NAME: _Chicken Stuffed Capsicum
INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
About three meaty chicken frames from making stock (see notes 1)
500ml strong chicken stock. (From the above, perhaps...)
half teaspoon turmeric
half teaspoon powdered fennel or assafoetida
salt to taste
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1 small brown onion
1 clove garlic
1 parsnip
5 large red capsicums (or 4 large red capsicums and 1 large sweet chilli)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
METHOD:
I'll assume you've recently made chicken stock and have the frames reserved and about 200g - 300g of meat on them, otherwise you need to find around 200g - 300g of chicken meat and simmer it tender in about 500ml of the chicken stock. If you have the frames, pick the meat off and then dispose of the bones. Try and avoid sloppy bits and skin or fat, stick with lean meat. Pieces should be fairly small, nothing thicker than 0.5cm or longer than about 4cm, shred or cut if necessary.
Cut the onion into thin crescent wedges and place with oil into frypan and start heating. When onion starts going glassy add meat and the garlic clove (minced) and a bit of salt (about half a teaspoon) and fry over medium heat for up to ten minutes, when things should start to colour slightly. At this stage add the rice, the one red capsicum (or sweet chilli) trimmed seeded and cut into 1cm squares, add the turmeric and fennel, let all fry for another few minutes, stirring all the while, then add 1 - 2 cups of chicken stock. (Use the stock you poached the chicken in if you did that.) Bring to boil then reduce to a very slow simmer and leave for about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally or use a simmer spacer to keep rice from burning. Use less to begin and add stock/water if the rice is not tender after 30 minutes.
Peel and grate the parsnip quite finely, add to the mixture, stir through, and remove from heat. Rice should have absorbed all liquid, if not simmer a bit longer.
Prepare capsicums by removing tops (which you trim to quite thin and retain) and scooping out, then either placing in oven at medium heat for 30 minutes or microwaving for 3 - 10 minutes to soften. You can do this while the stuffing mixture is simmering, save time.
Alternative: Cut capsicums in half lengthways and scoop out, trim the inside of the stalk end to quite thin, proceed as above.
When stuffing mixture has cooled enough to handle, fill each capsicum to the brim, place in a baking tray covered with foil or a lid and bake at medium heat (around 170) for an hour. If you cut the tops off, replace them before serving.
SERVING:
Serve as a full meal with something like steamed buttered garden vegetables and some nice sweet pickled gherkins or similar, or else as part of a larger meal. There are four meal sized capsicums if you just top them and eight side dish sized halves if you did the lengthways thing... Just sayin'...
Also - a few drops of some chilli such as harissa or Tabasco on top of each serving is delicious. Depends on tastes though.
NOTES:
1: I generally find a butcher that has chicken frames with a bit of meat still left on, and generally trim the thin stomach/chest wall skin away, then pick the best and most solid remnants of meat from around breast and thigh and neck. If your butcher leaves nothing on the frames then the bones aren't going to make much flavour either. One last thing, if your butcher's chickens are slow grown (i.e. free range and organic) then they will give a much better flavour.
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS: Not noted, as this dish can vary considerably depending on the meat.
FATS:____ CARBS:____ FIBRE:____
PROTEIN:____ ANTIOXIDANT:____ VITAMIN:____
DUNNO YET:____ DUNNO YET:____ DUNNO YET:____
Remember, Active ingredients are an approximate "average per meal" allowance for an average person, when served in the serving sizes suggested and are very rough guides only.
Sunday, 24 June 2007
Friday, 8 June 2007
Chimichurri - something different
NAME: _Chimichurri
INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
1.5 cups Spanish olive oil
Juice of 2 limes (about 1/2 cup)
1.5 cups finely chopped fresh parsley
8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 shallots, minced
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh oregano
(please note alternative to above chopping in method, see below)
Salt to taste
pepper to taste
METHOD:
Method 1
Mix ingredients very well into oil, season with salt and pepper, and use immediately. For this to work you need to really chop ingredients very fine, also see Notes for some tips and hints.
