Zucchini, Broccoli and Lemon Tagine

From The Slow Cook Book, Heather Whinney, Dorling Kindersley, 2011.

One of the good elements about this slow cook book is that every recipe has instruction for two different methods of making the dish: using the slow cooker or using traditional methods. I chose to use the traditional method for this dish.

A red onion was chopped and added to a tagine with a couple of tablespoons olive oil. It was cooked on a low heat until softened. The heat was now turned up to medium and I added a little salt, 3 chopped garlic cloves, a pinch of ground cinnamon and a pinch of fennel seeds. I stirred in 2 teaspoons harissa paste. I took 3 preserved lemon quarters, sliced out the flesh and chopped the skin and added it to the mix.

After 2 or 3 minutes I added a can of chopped tomatoes. The mixture was brought to the boil, the lid went on and it was turned down to a simmer. This was left to simmer for about half an hour with an occasional addition of some water to ensure that it did not become too dry.

Meanwhile broccoli was boiled in salted water for about 3 minutes. It was drained and placed in cold water, then drained again and placed aside.

Three zucchini were sliced and, though they were required to be sautéed first before adding to the tagine, I dispensed with this step and added them directly to the sauce. I gave them about 10 minutes more to cook and then added the broccoli with a good couple of tablespoons chopped parsley and stirred it in until it was heated through.

It was served with a little couscous and another teaspoon harissa on the side.

Tasty and a little hot with the preserved lemon flavour riding beneath. I would add a little more fennel and cinnamon next time for these were a little lost.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔ 

Bitzer Meal

Every so often I like to just gather bits and pieces from the refrigerator and make a meal. So long as there are cracker biscuits of some sort in the pantry you can generally fill the table with sufficient to satisfy: gherkins, olives, cheese, grapes or sliced apples, perhaps firm pears. But I always can't resist making something to add to it all.

Tomato and Nut Balls
I sauteed a chopped onion and garlic clove in olive oil until soft. While it was cooking I peeled and chopped two tomatoes. These went into the pan for about 5 minutes. In a bowl I now mixed this with about 100g nuts ground roughly in a pestle and mortar. The nuts I used were mainly hazel nuts but as there was insufficient I added some macadamias. It was now time to add breadcrumbs until the mixture firmed up sufficiently to roll it into ball shapes. I didn't have a lot of breadcrumbs so added some finely ground oats. I added a little salt, though not enough it proved later as we ate them.

The balls were now to be rolled in chopped parsley. Unfortunately what I thought was parsley was coriander. This was fine to use, but it wasn't sufficient so I picked some basil from the garden and made up the quantity with this.

I felt that these balls looked unattractive but they were crunchy (and quite filling) bites. The tomato flavour seemed to vanish in the nut mixture but added a touch of umami. I wish I had seasoned them a bit more.

Some were left the next day so I flattened them into rissole shapes, gave them a sprinkle of salt and fried them for lunch. I preferred them this way.

Tahini Dip
I crushed with salt 1/2 clove garlic and mixed it in a bowl with 1/4 cup tahini, 2 tablespoons olive oil, a tablespoon water. I now stirred in the juice of 1/2 lemon. The mixture immediately thickened so I now  beat in water little by little until I had the texture that I wanted. I added salt and pepper to taste and a little chopped parsley and the dip was ready.

Spread on cracker biscuits this was a wonderful base to add any other elements: olives, cheese, sun dried tomatoes. I only made a small amount so it all went.

Chile Con Queso
There was 115g fontina cheese left from a block so I thought this was a good opportunity to use it. It was grated and went into a small saucepan with a tablespoon chopped jalapeno chilli from the jar, a finely sliced spring onion and 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds. The mixture was stirred until it had melted and was then quickly brought to the table to be eaten straightaway before it went cold—I didn't want to set up a fondu set for this small amount of cheese.

Of these three items I made for the bitzer meal this was the one I think I enjoyed the most. Something with chillies will always appeal to me.

Risotto with Mushrooms

Once you have mastered the pattern for making risotto there is really no need at all to consult recipes. However, with my habit of turning over the pages of cookery books, I am always finding other recipes that I think I might try out just in case the slight difference might give a worthwhile variation.  This mushroom risotto was different only in the fact that it cooked the mushrooms first and added them later in the cooking process.

I took 1/4 cup dried porcini mushrooms and soaked them in a little more than a cup of boiling water. They were left to soak while I continued with the remainder of the dish.

I sliced 150g button mushrooms and sauteed them in 30g butter and a little olive oil. When they had browned they were taken off the heat, a little lemon juice was added and some chopped parsley. This was put aside.

In the same pan that the mushrooms had been cooked I added another 30g butter with some more olive oil. A chopped onion was added and cooked until soft. A cup of arborio rice went in and was stirred around until it was well coated with the oils.

The dried mushrooms were drained and the water saved. The porcini water was added to stock gently simmering on the stove. The mushrooms, both dried and fried, were added to the rice. I also added some oyster mushrooms that were left over from another dish. Once everything was well mixed in the pan 1/3 cup white wine was stirred in until it was absorbed.

