Home and away

We were away for a few days so this week saw us emptying out the cupboards & eating on the road.  At the weekend, before we went, we had the tagine - the last of the chicken tagines.  This was the more traditional tagine with dried fruit.  For 4, heat 2 tbsp olive oil with a knob of butter in the tagine.  Stir in a finely chopped onion, a sprig of finely chopped rosemary, a knob of grated ginger & 2 finely chopped red chillies & saute until the onion has softened.  Stir in a couple of rosemary sprigs and 1-2 cinnamon sticks.  Add the chicken thighs & brown on both sides.  I rolled & tied these the same way we did for the Moroccan chicken a couple of weeks back.  This gives the thighs a good shape to serve.  Toss in a good handful of dried apricots & 2 tbsp clear honey then stir in a tin of tomatoes.  Bring the liquid to the boil & transfer to a medium oven for 40 minutes.  We served this with couscous and a salad.
We usually eat at the market on Sunday morning but we didn't go because we were going away.  Because we were going away we had very little food in the house and no bread.  So we used up some of the eggs we did have and made pancakes.  This was such a satisfying breakfast.
We did make some bread as well and for a change we made Hugh F-W's sourdough recipe.  This made a nice change.  We were struggling to get through the bread.  We are still making are making it weekly, sometimes a sourdough & a Norwegian but we are halving the loaves and freezing what we are not immediately eating.  This means the freezer is full of bread that can be brought out when we have visitors staying.
For lunch I used up the potatoes & everything else I could in a potato salad.  What didn't get used here went into the fish stew for dinner.  Not only was it very pleasing to consume all potential wastage but the meals were utterly delicious. A reminder that you can make great food with very few ingredients.
While we were in Auckland I made a couple of finds I'd like to share with you.  You Aucklanders probably already know them.  We went to Al Brown's new eatery in Federal St -The Depot.  We had the Falafel & the Battered Snapper Tortillas as small sharing plates.  Delicious.  I also discovered Ebisu on Quay St.  This is contemporary Japanese and again is in the style of sharing plates.  We tried the Gyu no Tataki and the Tori no Karaage.  Both delicious & not especially small.
The other treats were the Strawberry Corner in Clevedon.  My sister took us there and treated us to real strawberry ice creams.  Said sister also keeps chickens and one of the girls had produced an egg that was large, beyond imagination.  It was a double yolker as we suspected and each yolk was the size of a regular yolk.  My beloved nephew isn't a fan of eggs but he knows that eggs are nutritious so he has developed a cunning recipe for a smoothie incorporating a raw egg.  This incredible egg went into the smoothie.
To make the super smoothie blend a banana, 1 tbsp cocoa, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tbsp strawberry syrup, 1 cup frozen mixed berries, 1 egg (preferably a double yolker!), a dash of honey, 1 scoop ice cream (whatever flavour you have to hand), 1/2 cup yoghurt (again, whatever you happen to have),  1/2 cup milk and lastly a tbsp of Vitaplan or similar energy powder.  You'll need a big glass to serve it, although if you are a teenage boy, you will probably drink it straight from the blender.
On the return journey we overnighted at Tokaanu.  At the local supermarket I bought one of those packs of salad with dressing, a pottle of potato salad & some slices of free range ham at the New World in Turangi.  As small town supermarkets go, this was a good one.  We had eggs from Takanini.  Presto - a plate of delicious salad.
It was so good we had a very similar supper when we got home.  You can put together a very appealing table starting with a base of bolied potatoes, eggs and a slice of ham.  Don't forget a plate of steamed asparagus drizzled with lemon infused olive oil.  I think we will be eating like this for the rest of the summer.
I had a birthday this week and we had a similar spread.  This included tabbouleh; Antoinette's falafels; a delicious pea & broadbean mash - we raided the garden; hummus; grilled pita triangles; asparagus; shredded carrot salad; mint labne.  I was given Hugh F-W's new vegetable book so you will see me exploring this over the next few weeks.  My Auckland dining experiences, combined with summer eating & ideas from this book will see me exploring the sharing plate possibilities. 
I was also given a poffertje pan for my birthday & Phoebe had friends over so we tried these.  Yes, Phoebe is back with us for the summer and we may see some of her culinary efforts on these pages.  Back to the  poffertjes.  These are a Dutch mini pancake concoction - apparently traditionally made with yeast & buckwheat flour.  The recipe I had was more like a traditional pancake mix with golden syrup added.  They are served sprinkled with icing sugar & a knob of butter.  We served ours with strawberries.  I forgot to photograph the pan but will do that next time we have them. They were delicious!
I also got a book on cheese making so I will get around to trying that out & share my experience sometime soon.

