Black Bean Salmon

My father-in-law makes this quite often. It's like candy. The following recipe is for two servings.

You need:

• 1/2 lb salmon
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 c flour
• 1/2 c breadcrumbs
• vegetable oil for frying
• 1/2 onion (or 3 spring onions, cut into 1-inch pieces)
  
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 tbsp Chinese black bean sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 c water
• 1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp water
  

Do these things:

1. Skin the salmon, if necessary.
   
   
2. Rinse the salmon in cold water and pat it dry with paper towels.
   
   
3. Cut the salmon into pieces -- I usually cut it into 1" x 2" pieces, but it depends on the size and shape of the fillet you're working with.
   
   
4. Dredge the salmon in the flour, then dip into the egg, then coat in breadcrumbs. Lay the breaded salmon out on a plate or cookie sheet.
   
   Note: I often double-bread the salmon. To do this, leave the salmon to dry for a few minutes after you bread it, and then dip again in the egg and breadcrumbs. This ensures a nice, thick coating that is a little hardier and therefore better for this recipe.
   
   
5. Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium-high heat. Fry the salmon until the breading is golden brown. This takes about 3 minutes per side. Fry the salmon in batches if necessary.
   
   Note: You can also cook the breaded salmon in a hot oven as a lower-fat alternative, but the breading is more likely to fall apart or fall off.
   
   
6. Remove the salmon and drain on paper towels.
   
   
7. Chop the onion using a French cut (i.e. strips, not rings).
   
   
8. Mince the garlic.
   
   
9. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a wok on high heat.
   
   
10. Add the onion and stir-fry until softened, about 1 minute.
    
    
11. Add the garlic, sugar, and black bean sauce and stir-fry for 1 minute.
    
    
12. Add the water and cornstarch slurry. Stir-fry until heated and thickened, about 2 minutes.
    
    
13. Add the salmon pieces, and toss gently to coat. Some of the pieces may break; don't worry about that.
    
    
14. Gently pour the salmon and sauce onto a serving platter. Serve with steamed rice.

Chicken Cacciatore

Chicken cacciatore is an easy and satisfying dish. Coming home to a crock pot full of cacciatore on a frozen winter's day makes it all better.

The following recipe uses a whole chicken and serves about four people. You can make it out of just leg quarters, but I find that breast meat gets too dry so I never use breast on their own. And the chicken really should be on the bone -- that's where the flavour is.

You need:

• 1 chicken
• 1 can (14 oz) crushed tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 medium onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• Other vegetables as available (e.g. mushrooms, celery, carrot, broccoli)

Do these things:

1. Skin and cut up the chicken. I prefer smaller pieces -- halve the thighs, cut the breasts into two or three pieces, split the wings. I put the back in with the rest of the chicken to cook, but discard it before serving.


2. Chop the onion and mince the garlic very finely.


3. Chop the other vegetables, if you're using any.


4. Brown the chicken in a pan over medium heat. Remove and drain.


5. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook together in a little olive oil on medium-low heat until the onions are translucent.


6. Add the other vegetables and cook until soft.


7. Remove the vegetables from the pan and place in a slow-cooker.


8. Add the chicken, tomatoes, and tomato paste to the slow cooker. Gently combine.


9. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.


10. Serve over pasta or broad egg noodles.

Won Tons (and Won Ton Soup)

Easily my favourite dumplings of all time. Credit to my father-in-law, one of the best cooks I know, for the recipe starter.

First, forget the wispy noodle squares floating in tasteless broth that you've probably had at some Chinese restaurant or other. These won tons are meaty and tasty. They're great in a soup, but they're just as good boiled (or even microwaved) and eaten plain. I like them dipped in a mixture of light soy sauce and sriracha hot sauce -- an essential accompaniment to either the plain won tons or the soup.

