Tuesday's Calamari Pasta (prepared by Robin Murray)

It has been a while since I have blogged and fortunately I have three good excuses: the festive season, my parents visited from South Africa and I got married! While my parents were visiting, my Dad cooked his speciality dish – Calamari Pasta. It is really easy to make with simple ingredients that combine into a delicious and comforting dish.

Ingredients

500g calamari (you can add 250g Marinara mix if you wish - not frozen, from the fish deli counter)

1 tin of whole tomatoes

2 Tbs olive oil

1 Tbs garlic or 2-3 fresh garlic cloves crushes

1 peeled onion

Salt

Pepper

500g Tagliatellu

 

Method

Fry onion and garlic in the oil.until onion goes opaque. Add the calamari and sea food and cook until calamari turns opaque.

Add the tins of tomatoes add plenty of salt and ground pepper and simmer for about 20- 25 minutes in a closed pan.
Remove lid and reduce liquid till it is fairly thick .
Cook the pasta until it is al dente Serve in a warm bowl and spoon the calamari sauce over it.
Serve with a green salad and your favourites wine.

(Note: I call my Dad Tuesday - hence the name "Tuesday's Calamari Pasta"!)

 

Baked New Zealand Salmon with Herb Crust (made with Rangihoua Estate's Herb Spread)

Our visiting family from South Africa and Singapore turned into a festival of food!

During a trip to Waiheke Island we went to the beautiful Rangihoua Estate for some olive oil tasting. We also sampled some of their herb spread and promptly bought a jar to take home. Later that week, we used the herb spread on fresh New Zealand salmon and what a treat it was!

Ingredients
4 salmon fillets (approx 250g each) preferably with skin on

1 cup of breadcrumbs

3/4 jar of Rangihoua Estate's herb spread 

Lemon wedges to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees

Mix the breadcrumbs and the herb spread together

Lay the salmon skin down on a lightly greased baking tray

Spread the breadcrumb mixture over the salmon

Place in the oven for 10 - 15 minutes (until cooked through)

Thank you to my cooking partner, Bonny Ritchie - we had such fun in the kitchen, you are sorely missed!

You can order the herb spread on line from www.rangihoua.co.nz

Asparagus with Egg Mimosa, Butter and Breadcrumbs

I have just had the most glorious two weeks shared with family visiting from South Africa and Singapore. One of the many gifts I received was a cook book by South African journalist, editor and cook Jane-Anne Hobbs titled Scrumptious. It is filled with some beautiful recipes including an exciting version of the very South African bunny chow (keep an eye out for the recipe which I will trial in the coming weeks). 

The first recipe I tried was a variation on what Jane-Anne refers to as a time-tested classic “Asparagus with Egg Mimosa, Butter and Breadcrumbs”.  

Ingredients
3 large free-range eggs
2 slices white bread, a day or two old (I only has fresh white bread so I popped this in the toaster for a minute or so)
48 spears fresh asparagus
250g butter
A big pinch of white pepper (I used black pepper)
1/3 cup fresh parsley - finely chopped 
Salt
Juice of 1 lemon

Method
Hard boil the eggs, peel and set aside.
Crumb the bread in a blender and set aside.
Cut the woody bases off the asparagus spears and steam for 3–5 minutes until tender (but still firm). 
In a frying pan melt the butter, add the breadcrumbs and fry until crunchy.
Put the eggs into a blender and whizz them for a few seconds.
Add the eggs, parsley and salt.
Lay the asparagus spears on a plate and tip the breadcrumb and egg mixture over the top, across the middle. Squeeze over the lemon juice and serve. 

Note this is a variation of Jane-Anne Hobbs’ recipe. The full recipe can be found here: http://www.food24.com/Recipes-and-Menus/Easy-Weekday-Meals/Asparagus-with-egg-mimosa-butter-and-breadcrumbs-20121012

Thank you to Bonny Ritchie and Tammy Holohan for travelling from the other side of the world to spend time with us. Thank you so much to Bonny for giving me the beautiful cook book.

