Turkish inspired pasta

During my adolescence I spent a lot of time with a particular friend, Angie, with whom I shared a love of the beautiful classic Hollywood films which were screened every Saturday night.  So whilst other teens were ogling each other at the blue light disco, we'd sit in front of the TV, transfixed by the glamour of the 40's and 50's held spellbound by the timeless beauty of starlets such as Rita Hayworth, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly...   I read as many Hollywood biographies as I could, during that time.   It was such a magnificent obsession. Well, Angie's mother looked a lot like Debbie Reynolds and was rather a femme fatale.   She had a Turkish lover who introduced her to an exotic world - which included the cuisine, amongst other delights I'm sure! So, occasionally in between Bevvy's burgers and tuna mornay we'd get a serving of this mint and garlic tinctured concoction on Saturday nights.                                                                                                        
Serves 2 .....

250g pasta, any type will do
handful of fresh mint, leaves coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely sliced
2tbs olive oil
1/2 cup Greek style yoghurt
grated haloumi

Cook the pasta according to packet instructions.
Mix all ingredients and serve.

one-thousand and one nights ratatouille

Over a restorative cup of mint tea, a friend and I were discussing how much more difficult it is dealing with our daughters than it is with our sons.    The repeated defiance, manipulation, the need for attention were some of the traits that distinguished them from their less complicated brothers.   We considered that perhaps in this age where the females of the human species are treated more equally than ever before (at least in democratic societies), the capacity to be persuasive and obtain what that they needed to survive was an evolutionary personality trait.  Not possessing the brute strength of men, they resorted to using their feminine wiles.

For me, this theory is ever so poignantly characterised in the Arabian  tale of Sheherazade who bewitched her husband, the caliph, with stories which included magic lamps, stolen purses, cloud mountains and serpent princesses, told over 1001 nights.  Her cleverness enabled her to survive a beheading, a fate that befell his previous 3 wives.   I imagine her telling these stories in a starlit garden fragrant with jasmine, serving a dish very much like this one.....    
               
                      Serves 6 generously

 
2 aubergines, chopped coarsely
3 large zucchinis, chopped roughly
2 large onions, diced
4 cloves of garlic, sliced finely
2 carrots, chopped
1 large sweet potato, chopped
300g small mushrooms left whole
2 red capsicums, chopped
1/2 cauliflower, separated into florets
1/4 cup of olive oil
2 heaped teaspoons Ras el Hanout
1 400g tin of tomatoes
a handful of parsley, chopped
S & P

Pepita mix crumble
100g pepita seeds
100g sunflower kernels
50g chopped almonds
50g breadcrumbs
2tbs olive oil
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp sea salt flakes

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

Mix all ingredients (except pepita mix crumble) and place in a large roasting dish.  Cover dish with foil and put in the oven.  Cook for 1.5 hours till softened, then uncover and increase heat to 200 degrees and cook for another 30 mins by which time the vegetables will be golden, charcoal tinged around the edges. 

In the meantime, place all ingredients for the mix crumble in a fry pan and sauté lightly (only 5 mins or so) on medium heat.

Serve ratatouille with pepita mix scattered over the top and perhaps some bulghur pilaf on the side.

German Apple Cake

The Melbourne Writer's Festival hosted an event recently called Purgatorio at one of our city's prettiest churches.  A number of  Australia's finest poets read out their creations based on their idea of purgatory as alluded to in Dante's Inferno.  It was a sublime event.  And then I thought - what is my idea of purgatory?  Probably forever forsaking sugar is one, as a few friends have done of late.  Imagine all the luscious desserts, the chocolate, sorbets....the fripperies of life that put a spring in our step, being denied us.   To me, life would indeed be bitter without these confections.  

This German recipe from Gourmet Traveller for Apfel Kuchen (which is more of a pie than a cake) is sure to keep you out of the purgatorial mind-set.  The walnut pastry is my adaptation and I think makes it just a little more special, rather than just ordinary sweet short crust. 
 ......Serves 6 - 8

4 large Granny Smith apples
finely grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
finely grated rind of 1 orange
40g sugar
1tsp cinnamon
4 cloves
80g pure icing sugar

Pastry
100g shelled walnuts
200g cold butter, cut into cubes
125g plain flour
125g self raising flour
50g caster sugar
1 egg, whisked

Peel, core then finely slice the apples and place in a bowl with other ingredients (except icing sugar) and leave to macerate for at least an hour at room temperature.

Meanwhile, for pastry, grind walnuts in processor then add butter, flours and sugar until bread crumbs form.   Add egg and process until mixture just comes together.  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge for about 40 mins or so.

Preheat oven to 165 degrees.  Roll 2/3 of pastry to a thickness of 1cm and line the base and sides of a greased 23cm springform tin.  Drain apples well, reserving liquid and fill pastry case.   Roll out remaining pastry, draping it over the rolling pin and lifting it over the apple.  Press and crimp edges to seal then bake until golden brown about 50 mins.

Set aside in tin to cool for 10mins, then release sides of springform tin and set aside to cool completely.

Meanwhile place 1.5 tbs of reserved apple liquid in a bowl and gradually stir in icing sugar until a glaze consistency forms.  Drizzle over cake and serve with dollops of cream.

