What's On My Plate » Garlic

Chickpea-Garlic Soup

Tonya — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:16:11 +0000

During the winter months I’m always on the lookout for new soup recipes. Soup is one of my favourite things to eat for lunch during the winter and it tends to be healthy. After a great cup of soup while at Angelica Kitchen in New York, I decided to pull out my copy of their cookbook in search of a delicious soup that I could make myself. I was struck by the chickpea-garlic soup because who really makes chickpea soup? I was up for the challenge.

All was going well until it came time to puree the soup. Perhaps I didn’t have enough liquid leftover after cooking the chickpeas but my soup started to look like hot hummus! Luckily I had some broth on hand and thinned the soup with water and broth. The results were flavourful. The garlic taste wasn’t over the top but was a nice mix of mellow and garlicky. The consistency was a but grainy and not as smooth as I would have liked but I think my chickpeas weren’t tender enough.

I served this with a baguette with melted cheese on top. This meal was the epitome of comfort food. If I had a fireplace and a snuggie I would love to curl up with a hot cup of this soup in front of the fireplace while wearing my snuggie.

Chickpea-Garlic Soup with Rosemary and Olive Oil

2 cups chickpeas
6 cups water
1 stalk celery
1 bay leaf
1 branch fresh rosemary
3-4 fresh sage leaves
¼ cups extra virgin olive oil
2 cups diced onions
½ cup garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
¼ cup fresh lemon juice, strained
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Rinse chickpeas and combine in a 3-qt pressure cooker with 6 cups water, celery, bay leaf, rosemary, and sage.

Bring to full pressure, lower heat, and cook for 45 minutes. (Chickpeas can also be cooked in a pot until tender. Approx 2 hours).

Meanwhile, warm the olive oil in a heavy 3-qt saucepan over low heat.

Stir in onions and garlic; continue to cook over the lowest possible heat, stirring from time to time, until the chickpeas are done, up to 40 minutes.

When chickpeas are done, remove and discard the celery and herbs, then add the chickpeas, along with 3 cups cooking water, to the onions and garlic.

Purée the soup with lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.

(Recipe from “The Angelica Home Kitchen: Recipes and Rabble Rousings from an Organic Vegan Restaurant”)

Lemon-Garlic Roasted Chicken

Tonya — Sun, 31 May 2009 13:04:28 +0000

I’ve made secret of my lack of affection for chicken. I mean, when there are so many other interesting things to eat chicken just seems so pedestrian. So, I rarely make it. BUT every once in a while I get inspired when I see a pack of chicken on sale to give it another go.

I was flipping through Essence magazine and came across a totally mouth-watering photo that accompanied their recipe for Lemon-Garlic Roasted Chicken. I’d never made a recipe out of Essence before and wasn’t sure what to expect. I’m not that person that will make just any recipe – I have my recipe sources and don’t usually stray too far. But I figured that this was just chicken so it would be fine.

And it totally was!

The marinade was totally delicious and really penetrated the chicken. Any and all chicken-y flavour was toned down enough for it to be palatable for me and I was left with lemony/garlickly goodness.

I served this alongside Roasted Asparagus and some Mashed Rutabaga… both perfect accompaniments. If the rutabaga seems kind of random, it is. I got half a rutabaga in my food box weeks ago and had NO CLUE what to do with the sucker. After some internet creeping I discovered that mashing it was totally an option. SOLD.

So I’m adding this recipe to my list of chicken recipes that are actually delicious… and did I say easy? Because it totally was. A perfect weeknight dinner option.

Lemon-Garlic Roasted Chicken

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoon olive oil
3 item garlic cloves, smashed
1/4 cup lemon juice, divided
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon paprika
8 item medium-size chicken thighs; remove and discard visible fat
2 item zucchini, halved crosswise, quartered lengthwise

PREPARATION

Optional Garnishes: Lemon Slices, Wedges or Zest; Rosemary Sprigs

In a reseallable plastic food-storage bag, combine rosemary, oil, garlic, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, salt, pepper and paprika. Add thighs; seal and turn to coat. Marinate 15 minutes at room temperature or longer in refrigerator, turning cicken occadionally. Heat oven to 400ºF. Remove chicken from marinade; arrange skin side up in roasting pan. Roast, basting frequently with remaining lemon juice and pan drippings, until chicken is cooked, about 30 minutes or until juices run clear when cut at bone. Meanwhile, in small saucepan, steam zucchini in lightly salted water until tender, about 8 minutes. Garnish and serve with zucchini.

(From Essence May 2009)

Fiddleheads!

Tonya — Sun, 10 May 2009 15:03:36 +0000

Around this time of year in Ontario (and probably other places too) fiddleheads become all the rage. Growing up I remember seeing fiddleheas in the supermarket and thinking that they look totally weird. I was curious but not curious enough to buy.

Fast forward to yesterday when I was cruising through Whole Foods and spotted TONS of fiddleheds. I noticed them primarily because of this thread on my beloved Chowhound. I decided to pick up a handful or two to go alongside my dinner. The sign next to the fiddleheads said to boil them for 10 minutes as recommended by the people that tell you to do that sort of thing because of toxins. Noted. A quick chat with my friend suggested maybe sauteeing them in garlic and oil. YUM!

I didn’t do anything to prep the fiddleheads at all, I just dropped them in boiling water. When I took them out they were pretty limp As a person that likes my veggies crisp I was not loving the texture! I then sauteed them in the oil and garlic for a quick minute or two.

The verdict: While I enjoyed the taste for the most part (kind of like broccoli rabe) I did not appreciate the “boil for 10 mins” instruction. I’m wondering if that’s an antiquated direction. What if I boiled them for 5 minutes? Or steamed them? Would I buy them again? Sure, but I wouldn’t go on a citywide hunt for them!