Tag Archives: easy

Preserving Olives

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It’s olive time in Canberra.

The olive tree in our garden is more than 30 years old and each year it produces a good crop, although some years are better than others. Olives vary quite a bit – ours are large, round and turn a purplish black when ripe.

I’ve tried preserving them, using a number of different, supposedly foolproof recipes, with no success. The olives were either too soft, too hard, too salty, too bitter, or they fermented and went off before we could eat them. Every time I had a disaster someone would give me their special recipe, guaranteed to work, which I would try the following year. None of them worked for me.

A few years ago I managed to persuade Jeff, the owner of a local olive oil company, to take our olives and give us some oil in exchange, for a small fee. So that’s what we’ve done a couple of times. We ended up with several litres of bright green extra virgin olive oil which tastes amazing on salads, or just on bread. It’s cool to be able to tell guests it’s our own oil, although Jeff no doubt mixed our olives with a lot of his. As he explained, he needs 500kg to turn on the machine.

Last year the parrots ate most of our olives before we could pick them. I spoke to Jeff and he said he was having the same problem and had bought a boom machine from Bunnings to scare the birds away. He said you have to use it each morning, because the parrots’ memory only lasts 24 hours. Unfortunately this advice came too late for our olives, so we picked the few that were left – a kilo or two – and decided to have one last try at preserving them.

I found this recipe online and could hardly believe how quick and easy it was. Most recipes involve weeks of preparation. The resulting olives were so good I couldn’t stop eating them. They were slightly chewy and almost sweet, with no trace of bitterness. Unfortunately last year I only made one large jar, which we kept in the kitchen near the hotplates. They made the perfect snack while I was preparing dinner. I don’t know if this recipe works with small green olives – I think it’s best for fat, black juicy ones like ours – but you could give it a try.

There are heaps of recipes for preserving olives, but this is the one I’m sticking with. The instruction which appears at the end of this easy peasy recipe “keep for a month before eating” is the hard part. Ours don’t last that long I’m afraid.

Black olives
Salt
Olive oil
Dried garlic
Dried herbs (optional)
Dried chillies (optional)

Choose sound black olives. Rinse and drain, then put in a large bowl. Cover with boiling water and leave for 10 minutes, then drain thoroughly.

Arrange on cake cooling racks over shallow trays and place in the oven at 80C for several hours or overnight.

When ready the olives will be dry and wrinkled and about half their original size. You want them chewy, not hard, so taste one. Any smaller olives may be ready first so remove them and put the rest back in the oven.

Pack the olives into sterilised jars with a good pinch of salt, some dried garlic and a few tablespoons of oil. Best not to add fresh garlic as it can go off as I learnt the hard way. Add herbs or chilli if liked. Close jar then shake to distribute the oil.

Keep for a month before eating, shaking the oil around from time to time.

 

 

Rhubarb Tart

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With everyone in coronavirus lockdown, some of us are finding more time to cook. And eat.

I highly recommend you find a sunny corner in the garden to plant some rhubarb. It doesn’t take up much room and keeps on fruiting for most of the year. Ours only dies down a bit for 2-3 months in the coldest part of winter. When there’s virtually nothing else in the veggie garden, there’s usually some rhubarb.

This pastry recipe from chez Panisse via Rick Stein is deliciously buttery, reminiscent of a Parisian croissant, fresh from the oven. The oven needs to be nice and hot to get that lovely French glaze. Serve the tart as it is or with some whipped cream or sour cream, which is my preference.

Pastry:
225g plain flour
Good pinch of salt
170g butter, cold from the fridge
About 4 Tbs cold water
Filling:
500-600g rhubarb
½ cup sugar, or more, to taste
2 Tbs fortified wine such as port, but any will do
Grated rind of an orange or lemon
To finish:
Extra sugar
About 2 Tbs butter
Apricot Jam (optional)
To serve:
Whipped cream, sour cream or creme fraiche

To make the pastry, place flour and salt in food processor. Add butter cut into large chunks. Process carefully, preferably using the pulse button, until the butter is in small pieces. You don’t want it to be completely fine like breadcrumbs. Slowly add the water through the feed chute, processing briefly with the pulse button, until just combined. You don’t want it to be too wet, but it needs to start sticking together. Tip out, form into a flat disc using floured hands, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for half an  hour or up to 2 days. It can also be frozen.

