A birthday request that turned into success: Prawn and Haloumi Salad

A Birthday Miracle!

 

It was my flatmates birthday. And I LOVE birthdays. Why? To me, of course, a birthday is a time to eat the most delicious things. But, as it is your birthday, and no one else’s, you must be able to eat exactly what you want. Exactly what you want.

When I was younger my mother subscribed to this adage, and I would always ask for her famous Chicken Curry. It was warm, not hot, flavoursome and always came with the most exciting side dishes. Chutneys, coconut bananas, pappadums, yogurt and cucumber and tomato with onion. It was a feast for the mouth, flavour, freshness and deliciousness. And the fact that no matter how much everyone else whinged ‘But we have that every year!’ it was my choice, and my Birthday.

With this in mind I asked my flatmate for her birthday dinner to name her 3 favourite things and I would make something for her.

Prawns, Haloumi and Chocolate, was the text I got in reply.

So this is how we come to a delicious prawn and haloumi salad!

I felt I was due poetic licence by NOT mixing the third favourite, chocolate, in the salad and simply doing the thing that must be done one ones birthday, and big fat chocolate cake with your name on it.

This salad was divine; light, great textures and deliciously garlicky and salty from the prawns and haloumi. Keep in mind, the couscous is not a side, or main filler in the salad, it is to create texture and interest in the salad. This salad served 3 of us, probably eating a little piggishly, but none the less.

If you need to feed more people bulk up the couscous, and use the ½ cup couscous to ½ cup liquid as a guide. I used stock to add more flavour- of course you can use water, but to me any chance to add more flavour is essential to me.

I decided to cook the prawns in garlic and oil, with a little splash of white wine for delicious fruityness. I have also done the prawns before with rosé.. just amazing! The sweet fruity flavour of rosé makes the most amazing prawns. Try it. You just need a little splash in the hot pan, let it bubble and the flavour is there.

And the cake? Well, let’s just say I have NO problem with Betty Crocker icing, and nor does my flatmate.. So there is no recipe here, just a final note to say- Chocolate cake? YUM.

The Beautiful Salad

Sammy’s Prawn and Haloumi Salad

350 g fresh prawns, peeled and de tailed

2 large coves of garlic, finely chopped

A splash of white wine

(I would normally also add chilli, but as the birthday girl isn’t a big fan i left it out! But if you like, add one finely chopped chilli)

1 bunch parsley, finely chopped

I bunch mint, finely chopped

2 tomatoes, diced

3 shallots, diced

I large cucumber chopped

60g haloumi, sliced to your liking

½ cup couscous

½ hot stock  I used chicken

Juice one lemon

Lemon wedges to serve

½ cup olive oil

To serve, crusty bread or bread rolls

Heat oil in a pan and add garlic, let bubble but not burn, you are infusing the oil! Add prawns and the splash of wine, let cook till prawns are pink. Take off heat, but keep oil, and keep prawns warm.

In a bowl put couscous and hot stock, cover and leave for 5 minutes.

Clean pan and heat for haloumi. The key here is after you have sliced the haloumi, pat dry with paper towel. This ensures your haloumi will be crispy and sexy on the outside, and gooey and dellish on the inside. Fry in batches so they are not crowded in the pan, until golden.

In your serving dish mix the herbs, tomato and cucumber. Fluff couscous with a fork and add to dish. Drizzle with a little oil and the lemon juice, and some of the garlicky prawn oil from cooking.

Add your prawns and haloumi in whatever way you like, and woila!

 

I call this, a success!

Mini Cook Book Review: An Ode to Women’s Weekly Modern Australian Food

I was trying to be good. I mean, I do have a lot of cookbooks, and I was so set on the notion of not buying any new ones for at least a few months..or weeks. But then this one came along.

I’m not sure if anyone is familiar with the idea, but we have in our office a company that brings us cookbooks, kid’s toys, and other really random items. They come every few weeks with new goods, leave one of each as a show piece for you to look and come back 2 weeks later to see if anyone wants to buy…

It’s horrific. The cookbooks sit there, week in week out, winking at me as if to say ‘Come on Jen, I’m a great deal. Just have a quick look.’ (Cos they are a great deal) and then inevitably I look, and look again… and then buy. It’s an addiction..

