Tuesday 28 October 2014

Chargrilled Eggplant And Zucchini Salad

After a long weekend away in Tasmania, eating and drinking lots of delicious things, I was in desperate need of some simple vegetables!

As much as I love to eat out and enjoy new and different food, nothing beats a simple homemade meal.

With a few vegies left in the fridge before we headed away, I knew that they needed to be made into something before they would be wasted. This salad is the result of using up leftovers, and I must admit that it was pretty tasty.

The creamy Danish feta combined with the oil and lemon juice to make a lovely dressing on the vegetables. Being chargrilled first, the zucchini and eggplant were nice and soft, but still with a little bit of bite. You could also roast some red capsicum and add that to the salad for extra sweetness.




I served my salad so that the vegetables were still warm. I think the flavour in the eggplant and zucchini are much nicer when they aren't too cold. If you were preparing the vegetables earlier in the day, either take them out of the fridge an hour or so before serving to warm up, or give them a short burst in the microwave to heat them up.

Toasted almonds would also be perfect in this salad, if you didn't have any pinenuts. You just want something to add a little bit of toasty crunchiness.

Enjoy this salad on it's own or with some beautiful fresh crusty bread and butter.



Chargrilled Eggplant And Zucchini Salad


1 eggplant
1 zucchini
3 spring onions, trimmed and white and inner green parts cut into thin rounds
2 tsp toasted pinenuts, plus extra to serve
50g Danish feta, diced
A handful each of baby spinach and rocket
A sprig of parlsey, leaves coarsely chopped
1 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Slice eggplant and zucchini lengthways into 5mm thin slices.
Spray with an oil spray and season lightly with salt and pepper.
Heat a grill pan over medium heat and grill vegies for 2-3 minutes each side or until grill marks form and the vegetables are soft. The eggplant will need a little bit longer to soften.
Remove from the pan and allow to cool slightly.
Thinly slice each piece of eggplant or zucchini into long strips. You should get about 4 strips from the zucchini and 5 or 6 from the eggplant.
Put the eggplant and zucchini strips in a bowl with the spring onions, pinenuts, rocket, baby spinach, parsley and feta.
In a small jar, combine the extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. Season the taste and shake to combine.
Pour about half of the dressing over the salad and toss well to combine. The feta should 'melt' and make a creamy dressing. Season to taste.

Serve the salad piled on to plates, topped with a few extra toasted pinenuts.

Enjoy!



Thursday 23 October 2014

Spring Salad

With the weather generally warming up, salads are becoming a lot more popular in the eat quaff laugh household. Melbourne has ridiculously variable weather in Spring, so one day it's hot, the next its cold and wet with thunderstorms. Trying to come up with appropriate food is impossible!

Salads for us at the moment tend to be a bit more substantial than the hot summer ones, because you still have an appetite and want something filling.

I love a good roasted vegie salad. Firstly, they taste good, but also I can roast the vegies the day before if I need to, so that it's really easy to toss the ingredients together when it gets to dinner time. If you are using pre-roasted vegies, you'll need to heat them up in the microwave or the oven so that they aren't too cold.

Roasting vegies always brings out a beautiful sweetness in them as they caramelise in the oven. My favourites are pumpkin, sweet potato, onion and beetroot, but you could really use whatever takes your fancy. Paired with some fresh greens, this makes a very satisfying meal.




I served this salad with a beautiful piece of crispy skinned salmon, but you could serve it with any sort of meat, or just on its own with some crusty bread and butter for a vegetarian option.


