Campari and Orange Jelly with Labneh and Oranges

Looking for inspiration for a family brunch I remembered my friend Karen telling me about a Campari and orange jelly she made recently from New Food, by Jill Dupleix, published in 1994. I’m not very good at culling cook books as I often find something in an old one which I can adapt or revamp. Amongst my collection I also had a copy of that book.

I made one and a half times the original recipe and, instead of using individual moulds,  poured it into a rectangular dish, then cut it into cubes when set. I didn’t have quite enough orange juice so I added the juice of a lime. Served in Martini glasses, layered with labneh and orange segments the jelly cubes looked quite snazzy. A delicious and very refreshing brunch starter, which could also be served as dessert.

Campari and Orange Jelly with Labneh and Oranges

3 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
½ cup Campari
¾ cup water
6 tsp powdered gelatine
2 Tbs caster sugar, to taste
To serve:
Labneh
Icing sugar, to taste
Orange flower water, to taste (optional)
2 oranges, cut into segments
Mint sprigs (optional)

You will need to make the labneh the day before.

Mix orange juice with Campari. Place water in a small bowl and mix in gelatine and sugar.  Zap in the microwave for 30 seconds or to dissolve the gelatine, then add to the orange juice. Tip into a small rectangular dish and leave in the fridge to set for several  hours or overnight.

Mix labneh with icing sugar and a few drops of orange flower water to taste. With a sharp knife, cut jelly into cubes and layer in Martini glasses with the labneh and orange segments. If liked, garnish with a sprig of mint.

Serves 6

Cauliflower & Stilton Soup with Pesto

On a cold wintery day a bowl of steaming soup hits the spot. I’m not a great fan of blue cheese, eaten on its own, but I do like the more subtle flavour you get when you use it in a soup or salad dressing.

We were recently served a soup like this (without the pesto) at a cocktail party at the Press Club, in small espresso cups. I suspect they added at least 2 cups of cream, which was delicious and okay in such small servings, but not what you want to indulge in for lunch.

Cauliflower & Stilton Soup with Pesto

50g butter
1 onion, finely diced
1 cauliflower, trimmed and cut into pieces (stalks are fine too)
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock, preferably home-made
1 cup cream
100g Stilton, or another blue cheese
Milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve:
Pesto

Melt butter in a large heavy-based saucepan and cook onion over moderate heat, stirring oven, until soft and translucent. Add cauliflower and stock and simmer for 20 mins or until cauliflower is tender. Cool a bit then blend until smooth in a blender, adding the cream, the blue cheese and some milk to keep things moving. Tip back into the saucepan, adding enough extra milk to achieve desired consistency. Season to taste. Reheat and served topped with a swirl of pesto.

Serves 6

Moroccan Cauliflower Salad with Yoghurt Dressing

We’re very fond of Moroccan flavours so this recipe caught my eye when it appeared in the latest Delicious magazine. It comes from Mojo, Luke Mangan’s new wine bar in Danks Street in Sydney, which serves “sharing plates” to go with the wine.

Serve it on its own or with grilled lamb cutlets or my Moroccan lamb. As we’re in the middle of winter I served it slightly warm and it was fantastic – definitely a keeper.

Moroccan Cauliflower Salad with Yoghurt Dressing1 whole cauliflower
400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup olive oil plus extra to serve
2 Tbs Ras el Hanout Spice Mix (bought or make your own, see below)
½ bunch coriander, leaves picked off
½ bunch Continental parsley, leaves picked off
1/3 cup port
1/3 cup currants
2 Tbs white wine
2 pinches saffron strands
2/3 cup thick Greek-style yoghurt
Juice ½ lemon, or to taste
½ tsp Dijon mustard
1/3 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted

Preheat oven to 200ºC. Trim cauliflower removing green leaves and stem. Slice cauliflower into 1cm slices from top to bottom – some will fall off as florets. Place in a roasting pan with chickpeas, oil and spices. Toss with your fingers to coat everything thoroughly. Bake 20-25 mins or until tender and golden. Cool a bit then mix with the herbs.

