Category Archives: Spring

Hot Smoked Salmon Pasta with Asian Flavours

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I read an article some months ago in the Listener about smoked salmon – in fact, now that I come to write this post, I find myself googling it – it turns out the article is available here. It’s a great introduction to salmon if you’re new to cooking with it.

We don’t eat a lot of hot smoked salmon – it is rather expensive as far as meat and fish go – but for every once in a while, it’s a really healthy option, it doesn’t require cooking, and tastes like luxury.

At the time of reading the article, I was seduced by the fresh-sounding flavours in the recipe for a ‘hot smoked salmon salad with hints of Asia’, and cut it out. It’s a recipe for a dinner party entrée-type salad with cos leaves, hot smoked salmon and salmon caviar. Reading back I now see it was invented for a ladies’ golf tournament at the Sheraton in Fiji, which is rather a different setting to my brief: at home in Porirua on a Friday night.

As you can appreciate, the dinner party entrée feeling quickly fell by the wayside, but I adapted the dressing into a pasta sauce and added in some extra veges, and lo, Friday night dinner was born. I love the asian flavours in Lauraine Jacobs’ dish, so kept all of those in.

If you’re looking for an easy, healthy, tasty, weeknight meal, but still something classy, this is a great option. Or, feel free to mess around with quantities and keep it as a dinner party entree, either as a pasta dish, or returning it to its original salad form.

Hot Smoked Salmon Pasta with Asian Flavours
Serves 4. Adapted from this recipe by Lauraine Jacobs.

Dressing/Sauce:
Note: you may like to increase this recipe if you like very ‘saucy’ pasta.
4cm piece of fresh ginger, roughly chopped
stalk of lemongrass, bruised and roughly chopped
6 peppercorns
1 small fresh red chilli (tip: I have a huge bag of little red chillies in my freezer from Moore Wilson’s; I use them for everything)
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp rice (or red) wine vinegar
pinch finely grated palm sugar
1 lime, finely grated zest and juice
2 Tbsp avocado (or olive) oil

Place the ginger, lemongrass, peppercorns and chilli into a food processor and whiz until finely chopped. I am lucky and have a tiny whiz designed for just this. If you don’t, just finely grate the ginger, pound the peppercorns in a mortar and pestle, finely chop the lemongrass and chilli, and mix all together.  Add the fish sauce, vinegar, palm sugar, lime zest and juice, and oil, and either whiz again or mix well together. Season and set aside.

Pasta:
280g pasta, fresh or dried, over to you
4 shallots, finely sliced
2 courgettes (zucchini), sliced diagonally
2-3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
baby spinach leaves
200g wood roasted/hot smoked salmon (I used Aorangi this time)
2 limes, cut in wedges, to serve (not crucial)
chopped fresh coriander, to garnish

Cook pasta according to packet directions. Meanwhile, spray a frying pan with a little oil, and gently cook the shallots and courgettes over medium heat, adding splashes of vinegar as required, just to keep them moist, soft and delicious. Once they’re just tender, add the spinach leaves and just stir over gently heat until the leaves wilt. Place the cooked and drained pasta in shallow bowls (toss with a little oil here if you feel it is deeply necessary), and arrange the courgette mixture on top. Gently flake the salmon into pieces and top the pasta with it, and drizzle the dish with dressing. Serve with lime wedges and garnish with chopped coriander.

Food on Sticks

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One of the best things about summer, I think, is Food on Sticks. We’ve been barbecuing whenever possible, which has been most days in fact, and I’ve been making loads of skewered dishes. Prawn skewers (with chorizo tucked into the curl of the prawn – wow), citrus fish kebabs, thai chicken kebabs, and most recently, these lamb kofta.

I really, really love lamb. I try and fit in one lamb dish every week, although it can be tremendously expensive. Good lamb mince is one of the cheaper ways to do it, and I try and stock up on leg steaks when they’re on special. Hoping to tackle a good lamb roast sometime soon, too, although I can’t see us ever eating it every Sunday!

