Tag: spinach

David Japy’s (Chick) ‘The Classic with Chicken’ Burger

.Reading time 4 minutes.

Serves: 4

A few months back, we flew to the Barossa for my birthday.

We both had to work, though we had the little kids in tow and were surrounded by some of Australia’s best wineries: what could go wrong, right?

What a brilliant week.

Light the fire before the kids get up, have breakfast (croissants), bash out emails, a winery or two around lunchtime, back for lunch at home, far fewer emails and try one of the reds we purchased earlier in the day.

Thanks for a brilliant week Nat. Never going to be 45 again and so lucky to have spent it with you. Here is to Grant Burge at 10am on my birthday.
At Henschke. Max didn’t take their heritage as seriously as they did. (They still gave him a colouring pack.)
David Franz. A brilliant cellar door and brilliant wines. Cellaring a 2013 Cab Sav.
We purchased their cookbook years ago. The restaurant is a most-go in Adelaide.
A brilliant recommendation from my mate Bryan. Cellared.
My mate Bryan’s favourite drop: a bottle in the cellar for Max when he turns 21.
Waking up to this each morning. Light fire. Croissants. Count down to birthday Champagne.

Per tradition, I had a cookbook for Nat ready to be unveiled in the lounge before we flew down to Adelaide.

‘Hamburger Gourmet’ by David Japy.

We’ve bought a few hamburger books and almost exclusively – actually, exclusively – they’ve been duds. Donated to the local community library.

Hamburger Gourmet, however. This is no dud.

Take this ‘Chick’ burger, one of the best chicken burgers I’ve had.

Tom (13) has designated burger night every second Thursday and I’m not scared.

Start with this burger.

Just wonderful. Simple yes, though bloody wonderful!

(We added avocado due to having an abundance of them and I am yet to be convinced avocado should not be on any and every chicken burger.)

Ingredients

4 homemade or bought buns (we did milk buns)

Patties
500gm chicken breast
A few pinches, sea salt
A drizzle olive oil

Sauce
1 onion, thinly sliced
A drizzle olive oil
200gm crème fraîche
75gm Italian parsley, finely chopped

Toppings
70gm baby spinach
Mashed avocado

Method

  1. For the patties, dice the chicken into small pieces and form into 4 patties, pressing them together well.
  2. Brown the onion in a frying pan over a high heat with the olive oil. Set a quarter aside. Put the frying pan over low heat and add the crème fraîche and parsley. Cook, stirring until the mixture reduces. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  3. Season the patties with the sea salt. Cook the patties in a hot frying pan over high heat with the olive oil for 5 minutes on each side.
  4. Cut the buns in half horizontally and toast them for 2 minutes under the grill. Spread the cut sides of the heels and crowns with the sauce. (Now is the time to spread the avocado on the heels if that is your preference.) Put the chicken patties on the heels then topped with the reserved onions and spinach. Finish with the crowns.

Ajoy Joshi’s Palak Murgh

.Reading time 4 minutes.

Serves: 4 – 6

Nat and I landed from 10 nights in Japan this morning.

Talk about a foodie destination. My god: street-food, Egg-sandwiches at 7Eleven, Michelin Starred restaurants. It honestly doesn’t matter.

A six-seat mixology place floors up somewhere in Tokyo.
Alain Ducasse’s restaurant Benoit in Kyoto. Holy moly.
Lurra. Featured on Someone Feed Phil, a top 50 place to eat in the world. Staggering.
A toasted egg sandwich infused with soy on the side of the road. Seriously, this place would be a pop up institution in Sydney. Here, they just asked us to wait with our sparkling sakes.

The Japanese care about food at every level, at every moment. From a broth at breakfast to tuna belly sashimi at the Tokyo Fish Markets, it literally doesn’t matter.

I kid you not, the fried chicken at the every-corner corner-store Lawsons is hands down better than the best KFC here in Sydney.

We even had an Indian meal in Kyoto in the smallest restaurant you could imagine (well, every restaurant in small) and wasn’t it a complete win on a level you’d almost never find in Sydney?! Cheap, cheerful, completely authentic – a total slam dunk.

You cannot go wrong no matter how much you might try.

But this isn’t a Japan post (which I will do) but a post because we are back and of course, drowning our sorrows with a wine, we return to a curry at the start of a cold, gloomy Sydney winter.

Nat wanted a tomato based curry and who was I to argue?

This relatively simple Ajoy Joshi number absolutely hits the note.

I added a little more Garam Marsala at the end, though do your thing.

Just make sure you slowly cook it down to reduce almost all the liquid.

