Cous Cous Quinoa and Lentil Salad with Roast Potato and Minted Yoghurt

This was good, defo doing this again.


2/3 cup quinoa
2/3 cup cous cous
2/3 cup lentils cooked
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 cup yoghurt
1 handful of mint
1 handful of coriander
Juice from half a lemon
2 cups diced roasted sweet potato
2 handful of quartered cherry tomatoes


Cook the quinoa and cous cous according to the packet instructions, but bung a slice of lemon in there while it cooks. When done, fluff with a fork and fold through a little olive oil, salt and pepper. If you follow the link above to the lentils it will show you how I prepare them, for this dish I was chasing lemon so the dressing I made for it was the same as for the recipe but lemon juice instead of red wine vinegar and honey instead of sugar. Mix the lentils in to the cous cous/quinoa concoction. Combine the yoghurt and lemon juice with some chopped coriander and mint and some salt and pepper. Place the gear onto a serving tray then layer up with roast sweet potato, tomatoes, some coriander and yoghurt sauce. Finish with some salt and a good grind of pepper and a splash of extra virgin olive oil.

Pistachio Romesco Sauce

I made Romesco sauce a few years ago and it was nice but it was hard work. Traditional Romesco sauce is made with blanched almonds and hazelnuts. To prep the hazelnuts you need to oven roast them and then rub the skins off with a tea-towel. That task sucked. Anywho the reiteration I've come up with here was simple and quick and versatile. I served this with scallops, prosciutto and guacamole but it very easily doubles as a dip.


100 grams shelled pistachios
3 slices of ciabatta crusts removed, diced
3 cloves of garlic minced
3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 tbs rice wine vinegar
2 tsp chilli flakes
2 pinches paprika
Water


Toast the nuts and garlic in some olive oil over a medium heat. Remove to a clean plate. Add the remaining oil then toast the bread. Blitz the ingredients (only half of the vinegar) together, check for acidity and add more vinegar if required. Add water until you reach the consistency you'd like.

Flaked Salmon Pasta with a Mushroom and Asparagus Sauce

Wow, two recipes in a month, things are getting hectic. This was delicious, I made my own pasta here but store bought would be fine, if possible buy some freshly made pasta from a deli if you have the opportunity perhaps. The salmon was just as simple as shallow frying and really all the sauce was was some sautéed mushroom, asparagus pieces, pasta water and cream. One of the things I did do here actually (I cooked this a few days ago...) was make some basil chips. Basil what? Heaps simple, get half a bunch of basil and pick the leaves, lightly salt and toss in a little oil. Roast for 5-10 minutes, just don't let them burn. Very interesting flavour - initial beautiful basil hit then an after taste of green tea. I plan on doing more with this concept, very interesting.

3 salmon fillets, skin on
Two big handfuls and mushrooms sliced
1 bunch asparagus cut into bite sized pieces
2 tbs cream (or more if you're keen)
2 tbs butter
2 cloves garlic chopped
Extra virgin olive oil
Enough fresh pasta for 4
Handful of sage leaves
Parsley for garnish
Basil chips
Cherry tomatoes quartered
Juice from 1/2 a lemon
Salt and pepper

Have all of your ingredients ready to go as was you start it all happens quite quickly. Have your water simmering and ready to cook the pasta. Season the fillets with salt and pepper. Heat some extra virgin olive oil over a medium high heat, fry the sage leaves in the oil until crisp - remove and reserve. Place the salmon fillets in skin side down and cook until the fillet is cook about 1/3 to 1/2 the way up the side - do not allow the skin to burn, this becomes part of the garnish. Turn when ready and when the fillet feels about medium rare to medium, remove to a clean plate. Cook your pasta.
Add the butter to the pan and when melted add in the mushrooms and some salt and pepper giving them some great colour. When mostly cooked add in the asparagus pieces and cook for a further minute. Squeeze in the lemon juice and give it a mix. Pour in the cream and a few tablespoons of the pasta water. Give the pan a good shake to emulsify the sauce, when combined turn off the heat. If the pasta is cooked, drain and toss through a little extra virgin olive oil.
Carefully remove the skin from each fillet and slice on the diagonal. Flake the flesh. Add a portion of pasta to each serving bowl, spoon over some sauce, some flaked salmon, garnish with some basil chips, fried sage leaves, parsley, cherry tomatoes, some freshly cracked pepper and a little drizzle of extra virgin.

Dukkah Crusted Labne and Lamb Backstrap Pizza

An awesome ex-student of mine gave me some dukkah and lamb herbs for Christmas last year and I finally got around to using them. This was delicious and simple and I can thoroughly recommend giving it a go yourself. Labne is a cheese you make from yoghurt (seriously this only takes 10 minutes). The fiddliest part of this is rolling the cheese into balls and then dusting them but even then, that only takes 15 minutes. I made my own pizza bases here but I would imagine that using toasted Turkish bread or kebab bread would be just as great. The amount of oil used will seem terrifying but its only for marinating and can be re-used as part of a salad dressing, used in pesto (a nod to Tracey), or used in confit (a nod to JP). Next time I use dukkah, I think I am going to make my own. You will need to make the labne three days in advance.

1 kg natural yoghurt
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 tsp salt for the labne
45g packet of dukkah (mine was lemon and herb)
1.5 litres of extra virgin olive oil
1 lamb backstrap
Lamb herbs
Individual pizza bases
Garlic oil
Parmesan cheese
Chopped parsley
Mozzarella
Rocket
Salt and pepper
A little red wine vinegar
Some fresh parsley

Combine the salt and crushed garlic for the labne into the yoghurt. Place a muslin wrap over a bowl doubled over, pour in the yoghurt. Bring the sides of the muslin wrap in and tie around a wooden spoon then hang in a bowl. Place in the fridge for three days re-adjusting the height of the bag if necessary so that the yoghurt is not sitting in the extracted liquid.

Remove the yoghurt from the hanging bag into a clean bowl. Pinch tablespoon sized quantities out and roll into a balls, place onto a clean plate. It helps if from time to time you rinse and dry your hands, the
yoghurt does become sticky. Roll each cheese ball in the labne then place carefully into another clean bowl, throw in a little fresh parsley then cover with the olive oil.