My most recent purchase from this sly company was the newly released Modern Australian Food made by the always amazing Women’s Weekly geniuses!

Modern Australian Food by the Australian Womens Weekly

 

Look, I may be a little bit of a cookbook hore, but this is a great one. It is divided into sections outlining the differences in our countries food and cultures from country, to city, to coast. Gorgeous scenic photos and themed recipes for all the vastly different seasons we have here.

I purchased this a few days ago and have already made two recipes- this and wontons! Good odds me thinks!

My first recipe to try was Chorizo with Chickpeas and White Wine. In the section for ‘City’ this is named as a Small Bite, in terms of tapas and share plates.

I am a sucker for chorizo, the cured spanish sausage, with all its paprika-ey amazingness.

I Heart Chorizo

As always with Women’s Weekly books all the recipes look like sure things- never an issue, never complicated and always a success.

I changed it a tiny bit, and added some extra veggies, as I needed some more vegetables after a weekend of Pizza… Don’t judge.

Below is my version of the recipe, but full credit goes to the cookbook and I thoroughly recommend purchasing this one as, like all their others, this is a classic I hope to keep and pass on to my daughters as my mum introduced Women’s Weekly to me!

Chorizo and Chickpeas with White Wine bubbling away!

Chorizo and Chickpeas in White Wine

1 tablespoon Olive oil

1 small onion (I used red as I had an overload) finely sliced

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 cured chorizo sausages (340g) chopped coarsely

1 medium red capsicum sliced finely

400g can of chickpeas rinsed and drained

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

¼ cup dry white wine

½ cup chicken stock

My addition:

¼ tspn of dried chili

1 small eggplant

To Serve

Lightly cooked Green Beans tossed in olives oil, lemon juice and Lemon Zest

Tortilla Wraps

Sour Cream

**The wraps and sour cream where because as DELICOUS as it was, I used a new brand of dried bird’s eye chilies.. Let’s just say we needed to chill it down a bit! But this was like an amazing Spanish burrito. Well done me!

I think I just invented a Spanish Burrito!

 

1. Heat oil in frying pan and fry chorizo until golden and crispy. Take out of pan.
2. Add a tiny bit more oil if needed, and fry onion and garlic until softened. Add chili. Add capsicum, eggplant, chickpeas and Paprika and cook until tender.
3. Add wine and stock and cook stirring until liquid is reduced by half.
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. In a frying pan add oil and toss beans over a high heat. Add lemon juice and lemon zest and cook until aldente.
6. Serve with warmed tortilla wraps,  sour cream and beans!

A healthy, spicy, flavourful dinner!

Yum!

Reminiscing on Christmas and A (little late) Christmas Canapé

So I know Christmas was a while ago, but I really wanted to share this canapé with you! Plus I am sad Christmas is over, and feel like reminiscing.. I didn’t blog much of my recipes over Christmas as I was well and truly on holidays not snapping much food and relaxing with my family.

It’s the most wonderful tiiiiimeee of the year!

Christmas is the time of year I love, cooking cooking and more cooking. And the best part for me is being with my family, cooking for those I love and those I choose to spend the season with.

But it is a busy time, and it can stretch well into January especially in Australia where it’s summer and the time to entertain!

It’s easy to feel rushed and stressed when it comes to having visitors. But I feel like the most important thing is to look after yourselves AND your guests by making things that use delicious ingredients but not hours of prep. Otherwise people can sense your stress, and no one wants to feel like them coming over was a burden on you.

Its a delicious easy one, that is perfect for summer or winter, big groups or small. It’s so delicious I made it 3 times over the Christmas period, and no doubt will make it again at the drop of a hat! Its still party season so I feel like you should definitely crack this one out! Add a jug of Pimms and you are set!

So delicious, and with a reindeer platter. Win!

