achiote & tequila cured beef w pozole rojo

Image supplied by Ellie

"Paddock to Plate" Beef Degustation

A few weeks ago I participated in a very exciting event organised by Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) and hosted by Warren Turnbull and his team at Assiette.

A lot of organisations are jumping on the social media band wagon, not understanding the differences between social media and traditional media.

You can’t just broadcast one-way to bloggers and expect them to pick up your content with interest. Blogging is about interacting with your readers and the world, not just a blathering monologue.

Sorry, was I blathering?

The point I’m trying to make here is that MLA created a social media event to draw food bloggers in a fundamental way: they made us the event. Clever.

So, eight bloggers were invited to learn more about beef with the help of a well-known Sydney-based chef, Warren Turnbull of District Dining and Assiette.

Each of us were allocated a cut of beef to create our own recipe and then Warren and his team would transform it into a restaurant dish for a special degustation dinner. Genius.

Beef producer, Alison McIntosh, handed over one of her prized Angus steers and Anthony Puharich, CEO of Vic’s Premium Quality Meat and owner of the fabulous butchery Victor Churchill, made the cuts and shipped them out.

I got given the beef knuckle. I had no idea how to cook a beef knuckle or even what it looked like! I thought it might be something I’d need to braise for hours. Nope!

Luckily Warren explained that a beef knuckle is a big slab of meat, often called a beef round, and is usually slow cooked as a roast.

One of the best parts of the challenge was talking through my ideas with Warren. It was fun to workshop recipes with a chef and even more rewarding to introduce him to some new ingredients (like hominy and achiote).

I think he was pretty excited about the opportunity to experiment too.

I steered him towards a pozole recipe, and he encouraged me to give curing a go. I think we were both happy with the results.

Here’s what I came up with.

Achiote & Tequila Cured Beef Knuckle with Pozole Rojo

Anna's recipe. Serves 8-10.

Achiote & Tequila Cured Beef Knuckle

Ingredients:
1.5kg beef knuckle eye, trimmed
330g (1½ cups) raw sugar
100g (1 cup) sea salt
190ml (¾ cup) tequila
1½ teaspoons achiote paste
4 teaspoons coriander seeds
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
½ teaspoon dried epazote (or dried oregano)

Extra for roasting:
1 teaspoon achiote paste
2 tablespoons olive oil

Method:
1. Grind the peppercorns and coriander seed with a mortar and pestle until coarsely crushed.

2. Add sugar and salt and grind a little. Add oregano.

3. Mix achiote paste with tequila to loosen it up, then add to sugar and salt. Mix until it has the texture of wet sand.

4. Lay a few layers of plastic wrap down, then coat all sides of the meat with a thick layer of the curing mix.

5. Wrap tightly then refrigerate for 24hrs (use a plate in case it leaks).

6. The next day, unwrap the meat and scrape off all the curing mixture. Wash and pat dry with kitchen paper. The meat will be darker and the exterior will have hardened a little.

7. Preheat the oven to 170’C (350’F).

8. Mix together the olive oil and extra achiote paste as well as you can. Rub the achiote oil mixture all over the meat.

9. Place on a roasting rack in a roasting tray. Set aside and allow the meat to come to room temperature.

10. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes for rare, but no more than 1 hour or until the centre reaches 50’C (120-125’F)

11. Remove roast and allow to sit for 20 minutes before cutting. Serve in thin slices.

Pozole Rojo (Red Hominy Soup)

Ingredients:
822g can pozole (hominy)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon achiote paste
2 onions, grated
12 garlic cloves, grated
2 chipotles chillies (in adobo sauce)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 litres beef consommé
Pinch of sugar
Salt, to taste

Garnish:
1 avocado, cubed
3 limes, juiced
½ iceberg lettuce, shredded
¼ cup fresh coriander, finely chopped
½ cup diced radish
½ cup crumbled queso freso (or tangy feta)
Thin slices of Achiote & Tequila Cured Beef Knuckle (above)

Method:
1. In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add pozole and cook for 15 minutes. Drain.

2. Heat olive oil in heavy based saucepan.


3. Add achiote paste, onion and garlic. Mash paste throughout and fry until mixture becomes dry.

4. Add chipotles and fry a little.

5. Then add tomato paste and fry until thickened.

6. Next add beef consommé and sugar and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes.

7. Add pozole and simmer a further 5 minutes.

8. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice to taste.

9. Ladle soup into bowls. Pass garnishes separately so people can add to taste.

~ ~ ~

So, how did it look when Warren and the team were done with it?

Much more beautiful of course! It’s actually amazing to see how much skill and artistic talent chefs bring to humble home cooking.

Warren said they stuck to the curing recipe pretty closely, but reduced the tequila. But the biggest difference was the addition of agar agar to the soup broth transforming a warm dish into a cold one served with a thick sauce rather than soup.

The Assiette team were quite nervous that I wouldn’t like it, or that the flavour of the soup wouldn’t be the same, but once you mixed all the ingredients together and started to eat it could have been the very same dish as mine.

It was quite an amazing experience and the best social media PR event I’ve been invited to take part in because we were truly included rather than just bystanders. Kudos to Haussmann Communications for coming up with it and bravo to MLA for having the sense to agree. Take note other PR agencies!

