Another soup....zucchini

My friend Chrissy used to write a most amazing foodie blog, but she is on hiatus at the moment expecting her THIRD baby, and this recipe is stolen straight from there. Now, soup is probably the most featured recipe here on Family Pies, but this one is just so easy, delicious and quick I just had to include it. You could also easily leave out the bacon for a completely vego delight and of course add any other vegies you have.

Ingredients
2 slugs of olive oil
3-4 rashers of bacon chopped
1 onion (brown or white)
1 kg of zucchini chopped coursely
3ish cups of stock, vegetable or chicken (I have used beef stock but it wasn't as good and didn't look as nice)
a good slurp of cream

Method
Heat one slug of olive oil in large pot then fry up bacon bits until they are crispy, then remove the bacon and drain on paper, set aside.

In the same bacon-y pan add another slug of oil if necessary then fry onion until soft.

Then add zucchini, stir it through the onion and oil before adding stock, bring to the boil then simmer for 15-20 mins. You really don't need to simmer for too long like other soups, just until the zucchini is soft

Take off heat and blend in either a blender or with a stab mixer. When you have a lovely smooth mixture, but the soup back on a really low heat and stir through the cream.

To serve sprinkle the bacon bits over the top and season with salt and pepper.

Lamb cutlets, mint salsa and roast pumpkin mash

So for the past couple of weeks John has been making 'joke' comments about wanting a crown roast. You know the type of thing,
Sal "what should we eat?"
John "a crown roast with thrice baked potatoes, truffles and greens tossed in verjuice" (said in his poshest 'Pru & Trude' voice)

So yesterday I saw these lovely organic lamb racks at the supermarket and I couldn't go past them. I didn't really know what to do with them then and there, so just made up this dish with what we had at home. Well John was well impressed, declaring it to be perhaps the best meal I had ever made, high praise indeed! Personally I think he just has a short food memory, but it was pretty tasty, the minty salsa was much better than I expected.

Ingredients

* Lamb rack (size will depend on how many you are cooking for I had just under 500g for 2 peeps)
* Olive oil, salt and pepper to season
* Butternut pumpkin chopped (again, amount depends on peeps)
* splosh of cream
Salsa
* 1 lebanese cucumber (diced finely)
* almost a cup of mint leaves
* 2 spring onions
* 1/2 an avocado
* 1 tbs olive oil
* 2 tbs balsamic
* 1 tsp sugar

Method
* Start with pumpkin by tossing in olive oil and season with salt and pepper, place in moderately hot oven (200deg) to roast for about 45 mins
* After about half and hour turn the oven down to 170-180 so it is not too hot for the lamb
* With the lamb rack just trim it of any big obvious fatty bits, rub olive oil into it then season with salt and pepper.
* When the pumpkin is roasted and soft, take from oven but keep warm, before serving mash with fork and add a splash of cream if you need a bit more moisture, but you may not need anything.
* Place lamb in (now slightly cooler)oven, and you'll need to cook it for about half and hour for each 500g of meat to have it lovely and moist

Salsa-as I said was a bit of an experiment but lovely, and this is what I did
* Chopped cucumber finely, added finely chopped spring onion
* Stir through olive oil and balsamic (I have pretty good olive oil and divine balsamic and seriously think this is the most important thing for these kind of cold dishes)
* As I was chopping the mint I sprinkled a pinch of sugar over the leaves, then stirred them through the rest of the mixture (adding a leeeetle more sugar at the same time)
* The finely diced avocado was a bit of an after thought so that went in at the very end, but a fine addition

A surprise little bit of gourmet for a thursday night in the burbs. Easy and tasty, Enjoy!

Lamb pita pockets

This is one of John's specialties but I never complain when he wants to make it as I am a bit of a lamb fan and this is one of the best ways to have it. It is not always possible to get lamb and this recipe works well with beef mince too, but the lamb mint combo is so heavenly that it really is worth seeking out lamb. You also need to have lots of good mint for this recipe too.


Lambballs
300-400g of lamb mince
1 egg
1 small spanish onion finely chopped (if we have a large red onion we will use half here and half in the salad)
1 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1 cup chopped fresh mint
Mix everything together and shape into golf ball size meatballs with wet hands. Cook in pan or on barby.