Roasted Vegie Salad

1 sweet potato
1 red onion
6 cloves of garlic, in the skins
A drizzle of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
A bunch of asparagus, woody ends snapped off
A big handful of baby spinach leaves
A big handful of rocket leaves
1Tbs or so of your favourite bought or homemade dressing (preferable an oil/vinegar mix, rather than creamy)


Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Prepare the sweet potato by peeling and then cutting into roughly 1cm thick slices. Cut these slices into halves or quarters, depending on the size of your sweet potato.
Peel the onion and cut into 8 wedges lengthwise.
Toss the onion, whole garlic cloves and sweet potato in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and then tip onto a baking tray.
Roast in the oven for 30 mins or until the onion and sweet potato are soft and browning around the edges. If the onion is cooked before the sweet potato, remove it from the oven when it's done.
Set the vegies aside to cool slightly.
Place the asparagus spears in a heat proof container. Pour boiling water over them and let them sit for 3-5 minutes depending on the thickness of the spears.
Drain once they are tender and refresh under cool water. Cut the spears into half lengthways.

To make the salad, combine sweet potato, onion, garlic and asparagus in a bowl. Toss through rocket and baby spinach. Dress with your favourite dressing and season to taste.

Enjoy!




Monday 20 October 2014

Cornelius Cheese

Most of you probably know by now that I love cheese and wine. In my world, there is nothing better than sitting down on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon with a nice bottle of wine and platter of a couple of cheeses, crackers, dried fruit and nuts. In fact that's exactly what happened at our house this weekend. 

My husband was on dinner duty and decided that a nice bottle of Port Phillip Estate Pinot Noir would go down perfectly with a Yarra Valley Dairy Black Savourine (an ashed white mould goat's cheese) and a chicken and pistachio pate. It was an absolutely lovely way to spend an afternoon.





Usually we buy our cheese from the market or from our local IGA, which stocks a really good range of Australian and international cheeses. As much as I love to go to the market, sometimes it's just not that easy to head into the city to pick up a few pieces of cheese.

When I first heard about a new cheesemonger opening in Brunswick, I was super excited because it meant that I might not have to make the trek to the city to pick up some cheese. I have been excitedly  following Cornelius Cheese on Facebook and watching their development. Today they opened their online cheese store. Yay!

This morning I dropped in to say hi to owner and self-confessed cheese nerd, Matt Steele. He very generously showed me around the cheese room and let me taste a couple of the cheeses on offer. The Brillat Savarin was chalky, but creamy, and absolutely delicious. The Beaufort D'Alpage, from the Savoie region of France, was smooth and creamy, made from raw cow's milk.



Image courtesy of Cornelius Cheese

Cornelius Cheese does not actually have a retail store, so I was very lucky that Matt let me have a look around.  He selects the best cheeses on a weekly basis and that's what's on offer through the store. Some lavosh are also available to go with the cheeses and Matt is hoping to have a small selection of other cheese-matching produce available in the near future.

All cheeses can be cut to specified sizes, of if you were catering for a large crowd, you could have a whole wheel. The cheese can be picked up directly from the 'cheese cave' in Brunswick or delivered to your home or work-place. 

Not only do Cornelius Cheese deliver beautiful cheeses to you, they will also create cheese platters for catering or cheese 'cakes' as an alternative to a wedding cake for your special celebration.



Image courtesy of Cornelius Cheese

If you live in Melbourne, I urge you to visit www.corneliuscheese.com.au to check out Matt's range of beautiful cheese. You certainly won't be disappointed!



Thursday 16 October 2014

Vegie Stacks

For this week's vegetarian meal, I thought I'd try and get a bit creative and do some thing different. It's so easy to get into a rut and just do the same old things week in and week out!

I saw some beautiful zucchini and eggplant at the fruit shop and decided that chargrilled vegies were going to be the way to go. With a pack of haloumi in the fridge and a few other bits and pieces, my mind was made up.

Vegie stacks are a bit 90's, but I figured that these would be pretty tasty none the less.  I layered the grilled zucchini, eggplant and haloumi and then baked it in the oven until the vegies were really soft. To give a nice crispy topping, I used grated parmesan, panko bread crumbs and some pine nuts, which browned up nicely in the oven.




The sauce I served it with was blended roasted red capsicum and hummus, but you could use any dip, pesto or tomato pasta sauce you had on hand. I didn't have time to make my own hummus, so don't worry if it's shop bought, rather than homemade!

