Garden Bean Salad

This is a great recipe that came from the Good Weekend. Blanch the following for about 1-2 minutes each in separate batches:

• Broad beans (double shell them after blanching)
• Borlotti beans
• French beans
• Spring onion bulbs

You could also use: butter beans, snake beans, snow peas, ... The borlotti beans came from my brother's garden.

Make a dressing by finely chopping brown shallots and macerating them in a good red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar for 15 minutes. Give them a good squeeze so that the sharpness of the shallots get broken down. Add a pinch of salt and sugar, olive oil and if you have it, some walnut oil.

Dress the salad and then top with toasted walnuts and goat's curd. If you want to really impress, also top with some edible flowers like bean or pea flowers.

Cheat's Spinach and Ricotta Open Lasagne

I've seen a few cooking shows that use wonton wrappers in a lasagne. Well, it just doesn't quite taste right. When you bite in, it tastes like you're having an eastern meal until you get to the ricotta and spinach when you get a clash with the west. Maybe gowgee wrappers would work better.

It's a shame since the spinach came from my brother's garden and the ricotta from Paesanella in Haberfield.

Potato Salad and Radish Omelette

Just getting rid of some potatoes. Need to find a better mayonnaise or try making my own next time...

Freestyle Fritters

It seems you can make fritters from anything. For this, I had some left over potato, parsnip and carrot mash. I dumped in a tin of corn kernels, some flour, an egg and some parsley.

Peach and Blackcurrent Filo

Filo and puff pastry are great for making simple desserts. All I did with this is put a heap of layers of filo down brushing every odd sheet with melted butter, then spread some blackcurrent jam on top and cover with peaches, then add more layers of filo. Bake at around 180C for 20 minutes.

Toasted MANwiche Stack

Some days you like to have a more refined meal like risotto with minimal ingredients. But on other days, you have to bring on the MANwiche and pack it with every flavour in the pantry.

For my toasted MANwich stack I took lebanese bread, heaped on the ingredients, folded it in half and dry-fried it in a pan. Here's a good start for the filling:

• pesto
• bocconcini
• feta
• parmigiano
• roasted red peppers
• mixed mushrooms
• capers
• flat-leaf parsley

Make two of these, cut each in half and stack them. Mmmmm.

Mushroom Risotto

It's been a long time since I've made risotto but with the horrendous weather recently, I decided that no other comfort food would do.

Cook a plain risotto, that is, just the rice with wine and stock. At the same time, cook the mushrooms separately with a good lump of butter, half a red Spanish onion and garlic. When the risotto is ready, stir in the mushrooms and a generous handful of parmigiano. Let it sit with the lid on for 10 minutes and serve with a little flat parsley. That it! With risotto, less is best.

I used vialone nano risotto rice which can take a lot of liquid before it loses shape.

Next time, I'll try roasting the mushrooms in the oven so it has a smokier taste.

Fried Polenta with Mushroom and Jerusalem Artichoke Ragout

I've always liked polenta but was having trouble finding anything but the tasteless "instant polenta" that is the only choice at most supermarkets. In Byron Bay there was a great store called Santos with organic polenta in the bulk bins. Unlike the processed instant stuff, this is a bit more coarse and takes about 15 minutes to cook.

I usually use these proportion and make up as much as I need. To fill a cake tin, each part would be about 1.5 cups:

• 1 part polenta
• 1 part soy milk
• 2 parts water
• salt
  

Put all the ingredients into a pot stirring regularly over a low flame. Polenta has a nasty habit of bubbling all over the place so once it starts boiling, you need to keep stirring. It will seem really liquid but within 10 minutes will start to thicken. Keep going for about another 5 minutes. Then stir in a big handful of parmesan and/or something like gruyer. Once the cheese is melted, pour into a cake tin and allow to set for at least an hour, or even better, overnight. To serve, cut into slices and fry.

The ragout I used was a bit too dry. I think this works better with a sauce that is more liquid. Italians often serve the polenta without frying. They just pour the polenta onto a wooden board, put the sauce on top and then serve after it's been given a few minutes to thicken up. This is a great communal way to share a meal.

