The Gourmet Traveller Challenge. January: Porteño’s barbequed calamari with chickpeas and preserved lemon

Posted on January 29, 2012

If your anything like me, you are a Gourmet Traveller magazine addict. I used to buy it when I used to live here 10 years ago, then when I left, I packed them up and kept them. Still having Gourmet traveller magazines from 1996 may be slightly obsessive and lean toward being a crazy hoarding woman, but hey they are interesting to browse through though and to see how far we have come. OK, I know I have to get rid of them.

Even when I lived in London, my local newsagent kindly used to order it in for me and text me when it arrived. Now that is service!

And so the obsession continues. I have noticed, however, that I hardly EVER make anything from them. Shocking isn’t it. So that is my challenge this year, to make something from every issue. There are a few simple rules I must follow:

1. Make at least one recipe from each issue

2. Choose something I may not usually make.

3. Don’t choose something easy just to complete rule 1.

So January brings the BBQ issue. Every month there is a section where they fulfil the request of diners, by gathering favourite recipes from their loved meals. I was drawn to the Porteño offering.

The recipe was not difficult, except for the calamari. I wanted this to be a one stop meal so after popping into Broadway Harris Farm Market, I road the escalator to the seafood shop above in the shopping centre. I could only see calamari from Thailand so I asked if they had any Australian. Bargain squid at $3.99/kg, but I would have to clean them myself. What! is this a new Sunday sabbath, no clean rule for fish shops? Anyway, no problem, I quite enjoy the satisfaction of cleaning my own anyway, thanks to a little stint at Rick Stein’s Seafood School.

But it was squid, and a big one. I only cooked the tentacles (which should be more tender), but they were still a bit tough. I think a young calamari would be much more tender. The recipe suggests buying ones only about 12cm long, and not squid twice the size, as mine was. My remaining squid was thrown into the freezer in preparation for a slow cooked red wine and blood orange stew.

Other than my squid dilemma, it was a great dish. The chickpea base was lovely with the yoghurt, and the watercress leaf makes a great change from the over used rocket. I think I will use the leftover base and watercress with some wedges of roasted pumpkin. If you’d like to make it you can find the recipe here.

I encourage you all to take up the challenge and cook something from the food magazine that you subscribe to! Please tweet me some photos if you do, I’d love to see them.

Stuffed Courgette Flowers

Posted on January 26, 2012

As soon as summer awakened, yes I know it’s gone back into hibernation, these courgette flowers were straight into my basket. I’d never actually used the flowers before but I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them.

The flowers themselves don’t actually really taste of much but the point is they are perfect vessels to fill with a soft cheesy mix. You could really go crazy but the most common fillings are of cheeses such as ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan. Alongside those in the mix you can also find, mint, basil, anchovies, olives and even a meat blend can be used to fill the flowers. Are you sensing an Italian theme here? Yes, they are commonly associated with Italian fare. The point is you can make it your own and use whatever you fancy out of your fridge. It may not traditional, but why not experiment?

I opted for a more traditional approach for my first try, picking up some ricotta, mint and parsley as I made my escape from the market.

Stuffed Courgette Flowers

Ingredients

5-6 baby courgettes with flowers attached

about 80g-100g ricotta

1 tbsp chopped mint

1 tbsp chopped parsley

small grating of parmesan (say 10-15g)

salt and pepper

Vegetable or Rice Bran oil

Batter

4 heaped tbsp plain flour

1 heaped tbsp cornflour

cold sparkling water

First cut the stamen out from inside the flower, they are bitter. Take your time to do this and try not to tear the flower too much, as it is your vessel to hold the filling and as such will hold it better the less you tear the flower petals. I found this easiest to do with a pair of scissors.

To make the filling combine the ricotta, mint, parsley and parmesan. Add salt and pepper to taste (keeping in mind the parmesan will be slightly salty as well). I find using a plastic bag easiest for a make shift piping bag. Spoon the mix into a heavy plastic bag, like a zip lock sandwich bag, and cut a small 1cm piece off one corner.

