Posh Broad Beans on Toast with Jamie Oliver, Bill Granger, Maggie Beer...and a poem

A Short-lived Love Affair

Unlike many veggies which are available all year round, broad beans have a distinct season. They appear in the markets from winter into spring, and then they’re gone until next year. Of course one can find dried and frozen broad beans anytime, BUT IT”S JUST NOT THE SAME! I have to part with my lovely broad beans soon. Therefore, for the September My Legume Love Affair event, created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook and hosted this month by Lucy of Nourish Me, I present to you these lovely Broad Beans, 3 Recipes that accentuate all their goodness, and a Poem.

Broad beans are also known as field, winter, tick, horse, English, Windsor, faba or fava beans. Bean Beans are among the oldest cultivated crops a legume, it is a distant cousin to the garden snap bean. Like all legumes, broad beans are rich in protein, iron, zinc and fibre.

Playing with food is fun!

CHOOSING

Select the smallest broad-bean pods you can find or, if you have a garden supply, pick the smallest ones first to eat whole and then the larger ones later to eat shelled. Go for bright perky-looking beans and avoid any that appear tired or floppy.

Big...medium...small

PREPARING

Preparing broad beans is a labour of love. It’s fiddly but easy. Put on your iPod, MP3 player, CD. Then, remove the beans from the shell. Next, to make it easier to peel away the tougher outer skin, blanch the beans in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds - bring a pan of water to the boil, toss in the beans, and let the water come to the boil again, which usually takes about 30 seconds. This loosens the outer skin on the broad beans, which can easily slip off. The bean is now "double peeled".

(Sources: Steve Manfredi, Burkes Backyard)

3 POSH BROAD BEANS ON TOAST RECIPES

from Two Aussie cooks Maggie Beer and Bill Granger, and Jamie Oliver. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of these dishes because these beans never made it to the bread this time round because I was popping them in my mouth like popcorn! I love all three recipes because it brings out the best of fresh broad beans so do try them. If you really have to, frozen broad beans can be substituted.

Broad Beans with Pecorino
by Maggie Beers
From the TV series The cook and the Chef

3 cups broad beans
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (evoo) plus last moment drizzle
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
80-100g pecorino
4 slices sourdough bread for bruschetta

Method

Serves 4. Maggie sorts large pods and small pods into different piles before peeling, and where possible uses the smaller ones. Blanch the broad beans in boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes and refresh in cold water immediately. Heat a grill pan until hot, brush the slices of sourdough with a little olive oil and grill until well toasted on each side.

Add a little more evoo to the beans. Mix with mint and a little more evoo as needed. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Spoon onto the grilled bruschetta and serve with shavings of pecorino and an extra drizzle of evoo.

Broad Bean, Feta and Mint Bruchetta
by Bill Granger

500g broad beans
80ml (1/3 cup) olive oil
100g creamy feta
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 garlic clove
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tbsp finely shredded mint
Chargrilled bread, to serve

Method

Blanch the broad beans in a saucepan of lightly boiling water for 2-3 minutes or until just tender. Rinse under cold running water and drain well. Peel outer skins.

Place broad beans, olive oil, feta, lemon juice and garlic in a blender or food processor and process until a rough paste. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add mint and pulse for a few seconds until just combined.

Incredible smashed peas and broad beans on toast
from Jamie at Home

Jamie warns: “Don’t use frozen peas and broad beans for this because it sort of misses the point. Made with raw peas and sweet fresh broad beans, the whole thing will taste alive and just like summer.”

700g broad beans in their pods (about 250g shelled weight)
500g peas in their pods (about 150g shelled weight)
a small bunch of fresh mint, leaves picked
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
50g finely grated fresh pecorino cheese, plus extra for serving
juice of 1 lemon
4 slices of sourdough bread
1 clove of garlic, unpeeled, cut in half
2 large balls of buffalo mozzarella cheese, torn in half
a handful of pea shoots

Method

Serves 4. Pod the peas and broad beans, keeping them separate. Put any really small ones to one side to use in the salad.

This next bit is best done in a pestle and mortar, in batches if necessary. (You can pulse it in a food processor instead, but you won’t end up with the lovely bashed and bruised flavour that makes this dish incredible.) Bash up half the mint leaves with the peas and a pinch of salt. Add the broad beans a few at a time and crush to a thick green paste.

Mash in a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to make the paste spreadable. Stir in the pecorino. If the mixture is a bit stiff, add a little more oil to loosen it. Add about three-quarters of the lemon juice – this will bring it all together. Have a taste and see what you think. You want the richness of the pecorino and the oil to balance nicely with the freshness of the peas, beans and mint. Adjust seasoning if needed.

Toast the bread on both sides, either on a barbecue or in a hot griddle pan. Rub each slice twice only (very important) with the cut side of the garlic and top with some smashed peas and half a ball of mozzarella.

