Healthy Food Recipe

Archive for August, 2008

When people travel, they are often fag out due jet lag and do not want to wear their best suits to dinner.

I traveled to Toronto for a meeting last month. The fifteen hours in the plane and time different made me expect to get good and comfortable accommodation in Toronto.

I was quite happy that I stayed in a nice hotel. The meeting was successful too. My colleagues and I went for dinner afterward. Due to find a good restaurant Toronto, I usually look at showmetoronto.com but that evening my colleagues took me to a restaurant (I know later that this place is not recommended by the site, I could not find it in the Toronto restaurant section).

The ambiance is comfortable but the dinner was spoiled by bad service. One of my colleagues ordered a medium rare prime rib but she got it to well cook. She asked if she could have what she ordered. The waiter came back with different plate and exactly the same piece of rib. He told her that it is the nearest medium rare that available. He did not even suggest her different choice of a meal.

After he left our table, she smelled a dirty cloth smell on her plate that was not even there before she sent her prime rib back. She ended up not eating the piece of meat. Too bad, while the restaurant was very good, the meddling waiter completely marred what would have been a wonderful evening. Such a pity what one waiter can do to a restaurant.

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Polenta and tomatoes to be prepared a day in advance

1.5L vegetable stock

250g polenta

50g grated parmesan

Freshly ground black pepper

And sea salt to season

Olive oil

2 garlic cloves

4 sprigs thyme

600g mixed mushrooms

3 store-bought globe artichokes

6 roma tomatoes, slow roasted*

Flat-leafed parsley, to garnish

Olive oil, to drizzle

1.     Bring stock to boil. Whisk in polenta until it thickens (about 2mins). Simmer covered for 20mins, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese and season. Pour hot mixture into a flat baking tray lined with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

2.     Turn out polenta onto a chopping board and cut into triangles. Place a non-stick frying pan with a generous film of olive oil over a high heat. Fry triangles until golden. Remove and keep warm.

3.     Sit a frying pan with a small amount of olive oil over a high heat and lightly sauté garlic  and thyme, then toss in mushrooms. Set aside,

4.     Cut artichokes in half and lightly sauté. Place triangles on a platter, stack with sautéed mushrooms, sautéed artichokes, slow roasted tomatoes and parsley leaves. Drizzle with olive oil.

*prepare tomatoes by halving and placing skin side down on a baking tray. Sprinkle with sea salt, freshly ground pepper and caster sugar. Place in a gas oven overnight with only the pilot light on or in an electric oven at 90C for 2-3hrs.

For blood orange hollandaise:

250g butter

2 blood oranges, zest and juice

1 lemon, juice

4 egg yolks

Freshly ground black pepper

And sea salt, to season

50g butter

1 cup breadcrumbs*

18 green asparagus

12 white asparagus

2 tbsp finely chopped chervil

2 tbsp finely chopped parsley

1 tbsp finely chopped tarragon

1. To make blood orange hollandaise: melt butter. Set aside. Put zest and juices in a saucepan. Over a medium heat, reduce to about 2 tbsp. transfer liquid into a bowl. Sit the bowl over a saucepan half filled with hot water and add yolks. Whisk well over a low heat until thick and foamy, then whisk in butter a little at a time. Remove from heat, then season to taste and set aside in a warm place.
2. Melt butter in a frying pan. Add breadcrumbs and stir over a low heat until golden brown. Set aside.
3. Wash asparagus. Peel with a potato peeler from below the tip down. Trim about 5cm off stems. Place in boiling salted water and simmer until tender (about 3mins).
4. Arrange asparagus on a serving dish. Sprinkle with herbs, then top with hollandaise and breadcrumbs.

*For breadcrumbs, use fresh white bread, crusts removed. Process in a food processor.

12 eggs, lightly beaten

½ cup freshly grated parmesan

Freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil

500g broad beans, skin removed*, cooked and roughly chopped.

1 bunch rocket, stalks removed

5ml balsamic vinegar

20ml olive oil

50g parmesan, shaved

1.     Combine egg, parmesan and pepper. Place in an oiled frying pan over a high heat. Add broad beans and reduce heat. Cook until eggs are almost set.

2.     Toss rocket with vinegar and oil, then sit on frittata with parmesan. Serve immediately in pan.

*Shell beans. Put in boiling water for 3mins. Drain, run under cold water then remove skins.

(serves 6)

For gorgonzola biscuit:
375g plain flour
½ teaspoon dry mustard
250g butter
50g parmesan, grated
50g gorgonzola, crumbled
2 egg yolks

3 fresh figs, cut into quarters
100g caster sugar
6 mint leaves, washed and dried
300g Meredith feta

1. Preheat oven to 170C and grease a baking tray.
2. To make gorgonzola biscuits: Place flour and mustard in a bowl and rub in butter. Add cheeses when it resembles breadcrumbs.
3. Make a well in the flour mixture, add yolks and combine. Knead, then roll out to about 3mm thick. Use 6cm-diameter cookie cutter and place biscuits on tray. Bake at 170C for 12mins or until golden brown. Allow to cool.
4. Turn up oven to 220C. roll figs in sugar and sit on an oiled baking tray, skin side down. Bake for about 10mins or until caramelized. Cool.
5. Deep-fry mint leaves for 1min. Divide feta into 6 portions and place on top of each biscuit. Top each with 2 fig quarters and a mint leaf.

(serves 6)