Home Grown

Garden Vegetable lasagne

After an amazing two weeks travelling to New York, The Hamptons, Washington and Chicago with Strange Talk, I happily came home to my wonderful fiance Deanna, and a garden full of fresh vegetables. Zucchinis the size of your arms had grown in the backyard along with a variety of grape and heirloom tomatoes. Inspired by this fresh produce, the fact I had been eating boy meals for two weeks straight, a.k.a a ton of meat and beer, I felt like making a vegetarian lasagne sans pasta. 

This recipe was done on the fly, and had spectacular results largely due to how wonderful freshly picked vegetables taste, and the richness of the goats cheese I used. To make this, I got out a Le Creuset small oval baking dish, which fed two, with a lot of left overs. 

1 to 2 Large Zucchini cut into rectangular thin strips to fit the baking dish

1 Eggplant cut into rectangular thin strips

4 Portabello mushrooms quartered, stems removed

1 Large Brown Onion

6 Cloves of Garlic, minced

20 Diced Fresh Grape Tomatoes Yellow and Red

4 Heirloom Tomatoes

1 Fresh Chili, minced

Bunch of Fresh Basil

Bunch of Fresh Oregano

Bunch of Fresh Thyme

Roasted Pine Nuts

Butter

Balsamic Vinegar

Red Wine

Olive Oil

Mozzarella

Goats Cheese 

Parmesan

Panko Bread Crumbs

Dice the onion, add oil, and saute until soft. Add the garlic, and cook for another two minutes. Next, add the diced tomatoes, a splash of balsamic and red wine, chili, and cook on a medium heat until the tomatoes start to break down and form a sauce. At this point I would usually add anchovies or something to give added depth, but upon tasting how fresh the tomatoes were, the sauce was incredible and I didn't want to take away from the freshness of the garden veggies. It makes me think about what real Italian cooking must be. I can imagine growing up on an italian country side and eating meals like this. Enough day dreaming, add in some chopped basil, oregano, season with salt and pepper, and let simmer for another minute. Remove from heat. 

To dehydrate the mushrooms, place them in a dry pan, with plenty of room around each mushroom. Cook on a medium to high heat until water starts to be released. After around 4 minutes when you start to notice the mushrooms sweating, flip them over. Remove and place on a paper towel to pat down. Next, place a knob of butter in the pan, add the mushrooms back in with a couple cloves of bruised garlic, some thyme leaves, salt & pepper, and a squeeze of lemon. Leave to cook on a medium heat for three minutes and refill your wine glass. 

Now it's time to assemble our masterpiece! Create the bottom layer with the sliced zucchini, add a layer of the eggplant next, then pour in the tomato sauce generously. Next, add a layer of sliced mozzarella, crumble on the goats cheese to your liking, add some salt and pepper, pine nuts, then basil and oregano leaves. Lastly, arrange a column of mushrooms down the centre of the oval. Finish with more mozzarella, goats cheese, panko bread crumbs, pine nuts, oregano, basil, and parmesan. 

Place in an oven on 400 Degrees Farrenheit for 25 minutes until golden. Set the table, light the candles, and enjoy! I am still amazed I made something without carbs or meat…

For more ideas on what to make with zucchinis, check out Deanna's blog here.

HONG KONG VIA SYDNEY

Lychee Wine served with Prawn and Water Chestnut Dumpling Soup

I miss Hong Kong. My brother lives there, and it is such an incredible place to eat, have a drink and go shopping. On one of my trips to Hong Kong to see my brother, he took me to a ritzy restaurant where they served me the hottest dish I have ever eaten. It was a huge bowl full of baked chillies, with a few pieces of hidden chicken that was very tasty. What made this bearable, was the fact I was cooled down & inebriated from the lychee wine they kept serving us. I have always remembered this drink and decided on a whim to make up the recipe. My fiancee will attest to the fact that the cocktail is so delicious, and packs a punch. You're best off going to an asian grocer to source this stuff… and not drinking too much lychee wine before attempting to make the wontons.

1 Shot of lychee syrup (from a can of lychees in syrup)

2 Shots of lychee juice (I bought a lychee drink for this)

1 Shot of vodka

1 Shot of white wine

1 lychee

Ice

Bruised Kaffir Lime Leaf

 

Get out your shaker and combine liquids over ice. Mix well then serve in a chilled glass, with one lychee in the glass. Garnish with a bruised kaffir lime leaf.

