Thai Green Mango Salad

Posted on 2 April 2014 by Linda Peek

My friend Jurate who lives in the Sydney suburb of Haberfield gave me 3 green mangoes. Actually the tree is in her neighbour’s garden, but he’s happy for her to take the fruit that hangs on her side of the fence.

We’ve been to Thailand so many times, I’ve lost count. When travelling back to Australia from Europe we find a few days of relaxation, massage, great food and swimming is the perfect way to break the journey and get over some of the jet lag.

I used the mangoes to make one of our favourite Thai dishes, Green Mango Salad and it was delicious.

3 green mangoes, peeled and coarsely grated or cut into fine julienne
3 spring onions or 1 small red onion, finely sliced
½ cup fresh grated coconut or desiccated coconut
¼ cup Thai or ordinary basil, shredded
¼ cup coriander, coarsely chopped
Dressing:
Juice of 2 limes
2-3 Tbs palm sugar, crushed, or brown sugar
1 Tbs Thai sweet chilli sauce
1 small red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
2 Tbs fish sauce
To garnish:
Roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
About 20 cooked prawns, peeled

Mix salad ingredients in a bowl. Mix dressing and taste – it should have a nice balance of sweet, salty, sour and hot. Mix dressing with salad, then serve garnished with the peanuts and prawns.

Serves 4

Note: green mangoes are usually available in Asian shops. If liked you can bulk up this salad by adding 2-3 cups of beansprouts.

Sticky Pork Ribs with Plums

Posted on 26 March 2014 by Linda Peek

What the supermarkets here call pork spareribs are actually pork belly rashers, as they have no bones. I bought a packet and was planning to cook them with a sticky sauce. Then my Thai friend Pom gave me some plums, so I decided to throw them in towards the end of the cooking time. The result was delicious with the fruit providing just the right contrast to the richness of the meat.

8-10 pork belly rashers or spare ribs
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbs BBQ sauce, or HP sauce or Tomato Ketchup
2 Tbs oyster sauce or Sweet Chilli Sauce
1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs honey or brown sugar or maple syrup
1 crushed clove garlic
2-3 tsp grated fresh ginger
About 8 plums

Preheat oven to 180°C. If liked remove rind from the pork. Leaving it on results in chewier pork, but I like it that way. Place pork in a baking pan and season on both sides. Bake for an hour to an hour and a half or until tender, turning them over about halfway through the cooking. Tip off the fat. Mix the three sauces with the honey/brown sugar or maple syrup, garlic and ginger and spread some over the pork. Add the plums, stoned and cut into quarters. Return pan to the oven for about 15 minutes then remove, turn the pork over and spread with remaining sauce. Continue to cook for a further 15 minutes or until nicely glazed and plums are cooked. Serve with steamed rice and steamed bok choy.

Serves 3-4

Variations: leave out the plums altogether if preferred, or substitute peaches or nectarines.

Smoked Haddock with Tomatoes & Cream

Posted on 19 March 2014 by Linda Peek

When I was growing up in the UK my mother used to cook smoked haddock in milk. I have never seen smoked haddock in Australia, but I often buy a couple of fillets of smoked cod and stick them in the freezer to whip out on a busy day.

I invented this dish many years ago and it has become a favourite mid-week dinner. All you need are tomatoes – which we have in the garden at the moment – and some cream. The recipe is easy to halve if you’re cooking for one.

2 fillets smoked cod or haddock (about 350g)
3-4 tomatoes
About 1/3 cup cream
Black pepper
Chopped fresh herbs to garnish

Preheat oven to 200ºC. Remove skin from fish, cut into bite size chunks and arrange in a small, shallow, oven-proof dish, lightly greased. If you have time, remove skin from tomatoes by pouring boiling water over them for a minute or so. This is optional – I don’t mind them with the skin left on. Cut tomatoes into chunks and sprinkle over the fish. Drizzle with cream and season with pepper. You probably won’t need salt as the fish is salty. Bake for 20-25 mins or until golden and bubbly. Garnish with some herbs and serve with steamed rice or mashed potatoes and a steamed green vegetable such as peas, snow peas, green beans or asparagus.