Mint Salad
3 large tomatoes sliced
1 small spanish onion finely sliced
a handful of fresh mint leaves
juice of one lemon
slurp of good olive oil

Serve on halved pita pockets and top with natural yoghurt. Delish.....

soup season

its winter here and i am so pleased, as it means soup season! 

i have re-discovered adzuki beans. they are usually used in cakes and sweets as a red bean paste in asian cooking but they are also great in savoury dishes.... especially for vegos as they contain 25% protein.

my naturopath has put me on a high protien diet - i have sadly said good bye to my high in refined carbohydrates diet. oh how i miss my weekly pasta night and pizza has now become a guilty pleasure.

i used to be proud about eating carbs as every mo fo is on a protien diet -the NW / jennifer aniston loose a million kilos, carbs are evil blah blah blah. 

but i am not on that type of diet.....oooh no! it's to make me big and strong not a nicole ritchie lollypop head!

shannon gave me a wonderful cookbook for my birthday wholefood for the family by jude blereu. she has some amazing recipes, especially soups!

i roasted the garlic with the pumpkin instead of adding it to the pan along with the onion. i used approx 4-5 cloves as roasting the garlic takes away its pungent flavour and gives it a creamy taste. it takes about half of the pumpkin's roasting time. their skins will be brown and crispy and inside will be soft. remove the skin and husk and mash to a paste. add it to the soup with the pumpkin.

otherwise use 3 cloves to saute in pan.

spiced pumpkin and adzuki bean soup

220gms adzuki beans, soaked over night in plenty of water

1.3 kg pumpkin, butternut squash, kent or jap

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 brown onion

4-5 garlic gloves, whole with skins left on

1 tablespoon finely grated ginger

pinch of nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoonn ground coriander

a handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped

1.75 litres vegetable stock

2 teaspoon of tamari or light soy sauce

natural yogurt to serve [optional]

pre heat oven to 200 deg C

for butternut pumpkin, cut in half and scoop out the seeds.

for the kent and jap fans cut into very large sections and remove seeds.

rub with 1 tablespoon of the oil

place on a baking tray and bake for 40-60 minutes or until soft.

remove from oven and set aside

or start the soup when your pumpkin is just about cooked.

put remaining olive oil into a large saucepan [24 cm] 

add onion [ 3 cloves of chopped garlic -if you have not roasted] and ginger and saute over a low heat for approximately 5 minutes till onion is soft and lightly coloured.

add the nutmeg and ground spices plus half of the coriander, stir through for 1 minute.

scoop the flesh from the pumpkin plus the roasted garlic paste and add to the pan

add to the pot the drained beans

pour in stock, partly cover and simmer gently for 1 hour.

check that the beans are tender by squishing one onto a bread board. the bean should easily smoosh.

if cooked you can blend the soup. if it is too thin cook over medium heat at a high simmer until you have your desired consistency. 

check for taste and add the tamari or soy if needed.

spoon into warmed bowls, top with a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkle of fresh coriander.

mmmm........

sorry pics will be added soon..i forgot and ate the soup !!

In the cal-zone

After a busy months end (hmmmm too many holidays), I am cheating a little here and using some of an old post for ingredients and method. You may remember the very first entry for pizza,
and that the amount of dough is quite substantial. Well the great news is the dough freezes well and can be used for other tasty treats such as this calzone. You can also use some of the sauce in the filling too. Love a meal with pre-prepared yet homemade ingredients......

Dough
See method for pizza entry

Filling
This is the fun and creative part! This can be totally up to your taste, or even what you may have in the house! Here are just two of the standard combos we use in our place/

Veg- Mix spinach, fetta, parmesan, mushrooms, black olives and a splash of tommy sauce also on pizza page

Meaty- Any ham, prosciutto, (ground or thinly sliced)lamb or beef, mixed with spinach, cheeses, mushrooms, olives and of course the splash of tommy sauce

Putting it all together

* So you roll out your dough on a large floured surface.
* Then get a small(ish) dinner plate and cut out as many dough circles as you need.
* Once the rounds are made, you spoon about two tablespoons of the filling mixture into the middle of each round.
* Fold the rounds in half and pinch and fold round edges together.
* Brush top with egg or even just a little olive oil

