Versatile vegetables

Phoebe is always doing interesting things with cauliflower but I've never done much other than cauliflower cheese, curry or soup until now. This week I branched out with two new cauliflower ideas.

On Sunday we had lamb kofte with cauliflower "couscous".  To make the kofte for two, combine 300g lamb mince, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, chilli flakes, 1 clove crushed garlic, finely chopped parsley, zest of half a lemon, 1/2 tsp dried mint, salt and pepper.  Make little meatballs - I made 6 - and poke a pre-soaked bamboo skewer through each one, then shape into sausage shapes on the skewer. Set these aside while you prepare the couscous.
Break half a cauliflower head into florets and grind to a fine crumbly couscous-like texture in the food processor.  Spread these out on an oven tray and bake at 200 for 5 mins.  You could microwave in a bowl for a few minutes but I can't as I don't have one.  Set them aside to cool and cook the kofte on a tray in the oven for about 12 minutes.
While they are cooking mix finely diced cucumber, chopped tomato, a small quantity of finely diced red onion, chopped olives, chopped mint and parsley, and crumbled feta with the cauliflower. Dress with lemon juice and olive oil.  Serve with yoghurt and a little chopped dill.
I used the other half of the cauliflower to make a pizza base.  Crumble the cauliflower and lightly cook as above then wrap in a tea towel and wring out any moisture.  I didn't do this and mine was a little soggy but still delicious.  Mix the cauliflower with a little beaten egg, crushed garlic and a little grated parmesan, mixed dried herbs, salt and pepper.  Shape into a pizza shape on an oven tray lined with baking paper.  Make it quite thin - about 1/2 a centimetre.  Bake at 200 for 30-40 minutes.  It should be firm and golden.  Take it out of the oven and turn up to 220.  Spread the base with passata or a similar kind of tomato sauce, halved cherry tomatoes and blobs of mozzarella.  Grate over some parmesan and sprinkle on a few basil leaves.  Bake another 5 minutes until the cheese is melted and serve with a few more basil leaves.
I will definitely be trying other things with cauliflower.  Any suggestions?
I returned to a favourite from this winter.  The charmingly named Dr Feel Good winter salad.  This is a brilliant recipe and although it looks fiddly is well worth the effort.  I save a bit of time by using roasted capsicum in a jar rather than roasting from scratch.  These are great and can go in many dishes.  Try them with the cauliflower couscous.  On this salad occasion Phoebe was coming for dinner and got there first so I phoned ahead for her to turn on the oven and put the beetroot on to boil.  That was useful.  You will really like this salad and you can be flexible with the ingredients.
I also made brilliant little apple puddings that I was alerted to on Facebook.  When I told them at work they all cried, "too hard", but in fact they were "too easy".  And they did taste delicious.  I sprinkled with icing sugar mixed with cinnamon because I had some pre-mixed which had been left over from a cake I had taken to work.  It was a great combination and a little dollop of whipped cream is the perfect finishing touch.
Now that asparagus season is upon us I like to eat them as much as possible.  A great idea for a spring Saturday lunch is salad greens, thinly sliced radish and steamed asparagus piled on a grilled slice of sourdough that has been spread with mayonnaise.  Add egg boiled just enough to peel with the yolk still soft and drizzle over a little lemony vinaigrette.

Give peas a chance.

