Moroccan Magic

I just love the flavour of Moroccan food. What an easy choice for the letter 'M'. The spices are just to die for, and the really good thing with this dish is that it doesn't have a long cooking time because the sauce is cooked first and then the meatballs are poached in it. Dessert was quite an easy choice as well, as Macadamias are my favourite nut. So dinner tonight was Spicy Kefta Tagine with Lemon and Macadamia Nut Mess.


Spicy Kefta Tagine with Lemon

The Kefta
450g finely minced beef or lamb (I chose beef as there was no lamb)
1 onion finely chopped
leaves from a small bunch of flat leaf parsley
1-2 tsp of ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp of ground coriander
1 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

To make the kefta, pound the mince meat with your knuckles in a bowl. Using your hands lift up the lump of mince and start throwing it into the bowl, this is so therapeutic after a hard day at school. Add the remaining ingredients and mix and knead together. You can also pound the mince as before by lifting up and throwing it into the bowl. Take pieces of the mixture and shape them into walnut sized balls. You should end up with about 16 kefta.

The Sauce
1 tbsp of olive oil and butter
1 onion roughly chopped
2-3 garlic cloves crushed
thumb size piece of ginger, peeled, finely chopped
1 red chilli, thinly sliced
2 tsp ground turmeric
leaves of a small bunch of fresh coriander chopped
leaves of a small bunch of fresh mint chopped
freshly squeezed juice of a lemon
1 lemon cut into wedges pips removed

Heat the oil and the butter in a tagine or heavy based casserole. Stir in the onion, garlic, ginger, and chilli and saute until they begin to brown. Add the turmeric, half the coriander and the mint, and pour in 300ml of water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered for 10 minutes. Carefully place the kefta in the liquid, cover and poach for about 15 minutes, rolling them in the liquid from time to time so they are cooked well on all sides. Pour over the lemon juice, season the liquid with salt and tuck the lemon wedges around. Poach for a further 10 minutes.

Sprinkle with remaining coriander and mint and serve with cous cous. I used pearl cous cous and flavoured it with shaved almonds toasted, coriander, chilli and garlic. I also used vegetable stock to cook the cous cous.

Macadamia Nut Mess

Meringue
4 egg whites at room temp
a pinch of salt
220g caster sugar

Caramel sauce
1 cup of brown sugar
small tub of cream

Vanilla Ice cream
Macadamia Nuts, chopped and whole

Preheat oven to 120C. Using a beater on high speed, whisk the egg whites and the salt to soft peaks. Reduce the speed to medium and slowly add the sugar in a fine stream to ensure it gets properly incorporated into the meringue. When you've added all the sugar, keep beating for a couple of minutes until the meringue looks thick and glossy. Lightly grease a baking tray. Line with baking paper. Dollop the meringue onto the trays in generous tablespoonfuls, leaving space between to allow for spreading. Pop in the oven for 20 minutes or until they have turned golden and crisp on the outside. Then turn oven off and leave in the oven to dry out.

Toast the macadamias under the griller or bylightly dry frying them in a frypan.

To make the caramel sauce put the brown sugar in a saucepan on a medium heat and add some cream. Add the cream in bits till you think that it is thick enough for your tastes - basically I just experimented with it, lol. Good luck.

To make the mess, I layered all the ingredients and drizzled the caramel sauce. Yummo and then add some more macadamias.

Enjoy.

All my favourites

I was totally spoiled for choice having to cook with the letter 'L' for this week's #abcmeals challenge.  A lot of my favourite foods begin with 'L' - lamb, lasagne, lemon, lime, leek, linguini (well any pasta really), lollies, limoncello, lemon lime and bitters, licorice, lemongrass, lamingtons, the list could go on and on.  Narrowing it down to two courses, manageable on a week night was a big challenge.  I settled on lamb, leek and lemon, but changed my mind so many times on what I might actually cook.  In the end I couldn't go past a classic lamb rack, which are honestly one of the easiest things you can cook.  For dessert I went with my new favourite tart - a No-bake Lemon Tart, which only requires four ingredients.  And of course we had real Lemon, Lime and Bitters to drink!

Rack of Lamb with Leeks and Potato Gallette
Lamb
1 whole rack of lamb, fat trimmed (3 - 4 cutlets per person)
2 - 3 fresh Rosemary sprigs
2 - 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/2 cup good red wine (whatever you plan to drink when cooking and eating)

1. Place lamb in a large snaplock bag.  Add rosemary leaves and garlic and rub them into the lamb.  Add red wine.  Seal bag and allow to marinate in the fridge for at least an hour.
2. Heat an oven-safe frypan on a medium-high heat.  Remove lamb from marinade and place directly into pan.  Sear for 3 - 4 minutes on each side.
3. Place frypan into a pre-heated over at 180C and allow lamb to roast for up to 10 minutes - depending on the thickness of the piece and how you like your lamb cooked.
4. Remove lamb from frypan to a warmed plate.  Cover with alfoil and keep in a warm spot to rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Potatoes
2 Kipfler potatoes
80g unsalted butter, melted
1 - 2 garlic cloves, minced

1. Slice potatoes into thin discs.  If you use a mandolin for this, please make sure you use the guard so that you don't slice your finger tips!
2. Combine all ingredients.
3. Arrange potato in an overlapping circle on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
4. Season with salt and a little pepper.
5. Bake at 180C for 15 - 20 minutes, until potatoes are browned and starting to crisp up.

Leeks
1 Leek, white part only, sliced finely
80g unsalted butter
50mL cream

1. Place sliced leeks in a small pan with the butter, over a medium-low heat.  Allow them to gently soften and cook.  Add more butter if it's getting a bit dry, so that they don't burn.
2. When leeks are cooked add the cream and season with a little black pepper.