 

The combination of horseradish, salmon, crème fraiche and dill is a fool proof one, but it can be changed to suit you or your guests tastes- I made these for my boyfriends family whose sister doesn’t like smoked salmon. I simply replaced the salmon with rare roast beef! Of course you can make the beef… I did NOT. I bought good quality thinly sliced roast beef from a deli and prepared it the exact same way. Now I think i will always do half/ half, its delicious.

I think cutting the bread is too cute, and I find a champagne glass is the best for it. You just want a little mouthful, and something that holds the toppings well. You can serve them warm in colder months, or as I do in summer just cool the toasts and they turn into little homemade Melba toast type chrisps. Plus I love tacky white bread for it, it holds its shape, chrisps up well and adds no overpowering flavour to the toppings. You can use whatever kind of bread you like, but this is my fave.

The recipe is SO flexible. It really depends on how many people you have, and it is so easy to make extra if your guests stay longer or are hungrier than you think!

YUMBO.

I wont be specific for this recipe as it depends on how many people, how strong you like your horseradish AND how big your champagne glass is! But to be helpful, I will say each slice of bread with my glass makes 3 rounds. I would allow 3 per person if having before a meal, perhaps 2 if you having a few different canapés as a cocktail party

My Fancy Smoked Salmon and Horsradish Canapes

1 champagne glass

1 loaf of plain white bread

1 tub crème fraiche

1 jar horseradish cream

300g smoked salmon (or roast beef)

Fresh Dill

Pre heat your oven to 180 or your grill to medium/high. Cut out the little toasts from the Bread and lay out on a baking tray. I don’t spray with oil, I prefer them when they are dry and crispy.

You will need to keep an eye on these! I have burnt a few.. 5-7 minutes or until they are as brown as you like and then flip over.

Meanwhile combine 3-4 tabllespoons of crème fraiche and 3 teaspoons of horseradish in a bowl. Taste- add more or less depending on your preference for horseradish! And create as much as you need!

Mincing Around: Beauty really is in the eye of the beholder, and the Meat Loaf to prove it.

Don’t be like that. Meat Loaf actually is delish! It just sadly is one of the most unattractive things I have ever cooked..

It’s whats inside that counts!

but guys.. DELICIOUS.

Now I love mince, for its protein filing qualities just as much as its thrifty budget helping ways, not to mention how versatile it can be. But here I was, running out of mincy things to do! My uncharted territory continues with this exciting old school beast of a meat loaf.

Now from all the recipes I looked at you can pretty much put anything in the thing! So I did!

I was very concerned that it would be a bland mincey thing that i remember from school camps and American Films from the 80’s and such. So that’s why I added few seemingly uncombinable combinations.

Meat Loaf Mix

I pre cooked the onions and garlic together with my fave paprika and anchovies just to make sure there was a strong flavour base.  Then I added my sauces. Many mentioned Worcestershire sauce and mustard so I went with both.

I dig a bit of freshness so that was my thinking behind the fresh shallots and lemon zest.  And the chilli sauce? Well my sister, the greatest sister in the universe, lives in Tanzania. As exciting as that is, the chilli sauce she brings me every Christmas is more exciting.  In fact it deserves a picture:

My idea of a good time

I can’t really eat many things without it.. As crass as that is.

The meat loaf is a beast of a thing, and perfect hot and cold so I was excited for not only a big dinner but days and days of lunches! This didn’t eventuate, however, as my boyfriend ate it for breakfast.

Also I made a simple tomato sauce from some good quality canned tomatoes that were flavoured with herbs and onions. After tasting, I was happy and added nothing else. This was lovely on the meat loaf, and I had some steamed veg as well. Dinner Sorted!

The Meat Loaf before cooking

It takes longer than I imagined, but make it on a Sunday and you’ve got some work lunhes sorted and a Sunday Roast that is suitable to be served with salad if you’re in this vulgar Sydney Summer, or hot veg and mash if you’re not!

Covered in Sauce and next to the vegies, he scrubs up ok!

Jen’s Eye-of-the-Beholder Meat Loaf!

