Quick Pickled Vegetables

I don't know about you, but I have a fair bit of angst when it comes to working week lunches.  Of course if you happen to be one of those super-organised, super-human people who prepares their lunch the day before, you probably don't understand my quandry.  I am not one of those people.  Getting lunch together is usually that thing that happens in the five minutes between getting dressed and rushing out the door, and usually with my toothbrush hanging out of the corner of my mouth while I'm doing it.  Not a pretty picture.

There's no doubt that a sandwich is the ultimate transportable meal, but I try not to eat too much bread, and in all honesty no sandwich really tastes as good after four or five hours at the bottom of your lunch bag as it does when freshly made.  Last night's leftovers too are great lunchtime fodder, but without the facilities to reheat anything at my workplace, I find I'm less than enthusiastic about the previous night's cold mac 'n' cheese.

Most weeks in our house we make a big pot of soup, and occasionally I have time in the morning to reheat some to take to work in a thermos.  Sometimes I will make a big batch of hummus and take that along to work with a bag of assorted vegetables, and that will provide me with lunch for three or four days.  But more often that not, I will make do with just grabbing a couple of pieces of fruit or an avocado out of the bowl as I rush out the door.

A salad is great for lunch, but a salad which is made the night before is seldom a thing of glory, and who has time in the morning for chopping ingredients, putting them in separate little containers, mixing a dressing, etc?!  Definitely not this girl.

And now, that clever Nigel Slater has got me out of a pickle with some inspiration which will see me enjoying delicious work-day lunches for at least the next week.  You see, this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs our theme is "In Quite A Pickle", making our own pickles or a dish using pickled ingredients.

Looking through my Nigel Slater cookbooks, I couldn't find anything that was quite right or which used ingredients that are in season here right now, but online I found Nigel's recipe for Salmon Tartare with Quick Pickled Cauliflower.

With a whole head of cauliflower sitting in my veggie drawer and needing to be used up, this definitely piqued my interest, and although I wasn't considering making the salmon tartare today, it got me thinking.  For a start, why just stop at cauliflower?  I had other vegetables on hand that surely could get the quick pickling treatment too ... radishes, carrots, beetroot, and if these were going to be a good accompaniment to salmon, then why not with a variety of smoked fish?

Seriously, these could not be simpler to make.  About 20 minutes of work this afternoon, and I now have four jars of assorted pickled vegetables with which I can stock the fridge at work.  I'll take along a couple of pieces of smoked mackerel as well, a bag of salad leaves and a packet of crackers, and I have a whole week's worth of sensational (and healthy) lunches to look forward to.

Quick Pickled Vegetables Recipe
Adapted from recipe by Nigel Slater
Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

You don't need to be too concerned about quantities here - just use what you have

1x small cauliflower, cut into small florets
coriander seeds

1x carrot
caraway seeds

4 to 5x radishes
fennel seeds

1 to 2x beetroot, depending on size
dill or caraway seeds

2-1/2 cups cider vinegar
2-1/2 cups water
200g (7 oz) sugar

4x washed & sterilised jars

Bring a small pot of water to the boil.  Add cauliflower, and cook for about 5 minutes, until just barely tender, but still crisp.  Drain and refresh in cold water.  Pack the cauliflower into one jar, sprinkling coriander seeds over each layer as you go.

Using a vegetable peeler, cut the carrot into long, thin ribbons, and pack into another jar, sprinkling caraway seeds over each layer as you go.

Cut radish into rings as thinly as you possibly can - a mandoline is ideal.  Layer in a jar with fennel seeds.

Cut beetroot in half, and then into thin slices - again a mandoline is ideal.  Layer in a jar with dill or caraway seeds.

Put vinegar, water and sugar in a small pot, and set over medium heat.  Stir constantly until sugar is dissolved, then bring to the boil.  Remove from heat and immediately pour over the bottled vegetables.