Then make the batter by combining the flour and cornflour, whisking in the sparking water (maybe 80mls) until the batter is quite a runny consistency (like single cream).

Choose a saucepan wide enough to fry the courgettes flat. Fill it 4-5cm deep with the oil of your choice (choose one that has a low threshold to smoking at high temperatures). Put the pan on a high heat.

Fill the flowers with the mix, taking care not to over fill, make sure the petals covers the sides, then twist then ends to hold in the filling. Dip into the batter and place slowly into pan, flower first and away from you. Only fry two at a time so as not to reduce the oil temperature too much and over crowd the pan. When just golden remove and drain on kitchen paper. The courgette may still have a slight fresh crunch. Serve hot with a wedge of lemon.

Serves one as a main, two as an entree, or four as part of a sharing meal.

Homemade Preserved Lemons

Posted on January 17, 2012

This is my second attempt to make preserved lemons. The first ended with a jar of mouldy lemons. I was disappointed for a few years, excessive I know, and then my mother gave me loads of lemons from her tree. So I decided it was time I didn’t let this simple recipe beat me. You may think it’s cheaper to buy them already done, and it’s probably is, especially if you have to buy a jar and the lemons, but for me it was one of those things that I just had to conquer. Besides anything you make yourself is always more satisfying, right.

I looked at a few recipes, Stephanie Alexander, Stevie Parle, and Jamie Oliver. It’s all much of a muchness, but I mostly followed Stevie Parle’s recipe.

Preserved Lemons

Ingredients:

6 lemons (depending on the size of the lemons and your jar)

Alot of rock salt (not necessarily Maldon, too expensive, just ordinary rock salt)

green cardamom pods, cracked with the side of your chefs knife

black peppercorns

Method

Cut lemons in half and quarters but not cutting through the base. Push in a few cardomom pods and peppercorns in the slits of the lemon. Pour some rock salt in the bottom of a clean glass jar, push lemons in to the jar filling the spaces with rock salt as you go. Push the lemons in as much as you can and while shaking the jar to disperse the salt. Try and fill the jar spaces with as much salt as you can to minimise the air space. Finish by filling the jar with rock salt.

Then store in a cool, dry place for 2-3 months before it’s ready for use.

I think keeping the air space to a minimum is the trick to making preserved lemons and probably what I did wrong in the first attempt.

The other ideal is to have organic lemons. It is the only the rind that you use in preserved lemons so it makes sense not to used sprayed, waxed ones.

After a few months it will look like this…

To use the rind scrape off the ‘inners’ of the lemons before slicing the rind. Once the jar is opened store in the fridge.

My Seven Links: A Look Back and A Glimpse Forward

Posted on January 9, 2012

It’s been a year since I left London, to return to Australia. As I expected it has not been an easy ride. Thankfully Sydney is a beautiful city to come home to and the New Year has introduced itself with such gorgeous weather it’s hard not to be cheered up.

One of the people I met in London was Gourmet Chick. In fact her blog was one of the first I started to read. Her great blog grew into a well respected site for honest restaurant reviews, cookbook reviews, and great travel tips on where to sleep and eat. She has since moved back to Australia too (yeah!)

Some time ago she asked me to follow her in sharing my Seven Links outlined by the TripBaseblog. I’ve finally got around to it.

1. My Most Beautiful Post

Rhonda is a beautiful city, without a doubt. A gorge divides the old and new towns creating with it a stunning secret escape for entraped Spanish royalty. With Rhonda comes the famous Andulucian dish, gazpacho. The key to this dish is of course great tomatoes. In Australia the hot summer sun brings garden tomatoes to their glory. If your overwhelmed by endless tomatoes, try a gazpacho!
2. My Most Popular Post

My first attempt at a chiffon cake was a great success, not only with my work colleagues but surprisingly, it became my most popular post. Thanks to the wonderful book put together by the Monday Morning Cooking Club ladies, I managed to pull off a cake that defied gravity. I’ve graduated to slicing, filling, and lathering them with buttery frostings. Possibly this was not the intention for the airy, delicate cakes, but it tastes good.

