Plantain Peregrinations

NAME: _Narrow Leafed Plantain (plantago lanceolata)

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ARTICLE:
Haven't posted in a while, been a bit busy with a local food issue. Narrow leaf plantain (plantago lanceolata) is the name for the plantain that isn't a cooking banana. It's a green leafed low plant that you can look up online, and it's an introduced weed in Australia. It's also classed as edible, grows in quantity around our area and probably elsewhere as well, and no-one's really considered its culinary uses.

I tried it in all the time-honoured but unimaginative methods that wild food people seem to suggest - steam it, use the seeds in stews, in a salad since it's a leafy green. The last one is a bit strange - it's the equivalent of saying "cabbage (or silverbeet) is a green, so you can just make a salad with it. It doesn't work with strong flavours like that, and plantain is bitter. So in this instance "edible" came with qualifiers that I didn't llike.

So my first order of the day was to get rid of some of the bitterness without losing the nutritional value (whatever that may be, see NOTES) of the vegetable. Enter Sandor Katz and his excellent books and website on wild fermentation. The rest, as they say, is history.

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METHODS OF PREPARATION:
LEAVES:
The thing that turned out the best for me has been a cross between pickling and wild fermentation, followed by processing as per normal. I dealt with the plants in mid spring, when the flowers have grown and dropped, and the seed production is about to start. It is a weed after all, so we should comply with directives to pull it up and prevent it reseeding. I just couldn't deal with the entire patch at one time....

I pulled up entire plantain plants roots and all, then cut the bunches and pulled out the flower head stems and browned leaves (about 10% of the leaves had too much browning for me to want to try them) and fed those to my livestock. About four large plantain plants was enough leaves around 15cm - 25cm in length to almost half fill a shopping bag.

These were taken indoors and to the sink, where I washed them, cut of the rest of the stemmy bits for the livestock, and pushed the leaves into around a one litre glass jar that has been sterilised for preserving. (A coffee jar was fine.) Then I made a hot brine by boiling about 1.5 litres of water with 5 dessertspoons of rock salt, allowed that to cool a bit, and filled the jar to the top, shaking often to get bubbles out, pressing with a wooden spoon to make sure all the air really was out between the leaves, and closed the jar up.


It takes about a week for the bitterness to migrate out of the leaves and the water will go a bit darker when that has happened. At that stage, you can use the leaves cooked with spinach or silverbeet, or as a last minute addition to a meal for the greens, or (this is about to be tested) with cooked fettucine pasta and lightly fried in olive oil with onion and garlic, pasta added last.

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SEED/FLOWER HEADS:
The seed or flower heads are quite solid, not quite as bitter as the leaves, and frying in butter seems to make them quite palatable. Could be used as a green addition to a stew or other meal, or in a stir-fry. Seems the salted butter is needed though to take the edge off first. (Or maybe I'll try experiments to test salting and brining before use, if so this article will be updated.)

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USE:
As I said, leaves are a good supplemental green with stews and the like, or as a side dish. Once brined, I imagine that it would also be great in a frittata or vege/egg style bake. The seed heads make a good vegetable added to stews.

I'll add recipes as I try them and find them to be good, because this is another example of a good resource being wasted because of the classification as a weed.

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NOTES:
I have no idea the nutritional value of plantain. Because it IS a weed, it by definition is good at absorbing nutrients from the soil, so it should provide a load of nutrients. Because the brining process will tend to concentrate the nutrients, that should make it a valuable supplement to meals.

Also because it is so good at absorbing things from the soil, perhaps avoid using plantains that grow by roadsides or other possibly polluted spots, to avoid ingesting whatever they may have gotten from here. (Roadsides = lead, rubbish tips etc = every industrial pollutant known to man, to name just two bad locations to harvest from.) It's probably still better for you at that than a commercially grown spinach or lettuce, but when a walk of a hundred yards more can get you clean healthy plants, why not go the extra?

Also, if a plant was to somehow able to drop seeds in a clean spot, the resulting plants wouldn't have any traces of the pollutants, so as self-seeded plants progress away from a less desirable are, they'd be okay to harvest.

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ENJOY!