I visited a friend in Napier on my way to Auckland for Christmas and a conversation we had then is the inspiration for this post.  Last December this friend -  you know who you are - stayed for two nights.  It was a work related visit and both evenings were weeknights so we were eating weeknight suppers rather than meals for entertaining.
The first night was Monday so I made soup and it was early December so we had peas in the garden.  I made the obvious choice - pea soup.  Soften a finely sliced onion and 2 stalks finely chopped celery in a little butter, with a bay leaf. Add 3 cups chicken stock & bring to boil then add 1 kg peas - freshly picked or frozen - and boil 3 mins.  Remove from the heat & stir through 1 cup chopped parsley & 3/4 cup cream with a little ground white pepper to taste.  Blend until smooth.  Add 2 tsp red wine vinegar and salt to taste.  Keep warm while you pan fry 3 scallops per diner.  Cook them in a little butter with a little salt & some tarragon leaves.  Pour the soup into serving bowls and top each bowl with scallops and tarragon leaves. A delicious seasonal soup.
We also had a good crop of broad beans and the asparagus season was drawing to a close so I returned to another seasonal favourite. A dish of seasonal greens.  Soften a finely chopped onion, a bunch of finely sliced spring onions and a couple of cloves of finely chopped garlic.  While your alliums are softening steam a couple of bunches of asparagus and chop each stalk into three, and blanch and skin 500g of broad beans.  When the onions are done add 250g of peas to the pan and cook five minutes then add the broad beans and asparagus and cook a further five.  Add finely chopped parsley, basil and chives and a large dollop of butter. I sometimes add chunks of feta.  A delicious spring supper.
I did notice after the second evening that I had served two plates of green food.  I did not however twig that I had basically served two meals which primarily consisted of peas.  That suits me fine, however my guest hates peas.  She did not reveal this at the time but shared over a glass of wine a year later.  The most interesting thing was that in these meals she actually liked them.  So all you pea haters out there give peas another chance.
I have mentioned another great pea favourite of mine - peas with lettuce. Halve a small lettuce - a baby cos or little gem and lay in the bottom of a pan.  Add six chopped spring onions, 1 tbsp parsley, a knob of butter, 4 tbsp water or chicken stock and lots of peas.  Add a pinch of sugar.  You can add 2 baby chopped carrots if you have them.  Cover tightly and simmer about 15 minutes, less if you are using frozen peas.  This is the French classic dish  Julia Child  refers to as the glory of pea cookery.  She suggests it should be served as a separate course and eaten with a spoon. Julia also suggests serving the peas with a chilled white wine that's not too dry, or a chilled rose and I suspect that would work with any of these pea dishes.
I have however a new favourite pea recipe which I urge you to try.  Peas with sorrel and mustard is pea cookery at its absolute finest. Blanch 300g peas, refresh under cold water and set aside.  Toast a tbsp black mustard seeds and set aside. Make a paste with 2 tsp Dijon mustard and 1 1/2 tsp English mustard powder, 1/2 tsp caster sugar and a splash of water.  Sauté two or three bunches of finely sliced spring onions with 2 finely sliced garlic cloves.  When they are slightly coloured add the mustard paste, the peas, half the mustard seeds and a couple of tablespoons of Greek yoghurt.  When everything is warmed through take off the heat and stir through 100g roughly shredded sorrel.  It is the sorrel that makes this dish and you may struggle to find it.  You can substitute rocket but if you do you will need to add lemon juice.   I may have some sorrel to hand out when I separate my plants in the autumn so get in touch.

New season

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.