A beautiful heat, wonderful spinach, just bloody lovely with a red on the couch ready to catch up on whatever Netflix we’ve missed.

(I have slightly adapted this recipe.)

Ingredients

1kg chicken thigh cut into 4cm pieces
1 tsp Garam Marsala
500gm baby spinach
3 mild green chilies, split lengthways
2 brown onions, roughly chopped
1/2 c vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp crushed ginger
1/4 c full-fat yoghurt
1/2 tsp chilli powder
3 ripe tomatoes, finely chopped

Method

  1. Marinate the chicken pieces in the Garam Marsala and set aside.
  2. In a food processor, process the spinach and chillies until a paste forms. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
  3. Clean and dry the food processor and process the onions until finely ground. Set aside.
  4. In a large, heavy-based frying pan, heat the oil. Add onions and salt and cook, uncovered, until lightly golden. Stir in garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant. Add the yoghurt and cook for 5 minutes further.
  5. Raise heat to high, add the chicken and cook until browned. Stir in chilli powder and cook until all moisture evaporates and oil separates.
  6. Stir in spinach purée and tomatoes. Cover, reduce heat and cook until the chicken is cooked through and tender. Uncover and if any liquid remains, cook over a medium heat until the liquid has evaporated. Serve immediately with rice. (And chutney is my strong recommendation!)

Bianca Zapatka’s Spinach Ravioli with Mushrooms

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4 – 6

This is probably one of the most comfortable pastas I have ever eaten, though calling it comfortable is an understatement.

It’s simplicity is its sophistication.

This is 2-hat sort of stuff. And yet, so simple.

Nat served this as the first course of a slow, Sunday afternoon of pastas and wow.

She adapted the dough slightly and I cooked the mushrooms for longer because mushrooms only improve with time in the pan.

We discovered some time ago that pasta assembly is best accompanied with a few flutes of good Champagne. A celebration of sorts that you have hit the final straight!

As the first course for a late autumn lunch, people would be blown away. A crisp Pinot Grigio, a fire and some good music and here you have all the pieces to start a very good afternoon.

Well done Nat.

Ingredients

For the Ravioli

1 3/4 cups plain flour
1/2 00 flour
1/4 semolina flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c water
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

For the Spinach Filling

225gm frozen spinach, thawed
125gm cream cheese
5 tbsp Parmesan Cheese, grated
Salt and pepper to taste

For the Mushrooms

2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
300gm brown mushrooms, sliced
3 tbsp soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh herbs and/or grated Parmesan to serve

Method

Pasta Dough

  1. Mix the flours, semolina and salt. Heap into a pile and press a well into the centre. Pour in water and olive oil and knead to a smooth dough. (We used the dough hook on a KitchenAid.)
  2. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in cling foil and place in the fridge for at least 1/2 hour.

Spinach filling

  1. Squeeze the spinach to remove all excess water and chop.
  2. Add the Parmesan, cream cheese, season and mix until combined.

To make the Ravioli

  1. Roll out the prepared pasta dough thinly on a lightly floured surface. (We used a pasta roller down to setting 2.)
  2. Cut out 7cm circles with a round form.
  3. Place approximately 1 tbsp of the spinach filling in the centre of each circle. Brush the sides with a bit of water and fold over the filling into semicircles. Carefully seal with your finer and then press down lightly with a fork.
  4. Bring salted water to the boil in a large pot. Let the ravioli slide in a simmer for 3 – 4 minutes until they have floated to the surface.
  5. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain.

Fried Mushrooms

  1. Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry the mushrooms until browned and all the liquid has evaporated.
  2. Add the chopped garlic and sauté for a few minutes. Deglaze with the soy sauce and sauté for at least a few more minutes.
  3. Serve with the drained ravioli. Season and garnish with fresh herbs and/or grated Parmesan.

Ajoy Joshi’s Chicken with Spinach

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4 – 6

A love a good spinach curry!

Unlike what we all get served up at our local Indian however, this dish by Ajoy Joshi has depth, heat and character. It is clearly a curry that doesn’t share a base with 200 other curries on the menu.

As with all Ajoy dishes, there are twists: the processed onions cooked gold in the oil is just one trick that makes this recipe special.

As part of a banquet, you could do a whole lot worse.

