Tag Archives: quick

Cucumber Mousse

Posted on by
3

We have recently had several days in Canberra where the mercury hit 40 degrees Celsius, which is 104 Fahrenheit for the benefit of my British and American readers. Today is due to be another scorcher, our cooling system is kaput and they can’t come and fix it till tomorrow. So what do you eat when you hardly have the energy to read a book or watch the cricket on TV? You certainly don’t want to turn the oven on and make matters worse.

We all know the expression As Cool as a Cucumber, so as I was wondering what to make with the first Lebanese cucumbers we picked yesterday I remembered a recipe for Cucumber Mousse, given to me ages ago by a UK friend called Felicity. I had some cooked peeled prawns in the freezer and always keep some Philadelphia-style cream cheese in the fridge – unopened it keeps for ages and is handy for dips – so there was no need to go and buy anything. Perfect.

Felicity’s recipe says 1 sachet or half an ounce of powdered gelatine. After reading the instructions on my packet and looking on the internet I decided an Aussie tablespoon (20 ml) would work and it did.

Back in the seventies recipes using gelatine were all the rage. I remember making salmon mousse, strawberry mousse, lemon mousse and a tart which had a biscuit base and a filling of evaporated milk – whipped furiously until thick – then set with gelatine and decorated with tinned apricots. Fortunately that recipe has well and truly died and been buried, but Cucumber Mousse is still a refreshing option for a hot day. This recipe makes a good starter or light lunch. The first day I served the mousses with two prawns and a drizzle of sauce round the plate, as a starter. The second day they became a more substantial dish for lunch, with the addition of some smoked salmon rolls – even nicer. If you wanted to be really snazzy you could arrange some very thin slices of cucumber in the moulds before tipping in the mousse.

Cucumber Mousse

1 Tbs powdered gelatine
5 Tbs white wine or cider vinegar
1 scant Tbs sugar
1 large telegraph cucumber or 3 small Lebanese ones
250g cream cheese (I used Woolies Home Brand) at room temp
150ml cream (generous half cup) sour cream, creme fraiche or thick Greek yoghurt
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Peeled cooked prawns and/or smoked salmon to garnish
Green Shallot Dressing to serve

Place vinegar and sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatine over the top then zap in the microwave for about 30 secs to dissolve completely. Remove about 60% of peel from the cucumbers and trim the ends. Cut into chunks and place in food processor or blender and puree. Add cream cheese and puree, then cream and lastly gelatine mixture, stopping from time to time to scrape down the sides. Season to taste then tip into 8 half cup ramekins or one large mould and chill for a couple of hours or overnight. Dip moulds briefly in hot water, run a knife with a thin blade around the outsides, then tip out. Decorate with prawns, smoked salmon or both and chives. Drizzle some Green Shallot Dressing around the plate. If you don’t have any green shallots (spring onions) substitute chives or even basil.

Serves 8 as a starter

Mangoes in Ginger Wine

Posted on by
1

If you want to be sure to get every bit of flesh off the stone the best place to eat a mango is in the bath.

My mother in law once attended an official lunch at Government House in Hong Kong. For dessert the waiter passed round a platter of whole fruit. She was tempted by the mangoes, but knew that this would not be a good idea. Eating a whole mango delicately with a knife and fork is not easy and you wouldn’t want it to shoot across the table and land on another guest’s lap. Experienced guests like my mother in law played it safe and took a banana or an apple. One lady, through lack of experience or perhaps without thinking, chose a mango. Everyone finished their fruit quite quickly then sat back to watch this poor woman struggle with her mango. It took forever, but to give her credit she persisted and finished the task. Perhaps a round of applause would have been a nice gesture.

Here in Australia the mango season is in full swing. I’m always tempted to buy a case of 12, but there are just the two of us and after a few days the mangoes have ripened to the point where the remaining few need to be used immediately. Mangoes in ginger wine is a delicious solution and will keep in the fridge for a day or two. I think this recipe will appeal to my friends at the Sarojin Resort in Thailand and I’m sure they could cut up the fruit more decoratively than I have. Perhaps the chef can give me a lesson next time I’m there.

4 large fresh mangoesMangoes in Ginger Wine
¾ cup Stone’s ginger wine
2 Tbs chopped glace ginger or ginger preserved in syrup

Peel and slice mangoes and place in a serving bowl. Heat ginger wine with ginger and pour over. Chill and serve very cold.

Serves 4-6

Berry Meringue Ice Cream Slice

Posted on by
5

Not everyone likes Christmas pudding, so I like to serve two desserts on Christmas day, so people can choose. This Bill Granger recipe for an easy ice cream slice full of berries and chunks of meringue appeared in the December issue of Delicious. We have raspberries in the garden at the moment, so it was perfect.