Pre-heat an oven to 180C. Paint the pizza bases with garlic oil, sprinkle on some chopped parsley, grate over some parmesan then top with a little mozzarella. Bake until they have great colour.

Season the lamb fillet with some lamb herbs, salt and pepper. Sear on a barbecue to your liking (mine were rare). Allow the meat to rest for 10 minutes under some foil then slice very thinly. While this is happening dress the rocket in some garlic oil, some more grated parmesan and a little red wine vinegar.

Smear a labne ball on a pizza base, load up some lamb and rocket then tuck in.

Turkey, Caramelised Onion and Mushroom Pinwheels

Nice. I think though next time I would space them out over two trays to get better colour on the sides. I cooked caramelised onion here (which takes a considerable amount of time) but bought stuff would be fine, it adds a great complexity and sweetness to the whole shebang.


3/4 cup caramelised onion
2 handfuls minced mushroom
garlic oil
thyme
2 cups grated cheese
500 gms turkey mince
1 handful coriander leaves chopped
2 sheets puff pastry
Salt and pepper
egg wash






Cook the mushrooms in a bit of garlic oil with some salt and pepper. Combine all of the remaining ingredients (except for the puff pastry and egg wash) and refrigerate until cool (hot mixture will melt the puff pastry). Spread the mixture out evenly between the two sheets of pastry leaving a lip to join up at the end. Paint some egg wash on the lip and gently roll up the pastry (using the plastic backing from the puff pastry sheets makes it easier). Cut each turkey log into 8 even slices. If you've got time, place them in the fridge to firm up. Egg wash the pastry. Roast in a 180C oven for about 20 minutes or until they have nice colour. I ate mine with some sweet chilli sauce.

Raw Humus (wellll almost...)

There are some local markets near my place that have heaps of cool food but by far and away my favourite thing from there is a raw humus that a dude makes. A friend asked me to see if I could do it so I had a go. The end result was very similar and certainly worth making again. It doesn't taste anything like regular humus in much the same way that raw corn tastes nothing like cooked corn. The cooked part in this? Salted cashews, I couldn't have been bothered finding raw ones. This was better a few hours later once the ingredients had had some time to get to know each other.


1 tub sprouting mung beans
1/2 a thumb on ginger
1 clove garlic
1 stick of celery finely diced
1/4 of a bunch or coriander
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tbs sesame oil
1 handful salted cashews
1/2 tsp paprika (or to taste)
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of 1 lemon
Pepper and salt

Using only half of the juices, combine the remainder of the ingredients in a blender into a paste. Adjust the juices levels, salt and pepper accordingly.

Braised Rabbit with Star Anise and Cranberries

A mate of mine recently gave me a whole stack of bunny wabbits, dressed and everything. Having never cooked rabbit and only eaten it once this was new territory. I did some research and this is attempt number one. Many recipes pointed out how delicate a flavour it is but most recipes have bold flavours like mine so I went for the safe option. Not surprisingly - its quite like chicken. On the upside, this was very nice but next time I will be more gentle. The most interesting part was the cranberries, a few recipes I saw called for sultanas or raisins which I do not like in savoury food. The cranberries puffed up heaps but the flavour went to the background - my wife didn't even know until I told her after that they were there. Tasty.

1 kg of rabbit on the bone
2 rashers of bacon cut in batons
1 stick celery in fine dice
2 carrots in fine dice
1 onion in fine dice
2 big handfuls diced mushroom
3 cloves garlic
1 tin tomato purée
1 star anise
1 handful of dried cranberries
1 good slug of red wine
2 bay leaves
A bouquet garni  (tie some herbs together)
A splash of Brandy
1 cup chicken stock
Flour for dusting
Salt and pepper
Butter and extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs sour cream
Parsley and chilli flakes
Good mash


Season the flour and dust the rabbit. Heat the butter until foaming then add in some olive oil. Brown the rabbit then remove to a clean plate. Fry the bacon then remove to a clean plate. Sauté the onion, celery and carrot until soft then add in the garlic and cook until fragrant then remove. Add more oil/butter sauté the mushrooms with some salt and pepper, add the onion mixture and bacon. If you want a thick sauce, cook through some of the left over flour from dusting. Deglaze the pan with the Brandy and red wine and when the boozie smell is gone pour in the tomato, cranberries, star anise, stock and stir to combine. Place in the bouquet garni and add the rabbit pieces. Reduce the heat to low, add a lid and leave it for 1.5 hours. Remove the rabbit pieces and take the meat off the bone (discard those), chop into bite sized pieces then return to the sauce and stir through the sour cream. Check for seasoning. Garnish and serve with some mash.

Artichoke Tapenade

So easy, so tasty.

1 small tub marinated artichoke
1/3 jar olives
3 tbs creamed cheese
Juice of half a lemon
1 handful of parsley leaves


Blitz it.

Avocado and Dill Yoghurt Sauce

An incredibly quick and tasty way to finish preparing a meal. We had this the following night with some barbecued prawns which was also rad. I didn't use a great deal of dill as I can find it overpowering but go nuts if you love it. Oh, and the potatoes there, honey mustard dressing, hell yes.

1 avocado shelled
1 tbs dill sprigs
3 tbs Greek yoghurt
A little salt and pepper

Blend it.

Chilli Oregano Sardines

I haven't eaten sardines in years. Quick and simple.

1 chilli sliced
Sardine fillets
1 tbs fresh oregano leaves
1 clove garlic finely chopped
Salt and pepper
Rind from 1 lemon
Extra virgin olive oil

Combine the lot (don't use much salt however) and fry in a hot pan.

Hash Browns with Corn

So rad. I have tried to make hash brown a few times before and consistently sucked at it. I made breakfast for the kids last week and gave it another crack, went super simple and it worked. So much so that the kids demanded I make another batch immediately. Made them again today but added corn. Wicked. I served this with poached eggs and snow peas and used the little bits of errant corn as garnish.



