Preparing ahead

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The secret to stress-free entertaining is having as much as possible prepared before the guests arrived.  Last night two couples we hadn’t seen for some time joined us for dinner, so I chose a menu which involved a couple of hours of preparation, but would leave me free to enjoy their company.

We started off with Prawn, Avocado and Tomato Tian with Green Shallot Dressing, adapted from a recipe by Curtis Stone which uses crab rather than prawns.  Crab is expensive and often difficult to find, whereas cooked prawns are readily available and often on special.  I had all the elements ready in the fridge and just had to assemble the tians before we sat down.  In Curtis Stone’s recipe he used beefsteak tomatoes and managed to cut circles for the tops of the tians.  My tomatoes weren’t big enough, so I had to use several pieces.

Prawn, Avocado and Tomato Tian with Green Shallot Dressing

Prawn Layer
1 kg cooked prawns, shelled and deveined (about 500g shelled weight)
Juice of 1/2 a lemon or one lime
2 Tbs mayonnaise, preferably home-made
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Avocado Layer
3 ripe avocados
1/2 red onion, very finely chopped
Juice of 1/2 a lemon or one lime
2 Tbs mayonnaise, preferably home-made
1 small red chilli, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Tomato Layer:
6-8 large ripe tomatoes
Salt flakes, such as Maldon
Olive oil
Green Shallot Dressing
4 spring onions, mostly the green tops
1 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup white wine or white balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place prawns in food processor.  Pulse a few times to chop roughly but still leave some large chunky bits.  Mix with remaining ingredients for prawn layer, cover and refrigerate until serving time.  Peel and dice avocados and mix with remaining ingredients, cover and refrigerate.  Cover tomatoes with boiling water for 1-2 minutes.  Refresh under a cold tap, then cut a cross on the bottoms and remove skins.  Cut tops off the tomatoes – just far enough down so you get rid of where the stalk was – then remove all seeds and pulp and discard.  It’s easier to do this if you make a cut down the side of the tomato.  You should be left with just the outer layer of each tomato in one large piece which you can flatten out.  Place on a plate lined with paper towel and refrigerate.  Place all ingredients for dressing in food processor, process until smooth, then place in a small jug or a bottle with a squirty top.

Just before serving time use stacking rings to assemble the tians – prawn layer, then avocado layer.  If you’re only making six servings you will have some prawn and avocado leftover.  Lastly cut pieces of tomato to cover the top – doesn’t matter if it’s like a jigsaw puzzle.  Brush tomato with a little olive oil and sprinkle with a few flakes of salt.  Drizzle some dressing around each tian, lift off the rings and serve.

Serves 6-8

For the main course I served lamb cutlets with mint pesto.  Crunchy roast potatoes and pea puree went down well with this.  Boil the halved potatoes until they are almost done, then drain, place on baking paper on an oven tray and spray with oil.  You can do them ahead to this stage, then just bake for about half an hour or so in a hot oven until brown and crispy.  For the peas boil half a kilo of frozen peas in salted water.  When tender blitz in the food processor with a lump of butter and about 2 Tbs of cream.  Season to taste then push the puree through a sieve.  This can also be done ahead and reheated in the microwave in a covered bowl.  For each serving put a circle of pea puree in the centre of the plate, then arrange two potatoes (propped up against each other looks good) and two lamb cutlets on top,  with a blob of mint pesto on each cutlet.   You will have to cook the cutlets at the last minute but they don’t take long.  Just season then pan fry in a tiny amount of olive oil for 2-3 minutes each side.

Mint Pesto

1 bunch mint, washed, leaves removed
2 Tbs grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup pine nuts
2 tsp honey
1 clove garlic, crushed
Between 1/4 and 1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 Tbs white balsamic vinegar or lemon juice

Place mint, Parmesan, pine nuts, honey and garlic in food processor and process until chunky, stopping once to scrape down the sides.  Add oil through the feed chute with the motor running.  Stop when you have a thick spoonable pesto, then lastly add vinegar or lemon juice and seasoning to taste.  It should be slightly chunky, not completely smooth.  Place pesto in a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.  The top with darken, but if you give it a quick mix it will be a nice bright green when you serve it.

