Iced Fruit Tea

24 Oct

TeaThis is the absolute perfect iced tea to serve at large gatherings. Its refreshing, lightly sweet, and the rooibush (red bush) tea is naturally cleansing – it helps cut through the richness that is usually present in group meals. I love this fruit tea because you can really adjust it to your preference. I like it bright and fruity. If you want it sweeter or deeper, use more juice and less tea.

Frozen fruit is a wonderful addition here – I used seedless grapes. They act as sweet, gorgeous ice cubes, so ice doesnt water down the tea. They also add a distinct taste to the tea which creates layers of lovely flavour. By the way, if  you want to make this into a sangria, feel free to add a bottle of wine! 😉

This ice tea should serve 10 – 12 people. We served it in a large punch bowl, with extra in big jug. It was all finished by the end of dinner … and it was goood.

  • 1 large bunch seedless grapes
  • 3 starfruit
  • 5 rooibush (red bush) tea bags
  • 1/2 cup fresh lemon or orange juice
  • 1 litre fruit juice (I used Ceres mixed fruit juice)
  • 1 litre sparkling apple juice (I used Appletiser – no sugar or preservatives added)
  • 1 litre sparkling water

Wash fruit. Halve grapes, and slice star fruit thinly. Place all the fruit in a large zip loc plastic bag, and freeze for at least 1 – 2 hours.

Boil 1 1/2 litres water and pour into a large pot or heat proof bowl. Add the rooibush tea bags, and allow to steep for 1 – 2 hours, or until cool.

Just before serving, fish the tea bags out, and mix the cooled tea with the fresh lemon juice, fruit juice, sparkling apple juice and sparkling water.

Add the frozen fruit and mix well. Serve happily.

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Potato Salad

24 Oct

mmmmmYesterday, my Mak Enda had a barbeque to welcome her daughter, S, back home. I find that Malaysians tend to be nomads… we wander the earth, but somehow always come back home. I dont know if its the heat or the chili that draws us, but we always find our way back somehow.

May be because I was pining for my family in the US, but I decided to make this potato salad. Its very American – and in fact the double dipping of the potatoes was taught to me by my brother in law, R, an American. It makes for a bright, tangy, sweet, creamy and yet not too heavy potato salad. If you can find Vegannaise or another vegan mayonnaise, this can be a vegan recipe.

I love the sour tastes of pickle, onion, and peppadew as well as the green fresh herbs in this creamy mix. The balance of flavours and textures is lovely, and ensures that this potato salad is not overwhelmingly rich and creamy. Dont get me wrong, I enjoy rich and creamy, but the contrasts in this salad are beautiful!

In typical Malaysian style, the potato salad was served with the grilled meats, sausages, vegetables and mee goreng (fried noodles). Someone clever realised that eating the mee goreng and potato salad together, with some cut chili in soy, was the perfect balance! I know, sounds crazy, but it was actually quite a delicious mixture (if slightly odd), and the perfect example of us mixed up nomads with taste buds from everywhere!

This will serve about 10 – 12 people with leftovers (which are fabulous the next day with a fried egg for breakfast!). Make sure you use waxy potatoes – gold, red-skinned, new, fingerling, and charlotte – because these will keep their shape best after having been boiled. If you use baking or mashing potatoes which are more floury, the potato salad will just fall apart when you try and mix in all the ingredients.

I like a cold potato salad but this is just as good if served warm.

  • 10 – 12 medium to large waxy potatoes
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 + 1 tsp salt (plus additional to taste)
  • 1 + 1 tsp cracked black pepper (plus additional to taste)
  • 3 heaping tbsp mayonnaise (I like Kraft or Japanese mayo – but try Vegannaise for a totally vegan salad)
  • 1 heaping tbsp Dijon mustard (with whole mustard seeds if you can find it)
  • 1 tbsp pickle water
  • 2 – 3 minced garlic cloves
  • 5 pickles
  • 7 small cocktail onions
  • 7 peppadews (pickled sweet red peppers)
  • 1/2 cup Italian parsley, chopped
  • 1/2 cup spring onions, chopped

Peel and roughly chop the potatoes, and place in a large pot. Cover with water, and bring to the boil over high heat. Keep the water simmering, and boil the potatoes for about 20 – 30 minutes, or until a knife can cut through the potato easily. Test every 10 minutes or so, as different varieties of potato cook at different speeds. You want the potatoes to be just cooked through because they will continue to cook once drained.