Old, new, walnut, blue

This tagine might just be the best ever edging out the beef & beetroot. This is another poached lamb kefta best done on the stove top.  Mix 450 g minced lamb with 1 finely chopped onion, a bunch of finely chopped flat leaf parsley, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp each ground coriander & cumin, 1/2 tsp cayenne, salt & pepper.  Shape into small meatballs - you'll get about 16.  In a pan, saute 1 roughly chopped onion with 3 cloves crushed garlic, a piece of grated ginger & a thinly sliced red chilli  Add 2 tsp turmeric, some roughly chopped parsley & mint and about 300ml water.  Simmer 10 minutes then carefully add the kefta & poach gently for 10 minutes.  Pour over the juice of a lemon and tuck a second lemon, cut into segments, between the meatballs.  Season with salt & poach a further 10 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley & mint.  Serve with couscous and a soft leafy salad.  This is deliciously lemony & fresh.
One of my favourite stalls at the City Market is Angie O.  At the moment she is doing a walnut pesto.  Try spreading this on a piece of toasted sourdough or French bread, then top with a rocket leaf & a slice of your favourite blue cheese.  We had Bleu d'Auvergne.  This makes a divine weekend lunch.
The weather is very up and down and although winter is over I could not resist this beef & red wine pie with spicy pumpkin mash.  The recipe called for beef shin but the butcher didn't have any & recommended a cross-cut blade steak with lovely glutinous veins of fat running through it.  You want something that loves to be slow cooked.    This is a really simple way to make a casserole because you just add everything straight to the pot without browning first.  In fact, I prepared it in the casserole dish in the morning and went to a movie.  When I got home I just took the casserole out of the fridge, heated the oven & popped it in.  To prepare, combine in your casserole dish 750g beef diced fairly large, 1 large carrot roughly chopped, 1 onion roughly chopped, 4 whole cloves garlic, 1 tbsp chopped garlic, 1 tbsp soy sauce, zest of 1 orange, 2 tbsp tomato paste, 2 whole star anise, 1/2 cup crushed tomatoes, 1 cup red wine, 1 cup beef stock, salt & pepper.  When you're ready to cook, put it into the oven at 150 for around 3 1/2-4 hours.  If the liquid is too thin near then end just remove the lid & cook until the liquid has reduced & is  a bit syrupy.
For the mash cook some pumpkin & Agria potatoes.  For two, I had about 1/4 pumpkin & 1 potato.  Mash with a little butter & cream & season well.  While the veg is cooking slowly, cook  a thinly sliced onion in a little butter or oil and a good pinch of salt, until soft & golden.  Add a clove of crushed garlic & a grating of ginger & 1/4 tsp allspice & cook another 2 minutes.  Stir through the mash.  To assemble spoon the lamb into individual oven proof dishes.  I have some beautiful pottery dishes my mother bought in Thorndon many years ago.  Do any of you remember the Courtyard Cafe on Tinakori Rd & the pottery shop next door?  These dishes served her well for many years and are now doing great service at our house.  Top with the pumpkin mix & cook at 180 until the mash is coloured & a little crisp.
We welcomed an old favourite back to the table.  This is quick and delicious and a good weekday standby although you do have to pick up your prawns on the day or the day before unless you have some in your freezer.  Skin, deseed & decore 1/2 dozen or so good flavourful tomatoes then roughly chop.  Drain them over a bowl for up to an hour so that you are just using the flesh.  Mix them with 1 clove crushed garlic, a handful each chopped flat leaf parsley & basil, 2 small dried bird's eye chillis (or use flakes), crushed, 1/2 dozen pitted kalamata olives, 3 tbsp olive oil.  Set aside.    Saute about 1/2 dozen prawns per person until just cooked then sprinkle over a pinch saffron & 2 more of those chillis.  Add the tomato mix briefly to warm and scrape up the tasty bits on the bottom of the pan.  Cook some spaghetti according to the pack then toss through the tomato and prawn mix.  Serve with a green salad.

