#EggWeek recipe: quiche

Quiche is a very versatile dish, and one that is really quite simple to make. All you need is a basic crust, good quality eggs, some milk or cream, and your favourite fillings. There are so many variations using meat, cheese, seafood, or vegetables. We like to change up the recipe seasonally, based on what we have on hand or discover at the grocery store. In fact, quiche can be a great way to clean out the fridge and use up bits of cheese and veg.

Basic Quiche
For a quick option, start with store-bought pie crust to help save time.

1 store-bought pre-baked 9″ deep dish pie shell
Your favourite filling ingredients (see notes below)
4 Yorkshire Valley Farms organic eggs
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) cream you can use light cream or (5%) or half-and-half (10%)

Filling
How much you need depends on your specific ingredient choices, but here are some suggestions…

Cheese and herb quiche: If you have nothing but some cheese and fresh herbs, you can still make a great quiche. Take 1 cup shredded melty cheese like Swiss or Gruyère and add a few teaspoons each of fresh herbs like basil, chives, thyme, maybe some savory. A pinch of nutmeg helps to elevate the flavours. Season with salt and pepper.

Mushroom quiche: 1 1/2 cups mixed sliced mushrooms, 1 cup shredded cheese such as Gruyère, 2 tsp each fresh herbs like chives and thyme. Season with salt and pepper.

Bacon and onion quiche: 4 slices cooked bacon crumbled into pieces, 1/2 cup caramelized onions, 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese, 3 tsp fresh basil. Season with salt and pepper.

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Check the preparation instructions on the pie crust and follow directions to pre-bake.

Spread your filling ingredients around the bottom of the pre-baked pie shell, distributing evenly. In a mixing bowl, whisk the cream and eggs until combined. Season egg mixture with salt and pepper, then pour egg over filling to fill pie shell and cover your ingredients.

Place quiche in oven and bake until a knife inserted near centre comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let stand 10+ minutes before serving. You can make quiche ahead and serve warm or at room temperature. Cooked quiche can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

If you’d like to try making your own crust, the folks at Epicurious offer a basic crust recipe as part of their mushroom shallot quiche.

 

Sambal glazed chicken wings

This recipe for Sambal Glazed Chicken Wings comes to us from Chef Lucas Castle, Executive Chef with Compass Group at the Ontario Legislative Assembly, Queen’s Park. Yorkshire Valley Farms recently served up a batch of these wings at the Peterborough Day event at Queen’s Park, a wonderful affair designed to showcase local businesses and producers from the Peterborough area. The wings were most certainly a hit with the attendees – there was not one wing left to spare by the end of the event! Chef Lucas was kind enough to share his culinary secrets so that we can all enjoy these tasty wings at home.

sambal glazed chicken wings
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1/3 cup sambal chili paste
1/4 cup fish sauce
2 tsp finely grated peeled ginger
1 kg Yorkshire Valley Farms organic chicken wings
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
1/4 cup crushed salted peanuts

Preheat oven to 375ºF (190ºC). In a heavy bottom pot, whisk brown sugar, rice vinegar, chili paste, fish sauce, and ginger. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until sauce has reduced by half (about 1 cup).

Toss chicken with 3/4 of sauce and roast in oven. After 10 minutes, turn the chicken and baste with remaining marinade.

Finish cooking through, approximately another 10 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 185ºF (85ºC). The glaze should caramelize and become a deep reddish-brown. If there is any remaining marinade, drizzle over top of the cooked wings.

Season with kosher salt and pepper if needed. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro and crushed salted peanuts.

Recipe: homemade mayonnaise

Homemade mayonnaise is easier to make than you may think, and quicker. With the help of an immersion blender, you can have fresh homemade mayonnaise in 2 minutes or less. And when making mayo at home, you can build off the basic recipe to customize different flavour variations like garlic mayo, spicy mayo, or herbed mayo.