1 large potato washed and grated
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Some fresh thyme
Salt and pepper
Kernels from 1 cob of corn
Oil for frying


Pat the potato dry with absorbent paper. Combine the ingredients. Heat the oil to medium high. Pinch about 1 tbs or more of the potato mixture and lay it into the oil and spread it out a bit. Don't overcrowd the pan and cook in batches. Remove to a wire cooling rack to become dry and crispy. Nom nom nom nom....

Pork Rack Cassoulet with Cherry Tomatoes

I've been meaning to make this for some time now. I had intended on making it slightly differently but I left some diced lamb in the butchers. Thankfully however the apple and cinnamon pork sausages that I bought easily had enough flavour. I thought that this would have been more labour intensive than it was, it was really very simple actually, give it a crack.

1 pork rack
2 pork sausages (apple and cinnamon)
1 tin crushed cherry tomatoes
1 tin cannelini beans, drained
1 onion diced
2 cloves garlic diced
2 tsp chopped rosemary
1 slice of bacon, diced
4 or 5 bay leaves
1 cup chicken stock
Salt and pepper
A little Pesto Aioli
Chives
Olive oil

Colour the sausages in the pan you are going to cook the dish in, with a little olive oil - remove to a clean plate. Saute the garlic, onions, rosemary and bacon. Pour in the cherry tomatoes and cannelini beans and the chicken stock. Slice the sausages and place them in too. Give it a good mix along with the bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, turn down to very low and let it do its thing four a couple of hours.
Oil the pork rack and rub plenty of salt into the rind. Place on a roasting tray then place into a preheated 180C oven for 25 minutes. Increase the temperature to 220C for another 15. Keep an eye on the rack that you don't overcook it or burn the crackling. Remove to a plate and allow to rest covered loosely with foil.
Check the cassoulet for seasoning adding more salt and pepper as required. Remove the bay leaves. Slice the pork rack between the bone. Spoon the cassoulet into bowls, bang on your piece of pork, drizzle over some pesto aioli and a sprinkling of chives.

Pesto Aioli

Hooray! Not for the faint hearted however, it is rather strong... Would work very well with some rare beef or would be great with some hot chips.

1 handful of basil
250ml extra light olive oil
1 head garlic
1/2 an anchovy fillet
1 handful pine nuts, toasted
2 egg yolks
1 tsp white vinegar
1 lemon
Salt and pepper

Wrap the head of garlic in some foil and drizzle over a little oil. Roast in a 180C oven for about 20 minutes or until soft, remove and allow to cool. In the meantime, blitz the basil with the oil and allow to infuse while the garlic cooks and cools. Drain through a fine sieve or muslin wrap and discard the solids. Grind the garlic, pine nuts and anchovy fillet in a mortar and pestle until it is a fine paste. In a mixing bowl using an electric whisk incorporate the garlic mixture with the egg and vinegar then gradually introduce the oil in a thin stream until it is all gone. Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon, a pinch of salt and some pepper. Mix and check for seasoning adding more of what is missing.

Crumbed Stuffed Mushrooms

Some people I know made this a few years ago at a New Years Eve bun fight which was later topped off by eating 700gms of meat-sweat-inducing rib on the bone steaks. I have tweaked it a little but it is still pretty close the original. Tastes good.

Mushrooms
200 gms cream cheese
1 rasher of bacon
Some rosemary
1 clove garlic
Extra virgin olive oil
Porcini salt
Pepper
Bread crumbs
2 eggs beaten
Flour
Some milk
Light olive oil

Chop up the bacon and garlic and fry with rosemary and extra virgin olive oil. Remove and mince the stems from the mushrooms with the bacon etc with a knife. Stir the mushroom/bacon mix through the cream cheese with some porcini salt and cracked pepper until well combined. Spoon the mixture into the mushroom caps. In batches dip the mushrooms in the milk then flour then egg and finally the bread crumb so that they are well covered. Heat some light olive oil to medium high. Fry the mushrooms in batches on both side until they have great colour.
(If you have some lemon, squeeze some over the finished product once cooked - I didn't but it would taste nice)

Golden Syrup and Rosemary Wingettes

I didn't have honey but the syrup was an excellent substitute.


Chicken wingettes
2 tsp garlic oil
1/2 sprig rosemary roughly chopped
Salt
1 tbs seeded mustard
Pepper


Combine them all, marinade for a bit then roast at 170C until they have nice colour (about 30 minutes).

Garlic Cannellini Beans with Mushroom and Chilli

Awesome - 5 minutes. Maybe add some herb. I had this with a dirty filthy massive t-bone. Would be brilliant on little toasts or for breakfast.

1 tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
6 mushrooms sliced
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Porcini salt
Pepper
Splash of red wine vinegar
1/2 a fresh chilli sliced


Heat the oil to medium high and when hot toast the garlic. As soon as the garlic starts to take on some colour, add in the mushrooms and fry until they have great colour. Pour in the beans and toss about in the flavoured oil. Season with some porcini salt and some pepper and a little splash of red wine vinegar. Spoon into a serving bowl and top with sliced chilli.

Cumin Roasted Pumpkin Rocket Parmessan Barbecued Broccolini and Almond Salad

This according to my wife was the best salad she has ever eaten. I often find that the 'I need to use that up very soon' approach to making food to be the most rewarding. In this case it was rocket and pumpkin. Again, this was low maintenance, cheap and tasty. The cumin touch came from a pumpkin soup some mates made in South America, really great combo. (Photo soon).

1/2 a pumpkin in bite sized chunks
1/2 tsp cumin
Splash of teriyaki sauce
1 bunch broccolini
5 or 6 garlic cloves, skin on
Pepper
1 bag of rocket
1 handful slivered almonds
Parmesan shavings
Olive oil

Coat the pumpkin in oil, cumin and a splash of teriyaki. Coat the garlic in oil. Place the pumpkin on some grease proof paper and roast for about 20 minutes or until it has great colour. Barbecue the broccolini. Remove the pumpkin and garlic from the oven, when cool enough to handle remove the garlic from its skin. Combine all of the ingredients and tuck in.