Leave to cool to room temperature, then store in the fridge.  Allow to stand, in the fridge, at least four hours before using.  After a few hours in the fridge, they are really crispy, and beginning to take on the flavours from the spices they've been packed with.  If you can bear to wait till the next day, even better.

This is a quick pickle, so don't expect a long-term preserve, but they should keep a good week or two in the fridge.

Enjoy - I know I can hardly wait for lunch time tomorrow to come around.

If you would like to get to know Nigel Slater a little better, and to see what everyone else has cooked up this week, then do go and visit my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs and check out the links ...

I'll also be sharing this post this week at See Ya In the Gumbo hosted by the delightful Michelle at Ms. enPlace, at Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads, and at Foodie Fridays hosted by Designs by Gollum.

         

Spinach, Goat Cheese & Beetroot Stacks with Spicy, Caramelised Walnuts

Where did the last month go?  If your life is anything like mine, it's vanished in a heart beat.  During that month in my part of the world daffodils have burst into life, blossom is appearing on the trees, and spring lambs are bounding around countrywide.  My overcoat wearing has almost become a thing of the past, and I'm guessing that it will only be another couple of weeks before I can say goodbye to winter boots for another 8 months.  Yes, spring is definitely on the way.

In an entirely different part of the world, the owner and writer of the Enriching Your Kid blog has been completely oblivious to the fact that I've spent quite a bit of time poking around through her recipes in this last month.  You see, it's Secret Recipe Club time of the month and this was the blog assigned to me.  It was my mission to choose a recipe, make it in secret and post it along with everyone else in the Club on one glorious reveal day.

As its title might suggest, this blog is all about producing recipes which will fortify your kids with dishes that will strengthen their immune systems and stimulate growth.  As such, you will find plenty of recipes here for interesting baby foods and school lunches.

Of course, there's plenty of other good, nutritious stuff, but since I don't have children, I thought I might have a bit of trouble finding a dish here that I would want to make.  Wrong ... in fact I found almost immediately the dish I wanted to make - Beetroot Cutlets.

Now, if you live in my part of the world, when you hear the term beetroot cutlets, you might by thinking "what the heck"?  You see, down here, a cutlet is usually a piece of meat attached to a long bone - such as a lamb chop.

But I knew immediately what the nature of this was going to be.  When I was a kid, one of my favourite dinners was my grandmother's "potato cutlets".  These were spicy, minced meat (usually left over curried lamb), encased in mashed potato, and then crumbed and fried until crispy.  So I knew that here a cutlet was going to be some kind of rissole or croquette.

These beetroot cutlets are "spiced" up with a bit of ginger, garlic and curry powder (the original recipe called for garam masala, but I was all out of it), and I coated them with some panko breadcrumbs for a bit of crunch.

To finish things off, I served them on top of a spinach, lentil and goat cheese salad, with some spicy, caramelised walnuts, and topped them off with a dollop of raita (a combination of cucumber, yoghurt and mint).

This made a wonderful vegetarian meal.  The cutlets had a great combination of taste and texture;  and the salad was the perfect accompaniment, the earthiness of the spinach and lentils with the tangy, salty goat cheese providing a great contrast to the sweetness of the beetroot.  The crowning glory is easily the spicy, caramelised walnuts.

I know when you look at this recipe you might think there's a lot of ingredients and steps.  But, honestly, most of these ingredients are things you will likely have on hand already, and most of the steps involved here can be done well in advance - even the day before if you wanted.  This is a great dish for turning very simple, humble ingredients into a meal that looks and tastes really special.  Even the meat-eater around here declared that he'd pay good money for this dish in a restaurant.  I hope you'll give it a try.

