Author Archives: Anna and Shiv

Walnut pesto

Both of us are not keen on pesto that comes in a jar as it tends to be too oily (although both our kids love it!) and we have finally hit upon a homemade version which hopefully is worthy of getting an Italian’s seal of approval.  We didn’t have any pine nuts or grated Parmesan cheese but we think walnuts and Pecorino Romano works just as well.   The addition of walnut oil accentuates the taste of the walnuts in the pesto.  We had it for lunch today with some penne and tricolore salad.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 2 small bunches of fresh basil
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • Handful walnuts toasted
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp walnut oil
  • 1 heaped tablespoon of grated Pecorino Romano cheese
  • Salt to taste

How much will I make?

A small bowl full – 6-8 heaped tablespoons

How do I make it?

Place the basil, garlic and walnut in a mixer or pestle and mortar and blend to a coarse paste.   Add the oils, cheese and adjust the seasoning.  Use it with your favourite pasta or as a spread on some grilled ciabata.

Noodles with oriental mushrooms

If you love mushrooms like we do, then here’s simple recipe to add to your repertoire.  It can be pulled together relatively quickly if you are pressed for time.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 250 gms assorted oriental mushrooms sliced (we used pink, yellow and grey oyster mushrooms with some shitake mushrooms)
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic minced
  • 1 Thai red chilli chopped
  • 2 tsp soya sauce
  • 2 tsp spiced black rice vinegar
  • 2 tsp Shaosin wine
  • 2 tsp oil

How much will I make?

Serves 2

How do I make it?

Heat a large pan and add the oil to it.   Toss in the garlic and chopped red chilli and saute for a few minutes before adding the mushrooms.   Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes and then add the soya sauce, vinegar and wine.   Give it a good mix and switch off the heat.   Adjust seasoning and serve on a bed of noodles (we added some toasted sesame seed oil and chopped spring onion to the noodles).

Red chicory with feta cheese

Red chicory is normally not on our shopping list, although it should be, as it makes an incredibly tasty salad option.   Interestingly we weren’t able to find too many recipes on the internet but we came across one by Angela Hartnett which we like and thought we would share it with you.

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What do I need?

  • 3 red chicory heads – stem cut
  • 1 orange peeled – each segment cut in three
  • 1 small apple sliced into sticks
  • 1 small red onion sliced
  • 6-8 green queen olives sliced
  • Handful walnuts toasted
  • 100 gm of feta cheese
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • Salt and pepper to taste

How much will I make?

2 large main portions or 4 sides

How do I make it?

For the dressing, whisk the olive oil and vinegar with some seasoning till it emulsifies.  Layer chicory leaves in a salad bowl and add the other ingredients before drizzling a generous portion of the dressing.  Enjoy.

Three bean soup

It is safe to say that today has to be one of the most miserable days of the year – weather wise – as it has been drizzling non stop all day from around 8:30 in the morning  with no sign of letting up through the night!  We looked through our store cupboard for some lunch inspiration and ended up making a bean soup which was very comforting and filling.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 1 carrot sliced thickly
  • 1 celery chopped
  • 1 bunch of spring onion chopped
  • 1 medium potato peeled and diced
  • 6 closed cup mushrooms quartered
  • 2 cloves of garlic minced
  • 2 green chillies finely chopped
  • 400 gm cannellini beans drained and washed (1 tin)
  • 400 gm borlotti beans drained and washed
  • 400 gm butter beans drained and washed
  • 2 chicken stock cubes
  • 2 tsp dried mixed herbs (mix of marjoram, thyme and parsley)
  • Small handful of freshly chopped flat leaf parsley for garnish
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 25 gm butter
  • Salt & pepper to taste

How much will I make?

Serves 4

How do I make it?

Place butter and oil in a hot pan followed by the garlic and green chilli.   Saute for 30 seconds before adding the spring onion and celery.   Saute on medium heat for a few minutes before sprinkling the dried herbs.   Stir and then add the remaining vegetables, stock cubes and around 1 litre of water.   Continue to cook on low heat for 10-15 minutes before adding the beans.   Reduce heat and simmer for another 10-15 minutes.   Adjust the seasoning and garnish with fresh parsley before serving.

