brussels sprouts, pancetta & lemon pasta

A few months ago, I met Tia Bicky for lunch and was lucky enough to get a plate of Luxe Bakery’s winter pasta special of shredded brussels sprouts and mandolin-thin slices of broccoli. They were tossed in buttery, lemon moisture and salted by a touch of crisped prosciutto. It was divine, meeting all my salty sour requirements.

I just had to make it at home.

The best part about this dish is that it uses fairly few and quite cheap ingredients, it’s perfect for a wintery lunch or dinner and it easily becomes vegetarian if required.

The brussels sprouts and lemon make a delightful flavour that made me think of a fresh sauerkraut and, if you have a mandolin, by all means add some wafer thin slices of just-blanched broccoli for texture and colour.

Brussels Sprouts, Pancetta & Lemon Pasta

Anna’s very own take on a Luxe special. Serves 4.

Ingredients:

270g shredded brussels sprouts
70g pancetta, chopped
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
125ml chicken stock
1 knob of butter, for sauce
1 knob butter, for frying
1 dash olive oil, for frying
Pecorino, for serving
Salt and pepper
Pasta, for serving (I used troifie)

Method:

1. In a frying pan, fry pancetta until browned and just crispy. Set aside.

2. In the same frying pan, heat a little butter and olive oil for frying. When frothing, add shredded Brussels sprouts with salt and pepper. Sauté for 1 minute or so.

3. Add a dash of chicken stock and mix through. This will spread the heat and steam throughout the sprouts and help to soften them. Sauté the sprouts for another 5 minutes.

4. Now they might start to form browned edges and stick to the pan. Add another dash of chicken stock to deglaze and incorporate those browned bits. Cook until the sprouts are soft.

5. Once soft, add the lemon zest and reserved pancetta and heat through.

6. Next add the lemon juice, remaining chicken stock and the chopped up knob of butter, stirring through to create extra juices that will form a sauce around the pasta.

7. When the pasta is ready, toss the sprouts and juice through then topped with freshly ground pepper and grated pecorino cheese.

Note: if you want to make this vegetarian, use vegetable stock and instead of the pancetta consider tossing salty ricotta salata through the pasta before serving.

snapper ceviche - ceviche de pargo

 Ceviche de Pargo

Ceviche is a dish I often crave because it combines some of my favourites things: sour citrus, spicy chilli and seafood.

It hails from the coastal countries of Central and South America with the Peruvians claiming to be the originators, spreading the word from their busy port-town of Lima. There’s also evidence that ancient Peruvians (Incans) made similar dishes from fermented liquors prior to the arrival of Europeans, who brought with them the precious citrus.

Polynesians also have their own ceviche, often including coconut milk, which seemed to evolve independently of the South Americans.

To make ceviche, I prefer to use firm white fleshed fish like snapper, swordfish or ling. If that’s not your thing, you can always use tuna, salmon or ocean trout.

Just make sure you use the freshest fish possible. Ask your fishmonger for very fresh fish (tell them what you're using it for) and make the ceviche on the same day you buy it.

Many recipes call for leaving the fish in the lime juice for hours, but I think this makes the fish quite tough. To ensure the fish is firm but still soft under your teeth, don’t “cook” it in the lime juice for any more than an hour.

The milky liquor that the fish has marinated in is called leche de tigre (tiger milk) or leche de pantera (panther milk) and in Peru it’s drunk in shot glasses as an appetiser. It’s rumoured to be a natural Viagra. I’m a bit sceptical about that claim, but it certainly tastes good so don’t throw it away.

Ceviche de Pargo (Snapper Ceviche)

Anna’s very own recipe. Serves 4 as a small starter.


Ingredients:
300g snapper fillets, deboned
½ cup of fresh lime juice (about 3 large juicy limes)
½ small red onion, finely diced
1 tomato, deseeded & chopped into small pieces
1 small jalapeño chilli, finely sliced

To serve:
Chifles (plantain chips) or tostados (tortilla chips)
Fresh coriander, chopped
Fresh jalapeño chilli, sliced
Avocado, sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Cube the fish into 3cm pieces.

2. In a non-reactive dish (plastic or ceramic), mix the raw fish pieces with the lime juice, jalapeño, red onion and tomato pieces.