No-bake Lemon Tart
1 packet Arnott's Granita biscuits (250g)
125g unsalted butter, melted
2 cups lemon curd
500g creme fraiche or mascarpone cheese

1. Using baking paper, line the base of a 20 - 25cm loose-bottomed tart tin. 
2. Crush biscuits in a food processor and combine with melted butter. 
3. Press into the base and up the sides of the prepared tin.  If you use a smaller tin, don't overfill with the crust.  Instead use the remaining crust in mini tart tins or a muffin tin to make some smaller tarts as well.  No point in wasting it!
4. Refrigerate base for at least 20 minutes.
5. Combine lemon curd and creme fraiche.  Pour into chilled base.  Refrigerate for 1 - 2 hours.
6. Serve with fresh berries or lemon and lime wedges and a dollop of cream.

 Thanks to Cooking with Nonna for this recipe. 

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I scream for ICE-CREAM

Sorry this post has been a little while in coming. 'I'was two Wednesdays ago and we have since had 'J'. Rose is waiting patiently for me to put this up. 'I' was a very hard letter to cook for as 'I' ingredients are limited; Ice, Iceberg Lettuce and Ice-cream. Countries were a little easier to gain inspiration: Italy, India, Iceland. I decided to tackle some Indian food. For entree, I went with some Red Onion and Chilli Bhaji, main was a chicken korma and for dessert I made up some Lemon and cardamon Ice-cream.

Red Onion and Chilli Bhaji with Mint and Garlic Raita

2 red onions
100g chickpea flour (gram flour)
½ tsp baking powder
2 tsp curry paste or powder
1 red or green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
vegetable oil, for frying

Finely chop one onion and thinly slice the other. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add the curry paste or powder, chopped chilli and a good sprinkling of salt. Add about 150ml of cold water to make a thick batter. Stir in the chopped and sliced onions until they are well coated.

Heat about 5cm of oil in a wok or deep pan. Add a tiny speck of batter, if it rises to the surface surrounded by bubbles and starts to brown, then the oil is hot enough.

Add heaped tablespoons of onion mix to the pan, a few at a time, and cook for a few minutes, turning once, until they are evenly browned and crisp, about 3-4 minutes. Drain on kitchen paper, sprinkle with a little salt and keep warm while you cook the remaining bhajis. Serve with the raita.

Garlic Raita
150g tub natural yogurt
2 tbsp chopped mint
1 small garlic clove, crushed

Mix together the raita ingredients with a little salt and pepper, then spoon into a small bowl.



Chicken Korma

small knob fresh ginger, peeled and finely sliced
1 garlic clove
1 onion, sliced
1 tbsp vegetable oil
4 skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tsp garam masala
100ml chicken stock
3 tbsp low-fat natural yoghurt or creme fraiche
2 tbsp ground almonds
handful toasted, sliced almonds, to serve
coriander leaves, plain rice, naan bread or chapatis, to serve


Cook the ginger, garlic and onion in a large pan with the oil until softened. Tip in the chicken and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes, then add in garam masala and cook for 1 minute further.
Pour over the stock and simmer for 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Mix together the yoghurt/creme fraiche and ground almonds. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the yoghurt/creme fraiche mixture. Sprinkle over sliced almonds, garnish with coriander and serve with boiled rice, chapatis or plain naan bread.

Lemon and Cardamon Ice-cream

5 lemons
1 tablespoon cardamom pods, crushed
1 cup light thickened cream (12% fat)
1 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean
6 large egg yolks
3 cups whipping cream

Peel 1 lemon with a vegetable peeler, taking care not to cut into the bitter white pith. Place the peel in a nonreactive medium saucepan with the crushed cardamom, light thickened cream and sugar. Scrape the vanilla pod seeds into the pan and drop in the pod. Heat over high heat to just under a boil. Remove from the heat, and allow to steep for 10 to 15 minutes.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks, and then pour in some of the hot cream mixture, stirring constantly. Pour the mixture back into the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it coats the back of a wooden spoon, 4 to 5 minutes.

Pour the mixture through a strainer into a bowl. Finely grate the zest of 2 lemons and add it to the mixture. Allow to stand for 10 minutes.

Add the cream to the mixture. Juice all 5 lemons and add the juice (you should have about three-quarters of a cup) to the cream mixture. Chill thoroughly.

Freeze in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions.

I served with a squeeze of lemon syrup and a few crushed pistachio nuts.

Timing is everything

I follow a number of cooking blogs, the most prolific being Closet Cooking. Earlier last week there was a post about Zucchini Gnocchi, followed up with the related post for the sauce he matched with it, which both very much caught my attention.  Zucchini is one of the most underrated vegetables in my opinion.

My cooking with zucchini stretches back to 1991 and Year 12 Home Ec.  We had what Master Chef would now call an invention test, which was actually a whole term's assignment.  The task was to invent something new that you couldn't already buy at the supermarket, design the packaging and market it.  I was merrily going along with a cupcakes idea, as an extension to the packet cake mix.  At the time (remember we're talking 1991) you could only buy normal cake mix - butter cake, vanilla, chocolate and maybe carrot cake if you were lucky.  My brilliant idea was around cup cakes and marble cakes, and cakes with the icing or sprinkles in the pack, so you had it all in one box.  I had tested a number of flavours and combinations, and was going along fabulously, until I suddenly saw that exact thing in the supermarket.  Imagine my horror!  The Teacher said I could still go ahead with my idea, but you know me, there'd be no copying and I had to have something original.  So a new search began.

