Author: Ken

When talking about ‘kebabs’ we invariably think of that ‘go to’ takeaway item popular with late night revellers and families alike. Succulent meats sliced off the rotating grill (with all the extras) and wrapped in lavish bread is pretty tasty. Or perhaps it is marinated and skewered meats that you will find in butcher’s shops that find their way to your barbeque.

Satays from South-East Asia and Chuan from China both have Arabic origins, while the history of the Gyros and Souvlaki you will find in Greece is a contentious issue. Nevertheless, whatever the style, kebabs are enjoyed the world over.

Like these dishes the Betyi Kebab is an Arabic creation but with less pedigree than its far older cousins. Created in Istanbul in 1962 by the owner of his famous self-named restaurant, it qualified as a kebab because the meat is roasted and then wrapped in lavish bread. The original meat used was lamb fillet, but the modern version uses the more economical lamb mince.

My recipe replaces the lavish bread with filo pastry but retains the tomato sauce and yoghurt accompaniment.

Beyti Kebab

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Servings: 4 servings

Course: Appetizer

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 500 g lamb mince
• 1 onion medium sized, peeled, finely chopped or grated
• 1 egg
• 1 slice bread broken up – can be stale
• 1 tsp garlic minced
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper crushed
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin ground
• ½ tsp lemon zest grated
• olive oil
• 375 g filo pastry
• 100 g butter melted
• 400 g can cherry tomatoes
• 25 g tomato paste
• extra salt and pepper
• a little extra garlic optional
• 1 cup natural yoghurt
• fresh mint a few sprigs, rinsed
• baby peppers optional for garnish

Equipment

• A baking sheet, some baking paper, a mixing bowl and a small saucepan will suffice for this recipe.

Method

 

1. Assemble your ingredients
   
2. In a mixing bowl combine the lamb, ¾ of the chopped onion, bread, garlic, salt, pepper, ½ tsp paprika, cumin and lemon zest
   
3. Mix well
   
4. Pre-heat your oven to 200c
5. Divide this meat mixture into 4 or 5 portions
   
6. You need to form each portion into sausage shapes about 20cm long and slightly flattened. These are called koftas
   
7. Line your baking tray with baking paper and place the koftas on it, evenly spaced
8. Bake for 10 -12 minutes – a little underdone is OK
   
9. When done, cool to room temperature
10. Assemble three sheets of filo pastry the following way
11. Take one sheet of filo (short side facing) and brush with melted butter
12. Top with a second sheet of filo and again brush with butter
    
13. Add a third sheet, but don’t butter it
14. Place a kofta across the pastry and tightly wrap the kofta by rolling the pastry around it
    
15. Brush the finished roll with butter to prevent it drying out
    
16. Repeat this process until you have wrapped all the koftas
17. Cut each roll diagonally into 6 pieces. Discard the empty pastry ends
    
18. Reduce your oven to 180c
19. Renew the baking paper on your baking sheet
    
20. Place the cut pieces, meat side down and bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown

For the sauce:

1. On low heat sweat the rest of the chopped onion and garlic in a little olive oil for two minutes
2. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, ½ tsp paprika, salt and pepper and heat till simmering. Simmer for two minutes. Serve hot.

For the yoghurt:

1. Combine the yoghurt and a little chopped mint and black pepper
2. Serve the Beyti Kebab with the tomato sauce and minted yoghurt
   

Notes

Either the Napoli sauce or classic tomato sauce from newsletter # 20 would also be suitable for this recipe

You need to work fast with filo pastry as it dries out quickly

This is a great starter that you can prepare the day before

Changes in the food we eat and the way it is prepared and served is a gradual process, but it does indeed change. Cafeterias are a good example of a style of foodservice that stayed around longer than many other styles and fads.

In Australia, cafeterias were driven by the austerity of the great depression and when we talk about cafeterias we invariably think of Coles. Many large stores eventually installed cafeterias but the Coles Variety Store Cafeteria on Bourke Street Melbourne, which opened in 1930, is regarded as the first. It was massive – capable of seating more than 1000 diners and enjoyed a lifespan of 57 years or two and bit generations.

