Lamb & Quince Tajine in a Slow Cooker

Posted on 27 May 2015 by Linda Peek

Moroccans make their casseroles in earthenware cooking dishes with domed lids called tajines. So the word “tajine” is used to refer to both the cooking pot and the casserole you make in it. Recipes often combine meat or poultry with dried or fresh fruit and sometimes include some honey and a few nuts.

We planted a quince tree about three years ago and recently picked our first quinces. Just two. So I decided to use them in a Moroccan lamb and quince casserole. Instead of using my traditional cooking pot, which I bought when we were holidaying in Marrakesh, I made it in my slow cooker.

Fresh or frozen pomegranate seeds add a nice splash of colour, but they’re not essential. They freeze well – so stash some away when they’re in season. A little goes a long way as a garnish.

I made a large stacking ring by removing the top and bottom from a 425g can of tuna and used it to arrange the couscous in the centre of the plate with the lamb on top.

2 Tbs olive oil
1.2kg lean lamb, cut into 2cm dice (leg or shoulder)
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp chilli powder or flakes
1 tsp turmeric
1 cinnamon stick, broken in two
½ tsp saffron threads
2 quinces, peeled, cored and cut into eighths
2 Tbs honey
4 Kaffir lime leaves (optional)
2½ cups chicken stock (or water and a cube)
1 Tbs fish sauce
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
To serve:
Couscous
Chopped fresh coriander
1 cup lightly toasted pine nuts
Pomegranate seeds (optional)

Heat oil in a large frying pan and brown meat on both sides in two or three batches. Remove meat and place in slow cooker. Add garlic and onion to pan and cook gently, stirring, for 5-10 mins or until softened. Add the five dry spices and cook for one minute, stirring.

Add the spice and onion mixture to the slow cooker with the quinces, honey, stock, lime leaves and fish sauce. Cover and cook on High for 5-6 hours (or on Low for 8-10 hours), adding the sweet potato and chickpeas about halfway through the cooking time. Slow cookers vary, so you will have to adjust the cooking time as you go. If possible check and stir the tajine every hour or so.

Serve tajine on a bed of couscous, garnished with chopped coriander, pine nuts and pomegranate seeds.

Serves 8

Note: if preferred, cook the casserole in a heavy casserole dish with a lid in the oven at 170°C for about two hours, adding the sweet potato and chickpeas about halfway through.

Banoffee Pie

Posted on 20 May 2015 by Linda Peek

Condensed milk which has been cooked until it turns into a thick caramel is called Dulce de Leche in South America.

It’s popular all over the region and sold commercially in large quantities. I first came across it when we were living in Chile, where they call it Manjar. Many traditional desserts in Chile use Manjar and some people eat it like jam on bread or toast. It’s sold in supermarkets in various sizes, in toughened plastic or foil bags.

Here in Australia Dulce de Leche is sold in a few specialty shops, but it’s easy, if a little time-consuming, to make. Place two unopened tins of condensed milk in a large saucepan, cover with water and boil for two to two and a half hours. The tins must be fully submerged at all times because, as Nigella Lawson says, you don’t want to have to clean caramel off the ceiling. Nigella suggests you boil a few tins at a time as they keep indefinitely until opened. But if you can’t be bothered making your own Dulce de Leche, buy Nestlé’s caramel filling instead. It’s not quite the same, but it’s close.

With biscuits and caramel in the store cupboard, cream in the fridge and a couple of bananas in the fruit bowl, you can whip up a Banoffee Pie in a jiffy.

200g Digestive biscuits (plain or chocolate coated)
60g unsalted butter, melted
1 tin Dulce de Leche (see method above) or use Nestlé’s Caramel Filling
½ cup cream
2 large bananas, sliced
300ml thickened or whipping cream
Chocolate to grate

Crush biscuits until fine in food processor. Mix with melted butter then spread evenly over the bottom of an 8″ (20cm) pie or flan dish and press down firmly. Chill in the fridge until set.

