gnocchi with a fresh tomato basil sauce, 

Chicken with a herb and garlic sauce

4 large chicken breasts
Salt and pepper to taste

Place the chicken breasts on a secure cutting board. Use a sharp knife and cutting at an angle, remove a slice of chicken from the breast. Repeat with the remainder of the chicken breast. Each slice should be approximately 2 oz each. Place the slices on a sheet of plastic wrap leaving approximately 3 inches between each breast.

Use a mallet and very carefully pound out each breast so that the breasts are an even thickness of approximately ¼ inch thick. Be careful not to tear the breasts.

Heat 2 tsp oil in an oven proof frying pan large enough to hold the chicken in a single layer. Add the chicken breasts. Cook the chicken on one side just until the chicken is starting to turn translucent around the edges, approximately 2 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side for 2 minutes longer or just until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan and keep warm on the plate that you are going to serve the chicken on.

Add 2 cloves of crushed garlic to the pan and cook just until the garlic is golden brown. Then deglaze the pan with the following:

½ cup white wine – you can use stock instead if you don’t want to use wine
½ cup chicken stock – use homemade or a good quality variety
Juice of 1 lemon

Reduce the wine mixture by half. Reduce the heat and add 6 Tablespoons ice cold butter, cut into ½ inch dice to the pan. Shaking the pan and lightly whisking the pan juices until all of the butter has been added and melted into the sauce. The sauce should be lightly thickened by the butter. Do not let the sauce boil at this point or it will break!

Add ¼ cup finely chopped herbs to the sauce. You can chose any combination or stick to just one kind. Parsley, tarragon or summer savoury would all be nice. Return the chicken and any juices that may have accumulated to the pan and just lightly baste the chicken with the pan sauce. Transfer the chicken to the serving platter.

Gnocchi with a tomato sauce

2 medium Russet potatoes 1 pound total weight, peeled, cut into quarters
Water to not quite cover
1 tsp salt

 Place the peeled potatoes in a pot over high heat and bring to the boil. You need to add salt to the water at this stage to ensure your gnocchi are flavourful at the end.

As soon as the potatoes come to the boil, reduce the heat and continue to cook until the potatoes are tender all the way through. Drain the potatoes well and then return them to a medium low heat. Shake the potatoes in the pan over the heat to dry them out. This step is critical.

Remove the potatoes from the heat and immediately rice them using either a potato ricer or a food mill. Spread the steaming hot potatoes onto a sheet tray in as thin a layer as possible. Leave the potatoes to cool, uncovered for up to 24 hours. You can leave them in the refrigerator overnight to completely cool. This is great, because it really allows the potatoes to dry out which will help to ensure you have a light gnocchi.

 1 egg, lightly beaten
½ tsp salt
2 tsp finely chopped parsley
½ cup all purpose flour – you might need to add a bit more to keep the gnocchi together

 Once the potatoes are cool and dry, add the above ingredients and mix together just long enough to ensure all of the ingredients are well mixed together. Do not over-mix or you will develop gluten which will make your gnocchi tough. You will need to adjust the amount of flour you add but do not add too much or your gnocchi will be tough and heavy. You want just enough flour to hold the mixture together but not too much.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to the boil. The water should be at a boil as soon as you have finished shaping your gnocchi.

Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes and then divide the mixture into 4 even balls. Roll each ball out into a thin roll about ½ inch in diameter. Use enough flour to prevent the dough from sticking but work as quickly as you can and don’t over mix the dough.

Cut each roll into ½ inch long pieces. Place a fork with the tines down on your work bench. Roll one edge of each gnocchi gently over the tines to create little ridges on the pasta. As soon as the gnocchi are shaped, drop them into the boiling water. Do not over crowd the pan – cook only a dozen or so at one time. As soon as the gnocchi float, they are cooked. Remove from the water and place on another sheet tray to cool. The gnocchi are now ready. They can be added to the sauce immediately or they can be stored for a couple of days until you are ready to enjoy them.

To serve, simply bring your sauce to the boil and gently add your gnocchi. Lower the heat and heat just until the gnocchi are heated through. Serve topped with freshly shredded parmesan cheese.

Tomato sauce

 1 can Italian tomatoes
½ tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp dry basil
¼ tsp salt
A couple of grinds of fresh ground pepper

Place the sauce ingredients in a pan over low heat and bring the sauce to a simmer. Simmer for approximately 20 minutes or just until the flavours have started to develop. You can puree the sauce or leave it the way it is.

Adjust the seasonings – you may need to add a bit of sugar or a bit of salt or pepper. Be careful with the salt as you will be using parmesan in the final dish and that will add salt to the dish.

Heat the gnocchi in the sauce and then garnish with some fresh grated parmesan cheese.

A Sauté of Vegetables

1 small red pepper
1 small yellow pepper
6 asparagus spears
3 mushrooms
¼ red onion

Trim the asparagus and chop into 1 inch pieces. Remove the stems, ribs and seed from the peppers and julienne slice them. Wash the mushrooms, trim the stems and slice. Toss them all well together.

Heat 1 tsp of vegetable oil in a pan just until it is hot. Add the vegetables and season well with salt and pepper. Sauté just until the peppers are starting to brown and the mushrooms are golden brown. Serve immediately.

Brownie with whipped cream and praline

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

4 oz baking unsweetened chocolate chopped into small pieces
½ cup butter

Place the above in a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat. Melt the chocolate and butter together well. Cool well before proceeding.

dd 2 cups of sugar and 2 tsp vanilla to the chocolate mixture and mix together well.

add 4 eggs one at a time to the pan being sure that each egg is well incorporated into the mixture.

Add 1 cup of flour to the chocolate mixture and turn the entire mixture into a greased 7 inch square pan. Place in the preheated oven and bake just until the centre of the brownie bounces back when pressed lightly with your finger, approximately 22 – 24 minutes. Do not over bake as you want the final product to be slightly fudgy.

Cool completely and remove from the pan.

Praline whipped cream

1 cup toasted pecans
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon butter
½ cup brown sugar
⅓ cup milk

Have a sheet tray lined with parchment paper ready before you start. Place all of the above ingredients in a heavy bottomed pan over medium high heat, stirring constantly. Bring the mixture to a soft ball stage – 234 – 240 °F. Remove from the heat and pour onto the prepared sheet tray. Let the mixture cool completely.

1 cup cream, whipped
1 tsp vanilla
1 tablespoon sugar

Whip the cream just until it is soft peaks. Stir in the vanilla and sugar and whip to firm peaks. Break the praline mixture into small pieces and fold ¾ of the pralines into the cream. Serve dollops of the cream over the cooled brownies. Garnish with the remaining praline.

To get this meal to the table easily:

• Up to 7 days in advance:
  • Make the tomato sauce and either freeze it or if done 3 days in advance, refrigerate
• The day before
  • Make the praline and store well sealed at room temperature
  • Make the brownie and store well covered at room temperature
  • Cook the potatoes, rice them and store uncovered refrigerated
• Early in the day
  • Prep the chicken and store refrigerated, well covered
  • Crush the garlic and make the deglazing liquid for the chicken
  • Chop the herbs and store covered with a damp kitchen towel at room temperature
• 1 hour before
  • Make the gnocchi and store well covered at room temperature
  • Prep the dinner veggies
  • Cut the brownies

Cathie Hamilton
Certified Culinary Scientist
E-mail Cathie Hamilton

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