Junior Masterchef - Beetroot Challenge

 

Watching tonight's Junior Masterchef 'Mystery Box Challenge' was really enjoyable. One of the ingredients was beetroot. One of my all-time favourite vegetables. There is a photo somewhere of me eating beetroot slices by a waterfall-fed river near Eden in the Eurobodalla region as a five year old. It is one of the things I love to cook with and eat and surprise people at how versatile this root vegetable can be.

One of my favourite recipes that features beetroot is Borscht. Something that has gone out of fashion but in the 70s was THE dinner party favourite amongst my Mother and her friends. I remember the first I tasted this recipe - served cold. It was quite a taste sensation for an eight year old who had always assumed soups would be hot, or at least warm. Get out your 70s cookbooks (or google for a recipe) and give it a try yourself. Perfect for these balmy spring nights and a great appetiser.

If your children hate beetroot give them a fresh view on it with these delicious Beetroot chips. If you are having trouble convincing them to give them a try offer a sweet chilli dipping sauce made with Greek Yoghurt. Trust me - they will love it!

For a gourmand try these Crumbed Mushrooms with Roasted beetroot cubes and avocado salad that I enjoyed at the Ocean Beach Hotel and re-acquainted me with my love of beetroot. The smokey flavour from roasting helped tease out the sweetness and crispy texture had beetroot haters salivating.


Roast Beetroot, Crumbed Mushrooms and Avocado Salad

Ingredients:

3 eggs
4 cups fresh breadcrumbs (or gluten free rice crumbs)
1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup finely chopped chives
salt & ground black pepper
400g medium button mushrooms, stems trimmed
olive oil, for deep frying
4 beetroots, cubed
1 avocado, seeded and sliced thinly
150g rocket or baby spinach leaves (or other salad leaf)
balsamic vinegar


Roasted Beetroot Method:

1. In a large bowl, combine the cubed beets, 2 tablespoons oil, 1/2 tablespoon vinegar, salt and pepper.
2. Cubes should now be placed on baking paper, arranged in a single layer so that they cook evenly.  Cover with foil and roast for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for a further 20 minutes or until the edges have turned golden and the beetroot is tender.  Arrange in a circle around the crumbed mushroom and avocado salad as a garnish.

Crumbed Mushroom Method:

1. Whisk eggs until well combined in a shallow dish. Set aside.
2. Combine the breadcrumbs, cheese, chives,  salt and pepper in a separate shallow dish.
3. Dip mushrooms one at a time in the egg mix,  then coat in the breadcrumb and
cheese mixture, pressing the breadcrumbs on to secure. Repeat with
remaining mushrooms, egg and breadcrumb mixture.
3. In a hot oil, deep-fry the mushrooms, a few at a time, until crumbs are golden. Lower onto paper towel to drain away excess oil and place in the oven to keep warm whilst you repeat with the rest of the mushrooms.

Avocado Salad Method:
In a large bowl combine baby spinach, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and top with crumbed mushrooms and garnish with beetroot

The Sauce That Can Go With Any Seafood

I LOVE seafood. When I was two my father owned an oyster lease up near Tin Can Bay in Queensland. My family operated a seafood business selling fish, prawns, crabs and oysters to people staying in the caravan parks and accommodation in Rainbow Beach and Noosa. My Dad is an expert at shucking oysters, peeling prawns and filleting fish. Both my Mum and Dad make wonderful sauces to go with seafood (recipes to come) but I doubt they can beat this Asian style seafood sauce similar to the one I encountered in a small restaurant in Hobart, Tasmania.

I stumbled upon it on foodbuzz.com and it took my interest straight away. The fresh flavours of lime, chilli and cilantro mixed with garlic and fish sauce work really well together and a very different accompaniment to seafood than the Australian standard of Tartare sauce or cocktail sauce. Give it a try and use some of the leftovers (if there are any) as a dipping sauce.

