Yotam Ottolenghi’s Leek Fritters

February 18, 2024.Reading time 4 minutes.

Serves: 4

Before diving into this quite excellent recipe, it has been a few months since my last post.

It is not that we haven’t been cooking and eating well, though, since my last post, Nat and I have welcomed a little baby girl to the family: Avalon.

I can’t blame sleepless nights. Avalon has been an absolute dream and has slept from 7pm to 7am since she was nine weeks old. Though with Christmas, a few trips thrown in and all the rest of the craziness, typing up recipes has taken a back seat.

I have a real backlog of recipes to get through, though now have the joy of typing, looking at the most beautiful sister to Max, Tom and Oliver. This recipe is for Avalon.

I can’t wait to cook with her in the kitchen.

And now to these fritters.

They are superb.

Chosen and cooked by Nat as part of a bigger Yotam feast, they are so tasty and so soft. Add the sauce and serve alongside this Yotam Ottolenghi Char-grilled Asparagus, and you’ve got an absolutely wonderful weekend meal on your hands.

Ingredients

3 leeks (450gm in total, trimmed weight)
5 shallots, finely chopped
150ml olive oil
1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and sliced
25gm parsley (leaves and fine stalks), finely chopped
3/4 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 free-range egg white
120gm self-raising flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 egg
150ml milk
55gm unsalted butter, melted

Sauce*

100gm Greek yoghurt
100gm sour cream
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
20gm parsley leaves, chopped
30gm coriander leaves, chopped

Method

Start by making the sauce. Blitz all the ingredients together in a food processor until a uniform green. Set aside for later.
Cut the leeks into 2cm thick slices; rinse and drain dry. Sauté the leeks and shallots in a pan with half the oil on medium heat for about 15 minutes, or until soft. Transfer to a large bowl and add chilli, parsley, spices, sugar and salt. Allow to cool down.
Whisk the egg white to soft peaks and fold it into the vegetables. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, whole egg, milk and butter to form a batter. Gently mix it into the egg white and vegetable mixture.
Put 2 tbsp of the remaining oil in a large frying pan and place over medium heat. Spoon about half of the vegetable mixture into the pan to make four large fritters. Fry them for 2 – 3 minutes on each side, or until golden crisp. Remove to kitchen paper and keep warm. Continue making the fritters, adding more oil as needed. You should end up with about eight large fritters. Serve warm, with the sauce on the side or drizzled over.

* Substitute a squeeze of lemon or lime juice if you just don’t have the time for the sauce.

Eggs En Cocotte (Baked Eggs)

September 16, 2023.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 4

My mother used to make these eggs for us as kids on special Sundays.

And special these eggs are!

So simple, so wonderful. Such a treat – almost brunch material.

You could add spinach or even cheese if you were inclined, though this recipe is for the original and in my opinion, the best.

Ingredients

8 large eggs
4 rashes of bacon, julienned
1 c thickened cream
Freshly cracked pepper
Good buttered toast to serve

Method

Heat the oven to 180c.
Pan-fry the bacon over medium heat in a pan until slightly browned.
Into four ramekins, divide the bacon and then crack two eggs per ramekin.
Pour a 1/4 c cream over each ramekin and finish with a good crack of pepper.
Bake for 25 minutes until set. Serve with some great buttered toasts to serve.
And Champagne if brunch!

Manali Singh’s Bhindi Masala

September 8, 2023.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

I don’t know when Nat fell in love with okra, though it has become a total staple in our Indian cooking. No complaints whatsoever there!

It is a little-known vegetable in Australia and to make it sing, it does need a bit of prep.

Sans prep, it’s slimy and that isn’t going to make the cut.

Soak the okra overnight, however, and it is such a versatile and wonderful vegetable: somewhere between French beans and eggplant.

The best Indian is vegetarian and this recipe is exactly why. Served alongside this Ajoy Joshi Hyderabadi Chicken, this was such a brilliant match.

Honestly, cook these two recipes with some Jasmine rice and tell me this isn’t as good as Indian comfort food gets!