We finished off with individual Pineapple and Pepper Tarte Tatins – the usual butter and sugar caramel, but the pineapple rings were seasoned with coarsely ground black pepper – served with vanilla icecream.

Chicken Terrine with Herbs and Pink Peppercorns

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A terrine is handy to have in the fridge over the holiday period.  Serve as a light lunch or starter with salad, or as part of a buffet.  My terrine dish is made from glazed pottery and holds 3 liters.  It has a lid and was made in France.  A metal or silicone loaf pan will do.  You can use pink peppercorns in brine or the dry ones which I buy from The Essential Ingredient.  I’ve put “About 700g of chicken mince” because if you buy it prepacked and it happens to be 100g more or less, it doesn’t matter, throw it all in.  Same with the breasts.

When you tip it out there will be a certain amount of jelly surrounding the terrine.  You will probably want to throw this away, although our golden retriever thought it was quite delicious mixed in with his boring dry biscuits for dinner!

Chicken Terrine with Herbs and Pink Peppercorns

5-8 slices of prosciutto or pancetta (enough to line your terrine)
About 700g chicken breast meat
About 700g chicken mince
1 small onion or a couple of shallots, very finely chopped
1 cup cream
1 egg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 Tbs pink peppercorns
3-4 Tbs finely chopped herbs (I used a mixture of parsley and marjoram)
2 Tbs brandy

Preheat oven to 200°C.  Lightly oil the terrine dish, then line it on all sides with a single layer of pancetta or prosciutto.  Trim chicken breasts of any fat, then cut into 2-3cm cubes.  Use your food processor to chop the herbs and mix with the chicken breast, stirring to coat thoroughly and adding salt and pepper to taste. Mix chicken mince with remaining ingredients, using food processor to chop the onion or shallots.  When thoroughly mixed place half the mixture in the terrine, spreading evenly, then arrange all of the chicken breast cubes on top, then the rest of the mince mixture.  Press down well, cover terrine with the lid or with a piece of foil.  Place in a large dish such as a lasagne dish or a baking pan and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the terrine dish.  Bake for an hour, then remove from the oven, cool thoroughly, then refrigerate overnight.  Some terrines need to be weighted overnight, but I found this didn’t need it.  To serve, loosen the terrine and tip out, then cut into slices.  If it’s difficult to remove, you might need to dip the bottom of the terrine into boiling water.  If liked, garnish with some extra pink peppercorns and serve with Sweet Mustard Sauce.

Cuts into about 10 thick slices.

Sweet Mustard Sauce
1 Tbs English mustard
1 Tbs Dijon mustard
1 Tbs grainy mustard
1 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs vinegar (white or cider)
3 Tbs cup olive oil

Place all ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake well.  Leave overnight for the sugar to dissolve.

Note: this mustard sauce goes very well with Gravlax for which I would add a couple of tablespoons of finely chopped dill and 3-4 Tbs mayonnaise (preferably home-made) to make the sauce less hot.

No-Knead Bread

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My son in law makes this “no-knead bread” and says it’s so easy, so I thought it was time I had a go. The time involved in making it is less than five minutes, plus baking time. Minimum mess, quick and easy and tastes fantastic – just like a shop-bought ciabatta. If you look on Google you will find that there are heaps of variations of this recipe, though I believe it was first published in the New York Times. Here’s our version.

3 cups plain flourphoto
¼ tsp dry yeast
1 heaped tsp salt
1 Tbs olive oil (optional)
1½ cups very hot water from the tap

Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until you’re ready to bake the bread. In summer anywhere will do, but in the middle of winter it’s probably a good idea to put it somewhere cosy like the microwave or the oven, making sure you tell people not to switch it on! Recipes on Google vary on how long the dough needs to rise, so I reckon it’s fairly flexible. Anywhere between 4 and 24 hours you can go to the next stage.

