Ugly but Delicious - Corn, Almond and Roast Garlic Stuffed Silverbeet (Chard)

This recipe was inspired by two other recipes that are on my blog. It’s a combination of the Cuban Chicken and Corn Pie (remember the one with the awesome crust made from corn?) and my Stuffed Silverbeet Rolls. I was really craving the Cuban Pie in particular, but I just couldn’t be bothered with getting out food processors and whatnot that is required to make the pie. Given I had a lovely bunch of fresh silverbeet from the markets, I decided to use those flavours and make stuffed silverbeet rolls instead.

To roast the garlic cloves, put a whole head of garlic into the oven on a baking tray while the oven is pre-heating. After 15 minutes or so (for me, it’s ready by the time it is required to be added), the garlic will be squishy and the cloves will easily slide out of their skins. Doing this really sweetens the garlic and completely takes away the harshness that garlic can sometimes have. Then use half the cloves for this dish, and save the other half for another dish.

Photos prove this isn't the prettiest meal - but it sure was delicious!

 

Corn, Almond and Roast Garlic Stuffed Silverbeet (Chard)

3 cups corn kernels

1 brown onion
6 cloves roast garlic
½ tsp salt
6 caperberries, sliced
2 eggs
1 cup almond meal
1 bunch silverbeet, ribs removed
¾ cup water
1 tbsp lime juice
3 tbsp Monty’s Muscat
 

Heat the oven to 170C

Dice the onion, and fry in a splash of olive oil and the salt over medium heat until translucent. Add the corn kernels and cook for 10 minutes, stirring here and there, until just barely starting to brown. Remove from the heat. In a mortar and pestle, crush the roast garlic cloves into a paste. Stir through the corn mixture, then add the almond meal and lightly beaten eggs and capeberries, making sure the mixture is completely combined.

Take each silverbeet leaf and add a few tablespoons of mixture to the top of the leaf. Fold the ‘leg parts’ together to make it a solid sheet, roll the edges in, and the whole thing down lengthwise, like you are rolling a spring roll, or burrito. Place seam side down in a casserole dish. Continue until all of the leaves and filling is used up.

Mix the water with the lime juice and Muscat, pour over the completed rolls. Cover loosely with foil and place in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, then gently turn over the rolls. Leave the foil off and bake for a further 10 minutes.

 
Remove the rolls and reduce the liquid in a pan (I save on dishes just by using the first pan) until it’s syrupy and pour over the top

Using Leftovers - Smokey Duck and Lentil Empanadas

If you are lucky enough to have some leftover bourbon molasses braised duck, then this is the perfect way of utilising some of that delicious saucy meat. If you do not have any left, never fear – any leftover meat could be shredded to be added to the lentils. Or even some refried beans and a little grated cheese. Or the sweet potato and bacon filling from my bagel bombs. The recipe here is more for the dough than anything. The dough itself is flavoured in such a way that it lends itself to the smokey, BBQy flavours of the duck dish, so I would recommend using a little good quality BBQ sauce to coat the meat and lentils before forming the empanadas. Alternately, make sure you have a good dipping sauce if you have a plainer filling.

I make my pastry doughs in the food processor because it’s so much simpler, but it can be done by hand.

Oh, and my New Year's Resolution last year to eat more cornbread was a huge success. This year, I think it might be to practice making prettier looking empanadas!
 

Smokey Empanadas with Duck and Lentils

2 cups plain flour (‘00’ if you have it)
½ cup cold butter, cubed
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ancho chilli powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
¼ cup bourbon
2 eggs
1 tbsp molasses
1 Egg + 1 tbsp cold water for the egg wash

Filling

400g tin lentils
Few twists of salt and pepper
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup shredded duck

Remove the duck from the fridge to take the chill off.

Sift the flour, salt, paprika and chilli powder together and put it in the food processor. Add the butter and pulse until it is combined and resembles breadcrumbs. In a bowl, lightly beat the bourbon, eggs and molasses to combine. Add to the flour mixture and pulse until it comes together into a ball. Don’t overwork it.