Image supplied by Ellie

The full list of dishes served on the night really showed the diverse ways beef can be cooked and eaten.
- Beef & Ale Pie
- Achiote & Tequila Cured Beef Knuckle w Pozole Rojo
- Seared Sirloin, Buttered Roots, Horseradish & Wakame
- Thai Beef Salad w Mint, Peanuts & Chilli Dressing
- Beef Satay w Spicy Peanut Sauce, Rice Cake & Herb Salad
- Scotch Fillet w Moghrabiyeh
- Pulled Beef & Pine Mushroom Cannelloni
- Braised Beef in Coffee w Brandied Cumquats & Onion Milk
- Slow Braised Brisket w Cauliflower Cream & Pedro Ximenez Muscatels

If you want to see all the dishes of the night, check out these posts on my fellow blogger’s site:
Almost Bourdain
Aficionado
The Food Blog
The Gourmet Forager
Inside Cuisine
Taste
 

braciole napoletana

 This is one of the best dinners you can eat. At least that's my opinion!

Thin slices of veal are rolled around a stuffing of parsley, raisins, pine nuts and parmesan, then browned before being finished in a rich tomato & red wine sauce.

It could be a summer or winter meal, the flavour easily adjusted with summery lifts like lemon zest or wintery warmth from chilli or irony spinach.

I discovered braciole years ago and yet I only recently made it for the first time as one of my 2009 Food Challenges. It's definitely a keeper and could be a weekly staple dinner. In fact it could be the creative parent's sneaky way for getting kids to eat their vegetables (not that I have kids yet, but I did note bracioles multiple applications).

It’s very easy to make but looks complicated so that guests are impressed, plus it tastes amazing.

Braciole comes highly recommended from me.

Braciole Napoletana
Recipe by Armando Percuoco from delicious Magazine, May 2008. Serves 6.
Ingredients:
6 x 150g veal escalopes
¼ cup olive oil, for frying
Stuffing
80g (½ cup) toasted pine nuts, roughly chopped
½ cup raisins, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
25g (1/3 cup) freshly grated parmesan
2 bunches flat-leaf parsley, leaves roughly chopped
Sauce
60ml (¼ cup) olive oil
1 large onion, roughly chopped
375ml (1½ cups) dry red wine
4 vine-ripened tomatoes (600g), seeds removed + chopped
2 tablespoons toasted pine nut, to serve
1 tablespoon raisins, to serve
Method:
1. Halve veal escalopes lengthways. Pound with meat mallet, between plastic wrap, until 3-4mm thick.
2. To make the stuffing, combine the pine nuts, raisins, garlic, parmesan and parsley (reserve a little parsley for garnish). Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
3. On the shorter end of each veal escalope, place 2 tablespoons of filling then roll to enclose and secure with toothpicks.
4. Heat the olive in a large, deep frying pan over medium high heat.
5. In two batches, brown the braciole all over, turning, for 2 – 3 minutes. Remove to plate.
6. To make the sauce, add the additional olive oil to the same pan and cook the onion on medium heat, stirring, for 2 – 3 minutes until soft and slightly golden.
7. Increase heat to medium-high, add red wine and cook for 6 – 8 minute until the alcohol has evaporated.
8. Reduce the heat to medium, add the tomatoes and simmer, occasionally stirring, for 25 minutes or until soft and reduced to a thick sauce.
9. Return the veal to the pan and heat through for around 5 minutes.
10. Place 2 braciole on each serving plate, top with sauce and garnish with pine nuts, raisins and parsley.
Note: I added chopped baby spinach to the stuffing for an extra nutrient boost.


This parsley-rich stuffing is my contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted by Winnie from Healthy Green Kitchen.

bò tái chanh - lemon sirloin w rice paddy herb

After perusing through Helen’s recent posts about her food tour in Cabramatta, I became ravenous for Vietnamese food and determined to cook my own Vietnamese feast.

Ms Correct and I set the GPS to John Street then chatted until we reached our destination: Cabramatta, effectively Vietnam in Sydney.

The place was buzzing. The fruit, herb and veggie range was extravagant and the prices were absurdly cheap. As Ms Correct correctly asks “Why don’t we shop here every week?”

The whole time we were there, we must have seen only six other Caucasians and we marvelled at how exotic, exciting and foreign Cabramatta felt, even though it was still in Sydney. Ms Correct is quite tall at the best of times, but among Cabramatta’s Vietnamese population she was like Gulliver in Lilliput. We were certainly identified as outsiders and blatantly stared at, but people were welcoming and we felt comfortable.

We both felt so excited that Sydney had such a beautiful microcosm to explore.

Both Ms Correct and I have visited Vietnam, and Cabramatta felt like a cleaner, better-dressed version of HCMC, even down to the architecture of crowded market arcades and busy main streets. The local government, Fairfield City Council, is always touting Cabramatta as a tourist destination for Sydneysiders and visitors alike, and now I have to agree with them.

Navigating the narrow market aisles was difficult, but in true Vietnamese style other shoppers took no offence, and in fact didn’t even notice, getting whacked with the odd shopping bag.

We bought a huge range of things, the highlights being (left to right):

Many of the shop and stall owners don’t speak English and your mere non-Vietnamese speaking presence can be a cause of anxiety for them, so make sure you bring your understanding and patience with you. Don’t take offence when people shrug and walk away without helping, they probably just don’t understand you. Instead, wander to the next shop until you find someone who can speak English. There are many who do.

Like the shop keeper Ms Correct and I discovered at the end of our day. She was full of good advice and helped us navigate the Vietnamese-only signs and food labels. After learning I planned to make ice cream, her suggestion to buy frozen soursop pulp instead of fresh fruit was genius. Not only was the pulp super ripe and flavoursome but it had been skinned and deseeded and when it was blended through the hot custard, the icy cold temperature chilled everything immediately making the base ready to churn on the spot.

