The luxury of time

Being on holidays gave me the absolute luxury of time last week to cook a three-course meal for lunch, on a Wednesday!  So we're up to the letter 't' in our #abcmeals challenge and there's not too many letters left now.  My first thought once again was straight to dessert.  There was no way I wasn't going to make tiramisu.  This delicious dessert is very easy to create, but can get a little messy when dipping and layering.  The main thing is to not dip the sponge fingers for longer than 2 - 3 seconds, otherwise they will fall apart.  Trust me on that - they will fall apart!

Tomatoes were key ingredients in the other two courses.  Beginning with an easy as pie (or should that be tart?) tomato tarte tatin.  Don't be scared of this, just find a small non-stick oven-proof frypan and deliciousness will be yours in less than 25 minutes.  It's nice on it's own drizzled with balsamic vinegar glaze.  Or you could serve it with a rocket or mixed leaves salad with a simple vinaigrette dressing.

Finally, the tagine I was given, as a birthday present 5 years ago, made it out of the box and onto the stove.  It is a Maxwell Williams 'Microstoven', that can go on my electric ring elements - yay!  Keep an eye out for this range if you don't have gas, as it will mean you can now cook the one pot wonders that go from stove to oven, or just stay on the stove, in things other than oven-proof frypans.

Tomato Tarte Tatin
1 punnet (250g) cherry tomatoes
20g butter
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp dried basil or oregano
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed 
fresh basil leaves

1. Preheat oven to 220C.  Slice tomatoes in half, season with a little salt and pepper - not too much!
2. In a small oven-proof non-stick frypan (10 - 13cm), melt butter and mix in vinegar and brown sugar, until sugar is dissolved.
3. Place tomatoes cut-side down into pan and pack them in tightly. Sprinkle dried basil or oregano over the tomatoes.
4. Cut a circle from the puff pastry big enough to lay over the frypan.  Place this over the tomatoes and tuck it in around the tomatoes.
5. Bake in oven for 15 - 18 minutes until pastry is puffed and golden.
6. Remove from oven and allow to sit for 3 - 4 minutes, before flipping onto a serving plate.  Garnish with torn fresh basil and serve with a green salad.

Apricot Chicken Tagine (Serves 4)

250g chicken breast, cut into large cubes
250g chicken thigh, cut into large cubes
1 - 2 tbsp harissa (to your taste)
1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 clove of garlic, crushed or finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp chilli flakes (to your taste)
400g tin chopped tomatoes
125mL chicken or vegetable stock
50g dried apricots, quartered
200g tinned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 - 2 tbsp chopped parsley
flaked almonds, to serve

1. Place cubed chicken into a snaplock bag (or small bowl), add harissa and rub/stir to coat.  Allow to marinate in refrigerator for 2 - 3 hours.
2. Heat some vegetable oil over a medium-high heat, in the base of a tagine/casserole dish/heavy based frypan.  Add chicken and cook for 3 - 4 minutes, until sealed.  Remove from pan and set aside, leaving juices in the pan.
3. Add onion and cook for 3 - 4 minutes, until soft.
4. Add garlic and all the spices.  Stir to combine and cook for 1 - 2 minutes, until onion is coated and spices are fragrant.
5. Add chicken back to pan.  Stir to combine and coat with spice mixture.
6. Add tinned tomatoes, stock and apricots.  Season with salt and pepper. 
7. Bring to the boil.  Cover with lid, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8. Add chickpeas and cook for a further 15 - 20 minutes, until sauce is slightly thickened.
9. Add chopped parsley.
10. Serve on top of cous cous, with flaked almonds and a dollop of natural yoghurt on top.

Tiramisu
5 eggs, separated
60g (5 tbsp) caster sugar
500g mascarpone
500mL espresso coffee
125mL Kahlua
1 pack (500g) savioardi sponge finger (biscuits)
cocoa

1. Beat egg whites until stiff.
2. In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks with sugar, until thickened and lightly yellow (a lemony colour).  Add mascarpone and beat until smooth.
3. Gently fold 1/3 egg whites into mascarpone mix.  Gently fold in remaining egg whites.
4. Combine espresso and Kahlua, and pour half into a shallow bowl.
5. Lightly dip sponge fingers in espresso mix and line bottom of a 13" x 9" dish lengthwise, to form the first layer.
6. Spread top with half of the mascarpone mixture.
7. For the second layer, dip the sponge fingers in the espresso mix and lay out widthwise.
8. Spread top with remaining half of mascarpone mixture.  Dust with cocoa.
9. Refrigerate for at least 3 - 4 hours, or overnight if you start a day early. 