Roasted vegetables

I seem to have latched onto a theme here. Roasted vegetables have appeared on the table many times in the last fortnight. Roasting suits most vegetables and it is easy to do as well as providing suitable nutrition for a vegan. You can do them all in the oven at once using your fan function. Just put the longest cooking ones in first. I usually cook them at 200-220.
I'll just talk you though a few I have done recently. Some I may have mentioned before but mybe you've forgotten or only recently joined the blog.
I can't go past crushed potatoes so I'll mention them first. Boil new potatoes until cooked then drain until they have stopped steaming. That lets you know they are dry. Put in a roasting dish so they fit snugly and, using the back of a teaspoon (or your fingers if they are the asbestos variety), press each potato gently until the skin breaks & the potato just gives a little. Drizzle over some olive oil & sprinkle on some salt & a herb of your choice. Roast in a hot oven about 40 minutes. If you don't have oven room to roast because you have too much going on in the oven, you can always boil them & toss in oil with salt & parsley at the end. I have discovered a delicious early potato called Perla which is brilliant for this dish.
Baby turnips & carrots go well with fennel. Leave the carrots whole (use a variety of colours if you can buy them or grow them) and halve the turnips if you think they are a little on the large side. Slice the fennel into chunks, toss in olive oil, season & roast in a hot oven about 20 minutes.
Try boiling baby beetroot about 30 minutes then drain & peel. Toss them in a dressing of olive oil & balsamic vinegar, (3/1) and 1 tbsp honey. Roast in a hot oven 20 minutes then toss in a handful of kalamata olives & sprinkle over some feta cheese. If there is a vegan at your table put the feta aside to sprinkle on individual serves & substitute a little brown sugar for the honey.
Roast baby kumara in their skins, either on their own or with shallots & garlic - don't bother to peel the garlic. Toss in oil & season. These will work nicely with rosemary.
Try roasting asparagus with finely chopped garlic & fresh chilli, a handful of ripped basil and 1/2 a dozen cherry tomatoes. Season, toss in oil & put in a hot pan then roast in a hot oven 21 minutes. Add 5-8 minutes to the time if you haven't heated the pan first.
The other day I found some courgettes and an aubergine that hadn't been used in a previous meal so used this method, adding the courgettes & aubergine cut into wedges. This is also a good way to entice reluctant vegetable eaters.
Do you have a favourite roasted vegetable combination?
I also thought I would mention Harriet's vegan mayonnaise that she made to accompany Antoinette's falafels. To half a block of silken tofu, add 3 cloves of garlic, 1 tbsp white wine vinegar & 1 tbsp grainy mustard. Pulse to lightly blend then with the machine on the lowest speed add 1/4 -1/2c olive oil until it resembles mayonnaise. This was delicious. Do not however add 6 cloves of garlic as Harriet did the first time. You can have too much of a good thing.
I also need to mention that I had my sister staying & she needed to be provided with a meal on the run. On a bed of baby cos & baby spinach I put a spicy chick pea salad. Heat 100 ml olive oil in a small saucepan with a finely sliced red chilli, 4 cloves garlic finely chopped, 1-2 finely sliced red onions, 75ml cider vinegar. Mix in a bowl with a drained tin of chick peas, 1/2 cup crumbled feta, 1-2 finely sliced spring onions & a handful of fresh mint & flat leaf parsley. To this I added some slices of pan fried lamb fillet. I rub my lamb with salt pepper & ground cumin & leave to sit at least 10 minutes before frying in a hot pan or griddle.
Harriet made Halloween themed vegan pumpkin cup cakes for pudding. Too good!

Pita meals & marmalade

With the advent of spring or at least rumours of its advent I have been thinking about lighter meals. I bought some spicy lamb sausages from the Island Bay Butchery and made a quick meal on pita breads. Heat the oven to 200 & saute 2 thinly sliced onions in a little olive oil with 2 cloves of garlic, 1/4 tsp each allspice & cinnamon & a handful of pinenuts. Slip the sausages out of their skins - this is quite easy, just slit the skins with scissors & peel them off. Use 1-2 sausages per person. Break the sausages into 1 cm pieces and add to the saute pan breaking then into bite sized pieces as they cook. When they're cooked and lightly coloured add a handful of flat leaf parsley & take off the heat.

Carefully slice pita breads in half so that you have 2 rounds. Allow 1-2 rounds per person depending on greed/ appetite. Put the pita on a baking tray and brush around the edges with olive oil - to coat the bits that won't be covered with topping. Divide the sausage mixture among the pita slices & top with halved cherry tomatoes -about 2 tomatoes per pita. Bake 10 minutes until the edges of the pita are crisp & golden.

Serve topped with a drizzle of Greek yoghurt & a sprinkle of cinnamon. I actually used Cleveland buffalo yoghurt & when I was in Auckland at the weekend I saw the buffalo and was able to thank them. I served this with a salad of cos lettuce, finely sliced spring onions, finely sliced orange pieces (peel a couple of oranges & remove all the pith then halve & slice thinly), black olives & feta slices. Make a vinaigrette with red wine vinegar or lemon juice. Coat the lettuce first with some of the dressing then layer up the orange & feta, scatter over the olives & spring onion & drizzle the remaining dressing. The citrus makes a great foil for the richness of the sausage.