Lamb kofta come in many forms (although none are particularly attractive in photographs, I think). The basic anglicised recipe I use is half an onion, a clove of garlic, 500g mince, and a few teaspooons of whatever spices take your fancy. You could also add fresh ginger and herbs, or I also have a recipe that includes a can of chickpeas, which bulks the quantity out. I think lamb is the best meat to use, but beef is also fine (if rather unconventional).

Lamb Kofta
Adapted from several recipes, mostly by Alison Holst
Serves 4

½ an onion
1 large clove garlic, peeled
2cm piece fresh ginger (optional)
500g lean lamb mince
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp chilli powder (or less, to taste)
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp chopped fresh mint – or other fresh herbs

Firstly, if you’re using bamboo skewers, soak them in cold water for at least half an hour so’s they don’t burn when you cook them :)

Whiz the onion, garlic and ginger (if using) in a food processor until they’re very finely chopped. Add the mince, spices and herbs, and whiz until the mixture just starts clumping together.

Using wet hands, shape the mixture into twelve sausage shapes (I divide in half, then half again, etc, to get even portions). Push a skewer through the kofta lengthways.

Get your barbecue or grill heating, and once hot, grill the kofta for about 5 minutes each side (or you could bake them in the oven at 200º, for 6 minutes a side), until cooked through and golden brown.

I served the kofta with a little tomato and cucumber salad, a loaf of ciabatta, and a sauce made by mixing together: 1 cup low fat yoghurt, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 1 Tbsp tahini paste, and about 3 Tbsp each fresh chopped mint and coriander, plus salt to taste.

Enjoy this Food on Sticks meal, and here’s to many more this summer!

Making the most of spring & summer produce

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Strawberries were 4 punnets for $5 at my local market this weekend! I’ve been eating them for breakfast, lunch and dessert. I’m even eating them as I write this post. I’ve mainly just been adding them to other things like muesli or ice cream, but I have a few new strawberry recipes to share. This is a salad that makes the most of late spring asparagus and strawberries… eat them while you can! It also looks very festive, it might work as a side dish for a Christmas meal. Enjoy!

Strawberry & Asparagus Salad with Strawberry Dressing
Adapted from a Robyn Martin recipe. Serves 4 as a side salad.

500g fresh asparagus (2 bunches)
2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled
2 spring onions, sliced diagonally
2 shallots, peeled and finely sliced
2 Tbsp vinegar (I used cider; white or red wine vinegar would also be nice)
2 Tbsp olive oil
freshly ground black pepper

Break any woody ends of the asparagus spears, and steam them gently in the microwave or on the stove top until they are JUST tender (I microwave on high for about 1 minute). Place them in a bowl of cold water to refresh, then drain well. Chop spears into 3-4cm pieces and set aside.

Put about ½ a cup of strawberries to one side, and chop the rest into halves (or quarters if they’re monsters). Arrange the chopped asparagus, strawberries, spring onions and shallots on a serving platter.

Whiz the reserved ½ cup of strawberries in a food processor or blender. Gradually add the vinegar and olive oil and blend well. Season to taste. I serve it on the side in a jug, and grind more black pepper over the salad to serve.

Fresh Broad Bean Salad

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A wee salad for Mondays.

I don’t think I ever had broad beans going up. My parents HATED them as kids and they were a vegetable they didn’t want to inflict on the next generation.

I am nothing if not curious. Last year I decided to give them a try, just to see what the (negative) fuss was about.

I’ve just been using the frozen variety. Tipped out of the bag into hot water and steamed gently in their pods, they are pretty average. Not that bad, but kind of grey and a bit too chewy. I think this is what mum and dad were fed, but maybe boiled for 15 minutes longer than that, even.

If you just lightly steam broad beans though, and take them out of their pods, Good Things Happen. I admit, shelling beans is not a fun pastime. It’s a bit time consuming and possibly too fiddly for a weeknight. But it’s worth it once you know the secret: grey broad bean shells are hiding tender, zingy little bright green nuggets of goodness inside.

