No time for porridge

That vegan is quite intriguin’

notimeforporridge — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 03:25:10 +0000

Apologies for the terrible title, I defy you to come up with something that rhymes with vegan! Title aside, I want to talk about my attitude when it comes to food intolerances, food preferences and allergies. As a curious cook I embrace the challenge that is presented when I have to prepare food for someone who is gluten intolerant for example, or vegan. Though I realise that there is a huge difference between those who have chosen to be vegan or vegetarian and those who have a genuine physical reaction to certain foods such as those with coeliac disease or an allergic reaction to an ingredient, I do think the same respect should be shown and I would never serve anything to a vegan or vegetarian that had been in contact with meat.

When cooking for those with specific dietary requirements I often look to food from other cultures for inspiration. The Indians are very good at preparing vegetarian dishes because they have a long tradition of cooking without meat and a fair chunk of their population have always been vegetarian due to various religious restrictions. Chinese and Vietnamese cuisines also have long experience in cooking vegetarian cuisine often because there was no or very little meat available to those who were not well off. Mexican, Italian and French cuisines also have some great peasant dishes that are vegetarian usually involving some form of dried bean or an abundant seasonal vegetable as a starting point. I prefer to find a recipe that has always been vegetarian rather than make a pale imitation of a dish that usually contains meat. Vietnamese rice paper rolls are a versatile dish that can be made with meat, chicken, seafood or tofu. The ones I made here are vegan but you could easily substitute some barbeque pork or a prawn for the tofu that I have used.

Vegan Rice Paper Rolls

Ingredients

For the scrambled tofu:

150g soft tofu

1 tsp chilli flakes

2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)

1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder

4 spring onions (green parts only, finely sliced)

dash of light soy sauce (or gluten free soy sauce)

a little peanut oil

For the rolls:

2 handfuls rice vermicelli noodles (soaked in warm water until soft, then drained)

1/2 a daikon radish (peeled and julienned)

1 carrot ( peeled and julienned)

1 cup bean shoots

1 long red chilli (de-seeded and julienned)

6 spring onions (green parts only, cut into batons)

1/2 bunch coriander

12 rice paper wrappers

bowl of warm water

Hoi Sin sauce (or a gluten free alternative)

Method

Heat a little oil in a heavy based frypan, add the chili flakes and garlic and fry for a minute, add the soft tofu and the five spice powder. Stir to ‘scramble’ the tofu and cook until well incorporated. Stir through the spring onions and soy sauce and set aside to cool. To compile the rolls: Have a bowl of warm water and a wooden board at the ready. Have your other ingredients and your tofu nearby. Wet a rice paper sheet in the warm water and lay it out on your board, Smear a little Hoi Sin sauce on the sheet and then place a a couple of coriander leaves and a small amount of rice vermicelli noodles in the middle. Top with a small amount of all the other ingredients making sure you have enough for all twelve rolls. Turn the sides of the sheet in and then roll up from the bottom finishing with the seam side down. Place on a plate and continue until all the rolls are done. Serve with a dipping sauce of your choice.

Too many cooks?

notimeforporridge — Sun, 26 May 2013 04:47:42 +0000

I have spoken before about the great quality of the pork that is sold by Vietnamese butchers. Recently I had a visit from some family members who live outside Melbourne and my own kids who live on the other side of town. Since we are all quite passionately interested in food I thought they would enjoy a trip to Little Saigon in Nicholson Street here in Footscray. This Vietnamese market is a great place to source a huge range of Asian ingredients. After a bit of browsing and some debate about what to buy we headed for my house nearby armed with some lovely pork fillet, a couple of different Asian greens and one or two Asian condiments that I had run out of.

Back at my place we had three generations of cooks all vying to get near the stove. This may seem like chaos to some people but it’s the sort of chaos I absolutely love. I always feel closest to my family when I’m cooking with them and I’m very proud of how both my adult kids have developed into really good cooks. Here’s what we made.

