Carrot and Ginger Soup with Crispy Pancetta and Cashews

Posted on 16 July 2014 by Linda Peek

As the weather in Canberra turned cold and wintry we discovered that our crop of carrots had got out of hand and become humongous. Their fate was sealed.

This is my basic creamy smooth soup recipe which can be adapted for any veggies – parsnip, asparagus (though you may have to sieve the strings out), pumpkin, sweet potato or a mix. The addition of ginger goes particularly well with root vegetables but leave it out if you prefer. Sometimes I add a clove or two of garlic when frying the onion.

If using spinach or broccoli, you might like to add a potato, to give the soup a bit more consistency. You can use leeks instead of onions and top with croutons instead of nuts, or just some chopped parsley. Try using a whole cauliflower (you can use most of the stalk) and serving the soup topped with grated cheese, or a hot slice of toasted cheese on toast, made from a French stick. Instead of ginger, with the green veggies try adding a bit of grated nutmeg, cinnamon or mixed spice. Vegetarians can just omit the pancetta.

Make a couple of batches of soup at the weekend, adding everything except the milk, to have ready in the fridge for the week ahead.

50g butter
2 large onions, peeled and chopped
1.2 kg carrots, peeled and chopped
Chicken or vegetable stock to cover (home-made or use cubes)
1 Tbs grated fresh ginger (or a bit more if you love ginger!)
Milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
To serve:
4 slices pancetta, prosciutto or similar ham (I used Aldi’s black forest ham)
4 Tbs raw cashew nuts
Finely chopped parsley or coriander
Cream or sour cream

Heat butter in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan and cook onion gently till soft but not browned. Add carrots, ginger and enough stock to just cover the veggies. Simmer 25 mins or until carrots are cooked. Cool a bit then blend in a blender or food processor until smooth. Recipe can be made ahead to this point and kept in the fridge for several days.

Put soup back in the pan and add enough milk (or if preferred a mixture of milk and water) to make to desired consistency. Season to taste with S and P. Place pancetta on a tray lined with baking paper and cook in a very hot oven 220ºC for 5-10 mins or until crispy, remove, cool then break into chunks. Toast cashews in a dry frying pan over moderate heat.

Reheat soup and serve garnished with the pancetta, nuts, herbs and a swirl of cream.

Serves 4-6

Steak Tartare with Pommes Gaufrettes

Posted on 2 July 2014 by Linda Peek

On the menu of a restaurant in Geneva where we once ate Steak Tartare was translated as Raw Meat. Doesn’t quite have the same ring, does it?

SBS Television’s French Food Safari with Maeve O’Meara and chef Guillaume Brahimi recently featured his Steak Tartare served with Pommes Gaufrettes. Now when it comes to kitchen gadgets I have to confess that I’m pretty well stocked, but I didn’t have the special mandoline cutter you need to make these lacey potato chips. So of course I simply had to get one. The Børner Wave Waffle Cutter from Germany cost just $20 including postage when I ordered it online. I couldn’t wait for it to arrive.

Matthew is very fond of Steak Tartare and I don’t mind it once in a while, so I decided to try my new gadget last weekend. Guillaume’s Tartare recipe includes tomato ketchup, but I prefer to use olive oil and lemon juice as I think ketchup can be a bit overpowering. The photo makes it looks a bit like an uncooked burger. But when all’s said and done, that’s what it is – raw meat!

Pommes Gaufrettes:
2 medium potatoes, peeled
Vegetable oil to fry (see note)
Tartare:
320g good quality lean beef, trimmed (see note)
2 tsp capers, chopped
2 Tbs finely diced cornichons or gherkins
2 shallots or spring onions, finely diced
2 Tbs snipped chives
2 Tbs finely chopped parsley
1-2 tsp Dijon mustard
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Dash of Tabasco sauce or a little wasabi paste
1 tsp cognac or brandy
1 egg yolk
Salt, freshly ground black pepper and lemon juice, to taste
To serve:
A lightly dressed green salad (I used rocket)

Slice potatoes with a waffle cutter or an ordinary mandoline and place in cold water to remove starch. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. Heat oil and fry potatoes in batches, until crisp and golden, then drain on paper towels. The oil needs to be very hot so they cook quickly. Test with one first.

