Salad and pasta

I had bought a piece of rump steak in case it was a good evening for a barbecue.  It wasn't.  The steak went beautifully with a Greek salad and crushed rosemary potatoes, which tend to go with most things.  The Greek salad was a lovely way to use some of our late cos lettuces and the few tomatoes we have produced this year - will there be enough even for a batch of green tomato chutney?  It is good, if you have time to prepare in advance, steeping the red onions with oil & vinegar &  dried oregano, & sprinkling the tomatoes with a little salt & sugar before you throw everything together.
Monday was Peter's regular birthday dinner, smoked salmon pasta.  This is so quick & easy that it hardly seems like a luxury meal.  Heat plenty of cream in a pan, add lemon juice & zest, smoked salmon, grated Parmesan, parsley.  Season & toss through your best egg pasta.  Serve with a salad.    I used to do a vegetarian version but with cream, cheese, egg pasta there's not much here for a vegan.  This is where the Tasty Pot comes in.  Birthday meals can be difficult because the birthday recipient gets their meal of choice but the whole family with their varying eating habits need to be provided for.  It is getting easier to buy good, almost fresh, pre-prepared choices.
We had a variation on a Nicoise salad with avocado & cannellini beans.  I have been moaning a bit about the avocados this year but this was the perfect avocado.  Make a vinaigrette with olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, garlic & salt & pepper.  Put a tin of tuna, a tin of cannellini beans, some shredded cos lettuce, halved cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced spring onions & flat leaf parsley in a bowl & toss through the dressing.  Add hard boiled egg & slices of avocado.
For the perfect autumn salad try pumpkin (in this case butternut) and rocket with mushrooms & blue cheese.  Roast the pumpkin, peeled & cut into pieces, with some olive oil, bruised sage leaves & bashed garlic, about 40 minutes.  You want it soft & just colouring around the edges.  Fry some thickly sliced mushrooms (a friend told me she was given some field mushrooms this week & they would be perfect here), in a little olive oil & a knob of butter until they are cooked through and any liquid has evaporated. Combine the pumpkin, mushrooms, some rocket & crumbled blue cheese - I used Roquefort - in a bowl & toss with olive oil & balsamic vinegar.   This is quite a substantial meal but make more than you think you will need otherwise you'll wish you had.

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".

For fish lovers

A nage is a reduced stock/sauce which is delicious served with summer vegetables or fish or both. You need to leave the nage to sit for the flavours to develop so start preparing well in advance. Roughly chop a fennel bulb, 1 large onion, 4 celery sticks, a handful button mushrooms and add to a pan with zest of a lemon, salt, peppercorns, 2 bay leaves, thyme, 1/2 tsp fennel seeds & enough water to cover. Simmer 20 minutes, take off the heat, add 300ml white wine & leave to cool 2 hours. Strain & pour about 1 litre into a wide based pan. You can freeze the rest for another time. Add a few threads of saffron, bring to the boil & boil rapidly until it has reduced to 120ml. Transfer to a small pan & set aside. This will now be a really intensely flavoured sauce.

Blanch some fresh vegetables - beans, baby carrots, broad beans, broccoli cut very small -to set the colour & put aside. Steam the fish & shellfish - mussels, scallops, prawns, a delicate fish like John Dory. We usually steam the mussels open first then just heat through on the half shell. Add the veg to finish off/heat through and keep warm while you finish the sauce. Drain any fish juice/mussel licquor you have into the reduced stock, bring to the boil and gradually whisk in 100g butter in small pieces. This makes the sauce thick & shiny. Plate the fish & veg and pour over the nage. Here is another version.

I like to eat lots of scallops while they're in season. Try this for a quick weekend lunch. Allow 6-10 scallops per person. Warm about 2tbsp grated ginger, 1 clove minced garlic, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp very finely chopped capsicum, 2tbsp olive oil. Cook the scallops - 30 seconds each side - in a very hot pan with a little oil & remove to the warmed sauce. In the scallop pan, wilt down a handful of baby spinach leaves mixed with lemon juice. Put on a warm plate, top with scallops, drizzle over marinade & left over pan juices.