Stir Fried Pork with Asian Greens

Yummy pork and greens

Ingredients

750 g pork fillet ( finely sliced against the grain)

For the marinade:

1 tbs light soy sauce

1 tbs dark soy sauce

1 tbs Hoi Sin sauce

1 tbs Shao Hsing wine

1 tbs oyster sauce

1 thumb sized piece of ginger (peeled and finely sliced)

1 tbs fresh coriander (finely chopped)

2 cloves garlic minced

few drops sesame oil

For the greens:

2-3 bunches pak choy, choy sum or any other Asian greens

1 tbs light soy sauce

2-3 tbs oyster sauce

2-3 cloves garlic

1 thumb sized piece of ginger (peeled and finely chopped)

1 long red chilli ( de-seeded and finely chopped)

a dash of water

Method

In a very hot wok heat a little peanut oil. Add the pork and stir fry for 3-4 mins until cooked. In another pan with a little more peanut oil add the garlic, chilli and ginger. Fry for 30 seconds and then add the roughly chopped Asian greens, stir fry for 2-3 mins, add a dash of water and cover to let the greens steam for 2-3 mins. Serve immediately with steamed rice.

Hint

Add a handful of unsalted, roasted cashews to the pork at the end, toss through.

Something borrowed …

notimeforporridge — Wed, 01 May 2013 01:50:05 +0000

I’ve had no time for anything at the moment so I’m doing a special blog today with the cooking and recipe done by my daughter. She is an excellent cook and these little tarts were apparently devoured at the tea party to which she took them. Enjoy!

Mini English Curd Tarts

Ingredients

Pastry: 1 quantity sweet shortcrust pastry – see ‘You put the lime in the coconut …’ in the vault April 2011 for the recipe

Filling:

200g ricotta

250g mascarpone

2 eggs

1/2 – 3/4 cup castor sugar

zest of half an orange (finely grated)

1/2 cup currants

1/2 a nutmeg (grated)

1/2 – 1 tsp vanilla extract (to taste)

Method

Preheat oven to 200° C, roll out pastry and press into a greased muffin tin. Blind bake until lightly golden, remove from oven to cool and reduce oven temperature to 180°C. Mix all filling ingredients together until well incorporated. Spoon into cooled pastry shells then cook for 20 – 40 mins or until the filling springs back when you lightly press it. Garnish with icing sugar and lavender.

I’m never gloomy when I’ve got squeaky haloumi

notimeforporridge — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 00:36:56 +0000

Some cheeses are prized for their low melting points and elasticity – think fresh mozzarella, gruyere etc. Other cheeses are just as prized for their higher melting point meaning they can be fried without turning into a gloopy mess – think kefalograviera and, of course, haloumi. The Cypriots claim haloumi as their own but it is eaten throughout the Mediterranean and the Middle East. In recent years it has also become popular here in Australia. Traditionally, the cheese was made with sheep or goat’s milk but most of the haloumi we buy here is now made with cow’s milk. When bitten into, haloumi has a slightly squeaky texture that is most distinctive. It is quite salty so no added salt is needed when cooking it. We used ours in this easy salad.

Eggplant and Haloumi Salad

Tasty fried haloumi

Ingredients

250 g haloumi

1 eggplant (sliced thinly)

100 g button mushrooms (sliced)

1 long red chilli (de-seeded and finely chopped)

2 tsp raw honey

1 tbs fresh mint (finely chopped)

1 tbs fresh flat leaved parsley (finely chopped)

2 tbs shelled pistachio nuts

1 lemon

olive oil for frying

Method

Heat a heavy based pan and fry the eggplant and mushrooms until done. Set aside. Cut the haloumi into batons and fry in some more olive oil until lightly golden. Reduce heat and drizzle with the honey, add pistachios and fry for a further minute (be careful as the honey can burn). Put some eggplant and mushrooms in the bottom of each bowl, add herbs and chilli. Top with haloumi and pistachios and finish with a squeeze of lemon.

Soup’s the thing if you’ve lost your bling

notimeforporridge — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 01:50:31 +0000

My daughter worked quite solidly over the Xmas and New year period. This, combined with a cold, left her with laryngitis. I’ve never had laryngitis myself but I felt for her as she attempted to communicate in a whisper over the phone. Clearly, what she needed was a good restorative soup and a mother to make it of course.

Most cultures around the world have a soup or porridge that they serve to invalids. There is the famous Jewish chicken soup alternatively known as ‘Jewish penicillin’, there is the Italian brodo and the Vietnamese pho (for recipe see March 2011 It’s so good pho you). In China there is also the nourishing soupy rice porridge known as congee (for recipe see December 2010 Congee Love). These recipes take time and some specilaized ingredients. The soup I made was quick and easy and used Asian ingredients that are readily available in the supermarket these days.

