The Easter holiday to me is like the “rabbit hopping all over the place.” You never know from year to year on which date or even what month it is going to be in. Then the weather is another unknown—do you hunt Easter eggs in 2 feet of snow, rubber boots, or in some years a T-shirt. The only solid, do not change on this weekend, is our traditional breakfast meal. Our Easter dinner always changes depending on how adventurous I am feeling, but our Easter Sunday breakfast of homemade waffles with our own fresh maple syrup is etched in stone, or it’s Mutiny on the Bounty if I do try to change it.
I am keeping the dinner simple this year with the highlight being the sauce for the meat and the simplicity of the flavour for the vegetables.
Chicken Breasts with Tomato and Red Wine Sauce
You can either roast a whole chicken, or your favourite chicken parts. I used chicken breasts and pan fried them. You can make the sauce a few days before and just re-heat before serving. The recipe makes enough for four servings but I always make extra.
1/2 cup red wine
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes with their juices
2 Tbsp freshly chopped fresh oregano or 1 Tbsp dried
Pinch crushed red chili flakes
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Cook the chicken your favourite way. To make the sauce add the wine to a pan and cook on high heat until the wine is reduced to a glazy film. Add the tomatoes with their juices and the red chili flakes; cook until the juices reduce to a saucy consistency, about 3 minutes. Stir in the oregano and Parmigiano; season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
Herb-Mustard Sauce
Use this sauce for beef or fish or even chicken. One of my favourites.
3 Tbsp Cognac or similar
1 cup beef or chicken broth
2 Tbsp heavy cream (whipping cream)
1 1/2 Tbsp whole-grained mustard
2 Tbsp chopped chives
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
Add the cognac to a pan and over high heat cook until it is almost completely reduced. Add the broth and cook until it’s reduced to about 1/3 cup, about 5 minutes. Add the cream, mustard, chives, and thyme, stir well, and remove from the heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve. Makes about 1/2 cup.
Quick-Braised Vegetables
The best way to cook the vegetables are in a single layer in your skillet. This recipe is meant for a 10-inch pan, which will feed three people. You can have the vegetables overlapping a little because they will shrink as they cook.
Asparagus that is 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick (too thin they will overcook)
Carrots that are cut into 3/4 inch wide pieces (length doesn’t matter)
Green beans that are the same thickness
*you need roughly 1 pound of mixed vegetables
1 Tbsp sunflower seed oil
1 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup vegetable broth
1 to 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
- Heat the oil and butter in a 10-inch pan over medium heat. Be sure the pan has a lid.
- When the milk solids in the butter are just beginning to turn a nutty brown, add the vegetables and salt and toss with tongs. Then arrange the vegetables in one layer.
- Cook without stirring until the bottoms are nicely browned 3 to 4 minutes. Toss and turn over and cook another 2 minutes to lightly brown the other side. Pour in the vegetable broth, immediately cover the pan, and simmer until liquid has almost completely evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat, add the lemon juice, and Dijon mustard and toss to combine. Serve.
**Add: 3 medium shallots, peeled and halved. Put them in the pan at the start and cook with the rest of the vegetables.
***Substitute: 1 tsp balsamic vinegar and 1 Tbsp orange juice for the Dijon and lemon juice.