At this stage, i.e. after the 24 hour rising period, the dough can be refrigerated for up to 3-4 days and this time in the fridge actually improves the flavour of the bread.

Place an iron pot with a lid in the oven – a le Creuset-type pot holding 6-8 litres – and turn the oven on to 250C or as high as it will go if it doesn’t go that high. Meanwhile tip the bread dough out onto a floured surface. Fold and flip it over on itself a few times, then form into a ball with the seams underneath and place on a piece of baking paper. Turn on the oven and let the bread rise a bit while it comes up to temperature. This could take around half an hour. If the dough has been in the fridge for a couple of days then give it 2 hours to come to room temperature and rise before baking.

When the oven is up to temperature use the paper to put the bread into the pot on the paper and make two slashes in the top with a pair of scissors. Cover with the lid and bake for 30-40 minutes. Remove lid and bake for a further 5-10 minutes or until nicely browned. It depends on your oven how fast it browns, so keep an eye on it. In such a hot oven it browns fast. Remove and cool on a rack.

Sausage Rolls

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When I was growing up in England we always made sausage rolls for Christmas and other celebrations.  With bought puff pastry, they’re quick to make and everyone likes them.  If you want to freeze and store them, cook them for less time, then reheat either thawed, or straight from the freezer, when you need them. Great to have in the freezer when unexpected guests pop in for a drink over Christmas.

Sausage Rolls

3-4 sheets of bought puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten
sesame seeds (optional)
Filling:
750g pork mince
2 cups breadcrumbs, made in the food processor using day old bread
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped in the food processor
3 tsp dried mixed herbs
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 egg
plain flour for rolling

Preheat oven to 180°C.  Mix all ingredients for filling.  Cut pastry down the middle into two long rectangles.  Form filling into sausages by taking a handful and rolling on a floured surface.  Each sausage should be about 2cm in diameter and the length of a piece of pastry.  Place a sausage on each piece of pastry, dampen the long edge with water, seal with a fork, then cut into desired length – if you make them about 4cm long you will get 6 from each rectangle.  Place on trays lined with baking paper.  Brush with beaten egg, sprinkle if liked with sesame seeds, then bake for 25 minutes or until nicely browned.  Cool a bit on a cake rack, then serve while still warm with tomato sauce (ketchup) for dipping.  If liked you can bake them ahead until they are almost ready, then cool and keep in the fridge (for up to 2 days) or freezer (for up to 2 months) until needed.  They will only need to be heated up for a few minutes in a hot oven to serve.

Makes about 36 or so, depending on size

Note: puff pastry sheets in Australia are 25cm square.  If preferred you can buy puff pastry in a block and roll it out yourself.

Warm Salmon Salad with Red Nut Dressing

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Tonight we had a warm Salmon salad with an invented dressing I’ve called Red Nut Dressing. The salad is adaptable, so use whatever you have on hand, such as baby tomatoes, asparagus, rocket etc. A perfect dish for an early summer evening with a glass of chilled Sauvignon Blanc.

Warm Salmon Salad with Red Nut Dressing

4-6 cups mesclun (small salad leaves)
1 cup beansprouts, washed and dried
½ small red onion, thinly sliced
1 small red capsicum, seeded and thinly sliced
1 avocado peeled and sliced
2 salmon portions weighing about 180-200g each, skinned and boned
1 Tbs olive oil

Red Nut Dressing
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/3 cup walnuts, blanched almonds or pine nuts
1 Tbs tomato paste
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp honey
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup vegetable oil e.g. canola
¼ cup red wine vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

To make dressing place all ingredients in a food processor and process until chunky-smooth.  Tip into a jam jar with a lid.  Place salad ingredients except avocado and salmon in a salad bowl.  Meanwhile lightly season salmon and pan fry in the 1 Tbs olive oil until cooked to liking.  It won’t take more than about 3 minutes each side (depending on thickness) and is nicer if still pink in the middle. Cut salmon into chunks.  Shake dressing then add enough to the salad to moisten. Mix well and divide between two individual salad bowls.  Arrange the avocado slices and salmon chunks on top, then spoon over a little more dressing.  There will be some left over.