Dress the pea shoots, the remaining mint leaves and the reserved small peas and beans with the rest of the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and scatter this salad over the crostini. Finish with a little more olive oil and a grating of pecorino.

Check out how Jamie plates the dish here. Soooo gooooood!

Lastly, a Poem

(This must be my longest post ever!) If you feel inclined....Australian poet Les Murray accurately and humorously described the appeal of broad bean pods in The Broad Bean Sermon:

The Broad Bean Sermon
© Les Murray, Lunch and Counter Lunch 1974

Beanstalks, in any breeze, are a slack church parade
without belief, saying trespass against us in unison,
recruits in mint Air Force dacron, with unbuttoned leaves.

Upright with water like men, square in stem-section
they grow to great lengths, drink rain, keel over all ways,
kink down and grow up afresh, with proffered new greenstuff.

Above the cat-and-mouse floor of a thin bean forest
snails hang rapt in their food, ants hurry through several dimensions:
spiders tense and sag like little black flags in their cordage.

Going out to pick beans with the sun high as fence-tops, you find
plenty, and fetch them. An hour or a cloud later
you find shirtfulls more. At every hour of daylight

appear more than you missed: ripe, knobbly ones, fleshy-sided,
thin-straight, thin-crescent, frown-shaped, bird-shouldered, boat-keeled ones,
beans knuckled and single-bulged, minute green dolphins at suck,

beans upright like lecturing, outstretched like blessing fingers
in the incident light, and more still, oblique to your notice
that the noon glare or cloud-light or afternoon slants will uncover

till you ask yourself Could I have overlooked so many, or
do they form in an hour? unfolding into reality
like templates for subtly broad grins, like unique caught expressions,

like edible meanings, each sealed around with a string
and affixed to its moment, an unceasing colloquial assembly,
the portly, the stiff, anf those lolling in pointed green slippers ...

Wondering who’ll take the spare bagfulls, you grin with happiness
– it is your health – you vow to pick them all
even the last few, weeks off yet, misshapen as toes.

Feeling the Burn

This blog recently turned One. Anniversaries are naturally a time for reflection. Being part of the food blogging world has definitely changed the way I cook and bake. I learn so much from other food blogs (thank you!!) and that inevitably influences the recipes I use. The change that I am most proud of is my use of seasonal and local produce.

Buying Local and Seasonal Cooking
I never used to take much notice of this, but now, I really enjoy learning more about these ingredients and the best way to use them through various cooking techniques and recipes. Not only does buying seasonal and local taste better (and sometimes more economical), it also helps maintain a sustainable agriculture by minimising the environmental damage caused by transporting foods. We can also support our local farmers, and in some cases it means getting my hands on unprocessed fruits and vegetables.

Inspiration from the Markets
Visiting the local green grocers always fuels my culinary creativity. One such place that reminds me most of the “wet markets” in Singapore where I grew up is the weekend market at Sydney Paddy’s Market in Chinatown. I love being in the bustle of such markets, where one can still bargain. But it’s really less about the savings and more about the chase and acquisition of the produce. I much prefer this type of shopping high rather than shopping for Manolo Blahnik.

Speaking of getting high - regular readers and friends already know this - I’m a chilli (chile) junkie. Naturally, when I was at the markets recently, I was looking for my next hit. And look at these babies:

When I asked the lady what type of chillies they were, I didn’t quite catch what she said, but I knew I had to try some when she told me: “Very hot! Very hot! Cut it very small, don’t use too much.” Say no more! I grabbed a hand full. It felt like I had just acquired gold nuggets - I was so excited to return home with my prized find.

I always prided myself as being a very good chilli eater. I have never met a chilli that was too hot for me. Upon hearing my reputation, a few acquaintances (mostly guys) will inevitably proceed to challenge me to an impromptu chilli eating “face off’. On one occasion while having dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant, during a bird's eye chilli eating face off, I could tell that that the challenger was suffering - both his ego and his mouth - so I pretended to call it a draw. Of course we all know who reigns supreme ;-)

Back to my chilli bounty story: I made a terrible mistake when I got home. Without researching what type of chilli it was, I proceeded to chop up (fortunately, only the flesh) and sprinkled it liberally in my chickpea salad (recipe follows).

Oh boy.

What happened to me, I do not have words to describe. Tears instantaneously starting pouring out. I wish they were tears of joy. Something happened in my mouth, it was weird...I felt both pain and numbness. It didn’t feel good at all. And I did not get any sympathy from Quikong who just laughed at me and called me a "wuss". Ouch. I have to admit that this chilli was too much for me. I don’t know what hurt more - my ego or my mouth.

After some research, the variety I tried is probably a Hanoi Habanero. It’s similar to the typical Habanero [ah-bah-NEH-roh], but it has slightly thicker, juicer flesh. The Habanero is one hottest chilli (chile) in the world. Even a tiny piece of Habanero can cause “intense and prolonged oral suffering” (been there!). Underneath the heat is a “delicate plum-tomato apple-like flavour” (was in too much pain to notice). If you are curious about how the heat in chillies is rated, have a look here.

