Author: Ken

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

My interest in food and accommodation can be traced back to travels and holidays with my family in the late 1950’s and 1960’s. Early caravan park visits on New South Wale’s Central Coast probably didn’t offer much in the way of inspiration, except for tasty fish and chips, but the locations were great. Caravan parks gave way to motel trips and the opportunity to ‘eat out’ every day. Waiting in the room for the knock on the door of the magical ‘breakfast hatch’ and finding a local restaurant after our daily adventures are fond memories.

The 1960’s saw the Harris’s fall in love with the cruise industry.

Cruising in Australia was very different to today’s industry. Dining was generally limited to one or two options throughout the cruise and we generally ate breakfast and dinner in the dining room at our set table. I was in the junior club but most of the time I ate with mum and dad. The choices I thought were vast and the quality very good. I don’t think I was a fussy eater and while I have likes and dislikes now, 60 years ago I would try most foods.

This exposure to eating out, which was uncommon at the time, led me into the hospitality industry in 1971. After one year in a restaurant, I moved to the Hyatt Hotel in King’s Cross. It was there that I became reacquainted with the N.R.M.A’s accommodation directory and I started looking up places that we had stayed and how they were ranked.

The Ratings system

A printed accommodation directory in Australia had been around since the 1950’s and its associated booking service and star rating system was owned and operated by the individual motoring services of most states of Australia as well as the Royal Automobile Club of Australia (RAC).

The directories offered information on individual properties such as location, number of rooms and facilities available in a paperback style book.  Of primary importance was the rating system – ‘stars’ for hotels (both international and pub style) and ‘diamonds’ for motels, with 5 solid stars or diamonds being the best and lesser establishments attracting fewer stars or diamonds. Blank stars and diamonds meant a half star, but the highest rank then was 5. While no stars generally indicated something you should avoid, it could also have meant that it hadn’t been reviewed.

Naturally the ratings system didn’t take the word of the hotel proprietor and stars were awarded based on physical visits, reviews and the dreaded (for many) mystery guest stays. Perhaps no other industry was subjected to so much scrutiny which could make or break the reputation of an establishment.

You may recall a TV advertisement for M.F.A  (motels) where Arthur Daley (from ‘Minder’ TV series) tried to circumvent the rating system.

Many of the facilities that we now take for granted were not commonplace in the 1950’s. While a hot shower and a comfortable bed was something that you would hope for after a day’s travelling, most mod-cons were a rarity. The advent of television saw T.V’s in hotel and motel rooms and for two schillings (to cover the license fee) in the slot you could view all three T.V. stations. Meanwhile the motel down the road offered free T.V. Damn! You have to love competition – out-door pools lost out to heated pools which were gazumped by indoor pools. The list goes on.

It was possible to slip in the rankings due to mismanagement in a number of areas including cleanliness, poor food and indifferent service. Upgrading to achieve another star or diamond in your establishment was not that easy and generally a very costly exercise. Gradually standards changed and some establishments found they were stuck with rooms that didn’t meet the criteria and couldn’t be changed or perhaps 24-hour room service was impossible to supply, among other reasons.

Most of the larger Sydney hotels of the 1970’s were at least 4 stars with the Wentworth sitting on 5 stars along with the Sydney Hilton. The Menzies, the Boulevard Hotel and the Hyatt Kingsgate were probably 4.5 stars.  But the booming industry and the internet only accelerated change.

Eventually the motoring organisations exited the rating system and AAA Tourism was the peak body before settling down to the current brand ‘Star Ratings Australia’ under the management of the ‘Australian Tourism Industry Council’ which runs the ‘Quality Tourism Accreditation Program’ which reviews standards and awards ratings. This body does not operate a booking service but is a licensed system where establishments can opt out of participation.

It should be noted that the current rating system is separate to the ratings given on the many different booking sites which relies on posts and feedback from guests of hotels, motels, caravan parks, apartments and homes.