This is how good it looks if you can leave it overnight




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Mucho Mangia

I've just returned from 3.5 weeks tripping around Italy, where I walked, ate, drank, walked, ate, drank, walked, ate, drank - you get the picture.  For a week I did a cooking school at Casa Gregorio.  What a magic experience that was.  From that week there are so many food ideas and recipes to share that if I don't start now I just never might.  The biggest thing I learnt is that the Australian and American versions of Italian cooking use a lot more garlic, onion and pepper than the Italians do.  So cut it back if you can and enjoy the flavours of the real ingredients in each dish!

I'll start with four traditional antipasto ideas for you.

Bruschetta di pomodoro (Tomato bruschetta)
2 - 3 vine-ripened tomatoes
pinch or two of salt
a few basil leaves, torn/shredded into small pieces
80mL (1/3 cup) extra virgin olive oil
4 slices rustic Italian bread
1 garlic clove

1. Cut tomatoes into small pieces and place in a small bowl (the seeds too).
2. Add a pinch of salt and the basil, then mix.
3. Pour olive oil over the tomatoes and mix.  Allow tomatoes to sit for half an hour or so.
4. Meanwhile, slice and lightly toast the bread.  Then rub it with a garlic clove.
5. Spoon tomatoes onto bread slices, garnish with more basil and drizzle with remaining juice from the tomatoes.  You can allow them to sit for 10 minutes or so, which will mean the juice will start to soak into the bread.  Delicious!

 Fiori di Zucca (Zucchini flowers)
120g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 egg
125mL cold sparkling mineral water
120g mozarella cheese
5 anchovy fillets, cut in half crosswise (optional)
10 zucchini flowers
Vegetable oil (for frying)

1. In a small bowl mix dry ingredients.  Add egg and mineral water.  Gently whisk until just combined.
2. Cut mozarella into small stick (2.5cm x 0.5cm). If using anchovies, pat them dry with paper towel.
3. In a deep fry pan, pour in oil to a depth of 3cm and heat until batter sizzles when dropped into oil.
4. While oil is heating, gently spread open the petals of the flower and pinch out the filaments inside.  
5. Insert a mozarella stick and anchovy half into each flower and press/fold the petals closed.
6. One at a time, dip flowers into batter, turning to completely coat. Let excess batter drip off.
7. Working with a few at a time, slip battered flowers into hot oil and fry until golden brown on all sides - about 4 minutes.
8. Using tongs or a slotted spoon transfer to paper towel lined dish to drain.  
9. Season with salt and serve immediately.

Caprese Salad
Tomatoes (the best you can find)
Fresh Mozarella (buffalo mozarella if you can find some)
Basil leaves, torn
Salt and Pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

1. Thickly slice tomatoes and lay on a plate. Sprinkle with some freshly cracked pepper and a little bit of salt.
2. Thickly slice mozarella and lay a piece on top of each slice of tomato.
3. Scatter torn basil over the top.  Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.  
4. Serve with balsamic vinegar as an accompaniment.

Scamorza e Prosciutto (Smoked Mozarella and Prosciutto)
Rustic Italian bread sliced
Smoked mozarella, slices or grated
Prosciutto

1. Slice the bread into small fingers and lightly toast.  
2. Top each bread finger with cheese then prosciutto.
3. Place in 180C oven for 5 mins or until mozarella is melted. 

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Bring on the cooler weather

It's supposed to be getting cooler at this time of year, but as I write this I'm sitting in brilliant sunshine, not a skeric of breeze and it's approaching 27 degrees - very unusual for the last week of autumn in this part of Australia.  This is usually the time of year when we start thinking about and cooking up rich, hearty and comforting meals.  The kind that involve a long, slow cook and then a big bowl that you can wrap your hands around to warm them up.  So, in preparation for the winter months, that will inevitably arrive in these parts, below is a very adaptable Lamb Ragu with pasta.  Once you read through the recipe, you will realise that you can throw in whatever you like and there's no need to stick strictly to the measurements (where I've given measurements).  I've cooked this on the stove, as my saucepan's create a water seal, but you can cook this in the oven, slow cooker or pressure cooker - however you feel comfortable.

