Za'atar Cauliflower Steaks with Creamy Tahini Sauce & Pomegranate

There's no denying it, the plant-based diet is no longer a trend, it's a movement! While I'm not interested in fully saying 'goodbye' to meat anytime soon, I am interested in reducing the amount of meat that I consume, as well as increasing the amount of vegetables that I put into my body. With so many of my friends becoming vegetarians over the past couple of years, I've had to get creative with coming up with new and exciting dishes that I can serve both as side dishes as well as main courses for these newly veggified friends.

Cauliflower is such a versatile vegetable, with it's texture so easily manipulatable, and it's mild taste acting as such a fantastic base for other flavours. I don't like when people pretend to make vegetarian food taste like meat very often (sometimes I get it!), so this isn't going to be one of those recipes. This isn't a cauliflower wearing the mask of "steak," pretending to embody those flavours, and that's okay. This dish doesn't care to be steak, because it is unique and wonderful all in itself. To be honest with you, on most nights I think I would prefer to eat a cauliflower steak dressed in beautiful flavours and textures than a big hunk of meat. I still love you, steak, but if I had to have one over the other every night of the week, I'd pick my friend Cauli.

Cauliflower steaks hit the table in the same dramatic way an actual steak does (and that's just about where their similarities end), but due to that lovely blank canvas, we have so much room to play! I like to roast my cauliflower steaks in the oven at a high temp to get the inside nice and tender, and the outside charred and caramelized. If I can get a dip involved, I will, and this dip is creamy, tangy, and just a little smokey (hi, smoked paprika!). While I'm never going to turn down a spicy mayo like a chipotle mayo or sriracha mayo, I'm ready for a new flavour in my mayo these days, and tahini has been an ingredient that I've been turning to on the regular. Tahini and avocado go hand-in-hand in my books, and with the new Metro Irresistibles Avocado Oil Mayo in my fridge these days, the pairing was a no-brainer. I spooned a little pool of the creamy mayo onto each plate, giving the cauli steaks a place to hang out and soak up that flavour. A sprinkle of nutty and herbaceous za-atar, a hit of bright cilantro, and lastly, a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds for their pop of juicy, tangy flavour and texture round this dish out.

This dish is happy playing the star or supporting character, being both a great side dish and a main. When served as a main, I like to pair this with a protein like lentils or beans, or a hearty soup to make it a little more satiating.

* Za'atar seasoning can be made in advance and stores in an airtight container for about 2-months, but best used fresh.
** Creamy Tahini Drizzle can be made in advance and stores in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-week.

Ingredients:
Za'atar Seasoning*
2 Tbsp dried thyme
2 tsp sumac (optional)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
Cauliflower Steaks
1 cauliflower head, stem trimmed
1/4 cup olive oil
za'atar (see recipe above or use store-bought)
salt & pepper, to season
1 pomegranate, seeded
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
Creamy Tahini Sauce**
1/4 cup Metro Irresistibles Avocado Oil Mayonnaise 
2 Tbsp Tahini
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 tsp cumin, freshly toasted & ground
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp kosher salt

Directions:

1. Prepare the za'atar seasoning. In a mortar and pestle grind together dried thyme, sumac (optional), and kosher salt. Stir in sesame seeds.*
2. Preheat oven to 425ºF and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. 
3. Cut cauliflower down the centre and slice into 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch steaks. The cauliflower on the side will naturally break off into florets and that's ok! You will be left with about 4 cauliflower steaks and some florets on the side. 
4. Place steaks and florets on prepared baking sheet and brush both sides with olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with about 2-4 Tbsp za'atar and salt and pepper on both sides, and bake for 15-minutes. Flip steaks and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until browning and just beginning to char on both sides. 
5. While cauliflower is baking, prepare the Creamy Tahini Sauce**. In a small bowl whisk together Metro Irresistibles Avocado Oil Mayonnaise, tahini, lemon juice, cumin, paprika, and salt.
6. Serve cauliflower steaks immediately on a bed of the Creamy Tahini Sauce, and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds, and cilantro, with remaining Creamy Tahini Sauce drizzled on top. Serve immediately.

This post was created in partnership with Metro Ontario.

Listening To:
Arlo Parks - Cola

Roasted Maple Chilli Squash with Pumpkin Seeds

Every year time seems to fly a little faster, which means that Christmas always arrives at lighting, speed, prompting me to often ask aloud "wasn't it JUST Christmas?!" Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas dinner (adore it, even!), but with the hands of time spinning faster than a ballerina in the Nutcracker, it doesn't feel like Christmas dinner was all that long ago!

My family always does a big potluck for our Christmas dinner, which puts the opportunity for change in each of our hands. This year I decided to shake things up and make a Christmas side dish that's grounded in a classic Christmas flavour (roast squash), but given an exciting twist! While roast squash is a common vegetables found on the Christmas table, I roasted mine in a maple chilli glaze to give it a bit of a kick, and garnished it with roasted pumpkin seeds for a salty crunch; dried cranberries for their balance of sweet and tart, as well as chewiness; and finished the dish off with a light, cooling drizzle of a cumin-spiced yogurt.

I love the way this dish activates every taste bud, and think it will make a really exciting and delicious addition to my family Christmas table!

*You may roast the squash in advance, and reheat when ready to serve. Garnish just before serving.

Serves 4-6 as a side dish

Ingredients:

1 acorn squash 

2 Tbsp Metro Irresistibles Amber Maple Syrup

2 Tbsp melted butter

2 thai red chillies, sliced thin on a bias

1/4 cup roasted salted pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup Metro Irresistibles 2% Plain Yogurt

1/4 tsp ground cumin (fresh ground is best!)

1 Tbsp lemon juice

salt and pepper to season

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325ºF.
2. Cut squash in half and scoop out seeds with a spoon. Cut squash into quarters and slice into 1-inch to 1 1/2-inch slices.
3. In a small bowl, stir together maple syrup, butter, and chillies. In a large bowl toss together squash slices with maple syrup mixture and season well with salt and pepper.
4. Lay squash in a single layer on a large parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast for 40-50 minutes or until tender when inserted with a fork.
5. While squash is roasting, prepare the spiced yogurt. In a small bowl stir together yogurt with cumin and lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Store in fridge until ready to use. 
6. Place squash directly into a serving dish and garnish with pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, and a drizzle of spiced yogurt. Serve Immediately.*

This post was created in partnership with Metro Ontario.