Heat Dulce de Leche or caramel filling in a small saucepan with the half cup of cream and whisk till smooth with a hand whisk. Allow to cool, then spread caramel over the biscuit base. Slice bananas and arrange over the caramel. Whip cream until soft peaks form then spread or dollop over the bananas. Decorate with grated chocolate. If preferred spread the whipped cream on first with the banana slices on top, then the chocolate, which is what I’ve done in the photo.

Serves 6-8

Alternative presentation: layer crumbs, caramel, whipped cream, banana and grated chocolate in short whisky tumblers. This free-form method makes it easy to halve the recipe which will serve 4-6, depending on size of the tumblers. If you want to cut down on fat and calories, just use biscuit crumbs in the bottom and leave out the butter.

Chicken and Zucchini Burgers with Creamy Sauce

Posted on 13 May 2015 by Linda Peek

This recipe is adapted from one by Israeli-born Yotam Ottolenghi. He uses turkey mince. I used chicken mince, but you could also use pork or pork and veal mince. He pan fries them, then finishes them off in the oven. I just pan fried them. I also increased the cumin and added the pine nuts for a bit of crunch.

This is a good way to get reluctant kids to eat some green vegetables. Any leftover burgers are delicious cold for lunch.

500g minced chicken, turkey, pork or pork and veal
2 small or one large zucchini (courgette), coarsely grated
2 spring onions, finely sliced
1 egg
2 Tbs finely chopped mint
2 Tbs finely chopped coriander
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp ground cumin
2 Tbs pine nuts
1 tsp salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
Oil for frying
Sauce:
½ cup sour cream
½ cup thick Greek yoghurt
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
1½ Tbs vegetable or olive oil
1 Tbs Sumac (see note below)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients for sauce in a small bowl and refrigerate until serving time. Mix all ingredients for burgers (not the oil) in a large bowl. Form into about 8 burgers or 16-18 large meatballs.

Heat some vegetable oil in a large frying pan and cook the burgers in two batches for 5-6 minutes each side, or until nicely browned and cooked through.

Serve burgers hot or cold with the sauce.

Serves 4

Note: Sumac is a Middle Eastern spice mix. If you don’t have any use 2 tsp dried cumin and 2 tsp dried coriander instead. If preferred use 1 cup yoghurt for the sauce and leave out the sour cream.

Duck with Cumquat Sauce

Posted on 6 May 2015 by Linda Peek

We have a cumquat bush which is 3-4 metres tall and very prolific. I love trying recipes which traditionally use oranges to see how they turn out with cumquats. This easy duck with orange sauce recipe which I’ve been making forever was easy to adapt and the result was delicious. The cumquats are just a garnish, so if you don’t have any you can leave them out.

Other cumquat recipes on Café Cat you might like to try are Cumquat, Date and Ginger Chutney and Cumquat and Almond Cake.

1 whole duck
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbs fresh rosemary leaves
zest of one orange
Orange Sauce:
¾ cup orange juice
¾ cup chicken stock
1 cup orange or cumquat marmalade
1 Tbs cornflour mixed with 2 Tbs water
1 Tbs lemon juice
Glazed cumquats:
16-20 whole cumquats
2 cups water
½ cup sugar

Preheat oven to 200°C. Prick duck all over with a fork. Place salt, pepper, rosemary and orange zest in food processor and pulverise. Rub this mixture all over and inside the duck. Roast for 40 mins per kilo and a bit longer if necessary. Duck should be nicely browned, crispy and cooked through.

While duck is cooking make the sauce. Place all ingredients in a saucepan and cook, stirring, until thickened. Leave aside.

While duck is cooking prepare the cumquats. Place in a saucepan with the water and simmer gently for 30 mins or until soft. Remove cumquats. Add sugar to liquid in pan and cook for 5 minutes to form a syrup. Return cumquats to the pan and continue to cook gently for 30 mins or until the fruit is glazed and syrup has reduced to about a quarter of a cup.

When duck is ready, remove it from the roasting pan and tip off all the fat, leaving just the caramelised juices. Mix the orange sauce into these pan drippings. Cut four servings from the duck (keep the rest to make soup) and return them to the pan. Spoon over some of the sauce and put back in the oven for 10-15 mins to glaze. Serve duck garnished with the glazed cumquats. Mashed potatoes go well with this.

Serves 4