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Hello Fresh

On March 7, 2012 in celiac, Chinese, dinner, gluten-free, healthy recipes, Masterchef, recipes, wheat-free

There are two types of people in this world – those who love grocery shopping and those who don’t. I love to cook and eat, but my fortnightly supermarket excursion is a constant source of dread.  Frankly, wheeling a trolley around a supermarket in a dazed stupor is simply not my idea of fun. In fact, sometimes I fantasise about moving abroad so I can enjoy the daily pastime of shopping at open-air markets like Union Square Greenmarket or the Parisian roving markets. 

Thankfully this week’s supermarket torture session was put to an abrupt halt when someone kindly offered to hand deliver a bag of groceries to my front door. No, it wasn’t an angel sent from above, it was ex-Masterchef contestant, Tom Rutledge who has set up a dinner delivery service called Hello Fresh. He asked if I’d review it on Food Crush, and who was I to say no? It’s not every day a bag of fresh dinner ingredients lands on your doorstep.

While food delivery services per se are nothing to write home about, what’s interesting about Hello Fresh is it takes care of the shopping and the menu planning. So, instead of madly scrambling around the kitchen when you get home from work desperately trying to work out what on earth to cook, you can pull together a healthy dinner using their ingredients and corresponding recipe. Perfect for the time-poor among us who don’t want to forgo the pleasures of cooking.

“It’s not always as easy for people to cook at home as it should be,” says Tom Rutledge. “Our business is about providing simple recipes and beautiful ingredients to allow people to prepare a healthy meal quickly after they get home. Cooking is fun and it should be more accessible than many with busy lives perceive it to be.”

The Hello Fresh model is up and running in five countries around Europe. The set menu changes weekly and is influenced by availability and seasonality. You don’t need more than 30 minutes or any fancy kitchen equipment.  While the ingredients aren’t organic, Tom tells me they’re free-range and ethical and sourced locally wherever possible. The biggest downfall (or greatest opportunity depending on how you look at it) is the lack of options for those of us with food allergies or special diets.

On this week’s menu are the likes of Herb Barramundi Fillets with Warm Bean Salad; Eggplant, Tomato and Oregano Penne Pasta; and Caramelised Pork Fillet with Asian Greens. On my foray into Hello Fresh, I cooked Lemon Chicken with Grilled Mediterranean Vegetables which was perfectly lovely and fresh but needed some sauce or Greek-style yoghurt to jazz it up. See below for the recipe.

So, what’s the damage? Well, you can subscribe for three to five meals a week, with the average cost per meal per person working out at around $10.  So, it’s an expensive option if you’re the kind of person who dutifully does their grocery shopping each week, but on the flip side, it’s more cost-effective than ordering takeaway.

With the likes of Woolworths going high-tech with their virtual supermarkets (buying groceries with your mobile phone by scanning an ad at the train station),  it’s unlikely businesses like Hello Fresh can compete on a national scale. I see their competitive advantage in building out specialist lines for people with food sensitivities, special diets or weight loss goals.

The good news is Hello Fresh is offering Food Crush readers a 30% discount. Simply go to Hello Fresh and enter the discount code, “foodcrush” when you place your order.

And without further ado, here’s their recipe for Lemon Chicken with Grilled Mediterranean Vegetables. I recommend serving it with a dollop of thick Greek-style yoghurt.

Lemon Chicken with Grilled Mediterranean Vegetables

Lemon chicken with grilled Mediterranean vegetables

Lemon chicken with grilled Mediterranean vegetables

Serves two
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

2 free-range chicken breasts
1/2 tbs lemon zest
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 red capsicum
1/2 eggplant
1 zucchini
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tbs olive oil
2 sprigs oregano

Method:

1. Heat a griddle pan or barbecue to medium heat.

2. Slice the chicken breasts long ways to make 1-2cm thick fillets. Sprinkle with lemon zest and a good grind of salt and pepper.

3. Prepare the vegetables by slicing the eggplant into 1cm-thick rounds. Slice the zucchini lengthways into 1/2cm-thick ribbons. Chop the capsicum.

4. Cook the chicken and vegetables on a lightly oiled barbecue or griddle pan. Cook the chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side or until done. Turn the vegetables and cook until they are tender. About 5-6 minutes on each side. My pan wasn’t big enough to hold the chicken and the veggies, so I used to separate pans.