As you might expect, the idea of cafeterias started in the U.S.A in the late 19^th century and they quickly became popular. Diners would collect a tray and push the tray along a stainless-steel runner choosing pre-plated sandwiches, salads and desserts while generally main courses and some beverages were served by counter staff. Behind the counter was the kitchen, which often ran the length of the counter. You would then stop at a cashier for payment before finding somewhere to sit and eat your selection. Cafeterias had the ability to move hundreds and possibly thousands of customers through, during a typical lunch service. Wait staff were basically reduced to clearers and cleaners.

Mum was probably more likely to visit a Coles Variety Store Cafeteria because they were the most prevalent, as Coles was (and still is) a national store. Looking back Cole’s appeal was not in the linoleum floors, the crowds, the laminex tables or the noise, it was the fact that it was a wonderland of choice and exceptional value. Naturally many readers of this blog will have happy memories of their visits. A common memory would be mum arriving with the kids and shopping in tow with the first objective being the all important table to eat at. Once that goal was achieved, the shopping and youngest children secured the table while Mum and an older child would join the queue for food.

Coles Bourke Street Cafeteria was built during the Great Depression and menus must have been ‘economical’ and offer what we would now regard as very ordinary food. Cafeterias were generally morning tea/lunch/afternoon tea venues although the Coles Bourke street stores offered a dinner service till 8.00pm during the 1956 Olympic Games.

The Melbourne Olympics’ put Australia on the world stage and menus adapted to changing tastes but you could still rely on cafeterias to offer the obligatory roast and vegies, crumbed sausages and colourful jellies. Yes, crumbed sausages – basically fat and carbohydrates deep fried.

Most of the larger department stores had their own cafeterias with the David Jones stores being very popular in Sydney. If you ate at ‘DJ’s’ as opposed to Coles you were probably a little more well- heeled.

By the 1970’s the American fast-food giants had their eyes on Australia and Australians embraced burgers, pizza and fried chicken. This new style of service meant that you didn’t have to go to a department store to get a cheap feed.

The days when the cafeteria reigned are gone but they still exist in some institutions which the average diner is unlikely to go to, however on my last trip to Ikea at Rhodes in Sydney (which was some years ago) the store operated a popular cafeteria where the menu naturally had a strong Swedish influence.

Reviewing old menus offerings from cafeterias I did not find a lot of inspiration with the most impressive dessert spied being apple pie, so that is what we will bake.

Individual Apple Pies

If you make an apple pie in say a 22cm pie dish you will end up with 8 - 12 portions, depending on how much apple filling you use. If you are cooking for one or two people it means you will be eating apple pie for a number of days and cut apple pie doesn’t freeze too well. It is not much more trouble to bake individual pies in a muffin pan with approximately 9cm diameters and then the leftover pies can be frozen to be eaten later. I used the shortcrust pastry recipe from the Seniors in the Kitchen recipe file but with a little sugar added. This recipe calls for the apple to be slightly cooked before finally ending up as pie filling.

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Servings: 4 servings

Course: Dessert

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 220 g plain flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 115 g unsalted butter cubed and well chilled
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 3 tbsp chilled water plus a little more
• 800 g Granny Smith Apples
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ¼ pure maple syrup
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp unsalted butter, extra
• 1 egg beaten

Method

 

1. Assemble all your ingredients
   
2. Place the flour, sugar and salt in your processor and give it a quick pulse to mix
   
3. Add the cubed butter and intermittently pulse the processor for about 30 seconds
   
4. The mixture should look like course breadcrumbs
   
5. Add the 3 tbsp of chilled water. Process again for up to 10 seconds
   
6. There should be some change, but it won’t look like a ball of dough yet
   
7. With your fingers see if the mixture comes together. If not add a little more iced water and give it a quick pulse
8. Turn the mixture out and quickly work into a ball
   
9. Wrap the pastry in plastic wrap and chill for one hour

For the apple filling:

1. Assemble ingredients
   
2. Peel and core the apples
3. Halve the apples and cut into 6mm slices
   
4. Place the sliced apple, brown sugar, maple syrup, salt and cinnamon in a bowl and mix well
   
5. Let the apple stand for 15 minutes
   
6. Pre heat your oven to 170c
7. Spread a single layer of apple and liquid on one or two baking sheets and bake for 15 - 30 minutes until tender, but not mushy
   
