A quick and easy fish curry

 

Ingredients

2 Tbsp coconut oil

1 onion finely chopped

3 cloves garlic thinly sliced

2 Tbsp freshly grated ginger (about a 5cm piece)

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp ground turmeric

10 – 15 fresh curry leaves

400ml coconut milk

2 med tomatoes roughly chopped

1 tsp salt

600g firm white fish cut into 3cm chunks

1 cup chopped fresh coriander

Juice of 1/2 lime 

Method

* Melt the coconut oil in a deep pan and saute the onion for about 5 mins over a medium heat until translucent and just starting to brown.

* Add the garlic and ginger, and cook, stirring gently for 1 min.

* Add curry leaves (careful as they spit) then the curry powder and turmeric, stir over a medium heat for a further min until the mixture is fragrant.   

* Slowly stir in the coconut milk, scraping up the spices and onion from the bottom of the saucepan.  Bring the pan to a gentle simmer.

* Add the chopped tomato and continue to simmer for about 5 minutes or until the tomato begins to soften.

* Add the fish and the salt to the sauce and gently poach for about 6–8 mins, or until the fish is cooked.

* Gently stir in the coriander and lime juice - and breathe that wonderful aroma!

Serves 4

Chook’s note: I use good old Clive of India curry powder – the smell is delicious. I’m sure this would be fine without the curry leaves if you can’t get them but they do add a little extra dimension. 

Ginger – I always have tiny bags of grated fresh ginger in the freezer. Each one 1 Tbsp or there abouts. I also keep a nub of ginger frozen for those recipes that call for sliced or chunks of ginger. 

A firm fish is best for this dish. I used mackerel but use whatever you can get (cheap).

Choux pastry

 

An unassuming little sugary morsel thanks to Alexandre

From a fascinating lecture on the Antarctic's Ross Sea, an unlikely oasis of fecundity, I dashed to the kitchen to learn how to make choux pastry - and you wonder what entices us to travel!?  We had these, and other wee fancies, delivered to our cabin every night -  instead of traditional pillow chocolates, thank goodness.

The ingredients are simple, it’s the mixing that matters. Who hasn't made choux pastry?

Ingredients

263g eggs (4-5 eggs)

145g flour

125ml milk

125g butter

125ml water

1 tsp or less salt

1 tsp or less sugar

These are just wee morsels but they melt in you mouth

Method

Bring milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to a boil. 

Lower the heat and add the flour and mix till 'dry'. It’s all in the mixing!

Add eggs one by one folding through with a spatula.

Pipe onto a tray and sprinkle with sugar - probably our raw sugar equivalent.

Bake at 180C for 45 mins

Chook’s note:  I didn’t count the quantity we made but I’ve halved the ingredients and reckon this will make a couple of dozen.

Far Breton

 

The lesson was accompanied by French cider

Recipe compliments of Alexandre Chef d’hotel, Commandant Charcot.
Being on board this rather luxurious icebreaker, Le Commandant Charcot for 4 weeks as we navigated around half of Antarctica, gave us ample time to enjoy some cooking classes with the chefs on board, predominantly Alexandre. Our classes were made up of Australian, French and US passenger so discussions were interesting. This is one of many of the dishes that we learnt to make - and yes the French do indeed use loads of eggs and cream and butter. Delicious! And the 
Far Breton is a traditional cake or dessert from Brittany and that is where Alexandre our chef comes from. In this class he was making enough for 8 (so that we all got a taste) so I have reduced the recipe to make one 30cm cake.  

Ingredients
450ml milk
110g flour
105g sugar
3 lg or 4 sm eggs
12g rum
15g butter
200g prunes

Method

Soak prunes in warm water for about 30 mins

In a bowl beat eggs with the flour and sugar. Gradually incorporate the milk without stopping to mix then add the melted butter and rum.

Drain prunes and place in the dish and pour the egg mixture over the top.

Bake for about 1h 20 in 190C oven. *The time and temp are based on cooking a large batch not to mention that the Bretons tend to cook these until the top is quite dark. Just make sure you keep an eye on it and use your own judgement.

Serve warm or cold

Alexandre - a generous teacher

Chook’s note: this was delicious and not unlike clafoutis which we were offered many mornings for breakfast – along with a mountain of other delicious pastries and breads.

