I went to the Mediterranean Wholesalers on Sydney Road the other day for the first time... rows and rows of deliciousness... it was wonderful. My purchases included pecorino cheese and jars of artichoke hearts which I turned into a baked dip that can be served hot, warm or cold.
Baked Artichoke Dip
I served this with thin slices of french bread and carrot sticks.
One 400g jar of artichoke hearts
Half a cup of grated pecorino or parmesan
Half a cup of mayonnaise
1 clove of finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius.
2. Combine the ingredients and spoon into a small baking dish (I used a terracotta tapas dish).
3. Bake for twenty minutes until bubbling and slightly browned.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
The last of the winter dishes... surely!
Today was a cold spring day here in Melbourne, and was definitely chilly enough to justify making a wintry soup, especially since I was cooking it for a friend recovering from illness - soup is the most restorative dish I can think of. I am currently seeking out dishes that include the vegetables I've recently planted in my vege garden (in anticipation of the oversupply that will occur once it is time to harvest them!), so tonight's recipe includes lots of silverbeet. It will be several weeks until my little rainbow silverbeet plants are ready, but I want to be ready so I can use it all.
Chickpea and Silverbeet Soup
Serves 4
2 cans of chickpeas
3 tablespoons of olive oil plus extra to serve
Juice of half a lemon
1 - 2 teaspoons of dried red chillis
5 cloves of garlic, crushed with the back of a knife and roughly chopped
3 sprigs of rosemary
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
Salt and pepper
1 litre of chicken stock (I use vegetarian "chicken" stock)
300g of silverbeet (1 bunch)
1/2 cup of grated parmesan or pecorino
Crusty bread
1. Drain the chickpeas and toss with one tablespoon of olive oil and the lemon juice.
2. Gently heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a stockpot, add the garlic, chilli and rosemary, and cook for a minute or so until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and a good pinch of salt; bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for twenty minutes.
3. Add the stock and simmer for another ten minutes, and then add the chickpeas and simmer for forty minutes.
4. Cut the silverbeet leaves from the stalk. Trim the stalks into one centimetre chunks, and cut the larger leaves in half. When the soup is almost ready, bring a pan of salted water to the boil; add the stalks and cook for two minutes, add the leaves and cook for another minute, and then drain.
5. Stir the parmesan or pecorino into the soup, then the silverbeet and a drizzle of olive oil. Season as needed.
6. Serve with slices of bread that can be broken into chunks and added to the soup.
Chickpea and Silverbeet Soup
Serves 4
2 cans of chickpeas
3 tablespoons of olive oil plus extra to serve
Juice of half a lemon
1 - 2 teaspoons of dried red chillis
5 cloves of garlic, crushed with the back of a knife and roughly chopped
3 sprigs of rosemary
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
Salt and pepper
1 litre of chicken stock (I use vegetarian "chicken" stock)
300g of silverbeet (1 bunch)
1/2 cup of grated parmesan or pecorino
Crusty bread
1. Drain the chickpeas and toss with one tablespoon of olive oil and the lemon juice.
2. Gently heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a stockpot, add the garlic, chilli and rosemary, and cook for a minute or so until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and a good pinch of salt; bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for twenty minutes.
3. Add the stock and simmer for another ten minutes, and then add the chickpeas and simmer for forty minutes.
4. Cut the silverbeet leaves from the stalk. Trim the stalks into one centimetre chunks, and cut the larger leaves in half. When the soup is almost ready, bring a pan of salted water to the boil; add the stalks and cook for two minutes, add the leaves and cook for another minute, and then drain.
5. Stir the parmesan or pecorino into the soup, then the silverbeet and a drizzle of olive oil. Season as needed.
6. Serve with slices of bread that can be broken into chunks and added to the soup.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
"...until they begin to splutter..."...and the foodie blues...
Thursdays are now firmly established as Experimental Cooking Nights at Dave and Tina's house. Every week I get increasingly excited as we pick a new recipe, then Tina sources the ingredients sorted, and I turn up after work to assemble the dish. These weekly dinner party dates have definitely lifted me out of my foodie blues - I completely lost my cooking mojo there for a while, burning this, oversalting that...