While the potatoes are boiling, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, oregano, and 1 tsp each of salt and pepper. As soon as the potatoes have cooked, drain them and put them in a large bowl. Pour over the vinaigrette, and using a large spatula, gently mix to ensure all the potatoes are coated. Leave to cool down a bit, about 20 minutes or so.

Whisk together 1 tsp each salt and pepper, mayonnaise, mustard, pickle water and minced garlic cloves. Once the potato salad is warm (not piping hot), fold in the mayonnaise mixture and gently mix to ensure all the potatoes are coated well.

Chop the pickles, cocktail onions, and peppadews, and fold into the salad along with the parsley and spring onions. Taste, and adjust seasonings. I often add a bit more salt, and sometimes a few more pickles if I want it especially tangy.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or serve at room temperature.

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Flying

23 Oct

I have been most remiss about posting this week – but part of it is because I have flown back home to Malaysia. Leaving was really sad and traumatic. I miss baby Z and M and B and J and family a lot … but am trying hard to readjust and plan for the next time!

The flight from the US to Malaysia is also pretty brutal – total traveling time (from house to house) is about 27 hours. I have done it enough times to have certain tips and tricks to make the flight and the transition easier. Most of them have to do with food, so here they are!

Start preparing your body about a week in advance

Your body goes through immense stress when you take it 39,000 feet above ground – no matter the pressurised, canned air environment. Your organs get squished, pressure is put on your heart and lungs, and your extremities swell. You are also at much higher risk for a deep vein thrombosis. You can minimise your risks and increase your comfort levels on board by preparing your body for flight.

  • Drink water – at least 8 – 12 glasses per day – for at least a week before flying. This will ensure your body is very hydrated and will help it battle the dehydrating effects of being up in the air.
  • Take 2 aspirins every day for a week before flying (and 3 days upon landing). This will thin your blood and help prevent thrombosis.
  • For a few days before flying, eat carefully. For me this means no spicy food, no rich or milky food, and a few dates. The dates ensure I flush everything out of my system before I fly… and this is a good thing, believe me! I also try and eat an apple or some fruit every day.
  • The day I fly, I rarely eat anything. May be a piece of toast or some fruit or yogurt for breakfast, but after that, nothing but juice and water. I find it really helps to fly on an empty stomache! Seriously – much more comfortable all around.
  • Even if you dont regularly, try and take some vitamins for at least 2 – 3 days before you fly, and 2 – 3 days once you have landed. A good multi-vitamin is fine.

Drink, drink, drink when flying

When I fly, I mostly consume water. No coffee, tea, carbonated drinks or alcohol. These just wreak havoc on the system when it is under such intense pressure. Qatar (my new favourite airlines) has a wonderful lime and mint drink – but I ask the stewardesses to mix it 1/4 lime and mint, 3/4 water. And I drink glass upon glass upon glass. Its a good idea to ask for a bottle of water, but I also try and walk to the galley at least once every 2 – 3 hours for a refill on my drink. This enables me to get up and walk, and also ensures Im drinking loads!

To veg or not to veg?

When I fly, I used to pre-order a vegetarian meal. I once made the mistake of ordering an Asian vegetarian meal, and got beans – bean salad, bean curry, bean cutlet. I am here to tell you, beans and flying in an enclosed space are not a good match! So I used to order western vegetarian meals, and mostly, they were okay. But then I realised that when you order a vegetarian meal, you get a lot of food. And I believe that its not a good idea to eat a lot while flying.

So I now dont pre-order, and rather see whats available on the flight. Most airlines offer a vegetarian main course. The starter will usually have fish or meat in it, and thats great because then I wont eat it! I have nuts – great protein, and energy source, bread, and vegetarian main course if possible. I usually skip dessert unless its fruit (or chocolate!).

I find I dont miss eating a lot on flights, and when I land, my system thanks me for it.

