Greens, yellow, red, black & blue

I am in the spicy meatball or kefta section of the tagine book.  Last week's was one of my favourite things - meatballs with poached eggs.  This reminded me of Turkish pizza with lamb & egg on top which I am keen to perfect.  This tagine is best made on the top of the stove and takes no time at all.  The meatballs are poached rather than fried.  Mix 225g mince with 1 finely chopped onion, 1 tsp dried mint, 1 tsp ras-el-hanout, 1/2 tsp dried chilli, a small bunch of finely chopped parsley & salt & pepper and make into about 12 small meatballs.
Fill a shallow pan with water & bring to the boil & carefully drop in the kefta.  Poach for 10 minutes turning occasionally.  Remove the kefta & drain.  Tip away all but about 300mls of the poaching liquid & add 1 tbsp butter, then bring to the boil.  Stir in a pinch of salt & 1 tsp dried chilli then return the poached kefta to the pan. I also added half a tin of crushed tomatoes because they were in the fridge and that was nice.   Cook over a high heat until almost all the liquid has evaporated then break an egg per person carefully between the kefta.  Cover & gently cook until the eggs are just set.  About 3-5 minutes.  Sprinkle over roasted cumin & chopped parsley.
We have been trying to eat more fish although it is always tricky to do it mid-week as it means a trip across town after work.  We often get some on Sunday at the market.   We had a lovely piece of salmon with pea salsa & crushed potatoes.  To make the pea salsa cook frozen peas as usual.  For 4, blend 1/2 cup each basil & flat leaf parsley, 3 anchovies, 1 clove crushed garlic, 1 tbsp capers, 4 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 tbsp cold water, in the food processor.  Mix half with the drained peas & set aside the rest.  Boil some Agria potatoes & crush lightly with the back of a fork.  Mix through a little olive oil & season.
Brush both sides of the salmon, skinned, with oil & pan fry until cooked the way you like it,  Don't overdo it.  Serve the salmon atop the potatoes, then top with the peas & drizzle over the reserved salsa. 
I had some Chinese greens again & a few sprigs of broccoli & a couple of asparagus stalks so I cooked them the way I told you a few weeks ago & served with sliced pork & egg noodles.  The next day I did the rest of the choy sum, with mushrooms & served with a plain omelette.  Just keep playing around with these greens.  There is so much you can do with them and they are so fresh tasting.  And they look pretty on the plate.  Always a plus. 
We had guests at the weekend and to start served a plate of antipasto.  This included some of the olives we brined ourselves and they were truly delicious.
We then served the chicken & couscous I made not long ago.  This was a good meal for a crowd as you can prepare ahead.  And it was a crowd pleaser - you will note the plate had been disturbed before I got in the photo.   I served it with a green salad.
The piece de resistance though was the pudding.  As you know I can be a bit lazy in this department.  I wanted something light  - it is after all spring, ha ha.  I settled for individual lemon jellies served with lemon curd & meringue.  This was again easy because everything was done ahead.  You could do it a couple of days ahead.
Clarifying the jelly seemed a pain but it was not too bad.  I always freeze left over whites when I separate eggs & I clarify with these.  You can also use this method to clarify your stock & savoury jellies.  I made my jellies in little tin jelly moulds from my childhood.  Top everything off with a small dollop of gently whipped cream and serve with a shot of limoncello.  Of course I have heaps of meringues left.  Any suggestions? 
We picked our first cabbage this week.  They have not been a great success in that a couple bolted and the ones that hearted up are quite small, but they are cabbages & there are only 2 mouths to feed.  We made two meals from this little beauty.
The first night I steamed the cabbage, finely sliced, about 4 minutes, then tipped back into the pan with a knob of butter & a turn or so of the pepper grinder.  We served this with pork fillet & lentils.  It was quite cold here this week and this was a perfect mid-week meal.
The next night we had a coleslaw variation with chicken.  We didn't have any mung beans but used pea sprouts and there was something about it that made it better than I remembered.  More mint maybe.  Or perhaps it was just that deliciously fresh cabbage.
A couple of weeks back in Moore Wilson they had RWC themed macarons.  The black was liquorice & delicious.  Not sure what the blue flavour was but equally delicious and they look so cute. 
Have just been out in the garden and note that peas, rhubarb & broad beans coming along nicely.   I wanted to say "coming soon" but Peter suggests just say "coming".

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.

Chinese greens

Along with the new job we have got into a new routine in the kitchen. Now that we're walking both ways, there is less time to spend on dinner during the week & I need to accommodate study. Wednesdays & Saturdays, when Phoebe works, we try to do something with fish or something else she's not so keen on.

On Saturday night we had something I've been meaning to try again for ages. I saw something on a tv programme but being unable to remember what it was & never writing it down, it was probably nothing like the meal I am about to describe. The key ingredient is a Chinese green - the leafy one with thin stalks & yellow flowers - Choy Sum.

Finely chop the stalks from a bunch of choy sum & soften in a pan in a little peanut oil, with some grated ginger (the grating plate is good for this), sliced spring onion, garlic & a little celery if you like it. Add sliced mushrooms & cook down a little. Then add a splash of soy sauce & stir through the choy sum. Add some baby spinach leaves if you have some to use up. Serve with pork cooked your favourite way and rice or noodles. A chop is good. In this instance, we had pork fillets which had been marinated in a mixture of vegetable oil, soy sauce & honey in a roasting dish. (For 2 servings use about 2 tbsp oil, 1 tbsp soy, 1/2 tbsp honey) We roasted the pork at 180 about 15 mins, turning once, then rested about 10 minutes. I am not a huge fan of Chinese flavours or Chinese greens but I just love this.

We didn't eat it all, so for Sunday lunch fried up the left over rice, veg & meat with some shredded carrot, pumpkin from an earlier meal, some ham that needed to be eaten & a plain omlette sliced on top. This was delicious.

On Sunday we had a busy afternoon in the kitchen. Phoebe baked cup cakes for an SPCA fundraiser & I made tomato sauce (ketchup type).