While I miss the printed version of the 60’s and 70’s, the advent of the internet gave people greater access to most properties not only in Australia but also worldwide. However at the end of the day it is still possible to make poor choices regardless of how up to date information is.

In 2005, following the success of various cooking shows, reality TV in England presented the first episode of a series, which is still running after 20 seasons. It’s called The Hotel Inspector and it’s hosted by Alex Polizzi. Each episode features a struggling pub, hotel or guest house and the venues proprietors trying to pursue their dream of being awarded a star rating for their establishment.

One cannot watch that show without being reminded of a TV show which aired 30 years before The Hotel Inspector. It’s called Fawlty Towers. Interestingly one of the episodes is called The Hotel Inspectors. That episode and a later episode called Basil the Rat compounded the fear into the already paranoid proprietor, Basil.

Most episodes featured something happening in the dining room of FawltyTowers and occasionally the plot revolved around foods such as Roast Duck, Bombe Alaska and Waldorf Salad.  Which brings me to today’s recipe – Paella. This traditional Spanish dish, was actually never served in the episode titled The Anniversary.

Paella

True Paella is one of the original ‘one pan meals’, put together almost casually by workers tending the rice paddies south of the Spanish city of Valencia in the 15^th century. Originally local ingredients were used including snails, rabbit, eels , butter beans, aquatic birds and naturally the locally grown ‘Bomba’ rice which is a short grain rice, slightly similar the Italian rice ‘Arborio’.

The word paella refers to the large steel pan associated with the dish. The cooking method 500 years ago was over an open fire and using a wooden spoon to stir the dish while cooking.

While authentic interpretations of the dish ‘Paella’ are most likely to be found in Spain and traditional restaurants, in Australia, the abundance of local ingredients (along with the unpopularity of snails, rabbit and eel) have led to the inclusion of prawns, calamari, chicken and even chorizo. I am unsure why chorizo is included outside of Spain, but perhaps the word reinforced the dishes Spanish origins.

In preparing this dish at home, it is important to remember that Arborio rice will give a different result than Bomba rice. Bomba is harder to break down than Arborio, hence you can add more stock or liquid to Bomba while Arborio will release more starch earlier and create a creamy texture. It’s your choice what you use.

Also remember that the seafood will also release liquid, when it is cooked, but always have some backup stock if you feel the finished product needs thinning. Alternatively use boiling water.

Both paprika and tomato paste will add colour and some flavour to the paella and are optional.

You may see recipes that use fish stock but I think a good flavoured chicken stock provides a better flavour profile.

Finally, as you know, I am not a proponent of purchasing cooking equipment I only use occasionally, and a paella pan falls into that category.

One of this week’s recipes is, by popular demand, Zabaglione, while the other offers an alternate use for the ricotta filling used in last week’s Chicken Roulade and I call it Eggplant Cannelloni.

It definitely has an Italian theme.

The Zabaglione was served on a medley of summer berries, and it was the dessert our cooking group presented at our most recent ‘Dinner with a Twist’, which is a dinner we hold five times a year here at our over 55’s community.

The Ricotta filling of the Eggplant Cannelloni is similar to the Chicken Roulade, and I guess the end product could be classified as a roulade; but cannelloni sounds more appropriate. The origins of the term cannelloni can be traced back the early 1900’s in and around the City of Sorrento just south of Naples, so it is a relative newcomer in the history of pasta. The term cannelloni refers to its literal English meaning – ‘large tubes or reeds’.

For my ‘cannelloni ‘recipe I have replaced the pasta with grilled eggplant and retained the ricotta filling and naturally it is gluten free. I finished the dish in the traditional way, a Napoli sauce. To serve I have re-introduced pasta in the form of Risoni.

