A cultural exchange

The weekend following the family meals we had another kind of sharing meal.  This time a sharing of recipes and ingredients.  We have visited the home of Georgian friends and we are always served  this amazing Georgian bread called khachapuri.  I wanted to try this at home so our friend came over to teach me and in return I gave her my sourdough culture and the instructions to make bread.  I have had this culture now for four years and I have nurtured it through extended holidays.  It provides me with one or two loaves of delicious bread every week.  I have shared this culture with some of you and it has not ended well   Hands up who still has the culture.  No, I thought as much.
I digress. Khachapuri.  This is a delicious Georgian cheese bread which will be served at any Georgian festive table.  It is not a precise recipe so if you want to try it let me know and I can talk you through what I know.  Essentially make a dough with yoghurt, eggs, a pinch of soda, a little oil and as much flour as you need to make a soft elastic dough. Once you have such a dough you could refrigerate for an hour or so and prepare the filling.  In Georgia they usually use a Georgian cheese called suluguni.  We used 50/50 mozzarella and cottage cheese and a beaten egg.
Take a fist sized chunk of dough and roll on a floured surface into a round that will fit in a 30cm non stick frying pan.  Put the cheese in the centre and bring the edges to the centre in a magical way that you need to see. Fry on both sides until it is done. 
We had another couple for dinner as well and for aperitif I made a delicious smoked fish pate served with thinly sliced grilled sourdough. We did the lamb leg again but this time in the kettle barbeque which was wonderful.  Sear directly over the charcoal on both sides for 5 minutes then cook indirectly for up to an hour or till done to your liking.  I then realised that our other guests were Greek and I did not want to present Greek style food that wasn't really.  I didn't bother with the tzatziki and served the quinoa salad instead of the Greek salad but I thought the skordalia went so well with the lamb that we did that and were not going to mention the word.  The guests did however recognise it as skordalia so I think we got that one right.  I'm afraid we had the granita again too.  When you find a meal which is perfect for the season just keep eating it.
As a result of this evening I am now the owner of The Georgian Feast and am planning my own Georgian themed meal.  As part of this cultural exchange I also have a container of kefir grains.  I had heard of this but wasn't sure what it was.  I am still unsure but it is very good.  Similar to yoghurt but not.  Delicious - kind of sharp and sour but refreshing.  You just add milk to the grains and leave on the bench until it thickens then strain off the yoghurt-like substance to eat, rinse the grains and start again.  No heating milk to a precise temperature, no leaving in a hot water cupboard until set.  Apparently the grains multiply so I will have some to pass on shortly if you think you can keep them alive.
You need to strain off the whey and I used this to make another recipe I encountered recently.  Carrots cooked in whey. I didn't make the whole recipe, just the carrots, which I served with rump steak and other vegetables from the garden. I may try the entire recipe some time.

