Freshly shucked oysters are a classic -- and classy -- starter to a festive seafood feast. They should smell briny and fresh -- toss out any that don't pass the sniff test. To level the oysters and make sure the juices don't spill out, serve them nestled in a bed of coarse salt.
A curry is a great place to add or substitute your favourite vegetables. Since commercial Thai curry paste is generally made with fish sauce or shrimp, we've used our own recipe, which makes enough for a few meals. If fish is part of your diet, you can substitute fish sauce for the salt.
Lamb chops are ideal finger food because they come with their very own built-in handles! Frozen frenched lamb racks are readily available. Or ask your butcher to french them, meaning to cut away the meat at the ends of bones to expose them. Serve with a small bowl of sea salt for sprinkling.
Commercial Thai curry paste is generally made with fish sauce or shrimp, ingredients not on the list of edibles for most vegetarians. If fish is part of your vegetarian diet, substitute fish sauce for the salt. A curry is a great place to add or substitute favourite vegetables; broccoli, mushrooms or squash would all be great.
The centrepiece of our personalized meat platter is this sliced oven-roasted beef, which has less salt and much more flavour than deli counter beef. A 3-lb (1.5 kg) eye of round oven roast will yield the pound of beautiful slices you need for the platter, plus plenty of leftovers to enjoy on another occasion.
This hearty soup has all the flavour of a stuffed baked potato – but no fork is required. It's ideal for cool nights, hot lunches or outdoor winter events. The flavour of any soup relies
on the stock you use, so homemade is best. However, if you don't have any on hand, a no-salt-added broth will work, too.
A smoky and spicy marinade brings out the best in lean flank steak. To make supper come together even faster, marinate the steak up to 8 hours ahead—just don't add the salt until you're ready to grill, as it will dry out the beef. Our fresh Heirloom Tomato Salad is the perfect side for this spicy dish.
Soaking dried beans before boiling them speeds up their cooking time and prevents them from splitting. Simply place the beans in a large bowl, cover with about three inches of water and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours. If you don't have dried beans, substitute with eight cups of canned no-salt-added navy beans, and skip the first paragraph.
The Douro region is well known for bola, an olive-oil-based pastry filled with onions and ham, meat or salt cod, and served as an hors d'oeuvre. Presunto, Portuguese cured ham, is most similar to Spain's serrano ham. If you can't find either, use a dry-cured or smoked ham. The dough is oily and soft but quite easy to handle.
You will never want to buy broth again after tasting this homemade chicken stock, which couldn't be simpler to make, thanks to your slow cooker. Homemade stock with no added salt is not only far more delicious than store-bought, but it also allows for better control over the amount of sodium you add to your recipes. Use whatever vegetables you have in the fridge, including the green tops of leeks and shallots, and celery leaves.