Ingredients

2 1/2 vegetable/canola oil, divided
500gm okra
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 medium red onion, chopped
3cm ginger, grated
1 green chilli, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp amchur (mango powder)
1/4 tsp chilli powder
3/4 tsp salt
Garam masala to sprinkle
Julienne ginger to garnish
Rotis/Rice to serve

Method

Soak the okra overnight. Wash and pat dry each okra with a paper towel and then chop into 1cm rounds, discarding the head and tail. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan on medium heat and when hot, add the chopped okra. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently and then lower the heat for 5 minutes more. The okra should be cooked by now (15 minutes) and there should be little sliminess (!) left. Set aside.
Add the remaining 1 1/2 tbsp oil on a medium heat and when hot, add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle for a few seconds. Add the chopped onion and saute for 2 – 3 minutes until soft. Then add the ginger and green chilli and cook for 1 minute. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until soft and mushy.
Add the spices and some water so that the spices do not burn. Stir well.
Add the okra back in and cook together on a low-medium heat for 5 minutes, uncovered.
Sprinkle with garam masala and serve garnished with julienned ginger.

Ajoy Joshi’s Hyderabadi Chicken

September 8, 2023.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

Well, here we are again.

Another Ajoy Joshi homerun curry, completely consistent with his wonderful use of onions and a yoghurt marinade.

The addition of the sesame seed and peanut paste adds luxury and when served alongside this completely contrasting okra dish by Nat, it was just an absolutely, if understated lunch.

Flavours that just complimented each other so easily, we really had no words.

Ajoy has an unusual approach of sealing the pot – for the final 45 minutes – with a large metal bowl in order to steam the chicken and seal the delicious flavour.

I skipped this step. I made the marinade the night before and then cooked until I had a wonderful yoghurt gravy. The result was just excellent and I have adjusted the recipe this way.

Hats off Ajoy Joshi. Truly a signature dish and one he is famous for.

Ingredients

1kg chicken thigh fillets, cut into large cubes without trimming off the fat
1 tbsp sesame seeds
50gm peanuts
Milk
1/3 c vegetable/canola oil
1 onion, sliced
Salt
1 tbsp crushed ginger
1 tbsp crushed garlic*
1 1/2 tbsp crushed green chilli
Pinch of turmeric
1 1/2 c natural yoghurt
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp black cumin seeds
1 tbsp lemon juice

Method

Toast the sesame seeds and peanuts in a dry frying pan then grind to a paste. Mix the paste with a little milk.
Heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan and add the onion and 2 pinches of salt. Cook over medium-high heat until caramelised and golden brown. Remove from the heat.
Place the peanut paste, ginger, chilli, turmeric, yoghurt, garam masala, cumin seeds and a pinch of salt in a large bowl and mix together. Stir in the fried onion and chicken. Leave to marinate for 10 minutes.
Put the chicken and marinate in the saucepan used for the onions and cook over a medium-heat for 40 minutes until you have a thickish gravy. Just before serving, stir through the lemon juice.

* I’ve said it before. Get yourself a jar of garlic ginger pasta and cruise through this step!

Jennifer Segal’s Big Italian Salad

September 3, 2023.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 6

I really don’t think you can get any more classier than a salad of green leaves.

Add a cracking vinaigrette to mop up after a cracking bistecca or an amazing pasta and it’s almost the palette cleanser. The sign the first parts of the meal have come to an end and it’s time to open a new red, pause and talk about the cheese options on hand.

Sometimes though, things call for a salad as big as the main.

Something bold and comforting in itself.

Not just for mopping.

This salad is a great example.

It’s moorish. The second half of a pasta lunch.

It’s a meal in and of itself.

Don’t be confused. It isn’t classy.

More meaty, sans the meat.

Though it’s a lovely salad when the time calls for it.

(Sidenote! This is my 600th recipe on Robby Dog Cooks. Time flies when you’re having fun!)

Ingredients

For the vinaigrette

1 c loosely packed fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 c loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1/4 tsp dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/3 c red wine vinegar
3/4 c extra virgin olive oil
Heaping 3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp honey

For the salad

1 large head romaine lettuce, torn into large, bite-sized pieces
1 large capsicum, chopped
1 c seeded and chopped cucumbers
1 to 2 carrots, peeled into ribbons
Handful grape tomatoes, halved
Handful pitted olives
Feta, crumbled to taste

Method

To make the vinaigrette, combine all the ingredients in a food processor and blitz.
Place all the salad ingredients in a bowl except the feta. Just before serving, add about half the vinaigrette and toss, adding more if need be. Toss in the cheese and season.