Lamb Rogan Josh with tzatziki-inspired raita

I've always thought that winter is the season for introverts.  Nights tucked beneath a blanket reading a long, sweeping saga; baking a cake for afternoon tea with a close friend; long, solitary walks in a natural setting like the poets of old......   Considering myself an introvert, I was enraptured to stumble upon a book entitled Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking at a city book shop recently.  With gentle, well- researched persuasion the maligned introvert is venerated, even glamorised in Susan Cain's scholarly work.  With introversion being the dominant trait for 1 in 3 of us, it is not surprising that history is peppered with introverts like Isaac Newton, Virginia Woolf, Kafka, Steve Jobs .. in fact probably most writers, artists, scientists, computer geeks are introverts.  Skilfully she uses scientific research and case studies to demonstrate that this current obsession with open plan offices and schools do not always produce the best outcomes.  It is doubtful if Einstein would have discovered the theory of relativity if he was collaborating as part of a team.  There is magic and power in long periods of intense concentration, in a space devoid of distraction.   Read it if only to get a glimpse into an Anthony Robbins' (he of the uber-extrovert ilk) seminar.  Otherwise, listen to her  20 min TED talk.  It really is tremendous to come across ideas that force us to question the status quo.

Anyway, for the culinary-minded amongst us making a curry from scratch is sheer heaven in winter.  Roasting and grinding whole spices, sautéing onions with garlic and ginger on gentle heat, browning the meat in batches ... requires time and a slow, steady rhythm of which only an introvert can surrender to.                Serves 6

1 heaped tablespoon each: cardamom, coriander, cumin, black pepper
1kg boned lamb leg, cut into 2.5cm cubes
20g butter
2 tbs vegetable oil
2 medium brown onions, diced
5cm piece of ginger, grated
6 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
2 tsp each of hot and sweet paprika
2 bay leaves
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
5 cloves
1 cup chicken or beef stock
400g tinned tomatoes
200g plain yoghurt
scattering of coriander and slivers of almonds (optional)
Raita
1 cup yoghurt
1 small cucumber, diced finely
handful of coriander, chopped coarsely
handful of mint, chopped coarsely
1 tsp cumin
2 cloves garlic, crushed

In a large frypan, dry roast the 4 lots of  whole spices. Then grind to a powder using mortar and pestle. Set aside.
In a large saucepan, fry the lamb in batches in the oil and butter till browned. Remove from the pan.  Pour extra oil in saucepan and sauté onion, garlic and ginger with ground spices over low heat until the onion has softened. 
Return lamb to pan with the other ingredients except yoghurt and stir to combine.
Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered for about 1.5hours or until lamb is tender.  Stir through yoghurt and cook on low heat for a further 15 mins uncovered.  Season to taste.

Meanwhile make raita by combining all ingredients in a bowl.

Serve curry with raita and naan bread.

Rock star lentil and vegetable soup

I caught up for a soiree with a friend whom I hadn't seen in over 6 months.  I was astonished when I first saw her, she had shed an enormous amount of weight and looked absolutely amazing.  This weight loss (minus 22kgs, in fact) coupled with her new cropped hairdo, she looked like a rock star!  This is from a woman a few months back, lamented that she found it too hard to lose weight and resigned herself to a lifetime of corpulence.  I was in awe and we talked about how she did it.  There really is nothing mysterious about losing weight - eat less, exercise more.   Eating healthful, low fat, nutrient-dense food like this lentil and vegetable soup is a start.  Even if you don't end up looking like a rock star , it's delicious!
                                                          Serves 4...............

1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
2 celery sticks, sliced
1 carrot, diced
1 red capsicum, diced
1 zucchini, diced
corn from 2 cobs
1 cup of lentils
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp oregano
200g tinned tomatoes

In a medium sized saucepan, fry onion and garlic in 2tbs of olive oil with bay leaf.  After 2 mins add other vegetables, paprika and oregano.  Saute for  a further 10mins or so on medium heat till softened.

Add lentils, tomato and 1.5l of water and let come to the boil.  Reduce heat and let simmer for 30 mins till lentil are tender.  Cover with lid and let infuse for 10 mins before ladling into bowls with an extra drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice and perhaps some freshly chopped parsley.

Apple latkes

Daily I am the happy recipient of blog posts from a content marketing site called Copyblogger.  The subject matter varies but ostensibly it is about online marketing and it is replete with creative ideas about writing with success in mind.  Despite their bewitching titles (e.g. why you should fire yourself; the hipster’s dilemma) I don’t get to read them all but there have been a number of posts that have captured my imagination.  One majestically entitled ‘In the dairy case, ripe prose’ featured a story on how the fromageries (or cheesemongers, if you will) of New York attempt  to lure customers to try, and of course buy, a range of cheeses which are unfamiliar and patently foreign to most, with displayed written descriptions laden with wit and cultural allusions.   For example, a cheesemonger from the Upper West Side describes Adelegger as “Just think of a scene in a movie where the lead actress, obviously one of the greats, turns around slowly and walks away from the camera taking your entire attention with her.”  Another description which is blindingly alluring is Galets de Cher   “Yes, it looks a tad, well, funkee, no? but this latest creation from our man Rodolph melts on your tongue, suggesting complex herbal ecstasy. It’s like getting the high of a Bikram Yoga class without the heat, the postures and the drill sergeant instructor”.  I am in complete ardour at the idea of how a tormented writer can be unleashed in the world of cheese! Do yourself a favour and look up this charming article.

One of my favourite cheeses to cook with, although I hasten to unnecessarily add in the same league as the above, is ricotta.  I wanted to make something for afterschool teatime and found an apple latke recipe from Nigella Lawson’s Feast.  Latkes tend to resemble fritters.  As usual, I made some variations and came up with the following which were devoured in no time by the hungry pupils.  “You wouldn’t even know there were apples in it,” my daughter declared.  I took that as a compliment.             Makes about 14…….