Method 2
I tend to rough chop the ingredients, pour the oil and lime juice in a blender, then add ingredients a bit at a time while whizzing it all up. The flavours are way better, it's easier, and shoot me, I'm lazy...
SERVING:
Marinate meat in this for any time between 2 and 48 hours, the longer you leave it the better it penetrates, then grill fry bake roast the meat as you normally would. Chimichurri is excellent on beef, and not bad on pork lamb or poultry either.
If you're going to marinate for a long time do store it in a covered container in the refrigerator. Also, a plastic bag makes a good marinating container, but don't trust it - still put the whole lot on a deep plate in case the plastic develops a hole, and cover with plastic wrap.
Argentinian Steak
Cut about a kilo of flank steak across the grain into three pieces, place them in a flat dish and pour half of the chimichurri over it. Turn to coat; cover and marinate in the refrigerator. Let the steak come to room temperature before grilling, seasoned with salt and pepper. Grill one side until browned, turn, and grill the other side. About 4 to 5 minutes per side makes a medium rare, adjust times to suit. Let the meat sit for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing it across the grain again into thinner slices, and serve with a bit more chimichurri as a dip sauce. You can also do this on the BBQ, in which case I'd part boil a few potatoes, cut in half and brush with olive oil and put them on the BBQ at the same time as the steak, by the time the steak is done the potatoes should be too.
Ribs South America
I've also marinated a belt of beef ribs, cut it in half and placed on a roasting tray covered with aluminium foil and baked for an hour followed by basting with a bit more chimichurri and then roasting uncovered until it looks appetisingly browned, and served with white rice and some cooked greens.
NOTES:
Firstly, adding 1/4 cup of water makes the mixture mix and blend more easily, and also allows it to cover the meat better.
Secondly, if you refrigerate the chimichurri for a day it allows the flavours to blend better and infuse into the oil, also the olive oil will set a little and that makes it easier to cover the meat in marinade.
Thirdly, once having marinated the meat you need to control the flavour by the time you let it marinate. Two hours is good, 48 is very strong. If roasting the meet though, it is better to have the marinade on for longer as the browning process will convert a lot of the strong flavours to milder ones.
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS: No ingredients list because this is just decadent...
INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
1.5 cups Spanish olive oil
Juice of 2 limes (about 1/2 cup)
1.5 cups finely chopped fresh parsley
8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 shallots, minced
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh oregano
(please note alternative to above chopping in method, see below)
Salt to taste
pepper to taste
METHOD:
Method 1
Mix ingredients very well into oil, season with salt and pepper, and use immediately. For this to work you need to really chop ingredients very fine, also see Notes for some tips and hints.
Method 2
I tend to rough chop the ingredients, pour the oil and lime juice in a blender, then add ingredients a bit at a time while whizzing it all up. The flavours are way better, it's easier, and shoot me, I'm lazy...
SERVING:
Marinate meat in this for any time between 2 and 48 hours, the longer you leave it the better it penetrates, then grill fry bake roast the meat as you normally would. Chimichurri is excellent on beef, and not bad on pork lamb or poultry either.
If you're going to marinate for a long time do store it in a covered container in the refrigerator. Also, a plastic bag makes a good marinating container, but don't trust it - still put the whole lot on a deep plate in case the plastic develops a hole, and cover with plastic wrap.
Argentinian Steak
Cut about a kilo of flank steak across the grain into three pieces, place them in a flat dish and pour half of the chimichurri over it. Turn to coat; cover and marinate in the refrigerator. Let the steak come to room temperature before grilling, seasoned with salt and pepper. Grill one side until browned, turn, and grill the other side. About 4 to 5 minutes per side makes a medium rare, adjust times to suit. Let the meat sit for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing it across the grain again into thinner slices, and serve with a bit more chimichurri as a dip sauce. You can also do this on the BBQ, in which case I'd part boil a few potatoes, cut in half and brush with olive oil and put them on the BBQ at the same time as the steak, by the time the steak is done the potatoes should be too.