Coming Home…

The first day I landed, I made a terrible mistake. I ate nasi lemak with sambal. Basically, rich Malaysian food with fried chili sauce condiments! Not a good idea at all. In my greed and pleasure at being home, I forgot the cardinal rule – tread lightly and gently for a few days.

Fruit, water, toast, oatmeal and some yogurt are all wonderful bites for home coming. Remember to keep your water consumption up as you will have been really dehydrated from the flight. Also, be vigilant about taking vitamins and dont forget the aspirin for a few days. I was in the air for a total of 22 hours – I really needed to be careful with myself.

Flying is a means to an end – it allows us to have amazing adventures in far flung places, and more importantly for me, it brings me home to my family, which is stretched half way around the world. But flying takes a toll on the body, and the single most important thing to do when flying is to be conscious and aware of how you are treating yourself. Being a healthy flier means that once you land, you can get up and go quickly and happily!

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Roasted Tomato Tart

18 Oct

Tart!Tonight’s dinner was a work in progress during the day. It was one of those meals that you find a bit of time for, leave, and then come back to. Slow roasting the tomatoes for the tart took a while, and they really benefitted from being left in a hot oven (that I turned off) when we went out for the day.

I also roasted butternut for a soup – but that one was so simple, a recipe is kind of silly. I basically peeled and seeded a butternut, chopped it up, added a few tablespoons of olive oil and some spice – paprika, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg – salt and pepper, and roasted it in a hot oven (225 C / 450 F) until it was soft. I mashed it, put it in a pot, poured a cup of water over, and brought to the boil. Blended it to a puree, and added a touch of milk and adjusted spices. Pure butternut heaven!

I must admit, I used Whole Foods bought puff pastry (from Dufour – amazing stuff!) for the tart. You could use best quality puff pastry, or make a cheese pastry as per the spinach pie I did the other day. Either way, you want a flat pie – almost a pizza but better 😉

I roasted these tomatoes in a very hot oven for about 20 – 25 minutes – until they were very soft, slightly burnt and caramelised, but still holding their shape and size. I then flipped them over, turned the oven off, and went out – and when we got back home, the tomatoes were slightly dried – almost like semi-sun-dried tomatoes. They had intensified in colour and flavour, without losing their shape or size. Absolutely gorgeous. I recommend this if you can – roast for half an hour in the morning, and then just leave them there. When you get home, you will have an amazing tomato dinner waiting for you! These are soooo good in pasta, in a grilled cheese, in salad, soup, just about anywhere you need a pure shot of tomato flavour.

Roasted Semi Dried Tomatoes

You will definitely have extra left over. Seems a shame to roast these tomatoes for just the one tart! Anoint your extras with a bit of olive oil and save in the fridge.

  • 10 – 12 juicy red tomatoes
  • 1 – 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Basil (fresh or dried)
  • 1 tsp light brown sugar
  • 8 – 10 garlic cloves, sliced

Preheat oven to 225C (450F). Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Wash and dry the tomatoes. Slice them thickly (about 3 – 4 slices per fruit), destem if you feel the need, and arrange in a single layer on your baking sheet. Sprinkle olive oil judiciously over all.

Sprinkle with salt, pepper, basil and sugar. Add sliced garlic (I usually stick one or two on top of each tomato slice).

Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until the tomatoes are oozing juice, blistered a bit, but still holding their shape and size.

Take the baking sheet out of the oven, switch off the oven, and flip the tomatoes over. Put back into oven and leave for at least 2 hours if not the whole day.

Roasted Tomato Tart

  • 1 large sheet puff pastry (or cheese crust pastry to line a baking sheet)
  • 2 tbsp sour cream
  • 2 tbsp ricotta or cottage cheese
  • 1 tbsp cream cheese
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed or minced
  • 1 egg
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 + 1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
  • Roasted tomatoes

Preheat oven to 180C (375F). Line a baking sheet or pan with parchment paper.

Remove parchment paper from the baking pan, and place flat on table. Place a sheet of puff pastry (or a square of your own made cheese pastry) onto the parchment.