5. Once the vegetables are cooked through, layer them on the centre of a serving plate. I used a big, white platter. Place the cooked chicken on top. Dress with lemon juice and sprinkle over the fresh oregano leaves. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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Six rockstar meals

On November 18, 2011 in dinner, food, food blog, restaurants, reviews, Sydney

Do you suffer from food envy when eating out? It’s a common affliction that affects the best of us – particularly indecisive Librans like me. What’s even worse than food envy is encountering a dish that’s simply too good to eat. Art on a plate, if you like. Today’s post is a celebration of six restaurant dishes that blew me away.

1. Prawn cocktail at Doyle’s, Watson’s Bay

My sister ordered this dish at a family lunch at Doyles earlier this year. Truth be told, I had a serious case of food envy when I saw the dish emerge from the kitchen. Simple, fresh and oh-so-Aussie. There may be too much fried food on the menu, but the Sydney institution of Doyles does a mean prawn cocktail. Oh so fitting for a civilised lunch on a sparkly summer’s day. And did I mention the view? It’s to-die-for.

prawn cocktail at Doyles

prawn cocktail at Doyles

2. Duck liver pate at The Commons, Darlinghurst

The Commons is one of those places I could just keep going back to. Its cosy interior has just the right mix of coolness and comfort factor that I look for in a watering hole. What’s more, it has a fabulous restaurant that dishes up some of the best seasonal produce around. On my last visit there, we demolished some duck liver pate (they gave me sliced apple instead of bread) and a whole baked rainbow trout stuffed with tomatoes and mozzarella.  Needless to say, I fell into a foodie coma.

Duck liver pate with cornichons

Duck liver pate with cornichons at The Commons, Sydney

3.  Snapper and chocolate sphere at Gastro Park, Potts Point

The name might get the thumbs down, but Gastro Park takes Sydney restaurant food to a whole new level with its arty interpretations of scaled snapper with smoked potato puree, calamari crackling and ink sauce. Their chocolate, honeycomb, mandarin sphere, cookies and cream is an orgasm on a plate.

Snapper at Gastro Park

Snapper at Gastro Park

4. Oysters and honey vodka at Food Society, Darlinghurst

Sydney needs more places like Food Society – a little piece of Eastern Europe in the heart of Darlinghurst. I went there with four friends a couple of weeks ago and tucked into their share menu. The best value food I’ve had in ages at $46 each. The stand outs were the Pacific oysters with lemon ice and trout roe washed down with a smooth glass of honey vodka. You simply must try it. Oh, and all dishes served with bread or crackers can be gluten-free on request.

Pacific oysters with lemon ice and trout roe

Pacific oysters with lemon ice and trout roe at Food Society, Darlinghurst

Honey vodka at Food Society, Darlinghurst

Honey vodka at Food Society, Darlinghurst

5. Dessert plate at Toko, Surry Hills

Toko is one of my favourite restaurants and bars. It might be hard to get a table, but their gyoza are to-die-for and the mood lighting does wonders for my wrinkles. And I love their dessert plate. It’s not gluten-free, but the presentation is spot on. Love.

Dessert platter at Toko, Surry Hills

Dessert platter at Toko, Surry Hills

6. Chocolate fondue and martinis at The Victoria Room, Darlinghurst

Stepping inside Sydney’s plush Victoria Room transports me to a rich gentleman’s club in Bombay. It’s like having dinner at a very rich person’s house. I can imagine someone like Winston Churchill kicking back here with a cigar and Scotch in hand.

Their chocolate fondue and martinis for two is the best $70 you’ll ever spend. Just don’t make the mistake of eating dinner beforehand like we did. The servings are as generous as Santa Claus’s stomach. A warm bowl of molten dark chocolate is surrounded by pieces of Turkish Delight, candied orange, fresh fruit, banana fritters and banana bread. This is hedonism at its best and makes for a great date night.

Chocolate fondue martinis at The Victoria Room

Chocolate fondue martinis at The Victoria Room

 

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Chicken soup

On July 5, 2011 in chicken, comfort food, dairy-free, dinner, egg-free, gluten-free, healthy recipes, recipes, wheat-free, winter warmers

There’s two types of eaters in this world – those who live to eat and those who eat to live. No prizes for guessing which camp I fall into. What type of eater are you? Is your relationship with food based on passion or necessity?

