Category: Side

The Boathouse: Salmon Roe & Potato Blinis with Wasabi and Crème Fraiche

.Reading time 4 minutes.

 

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Amazeballs.

Serves: 8 – 10 as a starter

The Boathouse – that wonderful restaurant right on the water at Blackwattle Bay in Glebe, Sydney – is famous for its snapper pie.

And it is a truly wonderful dish; sweated onions, cream, truffle oil, snapper and amazing pastry served with a smoked tomato and a simple mash. Yum.

Though they have another classic and one that Nat and I have ordered the two times we have had lunch there: the Salmon Roe & Potato Blinis with Wasabi and Crème Fraiche.

They are just awesome. And the presentation is like theater.

A bowl of the roe, chilled on ice; the small blinis, fluffy pancakes, served hot to allow the crème fraiche to melt. The wasabi and then the roe.

Eaten whole, the sensory experience is everything. Ditto the taste experience.

So set the task of doing the amuse bouche for a lunch at my parent’s place, I asked Nat what she thought we should do and immediately she answered this recipe.

Easier said than done right?

I pushed back on the basis that we didn’t have a recipe etc. though I should have known that it wouldn’t be that simple.

Shortly thereafter – pretty much on schedule – Nat had tracked down the blini recipe on some chef’s recipe organiser website and the rest was pretty straightforward.

It is in fact a simple dish and I promise that the recipe below perfectly recreates the dish at The Boathouse. Stunning.

You should make around 40 or so blinis and then factor in a teaspoon of crème fraiche and roe for each, with just a dash of wasabi.

Casually pull these out at your next dinner party and people will think you’re some kind of cooking prodigy.

Ingredients

1.2kg potatoes
3 whole eggs
500gm crème fraiche
175gm plain flour
175gm egg whites (whipped to a firm peak) (about 7 – 8 eggs in my experience)
100gm wasabi
300gm salmon (or trout) roe
4 lemon halves, tied in a muslin cloth to serce

Method

  1. Peel and cook the potatoes. Puree, ideally through a ricer and allow to cool.
  2. Whisk the whole eggs and 100gm of the crème fraiche into the potato puree.
  3. Once smooth, fold in the flour.
  4. Gently fold in the firm egg whites.
  5. Heat a non-stick pan (you don’t really need to oil it and you don’t want your blini to be greasy) over a medium heat. Form the blini into small discs – small pancakes – around 4cm in diameter. Cook for three minutes each side and then set aside.
  6. When ready, heat the oven to 180c and reheat the blini so that they are hot through.
  7. In separate bowls, serve the wasabi, the remaining crème fraiche and roe and then serve a dollop of each  on the blini. A dash of lemon juice and serve to your amazed guests.

Bread and sage stuffing

.Reading time 1 minute.

 Serves: 4 – 6 as part of a Christmas lunch

Rather than offending everyone’s grandmother by dissing stuffings containing nuts, oysters and apricots and jammed into the cavities of chickens and turkeys, I’m going to take a positive path with this post and simply state that as enjoyable as all the world’s stuffings are, my personal belief is that this stuffing is the world’s finest.

And I know I am not alone.

From a catering perspective, it is super simple, especially as it can be made independently of any turkey cavity. From a taste perspective, it is just awesome.

If tradition bars you from inching away from Grandmother’s secret stuffing recipe for Christmas lunch, add Turkey Subs to your repertoire and earn a free pass to try this stuffing

I promise you will never look back.

Ingredients

¾ cup minced onion
1 ½ cups chopped celery stalks and leaves
1 cup butter
1 large bowl soft white bread cubes
Powdered chicken stock
1 ½ teaspoons dried sage (not powdered)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Pepper 

Method

  1. Cook the onion and celery in the butter until soft.
  2. Mix with the bread cubes until coated.  Add the sage and thyme and stock powder and pepper to taste.
  3. Turn into a baking dish and cover with foil.  Bake at medium heat for 30 minutes to an hour or until cooked through.  Remove the foil at the end of cooking to crisp the top.

Onion Rings

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

My first memory of onion rings was at a restaurant (chain) in Neutral Bay, Tony Romas.

Yes, the world famous Tony Romas had two outlets in Sydney before they shut at the Big Bear in Neutral Bay 20 years ago and then again in the city, around ten years ago.

Institiution lost!

My parents took us probably a dozen times, primarily for the onion rings and ribs, though just as equally because it was one of those restaurants that encouraged kids to draw on their paper placemat. It was a win-win for parents and kids alike.

When I was around 14, my mother bought a portable deep fryer and I remember cooking onion rings for several Sunday-evenings in a row, just before returning to boarding school for the week.

Served with steak, ribs, fried chicken, pork or whatever, these rings are magic and unquestionably worth the effort. Just make sure you go slow when dropping the onion rings into the boiling oil.

I learned that lesson the hard way.

P.S. When Nat and I were in Hawaii last year, we ate twice at Tony Romas and unless you are mad, you should make the trek as well. It is the best!