Meanwhile heat port in a pan or microwave. Add currants and leave to soak for 10 mins or until plump, then drain. The recipe says to discard the port, but why not drink it? Heat wine in a pan or microwave, add saffron and stand 15 mins, then strain into a bowl, discarding saffron. Add yogurt, mustard and lemon juice to taste and mix well.

Divide yoghurt dressing between 4-6 serving plates in a puddle in the middle. Top with cauliflower mixture, garnish with currants and pine nuts and drizzle with extra oil. Alternatively serve in one large serving bowl, drizzled with the dressing.

Serves 4-6

Ras el Hanout Spice Mix
3 Tbs black peppercorns
2 tsp powdered ginger
2 tsp cumin seeds or powder
2 tsp coriander seeds or powder
2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cardamom
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chilli flakes or powder
¼ tsp cloves
2 tsp coarse salt

Grind the whole spices and salt to a powder in a spice mill or mortar and pestle. Add the powdered spices and mix well. Keep in a jar with a lid. Best used within a couple of months.

Roasted Vegies with Hummus

My daughter Catherine invented this delicious vegetarian recipe when she only had some beetroot, a leek and an avocado as inspiration. It’s at times like this when some of the best dishes are created. Remember the TV programme Ready, Steady Cook where participating cooks were handed a bag of ingredients and had to whip up a meal with no recipe, or even time to plan?

This recipe is flexible because you can use any vegetables you have on hand. I didn’t have any leeks so used a big onion and instead of potatoes I added carrots. I also used a creamy Danish feta rather than goat’s cheese and pecan nuts instead of walnuts.

Roasted Vegies with HummusHummus – homemade or bought
1 avocado
3 small beetroot
2 carrots
1 red capsicum (pepper)
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 onion or 1 leek, or both
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbs coriander leaves
50 goat’s cheese or feta
2-3 Tbs walnut or pecan halves, toasted
Balsamic glaze or a fruity finishing vinegar (I used apricot, Catherine used cherry)

Preheat oven to 200ºC. Cut vegetables into even-sized chunks or sticks, mix with a good slug of olive oil, salt and pepper and spread out in a single layer on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake for 30 mins or until tender and starting to brown at the edges, turning them about halfway through. Remove from the oven and let them cool a bit. Spread about 3 Tbs hummus on two large serving plates. Arrange half an avocado, sliced, on each plate on the edge of the humus, as shown in photo. Pile the roasted vegetables on top, then garnish with the coriander, the crumbled cheese and the toasted walnuts or pecans. Drizzle with the vinegar.

Serves 2

Home-made Pizza

A proper Italian pizza has a thin, crispy crust and minimal topping. Nothing remotely like the thick, soggy versions sold in many fast food chains. The Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana says that when cooked a pizza base should be no more than 4mm thick at the centre, though it will be thicker around the edges. And they should know, they invented them.

Home-made pizzaWhen our kids were growing up pizza featured regularly on the menu. The pizza delivery motorbikes never came to our house because my view is that anything home-made is better than the bought version, not to mention cheaper. At the time our offspring thought they were deprived, but now they have their own families and also make their own.

For a larger group make 3-4 times the recipe and form the dough into balls. Have the toppings ready in small dishes and let people choose their own. With a salad and a bottle or two of vino you’re all set for a casual meal which appeals to all ages.

Home-made pizza15g fresh yeast or 7g dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
2 cups plain flour (preferably 00)
1 Tbs olive oil
½ to ¾ cup warm water

Mix ½ cup warm water with yeast and sugar. Leave for 10 minutes. Sift flour and salt into a bowl, add oregano, oil and yeast mixture. Mix well, adding more warm water until you have a firm, not sticky, dough. If preferred make in a food processor or in a mixer with a dough hook.

Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead for a couple of minutes until smooth and springy. Form into a ball, place in a lightly oiled bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover and leave at room temperature for an hour, or until doubled in size. Alternatively, cover and refrigerate overnight to prove more slowly.

