My Tuna and Bean Salad

Amnesty Post

I make this salad quite often but it has been maing a more regular appearance at my house, as PDC is training like a mad man for up coming half marathons. Lots of healthy protein, low GI, fresh and tastes amazing. All the boxes are ticked.

My Tuna and Bean Salad

1 tin sliced (or at least chunky) tuna - the fancy bottled preserved tuna I brought last week at Mediterranean Wholesalers is at the highest end of the pantry tuna scale

1 tin Edgel 4 bean mix - the other mixed bean brands are too stodgy

1 handful of raw green beans

2 handfuls cherry tomatoes

2 stems spring onions

1 hot red chilli

EVOO

Sherry vinegar

S+P

Rinse and drain the tinned beans

Chop the cherry tomatoes and finely slice the green beans, spring onion and chilli

Toss together the beans, tomato, green beans, spring onion, chilli and tuna

Add a splash of EVOO, sherry vinegar and season well

Eat immediately but leave a small bowl in the fridge for a loved one to munch on later.

A 'hot' salad

So what to cook when you don't want to cook?

What about a hot smoked trout salad.

This is some of my 'lazy' cooking, a bit of an assembly job really but done with a balanced, kick your taste buds into gear flavours. A just can't bear to eat dull, boring food. Life's too short.

Whole foods are an important part of what I eat day to day but like all other normal people I have a soft spot (visible at bad angles! ;)) for dark chocolate Tim tams or those kettle potato chips.

Note to self: must find a smart way to convince Mr Run Half Marathons, aka PDC, that we don't need them in the pantry, especially since I have been making a concerted effort for our 'Fancy Party' in a couple of months.

Any way we are actually here for the hot salad, and god Melbourne was hot today and this salad made it feel a whole lot saner!

Hot smoked trout salad with taramasalata, baby pink eyes and fennel

About 100g smoked trout, flake straight off the fish skeleton

1 tbsp taramasalata

1/4 avocado, chunky bits

1/3 lebanese cucumber, sliced

1/3 baby fennel, shaved with your vegie peeler, tips reserved for the salad

A bit of spanish onion, sliced as fine as possible

1/2 a baby cos, rough shred

splash of sherry vinegar

larger splash of EVOO

S+P

A squeeze of lemon

Extras

A soft boiled egg

Baby potatoes (baby pink eyes rock), steamed

sugar snaps, steamed

Smear the taramasalata on your plate

Toss the salad together with the dressing ingredients and season

Serve over half the smeared taramasalata, add the other seasoned bits

Eat with a glass of 'far-too-cold-to-be-kosher' Beaujolais

Bring on tomorrow, 43C again!

Kiwi Klassic - Whitebait fritters

You know you are an honoured guest in a Kiwi house when you are served whitebait fritters.

I remember one of my first trips to PDC’s family nearly ten years ago; I was served them as an arrival ‘nibble’ with a fabulous glass of off-dry local Riesling. I remember seeing the little fishes eyes googling me as I devoured the warm fish fritter. They are softly textural, slightly fishy and salty, but mostly a bright fresh taste of the sea, just like a good oyster.
I definitely ate more than my share; I had no idea of the costly nature of whitebait, and I have since learnt it’s available in the local supermarket freezer chest for $120 per kilo. Whitebait fritters are especially expensive because of the way they are served, no mucking about, the baby fish, egg and some flour, into a very basic batter and then a hot pan, served warm. Not served like caviar or other delicacies, as just a garnish, the produce is the main ingredient and star.

This whitebait is from a ‘trench’, the term used for the permitted whitebait fishing spot, near the mouth of the Hokitika river on the west coast of New Zealand’s south island.

Whitebait are sprat galaxiid, if you happen to see Hunger for the Wild, a Kiwi series from the chefs and owners of Wellingtons Logan Brown Restaurant, you should watch the whitebait episode, just intriguing. Note: this is nothing like what we call whitebait in Australia, this recipe is only relevant for the true kiwi classic.