Ingredients

500gm (baby) spinach, stems removed
3 fresh mild long green chillies, slit lengthways
2 large yellow (brown) onions, roughly chopped
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1/4 c whole milk
1 whole chicken (1.5kg) cut into 10 pieces, or 1kg chicken pieces (I used thigh)
1 tsp Garam Masala
1/2 tsp chilli powder
3 ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 c heavy (double) cream

Method

  1. In a food processor, combine spinach and chillies and process until a paste forms. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Rinse and dry process, add onions and process until finely ground. Remove from the processor and set aside.
  2. In a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan, heat oil over a medium-heat. Add onions and salt and cooked uncovered, stirring occasionally, until lightly golden, about 15 minutes. Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in the milk and cook for another 5 minutes longer.
  3. Raise heat to high, add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned, about 5 minutes.* Stir in the Garam Masala and chilli powder and cook, stirring, until all the moisture evaporates and the oil separates, 5 – 10 minutes.
  4. Stir in the spinach purée and tomatoes. Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook until the chicken is cooked throughout and tender, 20 – 25 minutes. Uncover and if liquid remains, continue to cook on a medium heat until it evaporates.
  5. Just before serving, stir in the cream. Serve immediately.

* Respectfully, when chefs ask for meat to be browned in a sauce or gravy, I just don’t understand if this is possible without commercial cooking. Meat just doesn’t brown in milk. Just cook the meat.

Lucas Hollweg’s Spinach Gnudi

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4 as a starter

Geez I wish I took a photo of this cracker of a starter plated by Nat as part of a long Italian lockdown lunch we felt we needed.

(We needed it.)

There is a little time in it, though it’s worth it.

Ricotta and parmesan, burnt butter and more parmesan?

Yes please!

Reminds me of a very similar dish I had at Otto Restaurant on Sydney’s Woolloomooloo Wharf with a cracking bottle of Italian white and the sun dancing on the water.

If only…

Ingredients

250gm ricotta (we used smooth)
Olive oil for frying
200gm baby leaf spinach
1 small garlic clove, crushed
50gm parmesan grated, plus extra to serve
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 nutmeg, freshly grated
250gm fine semolina for dusting
50gm butter to serve

Method

  1. Place the ricotta in a fine plastic sieve over a bowl and let it drain for a few hours.
  2. Heat a splash of olive oil in a saucepan and add the spinach and garlic. Stir over the heat until the leaves are completely wilted. Set aside to cool and then squeeze out as much of the liquid as you can with your hands. Very finely chop and then squeeze again.
  3. Put spinach in a bowl with the ricotta and parmesan. Season, add the nutmeg and mix well. Taste and add more seasoning/nutmeg if needed.
  4. Spread half the semolina over a large plate or tray. Shape the the ricotta mixture into 16 – 20 balls, rolling them between damp hands. Place on the semolina and carefully roll until coated on all sides. Cover with the remaining semolina, then chill (don’t cover with anything else) overnight. This creates a semolina ‘skin’ that holds he gnudi together.
  5. To cook, bring a large saucepan of water to a gentle boil. Melt the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat and slightly brown/burn. Set aside and keep warm.
  6. Drop the gnudi into the boiling water, turn down the heat and gently cook for 3 minutes or until the gnudi float to the surface. Carefully remove with a slotted spoon, drain off the excess water then toss in the butter.
  7. Divide the gnudi among 4 bowls, drizzle the butter over and shave over plenty of parmesan to serve.

Spinach and Ricotta Chicken with Roasted Vegetables

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

So you have a new baby and cooking lobster tet-a-tet on a Monday night is no longer the priority.

Or possible.

And so you have this dish.

A dish which is simple, healthy and newborn-in-the-house friendly.

We speak from experience!

It isn’t going to set the world on fire though conversely, season well and serve with some steamed green beans and you have a really respectable Monday night dinner on your hands.

And lunch the next day for when the new baby is still at it and lobster tet-a-tet is remains off the menu.

Ingredients

250gm baby spinach
4 tbsp (light) ricotta
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Three pinches of nutmeg
4 chicken breasts
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
50gm fresh breadcrumbs, seasoned
3 zucchini, cut into batons
2 red peppers, seeded and sliced
2 red onions, peeled and cut into wedges
250gm vine cherry tomatoes
4 garlic cloves (left in skin)
Steamed green beans to serve

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 200c.
  2. Put the spinach in a large colander and pour over a kettle of boiling water to wilt. Allow to drain for a few minutes and then squeeze out as much water as possible. Chop, put in a bowl and beat in the ricotta, lemon zest, nutmeg and plenty of seasoning.
  3. Using a sharp knife, cut a slit into the side of each chicken breast and use your fingers to make a pocket. Spoon the spinach mixture into the 4 breasts. Rub with some of the olive oil and press the seasoned breadcrumbs on top. Arrange the chicken in a roasting tin.
  4. Put the vegetables in another tray baking tin and drizzle with oil and season well.
  5. Back the chicken and vegetables for 30 – 35 minutes, stirring the vegetables occasionally. Remove once the chicken is cooked through and the breadcrumbs are golden.
  6. Remove the softened garlic from the vegetables and remove the flesh; mash the flesh with the lemon juice, mix through the roasted vegetables and serve with the chicken and steamed beans.