Very finely dice the beef by hand. Mix all ingredients for Tartare. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste. Form into quenelle shapes with two spoons, or use a stacking ring or biscuit cutter to form into a neat round shape on 4 serving plates.

Garnish with Pommes Gaufrettes and a small green salad.

Serves 4

Notes:

Meat should be very fresh but it doesn’t have to be fillet. So long as it’s lean and very finely diced with a very sharp knife you can use topside or round steak.
You don’t need a deep fat fryer to cook the potatoes. I used about 2cm of oil in a medium sized frying pan and cooked them in two batches.
If preferred serve the Tartare with garlicky bread croutons made from a French loaf.

Spanish Omelette

Posted on 18 June 2014 by Linda Peek

When I was sixteen I sailed from Southampton to Bilbao to spend the Easter school holidays with a Spanish family. I had been studying Spanish several times a week for six months, but most of it was stuck somewhere at the back of my head.

The Zubia family of five lived in an apartment in Bilbao. Nobody spoke a word of English, so I had to speak Spanish to survive. Needless to say, when I returned to the UK three weeks later I had made enormous progress and have never looked back. A month of language immersion in your teens is worth a year when you’re of a more mature age.

I was intrigued by a household which bought olive oil in 4 litre cans and used it to cook absolutely everything. My mother kept a very small bottle in the medicine cabinet and used it to treat earache.

Señora Zubia taught me to make several dishes, including Spanish omelette, which I still make according to her recipe below.

Bars in Spain serve a wide selection of tapas, mostly at room temperature and displayed along the top of the bar. When something takes your fancy you just point and the barman brings you as many servings as required for your group. On leaving patrons tell the barman what they’ve had and he adds up the bill. It’s all done on honesty.

Spanish omelette is usually served at room temperature, but have it hot if you prefer.

Spanish Omelette
1 large onion
4 large potatoes or 6 medium
6 eggs
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
To serve:
Roasted red capsicums (peppers) and aioli (optional)

Peel and chop onion as finely as possible. Heat a good slug of olive oil in a medium-sized non-stick frying pan, add onion and cook gently until soft. Meanwhile peel potatoes and cut into 2cm dice. Remove onions from the pan, add more oil if necessary (there should be a generous amount), add potatoes and cook gently, turning often, until they are cooked through but not browned. Remove potatoes from the pan and put with the onions in a sieve, so excess oil drains off.

Tip off all but 2-3 Tbs of oil. If there’s not enough oil left in the pan add some that has drained from the potatoes and onion. Place eggs in a bowl and beat with a fork. Season with salt and pepper, then mix in the potatoes and onions. Tip mixture into frying pan and spread out evenly. Cook for 8-10 minutes over moderate heat, or until set and underneath is golden. Check by lifting slightly with a spatula. Run spatula around the edge to make sure the omelette hasn’t stuck to the pan.

Place a large dinner plate over the frying pan and quickly invert so you end up with the omelette on the plate, cooked side up. Carefully slide back into the frying pan and cook the other side, which will take about 5 minutes. Serve at room temperature with roasted red peppers and aioli – for which there are plenty of recipes online, or just add some crushed garlic to mayonnaise, for a quick version. Cut into 3-4 cm squares Spanish Omelette makes great finger food, or tapas, to use the Spanish word.

Serves 4-6

Valli’s Amazing Lemon Tart

Posted on 4 June 2014 by Linda Peek

With every renewed subscription to Delicious magazine last month you got a free copy of their 300 page cook book “Love to Cook” by the magazine’s food editor, Valli Little. It normally sells for $40 so I was very pleased with myself.