New Zealand whitebait fritters
About 400g New Zealand whitebait
3 whole eggs
1 tbsp plain flour
S+P

Whisk the eggs until foamy and then add the flour to create a simple batter

Add the flour and a little S+P, mix, essentially you are trying to get the texture right, add a little more flour if it is too wet
Add the white bait and then spoon onto a buttered hot pan
Fry until golden and serve warm with a squeeze of lemon and a little sprinkle of salt


Thanks to PDCs Mum for the recipe and cooking demonstration.

Chilli chocolate dipped cherries

I prefer to make small foodie gifts if I can, and came up with the idea for these as I stood in the chocolate aisle of my supermarket earlier in the week. I was about to grab the 70% cocoa Lindt when the chilli flavoured caught my eye... Umm an idea in the working.

A lap around the supermarket collecting random necessities, and I had justified the combination in my mind, yes cherries dipped in chilli chocolate should be very good.

And you know what, they were fabulous!

Chocolate and chilli is no revolutionary idea, both originally from South America, the flavours have a strangely alluring relationship together.

Chilli and fruit is another inspired combination. In South East Asia I love the little pounches of chilli/sugar/salt that comes with sliced seasonal fruit, the street food in Bangkok is the best in the world, and this is a definite highlight for me.

So thinking laterally, using chilli chocolate for my dipped cherries is not a crazy stretch of the palate, and this is coming from someone that would usually prefer the classic food combos over the fashionable.

Do you need a recipe?
No way... Just melt the chilli chocolate or infuse your own if you're feeling fancy (but getting the portions right scares me!), make sure your cherries are straight from the fridge, dip in the hot chocolate and lay out on baking paper lined trays.
Refridgerate until set and firm. Eat as soon as possible.

I placed mine into a vintage glass bowl and wrapped in pretty paper and ribbon and had an impressive Christmas inspired gift with a twist.

NB Would you believe that when we shared these after lunch, I had not disclosed the chilli flavour, yet the first taster blew the fun for everyone announcing - "wow that chilli chocolate is great"! Bloody ex-sommeliers and their freaky palates!

Merry Christmas everyone.

Baby pink eyes

I was on foot at the Prahran market recently but still had to buy a kilo of these most perfectly pretty potatoes.

Baby pink eyes.

Michael Mow from the speciality potato stand can't get enough of these little suckers, they fly off the shelf and no wonder.
They are from South Arm, Tasmania, just south of Hobart and were out of the ground for 4 days before I ate them. Now that's perfect seasonal produce.

Washed and ready for a quick steam.I've enjoyed mine, simply steamed and seasoned with fish, roasted with thyme and served along side chicken and last night just a quick boil and then tossed in butter and chives.

With many of these potatoes smaller than a grape they make the ultimate fast food. I reckon I could cook these quicker than thinking about how easy takeaway would be.

Pretty purple kale

Perhaps a bit early in the year, yet I couldn't resist these pretty purple kale leaves from South Melbourne markets. I love it just sauteed with some garlic and chilli, incredibly healthy -high in iron, vitamin C and calcium.
A beautiful bouquet in the corner of the kitchen is also a remarkable tribute to food and produce.
Jack

The highs and the lows of a week

I've had a bit of a tough week.
Until yesterday I was still sulking.

I took this picture of that fig tree I have had my eye on.



Planning that the next day I would very discretely aquire my bounty, BUT I the next day I found this. (sorry it was windy and the my images look like a drunk person took them)
The possums had struck!

So I have been sulking, until the others started to ripen and I had renewed hope...

I decided not to risk the fruit over night again and picked it, though it was not totally that dark bruised purple colour I would want from this type of ripe fig. But I just could not risk being that picky.

And then my boundy was realised, and I remembered why I was desperately stalking these poor figs. This truely is the most amazing tree, the fruit has a intense level of sweetness, yet it has a high level of acid and a fleshy firm textured seed crunch. The fig was heavy and full of tiny blooms, not somewhat hollow as some can be.