3. Ensure all the fish is covered in lime juice and refrigerate for up to one hour before serving.

4. At this point you can either drain away the liquid to serve separately, or just keep them together.

5. Serve with fresh coriander, slices of avocado and jalapeño chillies.

iced green tea w lychees & lime

It’s lychee season.

A few years ago I got drunk on lychee liqueur and killed my love for lychees . . . until now.

On behalf of Aussie lychee growers, Cessie at IMPACT Communications sent me a box of beautiful, perfect lychees and when I popped the first, slippery nugget into my mouth I swooned with love all over again with these sweet, juicy, tropical fruit.

Oh lychee, I am so happy our love for each other has been rekindled.

This is a versatile iced tea and perfect for summer barbeques. I’ve made it for my sister-in-law when she visited from Sweden early in the year and again in October when The Green Ninja and the VB Samurai visited from Tokyo.

The flavours were inspired by Japanese sensibilities - a love of lychees combined with refreshing green tea and topped off with a little tang and colour from the lime slices.

It's a great addition to summer evening BBQs or any Asian lunch menu.

Lychee & Lime Iced Green Tea

Anna's very own recipe. Makes 1 litre.

Ingredients:
3 bags of green tea or 1 tablespoon loose leaves
400ml boiling water
500ml water
200ml sugar syrup
2 limes thinly sliced
16 lychees, peeled & stone removed
Ice, for serving

Method:

1. In a jug, pour the hot water over the tea bags and steep the tea for 30 minutes.

2. Remove tea bags, add the remaining water, sugar syrup and allow tea to cool to room temperature.

3. Add limes and lychees then refrigerate until completely chilled. Serve with ice.

oysters w lime caviar

I love Sydney rock oysters. They taste so much better than the huge Pacific oysters.

Don’t get me wrong, if you gave me a dozen Pacifics I’d be a happy gal, but the rock oysters are simply sublime.

So why not match the native Sydney rocks to another native ingredient? Finger limes!

The beautifully coloured caviar looks wonderful and the tangy flavour is a perfect acidic accompaniment to the creamy rock oysters.

If you want more info on finger limes, try these two cocktail recipes.

Thanks again to Fred and Janet Durham at the Australian Finger Lime Company who generously gave me these finger limes.

Oysters w Lime Caviar & Black Pepper

Ingredients:
12 Sydney rock oysters
Caviar of 2 finger limes
Black pepper, to taste
Squeeze of regular lime juice
Drop or two of oil (avocado, sesame, olive)

Method:
1. Combine all the ingredients except the oysters into a bowl and mix to combine.
2. Top your oyster and enjoy!

This ticks off a 2011 Food Challenge to use more native ingredients.

finger lime & elderflower gin fizz

Jonas is giving me a hard time about not blogging enough.

He’s right, but it’s hard at the moment because I’m really busy with TWO intensive writing projects and an exciting recipe project that all suck my time and energy like a black hole.

It will be worth it in the end, but for now my blogging might be a little infrequent and I hope you’ll bear with me. I will be back to full time in April.

But something I just can’t wait to talk to you about is the crazily massive box of finger limes I received from Fred and Janet Durham at the Australian Finger Lime Company.

I have written about finger limes before, but for the uninitiated these gorgeous little beauties are native to Australia and therefore a food source to the Australian Aboriginal people for thousands of years.

European settlers weren’t so bright, and cleared so much land for cattle grazing that they almost wiped out these amazing citrus fruits. Luckily some trees remained in National Parks and people like the Durhams have been able to resurrect the numbers to turn them into a viable commercial crop.

If you ever have a chance to taste a finger lime, do not hesitate. You will be amazed.

When you cut a finger lime, the tightly bound cells of citrus burst out like caviar. They come in very pretty colours like vivid pink, electric yellow and bright green. Perfect for delicious, decorative touches on both sweet and savoury dishes.

The generous box the Durhams gave to me was so big I had to freeze some for later, but that’s fine since the limes retain the perfect caviar interior even after freezing. It makes them perfect fruit to stock up on during their short season, then freeze and enjoy throughout the year.

