Plums

Glorious plums in the supermarket or fruit & veg shops always indicates, for me, the end of the stone fruit season. It was with heavy heart then last week, I purchased a small amount of unattractive speckled plums, thinking to do some cooking with them. I was surprised to see my fella, hoeing into them when I got home and praising their flavour. I bit into one, and wow! Not only was it a dark deep red, it also tasted amazing. (I went back to the shop later that week and suggested that they cut them in half to attract customers - not sure if they've taken my advice yet.) Betty, on ABC Radio, advised us that it was a blood plum. Of course! What else!

Several years ago a friend made me a cornmeal plum upside down cake. I've looked for ages for the recipe and came across one at Girl Detective (http://www.girldetective.net/?p=2578). It's a bit pointless my repeating the recipe, and it's close and good - but still not quite there for me. The only thing I would add, is that I use coarse yellow cornmeal, and if you can get a variety of plums (blood etc), the cake looks beautiful.

Tomatoes aka Pomodora

Tomatoes are in season now in Alice Springs, which really means they are a good price in the shops and they're in season in the southern states of Australia. It must be late summer or autumn. (Local tomatoes are a rarity.)
I'm happy that tomatoes are good, but sad that there are never ample quantities of tomatoes in Alice Springs to warrant a big Tomato Gathering.
I do love a Good Tomato Gathering and a good tomato.
I don't think I had ever really tasted a good tomato until I went to Italy many years ago and ate fresh sliced tomatoes on a plate with olive oil and oregano. The tomatoes were sweet and red all the way through. Not the pale orange tasteless fruit I was accustomed to.
My favourite is a roma tomato, it looks good and tastes good and can be used fresh and in cooking. My second favourite is the ox-heart type. They don't look great. They're weird shaped and have imperfections. But they taste fantastic.
Tomatoes must be ripe to in order to really appreciate their flavour, both fresh and in cooking. I refuse to put tomato in a salad unless it is sweet and ripe. And not a fan of sun-dried tomato, unless they're home made, by me.
On the off-chance you come across enough tomatoes for a Tomato Gathering, a tomato puree making session is a lot of fun, and will ensure great tasting pasta dishes for the next twelve months.
Here is my favourite recipe for tomato puree, taught to me by the Italian parents of a friend in Melbourne. But before you begin there is a lot of must haves, that extend beyond the notion of implements.

MUST HAVES

• One very large pot
• One very large wooden spoon for the very large pot
• A large gas burner or plenty of wood and something to put the pot on
• Large quantity of clean glass bottles with clean screw top lids.
• Vegetable knives
• Tomato puree machine (preferable electric)
• An old bath tub (not essential)
• Lots of large clean bowls or food grade buckets
• Lots of clean pieces of cloth (old table clothes)
• Lots of helpers

If you don't have an electric puree machine, then perhaps make smaller quanities. It is very tiresome using a hand cranked puree machine. A moulee will drive you crazy, so don't attempt it, and opt for preserved whole tomatoes instead.
One last tip - this is an outdoor activity. Don't attempt to do it in a kitchen unless it is an outdoor kitchen.

INGREDIENTS

• Boxes of ripe roma tomatoes
• Salt
• Fresh basil

METHOD

1. Wash and sort through the tomatoes. Throwing away any that look rotten or not worth cooking. You many need to spread the tomatoes on a table.
2. Cut each tomato in halves or quarters and put them in a pot. This is a good chance to cut out any bad bits.
3. When the pot is full, put it on a fire or gas burner. Heat through until the pot begins to boil and the skins begin to pull away from the tomato flesh. Stir the pot regularly with the large wooden spoon to prevent sticking.
4. Pour the tomatoes back into the box they came from, which has now been washed and lined with two layers of cloth. Drain off excess liquid.
5. Now you are ready to start pureeing. Feed the partially cooked tomatoes into the puree machine. You may need to catch the puree in a clean bucket or bowl underneath the long spout. Another bucket will be needed for the skins and seeds which will be great for compost.
6. Once the full batch is done, add some salt to the puree and stir it through. (Don't bottle the puree until you have put through all the tomatoes from the pot, as the puree will get thicker the further you get to the bottom.)
7. Pour the mixture into the clean bottles and put three leaves of basil in the top of each. Screw on the lids tight.
8. Place all the bottles long side down in the bottom of a bath tub which has been place over a fire (or the pot for the puree). Between each layer of glass bottles, but a layer of cloth to stop the bottles moving against each other. Pour water over the pot/into the bath tub with a hose.
9. Heat the tub/pot and let the bottles boil for about three hours.
10. Let the bottles come to room temperature before storing.

Make sure you have a large quantity of your favourite pasta ready to go at the end of the day. The fresh puree is great as a simple pasta sauce, particularly when fresh.

VARIATIONS
1. Salt the tomatoes and let them drain overnight. Feed them through the puree machine as per the above recipe.
2. Puree the tomatoes raw (uncooked). This works, but you need to feed the tomatoes through at least three times to get all the pulp.
Enjoy!

Bagnette (My Sister Jan's recipe)

While this is a traditional Piedmontese recipe, variations are found throughout parts of Italy, France and Spain. The variations are based on the availability of fresh herbs.
Ingredients:
1 bunch flat leaf Italian parsley
1 bunch curly leaf parsley
Fresh mint, tarragon or basil. (optional)
7-8 cloves good quality garlic (to taste)
Juice and finely grated rind of half lemon
6 Anchovies
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method
Put all ingredients in food processor and pulse till well blended (but not smooth). Taste and adjust (more oil, lemon juice, salt or pepper.)