Sometimes I wish I was one of those people who regard food as fuel and regularly forget to eat. It would save me from having to constantly think about food. It would probably save my waistline too. But on the downside, it would mean the death of this blog. A food blog written by a food hater? Forget it.

A surefire sign of a food lover is a healthy preoccupation with comfort food. In other words, eating when you’re not hungry. Comfort eaters are masters of the art of eating for the sake of it. They’ll find any excuse to put food in their mouths. The most frequently cited reasons being boredom, sickness, procrastination, heartache, depression, joy and tiredness.

Ice-cream, biscuits and chocolate are popular forms of sweet comfort food. Hot chips, pizza, burgers, bangers and mash, anything involving carbs are highly sought after in the savoury department. A common misconception with comfort food is that it has to be unhealthy. This is not the case. Take chicken soup, for example. It’s one of the best comfort foods around and happens to be very good for you. Some even go as far as saying it cures sickness.

In the interests of curbing my reliance on unhealthy comfort foods, I decided to soothe my soul with a big pot of homemade chicken soup. I made the whole thing from scratch, including the broth. This isn’t a mid-week meal as you need to leave the soup in the fridge overnight so you can skim the solidified fat off the surface the next day. It’s really worth the effort. I’ve never tasted soup this delicious.

chicken soup

Classic chicken soup adapted from Taste

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 x 1.4kg (size 14) chicken (make sure it’s free-range)
2 large brown onions, finely chopped
2 cups loosely packed fresh continental parsley leaves
4 garlic cloves, crushed
60 mls (1/4 cup) fresh lemon juice
2 tbs soy sauce
5 celery sticks, cut into l cm pieces
5 medium carrots, cut into l cm pieces
2 medium tomatoes, halved
salt and ground black pepper, to taste
1.5L (6 cups) water

Method:

Rinse the inside of the chicken. Remove the tail and neck, and as much skin as possible from the chicken.
Combine the onions, parsley, garlic, lemon juice and soy sauce in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 5-8 minutes or until the onions are soft. Add the chicken, celery, carrots and tomatoes and season with pepper. Add the water and bring to the boil.
Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 1 hour or until the chicken is tender and comes away from the bones easily.
Remove from heat, cool for 10 minutes and place the soup in the fridge to chill overnight. (This allows the fat to rise to the surface and set.)
Next day, remove the soup from the fridge and use a large metal spoon to remove the layer of solidified fat from the surface.
Remove the chicken from the soup and place in a large bowl. Use your fingers to remove the meat from the bones and shred into pieces.
Discard the bones. Return the chicken meat to the soup.
Bring the soup to the boil over medium heat and simmer until the chicken and vegetables are heated through. Remove the soup from the heat and skim a piece of paper towel over the surface to absorb any excess fat.
Season with salt and ladle the soup into deep soup bowls. Sprinkle with pepper and serve.

 

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Pumpkin, date and macadamia salad

On March 25, 2011 in dairy-free, dinner, egg-free, gluten-free, healthy recipes, recipes, salad, vegetarian, wheat-free

What’s your favourite vegetable? Mine is pumpkin. When I was living in Scotland, I remember getting strange looks when I bought it from the grocer. It’s known as butternut squash in the UK and apparently they use it as pig food. Shock horror, it’s not winning popularity contests as a result. Thankfully, pumpkin doesn’t suffer from such bad PR here in Australia. Unfortunate for pigs, lucky for me.

Pumpkin, date and macadamia salad

Pumpkin, date and macadamia salad

I would describe pumpkin as one of the most versatile vegetables around. You can puree it into soup, mash it into a pie, whip it into a cake (or scones if you’re like Lady Florence Bjelke-Petersen), chuck it into a stir-fry, carve it for Halloween or throw it into a salad. And did I mention it goes down a treat roasted with a pinch of nutmeg? According to our friends at Wikipedia, most parts of the pumpkin are edible, including the fleshy shell, the seeds, the leaves, and even the flowers. Who knew?