The Salmon Dish

This recipe is up to celebrate the unimaginable which is 10K hits on my blog. Odd title but that's what we call it. This is probably the first recipe I can say was really a creation of mine and unlike most of my other recipes (only due a love of gastronomic experimentation), I regularly cook this dish. When I say "I" I mean my wife, because she makes it so much better than me (I try to mess with it). Fast, simple, cheap, keeps well, healthy and most importantly, tasty.

Salmon (smoked, tinned, doesn't matter)
Cooked rice
Fresh veg just steamed or raw (shrooms, asparagus, capsicum...)
Sour cream or yoghurt
Kikkoman Teriyaki (best in my opinion)
Lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Sliced chilli
Parsley/chives

Rice - veg - flaked/torn salmon - flecks of sour cream or yoghurt - splash of teriyaki - squeeze of juice - salt and pepper - the herb.

Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb with Sage and Anchovy

Cooked anchovy rules. Hard. I was watching a cooking podcast from Strada and the dude did lamb rump with an anchovy, oil and rosemary sauce which I thought was a great concept so I tweaked it to get this. My wife who does not dig on anchovy loved it (best ever lamb roast apparently) and the kids smashed it too. Anyhow, quick and easy to prepare and could be applied to any cut of lamb I would imagine.

5 or 6 anchovy fillets
1 handful sage leaves
6  garlic cloves
3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Pepper
1 leg of lamb (mine was boned out)
1 leek chopped
2 piece celery chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 cup sparkling white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock

Blitz anchovies, sage leaves, 3 cloves garlic, pepper and olive oil along with some of the oil from the anchovies. Paint the lamb with about half of the flavoured oil. Sear the lamb on all sides in your roasting dish on the stove top then remove. Add in the leek and celery and remaining garlic and soften a little in the flavoured oil then deglaze with the wine, cook out the alcohol for a minute then add in the chicken stock. Add a lid then place into a pre-heated 140C oven for 2 hours. Remove the lid, paint with some more of the oil then return to the oven for another 45 mins. Rest the meat and strain the sauce. I served this with fresh beans and mash and if you want an extra hit of anchovy, spoon some more oil over your meat.

Calamari Balls

This recipe (though slightly bastardised) came from a student of mine. Good bloke with a real love of food. This is as simple as it is cheap. Squid tubes are very economical and as the mixture is combined with milk, you effectively cannot over cook it! Hooray! Thanks Josh.

500 gms squid tubes
1 chilli de-seeded
Zest of 1 lime
1 coriander root (or leaves)
1 tsp garam marsala
Milk
Bread crumbs
2 eggs beaten
Flour
Oil for frying


Rough chop the squid tubes then blitz with the chilli, lime zest, coriander, a little salt and 1 tbs of milk until it forms a paste. If it is too dry, add a little more milk. If you've added too much you can drain it later. Cover and place in the fridge overnight. Heat the oil to a high temperature. Make 1 tbs sized balls of the squid goo. Season the flour with salt and the curry paste (garam marsala). Dust the balls in the flour, pass through the beaten egg then crumb. Deep fry in batches until they rise to the surface and have great colour. Drain and season with a little more salt while hot. Serve with whatever takes your fancy - I had lime wedges, teriyaki sauce and some home-made chilli jam.

Crispy Spanish Chicken with Roasted Vegetables

This was outstanding. Do it. Only bummer is I didn't take a photo of the cous cous I made to go with it, it was brilliant.

6 chicken thighs skin on
2 chorizo
3 potato in wedges
2 small sweet potato in chunks
1/2 a fennel bulb sliced
4 cloves garlic sliced
2 tsp paprika
1 bunch coriander
1 tbs coriander seeds crushed
1 tbs red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
2 tbs olive oil
1 cup cider
1 cup water
1 handful cherry tomatoes chopped
Natural yoghurt
1 cup cous cous

Remove the stalks from the coriander and chop. Combine the paprika, coriander stalks, garlic, coriander seed, salt and pepper and the red wine vinegar. Pass the chicken through the paprika oil then set aside. Pass the veg though the paprika oil and set aside. Fry the chorizo in a large frying pan then remove. Fry the chicken in batches skin side down first  in the same pan then remove when it has nice colour. Arrange the veg in a roasting dish along with most of the coriander leaves (reserve some) then place the chicken on top, slice the chorizo and place around the chicken. Deglaze the frying pan with the cider. Pour the cider into the roasting dish along with the water. Pour any remain paprika oil over the top then roast for about 30 minutes at 180C with
the last 10 at 220C for a blast.
Remove from the oven, set the meat aside to rest, set the veg aside. Place the cous cous into a large bowl, pour in the water/cider, mix through the remaining coriander and the chopped tomato. If necessary place it in the microwave oven for 1 minute to cook if the liquid has cooled too much.
Slice the meat. Spoon some cous cous into bowls, add some veg, top with some chicken and chorizo and blob on some yoghurt.
Very very nice.

Chorizo Fish and Prawn Chowder

This was how I intended to start soup season and would have if those pesky leftover vegies hadn't gotten in the way. This was absolutely delicious although a little labour intensive. My understanding of chowder is that it is meant to be a complex, full flavoured, thick soup with a little kick. To help achieve this I made my own fish stock using some fish wings, prawn shells, garlic, chicken stock, lemon rind, carrot, 1 roughly chopped chilli, onion, coriander stems and roots, silverbeet stem, bare corn cobs and 3 start anise. After that I strained the stock and built me some tasty soup with bits. Unreal.