I've also included a recipe to make your own pasta too.  It's not a difficult process, but you'll need some time and a pasta machine to roll it out.  I love that my $15 pasta machine (bought from a discount department store a few years back) is still going strong! If you're keen to try making your own pasta, keep an eye out for a cheap machine next time you're at the shops. The amount of dough in this recipe will feed 8 or more people.  I'm not usually feeding that many people so once it's rested I usually divide it in half, wrap one piece in glad wrap and put it in the freezer for another day.

Lamb Ragu (serves 4)
2 lamb shanks (500 - 600g) - buy them already frenched if you can, it will save you some time
Olive oil
1 small-medium red onion, halved and slice thinly
3 - 4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1/2 small red chilli, seeds removed, finely diced
1 - 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1/4 - 1/2 cup dry red wine
1 tin (400g) chopped tomatoes
1 cup water (or vegetable stock)
large handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
salt and pepper
Fresh pasta sheets (make your own or use torn up fresh lasagna sheets)
Parmesan cheese

1. Heat a medium-sized heavy based saucepan over a medium-high heat.  Add a tablespoon or so of olive oil.  Place lamb shanks in pan and brown all over (2 - 3 mins per 'side').  Remove from pan and set aside.  If there's a lot of fat in the pan, drain most of it out.
2. Add onions, garlic, chilli and rosemary and cook over medium - low for 6 - 8 minutes, until onion softens and starts to caramelise.
3. Pour in the red wine and stir to deglaze the pan.
4. Add the tomatoes and water, stir to combine.  Add lamb shanks back to the pan, season with salt and pepper and put the lid on.
5. Allow to gently simmer for 3 hours, or until the meat is beginning to fall off the bones.  Turn the lamb shanks over each hour during this time.
6. Remove the lamb shanks and allow to cool slightly.  Remove the meat from the bones and shred.
7. Turn up the heat on the sauce and allow it to reduce to a thicker consistency.  Add the lamb back to the pan, along with parsley and stir to combine.  Season.
8. Serve over fresh pasta, with extra chilli or chilli flakes, parsley and parmesan cheese on top.

Notes

• Once the sauce is reducing add sliced pitted olives or roasted capsicum.
• You can omit the red wine, and just go straight to adding the tomatoes, as this too will deglaze the pan. No need to add any extra liquid as there'll still be enough to cook the meat.
• If cooking in oven, once you've combined everything in step 4 transfer to a casserole dish and cover with alfoil.  Cook at 150C for 3 hours, turning meat every hour.  Then continue from step 6 back in your first saucepan.
• Left over meat sauce will freeze well.  
• You can make this 2 - 3 days ahead of time and keep refrigerated.

Pasta
250g Pasta flour
pinch salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 eggs
3 egg yolks
water

1. Place flour and salt in a medium sized bowl, and make a well in the middle.
2. Pour oil, eggs and egg yolks into the well and mix with your hands to form a smooth dough.
3. If it's a little dry (this depends on the size of your eggs) add some water a little bit at a time until it comes together.
4. Roll dough on floured bench until it becomes a smooth consistency (3 - 5 minutes, depending on your flour and your strength!).
5. Wrap dough in glad wrap and allow to rest on the bench or fridge (if the weather is warm) for 1 - 3 hours.
6. Remove from fridge and divide into 3 - 4 portions.  (At this stage I divide in half, wrap half and freeze it.) 
7. Working with one portion at a time (keep the others covered), roll them through your pasta machine, dusting with flour as needed, until you have long thin sheets.  Cut or tear into desired size, dust with flour and set aside.  Repeat with remaining portions.
8. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook pasta in batches (depending on size of pan) for 2 - 3 minutes, until al dente.  Strain and serve (or keep warm whilst cooking remaining pasta).