Spinach, Goat Cheese & Beetroot Stacks with Spicy, Caramelised Walnuts Recipe
Inspired by recipe from Enriching Your Kid
Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

For beetroot cutlets:
2x medium sized beetroot, peeled and grated
1x small leek, halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced
1x clove garlic, minced
2.5 cm (1 inch) piece of ginger, peeled and grated
2x medium sized potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
freshly ground black pepper
flaky sea salt
juice of 1/2 lemon
generous handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
panko breadcrumbs
sunflower oil for frying

For spinach, lentil & goat cheese salad:
1 cup brown lentils
4x generous handfuls of spinach, or mesclun salad leaves
150g goat cheese crumbled
juice of 1/2 lemon
flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil

For spicy, caramelised walnuts:
1x generous handful of walnuts
1 teaspoon curry powder
5 teaspoons sugar

For raita:
1/2 telegraph cucumber, peeled, de-seeded, and finely diced
flaky sea salt
3/4 cup Greek style natural yoghurt
dried mint to taste

Begin by making the cutlets.  Heat a small amount of sunflower oil in a shallow pan over medium heat.  Add the sliced leek to the pan, along with a generous sprinkling of sea salt.  Saute for a couple of minutes before adding the ginger and garlic.  As soon as the leek is softened (but not browned) and everything is fragrant, remove from heat.  Tip into a medium sized bowl.

Cook potatoes in boiling salted water until tender.  Drain and cool slightly before mashing.

Add the mashed potato to the leeks, along with the grated beetroot, curry powder, lemon juice and coriander.  Taste and add flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to your liking.

Use your hands to shape the mixture into patties, approximately 2cm (3/4 inch) thick.  Coat them in panko breadcrumbs, and refrigerate for at least half an hour to firm up.  You could even do this the day before if desired.

To make the raita, place diced cucumber in a small bowl, and sprinkle generously with flaky sea salt.  Set aside for an hour or so, then drain off the liquid that has been drawn out of the cucumber.  Add yoghurt, mix well, and add dried mint (or fresh if you are lucky enough to have it in season) to taste.

To make the salad, cook the lentils, place them in a medium sized pot, with plenty of cold water.  Place over high heat and bring to the boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer until the lentils are tender.  Drain and place in a medium sized bowl.  While lentils are still hot, add lemon juice, a generous drizzle of olive oil and season to taste with flaky sea salt and black pepper.  Set aside to cool to room temperature.  This is another stage that can be completed well in advance.  Once cooled, toss with spinach or salad leaves and crumbled goat cheese.

For spicy, caramelised walnuts, drizzle a small amount of sunflower oil into a shallow pan over medium heat.  Add the walnuts to the pan, and add the curry powder.  Toss the nuts until they are well coated and allow them to toast for a moment or two.  Add the sugar to the pan, and stir constantly until the sugar is bubbling and the nuts are thoroughly coated in the spicy, sugary mixture.  Remove and allow to cool.  Again this could be done in advance.

Pour a generous amount of sunflower oil into a shallow pan over medium heat.  Add beetroot cutlets to the pan, and fry until crispy and golden all over.

To serve, place a generous amount of salad on a plate, and sprinkle a few of the spicy, caramelised walnuts around.  Stack the beetroot cutlets on top, and drizzle over a little of the raita.

Hope you enjoy this dish as much as I did, and visit the links below to check out all the other great dishes my Secret Recipe Club friends made.

An InLinkz Link-up

Mocha, Date & Meringue Ice Cream

Pot Luck week at I Heart Cooking Clubs is always one of my favourite weeks, because it means that we get to cook with any one of our ten IHCC chefs.  For me that usually means the irresistible opportunity to catch up once again with my favourite chef, Yotam Ottolenghi.

This is timely, because this month at Tasting Jerusalem** we are exploring cooking with date syrup, through the lens of Ottolenghi's book Jerusalem.  I've use date syrup a few times before in dishes such as this Butternut Squash & Tahini Spread, which is finished off with a drizzle of date syrup.

Date syrup has a consistency similar to maple syrup, agave nectar, brown rice syrup or runny honey, and makes a great substitute anywhere you would use any of those ingredients, but the flavour is so much more, for want of a better word, "exotic" and complex than any of them.  The sticky sweetness of dates, combined with the intense flavour and aroma of rosewater, makes for an ingredient that will transport you to places far flung.