3. My Most Controversial Post

I am normally quite democratic when I write a post about a restaurant. I don’t think The Harwood Arms was any exception. It’s all about one persons opinion, and I am no expert, but I try to write about my dining experience in an honest way. By the time I finally got to The Harwood Arms, after the post-Michelin star crowds, I thought it had lost it’s way a little. It was also pointed out by a few people that I had not ordered the scotch egg, which is raved about. It’s said to be amazing, but it’s only on the bar menu and I ate in the restaurant area. I don’t think an eating establishment should ride off the back of a scotch egg but then again, sadly, I didn’t have one.
4. My Most Helpful Post

I was so excited when I found this little gem in Annandale. Sitting on busy Parramatta Road it could be easily missed as you speed past on your way home. I really urge you to stop and pop in for a look. The owners run the shop, have reasonable prices and are very helpful. They will be getting a large shipment of mid-century furniture in, from the UK and Europe, in the next few months. Well worth a stop in I think.
5. The Post Whose Success Most Surprised me

A simple banana cake, nevertheless people seemed to think it looked good. It did taste good too. The addition of sour cream made it extra moist and slightly richer. Thanks Donna
6. A Post I Feel Didn’t Get The Attention It Deserved

I have alot of respect for Anna Hansen. I hope she sits back sometimes and takes the time to smile and think “I’ve made it, I did it “. Knowing a little of what she is like, that seems unlikely. She is a very hard working women, working her way up from dishwasher to owning her own restaurant. A restaurant that pulls flavours from across the culinary world to create something interesting. To me the combinations may sometimes seem a bit ‘out-there’ but for Anna a natural combination to achieve what she wants. I just got her first cookbook and I’m looking forward to trying my hand a few things.
7. The Post I Am Most Proud Of

I love St John, I really do. I can’t believe I miss it so much. It was the place I could always rely on. I think you get the idea that I love the place, and their bone marrow and parsley salad, in this post. What makes this post even more memorable for me is that David Chang sat at the table across from me that day, as I sucked the fat off the toasted sourdough, and I didn’t even really care.

Part of posting your seven links is nominating others to follow.The lovely Miss Piggy has gladly taken up the challenge

Momofuku Seiōbo

Posted on December 20, 2011

There was so much excitement and anticipation at the arrival of David. I have to say I was swept along too. Not so much because the irreverant David Chang was opening his first restaurant outside New York City, but because Ben Greeno was also coming.

I first met Ben at the Loft Project. He had just left Noma and had done his stint at Momofuku NYC. Clayton Wells, now sous chef at Momofuku Seiōbo, was also there with Ben. At the Loft Project, the kitchen is your own, your free to push the boat out as far as you please. What came out from that was nothing but exciting. So to imagine what together David and Ben might create for Momofuku Seiōbo kept me in a bubble of anticipation.

There was alot of talk about the restrictions of only having a $175 degustation menu and the online booking system, but none of them deterred me. I registered online and got a booking reasonably quickly, no problem there. As far as the menu goes, there are so many great cheap eats in Sydney, I think it’s was only appropriate David opted for a higher level of dining. Besides why would he go to all the trouble of coming over to open a noodle bar? This way Momofuku Seiōbo gets to show Sydney how they ‘do’ food and in any case the famous pork bun is on the menu, and yes it is as good as everyone raves about.

The music was pumping and I had a front row seat over the million dollar kitchen. This is what showed up on my plate…and don’t be shocked by the petit four, it’s mean’t to shock, that’s just David all over.

Snacks – Shitake chip, nori, mochi