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Summer greens with cous cous
“A well-made salad must have a certain uniformity; it should make perfect sense for those ingredients to share a bowl.” Yotam Ottolenghi This delicious salad sparkles with summer flavours and textures, and I do believe that it makes perfect sense for all of them to be there; in the bowl, on the plate, and in the mouth. Crisp salad leaves, fresh herbs, lemony dressing and summer green vegetables, sweet and fragrant. We have a vibrant and very productive herb garden so at our place the large quantity of herbs is easy to gather. They really make the dish, so don’t scrimp on them. I like to pass soft feta cheese separately, so that people can add what suits their palate. Serves 6 – 8: 250 g Israeli cous cous 500 ml chicken or vegetable stock 3 small zucchinis, or 1 medium sized zucchini, chopped into small pieces 150 g sugar-snap peas, whole 1 bunch asparagus, cut into 5 cm lengths 3 cups mixed salad leaves (about 100g) 1 1/2 cups roughly chopped fresh herbs – chives, dill, mint, flat leaf parsley 2 tablespoons olive oil (I use a lemon infused olive oil) 2 tablespoons lemon juice sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 150 g soft feta cheese In a medium sized saucepan, bring the chicken or vegetable stock and 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to the boil over high heat. Sprinkle in the cous cous and turn the heat down to a simmer. Cook, uncovered for 10 – 12 minutes, or until the liquid is almost all absorbed. Take off the heat, cover, and sit for 3 or 4 minutes. Turn out onto a large plate and separate the grains gently with a fork. Leave to cool. In the same saucepan (saves washing up!) bring lightly salted water to the boil. Add the zucchini, peas and asparagus and cook for 2 minutes. Drain, and refresh by running under some cold water. When the cous cous is at room temperature toss it in a large bowl with the chopped herbs, the remaining olive oil and the lemon juice. Season to taste with the sea salt and pepper. Gently fold in the cooked vegetables and the salad leaves. Serve straight away, with the feta passed separately. This is really beautiful with pan fried fresh snapper or salmon and a glass of pinot gris.
Tomato salad with sumac
As a lover of tomatoes I am always looking for different ways to prepare and serve them that will enhance their already beautiful flavour. This recipe is based on one I read in an Ottolenghi cookbook – it used sumac as an ingredient – a spice I have been experimenting with for some time. Sumac is the fruit of a shrub or small tree which grows in parts of the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The berries vary in colour from brick red to dark purple, depending on where the shrub is grown. They are harvested and dried whole and then ground into a coarse powder. Sumac has a tangy taste with citrus notes and is a core ingredient in cuisines across the Middle East and parts of the Mediterranean. I have found the best quality sumac is sold in Australia through Herbie’s spices, which you can get through their online store, or at a good delicatessan. This salad works really well as part of a mezze, or to accompany grilled or slow roasted lamb. It is sweet, sharp and tangy, and utterly delicious. Have the tomatoes at room temperature for the best flavour – imagine bringing them fresh in from the garden, fully ripe and still a little warm from the sun – that’s the way to serve and eat fresh tomatoes! Serves 4 – 6 750 g ripe tomatoes, at room temperature. The widest variety of colours, shapes and sizes will make the salad look and taste amazing1 small red or pink onionzest of 1 large lemon1/3 cup pine nuts1/2 cup red wine vinegar1 tablespoon sumac1 tablespoon olive oilsmall bunch or fresh oregano, leaves picked1 tablespoon roughly chopped flat leaf parsleysea salt 750 g ripe tomatoes, at room temperature. The widest variety of colours, shapes and sizes will make the salad look and taste amazing 1 small red or pink onion zest of 1 large lemon 1/3 cup pine nuts 1/2 cup red wine vinegar 1 tablespoon sumac 1 tablespoon olive oil small bunch or fresh oregano, leaves picked 1 tablespoon roughly chopped flat leaf parsley sea salt Peel and slice the onion into rings, about 1 mm thick. Place in a small bowl and add the vinegar, sumac and a good pinch of salt. Set aside to let the onion soften for about 30 minutes. This method of preparing them removes all the acrid aftertaste of raw onion, and the red wine vinegar turns them the most gorgeous pale pink colour. Slice the tomatoes in a variety of ways – wedges, cross wise, length wise, in quarters or halves. Place in a medium sized bowl. In a small pan over medium heat toast the pine nuts until they are lightly golden. Just before serving add the pine nuts to the sliced tomatoes with the parsley and oregano leaves. Drain the onion and add to the tomatoes along with the olive oil and the lemon zest. Carefully toss together and then turn onto a serving platter. Posted by:mawarre I love to cook (and eat). Based in Brisbane, Australia, I write about the food I cook for my friends and family. Post navigation
