This week's effort may have been the best tagine ever. This was my first beef tagine. Soften one finely sliced red onion, 3 crushed cloves of garlic and a small piece of grated ginger. When they begin to colour, add one red chilli finely chopped, 2 tsp coriander seeds crushed and 2 sticks of cinnamon. Add 3-4 lightly cooked beetroots, peeled & quartered. Saute the beetroot for a minute or so then pour in enough boiling water to nearly cover. Put the tagine in the oven (put it in at 100 & bring the temperature up to 180). After about an hour & 1/2, add an orange peeled & segmented, a tbsp runny honey, 1 tbsp orange flower water & seasoning. Cover & cook a further 15 minutes. To serve, sprinkle over lightly roasted pistachios & chopped parsley. I served it with couscous.
Sunday was Phoebe's last dinner at home before heading back to university & she asked for home made burgers. I went for a lamb variation. I make a delicious mix of lamb mince with bulgar wheat, garlic, dried mint & oregano (dried has a more intense flavour) & lemon zest - I think I've told you before. Sometimes I make them into big patties, sometimes little meatballs to serve on skewers. On this occasion I made medium sized patties to serve in pitta bread with hummus & a mix of salad items. This makes a great change from burgers. We had the leftovers in our salad lunches.
On Tuesday I made a broccoli & blue cheese salad with the last of the broccoli from the garden. It was so wonderful I may have to make it again this week with shop bought broccoli. I urge you to try this. Apart from broccoli & blue cheese which you have to use - otherwise I'd have to rename the dish - you can put in what ever you have in the fridge. For the base I used crispy cos and baby spinach. These days with a composed salad I dress each component as I compose it. I made a lemony, mustardy vinaigrette & tossed the lettuce with the dressing in a bowl before adding to the salad dish. Cut the broccoli into tiny florets & blanch 1-2 minutes then toss in the dressing bowl & add to the lettuce. I had some French bread left over from the weekend so I made tiny crispy garlic croutons. At the market on Sunday I bought some speck from
Little Wolf. If you live in Wellington you should try this. Sometimes his wife brings delicious Hungarian baking to the market. I put the rind (plus a parmesan rind I found in the freezer) in my pumpkin soup on Monday. Finely dice the speck, fry & drain well. I used Roquefort from the French cheese stall at the market and it was the perfect crumbly consistency. I added halved cherry tomatoes, toasted almonds & micro greens.
Wednesday we had a delicious chicken & couscous meal. Use 2 boneless chicken thighs, skin on, per person & tie them up with string to reatin their shape while cooking. Brown on all sides in a pan then set aside. Add a thinly sliced onion, 1/2 tsp ground corainder & 1/4 tsp each ground turmeric & ginger, 1 crushed garlic clove & a bayleaf. Soften, adding a sprinkling of water to the pan if the spices start to catch. Add 1/2 tin drained chickpeas, a handful of green olives & 1 cup chicken stock. Season, then sit the chicken thighs on top, cover & simmer about 25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the pan from the heat & transfer the thighs to a plate to rest - keep them warm. Stir 3/4 cup couscous to the pan, cover & leave 10 minutes, then fluff up with a fork. Add lemon zest & chopped parsley. We had the left over couscous in our lunch salads.
Try a spicy tagine with a variety of earthy sweet root vegetables, such as kumara, yam or pumpkin, and beef. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and saute a small piece of grated ginger & 1 onion, finely chopped. Add 700 kg lean beef, cubed & seer then add 1-2 tsp ras el hanout. Add enough boiling water to barely cover the meat, cover the tagine & put in the oven at about 180. After an hour, add your root vegetables cubed - the equivalent of about 2 medium kumara. Season and cook another 20 minutes or until the meat is tender. Add 1/2 cup frozen peas and half a tin of chopped tomatoes. Cook another 10 minutes until the peas and vegetables are cooked. Sprinkle with chopped preserved lemon & flat leaf parsley. I made some Turkish flat breads & served with a dollop of Greek yoghurt.
Last Sunday was a very fishy day. Chowder at the market and whitebait fritters for lunch - the first of the season are always such a treat, served with a squeeze of lemon. For dinner we bought a beautiful piece of bluenose from the market and pan fried it with za'atar then served with a pinenut dressing, on a bed of hummus. To cook the fish, brush with olive oil, then sprinkle with za'atar and quickly cook in a hot pan on both sides. To make the dressing, combine 2 tbsps pinenuts, toasted & roughly chopped, 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley chopped, 1/4 red onion finely chopped, 1/2 red chilli finely chopped, 2 tbsp olive oil 1/2 tsp pomegranate molasses, 1 tbsp lemon juice plus a grating of zest. Mix together & pour over the fish.
New season's Chinese greens are just beginning to appear at the market. I plan to really experiment with them this year. This week I just played it safe and had choy sum with pork fillets. 
Now that Zany Zeus is making paneer, I find we are having it more often. It is one of my favourite cheeses. Try it with chick peas, spinach & tomatoes. Heat a tbsp vegetable oil in a pan & cook 1/2 tsp each cumin seeds & yellow mustard seeds until they pop. Add 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1 finely chopped red chilli, 1 small onion thinly sliced, 1 clove garlic crushed, 1/2 tbsp grated ginger. If you don't have a chilli (and they are not quite in season yet) use dried or flakes. Season with salt & cook until the onion is soft. Add a tin crushed tomatoes & a tin of chickpeas & simmer 15 minutes. In the meantime, slice the paneer (about 150g) into 2 cm thick chunks and saute in a little oil until golden on both sides. Cut into bite sized pieces. Wash a handful of spinach & chop roughly. Stir into the tomato mix to wilt along with a tbsp tamarind concentrate. If you don't have tamarind (but you should try & get some) add a squeeze of lemon juice. Toss through the paneer.
The new season's asparagus is in. One of the first things I like to do is asparagus in French bread with ham & Gruyere. This has been a great favourite in our house for many years and was something we often had for lunch when Mum & Dad came to stay in the spring. They were great asparagus fans. Lightly steam the asparagus then fill a baguette with a slice of Gruyere and a slice of ham & 2-3 asparagus spears. Toast in a medium oven for about 10 minutes. We cut our baguette into 3-4 portions depending on the size and appetite of the diners.