Ingredients

8 onions, thinly sliced into rings (I’d allow 2 for each person or more!)
Milk to cover
4 egg yolks
Flour
Sunflower oil

Method

  1. Soak the onions in the milk for at least 20 minutes.
  2. Add the yolk to the onions/milk, stir to combine and discard all liquid.
  3. Toss onion in flour to coat, shaking off excess.
  4. Heat oil in deep fryer, large, heavy saucepan or wok to 190c. This temperature should turn a cube of bread golden in 30 seconds.
  5. Fry the onions in batches; this should take a minute or two up to 3 minutes depending on how you like them.

KFC Slaw

.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Serves: 6 – 8 as a side

No need to say much else except that this is pretty close to that horribly good coleslaw you get at KFC.

Thank me later.

Ingredients

8 c finely sliced or diced white and red cabbage
½ c grated carrot
4 tbsp minced onion
1 tsp sugar
Salt and pepper
¼ c milk
¼ c buttermilk
½ c mayonnaise
1 ½ tbsp white vinegar
2 ½ tbsp lemon juice

Method

  1. Process all the ingredients (except the vegetables), pour over the vegetables, mix thoroughly and chill for several hours or overnight.

Nigella’s Pea Risotto

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

How can you not love Nigella?

She is everything in food we want but dare not eat: butter, lard, bread, chocolate and cream.

Which is probably why it has been years since I last cooked this particular recipe, though memorable enough that it beat hundreds of recipes in the backlog to make it online.

The pea puree component is on another planet and you will be strong not to eat it in isolation.

Also, adding the oil to the butter apparently stops the butter from melting though in this buttery, cheesey, gooey mess of goodness, you’re not seriously going to pull back from a drop of oil?

Open a beer, cook this and stay warm one winter’s weekend lunch.

It is worth every calorie.

60gm butter
150gm frozen peas
1l chicken stock
Grated nutmeg
2 tbsp grated Parmesan
1 small onion, finely chopped
Drop of oil
200g arborio rice
80ml white wine or vermouth

Method

  1. Melt 1/3 of the butter and add the frozen peas. Cook for 2 minutes until defrosted then remove 1/2 the peas and add a ladle of stock to the remaining peas. Pop on the lid and boil for 5 minutes until soft. Puree this with 1 tbsp parmesan, 1 tbsp butter and a pinch of pepper and nutmeg. Check the seasoning and dial up the nutmeg if you so desire.
  2. Turn the heat down and melt the remaining butter and the drop of oil. Add your onion and cook for 1 minute. Don’t let it brown. Add the rice and stir to coat, turn the heat down and add a ladle of stock, cooking down until absorbed. Repeat for 10 minutes, adding a splash of wine or water if and as need be.
  3. Add the reserved peas and continue to cook for another 5 – 10 minutes, continuing to add the stock and reducing slowly.
  4. When the risotto is cooked, beat in the pea puree and the extra tbsp. of parmesan and serve.

Rockpool’s Peas with slow-cooked egg

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 6 – 8

Nat and I served this as a side to Rick Stein’s wonderful Escalopes of Salmon with a Champagne and Chive sauce; we also served Rockpool’s twice cooked, thick, hand cut chips.

Rather than use tinned peas, we used frozen peas which would have reduced the intensity of the pea taste; next time, I’ll make the effort and use tinned peas. Also, rather than do the egg in a sous vide, we poached it for a few minutes.

(I’ve typed up the recipe this way, though by all means, if you have 2 hours, place your egg in the sous vide at 60c and gloat.)

This is a really effective side with no end to variations; lardons of jamon, stewed tomatoes, pecorino cheese shaved on top, mascarpone, whatever.

Better still, this dish shows you give a damn about serving dinner, complete right to the edges and sides.

Serve with steak, a braise or fish and show your guests that tinned peas didn’t in fact die in the Great War!

300g tinned green peas, drained, liquid reserved
1 egg
¼ c extra virgin olive oild (plus extra for drizzling)
1 French shallot (eschalot)
2 anchovy fillets
1 garlic clove
½ dry long red chilli
180ml white chicken stock
lemon juice to taste
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp chiffonade flat leaf parsley, plus extra to serve

Method

  1. Poach your egg so the yolk will run.
  2. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium-low heat. Add the shallot, anchovy, garlic and chilli and sauté until soft and sweet. Add the peas, 2 ½ tbsp. of reserved pea liquid and the chicken stock.
  3. Flatten the peas with the back of a spoon and cook until they are soft, the liquid has reduced and the mixture has thickened. Season to taste with the lemon juice and salt and pepper. Stir through the parsley and spoon onto a serving plate.
  4. Very carefully crack the egg on top. Season to taste, drizzle with some olive oil and sprinkle with the extra parsley.

Sylvia’s Cornbread with Bacon and Chive Butter

.Reading time 2 minutes.
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Obama at Sylvias. Note the cornbread in the basket!

Serves: 15

Nat and I visited the famous Slyvias Restauarant in Harlem two years back. Starting her restaurant 1962, Slyvia was known as the Queen of Soul Food and everyone has eaten there.