It’s full of quick, easy and delicious recipes and I couldn’t wait to get stuck into them. Last Sunday we had guests for lunch so I made the Slow Roast Lamb with Chilli Mint Sauce. As an accompaniment I followed Valli’s suggestion and served her “Best Crunchy Potatoes” and Nigella Lawson’s Baby Eggplants with Picked Red Onions, which appeared on Café Cat in January. Lamb and eggplants always go well together and the potatoes were to die for. Cut into cubes, parboil for 2 minutes, drain thoroughly, then mix with a tablespoonful of flour, salt and pepper, then spread out on a cookie/biscuit tin lined with baking paper. Drizzle with melted duck fat or some oil and bake for 40 mins in hot oven.

Valli’s Lazy Lemon Tart was the perfect way to end the meal. It’s not the first recipe I’ve come across where you throw a whole lemon or orange in the blender – I have a very successful orange cake which uses a whole orange. You would think the pith would make it bitter, but it doesn’t. I decided to re-name this tart and call it amazing, because it really is.

Sweet shortcrust pastry:
1½ cups plain flour
125g chilled unsalted butter, chopped
1/3 cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 egg yolk
Filling:
1 very large lemon, seeds removed, quartered (or use 2 small ones)
1¼ cups caster sugar
100g unsalted butter, at room temp
1 tsp vanilla essence
4 large eggs
¼ cup thick cream or sour cream
To serve:
Icing sugar and thick cream

Grease a loose-bottomed metal 23cm tart pan. Preheat oven to 180ºC.

Make pastry: place all ingredients except egg yolk in food processor and process until it resembles fine breadcrumbs, then add egg yolk and continue to process until it forms a ball. Tip out, gather into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill 30 mins. Roll out thinly and line the tart tin. After trimming the pastry off level with the edge of the pan, go round and squeeze the pastry so it goes up above the edge a bit. This should compensate for any shrinkage in the oven. Line with baking paper and fill with rice, corn or pastry weights. If you have time refrigerate pastry for 15 mins. Bake 8 mins, remove paper and weights, then bake for 3 mins more until dry and crisp. Any leftover pastry can be used to make some jam tarts or similar.

Place lemon, sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs in a blender and blend until smooth. A blender is better than a food processor as it makes the mixture smoother. Add cream and pulse quickly to combine. Pour into tart shell – filling should come to the very top of the pastry shell. Bake 30 mins or until just set. Cool tart in pan, dust with sifted icing sugar. Serve at room temp with thick cream.

Serves 8

Beef Carpaccio with Walnut Pesto

Posted on 21 May 2014 by Linda Peek

This recipe was inspired by a carpaccio I ate recently at The European, a restaurant which opened in the Canberra suburb of Kingston in November last year. Unfortunately the establishment didn’t survive and recently closed its doors.

The carpaccio shown in the photo is probably larger than you would need as a starter. We had it for lunch.

300-400 fillet of beef, trimmed (see note below)
Walnut pesto:
1 cup walnuts
1 small clove garlic, crushed
Pinch salt
About 1/3 cup olive oil
Topping:
About 4 Tbs diced black or green olive flesh
About 4 Tbs coarsely chopped walnuts
Some microherbs or small coriander leaves
About 4 Tbs coarsely grated Parmesan
To serve:
Truffle oil or extra virgin olive oil
Lemon juice
8 quick Grissini (see below) or purchased Grissini

Make Grissini (see below). Trim meat and put in the freezer (see note below). Make pesto: place walnuts and garlic in food processor and process. With motor running add enough olive oil to make a thick paste, stopping halfway to scrape down the sides. This can be made ahead and keeps for at least a week.

Thinly slice beef (this is easier to do if the meat is semi-frozen) and arrange down the middle of four serving plates, in overlapping circles. Smear some walnut pesto down each side. You will probably have some beef and some pesto left over.

Sprinkle with the olives, walnuts, herbs or coriander and the Parmesan. Drizzle with truffle or olive oil and lemon juice to taste. Arrange two Grissini on top of each serving and serve with a salt and pepper mill.

Serves 4-6

Note: I bought a one kilo vacuum pack of beef fillet from Aldi, cut off about 500g from the wide end for the carpaccio and trimmed off the small amount of visible fat and tendon. I then rolled the meat tightly in plastic wrap to achieve a neat cylinder about 4cm in diameter. I put it in the freezer for a couple of hours, so it was semi-frozen and easy to slice thinly. I cut the rest of the beef into strips and froze it to make a Stroganoff.

