Tuna Carpaccio
Fried eschallot encrusted tuna with limes and coconut..the Joust ingredients
It's that time of the month again. The Royal Foodie Joust is being held over at Jenn's. Well ok, it runs for the whole month but its time for me to enter my recipe for the competition. Val, who won last months competition chose seafood, lemons or limes and coconut. As per usual, I had a whole heap of things I wanted to make and "ummed and aahed" until I decided to try something a little different. I'm doing a tuna carpaccio. Carpaccio traditionally uses beef as the protein. It's finely sliced (shaved?) and dressed with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and parmesan. Recently I've seen tuna used in carpaccios but always done with Italian ingredients. By using the RFJ's ingredients I could play with the whole carpaccio concept by adding an Asian twist to it. The Asian ingredients lie somewhere between Thailand and Vietnam. I wanted to use sashimi but I wasn't game to get up at 5 am and brave the Sydney Seafood Markets!
Instead, I bought small fresh tuna steaks from my local Greek fishmonger, Nick (there's always called Nick!). Before i sliced them I rolled them in fried eschallots and this provided a nice crust for the tuna. I wanted to use toasted sesame seeds but I had run out! No problem. It's all about being creative and thats why I like the Royal Foodie Joust. I dressed the thinly sliced tuna in a coconut vinaigrette. I made the dressing using a splash of olive oil, a small knob of grated ginger, a finely diced chilli, a teaspoon of palm sugar, fish sauce , soy sauce, the juice of half a lime, a tablespoon of coconut cream and some of the coconut water from my freshly cracked coconut. Phew! It sounds very complex but really its very complementary to the tuna. Its fresh, tangy and the coconut cream adds a subtle richness. The final touch was to garnish each tuna slice with a fresh mint leave and some finely sliced chilli. Hope you enjoy and good luck to everyone!
Mushroom Tarts
A variety of mushrooms
Mushrooms have often been labelled as "meat for vegetarians". They do tend to have a "meaty" like texture and they are another versatile ingredient that can be enjoyed either hot or cold. When I was at the local markets the other day, I saw a whole variety on display. I picked up a some swiss browns, the good ol' button variety and the very large portabello. I couldn't decide how I wanted to "play" with them but in the end decided to use them in an open tart or pie...whatever you want to call it!
The recipe is really easy and its my fool proof way to even out the earthy flavour of the mushrooms. In a large pan I melted some good Danish "Lurpak" brand Butter with a splash of olive oil and fried off some eschallots till they became translucent. I added my wiped clean, sliced mushrooms (don't wash them...they'll absorb all the water!). I added some Maldon sea salt and freshly ground pepper. I poured in half a cup of leftover Sauvignon Blanc and let the mixture cook off till about half the liquid had evaporated. I then added some basil paste, which is basically some fresh basil leaves, garlic and olive oil whizzed in a food processor. The final touch was adding some fresh cream. I waited till the mixture became thick and the kitchen had become aromatic. I took it off the heat and let it cool slightly.
Mushroom Tarts with freshly chopped arugula as a garnish
For the tart cases I admit I cheated. Well sort of. I purchased some ready made short crust pastry because basically I find making pastries a tricky hit and miss kind of thing. Don't get me wrong, I've done it before but I always find an element missing or not quite right with the final result. I have these medium sized tart pans that I used in this instance. I cut some circles out of my ready pastry and lined them up in the tart pans. I covered the tart pans with baking paper and filled them with uncooked rice. I blind baked them for 12 mins and then removed the rice and put them back in the oven for another 8. (The oven was pre heated to 180 deg C). Once they were cooked I let them cool down before filling them with my mushroom mixture. The final touch was to add some chopped arugula as a garnish. The arugula was perfect as it provided that really nice pepperiness on top. I gotta say, so far I'm enjoying autumn!
Soy and Balsamic Pork Fillet with Lemon Potatoes
Beautiful pork fillets with potatoes
I've been a little quiet here recently. I've had commitments in a friend's wedding party and also working on an autumn theme for my website. It should be up in at least a few weeks time. So back to my recipe. I found some beautiful organic pork fillets at the butchers the other day and I couldn't resist picking up a few to play around with in the kitchen. I personally find pork a little bland as a meat and to me it screams "I need flavour!". I thought about sweet and sour but applying it in a different dimension. I like the flavour of balsamic. It can be quite tangy and sour when applied on its own to a salad but it can take on sweet properties when paired with say, strawberries. I also like soy sauce. Its dark, mysterious and full of salty goodness. So I paired these two dark liquids with some honey, garlic, chilli and white pepper. I marinated the fillets for about 5 hours and seared them in a hot pan and finished them off in a pre heated 180 deg C oven for 10-15 mins. I let the meat rest before cutting it and it had turned out beautiful and pink inside. The soy and balsamic had caramelised and created a beautiful crust over the pork.
