Chicken and Spinach Pizza Wreath with Sriracha and Za'atar

Are you watching the Grey Cup today? Well, we're not! Truth be told, I didn't even know that it was game day today, until I saw someone tweet about it. It just so happens that what I made for Sunday brunch today is a perfect party appetizer!

You could mix up any filling really, but I shredded some yummy leftover fried chicken (two breasts and one thigh - the breading when baked gives this dish an amazing texture), three cups of spinach, one cup of mushrooms, two small diced onions and about half a cup grated mozzarella. For added flavour, I mixed in two tablespoons of BBQ sauce, two tablespoons of Sriracha sauce and salt and pepper to taste.

Roll your dough into a nice, thin circle and  cut a cross-like shape in it for easy folding. I made my own dough, but you could also use any pre-made dough like Pillsbury pizza dough, for example. Spoon your filling in a nice circle shape, leaving enough room on both sides of the dough for folding.

Fold the dough up, from point to side, making for a nice and simple wreath shape. Brush a tiny bit of oil (I used basil and chili pepper infused olive oil) over the dough to ensure a nice golden crispy dough, and then sprinkle with your choice of herbs. I used Za'atar, a Middle Eastern wild thyme and sesame blend. So delicious! Slide your wreath onto an aerated pizza pan and on 425F for roughly 30 minutes, turning to ensure an even colouring.

Serve with your choice of dips and sides! Here I used a spicy Sweet Potato and Harissa dip which has a hummus-like texture. You can make your own quite easily, but this one is from the President's Choice Insiders' Collection.

Enjoy!

Smokey Eggplant Dip: A Twist on Afghan Banjan

Eggplant is a favourite in our house. With its fleshy, meaty texture and nutty flavour, it makes for a fabulous staple in vegetarian dishes. Commonly used throughout the Middle East and Central Asia, there is no shortage of creative ways to cook with this tasty nightshade. 

My smokey eggplant dip is a cross between Middle Eastern babaghanoush and traditional Afghan banjan. Like all good Afghan dishes, the starting point is the onion, always the onion! If you've been following this blog for awhile, you'll know that the flavour always comes from onions that have been slowly cooking in coconut or olive oil on low heat for almost an hour, until they are completely translucent and break apart easily with a fork (but not caramelized). For this recipe, I do it on the BBQ in a heavy cast iron skillet, alongside a whole eggplant (washed, with stem removed).

Once the onions are cooked, add in roughly 4 tbsp of organic tomato paste (or more according to taste), 2 tsp of Himalayan pink salt (or to taste) and about 1/4 cup of water. Mix to make a  nice thick sauce, and let the juices combine and boil away until the liquid has evaporated and the natural oils from within the tomatoes have released. While the sauce is cooking, remember to keep turning the eggplant around so it is well roasted on each side.

Once the eggplant has browned, the skin has wrinkled and nice charcoal grill marks appear, cut the eggplant in half and place flesh-side down into the skillet. Let cook for another few minutes, while slowly mixing with a fork. The fork will gently pull the flesh apart so that the dip is nice and chunky.

You are only limited by your creativity when dreaming up uses for this delicious dip! We eat it as it is, alongside other barbecued vegetables, or as a dip on freshly baked bread and raw vegetables, or even as a topping to rice.

One particularly delicious meal is to take lightly grilled ciabatta, drizzle it with a basil infused olive oil, spread on the smokey eggplant dip nice and thick, then top with cold Greek yoghurt. It is absolutely out of this world!

What's your favourite way to prepare eggplant? Please share with us in the comments below.

Kids Hallowe'en Kitchen Project: Spooky Bark

Happy Hallowe'en! We had a busy weekend putting the last minute touches on our costumes and carving our pumpkins. I had promised my daughter that we would make spooky bark, though, so this morning we were up early and right at opening time my daughter bounced like a jack rabbit into the Bulk Barn.

What you'll need:

• white, milk or dark chocolate squares or,  if you prefer, moulding wafers
• an assortment of spooky Hallowe'en treats (a note for next year: stock up on these early! I was surprised today when the Bulk Barn had very few Hallowe'en choices because the Christmas candy is already out. So weird.)
• parchment paper
• cookie sheet

I let my daughter work on her project first, since she was so excited she just couldn't sit still. Since this was our first time making spooky bark, I also wasn't sure how it would turn out and thought we'd use hers as our taste case. She chose to work with the dark chocolate, first. 

It's pretty simple really, and there is no need for a recipe. Just melt the chocolate, pour it on parchment paper and decorate away!

A SPOOKTACULAR FAIL!

A note on technique: it actually wasn't as easy as I assumed it would be. The first time around, I melted the chocolate on medium heat with the pot directly on the burner. It melted quickly, but then just as quickly turned lumpy and the sugars started to separate from the milk. Uh, oh. Never mind, my 3 year old didn't notice and had a blast decorating (and then gobbling up) her spooky bark. I think it looks more like lava flowing from a candy volcano, but no problem because she was just thrilled (and if I thought she couldn't sit still before this activity, the sugar turned this place into a mad house for the rest of the day!).

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL

For the white chocolate, I tried a different, and better, technique: I boiled a medium pot of water, then submersed a smaller pot in the water, just deep enough to cover the bottom of the pot. The chocolate then melted beautifully and perfectly smooth. Success!

I wish all the little ghosts and goblins in your life a very Happy Hallowe'en!

Cream of Potato, Leek and Mushroom Soup with Herbed French Loaf

The cold and blustery days of autumn are here, and that means just one thing: it's soup season! This was my first time making a traditional creamed soup, so I had to look around the Internet for a little bit of inspiration first. This recipe was loosely inspired by Taste of Home. A word of warning: although this is made from pure, wholesome ingredients, it is very heavy on the cream and butter. It just wouldn't be so delicious any other way!

