Spinach, Chickpeas and Currants

I am always on the look for new and unusual recipes, so as I was casually browsing the website for the TV show, Everyday Gourmet, I was struck by a recipe for chickpeas, spinach and currants.  I like all three, but was curious as to how they'd taste together.  Of course, I made it!

And the verdict?  Really good and dead simple to make.  I served this with beef and feta meatballs, and the whole dish had an exotic feel to it.  The only problem is that there was not enough of this for my liking!!

Lamb shanks with pumpkin, cranberry and quinoa salad and broccolini with garlic

A couple of weeks ago, I held a dinner party for some close friends at my house.  I have belatedly discovered that my slow cooker is the hostess's friend, as you can get on with doing a myriad of other tasks while dinner looks after itself in the slow cooker.

To take advantage of my slow cooker, I decided to make Lamb Shanks with Cannellini Beans in the slow cooker.  I accompanied them with a pumpkin, cranberry and quinoa salad, for which you can find the recipe here, broccolini poached in chicken stock with garlic, the recipe for which can be found online here.

The recipe for the Lamb Shanks with Cannellini Beans came form one of my newer recipe books, Slow Cooking by Catherine Atkinson (p118).  The sauce is white wine based rather than being based on red wine or tomatoes, but is equally delicious in a different way.  My guests enjoyed lamb shanks cooked this way, and what is even better, once the initial prep is done, you can leave these shanks to cook away while you get on with other things for your guests.

To make these shanks, as well as a slow cooker, you will need:

1 x 400g can cannellini beans, drained (Catherine used dried beans)
4 lamb shanks
2 tablespoons plain flour
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 chopped brown onion
2 sliced cloves garlic
1 sl;iced celery stick
1 sliced carrot
leaves from 2 sprigs rosemary (I used a shake of dried rosemary)
2 bay leaves
175ml white wine
2 tablespoons tomato puree
600ml hot water
salt and pepper

Season the lamb shanks with salt and pepper then coat them in the flour.  Heat the oil in a large fry pan and brown the shanks in the pan until browned on all sides.  Transfer the shanks to your slow cooker.

Add the onion to the pan and cook until golden, then stir in the garlic, celery, carrot, rosemary and bay leaves.

Pour in the wine and allow it to bubble and reduce, then add the tomato paste diluted in the hot water. Bring the micture to the boil, season with salt and pepper, then pour it over the lamb shanks in the slow cooker.

Cook the shanks on high for 4-5 hours, stirring occasionally.  Taste for seasoning before serving.

WWDH - Grilled Asparagus with Balsamic Butter

This week's Wednesday with Donna Hay recipe is Grilled Asparagus with Balsamic Butter, chosen by Sarah. 

There is not much to this - just grill your asparagus, then top it with 40g or so of butter that has been melted and mixed with a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.  Simple, quick and tasty - therefore it's a winner!

To see what Sarah, Kayte, Margaret and Chaya thought of this recipe, visit their websites on Wednesday their time.  (I am ahead of their time zone.)

FFwD - Boulevard Raspail Corn on the Cob

We've made it to Friday again - my favourite day of the week.  For French Fridays with Dorie this week, we have not so much a recipe as a cooking technique - for corn on the cob.

This technique, named "Boulevard Raspail" after the name of a street market in France that sells organic produce, from whence Dorie got the idea, involves roasting corn in the husk in the oven for 40 minutes, then peeling off its "pajamas" and liberally dousing the corn with butter, salt and pepper.

I have done something very similar using a microwave for 3 minutes instead of oven roasting - I found that idea on the Internet. 

What can I say - the corn tastes  good this way, but corn tastes good boiled, or dare I say it, in the microwave.  However, if you are already roasting some veges, chuck in some corn as well - you get yourself a nice one pot dish.

To see what the rest of the FFwD group thought, visit the LYL section of the website. 

WWDH - Spinach with sesame dressing

 

 

This week's Wednesday with Donna Hay recipe was chosen by Kayte from Modern Classic Book I - spinach with sesame dressing.

 

I used baby spinach instead of spinach, halved the recipe and used Shao Xing Rice Wine rather than mirin (because that is what I had).  My sauce ended up being rather chunky with the ground sesame seeds - hmmm, the photo in the book shows the sauce as being quite liquid.

 

In any event, I liked it - not enough to make it again (I found the rice wine had a slightly peculiar flavour to my palate), but enough to eat it.

 

To see what Kayte, Margaret, Chaya and Sarah thought, visit their sites.

FFWD - Dieter's Tartine

Welcome to another French Friday with Dorie. This week's recipe is Dieter's Tartine.

This dish is comprised of toasted sourdough topped with cottage cheese (I left out the sour cream), cucumber , tomato, salt and pepper and chives. It tasted really good - better than I had thought it would. I would never have tried this on my own.