The Sauce That Can Go With Any Seafood
as seen on I Just Love My Apron,
found on Foodbuzz

Recipe and photo by I Just Love My Apron

Seafood Sauce-Asian Style

Yield: about 1/2 cup

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons fish sauce
4 tablespoons sugar
3 limes, juice
4 big garlic cloves
1-1 1/2 tablespoons chopped ginger
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
4 Thai Chilies (aka Bird's eye Chili)--Please adjust it to your preference

Directions:

• Add garlic, chili, ginger, and cilantro into a food processor. Pulse about 5 times until it's coarsely chopped.
• Add sugar, pulse 5 times until all mixed together
• Add fish sauce and lime juice, pulse 3 times. Sugar should be dissolved into the mixture.
• Taste to correction and adjust it to your preference.

Recipe: Pomegranate molasses

My foodie friend Maryann from Kiama asked me if I knew where to find Pomegranate molasses.
First I did a Google Australia search and found a link to an Gourmet Shopper - an online gourmet food products website which sells Pomegranate Molasses, then I hit gold and found a recipe from SMH Good Living article online

Pomegranate molasses

1.5 litres (6 cups) pomegranate juice
250ml (1 cup) lemon juice
220g (1 cup) caster sugar
Place all the ingredients in an enamel saucepan over a medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Once the sugar has dissolved, bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 1.5-2 hours, or until reduced to approximately 500ml (2 cups).
Remove from the heat and set aside to cool completely before placing in a jar. Keep refrigerated.
Makes 2 cups

Recipe and image from Bill Granger's recipe for Pomegranate Molasses on SMH Good Living

Recipe: Baked Ricotta with capers, thyme and Dorsogna

Baked Ricotta with capers, thyme and Dorsogna triple smoked ham:Vanessa Pike-Russell

The first time I tasted baked ricotta cakes was when I was living near the Gourmet Platter store in Corrimal. Once a week they had tastings of new products and I fell in love with the texture and flavour of their ricotta cakes with ham and capers.

Tonight I decided to make some for Philip and I since he treated me to a round of fresh ricotta. I felt like making something special to say thank you for all the nice things he does for me. I would not be as productive and successful without his support. He does the lion's share of the cooking and cleaning whilst I work on my photography and web design business which I am forever thankful for.

The recipe isn't difficult and you'll be surprised how good it tastes. If you spend the time whipping the egg whites you'll find the texture similar to a souffle - llght and fluffy. As Philip said, "Just close your eyes and enjoy."

Combine one cup of fresh ricotta cheese with the yolks of two eggs, diced capers, fresh thyme leaves, chopped dorsogna triple smoked ham, 1/3 cup of pizza cheese (mozzarella, parmesan and cheddar), salt and pepper. Whisk up the two egg whites and fold into the mixture a nthird at a time until gently combined.

Spoon into buttered ramekins and bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 350oF

Serve with a salad such as the mediterranean salad pictured which includes mixed salad greens, marinated kalamata olive, olive oil, garlic, diced tomato, lemon juice, lemon zest and chopped parsley. Delicious!

Blogged at illawarrafoodreviews.blogspot.com and
www.vanessapikerussell.com.au

The first time I tasted baked ricotta cakes was when I was living near the Gourmet Platter store in Corrimal. Once a week they had tastings of new products and I fell in love with the texture and flavour of their ricotta cakes with ham and capers.

Tonight I decided to make some for Philip and I since he treated me to a round of fresh ricotta. I felt like making something special to say thank you for all the nice things he does for me. I would not be as productive and successful without his support. He does the lion's share of the cooking and cleaning whilst I work on my photography and web design business which I am forever thankful for.

The recipe isn't difficult and you'll be surprised how good it tastes. If you spend the time whipping the egg whites you'll find the texture similar to a souffle - llght and fluffy. As Philip said, "Just close your eyes and enjoy."

