Category: Vegetarian

Patate al forno (Italian Oven Roasted Potatoes)

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Patate al forno (Italian Oven Roasted Potatoes)

Serves: 4 – 6

I love potatoes pretty much any way you can serve them and potato gratin is one of my favourites.

With a good steak and some bearnaise sauce, you’ve won me.

I also love any new way to do potatoes, especially one that doesn’t require the butter (and cream) that a good gratin demands.

These Italian oven roasted potatoes are just the answer.

You get almost the same effect less the calories.

As a side to a braise or even a robust fish, these are just wonderful.

Ingredients

6 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly cracked pepper
3 cloves of garlic, minced (plus 1 additional clove, halved)
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves separated (plus 1 to garnish)

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 180c.
  2. Rinse and dry the potato slices and mix in a large bowl with a generous splash or two of the olive oil, salt and pepper, rosemary leaves and garlic.
  3. Take a large baking dish and rub the insides all over with the two garlic cloves halves.
  4. Arrange the potato slices evenly in the dish, overlapping slightly and building row upon row. Add enough water to come up to about half the height of the potatoes, being careful not to displace the dressing. Drizzle a little more olive oil and season again with the salt and pepper. Place the additional rosemary sprig on top.
  5. Roast the potatoes for about 45 – 60 minutes, until the water has evaporated, the potatoes are soft and golden on top. Remove the rosemary sprig and serve.

Spinach and feta muffins

.Reading time 2 minutes.
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With some melted butter, served warm? Heaven.

Spinach and feta muffins

Serves: 12 – 15 muffins

The boys have loved these muffins ever since Oliver – and then Tom – were capable of eating muffins.

Until last weekend however, it has been awhile since I’ve cooked a batch.

The good news is that good things never change and the boys were just as enamoured with them as they were the first time they had them; warm with some butter and they are literally savoury heaven.

They’re great the next day either and tick all the boxes as a healthy, filling, lunch-box treat.

And they certainly aren’t just for kids.

Try them and enjoy.

Though do yourself a favour and have at least one warm with butter.

Ingredients

Canola oil/spray, to grease
2 ½ cups self-raising flour
250g chopped baby spinach
150g low-fat feta, crumbled
½ cup chopped semi-dried tomatoes
2 tbsp finely grated parmesan + 2tbsp to sprinkle
330ml (1 ⅓ cups) milk
90g butter, melted
1 egg
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200c. Brush/spray 12 muffin pans with canola oil to lightly grease
  2. Sift the flour into a bowl. Add shredded spinach, feta, tomatoes and parmesan and stir to combine.
  3. In a separate bowl, using a fork, whisk together the milk, butter, egg and dill until well combined, Add milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir gently until just combined.
  4. Spoon mixture into prepared muffin pans. Sprinkle with extra parmesan and bake for 20 – 30 minutes until golden and cooked. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

 

Aubergine purée

.Reading time 1 minute.

Aubergine purée

Serves: 4

The base for a rich braise or stew is often half the dish.

A magic potato mash or a creamy polenta; anything with celeriac, cauliflower, semolina and of course, parmesan, cream, butter and salt.

So here is your next base and it is seriously amazing.

The next time you pour a bottle of red wine into your casserole and set aside hours of slow cooking, you must try this purée.

Magic.

Ingredients

4 medium aubergines
30gm butter
30gm plain flour
380ml full-fat milk (we added a dash or two of pouring cream in addition)
75gm parmesan cheese, grated
1 lemon, juice only
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200c.
  2. Roast the aubergines whole for 30 minutes until soft. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Peel, chop and mash well using a fork.
  3. In a pan over a medium-heat, make a roux: melt the butter and add the flour and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Add the milk and stir until you have a thick white sauce.
  4. Mix in the aubergine, cheese and lemon juice. Season with the salt and pepper and keep warm.

 

Energy Muffins

.Reading time 1 minute.
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Tasty, filling… energy.

Energy Muffins

Serves: 15 – 18

There are muffins and then there are these muffins: energy muffins.

I found them in Delicious Magazine.

They’re dense, they’re soft, they’re incredibly tasty. And they’re really filling. Have one at 10 and you won’t need lunch until 2.

Read the ingredient list and you’ll know where the energy comes from.

You should whip up a batch for the week.

Seriously good.

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups caster sugar
2 cups plain flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup sultanas
2 cups grated carrot
1 cup, grated apple
1 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
Icing sugar, to dust

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180c. Use paper cases to line the muffin pans or grease muffin pans.
  2. Sift sugar, flour, cinnamon and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the sultanas, carrot, apple, coconut and walnuts.
  3. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, oil and vanilla. Add to the dry ingredients and fold until just combined; do not overmix.
  4. Spoon into muffin pans and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve dusted with icing sugar.