In the picture - Tammy, Bonny, John and our daughter Caitlyn-Jane at Auckland International Airport

Celebrate summer with Annabel’s Pear, Walnut and Haloumi Salad

A perfect way to welcome in summer is with Annabel Langbein’s recipe for Pear, Walnut and Haloumi salad. The unique flavours in this salad come from the lemon-soaked sweet pears and the salty haloumi cheese – luxury on a plate!

Ingredients
4 tablespoons of neutral oil (I used Canola)
1 cup walnuts
2 ripe pears (I used Taylors Gold pears)
Juice of ½ lemon
250g haloumi, thinly sliced
6 handfuls of salad leaves (the recipe calls for watercress but I used standard mesculin)
Salt and ground black pepper to serve

Method

Heat three of the four tablespoons of oil in a pan and fry the walnuts for 2 – 3 minutes until lightly browned. Set aside on some kitchen towel. Keep the oil to dress the salad.  

Core and cut the pears into 6-8 wedges. Place in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the lemon juice and place into the fridge until you are ready to plate up.  

Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan and fry the haloumi slices until they are golden brown on both sides. Set aside on some kitchen towel. Now you are ready to plate up!  

Place salad leaves in a large mixing bowl and toss with the walnut oil. Add the pears and the juice and put onto plates. Then place the haloumi onto each plate and sprinkle with the walnuts. I put the salt and black pepper on the table for people to serve themselves.

New Zealand Green Lipped Mussels in a White Wine and Garlic Sauce

Live Green-Lipped Mussels are available year round in New Zealand supermarkets – they are both delicious and really affordable. A great starter for any occasion is Green-Lipped mussels smothered in a delicious garlic white wine sauce.

Ingredients

12 Green-Lipped Mussels
6 cloves of garlic

475ml white wine
1 small onion
1 tablespoon butter
200ml cream

Salt and black pepper (to season)

Method

Scrub mussels well under running cold water and remove ‘beards’ by pulling firmly towards the mussel’s hinge. If any of the mussels have opened, tap them and if they close, they are alright, if not - discard immediately.

In a large saucepan that can hold the mussels, fry onion and garlic in butter then add the salt and white wine and bring to the boil. Drop in mussels, place the lid on the pot and steam the mussels until they open. Discard any of the mussels that do not open.

Remove the pot from the heat, add the cream, black pepper and serve immediately. This dish needs a spoon and lots of fresh, crusty bread to mop up the sauce.

Oh-so-easy Scallop and Chorizo Fettuccini

This tasty dish is so easy to make as it has very few ingredients; relying on the chorizo, garlic and scallops to give it a distinctive Spanish flavour. This is a variation on a Nigella Lawson recipe which uses even fewer ingredients (just scallops, chorizo, lemon and parsley). You need to eat this dish immediately so get your pasta cooked before you start.

Ingredients

500g scallops
3 spicy chorizo sausages (approx 15cm each)
½ cup white wine
Cayenne pepper (if you want extra heat!)
Garlic
Oil
Sprinkle of salt
½ cup cream

 

 

Method

Heat a little oil over high heat and cook chopped chorizo sausage for 2-minutes. Set aside the sausage and toss in the scallops. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne, and cook and stir about 3 minutes until lightly browned. Set aside.

Add the garlic and the wine to the pan and bring to the boil. Return the chorizo and scallops to the pan and add a little salt and the cream. Remove from heat and serve immediately over the cooked Fettuccini.

Chicken livers peri peri

This gorgeous starter takes me back to hot, humid evenings in Richards Bay, South Africa where we used to eat at this dish at a quaint little portuguese restaurant called Maritinos. For this recipe which smacks of Portugal and Mozambique I used:

1 tsp butter
500g chicken livers (fat trimmed off and cut into 1cm pieces)
1 onion
1 tsp garlic
2 finely chopped red chilli
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
2 tbs tomato paste
1 tin chopped tomatoes
Splash of worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh crusty bread to serve.

Fry onion, chilli and garlic in butter. Add cumin and coriander and cook for a minute or so before adding chicken livers. Once livers are cooked add a splash of worcestershire sauce, tin of tomatoes and tomato paste. Simmer for a good 15 - 20 minutes before adding salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately with fresh bread.