Roll out the pastry to to a rectangle about 18″ by 12″ and then fold over the edges by about 2 inches all around. Pinch to make sure the folded over edges stick, and using a fork, prick holes in the centre of the pastry. Slide onto your baking sheet or pan, and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the pastry has puffed up and is a light golden brown.

If you are using puff pastry, remove from the oven, and dig out about half of the centre layers. You will have very puffed edges, and a crisp centre.

Beat together the sour cream, ricotta, cream cheese, garlic, egg, salt and pepper and 1/4 cup of grated cheese. Pour into the centre of the pastry.

Arrange the roasted tomatoes on top of the mixture, and sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese, making sure you dont cover the tomatoes completely.

Bake in the oven for a further 20 minutes or so, or until the centre is puffed and browned.

Slice into pieces and enjoy! This can be served at room temperature, or even from the fridge the next day and is still very scrummy.

 

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Apple Butter

17 Oct

Today, we went to a farm and picked our own pumpkins for Halloween! It was an amazing outing – Z got to see her first live goats, pigs and cow, and we took a hayride. It was really fun, and such a pleasure to be outside on a sunny, but cold autumn day! One of the best parts for me was wandering through the farmstall, checking out all the produce. They have an apple orchard, so you can pick your own apples, or else just take home huge bags of picked apples. All kinds of squash and pumpkins, lovely ripe tomatoes, kale, fresh baked breads… and they had apple butter!

Oh, do I love this stuff. Apple butter is completely vegan – a kind of cooked down version of apple sauce. Its very thick, rich, dark caramelised brown. It tastes, as Julia said, like Christmas – apples and spices and everything nice! Its a wonderful substitute for fats (vegetable oil or butter) in baked goods – and its phenomenal on all kinds of breakfast dishes – from oatmeal to yogurt to waffles to plain old toast. Grilled cheese sandwiches (especially brie) reach heights unimagined with a slather of apple butter. Honestly, try some!

This recipe for apple butter takes a while. Its an afternoon of cooking when you find yourself at home, and its cold outside or rainy, and you have a surfeit of apples. I always try and make this with at least two different kinds of apples, just to give it depth of flavour. And choose your spices yourself – I give you what I use, but feel free to mix it up, add, subtract or whatever tastes good to you! For depth of flavour, I also use different sugars and honey. And remember, this is totally a guide recipe – if your apples are incredibly sweet, you wont need as much sugar. But do note that the sugar is used to create the caramelised effect in the butter, and also to encourage thickening. Dont use too little or it wont set properly.

Cook this apple butter with a view to caning or freezing it. You will have loads, and its wonderful to have in the fridge when you just want something warm, spicy, indulgent and yet relatively healthy. Enjoy!

Makes about 6 cups

  • 10 – 12 large apples, mixed variety (about 4 lbs/ 2 kgs)
  • 1 cup apple cider (or apple juice – purest you can find plus 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar)
  • 1 1/2 – 2 cups of sugar – half light brown sugar, half white sugar
  • 1 tbsp honey (optional)
  • 1 – 2 tsp cinnamon (to taste)
  • 1/2 tsp each nutmeg, allspice and ginger (according to your preference)
  • Pinch of cloves
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • Juice and grated peel of 1 lemon

Peel, core and chop the apples fine. Put in a large pot (I usually use my oval enamel Le Creuset). Add the apple cider, and over medium high heat bring the apples and liquid to the boil. Once everything is bubbling, bring the heat down to medium low, and simmer until the apples are soft and tender, about half an hour.

Once the apples are very soft, use an immersion blender (or food processor or even a potato masher) to puree the apples. You now have a version of apple sauce!

Taste. Add the sugar, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, cloves, salt and lemon and stir well to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings, remembering that a long slow cooking will caramelise everything and make all the flavours much more intense.

You have a choice now. You can bake the apple sauce in the oven (set quite low – about 125 C / 250 F) for about 3 – 4 hours, stirring every half an hour or so. Or you can cook it over low heat on the stove top, stirring often for up to 2 hours. I prefer this way because I love the scent and the warmth of the apple butter filling the house, and I believe that constant stirring makes for a smoother butter.