For the prawn and waterchestnut dumplings:

10 Large Prawns  - shelled, cleaned, chopped

14 water chestnuts

2 cloves of garlic

1 Tablespoon of finely chopped ginger

1 Tablespoon of Soy Sauce

1 Tablespoon of Rice Wine Vinegar

2 Tablespoons of chopped coriander

Wonton Wrappers

Chicken Stock

Shitake Mushrooms

Bok Choy

Lemon Grass

Bamboo Steamer

Combine chopped prawns, chestnuts, garlic ginger, soy, rice wine vinegar & coriander in a bowl and season with salt and white pepper.

Lay out the wonton wrappers, paint the edges of the square with water using your finger. Place the a spoon sized dollop of the mixture in the centre of the wonton. Fold over the wonton wrapper and press together firmly. Dust in flour and set aside.

Simultaneously bring to the boil some water to steam the wontons, and some chicken stock for the broth. Once the water is boiling steam the wontons in a bamboo steamer for 5 minutes. For the broth, add some bruised lemon grass stems and a chunk of ginger to the chicken stock. Add some soy sauce to taste. Season well with white pepper. When boiling add the shitake mushrooms, bok choy, and boil for a minute.

Place the steamed wontons in a bowl, and pour over the broth with the shitake mushrooms and bok choy. Garnish with coriander, and shaved shallots.

HOME MADE PASTA

Truffled honey and goat's cheese Tortellini with black tea soaked raisins, king prawns, and a burnt butter sauce

This is an impress your friends dish. Sounds fancy, but is relatively simple, and quick to assemble. 

That being said, you've gotta get started early. As making the pasta is going to take a while, and you've got prawns to clean and devein...

Prep Time - 70 mins

Cooking Time - 15 mins

Flour (1 cup per person)

Eggs (1 egg per person)

Salt (Pinch)

Rolling pin or pasta making machine

250 grams of Goats cheese

Tablespoon of Honey

6 drops of Truffle Oil

Pot of Black Tea

Raisins

King Prawns, cleaned, deveined shells off, tails on

Stick of Butter

Pine Nuts

Start by placing two handfuls of raisins in some freshly brewed hot black tea. Cover and leave for one hour.

While the raisins are soaking, start to make the filling for the tortellini. Put 250 grams of goat's cheese in a bowl and mix in honey, and a few drops of truffle oil. Season with salt and pepper. Cover, and put aside.

Making the pasta is super easy, but takes a bit of effort. I could explain it but probably easiest for you to check out this legit Italian guy in a chef's hat. Please just follow his directions to the point where you have long thick strips of pasta as we are making tortellini not tagliatelle.

Once you have made the pasta into long flat strips, then use a circular bowl or cutter to create circular shapes about 10cm in diameter. Place a dollop of the mixture in the centre of the circle, then brush the very edges of the circle with water, or some whisked egg. Fold the base of the circle to the top of the circle and press the edges together making a semi-circle. From there grab the two ends of the circle and press together forming the tortellini.

Dust in a bit of flour, cover with a slightly damp towel, and start boiling some water for the pasta.

Place some oil in a pan, season and cook the prawns in a hot pan. Once they've turned slightly golden and curled up, put them in a warm oven whilst assembling the rest of the dish.  

Start to cook some butter on a moderate heat to golden brown. Carefully cook the tortellini in the boiling water. You'll know they are done when they float to the surface. Place them on the plate, with the raisins, and prawns. Drizzle over the burnt butter, and serve with shaved parmesan, and roasted pine nuts.

TAKING IT TO THE STREETS

Spicy Street Panang Duck Curry

$50 serves 4 

1 bag of medium dried red chilies 

1 bruised bunch of thai chilies

handful of sliced kaffir lime leaves 

2 tablespoons coriander root

2 tablespoons lemongrass

2 tablespoons galangal*

teaspoon shrimp paste* 

2 cloves of garlic

1 can of coconut milk

1 tablespoon of fish sauce

1 tablespoon of palm sugar*

handful of coriander leaves (aka cilantro)

rock salt 

1.5 tablespoon cumin seeds

1.5 coriander seeds

1 pack grape tomatoes 

handfull of roasted peanuts

6-ish button mushrooms 

a handfull of green beans

1 capsicum (aka bell pepper)

2 duck breasts*

*you can get from Harris Farm, or most decent food markets

You can do this the easy way or the hard way. Aka, a food processor or grinding and bashing away on a mortar and pestle for 20 mins... I chose mortar and pestle since I like the slightly more 'real' texture of the sauce. Despite what you may get at most Thai Restaurants, Panang is traditionally a stir fry, and not actually a curry.

