Category Archives: Entrees

Chinese steamed bao

May 6, 2015 12:22 pm / 5 Comments /

Chinese steamed bao

I have been dying to try these in the steam oven after reading Dan Lepard’s excellent article in Good Food here.  Actually I have been crazy about these new ‘fashionable’ type of steamed bao after eating them in a few restaurants recently.  There are a few recipes around but I thought I would convert Dan’s recipe as it sounds the most authentic and also cook a version of his pork filling in the combi oven here :).

I have taken the bao recipe straight from the article but changed the cooking method.  SO much easier than a bamboo basket over a wok.  To be honest it would be a nightmare to cook these at home without a steam oven.  Remember, cooking in a steam oven gives you accurate temperature control. The recipe made 16, slightly larger than usual bao.  You could seriously only fit 6 into a large bamboo steamer basket so that’s a lot of stacking, checking water levels and three woks; too hard!

The texture was so light and fluffy, better than the ones I have eaten in restaurants.  I used one large solid steamer tray and one small but probably two large would be ideal as they were touching slightly after the final rise.  If you have a narrow depth steam oven then use three trays.

A little bit of effort with the three resting times but worth it, they were absolutely delicious 🙂

Ingredients:

300ml warm water, about 25°C
20g castor sugar
50g rice or potato starch (available in Asian supermarkets)
one 7g sachet dry yeast
450g white bread flour
flour and oil to finish

Method:

  1. Put the warm water in a mixing bowl, whisk in the sugar, rice starch and yeast until dissolved then add the flour and mix to a dough. Cover and leave for 10 minutes then lightly knead the dough until smooth.
  2. Grease the bowl with a little oil so it will be easier to remove the dough each time.
  3. Repeat this cover-leave-and-knead routine twice more, then divide the dough into 16 small pieces. Roll these firmly into neat balls, cover and leave for 10 minutes.
  4. Roll each ball into a disc about 1cm thick with a little flour, brush the top of each disc with oil then fold in half. Cover two large solid trays with non-stick parchment and place them over the tray, spaced without touching.  Dust with flour, cover loosely and leave until doubled.  This took the longest time, about 30 minutes.  They need to be as thick as you want to serve them as they don’t puff up anymore in the cooking process.
  5. Place the risen bao in the steam oven and Steam @ 100°C for 12 minutes.  It is no problem if you have multiple trays, that is the beauty of a steam oven!  Either serve immediately, or cool, bag and freeze for later. To reheat, steam @ 100°C again for 1 minutes.  They were perfect, no problem to reheat which is what I will be doing when cooking them again for a party.

Serve with my version of the Chinese pulled pork here, hoi sin sauce, cucumber strips and spring onion.  Yum, yum & yum!

Steam oven Chinese bao

 

Posted in: Bread, Dumplings, Entrees, Main Courses, Party Food, Steam Oven

Smoked salmon on zucchini fritters

July 31, 2014 10:45 pm / Leave a Comment /

Smoked Salmon on Zucchini Fritters

We were invited to a Christmas in July in the mountains last weekend so I decided I would make these and serve them as one larger portion per person, plated up as entrée.

A great recipe to also make as smaller fritters for finger food, it is moist and a nice change from the standard blini.  It would also be delicious, warm for a posh brunch with some eggs from the steam oven!

For the entrée size make your fritters approximately 9cm in diameter.  I used a large cutter or ring, greased in the pan to make each one the perfect size and left the mix to set for a couple of minutes before removing.  Don’t overheat the pan as they will burn and not cook through.  Cook slowly and remove to cool on a wire rack.

To transport, stack each pancake between plastic wrap.  The options for the filling are up to you; cream cheese, ricotta or crème fraiche would all be excellent.  I did goats curd mixed with a little chopped dill.  Serve with some lemon, tiny capers, thinly sliced red onion and a few leaves tossed in a little dressing.