This dish does take a little bit of preparation, but you could easily grill the vegies and make the hummus one night and then prepare the stacks the next. If you do, you might need to cook the stacks for a bit longer as the vegies will be cold, rather than warm.

Let's revive the 90's vegetarian line-up with something a bit more modern!


Grilled Vegie Stacks With Red Capsicum Hummus




1 medium zucchini
1 medium eggplant
200g packet of haloumi
1 Tbs grated parmesan cheese
1 Tbs panko bread crumbs
2 tsp pine nuts
Olive oil spray
Salt and pepper to taste
1 roasted red capsicum, skin removed
1/2 cup hummus
A handful of oregano leaves
Rocket to serve


Slice zucchini and eggplant lengthwise into 5mm thick slices.
Heat a chargrill pan on medium heat.
Spray vegie slices and grill for about 2 minutes on each side or until there are brown grill marks and the vegetables have softened. The eggplant may need slightly longer.
Repeat with all the slices and set aside.
Cut the haloumi into 5mm thick slices and pat dry with kitchen paper.
In the same grill pan on medium heat, grill haloumi for 1 minute each side or until grill marks appear.
Set aside.

To make the hummus, in a small blender, whiz up the roasted red capsicum with the hummus and a few oregano leaves. Season to taste and set aside.

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees.
Line a baking tray with foil.
Build your stacks by layering eggplant, zucchini and haloumi with a spread of the hummus mixture on the vegies. I managed 3 stacks with 3 layers each.
Season the eggplant and zucchini well as you layer.
Sprinkle the panko crumbs and parmesan over the top.




Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until the vegies start to soften and the crumbs brown.
Throw the pine nuts on the top and cook for another 5 minutes, or until the pine nuts have browned.
Remove the stacks from the oven before the pine nuts and crumbs burn!




To serve, place one stack on each plate, sprinkle with the oregano leaves and top with some rocket. Dollop the hummus mixture around the stack.

Enjoy!

Monday 13 October 2014

Neil Perry's Amazing Chicken!

Last week I cooked up a chicken dish by Neil Perry that was in The Age's Good Weekend magazine. I have never cooked lettuce before and was intrigued to try it. The recipe was really quite simple and turned out to be absolutely delicious!

The braised cos lettuce was soft, but not slimy, which I had thought it might be. The sauce had amazing flavour and the chicken on the bone was just so tender. I couldn't get breasts with the wing bone in, so just used thighs on the bone. Having that extra bit of fat made the meat juicy and full of flavour. I also used frozen broad beans because I was a bit lazy and couldn't be bothered double podding fresh ones. If you have the time and inclination to prepare fresh broad beans, I'm sure they'd lift this dish to the next level!




I made this on a weeknight after work, and it really didn't take that long to prepare at all. You could even make it the day before and just reheat it, if that suited you better. The leftovers I had sure made a tasty lunch the next day!

Matched with a lovely Hunter Valley Semillon, this was a beautiful midweek meal. Thanks Neil Perry for a delicious dinner.


Chicken With Braised Baby Cos and Broad Beans



2 cloves of cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
4  chicken breasts, skin on, with wing bone (or skin on, bone in thighs)
1kg broad beans, in the pod (or 250g frozen)
A drizzle of olive oil
100g unsalted butter
2 heads baby cos lettuce (outer leaves removed), cut into eighths
4 small shallots, halved and thinly sliced
2 tbsp bacon, chopped
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste


In a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic and thyme. Rub this mixture into the chicken breasts and season generously. Set aside for the flavours to infuse.

If using fresh broad beans, remove them from the large green pods. Blanch them in boiling salted water for 1 minute, then refresh in iced water and drain. Peel the blanched beans, giving you about 250g of double-peeled beans.

