Category: RECIPES

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CREAMY BROCCOLI AND KALE SOUP

I love brassicas and always look for new and innovative ways to feature them front and centre as opposed to relegating them to a mere side dish. My creamy broccoli and kale soup is wholesome enough to be served on its own for lunch. This soup is vegan and the creaminess comes from the haricot / cannellini beans. The preserved lemon adds a refreshing, lemony flavour.

Creamy broccoli and kale soup

INGREDIENTS

500g broccoli (1 medium sized head), cut into small florets, stem and all

100g kale, remove the rib and cut

150g onion, chopped

100g boiled potato, diced

6 plump garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1 green chilli, sliced

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons tahini

750ml vegetable stock

1 x 400g tin of cannellini beans

½ a preserved lemon (discard seeds and chop)

Salt to taste

For garnishing:

2 teaspoons sesame oil

2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

METHOD

Heat the olive oil in a largish saucepan. Throw in the crushed garlic and green chilli. Fry for a minute and add the onions. Continue frying for three minutes. Add the potato and the tin of beans along with the liquid. Pour the stock in along with 500ml water and let it come up to the boil. Mix in the preserved lemon, tahini and kale. Cook for 3 minutes.

Toss in the broccoli. Once the soup comes up to the boil, cook for a further 3 minutes. Season with salt. Blitz the soup using an immersion or stick blender.

Spoon the serve into four bowls (if serving as a main or six bowls as starter). Drizzle a few drops of the sesame oil and sprinkle sesame seeds.

Serves 4-6

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SUN DRIED TOMATO, OLIVE AND CHARD FOCACCIA

One more recipe for sour dough discard! Even if you don’t have sour dough discard, you can still make this by adjusting the amounts of yeast used. You can use spinach instead of chard or silver beet. I used a Chinese cleaver to finely mince my silver beet but you can use a food processor for this.

I love making my own breads and feel so wonderful kneading the dough manually. I served it with a minestrone style soup – it is yummy on its own too.

Sun dried tomato, olive and chard focaccia bread

INGREDIENTS

For the dough

325g high grade flour

25g wholemeal flour

5g salt

5g instant yeast (use 7g if no sour dough discard)

40g sour dough discard

120g silver beet finely chopped (see note above)

1 tablespoon olive oil

200ml tepid water

For the topping

3 – 4 sun dried tomatoes, chopped

5-6 olives, sliced or halved

Sea salt crystals

Olive oil as needed

1 -2 tablespoons water

METHOD

Place all ingredients for the dough into a large mixing bowl. Using a wooden spoon, combine the ingredients to form a dough mass.

You can use the dough hook on your stand mixer and knead for 10 minutes giving a 30 second break every 3-4 minutes of kneading. If you are like me and prefer to knead manually, tip dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10-12 minutes, resting it for 30 seconds every three minutes. Place dough into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a wet muslin cloth and leave in a warm place for an hour and a half to two hours to allow it to double in size.

Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper and drizzle with two tablespoons of oil. Spread oil around to grease the paper. Using the palm of your hand, flatten dough to a 20cm disc and place on prepared baking tray. Using your fingertips, press dough down, leaving fingertip impressions. Cover with a wet muslin cloth and leave to prove for half an hour.

Preheat oven to 230 degrees Celsius.

Stud the dough with sun dried tomato and olive pieces. Sprinkle the sea salt and make indentations with your fingertips. Drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle water. Bake in preheated oven for 12 -15 minutes.

Remove from oven and brush focaccia with olive oil. Place on a wire rack to cool for half an hour at least before slicing.

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BEETROOT CAKE

I tend to sway towards savoury dishes and kind of play second fiddle when it comes to desserts or sweet things. I tend to create and choose recipes that are not too finicky, use fewer ingredients and sugar and fat are somewhat reduced.

I can’t take credit for this recipe – I was inspired by Yotam Ottolenghi’s beetroot, ginger and soured cream cake in his book “Sweet”. I of course modified to suit my family’s taste buds. The cake is rich and moist suitable to make as a birthday cake or for a cake and coffee morning.

Beetroot cake

INGREDIENTS

75g pecan nuts

200g plain flour

150g caster sugar

2 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

¼ teaspoon salt

250g raw red beetroot, peeled and coarsely grated

Finely grated zest of 1 large orange

100g crystallized ginger

2 large eggs

60g sour cream

125ml sunflower oil

For the Icing:

150g cream cheese, at room temperature

60g icing sugar, sifted

70ml cream

6 centimetre piece of fresh ginger, grated on a fine mesh and the flesh squeezed to extract all juices about 4 teaspoons

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin and set aside.

