Velouté of Jerusalem Artichokes with Mussels

Posted on 9 September 2013 by Linda Peek

Jerusalem artichokes are fondly known in our house as Fartichokes, for reasons that will be obvious. Once you have them growing in your garden, as we do, you have them forever. They are very hard to eradicate.

When the French explorer Samuel de Champlain discovered this vegetable in South America he sent samples back to France, saying that the flavour reminded him of globe artichokes. The Jerusalem part of the name is a corruption of the Spanish word girasol which means sunflower.

Jerusalem artichokes grow to a height of about two metres and produce a large yellow sunflower. In winter, after they’ve died down, you dig up the tubers which have formed under the plants, like potatoes. They look like very knobbly ginger which makes them a pain to peel, so we don’t bother. Just trim and scrub with a nail brush or similar. Matthew has some Darwinian theory that if he saves and replants only the more uniform tubers, then next year’s crop will be less knobbly. This theory has yet to be proven, but he’s working on it.

This recipe is loosely-based on one by Gordon Ramsey.

Soup:
25g butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 kg Jerusalem artichokes, trimmed and scrubbed
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock, preferably home-made
1 cup cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Mussels:
1 kg mussels in shell, scrubbed and beards removed
25g butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 cup white wine
1 sprig fresh thyme
To serve:
Extra cream
2 Tbs finely chopped parsley

Soup: melt butter in a large heavy-based pan and cook the onion, gently, until soft and translucent. Add artichokes and stock and simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until tender. Cool a bit then blend in a blender with the cream, until smooth. Put back into a clean saucepan. Can be prepared ahead to this stage.

Mussels: heat butter in a large heavy-based pan and cook onion, gently, until soft and translucent. Add mussels, wine and thyme, cover and cook for 5-10 minutes until mussels have opened and are cooked. Tip into a colander and reserve the liquid. When cool enough to handle, remove mussels from shells.

To serve, add the reserved liquid from the mussels to the soup and check for seasoning. Reheat and ladle into soup bowls. Arrange mussels on top (reheat 30 secs in microwave if they have got cold) and garnish with extra cream, chopped parsley and coarsely ground black pepper.

Serves 4-6

Roast Chicken with Spaetzle & Burnt Sage Butter

Posted on 5 September 2013 by Linda Peek

Made from flour and eggs and cooked in boiling water, spaetzle is the German equivalent of pasta. A bit like gnocchi without the mashed potato. If you like making spaetzle it’s worth investing in a spaetzle-making gizmo. They’re not expensive – I bought mine for about $20 including postage from Fishpond.

I first ate spaetzle in Austria as a delicious dessert called Apfel Spaetzle. The little morsels of cooked dough had been stir fried in butter with sliced apples and spices, then doused with icing sugar. It might even have been stuck under a griller as there were some crispy crunchy bits.

It’s looking a bit wilted and sad, but my sage bush seems to be surviving the winter frosts. Although the recipe says burnt butter, it should actually be nut brown rather than burnt.

1 whole chicken
25-30g butter
2 Tbs chopped fresh sage
Spaetzle:
2 eggs
1 cup flour
1 tsp salt
3-4 Tbs milk

Preheat oven to 180ºC. Roast the chicken for an hour to an hour and a half, depending on size, seasoned with salt and pepper and a knob of butter.

Meanwhile, make the spaetzle. Mix eggs with flour, salt and enough milk to make a sticky mixture. Half fill a large pan with water and some salt and bring to the boil. Push the mixture through an oiled spaetzle maker into the water in batches. Alternatively you can drop small pieces of dough, about half a teaspoon at a time, into the water or push the dough through the holes of a metal collander. When the little dough balls rise to the top they are done. Remove with a slotted spoon to a collander.

When chicken is almost ready, heat butter in a frying pan. Allow it to brown, but be careful it doesn’t burn. Add the sage and cook for a minute or so, then add the spaetzle and cook for another minute, stirring, until they have absorbed the butter.

Divide spaetzle between 4 plates. Carve chicken and arrange on top of each serving. If liked drizzle some of the chicken pan juices over the top. Serve with a steamed green vegetable such as broccoli.

