Barossa Lamb Pizza

Steamed Kipfler potatoes, spinach, feta, lamb marinated in a lot of rosemary and cooked only on pizza
No other cheese, thin crust
yogurt on later

Chocolate Chicken Mole with wraps

Chocolate Chicken Mole

Ingredients

For the Chicken:

1 – 1.5 kg chicken pieces we used 4 wings and 4 legs

½ cup vegetable oil

salt and pepper

3 cups chicken stock

½ cup orange juice or 2 tbsp orange rind OR ½ cup water

For the Sauce:

6 dried long red chillis

1 brown onion diced

3 cloves garlic chopped

1 cinnamon stick

1 tsp oregano

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp allspice

½ tsp anise seeds

¼ coriander seeds

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ tsp ground cloves

1-2 tbsp peanuts crushed

1 tbsp pepitas

400 g tomato puree

2-3 tbsp dried prunes or raisins

1 slice day old bread torn into chunks

60 g dark chocolate minimum 80% cocoa

To Serve:

flour or corn tortillas

fresh coriander

red onion finely sliced

2 tbsp sesame seeds garnish

·         Instructions

·         Let’s get started! First up, the chillis. Heat half a cup of vegetable oil in a medium frypan and add your dried chillis. Heat them through gently until they just start to blacken, but don’t allow to burn. Carefully remove them from the oil and pop into a small bowl, then cover with boiling water and allow to soak for around 30 mins.

·         Now for the chicken! Pour the chilli oil into a large saucepan or casserole dish over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt and pepper and cook in batches, three minutes or so per side. (Watch out for spitting oil! We recommend using a lid here to shield yourself). Once cooked, return all the chicken to the frying pan you used to cook the chilli and add the orange juice and half the stock. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and allow to bubble away for around 20 mins, rotating the chicken every 5 minutes or so to coat.

·         Meanwhile, back in the large saucepan/casserole dish, add your chopped onion, garlic and gently fry until translucent in the chilli oil. Next add the oregano, cumin, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, anise seeds, coriander seeds and cinnamon stick and cook for a couple of minutes until the spices are mouthwateringly fragrant. Add in the peanuts, pepitas, torn chunks of bread, tomato puree and raisins or prunes along with the softened chillis. Pour in the remaining chicken stock and simmer for 10-15 minutes to allow all those gorgeous flavours to blend.

·         Now, remove from the heat and take out your cinnamon stick to blend the sauce. You can do this with a stab blender or by transferring the sauce in batches into a food processor or blender.

·         Now add in your dark chocolate and allow to melt gently into the sauce. Give it a good stir and a taste test.

·         Finally, you can place your chicken pieces (whole or shredded) along with its juices and stock back into the pot with your blended mole sauce and cover. Return to the heat and warm through before serving.

·         To assemble:

·         Layer your fresh tortillas with chicken mole, red onion and fresh coriander.

·         Optionally, serve with fluffy white rice.

·         Enjoy!

Chorizo Recipes Assorted

Chef John

Ingredients for about 8 to 10 Italian Sausages:

3 pounds pork shoulder

28 grams kosher salt (1 ounce)

4 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons

whole fennel seed, toasted

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon anise seed

2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon marjoram

1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice berries

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon white sugar

2 tablespoons cold water

River cottage

3-–4 lengths of beef runner casings

5kg boneless shoulder or hand of free-range pork, with about 20% fat (measured roughly by eye)

1kg cured pork loin

100g PDV salt (i.e. 2% of the weight of the pork shoulder or hand)

125g smoked hot paprika

70g sweet paprika (unsmoked)

15g cayenne pepper

50g fennel seeds, lightly toasted

10 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

1–2 glasses red wine

·         Soak the casings for at least 2 hours in cold water.

·         Mince the pork shoulder or hand using the coarse (8–10mm) plate of your mincer and place in a bowl.

·         Cut the pork loin into small cubes and add to the minced meat with all the other ingredients except the wine.