We made this recipe a few weeks ago, and agreed it had an almost Indo-Thai taste, probably because of the inclusion of coconut. You could of course serve it with plain rice but the pilau was easy to make and definitely gave the dish a lift.
Indian Green Fish Curry with Pea and Mushroom Pilau
Serves 4.
Pilau
2 1/4 cups of basmati rice
1 tablespoon of oil
1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
2 black cardamom pods
2 cinnamon sticks
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1 teaspoon of salt
1 medium tomato, sliced
2/3 of a cup of button mushrooms
1/3 of a cup of petits pois (peas)
3 cups of water
1. Wash the rice well and leave it to soak in water for 30 minutes.
2. In a medium heavy-based saucepan, heat the oil and add the spices, garlic and salt.
3. Add the tomato and mushrooms and stir fry for 2-3 minutes.
4. Drain the rice and add it to the pan with the peas. Stir gently, making sure that you do not break up the grains of rice.
5. Add the water and bring to the boil. Lower the heat, cover and continue to cook for 15-20 minutes.
Curry
1/4 of a teaspoon of ground turmeric
2 tablespoons of lime juice
A pinch of salt
4 cod fillets, skinned and cut into 5cm chunks
1 onion, chopped
1 green chilli, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/4 of a cup of cashew nuts
1/2 a teaspoon of fennel seeds
2 tablespoons of dessicated coconut
2 tablespoons of oil
1/4 of a teaspoon of cumin seeds
1/4 of a teaspoon of ground coriander
1/4 of a teaspoon of ground cumin
1/4 of a teaspoon of salt
2/3 of a cup of water
3/4 of a cup of plain yoghurt
3 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh coriander
1. Mix the turmeric, lime juice and salt together and rub over the fish. Cover and marinate for 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, process the onion, chilli, garlic, cashew nuts, fennel seeds and coconut to a paste. Spoon the paste into a bowl and set aside.
3. Heat the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan and fry the cumin seeds for 2 minutes or until they begin to splutter (with rage! Ha ha ha). Add the paste and fry for 5 minutes, then stir in the ground coriander, cumin, salt and water and cook for about 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the yoghurt and the chopped fresh coriander. Simmer gently for 5 minutes. Add the fish fillets and gently stir in. Cover and cook gently for 10 minutes until the fish is tender.
We made this recipe a few weeks ago, and agreed it had an almost Indo-Thai taste, probably because of the inclusion of coconut. You could of course serve it with plain rice but the pilau was easy to make and definitely gave the dish a lift.
Indian Green Fish Curry with Pea and Mushroom Pilau
Serves 4.
Pilau
2 1/4 cups of basmati rice
1 tablespoon of oil
1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
2 black cardamom pods
2 cinnamon sticks
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1 teaspoon of salt
1 medium tomato, sliced
2/3 of a cup of button mushrooms
1/3 of a cup of petits pois (peas)
3 cups of water
1. Wash the rice well and leave it to soak in water for 30 minutes.
2. In a medium heavy-based saucepan, heat the oil and add the spices, garlic and salt.
3. Add the tomato and mushrooms and stir fry for 2-3 minutes.
4. Drain the rice and add it to the pan with the peas. Stir gently, making sure that you do not break up the grains of rice.
5. Add the water and bring to the boil. Lower the heat, cover and continue to cook for 15-20 minutes.
Curry
1/4 of a teaspoon of ground turmeric
2 tablespoons of lime juice
A pinch of salt
4 cod fillets, skinned and cut into 5cm chunks
1 onion, chopped
1 green chilli, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/4 of a cup of cashew nuts
1/2 a teaspoon of fennel seeds
2 tablespoons of dessicated coconut
2 tablespoons of oil
1/4 of a teaspoon of cumin seeds
1/4 of a teaspoon of ground coriander
1/4 of a teaspoon of ground cumin
1/4 of a teaspoon of salt
2/3 of a cup of water
3/4 of a cup of plain yoghurt
3 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh coriander
1. Mix the turmeric, lime juice and salt together and rub over the fish. Cover and marinate for 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, process the onion, chilli, garlic, cashew nuts, fennel seeds and coconut to a paste. Spoon the paste into a bowl and set aside.
