Roast Berries & Oats w/ Yoghurt: yummiest, healthy dessert!

I was standing in Harris Farm (yes, I love it) tonight trying to think of a yummy, healthy way I could end my meal. Being winter, the 'fruit' options in this regard are somewhat slim on the ground. Don't get me wrong, I really like apples (not so wild about oranges: all those years of oranges at half time during hockey matches). I like apples, but when I feel like something appetising & sweet after dinner, a crisp apple is not what springs to mind. 

In summer I make a dessert that is kind of like a free form 'trifle' (don't let the 'trifle' in this sentence put you off - please!). Take a glass tumbler, put a layer of muesli, then some yoghurt, and then some fresh berries. Repeat if space as many times over as the tumbler will allow. I love to use 'Whisk & Pin Mountain Muesli' when I make this. 

However, most muesli isn't as healthy as it appears. I wouldn't want to speculate whether or not this is true of my fave 'Mountain Muesli', but where I can I try and simplify things even more. I felt like berries, and yoghurt, but wanted something with a bit of texture in there. Standing & staring at the rows of biscuits (which I thought I could just crumble on top), I had a brain wave.

What would happen, I wondered,  if I took some frozen raspberries, and scattered some simple, plain rolled oats over the top, and sprinkled a pinch (a biggish pinch) of brown sugar over the top, and then popped it into the oven preheated to 180'c for 20 mins or so. 

And what would happen if I then took this toasted berry/oat combo, and scattered it over my favourite grocer's lush yoghurt w/ raspberries?  

What would happen? 

Awesome! That is what happens!

Roasted Fish w/ garlic, lemon zest & baby tomatoes

This is one of my favourite, simplest fish dinners. It is inspired by (though not identical to) Donna Hay's Modern Classics (Book 1). I have used several Donna Hay recipes before, but can't remember what I wrote about her! I think her recipes are very good: they almost always work. Some of you may remember when (most of us?) were in high school, and some 'Marie Claire' cookbooks were released: they were fantastic, and really revolutionised not only how cook books were published in Australia, but how home cooks cooked. 

Donna Hay was the force behind them (the first 3 or so books that is, not the later ones). I am a big fan: if I am every trying a dish 'new / for the first time' I will either look through Donna Hay's stuff, or Stephanie Alexander. 

That said, I do find the magazine, and some of her later books a little annoying: it often feels like a book that I have bought is then basically published in the magazine, and vice-versa. But that is bye-the-bye: her stuff works, every time, and she doesn't suggest ridiculous ingredients that would see you spend $18 on a small sachet of something that will go off before you can ever use it again (I huge pet hate of mine). 

I served this w/ boiled potatoes that I mixed w/ olive oil & parsley, I was going to add green beans, but was so busy chatting to an old friend on Facebook that I forgot to put them on . . . . thus: beanless.

Simple Roast Fish

olive oil   

zest of 1 lemon

4 cloves of garlic, crushed

10 baby tomatoes (whole)

4 small potatoes

handful fresh parsley

any fish fillet of firm white flesh

(I used flathead fillets in these pics)

Preheat the oven to 180'c. Put a pot of water on to boil, and once boiling add some salt, and pop in the potatoes (I prefer not to peel mine: this is absolutely a matter of preference: do them however you prefer). 

Put the crushed garlic, tomatoes, and lemon zest into a roasting dish and put a good glug or so of olive oil into the dish. Mix well to combine it all, and pop into the oven for 20 minutes. 

After 20 mins remove the dish from the oven, and put the fish fillet/s into the pan. Add another glug of olive oil & carefully (don't burn yourself!) mix in w/ the tomato mix, ensuring the fillets are well coated in the oil & cook for another 15 - 20 mins: until fish is cooked. You can tell that it is cooked by pressing your fork against the fillet. The flesh will come away slightly, and if it is still pink-ish, it needs longer (duh).

Drain the potatoes & quarter (if using larger potatoes, maybe cut into 6ths). Slice/tear up the parsley, and together with another glug (love that word!) of olive oil, mix through the potatoes. 

Put a heap of the potatoes on a plate, and then top w/ the roast fish/tomato mix. Season w/ salt & pepper to taste. 

