Cashew, Pea and Spinach Curry

Posted on 31 December 2014 by Linda Peek

This delicious vegetarian curry makes a change from all the rich festive food and can be made in a jiffy. If you need to make it go further, add two cups of cubed leftover roast turkey or chicken with the spinach.

1 Tbs vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 Tbs curry paste or powder
¼ tsp turmeric
1 can coconut milk + water as needed
2 tsp thinly sliced lemon grass (optional)
2 cups cashew nuts
2 cups frozen peas
1 tsp sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
About 100g baby spinach leaves, washed
Chopped fresh coriander to garnish (optional)
1 small red chilli, seeded and very finely diced

Heat oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add onion and garlic and cook gently, stirring, for 5 mins or until soft. Add curry paste and turmeric and cook, stirring for about a minute. Add coconut milk and lemon grass, bring to the boil then add peas and cashews. Simmer for 10 mins, adding half a cup or so of water if it gets too thick. Season with salt, pepper and sugar, then add spinach leaves and stir until just wilted. Serve with steamed or boiled rice, garnished with coriander and chilli.

Serves 4

Variation: substitute broccoli florets or fresh asparagus cut into 3cm lengths for the spinach and cook for a minute or two longer, or until they’re al dente. If you don’t have lemon grass add some grated lemon rind.

Scandinavian-style Brown Bread

Posted on 24 December 2014 by Linda Peek

While were were living in Denmark I became very fond of Rugbrød, a dense brown bread which Danes eat with everything. I think it goes particularly well with smoked salmon, gravlax and cheese.

Traditional Rugbrød is made from a sourdough starter, so it’s not exactly a five minute job. This recipe is similar in style, being dense and full of healthiness, but it uses self-raising flour and buttermilk as raising agents, so it is a five minute job – apart from the baking time.

For a darker bread use treacle or molasses instead of honey. The soaked buckwheat keeps it nice and moist, so it lasts a few days in the fridge, well-wrapped. It also freezes well. I used one large tin and three smaller ones. My loaves weren’t very deep so I probably should have used one tin less in order to make them deeper.

Serve with smoked salmon, Gravlax with Mustard Sauce or an aged cheddar or Brie.

½ cup raw buckwheat (from Health Food shops)
500g self-raising wholemeal flour
1 cup flour
1 cup porridge oats
1 cup sunflower kernels
1-2 tsp salt (to taste)
1 Tbs honey (treacle or molasses)
600ml buttermilk + a little water

Place buckwheat in a bowl and cover generously with cold water. Leave to soak overnight then tip into a sieve, rinse under cold water and drain well. Preheat oven to 190ºC. Grease two loaf tins (or four small ones) with oil or butter.

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Add a dash of cold water to the buttermilk container (about ¼ cup) and swish it around then add to the bowl. If there are any dry bits in the bottom of the bowl which won’t mix in add a little more water, but go easy. Mixture should be like a stiff scone mixture.

Divide mixture among the tins which should be just over half full. Bake for 15 mins then lower temperature to 170ºC and bake for a further 35-45 mins. Larger loaves will take longer than smaller ones. It’s nice warm but easier to slice when cold. Can be toasted.

Makes 2 loaves (or more if using smaller tins)

Maija’s Hot-Smoked Salmon with Mushroom Sauce

Posted on 17 December 2014 by Linda Peek

On our way back from Europe recently we spent 2 days with our friends Maija and Nestor who live in Turku, on the south western coast of Finland.

Turku was settled in the 13th century, making it the oldest city in Finland. During our brief stay we visited the town, including the museum and the cathedral and spent an afternoon in a motor launch, meandering through the Turku archipelago which consists over over 20,000 islands. Amazing.

On our last evening Maija served a Finnish speciality: Hot Smoked Salmon with Mushroom Sauce, accompanied by potatoes, green beans and dark bread and butter. Maija used wild mushrooms she had bought at the farmer’s market that morning. I’m not sure what they’re called in English, but any combination of unusual mushrooms would work for this sauce. Any leftover fish and mushroom sauce are nice next day on their own or served with scrambled eggs on toast.

1 fillet of salmon, skin on, pin bones removed (about 1.2kg)
Olive oil
Curing mix:
2 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs coarse salt
Smoking material:
1 cup Jasmine rice
½ cup Jasmine tea
½ cup brown sugar
Mushroom Sauce:
500g mixed mushrooms (shitake, oyster, enokitake) or just ordinary mushrooms will do
50g butter
1 cup cream or sour cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Mix sugar and salt. Place salmon in a shallow dish and spread the mixture over both sides, then leave to cure for 2-3 hours. Rinse off the salt and sugar mixture, pat fish dry with paper towels, then leave to air dry for an hour or two.

For this recipe you need a kettle BBQ which uses either burners, coals or heat beads. Remove grill plate, give it a good clean then brush it with oil to prevent fish from sticking. Get the BBQ going and while you’re waiting mix the rice, tea and sugar and put it in one of those shallow foil containers you can buy in supermarkets. Place foil container directly on top of the burners and cover the BBQ with the lid. Brush salmon fillet on both sides with olive oil and place it on the clean grill plate. When BBQ has heated to medium heat and you can smell the aroma of the smoking material, place grill plate onto BBQ, shut the lid and let the salmon cook in the smoke for 15 minutes.

Transfer fish to a large plate and set aside to rest. Serve warm or at room temperature with the Mushroom Sauce, boiled new potatoes, green beans and if liked some dark Scandinavian bread and unsalted butter.

Mushroom Sauce: wipe mushrooms, trim and slice or cut into pieces. Don’t cut them too small as the sauce should have some texture. Heat butter in a large frying pan. Add mushrooms and cook gently, stirring often, for 15-20 minutes, or until softened. Add cream and season. Cook, stirring until cream has reduced and thickened a bit. Serve warm.