First up, rehydrate the chillies in some water. This will take around 30 minutes. Stir em' around every once in a while to make sure they're all covered in water.

Whilst that is happening, prepare your duck and vegetables, and start getting to work on roasting the spices and peanuts (2 minutes on low heat in a pan).

Grind the cumin and coriander seeds in the mortar and pestle until reaching a fine powder. Put aside.

Get your soaked chillies and remove the seeds and guts. Chop finely, then get to work on making it a paste in your mortar and pestle. Adding some rock salt will make it easier to break down the skins which can be pretty tough.

Once the paste is all one consistency, add the lemongrass and get the paste happening again. Then add the galangal, coriander root, garlic, spices, 2 tablespoons of peanuts and the shrimp paste. You should pound this paste as much as you can be bothered into a fine consistency.

Okay, now to render out the duck fat. Pat down the duck breasts with a paper towel, score the skin, add some rock salt to the skin side. Put the duck breast skin side down, then bring to a low to medium heat. As the duck breast starts emitting the liquified fat, pour it into a container for use on a separate occasion. You will need to move the duck breast around frequently, but do not flip. Continue until the core temperature of the breast is 115 Farrenheit, then flip and cook for 30 seconds to brown the other side. Remove from heat, and slice into thick strips.

Get out a wok or a big fry pan, and put in a half a cup of coconut milk. Remember to shake the can. Adding this to a hot wok, it should start simmering straight away. Give it 15 seconds then add your curry paste. You should attentively stir this, as you want the paste dry, but not sticking to the wok, adding a 1/4 cup of coconut milk every minute or two. After doing this for 4 to 5 minutes you will start seeing a lot of natural oils coming out of the paste, and it will smell amazing.

Add in the duck, the fish sauce, the palm sugar, and the kaffir lime leaves. Also, add in the whole bruised thai chillies (these are for flavour & they look pretty, I thoroughly advise you do not eat one whole). I also add one chopped Thai chili. Stir fry for 3 to 4 minutes. Add in the vegetables, and keep adding coconut milk to make the dish your preferred sauciness. I added in total around another half a cup of coconut milk.

Garnish with chopped peanuts, fresh kaffir lime leaves, coriander leaves, some coconut milk drizzled on top, and some wedges of lime.

Serve with jasmine rice and a bottle of Pinot Grigio Portone Italia - the cheapest best bottle of white I've found.

A BIT OF ELBOW GREASE

Mustard Chicken Curry & Cucumber Salad

I am in love with this recipe and have since cooked it several times. Once you have purchased the spices, it seriously costs under $10 to cook food for 4 people.

Prep time - 20 Mins
Cooking - 45 Mins
Serves 4 People

1KG of Chicken Thighs
2 Tablespoons of brown mustard seeds
4 Star Anise
5 Cloves
7 Dried Red Chillies (or to taste)
2 Cloves of garlic
4 x Cinnamon Sticks
2 Heaped Tablespoons of Curry Powder
2 Tablespoons of Ground Coriander
1 Tablespoon of Tumeric
10 Bruised Curry leaves
2 Brown Onions.
1 bag of small button mushrooms
Coriander
Mint
Natural Yohgurt
Jasmine Rice
2 x Lebanese Cucumber
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
250 ml of water
Grape Tomatoes

Slice an onion, and put in a large pan over a low heat with some oil.

Get out your mortar and pestle, and pound the cloves, & star anise. Once slightly ground, add the brown mustard seeds & garlic  and grind into a rough paste.

Add the paste to the onions and stir fry for 1 minute. Add the curry powder, coriander powder, and tumeric and cook over a lower heat for around 3 minutes. Add a touch of water or oil to prevent from burning or sticking.

Then add some more oil and your chicken thighs to the and brown well over a high heat for five minutes. Pour in water, add the button mushrooms whole, along with the red chillies, two cinnamon sticks, bruised curry leaves, and 2 star anise. Bring to a boil, then cover slightly. Cook for 25 Minutes stirring occasionally. Remove the cover and make sure the sauce is thickening. Once it has formed a good consistency, take off the heat and add two heaped teaspoons of natural yohgurt and stir through. Garnish with some yohgurt mixed with mint, and some coriander leaves.This is now ready to serve with your jasmine rice.

For the Cucumber salad, skin and cube the cucumbers, and half some grape tomatoes. Place in bowl, and mix through some salt pepper, olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.

