Slow Cooking

I must admit, I'm probably one of the slower ones to pick up the art of (and love for) slow cooking.  There's something about leaving an electrical appliance turned on all day when you're out of the house that just doesn't sit quite right, yet I'm quite happy to sit in another room for the same amount of time and rarely even check on it after the initial stir to combine instructions ....

I'm discovering I'm actually quite a fan!  A while ago a colleague at the office decided there was a definite gap in the market for Australian recipes, and ones that didn't include "1 can of condensed soup" as the base of the meal!

I've been lucky enough to find quite a few nice recipes in recent times, and tonight's was again a winner - it was eaten up before we managed to take a photo so we might have to make that one again another time, but the recipe is below:


Indian Sweet Curry Beef

Ingredients:

2 carrots
1 onion
1 stalk celery
2 apples, grated
1kg lean stewing beef (I used 500g and it was plenty enough)
1 tablespoon sultanas
1 tablespoon relish or chutney
1 tablespoon tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon golden syrup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1.5 tablespoons curry powder
2 teaspoons sat
1/2 cup stock or water
3 teaspoons cornflour (optional)



Method:

Peel the carrots and onion and cut into 1cm dice.  Cut the celery into 1cm slices. Peel, core and grate the apples.  Place into the slow cooker.

Remove any visible fat from the meat and cut into 2cm dice.  Place on top of vegetables.  Add the sultanas, relish or chutney, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, golden syrup, brown sugar, curry powder, salt and stock/water.  Stir gently to combine.

Place lid on cooker and cooker for 4-5 hours on High or 8-9 hours on Low.

If necessary, mix the cornflour with about 2 tablespoons of cold water to a paste and use a little or all or it to thicken the curry.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with steamed rice.

Food Memories

Taken from the Melbourne Age newspaper recently:

Click here for full article

"There are lots of ways of tracing your own personal history. You can go back through family photo archives and trace the hair styles. You can do it with music, by listing the songs that symbolize special times in your life. Or you can do it with food. Food has an incredible power to evoke the past; to remind us of special occasions, disasters and triumphs, and those long gone. I think of my father every time I grill a lamb chop on the barbie, and of my grandmother every time I smell porridge cooking.

To write your own food biography, come up with ten dishes from your past to your present, from your very first food memory to your current obsession. Write them down.  They don’t have to be the best ten best dishes you’ve ever had in your life, just represent you at certain ages and stages. That’s your entire life there, plate after plate.

Your list will be different to mine, and different to your nearest and dearest. A stranger could look at them and know so much about you and your life; where you came from, who you became, and everything in between. The places you have lived will be in there, the people you have loved and who have loved you. Every dish tells a story, good or bad."

The article goes on to give the author's food, and I've decided this is something I plan to do in the next few days, after being inspired by my friend Nicole and my Sister-in-law Felicity to do so!   

It sounds like a bit of fun - I'd love to read other memories as well!

Post Title

Sichuan Pork

with peppered Asian Greens

Ingredients

1. 500g boneless pork loin, cut in thin strips
2. 5 tablespoons soy sauce
3. 2 tablespoons cornflour
4. 1 tablespoon peanut oil
5. 1/2 cup roasted peanuts
6. 1 teaspoon crushed sichuan/red pepper
7. 1 clove garlic, chopped finely
8. 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
9. 1/2 cup chicken stock
10. 2 tablespoons Shaoxing (Chinese rice wine vinegar)
11. 2 tablespoons dry white wine
12. 1 teaspoon sugar
13. 1 red capsicum, cut in strips
14. 2-3 spring onions, sliced diagonally
15. 2 tablespoons water

Directions

1. Marinate pork strips in combined 3 tablespoons soy sauce and 1 tablespoon cornflour for 30 minutes.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in wok. Stir-fry peanuts and crushed red pepper over medium-high heat for 2 minutes; remove.
3. In remaining oil, stir-fry pork and ginger until lightly browned. Add garlic.
4. Add stock, vinegar, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, wine and sugar. Cover; simmer 3 minutes.
5. Add capsicum and spring onions; cook 2 minutes.
6. Add combined 1 tablespoon cornflour and water. Cook and stir until thickened. Stir in peanut mixture. Serve immediately.

Search, share, and cook your recipes on Mac OS X with SousChef!

Back online with Sous Chef - yay!

Buttermilk Loaf

From the TV Show "Gourmet Farmer"

Ingredients

1. 2 cups self-raising flour
2. 1/2 tsp ground ginger
3. 1 tsp mixed spice
4. 1 tsp ground cinnamon
5. 1 cup caster sugar
6. 1 large cup sultanas, currants and raisins, mixed
7. 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
8. 1 tbsp treacle (optional)
9. 1 cup buttermilk

Directions

1. Sift the flour with the spices and add sugar, fruit and nuts. Mix treacle, warmed over hot water, with buttermilk. Fold in gently. Spoon into a buttered and lined loaf tin. Bake for 3/4 an hour to 50 minutes in a moderate oven (180C). (I like to test it with a skewer as I would any cake.)
2. Slice and butter when cold.