3 litres fish stock
1 kg chopped peeled potato
1 handful mushrooms in fine dice
2 carrots in fine dice
1 onion fine dice
1 leek in fine dice
2 cobs corn striped
3 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp harrisa
Leaves from 1 bunch coriander chopped
300 gms green prawns shelled in big chunks
2 pieces reef fish in big chunks
1 chorizo
2 slices prosciutto, grilled and crispy
1 handful cherry tomatoes
2 tbs sour cream
Extra virgin olive oil
Juice from 1 lemon
Salt and pepper

Boil the potatoes until tender then blitz till smooth. While this happens, cook the chorizo in a frying pan then remove, throw in mushrooms and cook those, remove to a clean bowl. Saute the carrot, onion, leek and garlic with the harrisa in some extra virgin olive oil. Chop the chorizo into small chunks. Add the onion mixture to the potato soup along with the mushroom and simmer for 10 minutes to infuse. Add in the corn, fish, chorizo and prawns and turn off the heat. The fish/prawns should take about 5 minutes to cook. Mince the coriander with the cherry tomatoes and prosciutto. Add the lemon juice to the chowder then test for seasoning and mix through the sour cream. Spoon into bowls, top with some coriander/prosciutto gear, serve with some great toasted  bread.

Roast Pork Brined in Pear Juice

Another concept I have been toying with, brining in pear juice. I watched Heston brine a chicken a while ago and it looked great, I have also heard of brining as 'marinading with water'. Great result very next to no work. Pear and pork work very well and I thought I would see if this process worked. The information I read on-line recommended that I do so for between 2 and 4 days, Heston said overnight (it was for chicken) but I only had time for about 8 hours. The result? More moist, sweet flavour, more colour than I would have aimed for though on the crackle. Absolutely doing this again.


150 gms salt
1 litre pear juice
1.5 litres water
Pepper corns
Fresh bay leaves
Joint of roasting pork



Cover the meat in the water/juice in a large saucepan - you may need more (use 60 gms salt per litre liquid), bung in the bay leaf and pepper corns. Refrigerate until required, roast as usual (20 mins at 220C, cover then roast at 20 mins per 450 gms, finishing with the last 20 at 220C).

Coriander, Almond and Roast Garlic Aioli Slaw

Any crunchy veg would do, meant to use Nashi pears but forgot. Surprisingly, this is the first time I have ever made coleslaw. Happy end result.


1/4 purple cabbage
1 capsicum in thin slice
1 bulb fennel in very thin slice
2 handfuls green beans in small bits
2 handfuls almond sliced thickly
1 big handful roughly chopped coriander
1 head garlic roasted in foil with some oil
3 tbs mayo
Salt and pepper
Juice of half a lemon


Thinly slice the veg, combine the roasted garlic and mayo. Mix well.

Boned Leg of Lamb Stuffed with Ricotta and Corn, Almonds and Mushroom

Mothers Day din dins. For maximum effect make a trivet of veg for the lamb and half fill with water to sit on and blitz at the end to make your gravy

1 leg of lamb boned
3 tbs Barbecued Corn and Ricotta Dip
1 handful almonds
2 handfuls chopped mushroom
5 cloves garlic
1/2 tbs thyme
1 handful sage
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Water
Root veg

Blitz the almonds, 2 cloves garlic, mushroom and thyme, some salt and pepper and enough extra virgin to make it moist. Paint the Barbecued Corn and Ricotta Dip on in the inside of the meat then evenly spread out the almond/mushroom mixture. Carefully and firmly tie the lamb back up, shoving as much stuffing back inside as you can. Oil, salt and pepper and sage the lamb and rub well. Place on a trivet of veg and remaining garlic, pouring in enough water to come up to the bottom of the lamb and cover with foil. Cooking a preheated 220C oven for 20 minutes then reduce the temperature to 180C and cook for 20 mins per 450 gms. Remove the foil 20 minutes from the end. Once finished, remove, cover, rest, make gravy, stuff yourself.

Barbecued Corn Ricotta Dip

All of my favourite boxes ticked: tasty, cheap, quick. I used this to fill Mothers Day bagels. Hmmmmm, home made bagels with salmon and stuffffff.

2 corn cobs barbecued
3 tbs ricotta
1 tbs white wine vinegar
1/2 handful parsley
1/2 handful coriander
Salt
Pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves roasted garlic
1/2 tbs water

Cut the corn from the cob and blitz the lot (only
1/2 of the vinegar) except for the water. Check for seasoning and add more vinegar if necessary. If the dip is too thick, add the water then re-blitz. Nice.

Smashed Roast Garlic and Pumpkin with Toasted Almonds

Really very basic but very delicious. I was hoping to make more of a purée for some spatchcock I had roasted but part way through decided that the chunks looked cooler. The big bits of garlic were the real winner.

1/2 a butternut pumpkin in wedges
5 cloves garlic, skin on
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 slice bacon diced
1 handful sage leaves
1 handful sliced almonds



Oil, salt and pepper the pumpkin and garlic - roast at 180C until cooked (45 mins-ish). Remove from the oven and cool 'til you can handle. In the meantime, fry the bacon and sage leaves, when almost ready throw in the almonds to colour a little. While this happens, spoon out the flesh of the pumpkin and garlic.
Mash about a bit, top with the almonds then eat.

Seafood Carbonara Risotto

Nice. Having never made Carbonara this was interesting. In retrospect, I would only have used half the amount of carb sauce and twice the amount of blue cheese. I have written here my amounts for the carbonara sauce, cut it in half if you try this. If you're a carbonara fan, give it a go.

2 cups risotto rice
1 litre chicken stock
1 onion in fine dice
300 gms green prawns, shelled and deveined
10 fresh sea scallops
1/2 cup bubbling wine
1 tbs butter
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup Parmesan
1/2 tbs blue cheese
1 tbs cream
Salt and pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
Sliced chilli
1 tbs butter
1/2 tbs porcini oil
2 slices of pancetta cut in batons
1 clove garlic minced
1 whole clove garlic
Parsley stalks
2 tbs minced parsley
1 wedge of lemon

Simmer the chicken stock with the prawn shells and head, lemon wedge and whole garlic clove for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve and discard the solids. Place to stock back on the heat and return to a simmer.
Combine well the Parmesan, blue cheese, eggs, egg yolks, half of the parsley and cream along with some salt and pepper, cover until required.
Sauté the onion with the butter and garlic until soft and translucent in a large, heavy based frying pan. Throw in the rice and toast for a couple of minutes. Deglaze the pan with the bubbles then once almost absorbed spoon in some stock, stir occasionally until reduced. Repeat until you are down to your last 2 ladles. Pour in the last 2 ladles of stock along with the lemon juice, and half of the parsley, stir, remove from the heat and cover for 5 minutes to cool and finish cooking.
Heat the porcini oil, fry the pancetta until crispy, remove and cook the prawns until just tender. Add a little more butter to the pan and when foaming, cook the scallops allow for nice colour on each side. Remove and keep warm.
Stir the carbonara sauce through the risotto, along with half of the pancetta, test for seasoning then spoon into warmed bowls. Top with seafood and pancetta and a sprinkling of chilli. Some more lemon probably wouldn't hurt either.