We'd always made scones as kids (and still do), and my next thought was, well you can have pumpkin scones so why not zucchini scones.  It was during the testing of these that I learnt, sometimes the hard way, just how much water is in zucchini.  Trust me, it's a lot.  And just when you think there's no more, you're wrong!  Anyway, many versions later I perfected my zucchini scones and their packaging.  I have no idea what I got for the assignment, but it doesn't matter.

And so to the Zucchini Gnocchi. I've made gnocchi twice before, using potato.  Each time they've been more labour intensive and tougher (to bite) than I'd anticipated.  This gnocchi has no potato.  instead it's a combination of zucchini, ricotta and basil.  Yes, there's flour added to bring it together, but a lot less than you would expect. You can keep it gluten free by using rice flour, instead of pasta or plain flour.  The key, as with all things zucchini, is to make sure it is really, really, really well-drained. Otherwise you'll end up adding so much flour that the gnocchi will be very tough. 

So with all of Saturday ahead of me, I planned to start making the gnocchi early in the day, to allow the zucchini long enough to drain and the pasta time to rest.  As usual though, the day passed me by and it got to 6pm before I started and almost changed my mind.  So glad I didn't!  Don't be put off by the gorgonzola in the sauce, if blue cheese is not your thing.  Go to a deli, where they will let you taste or where you trust them, and get a mild one.  Then as you crumble it into the sauce, leave out some of the mouldy bits so it's not as overpowering.  Or go for the meanest, stinkiest one you can find if you love it!

My recipe has a bit more lemon in it and is approximately half of the original recipe and still made over 50 little gnocchi.  I'm testing the freezing capabilities too and will let you know. Happy cooking!

Zucchini Gnocchi with Corn, Creamy Gorgonzola Sauce
2 cups finely grated zucchini
1/2 tablespoon salt
small handful of basil, finely chopped
1 teaspoon lemon zest (and some lemon juice)
200g fresh ricotta
1 egg yolk
small handful grated parmesan (equal amounts with the basil)
pepper
1/2 - 1 cup plain/pasta/rice flour
1 slice Prosciutto per person

Sauce 

The measurements are flexible. It is quite a thin sauce which the gnocchi soaks up.

1/4 - 1/2 cup fresh corn kernels

1 teaspoon butter

1 - 2 tablespoons milk (no more than 1/4 cup)

1 - 2 tablespoons of whatever cream you have (no more than 1/4 cup)

30 - 50 g gorgonzola dolce (mild blue cheese)

1. Mix salt with grated zucchini, and place in a colander.  Let drain for 20 - 30 mins.  Squeeze out as much remaining liquid, as possible.  The drier the better.
2. Add basil, lemon zest, ricotta, egg yolk, parmesan and a squeeze of lemon juice (not too much).  Mix and season with pepper.
3. Add as much flour as you need to make a workable, not too sticky dough - add the flour bit by bit, not all at once!
4. Divide dough and roll into 2 - 3 cm thick rolls.  Slice each roll into 2 - 3 cm pieces.  Dust with flour and roll on a gnocchi board or with a fork (to give the indentations).  Set aside till ready to cook.
5. For the sauce, place corn, butter, milk, cream and crumbled gorgonzola in a small saucepan.  Stir over low-medium heat till cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth.  Season with salt and pepper.
6. Meanwhile, boil a large pot of salted water and cook gnocchi in batches.  Remove and keep warm once they float on the top.
7. Grill the prosciutto.
8. Toss the gnocchi with the sauce, and serve with crumbled prosciutto and basil.

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That's what was in the...

Often mid-week dinners can be a chore, even for me and I don't have kids running around me or me running after them.  You know that feeling... what can I do with what I've got, that doesn't just turn into pasta alla something, or sausages and mash, or steak and salad (or 3 veg, if it's not so hot where you are).  And what can I do to make it interesting, even if just for me?  It was this kind of thinking that led me to the following two recipes.

The crumbed chicken breast looks like it has a lot of ingredients, but you can really add whatever you've got.  It doesn't matter what herbs, or what cheese, or what your breadcrumbs look like.  In my crumb tonight the breadcrumbs were half and half panko and normal, because that's what was in the cupboard.  I used thyme and parsley - that's what was in the garden.  I would have liked to use taleggio cheese, but I used bocconcini - that's what was in the fridge.  You get the picture!

And as for the tart, well that is all pantry staples too - flour, icing sugar, almond meal, butter, eggs.  I made this as the pears are in season right now.  They are so juicy and delicious and I'm eating them any which way I can.  So without any further ado...

Bocconcini and thyme stuffed chicken breast (Serves 2)
1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped
6 - 8 stalks fresh thyme, leaves picked
1 - 2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely diced
50 - 100 g taleggio cheese, chopped (or bocconcini)
2 chicken breast
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (fresh, packet, whatever!!)
50g parmesan cheese, finely grated
1 lemon, zested
1 egg
8 - 10 cherry tomatoes

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Mix half the chopped parsley, all of the thyme, garlic and taleggio/bocconcini together.  Season with salt and pepper.
3. Cut a pocket into each chicken breast, and stuff with cheese and herb mix.  Secure with toothpicks.
4. Combine breadcrumbs, remaining parsley, parmesan and lemon zest.
5. Lightly whisk an egg and place in a shallow bowl.
6. Dip the chicken in the egg.  Then place into the breadcrumb mix and fully coat.
7. Place into a baking tray.  Scatter cherry tomatoes around and drizzle with oil.
8. Bake at 180C for 25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked and cherry tomatoes are tender.
9. Serve with wedges of lemon (the one/s that you zested) and potato salad.

