Cooking with chillies - Mango Cry and Arrabiata Passata

We have an abundance of chillies right now - habanero and fatalii - both lend a really hot and sweet flavour to the dishes they are used in.

Using that sweetness is very easy when teamed with mango in this delicious chutney, which I call Mango Cry - sweet and savoury and quite the tear inducer!

The flesh of 2 large ripe mangoes
1 head of garlic, chopped
3cm ginger, grated finely
1 1/2 brown onions, diced
chillies - adjust to your heat limit (I used 9 habaneros and 2 fataliis - seeds and all!)
1 heaped tsp english mustard
4cm stick of cinammon - broken into large peices
5 cloves
lots of black pepper
salt to taste
1/2 - 1 cup white vinegar - as needed

Chop the chillies and garlic in a food processort. Put all the ingredients into a good heavy pot, and cook over a medium heat, stirring frequently, until mango is completely disintegrated and onions are cooked. Whilst still hot, put into heat-sterilised jars. Allow to come to room temperature and then place into fridge for 2 weeks (to allow flavour to develop) before using.

Whilst the chutney was cooking, I made some arrabiata passata (pasta sauce base) - which was super easy and so much tastier than store bought stuff. Well worth the wait!!

2 kgs of cooking tomatoes

300gms long red chillies, chopped

1 1/2 heads of garlic, chopped

1 brown onion, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Chop the chillies and garlic in a food processor. Put all the ingredients in a good heavy pot and cook over medium heat until tomatoes have disintegrated and the liquid has reduced significantly. 

Whilst hot, put into heat sterilised jars and allow to come to room temperature before storing in the fridge - or use straight away!!

Vego Caesar Salad

Caesar salad is a domain usually reserved for bacon, chicken and anchovies... most vegetarians feel that it is out of the question. 

Nowadays, there are plenty of mock-meat substitutes that can be used in place of bacon and chicken in a caesar! My favourite is smoked vege deli slices - lightly pan fried - in place of bacon.

And making your own croutons is tastier and cheaper than the packet ones.

Salad: mix this up in a salad bowl

2 heads baby cos lettuce, washed and drained

4 eggs - hard boiled, shells off, place in fridge to get cold

3 smoked deli slices - cut into 2cm squares and lightly pan fried - drain on paper towel

Croutons:

4 slices bruschetta bread - sprayed both sides with oil

1 clove garlic - chopped in half, used to rub on browned bruschetta slices

Dressing: mix this up in a jar

5 tablespoons whole egg mayonaise (Thomy is a good one!)
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
1tsp wholegrain mustard
generous splash white wine (sav blanc is good)
salt to taste
copious amounts of black pepper

Bake bruschetta slices in oven until lightly golden - rub both sides with copious amounts of garlic, then return to oven for about 5 minutes until golden brown. set aside

layer all salad ingredients in bowl, add freshly prepared dressing and serve with croutons.

New blog - The outdoor gourmet!

Hi all - I am starting a new blog titled "The outdoor gourmet" - its going to be packed with delicious recipes and photos of food cooked in the great outdoors.

So, if you are after ideas for a BBQ, camping trip or weekend festival, please take a look!

theoutdoorgourmet.blogspot.com

If you are a keen outdoor cook and would like to contribute, drop me a line :D

Fresh Pumpkin Pasta

There is nothing quite like fresh, home-made pasta. Sure, you can dish out $18 for the fancy dried stuff down at the deli, or $5 for the fresh packet stuff at the supermarket - but $6 and a few hours will give you something infinitely superior to both.

To give the pasta itself a little bit of flavour, I added mashed pumpkin - it lends a very delicate sweetness to it - and teamed it up with a classic sour cream and chive sauce. Add a side of salad and its a delicious, well balanced meal.

Firstly, get half a butternut pumpkin, peel and de-seed and cut into smallish pieces. Boil it and mash it and set it aside to cool.

Whilst thats going on, measure out your "00" flour. It is 100g flour for every egg, but as we are using mashed pumpkin the ratio will differ. I used a kilo of flour and 4 eggs.

