Potato Cakes with Smoked Salmon & Sour Cream

Posted on 15 April 2015 by Linda Peek

Over the years I’ve tried lots of recipes for potato cakes, latkes and rostis. Some used whole eggs and plain flour, while others used none of the above. None of them have ever quite hit the mark.

This recipe, based on one from Yotam Ottolenghi, uses egg whites and cornflour and from now on I won’t use any other. He uses a combination of grated potatoes and parsnip, but I used all potatoes and they were delicious. Ottolenghi says to use Desiree potatoes. I used Kipflers from the garden, because that’s what I had, and they worked well.

Serve one potato cake as a starter, or two as a light lunch or supper, perhaps accompanied by a cucumber salad. The potato cakes are best served immediately, but you can make them ahead and reheat them briefly in a hot oven.

500-600g peeled potatoes, coarsely grated
2 egg whites
1 rounded Tbs cornflour
1 tsp salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbs snipped chives
40g butter
4 Tbs vegetable oil
To serve:
Smoked Salmon
Sour Cream
Chives

Tip grated potatoes onto a clean tea towel, draw in the sides and squeeze to remove as much moisture as possible. Place potatoes in a bowl with the egg whites, cornflour, salt, pepper and chives and mix well.

Heat half the butter and half the oil in a medium non-stick frying pan. Make three or four potato cakes using about 3 Tbs of mixture for each and about half the mixture. Cook for 2-4 mins each side over medium heat, or until golden brown and cooked through. Drain on paper towels and keep warm in a low oven. Add remaining butter and oil to the pan and make three or four more potato cakes.

Serve potato cakes (one or two per person) topped with smoked salmon, sour cream and a couple of chives.

Makes 6-8 potato cakes

Quick Apple Cake

Posted on 8 April 2015 by Linda Peek

My mother used to make a dessert called Eve’s Pudding which consisted of stewed apples topped with a simple butter cake mixture. It was a family favourite when I was growing up in England.

This quick and easy recipe combines the same simple ingredients, but instead of being underneath the cake the apples are mixed through. You can use oil or butter, although butter always gives a better flavour.

Served warm with cream or ice cream it’s sure to please the whole family. Any leftovers are perfect for school lunch boxes.

2 eggs
1¾ cups sugar
½ cup vegetable oil or melted butter
2 cups Plain flour and 2 tsp baking powder
(Or 2 cups self-raising flour)
4 tsp cinnamon
6 eating apples, peeled and sliced

Pre-heat oven to 180ºC. In a mixing bowl beat the eggs with the sugar and oil or melted butter until well combined. Fold in the sifted plain flour and baking powder (or self-raising flour) and cinnamon. Add the apples and mix to coat thoroughly. Tip mixture into a well-greased 22cm (9 inch) cake pan or pudding dish. Bake for 50 mins or until well risen and golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Serve warm or cold

Serves 8-10

No-Knead No-Cross Buns

Posted on 2 April 2015 by Linda Peek

There’s nothing quite like home-made Hot Cross Buns for breakfast over the Easter weekend. Serve them warm straight from the oven. Or make them ahead and reheat them in a moderate oven. Or split and toast them.

In an attempt to save time I thought I would see if the No-Knead Bread recipe could be adapted to make Hot Cross Buns. You always need more yeast when you’re adding fruit, sugar, butter and eggs to a basic bread dough, so I doubled the amount used in the No Knead Bread recipe.

Putting crosses on the buns is a bit fiddly so I didn’t bother and can assure you they taste just as good without! Technically this recipe is not quick because you leave the dough to prove overnight. But the actual work involved takes no more than five or ten minutes.

Basic yeast mixture:
4 cups plain flour
½ tsp dry yeast
1½ cups warm water
1 tsp salt
Additions:
60g butter at room temp (I used spreadable butter)
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp each ground cinnamon, mixed spice and ground ginger
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ cup sultanas
¼ cup dried mixed peel (optional) or use more sultanas
Extra flour as needed
Glaze:
1 Tbs cold water
1 Tbs sugar
1 tsp powdered gelatine

In a large mixing bowl mix all ingredients for yeast mixture with a spoon until well combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and leave overnight. Next day – whenever you are ready – mix butter, sugar, spices and egg into the yeast mixture, using electric beaters. Lastly mix in the fruit then tip mixture onto a well-floured surface.

