Kugelhopf....

I was watching Food Safari on SBS a few weeks, and it was a show on the Jewish community and food in Australia.. and I saw a beautiful poppy seed Kugelhopf cake and became pre-occupied for the next couple of weeks with the image of those wonderful moulded cakes with dark stripes of poppy seeds. It took me a while to locate my recipe, my very old kugelhopf tin which has only ever seen short bursts of attention over the last 20 + years... and finally, the poppy seeds which were nowhere to be found except at the supermarket.
I love yeast cakes.. they were some of the first cakes I learned to master, and I could never understand why there was any apprehension about cooking yeast cakes.. they are sooooo easy.
For this recipe, I kept the dough much moister than previously and I used my much loved kitchen aide. I used less poppy seeds than the recipe and added saffron for colour and a bit of flavour as I couldn't justify the 6 egg yolks in the original recipe.

Creme Brulee with Black Sticky Rice

My son, Jorge, asked me to make this at home after we had it at Hanuman Restaurant here in Alice Springs. I think I've got it right.. finally. A couple of tips... please don't use that horrid thickened cream. There is one brand of Pure Cream that is worth buying... apart from some incredibly expensive gourmet or organic brands.

Ingredients
1 cup black sticky rice
1/3 cup castor sugar
water

4 egg yolks
400 mls fresh pure cream
100ml full cream milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean or vanilla extract

Method
Soak rice overnight in cold water. Rinse, and cook for around 1 hour. 15 minutes before the rice is cooked, add the sugar. Allow to cool.

Ricotta Cheesecake

Over the past 18 months I like to think I have perfected this cheesecake. Last night I made if for the first time without a recipe and it was fab.
Try and use 'real ricotta' for this recipe. Here I refer to the slabs you buy by the kilogram at your deli or supermarket deli. The prepackaged ricotta will suffice, but the texture is quite different and it has a host of additional ingredients to make it last a lot longer. I used to buy hot ricotta directly from the factory in Melbourne, and it would only last a couple of days, in comparison the prepackaged ricotta have very long expiry dates.
You can adapt the ingredients in the filling: if you don't like sultanas, don't use them. Same for preserved orange. My sister adds a little bit of dark cooking chocolate, but I'm not such a fan. Also, taste the filling once you've made it and add sugar etc as required.

Ingredients:
1 quantity of shortcrust pastry made with 250gms flour, and 125 gms butter. (Refer previous recipe in blog.)
500gms fresh ricotta
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
vanilla bean (or equivalent)
2 slices preserved orange, diced
2 tablespoons brandy or desert wine
grated rind of 1 orange
grated rind of 1 lemon
1/3 cup pine nuts
1 egg beaten with a tbs milk for top pastry.

Optional:
1/2 cup sultanas
small quantity of dark chocolate roughly chopped
1-2 tbs cream

Method

1. Butter a 22 cm spring form cake tin or square/rectangular quiche tin.
2. Roll out pastry and line cake tin. (Reserving around a quarter for the top). Prick pastry with fork.
3. Line pastry with baking paper and put baking beans in.
   
4. Cook in 170 degree oven for 15 minutes. Take out, remove baking paper and beans and cook for 5 more minutes. Take out and cool. (This is referred to as a 'blind bake'.)
   
5. Reserve any of the unused pastry for top of cheesecake.
6. Soak preserved orange and sultanas in alcohol for around 10 minutes.
7. Combine all the filling ingredients and lightly whisk.
8. Pour mixture into pie shell and sprinkle top with pinenuts.
9. Roll out remaining pastry and cut into strips.
10. Create a lattice effect with remaining pastry and brush with egg mixture.
11. Bake in 180 degree oven for 45 minutes. You may need to move the cake around in the oven, and watch the top for burning.
12. Allow to cool before serving.

Ragout

This is the first meal I learned to cook. I came home from school one day when I was 12 and my mother had left me a note on what to cook for dinner and how. (She would make regular trips to Townsville, that hub of north Queensland). I have never been sure why she chose me, rather than my three elder sisters (evidently my two younger sisters and brother were too young) .... but I like to think it's because she recognised my early prowess as a cook and my interest in food in general, but my mother has since passed away so one can only guess.. and of course my sisters don't always agree with my version of events in the ongoing battle about who is the best cook in the family.

Ingredients
1-2 onions, finely diced
2-3 cloves garlic
2-3 tbs virgin olive oil
500 gm beef or pork, diced into 1cm cubes
1/2 cup good red wine
1 tin tomatoes
1/2 cup milk
bay leaves
rosemary
salt & pepper to taste

Method
Heat 2 tbs olive oil in heavy cast iron enamel pot, or whatever you have. Add onions and garlic and saute until soft.
In a separate pan (frying pan), heal olive oil and add meat.
Brown meat, then add to onion mixture.
Pour red wine into frying pan and scrape out bits of brown clinging to surface, and add to onion mixture (which is still on a low heat.)
Add tomatoes and herbs.
Place lid on pot and cook for 2-3 hours.
After around two hours, add the milk and continue to cook. You may want to add water.
Add salt at end, to taste.

This sauce is much better if left for a day.

Serve with home made parpadelle or penne, and parmesan cheese from a block. (Under no circumstances use pre-grated packaged parmesan.)
.... and of course with a salad, after the meal in a clean plate.
.... and a glass of good pinot noir.

Enjoy!

Football Final Kangaroo Party Pies

You could approach the (second) football final through colours: lamingtons for Collingwood supporters and Black Forrest Cherry Cake for Saint Kilda Supporters. But let's face it, footy watching is not a tea party occasion. You need something simple, that doesn't require too much eye-hand co-ordination and that goes well with beer... and salty or savoury. The obvious food is Pies. I am going to put out a challenge to forgo the frozen party pies and create some special pies for footy watching tomorrow... In addition to the pies already listed here, how about a Kangaroo Party Pie?

Ingredients
2 sheets puff pastry
3 sheets shortcrust pastry or one quantity (made with 250 gms flour, 125gm butter etc)
200 - 250 gm kangaroo fillet, diced into 1cm squares
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1-2 tbs olive oil
1/4 cup red wine
1 desertspoon favourite chutney
1 cup stock
salt
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 tbs worcestershire sauce (optional)
1 tablespoon cornflour dissolved in a little cold water (optional)
salt and pepper
sesame seeds for garnish
1 egg, lightly beaten
butter for greasing pie shells or muffin tins

Method

1. Grease 12 small pie shells or a 12 hole muffin tin with butter.
2. Preheat over to 180 degrees celcius.
3. Heat olive in heavy pot, add onions and garlic and cook until soft.
4. Add diced kangaroo and brown on all sides.
5. Add: chutney, tomato paste, worcestershire sauce, stock, salt and pepper and bring to simmer.
6. Continue to cook until meat is tender.
7. You can leave the lid on or off, but there must be enough liquid when you are finished for the filling. I suggest you keep the lid on, and take it off 15 minutes before you think it will be finished.
8. Add cornflour mixture 5 minutes before you are finished cooking filling. Stir through while sauce thickens.
9. When the filling is cooked to your taste, take off the heat and cool.
10. Roll out out shortcrust pastry to 7cm rounds and line pie/muffin tins..
11. Brush edges with egg.
12. Add cooled mixture, making sure you don't fill the tins too much.
13. Cut out 6 cm rounds of puff pastry and lay over filling, lighting pressing edges.
14. Brush with egg, sprinkle with sesame seeds and make a few slits in pie for steam to escape.
15. Bake for between 20 and 30 minutes, keeping an eye on the puff pastry which may brown quickly. You may need to put a sheet of paper over the top.

