Tag Archives: Tyler Florence

Mexican Pot Roast Tacos!

4 Nov

I finally got around to buying a Dutch oven, something I’ve been promising myself for months. (Yes, I promise myself kitchen toys.) The great thing about Dutch ovens is that they function like a giant cast iron pan: they retain heat beautifully. You can get them nice and hot so you can sear your meat properly, but then you can turn the heat way down and make all sorts of tasty meals in just one pot. I lugged that sucker home and picked up beautiful beef blade roast from a wonderful butcher just a few blocks from the house. (Royal Beef – check ’em out if you’re in the neighbourhood!) This is a great cut of meat for low-‘n’-slow cooking and so it was perfect for these tacos. I adapted the recipe from Tyler Florence, a foodNURD fave, and it was delicious as usual. We had enough leftover for snacks the next day, always a bonus!

Serves 2.

Ingredients

1lb shoulder/blade beef roast
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tb extra virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1 14oz can crushed tomatoes
2 tb chile powder
2 tb cayenne pepper
2 tb cumin
3 bay leaves
2 dashes hot sauce, optional

Directions

1. Generously salt and pepper all sides of the beef.
2. Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven (or heavy duty pot with a tight lid) on high. Add in the garlic and sear the beef, getting a nice crust on all sides.
3. Toss in the onions and cook til they’re softened and lightly browned, roughly 3-4 minutes.
4. Add in the tomatoes, 1 can of water, spices and hot sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then add in enough water (again) to cover the beef.

Happily simmering away…

5. Cover the pot, lower the heat and let simmer for 3-4 hours, until the beef is tender. Allow the beef to cool in the liquid.
6. Shred with a fork and serve with warm tortillas, guacamole, cilantro, pickled red onions and salsa.

Ready to be eaten!

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Roasted Shrimp & White Bean Salad

2 Aug

This is a fantastic light – but satisfying –  salad that we tried for the first time last night. J added some lemon juice to it to brighten the flavours of the dish, which I think was a great touch. I’m generally not a huge fan of watercress, but I really liked it in this dish. Great summer salad, but would be good year ’round.

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 lb large shrimp, peeled & deveined
4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2″ pieces
extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
8 fresh sage leaves
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 – 14 oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 tb red wine vinegar
10 oz watercress
1 tb lemon juice

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. On half of a foil-lined sheet, arrange the shrimp in a single layer. On the other half, place the bacon pieces. Drizzle everything with olive oil; season the shrimp with salt & pepper. Sprinkle the sage leaves over the entire sheet.
3. On a second baking sheet, place the tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt & pepper.
4. Place both sheets in the oven. Cook the tomatoes until they burst, roughly 12 minutes. The shrimp and bacon will likely take a few minutes longer (roughly 15).
5. In a large bowl, place the watercress and beans. Add in the tomatoes and their accumulated juices and toss to mix. Then add the shrimp, bacon and any remaining liquids to the mix. (Use your judgement: you don’t want to add all the rendered fat back into the salad, but some of it.)
6. Add in the red wine vinegar, lemon juice and a little more olive oil. Toss to mix and serve!

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Lemon Curry Chicken

25 Jun

I have a seriously awesome husband. Since we found out that we’re expecting a little foodNURDling in December my moods and energy have fluctuated a lot and he’s rolled with the punches (metaphorical punches, to be clear…my mood swings aren’t that intense!). I’m often too tired to cook, to clean, to make it past 9:30pm without a nap. So, to thank him for picking up the slack, I headed off to Kensington to pick up some delicious, fresh ingredients for a yummy dinner! This is Tyler Florence’s recipe, as is the mango-basmati rice with which it’s served. This recipe calls for a chicken in 10 pieces: if you go to the butcher, they will be happy to do this for you! You can also get chickens broken down at the grocery store…or you can try it at home yourself.

Ingredients

1 3lb chicken,  cut into 10 pieces
2 c plain yogurt
2 tb curry powder
1 lemon, zest & juice
1 tb sesame oil
salt & pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Rinse and pat chicken dry.
2. Stir together the yogurt, curry powder, lemon zest and juice, sesame oil and salt & pepper in a big bowl.
3. Add the chicken and toss gently with the yogurt marinade.