Once we were loaded up with goodies, we headed back to my place to cook up a storm from the beautiful cookbook The Secrets of the Red Lantern (tick off another food challenge).

Siblings Pauline and Luke Nguyen, and Pauline’s partner, Mark Jensen, are Sydney’s tres-chic experts on both traditional and modern Vietnamese food and their first cookbook is full of amazing recipes and heart-wrenching stories (that made me blubber like a baby).

This first recipe I'm posting is a favourite of mine from their restaurant, Red Lantern.


Little Em, Stinky, M.E. and Tia Bicky joined Ms Correct and I to eat:
* Bò Tái Chanh (lemon-cured sirloin w rice paddy herb)
* Nước Chấm (dipping fish sauce)
* Nem Nường (lemongrass pork sausages)
* Rau Muống Xào Tỏi (water spinach w ginger & garlic)
* Gỏi Mực Bắp Chuối (banana blossom & squid salad)
* Canh Chua Cá (tamarind & pineapple broth w perch)
* Kem Mãng Cầu Xiêm (soursop ice cream)
* Kem Dưa Hấu (watermelon sorbet)

I will post these recipes one by one over the coming months, but first up is this amazing little starter of juicy raw beef topped with the most delicious, unusual herbs. The best description can only come from the recipe’s author, Luke Nguyen:

“This traditional salad is a perfect starter. It is a ‘rare’ treat – refreshing, crisp and aromatic. Described by some as a ‘Vietnamese carpaccio’, Bò Tái Chanh is a particular favourite . . . rice paddy herb and sawtooth coriander are essential for this dish and should not be substituted. The rice paddy’s sharp citrus character and the sawtooth’s powerful aroma perfectly match this lemon-cured dish.”

I discovered that I love rice paddy herb (or ngò om). The flavours are like cumin and lemon and pepper altogether and I discovered it goes quite nicely on sweet pineapple slices too.

Sawtooth coriander (ngò gai) is also very special and is much more potent than regular coriander (cilantro), but I still think you could substitute them for each other if you needed to.

But you can’t substitute the rice paddy herb!!!

Bò Tái Chanh (lemon-cured sirloin w rice paddy herb)
Recipe from Secrets of The Red Lantern. Serves 6.
Ingredients:
400ml lemon juice
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon fine white pepper
500g sirloin steak
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 large handful sawtooth coriander, roughly chopped
1 large handful rice paddy herb, roughly chopped
½ small red onion, finely sliced
1 large handful bean sprouts
2 tablespoons chopped roasted peanuts
1 birds eye chill, sliced
Nước mắm chấm, to serve (see below)
Method:
1. Trim the sirloin or fat and slice as thinly as possible.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil and fry garlic. Remove and reserve both garlic and ½ teaspoon of the oil.
3. Combine the lemon juice, fish sauce and mix through the salt, sugar and pepper.
4. Arrange the slices of beef in a single layer on a plate and marinate in the lemon juice for 10 minutes, ensuring the meat is entirely covered in the curing liquid.
5. Remove the beef from the lemon mixture and drain the excess juice,.
6. Combine with the garlic, garlic oil, herbs onion and bean sprouts.
7. Transfer to a serving plate and garnish with the peanuts and chilli. Dress with nước mắm chấm at the table.

Nước Mắm Chấm (Dipping Fish Sauce)
Recipe from Secrets of the Red Lantern. Makes 1 cup (250ml).
Ingredients:
½ cup (125ml) water
3 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 birds eye chilli, finely chopped
2 tablespoons lime juice
Method:
1. Combine the fish sauce, rice vinegar, sugar and water in a saucepan.
2. Heat on medium, stirring, until just before boiling point. Cool.
3. To serve add chilli, lime juice and garlic and stir well.

Rice paddy herb (Limnophila aromatica) is native to tropical South East Asia and grows in water logged environments . . . like rice paddies! In the west it’s been used mostly as an aquarium plant but in Vietnamese (and some Thai & Khmer) cuisine it plays a strong role.

If all you’ve been doing is sticking in your fish tank, you’ve been missing out!

The leaves taste like lemon and cumin and is quite delicious.

Here’s some advice on how to grow your own: “Get some fresh stems from another plant or your local Thai or Vietnamese grocer. If placed in water, they will develop roots within one or two weeks; in the meantime, they must be covered with a plastic bag or the like to give them enough humidity. In this phase, direct sunlight will kill the plants, so put them in a shadowy but not dark place. When enough roots have been formed, plant the stems into a high, transparent container filled with soil to cover most of the roots. A mixture of ordinary soil plus small, porous grains of burned clay is perfect. Keep the plants warm and humid. After a few days, they will tolerate (and even appreciate) intensive sunlight.”

If substituted, it is often done so with coriander, sawtooth coriander, perilla, mint or basil.

Other names include:
Cantonese - séui fuh yùhng, tìhn hēung chóu, jí sōu chóu, séui fā
Mandarin - shuǐ fú róng, tián xiāng cǎo, zǐ sū cǎo
English - finger grass
Estonian - järvelemb
German - reisfeldpflanze
Indonesian - daun kerdemom, selasih ayer kecil
Japanese - shiso-kusa, rimonohira
Khmer - ma-om
Korean - soyeob, soyop, soyop-pul
Lithuanian - kvapioji pelkenė
Malaysian - beremi, kerak-kerak
Polish - limnofila pachnąca
Russian - амбулия ароматная ambuliya aromatnaya
Thai - ผักแขยง, แขยง phak kayang, kayang

This week our Weekend Herb Blogging hostess is Haalo from Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once.