After removing the rest of the killer chillies from my chickpea salad, I have to say that I really enjoyed the rest of my lunch. It’s quick and easy to make and so flavoursome. A bonus: if you have it the next day, the flavours develop further. It can be eaten cool, so it’s good for the lunch box. The flavours are also not compromised when frozen.

Savoury Chickpea Salad (minus the pain)

Ingredients:
1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
¼ red capsicum, chopped
1 clove garlic, smashed
½ small onion, chopped
fresh coriander (cilantro)
spicesto taste:
e.g. cumin, tumeric, sweet paprika, curry powder mix
salt

To serve:
Salad leaves (baby spinach or Romaine lettuce)

Method:

Over medium-low heat, cook onions and garlic in a bit of olive oil (or ghee) till fragrant. Throw in the spices and heat through to release the fragrance of the spices. Add capsicum and chickpeas and cook till capsicum is tender to your liking. Throw in coriander (not need to chop them if you don’t feel like it, all parts of this herb can be used). Cool slightly and serve it on top of some baby spinach or lettuce.

Variation:

Wrap it - Serve it in soft tortillas with some sour cream or yogurt.
Mash it – Serve with grilled chicken or prawns.

Other chickpea recipes from Life's Smörgåsbord's archives you might want to try:

Baked Chickpeas and Sweet Potato Patties
Chickpea and Pink Peppercorn Bread
Chickpea and Roasted Pumpkin Soup
Chickpea and Spinach Curry

This will be my contribution to the June challenge of “No Croutons Required”, hosted by Lisa’s Kitchen and Holler at Tinned Tomatoes. The theme for this month is “soups or salads featuring legumes because beans and pulses are an important part of a healthy vegetarian diet”. The deadline is 20th June, so it’s not too late to join in.

Baked Chickpeas and Sweet Potato Patties

I do love my legumes so when I saw that one of my favourite bloggers, Susan (The Well-Seasoned Cook) is hosting the My Legume Love Affair event, I knew that I should join in.

I don’t have any fancy legume to showcase because my favourite one since moving to Sydney is the humble chickpea. Canned chickpeas, actually. They are versatile, nutritious, quick to use, easy to find and cheap. I always have a few cans handy in the pantry.

I originally intended to make falafel, but ended up making these patties because I wanted to use up the sweet potatoes that have been waiting to be used. I remembered seeing a recipe that used both sweet potatoes and chickpeas, so I thought why not? A bonus - these are baked and not fried.

Kitchen and Tasting notes:
- These were great warm, at room temperature and even cold.
- If you make smaller patties, they are great as finger food, or stuff them in pocket pita bread. Alternatively, make bigger patties and serve it between burger buns.
- I first had these with salad and dipped it in Thai sweet chilli sauce. I think they would be great with a sour cream or yogurt dip.
- I brought some to work for lunch two days later and had it cold in a sandwich. They were still moist and remained flavourful (maybe even a bit more robust since the flavours had time to mingle).

Other chickpea recipes from this blog:
Chickpea and Pink Peppercorn Cob
Chickpea and Roasted Pumpkin Soup
Chickpea and Spinach Curry

No chickpeas in this soup, but it is chock full of legumes and a perfect way to warm up (for those experiencing the northern hemisphere winter):
Easy Peasy Soup

Baked Chickpeas and Sweet Potato Patties
Adapted from Australian Good Taste, March 2007

500g orange sweet potato (kumara), peeled, coarsely chopped
1 x 400g can chickpeas, rinsed, drained
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
¼ - ½ cup chopped fresh coriander (or any of your fav herbs)
Spices: freshly toasted and ground coriander seeds, cumin powder, sweet paprika
1 bird's eye chilli, chopped finely
2 tbs plain flour
Olive oil spray
Sweet chilli sauce, to serve

Method:
1. Cook the sweet potato in a saucepan of boiling water until tender (about 10 minutes) and drain. Return to the pan. Mash until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and cool. If you are in a hurry, place in the fridge for 30 minutes to cool.
2. Sauté the onion and garlic in a little olive oil till onion is translucent and garlic fragrant.
2. Mash the chickpeas in a bowl.
3. Add the chickpeas, onion & garlic mixture, herbs, spices and flour to the sweet potato and combine. Season with salt. Divide the mixture into desired portions and shape each portion into a patty.
4. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Place patties on the lined tray. Spray with olive oil spray. Bake in oven, turning once, for 30 minutes (depends on the size of your patties) or until golden.
5. Serve with salad and sweet chilli sauce.

Edit: I made another batch which had the addition of a generous teaspoon of tahini in the mixture. I then rolled the patties in some untoasted sesame seeds. If you do the latter, be careful when the patties are in the oven since the seeds might brown too quickly. Also, I like Susan's (Food Blogga) suggestion of serving the original patties with tahini sauce (a few recipes here, here and here).

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Have great weekend!