Search, share, and cook your recipes on Mac OS X with SousChef!

Back to the tagine again this week

Moroccan Lamb Tagine on couscous

from Masterchef Australia

Ingredients

1. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2. 1 kg lamb (shoulder, leg), cut into 2cm cubes
3. 1 onion, chopped
4. 2 cloves garlic, chopped
5. 1 teaspoon ground coriander
6. 1 teaspoon ground cumin
7. 1 teaspoon ground tumeric
8. 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
9. 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
10. 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
11. Zest and juice of 1 orange
12. 1 cup chicken stock
13. 1 tablespoon almond meal
14. 1/2 cup roasted blanched almonds, coarsely chopped
15. 100g pitted dates
16. Salt and pepper
17. Cous cous and plain yoghurt to serve
18. 2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander

Directions

1. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium high heat and brown lamb in batches. Remove and put into the pressure cooker.
2. Add onion and garlic to the same pan and cook 2-3 minutes or until softened. Stir in dried spices and cook a further 1 minute or until fragrant. Add orange zest, juice and stock and stir to release the flavours and sediment from the pan. Pour mixture over lamb and scatter over almond meal and almonds.
3. Cook in pressure cook for ½ hour on low heat. Release steam valve and remove lid. Add dates and cook a further 15 minutes with a lid until sauce has thickened. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Serve on a bed of cous cous with a dollop of yoghurt and topped with fresh coriander.

Simple and tasty!

Spicy Indian Omelette

Anyone who's been on an Indian train will know the delicious smell of omelettes being cooked on the station platform. These are served with fresh chapattis or naan bread, and with mango chutney - yum yum! The real taste of Indian street food!

Ingredients

1. Olive oil
2. 1 spring onion, sliced finely
3. 1 medium red onion, chopped
4. 1-2 green chillies, finely chopped
5. 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6. 1cm ginger, peeled and finely chopped
7. 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
8. 1 teaspoon ground cumin
9. 1 teaspoon ground coriander
10. 4 eggs, beaten
11. Freshly chopped coriander
12. Freshly chopped mint
13. A few drops of lime juice
14. 1 tomato - sliced

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the onion, chilli, ginger and garlic and fry for five minutes. Add the turmeric and fry for a minute more. Add the other spices and cook for two more minutes.
2. Beat the eggs and add salt and pepper to taste. Add the cooked mix to the eggs. Add the fresh herbs and return the mixture to the pan (add more oil or some butter if needed).
3. Cook for a few minutes, sprinkle with lime juice and then flip over, cook until done. Add some fresh sliced tomato and serve.

Search, share, and cook your recipes on Mac OS X with SousChef!

Quick Thai dish

Thai Chicken-Coconut Soup

Ingredients

1. 6 cups low-salt chicken broth/stock
2. 1–2 red Thai (or jalapeño) peppers, seeded and finely chopped (plus slices for garnish)
3. 3 cloves garlic, chopped
4. 1 tablespoon grated ginger
5. 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
6. 1 teaspoon grated lime zest
7. 1/4 cup fresh lemon (or lime) juice
8. 4 tablespoons Thai fish sauce, divided
9. 250g shiitake mushrooms, sliced (3 cups)
10. 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 150g each), cut into 5cm long by 1cm wide strips
11. 1 cup light coconut milk
12. 2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
13. 2 tablespoon chopped coriander (plus sprigs for garnish)
14. 1 packet (120g) thin rice cellophane noodles

Directions

1. Place noodles in a bowl; add enough warm water to cover and let sit until soft, about 15 minutes. Drain.
2. Combine broth, pepper, garlic, ginger, lemon zest, lime zest, lemon juice and 3 tablespoon fish sauce in a medium saucepan. Season with salt. Bring to a simmer, add noodles and cook 3 minutes more.
3. Using tongs, transfer noodles to a bowl and cover with foil to keep warm.
4. Add mushrooms to broth; season with salt, if desired; simmer 3 minutes more. Add chicken and coconut milk and simmer, stirring, until chicken is just cooked, about 3 minutes.
5. Stir in spinach until it begins to wilt, about 1 minute. Add chopped coriander and season with remaining 1 tablespoon fish sauce.
6. Using tongs, divide noodles among 4 bowls. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with sprigs of coriander and slices of pepper.

Search, share, and cook your recipes on Mac OS X with SousChef!