Carrot salad with coriander, chilli and sesame
According to Tennyson, in the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love; mine, however, turns towards thoughts of salad. I love them all – green salad, Greek salad, Caesar salad, Cobb salad; salads with roasted beetroot, salads with spinach and cous cous and quinoa; Asian salads, potato salads and Middle Eastern salads. I love the simplicity of tossing beautiful fresh ingredients together to make a delicious salad. It’s quick and easy, and as the weather warms up, is the perfect accompaniment to whatever we are having for dinner. It also usually means less time in the kitchen and more time for relaxing in the cool of the evening. This salad takes the humble carrot and makes it a star, by adding chilli, coriander, lime and sesame, and a tangy citrus dressing. It was a spectacular spring day today, and every mouthful was a pleasure as we ate it for lunch, with the sun shining, a light breeze in the air, and us in short sleeves and bare feet for almost the first time this season. We counted our blessings, grateful to live in such a beautiful place. Serves 4 Salad: 500g carrots 1 long red chilli 3 kaffir lime leaves 2 tablespoons sesame seeds 1 bunch coriander (cilantro) Dressing: 1 orange 1 lemon 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon dijon mustard sea salt and black pepper Use a vegetable peeler to peel long, thin ribbons from the carrots, discarding the core. Slice the chilli in half, remove the seeds and the membrane and then slice into very fine strips. Finely slice the lime leaves. Pick the leaves from the coriander and discard the stems, or save to make a curry paste. Place the carrots, chilli, lime leaves and coriander into a large bowl. In a small non-stick pan toast the sesame seeds until very lightly golden. Set aside 1 tablespoon of the sesame seeds for the dressing, and add the remainder to the other ingredients. Remove the zest from the orange and add to the salad. Just before serving add half the dressing and toss well. Turn on to a serving plate or bowl, with the remaining dressing on the side. To make the dressing, juice the orange and lemon, add the other ingredients plus the remaining sesame seeds and whisk together until well combined. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.
Avocado slammer salad
When I made this avocado and rocket salad, my eldest son suggested I call it avocado slammer salad, because of the lemon wedges and little pile of salt on the plate. And when we eat it, it has a certain slammer-like quality – take a wedge of avocado, sprinkle on salt, squeeze over some lemon juice and dressing and then smash onto a piece of flat bread, add some rocket and into the mouth. So good on a hot summer’s afternoon with a glass of cider! It’s just as good served on a plate for each person (and a little more refined), and that’s how I’ve written the recipe below, but I have to say, we more often eat it the former way. It takes but moments to prepare, although it does depend on a gorgeous smooth and ripe avocado to be really great. There’s a funny cartoon I’ve seen with a drawing of seven avocados in a row and underneath them Day 1 – not ripe, Day 2 – not ripe, etc. until you get to the last one which reads Day 7 – gone bad. Like all jokes there is an element of truth in it. Where we live, though, avocados are at their absolute best now so we are making the most of them. Serves 2 for lunch or 4 before dinner 1 ripe avocado, halved, peeled and the seed removed 100g rocket 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or verjuice 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 lemon, cut into wedges sea salt and black pepper, to taste Crisp flat bread or crackers, to serve In a small bowl whisk together the white wine vinegar or verjuice and olive oil. Place the avocado halves on two plates, then divide the rocket and place next to the avocado. Carefully spoon the dressing into the hole left by the seed and drizzle a little on the plate. Season well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve right away, with lemon wedges and flatbread. No cooking, hardly any mess, delicious taste, happy you.