Ingredients:  Serves 12 as entrée or 40 as finger food

2½ cups coarsely grated zucchini
2 eggs, beaten
60g butter
2 spring onions finely sliced
1-2 tbsp. milk
¼ cup grated parmesan
½ tsp salt
black pepper
½ cup plain flour
¼ cup self raising flour

Method:

  1. Preheat flat char-grill plate or tepanyaki plate.  If you don’t have one then use a non stick frypan
  2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well until combined.
  3. Grease your cooking plate or frypan with a little olive oil spray.
  4. Spoon mixture into the ring onto char grill plate or frypan and cook on medium heat until you see small bubbles appear on the surface.  If you are making 12 as I did for entrée size be careful not to put too much mixture into the first batch as I ran a bit short by the last few.  Use about one and a half dessertspoons and spread into the ring with the back of the spoon.
  5. Turn, they should be well browned but not burnt.  They do take a while to cook, don’t turn too early.
  6. Cook on the other side until cooked through.

Serve with topping of your choice.

 

 

 

Posted in: Breakfast/Brunch, Christmas cookery, Dinner parties, Entrees, Fish, Party Food

Steamed asparagus with hollandaise sauce

March 18, 2014 7:36 pm / 1 Comment /

Steamed asparagus with hollandaise sauce

It has got to the stage where I not only can’t imagine not having a steam oven, but I wonder how people survive without one!

Asparagus is perfect in a steam oven.  2 minutes @ 100°C and it’s the best asparagus you have ever eaten.  It has a lot to do with the fact that all the nutrients are retained so vegetables, fruit and many other things actually taste better.

So when asparagus season hits you can quickly and easily enjoy it everyday.  Have a look at some of my other recipes that include asparagus in salads, risotto and this delicious stir-fry here.

Another delicious way to serve asparagus is with a 60/60 egg.  Easy to cook in the steam oven because of the accurate temperature control the egg category is fast becoming the most searched item on this site.

I am very proud to have come up with a way to cook the perfect hollandaise in a steam oven!  Quick, easy and delicious and a lot less washing up than a whole food processor.  Try it, you will never cook hollandaise the traditional way again.

Ingredients:  Serves 4-6

2 egg yolks
1 tbsp. lemon juice
140g unsalted butter, melted
Salt & pepper to taste

1-2 bunches of fresh asparagus

Method:

  1. Whisk egg yolks with lemon juice in a china mixing bowl until pale and frothy .  Your eggs should be at room temperature.
  2. Melt the butter until hot and bubbling but do not allow to burn.  Do this in a glass jug in the microwave if you have one otherwise a small pan on the stove.
  3. Set the steam oven to 60°C for 1 minute and place the wire rack close to the bottom of the oven (on shelf position 1)
  4. Place the uncovered bowl on the wire rack, close the door and press ‘start now’.
  5. Set another timer for 1 minute.
  6. Open the steam oven, remove the bowl and whisk again until light and pale.  Leave the door open while you do this. Just 30 seconds or so is enough.
  7. Repeat (5) and (6) 4 times in total.  You will notice that the steamer doesn’t get time to reach its set temperature as it is only in ‘warm up stage’ for the first 3 times then the last time will be the steam oven counting down its 1 minute.
  8. Remove from oven, sit on a towel or chopping board to keep the bottom of the bowl warm.
  9. Drizzle in the melted butter very slowly, whisking all the time until thick and pale.  Stop when you can see the ‘milk solids’ in the bottom of the butter.  Discard.
  10. Taste and add seasoning.  It needs quite a bit of salt.
  11. Cover with tight plastic wrap and set aside to keep warm.  If you want to make it ahead of time, let the steam oven cool down to warm and put the covered bowl back in there until needed.  Of course, remove before cooking anything else.
  12. Now put your trimmed asparagus into the perforated steamer tray and cook for 2 min @ 100°C.  You can peel it if you wish but I don’t bother with that.

Remove from oven, plate up and serve with the warm hollandaise.  Delicious 🙂

Note:  This is a recipe that you may have to adjust the timing if you have another brand of steam oven.  Test it for yourself to see.  If the hollandaise has thickened too much on standing then whisk in a little boiling water to thin.

