A few bits and pieces to tart up some of your dishes

Tarragon tartare sauce
This is a delicious twist on an oldie
Ingredients
2 Tbsp cornichons (sm gherkins) finely chopped
1 Tbsp baby capers (in vinegar not the salted ones), drained and finely chopped
1/2-1 anchovy fillet finely chopped
1 shallots finely diced (could substitute a little onion)
1 Tbsp flat leaf parsley chopped (could use dried parsley but go easy)
1 tsp tarragon leaves chopped
150g mayonnaise
Salt and white pepper to taste
Lemon juice to taste

Method
Mix all chopped ingredients into mayonnaise and adjust seasoning and lemon juice to taste.

Crispy capers
Crisp in pan with little oil. wonderful zingy surprise topping. Oh and another crispy mouth popper is fried rosemary. Try it.

Mushrooms - dried

* Try blitzing dried mushrooms, whatever variety you have in the cupboard, to add to casseroles, soups or sprinkling on risotto. Dont use too much because they can be very strong.

* Save the liquid from when you soak dried mushies and freeeze in ice cube trays. Good to add a little extra flavour to many dishes.
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Curried parsnip soup

This is a real favourite - if you can get good parsnips! You can substitute cauliflower for parsnip or even use both. I have also mixed carrot and parsnip with great taste outcome.
Ingredients
3Tbsp olive oil
2Tbsp butter
8 brown shallots, finely sliced
4 large parsnips, roughly chopped
2 Tbsp curry powder
4.5 cups milk
1.25 cups cream (you can substitute milk for the cream without compromising the flavour)
Salt and pepper to taste
Coriander to serve

Method
Heat oil and butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and cooked until soft then add curry powder stir then add the parsnip. Cook for 5 mins.
Add milk and cream, bring up close to the boiled and cook gently uncovered for 20 mins (vegetables should be cooked through and soft).
Cool a little then purée. Add seasoning if needed.
Serve sprinkled with coriander and a drizzle of olive oil.
Serves 4-6 depending on serving size.
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Pumpkin Soups

Before we went travelling, a lovely man gave me a humongous pumpkin which sat patiently waiting for us to return. I have made a couple of soups and I've still got loads left. First is a creamy and tangy favourite and the other, Seedy Pumpkin, I threw together many years ago. It's one of those recipes that jiggles around a central idea - in this case pumpkin and seeds.

Thai-style pumpkin and coconut cream soup

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
4 brown shallots, finely sliced
60g fresh ginger, grated
1 tbsp chopped lemongrass (white part only)
good pinch chilli powder
6 cups peeled and diced butternut pumpkin
2 cups vegetable stock or water
1 270ml can coconut cream
11/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
splash fish sauce (I add at least 2 Tbsp)
juice of 1 lime
1-2 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded
Optional
coriander leaves
roasted, chopped macadamia nuts
Serves 5-6

Method
Place olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium heat.
Add shallots, ginger, lemongrass and chilli powder and cook for 3-5 minutes or until soft and translucent.
Add pumpkin and stock, bring to the boil and simmer gently until the pumpkin is very tender.
Puree the soup. I use a stick blender – be careful of the splashes! Or you can pop it in a blender in small batches.
Add coconut cream, season with salt, pepper and fish sauce, and heat through without allowing soup to boil. Adjust seasoning, then add lime juice and finely shredded kaffir lime leaves.
To serve:  just as is or garnish with shredded lime leaves, coriander and macadamias.

Chook's note:  You can substitute fresh chili but be careful not to spoil the delicate flavor of the pumpkin, the ginger will add a certain amount of heat.
Don’t overdo the lime leaves. Some can be quite strong and you risk overpowering the delicate flavor of this creamy soup.
If like me you shred and freeze lime leave when they are available, add 1-2 Tbsp to the soup)
If you prefer a less creamy soup use coconut milk but get a good brand.
Fish sauce! We have developed quite a ‘thing’ for fish sauce. Ghastly smell in the bottle but an amazing flavor enhancer.  We usually add it slowly a few tsp at a time. You’ll find individual flavours, such as the lemon grass, are heightened the more you add BUT there is a limit! Be careful to STOP BEFORE you start tasting the fish sauce. It’s a fine balance!