·         Mix thoroughly, using your hands, so that the flavourings are well distributed throughout the mixture.

·         Now add enough wine to bind the mixture (but not too much or it will leach out of the skins later, carrying flavour with it, and also some of the crucial salt).

·         Pack the mixture into the sausage stuffer and fit a medium nozzle on the end.

·         Load the casing on to the sausage stuffer, tie the end with string and fill the casing, to form sausages about 30cm long, packing tightly and ensuring there are no air pockets.

·         Secure the other end of the casing with string.

·         To begin with, you will need to hang the chorizo in a warm place, ideally 25–27°C, to enable incubation of the bacteria and facilitate fermentation.

·         After 12 hours in this environment, move the chorizo to your dry-curing spot, which should be between 12 and 18°C with a humidity level of approximately 70% and a constant circulation of air.

·         Make sure the chorizo are not touching a wall, or each other, and they are not in direct sunlight.

·         Over the coming weeks, test the pH to ensure it is below 4.5.

·         Allow 6–10 weeks for the chorizo to cure if you want to eat it raw.

·         Serve cut into thin slices.

·         Note: Should you want to, you can cook with the chorizo soon after mixing rather than leave it to cure.

Makes: 8 to 10 sausages

1 kg pork shoulder, diced into 2cm pieces

200g pork back fat, diced into 2cm pieces

5 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons smoked paprika

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon red chilli flakes

1 teaspoon black pepper

60ml dry white wine

1 hog casing

Mince:

·         Place the pork shoulder and back fat in the freezer for 30 minutes with the meat grinder, this will make grinding easier.

·         Run the meat and fat through the grinder fitted with a medium plate. In a bowl, mix the mince with the garlic, paprika, salt, chilli flakes, black pepper and wine. Mix well with your hands 2-3 minutes, then cover with plastic wrap and chill 1 hour or up to overnight. You can then use the mince in recipes or continue on to make sausages.

·         Sausages:

·         Soak the hog casing in water for 30 minutes, then run water through from the tap to rinse out any salt.

·         Using the medium sausage stuffing funnel, place the casing over the end of the tube. Start passing the meat mixture through the funnel, stopping as it starts to come out the other end. Tie the casing in a knot and continue passing mince through the grinder, supporting the sausage with your other hand. Once the mince is used up, tie off the other end of the casing.

·         Twist the sausage at regular intervals to create sausages of desired length. Alternate twisting direction with each link.

·         Using a metal skewer, poke 2-3 small holes in each sausage to allow air to escape during cooking.

·         Cook as desired, or chill in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Doro Wot

Ingredients

2 pounds skinless chicken legs

Lemon juice

2 large red onions, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups berbere (Ethiopian spice mixture which includes chile pepper, garlic, ginger, dried basil, Ethiopian cardamom, black and white pepper, fenugreek and rue, a bitter shrub)

1 cup Niter Kibbeh (Ethiopian Spiced Butter), recipe follows

1/2 cup fresh garlic, finely ground

1/2 cup fresh ginger, finely ground

6 peeled hard-boiled eggs

Salt

Injera bread, for serving, recipe follows

Niter Kibbeh (Ethiopian Spiced Butter):

6 pounds unsalted butter

1/3 cup bishop seed (also known as ajwain, similar to thyme)

1/3 cup cardamom seeds

1/3 cup black cumin

1/3 cup koseret (dried woodsy flavored herb, dried oregano can be substituted)

Injera (Fermented Sourdough Bread):

1 1/2 pounds teff flour

1/2 pound barley flour

1/4 cup wheat flour

Directions

Wash and soak the chicken in cold water with lemon squeezed into it for 30 minutes. (This removes any bacteria and tenderizes the meat.)

Caramelize the red onions on low heat in a large pot for 1 hour. Add the berbere, Niter Kibbeh, garlic and ginger and cook for 30 minutes on medium-low heat. Add the marinated chicken and cook on medium-low heat, 30 to 45 minutes. Add in the hard-boiled eggs and salt to taste. Simmer on low heat for an additional 10 minutes and serve on the Injera.