Potato and pea salad with hazelnut dressing
This salad is not much like the mayonnaise flooded, stodgy version of potato salad familiar to many. It has a nutty hazelnut and mustard dressing that has a great bite and contrasts with tender potatoes and crunchy peas. It’s perfect for when sugar snap and snow peas are in season. It can be served warm, or at room temperature. At our place this goes with a pan fried salmon steak or grilled chicken and a glass of pinot gris. Serves 4 – 6 100g snow peas (mange-tout) 150g sugar snap peas 500g Kipfler or red skinned potatoes 50g snow pea sprouts, ends trimmed 2 shallots, finely sliced Dressing: 3/4 cup hazelnuts 1/2 cup olive oil 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar 1 tablespoon dijon mustard Preheat the oven to 180 C. Roast the hazelnuts fro 5 minutes and then wrap in a clean tea towel. Rub vigorously on the bench top until the dark skins fall off. Discard the skins and finely chop the hazelnuts. Cut the potatoes into wedges and then boil, steam or microwave until tender, but not too soft. Bring a pot of water to the boil, add a pinch of salt and the cook the snow peas and sugar snap peas for 1 minute. Drain immediately and rinse under cold water to refresh. In a jar combine all the dressing ingredients and shake well. Place the cooked potato in a bowl and pour over 3/4 of the dressing. Gently toss the potatoes with your hands until well coated with the dressing. Turn onto a serving platter with the peas, sprouts and shallots and then drizzle over the remaining dressing. Serve straight away, while the potato is still warm and the peas tender crisp. Posted by:mawarre I love to cook (and eat). Based in Brisbane, Australia, I write about the food I cook for my friends and family. Post navigation
Roasted pumpkin with feta, tomato and pine nuts
Pumpkin is a staple vegetable in my part of the world, used much more for savoury dishes than sweet. There are a number of varieties that I use in my cooking but my favourite is Jap or Kent pumpkin which has a yellow-orange flesh that is soft and dry and a nutty flavour with natural sweetness beautifully enhanced when roasted. In this dish the sweet pumpkin flavours are combined with salty feta, pinenuts, tomatoes and peppery rocket and is delicious served warm or at room temperature. Nutmeg is the perfect spice for pumpkin and is absolutely the best when grated freshly. Whole nutmegs are available in most supermarkets and I encourage you to try them. You’ll never fo back to pre-grated nutmeg! Serves 4 1 kg pumpkin, peeled, seeded, and cut into small cubes 1 tablespoon olive oil Sea salt and black pepper 1/4 nutmeg, finely grated 100g soft feta cheese, crumbled 50g small rocket leaves 100g semi dried tomatoes 1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted Preheat oven to 180C. Toss the cubed pumpkin in a medium sized bowl with the olive oil and nutmeg. Season well with sea salt and black pepper. Place on an oven tray and roast until the pumpkin is lightly golden and quite soft, about 25 minutes. Put the rocket leaves on a serving platter and then scatter over the pumpkin, feta, semi dried tomatoes and pine nuts. Posted by:mawarre I love to cook (and eat). Based in Brisbane, Australia, I write about the food I cook for my friends and family. Post navigation
Rocket, apple and parmesan salad
Summer is perfect for salads and many meals I make in this season revolve around a salad. It is easy, though, to slip into boring salad mode and turn out a perfectly nice, but ho-hum garden salad, just because it’s what first comes to mind. It’s no more effort to do something with a bit more creativity, it just needs an good idea. This salad brings together peppery, nutty, sweet and caramel flavours and some lovely contrasting textures, with Pink Lady apple as the star ingredient. There’s hardly anything to it, but it just works really well. It’s worth buying an unctuous, high quality aged balsamic vinegar for your pantry. It has such sweetness, complexity and depth of flavour and a little bit goes a long way. Serves 4 120g mixed baby spinach and rocket leaves 1 Pink Lady apple juice of 1/2 a lemon 50g shaved parmesan cheese 1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar Sea salt and black pepper Thinly slice the apple horizontally, and then into thin slivers. (At our place we have a wicked gadget that my son uses to do this task. I’m too scared I’ll chop my fingers off.) Place the apple slivers with the lemon juice in a small bowl and toss around to coat the apple with the juice. This is just so the apple won’t discolour. Pile the salad leaves on a serving platter and top with the apple and parmesan. Toss gently and then season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the balsamic vinegar – if you have a theatrical bent I advise madly flinging the bottle around over the salad a la Jackson Pollock – and serve right away. Posted by:mawarre I love to cook (and eat). Based in Brisbane, Australia, I write about the food I cook for my friends and family. Post navigation