A note on the wrappers (or "paste"). There are many different dumpling wrappers available in Asian food stores (and in many supermarkets). Get the thinnest ones. They're usually square. Avoid the ones that say perogy wrappers -- they're too thick and won't work well. This is a lesson from experience.

Won Tons

You need:

• 1/2 lb ground pork (lean is fine)


• 1/2 lb raw shrimp, peeled, de-veined, and chopped into small pieces


• 5 dried shiitake mushrooms, reconstituted


• 1 tsp corn starch


• five dashes of soy sauce


• 2 tbsp water chestnuts, minced finely


• 1/2 tsp white pepper

And:

• Package of won ton wrappers (approx 50 wrappers)


• Two cookie sheets or large cutting boards covered in wax paper

Do these things:

1. Mix all the ingredients together in the large mixing bowl until combined.


2. Open the package of won ton wrappers. You need to keep these covered (e.g. with a slightly damp towel or with plastic wrap) as they can dry out quickly.


3. Put a won ton wrapper in the palm of your left hand (assuming you're right-handed).


4. Take a small ball of the mixture -- no bigger in diameter than a quarter -- and press it into the middle of the wrapper.


5. Pull two corners of the wrapper and press together.


6. Pull the other corners up to the first two, and bunch up the edges of the wrapper in the middle. Give it a twist to make them stay.


7. Place the won ton on the wax paper -- don't let them touch.


8. Repeat until you've run out of filling.

You can freeze the won tons -- just put the trays in the freezer for a couple of hours until the outside of the wrappers are hard, and then transfer them to an airtight container or freezer bag. Do not let them thaw though -- when they thaw, they stick together and become an ugly, gluey mass.

To cook the won tons, drop them in boiling water and stir them periodically to keep them from sticking together. They will float to the surface when they're cooked. Remove them with a slotted spoon. The dumplings can be cooked from frozen or fresh.

Won Ton Soup

Of course, any soup with won tons is won ton soup. I sometimes add them to ramen soup or brothy vegetable soups just to make a heartier meal. But this is my father-in-law's version.

This makes about four servings.

You need:

• 1 onion, sliced using a French cut


• 1 head of bok choy


• 6 cups of chicken or vegetable broth


• 24 won tons

Do these things:

1. Chop off the bottom of the head of bok choy, separate the leaves, and wash them thoroughly.


2. Slice the white parts of the bok choy leaves very thinly (about 1/8" slices).


3. Chop the leafy parts of the bok choy leaves into larger pieces.


4. Heat a small amount of oil in the bottom of a saucepan. Add the onion and fry over medium heat until translucent.


5. Add the bok choy and fry for about a minute.


6. Add the stock and bring to a boil.


7. Lower the temperature and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the white parts of the bok choy are translucent and soft.


8. Add the won tons and stir gently to keep them from sticking.


9. When the won tons are floating, remove from heat and serve.

Couscous Muffaletta Salad

The muffaletta sandwich is a fabulous sandwich from New Orleans. It's made on big loaves of bread, with meats and cheese and an astoundingly good "olive salad", which is olives and picked vegetables that are chopped fine, mixed with oil and vinegar and spices and then spread right on the sandwich. This olive salad is also great with bread and melted cheese... on pizza... on baked potatoes... on broiled fish... yeah, it goes with everything.


Anyhow, this recipe translates the fabulousness of the muffaletta sandwich to a cold salad via couscous. The texture is a nice mix of starch, cheese, meat, and crunchy tangy vegetables. Perfect for a nice summer pot-luck picnic or barbecue.

You need:

• 1/4 pound genoa salami (substitutes: any Italian-style salami)


• 1/4 pound prosciutto (substitutes: any raw cured ham; black forest ham)


• 1/4 pound mortadella


• 1/4 pound provolone cheese (substitutes: havarti, mozzarella)


• 1 cup stuffed manzanilla olives (substitutes: any green, pitted olives)


• 1 cup Italian mixed pickled vegetables ("garden mix")


• 2 cups dry couscous


• 1 tsp salt


• 1/4 cup olive oil


• 1 tbsp oregano


• 1 tsp garlic powder


• 3 tbsp white vinegar (or, for a little more zing, use some brine from the pickled vegetables or olives

Do these things:

1. Add salt and 2 cups boiling water to couscous
. Let stand 5 minutes, then fluff with fork. Transfer to large mixing bowl; allow to cool during steps 2 - 3.

