FIG SALAD

This salad can be prepared in a few minutes , and tastes like a gourmet meal .

Grill 1 bunch of asparagus ( trimmed )for 2-3 minutes .
Add 4 handfuls of rocket to a salad bowl
Add 1 sliced red onion
Crumble 50 gm of blue cheese and add to the salad bowl
Add the asparagus ( cut into bite sized pieces )
Quarter 5 figs and mix through the salad
Drizzle 1 tbs of maple syrup over the salad and sprinkle with balsamic vinegar .
 

CHICKEN , POMEGRANATE AND WALNUT CASSEROLE

This is a traditional  Persian dish .
Fry 1 chopped onion in 3 tbs of rice bran oil until transparent .
Add 750 gm of skinless chicken pieces cut into bite sized pieces and fry lightly till browned on all sides .
Now transfer from the fry pan to a heavy based saucepan and add 1 cup of water and cover with a lid , bring to a gentle boil , then reduce to a simmer and coo for 30 minutes .
Add 1 cup of chopped walnuts and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes with lid on .
Add 3/4 cup of pomegranate molasses ( available at all good delis ), and continue to cook covered  for another 30 minutes .
Stir through 1 cup of pomegranate seeds .
Serve with couscous , cracked wheat or a wild rice and quinoa mix .
ALTERNATIVELY , just place all the ingredients ( except the grain ) in a slow cooker , cover and cook on low for 6 hours .

DELICIOUS .....

To make your pomegranate molasses heat 1/4 cup of castor sugar in a small saucepan with the juice of 1 lemon  and 2 cups of pomegranate juice , let simmer for 30 minutes , then let cool .


 

MANGO , CHICKEN AND CHORIZO SALAD

This is an easily prepared holiday salad .
Remove the skin from 1 roasted chicken and shred the meat ( disregard the stuffing ).
Place the shredded meat in a large bowl and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil .
Finely slice 1 chorizo sausage , place in a pan with 1 red and green capsicum cut into slices with about 12 snow  peas and coo for about 20 minutes .
Remove from heat and toss all the ingredients together .
In a separate bowl combine 3 tbs of sweet chilli sauce with the juice of 2 limes and the finely chopped zest of 1/2 lime .
Drizzle over the salad , can be served warm .

 

MINT AND LEMON SALAD

Heat 1 tbs of rice bran oil in a fry pan and cook 2 finely sliced red onions until caramelised .
Add 3 tbs of red wine vinegar , stir till combined .
Remove from heat and let it cool while you cook 2 cups of brown rice or a mixed grains .
Once the rice is cooked , turn out into a medium sized bowl and add the cooled onions , 1/2 cup of raisins , 3/4 cup of washed and fresh mint leaves .
Stir to combine .
Add the juice of 1 lemon
1 small chilli chopped with seeds
1 handful of chopped parsley
1/2 cup of roasted sunflower seeds .
Toss to combine thoroughly .
Before serving  drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and season with cracked black pepper

ARANCINI BALLS

Preheat your oven 160 deg C.
Cook 2 and 1/2 cups of brown rice in 3 cups of chicken stock over a medium heat until all the liquid is absorbed , about 20 minutes , then let it cool .
Then add 2 and 1/2 cups of grana parmesan , 2 lightly beaten eggs and a bunch of Italian parsley , ( finely chopped ) use a wooden spoon to combine .
Next roll  golf ball sized balls with the mixture  and place 1 small cube of mozzarella in the middle of each ball .
Roll each ball in a bowl of breadcrumbs .
Then place coated balls on a sprayed and lined baking tray .
Spray each ball with cooking oil .
Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until golden .
Serve as a main meal with a mixed green salad, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar .
 

WINE TASTING

The only way to get to know a wine is to take a few hours with it .
Let it change and let it change you .
Take a glass of wine and learn to breathe while you are drinking , air has to interact with the wine , they flower together .
With wine you are only learning what you don't know , first you must relearn your senses , ( sight , sound , taste , smell ) your senses are always right , it is our ideas that can be false .
The best way to get to know wine is to live with it ....the terroir ... earth literally translates into land .
Let me give an example ..French Champagne ( not the generic sparkly ), real champagne has the existence of terrior , the chalky content in the soil , a cold northern climate , the slow second fermentation , these wines can only come from one place in the world .
I am not talking about the multi million dollar corporations that produce a tasting brand .... there are no vintages , no plots , no irregularities of place , complications or difference in top soil between Reims and Aube .
The best champagnes are French bottled estate champagnes , they are hard to acquire as they are small in production and struggle to have the funding to compete with the well known brands such as Veuve and Moet .

