Mustard Greens in Celebration of Food Day in Canada 2010

Mustard greens, or mizuna, is sometimes said to be piquant, mild peppery flavor, slightly spicy. So when I decided to use them for the Food Day in Canada celebration this weekend, I knew I needed a recipe that stood up to its strength, and for it to also be included with other dishes that would be a bit milder, in order to create balance. I decided to to go a bit Asian with the greens and picked a recipe from Simply Recipes called Mustard Greens.



This recipe allowed me to use all my mizuna and the remaining onions from my Roots and Shoots Farm CSA food basket. I found I tended to enjoy a bite of my mustard greens together with a bite of my stuffed chicken. I love what the sesame oil does to tame the strong taste of the greens. I think toasted sesame seeds could have been a nice touch. It truly was a special Food Day celebration.





MUSTARD GREENS
Source: Simply Recipes

1/2 cup thinly sliced onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 pound mustard greens, washed and torn into
large pieces
2 Tbsp chicken broth (2 to 3), or vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon dark sesame oil

In a large sauté pan, sauté onions in olive oil over medium heat until the onions begin to brown and caramelize, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook a minute more, until fragrant.

Add the mustard greens and broth and cook until the mustard greens are just barely wilted. Toss with sesame oil. Season with salt and pepper. Serves 4.

Red Chard Risotto in Celebration of Food Day In Canada 2010

The risotto was another great side dish for our Food Day in Canada celebration this weekend. This recipe is adapted from one we found on the Epicurious website called Red Chard Risotto. The motivation for trying the dish was to make something special with our Swiss chard that came in this week's CSA food basket from Roots and Shoots Farm. One of our celebration guests was Italian so she lovingly brought all the ingredients together to perfection. Nice when it can be authentic too!





RED CHARD RISOTTO
Adapted from a recipe by Sandra Rudloff: Los Altos, California found in Bon Appétit - February 1996

5 1/2 cups homemade turkey stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1 bunch Swiss chard (about 4 cups of leaves coarsely chopped and then stems diced)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 tablespoon butter

Bring broth to simmer in medium saucepan. Cover and keep warm.

Remove stems from chard leaves and dice. Coarsely chop chard leaves.

Heat oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and chard stems and sauté until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add rice and stir for about 3 minutes. Add wine and simmer until absorbed, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes.

Add hot broth 3/4 cup at a time. Simmer rice and stir constantly until the broth is absorbed. Then add another 3/4 cup of broth and repeat. When the last broth is added, also add the chard leaves. They will cook down very quickly. Simmer until rice is just tender and risotto is creamy. The entire cooking time is about 20 minutes. Mix in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese; season to taste with salt and pepper. Add butter and stir. Consider adding more Parmesan cheese. Serves 6.

Breaded Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Goat Cheese and Thyme Filling

Our Food Day Canada 2010 party raged on from zucchini rolls to carrot and cilantro soup to a main course loaded up with many things green. The main act was our stuffed chicken. A mild flavour in comparison to our very zesty Italian salad and the strong taste of our Asian mustard greens. I found it worked well to take a bite of my chicken with the mustard greens to balance each other out. It was a plate with pow. I did use a Roots and Shoots Farm CSA onion for the filling. My supply is starting to dwindle. I liked the chicken and would make it again and would put more thyme in the filling or perhaps other flavours with the thyme, like sun-dried tomatoes. It made for a nice presentation sliced vs. just getting the big 'loaf'!



BREADED STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS WITH GOAT CHEESE AND THYME FILLING
Source: The Best Chicken Recipes by the Editors of Cook's Illustrated

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, tenderloins removed, 5 to 6 ounces each
cheese filling (see recipe below)
2 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs), toasted
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Butterfly each chicken breast by slicing it lengthwise almost in half (starting on the thinnest side) and then opening it to create a single cutlet. Place each cutlet between sheets of plastic wrap and pound until the cutlets are about 1/4-inch thick. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.

Place a quarter of the cheese filling in the center of the tapered end of each chicken breast. Roll the chicken tightly over the filling to completely enclose it and form a cylinder. Press the seam to seal. Repeat with the remaining chicken and filling. Refrigerate the chicken, seam side down and uncovered, for 1 hour to allow the edges to seal further. This step is very important.

Combine the flour, salt and pepper in a shallow dish and whisk the eggs and Dijon together in a second shallow dish. Working with 1 chicken breast at a time, dredge in the flour, shaking off the excess, then coat with the egg mixture, allowing the excess to drip off. Finally, coat with the panko, pressing gently to adhere the crumbs.

The breaded chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Increase the baking time by 5 to 10 minutes then.

When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 375ºF and place the chicken at least 1 inch apart on a wire rack set over a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake until fully cooked (an instant read thermometer should register 160ºF to 165ºF), about 35 minutes.

Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Goat Cheese and Thyme Filling

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1 small onion, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
1 small garlic clove, minced
3 oz cream cheese, softened
2 oz goat cheese, softened
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in the thyme and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds; set aside to cool.

Mix the cooled onion mixture, cream cheese, goat cheese, salt, and pepper together until uniform.

Zucchini Rolls with Goat Cheese and Kalamata Olives in Celebration of Food Day Canada 2010

My two beautiful zucchinis from my Roots and Shoots Farm CSA basket this week became our appetizer for our Food Day Canada 2010 celebration.

I have had a similar delight a number of years ago from the The Fine Cooking Magazine July 2002 Issue #51, Page 55 called Grilled Zucchini & Goat Cheese Roll-ups. When I recently came across an adaption of this recipe on the blog site of Dara Michalski (a Canadian living in Utah), whose blog is Cookin' Canuck, I knew exactly where my zucchini's were headed. Dara's Fine Cooking adaptation is called Grilled Zucchini Rolls with Herbed Goat Cheese & Kalamata Olives.

Thank you Dara from bringing back an old favourite for me and giving my summer squash purpose for Food Day Canada 2010! I followed her recipe but used plain goat cheese instead of herbed since that is what I had on hand.





GRILLED ZUCCHINI ROLLS WITH GOAT CHEESE & KALAMATA OLIVES
Adapted from Dara Michalski, whose blog is Cookin' Canuck, and she adapted from a Fine Cooking Magazine recipe

2 zucchinis, one green and one yellow
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 1/2 oz. goat cheese
1 1/2 oz. (about 7 or 8) kalamata olives, finely chopped

Preheat grill to high heat.

Slice a strip lengthwise from the zucchini to expose the inside of the vegetable. Cut the 2 ends from the zucchini to make straight edges. Cut the zucchini lengthwise into 1/4-inch strips. You should get about 7 slices per zucchini. I use a mandolin to make the slices.

Brush both sides of the zucchini pieces liberally with olive oil. Season well with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Lay the zucchini pieces on the grill at a 45-degree angle (for more attractive grill marks). Cook until the zucchini is very tender, but not mushy, about 3 minutes per side, moving the pieces during cooking to ensure even browning.

Remove zucchini from the grill. Set a wire cooling rack on top of a bowl to give the cooling rack extra clearance from the counter. Drape the zucchini pieces on the rack to cool. This method will stop the zucchini from steaming will cooling.

Place goat cheese in a medium bowl. Stir olives into the goat cheese.

Spread a layer of the goat cheese mixture onto one side of each zucchini piece. Gently roll each piece of zucchini. Serve.

I was able to get 15 rolls from my two zucchinis.

Carrot Soup with Coriander in Celebration of Food Day Canada 2010

Food Day Canada was a great day to use produce from my latest CSA food basket from Roots and Shoots Farm. The soup I made incorporated all my orange and white carrots, two of my onions and two of my potatoes. We ate outside under the beautiful night sky with special friends, many a candle lit, the fountain flowing and nary a bug in sight.







CARROT SOUP WITH CORIANDER

2 pounds carrots
1 potato
3 ounces unsalted butter
1 small onion, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large bay leaf
1/8 teaspoon celery salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
dry sherry
homemade croutons
deep-fried onion greens, match stick width and 2" in length

Peel the carrots and cut crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces (about 5-6 cups). Peel the potato and cut into small cubes (about 1 1/2 cups).

In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. When hot, add the onion and sauté while stirring occasionally, until translucent, 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté while stirring until beginning to change color, 20-30 seconds.

Add the carrots, potatoes, and fresh coriander and sauté, stirring a couple of times, for about 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken broth, sugar and salt and, over medium heat bring to a simmer. Lower the heat, cover partially and continue simmering until vegetables are soft when pierced with the point of a knife, about 20-25 minutes.

Use a food processor with its metal blade attached, or a blender, and process the vegetables in small batches, with their broth, until a smooth purée (soup may be made ahead to this point; cover and refrigerated). We use our Vita-Mix and it always gives a great consistency for soup.

Return the soup to the saucepan. Add the bay leaf, celery salt and cayenne to the soup and let it simmer on a very, very low simmer for 2 or 3 hours to really incorporate the flavours. An hour before serving, add more fresh cilantro, finely chopped. Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary. If the soup is too thick, add more stock or you could use milk. Remove the bay leaf.

To plate, put one tablespoon of sherry in the bottom of each bowl. Ladle the soup on top. Garnish with homemade croutons (I make mine with a hint of garlic and black pepper for a kick) and deep-fried onion greens. Another way to garnish could be a dollop of sour cream and a generous sprinkling of chopped cilantro.