Vegetable wonders

We still have plenty of beetroot and radishes.  I found a delicious new way to serve squid which has the added advantage of using some of the beetroot leaves along with spinach.  For four, saute a finely chopped red onion in a little olive oil then add 500g squid sliced into rings, with 1/4 cup white rice.  It may not seem like much rice but it is enough.  You don't want the rice to overwhelm.  The squid & spinach are the stars here.  Cook 3 minutes or so then add a tin of tomatoes and a handful of roughly chopped spinach & beetroot leaves with 2 tbsp chopped parsley.  Simmer 10 mins or until rice & squid are cooked.  Delicious.
Remember spicy bean stew?  This a herby version.  Saute a sliced leek in olive oil until soft then add 2 cloves chopped garlic and cook a minute or two.  Add a tin of tomatoes and a good handful of finely chopped herbs - parsley, thyme, chervil.  Cook about 10 minutes and if it looks dry add a splash of water.  At the end add some finely sliced spinach & beetroot leaves with a drained tin of canellini beans and cook until the greens are wilted and the beans are heated through.  Add a sprinkling of herbs to serve.
We went to friends for dinner, were served a wonderful meal and sent home with a bag of freshly picked runner beans.  I cooked these with herbs and served with steak and a corn and avocado salad.  For the beans, slice them thinly and cook in water about 10 mins & drain.  There were about 400g.   Heat a little olive oil & add a good handful of chopped mint, parsley, chervil & dill with 4 tsp capers, juice and zest of  a lemon, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 2 small shallots finely chopped.  Stir in the beans & serve.  Add any leftovers to a salad the next day. 
For the corn salad, combine kernels from 2 cooked corn cobs or about 2 1/2 cups frozen, 4-5 tomatoes cut into wedges, 2 diced avocados & handful of basil leaves.  Toss with a herb dressing made by mixing in a food processor 3 handfuls basil leaves, 2 cloves of garlic, zest of a lemon, 1 1/2 cups olive oil & a pinch of salt.  This will keep in a jar in the fridge for a week & is also great with fish & freshly dug potatoes.
The garden is certainly serving us well.  On Sunday I tried to finish up odds and ends.  We bought some fish from the market & served with the last of the potatoes & aforementioned oil, a corn cob mixed with the last of the peas and the lone leek sauteed with the lone courgette.  The courgettes got off to a slow start but are coming on now.  I think it may have been the lack of sun as there was a shortage of female flowers on the plants and apparently they appear as the weather warms up.
I have been reading about Isabel (Mrs) Beeton's carrot jam which was intended as a kind of substitute for apricot jam.  On further investigation, I stumbled upon a treasure trove of vegetable jams from our old friend Hugh F-W.  Not chutney, but vegetable jams.  I started with the carrot version, which resembles a spicy marmalade with lots of peel and is delicious.  I am keen to try the green tomato but we didn't put in any tomatoes this year.  I may be able to muster up the pumpkin jam as we have a splendid crop and if the courgettes improve look out for courgette and lemon jam.
With the pumpkin I have already made what looks like the winter's supply of pumpkin soup.  I will be looking for smart ideas for pumpkin shortly. 

