Relishing Royalty

Finally Summer has hit with a vengeance, and I’m loving it. My social life is crazy right now, as everyone is just happier in the warmer weather and there are so many outdoor things to enjoy in Perth when the sun is shining :), not to mention the silly season is upon us – Christmas parties, lunches, concerts, street festivals – so much is going on right now and I’m really having a ball.

I was recently reading historian Kate Williams‘ book Young Elizabeth : The Making of Our Queen, which mentioned the dish created by royal chefs to be served at the Queen’s coronation lunch in 1953. Aptly titled Coronation Chicken, this dish has become an iconic British chicken salad dish, with many variations.

Basically this is poached chicken, dressed with a mixture of mayonnaise, curry powder and fruit chutney.

You can see both the original recipe and a healthier, modern take by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, here. I made mine above by taking elements from both – I used low-fat mayonnaise and Greek yoghurt for the dressing base, and fruit chutney rather than apricots, but I did poach 2 chicken breasts rather than use leftover cooked chicken. I also topped with shaved parmesan to cut through the sweetness, but actually it was still too sweet for me – too kind of “fruity” in an overpowering kind of way.

I like the concept, and it was easy to make, but I will try it again with just yoghurt and no mayo next time, and chopped dried fruit instead of the very strong fruit chutney.

Happy Summer Fooding!

 

Another Quick Salad

Creating a healthy meal in a hurry does not have to be complicated. This salad incorporated what I had on hand at the time, as well as including beetroot and pear, two things that (according to practitioners of Chinese medicine) are very good for the skin. As I have had rosacea for years, I try anything and everything to give my skin a helping hand.

Steam 1 whole beetroot in the microwave (skin on or off, up to you). Trim roots and cut into wedges.

Place a heap of baby spinach leaves on your plate, and top with beetroot wedges, chopped pieces of ripe pear, chopped avocado, bits of cheese of your choice (I used torn bits of shaved Jarslberg as that’s what I had, but I also like feta or blue, or sauted cubes of yummy haloumi) and a sprinkling of walnuts.

For a dressing, just whisk together some extra-virgin olive oil, sherry vinegar (use balsamic if you can’t find sherry vinegar, which is expensive but lovely for this kind of thing) and a bit of dijon mustard – drizzle over the salad and tuck in!

Happy Summer Fooding!

The Warmth Hath Arriveth

I should have mentioned about the lack of Summer weather earlier, because as soon as I posted about how cold and wet it was, the heat arrived! And I am certainly not complaining now – it’s quite lovely and should remain so now for the next 5 or so months. Hooray!

So……salad time.

After a couple of days of not eating proper meals, in fact not eating much at all I have to say, as well as too much wine consumption (what can I say, my friends are a bad influence….), I was badly in need of something healthy and vibrant. This dish, adapted from a recent Super Food Ideas recipe, fit the detox bill perfectly – light and crunchy, great colours, full of vitamins and goodness, and tasting great too.

Chicken & Broccolini Salad

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp light soy sauce

2 skinless chicken breast fillets (about 500 gms)

2 bunches broccolini, cut into 3cm pieces

⅓ cup pine nuts

¼ cup dukkah (whatever flavour you like – I used Hot Chilli by Gourmet Spice Blends from Mt Tamborine, Queensland)

zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

60 gms baby spinach leaves

Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a deep fry pan or wok. Add chicken fillets; brown on both sides then add the soy sauce, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes until cooked all the way through (add a splash of water if it starts to stick). Remove from pan, cover with foil and let rest for 5 minutes then slice and put aside.

Steam broccolini pieces in microwave for 2 minutes on HIGH; let stand for a few minutes then drain.

Heat the other tbsp of olive oil in the same frypan or wok; add pine nuts and dukkah and stir frequently for 1-2 minutes until starting to toast and become aromatic. Returned sliced chicken to pan along with all remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly and gently heat through until spinach wilts.

Serves 2-3

Happy Summer Fooding!

Restaurant Review: Gurkhas Nepalese

11 of us went to the relatively new Gurkhas Nepalese Restaurant in Highgate for dinner last weekend, following pre-drinks at the Brisbane Hotel, which is only a stone’s throw away.