Spread the pecan nuts on a baking tray and roast for ten minutes. Remove from the oven and chop in half or smaller if you prefer. Set aside. Increase oven temperature to 195 degrees Celsius.

Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix to combine and aerate. Add the beetroot, orange zest, pecan pieces and crystallized ginger, but do not stir.

Place the eggs and sour cream in another bowl and whisk to combine. Add the oil and whisk again. Pour over the beetroot and flour mix, and using your hands or a large spatula, mix well to combine.

Pour the mix into the cake tin and bake in the middle of the oven for 50-55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool in the tin for 30 minutes or so before removing from the tin and cooling on a wire rack completely.

To make the icing, place the cream cheese in a bowl. Use a wooden spoon and beat for 10 seconds. The time may vary, but you want cream cheese relatively smooth. Add icing sugar and beat until well incorporated with an electric whisk. Add the cream and beat for about a minute, until the icing is thick and smooth. Add the ginger juice, beat for a final few seconds. Use a palette knife to spread over the top of the cake and serve.

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PISTACHIO CHICKEN KORMA

When I was growing up in India, most of the dried fruit and nuts used to come from Afghanistan or Pakistan. They were mobile vendors on bicycles, who would do door to door selling. They were referred to as Kabuliwala, meaning a person from Kabul.

I am writing about this, because this korma dish uses pistachios. They are referred to as pista for short and generally reserved for ice-creams and halwas but pistachios along with cardamom add an interesting flavour to this chicken dish.

Pistachio Chicken

INGREDIENTS

1 kilo of boneless, skinless chicken thighs

100g shelled pistachio nuts, unsalted

6 green chillies

2 onions (100g each approximately)

3 centimetre piece of ginger, peeled and chopped

6 plump garlic cloves

¾ teaspoon garam masala powder

2 bay leaves

¾ teaspoon ground white pepper

1 heaped teaspoon fennel seeds

12 cardamom pods

3 tablespoons chopped coriander stems, leaves and roots

1 teaspoon tamarind puree

200ml chicken stock

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Salt to taste

METHOD

Cut the chicken thighs into half or a third depending on the size. Set aside.

Place pistachios in a microwave safe bowl that is fairly large. Pour enough water to submerge the nuts from a freshly boiled kettle. Let soak for a couple of minutes and then microwave on high for three minutes. Let cool. Once cool, rub the nuts with your fingers and remove the skin. Set aside.

Quarter one of the onions and finely dice the other onion. Place the onion quarters in a microwave safe bowl and pour enough water to drown the onions from a freshly boiled kettle. Microwave on high for 2 minutes. Discard the cooking water by fishing out the onions.

Put the pistachio nuts, the onion quarters, ginger, garlic, 4 of the green chillies, coriander leaves in a food processor along with 50mls water and process to a fine paste.

In a large sauté pan, heat the oil and fry the onions on medium high for five minutes until lightly coloured. Add the garam masala, white pepper, bay leaves and fennel seeds and fry another minute. Mix in the spice paste and stir continuously for a further two minutes.

Add the chicken and sauté for five minutes. Add the tamarind puree, remaining chillies, chicken stock and salt. Cook for another 15 -20 minutes until done.

Remove the seeds from the cardamom pods and using a rolling pin or mortar and pestle powder the seeds. Just before serving, sprinkle the freshly ground cardamom powder. Serves 4-6.

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KHAMAN – a GUJARATI SPECIALITY

I consider myself lucky to have experienced authentic Gujarati cuisine when I was in the hostel studying for my post graduate degree in Mumbai. People not familiar with Gujarati cuisine use the term khaman dhokla without realizing that there is no such dish. There is dhokla which is made using rice flour and khaman is made using chick pea flour or besan.

Khaman

My mother used to make khaman by using a few tablespoons of idli batter as leavening agent. I used the same technique. Also I used a sponge cake tin (20 centimeter diameter) as a vessel for the batter and steamed in my Dutch oven.

INGREDIENTS

1 and a ½ cups of chick pea flour or besan

4 tablespoons idli batter

5 centimetre piece of ginger

3-4 green chillies

Continue reading “KHAMAN – a GUJARATI SPECIALITY”

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CAULIFLOWER FRITTERS

During lockdown, my daughter started her sourdough project and after a few trials and errors, her sourdough starter has been going strong now for a few months now. There is a regular stream of discard that comes with keeping a sourdough starter alive. This is not my own recipe but came across it in a Miele newsletter – I forgot to take note of the author!

