Showing posts with label tomato. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tomato. Show all posts

Monday, February 16, 2015

Summer Sensations - Chipotle Crab Pasta


Summer Sensations - Chipotle Crab Pasta
Summer Sensations - Chipotle Crab Pasta


So, I did mention that our new car was amongst other activities, chosen for crabbing trips. However our first crabbing trip this year coincided with the day we picked up the Zoolander. Now, I’m not precious about a clean car – but I did want the car to be clean for at least one full day. So we took my sister-in-law’s car. It wasn’t our most successful trip, but we managed to catch enough for a feed for the 4 of us that went. I’m hoping we can go back later in the season so that all of the undersize ones have had a chance to grow into monsters!


After crabbing, cleaning off the gear and boiling up the crabs in plenty of water with a splash of vinegar and hot English mustard, we showered and finally got to bed around 5am. Then as has been tradition, Lance and I set up a shelling station in front of a tv. Then with a movie playing, we sit and peel all of the crabs. This year it took us 1 and a half movies. This equated to about 400g of crab flesh. I divided it into 2, then froze half for a later dish.


That night I cooked this very simple chili crab pasta. This pasta took it’s form from two of the things growing prolifically in our garden this summer – grape tomatoes and oregano. The grape tomato that Lance planted and lovingly waters every day has rewarded us with buckets of fruit. Some days we pick over 2 dozen! Then the flavours of the rest of the dish are Mexican, in a wonderfully fusion-food kind of way. It became like my riff on a Sopa Seca – or “dry soup”. A Mexican noodle dish flavoured with chipotles in adobo and served with sour cream and a smokey salsa. It was the perfect thing on a tired Sunday night with a lovely anejo tequila on the side.
Summer Sensations - Chipotle Crab Pasta
 Summer Sensations - Chipotle Crab Pasta

Summer Sensations - Chipotle Crab Pasta

Summer Sensations - Chipotle Crab Pasta


Chipotle Crab Pasta

(serves 4)
200g crab flesh, picked through for cartilage
One brown onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 chipotles in adobo sauce, plus 1 tbsp adobo sauce
20 grape tomatoes, roughly diced
2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
Big knob of unsalted butter (around 100g)
50mL reposado tequila
Zest and juice of one lime
Sea Salt
500g angel hair pasta
To serve
Greek yoghurt
Jalapeno slices


Bring a pot of water with a decent pinch of salt to the boil.


Heat a splash of olive oil in a large sauté pan or wok. Add the onion and cook for 10 minutes or so until soft and golden. Add the garlic and cook a further 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes to the pan and cook until soft and breaking down.


At this point, the pasta water is probably boiling. Add the pasta.


Add the tequila and lime juice and zest and stir through, scraping up bits that might have stuck to the bottom of the pan. Reduce the liquid by half, then add the butter and whisk through to melt and emulsify into a thick, glossy sauce. Stir through the chipotles, adobo sauce, oregano and crab. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the crab is heated through.


Drain the pasta, then stir through well to evenly coat with the sauce.


Serve with a dollop of Greek Yoghurt and sliced jalapenos. And maybe a lovely glass of tequila on the side!

Summer Sensations - Chipotle Crab Pasta

Summer Sensations - Chipotle Crab Pasta
 Summer Sensations - Chipotle Crab Pasta
Summer Sensations - Chipotle Crab Pasta


Thursday, January 29, 2015

Summer Eating - Prawn Burgers with Tomato Mango Salsa

Summer Eating - Prawn Burgers with Tomato Mango Salsa
Summer Eating - Prawn Burgers with Tomato Mango Salsa

Remember my badly photographed DIY Slider Bar party that my friend and I hosted last year? We had 4 different types of burgers, with a table full of salads and condiments so you could build your own set of sliders. And it was brilliant. One of the slider options we had that day were prawn burgers. And that same prawn patty is still my favourite non-beef burger. And it’s probably my most made burger at home. I’m not going to lie, this recipe is really, really similar to the KrabbyPatties recipe that I posted last year. But these prawn burgers are where it all started. These are my favourite burger patty. The sweetness of the prawn, the smokiness of the paprika. I love mango added into that flavour profile, but instead of a mango guacamole, I made a simple mango tomato salsa to go with it. Lance has been growing me some grape tomatoes and they are no good for slicing up into burgers, but make for a delicious condiment in them!

It was crazy hot the day I cooked these, so they were done outside on the BBQ. You do need to add a little oil to your cooking surface. I don’t always bother when BBQing, but prawns are practically devoid of fat, so it helps to make a nice crisp outer layer and stop it sticking. Something that’s not as big a deal when cooking beef or lamb patties.