These really are the most intense fruit. I am uncertain if they are so remarkable because they are so fresh or whether it is the specific type of fig, but it was started a new stake out in my mind... one for a tree trimming.
(And I'd probably ask this time, I'm a terrible thief. I've been paranoid that my neighbour is on to me for days.)
I wonder if I could sprout a small trimming and then plant my own amazing fig tree, I'm not sure if it works this way.
Any hints?
Jack

Figs - My Pick for February

My love of whatever is 'good' at the market, has lead me to start this series of posts; 'My Pick'.
I find that when a favourite produce is newly available at the market with the change of a season I can't get enough, I can end up eating the same component over and over. The seasonal produce is always, fresh and in good condition, inexpensive and readily available.
So what I'd like to do is over the month create a few dishes from the same feature ingredient, if you have one to share, I'd welcome you to get involved as well.

So for February, My Pick is Figs

Figs are one of those flexible ingredients that when they are in season I become torn, I can think of the perfect entree, main course and dessert to incorporate them into yet, I can't have them for every course -or could I?
Figs are actually a tiny cluster of flowers inside a soft pod, techically not a fruit, they are in season late summer and early autumn in Melbourne.
The two types of figs above are the main ones I see at the markets, they go by a variety of names but roughly something like black fig or genoa for the larger purple-y ones and honey or white fig for the smaller lime green ones. I also love the little bite size 'wild figs' that you can buy semi dried, in the dry goods section. These are often imported but you can also get some fantastic quality ones from South Australia.

Baked black figs with gorgonzola dolce and Parma prosciutto
I served three of these figs with a small salad of tangelo segments, shaved baby fennel and some wild rocket as a main course.
Cut the figs into quarters and stuff with a generous wedge of gorgonzola, gently form into the fig shape again and roll in a little blanket of prosciutto. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and a grind of white pepper. I find you don't need to salt these as the cheese and ham gives plenty of seasoning to the fig.
Bake in a slow to moderate oven until the prosciutto is crispy and the cheese is hot and molten.Rest the figs for a few minutes after the oven, so as to not burn your tongue as soon as you taste how good they are.
Jack

NB Don't worry, I have not forgotten about the fig stake out, its sooo still on, just nothing seems to be happening at the moment, immediately upon the first signs of ripening, you'll know.

Australia Day, some things never change

And others can surprise you...

Things that never change
-our sense of national righteousness about having a barbeque on Australia Day - or on the public holiday at least
-my relief that it didn't end up like the last - a fire engine squiring water up onto our third floor balcony to put out the barbeque and gas bottle on fire. We laugh now but are still a little (correction, a lot) paranoid with the barbie
-that if you offer a pavlova, you will not have left overs

Shhh, the resting pav...

All dressed up and ready to go

Things that surprise me

-we also served kangaroo fillet, marinated and seared on the barbeque, it went so fast I felt like a bad host for stashing a marinated fillet for later (thinking that the consensus would be 'no thanks').
I have been eating kangaroo meat for years, and apart from loving the gamey earthy flavour, its inexpensive, really good for you - high protein vs low fat, and sustainably produced in our environment.

So we ate from the coat of arms... but if only I had invited Anna from Morels and Musings with her emu dish from earlier in the month and we would have completed the pair!

Pavlova
A fun dessert in my house, were Kiwi and Aussie rivalry is already alive and well, we don't need to make it worse reminding them that it really is an Australian dessert.
In case you care... created in Perth by a German chef called Herbert Sachse at Hotel Espanade in 1935. He named it after Anna Pavlova the ballerina. The tricky part is that Herbert is like all good chefs, he reads lots of cook books and was 'inspired' from the equivalent to the Womens Weekly and used a recipe sent in by a kiwi reader. So yes a meringue, cream, fruit thing was made in NZ first but Australia owns the Pav (the kiwis can keep the lollie cake though... don't ask if you don't know!)