Preheat oven to its highest temperature. If using, put pizza stone in the oven to get really hot. Knead dough lightly and form into a ball (or two balls) and leave, covered with a tea towel for about 20 mins or until doubled in size.

To assemble pizzas place a ball of dough on a lightly oiled pizza pan and press out to size using oiled fingers, working from the middle out. If using a pre-heated pizza stone, or a wood-fired pizza oven, press dough out into a large round on a well-floured pizza paddle.

Home-made pizzaArrange toppings on pizza – be sparing – less is more. Slide onto stone if using one and bake for about 5 minutes or until golden and crispy. Time will vary depending on your oven. Our outdoor wood-fired oven shown in the photo heats up to over 400°C, so pizzas only take about 3 minutes. In an ordinary oven they can take up to 12 minutes. Keep an eye on it.

Makes one very large or two medium photopizzas

Topping suggestions:

  • Tomato sugo (sold in jars to go with pasta) with thinly sliced mushroom, sliced pepperoni or chorizo and grated mozarella
  • Pesto with sliced fresh buffalo mozarella and sliced fresh tomatoes
  • Pesto, peeled prawns, grated mozarella and pine nuts
  • Additional toppings: stoned olives, anchovies, sun-dried tomatoes, caramelized onions, extra oil, fresh herbs

Carrot Avocado and Orange Salad

I often make a salad using avocado and orange or grapefruit segments, which go well together. A recipe with the addition of oven-roasted carrots appeared recently in the Canberra Times and came from a cookbook called A Girl and Her Pig by April Bloomfield. I read through the method and found it unnecessarily complicated, so I made a few changes. I also added some honey to the dressing. Here is my tweaked version.

1 bunch baby carrots (about 750g)Carrot Avocado and Orange Salad
2-3 cloves garlic
1 rounded tsp cumin seeds
1 rounded tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp dried crushed chilli (or use some fresh)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 large oranges
2 large avocados
Juice of ½ a lemon
2 tsp honey
Coarsely chopped fresh coriander

Preheat oven to 200°C. Toast cumin and coriander seeds in a dry pan over moderate heat for a minute or two, or until fragrant. Place in a mortar with garlic, chilli, a tsp of salt, some pepper, 4 Tbs of the oil and crush to a paste. Scrub and trim carrots but don’t peel. Leave a small bit of the greenery at the end. Place carrots in a large baking dish which holds them in one layer. Add paste, mix well to coat. Add ¼ cup water then place in the oven to roast for about half an hour, stirring halfway, until tender and starting to brown a bit. Remove from the oven and cool.

Meanwhile remove peel and pith from the oranges with a serrated knife, then remove each segment by cutting each side of the membrane. Place segments in a small dish and squeeze what’s left of the oranges over the top to remove all the juice. Peel and slice avocados lengthwise.

Arrange carrots, drained orange segments (keep juice) and avocado slices decoratively in a serving dish. Place cooking juices from the carrots in a jam jar. Add orange juice, lemon juice, remaining 2 Tbs oil, honey and salt and pepper to taste. Shake well and drizzle over the salad. Top with the fresh coriander and serve.

Serves 4

Caprese Salad

Caprese Salad is a very simple dish consisting of sliced tomatoes and fresh buffalo mozarella with fresh basil, olive oil and seasonings. It’s one of the best ways to enjoy perfect tomatoes in summer. In the photo I used Farmhouse-style cottage cheese from Costco instead of mozarella. But you could substitute any soft, mild-flavoured, sliceable cheese such as “queso fresco” (widely available in South America), goat’s cheese or a creamy feta. It won’t be an authentic Caprese Salad without the mozarella, but it will still taste good.

Drizzle with your best extra-virgin olive oil, then season with crunchy Maldon-style sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. A little balsamic vinegar or balsamic glaze (which is thicker) is a good addition. A loaf of fresh bread – preferably Italian – a bottle of wine and lunch is ready.