What you'll need:

• 1 organic portobello mushroom
• 1/2 pound each of organic button and crimini mushrooms
• 3 large carrots, cut into coin shapes
• 5 cups peeled, diced potatoes
• 1 large leek
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 3 tsp red chilli powder
• 6 cups of organic vegetable stock
• 1 cup heavy cream (I used Half & Half coffee cream)
• 1/4 cup flour

For the garnish:

• fresh cracked pepper
• thinly sliced leek 

In a frying pan, saute the onions and garlic in coconut oil (or any oil of your choice) for at least half an hour, until they are completely soft and translucent. If you've been following me for awhile, you'll know that this is the starting point for every single one of my recipes! It's always all about the onions! In your large soup pot, add the carrots and chopped leek to a little bit of oil and saute until tender. Add the onions and garlic and stir well before pouring the vegetable stock into the pot. Add the potatoes and bring to a boil, adding a little bit of salt and the red chilli powder to taste.

To the pan that you used to sauted the onions and garlic, add a generous tablespoon of butter and saute the mushrooms (sliced thickly) until tender, but still chewy (to get that 'meaty' taste and texture). You can use any mushroom combination you desire, but I used portobello, button and crimini (delicious!). Add mushrooms to the soup pan and let simmer for 20 minutes until potatoes fall apart when stuck with a fork and the flavours are well combined.

In a small bowl, mix one cup of heavy cream and then slowly add 1/4 cup of flour, stirring vigorously so there are no lumps. Add this mixture gradually to the soup, stirring well. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and let thicken for about 15 minutes. Garnish with freshly cracked pepper and thinly sliced leeks to add a touch of colour. I served the soup with a nice, thick slice of fresh out of the oven herbed french loaf, and my family ate like they hadn't seen food before. Overall, a successful weekday supper.

***I had used organic, low-sodium vegetable stock and I'm not gonna lie, I added a lot of salt as I was going along. Next time I won't bother with the low-sodium; sometimes you just need to prioritize flavour.

Pumpkin, Red Lentil and Caramelized Onion Risotto

It's national pumpkin day! Knowing that the Internet would be filled today with the gorgeous photos and recipes of fellow food bloggers' pumpkin spice delicacies, I thought I'd experiment with a savoury pumpkin dish. 

We love risotto! Or, as my daughter calls it, sticky rice. If you've read a few of my posts, you'll know that I'm a big one for experimenting with whatever ingredients we have available in our kitchen. So, this delightfully gooey and sticky rice is accented with nutritious pumpkin, red lentils, tomato and caramelized onion. I have garnished with a garlic infused thick yoghurt (Middle Eastern labaneh or Central Asian chaka) drizzle and a sprinkling of dried mint powder. A tiny bit of Sriracha and fresh coriander finishes off this fragrant dish very nicely.

What you'll need for the rice:

• 2 cups of Arborio sticky rice, rinsed well
• 4 1/2 cups of vegetable stock (or more, depending on how many other ingredients you choose to add)
• 1 cup of red lentils, soaked (or however much you'd like - this is how much I had in the cupboard)
• 1 small pumpkin (probably about 6 cups cubed)
• 3 tbsp organic tomato paste
• 4 medium onions
• 2 tsp organic coconut pill

What you'll need for the garnish:

• 1 cup labaneh, chaka or thick Greek style plain yoghurt
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp water, or as required to reach desired consistency
• dried mint powder
• Sriracha, to taste
• fresh coriander (parsley would work too)

Start by cutting the pumpkin in half and scooping out the seeds. Then cut it in quarters and bake on a cookie sheet at 425F for approximately one hour, or until the flesh is a golden brown and curling at the edges. When nicely baked, it will be easy to peel. Peel, then cut into nice thick cubes (one inch by one inch at least) and add to a large soup pot.

While the pumpkin is baking, chop the onions and sauté in organic coconut oil (or any oil you'd like to use) for at least 40 minutes, until the onions are completely translucent, but not yet caramelized. Add 3 tbsp of organic tomato paste (or even some organic marinara sauce if you happen to have an open bottle in the fridge) and bring to a gentle bubble and let it cook for at least 20 minutes. The tomatoes in the paste or the marinara sauce will begin to release their own oils, turning the coconut oil a beautiful orangey brown colour. The onions will now be caramelized just beautifully. Add the tomato-onion mixture to the pot with the baked pumpkin. 

Add the rice rice to the pumpkin and tomato-onion mixture, then the soaked lentils. Pour in 3 cups of the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Stir very well, making sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot, then reduce to the lowest heat and let simmer, covered, for 25 minutes. You will likely need to add more liquid, depending on how much pumpkin/how many lentils you added. I actually had to add more stock 3 times, for a total of 4 1/2 cups of liquid. Be sure to stir occasionally so that the rice doesn't stick to the bottom.

You'll know it is ready when the rice has swelled to several times its original size, is very sticky and soft when tasted.

While the rice is simmering, mix one cup of labaneh, chaka or Greek yoghurt with a few tbsp of water and the garlic cloves. Mix very well until you've reached your desired consistency. We like it liquid-y enough that when poured on it spreads naturally across the rice and drips onto the plate. It's just fantastic! 

Serve the risotto, pour on some of your yoghurt sauce, then sprinkle with some dried mint powder, squirt on some Sriracha and finish it off with a beautifully fragrant stem of coriander.

Enjoy, and Happy National Pumpkin Day!