SAGE AND BUTTER SAUCE

This is a quick and easy sauce that goes perfectly with gnocchi , pasta and can be poured over vegetables or lean meat for added flavour .

Melt 25 gm of butter in a pan over a medium heat .

Add 2 tbs of fresh sage leaves .

Cook , stirring until sage starts to brown and crisp up .

Transfer the leaves to a plate and add 125 gm of butter to the pan .

Cook for 5 minutes or until butter turns golden and then stir the sage leaves back in .

Remove from heat and serve over pasta , gnocchi or steamed vegetables .

 

THE PHYSIOLOGY OF TASTE

Let us now cast a philosophical glance at the pleasure or pain of which taste may be the occasion .....
Brillat-Savarin.


You will develop a palate , a palate is a spot on your tongue where you remember and assign words to texture of tastes . Eating becomes a discipline , language obsessed , you will never simply eat food again .

Salt: your mouth waters itself .Flakes of salt, liquescent on contact .Pink salt from the Himalayas , matte grey clumps from Japan . The endless stream of kosher salt falling the cook's hand .
Salting the most important of enterprises , the food always requesting more , the tipping point fatal .


Sweet: granular , powdered , brown, slow like honey or molasses. The mouth coating sugars in
milk.
When we were wild , sugar intoxicated us , the first narcotic we craved and languished in .
Over time we have tamed it , refined , but the juice from  fresh sun ripened fruit runs like a flash flood .


Bitter :always a bit unanticipated , coffee , chocolate , rosemary , citrus rinds , wine.
When we were wild , it told us about poison .
Our mouth still hesitates at each new encounter , but we urge it forward , adapting and enjoying .


Terroir: we talk around it without identifying it .It's the character of the food , composed of the soil, the climate , the time of the year.
That you can taste the character is an idea , that is highly seductive .


Umami uni or sea urchin , anchovies , Parmesan , dry aged beef with a casing of mould .It is glutamate. They make MSG to mimic umami , it is the taste of ripeness that is about to ferment  .
It serves as a warning , but familiarity develops and that precipice of rot becomes the only flavour worth persuing .


Taste: is all about balance , the sour , the sweet ,the salty  and the bitter .
Your tongue is coded , a connoisseurship of taste , it is the way you deal with the world and your ability to relish the bitter , even crave it the way you do the sweet .

DO IT YOURSELF BETTER BUTTER

Butter is one of those ubiquitous ingredients found in almost all homes and restaurants .
Butter can be used as a spread , a condiment , a fat , it can be used in baking , sauces and pan frying .
To make butter you need 1 litre of cream , this will make about 500gm of butter .
Place the cream in in the bowl of your electric beater and start beating at a low setting , moving up the setting to high until the cream starts to separate.( 5-10 minutes ).
The white liquid that remains is buttermilk , which can be used in baking or pancakes .
Remove the buttermilk and roll the butter together .
Rinse the butter under cold water , if there is still white liquid beading out , knead it in cold water .
Gently tab the butter with a clean tea towel and there you have it homemade butter .
You can use the butter straight away , or add a sprinkle of salt , garlic or herbs .
The butter freezes well .
.
 

IT'S BEEN SOME TIME .......HOME COOKED TEA .

I acknowledge everyone is busy , we are always busy..... but Xmas brings on some sort of hysteria to purchase more ....gifts , food , plus the essentials we buy weekly ....
Stop it .... think about it .
Tonight I was craving some home cooked food . Time was limited and I needed to clear my fridge ....
I placed a 1/4 of pumpkin on an oven tray  in a preheated oven 200 deg C with a good sprinkle of sumac and let it roast ... it doesn't need anything else .
In a large pot I added 1 litre of vegetable stock  , 2 tins of whole kernel corn , 1 tin of cream of celery soup , 1 tin of cream of mushroom soup ...at this stage I found the mix salty .
The pumpkin was now roasted through and I scooped out the flesh and added it to the soup and stock mix .....
I never pureed it , just stirred the pumpkin through  with a wooden spoon .
This was one beautiful dish , quick , flavoursome and delicious .
If the crunch of the whole kernel corn is not to your liking replace them with creamed corn for a creamier texture.....
The only way you could improve this is with a good pinch of nutmeg ...and I did .