Niter Kibbeh (Ethiopian Spiced Butter):

Melt the butter on low heat in a large pot. Blend together the bishop seeds, cardamom seeds and black cumin until powder form using coffee grinder or food processor. Pour into the butter. Add the dried koseret. Bring to a boil then simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool. When room temperature, skim the frothy milk solids off of the top. Carefully pour the clear, clarified butter into a large storage container.

Injera (Fermented Sourdough Bread):

Combine the teff flour and 12 cups water. Mix, cover and store in a dark, cool place for 3 to 4 days to ferment, giving it its sour flavor. On the last day of fermentation, mix the teff flour mixture with the barley and wheat flours. Let rest for another 8 hours.

Heat a large cast-iron pan over medium heat. Pour 1 cup fermented mixture into it, swirling the pan to cover the entire surface area. Cover with a lid, 2 to 3 minutes. Injera is ready to plate when holes have formed on the surface.  Place the injera on a plate and serve.

Breakfast Fruit Pastries

Merely puff pastry sheets cut up slightly artistically and stuffed with whatever combo of jam, lemon curd, and fruits you fancy. Totally not my artistic cutting ideas, some video nicked from youtube. Kids liked it. Serve with fresh berries and cream. I think they said the blueberry one was a favourite - did it with lemon curd at the bottom. 

Thai Peanut Chicken Curry

This was originally Thai Peanut Pork Curry made with with pork loin, but I found that doesn't respond well to this style of cooking so chicken thigh next time. Or a fattier cut of pork, possibly. Jolly easy dish and got a big Do Again thumbs up.

• Thin sliced onions
• Cubed aubergine 

Fry these up first (remembering to season), then when they're beginning to see reason add 

• as much Thai Red Curry Paste as is to your liking
• A tin of coconut milk 
• 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter 
• Sliced chicken thigh meat 

You'll probably have to top up with some water. Once they're done add a 

• Head of broccoli, separated

Finally take off heat, stir in a 

• good quantity of fresh lime juice and sprinkle over with 
• Peanuts, fresh chopped coriander and chili flakes, all as desired 

Serve with some 

• Flat rice noodles, dressed with peanut oil

Sticky chicken with Coconut Rice and Choi Sum

Well the title's pretty much the recipe but anyway. I did it with drumsticks but the kids (being lazy of eating off the bone, I suspect) requested the same but with chicken kebabs next time. Well there you go.

For the marinade: 

• Hoi sin sauce (fair amount for six people, about a third of a cup) 
• Sweet chili sauce (a fair dollop) 
• Dollop of honey 
• A splatter of Sambal Oelek or however hot you want it 
• Sprinkle of Five Spice 

Mixy-mixy the chicken (OK I'll do cut up thighs next time, and kebab them later). Cook when appropriate.

For the rice: cook it with a tin of coconut cream and make up the rest with water. I chucked in a few Kaffir Lime leaves, whole. it turned out really nicely.

Once the chicken an rice are both pretty much cooked: 
Cut the choi sum into 5cm lengths, toss with a glug of Chinese cooking wine, and arrange artistically in and around the chicken in a nice fresh serving dish. Cover with foil and pop back in the oven for a further 5 minutes just to heat/wilt the greens. Serve fragrantly.

Italian Roll

Well that's why the vote was to call it anyway - the alternative title was 'Long Pies'. In any case it wasn't an unqualified success but I'll note it down here just to remember. Despite two 'do again' votes I think the dish can't make up its mind whether to be a lasagne or a pie, and if faced with the choice of this, lasagne or pie no-one would pick this one, so I think we have a loser.

So it's a sheet of puff pastry per 'long pie', layered with thickened mince sauce, then thickened spinach puree, then a layer of grated cheddar cheese, then rolled swiss-roll style, then baked. You don't get much of a roll in there. The pastry pouffed OK (which I was worried about with all the moisture) but it just lacked lustre a bit, even though the meat was tender and tasty and that bit of cheese and the crispiness of the puff pastry was all a pleasant combo.

