Lamb salad with eggplant & watercress

April 22, 2018 4:00 pm / 2 Comments /

Lamb salad

This is one of our favourite salads which I am sure, if you’ve been to lunch at our place in the Summer you have eaten.  Everyone loves it, this is an old Gourmet Traveller recipe from December, 1997 which I have altered a little and proves that a good combination of flavours never dates.  It is only a balsamic dressing but the combination with the chilli, eggplant and lemon really works.

A perfect salad for Australia Day or Anzac Day, use lamb backstraps and cook on the BBQ until just medium rare and rest for at least 15 minutes.  The Autumn weather in Sydney is so warm we are still enjoying more outdoor eating 🙂

Ingredients:  Serves 4-6

2 long lamb backstrap fillets, trimmed if necessary
Olive oil
2 tsp cumin
salt & pepper

2 eggplants, cut into 1.5cm thick slices, salted and rinsed
1 bunch watercress, leaves removed
1 bunch coriander
handful of baby rocket
½ cup halved cherry tomatoes
1½ small fresh red chillies, finely chopped and seeded if required
1 Spanish onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp chopped preserved lemon

Dressing:

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
salt, pepper, chopped garlic and thyme leaves to taste

Method:

  1. Oil eggplant slices and cook on the BBQ until well coloured.  Remove and set aside.
  2. Bring lamb to room temperature.  Rub with salt, pepper and cumin and BBQ until just medium rare approximately 8 minutes.  Set aside to rest.
  3. For the dressing, put everything into a screw top jar and shake well.  Taste.  Set aside while you prepare the salad.
  4. Pick watercress off stems and combine with rocket, coriander, chilli, onion and lemon rind.  Once the eggplant has cooled a little cut into chunks and add that to the salad.
  5. Toss with most of the dressing.
  6. Slice the lamb and place on the top of the salad and pour over the remaining dressing.  Garnish with fresh coriander and serve.

Fabulous served with fresh, crusty bread and a fabulous Pinor Noir, Stephanie The Gnome with Rose Tinted Glasses from d’Arenberg, McLaren Vale.

 

 

 

 

Posted in: Salads

Last minute Christmas cake

December 23, 2017 3:05 pm / 2 Comments /

GIFT VOUCHERS FOR IN-HOME COOKING CLASSES NOW AVAILABLE FOR CHRISTMAS!  Please email me, trudy@cookwise.com.au for more information.

Emergency Christmas cake

If you are like everyone else and Christmas has sneaked up on you this year then this Last minute Christmas cake is just what you need to mix together to get you into the Christmas spirit.  Like our Best-ever Pudding here, we do like dark, rich, un-iced cakes.  Funny about that, you grow up in a family that either has cakes with icing or without.

I can remember my mother telling us that she didn’t have time to make a Christmas cake months ahead.  If she missed a particular week in November at the latest, that was it we didn’t get one!  Pity she didn’t know about this recipe in those days as we really disliked dry, purchased cakes and it spoilt Christmas not to have a cake to eat.

So if you have the need for a last minute Christmas cake then try this recipe.  The brandy-soaked dried fruit and fruit mince fast-track the mixture to give it all the qualities that a cake that has been baked months ahead.  You can, if you wish, make it way ahead of time if you prefer and keep it in an air tight container.

Happy Christmas to you all and thank you for your support during the year.  Watch this space as I try to do some more exciting things next year 🙂

Ingredients: 
530g mixed dried fruit
70g mixed peel
75g dates, chopped
75g pitted prunes, chopped
½ cup brandy
410g jar fruit mince
250g butter, melted then cooled
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
4 eggs, beaten lightly
2 cups plain flour
1 cup self raising flour
2 tsp mixed spice
blanched whole almonds to decorate
extra ¼ cup brandy (optional)

Method:

  1. Soak the dried fruit in half cup of brandy, covered overnight.
  2. Line a deep square 22cm tin with 2 layers of brown paper and 2 layers of baking paper.  Extend the paper 5cm above the top of the tin as shown.
  3. Preheat oven to 120°C Fan forced and set rack at the bottom rack in the combi oven or above centre in a conventional oven.  I use the combi for this type of baking as it is a more accurate temperature than my conventional oven and a smaller cavity to heat, therefore being more economical to run.
  4. Mix bottled fruit mince into the brandy-soaked dried-fruit.
  5. Stir in butter and sugar and mix well.
  6. Add eggs and sifted dry ingredients and mix well.  Spread mixture into tin and smooth top.
  7. Decorate with blanched almonds as shown.
  8. Bake for 2¾ hours or until cooked when tested.  Brush cake with extra brandy if required and cover whilst still hot with foil.  Wrap in a large towel and let cool in tin overnight.  If you are not brushing it with extra brandy then remove from tin, cool and place in an air-tight container.

Enjoy!

Posted in: Cakes and Biscuits, Christmas cookery

Peach & raspberry trifle

December 16, 2017 2:17 pm / Leave a Comment /

Peach & raspberry trifle

Not only for Christmas, a trifle is always a favourite.  Especially one that combines beautiful Summer fruit that can be prepared the day before and serve a crowd.  Trifles have come a long way since my mother’s version with Swiss roll, sweet sherry and packet custard.  Even though it was basic (not even containing jelly as most traditional trifles do) we still loved it as she had a trick of diluting the sherry with fresh orange juice so you didn’t get that overwhelming hit of alcohol.  In this version I took that idea and diluted the peach schnapps with the raspberry puree.  It works well, just enough to make it a very good trifle!

Ingredients:  Serves 8-12

400g frozen raspberries
½ cup peach schnapps liquor
½ cup sugar
Half x 500g packet sponge finger biscuits
300ml cream
¾ cup crème fraiche
½ tsp vanilla bean paste
2 punnets fresh raspberries (keep a few for decorating the top)
2-3 ripe & juicy white peaches

Method:

  1. In a small saucepan saute frozen raspberries with the sugar until the sugar has dissolved and set aside to cool.
  2. Add the peach schnapps.
  3. Whip the cream and fold through the creme fraiche & vanilla paste.
  4. Dip the sponge finger biscuits into the cooled raspberry mixture and line the base of a deep glass bowl. Be generous with the mixture to ensure the biscuits soften.  Add a few slices of fresh peaches and a few fresh raspberries.
  5. Now add a layer of the cream mixture.
  6. Continue in this manner until all the mixture is used, making sure that the biscuits are softened.
  7. Finish with a cream layer and fresh fruit.
  8. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Delicious, this will become your new favourite trifle!

Posted in: Christmas cookery, Desserts, Party Food

Orange & coriander duck breasts

August 23, 2017 10:06 am / 2 Comments /

I love cooking duck, especially duck breasts which are now easy to buy from the supermarket and not super expensive like the old days.

I particularly like to finish cooking them in the combi steam oven so you get that hit of moisture which perfectly cooks them to medium rare.  Plus, while you are rendering down the fat and crisping up the skin you can cook the cous cous and vegetables in the steam oven and throw together this delicious little sauce!

It honestly is the most used appliance in my kitchen.

Ingredients:  Serves 2

2 duck breasts, trimmed of any excess skin and removed from the fridge to come to room temperature 20 minutes before cooking
Rub with ground coriander & sprinkle with salt
Sauce:
Juice & rind of half a large orange.
¼ cup Verjuice
¼ cup chicken stock
Segments from other half of the orange
½ tsp of ground coriander (extra)
Knob of butter
Fresh coriander, chopped finely

Cous cous to serve flavoured with other half of the orange rind, a few currents and chopped, fresh coriander.  See Tips & Tricks page here