I love finger limes mixed into gin drinks, but you could easily put them into custards and creams, use where you would have used lime or lemon juice or zest, make them into jam or curd like this company (they ship internationally).

This recipe is close to my heart because, like the Glögg Summer Punch I made at Christmas last year, it’s another marriage of Sweden and Australia, just like my husband and I.

It also ticks off a 2011 Food Challenge to use more native ingredients.

Finger Lime & Elderflower Gin Fizz

Anna's very own recipe. Makes 1.

Ingredients:
2 parts gin
1 part finger lime syrup (see below)
½ part elderflower syrup
1 tablespoon finger lime caviar
Soda water
Ice

Method:
1. Fill a shaker with ice, then add the gin, finger lime syrup, elderflower syrup and finger lime caviar. Shake it like a polaroid picture.
2. Pour into an ice filled tumbler, top with soda water.
3. Stir and serve.

Finger Lime Syrup

Anna's very own recipe. Makes approx. 350ml.

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
¼ cup finger lime caviar (approx. 4 large limes)

Method:
1. Bring the sugar, lime caviar and water to the boil, then stir to dissolve all sugar.
2. Reduce to a simmer and bubble away for around 5-10 minutes until reduced to your preferred thickness.
3. Remove from heat, bring to room temperature and then chill.
Note: Use as a cordial with soda, in a cocktail or drizzled over yoghurt or ice cream.


This, with finger limes as the theme ingredient, is my contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Winnie from Healthy Green Kitchen.

For other exciting finger lime recipes, check out these:

Finger Lime Caviar Butter
Finger Lime Martini
Finger Lime Vinaigrette
Lemon & Finger Lime Curd
Mango, Finger Lime & Coconut Cream
Malaysian Finger Lime & Chicken Curry
No-Cook Finger Lime Tart
Sardines w Tomato Purée & Finger Lime
Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese on Rye w Finger Limes
Tuna Tartare w Avocado & Finger Lime

clove & orange custard tart

This is a perfect Christmas season recipe. The cloves and orange flavours are typical aromas around this time of year and work well with the rich foods served.

The tart base is made from dark chocolate and I’ve saved loads of time by buying Carême pre-made gourmet shortcrust pastry, a brand that I swear by.

Inventing a custard tart was one of my 2010 Food Challenges and the clove flavour is just great. I’ve since made clove custard and that’s delicious too.

Hope you enjoy this recipe.

Clove & Orange Custard Tart

Anna’s very own recipe. Serves 8.

Ingredients:
4 egg yolks
1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (250ml) milk
2 cups (500ml) pouring cream
½ cup caster sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1½ teaspoons finely minced orange zest
300g Carême dark chocolate shortcrust pastry, defrosted

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160’C.

2. Prepare and blind bake the tart base as per the instructions.

3. Beat egg yolks in a large mixing bowl.

4. Warm milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, orange zest and cloves, stirring to dissolve sugar.

5. Bring almost to the bowl then pour into the egg yolks in a thin stream, whisking continuously to prevent the eggs from scrambling.

6. Return to stove and gently heat, stirring continuously, until the custard thickens slightly but is still runny.

7. Strain into prepared tart base, sprinkle with a pinch of cloves, and bake in oven for 40-60 minutes or until custard is just set.

Note: Eat warm, or cool then refrigerate until ready to serve. Best served within 24hrs of baking.

batida morango

I could drink this Brazilian strawberry cocktail rain, hail or shine.

It's amazingly delicious and Jonas makes a mean one.

Coming home, after a long day at work, to a smiling husband and a fat batida is too good to be true.

Batida Morango (Strawberry Brazilian Cocktail)

Jonas' very own recipe. Makes 1.

Ingredients:
4-5 strawberries
½ lime, cut into wedges
60ml cachaça
15ml sugar syrup
Crushed ice

Method:

1. Muddle the lime and strawberries in a cocktail shaker.

2. Add the sugar syrup and cachaça then ½ cup crushed ice.

3. Shake until chilled through then pour into a glass and serve immediately.

sangrita

This tangy tomato drink is sipped alternately with high quality tequila, made to savour.

It's great aperitif to any meal, alongside dips and salsas.

This is recipe 4 out of 7 on the countdown to Cinco de Mayo!

