Prepping the lamb...and the finished dish.

This is my entry for the Royal Foodie Joust. Jenn, who hosts this monthly competition has given us "foodies" a chance to get creative with a monthly challenge. Last months winner who chose this months 3 ingredients, chose cinnamon, lentils and eggplant (aubergine). Great combination! So off to work I went creating a dish based on those ingredients. Here's my creation. Moroccan spiced lamb (using the cinnamon as part of the spice rub), a lentil and pancetta "pilaf" using the lentils of course and baba ghanoush using the eggplant. Here's a visual and written breakdown of this recipe.

PREPARING THE LAMB



I used two organic racks of lamb that I purchased form my very knowledgeable butcher. I made a spice rub using about a teaspoon of each of the following. Ground cinnamon, ground fennel seeds, cumin, turmeric, ground ginger and ground coriander seeds. To this blend of dry spices I added a good splash of olive oil and the juice of half a lemon. I created a wonderful aromatic paste that I rubbed all over the lamb and let it marinate in the refrigerator for about 4 hours. Once the lamb had come back to room temperature I placed it in a hot oven for about 45 mins at 200 deg C. This ensured I got a lovely pink colour in the middle and the lamb wasn't overcooked or destroyed!

LENTIL AND PANCETTA PILAF



Lentils and pancetta...a great combination here!

I had originally intended to make a warm lentil salad as my base. But I slightly overcooked the lentils and it resembled more of a "pilaf". Oh well! the texture was slightly thicker than I had hoped for but it still tasted great. To make this I used 250 g of lentils. I picked all the slightly "scarred" ones out and I soaked them in some cold water. Once I had re rinsed them after their soaking I boiled them in a combination of one cup of water and one cup of chicken stock. I added a little salt and pepper to taste and one bay leaf. Once they had cooked (or slightly overcooked in my case!) I added some fried pancetta to them. I love pancetta. It's basically the Italian version of bacon but much better. It's a little saltier and spicier and it lends great character to a dish.

BABA GHANOUSH


Preparing the baba ghanoush

I've never made baba ghanoush before. I've never even made that similar Greek classic "melitzanosalata". The principles are similar but the ingredients vary slightly. Baba ghanoush is a dip which originates in the Middle East and it uses eggplant as its base ingredient. It's actually quite simple to make and it has a very addictive taste. I basically baked an eggplant in a very hot oven that I had pierced all over with a fork. This took about one hour. Once the eggplant had been removed and cooled down I peeled the dark skin off it and removed any seeds that were still visible inside the silky cooked flesh. I then placed the cooked eggplant flesh into a food processor and added two finely chopped garlic cloves, one and a half tablespoons of tahini (middle Eastern ground sesame paste), salt and pepper, the juice of half a lemon and whilst the motor was running, I added enough extra virgin olive oil to make a creamy concoction. (The amount of olive oil might vary slightly but just use enough to make it creamy).



The finished dish.

And finally I put all the cooked parts of the dish together. The lentil pilaf was used as the base. The lamb was placed on top of this and the baba ghanoush was scooped on top. A fantastic blend of flavours and combinations. Also a great challenge using those three specified ingredients of cinnamon, lentils and eggplant.

Tags:royal foodie joust lamb Spices lentils

Fried prawn cakes...on a bed of watercress. Served with a glass of cold beer.

Before this turns out to be a blog about the weather, let me just clarify about the kind of weather we have here in Sydney during the summer months. Whilst we can have traditional "hot" days, with blazing sunshine and high temperatures we also experience sub tropical weather. Think sticky, humid and thunderstorms. Its quite unique and something I still cant bear. I find myself showering three times a day during the humid months. But I digress... I wanted to showcase some more summer recipes. Primarily, food that you can enjoy with a glass of cold beer. Admittedly you will be frying these lovely morsels but I promise it won't be too long.

I found a recipe for fried prawn cakes made by the domestic goddess herself. They're very easy, very simple and you won't be able to stop at just one. They have a bit of a Spanish influence with the addition of sherry but you could easily "Thai" them up! (We'll get to that in a second). I have to admit to two things here. Firstly, I'm not a big fan of Nigella but these looked too good to pass up. And the recipe turned out quite nicely. Secondly, I'm not a big fan of deep frying. I have no patience waiting for the oil to get to the perfect frying temperature. But I am learning as I go along. I wait for the oil to heat up on a medium temperature and that way it ensures everything is cooked evenly and not too quickly. Once they're cooked enjoy them with a glass of your favourite cold brew. Perfect tropical eating...