Chilli Rosemary Oven Fondue

I have been meaning to try this for a while. Straight forward, painless and really great. The flavours can swing as wildly as you like here by using different herbs and spices, citrus rind or inserting something smoky like fried bacon pieces. It is important though that you find a cheese wheel that has a wooden container and is wrapped in foil or grease proof paper or you may find melted plastic which aint cool.

1 small cheese wheel
Garlic slivers
Chilli slices
Rosemary sprigs

Peel back the wrapping from the top of the cheese. Use a small sharp knife to make incisions all over the cheese and insert your flavourings. Re-wrap with the foil and place the wooden lid back on. Place into a 120C preheated oven for 20 minutes or so. Remove and tuck in with biscuits, bread or vegetables.

Garlic Prawn and Lemon Cous Cous with Shaved Fennel

With Mum at work and the boys in bed, this was a super quick supper for the big girl and I. 10 minutes maybe?


1/2 a small fennel bulb in thin slices
200 gms green prawns peeled
1/2 a lemon
1 cup cous cous
1 tbs garlic oil
Salt and pepper
1 handful chives chopped


Add the cous cous to a bowl along with the lemon, cover with boiling water then cover with a tea towel and allow to infuse/cook.
Mix the prawns and garlic oil together. Heat a medium frying pan to medium high then throw in the prawns along with some salt and pepper, toss until just cooked through. Remove the prawns to a clean plate then cook the shaved fennel for a couple of minutes in the garlic oil. Remove from the heat.
Remove the tea towel from the cous cous, squeeze the juice out of lemon and fluff the cous cous with a fork.
Add the cous cous to a clean plate, top with the prawns and fennel and the chopped chives. If necessary add more lemon juice.

Prawn and Chicken Satay Patties

10 minutes prep, 10 minutes cooking, heaps ace.



400gms chicken mince
200 gms green prawns shelled
2 tbs cashew and macadamia satay paste
1 shallot finely diced
1/2 bunch coriander chopped
1 tbs teriyaki sauce
1 egg
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup rice flour
Oil for semi-deep frying


Mince the prawns well with a knife. Combine the chicken mince, prawn mince, satay paste, shallot, coriander, teriyaki sauce, half of the bread crumbs and the egg for a couple of minutes to work the proteins. If the mixture is too wet, add more bread crumb until it holds together. Wet your hands and form the mixture into patties of whatever size you like. Set them aside until required.
Pour about 1cm of oil into a large frying pan and heat to medium high. Dust the patties in the rice flour. Fry on both sides until golden.

I served this with a ginger and coriander teriyaki dipping sauce and some srirachi chilli sauce. Unreal.

Thyme and Start Anise Potted Prawn

Wow. Ticks all of the boxes - simple, cheap, quick, stupidly tasty. Some chilli would have been good too.

200 gms cooked prawn, peeled

200 gms unsalted butter
1 clove garlic sliced
2 pieces lemon rind
Small handful of thyme leaves
2 star anise
1/2 tbs mayonnaise
Rind of 1/2 a lemon
1 spring onion minced finely
Salt and pepper
1 baguette thinly sliced
Extra virgin olive oil


Melt the butter over a low heat and throw in the garlic, star anise, lemon rind and thyme. Infuse for 10 or 15 minutes but don't allow to colour. While the happens, mince the prawn with a knife then combine with the remaining ingredients, then spoon into a ramekin. When the butter is ready carefully pour half into the ramekin and gently fold through with a teaspoon. Squish the prawn down flat lightly. Place some of the thyme on top and then 1 star anise before pouring in the remaining butter. If necessary squish down the star anise to submerge. Refrigerate to solidify. Take out of the fridge 10 minutes before you wish to use it. To serve drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over the baguette slices and grill on one side until crunchy. Tuck in.

Honey Chicken Souffle

Nom nom nom.
There are a couple of processes here but they are simple and the result is good. I essentially made a double batch of Cheese Souffle with Crab and Prosciutto but stuck sausage meat in it. These were helped by the fact that the butcher over the road, does awesome everything - particularly sausages. Hooray! Happy kids!



8 eggs, separated
1 small onion in small dice
2 cloves garlic minced
100 gms butter
6 tbs flour
2 cups milk
4 tbs parmesan
1 tbs blue cheese
3 tbs Tasty or other grated cheese
3 honey chicken sausages


Preheat an oven to 180C. Grease 8 ramekins with a little of the butter. Remove the skins from the sausages and fry the minced met in a frying pan, breaking them up as finely as you can as you go. Beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Make a white sauce by sautéing the onion and garlic with the remaining butter over a medium low heat until translucent. Strain the butter through a fine sieve to remove the onions then return the butter to the pan, discard the onion. Add the flour to the butter and cook, stirring for 4 or 5 minutes. Pour in the milk. Continue cooking until it thickens like thickened cream. Stir the white sauce and cheese together until the cheese melts then mix through the egg yolks and chicken. Semi-carefully stir through half of the egg white. Carefully stir though the remaining egg white then spoon into the ramekins until 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden on top.
Served with a salad.

Mushroom and Bacon Soup with Poached Egg

Hmmmmmm, breakfast in soup format. Except I ate it for dinner... I have been meaning to poach an egg in soup for a while to see if it would work. It kind of does - if you use a microwave after adding it to a bowl. Is it necessary? No but it does taste very good. When I next decide to poach an egg in some soup I will do it separately as the soup was too hot. I used 3 rashers of bacon here but as I used so much mushroom, it was a little hidden. If you try this, use 5 or 6 instead. Seriously worth trying.