Some people, who shall remain nameless, had both the Christmas pudding and the ice cream slice. They blamed this indulgence on me saying it was too hard to choose.

Berry and Meringue Ice Cream Slice

350g berries (I used raspberries)
600ml thickened cream or whipping cream
2 Tbs icing sugar
2 tsp vanilla essence
50g bought meringues broken into chunks
To serve:
Runny honey and extra berries (I used a mix of raspberries and halved strawberries)

Grease a 1.5L loaf pan and line with plastic wrap or use a silicone pan which doesn’t need to be lined. Drop some berries into the loaf pan – these will be the top of the slice. Whip cream with sugar and vanilla to soft peaks then fold in berries and meringue. Pour into pan, shake to remove any air bubbles, and smooth top. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 3 hours or overnight.

Remove from freezer 20 minutes before serving. Tip out and garnish with extra berries, drizzle with honey and cut into slices to serve.

Serves 8-10

Note: frozen raspberries are fine for the ice cream, but if you can get them fresh ones are best for the garnish. Mango and passionfruit could be used instead of berries.

Fish ‘n Chips

Posted on by
4

I grew up in the UK in the 60s when there were almost as many fish and chip shops as there were pubs. As the fish and chips came out of the hot oil they were put into grease-proof paper bags, then wrapped in old newspapers. This created an unforgettable aroma as you ran home with the hot package and it didn’t detract at all from the flavour. They were delicious! Sixpenny worth of chips was an after school treat, doused with dark malt vinegar and sprinkled with salt. Now everything has to be wrapped in pristine white paper, prices have shot up, the batter on the fish seems thicker and many of the fish and chip shops I remember as a child have closed.

Everyone – well almost everyone – loves fish and chips. If you fall into that category then an electric deep fat fryer is a good investment. I keep mine in an old fridge in the garage, where we store wine and beer. I only use it for fish and chips so I leave the oil in the pan and use it 2-3 times over one or two months, before throwing it out and starting afresh.

This batter takes less than a minute to make and it’s very light and crunchy.

canola, sunflower oil or similar
3-4 medium potatoes (choose a variety suitable for chips)
400g thick, chunky white fish fillets, such as cod, hoki
1/3 cup self-raising flour
salt and pepper to taste
soda or sparkling mineral water
To serve:
Tartare sauce
lemon wedges
1-2 cups frozen peas, cooked

Heat oil in deep fat fryer. Peel and slice potatoes and cut into chips (fat or thin, as you like) then dry well with paper towels. Test oil and when a chip starts to sizzle as soon as you put it in, it’s hot enough. Cook chips until tender but pale, then lift the basket and let the oil get very hot again, before lowering for a final crisping. Tip chips into a dish lined with paper towel and sprinkle with salt. Cover loosely with foil so they stay hot.

While chips are cooking cut fish into long chunky sticks 2-3 cm wide. Mix flour with salt and pepper and enough soda water to make a very thick batter. Go slowly, you won’t need much. Add all the fish to the batter, then turn to coat thoroughly. When chips are done cook the fish for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Gently lower them into the oil one piece at a time. Drain on paper towels and serve with the chips, tartare sauce, lemon wedges and peas.

Serves 2-3

Note: if you don’t have a deep fat fryer a deep pan will do. The oil needs to be about 10cm deep.

Pasta with Smoked Salmon and Cucumber

Posted on by
2

Smoked salmon is much cheaper than it used to be, especially if you buy it in half kilo packets, so I usually have some “on the go” in the fridge.  It’s handy for creating a quick salad or pasta dish such as this one, slightly adapted from a recipe in Delicious magazine.

Pink peppercorns, known as baies roses in French, are fragrant and only slightly peppery. According to Wikipedia, they are not real peppercorns but were so-called because they look like them. They go well with most recipes using smoked salmon or gravlax. You can probably tell from the photo that I only had chives and no dill, but it still tasted good!

400g spaghetti or fettuccine
1 Lebanese cucumber or half a telegraph cucumber, peeled, seeds removed and diced
1 Tbs olive oil
1 cup sour cream or creme fraiche
1 Tbs white wine or white Balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 Tbs capers, rinsed and drained
2 Tbs chopped dill
2 Tbs chopped chives
Finely grated rind of 1 lemon and juice of ½
200g smoked salmon, chopped
To garnish:
Extra chopped herbs
Pink peppercorns (the dry ones, see photo)
Or Salmon Roe

Sprinkle cucumber dice with salt and leave to drain in a colander for 30 mins then rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Cook pasta according to packet instructions, drain and mix with the oil.  Mix sour cream, vinegar, garlic, lemon juice and rind, capers and herbs in a bowl.  Then add pasta, cucumber and smoked salmon.  Divide among 4 bowls and garnish with extra herbs and pink peppercorns or salmon roe.  The dish will be warm rather than piping hot.

