skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Brussels sprouts are a great favourite with me, especially since I discovered that they could be roasted in the oven. That is definitely my most preferred way to eat these little green cabbagey things. My mother and I are the only two people in my family who would willingly and happily eat sprouts. My husband turns green at the sight of a sprout. Despite that, he always insists on having this vegetable as a side dish at Christmas dinner, and he'll even put a couple of them on his plate - but they remain untouched all through the meal and then they go straight into the bin. I've asked him why he wants sprouts on the table if he hates them so much, and why he puts them on his plate if he never means to eat them. The only answer I've received is a stubborn "There should be Brussels sprouts at Christmas dinner. It's a tradition." Yeah, his Christmas tradition being never to eat sprouts.
Anyway, my mother-in-law, brother-in-law, my niece and I all make up for Pete's boycott of the sprouts, because we all love them.
Today, inspired by Masterchef Australia 2016 (which I have been watching diligently and religiously), I decided to pan-fry my sprouts. I usually add a lot of chilli powder to my dry curries, but for some reason I refrained, just limiting myself to a pinch of Jaffna curry powder.
Cooking the sprouts on a slightly higher heat, covered, for 15 or so minutes helped them "caramelise" where they were in contact with the hot pan. Masterchef contestants (and judges) are very big on caramelisation, which I've interpreted as "crisp in places and just very slightly burnt".
Well, whatever the actual definition, the sprouts were absolutely delicious! i'm not joking when I say that I kept eating them straight from the pan - the caramelised bits were lovely and crunchy, the inner bits were soft... seriously, just thinking about it is making me salivate. I still have a few sprouts left and I'm very certain I'll be making this again tomorrow. Thank you, Masterchef Australia, for the caramelisation fixation!
Recipe for: Pan-roasted Brussels sprouts
Ingredients:
15 medium sprouts
1 tbsp oil
1/4 tsp asafoetida powder (optional)
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp Jaffna curry powder (or any curry powder or garam masala you might have)
Salt to taste
Method:
1. Trim the sprouts and cut into quarters.
2. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the asafoetida powder and coriander powder and stir it for 30 seconds. Then add the quartered sprouts, sprinkle the curry powder or garam masala over, and stir to coat the sprouts in the oil and spices.
3. Keep the heat just below medium-high and cover the pan. Let the sprouts cook for 15 minutes undisturbed. Then take off the lid and check to see that they are cooked. They should be beautifully caramelised from the prolonged undisturbed contact with the hot pan. Sprinkle the salt over the cooked sprouts and stir it in.
4. Take the pan off the heat and serve the sprouts hot as a side with rice and sambar. (I ate most of them straight from the pan because they were just that delicious.)
I recently read a book called "The Secret Supper Club" by Dana Bate, which was about this woman who worked as a research assistant, but whose dream was to become a cook - or chef, I suppose (which is really just a posh word for "cook"). It was a good if light read, just what I'd wanted at that point.
I'm not really going to do a book review, but I had to mention the book because there were a few recipes at the end, of things that she'd made for her secret supper club guests, and the first of them was a recipe for deviled eggs. The rest of the recipes I was not interested in because they were rather too elaborately non-vegetarian. But this one seemed doable, so I did.
I made a couple of minor changes, but mostly this recipe is as the book had it. The filling turned out to be much more lemon-sharp than I'd anticipated, and I think it's because I used perhaps a tablespoon's worth of lemon juice rather than the 1/2 tsp called for. It wasn't really a huge mistake for us, in any case, because Pete and I both love the sourness.
Recipe for:
Curried devils (deviled eggs)
Ingredients:
8 large eggs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp medium or mild curry powder (or use 1/4 tsp garam masala)
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh chives
1/4 tsp smoked hot paprika/cayenne pepper
Kosher salt & freshly milled black pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp sweet paprika for garnish
Method:
1. Place the eggs carefully in a large saucepan and fill with cold water to come up to 1" above the eggs.
2. Bring to a bubbling boil, then turn the heat off, cover the pan and leave for exactly 14 minutes.
3. Then drain off the water and fill the pan again with very cold water, to stop the eggs cooking any further. Set aside for 10 minutes, then peel the eggs and slice them in half vertically.
4. Remove the yolks to a small bowl. Mash them smooth with a fork, then add the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, curry powder/garam masala, lemon juice, chives and hot paprika and mix thoroughly. Taste the mixture, adding a bit more of whatever you feel is lacking. Add salt (careful with this as the mayonnaise will already have salt) and pepper to taste and mix one final time.