BEER BEER BEER

VB Beer Battered Fish Tacos with Slaw and Jalapeno Aioli

On a trip up north to Forster with my girl Dee Dee, I had ambitions of catching fish and cooking them. Well, I achieved the latter half.  

Prep time - 25 min

Cook time - 15 min

1 x Half Green Cabbage
1 x Half Red Cabbage
6 x Garlic Cloves
3 x Egg Yolks
1 and a half cups of olive oil
500 mls of peanut or vegetable oil
300 Grams of Whiting Fillets cut into thin pieces
1 cup plain flour
1/2 Teaspoon of Onion Powder
1/2 Teaspoon of Garlic Powder
1/2 Teaspoon of Paprika
1 cup of VB Beeer
2 egg whites, whipped to soft peaks
Pickled Hot Jalapenos
Fresh Lime 
Salt
Pepper
Coriander
Soft Shell Tacos

Roast 6 garlic cloves for half an hour and chop them finely. Whip together salt, pepper, and egg yolks. Slowly pour the olive oil in whilst whisking. Mix in a cup of chopped jalapenos.    

Cut the different cabbage finely then combine. Mix through a few dollops of your aioli and a big squeeze of lime. Season to taste.

For the batter, lightly beat an egg in a large bowl. Then stir through the salt & pepper, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder and beer. Slowly mix through the flour until smooth.

Now, evenly coat the whiting in the batter. Get the oil piping hot to around 180 Degrees Celcius. If it is not hot enough, the fish & batter will absorb a lot of oil which you don't want.

The fish should only take 45 seconds to cook depending on the size of the pieces. Once golden and crispy, use some thongs to place on some absorbent towel.

Heat the tortillas in an oven or microwave, lay down some jalapeno aioli, put on a couple of pieces of the beer battered fish, add your slaw, and squeeze on some lime. Now grab a beer and enjoy!

IMPRESSING THE IN-LAWS

Sesame Seared Ahi Tuna, Miso Baked Eggplant, and Proschuitto Wrapped Asparagus

Impressing the in-laws is slightly more complex due to their hatred of all things carby. This Japanese menu did the job.

Ahi Tuna

6" x 2" x 2" rectangular stick of sashimi grade tuna

Szechuan pepper corns

Salt

Black and white sesame seeds

Wasabi Mayonnaise

3 tablespoons powdered wasabi

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice

1 large egg, at room temperature

1/2 cups canola or vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

Cucumber Salad

1 large skinned cucumber, cut lengthways

1 tablespoon of Sesame Oil 

Salt & Pepper

Squeeze of Lemon Juice

10 Asparagus Spears

10 Thin strips of proschuitto

1 tablespoon of sesame oil

Sauce for the Tuna & Asparagus

1/4 cup mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

Miso Eggplant

8 tablespoons shiro miso paste

3 tablespoons rice vinegar (not seasoned)

1 1/2 tablespoons water

3 3/4 teaspoons sugar

1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger

2 tablespoons vegetable oil plus additional for brushing pan

4 Asian eggplants(about 8 inches), halved lengthwise

Coriander (Cilantro) Sprigs for garnish

Combine wasabi, lemon and lime juices, and 2 teaspoons water in a small bowl. Let stand for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, break egg into food processor before turning it on. Slowly add oil, a few drops at a time at first, then in a thin steady stream until mixture is thick, 2 to 3 minutes. Add wasabi mixture, soy sauce, and coriander, and pulse to combine, about 5 seconds. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

On a plate, mix generous amounts of black and white seasame seeds, cracked szechuan pepper, and salt with your fingers. Pat dry your long rectangular cut of tuna with paper towel, and then roll thoroughly on the plate, ensuring all sides are completely covered in the mixture including the ends. Wrap in plastic, and place in the fridge whilst preparing the other dishes.

Remove the skin from the cucumber, slice lengthways into long strips, and mix together with sesame oil, salt & pepper, lemon juice in a bowl. Garnish with some sesame seeds. 

Wrap the asparagus in a layer of proschuitto. Pan fry on a high heat in some sesame oil until brown.

In a new pan, place some sesame oil, and bring to a high heat. Place the tuna in the band for 30 seconds a side, including the ends. The idea is for there to be a thin sear around the tuna, with the inside completely raw. Now thinly slice and arrange on a place surrounded by the cucumber salad.

Now start making the sauce for the tuna and the asparagus. Mix the mirin, brown sugar, soy, and rice vinegar over heat until the sugar is dissolved. Drizzle over the tuna, and the asparagus.