* Place onto baking tray and put in 180- 200 degree oven for about 15-20 mins until each calzone in a lovely golden colour.
* When you take them out drizzle with a bit of yum e.v.o.o especially in the crease, and enjoy as a snack on its own or with a crispy rocket based salad for a main meal.
Enjoy

Laksa

While supermarket shopping in Thailand the other day I came across fried tofu puffs which I have never seen in Laos and immediately thought Laksa. Now, I have made many Laksa's over the years and while they are usually very tasty they are often really, really time consuming. I mean really, on most days, who could be bothered to boil prawn heads to get a stock - even if it is a damm tasty stock. So I took a risk and attempted a recipe from my new 'Bowl Food' cookbook purchased from the Cambodian chain bookstore that sells a wide range of photocopied, copyright infringed books. It looked easy and surprisingly was quite tasty. Anyway, that is why a make this post -it is a recipe for a tasty Laksa that you don't have to dedicate a day to.

For paste

1 ½ tablespoons coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 onion, chopped
1cm x 3cm piece of ginger, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 stems lemongrass, sliced
4-6 small red chilies
2-3 teaspoons shrimp paste

For soup

1 L chicken stock
½ cup oil (I only used a few tablespoons)
3 cups coconut milk (I made do with a 200ml can coconut cream)
4 fresh kaffir lime leaves
2 ½ tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 table spoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons palm sugar or brown sugar
Handful of prawns or pork or beef or veggies
250g dried vermicelli noodles

To serve

1 cup bean sprouts
Handful of fried tofu puffs
4 hardboiled eggs
Mint, coriander – chopped
Lime wedges – to serve
Fried shallots – to serve

Dry roast the coriander seeds. Grind in a mortar and pestle. Repeat for cumin seeds. Put all of the ingredients for the paste in a blender and add half a cup of stock and blend to a paste.

Heat the oil and cook the paste on a low heat for 3- 5 minutes while stirring. Add remaining stock and bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 min, until slightly reduced. Add the coconut milk, lime leaves, lime juice, fish sauce and palm sugar and simmer for 5 minutes. At this time pour some boiling water over the vermicelli and leave for about 5 minutes until soft. Drain.

Add meat or vegies to soup and simmer until cooked.

Add noodles to each bowl. Top with soup and then garnish with eggs, bean sprouts, tofu puffs and herbs. Serve with lime and shallots. Serves 4-6.

Smoked Fish with Vegetables, Matapha and Gari

The food from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique has some similarities. The use of peanuts. Coconuts. Dried and smoked fish. Leaves from cassava and other plants as a primary ingredient. Combine all these ingredients with some onions, chillies, palm oil, and garlic and you have a fusion of Mozambican Matapha and Congolese Pondu. Served with some pap, rice or gari and you have a delicious and filling dish. We prefer to add another dish, like smoked chicken with peanut sauce (DRC), or (very) spicy fried okra with prawns (Mozambique). Since I’ve made these dishes many times before, I opted for a new addition: fried smoked fish with vegetables.
So here they are.

Fried Smoked Fish with Vegetables

Found in Dorinda Hafner's A Taste of Africa, purchased at Borders for $10!

Ingredients

500g smoked herring or mackerel

3 tbs peeled and finely grated ginger

½ cup vegetable or peanut oil

2 onions, minced

4 tomatoes, blanched, peeled and puréed

1 tbs tomato paste blended with ¼ cup water

2 red chillies, minced

250g green beans
½ teaspoon garlic salt (or salt and garlic)

Directions
Season the fish with salt and ginger. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan, and sauté the fish (I used mackerel) until crisp and brown. Remove from the oil, drain, and set aside. In the remaining oil, add the onions and sauté until they are almost brown. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, chillies, green beans, and garlic salt. Return the fish to the pan, cover, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.

Matapha / Pondu

This is an amalgamation of many internet recipes that I no longer have because I wrote them in Rakas departing present, the cook's companion recipe journal.