References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limnophila_aromatica
http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Limn_aro.html

basque oxtail stew

I have always enjoyed eating oxtails but, until this year, I had never cooked them myself. That's why they were another one of the tasks I set myself in my 2009 Food Challenges.

I have to say oxtails were a little difficult for me to prepare. It felt like they took forever to get tender and, once they were, I had a doozy of a time picking the meat from their boney wheels. But I'd certainly cook them again.

This particularly recipe was a hearty winter dish. The flavours are warm and robust and I loved eating the rich gravy over chunks of boiled potato.

On egin!

Behi Buztanak Anda Goriren Zaltzan (Basque Oxtail Stew)

Recipe adapted from The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines by Jeff Smith. Serves 2-4.
Ingredients:800g oxtails, rubbed with salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup chopped celery
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 carrot, sliced
2 cloves garlic
1 shallot, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1¼ cups beef stock
¾ cups red wine
2 bay leaves
¼ teaspoon dried thyme, whole
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method:

1. Using a heavy pot, brown the seasoned oxtails in the olive oil. Remove to a plate to rest.

2. Leave the oil in the pot and sauté the celery, onion, carrots, garlic, shallots, and parsley.

3. When the onions are clear add the flour and stir in well. Sauté for a few minutes.

4. Add the beef stock, red wine, bay leaves, and thyme, along with the oxtails. Simmer partially covered for 1 hour, or until tender. Stir occasionally.

5. Add salt and pepper to taste as the dish finishes.

I have actually posted about thyme previously for WHB but, since I’m only plagiarising myself, I thought I’d re-post it here:

The name thyme covers a genus (Thymus) of around 350 herbaceous plants and shrubs, native to Europe, North Africa and Asia. The stems are narrow and woody while the leaves are dense and evergreen in most versions.

Thyme has been used for millennia for a variety of different purposes: Ancient Egyptians used it for embalming; Ancient Greeks scented theirs baths and candles with it; Romans used it to flavour cheese and alcohol; and in Medieval Europe it was used to aid sleep and prevent nightmares.

It has been believed to bring courage since the times of Ancient Greece and during the Middle Ages in Europe knights and warriors would receive sprigs as gifts.

It’s essential oil contains 20-55% thymol, which is an antiseptic and apparently the active ingredient in Listerine mouthwash. Previously thymol was used to disinfect bandages; kill foot fungus; treat coughs, bronchitis and throat inflammation; and aid childbirth. Gargling water that has been boiled with thyme can be a useful mouth and throat antiseptic.

Unlike other herbs, thyme retains much of its flavour after being dried and is used widely in the cuisines of Spain, France, Italy, Turkey, Lebanon and the Caribbean. It pairs well with game meat, lamb, chicken, eggs, tomatoes and cream. Thyme is also a feature of famous spice blends such as bouquet garni, herbes de Provence and za'atar.

This week our WHB host is Marija from the gorgeously photographed blog Palachinka! Try her red risotto, leche frita, elderberry jam or homemade orange liqueur for starters, then check out her round-up of this week's herby recipes.

Other thyme recipes from The Net include:
Baked Jerusalem Artichokes w Thyme & Lemon - Morsels & Musings
Butter Bean, Bacon & Thyme Soup - Greedy Gourmet
Corn Bite w Thyme - Eat Make Read
Green Beans w Almonds & Thyme - Simply Recipes
Mushroom & Thyme Farro Salad - Closet Cooking
Peach & Thyme Sorbet - Je Mange La Ville
Peach, Blueberry & Thyme Cupcakes - Cupcake Blog
Poached Pears w Wild Thyme & Raspberries - Dhanggit's Kitchen
Roast Chicken w Lemon & Thyme - Morsels & Musings
Roasted Figs w Thyme, Cinnamon & Honey - Nami Nami
Roasted Strawberry & Thyme Sherbet - Baking Obsession
Sage, Rosemary & Thyme Ice MilkJe Mange La Ville
Savory Pecan, Parmesan & Thyme Shortbread - Pittsburgh Needs Eated
Strawberry, Rhubarb & Thyme Shortcakes - Baking and Books
Strawberry Thyme Stuffed Cupcakes - Feeding Maybelle
Thyme-Braised Lentils w Petimezi - Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska
Thyme Flower Ice Cream - Chez Pim
Thyme, Hazelnut & Lemon Cookies - My Own Sweet Thyme
Tomato-Thyme Soup - Farida's Azerbaijani Cookbook
Venison w Juniper, Blueberries & Thyme - Morsels & Musings
Zucchini Bake w Feta & Thyme - Kalyn's Kitchen

This time previously on Morsels & Musings:
2008 - Chorizo & Chickpea Tapa
2007 - Spelt Fettucine w Hazelnuts & Goats Curd
2006 - Lebanese coriander potatoes

beef jerky

This is another post I wrote and scheduled before Jonas and I left Australia for our US vacation.