Mix together miso paste, rice vinegar, sugar, water, ginger over heat. Slice eggplants in half, brush with oil, season and place under a broiler for 4-5 minutes until golden brown. Remove from heat, and spread the miso mix over the top of the eggplant so the entire top is covered. Make sure it is not too thick as it will overpower the eggplant. Place back under broiler until golden brown. Garnish with coriander and serve.

LOTSA' PASTA!

Marscapone Spaghetti with Bacon, Chilli, and Basil.

Friends coming to dinner and you're dead broke? Well, this is my $10 Dollar Dazzler meal. Well, $16 dollars actually, but still really cheap... and impressive. The trick is to cook equal parts of he yummy basil, chilli and bacon bits... and a LOT of it. Otherwise, it's pretty much just cheese and pasta. Also, having everything cut symmetrically into similar sized strips for some reason makes this dish more satisfying.

1 Packet of Spaghetti

1 Bunch of Basil cut into horizontal strips

3 Long Red Chillies seeded cut into horizontal strips

1 Tub of Marscapone

Grated Pecorini Cheese

6 Medium Cut lengths of Bacon cut into thin strips

Rock salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

Whilst heating water in a pot for the pasta, start cooking the bacon in a fry pan with some oil. When the bacon has crisped up, lower the heat and throw in the chillies. Cook for a minute, and then put that aside on some absorbent paper towels. Add some salt to the water and throw in the pasta. Keep the lid 90% on to make sure the water is at a strong boil.  

Once the pasta is cooked, drain the water then throw back in the pot. Add in the tub of marscapone cheese and stir around over a low heat. The cheese should start to melt. Now throw in the basil, chilli and bacon mix and season with a lot of salt and pepper. You will have to add quite an obscene amount of salt to get it tasting good since the cheese is very mild and mainly textural. Stir until the cheese is all melted, and you have seasoned to taste. Now serve with some additional fresh basil, chuck on some pecorini cheese, and some freshly cracked pepper. Not good for the waste line, but cheap, yummy and quick!

SUPERBOWL BBQ RIBS

Bourbon, Jalapeno BBQ Pork Ribs

This frankenstein rib recipe was inspired by things I like. Bourbon, jalapenos, American bbq sauce. And what more fitting a time to make them than superbowl sunday. I got the ribs from Costco, which was possibly one of the most stressful experiences of my life, but the ribs were super cheap / meaty / delicious.

Spice Rub
4 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar
4 tablespoons coarse salt
4 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
4 teaspoons hot paprika
4 teaspoons mustard powder
2 teaspoon celery seed

Marinate
1 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Healthy Dash of Worshtershire Sauce
1 Cup of Bullitt Bourbon or whatever you can find
Lemon Juice
2 Tablespoons of Cayenne Pepper / go as hot as you want
3 heaped teaspoons of Brown Sugar
1 cup of Chopped Jalapenos
3  Chopped Garlic Cloves

Barbecue Sauce
350ml of Smoked Hickory BBQ Sauce
200 ml of Tomato Sauce
Half a stick of Butter
60 ml Cider Vinegar
1 cup of Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon of Mustard Powder
1 Tablespoon of Cayenne Pepper
Splash of Worshteshire Sauce

Slaw
1 x White Cabbage
1 x Bunch of Coriander
Juice of 1 lime
5 Drops of Habanero hot sauce from Trader Joes
1.5 cups of mayo

I started this the day before. Pat off any extra liquid off the meat with an absorbent towel. Put the spices (excluding the brown sugar) in a pan and dry roast till fragrant. Rub spice mixture onto ribs, and set aside for an hour.

Combine marinate mixture in a bowl and pour over ribs in a big baking dish. Place in refrigerator and marinate overnight.

The next day, cover the baking dish with foil, and place in an oven on a low heat of 150 degrees celcius (300 Farrenheit) for 3.5 hours. Occasionally basting.

Combine the bbq sauce mixture in a saucepan over low heat, and set aside.

The meat should be falling off the bone now. Remove from marinate, and turn on your bbq to high. Get out a brush, and thickly apply the the bbq sauce mixture leaving some for when  the ribs are cooking, and for serving. Place ribs on high heat for 5 minutes a side, brushing them with more bbq sauce as they're cooking. Remove from heat, brush with more sauce. Let sit for 5 minutes then serve with some Pacificos, and some slaw. Go the Ravens!