Eggplant Cannelloni

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Servings: 4 servings

Course: Main Course, Vegetarian

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 2 large eggplant washed and top trimmed off
• 50 ml olive oil
• seasoning
• 400 g fresh ricotta well drained
• 80 g pine nuts toasted
• parsley washed and chopped
• 1 spring onion washed, trimmed and finely chopped
• ½ tsp garlic
• ½ tsp each - dried basil, dried oregano and dried thyme
• 1 cup risoni pasta
• 50 g butter
• 500 ml Napoli sauce Newsletter # 20
• 200 g grated cheese mozzarella, cheddar, parmesan mix

Method

 

1. Assemble ingredients
   
2. Carefully toast the pine nuts in your oven or air-fryer – around 2 minutes. Cool to room temperature.
3. Place the ricotta, pine nuts, spring onion, garlic, herbs, parsley and seasoning in a mixing bowl
   
4. Mix these ingredients well, cover and chill
   
5. Slice the eggplant lengthwise about 7mm-8mm thick
   
6. Brush each side of the eggplant slices with olive oil
   
7. In a heated non-stick pan grill the eggplant on both sides. Each batch takes about 5 minutes
   
8. When the eggplant is all grilled, cool to room temperature
   
9. Place ¼ of the eggplant slices on plastic wrap in a single layer
10. On top of the eggplant place ¼ of the ricotta mix, down the centre
    
11. With the help of the plastic wrap, roll the eggplant into a cylinder shape – not too tight
    
12. Twist the ends of the plastic wrap to form the eggplant into a thick sausage shape
    
13. Repeat the process with the other three portions
    
14. Chill for one hour
15. Gently heat the napoli sauce
16. Pre-heat your oven to 175c
17. Prepare the risoni by boiling in salted water
18. Cook the risoni underdone – no more than 6 minutes
19. Drain the risoni, retaining a little of the cooking liquid
20. Mix the butter into the risoni
    
21. In a lightly greased baking/serving dish, pour in the risoni to cover the bottom of the dish
22. Unwrap the eggplant and place them on the top of the risoni
    
23. Mask the cannelloni with Napoli sauce
    
24. Top with grated cheese
    
25. Bake in the oven until the cheese is golden brown
    

Notes

Goats cheese, which is lower in lactose, would be a good alternative to ricotta

Zabaglione

What would we do without eggs? They are an integral part of cookery. From simple, nutritious breakfast dishes to their uses in baking and sauces. A key reason for their success is their ability to emulsify with oil and their aeration qualities.

One of my favourite uses of eggs is custards – crème patisserie and crème anglaise. An even simpler recipe is the Italian custard, zabaglione which requires as little as three ingredients, a fact which should please many of my readers who appreciate brevity. Yes you will note that apart from the berries the zabaglione recipe has three ingredients. This applies when you are using a fortified wine which has alcohol. If you wanted to avoid the alcohol you could make a flavoured sugar syrup and use only two ingredients. Possible flavours for a syrup you could experiment with include ginger, peach, quince and pineapple. I used a de-alcoholised strawberry liqueur and sugar, but regardless of you final choice of flavouring the preparation method is the same.

The classic Zabaglione recipe appears below:

Zabaglione with summer berries

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Servings: 4 servings

Course: Dessert

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 320 - 400 g mixture of fresh berries – strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries
• 4 - 6 egg yolks 1 -1½ per person
• 60 - 90 ml Marsala or other sweet wine
• ¼ - ⅜ cup caster sugar

Method

 

1. Portion out the berries into individual glasses
   
2. Select a stainless steel or heat proof glass bowl (not plastic)
3. Add the egg yolks, marsala and sugar to the bowl
   
4. Using a whisk mix these ingredients together
5. In a saucepan large enough to suspend the bowl. Bring to the boil one litre of water before dropping the heat to keep the water at a slow simmer.
6. Place the bowl over the water and start whisking. Do not let the bowl come in contact with the simmering water.
7. Continue to whisk. Occasionally scrape the sides of the bowl down with a spatula. Gradually (about 4-5 minutes) the egg mix will thicken and at the same time ‘bulk up’ with air.
   