Enjoy.

Emapandas

I adapt the original recipe I have for Empanadas de Horno and use a yeast dough rather than a shortcrust. Either will do.

Ingredients
Filling
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
250 gm lean tender beef cut into small cubes or mince
1 tbs sultanas
1 scant tsp dried chilli (optional)
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp ground cumin
salt
freshly ground black pepper

To prepare
1/2 kg shortcrust or plain yeast dough
2 hard boiled eggs
6 stoned green or black olives

Method
For Filling
Heat olive oil in frying pan, and gently fry onions until soft.
Add chilli, paprika and cummin and heat through for 2 minutes.
Add meat and brown.
Add sultanas, salt/pepper to taste and 3 tbs water.
Heat through until the water evaporates.
Set aside

Mushroom & Beef Pie (in Sour Cream Pastry)

I have been making this pie for many years. This recipe is adapted from the Scandanavian Timelife Cookbook, the book I have here is my mother's and is over 30 years old.. This recipe is from Finland.
Pastry Ingredients
300 gms plaint flour
pinch salt
185 gm unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1cm pieces
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream
butter for greasing tray

Filling Ingredients
Extra Virgin olive oil or butter for fying (around 2 tbs of )
125 gm (approx) finely chopped mushrooms
250gm-300gm lean minced beef
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup milk

1 egg combined with 2 tbs milk

Method
Sour Cream Pastry

1. Sift flour and salt together.
2. Rub in butter until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. (Alternatively you can use a food processor, but after this point, return the mixture to a large bowl.)
3. In a separate bowl, mix together egg and sour cream.
4. Make a well in centre of flour mixture and pour in egg & sour cream mixture.
5. Work dough gently and pull together into a pliable ball. (Do not over knead).
6. Cover in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator.

Filling

1. Melt butter or heat olive oil, and sautee onions for 5 minutes.
2. Add mushrooms and continue to saute for another 5 minutes.
3. Add meat and cook cook for around 6 to 8 minutes.
4. Put mixture into bowl.
5. When mixture is cool, add parsley cheese and milk.

Putting it together.

1. Divide pastry in half.
2. Roll out one piece into a rectangle, approximately 15 cm by 30-35 cm, and place on buttered jam roll tin (or line with baking paper).
3. Gather meat mixture into ball and place in centre of dough, to resemble a log. Brush water along edges.
4. Roll out the second piece of pastry so it is a big bigger than the first and lay over the mixture.
5. Brush pastry with egg and milk mixture. Trim.
6. Gather remaining pastry, roll out and cut into 1 cm strips.
7. Make a lattice trim on pastry.
8. Pinch edges together.
9. Prick the top of the loaf in several places.
10. Brush top again with egg and milk mixture.
11. Cook in oven, set at 180 degrees celsius for around 45 minutes.
12. Allow to cool a bit ans serve with sour cream.

Zucchini Pie

This is one of my absolutely favourite pie recipes... not much to add, just follow the recipe. The amounts listed here are from memory, and I might adjust them in the next few days when I get around to making this again. You will need a quiche tin with a removable base (around 22 cm in diameter.)
Ingredients
Pastry
125 gm wholemeal flour
125 gm plain flour
60ml extra virgin olive oil
60 gm unsalted butter
small amount of iced water with lime or lemon juice

Filling
4 X medium sized zucchini
1/2 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup cooked brown rice (optional)
3 eggs
1/2 cup grated mature cheddar
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan
black pepper

butter for greasing quiche tin

Method

1. Butter quiche tin.
2. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.
3. Combine flours with salt.
4. Rub butter and oil into flour and pull together with water.
5. Place in fridge.
6. Pour 3 tbs olive oil into large frying pan and saute onion and garlic until soft.
7. Add zucchini and continue to saute until soft and a little brown. Allow to cool.
8. Beat eggs.
9. Add zucchini (rice if using) and cheeses to egg, leaving a table spoon of grated parmesan aside.
10. Cut two thirds of dough and roll thin. (You may need to place it between plastic sheets to roll out.
11. Lay pastry over buttered quiche tin, and trip edges.
12. Pour filling onto pastry.
13. Roll out remaining pastry with any left over bits. Try and roll it out so it is a rectangular shape.
14. Cut strips with a serrated cutter.
15. Layer pastry strips over filling in a lattice design.
16. Sprinkle with parmesan.
17. Place in oven for around 40 minutes.
18. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Spanakopita

Melissa's Spanakopita in Smith Street, Collingwood, sets the benchmark for Spanakopita. (check out http://indolentdandy.net/fitzroyalty/2009/06/22/tiropita-at-melissa-on-smith-st/)
I would often see hungry people lining up outside at lunch-time waiting patiently for the Spanakopita to come out of the oven..it was worth the wait. What made so fantastic was the filo for a start, which was made by the shop, and the ratio of pastry to filling was perfect.... not too much filling.
So, I suggest to make a good Spanakopita, try making your own filo... really it's not that hard. But not something to do if you're in a hurry or impatient in the kitchen. Check out the Greek episode of My Family Feast on SBS... it inspired me to make home-made filo.
Back to Spanakopita.. and my constant catch phrase.. it's all about balance. For Spanakopita it's about balancing the spinach with the cheese...
This receipe is adapated from a couple of different sources.. remember, you can use whatever greens you want.

Ingredients:
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 eschallots (scallions/springs onions) finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbs fennel seeds
1 bunch spinach or similar green, washed and stalks cut
1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley
salt
freshly ground black pepper
100-200 gm fetta
3 eggs
parmesan cheese
filo pastry
melted butter

Method
1. Heat olive oil in large heavy frying pan over medium heat, and onions, garlic, fennel seeds and springs onions and sautee until nice and soft. To do this you will need to turn the heat to low.
2. Add spinach and cook until soft (around 5 minutes.)
3. Add pepper and allow to cool.
4. In another bowl, beat eggs and add feta and parmesan.
5. Preheat oven to around 180 degrees.
6. Grease the bottom of tray with butter, and layer each piece of filo, spreading with melted butter, until you have used around 8 sheets. Make sure you line the sides as well.
7. Combine spinach mixture, with egg mixture and parsley. Add salt to taste
8. Pour spinach mixture into/over filo and spread evenly.
9. Lay another layer of filo on top, and repeat the layering process with butter until you have used another 8 layers. Spread butter on the final layer.
10.Trim excess pastry from around edge and cut into across diagonally (both directions) half-way through pie. (Don't cut to bottom).
11. Bake for around 45 minutes to 1 hour until brown.

