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

Healthy Oven-Baked KFC

Posted on 30 July 2013 by Linda Peek

Served with oven chips and coleslaw or a mixed salad this healthy version of Kentucky Fried Chicken – baked in the oven, rather than deep fried – is popular with kids. It’s not haute cuisine as you can see from the photo, just a very basic, economical family meal. It featured regularly in our house when the kids were growing up.

A salsa made from diced fresh mango or peach, red onion, fresh ginger, Thai sweet chilli sauce and chopped coriander is a nice addition for the adults. A diced avocado is an optional addition.

1 packet corn chips (see note below)
1 packet breadcrumbs (preferably Japanese Panko crumbs)
1 kg chicken pieces with skin
½ cup plain flour
1-2 tsp powdered chicken stock or salt or celery salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 tsp of dried herbs and spices of your choice (paprika, oregano etc)
1 egg plus 2 Tbs milk, beaten
Spray oil (olive, canola, whatever you use)

Preheat oven to 180°C. Place some of the corn chips in a food processor and process to make crumbs. Mix with the packaged breadcrumbs in a proportion of about two to one. Place about 2 cups in a shallow bowl and keep the rest in a sealed container for another time.

Mix flour with salt, pepper, herbs and spices in another shallow bowl. Be generous with the chicken stock powder or salt – it needs it. Mix the beaten egg and milk in a third bowl. Coat chicken pieces with seasoned flour, then with beaten egg and lastly with the crumb mixture, patting it on well. Place chicken on a baking try lined with non-stick baking paper – not necessary but saves on washing up. Spray chicken lightly with oil. Bake for about about 45 mins, turning once and spraying the other side with oil about halfway through. The chicken is ready when it’s golden brown and cooked through – test with a sharp knife.

Serves 4-6

Note: if you don’t have corn chips substitute cornflakes.

Oven Chips: cut potatoes into thick chunky chips and cook in boiling salted water for 8-10 minutes or until half-cooked. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. Place in a bowl with a small slug of olive oil, mix to coat, then add a shake of plain flour and turn again to coat. Arrange chips in a single layer on a tray lined with baking paper, sprinkle with coarse salt and bake for 45 minutes on the shelf above the chicken, or until golden brown. The flour is optional but gives the chips a nice crunchy coating.

Moroccan Cauliflower Salad with Yoghurt Dressing

Posted on 25 July 2013 by Linda Peek

We’re very fond of Moroccan flavours so this recipe caught my eye when it appeared in the latest Delicious magazine. It comes from Mojo, Luke Mangan’s new wine bar in Danks Street in Sydney, which serves “sharing plates” to go with the wine.

Serve it on its own or with grilled lamb cutlets or my Moroccan lamb. As we’re in the middle of winter I served it slightly warm and it was fantastic – definitely a keeper.

1 whole cauliflower
400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup olive oil plus extra to serve
2 Tbs Ras el Hanout Spice Mix (bought or make your own, see below)
½ bunch coriander, leaves picked off
½ bunch Continental parsley, leaves picked off
1/3 cup port
1/3 cup currants
2 Tbs white wine
2 pinches saffron strands
2/3 cup thick Greek-style yoghurt
Juice ½ lemon, or to taste
½ tsp Dijon mustard
1/3 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted

Preheat oven to 200ºC. Trim cauliflower removing green leaves and stem. Slice cauliflower into 1cm slices from top to bottom – some will fall off as florets. Place in a roasting pan with chickpeas, oil and spices. Toss with your fingers to coat everything thoroughly. Bake 20-25 mins or until tender and golden. Cool a bit then mix with the herbs.

Meanwhile heat port in a pan or microwave. Add currants and leave to soak for 10 mins or until plump, then drain. The recipe says to discard the port, but why not drink it? Heat wine in a pan or microwave, add saffron and stand 15 mins, then strain into a bowl, discarding saffron. Add yogurt, mustard and lemon juice to taste and mix well.

