A speedy fast ending hopefully in a feast

For those of my Jewish readers may you have an easy and meaningful fast. I couldn't help but provide some comic relief with some of my favorite ecards about Yom Kippur before repenting for all the naughty things I've done and eaten last year. For those of my non Jewish readers if you are curious about this sacred day we call Yom Kippur please check out this "fact" sheet.  G'mar Chatima Tov - may you be sealed in the book of life.  
xo Jaime aka The Tomato Snob

Tuna Tartare inspired by Asia de Cuba

Asia de Cuba is one of my all time favorite restaurants. In fact I can still remember my first meal there when I was 18 years old. My mom took me to NY city for my birthday and we ate our way through some of the cities best and trendiest restaurants. Till this day my mom is one of the most serious foodies I know, I guess we now know where I get it from. Anyways Asia de Cuba is fabulous restaurant with locations in NY,  London, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Miami. The food is tapas style with influences from Cuban & Asian cuisine.
 
This tuna tartare is my take on their famous dish "Tunapica". To make to make the dish a little more heart healthy I serve it in cucumber cups instead of deep fried wantons. Either way the tartare is to die for! If you don't have time to make cucumber cups or fry your own wantons you can serve it up on potato or tarot chips as well.  What's great about serving an appetizer like this is you can prep everything in advance then quickly toss it together right before serving. If you like spice you can add a drizzle of sambal or sriracha to the dressing.

STEPS:
1 - for the dressing add finely chopped chives to the lime juice, soy sauce, sesame oil, grape seed oil, minced garlic & ginger, and a pinch of s & p
2 - finely chop the tuna and refrigerate until you are ready to use it
3 - toast slivered almonds in a pan over medium heat until golden
4 - combine coconut, currants and almonds once they have cooled down 
5 - remove cucumber skin (using a carrot peeler) and divide into 1" pieces, then punch out using a cookie cutter, then wrap in damp paper towel and refrigerate until ready to serve
6 - toss tuna, dressing, & dry mixture together and spoon into cucumber bites. 
7 - garnish with a sliver of green onion or panko bread crumbs 

So grateful for the #twitterlove from the operators at Asia de Cuba, many thanks. Now when can a girl get a calamari salad in Toronto?

Happy New Year 5773

To my Jewish friends and readers I wish you all a sweet and delicious new year. Lots of love, success, health and happiness. xoxo  Jaime aka The Tomato Snob 

I'm enjoying a beautiful fall afternoon with my mama & my totally adorable grandfather, eating drinking and enjoying our time together. 

Korean Charred Beef & sesame slaw

Yes it's September. I don't know whether to cry or celebrate the fact that fall is here. It seems like the summer swept by in a blink. Like May was only last week and I was celebrating my 30th birthday with family and friends. I'm in a mood today I guess, a mood that can only be lifted with this delicious simple end of summer dinner. It's light and flavorful and will not dissapoint. A while back I had the pleasure of cooking for newlyweds Macy & Stephen. They were a couple cool kids that love their food and wine, needless to say we hit it off emmediatly. I promised them I would post the recipe for their dinner that evening and here it finally is. 

* Macy & Stephen - I actually made a variation or this slaw using a hoisen vinaigrette from the Vietnamese salad roll dipping sauce. It was basically just hoisen sauce, sambal chili, splash of citrus, splash or rice vinegar & sesame oil. I also added julienned peppers & cucumber to the mix. 

FOR THE SLAW: 

1/4 red cabbage - shredded 

1/4 green cabbage - shredded

1 carrot - shredded 

Asian pear - julienned 

1 tbsp minced ginger

2 green onions - thinly sliced

handful of mint - chopped

handful of cilantro - chopped

splash citrus - orange, lemon or lime (or all three) 

splash of rice wine vinegar 

drizzle sesame oil  

pinch s & p 

black sesame seeds - for garnish 

PREP: Chop, shred, mince and toss all ingredients together

FOR THE BEEF: Season beef on each side with salt, then whisk marinade and pour 1/2 on the beef (we used NY strip). Allow marinade to sit for 1 hour  if you have the time. Reserve the rest of the marinade to spoon over the dish once it's finished. 