Remove the dough, flatten it into a disc, wrap it in plastic and pop it in the freezer for 15 minutes to chill.

Take it out of the freezer, divide it into two pieces and roll each piece out into a rectangle about 5mm thick that you then cut into 4. So when both pieces have been rolled and cut, you’ll have 8 rectangles. Place on lined baking trays, cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 10 minutes while you make the filling.

Rinse the lentils well as they come out of the tin and drain. Place in a bowl, season and add 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar. Stir to combine, then drain the excess vinegar and measure out 1 cup of lentils. Reserve the rest for another use (I added to a salad). Mix the duck meat into the lentils.

Preheat the oven to 175C

Place around 1 ½ tablespoons of filling mixture along half of each piece of dough, leaving a 5mm-1cm rim around the edge. Brush the rim top and bottom with egg wash, fold the top over and crimp together with a fork. Poke a few air holes with the fork tines and brush the whole thing with egg wash.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden.

Serve with greek yoghurt or sour cream

 

 

Starting the Year off Right - Bourbon Molasses Braised Duck

I have mentioned before that Lance has been experimenting a lot with smoking. Meat. He gets some funny looks when he tells people he’s really into smoking. He built a tray holder and bought a rotisserie and turned one of our garden sheds into a smoker. Last time he did a great big smoke, we had around 50 sausages, half a kilo of bacon, 6 chorizo links, a roast pork and a whole chicken. We now have a few piles of various woods drying out, ready for him to experiment with, things like macadamia and plum. As well as the traditional hickory blocks that we buy from the store. As an offshoot from that, he’s started experimenting more with roasting meats on the rotisserie in the BBQ. Or “rotisserating” them, as he likes to say.

This style of cooking is most suited to things with an outer layer of fat, so when it rotates, that layer of fat gets crunchy and delicious, whilst the interior meat is protected and stays gloriously moist. Even if you slightly overcook a roast, it stays moist inside. Lamb and pork legs and whole chickens have all had the rotisserated treatment to great effect. He’ll often throw some hickory and mesquite chips in to add an extra flavour boost. He did a whole baby pig for my sister-in-law's 30th!

This passion and experimentation has led him to the idea of rotisserating a whole beef fillet which is almost entirely devoid of fat, so he wants to encase it in a layer of duck fat and see how that changes the flavour profile and generate moistness in a roast that is notorious for drying out. He figures if duck fat roasted potatoes are the holy grail or roast potatoes, then surely the same will be true for duck fat roasted beef. Which led to a Sunday afternoon of kitchen prep side-by-side. Me making baked bean casserole and banana bread for the week ahead. Him skinning a duck. Yep. He skinned a whole duck. Which meant I needed to find a way to cook a skinless, fatless duck.

Obviously that rules out roasting it. The general consensus of all my cookbooks is that you can cook duck breasts quickly and to medium, and that duck legs you slow cook into confit style dishes and the rest of the duck is pretty useless for anything but stock. There isn’t a great deal of meat on ducks beyond the breasts and legs. My Peruvian cookbook had largely tomato based dishes, which didn’t really jump out at me. A Mexican cookbook had some slightly more inspired spice-based dishes. My Treme cookbook had slow roasted duck with bourbon molasses sauce and sweet potato fries. Bingo! I used the same base flavours, but changed the dish to suit my skinless duck. Opting to section it, brown it, then braise it.

To make life easier, you can get an already segmented duck and either pull the skin off yourself which will be a lot easier than skinning it whole. Or, you can still brown each piece leaving the skin and fat on, but you’ll need to brown it for longer on the skin side, and removed the majority of the fat from the pan before adding the liquids.

