Felfel: Algerian Roasted Pepper and Tomato Salad

This roasted pepper and tomato salad, known as felfel, is an Algerian classic.  That is, according to our Algerian hostess, Assia, who we stayed with while recently in Paris.  

Both Jérôme and I love this dish.  Assia served it as an appetizer to the meal, which I suspect is probably how it is usually served in Algeria.  Back home, we've been eating it as part of our meal.  This will be a wonderful side-dish to different barbecued dishes come summer.  It can be served either hot or cold and is delicious both ways, though I prefer it hot.

Roasting the peppers is not super complicated, but takes a little bit of time.  You can always double the recipe to have it last a bit longer to make the work of roasting the peppers worth it.

In fact, I think I'm going to start making this in huge batches and freezing it so that it can be my "go to" vegetable staple this summer, in place of my (no) cream of vegetable soup, which I stashed away all winter.

Assia mentioned to me that she prefers the longer green peppers, such as the ones you see in the pictures below, as she finds them more flavourful.  I've never seen this shape of green peppers here, but it could just be because I haven't ever looked for them.  I recently made this recipe with a mix of red and yellow peppers, as that's what I happened to have in my fridge, and that was yummy as well.  Enjoy :)

5 green peppers
1 red pepper
2 tomatoes
good quality olive oil
fresh garlic, crushed
salt and pepper

1.  Roast washed whole peppers at 425 degrees Farenheit for 40 minutes.

2.  In the meantime, dice two tomatoes and crush about 3 cloves of fresh garlic.  Cook in a pan in a bit of olive oil for a few minutes, until the tomatoes are cooked.

 3.  Take peppers out of the oven and let cool.  Once cooled, gently peel off skins, take off stems and scrape out seeds.  Dice peppers.

 
4.  Drain some of the juices from the tomatoes and peppers.  Mix together and add olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.  Serve hot or cold.

Difficulty level: moderate

Arugula Oven-Dried Tomato Salad

I've had a super, super, super lazy day... I've been sick all week and have had next to zero energy. Thank goodness it's a holiday here in Quebec, so Jerome is home and I was able to yet again spend much of my day on the couch. I slept until noon (well after getting up from 5:30-8:30 with Logan), then fell asleep again with Logan from 1-2:30. And I've spent much of my afternoon lying on the couch being lazy. So here was my only contribution to anything in the house today, as Jerome spent much of his day finishing painting the basement, installing lights, etc. 

You have to make this well in advance, as the tomatoes take a long time to cook. But the salad itself is super quick and easy to make. I usually use fresh parmesan on the salad, but I didn't have the energy to dig to the very bottom of my freezer to find some. So this time I just used the crappy store-bought powdered kind. But it's way better with real parmesan. I also didn't use plum tomatoes, as I only had vine tomatoes, but it worked out just as well. I think that the plum tomatoes are just less juicy, so probably a better choice if you have to go to the grocery store anyhow.

2 large bunches arugula, stems trimmed
1 C oven-dried tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 oz. freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

1.  To make oven-dried tomatoes (use plum tomatoes): Preheat oven to 325 degrees Farenheit.  Cut tomatoes into wedges (quarters for small tomatoes and sixths for larger ones).  Arrange tomatoes on a baking sheet in a single layer.  Bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until tomatoes are dried slightly but still soft to the touch.  Be careful not to overdry.  Remove from oven and allow to cool; cut tomatoes into 1/2-inch pieces.

2.  In a large bowl, gently toss together arugula, tomato slices, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Season with salt and pepper.  Place on salad plates.  Using a vegetable peeler, shave some cheese onto each plate.  Serve immediately.

Tomatoes with Fresh Mozzarella

Here's another 'non-recipe recipe' for a side dish that I've been making often in the past few weeks, but that we often make when tomatoes are in season. This isn't much of a recipe, as I'm sure that almost everyone has both eaten and made this before. But I thought I'd throw this up on my blog as a side dish just for another idea of something you can make.

tomatoes
fresh mozzarella or boccoccini
good quality olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste

My preference is to use Saputo's mozzafina di latte cheese. I can't find a link to it, but I buy it at Costco. But I'll use boccoccini when I haven't had time to get to Costco. I use our Olive & Olives' organic extra-virgin olive oil and recently, have been using a cider balsamic vinegar from Verger Pierre Gingras that I picked up when we were in Rougemont last year doing a cider tour.