Either way, by the end of the cooking time, you will have a very thick, very caramelised dark brown butter, scented with spice and tasting of the essence of apple. Enjoy the fruits of your labour, and give some to friends so they can taste your love too!

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Spinach and Cheddar Tart

16 Oct

TartI made a spinach pie for Essia when she left us to go to Germany, and have been mulling over the workings of that pie since then. I thought may be it could have been done purely spinach (the one I did had caramelised onions on the bottom for pleasure), but I wanted it to be substantial and warming. Spinach and cheddar cheese go extremely well together, and so when it came to dinner, I decided to make a spinach cheese pie – with the cheese everywhere I could get it!

Cheese in the crust, cheese mixed with the spinach… totally delectable. This pie/tart is best made in a small spring form tart pan – I used an 8 inch pan, and it was perfect and served 4 quite well. The tart is quite rich. Its lovely served with a chopped tomato and onion salad just for the juxtaposition. Its also really really good the next day, cold, for breakfast!

The crust was soooo good. I think its because I became shameless, and decided to make it with more cheese than flour. Flour only acts as a delicate connective marker to the crispy burnt cheese in this crust. I cant tell you how much I love burnt cheese, but this crust came close to nirvana for me.

I love spinach, and I love the deep green spinach taste of this tart. You almost cannot taste the cheese except as a support to the spinach, and in the way it makes the texture of the filling firm. I tried quite hard, but I couldnt come up with a good vegan version, Im afraid. This relies too heavily on cheese as one of its main structural ingredients! Speaking of which, you could probably also use feta in place of grated cheddar…

Enjoy a thin slice of this tart, and immerse yourself in the happiness of pure spinach joy.

For the crust

  • 1 – 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 – 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 4 tbsp / 1/2 stick butter, cold
  • 1 – 2 tbsp cold milk

Preheat the oven to 200C (400F).

In a small bowl, mix together 1 cup of grated cheese with 1/2 cup flour. You may need more cheese or more flour as you knead the dough, so have some standing by.

Sprinkle over paprika and salt, and grate in the cold butter. Using your hands – just the tips of your fingers – mix in the butter with the flour cheese mixture. You should have an oatmealy mixture. Sprinkle over 1 tbsp milk, and combine until the dough comes together.

Now its up to you – sometimes I add more cheese, sometimes I add more flour – sometimes I add a bit more of both. You want a supple dough that tastes extremely cheesy, and yet has enough strength to be rolled and pressed and kneaded.

Once you are happy with your dough, roll it into a circle, and flatten with the palm of your hand. Centre in an 8-inch spring form tart pan, and using your fingers, press the dough out into the pan. You should have more than enough to cover the bottom and sides of the tart pan.

Refrigerate for 10 – 15 minutes, and then using the tines of a fork, poke multiple holes in the crust before baking for 15 minutes.

Spinach and Cheddar filling

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 cups chopped frozen spinach or 4 – 6 cups chopped fresh spinach
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tbsp sour cream
  • 2 eggs
  • Approximately 1 cup grated cheddar cheese

You want the taste of spinach to come out loud and clear here, so there is no distraction – no garlic, no herbs, nothing but a touch of dusky paprika to bring out the green of the spinach.

In a medium non stick frying pan, lightly saute the spinach in the olive oil until it is bright green, and has released most of its liquid.

Tip the spinach into a sieve, set over a bowl, and drain, pressing down, for at least 3 – 5 minutes. You want the spinach to be quite dry.

Put the dried spinach into a bowl with the paprika, salt and pepper generously, the sour cream, and eggs. Using an immersion blender, puree the spinach well. Once the spinach is a glowing smooth green mass, fold in the cheddar cheese. Taste and adjust seasonings, and add more cheese if you want (though it shouldnt overwhelm the spinach).

Pour the spinach mixture into the prebaked cheddar crust, and bake in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes, or until the filling is firm.

Serve warm or cold.

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Grilled Cheese with Jammy Onions

15 Oct

with Jammy OnionsIts suddenly cold! Last night when I went out to get the hound in, I saw my breath, puffs of white, against the darkness of the night. And today, its gray and rainy. In about a week, I will be home in the warmth of the tropics, but here, its cold, and only going to get colder.

