Abercrombie & Feast

One of the main reasons that we left Australia and moved to England back in April was to be closer to Europe.  We explored Asia for four years from our home base in Sydney and now we’re hoping to explore Europe from our new home base here in Winchester.  We can’t wait to take ferries to France, planes to Portugal or drive to Denmark.  None of which explains why we are about to get on a flight and wing our way to the bright lights of… Gainesville, GA?? 

That’s right, folks.  Our first international trip since our arrival in the UK will be to go home to Georgia.  You see, my little brother is getting married to a wonderful girl.  I can’t imagine a happier reason for a trip across the Atlantic.   We are so thrilled for them and so excited about going home for a few days that we have ALMOST gotten over the fact that our flight will not be destined for Milan or Amsterdam. 

As you may remember, I don’t do airline food.  So I will be packing a salad to eat during the flight.  Something hearty and tasty that travels well and makes my little economy-class seat a happier place to be.  And, due to recent events, that salad will contain bulgar. 

I have developed an obsession with bulgar.  It happened totally by accident.  I went to the local health food store to buy some quinoa, which I often use as a salad base.   But on this fateful day, they were out of quinoa, so I bought bulgar instead.  And now I am totally hooked.  Bulgar is a common ingredient in Turkish and Middle Eastern food.  It’s a whole wheat that has been cleaned, par-boiled and dried.  It’s got a nutty flavour and texture like quinoa or cous cous. 

I like to use bulgar in soups and salads, such as this one, which I will be taking with me on my flight.  It’s full of protein and fiber and lots of tasty ingredients like toasted almonds, smoky cumin dressing and peppery fresh radishes.  I know this salad will be an ideal travel companion for a flight to Gainesville or Germany or Greece or any of the other fabulous destinations that I know we’ll get to eventually.

Congratulations, Noah and Dana!!  Love you both tons. 

Bulgar and veggie salad with cumin dressing

Serves 2

For the bulgar:
1 cup bulgar wheat
2 cups water
1 chicken stock cube (you could also use a vegetable stock cube)
1/2 tsp salt

For the salad:
6 radishes, finely sliced
1 red bell pepper, finely sliced
1/4 cup flaked almonds, toasted
1 handful coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped
1 chicken breast, poached and cut into bite sized pieces (optional)

For the cumin dressing:
1 tbs dijion mustard
1 tbs white wine vinegar
1 pinch salt
1 tsp ground cumin
2-3 tbs olive oil

To make the bulgar, combine the bulgar, water and salt in a small sauce pan over medium heat.  Crumble in the stock cube.  Bring to a boil and allow to boil for about 5-7 minutes, or until the bulgar is tender.  Taste for seasoning and set aside. 

To make the dressing, add all ingredients to a small, clean jar and shake well.  Or you could whisk all ingredients in a small bowl.  Either way, taste the dressing before adding the 3rd tbs of olive oil.  The dressing should be tangy, but not overly sour.  Add olive oil bit by bit until you reach a flavour you like.  Keep in mind that it will lose some of the sourness when combined with other ingredients, so leave it just a bit too sour. 

Assemble the salad by spooning some bulgar into the base of a bowl or plate.  Top with radishes, pepper, almonds, chicken if you’re using it, and a sprinkle of coriander.  To finish, drizzle the cumin dressing over the whole salad. 

Just dropping by quickly to share some very good news.  After months of eyeing each other up, longing looks at stolen moments and dreaming about how good we could be together… I’ve got a new pan in my life!

I’d like to introduce you to Griddle Pan Man.  He’s blue (azure according to the box, but let’s not be poncy about it.)  He’s from France (Le Creuset to be exact.)  He’s solid and dependable and dreamy (if you’re into that kind of thing.)  He was an anniversary gift from the man in my life, and I’m smitten with them both! 

I’ve only been with Griddle Pan Man since Monday, but we’ve already spent some real quality time together.  Just look at this dinner we made together tonight… talk about team work!

So, be prepared to hear lots of sappy stories about our happy relationship and all of the exotic things we’ll be cooking together.  I think we’re going to live happily ever after.

Red Curry Pork Burgers
I should have given you this recipe a long time ago.  This is one of those “everyday” recipes that I make fairly often, but never think about sharing here.  Which is a shame, since these are easy and really good.  Especially if you have a Griddle Pan Man to make them with and a lovely husband to feed them to! 

Serves 4

500g (1lb) lean ground pork
2 tbs chopped coriander (cilantro)
1 tbs freshly grated ginger
3 tbs Thai red curry paste
Chopped chilli to taste
Peanut oil

Combine the pork mince, coriander, ginger, curry paste and chillis if using in a bowl.  Shape the mixture into 12 patties.  Place the patties in the fridge for about 10 mins to firm up.

Heat a griddle pan (or a regular frying pan, if you haven’t yet met the Griddle Pan Man of your dreams) over medium heat.  Brush the pan with peanut oil to prevent sticking.  Cook the patties in batches for about 5 mins per side (or until cooked through.) 

Serve the patties with Jasmine rice, a salad of shredded cucumber, carrot and radishes and chilli dipping sauce.