To see what the other Doristas thought, visit the LYL section of the website.

WWDH - Brussels sprouts with lemon, garlic and almonds

This week's Wednesday with Donna Hay recipe was selected by Chaya, and is Brussels Sprouts with Lemon, Garlic and Almonds.

I really enjoyed this dish, the recipe for which is online here.  The almonds gave a lovely crunch to the sautéed Brussels sprouts.  This one is definitely a keeper.

To see what Chaya, Kayte, Margaret and our newest member, Sarah, thought of this dish, visit their websites.

BWJ - Summer Vegetable Tart

This week's Baking with Julia recipe is Summer Vegetable Tart.  It comprises a phyllo pastry shell filled with mushrooms, garlic, capsicum, onion and goats cheese.  I made one mini tart just for me.

I thought this tart was fine taste-wise, although I had a fight with my very old phyllo while making it (hence the dishevelled appearance of my tart). 

To see what the other BWJ bakers thought, visit the LYL section of the website.

This will be my last Baking with Julia for now, as I want to clear some space to concentrate on other things for a while.

Sir Paul McCartney's Super Vegetable Salad

I have never been a huge lover of salad, and as a kid, I hated most vegetables. However, I have become quite partial to certain types of salad as I have travelled down life's highway, especially anything containing pumpkin.

The salad featured at the top of this post is surprising because it is way more green than many salads that I would normally eat, yet I enjoyed it immensely.  This warm salad is Sir Paul McCartney's Super Vegetable Salad.  I obtained the recipe from Share: The Cookbook That Celebrates Our Common Humanity, but the recipe is also online here.

The differenced between the version in Share and the Meatless Monday version are that the cherry tomatoes are not roasted in the Share version (although I wish that they had been!), and the tofu is an optional extra.  Otherwise, the recipe is the same.  I used the maple syrup in the dressing, because I am a sweet tooth after all.

This is a very hearty salad which serves as a meal on its own (especially if you add the tofu), or which makes a wonderful side dish (which is how I served it).

If you sometimes get a bit lost as to what to do with veges to make a tasty salad, like I sometimes do, you  can't go wrong with this fabulous super salad.  It tastes good warm (as the recipe is written) or cold (for all of those leftovers).

FFwD - Asparagus Soup

... asparagus, tinged with ultramarine and rosy pink which ran from their heads, finely stippled in mauve and azure, through a series of imperceptible changes to their white feet, still stained a little by the soil of their garden-bed: a rainbow-loveliness that was not of this world.

Marcel Proust

It has been an asparagus-tinged week for me - first asparagus in the Savoury Brioche Pockets, then Rigatoni with Peas, Asparagus and Ricotta, and now, Asparagus Soup for French Fridays with Dorie.  Phew!  Luckily I like asparagus. 

I found the steps involved in making this soup a little fiddly - peel the stalks; place the trimmings in cheesecloth and boil with the asparagus etc etc.  The recipe calls for 2 1/2 pounds of asparagus, so peeling all of those spears would have sent me potty.  However, due to the price of asparagus here (end of season) and the fact that I didn't want six serves of soup, I only had to peel six spears, and bulked up the asparagus content with some leftover tinned asparagus that I had in the fridge.   

As expected, this soup tasted predominantly of - well, asparagus.  There's a hint - if you aren't a fan of asparagus, don't make this soup.  It was OK, but didn't light any fires for me.

To see what the other Doristas thought of this soup, visit the LYL section of the website.

Vale Hazel Hawke, who passed away yesterday aged 84.  Hazel was the wife of one of our prime ministers, Bob Hawke.  She reminds me of being a child in upper primary school, when Bob was elected PM, as one of our teachers told the class that if you didn't know the answer in the social studies test, write "Bob Hawke".   I think our teacher was encouraging people to "have a crack" (to use a great Australian colloquialism) rather than to leave the answer blank; however, some students took him literally and wrote "Bob Hawke" as the answer to questions they didn't know, much to the amusement of our class.  Good times!

WWDH - Rigatoni with Peas, Asparagus and Ricotta

This week's Wednesday with Donna Hay pick came from Chaya, who selected Rigatoni with Peas, Asparagus and Ricotta from p130 of Modern Classics I.

This is such a simple, light, fresh dish - it comprises pasta with asparagus, peas (whole and mashed) cooked in chicken stock, ricotta, parmesan, salt, pepper and a little olive oil.  It is quick to make and very easy to eat.  I loved it.

To see what Chaya, Margaret and Kayte thought of this dish, visit their websites.

FFwD - Swiss Chard Pancakes

This week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe is Swiss Chard Pancakes.  In my case, they were actually spinach pancakes, as I could not buy Swiss chard.

These pancakes are from a fairly standard pancake batter with chives and spinach blitzed through it, and cooked in the usual way.  I made a third of the recipe to yield 7 pancakes.