FRIED PRAWN CAKES RECIPE (Adapted from Nigella Lawson's "How to eat")
500 g of shelled, cleaned and deveined prawns finely chopped (thats shrimp to our North American cousins)
2 garlic cloves finely minced
4 spring onions finely chopped
1 tsp of dried chili flakes
salt and pepper to taste
50 ml of sherry
120g of plain flour
sunflower oil for frying

Mix all the ingredients together with enough water to make a batter. Look to make a "thickish" batter. Let it stand for a few hours covered with plastic wrap. Once your oil has come to a nice cooking temperature, drop teaspoonfuls of the batter into the oil and fry evenly. Drain the cakes on a paper towel. Serve sprinkled with sea salt and lemon wedges. Aioli would also work well as a dipping sauce for the prawn cakes.

You may also want to make a Thai version of these as well. I thought about his after I had made them. Perhaps substituting the sherry for fish sauce and adding some coriander, lime juice and a small portion of palm sugar. Its fun to play around with food ideas isn't it? Now where's that beer?..

Tags:Canapes party foods Seafood Summer recipes

Fresh wholemeal linguine with asparagus, peas, spinach and mint.

I try to eat healthy. I swear I do. I try to incorporate a well balanced eating routine but I find that during the "silly" season (Xmas and New Year) things can get a little hectic on the food front. Second helpings and extra sweets can certainly build up into unwanted kilos. So I was looking for a healthier alternative the other night for dinner. My local deli always has a handy supply of goodies and on that particular day I found some freshly made whole wheat linguine. Interesting I thought. I just need to balance this out with some lovely greens. I picked some fresh asparagus, some peas, a bunch of spinach and some fresh mint. Then off to work I went!

While this pasta dish is not of the traditional variety I always believe its good to experiment and play around with food. It was very easy to prepare and it provided me with some very well needed greens. I thought that the linguine might have been a little heavy but it was fine. I have included an extra step for those who want to be a little "wicked" in preparing this dish.

PASTA WITH "GREENS"
Pasta of your choice
One bunch of asparagus with the stalky bits cut off.
A cup of fresh peas (you can use frozen..less time)
A good handful of spinach
A handful of fresh mint, roughly chopped
salt and pepper to taste
A little olive oil
A clove of garlic, finely chopped

Wicked optional ingredient
Mascarpone

1. Do all the usual things. Clean the asparagus and discard the "woody" ends. Shell the peas (if using fresh). Rinse the spinach.
2. Bring two pots of water to the boil. In one, place the asparagus first and let it cook for a couple of mins. Then add the peas and spinach and let it cook for about another minute. (We are looking at blanching here and not cooking everything for too long).
3. Drain the greens and refresh them in some cold water.
4. Now, cook your fresh pasta. (fresh pasta will not take too long to boil. A couple of mins at the most). Once cooked, drain and reserve some of the pasta water.
5. Heat up a fry pan with a little olive oil. Add your minced garlic and let it cook a little. Be wary about burning it! Drain your cooled greens and place in the fry pan. Give it a good toss making sure the greens get coated by the oil.
6. Add the freshly cooked pasta and toss through again.
7. Add the freshly chopped mint and some salt and pepper.
8. If things get a little dry here add some of the reserved pasta water.
9. Finally, if you want to be a little wicked add a good tablespoon of fresh macarpone! It just adds a lovely velvety, soft touch to this dish!
10. Serve with some freshly grated parmesan, a glass of rose and some Sydney sunshine.



Eat your greens!

Tags:recipes quick pasta peas

Greek style steak sandwich...with tzatziki

Woah! The tzatziki recipe I posted the other day certainly had a lot of "passionate" responses. It was good to see. Everyone loves their food and has a particular way of preparing tzatziki. I learnt a few things myself and this is why I love blogging. You can really learn a lot. Peter kindly pointed out to me that I forgot to salt the grated cucumbers. Its a good step to remember as the salt helps to draw out the extra moisture. Thanks Peter. Ivy pointed out that you could try tzatziki mixed with mustard. I'd never heard of that and I was quite interested to know more. Jenn noted that it tastes great with low fat yogurt, but it should be the FAGE brand. I know that brand but I haven't seen it here in Australia. That yogurt is delicious and the low fat one is pretty thick. Thank you to everyone who responded with such kind suggestions.

My post today will cover another way to use tzatziki. In a hearty steak sandwich. It basically utilises some of the ingredients that I prepared in my antipasto. I had some leftover roasted tomatoes, tzatziki and olive ciabatta bread. I wanted to play around in the kitchen and see how far I could stretch these ingredients. Then I thought about making a steak sandwich and using the tzatziki as my sauce. It was hearty and very filling. It's a real no brainer and very simple to prepare. I used a thick (quite thick actually!) piece of lamb fillet that I marinated in some olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper. I then seared it in a "chargrill pan" (one with ridges in it) for about 5 mins and then cooked it in the oven for about 10. I let it rest and then made my sandwich with the other ingredients. Some beautiful organic salad leaves. The roasted amoroso tomatoes and the tzatziki. The only thing I think this sandwich could have benefited from is some fried onions. Overall I was very impressed and it was a good way to use the leftover tzatziki.
Happy eating everyone!