The even funnier thing is that PDC the kiwi of the house made this perfect pavlova, from an Aussie recipe -Thanks Stephanie.

Stephanie Alexanders Pavlova recipe
4 egg whites at room temperature
pinch of salt
250g castor sugar
2 teaspoons of cornflour
1 teaspoon of white wine vinegar
a few drops of pure vanilla (we didn't have any)

Preheat oven to 180C
Line a tray with baking paper
Beat egg whites and salt until 'satiny' (not sure what this means!) peaks form
Beat in sugar a third at a time until meringue is stiff and shiny
Sprinkle over cornflower, vinegar and vanilla and fold in
Mound onto paper lined tray about 20cm round with a smooth top and sides
Place in oven and immediately reduce the heat to 150C and cook for 1 1/4 hours (ours took a little longer until golden)
Turn off oven and leave pavlova in it to cool completely.

Stephanie flips her pav but ours was served crunchy side up with whipped cream (no sugar) and heaps of very sweet passionfruit - the especially purchased mango and peaches stayed on the shelf...

Hope yours is as successful as PDC's

Jack

Stake Out!

These beauty's will grow into the most luscious figs I have ever tasted, I know, I had some from the same tree last year.
I am not sure what the variety of fig is - though I'd love to know - but this is not my biggest concern. The problem is... I don't own the tree and they are only marginally 'over' the fence - if I stretch my arm right out.
The stake out is on.
Updates to come...
Jack

Spanish tomato salad

Tomatoes evoke memories of summer games as a child, playing 'sprinkler' games, nibbling cherry tomatoes as 'energy pills' at each end of the sprinklers reach. Ohh..., the days before water restrictions and before the urban areas, were possums have the run of the courtyard, under the cloak of darkness...
This salad I made in advance, and served to friends, as a little side dish to some panfried whole garfish.

The tomatoes are just from a local green grocer that often has something interesting on offer. This day he had some black russian tomatoes, that I buy when I can, some loose baby romas and some stem on cherry tomatoes.

These were combined with torn basil, arbequina olives that I ripped apart to deseed, and a generous glug of extra virgin olive oil, sherry vinegar, white pepper and Murray river pink salt.

My tomatoes are still happy little green marbles on the numerous plants in my courtyard. But I have very low expectations of actually eating the fruit as the possums are very sneaky and are known from previous seasons to rather Houdini like in their ability to slip through nets and elaborate traps. So, I enjoy these while I can and hope that I have at least a few to show for my newly found green thumb.

Jack

White cherries

I picked these shiny, blushing white cherries, a couple of weekends back just after Christmas. White cherries are one of those things you may see very occasionally at markets, yet would not buy as the perception is that the other, black or dark purple ones are better, sweeter, intenser. As I discovered, that perception is wrong.
At the Ellisfield Farm in Red Hill, I picked these cherries for $7 a kilo, it was a tougher process than I thought, as it had rained a few days prior and there was a lot of split and rotting fruit on the trees, such a shame.
I also purchased some black cherries from the farm and 'tasted' some of the morello cherries straight off the trees. The black cherries were reduced in price from $15 a kilo (that's picked and ready to go, not pick your own), to $10, because of a few marks made again by the rain, what a frustrating life of a farmer, one minute drought and then next minute reduced price, rain damaged fruit.
Back at home, tasting the black and white cherries one after another, it was very clear that the white was my pick. A slightly softer texture and not as meaty at the stone, the white cherries also a little lower in acid and therefore perhaps a bit more scoffable.