Greek style potatoes with lemon and oregano
I paired this dish with some "Greek style" potatoes. I used some beautiful "chat" potatoes I found at the markets. They are smaller in size and cook quite quickly in the oven. I prepared the potatoes by peeling and slicing them in half and mixing them with liberal amounts of olive oil, the juice of one lemon, dried oregano, coarse sea salt and black pepper. For an extra lemon kick I sometimes grate some lemon zest through the potatoes to give them an extra lift. I placed them in a baking pan and had them in the oven for half an hour and then moved them to the second shelf as I cooked the pork for 15 mins. In total they took about 45 mins and they turned out crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.
Baileys Irish Cream...Ice Cream
"Baileys" ice cream with home made almond tuile cones
When Emiline decided to hold a blogging event to celebrate St Patrick's Day she decided to go "all the way" by hosting a pub crawl! What a great idea! And she's also offering a whole swag of prizes for the event. So get yourself on over there and submit your entries. You have until Monday the 17th to participate.
Since this is for St Paddys Day I couldn't think of anything more Irish than Baileys Irish Cream. This great tasting liquer is a mixture of Irish whiskey and cream and is often served in a number of cocktails or for an after dinner drink, usually with ice. I've seen a lot of sweet recipes that use this product and rightly so. With its caramel after taste it works like magic on the taste buds. I decided to blend mine with ice cream and serve it with a home made sugar cone. Or should I say an almond tuile. I must admit, I didn't make the ice cream. As in, I bought a good quality vanilla ice cream and blended it with the Baileys and refroze it. If I had a fancy ice cream maker I would certainly give it a go as I found the Baileys to marry really well with the ice cream. I made the cones following a recipe from an old cooking magazine and the final touch was to drizzle it all with a good melted couverture chocolate. Maybe we could enjoy this treat at the end of our pub crawl. What do you reckon?
So delicious and creamy
RECIPE FOR BAILEYS IRISH CREAM ICE CREAM with ALMOND TUILES
For the ice cream
Half a tub of a good, premium Vanilla ice cream
Half a cup of Baileys Irish Cream
Blend the above ingredients thoroughly. Be wary of adding too much liquer as tempting it may be! We want a nice taste not an overpowering one! Refreeze the mixture and its best to use it the next day.
For the almond tuiles:
* 2 eggwhites
* 1/3 cup (75g) caster sugar
* 1/3 cup (50g) plain flour, sifted
* 50g unsalted butter, melted, cooled
* 2/3 cup (50g) flaked almonds
Preheat your oven to 200 deg C. In a bowl combine the egg whites and sugar. Mix in the flour and the cooled, melted butter. Stir through the flaked almonds. Once the batter has been incorporated thoroughly, scoop 2 tablespoons of the batter onto a pre lined (with baking paper) flat baking tray. Swirl it around with the back of a spoon till you get a largish circle. Place it in the oven for 7 mins. You may need a minute or two less depending on your oven's persona. Now, the tricky part. Let them cool for one minute (yes time it!). Using a flat spatula lift the "biscuit" from the tray and shape it into a cone. They are quite pliable when they're hot so move quickly. I rested mine in champagne flutes to let them cool down and achieve their cone shape. Repeat with the rest of the batter. The recipe should yield about four cones. If you find they lose their cone shape as you make them, pop them back into the oven for about a minute to reheat and rework them into their cone shape.
Scoop the Baileys ice cream onto the cones (that have cooled) and drizzle with a good quality melted couverture chocolate. Serve with extra Baileys if you like! Cheers Emiline!
One, two or three!
Chickpea and Chorizo Stew
Plump and juicy chorizo
There's a whole lot of chorizo lovin going on in the blogosphere. Jerry's recent post got me thinking about what I could do with some of these lovely plump beauties. Just to set the record straight, I love all kinds of sausages. From the Greek "loukaniko" often made with pieces of orange peel (from the Southern regions of the Peloponnese) to the German Bratwurst served simply with "sempf" (german mustard) wedged i a crusty roll. And chorizos are another definite favourite. There is a big Spanish and Portugese community here in Sydney, all providing beautiful foods and small goods from their respective regions. I could eat them all the time but you know there's a thing called weight gain as you approach your 40's! Nevertheless, I decided to make a stew with some chickpeas (or garbanzo beans) and some ground spices. It was the perfect meal for the coolish weather (although you wouldn't know it from the current situation...we're back on a mini heat wave!). I used a few Moroccan inspired spices including some of that wonderful pepper paste known as harissa. I served it plain with some crusty bread, hungrily mopping up all the "saucy" goodness. You could serve it with some cous cous or soft polenta but I just wanted to enjoy it on its own with some bread.
Hearty chickpea and chorizo stew
RECIPE FOR CHICKPEA AND CHORIZO STEW
- 1 red onion finely diced
- 1 clove of garlic finely minced
- 1 grated carrot
- olive oil for cooking
- 1 tbsp of Moroccan harissa paste
- *ground spices*- This consisted of 1tsp each of ground coriander, fennel, ginger, turmeric, smoky paprika, cumin and a pinch of cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups of Italian passata (pureed, sieved tomatoes...a pantry staple!)
