Archive for the ‘Recipes’ CategoryThis recipe is ideal when the family is about to cook a BBQ dinner and the vegetarians need to whip up something – and quickly – to go with the salads. Start with a packet of firm tofu – definitely not the silken variety that is more gelatinous and falls apart at the first sign of heat.
Slice the tofu into thick, generous “steaks” of about 1cm in width. Getting this right is important – too wide and the tofu will take longer to absorb the flavour of the marinade, too narrow and you risk compromising the structural integrity of the tofu once it hits the barbie. Make up the marinade. All sorts of variations are possible but a good starting point would be half a cup of soy sauce, 1-2 teaspoons of sesame oil, half a cup of boiling water, 3-4 finely chopped garlic cloves, a knuckle of grated fresh ginger, 1-2 shallots, 1 small chilli, some pepper. I also like to add star anise for its aroma and flavour.
Stand the tofu steaks in the marinade for as long as you have got. For best results, marinate for at least half an hour, turning if necessary to ensure that the tofu gets a good soak. You could leave it in for 24 hours if you are planning ahead. When you are ready to cook, put a little oil on the BBQ plate and cook the tofu through on both sides. Once you have done that you can pour the rest of the marinade on the tofu and let the tofu sizzle in it (both sides) to pick up some extra flavour. You can also cook this on a stove grill or in a fry pan if a BBQ is not at hand.
Serve and deal with the compliments with sophistication and dignity. On Saturday, my home state New South Wales went to the polls. Because Andy and I are To get people in the mood, we decided to theme our food to the occasion by referencing some of the campaign issues and personalities. Hence, the menu was: Entree Cross city tunnel tarts* Mains Mushroom Morrisotto topped with with baked pear and goat’s cheese* Dessert (Still criminalised) ice with raspberries and rockmelon. Unfortunately we were too busy watching the results and debating the quality of Asian versus Europeans beers to take photos but I did take one of the leftover dessert on Sunday:
This was actually a Rose Elliot recipe from her fantastic cook book Veggie Chic. It’s called pink champagne granita with raspberries and is simple to make: Ingredients 200 ml of water 225g, plus 2 tablespoons, of caster sugar 1 bottle of pink champagne 375g raspberries Method Gently dissolve the 225g of sugar in a saucepan with the water. Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and let the mixture cool. Mix the syrup with the pink champagne and pour it into a shallow container so it’s about 1cm thick. Because of the alcohol in the champagne it takes a long time to freeze (especially if you try to double the recipe to cater for all of your guests. Then it takes forever). Good idea to make it the day before if possible to avoid tears and / or a slushy mess. To serve, you’re meant to swish the raspberries in sugar then top with the granita. I forgot the sugar swishing bit, but it tasted fine anyway. * For non New South Welsh people, the cross city tunnel is a beleagured toll road that opened in late 2005 and was immediately mired in controversy. To be fair, it’s blaring headline quota has dipped in the last couple of months, thanks partly to a series of public transport issues. However, “city rail” was harder to work into the name of a dinner party dish. *Morris Iemma is the NSW premier. If you need a centrepiece vegetarian dish for Christmas or another big occasion, this might be the one for you. We cooked this for an early family Christmas last weekend and it had the desired effect. I used to cook this dish years ago when I was living in college but this was the first time in some time that I had made it. Still as impressive and as delicious as ever.
Step 1: Start with a whole pumpkin. Pick a good-looking pumpkin which preferably has some symmetry and dignity about it.
Step 2: Take a good sharp knife and cut a hole in the top of the pumpkin to create a lid. Use whatever kitchen implements you can lay your hands on to scrape all of the seeds out of the pumpkin.
Step 3: In a mixing bowl, combine finely chopped ingredients to make up the stuffing. You can use your imagination, or you can use a combination of ingredients like the following: 5 slices of crumbed bread, a handful of toasted pumpkin seeds, 4-5 chopped shallots, 5 large mushrooms, a stick or two of celery, 3-4 teaspoons of fresh rosemary and dill, a cup of grated cheese, all bound together with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. You could also use cooked brown rice instead of breadcrumbs and other fresh herbs such as parsley.
Step 4: Stuff the stuffing into the pumpkin. In fact, you can pack it in.
Step 5: Take the lid and pop it back on the pumpkin. If it is loose you can wrap the lid in aluminium foil.
Step 6: Take the pumpkin, pop it in a baking tray and put it in the oven at around 180 degrees Celsius (medium heat). You need to bake the pumpkin for a surprisingly long time - it can take 2 hours or possibly longer for the heat to make it right through to cook the pumpkin. A lot happens in the last 30 minutes. Best thing to do is to leave it for at least an hour and a half and then poke the inside with a sharp implement to see if it is done.
Step 7: Serve the pumpkin with a flourish and carve and serve it at the table. Delicious!
Happy Christmas to everyone and a big thank you and well done to Kate for a fantastic first year of veggiefriendly. Andrew This is a delicious, elegant and (most importantly) simple dessert that I recently made for a dinner party. Andy was making his signature egg drop Indian curry, so I searched high and low to find an Indian or Asian themed dessert that would work with the strong curry flavours.