Listening To:

Christmas Time Is Here - Vince Guaraldi

Recreating Israeli-Style Falafel & Hummus At Home

If you've ever traveled to Israel, you'll know just how drastically different our falafel and hummus is here in Toronto. It would be an understatement to say that Toronto falafel and hummus are "just not as good," because, my lord, it's like an entirely different animal! I often say that Israel ruined me for falafel and hummus, because now I don't want to eat it anywhere else. We're lucky being in such a multicultural "food" city to have a few good options here and there (hello, Dr. Laffa, Famous Laffa, and Fat Pasha!), but it's not always easy to get to Bathurst and Lawrence for fresh laffa bread and creamy hummus, and as much as I love Fat Pasha, it can be a little hard on the budget at times. 

Two weeks ago, after a week of daydreaming about perfect fresh falafel balls and creamy hummus, I got inspired to finally try my hand at making my own falafel and hummus at home. I did a little bit of research online and found a recipe for falafel that sounded great, as well as a recipe for hummus that appeared to be just as creamy as the dips I devoured all over Israel. Being a last-minute decision to make both dishes, I unfortunately didn't start out with dried chickpeas, and had to settle for canned, and hoped to the Israeli falafel Gods that it would all work out. 

The falafel recipe I found was from an excerpt from Joan Nathan's book The Foods Of Israel Today on Epicurious, and caught my attention thanks to Nathan's description of her favourite falafel in Israel. Though I can't recall the exact name of the place where I had the best falafel that has ever touched my lips, I do remember what made it so special and how it made me feel. Nathan's description of her favourite falafel reminded me of my experience biting into my very first Israeli falafel (which just so happened to be the best of the whole trip!), and made me trust that her recipe would be a winner! The great thing about preparing falafel at home, is that you can prepare almost everything in advance and just quickly fry-to-order and assemble when ready to serve. 

The hummus recipe that I landed on was from Chef Michael Solomonov from the Israeli restaurant Zahav in Philadelphia, featured in the New York Times. With an emphasis in the description and Zahav's reviews on their unbelievably silky and creamy hummus, I was confident that this recipe would be a good starting point. 

Because hummus is incredibly simple to prepare, it's the little details that make all the difference in terms of achieving those dreamy creamy results. One of the biggest tricks to achieving silky smooth hummus is to over-cook your chickpeas and remove all of the skins. Starting with canned chickpeas, they were already quite soft and I was able to skip the step of boiling them until soft to the touch. Unfortunately, I still had a lot of work ahead of me in terms of removing the skins. I knew that I could easily remove most of the skins by rubbing the rinsed chickpeas in a clean towel, but I suppose I wanted to make things difficult on myself, and decided to remove each one individually. This was a mistake.

I put all of my chickpeas in a bowl of water and rubbed them with my fingers, hoping that all of the skins would float to the top. When the surface of my water was covered in chickpea skins, I figured they must all be off. I was sadly mistaken. I proceeded to check every single individual chickpea by pinching it between my pointer-finger and thumb to remove any remaining skin. It was crazy to see how many chickpea skins still remained! It was tedious and boring as hell, but absolutely worth it! I was determined to make that same wildly creamy hummus that I had been dreaming of! 

The second trick to achieving the ultimate creamy hummus is to add ice water when blending. Truthfully, I don't know why. It just works, and I'm not going to question it! It's what Anthony Rose taught us to do at the Metro & Fat Pasha cooking demo that he held at Taste of Toronto this summer, and it is what I will continue to do. 

I have to admit, after removing all of those damn chickpea skins, I announced "I'm over it!" and wanted to just collapse on the couch. Once my falafel mixture and hummus were in the fridge, I was worried that I still had a lot of work ahead of me frying up the falafel balls. I was lazy, and wanted to just relax, but I knew that after all of my hard work, I had to finish the dish. Thank goodness these falafel balls were actually the easiest things I have ever fried in my life! It was so fast, clean, and simple, we were eating our falafel in no time! 

I always want my final dish to taste spectacular, but when it's the first time making it, I expect that there will always be something that wasn't quite right. Though I do want to work on the hummus recipe a little bit (it was great,  but needs a bit of tweaking), the final falafel in pita (with all of the fixings, of course) was out-of-this-world, ridiculously delicious! Oh my God, guys, Chris and I were losing our shit, it was so good! We stuffed our faces, and ended up having two giant falafels each, even though we were so full, because we wanted to taste more. This will likely go down as one of my favourite things I've ever made, and am so incredibly excited to make it again! The next time I make it, I will most definitely be making it for friends and/or family, because it's not only a show-stopper, it's also so convenient to be able to prepare so much so far in advance. 

Remember: You can't always sub dried chickpeas equally for canned. Remember that canned chickpeas are already cooked, meaning that their volume has increased from the cooking process. A general rule-of-thumb is that 1-cup of dried chickpeas should equal roughly 3-cups of cooked chickpeas. Read every recipe carefully to see if they are referring to the volume of cooked or uncooked chickpeas, and if something feels off, trust your gut! 

Check out the recipe for Joan Nathan's favourite falafel, featuring fresh parsley and cilantro here.

Check out Zahar's super-silky hummus recipe from The New York Times here.

Listening To: 

Atlanta - Rina Mushonga 

Turkey & Dumplings Recipe

Last year I was introduced to what may possibly be the most comforting dish on the planet: Turkey & Dumplings. As you may know from my previous post on Turkey & Dumplings, I first had this Southern-inspired dish on my most recent birthday at the Toronto restaurant Omaw, and was totally taken by the fantastic contrast of flavours and textures represented in the dish. 

Chris and I promptly tried to recreate the dish in our own kitchen, and it turned out so ridiculously incredible! Of course, because we were playing around so much with the dish on our first go at making it, we weren't able to record a clear breakdown of the recipe. Alas, with such an amazing response from everyone on the photo that I posted of our Turkey & Dumplings copycat recipe, we had to give it another go, but this time carefully recording every step. 

So with that, I bring you our version of Turkey & Dumplings, a must-make recipe for any comfort-food lover! Last time we made this dish, we were lucky to have leftover Thanksgiving turkey on hand, so this time we decided to roast off some fresh turkey thighs, so that we could make this dish all year round. Thank you to The New York Times for providing a killer method for making roasted turkey pieces that taste like they came off of a whole-roasted bird! You can find our slightly modified recipe for roasted turkey thighs below as well. 