Serves 4

Oven-Roasted Vegetables

Posted on by
5

Whenever I make oven-roasted vegetables I always think there will be lots of leftovers. But they’re so delicious, not to mention healthy, so everyone comes back for seconds and there’s none left.

You can use any combination of vegetables and there are some important rules. Cook the vegetables in a hot oven i.e. 200C or 400F in a very shallow baking tray in one layer – otherwise they will stew in their own juices rather than roasting. Also it’s important to cut vegetables which cook quickly, such as zucchini, into larger pieces than the rest. When cooked the vegetables should be slightly charred on the edges, while still maintaining a bit of crunch. The first photo shows them just out of the oven. The second photo shows them served on a bed of rocket, garnished with some soft goat’s cheese and toasted pine nuts.

2-3 large carrots, peeled
2 red or yellow peppers (capsicum) or one of each, seeds and membranes removed
4-6 small yellow squash (if available)
3 onions – red or brown
4-6 zucchini (courgettes)
6-8 whole garlic cloves
Olive oil, salt and pepper
Balsamic glaze or vinegar
Chopped fresh parsley or coriander to serve
Optional additions:
1 eggplant (aubergine)
1 sweet potato
parsnips or pumpkin

Preheat oven to 200°C. Cut vegetables into sticks or chunks, onions into quarters or eighths depending on size. Leave garlic cloves whole. Place all the vegetables in a shallow baking tray in a single layer. You don’t want them all on top of each other, so use two if necessary. Drizzle generously with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and mix well with your hands. Roast vegetables for 30-40 mins, turning a couple of times during cooking time. Serve at room temperature, drizzled with balsamic glaze or balsamic vinegar and sprinkled with chopped herbs.

Serves 6-8

Pineapple Chutney

Posted on by
Reply

This chutney is adapted from a recipe in this month’s Delicious magazine. It’s very quick to make and great to have around at Christmas or to give to friends as a gift. The original recipe didn’t have any chilli, so just leave it out if you’re not into spicy food.

1 x 825g can pineapple in natural juice or light syrup (or 2 smaller cans)
4 Tbs Hoisin sauce
3 Tbs honey
3 Tbs soy sauce
2 star anise
2 Tbs chopped fresh ginger
1 tsp Chinese five spice powder
1 Tbs crushed chilli (buy it in a jar or process some fresh ones)

In some countries you can buy crushed pineapple, but if yours is in slices or rings, place in food processor and chop finely.  Place in a large heavy-bottomed pan with remaining ingredients. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring regularly, or until thickened and looking a bit sticky around the edges. Discard star anise. Place a few small jam jars without their lids in microwave and “cook” for a minute or two. This will heat and sterilize them. Fill with chutney and seal while hot. Serve with cold ham, pork, turkey, duck or chicken.  Will keep for several months. Refrigerate after opening.

Makes about 4 cups

Note: if you prefer the chutney to be yellow in colour use white soy sauce, sugar instead of  honey and omit the hoisin sauce.

Chilled Carrot and Orange Soup

Posted on by
1

On a very hot day you can’t beat a bowl of ice cold soup. Not everybody will agree with me on this – chilled soups are something you either like or you don’t.  My Dad didn’t like them, even though he was quite adventurous, loved Asian food and most of the things I put in front of him.

The best known cold soups are probably Spanish gazpacho and Russian Borscht, a soup made with beetroot which can be served hot or cold and which is popular in many Middle European countries. I have about three other favourite recipes including this one for Carrot and Orange. The soup is equally delicious served hot.

Chilled Carrot and Orange Soup

500-600g carrots, peeled and sliced
1 large onion, chopped
25g butter
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1½ – 2 cups orange juice (fresh or from a carton)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Pinch of sugar
Finely chopped fresh dill and cream to garnish

Cook onion in butter till soft, add carrots, stock, sugar and simmer until tender. Blend till smooth in blender, add orange juice to reach desired consistency, check seasoning and chill.  Serve garnished with dill and a swirl of cream. Can be served hot.

Serves 6

Variation: for a creamier soup replace ½ cup of the orange juice with cream.

Pavlova

Posted on by
7

My friend Chris Wride in Paris has just requested my recipe for Pavlova via the Café Cat Facebook page.  He remembers I served it at a dinner when we were living there. Well his timing couldn’t have been better. We’ve just picked our first raspberries and one of the nicest ways to enjoy fresh berries, especially raspberries, is in a Pavlova.  Chris your wish is my command!  Here it is.