I like to cool my spanakopita a bit before eating, but this is personal taste.

I serve this with a salad of roma tomatoes and black olives, with red wine vinegar.

Pies

I love pies.. I love the way they are self-contained, with a crisp filling-proof case and that special something special inside. I often think they are the perfect portable food with treasure like appeal.
I still have pie shells I bought when I was 16 and I have tried many, many pie recipes. Most cultures have their own version of a pie, from samosas to a good ole' aussie beef pies... These are some of my favourites with recipes to follow:

• Swedish mushroom and meat roll..
• Chicken and vegetable pie...
• Spanakopita...
• Empanadas ...
  
• Tuna Empanadas ...
  
• Zucchini pie...
• Pork and red cabbage pie..
• Pide ...
  

I'm currently working on and adapating carrot and kevlograviera pie..
My tip for good pie making is to choose the right pastry for the filling: shortcrust, puff, filo, yeast etc..... and to make sure the filling is flavoured and adequately cooked according to how long it will take to cook the pastry... get the balance right.

'Bush Tomato' aka desert raisin aka yakajirri (Solanum Centrale)

I am not a bush foods expert. I know very little about bush foods.. I have cooked with bush foods a few times (bush coconut, bush potato, bush banana, wattleseed) and eaten a bit of flesh (witchetty grubs, goanna, emu, bush turkey, kangaroo, turtle - under sufferance) and raw foods (bush apple, bush banana, bush tomato, yakajirri...) I have even purchased Peter Latz's 'Bushfires & Bushtucker', and am wondering why I didn't make better use of my 7 years in Yuendumu... possibly preoccupied with Indigenous media matters..
But now I am starting to take a culinary interest.. wondering what bush foods could be used in cooking or replace other ingredients....
I am pondering the yakajirri.. known as the 'Bush Tomato' by bush foods industry pundits, but by locals in Alice Springs and beyond by a miriad of names: desert raisin, bush sultana, yakajirri... etc.. I have read that this fruit, is one of the most important foods for Aboriginal people in Central Australia. Looking not unlike a sultana, its flavours are typical of the complexity of Australian bush foods.. It's sweet and bitter with an amazing after taste..
I tasted a roasted parsnip and bush tomato soup at Olive Pink last year.. and it was a wonderful homage to this food.
You also find bush tomato in condiments like: bush tomato chutney, bush tomato dip, there's a Sticky Bush Tomato Balsamic..

I'm about to try adapt some recipes for this ingredient. I am wanting a recipe that celebrates the bitterness and sweetness of this fruit, and I am tending towards Italian, as usual. Not just because I know and love Italian cooking, but because the Italians celebrate bitterness... radiccio, chinotto... I'm sure there's more..
So, my intention is to try out Yakajirrin in panneforte and a Roman ricotta cheesecake. Right now, I'm soaking some in a sugar and pomegranate syrup to see what happens to the bitterness... Watch this space for more reports...

Let's get it right:
What is sold in shops as Bush Tomato is not the bush tomato I've eaten on the side of the road around Yuendumu back roads. This was a fresh green fruit (Solanum chippendalei), locally known as a bush tomato, in contrast to the 'Bush Tomato/aka/Desert Raisin/Yakajirri I have written about... But, it seems, for the sake of consistency one name must dominate... and so we have Bush Tomato. A point of interest I discovered today, is that the Solanum chippenadei is now officially called the Tanami Apple.

Orecchiette & Broccoli

This is a new favourite of mine which I've been working for at least the last 12 months. A couple of tips.. only cook this if you have good (preferably organic) broccoli and the real deal Orecchiette (little ears or ear lobes), or you make your own.
Ingredients
150- 250 gms Orecchiette (ear lobe pasta)
Salted water
Broccoli (around 350 to 500 gms)
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
Anchovies (small tin, roughly chopped)
Red Chillis
2-3 tablespoons Olive Oil (Extra Virgin)
Parsley (flat leaf)
Black pepper
Parmesan to serve

Method

1. Bring salted to water to boil in large pot and add orecchiette.
2. The next step depends on how you like to eat your pasta (al dente) and you like to eat your broccoli. Basically you add the broccoli just at the end of cooking your pasta. They both need to be cooked to your taste at the same time.
3. Strain.
4. At the same time.....
5. Heat 2- 3 tablespoons of Olive Oil in large pan or pot on a low heat.
6. Add crushed garlic (2-3 cloves) and anchovies and continue to cook over low heat.
7. Add chopped chillies.
8. When pasta and broccoli are cooked add to pan, with black pepper and roughly chopped parsley.
9. Serve with parmesan.

For those with fussy children who refuse to eat wonderful things such as chillis or anchovies.. take a portion size out of the boiled pasta/broccoli and add butter, and serve with parmesan. This seems to do the trick

Slow cooked Borlotti Beans with Nutmeg

The ultimate in slow food cooking, this recipe needs to be started at least a day and a half ahead of eating it.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup dried borlotti beans
6 rashes of prosciutto, roughly cut
4 cloves of garlic
freshly grated nutmeg
bay leaves
Salt or grated parmesan to taste

Special Utensils
A ceramic or cast iron enamel pot with a good fitting lid.

Method
1. Soak borlotti beans in cold water overnight or for at least 8 hours. Drain.
2. Set oven to 150 degrees celsius.
3. Place oil in bottom of pot.
4. Crush whole garlic with the back of a knife and put in bottom of pot (still whole or in large chunks), followed by strips of prosciutto.
5. Grate at least a teaspoon of nutmeg on the bottom.
6. Place beans on top and bay leaves.
7. Pour enough cold water to come just above the beans.
8. Place pot in oven and cook for around 6 hours. Let beans stay in oven until the oven is completely cool. Wait at least another 12 hours before eating, although if you're really hungry you can eat them straight away.

Salt to your taste, or use parmesan cheese. Great with fresh chunky bread or as an accompaniment to meat or polenta type dishes.

Persian Love Cake Adapted...

As I said in my earlier June posting on 'Nutmeg', this recipe has been adapted from a recipe in the September 2008 issue of the Australian magazine, Gourmet Traveller. I tried the original, which to my taste was way too sweet. I then remembered a Greek style baked tart my mother would make with honey, eggs, yoghurt and of course nutmeg. I adapted the original recipe, and I reckon it's heaps better.. but that's me commenting on my own recipe.. and I'm biased. Enjoy.. both the cooking and the eating.
Ingredients
360 gm (3 cups) almond meal
110 gm (1/2 cup) brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
120 gm unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs, lightly beaten
400 gm Greek-style yoghurt
1 tbsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 to 1/3 cup pistachio, coarsely chopped

Method
1. Heat over to around 180 degrees celcius. Butter a 26 cm springform cake tin, and line it with baking paper.
2. Combine almonds, sugar and butter and rub together. Spoon half the mixture in tin.
3. Mix together, egg, yoghurt, honey and nutmeg with a spoon whisk. Gradually add to dry mixture and whisk gently until smooth.
4. Pour mixture into cake tine, and sprinkle pistachio nuts around the edge.