You basically just slice the tomatoes, sprinkle them with a bit of salt and pepper and then pour a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar on them. My preference is to load mine with vinegar, as you'll see in the photo... mmm... my mouth is watering as I write this. I have a thing for vinegar. Perhaps it dates back to when I was much younger and someone told me that if you put vinegar on your gravy (when eating fries), it takes the fat out of the vinegar. That's clearly not true, though I believed it at the time and got into the habit of putting vinegar into gravy (I know! Sounds gross, but it's great - even with poutine!). Anyhow, that's just a side-story of why I put so much vinegar on mine. Enjoy your tomatoes :)

Tomato Soup Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

I made this recipe ages ago when my parents were down visiting, but am only getting it up on my blog just now. I think I made it in the middle of last summer... My grandmother used to make this cake for us when we were kids. The name is odd indeed... and yes, it really does have a can of tomato soup in it! But it really just tastes like spice cake. I learned when my grandmother was visiting recently that this recipe originates from Atlantic Canada.

Many of you already know this story, but I had made this back in university, right before I got married and had been serving it to my husband and his best friend for several nights for dessert. They both loved it and went on and on about how great it was. Until one day when his best friend asked the name of the cake... and from that point on, no one touched the cake again and I ended up tossing the second half of it. So don't let people know what it is until they've already eaten it! As it's quite delicious, despite the name.

It's wonderful with cream cheese icing, which makes it nice and decadent. I had made this awhile back and ended up freezing it, icing and all. And it came out of the freezer just fine and I served it to my parents for dessert on one of their visits to see Logan.



This recipes comes from the Campbell's Quick and Easy Recipes cookbook. If I recall correctly, I believe that I got this cookbook back when I was in school by sending away a bunch of soup labels. Yes... admittedly, I'm probably the only person in the world who would actually do that :)  I barely use it at all anymore, but this is the one that I still make from time to time.

Classic Tomato Soup Cake

2 C flour (I use whole-wheat)
1 1/3 C sugar (can reduce to 1C)
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 can condensed tomato soup 
1/2 C vegetable shortening (I use light Becel)
2 eggs
1/4 C water
cream cheese frosting or buttercream frosting

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.  Prepare a 13 x 9 inch dish.

2.  In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, allspice, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, soup, shortening, eggs and water.  With mixer at low speed, beat well until mixed.  At high speed, beat 4 minutes, occasionally scraping bowl.  Pour batter into pan.

3.  Bake 35 to 40 minutes.  Frost with cream cheese icing, if desired.

The book says that the recipe makes 8 servings, but it makes way, way more than that.

My recipe for cream cheese icing comes from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook.

Cream Cheese Icing

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 C butter, softened
2 C confectioners' sugar, sifted if lumpy
1 tsp. vanilla

1.  Combine the cream cheese, butter, confectioners' sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl.

2.  Beat well until perfectly smooth and spreadable.

Spaghetti Squash with Tomatoes and Cheese

I got this recipe from the fall 2010 edition of the What's Cooking magazine, published by Kraft and made it last night to accompany dinner. I had never had spaghetti squash (at least that I can remember) until spending a week with Katie at her parents'. And I fell absolutely in love with it and began buying it obsessively. Which is why my husband no longer likes it... So when I saw this recipe, I thought that it might be a way to sneak spaghetti squash past him again. Though he didn't say anything about liking it, he also didn't say anything about not liking it, so I'll consider that approval ;)

1 large spaghetti squash
2 small tomatoes
1/2 C grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 C light grated Parmesan cheese (I used fresh Parmesan)



1. Prick a large spaghetti squash with a fork to let steam escape and microwave on high for 10 minutes, turning after 5 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes, then slice it open. Remove seeds and scrape sides with a fork to create strands.

2. Mix in 1/2 C shredded mozzarella cheese and 2 small chopped tomatoes; sprinkle with 1/4 C light grated Parmesan cheese.

I mixed everything together in advance and then put it in a casserole dish, sprinkled with the Parmesan to be reheated for dinner. I put it in the oven at 350 degrees Farenheit for 15 minutes, just enough to reheat it and melt the cheese.

Grilled Tomatoes Stuffed with Oka

I made these tomatoes for dinner the other night with a couple of the tomatoes I had bought for making salsa. There's nothing better than in-season tomatoes. Mmm... We made these in the oven instead of on the bbq, as it was raining out. Just add a salad and a piece of baguette and you've got a relatively easy complete meal.

2 slices of crumbled bacon (I used turkey bacon)
1/2 chopped onion
4 medium sized tomatoes
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 beaten eggs
1 slice of whole-wheat bread, cut into cubes
1/3 C 10% (I substituted milk)
1 C Oka cheese, shredded or cubed
salt and pepper, to taste



1. Preheat barbecue or oven to 450 degrees Farenheit.

2. Cook onion and bacon in a pan until the onion is tender. Let cool.

3. Cut the top off of the tomatoes and empty the inside of each tomato with a spoon.

4. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bacon mixture, mix and stuff the tomatoes with this preparation. Place the lid of the tomato on the top of each tomato and cook on the barbecue (or in the oven) approximately 12 minutes.