Preheat oven to 220°C. On a floured surface with a floured rolling pin, roll out the pastry thinly and line a lightly greased tart tin, preferably metal. Mine is rectangular, but any will do. Wash and trim the rhubarb. I had plenty, so used only the red ends. All the trimmings and greener ends were made into a compote which is great for breakfast with yoghurt or as the base of a fruit crumble. I cut the rhubarb into the exact width of the tin and lined them up in the uncooked pastry case, so I knew exactly how many I needed. If you want more fruit in the tart you could cut up all the green bits and put them in first, then arrange the bigger pieces on top.

Place rhubarb in a bowl and mix with the sugar, port and citrus zest, then arrange in the tart shell. Drizzle over any remaining sugary juice. Sprinkle with the extra sugar, then dot all over with small pieces of butter.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until pastry is golden and rhubarb is starting to blacken in places – see photo. If liked, brush the surface of the tart with some apricot jam (just the non-chunky part) when it comes out of the oven.

Serve warm or at room temperature with cream, sour cream or creme fraiche.

Serves 10

Variations: use peaches, plums, nectarines or apricots instead of rhubarb.

Sweet Potato and Zucchini Slice

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Every year we grow zucchini (courgettes) in our vegetable garden. Despite our best efforts, some of them get away and end up looking more like marrows. Large zucchini are great for making into fritters or a savoury slice like this one. If zucchini are large remove the seeds and some of the skin.

It’s worth investing in a 0.5cm grating attachment for your food processor. The grating attachment which came with my Magimix is too fine for things like carrot, zucchini and beetroot so I ordered the larger one online. It makes grating vegetables a cinch and has become the attachment I use most.

1 Tbs olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large sweet potato (about 500g), peeled and coarsely grated
500g zucchini, peeled and coarsely grated
1 cup ricotta or cottage cheese
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
¼ cup plain flour
5 eggs
2 Tbs chopped chives or basil
2 Tbs chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cherry tomatoes to garnish

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line a rectangular slice tin. I used a 22cm round cake tin instead.

Heat olive oil in a frying pan. Add onion and garlic and cook gently until soft but not browned. Mix with remaining ingredients, then scrape into cake pan and smooth the top. Bake for 40-70 minutes. Time will vary according to the cake pan you choose. If you use a rectangular slice pan it will be thinner and take around 40 mins. The one in the photo took about 70 mins. Any size/shape will do. When cooked it will be golden all over and firm to the touch in the middle.

Serve cold or at room temperature, garnished with the cherry tomatoes. We preferred it cold.

Serves 10

Variation: Fry 3-4 rashers of chopped bacon with the onion and garlic

Black Rice Pudding with Jaggery and Toasted Nuts

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On a recent trip to India we dined at a fantastic restaurant in Mumbai called Burma Burma. It serves only vegetarian food and no alcohol – a formula which is really taking off. The Maitre D said they were about to open their sixth restaurant in Calcutta. I assured him they would do well in Australia too. Vegetarianism is a growing trend worldwide.

The black rice pudding garnished with Jaggery and Toasted Almonds was superb, so I decided to try and recreate it, using macadamias. Jaggery (also known as Gur) is made from sugar cane and is a popular sweetener throughout Asia.  Dark brown in colour, it’s sold in solid blocks. Most Asian grocery stores sell Jaggery, but if you can’t find it substitute a drizzle of treacle, which will provide the sweetness and colour, without the crunch.

2 cups black rice, rinsed
4 cups water
pinch salt
2-4 Tbs sugar, to taste
1 can coconut cream
To serve:
Lightly toasted slivered almonds or coarsely chopped macadamias
2-3 Tbs Jaggery, chopped
Fresh mango (optional)
Extra coconut cream or thick cream or sour cream (see note below)

Place all ingredients in a heavy-bottomed pan. Bring to the boil, then simmer, covered for 45 minutes or until tender, adding more water as necessary and stirring often to prevent sticking, especially towards the end. The rice pudding should be thick and the grains should be tender, but with a slight bite. Cool then chill.

Serve the rice pudding chilled, garnished with the toasted nuts and the Jaggery, in one large dish or individual dishes. If liked, serve with a bowl of fresh cubed mango and some cream.

Note: traditionally served with extra coconut cream. I prefer it with a dollop of thick fresh or sour cream. It’s also perfectly nice on its own.

Roasted Cauliflower and Prawn Salad

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This delicious salad was served by friends who have a house in Mittagong. It’s from Janelle Bloom, guest cook at The Cook’s Cooking School in Bowral and was published in the Oct/Nov 2018 edition of the Southern Highlands of Australia magazine Highlife.  A perfect lunch on its own or as part of a buffet.