- 2 cups of chicken stock
- 2 cans of rinsed chickpeas
- 3-4 plump, fresh chorizo sausages
- Place the carrot, garlic and onion in a pot with a good splash of olive oil. Hey I'm Greek, I tend to sometimes get carried away! Cook it off on a medium heat until the mixture becomes translucent.
- Add your chorizo with the skins removed and proceed to squash it down with a wooden spoon breaking it up into smaller bits.
- Add your harissa and ground spices and give it all a good stir ensuring that the kitchen becomes aromatic!
- Add the passata and chicken stock. Season with a LITTLE salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Allow the mixture to come to the boil and then set it on a low heat.
- Let it simmer gently away for at least 2 hours allowing all the flavours to come through.
- About 15 mins before you switch it off place your chickpeas in the mixture. Allow them to cook and heat through (I used canned because I find the fresh ones too fuss to prepare)
- You may also want to add some spinach or chard at this point and fold it through. A bit of green never hurt a recipe!
- Serve with crusty bread and a nice shiraz, merlot etc...
Pumpkin Soup with Coconut Cream
Warming pumpkin soup with a twist
The change of seasons bring on a new mindset and new challenges for everyone. Especially when it concerns food. So I bid good bye to all the stone fruits and the delicious red tomatoes that I have enjoyed this past summer and welcome the fall with gusto. Admittedly, we don't feel the cold as severely here as our European and Northern American neighbours do. Nevertheless an extra cotton blanket covers my bed in the evening. So I welcome autumn, or fall with the arrival of this seasons pumpkins. This is also my entry for Ben's challenge where you get to cook something that signifies the change of seasons. There are great prizes up for grabs (tupperware!..yippee!) so get yourself over there and have a go.
Traditionally pumpkin soups are quite boring. (Well I think so anyway!). Sure they're tasty in their own right but I have always believed that they needed an extra lift somewhere. This recipe takes inspiration from Thailand, with the addition of chillies, spices and coconut cream. We don't however want these flavours to dominate. They blend in the background and allow the natural sweetness of the pumpkin to shine through.
Its quite a simple recipe so keeping with the new spirit of casually writing recipes here it is. I diced up a few eschallots, a clove of garlic and a deseeded red chilli. I added these to a pot with some olive oil and fried them till they were fragrant and the eschallots were translucent. Next, I added my chopped up chunks of butternut pumpkin. ( I used half a small pumpkin). I then added a teaspoon each of ground ginger and coriander and seasoned everything with salt and white pepper. I tossed the pumpkin through this mixture making sure it was coated thoroughly. I then added 2 cups of chicken stock and let it come to a boil. I lowered the temperature and let everything simmer for 15 minutes. The pumpkin was nice and tender. I used my trusted hand blender/whizzer and pureed the entire contents of the pot. Once I had my smooth consistency I took the pot of the heat. I squeezed half a lime and added a few splashes of fish sauce. Now, the important part. With a wooden spoon in one hand I poured in some coconut cream, a little at a time until I obtained a lovely golden colour. Be wary of adding too much coconut cream as this can be quite rich and it will dominate the entire dish. Serve immediately garnished with copped red chillies and some fried eschallots (which can be bought at any Asian grocer) and crusty bread.
I "Heart" Tomatoes
A great appetizer or starter
As the summer months finally wind down here in Sydney, admittedly a little earlier than normal, I seek to take advantage of the last of the summer fruits and vegetables at the markets. The figs I cooked the other day were fantastic and very tasty. On that same day I noticed a stall selling a variety of tomatoes in all shapes and sizes. This guy had it all. Cherry, "teardrop", heirloom, amoroso...all were there. My eye spotted the "grape" variety. Shaped liked grapes, I was informed that these were juicy and packed a lot of flavour. Great, time to get experimenting. I like playing with food so I wanted to use these a little differently. I mean I could have used them in a salad with some red onion and a simple dressing but I thought it would be fun to change the elements a little. So I skewered them! I basically made them into vegetarian "souvlaki". LOL! I paired them up with some bocconcini, drizzled some extra virgin olive oil over them and some basil pesto. They were fun to eat and very fresh. One bite had creamy, soft mozzarella and the next bite was a juicy grape tomato. A perfect appetizer or starter for your guests.
A simple pasta dish with roasted "grape" tomatoes.
For my next "experiment" I simply roasted the leftover grape tomatoes. I placed them in an oven dish, drizzled them with some olive oil, a god splash of balsamic and seasoned them with some salt and pepper. My oven was smokin hot (about 200 deg C) and I let them roast for about half an hour. The tomato skins will be blistered but they will be plumper and full of extra juiciness. Once they had cooled I tossed them with some spaghetti (my favourite!), a little extra virgin olive oil and grated some Parmigiano Reggiano cheese over them. Simplicity and taste in its purest form. Nothing is better. I love playing with food...