Bon appetit!

Hot & sour cherry sauce with crispy chicken

 

I have adapted this recipe from the original which called for a boned flattened chicken to serve 6. This version gives 2 generous serves.

Ingredients
2 chicken Maryland
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2-3 small red onions, halved
coriander sprigs, for serving

Hot & sour cherry sauce
1 cup (125g) cherries, pitted, halved
1/3 cup (70g) brown sugar, firmly packed
30g caster sugar
1 piece star anise
40ml Chinkiang vinegar
1 long green or red chili roughly chopped
A little lemon zest

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced).  

Place chicken onto an oven tray or shallow pan with baking paper.

Rub chicken all over with oil and season generously with sea salt flakes.
Roast for 1 hour or until chicken is golden brown and juices run clear. If you plan to serve with jacket potatoes toss these in the pan with the chicken. Add onions to the tray halfway through cooking time.

Preparing the sauce 

While the chicken is cooking, combine all sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan. Stir until mixture comes to the boil then cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 mins or until cherries are soft. Cool slightly, discard star anise; blend until smooth.

Pour sauce over chicken to serve with sprigs of coriander and extra cherries.

Chook’s notes: The sauce makes about 1½ cups. Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to a week or freeze to use later – it goes well with lamb fillets. The original recipe suggested gently pushing butter under the skin. I think the meat has sufficient rich juices without the need for butter. It's simply a matter of personal choice.

Veal piccata

 

Our veal piccata made with chicken!

Ingredients
8 veal cutlets, pounded 5-6 mm thick
salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cups plain flour
4 Tbsp salted butter, divided
2 Tbsp olive oil, plus more if needed
2 garlic cloves thin sliced
½ cups dry white wine or sherry
1 cup chicken stock
1 sm lemon, finely sliced into rounds and seeded
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp drained capers
2 Tbsp coarsely chopped parsley
Serves 4

Method
Season the cutlets generously with salt and pepper, then dredge in the flour, shaking off any excess.
Add the oil and 2 Tbsp of the butter to a large pan over medium-high heat. When it’s hot and shimmering, add enough cutlets to cover the bottom of the pan without overcrowding. Fry, turning once, until golden brown, 3–5 mins. Transfer to the warm plate, then repeat with the remaining cutlets, adding more oil if the pan looks dry.
Add finely sliced garlic to the pan and sauté. Then deglaze with the wine and cook until reduced by half, about 3 mins. Add the stock and lemon slices and boil until reduced by half again, about 9 mins more.
Stir in the lemon juice, capers, parsley, and remaining butter and season with salt and black pepper to taste.
Pour the sauce over the veal and serve immediately.

Chooks note: Never one to stick to a recipe, we added 5-6 small sage leaves to sauté with the garlic (because we love the taste of them) plus 1/2 a small red chili finely sliced and 3 green onions sliced diagonally. I wanted to add more piquance to our piccata! 
The recipe suggests pouring the sauce over the 'veal' but we had o pop the meat back in the pan with the sauce to reheat it.
I made half quantity using 2 chicken thigh fillets (because I had chicken to spare). It was delicious but if you can get good veal then that would be even better I’m sure.

This was delicious but nobody makes veal piccata like Maria at Maria’s Trattoria in North Melbourne. Maria has been cooking and serving delicious Italian home cooking every night since she and her husband opened in the mid 80s.

Fig, Rosemary and Chorizo shortbreads

 

Ingredients

150g plain flour

50g parmesan cheese, finely grated

30g mature cheddar cheese, finely grated

½ tsp flaky sea salt

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp rosemary leaves, finely chopped (I use dried)

100g salted butter, soften (I use the microwave to soften) 

60g fresh chorizo, skin removed, chopped into 1cm pieces

60g dried figs, finely chopped

1 large egg, lightly beaten

30g walnuts, finely chopped

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C (160C FF) 

* Place the flour, cheese, salt, pepper and rosemary in the bowl of an electric mixer and mix on low speed with the paddle attachment until combined OR simply hand mix. Add the butter, chorizo and figs. Mix on low speed until the butter has been incorporated and the mixture looks moist and crumbly.