I've also used date syrup in these Pumpkin, Date & Chocolate Scones ...

... but today I wanted to come up with something that was altogether more indulgent and which really played to the exotic nature of this ingredient.

Doing a little research, I found my inspiration in Ottolenghi's recipe for Chocolate, Rose & Walnut Ice Cream.  This seemed like a good starting point, and I thought I could come up with my own version.

To start with, I simplified the whole process by using a combination of coconut cream, condensed milk, and melted dark chocolate, instead of the typical custard base used in the original recipe.  Since I had decided I was going to work date syrup into the recipe, I didn't need rose water, as that flavour is already sufficiently pronounced in the syrup.  I also wanted actual dates in the ice cream, as well as the syrup, so I soaked them in some freshly brewed espresso to soften them, before swirling into the ice cream.  And for that all important crunch, I replaced the walnuts and digestive biscuits Ottolenghi used, with some crumbled meringues.  I love the way they hold their texture, and keep that little bit of "chewiness" even once frozen.  I did think about also including some cacao nibs, but I think it would have been an ingredient too far, and the depth of chocolate flavour here is more than sufficient without it.

Ottolenghi served his ice cream with chocolate sauce drizzled over the top, which seemed a bit unnecessary in the circumstances, and some little cubes of Turkish delight sprinkled over the top.  I think this would have been delightful, but I didn't have any on hand.  He also finished with a little sprinkling of dried rose petals - another delightful touch, which I did have and would have added, but the ice cream was melting and for the life of me I couldn't find them in the cupboard (note to self:  time to give the cupboard a clean out!)

In the end, this ice cream is everything I wanted it to be.  Rich and chocolatey and almost fudgy;  there are delightful little of nuggets of chewy dates and crunchy meringues;  the date and rose flavours really come through without overpowering, and linger long enough on the palate to tantalise the mind with thoughts of far flung places.  I think I should have called this Magic Carpet Ice Cream.

Mocha, Date & Meringue Ice Cream Recipe
Inspired by a recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi
Makes about 1 litre
Download the free recipe card here

1/2 cup finely chopped, dried dates
3 tablespoons freshly brewed espresso
1 tablespoon date syrup
400ml (13.5 fl oz) coconut milk
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
200g dark chocolate, melted (I used Whittaker's Dark Ghana)
40g (1-1/2 oz) crumbled meringues

Place chopped dates in a small bowl.  Pour over the hot espresso and date syrup.  Stir to combine, and set aside until the dates have softened, and mixture has cooled.

Break chocolate into smallish pieces.  Place in a bowl over a pot of gently simmering water, making sure the water is not actually touching the bowl.  Stir from time to time, until the chocolate is melted and glossy.  Set aside and allow to cool completely, but without re-solidifying.

In another bowl, beat together the coconut milk, condensed milk and melted chocolate, until everything is well combined.

Churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

Empty ice cream into a freezer safe container.  Stir in the softened dates and crumbled meringues.  Cover the surface of the ice cream with a piece of non-stick baking paper, and put in the freezer to firm up.

Serve generously whenever you have itchy feet.

If you would like to get to know Yotam Ottolenghi a little better or any one of our other IHCC chefs, then do go and visit my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs and see what they've all cooked up for Pot Luck week.

** Tasting Jerusalem is a virtual cooking community exploring the vibrant flavors and cuisine of the Middle East through the lens of Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Ottolenghi and Tamimi published by Ten Speed Press. You can follow along and cook with us by subscribing to omgyummy.com, following the hashtag #TastingJrslm on Twitter and Instagram, liking our Facebook page or joining our Google+ Community and finally checking out all of our groups’ dishes on Pinterest.

I'll also be sharing this post at See Ya In the Gumbo hosted by the lovely, and very amusing, Michelle at Ms. enPlace, at Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads, and at Foodie Friday hosted by Designs by Gollam.