800g pork mince

1 brown onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoon butter

1 tspn paprika

3 clloves garlic

2 anchovies

Zest of one lemon

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 egg

1 tablespoon seeded mustard

1 rasher bacon chopped

3 chopped shallots

Salt and Pepper

1 tablespoon chilli sauce optional!

Grated Cheese optional

“Tomato Sauce”

1 can diced tomatoes with onion and herbs

Grease a loaf tin, i used 11×21 x 6cm deep loaf pan. Heat oven to 180 degrees.

Gently sweat onions and garlic in the butter, add anchovies to melt. Add paprika and take off heat. Leave to cool.

In a bowl add mince, Worchester sauce, egg, mustard bacon and chilli sauce if using. Add cooled onions and chopped shallots and combine. Best to use clean hands so you can distribute all ingredients evenly.

Put into greased loaf tin and press down with your hands.  Grate cheese over the top. Bake for 1 hour, checking occasionally. Meat Loaf is ready when mince is cooked, juices run clear and top is browned. It will also pull away from the sides. I found ALOT of juices ran out so every 20 mins or so I poured out the juices to alow it brown and cook rather than steam!

Serve with the Tomato Sauce, vegies or a salad and I added a little extra Chilli Sauce! Goooo MINCE!

Now to put it into practice…!

Conquering The Cake Pop!

You may already know that one of my favourite things is cooking something that you always imagine to be hard or stressful or seemingly immmpossible.. and coming out the other side victorious! This was the case with my pork belly, fudge and my fennel experiment. And my newest edition to the list of “conquered”?

Cake Pops!!

 

So I know…they are totally the ‘It’ thing in baking at the moment and they are everywhere..

But forgive me… I was wooed by their cuteness and their novelty… and a great deal on a cake pop kit on the internet.. And a work mate’s birthday came around and I knew she would appreciate the pop!

First a little bit of background: where I work there are many employees and when its someone’s birthday it is an absolute shamozle trying to cut a normal sized cake into 25 slices.. It can also turn into a session of workplace politics where certain people get cake and certain people don’t. So to stop this silly cake warfare, cake pops could be the answer! I made more than 40 which meant there were plenty to go around.

The internet-bought kits came with 2 sets of silicone cake pop moulds. They are made up of 2 moulds with perfect circles that in one side is put the cake mix and then the other side is attached as a sort of lid for baking and creating the circular top. Below is one mould.

A Mould: Top and Bottom

The Mould, Closed as it would be for baking

It also comes with little plastic pop sticks, similar to a lolly pop stick for serving. I opted not to use them this time as I had SO many to make.

Of course if you were doing a less mass produced version you can create a delightful display using Styrofoam or a box, and sticking the little sticks in. This was too much for me at 10pm at night.. So I opted for a just a plate of little delights.

If you can’t get the moulds, look online there are great recipes for pops using either bought or home made cakes, just shaping them into the circles.

Cake Pop Test Run!

You will need for my recipe:

Silicone Cake Pop Moulds

1 x Cake mix of Choice

1 x bowl of melted chocolate

Sprinkles !

There are so many conflicting recipes on the internet for these pops. Many say to just buy a pre made cake and shape it into balls. Many say you must make your own batter as cake pops require thinner/thinker batter (depending on what site you are on) to work.

I will say this: I used a good quality bought chocolate cake mix and it worked perfectly. They were moist and light as if I had made a full sized cake, not dry at all. I am still a beginner baker, so if you are a little more advanced and have your go-to cake mix, use that and don’t be afraid! Otherwise, use your favourite cake mix and bake!

Simply fill the moulds, close and Bake!

I used a snipped off plastic sandwich bag to squeeze the mix into the holes. As you can see they are small and this was the easiest and least messy way!

After looking at 4 different sites, I had to gestimate the cooking time. I would say base this on how many you are making, how well you know your cake mix AND how well you know your oven.

My oven is notoriously slow, and old and horrid, so I added a few minutes! I baked them for 20 minutes and then sat them in the moulds to set and cool for another 15.

