The beaver is a proud and noble animal
Notes from a bemused canuck
2 oz Vodka
1/2 oz Simple syrup
1/2 oz Coffee liqueur
1 oz Freshly brewed espresso
Garnish: Coffee beans
Add all of the ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake.
Fine-strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with 3 coffee beans.
Notes:
You can make a simple syrup by dissolving 1 cup of sugar in 1 cup of boiling water. It’ll keep for a week or so in the fridge.
2 pinches Celery salt
2 pinches Freshly ground black pepper
1 Lime wedge
2 oz Gin
4 oz Tomato juice
1/2 oz Freshly squeezed lemon juice
6 dashes Tabasco
3 dashes Soy sauce
1/2 tsp horseradish (or wasabi)
Garnish: Celery stalk
Garnish: Lim wedgePour the salt and pepper onto a small plate.Rub the juicy side of a lime wedge along the lip of a pint glass, rim the glass with the salt and pepper, and fill the glass with ice.Add the remaining ingredients into a shaker with ice, and shake until chilled.Strain into the prepared glass, and garnish with a celery stalk and lime wedge.
60 ml seasoned rice vinegar
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (preferably a seedless type, such as Aleppo-style or gochugaru)
1/2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
175g dried ramen noodles
Kosher salt
2–3 cups shredded or shaved vegetables, such as radishes, carrots, scallions, cabbage, lettuce, and/or cucumbers
Stir vinegar, oil, lime juice, soy sauce, sesame seeds, red pepper flakes, and sesame oil in a small bowl.
Cook noodles in a medium pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until just al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Transfer to a medium bowl, then toss with half of dressing.
Divide noodles between bowls. Top with your choice of vegetables. Drizzle with remaining dressing.
1.5kg bone-in beef short ribs, cut into 2″ segments. Alternatively, use 2kg of oxtail, trimmed of as much fat as possible.
6 scallions, white and dark green parts separated
4″ piece ginger, scrubbed, thinly sliced
2 3″ cinnamon sticks
8 whole cloves
2 tsp. black peppercorns
2 tsp. coriander seeds
125ml (or more) low-sodium soy sauce
40g. unsalted butter
2kg onions onions (about 10 medium), thinly sliced
2 tbsp. (or more) unseasoned rice vinegar
500g dried ramen noodles
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high. Season short ribs with salt and, working in batches, cook, turning occasionally, until well browned on all sides, 12–14 minutes. Transfer to a platter as you go. Carefully pour off fat left behind in pot until there is just enough to cover bottom of pot; discard.
Return pot to medium heat. Cook whole white scallion parts and ginger, stirring occasionally, until they are starting to brown, about 4 minutes. Add cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, and coriander seeds and cook, stirring often, until fragrant and oil is sizzling, about 1 minute. Deglaze with soy sauce, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pot with a wooden spoon. Return beef to pot and add 3 liters water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover partially with a lid. Simmer until meat is not quite falling off the bone, about 1.5 hours for short ribs or 3.5h for oxtail.
Meanwhile, heat butter in another large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high until foaming subsides. Add onions, season with salt, and cook, stirring often, until they begin to take on some color, about 15 minutes. (If they don’t fit in your pot, add as much as you can, cover, and steam 5 minutes. Stir in remaining onions and continue cooking.) Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are deep golden and softened but not mushy, 30–45 minutes.
Using tongs, remove beef from broth and let cool until you can handle. Tear meat into bite-size pieces, discarding any bone and excess fat as you go. Strain broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl; discard solids. If using oxtail, you might want to consider chilling the broth overnight and discarding any excess fat that has solidified on top of the soup.
Add meat and broth to pot with onions. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer until liquid is reduced a bit and flavors have melded, about 30 minutes. Add vinegar; taste and add more vinegar and/or soy sauce if needed.
Thinly slice remaining scallion greens. Cook noodles according to package directions. Divide among bowls. Ladle soup over noodles, making sure each bowl gets some meat and plenty of onions. Top with scallion greens and serve.
12 jumbo prawns
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 lemon, cut into thin slices then halved
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp hot paprika
sea salt
black pepper
chopped parsley, to garnish
crunchy baguette, to serve
Season shrimp that have been peeled and deveined with sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper and paprika.
Heat olive oil and ginger in a non-stick frying pan with a medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the prawns to the pan and cook for about 1 minute, then flip the shrimp around and add white wine and lemon to the pan, toss, and cook for another minute
Transfer everything in the pan into a shallow serving bowl. Garnish the dish with fresh parsley and serve with crunchy bread.
