With Love, Mags

Bok Choy with Oyster Sauce

2012-02-19T20:19:00.001+13:00

This is a classic, easy way to add vegies to pretty much any Asian meal.

So often, Asian dishes are void of vegies (and I don't count token bean sprouts and herbs tossed into a meat based stir fry as my vegie quota). And it's pretty hard to think up a side dish in a culinary culture you don't intuitively know.

Enter, my go-to vegie side. It's simple, delicious, and most importantly, fast. You can switch it up for almost any green vegies you have on hand - brocolli, gai larn, beans, asparagus, spinach... you get my drift? Just adjust the cooking time as required.

Bok Choy with Oyster Sauce (serves 2-4)

2T vegetable oil

2T oyster sauce

4T chicken stock

1T soy sauce

1T sugar

1/4t salt

2 bok choy

First of all, get a big pot of water and a splash of oil on the boil, big enough to hold all the bok choy for blanching.

Heat the oil in a small saucepan. add the oyster sauce and fry for a few minutes. Add the stock, soy sauce, sugar and salt. Bring to the boil and simmer to reduce to a smooth sauce.

Blanch the bok choy in the boiling water briefly until cooked to your desired doneness. I like mine pretty crispy, and cook it for about 1 minute, until the leaves are just wilted and bright green.

To serve, simply put the bok choy on a dish and pour over the sauce.

Perfect Steamed Rice

2012-02-19T14:58:00.000+13:00

I think rice is one of the hardest things to cook.

Until a couple of years ago, I still couldn't manage to boil myself a pot of rice without it ending up a mess of sludge.

But I started to research it, and this is the recipe which has worked best for me.

There are no secrets or tricks here. It's just about timing and attention. That doesn't mean you have to hover over the stove - but make sure you use a timer and keep half an eye on it.

While I say there are no tricks, there are two rules:

DON'T STIR IT. Ok, you can give it one stir right at the start when you add the rice to the water, just to even it out. But that's it, ok? Promise me?
DO NOT LIFT THE LID ONCE IT'S ON! Now, that's important. No sneak peeks. Yes, it will see like there's no water in there, and that it's going to burn. But if you follow the instructions and pay attention to timing, it will be fine, I promise.

You can wash the rice first if you want. To be honest, I never bother with it.

Perfect Steamed Rice (Makes enough for 4 people)

1 1/2c jasmine rice

1 1/3c cold water

Put the water into a large pot. Add the rice, stir once to even out.

Turn on a high heat and bring to the boil. Let it boil at a high heat until steam holes appear in the rice, and the grains on the surface look dry. This should take 5-7 minutes. Reduce the heat to very low (as low as possible) and cover with a tight fitting lid. Set your timer for 15 minutes.

When 15 minutes is up, remove from the heat and let it sit for 5 more minutes.

Gently fluff with a fork and serve

Chinese Fish with Spicy Bean Sauce

2012-02-19T14:27:00.003+13:00

We hit up the 20/20 cricket game on Friday night. Matt's been harking on at me about going popping my cricket game cherry this summer. A terrible New Zealander, I'd never been to see a game in my life. And apparently 20/20 is the way to go - it's a faster game, with a great atmosphere.

I have to say, I didn't watch too much of the game. But I had a great time. And while I say I didn't watch much, by the end of the game, I could tell you what the score was, and what that meant. I learned about 6's and 4's. I knew how many balls in an over, and how many overs in the game (I'll give you a clue, it's 20 - which seems rather obvious when you realise it was a 20/20 game. Needless to say, this had to be pointed out to me).

Wellington being Wellington, it was a rather social game, seeing a number of different groups of friends on the way there, some even being in our aisle. Cricket is so happening right now!

On the way out, I bumped into my friends Anita and Abbey, who are planning a trip over to the Wairarapa in two weeks time to celebrate 4 of our friends turning old (which is clearly at the age of 25). I bantered on about the massive cake I'm planning on making them for the occasion, which requires1.5kg of cream cheese. That's right, 1.5kg! Heart attack in cake form. It's gonna be awesome!

Saturday night rolls around, and we were supposed to head to a friend's birthday party/another friend's leaving party. Unfortunately, our friends Lucy and Matt who are moving down from Hamilton very shortly, were on their way down to stay at ours in aide of flat-hunting. So I cooked us up a tasty treat for a casual Saturday night in.

This recipe comes from my favourite new book, Balance and Harmony by Neil Perry, which has already been featured in my last post here. Neil seems to be a fan of fermented bean paste, which I've never heard of. It sounds a bit weird. Adding 'fermented' to the title of something doesn't really get my tastebuds going. But in the interests of trying something new, I thought I'd trust the man.

I'm glad I did. The bean paste has an amazing sweet, tangy, soyish, musky flavour which is a far cry from the unappetising title. If you haven't tried this stuff, please do. It adds an amazing depth of flavour, which is unlike anything I've tried before.

The original recipe called for deep-frying the fish first, which adds another layer of texture. But I've steamed it here just to healthify it up a little. If you don't have a steamer, you could pan fry or bake the fish in a foil package. I served this simply with my perfect steamed rice and bok choy.

Chinese Fish with Spicy Bean Sauce (Serves 4)

1 x 500-600g whole fish. Fillets would also be fine. We used moki which Matt caught that morning. Any fish will do, but something with a deeper flavour would be best.
1T shaoxing (Chinese cooking wine. Dry sherry or gin is a good substitute)
2T oil
4 spring onions, sliced
1 2cm piece of ginger, finely grated
3 cloves of garlic, finely grated (or crushed)
1T spicy bean paste - pick this up from your local Asian supermarket
Another 1T shaoxing
185ml fish or chicken stock
1T sugar
1T sesame oil

Place the fish in a large, flat tray. If using whole fish, make a couple of deep slits in the thickest part of the fish. Pour the shaoxing over the top and sprinkle with salt. Let it marinate for 10 minutes or so while you make the sauce. Put a pot of water on the boil and a steamer on top. If you don't have a steamer, you could easily bake the fish, or pan fry instead.

Put the oil in a medium sized pot and heat until just smoking. Stir fry the spring onions, ginger, garlic and hot bean paste until fragrant - 1 or so minutes. Add the 1T shaoxing, and stir it in. Add the sugar, sesame oil, and stock. Bring to the boil and simmer until the sauce thickens. Taste for seasoning and add salt as necessary.

When the sauce is done, take it off thePublish Post heat and steam your fish until done - a whole fish should take around 10 minutes. The fillets will take less time.

Put the fish onto a serving platter (either whole, or the flesh only). Pour the sauce over the fish, and serve immediately.

White Sangria with Summer Stone Fruits

2012-02-17T16:33:00.002+13:00

Have you looked outside today? This weekend looks sunny and amazing!

I'm trying really hard to refrain from bagging on the summer we've had (I think I've done that rant to death). So instead I'll inspire you about enjoying the sun we have now!

White sangria was an amazing revellation for me, which I first came across here. It's fresh, summery, with all the deliciousness of red sangria. But with white sangria you can keep the flavours much more simple and lively. Can you imagine sipping the flavours of summer in the sun on a hot Saturday afternoon?

This recipe blends the flavours of lemon, grape, apple and peach. But the beauty of this kind of recipe is that it can be tailored perfectly to your own tastes; it can be highly, moderately, or (heaven forbid) non-alcoholic. Don't like peaches? Fine! Switch it with necatrines, plums, or oranges!

The recipe below made me two large pitchers of sangria - enough to share. The sangria is deliciously dangerous on it's own. But you're supposed to top it up with soda water when you serve, which is also very good for your tastebuds, not to mention better for your liver. Just make sure you make it at least two hours ahead, so the flavours can all marinate together, and the sangria can chill down nicely.

White Sangria with Summer Stone Fruits (Makes two large pitchers full)

1 bottle dry white - a Sav or Chardonnay will work nicely, or a dry-ish pinot gris. A not-too-sweet sparkling wine would probably be good too!

1/2 cup Vodka (or more if you're feeling dangerous)

1/3c sugar

1 lemon, sliced

2 large ripe summer stone fruits, cut into wedges - I used peaches, but necatrines or plums would be great too. Adjust the quantities as required

1 ripe green apple seeded and cut into wedges

1c grapes, sliced in half

1/2 cup white grape juice (I found some peach flavoured sparkling grape juice, which was just dandy)

Sparkling soda water, for topping off glasses of sangria at table

Pour the wine and vodka into a large bowl and add the sugar. Stir gently until the sugar dissolves.

Add the lemon, peaches, apples, grapes, and grape juice, and stir to combine.

Divide the fruit into the two pitchers, and then pour over the sangria. If you don't have two pitchers, a punch bowl (or chilly bin/esky) will be just as good.

Put into the fridge to cool for at least a few hours.

When you're ready to serve, add some ice cubes to a glass. Half fill with sangria and fruit, and then top up with soda water.

Spicy Thai Prawn Salad

2012-02-15T20:06:00.000+13:00

We re-signed our lease. We are officially staying in our amazing flat for another year.

That called for a party, so party we did. And a party aint a party unless it's catered by me! Amongst the array was lemongrass and coriander cured salmon with pickled cucumber, goat's cheese and eggplant meatballs with tzatziki, Vietnamese rice paper rolls, fig, ham and smoked cheddar puff pastry squares, and mini spinach and feta pies.

On the drinks list was Lana's world famous chilli bin punch. And a lot of it. Apparently, we collectively drank through three bottles of wine and three bottles of vodka. And what started out as delicious punch steadily slid downhill, becoming stronger and dodgier (especially with the addition of Amy's sifty insta-daiquiri mix, which she's been trying to get rid of for the past 4 months). Thankfully, the downhill slide of the punch coincided with my level of intoxication, and I didn't notice how awful it turned out until I had to tip the remnants of the punch down the sink the next day.

Thankfully I wasn't the only one at that level of intoxication. In fact, I was probably at the lower end of the scale. Nobody remembers each others' embarrassing drunken antics! Perfect party planning if you ask me.

And despite all that, we only lost one wine glass, and only had one red wine spillage (which was outside on the deck anyway!). Amazing! How did we do it? I can't remember!

After all the gluttony in the weekend that was, come Valentines day I craved something fresh and healthy. So I made this as a starter, from the most stunningly beautiful recipe book I've ever laid eyes on - Neil Perry's 'Balance and Harmony'.

I came across this book at my amazing neighbours' Nick and Harriet's one night. After suggesting very loudly that I'd love a copy, Matt ordered me one for Valentines day (insert cheesy 'naawwwwwwww' here). Unfortunately, it didn't arrive in time. But no problem, I'd borrowed a copy from those nifty neighbours of mine!

This book is visually stunning. The pictures are beautiful, simple, and mouthwatering. It has a fabric cover, which brings a homely, from the heart feeling. And the food is stunning. It even has me insanely excited about tofu, something I've never really warmed to.

Neil is heavily influenced by Chinese cooking, having spent much of his chefing career in that area. But he beautifully blends it with Thai and Vietnamese. The mantra of his book is (you guessed it), balance and harmony. As Neil says, "when you cook the dishes in this book it’s important to remember that, much of the time, you’re dealing with intense flavours. Always remember the most important part of the cooking process: taste, to find balance between those flavours. You will hear me say ‘balance, balance, balance’ throughout this book and when I’m not saying ‘balance’ I’ll be talking about harmony. These are the cornerstones of good Asian cooking”.

And the recipes sit perfectly within that message. This dish, for all the high-strung flavours it puts together, comes out beautifully balanced. The chilli is hot, but not overpowering. It sits against the sharpness of lime, the freshness of coriander and mint, the salty musk of fish sauce, and a little sweetness from sugar. It is the perfect combination, with a stunningly fresh, light finish.

Spicy Prawn Salad (Serves 2)

250g cooked king prawns, peeled, legs removed, deveined, but tails left in tact

Juice of 1/2 a lime, or 1 lemon

1 1/2t fish sauce

1/2t caster sugar

2 small green chillis, finely sliced. Remove the seeds if you're scared!

1/2 stalk of lemongrass, finely sliced

1 shallot, sliced as finely as possible

Small handful of mint leaves

Small handfull of coriander leaves

1 kaffir lime leaf, very finely sliced

Ok, this one is super simple.

Mix the lime juice, fish sauce, and sugar. Toss the parwns, chillis, lemongrass, shallots, mint, coriander, and lime leaf with the dressing. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Serve immediately with a cold white wine.

Roasted Tomato and Pancetta Tagliatelle

2012-02-06T20:26:00.000+13:00

I cannot remember a Waitangi Day with weather quite this nice in a long time, and that's saying something considering the weather I've been grumbling about all summer. What better way to spend an amazingly sunny Monday off work, and the celebration of our nation, but by sitting inside all day watching the american superbowl?!

Our lovely neighbours had a few of us over to pop our american football cherries. Whist gorging ourselves on american hotdogs, nachos, chili, bbq chicken, and pumpkin pie, we got to see Madonna strutting her (somewhat ancient but none-the-less impressive) stuff, a lot of rather showy sportsmanship (with celebratory dances and all), and some cringingly bad tackling, at least when compared with rugby. In the ad breaks I managed to snatch glimpses of the sun and pretend I was out enjoying it. Although, the fading remnants of my summer tan will tell you where the majority of my time was spent.

But at last the sun has finally come out, and on non-superbowl days I am trying desperately to get my share out of those late-summer eats. Already, the plums which manage to find their way across the neighbour's fence into our garden have disappeared. And before the cherries, apricots, tomatoes and zucchini start disappearing from the Sunday markets (or at least, the prices start to hike to the point that they may as well have disappeared), there are a few things I seriously need to cook, to get the cravings out of my system for another year.

Can you believe this entire summer, I haven't cooked a single tomato-based pasta? Sacrilege, I know. But this Sunday, with the late summer's afternoon sun gracing our deck, we ate slow roasted tomato tagiatelle, with pancetta and thyme, and laden with parmesan. And it was amazing.

Firstly, you start with the ripest, most delicious summer tomatoes. Nothing else will do, lest it end up watery and bland. The tomatoes are halved or quartered, and roasted in a very slow oven with balsamic drizzle, oil, thyme, salt and pepper, for two hours, until they are semi-dried and bursting with intensified tomato sweetness, with a little tang from the balsamic. These, might I add, are delicious as part of an antipasto, tossed into almost any salad, or even on toast with some parmesan grilled over the top.