Notes

• Make the pasta whilst the lamb is cooking.  Lay the sheets into a container and dust each layer with flour and store in the fridge till required.
• Thaw frozen dough in the fridge, then dust with a little flour and give a quick knead before rolling through pasta machine.

My best attempt yet

Everyone loves a good curry and my favourite would have to be butter chicken, with it's spicy tandoori chicken and rich buttery tomato sauce.  One surprising thing is actually the small amount of butter actually in butter chicken.  I've attempted to make butter chicken from scratch a number of times. The key for me is getting the flavour combination right in the tandoori mix for the chicken and letting that marinate overnight.  Then all you have to worry about the next day is the buttery tomato sauce for the curry.

There may be a few ingredients you make have to track down for this, eg dried fenugreek leaves and cashew or almond butter.  The nut butter should be available in your supermarket in the health/alternative food section, and you'll probably have to visit your trusty local Asian supermarket for the fenugreek leaves. Remember, start this a day or two before, so the chicken can marinate.  Here's the recipe, in two parts:

Tandoori Chicken (serves 4)
4 - 6 chicken thighs
200mL (small tub) plain yoghurt
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 small onion, finely diced or grated
1 tablespoon grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 tablespoon hot smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted and ground
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes), to taste

1. Roughly chop the chicken thighs into small chunky pieces.  Place in a snaplock bag.
2. Mix yoghurt, lemon juice, onion, ginger, garlic and spices, until well combined.
3. Add marinade to chicken, and rub to coat.  Seal bag and leave to marinate over night (or at least several hours).
4. The next day.... cook chicken pieces ready for another curry, or thread onto skewers and grill and serve with rice and other accompaniments. 

Butter Chicken
2 tablespoons butter
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted and ground
2 cups fresh tomato, pureed (1 tin of crushed tomatoes)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes), to taste
1 batch tandoori chicken
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves
2 tablespoons cashew or almond butter
1/4 cup cream
1 teaspoon garam masala
fresh coriander, to garnish

1. Toast cumin and coriander seeds, until fragrant, then pound in mortar and pestle.
2. Melt butter in pan, over medium heat.  Add ground cumin and coriander, cinnamon stick, clove.  Cook until fragrant - about a minute.
3. Add tomatoes, tomato paste and cayenne/dried chilli.  Reduce heat to medium low. Simmer until sauce starts to thicken, about 10 - 15 minutes.
4. Add honey, fenugreek, cashew.almond butter and cream.  Stir to combine well.  Add chicken and simmer for another 10 - 15 minutes.
5. Add garam masala and remove from heat.
6. Serve with rice, naan and coriander to garnish.

Variations and other ideas:
Nut free - leave out the cashew/almond butter, and add a little extra cream instead

After marinating the chicken, cook and freeze in batches

How do you like your chilli?

Labels lie!  In spring last year, I bought two small chilli plants.  The labels said medium hot.  I beg to differ.  Each chilli I have pulled off both bushes are powerpacked little firecrackers, whether red or green.  They make my lips tingle, eyes water and mouth be on fire for a good ten minutes, and that's just from one tiny piece, no membrane or seeds!  Don't get me wrong, I like chilli's to a medium-hot point, but these are turning out to be so far off my scale it's ridiculous.  I'm now scared of my own chillis!

My evil chillis!

I've done a bit of research into why some chillis are hotter than others.  The three key factors are soil, temperature and moisture.  And mine seem to tick all the heat boxes - well-draining soil (mine is sandy - I live near the beach!), in direct sunlight, and it's been dry.  So despite my daily watering, I haven't been able to tone them down.  I have to admit that I just can't eat them.  So, anyone who loves hot hot hot chillis let me know and I'll dig up the plants and give them to you.  I'm serious!

Which leads me to the recipe below.  I set out to make a Matriciana sauce for pasta.  This is generally prosciutto/speck/bacon, tomato and chilli.  Luckily for me, from experience, I've learnt to taste a small bit of every chilli I cook with, to gauge the heat factor.  After one tiny piece of a chilli from my garden, I knew that would be all I could put in the sauce, if I actually wanted to be able to eat it.  So I adapted your traditional Matriciana sauce, to include Sopressa (salami with peppercorns in it).  Using the Sopressa added the necessary pepperiness to the sauce, without the overwhelming nature of my home grown chillis.  To be quite honest, I was quite happy with the result!