Tip: Save the turkey skin after roasting and fry into crispy chips to use as a garnish! 

Ingredients:

8 cups chicken stock (preferably homemade)

1 medium onion, small dice

2 stalks celery, small dice
2 medium carrots, small dice

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn niblets

1 Tbsp. fresh thyme, leaves picked

3 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp flour

3/4 cup roasted or smoked ham, diced

2 bay leaves

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 medium/large parmesan rind

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp. sour cream

about 2 cups shredded roasted turkey meat (dark meat) *see recipe below for roasting turkey thighs

kosher salt and pepper to season

Beurre Manie 

1 Tbsp. flour

1 Tbsp. cold butter

Dumplings (Tyler Florence Recipe)

2 cups flour

1/2 Tbsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 eggs

3/4 buttermilk

Directions:

1. Set a large dutch oven on the stove set to medium heat.
2. In a separate medium pot, heat stock to medium heat. 
3. Add onion to dutch oven and heat. Add carrots and celery and sweat. Season with salt and pepper. Add corn, garlic, and thyme and cook until fragrant (about 30-seconds to 1-minute).
4. Add 3 Tbsp. butter and melt. Add flour and stir to make a roux. Cook for about 1-minute.
5. Slowly begin adding in the stock, one ladle at a time, while stirring to incorporate. 
6. Add in ham, bay leaves, cayenne, and parmesan rind. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce to a low, and simmer for 30-minutes. 
7. Remove bay leaves. Add in grated parmesan cheese and sour cream. Taste and season as needed with salt and pepper. If mouthfeel is off and the soup is too thin, prepare a Beurre Manie. 
8. To make a Beurre Manie: combine 1 Tbsp. flour with 1 Tbsp. cold butter and smoosh together with the back of a spoon. If you want, get right in there and smoosh it together with your fingers to form a paste. Drop the paste bit by bit into your soup and stir in. 
9. Make Dumplings. In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. In a small bowl, lightly beat together eggs with buttermilk. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. If it feels too tough, add in another few tablespoons of milk. Drop spoonfuls of batter directly into the soup. Simmer for 10-15-minutes, flipping part way through. 
10. Stir in turkey and any drippings (you may also add in the garlic and onion that was roasted with the turkey thighs). Cook 5 minutes. Serve immediately. 

Roasted Turkey Thighs

(Slightly adapted from The New York Times)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves

2 turkey thighs, washed & dried

salt and pepper to season

rosemary salt (optional)

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 celery stalks, roughly chopped

1 medium carrot, roughly chopped

1 medium onion, quartered

4 garlic cloves, whole 

4 thyme sprigs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450ºF. 
2. Stir together butter and thyme leaves and rub all over turkey pieces, making sure to get some underneath the turkey skin.
3. Season generously with salt and pepper, and rosemary salt (if you have any!). 
4. Toss celery, carrot, onion, and garlic with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. 
5. Place thighs in a medium roasting dish or baking pan and tuck the celery, carrot, onion, garlic, and thyme sprigs around the meat. 
6. Roast for 30-minutes. Reduce heat to 325ºF and roast for an additional 15-20-minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF, while basting occasionally with accumulated juices. 
7. Remove from oven and tent with tin foil for 30-minutes. Separate the meat from the bones and shred with 2 forks. Set aside in fridge until ready to use. 

Listening To: 

The Range - Florida

Italian-Inspired Potato Hash

With 2017 well into it's first month, it comes as no surprise that myself, along with seemingly everybody else on social media, is trying to go into the new year with a fresh and healthy perspective. While I have zero interest in eliminating anything from my diet, what I am trying to focus on this year is being more conscious about including fresh and healthy ingredients into every meal, with a big emphasis on balance. I'm never going to give up pastries, cheese, and cured meats, so I have to accept that if I want to make those types of foods apart of my life, I have to be able to compromise by balancing them out with the good stuff. This means lots more fruits and veg, whole grains, pulses, and most definitely a lot more colour! 

With this healthy perspective fresh in my mind, I've been trying to come up with new and exciting dinner options that will allow me to carry through my new diet goals (note that I say the word 'diet' as as in "the food and drink regularly provided or consumed," not in the restrictive sense of the word). As usual, my starting place for creating almost every recipe is by taking a look through my fridge and pantry. With some leftover pancetta and a bag full of mini Blushing Belle potatoes, the idea of a dinnertime hash came to mind. Wanting to stray from a lot of the potato hash recipes I found online, I took the pancetta as my spark for creating a unified theme to the dish. My hash would be Italian-Inspired! By adding in a cubanelle pepper, roasted cherry tomatoes, cannellini beans, and pesto, suddenly my potato hash took on the flavours of one of my favourite types of cuisine. Hearty, comforting, and full of flavour, the hash turned out delicious, and also was fantastic warmed up again the next day as a leftover breakfast. 

A hash is a great starting point for intermediate cooks who are looking to feel more confident and have more freedom in the kitchen. This is a great dish for practicing your knife skills, as well as developing your flavour palate. Play around with my recipe. Sub-in ingredients that you have in your fridge. Don't have cubanelle peppers but you do have a red pepper pepper lying around? Use that! Maybe you prefer sundried tomato pesto to a basil one? Sub that in! Play around with seasoning each aspect of this dish so you can start to learn how to taste and season as you go. If you don't use pinch bowls, start! Feeling your spices as you add them in will give you a better feel for exactly how much you're adding, and will overall make you a much better cook. If you don't already use kosher salt and are still using table table salt, this is also a great time to make that switch. Coarse kosher salt allows you to really feel the grains between your fingers, once again, allowing you to get a better sense of how much you're adding.