Australians and New Zealanders argue about where this dish originated and both claim it as their national dessert.  It doesn’t really matter who invented it – it’s a world class dish by any standards.  Sometimes I make individual ones but they’re a bit more fiddly.  One big one can be whipped up in no time at all.

Pavlova

4 large egg whites (approx 125g) at room temp
250g caster sugar
1 tsp white or cider vinegar
1 tsp cornflour
400ml fresh cream, whipped
2-3 cups fresh berries such as raspberries, blueberries, strawberries

Serves 10

Preheat oven to 170°C.  Place a sheet of non-stick baking paper or foil on a large baking tray and draw a 25cm circle on it using a dinner plate.  Place egg whites in a large bowl and whisk using electric beaters until soft peaks.  A Kenwood or Kitchen Aid mix-master is ideal for this, but hand held beaters will do, although it will take twice as long. Gradually add sugar and keep whipping until you have a stiff, glossy meringue with no crunchy bits of sugar left.  Halfway through stop the machine and scrape mixture down from sides of the bowl.  Add vinegar and cornflour then pile the meringue onto the baking paper circle.  Spread to an even thickness then remove some from the middle to the edges so you end up with a meringue which has a dip in the middle for the cream and fruit.  Bake for 10 mins then turn off the oven and leave there till cool.  Fill pavlova with unsweetened whipped cream and berries. Dust with sifted icing sugar (optional).

Notes:

  • leftover egg whites from a recipe which uses only yolks can be stored in a plastic container in the freezer, adding more on other occasions.  Thaw and weigh: one egg white weighs 30g (1 ounce) more or less
  • if there is any trace of egg yolk left in the whites they will not whip
  • all ovens differ so you may need to adjust the oven temperature and/or the cooking time till you get this right
  • the finished meringue should be crisp on the outside but soft like marshmellow on the inside
  • passionfruit pulp is also nice on pavlova and some people like to use slices of kiwi fruit

Curried Chicken Salad

Posted on by
9

Over the years I’ve stopped making some of the recipes I collected in my teens because my taste has changed, or maybe they were never that special to begin with and new ones have taken over as favourites. Others have evolved over the years with slight modifications and improvements – cutting down on fat or sugar, or smartening up the presentation.

This curried chicken salad, which I’ve been making for decades, falls into the latter category. When I’m asked to bring a plate and take this dish I am always asked for the recipe, so I can’t imagine I will ever cross it off my repertoire. The original version used canned pineapple, which was very popular in the UK when I was growing up.  I don’t think I ate a fresh pineapple until I was well into my 20s, but everyone had a few cans in the pantry to add to coleslaw, serve with grilled ham steaks or add to fruit salads.  Nobody needs to buy canned fruit these days with such a wide selection of fresh fruit available.

This dish makes a perfect addition to a cold buffet and is a great way to make one roast chicken serve a crowd. It’s easy to double, triple or quadruple, any leftovers go down well the following day and I’ve also made it using leftover roast Turkey from Christmas lunch. The dressing and all the ingredients can be prepared the day before. It looks nice in individual servings, piled onto a large lettuce leaf or in a whisky tumbler lined with lettuce.  If you want to be really swish, serve the salad in hollowed out fresh pineapple halves, with the green tufty bits left on and of course use what you’ve dug out in the salad. Garnishing with red chilli brings this dish into the 21st century.

Curried Chicken Salad

Meat from one large roast chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
1½ cups thinly sliced celery (sliced on the diagonal looks nice)
2 cups seedless grapes
1 cup fresh pineapple cubes
¾ cup flaked almonds or unsalted cashew nuts, roughly chopped
To garnish: Thin slivers of red chilli or red capsicum
Dressing:
1½ cups mayonnaise (preferably home-made)
2 Tbs lemon or lime juice
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs chutney or relish
1 Tbs curry powder or paste
1 Tbs grated onion

Dressing: Chop chutney if it’s very chunky. Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Toast almonds or cashews in a dry frying pan, stirring frequently, until golden, then remove from pan and cool. Prepare the chicken, grapes, celery and pineapple and refrigerate each separately. Recipe can be prepared to this stage up to 24 hours before serving.
If you have time, mix chicken with dressing and refrigerate for a couple of hours for flavours to blend. Mix in celery, grapes and pineapple just before serving.

To serve, mound the salad onto a flat serving platter with lettuce leaves around the edge.  Or omit the lettuce and pile the salad into a serving bowl. Sprinkle with toasted nuts and garnish with the chilli.

Serves 6 as a main course or at least 12 as part of a buffet.