Rose's Matriciana (Serves 2)
1 rasher bacon
4 - 6 slices shaved/thinly cut Sopressa (or other salami)
1 golden shallot (or small onion), roughly diced
1 - 2 cloves garlic, crushed
100mL (approx) red wine (whatever is hanging around, as long as it's not sweet!)
3 - 4 fresh tomatoes, deseeded, roughly chopped (or tin of chopped tomatoes, drained, reserve the juice)
Spaghetti/Fettucine etc
Fresh Basil and Parmesan, to garnish

1. Put a pot of water on to boil.  Add a pinch of salt.  Once boiling, add pasta and allow to cook to al dente.
2. Remove the rind from the bacon and place in frypan on medium heat (the rind that is).
3. Roughly chop the bacon and salami and add to frypan, once the fat is rendering.  Cook slowly till bacon starts to colour.  Remove from pan and set aside.
4. Add diced shallot and garlic to pan, over low heat. Allow to cook slowly, till onion is almost translucent.  Then, splash in the red wine and allow to reduce by at least half (just let it bubble away).
5. Add the tomatoes and stir to combine.  Once these are mixed in, throw the bacon and salami back in.
6. Drain pasta (reserve about 1/2 cup of the water).  Add pasta to sauce (in the pan) and toss (use tongs) to combine. If the sauce looks a little dry or thick add some of the pasta water (or reserved tomato juice if using tinned tomatoes).  Stir to combine.
7. Garnish with freshly chopped basil and grated parmesan cheese.

Other Ideas
If you have reliably medium heat chillis (or other chillis to your taste) then finely chop one of those and add instead of the salami.  If you do this, then use two rashers of bacon instead.
Use dried chilli or chilli flakes, omit salami and use double bacon (as above).
Add a few tablespoons of cream to the sauce at the end.
A few olives never go astray either!

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Summer Salad

Here's a quick and tasty summer salad.  I have deliberately not given quantities, as it's more of a throw together to your taste kind of a salad - aren't they all?  It'd be great to hear your summer salads - please leave a comment below. 

Chorizo and Avocado Salad
Crusty bread
Chorizo
Cherry Tomatoes
Avocado
Lettuce

Aioli or Creamy Garlic Salad Dressing

1. Tear or cut up the bread into smaller crouton sized pieces.  Drizzle some oil in a non-stick pan and cook the croutons till they are showing a little colour.  Remove croutons and set aside.
2. Slice the chorizo on the diagonal.  Peel it if necessary too.  Cook the chorizo in the same pan as the croutons.  Don't add anymore oil, there'll be enough in the chorizo.
3. Whilst the chorizo is cooking - slice the cherry tomatoes in half.  Halve the avocado and remove it from the skin in one piece.  This works best by sliding a dessert spoon carefully between the skin and the flesh.  Be gentle!  Once it's out slice it diagonally too. 
4. You can use whatever lettuce you like.  I would suggest a crunchy cos or iceberg, as you want that firmer texture.  So peel your lettuce apart, rinse and pat dry.  Tear into more manageable pieces, if it is large leaves.
5. Once the chorizo is almost finished cooking, throw in the cherry tomatoes.  Allow these to cook till the skins start to blister (a little) and the flesh starts to break down a little.  See the picture to know what I mean.
6. Add a little bit of warm water to the Aioli, to loosen it a bit, so you can drizzle it at the end rather than dolloping it.
7. Time to assemble - place the lettuce, avocado and croutons in a large bowl.  Top with chorizo and tomato, and pan juices (most important!).  Finally drizzle the Aiolo (or Creamy Garlic Salad Dressing) over the top.

Other ideas
Instead of Aioli, use a balsamic reduction (pour half a bottle of balsamic vinegar into a wide pan and let it bubble away till reduced by half, store in a jar till you need it).
Shave same parmesan cheese over the top.
Depending on how spicy your chorizo is - add some dried chilli or chilli flakes.

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I'm Baaaaa-aack!!