One weekend in August

Not much new in the kitchen this week. We ate out a couple of times and as Phoebe is home for the holidays we are revisiting her old favourites. We did have an amazing roast lamb on Sunday with leftovers for lunches through the week. We bought a small piece of leg roast, bone in. If you are cooking it for a family use a full leg. Get the oven on to 220. For 2, chop 1 clove garlic, 1 tbsp fresh rosemary, zest of 1/2 a lemon, 2 anchovies, 3 sundried tomatoes, all together on a big board. Make small cuts in the lamb & press this mixture into the cuts. Spread the surface of the lamb all over with Dijon mustard - about 2 tsp. Season with salt & pepper. Put a branch or two of fresh rosemary into the base of a roasting pan & put the lamb on top. Drizzle with a little olive oil and add a whole head of garlic with the top chopped off. Roast for about an hour. Rest 10-15 minutes. For a change from regular roast veg we served with cavalo nero & butter beans. You could use wilted spinach.
To prepare the cavalo nero, remove the stalks & slice into largish pieces. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil, add the greens & cook 10 minutes until tender. Drain, refresh & drain again. Heat olive oil, a clove of finely sliced garlic & a pinch of chilli flakes. Toss through the greens & a can of butter beans. I like to use the El Navarrico butter beans that come in a jar and which you can get at some delis. If you can't get them you could use any white beans, or cook your own.
Remember back in July we picked olives. This week we bottled them. Having left them in the brine for 6 weeks they were covered with a fine layer of mould. That is good. We rinsed the olives, sieved the brine through fine muslin & add a dash of red wine vinegar. We then filled sterilised jars with olives & poured over the brine. Top each jar with a layer of olive oil & enjoy.
Having experimented with the sourdough, making a fruit loaf to use as fruit toast I discovered that the leaflet that came with the starter had a recipe. I made that one and it was nice but was more like a cake loaf. Mine was like fruit bread you buy for toast. I also had some extra starter so I made the chocolate cake from the leaflet. An interesting idea & nice enough. I got Phoebe to ice it but I would probably serve with cream or yoghurt next time.

Wild at home

Remember spaetzle from the German blog? While Peter was away he brought me a spaetzle grater which has largish holes and a contraption to push the spaetzle into the saucepan. I made Coq au Riesling with spaetzle which is a classic Alsatian dish. Cut a chicken into 8 portions and brown them in a casserole dish. Remove &; season. In the casserole add 3 chopped shallots &; 2 chopped cloves or garlic. Flambe with 1 tbsp cognac or brandy. Remember the pan is hot. When you tip in the brandy and put a flame to it, it will go up. Ensure your pan is clear of curtains. Return the chicken pieces to the pan and pour in 1/2 bottle riesling. Add 200g buttom mushrooms. Leave to cook on a low heat until the chicken is done - falling off the bones. This will take 40mins to 1 hour. When the chicken is done remove & keep warm while you cook the spaetzle &; make the sauce. Reduce the cooking liquid (with mushrooms still in) and add 2ooml cream, stirring to thicken.

To make the spaetzle (for 4) you will need 200g flour, 2 eggs, 1/2 tsp salt, 100ml tepid water. Bring a pasta pan filled with salted water to the boil. Mix all the ingredients to make a smooth dough. Using the fancy grater, grate the dough into the pan of boiling water and when the spaetzle rises to the top lift out with a slotted spoon or skimmer. Toss in hot butter. If you don't have a grater you can just cut the dough into little ribbons.

To serve, spoon the creamy mushroom sauce over the chicken with spaetzle on the side. I served with Brussels sprouts because they're my favourite but an Alsatian would have just served a salad to start.

We bought some delicious mushrooms at the market & served mushrooms with pappardelle. Thinly slice as many mushrooms as you want to eat. Melt a little butter in a shallow pan with a little olive oil. Add finely sliced garlic & salt & pepper. Leave to cook until they're dark &; soft, stirring occasionally. Cook the pappardelle or pasta of your choice according to the instructions on the packet & drain. While that's cooling stir in a handful of washed torn spinach and the cream you have left over from the chicken. Stir the drained pasta through the mushrooms & serve with a generous grating of Parmesan.

We went to Auckland for the long weekend. My sister had a fish in her freezer caught by her neighbour. You may recall my sister is afraid of fish so we brought it home. I did wonder what the scanning man at the airport thought of our backpack containing a whole fish, 1/2 dozen eggs (my sister keeps chickens) and a bubbling substance in a jar (a sourdough starter - more of that later).

We filleted the fish and served it pan fried with sauteed potatoes and that delicious pea puree from a couple of weeks back. It was absolutely perfect.

While in Auckland we went to the Clevedon Farmer's Market which I strongly recommend you visit if you are in the area. I tasted & purchased many wonderful things including fabulous portobello mushrooms, Clevedon buffalo salami, casimiora, also known as custard apples, and amazing tomatoes from Curious Croppers. The highlight for me was the sourdough starter I bought from the lady from Running Brook seeds at Waiuku. This was a treasure that she has been nurturing since 2007. I made the bread this morning. All you need to do is keep the starter in the fridge and feed it every few days. To make the bread I took the starter out of the fridge, fed it up until the jar was nearly full and left it on the bench for a few hours. You need to pour some back into the 2nd jar & return to the fridge to keep it growing. When it was ready I tipped the starter into a bowl with 2 cups strong bread flour, 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 dsp salt. Mix well and tip into a loaf tin. Make sure it is spread into the corners, cover with a tea towel & leave to rise in a warm place. Then bake at 180 for 1hr 10 mins. Couldn't be easier or more delicious. If anyone is interested in getting some starter off me yell out. I will provide detailed instructions.