Xmas is coming. We are preparing for small covid safe gatherings here in Sydney. Thought I’d organise myself by making extra of the filling for samosas tonight …and then make the actual samosas tomorrow night.
So i doubled the filling from Samosas and served with Red lentil dhal with rice and salad.
Now tomorrow I will use the rest of the filling to make the samosas, and freeze them so I have a supply to freeze up for drinks and gatherings over the weekend.
A delicious accompaniment to our grilled veal cutlets! Added some sage and parsley…based on BBC Good Food recipe below.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/broad-beans-tomatoes-anchovies
Made these last week but added parmesan cheese to the stuffing which was a delicious addition. Used blood orange juice in the mayonaise for an extra zingy flavour plus a lovely pink colour!
Here’s the original recipe, just add 1/2 cup grated parmesan to breadcrumb mixture for a cheesy version and use a blood orange for pinky Mayo. Zesty stuffed artichokes with orange mayonnaise sauce
Found this beautiful looking vegetable at the EQ markets in Centennial Park, amongst the boring white caulis.
Googled when I got home and discovered it is known as a Roman or Romanesco Cauliflower.
Thanks Wikipedia: Romanesco broccoli (also known as Roman cauliflower, Broccolo Romanesco, Romanesque cauliflower, or simply Romanesco) is an edible flower bud of the species Brassica oleracea. First documented in Italy in the 16th century, it is chartreuse in color, and has a form naturally approximating a fractal. When compared to a traditional cauliflower, it has a firmer texture and delicate, nutty flavor.
Roasted it in the oven and served alongside minty carrots. Delicious nutty flavour and crisp texture, Happily high in vitamins C and K. If you’re lucky enough to find it – make sure you try it!
I found some cipollini onions at the market on the weekend and they reminded me of a recipe I have always “seen” in Alistair Little’s Italian Kitchen Cookbook…one of my favourite recipe books of all time. But then of course I couldn’t find it!
What are they? According to TheKitchn…”Their name literally means “little onion” in Italian, and indeed they are! Cipollinis are about the size of a golf ball with a slightly flattened appearance. They’re thin-skinned and have translucent white flesh with more residual sugar than your average yellow or white onion.”
But I figure baby onions would be fine with this same treatment and worth it just have the sweet and sour, agrodolce sauce.
So I googled what I could remember and realised that the recipe must be “agrodolce” or Italian sweet and sour …so this is what resulted! A new discovery of deliciousness that will be a new favourite for sure!
Prep time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 20-25 minutes
Ingredients:
Method:
1. Place raisins into bowl and cover with hot water, allow to sit for next 30 minutes. You want the raisins to absorb the water and get close to bursting. This is key to the agrodolce sauce’s success.
2. Meanwhile, peel the onions. Heat the oil in a small pan that fits them all in one layer. Heat oil until hot, add onions, salt and pepper and ….then Cook onions slowly for 10-15 minutes until brown on all sides and tender.
3. Drain raisins (after 30 minutes), add to pan with onions, add sugar, balsamic vinegar and allow to bubble until vinegar evaporates and some of the raisins burst to form a sauce. Onions will caramelise and absorb some of the sauce. I added 2 tablespoons of water to help the process along a bit too.
4. Place directly onto platter and serve alongside grilled vegetables and roast meats. Perfect to have in the fridge so next time I am going ro make double this batch!!
Spiced up this classic Catalan sauce and then smeared it over chicken, salmon fillets before grilling and even used as a base for a fish curry over the next few days.
Sweet, smoky, nutty and this version has a nice spicy kick with the inclusion of chilli flakes.
It’s great to have in the fridge to brighten things up.
It’s delicious as a dip on it’s own as well. The recipe makes a big bowl of it so use it as you please!
Sauce: Prep time 40 minutes
Ingredients:
· 2 large red capsicums
· 1 tomato
· 6 cloves of garlic with skin on
· 1 slice of white bread
· ½ cup of nuts – I used walnuts but traditional is almonds
· 1 tbsp sherry vinegar (or red/white wine) – I used apple cider vinegar
· 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
· 2 teaspoons chilli flakes
· 1 tsp salt
· 3 tablespoons olive oil
Method:
Heat oven to 200 degrees celcius
Wrap tomato and garlic in foil
Place red capsicums whole in oven, alongside foil parcel
Grill turning red capsicums until blackened and char grilled on all sides
Remove capsicums and foil parcel from oven
Put bread and nuts in hot oven and grill until nuts are browned and bread is toasted on both sides – take care not to burn nuts (lower oven heat to 170 degrees or so) my walnuts got a bit dark but it still tasted good!
Place blackened capsicums in a plastic bag and seal – leave to steam and cool, remove skin and seeds – put in blender
Remove skin from tomato and peel garlic and put in blender with rest of ingredients – break toasted bread into large “crumbs”
Whizz until smooth thick paste forms, place in bowl.
Chicken Thigh Cutlets: Marinate overnight if you like, cooking time: 35-40 minutes
Ingredients:
4-6 chicken thigh cutlets – skin on and bone in
1 tablespoon olive oil
Fresh Thyme
Black peppper
Method:
· Rub Chicken thigh cutlets with 2-3 tablespoons of romesco sauce – leave to marinate for a while, even overnight if you can but it’s not mandatory.
· Sprinkle with black pepper, thyme and olive oil – might need a bit more salt
· Place in hot oven 175 degrees Celsius
· Roast until skin crisps up and chicken is cooked through – about 30 minutes, then turn up to 250 degrees for 5 -10 minutes to crisp up skin
· Serve with salad, rice or roast vegetables with romesco sauce on side.
Salmon Fillets
Smear Salomon fillets with romesco sauce, grill in hot oven 180 degrees for 15 minutes or so, turn skin side up, turn up oven to 250 degrees and grill until skin crisps up for about 5 minutes, I served this with couscous and a vegetable tagine with preserved lemons.