Matt Preston’s Toasted Cheese Sandwich with ‘Quickled’ Onions

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Matt Preston’s Toasted Cheese Sandwich with ‘Quickled’ Onions

Serves: 1 – 2

It is the night of New Year’s Day and that pretty much means toasties in a fry-pan.

It’s hot, you’re exhausted, you’ve had your wine and BBQ quota for the year and all you want is to curl up on the couch – with a beer – and watch Seinfeld.

The boys got their usual, plain-Jane toastie and loved it, though we had been saving this Matt Preston toastie for just a night like tonight.

And it killed it.

It is really special. It is simple to prepare assuming you have the right cheeses – which you really do need on account of their ideal melting points. The cheese melts like in a pizza ad.

And the ‘quickled’ onions leave a wonderful aftertaste.

Wow. What a way to start the new year!

Ingredients

1 leek, dark outer leaves removed
½ garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tbsp finely grated parmesan
½ cup grated Gruyere
½ buffalo mozzarella ball, torn
25gm soften unsalted butter
2cm-thick slices white bread
2 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

‘Quickled’ onions

1 red onion, thinly sliced
¼ tsp sea salt
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tbs red wine vinegar

Method

For the quickled onions

  1. Toss onion, salt and sugar in a bowl. Set aside for 15 minutes to pickle slightly. Stir through vinegar and set aside for 2 minutes or until needed.

For the toastie

  1. Clean and trim the leek. Place in a microwave-safe container and microwave uncovered on a high-heat for 4-minutes or until the leek is just tender. Split lengthways, remove the soft inner layers (discarding the outer layers) and chop.
  2. Stir through the garlic and cheeses and season well.
  3. Preheat a frypan over a medium heat. Line with a piece of baking paper.
  4. Butter one side of each slice of bread and place 1 slice (per toastie) on the baking paper.
  5. Spread dijon over the slice and make a slight indent in the slice and fill with the cheese mixture. Place the other slice of bread on top, adding more dijon if you can juggle and ensuring the buttered side is facing outwards. (I know that you know how to make a toastie; I am writing this for our young boys so that when they start properly cooking, they have a few recipes and instructions to fall back on).
  6. Cook for 2 minutes each side until melted or until golden and the cheese is melted.
  7. Serve toastie with the quickled onions.

Coconut chutney

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: A dinner of dosai, as a side

Dosais are not the least expensive things on your Southern Indian restaurant menu and even then, I doubt they make much money from them.

There are plenty of ingredients that go into the whole show, they take time and technique and importantly, a truly wonderful chutney like this lasts… 24 hours. Time and economies of scale are not on your side.

The silver lining of course is that a good dosai is to die for and this chutney is simply part of the story. It is amazing.

The extra touch that turns the dial from 11 to 12. The addition that completes the meal, taking you into fine Indian cooking territory. The secret weapon in your cook-off that nobody saw coming.

Sure, you have 24-hours to get from bench to plate, though in-between making your dosai batter, your filling and a wonderful side of lentils, you’re signed up to the task right?

And the fact is, you cannot lose any cook-off – or dinner – if you pull the whole thing off.

Tie maybe, but who the hell are you cooking against?!

Ingredients

Half a coconut, grated
2 fresh green chillis
½ bunch fresh coriander leaves
1 tbsp fresh ginger
Salt to taste

Tempering

10ml vegetable oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
¼ asafoetida powder
1 sprig fresh curry leaves

Method

  1. Grind the coconut, chillis, coriander leaves, ginger and salt in a blender, adding a little water if required.
  2. Heat the oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves and temper the chutney by pouring the mixture on top.
  3. Serve as an accompaniment to dosai.

** Enhances colour and flavour and settles the stomach; unless you have it or feel inclined to get it, you can live without.

Baked Brie

.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Baked Brie

Serves: Starter/Side

Pretty simple, pretty awesome this one.

You need a more wow starter than your usual cheese and crackers; so bake it; and there you have it?!

You just won 15 points for effort and genius

Ingredients

Brie
Butter
Thyme sprigs
Red wine
Grated lemon rind

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200c and butter a small baking dish.
  2. Push thyme sprigs into slits in the brie, pour over some wine, cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
  3. 3. Sprinkle with the lemon rind and some thyme leaves.

Pecan Torte

.Reading time 1 minute.

Pecan Torte

Serves: 6

She might not be happy with the inclusion of this recipe, though there are a few of them that define my mother and her cooking talents… and none comes more to mind that this torte.

Nobody that has ever had it, has thought anything differently: it is genius.

Every time I have it – and I have had it probably 600 times – I literally gasp at how bloody wonderful it is. It is literally genius.

The origin of the recipe  – according to my mother – is Mexican and my grandmother found it whilst she lived it LA many years back.

Don’t be confused.

Some freshly whipped cream, some fresh strawberries, this is the least contentious, most no-questions, shit-yeah dessert I think you can make.

I vouch my cooking heart on it.

