Mini Sourdough Boules

Mini sourdough boules baked in a cupcake pan are awesome! 

They are very similar to what yiuy might get in a more 'fine dining' restaurant.

Dough

100 g active sourdough starter

325 g water

500 g bread flour

10 g salt

Make as normal and let it bulk ferment as normal.

After bulk, divide the dough into small portions, about 70–75 g each, and shaped them into tight little rounds.

Placed each one into a lightly greased cupcake pan, seam-side down.

Scored the tops and gave them a good spray of water.

Bake

Oven at 450°F (230°C)

Covered the pan with another cupcake tin for 15 minutes

Uncovered and baked 10 more minutes until beautifully golden

The result?

Crispy crust on every side, super soft crumb, and perfectly portioned mini loaves. Absolute win.

Harvest Tomato Sauce

This recipe is a summer must make with all the tomatoes we have growing. We have been eating a lot of tomatoes recently.

This recipe is super easy...it needs at least the 2 hours baking time.

I add whatever extra veges I have and make a huge bulk lot - then preserve in jars for a quick meal starter.


I served it with spaghetti but any kid of pasta would work. I also served it with prawns quickly fried in oil and garlic.


It's an Annabel Langbein recipe 



Ingredients

• 1.5kg tomatoes, cored and cut into wedges

• 2 red capsicums, deseeded and cut into eighths

• 1 large onion, cut into thin wedges

• 4 cloves garlic, peeled (or add whole un-pealed head of garlic and squeeze out at the end)

• 1 tsp chopped rosemary leaves

• 1 small chilli, seeded and chopped (optional)

• ¼ cup tomato paste

• 2 tbsp sugar

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tsp salt 

• ground black pepper

Method


Preheat oven to 160°C. Prepare the tomatoes, capsicums and onion and place them in a large roasting dish lined with baking paper. They need to be in a single layer so they roast and caramelise rather than stew, so use two roasting dishes if necessary.

Add the garlic, rosemary leaves and chilli, if using. In a small bowl mix together the tomato paste, sugar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Spoon this mixture over the vegetables and stir through them to coat evenly.

Bake for about 2 hours or until the vegetables are starting to caramelise and shrivel a little.

Allow the vegetables to cool then purée in a food processor or blender. The sauce will keep in the fridge for up to a week or can be frozen. Alternatively, bring the puréed sauce to a boil and while it is very hot, pour it into sterilised jars and seal immediately. Sealed jars will keep for months in the pantry.

Chicken with Grapes

 

So simple and can be partially made ahead.

I overdid the liquid because I was increasing the chicken...would leave liquid the same for double chicken.

Grapes Roast Chicken

Serves 4

2-4 tbsp olive oil 4 chicken thigh portions, bone in, skin on 1 large onion, sliced finely 500g red California grown grapes, broken into smaller bunches 1/3 cup stock ¼ cup red wine vinegar Small handful of fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried Salt and black pepper to season

Preheat the oven to 200°C fan bake or roast function.

In a large oven proof pan, drizzle in some of the oil and cook the chicken thighs, skin side down, until golden.

Turn them skin side up, add the sliced onion and grapes around the chicken, squeezing some of the grapes to release their juices and leaving others whole.

Pour over the stock and vinegar, scatter over the sprigs of thyme, season with salt and pepper and drizzle over remaining olive oil.

Roast for 45-50 minutes or so, until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is golden brown. Serve immediately.

Roast Leg of Lamb - Jamie Oliver

A bit of a cheat post...a link to a video.
I don’t eat red meat so cooking a leg of lamb for a family dinner was not as simple as perhaps it should be.
I watched this very old video from Jamie Oliver and gave it a go. Easy and was well received.
I used lots of rosemary instead of sage.

I made a pulpy paste of lots of garlic, rosemary, lemon zest, salt and olive oil to stuff into the slits in the lamb. Bake at about 200-220 degrees c. Place on rack with veges under to catch the fat that drips off.
It takes about an hour for 2kg leg of lamb.
Jamie says 13 minutes per pound + 20, then rest for 20. I’ve found it to be a bit less.

Using a digital thermometer we took it to 55 degrees c, rested it and it went to  about 62 which made most of the meat well done.
Next time we will take it out at 50-52, rest and it should go to 55 degrees or slightly over which should be medium - medium rare.

https://youtu.be/4-CeoHHDYw8

Pot Roasted Coconut Chicken

This was a bit of an interesting meal.
The family all liked it...I have to wonder if that was due to the sugar in the sauce?
To me the potatoes were a bit odd in it, but from an ease of making a meal perspective it becomes a make again. the chicken was really tender.
I served it with beans and I wonder if they could have gone into the sauce to cook to save another cooking dish?

