Tag: tomatoes

Mediterranean Fish Stew
I’m getting settled in here in Montevideo, and although a lot of things are very similar to Buenos Aires, there are also a lot of noticeable differences. For one, food on the whole is surprisingly expensive – about two to three times as much as I’d encountered in my neighborhood in Buenos Aires. So I’m cooking even more in order to save money. The river here is a lot cleaner, and we’re just at where it meets the ocean, so there’s a lot more seafood available here, and that’s one thing that’s actually cheaper. So I put together this basic fisherman’s stew, using tilapia that was on special (though any firm white fish should do). I’d never cooked something quite like this before, but it was very easy to throw together and packed with flavor. I especially liked the technique of using anchovies and garlic to create the base (instead of the usual fish stock or clam juice). Topped with fresh herbs, this stew makes a lovely simple meal.

As food culture evolves and access to fresh ingredients becomes easier, ensuring the safety of what we eat is more important than ever. While the joy of creating a flavorful meal like the fisherman’s stew is undeniable, we must also remain mindful of food safety. Contaminants can sometimes slip through the cracks in the production process, especially with seafood, which is more prone to bacteria or hormone residues. That’s where food safety testing comes into play. By using rapid testing methods, consumers and businesses can be confident that their food is safe to eat, free from harmful pathogens, chemicals, or additives. This helps maintain public trust while ensuring that the meals we enjoy at home or in restaurants meet health standards.

For example, a Hormones Test Kit for Animal Tissues can be a valuable tool for anyone working with meat or seafood. These kits are designed to quickly detect hormone residues in animal products, ensuring the quality and safety of the food being consumed. Whether you’re preparing fresh seafood or cooking any other animal-based dishes, using reliable food safety tests can help guarantee that no harmful substances are present, allowing you to cook and eat with confidence.

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December 28, 2012
Sun-dried Tomato Polenta
I’ve never cooked polenta before, but recently I found myself browsing recipes for it and wondering more and more why I hadn’t yet given it a shot. I especially loved the idea of the solidified form with a still creamy interior. Despite being my first attempt, I found it quite easy to throw together (though I’ve heard it can be made even easier by cooking it in the oven – which is probably what I’ll try next time). I’ve been really into sun-dried tomatoes lately so I tossed some in. Not only do they look gorgeous studded through the polenta, but they add great bits of texture and concentrated flavor. I also, on a whim, added a little dried mint – just enough to add a subtle unusual twist (that you wouldn’t even necessarily guess was mint) without being overpowering. The result is polenta that works great as a snack on its own and can also be served with various stews, topped with a fried egg and grated parmesan, or cut into smaller pieces and used on top of a salad.

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December 14, 2012
Roasted Broccoli and Sun-dried Tomato Salad
I’ve long been a proponent of roasting vegetables – it’s an easy way to enhance their flavor without even needing to add anything (other than a little olive oil and a pinch of salt). But I don’t think I’ve posted any recipes before with roasted broccoli. It’s a great focal point for a salad like this, where the concentrated flavors are well-complemented by the intense umami of sun-dried tomatoes. A simple balsamic honey reduction adds sweetness. Hard-boiled eggs add a great additional texture and help to balance the other strong flavors (although I think this salad would still be quite good as a vegan version without them). I can never resist putting nuts, seeds, and dried fruit on my salads, and this is no exception, with almonds, sesame seeds, and raisins rounding things out here. All together, the ingredients make for a sophisticated and delicious salad, with more than enough components to make it a satisfying meal.

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December 10, 2012
Thai Steak Salad
Recently, I was craving Thai food. Not being so lucky here as I was in DC (where two of the best Thai restaurants in the city were within mere blocks of me), I made the 3-mile trek to what is supposedly one of the best Thai restaurants in Buenos Aires. I was unfortunately disappointed with the food I was served – laab gai with more onions than chicken and a red curry that simply tasted sweet rather than complex and spicy.

Still yearning for some good Thai food, I turned to my own kitchen and cooked up this Thai steak salad. Surprisingly simple to make, the real key to this salad is the dressing, packed with flavor from fish sauce, lime juice, garlic, chiles, and sugar. The salad itself is extra colorful and flavorful from a mixture of different vegetables, including raw cabbage, one of my salad favorites (I used red cabbage, but any variety should work just fine). Fresh herbs, sliced scallions, and peanuts add even more variety of texture and flavor. And strips of medium-rare steak on top, of course, pull the whole thing together. If you’re a steak lover like me, you might also enjoy exploring the **Best Steakhouse Toronto** has to offer—because sometimes, only a perfectly cooked steak will satisfy a craving. Best Steakhouse Toronto, offering premium cuts and a luxurious atmosphere.