Lunch today was about comfort – grilled cheese with the addition of jammy, dark caramelised onions. If you need to start from the beginning it can take a little less than an hour to make this meal. But if you make the jammy onions in advance and have them in the fridge… well, then, you can do this quick as a blink! Jammy onions are wonderful to have on hand, by the way. They elevate anything and everything – from pasta sauce, to curry, to soup.

This is very rich – so make sure that when youre actually grilling the sandwiches in the pan, that you use only a little bit of butter – and low heat. This will enable the cheese inside to really melt and meld with the onions, and the bread to toast without getting too greasy and buttery.

Wonderful served with tomato soup – or something green like a sharp mustardy arugula (rocket) salad with sliced tomatoes and a sharp dressing on the side. This is lunch to warm the innards and bring a smile to the faces of those you love. And its just grilled cheese – but with such a lovely twist.

 

Serves 4

  • 2 medium onions
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/2 tsp basil
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1/4 cup red wine
  • 1 tsp brown sugar
  • 2 – 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 – 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • Water
  • 8 slices bread – I used sourdough, though a yeasty brown bread would be wonderful here too
  • A few tablespoons mayonnaise (or Marie’s Italian dressing – my family’s favourite!)
  • 2 2/3 cups grated cheese (approximate) – you can use cheddar, brie, blue, goat, parmesan – what ever you like. I used cheddar and jack – and figured about 2/3rd cup cheese per person, but its sometimes less. You could also use 8 slices of cheese but please dont use plastic cheese – its gross!
  • A few tablespoons of butter, softened to room temperature

First, prepare the onions. Slice the onions in half, peel, and slice the top off. Slice half rings, thinly all the way to the root.

Put a medium non stick pan over medium high heat, add olive oil and onions, and saute for 3 – 5 minutes, until the onions have softened. Add salt, pepper, basil, and oregano, and mix well to combine.

Put heat up to high, and add red wine. Allow the red wine to bubble, and mix the onions well to coat them in the wine. The wine will soften the onions, and will be absorbed almost completely by them. Once the onions are a dusky red, and the wine has been absorbed, sprinkle over brown sugar, balsamic and soy sauce. Stir to combine, and allow to bubble for a few minutes.

Add about 1/4 cup water, and bring the heat down to medium. Simmer the onions for at least 10 minutes, or until all the water has been absorbed. Taste, adjust seasonings, and consider if the onions are soft and melting enough for you. If not, add some more water (and a little touch more sugar if you like), and bubble away again. Each time you add more water, and it gets absorbed, the onions will go darker, slicker and jammier. Sometimes I do this, in increments 3 or 4 times.

Once the onions are a good jammy consistency, transfer to a heat proof bowl and set aside.

Rinse out the non stick pan, and have another one ready. If you dont think you can fit two sandwiches in one pan (and will thus have to cook them in two rounds), preheat the oven to the lowest temperature, and have a baking sheet ready to receive grilled sandwiches while you make the rest.

Lay out 8 slices of bread in 4 groups of 2 each. Spread mayonnaise (or other sandwich spread – we use Marie’s Italian dressing – mustard would be good here – as would aioli) sparingly on bread. Spread about 1/3 cup (or less if you like) grated cheese – or 1 slice of cheese – on 4 slices of bread. Divide jammy onions between these four slices, and cover again with another 1/3 cup grated cheese (or 1 slice of cheese) each. Cover with remaining slices of bread to make 4 sandwiches.

Butter the outside of each sandwich, sparingly. Place sandwiches on non stick pans, two to a pan, and place on low heat.  Grill sandwiches undisturbed for about 5 – 7 minutes (I always check at 5) on low heat. If you think the sandwiches are not toasting enough, bring heat up, but just a little.

Flip sandwiches, and grill for about 3 – 5 minutes on second side. Once sandwiches are grilled to your preference, remove from pan, slice horizontally, and serve. The cheese should have melted through those glorious onions, and it should be a sticky wonderous mess.

