broad bean dip

This dip is made with frozen broad beans bought from the frozen section of the super market.  Not always that easy to come by as they are not always there year round, but they should be there as they are in season now.
They are actually a very good product, probably like frozen peas but unfortunately I  have a very unhealthy aversion too, due to childhood trauma of force feeding.

Anyway the recipe is as follows

• 250g of frozen broad beans or 1/2 a packet
• 10-15 mints leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest and squirt of juice
• pince of salt and pepper
• a chunk of feta cheese, probably a large tablespoon
• drizzle of good olive oil

This is what they look when the come out of the frozen packet, quite disgusting really.

Pour on some boiling water and leave for at least 5-10 minutes.  I find there is no need to boil them in a pot.  Drain off the water and them pop them out of their pods.  Look how beautifully devine they are now that they have shed their grey green skin.
Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and whiz until you get the desired consistency.
You could just smash them all together too for a more chunky look.
Serve on toasted bread or as lily does something she dips her carrots into for school lunch.

camembert with caramelised onions

Haven't had camembert for years, probably back in the 90s.  It was 1/2 price at New World so decided to give it a go.  I was not disappointed. It went nicely with the caramelised onions that I made.

brown rice salad with butternut pumpkin

I made this salad yesterday to use up the ingredients that are floating around in my kitchen.  I have had a butternut pumpkin sitting on my bench for over a week now and the nut mix was not going to be nice if I didn't use it soon.  The last of the goat cheese was used and so was the sweet tomato sauce that was left over from the weekend dinner.  There are always onions and brown rice in my pantry.

For this  salad I used

1 cup of uncooked brown rice - cooked
1 butternut pumpkin - that was a lot you probably only need to use half
handful of nuts that I toasted  (tasti do a nut mix that have cashews, pumpkins seeds, sliced almonds and pinenuts)
2 onions cut into 1/8ths
bulb of garlic (optional) I over cooked most of mine
handful of water cress or rocket
chile flakes
a few crumbles of goat cheese or feta
chopped chives - they were in the garden - you can use any herb
sweet tomato sauce dressing

Start off by cooking your rice.  I did that as soon as I was up so it was already to go at lunch time.
Next cut your  pumpkin into whatever size you like.  (Jacob said he thought ours was too big).
Roast with the onions and garlic.  Divide up the bulb but leave the skins on.  I like to put all in a bowl and mix with the olive oil and salt and pepper before putting in the roasting pan so they all get a good coating.  Space out the vegetables as they will go soggy and gently turn them over 3-4 times during their cooking time.  A little care is required so the pumpkin retains it shape.  If the onions are getting too scorched, take them out ahead of the pumpkin.
While the veges are cooking make the dressing.  Use 2 tablespoons of the sweet tomato sauce along with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar.  Whisk together and add to the brown rice along with some chile flakes and combine well.  Always a good idea to dress your rice first so it can absorb the flavour and it doesn't mush up your vege if you added it later.
Once the veges have cooked to your liking let them cool for about 15 mins then add to the rice mixture along with the rest of the ingredients.

raw sandwich pizza

  When I was in high school I had the same sandwich just about everyday.
Grated raw beetroot, carrot and cheese on vogel bread and maybe some lettuce if we had some. (actually, vogel bread what pretty new back then).        I had two sandwiches one for morning tea and one for lunch.
So that was my inspiration for my lunch yesterday.  I added a few extra things also as you can see.

For this recipe I used  - layered in the following order

• 1 small lebanese bread  ( softened up in the toaster )
• avocado mixed with some mayonnaise
• finely sliced cabbage
• grated beetroot
• grated carrot
• grated cheese
• sliced yellow pepper
• bean sprouts 
• some more avocado mayonaise
• finely some chopped chives

I just folded it over to eat.  As you can see it was a little messy.  I did eat every last bit though.

You don't have to add this much filling, but that is the way I like it...

goat cheese, beetroot and caper crostini

The combination of chevre (goat cheese) and sweet beetroot relish is absolutely sublime.  Add some deep fried capers, lemon zest and Colonna olive oil and you are in heaven as far as I am concerned

Start off by making the beetroot relish.
You will need 1 medium to large beetroot.  Peel and grate.  Heat up a fry pan and add the beetroot with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of cold water.  Bring it to the boil and then add 3 tablespoons of sugar and 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.  Let it simmer away for about 20 minutes uncovered until the liquid reduces down.  You can add more sugar and vinegar to your taste.  You can make it tart and sweet and syrupy. Just play around with it.  I love it.  It also goes really well with BBQ meat.