Ingredients
6 handfuls Cassava (or Matapha) leaves
3 tbs palm oil
2 onions
8 cloves garlic
one piece of dried, salted or smoked fish, broken up
3 chillies (or more if they’re not very hot)
salt to taste

For Matapha add:
1 can coconut cream
1 cup roasted peanuts

NB: I’ve guessed the quantities as I normally make it by taste, so you may need to adjust.

Equivalent ingredients
Cassava or Matapha leaves have a distinct chlorophyll fragrance and taste, which is difficult to replace. If you can’t find them in Footscray or some other suburb of Melbourne which I don’t know about which has African grocers (sorry Melly, but I have no idea if you’ll have an option at all here), use 8 handfuls of spinach.

Palm oil is thick, red and sticky. Again, if you can’t find an equivalent, use peanut or ground nut oil.

For the smoked fish I tend to use half a small smoked fish (see picture), but you can also use a bunch of those tiny dried fish you get at Asian grocers (although not as fragrant).

Directions
If using fresh leaves, grind leaves in mortar and pestle with the garlic and chillies. Otherwise grind garlic and chillies then add frozen leaves. Place in a saucepan, cover with water and cook until almost dry (approximately ½ hour). Add all remaining ingredients and cook for one hour, adding water if necessary. For Matapha, once cooked, blend until almost smooth (it should be the consistency of a pumpkin soup). The dish should be nutty and smoky, but not spicy despite the inclusion of chillies.

Gari

Again, taken from Dorinda's cookbook

Gari is a new addition to my African recipes, and is delicious. It is actually a Portuguese and/or French dish which has been adopted by the Ivory Coast (I think it might be a Portuguese dish adopted by French colonies). It is almost like a cross between polenta and bread, and is very simple to make. If you can’t find it in African or Portuguese / Spanish grocers, use polenta, rice or mashed potato instead (I’ll explain pap another day).

Ingredients
Farine de Manioca (in French, or Farinhe de Mandioca in Brazil, or Farinha de Mandioca in Portugal, or dried ground cassava)
Water
Salt

Directions
Put 2 cups gari in a bowl and add enough lightly salted water to cover it completely (I also give it a little stir). Let is stand for 10 minutes, or until the gari absorbes the liquid and swells (it will swell to about twice its original size). Fluff the gari with a fork and serve with the fish and the Matapha poured over it.

Serves 4

Ban Keun Soup

When I first moved to Laos I lived for a year in Ban Keun. My kitchen was fashioned from a concrete shell of a room with old school tables for benches. There was no glass on the windows and I used to wipe the red dust from the surfaces daily. I had no sink, cupboards or stove - just a bucket of water, an electric frypan and a few bowls and spoons. To put it quite simply, it was uninspiring. But it was from here that Ban Keun Soup was created.

Essentially a one-pot dish created from whatever fresh ingredients you can get your hands on, plus some longlife staples such as miso paste, canned tuna and eggs, Ban Keun soup for me is now one of the most soothing, simple, healthy things I can think of. It is Monday night food!

Serves 2
1 brown onion - sliced
1 small piece of ginger - diced small
1 japanese eggplant - halved longwise and sliced

handful of oyster (or other) mushrooms - sliced

1 small green cabbage (or chinese cabbage - wong buk) - sliced
1 small bunch morning glory - cut into thirds
1 medium sized can of tuna
2 tbsp miso paste (shiro or the light brown one)
2 tbsp soy sauce (yellow boy brand is best)
1.5 tbsp white vinegar
3 cups water
1 egg
2tbsp fried red shallots (pre bought is far easier) (to serve)
chilli paste or sauce ( to serve)

Fry onions in a small amount of oil in a wok or deep based saucepan till transparent. Add ginger, eggplant and mushrooms and fry for about 3 min, until the eggplant is a bit soft.

Add water (it will pleasantly sizzle!) miso, soy and vinegar and bring to boil. Add tuna. Taste for flavour, adding more miso, soy or vinegar if necessary. Turn heat down to a simmer and add vegies. Cook for another 1-2 min. Break egg into liquid and stir a little. Cook for another minute or so and you're done.

Serve with a spoon of deep fried shallots and some chilli sauce.

* this version had tomato too....flexibility is the key!