Sangrita
Recipe from Mexican by Jane Milton. Serves 20 shots or 8 glasses.
Ingredients:
450g ripe tomatoes
1 small onion, chopped finely
2 small green chillies, seeded & chopped
½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
Juice of 3 limes
½ teaspoon sugar
Pinch of salt
Tequila, to serve
Method:
1. Score the tomatoes on the bottom and place in a heat proof bowl and cover. Sit for 3 minutes.
2. Remove the tomatoes and plunge into a second bowl of cold water. The skins will start to peel away.
3. Remove skins then cut the tomatoes and discard seeds.
4. Chop the remaining tomato flesh and combine in a food processor with onion, chillies, orange juice, lime juice, sugar and salt.
5. Process until smooth then chill for at least one hour before serving.
6. Serve in a shot glass alongside a shot of tequila.
Note: (good quality) aged or golden tequila are recommended for this drink.

cochinita pibil - citrus roasted pork

Cochinita Pibil (also known as Puerco Pibil) is a traditional Mexican recipe using recado rojo, or achiote, a paste made from ground annatto seeds. The paste itself is pretty flavourless, but its real value comes from the vibrant, natural red colour it gives to food.

Cochinita Pibil is basically pork that’s been marinated in orange juice then slow-roasted in banana leaves to lock in the moisture while cooking.

It's from the Yucatán and the traditional recipe uses bitter oranges. The orange juice gives a really interesting, fresh flavour to the rich meat.

The Mayan word "pibil" means "buried" and “cochinita” means “suckling pig”, so perhaps technically my version is “Puerco Pibil” (puerco meaning pork). But since Cochinita Pibil is the more common term, no matter what kind of pig you're cooking, I’m sticking to it!

Like many of my recipes leading up to Cinco de Mayo, this one comes from my Mexican pals, Tia Bicky & Robot.

Cochinita Pibil
Tia Bicky's adaptation from Mexico: The Beautiful Cookbook. Serves 6-8.
Ingredients:
1.5 kilos of cubed pork
50g recado rojo (achiote paste)
1 tablespoon of white vinegar
2 teaspoons of salt or more as required
3 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 2 oranges
Squeeze of lime
Fresh Banana leaves
Method:
1. Dissolve the achiote paste in the orange juice using your fingers, add vinegar and salt.
2. Marinate the pork in the juice. There should be enough liquid to coat all of the pork in excess, otherwise add more juice mixture.
3. Marinate overnight or at least 6 hours.
4. Preheat oven to 180’C.
5. Prepare the banana leaves by heating them over the flame very briefly on the stove top until the oil starts to come out of the leaves.
6. Line an ovenproof dish with banana leaves crosswise so that you can wrap the ends over the top after adding the pork.
7. Mix the pork with a lime squeezed over the top and 3 tablespoons of olive oil (or more to moisten).
8. Fold the banana leaves over the pork completely and cover tightly with aluminium foil.
9. Cook in oven for at least 90 minutes or until the meat shreds easily with a fork, but ensure the pork remains moist.
10. Shred the pork completely before serving. Serve with rice or tortillas, orange pickled onions and other accompaniments such as black beans, guacamole and salsas.
Note: oranges in Australia are much sweeter than Mexico so lime juice is added. You can omit the lime if you’re using Mexican oranges. Also, the original recipe uses pork lard instead of olive oil.

Orange Pickled Onions
Ingredients:
2 red onions finely sliced
Orange juice
Lime juice
habanero or jalapeño chiles, finely sliced
2 tablespoons white vinegar
Salt
Method:
Mix the finely sliced onions with juice, vinegar, salt to taste and chillies. Leave to marinate for 2 hours.
Notes: Traditionally the recipe uses habaneros but they can be too hot for some people so Tia uses pickled jalapeños instead.

tamarind margarita

This margarita is the festive drink to kick off my seven days of Mexicana, all in the lead up to Cinco de Mayo!

The 5th of May, although not Mexico’s national holiday, is the day celebrated around the world as the symbol of Mexican heritage and pride. And this year it also happens to be the 30th birthday of my sister Shamu!!!