Combine one cup of fresh ricotta cheese with the yolks of two eggs, diced capers, fresh thyme leaves, chopped dorsogna triple smoked ham, 1/3 cup of pizza cheese (mozzarella, parmesan and cheddar), salt and pepper. Whisk up the two egg whites and fold into the mixture a nthird at a time until gently combined.

Spoon into buttered ramekins and bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 350oF

Serve with a salad such as the mediterranean salad pictured which includes mixed salad greens, marinated kalamata olive, olive oil, garlic, diced tomato, lemon juice, lemon zest and chopped parsley. Delicious!

Blogged at illawarrafoodreviews.blogspot.com and
www.vanessapikerussell.com.au

Sneaking vegetables into recipes kids will love!

Mummified Times Five asked: 

Tell me, how do you get your fussy kids to eat vegetables?

I quite often have fussy eaters at my house. As a kid I was a fussy eater myself and would take hours to finish a meal if it included brussell sprouts, silverbeet or zucchini. I hated them with a passion! Nowadays I love all my vegetables, with the exception of brussell sprouts. I encourage children to try a little of everything on their plate and provide vegetables that are milder in flavour such as Bok Choy, Carrot, mashed potato (with pumpkin and creamed cauliflower) and after some perseverance I have been able to widen the range of vegetables that kids will eat. If that doesn't work then it's time to get sneaky :) 

When making a bolognaise, hamburger patty or fish cake I add grated or pureed vegetables. Carrot adds a sweetness which kids often enjoy and helps to mask the flavours of stronger vegetables such as cauliflower.

Another method to encourage kids (and some adults!) to eat their vegetables is to provide a range of chopped or sliced vegetables for the kids to putting on a personalised pizza. Common favourites are  sliced champignions (milder flavour than mushroom); baby spinach leaves or bok choy; root vegetables such as sweet potato or pumpkin; adding pureed vegetables to the tomato base;  adding a touch of pesto to garnish. 

Be clear up front that if they take anything off the pizza it will be taken away and it will be replaced with a big bowl of the vegetables instead. They don't have to eat all of their pizza but no part of the topping can come off once cooked. Given the choice of two options they'll usually decide to go for the option they hate the least and even a veggie laden pizza is better than none at all :) 

Another nifty way to hide vegetables is to cook and puree vegetables and add them to recipes such as macaroni and cheese as a 'white puree'. A few years back I saw a Today Tonight feature on the Sneaky Chef cookbook and its white, green, orange and purple purees to sneak vegetables and nutrition into kid-friendly food.

The white puree is made up of cauliflower, zucchini, lemon juice and water.

The 'green puree' made of spinach, broccoli, peas and water and is used in recipes such as the  speedy lasagne recipe

The 'purple puree' is made of baby spinach leaves, blueberries, lemon juice and water. 

The 'orange puree' is made with sweet potato or yam, carrots and water. 

You can read more about these sneaky recipes in her book 

  

The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for
 Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals
By Missy Chase Lapine

Recipe: Hungarian - Paprika Chicken with Nokedli (hungarian mini dumplings)

One of the things I miss most about living in Tasmania (2000-2002) is an amazing little cafe in Moonah called 'Cafe Eva'. It was run by the lovely Eva, a Hungarian friend I met through my husband who had been part of a babysitting ring of parents who would babysit for each other when their children were small. Eva is a larger than life personality who made you feel like you were a guest in her home the minute you walked in her small cafe on Main St. Moonah, ten minutes from bustling Hobart city. Sadly her cafe was sold and became a juice business but Cafe Eva and her famous Hungarian paprika chicken with homemade nockerli or nockedli (a Hungarian version of gnocchi but much smaller pieces) will always be close to my heart.