Four of us chose to have the $38.50 banquet so that we could try a few different dishes. The starter was delicious mo-mos (steamed dumplings), with a meat filling and a bit of spice, and little paneer-filled spring roll type things that were divine.

Service was good, our main waiter was super friendly and very happy to change the listed banquet dish of Butter Chicken to Chicken Tikka Masala instead. We also had goat, cooked on the bone – the meat was lovely and tender, but I’m not so fussed about having to deal with big chunks of bone in my meal when I’m out – and very nice Palak Paneer, one of my favourite Indian dishes.

The Tarka Dal was beautiful, quite an unusual blend of spices and unlike any dal I’ve had before – quite runny in texture, but it tasted really, really good. We had plain and saffron rice, and plain and garlic naan bread.

Serving sizes were not overly big – we ate the lot and I was full, but only just.

We could choose whichever dessert from the menu that we wanted (I didn’t have one, as Indian desserts I do not find appealing at all, but the rice pudding and ice cream was enjoyed by the others).

I like my food very hot and spicy, and these dishes were not particularly so – I guess a banquet is designed to suit a blander palate than mine – but it was very happily enjoyed by the other three, who were not very familiar with Indian style foods. Next time I would order my own individual dishes so that I could ask for things to be made extra hot!

Currently Gurkhas is BYO only, with a corkage charge of $2.50 for each wine-drinking guest (this is VERY cheap for Perth), and we were informed that they have applied for a full liquor licence, but the process takes a long time. There is no bottle shop close by, so being licenced will be a plus for those like me who always forget to take a bottle and then have to rush off to the nearest bottle-o to grab something!

Overall a good value eating place, close to the city, relaxed atmosphere with friendly staff – not stupendously fantastic, but then again not horribly overpriced and pretentious like some Perth restaurants. Gurkhas is certainly worth going back to.

Happy Fooding!

And The Winner Is…..

Despite my lack of decoration, and concern about the lack of sweetness, all of the gingerbread I made last weekend was chomped up and pronounced quite edible. Phew!

I’ve been very busy working a lot this week, plus attending a work Christmas breakfast and library Christmas party last night. I made spinach bites and vegetarian sausage rolls to take to the party, which was a casual bbq and loads of fun. Jane, who hosted, made some fabulous salads, including things like haloumi, roasted vegies, brown rice, and 3 dishes of potato bake that disappeared very rapidly! As a couple of people there could not eat eggs, I replaced the egg with milk, in the spinach bites, and it worked just as well, so that’s good to remember. As usual, everyone was surprised to find that the sausage rolls were vegetarian, as they taste so “meaty”.

I also made a batch of Christmas truffles – very boozy and rich – which I will share with you later.

Thank you to the 14 entries in my cookie cutter giveaway! I drew 2 names out this morning, and the lucky winners are….. Chris, from here in Perth, and Lindy, from Melbourne. I will be in touch with the winners privately to arrange their cookie cutter deliveries in time for Christmas.

I felt a bit post-Christmas-party-seedy this morning lol, but I’m sure I will have recovered by the time I get home from work tonight and be ready for a glass of wine again……

Happy Christmas Fooding!

Making Your Own Paneer

I came across these pics recently, from two years ago when I made my own paneer one day. It was very successful and my then-husband used it to make Palak Paneer, a spinach & cheese Indian dish that I do not now have the recipe for – I think we just randomly selected one online somewhere.

The paneer recipe itself is here – step-by-step easy instructions with great photos.

I remember I did have a little trouble getting the milk to separate – it said use vinegar OR lemon juice, and whichever one I used didn’t make it happen so I ended up adding the other – but now I can’t recall which way around I added them! Apart from that it worked out really well and really does end up making a ball of cheese!

Don’t be deceived – it might look small but in fact this made a BIG piece – more than twice what we needed for the spinach dish – so it pays to make this when you want to use a lot of paneer within a few days, or are making an enormous quantity for a big Indian feast!

Happy Fooding!

Spicy Potato & Lentil Curry

This warming vegetable curry is super easy and quick, and makes a great side dish as well as a main vegetarian dish. If serving as a main, have some naan bread and raita or Greek yoghurt on the side, and you won’t be disappointed. The potatoes will break up easily when it’s done, and in fact you could squish them up quite a bit and make this a great filling for roti or tortillas.

And don’t worry, despite the 2 chillies, it is actually NOT high in heat.