SALMON ON SLOW ROASTED LEEKS

Use a vegetable peeler to remove the orange rind and use a small sharp knife to cut the rind into thin strips .
Juice the orange .
Preheat your oven to 160 deg C.
Heat 1 tbs of rice bran oil in a roasting pan over a medium heat .
Add 2 bunches of baby leeks , washed and ends trimmed , cook turning until lightly browned .
Add 1 garlic clove finely sliced , 1 dsp of Dijon mustard ,60 ml of white wine vinegar and 2 tbs of the orange juice , bring this to a slow simmer .
Remove from heat and add 2 green witlof, ends trimmed and cut into wedges .
Add 1 cup of chicken stock ( 250 ml ).
Place the baking pan in the preheated oven , turning occasionally until leeks and witlof are tender .
Add 2 bunches of asparagus , woody ends trimmed and remove the pan from the oven and loosely cover with a layer of foil to allow the asparagus to heat through .Set aside .
Meanwhile season salmon with cracked black pepper .
Heat some oil in a frypan , add the salmon fillets and cook 3-4 minutes each side for medium or until cooked to your liking .
Sprinkle the orange rind over the leek mixture
Spoon the  leek mixture over warmed serving plates , sprinkle over a couple of sprigs of watercress and top with the salmon fillet .
Serve immediately .
Enjoy .

BLT RISOTTO

BACON , LEEK AND TOMATO RISOTTO
This is delicious .......

Remove the tail ends of 8 bacon rashers , roll up the rashers and secure them with a tooth pick .
Dice the tail ends of the bacon
Place in the refrigerator until needed .
Preheat your oven to 200 deg C .
Bring 1 litre of chicken stock to a gentle boil .
Heat 1 tbs of rice bran oil in a pan over a med high heat , stir in the diced bacon pieces and add  1 finely chopped leek ( white part only ).
Stir the leek and diced bacon , until the leek softens and the bacon colours a little .
Add 1 dsp of minced garlic and 300gm of aborio rice , continue to stir through
Add 60 ml of dry white wine and stir till the wine is absorbed .
Now add the stock a ladleful at a time , stir until absorbed between additions , until rice is al dente ( approx. 15 mins).
Meanwhile place the bacon curls on a baking tray with vine ripened cherry tomatoes , give a little spray of cooking oil and a sprinkle of sumac .
Roast for 10 minutes or until tomatoes are softened and bacon crispy.
Stir through a few remaining cherry tomatoes into the risotto with a little parsley and shaved  parmesan cheese .
Enjoy !
 

PLUM DUFF

Plum duff is a suet pudding containing currants , raisins , spices and brown sugar .
Boiled in a cloth and served hot with custard or cream .
Prepare a cup of black tea ( 250 ml cup ) I used Lady Grey tea, allow to cool then add 1 tbs of vinegar , I used apple cider vinegar .
Now in a large bowl add 1 and 1/2 cups of plain flour.
ALL MEASUREMENTS ARE BASED ON A 250 ML CUP .
1cup of soft brown sugar ,
1 cup of breadcrumbs
1 cup of suet ( suet comes in 250 gm packets , 1 cup of suet is about 133 gm ).
2 and 1/2 cups of mixed fruit (I used a mix of fruit mince , currants , sultanas and dates )
1 dsp of mixed spice .
Mix all dry ingredients together well .
Dissolve 1 dsp of bi carb of soda in the cooled tea and vinegar
Add this to the dry ingredients .
Mix well till you have a rough dry batter .
Turn out onto a floured cloth and secure with kitchen string .
Boil in a large saucepan with the pudding totally submerged in water .
Reduce the heat to a gentle boil and continue boiling for 3 hours .
Remove and allow to drain completely .
I remove the pudding from the cloth and serve hot  immediately with brandy custard and /or cream .
Or after draining remove from cloth and wrap in plastic wrap and keep refrigerated till ready to serve or can be frozen.
Serve hot ,can be oven heated with a covering of foil or heated in the microwave .
Enjoy.