However, today I tossed these tomatoes into some freshly made tagiatelle, with a little fried garlic and pancetta (or bacon if you can't get it), and grated parmesan all over. Just the thought of this makes me salivate once more. Vegetarians out there, you can totally skip the pancetta in this dish. The tomatoes have more than enough flavour to carry this dish without it!

Roasted Tomato and Pancetta Tagliatelle (Serves 4)

A whole lot of super ripe summer tomatoes - I used about 4 plum tomatoes, 6 little cocktail tomatoes, and 1c cherry tomatoes
2T balsamic drizzle or 3T balsamic vinegar mixed with a little sugar
2T oil
Small bunch of thyme, leaves picked
Salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed
100g pancetta or bacon, diced
300g fresh tagliatelle
50g grated parmesan, plus more for garnish

Turn your oven on to 130C. Yes, that's low. These tomatoes are going to roast for quite some time.

Next, chop your tomatoes up. I sliced the plum tomatoes into quarters, the smaller cocktail tomatoes into halves, and left the cherry tomatoes whole. Place only the large tomatoes into a baking dish at this stage - we'll add the smaller tomatoes later. Drizzle with the balsamic drizzle, oil, and sprinkle with thyme and salt and pepper to taste. Pop in the oven and roast for about an hour.

When the hour's up, add the cocktail tomatoes. Sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper, and pop the baking dish into the oven for another half an hour.

Once that half hour's up, add the cherry tomatoes, and put back into the oven for the final half hour. By doing this, each size of tomatoes will roast down deliciously, without drying out. At this stage, you'll want to get a big pot of boiling water on the boil.

With 5 minutes to go, gently sautee the garlic and pancetta until golden and delicious. Put the fresh pasta into the boiling water, and cook for 3 minutes, or al dente.

When the tomatoes are done, add them and their roasting juices to the pancetta and garlic, reserving one or two per person for garnish. Drain the pasta and add to the pan. Grate over a little parmesan and some fresh thyme, and toss to combine, squishing the tomatoes just a little bit to bring out their flavour.

Dish the pasta out onto 4 serving dishes. Top each with one or two of the reserved tomatoes, a little thyme or basil, and some more parmesan. Add a touch of cracked pepper on the top to finish.

Ernesto's Banana Bread

2012-02-05T14:48:00.000+13:00

One of the corporate perks we get at work is a giant bowl of fruit delivered twice a week. At this time of year it's a first-in-first-served free for all, with an array of the delicious stone fruits on offer. The year-round bananas and apples sit sadly neglected, while the trendier fruits take centre stage.

Lately, the pile of neglected bananas has spun out of control. At lunch a few days ago, a workmate suggested that someone should take the remnants home to bake everything banana (hint hint, nudge nudge), and that someone should be me.

A rainy day yesterday while we were trying to ignore the fact that we weren't at the Rubgy Sevens, saw the perfect moment to make this bread. Matt turned to me and said "I want something perfect to eat, but I don't know what" (not a demanding man at all, huh?). When I suggested banana bread, you should have seen the look in his eyes. He declared his love for me then and there.

And so I went searching for my all time favourite banana bread recipe. I spotted this recipe in the Dominion Post one awful winter's day. It's just a banana bread recipe, you might say. Why would such a thing catch my eye?

This was a recipe from Ernesto, a Wellington instituiton. It has sat on Cuba mall since 2008. Ok, so 3 years doesn't exactly make it an 'instutution'. But this cafe served the BEST brunches on cuba mall, which is not a title easily awarded.

Unfortunately, the cafe closed late last year due to earthquake concerns. It was supposed to re-open this year after strengthening had been done, but a new shop has conspicuously taken its place, and the internet seems suspiciously devoid of information as to why. Even the Ernesto website remains as is. Anyone got the inside word?

Anyway, this was their banana bread, which is like no other. Hands down, this is the best banana bread recipe I've tried; it's moist, not at all dense (which is a common problem with banana breads), it holds together when sliced, and has a deliciously soft dark brown crust to it. Because it's oil based (rather than butter), it keeps well and doesn't dry out. And the banana slices on the top caramelise to a sticky, chewy, something extra on the top. Heaven!

Ernesto's Banana Bread (Makes one large loaf)

4 bananas (or 6 of those little bobby bananas)
4 eggs
1/2c oil
1/2c milk
1T vanilla essence
2T lemon juice
1/2c brown sugar
1/2c white sugar
2 1/2c all purpose flour
1 heaped tablespoon cinnamon
1T baking powder
1/2t baking soda
1t salt
1c walnut halves

Preheat your oven to 170C. Grease and line a large loaf tin.

Slice half the bananas and set aside. Mash the other half in a bowl. Add the eggs, oil, milk, vanilla, lemon juice and sugars and mix to combine.

Sift over the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and soda, and salt. Fold until the ingredients are all just incorporated. Stir in the walnuts

Pour half the mixture into the lined loaf tin. Layer half the banana slices over the mix. Then pour over the remaining mixture. Arrange the remaining banana slices decoratively on the top.

Bake slowly for 40-50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean (mine took about 1hr 10 mins in the end, but this will depend on your oven).

Summer Tomato Panzanella

2012-01-31T22:42:00.000+13:00

Ok, so I know that there have been a few panzanella posts lately by other bloggers. But just look at the array of red and yellow and green and brown. I just couldn't resist.

This was an attempt to inject some vegetables into my diet after a rather high calorie weekend. First was the Saturday belated Chinese New Year celebration. Somehow, I managed to confuse the 23rd with the 28th, and insist that we celebrate Chinese New Year one week late. Still not sure how that happened... I swear they changed the date on me.

The feast saw an insane amount of food. Entrees included spring rolls, pork and prawn dumplings (more on that another day), and venison meatballs with a oriental spiced home made plum sauce.

The main consisted of pork belly with hoisin sauce (still dreaming of this), peking duck and pancakes, and a token vegetable dish - bok choy with oyster sauce.

And if you thought that was enough, we topped it off with creme brulee and home made fortune cookies.

An insane amount of food. And I'll be honest - I didn't exactly scrimp on my portion sizes! And after all that, my hangover the next day demanded I make fried plantain chips for lunch the next day.

Needless to say, by dinnertime I was craving something fresh, summery, and easy! Enter panzanella.

Recently blogged about by Two Spoons and Good Food in a Crap Kitchen, panzanella is a delicious bread salad. Traditionally, it consists of nothing but tomatoes, basil, oil, and bread soaked in a little water. However, modern interpretations tend to involve a dressing which usually combines herbs for fragrance, capers or anchovies for saltiness, and balsamic vinegar for a sweet tang. Combine these classic flavours with the fresh sweet-sour of summer ripened tomatoes, and you've got heaven in a bowl.

You want to use good quality day old bread for this. Something with a good chew to it (like a ciabatta or sourdough) is important - it is soaked briefly in water, and squeezed out. The result isn't mushy at all. It is soft and delicious, and pairs beautifully with the texture of ripe tomatoes.

Try and pick a range of tomatoes too, like plum, cherry and cocktail tomatoes, and cut them in different ways. Doing this results in a range of textures and flavours which is amazingly important. It's surprising how different the experience of popping a whole cherry tomato into your mouth can be compared to a wedge of vine ripened plum tomato, or a slice of a small cocktail tomato.

To finish, I topped it all off with a drizzle of my balsamic reduction. The sweet-sour of this reduction is like the deliciousness of balsamic vinegar, but multiplied by about 100, and the perfect match to tomatoes.

Panzanella (Serves two)

1T capers
A small bunch of italian parsley
1 clove of garlic
1t mustard (I used a wholegrain mustard I had in the fridge)
A good glug of olive oil
A combination of tomatoes, more or less depending on the types you use - I used 2 plum tomatoes, about 6 cocktail tomatoes, and a 1/2c cherry tomatoes
Small bunch of basil
2 thick slices of crusty day-old bread
Salt and pepper to taste

Start by making the dressing - combine the capers, parsley, garlic, mustard and olive oil in a small food processor, and blend until smooth.

Then chop up all your tomatoes into different shapes and sizes - wedges, slices, etc.

Cut the bread into 1.5cm cubes. Put it into a bowl and add just enough water to moisten. Let it sit for a couple of minutes while you combine the tomatoes, dressing, and basil in another bowl.

Gently squeeze the water out of the bread, and toss to combine with the tomato mixture. Taste the salad, adjust the seasoning, and serve immediately.

Balsamic Drizzle

2012-01-31T22:26:00.003+13:00

Oak aged balsamic vinegar? Pfffft. No need. May as well throw away your money (feel free to send it to me instead!).

Here is my super secret balsamic drizzle, which I use in place of balsamic vinegar in pretty much all recipes that call for it.

And more than that too - it's amazing simply drizzled on broccoli, asparagus, tomatoes, halloumi, over soups, pizza bread, pretty much everything really! Except ice cream. I haven't tried that one. Not too keen, to be honest.

To use in place of regular balsamic vinegar, just substitute a little less drizzle than the amount of vinegar your recipe calls for, because it's like a concentrate.

I usually make up a big batch every few months, and leave in a bottle next to the stove, so it's there whenever I need it. It lasts for yonks - I've never had a batch go off.

Balsamic Drizzle (Makes approximately 250ml)

500ml Balsamic vinegar - don't buy the expensive stuff for this, but don't buy the bottom of the barrel either

1/4c brown sugar

Ok, so this is all it takes:

Pour the balsamic vinegar into a pot big enough to hold it comfortably. Add the sugar, and bring to a simmer. You'll definately want to turn on the overhead extractor if you have it - boiling vinegar tends to have rather a pungent steam.

Simmer for 10-20 mins or until it reduces by half. Careful not to reduce it too quickly or too far, or it might burn.

Let cool slightly, and check you're ok with the thickness - you want it a pouring thickness, but which will leave a pretty trail on a plate. If you're happy with it, pour into a bottle. Otherwise, reduce more if need be.

That's it! Easy huh?!

Fried Plantain Bananas (Patacones) with Spicy Dipping Sauce

2012-01-29T21:35:00.000+13:00

I've been eyeing these bad boys up at the Sunday markets for quite some time. They taunt me with their bright lime green flesh and their enticing promises of culinary journeys. And yet, I have resisted for so long. Why? I'm not exactly sure. I've eaten plantains before, mostly in India. I've just never had the guts to cook with them.

I finally succumbed to curiosity this morning, and brought two home with me. I just had to find something to do with them!

Don't be fooled. These are no ordinary bananas. Firstly, they're green - you may have noticed that.

Secondly, when used while green, their flesh is firm. Very firm. Like, they pretty closely resemble the texture of a potato. In fact, they're often used as a starchy vegetable in tropical climates, just like... wait for it... a potato!

Thirdly, when green, they're not sweet like a banana. Flavour-wise, I'd have to describe them as somewhere in the region of (yep, you guessed it) a potato, with a nod to kumara bring a subtle sweetness.

My sister and her Costa Rican born husband cooked up patacones (fried plantain chips) at a Christmas bbq one year. A quick google of plantain recipes made it clear that this is the winning favourite use for plantains, and a good place to start. This was also far too tempting for my slightly hung over appetite to resist. It was hard enough missing out on the haloumi-on-a-stick that the brazillian bbq stall at the markets does oh so well. Deep fried goodness was my only remittance.

Here, the plantains are peeled, sliced, and fried briefly in oil. They are then squashed flat, and fried a second time until golden and delicious. I served this with a variation of Aju Sauce, a spicy South American take on an aioli, spiked with lime juice, spring onions, and the aju chilli.

Green bananas? Check. Now all I need to find a Wellington source for is green papaya - anyone have the inside word on that one?

Fried Plantain Bananas with Spicy Dipping Sauce (Serves 4 as a snack, or two hungover gluttons who would later regret eating so much)

For the Sauce:
1/2c mayo
1 red chilli, roughly chopped
1 spring onion, roughly chopped
1T tomato sauce or ketchup
Juice of 1 lime
1/4t smoked paprika, plus more for sprinkling
Salt and pepper to taste

Make the sauce first by throwing everything into a small food processor, and blending until smooth. Sprinkle with a little more paprika, and top with some spring onion tops. Pop the sauce into the fridge until serving time.

For the Plantain Chips:
2 plantain bananas
Oil for frying
Salt and pepper to taste

Peel the bananas. This isn't always easy, but there's a good video on how to do it here.

Once you have relinquished your banana from its skin, pop a pan with a good glug of oil in the bottom onto a medium-high heat. While you wait for the oil to heat up, slice the plantains into 1cm thick rounds.

Working in batches, fry the rounds in oil for 2 minutes each side, or until they're golden brown all over. Add more oil if you need to (I never said this was a healthy dish!). If they're frying too quickly, turn down the heat to medium-low. When the rounds are golden brown, pull them out and let them sit on a paper towel until the rest are done. Turn off the heat.

Now you're going to flatten them. You'll need something heavy, with a flat bottom. My mortar and pestle (well, not so much the pestle part) worked very well for this. If you have a thick, heavy chopping board, this will do well too. Otherwise, some kiwi ingenuity may be required.

To flatten, place a sheet of baking paper on a chopping board or flat surface. Pop a round in the centre, and top with a second sheet of baking paper. Now, gently use your flattening object to press down on the banana until it's flattened by half. After a few goes, you'll get the hang of doing this so that it doesn't obliterate the banana round. I achieved this by gently wiggling my mortar and pestle from side to side, while gently pressing down with increasing pressure. Don't smash them, or they'll just break apart.

Once the rounds are all flattened, heat your oil back up and fry the rounds in batches for another few minutes each side, until they're crispy and golden. Let them drain on a paper towel, and season generously with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately with the sauce.

The Most Delicious Marinated Capsicum Salad

2012-01-16T20:29:00.000+13:00

I cannot wait to tell you about this salad. It was good. And I mean gooood.

We were christening our new bbq rotisserie recently, and this stole the show over rotisserie chicken. It was just that good.

And I re-lived the amazingness for lunch today, in a wrap. And it was heaven all over again.

