Saturday, July 28, 2012

Saturday Treats: Two of my Favorite Dishes

This first dish is my new breakfast of choice- cherry tomato bruschetta. It takes the absolute minimum effort, makes for a joyous colorful sight, and is so tasty that I can't think of anyone in this world who wouldn't like it. Except of course people who can't stand tomatoes (I personally know one such person).

The secret is cherry tomatoes. They are naturally sweet and become soft and gooy-ey once baked in the oven for 15-2 minutes on medium heat. This in turn helps them soak into and stay on toast when served.

Ingredients: Cherry tomatoes, button mushrooms, fresh mozzarella cheese (if not available, then any cheese spread for the toast would do), finely chopped chives, salt and pepper, and nicely toasted thick slices of bread.

This second dish, Mediterranean sausages with lemony potatoes, is a lunch favorite that I cooked with a twist today- I used my new favorite tagine! Once again, this dish is simple to cook and is a sure win with any meat eater. No technique needed.

The secret here is good quality sausages. It won't work if you use cheap factory sausages. Not being snobbish here- just factual. The taste of your dish is determined by the taste of your sausages, so get the best ones you can. I buy lamb and herb sausages and braise them in a pan with little water with some olive oil added. The water that cooks them evaporates and the remaining oil browns them.

Ingredients: 2 Onions, 5 medium potatoes, 5-6 good sausages, 2 bay leaves, a little lemon juice and salt & pepper. The pictures below are in sequence going from left to right so you can see how it was cooked. The only step missing is when I added lemon juice to the potatoes on pic 4.

Served with good bread and some salad. Today, I served with ciabatta loaf and finally chopped tomato-onion salad.

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