1 big bag of mushrooms chopped
1 handful porcini mushrooms (optional)
1 1/2 onions diced
2 cloves garlic chopped
3 rashers bacon chopped
1/2 sprig rosemary stripped
1 L chicken stock
1 L water
1 cup white wine
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 big knob of butter
Salt and pepper
Croutons
Chives
Natural yoghurt
Porcini oil (optional)
1 poached egg per person

Heat the butter over a medium high heat until bubbling, add in the extra virgin. Cook the onion until soft. Throw in the nearly all of the bacon and rosemary and fry until it has some nice colour. Add in the garlic until fragrant then throw in all of the mushroom and porcini mushrooms along with some salt and pepper. Cook down until almost all of the liquid has evaporated (about 15 minutes) keeping an eye on it and stirring occasionally. Deglaze with the white wine and cook until it has all absorbed. Pour in the stock and as much water as you require, bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Check for seasoning, blitz with a stick blender and turn off the heat.
Heat some more oil, fry the remaining bacon and remove. In the same pan toast your croutons with some more rosemary.
Poach the eggs.
Spoon into bowls, add a dollop of yoghurt, a poached egg, top with some croutons and bacon, sprinkle with chives and drizzle with porcini oil.

Papadom Crusted Tandoori Pork Chop

This was good but when I do it again I will probably crust the meat afterwards in precooked papadoms as the papadoms didn't expand nearly as much as I though they would. Regardless, these were still fun.

5 pork loin chops
1 tbs tandoori paste
1 tbs natural yoghurt
1 packet small papadoms
Olive oil or other




Blitz the papadoms in a blender to as fine a consistency as possible. Combine the tandoori and yoghurt. Coat the pork chops in the tandoori and yoghurt mixture and set aside to marinade until required. Heat about 1cm of oil in a frying pan to medium high then reduce the heat to medium. Coat one side of each chop in the papadom crumbs then place in the pan, cooking in batches. When blood starts to come through each chop, crust the remaining side and press in. Turn the pork and fry on the remaining side until firm but with a little give (usually by the time you have nice colour). Remove to a clean plate, cover and rest.
I served this with a spiced pilaf, some dobs of yoghurt, a sprinkling of coriander and some sliced chilli for Mum and Dad. I think that a squeeze of lemon would be radical too but I didn't have any...
Enjoy!

Beef Tarts with Pesto and Cummin

Simple and another opportunity to make pesto. Could easily be done on a smaller scale as a tapa or canapé.

500 g mince
2 cloves garlic minced
1 slice bacon diced
1 onion, 1/2 sliced 1/2 diced
1 tsp cumin
4 tbs pesto
2 tbs sour cream
1/2 hanful coriander leaves
3 sheets puff pastry
Salt and pepper
1/2 a capsicum sliced
1 handful mushroom sliced
1 - 2 cups grated cheese
1 tbs milk
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

Preheat an oven to 180C. Sauté the diced onion and garlic in 1/2 of the oil with the bacon and cumin until soft and fragrant. Add in the mince and brown with some salt and pepper. Add in the sour cream and reduce the heat and simmer for a few minutes until almost dry. Stir through the coriander and remove from the heat to cool. Spread about 1 tbs of pesto over each puff pastry sheet leaving a 1cm border. Evenly divide the flavoured mince between the pastry sheets and spread to a thin layer. Scatter about the capsicum, onion and mushrooms and top with a little cheese. Brush the sides with some milk. Drizzle over the remaining oil and some salt and pepper. Place in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes until golden, turning if necessary.

Cashew and Macadamia Nut Satay

I watched a TV chef recently smash together a satay sauce in about 2 minutes and I thought well I want to do that too. My recipe differs quite a bit from his but as my research after the fact discovered, it don't matter. I think satay is one of those 'satays are like opinions' scenarios. They can be simple or complicated. In any case, what I have done here is very very good and I can thoroughly recommend trying it. My bother in law who doesn't like satay had two helpings and was kind with his review. There is enough satay to marinade 1 - 2 kg of the meat of your choice, have enough left for being a sauce and, an additional purpose like making satay and coconut milk rice for the kids.


2 handfuls salted cashew/macadamia nuts
2 heaped tbs crunchy peanut butter
Rind of 1 lime
Juice of 2 limes (maybe more)
2 cloves garlic
1 thumb ginger roughly chopped
1/2 bunch coriander, roots and all
200 ml of coconut milk (or to taste)
1 long red chilli
1 tbs palm sugar (or brown)
2 tbs light olive oil or peanut oil
1/2 cup water


Leaving out the water, blitz the lot until it is in a smooth paste. Check for flavours and add more lime juice, coconut milk or sugar until you reach a tasty result (there should be enough salt from the nuts). Aim for a good balance of nut, sweet and importantly, lime. Pour in half of the water, blitz, check the consistency and add the remaining and more if required.

Rolled Turducken with Cranberry and Artichoke

It's made and ready I just gotta cook it now. I am hoping that a) it tastes brilliant and b) that when sliced it looks better than it did when I first rolled it... This is a simple enough process but it does take time to get together (I sectioned the duck and chicken for confit). Initially I was going to use 2 large turkey drumsticks but I found a butterflied whole turkey. While it was more expensive it meant wayyyyy less work and tendons. When I make this again I will roll it out onto overlapping streaky bacon (the prosciutto I used here was a stop gap to contain the filling) - I had tried to acquire caul but was unsuccessful. Alternatively if you don't want to go through the anguish of aesthetic rolling, squish it down in layers in a smallish baking dish with a brick or something. The bones I should say, made the best, best stock.