Stuffed Capsicum Rebooted

NAME: _Stuffed Capsicum Reboot

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INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
3 or four large capsicums
250g beef mince
250g cooked rice
1 medium brown onion
1/2 cup beef stock
1 tbsp beef dripping
1 tsp salt
additional salt to sprinkle
1 mediterranean red chilli
1/2 cup chopped sage leaves
1/2 cup mint leaves
juice of one lemon
about 50g goat cheese
(optional) another 100g goat cheese.

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METHOD:
Dice the onion finely, add to frying pan along with the beef dripping and beef. Clean and finely chop the chilli, and when meat and onions have definitely browned in the pan, add the chilli, salt, cooked rice, chopped sage, and chop and add half the mint leaves, retaining the rest for garnish. Fry for about two more minutes then turn off the heat, add the stock, stir well, and set aside.

Cut capsicums in half lengthways and clean, remove the stems seeds and internal soft walls. Press out flat with the palm of the hand, then sprinkle lightly with salt on the flesh side. Now roast the capsicum halves over a flame such as the gas burner, until it begins to blacken in spots and starts smelling sweet.

Lay the roasted capsicum in the bottom of a casserole or other oven proof dish, and microwave on high for three minutes, then spoon over half the meat and rice mixture. Break up the goat cheese into fingernail sized lumps and scatter these over the mixture, then add the remaining meat and rice in a flat layer. At this point, if desired, crumble the optional goat cheese over the surface.

Sprinkle the lemon juice over and place in oven at 180C for about 45 minutes, until the surface begins to brown.

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SERVING:
Serve hot or cold, garnished with remaining mint leaves.

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NOTES:
I made this because I wanted to re-imagine the humble mezze of stuffed capsicum. Mezzes in the Mediterranean are made to eat hot or cold, and consisted of the ingredients to hand. Not limited to stuffed tomatoes and capsicums, either, mezzes are a convenience food of sorts, and served at any time as a starter, breakfast, or lunch, and consist of a whole range of snack-sized foods. We eat stuffed capsicums as a whole main meal, and I've often had disliked the way capsicums cook unevenly, fillings tend to get drowned in juices, and the fact that to me it is a snack and it looks wrong served as a main. The rebooted version takes away those perception problems I have with the dish.

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ENJOY!

Steamed Egg

NAME: _Steamed Egg TEdDLES Style

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INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
2 eggs
(see Notes for next three ingredients)
1 cup stock
1/2 tsp salt
pinch fivespice
steamer (see Notes)

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METHOD:
(For every instruction that says to "mix," I mean mix gently so as not to include any air. Not "whisk," not "beat," just mix slowly._

(Preheat the steamer, ensure you have a basket or rack depending on your configuration, and ensure that the bowl you want to use is easily able to be placed and removed. Remember the bowl will be hot when removing it from the steamer.)

Allow everything to come to room temperature, then mix the eggs in a bowl until yolks and whites are combined. Mix stock and dry ingredients in a jug, and mix most of the cupfull into the egg. Pour the egg mixture into the bowl, place into the steamer, close the lid, and check after ten minutes and then every five minutes or so. You're aiming for a smooth custard consistency.

Remove from steamer.

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SERVING:
Serve as a main or a side.

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NOTES:
STEAMER: I use a small electric steamer - saves all the hassles of finding a rack to go into a saucepan, pot, or stovetop steam setup. If you must use a conventional steaming setup, make sure it has a rack that will keep the bowl out of direct contact with the boiling water. My other reason for having a standalone electric steamer is that I can preheat it, put the bowl into the first steamer tray, and put that on top of the steam without needing special tongs.

BOWLS: I use a lot of those stainless steel dishes, bowls, curry bowls, and table serving bowls. These fit the steamer well, transfer heat quickly and efficiently, and are probably the reason why my steamed egg only takes about 12 minutes to cook to the beautiful creamy consistency. The smaller deeper curry bowls could probably make it possible to do four or more batches in one larger steamer if you're feeding a family or guests.

STOCK AND SPICES: One cup of stock is probably just a touch too much. This is how you adjust the consistency of the custard aside from the length of time steaming it. Chicken stock is best, vegetable stock not too bad either.

I use the ingredients above except I use home made chicken stock, and I reduce the amount of salt to a quarter teaspoon, add half a teaspoon of the relevant stock powder, and half a teaspoon each of light soya and fish sauce.