2. Dice meats and cheese (1/4" pieces).


3. Drain and chop the olives and mixed vegetables into irregular small pieces (approx 1/4").


4. Mix chopped meats, cheese, vegetables, and spices into couscous.


5. Drizzle oil and vinegar over couscous while simultaneously mixing them in.


6. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve cold -- best left overnight to let the flavours marry a little.

Save the best for first

My father's family is Italian, but we don't make many of the traditional Italian dishes in our family. Gnocchi is the only one that we really see as our own; for my nona, pizza and even oregano were foreign foods. We northerners could make and eat pizza, but it wasn't ours.

But every year, at Good Friday, we have the one and only real family dish. We've met almost no other family that makes it. It's stuffed squid, also known as devilfish.

This recipe is a real chore to make and takes a lot of time to cook. To make it for a dozen people is an all-day job. And it's worth it.

On selecting your squid

The squid is a tricky part of this dish. Let's check that part out first.

Squid are available in most grocery stores, in two- or three-pound boxes, frozen as a block, in the frozen seafood section.

Avoid these squid.

Go instead to a fish market or an Asian supermarket. Find loose, thawed squid. If you can get it fresh, do so; the difference is huge. But if you have to settle for previously frozen, that's okay too.

The reason you want to find them loose and thawed is that size is important. The tubes should measure at least 4" from the lip of the tube to the point. If you get them frozen, you can't tell how big they are. (And don't even bother with the frozen, cleaned squid tubes. They won't work for this recipe.)

Select squid that are all about the same size. The colour of the flesh should be light, nearly white; sometimes you'll see ones with a purple colour, and although they taste fine they tend to fall apart more easily during cooking.

For freshness, use the same approach as for any seafood. The fish should not have a film on it. It should smell faintly fishy but not strongly or unpleasantly so. The skin should not be damaged.

I last found them today for $2.59/lb. This is a great price. Six huge squid for $17. You'll need about two squid per person.

On cleaning squid

There are a few sub-steps to this part of the process:

1. Remove tentacles
2. Remove head from body
3. Clean out body
4. Remove skin from body
5. Remove fins from body

Removing the tentacles

Cut the tentacles off just below the eyes. Buried in the middle of the tentacles is the squid's beak; you want to cut just below the beak.

Put the tentacles aside; you'll need them.

Removing the head from the body

Squid have a long piece of cartilege running the length of their body. We refer to this as the quill; I don't know what the squid call it.

Find the quill. The end of it is buried in the flesh right at the bottom of one side of the tube. The head is also attached on this side. Let the head rest in your palm and pinch with your thumb and forefinger the area just inside the tube where the head is attached to the body. Pull hard. If you've got the right place, you'll feel the quill give way along with the head, and the quill and the head should pull away easily, taking with them most of the guts in the body.

In many squid, these guts are white, gelatinous sacs of fluid. They are disgusting. But recently I worked with squid that had a large orange sac that ruptured as I pulled the head out, on every squid I cleaned. I'm not squeamish about squid -- I've cleaned enough of them -- but that was disgusting. I don't know if it had something to do with the time of year, or maybe the species of squid. But when you do this step, you'll want running water nearby.

You also want to have a plastic bag to throw the head, guts, and quill into. Double-bag it, in fact; the guts rot quickly and will stink up an average garage in a day if it's hot out.

Cleaning out the body

Sometimes the squid clean easily, but usually some innards will remain in the tube. Look into it; you'll see white blobs attached with membranes to the inside of the tube. Feel around with your fingers and pull it all out.