So what is in this salad of deliciousness you ask?

Essentially, it's roasted capsicums, marinated in a combo of balsamic vinegar, sugar, oil, thyme and garlic. Then it's tossed into a green salad with capers, parmesan, and herbs. And ohmigod was it good. So good in fact, I'm going to skip the small-talk, and jump straight into this recipe.

The Most Delicious Marinated Capsicum Salad (Serves 4 as a side)
Original recipe courtesy of Ottolenghi's book 'Plenty', but my adaptation as follows.

3 capsicums, quartered, and seeds removed
Oil
2t balsamic drizzle (if you don't have any, just up the vinegar a touch, and the sugar also, which is next in the list)
2t dark brown (cane or mascovado) sugar
1 big clove garlic, smashed with the flat side of a knife
2 sprigs thyme, rubbed
2t water
2 big handfuls of salad greens (I used a cos mix, because this is what I had in the fridge. The pepperiness of rocket or cress would be beautiful)
1 small bunch of mixed herbs, such as mint, thyme, oregano, basil, flat leaf parsley - whatever you have on hand
10 or so caperberries (or 2 T fried capers - see my post here for instructions on how to do this)
50g parmesan, shaved
Salt & pepper

Heat the oven to 180 C.

Put the capsicum quarters into a roasting dish with a good glug of oil. Sprinkle a little salt over top. With your hands, toss together to coat the capsicum evenly on all sides. Pop into the oven for 35 minutes, until the capsicum is soft and taking on some colour.

When you take the capsicum out of the oven, pop immediately into a bowl with all the roasting juices. Cover with glad wrap and let it sit until cool. This will help you peel the capsicum a hell of a lot easier.

Which brings me to my next point - when they're cool, peel off as much of the skin as is easy to do (but don't throw away those roasting juices yet!). Don't worry too much if you can't get all of it. Discard the skins, and cut the capsicum into large strips.

Put the capsicum back in the bowl with the roasting juices. Add the balsamic drizzle or vinegar, sugar, garlic, thyme, water, and another 1T or so of oil. Toss to combine. Cover with glad wrap again, and set it aside for at least 1 hour, or preferably overnight.

When you're ready to serve, pop the capsicum, greens, herbs, capers or caperberries, and parmesan into a large bowl. Add a couple of tablespoons of the marinade to the bowl, and toss to combine. Taste for seasoning, add salt and pepper as required, and toss again.

Pile onto a serving dish, and eat slowly, enjoying every mouthful.

Al Brown's Smoked Fish & Kumara Pie

2012-01-15T16:04:00.001+13:00

If you're anywhere in the New Zealand region you may have noticed the shocking weather we've had lately. Last night saw buckets of rain and 70 knot wind gusts. The wind and rain was so strong last night that we woke up to a section of the brick wall in the garden downstairs having blown over.

I know this dish isn't exactly summery, but with the weather as it is, a pile of fish in the freezer from our New Year's holiday up north, and my mounting dread of the 'summer' holidays ending, a creamy and slightly sweet smoked fish pie seemed perfect comfort food for a miserable evening. And as I've been told that a fish pie isn't a 'real' fish pie without the addition of hard boiled eggs, you can rest assured that this recipe meets that requirement.

The secret to this pie is the slow cooked bacon, onion, and thyme, which are left for 20 minutes to really caramelise and for the flavours to develop. While the recipe here is lifted almost directly from Al Brown's book Go Fish (for which you may have noticed I have a certain addiction to), I would probably increase the onion in the recipe next time around, just to bring out that sweetness a little more.

The recipe takes a little while to put together; there are a lot of components, the pie can be made earlier, refrigerated, then just baked a little longer.

Smoked Fish & Kumara Pie (Serves 6 as a main)

For the pie filling
75g streaky bacon, chopped into 1/2cm pieces
1c finely chopped onion
1/2c finely chopped celery
2T garlic, finely chopped
3-4 sprigs of thyme, tied together with kitchen string
3 hard boiled eggs
500g smoked fish (we used home-smoked kahawai)

Start by making the pie mix. Pop a pan on a medium-high heat and add a splash of oil. When it's hot, add the bacon, onion, celery and garlic. Let that cook down for 3 minutes or so, until the bacon fat starts to render and the vegies start to get soft. Add the thyme bundle, turn the heat down low, and let that cook for 30 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.

By the end of that time, the onion should have caramelised and the bacon should be crispy and delicious. Crumble in the hard boiled eggs and smoked fish. By the way, this is good as is, piled on toast with a little parmesan shaved over the top!

For the kumara & potato topping
250g agria (mashing) potatoes, diced
500g Kumara, diced
25g Butter
1/2c cream
1/4c milk
Salt & pepper

While the bacon mix is cooking down, get a big pot of water on the boil for the potatoes and kumara. When it's up to the boil, add the potatoes and set your timer for 10 minutes.When the potatoes have been boiling for 10 minutes, add the kumara to the pot, and set your timer for another 10 minutes.

Once both the poatoes and kumara are cooked to mashing perfection, get your potato masher or ricer out, and smash them down to a creamy mix. Stir in the butter, cream and milk, and set aside.

For the white sauce
25g butter
25g flour
2 1/2c milk

Add the butter to a medium sized pot on a medium heat, and let it melt. Once it's melted, add the flour and stir like crazy. The flour and butter will form a paste. This is called a roux. Make sure you cook this paste, stirring, for 2-3 minutes. By letting the flour 'cook out', you'll avoid a floury-tasting white sauce.

Drizzle the milk into the roux, whisking all the while to get rid of any lumps. You'll see the roux absorbing the milk as you add it, until eventually you have a thin sauce. When you've added all the milk, let the sauce cook without boiling for a few more minutes, until it thickens up. Set aside.

For the buttery breadcrumb crunch
2c fresh breadcrumbs
50g butter, chopped into small cubes
Salt & pepper

Finally, make the breadcrumb topping by placing the breadcrumbs into a roasting pan, and dotting the cubes of butter around. Bake these in a 150 C oven for 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until golden and delicious. Season with salt and pepper.

To assemble the pie
Now all you have to do is assemble the pie. Mix the white sauce, bacon mix, and smoked fish together. Taste the mix. Do you love this as a pie mix? Adjust the seasoning to your tastes.

Lay this in the bottom of a lasagne dish. Taste the mashed potato and kumara, and adjust the seasoning in this also. Spoon on top of the filling.

Sprinkle over the breadcrumbs.

Bake the whole thing at 180 C for 30 minutes or so, until you can see the filling bubbling at the sides. Let the pie cool for a moment before devouring.

Seared Scallops with Bread and Butter

2012-01-12T10:03:00.001+13:00

The more I read about other bloggers having to head back to work, the more I am dreading Monday. It's not so much the idea of being back at work, but the idea of having to tackle the mess that I left behind on my last day!

But being at home for the final week of my holiday has been perfect for coming to terms with reality. For one, I got to see my two gorgeous cats again (and they have loved having me home for a week). Secondly, it's been a great opportunity to organise my life and get things done around the place.

For one, I'm starting a vege patch in the downstairs garden of our flat! I am ridiculously excited about this, though the area which is built for it is a rather shady section. We've been given the ok to trim back the many sycamore trees which seem to have popped up around the patch, but even so, it's not exactly an 'all day sun' piece of land. So I'd love to hear from those of you in the know, as to what I will successfully be able to grow. I'm looking at you Five Course Garden!

Onto these scallops. I mentioned the diabolical fishing trip that our holiday up north was, didn't I? Well, Matt and Matt (yes, there were two Matts) went out diving most days but only came home with a fish once, after a close encounter with an elusive kingfish which got away, and a rather nasty trip down 'tidal rip' alley (from which they returned rather tired, but alive and unscathed). To make things worse, my Matt managed to leave the fish in the sun all the next day, rendering it inedible.

After too many days of swell, our little boat being in the shop for work, and unsuccessful dives, my Matt - it became hard to differentiate between the two in conversation, so I resorted to referring to my Matt as "my Matt" - called a friend who was in the area, and hitched a ride on his boat to the back of Kawau Island and other unmentionable secret spots, and came back with a mighty kingfish each, and a whole pile of scallops. The Matts returned at 8pm at night to two rather disdainful girlfriends, given their lack of communication and their previous encounter with said tidal rips. Needless to say, the scallops weren't eaten that night.

However, as scallops deserve to be eaten as fresh as possible, this called for the breakfast of champions; scallops very simply seared in butter and garlic, with a squeeze of lemon juice, and served on beautiful home made bread.

And how stunning they were. The scallops up north are much bigger, juicier and sweeter than the scallops we occasionally get down here in Wellington. I've never had scallops so beautifully sweet and tender. While it's nothing overly fancy, this truly was a breakfast delicious enough to warrant blogging about.

Seared Scallops with Bread and Butter (Serves 4 very happy breakfasters)

20 scallops, shucked (Al Brown's book Go Fish has a very good rundown of how to do this at page 125, or see Gordon Ramsay's video here for a demonstration. Just please, leave the orange coral on the scallops, rather than taking it off - damn foreigners always take it off, but this is considered sacrilege in New Zealand)
50g butter
Splash of oil (1-2 T or so)
1 big clove of garlic, smashed once with the flat side of a knife
1 lemon
Salt and pepper
Bread and butter to serve

Start by zesting the lemon, reserving both the lemon and lemon zest.

Get a pan onto a medium-high heat, and pop the butter, oil and garlic into a pan. Using oil helps to increase the smoking temperature of the butter, so it doesn't burn as fast.

As soon as the garlic is fragrant and the pan is hot (careful not to burn the butter though), add the scallops one by one to the pan. Don't overcrowd the pan, or they won't colour up properly. Use two pans, halving the butter and garlic if you need to.

Fry the scallops for 1-2 minutes each side, turning them as soon as they are golden brown underneath. Don't over-cook them or they'll go all rubbery. It's better to have them slightly underdone than overdone, and as long as the scallops are fresh, it won't do you any harm whatsoever.

When both sides are golden brown, squeeze over the juice of half a lemon, sprinkle over the lemon zest, and season with salt and pepper. Lift the scallops onto a serving plate, and eat immediately!

Marinated Aubergine

2012-01-08T18:11:00.000+13:00

What a holiday it's been. As I sit inside eating nachos and watching Chocolat on a stormy Wellington day, I can hardly believe it's summer. This weather epitomises the crazy summer we've been having.

Matt and I headed up north for Christmas - spending Christmas Eve in Hamilton with my family, then heading up to his family's farm in a little place called Pokeno (world famous for their giant ice creams). We spent a few days there forgetting our city roots - feeding the calves and horses each day, possum hunting (successfully), rabbit hunting (unsuccessfully). Matt even butchered his own lamb, which his Mum and Ricky were kind enough to give us to take home.

After a few days there, we headed up to my family bach in Mahurangi, which is in the Matakana/Warkworth area. It's a bare bones bach, open plan, with no bedrooms, and a tin roof. But somehow it's simplicity casts a spell on everyone who visits. There's something magical about that place, filled with 60s insignia, down to the rocket lamp in the corner (not to be confused with the far tackier lava lamp).

As I mentioned, the weather didn't really turn up for us. The first three days were spent cooking to the music of rain on a tin roof, something I remember well from childhood trips. But the nostalgic charm wore off after a few days. Once the rain cleared we were left with overcast, still days which were stunningly beautiful, and the occasional hour or two of glorious, stinking hot sunshine (at which point we'd grab drinks and blankets and rush outside to enjoy it while it lasted).

Matt did a lot of diving - mostly unsucessfully due to the weather. But on our second to last day he jumped on a friend's boat and brought back an 11kg kingfish, which we ate as fresh as can be, in a carapaccio recipe from Al Brown's Go Fish. This saw the fresh fish sliced as thinly as possible, and served raw with olives, lemon zest, crumbled egg, and adorned with fried capers and lemon infused olive oil.

I served the carapaccio with marinated aubergine, a recipe which was adapted from a book my Dad gave me for Christmas - An Italian Summer, which is by the authors of the Silver Spoon. The book has been very well used in the few weeks I've owned it, in particular the many Italian variations on aubergine salads. When we went to the supermarket at the start of the holiday, I bought 6 (yes, 6!) aubergines.

This salad called for frying aubergine rounds lightly, then dressing them in a combination of olive oil, chilli, capers, garlic, and a tonne of mint. They are then left to marinate for at least 6 hours, but could easily be left overnight. Served at room temperature, the result is a beautifully aromatic, flavoursome, and silky soft side dish, which would be perfect served next to lamb, fish, chicken, or grilled halloumi, or equally delicious stuffed into pita pockets or on crusty bread with feta as a summery lunch.

Marinated Aubergine (Serves 4 as a side)

1 medium sized aubergine

1 big clove garlic, crushed

1 chilli, deseeded

2t capers, minced

1 large handful mint, finely chopped

1/2c olive oil, plus more if needed

Salt and pepper

Start by slicing the aubergine into rounds no thicker than 5mm. Sprinkle with salt and leave for 30 mins on a clean tea towel to drain.

In the meantime, combine the crushed garlic, chilli, capers and mint in a mortar and pestle and smash it all together with a little of the olive oil. Add the rest of the olive oil and a little salt and pepper, and mix together. Set aside.

When the 30 mins is up, heat a pan on a medium heat, but do not oil the pan itself. Take as many of the aubergine rounds as you can fit in a single layer in the pan and brush with a little of the olive oil mix - not too much or they'll go soggy, just enough to get them to brown up.

When the pan is hot, place the rounds with the oiled side facing down, and fry until golden. Brush the topside with a little more oil, then flip and fry the other side. When both sides are golden, lift them onto a serving plate. Repeat with the remaining rounds, frying in batches.

Once all the aubergine is fried and arranged on the plate, drizzle over the remaining olive oil mixture, making sure you spoon the mint, chilli, garlic and capers all over. If you need more olive oil to ensure each piece is dressed, drizzle over now.

Pop the platter in the fridge for at least 6 hours before serving.

Authentic Italian Pizza Dough

2011-12-18T11:48:00.001+13:00

I absolutely adore pizza. It has to be my all time favourite Sunday night dinner. And with my favourite neighbours having just built a woodfired pizza oven, this is only going to become an ongoing event.