8. When the apple is ready, remove from the oven and cool the apple. Drain any juice into a small saucepan
   
9. Add the extra butter to the juice and gently reduce the liquid to a syrupy consistency before cooling to room temperature
   

Assembling the pies:

1. Remove the pastry from the refrigerator
   
2. Roll out the pastry to 3 mm thick
   
3. Cut four (oversized) rounds of pastry for the pie bottoms. Retain the scraps of pastry in a ball
   
4. Spray the muffin pan with cooking spray
5. Line the muffin pans – gently pushing the pastry into the bottom corners
   
6. Gently prick the pastry base
   
7. Line each one with baking paper and pastry weights
   
8. Bake for 25 minutes before removing the paper and weights
9. Paint the inside of the pastry with beaten egg before returning the pastry to the oven for a further 5 minutes
   
10. Remove the pastry shells from the oven and cool slightly
11. Roll out the remaining pastry and cut four tops
12. Fill the pastry shells with a generous amount of apple and divide the apple syrup evenly over the apple
    
13. Gently paint the rim of the pastry shells and press down the pastry tops
    
14. Paint the pastry tops with beaten egg and cut a couple of breathing holes in each of the pies
15. Bake the pies in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown
16. When ready let the pies stand for 10 minutes
17. Serve with vanilla ice cream or individually chill, wrap and freeze
    

Notes

Alternative flavour variations include a mix or ground cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg or a little grated lemon zest

Today’s recipe once again looks at lasagne. Last year it was traditional beef lasagne which required both a meat sauce and a Mornay sauce made from scratch. Chicken and ham lasagne requires less preparation, and it is a good way of using up leftovers. It’s also very tasty. But first I thought we might briefly study the history of lasagne.

When I was very young it was generally thought that the merchant and adventurer, Marco Polo, introduced pasta to Europe in and around the late 13^th century after he had spent many years in Asia. In truth this is a myth based on a North American advertising campaign in the 1930’s aimed at selling more spaghetti. Pasta in Europe can be traced back well over 1000 years before Marco Polo when it was commonplace in Etruscan society. Being fried and consumed as a snack, pasta was vastly different to the hundreds of varieties that we enjoy today.

The wheat of choice for pasta today in Italy is Durum, which was introduced to Italy in the 9^th century. The term lasagne was first used in the 13^th century but again the dish, prepared in the fashion that we are now accustomed to was many centuries later, considering tomatoes weren’t introduced to Europe until well into the 1500’s.

So, in Australia the term lasagne can mean the cooked dish which we would make for a family meal or perhaps when you are taking a plate as in ‘I’ll bring a lasagne’, when it actually means the flat, wide sheets of pasta that were perfected in Italy. Based on that, you would need to qualify what flavour your lasagne was – seafood, vegetarian or perhaps an authentic recipe from regional Italy.

Writing briefly last week about Tulip’s Restaurant, I couldn’t help thinking of East Sydney Technical College, where I did my formal training which was required if you were apprenticed. Located in Darlinghurst, its sole tenant now is The National Art School, but back in the 1970’s it also hosted a variety of other trades, including a Hospitality school.

The commercial cookery training kitchens were located on the ground floor of one of the blocks and while I am sure pastry and butchery were also at the Darlinghurst College, I can’t remember where they were located. After spending the day at the college, it was more than a 3 kilometre walk back to Tulips in order to work the dinner service. Eventually I changed employers and my walk from the Hyatt Hotel was only about 600 metres.

While a cookery school existed at Darlinghurst until the mid 1990’s, the preferred college for tuition in all things ‘hospitality’ was the Ryde College of Hospitality which opened in 1974, one year after I had completed the third year of my apprenticeship at Darlinghurst. It was at this new college that I undertook specialist courses.

In writing this week’s newsletter it occurred to me (perhaps for the first time) that my mother, being an artist, had studied at the same college, the national Art School, 30 or so years earlier than myself. Enough reminiscing, let’s have a look at today’s recipe –Crème Caramel – one of the first dessert recipes that a young chef had to prepare.

