MONDOmagazine

By Elisha Denburg

This dinner only took me about 15 minutes, start to finish. Simple and delicious!

Ingredients:

2 8-oz NY striploin steaks
2 whole sprigs fresh rosemary
1 can lentils (pre-cooked)
1/2 zucchini
1/2 red pepper
2 green onions
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 cup dry vermouth or white wine
juice of 1 lemon
extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepperPreparation and cooking:

Rub steaks with some pepper and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a pan until quite hot, but not smoking, and fry rosemary until crispy. Remove rosemary and reserve on a paper towel.

Sear steaks in same oil, a couple minutes per side, depending on how thick they are and how much you like them done. Don’t overcook them past “pink in the centre” or the flavour will be totally gone. Remove steaks from pan and let rest on a plate or wire rack.

Dice your red pepper and zucchini and sauté in the same oil the steaks were in for about 30 seconds. Add vermouth, lemon juice, mustard, tomato paste, coriander, salt and pepper. Stir well and cook for another 30 seconds or so until a nice saucy consistency forms.

Add lentils and green onions, and almost immediately turn off the heat. You only want these to heat through, since the lentils are already soft and the green onions should be a bit crunchy and retain their sharp flavour. Slice steak (or leave whole if you like) and serve over top of lentils and vegetables. Remove crispy rosemary leaves from stems and garnish the plate with them. Serves 2. Enjoy!

By Elisha Denburg

This is so easy, and you only have to wash one pot!

Added bonus: This recipe actually involves putting the lime in the coconut.

Ingredients:
1 cup couscous
1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
½ zucchini, diced
½ red pepper, diced
½ carrot, diced
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp dried chili flakes (optional)
1 cup coconut milk OR chicken or vegetable stock OR water
juice of 1 lime
lots of fresh chopped coriander leaves
2 green onion, sliced
A splash of oil (olive or canola)
Salt and pepper to taste

Cooking:
Heat the oil in a medium-large saucepan (one that has a lid). Add the curry powder, cinnamon, chili flakes and carrots, and cook for a few minutes or until very fragrant.

Add the coconut milk and, yes, the lime juice too. Be the first to make any joke at this point. Stir in the tomato paste, salt and pepper, cover and bring it to a boil.

Add the chicken pieces, cover for a few minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Add the zucchini and pepper, cover again and cook for one minute.

Stir in the couscous and immediately remove the pan from heat, cover and let it stand 5 minutes, or until all the liquid has been absorbed.

Stir in the coriander and green onion. Serve immediately! This is not a laughing matter.

By Elisha Denburg

Here’s a recipe that’s quick, delicious, and appeals directly to that part of us that loves to make mud pies:

540 mL can chick peas, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp tahina (sesame butter)
juice of 2-3 lemons
1/3 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
1 tsp paprika
a good pinch of coarse salt
lots of freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

Tahina (or tahini) is a paste just like natural peanut or almond butter, but made from sesame seeds. You can find it in specialty spice shops or Middle Eastern stores (Akram’s Shoppe in Kensington Market is a good one.) Since it’s all-natural, it separates itself, so be sure to mix it well before using it.

You can add other herbs or spices for your own variation like fresh coriander, ground cumin or some cayenne pepper to make it spicy. Make sure it has lots of flavour (the lemon juice, salt and pepper make all the difference), and never add water.

Place all ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor. Turn the machine on a strong setting and slowly pour in the oil as it’s all blending. Blend until very smooth. Direct any stray chunks back into the mix and blend again.

Bring this to a party and everyone will love you forever.

A veritable vanguard of vegetarian voluptuousness!

By Elisha Denburg

Okay, a few things are going on here, but multi-tasking isn’t that hard. Once you get everything going, the only thing you’ll need to concentrate on is stirring the risotto. GO!

Click for a larger image.

