Category: Kitchen

Spicy Courgette Chutney

Just the thing for when those courgettes get carried away and look more like marrows.

If the spices seem daunting, substitute a tablespoon of curry powder.

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Spicy Courgette Chutney
Ingredients
  • 1 kg Courgette chopped
  • 2 teaspoons turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 cups white vinegar
  • 1 cup sultanas
  • 2 tomatoes chopped
  • 1½ cups sugar
  • 1 large onion finely chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves crushed
  • 1 tablespoon grated ginger
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 1 tablespoon ground coriander
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • ¼ teaspoon chilli flakes (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions

  1. Place  courgette in a large bowl and sprinkle with turmeric and salt; allow to sit for at least 2 hours, stirring once or twice. Drain off the excess liquid.

  2. Place all ingredients into a large heavy based pan. Heat while stirring until all the sugar is dissolved, reduce heat to very low and simmer until mixture softens and thickens. 

  3. Pour into sterilised jars and store.

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Quick Bread

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Although we enjoy making various yeast breads, in the breadmaker I must admit, that needs planning and sometimes a quick bread is called for. I have made beer bread but if you have no beer to hand it is a bit difficult. The other night we decided on a comfort bowl of soup and it was too late to make ‘real’ bread. I had been meaning to try Soda Bread for ages, and a quick google found this wonderful site. Alas, no buttermilk! Further research lead me to believe I could achieve what I wanted with ordinary milk and here is the result.

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Soda Bread

A quick, light fluffy bread using ordinary milk.

Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Irish
Servings: 4
Calories: 220 kcal
Author: Sharon
Ingredients
  • 225 gm flour
  • 1/2 tsp raw sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda - heaped
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 100 ml milk
Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 200C.

  2. Sift the dry ingredients together twice into a large bowl, make a well in the center. Pour milk in and stir until you have a soft dough (if necessary add more milk a tablespoon at a time).

  3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead into a ball, do not knead for longer than 30 seconds. Cut a cross in top. 

  4. Gently place in greased casserole dish. (See note) and place in oven, set timer for 30 minutes. Remove lid and bake for further 15 minutes.

  5. For a crunchy crust put on a rack to cool. For a soft crust,  wrap the bread in a tea towel to cool.

Recipe Notes

The bread can be baked on an oven tray, but I use a cast iron casserole dish with a lid. Lightly grease dish with butter.

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Cauliflower Curry

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The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft a-gley.
Robert Burns - To a Mouse.

Cauliflowers are temperamental little things, they like everything just right. Provide ideal conditions and they will offer lovely tight heads for you epicurean delight. Unfortunately Mother Nature can also be temperamental and upset the best laid plans. I like to use those slightly yellow, stalky cauliflowers in a curry, once everything is mixed the only thing on a diner’s mind id taste!

Serve this with Naan bread and rice, it freezes well and once you have 2 or 3 various leftover curries in the freezer you have a curry party ready to happen.

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Cauliflower & Potato Curry
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Total Time
50 mins
 

This is a creamy, mild curry. 

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian, Vegetarian
Servings: 4
Author: Sharon
Ingredients
  • 200 gm potato - chopped into 2 cm pieces & cooked
  • 1 medium cauliflower head - cut into pieces & cooked
  • 1 small onion - finely diced
  • 1 small green pepper - finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic - crushed
  • 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
  • salt & pepper
  • 2 Tbsp oil
Spices
  • 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder - more or less to your taste optional
  • 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 bayleaf
  • 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
  • 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
Sauce Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup pureed tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup ground almonds
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk
  • 2 Tbsp greek yogurt
Instructions

  1. Heat oil in large frypan and saute onion, green pepper, garlic, and ginger, with salt and pepper to taste for 10 minutes over a low heat till soft. This can be done while potatoes and cauliflower are cooking.

  2. Mix spices together, turn heat on onion mix to medium and add spices, stir for 1 minute.

  3. Add all sauce ingredients except yoghurt. Cover and leave to simmer for 10 minutes over low heat.

  4. Stir in potatoes and cauliflower, add yoghurt and stir until everything is hot.

Recipe Notes

There are some less common spices in this recipe, at a pinch use curry powder instead of dry spices.

Fennel seeds could replace fenugreek and caraway.

Cream instead of coconut milk or sour cream instead of yoghurt. 

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Corn Chowder

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Winter and soup go together without a doubt, and it is nice to have a selection of flavours available so you can enjoy the seasonal harvest. Corn is not a winter vegetable, I know, but we have quite a supply in the freezer from the summer abundance.

This soup uses corn on the cob, as you  use the cobs for the stock, no waste, another thing I like.

 

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Corn Chowder
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
35 mins
 

Smooth, creamy, and delicious, you can really taste the corn in this vibrant soup.