I served my pancakes with aubergine, mango and chilli jam on some and with cottage cheese on the others. 

These pancakes were OK, but probably not something I'd make again.

To see what the other Doristas thought, visit the LYL section of the website.

WWDH - Smoky roasted gazpacho

This week's Wednesday with Donna Hay is Smoky Roasted Gazpacho from Modern Classics Book I, chosen by Chaya.

This gazpacho contains roasted tomato, garlic and onion combined with paprika and water to make a cold spicy soup.  It was easy enough to make, and interesting to learn, but not something that I fancy enough to make again.

To see what Chaya, Margaret and Kayte thought of this soup, visit their websites. 

WWDH - Free-form Ratatouille Tart

This week's Wednesday with Donna Hay is Free-form Ratatouille Tart chosen by Margaret.

This comprises a shortcrust pastry filled with roasted veges (garlic, onion, eggplant, capsicum and tomato).

I couldn't be bothered making pastry, so I used frozen pastry, and instead of making the whole tart, I made two minis.  I haven't tried them yet as I already had dinner before I made them.

To see what Margaret, Kayte and Chaya thought of this tart, visit their websites.

Update:  I finally tried these tarts and found the filling to be absolutely scrumptious - I guess I should have known with all of those fabulous roasted veges!

FFwD - Steamed Lemon Spinach + Orange Scented Green Lentil Soup

It is Good Friday, and it is also French Friday with Dorie.  I am home with my family for a visit, which is nice and relaxing after a crazy few weeks.

This week's FFwD recipe is Steamed Lemon Spinach - I made this at the start of the month to go with the Chicken Diable, and it is really easy and really good.  I feel deprived if I don't get greens with my meal these days - as a child I couldn't abide them!

I also caught up on the Orange Scented Green Lentil Soup:

I didn't mind this soup, although I did find the orange flavour rather strong (from orange peel that is boiled up and pureed with the other ingredients.  I didn't strain the soup - I like the "chunky" consistency.

To see what the other Doristas thought of this week's recipe, visit the LYL section of the FFwD website.

Enjoy your hot cross buns and fish and some quality time with your nearest and dearest this Easter.  Ciao!

WWDH - Asparagus Tarts

This week, for Wednesday with Donna Hay, Kayte chose Asparagus Tarts from Modern Classics Book I. 

These tarts are as simple as can be - take a rectangle of puff pastry, top with trimmed asparagus and grated parmesan cheese, bake for 25 minutes or so and et voila - tarts!

These were easy and tasty - and perfect for Easter.  Check out what Kayte and Margaret thought of these tarts at their websites. 

WWDH - Vegetable Pies

It's Wednesday (known as "hump day" in Oz), and that means it's Wednesday with Donna Hay.  Wednesday snuck up on me a lot more quickly this week, as Monday was the Labour Day holiday in Melbourne.  I spent Sunday and Monday in Bendigo, a famous Victorian gold mining town, and yes, I went down a gold mine!  Sadly, I do not have any gold to share with you.

Kayte chose this week's Donna recipe, being Vegetable Pies from Modern Classics I.  I envisioned these as being veges encased in puff pastry.  However, I was wrong.  These pies are a little more sophisticated, and comprise a shortcrust pastry filled with roasted vegetables, ricotta and cheddar.  They are also supposed to be sprinkled with parmesan on top, but I somehow forgot to do that.  No matter - these pies were delicious!!  The cheese gives a lovely kick to the vegetables, and it forms a harmonious mix on the palate.

The only thing I would change next time is to blind bake the pastry first, as my pastry had a slightly soggy bottom.  However, it was only minor, and I still enjoyed these pies very much.

Thanks to Kayte for choosing this recipe - do check out what she thought of her pick, as well as Margaret and Chaya.

Roasted carrots and beets from Jamie at Home

At St Kilda Veg Out Farmers Market last weekend, I splurged on some of the more unusual things that I saw.  When I laid eyes on these coloured carrots:

I knew I had to have them.  Aren't they glorious!

I also bought some beets - out of sheer laziness, I rarely cook beets, but they are truly a devine vegetable that I should indulge in more often.

Armed with rainbow carrots and beautiful beets, I wanted to cook them in a non-boring fashion.  I knew that Jamie at Home contained some terrific vege recipes, so I turned to it for ideas - and wasn't disappointed.  In fact, Jamie had a recipe for Roasted Carrots and Beets - an absolutely perfect match for my vegetables.

Jamie mixed garlic, orange juice and thyme with the carrots, and garlic, balsamic vinegar and rosemary with the beets, with the flavours added to the freshly roasted vegetables o they absorb the flavours. Delicious!  I made the recipe as stated, except that I substituted sage for the rosemary (because I didn't have rosemary), and I left the skins on the carrots.  (Ignore the brussels sprouts - they were opportunistically thrown into the pan.)

