Tag: capers

Gourmet Traveller’s Gremolata-crumbed Whiting with Warm Baked Potato Salad

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4

We love anything from Gourmet Traveller and I found this recipe in one of their books I picked up in a local community library.

And sure, it is a simple recipe though in fairness, the book is called ‘Simple’. Doh!

And excuse the photo which was more about the memory rather than publishing: for the fish is great though my goodness, we both agreed this is one of the best potato salads we have ever had. (And we didn’t see it coming.)

And of course, it is simple!

The next time we are asked to bring a salad to a BBQ, this is it.

Though do the fish as well. Just a cracking and special weekday meal.

Ingredients

1/4 c flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
Grated rind of 1 lemon
3 c day-old breadcrumbs, dried in oven until crisp
2 tsp capers, drained and chopped
12 whiting fillets (we used John Dory)
1/2 c plain flour
1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tbsp water*
Vegetable oil, for shallow frying
Lemon wedges to serve

Dressing

2 tbsp sour cream
2 tbsp whole-egg mayonnaise
1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Warm baked potato salad

800gm chat potatoes, halved
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small Spanish onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 tbsp chopped sage leaves

Method

  1. For dressing, whisk all the ingredients with 1 tbsp water in a small bowl until well combined, then season to taste.
  2. For warm baked potato salad, place potatoes in a roasting tray, drizzle with the olive oil, season to taste, and toss gently to combine. Bake at 200c for 20 minutes, then add the onion, toss to combine and bake for another 10 – 15 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked. Just before serving, toss the potato mixture with dressing, then gently stir the herbs through.
  3. Meanwhile, combine parsley, lemon rind, breadcrumbs and capers in a shallow bowl and season to taste. Dust fish in flour, shaking away excess, and dip in egg mixture, then coat in breadcrumbs mixture, pressing crumbs onto the fish to coat evenly. Shallow-fry crumbed fillets, in batches, in hot vegetable oil for 2 minutes each side or until golden and cooked through, then drain on absorbent paper.
  4. Serve crumbed fish immediately with warm baked potato salad and lemon wedges to the side.

* It is a bit of a bugbear of ours, though you will always need at least twice the egg mixture called for so prepare yourself for this inevitability.

Yotam Ottolenghi’s Char-grilled Asparagus

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 4

This is such a delightful side, showcasing how the addition of a few simple ingredients can make a vegetable side totally sing.

For a BBQ, this is the sort of dish that makes good, great.

Definitely one to bookmark.

Ingredients

2 bunches of asparagus
2 tbsp rapeseed oil, plus extra to finish
1 tsp sea salt
60gm feta, crumbled
1 tbsp capers
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Black pepper

Method

  1. Snap off the tough ends of the asparagus and discard. Toss the spears in the oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Lay the asparagus in a hot griddle pan, placing them perpendicular to the ridges of the pan. Cook for 6 – 9 minutes, turning occasionally, or until just al dente and lightly charred.
  2. Arrange the asparagus on four serving plates. Sprinkle over the feta, the capers, lemon zest, more pepper and a drizzle more of the oil.

Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Caper Gemolata

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 6

Anything that successfully dials up potatoes is a win for me.

Indeed, in our always-dieting house, we need an excuse to be pairing potatoes and this recipe is one such excuse.

It’s luxurious, it’s bursting with flavour from all the vinegar capers, anchovies and herbs.

And it looks wonderful plated.

You can see the effort and the effort is worth it.

Ingredients

1.5kg potatoes
Salt
4 tbsp olive oil plus more for the pan
1/4 c sherry vinegar
3 tbsp capers, drained and chopped
1 tbsp anchovy paste
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 c flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

Method

  1. Boil the potatoes until tender and drain.
  2. Heat the oven to 240c and arrange the shelves high. Oil a baking sheet on a baking pan and place each potato down, gently pressing until crushed though still intact. Brush the tops of the potato with 1 tbsp and roast for 25 minutes.
  3. Brush the potatoes with 1 tbsp more oil and then grill until golden brown: 4 – 7 minutes. Sprinkle with salt.
  4. While the potatoes cook, combine in a bowl the vinegar, capers, anchovy paste, garlic and remaining 2 tbsp oil and 1/2 tsp salt: drizzle over the potatoes and serve immediately.

Italian Coleslaw

.Reading time 2 minutes.

FullSizeRender (7).jpg
Just wonderful; creamy thanks to the parmesan; hot thanks to the chilli oil.

Italian Coleslaw

Serves: 4 – 6

This is a really sophisticated little number I pulled from Gourmet Traveller.

It speaks of the thinly sliced, super-fresh vegetables and herbs you throw in and with the parmesan, chilli oil and some seasoning, wow.

We had it with a glazed pork chop and some braised beans it was wonderful; it is hot, fresh, soaked up the rest of the plate and stood its own as a side. The next lunch served with a rare BBQed eye fillet and some hand-cut chips, it got even better.

Slaw is always good and this is a wonderful version of it.

Ingredients

180gm peas (de-thawed peas are fine or if using podded peas, start with 500gm )
¼ white cabbage, thinly sliced
Fennel bulb, thinly sliced
½ Spanish Onion, thinly sliced
3 radishes, thinly sliced
½ cup each (loosely packed) basil, mint and flat-leaf parsley, coarsely torn
¼ cup (firmly packed) watercress sprigs
1 tbsp salted capers, rinsed
40gm parmesan, finely grated
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp chilli oil
2 tbsp lemon juice

Method

  1. If using podded peas, blanch peas in boiling salted water until tender (1 – 2 minutes), fresh and drain. If using frozen, de-thaw completely.
  2. Combine in a large bowl with cabbage, fennel, onion, radish, herbs, watercress, capers and parmesan and toss to combine.
  3. Just before serving, add oils and juice, season to taste and toss lightly to combine.

Sirloin Steak in a Tomato and Caper Sauce

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 4

This recipe is from Delicious magazine and it did well to get cooked and typed up.

I have one of those Country Road bags completely full of recipes pulled from different magazines and newspapers and with so many cookbooks and recipes online, it is a rare lucky-dip into the bag for the occasional lunch or dinner.

Anyway, pretty glad we picked this one.

Easy, healthy, tasty and definitely worthy of typing up.

Served with a parsnip mash (with cumin, cayenne, nutmeg and walnut oil) and some steamed beans.

Yum!

Ingredients

¼ cup olive oil
4 x 150gm sirloin steaks (we used porterhouse)
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
6 anchovy fillets in oil, drained
2 tbsp capers, rinsed and drained
Small handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, plus extra to serve
400gm can tomatoes
2 tsp dried oregano

Method

  1. Place 1 tbsp oil in a frypan over a high heat. In batches, sear the steaks for 1 minute on each side and set aside.
  2. Reduce heat to medium then add the remaining 2 tbsp oil to the pan. Cook garlic, anchovies, capers and parsley, stirring for 2 – 3 minutes until the anchovies melt.
  3. Add tomatoes and oregano and simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes or until thickened.
  4. Reduce heat to medium. Return steaks and any resting juices to the pan. Cover the steaks with the sauce then simmer for 6 minutes for medium-rare.
  5. Serve sprinkled with parsley leaves.