Quick Grissini

Grissini are usually made with bread dough. This is a quick version.

2 sheets bought puff pastry, thawed
4 Tbs finely grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Lay pastry sheets on a work surface. Sprinkle with parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Press the cheese and seasonings into the meat with the heel of your hand. Cut pastry into thin strips about 1 cm wide then twist into spirals. Bake in a hot oven on biscuit trays lined with paper for about 15 mins or until golden brown and crisp. Turn them over halfway through the cooking.

Makes about 20

Hermits

Posted on 14 May 2014 by Linda Peek

During the recent school holidays number one son James headed off to Disney World with his wife Karen and two very excited boys aged seven and five. He’s the computer wizz behind Café Cat, making sure that subscribers get their weekly recipe.

When James & Co go away we look after Hershey, their bouncy chocolate labrador and when we go away they look after Danske, our ivory-coloured golden retriever. A reciprocal arrangement which works well. Hershey doesn’t have to be here long for the contents of our vacuum cleaner to change from cream coloured hairs to a perfect cappuccino mix of the two!

Hermits are spicy, slightly salty little cakes which originate in Canada. James is very ~~fussy~~ particular when it comes to cakes, but as I mixed them I thought they would be right up his alley, though he would prefer them without the nuts. Unfortunately they were all gone by the time he got back.

1½ cups plain flour
1½ cups self-raising wholemeal flour
1 egg
½ cup olive oil or melted butter
½ cup plain yoghurt
1/3 cup molasses or treacle
½ cup milk
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
¾ cup brown sugar
½ tsp each cinnamon, salt, ground cloves & nutmeg
2 tsp ground ginger
1 cup raisins or sultanas
½ cup walnuts or pecan nuts (optional)
To finish:
icing sugar

Preheat oven to 180ºC. Grease a 20-22cm square cake pan or a small slice/slab tin and line with non-stick paper. A Lamington tin is perfect. Place all ingredients except fruit and nuts in food processor and mix well, stopping after a minute to scrape down the sides. Add fruit and nuts and process briefly, just to mix.

Scrape mixture into tin and smooth the top. Bake for about 20 mins or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle. Don’t overcook – the cakes should be soft and chewy in the middle like chocolate brownies. How long they take will depend on the size of your tin. Cool then cut into squares or rectangles and dust with icing sugar.

Makes 16-20

Scallops with Bacon la Gaxottière

Posted on 7 May 2014 by Linda Peek

Alistair Sawday’s French Bed and Breakfasts – or Chambres d’Hôtes as they’re called in French – was our bible during the four years we were posted to Paris. Our copy is old and starting to come apart, but we still use it when we return to France for a holiday. A fabulous way to get to know the country without spending a fortune on accommodation.

Over the years we’ve stayed in many picturesque villages – farmhouses as well as a few small chateaux – and enjoyed the company of a wide variety of hosts, both French and ex-patriot. Having dinner with your hosts, usually by pre-arrangement, is a very intimate experience and doesn’t suit everybody, but we love getting to get to know the locals.

Of all the places we stayed La Gaxottière sticks in my mind for two reasons. Firstly because we enjoyed our stay there so much and secondly because our hostess gave me a couple of great recipes.

Françoise Gaxotte is a gregarious lady of a certain age, as they say in French. She has never married and, since retiring as a pharmacist, has run a successful B & B in Compiègne in Picardy. We chose it for its proximity to Charles de Gaulle airport as we were flying out the following morning, but it turned out to be a little gem, worth going back to for no reason at all.

Tall, imposing and matronly, Madame wears her snow-white hair in a traditional bun. She greeted us warmly, showed us our room and explained that dinner would be at seven o’clock sharp.

We were the only guests that night and as we knocked on the door of the converted barn, which forms the main part of the house, we were greeted by an elderly gentleman. He had been playing chess with Madame in front of a roaring log fire and was just leaving. Madame offered us an aperitif from her extensive collection and shortly afterwards we sat down for dinner. We could have been close friends or relatives enjoying an intimate dinner party for three.