Course: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: Vegetarian
Servings: 4
Author: Sharon
Ingredients
  • 6 ears corn
  • 1500 ml vegetable stock
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tsp fennel seed
  • 1 tsp coriander seed
  • 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
  • 1 stick celery
  • 300 gm potato - cut in quarters
  • 4 Tbsp butter
  • 1 medium onion - chopped roughly
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 150 ml cream
  • 150 ml milk
  • 1/2 cup cheese - grated
  • sea salt
To Serve
  • spring onion sliced finely
  • sour cream
Instructions

  1. Remove corn kernels from cobs over a bowl and reserve for later.

  2. Scrape cobs over a medium saucepan to collect any milk and then break cobs in half and add to pan. Add Stock, bay leaf, fennel and coriander seeds, peppercorns, celery, and potato pieces. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Leave to cool for a few minutes.

  3. Meanwhile, melt butter in large pan over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, and corn kernels, with salt to taste. Saute until onion is soft, about 8 minutes. Remove potato quarters from stock, and add to pan with onion and corn mix.

  4. Strain stock to remove cobs and whole spices. Add stock to the other pan and simmer for a further 10 minutes until potato is tender. 

  5. Using a stick blender (see notes) puree soup until smooth. Stir in milk, cream, and cheese. Reheat to serve.

To Serve

  1. Place a teaspoon of sour cream in middle of soup and sprinkle with sliced spring onion. 

Recipe Notes

If you use a blender instead of a stick blender you will need to cool the soup for at least 30 minutes first.

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Silverbeet or Chard?

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“What is in a name? That by which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
William Shakespeare

Recipe for Silverbeet pie below.

Like many of you, I imagine, I grew up with boiled Silverbeet as a side vegetable and do not have particularly fond memories of the dish. I believe this may explain my tendency to refer to the same vegetable as Chard or Swiss Chard today. Are they the same? Pretty much Yes!

One of the reasons plants have Latin  names is so we can know their family and a brief description, in the case of Silverbeet the Latin name is Beta vulgaris. So we know it is a member of the common (vulgaris) beet (Beta) family, okay so for those having a laugh we have cleared up the idea that the vegetable lacks ‘good taste’.

Kings Seeds describes Beet Ford Hook as standard Silverbeet, and their other varieties as forms of coloured Chard.

To further confuse matters Perpetual Spinach is Beta Vulgaris,  while most other spinach varieties are Spinacia  (Spinach) oleraceaare (pot herb). So, my point is when it comes to actually making the following recipe feel free to use a green leafy vegetable of your choice. A note about pastry – by all means make a savoury short pastry for this dish (I did in the pictured pie) but if time is of the essence use a pre-rolled sheet of bought flaky pastry.

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Siverbeet Pie with Prunes
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
25 mins
Total Time
35 mins
 

A simple seasonal vegetarian pie using green leaves.

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Vegetarian
Servings: 2
Ingredients
  • 1 small onion finely diced
  • 2 garlic cloves crushed
  • 1 TBSP olive oil
  • 200 gm silverbeet leaves
  • 8 prunes
  • Fine sea salt
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • Pastry
  • 2 TBSP rolled oats or farro
  • 3 TBSP pine nuts - toasted
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 egg yolk
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 200C

  2. Heat oil in small pan and saute onion & garlic until soft.

  3. Rinse silverbeet leaves, roll and slice into strips.

  4. In a food processor chop prunes, add onion, garlic, second measure of oil, and ½ tsp salt - process until they form a paste.

  5. Roll 1/2 of pastry out to form a 28 cm circle. Transfer to a baking sheet.

  6. Spread prune mixture over the circle, being careful to leave at least a 2.5 cm border. Sprinkle oats or farro over prune paste to absorb extra liquid.
  7. Scatter pine nuts on top and arrange silverbeet over all, maintaining clear border. Grind a little pepper over everything.
  8. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolk with 1 TBSP cold water. Use some of this to moisten border of pastry.
  9. Roll remainder of pastry to a 30 cm circle or slightly bigger. Drape over pile of silverbeet. Use a fork to crimp and seal edges of pastry together. Poke a sharp knife into top of pie to create 2 air vents.
  10. Brush top of pie with remaining egg yolk and bake for 25 minutes.
Recipe Notes

Kale, Swiss Chard, or spinach may substituted for Silverbeet.

If using bought flaky pastry, cut in half diagonally.

Did you enjoy this? What did you serve with the pie?

SharonLeave a comment

Capsicum & Carrot Soup

This is a great soup for late season capsicums, all those funny small shaped ones.

 

 

 

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Capsicum & Carrot Soup
Author: Sharon
Ingredients
  • 400 gm capsicums - chopped
  • 100 gm onion - chopped
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • salt & pepper
  • 3 large cloves garlic - crushed
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
  • 200 gm carrot- peeled and chopped roughly
  • 1 tsp raw sugar
  • 1/3 cup white wine
  • 1/2 cup tomato puee
  • 150 ml cream
  • sour cream to serve
Instructions

  1. Heat oil in large frypan over low heat, add capsicum, onion, garlic, ginger, and cumin seeds, season to taste. Saute until soft, at least 15 mins.

