pomegranate honey

Thanks go to both the food writer Charlotte Wood and Lucy Dodd's food blog Nourish Me for the superb idea of mixing pomegranate seeds and a little shaved skin of the whole fruit into a jar of honey. What could be easier, tastier and better for you and it's a cure for a sore throat as well!

There's nothing to this other than I've stated above. Use a lemon zester if you have one or otherwise use a very sharp knife to finely slice up a little of the skin avoiding the white pith. Wear gloves and an apron when cutting the fruit (pomegranate stains are almost indelible). Cut a whole pomegranate in half and either bang out the seeds or squeeze them out by hand making sure there is no white membrane attached to them. Drain away any juice and reserve on the side to drink later.

Pour a jar of honey into an airtight container, add the drained seeds and the peel and close tightly. Leave in the pantry for a couple of weeks for the flavours to marry. The colour and texture will change to a pinkish hue and will have a thiner consistency. Place in the fridge and simply top up with more honey, seeds and peel as the level goes down with use.

Divine served drizzled over ice cream, yoghurt or on salads or anything that compliments a sparkling sweet-tart flavour.

Pomegranates are loaded with potassium and vitamin C. The seeds are translucent, luscious,  brilliant-red and jewel like. This would be a perfect accompaniment to a Christmas feast and I should have posted this recipe for Christmas this year but like everyone, time got away from me.

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!

garlic purée with parsley sauce

Persillade is the classic French flavouring of finely chopped garlic and parsley added to the pot moments before cooking is complete. A dish finished this way is often described or referred to  as persillé.


Persillade is also used as a stand alone garnish, liberally scattered over vegetables or meat or a handful thrown into a salad just before serving. However, the mixture dominates and other more subtle flavours get lost in the mix.

Italians add grated lemon or orange rind to the chopped parsley and garlic - and call it Gremolata (greh-moh-LAH-tah). The classic Italian dish Osso Bucco or slowed good lamb shanks are good examples of its use as a garnish where it works superbly in both cases.

So, back to French cooking and a variation on a famous theme. What could be more 'French' than puréed garlic floating in a parsley coulis especially if one has a supply of freshly sautéed frogs legs...ready for the dipping.

But, not many of us happen to have frogs legs standing by so perhaps tiny baby lamb cutlets 'Frenched' and cooked 'pink' would be just as delicious and just as complimentary. Whatever your choice this is an eye catching dish. Vibrant green coulis, almost pure white islands - so fresh and pleasing to the eye.

To make the garlic purée:

1 head of garlic per person, separated into cloves
half cup cream for every 4 heads of garlic
Salt and white pepper to season

Method:

Place the unskinned cloves in rapidly boiling, salted water for two minutes. Drain. Cool and skin - the skins should fall off easily OR peel the garlic first then continue with the method as follows:

Boil the garlic in six changes of fresh water for ten minutes each time or until it is soft enough to purée.

Slowly combine the purée with enough cream so you have a fairly stiff mixture that holds together well. Season with salt and white pepper and set aside in a warm place.

Parsley Coulis:

2 whole bunches of continental/Italian parsley
water to thin
dash of olive oil

Method:

Wash the parsley thoroughly. Remove all the stems. Boil all the parsley in slightly salted water for about 5 minutes. Drain and refresh in cold water. Purée the parsley in a blender to a coulis consistency by adding a tiny amount of oil and water to help 'lengthen' the sauce. Season and set aside.

To serve:  


Gently warm the parsley coulis and pour it into a serving dish. Float a quenelle of garlic purée on top and serve the meat of your choice on the side.

Frogs legs can be sautéed  for a few minutes on each side in hot oil and butter while baby lamb cutlets are lovely grilled or sautéed to your liking.


NOTE: I came across this unusual way of serving garlic and parsley on a tv show last year. The show was about a famous French chef of yesteryear, this was one of his signature dishes.  No recipe was given in the show so I came up with my own (above).

Researching the dish on the web at a later date I discovered a very recent recipe so perhaps it's not such an 'old' recipe after all. The recipe I found was similar to how I made it though I added oil to the coulis and I used cream with the garlic, not milk. The whole thing is very simple when you stop and think about it!

hearts in the South West

Magret (duck breasts) and coeurs de canard (duck hearts) barbequed - what could be better? No marinating, no fuss, just a sprinkling of salt on the breasts and a few fresh bay leaves between the hearts and away you go. Traditionally we serve these cuts with peas, into which we put many slithers of garlic and plenty of ground allspice. Alongside them a glistening plate of peeled potatoes sliced on a mandolin, brushed with melted butter and baked at 180C for one hour. The potatoes benefit from a sprinkling of finely minced garlic and parsley just before serving and most important of all is the orange flavoured sauce, a necessary and delicious accompaniment to anything 'duck'.

I prefer my sauce in this case to have a thin consistency so I simmer it for only about twenty to thirty minutes. Cook it for longer if you prefer it thick.

Ingredients for the sauce:

1 large brown onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons grape seed oil

100ml raspberry vinegar

1x370gm Gelée Bonne Maman Cassis jam

1 orange, juice only

100ml port

Method:

Gently cook the onion in the oil under it has softened and becomes opaque. Add the raspberry vinegar and cook until the liquid reduces to almost nothing. Add the jam, the orange juice and the port. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the mixture is thick and reduced to half its original volume. Set aside to cool. Pass the sauce through a fine sieve then transfer it to a small serving bowl and keep warm. The sauce will keep refrigerated for one week.