Spicy Potato & Lentil Curry

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion (any kind), finely chopped

2 red or green chillies, finely chopped

5 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tbsp coriander seeds, ground

1 tbsp turmeric

6 medium potatoes, cut into 5mm slices

2 x 400 gm cans lentils, drained & rinsed

2 cups vegetable stock

100 gms baby spinach leaves

cracked pepper, to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, and saute the onion, chill and garlic for 3-4 minutes, stirring often. Add coriander, turmeric and potatoes, and saute for 5 minutes.

Add lentils, stock and cracked pepper, and simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are very soft. Add the baby spinach and fold through for about a minute until it has wilted.

Serves 6-8 as a side dish or 3-4 as a main.

Happy Fooding!

Spinach Bites

Some more nibbles from my NYE party goodies for tonight’s party……this time a vegetarian spinach ball that the meat eaters will love as well. Make double if you like as there are never any left over!

Spinach Bites

2 x 250gm pkts frozen chopped spinach

200gm pkt stuffing mix

1/3 cup butter, melted

2 eggs

cracked pepper, to taste

3 cloves garlic, crushed

Microwave the frozen spinach according to the packet instructions; cool and drain. Add to all remaining ingredients; mix together well and form into bite-sized balls. Place on a greased oven tray, spray lightly with olive oil spray and bake for 15 minutes at 190C.

Serve with sweet chilli sauce or satay sauce, for dipping.

Makes 38-40

Happy fooding and Happy New Year!

Vegetable Curry

Freshly ground spices and garlic make this into something out of the ordinary – not particularly hot, but full of flavour. Serve with brown rice, yoghurt & naan bread, and take the leftovers to work for lunch the next day (if there are any….).

Vegetable Curry

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp cumin seeds (whole)

1 cinnamon stick

1 large brown onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, crushed

250 gms button mushrooms, cut into 3mm slices

425 gm can diced tomatoes

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp cumin seeds, freshly ground

2 tsp coriander seeds, freshly ground

2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp chilli paste

2 x 425 gm cans chickpeas, drained & rinsed

1 bunch fresh coriander, chopped (about 3/4 cup)

cracked pepper, to taste

100 gms baby spinach leaves

1 tbsp lemon juice

Heat oil in medium saucepan over moderate heat.  Cook cumin seeds and cinnamon stick for 30 seconds, stirring until fragrant.  Add onion and garlic; cook for 3 mins until soft.  Add mushrooms; cook until wilted.  Stir through tomato, water, ground cumin, coriander, turmeric and chilli.  Simmer for 10 mins, stirring occasionally.  Add chickpeas and coriander and pepper; simmer for 10 mins longer.  Stir through spinach and lemon juice until wilted.

Remove cinnamon stick before serving.

Serves 4

Happy Fooding!

Light & Healthy Pasta

This was an interesting meal – I am now doing some casual library work, and after arriving home last Saturday I was pretty exhausted. Did not feel like cooking anything too time consuming, but I was hungry and really wanted something healthy and refreshing. I decided to try this recipe from the current Super Food Ideas magazine – literally just cooked pasta with salmon, herbs and lemon juice folded through.

The original recipe called for rocket, which I find too bitter, so I substituted baby spinach instead, and I also added some green beans, as I had bought some lovely fresh ones that day.

I really loved this dish; however, my boyfriend hated it! He is usually very appreciative of my cooking efforts and has a reputation at work for bringing in delicious leftovers for his lunch. Not this time though – I ate the rest cold as a salad for my next two lunches, which I was quite happy to do as it meant I didn’t have to share it and could be a complete pig lol.

See what you think anyway……

Smoked Salmon Penne

500 gms dried penne pasta

2 tbsp fresh chives, chopped

1/3 cup fresh dill, chopped

finely grated zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

130 gms smoked salmon, chopped

100 gms baby spinach leaves

180 gms green beans

extra lemons, cut into wedges, for serving

Cut green beans into 5cm lengths and cook for 2 minutes in a little water, on HIGH in the microwave. Drain.

Cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling, salted water, until tender. Drain and return to pan.

Add all ingredients to the cooked pasta and toss gently to combine until the spinach wilts.

Serve with lemon wedges.

Serves 4

Happy Fooding!