I was nervous popping them out of the moulds but I think the key is to really get in there and pop them out from the bottom! And then cool further.

The upper dome of the mould helps it form its little pop shape!

I melted chocolate for ‘icing’ as I wasn’t very sure how I would use actual icing to ice the tiny balls so went with melted chocolate.

I then dipped half in sprinkles and half just plain choc.

The Pops!

I would say SUCCESS!

A Workplace Pop Sensation!

The only major issue was the moulds are the most horrendous things to clean. They still have slight remnants of cake on them after days of soaking. Any help on how to clean would be great!

To me these can be the thriftiest of creations.

Birthday? Cake Pops! Dinner at a Friends? Cake Pops!  Sunday? Cake Pops! They are just YUM.

Seriously though, the moulds are very cheap, and the batter whether you make it yourself or buy a mix? Cheap! The way to be creative is how you ice and display the pops.

SUCH fun.

An Epiphany and a few notes on how to make Budget Dinners that don’t TASTE budget.

You don’t need to be cheap and nasty, just thrifty and smart

The last few weeks I have been a little silent on the blogging. This is embarrassingly because I have had a few financial occurrences that meant I haven’t really been cooking anything I thought was blog worthy. Lots of mince, sausages, canned tuna.. I was waiting until I had something ‘better’..

But, then it dawned on me… this food I am cooking is still yum! Just because it’s super cheap to make and has minimal ingredients doesn’t make it wrong! In fact, that is the kind of food I look for when I search blogs for recipes. No one can entertain every night; we all need weeknight dinners that aren’t fussy and complicated. So, I am now confident in my budgeting meals, and ready to blow your budgeting mind.

AND at this time of year, coming out of a haze of spending money and eating immense amounts, this is timely and good for us.

I have a few recipes up my sleeve that I rotate, and a few that I have posted on this blog before.  But let’s start at the beggining:

The key for me is when you have those weeks where you have a tiny bit of extra money, stock up on pantry staples. Then those weeks where you are more ‘lean’ (and I mean $20 for your food budget lean) you have the things you need to take a chicken breast or mince or a sausage into something that isn’t just a chicken breast, mince or a sausage. I have a list of a few things that I keep in my cupboard and fridge at all times for just these occasions.

Most of these keep for months, literally. Spices can be sometimes years if looked after properly. And when you think about it, spices, such as paprika and sumac are flavour assassins. They also cost about $3 from the supermarket. Yes, I know you can buy gorgeous imported Spanish paprika, and expensive sumac that is carried over here on maiden’s backs from Arabia or some such nonsense. But this is not budgeting.  You don’t need to be cheap and nasty, just thrifty and smart. I tend to spend more money on things that you use more often and can taste the difference, such as olive oil or parmesan cheese.

Here are a few things I keep in my cupboard to help with adding flavour and excitement to simple things. And a few links to my recipes that use them!

Jen’s Cupboard Essentials

• Paprika

Have you ever had the conversation where you try to decide to what your favourite spice is? It’s hard. This is mine. It can be sprinkled on or in most things for a warm intense flavour boost. Over chicken breast as below with the sumac, over roast vegies, over eggs.. I mean it. It’s great. And I have a sneaky salmon recipe to post on here that uses it coming up soon.

• Sumac

Sumac is a lemony Middle Eastern spice that I have mentioned on here before that I LOVE. Its lovely rubbed on meats with a little oil as in my Sumac Roasted Chicken

• Chilli flakes

When you can’t get fresh, chilli flakes are a quick and easy substitute and can add a different flavour to fresh. They can be sprinkled over meats, or to spice up a dinner omelette if the occasion calls for it!

• Salt and Pepper

Sounds like I am patronising? I’m serious. If all you have is a breast of chicken or some vegies, even the sprinkling of S and P will invigorate your tastebuds.

• Canned chick peas/white beans/lentils

These can be the protein you need at the opening of a can! Make my Lentil Patties, or fry lentils or chickpeas in a pan with onion and garlic for a side to meats. You can flavour the lentils by adding any spices or vinegars you like! I have used chilli, or red wine vinager. Or use the beans to make my Mexicano Beans.