To cook the meat: Score the thick fat on each breast and rub in a little salt. Thread the duck hearts and fresh bay leaves onto long skewers and rub each one with a little oil.

Both the breasts and hearts are delicious served rare. Set your fire early and burn the charcoal down to the glowing red ember stage. Place the breasts fat side down and slowly cook melting the thick fat during the process but be prepared for flare-ups. We have a barbeque plate especially designed for cooking magret, it is fluted so the fat runs into a central point with an external lip designed to collect the drips in a separate container. Once the fat is reduced, turn each breast over and cook for another four or so minutes. Remove the breasts from the heat, cover to keep warm and rest for five to ten minutes. The duck hearts take about five minutes to cook on each side and must rest before serving.

An alternative way to cook the duck breasts if you are concerned about hot dripping fat is to cook them in a dry frying pan on the cooker until all the fat has melted then finish them off on the BBQ for a few minutes on each side to get that nice BBQ flavour.

clink link for printer friendly page:
https://sites.google.com/site/foodvineprintablerecipes/home/hearts-in-the-south-west

Confiture de Pasteque

Pasteque (watermelon in French) comes in three varieties: red seedless, red seeded and white winter melon. All three are suitable to make this sticky confiture to accompany duck and foie gras but the seeded variety should be avoided due to the labour involved in removing the seeds.

To every kilo of chopped watermelon flesh add 600g sugar, the zest of one orange and one lemon and a vanilla pod or two. Bring to the boil and slowly simmer until the liquid is reduced by two thirds, about an hour. Place a teaspoonful of jam on a saucer and place it in the refrigerator for a few minutes. If it sets quickly but is still pliable the jam is ready. Remove from the heat, cool and store in a sterilised jar. Use as a side dish for magret (duck breast) and foie gras or spread on toast for breakfast!

Pomegranate Molasses & Yoghurt Sauce

The jewels of the fruit world are back in season here in Oz gracing our tables with their beauty. Pomegranates are rich in potassium and contain a fair amount of vitamin C. The juice is now available in supermarkets all year round unlike, luckily, the fresh fruit otherwise we might become blasé. I really like using Pomegranate Molasses – available, all year, from Middle Eastern shops – it is a thick syrupy juice reduction that has a rich, tart flavour with a slightly sweet edge. It makes a good marinade for grilled meats but I love to use it with fresh yoghurt as a sauce to accompany lamb – like seared back strap or fillet.

To serve four people: pour 175ml thick, rich, creamy natural yoghurt into a small serving bowl and pour in 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses. Gently swirl the molasses through the yoghurt to create a marble effect, scatter a few fresh pomegranate seeds over the top (if available) and serve on the side with lamb or grilled meat.

Onion Marmalade

Serve this with char-grilled meat especially sausages and any hard cheese. With a refrigerator life of 3-4 months, this jam ages beautifully and is on hand for an impromptu barbecue.

1 kg red onions, finely sliced
100ml balsamic vinegar
2 bay leaves
Dash of olive oil to sweat onions
230g soft brown sugar
½-bunch thyme leaves, no storks
Salt and pepper to taste

Sweat onions in a little oil on a medium heat until they caramelise – about 30 minutes. Add sugar, vinegar, and simmer approximately 1 hour until the mixture is a jam like consistency. Remove from the heat and cool. Add thyme, salt and pepper and refrigerate.
I slightly alter the recipe each time I made this, just to ring the changes - where I got the original recipe from I have long forgotten, there are many versions of this popular dish.

Beetroot Marmalade

This Beetroot Marmalade goes really well with duck and quail (see boning) the raspberry vinegar content being the vital link in the flavour trail. If you live in Oz, it is worth noting quail breasts come pre-packaged from good supermarkets and gourmet butchers. Known as Quail Medallions, from Game Farm, they are expensive but worth the $20.00 per pack for special occasions. One pack serves four. Sear quail breasts, skin side down first, for a minute or two on both sides – they must be rare. Duck breast, magret, is a superior cut and delicious barbecued rare. Considered economical due to high yield with no waste whatsoever they are a good choice. Serve marmalade on the side of either duck or quail and it goes well with soft cheese too.

200g fresh beetroot, finely diced
60ml raspberry vinegar
150ml honey
1 apple, finely diced
1 orange, juice only

Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan and cook gently on a low heat to a jam-like consistency. The marmalade takes a good hour to cook and may need a little water now and then to avoid evaporation so check regularly. The beetroot should have some crunch at the end of the cooking time. Serve hot or cold.

Purple Pesto

perfect for pasta!

Nothing new about making pesto with green basil but it can be a little overpowering. Try using purple basil instead, sometimes known as black or opal basil. Purple basil is milder, slightly sweeter and surprisingly the finished sauce has a greenish hue!

Do not worry too much about measuring the ingredients and make pesto in a blender, it is quick and gives a good result.

Place in the blender:

½ bunch purple basil, leaves only; washed and dried
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
½-teaspoon sea salt
30g (1 packet) pine nuts
60g parmesan, grated
Extra-virgin olive oil to emulsify

Method:

Pour in a few good ‘slugs’ of oil, pulse the blender, add more oil and continue until you have a reasonably thick but well emulsified sauce.

Pour the sauce over freshly cooked pasta, garnish with basil leaves and grated parmesan.