Later in the week I made a vegan version using Antoinette's authentic Lebanese falafel. I have just discovered these and recommend you rush out & get some. The vegans drizzled over hummus instead of yoghurt & I had both. I served this with the orange salad again & our old favourite roasted asparagus, which I eat at least once a week at this time of year.

We went to Auckland for the weekend to help a certain sister celebrate a certain birthday. She had an overburdened grapefruit tree so we took a large bag full home & made some grapefruit. I use Edmunds & made a marmalade with 3 grapefruit, 1 orange & a lemon. Unfortunately it didn't set as well as I would have liked & I suspect the grapefruit were over ripe. I read that if they didn't have many pips they would be over ripe & contain less pectin. Earlier in the week when I was preparing them for breakfast they were very pippy but when I was preparing them for the marmalade we found barely a pip. We needed to wrap the pips in muslin & cook the with the fruit. Phoebe & I wondered if as the fruit ripened it ate its own pips. Can anyone enlighten us. Any way for those of you who have a jar of marmalade I hope it doesn't run off the toast.

Meat and three veg

I love a small piece of lean meat with a selection of vegetables. There are lots of cuts of lamb you can treat this way. Leg steaks, backstrap, fillet or rack all work well. I like to rub my piece of lamb with salt, pepper & cumin & leave to sit before cooking. Or with a bit more effort make a paste of garlic, olive oil, rosemary, cumin, cinnamon & lemon zest. Another favourite is a paste of anchovies, lemon zest, Dijon mustard, capers, red wine vinegar, olive oil & garlic. Serve the lamb with couscous - I usually toss a spring onion in a hot saucepan with olive oil, add the couscous, cover with the same quantity of boiling water, clamp on the lid & leave it to do it's thing. When you're ready to use, fluff up with a fork, stir through some olive oil, toasted pinenuts & parsley. Try roasting some asparagus. This is really popular at our house. In a dish lightly toss asparagus spears, very fine slices of garlic, a sprinkling of chilli flakes, some colourful cherry tomatoes, olives, olive oil & a good handful of fresh basil. Season with salt & pepper & put in a hot roasting tray, in a hot oven (225), and roast for about 12 minutes. Turn a couple of times during cooking if you remember. Steam seasonal vegetables and before serving toss in a little olive oil & season. Experiment to see what tastes good to you. I like lemon infused garlic oil with asparagus, or orange infused with carrots. I cooked asparagus in the tinfoil parcels with baby carrots & added slices of lemon. That worked. This is the time of year for ratatouille. I'm sure you'll have a recipe somewhere. And add potatoes if you need them - sauteed, crushed & roasted, or hasselback work well with all these dishes.

Or cook a beautiful fillet of pork - rubbed with a paste of juniper berries, flat leaf parsley & black pepper. Sear the pork fillets first in a pan then roll in the juniper mixture & roast at 175 about 8-10 minutes. Don't forget to leave your meat to rest before serving. This gives you time to finish off the veg or make a sauce. Put the roasting pan on a hot element, add a little wine & beef stock (maybe 1/2 cup of each) & reduce by 1/3. Pork is good with mash - try adding celeriac or kumara - and cabbage or chinese greens such as bok choy.