When I saw this recipe for coconut and kaffir lime panna cotta in Rose Elliot’s gorgeous Veggie Chic I knew that I was onto a winner. Coconut and kaffir lime panna cotta Ingredients 400g of organic coconut milk Syrup 1 lemon grass stalk, crushed Method Put the coconut milk and cream in to a saucepan with the lime leaves and lime rind. Bring to the boil, then cover, remove from the heat, and set aside until cold. Remove the lime leaves. Stir in the sugar, then sprinkle the gelatine or agar-agar over the top. Stir constantly to prevent lumps. Heat gently, until the mixture just reaches boiling point, them remove from the heat. Pour the mixture into 4 x 125ml ramekins (I used slightly bigger ones - not an awesome idea). Leave to set, but don’t refrigerate. To make the syrup, put the lemon grass, lime juice and rind and the sugar into a saucepan and heat gently to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and set aside until required. Remove the lemon grass before serving. Turn the panna cotta out on to individual serving plates and drizzle with a little syrup. Decorate with the slice of lime and kaffir lime leaves. How I actually did it I largely stuck to Rose’s recipe for this dish. However, rather than decorate the panna cotta with lime and kaffir lime leaves, I used pomegranate seeds and juice. Another lovely option is fresh fig slices. I also kept the panna cotta in the ramekins rather than turn them out on the plate. Served this way the syrup turned out to be a bit much because it formed a reservoir on top of the pudding. If you do serve them in the ramekin I’d suggest holding back on the syrup. If I’d been more organised, rice paper rolls would have been my entry in the inaugural morsels and musings festive food fair. But, you know, the demands of being festive and all that.
Rice paper rolls make a great Christmas time meal for vegetarians. For one, they’re light and refreshing, so are perfect for a hot day or as a vegetarian alternative to a fresh seafood banquet. The other advantage is that they don’t take long to prepare. Even better, I often leave the fillings on the table and let guests make their own rolls. This looks very colourful and festive, is a lot of fun, and also works as a great compromise meal because you can still have seafood or meat options ensuring everyone’s special needs are catered for. This can get a bit messy and takes some space, so you might find this works better as a boxing day lunch. The other great thing about rice paper rolls is that you can tailor the fillings to suit your tastes. The ingredients below are the standard items I’d use - don’t feel you have to use all of them! If you do want some non-veggie options, prawn, shrimp or fish would also work. Rice paper rolls Ingredients Rice paper sheets Dipping sauces Soy sauce Method Fill a large saucepan with boiled water. Dip the rice paper sheets into the saucepan. Make sure all the rice paper is submerged and softened, then remove it. Flatten out the rice paper sheet onto a plate. The quicker you get it on to your plate the better because the rice paper immediately starts to stick together. About a third of the way along your rice paper, add ingredients of your choice in a thin line. Do not be greedy. Two much stuffing makes it hard to roll. A good mix is vermicelli noodles, satay sauce, tofu, carrot, avocado, lettuce and mint. Starting at the side closest to the stuffing, gently fold the rice paper over the filling and keep rolling so that the filling is covered.
When you’re about halfway done, carefully fold the sides in front of the roll, then finish rolling.
At this point, your roll should look like this:
Keen-eyed readers might notice that the ingredients in the photo don’t entirely correspond to the list in the recipe. I blame this man. There was no way I could go out and buy fresh veggies while Mr Cricket was at the crease. This is a belated entry in the Morsels and Musings Festive Food Fair. The lovely Anna has invited bloggers around the world to share the food they use to celebrate their respective end of the year holiday in a global food event. Cheers to that! I don’t have any special Christmas traditions to share, but I thought that I would post some ideas for people who need to cater for vegetarians at Christmas. Both of the recipes below are from ‘Vegie Food’ by Murdoch Books. In my family, Christmas lunch can be anything from a formal affair with a hot English roast lunch, to a relaxed BBQ in the backyard (or on the verandah overlooking the sea). I think both of these approaches lend themselves to vegetarian food. However, one of the most important things is to find out what kind of vegetarian you’re having around for lunch. Check whether they eat seafood (most vegetarians don’t), and whether they eat dairy food and eggs (vegans don’t). If someone is vegetarian for religious reasons, there may be other types of food, or food combinations, that they don’t eat. Whether you’re traditional roast lunch, or relaxed BBQ, make sure to include plenty of vegetable side dishes or salads. Here’s a recipe for a lovely side dish that is quick and easy to make just before you want to serve it. The nice thing about this dish is that it works with a cold or hot lunch, because the lemon and mint add a fresh, zesty taste, but the hot zucchini and feta cheese give the dish a bit more formality than a cold salad.