Zucchini and mint salad – summer on a plate
Zucchini is a humble vegetable, and often overlooked because it is so easy to overcook it to a watery, mushy mess that tastes pretty blah. But, char-grilled on a griddle pan, tossed in a little olive oil, and then spiced up with chilli, loads of fresh mint, lemon zest and soft oozy feta cheese and zucchini is transformed into a star. This salad can be served warm or cool and tastes great either way. It would be a fabulous addition to a Christmas meal with the combination of bright green of mint and zucchini and red chilli. Serves 4 – 6 750 g zucchini – all green or a combination of green and yellow is also nice 1 large red chilli, finely sliced – you can choose mild or hot, depending on your love of chilli 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint, plus a a few extra leaves 40 g soft feta cheese Extra virgin olive oil Sea salt and black pepper 1 lemon Heat a griddle pan until quite hot. Thinly slice the zucchini longways and then char-grill on both sides on the griddle pan for a few minutes, until the zucchini is well coloured and just softening. Place the zucchini in a bowl and add the mint and chilli. Season well with the salt and pepper and pour over 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Grate the zest of the lemon onto the zucchini and then the juice of half of the lemon. Carefully toss and then place onto a serving platter. Finally, crumble over the soft feta and scatter the extra mint leaves onto the salad before serving. Posted by:mawarre I love to cook (and eat). Based in Brisbane, Australia, I write about the food I cook for my friends and family. Post navigation
Cranberry and wild rice salad
This is a delicious salad and a staple at our place at Christmas time. It’s very colourful and full of contrasting textures and flavours. The nutty wild rice and the perfumed basmati rice are complemented perfectly by the crunch of almonds, the sweet chewiness of cranberries and the sharp, bright flavours of orange, ginger and coriander in the dressing. Serves 8 as an accompaniment 100g wild rice 100g basmati rice 130g dried cranberries 60 g toasted slivered almonds 2 spring onions (shallots) finely sliced 1/2 bunch chopped fresh coriander 1 knob ginger, about 3 cm long, peeled. 1/4 cup orange juice 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil sea salt and freshly ground black pepper Cook the wild rice and basmati rice separately according to packet directions. They need to be cooked separately because the wild rice will take longer to cook than the basmati rice. Put the cooked rice in the refrigerator until it is cool. Combine the rices, cranberries, almonds, spring onions and coriander in a serving bowl. Put the orange juice and olive oil into a separate small bowl. Use a Microplane or a fine grater to grate the ginger. Add to the olive oil and orange juice, season well, and whisk until well combined. Dress the salad and serve immediately. Posted by:mawarre I love to cook (and eat). Based in Brisbane, Australia, I write about the food I cook for my friends and family. Post navigation
Coconut cupcakes
Sweet and moist, with a creamy icing redolent of citrus, these little cakes are beautiful morsels of deliciousness. The cake batter is really easy to prepare – no creaming of butter and sugar – just all in together in a food processor and it’s done. There are a host of end-of-year parties and events happening in my world and a cake that can be quickly made, keeps well, looks lovely and tastes wonderful is perfection. If you have the icing skills you could make them look a little bit fancy, but I like the simple home-made look of cakes when iced using just a flat bladed knife and a little bit of artistic sculpting. Enjoy! Makes 12 150 g butter, cut into small cubes 1 cup (220g) sugar 2 eggs 1/2 cup desiccated coconut 200 ml coconut milk 250 g self-raising flour Icing: 250 g cream cheese, softened 60 g icing sugar zest of 2 oranges or tangelos Preheat oven to 160 C. Place the butter, sugar, eggs, desiccated coconut, coconut milk and flour into a food processor and process until well combined and a smooth batter is formed. Spoon into patty pan cases in a patty pan tin, and then bake in the oven for 15 – 18 minutes, until lightly golden and the cake springs back when lightly touched. Place on a wire cake rack to cool. To make the icing beat together the cream cheese, icing sugar and zest until smooth an creamy. Ice the cakes when they are cool. Store in an airtight container in the fridge, and ring to room temperature before serving. Posted by:mawarre I love to cook (and eat). Based in Brisbane, Australia, I write about the food I cook for my friends and family. Post navigation
Doughnuts with strawberry sauce
