Happy New Year Shakshuka with Feta · Saturday January 1, 2022 by colin newell
Welcome to the New Year everyone – 2021 is behind us and ’22 is ahead.
Our New Year’s brunch tradition is Shakshuka.
Shakshuka is a Middle-Eastern dish that is not only perfect for breakfast and brunch, but also for a quick and delicious dinner.
Best of all, it truly easy to make. Let’s do this…
Ingredients Overview
Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Don’t scrimp on cheap olive oil!
Onion and Red Pepper –
Spices – Roasted cumin, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper.
Tomatoes – Fire roasted, canned and chopped is best.
Eggs – Free range or organic if you have them.
Ingredient specifics
▢14oz / 389g Chopped (Fire roasted) Tomatoes
▢ 2 large Eggs
▢ 2 tbsp Good Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil
▢ 2 cloves of Garlic, finely diced or 1 TBSP minced garlic
▢ 1 medium Red Pepper, finely diced (optional)
▢ 1 small White Onion, finely diced
▢ 1 tsp Cumin
▢ 1/2 tsp Salt, or to taste
▢ 1/2 tsp Sugar
▢ 1.5 tsp Smoked Paprika
▢ 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper, or to taste
▢ 1/4 tsp Black Pepper, or to taste
▢ Feta, crumbled to serve
▢ Fresh Parsley or Cilantro/Coriander, finely diced to serve
1.) Fry pepper and onion in olive oil until softened and beginning to brown. About 5 minutes.
2.) Add garlic and fry for a couple of minutes longer.
3.) Stir in spices.
4.) Pour in tomatoes and season (salt, pepper, sugar). Leave to simmer for 5 mins.
5.) Crack in eggs and cook. (see additional tips!)
The skinny of this is: You are cracking eggs into a “sauce” – there are many ways of approaching this, the quick way or the slow way. Many adherents suggest a long slow simmer to thicken the sauce. The problem with that is that you lose moisture and the sauce dries up. I believe in adding the ingredients after simmering the sauce for 5 minutes (medium heat) until it just begins to reduce. Make a divot in the sauce to hold two eggs. Crack in the eggs into the divots, turning the heat to low to simmer for 10 minutes. From there, cover the skillet and poach the eggs for an additional 2 minutes. Ideally, you want soft yolks, so there may be some practice required here.
Note: The feta cheese and parsley is actually sprinkled onto the serving plates — not into the pan!Colin Newell is an ancient 20th Century writer, photographer and electronics expert. He has roamed the streets of Planet Earth looking for genuinely good coffee and food. As always, if any of these recipes don’t seem quite clear, send me a note. Answers guaranteed!
West Coast Peanut Butter Cookies · Wednesday December 22, 2021 by colin newell
Peanut butter cookies
are my favourite cookie – ever.
There is something about the taste
and the texture that takes me straight back to childhood.
INGREDIENTS
▢ 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 180g▢ 1/2 cup butter unsalted, room temp 113g
▢ 1 cup smooth peanut butter 250g
▢ 1/2 cup brown sugar 100g, lightly packed
▢ 1/2 cup sugar 100g
▢ 1 tsp vanilla extract 5mL
▢ 1 egg large, room temp
▢ 3/4 tsp baking powder 3g
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350F – you can likely convection bake these at 325 to 340 degrees but shorten your time!
Sift flour and baking powder together then whisk to combine.
Cream butter and sugars in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. You can add an optional 1/4-1/2 tsp sea salt.
Add peanut butter and mix until incorporated.
Mix in egg and vanilla extract then add flour mixture and beat until incorporated.
Roll dough into one inch balls and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
*I used a tool called (I think) a melon baller – kind of a much smaller version of a ice cream scoop to get the perfect size every time.
Flatten cookies with a fork in a criss-cross pattern.
Bake cookies for about 10 minutes. Pay strict attention to timing. These cookies are dead easy to burn.
Allow cookies to cool completely on baking sheet, before being transferred to rack.
This cookie pairs well with any kind of black coffee or tea. It is guaranteed to take you back to a simpler time.
Colin Newell is a Victoria resident and long time editor of the CoffeeCrew.com website.