So, in honour of my Mexican friends, who have opened my eyes to true Mexican flavours, I have decided to post a week’s worth of Mexican recipes.

On Cinco de Mayo itself, I'll also post an extensive list of Mexican recipes from around the internet.

Real Mexican food is fresh, light and dances in your mouth. Although it may contain them, true Mexican cuisine isn’t bogged down by cheese and sour cream, nor destroyed with an overload of macho chilli. It’s all about balance to heighten the flavour experience.

One such example of sweet, sour and a little kick is the tamarind margarita. The sour pulp of the tamarind fruit is balanced with sugar syrup and bold tequila for the perfect, refreshing cocktail by the pool, seaside or just relaxing in your own backyard.

Tamarind Margarita
Recipe by Robot & Tia Bicky. Makes 2 – 4.
Ingredients:
125ml (½ cup) tequila
2 tablespoons tamarind paste
60ml (¼ cup) sugar syrup
Juice of 2 limes
Ice
Method:
Blend ingredients with ice in a blender until slushy consistency. Serve immediately.

middle eastern orange cake

I ate my first slice of this cake in 1996 and I couldn't believe my whole life had gone by without it.

The sticky-sweet-bitter orange flavour combined with the richness of almond meal is just too good to be true. I have fond memories of my mother and I devouring slice after slice at an ice cream parlour near her work.

It’s a commonly served cake in Sydney cafés and usually comes with a dollop of whipped cream, but I prefer it alongside thick, creamy, sour yoghurt to cut through the stickiness of the cake.

When I made this for my dad and stepmum (and Jonas!) for Easter Sunday lunch, I served it with King Island Dairy’s cinnamon and honey yoghurt, but sheep's milk yoghurt would also be excellent. You could also use frozen yoghurt or natural Greek-style yoghurt sweetened (only slightly) with honey.

This recipe, by Middle Eastern expert Claudia Roden (via Stephanie Alexander’s The Cook’s Companion), is the pretty much the original version.

What has always put me off making it was that you had to boil the oranges for hours to prepare them. But, when the lovely Lorraine from Not Quite Nigella posted it on her blog, one very clever cookie (Julie from Cookbook Addict) pointed out that these days all you need is a microwave and 8 minutes!

How wonderful!

Now preparing this cake consists of zapping some oranges, cracking some eggs and whizzing everything in a blender. It’s absolutely delicious and so easy to make I’d bet $100 that a chimp could do it. (Any zoologists willing to test this theory out?)

 

Middle Eastern Orange Cake
 
Recipe by Claudia Roden (via Stephanie, with help from Julie). Serves 8-10.
 
Ingredients:
2 large oranges, washed
6 eggs, beaten
250g ground almonds
250g sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
Yoghurt or cream, to serve

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 190ºC/170ºc fan forced. Grease and line the base and sides of a springform tin with baking paper.

2. Pierce the orange skins with a fork, microwave in a closed container on high for about 8 minutes, turning them around after a few minutes.

3. Cut oranges open, remove pips and chop roughly or pull apart into smaller pieces with fingers.

4. Blend oranges and remaining ingredients thoroughly in a food processor.

5. Pour batter into prepared tin. Bake for 1 hour. If cake is still very wet, cook a little longer.

6. Cool in tin before gently removing. Dust with icing sugar and serve with yoghurt.


This cake is unusual, because it uses whole oranges, my theme ingredients for Weekend Herb Blogging.

Wikipedia has a fascinating paragraph on the origin of the English word orange, a long journey through land and time:
“The word orange is derived from Sanskrit नारङ्ग nāraṅgaḥ "orange tree." The Sanskrit word is in turn lent itself as the Dravidian root for 'fragrant'. In Tamil, a bitter orange is known as ணரன்டம் 'Narandam', a sweet orange is called நகருகம் 'nagarugam' and நாரி 'naari' means fragrance. In Telugu the orange is called నరిఙ 'naringa'. The Sanskrit word was borrowed into European languages through Persian نارنگ nārang, Armenian նարինջ nārinj, Arabic نارنج nāranj, Late Latin arangia, Spanish naranja, Portuguese laranja, Italian arancia and Old French orenge, in chronological order. The first appearance in English dates from the 14th century. The name of the colour is derived from the fruit, first appearing in this sense in 1542.”

