Watermelon Feta Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

Perfect to eat on a patio during 30 degree summers.

Ingredients (for 2 plates):
6 large chunks of seedless watermelon (properly ripe, cut into 3cm cubes)
handful of green beans
handful of watercress
40 grams feta cheese

For the vinaigrette
0.25 cup olive oil
1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp lemon zest
0.5 tsp dijon mustard
pinch of oregano
pinch of dried basil
pepper to taste

In a bowl mix the olive oil and lemon juice well, then add the rest of the ingredients to make the vinaigrette. You may want to throw in a bit of minced garlic.

Wilde Oscar says: Let the mix sit for a few hours or even overnight if you can. This will allow the oil to be properly infused with the lemon flavour.

Cut the watermelon into cubes of about 3x3 cm. Pour some boiled water over the greenbeans and let sit for 5 mins until cooked and crunchy, but not too soft.

Wash the watercress, place the watermelon cubes on top and throw on the halved green beans. Drizzle with the vinaigrette (probably quite strong, so go easy) and sprinkle with crumbled feta.

Wilde Oscar says: If you've got the grill going you may want to try throwing the watermelon on first- If done right it'll get the watermelon to caramelize oh so slightly.

Salmon Puff Pastry Appetizer

Ingredients

0.5 lemon
thinly sliced smoked salmon (Pacific smoked, if you're in Vancouver!)
1 sheet puff pastry
fresh ground pepper
brie or camembert cheese



Squeeze lemon juice over salmon, and slice into thin 1 inch strips. Fold salmon strips over and sprinkle with ground pepper.


Roll out the pastry dough fold in half so the dough is twice as thick. Cut the pastry into desired finger sized portions (3cm/3cm squares work nicely). Bake in oven at 350 F until the pastry has risen and browned (approx 8 mins).

While still warm, add brie slices to the top of the pastry, allowing it to melt slightly. Top with salmon and more ground pepper. Enjoy!


Wilde Oscar says: the best part of this plate is the left over ingredients, and the potential for the morning after breakfast... salmon, brie, coffee, french bread, eggs. Can't be beat.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Right, so this might not have as many herbs and spices as KFC does, but at least you get the satisfaction of making it fresh. Be warned though- frying chicken is ridiculously difficult. Not quite like running 250 km in a desert, but most probably a close second.

Ingredients

To Marinate the Chicken:
8 pieces skin-on chicken (thighs/breast/leg)
2-3 cups buttermilk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1tsp paprika
0.25 tsp cayenne
0.5 tsp black pepper
1 tsp ground dried herbs (oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage)
1 tsp minced garlic

For the Seasoned Flour:
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
0.5 tsp paprika
0.25 tsp cayenne
0.5 tsp black pepper
0.5 tsp garlic powder
0.5 tsp onion powder


Wash the chicken and toss it into a bowl. Coat the chicken with the spices and herbs from the first list, so that each piece is nicely coated. Place the chicken back in the bowl skin down, and pour the buttermilk over it. Stick the bowl in the fridge and let it sit and marinate for half a day. Over night would be better.

When you're ready to fry, mix the flour with the ingredients listed above. Sift the spices through the flour, and then coat the chicken evenly with the mix. The magic mix, if you will.

Wilde Oscar says: For a thicker, crispier chicken you can try the double dipping. After you've coated the chicken with flour, stick it back into the buttermilk and then recoat it in the flour.

Add about two inches of oil to the fryer and heat to about 160 C, or low to medium heat. Put the chicken in and allow it to cook on one side for about 8 minutes, and again on the other side for another 6-7.

Wilde Oscar says: This is where that whole bit about the challenge of a life time comes in. The chicken will be a nice golden colour long before it's cooked through to the bone, so it's a tricky operation. Deceptive and outrageous, it's true. You actually have to let it sit in the oil and continue to cook all the way through long after the outside looks edible. Alternately, if you're getting burnt chicken that isn't cooked on the inside, you can remove the chicken from the oil after it's a golden brown colour on the outside, and place it on a baking pan and into an oven preheated to 160C. The idea is to get the inside of the chicken to a high enough temperature to fully cook. Once the inside is done, you can do quick second fry for the extra crispy taste. If heart attacks aren't on the menu, skip the second fry.

Once you're convinced it's cooked, take it out, let it sit on a wire rack to drain off the extra oil. Place on paper towels or pat dry and let it cool.

Wilde Oscar says: If this is your first time making it, you've probably screwed up the frying. Maff khuro. If you've still got a hankering for fried chicken, this should help:

KFC Vancouver: +604.689.1402
KFC Dubai: +600 56 9999
KFC Kabul: +079 98 97 900

Seriously, go ahead and call.

Chicken Udon Soup [Japanese Thai Fusion]

Ingredients:
2 Chicken scallopini breasts
8 small shallots, peeled and thinly sliced. (~120 grams)
2 tbsps olive oil
2 tsps brown sugar
1 tbsp minced ginger
5.5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
120 grams shiitake mushrooms (stemless, sliced into quarters)
2 stalks lemon grass
300 grams udon noodles
8 leaves basil
1 serrano (thai/birds eye chilli)
1 lime
2 stalks green onion
1 handful baby spinach (optional)
pinch of cilantro
salt and pepper
sliced carrots to garnish

Wilde Oscar says: serrano peppers and shiitake mushrooms are key here- try not to substitute if you can avoid.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Pour about 1 tbsp of the oil into a skillet and fry the chicken breasts until browned on both sides- but do not cook through entirely. Remove and set aside.

Add the rest of the oil to the skillet, and throw on the sliced shallots. Cook for a minute or two until the shallots are translucent. Meanwhile, remove the outer layer of the lemon grass, split stalks along center, and crush with the back of a cooking knife. Add the lemon grass, minced ginger, and brown sugar to the shallots. Cook for another minute.

Add the shallot mix to warmed chicken broth in a large pot. Allow to cook on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Reduces heat to a simmer, and add quartered shiitake mushrooms. Cook for about 3 more minutes. Use a fork to remove the lemongrass stalks.

In the meantime, add the udon noodles to a pot of salted water to cook for about 3 mins. Drain, and transfer to the pot.

Shred the chicken using your fingers, and add in at the same time as the noodles. Cook until the inside of the chicken is properly cooked through, and the noodles are infused. If you're going to add baby spinach, do it here.

Wilde Oscar says: Don't chop the chicken using a knife! Part of the brilliance of this soup is the strands of shredded chicken.

Add the shredded basil and sliced thai pepper. Cut the lime in half, and squeeze the juice from the lime into the pot. Add 1 tbsp of soy sauce (or more if desired), and allow flavours to infuse.

Wilde Oscar says: Careful with the serano peppers; they're small but wicked little buggers.

Dish noodles into each bowl and add the soup on top. Garnish with the slice green onion, carrot slivers and cilantro, if desired. Serve with a slice of lime on the side.