Today Jonas and I should be arriving in New Orleans to feast on Creole cooking, quench our thirst on a myriad of cocktails and meet up with a whole lot of American bloggers through the oh so conveniently timed Tales of the Cocktail festival. I can’t wait to report back on all the goodness!

~~~

My first American experience was in 1989 when my father took my brother and I for Dad’s first visit home since he’d migrated to Australia in 1972

My brother had even been born in the States (and didn’t have Australian citizenship) and yet he hadn’t been back since he was two years old.

My father was in heaven, introducing us to the treats of his childhood: root beer floats, peanut butter cups, chilli dogs and, of course, beef jerky.

You can’t buy beef jerky in Australia, or at least you couldn’t until a few years ago. Lately it’s appearing at petrol stations and cashier counters, but most Australians are disgusted by the chewy, dried meat.

I love it. From the first bite I knew I’d found something wonderful.
I love it almost as much as pickled sausages, which I would crawl over hot coals for.

So when Dad bought a smoker and started making his own beef jerky I was very happy. His jerky is softer and moreish, better than store bought versions.

Beef Jerky

Dad’s recipe.

Ingredients:
750g sandwich steaks (thin cuts)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce
2 teaspoons chilli flakes
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons brown sughar
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons hickory sawdust

Method:

1. Combine all ingredients well. Marinate meat for 2 hours.

2. Line the smoker with aluminium foil and scatter with hickory sawdust.

3. Lay meat on wire rack of smoker. Smoke for 15-20 minutes. The meat will have shrunk and will still be wet.

4. Preheat oven to 140’C.

5. Place smoked meat on wire racks and dry out for approximately 20 minutes.

6. Keep beef jerky in the fridge.

lemongrass beef noodles

This salad is delicious. The ingredients are so fragrant and pungent and sum up all the things I love about Vietnamese food.

First the steak is marinated in gorgeous lemongrass overnight, then grilled and served warm, sliced over herby noodles drenched in spicy nước chắm. Divine!

I first discovered this recipe back in 2006 and have wanted to make it ever since. Now that Jonas is back at work, and I have my nights free again, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to give it a try.

This is my contribution to Presto Pasta Nights, founded by Ruth at Once Upon A Feast but this week hosted by Abby of Eat the Right Stuff.

Bún Bò Nướng Xả (Lemongrass Beef Noodle Salad)
Based on a recipe from Little Bouffe. Serves 2 as main course.

Marinade:
2 stalks lemongrass
6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoons soy sauce
4 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
450g beef sirloin
Method:
1. Trim the lemongrass stalks by removing the roots and reserving only 6cm from the base. Remove the tough outer layers and chop the core.
2. Blend the lemongrass and garlic in a food processor until finely ground.
3. Add remaining ingredients (except steak) and blend.
4. Place the steak in a plastic bag or container and pour in the marinade. Turn the steak until well-coated and refrigerate overnight.

Nước Chắm:
6 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
1 minced garlic clove
1 minced red chilli
Method: Blend together and allow to sit for 10 minutes or more to infuse.

Salad:
Marinated steak (from above)
¾ cup nước chắm (from above)
200g rice vermicelli
½ cup shredded holy basil (rau quế)
½ cup chopped coriander leaves
1 cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced thinly
1 tomato, deseeded and sliced thinly
1 red chilli, minced

Method:

1. Heat a large skillet on high, add steak and cook, 1-2 minutes per side. Set aside on cutting board 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to package; drain and rinse in cold water.

3. Toss noodles with fresh herbs, chilli and half the nước chắm.

4. Divide the noodles among 2 bowls. Add cucumber and tomato on top.

5. Slice the steak thinly, on the diagonal, and distribute slices among plates.

6. Serve remaining nước chắm on the side.

Tags: morsels and musings food blog food and drink australia recipes lemongrass beef noodle salad noodles lunch main course salad recipes lemongrass recipes noodle recipes beef recipes vietnamese recipes vietnamese food vietnamese cuisine

argentinean shepherd’s pie

It’s cold here in Sydney. The days are deceptive with their blue skies and sunshine but the wind is icy and the nights are chill.

What better way to warm up than with a belly full of meat and potato. So comforting.

This is (apparently) an Argentinean recipe, part of my 2008 food challenges, but I’ll let the Argentineans decide whether it's truly tradtional or not.

I’ll enjoy eating it nonetheless.

Pastel de Papas (Argentinean Shepherd’s Pie)

Recipe from Popular Traditional Argentina Food. Serves 2.
Ingredients:4 cups of mashed potatoes (add butter and salt to taste)
2 cups ground beef
½ teaspoon of chopped parsley
2 tablespoons of grated cheese
1 onion, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 garlic clove, minced
½ cup of oil
Spices to taste

Method:

1. Heat the oil. Fry onions and garlic.

2. Stir in tomatoes and tomato sauce when onions turn light brown.

3. When tomatoes are cooked, stir in ground beef.

4. Continue stirring to blend well all ingredients. Add the cheese and parsley

5. Cook until beef is brown. Remove from heat and season.

6. Oil a baking dish and then spread half the potatoes on the bottom.

7. Spread the ground beef over the potatoes.

8. Cover the ground beef with the remaining mashed potatoes.

9. Bake in oven till the top is lightly browned.

Tags: morsels and musings food blog food and drink australia recipes main course beef pie shephard’s pie pastel de papas shephard’s pie recipes potato recipes beef recipes pie recipes argentinean recipes argentinean food argentinean cuisine

farewell, my stinky

Today is a sad day because my little sister, Stinky, is flying away. She will spend 2 weeks in the wilds and waters of Borneo (Malaysia) before moving to Amsterdam (Netherlands) where she’ll be living for who knows how long. She hasn’t got any firm plans, she just wants to live in another country and experience a new culture. Again.