Valeria Necchio’s Duck Ragù with Bigoli

August 23, 2023.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 6

Another absolutely incredible Valeria Necchio pasta.

Another pasta well at the peak of our ongoing ‘world’s greatest pasta challenge’ as we countdown the days to the arrival of Baby #4.

There is something so wonderfully subtle and scented about the ragù. This is class on a plate. 2-hat pasta class and I’m not overstating that.

Wow.

Nat made a nutty wholemeal pasta to go alongside and it just delivered that final, extra kick. If you don’t make your own pasta, try and find bigoli as your pasta.

I made the ragù ahead of time and reheated it with a knob of butter to add a little silk. I commend this to you.

Otherwise, this is the occasion to chill a good Vermentino, sprinkle plenty of Parmesan on the pasta, serve a side bowl of green leaves and enjoy.

This is why life is good.

Ingredients

500gm of minced duck, including fat and skin*
2 garlic cloves, slightly crushed
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
240ml of dry white wine
480ml of duck stock or vegetable stock
2 juniper berries
2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Knob of butter when reheating

To serve

500gm of fresh bigoli pasta (or thick fresh spaghetti)
100gm of Parmesan

Method

To make the duck ragù, heat the oil in a large, heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Once hot, add the garlic and rosemary and allow them to infuse in the oil for a few minutes, stirring often.
Add the duck mince and increase the heat to a medium-high heat. Cook for 4 – 5 minutes, until evenly browned and season generously.
Pour in the wine and stock and add the juniper berries. Bring everything to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cover with a lid. Cook the ragù for at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally and adding a little stock if the ragù becomes too dry.
Once the liquid has reduced completely and only an oily sauce remains, remove from the heat and discard the rosemary, juniper and garlic. Cover and keep warm.
Cook your pasta and drain. Reheat the ragù, adding a little butter. Toss through the ragù with the pasta and half the Parmesan. Serve with the rest of the Parmesan.

* I left the procurement of duck for this recipe quite late and only had the option of duck breasts with the skin and fat. I was concerned that this would not be fatty enough for a ragù, though after mincing and cooking, rest assured it is. 3 duck breasts is about what you need here.

Jamie Oliver’s 12-hour (overnight) Roasted Pork Shoulder

August 23, 2023.Reading time 5 minutes.

Serves: 12

I don’t cook a lot of Jamie Oliver recipes.

His stuff is always great though a little mass-market for what we are often aiming for on a Saturday night. (Please, don’t get me wrong here: he is amazing! We just try to stretch a bit further when given the opportunity.)

Though lordy, when it comes to a roast – which I rarely do, grumbles Nat – Jamie Oliver and his Italian roasts are in an incredible league. This Arrosto Misto I typed up years ago is a testament to the point.

This particular roast was even more outstanding.

A labour of love – and time – it was the sort of 1-hat roast you would die for in a great Italian restaurant on a ‘Sunday roast’ afternoon. Add in the crackling and this is bravo level.

I embellished the gravy component over what Jamie called for.

I served up steamed green beans on the side.

An extra serving of those incredible potatoes and wow.

Play with the apple cider vinegar though get it right and this is just an epic meal. Sunday lunch or dinner, this is what I am talking about.

Ingredients*

* I halved the recipe successfully.

5kg shoulder of pork, bone-in, skin removed and reserved
Olive oil
4 onions
2 – 3 eating apples
3 sticks of celery
1 bulb of garlic
1 bunch fresh sage
4 fresh bay leaves
500ml bottle of cider
2 tbsp fennel seeds
2 whole cloves
2 dried chillies
Salt and freshly cracked pepper
Steamed green beans to serve

Fennel and Potato Gratin

1.5kg potatoes
5 bulbs of fennel
4 cloves of garlic
4 anchovy fillets
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 whole nutmeg, for grating
100gm Parmesan cheese
400ml double cream
200ml single cream
Salt and freshly cracked pepper