Ribs South America
I've also marinated a belt of beef ribs, cut it in half and placed on a roasting tray covered with aluminium foil and baked for an hour followed by basting with a bit more chimichurri and then roasting uncovered until it looks appetisingly browned, and served with white rice and some cooked greens.
NOTES:
Firstly, adding 1/4 cup of water makes the mixture mix and blend more easily, and also allows it to cover the meat better.
Secondly, if you refrigerate the chimichurri for a day it allows the flavours to blend better and infuse into the oil, also the olive oil will set a little and that makes it easier to cover the meat in marinade.
Thirdly, once having marinated the meat you need to control the flavour by the time you let it marinate. Two hours is good, 48 is very strong. If roasting the meet though, it is better to have the marinade on for longer as the browning process will convert a lot of the strong flavours to milder ones.
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS: No ingredients list because this is just decadent...
Monday, 4 June 2007
Sauer"roo"laden - Australia meets Austria
NAME: _ ROOladen (kangaroo roulades in tomato/celery casserole)
INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
500g kangaroo, preferably in one piece.
dozen or so tiny pickles
dozen or so olives black or green, no stone
two garlic cloves peeled
one small brown onion
one large potato
150g celery tips
2 cups chicken stock
1 tbsp tomato paste
several tabelspoonfuls of olive oil
double ended toothpicks
METHOD:
Slice the meat into 1/2cm thick slices with a sharp knife. Partially freezing meat allows this to be easily done. Each slice needs to be about 6cm - 10cm by 4cm - 6cm. Use the dimpled side of a meat tenderising mallet to further flatten the slices out.
Slice the pickles in half lenghtways, ditto the olives, and cut the garlic cloves into thin slivers about juliennne thickness. The best pickles are the ones you get at Continental delikatessen and are about 2cm - 4cm long and about the thickness of a pencil or smaller. They have a tart taste and crisp texture. If you use larger gherkins cut and sliver them to a similar size as above.
Roll meat roulades with a piece of pickle, piece of olive, and piece of garlic. Secure at each end with half a toothpick. Aim to get about 15 - 30 roulades from your piece of meat. Don't worry if you have pickles olives and garlic left over - in fact the aim is to have about a dessertspoon of each left over.
Put the olive oil in the frypan and when it is hot enough to sizzle the meat, place the roulades into the oil and reduce the heat to about half. Allow to slowly reduce away the liquid from the meat and then increase heat again.
In the meanwhile, finely (very finely!) dice the onion, the left over garlic olive and pickle slivers, then remove the browned roulades from the pan and set aside to drain, drain away most of the excess oil in the pan (carefully) and then brown the diced mix for about five minutes or so. Peel and dice the potato into 1cm cubes, set aside.
Allow the fried herbs to cool, and using whatever you like, blend to a puree. Return to the pan, add a tablespoon of tomato paste, the chicken stock, and the potato cubes. Salt to taste, pepper if you like it. Allow to simmer over very low heat for about 30 - 45 minutes.
Place the roulades in the bottom of a glass or ceramic baking dish, pour the potatoes and sauce over, place the lid on the baking dish casserols style, and allow to cook in a 180 degree oven for around another hour or until the potatoes are "fall apart" tender.
SERVING:
Serve as is or with additional pasta or bread or small spaetzle dumplings. Should serve four people as a main.
NOTES:
Okay okay you can do this with beef but kangaroo is almost zero cholesterol zero fat guiltless meat, very healthy for you.
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS:
FATS:__1__ CARBS:__1__ FIBRE:__0.5__
PROTEIN:__2__ ANTIOXIDANT:__0.5__ VITAMIN:__0__
DUNNO YET:____ DUNNO YET:____ DUNNO YET:____
Remember, Active ingredients are approximate average per meal allowances for an average person, when served in the serving sizes suggested and are very rough guides only.
INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
500g kangaroo, preferably in one piece.
dozen or so tiny pickles
dozen or so olives black or green, no stone
two garlic cloves peeled
one small brown onion
one large potato
150g celery tips
2 cups chicken stock
1 tbsp tomato paste
several tabelspoonfuls of olive oil
double ended toothpicks
METHOD:
Slice the meat into 1/2cm thick slices with a sharp knife. Partially freezing meat allows this to be easily done. Each slice needs to be about 6cm - 10cm by 4cm - 6cm. Use the dimpled side of a meat tenderising mallet to further flatten the slices out.
Slice the pickles in half lenghtways, ditto the olives, and cut the garlic cloves into thin slivers about juliennne thickness. The best pickles are the ones you get at Continental delikatessen and are about 2cm - 4cm long and about the thickness of a pencil or smaller. They have a tart taste and crisp texture. If you use larger gherkins cut and sliver them to a similar size as above.
Roll meat roulades with a piece of pickle, piece of olive, and piece of garlic. Secure at each end with half a toothpick. Aim to get about 15 - 30 roulades from your piece of meat. Don't worry if you have pickles olives and garlic left over - in fact the aim is to have about a dessertspoon of each left over.
Put the olive oil in the frypan and when it is hot enough to sizzle the meat, place the roulades into the oil and reduce the heat to about half. Allow to slowly reduce away the liquid from the meat and then increase heat again.
In the meanwhile, finely (very finely!) dice the onion, the left over garlic olive and pickle slivers, then remove the browned roulades from the pan and set aside to drain, drain away most of the excess oil in the pan (carefully) and then brown the diced mix for about five minutes or so. Peel and dice the potato into 1cm cubes, set aside.
Allow the fried herbs to cool, and using whatever you like, blend to a puree. Return to the pan, add a tablespoon of tomato paste, the chicken stock, and the potato cubes. Salt to taste, pepper if you like it. Allow to simmer over very low heat for about 30 - 45 minutes.
Place the roulades in the bottom of a glass or ceramic baking dish, pour the potatoes and sauce over, place the lid on the baking dish casserols style, and allow to cook in a 180 degree oven for around another hour or until the potatoes are "fall apart" tender.
SERVING:
Serve as is or with additional pasta or bread or small spaetzle dumplings. Should serve four people as a main.
NOTES:
Okay okay you can do this with beef but kangaroo is almost zero cholesterol zero fat guiltless meat, very healthy for you.
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS:
FATS:__1__ CARBS:__1__ FIBRE:__0.5__
PROTEIN:__2__ ANTIOXIDANT:__0.5__ VITAMIN:__0__
DUNNO YET:____ DUNNO YET:____ DUNNO YET:____
Remember, Active ingredients are approximate average per meal allowances for an average person, when served in the serving sizes suggested and are very rough guides only.
Sunday, 20 May 2007
Friday, 4 May 2007
Thermomix Kitchen Appliance
Having just had a demonstration of the Vorwerk Thermomix kitchen appliance, I'm in awe. The agents here in Perth sent Ms Nota to demonstrate the product, and it blew me away.
The machine is just - impressive. We ground wheat to baking flour then mixed it gently into a dough and then kneaded it. All in the same machine. We made a quantity of two cups of sorbet, then a half kilo of shredded salad. Followed by - well, that would give it all away in one, and I have a few more things to tell you about this machine...
One of the reasons I was looking at the Thermomix is the number of machines it replaces. I find that appealing because I intend to go caravanning for a year or two, and in a caravan every appliance you can leave behind is a Good Thing. And the Thermomix certainly replaces a few.
The first thing which I saw immediately, is that bits of the machine that contact the food are stainless steel. No plastics to leach nasty chemicals, no teflon[tm] - and being stainless steel means cleanup is a breeze. We cleaned the bowl by tipping a jug of water into it and running it, then tipping the water back into the jug and wiping the bowl dry. That easy. And I was impressed with using the same water to wash the bowl several times because on the road you're quite often water-limited. And of course saving water is a Good Thing at any time.