Serves 4.

Variations:
You can replace the Oka by St-Paulin, aged Gouda or medium cheddar.
For a vegetarian option, just omit the bacon.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

So I did end up making salsa this week... though I only made two batches since it's so much harder to get things done than it was pre-baby and essentially took me a full day to get each batch. But I did get it done, just with many breaks between each step. I ended up going to Marché de l'Ouest and got a huge box of slightly damaged tomatoes (perfect for cooking with) for only $10. Which got me 18 jars of salsa, plus a few toasted tomato sandwiches.

A tip about how to quickly peel the tomatoes. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Core the tomatoes and cut an x into the bottom of the tomato. Place tomatoes in boiling water for one minute. Remove and let cool. The skin will then easily peel off, starting from the x.

12 C chopped, peeled tomatoes, about 24
3 cans corn
2 cans black beans
1 pkg. Bernardin salsa mix
1 1/4 C cider vinegar
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

1. Wash, core, seed and chop tomatoes; drain off excess liquid. Measure 12 cups.



2. In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine Bernardin salsa mix and cider vinegar. Add tomatoes, black beans, corn and cilantro; mix well. Bring to a boil; boil gently, uncovered, for 5 minutes.



3. Ladle salsa into a hot jar, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Using a nonmetallic utensil, remove air bubbles. Wipe jar to removing any stickiness. Process for 20 minutes.



Makes about 8-9 500mL jars.



Some tips on canning:

The jars need to be sterilized prior to placing food in them in order to eliminate possible bacterial growth. Wash jars and then place in a 225 degree Farenheit oven for at least 20 minutes. You then spoon the hot salsa into the hot jars, using a canning funnel, if you have one. You then need to get the air bubbles out of the jar prior to sterilizing, again, to prevent bacterial growth. You can buy a kit that has a tool to help get the bubbles out, a funnel, lid lifter, headspace gauge and jar lifter for about $15 at Canadian Tire. Alternatively, you can use a spatula to coax the bubbles to the top.

You then need to measure the headspace for the recipe you are making. Headspace is the unfilled space above the food in a jar and below the lid. This space is needed for expansion of the food as the jars are processed, and for forming a vacuum to preserve the food, once the jars are cooled. Again, you can get a headspace gauge to easily judge how much space to leave (1/2 inch, for this recipe).

The next step is to prepare the snap lids, by placing them in hot, but not boiling water and leaving them there until you use them. Recommendations used to be to boil them for 5 minutes, but they no longer recommend placing them in boiling water. You then place the lids on the cans, using a lid lifter, so that you don't burn your fingers. Then screw on the screw tops just until you meet resistance, being careful not to overtighten. Note that you can reuse the screw tops, but cannot reuse the snap lids. Also, be sure not to tighten the screw top once you have processed the jars, as this can affect the sealing process.

Once the lids are placed, bring water to a boil in a waterbath canner, which is a huge black pot used for canning. These usually come with a canning rack, so that you can get the jars in and out of the boiling water without burning your fingers. You should probably start the water boiling way before you are ready for it, as it takes quite awhile for such a large quantity of water to boil. I often start boiling the water well in advance and then top it up by adding a few kettles full of boiling water.

You need to process the jars while they are still warm, otherwise they will crack when they are placed in the hot water. Alternatively, you can place the jars in the water while it is still cold, but I find that it takes forever for the water to come to a boil this way. You then need to leave the jars in the water for 20 minutes (for this recipe), once it has come to a boil again after placing the cans in it. Also, be sure that the water covers the top of the jars. Once they have been processed long enough, take them out, being careful not to burn yourself as I did this week (as the scab on my stomach proves!).

After the jars have cooled, inspect them to be sure that the snap lids have sealed. If you press on the centre of the lid, it should not pop back up. If it does, you need to reprocess them again in the boiling water so that the lids seal (or alternatively, put that jar in the fridge and use it immediately). And that's it. It all sounds complicated, but it's actually quite easy and lets you enjoy fresh, homemade, delicious salsa year-round.

Chipotle Salsa

My Aunt sent me this recipe, which she made last fall and said was highly recommended. I recently heard that Alanna was dying to get a copy of this recipe, so I figured I'd post it up now. It is taken from the Canadian Living Test Kitchen.