Tags:recipes recipes Greek Greece lamb

Creamy, cooling and very luscious.

Tzatziki is probably one of Greece's most famous dips. It utilises ingredients which are plentiful in that country. We're talking thick, creamy sheep's milk yougurt. Crisp, cooling cucumbers. And loads of garlic. Its commonly used in souvlaki that are served in many restaurants and it often comes out as a starter as well. Whack it on some fresh bread and you are in heaven. Turkey does a similar dip but it's a little less thick. It's very easy to prepare and the secret lies in the yogurt. Please be wary if you make this NOT to use revolting low fat yogurt. Try to find a natural or organic one, often labelled as "Greek Style". Many years ago I remember my father buying the yogurt and letting it strain in a muslin cloth in the refrigerator for a few days. He wanted really thick yogurt and he claimed it was too "thin" straight out of the container. Be also wary on who you breathe on the next day. The garlic content isn't that high but it certainly makes an impact. Tzatziki is a very versatile dish and I love using it in a number of ways. It's fantastic served over char grilled or bbq'd lamb chops or even roast lamb in the cooler months. I recently served it as part of my summer antipasto. It went down a treat.

TZATZIKI RECIPE

250 Grams of good Greek yogurt. The natural, thick one!
3 small or "lebanese" cucumbers finely grated
2-3 finely minced garlic cloves
A good handful of dill finely chopped
Another good handful of fresh mint roughly chopped
A "splash" of extra virgin olive oil
juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Peel and deseed the cucumbers. Finely grate them using your normal kitchen grater. Once this has been done squeeze the excess water out of them. We don't want them too wet. Place the grated cucumber into the yogurt along with everything else. Once everything is combined I recommend you place the tzatziki into the fridge and let it rest a little while. We want the flavours of the garlic to permeate. It's a good idea to make this the night before. That way all the flavours get to develop really well. My recent batch stayed with me for 4 days. It's so addictive and the flavour just gets better and better.

Tags:recipes recipes Greek Greece

Roated "amoroso" tomatoes on toasted Olive ciabatta

Continuing on from our Summer Antipasto I wanted to highlight some of the options individually and how you can utilise them as other dishes. Take for example our roasted amoroso tomatoes and olive ciabatta bread. These two items are another one of those relationships that were destined to be together. I mean how could they fail. The tomatoes are so juicy and sweet this time of the year. Ripe and ready! None of those floury varieties those multi chains like to push on us.

These were quite medium in size. Not too small or large. Preparing them is very simple. Give them a good rinse, wipe them and place them in a baking pan. Make sure you're oven is at about 200 deg C and smokin hot! Drizzle them with a good high quality extra virgin olive oil and if you like, a splash of balsamic. Sprinkle on some sea salt and freshly cracked pepper. Pop them in the oven and leave them to roast for about half an hour. Once they're done leave them cool for a little while. We don't want to burn our mouths!

I had visited my local baker in the morning and he had some wonderful ciabatta bread made with the addition of olives. My mind went into overdrive as I thought of the endless possibilities that could be achieved with this bread. I simply sliced it and drizzled some more of that lovely extra virgin olive oil (I can't help it..its addictive!). I then "toasted" it , by placing in one of those groovy pans that have ridges. I made sure it was hot before I put the bread in and I "toasted" each side for about 2 mins. Now its very easy to construct. Put the tomatoes on top of the freshly "toasted" bread and drizzle some basil paste. For the final touch drizzle some more olive oil around the plate. How easy is that for a starter. Summer or not!

Tags:recipes quick antipasto

A selection of goodies

Happy 2008 everyone! The new year saw us sweltering here in Sydney. With temperatures in the mid to high 30's I was at a loss at what to cook. Nobody wants to be stuck in a hot kitchen sweating away. This is where the famous Italian antipasto or Greek "meze" come into play. It's very simple to throw a few things together and nibble at a little bit of everything. Plump, marinated Kalamata and green olives. Freshly sliced cucumbers. Quick roasted tomatoes. Cold meats, tzatziki and toasted olive ciabatta. Let your taste buds have fun. Throw in a good bottle of wine and before you know it, lunch is served.

For now I'll make this a visual feast. I'll follow with recipes and ingenious ways to use them over the next few days. Now get ready to drool...


Get creative with ingredients lying around


Lay out a spread...let everyone help themselves





Succulent cold meats...Hot Salami, Mortadella and Sopressa


Lots of olives...

Tags:quick recipes Summer antipasto