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WHB # 115: Fried Tofu with Sweet Soy Dressing

Limau Kasturi (Kalamansi)

Tahu Goreng is a simple but delicous dish. Use the freshest tofu you can find. It's eaten as a side dish or a light lunch. I wonder if I can convince my meat-man Quikong to try this dish since he is not pro-tofu. I love tofu but the best part about this dish is definitely the dressing which is moreish because it has a wonderful tangy flavour with a hint of sweetness and garlic, as well as some heat from the chillies.

Limau kasturi or kalamansi (Citrus microcarpa) adds something special to the dressing because of its citrusy frangrance that is both sweet and sour at the same time and quite distinct from lemons and other types of limes. The kalamansi is small (2-3 cm in diameter) and the peel is green, yellowish green or yellow in colour. It contains quite a lot of seeds and it has an orange-yellowish flesh. The juice is sour and adds a piquant flavour to dishes. In Singapore, halved kalamansi is served with dishes such as fried noodles and squeezed over just before one tucks into the meal. The juice is also commonly made into a freshing drink.

This will be my contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging #115. This week's host is Vani from Batasari.

Tahu Goreng

Fresh firm Tofu
Vegetable oil for frying
Bean sprouts, root removed, rinsed with hot water & drained immediately
Cucumber, sliced thickly

Dressing:
kecap manis ABC (Indonesian sweet soy sauce)
tamarind juice
freshly squeezed kalamansi juice*
garlic, crushed
bird's eye chilli, chopped very finely
roasted peanuts, chopped roughly

Prepare the dressing: Mix all (except for peanuts) of the ingredients together. Taste and adjust the balance (i.e. sweet/sour) of the sauce according to your preference. (* subtitute with fresh lime juice if kalamansi is unavailable.)

Pat dry the tofu and fry it in oil till it is golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Slice it into cubes and transfer it into a bowl. Place some beansporuts and cucumber on the tofu. Drizzle the dressing over the tofu and scatter peanuts on top. Serve immediately.

Tip: The dressing can be used over several days. It also makes a wonderful dipping sauce for dim sum, fried calamari, spring rolls or as a salad dressing. You can also add the peanuts into the dressing and it becomes a thick sauce but I chose to have them seperately so that the peanuts can remain crunchy if I am using the dressing over several days.

Dark Chocolate Beetroot Brownie

The first food blog I discovered was Béa's La Tartine Gourmande. I've been a big fan ever since. I always feel inspired by her stories, recipes, photography and food styling. I've tried and enjoyed many of her recipes - there are too many to mention. Recently, while doing my research on beetroot for my previous post (How do you Beet it?), I stumbled upon her Dark Chocolate Beet Brownie. Beetroot and dark chocolate...wow!

Whenever I come across a recipe that intrigues me, there is only one thing to do - make it! Since Peabody's virtual potluck Housewarming Party is coming up on 8th December, I thought that this will also be a good excuse to bake something sweet. I'm "bringing" this brownie to the party because it's so different - most people would not have tried before. I may even be able to persuade a few people to enjoy beetroot. That includes you beet ambivalent ladies - Kate , Susan , Cynthia and Wendy! ;-)

Béa adapted the brownie recipe from Cuisine Gourmande. Her original recipe can be found here.

My adjustments: In anticipation that Béa preferred the brownie to be less sweet, I increased the sugar to 120g. Since I wanted my brownie to be deep & dark, I also added a heaped tablespoon of cocoa powder with the flour. I used a square pan (7″ x 7″).

Verdict: This is a MUST for beetroot lovers. The sweet, earthy flavour of beetroot was a perfect match for the dark chocolate. Due to the use of ground almond and not as much butter as some brownie recipes, this brownie was moist without being dense. The texture was not like a typical brownie, but was more like a cross between a friand/fanancier(due to the ground almond ) and carrot cake (due to the shredded beetroot). I think I will increase the amount of cocoa next time. It got Quikong's two thumbs up, so Peabody, I hope that you and the other "guests" at the party will enjoy it too.

Why not join in the fun at Peabody's Housewarming Party? Make a dish and post the recipe on your blog by 6th December. You can also join the party if you don't have a blog. More details here.

How do you Beet it?

“It's a little known fact that if you placed all the t-shirts end to end that had been thrown away with beetroot stains on them, they would stretch 3.87 times round the Earth. Beetroot juice is known in scientific circles as a biological stain, it resists all manner of detergents and woe betide any husband who gets it on his shirt collar as it can be mistaken for lipstick by a suspicious wife!” – Magic Veg

Beetroot Risotto, recipe from Shaun

Before I came to Australia, I was only familiar with canned beetroot. I didn't want to eat too much of it because I thought all that red colouring can't be good for me. Many years later, after encountering fresh beetroot, I discovered that the red colouring is all natural. More recently, thanks to my partner, Quikong (I told you he is a gourmand in denial!), I learnt how to cook beetroot leaves. It's great when you can use all the parts of a vegetable.