Add a drizzle of oil to a wide, deep pan over medium heat. Place the chicken breasts skin-side down into the pan. Cook slowly until the skin is golden brown then turn over to seal the other side. Remove chicken from pan and drain off any excess fat.

Melt half the butter in the pan then add the lettuce. Brown on both sides and remove. 
Place the sliced shallots into the pan and cook for 5 minutes. Add the bacon and continue to cook until golden. 
Add the wine and increase heat to high, scraping the base of the pan, then reduce for a minute.

Add stock and return chicken to pan, skin-side up. Simmer, covered, over a medium heat for about 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked. 
In the last five minutes before the chicken is cooked, add the lettuce, cover and continue to simmer until the lettuce is braised but still holding its shape.

Remove the chicken and lettuce from the braising liquid and keep warm. Add the remaining butter then cook the sauce over a high heat until reduced and glossy.

Just before serving, warm the broad beans in the sauce.

Serve the chicken breast on the braised lettuce with the broad beans and sauce poured over the top.

Enjoy!


And To Drink....





The Hunter Valley is known for its Semillon and Tyrrell's Wines would have be one of the most well known wineries from the area. We visited the Hunter Valley for a friend's wedding some years ago and picked up this bottle of liquid gold then.

Being nine years old the 2005 Single Vineyard 'Stevens' Semillon had a beautiful golden colour and aromas of quince, apple and lemon. There was still some lovely acidity, but also nice toasty flavours. Given that this Semillon was not oaked at all, it still had a beautiful complexity and rounded mouthfeel.

Neil Perry recommended having a Chardonnay with the chicken, but an aged Semillon was also a perfect match. The acidity balanced the richness of the chicken skin and the stock based sauce. I used this wine in the sauce as well, so the flavours married very well.

If you've never really tried a Semillon, but drink a lot of Chardonnay, then I urge you to give this variety a try. It is beautiful when enjoyed fresh and young when it has nice crisp acidity, but also fabulous with a bit of age on it, when it becomes rich and complex.

Thursday 9 October 2014

Coconut, Strawberry And Macadamia Loaf

I love to bake, but prefer to make simple, everyday cakes, slices and biscuits that I can indulge in every day. Sometimes the super rich, fancy treats can be a bit too much. Plus, they don't really last, so unless we're having a dinner party, I tend to avoid making them. I'm really the only sweet-tooth in the house as well, so if I make something sweet, I end up eating the whole thing. Not great for the waistline!

With strawberries being so cheap and beautiful at the moment, I couldn't resist coming up with a recipe to use them. I'll still probably make up a couple of batches of strawberry jam for Christmas presents and maybe a cheesecake, but this loaf was lovely.




It's quite a dense loaf, due to the coconut, but would be perfect as an indulgent breakfast or morning tea, toasted and then topped with whipped ricotta and a few fresh strawberries. Yum! Straight out of the oven, it tasted pretty good too.

The strawberries add nice little bursts of sweetness and flavour and the finely chopped macadamias a bit of crunch. 

My breakfast and morning tea for the week is definitely sorted. :-)



Coconut, Strawberry and Macadamia Loaf


2 eggs

1 1/4 cups of milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
70g butter
2 1/2 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon 
1 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
1 cup strawberries, chopped


Preheat oven to 160 degrees.
Grease a 13x23cm loaf tin.
In a small bowl, lightly whisk the eggs, milk and vanilla essence.
In another small bowl, melt the butter in the microwave in 20 second bursts and allow to cool slightly. 
Whisk the cooled butter into the egg mixture. 
In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder and cinnamon.
Add sugar, coconut and macadamia nuts.
Make a well in the dry ingredients, and pour in the egg mixture. Stir gently until all combined, but don't over mix.
Gently stir through the strawberries.




Spoon into the loaf tin and bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until a skewer comes out clean. If it seems to be browning too quickly, cover the top loosely with some foil.
Leave to cool slightly in the tin and then turn out onto a rack to cool.
Serve as is or cut into thick slices and toast.

