Central Asian Herb Paste

 

(This is not specificall Tajik but comes from the region)

Ingredients
6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch parsley*
1 bunch coriander
1 bunch mint leaves
2/3 cup pistachios
A pinch of salt if pistachios are unsalted
Fresh lemon juice - enough for your own taste
1 pinch fresh ground black pepper

Instructions
Place all of the ingredients into a food processor. Puree, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally, until a paste forms. Add more oil and/or juice if needed.

Serve as a garnish with Tajik soup or whatever dish calls for some zing - the smell and taste of the mint is delicious.  Great on toast with fresh tomato. 

Chook's note:
The original recipe called for flat-leaf parsley but I prefer curly leaf it has a better flavour
*Pistachios - I used packet roasted nuts.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge or you can freeze small quantities for later.
This paste is very simple but a slightly different flavour profile to my Herb/Green Jam but just as delicious https://thepingingchook.blogspot.com/search?q=herb+jam

Tajik Green Lentil and Rice Soup

 

A simple nourishing soup in progress! 

Ingredients
2-3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 Tbsp chopped garlic
1/2 tsp ground allspice
4 med tomatoes, chopped
3/4 cup brown rice
1 cup green or brown lentils
1-2 bay leaves
4-5 cups vegetable or chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method
* Heat a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil and then the cumin seeds. Roast gently until they are fragrant, about 1 min but watch they don't burn.
* Add the onions, celery and carrot with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and the onions translucent, about 5 mins
* Stir in the garlic and allspice and cook 1-2 mins. Incorporate the tomatoes with a pinch of salt and bring to a brisk simmer. Let simmer and thicken for 5 mins.
* Mix in the bay leaves, rice and lentils.
* Add the stock and bring to a boil then cover and reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook for 20-30 mins, or until rice and lentils are tender.  The soup tends to be quite thick so if you prefer a thinner soup simply add more stock or hot water and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Crumbled goat cheese or feta 
Central Asian herb paste
Lemon wedges

Chook's note: 
You can take the easy route and use canned tomatoes (1/2 can) and also canned lentils (rinsed well)
Use whatever tice you prefer . Brown would be great but I used Basmati (because it was handy).
If you don't have allspice you could use nutmeg

Citrus furikake

This a Japanese seasoning traditionally sprinkled on rice but I imagine it would go on many things – steamed spinach with a dash of sesame oil, avocado, salads and a plain old hot buttered toast.  I tripped over it when I was trying to find something edible to do with mandarin rind (I also used a little lemon peel left over when making lemon marmalade). It has an amazing flavour profile.

First dry your peel. Remove as much pith as possible and then dry in which ever is your favourite way – oven, dehydrator, air.  I chose the latter. It took a few days but the heavenly aroma of the mandarin oil was preserved.

Ingredients
3 x 20 cm sq sheets of nori
1/2 cup white sesame seeds
1/2 cup black sesame seeds
1/4 cup flax seeds or substitute
2 Tbsp dried citrus peel
2 tsp flaky salt
1 1/2 tsp cardamom seeds (from ~20 pods)
1 tsp sugar (optional)

Method
Heat oven to 165°C
* Toast the sheets of nori for about five minutes. Remove, allow to cool, and crumble into tiny flakes. I crushed by hand and then gave them a short blitz (avoid going to powder).
* Arrange the sesame seeds on a baking sheet. Place in the oven and toast until the white seeds are golden. Alternatively use my quick way, fry them in a dry pan but don't take your eyes off them! Remove from pan, spread out on a plate and allow to cool.
* Blitz the citrus peel until it is course grain – size is a matter of personal choice but don’t reduce it to powder. 
* Remove the little black seeds from each cardamom pod and crush into a fine powder using a mortar and pestle (don’t worry if they’re not black they’ll still taste OK).
|* Combine the nori, sesame seeds, flax seeds, citrus peel, salt, sugar (if using), and cardamom pods in a bowl. Stir well and store in an airtight container until ready to use.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Chook’s note:  I didn’t have flax seeds (and don’t particularly like them) so I used nigella seeds instead - good flavour. You can use a single citrus or a mix of citrus peel in this recipe. The origin Japanese version dried fish (like bonito flakes)
My one largish mandarin made a 200gm jar.

Kofta Curry

 

L: Qamar Milak R: her kofta curry

This is a delicious Pakistani curry. which appeared in the Australian Women's Weekly in 1973 (50 years later the page is rather tattered!). This was one a number of dishes prepared by Qamar Milak (wife of the then Trade Commissioner for Pakistan which is quite incidental).  It was part of a two page spread on curries (unfortunately the second page disappeared somewhere along the line) which I suspect was all about promoting true curries into Australian kitchens. This one is a real favourite of mine and Lindsay's and one we have been cooking together for almost 40 years. It is very fragrant and full of delicious, almost delicate flavours. You can make it as hot as you like but we tend to the warm and spicy. Highly recommended!

Ingredients
Meatballs
450 gm minced steak*
1½ Tbsp dry bread crumbs
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp chili powder
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp finely chopped mint
2 Tbsp yoghurt
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 onion

Sauce
2 onions
3 cloves of garlic
2.5 cm piece of ginger
2 Tbsp yoghurt
1 tsp salt
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp turmeric
2 tsp ground coriander
¼ ground cloves
¼ tsp cinnamon
½ cup water
oil for frying

Method
Meatballs:
Grate or blitz onion. Combine all ingredients, mix together well for 5 mins so that mixture is well blended.  If you like it hot, add 1 finely chopped green chili.
Shape into small balls (2-3 cm).

