Roasted Garlic and Yam Soup

Hey Friends! I realize its been a while since I updated my blog... Not even going to try to make excuses for whats going on or why I haven't been posting much. What I am going to do is bring you a delicious soup that will warm you through and through despite this cold weather we've all been having. A delicious roasted garlic and yam soup.

This soup is a bit time consuming due to the many layers of flavours that go into it! You can make the veggie stock a day or two before and you can roast the veggies ahead of time too if you want to speed up the process. If you really don't have time and need to skip one of the steps - just buy the veggie stock. Don't skip roasting the veg - it adds such a delish layer of flavours that you can't miss out on to enjoy the true delightfulness of this soup.

First things first - make the veggie stock. You can find a delish recipe here - though it will make more than you need for this recipe, just freeze the rest and use it up as you see fit. Next you can get started on the recipe below. 

Roasted Garlic and Yam Soup

Minimally adapted from Rebar

Ingredients:

• 6 cups veggie stock (recipe linked above)
• 3 large yams
• 2 heads of garlic
• 4 roma tomatoes
• 2 red peppers
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp minced fresh sage
• 2 tbsp minced fresh oregano
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ancho chile powder
• pinch of allspice
• 2 tsp chipotle puree (puree one can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and measure out 2 tsp)
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• juice of one lime
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Using a fork, pork a few holes in each yam. Cut the top 1/4 off the garlic to expose each of the pieces of garlic inside, drizzle each head with olive oil then wrap in foil. Place yams and garlic on a baking tray and roast in preheated oven for approximately 45 minutes. Yams may need a bit longer, but garlic should come out after 45 minutes. Yams are done when they are very tender. Cool slightly, then remove yams and garlic from their skin.
2. Halve and seed the peppers. Place peppers and whole tomatoes on a well-oiled baking tray and roast until skins are browned and puffed (about 15 minutes). Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for approximately 10 minutes. Peel away the skins and set aside.
3. Heat the oil in a large soup pot, add onions and saute until translucent. Add garlic, spices and herbs and cook until garlic is fragrant (about 1 minute). Stir in the peeled, roasted veggies, the stock and the chipotle puree. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.
4. Puree the soup until smooth. Whisk in maple syrup and lime juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot and topped with crushed tortilla chips and a bit of cheese. Also delicious with a dallop of sour cream or greek yogurt.

Happy Cooking my Friends! What have you been cooking and baking lately?

Bacon Rolls for 7th World Bread Day

Its the 7th Annual World Bread Day hosted by Zorra Kochtopf!! Food bloggers all over the world join in and bake bread and post about it on October 16. How fun right? I missed it last year, so there was no way I was going to miss it this year. :)

I decided to do a savory version of cinnamon rolls - Bacon Rolls! Easy and delicious! First, you're going to start off by making my herb bun recipe and letting it have its first rise. Here's the recipe.

Once your dough has completed its first rise, roll it out into a large rectangle - til its about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick. You'll need the following ingredients to put on that rectangle of dough:

• Bacon (I used 1 lb, but that was overkill!!) - chopped and cooked til crisp
• Cheese (I used a 4 cheese italian blend) - enough to sprinkle over the dough and a bit more to sprinkle on top of the pan
• 2 heads roasted garlic

Spread the roasted garlic on the dough rectangle, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Then sprinkle liberally with bacon and cheese. Roll tightly, starting on the long side of the rectangle (like you're rolling cinnamon buns). Then pinch the seam tightly to make sure it stays put. Next, cut into approximately 12-15 buns. Place in a greased 9x13 inch pan with the cut side up. Once the pan is full, sprinkle with a bit more cheese, bacon salt and a bit of smoked bacon salt. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 45 minutes to one hour or until doubled in bulk.

Preheat oven to 375F. Bake in preheated oven for approximately 30 minutes or until they sound hollow when you tap on them. Let cool slightly and enjoy!

The picture above is the bacon salt I like to use, but you can use any brand you like. Most gourmet food stores will carry various types of salt and since bacon is so popular right now, they're likely to carry bacon salt.

Hope you enjoy my contribution to World Bread Day! I can't wait to see what everyone else contributes this year. :)

Happy Baking my Friends! And thanks Zorra for hosting this lovely gathering of food bloggers.

Pan Roasted Halibut in Potato Dill Crust with Roasted Garlic Cream

Happy Wednesday everyone! We are over halfway through this week... and for me that is a good thing!! It is smokin' busy at work this week with deadlines everywhere I look. I can't wait for the weekend (even though I'll likely have to work part of it... Its still the weekend!!). I've been looking forward to sharing this post with you all week. Don't judge a post by its pictures (well at least, not in this case), because this is seriously good! You MUST make it this weekend when you have time. Even non-fish lovers will seriously love this meal. Its delicious and it doesn't get that typical "fishy" taste or smell that some fish dishes get.