These days, I just can't resist vibrant pink-stained beetroot dishes. When I saw Shaun's Beetroot Risotto, I just had to have some. It was delicious (thanks, Shaun!). The subtle spices in the pickled beetroot wonderfully compliments the flavour of the beetroot. I followed Shaun's instructions exactly (except for substituting balsamic vinegar for the red wine vinegar). I also crumbled some goat's cheese feta on the risotto just before serving. Beetroot has a strong flavour so it pairs well with this cheese. I didn't have any leftover, otherwise I would have made some beetroot arancini.

Quick Tips for eating/cooking Beetroot:

Raw: After peeling, beetroot can simply be grated, tossed with a little orange juice and eaten raw.

Boiled/Steamed: Beetroot can be boiled or steamed for 20-60 minutes depending on its size. It is cooked when you can pierce it easily with a skewer. Allow to cool and then the skins will just slip off.

Baked/Roasted: Wash, trim the stalks and wrap each beetroot separately in foil. Place in a moderate oven for about 40 minutes, then serve. Either eat the skins or take them off. Baked beetroot has a rich earthy flavour, although it is a little drier than steamed beetroot.

Beetroot leaves: Small, young beetroot leaves can be used in salads. Older leaves are slightly bitter, but they can be shredded and cooked like spinach. I prefer to steam the leaves (& young stems) and make a Greek Style warm salad (batzaria):

Still hungry for more beet information? Alanna from A Veggie Venture has compiled various ways of cooking beetroot and a very impressive long list of recipes. You can check it out here.

A few other recipes that I have tried or would like to try....

Haalo of Cook (Almost) Anything shared this delicious old-fashioned Beetroot Chutney from Iain Hewitson's book on the Tolarno. It’s great with roast meats. I’ve had it in a roast beef roll.

Tired of the usual pesto? Alanna Kellogg of a Veggie Adventure shared this delicious Beetroot Pesto recipe which she got from the manager from Wolf Pine Farm.

At your next party, how about serving up some deep red Beetroot Hummus? This recipe shared by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict is easy yet stunning.

With warmer days arriving in the southern hemisphere, this Cold Polish Beetroot Soup from Dagmar of A Cat in the Kitchen is just the thing to whip up.

How about beetroot desserts? YES!!! Beetroot is very versatile indeed:

- Dark Chocolate Beetroot Brownies by Béa of La Tartine Gourmand. Irresistible!

- Vegan Chocolate & Beetroot Cake with Spiced Beetroot Glaze. A very festive looking cake by Kathryn of Limes and Lycopene. One would never guess that it has tofu in it (don't tell Quikong!).

So how do you like to have your beetroot?

Bread Baking Day #4: Chickpea & Pink Peppercorn Bread

or ..... How to trick your Meat-Man (or Woman) into eating MORE chickpeas

You have already heard about how I successfully converted my Meat-Man to eating chickpeas. Based on some of the comments from my previous post, it sounds like there are other Meat-Men out there who are not keen on chickpeas. Here is another way you can convert any chickpea phobic without them even knowing - in a bread.

Verdict: Two thumbs up from Quikong. We dipped it in garlic infused extra virgin olive oil. We also dipped it in regular extra virgin olive oil mixed with balsamic vinegar. He was surprised when I told him later that there were chickpeas (lots!) in the bread. I enjoyed the bread because it was moist and slightly dense. Perfect to have with a salad for a light lunch.

Bread Baking Day #04 is hosted by Baking History who has chosen the theme of “Bread & Spices”. I am fond of adding spices to both sweet and savoury breads. In this chickpea bread, the flavour of the cumin was too subtle and almost completely lost due to the spicy pink peppercorn. I would increase the amount of cumin next time.

Chickpea and Pink Peppercorn Bread

100ml water
100ml milk
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
125 g mashed canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
375g (3 ¼ cups) unbleached plain flour
2 tsp ground cumin
3 tsp fresh pink peppercorns in brine, drained
1 tsp salt
1 ½ tsp sugar
1 heaped tsp instant dried yeast
Extra milk, for brushing

Preparation
1. Mix the flour, yeast, cumin, salt and sugar together in a large bowl and make a well in the center.
2. Add the chickpeas, peppercorn, and all the liquid to the center of the flour and mix to a soft dough. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic.
3. Place in a lightly oil bowl, cover with a lightly oiled clear film and leave in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.
4. Turn the dough into a lightly floured surface and knock it back (punch down) lightly. Shape the dough into a round disc. Place it onto a baking sheet and cover with the oiled clear film and leave it to rise for 30-45 minutes. It will spread out in a slightly flat disc.
5. When the dough is almost double in size, preheat the oven to 200° C (400° F). Slash the top of the loaf with four diagonal cuts, then rotate and repeat to make a criss-cross effect. Brush the top of the dough with milk.
6. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Adapted From The Complete Book of Baking.