This resulting dish is rich and sweet and sticky and moreish just all kinds of perfect. I deep-fried some sage leaves in duck fat for garnish, and instead of making fries, I made a sweet potato mash with orange and cinnamon that complimented the sweetness just so. Although that as a dish by itself makes a fantastic side. I lazily made it in the microwave and it takes less than 10 minutes. Couldn’t be simpler!

And as a side note, molasses can be hard to find, but I really suggest you seek it out. The flavour profile is so much richer than any other sweetener you would try using as a substitute and it really makes the dish. In the end, I found it in a Woolworths, but I had gone to the Nanna Shop, a Coles and an IGA before I found some.

Bourbon Molasses Braised Duck

(adapted from the Treme Cookbook)

1 duck, approx. 2.2 kg, sectioned into about 8 pieces and skinned

2 tbsp reserved duck fat (from skinning the duck)
1 brown onion, sliced into half moons
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 shallots, diced
8 large sage leaves, plus 1 tbsp chopped sage leaves
1 tbsp thyme leaves
2 tsp black pepper
1 cup chicken stock
½ cup molasses, divided in two
½ cup bourbon, divided in two
¾ cup apple cider vinegar (plus a splash)
330mL bottle apple cider
Salt and pepper

Place the duck fat in a large lidded pan (I used my tagine) and bring up to a medium high heat. When the majority of the fat has rendered out, remove the little bits that remain and discard. Carefully drop the whole sage leaves into the hot oil, they will sizzle and crisp up in about 30 seconds. Remove to paper towel and set aside.

Season the duck pieces with salt and pepper and in batches, brown on each side in the duck fat. Around 3-5 minutes per side should do it. Set aside on a plate.

Add the onion to the pan and cook until golden, stirring here and there so it doesn’t catch too much. Around 10 minutes. Add a splash of apple cider vinegar to deglaze the pan if necessary, then add the shallots and garlic cloves. Cook until translucent, around 3 minutes.

Add the sage, thyme, pepper, chicken stock, ¼ cup of molasses, ¼ cup of bourbon, apple cider vinegar and apple cider to the pan. Stir well to combine, then add the duck pieces back into braising liquid. Cover and cook for 30 minutes, turn the duck over, re-cover and cook for a further 20-30 minutes or until the meat is falling off the bone.

When cooked, remove the duck from the pan and add the remaining ¼ cup of molasses and ¼ cup bourbon and leave simmering with the lid off to reduce.

Shred the duck meat from off the bone, discarding the bones.

When the sauce is a thick, syrupy consistency, check for seasoning, then stir the duck back through the sauce.

Serve with Orange Cinnamon Sweet Potato Smash and crispy fried sage leaves

Simplest of Sides - Orange Cinnamon Sweet Potato Smash

This is the easiest side in the whole world. Ok, maybe not. But it is brilliant for those nights that you just want something quick to go with a grilled meat. Especially now the weather is warming up (41C/106F the other day) and you don’t want to put the oven on and heat up the whole house. All you need is a glass/pyrex bowl, a microwave, a fork and 6 minutes. The result is crazy flavoursome. I served this for the first time with Bourbon Molasses Braised Duck and it couldn’t have been a more perfect match. I will post that recipe very soon. But it’ll pretty much go with any meat except maybe seafood.

Because it is so easy, and not really something I've considered worth posting...I haven't been great at taking photos of said side. Sorry.

To make this vegan, substitute the butter with olive oil. Also, adding a few tablespoons of Greek Yoghurt instead of the butter makes a delightfully creamier version!

Orange Cinnamon Sweet Potato Smash

3 small sweet potatoes

3 tbsp orange juice
Salt and pepper
½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp butter

Scrub the sweet potatoes and cut into 3-4cm chunks. Place in a large glass bowl and add the orange juice and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cover the bowl with a piece of paper towel and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Check with a fork, if not quite tender, zap for another minute.

When done, add the butter and cinnamon and smash it all together with a fork to make a mash. Rough is fine, but you want to make sure the orange juice, butter and cinnamon are mixed through. Check for seasoning and serve.