Sauce:
Cut peeled onion into quarters. Put in blender with peeled garlic and peeled sliced ginger. Blend until fine (or grate or chop finely).  Heat oil in pan, add onion mixture, cook until golden.  Add yoghurt, stir well, cook 2 mins.  Add salt, chili powder, turmeric, coriander, cloves and cinnamon.  Cook over gentle heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture is almost dry. 
Add the water and, while water is still cold, add meatballs.  Shake pan gently to splash spices and liquid over the top of meatballs.  Cook, covered, 30 mins or until meatballs are cooked through.

Serves 4.  

Chook’s note: * I use beef or lamb mince.
The sauce can be used with other meats or fish or vegetabese. And the meat balls make yummy snacks on their own. Just forget the sauce and bake in the oven! 

Ancient Grains soup - good health in a bowl!

 This soup is based on one of good old McKenzie’s soup mixes. I can’t recall when I first started using them but the company has been around since 1852. This mix is ancient grains not the bean mix, which I love, but the ingredients in this mix appealed to me – lentils both red and green, buckwheat, barley, split green peas, kibbled spelt. Just reading the ingredients is making me feel healthy already!

The soup has been decanted into freezer containers aleardy

Ingredients

1 cup Ancient Grain soup mix – picked and rinsed

1 Tbsp oil

1 lg onion diced

3-5 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 carrots, diced

2 celery sticks, sliced (leaves work well here too)

2 tomatoes, diced

1 medium zucchini, sliced (no need to peel)

2 litres vegetable or other stock

Lg handful of baby spinach leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

Sour cream, pesto, chili flakes to serve (all optional)

Method

Heat the oil and cook onion and garlic until tender

Add carrot and celery and cook for 2 mins then add, tomatoes, washed grain mix, stock and zucchini.

Bring to the boil and cook ~30 mins until grains are to your liking.

Add spinach last to just wilt

This quantity made enough for  9-11 serves.

The Chook's alternatives because there are always alternatives!

This is one of those soups that is ery tolerant of tweaking - just see what you have in the fridge.

Fry a couple of rashers of bacon with the onion mix

Add shredded cabbage in place of spinach (because I had it)

Add herbs – mint and parsley or oregano work well

Throw in a few dried shiitake mushrooms to add depth (remove them once the soup was cooked).

Sprinkled in some chili flakes while the soup was cooking. 

I used up cup of leftover pasta.  

I suspect it would be delish served with small croutons with grilled cheese a la French Onion soup

This quantity made enough for 10-11 serves.

Bon Appetit. Enjoy!

Rice and super green soup

 

This soup is packed with vitamins and minerals - a healthy choice and very quick and easy to make.

Ingredients
1 1/2 Tbsp EVO
2 bacon rashers, chopped
500g packet frozen peas
1 brown onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1.5 lt chicken stock
3/4 cup jasmine rice
250g packet frozen chopped spinach, thawed
To serve:
100g Danish fetta
crumbled bacon
fresh mint leaves

Method
Heat 2 tsp oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add bacon. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until golden and crisp. Drain on paper towel (either discard fat or use it to fry the onions).
Meanwhile, place peas in a heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water. Stand for 2 mins. Drain. Transfer half the peas to a food processor. Process until almost smooth.
Heat remaining oil in pan over med heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 3 mins. Add stock. Bring to the boil over high heat. Stir in rice and processed peas. Boil for 10 mins or until rice is tender. Add spinach and remaining peas. Bring to the boil.

Serve soup topped with bacon, fetta and mint. Depending on the rice you might need to add  little water to thin it down.

Blackcurrant jam

 

Ingredients

600g blackcurrants (strip off the stalks)

~ 400g white caster or granulated sugar

juice of ½ a lemon

Method

Sterilise your jars (I do mine in microwave or dishwasher). 

Tip the blackcurrants into a heavy-based saucepan with about 100ml of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 mins until the fruit has broken down to a chunky pulp. Leave to cool slightly.

You now have 2 options. For a smooth jelly-style jam, squash the fruit through a sieve into a bowl. If you prefer your jam chunky and seeded, leave the pulp as it is. Whether it's strained or unstrained, weigh the fruit pulp and then add 400g of sugar to every 500g of pulp, then tip pulp back in the saucepan.

Pour in the lemon juice then heat gently, stirring, to dissolve the sugar completely. Turn up the heat, then boil hard for about 10 mins or until it reaches 105C on a cooking thermometer (the setting point evidently). If you don’t have a cooking thermometer, put a saucer in the freezer. You all know this but to test for setting point, spoon a little jam onto a cold saucer. After a couple of mins gently push your finger through the jam – if the surface wrinkles, it's ready. If not, return to the boil for 2 mins, then re-test.

Take off the heat and skim off any froth with a slotted spoon. Cool for 10-15 mins. Stir gently to distribute the fruit, then ladle into sterilised jars. Keeps for 6 months in a cool dry cupboard – at least.

Chook’s note: Adjust the quantities up or down depending on the amount of fruit you have,  My fruit all had the remnants of the flowers attached and I thought that I would perhaps strain the pulp and make jelly rather than have floaties but the dead petal remains disintegrated leaving a glorious jewel-like textured potful.

The flavour is so worth the small amount of time spent cooking these wee berries. The colour is simply stunning.

I use this h=jam as the base for a gastrique *see elsewhere.