Preserved Lemons

It's a great time to start preserving lemons, to be able to be used in the upcoming weeks. Preserved lemons can be used for a number of different dishes from cous cous, to roast chicken and ofcourse an addition to a Morrocan style tagine.  The best thing about this recipe is it is both easy and attractive to keep in the kitchen.

To start using a mortar and pestle, ground sea salt with a handful of cummin seeds and corriander seeds.

Throughly wash each lemon and pat dry (you want to remove the waxy coating). Then cut each lemon into quarters, ensuring you do not go completely through and the lemon remains intact.

Stuff the salt mixture into the crevices of the lemons.

Push the lemons into a sterilised jar.  Ensure the jar is airtight.  In the jar add 2 cinnamon sticks and 3-4 dried bay leaves. Pour the juice of an additional three lemons and cover with olive oil.  When labelling don't forget to put the date, because preserved lemons should be stored in a dark area of your kitchen for at least 6-8 weeks.  They can then be used for up to two years.   In the upcoming weeks I will show you some recipes of how to use these delightful little lemons.



Spice Temple

My fiancé and I visited Spice temple for the second time, in a very long time. The restaurant creates an exotic ambiance from the very first moment you enter. The door has a large LED screen onto which is projected an Asian silk, billowing in the breeze.  You enter a flight of stairs that lead you to the darkly lit restaurant, where your eyes need a few moments to adjust. Above each table is a lamp which casts a soft glow onto the food.

The cocktail menu is truly enticing and encapsulates an interesting combination of ingredients that is far from ordinary.  Below are some of the interesting combinations available. I couldn’t go past the lemon grass and rose cocktail-which was both refreshing and paired beautifully with the Chinese flavours to follow.

 



We chose the banquet menu which was more than enough for two. The flavours are punchy and bold.  You begin with the picked cucumber and radish as well as a poached chicken salad.  The pickled vegetables are not at all overpowering but clean the palate well for the dishes to follow.

 

Next is what Neil Perry has deemed to be the “Chinese American” dish which is deep fried noodles laced with mince in a rich sauce.  The dish has great texture arising from the noodles.

Next are the dishes to be eaten with rice.  The first is the Chinese style fish.  The fish fillets are succulent and the sauce absolutely beautiful.  I was scooping the remnants of the sauce onto to my rice because it was so tasty and that dish alone, would have made my satisfied.

 

This is accompanied by the salt and pepper squid.  The taste and visual presentation of the dish is quite different to that which you would see in a normal Chinese restaurant.  However once squeezed with the lemon wedge sitting alongside, the flavours are more strongly brought out. The squid is soft and simply melts in your mouth.



The next mains come out being the greens, the pork belly and the beef brisket. It’s quite amazing the flavours that Neil Perry has captured with what really is quite cheap ingredients. The beef brisket for example is paired with baby eggplants that pop in your mouth.  There are red chillies laced in this dish, so be careful to avoid these if you don’t enjoy it hot! The pork belly is soft and juicy, in a light sauce.

 

The dessert is a lychee granita.  I think a sweet granita is always once of the best ways to finish of Asian flavours.  It’s sweet so it helps sooth the tongue after the spiciness of the dishes.

 

The al a carte dishes look just as enticing, if not more (if you can be discerning enough to choose the dishes from the long menu).  Just watch out for those highlighted in red they are doused with Sichuan peppercorns. And I mean doused! For those that have never eaten these peppercorns it is not the same heat you would have experienced with say, a chilli powder or black pepper. Instead it has an almost numbing sensation on the tongue and lips.  It is however a quintessential Chinese cooking ingredient.

If you haven’t been before and you are looking for an upmarket Chinese restaurant I would definitely give this one a go.  Being one of Neil Perry’s flagship restaurants he has put effort into creating an evolving and creative menu, sure to entice.

A great start to the day- a freshly made banana smoothie

This recipe is so simple I almost feel silly putting it up on the blog.  But I recently dusted of my blender sitting at the back of the cupboard and thought with this amazing warm weather, what could be better than a home-made banana smoothie to start to the day!

This recipe will make about 6-8 glasses.