Caitlyn-Jane's 4th Birthday cake

The brief was clear: I want a mermaid cake.

Our baby was thrilled with the outcome despite being all thumbs when it comes to baking!

Winter Indulgence

This meal is not for the faint-hearted. It is rich and luxurious - perfect for a wintery evening.

Baked camembert cheese with honey, walnuts and dried fig
Toast walnuts and cut up dried fig  - set aside. Take a wheel of camembert cheese and bake at 180 degrees for 20 minutes. While still hot, drizzle with runny honey and garnish with the figs and walnuts. Serve immediately with very thin crackers - I used wafer biscuits which made it less heavy (you cannot use the word light!)

Garlic & Herb Roast Lamb with roast potatoes, snap peas and butternut corn rounds.
We used Martha Stewart's recipe for the lamb which can be found at the link below with some variations. Firstly we did not leave it for eight - 24 hours - only for about four. Secondly, we baked it for four hours at 140 degrees. This  resulted in the most tender, soft, fragrant meat.
The snap peas were boiled for 2 minutes and then transferred to a hot pan with balsamic vinegar and mint for another 2 minutes (if that).
Our friends, Roelof and Amelia provided the butternut and corn rounds. Watch this space as Roelof will be cooking Paella next week!
http://www.marthastewart.com/316446/roast-leg-of-lamb-with-garlic-and-herbs



The Most Chocolate Pudding
Caitlyn and I made these chocolate pots earlier on in the day. We doubled up the ingredients on the following recipe.
http://www.countryliving.com/recipefinder/most-chocolate-pudding
We followed the instructions exactly - so we can vouch for this recipe - it works perfectly!
It is very rich and not the ideal choice after all the cheese and lamb but it is still a scrumptious dessert for chocaholics.

Note my beautiful new table linen and place mats were gifts from Tara-Lynn and Caitlyn-Jane

Camellia's Lamb Rogan Josh

 While Caitlyn and I were off at the movies watching Beauty and the Beast, John was cooking up a storm. His version of Camellia Panjabi's Lamb Rogan Josh was just beautiful. Lamb is my favourite curry meat albeit a bit fatty. Boiling the meat before cooking really solved that without compromising the flavour (ginger also helps). 

This is a really fragrant curry as it uses many spices which John purchased from Spice Invasion, Royal Oak. 

Lamb Rogan Josh

From Camellia Panjabi’s “50 Great Curries of India”

Serves Four

700g lamb, diced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

Salt

2 teaspoons chilli powder

1 teaspoon paprika

100ml yoghurt

250g shallots (I used onions)

Oil

4 cloves

2 black cardamoms

4 green cardamoms

2 bay leaves

1 blade of mace

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground fennel seed

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

Boil the lamb (and any bones) with the garlic and some salt in 2 pints of water for 20 minutes. Remove the meat and set aside, reserve the cooking water.

Fry the onions until lightly browned. Add the cloves, cardamom, bay leaves and the mace and fry for one minute. Add the coriander, fennel, ginger, turmeric, chilli powder and paprika with two tablespoons of water and stir continuously for two minutes.

Add the meat, cook for five minutes. Lower the heat, add the yoghurt and cook for another five minutes.

Add salt and the reserved cooking water (topped up with tap water if necessary to make 800ml). Cook until tender, remove the blade of mace and the cardamoms if you can find then - they are unpleasant if you bite into them).

Caitlyn's Smoked Snapper and Potato Fishcakes

Caitlyn gobbled up these light and tasty fish cakes made with smoked snapper and mashed potato. Jamie Oliver is quite right when he says that "homemade fishcakes taste miles better than shop-bought ones". 


You can either use cooked, left over fish or smoked fish which is cooked together with onion, dill, parsley, a little lemon pepper and salt. If you are not using smoked fish, I suggest you season your fish quite well otherwise your fishcakes will be quite balnd.


You need a handful of fish to each medium potato that you boil and mash. Mix the fish with the potato, add an egg and shape into cakes. Coat with flour and fry in a fairly hot pan. Serve with coleslaw and salads (keep them really simple as the fishcakes are quite rich).

The way to a man's heart ...