Knead just enough to incorporate a bit more flour and get rid of excessive stickiness, then cut the dough into 12 even pieces. Form into balls and arrange in a greased 10-12″ (25+cm) round tin or use a rectangular one. Leave to rise for an hour or two, then bake in a pre-heated oven at 220ºC for 20 mins. Remove from the oven and brush with hot glaze while hot. Serve warm or toasted split in two and spread with butter.

Glaze: place cold water and sugar in a small bowl and sprinkle with gelatine. Zap in the microwave for 20 secs on High.

Makes 12 buns

Note: can be frozen, but best frozen without glaze then thawed, reheated in a moderate oven and brushed with glaze while hot. Made in this way the buns all stick together and need to be broken apart. If preferred bake them on a larger biscuit tray, leaving more space between each one, so they don’t stick together.

Spanish Tomato and Jamon Salad

Posted on 1 April 2015 by Linda Peek

This colourful salad is perfect for late summer entertaining, when tomatoes are at their best and you may have some in the garden.

250g baby tomatoes (preferably some red, some yellow)
4 slices Spanish Jamon or Prosciutto
About 16 black olives, stoned if preferred
½ red onion, thinly sliced
Basil and flat leaf parsley to garnish
Dressing:
1 Tbs sherry or red wine vinegar
2 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 small clove garlic, crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Halve tomatoes and arrange on one shallow serving dish or 2 individual plates.

Cut jamon slices into about 4 pieces and arrange in between the tomatoes. Scatter with the olives and onion. Shake dressing ingredients in a jar and drizzle over. Garnish with the torn basil and parsley leaves and serve with crusty bread.

Serves 2 as a starter or 4 as a side dish

Variation: add some cubes of Spanish manchego cheese. Or feta or goat’s cheese.

Baked Cauliflower with Cheese and Bacon

Posted on 25 March 2015 by Linda Peek

If you’re a fan of cauliflower cheese you will like this one.

I’m sure it would be delicious as a side dish, but we’ve eaten it about four times in the past month as a main course, when we felt like a mainly vegetarian evening meal. For anyone following a low carb diet this ticks all the boxes.

1 large cauliflower cut into flowerets
8 slices bacon, diced and fried in a little oil till starting to go crispy
6 Tbs snipped chives
½ cup mayonnaise (preferably home-made)
½ cup sour cream or cream
2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 200°C. In a large pot boil water and cook cauliflower for about 8 minutes or until al dente, drain and let cool. In a large bowl combine sour cream, mayonnaise, half the bacon, half the chives and half the grated cheese. Lastly add the cauliflower and carefully mix well. Tip into a shallow greased lasagne-type dish and cover with remaining cheese and bacon. Can be made ahead to this point and kept refrigerated for up to 24 hours, covered.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted. Top with remaining chives and serve. If it has been refrigerated it will need to bake for about half an hour.

Serves 4-6

Zucchini Spaghetti

Posted on 18 March 2015 by Linda Peek

Make healthy low-carb “spaghetti” from zucchini, carrots and other vegetables using a Zyliss Julienne Slicer/Peeler. This gadget is really easy to use as you can see from this you tube video. In Canberra you can buy them at the Essential Ingredient.

To serve as a vegetable, stir-fry quickly in a frying pan in a little oil or butter then add seasoning, herbs and maybe a dollop of sour cream. Or use the “spaghetti” in salads or to make this delicious stir fry with prawns.

Zucchini Spaghetti with Prawns

4-6 medium to large zucchini (courgettes)
⅓ cup olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried chilli flakes) or use some fresh chilli
Salt and freshly ground pepper
400g peeled green prawns, tails intact (weight after peeling)
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup finely chopped parsley
To serve:
Extra Virgin olive oil
1 small red chilli, de-seeded and finely sliced

Heat oil in a large frying pan or wok on medium-high heat. Add garlic, chilli, salt and pepper and cook stirring for a minute. Add prawns and continue to cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes or until prawns turn pink and are nearly cooked. Add the “spaghetti” and continue to stir fry for a minute or until prawns are cooked and spaghetti is ” al dente ” Add parsley and serve drizzled with a little oil and garnished with a little extra chilli.