After trying many different recipes to get that perfect Italian pizza base, this one is my all time favourite. It will produce those lovely big bubbles in the centre, and a light but chewy pizza base. There are a few easy tricks to it, including resting the dough after you've shaped it, and baking the dough with a tray of water in the oven.

If you try this one, and think you have a better recipe, let me know! I'm always on the hunt for the best pizza dough recipe.

Italian Pizza Base (makes 3 pizzas worth, but you can freeze the extra dough if you want)

1 1/2c lukewarm water

1/2t active yeast powder

2t olive oil

2t salt

500g flour (about 4 cups, but try and weigh it if you can - accuracy is everything when it comes to bread)

In a big bowl or bread machine sprinkle the yeast powder over the water, and give it a quick stir. Leave for 5 minutes to get all frothy, while you measure out your flour.

Once the yeast mixture looks cloudy and frothy, add the oil first, then the flour and salt. Stir until it the dough comes together, and then get your hands in there and knead for 10 minutes. Alternatively use a bread machine or strong standing mixer to do this for you.

Cover the bowl with glad wrap and let it sit for 1 1/2 - 2 hours to rise. Try and give it the full 2 hours if possible. But if you're short on time you can cut this down to 1 hour by putting the bowl in a cold oven and placing a tray of just boiled water underneath it. Make sure you shut the door though.

Once the dough is doubled in size, give a good, solid punch to the middle of the bowl to knock down the dough. Pull it out of the bowl, and squeeze out any remaining big bubbles. Cut the dough into 3 equal portions.

Roll each piece into a ball by gently bringing the top layer of the dough down and under to the bottom, and gently squeezing at the bottom to pinch it in place. Keep doing this until you have a tight, smooth outer layer of dough, and a nice round shape.

Leave the balls of dough on the bench for another hour if possible (but at least 15 minutes if you're pressed for time) to let them get all soft and elastic.

While the dough is resting, heat the oven to 220 C. You'll need at least 20 minutes to get the oven and your pizza stone hot right through. Make sure you've removed the pizza dough from the oven before turning it on! Also, if you were using the tray of water to help the dough rise, leave it in. The steam will help your pizza crisp up nicely. Or just throw a couple of ice cubes into the bottom of the oven when you put the pizza in.

Prep your pizza topping while you're waiting for the oven to heat up.

When you're all ready, roll out the dough into rounds which are no more than 5mm thick.Try for 2-3mm if possible. To get it that little bit thinner, once it's been rolled out I'll often pick up up, and stretch it out by hand, focussing on the outer edges (the middle tends to stretch out easily - it's the outer edges which tend to be too thick).

Pull the pizza stone out of the oven, and place your stretched pizza base onto it. Top with your preferred pizza topping.

Always remember to season the pizza with salt and pepper and drizzle a little olive oil over it before popping it in the oven for about 15 minutes until the cheese has melted and the base is golden brown and puffed up around the edges.

Polish Poppy Seed Cake (Makowiec)

2011-12-12T19:59:00.000+13:00

Now, I am not of polish descent. But a family friend used to make this every Christmas, and bring around a slice or two, always a treat. So when I saw a recipe for this in a Jamie magazine, it was only a matter of time until I gave it a shot. And with Christmas coming up, what better excuse?

This filling is made of blended poppy seeds, nuts, lemon and vanilla, all rolled into a yeasted cake. It's not too sweet, not too heavy, and the perfect tea or coffee cake.

Now, lets talk poppy seeds, because you're going to need a lot of these. And I mean a lot.

Don't even think about buying those little packets from the supermarket. You'd need an insane number of them, and this is definitely the expensive option. Do yourself a favour and head down to a wholesale store like Moore Wilson's or Toops, and get a bulk packet. I got a 1kg pack for something like $10, which will make two large (or 4 smaller) cakes.

Makowiec - Polish Poppy Seed Cake (makes one large or two smaller cakes)

For the poppy seed filling
500g poppy seeds
250ml milk
50g butter
250g caster sugar
110g almonds, finely chopped
110g walnuts, finely chopped
Zest of 1/2 lemon
Vanilla extract
3 egg whites

For the cake
500g all purpose flour
1T dried yeast
110g butter, softened
150g caster sugar
3 egg yolks
250ml milk
Salt

For the glaze
220g icing sugar
Juice of 1 lemon

Start by putting the poppy seeds and milk in a pot and simmer gently for 20 minutes with the lid on, stirring occasionally. Leave to cool in the pot.

Next, and start on the cake. Heat the milk in the microwave for a minute or so until warm (no hotter than is comfortable putting a finger in). Sprinkle the yeast on top, and leave for 5 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, cream the butter and sugar for a few minutes until they are light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks one by one, beating between each addition. Stir in the milk mixture, which should now be foamy on the top. Add a pinch of salt and the flour, and stir together until combined. Cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place to rise for an hour or so.

While the cake is rising, blend the poppy seeds in a food processor until they break down a bit. You want to crack them open and form a coarse paste. If you're getting something more akin to coffee grinds than a paste, that's ok, just add a little more milk once they're ground down. You want the texture to be something like wet sand. Stir in the sugar, chopped nuts, lemon zest, and 1/2t vanilla extract into the poppy seeds. Turn the oven to 180 C.

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into the poppy seed mixture.

Now roll out the cake on a floured board, roughly 1cm thick. Spread the poppy seed mixture over the dough, leaving a half cm or so on the edges. Gently roll up the cake lengthwise, like a Swiss roll. Pinch the ends together and tuck under, to stop the filling coming out when it cooks.

Wrap the whole thing up tightly in baking paper, making sure the opening is on the bottom. This will stop it rising in the oven - you want it to hold its' shape and keep all the filling inside!

Pop on a baking tray in the oven, and bake for 45 minutes or so.

While the cake is in the oven, make the glaze by combining the icing sugar and lemon juice, and enough water to make a thick icing.

Once the cake is done, pull it out of the oven, let it cool for a few minutes, then drizzle over the glaze while it's still hot.

Best eaten with a cup of earl grey tea!

Smoked Fishcakes with Gribiche Sauce, Poached Egg, and Asparagus

2011-12-05T22:14:00.004+13:00

Ok, so here's how it is.

Fat Freddy's Drop stole my idea... Paua wontons.

I've been brewing this one for a year and a half. And then I find out that the band have a just launched promo video of them making em.

Sigh. There goes my future signature dish.

But I guess, you snooze you lose. So in aid of that the first attempt was made this weekend. We had a few friends over for a Sunday bbq, and feasted! I mean, really feasted. We had paua wontons, Matt's amazing paua fritters, whitebait fritters (heavy on the whitebait, thanks to my amazing friends PJ, Shan and Alla who brought this amazing treat), and smoked fishcakes. I can't imagine a better early summer bbq dinner.

While my paua wontons were good, they weren't quite what I imagined. I will continue that crusade, and let you know when I have the perfect recipe. I can, however, say that they were eaten while listening to Fat Freddy's with much relish.

The smoked fishcakes however, were something definitely worth blogging about. I re-created these bad boys tonight for dinner, serving them much like a version we used to have at Trade Kitchen, with pan roasted asparagus, a gribiche sauce, and a poached egg, and I almost licked my plate it was so good.

A gribiche sauce is a kind of fancy tartare sauce, but so much more. It is amazing dolloped on pan roasted fish, and perfect with most kinds of seafood fritters, or thrown into a spicy fish taco. I added garlic to my version to kick it all up a notch.

Smoked Fishcakes with Gribiche Sauce (Serves 4)

For the gribiche sauce
1 boiled egg
1T capers or caperberries
1T parsley
1T tarragon
1 clove garlic
1t wholegrain mustard
1/4c mayo
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
2T olive oil
2T water
Salt and pepper to taste

For the smoked fishcakes
1/4 small kumara (sweet potato), diced
25g butter
Oil for frying
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
50g bacon or salami, pancetta, mild chorizo etc, finely chopped
1/2 stick of celery, finely chopped
1/4 red capsicum, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
240g smoked fish - we gently smoked some butterfish which Matt caught the other day
1/3c milk
1/4c good quality (preferably home made mayo)
1 egg yolk
1 1/4c dried breadcrumbs
25g butter
4 eggs if you're serving this with poached eggs
2 bundles of asparagus
1 clove of garlic

Make the gribiche first - just chuck everything in the blender and whiz until smooth. Add a little more water and/or oil if you need it, just so it sauces up nicely.

Start the fishcakes by getting the kumara on the boil. When it's soft, drain and leave to cool.

Meanwhile, melt the butter with a splash of oil in a pan. Once it's nice and warm, add the onion, bacon and celery, and sautee for a couple of minutes or until translucent. Try not to colour it up too much. Add the garlic and capsicum, and sautee for another minute or two.

Put the kumara into a large bowl and mash until smooth (it doesn't have to be perfect though). Add the sauteed mix and smoked fish, and using your hands (preferably, washed first), mix it up until it's all evenly distributed. Add the milk, mayo, egg yolk, and mix again. Finally, add up to 1/4c of the breadcrumbs, until it forms a nice patty consistency - you want something akin to thick mashed potatoes, or a burger patty. It will be wet, but not sloppy.

Sprinkle the rest of the breadcrumbs onto a plate. Form the mix into four patties no more than 2cm thick. Turn gently over in the breadcrumbs to coat, and set aside on a plate.

If you're doing this with poached eggs, get some water to the boil now! Are you serving with pan roasted asparagus? If so, get a pan on a medium heat with a splash of oil.

Pop a knob of butter (25g or so) in a pan, and bring to a medium-high heat. Gently fry the patties until golden underneath. Gently flip them over to brown on the other side.

When you turn the patties over, put your asparagus into the pan with singly clove of garlic which has been squished with the flat side of a kitchen knife. Toss in the pan occasionally.

When your fishcakes are done, turn off the heat under the pot of boiling water to stop it boiling, and slide the eggs into the water. Cover, and set your timer for 2 minutes. Plate up everything else.

Pop the eggs on top of the fishcakes, and top with the gribiche sauce.

Potato Salad with Fried Capers

2011-11-29T22:14:00.000+13:00

Today has been a very good day in the land of Mags.

I found out I passed profs! And so come June next year I'll get to wear that stinky grey wig I've been raving about.

First of all, however, I need to battle my way through the maze also known as the admissions process. Apparently, figuring it all out is harder than profs itself!

I know what you're thinking - results so soon? The results for the last round took about 2 months to come through. This time around they came in less than a week! I guess they know that people are in a hurry to process their admission applications before the Christmas shut down.

The salad I'm posting about today was thrown together for our final exam celebrations on Friday. But in all our celebrations, we never even got to eat the salad! No matter, it made a delicious sunny Saturday lunch for Matt and I.

It's a simple salad really, designed as a bbq side, with a classic combo of new potatoes, olive oil, lemon juice, red onion and herbs. The difference you ask? Fried capers.

Not just any capers.

Fried capers.

If you've never tried capers this way (and even if you don't like capers at all!), try them this way. I promise, you won't be disappointed.

The capers are added to a glug of hot oil in a pan, and fried until they open up like little flowers, and go all crispy. Their salty flavour is mellowed and deepened. And texturally, they are an amazing addition to pretty much anything - leafy salads, on top of eggs, frittatas, tomato sauces, pesto sauces... the list goes on. You may recall me using them in my lemon and caper quesidillas.

Potato Salad with Fried Capers (Serves 6 as a side)

1kg new or gourmet potatoes
1/2 red onion, sliced as thinly as you possibly can. Take your time with this!
1/4c pine nuts
2T capers
Small bunch fennel tips, chopped roughly
Olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper

Get a big pot of water on the boil. Halve or quarter the potatoes depending on their size. You want nice bite sized pieces. When the water is boiling, add the potatoes and set your timer for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a dry pan. Keep an eye on these bad boys. They will suddenly turn from warm to burnt with little warning signs! When toasted, lift out of the pan and chop roughly, just to help expensive pine nuts go a little further!

Next put a good glug of oil in the pan. When the oil is hot, add the capers. They should sizzle, and start opening up after a minute or two. When they're looking dark and crispy, lift out of the pan and let drain on a paper towel.

Are your potatoes cooked? If so, drain them in a colander. Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl and drizzle the olive oil and lemon juice over the still hot potatoes. Let these cool for 5 or 10 minutes, or if you want, completely.

Just before serving, toss the potatoes with the red onions, pine nuts, capers, fennel tips. Season with salt and pepper. Check the seasoning, and adjust as needed.

Serve immediately, or else the capers and pine nuts may lose their crispy crunchy texture.

Coconut and Ginger Crusted Prawns with Spicy Mango Dipping Sauce

2011-11-27T15:05:00.001+13:00

I write this post, lying in the sun on our deck (which is nicely sheltered from Wellington's Northerly and Westerly winds), sipping iced tea, and soaking up my FREEDOM!

I mentioned in my last post that legal profs is now over! Not that I have my results back yet. That's another matter entirely. But for the time being, I can relish being (somewhat) responsibility free! It's still pretty difficult to lie around relaxing without feeling guilty I'm not studying though.

Hence the sunshine blogging.

I'd also like to take a moment to congratulate all you amazing people who got your Chartered Accountancy exam results back on Friday. Win or lose, you should all be so proud of getting through the year from hell, followed by a six hour exam. I can't even imagine how hard that must have been. I'll have a greater appreciation for it this time next year though!

So to celebrate our final profs assessment, on Friday afternoon, a bunch of the profs crew came over for sunshine drinks on a Friday afternoon (sans a couple of amazing girls who couldn't make it).

To celebrate, I whipped up some gin-spiked iced tea (affectionately named by Harriet as the "GIT"), and a little experiment - coconut crusted prawns, with a coconut milk and fresh ginger batter, sprinkled with unsweetened coconut thread, crisped up on the bbq, and served with a spicy mango dipping sauce.

I have two adjustments to make. Coriander and a little fish sauce in the dipping sauce. I've added these into the recipe, but the conspicuous absence of green coriander flecks will give away the fact that these were reflective changes.