5. Bake in oven for between 35 and 40 minutes and cool completely in pan before serving.

Lemon Curd

An old favourite that I use as the filling for lemon meringue pie or lemon tartlets. An indulgent treat by the spoonful.
Ingredients
100 gm unsalted butter, chopped
200 gm castor sugar
2 lemons (juice and rind)
4 egg yolks, beaten

Special utensils
A double boiler, or bowl that can sit over a pot of boiling water without touching the water.

Method
Put butter and sugar in a stainless steel bowl and place over a pot of boiling water. Mix with a wood spoon until butter has melted.
Stir in lemon rind, lemon juice and egg yolks.
Continue to stir until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. (Around 20 minutes).
When thick pour immediately into a clean bowl or jar.

Tips
My mother always told me that if perchance you curdle the mixture, quickly pour a tablespoon of boiling water into the mixture. I've done this heaps of times and it generally works.

Lemon Tart

So easy, you might wonder what all the fuss is about. The following is adapted from the 40th birthday issue of Gourmet Traveller.
Ingredients
5 eggs
200ml double cream (not the stuff with thickener in it)
juice and finely grated rind of 3 lemons

Icing sugar for dusting
(Short crust pastry... recipe under Rhubarb.. plus egg for pastry)


Extra special utensils
blowtorch....

Method
1. Make a shortcrust pastry as per Rhubarb upside down cake and line a buttered 22cm round tart tin with removable base (quiche tin). Bake the pastry blind in the oven for 20 minutes (ie. put baking paper inside pastry and weights inside the baking paper such as baking beans, beans or rice. Remove paper and rice or beans, brush the pastry with egg, and bake it for 5 minutes more until browned.
2. Break (5) eggs into bowl, and sugar and whisk until well combined. Add cream, strained lemon juice and lemon rind and mix well. Pour into tart shell and bake for 15 minutes at 150 degrees celsius.
3. Allow to cool to room temperature and dust heavily with icing sugar or castor sugar. Caramelise top with blowtorch.

Serve with fresh cream.

Lemon Delicious

This recipe is word-for-word lifted from the May 2004 edition of Gourmet Travellers - one of those rare editions that is full of many good recipes.. rather than the one..
"Ingredients:
2 eggs, separated
220 gm (1 cup) caster sugar
1 tablespoon plain flour, sifted
2 tablespoons self-raising flour, sifted
Finely grated rind of 2 lemons
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 cup milk
20gm unsalted butter
Icing sugar and thick cream, to serve

Method
Using a wooden spoon, beat egg yolks and two-thirds of the sugar until pale, then stir in the flours and combine well. Add lemon rind, juice, milk and melted butter and combine well. In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until soft peaks form, gradually add remaining sugar and whisk until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into lemon mixture, in two batches, until just combined. Pour into a greased 1 litre ovenproof dish and place in a deep roasting pan, then pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up side of dish and bake at 180 degrees celcius for 45 minutes or until puffed and golden. Dust with icing sugar and serve with thick cream passed separately."
Enjoy.

Food as love: Watermelon

I was cutting up a watermelon today to juice with Jorge. No, not in season but a good price. One can only wonder why? A juicer mind, apart from the centre of the watermelon. Jorge and I were picking only the nicest bits and enjoying them and juicing the rest. I suddenly remembered a story my mother would often tell. She was holidaying on Brampton Island off Mackay, and there was this fellow who was sweet on her (before my father). In fact, he was so sweet on her, he cut a whole watermelon and gave her the centre. The regret was palpable... kneadable. I wonder at the obviousness of this metaphor for love. I do wonder if my father, or in fact my partner, would ever do the same.
I often wondered why my mother had not married this man who offered her such a wondrous gift.

Lemons

Lemons are abundant in Alice Springs at the moment... and a lot of them end up in my fruit bowl from a number of sources: my neighbour's lemonade lemons, my friend's neighbour's lemons, a colleague's bush lemons, a bag today in Jorge's pidgeon hole at school from an anonymous parent.. and I always say yes, yes please, and I always (usually) use them. This despite having a heavily laden lime tree of my own. Am I a glutton for lemons. Perhaps. But I love having lemons because there is so much cooking you can do with them:
lemon delicious; lemon curd; lemon shortbreads; lemon meringue pie; lemon cordial; frozen lemon juice; preserved lemon slices; bearnaise sauce... these are my favourite cooking experiences with lemon. (Although I am yet to find a lemon cake recipe I want to cook twice.)
Now, I have tried Stephanie Alexander's preserved lemons. And they're still in my cupboard two years later. I like them, and for that one experience every three months when I cook a tagine or something similar, they're great. But they're not part of my repertoire.
I like recipes that combine lemon with butter, and preferably sugar. Coming soon are my favourite lemon recipes.

Lemon and Almond Nougat (Torrone)

I found this recipe in the 40th Anniversary edition of the Gourmet Traveler, and I have adapted it slightly. I have only made it once (for the Alice Springs Show where it one first prize) and it tended to have a horizontal movement over a couple of days. Didn't look so great but tasted fab. So, I have adjusted the temperature of the toffee to 140 degrees.
When I was teaching Adult Literacy in Melbourne in the mid 1990's, my classes would often revert to discussions and writing exercises about food. I had one student who told me his father had adapted an electric drill to beat the nougat (torrone) for his mother as most stand beaters do not have powerful enough motors. I have a lovely red Kitchen Aid and it does the trick and has a gutsy motor. I would not suggest making the nougat with hand beaters unless there are two of you, and they are powerful hand beaters.
Ingredients
350 gm liquid glucose
180 gm local or fragrant honey
440 gm sugar
2 egg whites
vanilla bean paste
50gm butter
400 gm whole almonds (skinned and roasted)
75 gm glace lemons
4 sheets edible rice paper (available at East Side shop for those Alice Springs residents)

Utensils
Stand beater
Baking tray (20cm X 30 cm)

Method
1. Line the base of the baking tray (you will need to oil it first with a mild oil such as rice bran oil), including the sides.
2. Put honey, glucose, sugar and vanilla bean paste in saucepan and cook on medium heat until the temperature reaches 140 degrees. (NB. Original recipe says 120 to 131 degrees, so you may need to experiment). Wipe sugar grains from the sides of the saucepan with a wet pastry brush. Once the toffee reaches the required recipe, place the saucepan immediately in a cold wet basin to stop the toffee temperature from increasing.
3. In the meantime, whisk the egg whites in the beater until light and fluffy.
4. Pour toffee into the egg whites, being careful not to pour it directly on the beaters or the side of the bowl. Continue to beat for 5 minutes until the mixture is glossy.
5. Working quickly, mix through the almonds and glace lemon. It is important that both these ingredients are at room temperature.
6. Pour mixture into rice paper lined baking tray and flatten with wooden spoon to ensure it is even. Lay over another layer of rice paper.
7. Allow to rest for 6-8 hours before cutting. Cut with knife that has been in freezer for about a half hour or electric knife.
Enjoy.