8. A thickness which can coat the back of a spoon is what you are looking for.
9. Pour the finished Zabaglione evenly over the berries.
   
10. Your choice of garnish on top and serve.
    

Notes

I topped the finished dessert with a combination sponge finger biscuit and ginger nut biscuit crumb.

Roulade is style of preparation that originated in Europe. Generally, it involves wrapping or rolling thin slices of meat around a filling. The meat used is boneless, lean and of good quality. You could find recipes for roulades using beef, veal, pork, and fish as well as today’s recipe for chicken roulade.

Paupiettes, cabbage rolls and involtini are all savoury members of the roulade’s European family, while further afield, Japan inspired the California Roll in North America and South America can offer you ‘Matambre’.

Sweet examples are not uncommon. In Australia the jam roll and the Yule log are still popular while the Pavlova roulade is often a feature at Christmas time as an alternative to a traditional Pavlova.

The French dish ‘Chicken Ballotine’ is similar, but larger and uses the whole de boned bird, including the skin. Often this dish is served cold.

There are two methods used when rolling this roulade. You can completely cover the flattened chicken with the ricotta mix before gently rolling the chicken up ‘like a carpet’ which will give you a spiral cross-section; or you can roll the chicken over the filling as I have done.

Chicken roulade with citrus glaze

5 from 1 vote

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Servings: 2 serves

Course: Main Course

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 350 g chicken breast fillet
• 100 g smooth ricotta well drained of excess water
• 40 g pine nuts gently toasted
• 1 small spring onion rinsed and chopped
• 1 egg yolk
• ¼ tsp grated lemon rind
• ½ tsp corn flour
• sea salt
• cracked black pepper
• 4 leaves of silver beet green only or the equivalent in English Spinach or baby English spinach
• olive oil
• paprika a pinch
• 100 ml chicken stock
• juice from one orange
• juice from ½ lemon
• 15 g orange/lemon zest
• 15 g brown sugar

Method

 

1. Assemble your ingredients
   
2. Pre-heat your oven to 200c
3. Blanch the green leaves in boiling water for 30 seconds before refreshing them in cold water
   
4. Gently squeeze dry the leaves
   
5. Blanch the zest in boiling water for 20 seconds before refreshing in cold water.
   
6. Drain and pat dry
   
7. In a bowl mix the ricotta, pine nuts, spring onion, egg yolk, corn flour and seasoning together. Keep chilled while you prepare the chicken breast
   
8. With a sharp knife, split the chicken breast horizontally (butter flied)
   
9. Between two sheets of plastic wrap flatten the chicken, with a meat hammer, to around 6ml even thickness
   
10. Remove the top sheet of plastic and discard and almost cover the surface of the chicken with the silver beet
11. Place a generous amount of ricotta mix down the centre
    
12. Use the plastic wrap to roll the chicken to form a cylinder
    
13. Carefully transfer the chicken roll to an oiled sheet of al-foil. Remove the plastic wrap
    
14. Wrap the chicken in the al-foil. Secure the ends by twisting the foil
    
15. Place on a baking dish (with the foil join upwards) and bake for 20 minutes before turning down the oven to 170c and cooking for a further 15 minutes
16. When ready take out and let it stand, unopened for 15 minutes
17. Meanwhile, add the fruit juice, brown sugar and chicken stock to a pan and gently reduce by half
    
18. Add the citrus zest to the pan
    
19. Open the chicken and add any collected juices to the orange juice mix
20. Diagonally slice the chicken into six pieces
21. Arrange on two plates
22. Coat the chicken with the citrus glaze
    

Notes

English spinach is a better alternative – I used silver beet

Take care with toasting the pine nuts – 2 minutes in your oven while it is preheating

Alternatively use your air fryer

I served the chicken with mashed potato and steamed vegetables

There is a school of thought that dates ethnic Chinese as trading ‘partners’ with indigenous Australians, long before the arrival of British colonists. However records show that Chinese migration didn’t really happen until the 1820’s and that only came about because of the Britain’s love of tea and the fact that it was relatively convenient for ships plying the route between Britain and the fledgling Colony of New South Wales to drop in to China for a backload of the ‘mother countries’ favourite drop.