Crème Caramel

It is thought that the dessert,Crème Caramel has a long history, but documentation of this dessert didn’t happen until the late 1800’s. It is similar to crème brulee but the texture is lighter and a liquid caramel is on the top instead of crispy caramelised sugar of the brulee.  Many countries have their own individual interpretations of the Crème Caramel however the basics remain the same – eggs, milk and sugar as well as the all important cookery method – bain-marie or water bath.

Crème Caramel

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Servings: 4 servings

Course: Dessert

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 100 g caster sugar (for caramel)
• 30 ml water
• ½ tsp vanilla paste
• 500 ml full cream milk
• 2 eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 70 g caster sugar

Method

 

1. Assemble your ingredients
   
2. Place the clean and dry ramekins into a baking dish, ready to receive the caramelised sugar, which is the next step
3. In a small clean saucepan place the water and then pour the 100g caster sugar into the centre of the saucepan. Do not mix.
   
4. Place the sugar and water over a medium heat and let the sugar dissolve
5. Bring the sugar to the boil. Avoid disturbing the sugar
   
6. The sugar will get a light amber colour. Turn the heat down
   
7. Give the sugar a little swirl as it darkens. Turn off the heat
   
8. Take care here. Too dark and the sugar will be bitter.
   
9. The sugar process takes about 8 – 10 minutes
10. Divide the sugar which is now caramelised between the ramekins by pouring directly into the base of the ramekin
    
11. Place the sugar saucepan into soak –any residue caramel should dissolve
12. Set the ramekins aside while you prepare the egg mix
13. Pre-heat your oven to 150c
14. In a clean saucepan gently heat the milk and vanilla to just below simmering
    
15. In a bowl whisk the eggs, egg yolks and 70g sugar together until the sugar is dissolved
    
16. Gently whisk in a little hot milk, followed by the balance of the hot milk
17. Mix well
18. Strain the milk and egg mix through a fine strainer
    
19. Let it stand for a few minutes so that the floating bubbles dissipate
20. Divide the strained egg mix between the ramekins.
    
21. Carefully pour boiling water into the baking dish until the water level is halfway up the side of the ramekin
    
22. Place the baking dish into the pre-heated oven for 40 minutes
    
23. After 20 minutes rotate the baking dish
24. In another 10 minutes turn the oven down to 120c
25. When you think they are ready (by jiggling) turn the oven off and leave them in the oven for about 15 minutes
26. Remove the baking dish from the oven and carefully take the ramekins out of the water
    
27. Cool the Crème Caramel to room temperature before individually covering them and placing in your fridge
28. Best refrigerated overnight
29. Serve either in the ramekin or turned out onto a plate
    
30. Fresh berries make a good accompaniment

Notes

When mixing the egg and sugar we are not trying to ‘lighten’ them, just mix until the sugar dissolves.

Avoid ‘boiling’ the mix in the oven, because you will end up with tiny bubbles, similar to Swiss cheese.

Can be prepared 2-3 days beforehand.

To turn out, run a non-serrated knife around the inside edge of the ramekin.

Cover the ramekin with your serving plate and quickly invert the plate.

The Crème Caramel should come out with a little coaxing.

Alternatively, eat it straight out of the ramekin.

I have included a picture of a kitchen blowtorch which I use to dissipate the bubbles a little faster.

 

In 1971 I was an apprenticed chef in a Dutch restaurant in Sydney. ‘Tulips’ restaurant was in George Street, not far from Australia Square, the record-breaking development, which had opened four years earlier. The restaurant was in the Wynyard precinct of George Street, just south of The Rocks which had come under the scrutineer of developers. Fortunately, the Green Bans of the 1970’s saved The Rocks and many of the heritage buildings of note closer to where I worked.

Tulips was a basement restaurant and backed on to Bridge Lane, but you entered via stairs off George Street. Adjacent buildings included Burn’s Philp, the Metropolitan Hotel and the Cricketer’s Club. Those buildings are still there and Bridge Lane still looks the same, but the only reminder of Tulips is a couple of curb stones close to where the ‘pig bins’ were put out every night. Ahh – happy memories.