For the main course we had some delicious scallops. Madame Gaxotte explained the recipe and I made a mental note. As we ate breakfast in the kitchen next morning she was busy making Rabbit with Dijon Mustard for guests who were due to arrive that night. This time I had a pen and paper to hand! I haven’t made it as often as the scallops, but when I do I am reminded how delicious rabbit can be, when you have a good recipe.

There aren’t many places where you can enjoy a fabulous four course meal, including cheese, an aperitif and wine, for 20€ a head. After breakfast we paid the bill and headed off to the airport.

10-12 large scallops without roe
About 6 slices streaky bacon
2-3 French shallots finely chopped
1 Tbs butter
½ cup cream
Pepper
To garnish:
Snipped chives

If scallops are frozen, thaw them in a little milk and water which will plump them up – a tip I learnt from Madame. Drain and dry thoroughly with paper towels.

Remove rind from bacon and cut each slice into two or three horizontal slices about as wide as the scallops are thick and long enough to go round the outside with a bit extra. Wrap a piece of bacon around each scallop and secure with a toothpick, pushing it right through and out the other side. Leave on paper towels so they continue to drain. It’s important for the scallops to be very dry and the pan very hot, so they brown nicely.

Heat butter in a frying pan large enough to hold the scallops in one layer and cook the shallots for a few minutes, gently, until soft and golden. Remove from pan. Add the scallops and cook for a couple of minutes each side, till lightly browned. Return shallots and continue to cook for about a minute, stirring and spooning the sauce over the scallops. Add cream and cook until slightly thickened, gently turning the scallops so they are well covered with the sauce. You may need to add a little extra cream.

Season with pepper (there’s probably enough salt from the bacon) and serve on a bed of mashed potatoes – nice and smooth with lots of butter and a little milk added – or steamed rice. Place potatoes or rice in a sausage shape down the middle of each serving plate, then arrange the scallops on top, in a line. Remove toothpicks, spoon over sauce and garnish with the chives.

Serve as a main course with mashed potatoes or steamed rice and a green salad, or steamed green vegetable such as snow peas, green beans or asparagus. Or as a starter in smaller portions. Served individually, on Chinese spoons, they make a great aperitif.

Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a starter

Note: I use d’Orsogna Premium Rindless Streaky Bacon which comes in a packet from most Woolworths shops. If you can’t find it have a look at their website for a list of stockists.

Narrabri Cheesecake

Posted on 23 April 2014 by Linda Peek

This a perfect last minute dessert as it only takes 10 minutes to make and about an hour to set. The recipe came from Matthew’s bachelor survival cook book, so it goes back a long way. There’s actually no cheese in the recipe, but if you make it in a spring-form pan it looks like a cheesecake.

I often make it in half cup glasses as shown in the photo. Put them all in a round quiche dish or similar and cover with plastic wrap (or a shower cap which I find very useful in the kitchen!) and they will last several days in the fridge. Instead of the crunchy topping, top with a few fresh berries. Or both.

200g plain sweet biscuits (I used Ginger Nuts)
125g butter, melted
1 can condensed milk
Grated rind 4 large lemons
½ cup lemon juice
300ml cream, whipped
Fresh raspberries, blueberries or strawberries (optional)

Whiz biscuits in food processor until you have crumbs. Melt butter in a medium sized bowl in microwave. Add biscuit crumbs and mix well, then divide between about 16 half cup glasses or ramekins. Save about 4 Tbs of crumbs for the topping, unless you are going to decorate with just berries. Alternatively press crumbs over the base of a 20cm spring-form pan.

In a clean bowl, thoroughly mix condensed milk, lemon juice and rind, then fold in the whipped cream. Divide filling among the glasses or spread into spring-form pan. Refrigerate for at least an hour and serve decorated with the remaining crumbs or some berries, or both. If making in a spring-form pan it’s best to refrigerate for several hours or overnight so it cuts nicely.

Serves 16

Note: other versions of this no-bake cheesecake use 250g cream cheese instead of the cream. In this case mix the cream cheese (at room temp) with the condensed milk, lemon juice and rind in a food processor and omit the whipped cream.