5. Spoon the egg yolk mixture into a sealable sandwich bag or Ziploc bag (or use a disposable pastry bag) piling the filling as far as possible into one corner. Snip off the corner of the bag with scissors, then pipe the mixture into the egg whites. Sprinkle with a little sweet paprika to garnish, and serve at room temperature or cold.
Note: If you have any mixture left over (and going by my experience, you will), use it in a sandwich, or as a spread on toast. You can store the unused mixture in a sealed container in the refrigerator for a day.
It started with two boiled potatoes. They were left over because I'd cooked too many. I had cooked too many because the potatoes were pretty elderly and showing signs of wanting to procreate, and I didn't want to waste them.
The thing was, I didn't really know what to make with the leftover potatoes. I didn't want to make the usual tikkis or bondas - apart from being boring, they weren't suitable for the food blog (because they'd already been featured some time ago).
The box grater was on the kitchen counter, and absent-mindedly I grated the potatoes. Now there was a pile of somewhat gooey grated potatoes - and no real clue what to do with it.
So I peeled an onion and chopped it. Now I had: 1. A pile of grated cooked potatoes and 2. A chopped onion. Only one thing to do thereafter, so I heated up a tsp of oil and part cooked the onion. Some spinach caught my eye and I added that in, then the potatoes, and mixed it all up with a bunch of herbs that I've got growing (basil, thyme and rosemary) on the windowsill. And I also added salt and lots of freshly milled black pepper.
It was beginning to look like tikkis were going to happen, whether I wanted it or not.
Luckily, Pete came in just then, sniffing the air because the potato mixture smelt really rather nice. He tasted the mixture and decided to improve it by adding some parmesan cheese. He tasted it again and said that there was something still missing... and that something turned out to be mustard.
Mustard loves cheese in some mysterious way, sharpening its edges and making the cheese cheesier rather than mustard-y. It's a strange alchemy that I absolutely do not want explained in any scientific manner - it's enough for me that the mustard and cheese love each other. (Food engineers please take note.) And by the way, mustard in a cauliflower-cheese bake is fabulously good!
But we're not discussing cauliflower-cheese bake in this post, so I will desist. So, back to what I was saying... at that point, I suddenly remembered the block of puff pastry in the fridge. And just like that, the fate of the potato-cheese was decided. Not tikkis, but potato-cheese puffs. What a brilliant idea that turned out to be! Of course the parmesan alone wasnt enough, so some mature Cheddar was invited to the puff party.
Ok, I didn't make the puff pastry from scratch. Sure, the shop-bought stuff has some preservatives in it, but I buy it so rarely that I figure it's not going to make that much difference to the temple of holiness that our bodies are supposed to be. I like cooking, but making puff pastry from scratch... no, I don't think so. Life is too short.
Anyway, the puffs were absolutely lovely - not TOO cheesy, but beautifully savoury. And filling, too.
Recipe for: Spinach-potato-cheese puffs
Ingredients:
1 pack shop-bought puff pastry
2 large potatoes, boiled and grated
1 cup spinach leaves, sliced or torn up
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tbsp fresh herbs (thyme, basil, rosemary), chopped
3 tbsp grated parmesan
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes
1 tsp medium curry powder
1 htsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a pan and add the chopped onions and herbs.
2. When the onions begin to soften (about a minute or so), add the spinach leaves.
3. Stir-fry the spinach till it's just wilted, then add the grated potatoes.
4. Mix with a light hand till the spinach is evenly distributed.
5. Turn off the heat and let the potato mixture cool. Once cool, mix in the parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste, the mustard and the curry powder.
6. Finally, add the cubed cheddar to the mixture. Reserve till required.
7. Now, roll the puff pastry into a rectangle. Cut it into four or five strips, depending on what size you want the puffs to be, then cut the strips in half again. Place 2-3 tbsp of the filling on one half, spreading it out to within 1/2 cm of the edges.
8. Place the other half of the strip over the filling and ensure that the filling is fully encased. Crimp the edges of the pastry to stop the filling from leaking. Use the remaining dough and filling in the same way. Make two or three slashes across the top of each puff with a sharp knife - this will make it look pretty when finished.
