Gremolata

This amazing dollop adds a delish zing to loads of things - just try it!
Ingredients
1 cup packed flat leaf parsley (thin stems are fine to leave in)
1-2 garlic cloves
Zest of one small lemon, plus 1-2 teaspoons lemon juice
½ cup olive oil (or less depending on the thickness of the mixture)
⅛ tsp salt and pepper, more to taste
pinch chili flakes or use fresh – optional
Makes 2/3 - 1 cup

Method
Place parsley, garlic and zest in a food processor and pulse until chopped.
Add oil, salt & pepper and lemon juice. Pulse again, until uniformly combined but don't beat the heck out of it.
Add chili flakes for a touch of heat if you like. I definitely like!
Store in a jar in the fridge for up to 1 week. It also freezes well - pop spoonfuls in ice-cube tray and then bag once frozen.

Chook's note:  I always have semi-dried chili in the fridge. They add better colour than dried, and are also softer on the mouth. 
Don't through out all those beautiful herbs when they start taking over the garden turn them into sauces like this. try a mixture of different herbs if you don't have enough parsley. Be creative! 
I've used it on homemade pizzas, on steak, pork chops, and with feta cheese.  It would be wonderful with pasta tossed with EV olive oil and a few anchovies perhaps.

Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls

These look terrific, are fresh and healthy, and are easy to make. Prep time can be lengthy if you are julienning lots of veges, but it's worth it - everybody loves them. 

I hadn’t made these for years so the rolls looked a bit wonky - but they tasted good!

Ingredients

14-16 sheets of 22cm round rice paper

120g dried vermicelli noodles

1-2 Tbsp lemon juice and 1 tsp fish sauce

soft lettuce leaves - Oak or Butter, enough for 1 or 1/2 per roll

bunch large mint leaves, enough for 2-3 per roll

julienned carrot

1 long cucumber, cut in fine strips

snow peas, blanched and cooled

red capsicum cut into thun strips

coriander leaves and stalks

Optional 

asparagus, halved, lightly blanched and cooled

large basil leaves, enough for 1-2 per roll

bean sprouts

strips of avocado

cooked prawns peeled

Vietnamese Peanut Dipping Sauce

1 Tbsp peanut butter

2 Tbsp Hoisin Sauce

1 1/2 Tbsp white vinegar or lime juice

1/3 cup milk or water to thin

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 tsp crushed chilli or chilli paste, adjust to taste

Instructions

1. Combine the Peanut Dipping Sauce ingredients. Mix briefly, then microwave for 30 seconds. Mix again until smooth. Set aside to cool. 

Adjust sourness with vinegar or lime juice, and salt to taste.  

2. Place vermicelli noodles in a bowl and cover with hotwater for 8 minutes, drain. Mix through lemon juice and fish sauce then cool.

3. Blanch the asparagus and snow peas. Wash lettuce and remove the core of the leaves - to make it easier to roll up.

4. Fill a large bowl or baking pan with hot water - the sheets soften quicker the hotter the water. You can rotate the sheet if you don't have a large pan, in fact keeping hold of the sheet allows you judge when it's ready to roll. DON'T make it too soft otherwise it will tear.  The rice paper will continue to soften as it absorbs moisture from work surface and vegetables.  

5. Assembling rolls - have everything ready to go!

Place the rice paper on work surface smooth side down - and woork quickly.

Arrange 1-3 mint leaves face side down in the centre so the rolls look pretty from the outside once rolled. If using prawns place these on the centre with mint leaves also. It's all about visibility.

Place vegetables and vermicelli in the centre of the sheet (see note below).

Fold the left and right edges of the rice paper in, then starting from the bottom, roll firmly. The rice paper is sticky so it will seal itself.

6. Place rolls on damp tray as they are completed and cover with damp clean tea towel. Leave covered with damp cloth or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate till ready to serve.

Serve with the peanut dipping sauce.

Chooks notes:

You can roll the veges and noodle in lettuce leaf to keep them all together - makes it easier to handle. 

I have used both rice vermicelli noodles and bean thread noodle (also known as cellophane or glass noodles). I prefer the bean thread noodles.

I keep my work surface damp and place completed rolls on a damp tray and cover with a damp tea towel. 

Best eaten the same day, but I have found any left overs keep OK for a day or so covered with plastic. 

These taste delicious served with commercially prepared Vietnamese dipping sauce with a little lime juice added to tone down the sweetness. Or make your own as follows:

Mix together -

3 Tbsp lime juice

2 Tbsp sugar

½ cup water

2 ½ Tbsp fish sauce (add a bit at a time to taste)

1 small garlic clove, finely minced

1 or 2 Thai chilis, thinly sliced or 1 tsp chili sauce 

Pho's Thai Chicken Salad

I love Pho's recipes and have learnt so much from her - and probably forgotten half of it! Regular guests on Pho's cooking show, Neil Perry and David Thompson, are also brilliant and gentle teachers.

Ingredients

Serves 4 as a light meal

4 limes, juiced OR ½ cup lime freshly squeezed lime juice

2 Tbsp fish sauce

2 - 3 Tbsp caster sugar

1 - 2 bird’s eye chillies, deseeded and finely chopped

1 roast chicken (from local chicken shop or supermarket), meat shredded finely

½ small Chinese cabbage or 10 - 12 leaves, shredded finely

1 scant cup chopped coriander including stalks

1 ½ cup fresh mint leaves finely shredded or chopped

1 medium red onion, finely sliced or 1 bunch spring onions, finely sliced

2 carrots, peeled and coarsely grated

1 continental cucumber, peeled, quartered lengthways, seeds sliced off and discarded, sliced on diagonally 2 - 3mm width

4 Tbsp roasted rice powder (see below)

Method

To make dressing, combine the lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and chilli (if using), mix until sugar is dissolved and set aside.

Combine all ingredients and toss gently until well combined. Serve immediately.

Roasted rice powder 

This is used in many Thai dishes for its delicious nutty flavour. I love it!

To make heat ¼ cup of uncooked glutinous rice (available in Asian grocer) in a fry pan on medium heat (not too hot or rice will be uncooked on inside and burnt on outside). Continue to agitate rice by tossing or with a spatula, until golden. Allow to cool completely before grinding in an electric spice grinder or mortar and pestle. If pounding with mortar & pestle, pound 2 Tbsp at a time or you will have trouble reaching each grain. The grains should be like the size of course cooking salt. Store unused powder in an airtight glass jar in fridge. 

Chook’s note: I have used other rice than glutinous but Pho recommends glutinous rice as they don’t seem to break down in the same way, adding an unpleasant graininess to dishes. Use what you have and see how it goes.