         

I will also be submitting this post to Sweet New Zealand.  Inspired by Alessandra Zecchini, and hosted this month by Michelle at Munch Cooking, Sweet New Zealand is an event for all Kiwi bloggers (whether living at home or abroad), or all foreign bloggers living in New Zealand, to link up their sweet treats.

Pina Colada Ice Cream

I don't wish to whine, but it's not been the best of times around here the last couple of weeks.  Long story short, and I'm sure I've mentioned this here before, our house got flooded in a big storm a couple of months ago.  I arrived home from work to find the dining room and kitchen floors resembling a lake and, as water is wont to work its way downwards, the water had filled up the ceilings and floor of the two bedrooms below.  Not a pretty sight.  Anyway, after several weeks of not much happening, the insurance company finally realised that the problem was way more serious than they had originally anticipated, launched themselves into "emergency action" as a result, and sent in a team of people to start ripping the house apart.  Walls and ceilings have been removed downstairs, and big machines brought in to try and dry the place out.  The kitchen and dining room ceiling will have to be removed, likewise the floor, and there is even talk of the possibility of the whole kitchen having to be pulled out.  Needless to say, there is plenty of chaos around here and not too much cooking going on, so please bear with me if I'm not posting as regularly here as I'd like to over the next couple of months.

Still, life isn't all grim ... the magnolias and daffodils are out, and the tui which always comes to our garden at the start of spring, and enchants us throughout the summer, has arrived.  A wonderful reminder that spring is officially only 14 days away.  For those of you who don't know, the tui is a native New Zealand bird, notable for its vibrant green plumage and the two white feathers at its throat.  As a child I was always delighted by this Maori legend as to how the kiwi became a flightless bird and the tui got its white feathers.

The other great thing about this time of year is the abundance of citrus fruit in season.  I always have huge bowls of lemons, oranges and mandarins on my kitchen bench right now, and it's the time when I launch into production of preserved lemons and lemon curd.  Marmalade making is just around the corner.

The fact, therefore, that this week we are Zesting It Up with Nigel Slater at I Heart Cooking Clubs, really brightened my week, and with days warming up a little it definitely seemed like ice cream was the way to go.  Though, in truth, I eat ice cream all year round - no excuse of warmer days ahead needed.   Trawling around on the internet I came across Nigel's Lime Mascarpone Sorbet.  I really liked the sound of that, and in fact I had a couple of limes in the house.  I didn't, however, have any mascarpone, wasn't feeling inclined to head to the supermarket to buy some, and easy enough though it is to make time wasn't on my side.  Poking around in the pantry, I came across a tin of coconut milk and figured I could do something with that.  I also stumbled across a tin of pineapple chunks that had been sitting in the pantry for goodness knows how long, and for the life of me I can't imagine how I ever came to be in possession of a tin of pineapple in the first place.  Then I remembered half a tin of condensed milk that had been sitting in the fridge for probably at least as long as the pineapple had been around, and thus this ice cream was born.  It's a simple as blitzing up the coconut milk, pineapple chunks, condensed milk, and lime zest in a blender, and then churning in an ice cream maker.

The resulting ice cream is light and refreshing, and a beautiful combination of flavours.  This is definitely one I will be repeating a lot this summer.  Thanks for the inspiration, Nigel.

Pina Colada Ice Cream Recipe
Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

1x 400ml (13.5 fl oz) can Trade Aid coconut milk
1x 450g (16 oz) can pineapple chunks in natural juice
1/2 can condensed milk
grated zest of 1x lime

Place all ingredients in blender, and blitz until the pineapple is completely crushed and everything is well combined.

Pour everything into an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer's instructions.

Turn ice cream into freezer proof container, and place a piece of baking paper directly over the surface of the ice cream (helps to stop it turning icy).

Remove from freezer 10 to 15 minutes before serving to soften slightly.

If you would like to get to know Nigel Slater a little better, and to see what everyone else has cooked up this week, then do go and visit my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs and check out the links ...