When I arrived the poor thing was in a bad state, barely able to talk – a frustrating condition for someone who is fond of the practice. A visit to the doctor confirmed the worst and she was ordered to refrain from talking for two days. Fortunately, by this time the soup was ready and I served her a big steaming bowl. She communicated her appreciation via pad and pen. A couple of hours later I left her with plenty of soup to heat up, some poached chicken and a bunch of cheeky housemates determined to take full advantage of her temporary inability to answer back.

Quick Asian Broth with Poached Chicken Breast

Quick broth with Asian flavours

Ingredients

1 litre chicken stock

1 litre water

5oo g free range chicken breast fillets (skinless)

1 thumb sized piece of ginger (sliced)

2 cloves garlic (peeled)

2 long red chillies

3 or four spring onions

2 tbs light soy sauce

2 tbs shao hsing wine

1 – 2 star anise

1 carrot (julienned)

200 g shitake or button mushrooms (thinly sliced)

1/2 bunch bok choy, choy sum or any other Asian green

1 tin bamboo shoots (drained)

sesame oil

200 g snow peas

rice vermicelli noodles

Method

Pour water and stock into a large pot. Place on a medium heat. Add the sliced ginger, garlic, 1 sliced chilli, the white parts of the spring onions, star anise, shao hsing wine, soy sauce. Trim and halve the chicken fillets. Add to the pot and bring to a gentle simmer, do not boil as this will make the poached chicken tough. Cook gently, uncovered, for 15 – 20 mins or until the fillets are white and firm to the touch. Turn the heat off and cool the chicken fillets in the broth. When almost cool remove the fillets and set aside. Strain the broth and place back in the pot. Bring to the boil and add the carrot, mushrooms, bamboo shoots and sliced bok choy. Cook for 5 mins. Put a small amount of rice vermicelli noodles in the bottom of each bowl. Top with some slices of poached chicken and pour over the hot broth and vegetables. Finish each bowl with a few drops of sesame oil. Serve with sliced snow peas, sliced chilli and extra soy.

Note: Poached chicken is a versatile ingredient and this method will work with any flavours be they Asian or European.

Lovely Lebanese

notimeforporridge — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:10:50 +0000

I have been reading Abla’s Lebanese Kitchen, a comprehensive book on ‘homestyle’ Lebanese cooking with many interesting recipes. One that caught my eye was the Meat and Pine Nut Pastries. Abla uses a Lebanese pastry but I used fresh filo as that is what I had. I also added some chopped mint and parsley from the herb garden to freshen it up a bit. The pastries could be served as part of a mezza (a meal of many small dishes and salads that often precedes another meal though it can be a meal in itself) or as a lunch dish with some Lebanese dips and salads.

Meat and Pine Nut Pastries

Ingredients

olive oil for greasing

1 x 375 g packet fresh filo pastry

For the filling:

2 tbs olive oil

1/4 cup pine nuts

250 g coarsely ground lean lamb

1 onion (finely chopped)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp ground sumac

1 tbs fresh parsley (finely chopped)

1 tbs fresh mint (finely chopped)

Method

Toast pine nuts gently in a dry pan until a light golden brown (keep an eye on them as they burn easily). Set aside. Put a little oil in the pan and fry the meat until all the moisture has gone and the meat is lightly browned. Add chopped onion and fry for a further three or four minutes or until the onion is translucent. Add the salt and spices and fry for a further two minutes or until fragrant. Turn off the heat and stir through the chopped herbs. Allow to cool.

Take a sheet of filo pastry and brush it gently with olive oil. Place another filo pastry sheet on top and slice the the two sheets length ways down the middle. Put a little of the filling in the top corner of one of the pastry sheets, fold the other corner over to form a triangle, keep folding up the pastry sheet from corner to corner until you have a neat parcel. Place on a greased tray. Brush pastries with olive oil and sprinkle on some cumin seeds (optional). Bake in a preheated 220° C oven for 20 mins turning once. Reduce heat to 180°C and cook for a further 10 – 15 mins until golden brown and crispy.

This sage likes saltimbocca

notimeforporridge — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 04:29:54 +0000

My daughter and I were looking for something to cook for a quick lunch recently. When I spotted a prolific sage plant in her garden my thoughts immediately turned to the famous and very simple Italian dish veal saltimbocca. This dish, as its name suggests, is usually made with veal but I have done it many times with chicken and it works just as well.