Apple Shortcake

This recipe is adapted from the Women's Weekly Dinner Party Cookbook No. 2, originally published in the early 1980's I believe, but there is no date on the book. There is also a great Lemon Chicken recipe in this cookbook, plus other nostalgic favourites such as Deep-Fried Camembert with Redcurrant Sauce and Cappuccino Souffle with Coffee Creme? But, you'd need to pick it up in a second hand shop..
Ingredients:
125 gm unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup plain flour
3/4 cup self-raising flour
lightly stewed apples in sugar, or a tin of pie apple
castor sugar
teaspoon grated lemon rind
passionfruit: optional

Method:
1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and continue beating.
2. Sift flours together and gradually add to butter mixture. Pull together, do not over-knead.

3. Place in plastic film and put in fridge for a half hour.

4. Butter and line a 20cm shallow cake tin with baking paper.
5. Take dough out of fridge and divide in two.
6. Roll out one half of dough between two pieces of plastic film.
7. Place in bottom of cake tin (minus plastic film) and press down, building up the sides slightly to hold filling.

8. Place apple or other fruit filling in cake tin over pastry. Sprinkle with sugar and lemon rind. (Add passionfruit if using.)

9. Roll out remaining piece of dough into a circle and place over fruit, pressing down sides.

10. Brush with water and sprinkle with castor sugar.
11. Make in medium to low oven for a half hour.
12. Cool in tin for at least 10 minutes then carefully tip out onto cake cooler.

Shortcakes

What is a shortcake, you might ask? I would reply:
1. Traditionally from Scotland, but much loved by Americans (strawberry shortcake!)...
2. Something between a shortbread and a cake. By this I mean it is has the crumbly qualities of a shortbread, but the lightness of a cake. An easy way of understanding it is a shortcrust pastry with self-raising flour plus eggs.
3. Easier than either a cake or shortcrust pastry to make and will get you lots of compliments, if you're fishing.
4. Experiment with the fruit filling: replace apples with stewed quinces, or pears cooked in red wine...

Nutmeg

Nutmeg is a seed from a tree, that is finely grated or ground to create a spice.. and then there's Mace.. which we'll get to later.

As a teenager I would often look at the whole nutmegs in my mother's pantry and wonder at the rumors of nutmeg being a narcotic.. I just couldn't see it. Thirty years on and the internet can provide me with all the information I need to confirm these rumours. Yes, it can cause hallucinations if you eat a lot of it (a substance called myristicin).. but also some other symptoms such as vomiting etc.. and apparently takes a while to work. This is all hearsay and internet research.....

In terms of cooking, I am a big fan of nutmeg in both savory and sweet dishes. For savory dishes I use nutmeg in besciamel sauce, in the filling for chicken tortellini, pumpkin soup, but my favorite dish is slowed cooked borlotti beans with nutmeg and prosciutto. My favorite sweet dish is an adaptation of the recipe for a Persian Love Cake, found in the September 2008 issue of Gourmet Traveller.

For these recipes, you will need to go to early August, 2010.

Just to finish off: Mace versus Nutmeg. Yes, they are so similar you could almost, I say almost, interchange their use. I used to think Mace was the cheaper version of Nutmeg, but not necessarily so. Nutmeg is the seed, and Mace comes from the covering of the fruit. For further info, this site is well worth a visit:

http://www.moscowfood.coop/archive/nutmeg.html

Home Made Pasta

Why would you bother, one might ask? Well, there's a couple of reasons:
1. I love pasta. I could eat it every night if it weren't for the fact that it is made of one major ingredient: processed white flour, and despite the spray on nutrients and 'enrichments' , I am unconvinced that a diet of white processed flour will lead to anything but.. dare I say.... misery. Now, we eat spelt pasta and even kamut pasta, and they're OK. But they're not really pasta. So, one solution is home made pasta. Sure, it's still processed white flour, but with the added nutritional value of eggs... lovely, free range eggs.
2. Now, with school holidays coming on quickly, home made pasta is also a great form of entertainment for two, possibly three children. Do not try any more than three! Of course, they will need to be supervised to stop little fingers getting squashed in pasta machine rollers... but generally, a great activity leading to a great meal.
3. It's not that hard or time consuming, and tastes heaps better.

So, if I haven't convinced you, I'm going to give you a very simple recipe (below) with some tips included. If you happen to have a red or other coloured Kitchen Aid, this recipe is even easier.

Ingredients:
1 cup of flour for every person
1 egg for every person
Olive oil - 1 tablespoon per 2 people
salt
water

Utenstils:
Pasta machine (I prefer the Imperia brand)
Saucepans etc.

Method (without Kitchen Aid):
1. In a bowl or on a flat floured surface, mound flour and create a well in the centre.
2. Break in eggs and pour olive oil and 1 tablespoon of water.
3. Gather ingredients together to form a stiff dough. (You may need to add more water.)
4. Knead vigorously until the dough is smooth.
5. Cover with plastic film and place in refrigerator for at least a half hour.
(If you have a kitchen aid, place all ingredients together, and with dough hook, knead until smooth.)
6. Take dough out of refrigerator and knead for a few minutes.
7. Cut dough into pieces around the size of a large egg. Keep pieces you aren't using under plastic wrap to stop them drying out (particularly in Central Australia.)
8. Flatten the piece of dough with a rolling pin or with your hands. Flour well.
9. Roll through the widest setting on the past machine, then onto a middle setting. Dust with flour, fold in two and start again with the same piece of pastry. Continue to do this (kneading), until the pasta sheet is very smooth without any lumps or imperfections.

At this point you have a couple of options as follows:
Lasagne: you will need to cut the sheets up.
Cannelloni: roll up your filling like a crepe.
Papardelle: roll up the pasta sheet and cut through so you get ribbons of around 2.5cm wide.
Fettuccine: As above but cut thinner, or use a fettucine cutter on your pasta attachment.

Gremolata

Gremolata is sprinkled over Osso Bucco, but can also be used on risotto or pasta to give an amazing added flavour.

Ingredients
One bunch of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped (not ground to paste in food processor)
Finely grated rind of one lemon
2-3 cloves organic garlic, crushed in garlic press
1/4 cup Finely grated parmesan cheese

Method
Mix all ingredients together.

Ossobuco alla milanese

The following recipe is adapted from the Italian Foods of the World Cookbook.
Ingredients:
4 pieces of veal shank or knuckle
olive oil
1-2 onions (depending on size)
1 stick celery
1-2 carrots depending on size
chopped garlic
olive oil
seasoned flour
tin tomatoes
tomato puree
1/2 cup white wine or verjuice
stock or water (I use Braggs all-purpose seasoning)
bay leave
rosemary
salt and pepper


Tools:
One heavy pot with lid. I use a french cast iron enamel pot.
Fry pan

Method:
1. Pour olive oil into pot and place on medium to low heat.
2. Add onions and garlic and good for 5 to 10 minutes.