Steamed fresh vegetables here

  1. Method:
    Score the duck skin being careful not to cut into the flesh. Place the seasoned duck breasts into a cold non-stick pan over a medium heat skin side down.  Render the fat from under the skin for at least 10 minutes or until the skin is crispy.  You will need to tip off the fat from time to time.  Keep this for using again 🙂
  2. Preheat the combi to 190°C with the empty solid tray inside the oven to heat up as well.
  3. Remove the duck breasts and place them into the heated solid steam oven tray, skin up.
  4. Turn the combi from oven to Combination mode 190°C + 30% steam for 6 minutes for medium size duck breasts.
  5. Remove from oven to rest well.
  6. While the duck is cooking make the sauce:  Remove almost all of the duck fat, add the ground coriander and cook for a minute.
  7. Add all the other ingredients except the fresh coriander and boil to reduce.  Stir well to remove all the bits on the base of the pan.
  8. Add a knob of butter, fresh coriander and swirl to mix.
  9. Slice rested duck breasts.
  10. Plate up with cous cous on the base, top with steamed vegetables, rested duck and cover with orange & coriander sauce.

Duck skin should be crisp but if you have a combi with a grill and like it a little more crispy then flash it under the grill for a couple of minutes before slicing.

Posted in: Combi Steamer, Dinner parties, Main Courses

Teriyaki salmon

July 7, 2017 4:35 pm / 8 Comments /

After our server was recently migrated I lost this last post, so here it is again in case you missed it.

Want perfectly crispy skin salmon without overcooking the salmon in the process?

Then try this method of marinading the salmon for a few minutes, steaming it and finishing it off in a pan if you don’t have a combi oven.  A great way to utilise the steam oven away from the traditional thinking that ‘steaming’ is always wet, pale food.  It is an excellent appliance for pre-cooking food that will save time plus retain the nutrients and flavours.

The results were excellent, quicker than cooking in the pan alone and with more accurate results the flesh was slightly pink in the centre which is the way we like to eat our salmon but with crispy skin which was slightly caramalised from the sugar in the sauce.  Exactly what you want with a decent teriyaki sauce.

I have utilised the pan for cooking some eggplant as well.  Apart from having an extra pan to wash up with this recipe it was all delicious!

Ingredients:  Serves 2

Teriyaki Sauce:  (This makes enough to put in a jar for other meals)

1/3 cup Mirin
½ cup soy (remember to use GF option)
2 tsp rice vinegar
½ tsp sesame oil
¼ cup castor sugar
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp grated ginger
2 small pieces salmon, skin on
½ eggplant
dash of peanut oil

Steam oven rice here to serve and steamed green vegetables here.

Method:

  1. For the Teriyaki sauce, mix all ingredients into a screw top jar. Shake then open and stir until sugar dissolves.  Set aside.
  2. Check the salmon for any bones, wipe over with kitchen paper and place into the solid, perforated tray which has been lined with baking paper. Spoon over a little of the Teriyaki sauce to marinade the fish while you are waiting for the rice to cook.
  3. Now, wash your rice and follow the instructions on cooking
  4. Place into steam oven and set timer for 100°C for 17 minutes. Set another timer somewhere else to alert you in the last couple of minutes of this cooking time.
  5. Slice eggplant and salt to remove any bitter juices. Rinse off and pat dry.  Cut slices into quarters.
  6. Heat a non-stick frypan with a dash of peanut oil. Add eggplant and stir fry until golden and almost cooked through.
  7. When you have 1½ minutes remaining on the rice, open the steam oven and add the salmon and green vegetables. They can either be in a separate tray or just placed on top of the rice.  Close the door, depending on your steam oven the appliance hopefully will reheat again to 100°C.
  8. Remove the salmon, add skin side down to medium-hot pan with the eggplant pushed away to the sides. Now add 2 tablespoons of the Teriyaki sauce, let the skin fry a little then turn it over.  Don’t have the pan too hot or it will burn.  Cook for exactly 2 minutes in total.  Cooking times will depend on the size of your fish.

Remove and serve with the rice, steamed vegetables and drizzle over the sauce that has collected in the baking paper from the salmon.  You will have extra Teriyaki sauce if you wish to use that too.