Summer BBQ - Pumpkin and Miso Slaw

I am lucky enough to have just over a week off for my company's Christmas shut-down and I had grand plans to make up for the current decline in my blog posts and prep a whole bunch for the new year. Then I would catch up on reading other blogs and spring clean my desk area and re-arrange the spare room and do some gardening. And. And. And I have done none of it. Today is the first day I've even been willing to turn my computer on. This has been officially my laziest Christmas break. I've actually used it as a break! Lots of book reading and beach going and lazy shopping.

Hopefully everyone has had a fabulous holiday period. I certainly did, celebrating with both families, eating up a storm. In lieu of a big night tonight (with Lance not getting January 1st off), we also had our now traditional New Year's Eve Eve Eve Eve Eve BBQ. But tonight we will have a quiet BBQ at home with the best of intentions to stay awake until midnight. And we will be eating this salad. 

This is currently one of my favourite salads. It is super easy to make, and can be made a day or two in advance if necessary. It is the perfect salad to take to a BBQ. It is a vinegar-based slaw, rather than the mayonnaise based coleslaw that most Australian's are more familiar with, which makes it a much lighter dish. Instead of carrot, I use pumpkin with red onion and silverbeet (chard) for colour. The salt comes from the delightfully savoury taste of miso paste, whilst maple adds a sweet touch against the vinegar. A touch of sriracha adds a faint spice, without too much heat. Toasted pumpkin seeds round out the texture perfectly.

I am not the hugest fan of raw onion in salads, which is why I added the step to sit the onion in vinegar first. It takes a little of the onion's punch out. Feel free to skip this step if you are an onion lover.

This makes a large amount of salad, but as I said, it keeps a few days in the fridge so you can have it as leftovers if you aren't serving it to a crowd.

Happy New Year my lovely readers, and I promise my posts will get a little more on-track in 2015!

Pumpkin Miso Slaw

1 small butternut pumpkin

¼ head cabbage
3 leaves silverbeet
¼ cup toasted pepitas
½ white onion
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, divided
2 tbsp miso paste
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tsp sriracha (or to taste)
Salt & pepper to taste

Thinly slice the onion into half moons, cover with the 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar and set aside whilst you prepare everything else.

Grate (by hand, or in a food processor) the pumpkin, finely shred the cabbage and silverbeet. Mix together in a large bowl.

Add all the dressing ingredients to a jar and shake until well combined. Taste for seasoning, adjust as required. Pour over the salad and mix well to coat everything. Mix the onion into the salad. Set aside for half an hour for the acid in the vinegar to soften the pumpkin.

Just before serving, toss through the pumpkin seeds

Thanksgiving in a Bun - Turkey and Cranberry Burger

I watched all the traditional Thanksgiving dishes come and go on pinterest and then Instagram as people in the Northern Hemisphere started their holiday period. Obviously, it's not a holiday we have down under, and it's Spring/Summer here, not Autumn/Winter, so the flavours and style of food aren't necessarily seasonal at the moment. But it doesn't stop me drooling! Luckily the Perth climate means a lot of things do grow year round, like butternut pumpkins. 

So, in the spirit of the holiday we don't have, I created these burgers which is like a whole Thanksgiving dinner in a bun. The patties have turkey and cranberry and I've paired it with a roast pumpkin slice. The patties are also gluten free, using the nutty flavour of chick pea flour sees to that.

Easy to make, easy to eat, and great in warmer weather. As with most of our meals, I didn't have any buns when I made these, so I served in bread rather than buns. But buns would be better. Use buns. 

Turkey and Cranberry Burgers

1 red onion, diced
1/2 tsp salt
generous twisting of pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 cup chick pea flour
1/2 butternut pumpkin, sliced in to rings


to serve
red cabbage
pickle
fetta
mayonnaise
bread or buns

Shred the cabbage and pickle and mix together. Cover with a few tablespoons of the pickle juice and set aside to soften the cabbage a little.