Serves 4

Smoked Salmon with Mango & Avocado

Posted on 11 March 2015 by Linda Peek

My Swiss friend Esther served this simple but delicious starter for a ladies lunch she hosted. You can use smoked salmon or smoked trout and the recipe is easy to halve for two people. Served with a rocket salad and some crusty bread it’s enough for a light lunch.

2 ripe but firm avocados in 1cm dice
1 spring onion (white part and a bit of the green), finely chopped
2 tsp fresh coriander, chopped
Juice of 1 lime or half a lemon
2 ripe but firm mangoes in 1cm dice
1 small red chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 slices smoked salmon or trout
To serve:
Lemon or lime wedges
Fresh chives
Extra Virgin olive oil

Arrange four stacking rings on serving plates. Mix avocado with spring onion, coriander and lime or lemon juice. Season to taste then divide among the stacking rings and press down firmly with a spoon. Mix mango with chilli, place on top of the avocado and press down. Top each serving with a slice of smoked salmon or trout. Remove stacking ring then garnish plates with a lemon or lime wedge, a couple of pieces of fresh chive and a drizzle of olive oil.

Serves 4

Seven Quick Desserts

Posted on 25 February 2015 by Linda Peek

We all need a few desserts in our repertoire which can be made in a jiffy.

The secret is to have a few basic ingredients on hand. For the Blueberry Parfait, for example, you need some Lemon Curd in the fridge and a packet of bought meringues (which keep for ages) in the pantry. Just add berries and cream to your shopping list, or nip down to the corner shop.

When I served this dessert recently and said “Would anyone like any more?” everyone said “Yes please”, so I had to re-load all the glasses!

In Australia you can buy a whole pavlova in a box and I used chunks of that instead of meringues because it’s softer and more marshmallowy. But either will do.

Blueberry Parfaits – in tall parfait glasses or tumblers place a dollop of whipped cream or thick Greek yoghurt, a dollop of Lemon Curd (preferably home-made), some crumbled meringue, more cream or yoghurt, then a few fresh blueberries. Repeat layers and serve immediately.
Mocha Mousse – dissolve 2 tsp instant coffee in 2 Tbs hot water. Mix into 1 cup Nutella chocolate spread. Whip 1 cup cream in another bowl and fold in. Lightly toast ½ cup skinned hazelnuts or almonds and chop coarsely. Break 8 sponge fingers into 6 to 8 small wine or Martini glasses. Drizzle with some Kahlúa or Bailey’s Irish Cream, top with half the chocolate mixture, half the nuts, then repeat. Dust tops with sieved cocoa. Chill before serving.
Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding – keep some brioche or croissants in the freezer to make this in one large dish or individual ones.
Blancmange – mix 6 slightly rounded tablespoons cornflour with 1 Tbs sugar and a little cold milk. Bring 1 litre milk and ½ cup cream to the boil then add the cornflour mixture and 1-2 tsp vanilla essence, stirring till thick. Pour into coffee cups which have been rinsed out with cold water. Refrigerate till set. To serve dip quickly in hot water and tip onto serving plates. Meanwhile thaw half a kilo of frozen raspberries with some sugar (to taste) and serve this compote with the blancmanges with some thick cream.
Mangoes with Ginger Wine – peel and slice 4 mangoes and place in serving dish. Heat ¼ cup Stone’s Ginger Wine with 2 Tbs finely chopped glacé ginger until hot, then pour over mangoes. Chill before serving.
Baked Apples – Use a large biscuit cutter to cut 4 circles from 4 slices of bread. Place in a buttered shallow baking dish, top each circle with a whole unpeeled apple, cored. Mix equal quantities melted butter, dried fruit/nuts and brown sugar – a couple of Tbs of each. Add juice and grated rind of an orange then use mixture to stuff the apples. Bake for an hour at 160ºC, basting often. Serve hot with vanilla ice cream or cream. The bread goes all crunchy and delicious.
Moroccan Fruit Salad – in a small saucepan heat the rind and grated juice of an orange with ¼ cup brandy or rum, ¼ cup honey, ½ cup water and a broken cinnamon stick. Pour over 4-6 cups mixed dried fruit such as sultanas, apricots and sliced figs and leave to macerate for several hours or overnight. Serve with toasted pine nuts and Labneh.