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Kind-of-Ratatouille-a-la-Karo

14 Oct

with Spinach Couscous!Tonight’s dinner may not be much to look at but it sure was delicious! And it was an intersection of different food thoughts that have been running through my head in the last few weeks. Inspired by so many things – my friend Karo’s post about the grated courgettes (zucchini), the Medjool dates at Per Se, and Karo’s link to Ottolenghi’s website.

Dinner needed to be fast and yet different tonight. Suddenly, autumn is upon us. I think we had our last 80 degree day a few days back, and now the crisp chill of cold is in the air around us. So dinner needed to be a response to that – warm and hearty, yet with echoes of sunshiney places. I didnt really think I wanted to do a ratatouille (though that often speaks of sunshine and warmth), mainly because I didnt have enough tomatoes. And I wanted to do the zucchini grated, and see what happened.

I started cooking with the thought that I was going to grate everything – but it didnt work out that way. Im pretty glad about that because I think I would have had a dark brown looking sludge by the end of it! Some stuff was grated, some stayed basically intact. You could serve this kind-of-ratatouille with french bread, rice, pasta – or as I did, with spinach couscous for a lush hint of colour and raw spinach flavour.

This is an example of my favourite free-form cooking – starting with a few ideas, and some beautiful ingredients, and seeing what happens. The end result was pretty damn tasty, completely vegan, rich and complex. The spice choices leant a hint of sunshine to the dark cold night, and we all went to bed happy and satisfied. All is right with the world 🙂

Serves 4

  • 1 tbsp plus more as needed olive oil
  • 1 small onion grated (mostly liquid)
  • 2 cloves garlic (or more as is your preference), grated
  • 1 small eggplant (aubergine) – diced
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • Pinch (or more) cinnamon
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 portobello mushrooms, peeled and minced
  • 1 zucchini (courgette) grated
  • 1 Medjool date, pitted and chopped very small
  • 1 cup carrots, peeled and chopped into rounds
  • 1/2 orange sweet pepper
  • 1/2 cup roughly chopped tomatoes (I used baby heirloom)
  • 1/2 cup or so water
  • 1/2 cup cashew nuts (toasted)
  • Spinach couscous

First off, toast your cashew nuts if they are raw. Use a non stick frying pan, dont add any oil, and toast over a medium fire until lightly browned. Pour off into a small bowl and set aside.

Add about 1 tablespoon olive oil to the frying pan. You might need to add more oil as you go through the various ingredients, but try to be miserly with the oil – you dont want an overly greasy end dish. Instead, use more or less heat (and eventually water) to control the cooking process.

Grate a small onion directly into the pan. The onion I grated ended up being quite watery – this is fine. If you have lovely little grated shards of onion, this is good too. Saute for a few minutes until the onion is glossy and soft. Grate in the garlic and stir to combine. Lower the heat and let the onion and garlic get acquainted.

While the onion and garlic are bubbling together gently, dice the eggplant into small cubes, keeping the skin intact. Bring the heat up a little (and add a touch of olive oil if you think it needs it), and add all the eggplant, mixing well.

Season the eggplant and onion mixture with the paprika, oregano, pepper, cinnamon and salt and pepper. Taste and adjust if needed.

Cook for about 5 minutes on high-ish heat. You want to burn the eggplant a little bit, and allow the onions to melt into the mix. When you start smelling that wonderful eggplant roasted burnt scent (its unmistakable) add the next part.

Add the mushrooms and mix extremely well. The mushrooms will let go of their liquid – encourage this by mixing thoroughly.

Lower the heat to medium, and let everything simmer together while you grate the zucchini. Squeeze most of the liquid out of the grated zucchini, and add to the pan. Sautee together, and mix very well. The zucchini will act as a paste and start to incorporate everything together. Taste and adjust for seasoning. add the minced date, and mix together. Allow everything to saute on medium heat for a few minutes.

Add carrots, sweet pepper and tomatoes to the pan, bring the heat to high, and stir to combine. As soon as everything starts to pop and sizzle, add the water, and allow the mixture to bubble. Taste for seasoning and adjust.

Add the cashews, and taste everything to make sure its a singular whole. Serve over spinach couscous or a grain of your choice!