It is a complete institution.

Among other things – fried chicken, you name it – we had cornbread. And as far as cornbread goes, it was amazing.

Come last Saturday and we’re cooking as part of a big Southern American themed meal – fried chicken, you name it – and we nominated this cornbread complete with a butter we felt befitted the theme.

The bread is fabulous. Served warm with butter, it is simply heaven.

You’ll explode (in goodness) if you eat this as a side with every meal, though as an amazing once in awhile, this bread will have you coming across as a genius baker to anyone lucky enough to get a slice.

Ingredients

Cornbread

2 c yellow cornmeal (polenta in Australia)
2 c all-purpose flour
1 c granulated sugar
2 tbsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp salt
2 ½ cups milk
1 c vegetable oil
5 large eggs

Bacon and chive butter

3/4 c butter, softened
2 tbs fresh chives
2 strips bacon, finely diced and cooked
1 clove garlic, minced

Method

Cornbread

  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
  2. Grease a baking dish.
  3. In a large bowl, sift or stir together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  4. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the milk, oil and eggs. Add the cornmeal mixture and stir until just combined. (Batter will be wet and a little lumpy.) Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the cornbread is pulling away at the edges.
  5. Cool in the pan, then cut into 15 squares.

Bacon and chive butter

  1. Stir all of the ingredients together in a bowl until combined and evenly distributed.
  2. Spoon onto a piece of cling film and roll into a cylinder. Twist the ends and refrigerate until firm, about 4 hours.

Beef carpaccio with mustard & parmesan sauce

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 8 as a shared starter

This dish is a real winner.

It’s stylish, it is easy to prepare and it looks the bomb. I served this up as part of a really elegant Easter feast: think porchetta, parmesan polenta, parsnip cream etc etc etc. I served this on thinly sliced and toasted baguette, though you could of course serve this as a more traditional carpaccio or in any number of combinations.

I promise you’ll love this and will be a hero for cooking it.

Ingredients

Beef fillet or whole rump
6-8 tsp Capers
60 ml – Olive oil
2 tbsp  lemon juice
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp Parmesan cheese, finely grated
Small bunch of chives, thinly sliced
Pinch salt and pepper

Thinly sliced toasts (if serving on toasts)
Small bunch of rocket leaves (if serving traditionally)

Method

  1. Wrap the fillet in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 30-60 minutes. Remove the beef from the freezer and slice immediately as thinly as possible across the grain of the meat.
  2. Place the slices between sheets of cling film and use a rolling pin to carefully flatten evenly into wafer-thin slices. Cover and chill until required.
  3. If serving traditionally, arrange the beef slices on a plate/platter, slightly overlapping, then place rinsed rocket on top.
  4. If serving on toasts, roughly fold and create a shape of the sliced beef on each taost
  5. For the sauce: place the oil, lemon juice, mustard, parmesan and seasoning in a glass jar, screw lid on and shake until well mixed. Season and drizzle over the beef; place a few chives on top.

Skinny Hummus

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 4 – 6 as a spread

When I first looked up a low(er) calorie hummus, I searched ‘skinny hummus’ and received only results from a company called Black Swan who has trademarked the term. No recipes.

So in calling this hummus skinny hummus, I may be infringing on their trademark. Though any publicity is good publicity for robbydogcooks.com, so I’ll run with the title until such time that they call me.

Anyway as far as hummuses go, this is a really neat recipe. I added a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil (instead of the water as per the recipe), though next time I’ll go with the water; the oil adds to it, though not as much as being able to smugly tell people it has no oil.

Enjoy.

Ingredients

1 x 400gm can chickpeas, rinsed, drained
¼ c fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp water
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground coriander
1 small garlic clove, crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Sweet paprika (to garnish)

Method

  1. Add all the ingredients except the paprika to a food processor. Process until smooth in consistency.
  2. Transfer to a bowl, garnish with sweet paprika and enjoy!

Spicy Lebanese potatoes (batata harra)

.Reading time 1 minute.
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Get over it and eat more potatoes.

 Serves: 4 – 6

There is something great about having a repertoire of potato dishes. Because people inherently like people who cook good potatoes, especially when they can do more than mash and baked potatoes.

These potatoes are awesome and would go well with so many things; steak, chicken or maybe some marinated and grilled pork. We had them with some really great Middle Eastern Beef and Parsley kebabs.

We substituted sweet paprika for the cayenne so that the boys would eat them and they were still delicious. And the boys hoovered them up.

Ingredients

1kg white potatoes, cubed 2cm
2 tbsp olive oil
1 ½ tsp salt
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ c finely chopped coriander
1 tbsp lemon juice
¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200c.
  2. In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with the olive oil and the salt. Divide potatoes among 2 baking paper-lined oven trays and roast for 40 minutes or golden.
  3. Place a large frying pan over a medium heat; add the extra virgin olive oil, garlic and coriander and cook for 1 – 2 minutes until the garlic changes colour. Add the lemon juice and the hot potatoes to the pan and toss to coat. Season to taste and sprinkle with the cayenne pepper.