Rollover meals

I am now flipping through the tagine book picking up the ones I missed, mainly because they were unseasonal when I did the first round.  This week we had a creamy shellfish tagine with prawns & mussels.  For 2 steam a dozen mussels in your usual way.  We use a little wine. Reserve the liquor for later.  Shell the mussels & chop them up a little if you like, but leave a few on the half shell to be decorative.
Heat some olive oil in a pan or tagine. Stir in 3 finely chopped shallots & 1/2 a fennel bulb.  Stir in 1 tsp harissa paste - we were lucky enough to be given a jar of homemade harissa at Christmas & this is just the right warmth.  Pour in 150 mls of the reserved liquor & bring to the boil.  Stir in 75 mls cream, the juice of 1/2 a lemon & a dozen prawns.  Simmer gently until the prawns are cooked.  Season with salt & lost of black pepper & return the mussels to the pan to warm through.  Sprinkle with parsley to serve.
As so often happens one small thought leads to an entire meal.  The thought was  - I need to use up those little gem lettuces before they go to seed.  What about peas & lettuce - otherwise known as petit pois a la Francaise?  That goes nicely with roast chicken.  And we do have some carrots that are ready to pick.  Enter baked chicken with lemon, potato & green olives served with petit pois & steamed baby carrots.
I didn't want to roast a whole chicken so we did Maryland pieces.  Cut some roasting potatoes into smallish chunks & lay in the roasting dish.  Scatter over quartered red onion, a handful of green olives, some slices of lemon, a few chunks of pancetta & a couple of bay leaves.  Stir 1 tbsp each tomato paste & balsamic vinegar into 75 mls chicken stock & pour over potatoes.  Lay the chicken pieces on top, skin up & drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt & pepper.  Roast for 50 minutes then test the chicken to ensure the juices run clear.  Transfer the chicken to a plate to keep warm & whack the oven up to 220.  Return the veg to the oven until the potatoes are cooked through & beginning to colour. 
And you'll see we make good use of leftovers.  The potatoes go in the weekday salads & the peas & carrots are reserved for Monday's soup.
Chop the fennel left over from Saturday, a stick of celery, 2 spring onions, & a couple of courgettes into small dice.  Heat a pan & add a little olive oil &  knob of butter.  Add the veg except for the courgettes & cook 10 minutes or so until soft.  Add 500g vegetable or chicken stock & when it has come to the boil add the courgettes.  Cook for a minute & add 100g peas & broad beans - I would use fresh in spring but frozen is good.  Cook for another couple of minutes & add Sunday's leftover peas & lettuce plus the chopped carrots. Add a little more shredded lettuce if you like.  Simmer another minute, add chopped herbs then season.  Serve with grilled sourdough.
We planted a few buttercrunch lettuces & one of them grew into the biggest lettuce I have ever seen.  We have been having it for lunches.
The winter veg have arrived and it is hard to know which to choose.  Put together about 400g of vegetables - shallots, carrots, parsnip, pumpkin, beetroot, potato.  Chop them into chunks or thick slices with the slower cooking items in smaller pieces.  Put them into an ovenproof dish.  Add 1 finely chopped clove of garlic, olive oil, salt & papper.  Roast the veg at 190 until all are cooked through & beginning to caramelise. 
Beat 6 eggs with chopped herbs & season.  Pour over the vegetables & scatter over grated cheese.  Return to the oven for 10-15 minutes until the egg is set & the cheese is golden. Serve with a salad to try & get through some of the giant lettuce & use the leftovers in lunch salads.  It slices nicely & is good warm or cold.
Thursday we had that pinto chilli.  There was part of the tin of pintos and part of the tin of tomatoes left over so I heated those through with the left over lunch lentils & a splash of balsamic then served on sourdough toast topped with a poached egg for Saturday brunch.
During the week I had such a treat.  One of you kind readers, having read last week's entry, turned up on my doorstep with 2 kilos of green tomatoes.  I have made the chutney and will be delivering some to the tomato donor in the morning.  Phoebe will also be delighted because a jar or 2 will be wending its way to her this week.