On this day we had some free range chicken breasts so I made this one with chicken. Meanwhile my daughter made a side dish of green beans in a mildly spicy tomato sauce. I cooked the saltimbocca at the last minute (it is quite fast to cook) and in no time we were sitting down to a satisfying lunch.

Chicken Saltimbocca

Quick and easy Chicken Saltimbocca

Ingredients

2 large skinless free range chicken breasts

4 slices prosciutto (thinly sliced)

8 – 12 fresh sage leaves (depending on size)

freshly ground black pepper

Method

Divide each chicken breast into two pieces. Butterfly each piece and place on a board. Put a piece of cling wrap over the top and gently beat out with a meat mallet until the chicken is about 1/2 – 3/4 cm thick. Season each piece of chicken with pepper but no salt as the prosciutto is salty enough. Place 2 – 3 fresh sage leaves on each piece, cover with a slice of prosciutto and set aside. Heat a heavy based frypan and when hot add some olive oil and a little butter. Place the chicken, prosciutto side down, in the pan and cook until the prosciutto is lightly golden at the edges and has stuck to the meat. Turn over and cook the other side until lightly golden, remove from pan and set aside to rest for a couple of minutes. Serve drizzled with a little balsamic vinegar or a squeeze of lemon juice.

Green Beans in Spicy Tomato Sauce

Green beans in spicy tomato sauce

400g green beans (trimmed and washed)

1 onion (finely chopped)

1 long red chilli (seeds removed and finely chopped)

2 – 3 cloves garlic (minced)

1 can diced tomatoes

1 tbs fresh oregano (finely chopped)

2 tbs flat leaved parsley (finely chopped)

1 tbs sugar

splash of balsamic vinegar

olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Heat some olive oil in a heavy based frypan and fry the beans for 2 – 3 mins. Remove and set aside. Add onions, chilli and garlic to the pan and fry gently until the onion is translucent. Add the tomatoes and fry for a further 2 – 3 mins. Add the sugar and green beans, simmer gently for 10 – 15 mins or until the beans are tender. Add balsamic vinegar and fresh herbs, stir through and simmer for another 1 – 2 mins. Serve.

Everything old is new again

notimeforporridge — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 05:55:24 +0000

In recent years ‘retro’ has been a consistently popular buzzword in areas ranging from furniture to fashion to food. Jargon aside the rediscovery and often reinvention of food classics has generally been a good thing. I have touched on this topic before on the post entitled ‘Living in 70′s or the theory of eternal recurrence’ from March 2011. The other day I was reading a book called Recipes My Mother Cooked which includes recipes from the mothers of well known food identities including Maggie Beer, Damien Pignolet, Ian Hemphill and Jill Dupleix among others. I had just returned from my parents’ place in the country with some beautiful freshly laid eggs that they had given me so it was the recipe for ‘Old-fashioned Egg and Bacon Pie’ from Jill Dupleix’s mother, Rosemary, that caught my attention. I kept the recipe pretty basic but I added some shredded spinach, finely sliced spring onion and freshly grated Parmesan just to give it a bit more colour and flavour, these additions are optional. I also made my own pastry but it is fine to use frozen puff pastry sheets if you wish.

Old-Fashioned Egg and Bacon Pie

Egg and Bacon Pie is a great picnic food

Ingredients

1 quantity pastry (see May 2011 ‘Easy Chicken and Leek Pie’ for the recipe) or 4 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed

4 rashers streaky bacon (rind removed)

10 free range eggs

100 ml milk

3 tbs flat leaved parsley (chopped)

3 or 4 spring onions (green part only, finely sliced)

1 tbs freshly grated Parmesan

spinach leaves (finely shredded)

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

grated nutmeg

1 extra egg (beaten)

Method

Preheat the oven to 190°C. Line a lightly buttered 22 or 23cm pie dish with pastry, patching to fit as necessary and allowing it to overlap the edges. Chop the bacon and fry in a dry frypan until lightly cooked. Set aside to cool. Whisk 6 eggs with the milk, parsley, nutmeg, Parmesan, spring onions, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Arrange half the bacon and half the shredded spinach on the pastry and pour on the egg mixture. One by one, crack the remaining eggs into a cup and gently slip into the mixture. Top with the remaining bacon and spinach. Brush the pastry rim with the extra beaten egg and lay the remaining pastry over the top. Crimp the edges with your fingers or the tines of a fork and trim off excess pastry. Brush the top with beaten egg and bake for 15 mins. then reduce the heat to 170° C for a further 25 – 30 mins or until golden brown. Leave in the dish to cool for 30 minutes before removing. Allow to cool to room temperature before serving.