(Image source: Wikipedia Cuisine of Hungary)

Sadly Eva didn't pass on her recipe but I have found one that looks very close to the spirit of the dish that she cooked. The photo comes from Wikipedia Cuisine of Hungary and links to the Wikipedia page for Goulash

(Image source: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paprikahuhn)

Hungarian Paprika Chicken with Nokedli (Paprikáscsirke nokedlivel)

• 2 onions chopped
• 4 Tbsp. shortening, corn oil or lard
• 3 Tbsp. Hungarian paprika
• 1/8 Tsp. black pepper or whole pepper corns
• 2 Tsp. salt
• 4 to 5 lbs. chicken disjointed, use legs, thighs, breast and back for best flavour
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 pt. sour cream

1. Brown onions in shortening.
   
2. Add seasonings and chicken, brown 10 minutes.
   
3. Add water, cover and let simmer slowly until it is tender. It will smell wonderful!
   
4. Remove chicken, add sour cream to drippings in pan and mix well.
   
5. To thicken gravy, mix into a paste 1 Tbl. soft butter with 1 Tbl.of flour and stir into drippings.
6. Add dumplings and arrange chicken on top. Heat through,but do not boil, and serve.
   

The recipe includes some potato dumplings based on instant mashed potato but paprika chicken wouldn't be the same without some of Eva's famous nokedli (sounds like gnoccheli). A hungarian variety of gnocchi but made in small pearls of homemade goodness which, when coupled with paprika chicken, send you into a state of bliss.

Nokedli (Galuska)

Ingredients:
The dough just needs to be lightly combined. Over mixing will make this dumpling blend unworkable.
800g flour
4 eggs
Pinch salt
650ml water
Melted butter or oil

Method:
Bring 5 litres of water to the boil with 20g salt.
Beat eggs, water and add to sifted flour and salt.
Combine lightly and push through dumpling strainer with a spatula into the boiling water.
Remove dumplings with a slotted spoon when they rise to the surface of the water.
Roll in melted butter or oil before serving.

In the video it shows the chef using a Spaetzle Maker to form the miniature dumplings by pushing the dough through the holes into the boiling water. I found some Spaetzle Makers on Amazon, below and realised I already have a potato ricer with interchangeable ricer discs that I could use.

Eva's paprika chicken was served on a warmed plate with a blanket of nokedli (tiny hand-fashioned dumpling squiggles similar in texture to gnocchi), and the succulent, tender pieces of paprika chicken carefully placed on top and lashings of the amazing sauce covering most of the dumplings and sprinkled with some paprika and dollops of sour cream. Delicious!

---
More on chicken paprika from Wikipedia:

Goulash is a dish, originally from Hungary, a stew or a soup, usually made of beef, red onions, vegetables, spices and ground paprika powder.^[1] The name originates from the Hungarian gulyás (pronounced goo-yash listen (help·info)), the word for a cattle stockman or herdsman.

So Paprika Chicken (Paprikas) is a variant of Goulash

Paprikás

A slightly similar dish is Paprikas, made only with diced meat. Paprikas is made with chicken, lamb^[14], pork^[15], calf^[16] or goose, sometimes bones included (chicken cutlets or lamb). The meat is covered by a rich, thick creamy paprika sauce. Paprikás is usually made without any vegetables. The diced meat is seared with finely chopped fried onions and paprika, then simmered along with stock or water on low heat.^[17] Chicken paprikash is made with whole chicken pieces, legs, thighs, breast and back, onion and paprika, covered and cooked on a small fire, simmered until the chicken is tender, then sour cream and heavy cream is added to the gravy. If two or three tablespoons of paprika powder is used for spice and a generous amount of sour cream or cream (or a mixture of both) is added to the meat in the end, which is prepared the same way as the Pörkölt, it will become what the Hungarians call a Paprikás^[18]. Topping the dish with fresh chopped parsley gives the paprikás its special flavour. When making paprikás, a tasty vegetarian alternative is gombapaprikás - mushroom paprikas - where sliced mushrooms are used instead of meat.