Tulip’s catered for about 200 diners at once, in either the full service table section or the more casual ‘bar’ section. At lunchtime we were always packed with suits but the dinner service was always very quiet, probably because that part of town was still regarded as dodgy after 6.00 pm.

I used to start work at 10.00am and finish at 9.00pm with a break in the middle. That meant I left home at 8.00am and got home just before midnight. More happy memories.

The restaurant offered a European menu with many traditional Dutch dishes as well as Indonesian meals which reflected the Dutch historical association with Indonesia. The owner and staff were all of Dutch ancestry, with me and a waitress the only two ‘locals’. You could say that Tulips was an early example of a fusion restaurant and it was really my first introduction to both European and Asian food preparation – Nasi-goreng and Ryjsttafel  sat side by side with Dutch Croquettes and Holstein Schnitzel. It was here that I learnt to make, regrettably, Sambal Oelek, a potent Indonesian chilli condiment – but that is another story. Let’s instead talk about today’s recipe

It was at Tulips that I first became acquainted with peanut sauce or satay sauce, where it was served as you would expect with meat skewers. Today satay sauce is commonplace on many menus and is available in powdered, frozen, canned and bottled form in supermarkets.

When it comes to preparing quick, tasty meals for one or two persons, my recipe will make use of a number of your pantry and fridge ingredients and you can also incorporate leftover roast chicken, prawns or vegetables.

Satay Noodles

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Servings: 2 servings

Course: Main Course

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 60 g Peanut butter
• 1½ tbsp fish sauce
• 1½ tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp honey
• Juice from ½ lime
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 2 tsp minced ginger
• 1 tsp crushed chilli
• 100 ml coconut milk
• pasta water
• 250 g dried egg pasta flat style – fettucine/tagliatelle
• 3 spring onions washed, 1cm slice
• chopped nuts optional
• prawns /chicken/vegies optional

Method

 

1. Assemble your ingredients
   
2. In a saucepan bring 2 litres of salted water to the boil, for the pasta
3. Meanwhile, in a non-stick frypan, large enough to add the pasta later, add all the other ingredients except the shallots
   
4. Slowly heat these sauce ingredients to a low simmer
   
5. Adjust the seasoning to suit your taste
6. When the water is boiling add the pasta and gently break up with a wooden spoon if required
7. Cook the pasta as per the directions on the packet. Mine was a little over 8 minutes
   
8. Drain the pasta (do not rinse) and retain about 1 cup of the pasta water
9. Add the hot pasta to the peanut sauce
10. Use a spatula to stir and coat the pasta with sauce
    
11. Add a little pasta water if you feel the sauce is too thick
12. Stir in half of the onions
    
13. Serve the pasta and top with remaining onions
    

Notes

Avoid overcooking the pasta in the water

I find dried pasta works better than the more fragile ‘fresh pasta’

All sauce ingredient amounts can be adjusted to suit

You will remember when I prepared the baked stuffed pumpkin in Newsletter # 49, I ended up with a lot of pumpkin, unused. Here is the recipe that solved that problem – roasted butternut pumpkin soup.

This is a recipe I developed for a hotel chain that was promoting a healthy eats menu. It was a time when over consumption of fat and salt was a focus. In the meantime, carbohydrates, among other nutrients have been added to the list. Never-the-less this is a tasty soup perfect for our upcoming winter. It is suitable to make it in bulk and freeze portions plus you can think up additional garnishes. Two garnishes that I have previously used include prawn and green onion as well as sour cream, macadamia, bacon and chives. Yes, it is a departure from ‘healthy eats’ but it is delicious. Another alternative that will also make the soup both gluten and dairy free is by adding light coconut milk.

The caramelising of the vegetables during the roasting will add natural flavour so if the healthy aspect of the recipe appeals to you, be careful you don’t over season the end result.

