On the grill

We bought a Weber kettle barbecue for Christmas but we didn't get an opportunity to try it out until this week.  We have had 2 delicious barbecue meals plus much more.  The first day we did the simple rump steak and a corn cob.  The steak was amazingly tender.  To do the corn we peeled back the husk & pulled off all the hairy bits, then tied the husks back on using an elegant knotting arrangement.  Soak the cobs in cold water for 1/2 an hour or so then cook for 20 minutes in the kettle. 
Having had that success we tried a groper steak and a couple of our delicious Heather potatoes.  These have a beautiful bright purple skin when you pick them but it disappears within moments of heating.  I boiled it for 5 minutes or so first then roasted it in the kettle for 20 minutes.  It was perfect and the fish was moist & firm.  So as not to waste the heat in the barbecue we then grilled out lamb fillet for weekday salads & roasted the baby beets.  This could become quite fun but it's not very appealing to be cooking out of doors in a howling northerly so our opportunities for experimentation may be somewhat curtailed this summer.
I still have a some walnuts sitting in a bowl that were given to me by a grower & we found the perfect way to use them.  Beetroot & walnut hummus.  Start by roasting 50g shelled walnuts at 180 for 5-7 minutes.  Don't buy them shelled  - they will be disgusting.  Always shell them just before eating. Over a medium heat, dry fry 1 tbsp cumin seeds for about a minute & crush them in a mortar & pestle.  Set aside, but not so far aside that you forget to add them to the hummus. Whizz 15g stale bread in a food processor until you have fine crumbs then add 200g cooked beetroot, 1 tbsp tahini, 1 clove crushed garlic, the juice of a lemon, 1/2 tbsp olive oil salt & pepper and don't forget the cumin.  Blend to a thick paste.  Taste & you might want to adjust the flavouring or add a little more oil if it is too stiff.  Serve as a dip or spread.  
My other find for the week was panacotta.  I have always imagined this to be really hard but was inspired when we spent a night at the White Swan in Greytown on a special deal.  We stayed in the White Suite and dined in the restaurant where they served a vanilla bean panacotta.  I had a go when I got home & it was really easy. 
Combine 100ml organic whole milk & 250ml cream in a pan with 40g caster sugar & a vanilla pod halved with the seeds scrapped into the milk.  Put the whole pod in to infuse then remove it before adding the gelatine. Bring the milk just up to the boil without bubbling & turn off.  Soak 2 sheets of gelatine in cold water for 5 minutes then squeeze out the excess water & stir in to the hot milk until dissolved.  Leave to cool then add 150ml plain yoghurt.  Pour the mix into 125ml containers such as ramekins & chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours.  To turn out, dip the moulds into hot water & tip out.  I found I also needed to run a knife around the edges.  So delicious.
We had the tahini dressed salad again with roasted Heather potatoes & it may have been even better this time. Do try it especially if you have a glut of courgettes to get through.  We included scallopini which I love, not least for the lovely colour they bring to the salad. 

Spring into summer

This week's tagine seemed more suited to a festive occasion but I needed to try it out before presenting it to guests.  This is described as a traditional Moorish duck tagine.  You will need one duck breast on the bone per person.  Using a mortar & pestle pound a knob of fresh ginger and 2 chopped garlic cloves to a paste.  Heat 2 tbsp olive oil with a knob of butter in your tagine.  Stir in the garlic paste & 2 cinnamon sticks.  When the mixture starts to colour add the duck breasts & brown the skin.  Stir in 2 tbsp honey and tuck a handful of stoned dates around the duck.  Add just enough water to cover the base of the tagine & come about 1/3 up the duck breasts.  Bring to the boil, cover, then transfer to the oven and cook at 180 for about 25 minutes.  Add 1 tbsp orange flower water, season & continue cooking until the duck is tender - 5 minutes or so.  Saute a handful of whole blanched almonds in a little butter & scatter over the duck to serve.  Serve with couscous flavoured with fresh herbs & lemon zest.  This will help to counter the richness of the duck.
Try a pinto bean chilli using early summer veg.  For 4, heat 1 tbsp oil & soften 3 finely chopped onions.  Add 2-3 fiery green chillies deseeded & finely chopped, 2 finely chopped cloves of garlic, 2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp cayenne, 1/4 tsp allspice.  Cook for about a minute.  Add 2 diced courgettes & one diced red capsicum.  Coat in the spices then add 2 tbsp tomato puree, a tin of tomatoes, a tin of pinto beans, 100ml red wine & a handful each of fresh parsley & oregano, finely chopped.  Pour over 200ml water & simmer gently for half an hour until all the vegetables are tender & the dish is thick & saucy. We served ours with homemade guacamole, shredded cos lettuce, grated cheese, sour cream and some grilled flat breads. 
I had been given some walnuts so we tried a quinoa & walnut salad.  Make extra because the leftovers are good in lunches.  For 4, toast 2 tsp cumin seeds & 1 tsp fennel seeds, then crush in a mortar & pestle until you have a fine powder.  Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan & saute 1 finely chopped onion, 1 finely chopped fennel bulb,  2 finely chopped garlic cloves.  Add the ground spices & the zest of a lemon.  Cook the quinoa according to the instructions.  If you don't have quinoa you could substitute brown rice, bulgar wheat or that large Israeli couscous.  Drain & mix with the onion mixture then stir in the juice of a lemon & chopped herbs - parsley, chives, tarragon, toasted & chopped walnuts - about 75g.  Taste & add more oil & lemon juice if you think it needs it.
Still on the summer veg theme, we stir fried a bunch of greens and served with egg fried rice.  For two, cook 1/2 cup rice - we used brown jasmine - then set aside.  Prepare the vegetables before you start.  A courgette, halved lengthways & sliced thinly lengthwise,  spring onions sliced on the diagonal, a handful of greens such as spinach, rocket mizuna, a handful each snow peas, fresh podded  peas & broadbeans.  I blanched the podded beans & slipped them out of their skins.  Heat a wok or frying pan over a medium high heat & add 1 tbsp sunflower oil.  Add the snowpeas, then the courgettes, peas, onions & greens - one at a time cooking each one a minutes or so before adding the next.  When the greens have wilted down add a finely chopped piece of ginger, a crushed garlic clove & finely chopped green chilli.  Transfer to a hot serving dish & scatter with soy sauce & sesame oil plus a sprinkling of toasted sesame & shredded mint. 
Wipe out the wok & bring back to a medium heat.  Add 1 tbsp sunflower oil and when the oil is hot add the reserved rice & stir until all the grains are coated in the oil.  Make a bit of space in the pan & tip in a beaten egg mixed with a tsp soy sauce.  As the egg starts to cook move it around through the rice until it is cooked & distributed through the rice.  Serve the veg atop the rice & sprinkle with more soy sauce if you like.
This week I had my first go at cheese.  I started with cream cheese which was very simple & also turned out to be delicious.  I started with 2 litres of whole milk and let it sit 24 hours with the cheese culture & rennet.  I then drained it through muslin for a day, and stirred through dried herbs & cheese salt.  It was great on grilled sourdough, with boiled potatoes or on crackers.   Unfortunately I didn't have any smoked salmon.
We also made a batch of marmalade from the windfall grapefruit & lemons we had collected while in Auckland the previous week.  It came up such a beautiful golden colour. 

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.