I think they’re a nice green side (instead of, or mixed with peas, or green beans etc), or I came across this salad recipe last year and have been loving it ever since. In fact, I made it for my parents without really saying what we were eating… and they loved it. Mum even copied out the recipe. I think she’s made it a few times since and has surprised herself by becoming a broad bean fan!

The recipe’s not mine, it’s from Healthy Food Guide, so I won’t reproduce it, but I really recommend it! The recipe can be found here.

Hope your Monday’s been swell :)

Spicy Lamb Burgers with Raita

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Lamb Good. Burgers Good. That’s all I really need to say.

I think this recipe came from an issue of Taste magazine last year.

Spicy Lamb Burgers with Banana Raita
Serves 6

Raita:
2 bananas
1½ Tbsp lime juice
1 hot green chilli, chopped
2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
1 cup unsweetened yoghurt
½ tsp cumin
¼ tsp salt

Burgers:
½ cup chopped shallots
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1½ Tbsp butter
¼ tsp chilli powder
1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
¾ tsp salt
500g lamb mince
1 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp unsweetened yoghurt
6 burger buns, or ciabatta rolls etc
mango chutney

Firstly, make the delicious raita. Peel the bananas and slice them thinly. Gently toss them with the lime juice, then add the other raita ingredients and mix gently. Set this aside in the fridge.

For the burger patties, cook the shallot and garlic gently (I used a spray of canola oil and a Tbsp water, you could cook them in butter if you must). Add the chilli, coriander seeds, ginger and salt. Set this mixture aside to cool a little. Then add the lamb mince, lime juice and yoghurt, and form the mixture into patties. Cook the patties quickly either on the bbq, or in a hot frypan, turning once, until cooked through.

Spread the bun cases with a little mango churtney. Add the patties and raita, and some other burger fillings if you wish, top with a little more chutney and sprinkling of fresh coriander, then the bun lid. I served mine with some spring asparagus, steamed beetroot, and cherry tomatoes. Beautiful!

White Coleslaw

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I’m loving fresh, healthy salads at the moment. We’ve been eating heaps of lovely simple food lately – grilled chicken, fish or meat, fresh or just steamed veges (‘specially asparagus!), and lots of fresh fruit. So salads are Way In.

I’m a bit over the old classic coleslaw with grated carrot and too much dressing (why? why do people use so much?). This white coleslaw is a nice alternative; it has a gorgeous light dressing and I like the styley white and pale green colours.  I’m not sure where the recipe comes from actually, it’s been in my recipe book since forever, so I probably picked it up from Mum. It’s just a simple little salad, enjoy it on a nice fresh spring day!

White Coleslaw
Serves 4-6

300g white cabbage, shredded
1 green capsicum, sliced
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
4 spring onions, sliced
½ Tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp horseradish mustard
½ tsp tabasco sauce
1 Tbsp white vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp light mayonnaise
pinch cayenne pepper
chopped fresh dill

Toss the prepared cabbage, capsicum, celery and spring onions together. In a small bowl, mix the mustards with the tabasco and white vinegar. Gradually whisk in the oil, then add the mayonnaise and cayenne (I popped in a bit of wholegrain mustard too). Season and toss the dressing through the salad, adding the dill as you go.

Strawberry Mascarpone Slice

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This is a Truly Special Slice. Believe the hype, people.

I love slices. And biscuits. I know there are people who live for cake, and don’t get me wrong; there are occasions when nothing but cake will suffice. But given the choice, in a normal state of mind (well, as normal as it gets) I opt for slice or biscuit with an afternoon cup of tea.

This means I have favourite slices. They occupy imaginary pedestals in the food hall of fame in my mind.

Make room for another pedestal.

This is, I think, the perfect summer slice. Lots of my other favourites are suited to the cooler months – like caramel slice with its bitter chocolate topping, its cousin tan square, the irreplaceable ginger crunch, etc. But this is a slice to be eaten in spring and summer. It is a celebration of the strawberry.