But there were only occasional Chinese visitors who chose to begin a new life ‘down under’. The Gold rushes of the 1850’s in New South Wales spurred unprecedented growth, migration and the formation of the State of Victoria in 1855. By 1861 there were an estimated 40000 ethnic Chinese living and working in the yet to be proclaimed country of Australia. Many of those worked in the goldfields, but others moved into supporting service businesses such as retail, manufacturing and later market gardens.

The Chinese had an uneasy relationship with the populations of the various colonies’ largely Anglo-Saxon population, yet they were not deterred and as the gold subsided many stayed to raise their own families.

It wasn’t until after World War 1 that Australian born people of Chinese background began to outnumber ethnic Chinese. One of my cooking school classmates could trace his family back to his great-grandfathers arrival in Australia, in the 1850’s.

Between the wars and after World War 2 Australian cafes owned by Chinese and their descendents started appearing. While I didn’t realise it at the time by the 1970’s the local Chinese restaurant was a dominate force in the Australian hospitality industry. There was a fair chance that you had a Chinese restaurant in your suburb or in the next suburb.

Chinese restaurants eagerly embraced the ‘take away’ concept to the point that ‘having Chinese tonight’ didn’t need any further explanation. Gradually, shopping centres, the club industry and some pubs began featuring dedicated outlets for Chinese cuisine. Even some of the larger international hotels had a standalone Chinese restaurant as one of their culinary offerings.

But how did Chinese cuisine evolve in Australia? Well in short it had to adapt. Resentment of the Chinese led early Chinese chefs to altering their offerings for locals – steaming and braising was out while deep-frying and sticky sweet sauces were in and there was more of an emphasis on meat and less on vegetables which has left a legacy that has greatly influenced the tastebuds of our Baby Boomer generation.

I can remember Chinese restaurants advertising both Australian and Chinese meals being available. I tended to avoid them.

After 1973, Australia’s ‘White Australia policy’ ended its 70 year reign and a greater acceptance of all peoples from all countries started. This closely followed an increase in visitor numbers year upon year.

Today, Chinese cuisine is still very popular in Australia, but for the most, the industry has a greater focus on regional Chinese cuisine, Chinese food enjoyed by the Chinese Diaspora and speciality restaurants featuring noodles, dumplings and Yum Cha. Large concentration of Chinese restaurants can be found in the Chinatown precincts of many of Australia’s mainland capital cities. The influx of Chinese tourists and the average Australians search for authenticity has generally refined the industry to cater for all tastes and bank accounts.

Chinese staples in 1970’s Australia include sweet and sour pork, beef and black bean and of course deep-fried ice cream.

Today’s recipe was adapted from a Hong Kong chef’s culinary invention in the 1970’s. He devised it to appeal to Americans at a celebratory dinner and it quickly became popular. The combination of deep fried prawns, candied walnuts, mayonnaise and condensed milk was generally even too much for Australian tastes.  We call it honey prawns.

Antipasti is the plural form for a traditional first course or starter in Italy. Similarly, the French have a rough equivalent called hors d’oeuvres. The two cuisines are distinctly different and while both terms offer small, savoury appetisers before the meal, the serving styles are very different.

Antipasti relies on multiple dishes served on either a share plate or from many individual dishes and features cured meats, seafood, cheese, vegetables, breads, dips and nuts. The theme is strongly Mediterranean and can be likened to a Charcuterie Board. Often there is a reliance on cold foods but true antipasti includes many tasty hot recipes.

Hors d’oeuvres on the other hand are a little more complex and dare I say formal. Think of small bite size items such as canapés in both hot and cold form such as mini quiche or smoked salmon on little toasts. They are often served with drinks while the guests are still standing.