COOK: In a blazing hot cast iron pan sear beef for two to three mins on each side (for medium rare). Do not move the meat around in the pan, you want a crust to form around the edges to create the char. Touch the beef and if it feels slightly springy remove from heat and place on your cutting board. Allow beef to rest for at least 2 mins before you cut it into slices. *If you have a fan above your stove you will want to put it on before you begin to cook - this dish produces a lot of smoke. 

 

Do you love tomatoes as much as this Tomato Snob?

Happy Labor Day weekend! I hope everyone is having a delicious long weekend filled with fresh local fruits & veggies and strong icy cocktails. I just wanted to let you all know about an awesome opportunity to be in the National Post Newspaper in Toronto. Over the summer I've been participating in this program called #gastropost where food lovers get weekly missions, complete them via blog post, instagram, fb, or twitter and possibly get some newspaper love sharing their mission in Saturday's paper. This week I've been asked to host the mission since it's all about tomatoes. I would love if my faithful readers participated and made this the biggest gastropost mission yet. All you have to do is get your submission in by this Thursday morning for the chance to see your story in print. Lets make it happen people! Chow for now...

Yummly - Feature Food Blog wrap up

Howdy y'all check out this feature that was done about me yesterday on yummly.com 

 Featured Food Blog: The Tomato Snob

By Shelley On August 28, 2012 · In Food Blog of the Day

 

Name: Jaime Verk Pérez
Name of blog:  The Tomato Snob
Twitter:  @thetomatosnob
Location:  Toronto

Describe your culinary style.
My culinary style is laid back honest food with a hint of gourmet. I hate the fussy French traditions and prefer take a simple fresh approach to maintain the quality of seasonal ingredients.

What is the main source of inspiration for your recipes?
I draw inspiration from a global flavors and put my own local twist on classic cultural dishes. For example right now I’m working on a recipe for Jamaican Pepperpot Soup using Ontario okra that’s in season right now. I love allowing one ingredient to inspire the culinary journey – you never know where it’s going to take you.

If you could have one food while stranded on a desert island, what would it be? 
It would be any sort of Asian noodle soup. Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese I’ll take any of them as long as I have hot sauce & fresh herbs.

For someone new to your blog, which recipes do you recommend they try first?

• In the fall I would definitely recommend them to check out the Parsnip & Pear Puree because it’s such a unique combination and really holds a wow factor.
• My recipe for Thai Sesame Slaw with Poached Shrimp is pretty simple (and delicious) 
• Another great one for an easy quick bread would be my Pumpkin Ginger Bread. It’s perfect for the holidays. 

What is your ultimate guilty food pleasure? 
My ultimate guilty food pleasure is going to a nice restaurant with a bunch of open minded food loving friends and ordering a very large selection of the menu. I want to taste everything!

Define Yummly.
To me yummly represents the love and ease of finding delicious recipes.

http://www.yummly.com/blog/2012/08/featured-food-blog-the-tomato-snob/

Jamaican Pepperpot Soup

Good hump day friends. Today I'm excited to let you all know about a delicious comfort dish you may not be familiar with called Pepperpot Soup. Pepperpot soup is a classic Caribbean dish where okra is the star. I know what your thinking okra that weird slimy vegetable I've avoided my whole life. Yes! For some reason this flavorful soup is one of the most perfect ways to enjoy okra which is packed full of flavonoid anti-oxidant vitamins. The slimy factor does take some getting used to but in all honesty this probably the best way to introduce okra into your diet. 

Some of you may or may not know this about me but my grandfather on my mothers side is Jamaican so I pretty much grew up on this brothy stew. My grandmother used to make it all the time on Friday nights as part of our shabbat dinner. For those of you that know me you're probably scratching your head at this point, yes we are Jewish & Jamaican and it's not as uncommon as you might think. During the Spanish inquisition many Jews fled persecution in Spain & Portugal and sought safety in the Carribean - there you have it folks, white Jamaican Jews. Now back to the recipe at hand. A few weeks ago over lunch I asked my grandmother how she made her pepper pot soup. I took notes on my blackberry and then took off to the grocery store. Obviously I put my own twist on the recipe and including local green chilies instead of scotch bonnets & I also added some spices which grandma probably would have shook her head at. I made the cheffy decision to sear off the beef rather then the old school Polish method of cooking  which is just boiling the shit out of everything. Grandma couldn't wrap her head around the thought of it, but lucky enough my soup turned out amazing! Confirmed by my mother who can't wait for the next batch.