This week's WHB host is Katie from Eat This! Check out her round-up.

And check out what else can be made with this same cake recipe: Orange Cakes w Figs, Quince & Rose

gỏi mực bắp chuối (banana blossom & squid salad)

This recipe was part of a big Vietnamese feast I made in 2009.

I cooked up a storm using a beautiful cookbook by a Vietnamese- Australian family who run some very famous restaurants in Sydney.

Their food in the restaurants is fresh and exquisite, the flavours actually dancing on your tongue, and their cookbook truly helps you relive those memories at home.

This recipe is a combination of two separate recipes, but I wanted to combine squid and banana blossom so this was the result: tangy, spicy and fresh.

Gỏi Mực Bắp Chuối (Vietnamese Banana Blossom & Squid Salad)
Combination of two recipes from Secrets of The Red Lantern.
Serves 2 as main or 6 as part of banquet.
Ingredients:
1 calamari tube, sliced into strips
Juice of 2 limes
1 banana blossom
1 small handful Vietnamese mint, roughly chopped
1 small handful coriander, roughly chopped
1 spring onion (scallion), finely sliced
2-3 tablespoons Nước Mắm Chấm (dipping fish sauce)
1 tablespoon roasted peanuts, chopped
2 tablespoons deep fried shallots
1 birds eye chilli, finely sliced
White vinegar, for soaking
Method:
1. In a small bowl, add the squid strips to the lime and allow to marinate for 1 hour.
2. Fill a bowl with water and add 2-3 tablespoons of cheap white vinegar. This water will prevent the banana blossom from oxidising and turning dark brown.
3. Remove the dark, tough outer leaves of the banana blossom to reveal tender white leaves inside. Quickly slice, then immediately immerse in the acidulated water to prevent oxidisation.
4. Cook the squid over a very hot griddle until tender (2-5 minutes).
5. Combine the squid, banana blossom, Vietnamese mint, coriander, scallion, nước mắm chấm, chilli and roasted peanuts. Toss salad well.
6. Top with deep fried shallots and serve immediately.

The banana blossom is the gorgeous, crimson, tapered bud at the end of a cluster of bananas.

The petals (or bracts) are tightly wrapped and purple-red, concealing rows of frilly male flowers and a pale, tender heart that is eaten as a vegetable. It can be boiled or stewed, often in coconut milk, or it’s served thinly sliced into salads.

The blossom is slightly astringent, like banana peels, so when raw it’s best served thinly sliced and in spicy-sweet-sour sauces, such as this recipe.

The red bracts are so pretty cleaned and used to serve the final dish.

The banana blossom is my Weekend Herb Blogging ingredient, this week hosted by Graziana from Erbe in Cucina. Be sure to visit her blog to read the round-up.

Other recipes from the internet:
Banana Blossom Curry
Banana Blossom Salad w Chicken & Asian Pears
Banana Flower Vadai (patties)
Filipino-Style Banana Blossoms in Coconut Milk
Banana Heart Salad
Banana Blossom Stir Fry
Prawn & Banana Blossom Salad
Spicy Banana Blossoms

agua fresca cítrica - citrus drink

It’s summer, it’s hot and this is the perfect way to cool down.

I love agua frescas and they go especially well with the fragrant spiciness of Mexican and Caribbean food.

Strawberry and tamarind agua frescas are also good, but this time I made a citrus combination from ruby grapefruit, juicy Tahitian limes and navel oranges.

Served with ice, these drinks keep the summer heat at bay. And if you're feeling a little naughty, add a shot of rum or tequila to the mix.

Agua Fresca Cítrica (Mexican Citrus Drink)

Recipe from ‘Mexican’ by Jane Milton. Makes 2 litres.

Ingredients:
9 limes
6 oranges
3 grapefruit
3½ cups (900ml) water
2/3 cup (135g) caster sugar
Fruit wedges, to decorate
Ice, to serve

Method:

1. Squeeze the juice from the limes, oranges and grapefruit. Pour the mixture into a large jug.

2. Add the water and sugar and stir until all the sugar has dissolved.

3. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving with ice and fruit wedges.