Za'atar Manakish

Following on from my Middle Eastern explorations with labneh, I thought I'd make some za'atar as well. This is a mixture that is often served on flatbread like a pizza and is called za'atar manakish.

The basic recipe consists of sesame seeds, dried thyme, sumac and salt. The exact amounts are not terribly important so adjust for your tastes. The proportions I tried came from combining recipes from multiple sources:

2/3 cup toasted sesame seeds
1/2 cup dried thyme
1/4 cup sumac
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried marjoram
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp paprika

In a mortar and pestle, grind together half of the sesame seeds and all the other ingredients. Do this in batches as there will be too much to do in a single go. Mix in the rest of the sesame seeds. This can be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for a few months.

The za'atar can then be used in heaps of ways and goes well with many different food:

• Brush turkish bread (pide) or flatbread with olive oil, cover with za'atar and put under the griller for 5 minutes to make za'atar manakish. I added some blobs of lebneh to make it tastier.
• Dip bread in good olive oil and then into the za'atar for a tasty snack
• Add to scrambled eggs or roast tomatoes topped with za'atar
  

I was also thinking of using half my batch to make dukkah. To get the taste right, grind some cumin and coriander seeds, roughly crush some roasted hazelnuts to add to the za'atar mixture. A project for the weekend...

Labneh (Strained Yoghurt Cheese)

At the Pigg's Peake 2008 wine release, I tried labneh for the first time and it was awesome! Labneh is a strained yoghurt common in the middle east and southern asia that retains the sour taste of the natural yoghurt. You can go to a "gourmet" store and pay $14 for a small jar or make you own for much less, it's pretty easy (but requires patience) and would surely get you big brownie points if you brought some to a dinner party.

Just take 1kg of natural yoghurt, add 1 teaspoon of sea salt and mix in well. Pour yoghurt into a large piece of really clean muslin cloth, tie it tightly with string, put this in a strainer and hang above a large bowl in the fridge. Leave it to drain for at least 2 days until the whey stops coming out but be careful to ensure the strainer stays above the liquid.

When it gets to the consistency you like, form into small walnut-sized balls and leave in the fridge for a few more hours to dry out a little. Bottle in sterilised jars with light olive oil and add some goodness like rosemary, thyme, bay leaves and chilli.

I was possibly a little impatient and should have waited three days rather than two. The yoghurt I used was pretty thick to start with so I might try a more liquid yoghurt next time. Naturally, different yoghurt will give you different tastes so don't skimp and never ever use low-fat!

I think a nice way to serve it would be to take turkish pide spread with za'atar, mint, tomatoes, blobs of labneh and drizzled with olive oil before baking for a few minutes. This blog suggests serving labneh with macerated apricots for brekkie. Or you could serve it like hummus, spread on a plate with olive oil and paprika. Options are endless!

Broccoli Soup with Parmesan Toast

I figured this would be a good way to get rid of the woody broccoli from the Pyrmont Grower's Market. This pretty much convinced me that broccoli is better placed in anything but soup. Not sure why people like this but it was worth a try.

One recipe I saw recommended drizzling with chive-cayenne oil made by blending 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup chives and some cayenne powder. Sounds like this would be great on mashed celeriac or on good bread.

Crème Caramel

This recipe definitely needs a bit more practice. Rather than a smooth texture for the crème caramel, I somehow ended up with a lumpy flan. One theory is that you need to tap the tray before cooking to get rid of air bubbles. Also, you are meant to pass the egg mixture through a sieve to smooth out lumps but I only had a strainer in the house.

So, here's the recipe that came from a friend of my brother's:

6 Tbs sugar
6 eggs (if 700g dozen), 5 eggs if bigger, 7 if smaller
1/2 rice bowl of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 rice bowl of sugar
3 rice bowls of milk

Gently heat the 6 Tbs of sugar in a shallow round metal tin till it bubbles and then goes brown. Ideally, avoid using a non-stick as it is hard to cover the bottom of the tin. Allow the toffee to cool and set.