1 butterflied turkey (2 kg)
2 skin on chicken boobs
2 skin on duck boobs
12+ prosciutto/bacon slices (I had 6)
3/4 bottle cranberry sauce
2 tbs oven roasted cherry tomatoes
1 handful chopped basil
1 tin artichoke hearts
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
4 cloves garlic
1 handful pistachio nuts
1 tbs Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper
Kitchen string and cling film

Mix the cranberry, oven tomatoes and basil in a bowl and refrigerate until ready. Blend the artichoke, lemon juice, garlic, Dijon and pistachios with some salt and pepper - refrigerate until ready. Slightly overlap two sheets of cling film on a bench, layer down a grid of vertical and horizontal kitchen string. Slightly overlap and layer down enough prosciutto/streaky bacon slices to completely cover your turkey once rolled. Lay down the turkey on the prosciutto area. Paint with the cranberry mixture. Lay down the duck breast at the narrow end with the chick breast above those. Paint with the artichoke gear. With the help of a friend carefully and as tightly as possible roll that bad boy. While someone holds, the other ties. I have frozen mine and will defrost the day prior to Xmas and then bring to room temp when ready .
I will be roasting this for 25 minutes per 450 gms plus 20 minutes at 180C (last 20 at 220C) so it works out at about 3 hours. When done, I will make gravy in the normal manner. Finished product to follow.
God speed and best of luck....

Concept and reality differ greatly sometimes...

Chicken Vegetable Pesto Bake with Wine and Blue Cheese Sauce

Unreal and simple. All left overs were mixed together and were even more awesome. The roasted lemon smells great but I wouldn't recommend eating it...




6 chicken thighs, bone in
1 or 2 tbs pesto
1 capsicum in chunks
1 medium sweet potato in chunks
5 mushrooms torn
1 lemon quartered
3 rashers bacon in chunks
5 cloves garlic skin on
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs blue cheese
1/2 cup sparkling white wine
Parsley chopped
1 chilli thinly sliced
Natural yoghurt
Cous cous
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and pepper




Combine the vegetables,lemon wedges, garlic cloves, bacon, chicken, pesto, extra virgin, salt and pepper in a roasting dish. Roast for 30 minutes at 180C or until cooked through. Remove the chicken to a clean bowl, remove the veg to a clean bowl and cover the lot. Place the roasting tray onto the stove and bring to a simmer. Stir in the sparkling wine and continue to simmer until the alcohol smell is gone. Stir in the blue cheese until melted and then remove from the heat. Pour in any resting juice from the chicken and veg bowls, skimming off the oil if necessary. Cook the cous cous  by covering with boiling water and leaving for 5 minutes, stir through the lemon juice.
Serve on top of the cous cous, top with parsley, chilli (if having) and dobs of yoghurt on the veg. Spoon some sauce over the chicken bits.

Sage and Garlic Butter Potato Cake

This is essentially a recipe I read in an Italian cookbook of my sister in-laws. I've not seen this approach anywhere else since so therefore I am sharing. It is caring after all. Decadent but unreal.


10 potatoes thinly sliced
3 or 4 garlic cloves thinly sliced
50 gms butter
1/2 bunch sage leaves
200 ml cream
Salt and pepper
Parmesan
1 slice prosciutto
1/2 an onion thinly sliced


Melt the butter with the garlic and sage in a small saucepan until fragrant then remove from the heat. Wet 2 sheets of grease proof paper and line a spring form tin. Layer in the potato, pouring over some butter and sage leaves, topping with parmesan and salt and pepper each time. Should be enough for 3 layers. With the final layer place on some thin strips of prosciutto and the onion, pour over the cream, add some more parmesan and salt and pepper. Cover with foil and bake in a 180C oven for 45 minutes. (Its a good idea to place a tray underneath to catch any cream/butter). Remove the foil and bake for another 15 or until golden and tender.

Thai Green Pork Belly with Coconut Cous Cous

Pork belly can do anything. I had some left over curry paste and I thought well, I can only try. As it turns out it works quite well indeed and is in no way overpowering. I didn't take a photograph of the cous cous as, to be honest I wasn't expecting it to be so great. The youngest Henry, absolutely smashed the cous cous. As always with pork belly, its not difficult it just requires some patience and a watchful eye at the end.

1 piece pork belly (skin scored)
1 tbs (or more) Thai green curry paste
1 onion in thin slices
5 or so mushrooms sliced
1 lemon in wedges
1 small tin coconut milk
2 cups chicken stock
Cous cous (1 cup?)
Salt
Olive oil


Rub the curry paste and salt into the skin of the pork belly along with enough oil to wet it. Scatter the pieces of onion on the bottom of your roasting tray along with the mushroom and lemon wedges. Place the pork belly on top of the veg. Pour in the coconut milk and enough of the chicken stock to come about half way up the side of the pork. Cover with foil and place in a 140C oven for 2 hours. Remove the foil and continue to roast for 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven, carefully remove the pork belly from the sauce, scrape off any veg from underneath then place back in the oven on a rack 2 down from under a high grill. Keep an eye on it and when crispy, remove and rest for 10 minutes or so on a clean plate.  While this happens throw a couple of handfuls of cous cous into the coconut/veg/sauce gear, remove the lemon wedges and cover with a foil. Pour any resting juice into the cous cous. Slice and serve on the cous cous. I dunno, maybe add some chopped parsley.

Lentils Poached in Chicken Stock

Lentils are new to me but I find them brilliant. Largely lentils appear to be cooked in water and flavours added later but I really wanted them to be bursting with flavour. It should be noted though that it appears the addition of salt or acid (like wine, vinegar or lemon juice) will cause them to become a little tough and should be added at the end. I know that chicken stock has salt in it but hey, its my lentils and I want 'em tasty. Also, from what I also understand, they are awesome in soups etc. Whilst this recipe is nice cold, it is at its best warm.

1 cup puy lentils (French)
2 cups chicken stock (or water or combo)
1/2 an onion in small dice
1 clove garlic minced
1 tbs oven roasted cherry tomatoes
1 tbs minced parsley
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil


In a small saucepan over a medium heat saute the onion and garlic in a little extra virgin olive oil until transparent. Add in the lentils and stock, bring to the boil and, reduce to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes. Check to see if they are tender, if not keep cooking for a few more minutes. Drain off most of the liquid, stir through the salt and pepper, parsley and tomatoes. Transfer to a serving dish, tuck in.