A bit of this & a bit of that

I have discovered another Asian dish, this time with chicken. For four, pound 5 cloves garlic, 2 tsp black peppercorns, 2 tbsp coriander root & 1/2 tsp sea salt in a pestle & mortar. You want a thick paste. Using 2-3 large chicken breasts, depending on size, into bite size pieces. Fry the paste in a little vegetable oil until fragrant then add the chicken pieces and stir until coloured. Add 2 tsp brown sugar, 2 tsp fish sauce & 1/2 cup chicken stock. Simmer until cooked. Meanwhile prepare the greens. I used choy sum but try gai larn when in season. Pull the greens into individual stems & blanch 1 minutes, refresh in ice cold water & drain. Dry thoroughly. In a tbsp peanut oil, fry 2 tbsp grated ginger & 2 cloves garlic crushed. Add the greens & toss until hot. Stir a little chicken stock with 2 tsp cornflour top make a paste then combine with 3 tbsp oyster sauce & 1/4 cup chicken stock. Add to the pan and stir until thickened. Serve the chicken & greens with brown jasmine rice.
The sourdough starter is going well. I have shared & the recipient is having great success. I bought a new breadpan to bake it in - a Romertopf Pane. It is working well. It gives a good shaped loaf.
A couple of weekends ago we picked the last olives from the trees of a colleague & we are in the process of brining them. Should be ready in 6-8 weeks.
As a welcome dinner for the new arrival from Melbourne I made a vegetable tagine. It was something I could transport easily and we could eat on our knees with minimum utensils. A few years ago I was given a lovely book of tagine recipes & I just kept making the same one. The carrot and chickpea tagine so inspired me that I have now instigated tagine Saturday until we have worked our way through the entire book. In a tagine or heavy casserole saute 1 finely chopped onion & 3-4 finely chopped garlic cloves, until soft. Add 2 tsp turmeric, 1-2 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp cayenne & 1/2 tsp ground black pepper. Stir through onions then add 1 tbsp dark liquid honey & 3-4 medium carrots sliced on the diagonal. Pour in enough water to cover the base of the dish & bring to the boil. Simmer on the stovetop or put in the oven at 180 for 15 minutes until the carrots are softened. Add 1-2 tins drained chickpeas & cook covered a further 15 mins until carrots are cooked. Sprinkle with a little rosewater & chopped parsley & serve with lemon wedges.
You may know I am not a tamarillo fan but they seemed the right thing to take a NZer returning home in winter. Baked with honey & red wine they did have more appeal. Use 1-2 tamarillos per person and try a mix of colours. To skin the tamarillos, make a small cross in the pointed end, place in a bowl & cover with boiling water. Stand for 2-3 minutes & refresh in cold water. Heat the oven to 160. Cut the tamarillos in quarters & roll back the skin from the point to the stem. Lay them in a baking dish. Wear an apron & take care not to splash.
For 4-6 people, combine 1 cup red wine with 2 tsp dark liquid honey & 2 star anise. Simmer until the honey is disolved in the wine. Pour over the tamarillos & cover loosely cover. Bake about 15 mins then baste & continue cooking another 10 mins. Serve with cream or ice cream.
While we've had Phoebe back in Wellington, for the few evenings we've had her home we've been delivering her favourite meals. Onion soup, pork chops in mustardy cider, home made hamburgers, tex mex, meatballs and one of her all time favourites - toad in the hole.
Make a Yorkshire pudding style batter. Break 2 eggs into a bowl & season. Whisk lightly & add 1/2 cup milk. Whisk again & add 125g flour. Whisk to form a thick batter & whisk in another 1/2 cup milk. Add chopped thyme or sage & set aside. You can rest for several hours in the fridge. I use sage for pork & thyme for beef sausages.
Preheat the oven to 210. In an oven proof pan, fry 1 sausage per person in a little olive oil until lightly browned on 2 sides. Add 1 sliced onion and 1 capsicum cut into thick slices. Fry lightly. Push the sausage and vegetable towards the centre of the pan & with the pan still on the heat pour the batter around the edge. Put the pan straight into the top third of the hot oven & bake about 20 minutes. Serve with sauce & follow with a crisp salad. This is real comfort food - not for everyday but it will warm your heart on a cold winter's evening.

Table for Two

Cooking for two every night is not the same as cooking for three. We have been thinking ahead as it is often difficult to cook up a smaller quantity of, for example, ratatouille. You need a certain quantity to actually produce the desired consistency. I made the quantity for 4 and served half of it with a fillet of beef. The beef was seared in a pan on a high heat, then cooked to rare in the oven, at 180, for about 20 minutes. Slice to serve. Peter actually made some thick chips cooked on duck fat, which is probably so bad I shouldn't be owning up to it. But you are going to see them in the picture. They are delicious and very well drained. As you can see we didn't overdo it. Any left over beef can be used up in a packed lunch salad. All sorts of left over things go in my salads. It's amazing what works cold with some greens and a dressing. Let me know if you have any new ideas.
A couple of nights later we reheated the remaining ratatouille and served tossed through penne pasta. Ratatouille really does taste better second time around. The flavours meld beautifully. And this is a great quick meal if you are going to be home late or need to rush out straight afterwards.
Try cooking meatballs in a fresh sauce. Make up some meatballs with about 350g pork mince, a clove of garlic crushed, a little salt, sugar & pepper and a tbsp chopped parsley. Brown the meatballs over a moderate heat and then add 1/2 each of a red & yellow capsicum roughly sliced and a handful of black olives. Cook a further 15 minutes then add 2 tomatoes roughly chopped, with a handful of capers. Cook a further 3 -5 minutes. Sprinkle over some balsamic vinegar to serve.
This meal would stand well on its own however I have been introduced to a new vegetable and we decided to add it to this table. Kamo kamo is a vegetable from the squash family which was cultivated by Maori before Europeans arrived here. You may see it in the shops or market called kumi kumi. I am not sure of its origins. There are all sorts of opinions on the Internet but I was told to treat it as a courgette. My instructions were to cut into largish chunks and steam in lashings of butter & pepper. It was delicious. I have modified subsequently. Cut 1 smallish kamo kamo into chunks and toss in ground pepper. Heat a little olive oil in a pan & add the kamo kamo with a knob of butter. Cover the pan tightly with tinfoil and firmly apply the lid. Steam 20 minutes or so. This is better than courgette if you can imagine such a possibility.
Lastly, you know my penchant for beetroot. I found this amazing recipe for grated carrots & beetroot. We used Clevedon buffalo mozzarella. This is the perfect accompaniment for lamb steaks and couscous or on its own for lunch or even a light supper. And it is really yummy in the lunch salad the next day.