 

This recipe is from my new cookbook No More Secrets, Recipes from the Cow Bay Cafe by Adriene Johnston. This is a seriously amazing cookbook!! The best part about it is that its written by a womon from a small town in Northern British Columbia right near where I grew up. Soooo of course I'm going to love it.

Any way, lets check out this recipe - I'm a little tired right now because I just worked a 14 hour day, so please excuse me if my post isn't as coherent (or as long) as usual. :)

 Pan Roasted Halibut

Recipe from No More Secrets

Ingredients:

Roasted Garlic:

• 6 bulbs garlic
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, halved
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Garlic Cream:

• 1 bulb roasted garlic
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 1 tsp kosher salt (I would probably just use half a tsp next time i make this - it was a touch salty)
• 1/4 tsp chile flakes
• a little fresh grated nutmeg
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp whole fresh black peppercorns

Potato Crust:

• 3/4 c instant dry potato flakes
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp dry dill
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 c fresh dill, finely chopped

• 6 8-oz pieces fresh halibut (thawed, frozen halibut will work in a pinch too)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. To roast garlic, remove the excess outer skin, trim off the stem end and place the garlic bulbs in a small pie pan. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Place the rosemary sprigs on top of the garlic. Drizzle the olive oil over the garlic bulbs. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and roast in the preheated oven for 50 minutes and reserve.
3. To make the garlic cream, add the cream, salt, chile flakes, bay leaf and peppercorns. Squeeze out the soft garlic from the roasted garlic bulb and add it to the cream. Drop the skins into the sauce too. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until thickened and reduced by half.
4. Strain the garlic mixture through a sieve and press on the garlic until it is all pushed through the sieve and you are only left with the skins and debris. Discard the stuff in the sieve and reserve the cream until needed. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cream to prevent the formation of a skin.
5. For the potato crust, simply combine the potato flakes, salt, garlic powder, dry dill, pepper, and fresh dill in a bowl. Mix together and reserve until needed.
6. Place two large skillets in the oven and heat for 15 minutes.
7. When you are ready to cook, dry the pieces of halibut and dredge them in the potato crust mixture.
8. Remove the hot skillets from the oven and place over medium high heat. Pour about four tsp of vegetable oil into the skillet and then place fish in the skillets. Do not crowd the pans. Allow the fish to cook in the oil until the bottoms are golden brown and crisp-looking.
9. Gently flip the fish over and then put the pans into the oven and cook for about 7 minutes per inch of thickness at the thickest part of the fish.
10. When cooked, remove the fish to the serving dishes and pour some of the garlic cream into the hot pans. When cream is hot, pour it over the cooked fish. Serve with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and roasted broccoli.

  



I know, this seems like a lot of steps, but it really does come together relatively quickly. You can roast the garlic and make the garlic cream sauce ahead of time if you're having a dinner party and then all you've got to do is cook the fish and you're set to impress your guests.

Hope you enjoy this one. Stay tuned for a delicious post tomorrow on how to use the leftovers from this recipe (if you're lucky enough to have leftovers!).

Happy Cooking my Friends!

Roasted Garlic & Feta Walnut Dip with Toasted Flat Bread

I've been complaining all summer about how bad the weather has been... now, in the first week of September we get 30 degree weather alllll week! Its beautiful, but it feels super hot compared to what we've had. Our townhouse heats up super fast when I turn on the oven, so this is a great option when you don't want to heat yourself out of your house on a hot summer day (assuming you've got roasted garlic on hand already)!

I probably wouldn't have tried this recipe if Hubby hadn't asked me to! I'm not a huge fan of feta and this dip sounded so weird, but he picked it out, so I made it for him and ended up loving it!

Roasted Garlic & Feta Walnut Dip with Toasted Flat Bread
Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals 2

Ingredients:

• 2 heads garlic, top 1/4 inch cut off, 1 large clove reserved
• 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for drizzling
• 1 cup walnut halves, toasted
• 1 1/2 cups feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 cup fresh flat-leave parsley
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 4 flat breads or pitas, cut into wedges and toasted

Method:

1. Preheat oven or toaster oven to highest setting. Drizzle heads of garlic with about 1 tsp olive oil each, then double wrap the garlic bulbs in foil. Roast 25 mins in the oven.
2. Combine 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, walnuts, feta, milk, oregano, parsley, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and garlic clove in food processor and pulse until smooth. Add more olive oil or milk if dip doesn't come together smoothly. Scrape into serving dish with spatula, drizzle with olive oil.
3. Remove garlic from oven, and turn off heat. Arrange triangles of cut pita or flat bread on a small, heat-resistanttray or cookie sheet. Place bread into the hot oven (or you can use your toaster oven to keep the house cool!!!). The bread will be warmed through and lightly toasted in five minutes.
4. Serve with feta walnut dip and soft, sweet roasted garlic for spreading.

