Chef Live! At the Halifax Savour Food show!

A great big thank you to all the participants and exibitors who came by to sample Chef Live’s mushroom and leek rissoto! Special thanks to Mark Dewolf from By the glass wine tours. www.winebytheglass.ca

Chef Trevor and myself had a fantastic time talking food and wine with all of you, not to mention all the fun Chef live can bring to your next event!

Thank again!

chef Rich

Warm Spinach and Strawberry salad with balsamic

Ingredients:

1 medium Red onion, sliced
1 clove Garlic, crushed
2 tbsp 30 ml Honey, divided
1 pkg mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp 30 ml grainy Dijon
½ cup 125 ml aged balsamic vinegar, divided
1 bag 284 g baby spinach
1 cup 250 ml Strawberries, sliced
20 Tomatoes, grape, sliced
1 tbsp 15 ml Extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp 2 ml Pepper, black

Directions

  1. 1. In a pan on high heat, sauté onions and garlic until browning occurs. Add 1 tbsp of honey.
  2. 2. In another pan, sauté mushrooms for 5-6 minutes. Add mustard, ¼ cup balsamic vinegar, rest of honey and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes to reduce.
  3. 3. In a large bowl, combine spinach with strawberries, tomatoes, oil, pepper and remaining balsamic vinegar. Toss well.
  4. 4. Once mushrooms, onions and garlic are sautéed, place on top of salad greens, toss and serve immediately.

Roasted Duck breast with pomagrante

1 pound boneless duck breast, skin removed (see Note)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 small shallots, finely chopped
1 cup pomegranate juice
1/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth (see Tips for Two)
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 450°F.

  1. Sprinkle duck with salt. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the duck and cook until browned on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
  2. Transfer the duck to a small baking dish and roast until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 150°F, 8 to 12 minutes for medium, depending on the size of the breast.
  3. Transfer to a cutting board; let rest 5 minutes.
  4. While the duck is roasting, return the pan to medium-high heat. Add shallot and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant
  5. Add pomegranate juice, lemon zest and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer; cook until reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir broth and cornstarch in a small bowl until the cornstarch dissolves. Add to the pan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring, until the sauce is thickened, 1 to 2 minutes.
  6. When the duck has finished resting, pour any accumulated juices into the sauce and stir to combine.

Low fat individual chocolate tortes

Serves 18

Ingredients

1 can 19oz/540ml Black beans, drained, rinsed
8 oz 250 ml Egg beaters (or 5 egg whites and 2 egg yolks)
¾ cup 175 ml coca, unsweetened
½ tsp 2 ml Baking powder
½ cup 125 ml SplendaTM
1 cup 250 ml Sugar
1 tsp 5 ml Vanilla

Garnish

2 tbsp 30 ml Water
1 cup 250 ml Raspberries, fresh or frozen
¼ cup 60 ml Sugar

Directions

  1. 1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease muffin tins and set aside.
  2. 2. Using a food processor, purée beans. Slowly add egg beaters and allow to process for 3-5 minutes. Then add cocoa, baking powder, vanilla, Splenda, sugar and purée until blended (2-3 minutes).
  3. 3. Add ¼ cup mixture to each muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes.
  4. 4. In a small pan on stove, add water, raspberries and sugar. Heat, stirring often until thickened.
  5. 5. Drain mixture through sieve to remove seeds.

Serve torte with a drizzle of raspberry sauce

Recipes from the Healthy you show are ready!

Visit our recipe pages for new recipes from the Healthy you show!

  • Warm Spinach and Strawberry salad
  • Roasted Duck and pomagranite
  • Low Fat individual chocolate tortes

Enjoy!

Chef Live is pairing up with the Better Living Show!

This Thursday February 12, Chef Live will be on Breakfast Television with healthy recipes to promote the upcoming Better Living Show at Exibition Park in Halifax N.S.

The show runs from Friday Feb 13th to Sunday February 15th

Website: www.eastcoastwomen.net

I will have 30 minute full stage cooking performances on Saturday afternoon – 1:00 PM and 3:00  PM

All the best!

Chef Rich

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with vanilla cream and pistachios

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with vanilla cream and salted pistachios

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 kilo of peeled cubed butternut squash
¼ cup of butter
2 medium sweet onions – peeled and chopped into small pieces
1 red pepper – seeded and chopped in small pieces
5 peeled garlic cloves – sliced
2 bay leaf
¼ cup Manuka honey
1 lemon – juiced and zested
2 litres of good quality chicken stock

For the vanilla cream

500 mls of heavy cream – 34%
1 vanilla bean – split and scraped
1 tsp sugar
¼ cup of hulled and salted pistachios

Method

For the soup

  1. Pre-heat oven to 425 F
  2. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper
  3. Toss squash with oil and spread evenly over baking sheet , roast for 20 minutes.
  4. In a large pot melt butter on medium heat, when butter melts and foams add onions, red pepper, and garlic.
  5. Sweat vegetables stirring occasionally for 10 minutes – season
  6. Add honey and brown vegetables for 2 minutes
  7. Add zest and lemon juice, and bay leaf
  8. Add stock and simmer for 5 minutes
  9. Add squash and simmer for 20 minutes
  10. Remove bay leaf and purée soup with an immersion blender

For the Vanilla Cream

  1. Measure cream into a medium pot with sugar and vanilla
  2. Simmer for 10 – 15 minutes on medium heat until the cream reduces enough to coat a wooden spoon.
  3. Cool and remove vanilla bean.

Service

Portion hot soup into soup plate, drizzle cream on soup and top with salted pistachios!