How to make a Meat-Man eat Chickpeas

Chickpea and Roasted Pumpkin Soup

Quikong is a proud meat lover. How do I know this? Well firstly, he has a name for his grill/BBQ ("the Black Stallion"). Secondly, when we were looking for a new apartment, the top priorities for him were - it has to be by the water and the porch has to be spacious enough for his Stallion. In his defence, he does enjoy vegetarian foods and now that I think about it, half of the meals we cook at home is vegetarian. However he always gives me a tortured look on his face when I say that I am making chickpea-something. So how did I manage to convince him that chickpeas taste good? With this soup which blew him away. I served the soup with a beautiful rye bread I bought from a sourdough bakery.

Verdict: Quikong finished a big bowl of it and commented a few times how much he enjoyed it. He even said, “you should make this again.” The only problem now is that I have to share my soup with him....hmmmm...

October 1st was World Vegetarian Day. Do visit the World Vegetarian Day website to find out more about it. I am submitting this recipe to Margot over at Coffee and Vanilla who is hosting Vegetarian Awareness Month for all of October.

For this recipe, I used Japanese pumpkin (also referred to as a squash in North America. Learn more about pumpkin/squash here). I always tend to buy this particular variety because it is less watery than other types, with drier, sweeter flesh and has an excellent nutty flavour. The natural sweetness intensifies when roasted. Despite it being spring in Sydney, pumpkin/squash is plentiful because we can get them all year round. Kevin of Closet Cooking made delicious pumpkin risotto using Japanese pumpkin last weekend, so do head over to have a look. He also explained how you can make pumpkin puree as well as toast pumpkin seeds (skin on).

Japanese Pumpkin

I also rediscovered pepitas or hulled pumpkin seeds when I had dinner at Eva's place. She recommends toasting it lightly (I toast it in a frying pan) before serving it. Toasted pepitas add another layer of flavour as well as texture to the soup.

Pepitas - Raw Hulled Pumpkin Seeds

Chickpea and Roasted Pumpkin Soup
Adapted from Donna Hay’s "Off the shelf – Cooking from the pantry"

2kg (4lb) pumpkin
6 cups (2.5 pints) vegetable stock
1 tbsp oil
2 onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp ground cumin
1 small fresh chilli, chopped
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp honey
1 x 400g (14 oz) can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
Fresh coriander, roughly chopped (or shredded basil)

To serve:
Pumpkin seeds, lightly toasted
Chopped chilli (seeds removed) & coriander

Preparation:
- Cut pumpkin into large wedges (leaving skin on). Place it in a baking tray and roast pumpkin at 200° C (400° F) for about 40 minutes or until soft and golden.
- Heat oil in a large saucepan and sauté onions, garlic, cumin and chilli over medium heat till onions turn soft.
- In two batches, scrape the pumpkin flesh into a food processor with 1.5 cups of stock and cooked onion/garlic mixture and blend till smooth.
- Place the pureed pumpkin mixture into the saucepan. Add the mustard, honey, remaining stock and simmer for 5 minutes. Add chickpeas and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Just before serving, stir through coriander (or shredded basil) and garnish with toasted pumpkin and chilli, if desired. Serve with grilled bread. Serves 4.

Do you Pesto or Pistou?

Spaghetti tossed with Basil Pistou and Asparagus

I enjoy both cooking and dining out. Trying out new restaurants is a hobby of mine that I wish I could indulge in more in the future when I complete my research project and can then go back to work full-time (did I just say that I was looking forward to working full-time??!!).

One of the reasons that I love about eating out is that I discover new things all the time and it inspires what I do in my own kitchen. A few weekends ago, we were in the Blue Mountains for an engagement party. We had lunch at a lovely courtyard bistro there. As usual, I carefully perused the menu and this caught my attention: "Organic Vegetable Soup with Garlic Pistou, served with a side of soughdough baguette". Hmmm... never seen that word “pistou” before. So of course I had to order it. When my soup arrived, I discovered that pistou looked and tasted very similar to pesto. The soup was perfectly complimented by the pistou.

After some research on the internet, I discovered this interesting article “Pistou and Pesto: Basil's Last Stand” by Kate Heyhoe. I enjoyed reading this article because she discussed both pesto and pistou. I learnt that pistou is a French sauce from Provence similar to pesto, but without pine nuts and Parmesan. Kate explained that the basic French pistou traditionally uses only basil, olive oil, garlic and salt. I think this is great for vegans and also those allergic to nuts. Kate also has a recipe for Soupe au Pistou, a famous soup in French cuisine, some may refer to as a Provencal version of minestrone.

Freezing Pistou & Pesto: For those of you who are heading towards cooler months, freezing pistou may be a good idea. You can always add in pine nuts and Parmesan later if you wanted to have pesto instead. Susan of Food Blogga wrote in this post that her husband, Jeff, made a good suggestion about how to freeze pesto while retaining the green colour - stop the oxidation process by covering the top of it with olive oil.