Bon Appetit! 

Meatless Monday Veg & Ricotta Pie

And a big shout out to Naomi! This is not really a pie, but I don't know what else to call it. Basically you sauté a heap of veg, pop it into an ovenproof dish, pop some cheese on top & pop it under the grill.
I wasn't following a recipe, and am actually not much of a 'vegetarion' cook, so I was more than a little surprised by just how yum, yum, yummy this was! And to make it even better, there are 2 containers of left overs that will make a yummy lunch to take to work the next couple of days.

I had a heap of lovely mixed roasted veg (eggplant, carrot, capsicum, zucchini etc) left over from the roast veg tartlets that I had made a few weeks back. I had just kept the extra veg in a zip-lock bag in the freezer. Before I went to work Monday morning I pulled the bag of veg from the freezer & popped it into the fridge so the veg would thaw slightly.

If I am making something, say a roast, I tend to cook more veg than I need as they always fantastic for throwing into a salad, a frittata, or into the pot randomly (i.e. this!). Veg keep very well in the freezer, just make sure no air can get in to the bag you're storing them in. I know I sound a little bit too-keen, but if you're making a heap of veg, it is basically no effort to add an extra handful or so, and you will have the reward of a yummy meal ready to be easily put together a couple of days later.

You could use raw veg , but you will need to cook this for much longer. I would do it by following the below (so the veg get a crisp outside), but instead of putting the dish under the grill, out into an oven heated to 180'c for 25 mins or so (however long you think it will take your veg to cook through). Then pop under the grill for a few mins to turn the top golden.

Random Vegetable 'Pie'

Feeds 2 normal hungry people, or 1 very hungry person

Half a spanish onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed & finely sliced
2 cups mixed mushrooms (I used button & swiss)
8 baby tomatoes, quartered

1/2 can butter beans, drained (or you could use lentils, chick peas etc)
6 cubes feta, sliced (or keep as cubes if you prefer)
Bunch of parsley, chopped
1 cup fresh ricotta
Parmesan for the top
Any other veg you care to ad
For Example:
I used left overs from the roast veg tarts, that I had then frozen.
Any frozen veg you have peas, carrots, broccoli, corn.
If you've done a roast & have any veg left over
Etc, etc

 Put a pan on a medium heat, and add some olive oil. When warm add the sliced garlic & stir for a minute or so, then add the sliced onions. Stir well to combine, and coat in the oil. Make sure you don't turn the heat too high: you want the onions to soften, not to brown/burn. Once softened, add the mushrooms & stir to combine.

Add whatever other veg you are using: I tipped in the mixed roast veg at this point. Stir occasionally until well warmed through.  

Add the 1/2 can of butter beans (or lentils/chickpeas), parsley & sliced feta & stir through.

Once the beans are warmed through, transfer the whole mix to an ovenproof dish.

Place spoonfuls of ricotta on top of the veg, then shave some parmesan over the top.

 

 Place under grill, remove once the top has turned golden.

Enjoy!

Fridge Frittata

This is seriously one of my favourite, no-effort dinners.

I made this because I had an assortment of left-overs in my fridge that I wanted to turn into dinner. Either that or order home-delivery, but seriously, why spend the $20 / $30 when you can create a yummy meal form left overs for free! Plus, as you would have guessed from my previous post I hate waste!

I am sure there is a 'proper' Spanish method to make a frittata; a method I am yet to discover! So I use the term loosely. There is no end to the combination of ingredients that you can add. As such, I can't really write out a recipe for you: this is more of an idea that you can then adapt to be anything you want it to be.

Frittata is also fantastic cold, and makes a great lunch to take to work, or to take on a picnic.