Ingredients

• 4 bananas (ensure they are on the ripe side)
• ½ cup Natural Greek style yoghurt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 4-5 ice cubes

Method

Dice each banana into about four then slowly add the natural yoghurt and milk.  Add the honey and cinnamon to taste. Blend in the ice cubes or alternatively place in the fridge to cool. Depending on your desired consistency you would add more milk for a thinner consistency and more yoghurt for a thicker consistency.

Enjoy!

 

Red Velvet Cupcakes

These cupcake are taking the world by storm and its popularity is only increasing.

I recently made these red velvet cupcakes for my niece’s birthday- they were a major hit! This recipe is both moist and looks amazing. I've added a twist to the traditional recipe by adding shredded coconut to the icing-this gives the cupcakes additional taste and texture.

 The hardest part about this dish is not eating all the batter before it goes into the oven!

Ingredients

Batter:

·         1 ½ cups caster sugar

·         ½ cup butter

·         2 eggs, room temperature

·         2 1/3 plain flour

·         2 tablespoons cocoa powder

·         1 teaspoon bi carb

·         1 teaspoon baking powder

·         ½ teaspoon salt

·         1 cup buttermilk

·         1 ½ tablespoons red food colouring

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         1 teaspoon white vinegar

Frosting:

·         ½ cup butter

·         1 packet of cream cheese

·         Icing sugar (to taste)

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         ½ cup shredded coconut

Method:

1.       Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy

2.      Add the eggs one at a time until fully mixed through

3.      Sift in the plain flour, cocoa powder, bi carb, baking powder and salt.

4.      In a separately bowl whisk the buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla extract and red food colouring.

5.      Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.  The batter will be a soft pink, but don’t worry when it bakes it actually turns out red.

6.       Scoop the mixture into cupcake papers and bake for about 20 minutes.

7.      Once you have taken the cupcakes out of the oven and it has cooled you can make the frosting.

8.      Cream the butter and cream cheese together. Add the vanilla extract and icing sugar. The amount of icing sugar you add will depend on how sweet you like the icing. Stir in the shredded coconut.

9.      Pipe the icing onto the cupcakes and serve.

Italian and Japanese Fusion - A Review of Porcorosso

My fiancé and I tried a quaint little restaurant named Porcorosso over the weekend. The restaurant is tucked away in Waterloo and what a find it was! Porcorosso is a fusion between Italian and Japanese.  This may sound like an interesting mix but the dishes are executed perfectly, drawing on the ingredients of both cultures.  Even the name draws upon this fusion.  In Italian, Porcorosso translates loosely to Scarlet Pig.  In Japanese the name is derived from a Japanese manga cartoon also about a red pig.  This motif is splayed throughout the restaurant.

It’s a moderately sized restaurant with a deep teak interior. The wait staff are attentive but a little nervous. You will need to book in order to obtain a reservation, unless you turn up promptly at 6.00pm as we did!

The dishes in the menu are numbered 1,2,3 etc but you will note the number 4 is omitted from the menu.  This is because it is a symbol of bad luck in Japan.

We decided to try two of the mains, being the pizza and pasta.  The pizza was layered with prosciutto, parmesan, rocket and cherry tomatoes.  Such simple ingredients but such wonderful flavours.  The prosciutto is shaved fresh and the pizza crust light and crisp.

The pasta dish had to be the highlight of the restaurant.  The pasta is cooked al dente, slightly firmer than the way usually cooked in Australians, but true to the way authentically cooked by Italians.  It is smothered in cod roe and garnished with seaweed.  The pasta is surprisingly light but the roe bounces of the tongue, creating a rich flavour.  This dish truly encapsulates the amalgamation of Italian and Japanese and highlights why this fusion, is such a good combination!

To end the meal the desserts are displayed decoratively on the counter.  There are a number of choices from home made tiramisu,  to rich chocolate cake and white chocolate panna cotta.  We tried the short cake with a dark chocolate filling. It was crumbly and delicious.  I wouldn’t mind making a batch of these at home!

If you are in the area or even if you are not, give Porcorosso a go! The unusual fusion will want you coming back for more!

Spring Rolls with a Twist

 

Many of you will know the Sunday that just passed, marked the celebration of the moon festival.  The Moon Festival is celebrated by most Chinese and is a wonderful way to celebrate time with family and friends.   I thought I would get in on the action and make my own Chinese inspired meal.