 

Posted in: Breakfast/Brunch, Dinner parties, Eggs, Entrees, Sauces & custards, Steam Oven, Vegetarian

Pear, zucchini & pistachio nut salad

August 14, 2013 7:55 pm / Leave a Comment /

 

Pear, zuchinni & pistachio nut salad

I had a delicious salad like this at The Grounds in Alexandria in January this year.  Yes, it was summer then and I am not sure if they still have it on their menu but it brings a little bit of summer back to me whenever I make it – even in winter!  This recipe is my version.

It is fresh, light and delicious and works really well in a meal with some grilled or barbequed meat, fish or chicken.  It would be perfect served as an entrée.

I am going to cut the oil down in this recipe for the Healthy eating program this week so you can adjust this to your liking.  It does need the oil but I actually prefer to mix the dressing as is and drizzle with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil on serving.  It is best served at room temperature and can only be made immediately before serving.

Ingredients:  Serves 4 as an entrée

2 large zucchini washed and sliced lengthwise with a mandolin
1 large very green and crunchy pear sliced the same as zucchini
¼ cup roasted, shelled pistachio nuts, chopped
¼ cup chopped mint
¼ cup chopped parsley
handful of baby rocket
Juice 1 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp honey
salt and black pepper
100g Persian or good Danish fetta crumbled

Method:

  1. Slice the zucchini and pear into a large bowl.
  2. Mix the ingredients for the dressing.
  3. Place the sliced zucchini, pear, mint & parsley in a large bowl and toss with about half of the dressing.  Try not to break the lovely thin slices (you will need to split them up a bit as they will stick together)  Retain a little dressing for the top.  Add a touch more salt.
  4. Put the rocket onto the base of your serving plate.  Pile the salad mix as high as you can in the middle, layering with some nuts, pepper and a bit more dressing as you go.
  5. Top with crumbled fetta, extra black pepper and extra mint to garnish.  Pour over any remaining dressing and a little extra virgin olive oil.

This is a stunning dish!  Enjoy….

Posted in: Dinner parties, Entrees, Gluten free, Healthy eating, Party Food, Salads, Vegetarian

Steamed Fish Ratatouille

July 25, 2013 9:51 am / 2 Comments /

Steamed fish ratatoille

It’s winter so I want a warm, hearty but healthy fish recipe.  I am cutting back on my fat intake so instead of cooking this ratatouille in oil on the cooktop I am going to steam it in the steam oven.  I am going to cook it for a longer time than I usually cook vegetables so that the flavours mingle together.  I always dislike zucchini when they turn that horrible over-cooked green colour so I will add them at the end and then the fish will only take five minutes longer.  That way I should retain those beautiful, vibrant colours that make a classic dish like this even more appetising.

The dish is a ‘soupy’ recipe just like a mussel dish.  If you don’t want this then remove the vegetables and fish with a slotted spoon and serve over your rice.  You could always keep this warm and reduce the sauce if you wish but I prefer it soupy….

Ingredients:  Serves 4
1 red onion, sliced
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 red capsicum, seeded and diced
1 large eggplant, diced
2 medium zucchini, diced
2 strips lemon rind
125g swiss brown mushrooms, cut into chunks
400g tin chopped tomatoes
salt & pepper
600g white fish fillets, trimmed and cut into large pieces
Fresh dill or parsley to serve

Method:

  1. Put all the chopped vegetables, except for the zucchini in the large solid steamer tray.
  2. Add the tin of tomatoes, lemon rind, a little salt & pepper
  3. Place into the steam oven @ 100°C for 40 minutes
  4. IF you are adding steamed rice, add it after 20 minutes
  5. Remove carefully from the steam oven, add sliced zucchini and cook for 5 minutes
  6. Toss the fish pieces in a little sea salt
  7. Add fish to the top of the vegetables and cook @ 90°C for another 5 minutes
  8. Squeeze a little lemon juice over the fish pieces.

