As promised here are the final recipes in our holiday series! They all happen to feature our vinegars, spices or other great culinary items. We hope these recipes encourage you to get creative, enjoy with company and share the love. Bon appetit!
Peach Lemon Thyme Salmon
For the marinade: 1 navel orange, peel and all, thinly sliced (and quartered) ½ a large lemon, peel and all, thinly sliced (and quartered) 3 cups water 3 cups diced fresh or frozen peaches (small dice) 1 cup granulated sugar 3 cloves crushed garlic 1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger 1 cup Tilia’s Peach Lemon Thyme Infused Vinegar ½ tsp. salt 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar (additional) 1 Tbsp. cooking oil
Directions: In a medium sauce pan place the orange, lemon and water. Bring up to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes. Add the chopped peaches and sugar, bring back up to a boil and then simmer for 20 more minutes. Using a potato masher (or something similar), mash the mixture until it’s only a little chunky. Add the garlic, ginger, vinegar, salt, oil and the additional 2 Tbsp. of sugar. Bring up to a boil again and then simmer for an additional 5 to 7 minutes. Cool.
For the salad and salmon: 4 six ounce skinless salmon fillets 1 ¼ cups pearl couscous 1 ¾ cups water ½ tsp. salt ¾ cup thinly sliced green onions
Thinly sliced green onion for garnish. Marinate the salmon fillets in 1 1/2 cups of the Peach Lemon Thyme Vinegar marinade for 1 to 2 hours under refrigeration. After marinating place the fillets with some marinade still on in a baking dish and roast in a 425 degree F preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets. Remove from the baking dish and cool. Bring the 1 ¾ cups water up to a boil, add the salt and couscous and simmer for about 8 minutes or until the couscous is light and fluffy and all water is absorbed. Cool.
Once cooled, mix the couscous with 3/4 cups of the cooked marinade and gently stir in the mango and sliced green onion. Place 1/4 of the couscous and mango on a dinner plate, top with a piece of salmon and garnish with green onion slices. If you like, offer more of the marinade for “dipping”.
NOTE: You’ll undoubtedly have more marinade than you need. Save it and use it on some grilled chicken in a day or two. Serves 4
Warm and Spicy Vinegar Infused Pasta Caprese
Ingredients:
4 cups seeded diced tomatoes 2 cloves minced garlic ½ cup extra virgin olive oil 2 Tbsp. either Tilia’s Taste of Tuscany or Lemony Herb & Dill Infused Vinegar 3 Hungarian hot peppers (or jalapeños) 1 tsp. salt ½ tsp. black pepper 8 ounces spaghetti or linguini Chicken or vegetable broth or water for cooking the pasta 6 ounces fresh mozzarella cut into a small dice 1 to 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil (to taste)
Directions: Roast the peppers on a grill or stove top. Cover, cool, peel, seed and cut into a fine dice. Combine the peppers, tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, infused vinegar, salt and pepper in a medium size bowl and park on the counter for a few hours (or even more). Cook the pasta in the chicken or vegetable broth according to package directions. Combine the hot pasta with the tomato sauce and stir in the cheese and basil. Season with more salt and pepper if desired.
Raspberry Chicken Salad with Honeyed Walnuts and Goats Cheese
For the salad dressing:
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries (thaw frozen slightly before use)
1 tsp.Dijon mustard
¼ cup Tilia’s Raspberry Rose Infused Vinegar
½ cup honey
1 cup vegetable oil
¼ tsp. salt
Directions: With an immersion blender or in a blender, puree the raspberries, mustard, Tilia’s Raspberry Rose Infused Vinegar, honey and salt. Slowly pour this into the oil. This creates a thick emulsion. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
For the salad: 1 cup whole walnuts 2 Tbsp. honey 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1.5 pounds) 1 head Boston lettuce, leaves torn 1 head Romaine lettuce, leaves torn ¼ cup very thinly sliced red onion 1 cup crumbled goat’s cheese 1 cup fresh raspberries
Directions: Toss the walnuts with the sugar and honey until well coated. Place the coated walnuts on a parchment lined baking sheet and roast at 350 degrees F for 12 to 14 minutes, turning the walnuts about half way through the cooking time. Remove from the oven, separate if necessary and cool. Marinate the chicken in about 1/4 cup of the dressing for about 45 minutes. On a grill or grill pan, grill the chicken until done. Cool and slice about 1/4 inch. Toss the two lettuces and spread them on a large platter. Scatter the onion over. Arrange the chicken, walnuts, raspberries and cheese over all. Drizzle raspberry dressing over the salad to desired taste. Thin the dressing with a little water if it seems too thick for your taste. Makes 4 dinner salads.