Ingredients:
1 dry pint cherry tomatoes
1/4 medium onion, sliced

1 Tbsp olive oil

1.5 lb Blushing Bell Mini Potatoes, diced
1/4 cup pancetta, diced
1/4 medium onion, diced
1 cubanelle pepper, seeds removed and diced
1/2 cup canned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
4 Tbsp basil pesto (I used a homemade basil and walnut pesto, but you can use what you have!)
salt and pepper
eggs for serving

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. Toss together tomatoes with sliced onion and season generously with salt and pepper. Spread evenly on a baking sheet and bake until charred and wrinkly, about 10-15 minutes. Set aside.
3. While tomatoes are cooking, prepare potatoes. Add potatoes to a large pot and fill with enough water to cover potatoes by at least 1-inch. Generously salt water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, and cook for 5-minutes. Drain immediately. Set aside.
4. In a large skillet set to medium heat, add pancetta and cook until fat has rendered and pancetta is crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon to set aside to drain on paper towels.
5. Add diced onion and sweat. Add cubanelle pepper and cook until slightly softened. Add cannellini beans and cook, stirring occasionally until heated through. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Stir in prepared roasted tomatoes, sliced onion, and pancetta.
7. Gently stir in the potatoes and pesto, being careful not to break up the potatoes too much. Season as needed with salt and pepper. 
8. Serve immediately, with each serving topped with a freshly fried (or poached!) egg. 

Listening To:

Kartell - 5 A.M

Dîner en Blanc 2016

The guests wore all-white and danced under the light of the full moon. 

It sounds part of a fairytale, does it not? Fairytales are associated with beauty, mystery, romance, and happiness, all of which were present on the eve of August 18th, as myself and 2,600 guests made our way through chartered busses and organized public transportation, to arrive at our mystery destination to celebrate in the annual spectacle, Dîner en Blanc. 

Dîner en Blanc is a tradition that began in Paris in 1988 with only a handful of participants. It first began as simply an elegant dinner under the stars, amongst friends, with one rule - everyone must dress in all white. Over the past 28 years, Diner en Blanc has become a worldwide sensation, and is now celebrated in over 70 cities across the globe. 

As a leader in both the food and fashion industries, it's no surprise that Toronto has made Dîner en Blanc a celebrated summer ritual amongst foodies and fashionistas alike. Having always wanted to attend the coveted event, I was over-the-(full)-moon excited to be invited by Dîner en Blanc sponsor Metro Ontario to attend this years event as their guest. 

Dressed in our newly-purchased all-white outfits (no cream or off-white here!), my friend Amanda and I arrived at our pickup location to be transported to the top-secret destination (which was revealed to be the Canary District, formerly the Pan Am Games Athletes Village) with the rest of our table. The idea is to arrive "flash-mob style" to the freshly announced public venue, with white tables, chairs, and picnic baskets filled with gourmet delights in tow, to enjoy an elegant evening amongst friends new and old, and, come the nights end, leave without a trace left behind. 

As a Metro guest, I was lucky to be given the VIP treatment with our beautifully decorated table already set up. Each guest was given their own white picnic basket, filled to the brim with a selection of Metro goodies. True to the picnic theme, my basket featured an assortment of sandwiches; cheese, charcuterie, and crackers; quinoa and pasta salads; pizza; and sushi. Between the gorgeous floral arrangements were bottles of red, white, and sparkling wine that were constantly in flow. With a dessert tent presenting all-white cakes and cupcakes from Metro, it's needless to say, we were very well fed! 

Creativity played a large role in the success of the evening, as the all-white-everything theme inspired guests to think outside the colour wheel when selecting their outfits, table decor, and menus. It was truly a feast for the eyes getting to see all of the imaginative ways that the guests approached their wardrobe and table decor. Hats and headpieces were particularly striking, with lots of feathers, bows, and flowers present. As a creative myself, I almost got whiplash from constantly turning my head as each new stunning sight caught my eye. More than just the outfits, decor, and food, the venue itself is a challenge in resourcefulness. As the location changes every year to a new public space, Dîner en Blanc allows guests to experience some of Toronto's most stunning public spaces in a dazzling new way. 

Dîner en Blanc was such a fantastic way to bring like-minded individuals together to celebrate food, fashion, and our beautiful city in a unique, elegant, and classy way. I'd like to extend a big "thank you" to Metro Ontario for giving me the opportunity to experience this magical evening as their guest. It was a privilege to not only get to attend the event, but also get to engage with so many other creative industry leaders who I admire and respect. I can honestly say that I have never in my life experienced anything like Dîner en Blanc. Thank you for a night to remember!

Moment of Note:
When my mom emailed me after the event saying she saw my photo on Flare Was There! Pretty cool moment! 

Listening To:

Frank Ocean - Nights

The Kitchn's Crunchy Peanut Slaw

Oh hey, just me over here, still on the no-heat-in-my-kitchen-train! As you'll know from some of my previous posts and definitely from my Instagram account, I have been on a heat strike in my kitchen for months now. This has surely been one of Toronto's hottest summers in years, with hardly a day or even an afternoon of relief, meaning all the recent Google searches on my computer read "no-cook meal ideas" and "how to grill everything" as I begin to run out of ideas on what the hell to make for dinner each night. When you're exhausted from the heat, with little to no energy to cook much of anything, it's not the easiest task to go scouring through the internet to attempt to find a good recipe that's simple enough to throw together last minute and will allow you to keep your kitchen cool. 

With my boyfriend Chris working from home as much as possible thanks to a torn achilles (ouch!), it was so great to have another meal brainstormer on hand to help me come up with some different dishes that could help to shake up what was quickly becoming a boring dinner routine. One of my favourite recipes that Chris suggested I make a couple weeks ago was a refreshing, no-cook Crunchy Peanut Slaw from The Kitchn. Chris knew it would be a great recipe for me because...well, I was lazy as hell, hot AF, and this recipe allowed me to get food on the table fast, without any grocery shopping, and very little mess. I was in! 

The slaw was thrown together in less than 10 minutes (insane!), was the perfect accompaniment to grilled chicken and a humid day, and even though I only made a half batch, I was still left with some leftovers for both mine and Chris' lunch the following day! I love the fantastic crunch from both the peanuts and the crisp cabbage and that bright hit of cilantro that shines through each bite. Best of all, I loved the simple dressing that highlighted the nutty flavour of Asian sesame oil, giving this slaw a bit of an exotic twist. This recipe is definitely going onto my "Recipes I Love" Pinterest board! This baby is a keeper and perfect for your next BBQ with friends and family! 

Check out The Kitchn's recipe for Crunchy Peanut Slaw here!

Have another awesome no-cook or grilled weeknight dinner idea that you think I'll love? Tell me about it in the comments, or Tweet me: @thisgingerrose. 

Listening To:

Frank Ocean build something...waiting on that album, Frankie!!