When I was a teenager I had a disastrous first experience making doughnuts. The dough was gluey, the oil not hot enough, and the result so hideous they were inedible. It was years before I had the courage to try deep frying again, and only recently that I started experimenting with doughnuts. This recipe is really the holes not the doughnut, and they taste wonderful, especially when eaten warm, dipped in strawberry sauce. The dough uses baking powder rather than yeast, so the recipe is simplicity itself, and perfect for a morning or afternoon treat. Miss 16 said, with mouth full and sauce dripping from her chin, that they were like a jam doughnut from the bakery only much, much better. They would also be divine with a bitter chocolate sauce or thick lemon curd, for dipping. Makes about 24 small doughnuts 50 g butter 125 ml milk 1.5 litres sunflower oil 250 g plain flour 1½ teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon sea salt 100 g caster sugar 200 g strawberries 1 tablespoon icing sugar zest of ½ orange or tangelo Melt the butter, milk and 2 tablespoons of the sunflower oil in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and 50 g sugar in a medium-sized bowl. Make a well in the middle, then tip in the warm milk mixture. Stir the mixture with a knife until it forms a soft, sticky dough. Heat the rest of the oil in a medium-sized deep saucepan pan until it reaches 180 C. The most useful kitchen tool I have ever bought, aside from a really good knife, is a kitchen thermometer. It’s the best way to ensure that the cooking temperature is correct and that the result is not soggy, oil soaked lumps, or brown and crisp but raw in the middle doughnuts. But if you don’t have a thermometer, here are alternative ways to check the temperature of the oil. Roll the dough into small balls about the size of a walnut in its shell. Use a slotted spoon to carefully lower batches of six balls into the oil. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until golden, turning occasionally. Place the cooked doughnuts onto a double layer of paper towel to drain. Cool for a few minutes, then roll gently in the remaining sugar until finely coated. To make the strawberry sauce place the strawberries, icing sugar and the zest of the orange or tangelo into a small bowl, then blend together until it forms a slightly chunky sauce. Serve the warm doughnuts with the strawberry sauce for dipping and slurping and spooning over. The diet starts tomorrow!
Pannacotta with finger lime
I am something of a pannacotta afficionado, and often choose it for dessert when I eat at Italian restaurants. It is quite simple to make, but it takes a delicate touch to get the gelatine to liquid ratio just right, so that the pannacotta is set but quite wobbly when turned out from its mould, and the texture silky smooth and quite delicate. I make a pannacotta that uses a combination of cream and buttermilk, which makes it rich, but light and silky in texture and with faint citrus notes. It is perfecct to pair with finger lime, an Australian native citrus fruit that is becoming more readily available, due to its pretty colours and gorgeous flavour. The finger lime is native to the rainforests of the border ranges of south east Queensland and northern New South Wales. The pulp of the fruit is made up of individual juice vesicles that look like caviar or tiny pearls. They are compressed inside the fruit and burst out when the fruit is opened. The pulp has an astringent citrus flavour and is almost effervescent on the tongue, a bit like sherbert. We have been growing a finger lime for several years now and it started to bear fruit a couple of years ago. Ours has a dark green fruit and the pearls are a pale green, but the ones I bought to make this recipe have an almost black skin and the pearls are translucent pink. If you can’t get finger limes then any tropical fruit works wonderfully in this recipe – finely diced mango, passionfruit pulp, or small chunks of caramelised pineapple. But if you can find finger limes please try them to top this pannacotta – you won’t be disappointed. Serves 6 3 leaves of gold strength gelatine1 2/3 cups pouring cream150 g castor sugar1 1/4 cups buttermilkjuice of 1 lemon2 medium sized finger limes (available from good fruit shops) sliced lengthwise and the pearl like fruit removed. Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water to soften. Combine the cream and sugar in a saucepan on medium heat and bring it almost to the boil. Take off the heat and add it to the buttermilk in a medium sized bowl. Squeeze the excess moisture out of the gelatine and whisk into the buttermilk and cream mixture until completely dissolved. Stir through the lemon juice and let it cool a little. Pour into moulds and then set in the fridge for around 4 hours. When ready to serve carefully invert the pannacottas onto a serving plate. They should come out easily and be set but very wobbly. Carefully top with a teaspoon of finger lime pearls and serve right away. Posted by:mawarre I love to cook (and eat). Based in Brisbane, Australia, I write about the food I cook for my friends and family. Post navigation