The Menu

Fresh green asparagus wrapped in Parma Ham

 

Fillet steak with a peppercorn and honey liqueur sauce served with Perla Potatoes coated in rocket, cashew nuts and parmesan and a green salad

Round off with a good red wine and Magnum ice creams ...

This menu requires a mix of homemade and store-bought products and takes less than an hour to put together. It is perfect combination whether you are entertaining or having a romantic night in (and the pepper sauce is especially good).

For the starter, wrap fresh asparagus spears in parma ham and bake for 6 minutes in an oven at 180 degrees.

For the pepper sauce: chop onion and garlic very finely and fry in a little oil. Add two - three heaped teaspoons of green peppercorns in brine, a heaped teaspoon of ground black pepper (or two) and a little salt. Add in a tablespoon of honey liqueur (sherry or port will also be good). Finally add 300ml of fresh cream and simmer for a good 7 - 10 minutes on a very low heat. Keep stirring.

Boil potatoes and add in the ready-made rocket, cashew nut and parmesan (or pesto). Serve with a green salad.

Fry good fillet steak using Ina Paarman's Braai and Grill Seasoning.

Tara-Lynn's Wraps

My fellow foodie, Tara-Lynn (pictured left) prepared one of her favourites for us on Saturday evening: Chicken, Mushroom and Sweet Chilli wraps. I got to drink a glass of red wine while she took over and whipped up a great supper.

Recipe: Bake crumbed chicken breasts at 180 degrees for 12 - 14 minutes. Fry chopped mushrooms, onion, green pepper and garlic in a little oil. Set aside. Mix together 250ml sour cream and 80 - 100ml sweet chilli sauce (taste test to check ratios). Chop up cucumber, tomatoes and lettuce. Heat the wraps in the microwave for 30 seconds, spread with sweet chilli/sour cream mix, spread with some pesto and add the onion/mushroom and chicken. Add the salds mix and then another dollop of the sour cream/sweet chilli mix. Wrap and serve!

Potato, Leek and Kohlrabi Soup

This exquisite soup has become a new favourite made with the freshest ingredients and served with a splash of tabasco sauce to add some zing. Our dear friends Jenny and Erika provided most of the ingredients for this soup straight from their garden including onions, leeks and kohlrabi (german turnip - see photo below).
Method: lightly fry a chopped small onion and three leeks in a large pot until soft in a tablespoon of butter  (remember to wash the leeks throughly as they may be gritty). Add 4 - 5 medium potatoes and 1 large kohlrabi, season with salt and pepper. Add 4 cups of good (real) chicken stock. Cook for 45 minutes before adding half a cup of cream and blending. Once served, add a splash of tobasco sauce and serve with warm ciabatta bread. So unbelievably good!

Gennaro’s Stuffed Porchetta with Annabel’s Beetroot Salad

Another one of John’s feats! This stuffed porchetta recipe has the most gorgeous stuffing of pork mince, chicken livers, sage, parsley, red wine and pine nuts which combined beautifully wrapped inside a shoulder of pork (butterflied, stuffed, rolled and then tied with string). The result was a fragrant, deep, nutty flavour – just delicious.

The tying of the meat was a bit tricky and after trying to decipher various YouTube clips, John resorted to common sense which worked perfectly well.

Thank you to our butcher (Aussie Butcher – Mount Roskill) for the great tip on creating a pocket for the stuffing instead laying it flat on top of the meat.

The recipe can be found at: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pork-recipes/gennaro-s-stuffed-porchetta

Annabel’s roasted beetroot, almond and feta salad

Annabel Langbein's roasted beetroot salad is one of my favourite summer recipes. I used 3 fresh beetroot, peeled and chopped into bite size pieces and sprinkled with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and brown sugar. The beetroot was then baked in a hot over at 180 until soft and starting to wrinkle. Once cool, I added it to a bed of baby spinach and sprinkled with almonds and feta cheese. A creamy garlic dressing goes well with the dish (I leave that on the side as some people are quire particular about dressing).

Thank you to Leon, Cherie, Gianni and the brand new Luanne for enjoying the meal with us.