With autumn upon us here in the southern hemisphere, I’m starting to cook more soups and less salads. But in the interests of keeping the warmer months alive for just a little bit longer, I’ve invented a rock-star salad recipe. Since a friend of mine introduced me to adding dates to salads, I’ve become quite obsessed by the idea, so you’ll notice the appearance of a handful of pitted dates in this recipe. The addition of macadamias also goes down a treat, but lightly toasted pine nuts are just as tasty. This dish can be served on its own or as an accompaniment to meat. And, if there’s any leftovers, you can take a leaf out of my book and take them to work. Be warned, your workmates will be jealous.

Pumpkin, date and macadamia salad
Serves 4

Ingredients:

800g-1kg butternut pumpkin, peeled and cut into hearty cubes
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tbs agave nectar (available from health food stores)
1 tbs salt-reduced soy sauce (or Tamari soy if you’re gluten-intolerant)
400g tin butter beans, rinsed and drained
a few good handfuls of mixed salad leaves (I recommend using a mixture of radicchio and rocket)
2 handfuls of coriander leaves, loosely picked
2 shallots (spring onions), chopped
1/2 cup of pitted dates, roughly chopped
2 handfuls of macadamia nuts or toasted pine nuts

Method:

Heat the oven to around 180 degrees. Chuck the pumpkin in a roasting pan and drizzle with a bit of oil, season well with salt and cracked pepper and give the pan a good shake. Roast the pumpkin in the oven until it’s tender. I find it usually takes about 30 minutes or so. Once it’s done, take it out of the oven and let it cool. It will smell delicious!

Next up, whisk the olive oil, chilli flakes, garlic, agave and soy sauce in a bowl or Pyrex jug. Then, simply throw the washed mixed lettuce leaves in a nice, big salad bowl and throw in all the other ingredients and pour on the dressing. It’s fine to serve the pumpkin while it’s still warm, but I prefer it a room temperature so it doesn’t wilt the lettuce leaves. Gently toss the salad and you’re done.

In the mood for more salad? Check out my chicken salad recipe.

 

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Luke Nguyen’s crispy tofu cooked in tomato-pepper sauce

On February 9, 2011 in allergy-free, celiac, dairy-free, dinner, egg-free, food sensitivities, gluten-free, healthy recipes, recipes, spicy, spicy food, tofu, vegetarian, Vietnamese, wheat-free

Have you ever tracked down a long, lost friend and reconnected after years of silence? If you’re on Facebook, I’m guessing the answer is a resounding yes. Reunions can go one of two ways – you either pick up where you left off or you remember why you lost touch in the first place.

I reunited with tofu recently. We became well-acquainted during my 20′s. Admittedly, I was never very creative with it. I would mainly chuck it in stir-fries and gobble it up with lots or rice and soy sauce. At some point in my late 20′s, I dumped tofu. It was either a case of seeing too much of each other or not realising its true potential. Whatever the case, I haven’t really looked back since… until now.

Now that I’m forbidden to eat grains, eggs, shellfish and dairy (get out the violin), I’ve decided to put a positive spin on the situation by looking at what I can eat. And tofu just happens to be an Amy-safe food. Having recently deep-fried it and drowned it in spicy tomato-pepper sauce, I have to say that I’ve fallen back in love with the stuff. I would describe tofu as the chameleon of the food world – able to adapt to different dishes and take on different flavours with ease and flexibility. In fact, if it were a person, I dare say that I’d really like to meet it.

One of my favourite Australian chefs, Luke Nguyen is the reason behind my rediscovery of tofu. I saw him cook Crispy tofu cooked in tomato-pepper sauce on his awesome show, Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam. I’m not normally one for deep-fried food, but when you can’t have grains, dairy and eggs, you’ve gotta get your kicks somehow.

Luke Nguyen’s crisp tofu cooked in tomato-pepper sauce

This has become a regular mid-week meal in our house.

Think of this dish as a ragout or a bolognese sauce without meat and with lots of spice. The recipe calls for silken tofu, but you’re best to use the firm variety. I highly recommend using vine-ripened tomatoes as they really enhance the flavour of the dish. The sauce turns a nice orange colour after it’s been bubbling away for a while. In theory, you could probably serve four people with this recipe, but Paul and I easily polish off the whole dish between us (served on a bed of rice). I love it so much that I’ve cooked it four weeks in a row!

If you like Vietnamese food, check out Kylie Kwong’s chicken soup.

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