A double dose of fennel - seeds and vegetable - add a pleasant licorice-like taste to this pot roast with Mediterrean flair. For nice, even slices when serving the roast, separate it into the natural sections and then slice across the grain. The slices will be smallish, but they'll hold their shape. Serve over pasta for a fun (and stress-free) take on Sunday roast.
Tsukune are flavourful grilled chicken meatballs, and they're right at home nestled into piquant peppers. Depending on your heat tolerance, you can either remove the seeds and membranes from the jalapeños for milder spice or leave them in for extra kick. Make sure you pierce both the jalapeños and the chicken inside when skewering the peppers to help keep the chicken in place during grilling.
There are just a few pieces to this simple, whimsical birdhouse. Decorate it with bright candies, or with nuts, seeds, cereal and pretzels for a more natural look. For best results (and because of the slanted walls), it's important to let the icing dry completely before attaching the roof. Use the remaining cookie dough and icing to make birds to flutter around the birdhouse.
This is a currant and raspberry version of traubletorte, a classic German red currant torte. The meringue forms a smooth dome over the centre, leaving a small space between the meringue and cake. If you are a red currant fan, try the torte without the raspberries — either way, it's seed-crunchy — but it's only successful with fresh fruit. Serve mit schlag (with a healthy dollop of whipped cream).
Dragon fruit is a type of cactus fruit that can be found in Asian markets and in your grocery store's exotic fruit section. Covered with magenta skin and dotted with acid-green scales, it's a beautiful sight. Inside, the mild flesh is flecked with tiny black seeds. We used the white variety, but the flesh can also be red. Buy extra fruit and cut it into pretty half-moons to garnish the rims of the glasses.
You can make this hearty soup vegetarian by omitting the bacon, sautéing the veggies in olive oil instead of the bacon fat and substituting vegetable broth for the chicken broth. Use the bottom of a heavy saucepan to crush the fennel seeds, which will release their licorice-like flavour. If you don't have fresh spinach, you can use half of a 300-gram package of frozen spinach; just be sure to thaw and drain it well before stirring it into the soup.
This cheesecake, baked in a rectangular pan, suits buffets to a T. Just cut the squares and arrange on a festive platter. To dress up the squares, a little oval of whipped cream wouldn't be amiss, especially if you call on the licorice flavours of the cheesecake by adding a splash of sambuca. Then add a sprinkle of candy-coated fennel seeds (available in South Asian groceries) or thinly sliced pastel and black licorice allsorts. Or focus on the chocolate and serve with a pitcher of Silky Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce.
Authentic hummus recipes include lots of tahini and olive oil and, although those are healthy ingredients, they are still high in fat and dense in calories. Here, tahini (a sesame seed paste) is replaced with a much smaller amount of sesame oil and a drizzle of olive oil. A typical 2 tbsp (25 mL) serving of hummus has about 89 calories and 5.8 grams of fat, but this one, lightened up with calcium-rich yogurt, has only 52 calories and 2 grams of fat. Pack this dip with vegetable sticks and whole grain pita wedges for a quick and wholesome lunch.
This focaccia dough is moist and a bit difficult to handle at first. It needs a long kneading (easiest in a stand mixer) and a rise overnight in the refrigerator to come together in texture and flavour. To prevent the dough from taking on any fridge odours, place the covered bowl in a plastic bag. Whole spelt flour gives a wonderful and subtle nutty boost to the flavour of the white flour; you could replace it with whole wheat flour, if you prefer. To prepare the chipotle peppers, soak them in boiling water until softened, about 15 minutes. Remove stems; split and seed.
Tinola, a favourite on Filipino dinner tables, is made in many variations. The most traditional vegetables used in this soup are green (unripe) papaya or chayote squash, but other green squashes and melons are used, too. Zucchini makes a fine substitute; just make sure to take out the seeds and soft core. The soup is traditionally finished with herbal leaves, such as those of the native malunggay tree, or with chili leaves, the small tender leaves of hot pepper plants, which are tasty but not hot; watercress lends a similar flavour. Use a free-range chicken; if you buy the poultry at an Asian market, you get the head and feet, too, which add lots of extra flavour to the broth.