No-pastry Pear Tarts (Makes 6)
180g unsalted butter
50g plain flour
180g icing sugar
100g almond meal
2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (1 - 2 lemons, depending on size)
5 eggwhites
2 poached pears sliced (or 2 fresh pears, thinly sliced, leave the skin on)
2 tablespoons flaked almonds

1. Preheat oven to 200C.
2. Lightly grease 6 x 7cm loose-bottomed tart pans.  Line the base with paper too, if you like.
3. Melt butter over medium heat for 1 - 2 minutes, until golden brown - don't let it burn.  Allow to cool.
4. Meanwhile, sift flour and icing sugar into a bowl, and stir in almond meal, lemon zest and melted butter.
5. Lightly froth the eggwhites with a fork in a separate bowl.  Fold into other mixture.
6. Divide among tart pans and place pear slices on top.  Scatter with flaked almonds.
7. Bake for 10 minutes at 200C.  Then reduce heat to 170C and bake a further 6 - 8 minutes or until golden.
8. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm with cream, ice-cream or custard.

For our gluten-free friends - substitute gluten-free flour and you're in heaven!
Other variations - add a little squeeze of lemon juice to the batter, or a pinch of cinnamon or mixed spice.

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Chooka's for the New Year.

Happy New Year everyone (I know we are now in Feb, but this is my first post for 2013). Work has started back and even after 2 days we have both been a bit stuffed. Since it has been a whacky and hot Summer I thought to start the new year with a light and refreshing meal of Black pepper marinated chicken skewers with a celery and parmesan salad and Eaton Mess.

Black pepper marinated chicken skewers

2 tbs ground black pepper
1/4 cup Olive oil
2 x 200g chicken breast fillets cut into 2 cm cubes
Juice of 2 lemons

Soak wooden skewers in water in cold water for 20 minutes.
Place black pepper and half the lemon juice and 1 tbs of oil in a bowl, mix, then add chicken tossing to coat. Set aside for 20 minutes.

Celery and parmesan salad

4 celery sticks
2 preserved lemon quarters (white pith removed and flesh removed, zest thinly sliced)
1 cup of parmesan cheese
2 tbs of chopped flat leaf parsely, plus extra to serve.

Whisk remaining lemon juice and 2 tbs of olive oil together in a bowl and season.
Place celery, preserved lemon zest, parmesan and parsely in a bowl, then tossgently with the dressing. Set aside.
Preheat barbecue or chargrill pan on medium heat. Season the chicken with salt. Grill the chicken 6-8 minutes turning for 6-8 minutes. Sprinkle CHicken with extra chopped parsely and serve with salad.

Andy's Mess

This is actually Matt Preston's Mess from his book which is actually an Eaton's Mess.

4 Egg whites
a pinch of salt
1 cup of caster sugar
500g of strawberries
1 ripe peach sliced
juice of 1 lemon
300ml of cream

Preheat oven to 120 deg C
Using a beater on high speed, whisk egg whites and salt to soft peaks. Reduce the speed to medium and slowly add the caster sugar into meringues.
WHen you've added caster sugar continue beating for a few minutes until meringues look thick and glossy.
Lightly grease a tray, line with baking paper. Dollop the meringue onto tray in generous dessertspoonfuls leaving space for spreading.
Pop in the oven for 20 minutes or until turn golden and crisp on the outside. Once ready turn oven off and leave in the oven to dry out.
Hull the strwberries and blitz them with the sliced peach and half the lemon juice. Pour puree into a plastic container and place in the freezer for a couple of hours.

To serve push a bit of strawberry slush in bottom of serving bowl add a bit of meringue and a bit of cream and repeat sequence. sprinkle o few nuts on top if desired and serve.

With a twist of lemon

A friend of mine, had an audition to be on MasterChef at the end of last year.  Whilst she didn't make it through, she came back with a whole lot of stories and insights into the production and timing that goes into each show.  We now know one of the main reasons why risotto is the death dish - it has to sit for hours, getting gluggier and gluggier, before anyone tastes it, and then when they taste it it's cold!  Which leads me to the recipe below - Chicken and Mushroom Risotto.

There are two main points of contention, I think, in making risotto.  Firstly, do you add 1 - 2 ladles of warm/hot stock in and wait for it to be absorbed before adding the next, or do you add all the warm/hot stock at the beginning and let it do it's thing, or does the stock even need to be warm/hot?  Secondly, when adding vegetables to the risotto do you cook or part-cook them first then add, or do you add them raw?

On the first point, I think definitely warm stock, it helps to keep the risotto at an even temperature.  And as for when you add the stock, that depends on how many other things you have on the go at the time.  If you've got no distractions, then add it bit by bit, then you can control the 'glugginess' more easily.  If you have distractions, then add most of it and hold some back, so you can add it towards the end if the rice isn't 'al dente' yet, or the risotto is a little dry.  I've done it both ways, and ended up with the same result.

On the second point, again I've done it both ways.  It depends on what you're adding and how you want the final product to end up.  If I'm making a pumpkin risotto, I'll cut the pumpkin into 1cm cubes and add them when I add the stock.  This way as they cook they break down and become a part of the risotto.  However, with mushrooms I cook them separately and add them at the end.  Otherwise you end up with a grey risotto, which is not visually appealing to anyone, unless you're in a black and white movie.

Mushroom Risotto is a stand-by favourite of mine.  The version below also adds some chicken and the juice of a lemon, at the end, for a bit of freshness.  You'll notice this recipe doesn't have the usual 1/2 cup wine to be added to the rice and cooked off, before adding the stock.  It's not there this month, as I am participating in FebFast (no alcohol for a month).  Feel free to add it in if you prefer.