Risotto stock:
6 cups water
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 handful fresh thyme sprigs
1 tbsp each, salt and freshly ground black pepper

Risotto:
1 ½ cups Arborio rice
1 each: red onion, carrot and zucchini, all peeled and finely diced
1 tbsp each, balsamic vinegar and Dijon mustard
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 tbsp butter, divided
4 tbsp pesto (see archives for homemade basil-lemon pesto recipe!)
¼ cup dry vermouth or white wine
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

Veggies:
2 each: beets and parsnips
1 handful fresh thyme sprigs
extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper

1. The beets. You can do these ahead of time. Trim roots off beets, discard and cover beets in tinfoil. Roast at 400 ºF for 1½ hours or until very tender. Let cool slightly, peel off skins and slice (use rubber gloves if you don’t want your hands to get stained.) Reserve.

2. The parsnips. Peel and cut in half lengthwise. Spread thyme sprigs on foil on a baking sheet and lay parsnips over top. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast at 400 ºF for ½ an hour, or until tender (flip them halfway through). Reserve.

3. The stock. Bring all ingredients to a boil. Turn down heat to low and leave it.

4. The risotto. In a large heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat, melt 2 tbsp butter in olive oil. Add red onion and carrot, cook until softened. Add balsamic vinegar and mustard, cook for 1 minute. Add rice, stir to coat. Add vermouth, stir until all liquid has been absorbed. Add stock, a ladleful at a time, stirring almost constantly (but gently) until rice is almost cooked and creamy texture abounds, about 18 minutes. Add zucchini, more stock and cook 2 more minutes. Stir in remaining butter, cheese and pesto. Serve immediately with roasted vegetables.

That’s it!

By Elisha Denburg

A fantastic wintry soup to warm both you and the globe.

1 very large sweet potato
2 medium-sized parsnips
2 large leeks
1 small carrot
3 cloves garlic
1-inch knob fresh ginger
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp coriander
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tbsp coarse salt
1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
Plain yogurt or sour cream and chopped green onions for garnish (optional)Preparation:

Peel your root veggies and chop them into equal-sized cubes (1-2 inches). Chop the dark green parts and root ends off the leeks and discard. Cut leeks in half lengthwise, wash them thoroughly in ice-cold water, then cut into narrow slices crosswise. Peel garlic and ginger, dice and set aside.

Cooking:

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot and add leeks, salt and pepper. Soften until just starting to brown, then add balsamic vinegar. Sauté for a minute or two, then add garlic, ginger and all the ground spices. Cook until very aromatic and bottom of pan is brown and crusted with spices, but not burnt.

Add stock and all the root veggies, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer for 30 minutes, or until all vegetables are very tender.

Transfer to a food processor or blender, or use a hand-held blender right in the pot. Purée until very smooth. Add more salt or pepper to taste. Add water or more stock if it’s too thick (about a cup should do).

Pour into bowls, garnish and serve.

By Elisha Denburg

You can use any pasta you like in this recipe, but the important part is the pesto: Making your own tastes so much better and more fresh than store-bought. Besides, everyone agrees it’s fun to crush things.

Blending all the ingredients together in a food processor is an option, but try the rustic handmade method. Pesto has been around way longer than the Magic Bullet, and the advantage is that each flavour in the mix stands out and it’s a bit chunky. Who doesn’t love Chunk? He did the Truffle Shuffle! Please note: this recipe contains no truffles.

1 large bunch fresh basil leaves, washed, very finely chopped
¼ cup pine nuts, roughly crushed using mortar and pestle
3 cloves garlic, peeled, very finely chopped
½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Zest and juice of one lemon
1 pinch of coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper, about 20 turns

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until they form a paste (in Italy, they call paste “pesto” — it’s like they have a different word for everything over there!) Add more or less of any ingredient to suit your taste.

Toss to coat your favourite pasta generously. Grate more parmesan on top to finish. Eat!

By Elisha Denburg

This is a quick recipe (only about 20 minutes cooking time) that is simple yet very flavourful. The rice calls for garam masala, an aromatic Indian spice blend you can find in specialty spice shops or Indian grocery stores. This version serves two, but can easily be multiplied to pacify the appropriate volume of drunken and ornery dinner guests.

For the Salmon:

2 salmon fillets
1 tbsp cumin, ground
1 tbsp coriander, ground
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sunflower or canola oil
1 pinch of salt & pepper

Mix together and marinate salmon for one hour. Place salmon on tin foil on a baking sheet (for easy cleanup), skin side down. Bake at 400F for 15 min. Let rest for 5 min before removing salmon from baking sheet (use a spatula and the salmon will come right off its skin).