QUANTITIES: Most recipes call for 4 eggs and a corresponding doubling of ingredients, and I have no idea how it would affect steaming time. If making this in quantity I think I'd make it in individual two-egg batches. It just works out perfect for one person, or two as a side.

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ENJOY!

Hasenfaker

NAME: _Hasenfaker

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INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
500g chicken (or rabbit) pieces
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
3 - 4 brown onions
1 - 2 carrots
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup chopped sage leaves
1/2 cup chopped celery leaves
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 cup malt vinegar
1 cup red wine
2 cups water and 2 chicken stock cubes (or 2 cups chicken stock)
1/2 cup olive oil
salt to taste

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METHOD:
Put the flour and tsp salt in a sturdy plastic bag and shake. Add the meat pieces and shake until they are coated in the mixture, shake off excess and put the pieces aside. Put half the oil in a heavy saucepan and bring up to smoking, fry the meat pieces, turning often, until they are golden brown. Retain the oil and saucepan, set aside.

Peel and slice the onions into 5mm thick rings, add to the saucepan along with the rest of the oil. Cut garlic into 2mm sticks and add to the saucepan, put saucepan back on heat at medium and allow the alliums to start browning. Add the pieces of meat back, recduce heat and add the chopped leaves and pepper. Keep frying for a few minutes, but before the leaves start to burn, add the vinegar, wine, and water. Bring to a simmer, allow to simmer for around an hour. The liquid should reduce by about half, add water if it thickens too quickly.

Peel and slice the carrots (about 5mm thick) and add to the saucepan, add the dijon mustard and stir in well, return to a simmer for another 30 - 60 minutes.

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SERVING:
Serve immediately with pasta or gnocchi.

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NOTES:
I've made this with both chicken and rabbit, I prefer the taste of rabbit in this, but your mileage may vary. The sauce and onions over fried Gnocchi Parisien is just the best flavour combination.

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ENJOY!

Potato Savoury Rissoles

NAME: _Potato Savoury Rissoles

These are distant relatives of latkes. 

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INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
2 medium-large potatoes (See Method)
1 small brown onion
1 medium-large carrot
1 medium zucchini
50g cheddar cheese
1/2 cup plain flour
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground fenugreek seed
1 tsp assafoetida
1 tsp fine ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground turmeric (optional)
3 - 4 eggs
1/4 cup water
1 cup olive oil

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METHOD:
Peel the potatoes and grate into the longest strips possible. Grate into a bowl lined with a clean teatowel, then use teatowel to wring as much liquid as possible out of the potato. If you want the potato starch that's dissolved in the liquid, catch the liquid in a large flat plate, cover with a teatowel and set aside to evaporate. (See Notes) The amount of grated squeezed potato should be between 2 and 3 cups. Place in a bowl large enough to hold all ingredients and still allow spoon or hand mixing. Now similarly grate the carrot and zucchini, but do not squeeze. (Carrot doesn't need it, and the zucchinin will lose texture. Cut the onion into similarly thin strips or half-rings and squeeze that out in teatowel, too. Add these vegetables to the potato, gently mix all together.

In a smaller bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and spices well. Take about four teaspoons of this seasoned flour one at a time, sprinkle over the grated vegetables and gentle spoon or hand mix each teaspoonful in before adding the next. At this stage grate the cheddar and mix it through the vegetables as well.

Now add three of the eggs to the remaining flour in the other bowl and whisk until well combined. Add the water. If the mix isn't a pourable batter, add the fourth egg. Pour the batter slowly over the grated vegetables and gentle spoon or hand mix, until the vegetables are well coated.

Use egg rings to fry a dollop of the vegetable mixture in a hot frypan of olive oil. Turn when the underside smells done (two - four minutes depending on your particular setup) and remove the egg rings. When each rissole is cooked, (another two - four minutes) lift it and drain on paper towel.

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SERVING:
Serve hot, with your choice of sides. Can also be served cold but not as nice.

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NOTES:
A LOT of liquid comes out of the grated potatoes. The reason we want to squeeze it out is that otherwise the liquid will make the rissoles soft and sloppy. The starch (if you kept it from previous potato recipes) is okay to add back if you have some, but the water is definitely not needed. Keeping the starch is a good idea beacuse it's useful for other recipes such as (well, this one,) or carbonara, or in bread, and a few more. To save the starch, you need to let this dry out at room temperature and in the dark, because otherwise the starch will blacken. To aid in drying, the more surface area, the better, hence use a wide and relatively flat plate. To keep dark, cover with a teatowel. To keep the teatowel from falling in the liquid, use small spacers to keep it off the surface of the liquid, I use baking weights and old bottle caps, whatever comes to hand and that I can brush any adhering starch off afterwards. I've also laid a cake rack over and laid the teatowel over that - whatever works for you.