Coconut and Ginger Crusted Prawns with Spicy Mango Dipping Sauce (Serves 6 people as a starter)

For the dipping sauce
1/2c mango chutney - I used a mango and peach chutney I found at the supermarket.
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1/2t cayenne pepper
1/4t freshly grated ginger
1T fish sauce
1/4c coconut milk
2T finely chopped coriander leaves
Salt and pepper

For the Prawns
250g prawn cutlets, with the tail on - you want 4-5 prawns per person for a generous starter
1/2c coconut milk
1 egg
1/2c flour
2T freshly grated ginger
1/4c coconut milk
Salt and pepper
2c unsweetened coconut thread - it's important it's unsweetened. If you're not sure, check the back of the packet, and see if any sugar is listed in the ingredients.

Start by making the dipping sauce. Put the chutney in a small pot on a medium heat. Add the lime zest and juice, cayenne, ginger, and fish sauce. Bring up to a low simmer, stirring, just to heat through. Add the coconut milk, bring to the boil, and let it cook down for 3 minutes or so, stirring so it doesn't burn on the bottom.

Pour the makings of the sauce into a food processor, and blitz until smooth. Stir through the coriander. Season with salt and pepper.

Now make the batter for the prawns. Combine the coconut milk, ginger and egg in a bowl. Add as much of the flour as you need to make a thick batter. You want it of a consistency that it will create a nice coating for the prawns.

Pour the coconut thread into a wide, shallow bowl or plate. Get out a nice big tray to put the coated prawns on. Now you're going to dip the prawns in the batter, sprinkle them with coconut thread, and place them on the tray. But here's the trick: try not to get excess batter into the coconut thread, or it'll just end up one big mass of coconut glue, and it'll be pretty hard to keep coating the prawns (and not to mention, a big waste of coconut.

Here's how I do it:

Firstly, you will have to nominate ONE hand for dipping, and ONE hand for sprinkling. Don't get batter on the sprinkling hand if you can help it.
So, I use my dipping hand to hold a prawn by its tail, and dip it into the batter and get it nicely coated. I then shake it to get as much of the excess batter off as possible. Giving it a little tap in the side of the batter bowl will help.
Then I hold the prawn over the coconut bowl, and using my non-battered hand, to sprinkle the coconut over. Sprinkling, rather than dipping the prawn in the coconut, helps to avoid the aforementioned gluey coconut mess.
Then just pop the prawn on the tray.

Put the tray into the fridge until you're ready to cook them. They'll easily keep like that for a couple of hours.

Heat up the bbq's hot plate. You want a medium-high heat. Pour a glug of oil onto the hot plate - this will ensure they brown up nicely and get that deliciously crispy texture. Place the prawns on the hot plate, and fry for a minute or two on each side, until golden, and the tails are bright pink. Don't overcook them, or they'll go rubbery.

Serve with the dip, and enjoy!

Prawn and Chorizo Salad

2011-11-26T18:19:00.001+13:00

Did you miss me!?

Sorry for being MIA lately. I've just finished the second round of legal profs exams. As long as I pass everything (touch wood), they'll let me wear an ugly wig in court, and have me admitted to the bar next year!

Strangely excited about the prospects of wearing a smelly grey wig.

And now with exams over, I can enjoy my summer. I'm ridiculously excited about summer. And having been spoilt with a gorgeously sunny Sunday at Toast Martinborough last weekend, it's starting to feel like it's finally here. 4 days and counting!

I'm looking forward to spending lazy days in the sun, iced tea, white wine, summer fishing, eating as much seafood as I can, reading again, good friends, freshly picked basil, and berry season!

Last weekend I had a sudden urge for squid and chorizo salad. I ran off to the supermarket, but alas, no squid to be found. Why is it that whenever you really want something, it's never there?

But they did have some rather tasty looking jumbo prawns. I threw together a simple salad, mostly using the flavour in the chorizo to flavour the prawns. You could easily do this with prawn cutlets too, I just love the mess of peeling jumbo prawns, and the finger licking goodness which inevitably follows.

Prawn and Chorizo Salad (as usual, serves 2)

1/4 red onion, sliced as finely as you possibly can
Small bunch of Italian parsley, roughly chopped
A couple of handfuls of rocket
2 chorizo sausages, sliced
Olive oil
200g jumbo prawns or prawn cutlets
Juice of 1 lemon

Start by making the base of the salad. Combine the red onion, Italian parsley and rocket in a big bowl.

Get a pan onto a medium high heat. Add a splash of olive oil, and fry the chorizo slices until they are golden and crispy all over.

Lift out of the pan with a slotted spoon, and set aside.

Now put the prawns into the pan. Using the leftover oil from the chorizo is where all the flavour is going to come from. Fry the prawns for 1-2 minutes on each side, until they go bright pink and slightly golden.

Squeeze the lemon juice over the prawns in the pan. Toss to get all the flavour off the bottom of the pan.

Add the chorizo back into the pan just to warm up again.

Put the chorizo and prawn mix into the bowl with the salad. There should be enough juices from the pan to form a dressing for the salad. Using your hands, gently turn everything over a few times in the bowl to combine.

Again, using your hands, serve out onto two plates.

Fennel and Smoked Fish Risotto

2011-11-14T20:00:00.003+13:00

I was being a good citizen today and donating blood. I give blood regularly, and this was my 15th or so donation. I walk in there all confidence, give blood, have a cookie and half a tea, and waltz on out with my half finished tea in hand.

And promptly faint in the elevator on my way out!

It's my own stupid fault. I should have sat down for a good 10 minutes. It's just that I've never had the slightest inkling of fainting after giving blood before, and I never sit there as long as they say I should.

Ah well. Lesson learnt. But I felt pretty bad for the guy I spilt my tea all over! And must have looked pretty ridiculous on the foyer of my office, in the recovery position. The poor receptionist was terrified that I'd had an epileptic fit. Luckily it was lunchtime, and there were no clients around.

Anywho, Matt and I made this risotto when my mum came over for lunch a couple of weeks ago. She was down in Welly for a conference. It was supposed to be a wet risotto, but she was late (as usual), and so it overcooked a little. But it was still damn tasty.

If you're not a fan of smoked fish, I highly recommend trying it in this kind of dish - the creaminess of the risotto really softens the flavour.

Always try and use sodium reduced stock when it comes to risotto - the stock is simmered down so much it'll be overly salty if you use the regular stuff.

Fennel and Smoked Fish Risotto (Serves 4-6)

50g butter
1T oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 bulb fennel, sliced as thinly as you can
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2c arborio rice
Splash white wine (1/2 c or so)
1 - 1 1/2 litres fish stock (I made my own with some fish frames and the shell of the crayfish we ate a few weeks ago, which I froze. If you throw away the crayfish shell you should be shot)
150g smoked fish
1/2c finely grated parmesan
zest of 1/2 a lemon
finely chopped fennel tips, plus a few whole sprigs for garnish
Salt and pepper to taste
More shaved parmesan to serve

Put the stock into a pot big enough to hold it, and which has a lid. Bring up to just below a simmer, where it's steaming, but not bubbling.

Get a large pan on a medium heat. Add the butter and oil and let the butter melt. Using butter and oil reduces the smoking temperature of the butter, and stops it from browning. Because this is a white risotto, you need to try and avoid browning as much as possible here.

Once the butter is melted, add the fennel and onion. Sautee for 3 minutes or so, then add the garlic. Cook down for another minute or so. Once again, try not to brown the mixture.

Add the arborio rice, and sautee for a couple more minutes, until the rice becomes slightly translucent.

Add a ladle full of stock to the rice. Here's the key. Stir! Risotto doesn't take that long, but you really need to keep stirring as much as you can. This is what gets the rice to release it's starch and cause that creamy texture, but keeping the centre firm.

Adjust the temperature to a point where the stock isn't boiling off too much. You want all that liquid to absorb into the rice, while you keep stirring to bring out that delicious starchy goodness.

When all the liquid has absorbed, add another ladlefull. Continue to add stock whenever all the liquid has absorbed (and never before!) for about 20 minutes.

Once the 20 minutes is up, add the smoked fish. Keep adding stock and stirring (though at this point you can start to neglect your stirring duties a little). Make sure you keep a ladle full of stock for the end. If you run out of stock, start adding water instead.

After another 10 minutes, the risotto should be pretty much cooked. Test a grain or two. You want it to be a little firm (but not crunchy or undercooked) in the middle, and definately not mushy. You'll know when you've got that perfect texture.

When you have that magic, add the final ladle full of stock and stir once or twice to bring it through. Add the parmesan, lemon zest, and the fennel tips. Your risotto will hopefully be saucier than the risotto in my pictures!

Taste the risotto and season with salt (if you need any) and pepper.

Dish out into bowls, top with parmesan and the sprigs of fennel tips.

Thai Fish Curry

2011-11-12T20:41:00.003+13:00

A rainy spring day gave a nostalgic throw-back to Winter. It had me craving winter comfort all over again. But with Matt having been for a dive this morning, fish was on the menu. Putting two and two together, I turned to a fish curry.

This is a simple thai curry. I guess it's a green curry with all the coriander in it, but it's also got red chillis in it, too. Not sure what that makes it. Anyone out there a curry expert?

The curry is also ridiculously easy and fast to make. I'm talking, half an hour, tops. Throw together a home made chilli paste, coconut milk, fish and some fresh veges, and that's pretty much it.

Feel free to switch things up too. That's the best thing about curry, it's so adaptable. I pretty much used whatever needed using up at the bottom of the fridge. And the chilli paste is the best way to use up wilting coriander.

Thai Fish Curry (Serves 4 with Naan or Roti)

For the curry paste
1/2c coriander. Try and get a bunch with roots, and use as much of the roots and stems as possible
4 spring onions
1 thumb sized piece of ginger
4 cloves garlic
2T fish sauce
1T chilli powder
2t cumin powder
2t brown sugar
1/2t turmeric
1 fresh chilli (I used one of the big ones, and the spices were pretty balanced. Use more or less chilli to suit your tastes. Just remember, the bigger the chilli, the milder)
1 can coconut milk

For the curry sauce
3 kaffir lime leaves, all rolled up together, then sliced as thinly as you can
3x 150g fillets of fresh fish
1 1/2 red capsicum, finely sliced
2 small or 1 large tomato, cut into small wedges
1/4c vege or fish stock
Coriander, spring onion, and/or basil to garnish
Lemon wedges to garnish

Put all the curry paste ingredients except the coconut milk into a small food processor or blender. Blend until it's all as small as it will go. Add enough coconut milk to bring it together into a paste (a little less than 1/4c) and blitz until smooth. Give the food processor a nudge or two as you blitz to get it to keep it moving.

Heat a wok over a medium heat. Add the curry paste, and cook down for a few minutes until it lets out its aromas.

Add the rest of the can of coconut milk, and the kaffir lime leaves. Bring to a simmer.

Add the fish, bring it back to the simmer, and let it cook, covered, for 6-8 minutes or until the fish is just starting to cook through.

Add the tomatoes, capsicum, and vege stock and let it cook for another 2 minutes uncovered.

Dish into bowls and garnish with the herbs and lemon. Serve with naan, roti, or rice.

Told you it was fast!

Salmon with Soba Noodles and Mirin Dressing

2011-11-12T17:09:00.001+13:00

Occasionally Matt abandons me on a Friday evening, and takes off around the coast to get a quick dive in before the weekend even begins.

This was one such night.

So I made myself an awesome dinner for one. And I didn't miss him at all!

Still, it was nice when he came home.

This is an adapted recipe from Donna Hay.

It's deliciously simple, and lets the salmon speak for itself. It's heightened with the nuttiness of soba noodles, fresh coriander, and a little ginger and lime to lift it. The base of the sauce is a combination of mirin (classicly Japanese), soy sauce for depth of flavour, and I added sesame oil, just because I love it so much.

The original recipe called for pickled ginger. This would be amazing. Unfortunately, I didn't have any, so I just used fresh ginger. Not the same effect, but tasty nonetheless.

Salmon with Soba Noodles and Mirin Dressing (for one, but you can easily adapt for more)

100g bundle of dried soba noodles
100g fillet of salmon, skin off
Vegetable oil for brushing
Salt and pepper
2T coriander (more if you love it)

For the mirin dressing
1t toasted sesame seeds
1t ginger, grated
1t soy sauce
1t lime juice
1T mirin
1/2t sesame oil

Make sure the salmon is at room temperature before you start. It will fry up nicer this way.

Bring a pot of water to the boil.

To make the dressing, combine the ginger, soy sauce, lime juice, mirin, and sesame oil in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Don't add the sesame seeds just yet, or they'll go a bit soggy.

Get a pan onto a medium high heat.

Brush the salmon with vegetable oil, and season with salt and pepper. Place the salmon in the pan, and cook for 2 minutes each side, until just rare in the middle, but caramelised and gorgeous on the outside.

While the salmon is cooking, pop the noodles into the boiling water, and cook for 3-5 minutes. As soon as the salmon is done, bring it out of the pan and let rest while the noodles finish off.

Drain the noodles, and put in your serving bowl. Drizzle over the dressing, place the salmon on top, and finish with coriander and the toasted sesame seeds.

Serve with extra sauce and coriander.

Homemade Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli with a Simple Summer Tomato Sauce

2011-11-07T18:43:00.000+13:00

Ok, so I know today isn't the most summery. But you're just going to have to imagine eating this on the balcony in the gentle late spring evening, on a day like yesterday!

Like making bread, I find making fresh pasta incredibly therapeutic. And believe me, the taste is something completely different from the dried or store bought kind.

I bought a pasta machine about 5 years ago. Like so many other kitchen gadgets, I used it twice (both total disasters), and abandoned it to the back of the cupboard while it gathered dust for years. Seriously, the top of its box actually caked in dust!

But somehow it managed to survive the ruthless culling of useless belongings when I moved flat each year. I always knew I'd come back to pasta making.

When we saw a fresh pasta making class at Weltec's culinary school offered in the Wellington on a Plate festival this year, I knew the time had come. I signed Matt and I up to an 8am Sunday start. You heard me. 8am. And on a Sunday! I didn't tell Matt about that part when selling the class to him. We even missed an AMAZING Sunday up the mountain to take the class.

Dedication, I know!