Lamb Curry

When John and I first met, every Monday we would go for a 'bunny-chow' (curry spooned into a hollowed out loaf of bread). Since living in Auckland, New Zealand, we still eat curry a few times a month from a variety of favourite curry shops including Santhiyas in Mount Roskill and Santoor in Hillsborough. However, a firm favourite is John's curry recipe cooked at home which has evolved into the most phenomenal lamb curry. Please find the Lamb Curry recipe under the Recipes tab.

If you expand the bottom photo - John photographed the spices he uses in the recipe.

Comforting Alfredo inspired by Vanessa

On Tuesday I had a late night phone call with my dear, dear friend Vanessa from South Africa. We share a love of food and spent many hours planning what to eat next. I miss evenings sitting on Vanessa's kitchen counter while she made Alfredo and we would laugh, no guffaw, because we could. A truly inimitable friendship.

Tonight Vanessa, I made an Alfredo (well almost an Alfredo) using a recipe that started in your kitchen and has evolved into my 2012 quick and easy version.
Recipe:

• Fry half an onion and 1 tsp garlic in a non-stick pan (use spray oil)
• Add 6 rashers chopped bacon  and 1 tsp origanum - cook for five minutes
• Add 1.5 - 2 cups chopped button mushrooms
• When the mushrooms are cooked add 250ml light cream and two good splashes of milk.
• Season with a little salt and black pepper
• Cook fettucini and drain
• Add two egg yolks to the sauce and stir vigorously (make sure the yolk does not solidify)
• Add sauce to fettucini and serve immediately
• Sprinkle liberally with freshly grated parmesan cheese and black pepper.

 (Note - the only diet friendly ingredient is the button mushrooms but at least the intention was there with the spray oil and light cream!).

Gordon's Beef Wellington

This may well be John’s pièce de résistance!

Following Gordon Ramsay’s video from his series the F-Word, John made the most amazing Beef Wellington (with some help from Roelof!).

Having watched several seasons of Hell's Kitchen, it has been a Gordon Ramsay recipe we have been wanting to try and we can now see what all the fuss is about. John used our freshly harvested mushrooms and they had a deep mushroomy taste that complemented the parma ham and beef beautifully.

I made roasted new potatoes with sea salt and rosemary, and honey glazed baby carrots as side dishes. It was washed down with copious amounts of red wine.

John, myself, Tara-Lynn, Roelof, Amelia and Charne all got to enjoy the meal and the evening. 

Link to the recipe: http://gordonramsaysrecipes.com/tag/beef-wellington/

Mushroom Farming in a Bucket

While visiting the Clevedon Farmer's market with my good friend Linda,  I bought a mushroom farm ... in a bucket. I drove it home and that was where my involvement came to an abrupt end. For two weeks, John has been looking after our little farm in the garage (hidden in a little corner, under a towel).

Our first harvest has been a great success. We will be using the mushrooms tomorrow night so will let you know if they taste as gorgeous as they look.

Seafood Crepes with Snapper

John and I caught 3 snapper yesterday (John 1 - me 2 - please note) and once filleted, I used one of them in the most delicate seafood crepes. The crepes were made using a low fat recipe (see http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Crepes-Allrecipes_1 (use skim milk and double up on the quantities as it not very much).

For the seafood sauce, I used snapper fillet with the standard marninara mix. It is better if you get the marinara mix from the deli counter as opposed to the frozen version. Start by chopping onion and frying it with garlic, and about two teaspoons of fennel, salt and black pepper. Add all the seafood and cook for 3 - 4 minutes - if you have some white wine - use it!

In a separate pot, make a white sauce with lots of strong cheese such as gruyere or cheddar, a pinch of nutmeg and again some salt and pepper. (For a more luxurious version add some cream and if you are watching the waistline, a skim milk sauce is almost as nice). Add the sauce to the seafood and cook for no more than 2 minutes. If the sauce is not thick enough, rather add cornstarch than try thinning it out by cooking off. The seafood will just end up lifeless and tough.

To put together ... up against the side of a dish lay out your first crepe, sauce it and then wrap - build from left to right. I have still not mastered how to hold them all together when you serve. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and stick under a hot grill for a few minutes.

Again - look at our baby loving her crepe!