Chilli Lemon Cauliflower

I was kindly allocated the task of cooking dinner on the recent, ridiculously hot new years day, so I decided to do something that I could prepare early in the morning, and would have some summery flavours. What says summer more than lemon eh? This cauliflower recipe is really quick and easy to make, and doesn't have any obscure ingredients (at least I didn’t think so!) so it was a winner… tasted great too…

 

Chilli and Lemon Cauliflower
(Serves 2-4)

 

Ingredients

 

500g cauliflower, broken into bite-sized florets and boiled until al dente
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp asafoetida (this might be obscure for you guys actually… it's a really pungent powder spice, available at all Indian grocers)
½ tsp turmeric
3 green chillies, sliced finely (I didn't have fresh chillies, so I substituted for dried chillies)
Juice of ½ lemon
½ tsp sugar
½ tsp salt or to taste

 

Method

 

1. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and add the mustard seeds (and dried chillies if using). Once the mustard seeds have popped, add the asafoetida, turmeric, chillies, sugar and salt.

 

2. Quickly add in the parboiled cauliflower and sauté on a high heat for 4-5 minutes or until tender. Keep them moving to avoid the spices from burning.

 

3. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and garnish with chopped coriander.

 

I served this with rice, but it would go just as well as a side.

 

 

 

 

George's Prawn Saganaki

George's Prawn Saganaki

 

Saganaki (Greek σαγανάκι, literally little frying pan) refers to various dishes prepared in Greek cuisine and is named after the single-serving frying pan in which it is cooked.

One popular example is an appetizer of pan-seared cheese. The cheese used in saganaki cheese is usually kefalograviera, kasseri, kefalotyri, or sheep's milk feta cheese. Regional variations include the use of formaella cheese in Arachova and halloumi cheese in Cyprus. The cheese is melted in a small frying pan until it is bubbling and generally served with lemon juice and pepper. It is eaten with bread.

Other dishes that are traditionally cooked in the pan include shrimp saganaki (Greek γαρίδες σαγανάκι), and mussels saganaki (Greek μύδια σαγανάκι), which are typically feta-based and include a spicy tomato sauce

 

This is a recipe that George the Barber, located in Nicholson Street in Fitzroy shared while giving a "short back and sides" in early 2000. There are other variations but this is his one. No proportions, because that's his style......

 

Spring Onions

Onion

Crushed garlic

Prawns (Sorry M)

Tomato paste

Diced tomatos (can be canned, but fresh with seeds removed is better)

 

 

1) Fry finely chopped onion

2) Add tomatos and tomato paste

3) Allow to simmer/bubble on low to med heat until sauce thickens (and concentrates

4) Sit shelled prawns on top of sauce and allow them to cook (change colour) for a few minutes (don't overcook)

5) Transfer saucey mixture to a warmed oven dish (won't be in the oven long enough in the next step to heat up and your masterpiece will be too cool)

6) Sprinkle with crumbled Fetta and chopped spring onions, then grill until cheese starts to turn golden.

7) Serve warm with bread and hey! why not a bit of wine too eh?

 

 

Zuchinni Curry

 

Ingredients:

 

About 500g zuchinni, sliced into circles

1 medium onion sliced

1 clove garlic, minced or chopped finely

About 1 tsp ginger, minced or chopped finely

2 medium tomatoes, sliced

3 tbs oil

1 tsp chilli powder

2 tsp fenugreek seeds**

A handful of coriander leaves

 

1. Heat the oil in the pan, and add the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli powder. If you are brave, feel free to add some finely chopped fresh chillies at this point too. Fry off for a few minutes until the onions are soft, and the chilli powder is well combined.

 

2. Add the zuchinnis to the pan, and combine well for another few minutes.

 

3. Add the tomatoes, fenugreek seeds and coriander leaves. Add salt to taste. Combine well, and allow the mixture to cook for about 10 minutes. If the zuchinnis don't look full cooked through, then put a lid on the pan, and let it stew for a few minutes.

 

4. Once it is done, remove from heat and serve with rice or chapatis :-)

 

** Fenugreek seeds are this small squarish yellow spice. It has a wonderful, nutty flavour. Can be found at all good Indian shops :-)

 

 

'Sausage' Rolls

So I'm being slightly cheeky, and trying to make you convert to vegetarianism… hehe.. But I've even had carnivores tell me that these 'sausage' rolls are a winner :-)

To make the 'sausage' filling, mix the following:

 

• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup pecans, chopped finely (I actually use whatever combination of nuts I have available, pecans, walnuts, peanuts, almond meal!)
• 1 medium to large onion, finely chopped
• 1 vegetable stock cube (I have often substituded this for random 2 minute noodle flavouring sachets that have been floating around)
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 250g cottage cheese
• 1 cup rolled oats
• ½ cup breadcrumbs

 

Thaw out some puff pastry and cut it in half, into two rectangles. Spoon a line of the non-sausage mix down the centre third of each rectangle and gently roll up. Slice the rolls into halves, thirds or quarters and cut some diagonal slits along the top. You can repeat and assemble the lot now, or just do as many as you want to eat and freeze the remaining mix for later.

 

Glaze the sausage rolls with milk, and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake at 200 deg for 20-30 minutes, until golden brown.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gazpacho

Ingredients

Serves 4

100g slightly stale crusty white bread, soaked in cold water for 20 mins
1kg very ripe tomatoes, diced
1 ripe red pepper and 1 green pepper, deseeded and diced
1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
150ml extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp sherry or red wine vinegar
Fresh parsley

Salt, to taste

Method

1. Mix the diced tomatoes, peppers and cucumber with the crushed garlic and olive oil in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Squeeze out the bread, tear it roughly into chunks, and add to the mixture.

2. Blend until smooth, then add the salt and vinegar to taste and stir well.

3. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve, then cover and refrigerate until well chilled.

4. Serve with fresh parsley, freshly chopped chilli or a couple drops of Tabasco.

Crisp pork belly with caramel vinegar

 Source: The Age. Tuesday January 29, 2008

Ingredients

Serves 6

Pork Belly

• 1.5kg pork belly
• 2 tbsp sea salt
• olive oil
• freshly ground black pepper

Caramel vinegar

• 1/2 cup (115 g) brown sugar
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) red wine vinegar
• 2 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 cup (250 ml) chicken stock
• juice of 1 orange
• 4 wide strips of orange peel
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Serve with steamed rice & asian greens (bok-choy for example).

Method

Pork Belly

Score the skin of the pork belly in a criss-cross pattern with a sharp knife. Rub the sea salt into the pork skin and set aside for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 220C. Wipe the salt off the pork skin with kitchen paper and dry well. Drizzle a large roasting tin with oil. Put the pork belly in the tin skin-side down, drizzle with a little more oil and season with salt and pepper.

Roast for 30 minutes. Reduce temperature to 190C and roast for another 1 1/2 hours. Carefully turn the pork over and roast for another 20 minutes, or until the skin is crisp.

Caramel vinegar

Put the sugar, vinegar, star anise and cinnamon in a small saucepan and cook, stirring, over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, or until syrupy.

Stir in the chicken stock and simmer for another 5 minutes, or until slightly reduced. Add the orange juice and peel, reduce the heat to low and simmer gently until thick and syrupy. Season to taste.

Remove the pork from the oven, cover loosely (or it will not be crispy) with foil and set aside to rest for at least 15 minutes. Slice the pork and drizzle with the caramel vinegar. Serve with steamed rice, a steamed Asian green vegetable and some freshly chopped red chilli.