  2. Meanwhile simmer carrot pieces in 3 cups water until beginning to soften. Drain and KEEP Water.

  3. Once vegetables are soft, add carrot, sugar, wine, tomato puree, and a cup of the carrot water. Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes, adding more carrot water as required. Cool slightly.

  4. Blend or process soup in batches until smooth, add more water if needed to gain consistency required. Return soup to heat, add cream and stir until hot.

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Potato Flan

A great use of leftover mashed potato. In fact why not make extra one night and serve these the second night.

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Potato Flan
Ingredients
  • 200 gm mashed potato
  • 1 egg
  • 1 shallot - finely diced
  • 1/4 red capsicum - finely diced
  • salt & pepper
  • 15 gm butter
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 tbsp parsley - chopped
  • 1 tbsp parmesan cheese
Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350C. Grease 2 small flan dishes with removable bottoms.

  2. Heat butter and oil in small pan.

  3. Saute onion and red capsicum with seasoning over low heat until soft, about 5 minutes.

  4. Beat egg lightly, add onion mix, parsley, and mashed potato,

  5. Fill flan tins with potato mix and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake 20 minutes until golden and puffed up.

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Jalapeño Chutney

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Jalapeño Chutney
Ingredients
  • 200 gm Jalapeño chilies - chopped
  • 100 gm onion - chopped
  • 60 gm capsicum - chopped
  • 1 large lemon - chopped peel, pith and all
  • 300 ml cider vinegar
  • 200 gm raw sugar
  • 20 gm sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 10 ml olive oil
Instructions

  1. Heat olive oil in a large frypan over lowest heat possible. Saute chilies, onions, and salt & pepper for 30 minutes. Add lemon, sugar, and vinegar.


  2. Reduce over a low heat until vinegar turns into a syrup. Cool slightly.

  3. Place in processor and blitz. Jar.

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Cauliflower Fritters

Lovely spicy fritters that would go well with a yogurt style dip and salad.

 

We often find that with only 2 of us a cauliflower goes a long way, this is recipe 1 of ideas for this lovely winter vegetable. Number 2 is Cauliflower Mac.  Stay tuned for more.

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Servings: 2
Ingredients
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 100 gm cauliflower - chopped finely
  • 1/2 onion - diced
  • 1 clove garlic - crushed
  • 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup grated cheese
  • 2 tbsp parsley - chopped
  • salt & pepper
Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a frypan on medium heat. Saute cauliflower, onion, garlic and spice mix until cauliflower and onion are soft. (5-6 minutes)

  2. Whisk eggs, add flour, salt & pepper, milk, cheese, and parsley. Mix well. Add cauliflower mixture and stir well.

  3. Heat oil for frying and cook spoonfuls of mixture (I divided mix into 4) for 2 minutes a side until golden.

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Roast Pumpkin & Chickpea Madras

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This is a lovely creamy curry, great served with Naan and rice. If you want a fresh, fruity salsa to accompany the dish try equal quantities of feijoa or kiwifruit, and cucumber with a twist of salt and a squirt of lemon juice. I am not a chili fan, but some Jalapeño in the salsa would also work.

What I put in a recipe usually depends on what the garden has to offer; the recipe is equally good with 1/2 cauliflower and 1/2 pumpkin, just roast cauliflower along with the pumpkin.

I also don’t use bought curry pastes, or seasoning mixes. It is so easy to make your own and know what is in them. For example, herbs and spices in their natural forms are gluten free, however, some producers add carriers and anti-caking agents, which can contain gluten. Check the curry powder on this New Zealand site. I am in no way disparaging the owner of the site, in fact I think Countdown are making a huge effort to show the ingredients etc in their products; however, the manufacturer is another story. Just be aware that some sites will tell you added gluten in seasonings is a myth, when in fact one of New Zealand’s largest supplier of spice mix does exactly that.

This dish uses a homemade madras style spice mix – just click the link. This is enough spice for 4-6 servings, so either make a double batch of curry and freeze half, or keep spice mix for next time in an airtight jar.

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Roast Pumpkin & Chickpea Madras

A mild, creamy vegetarian curry. Quick and easy to prepare and it freezes well. 

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian, Vegetarian
Servings: 2
Calories: 480 kcal
Author: Sharon
Ingredients
  • 300 gm peeled pumpkin- cut into 2 cm dice
  • 2 tbsp Olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1 440 gm canned chickpeas rinsed and drained
  • 1 brown onion - finely diced
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
  • 2 cloves garlic - crushed
  • 1/2 tsp fresh ginger - grated
  • 2 tablespoons madras curry mix see post
  • 1 440 gm canned chopped tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk
Instructions

  1. Toss pumpkin on prepared tray with olive oil, garam masala and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 15 minutes, then toss, add chickpeas and roast for a further 5 minutes.

  2. Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan on medium heat and cook onion for 3–4 minutes. Add parsley, garlic, and ginger, cook for a further 5 minutes. Add madras mix (see blog) and cook for 1 minute. Add all remaining curry ingredients and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low-medium and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often.

Recipe Notes

You can use a purchased madras mix, if it is a paste omit ginger.

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