Seedy pumpkin soup

Ingredients
1-2 Tbsp butter and/or oil
1-2 Tbsp of the following to taste
Mung beans (if available)
Pumpkin seeds
Sunflower seed
Caraway seeds
Mint and tarragon – dried or fresh (don’t overdo it)
3-4 spring onions or 1 leek - sliced
Pumpkin 6 cups chopped
2 -3 cups stock – depends on the type of pumpkin
Salt and white pepper to taste
'Splash' of fish sauce to enhance if needed

Method
Heat the oil and butter and brown the seeds and beans. Add the onion or leek and saute till soft and aromatic. Add the pumpkin and stock and bring to the boil.  Add the herbs.
When the pumpkin is soft, blend and mash leaving some texture for mouth feel. Adjust seasoning and, if you have it, add fish sauce cautiously to taste.  Add a little sour cream or crème fraiche if you like a creamier soup.

Chook's note: This is a fairly forgiving recipe but remember not to overpower the delicate flavor of the pumpkin.  It’s one of my ‘make it up as you go’ recipes written on a scrap of paper at some point in its history so the quantities are not necessarily balanced. Just taste as you go. 
Be creative and add ingredients that appeal to you. 

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July-August Travelling a deux along the low roads!

For those of you who have not been initiated into the finer art of cooking in a way-too-small camper van with just one workable gas burner - and a microwave (when there’s power), you might get a chuckle from this -  or vow never to try it! 

We worked out that we can cook on both gas burner and microwave at the same time if we set up the microwave on the bed (resting on the top of the little picnic table). What do they say about necessity and mother! Safety issues? hmm well .....

Our fare was simple. Sometimes we relied on prepared meals which we could simply bung in the microwave. Tescos supermarkets stock a good range from curries and Irish stew to fish pie and pasta. But I usually supplement these with fresh vege - to get all those lovely vitamins and minerals. 

Then there’s the trusty favourite omelette to which I usually add leftovers and the absolutely essential ingredients - onion and butter! We managed to cook various meats - pork, rissoles - to serve with swede, potatoes and beetroot, leek and greens. And there’s a lot to be said for baked beans with jacket potato or a good Irish pie - we’ve had a couple of corkers. All with cholesterol-free butter of course 😏!

We ate well albeit as I said, simply. At the end of the day of driving and sightseeing, I was not very creative.  I was the navigator and trying to predict which roads to take when I only see the signs for  4-5 seconds and the places not on any of the maps I was using - not to mention they are written in Gaelic and English and some only in Gaelic! We travelled a lot of the time in the Gaeltacht so it can be more than a tad confusing. End result was that my brain was rather stretched by the end of the day and well and truly ready for a cider or beer or wine with some good Irish cheese. We were pretty happy campers! 

Essentials shopping list. 

A selection of cheeses, butter, mayo and mustard (for the sandwiches), onion, crackers (for the cheeses), and spreads for the crackers for afternoon snacks when the worms start to gnaw, bags of nuts (personal favourites roasted pistachio). Fresh fruit and vegetables along the way; we’ve been eating delicious plump cherries ever since China. And an absolute essential is a supply of wine etc. 

An ‘interesting’ mixture of leftovers tray to turn into an omelette. It was delicious. 

Our wee van which was home for 5 weeks

The backdrop mist nights was pretty magic. Here it was so quiet except for the sound of a mountain stream rushing over rocks 50 metres away. Doesn’t get much better than that. Food seems secondary - but not the wine!!

Rabbit and onion casserole (Lepur çomlek)

Another rustic Balkan country dish from Rick Stein: From Venice to Istanbul. The food on that series was simple but absolutely delicious Rick. Thanks.