A few weeks ago I had a “sisters feast” where Stinky, Shamu and I got together and since I promised to cook a multicourse Italian meal as one of my food resolutions and since Stinky loves Italian food, Italian is what I ended up making.

Il Menu
Bresaola di Cervo al Caprino - Venison Bresaola w Goats Cheese Dressing
Brodo Piccante con Fregola e Gamberi - Spicy Broth of Fregola & Prawns
Bistecca con Gorgonzola e Fichi - Steak w Gorgonzola & Figs
Melanzane al Forno - Baked Eggplant
Pesche Ripiene – Baked Peaches Stuffed w Amaretti

I was really pleased with the outcome of this meal. Everything was truly scrumptious, even if Stinky and I got extra when Shamu couldn’t overcome the psychological barrier of eating Bambi, no pun intended (mind you, the following week she devoured deer with relish at a restaurant!).

Although the venison smallgoods manufacturer claimed the product was prosciutto, there was no classic fat lacing that appears on prosciutto and instead was clearly a lean, bresaola style cured meat. I suspect the manufacturer thought no one would know what bresaola was and so chose “prosciutto” for marketing purposes.

The venison bresaola was served with a goats cheese sauce, the recipe coming directly from Giorgio Locatelli's Made in Italy cookbook, which I promised to cook from as another foodie resolution. In the cookbook, Locatelli uses the same dressing on beef bresaola, providing a nice alternative from the traditional lemon juice accompaniment, while still retaining the necessary acidity. I have since used this dressing on other small salads.

The seafood broth was a wonderful, light dish plumped out with sweet scallop and prawns as well as beads of fregola tostata, a type of Sardinian pasta. I plan to share this recipe tomorrow for Presto Pasta Night.

Next came the rich, tender steaks that I bought from the David Jones Food Hall. They were 27 day aged and sublime: the flavour in these steaks is simply amazing. I’d rather eat sublime meat like this once a week than average quality every day. I pan-fried the steaks and melted a layer of creamy gorgonzola dolce on top, a salute to a similar dish cooked by Australian chef Danny Russo. Served with sliced fresh figs and dressed rocket, it is a truly wonderful recipe that functions as an impressive meal on its own.

The side dish of baked eggplant was a bit of an afterthought, but was still surprisingly good. Using the same principles as eggplant parmigiana, I baked chunks of eggplant with a Napoli sauce and a layer of parmesan cheese.

Finally there were the baked, stuffed peaches served with ice cream. These were sweet with textural contrast and were a light, warming end to a very filling meal. I plan to focus on peaches for Weekend Herb Blogging this week, so I’ll post the recipe over the weekend.

Bresaola di Cervo al Caprino (Venison Bresaola w Goats' Cheese Dressing)
Recipe from Made in Italy by Giorgio Locatelli. Serves 4 as starter.
Ingredients:
20 slices venison bresaola
4 handfuls of rocket
100g soft, fresh goats’ cheese
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Juice of ½ lemon
Salt and pepper
Method:
1. Mask cheese with a fork until smooth.
2. Combine with white wine vinegar and 5 tablespoons of olive oil and create a coarse blend
3. Mix the remaining tablespoon of oil with the lemon juice and dress the rocket. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Just before serving, arrange bresaola slices on serving plates, spoon over dressing then top with a little rocket.

Bistecca con Gorgonzola e Fichi (Steak w Gorgonzola & Figs)
Anna’s recipe inspired by Danny Russo. Serves 4.
Ingredients:
4 steaks
100g gorgonzola dolce, thinly sliced
4 large fresh figs, thinly sliced
Olive oil, for cooking
Salt & pepper
Method:
1. Sprinkle the steaks with salt and pepper then brush with olive oil.
2. Heat a little more olive oil in a frying pan then cook steaks for 3-5 minutes then turn and cook for another 3 minutes.
3. Top steaks with cheese slices and cook for another 2 minutes or until cheese melts. This could also be done under a grill if preferred.
4. Plate and serve with slices of fresh figs.
Note: steak cooking instructions are for medium-rare but you can adjust depending on tastes. Just remember to give the cheese at least 2 minutes on the steaks to melt accordingly.

Melanzane al Forno (Baked Eggplant)
Anna’s very own recipe. Serves 4 as a side.
Ingredients:
1 eggplant, peeled and cut into cubes
375ml (1½ cups) passata
1 small onion, chopped finely
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 long red chilli, chopped finely
1 tablespoon tomato paste
¾ cup finely grated parmesan
Olive oil, for cooking
Method:
1. First preheat to oven to 180’C.
2. To make the sauce by frying the onion with olive oil until soft, then adding the garlic and chilli and frying them until soft also.
3. Next add the tomato paste and fry until bubbly and a little thickened. Then add the passata and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and toss eggplant through the sauce.
5. Transfer to a baking dish and bake until eggplant is soft, about 30 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and mix through some of the parmesan and sprinkling the rest on the top. Return for 5-10 minutes or until cheese melts.

That's three of the five recipes I made for my sisters. The other two will be posted over the next few days.

By the way everyone, don’t forget that I’m hosting Mixology Monday next week, so get your fruit liqueur cocktails ready for blogging!

Tags: morsels and musings food blog food and drink australia recipes starters entrees soup main course gorgonzola beef venison bresaola bresaola di cervo bresaolavenison fregola prawn recipes fregola recipes soup recipes bresaola recipes venison recipes gorgonzola recipes beef recipes italian recipes italian food italian cuisine

green olive crusted veal

I know everyone loves Donna Hay, but I’m not totally convinced.

Her food photography is lavish and the props are always impeccably stylish, but I don’t feel like the recipes are as well thought through as the photographs.

For most food bloggers, all we need is a photo of a gorgeous dish and most of us can take that inspiration and create our own recipe replicating the basic theme. But for people who rely on recipes, I feel that Donna might be letting them down.