Now began the final process of adding a ladle of the simmering stock to the rice. When it was almost absorbed another ladle went in and so on until the rice was done. The heat was turned off and about a tablespoon butter was added and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese stirred in. The risotto was covered and left to stand for a minute or two before serving.

Mushrooms are perfect in risotto. Their rich, rather meaty flavour works so well with the rice.

Taste: ✔✔✔
Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔

There was risotto left over so the following evening it was formed into rissole shapes, dipped in flour, then beaten egg and finally breadcrumbs. It was shallow fried to make tasty, crunchy coated rissoles to have with vegetables.

Chestnut and Carrot Soup

Finally I have found a method of getting the flesh out of chestnuts that is reasonably easy. I have tried baking them in the oven, boiling them, but microwaving seems to be the best and easiest method. Slice a cross in the shell and heat them on high for 3 minutes in the microwave. I found this by far the best method.

I took 300g chestnuts and, once I had taken out the flesh, chopped it. Now a tablespoon olive oil and a tablespoon butter were melted in a saucepan and a chopped onion, two sliced celery stalks and 300g peeled and chopped carrots were added. To these were added a bay leaf, two stalks parsley and a couple of sprigs of thyme. They were all sauteed for about 3 minutes before I added the chestnuts, four cups water, a stock cube and some freshly ground black pepper. The heat was turned up and when it boiled, turned down to a simmer for 20 minutes.

The herbs were removed and a stick blender was used to puree the mixture. The recipe called for cream to be added but the soup already had a wonderfully smooth texture and tasted great without. All that it seemed to need was a small amount of salt and it was ready to go.

The soup was richly flavoured and silky smooth. The sweetness of the carrots was underlaid by the almost milky flavour of the chestnuts. This was a very satisfying soup.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔
Easy of cooking: ✔✔✔

Amaranth and Raisin Cookies

I'm not totally convinced about super foods but a lot of the ingredients I use fall naturally into that category so don't really feel any need to concentrate on them. However, I did not know amaranth so decided to give it a go.

I put 80g butter, 2 tablespoons honey and 50g crunchy peanut butter into a small saucepan and heated it until it had melted and mixed well. It was then left to cool.

In a large basin I mixed 150g plain flour, 100 amaranth flakes (the recipe called for puffed amaranth but I was unable to obtain it), 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger. 75g caster sugar, 75g brown sugar and 85g raisins. These were well mixed and a beaten egg was stirred in together with the cooled butter mixture.

The oven was turned on to heat to 180ºC and two trays were lined with baking paper. The mixture was taken about a tablespoon at a time and squeezed in the hand repeatedly until it had formed together well enough to be rolled into a ball. When all of the mixture was laid out on the trays a fork was used to flatten them a little. They were cooked in the oven for about 15 minutes until browned.

The cookies were left on the trays for about 5 minutes before they were lifted off the baking paper and placed on a rack to cool.

While I wouldn't rave about these they were pleasantly enjoyable and worth trying as they were easily made. There was no distinct flavour that I could label as 'amaranth'.

Taste: ✔✔
Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

Spinach Soufflé

It was the Queen's Birthday holiday here in New South Wales. Oddly, it's held on different dates in the states of Australia. I felt in the mood for making something light, not too complicated and able to be made from whatever was on the refrigerator. The spinach soufflé looked like it would do the trick.

I had two silver beet/Swiss chard leaves so I stripped them of their harder stems and cooked them for a few minutes with some baby spinach leaves that were also in the fridge. They were then squeezed of all moisture and chopped finely.

I made a roux of 30g butter and 25g flour and added 200ml milk and whisked it until it had thickened. It was taken off the heat and the spinach was stirred in, followed by 100g grated cheddar cheese. When it had cooled a little further, four egg yolks were stirred in.

The four egg whites were now beaten until stiff. The recipe called for five egg whites but I decided it could do without the extra rise. One-third of the mixture was now folded into the egg whites, followed by the remainder of the mixture.

It all went into a buttered soufflé dish and into a 200ºC oven for 25 minutes. It looked good at this stage but I gave it a little shake and it felt as though it needed just a little more time. I turned off the oven and gave it another 10 minutes. I do enjoy my soufflés to be a little drier.

With a small salad to have on the side this turned out to be just what was needed for a relaxing night.

Taste: ✔✔✔
East of cooking: ✔✔✔

Warm Broccolini, Mozzarella and Chilli Salad

The weather has suddenly turned colder after a record-breaking autumn of days over 20º. The only slight dip in the temperature seemed to demand a warm salad rather than a cold one.

I took broccolini, trimmed it a little, then steamed it.

Meanwhile in a saucepan I heated some olive oil and added a sliced garlic clove, a finely sliced red chilli and a good tablespoon of capers. I stirred this mix until the broccolini were just tender. I added the juice of half a lemon to the mixture and salt and pepper.


The broccolini was placed over a mixture of salad greens on a plate, buffalo mozzarella was torn into pieces and added to the plate. The hot dressing was now poured over. A few torn basil leaves were scattered over.

This was a delicious salad. The hot dressing wilted the greens just a little while the tang of capers and the acidity of the lemon juice went beautifully with the creamy cheese. Definitely warm to go back to more than once.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔
East of cooking: ✔✔✔✔✔