Give Me A Minute to Abzorba the Greek

Sometimes to make something new, all you need to do is change a known thing ever so slightly. This is the foundation of sauce cookery: taking a mother sauce, changing it up by adding something new and ending up with your own creation.

I am a big fan of adding a little protein to a salad. I like the change of textures, contrasting flavours and combining hot and cold. This is nothing new. In fact, adding chicken to a Caesar Salad probably dates as far back as the original salad itself (I can't say that definitively, but you get my point).

Every so often, I get sick of lettuce. Garden Salad. Caesar Salad. Spinach Salad. Arugula Salad. Even my favourite, Mache Salad. Today's recipe is a salad without lettuce. It is not uncommon to have a salad without leaves: pasta salad, potato salad, cous cous salad, even quinoa salad. There are many. Yet, I often forget that we can go further in that. How about a good ole vegetable salad? Sounds simple and refreshing, doesn't it?

To name a salad over a culture seems a bit silly to me. But I suppose there is no way around it. We have become so ingrained with these names that it would sound silly to change it. Or would it?

Mixed Vegetable Salad That Are Really Fruit Thrown Togther With a Simple Dressing, Topped with Feta Cheese, Olives and Steak

2 Cloves of Garlic, crushed
1 English Cuke, cut in half and in semi circles
2 Large Tomatoes, cut into thin slices
1 Red Onion, jullienne
1 Red Pepper, jullienne
1 Yellow Pepper, jullienne
1 Jar of Kalamata Olives
Small Package of Feta, crumbled or grated
400 ml Olive Oil
200 ml Lemon Juice
Blend of Dried Herbs: Oregano, Sage, Rosemary
3 lbs. Fast Fry Beef, from Inside Round

In a small bowl, marinate beef with half of the herbs, drizzle of oil and let sit for 1 hour.

In another small bowl, combine remainder of the herbs and lemon juice. Quickly whisk in oil. Season to taste.

In yet another bowl, combine veggies and dressing. Place in a serving bowl of your choice and top with feta and olives.

In a frying pan, heat small amount of oil on high heat. Sear both sides of beef for 1 minute. Place on cutting board and slice thinly. Top salad with beef.

Serve immediately.

Serves 6.

A Humble Chef's tip: leave the meat whole when searing. If you slice the beef raw, you can very easily dry out the meat.

Variation: this recipe works well with white fish and, of course, chicken.

In One Spear, Out The Other

I am a big fan of asparagus. I already posted a great soup that really celebrates this singular speared vegetable. It looks wonderful on a plate and it is so easy to cook. Quite simply blanch in salted water and voila! A wonderful side dish to any meal. Whip up some hollandaise, reduce some balsamic vinegar and create a wonderful little salad.

Harvested in spring, expensive in winter, asparagus should be used in season as much as possible. If you like the white asparagus more than the original, be prepared to spend for it. It is a little more labour intensive to create the the white asparagus. Which is done by denying the asparagus any sunlight.

I like the green variety myself; especially for this recipe. A simple pasta served in a light broth. I think it is a shame that many home cooks feel like they have to have a sauce for pasta. That is simply not true. In fact, "alla olio" refers to a style of pasta that is lightly tossed in oil.

Keep it simple and the results just may amaze you.

Fettuccine with Asparagus and Baby Scallops

12 Asparagus Spears
2 Cloves of Garlic, crushed
1 Cooking Onion, finely diced
Juice of 2 Lemons
1 Small Red Pepper, finely diced
1 Pint of Cherry Tomatoes, quartered
200 ml White Wine (I've used rum and it works too)
Small Bunch of Chives, chopped
About 30 Baby Bay Scallops
Box of Fettuccine
Drizzle of Olive Oil
Dab of Butter
200 g Parmasan Cheese
Salt and Pepper to Taste

In a large pot of salted water, cook pasta as per manufactuer's instructions.

In a medium sauce pan of salted water, cook asparagus until tender. Cooking time varies depending on the thickness of the asparagus. Remove and shock in cold water.

In a large saute pan, heat oil and cook onion and garlic. Cook for 1 minute. Add peppers and tomatoes and continue to cook for 3 - 4 minutes. Add scallops and wine. Bring to a boil and let simmer for one minute. Add lemon juice and asparagus. Bring up to heat and season to taste.