Summer Eating - Prawn Burgers with Tomato Mango Salsa
Summer Eating - Prawn Burgers with Tomato Mango Salsa
Summer Eating - Prawn Burgers with Tomato Mango Salsa

Mango Tomato Salsa

1 small mango, diced
Half punnet grape tomatoes, diced
2 chipotle pepper, finely chopped
Pinch salt and pepper
Juice of one lime

Mix all ingredients together. Set aside for the flavours to meld while you cook your burgers.


 Summer Eating - Prawn Burgers with Tomato Mango Salsa
Summer Eating - Prawn Burgers with Tomato Mango Salsa
Summer Eating - Prawn Burgers with Tomato Mango Salsa
Summer Eating - Prawn Burgers with Tomato Mango Salsa
 Summer Eating - Prawn Burgers with Tomato Mango Salsa

Prawn Burgers

(makes 6 patties)
500g prawns
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup coconut flour (or fine shredded coconut - unsweetened)
1 egg
2 tbsp dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp basil
1tsp smoked paprika
to serve
6 buns (toasted, if desired)
mayo
salad ingredients
mango tomato salsa

Dice the prawns into small pieces and throw in a bowl. Mix the mustard, garlic, salt, black pepper and basil until all the prawn pieces are well coated. Mix through the egg to get everything wet, and finally add in the breadcrumbs and coconut.

Divide into 6 equal portions and, using clean hands, form into round patties and squish to flatten. Set aside in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Heat a pan or BBQ plate to medium high and lightly coat with oil. Cook each patty for around 5 minutes, or until golden. Flip over and cook for a further 3-5 minutes until cooked through.

Serve with Mango Tomato Salsa and your favourite burger ingredients.

Summer Eating - Prawn Burgers with Tomato Mango Salsa
Summer Eating - Prawn Burgers with Tomato Mango Salsa
Summer Eating - Prawn Burgers with Tomato Mango Salsa
Summer Eating - Prawn Burgers with Tomato Mango Salsa
Summer Eating - Prawn Burgers with Tomato Mango Salsa
Summer Eating - Prawn Burgers with Tomato Mango Salsa

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Easy Dinner - Chickpea Dutch Baby with Gin and Blood Orange Ratatouille




Easy Dinner - Chickpea Dutch Baby with Gin and Blood Orange Ratatouille

Have you ever had a dutch baby? It’s not the most common of dishes here in Perth, but I absolutely love them because of how versatile and easy they are. It’s essentially one large baked pancake. And like normal pancakes, you can flavour them up in any way you want. But unlike normal pancakes that require cooking in batches, this is all done in one go. That makes it one of my go-to dinner dishes for something quick after the gym. I’ll serve it with some form of vegetable concoction to go on top. It’s also one of my go-to breakfast/brunch dishes. It is a super quick dish to prep, and you can chuck it in the oven while you shower, or sitting and quietly having your morning coffee…and before you know it, you have deliciousness. If I’m making a savoury Dutch Baby, then I love making them with chick pea flour. Both for the added protein it adds, and more importantly, for the flavour profile it adds. Just by swapping out the flour, you add that specific slightly smokey, slightly nutty flavour that chickpeas have. It also makes it gluten free, if that’s an issue for you.

I didn’t get any meat out for dinner when I cooked this dish, so I thought I’d make a ratatouille to go with it. I always have tomatoes and zucchini in the house. Always. And, it has been pointed out to me that I cook with booze a lot. Which I did here. I added some gin and blood orange marmalade to add a little oomph.

If you want my favourite version of a chickpea dutch baby, you’ll need to grab a copy of the Recipes and Ramblings III cookbook. In it, it has the recipe for a Spicy Chickpea Dutch Baby with a Tomato Bacon Jam.
Easy Dinner - Chickpea Dutch Baby with Gin and Blood Orange RatatouilleEasy Dinner - Chickpea Dutch Baby with Gin and Blood Orange Ratatouille

Easy Dinner - Chickpea Dutch Baby with Gin and Blood Orange Ratatouille



Easy Dinner - Chickpea Dutch Baby with Gin and Blood Orange Ratatouille
Easy Dinner - Chickpea Dutch Baby with Gin and Blood Orange Ratatouille


Gin and Blood Orange Ratatouille

(serves 2)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 brown onions, thinly sliced
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp blood orange marmalade
1 shot Gin (I like West Winds Sabre or Gin Mare flavours in this)
3 roma tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 roasted capsicum, roughly chopped
¼ tsp thyme leaves
½ tsp salt
Pepper

Chickpea Flour Dutch Baby

½ cup chickpea flour
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ cup milk (soured with ½ tsp lime juice)
2 eggs
1 tbsp butter.