Ingredients
1 rabbit, cleaned and jointed
2 bay leaves
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
50ml olive oil
2 garlic cloves, grated
3 whole allspice berries
1/2 cinnamon stick
100ml red wine
160ml chicken stock, hot
1 tbsp tomato purée
2-3 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 tsp dried oregano
300g baby onions or shallots, peeled and left whole
1/2 tsp sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
Preheat the oven to 160C
1. Wash the rabbit pieces well, then pat dry and put in a bowl with the bay leaves and pour over the vinegar. Cover and set aside to marinate for at least 1 hour in the fridge. Make sure you have removed as many little bones as possible.
2. Heat a couple of tablespoons of the olive oil in a flameproof lidded casserole pan over a high heat and fry the rabbit pieces in batches until they are well browned all over. Return all the rabbit pieces to the pan along with the bay leaves from the marinade.
3. Add the garlic, allspice berries, cinnamon stick and red wine. Bring to the boil. Add the chicken stock, tomato purée, tomatoes and oregano. Season with salt and pepper and reduce to a simmer. Cover the pan, transfer to the oven and cook for 1–1½ hours until the rabbit is tender.
4. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a frying pan and fry the baby onions gently, stirring frequently, until just golden-brown all over. This should take about 10–15 minutes. Add the sugar halfway through to help them to caramelise. Tip the onions into the pot containing the rabbit just before it’s done and stir through.

Serve with rice or orzo pasta. Serves 5-6 people

Chook's note: The onions are the piece de resistance in this dish. 
I saved the heart and kidneys for a breakfast fry-up with a tiny bit of mustard and tomato paste or Worcestershire sauce, onion and bacon and onion. 

Albanian baked lamb with rice (Tavë kosi)

Tavë kosi is a national dish in Albania, it’s similar to Greek moussaka. From Rick Stein: From Venice to Istanbul. Thanks Rick.

Ingredients
70g butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
1.2kg boned lamb shoulder, cut into 5cm cubes
4 garlic cloves, grated
1 tsp dried oregano
60g long-grain rice, rinsed
50g plain flour
600ml Greek-style yoghurt
4 eggs, beaten
freshly grated nutmeg, to finish
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Serves 8

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C
1. Heat 20g of the butter and the olive oil in a large lidded pan over a high heat. Brown the lamb in batches.
2. Return all the lamb to the pan. Add the garlic, oregano and 200ml water. Bring to a simmer and cook, covered with a lid, for about 45–60 minutes until the lamb is tender.
3. Stir in the rice, and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a 3 L earthenware or other ovenproof dish.
4. Melt the remaining butter in a small saucepan, add the flour and make a roux, cook for 2 minutes, then take off the heat. Add the yoghurt and mix well, then return to the heat and cook gently for a couple of minutes. Take off the heat, add the beaten eggs and season with salt and pepper.
5. Pour the sauce over the lamb and rice mixture, grate fresh nutmeg on top and bake for 40–45 minutes until starting to turn golden-brown.
6. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with a simple lettuce salad.

Chook's note: I’ve made this with lamb mince and it tasted fine. Not as rich as the slow cook shoulder but when needs must ……
I also use this sauce recipe with Greek moussaka – it’s delish. 

Salmon en Croute

 The sauce for this one has watercress. [realfood.tesco.com]  

Ingredients
150g fresh salmon per person
Puff pastry sheets
1 leek (sliced)
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp horseradish
200 ml cream
Salt and pepper
1 egg beaten

Method
Cook the leek in butter over low heat. After 2 mins add the cream and horseradish with a pinch of salt and pepper. Gently cook a further 5 mins.
Place a try in the fridge till cool. Cut a square of puff pastry and place a spoonful of the leek mixture on it then place salmon on top.
Brush around the edges with egg. And wrap like a parcel.
Brush all over with egg and cook 200 C for 20 minutes until golden.

Serve with potato mash and steamed asparagus (option - top with Beurre blanc)

Beurre blanc
Cook ½ small onion chopped on gentle heat till soft.
Add 100ml white wine and reduce by half, then add 1 Tbsp cream.  Gently whisk in 100g cold diced butter until you have a smooth silky sauce.

Chook’s note: You could add a couple of handfuls of baby spinach leaves or watercress to the leek sauce. You could also substitute crème fraiche or cream cheese for the cream. There are loads of sauce variations you could try – this is the one I learnt to make. 
You can be as creative as you like with the parcel – cut the pastry in the shape of a fish, lattice the top sheet or decorate with pastry cut outs. 

Recipe from Rob’s Cooking class, Graduate House, Melbourne 2008-9. Thanks Rob the classes were fantastic!
The chef-teacher was Robert Goodman who formerly worked at the Michelin Star ‘Le Gavroche Restaurant’ in Mayfair, London.