Bringing Back Vegetables!

Baldur is not convinced about this vegetable heavy menu

 We are finally getting over our holiday slump and are thinking about putting  more vegetables back into our diet. This meant that we had to come up with a couple of truly delicious menus for both Tim's birthday celebration and our Super Bowl celebration. We think that we came up with a few winners! First, try this delicious appetizer.

 Crostini with Smoked Vegetable Ragout and Basil Goat Cheese Spread

You will note that this recipe calls for ½ of an eggplant, ½ of a pepper, and so forth.  Of course, we smoked double the amount of vegetables needed for the ragout, and reserved half to be used the next day in a pasta sauce.  We always cook more than we need so that we are a step ahead for the next meal!!

For the marinade:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Place in an extra large bowl and combine together with a whisk.

Grilled vegetables:

1 eggplant
8 mushrooms
1 each yellow, orange and red pepper, cored and seeded

1 yellow onion

1 jalapeno pepper, cored and seeded

1 large whole tomato

2 zucchinis

1 whole garlic, cut off top ½  “

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp high quality balsamic vinegar

1 tsp herbes de provence

¾ tsp salt

Prepare vegetables by washing and drying them and tossing them in a large bowl with the prepared marinade.
Marinate vegetables for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare smoker to cook at 200-225°F. Place the vegetables on the lower rack and close lid. Smoke for 2 hours, turning once. Vegetables should be starting to turn golden brown.  Remove from smoker and let cool for 30 minutes.  

Using a sharp knife, dice the eggplant, mushrooms, peppers, onion, tomato and zucchini into small pieces.  Set ½ aside to use in another dish some other time, and put the rest into a large sauté pan.  Remove 3 cloves of garlic from the garlic bud, and mash them into a paste, add to vegetable mixture with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and herbes de provence.  Heat gently over low heat for 12-15 minutes, until the flavours have blended. Set aside to cool, until ready to use.

For the Basil Goat Cheese spread:

250 g. Soft goat cheese(we used Chevre)

½ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

1 shallot, minced

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Place goat cheese in a mixing bowl and allow it to soften for 30 minutes. Add chopped basil, shallots and black pepper. Stir to combine.

Terry and Mark looking forward to Tim's grilled lamb chops

Crostini:
1 baguette

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

 Slice baguette on the diagonal into 1/3 inch slices. Brush slices lightly on both sides with this and place on grids. Grill for 3 minutes per side. Remove from grids.  At this point, you can set everything aside to assemble later, or assemble and eat them right away! Spread with basil goat cheese mixture, top with 1 tablespoon of smoked vegetable ragout and place back in a 350°F oven or barbecue for 5 minutes.

Drizzle lightly with balsamic vinegar and serve. 

Happy Birthday Tim

Luke and Georgina prepare for a food heavy Super Bowl Sunday

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Walnuts and Apple-Chili Powder Butter Sauce

These roasted Brussels Sprouts were a savoury compliment to the strip loin steaks that we prepared  for our Super Bowl Party this weekend.  

By roasting the Brussels sprouts on the barbecue in advance, we were able to toss them into the Apple-chili powder Butter Sauce at the last minute.   It was a nice change for the classic steak and baked potato dinner that we prepare on the grill at least once a week. We modified this recipe from Modern Sauces, 2012, by Martha Holmberg.

1 pound Brussels sprouts, washed, trimmed and halved

3 tbsp olive oil

½ tsp chopped fresh rosemary

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat the barbecue on HIGH for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to MEDIUM.  Toss the prepared Brussels sprouts in a bowl with olive oil, rosemary, salt and black pepper. Spread out on a grill pan and place on grids. Roast at 350°, with the lid closed, for 20 minutes. Add walnuts, close lid and roast another 5 minutes. The Brussels sprouts should be tender, but not mushy. Set aside until ready to add to sauce.

Apple-Chili Powder Butter Sauce

1 cup apple juice

1 minced shallot

½ tsp chili powder

2 tbsp chunk of cold butter

In a small saucepan, combine the apple juice, shallot and chili powder and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring and scrapping the sides of the pan occasionally until the liquid is reduce to 2 tbsp. This will take 15-20 minutes.

Add the cold butter in one piece, and stir with a wooden spoon, until the butter is incorporated. Do not let the mixture over heat. When the butter has almost finished melting, remove pan from heat. Continue stirring while you add the salt.  Add the Brussels sprouts and toss gently, return to burner and cook for 2 more minutes over low heat. Serve immediately.

The game was good, but so was the half-time show!