Serves 2

Notes: the walnuts need to be fresh otherwise they can be bitter.  If in doubt substitute almonds or pine nuts.  If preferred, leave the salmon in one piece and just place it on top.

Sticky Honey Chicken

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This weekend we went to Woodlands, our 46 hectare rural property at Hereford Hall, 40 minutes out of Braidwood, New South Wales.  Sometimes we invite friends or family to join us, but this weekend Matthew wanted to prepare the area around the house for planting a lawn and sow the seeds, so there was no time for socialising.

Browsing through this month’s Delicious magazine before we left, I read a letter from a reader which mentioned a recipe for Sticky Honey Chicken with Ginger and Garlic by Rick Stein. It had apparently appeared in the magazine many moons ago and the reader said it was so good she was still making it regularly.  I decided to find it on the internet, print off a copy and make it over the weekend.  Here is my slightly adapted version.  I cut out the olive oil – the chicken was fatty enough without it – and added fresh coriander as a garnish.  I also cut down a bit on the quantities in the glaze and used only chicken thighs, because I’m not mad about drumsticks.  The cayenne pepper gives the sauce a nice kick and any leftovers are nice cold.

Rick Stein’s Sticky Honey Chicken with Ginger and Garlic

8-12 chicken pieces – drumsticks, thighs etc, skin left on
juice of one small or ½ large lemon
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
Glaze
1½ Tbs honey
2-3 cm fresh ginger, grated
2 Tbs HP sauce (I substituted BBQ sauce)
1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbs tomato sauce (ketchup)
1 Tbs tomato puree
2 Tbs red wine or cider vinegar
2 Tbs soy sauce
2  large garlic cloves, crushed
fresh coriander to garnish

Preheat oven to 200°C. Trim chicken of any excess fat or skin.  Place in a shallow ovenproof dish in one layer.  Sprinkle with lemon juice, cayenne pepper and salt. Turn chicken pieces until well coated. Cover and set aside while you mix the glaze.

Make glaze by mixing all ingredients together. Roast chicken for 15 minutes skin side up. Turn chicken pieces over, spoon over half the glaze and roast for another 15 minutes.  Turn over so they are skin side up again, spoon over remaining glaze and bake for a further 10-15 minutes or until nicely browned and cooked through.  Garnish with coriander. Serve with steamed rice, with a knob of butter added and a steamed green vegetable or green salad.

Serves 4-6

Mum’s Bread Pudding

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When I was growing up in England, my mother usually had a freshly-baked cake waiting for us when we arrived home from school.   Sometimes it was a butter cake, baked in a slab tin then iced with white icing and cut into rectangles with a glace cherry on each piece.  Sometimes it was drop scones (pikelets), which we ate with butter and golden syrup.  One of my favourites was bread pudding – quite different to bread and butter pudding, which uses cream and eggs and is served as a dessert.  Although it’s called a pudding, we ate it as a cake, still warm from the oven.  It’s an old recipe from World War 2, when nothing was wasted and many things, including eggs, were rationed.  For a modern twist use chocolate chips instead of the dried fruit or a combination of the two.

Mum’s Bread Pudding

9-10 slices stale bread
125g mixed dried fruit
1 Tbs mixed peel (optional)
1 egg
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 tsp mixed spice
2 heaped Tbs softened butter
2-3 Tbs white sugar

Soak bread in cold water for half an hour. Squeeze bread to expel as much water as possible, then beat with a fork to remove lumps. Mix all ingredients together and spread into a shallow baking tin about 20x30cm in size, lined with baking paper.  Bake at 180°C for a good hour or until nicely browned. Sprinkle liberally with white sugar, cut into squares and serve warm.

Chicken Satay

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When we lived in Kuala Lumpur in the early 1980s, The Pink Tablecloths, our favourite street cafe, gave me their recipe for satay with peanut sauce – a dish which is popular in both Malaysia and Indonesia.  I haven’t made them for quite a while, but a week in Bali has reminded me how tasty they are.  You can use any meat you like, but I prefer chicken.  The original recipe used all peanuts, but I have substituted half for peanut butter, which I find gives a creamier result.