How I made mine

The contents of my fridge was as follows:

• 
  
  1 chicken breast that I had bbq'd on Sunday evening, w/ a few shakes from a pack garlic-herb spice mix
• 
  
  a large handful of baby potatoes that had been boiled, then had a glug of olive oil & parsley thrown over them
• 
  
  a medium tupperware container's worth of pancetta/mushroom mix. I used this to top slices of french bread at my mum's 60th birthday party: it was very yummy & easy to make (will post the recipe another time)
• 
  
  half a block of haloumi
• 
  
  a clove of garlic
• 
  
  4 eggs

I made it by:

I heated a frying pan over medium heat, add a good glug of olive oil, and  once the oil is warm, a small knob of butter. Swirl it all around to really cover the base of the pan. I crush & finely slice the garlic, and add it to the pan, let it sizzle for a few moments, then tipped the mushroom/pancetta mix into the pan, and stirred it all together. After a few minutes, I added the potatoes, that I roughly chopped up, and then the bbq'd chicken breast that I had sliced into bite-size pieces. Stir well to combine.

Lower the heat to med-low, and whisk the eggs together in a bowl, then pour over the mix, do your best to cover as much of the mix as possible. You may need to use a wooden spoon to push things into place, and make sure the egg gets into all the crevices etc. You don't want it pooled in the spot where you poured it in.

Allow the eggs to cook for a minute or two: don't be tempted to increase the heat, you need the eggs to set. Slice the haloumi into 'fingers' and place on top of the frittata. Place pan under a very warm grill to cook the top of the eggs / brown the haloumi.

You can serve this w/ a green salad, steamed veg, on its own or however you want! I realised after I'd started eating it that the baby tomatoes I had could have been sliced & put through the mix. Baby peas or any frozen veg would have worked well too. Feta or goats cheese works well in a frittata, as does baby spinach, or indeed regular spinach. 

I have made frittata's out of left over roast meat & roast veg; grilled sausages, left over steamed greens, anti-pasto, chorizo . . . really anything I have in my fridge that I can use up.

Don't hesitate to drop me a mail if you have any questions, or need some ideas!

Banana Cake (by MULTIPLE request)

Hello one & all (hopefully more than one at any rate!)

To say that this is one of the most popular things I make is an understatement.

It is without fail, devoured, every time I make it. I had a flatmate who once 'banned' me from making it as he could not control the impulse to just eat the entire thing.

This recipe is from the fabulous 'Cook's Companion' by Stephanie Alexander. This is not the cheapest cookery book on the market, but it is really is a lifetime book: it will serve you for the rest of your days.

The way it the book is set out, the information, the recipe's are all fantastic, and I have never had anything from here not turn out.

I really do feel that the trick to this is to have your bananas be beyond ripe. I mean black in the skin. Stinking. Almost rotten but just not quite. This almost rotteness produces an amazing, almost slightly liqueur-esque flavour that creates a wonderful cake.

Something you may not know: Bananas freeze well! Just pop them in, still in their skins. They keep in the freezer for ages, and if you don't have time to make this cake now, you can always make it with the frozen banana's later on.

Stephanie's Easy Banana Cake

125g unsalted butter, softened  
1.5 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed, very ripe bananas
a few drops of vanilla essence
250g plain flour
1 tsp bi-carb soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground all-spice
1/2 cup buttermilk
(if you've no buttermilk mix 1/2 cup full cream milk w/ 1 tsp lemon juice)

Preheat oven to 180'c; grease & line a loaf tin.

Cream the butter & the sugar together until fluffy. In a separate bowl combine the eggs, banana & vanilla, then add this mix to the butter/sugar.

Sift the dry ingredients together, then add to the above mix in batches, alternating with the buttermilk.

Put into the loaf tin & bake for 50 mins, or until ready (skewer test -> some crumbs, not too many).

Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool completely.

Little Espresso Cakes w/ a Dark Chocolate Glaze

Hello Peeps!

And a big shout out to Amalia & Scott and their fabulous new treehouse home.

These little gems are just delicious, easy to make, and always, always popular. These were my contribution to my friends housewarming party. Whenever I am making cakes to take somewhere I find it easier to pop the glaze / icing into a container & just pop it onto the cakes once I've arrived wherever it is I am headed. That way there isn't any stress about the icing get mushed, or the general prettiness becoming spoilt.

I am house&puppy-sitting the (totally amazing!) apartment of a friend at Bondi. And because I am a great big gastro-nerd I brought my muffin tray, patty cases, and whisk with me. Yes. And what's more I publicly admitted it on my blog. But then I doubt very much that any of my 14 followers (followers! yay!) will be terribly surprised by any of this information.

