Category: RECIPES

Posted on

VIETNAMESE STYLE FRIED FISH WITH TURMERIC & HERBS

This is my take on the Vietnamese classic Cha Ca La Vong. Cha Ca means grilled fish and  “La Vong” was inspired by a local statue of Jiang Ziya, also known as Lu Wang (pronounced as La Vong in Vietnamese), the fisherman-turned-politician who symbolized the potential for patient, talented people.

I just love the combination of ingredients – fish that is flavoured with turmeric, lemon grass, tamarind and fish sauce and served with soft cold noodles, fresh and vibrant herbs and some crunchy peanuts. I used our local New Zealand fish warehou but any white fleshed firm fish like blue cod would work well.

Vietnamese Style Fried Fish with turmeric & herbs

INGREDIENTS

750 – 800g of firm white fish like monk or warehou or ling fillets

1 heaped teaspoon turmeric powder

2 tablespoons crushed lemon grass (I used ground frozen lemon grass)

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon curry powder

Continue reading “VIETNAMESE STYLE FRIED FISH WITH TURMERIC & HERBS”

Posted on

RICH BROWNIE

A Canadian colleague of mine gave me this recipe a few years back. I have modified it (reduced butter, sugar and made it gluten free) and managed to retain the taste integrity. When the kids were younger and had to take something for a bake sale or whatever, I used to make these brownies and they were a big hit. They are good enough to be served up slightly warm for dessert with a scoop of ice cream and a bit of chocolate sauce.

INGREDIENTS

200g butter

½ cup white sugar

1 cup dark brown cane sugar

¾ cup cocoa

3 eggs

½ cup oats, powdered

¼ cup ground linseed (flaxseed)

1/3 cup ground almonds

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing sugar for dusting

METHOD

Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Butter a 23cm x 33 cm (9 x 13 inch) baking pan.

Melt butter over medium heat in a saucepan. Add sugar and cocoa, stirring constantly. The mixture should look glossy. Remove from heat but keep stirring to cool slightly. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating before adding the next one in.

In a separate bowl, combine the oat powder, ground almonds and linseed (flaxseed) and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the mixture in the saucepan. Stir in vanilla.

Pour mixture into the prepared tray. Bake for 30 minutes or 35 minutes or until the crust is firm and resistant to pressure. Check about every minute after 30 minutes as brownies easily overbake.

Remove from oven and let cool completely in the tray. Once cool dust with icing sugar and cut into squares.

Posted on

RICE & VEGETABLE AASH

Aash or Aush is a staple in Persian cuisine. Generally made with two unique ingredients reshteh a type of thin noodle and kashk which is a whey like fermented product. There are about 50 types of this soup and generally made during autumn and winter. My recipe has been adapted from Sabrina Ghayour’s book “Bazaar”. Please do try as it is wholesome and super delicious. Prepping the herbs takes a long time!

Rice and Vegetable aash

INGREDIENTS

300g onions, finely chopped

100g flat leaf parsley, (leaves only), finely chopped

100g fresh coriander, stems and leaves, finely chopped

5 large cloves of garlic, crushed

3 teaspoons unsweetened tamarind paste

Continue reading “RICE & VEGETABLE AASH”

Posted on

BANANA CHOCOLATE CAKE

I buy a big bunch of bananas every week – some weeks everyone wants to use it for a breakfast smoothie and some weeks they just get riper and riper. What do you do with over ripe bananas – I make tofu puddings (great as a start to the day or end the night on a slightly sweet note) or this banana cake with over ripe bananas. This is a bit different in the sense that I have used a combination of stone ground wholemeal flour and buckwheat flour. Cocoa and LSA (linseed, sunflower and almond powder) added to the richness. If you don’t have LSA, use just linseed powder. Do try this recipe and let me know how you go.

Banana Chocolate Cake

INGREDIENTS

150g soft butter

1 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons dark brown cane sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 over ripe bananas, mashed

½ cup plain yoghurt, whisked

¾ cup wholemeal flour

¾ cup buckwheat flour

½ cup LSA

¼ cup good quality cocoa

1 teaspoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon baking soda

METHOD

Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Butter a 23cm round spring form cake tin.

Cream the butter and sugar, and beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla.

Combine the flours and the baking powder plus soda. Sift and mix in with the dark brown cane sugar, LSA and cocoa.

Fold the flours into the egg mixture, a third at a time, alternating with the mashed bananas and the yoghurt.

Bake in the oven for 45 -50 minutes. You know that the cake is done when a knife pierced in comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to rest in pan for 15-20 minutes before turning it upside down onto serving platter.

You can jazz this up by icing with chocolate or keep it plain by dusting with icing sugar. You can serve with whipped mascarpone or crème fraiche or unsweetened natural Greek yoghurt.

Makes 10-12 wedges

Posted on

CAULIFLOWER CORN BREAD

I was inspired by Yotam Ottolenghi’s cauliflower cake recipe and wanted to create my own gluten free version. It is in between a cake and a bread and because of its savoury nature I called mine a bread but the jury is out! What do you think – is it a cake or a bread?

