Friar Chef - Season 2 | Franciscan Friars Charities

Spaghetti & Meatballs

Today, Fr. Tom Gallagher, OFM shares a classic summer chicken recipe that is perfect for warmer temperatures! The marinade is made with fresh lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and rosemary, which creates a tender and juicy flavor.

INGREDIENTS

1 large white onion, chopped
2 cans whole tomatoes
½ cup red wine
1 tablespoon minced garlic (or more, to taste)
1 lb. spaghetti
Fresh basil
Sea salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
Your favorite prepared meats
(meatballs, sausage, chicken, etc.)

INSTRUCTIONS

In a large saucepan, heat a generous amount of olive oil over medium heat.
When oil is hot but not smoking, add chopped onions to the pan and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes, stirring often.
Add a generous spoonful of minced garlic to the oil and onions and stir to combine.
Using your hands to squeeze, add two cans of whole tomatoes to the simmering oil, garlic, and onion mixture.
Add sea salt and pepper to taste and stir the sauce to combine.
Add approximately ½ cup of red wine, stir to combine.
Add your favorite meats to the simmering sauce where they will continue to cook through. Stir to combine.
Simmer on low heat for at 2-3 hours. (If you have the time, you can let this simmer all day for more robust and heartier flavor.)
When sauce is done to your liking, remove the meats and set aside, and skim off any excess oil that released from the meat.
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil, add your spaghetti, and cook until al dente, approximately 8-10 minutes.
Spoon a generous amount of sauce on the bottom of a large serving bowl to prevent pasta from clumping.
Tear up some fresh basil onto the serving bowl and stir the rest into the sauce.
Strain pasta, add to serving bowl, and coat generously with sauce.

Hasselback Potatoes

INGREDIENTS

8 tablespoons (one stick) butter, melted
6 medium russet potatoes, peeled (optional)
Hawaiian sea salt (to taste)
½ cup chopped onions

Optional Add-Ons:

Grated cheese (your favorite type)
Chopped parsley
Fresh chives
Garlic salt
Black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. Peel your potatoes place between 2 chopsticks. Slice the potato into thin slices, leaving 1/4 inch at the bottom unsliced. (The chopsticks will guide the way!)
Put the potatoes on a baking sheet. In a small pot, melt one stick of butter and brush onto potatoes, making sure to get in between all the slices.
Sprinkle each potato with Hawaiian sea salt and any other seasonings that you enjoy.
Dice one large onion and sprinkle onto the buttered and seasoned potatoes.
Bake at 400 degrees until tender, about 45 to 60 minutes. (If you like, try adding your favorite cheese to the potato during the last half of baking.)
Transfer to serving plate, use a knife to check tenderness.
Sprinkle with a little more Hawaiian sea salt or other favorite seasonings and toppings (like chopped parsley or fresh chives).
Serve hot alongside your favorite meal and ENJOY!

Flavorful Pot Roast

INGREDIENTS

Brine

Water – to cover the piece of meat
¼ cup salt
½ cup brown sugar
2 bay leaves
1 handful peppercorns

Meat

4 lbs. bottom round or eye of round
4 slices of thick cut bacon
¼ cup olive oil
2-3 large onions, sliced
10 ginger snaps, ground
1-2 cups flour (enough flour to dredge the meat)
1 tablespoon salt
½ tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
3 or 4 strips of bacon
2 bay leaves
Chopped parsley for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

For one hour, brine the meat in water (enough to cover the meat), ¼ cup salt, ½ cup brown sugar, 2 bay leaves, and a handful peppercorns.
In a large pan, begin frying bacon. (You can also use bacon fat for extra flavor.)
After the meat has brined for an hour, remove the peppercorns and pat dry with paper towels.
Combine 1-2 cups flour, 1 tablespoon of salt, ½ tablespoon pepper, and one tablespoon of garlic powder.
Dredge the bottom round in the flour mixture, packing it into the meat. Be sure to brush off any excess flour.
Give your bacon a stir, add the flour-dredged meat to the pan fat side down. Add about ¼ olive oil around the meat.
Turn burner to medium-low and begin browning your meat on all sides. This locks in the moisture and makes for a juicy bite!
Once you have reached a browning point on all sides, cover the pan and let the meat cook over medium-low heat for 2-3 hours.
While the meat cooks, slice your onions and add a pinch of salt and pepper to bring out the moisture.
Add the onions (you can never have too many onions!) to the pan with a few bay leaves and let them cook down with the meat.
Add ground-up ginger snaps (approximately 10) and whisk into the gravy to thicken.
After the meat has cooked through, cut into slices and return the meat to the simmering gravy.
Plate on a large platter, garnish with chopped parsley, serve hot and enjoy!

Baked Cod

This Mushroom Tomato Pasta makes a delicious weeknight dinner and comes together in just 30 minutes. This is a real last-minute treat for mushroom lovers, guaranteed to please the entire family. Note: the post has been updated with new pictures and nutritional values, but the recipe is still the same.