Mazurek

Posted on 16 April 2014 by Linda Peek

Our Polish friend Peter was coming for dinner so I decided to make something for dessert which would remind him of his homeland. After searching online I came across Mazurek, a nutty cake, not quite as dense as shortbread, covered with chocolate icing and nuts.

There are as many recipes for Mazurek as I’ve had hot dinners, so having found a version for which I had the ingredients – essential when you don’t want to go shopping – I adjusted it slightly and came up with this.

Peter explained that Mazurek is traditionally served at Easter so my timing was perfect. He hadn’t tasted one for many years and was delighted to take home the leftovers.

Serve for afternoon tea or as dessert, with a dollop of cream. Scrumptious.

250g butter at room temperature
½ cup sugar
1 egg
1½ cups almond meal (see note below)
1 cup plain flour
pinch salt
¼ tsp almond essence
¼ cup cream or sour cream
Chocolate Icing:
½ cup dark chocolate chips or chocolate squares
1 Tbs corn (glucose) syrup
2 Tbs cream
2 Tbs butter
To decorate:
¼ cup flaked or slivered blanched almonds

Preheat oven to 200ºC. Grease a 9″ (22cm) square cake pan and line with non-stick baking paper. In a food processor or with electric beaters mix butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, salt and almond essence and mix well. Add flour and almond meal and mix well. Scrape into cake pan and spread out evenly. Bake for 20 mins or until light golden – don’t overcook or cake will be dry. Cool completely in tin.

Remove cake and place on a flat serving plate. Place chocolate, corn/glucose syrup, cream and butter in a small bowl over simmering water and when melted stir till smooth. Cool a little then spread icing over cake and decorate with almonds.

Serves about 16

Note: make your own almond meal by blitzing blanched or unblanched almonds in food processor until fine.

Variations: use hazelnuts, walnuts or pecans instead of almonds.

Smoked Trout Salad with Tamarind Dressing

Posted on 9 April 2014 by Linda Peek

One whole smoked trout is enough to make a light meal for two people. Whole hot-smoked trout are sold in supermarkets in Australia in vacuum packs. The use by date usually allows you to keep them for a week or two in the fridge before they need to be eaten. Handy for those occasions when you peer into the fridge thinking “What can I make for dinner with what I’ve got?”

Carefully remove the flesh in large chunks, discarding the skin and bones. I definitely have to wear my reading glasses to do this! Mix with freshly cooked pasta, adding a splash of cream and a few capers or chopped dill. Some halved baby tomatoes or rocket leaves are an optional addition.

Or make this Asian salad which is perfect for a hot summer’s day.

Tamarind Dressing:
3 spring onions or small shallots
1 clove garlic
½ small red chilli, seeded and chopped
1 Tbs grated fresh ginger
2 Tbs roasted peanuts
1 Tbs fish sauce
1 Tbs tamarind paste (sold in jars)
3 Tbs water or more
3 Tbs palm sugar, chopped, or substitute brown sugar
Salad:
1 smoked trout, flesh removed, bones and skin discarded
2-3 cups small salad leaves
1 Tbs finely chopped lime (skin and flesh)
2 Tbs roasted peanuts, chopped
½ cup coriander leaves
Extra virgin olive oil

Dressing: Place onions, garlic, chilli and peanuts in food processor and process until you have a paste, stopping to scrape down the sides halfway. Place paste in a saucepan with remaining dressing ingredients. Simmer for 3-4 minutes then leave to cool. It should be thick and a bit sticky but you may need to add a bit more water to get the right consistency.

Meanwhile arrange salad leaves on two plates. Top with the trout pieces, the lime, peanuts and coriander leaves. Drizzle with some of the sauce, then drizzle a little olive oil around the edge of the plate. Any leftover dressing is delicious served with cold roast meats.

Serves 2 as a main or 4 as a starter

Note: some supermarkets sell smoked trout fillets without skin or bones.

Variation: to serve as finger food, separate the leaves of 2 heads of chicory (witloof or witlof) and top each with a piece of smoked trout, the remaining toppings and some of the dressing.