P.S. This was course #5 of #6 at our Long Lunch/Wedding. It was called ‘Mexican Wall’.

Ingredients

6 egg whites
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups sugar
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 tsp vanilla
16 Sao biscuits
Whipped cream
Strawberries

Method

  1. Beat the egg whites with the baking powder until stiff.
  2. Beat in the sugar gradually, and continue to beat.
  3. Fold in the pecans, vanilla and Sao crumbs.
  4. Bake in a large buttered springform pan at 190 C for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool.
  5. Two hours before serving spread with the whipped cream and chill.
  6. Garnish with strawberries before serving.

Potato Pallya

.Reading time 2 minutes.
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Potato Pallya, about to be folded into a dosai!

Potato Pallya

Serves: 4 – 8 dosai

Lordy, this is a seriously fine dosai filling.

In fact, it is as good as I have had at any restaurant.

The trick is to ensure that the final product is not too oily. If anything is going to kill the delicate shell of your dosai, it is oil.

Otherwise, be as adventurous with the spices as you want with this recipe. Make it sing with flavour, smoke, spice and flavour. And don’t worry that the lentils will be crunchy… that is half the fun.

Boom!

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil
½ tsp black mustard seeds
½ tbsp split chickpea lentils
½ tbsp split black lentils
1 – 2 dry chillis, torn
¼ tsp Asafoetida powder*
¼ turmeric powder
1 sprig fresh curry leaves
Half an onion, sliced
Salt to taste
250gm potatoes, boiled, peeled and roughly mashed
¼ bunch fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Method

  1. Heat oil in a saucepan. Add the black mustard seeds and allow to splutter.
  2. Add both the lentils and cook on a medium heat, stirring constantly until the lentils turn a light golden in colour.
  3. Add the chillis and the asafoetida powder and cook for a few moments.
  4. Add the turmeric and the curry leaves and cook for a few moments.
  5. Add the onions and salt and cook until the onions turn translucent. Add the mashed potatoes and mix well.
  6. Cook on a medium heat for a few minutes, checking the seasoning.
  7. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.
  8. Use as the filling of a dosai. Or just eat it because it is seriously that good!

* I know, I had only heard of this once and I didn’t know what it was. Like turmeric which is really only used to enhance colour (and flavour), so too is Asafoetida powder. Though more so to reduce flatulence as far as I can tell. If you can get it, awesome, if not, not to worry.

Dosai

.Reading time 4 minutes.
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Nat skillfully folding a dosai. With the hands of Fred Flintstone, it was suggested I photograph. A good suggestion.

Dosai

Serves: As many as you need

If you haven’t had dosai, you’re missing out on one of the better Southern Indian delicacies.

If you have had dosai, you’ll know what I mean.

A wonderful, thin, crispy pancake with a glorious, soft, spiced filling of potato, mince or vegetables; the contrast of the incredibly light, incredibly thin, crunchy pancake against a wonderful filling is just awesome.

So much so, that learning how to cook them was on my cooking bucket list.

And two weeks ago, I ticked that box!

The batter itself is easy enough to prepare. The real trick is in making the dosai pancake, because unlike a Sunday-morning pancake, you need to spread out the dosai batter by hand as opposed to a breakfast pancake that does all the spreading for you.

The more you spread, the thinner the dosai, the better the dosai.

Oh, and the spread needs to be circular. Our boys might eat the strangely shaped pancakes we serve them on weekends, though dosais are about having a round, dinner-plate sized disc.

To do this, pour a ladle of the batter in the middle of the heated, dry pan.

You then spread the batter evenly in concentric circles until it reaches the edges of the griddle. Something with a small, flat-bottom will do this job just fine.

Your first few attempts will leave you with dosai far too small, thick in parts and with tears and holes, though you’ll get the knick of it.

And the batter lasts for 6-months, so you’ll have plenty of time.

It might seem an effort, though once you get the handle of it, you’ll be the master of one of the finer foods you can cook from Southern India. And seriously, the contrast in textures, is to die for.

Ingredients

3 parts fine to medium rice flour
1 part split black lentil flour
Water for the batter
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil or ghee to pan-fry the dosai

Method

  1. Mix the rice and lentil flours with just enough cold water to form a thick, fine paste. Don’t mix too heavily as the lumps will disappear overnight.
  2. Add salt to taste and leave the batter in a warm place overnight to ferment
  3. Mix the batter thoroughly the next morning.
  4. Heat the pan until it is hot; if you can hold your hand for 10 seconds around 4cm from the top of the pan, you’re at the right temperature.
  5. Pour a ladle of the batter in the center of the pan and spread evenly in concentric circles till it reaches the edges of the pan.
  6. Drizzle a small amount of the oil or ghee on the pancake to baste. Cook on a medium heat until the dosai is golden brown.
  7. Place the filling of your choice in center of the dosai and roll or fold the dosai as desired.
  8. Serve hot with fresh (coconut) chutney and sambhar.