¼ cup skinned hazelnuts
1 very large or two small cauliflowers
2 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp fennel seeds, bruised in a mortar and pestle
½ tsp ground cinnamon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
4 spring onions, thinly sliced
1kg king prawns, peeled and deveined
Dressing:
3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Small clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp caster sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 200°C. Place hazelnuts in a dry frying pan and stir over moderate heat until lightly toasted. Roughly chop. Cut cauliflowers into 2-3cm florets (some may need to be halved) and place in a large bowl. Add the oil and spices, salt and pepper and mix to coat well. Arrange in one layer in a roasting pan lined with baking paper. Bake for 15-20 mins or until golden brown and just tender, turning once during cooking time.

Place all ingredients for dressing in a jar with a lid and shake well. Arrange cauliflower in serving dish. Scatter with the spring onions and hazelnuts. Drizzle with the dressing, then toss gently to combine. Top with the prawns and parsley and sprinkle with coarsely ground black pepper.

Serves 6 or more as part of a buffet

Coconut Meringue Tart

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I love anything with coconut in it. Unfortunately Matthew doesn’t so I only make coconut desserts for events he’s not attending. I served this scrumptious tart at one of my Spanish conversation lunches. Guess who ate the leftovers.

1 22cm (9″) sweet pastry case, cooked till golden
Coconut Filling:
1 can coconut milk plus enough milk to make 2¼ cups
½-¾ cup sugar (depending on how sweet a tooth you have)
3 egg yolks, beaten
1/3 cup cornflour
1 cup desiccated or shredded coconut
Meringue:
3 egg whites
6 Tbs sugar
1 tsp vinegar
1-2 Tbs extra desiccated or shredded coconut
To Serve:
Thick pouring cream

Mix about 2 Tbs of the milk mixture with the cornflour to make a smooth paste. Place coconut milk, milk and sugar in a non-stick pan and heat to boiling point. Add the egg yolks and the cornflour mixture, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Add coconut, then tip into the pastry case.

Preheat oven to 170°C. Whip egg whites until stiff then gradually add the sugar, beating until you have a thick, glossy meringue. Beat in the vinegar then dollop all over the coconut filling. Use a knife to spread meringue evenly all over, then sprinkle with the extra coconut. Bake for 8-10 mins or until golden brown. Watch the coconut doesn’t burn. Chill in the fridge. Serve with cream.

Serves 8

Mexican Chicken Lasagne

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My Chilean friend Pia made this for one of our Spanish conversation monthly lunches. It’s similar to an Italian lasagne, but with Mexican flavours.

1 large onion diced
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 red capsicum, deseeded and cut into strips (optional)
250g mushrooms, sliced (optional)
2 Tbs butter or oil
500ml cream
1 packet soft tortillas
Meat from 1 cooked chicken, diced
2-3 Tbs chopped fresh herbs of choice
2 cobs fresh corn (or use canned or frozen kernels)
1 tin tomatoes, chopped
1 small red chilli, finely chopped, or 1 tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2-3 cups grated cheese e.g. cheddar

Preheat oven to 180°C. In a large frying pan gently fry onion and garlic with mushrooms or capsicum, or both, in oil or butter until softened, but not browned. Remove kernels from fresh corn, or drain off the liquid if using canned. Add to pan with cream, herbs, chicken and tomatoes. Add chilli if using and season to taste. Cook, stirring for a few minutes to thicken a bit, but not too much as you need the liquid which will soak into the tortillas.

Cover the base of a greased lasagne-type rectangular, oval or round dish with one layer of tortillas, cutting to fit. Spoon half the chicken sauce over and sprinkle with a third of the cheese. Then arrange another single layer of tortillas, followed by the other half of the sauce and another third of cheese. Finally arrange a third layer of tortillas over the top. The top can get a bit dry and crunchy so I suggest you dip the final layer of tortillas in water or milk to moisten them before arranging on top, then top with remaining cheese.

Bake for 30-40 mins or until golden and bubbly. Stand for 10 minutes then cut into squares or wedges and serve with a salad.

Serves 6-8

Roast Lamb with Anchovies Mustard and Herbs

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Some people hate anchovies and to be honest I’m not mad about them eaten just as they are. But when pulverised into a dressing or marinade they provide a powerful Umami boost. I reckon most anchovy-haters wouldn’t even know they are there. The dressing for a Caesar Salad for example wouldn’t be the same without anchovies.

The combination of anchovies, garlic and mustard in this recipe makes it a real winner. Serve with a green salad and a crusty loaf for a Mediterranean-style feast. Or serve with more traditional accompaniments such as roast potatoes and peas or beans. Or try this recent post for Green Bean Salad.