These fritters are delicious – I served them for breakfast with some lemony Greek style yoghurt.

Cauliflower fritters

INGREDIENTS

1/2 head of cauliflower (about 400g)

2 tablespoons curry powder

2 tablespoons sunflower oil

2 eggs

220 ml milk

60 grams melted butter

180 grams flour

5 grams baking powder

2 grams salt

5 grams sugar

80 grams starter

To serve:

Grated zest from one small lemon

Coriander leaves

150ml Greek style yoghurt

METHOD

Chop cauliflower into small florets and cook in a fry pan with 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil until a rich coffee colour is evenly achieved.

 Measure all dry ingredients straight into a large bowl.

Add milk and melted butter and mix straight away to avoid lumps. Then add starter, followed by eggs and mix until just combined.

Fold through the cooked cauliflower and curry powder.

Pan fry this batter in small batches on a pre heated non-stick skillet and serve straight away piping hot.

To serve: Place a sprig of coriander in between the fritters and top with Greek style yoghurt. Sprinkle the zest.

Makes 12 fritters

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HOT & SOUR GOAN FISH CURRY

I make this spicy fish curry with monk fish but any firm white fish fillets would work. I can’t claim credit for this curry – I have adapted from Atul Kochhar’s “Simple Indian” cook book.

The curry goes well with plain steamed rice and a refreshing salad with cucumber, radish and carrots.

Hot & Sour Goan Fish Curry

INGREDIENTS

600g monk fish, cut into 5 cm cubes

30g tamarind pulp (read note below)

2 tablespoons sunflower oil

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ROAST TOFU WITH KALE & SPRING ONIONS

I could just about write a recipe book just on 100 ways with tofu as I am confident I can convert any tofu hater to a tofu convert!!

In some of my previous blogs, I wrote about my desire to render the same cooking method to vegetarian / vegan dishes as conventionally reserved for meat based dishes. This dish evolved as I was making a chicken version for the family and this vegetarian option for myself. My son actually preferred this tofu version so here is the recipe.

Roast tofu with kale and spring onions

If you don’t have firm tofu, press tofu amidst several layers of paper towel for 15-20 minutes. You do have to marinate the tofu for six hours and the roasting takes 45 minutes so it’s not exactly something you can whip up on short notice. Serve with steamed rice and a salad.

INGREDIENTS

300g firm tofu

100g kale, finely chopped

3 spring onions, chopped 1 cm pieces

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SPICED RHUBARB WITH SAGO CUSTARD

Rhubarb is a perennial vegetable but it is cooked like a fruit! When you think of rhubarb and associate with a pie, you are not wrong because the red stalks (part used) are generally paired with sugar, butter and flour!

Rhubarb, with its attractive pinkish red hue is a heavy weight in terms of nutrition value. It is high in fibre, Vitamin K and also has more antioxidant punch than kale! Some people therefore consider rhubarb as super food. I personally wouldn’t say that because it only becomes palatable if you add sugar to it so I would go as far as saying that it is a healthyish dessert choice!

Spiced rhubarb with sago custard

This is a lovely dessert and it is vegan! I guess you could also try sub rice for sago.

INGREDIENTS

For the custard:

400ml tin of coconut milk

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CREAMY LEEK & FENNEL SOUP

I have mentioned in some of my previous posts that I like to incorporate some protein element to my dishes to keep them nutritionally balanced. The logic is that if this is the only thing you are going to eat for that meal, you will feel satisfied and fuller for longer because of the fibre, protein and low glycaemic index of vegetables. Fennel is a versatile vegetable and you should try if you haven’t tried it before. You can roast it with beetroot for a roast salad or finely slice for a crisp coleslaw or is great in soup. Fennel also goes well with tomato and any white beans – you can make a soup out of tomato, fennel and cannellini beans.

Creamy leek and fennel soup

My recipe uses your pantry staple lentils, leek and fennel. The trick to washing leeks well is to cut them in half longitudinal and wash the layers with running water. Fennel the vegetable is mild but it lets you know that it has been used. It is not in your face flavour but in the same token it is creamy when cooked and does take on more flavours. Do give this soup a try because every time I make it, the bowls are licked clean and it is a no fuss recipe with few ingredients!

INGREDIENTS

1 leek, sliced thinly into half moons

1 large fennel or 2 medium sized (about 750g), chopped

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