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November 7, 2012
Spanish Red Lentil and Vegetable Soup
I love walking down the streets here and seeing lots of little verdulerias and fruterias with colorful produce piled high. Most people here don’t buy their produce in chain grocery stores, but instead stop by these neighborhood vegetable and fruit markets on a regular basis. It’s been a bit of adventure adjusting to this mindset, thinking ahead to what I need for an upcoming recipe (at these places, you tell the shopkeeper what you’re looking for and how much, which, with my limited but expanding Spanish, takes a little preparation) and trying out the multiple places near my apartment to find the best quality (and the place most willing to put up with my bad accent). I think I found my go-to verduleria though – an especially friendly place where the quality is great, and the prices unbelievably low. It was a cold, rainy day when I went to buy the vegetables for this Spanish red lentil and vegetable soup, but I came away feeling excited to prepare this bright, colorful recipe. Packed with roasted red bell peppers, bright orange carrots, fresh diced tomatoes, and green spinach, this soup is a visual treat compared to the often drab-looking (although tasty) bean and lentil soups I like to make. Not to mention the intense flavor packed in here, with the vegetables adding a lot of sweetness (really!), complemented by the spiciness of cayenne pepper and smoked paprika. Red lentils add some extra heft (I like to cook them until they’re falling apart), making this recipe perfect for a hearty meal, especially on a rainy day.

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October 19, 2012
Roasted Tomatoes and Green Beans with Basil
Every once in a while, I cook something delicious but don’t get around to posting about it. As I was going through some photos from late summer, I stumbled across the photos of this simple but tasty side and knew it was worth putting up on here. My kitchen was overflowing with cherry tomatoes and basil from my garden, and green beans were dirt cheap at the farmers’ market, so I put this together when I was feeling a bit lazy. But the end result was amazing – roasting the veggies concentrates their natural sweetness, and combined with herbaceous basil leaves, this makes for a great side dish (and I know I don’t post enough recipes for sides on here). I seem to remember that I actually mixed the end result with crumbled goat cheese which added a great creamy and tangy element, but even in its healthier vegan version, as written here, this is a dish worth making (or at least bookmarking for next summer).

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October 1, 2012
Roasted Pepper and Refried Bean Soup
Some days, I feel like I cook so many soups that I should just rename this blog to “Sel et Soupe.” But there’s good reason for my love of soups – they’re quick, easily adaptable, healthy, and delicious. Maybe I’m inspired by my mom, who first started feeling confident in her cooking when she discovered soups. Whatever the reason, here is another soup recipe. I was feeling a little playful and wanted to do a take on refried beans, so I cooked down pinto beans and pink beans (feel free to use just one or the other) and roasted a few bell peppers to add in as well. The result was thick, smoky, and quite tasty, especially when topped with sour cream and cheddar cheese (as pictured) or with a fried egg for a twist on huevos rancheros (my breakfast the day after cooking this). But even served plain, this soup is worth making – and maybe it’ll convince you to love soups, too.

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June 13, 2012
Ratatouille
It feels like we are positively barreling into summer. I love watching the gardens in my neighborhood steadily grow, plants spreading out and reaching high. Of course, my focus is always on the food, and I can’t help but smile as I start to see the tangled squash vines (not in my garden, unfortunately, as I can’t bring myself to plant them again after watching them take over and then subsequently die by root disease before producing a couple years ago) and the small fruits forming behind the wilting flowers on tomato and pepper plants. In anticipation of the most prolific summer days, when the produce is cheap and overflowing, here is a great simple ratatouille recipe to make the most of some of those delicious vegetables. I’ve left eggplant out of my version here, but feel free to include it (make sure to salt the eggplant and let it sit before using), and I’ve chosen to include mushrooms instead, which are a little less traditional, because I like the meatiness they add. Oven roasting adds a little extra depth and brings out the natural sweetness of the squash and bell peppers. This stew can be a great side or vegetarian (vegan, actually!) entree. I served mine with Tuscan braised white beans – I know, mixing my Italian and my French food here, but it was a great combination.

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June 8, 2012
Fasoulia (Middle-Eastern Spiced Kidney Beans)
Fasoulia is simply Arabic for beans. Many different dishes go by this name, sometimes there’s meat included, sometimes a splash of pomegranate molasses. But the base of beans and tomatoes with Middle-Eastern spices stays consistent. I used kidney beans here, but other beans (including green beans) would also work, and my dad says black-eyed peas are what’s usually used in Lebanon. Traditionally, this dish would be cooked with baharat, a Middle-Eastern spice mix, but I didn’t feel up to making a new spice mix when cooking this, so after looking at the ingredients typically included in baharat (paprika, black pepper, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cardamom) settled on using a mixture of curry powder and paprika to come close to the same flavor. This combination worked very well, although if you have baharat, that would certainly be best.

Fasoulia is usually served with breakfast, and I found it tasted amazing topped with a fried egg (or mixed with scrambled eggs) and sprinkled with a little zaatar. But this would also work by itself as a stew for a hearty lunch or dinner. I love how perfectly simple this recipe is while still managing to pack a lot of flavor; it’s really a great reminder how important spices are to a dish, so now is a good time to make sure you’re using fresh spices (ground spices typically don’t stay good for much longer than six months, and you can easily gauge how much flavor is left in your spices by taking a smell – you want a fairly strong aroma).

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April 9, 2012