If you have a large working surface you can sift the flour onto the surface, make a well in the centre, add the mashed pumpkin and eggs. If you don't have a large work surface, just use a big mixing bowl! 

Use a fork to whisk the eggs and pumpkin together then use the fork to slowly start bringing the flour into the egg mixture. Do this until the egg mixture is combining with the flour then get your hands into it - start combing the remaining flour into the tacky doughy bits until it starts to look like big chunky breadcrumbs. Give it a few big folds and kneads and punches. 

Now comes the fun part - you are going to make your ugly dough into smooth silky dough by kneading it for 15 - 20 minutes!

Such a beautiful transformation!

Now wrap it up really well in glad wrap - making sure no dough is left uncovered, and put it in the fridge to settle for at least 30 minutes, longer is better, but 30 minutes is enough.

By this time your dog will be giving you the evil eye, so use this opportunity to walk to the shops and get some more "00" flour (if you dont have any spare!), walk the dog and get a coffee!

OK - so about an hour later you should have come back from your walk, and can crack open the wine you will be using in the sauce for a drink

MMMMMM- Arrogant Frog! 

You can use any white wine in the sauce, as long as it is not too sweet. Make sure it is one that you are willing to drink though, as you only need about 3/4 glass for the sauce. The rest is for you - you deserve it!

Get your pasta machine out, use a big long work surface (like the dining table) and flour it. Get the dough out of the fridge and cut a small chunk of it off - about the size of your fist. Press it flat and liberally flour both sides.

Put your pasta machine at its widest setting and pass the dough through, then fold it in half and do it again, then fold it lengthways and do it again, then fold it in half... You get the drill. Do the folding and rolling on the widest setting about 7 - 8 times - this kneads the dough really well and makes the pasta nice and silky! Now put the machine on its next setting and repeat - about 4 times. Make sure you keep the sides of the dough well floured - if the dough is sticky at any time, just rub flour on it before rolling it through again.

You can now feed the dough through the machine, rolling it through each of the thickness settings until you get to the thinnest ones (6 to 8), making sure it is well floured on both sides. Roll it out as thin as you like then use the spaghetti or fettucini cutters to make your pasta! Allow the pasta to dry for about 30 minutes before cooking. Use a big pot with olive oil and salted water on a rolling boil. Fresh pasta only takes a few minutes to cook ( 3- 5 minutes) so make sure to keep an eye on it. Drain when ready.

Picture me rollin' ;)

The finished product - delicious pumpkin fettucini!

The best bit is - you can dry any extra that you make to cook up later! Just make sure it is well floured and hang it up somewhere warm and dry. Put it in an airtight bag or container once it is dry.

All super fun!

Now for sauce!

5 cloves garlic, chopped

2tbs olive oil

1/2 tbs flour

1 tin light evaporated milk

300gm light sour cream

3/4 cup white wine

1 bunch snipped chives

1 tsp sage

1/2 tsp nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup water (if needed)

Brown the garlic in the oil - do not let it burn but do let it caramelise a little bit. Add the flour and mix well (this will make it thick). Add your evaporated milk and sour cream, Mix well. Add the wine, sage, nutmeg and salt and pepper. Stir frequently until starting to thicken, then add the chives. Simmer until  thickened (add water, a little at a time if too thick) then mix it into your drained fresh pasta.

Serve with freshly grated parmesan and a nice side salad.

Guac and Salsa open toasties

I was quite keen for an open toastie lunch this afternoon, and what better way to use up picnic leftovers! The guac and salsa I used were left from sundays picnic, and had been stewing in the flavours for 2 days so they were super tasty - however, fresh guac and salsa will work perfectly fine I think!
I also had leftover greek salad... I think its better on the second day ;)

1 Turkish bread bun - halved and toasted
2 slices of tasty cheese

2 tbs guac - made from:
1 soft avocado, mashed
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tomato, pulp removed and diced finely
1/2 tbs chopped coriander
juice of 1/2 a lime
salt and pepper
chilli to taste

2 tbs salsa - made from:
1 red onion, diced very finely (use a mandolin)
3 tomatoes, diced finely
1 1/2 tbs chopped fresh oregano
1 tbs zataar
juice of 1/2 lemon
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

toast the turkish bread, spread on guac, add salsa, top with cheese and grill till bubbly. Crack on some pepper and enjoy!!