Spiced chicken, spinach and sweet potato stew

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4

So, between the time of writing this and next Friday (4 days away), Maxy Ashes Beerworth will be born.

A little man destined to make – and break – our lives, at least in the short-term. (The making will be a much longer-term affair though the immediate focus is on the cannonball that will interrupt any concept of sleep, dancing with tequila in the kitchen late at night or eating out on a whim.)

But kids are a long-term game and I am so bloody excited, words do not describe.

But back to the short-term play.

We will need food and at a time when the sous vide and micro herbs probably won’t play a part.

Herein starts a short series of posts dedicated to Maxy, our sanity and eating well.

And this bloody marvelous stew is a great way to kick it off.

It takes a while and I have adjusted the recipe to add a touch more spice – of which you could certainly add more – and I recommend it it without hesitation if your little Maxy is about to enter the world.

Or you just want an awesome, super-healthy stew for lunch.

Seriously, she is good.

Ingredients

Stew

1 tbsp olive oil
3 sweet potatoes, cubed
200gm baby spinach, fresh
8 chicken thighs, chopped
500ml chicken stock

Spice mix

2 red onions, chopped
2 red chillis, chopped with seeds
1 tsp paprika
Thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated
400gm can tomatoes
2 preserved lemons, deseeded and chopped

To serve

Coriander
Pumpkin seeds, toasted
3 preserved lemons, deseeded and chopped
Warmed naan bread

Method

  1. In a food processor, blend all of the spice mix ingredients until very finely chopped.
  2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and cook the spice mix for around 5 minutes until thickened.
  3. Add the chicken and cook until the sauce has thickened.
  4. Add the stock and reduce over a medium heat until thick; an hour at least, likely two. You want a thick stew and the chicken breaking apart.
  5. Meanwhile, boil the sweet potato for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
  6. Season the chicken with pepper, add the sweet potato and spinach. Combine for a minute or two.
  7. Serve with coriander, pumpkin seeds and a sprinkle of chopped, preserved lemon.

Spinach and Feta Chicken Sausage

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 4 – 6

If you have a Kitchenaid mixer, do yourself a favour and get the mincer and sausage stuffer accessory.

Because homemade sausages are a win on all levels.

They’re fun to make and you can involve the kids. You know what is going into your sausage; and what isn’t going into your sausage: snouts, sawdust, car parts.

And suffice to say, you can make some pretty crazy, pretty amazing sausages.

Nobody doesn’t love sausages. Master one of the greatest food types there is and never look back.

Ingredients

1.5kg chicken breast, chopped
280gm frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
¾ cup crumbled feta cheese
2 tbsp marjoram
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp fine ground black pepper
2 tbsp minced fresh garlic

Method

  1. Combine, mince and stuff.

Spinach and feta muffins

.Reading time 2 minutes.

FullSizeRender (9).jpg
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.

 

Salmon with mustardy celeriac mash

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 2

All I can say here is don’t judge a recipe by it’s cover.

Because what this recipe seemingly lacks in ingredients it quite commensurately makes up for in flavour and of course, ease of preparation.

Celeriac might be a bit hard to find – as hard as finding a Harris Farm – though that really is the hardest thing about it all. And at about 300 calories each for the celeriac and maybe another 200 for the salmon, it is a healthy dinner to boot.

This dish really surprised us. Very pleasantly so.

Ingredients

2 salmon fillets
700gm celeriac, peeled to remove all the skin and cubed
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
2 tsp lemon juice
100g baby spinach leaves
Pinch of sugar
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly cracked pepper

Method

  1. Brush the salmon lightly with olive oil and season. Set aside ready to grill.
  2. Boil the celeriac until tender; about 12 to 15 minutes and drain, reserving 1 tbsp of the water.
  3. Whisk together the mustard and lemon juice, sugar, 1 tbsp olive oil and season.
  4. Heat the grill or a pan and cooked the salmon on both sides for a few minutes and cooked to your liking.
  5. Return the celeriac to the pan and mash; alternatively, use a food processor or a ricer. Heat the celeriac over a low heat, adding the spinach until it is wilted. Stir through 1 tbsp mustard mixture and reserved water and season.
  6. Spoon the mash onto two plates, place a salmon fillet on top and splash with the remaining mustard mixture.