In a separate bown, mix together the condensed milk, sugar and milk until well blended. Pass mixture through a sieve into the round tin and tap the tin to remove any bubbles. Place tin into a water bath with boiling water and cook in a 150C oven for around 1.5 hours. If it browns too quickly, reduce temperature to 120C. If you have a fan forced oven, don't use this, go old school.

Allow the crème caramel to cool and refrigerate before serving.

Stuffed Zucchini Flowers

At barely 9am, an insanely early hour for a Saturday, I met up with J+M to head to the monthly Pyrmont Grower's Market. Not only was I ignored by both the snotty cheese man and the knife sharpening woman, the markets were pretty outrageously expensive and was catering for a more exclusive Sydney demographic than I belong. I bought some fennel and broccoli from one "grower" that were really woody and disappointing. However, the jam and honey shop had some great stuff and the enthusiastic guy at the olive oil stand gave an interesting tasting demo.

The only bargain of the day was an excellent tray of zucchini flowers for $5. I was at Cafe Sopra's later in the day who claimed that zucchini flowers were out of season. These look pretty in season to me! I stuffed them with ricotta and toasted pine nuts and then battered them in a tempura. Definitely less egg in the tempura batter next time and only dunk the flowers.

Wild Mushroom Soba Noodles

Reluctantly, I bought the mushroom mix from Norton Street Grocers today. You do get a good range of mushrooms (shiitake, oyster, shimeji, enoki and swiss brown) but it's a bit expensive for the amount and they should know better than to keep mushrooms under gladwrap as they sweat.

This is a really quick meal to prepare.

Boil the soba with wakame for 3-4 minutes. Pick out the wakame and then refresh the soba in cold water so it doesn't overcook.

While the soba is cooking, fry some grated ginger, garlic and carrot sticks with the mushrooms. Dress the noodles with sesame oil, mirin, soy sauce and furikake (a Japanese topping). Add the mushrooms, toss and that's it. That shouldn't take much longer than 15 minutes so is a great mid-week meal.

Steamed Brussels Sprouts in Nutmeg and Cracked Pepper Butter

Like any child, I absolutely hated brussels sprouts. I don't think they were ever meant to be boiled for 30 minutes...

These days I try them every now and then but the scars are still fresh.

This is a quick way to make them. Steam the brussels sprouts for 10 minutes, toss them in the melted butter, grate some nutmeg and crack some pepper over the top. Some things to try for next time: fry some sage in the butter until it is crispy and maybe add some roasted chestnuts. I did have some chestnuts but they got a bit funky after sitting in a plastic bag for a week.

Warm Kipfler Potato and Bean Salad with Homemade Pesto

I was going to buy some packaged pesto for dinner tonight as I just couldn't be bothered but was shamed into actually cooking my fresh basil rather than using it to decorate the kitchen. Pesto is so quick and easy to make, maybe I should do it more often...

I've made this before with rigatoni but the Carbohydrate Cops complained. I don't see the problem, you can ever have enough carbs.

Fresh peas might be tastier than beans and a little chili would be nice next time.

Seasonal Veggies from Fratelli

Once in a while when I go shopping at a decent green-grocers, I remember that I should be embracing the change of weather and eating seasonally. Not only do the veggies taste better but it's probably more responsible to avoid having food shipped out from across the globe or have it sitting in cold storage for months on end.

Fratelli always have great veggies and they tell you what's currently in season. I also noticed for the first time their useful board with a long list of potatoes and their uses. My shopping bag included: broad beans, celeriac, brussell sprouts and fennel that are in season now. This is a useful list of seasonal veggies in Sydney throughout the year.

Broad beans have a really short season. Even though it's a pain to shell them, boil them and then pull them out of the second grey coloured shell, just remember that in a few weeks you'll have to wait another year before you can buy fresh broad beans again. So, enjoy them while they're here.

For tonights menu, we have: broadbean and mint bruschetta, celeriac and dutch cream potato mash, lemon and honey fried haloumi on red oak leaf lettuce. I have to go a bit easier on the honey next time and remember to give the haloumi just 2 minutes on each side. Marinating the haloumi in the 4 tablespoons of lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of honey for at least an hour makes a tasty difference.

