Saturday 26 October 2013

Salmon Patties With Lemon And Dill

  • 800g  potatoes, peeled, halved
  • 415g can pink salmon, drained, skin and bones removed
  • 3 green onions, trimmed, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
  • 1 teaspoon lemon rind
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup plain flour
  • 1 1/4 cups dried panko breadcrumbs
  • Vegetable oil, for shallow frying
  • 1 cucumber, halved lengthways, sliced
  • 2 celery stalks, trimmed, thickly sliced
  • 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons French dressing
  • Lemon wedges, to serve
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  • Place potato in a saucepan. Cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over high heat. Boil for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain. Return to pan over low heat. Toss until excess liquid has evaporated. Mash potatoes. Place potato in a bowl. Stir in salmon, green onion, dill, lemon rind, lemon juice and 1 egg. Season. Using wet hands, shape into 12 patties.

  • Place flour and breadcrumbs in separate shallow dishes. Lightly whisk remaining egg and 1 tablespoon cold water in shallow dish. Coat patties in flour, shaking off excess. Dip in egg mixture. Coat in breadcrumbs. Place on a tray lined with baking paper.
  • Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Shallow-fry patties for 5 to 6 minutes each side until golden and crisp. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel.

  • Combine cucumber, celery, onion and dressing in a bowl. Toss to coat. Serve patties with salad and lemon wedges.
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Spinach And Parmesan Souffles

  • 30g butter
  • 1 1/2 tbs plain flour
  • 185ml (3/4 cup) milk
  • 1 bunch English spinach, ends trimmed, finely chopped
  • 60g (3/4 cup) finely grated parmesan
  • 3 eggs, separated
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper
  • Melted butter, to grease
  • 2 tbs dried breadcrumbs
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  • Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and use a wooden spoon to stir until the mixture is smooth. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until the mixture bubbles. Remove from heat. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly until the mixture is smooth. Place the pan over medium heat. Bring to the boil and cook, stirring constantly, for 3-5 minutes or until the mixture thickens. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, until the spinach wilts.

  • Remove the pan from heat and stir in the parmesan. Transfer the mixture to a large heatproof bowl. Stir in the egg yolks. Season with salt and cayenne pepper.
  • Preheat oven to 200°C. Brush the base and sides of six 185ml (3/4-cup) capacity ovenproof ramekins with melted butter to grease. Divide the breadcrumbs among the ramekins and rotate to coat the inside. Shake out excess.

  • Use an electric beater to whisk the egg whites in a clean, dry bowl until firm peaks form. Use a large metal spoon to fold half the egg white into the spinach mixture until combined. Gently fold in the remaining egg white until the mixture is just combined. Spoon the mixture evenly among the prepared ramekins.

  • Place the ramekins on a large baking tray. Bake in oven for 15 minutes or until the soufflés are puffed and golden. Serve immediately.

Wednesday 23 October 2013

Fish Parcels With Lime And Sweet Chilli

olive oil cooking spray
    4  salmon  fillets
    1 tablespoon brown sugar
    1 teaspoon fish sauce
    Fresh lime juice (About 1/4 cup)
    2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
    2 spring onions, thinly sliced.
    lime wedges and steamed jasmine rice, to serve

    Preheat oven to 200°C. Spray 4, 30cm x 40cm sheets of baking paper with oil. Score thickest part of fish twice with a knife. Place fish onto baking paper.

    Combine  sugar, fish sauce, lime juice and sweet chilli sauce in a small jug. Brush fish with mixture.

    Top fish pieces with green onions. Bring long sides of paper together and fold over twice. Fold short sides in to form a parcel.

    Place parcels, seam side up, onto a baking tray. Bake for 12 minutes or until fish is cooked through. Open parcels. Top with coriander. Serve with lime wedges and jasmine rice.

Vegetarian Pizza

1 cup  grated mozzarella
    200g soft goat’s cheese, crumbled
    6 individual pizza bases
    1/2 cup  tomato paste
    4 ripe figs, thinly sliced
    Extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle

    Preheat the oven to 200°C.

    Combine the cheeses with a fork and season with salt and pepper. Place the pizza bases on a greased oven tray.

    Spread pizzas with tomato paste and top with the cheese mixture. Arrange sliced figs on top. . Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with mixed herbs and bake for approx 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden brown.. Serve immediately

Fettucine With Garlic Prawns

500g fettucine pasta
    1 tbs olive oil, plus extra to toss
    4 cloves of garlic, crushed
    100g green prawns, peeled, deveined, tails intact
    2 tbs chopped fresh parsley
    Juice and zest of 1  lemon
    1 cup dry white wine
    125g unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces.

Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain, return to the pan and toss with a little oil. Set aside to keep warm.

Place remaining oil and the garlic in a frypan and heat gently over low heat. When the oil is hot, add the prawns, chilli and half the parsley, increase heat to high and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove the prawns and set aside, then add the lemon juice and white wine to the pan and allow to bubble and reduce for 2 minutes. Briefly stir in the cold butter and lemon zest until you have a smooth sauce. Return the prawns to the pan to heat through, then add the pasta. Toss together well and serve garnished with remaining parsley.

Serve with more of the white wine if you wish.

Beer Battered Fish And Chips

4 large (about 200g each) potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
    2 tsp olive oil
    225g (1 1/2 cups) self-raising flour
    1 egg, lightly beaten with a few drops of water
    375ml (1 1/2 cups) chilled light beer
    Salt & freshly ground black pepper
    Vegetable oil, to deep-fry
    8 (about 120g each) white fish fillets (such as flathead or whiting)
    Lemon wedges, to serve

    Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Place potato on tray. Drizzle with olive oil. Cook in oven, turning occasionally, for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

    Meanwhile, place flour in a bowl. Add the egg and stir to combine. Gradually whisk in the beer until batter is smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.

    Add enough vegetable oil to a large saucepan to reach a depth of 8cm. Heat to 190°C over high heat (when oil is ready a cube of bread will turn golden brown in 10 seconds). Dip 2 pieces of fish, 1 at a time, into batter to coat. Drain off excess. Deep-fry for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown and cooked. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel. Repeat, in 3 more batches, with remaining fish and batter, reheating oil between batches.

    Divide fish and chips among serving plates. . Serve with tartare sauce and lemon wedges.

Lime Granita

3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon grated lime zest (1 lime)
3 cups water

In a small saucepan, combine sugar with 3 cups water.

Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Chill for 1 hour.

Stir in lime juice and zest.

Pour mixture into a shallow metal cake pan and freeze, crushing and stirring the lumps with a fork every 30 minutes for 2 to 3 hours, or until it has a slushy, granular texture.

Serve immediately.