Bread N Egg Brekkie

NAME: _Bread N Egg Brekkie

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INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
1 round lebanese bread or arab khobs

2 eggs

1 tbsp EVOO

salt

zartar (optional)

2 tbsp water

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METHOD:
Brush the bread both sides lightly with olive oil, roll up into a cylinder and cut into strips.  Toss strips into a cast iron skillet or non-stick pan, start heat.  

Meanwhile, beat two eggs, the water, and the salt in a bowl.  As the bread begins to turn golden in the pan, toss occasionally to get all the bread strips crisping.  When crisp, drizzle the egg over while tossing the mixture gently.

When the egg mixture begins to get golden brown, toss the zartar into the mixture lightly and remove from heat.

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SERVING:
Serve immediately, the above makes two serves if served with sliced tomato and lettuce and perhaps a few thin strips of haloumi or fetta cheese.

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NOTES:
Zartar is a dried wild thyme and sesame seed and sumak spice mixture, and it adds a lovely flavour to the dish.  Other things you could try are:  Add a teaspoonful of sesame oil to the EVOO before brushing it on the bread.  Add some pine nuts or tiny pumpkin seeds or sesame seeds or sunflower seeds to the pan at the same time as the bread.  Add a touch of dried crushed chillies.  Try these separately or in combinations, the flavours combine quite well.

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Prawn + Pitta Fatoush

NAME: _Prawn + Pitta Fatoush

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INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
1 or 2 rounds of Lebanese bread, Arabic khobs, or pita if you're stuck
lots of EVOO
a dozen peeled deveined prawns, smaller types preferred.

2 - 4 cups mixed salad leaves

1 small pickling onion or shallot onion (optional)

Marinade
1 tbsp light soya
1 tbsp hoi sin
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp grated palm sugar
1 clove garlic, mashed (optional)

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METHOD:
Mix marinade ingredients together well, I usually find a jar with a close sealing lid large enough to hold the material to be marinated (in this case, the prawns) and when well combined and the sugar has dissolved, set aside about a spoonful of the marinade.  Now add the prawns to the main bulk of the mixture and shake.  Set aside.  (You may wish to do this a few hours before starting the meal, perhaps even the day before, in which case, place in a cold spot in your refrigerator.)

Wash and dry salad leaves, toss briefly in salad bowl.

Put olive oil in the pan, heat to almost smoking, add as many marinated prawns as will fit in a single layer, and fry both sides until prawns are cooked through and some of the marinade is caramelised and crisp.  Place on paper towel, set aside.  Cook all the prawns this way.

If you are using the onion, slice this very thinly, put some more olive oil in the pan, and slowly fry until golden-brown and crisp.  onion bits have to be crisp.  Drain, place on paper towel, set aside until cooled.

Roll the bread into a tight roll and slice 1/4" (half centimeter) slices.  Put some more EVOO in the pan, allow to get smoking hot, and put as much bread as will form a single layer at a time, toss and fry until bread strips are crisp and golden-brown, with occasional dark brown areas.  At that stage, place on paper towel, set aside until all the bread has been crisped.

If the prawns and bread have cooled sufficiently (they should be hot to warm, but not so hot as to wilt the leaves) assemble the salad, add shallots and prawns to the salad and toss, then add the bread crisps and toss once more.  Sprinkle with a few drops of the marinade you reserved that didn't have prawns in, drizzle a fine stream of EVOO over.

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SERVING:
Can be served as a salad dish with a meal, or just served as meal by itself.  Serve while still warm from cooking.

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NOTES:
Fatoush (I think) means "wet bread" or "soggy bread" but in fact it doesn't get soggy for quite a while, it stays crispy and crunchy in the salad.

There are genuine  fatoush  recipes,  and most of them include mint and vegetables and parsley or coriander, and a sprinkling of zartar, which is dried powdered wild thyme and sesame and sumak.  (By "genuine" I mean, of course, that every household in the Arab world has their own recipe, much like baharat mix. I was going for something that used the crisp bread and salad idea but with a savoury Asian component, and this worked together.)