Didn't take a photo. Sorry.

Cream Biscuits

Another of Chef John's recipes. Although I've increased the cream a bit because I kept adding while stirring. Perhaps this flour is more absorbent.

• 2 cups flour including raising agent (2tsp baking powder, sprinkle salt) 
• 2tbs sugar 
• 2 cups heavy cream 

• plus a good dob of melted butter 

Heat oven to Freaking Hot (260c, mine only goes to 225c). Line baking sheet with foil.

Mix main ingredients into a dough, and then for some reason Chef John does an imitation of making puff pastry thing without the layering butter, just once (fold into three and roll out again) and perhaps it makes them flakier. Anyway I did and they pouffed. Cut out, then brush top with melted butter. Bake until golden (10-12 mins). Brush with butter AGAIN. Serve.

Spiced Buns

Bread machine recipe

1 cup milk, whisked with 1 egg, 50g melted butter
450g plain flour
lots of bunnish spices
2tbps dried yeast
50g sugar
125g mixed fruit

Into machine for dough, shape into buns, let rise. Then pipe on decoration with the following mix:
25g margarine, 50g plain flour, enough water to make it into a pipeable dough.

Bake on highish, (15 mins ish), then glaze with a syrup of milk and sugar.

Baked Breakfast Apples

Cut apples in half sitting-up wise, scoop out the core, microwave a few minutes to give them a head start. Make whatever mix of honey, granola, oats and yoghurt you feel inclined to - you might even have let is soak overnight. Heap it up on top of the apples. Bake for about 20 minutes - keep an eye on them. Enjoy. About 1.5 apples per person seems about right.

Piroshki

Fill these with whatever. Flavoured fried mince of whatever description, veggie/fetta mix, even fruit or jam fillings are perfectly acceptable. Wrap up in the risen and knocked-back dough in little mini-fist portions, and fry at a good 170c, turning over half way. Straight from Chef John, thank you Chef, we DID 'Enjoooy'.


Dough:

1 scant cup warm milk (just under a cup of milk heated to about 100 F.)
2.5 tsp dry yeast
2 tspwhite sugar
1 tsp salt
1 large egg
2 tablespoons melted butter
about 3 cups all-purpose flour, or as needed

Passion Cake (Banana, Carrot and Nut Cake)

Dry ingredients: 
280g plain flour
1tsp Bicarb of soda
2tsp baking poweder
1st salt
Chopped nuts to taste
170g brown sugar
Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ginger to taste

Wet ingredients:
2 grated carrots
2 mashed bananas
Dollop of golden syrup
3 medium eggs
170ml veg oil

Oven to 180, combine mixed wet and dry. Cook for about 40 mins.

Pretzels

• 5 cups flour 
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 4 cups warm water 
• 6 tsp dry yeast 
• 1.5 tsp salt 
• good glug veg oil

Plus hot water and 0.5 cups (!) of baking soda, and some coarse salt

Make the dough in the usual way. Shape into pretzels. Then put the baking soda into the hot water and dunk the shaped pretzels into it and lay them on the trays, sprinkle them with salt and bake at 230 for about 8 minutes or golden brown.

If your dough rises this much you've left it a bit too long. 

Cauliflower Tabbouleh

Extremely tasty carb alternative.

Blitz up head of cauliflower and microwave for 4 minutes. Add in finely chopped large bunch each of mint and parsley, and some chopped red onions / shallots, microwave for another 1 min. Season massively. Add chopped nuts of choice. Even the kids say it's a 'do again'.