Serves 4

Gong Bao Chicken

Posted on 2 September 2013 by Linda Peek

Sometimes translated from the Chinese as Kung Pao rather than Gong Bao, this stir fry from the province of Szechuan in central west China is simple but delicious. The recipe I used called for 4 dried chillies, but one or two would have been enough for us. I’m not a wuss (good Aussie term for a wimp for those who don’t know) when it comes to chillies, but dried ones seem to pack more of a punch than fresh ones. As it says on Wikipedia “the use of hot and numbing flavours is a typical element of Szechuan cooking”. Clears the sinuses.

500g boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 Tbs cornflour
4 Tbs soy sauce
1/3 cup unsalted peanuts or cashews
2 Tbs oil
2 tsp Szechuan peppercorns
1-4 dried red chillies, to taste, roughly chopped
3 cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
4 spring onions, trimmed & finely sliced on the diagonal
Steamed rice to serve

Slice chicken and mix with the cornflour and 2 Tbs of the soy sauce. Leave to marinate for about 15 mins. Heat a dry pan and toast the nuts for a few minutes, stirring, until golden. Remove and set aside. Heat oil in wok or large frying pan. Add dried chillies and peppercorns and cook, stirring for 2-3 mins. Turn up heat and add chicken. Cook, stirring, until chicken is cooked on both sides. Add ginger, garlic, spring onions and nuts and continue to cook, stirring for 2-3 mins. Add remaining 2 Tbs soy sauce and serve with steamed rice.

Serves 3-4

Note: if you like a touch of sweetness, add 1-2 tsp brown sugar at the end with the soy sauce, or use kecap manis, which is a sweetish soy sauce.

Deconstructed Ice Cream Sundae with Popcorn & Salted Caramel Sauce

Posted on 29 August 2013 by Linda Peek

The idea for serving an ice cream sundae with a crunchy cone stuck on top, like a hat, came from the fairly new and very popular Canberra bistro called Eightysix. The idea for making a 2 litre container of bought vanilla ice cream more exciting, by adding halva and other ingredients came from Maggie Beer. I put these two ideas together for a quick and delicious dessert. Matthew said he wasn’t very hungry and would “share” mine. But after a few mouthfuls I knew I wouldn’t be able to leave half, so I told him to get his own.

If you can’t find halva – a Middle Eastern sweet made from nuts and sugar which tastes a bit like nougat – you could chop up a couple of Crunchie bars. The fresh mint really makes a difference, helping to cut through all that sweetness. If preferred you can leave the salt out of the caramel sauce. For an even quicker version of this dessert, just use plain vanilla ice cream.

Ice Cream:
2 litres bought vanilla ice cream
125g halva, chopped
2-3 Tbs finely chopped fresh mint
½ cup lightly toasted nuts (pistachios, slivered almonds or pecans)
Salted Caramel Sauce:
½ cup sugar
½ cup cream
60g butter
½ tsp salt
To serve:
1 pkt waffle ice cream cones
1 pkt caramel popcorn

Remove ice cream from the freezer and after 15 minutes scrape it into a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix through. The ice cream needs to thaw just enough to allow you to mix them in but don’t let it soften too much. Put back into container and into the freezer. For the sauce, melt the sugar in a small heavy-based pan until melted and dark caramel colour. Add cream and butter and mix until smooth. Put aside and warm slightly to serve.

To serve, fill ice cream cones generously with ice cream then place upside down in serving dishes. Sprinkle a few popcorn around and drizzle with the warm caramel sauce.

Serves 6 or more

Pork Chops with Orange Sauce

Posted on 22 August 2013 by Linda Peek

When we married, Matthew had been surviving as a bachelor for several years. The core of his culinary repertoire was contained in a small notebook with a green cover. It consisted of about 20 recipes, written out by his stepmother and sisters before he headed off to Geneva on his first posting, to make sure he didn’t starve.

Pork Chops with Orange Sauce was one of the recipes in that book and it went on to become a firm family favourite as our kids were growing up. The original version just coated the chops in flour – I added the egg and crumb layer. Fiddling with recipes is, I have to admit, something of an affliction. I don’t make this dish very often these days, but when I do I am reminded that back in the days before Master Chef and the infinite number of recipes available on the internet, we didn’t eat too badly at all. This “retro” dish is simple, straightforward and delicious.