PREP: Generously season the beef with sweet smoked paprika, all spice a hint of clove salt & pepper and chop all of the veg into bite size pieces, mince the chillies seeds and all.

COOK:  In a drizzle of olive oil sear off beef on both sides, then remove from the pot & chop into large chunks. Saute garlic, green onion & chilies in the same pot until tender (2 mins) then add in okra and continue to cook for another 10 mins. Remove veg from the pot and put off to the side. Add meat back into the pot with 2 quarts of water & bay leaf and simmer for 2 hours, skimming off the excess grease and impurities. Add the okra, onion mixture to the pot as well as the chayote squash. Cook for another 45 mins or so checking your seasoning (salt & pepper to taste). Finally add the spinach or greens (callallo, collards, kale, chard etc...) and cook for another 15 mins. When your your beef is fall apart tender it's ready to go. 

NOTES: This recipe makes about 6 servings of stew. If you don't like fatty meat like short rib you can use stewing beef. Be sure to use beef, chicken or turkey stock instead of water so you don't loose out on flavor. You can also simmer the soup with smoked turkey or ham bones for a rich flavorful stock. 

Le Dîner en Blanc Toronto 2012

 Last Thursday night I had the pleasure of attending Toronto's inaugural Diner en Blanc. For those of you who haven't been privy to all the hoopla, Diner en Blanc can be defined as a smart mob or flash feast - kind of like a flash mob but instead of a group of people breaking out into a dance routine, a bunch of strangers dressed all in white congregate at a secret location and set up an elegant dinner time picnic. I found out about the event which began in Paris in the late 80's the way all cool kids find out about posh by invitation only events... on a blog of course. I signed up to be on a wait list and about a month ago I received the news that I had been invited with a guest. Yay me! The rules to this underground dining ring were lengthy. You couldn't just show up with a gingham table cloth and some sandwiches and call it a picnic. No no I had to scour the city for suitable white folding chairs, the perfect square table no smaller than 24", no larger then 32", a picnic basket (preferably white, or if non white must be covered in a white cloth), a white table cloth, white linen napkins, China, silverware, glassware, must bring a three course dinner, must wear an elegant white not cream or ivory outfit and some joie de vivre. Subsequently, we also needed white or clear poncho or umbrella given that it turned out to be the rainiest day this summer. I was seriously considering backing out the day of when my friend Rebecca reminded me "if you don't come you will never be invited back!" Her words echoed in my mind as we walked out of our taxi in the rain to the meeting spot in front of the ROM. I felt utterly ridiculous until I saw the sea of white clad trend setters invade the streets of Toronto. As we approached Bathurst and King the buzzing had exploded around us, the word was out and the historic Fort York was our destination for the evening.

It was quite a sight to see, rows and rows of buses and people dressed only in white completely drenched schlepping all the listed items through the muddy grass to the open field. I had to laugh all through the first 30 minutes of setting up. It was hilarious watching women in high heels set up their "elegant dinner" in the rain. It poured all though our first course, all over my Caesar kale slaw and shared cheese tray, right though my white table cloth & linen napkins but the rain did not stop anyone from having a fabulous time. Just as we were warming up to the table of friends next to us enjoying their margarita pizzas and beef carpaccio from Pizzeria Libretto the rain stopped and the sky cleared. All of a sudden I felt the magic all around us, 1,400 strangers all dressed in white surround us enjoying each others company, sharing in the strange and whimsy of it all. l.

I went on to thoroughly enjoy my main course of olive oil poached cod with arugula & mint pesto, raw puttanesca gluten free pasta and roasted cauliflower. There was a lot of charcuterie and cheese trays around, many people opted to pick up dinner from local hot spots like Whole Foods or the picnic basket at County General. There was also the option to purchase a catered meal provided by chef Ted Corrado but being the Tomato Snob I am that just wouldn't do. The night before I stayed up late to make a vegan gluten free peach berry tart with an almond and lavender crust. Yes I was trying to make everyone around me jealous and that I did.