Hungarian cookbooks

	The Hungarian Cookbook by Susan Derecskey
	Hungarian Cookbook: Old World Recipes for New World Cooks by Yolanda Nagy Fintor
	Helen's Hungarian Heritage Recipes by Clara Margaret Czegeny
	That Hungarian's in My Kitchen: 125 Hungarian/American Recipes by Linda F. Radke
	Magdi's Quick & Easy Hungarian & Other Gourmet Recipes by Magdi Zold
	German, Austrian, Czech and Hungarian: 70 Traditional Dishes from the Heart of European Cuisine (Cooking Around the World) by Lesely Chamberlian
	The Paprikas Weiss Hungarian Cookbook by Edward Weiss
	A Taste of the Past: The Daily Life and Cooking of a Nineteenth-Century Hungarian-Jewish Homemaker by Andras Koerner

References:

1. June Meyer's Authentic Hungarian Chicken Paprika
   http://homepage.interaccess.com/~june4/hunchicpaprikas.html
   
2. Answer to the question "Hungarian version of gnocchi - recipe please?" by louevans1970@btinternet.com on Yahoo Answers
   http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080113154908AAEpHqR
   
3. Food Safari video featuring the making of Nokedli
   http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipe/134/Porkolt_with_nokedli_and_cucumber_salad
4. Cuisine of Hungary
   http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Cuisine_of_Hungary
   
5. Recipe Bazaar Nodedli Dumplings
   http://www.recipezaar.com/Hungarian-Nokedli-Dumplings-54823
6. Group recipes Nokedli
   http://www.grouprecipes.com/9224/nokedli---hungarian-dumpling.html
7. Hungarian Food Recipes: Nokeldi-Galuska-Spaetzle
   http://hungarianfoodrecipes.blogspot.com/2007/06/nokeldi-galuska-spaetzle.html
   
8. Hungarian nockerli
   http://neocortext.blogspot.com/2008/03/hungarian-nockerli.html
9. Goulash place nokedli reference
   http://www.roadfood.com/Restaurant/Review/99-99/goulash-place

Bread wreaths and pullaparts

One of the things I miss about living in Corrimal (Wollongong City, NSW Australia) was The Gourmet Platter. It was a wonderful gourmet food store housed in the Corrimal Shopping World centre. It opened my eyes to a number of gourmet food experiences which would stay with me forever. Memories of their weekly food tastings, including a wide variety of cheeses or their home made baked ricotta with capers. Mmmm!

One of the products we bought on a regular basis was their spinach pull-apart breads. Moist, flavoursome bread with big chunks of cooked spinach and cheese. Delish! We also enjoyed the herbed bread wreaths, sprinkled with herbs such as rosemary and thyme. I took a wreath into a classroom I was teaching as part of my Bachelor of Education internship as they were celebrating the last week of a unit on Medieval history. The herbed bread wreath was a hit with young and old, and has links back to

I have decided to look for some recipes and make some for my dinner party to celebrate Christmas in July since I will be spending Christmas with my Step-son and his family in Tasmania, not with my family in New South Wales. Below is a recipe which I have made in the past and it is absolutely delicious! Photos to come

Spinach Pull-apart bread
Dough
¾ cup water
50 gram butter
1 tbsp sugar
1¼ tsp salt
2 tsp instant yeast or 1tsp active yeast
3 cups plain flour or gluten free flour

Filling
1 bunch (450 grams) spinash, washed and drained
120g marinated danish feta cheese, crumbled
tbsp lemon zest
lemon juice, to taste
pinch of salt, to taste


Method

1. Preheat oven to 350F (170C).
2. Mix together water,sugar, salt, butter, yeast and flour then kneed until the dough is soft and smooth.
3. Grease a large bowl and place kneaded mixture and leave to rise until doubled in height.
4. Place spinach leaves in hot water briefly to blanch them. Gently drain and set aside to cool before chopping. Add the marinated danish feta cheese, mix gently and add lemon zest and lemon juice. Adjust seasoning to taste.
5. Remove dough gently from bowl, add filling and gently divide into 8 portions, rolling each up to fit inside a rectangular 8 x 4 loaf pan.
6. Place in preheated oven and bake 30-40 minutes until golden and cooked through. Use a wooden skewer to test if needed. Skewer should be dry when removed if done.
7. For a nice crust you could sprinkle some cheese and diced ham onto the loafs a few minutes before they are done.