Little Espresso Cakes w/ a Dark Chocolate Glaze

(makes 12)

100g butter, very soft

1 cup caster sugar

3 eggs

1+1/4 cups plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 cup hazelnut meal

1+1/2 tbs instant coffee dissolved in 1 tbs boiling water

150g dark chocolate, in small pieces

1/2 cup cream

Preheat the oven to 160'c. Place the butter, sugar, eggs, baking powder, hazelnut meal & coffee mix in a bowl & beat on low speed until combined, then increase to high & mix until just smooth.

Line a muffin tin w/ patty cases, 2/3 fill each one with the batter, and bake in the oven for 25 mins. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before removing from the tray & cooling on a rack.

To make the glaze combine the chocolate & the cream in a saucepan and warm over gentle-medium heat.Once the chocolate has started to melt, remove from the heat & stir, stir, stir. If it isn't quite melted, put back on the heat for a short spell, remove & stir some more. You don't want to overcook the chocolate, as the whole thing will spoil. Chocolate doesn't like allot of heat. You want to melt it, not cook it.

Cool glaze (I pop it into the fridge), and once cooled spread on top of the cup-cakes.

Roast Vegetable Tartlets

These are just so yummy & fabulous!

I have already posted about how you make the tart shells for these, so now (belatedly, apologies!) here is how I made the filling. This is derived from this recipe (2nd one down in the article) by Yotam Ottolenghi (yes, him again!). These are great for entertaining as you can roast the veg well ahead of time, as well as make the tart shells ahead of time. You just need to assemble and pop into the oven 20 minutes before you need to serve them.

Vegetable Tartlets 
(this should fill 24 cases)
1 red capsicum, quartered, seeds removed
1 eggplant, diced into cubes
1 carrot, diced into cubes
1 sweet potato, diced into cubes
1 zucchini, diced into cubes
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
2 sprigs rosemary
olive oil
2 eggs
200ml pouring cream

Preheat oven to 220'c.

Drizzle the capsicum with olive oil, put onto a baking tray & pop into the oven.

Mix the eggplant with olive oil, season q/ salt & pepper, put into a  baking dish (separate to the capsicum) & into the warmed oven. After 12 mins, add the sweet potato & carrot (mixed w/ olive oil & seasoned w/ S&P), mix together, place the rosemary on top, then cook for 12 minutes more. Add the zucchini (olive oil, S&P), mix with other veg & cook for 10-12 mins.

By now the capsicums should be done & the veg cooked: if not leave in the oven a little longer, until done. Cover the peppers w/ foil & let rest, then peel off the skin. Dice the capsicums, and add to the roast veg pan. Make sure you mix together well, so that when you take a spoonful, you are getting a bit of everything.

Meanwhile heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan and gently sauté the onions until gently browned. Remove and allow to cool.

Combine the 2 eggs w/ the cream & whisk together.

Take your pre-prepared tart cases &  scatter some of the onions across the base, then top w/ a spoonful of the roast veg, adding one of the cherry tomato halves. Pour the egg/cream mix over the veg until the case is not quite full.

Pop into the oven for 15-20 minutes, then remove and allow to cool a little & set (the photo at right is before they went in the oven, just in case you are concerned!).

Dinner: Roast Lamb w/ a Gremolata Crust

This is one of the easiest recipes I know, and is just so yummy.

Traditional gremolata is lemon zest, parsley, and garlic. I know that lemon zest might seem like a strange thing to put with lamb, but it works so well.

This version isn't the 'traditional' one, but the flavours really compliment the lamb. I used a rolled leg of lamb, which, whilst the flavours were fantastic, didn't work too well when it came time to carve as the string holding the roll together had to be removed, taking most of the crust with it. No matter: scattered over the top it was still delicious! The best way to do this is with a frenched rack of lamb.

This will serve 4 people.

Roast Lamb w/ a Gremolata Crust & Butter Beans
1 rack of lamb (minimum 2 points per person)
1/3 cup mixed peel
very large handful of parsley
1 leek, sliced thinly
1 onion, sliced thinly
2 cloves of garlic, crushed & thinly sliced
2 tins butter beans
olive oil

Preheat the oven to 180'c.