Serves 2-3

Spinach Salad with Dates and Almonds

Posted on 12 March 2014 by Linda Peek

Israeli-born Yotam Ottolenghi trained at Le Cordon Bleu in London. He then worked at the Michelin starred restaurant The Capital and later in the pastry section of the Kensington Place restaurant. He went on to become head pastry chef at Baker and Spice in Chelsea, where he met his Palestinian life partner Sami Tamimi. In 2002 their first delicatessen opened in Notting Hill. They have since opened three more establishments, selling some of the best takeaway food in London. Together Yotam and Sami have also co-authored several cook books.

Their culinary style is bold and often influenced by Middle Eastern flavours. This scrumptious salad comes from their book Jerusalem and came highly recommended by my daughter Catherine. The pan fried pita croutons idea is one you can use in other salads. You could do them with or without the nuts and use walnuts, pecans, pine nuts or macadamias to ring the changes. You could also use halved raisins if you don’t have any dates.

1 Tbs white wine vinegar
½ medium red onion, thinly sliced
100g pitted dates, cut into 1cm pieces
30g unsalted butter
2 Tbs olive oil
2 small pitas, split in two horizontally then torn into 3-4cm pieces
75g whole almonds (not skinned), roughly chopped
2 tsp Sumac
½ tsp chilli flakes (I used dried crushed whole chillies)
150g baby spinach leaves, washed and dried
1-2 Tbs lemon juice
salt

Place vinegar, onion and dates in a small bowl, add a pinch of salt and mix well. Leave to marinate for 20 mins then drain off any remaining vinegar and discard.

Heat butter and half the oil in a medium frying pan. Add pita and almonds and cook, stirring all the time, for 4-6 mins over medium heat until golden. Watch carefully the nuts don’t burn. Remove from heat and mix in the sumac, chilli and ¼ tsp salt.

To serve, mix spinach leaves with the pita and almonds. Add the dates and red onion, the remaining Tbs of oil, lemon juice to taste and another pinch of salt. Taste for seasoning and serve immediately in one large salad bowl or on individual plates.

Serves 4-6 as a side salad or 2 as a main course

Note: Sumac is a Middle Eastern ground spice available in ethnic markets and gourmet grocers.

Crispy-skinned Fish with Tomato Salsa

Posted on 19 February 2014 by Linda Peek

My favourite fish recipes are simple ones like this. With lots of cherry tomatoes in the garden I’m putting it on the menu about once a week at the moment.

2 x 150g thick fish fillets with skin (e.g. snapper, cod, blue grenadier)
2 Tbs olive oil
125g cherry tomatoes, halved
4 spring onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
Small handful chopped fresh herbs (coriander, parsley, basil)
1 Tbs white balsamic vinegar
Pinch of sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Dry fish with paper towels then season with salt and pepper on both sides. Spread one Tbs olive oil over the base of a non-stick frying pan and lay fish fillets on top, skin side down. Turn the heat on to medium and slowly heat the pan and cook the fish until the skin is golden and crisp. Turn fish over and cook for about a minute on the other side or until just cooked. Remove from pan to a warm plate and cover with a large saucepan lid to keep warm while you make the sauce.

Add 1 Tbs oil to the pan with the spring onions and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, for a minute. Add tomatoes and cook for another minute, stirring. Finally add vinegar and cook for another minute. Tomatoes should be soft but still keep their shape. Season with the salt, pepper and sugar, stir in the herbs and divide between two warm plates. Place fish on top, skin side up. Serve with a green vegetable such as pan fried zucchinis (courgettes) as shown in the photo.

Serves 2

Note: white wine vinegar or verjuice can be used instead of white balsamic vinegar.

Scallops with Black Bean Dressing

Posted on 12 February 2014 by Linda Peek

When Tetsuya Wakuda opened his restaurant Tetsuya’s in Sydney in 1989 it was a culinary breath of fresh air and Australians were literally wowed. By combining French cooking techniques he had learnt while working at Kinsela’s for Tony Bilson with the pure clean flavours of his heritage this smiley Japanese chef was an overnight success.