To start with, the machine is fast enough to function as a blender. The blades are sharp and solid, and engineered to sharpen themselves rather than blunt over time. And impressively sharp they are too. They are also very solid blades, and the bearings on the latest models are sealed for life.
The machine can blade-grind almost anything. Again, I was impressed with how little fuss it made at grinding a cup of wheat to flour. Set the speed lower and you could have made cracked wheat bourghul. The power in this machine is very controllable and useable.
Now the magic bits. To begin with there was no fussing with measures. Thanks to a clever design, this machine weighs ingredients directly! You press the zero button, drop the food in, stop when it reaches the required weight. Re-zero, add the next ingredient. It doesn't get much simpler than that!
We added the flour, water, yeast, and oil, and setting the machine to a "magic" setting produced a nice pulsed kneading action. Following the surprisingly short recommended time, the bread dough had balled nicely and was just right to leave rising.
At this point we could have made a 12 minute soup (but I'm saving this surprise for a bit further in so keep reading!) like a minestrone or similar but I wanted the quick version of the demonstration so we skipped over an hour of the usual two hour demonstration. I will have one of these really soon so I'll provide some recipes once I get to experiment.
Sorbet? I can honestly say under two minutes from whipping the ingredients out of the pantry to a finished sorbet. Oh and - did I mention that we started with whole brown sugar, milled that to caster sugar consistency, added the ice fruit and egg white and - voila! Instant. No fuss no messing around, this machine just gets on with it.
Salad? Take your ingredients, place in the bowl, put the top on, use a low setting, for a few seconds. Never seen anything like it. The big 500W motor starts almost instantly, and stops as quickly, leading to precise application of that power. The salad (which I'm still munching on as I type) is beautiful.
Two rinses later we added some onion and garlic and olive oil - and then processed and COOKED them! Yes, the machine has a 1000W temperature controlled induction heating system built in as well, enough to bring the bowl full of water to the boil in mere minutes. We added Arborio rice, stock and wine, and put the machine on a slow reverse stir for 16 minutes. Meanwhile, placing the steamer across the top of the machine gives two more dishes that can be steamed and that my friends is a complete meal, from soup to sorbet, and the whole lot would have taken under an hour if we hadn't been talking and sampling more than we were cooking.
The reverse stir is a secret - those same blades that could reduce that rice to fine powder in a few seconds at full speed, work with the butterfly stirrer accessory to keep the rice from clumping and sticking, or to constantly and gently stir anything like a soup or similar - in a word, this machine is brilliant.
And yes, the machine did ALL the work for the risotto, constantly stirring the rice to prevent sticking, and if I'd cared to, I could have added the stock a spoonful at a time but in the interests of demonstration time, we put it all in at once. I've never made risotto more easily.
So here's a machine that replaces a whole slew of machines for me:
- Blender
- coffee/herb grinder
- flour grinder
- meat mincer
- bread maker (but need an oven then)
- mixer
- food processor
- slow cooker
- rice cooker
- Coffee brewing (in a pinch)
- steamer
- slow crockpot cooker
- scales
And that is a saving of around 40 kilos of appliances and any amount of costs.
I've already got plans for making Middle Eastern kibbeh style meat because the proccessor is so flexible and powerful that it will make a one hour job into just a 5 minute procedure.
THE HEALTH BENEFIT (and why I like this machine)
Also, because it's so easy to use wholefood ingredients rather than processed foods, this machine fits in perfectly with the aims and direction of the Body Friendly Zen Cookbook principles and makes cooking many of the recipes into a trivial task. I therefore have to recommend something like the Thermomix as the appliance of choice for many of my recipes, and will re-write many of them to take account of the machine, but with equivalent procedures for separate machines and hand-processing as well.
Tuesday, 1 May 2007
Meat Tricks You Didn't Want To Know
Post on how adulterated your meat can be. Here. In Australia. Worth a read!
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