It comes from Sweet Food, a weird, bargain bin book that I’ve had for ages, but only started using recently. It is full of interesting gems, like the recent fig bar recipe. Next I want to try its ginger panforte for Christmas. But in the meantime, I’ll leave you with this strawberry mascarpone slice…

Strawberry & Mascarpone Slice
from Sweet Food

175g unsalted butter, softened
70g caster sugar
1 egg yolk
2 cups plain flour, sifted
300g mascarpone
½ cup icing sugar, sifted
1 Tbsp lemon juice
300g (2 cups) strawberries, chopped into quarters
50g dark chocolate

Preheat the oven to 180°(C). Lightly grease and/or line a sponge roll tin (20x30cm).

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and beat well. Fold in the sifted flour until well combined, and it forms a dough. Press this firmly into the sponge roll tin and prick all over with a fork. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until light brown. Leave to cool completely.

Beat the mascarpone, icing sugar and lemon juice with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in the strawberries. Spoon this mixture over the cold base and refrigerate for 3 hours, or until firm.

Melt the chocolate gently, and drizzle over the slice. I just drizzled and splashed randomly with a teaspoon, but if you wanted to make it extra pretty you could drizzle it on in thin lines with a piping bag. Cut the slice into pieces – I got 24 bars out of mine, but you get to choose your own size and shape!

This photo credited to Alastair McAra!

Asparagus with Roasted Tomatoes

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I came across this recipe in Dish magazine last year. I actually cooked it as part of my Christmas dinner last year, it was perfect with the vibrant red and green! It looks impressive and tastes amazing, but it’s pretty easy… it’s hardly a recipe – more like assembly instructions.

I’ve started thinking about what I’ll cook for Christmas dinner this year (I know, spot the obssessive planner). This one will probably make the cut second year running!

Asparagus with Roasted Tomatoes and Mozzarella
Adapted from Dish magazine. Serves 3-4

6-8 vine tomatoes with stalk attached
half a punnet cherry tomatoes
1 bunch asparagus
60g mozzarella
2 Tbsp pesto
fresh basil leaves
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 200°(c).  Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Place the tomatoes on a lined baking tray, sprinkle over sea salt and ground pepper. Roast them for 10-15 minutes, until their skins start to split, then set aside to cool. I didn’t use cherry tomatoes, but if you’ve got them, it looks nice having tomatoes of different sizes on the plate.

Snap the tough ends off the asparagus. Steam it in salted boiling water until JUST tender; you still want it crisp, not limp and slimy. Drain the asparagus and Dish suggests refreshing it in iced water. Assemble the drained asparagus on a serving platter.

Drain the mozzarella if it’s in whey. I had bought supermarket stuff in the fridge, but for Christmas I would definitely use lovely fresh mozzarella. I might even get off my chuff and make my own. Slice the mozzarella and arrange it over the asparagus. Arrange the roasted tomatoes over the platter too.

If your pesto is really thick, add a little water to loosen it up. Pop spoonfuls of pesto over the mozzarella and tomatoes. Scatter over fresh basil leaves and season with more sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

You say frittata, I say frittata

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I haven’t posted any of the dishes lately, but I have still been trying to cook at least one ‘proper’ lunch every weekend. No grand three course meals here, but just simple bruschetta, quiche, fancy toasties and what not.

This week I made these little spring vegetable frittata (or is that frittatas?). It’s a simple recipe – although I don’t have a fancy pan that can work on the stove top and in the oven, so I’ll admit I did end up with more dishes than I’d like on a Saturday afternoon.

It was worth it.

You could use almost any vegetables you like in this. I’d suggest keeping the potato, or even swapping it for kumara. A starchy vege anchors a frittata. Then you can really add what you like – I think courgette and asparagus are nice in spring, but let your tastes, budget, fridge contents and energy levels guide you!