Note: Some fruit pulp may collect when squeezing the juice. This should also be used, once any seeds have been discarded. Will keep for up to 1 week in a covered container in the fridge.

salpicón de camarónes (veracruz prawn cocktail)

 
This recipe comes from Saveur, an American food magazine which I love.

The best way to explain a salpicón, is to take the words straight from Saveur:

“The word salpicón, which comes from the Spanish sal, salt, and picar, to chop, refers, in classic French cooking, to a mince of poultry, game, or vegetables bound with a sauce. In Mexico, however, it can mean anything from a shredded beef salad in the north to this citrusy shrimp appetizer”

As summer comes closer to Sydney I begin to crave raw seafood drenched in lime or lemon (but never both at the same time!). Adding chillies, coriander and avocado is an additional blessing and this dish is one of my all time favourite meals in summer.

It's also another 2009 food challenge since it's another Mexican recipe.

Salpicón de Camarónes (Veracruz-Style Prawn Cocktail)

Recipe from Restaurante Doña Lala in Tlacotalpan, Mexico.
Printed in Saveur Issue #12. Serves 4.

Ingredients:
1 lb. cooked small prawns (shrimp)
1 cored chopped tomato
½ small white onion, peeled +chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled +minced
1 fresh jalapeño, seeded +sliced
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
Salt & freshly ground white pepper
1 avocado, peeled + sliced
Lime wedges

Method:

1. Peel shrimp.

2. Mix together shrimp, tomatoes, onions, garlic and jalapeño.

3. Stir in oil and parsley, season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Top with avocado and garnish with lime wedges.

Note: I added coriander and used cherry tomatoes.

As my Weekend Herb Blogging entry, I’m focusing on the avocado. Our host is Katie from Eat This, so go check out the round-up.

Avocado has been my theme ingredient in two other WHB posts, one in 2007 (cold avocado soup from the Ivory Coast) and one in 2008 (avocado shake from Vietnam). So here’s 2009 and some avocado information copied dircetly from my 2007 post.

The word avocado comes from the Aztec (Nahuatl) word ahuacatl, via Spanish aguacate and means “testicle”. Perhaps because of its appearance, the Aztecs believed avocadoes were an aphrodisiac and called it "the fertility fruit". Apparently during avocado harvesting, virgins were kept indoors to prevent any promiscuity taking place.

This reputation stuck with the avocado for such a long time and many people in South America wouldn’t eat it because they wanted to appear wholesome. Companies had to undertake serious PR campaigns to dispel the myths and get the fruit out to the public.

The Nahuatl word ahuacatl makes up other words like ahuacamolli, meaning "avocado soup/sauce” which the Spanish transformed into guacamole.

In 2005, the world’s top ten avocado producing nations were, in order: Mexico, Indonesia, USA, Colombia, Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic, Peru, China and Ethiopia. As trees need well aerated soils and subtropical or tropical climates to thrive, this makes sense.

Propagation by seed takes around 5 years to produce fruit and the quality is never as good as the parent tree. Commercial plantations therefore graft new seedlings.

Avocadoes mature on the tree but ripen once harvested. The fruit is high monounsaturated fat contents and contains 60% more potassium than bananas, vitamin Bs, vitamin E, vitamin K and folate.

In Brazil, Vietnam, the Philippines, Jamaica and Indonesia avocadoes are blended with sugar and milk to create a milkshake.