Sorry about the lack of delicious updates!

I have to apologise for the lack of delicious updates to the blog... I have been so busy with my honours year and moving house that its been too difficult to photograph any yummy foodz! (and I haven't had a lot of time to cook much yummy foodz either - sacre bleu!!)

I guess my next update is going to have to be supremely yummy to make up for the lack of posts!

Chow mein noodle stir fry with Seitan

I am quite the fan of mock-meat. I know some people will berate a vegetarian for eating the stuff (if you eat mock-meat, why not just real meat?) - but there is a difference.
 About the only thing in common with real meat that mock-meat has is a chewy texture. It is made from all sorts of different seeds/nuts and it can be flavoured any way you like. And really - the texture is not very like meat at all.

I found some unflvaoured Seitan (wheat gluten) in these weird looking rolls at the asian grocer in West End. Having never cooked with it, I thought I would give it a try.  Using unflavoured seitan will make a quick stir fry take longer to prepare, but you can dictate the taste - it is worth it.

First - prepare the seitan.

1 packet Seitan - sliced
1 litre strong vege stock
3 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs vegetarian oyster sauce (mushroom sauce)
2 tbs kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
1 tsp of my killah chilli sauce (or any very hot chilli sauce/paste)
a bowl with 1/2 cup plain flour
4 eggs, beaten.
vegetable oil and sesame oil for very shallow frying

Put 2tbs soy sauce in with the stock in a saucepan, bring to boil and add the seitan. Simmer for 20 minutes. Remove seitan with a slotted spoon and put into a seperate container. Reserve 1 cup of stock.
In the seperate container, add the vegetarian oyster sauce, kecap manis, chilli sauce and the rest of the soy sauce. Coat the seitan well. Allow to marinade for 2 hours, frequently mixing to evenly coat the seitan. Heat vegetable and sesame oils in a fry pan. Take batches of seitan and coat evenly in flour, then shallow fry for 3 minutes on each side. Set aside on paper towel. After all seitan is cooked use the leftover oil (which will be deliciously flavoured from the marinade) to cook the eggs - just pour the eggs into the pan, allow to cook on one side then scramble them till cooked. set aside.

Then make the Stir fry.

1 packet fresh chow mein noodles
1 onion, halved then quartered
2 carrots, sliced
1 capsicum, sliced
1/3 sugarloaf cabbage, sliced chunky
100gm button mushrooms, sliced thick
3 tbs minced garlic
2 tbs killah chilli sauce (or any hot chilli sauce/paste)
1 tbs minced ginger
4 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs kecap manis
1 tsp chinese five spice
2 tsp flour mixed into the cup of reserved stock.
2 tbs vegetable oil, 1tbs sesame oil

Heat oil in a wok. Stir fry onions, garlic, chilli and ginger. Add carrot and stir fry for 1 minute. Add soy sauces and 5 spice, and 2 tbs of stock. Stir well.
Add mushrooms and stir fry for 3 minutes. Add capsicum and cabbage and stir fry for 5 minutes.
Put noodles in a large bowl and cover with boiling water - sit for 2 minutes then drain.Add the seitan to the vegetables, as well as the rest of the stock. Mix well and cook, covered, for 3 minutes.

Add noodles and egg, mix well to combine evenly and coat noodles in sauce. Cook for 2 minutes to heat noodles.
Serve - top with fried onion if you like.

Foul Medames (Fava beans)

Only have 30 minutes to cook and eat? Want something delicious, filling and healthy? Got a can of Fava beans in the pantry?

This is pretty much the lebanese version of tacos - minus all the fat and cheese.