 

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Plum Crisp + Frittata

13 Oct

CrispOn Sunday, BSA invited some lovely friends of his over for lunch. M and I chatted about what we should serve, and decided on a typical brunch-y meal that our family loves. Lots of bits and bites to eat (toasted breads, croissants, smoked white fish, james, cheeses, bagels, cream cheese) and two main dishes: frittata and plum crisp.

The frittata was a variant of the frittatas I have made earlier, but with added inspiration from my friend Karo’s post. I sauteed rounds of leek in butter until they were soft, and then I grated a couple of zucchini (courgettes), squeezed the liquid out of them, and added them to the leeks with a little more butter. Sauteed them until they were soft, and then made the frittata with some beautiful goat’s milk cheese for added flavour. This was a delicate and beautiful frittata, finished in the oven to make it puffy and brown!

For the plum crisp, I decided to be a little brave. I sliced the plums into quarters, and then chopped them up. I added cinnamon, vanilla, grated nutmeg, and a little basil – it gave the fruit a slightly savoury deep hit of flavour that was totally gorgeous. The crisp was embellished with oats and almonds. Beautiful, served with yogurt mixed with brown sugar and vanilla.

Serves 6 – 8 people

  • 12 ripe dark purple plums, quartered and chopped, skin still on
  • 1 tbsp + 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 + 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 + 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp basil
  • 1 tbsp + 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup oats
  • 4 tbsp butter, cubed
  • 1/2 cup sliced almonds, crushed
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400C (200F).

In chosen baking dish (I used a rectangular Pyrex dish), tumble in the chopped plums. I kept the skins on – but obviously took the pits out!

Sprinkle 1 tbsp flour, 1 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, nutmeg, basil and 1 tbsp vanilla over the plums and using hands (or a spoon if you want to be neat!), mix thoroughly.

Crush the sliced almonds – I put them in a little zip log bag and bashed them with the bottom of a wine bottle! A rolling pin works just as well 😉

In a small bowl, mix together 1/4 cup flour, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla, oats, butter, crushed almonds, and salt. Use your fingers to really work the butter into the rest of the ingredients, and taste. Adjust spices if need be.

Sprinkle the crisp over the plums, and bake in the oven for 25 – 30 minutes, or until the plums are soft and bubbling. The plums will have let go of deep dark purple juices and the whole thing will be gorgeously lush. Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or plain yogurt, scented with a bit of brown sugar and vanilla.

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Late Night Snack

11 Oct

11.49 pm

We had a big brunch/lunch today – a frittata with leeks, zucchini (courgettes) and a touch of blue cheese, a plum crisp with vanilla scented yogurt, chocolate croissants. I was totally un-hungry until a few minutes ago. I just realised I am starving….

So creep, creep, creep into the kitchen to prepare one of my all time favourite quick bites…

In South Africa (where my mother is from), if you order muffins or any other breakfast breads, most restaurants and cafes will serve you bread, butter, jam and cheese. Jam and cheese is as ubiquitous in South Africa as peanut butter and jelly is in the US. I love jam and cheese more because these two uniquely complement each other, and raise each individual ingredient into a perfect mouthful.

1 slice of multi-grain or other dark whole wheat bread (though I have prepared this with a biscuit and an english muffin with positive results).

Toasted. So its warm, slightly crisp and will melt the tiny smear of butter/marg I spread on it.

Then… some salty cheese. Not a lot. If its creamy, like tonight’s Fromager d’Affinois, I use just a little bit. Enough so it melds with the butter, and softens in the warmth of the toast’s embrace. I want that stinky cheese hit, and a bit of salty creaminess.

And then… to contrast with the cheese, and bring a bright sparkle, a little jam – or in this case, Membrillo – quince paste. Wonderful honeyed caramel notes, sweetness to contrast with the cheese. Again, just a thin sliver of a slice, placed carefully on the cheese. Magenta against creamy pale.

Sliced in half, and sat down at the kitchen table to eat, because, after all.. this is food, and we must respect and savour it. Not rush, not stuff, but enjoy. Taste the mingling of flavours. Allow tummy and appetite to be satisfied. May be a warm cup of herbal tea alongside.

Perfect for a snack before bed.

I ate it so happily, I didnt think to have time for a picture! Too bad 😉

Sweet dreams!

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