4 pork chops or pork Scotch fillet steaks
seasoned flour
1 beaten egg
Dry breadcrumbs
1 Tbs butter
1 Tbs oil
Juice and grated rind 2 large oranges (use 3 if smaller)
2 Tbs brown sugar
2 Tbs grated fresh ginger (optional)

Preheat oven to 180°C. Remove bones and excess fat from chops, then hammer them out a little bit with meat mallet. Coat in seasoned flour, shaking off the excess. Then coat in beaten egg, then breadcrumbs, pressing them on well.

Heat butter and oil in a large frying pan and fry chops on both sides until golden. Place in an oven-proof dish in a single layer. Mix orange juice, rind, sugar and ginger and pour over. Can be prepared ahead to this stage and kept in the fridge, covered for several hours. Bake 45-60 mins uncovered at 180°C or until tender and browned. There should still be some sauce left, so if you check halfway and find it has mostly dried up, add few Tbs of water. As you can see in the photo my sauce had virtually disappeared!

Serve with baked potatoes topped with a dollop of sour cream mixed with snipped chives or spring onion tops and a green vegetable. Scrub the potatoes and put them in the oven on the shelf below the pork. Large potatoes will take 15-20 minutes longer than the pork, so stick them in early.

Serves 4

Steamed Monkfish with Ginger & Spring Onions

Posted on 19 August 2013 by Linda Peek

You don’t see monkfish much in the shops and when you do it’s usually quite expensive, but I recently bought some at Costco. It’s a firm, “meaty” fish with a texture similar to scallops. I think the best way to serve it is steamed with Chinese flavourings.

350-400g monkfish fillets
2-3 tsp grated or finely chopped ginger
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbs soy sauce
2 spring onions, finely sliced on the diagonal
To serve:
Steamed rice

Cut fish into big chunks. Mix with the ginger and garlic and season to taste. Place on a dinner plate in one layer. Half fill a large saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Place the plate with the fish on top and cover with the saucepan lid. Steam for 7-8 minutes or until opaque and cooked through but not quite flaking. Timing will depend on how close the plate is to the boiling water – be careful not to overcook.

Meanwhile heat sesame oil and soy sauce in a saucepan or in the microwave. Arrange fish on 2 serving plates. Drizzle with the soy sauce mixture and sprinkle with the spring onions. Serve with steamed rice.

Serves 2

Variation: use another firm fish such as barramundi

Cauliflower & Stilton Soup with Pesto

Posted on 15 August 2013 by Linda Peek

On a cold wintery day a bowl of steaming soup hits the spot. I’m not a great fan of blue cheese, eaten on its own, but I do like the more subtle flavour you get when you use it in a soup or salad dressing.

We were recently served a soup like this (without the pesto) at a cocktail party at the Press Club, in small espresso cups. I suspect they added at least 2 cups of cream, which was delicious and okay in such small servings, but not what you want to indulge in for lunch.

50g butter
1 onion, finely diced
1 cauliflower, trimmed and cut into pieces (stalks are fine too)
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock, preferably home-made
1 cup cream
100g Stilton, or another blue cheese
Milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve:
Pesto

Melt butter in a large heavy-based saucepan and cook onion over moderate heat, stirring oven, until soft and translucent. Add cauliflower and stock and simmer for 20 mins or until cauliflower is tender. Cool a bit then blend until smooth in a blender, adding the cream, the blue cheese and some milk to keep things moving. Tip back into the saucepan, adding enough extra milk to achieve desired consistency. Season to taste. Reheat and served topped with a swirl of pesto.

Serves 6

Salmon with Pumpkin and Almond Pesto

Posted on 8 August 2013 by Linda Peek

We had this recipe from Delicious magazine last night and it was just as yummy as it looks in the photo. I made half the salmon and pumpkin – enough to serve two people – but all the almond pesto. The left-over pesto will be nice served with pasta, grilled chicken or steak, or drizzled over home-made wintery soups.