This quantity filled the large, edged solid steamer tray.  If you have Miele’s small steamer you will need to use two trays.

Serve with steamed rice or crusty bread to dip – so healthy it’s ridiculous, easy and delicious!

Posted in: Entrees, Fish, Main Courses, Steam Oven

Mussels Provencale

July 18, 2013 7:46 pm / Leave a Comment /

This is the first time I have cooked mussels in the steam oven.  I did have them cooked for me once in a steam oven, at a Smeg trade night a while ago.  We went there after work one night and they had set up the warehouse to resemble their factory in Italy.  It was a really entertaining evening and we learnt quite a lot.  We had to put on overalls and were given torches so we could ‘discover’ how their ovens are built.  We then had a great meal which they cooked in the warehouse too.  I remember that the mussels were lovely cooked in their steam oven.  Juicy, delicious and so easy to do.

Smeg has a massive 35 litre steam oven with the water container at the top, so it is wider inside than the models with the water container at the side.  Some other brands also have this feature.  This means you can cook larger quantities than I can in my steam oven.  You can also fit in a much wider dish which would definitely be a bonus.

Mussels provencale

I want a rich, well reduced sauce so I am going to cook that on the cooktop first.

Ingredients:

1kg mussels, soaked in cold water for at least 1/2 hour, cleaned with beard removed
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp tomato paste
1 small tin of crushed, good quality tomatoes
1/2 small fennel, sliced thinly
1/4 cup white wine
black pepper
a few nicoise or black olives
lots of chopped dill or parsley to serve

Method:

  1. Heat olive oil in a heavy based pan.
  2. Add the onion and garlic and sauté on a low heat until soft.  About 5 minutes
  3. Add tomato paste and wine and cook this for another 2 minutes
  4. Now mix in the tinned tomatoes and thinly sliced fennel
  5. Bring to boil, add pepper but no salt as the mussels will probably be salty enough.
  6. Simmer for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  It should be thick, the liquid from the mussels will thin it down.
  7. Now drain the mussels and place into the solid steam oven tray.
  8. Pour over the tomato sauce, add the olives and cook @ 85°C  for 6-8 minutes until all the mussels open.
  9. Sprinkle over fresh herbs, stir well and tip into large bowl.

Serve with lots of fresh crusty bread – delicious!

No extra salt was needed, it was perfect!

If you don’t have a steam oven then cook the sauce in a deep frying pan or wok with a lid.  When the sauce is ready, tip in the mussels, cover and simmer only until they have just opened.  Serve as above.

 

Posted in: Entrees, Fish, Main Courses, Steam Oven

Baby Smoked Salmon & Dill Quiches

July 17, 2013 10:52 am / Leave a Comment /

My daughter got into the French thing when she was at High School.  She started French lessons in Year 7 and it grew from there.  She particularly loves the whole ‘French lifestyle’.   The language, art and history of course, the food even more, the architecture, the movies and not to mention the fashion.  She has achieved great things towards her dream of living the French lifestyle.

She has gone from the High School International exchange student, to the University exchange student then to the fully fluent French speaking lawyer, living in Paris in the company apartment.  We were lucky to have a few trips together in the 4 years she lived overseas, including two wonderful trips to Paris together as well as a few days in Rouen last year.  I don’t mind ‘the French lifestyle’ either…

For Bastille Day I decided to use all ‘the French things’ that she had given to me as gifts over those years.  Why don’t we just use all our precious things?  There is no point saving them just to look at is there?  I decided to use her first gift from France for our baby quiches.  This is the plate that she gave me when she returned from her first High School exchange to Milly-la-Forêt.  ‘Milly’ as it was affectionately called was a little village about an hour South of Paris.  She went for about 6 weeks in December, so she was with the family for the Christmas holidays.  It was a wonderful time, the family were lovely and her French improved tremendously!  As is common in some French villages the market square still exists.  You can see it here in this picture.  It was so nice to use this plate for the first time.  I am not keeping anything ‘for special’ anymore 🙂

Aviary Photo_130184953680520253

 

Smoked salmon & dill quiches

I used some puff pastry for these that I had on hand.  Shortcrust is better as it doesn’t shrink down so much and you can bake them blind.