The entertainment throughout the evening was perfection. Starting off was a sexy jazz band, followed by violinists and an appearance by Against the Grain Opera Company. After dessert we took a stroll to spy on the other diners and ran into our table mates Ben & Sie looking to score an extra bottle of champagne, which they were so kind to share with us. Yes there were even rules on how much wine & bubbly you could consume (two bottles per table) which I guess is a good idea so that party goers don't get completely sauced, not that I could imagine this crowd getting too rowdy dressed in their Sunday best. The climax of the night came at around 9:30 when table leaders passed out sparklers. Everyone congregated by the stage and we danced to top 40 house tunes provided by DJ Vinny Gruvhunter. It was kind of like New Years with out counting down from ten, popping bottles or having to kiss any stinky garlic breathed party goers (yes I'm speaking of myself).

As you can see everyone was totally committed to the theme of the evening white everything although there were a number of people wearing the forbidden ivory & creme.  I thought they were going to be persecuted for such an abomination, but in good spirits the party gods let them be. If you do get the chance to attend this sensational event don't pass up the invitation, It's definitely a night to be experienced by all. 

Photo credits 1-12 by Jaime Verk - Perez, #13 by Rebecca Goodman.

Gastropost: Coconut pulled chicken tacos

You all know I love Mexican food. Here's a delicious spread that will wow your guests at your next fiesta. You will need a whole chicken (2 breasts & 2 thighs), patience and about 3 hours to divide & conquer. 

 WET:

1 can coconut milk

1/2 cup coconut juice

pinch salt & black pepper

2 dry roasted serrano chilies

4 dry roasted garlic cloves

2 dry roasted onions

6 dry roasted green onions (whites)

handful of cilantro 

1 lime - zest

1/2 lime juice

Step 1 - In a hot cast iron pan dry roast onions, garlic (with the skin on), cinnamon, & chillies. * Discard garlic skin & tops of chilies before adding everything to a blender or a tall liter container & blend until smooth.

DRY RUB:

1 1/2 tbs oregano

1 1/2 tbs toasted cinnamon

1 1/2 tbs coriander

1 1/2 toasted cumin seed

1/2 tbs salt

1/2 tbs black pepper

pinch red chili flake

Step 2- - Generously dust chicken on both sides with dry rub. In a hot cast iron pan sear chicken on both sides. Then add the "wet" and cover with tin foil. Bake at 250 for 2 hours or until chicken easily pulls away from the skin. 

Step 3 - Place chicken off to the side to be pulled removing the bones & reduce the stock (simmer on the stove) by half - about 30 mins.  

WHITE CORN TORTILLAS: 

1 cup  Harina P.A.N. flour

1 1/4 cup warm water

pinch of dry rub

pinch of salt

Step 4 - slowly combine water to four and spice mixture. Form dough into small round balls. Line your tortilla press with parchment or wax paper so that the tortillas do not stick. You can also use the back of a pan on a sturdy surface to flatten the tortillas. In a hot cast iron pan dry roast the tortillas on each side until slightly golden.

FRESH CORN & CHAYOTE SALSA: 

1 cob of fresh sweet corn - kernels

1 chayote squash - chopped

multi colour cherry tomatoes - chopped

1 garlic clove - minced

1 avocado - cubed

1/2 lime - juice 

tbs avocado oil - or olive oil 

pinch of tajin spice

mint - finely chopped 

pinch salt & pepper

JICAMA & CABBAGE SLAW: 

1/2 jicama - julienned 

1/4 red cabbage - julienned 

1/2 lime juiced 

1 green onion - finely sliced

1 tbs olive oil 

pinch red chili flakes 

pinch salt & pepper 

Step 5 & 6 - chop everything & enjoy

Additional toppings: Danielle coconut chips, Cholula

In honour of the World Championships of Exercise aka The Olympics

 

 Could this be any more awesome? Hope yall are having a great LONG weekend. xo