 

Posted in: Fish, Gluten free, Japanese, Main Courses, Steam Oven

Korean bulgogi salmon

May 5, 2017 3:24 pm / 5 Comments /

Korean food is a cuisine that I love. However, I have to admit to not cooking it a lot myself, until now!  The best Korean food we have ever had was in New York City when the two of us sat at a four person table, completely covered with ‘side dishes’ that automatically came with the meal 🙂

This year I am going to try to cook a lot more Korean and Japanese food in both the combi and steam ovens and as I’m always on the lookout for salmon dishes this fits the bill perfectly.

This recipe has been prepared for all of you who have the newer models of combi steam ovens that have a top grill element or more precisely a Fan grill combination mode.  If you don’t have a top element in your combi like me then you can still cook this dish except you won’t get that deep caramelised browning you would expect.  You can see this from the photo.

Make sure you take your salmon out of the refrigerator to bring it to room temperature about 30 minutes before cooking otherwise you will need to cook it for longer.

Ingredients:  Serves 2

2 salmon fillets with skin on, cut in 2cm strips lengthwise (a great way to divide up those fillets that are way too big for one person)

Marinade:
1½ tablespoons light soy sauce
2 teaspoons of Mirin
juice half a lime or lemon
1 tablespoon honey
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons grated ginger

Method:

  1. Mix all marinade ingredients together, stirring to dissolve honey.
  2. Slice salmon leaving skin on.  The skin will hold the salmon together.
  3. Marinate in a flat dish in one layer for at least one hour.  Turn half way.
  4. While the salmon is marinating cook some steam oven rice here adding vegetables of your choice in with the rice towards the end of the cooking time.
  5. Remove the rice and vegetables and set aside.  Wipe out the steam oven and preheat the oven to 200°C.  I have found that you do need to preheat when cooking very quick-cooking items.
  6. Cover the flat baking tray with baking paper.  Lay the salmon slices out in a single layer on top.
  7. Switch the combi to Fan grill 200°C + 85% steam, add the salmon fillets in the upper part of the combi and cook for 3-5 minutes.  This will depend on how you like your salmon cooked, its size and temperature.
  8. Serve with steamed rice, green vegetables and purchased Korean kimchi.
Posted in: Combi Steamer, Fish, Korean, Main Courses

Malaysian glutinous rice & pandan dessert

April 30, 2017 2:56 pm / 1 Comment /

After returning from our eating trip to Penang I wanted to try one of my favourite Malaysian desserts in the steam oven.  So much easier than the original recipe I found and it tastes delicious!

I have used fresh pandan leaves in the glutinous rice but only essence in the green top layer.  I had a bad experience once with chopped pandan leaves curdling a panacotta custard so I wasn’t game to put in the water from the pureed leaves into this custard (as in the original recipe).  Have a look at that recipe if you like but the pandan essence (providing it is a good one from the Asian food shops) is fine.  Be mindful though it is very green.

So easy in the steam oven, just pour over the top layer and cook.  It must be served at room temperature and doesn’t keep well.  The glutinous rice becomes hard and chewy but can be warmed a little in the steam oven to rejuvenate.

Ingredients:

For Bottom layer:
300g white glutinous rice, washed well and soaked in plenty of water overnight
100ml coconut milk or cream (I used a 400ml can of Ayam Light coconut cream and just split it)
100ml water
2 pandan leaves, ripped in strips and tied in a knot
1 tsp salt

Top layer:
200ml thick coconut cream
¼ cup water (wash out the coconut cream can with this)
3 x 70g eggs
¾ cup castor sugar
¼-½ tsp pandan essence (or to your liking/colour/taste)
2 heaped tablespoons cornflour

Method:
Bottom layer:
Drain the rice.
Mix together with all the ingredients for the bottom layer.
Pour into small, solid steam oven tray.
Cook @ 100°C steam for 30 minutes.  It should be sticky but cooked.  Remove pandan leaves.
Line a square 23cm cake tin with baking paper and transfer cooked rice into pan.
Press down firmly to make a solid, dense layer.
Set aside.

