Spicy Vegan Feast

I love Indian food - not takeaways which always seem to be the same meal served up in different coloured sauces. I love vegetables fried with freshly ground spices or simmered warm flavourful sauces & served with an aromatic pilau. Back in the 70s I bought 2 books which have stood the test of time - Middle Eastern Vegetarian Cookery & Indian Vegetarian Cookery. If you ever see them anywhere snap them up. They are where I turn when I need inspiration of an Indian nature. So when I was intending a vegan feast to celebrate having my two daughters in the same city it was to Jack Santa Maria I turned & he did not disappoint. He gave me a magnificent pilau. I usually do a middle eastern version and it is very similar but with subtle differences.
Fry a thinly sliced onion and 4 cloves garlic, crushed, in ghee or oil (for Indian I use a flavourless oil rather than olive) until golden (I would normally soften without colouring). Then Jack suggests 1 inch piece of ginger, grated, 6 cloves, cinnamon stick, 1/2 tsp chilli powder, 2 cardamom pods, bashed, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp cumin seeds, salt. Cook with 1 1/2 cups rice (I do 1/4 cup per person & leftovers are essential) until the grains are opaque. Add water or vegetable stock (2-1 liquid to rice) & bring to the boil. Simmer until done. When I am doing a lot on the stovetop I do this in the Le Creuset & shove it in the oven on 150 for 20 minutes to finish off. Then I just turn the oven off & let it sit until I am ready to serve.
Next, take your favourite pumpkin - I had butternut left over from last week's lentils. Chop into large chunks & toss in sunflower oil & a mix of spices which will cohabit well with what you're already using in the other dishes - garam masala, cumin, coriander. Or you could cheat and toss in a flavoured oil such as AvoHealth Flavours of India avocado oil. Remember those pita crisps with olive oil & cumin - well use this & you have Indian style chips. Back to my pumpkin - spread in a shallow baking dish & bake at 180 about 40 minutes.
Then onto the potatoes. Cook 2 finely chopped onions in oil until golden, then add 3 cloves garlic, crushed, 3 cm piece of ginger, grated, 600g floury potatoes, peeled & cubed. Cook for a couple of minutes then add 1tsp each cumin, coriander & garam masala, 1/2 tsp each turmeric & chilli flakes. Cook until the spices release their aroma then add, 1/2 tin tomatoes, 2 cups vegetable stock & salt to taste. When the potatoes are just done add 1 cup frozen peas & cook until the peas are done.
In the meantime prepare the spicy cauliflower. Cut a cauliflower into florets & saute in oil for a few minutes. Remove from the pan & set aside. Add a little more oil & cook 1 tbsp each black mustard & cumin seeds and cook until they pop. Add 2 cloves garlic, crushed, 1 tsp turmeric, pinch chilli flakes and the other half of the tin of tomatoes with 1/2 cup water. In summer I would use fresh peeled, chopped tomatoes in both of these dishes. About 2 per dish. Return the cauliflower to the pan, cover & simmer until it's tender. Stir through coriander leaves to serve.
This was all so delicious it reminded me why I like to cook & eat Indian food & I plan to do it again soon. It is not hard & so much nicer than those takeaways. If you have any vegetable in your fridge looking for attention spice it up & serve it with rice & tamarillo chutney.

A Winter Medley

I don't usually cook Asian food as you will have noticed but I just had a hankering for some Asian flavours and something quick. Slice 250g sirloin thinly across the grain and toss with a little vegetable oil, a clove of garlic, crushed and a tsp grated ginger. Combine 1 tsp cornflour with 1 tbsp soy sauce in a small jug & mix to a smooth paste & stir in 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce & 2tbsp cha siu sauce (Chinese barbeque sauce) if you can get it, otherwise leave it out. Stir fry the beef in a little vegetable oil in a very hot wok for 1-2 minutes. Add the sauce & cook another minute then toss through a handful of spinach to wilt. Serve with your favourite noodles and top with chopped toasted cashew nuts.

For a light Sunday supper make this delicious goat's cheese tart. I had bought some Greek Dodoni feta and it was perfect for this. Make your favourite tart pastry adding thyme to the dough. Line a 24cm pie tin with the pastry, chill until firm. Blind bake about 20 minutes at 200 then take out the beans & reduce the oven to 170. Cook a further 6-7 minutes just to colour.
For the filling, melt 2 tbsp butter in a pan and saute a leek & an onion, both thinly sliced, with a clove of crushed garlic and 1 tbsp finely chopped thyme. When really soft but not coloured, set aside. Whisk 1/2 cup creme fraiche (use fresh cream or sour cream if that's what you have in the fridge) with three eggs and stir in the chilled leek mixture. Season and pour into the tart case. Crumble over about 150g feta or any soft goat's cheese. Bake 25 minutes at 170 until just set then stand for 15 minutes before serving. Perfect with a green salad and a glass of Riesling.
You know I am a fan of puy lentils and love to serve them topped with an egg. We had a Turkish version for dinner this week. For 2, cook 1/2 cup lentils & set aside. Chop about 250g of your favourite pumpkin into 2cm pieces and halve 100g button mushrooms. Combine with 1/2 sliced onion, 1/2 sliced red capsicum, 1 sliced chorizo, 1/2 tin tomatoes, 1 clove garlic, crushed, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp ground cumin & 1/4 cup olive oil. Mix well & tip into a baking tray & cook at 200 for about 1/2 an hour until the pumpkin is cooked. Add the cooked lentils & keep warm while you cook the eggs.
Melt 1 2tbsp butter in a non-stick pan with a small clove of garlic, crushed and a pinch each smoked paprika, ground cumin, dried chilli flakes. Crack 2 eggs into the pan & spoon over the spiced butter until the white is set but the yolk is still very soft. Dish up the lentil mix & top each dish with an egg then drizzle over a little yoghurt then the spiced butter residue & sprinkle with chopped mint.
Last weekend I made the Tamarillo chutney which is an absolute staple in our cupboard. I missed out last year because we were in France and was determined not to do so again. This lot might last until next winter.

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.