2 Tbs Dijon mustard
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed
2-3 anchovy fillets, drained
2-3 tsp grated lemon rind
1.5 to 2kg leg or shoulder of lamb, bone in
To serve:
Chopped or whole fresh herbs (parsley, oregano, marjoram or whatever you have)
1 lemon cut into wedges

Preheat oven to 180°C. Combine mustard, garlic, anchovies and lemon rind, using a mortar and pestle, or blitz in a small food processor. Adjust quantities according to the weight of the lamb. Smother the lamb with this mixture, on both sides. Place in a roasting pan and oast for about 1½ hours, or until lamb is cooked as you like it, basting from time to time. A 1.5kg piece will take a little less time than a 2kg one and a boned joint will take longer than one with the bone in. If you like your meat fairly well done it may take up to 2 hours.

Remove lamb from pan and leave to rest, covered loosely with foil, for 15 mins. Carve lamb, drizzle with pan juices and serve garnished with herbs and lemon wedges. Roast potatoes and a salad or green vegetable go well with the lamb.

Serves 6

Chicken Livers with Fennel, Quinoa, Hazelnuts & Mushroom Purée

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This recipe is from a book called Savour: Salads for All Seasons by Peter Gordon. The recipe was shared by an online cooking friend in Germany called Michael.

Having made it I think the quinoa is optional – you could easily leave it out – and I have increased the amount of mushroom purée because I don’t think there was enough for four. With the quinoa this makes a light but satisfying main course for 4 or it would serve 6 as an unusual starter. If you don’t have fresh sage or tarragon feel free to substitute other fresh herbs.

If you like chicken livers you will love this. If not please delete!

2 heads fennel, trimmed and thinly  sliced downwards
2 cloves garlic, crushed
8 fresh sage leaves, shredded
1 Tbs olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Generous ½ cup quinoa, cooked and drained (optional)
Mushroom Purée:
20g butter
1 tsp grated ginger (I used a bit more)
250g mushrooms, sliced
1/3 cup creme fraîche or thick sour cream
Sour Cream Sauce:
1 Tbs fresh tarragon leaves, chopped
1/3 cup creme fraîche or thick sour cream
Chicken Livers:
40g butter
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
500g chicken livers, trimmed and halved
1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup skinned and toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 190°C. Keep some of the fennel fronds to garnish. Mix fennel slices with garlic, sage, oil and season to taste. Tip onto a shallow oven tray lined with baking paper and spread out. Bake for 30 mins or until golden, stirring halfway through. Mix in the cooked quinoa (if using) and keep warm.

Meanwhile for the mushroom purée, heat butter in a frying pan and add the ginger and mushrooms. Cook, stirring from time to time, until soft and mushrooms are starting to brown. Tip into food processor (don’t wash the frying pan), add the sour cream and blitz. Season to taste and keep warm.

For the sauce, in a mortar and pestle, pound the tarragon leaves with a pinch of salt, then mix in the sour cream.

For the chicken livers, place half the butter in the pan where you cooked the mushrooms and add the onion. Cook, stirring until soft and starting to caramelise, then tip them out. Add remaining butter to pan and cook the livers, stirring, for about 3 minutes or until all the pink bits have gone brown. Return onions to pan and cook for a further minute, stirring. Add vinegar, nuts and season to taste.

To serve, divide mushroom purée between 4 warm serving plates, spreading it out into a neat circle. Top with the fennel mixture, then the chicken livers and any pan juices and finally top with the sour cream and tarragon sauce. Garnish with fennel fronds.

Serves 4

Marti’s Smoked Salmon Lunch

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My friend Marti who lives in Paris served a delicious cold lunch when we were visiting, the centrepiece of which was smoked salmon.

It was such a good combination I made a note of what she served, so I could repeat it for one of my Spanish conversation lunches. It’s a great way to serve a crowd with minimum fuss. Marti managed to fit everything apart from the potatoes and the cottage cheese on one fish platter. I have a similar dish, but unfortunately mine is smaller so I had to put the salad, eggs, avocado and tomatoes in another dish.

Quantities will vary according to how many people you’re serving.

Sliced Smoked salmon formed into rolls
Garnish such as onion rings, capers, pink peppercorns
Lemons cut into wedges
Avocados cut into quarters
Mache or rocket or other small lettuce leaves
Soft hard boiled eggs, cut into halves
Cherry tomatoes
Baby new potatoes
Knob of butter, snipped chives
Cottage cheese
1 small onion, finely chopped or spring onions
Baguettes (home made or bought) or any nice crusty loaf and butter

Cook the potatoes and mix with butter and chives. Place in a serving bowl. Mix cottage cheese with onion or spring onions, finely chopped and place in a small bowl. Slice bread. Arrange everything on serving platters.