It is a lovely dish to take to a potluck meal or if you are having a large group for a barbecue. There is a long list of ingredients, but let it not put you off because it comes together easily.

Cauliflower corn bread with pickled daikon and tomato chilli jam

INGREDIENTS

1 large cauliflower, weighing about a kilo, stalks removed

100g onion, finely diced

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

50g coriander leaves and stalks, finely chopped

Continue reading “CAULIFLOWER CORN BREAD”

Posted on

CARROT SHORBA

The word “shorba” is of Persian origin and almost a dozen variations of the word exist. It is traditionally prepared by simmering meat or vegetables in boiling water along with salt and flavored with aromatic curry spices and herbs.

Carrot shorba

My recipe is an oldie but a goodie from the Indian chef Sanjeev Kapoor who has been the celebrity chef on one of the longest running food shows of its kind Khana Khazana. (In fact the show has been running since 2010 and has over 500 million viewers.) I remember watching this show on my visits to India. I have simplified the recipe so it is easier and you don’t have so many dishes to wash up!

This is a great soup to serve as a starter for a dinner party and I assure you will have your guests wanting more and the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

500g carrots, peeled and cut into 2 centimetre chunks

1 x 400ml tin of coconut milk

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

½ teaspoon mustard seeds

Continue reading “CARROT SHORBA”

Posted on

EGGPLANT MILANESE

A few weeks back Eva Longoria posted her take on Bobby Flay’s recipe of Eggplant Milanese. I had to put my own signature on the dish and the result is spectacular even though I say so myself. There is textural as well as taste contrast and I would make it again in a heartbeat. Milanese style is a fancier way of saying crumbed!

My tip choose even shaped eggplants – shouldn’t be too narrow around the neck and bulbous at the bottom. You can cut eggplants lengthwise but I prefer the rounds.

Eggplant Milanese

INGREDIENTS

2 large eggplants, cut into ½ to 1 cm thick rounds

½ cup plain flour

 Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 large eggs

1½ cups Panko breadcrumbs

Canola oil for pan frying

For the lemon yoghurt dressing

½ cup plain unsweetened Greek style yoghurt

60ml extra virgin olive oil

1 lemon

Continue reading “EGGPLANT MILANESE”

Posted on

ORANGE CAKE – A LIGHT SPONGE CAKE

This cake is from Marie Pierre Moine’s “Recipes for a Perfect Sunday Lunch”. My copy is almost 30 years old and I still refer to it because it has some treasures like this one! It is based on the pound cake principle so the sugar, flour, butter, and eggs are an equal measure of 115g each! Flavoured with orange juice and Cointreau, this is an easy and beautiful sponge to whip up for a special afternoon tea. It is quick, so do try – you will love it.

Orange cake

This is a smallish cake and best eaten on the day it is baked. It does not keep very well.

INGREDIENTS

115g caster sugar

115g soft unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing

2 large eggs

115g self-rising flour

2 tablespoons orange juice and 2 teaspoons grated zest from the orange

Continue reading “ORANGE CAKE – A LIGHT SPONGE CAKE”

Posted on

FRENCH ONION SOUP – VEGETARIAN

I have to make a confession – I did not want to mess with a classic. It is a favourite in our household and my son will order it whenever we dine out during winter. Due to COVID restrictions my son missed out on his graduation ceremony. So I made the vegetarian version for his graduation celebratory dinner (French themed) we had at home a few weeks back.

Traditionally made with a robust beef stock, I struggled to find something that would offer the same richness and depth of flavour. A few experiments later, I came up with this winning formula for a robust vegetarian stock.

You cannot whip up French onion soup in the space of half an hour. Please allow yourself plenty of time so you don’t rush the slow caramelisation of onions.

French Onion Soup

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1.2kg onions, finely sliced

3-4 bay leaves

1 teaspoon black peppercorns, crushed

500ml dry white wine (Riesling)

Continue reading “FRENCH ONION SOUP – VEGETARIAN”

Posted on

KOFTAS & FLAT BREADS

Every cuisine offers exciting vegetarian / vegan options. I love experimenting with different spices and flavours to create my own version of classics from around the world. I served these vegan koftas with flat breads, shredded cabbage with some chopped fresh coriander leaves mixed in and harissa yoghurt.

To make harissa yoghurt, add a tablespoon of harissa to a cup of yoghurt. Squeeze a tablespoon of lemon juice. Mix in a few good pinches of salt and sugar. Mix and serve as sauce for flat breads.

Koftas & Flatbread

INGREDIENTS

100g dried chick peas, washed and soaked in water overnight

2-3 cloves garlic, chopped

75g onions, sliced thinly

2-3 green chillies, chopped

Generous handful coriander stalks and leaves, chopped

Continue reading “KOFTAS & FLAT BREADS”