In Australia we have embraced both terms but more recently ‘the grazing table’ has become a popular offering from caterers. However, the grazing table should not be confused with the Italian or French terms. True they are similar, but the grazing table often includes dessert and is regarded as a meal replacement.

Back to the topic of today – Antipasti. Even a small supermarket would have enough pre-packaged foods to make a half decent Antipasti plate – salamis, olives, cheese, dips and crackers. Up the ante to the deli counter for more variety or go to a quality Italian Delicatessen for authentic variety. Here is a list of over-the-counter foods, depending on your tastes that you should consider when entertaining.

• Cured meats – salami, prosciutto, mortadella
• Cheese – bocconcini, ricotta, provolone
• Marinated vegetables – olives, artichokes, peppers
• Grilled vegetables (cold) – zucchini, capsicum, eggplant
• Breads – grissini, crostini, bruschetta, crackers
• Tomatoes – cherry, sun-dried, oven-dried
• Fruits – grapes, melon, figs
• Dips
• Seafood – prawns, anchovy, octopus, sardines
• Arancini

Alternatively, you could choose to prepare some or the entire menu. Here are five relatively simple recipes to impress your guests. They can all be served with a variety of Italian breads and crackers.

Semi Oven Dried Roma Tomatoes

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Course: Antipasto, Vegetarian

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 8 Roma tomatoes firm, ripe, washed and split
• 4-5 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp coarse salt
• ½ tsp cracked black pepper
• ¼ tsp oregano leaf chopped
• 6 sprigs continental parsley washed and chopped
• 5 fresh basil leaves rinsed chopped
• baking paper

Method

 

1. Assemble your ingredients
   
2. Set your oven at 150c
3. Line your selected flat tray or baking sheet with baking paper
4. Place your split tomatoes, cut side up on the lined tray
5. Lightly sprinkle with the salt, pepper and herbs
6. Finish with a sprinkle of the olive oil
   
7. Place in the middle of the oven
8. After 25 minutes reduce the temperature to 120c
9. Continue ‘drying’ for 1 -1½ hours
10. Take out, cool to room temperature and serve or refrigerate in a sealed container

Notes

You can substitute dried herbs instead of fresh, just use a little less
• Avoid setting the oven too high as it will effectively ‘boil’ the tomatoes
• The longer the process, the dryer the tomato
• If the tomatoes vary greatly in size consider quartering the larger ones to even them up

Baked Ricotta

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Course: Antipasto, Vegetarian

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 500 g ricotta cheese – tub or fresh
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• ⅓ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• 1 -2 tsp minced chilli
• salt
• cracked pepper
• cooking spray – canola or olive oil

Method

 

1. Assemble your ingredients
   
2. Preheat your oven to 180c
3. In a bowl mix the ricotta, egg, parmesan, thyme, a little seasoning and half the chilli
   
4. Lightly spray an oven proof dish, around 15 cm diameter or a small muffin pan – say twelve
5. Spoon the mix into the bowl or divide the mix evenly in the muffin pan
6. Sprinkle with the remaining minced chilli
7. Bake for 20 – 30 minutes until golden brown
   
8. Serve at room temperature or store in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to 5 days

Marinated Mushrooms

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Course: Antipasto, Vegetarian

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 500 g button mushrooms washed and pat dried
• extra Virgin olive oil
• juice from ½ lemon
• salt
• cracked pepper
• 1 tsp fresh thyme or ½ tsp dried
• 2 cloves garlic peeled and finely chopped
• 50 ml balsamic vinegar
• 20 g brown sugar

Method

 

1. Assemble your ingredients
   
2. Pre heat your oven to 180c
3. In a bowl mix the mushrooms with the lemon juice, garlic, thyme and seasoning
4. Add the olive oil and repeat the mixing
   
5. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes until the mushrooms brown a little
6. Add the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar
7. Continue baking for 10 minutes
8. When ready remove the mushrooms from the oven and cool to room temperature
9. Serve immediately or store sealed in your fridge for up to 5 days

