Japanese Squash Curry
/I used the Japanese Kuri squash which is a fiery red colour. It roasts well. You can use any drier variety of squash for this curry.
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I used the Japanese Kuri squash which is a fiery red colour. It roasts well. You can use any drier variety of squash for this curry.
The best Scottish shortbread handed down through my family. Crumbly, sweet and buttery.
This dish has a salty, savoury sauce with a little bit of a kick. If you don't want the spice of the jalapenos, leave it out, and finely diced onion can be used instead of the shallots.
This is the one hors d’oeuvre that I keep being asked for time and time again. It’s crunchy, creamy, spicy and hits all the high spots.
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The fifth taste, umami, has much to do with glutamate, an amino acid found in such foods as prosciutto, soy sauce and a number of cheeses. Umami can show up in your glass, too (fermentation is glutamate’s old friend).
When this recipe originally ran in The Globe and Mail, I received a lovely note from reader Barbara Zuchowicz. This dish reminded her of a wonderful meal she had in Italy: "It brought back joyful memories of a trip to Italy my late husband, an exceptional cook, and I took a number of years ago.
I used the Japanese Kuri squash which is a fiery red colour. It roasts well. You can use any drier variety of squash for this curry.
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Serves 4
Chowder:
2 cups chopped floury potatoes such as Yukon Gold
1 cup chopped onion
Half a small bulb fennel, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
3 cups fish or chicken stock
1 cup milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Belgian Endive:
2 tbsp clarified butter or olive oil
1 tsp sugar
4 small Belgian endive, cut in half lengthwise
1 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp fish or chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Fish:
4 4-oz (125 g) fillets Mediterranean sea bass on the skin
2 tbsp olive oil
Garnish:
2 pieces of cooked bacon, finely chopped
Add potato, onion, fennel and thyme to soup pot. Add stock and milk and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain the broth and reserve. Place vegetables in a food processor or use a stick blender. Add enough broth to blend into a thick puree. Slowly add more broth until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Season well with salt and pepper. Reserve.
Heat clarified butter in skillet . Sprinkle in sugar and lay Belgian endive cut side down into pan. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until a deep brown. Turn over and cook another 3 to 4 minutes. Add orange juice and stock. Gently simmer for about 2 minutes to reduce to a glaze. Season with salt and pepper. Reserve until needed
Preheat oven to 425 F.
Heat oil in oven proof skillet over medium high heat and add fish skin side down. Fry until skin is brown, about 3 minutes, then transfer pan to oven. Bake for 5 minutes or until the fish is just cooked. Reheat chowder and Belgian endive.
If you have a frother, froth chowder. Spoon chowder into four wide soup plates. Top with fish and add two pieces endive per person. Scatter with bacon and dot with any juices left in the endive pan.
The secret behind this soup is the quality of the stock you use. As fish stock is something we don’t regularly make, I would recommend buying it from a fish shop or using a light chicken stock to replace it. Bourride is a silky, clear fish soup flavoured with aioli.
Read MoreChef Esposito offered to teach me the correct way to cook pasta and I quickly agreed. The class probably lasted 15 minutes because that was how long it took to prepare and cook the pasta and sauce.
Read MoreThe best Scottish shortbread handed down through my family. Crumbly, sweet and buttery.
Read MoreThis dish has a salty, savoury sauce with a little bit of a kick. If you don't want the spice of the jalapenos, leave it out, and finely diced onion can be used instead of the shallots.
Read MoreThis is the one hors d’oeuvre that I keep being asked for time and time again. It’s crunchy, creamy, spicy and hits all the high spots.
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© 2018, Lucy Waverman.