Caprese Salad

1 kg vine-ripened tomatoes
About 250g fresh buffalo mozarella (or substitute – see above)
Fresh basil
Extra-virgin olive oil
Maldon style salt flakes
Freshly ground black pepper
Balsamic vinegar or glaze (optional)

Cut tomatoes horizontally into thick slices, discarding both ends. Slice cheese. Arrange tomatoes and cheese on a shallow serving dish, as shown in photo. Sprinkle with torn up basil leaves, drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with some balsamic vinegar or glaze, or let people add this if they like at the table. Serve with crusty bread.

Serves 4

Mexican Slaw

This version of coleslaw uses Mexican flavours and a light oil and lime juice dressing. Crunchy, colourful and bursting with vitamins, it goes well with burgers, steaks or any roast or barbecued meat or poultry.

Mexican Slaw

2-3 cups finely shredded white cabbage
2-3 cups finely shredded red cabbage
1 cup raw pumpkin curls (made with a vegetable peeler)
1 cup raw corn kernels, cut off the cob (see note)
1 cup flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
1 cup fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped
1 small red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
1 small or ½ medium red onion, halved and finely sliced
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
Dressing:
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lime or ½ large lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tsp honey
Topping:
2 Tbs pumpkin seeds
2 Tbs sunflower seeds

Place all ingredients for salad in a bowl. Place all ingredients for dressing in a jar and shake. Toast pumpkin and sunflower seeds by stirring in a dry pan over moderate heat for 2-3 minutes. Mix coleslaw with dressing and top with toasted seeds.

Serves 4-6

Note: or substitute frozen corn, blanched for a minute in hot water, or drained canned corn.

Variations: use carrot curls instead of pumpkin; add thinly sliced red capsicum (pepper) and/or zucchini or cucumber, cut into julienne sticks.

Barley & Quinoa with Roasted Pumpkin & Mushrooms

Once or twice a fortnight we like to have a vegetarian dinner.  Matthew has always been a big fan of barley and I recently bought some quinoa, so I thought I would make a vegetarian dish combining these two grains. The result was delicious.

Quinoa (pronounced kin-wah) originated in the Andean regions of Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia and Peru, where it has been an important staple for 3-4000 years. It’s a grain-like crop, but not a member of the grass family, being more closely related to beets and spinach. The recent popularity of quinoa is due to the fact that it’s gluten-free and easy to digest. It’s also high in protein (14%), magnesium, iron and calcium. There has been some controversy of late over the high price the locals are having to pay for quinoa in South America, the price having gone through the roof due to increased exports.

I know that some of my readers don’t eat meat, so this is one for you.

Barley & Quinoa with Pumpkin & Mushrooms

¾ cup quinoa
¾ cup barley
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
½ cup pine nuts or coarsely chopped cashew nuts, lightly toasted
Chopped fresh parsley or coriander
Pumpkin mix:
5-600g butternut pumpkin, peeled and cut into 2-3cm cubes
1/3 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 Tbs fresh thyme or 2 tsp dried
½ tsp each cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
Mushroom mix:
500g mixed mushrooms (see note below)
2 Tbs fresh thyme  or 2 tsp dried
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ cup olive oil

Cook quinoa and barley separately in boiling salted water to cover. The barley will take about 40 mins and the quinoa about 10. Add more boiling water as necessary so they don’t boil dry. Don’t overcook – they should both be “al dente”. Rinse and thoroughly drain the grains and place in a bowl.

While grains cook preheat oven to 180C. Mix pumpkin with remaining ingredients. Line an oven tray with baking paper and spread pumpkin mixture over it. Bake for 30 mins at 180 or until cooked and edges start darkening. Clean mushrooms if necessary, tear or cut up and mix with remaining ingredients. Line another oven tray with baking paper and spread mushroom mixture over it.  Bake for 8-10 mins on the shelf under the pumpkin.