Hi, after a bout of the dreaded whooping cough and more than a few weeks of not cooking, I'm back. Thanks to Rose for keeping the home fires burning while I have been crook. I had plans of doing some experimental cooking while I was off work but due to exhaustion I decided against it lol.
For my first dish of my return I decided to make Spicy Chicken with Spoon Salad. As i was looking for something to cook i came across this little dish in Delicious Magazine. Being intrigued with what Spoon Salad is I took the plunge and bought the ingredients.

4 chicken breasts

4 tsp harissa
1/3 cup olive oil
5 vine ripened tomatoes
1 red capsicum - roasted, peeled and chopped
2 small red chillies finely chopped
1/2 red onion finely chopped
1/2 telegraph finely chopped
1 tbs finely chopped mint
1 tbs cherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
couscous, thick greek yoghurt and pita to serve

1. Score chicken breasts 3 times. COmbine 2 teaspoons harissa and 2 tablespoons of oil in a bowl, then brush all over the chicken. I threw my chook in a zip lock bag with the combined harissa and oil and tossed in the bag and then chilled in fridge.
2. Bring saucepan to boil. Cut crosses in the bas of the tomatoes and place in boiling water for 30 secs. Remove from water and place in ice water bath till cool. Peel the tomatoes and halve. Remove the seeds and finely chop. PLace the chopped tomatoes in a bowl with the capsicum, chilli, onion, cucumber, parsley, mint, vinegar and remaining oil. Season well with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Place in sieve set over bowl and allow to drain for 30 minutes to remove excess liquid.
3. Pre heat chargrill pan and cook the chook. Slice the chicken, then serve with spoon salad, cous cous yoghurt and pita.

Enjoy

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.

Warm winter wonder Part 2

Inspired by some fresh produce from the local farmers market - very ripe tomatoes, aromatic basil and garlic - this was either going to be a rich tomato sauce for pasta or tomato soup.  In the end the weather helped make the decision.  So on a cold (well for Queensland anyway), rainy winter's day, it was time to make some warming soup.  This Tomato Bisque is simple,  delicious and takes very little time.  It certainly warmed me up for lunch today.

Tomato Bisque (serves 6 - 8)

1kg vine ripened tomatoes
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
50g unsalted butter
1 Spanish onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 fresh bay leaf
2 basil stalks (leaves and stalks)
1 cup (250mL) dry sherry
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
300mL tomato water (the water the tomatoes were blanched in, plus skins and seeds)
300mL cream

1. Score base of tomatoes and blanch in boiling water, till skin starts to split and peel away - about a minute.  Remove, drain and peel tomatoes.  Cut each tomato in half and de-seed.  Reserve the seeds and juice.  Chop tomatoes roughly.  (I usually peel and de-seed the tomatoes into the saucepan lid, then you can easily tip them into a sieve to drain the juice off.  Add water from the pot you blanched the tomatoes in, to the drained tomato juice to make up the 300mL 'tomato water', which you add to the soup later on. Then discard the seeds and skin.)
2. Heat a large saucepan, add olive oil and butter.  Lightly fry onions, garlic, bay leaf and basil stalks.
3. Once the onions are translucent pour in the sherry and allow to boil.
4. Add sugar, salt, pepper and chopped tomatoes.  Stir to combine, then pour in the tomato water (the juice from the drained skins and seeds, topped up with water from the blanching pan), bring to the boil.
5. Allow to cool slightly, remove the bay leaf (leave the basil in) and blend in batches until smooth.  (The soup could be chilled and frozen at this point.)
6. Return to saucepan add cream, stir, bring to boil.
7. Serve with crusty bread and a sprig of basil on top.

The herbs have taken over

This week was a hectic week for us at work. NAPLAN had taken over and some of us were more busy than others. So it was a good thing that I was cooking and Rose was sampling (LOL). I decided to go with nice and light this week and it proved very delicious.  This week I decided to do all my shopping at B FRESH and I'm glad I did. I don't mind plugging a good store haha. Rose had given me, via text, my core ingredient: Chinese Five Spice. After a few days of scouring the recipe books and Delicious Magazines I came up with my menu of Warm Salad of Brie and Roast Cherry Tomatoes, and Crispy Chicken on Asian Rice Noodle Salad.