Irish Sodabread

650g flour
3tsp baking powder
600ml buttermilk
sprinkle of salt

(I put some sugar in sometimes)

Bake

Anzac cookies for Anzac Day breakfast

• 
  1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup plain flour
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup desiccated coconut
• 125g butter, chopped
• 2 tablespoons golden syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Oven to 160°C

Combine oats, flour, sugar and coconut in a bowl. Place butter, syrup and 2 tablespoons cold water in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir for 2 minutes or until butter has melted. Stir in bicarbonate of soda. Stir butter mixture into oat mixture.

Roll level tablespoons of mixture into balls. Place on trays, 5cm apart. Flatten slightly. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden (see note). Stand on trays for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve.

Breakfast cheesecake

Ah, this pic is from before I got my cheesecake moulds. Now I have proper loose-bottomed individual tins and don't have to use the ramekins any more. 

So it's ABOUT... 

• 500-600g ricotta
• possibly a couple of hundred grams of cottage cheese 
• sugar to taste 
• possibly some cream, a bit 
• Heaps of lemon zest
• about 4 heaped tsp of gelatine, dissolved in a bit of hot water 

Blitz 

Meanwhile in a cake-tin somewhere... 

• crushed Digestives have been mixed with melted butter and pressed into the base of some cake moulds. Should make about 12. 

Pour your delicious cheese mix into the top. Should set in a few hours in the fridge. 

Sometimes I leave a bit of space on top and do a third layer, with lemon or passionfruit syrup (not too syrupy, more tangy) into a thin jelly layer. Needs a bit more chilling time, obviously. Looks cool, extra little kick. 

Persian lamb stew

A bit of a throw-together but got the thumbs-up and 'again' from most of the kids so here we are:

Lamb stew

Into the pressure cooker for an hour: 

Lamb - leg or shoulder or something, preferably with a bone in 

Garlic

Onions

Turmeric

Pickled lemons

plenty of salt

(first cook)

Take out, chop lamb a bit, take the bone out. Add: 

Aubergine (chopped) 

Mint

Parsley

Fenugreek (soaked) 

(second cook for about 30 mins) 

Could have used a bit of a reduction at the end but the cooker was playing up and time running out so didn't bother. Even with very runny sauce was delicious. Goes nicely on rice. 

Persian Rice

(this recipe is straight from Cooking and Cooking website - but the picture's mine, plus I failed on the Tah deeg. Plus I put zereshk in mine here.) 

2 1/2 cups (about 450 g) uncooked basmati rice

vegetable oil

1/3 cup butter (more or less depends on your taste)

1/4 teaspoon ground saffron

thin bread, or sliced potato, or just omit and use the crunchy rice

salt

Dissolve ground saffron in 2 tablespoons of boiling water and set aside (click for How to Use Saffron).

Place the rice in a large bowl; pour lukewarm water, stir and pour off the water. Repeat four times until water runs clear. Then soak rice in salted (with 2 tablespoons salt) lukewarm water for at least one hour.

Drain the soaked rice and set aside.

Meanwhile, pour water in a large non-stick pot (until it is 3/4-full), add 1 tablespoon salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Add rice to the boiling water and cook uncovered until rice is a little tender (not quite tender) about 5 minutes, stirring once or twice. Remove from the stove; drain the rice in a colander.

Pour 6 tablespoons oil in the non-stick pot. Place a layer of thin bread in pot; it should cover the bottom of the pot.

Pour rice into the pot, over the bread; try to make a nice mound in the middle. Using handle of a wooden spoon, make deep holes in rice.

Pour 2/3 cup water over the rice. Then drizzle with 7 tablespoons oil. Put the lid on and cook over medium heat until it begins to steam. Then wrap a kitchen towel around underside of the pot lid, making sure it is secured on top and away from heat. Reduce heat to low and cook for approximately 35-45 minutes.

When rice is ready, in a small bowl combine dissolved saffron with 4-5 tablespoons of cooked rice (using for garnish) and set aside.

Melt the butter and pour all over the rice. Remove pot from the heat. Wet a towel with cold water and place the pot on the wet towel for a few moments. Transfer the cooked rice to a serving dish and garnish with rice and saffron mixture. Your Persian rice is ready!