Chicken and Mushroom Risotto (Serves 4)

2 cups vegetable stock
1 small onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 - 5 stalks fresh thyme, picked
Olive oil
1 cup arborio rice

2 - 3 chicken thighs, roughly chopped
100 - 200g mushrooms, sliced
1 - 2 tablespoons butter (20-40g?)
1 handful of finely grated parmesan (50-100g, depending on your hand, and to your taste)
1 lemon

1. In a saucepan, heat vegetable stock.  Leave it on a medium-low heat.
2. In a large saucepan, over medium heat, add a splash of olive oil, onion, garlic and most of the thyme (save some to garnish).  Cook this gently for a few minutes until the onion begins to soften.  It doesn't have to be fully cooked.
3. Add the rice.  Stir with a wooden spoon to coat the rice with the oil, onion etc.  Keep stirring, so it doesn't stick and allow to cook for 2 - 3 minutes.  (After this, if you're adding 1/2 cup dry white wine, pour it in, stir, and wait till the wine is absorbed before going on to step 3.)
4. Add 1 - 2 ladles of warm stock to rice.  Stir and allow to cook.  Keep adding another 1 - 2 ladles of stock to the rice as it cooks.  It will take 15 - 20 minutes to cook, depending on the rice and the temperature of the stock.  You'll know it's done when the rice is al dente. (Remember, you can add all the stock at once if you like.  Keep a little back, in case you need to adjust at the end.  And keep having a stir every few minutes or so.
5. Whilst this is happening, in a frypan, add some olive oil and brown the chicken.  Once the chicken is almost cooked, add in the sliced mushrooms and allow them to soften.  If the pan is looking a little dry, add a bit of the stock to it.
6. When the rice is almost cooked, add the chicken and mushroom mix to it.  Stir to combine. 
7. Remove rice from heat, and add butter and grated parmesan.  Stir until butter is melted.  Taste and season with salt (if necessary) and pepper.
8. Add juice of half a lemon, stir to combine.  Taste.  Add other half if necessary, or cut remaining half of lemon into wedges and add to bowls to serve.
9. Serve risotto in warm bowls, with shaved parmesan and fresh thyme.

A sweet little thing

Lemons beginning to fruit

And it's back to the kitchen, as Spring takes hold of our weather here in south-east Queensland.  Not long now till the rains will arrive (we hope) which will freshen everything up, and help us all to stop watering less.  Whilst we've been away from the blog, I've planted a little garden at my back door.  Winter is probably not the best time to do that, but nevertheless all the herbs and chillies have thrived in the cooler conditions, and are all set now for the warm spring and hot summer heading our way.  Even better news, is that the chillies and lemon tree have been flowering and now the fruit is coming on.  If only my poor old lime tree would catch on to this idea!  Anyway, I'm very much looking forward to using my own chilli and lemons very soon.

My co-conspirator in the kitchen has been laid low for almost 40 days now with the dreaded whooping cough.  So in an attempt to lift his spirits, I cooked dinner my house then took it to him!  The Indonesian Beef Rendang that I made was the perfect dish for a moveable dinner challenge. I did up to step 4 of the rendang, then bundled it up to transport.  Finally adding the coconut when I was ready to serve.

You'll need to find the biggest mortar and pestle you can to make this rendang paste.  It makes enough for 4 curries - you use about 1/2 cup per curry.  I ended up blitzing several ingredients in the food processor and had numerous bowls of these covering the bench.  The softer ingredients I pounded in the mortar and pestle, then combined everything at the end.  The rest of the paste that you don't use for this recipe can be frozen for up to 6 months, in 1/2 cup portions.

When you eat this curry, the first taste you get will be a sweet one (due to the addition of kecap manis - sweet soy sauce).  Shortly thereafter you will get the slow burn of the chilli.  Remember to always taste the chilli as you're chopping it up, and adjust the overall amount to suit your own tastes.  And, as with all curries this rendang is even better the next day for lunch!

Indonesian Beef Rendang

Rendang Paste
2.5 tbspn black pepper (whole)
2.5 tbspn coriander seeds, roasted and ground
50g fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
50g galangal (this is a really tough ingredient, so be prepared for a wrestle when chopping it up)
250g large red chillies, seeded, chopped (taste a piece to check for heat, and adjust quantity to taste)
40g bird's eye chillies, finely chopped
50g garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
200g shallot, peeled and roughly chopped
100g candle nut (can substitute macadamia nuts)

1. Roast the coriander seeds and peppercorns.
2. Then pound spices, ginger and galangal in mortar and pestle.
3. Add both chillies, garlic, shallots and candle nuts and pound to form a coarse paste.


Rendang
2 tbsp vegetable oil (eg Rice Bran oil)
1/2 cup rendang paste (see above)
750g chick beef, cut into 2.5cm cubes (use any type of braising beef)
2 stalks lemongrass, bruised
1 tumeric leaf (substitute 2 kaffir lime leaves - tear/squash them a little to start to release the flavour)
4 slices galangal
1 cup water
500mL coconut cream
2 tbspn dark palm sugar
1/3 kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
3/4 cup dessicated coconut, toasted

1. Heat oil in heavy based pan or wok and fry paste for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add meat, lemongrass, tumeric leaf and galangal and cook until meat is sealed all over.
3. Add water and simmer gently for 40 minutes.  Give it a stir every now and then.
4. Add coconut cream, palm sugar and kecap manis.  Stir to combine.  Simmer for further 45-60 minutes until meat is tender and sauce is very thick.
5. Stir in half the toasted coconut (it will soak up some of the sauce) and stir to combine.  Add remaining coconut a few minutes later if needed.
6. Serve with steamed rice, and garnished with crispy fried shallots and coriander leaves.

Just like a bought one, only better!