1 can Foul Medames (fava beans) drained.
2 lebanese breads, quartered
3 tomatoes, halved then quartered.
1 large cucumber, sliced long.
a handful of fresh mint, chopped finely
1tsp crushed garlic
3tbs olive oil
squeeze of lemon juice
a pinch of paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Heat drained beans in microwave for 3 minutes. Transfer to bowl, add garlic, 1tbs olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. Mash well with fork.
Make a well in the centre, add rest of olive oil and sprinkle paprika.

Sprinkle foul medames and tomatoes/cucumbers with chopped mint and add salt and pepper to taste.
Fill bread quarters with foul and add veges. Enjoy!

If you dont have fava beans, you can also make this with any canned beans (chick peas, kidney beans, borlotti beans etc) you have in the pantry.

Killer Coleslaw

This looks like any regular coleslaw - a melee of carrots, cabbage and onion... but inside lurks the fire of the worlds hottest chillies - And I used two of them ;)

I used a mandolin slicer with the wide blade to cut the carrots, cabbage and onions, and a bean stringer to "french" the beans.
Use a really sharp knife for the chillies (wear gloves if you really have to)


2 carrots, chunky shred
1/2 sugarloaf cabbage, shredded
1 red onion, shredded
100g fresh green beans "frenched" (use a bean stinger, or just cut them lengthways)
100ml Ceasar salad dressing
salt and pepper to taste

Optional:
2 naga jolokia chillies, chopped very finely (remove the seeds - they aren't good for texture)
or use less firey chillies if you would like the flavour without the burn.

Layer it all in a salad bowl, toss well.  Dont rub your eyes for the next day if you didnt wear gloves (I learnt this the hard way...)

ahhhh - sweet orange fire!

Stuffed Mushrooms

A dinner party with vegetarians isn't complete without... Stuffed Mushrooms!!

These look a lot better before they are cooked - they taste soooo much better afterwards though.
And they are versatile - they can be cooked on the stove top, cooked in the oven or put in a foil baggy and cooked on the BBQ! They taste best on the BBQ actually.
You can top them with cheese for a more pizza-ish mushy, or rub the skins with oil and garlic for a super-flavour explosion mushy!

5 portobello mushroom caps, or any flat field mushroom.
3 finely chopped garlic cloves
1/3 finely chopped red onion
2 tomatoes, sliced
freshly chopped basil
salt and pepper to taste
5 small cubes of butter

Remove stalk and extra membrane from mushrooms. Sprinkle garlic and onion evenly over caps.
Arrange tomato slices so that they cover the entire cap - you may need to cut pieces to fit.
Sprinkle on chopped basil and salt and pepper to taste.
Add a small cube of butter to the centre of each.

Cook for 5-10 minutes until the mushrooms are soft and the tomato is cooked.
(Spoon the mushroom juice over the top, put in other dishes/sauces or freeze for later use.)

If you are making the sauce equivalent of crack to serve your dinner guests with their leek, proscuitto and chicken - mushroom juice goes really well :)

Thanks for joining us, Ozfiredancer and Senor del Davis :)

(and thanks for taking the last 2 photos Senor!!!)

Tri-colour Pasta Salad

A delicious, light pasta salad that is best eaten cold.
Its the perfect student meal as you can whip it up in 15 minutes and eat it for the next 3 days when you remember to get out of the laboratory!

375 g Tri-colour spirals - cooked al dente
1 and a half zuchini - grated
4 big tablespoons pesto
100g sheeps milk fetta - crumbled finely
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste.

layer all ingredients in a large salad bowl. Toss well. Enjoy!

Choc Chili Cup Cakes!

Its Chocolate! Its Chilli! Its in Cup-Cake form! What more could you possibly ask for?
(the recipe perhaps?)

150g butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup corn flour
1 3/4 self raising flour
1/2 cup bournville cocoa
100g melted dark chocolate (at least 45% cocoa)
2 tbs kahlua if you have it.

whisk softened butter, sugar and egg.  Add vanilla and baking powder and mix well.
Sift in dry ingredients. Use a spatula to fold into wet ingredients.
Add melted chocolate and kahlua and give a quick stir.