3. Add carrots and celery and continue to slow cook in olive oil until onions are transparent.

4. Coat shanks in flour.


5. Fry each piece in olive oil until brown and place over onion mixture.

6. Drain off any oil from the frying pan and pour in white wine or verjuice and reduce. Add to pot with onions and veal. Stir in tomatoes, stock and herbs. The liquid should come up to around half the pot.
7. Place a lid on the pot and cook in a medium to slow oven for around 1 hour 15 mins to 1 hour 30 minutes.
8. Sprinkle the top with gremolata (see recipe) and serve with plain or saffron risotto.
9. Season to taste.

Veal Shanks or possibly Knuckles

As I child I would throw my meat out the window while no-one was looking, so I'm not the biggest meat eater around, but I'm not a vegetarian. I love bacon, prosciutto, sausages, but often wish I could come to terms with the fact that I'm eating the flesh of another animal, rather than push such information in the recesses of the my mind to bubble away.
I read a novel recently called "the school of essential ingredients", and there is a lovely section about the compassionate killing of animals or beasts that you are about to cook with. And of course, the film "Avatar" deals with this in a small way. There are some new movements amongst meat producers for producing meat products of animals that have led full-lives and have been killed in a compassionate way. Similarly there is an increase of consumers who are choosing to eat humanely raised meat. Kangaroo is becoming increasing popular, and in central Australia we also have the choice of camel. I have no doubt that consumers would be prepared to pay the extra cost of such products. Check out this article "Why vegetarians are eating Meat" for further info and insight into the subject at http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/why-vegetarians-are-eating-meat.

Where I am heading? Osso Bucco... or Ososobucco Milanese, translated as braised veal shanks or knuckles. (Are they the same?)

Cooking Osso Bucco entails a major acceptance that you are eating an animal, unlike the list of processed meat products above. Now, if this isn't a problem for you, then Osso Bucco must be one of the ultimate hearty winter meals. I must admit to have been a little confused on this Osso Bucco journey, believing at some point that Osso Bucco was made from oxtail. In fact, I have inadvertently made it from oxtail, and it's not great. Perhaps the confusion is due to our butchers and supermarkets labeling products "Osso Bucco", rather than veal shanks or knuckles. Thank you, but you've possibly added to my confusion.
Recipes for oxtail and Osso Bucco are similar, but veal shanks do not have as much connective tissue as oxtail. All these "cuts" involve a major acceptance that one is cooking with the appendage of an animal: tail.. leg... Yes, I have some issues here, and I only wished I loved kangaroo meat, because I think Osso Bucco made with kangaroo tail is worth a try. However, this is one where I push my issues aside, albeit temporarily.

Osso Bucco is a slow cooked meal, where the flavour comes as much from the bones and marrow as from the meat. It has taken me many years to perfect this dish and the success lies with the quality of the meat. Don't buy substandard shanks.

The traditional Osso Bucco or ossobuco is from Milan, capital of Lombardy.

Rhubarb Upside Down Tart

Ingredients
200 gms flour
100 gms unsalted butter
pinch salt
1/2 cup iced water with a squeeze of lemon juice
1 bunch rhubarb
1 cup castor sugar
1/3 cup water
Extra caster sugar
Cinnamon
Butter to grease dish


Utensils
Square or rectangular pyrex or similar baking dish.
Rolling pin etc..

Method

1. Put salt and flour in bowl.
2. Rub in butter with fingertips until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. (Alternatively put flour, salt and butter in food processor and process. Put mixture into bowl
3. Create well in centre of mixture and pour in small quantity of iced water.
4. Pull mixture together and knead lightly, and not for long. *
   
5. Put in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator.
6. Grease cooking dish with butter.
   
7. Combine sugar and water is small saucepan and place over medium heat.
8. Continue to boil until mixture turns a brown caramel colour.
9. Pour into baking dish, covering the surface evenly. (Being careful as mixture is very hot.)
10. Wash and cut up rhubarb into 4cm pieces.
11. Place side by side in cooking dish on top of caramel.
12. After first layer sprinkle with castor sugar and cinnamon.
13. Place second layer.
14. Take pastry mixture out of freezer and place between two pies of plastic roll.
15. Roll out until mixture is about 2-3 mm thick.
16. Place over rhubarb and trim, making sure you leave enough pastry at edges as it will shrink.
17. Place in oven (160 degrees) and cook for between 30 and 40 minutes.
18. Allow to cool for a few minutes before tipping out onto square or rectangular serving dish. (You may want to pour off excess liquid and use this for serving.)
19. Cut into squares and serve with fresh cream.
    

* Note: It is vital that not too much water is added, also do not over-knead mixture. You do not want to develop gluten in this type of pastry.

Rhubarb

I see a good bunch of rhubarb and I must have it. Why this is the case I don't know as I am still to discover a rhubarb recipe that I want to return to.
My mother never cooked with rhubarb (nor parsnip, turnips or chokos) and I was 10 years old before I ever tried it... and I loved it. My mother stood firm in her disregard for rhubarb.
Still, I have problems with this fruit or is it a vegetable. Apart from the fact that its leaves are poisonous, the other problem with rhubarb is its texture: that sort of stringy nothingness. I must admit to loving the colour and sourness, but is there anything else to rhubarb other than rhubarb crumble, rhubarb muffins or rhubarb on your porridge.
Then last Saturday I found found a recipe for a Rhubarb Tarte Tatin at http://www.fifi.com.au/recipe/recipes/776/issue-33/. And it was so good and so easy that I'm going to cook it again tomorrow night, and take some photos this time..
I have adapted the recipe a little but before I go on, a bit of background to the Tarte Tatin. Tarte Tatin is a ubiquitous French dessert that is on the menu of almost every French restaurant. The story goes that the Tatin sisters discovered the recipe after accidentally burning (caramelising) apples. Also known as caramelised upside down apple tart. Fantastic when you get it right!

What to look for in rhubarb?
Straight, fresh looking stalks and check out the ends. This is a good indicator of the age of the fruit. I always assume that the redder stalks are sweeter than the green, and yes, I still string the larger greener stalks.

For more info, check out this website: http://localfoods.about.com/od/spring/tp/All-About-Rhubarb.htm
Recipe up next.

Since writing this article, I have had several discussions with friends about rhubarb. One friends uses rhubarb to add tartness to curries or other meat dishes. Must try it.

The following links have also been suggested: Check out the Salad of Blood Orange, Beetroot and Rhubarb
http://www.foodshow.co.nz/index.cfm/Recipes/Tetsuya_Wakuda/Salad_of_Blood_Orange__Beetroot_and_Rhubarb
http://www.nordljus.co.uk/en/rhubarb-and-custard
http://www.tetsuyas.com/page/menu.html

Kids Curry

I have a very fussy child who has a strange palate. I suspect I am not alone on this. While he is happy, and in fact chooses, to take ciabbiatta bread with his own tub of olive oil to school, he won't eat chicken or pork, is ambivalent about mashed potato, hates bananas but loves a juicy T-Bone. The following recipe is an adaptation of a curry I was shown during a very short lived career as a cattle station cook when I was 17. Jorge and his friends love this meal. I suspect it is the sweetness in the fruit. One tip for this recipe, is to cook it for a very long time until the sauce goes dark.