Looking for something easy and tasty to cook for dinner tonight?  Chicken Parmy is the answer, with a beautiful creamy mash and whatever other veges you've got.  I'll bet you've got everything you need, already in the fridge and pantry, and there are a multitude of things you can substitute.  Instead of making your own tomato sauce for the top, why not use a tin of tomatoes with basil and garlic already in it.  Don't have Panko Breadcrumbs (they're just a little coarser than normal ones)?  Toast a piece of bread and crumble it up with your rolling pin or mortar and pestle.  Don't be put off by doing your own crumbing - it's not that hard or messy.  Just remember to keep one hand for dry (flour and breadcrumbs) and one had for wet (egg).  Really there's no excuse.  It's just too easy.  Enjoy!

Chicken Parmigiana
(Serves 4)
150g (2 cups) panko breadcrumbs
1 lemon, zested
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
150g (1 cup) plain flour
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 large chicken breasts, halved lengthwise
1 tin (400g) chopped tomatoes (or get the tin that has the basil and garlic in it, and skip step 4!)
handful basil, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
100g grated mozarella

1. Combine breadcrumbs, lemon zest and half the parsley, in one bowl.  Season flour with salt and pepper, in second bowl.  Lightly beat eggs, in a third bowl.
2. Arrange bowls - flour, egg, then breadcrumbs.  Dust 1 piece of chicken with flour, then dip in egg, then coat in breadcrumbs.  Repeat for all pieces of chicken.  Try to keep one hand for dry (flour, breadcrumbs) and one hand for wet (eggs) - it makes everything a lot less messy!
3. Heat some oil or butter in a large, heavy-based fry pan over medium heat.  Cook chicken, in batches (depending on size of pan) for 3 - 4 minutes each side or until golden.  
4. Mix chopped tomatoes with basil and garlic.
5. Preheat grill to high.  Place all chicken pieces in a large oven-proof dish (or use the frypan you cooked them in).  Spoon tomato mixture over each piece of chicken and top with mozarella.
6. Grill for 3 - 5 minutes, until cheese is golden and chicken is cooked through.  Allow to stand a few minutes before serving.
7. Serve parmigiana on top of creamy mashed potato and snow peas/green beans, with lemon wedges.  Garnish with remaining parsley.

Dov'è la crema - parte 2?

Our first visit back to "core ingredients" task was PORCINI MUSHROOMS. It was really good to revisit the core ingredient. I kind of felt like i was in the Masterchef kitchen doing one of the challenges. The first part of the challenge was to source the Mushrooms, after several visits to mainstream supermarkets this proved mushroomless (fruitless). I must thank two collegues, Therese and Rachael, from work who put me onto a fantastic shop called B fresh, this shop has it all so will be doing some more shopping there from now on. B fresh had my porcini mushrooms so I was now set to go.
My menu for Wednesday night was steak with porcini and roasted garlic butter with Sweet potato puree and for dessert, Sticky date pudding. This was an easy meal and quick to make.
For the butter I roasted one head of garlic and soaked the porcini mushrooms for 30 minutes in boiling water. Once roasted and soaked I placed this in processor with 250g butter and a handful of Italian parsley. Once blended place into cling film and roll into sausage shape and refrigerate. For the puree I mashed up some sweet potato and added butter, cream and the juice of half a lemon. I have never added lemon into a puree before, I will definitely be doing this again. I used rump steak for our cut of meat and simply fried this up on the grill and let it sit for 10 minutes, I then sliced the steak into 5mm thick slices. I served with a stack of broccolini.
Place the steak on top of puree and then cover with slices of the butter. A very quick and simple main course.
For dessert I boiled up some dates and the added some bi-carb soda to the water and let sit to cool. Mixed up butter, caster sugar till creamy and added 2 eggs, one at a time and blended. I added some self raising flour  and mixed with a teaspoon of vanilla bean paste. Then pour in the mixture of dates and water. I baked in a loaf tin for 40 minutes. For the butterscotch sauce, put 500ml of thickened cream, 110g of demerara sugar and 2 tbs of treacle. Combine this over med heat in saucepan. To serve I cut the pudding into thick slices and poured over sauce. I was going to serve with cream but I forgot to by extra for serving, hence "WHERES THE CREAM".

A Collective Sigh

This week my challenge was to cook with Quinoa. It wasn't so much a challenge, as a request. I had wanted to cook Quinoa for quite some time, seeing as it seems to be popping up everywhere these days. Quinoa is touted as a 'superfood' and is a grain-like food. It can easily substitute in recipes for cous cous or rice. I found the texture to be softer than cous cous, probably because it swells up, when cooked, a little more like rice. For many people one of the advantages of quinoa is that it is gluten free, and thus far easier to digest. You will definitely pay more for quinoa (around $6 for a box of 3oog at my local Coles), than rice or cous cous, but I think it is worth it for a change every now and then, for a texture part way in between those two.

So what did I cook? First course was a Carrot and Ginger Soup. And then being my first test (and taste) of quinoa, I simply boiled it up and served it as a side with some beautiful Lamb steaks, a lemon and fennel salad, and home-made harissa.

Carrot and Ginger Soup (serves 6)
2 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 medium potato, peeled, chopped
5 1/2 cups chopped carrots
2 tsp minced fresh ginger (I used heaps more than that)
1 1/2L chicken stock
150mL whipping cream (optional) nutmeg chives salt and pepper

1. As with all soups, melt the butter, then add the onion and celery and cook for about 5 minutes, until softened.
2. Add potato, carrots, ginger and chicken stock. Stir, bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 mins, until all veges are cooked.
3. Blend/puree/process the soup till it's smooth.
4. Grate fresh nutmeg over the top. Stir. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Add the cream to the soup and stir to combine, or just add a dollop as you serve, topped with chives.