 

 

 

 

One of the stand outs of the meal was the entrée – a humble vegetable spring roll. I am not usually a fan of vegetarian food truth be told, however this dish is overflowing with textures and flavours so you don’t even realise the omission of meats. Off course you could add a meat like roasted duck or chicken and make this into a main. The beautiful part of this spring roll is the use of dried bean curd (which can be bought from any Asian supermarket) which encases the filling. It gives it a wonderful crunch and allows it to be much lighter dish than using the usual pastry.

Ingredients:

• 1 packet dried bean curd, cut into 18cm squares

And for the filling: 

• 50g bean thread noodles 
• 2 eggs 
• ½ carrot, julienne strips 
• ½ cucumber, julienne strips 
• 1 spring onion, finely sliced 
• ½ bunch mint and coriander sliced finely 
• Handful of dried black cloud ear fungus (which is a type of mushroom that can be bought at the Asian supermarket)  
• Handful of fresh bean sprouts 
• Vegetable oil for frying

Method:

Cut the dried bean curd into squares and set aside. Ensure you cover with a damp tea towel to prevent it drying out.

Rehydrate the dried black cloud ear fungus in warm water. Then squeeze of any excess water and cut finely.

Lightly beat the eggs in a bowl. Then add the eggs to a wok and cook for about one minute. It should look like a golden crepe. When the egg has cooked, turn it out onto a plate and cut into strips.

It is then a matter of assembling the filling into the bean curd squares. Be gentle when doing this so as to not break the bean curd casing. Put the mixture in the middle and form a log like shape. Then roll the spring rolls individually.

You need to deep fry the spring rolls for a couple of minutes in vegetable oil, which allows the bean curd to fluff up and become extremely crunchy.

 

We served this with a homemade sweet chilli sauce, which I assure you is worth the little extra effort.

 

 

Ingredients:

• 250ml white vinegar
• 165g white sugar
• 2 ½ tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 birds eye chilli (depending on how hot you like it)

Method:

Place vinegar and sugar in a small bowl saucepan and bring to the boil, ensuring it dissolves the sugar.

Reduced the heat and simmer (uncovered) until liquid reduces by half.This should take approximately 10 minutes.It should become slightly syrupy but ensure the consistency does not become so thick it turns into toffee!Once slightly cooled, add the fish sauce and chilli.

 

Duck Stir Fry

After a long day at work we are always looking for something easy and tasty to make for dinner.  Tonight I thought I would try something different and use duck.  Duck is not a meat this is in my usual repertoire of cooking, but this version is definitely doable for any of the newbies out there.

I think there are a lot of misconceptions about duck being unhealthy- but it need not be.  For this stir fry I simply removed the skin from two duck breasts (you could offcourse keep it on for additional taste and texture to the dish). Duck also contains generous amount of iron, phosphorus, zinc and a number of other nutrients for the body.  So give this duck recipe a go- I guarantee you its quick, easy and delicious!

Ingredients:

• 1 capsicum, sliced
• 2 green onions, sliced on the diagonal
• 3 gloves garlic, minced
• 2cm x 2cm ginger, minced
• Red chilli, sliced
• Stem of 1 lemon grass, sliced
• 3 kaffir lime leaves, sliced
• Prik Khing Curry Paste (see picture below) (this tin can be bought from any Asian supermarket)
• 3 slices tinned pineapple, cubed
• Handful of mushrooms, chopped
• 2 duck breasts-skin removed (see picture below) (it looks similar to the colour and texture of a chicken thigh fillet)
• Handful of fresh coriander (to garnish)

 

 

 

 

Method:

On a wok, stir fry the garlic, ginger, lemongrass, chilli and kaffir lime leaves with a little oil.  It should let of a wonderful aroma as ingredients cook together. Stir fry for a couple of minutes.

Add the curry paste and stir fry the mixture until fully incorporated.  Add 4 tablespoons of water.

Add the duck breast and stir fry for about 5-6 minutes.  It is important to not overcook your duck.  Unlike chicken, duck should be slightly red in the centre.  This is a sign of it being tender.  When the duck has cooked through, add the capsicum, mushroom, and green onion and stir fry for one minute.

Take of the heat and add the pineapple. The pineapple may seem an odd choice but it adds a slight sweetness and great texture to the dish. Garnish the dish with coriander.  Serve with steamed rice.