After having my first taste of pistou, I was craving for it. It’s warming up in Sydney (20 bushfires recorded last weekend), so I wasn’t keen on making soup to go with the pistou. Instead, I wanted to prepare a pasta dish that still tastes good at room temperature. I also wanted to use asparagus. Asparagus is currently in peak season in Australia and the prices will soon go as low as $1 a bunch.

Spaghetti with Basil Pistou and Asparagus

250g thin (no. 4) spaghetti
Basil pistou (recipe here)
Asparagus, sliced diagonally into 4 & lightly steamed
Handful of semi-dried tomatoes, sliced thinly
2 rounded tbsp capers, drained & halved

salt & freshly cracked pepper

Optional: roughly grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:
- Cook the pasta according to package directions. Reserve some of the pasta cooking liquid.
- Drain pasta and immediately toss it with the pistou and all other ingredients (except for cheese, salt & pepper). If the pasta seems a bit dry, add some of the reserved pasta liquid or add more olive oil.

- Adjust seasoning with salt & pepper if needed.
- Serve immediately as it is or with some parmesan cheese.

This pasta dish is versatile because it can be served at room temperature. If serving later, cover with cling film to prevent the dish from drying out. Quikong suggested using grilled cherry tomatoes instead of the semi-dried ones. This pasta was perfect for a spring picnic. To take this dish up a notch, I served it with grilled scallops.

I love scallops, especially those with roe on. If you want to know more about how to buy and cook scallops, have a look here. The roes can be of different colours and it does taste slightly different. I prefer the darker orange coloured roe because it has a richer flavour. See how pretty they are even when they are raw:

Raw Scallops

Grilled Scallops

8 raw scallops, with roe on
1 garlic clove, crushed
Dash of freshly squeezed lemon juice
Salt & pepper

Preparation:
- Toss all the ingredients together. Scallops require very little salt, so don't be too heavy handed with the seasoning. Let it marinate in the fridge for 20- 30 minutes.
- On a hot grill, cook scallops till they turn opaque. Scallops should be very slightly undercooked.
- Devour!

This week's PPN # 32: It's been a while since I participated in Ruth's Presto Pasta Night, so thankfully I remembered to take photos of this meal. Ruth, I hope you enjoyed this post :-)

WHB #102: What tastes like onion but doesn't make you cry?

For this week's WHB #102, hosted by Ulrike at Küchenlatein, I would like to highlight onion sprouts. Many of you would have seen this before. It's commonly used as a garnish for meals at fancy bistros or in a sandwich. I rediscovered this sprout recently while I was looking for something else at the green grocer.

Onion Sprouts

Let's have a closer look... it reminded me of Medusa's serpent hair...

Trio of Onion Sprouts

Onion sprouts are pale to bright green or sometimes yellowish sprouts with a black seed and a distinct onion aroma.

Taste - Eaten raw, it is somewhat crunchy and has a spicy, slightly acidic taste. The onion flavour is delicate but unmistakable. If you like eating raw onions but don't like having onion breath, then this will be a good substitute :-)

Nutritional Value - Sprouts are freshly germinated edible seeds such as beans, grains and nuts. As a 'living' food, Sprouts continue to grow vitamins after being harvested. Onion sprouts are a good source of vitamin A, B group vitamins, iodine, phosphorous and potassium.

Storage - Sprouts must be kept refrigerated. Correctly stored, sprouts should have a shelf life of 7 to 10 days. If they are rinsed every few days they will stay fresh for a considerable time.

You can read more about onion sprouts here, here and here.

This week, I used onion sprouts as one of the main ingredients in the Onion Sprouts and Avocado Omelette. I've also used it in a supporting role (garnish on my laksa, for another post).

Onion Sprouts and Avocado Omelette

3 eggs (I used 1 egg yolk & 3 egg whites)
a few splashes of milk
bunch of onion sprouts
1/8-1/4 avocado, chopped
salt & pepper

Preparation:
- In a bowl, whisk eggs with milk, salt and pepper.
- Over medium heat, pour the egg mixture into a non-stick pan.
- When the bottom of the omelette is starting to brown but the top is still uncooked, place the onion sprouts and the chopped avocado on one side of the omelette (see photo below).
- Flip the other side of the omelette onto the onion spouts & avocado side. Allow omelette to cook for another minute and serve immediately.


ta-dah! I served the omelette with rocket, carrot and a dollop of sour cream.

Oh, before you go, I wanted to show you my nifty egg separator gadget. It saved me from getting very frustrated many times. I won’t even go into how many tears I’ve shed when I’ve broken a yolk in a bowl of eggs whites when I was preparing to make pavlova/meringues.

On last thing, an interesting tidbit about onions and crying:
I read somewhere that chewing gum while chopping onions will prevent you from crying. If you try that, let me know if it works.