Servings: eight 2-cup (500 mL) jars

250 g jalapeno peppers (about 6)
1 can (7 oz/198 g) chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
16 cups (4 L) coarsely chopped peeled tomatoes (about 7 lb/3.15 kg)
6 cups (1.5 L) chopped seeded Cubanelle, Anaheim or sweetbanana peppers (about 1-3/4 lb/875 g)
4 cups (1 L) chopped onions (about 2 lb/1 kg)
4 cups (1 L) chopped sweet green peppers (about 2 lb/1 kg)
4 cups (1 L) cider vinegar
8 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cans (each 5-1/2 oz/156 mL) tomato paste
1/4 cup (50 mL) granulated sugar
5 tsp (25 mL) salt
2 tsp (10 mL) dried oregano
3/4 cup (175 mL) chopped fresh coriander

1. Wearing rubber gloves, seed, core and finely chop jalapeno peppers to make 1 cup (250 mL).

2. Reserving sauce, remove chipotle peppers; seed if desired and chop.

3. In large heavy nonaluminum stock pot, combine jalapeno peppers, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, tomatoes, Cubanelle peppers, onions, green peppers, vinegar, garlic, tomato paste, sugar, salt and oregano; bring to boil, stirring often. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, stirring often, until thickened, 2 to 2-1/4 hours.

4. Add coriander; simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.

5. Fill hot 2-cup (500 mL) canning jars, leaving 1/2-inch (1 cm) headspace. Cover with prepared lids. Screw on bands until resistance is met; increase to fingertip tight. Boil in boiling water canner for 20 minutes.

Joining the blogging world... one recipe at a time

So I've decided to start a food-related blog on Steph's suggestion. Clearly she knows that I both love to talk and love food. So her suggestion that I might enjoy constantly writing about food was right on. I figure that this is a good medium for me to share some of the recipes that I have come across in my unending quest for wonderful recipes.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to cook, love to eat and love to have people over to cook for. Perhaps not in that order. I sometimes can't wait to have a family so that the food can disappear more quickly and I can cook more. I quite enjoy pouring over cookbooks, picking out new recipes as the seasons change. I love exploring grocery stores in new countries to find odd and exotic items. And we often spend much time dodging the Agriculture Canada dogs at the airport upon return from our travels, so that our newest finds don't get confiscated - such as the mass quantities of vanilla we just brought back from Tahiti.

In any case, I guess I'll see what this develops into and how long I keep doing this. I'll start by posting the recipe that Steph had mentioned she wanted from me, as well another that I threw in as a bonus (ha!). Enjoy!

Baked Brie, Potatoes, Ham and Eggs

This is a favourite for brunch... right Katie?

· 4 large potatoes (1.125 kg)
· 1 tsp. olive oil
· 8 oz. brie cheese, diced
· 1 C finely chopped ham
· ¼ C each chopped fresh parsley and sliced green onions
· ¼ tsp. pepper
· salt to taste
· 8 eggs
· pinch of paprika

1. Cook potatoes until tender but firm, about 15 minutes; drain well. Refrigerate until cold. Cut into 1/4 –inch cubes.

2. Fry potatoes in oil, stirring often, until crisp and golden, about 10 minutes. Let cool. Stir in Brie, ham, parsley, onions, pepper and salt. Transfer to greased baking dish, spreading evenly. Make 8 wells in mixture.

3. Heat in 400°F oven until warm, about 15 minutes. Scramble eggs and pour over potatoes. Bake, uncovered, until eggs are set approximately 30 minutes.

Makes 8 servings.

Variations:
Smoked salmon can be substituted for the ham.


Lentil Feta Salad

This recipe makes a great summer lunch and is perfect for bbqs or potlucks.

· ½ C slivered almonds
· 1 C dried green lentils
· 2 cloves garlic
· ¼ C olive oil
· 3 tbsp. red wine vinegar
· 1 tbsp. finely chopped fresh oregano
· ¼ tsp. salt and pepper
· 1 ½ C diced cucumber
· 1 C halved cherry tomatoes
· ½ C diced sweet or red onion
· 2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
· ¾ C crumbled feta cheese

1. In small dry skillet, toast almonds over medium heat, stirring often, until golden, about 5 minutes. Set aside. (ok, I often skip this step because I'm too lazy - but I'm sure it'd be even tastier if I did this).

2. Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Add lentils and garlic; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until tender, about 20 minutes. Discard garlic. (ok, I also use canned lentils. Again, laziness.).

3. In large bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper. Add lentils, cucumber, tomatoes, onion and parsley; toss to coat.

4. Stir in almonds and feta. If serving at a bbq or special function, you may want to sprinkle a bit of feta on top.

For a vegan version, omit the feta cheese.

Makes 6 servings.