Roasted Butternut Pumpkin Soup

5 from 1 vote

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Servings: 3.5 litres

Course: Soup, Vegetarian

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 2500-3000 g butternut pumpkin peeled, seeds removed and cut into chunks
• 750 g brown onion peeled and roughly chopped
• 6 garlic cloves peeled and smashed
• 100 ml olive oil
• 2 tsp crushed ginger
• 2 tsp crushed chilli
• 3 bay leaves
• salt
• cracked pepper
• 2 litres vegetable stock
• Juice of one lemon
• Zest of half lemon
• 40 ml honey optional
• skim milk optional for finishing

Equipment

• You will need a stick blender or food processor for this recipe, while sieving the soup is optional.

Method

 

1. Preheat your oven to 180c
2. Assemble your ingredients
   
3. In a baking dish place the pumpkin, garlic,onion, ginger, chilli and bay leaves
   
4. Season with a little salt and cracked pepper
5. Add oil and give it a good stir
   
6. Place in the oven and roast for 1 hour, stirring occasionally to avoid scorching the mix - golden brown is the aim
   
7. Add a splash of water if needed
8. Remove the pumpkin mix from the oven when the pumpkin is soft
   
9. Add the pumpkin mix and the stock to a suitably sized saucepan
10. De-glaze the baking dish with a little stock to free up any caramelised vegies and add to the saucepan
    
11. Bring the soup to simmering
12. Add the lemon zest and the lemon juice
13. Simmer for 20 minutes
14. Remove the bay leaves and lemon zest
15. Add the honey
16. Turn the heat off
17. Blend the soup to a fine puree
    
18. At this point I strained the soup through a fine wire strainer, but that is optional
19. To serve add a little skim milk to give it an even creamier finish
    

Notes

I placed the bay leaves and lemon zest in the sieve for easier removal

 

I garnished with a dollop of sour cream

To finish today I have included a couple of images of the seafood cottage pies we made for Good Friday, for some of our residents.

Happy Easter, Ken and Chris.

In newsletter # 4, I prepared the French bistro dessert, Tarte Tatin. It is a recipe that requires few ingredients, but the simple combination of caramelised apples and puff pastry is delicious. Turn the clock back 100 years, long before store bought frozen puff pastry was available and the average home cook was less inclined to prepare puff pastry.

Enter pineapple upside down cake. In the 1920’s canned pineapple was considered trendy and actually elegant following a mass advertising campaign and contest. By replacing the puff pastry of Tarte Tatin with a simple cake batter and the common apple with pineapple and the equally popular maraschino cherry you had a winner.

The base recipe for pineapple upside-down cake lends itself to a number of different fruits with plums being perfect.  Other fresh fruits you could consider include peaches, nectarines, apricots and pears; however, they need to be ripe but still firm. Naturally canned fruit is always an alternative, but you can’t beat fresh fruit in season.

A few weeks into autumn and our thoughts turn to heartier foods such as soups and stews and Easter where seafood and chocolate dominate, but it is still warm and we need some recipes to bridge that gap. Today’s recipe will give you a delicious standalone main course and a base ingredient for a soup which you can freeze for winter.

I prepared this recipe for 4 people which gave me a substantial amount of pumpkin leftover to make soup with.

Baked stuffed butternut pumpkin

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Servings: 1 serving

Course: Main Course, Vegetarian

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 kg whole butternut pumpkin washed, dried and unpeeled
• olive oil
• seasoning
• 2 garlic cloves peeled and crushed
• 1 small potato peeled, 4mm dice
• 30 g shelled walnuts roughly chopped
• ¼ cup brown rice
• ½ cup vegetable stock
• 1 small brown onion peeled, 4 mm dice
• ⅛ tsp dried rosemary
• ⅛ tsp cinnamon
• 125 g can mixed beans drained and rinsed
• 20 g Greek feta cheese crumbled
• 10 g baby spinach blanched and chopped

Method

 

1. Assemble your ingredients
   
2. Pre-heat your oven to 180c
3. Inspect the pumpkin and cut across about 80mm from the seed end of the pumpkin – not the stalk end. Put the stalk end aside
   
4. Gently trim the end to ensure the pumpkin sits flat.
5. With a spoon scoop out the pumpkin seeds and any loose stringy bits of pumpkin
   