* Add the egg and continue to mix on low speed or by hand until the dough comes together – it will start to turn a little pink as the chorizo breaks up and streaks through the dough (this doesn’t happen if you hand mix). 

* Turn the dough out onto the kitchen bench and press together to form a solid mass, then roll into a thick log, about 3-4cm diameter.

* Tip the walnuts onto a sheet of cling wrap and roll the dough in the nuts so the entire surface is coated. Wrap up in the same cling film and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 3 days (or freeze for up to 3 months). I popped it on a tray in the freezer for half hour or so because the day was getting away from me)

* Remove the dough from the fridge and with a serrated knife slice the log into rounds 1cm or less thick. Place the biscuits on a lined baking tray, spacing them a few cm apart.

*Bake for about 15-20 mins, or until golden brown. Cool before serving. The biscuits are best eaten on the day they are baked, but leftovers may be refrigerated. Warm them up for a few mins in a low oven to refresh them (or pop them in the microwave for 20s) but they taste good without reheating.

 Chook’s note: I think I might like these with bacon rather than chorizo because it tends to dominate the flavour; it’s always a matter of preference. If you're using uncooked chorizo however best to cook it a bit first. You might add a dash of smoked paprika. The original recipe called for a large egg yoke but I feel a whole egg would work better. 

Try fresh rosemary instead of dried for a sharper flavour.

You could use almonds instead of walnuts or not use nuts at all. Play with the recipe and enjoy the results.

Quick-Pickled Rose Petals

 

Photo: 'Near& Far' Heidi Swanson

Ingredients

¼ cup (7g) dried rose petals
¼ cup (60ml) white wine vinegar
1Tbsp plus 1tsp hot water

Method
Leave petals whole or chop them a little.
Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and toss till the petals are saturated and no longer floating. Let sit for at least 30mins but preferably leave for 1-2 hours.
Strain the petals from the vinegar (reserve the vinegar for another use.

Serve as a condiment.

Suggested uses:
Mix through couscous or sprinkle through fruit salads
Dot over flat bread spread with yogurt and green jam (that I must try, see recipe below).
Rose petals and often used in Persian dishes. We tried a Persian Dadami dip recently. Made from labneh, mi=int, coriander, sumac, cumin, pepper, chili, onion and rose petals. It was delicious.
I think they would go well with a rice dish. Be creative!

Chook’s note:  I have not made this because we don’t have roses so it’s your experiment. Let me know how it goes please.

Herb/Green Jam

This has loads of herbs and aromatic spices and cooks down to a compact dark heady gloop (they tell me) - I am yet to try it. I have the ingredients (there’s even a few celery leaves left) except time! Tomorrow is peach jam making. So …

Ingredients
4 Tbsp/60 ml EVO plus more if needed
4 large garlic cloves smashed
12 black olives (oil cured if you have them), pitted rinsed and chopped
1 ¼ tsp smoked paprika
¼ tsp cayenne
1/8th  tsp ground cumin
500g  baby spinach leaves
1 bunch parsley – about 2 cups
½ cup chopped fresh celery leaves
½ cup  coriander leaves and stems
Freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ tsp fine salt

Makes 500-600ml, a bit over 2 cups. 

Method
In a large pot combine 2 Tbsp of the EVO and garlic over a med-low heat. Cook gently until softened but not browned.
Stir in the olives, paprika, cayenne and cumin and stir for a min or so until fragrant.
|Turn up the heat to med-high stir in the spinach, parsley, celery leaves and coriander and stir constantly until everything collapses. Cook until the greens release their liquid then allow that to cook off a bit (2-3mins all up).
Remove from heat and transfer greens to a cutting board. Let cool a few mins then chop finely.
Stir in a bit of lemon juice, the salt, and the remaining 2 Tbsp EVO and transfer to a jar or small jars. Cover. Store in fridge. Will keep for a few days. 

Chook’s note:  Like all soft herbs they don't keep well but I suspect you could freeze it or preserve it in the usual way – that would be an experiment you could try! I've frozen gremolata which is herb-based and it works well.
UPDATE: I dose freeze well.  I frozen half a jar and opened it 5 months later. It still tastes great.