I will also be submitting this post to Sweet New Zealand.  Inspired by Alessandra Zecchini, and hosted this month by Michelle at Munch Cooking, Sweet New Zealand is an event for all Kiwi bloggers (whether living at home or abroad), or all foreign bloggers living in New Zealand, to link up their sweet treats.

I'll also be sharing this post this week at See Ya In the Gumbo hosted by the delightful Michelle at Ms. enPlace, at Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads, and at Foodie Fridays hosted by Designs by Gollum.

         

Roasted Potato Salad with Black Olive & Roasted Garlic Gremolata

This week at I Heart Cooking Clubs we're Serving Up Salads with Nigel Slater.  This is the kind of theme which is right up my alley, given that I like to eat salads pretty much all year round.  This time of year, in the New Zealand winter, my salads take on a more substantial bent and usually comprise some kind of root vegetable, or pulses and grains of some description.

In Tender, Vol. I, I came across Nigel's recipe for Roasted potato salad with garlic and rosemary - new potatoes are roasted with garlic and rosemary then tossed, while still warm, in a mustardy vinaigrette.    It was sounding pretty good to me, but I felt it wanted a little "something else".  And then I remembered this recipe for Herbed Crispy Smashed Taters that I had seen ages ago on my friend Toby's blog, Plate Fodder.  Toby combined smashed potatoes with herbs, garlic, black olives and lemon before roasting them, and this was exactly the inspiration I was looking for.  And, by the by, if you haven't checked out Toby's blog before you are in for a treat - Toby's writing is witty and entertaining, sprinkled from time to time with family stories, and most of all his food is stuff that you totally want to eat.

Roasted Potato Salad with Black Olive & Roasted Garlic Gremolata Recipe
Inspired by recipes from Nigel Slater, Tender Vol. I
and Toby at Plate Fodder
Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

8x whole baby potatoes (I used baby Red Jackets), washed & unpeeled
1x medium-sized sweet potato, washed, unpeeled & cut into quarters
1x head of garlic, cloves separated but unpeeled
2x stalks of fresh rosemary
olive oil
flaky sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
8x black Kalamata olives
zest of 1/2 a lemon

for dressing:
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 220 degrees C (425 degrees F).

Place potatoes and sweet potato into a medium sized pot, cover with cold water, place over high heat and bring to the boil.  Boil steadily for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and drain.

Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.  As soon as potatoes are cool enough to handle, place them on the baking sheet and flatten with the heel of your hand.   Pull the leaves off one rosemary stalk, and strew them over the potatoes, along with the garlic clove.  Drizzle liberally with olive oil, and season generously with flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Place the tray of potatoes in the preheated oven, and cook for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes remove the garlic cloves from the tray and set aside, and turn the potatoes over.  Return to the oven for a further 20 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the gremolata.  Deseed the olives and chop finely.  Place in a small bowl.  Add the leaves from the remaining stalk of rosemary, and the lemon zest.  Squeeze a couple of now soft garlic cloves into the mixture and stir/mash to combine everything well.

Make the dressing by putting all the ingredients into a small jar and shaking until well combined.

Remove cooked, golden potatoes from the oven, place in a serving bowl, and drizzle liberally with the dressing - do this while the potatoes are still hot and they will really soak up the dressing.  Sprinkle the gremolata over the top, and set aside to cool slightly - this is best served warm.

Note:  You probably noticed that we cooked a whole head of garlic, but only used a couple of cloves here - the rest were saved to go into the gravy for the roast chicken which was the perfect accompaniment to this hearty salad.

If you would like to get to know Nigel Slater a little better, and to see what everyone else has cooked up this week, then do go and visit my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs and check out the links ...

... or check out Tender, Vol. 1 and Nigel's many other great titles available from Amazon USA, Amazon UK, or Fishpond NZ.

I'll also be sharing this post this week at See Ya In the Gumbo hosted by the delightful Michelle at Ms. enPlace, at Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads, and at Foodie Fridays hosted by Designs by Gollum.