1 egg

200g ricotta

100ml milk

150g self raising flour

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp ground ginger

2 tbs caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

250g apples (peeled, cored and grated)

Vegetable oil for frying

Maple syrup or icing sugar and ground cinnamon for serving

Beat egg with ricotta and milk till fairly smooth.  Combine the flour, baking soda, ginger and sugar in a separate bowl.  Pour the ricotta mixture into the flour bowl and fold together with the grated apple and vanilla.

Pour enough oil to come to about 5mm up in a frying pan and put on the stove to heat.  Once oil is hot, dollop irregularly sized and shaped spoonfuls into the pan.  Fry for a minute or two, until the latkes are a golden brown on the underside; you can see from the top as they start firming up underneath. Flip them and cook for another minute on the other side.

Remove to a tray lined with kitchen towels, to blot excess oil , and continue cooking until you’ve used up all the batter.  Dust with combined icing sugar and cinnamon or drizzle with maple syrup.

Luscious lemon slice

At this time of year we always have a glut of lemons.  One thing I'll attempt for the first time is making preserved lemons - but not quite ready to yet.  This recipe from Belinda Jeffery is a voluptuously sweet way to use up some of your surplus lemons.  It is very tangy and as she herself says, it is more lemon tart than a slice.  I've varied my recipe by including coconut in the base and using less sugar in the topping.  Her photo is much prettier than mine!  Makes 20 -24 medium sized bars

base
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 cup desiccated coconut
180g cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp iced water

lemon topping
6 eggs
2 cups caster sugar
finely grated zest of 3 lemons
1 cup strained lemon juice
1/2 cup plain flour
icing sugar
chopped pistachio nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Lightly grease and line a baking tin measuring 32x24x5 cm.
For the base, whiz flour, coconut and sugar together in food processor.  Add butter and process till it resembles fine breadcrumbs.  With processor still running add vanilla and iced water and whiz until the mixture forms a ball around the blade. Take it out and press evenly into the tin.  Gently roll a glass tumbler across the top of the dough to smooth it out.  Bake the base for about 18mins till edges begin to colour and the top is pale golden.
In the meantime, make the topping.   Beat vigorously the eggs and sugar until frothy.  Whisk in the lemon juice and zest and sift the flour over the top gently incorporating until the mixture is smooth.
When the base is ready transfer to a wire rack to cool.  Reduce oven temp to 150degrees.  Once the base has cooled, pour the filling over the base.  Return the tin to the oven and bake for another 35 - 40 mins or until the topping has set..  Place tin on wire rack to cool.
Allow the slice to cool down completely before slicing in squares or elegant diamonds.  Dust with icing sugar just before serving and sprinkle with a few chopped pistachio nuts.  Quite lovely with a dollop of thick cream....

supercilious potato gratin

My dear girl and I love concluding  our day with a story.  If she had her way it would be Andy Griffiths, but alas she is content to listen to me read from the Classics.  Lately we’ve been re-reading Oscar Wilde.  Our absolute favourite is the Remarkable Rocket.  For those of you unacquainted with this literary gem, it’s about a very proud rocket  who boasts about his noble heritage and how remarkable he is to his fellow pyrotechnic companions such as the Catherine Wheel and the Roman Candle, amongst others.  He was to be ignited on the occasion of a much –heralded Royal Wedding as part of the magnificent finale, akin to watching the aurora borealis as the King commented.

However he became damp and came to a rather unremarkable end, in a mud pit in broad daylight.  Despite this ignominy, his last gasp was “I knew I would create a sensation!”  I love how he shielded himself from the harsh reality of his existence (and his demise) with his protracted delusional state.  My daughter just loves the word ‘supercilious” which features a number of times in the story and has taken to calling a number of her peers as supercilious.  I guarantee you will feel supercilious for creating something so delicious, so comforting with minimal effort.  ….Serves 6 as a side dish.

800g potatoes (sliced to 1.5cm using a mandoline)

300ml cream

50g butter

1 leek sliced very thinly also

4 peppercorns

1 fresh bay leaf

4 garlic cloves peeled and chopped

½ cup coarsely grated parmesan

Freshly grated nutmeg

 Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C.

Heat cream in saucepan with all the peppercorns, bay and garlic till boils then lower temp and simmer for a further 5 mins.  Cool in saucepan then strain and remove the flavourings.

In a large bowl, thoroughly combine the potatoes, leeks and infused cream with your hands.  Place in a greased roasting tin and dot with bits of butter.  And bake covered with foil for about 45 mins till potatoes are tender.  Remove foil, turn up the heat to 200 degrees and scatter over the parmesan and grated nutmeg.  Return to oven and cook for  further 15 mins till golden and brown on the top.

 

 

Harira happiness

Occasionally you come across a recipe which is the culinary counterpart to Tolstoy’s War and Peace or Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.  Despite my penchant for hyperbole, I believe this classic Moroccan soup is it.   It’s complex, beautiful, lingers in your gustatory memory long after your last mouthful.  I’ve had this recipe since, again when Cath Claringbold was a regular food writer for Melbourne’s The Age and after all these years I finally made it!  According to the doyenne of Middle Eastern cuisine, Claudia Roden, harira is the generic term for a soup full of pulses with little meat, few vegetables and brimming with herbs and spices.  Every day during the month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast between sunrise and sunset, the smell of this soup permeates Moroccan streets as every household has it's own version to be eaten when the sound of the cannon heralds the breaking of the fast.  How torturous that would be inhaling this divinely aromatic elixir all day only to wait till darkness unfolds before you can eat it!   On a more prosaic level, this would be analogous to my school days when I often had a cold salami and tomato sandwich and watched the lucky few eat their lunch-order hot pies and sausage rolls on cold wintry days.