Heat a saucepan over medium heat. Rub the lamb w/ olive oil & season w/ salt & pepper. Sear in the saucepan, and set aside. Don't rinse the pan!

Finely chop the mixed peel, and the parsley, and combine. Add enough olive oil (about 2 tablespoons) to form a paste.

Take the 'paste' and spread in a layer over the top of the lamb. If using a rack of lamb, spread on the back (outside?), i.e. so that you can place the lamb in the oven dish w/ the gremolata on top.

Place in an oven-proof dish, and roast in the oven until cooked to your liking. I know this is an infuriating phrase! It depends on what sort of lamb you are using! A rack of lamb should take around half an hour. A rolled joint of lamb should take around 50-60 minutes, or one hour per kilo.

Start this step about  20 minutes before you will be ready to serve up.

In the same pan you used to sear the lamb, heat another tablespoon of olive oil over gentle heat & add the sliced veg to the pan. Gently sauté, you want them to soften, rather than colour. Stir every so often to ensure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan. When the vegetables are soft, increase the heat to medium, and add the drained butter beans to the pan, and stir to incorporate with the onion, leek & garlic.

When the lamb is cooked to your liking, remove from the oven & allow to cool for 5 minutes or so before carving.

Place a couple of spoonfuls of the vegetables onto a plate, top with the lamb & serve.

Wine Match!
This goes really well w/ a lovely Pinot Noir. I find a shiraz too heavy, and it overwhelms the citrus & parsley flavours.

Dessert: Cherry Clafoutis

Hey!

So I have written this recipe out for a few of you in the past: it is a very simple dessert, wonderful in winter, and works really well w/ a heap of different fruits.

The 'basic' version of this recipe I get from Donna Hay's Modern Classics (Book 2).

You can put in nectarines, peaches, plums, raspberries, blueberries, cherries or any other fruit you think will work well (nectarines & raspberry combo is especially good).  I especially like to use frozen fruit. As they are snap frozen, they keep much of their flavour, often more so than what ever week(s) old fruit the major supermarkets have sitting on the shelf.

Cherry Clafoutis

butter, softened, for greasing
1 cup frozen cherries
1/3 cup plain flour
1/3 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup pouring (single) cream
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 180'c.

Grease an 8 cup (med-large) oven-proof dish w/ butter (do this well - you don't want it to stick!). Tip the cherries into the greased dish.

Combine the flour & sugar in a bowl, and whisk in the cream. Add the vanilla & the eggs, mixing well to combine.

Pour into the dish, covering the cherries, and place into the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until golden & puffed up.

Serve w/ either thickened cream or vanilla ice cream.

It's Italian for Fried Rice!

Hello!

So, wondering home after a long day, and still feeling rotten from awful cold that just refuses to leave me be, my mind turned to dinner. Tempted as I was to pick up a take away Indian (meal that is), I thought for a few moments about what I had at home that might make a nice meal.

* left over prawn risotto

* 1 egg
(how I came to have just 1 egg I do not know)

* some crab meat in the freezer

* a few slices of pancetta

A quick swing by the F&V shop under my building for half a bunch of spring onions, and I had all that I needed to turn my left over risotto into a fried rice!

Crab meat may sound like an exotic thing to keep in one's freezer, but it is so handy to have. We have a wonderful farmers markets on every Saturday, literally outside my front door. As I have previously posted, their is a wonderful fishmonger there, and he sells me packets of frozen crab meat for around $12-$13 a packet. I get so many meals out of it (toss it through pasta, add to risotto, throw into an omelette or frittata!).

And you know what? It was so yummy! Prawns, crab meat, pancetta, spring onions & left over risotto: awesome meal of left overs!

My Random, Left Over, Italian Fried Rice

Crack the egg into a bowl & whisk gently to mix it all together.

Slice the pancetta into strips, finely chop the spring onion. The crab meat I have is in a block, so I just slice of 'slabs' like you would a loaf of bread (bottom left of this photo). Once it has thawed slightly (a few minutes), break it up into smaller bits. This is just a meal of left overs, you could use bacon or ham instead of pancetta, a leek instead of spring onions etc etc.