Things you could try and which would go well:  Use a touch of sesame oil in the marinade, or some soya sauce in which you've soaked some sliced fresh chillies beforehand. I'm going to try each of those next time I make this recipe.

Steak and Pommes Parisienne a la Ted with salad

NAME: _Steak A La Ted

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INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
(These recipes are set up per person - increase quantities for each extra person.)
Steak:
1 steak, porterhouse or rump, 2cm thick if possible
1tbsp fresh rosemary needles
1 tbsp fresh oregano leaves
2 tsp fine salt
1 tbsp EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
about 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Salad:
100g assorted salad leaves
1 tsp rosemary needles
1 tsp oregano leaves
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp grape molasses (or 1 tbsp red grape juice)
1/2 tsp fine salt
1 tbsp water (less if using grape juice)
1/4 to 1/2 a medium red onion


Potatoes:
1 large potato - Nadine or other general purpose
3 small pickling onions (more or less, depends how much you like onions)

Remember that the quantities above are per person.

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METHOD:
Prepare steak by trimming off large fat areas around the edges, leave steak intact.  Finely dice the trimmings and place in frying pan.  Knife chop the herbs medium fine, Put a third of the oil per steak into the pan with the trimmings. Mix herbs with salt and olive oil in a pestle and mortar, crush together lightly.  Perforate steak all over with a fork, rub in the herb/oil mixture, and set in a bowl to marinate.

When you've finished all the steaks and they are marinating, chop the herbs for the salad, adding salt, until they are a fine paste.  You could use the pestle and mortar but a knife will eventually give superior results.  Mix the herbs, salt, oil, grape and water in a jar, shake well, and set aside.

By now the steak should have marinated somewhat - this is a strong marinade - so heat the frypan and over medium heat, reduce the beef trimmings into fat.  Once the trimmings are crisp, use a skimmer or strainer to lift them out and dispose of.  Increase the heat to almost smoking, and sear each steak for around two to three minutes per side, then arrange in a baking dish or tray.  Place tray in preheated oven (180 degC) and allow to roast for about 20 minutes.

At this time, turn the steaks over and brush the top with a light coating of Dijon mustard.  Only one side needs this light coating.

Peel potatoes and pickling onions, use a melon baller to scoop as many balls as possible out of each potato. Heat the frypan to just below smoking again, and fry the onions and potato balls for about five to ten  minutes each batch, until the outside of the potatoes is lightly browned and crispy, drain and set aside in a warm place.

Shred or slice the salad leaves to strips about 0.5cm wide, thinly slice the red onion into rings and 

place shredded salad leaves and onion rings in a bowl, toss together, shake the dressing again and pour over the salad, toss one more time to thoroughly coat all the leaves with dressing.  There should be a pool of dressing, to drizzle over each serving of salad once plated.

Steak will have cooked to perfection while you are doing the potatoes - plate up the steak with mustard side up and a pile of potato balls and fried pickling onions to the side.  Garnish the steak with a fine drizzled stream of Dijon mustard.  Add salad with a generous drizzle of the dressing over it.

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SERVING:
Serve plated meals immediately, with some crusty bread (such as slices of a baguette) with olive oil to brush over or dip in as a side.

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NOTES:
There's no easy way out of this - it WILL take up your entire daily allowance of fats. Also, there's no easy way to get out of using the mustard - without it, the flavours are nice, with it, they positively sing...  Using the same herbs for the salad ties the flavours together, and the grape molasses or juice add a touch of sweetness that the mustard will pick up.

Australia's New Kitchen Nightmare

WARNING *** BAD WORDS BELOW

Hmmm The report on Seven about Ramsay is scary and also amusing. Half a dozen of his restaurants have health code violations, he's proving himself to not only be a rude ****er, but a dirty rude ****er at that.

And now he wants to open a restaurant in Australia, heaven ****ing help us another opinionated ****head Pom that thinks he can cook, tips hat at one Jamie somethingorother that's similarly better off in greasepaint than the cooking grease.

I do have one nit to pick with Seven - they repeatedly refer to Ramsay as a "chef" when in fact I believe he falls squarely under my definition of "cook" - because chefs know how to use more than just one swear word, and codron bleu chefs can also swear in several languages... Sorry Gordon but being fluent in **** is not really enough.