Top layer:
Prepare this while the bottom layer is cooking.
Whisk the eggs, sugar and cornflour in a medium size mixing bowl until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has lightened in colour a little.
Add the coconut cream, water and essence to colour.  It should be a mid-green if you are using essence.  Be careful it is very bright.  I only use a dash.
Pour over glutinous rice layer, cover the dish with foil.
Cook @ 100°C steam for 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and set aside with the foil over to cool.
Cut into squares or diamonds to serve, see my note above  🙂

 

This is a recipe I adapted for the steam oven & made it gluten free, from rasamalaysia.com

 

 

Posted in: Desserts, Gluten free, Malaysian, Party Food, Rice

Sous vide wagyu with wasabi dipping sauce

January 19, 2017 9:09 am / 6 Comments /

Sous vide wagyu with wasabi dipping sauce

I had a great In-home cooking class with a lovely lady in Milsons Point who gave me a gift of two beautiful wagyu steaks.  I put them in my freezer before Christmas but had in mind what I wanted to do with them.  They weighed 320g and were already vac packed.  Perfect for sous vide as no need to even bag them up again.  They were quite thin so I reduced the cooking time from my previous sous vide attempt here.

Perfectly cooked to medium rare the sous vide method is definitely the way to go with good quality cuts of meat.  Apart from a very quick searing of one minute on each side in a smoking hot pan or BBQ you don’t have to worry that you are overcooking it; something that can easily happen, especially on the BBQ or with thinner cuts of meat.  Cooking at such a low temperature will allow the fat marbelling to melt away.

Try this, the sauce is amazing.  You can adjust the amount of wasabi to suit your tastes but start with these quantities unless you have a real issue with spicy food.  Remember to taste as you go.  Great with a green salad (also even better dipped in the sauce!) and a bowl of steamed rice here.

Ingredients:  Serves 2

2 x Wagyu beef steaks as above
2 bowls of pre-cooked steam oven rice
Cucumber and mixed salad to serve

Dipping sauce:
1-2 tsp wasabi (from the tube)
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp Canola oil
Spring onions

Method:

  1. For dipping sauce mix all ingredients together in a small bowl except oil & spring onions.
  2. Whisk in oil to emulsify.  Set aside.
  3. Bring steaks to room temperature in bag, about 15 minutes from the refrigerator should be enough.
  4. Place steaks, in unopened plastic bag in perforated steam oven tray and cook @ 56ºC for 30 minutes for thin steaks of 320g.  If your steak is thicker you will need to adjust the time.
  5. Preheat a non-stick frypan or BBQ until smoking hot.  Add a dash of olive oil just before you are ready to sear them.
  6. Cook for ONLY 1 minute on each side, sprinkle with a little sea salt and remove to a plate to rest while you reheat your rice in the steam oven for 4 minutes @ 100ºC.

Serve with warm steamed rice, dipping sauce and a fresh green salad.  Yum!

 

 

Posted in: Cooking classes, Japanese, Main Courses, Rice, Sauces & custards, Steam Oven

Mini brioche

January 2, 2017 4:29 pm / 1 Comment /

Mini brioche

Happy new year and welcome to 2017!  Thank you all for your continued support, making last Christmas the best ever on the blog which tells me that many of you are wanting to use your steam or combi oven to its full potential.

I thought I would take my previous brioche recipe and use it to make individual ones for a delicious, Christmas breakfast.  I have always wanted to cook these for Christmas morning but was never up early enough so this time I cheated and made the dough very late on Christmas Eve and finished proving and baking first thing on Christmas morning.  If you don’t intend to do this extended proving method then use your ‘Auto proving dough’ function as mentioned below and let the dough rest until doubled in size.