• Jarred Capsicums

Cheap, and great to add to pasta, the lentils above or I have pureed jarred capsicum with white beans, garlic and a little oil for a ‘sauce’  for chicken

• Dried Thyme and other Spices

I love thyme, but I guess what I mean here is a selection of your favourite dried herbs. These can be added to a tomato sauce, sprinkled over My roast Vegies, or added to eggs for an Italian style frittata. Just decide the ones you want and they will last for ages.

• Soy Sauce

Asian Salmon or the Grilled Wasabi Salmon and Udon is a standby in my house, but sometimes I have it with grilled chicken or even just the soup with vegies. It’s such a flavourful soup that it doesn’t feel budget! Soy is great for marinating meat, or adding to a quick “Fried Rice” of left over vegies and rice.

• Garlic

I think once I forgot to buy garlic and became quite upset about it… It was a sign to me my life was going downhill.. I always feel the world is right with garlic, eggs, oil and onions in the house. You can make the sneakily cheap but offensively tasty Chilli and Garlic pasta, or add it to ANYTHING to up the flavour. Sautéed garlic added to anything is an instant flavour lifter.  And roasting whole cloves with your vegies in the oven creates the sweet smushy roasted garlic that is beautiful with anything.

• Onions

Onions add flavour where you may imagine there is none. Brown onions are amazing to sweat and add to lentils, or make my Brown Onion Tart : just leave out the olives or goats cheese- it’s still amazing without the fancy ingredients.

Red onion is beautiful baked with vegies and garlic and some balsamic vinegar. Yum.

• Balsamic or Red Wine Vinegar

This is great for slopping over roasted vegies as above, or even to put over chicken breast before roasting. Red Wine is great is dressings, or in the pan with the lentils as metioned above!

• Canned Tomatoes

These things are always in my cupboard. Mix with some jarred capsicum and garlic or broken down sausages etc etc for pasta sauce. For my super thrifty Tomato and Chorizo Soup, you can make the chorizo optional.

• Pasta

Any kind, any price, mixed with (almost) anything. As mentioned above, all I need is oil, garlic, onions and pasta and I am happy. But also mixed with frozen peas, canned tomatoes, butter.. Pasta is a gourmet’s way of livin it thrifty.

A few of these and you have innumerable recipes, and a cupboard arsinal of taste! And, hang on while I compile my Fridge and Freezer Compendium to go with this Cupboard list!

I did have a lovely Christmas and New Years where I made some delicious food, so hold tight!

The Easiest, Healthiest and Most Certain to Impress Asian Salmon

Salmon is the best right? Just look at it.

What a Beauty…

It is without a doubt my favourite fish. It’s lovely steamed, baked, poached, grilled… and it’s so unbelievably healthy! and As we have seen with my Grilled Wasabi Salmon it works really well with Asian flavours! Win!

Having the basics from the Asian kitchen in your kitchen is the best way to be able to whip up something flavourful, healthy and quick in no time at all.

I always have soy, of course, but light and dark as their flavours are so different. I always try to have garlic, ginger, chili, oyster sauce and a mix of dried and cupboard fresh noodles and then all you need to do is grab some greens and you’re set! Other extras I love are Japanese Rice Wine Vinegar, wasabi and sesame oil.

I would also recommend getting a bamboo steamer. It is the easiest and healthiest way to steam Asian greens and also can be used to make this salmon! Just ignore the oven and foil, and steam for the same amount of time. Steaming keeps in flavour and nutrients, so you aren’t adding extra fats, or loosing nutrients into boiling water. I just only have one steamer, so I choose to do my greens in it! They are literally 4 dollars from Asian supermarkets and worth the investment!

These ingredients are so readily available, and always very cheap. It is simply a matter of combining and creating; then adding a protein of some kind, greens and noodles if you wish and you have a fresh healthy dinner, always in less than 30 minutes. Eat your heart out Mr Oliver!