Maybe my Donna-doubts stems from my love of strong sensations and most of Donna’s recipes seem to ere on the side of caution when it comes to big flavour hits.

In Donna Hay’s Aug/Sep 07 (Issue 24), I found a recipe which was wonderful, but does need an extra lift if you’re like me and want to be knocked out by flavour.

I bought my veal from AC Butchery and it was exquisite. I hadn’t bought meat from a butcher in a while (lots of vegetables lately) so I decided to get it from a butcher I know and trust. The meat was flavoursome and tender and well worth the price ($31.99 per kilo).

Green Olive Crusted Veal
Recipe from Issue 24 Donna Hay (Aug/Sep 07). Serves 4.
Ingredients:
35g (¾ cup) fresh breadcrumbs
50g (1/3 cup) chopped green olives
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
50g unsalted butter, melted
4 x 150g veal cutlets
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Freshly milled salt and pepper
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 200’C (390’F).
2. Place breadcrumbs, olives, parsley, butter, salt and pepper into a bowl and stir to combine.
3. Brush the veal cutlets with mustard
4. Press the breadcrumb mixture firmly onto one side of the cutlet.
5. Place on a lightly greased oven tray and bake for 12-15 minutes of until breadcrumbs are golden and meat is cooked through (when pierced with a knife, juices should run clear).
Note: I’d add a little more olives, chopped capers or even some finely grated lemon rind to give it an extra kick.

I served this delicious veal with a yummy feta mash (as suggested in the magazine) and my favourite side dish: Wilted Spinach w Lemon & Olive Oil.

Feta Mash
Recipe from Issue 24 Donna Hay (Aug/Sep 07). Serves 4.
Ingredients:
1 kg starchy potatoes, peeled and chopped
¾ cup milk
¼ cup olive oil
150g feta cheese
½ cup chopped kalamata olives
Method:
1. Place the potatoes in a pot of salted, cold water.
2. Bring to the boil and cook for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
3. Drain well, return to the pan and mash until smooth.
4. Add the milk and oil and stir to combine.
5. Stir in the feta, olives, salt and pepper then serve.

Olives (Olea europaea) are native to coastal areas in the Mediterranean, Asia Minor and northern Iran, near the Caspian Sea.

Olives are the most cultivated fruit in the world and increasing demands for olive oil have seen the production levels triple over the past 50 years. In 2005, the top olive producing nations were Spain, Italy, Greece, Tunisia, Turkey, Morocco and Portugal.

Based on evidence from a site in Jordan, it is believed olives were first cultivated in the Chalcolithic Period (Copper Age, before the Bronze Age). They are certainly one of the most citied foods in history, being mentioned by the Greeks, Romans, the Bible and the Qur'an (Koran). Homer had Odysseus crawling under olive shoots, Horace claimed they gave him sustenance and olives were a symbol of the Greek goddess of war and wisdom, Athena.

Back in the 1st century, Pliny the Elder claimed a Greek olive tree was 1,600 years old which isn’t impossible given that ring testing has proven that a tree on the isle of Brijuni (Brioni) in Croatia is 1,600 years old and still bears fruit. Several trees in the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem are thought to be from the time of Jesus and another on Crete was confirmed to be over 2,000 years old!

Fresh olives have phenolic compounds and oleuropein, making the fruit almost inedible when fresh. They need to be processed in order to leach out the bitterness: soaked in water, slit once, then add to a pickling pot of salt and vinegar, weighed down and left for at least a month. Afterwards they can be flavoured with herbs and spices, or stuffed with pimento, anchovies or cheese.

In 2006, I visited Sol, Italy’s premier olive tradeshow. Knowing Italians are so proud of their olive oil, I was surprised to hear that some of Italy’s boutique oil producers rated Australian olive oil as highly as they rate their own. In fact some Italian companies were in technology and process knowledge sharing agreements with Australian olive oil producers.

Olive farming in Australia dates to the early 1800s, probably in Parramatta in Sydney. The colonies in South Australia and Victoria were planting the largest groves and by the 1830s South Australia was leading the production. Aussie oil won accolades at the London Exhibition of 1851 and by 1911 we were exporting oil to Italy!

There are thousands olive cultivars and it’s said that in Italy alone there at least three hundred!

This is direct from Wikipedia and explains some of the cultivars
Frantoio & Leccino – These cultivars are the principal participants in Italian olive oils from Tuscany. Leccino has a mild sweet flavour while Frantoio is fruity with a stronger aftertaste. Due to their highly valued flavour, these cultivars have been migrated and are now grown in other countries.
Arbequina – A small, brown olive grown in Catalonia, Spain. As well as being used as a table olive, its oil is highly valued.
Empeltre – A medium sized, black olive grown in Spain. They are used both as a table olive and to produce a high quality olive oil.
Kalamata – A large, black olive (named after the city of Kalamata, Greece), used as a table olive. These olives have a smooth and meaty taste.
Koroneiki – Originates from the southern Peloponese, around Kalamata and Mani in Greece. This small olive, though difficult to cultivate, has a high oil yield and produces olive oil of exceptional quality.
Pecholine or picholine – Originated in southern France. It is green, medium size, and elongated. The flavour is mild and nutty.
Lucques – Originated in southern France (Aude département). They are green, of a large size, and elongated. The stone has an arcuated shape. The flavour is mild and nutty.
Souri – Syrian but originated in Lebanon and is widespread in the Levant. It has a high oil yield and exceptionally aromatic flavour.
Nabali – A Palestinian cultivar also known locally as Baladi. Along with Souri and Malissi are considered to produce among the highest quality olive oil in the world.
Barnea – A modern cultivar bred in Israel to be disease resistant and to produce a generous crop. It is used both for oil and for table olives. The oil has a strong flavour with a hint of green leaf. Barnea is widely grown in Israel and in the southern hemisphere, particularly in Australia and New Zealand.