Salad Days

Caesar salad with chicken is a quick after-work meal. It's everywhere now but, like most food trends, I first discovered it in Sydney. The dressing was perfect and when I came home I looked for a recipe but I couldn't find anything that felt right. I came up with this. Let me know if you have any ideas for improvement. First heat the oven to 180. Use about 100g chicken per person & first brine in 2 cups cold water with 1 tbsp each salt & sugar dissolved, for about 1/2 hour. This keeps the chicken moist when you grill. Meanwhile make your croutons. Cut as much bread as you want -use a French stick or something similar - into chunky cubes. Toss in 3 tbsp garlic infused olive oil. Spread on a baking tray & bake 12-15 mins until golden, stirring occasionally. (If you make too many don't worry, they keep for ages in an airtight container.) Make the dressing. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil & carefully lower 2 eggs into the pan. Cook 45 seconds & remove. Cool just enough to handle & crack yolks into a small bowl discarding the whites. Add 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, pinch of salt, ground pepper & whisk until smooth. Add olive oil whisking until the thickness you want. Up to 1/3 cup. It's is very much based on judgement and I end up with a yellow creamy dressing not as thick as mayonnaise. You can add anchovies to the dressing or separately on the salad. Now back to the chicken. Pat dry & place on a lightly oiled grill tray. Grill chicken about 8 minutes on each side. Test that it's cooked through at the thickest part but that timing works for me. Maybe a little more on the first side. Set the chicken aside to cool & put the water on to poach the eggs. Begin to assemble the salad. Mix torn up leaves of cos lettuce in a bowl first with the dressing, then lay in individual plates. Add croutons, anchovies for those who like them, then slices of the chicken. Pour over any leftover dressing. Poach the eggs & put one on the top of each dish & finish with very thin slices of Parmesan. I use the potato peeler. This salad is not only delicious, it's not nearly as fiddly as it sounds and works for the fussy family. Everyone in our family bar Peter & I have this without something.

For a green salad with a bit of a difference try beans, broccolini & asparagus. Cut the veg how you like them. Steam lightly - to al dente & toss in your best olive oil. Leave to cool slightly then season & toss in a bowl with toasted almonds, diced radishes & a dash of lemon juice.

I love eggs - I may have already mentioned this? Eggs & chicken are perfect in a salad as we have seen above. Try slicing a chicken breast in half horizontally, then saute both pieces in a little olive oil until cooked through. Set aside & add 1/2 cup verjuice to the pan & boil until reduced & syrupy. Return the chicken to the pan & coat with the glaze. Set aside to cool in the pan. Cut an iceberg (or similar crunchy) lettuce into wedges and arrange on a plate. You want chunks of crunchy lettuce. I have a lettuce knife I bought a few years ago & it cuts lettuce without bruising it. Great for shredding. I actually bought it because I was hoping one day to find a recipe for Cobb Salad and many years later I did but that is another story. Slice the chicken thinly against the grain & toss with pan juices then lay on the lettuce with the eggs cut into neat little wedges with your multipurpose egg slicer. Drizzle with aioli - you could make your aioli using verjuice instead of vinegar if you like. Scatter over capers, anchovies, olives, flat leaf parsley and then anything else you find in the fridge that seems suitable. You know I like scattering.

This time of year I usually start making Salad Nicoise too. Well it might not be Nicoise in the true sense, so just call it tuna potato salad. Boil some Red Desiree potatoes in their skins - you can use any waxy potatoes but I like the red skins in this salad - and cut into largish chunks. Leave to cool a little. Line a serving bowl with bite size pieces of cos lettuce then build up the rest of the ingredients in an order that pleases you. Include tinned tuna, boiled eggs (in neat wedges), steamed french beans and/or asparagus, halved cherry tomatoes (I like to use a couple of varieties), anchovies, capers, olives, the cooled potatoes. Drizzle over some vinaigrette - I sometimes use lemon instead of vinegar for this salad.

I have to tell you about the lunch I ate today. Nikau is open again and Peter & I had a relaxing lunch there today. I had scallops on creamed spinach with an amazing lemon salsa. I'm going to play around & see if I can recreate it. If I do I will share with you. It would be delicious with any fish & probably chicken as well. Maybe haloumi. It had chunks of lemon zest & was so sharp that it was only just on the right side of tart which was perfect with the richness of the scallops. It's been a little cool and wet in Wellington so Peter had a warming parsnip and fennel soup - delicious!