I reduced the sauce on heat while the chicken rested to make it a bit thicker. I use a stick concentrate, so might add less water next time to thicken it.

Ingredients

• 2 long red chilies (around 1 tbsp of very finely minced chilli.)
• 1 tsp freshly grated ginger 
• 2 garlic cloves , crushed
• 1 tbsp coconut oil (or substitute with olive oil)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Black pepper
• 1 cup finely chopped cilantro/coriander leaves
• 1.6kg whole chicken
• 2 cups / 500 ml chicken broth/stock 
• 1 lemongrass , white part only, bruised
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• 400ml light coconut milk (1 can)
• 400g baby potatoes , scrubbed clean
• 1 lime
• 2 tsp coconut sugar (or substitute with brown sugar)
• 1 tbsp fish sauce

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 390F/200C.

• Finely mince ONE red chilli (~1 tbsp). Combine chilli, ginger, garlic, oil, 1/2 cup cilantro/coriander, salt and pepper in a small bowl and set aside.

• Rinse and pat the chicken dry (inside and out) with paper towels. Starting from the neck end of the chicken, use a teaspoon upside down to loosen the skin from the meat across the surface of the chicken (i.e. not the legs or wings). Just go as far as you can.

• Spoon the cilantro/mixture between the meat and the skin near neck. Use the spoon to spread it a bit, then to finish it off, use your finger/hands ON the skin to spread the mixture as far and evenly as you can. Doesn't need to be perfect! 

• Place the chicken stock/broth, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass and the whole red chilli into a dutch oven or baking tray.

• Place the chicken in the broth, cover with a lid and roast for 45 minutes. Remove the lid, add the coconut milk and potatoes then roast for a further 30 minutes, or until juices run clear when pierced.

• Remove the chicken from the broth and cover loosely with foil to rest for 5 minutes.

• Skim excess fat off the surface of the broth

• Add the juice from the lime, sugar and fish sauce. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add remaining cilantro/coriander.

• Serve the chicken with the broth in a pouring jug, or cut up the chicken and serve it in the broth.

Flaky Pastry Pesto Chicken

Easy, easy, easy! and quick to prepare.

I came across this on Pintrest and decided to give it a try.
I used frozen homemade pesto - much nicer than bought pesto.








I used 2 chicken breasts and after flattening them, cut them into 3 pieces. This made 3 good sized servings.
I think it needed a bit more seasoning than I added.

Ingredients

320g	sheet of all-butter puff pastry (cold)
4 x 120g	skinless chicken breasts
4 heaped tsp	green pesto
400g	ripe cherry tomatoes, on the vine
400g	green beans

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/gas 7. Unroll the pastry, cut it in half lengthways, then cut each half widthways into 8 equal strips. Flatten the chicken breasts by pounding with your fist until the fat ends as the same thickness as the skinny ends. Place them in a roasting tray, season with sea salt and black pepper, spread over the pesto, then lay 4 overlapping strips of pastry over each breast, tucking them under at the edges. Brush with a little olive oil. Lightly dress the tomato vines in olive oil, season and put into a second tray. Place the chicken tray on the top shelf of the oven with the tomatoes below, and cook for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the chicken is cooked through.

Meanwhile, line up the beans, trim off just the stalk ends, then cook in a pan of boiling salted water for 7 minutes, or until tender. Remove the chicken to a board with half the tomatoes, squashing the rest in a tray and discarding the vines. Drain and toss the beans, taste and season to perfection. Slice the chicken at an angle and serve on top of the beans, with the whole tomatoes.

Sweet cherry tomato and sausage bake

Once again, this is a recipe to use up the tomatoes growing in my summer garden. Its from Jamie Oliver and has the benefit of being able to prepare ahead and being a 'one tray bake' meal.

I added a few extra herbs and vegetables that I had in the garden...basis, fresh oregano, thyme, rosemary, bay and peppers/capscium and leeks.


I served it with baked potato - they cooked in oven at the same time and sweetcorn - the last of the season.
If you are cooking baked potatoes, put them in the oven at the same time as the tray first goes in.