Finally, for Tah-deeg; carefully remove the crusty bottom with a spatula in one whole piece.

Serve immediately.

Ghalieh Mahi (Persian Fish Stew)

(Again, recipe is straight from Cooking and Cooking but pic is mine.)

400 g fish fillets

200 g fresh coriander, finely chopped

3 tablespoons dried fenugreek

1 medium onion, finely chopped

10 garlic cloves, minced

100 g tamarind pulp or tamr hendi (you can find in Iranian stores)

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

canola oil

1/2 teaspoon red pepper (more or less depends on your taste)

salt to taste

Soak the dried fenugreek in 3 tablespoons water for 15-20 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. Set aside.

Meanwhile, wash the fish fillets and pat dry. Season both sides with salt and pepper. In a frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Lightly sauté the tilapia pieces on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. Place them on a paper towel to absorb the extra oil. Set aside.

Heat 3 tablespoons canola oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and saute until softened, about 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and turmeric powder; saute for 1 minute. Add the coriander and fenugreek to the pot. Saute for about 8 minutes over medium heat or until herbs are fragrant.

Then add half of the tamarind paste, 1 2/3 cups water, salt and red pepper. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 35 minutes.

Then dissolve flour in 1/4 cup of cold water; pour into the stew and stir well. Taste and adjust seasonings. Depending on your taste; add more tamarind paste, for more sour flavour (I added all the tamarind paste) or add more red pepper for spicier stew.

Gently place the tilapia pieces in the stew. Cover the pot and cook for another 30 minutes over medium-low heat. Do not stir the stew.

Place the Ghalieh Mahi stew in a serving bowl and serve with Persian Rice.

Serve with Persian rice. 

Hot Cross buns

1 cup milk
1 egg
50g melted butter
50g caster sugar
450g flour
Mixed spices
Things you want in like currants, mango, chocolate chips - whatever
1.5tsp dried yeast

Into the breadmaker. Once the dough is ready, rolled into buns and risen, you'll need your piped crosses, made out of
25g margarine
50g flour (I had to add quite a bit of water because it wouldn't pipe.)

Once they're cooked for about 15 minutes at 200C, you'll need to glaze them with a warm mix of
30ml milk
3tbs caster sugar

Enjoy warm. They were a bit solid but jolly tasty.

Chef John's Deluxe Nachos

Great approval-ratings from the kids for Chef John's nachos. Also infinitely doable BY kids, more importantly. Get them cooking. The original recipe is here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YvWUnzZ2fo&list=PLrWrrXG9jG4VX8PgGIWo2MrL5TV-lg5s7&index=2

• Nacho chips
• Skirt steak (tinned, drained and seasoned tuna for the pesci option)
• cheese (cheddar etc)
• beans (pinot/black) and onions, stock
• Avocado (cubed and lemoned)
• tomato
• cucumber
• corriander
• fetta
• lime
• greek yoghurt

Cook (shallow fry) through a large portion of skirt or flat (we did rump) steak and allow to cool COMPLETELY. Remember to deglaze and pour the juices on top of the meat that's resting.

Chop and fry the onions until translucent. Add drained beans. Cook. Mash with potato masher. season vigorously.

Chop cooled meat into small cubes.

Tip chips into serving bowls. Spoon over the bean mix. Scatter over the meat/tuna. Scatter over the cheese. Toast or bake until crispy.
Garnish with avocado, cucumbers, corriander, fetta, greek yoghurt and lime, all as desired.

Banana peanut butter honey toasties

Not much to describe, serve with greek yoghurt and liberal sprinkling of cinnamon sugar for breakfast.

Coco's Salad

Remarkably like a Caeser salad, with the difference that Coco makes it so Arizona will eat it.

Bag of leaf mix
A bit of shredded cabbage
Cubed stong cheddar
Good handful of chopped mixed nuts
Cubed cucumber
Lots of large garlic crutons
Served with standard coleskaw dressing