Herbaceous Yogourt-Marinated Chicken Tenders

Oh hey, remember that time I went around making recipes featuring yogourt like a mad woman, in an attempt to win $10,000 and be featured in Chatelaine? No, this isn't a big reveal that I've won. I haven't won...or at least I don't know yet (still keeping those fingers and toes crossed!), but I'm still working my way through some of the recipes I submitted to feature them for you here. 

The great thing about doing a contest like that was getting to put my creative hat on and find new ways of reinventing some of my favourite recipes to feature the key ingredient, yogourt. While it's pretty obvious that yogourt goes fantastic with sweet dishes such as the Strawberry Cheese Blintzes and Mango Strawberry Layered Lassi that I made, I wanted to challenge myself and think outside the box (or should I say yogourt container...ba-dum-ch!) to find ways of featuring yogourt in unexpected ways in some savoury dishes. 

With chicken breasts on sale at the grocery store and an extra container of panko breadcrumbs that I wanted to clear out of my cupboard, it was natural for me to gravitate towards a reinvented chicken tender recipe. Traditionally chicken tenders go through an assembly line of flour, beaten egg, and breadcrumbs before being baked or fried. In this recipe a mixture of yogourt, herbs, and spices allowed me to coat my chicken in simply the yogourt mixture, and then the panko breadcrumbs, eliminating an extra step and granting the yogourt to act as a marinade and glue for the breadcrumbs. 

I love that the yogourt acts as the glue in this recipe, but more than that, the yogourt coating allowed me to tenderize the meat by marinating the chicken and infusing more flavour into it thanks to the addition of fresh herbs like dill, parsley, and chives, as well as garlic powder and lemon juice. As if that's not enough, I chose to make a little bit extra of the yogourt mixture so that I could set some aside to save as a dipping sauce once my tenders were cooked! Brilliant, right? This recipe turned out so insanely easy to prepare, and was a delicious weeknight meal that also left me with some chicken tender leftovers for lunch the following day. Even if I don't win the Astro and Chatelaine contest, I'm still a winner in my books for having a new simple and delicious weeknight dinner option to add to my repertoire! 

Tip: Toasting your panko before breading helps to give your tenders that fantastic golden colour and give them an additional crunch!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Astro Original Balkan Style Plain Yogourt 6%

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh dill, finely chopped

1 1/2 Tbsp. parsley, finely chopped

1 1/2 Tbsp. chives, finely chopped

1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch strips

1 1/2 - 2 cups panko breadcrumbs, lightly toasted

cooking spray

salt and pepper to season

Directions:

1. In a small bowl stir together yogourt with garlic powder, dill, parsley, chives, and lemon juice. Taste and season as needed with salt and pepper. 
2. Add chicken to a large, zipper, freezer bag and add 1-cup of the yogourt mixture. Coat chicken evenly in the yogourt mixture and place in fridge for 1-hour. Set the remaining 1/2-cup yogourt mixture aside in the fridge.
3. Preheat oven to 375ºF. 
4. Place toasted panko in a wide, shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper. Set a large baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray next to it.
5. Keeping one hand clean, working one at a time, dip each chicken strip into the panko, pressing to coat evenly, and place on the prepared baking sheet. 
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until panko is golden and chicken is cooked through. 
7. Serve immediately with the remaining yogourt mixture as a dipping sauce. 

Listening To:

Sufjan Stevens - Out Of Egypt, Into The Great Laugh Of Mankind

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Oh joy! Spring has arrived! Or...has it? There's a thick blanket of snow on my balcony and a chill in the air. Excuse my language, but what the f**k?!?! I guess there's nothing left to do but embrace what little time we have left of soup weather by indulging in a cheese-and-cream-filled soup. Enter Broccoli Cheddar Soup, one of my favourite excuses for eating melted cheese. Some soups I get sick of after the first bowl, but Broccoli Cheddar, I could eat that shit for days on end! It's just so comforting, hearty, and stick-to-your-ribs-delicious that I don't think I could ever get sick of it.

You can always add but you can never take away!

Though I've listed ingredient amounts with this recipe, I encourage you to forget about your measuring cups and spoons and just eyeball everything. Soups are so incredibly forgiving and are a great way to practice your improvised cooking skills. It's all about adding little bits at a time, tasting as you go, and remembering the golden rule of "you can always add, but you can never take away."

Tweet me @thisgingerrose to let me know what you thought of my recipe, or tag a photo of your soup on Instagram @gingerrosefood! 

Remember:

- Why do we cut our vegetables into the same size? So they cook at the same time! 

- Soups are so forgiving, so ingredient amounts can be flexible based on what you have. You can also play around with using other vegetables that you have on hand such as carrots and celery.

* If your soup tastes like it's missing something ask yourself is it salt? Pepper? If it's not salt and pepper, it's likely that it's missing some acid. Try stirring in a little bit of fresh lemon juice and see if that does the trick! 

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 dried bay leaf

4 heads of broccoli, chopped into 1-inch pieces

2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces

3 Tbsp sour cream

3/4 cup half-and-half cream

salt & pepper to season (preferably white pepper)
cheddar cheese, grated, to garnish (optional)
soup cream, to garnish (optional)
walnuts, toasted, chopped, to garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large pot or dutch oven set to medium-heat, heat butter and olive oil. Add onion and cook until softened and translucent. Add garlic and cook, while stirring, for 30-seconds. 
2. Add stock, bay leaf, broccoli, and potatoes and cook for about 30-minutes or until broccoli and potatoes are very tender. Let cool.
3. Remove bay leaf and discard. Pour soup mixture into the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth. Pour back into pot along with cream and re-heat. Taste and season as needed with salt and pepper. Stir in sour cream. Taste and season once again, if needed*. 
4. Serve immediately garnished with grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, and chopped walnuts, or refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Listening To:
Disclosure - Omen ft. Sam Smith

Pulse-Packed Chilli

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend Pulse Feast, the Canadian launch party for the International Year of Pulses. Confession: When I received my invitation for the event, I had no clue what the hell pulses were. In all honesty, in my quick scan of the invite, in the midst of the busy holiday season, I somehow got the impression that pulses had something to do with food trends. Though pulses aren't a word to describe food trends as a whole, they are actually a food trend for 2016 in itself. In fact, the United Nations declared 2016 to be the International Year of Pulses! So what the heck are pulses? 'Pulses are the edible seeds of plants in the legume family. Pulses grow in pods and come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colours." Some pulses that you may be familiar with, and may already be apart of your diet are dry beans, dry broad beans,  dry peas, chickpeas, and lentils, as well as six other less popular varieties that I haven't mentioned. 