I have perused a few recipes from various sources and astonished to notice that one ‘high brow’ cooking periodical used  tinned chickpeas!!  Anathema if you want flavour of the highest calibre.  Have I convinced you to make this?  Go to the effort of soaking your chickpeas overnight, making a proper chicken stock and you will be rewarded ten-fold.  As my children were unlikely to partake, I took the liberty of adding harissa at the end and didn’t use the luxurious saffron as stipulated in Cath’s recipe. Serves 6 – 8

 

Olive oil
500g diced lamb (leg or shoulder)
3 brown onions, finely diced
1 capsicum, diced into 1cm pieces
4 cloves garlic
2 carrots, chopped coarsely
2 celery sticks, chopped coarsely
1 tbs ground cumin
2 bay leaves
2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tbs tomato paste

1 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight, rinsed and drained
10 cups chicken stock
400g tinned tomatoes
1 cup baby lentils
coriander leaves, chopped
1 tsp ground cinnamon
lemon juice
salt to taste

Heat some olive oil in a large stockpot and over medium to high heat, brown the diced lamb in batches and set aside.

Add some more olive oil and pan fry onions and capsicums till soften, about 5 mins then add garlic, carrots and celery.  Saute for a further 5 mins stirring through the spices and tomato paste in the last 2 mins.   Return the lamb to the pot with the chickpeas, stock and tomatoes.  Bring to the boil then reduce heat, cover and cook until both the lamb and chickpeas are tender which will take approximately another 1.5 hours.  Taste and adjust for seasoning adding salt as required.

Rinse and drain the lentils before adding to the soup pot.  Cook until tender (another 30 mins).

To serve, add a generous amount of chopped coriander, ground cinnamon, lemon juice and salt.  Serve with warm pita bread and, if you're going to eat like a Moroccan, dates.

Easy pitta bread

My mum makes the best pitta bread.  But being a typical Greek mum, when I ask for a recipe she'll give me the ingredients but not the proportions.  Always the response is, 'me to mati', translated as 'with the eye'.  While it's wonderful to exercise intuition when cooking and it certainly is something that is perfected with experience, sometimes a little exactness is required especially when working with yeast.  Well, I found this wonderful recipe from a newspaper clipping from way back when Cath Claringbold of Meccah Bah fame in Melbourne was a regular contributor for Saturday's 'The Age'.  

I made mine with 200g organic Rye flour and 250g unbleached white and they were as good as Mum's!  They can also be used as wraps. Much healthier than the shop-brought ones with their high salt and sugar content.  And easy as....
Makes about 12 rounds.

450g unbleached white flour (or 200g Rye and 250 white flour)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp dried instant yeast
1/2 tbs olive oil
275ml tepid water

Combine all the ingredients in an electric mixer and using a dough hook, mix on low for 10 mins.  Alternatively knead by hand till dough is smooth and elastic.

Roll the dough into balls about the size of a lemon.  Dust with flour and place on a tray. Cover with a tea towel and leave to prove in a warm spot in the kitchen for 30 - 60 mins.  After which time, the dough should increase in size and leave an indentation when touched.

Roll out the dough into 18 - 20 cm circles.  Brush with olive oil and chargrill on a barbeque or on a non-stick griddle pan.  Watch in delight as they puff up like pillows, then turn them over.  It should only take a minute on each side.  Brush with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and serve with your favourite dip or soup. 

Baba Ghanoush Bliss

There’s a  line in Kate Richard’s “Madness:  A Memoir” , “ Bliss; a cup of barista-ed coffee”.  Being an aficionado of the bean I’ll have to agree.  But a bowl of this coupled with warm, home made pitta,  would have to be on par.  Due to the amount of garlic, this is guaranteed to not only be blissful, but very healthful too.  Perfect to keep the winter bugs away!

This is from Weir’s From Tapas to Meze.  Grilling or barbequing the eggplant before hand, imparts a most desirable smoky flavour.

2 large eggplants

4 – 5 cloves of garlic

½ cup tahina

1 heaped tbs cumin

Juice of 2 lemons

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

2 tbs freshly chopped parsley

Barbecue or grill eggplants turning till skin is blackened (5 – 10 mins).

Place eggplants on baking tray and roast till soft at 180 degrees C , which will probably be another 15 – 20 mins.  Once cooled, peel the skin.

Place the pulp in a bowl and mash or pulse in a food processor with salt, garlic, tahina, cumin and lemon juice. Taste and adjust for seasoning.  Spread on a plate, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with parsley.  Serve with olives and warm pitta.

Meatball Sedation

Presently enamoured by Virginia Woolf’s ‘To the lighthouse’.   There is a dinner party scene where interactions amongst the guests are patently strained which include a misanthrope who would rather be eating alone than engaged in ‘silly’ banter, a painter who can not wait to the morning to paint a magnificent landscape she’s creating in her head, a host visibly offended that a guest has helped himself to a second bowl of soup, a hostess at her wits end trying to merge these disparate parties to create a sense of bon homie. …But then the main course, the Boef en Daube arrives and suddenly there is animation in the room, the hostess feels revived and the guests are quietly enraptured.  Well this is analogous to the reception this dish received when served for dinner.  Prior there was bedlam at the dinner table with children bickering and a harassed father trying to subdue them.  But tout a coup, once the meatballs and spaghetti were served there was a collective hush.  It was devoured within minutes.

It’s  very nourishing, uncomplicated in flavour and guaranteed to please the fussiest eaters and tame the wildest recalcitrant.   This is from Nigella’s How to Eat.  Serves plenty.

 

For the meatballs

1 onion

2 tbs oil

4 slices stale white bread, crusts removed and broken into pieces

200ml milk

1 kg minced beef (or combination of veal and pork)

2 beaten eggs

4 tbs grated parmesan

1 heaped tbs chopped fresh parsley

Flour

For the sauce

2 tbs olive oil

1 tbs butter

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

1 carrot

1 stick celery

1 tsp cinnamon

2 heaped tbs dried oregano

2 tbs red wine or apple juice

3 x 400g tins best quality tomatoes

3 bay leaves

200ml milk

….