Divide yoghurt dressing between 4-6 serving plates in a puddle in the middle. Top with cauliflower mixture, garnish with currants and pine nuts and drizzle with extra oil. Alternatively serve in one large serving bowl, drizzled with the dressing.

Serves 4-6

Ras el Hanout Spice Mix
3 Tbs black peppercorns
2 tsp powdered ginger
2 tsp cumin seeds or powder
2 tsp coriander seeds or powder
2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cardamom
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chilli flakes or powder
¼ tsp cloves
2 tsp coarse salt

Grind the whole spices and salt to a powder in a spice mill or mortar and pestle. Add the powdered spices and mix well. Keep in a jar with a lid. Best used within a couple of months.

Slow Cooked Shoulder of Lamb with Rosemary

Posted on 22 July 2013 by Linda Peek

I haven’t cooked a shoulder of lamb for some time, but we ordered one recently in a restaurant, to share between four, and it was delicious. When I saw them for only $7.99 a kilo at a local butcher’s this week I bought one.

A roast is perfect to serve in summer or winter because you can adjust the accompaniments to suit the weather. Oven-roasted vegetables served hot in winter or at room temperature in summer. A tabouleh, lentil or couscous salad or my Spinach Salad with Red Dressing are all good side dishes in summer.

As the lamb was roasting delicious smells wafted through the house. Our golden retriever Danske and our son’s chocolate lab Hershey, who was staying with us for the weekend, twitched their noses appreciatively each time they stirred from dozing.

Lamb cooked this way is moist with a delicious lemony-herby flavour. The outsides which have been in contact with the pan are chewy and slightly crispy. Very moreish. I served it with oven-roasted parsnips and carrots, with a drizzle of honey. The dogs had some of the pan juices from the lamb mixed with their biscuits for breakfast, which caused much excitement and tail-wagging.

1 shoulder of lamb, bone-in, weighing 1.8kg to 2kg
¼ cup olive oil
Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
2 Tbs fresh rosemary sprigs
4 cloves garlic, crushed
½ cup dry white wine
½-1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 140°C. Place remaining ingredients except wine in a food processor or mortar and pestle and crush to a paste. Smother the lamb with this paste then place in a deep roasting pan, pour in the wine and cover with foil. Roast for 5-6 hours, or until lamb is very tender and falling off the bone. Ovens vary, so if the meat is ready but not brown enough, remove foil, turn oven up to 200ºC and put the meat back for about half an hour – you want some nice brown crispy bits. Serve with vegetables or salad.

Serves 4-6

Variations: use mint and oregano instead of rosemary.

Oven-roasted parsnips and carrots – peel 4 parsnips and quarter lengthwise. Peel (if necessary) 4-6 carrots and quarter or halve lengthwise depending on size. Place in a roasting pan, in a single layer. Drizzle with a little olive oil and roast for 30-40 minutes at 180°C. If you’re cooking them with the lamb at 140°C they will take longer – between an hour and an hour and a half. Turn and baste from time to time. Season to taste with salt and pepper and drizzle with a little honey.

Roasted Vegies with Hummus

Posted on 19 July 2013 by Linda Peek

My daughter Catherine invented this delicious vegetarian recipe when she only had some beetroot, a leek and an avocado as inspiration. It’s at times like this when some of the best dishes are created. Remember the TV programme Ready, Steady Cook where participating cooks were handed a bag of ingredients and had to whip up a meal with no recipe, or even time to plan?

This recipe is flexible because you can use any vegetables you have on hand. I didn’t have any leeks so used a big onion and instead of potatoes I added carrots. I also used a creamy Danish feta rather than goat’s cheese and pecan nuts instead of walnuts.