White Bean and Tuna Salad

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Course: Antipasto

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 400 g can of cannellini beans drained, rinsed and pat dried
• 185 g can tuna in spring water drained
• juice from ½ lemon
• 10 ml white wine vinegar
• 60 ml extra virgin olive oil
• ½ brown onion peeled and finely chopped
• 6 fresh parsley sprigs washed and medium chopped
• sea salt
• cracked pepper

Method

 

1. Assemble ingredients
   
2. Make a dressing form the lemon juice, vinegar, oil and seasoning. Mix well
   
3. Add the onion and parsley. Mix well
   
4. In a suitably sized bowl place the beans and top with chunks of tuna
5. Gently mix the beans and tuna
6. Cover with dressing
7. Serve immediately or store sealed in the fridge for up to 4 days

Notes

If you are not serving the tuna that day, delete the parsley and add it just before you serve

Roasted Butternut Pumpkin and Cashew Dip

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Course: Antipasto, Vegetarian

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 375 g butternut pumpkin peeled and cut into a 2cm dice,
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp cajun spice
• 50 ml olive oil
• 100 g cashew nuts unsalted and dry toasted
• 1 spring onion washed and medium chopped
• 100 ml Greek yoghurt
• 15 ml red wine vinegar
• 20 ml honey
• salt
• pepper

Method

 

1. Assemble your ingredients
   
2. Pre heat your oven to 180c
3. If the cashews are not toasted, place them on a dry oven able tray and cook in the oven for approximately 10 minutes – until slightly brown. Do not burn
4. When the nuts are ready, cool to room temperature
   
5. Bend to a coarse chop
   
6. Mix the pumpkin with the spices, seasoning and oil
7. In the oven, roast the pumpkin for 30 minutes, until soft. Do not burn
8. Cool the cooked pumpkin to room temperature
9. When ready place the cooked pumpkin in a bowl and mash it with a fork
10. Add the chopped nuts, spring onion, yoghurt, vinegar and honey to the pumpkin
11. Mix well and then chill the mix
    
12. Serve chilled or store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

We owe the Europeans a big thank you for the number of delicious recipes from their pastry kitchens that they have endowed on the rest of the world. Danish pastries, French Croissants, Dobos Torte, Strudel, Baklava, Portuguese tarts – the list is almost inexhaustible, much to the regret of our waistlines.

Today we will have a look at the Bienenstich or the Bee Sting cake. As usual its actual origin is a little murky, but everyone agrees that it was first documented in Germany in the early 20^th Century. Again, early versions were unfilled because you required refrigeration for the cream, but the cake still retained the topping which helped the cake stay fresh. I call it a cake, but it does have a lot of ‘bread like’ qualities because of the yeast. Other versions can be prepared with self-raising flour.

The most popular version in Australia is made a custard filling, but you could also use whipped cream or butter cream. Personally, I prefer the custard filling based on Crème Patisserie. If you have been attempting previous recipes you will notice the similarities to this base used in sweet soufflés (newsletter # 1) and also ice cream (newsletter #32).

The cake part of the recipe is made from slightly sweetened yeast dough, and the overall sweetness is helped along by the caramelised almond topping.

If you haven’t used yeast before, there are two types – Instant yeast (which I have used) or Active Dry Yeast. The Instant type can be used straight into the recipe. It is sold in a resealable container and can be stored in your pantry up until you open it – then refrigerate the yeast.

The Bee Sting Cake

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Course: Cakes

Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients

  

For the custard filling:

• 1⅓ cups sugar
• 3 Tbsp cornflour
• ¼ tspn salt
• Yolks from 3 large eggs
• 1 ½ cups whole milk
• 1 tspn vanilla extract
• ½ cup heavy whipping cream for later

For the almond-honey topping:

• ¼ cup (60g) unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp (40g) honey
• 2 Tbsp white sugar
• 1 cup (110g) flaked almonds

For the cake:

• ⅓ cup (80ml) of full cream milk
• 75 g unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp (40g) honey or sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 ⅓ cups all purpose plain flour
• 1 ¾ tspn yeast
• ¼ tspn salt

Putting it together:

• ½ cup thickened cream very cold and whipped

Equipment

• You’ll need your planetary mixer, a 23cm cake tin or spring form tin, and a small saucepan for this recipe.