The addition of whole eggs makes the pie look pretty when you slice

Note: if using the home made pastry you will probably only need about 2/3 of the quantity made. Save the other 1/3 for something else.

I’m not mincing words – pork gets skewered!

notimeforporridge — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 04:08:46 +0000

The pork mince from Footscray market is cheaper and of a better quality than anything you might find on a plastic tray in the supermarket meat display. I find, when buying meat from the market, that it pays to have a quick look at all the stalls from a distance first, comparing prices and quality as you go, before returning to your stall of choice to make your purchase. This way you avoid being accosted at every stall when you are only looking. I bought 1/2 a kilo of pork mince for a couple of dollars and gathered some Vietnamese aromatics and flavorings from the vegetable and grocery stalls. With this I made these tasty skewers.

Vietnamese Pork Skewers

Tasty Vietnamese pork skewers

Ingredients

500g pork mince

1 tbs fish sauce

1 tbs light soy sauce

1 tbs shao hsing wine

1 tbs fish sauce

1 large or 2 small stalks lemongrass (white part only, finely chopped)

2 birds eye chillies (finely chopped)

2 tbs fresh coriander (finely chopped, roots, stalks and leaves)

2 pink shallots (finely chopped)

1 tbs grated palm sugar

16 bamboo skewers (soaked in warm water for an hour)

For dipping sauce:

2 tbs fish sauce

2 tbs lime juice

1 tbs grated palm sugar

1 tsp chilli flakes

Method

Combine pork mince with all other ingredients in a large bowl. Using clean hands, mix until all ingredients are incorporated. Cover and refrigerate for 30 mins. Take small amounts of the meat mixture and mold onto skewers. Grill until nicely browned and cooked through. Combine dipping sauce ingredients and adjust to taste remembering to check the balance of hot, salty, sweet and sour flavours. Serve pork skewers with iceberg lettuce for wrapping, dipping sauce and jasmine rice.

Pork Belly Futures

notimeforporridge — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 01:12:32 +0000

No, I haven’t suddenly started gambling on the stock exchange, the investment I made was of a more humble nature – it was a 1.5 kg piece of beautiful, meaty pork belly from Footscray Market. I was eager to try the twice cooked method, where the meat is either steamed or braised for a couple of hours and then finished off on a roasting tray in the oven. I wasn’t aiming for the skin to be too crispy as this is not how the Chinese serve it, the texture is more gelatinous and a bit chewy. If you wanted to crisp the skin a little more you could put it under a grill briefly being careful not to burn it. The result I achieved was meltingly tender and very tasty, I served it with rice and braised Pak Choy but you could serve it with and an Asian ‘slaw’ or sliced with condiments and coriander on a white roll like the famous Vietnamese pork baguettes.

Braised and Roasted Pork Belly

Tender and delicious pork belly

Ingredients

1.5 kg piece of pork belly

sea salt

For the marinade:

2 tbs Shao Hsing wine

2 tbs Hoisin sauce

3 tbs light soy sauce

1 tbs dark soy sauce

1 tbs peanut oil

1 tsp honey

2 tbs chopped coriander root

1 knob ginger (roughly sliced)

2 cloves garlic (sliced)

1 tsp Chinese five spice powder

2 whole star anise

Method

In a ceramic baking dish, mix together all ingredients for the marinade. Combine well. Place the pork fat side down in the marinade and then turn it over making sure the whole piece is well coated. Turn over again so that it is fat side down and spoon some marinade from the sides over the piece of meat. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Pre-heat oven to 180°C. Remove cling film from dish, turn the meat over again so it is fat side up. Pour a half a cup of water or chicken stock into the dish and cover with aluminium foil. Place on the middle shelf of the oven and roast for 2 hours turning the baking dish occasionally. Remove from the oven and transfer the meat, fat side up to a metal baking dish with a cake rack in the bottom. Sprinkle the skin of the meat with some sea salt. Turn the oven up to 200-220°C (depending on your oven) and place the meat on the top shelf. Roast for a further hour turning the baking dish occasionally and checking to see that the skin does not burn (the skin will be quite dark due to the marinade). Slice and serve with your choice of Asian side dishes.