Since the list of ingredients is so simple, using high quality eggs is important, as the egg adds to the flavour and richness of the final product. In the #YVFkitchen, we obviously choose Yorkshire Valley Farms organic eggs! Use your homemade mayonnaise to add a little zip to your favourite sandwiches; add to leftover chicken pieces to make chicken salad; chop up hardboiled eggs make egg salad; or try dipping baked potato or sweet potato wedges into mayonnaise instead of ketchup.

homemade mayonnaise
1 Yorkshire Valley Farms organic egg yolk
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp water
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 cup neutral-flavoured oil (we used organic sunflower oil)
pinch of salt

flavour variations:
garlic mayo: add ½ tsp garlic powder or 1 clove minced fresh garlic
spicy mayo: add 1 tbsp Sriracha sauce (you can add more for even more kick)
herbed mayo: add ¼ cup chopped fresh herbs such as parsley, cilantro, chives

tools: immersion blender (also called a stick blender or hand blender)

Place egg yolk, lemon juice, water, mustard, salt, and flavour variation ingredients if including, in the bottom of the immersion blender cup. Alternatively, you can use a 500mL wide mouth mason jar, which saves some dishes, as you can store the finished mayonnaise in the jar.

Pour oil into the cup and allow ingredients to settle for a few seconds.

Submerge immersion blender into the cup, all the way to the bottom, and turn it on. The ingredients will begin to emulsify and your mayonnaise will form. Tilt the cup and/or move the blender up and down within the mayonnaise to ensure all the oil has been incorporated. Season with additional salt if needed.

Store in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to one week.

Recipe: stracciatella (egg drop soup)

This is our take on stracciatella alla romana, an Italian egg drop soup that is wonderfully comforting on a cold winter day. It is easy to make and requires only a few ingredients. Here in the YVF Kitchen, we like to serve our stracciatella in mugs, alongside some crusty bread, for a quick lunch.

Our version of this soup is Inspired by the cookbook ‘How to boil an egg’ from Rose Bakery, a beautiful collection of recipes that celebrate of the humble, versatile egg.

Stracciatella (egg drop soup)
670mL Yorkshire Valley Farms organic chicken stock
2 Yorkshire Valley Farms organic eggs, beaten
1/4 cup ground almonds (substitute almond meal or semolina flour…in a pinch you can leave this out all together, but it adds nice texture to the eggs)
1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
pinch nutmeg
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, loosely packed
salt and pepper to taste
Optional: 2 cups of shredded greens such as spinach or arugula

Transfer the Yorkshire Valley Farms organic chicken stock to a medium-sized pot. Heat the stock to a boil and then reduce to a gentle simmer.

While the stock is heating, gently beat the eggs. Add the ground almonds, Parmesan cheese and nutmeg. Mix to combine.

When the stock is at a gentle simmer, add the parsley, then add the egg mixture and swirl around the pot. If using shredded greens, add now and stir to combine.

Remove pot from the stove. Ladle soup into mugs or bowls. Sprinkle with extra parsley and Parmesan if desired. Serve alongside your favourite salad or a warm baguette.

Makes 4 small servings or 2 large.

Creamy Leftover Turkey Soup

This recipe comes to the YVF Kitchen courtesy of YVF team member Amberlee, who brought this to the office for lunch the week after Thanksgiving. Her soup was a big hit with the YVF crew, so we wanted to share with the YVF community so that you too could enjoy this tasty way to use up extra turkey meat.

Amberlee also explains how she makes her own turkey broth for this soup. Homemade broth is really versatile, so you can make a big batch and then store extra broth in the fridge or freezer. Substitute into your favourite recipes instead of water for a flavour boost – try using broth instead of water when cooking rice or grains.

Creamy leftover turkey soup
1 large onion, chopped
3 celery ribs with leaves, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
4-5 small potatoes, cut into small cubes
6 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
6 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp each dried parsley flakes, herbs de Provence, and ground sage
1 tsp fresh thyme, stems removed
1-1/2 cups milk
4 cups cooked Yorkshire Valley Farms organic turkey, cut into bite-size pieces
5 medium carrots, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
2 cups homemade turkey broth (See note below regarding turkey broth. Alternatively, you can substitute chicken stock.)
2 cups frozen peas
1/4 cup half-and-half cream (optional)

Heat butter and olive oil in a large soup pot. Sauté onion, celery and potatoes until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in flour and seasonings. Gradually add milk and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add broth. Add turkey meat and carrots. Add more broth, if necessary, to achieve desired consistency. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add peas. Cover and simmer for 15 more minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Finish with cream, if using.

Tip: Don’t use purple potatoes or carrots for this soup. While they are a fun way to add colour to other dishes, they will turn your soup an unpleasant greyish colour.