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes
1 ¼ lb cod fillets 4-6 pieces ( 1 inch thick or more)
Salt, pepper and chili flakes to taste
Zest of one lemon
Panko breadcrumbs
3 garlic cloves rough chopped
¼ cup basil leaves torn

INSTRUCTIONS

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil and minced garlic over medium heat.
Add your cleaned shrimp and stir-fry to coat with oil and garlic, about one minute. Be careful not to overcook! (They will cook again in soup broth.)
Remove shrimp from saucepan and set aside. Add crab meat to the now-seasoned saucepan and stir-fry to combine flavors, about one minute. Remove crab meat from saucepan and set aside.
Add hot water to the saucepan, which will serve as a base to your broth. Bring water to a boil.
When water reaches a boil, add your shrimp dumplings and stir. Let dumplings steep in the broth, stirring occasionally.
Add miso soup mix to the broth stir to combine.
Add shrimp and crab meat and simmer until the dumplings float on the surface and the shrimp inside turns pink (cut one in half to check), 3 to 4 minutes.
Transfer contents to a separate serving bowl for finishing touches.
Add a generous handful of green onions and chopped Chinese cabbage. Use a ladle to stir and steep the greens.
Season with salt, pepper, and soy sauce. Stir to combine, serve hot, and enjoy!

Shrimp Dumpling Soup

Mangia! Mangia! Introducing Fr. Tom’s Pepperoni Roll recipe. This roll is a simple dish that pairs great with a glass of wine before dinner or even makes a great late-night snack!

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs. shrimp, deveined
2 tablespoons fresh minced garlic
4 teaspoons of miso soup mix
2 lbs. shrimp dumplings (available in Asian grocery stores)
1 lb. crab meat (fresh or canned)
3 green onion stems
¼ chopped Chinese cabbage
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 spoon full soy sauce
¼ teaspoon of black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut filets at least one inch thick, pat dry, transfer to baking sheet.
Coat each side of the fish with olive oil.
Season all generously with salt, pepper and chili flakes.
Scatter the garlic cloves. Add the tomatoes, lemon zest, breadcrumbs and toss.
Bake for ten minutes. Give the pan a good shake, jostling the tomatoes a bit. Bake 5 more minutes or until fish is cooked to your liking.
When done, transfer filets, tomatoes, and garlic to a serving tray.
Garnish with a wilted basil leaf. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Pizza Fritta

INGREDIENTS

1 ⅓ cups warm water
2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast (1 standard packet)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
¾ teaspoon salt
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour (plus more for hands and surface and to use during he kneading process.)
Your favorite savory or sweet fillings and toppings

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine warm water with your yeast and some sugar. Let rest for about ten minutes.
Combine 1 ½ cups of flour, 1 teaspoon olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 ¼ cups of water. Stir until mixture is a paste-like consistency.
Add yeast mixture and continue to stir. You may add an additional cup of flour to thicken the dough.
Cover dough with a warm, moist towel and leave to rest in a warm location for about an hour until it doubles in size.
Sprinkle some flour on a work surface. Lightly punch the dough down, then turn it out onto the floured surface.
Divide dough into small pieces and using your hands and a rolling pin, work the dough into thin sheets.
Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the thinly rolled dough into small pieces and place on a baking sheet.
In a medium sized frying pan, heat a generous amount of olive oil over medium heat.
When the oil begins to shimmer, gently drop in the sliced dough with a pair of tongues, pushing the dough down as it fries.
Fry dough until it is golden brown on both sides. Remove from oil and sprinkle with sea salt.
Gather your favorite toppings (savory or sweet), cut open a pocket in the fried dough, and fill the pocket like a pita. Enjoy!

Egg Drop Soup

Mangia! Mangia! Introducing Fr. Tom’s Pepperoni Roll recipe. This roll is a simple dish that pairs great with a glass of wine before dinner or even makes a great late-night snack!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (optional chicken stock paste)
• 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ¼ teaspoon olive oil
• ¼ cup sliced green onions

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Boil 4 quarts of water. In a bowl, crack and scramble your eggs.
2. Generously season with cracked pepper and salt, continue to whisk.
3. Slowly whisk in olive oil.
4. In a separate bowl, add chicken stock paste and boiling water, stirring and mashing to
combine. Make sure it is diluted completely.
5. When stock mixture is sufficiently combined, add to 4 quarts of boiling water.
6. Reduce heat to a simmer. Slowly drizzle the eggs into the soup while gently stirring in a
circle in the same direction. Stir in green onions.
7. Serve hot and enjoy!

Join the Franciscan Friars as we celebrate Live Mass, partake in Feast Day celebrations, Devotions and Novenas, and enjoy many other Spiritual Videos.

Through meaningful interviews and heartfelt conversations, “Friar Time,” hosted by Fr. David intersections of faith, society, and personal well-being. tune in for an inspiring journey of introspection and spiritual growth.