Prepped & read to go in the oven

4. Place chicken on a baking sheet and roast, basting twice with the remaining marinade as it cooks. (Roughly 45 minutes.)


5. Serve with Mango Basmati Rice.

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Mango Basmati Rice

25 Jun

Let’s face it: rice is…well, it’s just rice. It’s not the most exciting ingredient. But what it lacks in flavour it makes up for in versatility, transforming from modest to extraordinary with a few extra steps. This is a modified version of Tyler Florence’s recipe: I used peanuts instead of cashews as that’s what I had around. He also calls for mint, but you could use cilantro or basil, too. I served this with lemon curry chicken, but it would go well with shrimp, pork or fish dishes.

Ingredients

1 c basmati rice
1 inch piece ginger, peeled and smashed w/ side of the knife
kosher salt
1/2 lb green beans
1/2 red onion, coarsely chopped
1/4 c cashews
1/4 c mint leaves, coarsely chopped
1 mango, peeled, pitted & chopped
2 tb extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
black pepper

Directions

1. Put rice in a sauce pan with the ginger, 2 cups of water and 1 1/2 ts salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir, turn down the heat, cover and cook 12 minutes. (If serving cold, spread the rice on a baking sheet and bring to room temperature.) Discard ginger.
2. Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil for the beans. Fill a large bowl with ice water and add just enough salt so that you can taste it. Boil the beans for three minutes and then place them in the ice water for another minute or so to stop the cooking and maintain their bright green colour.
3. Place the mango, red onion, mint and cashews in a large bowl. Stir together with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Add in the rice and beans, seasoning with the lemon juice. Re-season with salt & pepper if necessary.

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Ultimate Spaghetti w/ Clams

9 Nov

Tyler Florence’s “Ultimate” recipes are a favourite at our place.  Everything we’ve made from the cookbook has turned out wonderfully. They tend to have a lot of ingredients, but the preparations are never difficult and the results are always worth it. We never make a recipe once: whatever makes it to the table makes it there repeatedly.

J made this yesterday for his folks and, once again, the recipe delivered. Briny, garlicky, spicy: all the things that spaghetti with clams (or, if you want to impress your dinner guests, linguine vongole) should be.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

Kosher salt
40 littleneck clams
extra virgin olive oil
2 tb unsalted butter
10 garlic cloves, smashed
1/4 lb pancetta, chopped
1/2 ts red pepper flakes
handful of fresh basil
1/4 c white wine
2 pints cherry tomatoes
black pepper
1 lb spaghetti (or linguine)
1/4 c chopped parsley, for garnish

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 400F.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.
3. Scrub the clams with a stiff brush under cold water. Discard any that are open.
4. Put a roasting pan over two burners on medium heat. Add a 2-count of olive oil, the butter, garlic, pancetta, red pepper flakes and basil. Cook until the pancetta renders its fat, roughly 4 minutes.
5. Add the clams, white wine, tomatoes and a good amount of black pepper.  Put the pan in the oven and roast til the clams open, around 10 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, add the pasta to the water and cook 7-8 minutes or til al dente.  Drain the pasta, put it in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil.
7. Remove the pan from the oven and add all the ingredients – including the liquid in the pan – to the pasta and toss. Discard any clams that did not open.
8. Add parsley and toss again.

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Grilled Skirt Steak w/ Lentils, Cilantro & Grapes

4 May

Yes, with grapes. It might sound strange initially, but the texture and freshness of the fruit goes very well with the creaminess of the lentils. I promise. And if you still don’t think you’ll like it, blame Tyler Florence.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

1 head garlic, sliced horizontally
salt
extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 lb steak
black pepper

3 thyme sprigs
1 c lentils
1 garlic clove, smashed (NOT minced or chopped)
1 green chile, minced
zest & juice of 1 lemon