Chop onion very finely and fry it in 1 tbs oil for about 10 mins, sprinkled with salt, till golden and soft.  Place in a large bowl.  Cover bread with meal in a dish and leave till soaked (about 10 mins).

Now for the sauce.  Blitz onion, garlic, carrot and celery in a processor then fry in a large saucepan in butter and oil.   Once soft and stew-like, add wine/apple juice with cinnamon, oregano, bay and 2.5 tins of the tomato.  Push around saucepan with wooden spoon till tomato disintegrates.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook for about 20 mins add milk then another 10 mins by which time it will have become a sweet tomatoey melody.

In the meantime, place minced meat in the bowl with cooked onion.  Add bread which has been squeezed of excess milk. Then the beaten eggs, the parmesan, the cooked onion, the parsley and salt and pepper.  Mix well with your hands.

Spread a large surface with flour and have 2 large plates ready.  Using your hands shape into walnut-sized balls and roll about in the flour and place on the plates.  Makes about 46 meatballs.

Heat about 1 tbs of oil in  a non-stick frying pan (you will indubitably need to add more oil as you go along) and brown the meatballs in batches.  Spoon the browned ones into the large pot containing the sauce. When you’ve done them all, throw the remaining ½ tin of tomatoes into the frypan in which you’ve been browning the meatballs, then pour on top of the meatballs in sauce.  Cook in the sauce for about 20 -30 mins covered, till cooked through.  Remove bay leaves and toss through a huge bowl of cooked spaghetti.  Or alternatively serve with cooked rice.  And enjoy it’s sedating effect……

 

Greek -style baked beans

Frank Sinatra’s ‘That’s Life’ occasionally comes to mind when  I cook.  It was a case of “..flying high in April”  when the children wholeheartedly enjoyed the gnocchi but this dish, equaIly as earthy, was my ‘shot down in May’ moment.  Refused to take a bite!  Regardless of the dismal reception by the little dears in my life, this is my favourite way of cooking beans.  The recipe is my mother-in-law’s although probably not strictly adhering to it as I’m relying on my memory of the many occasions she’s graciously procured it over the phone when asked.  In Greek, it’s called gigantes because the lima beans expand whilst soaking and literally become giant beans.  Beware, despite the flavours being simple and clean, the process requires overnight soaking and pre-cooking so commence this the night before. Serve as a main with a green salad and a piquant fetta like piperati, and for extra protein add grilled meat or fish.   …Serves 6 as a main

500g lima beans

2 bay leaves

125ml olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

2 medium brown onions

2 celery stalks with leaves, roughly chopped

2 large carrots, roughly chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely sliced

2 tsp ground allspice

800g of coarsely grated ripe tomatoes, or tinned

A handful of parsley chopped

½ cup of breadcrumbs

Soak the beans overnight in a large bowl of water. Drain then place in a large saucepan, add the bay leaf and cover with water.  Bring to the boil then reduce heat to medium – low, and cook till very tender, approximately 1.5 hours.  Skim off any scum that rises to the surface.  Add a couple of shakes of salt towards the end of the cooking time.  Drain the beans, reserving about 400ml of the liquid.

Preheat oven to 180⁰ C.  In a frypan, sauté the onions with the garlic in about 2tbs of olive oil till tender and translucent.  Remove from the heat and mix in a bowl with the remaining ingredients, including the precooked beans with the reserved liquid, except for the breadcrumbs.  Season with salt and pepper.

Place in a large baking dish and insert into oven.  Cover with foil and bake for about 45 mins.  Remove the foil and stir the beans add extra water if they seem to be drying out.  Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and return to oven, baking for another 30 mins.

Serve warm with a final flourish of olive oil.

It's not all in the mind Babka

To my undying shame I have only just discovered a means of keeping abreast of current trends – listening to podcasts.  And one of my favourites du jour, is the ABC’s ‘All in the mind’ which features illuminating discussions on subjects related to the brain and social behaviour. 

A recent episode which was of much intrigue to moi, was the subject of curiosity.  According to clinical psychologist, Todd Kashdan, one of the benefits of retaining a sense of curiosity and pursuing what impassions us is it can prevent cognitive and mental decline.  Our brains are‘exercised’ when we learn a new skill or language, when embracing novel experiences; when we actively seek uncertainty in our lives.  Not only is this invigorating to us as human beings, but also leads to less likelihood of developing dementia. 

Well in the spirit of embracing a novel experience I opened up Tess Kiros’ intoxicatingly magical ‘Falling Cloudberries’ and stumbled upon her recipe for Babka.  This is a Jewish sweet bread characterised by swirls of cinnamon. Since I have never eaten babka myself  I didn’t know what to expect.  My variation is the use of melted butter instead of vegetable oil, because it just tastes better.  When eaten warm from the oven, it is divine! I’m glad one  part of my body benefitted from the babka experience (wasn’t my waistline that’s for sure!!) 

Serves 6 …..

 

625g plain flour

1tsp salt

80g caster sugar

15g dried instant yeast

250ml milk

100g butter

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Cinnamon filling

1 tbs ground cinnamon

100g dark brown sugar

60g butter, softened

Glaze

1 egg yolk

2tsp milk

30g sugar, to sprinkle

Mix together the dried ingredients till well combined in a large bowl using a whisk.  Melt butter in a saucepan with the milk over medium heat.  Once melted take off heat and incorporate into the bowl of dried ingredients using your hands. 