The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide gave Tetsuya’s their highest possible award every year from 1992 until 2009. Not bad for a guy who arrived in Sydney in 1982 with nothing more than a small suitcase and a love of food.

This delicious starter appeared in a newspaper article about Tetsuya some 20 years ago and I cut it out. I’ve been making it ever since and it always goes down well. Scallops are quite expensive but three per person is enough for a light starter.

24 large scallops, without roe
1 leek, white part only, cut into fine julienne
oil to fry
3 Nori sheets, very finely sliced*

Dressing:
¾ cup vegetable or light olive oil
¼ cup salted black beans, finely chopped*
¼ cup finely chopped shallots
3 Tbs rice wine vinegar*
2 Tbs mirin*
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 Tbs fresh ginger, grated or finely chopped
1 tsp soy sauce

Thaw scallops if frozen and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Place dressing ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake well. Taste and add a bit more rice wine vinegar if necessary, to get the right balance. Deep fry leeks in hot oil until crispy then drain on paper towels. Recipe can be made ahead to this stage.

To serve, arrange the nori “straw” on 8 serving plates. Brush or lightly spray scallops on both sides with some oil, then sear on a hot pan or griddle for 1-2 minutes each side or until golden. Arrange three scallops on each plate, drizzle with some of the dressing, then garnish with the crispy leeks.

Serves 8

Notes: * ingredients marked with an asterisk are available from Asian food stores. Leftover dressing will keep for a week or two in the fridge and goes well with grilled fish or chicken. The black beans come in tins or packets. If you buy them in a tin, drain and rinse well. Large raw prawns can be used instead of scallops and if you don’t have any nori, serve on a bed of finely shredded rocket.

Beef Teriyaki

Posted on 5 February 2014 by Linda Peek

Beef Teriyaki is one of my favourite stir fry recipes. There are other stir fries I’ve made once or twice, but I’ve made this one dozens of times. It’s quick, easy and adaptable – just as delicious at room temperature as it is hot.

With the addition of lots of veggies, a small amount of beef goes a long way. Use Singapore noodles, Hokkien or similar. We find the amount of soy sauce is about right, but soy sauces do vary from brand to brand. If you find it’s a bit too salty make a note and next time use less soy sauce and make up the difference with water.

500g beef – I use 2-3 thick rump or topside steaks
3 Tbs vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 large onion, halved and sliced
1 large red pepper, sliced
4 medium zucchini (courgettes) sliced or cut into sticks
2 medium carrots, cut into sticks
250g mushrooms, sliced
½ cup soy sauce
1 Tbs sugar
¼ cup dry sherry
450g packet of fresh, pre-cooked Chinese egg noodles (omit for a Low Carb meal)

Freeze steak a bit to make it easier to slice thinly. Slice downwards into paper thin strips. Dry well on paper towels. Heat oil in wok or large frying pan. Add meat and garlic and stir fry for 1-2 minutes over high heat or until browned. Remove meat from pan, leaving the oil behind. Add onion and stir fry 2 minutes, then add remaining vegetables except mushrooms and stir fry for 5 minutes or until al dente. Add soy sauce mixed with sugar and sherry. Meanwhile cook noodles in boiling salted water according to packet instructions. Return meat to pan with mushrooms and stir fry for 2-3 minutes. Fold through drained noodles and stir fry for about a minute.

Note: if using dried noodles you will need only 125g and they will take longer to cook. If liked you can always add a touch of fresh chilli and substitute other vegetables such as broccoli, green beans, cauliflower or asparagus.

Serves 4

Baby Eggplants with Pickled Red Onions

Posted on 29 January 2014 by Linda Peek

This quick and easy side dish is originally from Nigella Lawson. I’ve made it several times and adjusted it slightly by adding a touch of honey, which I think is an improvement. If preferred just leave it out.

It goes particularly well with lamb and is a perfect addition to a summer barbecue. It also makes a tasty lunch with the addition of crumbled goat’s cheese or feta and crusty bread to mop up the juices.

