Father’s Day Recipes as heard on Ottawa at Work

Celebrate the dads in your life with a fabulous, flavor-packed menu—so good, you’ll be making these recipes on repeat all summer long!

Char’s Sloppy Lamb Burgers with Olive Tapenade & Lemon Yogurt

These burgers are literally a mouthful – and I’m here for it! Mess and all…haha!
Heads up: extra napkins are required for this burger.
Fire up the grill and treat Dad to a burger he’ll be dreaming about for days.

Olive Tapenade

Tapenade is almost like an olive pesto. Traditionally, it’s made with anchovies and capers as well as olives. For ease of prep, I usually just make it with olives.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (250 mL) pitted green olives (you can use black too)
• ¼ cup (60 mL) each of roughly chopped fresh parsley and roughly chopped fresh mint
• Finely grated zest of one lemon
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor fitted with a metal blade.
2. Pulse until ingredients are finely chopped (scraping down sides of bowl when needed) and well combined.
3. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use (up to one week). Stir well before serving.
4. Makes about 3/4 cup (175 mL).

Lemon Yogurt

Ingredients

• ½ cup (125 mL) plain full-fat Greek style yogurt
• ¼ cup (60 mL) chopped fresh parsley
• Finely grated zest of one lemon
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tsp (10 mL) hot sauce (heat level of choice)
• ¼ cup (60 mL) crumbled feta cheese

Directions

1. Stir together all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve (up to 2 days). Stir well before serving.

Burgers

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. (900 g) ground lamb
• ¼ cup (60 mL) roughly chopped fresh mint
• 3 tbsp (45 mL) chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp (10 mL) dried oregano leaves
• ½ tsp (2 mL) each of salt and pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Buns and additional garnishes of choice.

Directions

1. Preheat the grill to medium high.
2. Using your hands, mix together all burger ingredients until evenly combined. Form into 4 even size patties (*or, 6 smaller patties).
3. Place burgers on a clean, preheated grill. Turn heat down to medium.
4. Grill for about 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until internal temperature reaches 160 F (71 C).
5. Place burgers on buns and garnish evenly with lemon yogurt, tapenade and additional garnishes of choice.
6. Makes 4 burgers.

Delicious & Doable Tips:

~ not a fan of lamb? Try this burger with ground turkey or ground beef instead
~ don’t have time to whip up a tapenade? No prob, just slather on the yogurt sauce and you’re good to go!

Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad

~ click here for recipe

In my summer-eating-opinion: No backyard gathering is complete without a loaded pasta salad. Cooked and cooled pasta is like a blank canvas for countless add-ins. Bonus: leftovers (if there are any!) make a perfect brown bag lunch the following day.

Char’s Twist on Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad: the attached recipe calls for one box of Italpasta Artisan Fusilli (Artisan Gemelli or Penne work too! Click here for product info ~ instead, I use 2 cups (500 mL) of dry pasta (cook according to package directions) and add in my roasted chickpeas (recipe below) to the final dish for a delicious boost of crunch, fiber and plant-based protein—everything else stays the same!

Additional add-ins (optional):  

~ I use ½ cup (125 mL) finely chopped pickled jalapenos (instead of finely diced fresh). But if you like a variety of heat – you could add both!!

~ I love adding approx ½ cup (125 mL) chopped fresh mint to this salad. The mint works so well with the corn and cumin.   

Roasted Garlic & Coriander Chickpeas

Roasted chickpeas are the ultimate salad topper (or snack—I’ve been known to eat them straight up by the handful!). Just be sure to pat them dry after draining and rinsing—this way you are guaranteed a super crispy chickpea.

Ingredients

• 1 (540 mL/19 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed and patted dry
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil (or olive oil)
• ½ tsp (2 mL) salt
• ½ tsp (2 mL) garlic powder
• ½ tsp (2 mL) ground coriander
• ½ tsp (2 mL) onion powder
• ¼ tsp (1 mL) pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F (200 C).
2. Toss chickpeas with oil and spices until well coated.
3. Place on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper – spread chickpeas out as much as possible.
4. Bake in the center of the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes tossing only once (half way through roasting) – until evenly roasted.
5. Remove from the oven and cool completely while making salad.
6. Toss roasted chickpeas with salad.

Black Bean Brownie Cake With Strawberry Mascarpone Cream

If you’ve never made (or tasted) black bean brownies – you’re in for a real treat (literally!). This moist and chocolatey brownie cake is absolutely delicious, uses pantry staple items and is gluten free too! Click here for recipe.

Where to Find ‘Delicious & Doable’ Across Ontario

Find ‘Delicious & Doable ~ Recipes For Real and Everyday Life’ on Amazon (click here) or at one of the below retailers across Ontario:

Type Books ~ 883 Queen Street West, Toronto
Lemonberry ~ 2 Orchard Heights Blvd #10, Aurora
Fanfare Books ~ 92 Ontario St, Stratford
Casual Gourmet ~ 1027 King Street West, Hamilton
The Post Office – 18 Front St. N, Thorold
Chef’s Paradise ~ 1314 Bank Street, Ottawa
Gift It Grey ~ 19492 Opeongo Line, Barry’s Bay
Creative Cook ~ 35 Manitoba St, Bracebridge
Muskoka Brewery ~ 1964 Muskoka Beach Rd, Bracebridge
Stephen’s Butcher Shop ~ 8 Harris St, Port Carling
Hilltop Interiors ~ 1150 ON-141, Rosseau
Cedar Canoe Books ~ 72 Main St E, Huntsville
Clark’s On Main ~ 1090 Main Street, Dorset
Bigley’s Cottage Kitchen ~ 39 Bolton St, Bobcaygeon
Farmer’s Daughter – 72 Main St E, Huntsville
Kitchen Bits ~ 1390 Kingsway, Greater Sudbury