Add the eggs and mix a little to combine.  The dough will be thick and sticky.  Turn it out onto a floured work surface, incorporating more flour if necessary so that it is sticky but not so sticky that it sticks to your hands.  Knead it for about 10 mins. Grease a large clean bowl with melted butter.

Place the dough in the bowl turning it greased side up.  Cover with plastic wrap and then a tea towel and leave to rise in a warm location until it is light and doubled in size, about 1^1/2 hours.  Halve the dough and roll out one half on a lightly floured surface .  it will still feel quite sticky.  Roll it out to make a 25 x 45 cm rectangle about ½ cm thick. 

Mix the cinnamon with the brown sugar. Spread half the butter over the rolled out dough (if butter is quite hard grate it instead) and scatter half of the cinnamon sugar over the surface.  Roll up the dough into a long cord along its longest edge.  Set aside and do the same with the other half.  Braid the two dough ropes together, pressing hard to seal the edges together.  Twist the dough braid to tighten the loaf. 

Place onto a baking tray lined with baking parchment.  Cover with plastic and leave in a warm place for another hour or so, until it puffs up again.  Preheat the oven to 180^oC.  Mix the egg yolk with the milk and brush over the top of the babka, then sprinkle with sugar.  Put the baking tray on the bottom third of the oven with no shelves above it and bake for 30 – 40 mins.  It will have risen into a beautifully golden loaf.  A skewer inserted into the highest part should come out clean without any dough sticky to it.  If the ends look too brown but the dough doesn’t seem cooked enough,  then cover them with aluminium foil and cook for a little longer.  Cool for a few mins before cutting up and eating as is.  Oh,…so good for the brain!

 

 

 

Perfect-as-it- is Avgolemono soup

I like to gild the lily.  If something tastes great, I like to think if I add a pinch of smoked paprika or an extra dash of tabasco, I can make it better, make it taste absolutely sensational.  Sometimes this superfluity can lead to delightfully surprising outcomes, other times it can lead to disaster.

This mantra of 'if a little is good, then a lot is better' led to my downfall as an undergraduate Chemistry student.   Fondly I recall my Chemistry lab experiments at Uni where I often shamelessly pipetted too much hydrochloric acid, or other type of acid, into a solution and remaining agog at the toxic gases produced.  I even had my supervisors bewildered with the mysterious reactions that were occurring in the incubators of which I presided.  Invariably there was smoke, there were menacing hissing noises, dubious smells, dangerously overheated test-tubes, holes in my lab coat ...Alas, I was not a highly sought after lab partner!

But I'm learning that sometimes it is best to do as little as possible, add as little as possible to a dish and the results can be absolutely sensational.  Like this avgolemono, from Stephanie Alexander's the cooks companion - a Greek lemon-egg soup which needs to be served straight after cooking. It is certainly not one of those soups that can be reheated and served later as it tends to go gluggy.  This has to be one of my favourite soups.  And please, do not even think about buying the cartoned chicken stock!  Quelle horreur!!  Serves 4....

1.5 litres home made Chicken stock
90g long grain rice
3 large eggs
juice of 2 lemons
salt and pepper

Bring stock to simmering point.  Adjust seasoning and drop in rice.  Simmer for 15 mins until rice is cooked. 
Beat eggs and lemon juice vigorously (or use hand held mixer) till frothy. Add a ladleful of hot stock to egg mixture and continue to whisk..Remove stock from heat and allow to cool for 2 -3 mins. 
Swiftly tip in egg mixture, whisking to mix well.  Taste again for salt and pepper.  Serve at once.

Caramelised onion and vintage cheddar bread

It was a chilly, autumnal morning and something warm and comforting was in order.  Flipping through my latest Gourmet Traveller I found the following recipe for a scone-like savoury bread. Although it is called a bread, there is no yeast.  It's very rustic and accessible unlike some of their recipes which even for someone with altispheric tastes like moi, can be a little too intimidating.  No, this one just calls for onions and vintage cheese amongst other homely ingredients.  If you do want to make it a little more sophisticated, swap the vintage cheddar for a mix of fetta and tasty or halloumi.  Or instead of thyme in the caramelised onion concoction, use mint or oregano. Although, my daughter did complain that there just wasn't enough caramelised onion, otherwise she would have given it a 10/10. Wonderful with a light, brothy soup like  avgolemono....Serves 8

450g (3 cups) SR flour
160g (1 cup) wholemeal SR flour
100g cold butter, chopped
120g (1 cup) coarsely grated vintage cheddar
1/4 cup mixed fresh herbs such as chives and thyme
1 egg, lightly beaten
310ml buttermilk

Caramelised onions
2 tbs olive oil
3 medium sized brown onions, thinly sliced
1 tbs fresh thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
1 tbs sugar
salt and pepper to taste

For caramelised onions, heat oil in a large fry pan and cook onion with bay and thyme leaves over medium heat till soft.  Add sugar and salt and pepper with 2 tbs water and cook stirring occasionally for 20 mins till onions are soft and charred around the edges.  Cool.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.  Line a large oven tray with baking paper.
Whisk flours in a large bowl for a minute till thoroughly aerated.  Rub in butter.  Stir in half the cheese and half the mixed herbs.  Add egg and enough buttermilk to mix to a soft, sticky dough.  Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead gently until smooth.

Roll dough between sheets of baking paper into a 30cm x 40cm rectangle.  Spread caramelised onions over dough, leaving a 2cm border along the far long side.  Sprinkle remaining cheese and herbs over onion. Roll up firmly from long side and transfer to tray turning edges to form a horse-shoe shape. Brush with a little extra buttermilk,

Bake for about 40 mins.  Stand on tray for 20 mins.  Serve.  If you can't be bothered with the soup, just open a beautiful bottle of Beaujolais, or any reputable red, and imbibe with pleasure! It would be just as warm and comforting.....