3. Heat the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan and fry the cumin seeds for 2 minutes or until they begin to splutter (with rage! Ha ha ha). Add the paste and fry for 5 minutes, then stir in the ground coriander, cumin, salt and water and cook for about 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the yoghurt and the chopped fresh coriander. Simmer gently for 5 minutes. Add the fish fillets and gently stir in. Cover and cook gently for 10 minutes until the fish is tender.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
I Demand More Oysters
Because you can never have too many recipes for oysters dripping in butter sauce... here is another version following on from my Oysters Rockefeller post!
Oysters with Chilli Lime Butter Sauce
1 dozen oysters in the shell
50g butter
2 teaspoons of finely minced shallots or 4 teaspoons of finely chopped spring onions
2 teaspoons of finely chopped coriander
1/2 chopped red chilli or 1/2 teaspoon chilli paste
1 tablespoon of lime juice
1/4 teaspoon of salt
Rock salt or aluminium foil
1. Soften the butter and mix in the shallots or spring onions, chilli, lime, salt, and coriander.
2. Put the rock salt or scrunched up foil on a baking tray and sit the oysters on top (the salt or foil will stop them from tipping over).
3. Top each oyster with a teaspoon of the butter.
4. Grill for 5 minutes or so until the butter is bubbling.
Oysters with Chilli Lime Butter Sauce
1 dozen oysters in the shell
50g butter
2 teaspoons of finely minced shallots or 4 teaspoons of finely chopped spring onions
2 teaspoons of finely chopped coriander
1/2 chopped red chilli or 1/2 teaspoon chilli paste
1 tablespoon of lime juice
1/4 teaspoon of salt
Rock salt or aluminium foil
1. Soften the butter and mix in the shallots or spring onions, chilli, lime, salt, and coriander.
2. Put the rock salt or scrunched up foil on a baking tray and sit the oysters on top (the salt or foil will stop them from tipping over).
3. Top each oyster with a teaspoon of the butter.
4. Grill for 5 minutes or so until the butter is bubbling.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
The Cake
I recently spent some time helping my Dad sort through Mum's things... it was a difficult but cathartic process. However one thing I was looking forward to was going through Mum's recipes, and I intend to scan and type out some of them over the next few months. Her handwriting was so beautiful, such elegant cursive script, and reading and using these recipes is a lovely way bring back some really nice memories of her.
The most "important" recipe I had to find first of all was for Mum's Apple Raisin Cake - it is the King of Cakes in our family, and was the most requested of all of her recipes for birthdays or special occasions!
Mum - thanks for all of the thousands of meals you cooked for us. I have many happy kitchen memories of us cooking together and I will treasure those forever xxx
Apple Raisin Cake
Mum always diced the apples, never added the walnuts, and often served warm slices with icecream.
2 cooking apples
¾ of a cup of brown sugar
1 ½ cups of flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
½ teaspoon of nutmeg
½ teaspoon of allspice
115g of melted butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ a cup of walnuts (optional)
½ a cup of raisins
1. Peel and grate or dice the apples. Place in a bowl and sprinkle with the brown sugar.
2. Sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Add the butter and egg, stir, then add the walnuts (if using) and raisins.
3. Bake in a round tin for 50 to 60 minutes at 180 degrees celcius. Sprinkle with icing sugar once cold.
The most "important" recipe I had to find first of all was for Mum's Apple Raisin Cake - it is the King of Cakes in our family, and was the most requested of all of her recipes for birthdays or special occasions!
Mum - thanks for all of the thousands of meals you cooked for us. I have many happy kitchen memories of us cooking together and I will treasure those forever xxx
Apple Raisin Cake
Mum always diced the apples, never added the walnuts, and often served warm slices with icecream.
2 cooking apples
¾ of a cup of brown sugar
1 ½ cups of flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
½ teaspoon of nutmeg
½ teaspoon of allspice
115g of melted butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ a cup of walnuts (optional)
½ a cup of raisins
1. Peel and grate or dice the apples. Place in a bowl and sprinkle with the brown sugar.
2. Sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Add the butter and egg, stir, then add the walnuts (if using) and raisins.
3. Bake in a round tin for 50 to 60 minutes at 180 degrees celcius. Sprinkle with icing sugar once cold.
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