 Ohhhhh so good!! I can't wait to make this again. I think Huby and I each ate one whole head of roasted garlic... next time I would make more roasted garlic. :) Such sweet, carmelized goodness. Definitely a weird sounding dip, but the flavours really work to create a delicious, unique starter.

Happy Cooking my Friends!

How to... Roast Garlic

I share a lot of recipes with you on this blog... lots of them easy, some of them more involved, but I realized earlier this week, that sometimes I put ingredients in the recipes that I know how to make, but a lot of people would just go out and buy. So I decided I'm going to start doing some "How To" posts that discuss the techniques or methods for producing those ingredients at home. Usually those ingredients are far more delicious when you make them yourself, far more economical, and are often quite easy to make. So for my first "How To" post, I'm going to share with you how to make roasted garlic at home. Its super easy and you can do it while you're watching your favorite show on TV!

Slice the top 1/4 inch off a whole head of garlic, making sure the tops of all of the cloves on the head have been cut off so the garlic inside is exposed. This will make sure all of the cloves on the head roast evenly and carmelize nicely. Then cut out a square of aluminum foil that is large enough to wrap up the entire head of garlic in. Fold up the sides to envelop the head of garlic, leaving the top of the head exposed. Drizzle with a little extra-virgin olive oil and season with a tiny bit of kosher salt if desired. Then wrap the foil up over the whole head, closing up the package, but not sealing it tightly.

Roast the garlic in a 350F oven for approximately 50 minutes until your house smells delicious and the garlic has turned a lovely golden colour. Open up the garlic foil package to let the garlic cool until it is cool enough to handle and then squeeze out all the roasted garlic goodness for whatever you decide to use it for.

Now, you may notice that I have a whole tray full of roasted garlic... what am I going to do with all of it? Well, I'll tell you. I roast garlic in huge batches and then squeeze out two heads into freezer bags. Then I freeze the roasted garlic and use it whenever I feel like it. You can freeze roasted garlic for up to 6 months and it will still taste delicious. Or if you don't want to freeze it, it stays good in the fridge for about one week.


Happy Cooking my Friends!

Rustic Roasted Garlic Bread

I'm really out of the loop in the blogging world sometimes... apparently there is a World Bread day - in October!! Next year I'm going to be on top of this. Any way, I was browsing some of the finished products of World Bread Day and found Deeba's post on her blog Passionate about Baking. It looked amazing - Rustic Roasted Garlic Bread! Of course I was all over that one - I set to making it all of 15 minutes after reading the recipe. I was definitely not disappointed and it was really easy to make.

If you tend to shy away from bread making, don't! Its not as hard as it looks or sounds. Just remember to allow adequate time for the bread to rise. :) This bread smelled amazing while it was cooking - honestly, it was difficult to wait for it to cook all the way through because it smelled so good we all just wanted to devour it - immediately. I may have even burned off some of my tastebuds because I didn't wait for it to cool enough before popping a piece in my mouth.

Rustic Roasted Garlic Bread

Recipe from Passionate About Baking

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour + more as needed
• 2 tsp instant yeast
• 2 tsp coarse salt + more for sprinkling
• 1 to 1 1/4 cups water
• 2 heads roasted garlic
• 4 tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil

Method:

1. Squeeze the roasted garlic out into a bowl and mash with a fork.
2. Combine the yeast, flour, roasted garlic and 2 tsp of salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Turn on the mixer and add 1 cup of water and 4 tbsp olive oil. Add more water until the dough just comes together into a ball and is slightly sticky to the touch.
3. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly by hand for a few seconds until the dough forms a smooth, round ball. Grease a bowl with the remaining olive oil and place the dough into the bowl, turning to coat all over with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and place in a warm, draft-free place to rise for 1-2 hours or until doubled in bulk.
4. About an hour before you plan to bake the bread, take the dough out and divide it evenly into two pieces. Dust your workplace lightly with flour and shape the two pieces into loaves that will fit on your baking tray. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper and place loaves on baking sheet. Cover with cling film and leave to rest in a warm place for about an hour.
5. Preheat your oven to about 375F. Just before popping into the oven, give the loaves about 4-5 slashes with a knife. Place baking sheet into the oven and place a small bowl of water in the bottom of the oven below the bread. Bake 35-40 minutes or until loaves are nice and brown , and make a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom.

Enjoy this post and definitely check out Deeba's lovely blog Passionate about Baking. She makes the most beautiful desserts and if you've ever looking for food blogger activities, she is always posting about ways to get involved, so do check back regularly.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Baking my Friends!