Serve immediately with fish, prawns, pasta, fresh bread, in minestrone.

Best eaten within a few days. If storing, be sure do pour a layer of olive oil over top.

Olive Oil

Why use anything but virgin olive oil? Australian extra virgin olive oil, cold-pressed and preferably organic. But let's face it, who can afford $20/litre for olive oil. There are 4 types of olive oil:

• Extra Virgin
• Virgin
• Pure
• Light and Extra Light.
• 
  

The most healthy and best tasting of these olive oils is "extra virgin". This is made by the first - cold pressing of the olives. No chemicals, and by far the best tasting. I would recommend only using extra virgin.
Virgin olive oil is the second pressing of the olives (again apparently cold press), where as Pure is the third pressing of the olives . Apparently it also involves the use of heat, chemicals and other types of filters. The light and extra light, is the most inferior grade of olive oil. I have garnered this information from other sources, however from my own experience, I can't see any point in using light or pure olive oil. If you don't like the taste of olive oil, why not use an alternative such as macadamia oil. If you want to use an oil for high temperature cooking, don't even think of virgin olive oil, there are many other options again such as grape seed oil, vegetable oil or my favourite ghee.

I favour Australian olive oil, because it tastes better. I have heard rumours that Australian olive oil was tested against European olive oils and came out on top.

Some tips when buying olive oil.
If you are buying in bottles, remember to buy oil in darkened glass such as brown or green, as apparently sunlight hastens the breakdown of oil.

Threadfin Salmon with tomato and chilli and other things...

This is adapted from a "Chilli and tomato fish" recipe from Donna Hay's "The Instant Cook".

Ingredients:
Virgin olive oil
1 good size piece of threadfin salmon, sliced crosswise and seasoned with salt and peper.
1 onion, sliced
Chilli (red, preferably fresh or dried)
6 small tomatoes (must be ripe)
Saffron
White wine
2 pieces of preserved lemon
Fresh oregano
Spring onion/shallot (optional)
salt and pepper

Method
Using a wide frying pan, heat olive oil, and when hot place onions in the pan. Cook over a low heat and soft, and add chilli. Remove onions, and fry fish pieces, gently on each side. Remove fish, and place onions back in the pan. When heated through add tomatoes, cook for a few minutes until they start to go soft and add white wine. Heat through and add preserved lemon and fresh oregano. When thoroughly heated, and sauce-like, return the fish to the pan with spring onions and place lid on frying pan for a few minutes. Season to taste.

Serving
Can be served with rice, pasta or couscous.

Threadfin Salmon

At Broome airport several hours ago, I had a little chuckle at a sign at the checkout. "No mangoes or fresh fish allowed on planes." I fully understand the need to travel with both mangoes and fresh fish and have as done as much myself. In fact I was regretful of having neither with me, the only reason being that I was having to overnight in Darwin rather than fly direct to Alice Springs. But then I was also a little relieved as I would have tearfully had to throw the produce out.

If I had smuggled a fish back to Alice Springs, it would have been threadfin salmon. I have only eaten threadfin salmon in Broome, and both times it has been extremely fresh and a fantastic meal. Several days ago I ate Chilli Fish in Djarindjin community (200kms north of Broome), made with threadfin salmon. I love the dense and dry quality of the flesh, which is very suited for a range of cooking applications. I have as yet not sourced the recipe, but have adapted a Donna Hay recipe.

What I have found out about threadfin salmon is that it lives in the northern waters of Australia, from Fraser Island in Queensland up to the Kimberley in Western Australia. You can buy threadfin salmon in Alice Springs from a couple of the butchers, and it seems to come from Darwin. Of course, it is frozen. It costs around $25/kg, so it's a bit cheaper than other fish. It has a firm flesh, low oil content and is good for a range of cooking applications.

Fennel

Fennel, particularly baby fennel seems to be available, in good condition and at a reasonable price in Alice Springs supermarkets. If you can't find it or are short on cash, have a look in your backyard or if you live in the southern states of Australia, check out your local railway line, it may be growing wild there.

Buying fennel
I only buy crisp fennel. Happy to buy large or small bulbs, but it must be crisp. Soggy fennel only gives you the option of cooking it, it's not great to eat. Fresh uncooked fennel is a fantastic flavour and overall experience. It should be crispy and sweet, with an aniseed after taste.

Cooking fennel
In our family we deliberate on whether to cook fennel or eat it fresh with olive oil and salt. Both my husband and son always want it fresh. I always want to cook "the be geezus out of it" so it is sweet and soft and caramelised. However the following recipe seems to keep all of us happy. I must say, I am not much of a salad cook, but this recipe is an amazing taste sensation of saltiness, sweetness and a range of different textures.

Fennel, orange, black olive and baked ricotta salad.
Preparation time: around 20 mins
Ingredients:
1 large bulb of fennel or 2 smaller ones
2 oranges (peeled and segmented without skin)
Around 1/2 cup of black olives (I prefer Kalamata)
Baked ricotta (slice)
Virgin olive oil
Rasperry vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
Salt & pepper
A drop of honey (option)

Method
Slice fennel across the grain of the bulb or shave it using a mandoline. (Don't shave or use the core, but you may want to much on it while you cook.) Place fennel in a bowl of iced water while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Put fennel in a salad bowl, followed by olives and orange in salad bowl and crumble ricotta over the top. Dress with oil and vinegar, a drop of hone and salt and pepper. Toss gently and serve.

Serving suggesti0ns
Good with fish.