 

 

QUICK SAVOURY LOAF

What a way to spend Sunday after the preparation , cooking and service of a special occasion last night .
One booking left , 2 classes to go and then ...that's it for the year .
And what a year it has been ...!
But today the 2nd of December 2018 I made bread , in my kitchen for me .
Making bread is a great way to unwind ......
Here we go ......
Preheat your oven to 180 deg C
Spray a loaf pan with cooking oil and a sprinkle of fine polenta .
Sift 250 gm  of plain flour into a large bowl with 1 tsp of baking powder .
Now make a well in the centre of the flour and add 4 eggs one at a time ....but make sure they are lightly beaten before adding ....
Stir until just blended after each addition.
Add 125 ml of a dry white wine ....
125 ml of rice bran oil and stir until smooth .
Now stir in 250 gm of diced ham
150 gm of diced  salt pork  ( available in the deli section in the supermarket )
150 gm of  sliced pitted black olives .
150 gm of grated parmesan cheese .
Season with cracked black pepper
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and simply bake for 30- 40 minutes until risen and a skewer inserted comes out clean .
Let the loaf cool in the pan for about 15 minutes .
Then turn out on to rack to cool completely .

Can be served warm or at room temperature , best stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator , to serve leave on your bench to reach room temp ....
I love to slice and grill  the savoury loaf and spread with mint jelly and pastrami , best breakfast , lunch or a quick tea on the run ...

 

QUICK WHOLEWHEAT YOGHURT BREAD

Preheat your oven to 200deg C.
Spray a loaf pan with cooking oil and give it a light sprinkle with fine polenta .
Combine 3 cups of wholemeal flour\( 450 gm )with 1 tbs of soft dark brown sugar , 1 tsp of salt , 1/2 tsp of  sweet paprika and 1 tsp of baking soda ( bi carbonate of soda ) in a large bowl .
Mix all ingredients well .
Gradually add 2 cups ( 500gm ) of plain yoghurt and 1 tsp of malt extract .
Stir in 90ml of milk and work with your hands to make a sticky ,  moist dough .
Dust your hands with a little flour and transfer the dough to the prepared pan .
Sprinkle the  top of the dough with a little flour and make a 1.5 cm deep cut lengthwise down the centre of the dough with a knife .
Sprinkle a mix of pumpkin and sunflower seeds over the incision .
bake for 15 minutes .
Decrease the temperature to 180 deg C and bake for a further 40 - 45 minutes or until crisp and brown on top .
Cool on a wire rack .
Best served toasted with your favourite topping ....

CAULIFLOWER BHAJIS WITH YOGHURT DIP

To prepare the yoghurt dip , mash 50 gm of creamy goats cheese with 2 tbs of milk in a medium bowl .
Beat in 250gm of plain yoghurt until smooth .
Add 1/2 tsp of salt and 1 tbs of finely torn mint leaves .
Now sprinkle over the top of the yoghurt mix 1/2 tsp of cracked black pepper , 1/2 tsp of garam marsala , 1/2 tsp of paprika .
Do not mix through .
Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve .
To prepare the bhajis, combine 150gm of chickpea flour  with 2 tbs of plain flour , in a medium bowl .
Add 1/2 tsp of cumin , 1 tsp of ground coriander , 1 tsp of fine salt , pinch of cayenne pepper .
Whisk in 120- 150 ml of water , until you have a smooth paste like batter .
Stir in 1 tsp of black mustard seeds
1 tsp of fennel seeds
250gm of finely sliced cauliflower florets
3 long green peppers unseeded and finely chopped .
2 tbs of torn cilantro ( coriander )
Mix in remaining water to make a thick batter
Pour 4 cups of rice bran oil in to a deep fryer or pan and heat
 Place a few spoonfuls of the mix in the oil and fry till crisp and golden about 5 minutes  .
Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels .
repeat until all mixture is cooed .
Serve bhajis hot with the yoghurt dip.

 

ZUCCHINI FRITTERS WITH TZATZIKI DIP

Serve these tasty fritters straight from the pan .......
To prepare  the fritters squeeze the excess moisture out of 750gm of grated zucchini ( courgettes ).
Grate 1 large white onion .
Combine the zucchini ,onion , 75gm of plain flour , 1 tbs of chopped mint , 3 lightly beaten eggs , 1 tbs of chopped parsley , salt and cracked pepper in a large bowl.
Heat 1/2 a cup of oil in a large frypan until heated .
Add heaped tbs of zucchini batter to the oil and flatten slightly with the back of the spoon .
Fry until golden brown on one side 3-4 minutes .
Turn and fry the other side until golden brown .
Drain on paper towels .
To prepare the tzatziki dip , combine 250gm of plain Greek style yoghurt , 1 small grated cucumber , 1 tbs of minced garlic , 1 tbs of finely chopped mint and 1 tbs of lemon juice in a small bowl .
Serve the fritters with the tzatziki to the side .