1kg pumpkin, peeled, seeds removed
1 Tbs rosemary leaves, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
½ cup olive oil, plus 2 Tbs
1 bunch parsley, leaves picked off
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ cup blanched almonds (whole, flaked or slivered)
4 x 200g skinless salmon fillets, pin-boned
Steamed green vegetable to serve

Preheat oven to 200°C and line a large roasting pan with baking paper. Cut pumpkin into 2-3cm cubes and place on the paper with the rosemary and 1 Tbs oil. Season and toss to combine. Roast for 15 mins or until almost tender. To make pesto place parsley, almonds and garlic in food processor and whiz to combine. Add the ½ cup olive oil, scrape into a small bowl and season to taste. I also added the juice of half a lime, to give it a bit more zing.

Brush salmon with remaining 1 Tbs oil, season and add to the roasting pan with the pumpkin. Bake for a further 10 mins or until just cooked. Divide salmon and pumpkin among 4 plates and serve with the pesto and a steamed green vegetable such as beans, snow peas, brussels sprouts or broccoli.

Serves 4

Stir-Fried Prawns with Asparagus and Ginger

Posted on 5 August 2013 by Linda Peek

Asparagus is in season and works well in this quick mid-week stir-fry. Some fresh coriander or a spring onion – sliced very thinly on the diagonal – would have made nice additional garnishes, but I looked in the veggie drawer and found neither! Instead of mixing in the vermicelli you could serve the prawns with steamed rice.

350g peeled raw prawns, deveined
1 egg white
1 tsp cornflour
1 tsp sesame oil
½ tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch asparagus (5-6 spears)
2 Tbs oil
1 Tbs finely chopped or grated fresh ginger
1 Tbs dry sherry
2 tsp soy sauce
Extra sesame oil and soy sauce, to taste
100-150g vermicelli rice noodles
Fine slivers of red chilli to garnish

Mix prawns with egg white, cornflour, sesame oil, salt and pepper and leave aside for 20 minutes. Slice the asparagus on the diagonal, discarding the tough ends. Cook in boiling, salted water for 3-4 minutes until al dente. Refresh under cold water and drain. Pour boiling water over vermicelli, leave for 2-3 minutes then drain in a sieve.

Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan or wok and when hot add the prawns and ginger. Stir-fry for 2 minutes or until the prawns turn white. Add asparagus, sherry and soy sauce and continue to stir-fry for a minute. Mix in the vermicelli. Add extra sesame oil and soy sauce, to taste and check for seasoning. Serve in bowls garnished with fresh chilli.

Serves 2

Variations: use snow peas or broccoli florets instead of asparagus.

Greek-Style Lamb with Rocket Salad

Posted on 1 August 2013 by Linda Peek

This Greek-style roast lamb is very similar to a recipe I posted a couple of weeks ago. This one is accompanied by a rocket salad rather than roasted vegetables, making it a more summery dish. On one large platter it makes a good addition to a casual buffet.

1 shoulder of lamb, bone removed
2-3 tsp salt (to taste)
6 cloves garlic
1 Tbs peppercorns
6 sprigs of rosemary
2 Tbs dry oregano
2 Tbs olive oil
100 ml white wine vinegar or lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup red wine or sherry
To serve:
Rocket
Feta or goat’s cheese
Toasted pine nuts
Lemon and olive oil dressing
Pitta or Turkish bread

Preheat oven to 170°C. Trim excess fat from lamb. In food processor or using a mortar and pestle, make a paste with the salt, garlic, peppercorns, rosemary, oregano and olive oil. Place lamb in a roasting pan and spread it on both sides with the herby paste, massaging it in. Add vinegar or lemon juice, water and wine or sherry to the bottom of the pan and cover with foil. Bake for an hour, then turn the meat over and baste with pan juices. Cover again with the foil and return to the oven for another hour or until the meat is very tender and almost falling apart. Remove foil, turn the meat over again and turn the oven up to 200°C. Cook for a further 20 minutes, or until browned on top.

Prepare a large serving dish or individual plates with a simple rocket salad, dressed with lemon juice and olive oil. When the lamb is ready break it into pieces using two forks or cut it into pieces and arrange over the salad. Sprinkle with feta or goat’s cheese and toasted pine nuts. If liked, drizzle with some of the juices from the roasting pan. Serve with warm pitta or Turkish bread.

Serves 8