For the filling just mix in a jug 3 eggs, 1/2 cup light cream, chopped dill, tiny bit of salt and pepper and pour into pastry cases.

Top with pieces of thinly sliced smoked salmon.

Bake @ 180°C for about 20 minutes until golden brown and puffy.

Garnish with extra dill and serve.

Posted in: Baking, Entrees, Party Food

Spicy Pumpkin Soup

July 7, 2013 8:38 pm / Leave a Comment /

Soups are always great in Winter.  I have been making this version of the classic Pumpkin soup for years now and my daughter said that I should put it on the site so she can cook it!

Occasionally I also make it without the spices, just the ginger and garlic.  This is great, especially if you have a cold and don’t want the spice in your throat.  It is also really comforting when your not feeling well as ginger and garlic are known to be good for colds.

Spicy pumpkin soup

Makes a fairly large pot that would serve about 10-12

Ingredients:

1/2 large Butternut Pumpkin, cut into small pieces
1 large leek, finely sliced and washed well
1 medium size Kumara, chopped into same size pieces as the pumpkin
Splash of Olive oil
2-4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large knob of ginger, grated
1 tsp ground Coriander*
2 tsp ground Cumin*
1/2 tsp ground chilli powder *
Or replace * with up to 1 tablespoon of Ras el Hanout spice mix
4 cups Chicken or Vegetable Stock plus a little extra water to thin if necessary

Method:

  1. Sauté the spices, garlic and ginger in the olive oil for a minute or two on low heat.  Add the leek, stir well.
  2. Now add the pumpkin, kumara and stock.  Cover and bring to the boil.
  3. Reduce heat and simmer until the vegetables are soft (about 20 minutes)
  4. Puree and adjust the thickness with extra water if necessary.  Taste for seasoning.

You could serve with the Spiced Yoghurt from the Roasted Capsicum & Tomato soup recipe but I prefer it with plain Greek yoghurt and some chopped fresh Coriander.

Posted in: Entrees, Soups, Vegetarian

Roast Capsicum, Tomato and Cumin Soup

June 26, 2013 7:14 pm / 1 Comment /

A spicy, well balanced and tasty soup with a chilli kick!

Roast tomato, capsicum & cumin soup

Ingredients:

5 Red Capsicums
1Tbsp Olive oil
1 Onion chopped
2 cloves garlic crushed
1½ tsp cumin
2-3 long red chillies, seeds removed and finely chopped  (If you make it the day before the chilli will increase it’s heat level)
600g tin chopped tomatoes
3 cups Chicken Stock  or Vegetable Stock
To Serve:  3/4 cup thick Greek yoghurt mixed with 2 tsp honey and 1 tsp ground cumin

Method:

1.   Pre-heat Fan Grill to 200°C  Cut Capsicums in half and flatten with the palm of your hand, cutting the base if necessary.  Fan grill approx. 15 minutes until the skin is charred.  Place capsicums into a plastic bag for 5 minutes then peel retaining any juices.  Don’t do this under a tap it is messy but the flavour is better if you don’t wash away the juices.  Chop roughly.

image

2.   Heat oil in large saucepan on low heat, cook onion about 5 minutes until soft.  Add garlic, chilli and cumin and cook another 2 minutes being careful it doesn’t burn.

3.  Add tomatoes, capsicums and stock.  Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.  Cool and puree.

I also put it through a sieve as the chilli skin wasn’t completely pureed.  This is optional.

As noted above the chilli was definitely more prominent the next day and I added about 2 tsp sugar to cut that back a little.  If you don’t want it too spicy then use 2 and cook on the same day.  Don’t use the smaller, hotter chillies for this recipe.

Serve with a spoonful of spiced yoghurt.  Serve so guests can add more if they desire.

(Recipe adapted from Miele)

Posted in: Entrees, Soups, Vegetarian