It is also interesting to note that avocado foliage, skin and pits are said to poison animals such as birds, cats, dogs, cattle, goats, rabbits and fish.

~~~

This time previously on M&M:
2008 - Sago gula bali (Balinese coconut sago dessert)
2007 - Fatteh (Syrian chickpea & yoghurt breakfast)
2006 - Japanese-style tomato carpaccio

lemon slice

Lemon Slice is one of Australia's traditional treats.

It's very sweet and very tangy and reminds me of Sunday afternoons climbing the Jacaranda tree in my yard as my sisters road their bikes up and down the street (I couldn't ride a bike, but I could climb highest in the tree!).

Lemon Slice

Recipe from taste.com.au Makes 12 pieces.

Ingredients:½ cup sweetened condensed milk
100g butter
200g plain biscuits
1 cup desiccated coconut
1 lemon, rind finely grated
Lemon icing
2 cups icing sugar mixture
40g butter, softened
1 lemon, juiced

Method:

1. Grease and line a 3cm-deep, 15.5cm x 25cm rectangular pan.

2. Place condensed milk and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes or until butter melts.

3. Place biscuits in a food processor and process to fine crumbs.

4. Combine crumbs, coconut and 2 teaspoons lemon rind in a bowl.

5. Add hot butter mixture. Stir until well combined.

6. Press biscuit mixture into prepared pan. Refrigerate for 1½ hours or until firm.

7. To make lemon icing, place icing sugar mixture, butter and 2½ tablespoons of lemon juice in a bowl. Beat with a wooden spoon until smooth.

8. Spread icing over slice. Refrigerate for a further 30 minutes or until icing has set.

9. Cut into pieces. Serve.

tangelo delicious pudding

I have just suffered through a week of vertigo due to an inner ear virus which seems to be sweeping Australia’s east coast.

I feel like I just stepped off a roller coaster. The dizziness is ever, ever present. Every moment.

So this dessert was a Sunday evening thank you to Jonas, who tenderly nursed me over the past week and patiently put up with my demands for pretty much everything a girl could demand.

Tangelo Delicious is a twist on the traditional Lemon Delicious: a warm citrus dessert with an aerated cake top and a gooey fudge base.

Perfect winter fare that’s so light it’s easily transferable to summer.

Tangelo Delicious Pudding

Based on a recipe from The Essential Dessert Cookbook. Serves 4.
Ingredients:
60g unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup (185g) caster sugar
3 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon grated tangelo rind
1/3 cup (40g) self raising flour
¼ cup (60ml) tangelo juice
¾ cup (185ml) milk
Oil, for greasing

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180’C.

2. Brush a 1 litre ovenproof dish with oil.

3. Using electric beaters, beat the sugar, egg yolks, butter and tangelo rind until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

4. Sift in the flour and stir (with wooden spoon) until just combined.

5. Add tangelo juice and milk and stir until combined.

6. In a new (very clean, very dry) bowl, beat egg whites with (very clean, very dry) electric beaters until firm peaks form.

7. Fold in pudding mixture with a metal spoon until just combined. You want to try and keep as much air as possible.

8. Spoon into the ovenproof dish and place in a large, deep baking dish. Pour boiling water into baking dish until it comes one-third of the way up the side of the pudding dish (this will keep an even temperature and retain moisture during cooking).

9. Bake for 40 minutes. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm.

Using the tangelo, this is my entry to Weekend Herb Blogging.

Tangelos (Citrus paradisi × Citrus reticulata) are deliberate and accidental hybrids of tangerines (orange x mandarin) and pomelos (grapefruit).

Thought to have originated in South East Asia more than 3,500 years ago, they are one of the most juiciest of the citrus fruits with a refreshing acidity and tapered “nippled” shape.

Their soft skin makes them easier to peel than oranges and some of the more well-known cultivars include K–Early, Minneola, Nova, Orlando, Seminole, Thornton, Alamoen and Ugli.

The current Weekend Herb Blogging host is Astrid from Paulchen's Foodblog so be sure to visit for the recap.

Other Tangelo Recipes:Candied Tangelo Peel Hot.Sour.Salty.Sweet. And Umami
Mango Tangelo Chutney The Bacon Show
Roasted Branzino w Tangelo-Olive Tapenade Scrumptious Street
Salmon w Lime-Tangelo Yoghurt Sauce Beetses
Tangelo-Buttermilk Scones Lisa is Cooking
Tangelo Caprioska Morsels & Musings
Tangelo-Coriander Brown Rice Pilaf Scrumptious Street
Tangelo Cheesecake disciplined self indulgence
Tangelo Creme Tart Sweet & Savory Eats
Tangelo Flan Brulee Cook Eat Fret
Tangelo Marmalade Vegan Yum.Yum
Tangelo Pork Stir-Fry Culinary in the Country
Tangelo Sorbet The Chocolate Gourmand
Tea Cake w Sticky Tangelo Syrup Souvlaki For The Soul

References:
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/tangelo.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangelo
http://images.smarter.com/blogs/Tangelo.jpg