Florentines

Posted on 18 February 2015 by Linda Peek

Florentines are a delicious treat to serve with coffee after dinner.

Actually they’re delicious any time of day. I swear they talk to me from the tin, sending out “Eat me” messages. They’re quite big, so if it makes you feel better cut them in half, or make smaller ones. But you’ve seen Florentines in cake shops – they’re always big!

Use any combination of dried fruit and nuts you have on hand. I used some dried sour cherries from Costco and craisins (dried cranberries). I left out the candied peel because I’m the only one in our family who likes it.

Woolworths sell non-stick egg rings in two packs for about two dollars, so I bought five packs. I could have made the Florentines slightly thinner and got 12 from the recipe, but I had only bought 10 egg rings, so that was that! If preferred make them free-form by placing heaped tablespoonsful onto the paper – they will spread as they cook.

½ cup cream
½ cup sugar
1 Tbs honey
½ cup dried cherries (glacé or sour cherries)
½ cup dried fruit (I used cranberries)
½ cup candied peel (or more dried fruit)
1 cup flaked or slivered almonds (I used almonds & cashews)
½ cup flour
100g dark chocolate, melted
1 tsp vegetable oil, coconut oil or Copha

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with non-stick paper and arrange the egg rings on top. In a medium sized saucepan heat cream, sugar and honey till boiling. Remove from the heat and add fruit, nuts and flour. Cool for a few minutes so it thickens up.

Divide among the rings spreading evenly then bake for 10-15 mins or until light caramel coloured. Don’t overcook as the fruit easily burns. Leave to cool on the tray.

Melt chocolate and oil or Copha in microwave or in a bowl over boiling water. Dip each Florentine into chocolate on the flat side, shake off excess then cool on non-stick paper, chocolate side up. If you’re in a hurry stick them in the fridge or freezer. And if you have any chocolate left, drizzle a bit on the bumpy side, but let the chocolate set on the first side before you do this. They actually look better on the drizzly/bumpy side.

Makes 10-12

Maggie’s Roast Tomato & Pepper Soup

Posted on 11 February 2015 by Linda Peek

My friend Maggie made this delicious soup when we were staying with them last year in L’Etang la Ville near Versailles on the outskirts of Paris. Apart from the roasting time, it’s quick to make and with some nice crusty bread – either fresh or toasted – it’s enough for a light supper or lunch. A stick blender is ideal for making this kind of soup where you don’t want it completely smooth.

2 large red peppers (capsicums)
4 large ripe tomatoes, or 6 medium, halved
2 red onions, peeled and quartered
1 small red chilli
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 Tbs olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 litre vegetable or chicken stock
1 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs tomato paste
To garnish:
Sour cream or crème fraîche
Chopped fresh basil or pesto

Preheat oven to 180ºC. Remove seeds from peppers and cut into large chunks about the same size as the tomato halves. Place in a bowl with tomatoes, onions, garlic and chilli, both left whole. Add oil, salt and pepper and mix to coat well.

Line a large baking tray with foil and tip the vegetables onto it, spreading them out into a single layer and drizzling with any oil left in the bowl. Roast for 45 mins until starting to brown a bit at the edges. Tip into a large saucepan. Add stock, sugar and tomato paste. Bring to the boil then blend with a stick blender. If you don’t have a stick blender cool the soup a bit and blend in a normal blender then return to the pan. Adjust seasoning to taste and bring to the boil. Serve garnished with sour cream or crème fraîche and some chopped fresh basil or a swirl of pesto.

Serves 4-6