Recipes using eggplants usually require you to salt, drain, rinse and dry them. This process is said to draw out the bitterness, but to be honest I’m not convinced it makes much difference. You will be relieved to hear that you don’t need to do it in this recipe. As you can see in the photo, the eggplants I used weren’t really tiny ones, but they weren’t massive either. Use whatever you can find. If you leave the onions to pickle for longer, before adding the oil, they get softer. Any leftovers are very tasty.

500-700g small/baby eggplants (aubergines)
3 Tbs olive oil
3 Tbs chopped fresh oregano or marjoram (or 3 tsp dried)
Salt
1-2 red onions, depending on size, halved and thinly sliced
3 Tbs red wine vinegar
½ tsp salt
¼ cup water
3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp honey
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
Fresh oregano or marjoram, chopped, to garnish

Preheat oven to 200º C. Slice eggplants in half lengthwise. Keeping the stalks on makes the dish look more rustic. Place the regular olive oil in a shallow roasting pan and mix in the fresh or dried herbs. Rub the cut side of each eggplant in the oily mixture to coat it, then arrange them cut side up in the pan. Season with salt then bake for 15-25 minutes or until tender and starting to turn golden brown. Cooking time will depend on the size of the eggplants.

Meanwhile mix onion with vinegar, salt and water and set aside to macerate for an hour or more, mixing from time to time. Recipe can be made several hours ahead to this point.

To serve, arrange eggplants on a serving platter. Add the extra virgin olive oil, the garlic, honey and pepper to any juices left in the baking pan. Drain the onions, discarding liquid and add them to the pan and mix well. Distribute onions over the eggplants and sprinkle the fresh herbs over the top. Serve at room temperature.

Serves 4-6

Notes: substitute other fresh herbs in season such as coriander or basil. If liked, crumble some goat’s cheese or feta over the top to make the dish more filling.

Quick Gazpacho for Two

Posted on 15 January 2014 by Linda Peek

Having just picked our first Lebanese cucumber I decided to whip up a quick gazpacho and serve it for lunch 10 minutes later. I have a good recipe which makes several litres and serves a crowd, but it takes more than 10 minutes to make. So I threw the cucumber into the food processor, added some other ingredients until it tasted right, and here it is.

2 cups tomato passata from a jar
1 small Lebanese cucumber, washed and ends trimmed
¼ cup olive oil
1 thick slice of onion, red or white
1 Tbs sweet chilli sauce
1 small clove garlic, crushed
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Juice of ½ a lemon
Water
To garnish:
Greek yoghurt
1 small or ½ large avocado, diced
Fresh coriander or parsley, roughly chopped with scissors

Place all ingredients except garnish in a food processor and whiz till smooth. Add enough water to make to desired consistency (it won’t need much) and adjust seasoning, then whiz again. Chill until serving time, or if you’re in a hurry just add a couple of ice cubes when you add the water. Divide between two serving bowls. Garnish with a dollop of Greek yoghurt, some diced avocado and chopped fresh parsley or coriander

Optional extra: some home made croutons. You can also add some red capsicum or a touch of fresh chilli. Instead of avocado top with some diced cucumber and/or tomato.

Serves 2

Spicy Lentil and Chick Pea Salad

Posted on 8 January 2014 by Linda Peek

Some friends are on my culinary wave length, so I know when they give me a recipe and say this is great I will like it. This lentil salad recipe came from my friend Lynne. I just added the chick peas which provide a nice flavour and texture contrast. Leave them out if you prefer.

1¼ cups (250g) green lentils
½ red onion, finely chopped
1 small red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
1 red capsicum (pepper) seeded and diced
Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup sweet chilli sauce
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ cup fresh coriander, chopped
2 tbs sesame oil
2 tbs toasted sesame seeds
Pinch salt
1 can chick peas, rinsed and drained

Place lentils in a saucepan and cover with plenty of water. Bring to the boil and cook gently for 5 mins. Remove from heat and stand for 5 mins or until lentils are al dente. Time will vary according to the lentils you use, but don’t overcook or you won’t get a nice crisp salad. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Add remaining ingredients, then cool. Can be made a couple of days in advance and kept in the fridge, which only improves the flavour.

Serves 6

Café Cat

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