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Rocket salad

On July 29, 2010 in gluten-free, healthy recipes, Italian, recipes, salad, seasonal, vegetarian, wheat-free

So it’s freezing cold in Sydney at the moment and let’s face it, salad probably isn’t rating high on your agenda. But I’ve come across a winter salad recipe that will change your tune about salad. It’s sweet, bitter and crunchy all in the same mouthful … not to mention, dead easy to make. I served it as an accompaniment to barbecued butterfly lamb with a side of roast potatoes.

Rocket salad with pear and parmesan

Rocket salad with pear and parmesan

The trick is finding ripe pears. I couldn’t find a ripe pear to save myself, so the man at Harris Farm recommended Josephine pears as they are the softest variety. Although it felt rock hard, it was soft when I cut it. If you’re not serving the salad immediately, be sure to squeeze some lemon juice on the cut pears to prevent discolouration. I threw in some red lettuce leaves for extra colour. Oh, and I froze the leftover parmesan to use at a later date. Handy! If pine nuts aren’t your thing, you could try substituting these with walnuts…. just a thought. Here’s the recipe from www.taste.com.au.

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French pastries

On July 27, 2010 in Baking, dessert, French pastries, reviews

I went to Paris on the weekend. Not the Paris you’re thinking of, mind you. It turns out, there’s a little piece of Paris on Bondi Road that sells some of the best pastries imaginable. My Francophile friend told me about it. And if she likes it, you know it must be good.

Pastries from Paris

From Paris with love!

As I found myself standing at its counter on Saturday morning ogling at some very fine-looking pastries, I wondered if I’d been teleported to Paris. Even the staff are French at this hole-in-the-wall establishment that’s been around for around 35 years.

The only problem with this place is everything looks so damn good. I was torn between the almond croissant, chocolate croissant and cinnamon brioche. So, having just run a painstaking 7kms, I felt justified in buying all three. Next time, I intend to buy a chocolate eclairs, vanilla slice (millefeuille), chocolate tart, fruit flans, apple turnover, but I might have to run a marathon first.

Coeliacs will relish in the “Le Russe” – gluten-free cake with layers hazelnuts crème and praline. For the savoury tooths among us, there’s quiches and pies galore. I bought a spinach and mushroom quiche here for Mother’s Day which went down a treat. I hear the burgundy pies and chicken pies are pretty special as well.

Paris does cakes to order, so keep it in mind if you have a party coming up. You could order a croquembouche and impress all your guests!

Owner and chef, James Travouillon hails from the Loire Valley in France, where the profession of pastry chef spans three generations of his family.

Paris Cake Shop
Open Tues-Fri 7.30am-6pm; Sat 7am-5.30pm; Sun 8am-1pm
Bondi Rd, Bondi
Ph (02) 9387 2496
Or follow them on Twitter: @pariscakeshop

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Baked camembert in a box

On July 26, 2010 in cheese, cooking, entertaining, recipes, winter warmers

Here’s a surefire dinner party pleaser for the cheese aficionados among you - baked camembert in a box. I recently served it as a starter when my Dad and his partner, Jen came over for lunch. Think of it as a mini fondue. It’s easy to make, looks great and gets everyone talking as it’s a bit of a novelty.

Baked camembert

It's cheese in a box!

My special tip is to splash out on some good quality cheese. We bought some from our local deli for around $30. The better quality the cheese, the better the finished product. And we used white wine instead of red, but either would work. Here’s the recipe for baked camembert in a box.

For more great cheese ideas, check out Will Studd’s TV series and book, Cheese Slices.

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Larb gai (spicy chicken salad)

On July 25, 2010 in chicken, dairy-free, dinner, healthy recipes, recipes, salad, spicy food, Thai food

My recent trip to Thailand was the inspiration behind this tasty treat. It took more than the promised 25 mins to prepare, but it was all worth the effort. If you’re into Asian food, then you will love the spicy, citrusy and crunchy flavour combo of this Thai classic.

If you can’t find fresh galangal (I found it at my local grocer), you can use fresh ginger instead. Pork mince would probably work well with this recipe as well. I didn’t have kecap manis at the time, so I threw in some soy sauce instead. And I used brown sugar instead of palm sugar. Let me know what you think of the ground rice that you sprinkle on top of the dish. It reminded me of eating crushed peanuts, but with a rice-flavour. Quite cool for something different!

This dish is like the Thai version of sang choy bow.

This dish is like the Thai version of sang choy bow.

Apologies for the bad food photography. I don’t think Donna Hay would be impressed.

Recipe (from Women’s Weekly’s ‘The Complete Book of Modern Classics):

2 tbs long-grain white rice
1 tbs peanut oil
2 fresh small red Thai chillies, seeded, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbs finely chopped fresh galangal
750g chicken mince
1 Lebanese cucumber, seeded, sliced thinly
1 small red onion (100g), sliced thinly
100g bean sprouts
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh Thai basil leaves
1 cup loosely packed fresh coriander leaves
4 large iceberg lettuce leaves

Dressing:
1/3 cup lime juice
2 tbs fish sauce
2 tbs kecap manis
2 tbs peanut oil
2 tsp grated palm sugar
1/2 tsp sambal oelek (use a mild sweet Thai chilli sauce if you don’t like the heat)

1. Place ingredients for dressing in screw-top jar; shake well.

2. Heat dry wok; stir-fry rice until lightly browned. Blend or process rice until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

3. Heat oil in same wok; stir-fry lemon grass, chilli, garlic and galangal until fragrant. Remove from wok. Stir-fry chicken, in batches, until changed in colour and cooked through.

4. Return chicken and lemon grass mixture to wok with about one-third of the dressing; stir-fry about 5 mins or until mixture thickens slightly.

5. Place remaining dressing in large bowl with chicken, cucumber, onion, sprouts and herbs; toss gently to combine. Place lettuce leaves on serving plates; divide lab salad among leaves, sprinkle with ground rice.

Serves four.

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Anzac biscuits

On July 23, 2010 in Baking, biscuits, cooking, recipes, snacks

Who doesn’t love a good Anzac biscuit? For me, they conjure up memories of cooking in the kitchen with Mum. She is renowned for her special recipe, and I was notorious for eating them raw before they went into the oven. I’ve always had a soft spot for cake and biscuit mixture! Mum still makes Anzacs to this day, sometimes more than once a week. My little niece and nephews are big fans of her special recipe.

Anzacs

Anzacs

There’s a few variations on the original recipe that was made famous during WW1. Legend has it that wives sent the biscuits to soldiers because they could stand the heat of naval transportation. On this occasion, I used a recipe from taste.com.au (one of the best recipe websites on the planet). The finished product was a little too dry for my liking … I prefer my Anzacs a little more chewy. The hint of cinnamon added a nice touch. Next time, I’ll ask Mum is she’s happy to share her tried and tested recipe. Stay tuned.

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