1 tin of light tuna in olive oil
1 can of whole piquillo peppers
1 hard boiled egg, chopped
1 parsley bouquet
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
10-12 black olives, chopped
1 small shallot, chopped
1 tbsp wine vinegar
salt
extra virgin olive oil
Drain the peppers and pat dry with a paper towel.
Finely chop the olives, shallot, 1 sprig of the parsley, egg.
Drain the tuna. In a small bowl, break the tuna into flakes using a fork.
Mix all chopped ingredients with the tuna. Sprinkle with vinegar and sweet paprika. Drizzle oil on top and mix thoroughly. The mixture has to be consistent but not dry, so if necessary, add some of the brine from the peppers.
Take a teaspoon or a fork and stuff the peppers. Place the stuffed peppers on slices of crusty bread. Splash with extra virgin olive oil or a bit of aioli.
This recipe is for the sauce. You can either fry (preferred) or roast some fingerling potatoes.
1/2 cup of olive oil
1 tsp of pimentón picante (hot smoked paprika)
2 tsp of pimentón dulce (sweet smoked paprika)
1 tbsp flour
250ml of warm chicken broth
salt to taste
Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Remove the pan from the burner before it starts to smoke.
Add the paprika and stir until they form a paste. Stir in the flour until combined.
Add the broth little by little, stirring constantly, until the sauce reaches the desired consistency.
Season with salt to taste.
Pour over warm fried potatoes and enjoy!
The finished product should be bright orange and neither thin nor creamy. You can adjust the level of spiciness by increasing the ratio of paprika or by adding a bit of hot sauce!
For the meatballs:
200g ground beef
200g ground chorizo
1 small red onion, chopped finely
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 egg
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
For the sauce:
2 green onions, ends trimmed, cut into small pieces
250ml red wine
250ml beef broth
500ml tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons flour
1 bay leaf
Line a baking sheet with waxed paper and set it aside.
Combine all meatball ingredients in a large bowl. Use your hands and mix all the ingredients together as best as possible.
Pinch off 2-inch pieces from the mixture and roll each into individual meatballs.
Place the meatballs on the lined baking sheet, then refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
Add the olive oil to a Dutch oven over medium heat. When hot, add the meatballs (you may need to work in batches) to brown them, stirring to get all sides, for about 4 minutes.
Use a slotted spoon to remove the meatballs from the Dutch oven.
For the sauce:
In the cooking oil from the meatballs, fry the onion. Cook for a minute or so.
Add the wine, beef broth, and tomato sauce. Stir and cook for a minute or so, then add the salt, cumin, paprika, and ground black pepper to the mixture. Stir and cook for a few minutes.
Add about 1/4 cup of the liquid to a small bowl. Whisk the flour into the bowl until it is smooth.
Transfer the flour mixture to the sauce, whisking to incorporate it. Add the red pepper flakes and bay leaf.
Lower the heat to simmer. Add the meatballs and cook for about 20 minutes.
Remove and discard the bay leaf.
Add the sauce and the meatballs to a serving bowl and serve warm.
4 medium-sized tomatoes on vines
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp sugar (if needed to decrease acidity in off-season tomatoes)
1/2 loaf of whole-wheat, rustic, or unleavened bread (works best for avoiding sogginess and maintaining crunchiness)
Cut the bread into slices of toast with medium thickness. Arrange on a baking sheet, and toast the bread slices in the oven at 225 degrees Fahrenheit for about five to seven minutes, flipping halfway through.
Wash and dry the tomatoes. Cut them in half, and grate them using a box grater, discarding the stem and skins.
Once the tomatoes are grated, reserve in a small bowl and add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Taste, and add a pinch of sugar if necessary (when using off-season tomatoes they might be too acidic).
Carefully spoon the tomato mixture onto the slices of toast, and top with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt.
Optionally, top with a slice of jamón (Serrano or Iberian) for additional flavor, and a more hearty toast. Enjoy!
4 (4 to 5-inches long) russet potatoes (1kg)
1 tbsp fine-grain sea salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper.
Wash potatoes but leave the skin on. Cut the potatoes into 1/3-inch slices and then slice into 1/3-inch sticks.
Fill a large bowl with water and soak potatoes, submerged, for at least 30 minutes up to 24 hours. This will help remove the excess starch from the potatoes and keep them from oxidizing.
Remove potatoes from the water, and pat dry to remove excess water.
Heat oil in deep-fryer to 325F/150C. Working in batches, par-cook until potatoes are light brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove potatoes, gently shaking off excess oil and let drain on rack. Repeat until all of the potatoes are par cooked.
Raise heat of oil to 350F/180C.
Working in batches fry potatoes again until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove from oil, shake off excess oil, and season lightly in a bowl with salt and pepper. Repeat until all potatoes are cooked.