This soup certainly did the trick. I had actually made it a few days earlier, and in a triple batch. We have a tradition at work to share a soup/curry/risotto etc on a Tuesday and I was first cab of the rank. I used a huge nob of ginger from my garden, as I didn't think that only using 2 teaspoons would be anywhere near enough.

Ginger from my garden

Ginger is one of the easiest things to grow yourself. Next time you buy some from the supermarket or fruit shop, snap off a bit and put it in a snaplock bag on your bench until it starts to produce a shoot. Then plonk it in a pot or straight in the ground, and give it a good drink of water. It will do it's think and keep growing and growing. Wait till you see the tall green shoot come up - the taller it is the bigger the ginger underneath I've found. So when you need some ginger, pull it up, snap off what you need, and rebury it. Keep dividing it up and your ginger will just keep re-generating and you'll never have to buy it again.

Thyme Lamb with fennel and parsley quinoa (serves 2)
100g quinoa
2 lamb backstraps (150g - 200g each) - I used lamb sirloin steaks
1 - 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 - 2 tbsp thyme leaves (could use lemon thyme if you can find it)
1 small fennel bulb, trimmed, thinly sliced
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
olive oil
1 garlic clove
1 lemon - finely grate rind, then juice it
lemon wedges and harissa (to serve)

Lamb sirloin steaks

1. Cook quinoa in pan of boiling water for 12 minutes or until tender. Drain, cover and keep warm.
2. Rub lamb with mustard (use more if you need it), then roll in thyme, salt & pepper. Heat large lightly oiled pan over med-high. Cook lamb for 3 mins each side (med-rare) or to your like. Remove and rest, covered for 5 minutes.
3. Toss fennel with parsley, lemon rind, lemon juice, garlic. Add in quinoa or serve separately.
4. Slice lamb thickly and serve on quinoa and salad, with lemon wedges and harissa (see recipe below)

Neil Perry's Harissa
4 hot red chillies, coarsely chopped with seeds
2 red capsicum, roasted, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
Sea salt and olive oil

1. In a mortar and pestle pound up the chilli, garlic, cumin, coriander and salt. Taste the chilli to check how hot it is! Add a bit of olive oil if you need to, to make a smooth paste.
2. Add in the thinly sliced capsicum and pound till it has broken up and is well combined with the chilli mixture.
3. Serve immediately, or spoon into sterilised jars and cover with some olive oil. Refrigerate.

Thyme lamb with fennel and parsley quinoa

This harissa is one of my stand-by favourites. It is quick and easy, and oh so tasty with lamb, fish, chicken, silverside, any meat really. It is also good as a dip for veges or with some cheese. Many many uses, I think you all should add it to your repertoire.

The whole dish was amazing. The quinoa was surprisingly light and fluffy. I thought it would be a little coarser like cous cous. The harissa had a beautiful hit of chilli and balanced out the lemon and fennel in the salad. The lamb was perfect - so tender, so juicy. If I do say so myself, this was brilliant. I give myself 5 out of 5 wooden spoons!


Lucky me I had the leftovers for lunch, the next day in the form of a quinoa harissa salad. I mixed the remaining quinoa with the remaining harissa, then added a whack of chopped flat leaf parsley. I had some left over silverside, which I chopped up and threw in as well. It was so good. You've just got to love a dinner, that keeps on giving.

A little bit of lime

I was in Woolies yesterday and nearly fell over when I saw the price of limes at $3.99/kg! I know, I know, pick yourself up off the floor it was not a typo. Two weeks ago I think I paid $1.25 for 1 lime! You can imagine how many I bought, with plans for all the things I could do with them. So tonight's dinner is bought to you by the letter L - for lime!

We started of with a Thai Chicken Risotto. If you have the March 2012 issue of Delicious magazine you can find it in there on page 64 in the "Eat well for less" article. The amount I made would serve 4, ie we've both got lunch tomorrow :)

Start by cutting up 2 chicken thighs into small pieces. Brown them in some peanut oil, then remove from pan. In the same pan, over medium heat add 1/2 onion (I used 2 golden shallots) finely chopped, 1/2 red chilli thinly sliced (depending on the heat of the chilli and how hot you want it either leave seeds in or not, or use the whole chilli), 1 garlic clove crushed and 2 thinly shredded kaffir lime leaves. Cook, stirring often for 2 - 3 mins, until onion is soft. Add 165g aborio rice, 2 tbsp red curry paste and a splash of white wine (that's not in the Delicious recipe!) and cook, stirring to coat rice, for about 1 minute. Add the chicken back in, with 250mL chicken stock and 60mL water (about 300mL liquid all up). Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 - 20 mins till liquid is absorbed. Add more stock if necessary throughout the time. Finally stir in 125mL coconut milk/cream, 1 tbsp fish sauce and 100g trimmed chopped grean beans. Cover and stand for about 10 minutes. To serve, top risotto with coriander, the rest of the chilli finely chopped and more shredded kaffir lime leaves.

This was a beautiful risotto. It had just the right kick of chilli for me, and a good balance of flavours with the lime squeezed over the top. I was a happy chef and a happy eater. So simple, so tasty and all in one pot! 5/5 wooden spoons

And now for dessert. This is one of Nigella's little puddings. I was going to cook it two weeks ago, but ran out of time and energy. Then of course with limes being so cheap this week, Nigella's lemon puddings turned into Rose's lemon and lime puddings. The mixture below made 2 puddings.