Though pulses may be considered a major food trend for 2016, the host of Canada's Pulse Feast, Chef Michael Smith, disputes that pulses aren't a trend at all, they're here to stay! Thanks to their versatility, sustainability, affordability, and vast health benefits, Chef Michael Smith believes that pulses will soon become apart of Canadians everyday diet. As a way of inspiring North Americans to eat more pulses the Pulse Pledge campaign was launched in conjunction with the International Year of Pulses kickoff. The Pulse Pledge is a 10-week campaign that encourages North Americans to commit to eating pulses at least once a week, each week for the 10-week period. The goal is  that the healthy habit of eating pulses on a regular basis will continue past the designated 10-weeks.

After taking my own Pulse Pledge at the Pulse Feast, I was inspired to make a hearty pulse-packed chilli that would allow me to get my pulse intake throughout the week as I continued to eat leftovers. I love this chilli recipe because it's super easy, is big on flavour, is incredibly satisfying, and will provide leftovers for the rest of the week. Though I like to simmer my chilli on the stove for at least an hour to let all of the flavours develop, this dish can easily be rushed and be on the table in less than an hour when short on time, sacrificing the flavour only minutely. Though canned pulses aren't the ideal thanks to their added sodium content, I often cook with canned beans and chickpeas because they're so incredibly convenient. Because this recipe is all about ease, I chose to use a canned bean and chickpea medley for my chilli. When purchasing canned pulses I try and look for ones that have reduced sodium or are from a brands healthy line (for instance President's Choice Blue Menu). To ensure that I can control the amount of sodium going into my chilli, I also make sure to rinse my canned beans and chickpeas very well and strain before adding them in. 

Give my Pulse-Packed Chilli a try this week and let me know how you enjoyed it on Twitter: @thisgingerrose. Also, be sure to take the Pulse Pledge yourself and commit yourself to eating pulses every single week for the next 10-weeks! 

Source: Pulses.org

* Please adjust the spices based on your own heat tolerance. I can handle a lot of heat and usually use this as my base and add more heat if needed, though this may be quite spicy for some. 

** If you're in a hurry, you can simmer the chilli for as little as 30-minutes, though some flavour may be sacrificed. 

Ingredients:

about 2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 large onion, small dice

4 stalks of celery, peeled, small dice

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 lb. lean ground beef

1 jar (680mL) strained tomatoes (no salt-added)

1 can (540mL) six-bean medley, well rinsed (I like President's Choice Blue Menu)

2 Tbsp. red pepper flakes*

1 chipotle in adobo sauce, minced + 2 Tbsp. adobo sauce*

1 Tbsp. chilli powder*

cheddar cheese, grated, for garnish (optional)

fresh cilantro, finely chopped, for garnish (optional)

sour cream, for garnish (optional)

salt, to taste

Directions:

1. In a a large pot set to medium heat, warm olive oil. Add onion and celery and sweat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30-seconds).
2. Add ground beef and break up with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through. 
3. Add strained tomatoes, bean medley, red pepper flakes, chipotle, adobo sauce, and chilli powder. and stir to combine. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for at least an hour in order to impart the most flavour**. Taste and season as needed with salt and additional chilli powder. Serve immediately garnished with cheese, cilantro, and sour cream, or continue simmering on stove for up to 3-hours until ready to serve. Chilli may be kept in fridge for 3-4 days or up to 6-months in the freezer. 

Listening To:

The Do - Sparks

Orecchiette Pugliese

Being a quote-unquote "foodie" I like to have a lot of variety in the type of foods that I eat. I get bored quite easily with dishes and have been known to say that I have "overdosed" on a particular dish after having it one too many times within a short period of time. Despite my, let's call it "fickle" palate, when it comes to the food that I consume at work, it's all about routine and repetition. 

Pretty much every single time that I have a shift at the restaurant I will order myself a big ol' bowl of either Funghi Risotto or Orecchiette Pugliese. It may be the fact that there are only so many dishes that I can quickly wolf down at work while standing in a small corner of a hidden server station, without having to use more than one utensil, and that I can easily digest, or it may be because they're just so damn good that I have no problem eating them on a near-daily basis. I'd say it's likely a combination of all of the above, but the fact that our Funghi Risotto and Orecchiette Pugliese are just so knock-your-socks-off delicious certainly makes it easy to consume almost every day.

Although I look forward to going into work just for our risotto and orecchiette, and despite the fact that I already eat it way more times in a week than I care to admit, I still find myself craving both dishes on my days off at home. Being such a simple dish, I have tried to recreate the orecchiette from work several times at home, but each time something was slightly off. I would never follow a recipe, simply winging it with the ingredients that I knew were present in the dish, which always seemed to result in a dry, oily, and quite bland bowl of pasta. With such an incredibly simple dish, it's easy for things to go wrong. You really have to have the highest quality ingredients in order to get the optimal flavour, as well as be spot on in your execution and quantities of ingredients. 

Desperate for my homemade orecchiette to be just as fantastic as the one from work, I finally gave in and started working with the very same recipe we use at the restaurant. Though I was fortunate enough to get an exact copy of the specs that our chefs use in the kitchen, lucky for you our Executive Chef Doug Neigel's recipe for Mercatto's Orecchiette Pugliese was featured in the Toronto Cooks cookbook for you to enjoy! 

This is one of my all-time favourite pasta dishes thanks to its simplicity and perfect balance of flavours and textures. I love the way the rich and salty fennel sausage plays off of the bitter and crunchy rapini, and that bit of heat that lingers on the tongue from the razer-thin slices of fresh hot peppers. In my opinion its the Padano cheese that ties the whole dish together, which I both toss in and grate on top with reckless abandon (the chefs all know I always order my orecchiette with a request for "CHEESE CHEESE CHEESE" typed into the chit). 

TIPS FOR COOKING ORECCHIETTE PUGLIESE:

Undercook Your Pasta - In order to achieve the best results with this dish I recommend undercooking your pasta, taking it out even before it reaches al dente. Remember that your pasta will continue to cook when you toss it together with the other ingredients, so ensuring that it's still fairly tough when taken out of the boiling water will save you in the end. 

