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.
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.