Add pumpkin and mushroom mixtures, including any oil and juices, to the cooked grains. Add vinegar, mix gently and check to see if it needs more salt and pepper. Tip into a serving dish or individual bowls. Serve lukewarm or cold, garnished with the toasted nuts and chopped herbs.

Serves 4-6

Note: for the mushroom mix I used 150g of Shimeji, 100g of Enoki (both torn apart) and 250g of button mushrooms (wiped and thickly sliced) – all from Woolworths supermarket. If you can’t find fancy mushrooms use all button mushrooms.

Variation: use brown rice instead of barley.

Staples Special

Major and Mrs H.W. Staples, and their four children - Pat, Edwin, Margaret and Daphne outside their home, Dragona, shortly after their arrival on Malta in January 1939.

Major and Mrs H.W. Staples and their five children – Patrick, Edwin, Margaret, Daphne and Joan outside their home, Dragona, shortly after their arrival in Malta in January 1939.

My grandfather, Herbert William Staples, was posted to Malta from the UK in January 1939 with the Royal Engineers. When War broke out later that year he was offered the chance to leave with his wife and five children, aged between 10 and 14. But leaving by ship was risky, with many being bombed and sunk, so they opted to stay. My mother Margaret was almost 10 at the time and spent the next 6 years on the island with her younger twin sisters Joan and Daphne and two older brothers, Patrick and Edwin. At the end of the War she received a medal for never having missed a day of school, despite periods of heavy bombing when she had to get there via air raid shelters.

More bombs fell on this little island of just 121 square miles than fell on London during the Blitz. The Germans wanted to capture it for strategic reasons, due to its proximity to Axis shipping lanes. But they didn’t succeed and at the end of the War Malta was awarded the George Cross for bravery.

Feeding a family of seven was a constant challenge for my Irish grandmother Hilda Mary. Strict rationing allowed just one slice of bread per person per day. My mother remembers her brothers asking if they could have another slice and my grandmother giving them hers, half each. Nana Staples was skin and bone at the end of the War, but she made up for it afterwards! There were no cattle on the island, which meant no dairy industry. Sometimes the Quartermaster would issue a few cans of food to each British family. My mother still likes tinned peaches served with evaporated milk, for nostalgic reasons. While onions and tomatoes were easy to grow and Mediterranean fruit such as figs, grapes and pomegranates were plentiful in season, food-wise life was tough.

My Uncle Pat was a very good diver and could hold his breath for a long time. One day he heard that a ship had been sunk in the bay so he dived down and inside the wreck he found a whole cheddar cheese, weighing about 10 kilos. He wrapped it in his towel and staggered home, triumphant. My grandmother was thrilled and as she had tomatoes and onions in the garden she invented Staples Special with what she had available.

Home grown tomatoes

Fortunately I’ve never known what it is to go hungry or be unable to buy enough food for my family. But I still make Staples Special because it’s so delicious and makes a perfect Saturday lunch or Sunday evening supper. It’s important to use vine-ripened tomatoes from the garden or local market. Those tasteless ones you buy in supermarkets during winter just won’t work in this recipe. The same goes for the toast – the better the bread, the better the toast.

My Dad was a nurseryman and for many years his main crop was tomatoes, grown under glass in Kent, in south-east England. All my tomato-growing knowledge came from him and I think he would be proud of this year’s crop from our Canberra garden. To be honest Matthew does all the work, but I do cook the produce. One cardinal rule I learnt from my Dad and that’s never, ever store tomatoes in the fridge.

1 large onion, halved and slicedStaples Special
2 Tbs olive oil
500-600g ripe tomatoes, skinned and roughly chopped
1 tsp sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 cups grated cheddar cheese
6 large slices buttered toast (Turkish bread is nice)
Basil leaves, torn up (optional)

Heat oil in a large frying pan and cook onion, stirring, over moderate heat, until soft but not brown. Add tomatoes and continue to cook for a few minutes, stirring. Tomatoes should be semi-cooked and still chunky. Add sugar and season to taste. Add cheese and when just melted serve on toast garnished with basil.

Serves 4