Keep Your Rapini Crisp - Just like you don't want mushy noodles you also don't want mushy rapini. When boiling your rapini, you are literally dropping it into the heavily salted water, and then taking it straight out. Fifteen seconds in the boiling water and straight into an ice bath is all you need to get tender, yet still crunchy rapini. To reduce any chewiness in the rapini, I like to peel the stalks with a vegetable peeler to remove any of fibrous strands. 

Use The Best Sausage - I also recommend finding the absolute best fennel sausage you can get your hands on! It's the flavour of the sausage that will really permeate into the whole dish, giving it it's addictive flavour. Though the fennel sausage I buy at my local market isn't quite as good as  the one used in Mercatto's kitchen, I add in some extra fennel seed and dried chilli flakes to amp up the flavour. 

Season Every Step - Lastly, it's super important to season every step of the way in order to get that great hit of flavour when ready to serve. Season your pasta water well as well as the water to boil the rapini. Also, be sure to season your rapini and when you sauté it in the pan and, if needed, add additional seasoning to your sausage. This will all help to build the flavour naturally. 

Check out Chef Doug Neigel's recipe for Orecchiette Pugliese featured on Style At Home.

Listening To:

David Bowie - Ashes To Ashes

Ricardo's Chicken Curry with Red Peppers and Coconut Milk

With thousands upon thousands of recipes from all different cultures from all over the world right at our fingertips at all times, it's become pretty easy these days to find a great recipe. We all have our favourite sources that we feel confident we can turn to when looking for a knock-your-socks-off recipe, but whether that recipe will be easy, time efficient, and will be something that I feel motivated to cook up on a busy weeknight, well, that's another story. 

I can tell you first hand that it can often be a chore in itself just finding a trustworthy recipe that you can whip up in the midst of all of your responsibilities, commitments, and stresses that wull have your tastebuds dancing, and leave you feeling satisfied. I have a few recipes in my weeknight rotation that I can turn to in a hurry, but I'm always looking for new ones to add to my repertoire to keep things interesting and different. 

Recently I was approached by Ricardo Cuisine asking if I would be interested in partnering with them on a blog post to test out and review one of Ricardo's most popular recipes. Being someone who is always on the lookout for new and delicious weeknight meal ideas, I jumped at the opportunity to be apart of the campaign. I was provided with a list of Ricardo's most popular recipes and could choose whichever one I wanted to recreate. With Asian flavours grabbing my attention as of late, Ricardo's recipe for Chicken Curry with Red Peppers and Coconut Milk was the first one to grab my attention. 

Asian cooking is still very much unfamiliar territory for me, as I continue to learn the vast array of spices, herbs, vegetables, and techniques that go into the flavourful cuisine. In the past I've stayed away from a lot of Asian recipes, intimidated by them and the amount of exotic ingredients that are often required. What I loved about Ricardo's Chicken Curry was that I already had almost every ingredient on the list in my kitchen! The only ingredients that I had to go out and buy were fresh chicken breasts and turmeric (a spice that I had previously never cooked with). 

You know me, I always give you my honest opinion, so I have to be straight with you once again and say that when I first started cooking up this recipe I was a little skeptical that I would like the final results. It all seemed too easy! I didn't believe that a curry recipe so simple and with so few ingredients could actually have that hit of flavour that I yearn for when diving into a dish of curry. I was completely shocked to find that after I allowed the coconut milk to simmer and blend with the spices, chicken, and vegetables I was left with the type of wonderfully flavourful curry that I had hoped for! Though the curry was already delicious on its own, especially when topping fluffy basmati rice, I wanted to round out the flavours just a touch. In order to do so, I added a few drops of fish sauce and about 1 tsp of tomato paste, which I happened to have on hand in my fridge. That little bit of umami and acidity took the dish up a level, helping to balance out the flavours and contribute to the overall mouth-feel of the dish. 

Though I may have been skeptical at first based on how easy the recipe was, I was so pleasantly surprised at how successful this dish turned out! I was able to get everything prepped, cooked, and on the table in just over a half hour and still had leftovers for lunch the next day! I would highly recommend this recipe to any curry lover looking for a quick and simple weeknight dinner idea! Thanks to the big flavours in this dish and the ease of preparation, this is a fantastic option for serving to guests to both wow them and allow you time to enjoy yourself as well!

Find the recipe here!

This post is sponsored by Ricardo Cuisine. Opinions are my own. 

Coconut Curry Chicken Noodle Bowl

Without a doubt in my mind I can say that noodles are the royalty of all comfort food. Oh so you think chili's and stews are the royalty of all comfort food? Well get the heck out because you're wrong! haha I kid...kind of. What makes noodles the top of the crop in terms of comfort food for myself at least is the fact that noodles can be served in so many different ways, all of which are guaranteed to be delicious and satisfying! Whether it's spaghetti and fresh from-the-garden tomato sauce or a big ol' bowl of piping hot ramen, noodles are are like that hug from your mom at the end of a really bad day...except hugs from mom don't exactly fill a hungry belly. 

When I'm in the midst of a rough week all I seem to crave are noodles, which means either whipping up a big pot of homemade pasta, or ordering Asian takeout. More often than not I find myself making pasta over ordering in as an attempt at saving money and perhaps eating ever so slightly healthier, being able to control exactly what's going into my food. Making my own Asian noodles had never been an option for me, as I was intimidated by both the ingredients and techniques from a cuisine that I had not grown up making. It's felt easy picking up recipes from cultures such as Greece, Italy, Poland, etc. having grown up around the same types of flavours and cooking techniques, but with so many unique ingredients, cooking tools, and methods in Asian cuisine I have always chosen to leave the cooking to the pros. 

With such a love for Asian cuisine, I was itching to find a great noodle dish that I could rely on to become a mid-week staple for my boyfriend and I to nip that comfort food noodle craving right in the bud! After scouring Pinterest for more than I care to admit to even myself, I found two delicious-sounding Thai noodle recipes that seemed simple to execute and featured flavours that I was familiar with, many of which I already had on hand. With a lot of skepticism, I combined the two recipes to create something that I thought may be a good start for my intro to Asian cuisine. Though I was so sure that my first attempt at Asian noodles would end up tasting very "white" and like it missing something, I was so pleasantly surprised at how my Coconut Curry Chicken Noodle Bowls turned out! Featuring that same punch of flavour found at my favourite Thai restaurants, these noodles were incredibly addictive and satisfied my craving for comforting Asian noodles. The rich coconut-infused sauce hugged every noodle and kept its intensity even upon reheating the following day! Despite my previous apprehensions over making Asian noodles, I have a newfound confidence thanks to such a successful first attempt! I am really proud of how this dish turned out and am so excited to hear what you think of it! Give it a try in your own kitchen and let me know how it went on Twitter: @thisgingerrose. 