The class was a lot of fun. We got all sorts of tips and hints, LOTS of food, and best of all, you got a hands on demonstration from start to finish how to make your own fresh fettuccine and tortellini. Being shown how to do it, and having someone there to tell you what you're doing right and wrong (even just once) transformed my earlier disasters into the softest, silkiest, most delicious pasta I'd ever eaten.

I'm not going to run through how to make pasta here. But if you want a step by step guide, holla out and I'll pop up a tutorial. It's really not hard at all. I promise!

If you're not up to making your own pasta, wonton wrappers make a good substitute.

Feta and Spinach Ravioli with a Simple Summer Tomato Sauce
(serves 4)

300g fresh pasta dough, rolled and ready to fill, or about 30-40 wonton wrappers, thawed

For the filling:
150g frozen spinach, thawed (or if you have it on hand, fresh spinach, wilted down)
150g ricotta
100g feta or soft goats cheese
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4c toasted pine nuts
Egg wash (made with 1 egg white mixed with about 1t water)
Salt and pepper to taste

Put the spinach in a ball in the middle of a clean tea towel. Gather up the sides, twist, and squeeze out all the liquid.

Pop the spinach into a small food processor with the ricotta, feta, and garlic. Blend until it's combined and you don't have any big chunks of spinach. Add the toasted pine nuts, a little salt and pepper, and pulse a few more times. You still want some texture, so aim for the pine nuts to be in little pieces, not pulverised.

That's your filling. Easy huh!

Now lay out the rolled pasta and pop a small teaspoon of mixture at about 3cm intervals. If you're using won ton wrappers, pop a small teaspoon of mixture in the centre of each wrapper. Brush the egg wash around the filling with a pastry brush, lay a second strip of pasta (or wonton wrapper) over the top. Using a round cookie cutter or a ravioli cutter, cut out the ravioli. You might have to give the cutter a little wiggle to cut the pasta right through and get the ravioli to come loose.

Gently pick up each round of ravioli, and working around the edges, give them a little squeeze to seal them. Try and expel as much air as you can from inside the ravioli, or it'll expand when you cook them and burst the ravioli. Also, try not to split the pasta if you can, but if it's small split, don't worry about it too much.

Keep your offcuts! Gather them up as you go, and put them under a damp tea towel. You can re-roll these, to get more out of your pasta.

Put your finished ravioli on a very well floured surface. Every now and then, gently turn them over. You don't want them sticking to the bench/plate/board.

For the sauce
50g butter
1 clove garlic, sliced
1/2t chilli flakes
500g cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 c chicken or vege stock
A good handful of basil leaves, torn in half or thirds
Salt and pepper
Shaved parmesan to finish

Bring a big pot of water to the boil

In a large pan, melt the butter. Add the garlic and chilli flakes, and as soon as it starts to smell AMAZING, add the cherry tomatoes. Let them soften for a minute or two, then add the chicken stock. Bring to a simmer, and reduce for about 4 minutes, until it looks nice and saucy. Don't reduce it too far. You want more liquid than you think. Turn off the heat and let it sit while you cook the pasta.

Put the pasta in the water, and boil for about 3 minutes or until al dente.

Gently lift the pasta out of the boiling water and into the tomato sauce. Carefully stir to cover the pasta in tomato sauce.

Put in pasta bowls, top with shaved parmesan, salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil.

Serve with crusty bread to mop up the sauce.

Zucchini and Feta Fritters

2011-11-03T20:27:00.000+13:00

Trying to settle down from the madness of the last month.

Trying.

I'm about 2 weeks behind on study (and yet, I'm here blogging!), and well overdue for a sleep in.

I had a minor panic yesterday when I realised it's about 3 weeks until my final legal profs exams, and only 4 pay days until xmas. No idea how I'm going to pay for gifts, let alone petrol up to Auckland, the cattery for my two wee ones, food, drinks, and New Years!

Combine that with saying goodbye to Kim and James, who are moving to Japan tomorrow and will be seriously missed, and Tracey who's going to Canada in just a week.

I hate goodbyes.

But still, they'll all be back in a few years (I hope). And there are amazing adventures out there for them.

And what helps more but comfort food?

My mum's been making these fritters for years, I believe originally adapted from the Moosewood Cookbook.

The recipe is incredibly simple - grated zucchini, flavoured with mint, lemon and feta, held together with egg white and the tiniest bit of flour. The result? Amazingly light, fluffy pillows of tastiness which dissolve in your mouth.

Interested?

Zucchini and Feta Fritters (Serves two as a light meal)

3 zucchini
2 egg whites
1T finely chopped mint
1t lemon zest
1t chopped flat leaf parsley
Salt & pepper
1T all purpose flour
1/2t baking powder
A 1cm x 3cm chunk of feta
Oil for frying
Tzatziki to serve

Coarsely grate the zucchini. Spread out on a clean teatowel, sprinkle with a little salt, and leave for about 10 mins. This will draw a lot of the moisture out of the zucchini, and stop the fritters going soggy.

While you're waiting, in a clean bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks.

In a second bowl, combine the mint, lemon zest, parsley, and a pinch of salt (you don't need much after salting the zucchini).

Once 10 mins is up, gather up the corners of the teatowel, to bring the zucchini into a little ball in the centre. Squeeze to get out the excess moisture. You'll be surprised how much water those little suckers hold. Don't squeeze too hard though - you don't want zucchini mush!

Add the zucchini to the bowl with the mint, lemon and parsley. sprinkle the flour and baking powder over the top, crumble in the feta, and mix with your hands to combine.

Gently fold the egg whites through, trying not to break them up too much - these are what will give you that fluffy texture.

Heat up two pans to a medium high heat with a good splash of oil. Gently place big spoonfuls of the fritter mix into the pans - I got about 6 fritters out of the mix, 3 per pan.

Fry until you think they will hold when you flip them - about 3 mins. They should be nicely golden underneath. Gently flip the fritters, and fry for another 3 mins. Test whether they're cooked by giving them a push with your finger. They should have a soft spring to them. Remember, these fritters are quite delicate, so don't push too hard or you'll end up with a hole in the middle!

Lift out of the pan and onto a plate. Top with a dollop of tzatziki to finish.

Butterfish with Cucumber, Avocado and Ginger Salad

2011-10-31T21:10:00.002+13:00

I had never tried butterfish until I met Matt (Spear Fishing Hardcore) Kinsey. It's not a fish which is often served in restaurants because its fine flake makes it difficult to fry. But its gentle, sweet, melt-in-your-mouth-soft flesh is just stunning.

Because of its tendency to fall apart, I've started asking Matt to leave the fillet skin on. Yes, he gets to do the messy stuff.

Despite finding the scales all over the kitchen for days (I found one on our bed yesterday, and I made this dish about two weeks ago!), it's worth it, because while you still need to be careful, it holds together so much better in the pan. You don't need to eat the skin if it doesn't tickle your fancy, but it seriously helps with the frying (and particularly the flipping) process.

This was a simple salad with Asian notes, but I kept it gentle - something as soft in flavour as butterfish doesn't want to be overpowered.

If you can't find butterfish, or just want something tried and true and easy to cook, you could use any firm fleshed white fish.

Butterfish with Cucumber, Avocado and Ginger Salad (serves two)

1t mirin
1t rice wine vinegar
1/2t sesame oil
1t ginger, crushed or grated finely using a microplane grater
1/2t lemon zest, grated finely
1/2 a large cucumber, deseeded and sliced finely
1 avocado, chopped into small chunks
1/2 clove garlic, crushed
1 spring onion, sliced
1T chopped coriander
1T toasted sesame seeds
Salt and pepper
Two nice fillets of butterfish (or other white fish) - I think mine were about 150g each

Heat the oven to 180C. Season the fish with salt and pepper. Cover and leave to bring it up to room temperature before cooking.

Start by making your salad; combine the mirin, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, lemon zest, spring onion, and coriander in a bowl. Add the cucumber and avocado, and toss to combine. Don't add the sesame seeds yet, or they'll go soggy while the fish cooks.

Heat a pan to a medium hot heat with a good splash of oil. Pop the fish in skin side down, and leave it alone until it's nice and golden all over. Don't mess with it too much or it'll start to fall apart.

Meanwhile, plate up the salad, and sprinkle over the sesame seeds, reserving a pinch or two for garnish.

When the skin of the fish is crisped up nicely around the edges (about 3 minutes or so), gently slip a spatula under, and flip in a single fluid (but not too aggressive) motion.

Pop in the oven for about 4 minutes, or until the fish is just turning opaque. The length of time will depend on the size of your fish fillet, so keep an eye on it. Remember, it'll continue to cook when it's off the heat, so bring it out when it's ever so slightly underdone.

When the fish is cooked, bring the pan out of the oven (careful not to burn your hands like I always manage to). Gently lay the fish over salad, and top with sesame seeds and a drizzle of sesame oil.

Asparagus, Cream Cheese and Lemon Pizza

2011-10-30T21:32:00.002+13:00

Pizza is a bit of a forte of mine. What I love about it is that you can pretty much throw anything you want onto it. When there's nothing in the fridge you can knock up a simple pizza margarita with just tomato, herbs, and cheese.

This was an off the cuff invention, trying to make the most of asparagus before it goes out of season again.

I combined whole and sliced asparagus with cream cheese, bacon and lemon. It's a fresh, tomato-less pizza, with lemony creamy goodness, and a little salt from the bacon. The bacon was probably unnecessary. But tasty nonetheless. So if you're vege (or just trying to avoid the inevitable weight-gain which a bacon filled diet creates), feel free to omit it.

I always make my own bases, because I truely believe there's no better alternative. Try my recipe for a pretty authentic italian pizza base here. Just make sure you roll it out nice and thin. That's the key. It should be no more than 5mm thick when rolled out. I often first roll it, then pick it up and gently hand stretch it a little, just to get it nice and thin.

Apologies for the half eaten pizza in the photos. I actually wasn't planning on photographing this until after we'd honed into it and realised how good it was.

Asparagus, Lemon and Cream Cheese Pizza

Asparagus Topping (for ONE pizza - so double or triple the quantities as required)

10 spears of asparagus

One rasher of bacon, chopped into small pieces

Zest of half a lemon

1T fresh thyme, roughly chopped

100g cream cheese

Parmesan for the top, to taste
Salt and pepper
Oil

Prep 8 of the asparagus spears at the base to end up with the top 2/3rds or so. It should break where it's naturally tender. Set aside the whole 8 tops. Finely slice anything you can salvage from the snapped off asparagus pieces (throwing away the woody bottom piece - about 2cm for me) and also the remaining two spears.

Place the whole spears around the pizza, and scatter over the sliced asparagus. Sprinkle over the bacon, lemon, and thyme.

With a teaspoon, drop little chunks of cream cheese around the pizza. Top with as much parmesan you like (I think I used about a 1/4c of grated parmesan).

Always remember to season the pizza with salt and pepper and drizzle a little olive oil over the pizza before popping it into a 220 C oven for about 15 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the base is golden brown.

Pan Grilled Asparagus with Halloumi and Poached Egg

2011-10-25T22:15:00.001+13:00

A 12 hour day at the office was not what I needed after the weekend that was. I'm going away for the wedding on Thursday, and with Monday being a stat holiday, this will be a two day week. Usually that would be an awesome thing, but this week nastily coincides with the end of the month. And not just any month, but it's a GST month. Ok, ok, enough of the boring accounting stuff. Lets just say that for us accountants this is a busy time.

What makes me feel better when I drag myself home at 8pm at times like these? Thinking about tasty food of times past. And so continues the blog catch up.

This was a simple meal I made one night when Matt was at free-diving training (or as I like to call it, holding your breath practice). Super simple, uber tasty, and awesomely decadent. But it's got asparagus in it, so it's healthy, right?

Never mind the two types of cheese. Yes, I needed two.

This was inspired by an entree we used to make at Trade, back when I worked there - asparagus with poached egg and prosciutto. This is not the fresh and simple entree which inspired it. I wanted decadence and comfort food for one. This meant just one thing... halloumi.

The salty goodness of halloumi works so well with asparagus. And similarly to the old favourite of boiled egg with asparagus soldiers, the egg yolk bursts to be a deliciously molten sauce. Then I covered it all with a balsamic dressing. And parmesan. Because you ALWAYS need parmesan.

Always.

Pan Grilled Asparagus with Halloumi and Poached Egg (servings are per person)

Half a bunch of asparagus, the thinner the spears the better
Halloumi (honestly, I couldn't tell you how many grams to use, but I had two pieces about 3-4cm long, 2cm wide, and 1/2 cm thick)
One egg
Balsamic drizzle (if you want my recipe, let me know - I'm happy to share!)
Shaved parmesan to finish

Start, as always when poaching eggs, by bringing a big pot of water to the boil.

Prep the asparagus by gently snapping the bottom ends of the asparagus off. Just bend the bottom third or so. They will snap at the place where they are naturally woody and tough. That's all you need to do for them.

Heat a splash of oil in a pan until it's hot, but not smoking. Add the asparagus, and toss around in the hot oil for a minute or so. Then add your halloumi to a corner of the pan. Fry the halloumi, turning once, until it's golden on both sides. Turn the asparagus from time to time, so it doesn't burn too much.

Meanwhile, make your parmesan shavings by taking a potato peeler to the sides.

When the halloumi and asparagus are almost done, turn off the heat on the pot of boiling water, slide your egg into the water, cover, and set your timer for two minutes. When there's one minute to go, pop your asparagus and halloumi on a plate.

Check the egg, and when it's done (2 - 2 1/2 minutes), gently place on top of the asparagus stack.

Top with shaved parmesan, freshly cracked pepper, and balsamic drizzle.

Cream of Paua Soup

2011-10-24T21:58:00.001+13:00

Argh! My life has been so crazy busy at the moment.

Between study, work, and helping to organise a hens night, there's not been much time for blogging.

But don't worry, I've still been cooking, and taking pictures, and there is a big backlog of posts to come over the next week or two.

Here's just one to tempt your taste buds... cream of paua soup.

This is from Al Brown's book Go Fish (which I can't recommend enough, by the way). Matt saw this recipe, and was sold. I on the other hand was a little dubious. I mean, texturally, Paua is a bit touch and go for me. But if it's done well, and the flavours delicately balanced, it's something else.