This again, is a recipe that almost needs no recipe. But it is one I make so often that I thought I must share it with you, as its one that once you make and master, you will pull out for all occasions.

It is amaze with salmon, but I imagine it would be great with tofu as well for our vegetarian friends?

The use of foil or paper to steam the fish makes it moist and all the Asian flavours seep into the flesh and make a wonderful sauce. This is why I also say skin off fillets, as the skin does not crisp up and becomes soft, but this is my personal preference, not a fan of soggy skin…!

The amounts here are again a guide; if you love garlic add more! If you don’t enjoy ginger, add less or none!

I have made the recipe for one, as this is how I often make it! But as per my others, it is so easy to simply increase the recipe for more people.

The Salmon Ready for the Oven

Impressive Asian Salmon with Steamed Sesame greens

1 salmon steak, around 200 grams, ideally skin off

1 small clove of chopped garlic

Thumbnail sized piece of fresh ginger, skin off and sliced finely

Fresh chili- as much as you like, finely chopped

1-2 tablespoons light soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 shallots, finely chopped

1 lemon

Greens

1 bunch of bok choy or your favourite greens

1 tablespoon of sesame oil

½ tablespoon of light soy sauce

1. Heat oven to 190 degrees.
2. Take a sheet of foil large enough to encase your salmon in like an envelope. Drip a little sesame oil under the fillet, and place the fillet in the centre. Slightly bend the edges of the foil so when you put the liquid in it doesn’t spill straight out.
3. Drizzle a little more sesame oil onto the fillet, along with half of the soy sauce.
4. Top with the chili, garlic, ginger and a squeeze of lemon
5. Slice a few thin rounds of lemon and place on top.
6. Sprinkle the shallots, and top with the remaining soy!
7. Get the foil and enclose the fish- the idea is to close the parcel so no steam escapes at all; like an envelope.
8. Place on a tray for 15-20 minutes depending on how you like your salmon. I normally do 15, and then let rest for a few mins out of the oven.
9. Meanwhile, place your bamboo steamer over a pot of simmering water. Pop in a small plate, with enough room on the sides so steam will still come up and cook the greens!
10. Place your chopped greens on top, and drizzle with the sesame oil and soy.
11. Steam for 3-5 minutes, depending on how many greens you have. Cook to your liking!

Remove Salmon from the foil, and the lemon slices, add Greens and serve!

YUM.

A Match Made in Heaven; Experimenting with Fennel and a Simple Chilli and Garlic Pasta

Now I am normally one to try anything and there is simply nothing I do not eat but fennel was something I was never overly zealous to experiment with at home.

I always imagined that raw fennel had an overpowering taste of aniseed, which gives me horrendous flashbacks to shots of Sambucca from my teenage years… without giving too much insight into my drinking days let’s just say I have had enough of that for a lifetime. I was concerned I would not be able to prepare it in such a way that it wouldn’t smack of underage drinking..

But on a recent visit to my mother’s house we wanted a fresh and interesting salad to have with the most perfect, simple pasta dish, and low and behold her local supermarket had fennel!

This was beautifully fresh, light and a perfect accompaniment to the slightly spicy pasta dish, and I imagine amazing with any meats, and pasta dishes. And it is one of those quick things that doesn’t seem like a recipe; you simply cut combine and enjoy.

Fennel Success

Fennell and Pear Salad

• 1 fennel, trimmed, fronds reserved
• 2 firm green skinned pears
• 2 tbspns extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbspns lemon juice
• 100g parmesan or pecorino Romano shaved
• 2 tbs walnuts, toasted and chopped
• Salt and Pepper

Slice both the fennel and pear as finely as possible. Keep the pear slices large, but thin, by standing the pear up and slicing from the outside in.

In a bowl, mix the oil, lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the slices of pear and fennel on a platter, and shave over parmesan. Drizzle with the oil and lemon mix and garnish with the fennel fronds! Fennel can brown if left to stand for too long so make this as you intend to serve it.