6. Rub the pumpkin with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and garlic
   
7. Bake the pumpkin in the oven for about 45 minutes, until just tender
8. Meanwhile in a small saucepan slow simmer the brown rice and stock with the lid on for 30 minutes followed by a further 15minutes to evaporate any excess liquid
   
9. In a small baking dish, dry roast the walnuts for 4-5 minutes
   
10. In the oven in a separate baking dish cook the potato and onion with a little olive oil for 20minutes
    
11. With all the ingredients now prepared you can make the filling
12. In a mixing bowl add the rice, potato, onion, spices, beans, feta and spinach and mix well
    
13. Spoon this mix into the empty pumpkin base – use it all
14. Place the pumpkin back on the baking dish and cover with a little alfoil
15. Return the pumpkin to the oven and bake for 30 – 40 minutes
    
16. Serve.

Notes

I served the pumpkin with green tomato relish and a drizzle of honey

Today we are revisiting ‘crumbles’, this time apple and rhubarb.

Rhubarb is thought to have been originally cultivated in China where it was used for medicinal purposes. It reached Europe in the 14^th century and before it was cultivated locally it was a prized commodity along with other imports such as diamonds, pearls and rubies. By the 18^th century rhubarb was appearing in European kitchens thanks mainly to the availability of sugar from the Americas.

Just the trimmed stalk is used in food preparation and along with quince, pear and apple is a perfect ingredient for crumbles.

You will note the flexibility of ingredients when it comes to making the crumble, particularly if you compare this recipe to newsletter # 4.

Traditionally, this classic French dish is served in springtime, however we in Australia tend to be a little more flexible and come autumn, even though it is still warm, we start thinking about putting away the barbeque tongs and dragging the slow cooker out of the cupboard.

The vegetable components of this dish should contain turnips, carrots, potato and peas; however turnips can give the navarin a distinctive taste which you may or may not like; sweet potato would be an alternative. You will notice that I have not included potatoes in my recipe, because I was going to serve the navarin with mashed potato.

You may choose to bulk up the vegetable ratio to end up with a complete meal that does not require any accompaniments, while any leftovers freeze very well.

Navarin of Lamb

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Servings: 4 servings

Course: Main Course

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 300 g net lamb shoulder, 2cm-3cm dice
• 2 tbsp oil
• salt
• pepper
• 1 onion peeled, 15mm dice
• 2 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 30 g plain flour
• 500 ml chicken stock
• 50 ml white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp thyme leaf
• 1 bay leaf
• 20 g butter
• 2 turnips peeled, cut into wedges,
• 2 carrots peeled
• 1 medium tomato skin and seed removed, flesh diced, juice retained
• 80 g beans topped and tailed, cut into 2cm pieces
• 80 g frozen peas

Equipment

• I cooked the navarin in a thick bottomed Dutch oven. If you are using a slow cooker you will need to increase the total cooking time and need a frypan to sauté the meat, onion, garlic, turnips and carrots.

Method

 

1. Assemble your ingredients
   
2. Season the lamb with salt and pepper
3. Heat the oil in your pan to almost smoke point and add the diced lamb
4. Move the meat around for 3 minutes to achieve even browning
   
5. Remove the meat from the pan with a slotted spoon and keep on the side
6. Reduce the heat a little and add the onion and garlic to the pan
   
7. Cook for a further 3 minutes
8. When the onion have a little colour add the tomato paste
   
9. Cook for a further 2 minutes before stirring in the flour
   
10. Lower the heat a little more and cook the flour out for 2 - 3 minutes
11. Add the stock, vinegar, brown sugar, thyme and bay leaf to the liquid
    
12. Add the meat and any collected juices plus the tomatoes
    
13. Bring to a simmer before turning the heat down and covering the pot
14. Cook for 1 hour
15. Test the meat with your fingers for tenderness
16. In your frypan melt the better and sauté the turnips and carrots to lightly brown them
    
17. Add the carrots and turnips to the stew
    
18. Continue cooking the stew for 30 minutes
19. Add a little more stock or water if the stew thickens too much
20. Add the beans and peas to the stew and continue cooking for another 6 minutes
    
21. Check the seasoning
22. Ready
23. Serve with mashed potato

Notes

Finally, I used gluten free flour