Serves 6

225g (1½ cups) plain flour, sifted
2 tbsp. castor sugar
1 x 7g sachet of dried yeast
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup milk, warmed
90g butter, softened
Sugar to dust

Method:

  1. For dough, combine flour, sugar, yeast and 1/2 tsp salt into a large bowl or mix master fitted with a dough hook.  Mix well
  2. Combine eggs with the warm milk and pour into flour mixture.  Knead with the mixer for about 5 minutes until the dough comes together.  It will be soft and sticky.
  3. Add small pieces of the softened butter piece by piece to the mixer to incorporate the butter.  Knead well for about 8 minutes.  I just left it all in the mixer.
  4. Oil a large bowl well with vegetable oil.  Tip in the mix and turn it over to coat in the oil.
  5. Cover tightly with cling wrap and leave overnight to prove.  IF you want to prove immediately read item 5 in the Pear brioche tart recipe here.
  6. Now remove the dough to a lightly floured bench.  It will still be soft but form a fat sausage with the mixture and cut into six pieces.
  7. Form each piece into a ball and break off a smaller ‘knob’ that is on the top of traditional brioche so you will have one large and one tiny ball for each.
  8. Place each large ball into individual greased brioche tins or a silicone brioche tray and top each with a little ball.
  9. Cover again this time with a clean cloth and leave to rise.  This should take approximately 30 minutes.  Sprinkle with a little sugar.
  10. Preheat oven to 190°C, I always do this for short cooking items.
  11. Bake in combi steamer in Combination mode -190°C + 50% moisture for 15 minutes OR Auto function ‘small yeast buns’ or similar.  You can set and agree to the program, check that the time is approximately 15 minutes otherwise just cancel and cook manually as above.  Most of the auto programs are for larger, 1kg size loaves.
  12. Remove from oven to a wire rack.
Posted in: Baking, Bread, Breakfast/Brunch, Combi Steamer

Buckwheat salad with horseradish dressing

November 13, 2016 10:59 am / 1 Comment /

Buckwheat salad with horseradish dressing

Need to lose those extra kilograms that have ‘sneaked’ up on you over Winter?  Then the steam oven is fantastic for this.  Honestly, I use it everyday for all sorts of grains and ingredients to create delicious, light and healthy salads and basically, fat free cooking.  Yes, healthy because you are not adding fat or salt to most things but most importantly because the nutrients are retained, giving everything natural flavours and tastes.

I really appreciate and use my steam oven even more in the Spring and Summer.  It is great to be able to cook multiple levels all at once without heating up the kitchen and without being bogged down with heaps of saucepans to wash!  Look at my ‘Salad’ catagory on the right hand side of the home page and you will see why I love the steam oven so much 🙂

In this recipe you can substitute other vegetables you may have on hand.  The dressing really lifts the overall flavour which is needed for buckwheat.  For a more substantial meal try it with some steamed fish on top, another drizzle of dressing and some crunchy bread.

Ingredients:  Serves 4

1 cup buckwheat, washed
1¼ cups vegetable stock
1 bunch baby broccoli, stems cut into thirds and halved lenghwise
½ pomegranate, seeds removed
½ bulb fennel, thinly sliced
large handful of parsley, roughly chopped
Grated rind 1 lemon plus 1-2 tbsp lemon juice (extra)

Dressing:  3 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
heaped tbsp horseradish cream or freshly grated to taste
pinch sea salt & pepper

Method:

  1. Place washed buckwheat and stock into the solid steam oven tray.
  2. Cook @ 100°C steam for 20 minutes.
    While the buckwheat is cooking open the steam oven and add the baby broccoli in the small perforated tray and cook for 1-2 minutes depending on the size.  There is no need to adjust the cooking time of the buckwheat, just add the vegetables in the last couple of minutes.
  3. Remove baby broccoli and plunge into iced water.
  4. Stir the lemon rind and extra juice into the buckwheat and set aside to cool.
  5. Finely slice fennel on a mandolin into a large serving bowl & tap over pomegranate to remove seeds.  Remove any pith that may fall out.
  6. Mix together all other ingredients into the salad and add dressing before serving.
  7. For dressing:  Mix all ingredients into a small jar and shake well.

 

 

 

 

Posted in: Gluten free, Healthy eating, Salads, Steam Oven