Hummus – homemade or bought
1 avocado
3 small beetroot
2 carrots
1 red capsicum (pepper)
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 onion or 1 leek, or both
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbs coriander leaves
50 goat’s cheese or feta
2-3 Tbs walnut or pecan halves, toasted
Balsamic glaze or a fruity finishing vinegar (I used apricot, Catherine used cherry)

Preheat oven to 200ºC. Cut vegetables into even-sized chunks or sticks, mix with a good slug of olive oil, salt and pepper and spread out in a single layer on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake for 30 mins or until tender and starting to brown at the edges, turning them about halfway through. Remove from the oven and let them cool a bit. Spread about 3 Tbs hummus on two large serving plates. Arrange half an avocado, sliced, on each plate on the edge of the humus, as shown in photo. Pile the roasted vegetables on top, then garnish with the coriander, the crumbled cheese and the toasted walnuts or pecans. Drizzle with the vinegar.

Serves 2

Salted Caramel & Macadamia Cheesecake

Posted on 17 July 2013 by Linda Peek

Salted caramel desserts are very “in” at the moment. I first tasted this combination of flavours in Brittany, where you can buy a salted caramel spread in jars to eat on toast like Nutella. The Bretons also use it as one of the many fillings you can choose for crepes sold by street vendors in the region. I know it’s not good to eat too much, but Matthew and our two boys are very keen on anything salty and this includes salted caramel desserts.

Israeli-born chef Yotam Ottolenghi created this delicious caramel and macadamia cheesecake. All I have done is to add salt to the caramel sauce, cut down a bit on the biscuits in the crust and the sugar in the cheesecake filling.

Base:
About 130g plain sweet biscuits (I used 9 Digestives)
40g unsalted butter
Filling:
500g ricotta cheese, at room temperature
250g cream cheese, at room temperature
100g caster sugar
4 eggs
½ cup sour cream
Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla pod or 2 tsp essence
Topping:
150g macadamia nuts
90g caster sugar
Sauce:
65g unsalted butter
160g caster sugar
100ml cream
½ to 1 tsp salt, to taste

Base: Preheat oven to 140ºC. Lightly grease a 20cm spring-form cake tin and line the base and sides with baking paper. Whiz biscuits to crumbs in food processor. Melt butter in microwave, add biscuit crumbs and mix. Tip into the cake tin and flatten with the bottom of a glass to create a level base.

Filling: In a bowl with electric beaters or in a food processor, mix all ingredients for filling until smooth. Scrape into cake tin and bake for 50 mins or until set in the middle. Cool then refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight, covered.

Topping: Preheat oven to 140ºC. Spread macadamias over a baking sheet and roast for about 15 mins or until light golden brown. Watch them carefully – mine got a bit too brown as you can see in the photo. Remove and set aside. Place sugar in a heavy-based saucepan and heat gently until it turns golden-brown. Do not stir, but you can lift and swirl from time to time. Add nuts and mix gently with a wooden spoon. Pour onto a tray lined with foil or non-stick baking paper and leave to set. Chop roughly with a large knife, leaving some of the nuts halved or whole.

Sauce: Melt butter in a heavy-based saucepan, add sugar and stir constantly over medium heat with a wooden spoon until you have a smooth, dark caramel. It may split, but that doesn’t matter. Add cream carefully – it will splutter – and stir to combine. Sieve to remove any gritty bits then cool.

To serve: Remove sides and base of cake tin and place cheesecake on a serving plate or board. If you want to present it whole, spoon the sauce in the middle, allowing it to spill over the sides a bit and scatter the nuts over the top. Alternatively arrange slices on individual plates, then decorate with the nuts and spoon over some of the sauce. Keeps for 3 days in the fridge.

Serves 10

A Kimberley Expedition on the Orion

Posted on 16 July 2013 by Linda Peek

The Kimberley region of Western Australia is huge and stunningly beautiful. It was named after the first Earl of Kimberley, John Wodehouse, who was Secretary of State for the Colonies in the late 1800s. Largely inaccessible except by boat or sea plane, we decided the best way to discover this remote coastline was to book a 10 day trip on the Orion, which sails from Darwin to Broome, or from Broome to Darwin. It’s not cheap, but we’ve decided it’s time to start spending our kids’ inheritance and it was worth every penny.