Warm the olive oil to medium in a pot. Add the onions and cook until translucent, but not coloured – around 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook a further 2 minutes until that is translucent. Add the rest of the ingredients and reduce to a simmer and leave for half an hour or so until all the vegetables are soft and the flavours have intensified. About the time it takes to make the dutch baby!

Heat the oven to 180C

Heat a frypan that can go into the oven to a high heat. In a large bowl, whisk together the salt, pepper and chickpea flour. Beat the eggs until light and fluffy. Then beat in the soured milk. Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients and whisk until completely combined.

Add the butter to the pan and swirl to coat the whole bottom of the frypan. Carefully pour the pancake batter into the pan and tilt back and forth to coat the pan. Place in the oven.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the dutch baby puffs up and is golden.
 
Remove from the oven carefully (the handle will be HOT. I have learnt this the hard way!). It will deflate once removed from the oven. Spoon over the ratatouille and a scoop of fresh ricotta or Greek Yoghurt

Easy Dinner - Chickpea Dutch Baby with Gin and Blood Orange Ratatouille
Easy Dinner - Chickpea Dutch Baby with Gin and Blood Orange Ratatouille
Easy Dinner - Chickpea Dutch Baby with Gin and Blood Orange Ratatouille
Easy Dinner - Chickpea Dutch Baby with Gin and Blood Orange Ratatouille
Easy Dinner - Chickpea Dutch Baby with Gin and Blood Orange Ratatouille

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Sunday Prep = Work Lunches - Baked Bean Casserole

Sunday Prep = Work Lunches - Baked Bean Casserole

Sunday’s whilst generally recovery days after the frivolities that Saturday nights inevitably bring, they’re also prep days for me. With a little bit of time and effort, my husband’s lunches are ready for the whole week and it’s one less thing to worry about day-to-day. He’s graduated from his quinoa biscuits to baked bean casserole. Baked bean casserole became a common dinner dish when we were saving to go on a 2 month trip to the US around 6 years ago. Back then, the only late night shopping was Thursdays, so we’d spend our night grocery shopping and fix a baked bean casserole in 10-15 minutes when we got home, then cook it in the microwave while we unpacked the bags. It was a super cheap, but highly nutritious meal and really tasty. It evolves constantly, depending on what we have in the house. Leftover roast veges are common elements, as is any type of leftover meat. The grain can be changed out too. Quinoa or buckwheat can take place of the rice. Or you can leave that out altogether if you aren’t feeling it.

The recipe below is one of the most common combinations when making it from scratch for lunches. I divide this up into 5x 500mL plastic containers that Lance then cooks in the microwave at work for around 4 minutes on high and eats with corn thins. When I take one to work, I usually have it with some rye toast.


Sunday Prep = Work Lunches - Baked Bean Casserole
Sunday Prep = Work Lunches - Baked Bean Casserole
Sunday Prep = Work Lunches - Baked Bean Casserole
Sunday Prep = Work Lunches - Baked Bean Casserole
Sunday Prep = Work Lunches - Baked Bean Casserole
Sunday Prep = Work Lunches - Baked Bean Casserole
Sunday Prep = Work Lunches - Baked Bean Casserole


Baked Bean Casserole

1 425g tin baked beans
1 400g tin chick peas, rinsed
2/3 cup passata
1 heaped tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp mixed Italian herbs
1 cup capsicum, finely diced
1 cup mushrooms, finely diced
1 cup zucchini, finely diced
1 cup roma tomato, finely diced
1 cooked sausage, finely diced
1 large red onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 cup brown rice, rinsed
2 ¼ cups water

Put the brown rice and water in a large glass bowl and microwave on high for 24 minutes. Set aside to cool

Heat the olive oil in a frypan to medium heat and add the onion and salt. Fry for 5-10 minutes until translucent and then add the balsamic and garlic. Cook for a further 5 minutes until caramelized and then take off the heat and allow to cool.

Dice all the vegetables. You want them as small as the baked beans, or smaller. Dice the cooked sausage as small as this as well. Stir together all of the vegetables, the cooled onion mixture, sausages, baked beans and chick peas. Mix the paprika, herbs and passata together, then mix into the rest of the mixture. Finally add the cooled rice and mix very thoroughly. You want it to be completely mixed up.

Divide the casserole into individual containers, then store in the fridge ready for lunch throughout the week.

When ready to serve, microwave for 4 minutes to heat the casserole and cook the vegetables. Serve with corn thins, corn chips or hot toast
Sunday Prep = Work Lunches - Baked Bean Casserole
Sunday Prep = Work Lunches - Baked Bean Casserole
Sunday Prep = Work Lunches - Baked Bean Casserole
Sunday Prep = Work Lunches - Baked Bean Casserole
Sunday Prep = Work Lunches - Baked Bean Casserole
Sunday Prep = Work Lunches - Baked Bean Casserole