Ingredients
500gm lamb, cut in cubes
1 tablespoon ghee
2 onions finely diced
3 cloves garlic finely diced
Fresh ginger, grated (around 1 teaspoon)
1-2 tablespoons water or stock
2 tablespoons tomato puree
Mild curry paste or powder
Tumeric powder and ground cinnamon
1 apple or banana

Method
1. Melt ghee over low heat in a heavy saucepan.
2. When melted, add onions, garlic and ginger and sautee over low heat until well cooked and soft.
3. Add curry paste, and a few pinches of both cinnamon and tumeric.  Cook for 2 more minutes more.
4. Add diced lamb and brown.
5. Turn the heat down low and cover.
6. After 30 minutes, add fruit and tomato and cover again. Cook for around 2 hours, checking every half hour or so. If the curry gets too dry, add a few tablespoons of water or stock.
7. Continue to cook until the meat is very tender and the surrounding sauce is dark. You almost want a toffeed sauce.  Don't overcook the meat.
8. Add salt to taste.

Serve
.. with basmati rice, yoghurt, papadams and chutney.

Cousin Rosa's Braised Pumpkin

This is my father's cousin Rosa's braised pumpkin recipe. I only ever tasted it once actually cooked by Cousin Rosa, but my mother and I worked on the recipe and now I claim it as one my own. Very simple and great as an accompaniment to a roast dinner. Don't omit the pepper, it's what makes this dish so special.

Ingredients
Around a quarter of a good sized pumpkin
2-3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
Extra virgin olive Oil
Herb of choice (?Rosemary)
Salt
Pepper

Method
1. Seed, skin and and chop pumpkin into medium sized pieces.
2. Heat olive oil in a heavy cast iron enamel pot which has a well fitting lid.
3. Drop in garlic and heat through for around a minute, then add pumpkin.
4. Saute for around 2 minutes.
5. Add salt, pepper and herb, then add around two tablespoons of water.
6. Put lid on pot and cook undisturbed for at least a half hour.
7. Check the done-ness of the pumpkin. It should be a little bit caramelised on the bottom.
Enjoy

My best Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients
A good piece of pumpkin
4-5 cloves good garlic (preferably organic)
Extra virgin olive oil
1 good sized onion
1 carrot, chopped into medium bits
1 small potato, sliced
grated nutmeg
Rosemary
2-3 cups milk
salt

Method
1. Seed, skin and and chop pumpkin into medium sized pieces.
2. Place in a baking dish with garlic and rosemary, and dribble with olive oil. Move the pumpkin around so that all the pieces and garlic are covered in olive oil.
3. Bake in a medium to hot oven until just beginning to go brown on edges.
At the same time....
4. Heat 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy cast iron pot which has a lid (stainless steel saucepan will suffice.)
5. Add onions and saute for at least 15 minutes until they are starting to caramelise.
6. Add carrots. Keep the heat very low and saute, covered for around 15 to 20 minutes.
7. Take lid off and add baked pumpkin (leave the garlic out), and sliced potato. Add around a cup of water and grated nutmeg and put the lid back on. Cook for at least another 20 minutes to a half hour until all the vegetables are well cooked.
8. Puree the soup with a stab blender. It doesn't need to be too smooth.
9. Add milk until you reach your desired consistency, add salt to taste and crumble in roasted garlic.
10. Heat through (don't boil), and serve with garlic croutons.

Some comments from friends would couldn't put up a post:
Don't use celery.
Try sweet potato in addition to other vegetables.
Replace milk with coconut milk and add five-spice.

Root Vegetable (Pumpkin) Marak

Pumpkins are still in season, and a whole heap of other root and winter vegetables. This recipe is an adaptation of Tess Malos' "Marka dar Marhzin" (Moroccon Pumpkin Stew - similar to Tagine) with a few variations. What I love about this recipe is that it has a certain summer quality about it - the colour and flavours - but is made with winter vegetables. I would also like to suggest to my Alice Springs followers that Siri Omberg's locally made Harissa really lifts this dish. (Available at Afghan Traders.)

Ingredients
Olive oil
2 onions finely chopped
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 teaspoon each tumeric, ginger and cinnamon
A selection of root and winter vegetables could include: carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, parsnip, cabbage. About a cup of each, diced.
2-3 cups water
1 teaspoon Harissa (see above)
1 tablespoon sultanas
1 dessertspoon honey
1/4 cup pine nuts (toasted)
Fresh coriander for garnish


Method
1. Heat olive oil in large heavy saucepan, preferably cast iron enamel.
2. Add onions and garlic and sautee over a low heat until well cooked and soft (but not brown).
3. Add spices and cook for around 2 more minutes.
4. Add carrots and cover with water. Bring to boil and simmer for around 10 minutes.
5. Add other vegetables, sultanas, honey and salt and pepper to taste.
6. Cover and simmer for another 20 minutes until vegetables are cooked to your taste.
7. Add harissa.

Serve
with couscous, lime wedges. Would look good on a large plate on top of couscous, but I prefer to leave the ratio of couscous to Marak to the diner.
(For a more substantial meal, you can always add chick peas.)
Enjoy.

Dates

I'll be talking about dates this week on my regular local ABC slot.... not, that I'm on an expert on dates - because I'm not... but I do have quite a few dates in my fridge and I'd like to cook with them, rather than snack on them continuously.. And besides, they're a locally grown product.

Dates are one of the rare foods we have in abundance in Alice Springs. They sell for around $20/kg depending on the variety. The best looking ones are the Medjool but not always the best tasting. My favourites are the the Deglet Noor (or bread) dates which I haven't seen in shops at the moment. The don't look great. They're hard and caramel like, and quite addictive. Recently I have purchased the Kadrawi variety, and they're good, but not as good as the Deglet Noor. There are many other varieties, for further info check out the Aridgold farm website at:
http://aridgold.com/date_varieties.htm

I have been told - anecdotally - that the beautiful plump dates in supermarkets have actually been steamed to look better and of course weigh more. However, beauty is not always the best when it comes to dates, at least not cooking with dates.

Now you don't need to cook with dates. They're such a sweet treat by themselves, not to mention eaten with almonds and/or ricotta. But this is a cooking blog, so cook with dates we must.

I've been asking around for 'date recipes' amongst friends, acquaintances and work colleagues... . The first recipe that everyone talks about is traditional date or date and walnut loaf. Doesn't have much appeal to me. And then there's the ubiquitous sticky date pudding - which has now become so popular that you can buy it as a prepackaged dessert in supermarkets. What I am searching for is a middle-eastern meat and rice dish with dates. Comments and recipes, please!