Zucchini with mint and feta 6 zucchinis Method Cut the zucchinis in half and then cut into long strips. Fry the zucchini strips in olive oil for a few minutes, until they turn a golden brown. Crumble the feta into the zucchini strips. Mix the juice of the lemon, a tbsp of olive oil, the garlic and 1/2 tsp of lemon zest. Pour the dressing over the zucchini. Scatter the mint and parsley over the zucchini and toss. Add pepper and salt to taste. Serve hot. Personally, my Christmas is not complete without cauliflower cheese. If you’re having a vegan for lunch, make roast vegetables, a green bean dish, chilli and coconut carrots, or braised red cabbage. If you’re feeling guilty about your vegetarian guest picking at side dishes while the other guests chow down on roast lamb or turkey, a more substantial vegetarian option is a stuffed vegetable dish. Eggplants and capsicum are the best, as they bake well and have a substantial, strong flesh that hold their structure. A delicious stuffed eggplant recipe is imam biyildi. It’s also known as ’swooning imam’, because legend has it that it was first made for an imam and caused him to soon with delight. This would be my first choice, because the dish is good for vegans, doesn’t take that long to make and has a lovely rich flavour. Another option for vegetarians is eggplant moussaka. It involves a bit of preparation but is a tasty and filling option that will leave any vegetarian feeling well catered for.
Eggplant moussaka Ingredients Method Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Cut the eggplants in half lengthways. Spoon out the flesh leaving a 1.5 cm border (this feels wasteful to me - another reason why I like the imam biyildi recipe). Lightly spray a baking tray with olive oil, then place the eggplants on the tray cut side up. Prop them up with aluminium foil so that they are sitting flat (important when you come to stuff them). Heat the oil in a frying pan. Cook the onion and garlic for about three minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano and white wine or verjuice (I used verjuice which gave the sauce a slightly sweeter flavour). Bring to the boil and cook for three minutes, or until the liquid is reduced and the tomatoes are soft. Stir in the cannellini beans and parsley. To make the white sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan. Gradually add the flour, stirring constantly so no lumps form. Gradually add the milk and nutmeg, again stirring constantly. Pour one third of the white sauce into the tomato mixture and stir well. Spoon the tomato mixture into the eggplant cases. It should almost fill the eggplant. Spoon the remaining white sauce on top of the tomato mixture, then cover with grated cheese. Bake for 50 minutes and serve hot. Merry holiday season! A few weeks ago I bought the nondescript looking ‘Vegetarian‘ cook book by Jody Vassallo in the Health for Life series from a suburban newsagency. I know these cook books aren’t all that fashionable, but I instantly liked it because it had a recipe for salt and pepper tofu, some interesting twists on simple recipes, and a focus on healthy eating. I recently tried my first recipe from the book, roast veggies with miso jus. I am a huge fan of roast veggies, particularly potatoes (one reason why I would never survive a no carbs diet). I liked the idea of using miso flavoured jus as a alternative to gravy, and was also excited about finding an excuse to cook with verjuice, which is totally my new favourite ingredient. The recipe 4 medium potatoes, unpeeled, scrubbed, cut into quarters Method 1. Preheat oven to 200 C 2. Put the potatoes, sweet potatoes, capsicum and garlic head into a large mixing bowl. Add the olive oil, rosemary, thyme, sea salt and cracked black pepper. Mix well to coat all the vegetables. Transfer to a large baking tray and bake for 45 minutes. Add the tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of the verjuice to the tray and bake for a further 15 minutes. 3. Put the bok choy in a steamer and cook over a pan of boiling water for two minutes. 4. To make the jus, put the remaining verjuice and palm sugar into a fry pan over medium heat and bring to the boil. Add the stock and boil until reduced by half. Remove from the heat and stir in the miso. 5. Divide the roasted vegetables and steamed bok choy among the plates. Drizzle with the jus and serve immediately. Serves 4. What I actually did So, you know what they say about best laid plans. I reckon that applies doubly in the kitchen. First off, it turned out that 5pm on a weekend night was not a great time to track down white miso. So I substituted normal miso paste. The flavour was interesting, but quite strong and didn’t meld with the verjuice or complement the roast veggies quite as well as I expected. Next time I’d try the white miso or go a bit easier on the miso paste. Also, making roast veggies got me feeling nostalgic, so I couldn’t help but throw in a couple of parsnips and a swede. As we were only two, and the original recipe was for four, things got a little out of hand. So I didn’t add the bok choy. Next time I’ll try to temper my impulse to add in every vegetable I like, and use the steamed bok choy to offset the richer, oily flavour of the roast veggies. I loved the verjuice and can’t believe it’s taken me so long to start using it. It’s made from the juice of young, unfermented grapes, so it has acidity but is much sweeter than lemon juice or vinegar. It made a lovely glaze for the vegetables, and I’m sure it will be great in salad vinegarettes as well. I used the Maggie Beer brand of verjuice. She has plenty of recipes using verjuice on her site. Vegetarians may feel wary about a product that comes from a place called Pheasant Farm; however, I paid a visit to the Maggie Beer farm shop in the Barossa Valley at Easter and was pleasantly surprised at how many of her products, in the shop and on the menu, were vegetarian. Best of all, Maggie Beer was at the shop, running around and getting her hands dirty amongst the busy Easter crowd. What an awesome lady. |
Bad Behavior has blocked 1359 access attempts in the last 7 days.