Bread wreath recipe and image source: O Pistachio

Recipe and photos: Zucchini Bread

ZUCCHINI BREAD

This is the second time I have made this bread but this time I took photos along the way.

Whisk 3 eggs until light and fluffy

Stir in 400g Sugar

Add 235ml Vegetable Oil

Stir well

Next, add 225gm of shredded zucchini

375gm plain flower

A pinch of ground cinnamon powder, 5g baking powder [1]

WalnutsCrush the nuts up either with a plastic bag or mortar and pestle

Add the crushed walnuts to the mixture

Add the dry ingredients (zucchini, flower, baking powder, cinnamon powder, ground walnuts to the wet ingredients (eggs, oil, sugar)

Stir dry ingredients until well combined and then pour the wet ingredients (egg, sugar, oil) and mix well and divide equally into two greased bread tins

Into the oven they go! And here is one of the Zucchini Bread loafs fresh from the oven!

The zucchini bread had a wonderful texture - light, moist and melted in the mouth. There was so much flavour and despite my concerns about the amount of sugar it had the right blend of flavours and leaves one wanting more.

Recipe source:
All Recipes: Zucchini Bread IV

1. Original recipe stated 1g baking powder, 5g baking soda but I didn't have any baking soda and so used 5g baking powder and the bread rose very well without the baking soda

2. The recipe stated 60g walnuts but I used what I had on hand

Recipe for baked ricotta

This is the recipe that we used tonight. Absolutely delicious!

Baked ricotta with olive salad

Search for similar recipes...

Serves 4

Ricotta
350 gm	ricotta
2	eggs, separated
75 gm	parmesan, finely grated
Pinch	nutmeg, freshly grated
Olive salad
200 gm	mixed olives
½ tsp	dried chilli flakes
1 clove	garlic, crushed
½	Thinly sliced zest of an orange
¼ cup	firmly packed flat-leaf parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp	extra-virgin olive oil

Source: http://gourmettraveller.com.au/baked_ricotta_with_olive_salad.htm

More cupcake ideas

Since my last post on cupcakes I have found some really eyecatching and inexpensive cupcake design ideas. Here are a few that I intend to make for a very special little girl who has cancer and has a limited diet (no artificial colours, flavourings or preservatives) and needs a sweet treat. She loves to help make things and I want to have everything ready for her next visit.

The cupcake to the left uses a slice of pineapple as a flower decoration. This is definitely an ingenious way to use something that can be eaten by someone on a restricted diet and act as a pretty garnish too.

I will be making a variation of the hummingbird cupcake to include carrot, banana, coconut and walnuts. The more fibre and nutrients the better, whilst giving that little bit of sweet treat that little girls need.

The frosting is a cream cheese frosting, which makes it a more nutrient-rich version of cupcake icing.

Ingredients

Makes 3 cups

• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
• 1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted

Directions

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and vanilla until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. With mixer on medium speed, gradually add butter, beating until incorporated.
2. Reduce mixer speed to low. Gradually add sugar, beating until incorporated. Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before using.

1. 
   

If you know of any recipes that might come in handy please leave a comment.


I would love to be off making some restaurant reviews but since I don't get paid to take photos or write reviews I have to drool from afar. It would be nice if some restaurant, cafe or cake shop would hire me to photograph their menu, a wedding or function but until then I pay for all meals and finances are tight at the moment. You know how it is.

Photo source:

Martha Stewart Cutest Cupcakes

Martha Stewart Dried pineapple flowers

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/hummingbird-cupcakes