Category: Appetizers

Soups, Salads, Sides, Etc…

Pâté de Campagne

Two Christmases ago, our family flew back East to the Big Apple to spend the holiday with my beloved Auntie Rboo.  Her friend Hetty arrived for a Christmas feast with this pâté and in the blink of an eye it was gone.  Naturally, we HAD to have the recipe.

Fast forward two years and we finally decided it was time to recreate this cholesterol laden magic.  It turns out that the recipe came from Epicurious and was not a family secret as the flavour had suggested.  The Epicurious recipe creates far too much pâté for our household to eat, so I have reduced the recipe by 2/3.  Comments on the website suggest that if you make the full shebang, it freezes well (either before or after cooking).  Another tempting suggestion was to include chopped pistachios.

In any case, we ate this on crusty white bread with cornichons as an appy on Christmas day and again as fried slices with farm fresh eggs for breakfast.  Both were a treat and I have no doubt you will enjoy this immensely no matter how you serve it!

A Pat & A Pinch - Pâté de Campagne

1/4 cup Cognac
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/3 cup minced onion
3/4 pound ground pork
4 ounces bacon (approx. 3 slices), finely chopped
8 bacon slices
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/3 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoon whipping cream
1 1/4 inch thick slice Italian cotto ham to fit the dimensions of pan
1 teaspoon Coarse sea salt

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Set rack at lowest position in oven and preheat to 350°F. Boil Cognac until reduced to about 2 tablespoons. Cool.

Melt butter in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until soft and translucent but not brown, about 8 minutes.
Combine ground pork and chopped bacon in large bowl. Using hands, mix together until well blended.

Add sautéed onion, garlic, salt, thyme, allspice, and pepper to bowl with pork mixture and stir until incorporated. Add egg, cream, and reduced Cognac. Stir until well blended.
Line 8x4x2.5-inch metal loaf pan with bacon slices, arranging slices across width of pan and lastly halved slices on each short side of pan and overlapping pan on all sides. Using hands, lightly and evenly press half of meat mixture  onto bottom of pan atop bacon slices. Place ham over in single layer. Top with remaining meat mixture.
Fold the standing ends of the bacon slices over. Cover pan tightly with foil. Place pan in a larger baking pan or roast pan and transfer to oven. Pour boiling water into larger pan to come halfway up sides of loaf pan creating a water bath. Bake pâté until a thermometer inserted through foil into center registers 155°F, about 2 hours minutes.

Remove loaf pan from baking pan and transfer to rimmed baking sheet. Place another loaf pan on top with some heavy cans inside to weigh down pâté.  Chill overnight.  Can be made about 4 days ahead.

To serve, place loaf pan with pâté in larger pan of hot water for about 3 minutes. Invert pâté onto platter; discard fat from platter and wipe clean. Cut pâté crosswise into slices.  Slices can be fried in a bit of butter if you are serving them with eggs for breakfast.

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Chilled Cucumber Soup with Fresh Herbs

When I was younger, my family enjoyed cucumber soup in the summers so I was excited to come across this recipe on the blog Dishing Up the Dirt. It looked so much quicker than the family recipe that I just had to give it a try on a lovely warm sunny day.

The result is a light tasty cucumber gazpacho, but I have to admit, I prefer the family recipe so I will make it and post it soon.

Chilled Cucumber Soup - A Pat & A Pinch

2 large slicing cucumbers, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups plain greek yogurt

3 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup dill, stems removed and diced

1/4 cup parsley, thick stems removed and diced

1/4 cup olive oil

pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

a small handful of ice cubes

In a blender combine cucumber, yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, dill, parsley, ice cubes and olive oil. Blend until smooth.

Keep soup chilled until ready to serve. If you use ice cubes it should be ready to eat right away.

Season to taste with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes.

 

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Cauliflower & Couscous

This is the perfect vegetable side dish. It resembles a pilaf with the chewy pearls of Israeli couscous. It can be served warm as a side or it can be served at room temperature as a salad. I love dishes that I can make ahead of time and this fits the bill. What’s even better is that my eight year old son will eat it!

I’m not a fan of dates, but don’t leave them out. The subtle sweetness that they impart makes this dish work and the amount is so small that you hardly notice their presence as a distinct element of the dish. Don’t hesitate to vary the amounts given below to your own taste – they are for guidance only.  If you’d prefer a higher ratio of cauliflower to couscous, go for it. If you want a little more tang, don’t hesitate to add more wine vinegar. The inspiration for the dish is a recipe from Food Network.

1 1/2 cups Israeli couscous*, cooked as the label directs

4 cups cauliflower florets

2 shallots, sliced lengthwise

olive oil

salt

pepper

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup dates, chopped into 1/4 inch morsels

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

1/4 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley

*sometimes referred to as pearl couscous

Rinse the cooked couscous under cold water, drain thoroughly, and toss with about a teaspoon of olive oil. Set aside.

Cook the cauliflower florets and sliced shallots in olive oil in a large sauté pan, browning the cauliflower and shallots. If needed, cover the pan to help the cauliflower just cook through. Season with salt and pepper. Add the  cinnamon and chopped dates; cook 1 more minute to marry the flavours.

Combine the cauliflower mixture with the cooked couscous, adding the red wine vinegar,  chopped parsley, and more salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

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Candied Yams with Orange Bitters

I have to admit upfront that I am not a big fan of yams or sweet potatoes, but I keep hoping that I will find a recipe that changes my perspective.  Although my guests raved about these, to me they are still yams.  Accordingly, if you don’t like yams or sweet potatoes, this recipe might not change your opinion, but if you are already a lover of these tubers, you might enjoy this interesting sweet and salty spin.