So with a few kilos of cherries in the fridge, what to do with them?
~Bring to room temperature and snack on a highly antioxidant fruit
~Poach a kilo of washed fruit with a splash of water and a couple of tablespoons of sugar, slowly until they are soft and eat for breakfast with muesli or dessert with ice cream or left over 'eggnog crush'
~Slightly pickle in equal quantities of vinegar and sugar ( add a few flavours if you like such as bay leaves, cloves, orange peel) and serve after a few weeks with pate or terrines.~
~Preserve some in your favourite spirit, perhaps some vodka or brandy
~I have been known to also take the left over poached cherries once we get sick of them and don't finish the pot and reduce it even further to make a thick sticky reduction to serve with white mould cheese

Jack

Christmas with Jack

I had a quiet Christmas at home this year, PDC had been working like crazy, so I decided to prepare a modern Aussie style Christmas lunch for the two of us.

One of the difficult things about working out what to serve is that a lot of otherwise beautiful produce is usually so over demanded at this time of the year, that what is available is generally of poor quality. Take seafood for example, there are only so many fish/prawns/oysters etc to be caught and sold over that period so the chances of getting good produce over the other thousands at the market (no matter what you are prepared to pay) is slim, as the retailers will stretch themselves (and their prices - why were raspberries $6.50 a punnet last weekend, yet $4.00 the one prior, when the season is actually getting better?) to supply as much as they can sell.

Therefore my mission was to create a special, 'Christmas feeling' lunch without using the produce that everyone else wanted and would be easy to 'finish' on Christmas day and partially prepare the day before.

Therefore, the menu...

Entree
San Daniele prosciutto and seared scallops with saffron and manzanilla braised leek, peas and their tendrils

Main
Rare venison fillet and quince sauce with anchovy and asparagus stuffed zucchini flowers and taleggio polenta chips

Cheese
Chaource with pecans and bread to dip (actually on the menu but postponed until dinner...)

Dessert
Black cherry and almond clafoutis with eggnog crush

So the entree (scallops, fitted my requirements as some of the best ones comes frozen from Canada or Japan) - served on a glass plate that you can't see here!

The San Daniele ham is my new favourite thing, I can't believe I have been getting by eating the plastic Australian stuff for years. After eating in Spain earlier this year and my new palate for Spanish jamon, I can confidently tell you this is truly up there!
The entree was matched beautifully by PDC with a fancy white burgundy, 1996 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne.

You can tell its summer when the zucchini flowers are at the market.

I (or PDC actually) stuffed the flowers with a very quick combination of a finely sliced asparagus spear, a couple of chopped anchovies, a blob of goats curd, lemon and S+P. The flowers were panfried and then finished in the oven, the stuffing leaked a little when i turned them but still offered a powerful flavour punch that you could not miss.

Pre cooked and set buckwheat polenta, cut into 'chips' to be seasoned and panfried.


The cherries before the batter... (and during PDC's nap - hence time for a few extra photos)

They were large cherries, but not plum sized as they look here... And then...

Baked... yes trust me it tasted as delicious as it looks here (I was very proud!)

We ate this with what I ended up calling eggnog crush, essentially my recipe for eggnog that I froze some of this year, in the hope of turning into a rough ice cream, yet as I discovered my taste for booze in the eggnog also stops it freezing hard, so we ended up with s slushy consistency for the 'crush', but the flavour combination was outrageously good.
The incredibly interesting thing about the clafoutis was that if I had not cooked it myself, I would have argued about the fact that I could DEFINITELY tell that the cherries had been soaked in Amaretto. But since you can tell from the first photo there was no soaking just beautifully plump, fresh, fat cherries, the flavour had come from the seeds, the exact reason why they are traditionally left in this dish. I love it, and love the way the best understanding of something comes from doing it yourself.

I hope you also had a very merry christmas
Jack

The taste of summer

The cold weather, has reminded me of these beautiful strawberries I ate in Marseilles, France.
They were sold in the pretty little wooden box with pale blue trim and wrapped in paper in the store. The were probably the best strawberries I have ever eaten, so ripe that the fragrance was intoxicating and that the stalks pulled away from the flesh in your lips.
Bring on summer!
Jack