Bring a Plate

Posted on 10 December 2014 by Linda Peek

Pot Luck lunches and dinners, where guests are asked to “bring a plate”, are popular in Australia, especially over summer which coincides with the festive season. Picnics, beach parties, Christmas, New Year and office parties – it’s hard to get through summer without being asked to bring a plate

A Greek friend arrived in Canberra from Athens in the 1960s with very little English. When he and his wife were invited for lunch and asked to bring a plate they were somewhat perplexed. If their hosts didn’t have enough plates, they thought, perhaps they were also short of glasses and cutlery. So they brought their own, never imagining they were expected to bring food.

Opera by Candlelight is held each year at the Albert Hall Canberra in late February. The ticket price includes a table complete with candelabras and chairs for each group. Guests bring their own food and beverages and enjoy an evening of opera arias. We usually get four or five couples together, then each couple brings one course – nibbles, starter, main, sides or dessert and of course a bottle or two! Oh yes and in this case you do also need to bring plates, cutlery and glasses! It’s fun to get dressed to kill and make a real occasion of it. Some people go to a lot of trouble to coordinate their outfits and table decorations and there’s a prize for the best dressed table. For more information and to book tickets contact Carl Rafferty: raffertycarl@internode.on.net

There are two types of plate you can take to these Pot Luck occasions. A large plate to place on a buffet or in the middle of the table, so guests can serve themselves. Or a plate of finger food which can be passed round without the need for individual plates and cutlery.

If you go to the Café Cat recipe index you will find lots of ideas, but here are a few suggestions. Sticky Chilli Chicken or Sticky Honey Chicken can both be made the day before and are delicious served at room temperature.

If you’re looking for an easy dip try Dukkah, Lemon Feta Dip or Smoked Trout Paté. For something slightly more snazzy try Watermelon and Feta Squares which are very refreshing in hot weather.

My favourite dishes for a buffet include Cucumber Salad, Ferne’s Roast Tomato Salad, Remar’s Broccoli, Nut and Bean Salad and if you like spinach then you can’t go wrong with either Spinach Salad with Red Dressing or Spinach Salad with Dates and Almonds which are both delicious. Take the dressing along separately in a jar with a lid.

Sweet & Salty Cheesecakes with Cherries & Crumble

Posted on 3 December 2014 by Linda Peek

Adapted from a recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi, these Sweet and Salty Cheesecakes with Cherries and Crumble are delicious. The saltiness of the feta cheese and the final drizzle of olive oil gives this dessert the sophisticated Mediterranean flourish I have come to expect from recipes by this innovative chef.

The three components can be made in advance and the dessert put together at the last minute, making it perfect for entertaining. Leftovers will keep for several days in the fridge if they’re not polished off sooner by family members foraging for sustenance.

Instead of cherries you could use any fresh or poached fruit, such as sliced strawberries, poached rhubarb or peaches. For maximum impact serve in Martini or tall parfait glasses, although Ottolenghi just serves it scooped onto small flat plates.

Choose your best, fruity Extra Virgin olive oil to drizzle on top. You may be thinking “Olive oil, on a dessert?” but just try it.

Cream Cheese Mixture:
200g feta cheese
250g cream cheese (at room temp)
Grated rind 1 large lemon
2-3 Tbs caster sugar, to taste
250ml thick cream (1 cup)
Cherry Compote:
680g jar Morello cherries in syrup (see note below)
1 Tbs sugar
Juice 1 large lemon
4 whole star anise
3 Tbs Grand Marnier or Cointreau (optional)
1 Tbs Arrowroot + 3 Tbs cold water
Crumble:
125g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 cup Plain flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup slivered or flaked almonds
1 Tbs sesame seeds (preferably black ones)
Good pinch salt
To serve:
A few fresh berries (optional)
Extra Virgin Olive oil

Place feta, cream cheese, lemon rind and sugar in food processor and mix till smooth. In a small bowl, whip cream with electric beaters until soft peaks form. Scrape cream into food processor and mix for a few seconds, just enough to thoroughly combine with the cheese mixture, stopping to scrape down the sides. Scrape into a container with a lid and refrigerate till serving time.

Drain and reserve cherries. Place juice in a small saucepan with sugar, lemon juice and star anise. Simmer for 5-10 mins then strain and discard the star anise. Put back in pan with the cherries. Add combined arrowroot and water and cook, stirring, until thickened. Add liqueur, pour into a container with a lid and refrigerate till serving time.

Pre-heat oven to 180ºC. Place flour, butter and brown sugar in food processor and process until it starts to clump together. Add nuts, sesame seeds and salt and process briefly to combine. Line a biscuit tray with baking paper. Tip out the crumble and spread out evenly. Bake for 10-20 minutes or until evenly golden brown. After 10 minutes move the crumble around with a fork, bringing the more cooked sides into the middle. Cool then store in a container with a lid.

To serve, place a dollop of the cream cheese mixture in 6-8 glasses. Top with some of the cherries, a few fresh berries (optional) and lastly sprinkle with crumble. Drizzle with olive oil and serve immediately.

Serves 6-8

Note: I used a jar of cherries from Aldi, but in season you can use fresh cherries, stoned and cooked with a little more sugar, or frozen ones if you can find them. The fruit will probably make enough juice as it cooks, but if not add a dash of water. Arrowroot is sold in the baking section of most supermarkets.

Variation: instead of using cherries slice a couple of punnets of strawberries and put them in a bowl. Add sugar to taste and a splash of white balsamic vinegar and leave to macerate for an hour or so.