Crunchy Greens

This side dish goes well with many asian meals such as Baked John Dory and a Tuna Cassoulet.

Ingredients:

2 bunches of choy sum
2 bunches of baby buok choy
1 tbsp finely sliced fresh ginger
1 cup slivered almonds
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp tamari or soy sauce

Method:

1. In a non-stick pan brown the almonds, remove and set aside.
2. Heat oil in same pan and on high heat stir fry the ginger and greens till just heated through (approx 3-5 mins) and add the soy and sprinkle with almonds to serve.

Serve Immediately.

Delicious' Tuna Cassoulet

This is a lovely and light tuna dish baked in the oven with some of my favourite vegetables.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 leek, thinly sliced
1 bulb fennel, thinly sliced
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
4 tomatoes, finely chopped
1 bunch parsely, finely chopped
1 can 400g cannelini beans
1/2 litre chicken stock
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 Bluefin Tuna steaks

Method:
1. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in saucepan over low heat and cook leek, celery, fennel and carrot for 10 mins till softened.
2. Add tomato, beans and stock and simmer for approx 20mins then stir in mustard
3. Meanwhile, sear tuna 1 min on each side in a lightly oiled non-stick pan. Cut into bite size pieces.
4. Layer bean and vegetable mix, then tuna, then more beans and vegetables.

5. Mix 1 tbsp olive oil with breadcrumbs, garlic and parsley and scatter over the top.

6. Bake in 200 degrees C oven for 20 mins.

Serve with rice and Crunchy Greens Side.

Baked Salmon and Barramundi with Thai Spices and Coconut Milk

This recipe is a repeat of a great Jamie Oliver recipe I have done before but this time I used Salmon as well as Barramundi to provide some extra oils to the cooking parcel so the white fish doesnt go dry and hard.

Serve with Jasmine rice and a mix of fresh steamed vegetables.

Fresh lime is also essential!

Proper Blokes Fusilli

This is a Jamie Oliver recipe. Its the only thing Dan cooks. I wish there were more vegies in it but this is a travesty if I say this to him....

JUST SERVE IT WITH A SALAD!

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp chilli flakes
Zest and juice of 2 lemons
1.5 kg of italian sausages
1 bunch parsley, finely chopped
500g Barilla Fusilli Pasta

Method
1. Grind cumin seeds and chilli together in a mortar and pestle
2. Push the sausage meat out of the skins and brown in a saucepan with 1 tbsp olive oil

3. Add the chilli and cumin seeds and keep browning till the meat is caramelised (approx 15 mins).

4. Add the lemon zest and juice and stir in. Meanwhile cook the pasta till al dente.

5. Add the butter and parsley to the meat then toss with the pasta.

Sausages just have a great flavour and thats the main theme of the dish - the lemon, chilli and cumin actually get cooked down a lot and are there in the background but not overpowering.

Honeyed quinoa and almond citrus cookies (no eggs, milk or butter)

These cookies are chewy, crunchy, soft, sweet, caramely, textured, warming, and perfect with tea.

I invented the recipe myself and I had three today - they are really wholesome and not sickly sweet - just naturally flavoured and sweetened. The combination of oats and quinoa makes good interesting textures while the base of almonds rounds them out as nutty and satisfying. You can taste the zing of the zest as well which is a nice touch.

Makes 20

Ingredients:
200 g of cooked red quinoa
200g almonds, toasted and chopped in food processor
100g oat flakes
100 g brown sugar
50 ml extra virgin olive oil
60 g of honey
50 g of SR flour
2 tablespoons lemon juice
100 ml of orange juice
1 tablespoon orange rind
1 tablespoon lemon rind

Method:
Preheat oven to 200º C.

Line an oven tray with baking paper.
Mix the oat flakes, almonds, flour and sugar.
Add honey, olive oil and orange and lemon juice and rinds. Mix!
Place tablespoons of the dough on the baking sheet. Don’t flatten. They will spread out during the cooking so leave large gaps (about 10cm) between cookies.
Bake for about 15 minutes till edges are brown.
Remove from oven. The cookies will be soft until they cool and harden so allow them to cool on a baking tray to keep their shape.

Orange Pulp Cookie Muffins

 

 

These cookies are a great way to use up orange pulp from juicing or from making marmalade!

Ingredients:

1 cup orange pulp

1 cup SR flour

1 tbsp quinoa flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup brown sugar

handful of sliced almonds

1 cup processed roasted almonds

3 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp margarine

1 egg

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C

Mix all together and place in cookie clumps on baking trays.

Bake till golden brown; approximately 15minutes.

Yum.  Kind of like a health food bar but more cake like and less dense - light.

They tasted just naturally sweet and crunchy while warm.

Next time I think I should add 1/2 cup yoghurt because although they were just right after cooking, the day after they were a tiny bit dry and needed a bit of gooing (maple syrup worked well).

Orange and Passionfruit Farm Marmalade

It's Autumn and last time we went down to Araluen Farm to visit Mark and Heather they gave us some really nice, tart first harvest oranges. There havent been many frosts down there yet so the oranges are not really sweet yet, and have a very big tang to them. I thought they were perfect for marmalade. I threw in the lone passionfruit we also found on a voracious little vine that was growing over a coral tree stump.

Ingredients:

1 part orange juice

2/3 part caster sugar

1/8 part orange rind finely sliced in 2mm x 2cm lengths

1 passionfruit

1 tsp lemon juice

Method:

1. Use a potato peeler to take the rind off the oranges without removing the white pith. Slice these as above and set aside.

2. Use potato peeler to peel off white pith and discard.

3. Put oranges into food processor and blend till smooth. Press through a strainer and measure out the juice.

4. Put orange and lemon juice in a saucepan (large enough that it doesnt come up more than 1/4 of the height of the edges) with the rind and bring to the boil. Let simmer for 15 minutes till the rind is soft.

5. Add the sugar (2/3 of the measured juice amount) and passionfruit pulp and bring back to the boil till the bubbles are unable to be stirred down.

...This is the tricky part....

6. Periodically check whether the jam is ready for setting by dropping some on a pre-chilled plate and putting back in the fridge. See if it produces a film and looks like it is setting to a jam-like consistency. When it does, pour the hot jam into pre sterilised jars (boiled in water). Place a round of baking paper over the top and screw the cap on tightly. Label and share with friends!