Method

 

Method for the custard filling:

1. Assemble ingredients
   
2. In a bowl combine the sugar, cornflour, salt, vanilla and egg yolks
   
3. Whisk until creamy
   
4. – about 1-2 minutes
   
5. In a small saucepan warm the milk to 70c – 80c – which is below simmering point. Do not boil. The milk should be hot enough to cook any egg white that may have lingered in the egg mix
6. Add half of the warmed milk to the egg mix and stir in well
   
7. Add the other half of the milk and stir well
8. Pass this mixture through a fine strainer back into the saucepan. The strainer will catch any unnecessary egg white
   
9. Return the saucepan to the stove and over medium heat. Stir constantly. The mixture will quickly thicken. When the first bubbles (from boiling) appear, take the mixture off the heat and whisk vigorously to remove any lumps
   
10. Return the saucepan to a lower heat to make sure it was evenly heated. Continue stirring
11. Using a spatula transfer the custard to a medium sized bowl and cover the surface with plastic film
    
12. Chill until ready to use

Method for the almond-honey topping:

1. Assemble your ingredients
   
2. In a small saucepan, over low heat, combine the butter, honey and sugar
   
3. Stir until the butter has melted and the mixture is bubbling and creamy
   
4. Take off the heat and stir in the almonds until they are well coated
   
5. Allow to cool to room temperature
6. Leave on the side until ready to use

Method for the cake:

1. Assemble ingredients
   
2. In a small saucepan warm the milk, butter and honey
3. Meanwhile combine the flour, yeast and salt
4. In your mixer (with the dough hook attachment) add the warmed milk mixture
   
5. Add the eggs and flour mixture
   
6. On a low speed mix for one minute until a rough dough forms
7. Turn the mixer up to a medium speed for 5 minutes
8. The mix will now be ‘bread dough like’ – not sticking to the sides of the mixing bowl and elastic
   
9. Form the dough into a ball and place the dough in a clean mixing bowl lightly greased with butter
10. Cover the bowl and place it in a warm place for at least one hour to allow the yeast to do its work
11. The dough will double in size
12. When you are happy with the degree of raising, ‘knock’ the dough back by working the dough with your hands
13. Lightly grease your spring form tin with butter and press the dough evenly into the base of the tin
    
14. Spread the almond mixture evenly on top of the dough
    
15. Cover and return to the warm place for at least 30 minutes
16. While your dough is enjoying a second raising pre-heat your oven to 170c
17. In the centre of the oven bake the Bee sting for 25 minutes
18. When the topping is a golden brown remove the Bee sting from the oven
    
19. Wait 5 minutes
20. Run a knife around the edge of the tin and remove the Bee sting
21. Allow to cool to room temperature and then it’s ready for final assembly
    

Method for putting it together:

1. Gently fold in half of the whipped cream to the chilled custard
   
2. When combined fold in the other half of whipped cream. The custard should be light and airy without any obvious bits of unmixed custard. Keep chilled while you split the cake
   
3. Split the cake horizontally and on the inside of the base spread the custard mix evenly. Leave a little gap – say 1cm around the edge
   
4. Place the top on the cake and gently press down until the custard expands to the edge of the cake.
5. Best refrigerated for 2 hours, but you can serve it immediately
   

End result

The finished product for this recipe will not suit everybody. Modern consumers are more accustomed to softer flours, and this recipe required strong (high protein) flour. So, I have adjusted the above recipe to include all-purpose flour. Additionally modern tastebuds are used to a sweeter product. In a future newsletter we will attempt a recipe that has more broad-based appeal.