back the chicken to close the "book".
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the olive oil. Place the chicken into the pan, add remaining garlic, pour half of the lime juice over top, and sprinkle with cumin.
Cook for 6–8 minutes, then flip chicken over. Pour the remaining lime juice over top. Cook until a nice golden sear develops on the second side, about 2–3 minutes. Then turn the heat to medium-low, and top with a lid (or use foil if you don't have a lid for your skillet) until chicken is cooked through, about 4–6 additional minutes.
Serve with mango salsa spooned over top.

Mango Salsa

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

2 ripe mangos peeled and chopped into 1/4" dice
1/2 fresh pinapple peeled and chopped into 1/4" dice
1/4 cup chopped jalapeno peppers more if you like it spicy, seeded for less spicy
2 shallots sliced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves crushed
1/4 cup lime juice freshly squeezed
1/4 cup fresh orange or pinapple juice

Instructions

In a small bowl, combine lime and orange juice, crushed garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Allow to rest while you prep and combine the remaining 5 ingredients into a large bowl.
Remove garlic from juices and discard. Pour juices over the salsa mixture and serve.

White Bean Spinach Quesadillas

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
2 shallots chopped
19 oz white kidney beans ((Cannellini beans) drained and rinsed
pinch nutmeg
salt
pepper
1 lime juiced
8 whole wheat tortillas, 7"
8 oz baby spinach
1 cup grated cheese Cheddar-Mozzarella mix works well

Instructions

Heat 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a medium skillet on medium-high heat. Add shallots and cook until softened, about 2–3 minutes. Add white beans, nutmeg and salt & pepper to taste, and continue to cook for 5–8 minutes until beans soften.
Transfer bean mixture to a mini-food processor, add juice of 1 lime, and pulse until it forms a puree.
Build the quesadillas: starting with one tortilla, spread 1/4 of the bean mixture on top. Add a handful of baby spinach, and top with cheese. Top with another tortilla. Repeat to build four.
Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add a teaspoon of olive oil—when heated and shimmering, add one quesadilla. Cook until the tortilla crisps up and the filling starts to melt, then flip. Cook until the bottom is golden and the filling is nice and melty.
Slice and serve!