9. Bake the puffs in a hot oven (180C/350F) until they are golden brown and cooked.
10. Serve warm with a salad.
RECIPE: SPINACH-POTATO-CHEESE PUFFS
Ingredients
1 pack shop-bought puff pastry
2 medium potatoes, boiled and grated
1 cup spinach leaves, sliced or torn up
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tbsp fresh herbs (thyme, basil, rosemary), chopped
3 tbsp grated parmesan
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes
1 tsp medium curry powder
1 htsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
1. Heat the oil in a pan and add the chopped onions and herbs.
2. When the onions begin to soften (about a minute or so), add the spinach leaves.
3. Stir-fry the spinach till it's just wilted, then add the grated potatoes.
4. Mix with a light hand till the spinach is evenly distributed.
5. Turn off the heat and let the potato mixture cool. Once cool, mix in the parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste, the mustard and the curry powder.
6. Finally, add the cubed cheddar to the mixture. Reserve till required.
7. Now, roll the puff pastry into a rectangle. Cut it into four or five strips, depending on what size you want the puffs to be, then cut the strips in half again. Place 2-3 tbsp of the filling on one half, spreading it out to within 1/2 cm of the edges.
8. Place the other half of the strip over the filling and ensure that the filling is fully encased. Crimp the edges of the pastry to stop the filling from leaking. Use the remaining dough and filling in the same way. Make two or three slashes across the top of each puff with a sharp knife - this will make it look pretty when finished.
9. Bake the puffs in a hot oven (180C/350F) until they are golden brown and cooked.
10. Serve warm with a salad. Spinach-potato-cheese puffs
Yep, I've jumped onto the "rice salad" bandwagon, despite my doubts about what a salad actually is. :) Or perhaps I should call this a no-cook "raw" pulao. A salad by any other name - probably tastes exactly the same... right? I actually wasn't entirely certain if this would be to my taste, but as it turned out, it's delicious - IF you like raw onions. I do, and I think the salad tasted even better for sitting overnight in the fridge, when I had it the next day for lunch. At room temperature, I should add. I don't like to eat anything that's refrigerator-cold... not even sandwiches. It has to be room temperature, at the very least.
PS. I saw this recipe on someone's blog, but for the life of me I can't remember whose it was. If you recognise this recipe, dear blogger, please give me a heads-up and I will add a link to your original recipe together with an acknowledgement.
Recipe for: Curried brown rice salad
Ingredients:
1/3 cup brown basmati rice
2 tbsp red onion, minced
2 tbsp green bell pepper, minced
1/3 cup chickpeas, cooked (fresh or canned)
3 tbsp coriander, chopped fine
1 tsp sultanas/raisins
1 tsp sliced almonds, toasted, for garnish
For the dressing:
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp orange blossom honey
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp commercial curry powder (I used Schwartz medium-hot)
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
1. Soak the brown rice for a few hours if possible; put the soaked rice in a pan with a well fitting lid and add 2/3 cup water. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to a gentle simmer, cover the pan and let the rice cook till all the water has been absorbed (about 15 minutes). Let the cooked rice sit undisturbed for 15 minutes.
Once it has cooled, fluff gently with a fork. Reserve.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the salad ingredients bar the toasted almonds.
Then add the rice and mix gently to combine.
3. In a small bowl, whisk the ingredients for the dressing.
Pour the dressing over the salad and mix again, adding salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the dressing ingredients.
Fluff with a fork so as not to make the rice mushy.
Sprinkle the toasted almonds over. Serve at room temperature, or chilled.
RECIPE: CURRIED BROWN RICE SALAD
Ingredients:
1/3 cup brown rice
2 tbsp red onion, minced
2 tbsp green bell pepper, minced
1/3 cup chickpeas
3 tbsp coriander, chopped fine
1 tsp sultana/raisins
1 tsp sliced almonds, toasted
For the dressing:
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp orange blossom honey
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp commercial curry powder (I used Schwartz medium-hot)
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
1. Soak the brown rice for a few hours if possible; put the soaked rice in a pan with a well fitting lid and add 2/3 cup water. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to a gentle simmer, cover the pan and let the rice cook till all the water has been absorbed (about 15 minutes). Let the cooked rice sit undisturbed for 15 minutes. Once it has cooled, fluff gently with a fork. Reserve.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the salad ingredients bar the toasted almonds. Then add the rice and mix gently to combine.
3. In a small bowl, whisk the ingredients for the dressing. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix again, adding salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the dressing ingredients. Fluff with a fork so as not to make the rice mushy. Serve at room temperature.