Heat some vegetable oil in a wok, and swirl it around to coat the base. Once it is very warm, pour the egg mix in & swirl it around to make a thing layer that cooks very quickly & remove from the wok.

Add a little more vegetable oil to the wok, and when very warm, throw the spring onions into the wok. Cook, stirring, for a minute or two, then add the pancetta. Cook that for a couple of minutes then add the crab meat.

Add the left over risotto to the wok, and stir, stir, stir (sound familiar?)! I found that some of the rice caught on the bottom of the wok, but I didn't want to add any more oil, as the rice was already quite saturated from the stock etc.

Once the rice has been cooked through, season to taste, spoon into a bowl, and pop the egg on top.

Enjoy!

Wine Match!
Umm - whatever you have in the fridge! In my case a Margaret River Sauv Blanc.

Flourless Chocolate & Raspberry Cake

Hello: and a big shout out to Yolande!

I am a big fan of flourless cakes: with their rich, dense flavours they make a great dessert, or a rich addition to an afternoon tea. Perfect with a cup of lovely coffee.

Most flourless cakes tend to be chocolate inspired: I suspect this is because chocolate holds its own form so well: if you were to mix eggs, sugar , almond meal, & say, vanilla, all together you wouldn't get the worlds best cake. Eggs, sugar, almond meal & chocolate is a very different story.

I have seen allot of recipe's for 'gluten free' cakes, using gluten free flour. I will try one of these down the track, but having eaten gluten free pasta, I can't say that I am in a particular hurry to do so! But I am curious to see if a decent, non-chocolate, gluten free cake can be made, so watch this space.

I have made flourless chocolate cupcakes for ages now, adding raspberries to the mix, and it is really just the most wonderful combination: the rich dark-choc flavours, the slight nuttiness from the almond meal, all in a wonderfully moist & dense cake, with the raspberries hidden in the mix giving a sweet/tarty hit.

Flourless Chocolate & Raspberry Cake

250g chocolate, broken into small bits

5 eggs, separated

3/4 cup caster sugar

1 + 1/4 cup almond meal (or hazelnut, whichever you prefer)

1 cup frozen raspberries

Ganache

150g dark chocolate, in small bits

1/3 cup pouring cream

Grease & then line w/ baking paper a 20cm round springform cake tin. Preheat your oven to 170'c.

Melt the chocolate.

I find the best way to do this is to zap the choc for 20seconds in the microwave (on high). Take it out, stir a bit, then pop in for another 20 seconds. Keep going until the chocolate becomes 'soft' looking (I find it is approx 3x20sec bursts), at which point stirring should be enough to turn it into a chocolate puddle. Don't be tempted to zap it again: the chocolate will overcook & then it won't be any use to you.

Take your eggwhites & put them into the bowl of your mixmater (if you don't have one, I hope your biceps are in a strong state!), fit it w/ the whisk attachment & beat the eggwhites until soft peaks form.

In a separate bowl, take the egg yolks & 1/2 cup of the sugar & beat until thick & pale.

 

Add the remaining sugar, one tablespoon at a time, to the eggwhites, beating the whole time, until stiff peaks form.

Add the almond meal to the chocolate mix, stirring to combine, then add the egg yolk/sugar mix.

With a large metal spoon, gently fold in half of the stiff eggwhites to the chocolate mix.

Once incorporated (don't overwork it), add the rest of the eggwhites, then fold in the raspberries & stir to combine. Pour mixture into the prepared cake tin, and bake for 1 hour, or until done (skewer test should give you some moist crumbs, not come out completely clean).

 When done, remove from oven, leave in tin to cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a rack to cool completely (or you could serve this still -warm, w/ a dollop of thick cream, as a delicious dessert).

Meanwhile, combine the ganache ingredients together in a small saucepan, and put over medium-low heat until the chocolate starts to melt. Remove from the heat, stirring continuously until you have a lovely glossy chocolate sauce. Allow to cool (I cheat & pop this into the fridge to speed things up).

Once chilled enough that it is set, but still spreadable, use the ganache to ice the top of the chilled cake.

If serving the cake as dessert, you could drizzle the warm cake slices with the ganache for a chocoholic's delight choc-pudd!