December simple pasta - Aglio e Olio · Wednesday December 8, 2021 by colin newell
I love pasta. You love pasta. And this dish is as easy as it gets. After a hard day, when you are too tired to even think about fixing dinner, this is what you whip up.
At a mere handful of ingredients, Spaghetti Aglio e Olio is a big bowl of comfort food that is simple and quick to prepare.
The hardest part, perhaps, is waiting for the salted pasta water to come up to a boil!
Pasta Aglio e Olio
Made with the pasta of your choice; spaghetti, linguini, etc… sauteed garlic, olive oil, crushed hot red pepper flakes, and chopped Italian parsley. Add your own discretionary amount (1 cup give or take) of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese – which can be sprinkled on the top and mixed in to add a creamier texture.
Instructions…
Bring 3-4L of water to a boil over high heat in your favourite pasta pot.
Add a generous amount of salt to pot. “As salty as the sea!”
Stir the spaghetti into the boiling water. Cook your pasta according to package instructions.
While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil [5 tablespoons + 1 tablespoon of butter (optional)] in your favourite pan over medium heat. Add sliced garlic and cook for 1 1/2 – 2 minutes, watching carefully so the garlic doesn’t burn. Once the garlic is softened, remove from heat and add red chili pepper flakes.
Reserve or capture 1 1/2 cups of pasta water. This water is salty and starchy and adds flavor to the sauce.
Once pasta is cooked, drain, and then toss into garlic and olive oil mixture. Add reserved pasta water.
Toss with parsley and most of your freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
Salt according to taste. If you like it hot, add a touch more red pepper flakes. Garnish with remaining Parmigiano Reggiano.
Serve with a big glass of red wine and some of my sourdough focaccia –Colin is a Victoria area resident and long time food guy, drinker of coffee, mixer of cocktails, baker of treats. He has written stuff since the early 1990’s.
Sky Valley Nutella Pie - Created and perfected by Mike Cherry · Monday November 29, 2021 by colin newell
This delicious, rich dessert is for lovers of Nutella & has a slight hint of peanut butter and chocolate. Although intended as a topping for toast, pancakes, waffles or bagels, Nutella makes the perfect ingredient to base a pie upon & I’ve spent the past 5 years perfecting this easy, no-bake recipe.
To compliment this decadent dessert with the ultimate companion beverage, we at CoffeCrew suggest a steaming, hot cup of coffee + Kahlua liqueur. Enjoy!
RECIPE
—makes two pies500 grams softened Cream Cheese
16 oz Nutella
1 cup ultra-smooth peanut butter
1 cup Dark Chocolate Milk*
1 – 1 litre tub Cool Whip frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 – 9 inch/23 cm chocolate Graham wafer crumb crusts or baked pastry pie crusts
GARNISH
Real Whipping Cream
Cleaned & chopped strawberries OR shaved dark chocolate curls or sprinkles
DIRECTIONS
1. Soften cream cheese to room temperature
2. Divide all ingredients into two mixing bowls – one for each pie
3. Spoon Nutella into 2 measuring cups with measured recipe amounts for each mixing bowl. Soften Nutella by microwaving for 30 seconds, remove & stir. Microwave another 30 secs, remove & stir. DO NOT microwave Nutella longer than 60 secs. Pour into mixing bowls. Beat until smooth with electric hand mixer.
4. Add cream cheese into Nutella & blend thoroughly.
5. Add peanut butter to mix & blend until smooth. NOTE: Do not use ‘natural’ style peanut butter. This must be a commercial product such as JIF, Planter’s or Kraft Smooth Peanut Butter.
6. Add Dark Chocolate Milk. *Substitute whilte milk mixed with 1/4 cup/60 ml Nestle Quick Chocolate Drink Powder. Blend until smooth
7. Add Cool Whip whipped topping, fold into pie filling with a wooden spoon, then mix with blender until smooth.
8. Spoon into two 9 inch pie shells; Spoon remainder into a pudding bowl. Cover and freeze a minimum of 2 hours until firm. Remove from freezer & refrigerate until serving.
Mike Cherry is a Salt Spring Island resident, now retired from an incredible career in broadcasting. An avid baker, he often pulls out divine ideas for dessert concepts out of thin air, cream, graham wafers and love.