1 bunch cilantro
1 lb green grapes
6 oz feta
black pepper

Directions

1. Heat your oven to 400. Cut a 12″ foil piece and place the garlic on one half and sprinkle with salt, a little olive oil, 2 ts water and 2 sprigs of thyme. Fold to cover and seal. Roast for 30 minutes.
2. Heat a grill to  medium high heat. Wipe the grill quickly with olive oil to create a non-stick surface. Rub the steak with some olive oil and season generously with kosher salt and black pepper.
3. Pour the lentils into a sauce pan and add enough cold water to cover them by 2 inches. Add the smashed garlic, remaining thyme and 1 ts salt. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes or until tender. Discard garlic and thyme.
4. When the grill is hot, toss on the steak and cook to medium-rare, 5-7 minutes. Rest for 5 minutes and then cut into thin slices.
5. Place the lentils in a bowl and add the chile, lemon zest & juice, cilantro, grapes, feta and 1/3 c olive oil.  Toss and add salt to taste.
6. On four plates, make a bed of lentils and place the steak slices on top. Drizzle the steak with a little olive oil and black pepper. Serve the roasted garlic on the side.

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Peppered Salmon w/ Creamy Chick Pea Dressing

12 Nov

J made this Tyler Florence recipe the other night and it came out beautifully! The salmon was crispy on the outside, but flaky and tender on the inside. Tons of flavour from the crust, no question, and it was very tasty with the accompanying chick pea dressing. Nicely done, J!

Serves 4.

Ingredients
1/4 c black peppercorns
1/4 c coriander seeds
4  salmon fillets
2-3 tb extra virgin olive oil

Dressing
salt & pepper
1 can chick peas
2 ts cumin
1 ts paprika
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Grind peppercorns and coriander in a clean coffee grinder and pour the mixture onto a plate.
2. Roll salmon in the mixture.
3. Heat 2-3 tb olive oil in a large skillet and heat til the oil is smoking.
4. Sprinkle fish with salt & pepper and place in the pan, searing 4-5 minutes per side.
5. For the vinaigrette, drain the chick peas into a large bowl, reserving the liquid.
6. Add olive oil, cumin, paprika, lemon juice, salt & pepper. Spoon 1/2 the mixture into a blender and puree. Add in the liquid as necessary to thin out the mixture. (You’ll need roughly half of it.)
7. Stir the puree back into the rest of the vinaigrette to thicken.
8. Dish the chick pea dressing into the middle of the plate and place the salmon on top.

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Pork Tenderloin in Coconut-Chile Sauce

18 Oct

Adapted from Tyler Florence’s recipe, this dish is warming, comforting, brightly-flavoured and is destined for heavy rotation in our kitchen! It does have a few steps, but they’re not difficult. Timing is key, as always, but I think I’ve got it worked out! I’ve included pictures of the individual components of this three-parter. Click to see them enlarged.

Serves 2.

Ingredients

Pork
1 1lb pork tenderloin
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lime, juice
salt & pepper

Coconut-Chile Sauce
2 tb extra virgin olive oil
1″ ginger, grated
2 garlic, minced
1 chile (Bird, jalapeno, whatever ya like), diced
1/4 c cilantro stems
14 oz coconut milk
1 ts sugar
1 lime, juiced
1 tb fish sauce
1 dash hot sauce, optional
salt & pepper

Tomato & Coconut Salad
1 c shredded coconut
2 c tomatoes, chopped
1/2 sweet pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1/4 c cilantro (leaves)
1/4 c mint leaves
dash of olive oil
1/2 lime, juiced
salt & pepper


Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375.
2. Place the pork on a platter and pour over the olive oil, lime juice & sprinkle with salt & pepper on all sides. Marinate for 10-15 minutes.
3. Toss the pork in the oven for roughly 35 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165-170, depending on how well you like your pork cooked. Rest for 10 minutes.
4. In the meantime, heat up the olive oil at medium in a medium sauce pan.  Add garlic, ginger, chile and cilantro stems. Cook 3 minutes.
5. Add the coconut milk and sugar, simmering for another 5 minutes.
6. Squeeze in the lime juice and add the fish sauce, hot sauce, and a dash of salt & pepper. Adjust to taste. Lower heat and simmer, stirring occasionally until the pork is done.
7. In a medium bowl, add tomatoes, shredded coconut,  sweet pepper, red onion, chile, cilantro leaves, mint, olive oil, salt & pepper and lime juice. Adjust according to taste.
8.  Slice pork into medallions and serve over rice. Pour the sauce over the pork and top with coconut & tomato salad.

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