In a frypan on medium heat, heat a little oil and add the red onion, salt and pepper. Sweat the onion until it's translucent. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for a further 5 minutes. The onions should be golden at this point. Add the dried cranberries and 2 tbsp water, stir it all together and cook until the liquid has cooked off. Set aside in a bowl to cool.

Mix the turkey mince into the onion mix. Add the chick pea flour, starting with half a cup and adding more as required to create the correct consistency.  Form the mixture into patties and set aside in the fridge to cool and 'set' for half an hour.

Brush the butternut pumpkin rings with oil and cook for 10 minutes on each side in the same pan, or until soft. Set aside, and cover to keep warm.

Add a little oil to the frypan and, without crowding the pan, cook the burgers. 5-10 minutes on the first side, then flip when golden. Cook for a further 8 minutes or so until cooked through.

Assemble the burgers, adding your favourite sauce if desired and enjoy.

Easy Entertaining - Bone Marrow Pesto Spread

One of the recipes I was given to test for the Recipes and Ramblings Cookbook was called “Lovely Bones”. It’s a dish of roasted bone marrow with a radish salad, served with some warm sourdough bread. And it was pretty remarkable. The flavours and textures all worked really well together. Lance and I devoured the dish eagerly! However, on the recommendation of a butcher, I bought whole bone marrow shaft pieces instead of cut in half lengthwise to make flat, open pieces. And it was really, really messy to eat. And I’m a grub to start with. It wasn’t really the type of meal you could eat in polite company, but it was designed to be a shared entrée. It's so dramatic being served marrow in the bone like that! So, I recommend trying that recipe by getting the cookbook. (It's available at Fresh Provisions, Beaufort St Books and Planet Books)

I had 6 pieces of marrow bone leftover after making that dish and knowing that Lance probably didn’t want to be up to his elbows in marrow juices again, I thought I would change things up a bit. I’ve still kept some of the original flavours of lemon, parsley, smoked paprika and garlic, but I’ve changed it into a pesto-style spread. Much more polite to eat in mixed company and so delicious. The rich oiliness of the bone marrow means you don’t need to add the traditional olive oil or nuts to the pesto. And you can remove the marrow much more cleanly in your kitchen than at a dinner table. I used a fondue fork to poke in and around the hole to remove the marrow as I don’t have a marrow spoon (and, in fact, didn’t know that such a thing even existed until very recently!)

It only takes about 30 minutes to make, and is quite the fancypants dinner party appetiser!

Bone Marrow Pesto Spread
(adapted from Lovely Bones in Recipes and Ramblings Volume 3)

6x 5cm marrow bone shafts
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp smoked paprika
Sea salt and fresh black pepper to taste ( a good pinch of each)
2 bunches parsley, with the big part of the stalk removed
Juice of one lemon
¼ tsp hot English mustard
½ tbsp. capers
Sourdough to serve

Preheat the oven to 200C

In a small casserole dish, place the bone marrow shafts with the holes facing up. Mix the minced garlic, smoked paprika, a good pinch of salt and pepper in a small bowl and sprinkle over the top of the bone pieces. Pop in the oven.

In a food processor, blitz the parsley, lemon juice, mustard and capers until quite finely chopped but still some texture to it. You might need to scrape down the sides of your processor a few times.

When the bone marrow starts to pull away from the sides of the bone, after around 20 minutes, remove from the oven and place the sourdough loaf in to warm up.

Using a fondue fork or other long thing implement, poke out all of the marrow into the casserole dish, getting all of the flavoured garlic too. Discard the bones.

Add all of the parsley mixture into the casserole dish with the marrow, and mix well with a fork, breaking the marrow up. This should be enough to warm through the whole spread. 

Check for seasoning.

Cut the sourdough into slices, put the marrow pesto spread into a nice serving bowl and serve!