Be careful, though; don't split the tube at the top or the bottom. And keep rinsing it out with cold water.

Removing the skin

The purple skin of the squid is quite edible, but it has a bitter taste and, in this dish, an unattractive look. Luckily the bigger the squid, the easier it is to remove.

Start near the top of the tube, in the flat area between the two fins. Pinch the skin and try to pull it away. If it won't give, carefully poke a paring knife through the pinched skin to start a hole. Once you've got a hole, pull the skin down. After it's started, you should be able to get most of the skin off in one or two pieces.

There are actually two layers of skin, a clear outer membrane with the mottled purple skin beneath it. Be sure to pull off both layers; if you've got purple dots left on the body, you haven't taken off the layer beneath.

It can be difficult to take the skin off the underside of the fins. Don't bother if you can't get at it. We've got other plans for those fins.

Removing the fins

On smaller squid, you can just grip the lower edge of the fin where it joins the body, and pull it off the squid; there's a sort of seam between the fin and body that allows it to come away quite easily. However, on larger squid you may need to start the fin off using a paring knife. Either way, go slowly near the top of the fin, as you could tear a hole in the top of the squid.

You now have cleaned, skinned squid tubes, and a bowl of tentacles and fins. Rinse them again and you're ready to stuff them.

Making the stuffing

Mince the fins and tentacles from the cleaned squid. Don't worry about the skin on the tentacles, or any bits of skin remaining on the fins. However, some squid have large suckers on the tentacles, and the larger suckers have a very rigid ring in them. I remove these, as I don't think they break down enough during cooking. Smaller suckers are not a problem. Some squid seem to have very soft suckers, too, and those can be added without a problem.

I have been tempted to do the mincing in a food processor. However, I don't think the squid should be made into a paste; it should have some texture. If you use a food processor, pulse it lightly.

Mince an onion and sweat it in a frying pan. Add the squid and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about two minutes, moving the squid around so that it gets cooked. The squid should give off plenty of liquid.

Remove the pan from the heat and add breadcrumbs until the liquid is soaked up. The mixture should have a sticky, doughy consistency. Set aside and allow to cool.

On stuffing the squid

When the stuffing is cool enough to handle, scoop small balls of it with a teaspoon and stuff it as far down the squid as you can. Try to get the stuffing right into the tip. When the squid is half full, set it aside.

Hear that? Half full, then set it aside. The squid will shrink a lot during cooking. You will be tempted to overstuff them. Do your best not to be tempted. It's not easy.

When the squid are stuffed, close the ends using toothpicks. My grandmother used to sew them shut using needle and thread, but that seems like more trouble than it's worth. Long, round toothpicks are much easier and work equally well.

You may have some leftover stuffing; set it aside, as you can use it soon.

And that's it! Only an hour or two since you're started, and you're ready to get cooking!

Stewing the squid

If you are cooking four squid or fewer, you can use a large covered skillet; otherwise, you'll need a heavy stock pot or large, heavy saucepan. Mince an onion and sweat it in olive oil in the pan. While the onion is cooking, mix tomato paste with water -- about one cup of water per small can of tomato paste, and about one can of tomato paste per four squid.

When the onion is transparent, add the tomato paste mixture, and carefully place the squid into the pan. Add water until the squid are just covered. Season with salt and pepper, add any leftover stuffing, and gently stir the mixture so that everything is combined. Work very carefully, as the squid begin to balloon as soon as they heat up and they will split very easily.

Watch the pan carefully. When the liquid nears the boiling point -- at the first sign of bubbling -- turn the heat down to a low simmer. Cover the pan and let it simmer for three hours. Stir it about three times during cooking, just to ensure that the squid cook on all sides and don't stick to the bottom of the pan and get scorched.

Transfer the finished squid and sauce to a large serving bowl. Serve with hot polenta.