Garlic & Chive Semolina Pancakes

I promised to post the recipe for these pancakes when I wrote about the single clove garlic for WHB #99 (see here for the round-up). Originally, I wanted to replicate a savoury semolina steamed "cake" that I had once at a restaurant but after much googling, I was unable to get my hands on such a recipe. If any of you know where I can find a recipe for that, please let me know. Since I was adamant about using semolina-something with the meal, I decided to improvise and made these semolina pancakes instead.

Garlic & Chive Semolina Pancakes
Adapted from this recipe

Makes 4 pancakes as part of a main or 10-12 blinis

3/4 cup semolina
1/2 cup water
2 eggs
1 clove of regular garlic, crushed
fresh chives, chopped
1/2 tspn baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
butter for cooking

1
Place water, egg, garlic, chives, salt & pepper in a bowl and mix to combine.

2
Stir in semolina and baking soda into the wet mixture. Mix well.
Note: The batter should not be made in advance because the semolina would absorb the water and make it very thick and difficult to work with.

3
Lightly grease a large non-stick frying pan with a small portion of butter and place the desired amount of batter(depending on how big you want the pancakes to be) into the pan. Cook over a low to medium heat until pancakes have golden undersides. Turn pancakes and cook on the other side until golden and cooked through.
Note: Overcooking it will dry out these pancakes.

4
Pancakes can be eaten warm or cold with your desired accompaniments.

Tasting Notes:

These pancakes are quite sturdy, so it won't tear easily. This makes it easy to use as a base for the rest of the meal. It would be a good alternative to the usual blinis. This recipe was a little on the dry side, so it will go well with any toppings that has a lot of moisture. Or maybe I would increase the amount of liquid of the batter for next time. Perhaps, I could have made a sauce to go with it if I were to use it as part of a main meal.

I used the semolina pancakes as a base for this meal:

Grilled Garlic Kangaroo served with Wilted Spinach, Semolina Pancake and Green Chilli Jam.

Speaking of kangaroo, I have a little joke told to me this week by an 8-year-old:

What do you get when you cross a kangaroo with a sheep?
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
A woolly jumper!!!!

Have a good weekend everyone :-)

Garlic ‘Roo on Semolina Pancake

Grilled Garlic Kangaroo served with Wilted Spinach, Semolina Pancake and Green Chilli Jam

The Kangaroo is an Aussie symbol. We also eat kangaroo meat which is 98% fat-free, high in protein, zinc and iron. Have a look at how kangaroo compares to other types of meats here. The Australian kangaroo industry estimates that it exports kangaroo meat to more than 55 countries. The European Union and Russia are the most significant markets with the USA and Asia becoming increasingly important.

The only draw back (for some) is that kangaroo meat has a slight gamey flavour. Quikong won’t touch it because it tastes too ‘roo (i.e. gamey) for him. I’m basically on my own when it comes to having some kangaroo meat.

Cooking kangaroo meat:
Due the stronger flavour, I always marinade kangaroo fillets before coking it. For this meal, I marinated it in crushed garlic, dried coriander, chilli powder and sesame oil. Kangaroo fillet is best eaten quite rare. Since it is so low in fat, over-cooking it makes it tough. In a hot pan or bbq, cook kangaroo fillet for 2 minutes on each side. Then lower the heat and cook for a further 1-2 minutes for rare and 3-4 for medium rare. Let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing. For more tips on cooking different cuts of kangaroo meats, have a look here.

Since it was raining intermittently all day yesterday, I was stuck at home and had to time to get all “fancy” with my lunch. I served the kangaroo fillet with wilted spinach (steam in the microwave, then stir through a little butter or EV olive oil and sea salt) and garlic & chive semolina pancake. I topped it off with green chilli jam. The recipe for the semolina pancakes can be found here.

Since this is my entry for this week's Weekend Herb Blogging (WHB)#99 which is hosted by the lovely Katie, I have chosen to highlight one of the ingredients that I used for this post. It is something interesting that I discovered while perusing the green grocer.

What looks like an onion but tastes like garlic?

Let me introduce you to the single clove garlic / single bulb garlic. Some sources on the internet likened it to elephant garlic, which actually belong to the same species as the leek. This is when it gets confusing because other sources reported that the single bulb garlic is the result of planting immature garlic clove and is also called garlic onion. Can someone clarify this for me?

Peeled

Tasting Note:
Although its flavour is mellow compared to regular garlic, it seems more creamy, moist, plump and easier to use. No wonder it has been referred to as the “non-garlic lover’s garlic”.

Use and storage:
To peel, trim the top and base and slip off the papery skin. Slice, chop, mince or crush the garlic and use as desired. This garlic is best stored in a paper bag in the refrigerator and used within two weeks of purchasing.

Cross-section

Using a single clove garlic makes my job so much easier because we use a lot of garlic in our cooking. Not need to waste time peeling garlic when I need garlic in large quantities such as when I am roasting/caramelising garlic, making pesto, garlic bread, etc. I am pro-garlic. It makes most savoury dishes taste better.

Do drop by Katie’s Blog, Thyme for Cooking, at the end of the week for WHB#99 round up.