Homemade turkey broth
1 Yorkshire Valley Farms organic turkey carcass
1 onion, quartered
3 celery ribs with leaves, quartered
10 peppercorns
1 tsp herbs de Provence
1/2 tsp dried ground sage
water

Put all ingredients into a large soup pot. Add enough water to cover turkey carcass. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down and allow to simmer for 1-1/2 hours. We suggest you hold off on adding salt during the cooking process. This gives your broth more versatility for use in a variety of dishes and avoids over-salting. Adjust the seasoning when you add the broth to your desired recipe.

To store extra broth, allow to cool and then transfer into containers for storage in the fridge. Broth can also be frozen. Skim fat off the top before freezing. To cool broth quickly, fill sink with cold water and set pot into sink. Change water after 10 minutes, if necessary, until broth is fully cooled.

Game Day Grub: chicken strips with maple mustard dipping sauce

We’re into the final countdown. In just over 48 hours, Seattle and Denver will take to the field to hustle for the NFL’s top prize. Here is one more idea for your football feast. Like wings, chicken strips (a.k.a. tenders, fingers, fillets) are a classic game day snack. They’re quick to make, tasty, and a crowd pleaser.

What really makes chicken strips a hit is the dipping sauce. There’s the ever-popular ketchup, the basic BBQ, or maybe you prefer mayonnaise. In honour of Jon Ryan, the lone Canadian player in Sunday’s game, Rebecca, our YVF Kitchen Super Sauce expert, shares the recipe for her Canadian maple-inspired dipping sauce.

Oven-baked chicken strips
500g Yorkshire Valley Farms organic chicken scallopini or chicken tenders
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 – 2 cups spelt bread crumbs (we like the ones from ShaSha Co…you can also use panko Japanese-style crumbs)

Makes 20 chicken strips. 

Preheat oven to 425F/220C.

If using scallopini, cut into even-sized strips. Combine salt, pepper, garlic powder, mustard powder and sugar in a bag. Toss with chicken strips to coat. Prepare breading station in three bowls: set up flour in bowl one, lightly beaten eggs in bowl two, and spelt crumbs in bowl three. Dip chicken strips one at a time into flour, shaking off any excess, then into egg, then into the bread crumbs to coat.

Bake on parchment paper–lined baking sheet for 15-18 minutes until coating is lightly golden and chicken is fully cooked (internal temperature should reach 165F/74C). Serve alongside your favourite selection of sauces.

Maple mustard dipping sauce
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup olive oil

Pour all ingredients into a small mixing bowl and whisk together until fully combined. Serve alongside warm chicken strips.

Game Day Grub: MVP spice rub

Offense? Defense? What we love is a utility player. A versatile player. A jack of all trades. One who can seemingly do it all on the football field. That’s how we feel about this spice rub in the YVF Kitchen. It works on so many cuts of chicken, adding a little spice, a little sweet, and a lot of flavour. Try it with skin-on drums or thighs. Give it a go on a whole oven-roasted chicken. And, of course, it’s a great choice for wings as well. Here we present the YVF Kitchen MVP of spice rubs.

Makes approximately 1/2 cup.

2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp paprika
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne (increase to 1/2 tsp if you want more heat)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients and stir well until blended, breaking up any lumps of sugar.  

Game Day Grub: chicken Parmesan meatballs

Eric Borgia, Executive Chef at MetLife Stadium, will feed over 80,000 fans this Sunday. Nonna Fusco’s Meatballs, based on a recipe from Borgia’s grandmother, are expected to be one of the most popular items on the menu. Borgia and a team of 200 cooks will man 30 kitchens to serve up more than 20,000 meatballs and 500 gallons of marinara sauce.

This is how we like to make up a batch of Chicken Parmesan Meatballs here in the YVF Kitchen. Both the meatballs and the sauce are quick to make, and easy to scale up if you are cooking for a large crowd.

Chicken Parmesan meatballs
Makes 18 meatballs.

500g Yorkshire Valley Farms organic ground chicken
1 egg
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
5-6 tbsp whole wheat breadcrumbs

2 cups quick tomato sauce (recipe below)
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded 

Preheat oven to 400F/205C.

