Pumpkin, Chickpea and Lemongrass Curry

Ingredients

[For paste]

2 large golden shallots (or 3 French shallots), peeled and roughly chopped
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
10 dried chillis, soaked in hot water to soften then drained
2 large red chillis, deseeded and sliced
2.5cm (1 inch) nub of young ginger or galangal, peeled and sliced
1 lemongrass, lower bulb removed and sliced thinly
2 kaffir lime leaves
1/2 Tbl of oil

[For curry]

200ml coconut milk
250ml vegetable/chicken stock or water
100g dried chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight and cooked
500g sweet pumpkin, rind removed and chopped into 3 cm chunks
150-200g green beans, chopped into 5cm lengths
1 Tbl of (firmly packed) brown sugar or palm sugar (or to taste)
2 kaffir lime leaves
Fish sauce
Coriander

Method

You’ll need to begin this recipe the day before. Soak the dried chickpeas in plenty of cold water in the fridge for at least 24 hours. Then bring a pot of water to a boil and add the soaked chickpeas. Simmer for about 1.5 hours or until chickpeas are cooked through. Strain and set aside.

To make the paste, grind all the paste ingredients together in a food processor or mortar pestle until it has been completely pulverised.

In a wok or pot, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground paste and fry for a few minutes or until fragrant (be careful not to burn).

Add the coconut milk and stock/water. Bring to a boil then reduce to a low simmer. Add the pumpkin, cooked chickpeas and kaffir lime leaves and simmer gently for about 10 minutes before adding the green beans. Simmer for a further 30-35 minutes or until the vegetables are tender (time may vary depending on the thickness of your diced pumpkin).

Season with brown/palm sugar for sweetness and fish sauce for saltiness. Feel free to add more stock or water if the curry is too thick for your liking (personally I prefer it a little liquidy for perfect rice drenching).

Garnish with coriander and serve with steamed rice or white sticky rice.

Cabbage Salad

100 grams peas, podded (about 250gm unpodded)
500 grams Chinese cabbage, shredded finely
1 long red chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped
1 red capsicum, julienne
80 grams parmesan, finely shaved (use a sharp knife, or a peeler to get fine slivers of cheese)
1 handful basil leaves, finely shredded

100 ml extra virgin olive oil
50 ml lemon juice

For dressing: Whisk olive oil and lemon juice together, season.

Blanch peas in boiling salted water until bright green (1-2 minutes), drain and refresh, drain again and reserve.

Mix cabbage, peas, capsicum, basil, chilli and half the cheese with the dressing. Mix gently (use your hands!) for a few minutes until the cabbage starts to wilt. Adjust seasoning then serve topped with remaining parmesan.

Autumn Panzanella

1/2 loaf bread (sourdough would be lovely, but I used homemade country white)

1 1/2 Tablespoon Tahini
juice of 1 lemon
olive oil
2 zucchini
1/2 spanish onion
1/2 red chilli
2 cloves garlic
handful of rocket

Cube the bread, spread evenly onto baking tray and dry in a warm oven until crunchy.
Slice the zucchini’s and fry til lightly browned in a little olive oil. Remove from pan and add sliced onion and cook lightly. When onion is almost done, add sliced chilli and garlic. Cook for a minute then mix with cooked zucchini in a bowl.
For Dressing:
Mix tahini with olive oil and lemon juice. This dressing will inevitable emulsify so loosen with some water as we want a runny dressing for the croutons to soak up.

Add croutons to vegetables, pour dressing over and mix well. Add rocket and season with sea salt and pepper, mix lightly to dress the leaves evenly.
Serve and eat immediately.

Almost Nicoise

3 soft boiled eggs (cover room-temperature eggs in cold water in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil, then turn down to a gentle simmer and cook for 5 mins. Remove and refresh. Peel. The yolks should still be softish and creamy.)
green beans, blanched
100g tinned tuna
potatoes, boiled until tender
2 tomatoes
1/2 spanish onion, finely sliced
salad leaves
olives

for viniagrette:
1T lemon juice,
3T very good extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper.

Stuffed mushrooms

5 large field mushrooms
1 red capsicum, diced finely
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons crumbly goats cheese, or fetta
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1/2 long red chilli, finely sliced
1/2 bunch coriander,
1 tablespoon olive oil.

Remove the stalks from 4 of the mushrooms and set aside. Arrange the 4 stalk-less mushrooms in small baking pan – it is best if they are nestled together in a just big enough vessel.
Cut the stalks and remaining mushroom in a medium dice, set aside. Wash the coriander and finely slice the stalks. Heat a small pan and fry the mushroom with 1/2 the olive oil. Add the coriander stalks, garlic, chilli and capsicum, season with salt and pepper and cook until the mushroom and capsicum are just tender and the flavours have combined. Set aside and mix in toasted pine nuts and crumbled goats cheese.
Fill the mushrooms with the filling mixture. Don’t worry if a little overflows, it will shrink down a bit during cooking. Drizzle over the remaining oil, and add a few tablespoons of water to the pan, in the gaps between the mushrooms. Cover with foil and bake at 180C for about 20 minutes. The mushrooms should be tender. Remove the foil and continue to cook for another few minutes to brown the top and evaporate some of the juices.
Serve hot, warm or cold, topped with chopped coriander leaves.

Cheese and Spinach Rolls

Cheese and Spinach Rolls
makes 8 small rolls (serves 4 for lunch with salad).
These measurements aren’t exact, and don’t need to be. More or less cheese, or different varieties will all work. Experiment!

2 eggs
250g chopped cooked spinach
150g ricotta
1t ground nutmeg
1/4 cup grated parmesan
2 sheets packaged pre-prepared puff pastry, defrosted.
salt and pepper.

For mixture:
Combine spinach, eggs, cheeses and seasoning and mix until combined.

Assembly:
Cut puff pastry into quarters, place 1/8 of mix onto each square and shape into rolls, as shown below.

Place rolls on two lined baking sheets and brush lightly with eggwash. Bake at 180C for about 15 – 20 mins or until the pastry is browned and crispy. Serve immediately.

Silken tofu with garlic ponzu dressing

Garlic-Ponzu sauce

Prepare the night before, and it will keep, after straining, in the fridge for up to a week. Makes a great salad dressing or even a dipping sauce for steak.

1 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp dashi granules

1 tbsp mirin

1 tbsp water

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 lemon, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced finely

1 tsp szechuan peppers

Dissolve a teaspoon of sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of dashi granules in the water and mirin in a small pan, until bubbling. Add the soysauce and take off the heat.

Pour over the sliced lemons in a sealable, non-reactive container. Add the minced garlic and peppers, stir and mash the lemons a little to release some juice. Refrigerate overnight.

To serve, strain, squeezing as much of the juice from the lemons as possible, so that a nice citrusy tang is added.

Boil and shell some frozen edamame, according to package instructions, and serve over silken tofu, with chopped spring onions and sauce.