For the Gravy

1 c chicken stock
3 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Salt and freshly cracked pepper
Reserved drippings from the cooked pork

Zingy Salsa

2 eating apples
1 tbsp cider
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 bunch mint
Salt and freshly cracked pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 250c. Toss the reserved pork skin in a little oil and sea salt, lay it flat on a tray and roast until golden and crisp. Set aside. Reduce the oven to 130c.
Peel the onions and cut them into wedges with the apples. Trim and roughly chop the celery and slice the garlic bulb in half horizontally. Scatter it all in your largest roasting tray with the sage and bay leaves, pour in the cider and add a good splash of water.
Bash the fennel seeds, cloves, dried chillies and 1 heaped tsp salt into fine dust in a mortar and pestle, then massage all over the pork with a drizzle of oil. Sit the pork in the tray, cover tightly with a double layer of foil, place in the oven and roast for 10 – 12 hours, or until the meat pulls easily away from the bone. Drain the drippings from the tray and set the pork aside, covered in a couple of clean tea towels to keep warm. Turn the oven up to 200c.
Whilst the pork is cooking, peel the potatoes and cut lengthways into wedges along with the fennel. Parboil the potatoes for 7 minutes and the fennel for 6 minutes, then drain and leave to steam dry completely. Place in a large roasting tray. Peel the garlic and blitz until fine with the anchovies, rosemary leaves and a good splash of boiling water in a blender. Finely grate in half the nutmeg and most of the Parmesan and pour in the cream. Add a pinch of pepper and salt, blitz again and pour over the vegetables. Sprinkle over the remaining Parmesan and bake for 45 – 50 min, or until golden and bubbling.
For the gravy, in a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock, apple cider vinegar and reserved drippings. Stir in the flour, combine and season.
For the salsa, chop the apples into fine matchsticks and toss in a bowl with 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar and 4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. Finely slice the mint leaves and toss into the bowl with salt and pepper
Serve the pork with the gravy and the salsa on top, potatoes and beans at the side. If you haven’t had a wine by this point, pour a double. You have earnt it!

Nando’s Peri Peri Chicken LOADED Burger – with thanks to RecipeTinEats

August 20, 2023.Reading time 4 minutes.

Serves: 4

As we count down the weeks in single digits to the arrival of baby #4 – the first girl in the Beerworth family after Nat of course – Nat and I are carving out more and more time during the week to be together, preparing the house and hopefully, fitting in a late lunch to talk through the logistics and fun coming up.

Last Friday was sunny, we had new plants to pot, the cleaner had almost finished and it was time to regroup and walk-through the slimming running sheet of things to be done.

Enter, this incredible burger (plated on a toasted wholemeal baguette).

I initially chose this recipe – from the always reliable RecipeTinEats – because I needed something I could prepare in advance and then complete on the BBQ with a small outdoor kitchen. The cleaner in the house, remember?

I’m giving almost full credit here to RecipeTinEats. This is a very, very good marinade and pink sauce.

Indeed, Tom – our 12-year old – wants charcoaled chicken wraps for both himself and his friends for an upcoming sleepover to celebrate birthday #13 and I am definitely doing this marinade, minus maybe a chilli or two. Maybe on skewers over charcoal next time, rather than just on the BBQ?*

My addition of bacon, cheese and avocado though, took this burger to the LOADED level.

And nothing ever tastes better than on a toasted baguette.

I don’t eat much fast food though if you told me this was a limited-time burger – let alone their signature dish – I would not have doubted it.

Perfect heat. Perfect crunch. Just bloody wonderful.

Nat and I keep talking about honing in on a signature sandwich for both of us.

I’m a poached chicken and herbed-mayo slaw on a Vienna sort of guy and that is a sandwich I’m going to get right.

In the meantime, I’ll take this burger/baguette.

Bloody great.

(I have adapted this recipe to how we cooked it.)