Combine ground chicken, egg, spices, and Worcestershire sauce in a mixing bowl. Add 5 tbsp of the breadcrumbs. Gently stir until well blended. Don’t over mix or the mixture will start to get quite tacky and the meatballs will be tough. If the meatball mixture seems too wet (not wanting to bind together), add remaining 1 tbsp breadcrumbs. Form into ping-pong ball sized meatballs and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. You may find it easier to roll the meatballs if you wet your hands first.

Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and spoon warm tomato sauce over top of each meatball. Sprinkle with a mixture of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Return to oven to bake for another 5 minutes. The meatballs should reach an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C). Turn the oven to broil for 1-2 minutes to fully melt the cheese.

Serve alongside extra tomato sauce for dipping.

Quick tomato sauce
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp salt
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 cups tomato purée (passata)
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

Heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the red pepper flakes, salt and garlic. Sauté for about 1 minute, watching the garlic to ensure it does not brown. Stir in the tomatoes, lemon zest and cracked black pepper and heat to a gentle simmer. Allow to bubble away for a few minutes. Reduce heat and keep sauce warm until ready to serve.

Game Day Grub: blue cheese vs ranch dipping sauce

The Super Bowl is all about the epic battle between two opposing teams, running it out for football’s top honour.  It’s no surprise that this battle extends into the kitchen, where Blue Cheese and Ranch duke it out, year after year, for the top spot in our hearts (and bellies) as the dipping sauce of choice. Here in the YVF Kitchen, we think both are pretty tasty, so we offer you recipes for our favourite version of each dip…we’ll let you pick the winner!

Blue cheese dip
This is the way Krysten, our Director of Marketing, likes to make her blue cheese dip. Her version is sort of a love-child between Tzatziki and traditional blue cheese. With only a few ingredients, it’s quick to pull together. 

1 cup of sour cream
1/2 cup of blue cheese, finely chopped or crumbled
1 small clove of garlic, minced
1/2 of a lemon, juiced
1 tbsp of chopped parsley (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a serving bowl. Stir until well blended. Serve with a sprinkle of blue cheese overtop. This dip can be made a couple of days ahead.

Rebecca’s ranch dip
Rebecca, our Marketing and Customer Service Manager, is the resident football fan in the YVF office, so she is full of saucy suggestions when it comes to winging it. This is the ranch dressing she likes to make.

1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp chives , finely chopped
1 lemon, juiced
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. For a lighter option, you can opt for light sour cream or mayonnaise.

Game Day Grub: oven-baked wings with Buffalo-style sauce

Game Day is almost here.

According to the U.S. National Chicken Council’s 2014 Wing Report, 1.25 billion wings will be devoured during Super Bowl XLVIII on Sunday February 2, besting last year’s total by 20 million. That’s enough to put 572 wings on every seat in all 32 NFL stadiums!

To help you prepare for your football festivities, all this week we’ll be sharing the best Game Day Grub ideas from the YVF Kitchen, as inspired by the YVF Home Office Team.

We’re kicking things off with, well, what else…wings!

Apparently 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the first “Buffalo Wing” being sauced and tossed at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York. In honour of this milestone birthday, and because Buffalo-style wings are a game day classic, the YVF Kitchen offers you this DIY recipe for oven-baked crispy wings with spicy Buffalo-style sauce.

Basic oven-baked crispy wings
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
24 Yorkshire Valley Farms organic chicken wings, tips removed, and/or drummettes

Preheat oven to 425F/220C.

Combine dry ingredients in a plastic bag or medium-sized mixing bowl. Toss wings until coated. Transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Drizzle wings with melted butter. Using tongs, turn wings to coat with melted butter. Bake for 30 minutes. Flip wings over and bake for another 15 minutes. The wings should reach an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C).

To make Spicy Buffalo-style Wings, coat with the sauce (recipe below) while warm and return to the oven for 5 more minutes.

Spicy Buffalo-style sauce
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup Cholula Original Hot Sauce 

Melt butter. Add cayenne, garlic powder, black pepper and salt. Stir to combine. Remove from heat and add in the Cholula Original Hot Sauce. Stir until well blended. This sauce can be refrigerated for two days. Ensure the sauce is fully cooled before transferring for cold storage.

Substitutions
At the YVF office, Alex, our Director of National Accounts, is often looking for gluten-free options, so in the YVF Kitchen we make up a batch of these wings using organic quinoa flour instead of all-purpose wheat flour. They are just as crispy. You can also substitute sunflower oil for the melted butter if you prefer.