Chicken Satay The Pink Tablecloths

1 kg chicken meat (thighs are best)

Marinade:
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small to medium onion, grated
1 heaped Tbs palm sugar or brown sugar
2 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs tamarind juice or paste
3 Tbs soy sauce

Cut meat into cubes or strips and thread onto wooden skewers which have been soaked for half an hour in cold water, so they don’t burn. Mix marinade and pour over the meat. Leave for at least 30 minutes then cook over a charcoal grill or under a grill. Serve with Satay Sauce, steamed rice and a small side salad of sliced cucumber and onion.

Serves 4-6

Note: beef, lamb or pork can be used instead of chicken in this recipe.

Satay Sauce
½ cup salted peanuts
½ cup peanut butter
1 small onion, peeled
1 can coconut cream
2 Tbs palm sugar or brown sugar
1-2 smal red chillies, seeded and chopped (to taste)
2 tsp lemon peel, or lemon grass, chopped
Soy sauce to taste
Juice of half a lemon or lime

Process all ingredients together in a food processor until you have a thick, slightly chunky sauce. Heat until thick in a small saucepan.  Serve at room temperature.  Any leftover sauce can be frozen for next time.

Relaxing in Bali

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Spending a week relaxing in Bali at the Green Garden Hotel and Spa.  A small place with comfortable rooms, good aircon and friendly people.

Last night we had a delicious meal of fried calamari rings, satay chicken and chilli prawns with rice.  Today a light lunch down by the beach.  I chose a salad which was just right for the warm weather.  Here’s my take on it.

Mozzarella, Tomato and Avocado Salad with Olive Dressing

4-6 handfuls of small salad leaves including rocket if liked
250g mozzarella or bocconcini balls, sliced or cubed
4 tomatoes, sliced, or the equivalent in baby tomatoes, halved
2 large avocadoes, sliced
½ red onion, thinly sliced

Dressing:
1 cup vegetable oil e.g. canola
¼ cup cider or white wine vinegar
1 Tbs Dijon mustard
2 Tbs finely chopped olives (green stuffed with pimento are nice)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tsp honey or sugar

On four plates arrange the lettuce leaves, then the tomatoes, avocado slices, onion and mozzarella.  Place all the dressing ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake vigorously.  Drizzle dressing over the salads.

Serves 4 as a light lunch

Moroccan-style Sweet Potatoes with Carrots

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In the good company of Jamie Oliver I simply love my Magimix and am onto my third over a period of about 35 years.  When we were posted overseas I always took it with me in my suitcase, because I couldn’t bear the thought of being without it for the two months it took for a sea container to arrive with our goods and chattels.

I recently watched Jamie making a Carrot Salad on his Thirty Minute Dinners show.  He used a very large 0.5cm grating attachment for his Magimix, which my model  didn’t have.  So I went to my local department store and ordered one for the princely sum of  $59.  It’s perfect for grating carrots for salads or potatoes for Rösti.

Last night I created a new dish using some mashed sweet potatoes left over from the previous night’s dinner.  I also had some grated carrots which needed using up.  The result was this Moroccan style dish which was delicious.

Moroccan-style Sweet Potatoes with Carrots

500-600g sweet potatoes (one large or two smaller)
3-4 large carrots
25g butter
1/3 cup raisins or sultanas
1 tsp ground cumin
2 Tbs finely chopped preserved lemon (optional)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbs chopped fresh coriander to garnish (optional)

Peel sweet potatoes and cut into small chunks. Cook in boiling, salted water until tender then mash thoroughly with a potato masher. Peel and grate carrots coarsely. Heat butter in a medium frying pan. Add carrots and stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Add the mashed sweet potato, raisins, cumin, preserved lemon and season to taste. Keep stirring for a minute or two until thoroughly heated through. Serve garnished with chopped coriander or as it is. It’s nice either way.

Serves 4-6 as a side dish

Note: preserved lemons are available in specialty shops