A Pat and A Pinch - Candied Yams With Orange Bitters

The recipe as written serves 6-8 as a side dish and is very attractive to serve. It is based on a recipe by Ruth Reichel, an editor of Gourmet magazine for many years and published in Gourmet Today, a selection from the now defunct magazine. Epicurious has an adaptation of it as does the blog Drool-Worthy. Having read comments that it was very sweet with the suggested 1/3 cup of sugar, I cut back on the sugar and the sweetness seemed perfect.  The recipe below reflects this change.

Candied Yams with Orange Bitters

1-1/2 cups orange juice

1/4  cup brown sugar

1/4  cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup orange bitters

1-1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 tsp salt

4-5  yams or sweet potatoes, unpeeled, halved and then cut into wedges (about 3 lbs)

1/2 teaspoon dried red chili flakes

1 teaspoon ground sea salt

10 whole thyme sprigs plus the leaves of 5 thyme sprigs

2 heads of garlic, skin left on, sliced in half

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Prepare a 12 by 16 inch baking sheet with sides or a roasting pan of a similar size by lining it with foil or parchment.  This isn’t essential but makes clean-up so much easier.

Place the orange juice in a saucepan with the sugar and vinegar. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn down the heat to medium-high and simmer fairly rapidly for about 20 minutes, until the liquid has thickened and reduced to scant 1 cup (about the amount in a large glass of wine).  Remove from the heat and add the bitters, olive oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Place the potatoes in a mound in the centre of the lined baking sheet, add the chili flakes,  the 10 thyme sprigs, and garlic halves, and then drizzle the reduced sauce over the mound. Toss well so that everything is coated and then spread the mixture out in a single layer on the sheet. I found that the garlic halves are quite delicate and need to be tossed quite gently. Grind about 1 tsp of sea salt to taste over the wedges.

Place in the oven and roast for 40 to 60 minutes, turning and basting the potatoes every 15 minutes or so. They need to remain coated in the liquid in order to caramelize, so  if the pan is drying out too much you can add a little more orange juice. If the caramelization seems to be happening more quickly than the yams are cooking, reduce the heat by 25°F. At the end, the potatoes should be dark and sticky but not burnt. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly before arranging on a platter and sprinkling with the fresh thyme leaves.

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Indian Spiced Salmon Cakes

Indian Spiced Salmon Cakes - A Pat & A Pinch Being fortunate to live on the west coast, we eat a lot of pacific salmon. We also benefit from the wisdom of chef Vikram Vij who seems to present an endless supply of innovative ideas for local products. This is his recipe with some very minor modifications. I love my mother’s Pan Fried Salmon Cakes with Dill Sauce that I posted some time ago, but these are equally as good and are easier to make, once you have the ingredients on hand. I make them with garam masala, rather than the cumin alternative, as the spice mixture imparts a more complex flavor profile, but either would be good. If you don’t have or can’t find ajwain seeds, you can substitute a little oregano for a somewhat similar flavour.

I usually serve them on fresh greens with a light dressing and some mango chutney, but small sized ones also make an excellent appy that can be made ahead and reheated in the oven on a cookie sheet. Indian Spiced Salmon Cakes - A Pat & A Pinch 1 tablespoon coriander seeds

1 egg

1 pound fresh wild salmon

1/2 pound boiled and mashed russet potato or a little more (I like it coarsely mashed to provide a little more texture to the cake)

1/4 pound boiled or microwaved then coarsely mashed yam

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/3 cup finely sliced spring onions or chopped onion

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh jalapeno peppers

1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1 1/2 tablespoons garam masala or 1 tablespoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ajwain seeds

1 tablespoon salt (or less to taste)

1/2 cup canola oil for pan frying

Mango chutney to garnish

Lightly pound coriander seeds in a mortar or on a plate with a heavy spoon. (You just want to break the seeds in half.) Set aside.

Beat the egg in a small bowl. If you are using fresh salmon, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Immerse salmon and cook for five minutes. Remove from the heat, drain and allow the salmon to cool. Peel off the skin.

Thoroughly combine all ingredients except the oil in a large mixing bowl. With your hands, form round cakes about two and a half inches in diameter and three-quarters to one inch thick. Set them on a baking tray.

Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a shallow nonstick frying pan on high heat. Once the oil is hot, reduce the heat to medium so the cakes don’t stick to the bottom of the pan or burn. Place two cakes in the pan and cook for two to three minutes. Turn the cakes over and cook for another two to three minutes. The cakes should be brown and crispy on both sides. Repeat, using one tablespoon of the oil for each two cakes, until all the cakes are cooked.

Serve the cakes as they are done, or keep warm on a plate in the oven. Serves 6

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Beetroot Mutabal

The first time I made kibbeh bil saniyeh for one of my best friends, he told me it was only missing “beet sauce”.  Try as I might, I had no idea what this mysterious sauce was called or how to make it.  I decided to try a recipe I found online for a beetroot mutabal which I adapted only by adding more lemon juice.  I am relieved to say that I have since been told it is exactly what my kibbeh was missing.  It is also the most excitingly coloured condiment I have ever produced!

Beetroot Mutabal - A Pat & A Pinch

Beetroot Mutabal

250 g. cooked beets (approx. 3 medium or 2 large)
2 tbsp. tahini
2 tbsp. plain yogurt
2 lemons, juiced
salt

Blend the beets, tahini, and yogurt in a food processor.  Add the lemon juice and salt to taste.

Beetroot Mutabal - A Pat & A Pinch

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