Squidly Noodles

NAME: _ Squidly Noodles

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INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
approximately 1 young squid tube per person
approximately 1/4 brown onion per person
1 serve medium thin spaghetti per person (or use fettucini)
1 small clove or 1/2 a large clovegarlic per person
1/4 to 1/2 small red chilli per person (depending on spiciness wanted)
1tbsp olive oil
1tsp grapeseed oil

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METHOD:
Prepare the ingredients - slice the squid tube into 2mm thick rings, cut the tentacles separately if desired, slice the onion into crescents 3mm thick. Chop the garlic medium, 1mm - 2mm cubes is fine. squeeze out the seeds and dispose of, and slice the chilli into thin rings.

Start the water boiling, clean salted water sufficient to boil the pasta in. When the water starts boiling place the frypan on medium heat with the oil and drop in the onion crescents and chopped garlic, fry gently for a few minutes, then put the pasta into the boiling water and the squid and chilli rings into the frypan.

Occasionally toss the contents of the frypan and stir the pasta to prevent clumping. Toss a tablespoonful of the salted pasta water into the pan to soften the onion with steam, if desired sprinkle a pinch of salt over everything. The onion should be medium brown and the squid rings gone white as the pasta is done.

Drain the pasta and refresh under cold water for a fw seconds, then put pasta in the frypan and toss lightly to coat all the pasta.

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SERVING:
Serve immediately. Enjoy.

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NOTES:
This recipe comes out like pasta con aglio e olio but the sweet onion and the mild squid flavours really seem to pop out. Squid seems to have no redeeming dietary features that I can see, but some things don't need no steenking justification...

As it's our winter coming on here in Australia, I am tending towards foods with a few extra carbs and calories - this is a natural cycle our bodies go through as a survival thing. By avoiding trans fats and using EVOO and grapeseed oil at least we can feed the need without too much harm

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Fried Pork Liver and Onions

NAME: _ Fried Pork Liver and Onions

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INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
As much pork liver as you want. I can generally eat 300g - 500g at a sitting
1/4 of a medium brown onion per 200g approximately
tbsp of olive oil
tsp of grapeseed oil
White sourdough bread, toasted, about two slices per person

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METHOD:
Slice the onion into thin (3mm at the widest edge) wedges so it forms many litte "crescents" of onion. Cut the liver into 1cm slices in whichever direction takes your fancy, I generally split it into two or three lenghtways slices as large as possible.

Frypan should be large enough to take each batch of liver and onion without piling up. Start the frypan at medium heat, put in the onion wedges and collect to one side, place in however many slices of liver as fit with it and keep going on medium heat.

Once the underside of the liver has sealed, flipt each piece over and lightly salt the sealed side. Do this again once the other side has sealed. Toss the onions to prevent any overcooking. Let the liver stay until lifting a corner reveals crispiness and browning, at which stage, turn it one last time, toss the onions again, and allow the undersideto crisp to the same doneness.

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SERVING:
Serve layer of dark brown fried onion on toast topped with the slices of liver, and a lettuce/tomato vinaigrette salad on the side.

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NOTES:
Liver is much maligned, mostly because Lambs Fry is the only way many people know it from, and that's probably one of the least appetising types of liver and the worst possible way to cook it, too... Lamb liver is slightly bitter (strike one) and has a soft pasty texture (strike two) and has a lot less in common with our body chemistry than pork liver. (strike three and that's out of the menu!)

It contains many key hormones minerals and vitamins that we need. Cripsy fried like this, it is delicious and the thorough cooking should kill any chance of parasites - never eat undercooked liver - and the light caramelised taste of the onions sets the flavour perfectly.

You could use beef or lamb's liver but the texture and flavour are not the same, pork liver has a firm meaty texture and a less bitter and more nutty favour. Pork body chemistry is also closer to ours and provides some things that mutton and beef don't. In moderation (i.e. don;t cook this every day for a month) some pork product every month is good for us.

If you're on the Body Friendy Zen Cookbook diet, make this meal at times when you're taking soya products more as it will balance the active ingredients in the soya perfectly.

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