You can find the recipe online here.  Or watch Jamie do it here. Accordingly, if you find yourself with some lovely root veges this weekend, do yourself a favour and try out Jamie's roasted beets and carrots.

Jamie's Stuffed Zucchini Flowers in Tomato Sauce

I have long had an obsession with zucchini flowers.  I had never eaten them before, but there was something that fascinated me about stuffing and cooking  zucchini flowers - it sounds so summery and delightful.  Unfortunately, zucchini flowers are not that easy to find unless you grow your own zucchinis, so imagine my delight when I found this box of zucchini flowers at the St Kilda Veg Out Market for $5: 

I like to avoid fried food, but thought I would take one for the team to try these zucchini flowers.  However, the first recipe for stuffed zucchini flowers that I found when flicking through my cookbooks was not fried at all.  In Jamie Does, Jamie Oliver features a recipe for stuffed zucchini flowers in tomato sauce - perfect!  It meant that I could cook my zucchini flowers without feeling bad about deep frying.

One thing I hadn't really considered was how fiddly it is to prepare and stuff the zucchini flowers.  I made it more difficult for myself by refrigerating the flowers so that the petals wilted and stuck together (tip - do not do this).  You have to open up the petals carefully and somehow get into the flower cavity and snip out the stamen.  Next, you have to coax a ricotta and herb cheese mix into the tiny flower cavity without tearing the flower - sheesh.  It is not a job to do when you are short on time.

Despite the fiddliness of it all, I managed to successfully stuff my 14 zucchini flowers, and make the dish with tomatoes and olives.  It was really delicious, although I think the strong flavours of the tomatoes and olives overwhelmed most of the other flavours.

If you are curious, like I was, to try this dish, you will need:

A bunch of mixed fresh soft herbs (I used just basil)
250g ricotta
50g grated parmesan
pinch of ground nutmeg
salt and pepper
1 lemon
12 large or 16 small zucchini flowers (baby zucchini still attached)
500g vine ripened tomatoes (I just used a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes)
olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
3 small banana shallots, peeled and finely chopped (I just used a small brown onion)
A handful of black olives

Pick the leaves off the herbs, and finely chop the leaves and the stalks. Place in a bowl with the ricotta, parmesan, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste, then add the finely grated lemon zest. Mix well with a fork.

Prise open the zucchini flowers, and snip off the bright yellow stamens.  Rinse the flowers and carefully fill each one with a teaspoon (or however much you can fit in!) of the ricotta mixture. Carefully press and pat the petals back together to seal in the mixture.

Cut a small cross in the top and bottom of your tomatoes, then plunge them into a bowl of boiling water for a minute or so until the skins blister and come away. Place in cold water until cool enough to handle, then peel off and discard the skins. Cut the flesh into 1cm chunks. (Or just open a tin of tomatoes!) In a wide pan, heat a good lug of olive oil on medium heat and fry the garlic and shallots for 3 to 4 minutes until soft. Add the tomatoes and olives and bring to the boil then season with salt and pepper.  Simmer on medium heat for 5 minutes, until thickened slightly.

When your sauce is ready, carefully lay your stuffed flowers on top and drizzle with olive oil.  Cover the pan and leave on a low heat to simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the zucchini flowers are cooked through and the sauce is thick. Cut the zested lemon in half, and squeeze the juice of one half onto the sauce.

Serve with lemon wedges, salad and bread, if desired.

FFwD - Chicken Breasts Diable and Spiced Butter-Glazed Carrots

Thank goodness we've made it to Friday again - and the first of March already!  It has been a steamy, hot week this week - which is very unlike Melbourne and much more like Brisbane, where I hail from.  Ironically, it is wet and cool there - has the earth been turned on its head?  Extraordinary!!!  The humid heat has made it difficult to sleep, so I am not sure whether I am coming or going this week.

This brings me to this week's French Fridays with Dorie dish, Chicken Breasts Diable - aka chicken breasts pan fried and served with a creamy mustard sauce.  My photo may not do the dish justice, but this was seriously good.  The hardest part for me was ensuring that the chicken was cooked through, as I overlooked the requirement to flatten the chicken breasts a little before cooking - oops.  It all worked out in the wash, although it took significantly longer than 8 minutes for the chicken to cook.  However, if you like things hot and spicy, don't be fooled by the name of this dish - it is tame as a lamb in the spice department.

I served my chicken with the lemon-steamed spinach (to be revealed later this month), and the spiced butter-glazed carrots that I missed way back in December 2010:

These were pretty good - I am a ginger fan so I especially liked the fresh sliced ginger flavour through the carrots.

The only dish I now have not made from our schedule is Salmon in a Jar - and that was deliberate.  Maybe one day I will get the stomach to try it, but not right now.

To see what the other Doristas thought of Chicken Breasts Diable, visit the LYL section of the FFwD website.