glazed turnip

Surprise! Surprise!

I think we are all just a bit bored with garnishing plates the same old way so why not try something completely different to keep your guests guessing!

Peel and cut a raw turnip into tiny, same size pieces and cook them in 75ml of Campari over a very low heat until the Campari reduces completely and the turnip is cooked. This process takes roughly 15-20 minutes and at the end of which the saucepan bottom will be sticky and the turnip will be shiny with glaze. Watch the Campari does not reduce too quickly, add a dash more if necessary.

Young, small turnips have a slightly sweet taste while the Campari has an astringent, bittersweet flavour. One brings out the best in the other. Choose a dish that would benefit from the introduction of this garnish, perhaps pork belly, and enjoy this new sensation.

Pea & Mint Risotto

I served this risotto with butterflied shoulder of lamb and pan-fried cherry tomatoes. The pea and mint complimented the lamb under a new guise and the red tomatoes contrasted beautifully beside the green rice. My over exaggerated piece of garnish was purely artistic licence.

Risotto comes from the Veneto region of Italy. Arborio (long grain) is the most common risotto rice as the period in which it remains al dente (offering resistance when bitten into and not soft or overcooked) is longer than other varieties. Carnaroli, a rarer and more expensive rice but more difficult to work with, is delicious once mastered. Vialone Nano, used for more soupy risottos –is rounder and each grain can absorb twice its weight in liquid. I use Arborio, as it is readily available and easy to use.

Ingredients:

1 large red onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

100g unsalted butter

300g Arborio rice

75ml dry white wine

900ml vegetable or chicken stock

500g packet frozen peas

1 handful fresh mint, leaves only

1 handful fresh thyme. leaves only

10g sea salt

pinch white pepper

handful basil, torn into small pieces

2 tablespoons parmesan, grated

Method:

Place the frozen peas in a sieve and pour boiling water through them, drain well then whiz the peas and mint in a food processor for a minute - to a very rough purée. Set aside.

Put the stock in a saucepan and gently heat to simmering point. Melt half the butter in a heavy-based pan and fry the onion until soft. Add the garlic and thyme and stir until the rice becomes translucent. Add the wine and stir until absorbed. Add the stock, ladle-by-ladle, stirring all the time and allowing each ladle to be totally absorbed before adding the next. The process should take about 20 minutes to get to the al dente stage. Stir in the pea and mint mixture, the torn basil, the parmesan and season with salt and pepper.

marinated aubergine/eggplant

I first tried the following recipe for marinated aubergine at the home of our good friends, Jack and Julie, who live on the Gold Coast. They both love to cook and whenever we get together there is always a bit of kitchen combat to see who can come up with something new. They got me on this one! Not only a memorable dish but also a memorable stay and one we hope to repeat soon. Since then I have come across variations of this recipe but have decided they get the trophy. Thanks J&J for introducing me to something unforgettable. I’ll get you next time round!

Ingredients:

750g slender aubergine

Salt to cover to extract juices

Oil for frying

80ml extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 garlic cloves, crushed with a little salt

1 anchovy fillet

2 tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped

Method:

Slice the aubergine into diagonal pieces, salt and leave for 30 minutes in a colander. Rinse with cold water and pat the pieces dry on paper towels.

Heat the oil and brown the slices on a char-grill plate or in a frying pan in a little olive oil then drain on kitchen paper.

Mix (80ml) olive oil, balsamic, anchovy and garlic in a blender or small food processor or simply place in a bowl and mix together with a fork making sure the anchovy is well smashed.

Transfer the cooked aubergine to a serving dish and toss to cover each piece with the dressing. Cover and leave for half a day in the fridge or better still, overnight. Sprinkle with chopped parsley just before serving.

This is a great antipasto (Italian hors d’oeuvre) dish, one of several for antipasti.

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Crush & Dice

It’s a funny thing but many people do not know how to crush garlic without using a garlic press and even fewer know the correct technique to chop/dice onions.

For the uninitiated here goes:

Crushing Garlic:

Place a garlic clove on a chopping board. Use a large chef’s knife (flat side) to smash the garlic clove a couple of times making the removal of skin very easy or simply peel the clove in your usual way. Place a small amount of salt beside the garlic clove and using the blunt side of a table knife gradually scrape the clove with the salt, a little at a time, until it becomes a paste. The salt acts as an abrasion, absorbs the oil released in the process and helps to preserve flavour. Once crushed the garlic begins to change colour and become very strong and acrid.

Onions:

Peel an onion and trim the root end but do not cut if off – it needs to stay in place to hold the onion together during the chopping process. Cut the onion in half from the stem end to the root and place one half, cut side down, on a chopping board. Using your fingers on one hand firmly hold and press down on the onion. With your other hand make horizontal incisions across the whole width of the onion, evenly spaced apart, but stop just before the root end after each incision. Take the knife and cut the onion at right angles to the root and across the onion in two places, one just above the other. Now slice the onion parallel to the root to produce a perfect dice. Repeat with the other onion half.

happy Valentine's Day!

Black Currant Grapes

Sweet, succulent, black currant grapes are back in season, briefly. They are the sweetest, most succulent, jewel-like grapes of all. They look particularly good served on small, wooden Swedish boards normally used for herrings and other Scandinavian things. One grape bunch fits perfectly on each board with room for cheese and biscuits. A simple and elegant individual cheese platter allowing the black currant grapes centre stage.

Getting perspective was difficult when I photographed the filled boards so you need to know the boards are 16cm x 9cms and the grapes are complete bunches not bits cut off a large bunch. I served them with goat’s cheese but there is nothing to stop you adding another variety or two of cheese!

Caponata

Caponata from Sicily.... but in this case it's caponata from France, from my friend Claudia. If I was blindfolded, turned round in a circle a few times, taken somewhere unknown, sat down, given a knife and fork, told to eat, I would know I was eating food made by Claudie. There is only one other cook I can say that about and that is someone else I call, Mrs. O. Claudie is a super- duper cook and this is her delicious recipe for one of Italy’s finest dishes.

Ingredients:

4 medium aubergines (eggplant)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, sliced

5 large tomatoes, peeled, chopped

1-tablespoon capers

50gm green olives, pitted, sliced

3 celery sticks cut into 3cm pieces

4-tablespoons wine vinegar

1-tablespoon sugar

Salt and cracked black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped

Method:

Sprinkle some salt on the aubergines to allow the juices to run and leave for half an hour in a strainer. Rinse the aubergines and dry on paper towels or a clean cloth then fry in hot oil until brown and tender. Drain on kitchen paper. Fry the onion in the same pan with a little extra oil until it is golden. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper and simmer gently for 15 minutes.

Blanch the capers, olives and celery for 1 minute, drain and add to the tomato sauce with the vinegar and sugar. Simmer for a further 15 minutes until the sauce has reduced a little and stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat; add the cooled aubergines and leave to stand for at least 30 minutes. Garnish with chopped parsley just before serving.

Caponata from Sicily.... but in this case it's caponata from France, from my friend Claudia. If I was blindfolded, turned round in a circle a few times, taken somewhere unknown, sat down, given a knife and fork, told to eat, I would know I was eating food made by Claudie. There is only one other cook I can say that about and that is someone else I call, Mrs. O. Claudie is a super- duper cook and this is her delicious recipe for one of Italy’s finest dishes.

Click this link for a printer friendly version of this recipe:

https://sites.google.com/site/foodvineprintablerecipes/home/capanata