However, instead my friend Barb gave me her steamed date recipe, as follows:
Boil up fresh orange juice, lemon juice and seeded, chopped dates. Cook until a paste is formed. Let cool and put in a jar.
Great on toast.

Beans with Tomato

Ingredients:
500 gms green beans (incl Italian wavy beans)
Virgin olive oil
3-4 cloves organic garlic
Salt & Pepper
Green capsicum
Fresh red chili
Tomato puree (preferable home made, but if bought ensure ingredients are tomatoes and salt only.)

Utensils:
Large frying pan with reasonable depth, or saucepan

Method:

1. Wash and top and tail beans. If beans are particularly fresh, leave the tails.
2. Crush garlic cloves and remove outer skin.
3. Heat 3 to 4 tablespoons of olive oil on medium to low heat.
4. When warm, drop in garlic and a piece of green capsicum.
5. Cook for 5 minutes and add chili.
6. Cook for another 5 minutes being careful not to burn or brown the garlic as this will alter the flavour.
7. Add the raw beans and cook for another 2 minutes.
8. Add half a bottle of tomato puree and cook on a low heat for 5 to 10 minutes until beans are cooked to your taste.
9. Add salt and pepper to taste, and remove capsicum.
10. The sauce is ready when the oil starts to separate a bit from the tomato.
    

(Variation: If you have lots of ripe fresh tomatoes, chop them and add them before the beans and cook down for a few minutes before adding beans. Fresh tomatoes will taste heaps better.)


Great served with polenta or couscous or as an accompaniment to a Middle Eastern Meal.

Beans (fresh)

Mark and I have different approaches to food shopping. I hate supermarkets and visit them once a month to do a 'dry goods' shop so that I don't need to go near them for another 4 weeks. (I perfected this technique during my 7 years living in Yuendumu, with shops that would cost in excess of $1,000.)
Consequently this means that while I visit some of Alice Springs F&V specialty shops and markets several times a week, I rarely get to see what is fresh in Alice Springs supermarkets, apart from my monthly visits.
However, having said this, Mark has the opposite approach. He visits the supermarkets daily, searching for bargains and picking up those essential items I occasionally forget (dishwasher tablets this week!)
Over the past week, a lot of green beans have been turning up in our kitchen, and the aren't the variety that are soft with dark spots. No, these are fresh and lovely and abundant.
And so, what to do with them?
Of course, steam them, and serve them with virgin olive oil and salt and pepper. My mother would have fried garlic and sauteed them briefly, and they are a great addition to a salad when lightly steamed and cooled, and essential for a Salad Nicoise. (Recipe to follow).
Generally, beans can replace any green vegetable or salad for a meal, but for me they're us much a meal as a side dish. The following, very easy recipe, can be served with couscous or polenta or rice cooked with kidney beans.
But before I move onto cooking - what beans are out there? There are a lot of green beans, occasional snake beans, and if you're lucky those funny wavy Italian beans which I love. Now, there a lot more other beans in the world, but in my world in Alice Springs, I rarely get to see or eat them, unless some avid and generous gardener decides to give a go. And then, what are the chances of such abundance and generosity?

Date, Chocolate and Almond Torte Recipe

Many thanks to Libby Kartzoff, Gary Fry and his sister Jen for this recipe. Apparently the original recipe was from an old Gourmet Traveller by Kay and John Hansen, but a similar recipe can be found in Stephanie Alexander's Cookbook, but I notice the quantities are different and she doesn't use almonds.
In total I made 2.5 times the original recipe of varying size cake tins. I would think this recipe would have been best in my 26 cm spring form cake tin.
Torte Ingredients:
250g almonds, unpeeled
250g dark chocolate (Callebaut or Couverture)
250g dates
6 eggs whites (Free Range)
1/2 cup sugar

Utensils:
Stainless Steel bowls
Electric Mixer
Food processor
Spatula

Method:
1. Chop almonds and chocolate into chunky pieces in the food processor
2. Cut dates finely
3. Beat eggs whites till they hold stiff peaks
4. Gradually add castor sugar
5. Fold in chopped nuts, chocolate and dates
6. Cook 160-180 degrees in lined spring-form pan - 45 minutes
7. Open oven door and allow to cool
8. Put in fridge overnight. Wait until cool/cold to decorate and cut
as can be very crumbly.

Decoration:
Spread with sweetened whipped cream with vanilla (not too sweet). I also made a chocolate ganache by melting chocolate with cream in a double boiler and letting it cool a bit, then dribbling over cake.

I added some pomegranate molasses, rosewater and castor sugar to the berries to give them a bit of extra flavour.

The Birthday Torte - Finale

All done and what a hit.. no iPhone, no camera, so had to use on my old Nokia phone.. hence the quality of the photo.. but the cake was a great.
I ended up cooking three of the Tortes, and two chocolate mousse cakes of varying sizes, thinking I could put them all together.
However, at the last minute I ditched all my presentation ideas and went for a single spectacular 'look' with the three Tortes of varying sizes, fixing them together with whipped cream, covering the whole think with whipped cream, then dripping chocolate ganache (unwhipped) creatively over the entire edifice. Finishing it off with berries, ribbon, some leaves at the bottom and three of my mother's day flowers. (Left the chocolate mousse cakes for extras.)
To serve it though was a bit of challenge.. what I did was take off each cake and place it on a separate plate and cut from there. I would then quickly redecorate the remaining layer so that guests didn't feel like they missed out on the topping.
It looked good and tasted fantastic, and what I discovered is that guests really, really want a piece of the BIRTHDAY CAKE. They don't want a piece of chocolate mousse cake.. or cheese cake, although these were equally delicious and made with as much love ..they just want a piece of the action.. and there was plenty to go around.
Still feeling the warm glow of cooking compliments, although I must acknowledge the generous persons who gave the recipe to me.. Hopefully coming soon!

The Birthday Torte - Stage 2

One cake down, and now my camera is on the blink. Jorge is complaining of the dates... do I make 4 more cakes and place them on a large board in this sort of a design.. And of these 4 cakes, should they all be Date, Chocolate & Walnut Tortes, or do I make 2 different ones.. what is the etiquette of a birthday cake? This is my idea for the presentation of the cakes on a painted board I have.. one cake for each decade?

The Birthday Torte - Stage 1

Well, I now have well over a kilo of local dates.. not the plump ones, the other ones that don't look as good but taste better (Khadrawi dates), a kilo of dark cooking chocolate (Callebaut - see note below), a kilo of almonds, 2 dozen eggs and a few bags of castor sugar. With any luck I should have a couple of Chocolate, Date and Almond Tortes this time tomorrow.


(Note: Callebaut chocolate is apparently the chocolate used by "artisans and chefs".. Check out their website at http://www.barry-callebaut.com/)

Date, Chocolate and Almond (Birthday) Torte

I have agreed to make a cake for 60 people for a 50th birthday.. how exciting and how daunting. And, is it completely fool hardy to use a recipe that I have never used before?
I am thinking a Date, Chocolate and Almond Torte.. of varying sizes.. laid out on a board.. wait and see.