Oh, and what about this pasta you ask..! Well. It embodies everything I love about Italian cuisine. Freshness, flavour, and the mind blowing combination of things that are simply made for each other. My handsome friend Antonio Carluccio when asked what his go to dinner party dish was said this was it. He said it has everything you need in a dish for a party, simplicity, flavour and leaves you with time to spend and relax with your guests. Such a stud.

Chilli, Garlic and Lemon. Again it’s almost embarrassing to give a recipe but I so badly want other people to enjoy this as much as I do, so I am going to. But after you have made it once, you can get the confidence to use more chilli, less garlic, more oil, etc etc and make it exactly like you want it.

Perfection

My Idea of Heaven Pasta

For 4 or 2… Depending on how much you enjoy it!

• 400-500g Pasta- any you like, spaghetti, spaghettini, buccatini, any!
• 150g good quality olive oil
• 2 chillies, de seeded and finely chopped
• 4-6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 lemon, juice and zest
• About 150g or more of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Now all you need to do is pop your pasta on. A little tip- when the water is boiling add 10g of sea or rock salt. It adds flavour to the pasta and therefore the dish! Cook to your liking.

While the pasta is cooking, heat oil on a medium heat in a large flat frying pan, add the garlic and chillies until oil is hot, around 2 minutes. Add a large pinch of salt, lemon juice and rind stir and take off heat. Add pasta to the oil pan and combine. When combined add around half of the parmesan cheese and serve with remaining parmy and a big crack of pepper!

If this doesn’t blow your mind as much as it often does mine, I will be very surprised.

And get creative with it, you could be fancy and add some cooked prawns, squid or fresh herbs.

Another Annabel Delight: Rhubarb and Yoghurt Crumble Cake

So yes, I Love Annabel Langbein. But this actually is an amazingly different cake that is as interesting as it is delicious.

Rhubarb and Yoghurt Crumble Cake

Rhubarb is something I had not had since I watched my mother eat it on her porridge in the morning growing up! But its tart flavour and stringy texture is amazing when baked under the sugary crumble.. And the addition of yoghurt to the batter adds a light tartness that I love as I do not like overly sweet things.

Rhubarb is ending its peak season in Australia so grab some ASAP! If you grab a bunch you will only use three stalks for this recipe. Cut the rest up and simmer in a small amount of water and a few table spoons of sugar. I learnt this nifty trick from a friend, use far far less water than you automatically want to, the rhubarb releases a huge amount of water itself.  Then either have the lovely stewed fruit on your cereal, ice-cream or over pancakes.. yummm. But you can also use frozen berries, fresh berries, sliced apple, etc etc. I added a few spare strawberries for extra sweetness.

This recipe is lifted totally from her website at this link, but since she is the sweetest lady alive (I’m sure) I know she won’t mind me sharing..!

Beautiful Rhubarb

Rhubarb and Yoghurt Crumble Cake

Serves 8-10

140g butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, at room temp

1 tsp vanilla essence

¾ cup plain yoghurt

2 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

½ tspn baking soda

3 stalk rhubarb thinly sliced, or 190g berry or other fruit.

Topping:

½ cup firmly packed brown sugar

½ cup slivered almonds or chopped walnuts

1 tsp ground cinnamon

60g melted butter

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 25cm spring-form or loose-bottomed cake tin and line the base with baking paper. Beat butter and sugar together until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Beat in yoghurt then add sifted dry ingredients and stir gently to just combine (mixture will be a thick consistency). Spread into prepared tin and sprinkle over rhubarb.

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 25cm spring-form or loose-bottomed cake tin and line the base with baking paper. Beat butter and sugar together until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Beat in yoghurt then add sifted dry ingredients and stir gently to just combine (mixture will be a thick consistency). Spread into prepared tin and sprinkle over rhubarb.

Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over cake. Bake until golden and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes. Stand 15 minutes before turning out. Allow to cool before cutting. Store in an airtight container.

Perfect with a little Clotted Cream

And if you haven’t got her cookbooks yet, or haven’t visited her site what are you waiting for!