Into your mix master or food processor bowl add: 65g softened unsalted butter, 65g caster sugar, 65g plain flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 egg, zest of 1 lime - mix till combined into a thick batter. Add juice of the lime you zested and mix again. Grease two 1 cup ramekins, and dollop about 1 tbsp lemon curd in the bottom - enough to cover it.

Divide the batter amongst the ramekins, covering the lemon curd. Bake for 20 mins till cooked through. Remove from oven and ease sponge away from ramekin and tip into bowl. Serve warm with custard or cream. Make sure you scrape the bits of lemon curd out of the ramekin and "quality control" them - there's got to be a perk for being in charge in the kitchen.

As with the risotto, these were delicious. They were light and citrusy. The original recipe uses lemon zest and lemon juice, where I used the lime. Really, you just can go wrong with this one. Next time I will actually attempt to make my own custard, and not rely on good ol' Fosters Clarks (just add boiling water and whisk) Custard, although it is very tasty and a whole lot quicker. 4.5/5 wooden spoons

Walnut Wednesday

Well today was the first day back at work, after a 5 week break. So what did I decide to cook for dinner – a roast of course!!! Luckily I was home early and it was a cool day, so all was good. Instead of a traditional roast lamb and veges, I took a different tack and made a spiced roast leg of lamb with caramelised onion cous cous (based on Quick Smart Cook p158).

The flavouring on the lamb was delicious (cumin, coriander, paprika and garlic) and very aromatic. The lamb itself (from the amazing Cooroy Butchery – love buying locally) was tender and juicy, and cooked to a lovely pink medium. The caramelised onions and walnuts in the cous cous created a whole different flavour than you usually get with cous cous. Since lamb and lemon are old friends in my house, I added lemon wedges to serve. This helped to balance the sweetness of the caramelised onions in the cous cous. We had gravy from all the pan juices, but really it wasn’t necessary. Lucky those who are having leftovers tomorrow, including some friends’ lucky dog, Dozer, who gets the bone! Tonight’s lamb gets 4.5/5 wooden spoons (and yes I’m sticking with wooden spoons).

Spiced roast leg of lamb
3 tablespoons each of ground cumin, ground coriander and paprika, mixed with 3 crushed garlic cloves and 2 – 3 tablespoons olive oil. Rub this over whatever cut of lamb you have. Cook your lamb to medium, however you like to cook a roast – bbq, stove top, oven.

Caramelised onion cous cous
Slice 2 onions and 2 tbsp rosemary (or thyme). Cook in a frypan over a med-low heat, with a little bit of oil, for about 4 – 5 minutes till the onions start to soften (try not to get too much colour on them). Add 1 – 2 tbsp caster sugar and 100mL balsamic vinegar to the onions, and cook over low, stirring ocasionally until almost all the liquid has been absorbed and it looks almost jammy. Make the cous cous as you would normally (200g cous cous to 400mL boiling water). Once the cous cous is ready fluff it up with a fork and add 2 tbsp chopped parsley, the onions (and any juice), 20 g butter and 100g toasted chopped walnuts. You may need to add a little olive oil to the cous cous to loosen it up a little. Slice the lamb and serve with cous cous and lemon wedges.

Keeping with the walnut theme was tonight’s dessert – Carrot and Walnut Puddings (from Delicious Sweet p79). I describe these as basically a little warm carrot cake, and who doesn’t love carrot cake.

After baking in the oven, these were served with a dollop of cream and a drizzle of

golden syrup on top and sprinkled with chopped walnuts. They were very tasty. But the size of “mould” suggested in the recipe was far too big and we only managed to eat half a pudding, despite the sensational flavour. Next time I’d do them half the size and make twice as many. These will definitely freeze and reheat well too! Also I think I’d also add some spice next time – nutmeg or cinnamon, or even a ground up cardamom pod or two perhaps, just for a little bit more something! If you’d like the recipe, let me know. 4/5 wooden spoons.

PS Yes, I know we cook lamb a lot - but we love it!

Quick Lemon Chick

Quick Lemon Chick

After a hot summer's day in south-east Queensland (apparently our hottest in a couple of years) I was looking for something refreshing and easy for dinner.  I had a chicken breast and lots of lemons - so lemon chicken was the obvious choice.

This however turned itself into a delicious stir fry once I spied Coles Coleslaw Supreme mix (red and white cabbage, carrot, corn kernels, celery, spring onion) for the crunchy vege component.  Look, they'd gone to the trouble of shredding it up for me, and who was I to argue!  The addition of the cherry tomatoes really helps to balance the lemony flavour beautifully.


Quick Lemon Chicken Stir Fry
Serves 2 (or if you have more hungry mouths to feed serve with pasta or steamed rice)

1 chicken breast, sliced in small pieces or strips (whatever takes your fancy)
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 - 2 cups shredded veges (Coles Coleslaw Supreme mix works well - red and white cabbage, carrot, corn kernels, celery, spring onion)
150 mL chicken stock
1 tsp corn flour (depending on how juicy the lemon was you may want to add a bit more)
8 - 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
Lemon thyme (to serve)

Jimbour Station Verdehlo

1. Put a dash of olive in a big pan and stir fry chicken and onion, for 5 - 6 minutes, until chicken is browned.
2. Add veges to pan and cook for a few minutes.  The time depends on how crispy or wilted you like your veg.
3. Whilst that is happening, mix together the chicken stock, lemon juice and zest with the cornflour.
4. When you are happy with the chicken and vege, pour over the stock etc and stir to coat the chicken and veg.  Cook for a few minutes or until sauce is slightly thicker.
5. Toss in the tomatoes for the last little bit.
6. Serve it up with a sprinkling of lemon thyme over the top, and a nice cold glass of Jimbour Station (Qld!) Verdehlo.