Notes:

• To speed up the softening of the noodles, soak them in boiling water until softened.

Recipe adapted from Pinch of Yum and Bon Appetit

Ingredients:

4 ounces rice noodles

1 Tbsp. peanut or vegetable oil

2 shallots, minced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbsp. ginger, minced

1 Tbsp cilantro stems, finely chopped

2 Tbsp. red curry paste

2 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp ground turmeric 

1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk

1/2 cup chicken broth

3 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. hot chili paste (Sambal Oelek)

2 Tbsp. fish sauce

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs, halved lengthwise

1 Tbsp. peanut or vegetable oil

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1 cup broccoli florets

1 large carrot, long slices peeled with a vegetable peeler

1 cup snow peas, trimmed

2 Tbsp. cilantro, finely chopped

3 Tbsp. lightly toasted peanuts, chopped

1 lime, cut into wedges (for serving)

Directions:

1. Soak noodles in very hot water until softened. Rinse and drain. Begin this right at the start of cooking as noodles will take some time to soften. See above note for more info. 
2. In a large saucepan, heat 1 Tbsp. oil. Add shallots, garlic, ginger, and cilantro stems and stir fry for about 3-4 minutes, or until shallot has softened and is translucent. 
3. Add curry paste, coriander, and turmeric and stir-fry for 1-minute.
4. Add coconut milk, sugar, chili paste, fish sauce, and soy sauce and stir. Add broth and chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 25-minutes, until chicken is fork tender.
5. Transfer chicken to a plate and shred with 2 forks. Add back to sauce.
6. In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbso oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, broccoli, carrot, and snow peas and stir fry for 5-minutes. Add sauce, noodles, and 2 Tbso. cilantro and toss to combine. Serve in bowls topped with additional cilantro, peanuts, and a lime wedge. 

Listening To:

Kendrick Lamar - King Kunta

Cacio e Pepe

It's 6:30 pm on a Wednesday, you just got home, the fridge is empty and you're hungry. What do you do? Prior to my trip to Italy this summer I would have always answered that question by quickly replying "make Ina Garten's Agio e Olio!" but since getting to experience the epitome of simple Italian classic dishes, Cacio e Pepe, in Rome I've added a new quick and easy weeknight pasta to my repertoire! Even when it may appear that the fridge is empty and there's nothing to make, I always make sure that my cupboards and fridge are stocked just enough to be able to throw together a tasty pasta on the fly. In order to keep myself prepared come the mid-week hunger freakout I always make sure to have good quality pasta, peppercorns, olive oil, garlic, and Parmigiano-Reggiano and/or Pecorino cheese on hand. Truly, that is all you need to whip together a fantastic pasta dinner! 

Though in theory cacio e pepe is simpler than aglio e olio (there are less steps and less ingredients), it is the simplicity of ingredients and preparation that actually makes cacio e pepe trickier to master than it's olive oil sister. With only pasta water, fresh cracked pepper, butter, and cheese, the trick to mastering cacio e pepe is all about finesse in preparation and quality of ingredients. I know, quality ingredients means pricey ingredients, but it is in instances like this where the quality of your ingredients truly makes all the difference. With so few ingredients, you really have to use the best in order to get the most flavour, so make friends with your local cheesemonger (get out of the grocery store and visit a gourmet cheese shop or a farmers market for your cheese!) and get yourself a big ol' hunk of parm. In terms of finesse, the way to achieve great results with this pasta is making sure everything is prepped ahead of time, ensuring your pasta is nice and al dente (you want it to have a nice bite), and serving it all up at the exact right moment. The exact right moment is when you have just enough sauce to coat your pasta with a little bit left in the bowl. Don't second guess yourself. If you think it's done, take it off the heat right away! If you take an extra 30-seconds to consider whether your pasta is done, your sauce may have dissipated and your noodles may have over-cooked. Trust your gut! 

With such a simple recipe and such high standards after having an insanely good take on cacio e pepe at Flavio Al Velavevodetto in Rome, I still feel as though I have not perfected my cacio e pepe quite yet. Though it's always delicious and leaves me feeling satiated and comforted, my cacio e pepe is not quite as creamy as the perfect one that I had the pleasure of devouring in Rome. What is my cacio e pepe missing? I still don't have a clue, but I welcome any advice or tricks that you may have to achieving that wonderfully creamy result that I'm dreaming of. Give the dish a try and let me know how it went on Twitter: @thisgingerrose. What did you like about the recipe? Where did you struggle? I want to know! Let's chat! 

Notes: 

• I like to freshly crack my peppercorns for this dish right before I make it in a mortar and pestle. I highly recommend you do the same for the best flavour!
• Have everything prepped and in its place before you get anything going on the stove. Crack your pepper, grate your cheeses, set the table, etc. It all goes very quickly as soon as your pasta comes out of the water. 
• I like to use Molisana dry pasta as a good-quality, yet reasonably priced pasta that I can get at the grocery store. 

Recipe slightly adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients:

kosher salt

1 lb dry pasta (such as spaghetti, tonnarelli, chittara)

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and divided

2 tsp black peppercorns, freshly cracked

1 1/2 cups Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated

2/3 cup Pecorino, finely grated

Directions:

1. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until very al dente (the pasta will continue to cook in the sauce). Drain, reserving 1 1/2 cups of pasta water. 
2. Meanwhile, in a large heavy skillet set to medium heat, toast the pepper for 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant. Add 4 Tbsp butter and melt while whisking. Whisk together in pan for 1-minute. 
3. Add 1-cup reserved pasta water and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5-minutes. 
4. Add pasta and remaining butter and mix together with tongs. Reduce heat to low and add Parmigiano-Reggiano, stirring and tossing with tongs until melted. 
5. Remove pan from heat and add pecorino. Stir and toss until cheese has melted, and the sauce has coated the pasta. Add more pasta water if the pasta seems dry. 
6. Serve immediately in warmed pasta bowls topped with additional grated Parmigano and a drizzle of good-quality olive oil (optional).

Listening To:

Adele - Hello