Pizza Margherita

I really like the wholemeal flour from Bronte Organics (54 MacPherson Street) - it's so much tastier than white flour. But when you are trying to make pizza dough, it doesn't have enough gluten to make a nice smooth springy dough. Next time I'll have to try mixing it with some other strong white baking flour to give the yeast something more to work with.

Home-made pizza definitely tastes better when you put a little bit of effort into making a nice sauce. The sauce was made from three 400g cans of while italian tomatoes, two large eshallots, garlic, 1 small chilli, paprika and a big spoon of tomato paste. Simmer for 20 minutes and ideally prepare it the day before.

Home ovens generally aren't as hot as pizza ovens used in pizzerias. One way to get a bit more heat is to use pizza stones or terracotta tiles place on the racks in the oven. The best results come from the pizzas that are cooked on top of one tile with a tile sitting on the rack above it since the upper tile radiates heat back onto the top of the pizza. Terracotta tiles can be bought at Bunnings for less than $5 each but I managed to crack one of mine. Maybe a thicker tile would be better.

Vegetarian Wonton and Wartip

At least a few times a year, I like to make up a big batch of wonton and wartip. The good thing is that any leftovers can be frozen and used later.

I normally use shiitake mushrooms, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots and chives for the wartip and I swap the chives with shallots and chinese cabbage for the wonton. A couple of eggs and some corn flour helps bind the ingredients better.

The wonton just need to be cooked long enough so that they float. The trick to the wartip is after they have browned, pour about 1/8 cup of warm water into the hot pan and cover with a lid to let it steam. This gives the wartip's pastry the chewy but crunchy texture that is so important.

Ricotta and Feta Fritters with Mint, Walnut and Yoghurt Dressing

This recipe came from my book of newspaper clippings I keep. I had a momentary lapse of reason and bought low-fat ricotta. Let this be a warning for the young players out there, go the full-fat ricotta as it actually has some taste. Low-fat ricotta is for weenies.

The basic proportions are:

350g ricotta
2 eggs
3 tbsp plain flour
100g crumbled fetta
cracked pepper

Combine the ingredients and pop it into the fridge for 20 minutes. Take 2 tablespoons of the mixture at a time, shape it into a patty and dust it in some extra flour so it keeps its shape without sticking everywhere. Fry them for 2 minutes on each side. Then make a sauce with yoghurt, 1/4 clove of garlic, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and juice from half of a lemon. Top with toasted walnuts and shredded mint. Pretty tasty but I'll use real ricotta next time.

 

Potatoe Noodles with Black Fungus, Wakame and Kimchi

Korean potato noodles are a nice change from rice and egg noodles. It's a lot stickier but is great in combination with a good dash of sesame oil. After cooking, you might want to cut the noodles into shorter lengths so they are easier to handle. Otherwise, you'll never be able to mix in the other ingredients.

I cooked the noodles and black fungus together according to the packed. After cooking, rinse the noodles two or three times in cold water to remove the starch. I then pan friend some ginger and garlic with the carrots and spinach. The noodles went back into the pan to reheat. After taking this off the heat, I seasoned with soy sauce, two tablespoons of mirin and importantly, don't forget to add two tablespoons of sesame oil or so.

Wakame (seaweed) and kimchi goes well as a side dish.

 

Mushroom Bruschetta

You can use just about anything to make a bruschetta. Branch out and try something beyond the usual tomato-based toppings for a pleasant change. This time I just used some white mushrooms and parsley. The white mushrooms were pretty tasteless so I'd try swiss brown next time or if you're lucky, some more difficult to find varieties in Australia such as chanterelle or porcini. In Switzerland I could easily get six different types of mushrooms beyond the white and brown ones. Oh well.

 

Autumn Brunch

 

 

 

 

Failed crumpets (maybe more bicarb of soda next time?); Spinach, Ricotta and Pine Nut Empañadas with Tomato Salsa; Wholemeal Loaf.

Black-eyed Peas and Round Beans with Lemon

Vietnamese Rolls with Peanut Sauce

Dahl with Natural Yoghurt