During the season, eat whitebait at every opportunity. Make a light batter with 2 eggs, a scant tbsp flour, salt & pepper. Mix through 200g whitebait & fry in spoonfuls about 2 minutes each side. Serve with black pepper & lemon juice. These are a real taste of childhood.

While on seasons, I tasted a Te Matuku Bay oyster at the market this morning. I'd buy them again, however the season is nearly over. What a great start to a Sunday. Strolling along the waterfront slurping an oyster off a shell!

While we're on fish I should mention salmon risotto. This is the perfect spring risotto. Cut 300-400g boned skinned salmon into 2 cm cubes and mix with lemon rind & pepper then set aside. Make a basic risotto with a leek & add saffron with the stock. Blanch some asparagus or green beans. When the risotto is done stir through salmon, vegetables & lemon juice, cover pot & cook 2 minutes, then leave to stand another 2. Serve with lemon wedges.

And don't forget homemade fish & chips.

Meatballs

For a quick weeknight meal, think about meatballs. They are easy to throw together and if you have batches of your homemade tomato sauce in the freezer you're prepared. We like meatballs baked in tomato sauce with mozzarella on top served with mashed potato & broccoli. This week we are eating the last of our broccoli from the garden. A friend suggested we cut the central florets as they were ready & leave the plants in to allow the side florets to develop. We have got an extra meal off each plant.

To make meatballs first soften a finely chopped onion with garlic, then combine with about 800g lean mince, 1/4 cup fresh white breadcrumbs (I crumb all our unused white bread & freeze so I always have some at the ready), 2tbsp dried oregano, 1/4 tsp ground cumin, 1 tbsp chopped rosemary, 1 egg yolk, salt & pepper, sprinkling of chilli flakes, 1 tbsp grainy mustard. Essential ingredients are mince, breadcrumbs & egg. Everything else is optional - play with the flavours until you get the taste you like.Pat the mixture into meatballs the size you want. I use wet hands as it stops them from sticking to me. If you are making them in the morning you can cover with cling film & refrigerate for a day. Add the meatballs (at room temperature) to a thick bottomed shallow casserole & brown on all sides, in batches if necessary. Cover the meatballs with about 2 cups of tomato sauce, roughly torn basil leaves, broken up mozarella (remember Clevedon buffalo) and grated parmesan. Cook in the oven at 200 for about 20 minutes. Serve with mash & a seasonal green. I always use Agria potatoes for mash (they're such a pretty colour) and I usually mash with olive oil - try infused oils such as garlic or chilli. Or add a tsp of horseradish sauce or grainy mustard. If someone wants cheese, I just provide cheese & a grater at the table & they can add their own.An alternative idea is meatballs with spaghetti. Then I cook the meatballs on a grill tray in the oven on fan grill (175) about 1/2 hour, turning once. Cook the spaghetti according to the packet then mix with your tomato sauce & add the meatballs. Serve with a seasonal salad.Another pasta dish I cooked this week was salmon tagliatelle. This is Peter's birthday dinner - everyone in our family has a birthday dinner, and I also make it for his homecoming meal when he's been away. He's just returned from 10 days in the UK. This feels like a glamorous dish & is so easy. I think there are boundless variations of this around but I learned this off a friend about 20 years ago. First put on your pasta water. Then in a heavy-bottomed pan heat about 300ml cream to almost boiling and add the juice & rind of half a lemon. Add 200g flaked smoked salmon, some black pepper, a pile of grated parmesan. Cook the pasta according to the packet - I use egg tagliatelle which takes about 4 minutes to cook. Divella is my favourite brand. Mix through with the salmon & serve sprinkled with fine-chopped parsley. You may have noticed I add parsley to everything because I love it and it makes even the dullest dish look interesting. Serve with a green salad.

Today at the market I bought some Rewena bread to eat with our soup for lunch. We had some Harira soup from the freezer (see blog entry June 1). It is quite sweet but dense & delicious. We've also been tasting Over the Moon cheeses. Try the triple cream brie & the goats cheeses. They also do cheesemaking courses in Putaruru & I am hoping a fellow cheese-lover may join me on a course one day.
If you want to treat a friend or loved one, buy them a Floriditas cupcake.