Spoon 1 1/2 tablespoons into large cup cake cases or muffin cases. Cook at 180 degrees for 30 minutes or until centre springs back up when touched.

50g dark chocolate
75ml thickened cream
pulp of 2 birds eye chillies
1/4 tsp finely ground black pepper
1 1/2 birds eye chillies - sliced finely lengthways

Remove seeds from chillies. Use the edge of a sharp knife to scrape the pulp from the chillies.
Melt chocolate in saucepan over low heat. Stir in  cream, chilli pulp and black pepper. Stir until thickened.

Spread over cooled cup cakes and top with chilli slivers.

Makes 10 big cup cakes.

Sweet Potato Ravioli

Ok - Before I start I must brag a little bit about the wonderful home grown veges that have managed to survive 2 months of torrential rain to produce such bountiful fruit:
Well - its only been cucumbers, but what cucumbers they have been!!

So fresh that they are still dripping! Yummo! Best eaten cold, sliced in half and sprinkled with rock salt and black pepper. MMMMM!


And now to the real part of the post - This delicious Roast Sweet Potato Ravioli! Very similar to the pumpkin and babaganoush ravioli I made a few years ago. Very time consuming but well worth the effort!

I made 39 of them in about an hour and a half and felt very accomplished :) This is enough to serve between 6 - 8 people as they are quite large!

500gm sweet potato, peeled and chopped into big chunks
250gm low fat ricotta
2 cloves crushed garlic
a grind of salt and pepper
1tbs chopped fresh basil
2 packets of wonton skins (80 skins)

Heat oven to 200 celcius, place sweet potato on a baking tray and lightly spray with cooking oil.
Bake for about 40 minutes or until soft and slightly caramelised.

In a large mixing bowl, put the ricotta, garlic, basil and salt/pepper. Add baked sweet potato and combine well.

Unwrap the wonton skins and cover in a damp tea towel to keep moist. Have a small bowl of water handy.

Take one wonton skin, place in 2 tsp of filling, wet the edges with water and place a second wonton skin on top. Press down to remove the air and seal the edges, then wet the centre of the ravioli and fold the corners into the centre. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper, cover with a dry tea towel and repeat till all the filling is used up.

When ready to serve, cook in batches of between 5-7 in a large pot on rolling boil for about 2-3 minutes. Serve immediately.

Unused ravioli can be layered between baking paper, well wrapped with glad wrap and frozen for about 2 weeks. Just drop them into boiling water for about 8 minutes to serve.

I served the ravioli with a delicious creamy sage sauce!

3 cloves crushed garlic
1 tbs olive oil
1 tin evaporated milk
2 shallots, chopped chunky
1tbs freshly chopped sage
1/3 cup white wine
salt and pepper to taste
Freshly grated grana padano
Torn basil to garnish

In a saucepan, saute garlic in olive oil. Add evaporated milk and bring to the boil. Turn down to simmer, add sage and white wine, stir frequently to prevent sticking.
Add salt and pepper to taste. When sauce has thickened, add shallots. Stir well and allow to thicken again.

Take off heat, serve immediately over freshly cooked ravioli with freshly grated grana padano and torn basil leaves.

Spicy potato wedges!

I dont think these need any explanation - everyone loves a good wedgie!

1kg small baking potatoes - cut in 1/4 lengthways - parboiled
5 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
1/2 tbs paprika
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil to coat

Heat oven to 160 celcius.

Mix spices thoroughly and place into small bowl or container. Put parboiled potatoes into a large mixing bowl and liberally sprinkle with olive oil. Sprinkle 1/4 of the seasoning on top. Toss to coat.
Repeat until potatoes are well covered.

Spray a large baking sheet with oil.  Spread wedges evenly on sheet with cut side down. Bake for 10 minutes each cut side and a further 5 minutes on the skin side to crisp.

Serve with chilli sauce, sour cream, guacamole and garlic aioli.