Roasted Romanesco Cauliflower

Have you ever gone grocery shopping and come across a vegetable for the first time and wondered how you have missed it all these years.   The Romanesco cauliflower certainly falls into this category.   The vegetable was visually striking, a vibrant light green (almost fluorescent) when we first came across it in a farmer’s market a few months ago and regretted not picking it up (we were out and about and didn’t want to carry it around).   Then again on one of our trips to TESCO this marvel of nature turned up and we bought it and cooked it in a cheesy bake.   In hindsight, we did not do this vegetable justice by masking it’s wonderful nutty flavour in a cheese sauce.  Last night we decided to make amends and scoured the web for an authentic Italian recipe using this vegetable as we figured the country where it was discovered and originates from probably treated it with more care.  Sure enough there are a few recipes using it in a risotto or pasta dish.  There were quite a few recipes which were simple and essentially called for roasting the cauliflower in the oven with the fewest of ingredients.  We’ve replaced pine nuts with walnuts and it seems to work to provide the dish with some crunch and texture and added some walnut oil to accentuate the taste of the walnuts.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 1 Romanesco cauliflower broken down into florets
  • 1 clove of garlic minced
  • 1/2 tsp crushed red chilli flakes
  • 1 lemon – rind only
  • 1 tsp walnut oil
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

How much will I make?

2 hearty portions

How do I make it?

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl and the transfer onto an oven proof baking dish or tray.   Cook in pre-heated oven at 200 degree Centigrade for 20-30 minutes till the cauliflower begins to lightly char.   Serve hot.

Curly kale thoran

Thoran is a generic Malayalam term given to any dry mixed vegetable dish garnished with fresh coconut.  It has taken us a while to experiment with non traditional Indian vegetables and greens but having just attempted a curly kale thoran we think we have been missing out on this wonderful leafy vegetable which is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C and rich in calcium.  There appears to be more than one variety of kale – we’ve tried the curly variety in today’s thoran and in the past have stir fried an Italian variety called ‘cavolo nero’ with a splash of tamari soy sauce, Shaosin wine, palm sugar and spiced black rice wine vinegar.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 200 gm curly kale washed
  • 1/2 cup dried borlotti bean pressure cooked with 1 cup of water
  • 2-3 dried red chillies
  • 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1/2 tsp split urad dahl
  • 1/2 tsp channa dahl
  • 1/8 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/2 cup grated coconut
  • Handful fresh curry leaves
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • Salt to taste

How much will I make?

Serves 4

How do I make it?

Heat a wok with the coconut oil – first add the mustard seeds and wait for them to start spluttering before adding the urad and channa dahl.    Once the dahls start to brown a bit add the curry leaves and dried red chillies – stir for 15 seconds before adding the curly kale.   Add a 1/4 cup of water, turmeric powder, mix, cover and cook over a low heat till done.    Remove the lid, add the cooked borlotti beans, fresh coconut and adjust the seasoning before taking it off the heat.

Egg curry with rice vermicelli noodles

Having just seen an amazing laksa presented on Masterchef Australia  ‘The Professionals’ it inspired us to pull together an egg curry for a dinner party last night and serve it on a bed of rice vermicelli noodles with some garnish.   Unlike the laksa presented which had 40 different ingredients, the egg curry we made had a lot fewer ingredients and is relatively straightforward to make – our guests enjoyed the extra effort taken in presentation.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 8 boiled eggs
  • 2 medium potatoes peeled cubed and par boiled
  • 6-8 closed cup mushrooms quartered
  • 2 small plum tomatoes pureed
  • 400 ml coconut milk
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 4 green chillies pierced
  • Handful fresh curry leaves
  • Handful fresh coriander chopped for garnish
  • 3 tbsp coconut oil
  • Salt to taste

Paste ingredients

    • 1 large onion
    • 5 cloves of garlic
    • 1 large piece of ginger peeled
    • Handful fresh coriander
    • 5 cardamom pods
    • 5 cloves
    • 1 small stick of cinnamon
    • 1 tsp black peppercorns

Garnish

    • 3 tbsp desiccated coconut dry roasted
    • 1 small onion sliced and shallow fried in coconut oil till brown
    • A few coriander leaves chopped

How much will I make?

Serves 4

How do I make it?