Wildfell Hall Butterscotch Peach Cake

It was destined to be a nutty day.  I had been to my in-laws' chestnut farm earlier picking chestnuts, which incidentally is rather gruelling.  You're stooped over picking chestnuts strewn on the ground, sometimes extracting them from their prickly encasings.  Despite wearing gloves cactus -like prickles invariably find themselves impaled in your hands.  So by the end of it, you're battling sore back and leg muscles and stubborn prickles.  Thankfully, the chestnut harvesting season is short lasting for around 6 weeks in autumn.

Anyway, later in the day inspired by the chestnuts I decided to make one of Belinda Jeffries' nut-based creations, for my monthly bookclub.  We were discussing Anne Bronte's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, which was considered hugely shocking for it's time given the themes of marital abuse, divorce and alcoholism.  Published in 1848, it is supposedly the first feminist novel.  It made for a very scintillating discussion.  Because Anne is undeservedly the lesser known of the Bronte sisters and because she was brave and honest enough to bring to light the injustices suffered by women in the 19th century, I thought I'd name this cake after her pioneering novel.

If you want the heavenly effect of the butterscotch sauce cascading over the cake, the right sized tin is imperative.   Belinda used 24cm round cake time.  As you can see by the photo, my tin was a little too large!  Supposed to serve 8...

100g almond meal

90g SR flour

160g caster sugar

3 eggs

200g butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

Peach and caramel topping

80g unsalted butter

½ cup brown sugar

¼ tsp salt

3 largish, just ripe peaches

Preheat oven to 180⁰C.  Lightly butter a 24cm round cake tin, lining base with baking paper.

For the topping, melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat.  Add the sugar and salt and stir until the mixture is smooth.   Pour it into your prepared tin, tilting it so that the bottom is coated evenly.  You will need to hold it with a tea towel so as not to get scolded by the heat.

Leaving the skins on the peach, slice them into 6mm segments.  Lay the peach slices over the top of the caramel, layering as you go so the base of the tin is completely covered in peaches.

Whiz the almond meal and flour in a food processor for 10 seconds until well combined. Tip them into a bowl.

Whiz the sugar and eggs in the processor for a minute then add butter and whiz a little more to combine thoroughly.  The sides of the machine may need to be scraped down with a spatula so that all the butter is incorporated.  Mix in the vanilla.  Return to the almond mixture to processor and pulse briefly, just enough time for the liquid and dry ingredients to combine. Dollop the subsequent batter into the caramel and peach covered tin as evenly and gently as possible.

Bake for about 45 mins or until a fine skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.  Leave it to cool for a few mins then run a blunt knife around trhe inside of the tin to loosen the cake.  Leave it another couple of minutes then invert it onto a serving plate.  For an extra sheen, brush the peaches gently with golden syrup.  Serve warm with a dollop of cream or scoop of vanilla ice-cream.  This cake really needs to be eaten on the day it’s made, for a superior taste sensation.

 

Boot camp gnocchi

Maybe it was the guilt of having a sackful of organic potatoes from my in-laws’ farm languishing in the cellar.  Perhaps it was the potent sense of wellbeing after a long, soul -enriching bike ride on a trail replete with nature’s bounty….but I decided to make gnocchi.  This involves boiling potatoes then peeling them whilst hot, before passing them through my manual rotary food mill.  It is a mammoth effort using this contraption which involves holding the long handle with one hand whilst rotating the blade with the other.  And when you’re using 1 kg of potatoes it is a workout.  It made me think of other manual kitchen activities that require exertion such as using a mortar and pestle to grind spices, kneading and rolling out dough, juicing oranges…it’s boot camp but with delicious results!

I first made gnocchi 10 years ago after following a recipe in a food magazine.  It was just potato and flour.  No egg.  And so I have never used egg and either has Stephanie Alexander.   To achieve the desired result of light and velvety dumplings  incorporate as little flour as possible.  So do not delay the shaping and cooking of the gnocchi otherwise the dough will become sticky and require more flour.  In this recipe I make a  neapolitana sauce using the last of the late summer tomatoes and bake in the oven with a layer of grated cheese.  When my son first looked at his plate he declared with disdain that he was not having any of this dinner.  But after some gentle coaxing, he tried some.  And just like his name sake in Seus’ Green Eggs and Ham, he loved them!  He even said they tasted like ‘clouds’.  The sheer effort of this dish was worth it….Serves 4.

Olive oil

1kg potatoes

Salt

325g plain flour

Neapolitana sauce

1 kg of tomatoes, peeled

¼ cup olive oil

2 tbs dried oregano

1 bay leaf

4 garlic cloves

Handful of basil

200g of mixed cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, cheddar

In a large saucepan, boil potatoes in lightly salted water for 15 – 20 mins till tender.  Drain and peel swiftly using a teatowel to hold potato if too hot to handle. Pass potatoes through a food mill or potato ricer directly onto work surface, then sprinkle with salt.  In the meantime, have a large saucepan containing at least 3 litres of water boiling in preparation for cooking the gnocchi.   With one hand sprinkle potato with some flour and, using the heel of the other hand, work it in.  The skill is to be as deft and quick as possible.  Continue until dough is a pliable consistency.  You may not even need to use all the dough.  When cooking water is at a fast boil, roll potato mixture into a long rope and cut into 1cm pieces.  

Reduce heat slightly so that water is simmering.  Drop in some gnocchi, but not too many at once as they do expand.  After a few mins the gnocchi rise to the surface.   Lift them with a perforated spoon, drain momentarily over the pot before laying them flat on a large roasting tray smeared with olive oil.  Repeat with remaining gnocchi.