Warm and Comforting Vegetarian Lentil Soup
Ingredients:
1 cup small green lentils, rinsed and picked over 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil 2 large sweet onions, chopped fine 2 leeks, chopped, white and light green parts only 2 cloves garlic, finely minced 3 carrots, chopped fine 2 stalks celery, chopped fine 1 tsp. kosher salt ½ tsp. cayenne 2 bay leaves 1 – 14 ounce can tomatoes, broken up into smaller pieces and including liquid 1 tsp. smoked paprika 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves (or 3-4 sprigs of thyme that you can remove later) 4 cups vegetable broth, plus more as needed Up to 1cup dry white wine 2 large potatoes, peeled and diced 1 cup spinach, chard or collards, stemmed and roughly chopped 1 Tbsp. Tilia’s Pear Rosemary or Taste of Tuscany Infused Vinegar, plus more for finishing
More salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste to a cup of water as needed
Directions: Heat oil in Dutch oven. Add onions, leeks, celery, carrots, and kosher salt, and sauté till onions are translucent. Add garlic and cook for another minute or so. Stir in tomatoes and cook for another minute. Add lentils, potatoes, wine, vegetable stock and water, bay leaves, cayenne and thyme. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer. Cook, covered, till lentils are soft and potatoes are cooked through. (You may need to add more water, wine or stock.) Stir in spinach and let it simmer till wilted. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired. Remove the bay leaves.
If you like, puree some of the soup (about 2 cups) in a blender or with an immersion blender to get a thick creamy consistency. Stir in the tablespoon of Tilia’s Infused Vinegar. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve with extra vinegar, salt and pepper to use as desired.
Tilia’s Hot Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients:
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup white sugar
1/3 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 oz. Tilia’s Hot Chocolate with a Twist mix
(choose from one of our 6 flavours!)
½ tsp. salt
¾ tsp. baking soda
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cups white chocolate chips
Directions: Cream butter and sugars until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, hot chocolate mix, salt and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients slowly until incorporated. The dough will be thick. Fold in the semisweet and white chocolate chips. Chill the dough for an hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Make balls of dough, around 1½ tablespoons each, and place onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. The cookies will still look soft. They will continue to cook as they cool. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan.
Earl Grey Vanilla Bean Shortbread
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. finely ground Tilia’s Own Earl Grey Tea
(a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle work well)
1/4 tsp. salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup icing sugar
½ vanilla bean pod, split and seeds removed
Directions: In a medium bowl stir together the flour, tea and salt and set aside. Mix butter, sugar and vanilla bean with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy (about 3 to 5 minutes). Slowly mix in flour mixture until just combined. Divide the dough in half and transfer each half to a piece of parchment paper. Shape them into logs. Fold up the logs and freeze them for an hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut the logs into 1/4 inch-thick slices. Space 1 inch apart on baking paper. Bake for about 13 to 15 minutes until edges turn golden. Cool and store in air tight container.
Chai Spice Sugar Drops
Cookie Dough:
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup icing sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
1 ¼ cup almond flour
Topping:
1 cup icing sugar
1 Tbsp. Tilia’s Chai Spice Blend
Directions: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, icing sugar and vanilla for several minutes until light and fluffy. This is an important step you don’t want to skimp on it; let it beat until it’s really fluffy. Sift the all-purpose flour and salt together. Turn the mixer speed down to low and slowly add the almond flour followed by the all-purpose flour. Scrape down the sides once or twice to make sure the dough is evenly mixed.
Use a tablespoon-sized scoop to measure out cookies. Use your hands to roll each cookie into a ball. Chill the cookies for 15 minutes and then bake for 12-15 minutes. It’s important not to over bake them, you just want a light golden colour on the bottom. While the cookies are baking, sift together the topping ingredients in a bowl.
Remove the cookies from the oven. While they’re still warm, carefully coat each cookie in the sugar mixture and set aside to cool. Once the cookies have cooled (about 15-20 minutes), toss them again in the sugar mixture. Store these in a container with parchment paper separating the layers.