Enjoy!


Tuesday 7 October 2014

Carrot And Feta Fritters

Over the past few weeks I've seen recipes for fritters popping up all over the internet. It must be a sign!

I've always loved making zucchini fritters and corn fritters are wonderful for breakfast, lunch or dinner! Add a runny poached egg and crispy bacon for a weekend brunch or a herb yoghurt and flatbread or wraps for a light dinner. They really are so versatile.

These carrot and feta fritters were inspired by my fridge contents. I had a bag of carrots, a wedge of creamy Danish feta and a few eggs that needed using up. The coriander in the garden was starting to bolt and so I wanted to use it up too. The end result were these tasty fritters. I served them with chilli coriander yoghurt, a cos lettuce, tomato and capsicum salad and mountain bread. We made them into wraps and gobbled them up in no time. Even the kids loved them, minus the chilli. It's always great when everyone enjoys the same meal.



If you don't like chilli, or are serving this to little ones, just leave out the chilli in the yoghurt. It really is just to taste, so you can add a little or a lot, depending on how hot you like it.

If you have any leftovers, fritters are great reheated for lunch the next day.


Carrot And Feta Fritters With Chilli Coriander Yoghurt



1 large carrot, grated
1/2 cup coriander, finely chopped
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
1/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup Danish feta, diced
Pepper
A drizzle of oil for frying

1/2 cup natural yoghurt
A pinch of chilli flakes (or to taste)
1 Tbs coriander, finely chopped

In a large bowl, combine the carrot, coriander, eggs, garlic, shallot, flour, milk and feta. Season to taste with pepper. There is enough salt in the feta, so you shouldn't need to add any more.
Heat a drizzle of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Fry 3-4 fritters at a time, depending on the size of your pan. About 1/4 cup mixture makes a good sized fritter.
Fry for 1-2 minutes each side or until golden brown. Flip and cook on the other side.
Remove from pan to a plate and keep warm. Repeat with the remaining mixture.

In a separate bowl, combine the yoghurt, chilli and coriander.

Serve the fritters with the yoghurt and salad and wraps, if you like.

Enjoy!




Thursday 2 October 2014

Roasted Cauliflower

  • I like trying to find new recipes for vegetarian dishes to have on Meat Free Monday, or any day of the week really. Being a bit of a carnivore, my repertoire is a bit limited.

    After making the cauliflower 'steak' that we had with the turkey shanks last week, I had more or less half a cauliflower to use up. I didn't feel like making soup again, so I searched the interwebs for ideas. I came across a recipe for roasted cauliflower on the Bon Appetit website and modified it to use extra ingredients that I had in the cupboard and fridge. 

    This dish is the result. It was perfect as a light vegetarian meal, but would also be great as a side dish with meat or fish. Make sure you season it well, otherwise the cauliflower can be a little bland.

    The roasted capsicum added some beautiful sweetness and the macadamias some crunch. I used yellow capsicum, but you could use red if thats what you had. To make it slightly more interesting, add some crispy bacon just before you serve it. It might not be meat free, but it sure would be tasty!



    Roasted Cauliflower with Capsicum, Macadamia Nuts and Parmesan




    1/2 a cauliflower, cut into florets
    1 red onion, cut into 8 wedges
    4 whole garlic cloves, peeled
    4 sprigs of thyme
    1 Tbs olive oil
    1 yellow capsicum, roasted and torn into bite sized pieces
    1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
    1 Tbs chopped macadamia nuts
    Salt and pepper to taste


    Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
    Place cauliflower, onion, garlic and thyme on a baking tray and drizzle with oil. Toss to coat and season well with salt and pepper.
    Roast, turning occasionally, for 35 minutes, or until the cauliflower is starting to soften.
    Remove from the oven, add the roasted capsicum and macadamia nuts and toss to combine.
    Sprinkle with the parmesan and return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown.
    Serve on its own or with meat or fish.

    Enjoy!