Comforting Chickpea Leek Soup

This is our family go-to soup on a cool day, rainy day, any day! I always have a couple of cans of chickpeas around and I freeze cut up leeks to have them handy just for this soup. It's a riff on a Jamie Oliver's recipe and we've been making this soup forever. Share it with your family.

I like the canned chickpeas that have no salt. They just seem to be creamier.

Saute in olive oil and a hint of butter:
Throw in a sprig of fresh rosemary to sizzle and a pinch of chili pepper flakes
Add lots of leek until soft.
Toward the end of the saute, add 1 finely grated garlic clove.
Season with salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of cumin.

*Bacon is a nice flavour in this soup. In the same pot, cook a couple of rashers beforehand, then remove the bacon. Saute the leek
in a bit of the bacon fat instead of olive oil. Use the bacon as a garnish.


Add the chickpeas to the mix-1 or 2 cans depending on how much soup you are making.
Add enough chicken stock to cover the chickpeas. (vegg stock is an alternate)
Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 30 min.

** a small piece of Parmesan cheese rind while the soup is simmering adds a depth of flavour.

Take half of the soup out and with a hand held blender, whiz half.
Put it all back together, the texture is amazing once mixed.

Garnish this soup with Parmesan cheese...awesome! Make lots, it goes fast. I love it for breakfast!!

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Kickin' Korean Braised Chicken

I was recently inspired to try a new Asian dish while perusing a good friend's upcoming food blog. WOW! I am predicting that it will be one of those great blogs, complete with superb visuals and taste sensations. Rice&Spice. Crazy good!

This recipe caught my attention and with good reason. The Korean Gochujang paste is the star of the show. I had never used it before and wonder where the hell I've been?

In a bowl, mix and let sit:
3-4 garlic chopped cloves
2 tbsp. grated ginger (I like lots)
1 c. chicken broth
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 tbsp. mirin
1 tbsp. sesame oil

You will need a large skillet, preferably cast iron as this dish simmers on the stove for a while.
Saute a few pieces of chicken, Use thighs, either full with bone and skin or boneless without skin.
4-6 pieces is good for this recipe.

In the pan, brown the chicken on both sides and remove onto a dish. In the same skillet, with canola oil, saute 1 medium onion until soft and slightly golden, cut as you wish. I like large thin pieces.

Add sauce to the pan, place chicken in the pan over the sauce and bring to a boil. Then turn down the heat and simmer for about 25-30 min. At the end, on the side, add about a tbsp of cornstarch to a bit of sauce and pour back into the pan. Simmer for a couple of minutes and sauce with thicken slightly.

Garnish with scallions or any herb you may like. Serve with brown rice and peas!

This is an addictive winner!!!

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Giant Grilled Shrimp, Roasted Vegg on Creamy Mascarpone Grits

My father loved grits beyond. When we have them we think of him, and so we love grits too!

This is a rich, mouthwatering dish, full of depth of flavour from the grill, caramelized roasting and rich silky cheesiness. We had this meal in a restaurant and it was too delicious, we had to recreate it. 

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Best heat for caramelizing vegg. On a large baking pan, cut long strips of your favorite veg.  I like the combo of carrots, parsnip, beets, fennel and onion.  Olive oil and salt. that's it. Bake for about 45 min or until golden.

You will need giant shrimp, maybe Tiger shrimp if you can find them.  Just remove the shell and dry them. Then season with salt, pepper, paprika and chili flakes. Once grilled, a nice spritz of lime is yummy. They don't take too long to cook on a hot BBQ grill. You could also sear them in a very hot pan with a bit of canola oil as an alternative. But don't overcook, a couple of minutes on each side is much. 

White corn grits are hard to find.  Some Latino markets carry them but I get mine from Amazon, Bob's Red Mill White Corn Grits...delivered to my door. 

Combine in a medium pot:

1 cup of grits

4 cups of chicken broth, low sodium

Pinch of salt and pepper

Stir until it comes to a boil, then lower heat and continue to stir until cooked.  You can tell when seems like porridge, about 20 minutes. If you need more "zumi" (juice/stock) add until you like the consistency.  

Once cooked, add (this is not for the faint of heart) a large chunk of butter and half or so of a small container of Mascarpone cheese (about 1/2 cup)  

Assemble the plate with a dollop of grits, a generous helping of veg on top and then the grilled shrimp. These flavours combined are beyond description!

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