We've tried Al Brown's paua fritters before, which are AMAZING - a far cry from the paua fritters at the fish and chips shop. So my faith was in Al's abilities when Matt announced his need (yes, need) to make this soup.

So this one's Matt's work. And it was really, really good. While I was dubious about a cream of paua soup to begin with, this turned out surprisingly amazing.

The base of this recipe has all the makings of a really good stock. There's not a lot more to it flavour-wise. Throw in a little chilli for kick, a touch of lemon to balance that paua flavour, and some tarragon. That's pretty much it.

This is a ridiculously good soup, and perfectly balanced, so it's not over-poweringly strong. But man is it filling. I served a ladle and a half per person, and between that and the garlic bread we were all pretty full by the end. This would be perfect as a small entrée.

Cream of Paua Soup (serves 4 as a meal, or 6 - 8 as a starter)

50g butter
2c roughly chopped onion
1/4c roughly chopped celery
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
zest of 1 lemon
pinch of dried chilli flakes
1 1/2T chopped fresh tarragon
5 paua (800g), beaten and roughly chopped
1 1/2 litres chicken or fish stock
1c cream
Squeeze of lemon juice
Salt and pepper

Start by sauteeing the onion, celery, garlic, lemon zest, chilli, and tarragon on a low heat, making sure you don't brown them too much (otherwise your soup might end up a particularly distinctive colour of 'baby poo green'). Let them cook for about half an hour, to really bring out all the flavours.

Add the paua and stock, bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer for at least 1 hour, topping up the stock with some water if it reduces too much.

The paua will never end up that fall apart soft which you can miraculously get from slow stewing tough cuts of meat. So when it's cooked for as long as you can leave it (1 1/2 - 2 hours preferably), pull it off the heat, add the cream, and blend using a food processor or blender. Blend. Then blend again. If you're like me and are put off by the paua texture, you want to make sure the paua is as puree'd as possible.

Finally, taste the soup, adjust the salt, pepper and lemon to suit your tastes.

I served this with a herby garlic bread to mop it up and make a meal of it.

The Most Amazing Hot Smoked Salmon and Fennel Salad

2011-10-11T19:36:00.000+13:00

This is the PERFECT summer lunch salad. There. I said it. And I'm not taking it back.

This was my first attempt at hot smoking

salmon. And man was it good. AND I got to use our beautiful new bbq (isn't it pretty?!)

Matt (who has been a [fish] smoker for years) wasn't home, so I turned to my number 2 man - Jamie Oliver. That man never let me down before, and he sure as hell didn't let me down tonight. Matt came home, and swiftly took over the whole thing. Well, he tried until I told him in no uncertain terms that this was MY meal, and he was to do exactly as I told him.

Naww, look at him pretending he's doing all the work.

The whole smoking saga was actually very simple, and amazingly quick. From start to finish, you could have the salad done in less than 30 minutes (and eaten in 3 if you're as excited about this salad as I was).

I added 3 handfuls of manuka chips, a sprig of rosemary and a couple of sprigs of sage to a fish smoker (see Jamie's instructions here for how to make yourself one). The salmon fillet goes on a rack inside the smoker, and put the whole thing directly on the gas burners. Like, take the grill plates out and sit the smoker right on the burners. This will create the heat you need to get the wood chips smoking nicely.

Turn on two burners on low heat, and leave for 9 minutes to smoke up goood. Then turn off the heat and leave for 3 more minutes. This will allow the last of the smoke to penetrate the fish.

Try not to eat the fish yet. Well, you could. But you could also make this salad. Either way you'll be pretty happy.

I combined the fish with a pretty simple fennel and baby spinach salad. Rocket would be better, but I didn't have any in the fridge after Sunday's crayfish, not that I'm complaining about the crayfish! Man, I could eat this salad all day.

Manuka Hot Smoked Salmon and Fennel Salad (serves 2)

250g hot smoked salmon, flaked

I fennel bulb, sliced as thin as possible

2 handfuls of baby spinach (or rocket)

1/2t dijon mustard

1 pinch brown sugar

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

50ml oil

pinch of salt

Ok, so once you've smoked your salmon using the instructions above, it's not exactly rocket science.

First make the dressing by whisking the mustard, brown sugar, lemon juice, oil and salt together. Then simply toss the fennel and spinach and salmon together with the dressing.

Dish out onto two pristine plates, pour two glasses of wine, and enjoy!

Crayfish with Burre Blanc Sauce

2011-10-09T20:21:00.000+13:00

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Thank god Matt loves to fish and dive.

The past few years Matt hasn't been able to find any crayfish in Wellington. With all the cray pots off the coast, they never make it up to a depth which he can get (especially being a free diver, not scuba).

But today Matt and a few of his boys headed around to the Makara coast, and it proved worth the effort. I can say that, because there was little or no effort from me. I only had to deal with him waking me up far too early on a Sunday morning while he got ready to head out.

I've never had crayfish with burre blanc before. Everyone raves about serving crayfish with a simple garlic butter, and I totally agree that it's awesome. But thinking about it, burre blanc is gentle, rich, and flavoursome in all the same ways, and something a little different. I didn't drown it in the sauce - you just want a couple of tablespoons each to dress the cray.

Crayfish with Burre Blanc (for two awesome people)

1 awesomely tasty crayfish (preferably caught by a handsome boyfriend that morning)
35g butter
1/4 c cream
Splash of white wine
Juice of half a lemon
A few sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf
25g butter
1 clove garlic,smashed
Salt and pepper to taste
Asparagus and simple salad to serve

Get a massive pot of water boiling and heat up the bbq to a medium heat. You'll want one big enough to completely cover the crayfish with water.

If your cray is still alive, kill it humanely please.

Then pop the crayfish in the water, and boil for about 5 minutes (this will depend on the size of the crayfish, but you still want it to be a little raw in the middle).

Cut the crayfish down the middle with a sharp knife, and clean out the icky bits.

Melt the 35g butter in a pan, add the cream, white wine, and lemon, and bring to a simmer. Add the thyme and bay leaf, and let simmer for a few minutes to reduce.

Meanwhile, duck outside to the bbq, melt the 35g butter on the hotplate, add the garlic, and give a few seconds until it smells of garlicky goodness. Place the cray on the hot plate (and the asparagus too if you're serving it), turn the heat down to low, and let it sear off for a few minutes.

Run back inside and check your burre blanc. Pull off the heat.

Run back outside, bring the cray and off the heat and pop into bowls. Turn the asparagus. and let it brown on the other side. Pop on the plate with the crayfish.

Top up with a simple salad, and drizzle a couple of tablespoons of burre blanc over each crayfish half to finish.

Lemon and Caper Quesidillas with an Egg (and a little Parmesan for good measure)

2011-10-09T12:22:00.000+13:00

So we had a MASSIVE night out this weekend. This time I'm not lying.

Some friends of ours are getting married and taking off to be ski bums in Japan in a few weeks (so jealous), and so on Friday night they had a flat cooling punch party.

Punch. Need I say more?

Actually, potluck punch. Uh oh.

But what a fantastic night. I haven't been to a flat party like that in so long. No need for battling the crowds on Courtenay Place during a rugby world cup weekend when you have awesome friends and a bucket full of punch.

One by one people left and went into town. Matt and I didn't notice though, until it was 3.30am and we were those last two people at the party, when the host is making cheese toasties and putting people to bed. We were completely, utterly, unapologetically those people. The ones who just won't leave.

Somehow our friends love us anyway.

Anyway, that was our weekend. Onto these Quesidillas.

Super easy and thrown together with the odd bits in the back of the fridge, these quesidillas are fantastic. They're pretty basic, simple flavours. You've got the salty capers, freshness of lemon and Italian parsley, a little greek yogurt for background creaminess, and a sprinkling of parmesan to bump up the tasty factor (in case it needed it). And when you cut into them the fried egg bursts to be a delicious sauce.

Try these. Trust me.

Lemon and Caper Quesidillas (quantities are per person)

1T capers
A small knob of butter
Zest of 1 lemon
1 small clove garlic, crushed (just one of those piddly little ones from the middle of the bulb)
2T greek yogurt
1 egg
1 flour tortilla
Grated parmesan (i probably used about 1-2T in the end)
1T flat leaf parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Start by melting the butter in a large pan. Add the capers and fry they get all golden, open up like a little flower, and smell awesome.

Meanwhile, mix your lemon zest, garlic and yogurt.

Check your capers. If they're ready pull them out with a slotted spoon and let them drain on a paper towel. Leave the butter in the pan.

Add your egg to the pan. Try and fry it on the side of the pan, not the middle. You'll see why in a minute.

When the egg's fried for a minute or two and looks like it'll hold its form, place the flour tortilla on top and let it gently brown for about 30 seconds. Get your spatula under the egg, and carefully flip the whole thing.

Top your egg and tortilla with the yogurt mix, parsley, and parmesan. Season with salt and pepper.

When the tortilla is golden underneath, fold it in half, over the egg. See why we kept it on the side?

Pull out onto a plate, chop in half, top with a little extra parsley and the capers.

Try not to lick the plate when you're finished.

Sunday Brunch - Crumpet French Toast with Banana and Bacon (mmmm... baaaccccoonnn)

2011-10-02T20:26:00.001+13:00

So we had a MASSIVE Saturday night out.

Ok, I never was good a lying. Matt and I went to bed at 9.30. What Nanas! But, in our defence it was a pretty big day.

Firstly, Matt got up ridiculously early to go for a dive, and came home with a beautiful fresh butterfish. I don't think I'm one for the fishing game myself, but I'm pretty appreciative of having a partner who is. Just hanging out for summer and lots of fresh fish!

Secondly, we went for a wander to Mitre 10 Mega, who were having an open day, and were talked into buying an ridiculously expensive BBQ. Don't get me wrong, I think you can do wonders with a good BBQ, and I love my food enough to pay for it. But at some point it's just unnecessary. Still, we got a good deal (we got to spin a wheel! Everyone loves spinning a wheel for prizes!) and Matt won a 15% discount on BBQs. I won a lollipop. I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty stoked with my prize.

So we walked out of the place with a BBQ, gas bottle, matching Masport aprons, matching Masport beer coolers, a cooler bag, BBQ tongs, and that kitty-litter type stuff you put in the bottom of the BBQ to catch the fat. And all we paid for was the BBQ. And got a discount on it. And got triple flybuys too (here comes that Cuisine subscription I've been saving for!).

Couldn't have asked for a better afternoon to put it together either. So after an hour or so, a few harsh words discussions, and a celebratory beer later, we have a new BBQ!

Aaaanyway, to the point of this post, Sunday brunch was more in aid of gluttony than a hangover. But with the Canada vs All Blacks game this afternoon, Canadian maple syrup was a good excuse.

I'd seen the idea of using crumpets for bruch in a Jamie magazine. And it's by far the best way of making french toast I've come across. It makes a deliciously spongy but soft but fall apart-y breakfast. I served it with bacon and banana - an old classic. But in summer, berries and yogurt would be beautifully fresh. I'll definately have to make this again.

Crumpet French Toast with Banana and Bacon (serves 2)

3 crumpets (one for me, 2 for the boy)
2 eggs
1/4c milk
1/4t cinnamon
Knob of butter, for frying
4 rashers bacon
1 banana
REAL maple syrup (the real stuff is absolutely, without a doubt, necessary)

Preheat your grill to a high heat. Layer the bacon onto a grill rack, and pop under the grill to start crisping.

Get a pan onto a medium heat, and melt the butter. Meanwhile, halve the crumpets, and whisk the eggs, milk, and cinnamon together. Soak both sides of the crumpets in the egg mixture. Pop in the hot pan, and fry on both sides until golden.

Check your bacon. As soon as it looks almost done, turn off the grill and close the door.

Chop up the banana into slices.

Layer the crumpets, bacon and banana. Drizzle with maple syrup, and eat

Garlic, Rosemary and Feta Bread

2011-10-02T19:54:00.000+13:00

Even if I was gluten intolerant, I don't think I could give up bread.

I've been baking my own bread since I was 15 (and believe me, those first few loaves were NOT successful, and a particularly dangerous feat for my digestive system). With the cost of food rising, early last year I started making all my own bread, and almost never buy bread now. I just couldn't accept buying a loaf of plain white bread for $4 when it's so cheap and so easy to make yourself.

Baking all my own bread, I enlist the help of a breadmaker. Generally I only use it for kneading and the first rise, then pull it out, shape it, and leave it for the second rise before baking. I don't like the shape of a breadmaker loaf all that much. But it's pretty convenient when you realise you've got no bread for breakfast, to set off the breadmaker at 10pm and have it hot and ready when you get up in the morning.

This loaf was an invention of mine when I was 16 or so. I haven't really adjusted the recipe much since then. It makes a light, fluffy, delicately scented loaf which is freaking fantastic straight out of the oven with butter, and perfect with chicken sandwiches. I add the feta straight at the start, which fully incorporates it. It creates a silky smooth, almost creamy loaf. Mmmm....

Garlic, Rosemary and Feta Bread

1c lukewarm water

1T honey

1T active yeast powder

1T chopped rosemary

1 garlic clove, crushed

3x3cm chunk of feta

3c high grade white flour

1t salt

1 egg white mixed with 1 T water

To make by breadmaker:

1. Stir the honey into the warm water until dissolved. Sprinkle over the yeast and give it a quick stir through, then leave for 15 mins until it goes all frothy.

2. Meanwhile, chop your rosemary and garlic.

3. Pour the yeast mixture into the breadmaker and add the the rosemary and garlic. Layer the flour and salt on top, then crumble over the feta.

4. Set you dough to the dough setting, and let it do the work!

5. Continue at step 6 of the "by hand" recipe below.

To make by hand:

1. Stir the honey into the warm water until dissolved. Sprinkle over the yeast and give it a quick stir through, then leave for 15 mins until it goes all frothy.

2. Meanwhile, chop your rosemary and garlic.

3. Once 15 mins has passed, add your rosemary and garlic to the yeast mixture. Add the salt and 1 1/2 c of the flour, and beat until it starts to stick to the wooden spoon and pull away from the sides. Crumble over the feta, and add another 1c of flour. Bring together with your hands in the bowl until you get the beginnings of a dough. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2c flour over your bench, tip the dough onto the floured bench, and knead for at LEAST 10 minutes. I can't stress how important the kneading is to bread. You can't get away with cutting corners here, or you'll end up with that digestively disturbing stuff I talked about earlier.