Easy Spring Frittata
Serves 2

1 small-medium potato, scrubbed and chopped into small cubes
½ onion, finely chopped
½ capsicum, diced
½ a courgette, coarsely grated
4-5 spears asparagus, woody ends removed, chopped into 3-4cm lengths
handful spinach leaves, roughly shredded
3 eggs (or I used 2 eggs plus 1 white) , lightly beaten
small handful grated cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat your grill to about 200°(c). Heat a small frypan over medium heat. Cook the potato first – you have a couple of options here. You can cook it in the frypan until tender, and then add the other vegetables. Or, I was impatient, so just zapped the potato in the microwave for a couple of minutes, and then plonked it into the heated pan along with the onion, capsicum, courgette and asparagus. I found I didn’t actually need any oil; the moisture from the courgette created a bit of steam and that was enough to get the party started.

Cook for just 3-4 minutes, until the asparagus is tender. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Add the shredded spinach and stir for another minute or two, until it wilts. Then pour the lightly beaten eggs over. As I said, I don’t have a multi-function frypan, so I just kind of stirred the mixture around in the hot pan to start the eggs cooking, and then split the mixture into two ovenproof dishes. If you can leave yours in the frypan, cook it kind of like an omelette, tilting the pan to let the uncooked egg to run underneath, until the base is golden. Sprinkle your frypan or little dishes with grated cheese, and place in the oven. Grill until the frittata is golden and just set firm. You can serve hot or cold – it’s yummy with a bit of relish.

Spiced Meringues with Strawberry & Raspberry Cream

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Hi again! I’ve been away for a week and had my Spanish recipe posts scheduled to publish – but I feel like I’ve been off the radar a bit! So no Friday’s Favourite Five last week – but I’ll make it a favourite ten list for next week, once I’ve caught up on all my favourite blogs.

Just before I left, I found my first punnets of New Zealand strawberries and raspberries at my local market. I don’t usually buy fresh raspberries – too expensive, and frozen are so easy to use - but these fresh beauties were $3 a punnet so I couldn’t resist. And the strawberries were lovely and sweet. I used the berries to make a strawberry & raspberry cream which we had for dessert with these spiced meringues.

It’s been so nice having warmer weather… I can’t wait to get some asparagus this week! But nevermind spring… this dessert is a taste of the summer to look forward to!

These meringues are actually a pretty healthy dessert. I don’t often use cream but made an exception here – strawberries and cream are pretty special. If you want a healthier option, you could use a low fat vanilla yoghurt, or the frûche product that Yoplait sells would be a good substitute. You can use different berries or other fruit too; some lightly stewed or poached rhubarb  would be delicious!

I made just two large-ish meringues out of this mixture. We were feeling greedy. But if you wanted cute little desserts, you could easily make this into four slightly smaller discs.

Spiced Meringues with Strawberry & Raspberry Cream
Serves 2-4

Meringue:
1 egg white
50g caster sugar
¼ tsp mixed spice

Cream Topping:
150ml cream
1-2 tsp icing sugar
½ tsp vanilla essence (or use extract or paste)
2-3 Tbsp plain yoghurt
about 100g strawberries or raspberries, or a mixture of both

Preheat the oven to 150°(c). Line a baking tray with baking paper.

To make the meringue, whisk the egg white until soft peaks form, and then whisk in the caster sugar, one teaspoon at a time. Once all the sugar has been whisked in, you should have a beautiful stiff, glossy meringue mixture. Whisk in the mixed spice.

Spoon the meringue mixture into however many piles you want to make on the baking tray. Use the back of a spoon to smooth the piles into discs about 2-3cm high. Place the tray in the oven and turn the heat down to 120°.  Bake the meringues for about 50 minutes, then turn the oven off. Leave the meringues to cool in the oven. You can do this step in advance – the meringues should keep in an airtight container for at least a day or two.

To make the cream topping, choose a few of the best looking berries to use as a garnish later and set those aside. Hull the rest. Place the hulled berries in a food processor and whiz to a purée. I don’t mind the seeds being in there, but if you want you could pass the purée through a sieve.

In a large bowl or jug, whip the cream with the icing sugar and vanilla (use more icing sugar for tarter fruit). Fold the fruit and yoghurt into the cream, and spoon on top of the cooled meringues. Garnish with the reserved berries and sprigs of mint.

Enjoy!