Chicken dinners

This month Peter was sick, then I was sick, then Phoebe was sick, then I was sick again, then Phoebe was sick again. When Peter was first sick I thought he needed chicken soup. I trawled the internet and put together this version based on the best bits of all of them. I recommend you whip this up for the invalid in your house.
Into your stock pot, put one whole chicken, onion wedges, 3 cloves garlic, 1 carrot roughly chopped, bay leaves & a sprig of thyme, some lemon wedges, a couple of sticks of celery roughly chopped & some pink peppercorns (you can use black if you like). Your Le Creuset Dutch oven would be ideal if your chicken fitted in it. Mine didn't.
Cover the chicken with water. Cover the pot, & bring to the boil, turn off & leave for an hour without peeking. After an hour remove the chicken & set aside to cool, just until you can handle it. Add saffron strands to the stock pot & bring back to the boil. Remove the chicken meat from the bone & return the carcass to the pot. Simmer 3 hours to reduce & concentrate the flavour. When you're ready to serve boil a small quantity of egg pasta or noodles. Not a full serving - just a small handful per invalid. Steam seasonal vegetables. I used carrots, courgettes & broccoli - something colourful. You could probably poach these in the strained stock but I was concerned to retain the colour so I blanched & steamed. Strain the stock & reheat. In each soup dish put a handful of pasta, a handful of shredded chicken, a selection of the vegetables and pour over a couple of ladlefuls of the broth. This was everything it promised to be.
Use the left over chicken in a salad, risotto, pilaf, on sandwiches. I know a boy who would love a chicken sandwich with cranberry sauce or blueberry chutney. And freeze the left over broth for stock.
This got me thinking about the roast chicken and what a perfect meal that can be. Have a look at Jamie Oliver's perfect roast chicken. Carefully separate the skin from the meat so that you can put your hand under the skin and push in a handful of chopped herbs. Drizzle a little oil in. This will take your roast chicken to new heights. With our roast chicken we had carrots from the garden with beans & a selection of roast veg.
Then you have at least one more meal. This time I made a chicken pie (May 2009). Phoebe learned to make pastry & I think she'll be good at it as she has cool hands. And of course another batch of stock.
I have to tell you about our quince conserve. Remember those poached quinces last month. I kept some of the left over poaching liquor in the fridge and I discovered it has set so I transferred it to a jar and we're eating it on our toast. I have some quinces & am going to have a go at bonafide Quince Jelly this weekend so I'll let you know how I get on.
Last weekend we had people to dinner & Peter made herb bread sticks from a recipe in the latest Dish magazine. In the picture there was a red drink that reminded me of Campari soda in the seventies. So we served our bread sticks with Campari soda with a twist of lime & a sprig of mint.
As well as the carrots, which have been stunning (we have 3 colours - orange, white and a purple outer with orange inner), we've had a good rhubarb crop this summer. Peter has been eating stewed rhubarb every day for his breakfast. The tomatoes are making progress but it has been a disappointing year and I foresee an autumn batch of green tomato chutney coming up.