Ingredients

• 2 lb Steak, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 12 oz Italian sausage, casings removed
• 56 oz whole tomatoes (drained)
• 32 oz dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 19 oz romano beans, drained and rinsed
• 19 oz black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 bottles beer
• 1 whole Onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 whole Jalapeño chiles (ribs and seeds removed for less heat, if desired), diced
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 whole cinnamon sticks
• 3 dried bay leaves
• 5 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp feshly squeezed lime juice
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, stemmed and chopped finely
• 3 tbsp olive or vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Heat a Dutch oven (or a heavy 5-quart pot with a tight-fitting lid) over high heat until a drop of water sizzles upon contact. In three batches, cook sirloin until no longer pink; remove each batch with a slotted spoon. Set aside.
2. Add sausage, breaking it up into small pieces; add onion and jalapenos. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until sausage and onion are browned, about 5 minutes.
3. Return sirloin to pot. Stir in chili powder, cumin, tomatoes, cornmeal, cinnamon, bay leaves and beer. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Cover; cook until sirloin easily breaks apart with a spoon, about 2 hours.
4. Stir in beans; cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Discard cinnamon and bay leaves. Serve, or let cool completely before freezing in airtight containers, leaving 1 inch of space at the top.
5. To reheat, thaw in the microwave or overnight in the refrigerator, then warm over low heat.

With garlic shrimp and green olives sautéed in extra-virgin olive oil, and tossed with our authentic Italian vine-ripened tomato and crushed hot chili-spiked pasta sauce, this simple-yet-special pasta dish is an exceptional balance of fresh, robust and piquant flavours.

Total Time – 30 min | Serves 8

Ingredients

• 1 pkg (500 g) PC BLACK LABEL LINGUINE PASTA
• ¼ cup (50 mL) extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 pkg (454 g) PC Jumbo Raw Zipperback Black Tiger Shrimp, thawed, peeled and patted dry
• Pinch salt
• Pinch freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup (250 mL) deli pitted green olives, roughly chopped
• 1 jar (650 mL) PC BLACK LABEL ARRABBIATA PASTA SAUCE
• 1/3 cup (75 mL) chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

1. In large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta for 7 to 9 minutes or until tender but firm. Drain; set aside.
2. Meanwhile, in large deep frying pan, heat oil over medium heat; cook garlic, stirring, for about 2 minutes or until golden brown; transfer to large plate. Add shrimp to frying pan; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, turning, for 2 minutes or until halfway cooked through. Transfer to plate with garlic.
3. Add olives to frying pan; cook for 1 minute. Pour in pasta sauce; heat, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in reserved garlic, shrimp and parsley. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
4. Add pasta, tossing carefully to coat. Transfer to large serving platter; sprinkle with Parmesan shavings.

Notes

• Nutritional Information
• Per serving
• 430 calories
• fat 17 g
• sodium 1060 mg
• carbohydrate 48 g
• fibre 3 g
• protein 22 g

Moschari me fasolakia is a Greek beef stew that features green beans. The cooking liquid is fresh tomato puree, with water added as needed.

Cook Time – 3 hr

Ingredients

• 2 lb beef stew meat
• 2 lb green beans, ends snapped off
• 3 tomatoes, grated or pureed in food processor
• 1 lb onions, chopped (a couple of medium-sized onions)
• 1 lb potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks (a couple of medium-sized potatoes)
• 4 cloves garlic, cut into chunks
• 1 bunch parsley, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• salt and pepper
• olive oil

Instructions

1. Heat 2-3 TB olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or dutch oven over medium-high. When the oil is hot but not yet smoking, add the meat. It’s important not to crowd the meat, so you may need to do this in two batches, depending on the size of your pot and the amount of meat. Please notice that there is space between the pieces, this way they are seared instead of steamed. Don’t move the pieces around like you’re stir frying, just let them sit and sizzle until they’re well-browned. You’ll know when a piece is ready to turn because it will quit sticking to the pan. Turn each piece just once to brown the other side.
2. I needed to sear the meat in two batches this time, so when the first batch was well-browned on both sides I removed it and put it in a bowl, then added another tablespoon of oil and the second batch of meat. I turned the heat down just a litte bit too. Why? Well, see that brown gunk on the bottom of the pan? That’s the ‘fond’ and it’s going to add a lot of flavor to the sauce. I really really don’t want to burn it and make it bitter. You don’t need super high heat to sear meat, medium high will work just fine, with less mess and less chance of burning.
3. When all the meat is seared on both sides, you can either add the onions to the meat or you can take the meat out and add the onions to the empty pot. In this case because I had so much meat, I decided it would be easier to saute the onions on their own. (See my other Beef with…” post if you want to see what it looks like to saute the onions with the meat.)
4. Stir the onions, scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen up the fond.
5. After a few minutes, when the onions have begun to soften, add the garlic and saute, stirring, for a minute or two.
6. Dump the meat back in and add the grated (or pureed) tomatoes.
7. Stir the meat into the tomatoes, and add water to cover the beef if necessary. In the picture below, you can see that the meat is sticking up out of the liquid, so after I took the shot, I added some water to cover the meat.
8. Bring to a boil, then cover and turn the heat down so that the liquid is at a low simmer. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes or so.
9. Add the potatoes and the green beans and parsley. Give the pot a couple of stirs, then add water if necessary to make sure the beans are mostly covered in liquid. Add salt and pepper to taste.
10. Turn the heat up and bring the pot to a low boil. Cover and boil until the potatoes are done and the green beans are soft, about 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes or so. The green beans will not be bright green, instead they will be deliciously sweet! Serve with bread and feta.

Quick Tip – You can cut down on spattering by blotting the meat dry before you sear it. And for best flavor, sprinkle the meat generously with salt and pepper after you’ve blotted it.

Ingredients

• 200 g (7 oz/heaped 12/3 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) milk
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped dill
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 100 g (3 1/2 oz/heaped 1/3 cup) creme fraiche
• 12 slices of smoked salmon, cut in half dill sprigs, to serve

Instructions

1. To make the batter, sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Stir in the baking powder, then make a well in the centre. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and milk together. Pour the milk mixture into the well in the dry ingredients and whisk together thoroughly. Stir in the grated lemon zest and chopped dill. Allow the batter to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.
2. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat and grease the surface with a little of the butter. Using
3. 1 tablespoon at a time, drop spoonfuls of batter onto the hot surface and cook until the top surface of the pancake begins to bubble. Flip over and cook for a further minute, then remove to a plate, stacking the pancakes to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining batter – you should make around 24.
4. Fold the lemon juice through the creme fraiche and season with a little freshly ground black pepper.
5. Top the pancakes with smoked salmon, a spoonful of the lemony creme fraiche and a sprig of dill.