Preheat oven to 180⁰C.  Make sauce by heating oil first.  Then pour in all other ingredients excluding the basil.  Cook for about 20mins on medium heat mashing the tomato as you cook it.  Adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper.  Add 2 ladlefuls of the potato cooking water to thin it out a little.  Stir in basil at the end before pouring over the gnocchi in the roasting dish.  You may not require all the sauce, so keep the rest in the fridge for use at a later time.  Then sprinkle cheese evenly over the top before putting into the oven to cook a further 10 -15 mins when it will be golden and bubbly.  Cloud-like indeed!

 

 

 

Cauliflower and beetroot salad with harissa dressing

It’s become an obsession ….salad making.  Recently, I watched with a sense of wonderment and awe an episode of Ottolenghi’s “ Mediterranean Feast”which featured Tunisian cuisine.  To my shame, I had never heard of him until I stumbled upon this TV series.  Against a bejewelled Mediterranean sea or in the bustling markets of Tunis he beguiled his guests with his keen interest in their food.  I loved his warm and engaging manner, he is what Italians would call a ‘sympatico’ spirit.  I have read a little more about him since then.  ‘Otto’ is a regular food writer for The Guardian and renowned for being inventive with his flavours, incorporating less commonly used ingredients in his dishes. He challenges cooks not to be intimidated by the use of caraway, cardamom or verjuice. To me his adventurousness encapsulates what a culinary dalliance should be! In this episode Otto concocted a most magnificent salad, his take on the Nicoise salad, with a harissa dressing.  Harissa is a piquant chilli sauce used in almost all Tunisian dishes. Like wasabi, a little goes a long way.... I subsequently was inspired to create this colourful salad which uses caraway seeds and harissa as stellar flavourings.  Serves 4 – 6.

1 head of cauliflower, separated into florets

2 large carrots, cut into 2cm lengths

4 small beetroots, quartered

1 red onion, cut into 8 wedges

100g baby spinach

1 tbs caraway seeds

¼ cup olive oil, plus extra 4 tbs for dressing

1 tbs dried oregano

2 tbs roasted pepitas

2 tsp harissa paste

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tbs red wine vinegar

2 squeezes of lemon juice

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 200⁰C.  Grease 2 roasting tins.  Thoroughly mix first 4 vegetables with olive oil, oregano and caraway, seasoning with salt and pepper.  Place on trays and roast for 40 – 50 mins till caramelised.

Make dressing by whisking olive oil, vinegar, lemon, garlic and harissa in a large salad bowl.  Then incorporate roasted vegetables with spinach leaves in the bowl.  Scrape any juices remaining in the trays to augment the flavours. Scatter with pepita seeds.

cold soba noodle salad

The heat continues and we're all positively fed up in Melbourne with hot days and nights in early Autumn.  The meteorologists are prognosticating these above 30 degree celcius temperatures will continue well into the next week.  Who wants to be standing over a hot stove in these conditions??  Well, my fetish with salads seems very sensible under the circumstances.  This recipe is from goop, an e-newsletter founded by Gwyneth Paltrow which contains information from parenting, to spirituality to healthy eating.  It's lately become a little too consumer-focused for my predilections, but some of the recipes are fabulous.  Like this salad which features soba noodles and coriander.  I altered the original recipe to include enoki mushrooms and roasted pepitas.  Thanks to Gwyneth I have discovered agave nectar, a natural sweet liquid from Mexico, the taste of which I prefer to honey and I'm told has a much lower GI.  But it is a lot more expensive, I hasten to add...  Serves 4

8 oz (226.80 g according to my weight conversion calculator) buckwheat soba noodles
1 tbs Japanese soy sauce
1 tbs agave nectar
1 tbs mirin
2 tbs rice wine vinegar
2 tbs toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup flavourless oil (perhaps corn oil)
2 tbs black sesame seeds (or toasted sesame seeds)
2 tbs toasted pepitas
100g enoki mushrooms
1/4 cup coriander, chopped coarsely
5 spring onions
1 red chilli pepper, chopped finely

Cook the soba in boiling water, according to packet instructions (4 mins usually).  Immediate rinse the soba under cold water and drain thoroughly. Meanwhile whisk all the liquid ingredients in a large salad bowl to make the dressing.  Toss in the cold soba with the dressing and mix in the rest of the ingredients.  Enjoy with a glass of ice cold sake!

carrot salsa

We’re all feeling a little desiccated and wilted in Melbourne, like 3 day old tulips in a quarter-full vase.  We’re actually experiencing a proper summer where the temperatures remain above 30⁰ C for days and days on end.  This not usual for our town where we’re languishing  in sleeveless tops for 2 days followed by an extreme cool change and we’re back to entombing ourselves in pashminas and peacoats.    Because we pride ourselves on being tres chic….Well, nothing screams more tres chic than an elegant summer salad.  This recipe for a very modern, light carrot salsa is from a distinctly un-chic  tome, The Cooking Book, which is furnished with 1000 recipes including coronation chicken rolls and couscous royale.   But don't let that put you off.  When I served this recently at a matinee, it was greeted with much fervour!  Serves 6.

5 large carrots, peeled and grated

1 red onion, finely sliced

2 garlic cloves, finely sliced

Juice of ½ lemon

2 tbs pomegranate molasses

Handful of coarsely chopped mint

Handful of coarsely chopped parsley

 ¼ cup light olive oil/ vegetable oil

100g toasted pepitas

 Just combine all ingredients excluding pepitas, cover and set aside for at least an hour (overnight would be sensational)for flavours to develop.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Add pepitas just before serving.