Next up are the deep fried capers.  I use the large cheap capers when I deep fry them.  Drain a handful and put on paper towel to dry them so they don't sputter in the oil.  I use my wok, but any pan with oil will do.  Heat the oil to medium heat add the capers and cook to your liking.  I like them with a light crunch on the outside but still have some texture in the middle.   Again cook to your liking and put on paper towel to soak up some of the oil when done.
Deep fried capers match amazing well with fish and seafood, especially raw fish.

Slice your bagette or whatever bread you have and bake in the oven to make your crostini.  I don't add oil to the bread as I don't like it.  A gentle rub of raw garlic is magic though.  I forgot to do that.
I spread the goat cheese on the crostini and then grilled for a couple of minutes just to soften it.  Then on goes the beetroot relish a few capers, lemon zest some black pepper and a few drops of Colonna olive oil.
A delightful fresh vegetarian option.

courgette angel hair pasta

This was my lunch yesterday.  The angel hair pasta has been in the pantry for a long time now, as everybody prefers either penne or linguine.  So it is me who has to eat what the others won't.
I had plenty of courgettes in the fridge as they are really good value at the moment and decided to put the 2 together along with some garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and a ton of parmesan cheese and of course salt and pepper.
Start by putting your large pot of water onto boil ready to cook the pasta.
Then slice the courgettes 'Kylie Kwong style', which is slicing the courgette on the diagonal and then slicing into julienne.  I think this looks nicer than matchsticks.  I think I used 2 courgettes.
Heat up your pan and gentle fry the courgette and the garlic with a generous amount of olive oil and maldon salt (remember the oil acts as sauce).
Once they are tender and cooked to your liking turn of the heat.  Meanwhile cook your pasta, mine only took 3-4 mins, do not over cook as it will not be worth eating if you do.
Drain and add to the pan with the courgettes, then squeeze on your lemon your handful or more of grated parmesan cheese and more salt and pepper.
The only problem I have with pasta is that I need a huge amount of it and eat a huge pile.  Oh well I don't have it everyday.

tomato confit

By now you probably know that I love tomatoes and I am so glad they are out there in abundance.  They are so summer.
I also love flavoured oils and one great way to create your own is to confit with olive oil and that is what I have done with these tomatoes.

Slice the tomatoes in half on top of some fresh rosemary, thyme and a bay leaf in a small baking dish along with a couple of garlic cloves and a fine sprinkle of salt and sugar.  Then pour some good olive oil to just cover.
Cover with foil and and bake for about an hour at 180 C.  Just long enough to become squashy.

When cooked remove the skins.  I added these to pasta with basil and parmesan cheese along with some of the confit oil and plenty of maldon salt and pepper and some fresh thyme.

They would also be nice squashed on some toasted bread with goat cheese.
The left over oil would be great to make crostini or perfect for salad dressing.

spring salad

We had this salad for dinner with our usual Sunday lamb.  The lamb was simply bbqed with rosemary and garlic.  The photo above is before the dressing is added

For the salad you will need

• asparagus
• courgettes (finely sliced and fried in a dry pan)
• broad beans ( I used frozen ones.  Just pour boiling water over and let them sit for 5 minutes and then slip off the outer skin)
• tomatoes
• basil
• mint (finely chopped)
• red pepper (finely sliced)
• feta cheese (crumbled)
• balsamic dressing

Put together  as much or as little of the above as you like and then toss with the dressing

mushroom pasta

 Originally I was inspired to make this after seeing the recipe on smitten kitchen.

I have adapted it a little.  For the recipe you will need

• mushrooms cleaned and left whole (as much as you like)
• 3 cloves of garlic roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons of capers
• a good glug of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of butter dotted on top
• salt and pepper
• sprigs of thyme and rosemary

Put in a 180C oven for about 20-25mins

Turn them over 1/2 way through the roasting.

 Then once I had baked the mushrooms I added some chopped parsley and more fresh thyme. I then thought I would add the mushrooms to some pasta.

 Along with 3 thinly sliced courgettes sauted in a pan with olive oil, butter and salt and pepper.
2 chopped tomatoes and plenty of parmesan cheese.