Warm Salad of Brie and Roast Cherry Tomatoes

Punnet of Vine ripened cherry tomatoes
200g mixed salad leaves
1 1/2 cups kalamata olives
1 red onion thinly sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbs red wine vinegar
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1 tbs chopped basil
2 tsp chopped chives
1 tbs chopped flat leafed parsley
          plus extra to serve
8 baguette slices chargrilled and kept warm
400g brie (at room temperature)

Preheat oven at 180 deg. Roast tomatoes for 5-10 minutes until starting to split.
Meanwhile, combine salad leaves, olives, and onion. Whisk together oil, vinegar and mustard, then stir in herbs and season. Toss with salad, tomatoes and parsley leaves. Serve with baguette and brie.

This was a light and delicious starter. The texture contrast with the brie and the baguette was great against the crunch of the salad and the tang of the roasted tomatoes.

Crispy chicken on Asian Rice noodle salad

100g vermicelli noodles
1 red capsicum
2tbs chopped chives
1/2 cup chopped coriander
1/2 cup chopped mint leaves
1/2 cup chopped thai basil leaves

Dressing
1 1/2 tbs lime juice
1 1/2 tbs fish sauce
3 tsp caster sugar
1cm piece of ginger finely grated
1/2 long red chilli seeded thinly sliced

Crispy Chicken
1 egg
1 cm piece of ginger finely grated
1 garlic clove crushed
110g plain flour
2 tsp Chinese five spice powder
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 chicken breasts thinly sliced
vegetable oil to shallow fry

To make dressing whisk all ingredients in a small bowl until sugar dissolves.
Place noodles in a large bowl and cover with boiling water and stand for 5 minutes. Drain, then return to bowl. Add dressing and toss to combine. Add capsicum and herbs and toss to combine.
To make the crispy chicken, whisk egg, ginger and garlic in a large bowl until just combined. Combine flour five spice and S&P in another large bowl. Dip chicken into egg mixture, drain off excess, then toss in the flour mixture.
Fill wok or deep frying pan halfway with oil and shallow fry chicken in batches for 2-3 minutes or until golden and cooked through.
Place noodle salad on serving plates and top with crispy chicken to serve.

This was a very tasty dish, but could have had more kick in the chilli and a bit more dressing in the noodles. I thought the chook was tasty. I do need to work on my portions and my plating up lol.

Next week promises to be delish as Rose's task is to cook something Moroccan. YUM.

Quick and Easy

Last nights gastronomical sensation was Ricotta Gnocchi with tomato and eggplant sauce and a raspberry jam pudding. These dishes were very easy and quick to make. After the last dinner I made (see All Hands on Deck) I thought I should go a little easy on myself. The Gnocchi dish was suggested to me by a colleague at work, thank you Therese, this dish was delicious. This gnocchi was is the First Junior Masterchef cookbook.

To start preparing the gnocchi dish, start with the sauce. Place the contents of 2 tins of tomatoes and 2 cloves of garlic into a pan and bring to boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 6 - 8 minutes or until liquid has reduced. Add a tbs of caster sugar and season with S&P. Add a handful of basil. Fry off a chopped eggplant till golden - drain excess fluid and add to tomatoes.

For the gnocchi, 500g of ricotta, 150g of peccorino or parmesan cheese, tsp of nutmeg, a lightly beaten egg and a 1/4cup of plain flour. Get your hands in there and mix up and combine. Now add another 1 and 3/4 cups of plain flour. Again get your hands in there and mix. Roll into 2 cm thick logs and chop into bite sized pieces. Add the gnocchi to boiling saucepan of water to cook - wait till floating and remove. Add cooked gnocchi to the sauce and serve.

The gnocchi was nice but we needed an extra kick so we added some chilli flakes.

For dessert Raspberry jam pudding. Put a layer of Raspberry jam into a 2 litre pie dish - i used a casserole dish . In a mixing bowl put 1 2/3cups plain flour, 3tsp baking powder, 350g caster sugar, 100g dessicated coconut, 3 eggs, 350 ml milk, vanilla extract, 150g melted butter. Mix this mixture till it has just combined then pour on top of raspberry jam. Bake for 45 min on 180 deg.

Serve with thin cream.

This was a very simple dessert that was tasty.

My scores for tonight's dinner 4 wooden spoons for the Gnocchi

and 4 wooden spoons for the Raspberry Jam pudding.