Our gregarious Irish captain Mike Taylor was quick to point out that we were on a ship, not a boat, and that this was an expedition, not a cruise. In Wyndham passengers could opt for a small plane flight over the amazing Bungle Bungles and Lake Argyle or a river boat cruise on the Ord River. From Wyndham to Broome daily excursions by Zodiac allowed passengers to get up close to the spectacular scenery, colourful bird life and hungry-looking crocodiles. We visited the King George River and Falls (a helicopter ride over the falls was an optional extra), the huge Montgomery Reef – which appears at low tide, but is invisible at high tide and the Horizontal Waterfalls in the Buccaneer Archipelago. The rapid tidal fall on the ocean side of the cliffs creates a “waterfall” up to 3 metres high as the water runs through a small gap, into the bay on the other side. A fast boat ride across these falls was one of the most exciting activities of the whole trip, causing a real rush of adrenaline. At Raft Point we were met by some of the Aboriginal landowners and visited caves containing ancient indigenous rock art.

One of the highlights of the trip was the spectacular geology of the region. Many of the bays have high ochre-coloured sandstone cliffs formed about 2 billion years ago when two continents – Australia and Kimberley – collided. Other geological events have resulted in intrusions of magma and twisting of the rock strata, producing natural artworks in amazing colours.

Each evening our expedition leader Mick Fogg gave a presentation on what we had done that day, accompanied by photos, some candid. “I told you not to go near the water because of the crocodiles, but there’s always someone who doesn’t listen”. The culprit, caught red-handed washing the sand off his thongs, was there for all to see, causing much laughter. After this recap of the day’s activities Mick explained arrangements for the following day. The timing of excursions has to be spot on because tides in this part of the world are very high and conditions are constantly changing.

Nothing was too much trouble for the Orion crew. Everyone, including the captain, helped to lift our two disabled passengers in and out of the Zodiacs, so they didn’t miss any of the adventures. We were impressed.

Food on board the Orion is excellent. Dinners are mostly à la carte, with dishes created by French-Canadian Serge Dansereau, owner-chef of the Bather’s Pavilion in Sydney. These are served in the formal below-deck dining room, interspersed with the occasional BBQ or seafood buffet on deck. Providing it’s not too windy it’s delightful to eat under the stars. Lunches and breakfasts are mostly served on deck, buffet style, with a different lunch-time theme each day and closely supervised by Clinton, our friendly and charming Kiwi Maitre d’.

The cabins are comfortable and well-equipped. Ours was on level three and wasn’t huge but certainly big enough and we didn’t spend much time there. As you go further up in the ship, which has six decks, the cabins become more expensive and larger. A spacious elevator makes life easier for anyone disabled or a bit unsteady on their feet.

We became hooked on the late afternoon game of trivia, accompanied by tea and delicious morsels (tried to resist but didn’t always succeed) and run by Glen, the French-Canadian musician, who entertained us after dinner each evening, impersonating the voices of everyone from Charles Aznavour to Louis Armstrong.

The top echelons of the crew were from all over the place – Ireland, South Africa, New Zealand, Russia and the Ukraine – while the remainder were smiley-faced Philippinos. They are a nation of performers and one night passengers were treated to a show, compered by our delightful “hotel” manager Ian Vella. I couldn’t help thinking that if the crew had been comprised of bashful Aussies they would have struggled to put a show together. We once attended a dinner hosted by the Philippine Ambassador to Australia. After the meal it became apparent that everyone was expected to “do a turn” and provide the evening’s entertainment. You can imagine the look of relief on Matthew’s face when we ran out of time and the party ended before they got to him.

Filling in the questionnaire about our trip we were unable to come up with any complaints or suggestions on how the Orion could do things better. Here is my favourite quote from Ian, as he explained disembarkation arrangements: “And if Plan A doesn’t work we’ll go to Plan B. We’ll let you know as soon as we’ve worked out a Plan B.” This comment gave everyone a good laugh, but the truth is that the Orion has everything planned, down to the very last detail.