For the Rice:

½ cup basmati rice
1 cup water
1 tbsp sunflower or canola oil
1 tbsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp garam masala
2 tbsp dried mango, mince
2 cloves garlic, minced
pinch of salt & pepper
1 handful chopped fresh coriander
lime wedges for garnish

Heat oil in small saucepan on medium heat, add mustard seeds. Add curry powder, garam masala, salt pepper and dried mango when mustard seeds start to pop. Sautee until fragrant.

Add rice, stir until coated with oil and spices. Add water, bring to a boil, cover and reduce to low heat. Let sit until all water has been absorbed and rice is cooked through. Take off heat, stir in fresh coriander. Serve salmon on rice and squeeze lime juice over top. Bask in glowing compliments.

By Elisha Denburg

Posted January 7th, 2007

Here is a recipe for a nice and easy roast chicken I discovered while making it just the other day.

Buy a 3-4 lb. whole chicken at St. Andrew’s Poultry or European Meats in Kensington Market. Thank the butcher and be sure to pay for your chicken before you leave the store.

When you get home you can make the chicken dance on your counter as you move its stubby little legs about in a degrading and hilarious fashion.

Crush equal amounts of fennel, cumin and coriander seeds with a mortar and pestle, or an electric spice grinder, or use pre-ground spices (it tastes better if you grind them fresh).

Add a few healthy shakes of Hungarian paprika, a good amount of coarse salt and about 20 turns on your fresh black pepper grinder. This spice mixture should be enough to easily coat the entire chicken. If it’s not, crush some more.

Rub a thin coating of olive oil around and inside the chicken and then do the same with all the spice mixture (get some under the skin if you can).

Put it in the fridge to marinate for an hour or two, or if you’re in a hurry, just stick it straight in the oven, which should be at 400ºF.

Roast for about 1.5 hours on the middle rack of the oven, uncovered, preferably in a glass Pyrex roasting dish that is only slightly bigger than the chicken itself. It’s done when you pierce the thigh with a fork and the juices run clear (if you see pink, you’re not yet in the pink). You may want to cover the top of the bird with tin foil for the last half-hour if it looks like it’s getting a bit too brown. Let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes outside the oven and then cut into the succulent deliciousness.

The great thing about this recipe is a really crispy and flavourful skin with a juicy and tender meaty inside. Serves four normal people or one person on a dare in first-year of university. Great for vegetarians.

Hey Rosetta!
Plan Your Escape
independent, 2006

By Elisha Denburg

The debut album from Newfoundland natives Hey Rosetta! is a catchy collection of pop songs with a unique sense of structure. Plan Your Escape makes its first bold statement with “Another Pilot,” an energetic anthem with several melodic fragments that are first introduced separately, then cleverly placed in counterpoint with one another — a cliché technique if not for its strong execution. Shying away from the strophic verse-chorus format, multi-talented leader Tim Baker uses stark juxtaposition while still managing to maintain coherence and integrity. A shining example of this is “The Simplest Thing” – a slow piano-and-voice ballad that after two minutes launches into a cheerful, jaunty, trumpet-driven shuffle, and finishes in a cathartic crescendo from the entire band. Somewhat reminiscent of Matthew Good, Baker’s gruff vocals are nicely softened by his sense of lilting melody, and complemented by sensitive violin and cello arrangements – something that Good hasn’t the musicianship to execute convincingly. Baker’s engaging lyrics freely intersperse banal conversational phrases with rich poetic imagery, furthering the band’s jarring, clashing trademark.

The album finds its flaw in the sequence of its tracks: most of the energy is packed into the first half, leaving the introspective numbers to drag out the rest of the disc and blend hopelessly into a sea of sameness. However, a final respite from this lethargy comes in the form of “Hospital Beds,” a genuinely moving climax that brings the disc to a sincere and satisfying close. The tangible energy of Hey Rosetta! in a live setting cements the notion that Tim Baker’s candid and refreshing approach to pop songwriting is one that cannot be easily ignored.