Ingredients

Peri-Peri Sauce/Marinade

1 – 3 birds eye chillies (I used 3)
1 large red capsicum
5 garlic cloves
3 tbsp vegetable oil
4 tbsp malt vinegar
2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp dried oregano
2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp white sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
Black pepper

Pink Sauce

3 tbsp Peri Peri Sauce (above)
1/2 c whole egg mayonnaise
1/4 c sour cream

Burgers

1 tbsp olive oil
4 chicken thighs
8 rashers of bacon
1 avocado
4 slices of cheddar cheese
2 tomatoes
Lettuce of choice
Baguette, cut into fours and sliced horizontally

Method

Place the Peri Peri Sauce ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour 1/2 c into a ziplock bag with the chicken and marinate overnight.
Mix together 3 tbsp of the Peri Peri Sauce together with the Pink Sauce ingredients. Set aside/refrigerate.
Toast the baguettes and fry the bacon.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a fry-pan or BBQ. Add the chicken and cook each side for 4 – 5 minutes until golden brown. Cover and rest for 5 minutes.
To make the burgers/baguette, smother one side of the bread with pink sauce and the other with a quarter of the avocado. Slice the chicken and layer chicken, cheese, tomato and lettuce.
A beer not essentially though recommended!

* Whether you cook the chicken in a skillet or over flames, get as much char on it as you can.

Kitchenaid Wholemeal Flour Pasta Dough Recipe

August 20, 2023.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 4 – 6

The result was a disaster when I first attempted wholemeal flour using my tried-and-true pasta dough recipe.

It didn’t bind. A crumbly mess.

Essentially, you can’t substitute wholemeal flour for 00 flour. The texture just doesn’t hold together.

In comes Nat of course and here you have the perfect recipe for wholemeal pasta dough.

I’ve written the recipe for the Kitchenaid and its dough hook. Kneading by hand will yield the same result of course.

Ingredients

1 3/4 c wholemeal flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
3 large eggs
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method

Place the flour in the bowl of the Kitchenaid. Make a well and add the eggs, salt and olive oil.
Using the dough hook, knead until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky. Don’t over-knead as it will become stiff.
Roll into a ball, cover tightly in cling wrap and set aside for 30 minutes.
You must run it through the thickest roller on your pasta maker a few times when it comes to rolling: the texture of the flour just needs that extra work. Roll, fold on itself, roll again and repeat until you have a pliable dough.
From here, roll to the point of thickness you desire and go from there.

Yotam Ottolenghi’s Stuffed Eggplants with Lamb and Pine Nuts

August 6, 2023.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4 – generously

Nat absolutely loves eggplant and she gravitates that way always.

Thus, this classicly Isreali dinner and one that was as generous as it was hearty. Another great Yotem Ottolenghi recipe.

Spiced lamb mince and pine nuts are a combination for the ages. Read through the ingredient list and you’ll see why is just so classicly works. Predictable and great.

Yum.

Great weeknight cooking.

Ingredients

4 medium eggplants (about 1.2kg), halved lengthways
6 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 medium onions, finely chopped
500gm lamb mince
50gm pine nuts
20gm flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 tsp tomato paste
3 tsp caster sugar
150ml water
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp tamarind paste
4 cinnamon sticks
Salt and black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 200c.
Place the eggplant halves, skin-side down, in a roasting tin large enough to accommodate them snugly. Brush the flesh with 4 tbsp of the olive oil and season with 1 tsp of salt and plenty of black pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
While the eggplants are coking, start the stuffing by heating up the remaining olive oil in a large frying pan. Mix together the cumin, paprika and ground cinnamon and add half of this spice mix to the pan along with the onion. Cook on a medium-high heat for about 8 minutes, stirring often, before adding the lamb, pine nuts, tomato paste, 1 tsp of the sugar, 1 tsp salt and some black pepper. Continue to cook and stir for another 8 minutes, until the meat is cooked.
Place the remaining spice mix in a bowl and add the water, lemon juice, tamarind, remaining sugar, cinnamon stivks and 1/2 tsp of salt: mix well.
Reduce the oven temperature to 195c. Pour the spice mix into the bottom of the eggplant roasting tin. Spoon the eggplant mixture on top of each eggplant. Cover the tin tightly with foil, return to the oven and roast 1 hour and 30 minutes, by which point the eggplents should be completely soft and the sauce thick; twice through the cooking, remove the foil and baste the eggplants with sauce, adding some water if the sauce dries up.