Toss with pasta.

Serves 8.

A Humble Chef's tip: if making right away, don't bother shocking the asparagus and toss in broth. If you like a little more liquid, hold back on seasoning and add a small ladle of pasta water.

Variation: Shrimp, white asparagus, rose sauce. Wonderful.

The Prancing Pony's Soup of the Day

My goodness. I was on a roll there for a while. But, as summer came, writing was the last thing I wanted to do. Besides, my hard drive failed and I am currently sans laptop. Nevertheless, I am still cooking (unfortunately at times) and still experimenting.

I am making soups for a local business in the small town I call home and today I made something different. In this part of the world, some people like to cook to season. Sometimes I do. In this case, asparagus has come to town from local farmers and so I am obliged to help out the local economy and use what they grow.

Asparagus is my favourite vegetable. It has a nice natural tang, it goes well with everything, it looks great on a plate (height, contrast, appearance) and it's really easy to cook. On top of that, you can eat raw, steamed, blanched, sautéed or cooked and served cold. Brilliant.

This soup (another soup I know) is essentially a variation on the standard theme. I imagine you may start seeing a reoccurring theme.

With the asparagus, trim only bit of the woody part. After liquefying the soup, it adds to the flavour and helps thicken the soup.

Asparagus Purée with the Village of Brie

2 Shallots, roughly cut
1 Clove of Garlic, crushed
2 Bunches of Asparagus, roughly cut (save one spear for garnish)
1 Sprig of Basil
3l Vegetable Stock
20g Brie (basically two slivers; one for thickening, one for garnish)
Salt and Pepper to Taste

In a soup pot, sauté the garlic and the shallots until golden. Add chopped asparagus and cook for one minute. Add stock and basil. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer for ten minutes.

Add half of the brie and stir. With a hand blender, liquefy the soup until desired texture. Season to taste.

In a separate pan, sauté the remainder of the asparagus and add so the soup. Chop up remainder and add to the soup.

Serves 6.

A Humble Chef's tip: Don't forget to not cover the vegetables when they're cooking through.

Variation: If brie is unattainable, go ahead and use camembert (everybody has camembert in their fridge for back-up).

Not Just Any Salad

I'm sick of writing about soups. They're cheap and easy and repetitive. Every so often I need to make something new.

Well, with spring apparently around the corner, how about a salad. But not just any salad. A potato salad. But not just any potato salad. A German potato salad. But not just any German potato salad. A Humble Chef's German potato salad. But not just any Humble Chef's German potato salad. But A Humble Chef's German potato salad made by none other than my wife, The Closet Optimist herself. That's right readers. My Equality Equation made this fantastic recipe as dictated by me.

I have some esplainin' to do. She has this fear that if I were to unexpectedly meet my end, it would be unfortunately the cessation of my recipe development. She would never be able to eat any of my food again. Ever. So, she wrote down a few recipes while we were working together in the kitchen to preserve her pickle of a husband's legacy (actually, this is why I am writing this blog).

So, I will leave out any notes and go for the jugular.

Not Just Any A Humble Chef's Farinaceous Salad Made In the Style of the Germans

8 Red Potatoes, cleaned and quatered
5 Slices of Bacon Itself, medium chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper, medium dice
1 Green Bell Pepper, medium dice
1 Small Red Onion, finely diced
1 Green Zucchini, medium dice
1 Stalk of Celery, finely diced
3 or 4 Sprigs of Sage, chiffonade (don't you dare ask me what that is)
20 gr Pommery Dijon Mustard
200 ml Mayonnaise (or as needed)
A Few Drops of Worcestershire Sauce

Blanch potatoes until you can eat it. Probably 8-10 minutes. Try to not overcook them. It usually doesn't take very long.

In a sauté pan, fry up yummy bacon until crispy. 5 min. on medium high heat. Remove bacon and add peppers, onion, celery and zucchini until bright. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Season to taste.

Serve warm.

Serves 4.

Variations: Everybody has their own version of potato salad. Add your signature to this classic. I like to add quatered hard boiled eggs myself.

A Humble Chef's tip: Add a few extra potatoes to use as testers. Don't be embarrassed that you have to check your potatoes to see their doneness: everybody does it.