Maalot – Another modern, disease-resistant, Eastern Mediterranean cultivar derived from the North African Chemlali cultivar. The olive is medium sized, round, has a fruity flavour and is used almost exclusively for oil production.
Mission – Originated on the California Missions and is now grown throughout the state. They are black and generally used for table consumption.

Our Weekend Herb Blogging host this week is the herb goddess herself, Kalyn from Kalyn's Kitchen.

References:
http://www.olivessouthaustralia.com.au
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive
http://www.unctad.org/infocomm/anglais/olive/sitemap.htm

Tags: morsels and musings food blog food and drink australia recipes weekend herb blogging whb main course veal olives green olives veal recipes olive recipes feta recipes fetta recipes potato recipes dinner recipes

bresaola e rucola

One of many Italian salumi, bresaola originated in Lombardy, on the border between Italy and Switzerland.

It is made by taking a beef eye of round (round steak section from a beef hind quarter) and then salting it and leaving it to air-dry for a few months. Sounds a bit risky, but I’m sure the cold mountain air meant there wasn’t much danger.

Bresaola with rocket is one of my favourite snacks and is also the perfect starter for a dinner party since it doesn't involve cooking. You can mix the dressing before hand then just plate it when you want to eat.

Bresaola also a good alternative to prosciutto for those who don’t eat pork.

When I lived in Rome, Paola would serve this at least once a week and I became an absolute addict. The saltiness of the bresaola and parmigiano combined with the acidity of the lemon juice and the nuttiness of the rocket: magic! Each night I would increase my levels of cheese and lemon juice as I grew immune to the effects of this intoxicating drug.

When we relocated to New York we still ate bresaola but it wasn’t as good as the Italian versions. It seemed drier and a lot of the delis sold square bresaola rather than round, leading me to believe it was processed more.

In Australia, where quarantine laws wouldn’t allow imported cured meats until just recently, I stumbled across a local brand that was round, tender and almost as good as the Italian versions. Almost.

When you buy bresaola ensure they slice it paper thin and that they put grease proof paper between every layer, otherwise it all gets stuck together and tears. Also, make sure you eat bresaola a day or two after buying it (preferably on the day) as it dries out fast and should be eaten moist.

Bresaola e Rucola
Common Italian way to eat bresaola. Serves 1 as starter.
Ingredients:
10 slices of bresaola
1 cup loosely packed baby rocket leaves, washed
2 tablespoons parmigiano, freshly grated
1 tablespoon lemon juice (2T if you’re a sour fiend like me)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Method:
1. Lay your bresaola on a plate, slightly overlapping
2. In a bowl, dress the rocket with the lemon juice, olive oil, salt & pepper
3. Sprinkle parmigiano over bresaola
4. Arrange rocket over bresaola
5. Drizzle any remaining dressing over the bresaola and serve, preferably with a lemon wedge

Rocket is excellent combined with bresaola but it also works well with sfilacci di cavallo, a dish from the Veneto region consisting of cured horse meat shredded and served over rocket in much the same way. I tried it when I was in Verona and it was wonderful.

Rocket (Eruca vesicaria) is also known as arugula, garden rocket, rocket salad, rugola, rucola, roquette and rughetta. It has a peppery flavour so it’s not surprising that it’s a member of the mustard family (Brassicaceae: Cruciferae).

Rich in iron and vitamin C, rocket has only 4 calories per cup. It's used as a salad leaf or to flavour oils, is wilted onto pizzas, blended in pestos and cooked with meats, as it is in one of my favourite dinners: strachetti con rughetta (thinly sliced pieces of beef cooked with wilted rocket and parmigiano).

Rocket is well known in the Mediterranean, especially in Italy where it has been used since Ancient Rome and was considered an aphrodisiac that could increase semen levels.

It was usually collected from the wild and it wasn’t until as late as the 1990s that large scale cultivation was undertaken. Now it is grown worldwide, although the Italian region of Veneto is still a mass producer.

Apart from Italy, there are many Biblical references to rocket, where it was known in the Bible as oroth and in the Talmud as gargir. It seemed to be found wild in the Jordan Valley where Bedouins grew it in pots.

Pliny, physician and botanist from the 1st century, claimed that tea made from rocket seeds could get rid of intestinal worms and ancient Jews used it to treat eye infections.

The Medieval physician, Maimonides, believed rocket seeds increased saliva levels while his counterpart, Asaph Haropheh, used rocket to treat liver and stomach problems, kidney stones and to increase milk levels in new mothers.

Wild rocket was also used as a traditional medicine in Portugal for digestive ailments and as a cough syrup, diuretic, tonic, stimulant, laxative and anti-inflammatory. It also, of all things, was used to treat greasy scalps and hair loss.

In Turkey, rocket is served as a side salad with pide (Turkish pizza) or as a snack to accompany raki (a fiery alcohol).

This week Weekend Herb Blogging is hosted by Zorra from Kochtopf so head on over to Swiss Food Goddess in Spain for the full story.

Photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/frangrit
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimtimnashville
http://www.valsana.it/it/images/products/82010.jpg

References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bresaola
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arugula
http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/arugula.htm
http://www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pdf/234.pdf

Tags: morsels and musings food blog food and drink australia recipes weekend herb blogging whb entrée starter snack arugula rocket bresaola beef recipes rocket recipes arugula recipes bresaola recipes italian recipes italian food italian cuisine