4. After 10 minutes you should have a silky smooth elasticy dough which springs back when lightly touched. It shouldn't stick to your hands (by this I mean, it will stick a little, but won't pull away and break onto your hands). If it's too sticky, keep kneading, incorporating a little more flour. Don't be tempted to add much more though. The less flour you add, the lighter, fluffier, and softer your bread will be. Sick of kneading yet? That's why I bought a bread machine. I couldn't do that everyday!

5. Once your dough is ready, put it back into a clean bowl and set aside to rise for 1 1/2hrs. Some glad wrap over the top will help keep the warmth in. Pop it in the sun or in a warm place to rise. If it's really cold in your kitchen, in the oven with a pan of just boiled water underneath works nicely. Just top it up about half way through the rising period.

6. When the dough has risen, punch it down, turn out onto a workbench, and gently shape into a loaf. Put onto a baking tray and leave to rise for another hour. Heat your oven to 175 C.

7. Just before putting the loaf in the oven, slash the top of the loaf with a very sharp knife, angling down the loaf at a 45 degree angle. Brush with the egg white and water mix, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a little more rosemary.

8. Bake for 30 minutes or so, until it is nice and brown, and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

9. Let it cool for at least 10 mins before cutting it open. I know it's hard to wait, but the bread inside will go all gluey if you cut it too early. Smother with butter or margarine.

Try not to eat too much at once!

Seared Salmon with Star Anise, served on Nashi, Mint, and Coriander Salad

2011-09-26T17:57:00.000+13:00

Summer is a-coming. And so is the beach and a flat stomach (hopefully). So begins the health kick. Though, in true Mags style it's bound to be balanced. I never could do a completely restrictive guilt free diet.

Salmon. My old friend. I love salmon, though it's not often I actually get around to eating it. Could have something to do with the weird throat closing in feeling I get when I eat it. I think it's something to do with the oils. Still, I love it so much I choose to ignore all signs of allergic reactions and soldier on. Anyway, if it was something to worry about I'd know about it by now... right?

Here the richness of the salmon is tastily paired with a fresh-but-not-too-sweet nashi salad, with crunch in crispy noodles, and mint and coriander to liven it all up.

Seared Salmon with Nashi, Mint, and Coriander Salad
(serves 2)

1t peppercorns, crushed
1 star anise, crushed
1T soy sauce
1T honey
300g fillet of skin on Salmon, halved lengthwise
1 nashi pear, quartered and sliced thinly
1/2 avocado, in bite sized chunks
1/2 a big red chilli, seeds removed if you can't handle the heat, sliced thinly
1/4 red onion, sliced thinly
1 spring onion, sliced thinly
2T roughly chopped mint leaves
2T roughly chopped coriander leaves
1 small handful of those crispy noodle thingys which you put in salads (I don't know what they're called!)
1T soy sauce
1T mirin
1t brown sugar
1t sesame oil

Turn your oven up to 180C. Meanwhile, chop up all your ingredients.

Combine the peppercorns, star anise, 1T soy sauce, and honey in a small pan and bring briefly to the boil. Add enough water to make a glaze.

Get a pan on the heat with a splash of oil, and bring up to a high heat. Pop your salmon in, skin side down, and let it go for about a minute to get nice and crispy. Brush liberally with the glaze. Pop in the hot oven and set the timer for 5 mins.

Meanwhile, toss your nashi, avocado, chilli, red onion, spring onion, mint and coriander together. In a small bowl combine the other 1T soy sauce, mirin, brown sugar and sesame oil. Pop in the microwave for a minute and stir to melt the sugar. Drizzle over the salad and toss together.

Check the salmon to check whether it's cooked - you're looking for an opaque light pink outside, and slightly rare on the inside. Sneak a peak by using a fork to check between the flakes.

Once your salmon is just cooked, pull it out of the oven and let it rest while you toss the salad noodley thinys into the salad and dish it out onto your plates. Top with the salmon and a touch more coriander (if you're a herb fiend like me!). Yum

Sunday Brunch - Potato Rosti Stack with Avocado, Bacon, and a Poached Egg

2011-09-25T15:00:00.000+13:00

Rugby mania as well and truely hit Wellington. With the All Blacks' first real game sealing a win against France (especially important, seeing as they've been responsible for a number of our world cup failures), it turned into an awesome night out.

We had a quick dinner at home, during which Matt managed to drink almost all of the bottle of wine we were supposed to share, then headed down to the fan zone to meet a few friends. Matt sang the A-Team theme song the whole way down which was due to a combination of the amount of wine consumed and the fact that the programme briefly came on as we were leaving the house. Seriously, I wish I thought to record him when he's been drinking. He always warned me about "Vodka Matt". Little did I realise there is also Beer Matt, White Wine Matt, and worst of all, Red Wine Matt.

The walk home was even more entertaining, due to the appearance of "Whisky Matt", who decided that hedge diving was in order. Turns out Whisky Matt doesn't learn that hedges aren't very soft.

He rolled over this morning and complained about a hangover. Not the least bit surprised, I pulled the bacon I'd had the foresight yesterday to pick up at the supermarket out of the fridge, and whipped up a little something.

A word on brunches - timing is everything. Try and get as much finished as possible before you start your eggs. They only take a couple of minutes. For this reason, I get a pot of water boiling early on and let it simmer away until I've finished making everything else. Only after everything else is done and in the oven to keep warm do I start my eggs.

Once my eggs are in, I set my timer in two lots - one minute, and then 1 and a half minutes. This way I have a better idea of how long until my eggs are done. The first minute I do a quick clean up and get my plates out. The next minute and a half is for plating up so that my freshly poached egg can go on top as soon as it's ready.

It takes a few tries to get the timing right, and there are times when everything fails abysmally. But even if your eggs are overdone, when you've got bacon and avocado on the plate, everything tastes freaking amazing anyway!

Potato Rosti Stack with Avocado, Bacon and a Poached Egg
1 large potato
1 egg yolk
1T butter, melted
Half a ripe avocado
6 rashers of free range streaky bacon
2 eggs (for poaching)

Start by finely grating the potato sprinkling a little salt over it, and setting to drain in a cheesecloth or clean tea towel. Meanwhile, get a pot of water boiling for your eggs, lay your bacon out on a grill tray, and cut the avocado into slices.

When the potato has sat for about 10 mins, squeeze all the liquid you can out of the buggers. You need to make sure they are as dry as possible, otherwise you'll end up with soggy rosti. And nobody likes soggy rosti.

Once the potato is as dry as possible, pop it in a bowl with the egg yolk, melted butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Form into little patties about 5mm thick (we managed two patties each), and fry on a medium heat with a little oil until golden. Flip and fry the other side. You need to let them fry reasonably slowly to ensure the potato is cooked on the inside. As soon as they are done, pull them off the heat and pop in the oven to keep warm.

While the potato rosti are frying, get your bacon under the grill. As soon as the bacon looks mostly done, turn off the grill. I aim to have the rosti and bacon done at the same time.

As soon as the rosti and bacon are done, turn off the boiling pot of water for the eggs, and slide the eggs into the water to poach. Set your oven timer to 1 minute. Get your plates out, and prep for plating up.

When the timer buzzes (which is always sooner than you think!), set it for 1 and a half more minutes, pull out your rosti and bacon and arrange on the plate. Top with the avocado.

When the timer buzzes for the second time, your eggs should be ready. Gently top your stack with the poached eggs, a crack of pepper and a pinch of salt, and voila!

Japanese Style Summer Chicken Salad

2011-09-25T14:04:00.001+13:00

I'm not sure how traditional this recipe is, but this summery chicken salad with a Japanese style dressing has been tempting me for a while now. It's a sneak peek recipe from Debra Samuel's new book My Japanese Table, which I stumbled across somewhere buried on the Internet. I'm dying to try some more recipes from this book, and may have to pick up a copy pretty soon. It promises a western beginners' look into home style Japanese cuisine. And with supermarket tomatoes starting to resemble their edible summer counterparts (rather than the watery versions which have plagued me all winter), it was high time to try this recipe out.

The salad takes chicken breasts which have been cooked in a simple stock, served simply with cucumber and tomatoes, topped with a reasonably generic Asian dressing. Authentic or not, it's a beautifully tasty summer salad, with just enough dressing to make it interesting, but not drown out the simple flavours of chicken, tomato, and cucumber.

I've reduced the recipe here to serve 2 for lunch or a light dinner. Also, Debra suggests heating the sesame oil and drizzling it over the salad before dressing it. However, as I reduced the recipe from 6 serves to just two, it proved a little difficult to do this - there just wasn't enough sesame oil. So I just added it to the dressing instead.

Debra Samuel's Sesame Chicken Salad
1 1/2c water
1 good slice of ginger (about a half cm thick)
1/4 medium onion, sliced (I sliced the whole thing and packed the rest up for another night's dinner)
1 chicken breast
1/3 telegraph cucumber, seeds removed and diced
1 large vine ripened tomato, diced (you want something sweet and tasty)
2 spring onions, finely sliced
Salt and Pepper to taste

Vinaigrette
1T light soy sauce
1T sesame oil
1t lemon juice (or a small squeeze)
1t rice vinegar
1/4t sugar
A good crack of pepper

Get your water on the boil in a small pan which will just fit the chicken breast. Add the ginger and onion, and let it boil for a couple of minutes. Then add the chicken breast. Bring back to the boil (ensuring there is enough water to just cover the chicken breast, reduce to a simmer, and let it cook for about 15 mins.

While the chicken is cooking, prepare your cucumber, tomato, and spring onions, and pop them in a bowl for tossing once everything is ready.

Once the chicken has cooked for 15 mins, turn off the heat and let the chicken sit in the hot liquid for 10 mins. Then lift it out of the water, let cool briefly, and pull into small chunks with a couple of forks.

Add the chicken to the tomato and cucumber, and toss through.

Combine all the vinegarette ingredients, and pop into the microwave for a minute. Stir it through to make sure the sugar has dissolved. Then spoon over your salad, toss through once more and serve!

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Lavender Shortbread

2011-09-22T16:46:00.000+12:00

Finally some sunshine! It may not be much warmer, but the little sunshine we've been getting over the past couple of days is getting me excited for summer! While it may not be summer just yet, I'm already craving summer food. And with veges getting cheaper every week, it won't be long until I can gorge myself on roasted cherry tomatoes and avocado.

This spring weather makes me think flowers, garden, and tea. Why not combine all three?

I stole a couple of sprigs of lavender from my neighbour's hedge (don't tell them!) and knocked up these cookies in an hour, just in time to catch the last of the afternoon sun with a cup of tea on our balcony.

I know what you're thinking. Don't worry about the lavender. These cookies balance the softness of a classic butter cookie with slightly floral, herbaceous notes.

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Lavender Shortbread

225g butter, softened
1/4c cornflour
1/2c icing sugar
1 1/2c all purpose flour
2T lavender flowers, chopped finely

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, cornflour and icing sugar until smooth. Add the flour half a cup at a time, and finally the lavender flowers. Stir to combine.

Roll the dough into walnut sized balls, and flatten slightly with a fork.

Bake for 12-15mins in a 190 C oven, being careful the edges don't brown too much.

Cool on wire racks while you brew a cup of tea.

Eat!

Beef Ragu with Pappardelle

2011-09-20T20:39:00.000+12:00

This early spring weather is so erratic. With the hail, rain, wind, and (occasional) sun, it's getting pretty hard to keep up. The herb garden Matt and I planted this weekend doesn't know what's going on! (The tomato plants are suffering a little. Might have been a bit optimistic to try and get the tomatoes going in September)

This morning started with a downpour. One of those days you wish you didn't need to leave the house. I felt like one more slow stew to see winter out. With a rare afternoon off, it was a perfect day to spend an afternoon in the kitchen, stewing and pasta making.

I made a reasonably traditional Italian beef ragu with carrots, onion, no celery, (what was left in the fridge looked pretty dodgy), red wine, anchovies and chilli, and knocked up some fresh pasta to go with.

It's our shop day tomorrow, so I didn't have any mushrooms. But believe me, they would be fantastic in this! Also, if you're like me and not into anchovies, please don't leave them out. I promise, you won't taste them, but they make the ragu so deliciously rich, and add a depth of flavour.

Beef Ragu with Pappardelle
1kg gravy beef (or other stewing meat - lamb shanks or shoulder would do nicely)
1 carrot, finely shopped
2 onions (an extra onion to make up for the lack of celery), finely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, finely crushed
1 T flour
4 T tomato paste
4 anchovy fillets, chopped roughly
1 can of tomatoes (I just threw in a can of whole italian plum tomatoes. They break down in the stewing process)
2c red wine (the last of my dirty box of wine, which is reserved solely for cooking)
2c water
2 sprigs of fresh thyme (or 1T dried)
2 bay leaves
1T dried oregano
A couple of good pinches of chili flakes (I used a full teaspoon in total)
Salt and pepper to taste

Start by searing off the beef in small batches in a casserole dish in a little olive oil. it's important to do this in batches, and not to overcrowd the pot. You want to get them nicely caramelised, and if there's too many pieces in the pan you'll just end up steaming them. Top up the oil when needed, but you don't need to use much.Once each piece of beef is done pop it on a plate until the rest are done.

Once the beef is done, sautee the onions, carrot and garlic over a medium-high heat until they are soft. Add the flour and tomato paste, and cook out for at least a couple of minutes. Then add the canned tomatoes, anchovies, wine, water, thyme, oregano, bay leaves, chili. Don't add any salt yet. I do this at the end once the ragu has reduced. Cover, and stew over a low heat for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Uncover, and stew for a further hour, checking to make sure it's not reducing too fast. When it looks good, pop the lid back on and turn off the heat.

In the last half hour of stewing, bring a pot of salted water to the boil, and cook your pasta to the directions on the packet.

Check the ragu for seasoning, dish out your pasta and ragu, top with parsley and Parmesan (we didn't have any in the fridge - shopping day tomorrow! It was just as good without though).