There are several things you can do with this mixture, actually. Proceed as above for rissoles with crispy browned exteriors and soft insides. For a thinner crispy latkes-like effect, reduce the number of eggs to two, add more water to make up, and barely moisten the floured vegetables with this batter, then spoon directly into pan and flatten with the egg slice or spatula, allow to become definitely browned and preferably almost over-cooked before lifting out and draining.

The dredging of the grated vegetables in the flour is one of the secrets - it allows the batter to really cling.

When spooning mixture into the pan, be aware that some liquid will always pool in the bowl, your call if you mix this back before spooning or just use whatever clings to the mixture. Recombining produces a slightly heavier more flavourful rissole, using the drained mixture results in a lighter rissole that will take on more crispiness.

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ENJOY!

Gnocchi Parisien

NAME: _Gnocchi Parisien

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INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
1 cup + 2 tbsp water
100g butter
1/2 tsp salt
1.5 cups plain flour
2 tbsp choppped chives
2 tbsp chopped basil or parsley (See Notes)
1/2 cup fine grated mild cheddar or mozzarella (See Notes)
3 or 4 eggs (See Method)

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METHOD:
Put the water, butter, and salt into a good saucepan (NOT non-stick, you will be beating the dough in this) and bring to a boil, stirring. Tip in all the flour and begin to mix and beat with a wooden spoon, keep going until you have a dough ball that pulls away from the sides, reducing heat as required to prevent flour burning.

Once you have the dough ball and have kept mixing it for a minute or two over low heat, remove from heat and mix in the dry ingredients and the cheese, making sure they are all beaten well together. Now add one egg at a time, beating until each egg is absorbed into the dough before adding the next. When you get to three eggs it's decision time. If the dough feels too hard, add the fourth egg.

The change in the dough as it incorporates the egg is quite abrupt and sudden. You must make sure each egg is incorporated before adding the next, The ghost of Escoffier himself will haunt you if you don't do this right.

Let the dough cool for 15 - 25 minutes, meanwhile prepare a pot of salted water, bringing it to a slow simmer. When the dough's ready, put it in a piping bag with a 1cm nozzle, and begin piping the dough straight into the water, cutting into 1cm - 2cm sections with a sharp knife as it extrudes, and letting the pieces fall into the water. Work fast, and as soon as the first few pieces start to float to the surface, stop making more gnocchi and let the batch poach for a further three to five minutes, then lift out with a strainer or similar and lay on paper towel to dry off.

Meanwhile, make the next batch, and while its poaching, take the last batch and lay them on a tray covered with oiled greaseproof paper. When all the batches are done, let the tray rest until the gnocchi are all cool and dry to touch. At this stage you can freeze them  on the tray if you like, then bag up the frozen gnocchi for storage, or proceed to the frying stage.

Place 100g - 300g butter in a good frypan (depends how many gnocchi, size of frypan, etc - aim for enough butter to 1/2 cover gnocchi when the pan is full but not crowded) and add dry gnocchi until the pan is full but not crowded. Fry, stirring often, until the gnocchi are golden brown outside. Lift out with a slotted spoon or similar and allow to drain, preferably on paper towel.

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SERVING:
These can be used in a number of ways - add grated cheese while still in the pan for a delicious stand-alone course, or place in a baking tray and top with cheese and fried finely shredded bacon and bake until cheese melts, or drizzle sour cream and chives over and serve, use them like dumplings in stews etc

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NOTES:
These gnocchi aren't like the gnocchi con patate, they are a bit lighter and fluffier on the inside, and they are versatile. If you'd like to make them more Parisian use the parsley and a relatively mild cheese, if you're after a more robust Italian flavour use a good mozzarella and basil and oregano in addition to the chives. Fresh chives preferred, but I've made them with dried herbs and they taste good enough for my meals - I'm not a food critic, and near enough is good enough for me...

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ENJOY!