Salad Nicoise

Since we still had some frisee lettuce and red spring onions from a couple of CSA shares ago, and received new potatoes, green beans and eggs with our share last week, I decided that a salad nicoise was in order!  I love this dish even though it takes a little work because the flavour is outstanding and it is a complete meal!!!

SALAD NICOISE

Ingredients:

DRESSING

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon or 1 tsp dried (I used Herbs de Provence)

3 tbsp red wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt & freshly ground pepper

SALAD

12 mini red potatoes, cut in half

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt & freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup red onion, thinly sliced

2 cans of tuna, drained*

1 head of leaf lettuce

Handful of green beans, trimmed and boiled until crisp tender

2 tomatoes, cut into wedges

2 hard boiled eggs, cut into wedges

1/2 cup black olives

• Preheat oven to 425F
• Whisk together Dijon, tarragon and wine vinegar.  Slowly whisk in oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.
• Toss potatoes with 1 tbsp olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.  Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake for 20 mins, or until tender and browned.  Remove from oven.
• Toss potatoes with 2 tbsp dressing.  Toss onions with 2 tbsp dressing.  Set aside.
• Line a large platter with lettuce.  Gently toss the beans and tomatoes with dressing.  Place potatoes, onions, green beans, tomatoes,hard boiled eggs and olives in sections on the platter.  
• Top with tuna.
• Drizzle the entire salad with the remaining dressing.
• ENJOY!!!

*You can also use a fresh tuna steak - simply brush it with 1 tbsp oil and coat with cracked pepper.  Grill on the BBQ for 2 minutes per side on high, or until it is still rare in the centre.  Remove from the grill and slice into thin slices!

  

Chicken with Apricots, Olives and Capers!!

Last week I had my Aunt, Uncle and second cousins visit from the UK. As I haven't seen them in 13 years, I wanted to create a meal that I didn't need to tend to, so that I could have a proper visit with them...this meal definitely fits the bill! It's full of flavour, economical for larger groups, and so easy to prepare you'll undoubtedly add it to your weekly repetoire!!

CHICKEN WITH APRICOTS, OLIVES AND CAPERS

Ingredients:

3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1/4 cup minced garlic

1/4 cup chicken broth (homemade is best, but low sodium is fine too)

1 tbsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

2 tbsp olives

2 tbsp capers with some of the brine they're packed in

3 bay leaves

3 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup dried apricots

• In a large freezer bag, combine the first 9 ingredients. Ensure all ingredients are well combined and the chicken fully coated in the marinade. Seal and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.


• Heat oven to 350F and arrange all ingredients from freezer bag into a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle with the brown sugar and pour wine around chicken pieces.


• Bake uncovered for one hour, basting often to ensure chicken doesn't dry out.


• After cooking, remove bay leaves and serve!

In order to allow your family or guests to decide how much they want, I like to remove the chicken breasts from the cooking liquid, slice into 1/4" thick slices and then plate with the olives and apricots and a some of the liquid drizzled over top!

Also, I serve this dish with either my couscous recipe (June 2009 ) or the Greek lemon roasted potatoes ( May 2009) as both are fantastic side dishes to this meal and equally as easy to prepare!

Chicken and Artichoke Flatbreads

I tuned in to the new Canadian Living cooking show "Best Recipes Ever", at the suggestion of my friend Michelle, and I am glad I did! I am a HUGE fan of Canadian Living and have had a subscription for a little over a decade now. Many of the dishes that I cook are either from the recipes I have pulled from my magazines, or inspired by Canadian Living recipes. This dish is no exception. It comes directly from the show and can be found on www.cbc.c/bestrecipes/2010/01/artichoke-chicken-flatbread.html

As always I made a few variations according to what I had on hand - and you can too!

ARTICHOKE CHICKEN FLATBREAD

Ingredients:

2 naan breads

1 jar of roasted bell peppers (I used yellow peppers), drained

1 small jar of pickled pimentos, drained

2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

EVOO

Shredded leftover chicken

Black olives, pitted and sliced (I was out so I used my Tomato and Olive Antipasto)

Red onion, thinly sliced

Small jar of artichoke hearts, drained and cut into slices

Goat's cheese

• In a mini processor or a blender, process the roasted peppers, pimentos and garlic with a thin drizzle of EVOO until a smooth sauce.


• Spread the pepper sauce over the naan breads with a spoon.


• Spread the remaining toppings evenly over the two naan breads and place in a 500F oven until the goat's cheese and naan become golden brown.


• Remove and cut into strips and serve!

*If you want a less spicy pepper sauce for the base, just omit the pimentos! Also, if you would prefer, you could use buffalo mozzarella in place of the goat's cheese - or use both!!*