Ingredients

• 2 kg lovely ripe cherry tomatoes , mixed colours if you can find them
• 2-3 Capscium chopped 
• 2-3 spring onion chopped
• 2 red onion chopped 

• 2 sprigs fresh thyme

• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary

• 2 sprigs fresh bay

• 1 tablespoon dried oregano

• 3 cloves garlic , peeled and chopped

• 12 higher-welfare Cumberland or coarse Italian pork sausages (I used some chicken and some beef)

• extra virgin olive oil

• balsamic vinegar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C
2. Get yourself an appropriately sized roasting tray, large enough to take the tomatoes in one snug-fitting layer. Put in all your tomatoes, capscium, onion and spring onion, the herb sprigs, oregano, garlic. Drizzle well with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Toss together. Bake for about an hour.
3. Add the sausages are on top and pop the tray into the oven for half an hour. After this time, give it a shake and turn the sausages over. Put back into the oven for 15 to 30 minutes, depending on how golden and sticky you like your sausages.
4. Once it’s cooked, you’ll have an intense, tomatoey sauce. If it’s a little too thin, lift out the sausages and place the tray on the hob to cook it down to the consistency you like – I tend to make mine quick thick – then put the sausages back in.
5. Check the seasoning and serve either with a good-quality loaf of bread warmed through in a low oven for 10 minutes (great for mopping up the sauce!) or with mashed potato, rice or polenta, a green salad and a nice glass of wine.

Harissa chicken, butternut and tomato bake

An easy recipe which can be prepared in advance. 

While this recipe contains a recipe for harissa, I used a Sabato ready made jar which is really nice.

Harissa chicken, butternut and tomato bake

3 Tbsp	Harissa paste
2 Tbsp	Olive oil
1	Lemon, juice of
800 g	Butternut, or pumpkin, cut into 2-3cm chunks
8	Chicken drumsticks
2	Red onions, medium, cut into 2cm wedges
1 punnet	Cherry tomatoes
1 sprinkle	Coriander, chopped

Coriander and mint yoghurt

¾ cup	Plain unsweetened yoghurt
¼ cup	Mint leaves
¼ cup	Coriander, chopped
1	Lemon, juice of
1 Tbsp	Harissa paste

Harissa paste

2	Red chillies, large, chopped
3	Garlic cloves, chopped
2 tsp	Coriander seeds, crushed
2½ tsp	Cumin seeds, crushed
4 Tbsp	Olive oil
1 tsp	Brown sugar
4 Tbsp	Tomato paste
1 tsp	Salt
½	Lemon, juice of

Directions

1. Heat oven to 200C. Mix harissa paste, olive oil and lemon juice together. In a large roasting tray, toss butternut, chicken and onions together with the harissa mixture. If you have time, leave to marinate for 1 hour or more in the fridge
2. Season with salt and pepper, and roast for 35-45 minutes or until chicken and butternut/pumpkin are cooked through. Halfway through cooking time, add whole cherry tomatoes and gently toss through.
3. To make the harissa paste, place garlic, chillies, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, olive oil, tomato paste, brown sugar, lemon juice and salt in a small food processor and blend all ingredients together until well combined. Alternatively grind all ingredients together in a mortar and pestle.
4. Mix yoghurt, mint, coriander, harissa paste and lemon juice together.
5. To serve, dollop over mint and coriander yoghurt just before serving, and garnish with coriander. Serve with a rocket salad on the side.

Turkey and Prawn Dumplings

We love dumplings. We prefer them fried and steamed - in a frying pan with oil and water, cooked until the water evaporates and the remaining oil fries them.

We make a huge batch of them up and freeze them. Its a quick meal when we are in a rush. The making of the dipping sauces has become a bit of a competition. We love shopping trips to the huge asian supermarket near our home. It's always a bit of a challenge to identify ingredients and to find what we need.

The recipe for the dumpling filling is not an exact science. I add and delete part of it, usually increasing the chilli, ginger and garlic.

We found a dumpling press recently which has made the assembly process so much faster. 


The picture is of the fried version, the dumplings cooked in oil and water were browed on one side and steamed on the other.

TURKEY AND PRAWN DUMPLINGS

INGREDIENTS

• 500 gms of turkey mince 
• 500 gms minced prawns
• 1 cup shredded green cabbage
• 3 ounces shiitake mushrooms, diced (finely chopped button mushrooms)
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 green onions (spring), thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 -2 chillies finely chopped (or 1 teaspoon Sriracha / hot chilli sauce)
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 36 2-inch won ton wrappers
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Soy sauce, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

• In a large bowl, combine all filling ingredients.
• To assemble the dumplings, place wrappers on a work surface. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the pork mixture into the center of each wrapper. Using your finger, rub the edges of the wrappers with water. Fold the dough over the filling to create a half-moon shape, pinching the edges to seal.
• Heat vegetable oil and water in a large skillet over medium heat. Add potstickers in a single layer and cook until golden and crisp, about 2-3 minutes per side.
• Serve immediately.

If cooking from frozen add half cup of water and a tablespoon of oil in a pan. Cook frozen dumplings in pan covered until the water has gone and the dumplings are browned on one side. This will take about 15 minutes.