Heat a large pan with the coconut oil and then add the curry leaves and whole green chillies.  Stir for 30 seconds before adding the paste – fry off  for five minutes till the moisture evaporates and it starts to brown.  Then add the turmeric, red chilli and coriander powder and stir for 30 seconds.   Add the pureed tomatoes and cook over medium heat till the oil leaves the masala.   Finally add the mushrooms, par boiled potatoes and the coconut milk and simmer over low heat till the potatoes are cooked through.   Add half a cup of water if the gravy appears too thick.   Adjust the seasoning, add the boiled eggs and garnish with fresh chopped coriander.   Serve on a bed of rice vermicelli noodles, with a sprinkling of roasted desiccated coconut,  fried onions and a few coriander leaves.

Thai flavoured savoury chestnut flour pancakes

Once you start experimenting with different flavours in pancake batter there’s no turning back.   We had some savoury pancakes for a lazy weekend breakfast and tried something different with some Thai 7 spice mix and some fresh herbs.   The pancakes tasted great on their own and with some sweet chilli sauce.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 1 cup chestnut flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp baking powders
  • 1 1/2 tsp Thai 7 spice powder (we found this under the Schwartz brand)
  • 1 clove of garlic minced
  • 1 Thai red chillie chopped
  • 2 sprigs of spring onion chopped
  • Handful fresh coriander and basil chopped
  • Salt to taste

How many will I make?

6-8 depending on size

How do I make it?

Place the chestnut flour, baking powder, milk and egg in a mixing bowl.  Whisk the ingredient till you get a medium consistency batter.  Add the remaining ingredients and give it a good stir.   Heat a frying pan and use a knob of butter to ensure pancake doesn’t stick to the pan.   Pour in a ladle of batter and cook on both sides till done.   Serve on it own or with sweet chilli sauce.

Horse gram series – adai

Adai is a typical South Indian dish akin to the more popular dosai but the batter tends to be thicker and coarser.   Traditionally adai batter consists of a blend of rice, tuar dhal, red chillies and asafoetida.  The recipe below replaces the tuar dhal with horse gram and we have added a few extra ingredients.  The adai turned out very crisp and tasty.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 1 1/2 cups idli rice (available in most Asian grocery stores)
  • 1/2 cup whole black urad dahl
  • 1 cup dry roasted horse gram
  • 2 tsp black peppercorns
  • 2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/4 tsp asafoetida
  • 3-4 whole dried red chillies
  • Handful curry leaves
  • Salt to taste

How much will I make?

Around 20 adais depending on size

How do I make it?

Soak all the ingredients with some cold water till they are completely immersed and leave overnight.  Grind the ingredients with the water till you get a thick spreadable batter.   You might need to add more water during the grinding process to get the consistency right.   Leave the batter overnight to ferment a bit.   To prepare, heat your pan and spread a laddle of batter to form a disc.  Drizzle with some vegetable oil or sesame oil (for a more authentic taste) to ensure the adai doesn’t stick to the pan.  Cook on both sides till done.

Chinese chicken with egg fried rice

A chance discovery that our son likes egg fried rice led us to try a new Chinese marinade on them tonight.   Whilst the kids found it slightly sweeter than they are used to, the  marinade is quite tasty and can be tweaked to suit your own child’s palate.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 400 gms mini breast fillets
  • 1 baby onion finely chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic minced
  • 1 inch piece of ginger minced
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder
  • 2 tsp dark soya sauce
  • 1 tsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame seed oil
  • Dash of salt to taste  if soya sauce is not enough

How much will I make?

10-12 fillets

How do I make it?

Place all the marinade ingredients in a mixing bowl and adjust the seasoning before adding the mini fillets.   Refrigerate the marinaded chicken for a few hours before cooking.   Heat a sauce pan on medium and add a teaspoon of vegetable oil – add the chicken fillets and cook  on both sides till done.   Serve with french fries or a bowl of egg fried rice (recipe below).

Egg fried rice

What do I need to make it?

  • 1/2 cup cooked rice
  • 1 garlic clove minced
  • 1 tsp dark soya sauce
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame seed oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

How much will I make?

Serves 3-4

How do I make it?

Heat wok and add vegetable oil to it.   First add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds before adding the beaten eggs.  Scramble the eggs by constantly stirring.  Once done add cooled cooked rice and mix well.   Add soya sauce, toasted sesame seed oil and adjust seasoning.  Serve hot.