It’s time to move on.  Because, honestly, not every meal can be eaten at Tetsuya’s (though… imagine if it could!)  Some meals must be basic, Earthy, simply the stuff of life.  And I cannot think of a more down to Earth vegetable than the beet. 

Australians eat a lot of beets (or beetroot as they call it here.)  Until we moved here my entire life’s interaction with beets could be summed up in one word- canned.  I am embarrassed to admit this, but I don’t think I had ever seen a fresh, whole beet until I was at least 23 years old.  Americans just don’t eat beets as much as Australians do!

But over here, beets are everywhere.  On sandwiches, on salads, on burgers, roasted, boiled… the parade of beets continues all year long in Australia. 

And I will admit that I still don’t eat a lot of beets.  I hate the idea of a slice of beet colouring my burger bun pink and I don’t like the strong flavour of beets on sandwiches.  I do, however, love beets on their own.  So, many moons ago, when our friends Jason and Jody had us over for a barbie and they served this salad, I fell in love (with the salad… although Jason and Jody are nice, too!)  I have made this salad a few times since then and it is always a very popular addition to a barbie or a light dinner. 

Raw beets are the star of this beautiful salad.  I know, I know.  Sounds odd.  But beets in their natural state are crunchy and sweet.  The gorgeous dark pink colour makes this a festive dish… one that would be fun on any table at this time of year.  The beets are teamed with apples and jazzed up with a tart dressing, creamy feta cheese and fresh mint.  This salad is simple, oh so healthy and tastier than you can imagine.  Just be careful when preparing the beets… my fingers were pink for 2 days!

Beetroot and apple salad

Serves 4-6 as part of a meal

3-4 medium size whole beets
2 large Granny Smith apples
juice of 1/2 a lemon
3 tbs red wine vinegar
5 tbs good olive oil
1/3 cup feta, crumbled
1-2 large handfuls fresh mint, chopped
salt to taste

Start by peeling the tough outside skin off the beets.  I like to cut off the round ends first, then use either a veggie peeler or my knife to remove the skin. 

Use the grater setting on a food processor, a box grater or a mandolin, to grate the beets.  You don’t want a very fine grate or you lose the texture- medium is best.  Once all the beets are grated, but them in a colander over the sink for 20 mins to drain off the excess liquid. 

Peel and core the apples and grate them on the same setting as the beets.

Once the beets are drained, toss them with the apples. 

Mix the lemon juice, vinegar and olive oil with a little salt in a bowl.  Pour over the beet and apple mixture and toss together.  Taste to make sure you’ve got enough of everything.  You want a tart dressing that doesn’t overwhelm the sweetness of the beets. 

Put this mix into the fridge for about 30 mins to let the flavours meld.  Before serving, taste for seasoning and add salt as needed. 

Just before serving, sprinkle the top with the feta and mint.  Don’t toss the feta and mint through, or they will turn pink.  The contrast of the white and green on the dark pink is what makes this salad so beautiful. 

I missed my kitchen so much.  It’s good to be home, albeit temporarily.  I am soothed by standing at my own stove, stirring with my favourite wooden spoon and smelling our dinner coming together throughout the evening.  Is there a more therapeutic way to unwind after work??  I even have a new kitchen toy to play with… a mandolin purchased in Japan!  So last night I set out to spend some time in my happy little kitchen, to use my new mandolin, and to make a healthy and light meal that wouldn’t weigh us down as the weather heats up.

The salad that I want to tell you about was inspired by a salad that Deb wrote about on Smitten Kitchen.  I made several adjustments, a few additions and subtractions, but I think the souls of our salads are much the same.

Now, I know what you’re thinking.  Another salad??  Didn’t we just learn about an asparagus and blood orange salad?  And, worst of all, a cauliflower salad?  But hear me out.  This salad is satisfying in a way that salads rarely are.  In fact, I literally just finished eating the leftovers for breakfast and I’m already trying to figure out when I can make this again. 

I added quinoa to this salad to bulk it out and make it a more substantial part of our dinner.  Quinoa is a grain used a lot in South American cooking.  It’s super high in protein and can be used in tons of different dishes.  If you can’t find quinoa near you, you could easily replace it with cous cous in this recipe and it would still be fantastic.

This is literally the first thing I’ve cooked in my kitchen in about 3 weeks.  I plan to do lots of cooking for the next two weeks, then I’m off again for a week with my family in the US!  I’ll try to post more in the next two weeks and to add at least one more post about our time in Japan.  So, whilst I’m self-soothing with new recipes, promise me that you’ll try this one!

Quinoa and cauliflower salad

1/2 head of cauliflower, thinly sliced
1 small green capsicum (bell pepper), very thinly sliced
2 ribs of celery, very thinly sliced
2 spring onions, very thinly sliced
10 green olives stuffed with feta cheese (you could easily use plain green olives and add a tiny bit of feta to the salad), chopped
1 large handful parsley, chopped
100g (1/5 lb) of quinoa
2 cups chicken stock
2 tbs dijon mustard
2 tbs red wine vinegar
6 tbs olive oil
1/2 garlic clove, finely minced
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Put the quinoa and the chicken stock into a pot.  Bring to a boil and let cook for 10-12 minutes, until the quinoa is translucent.  Drain and add the quinoa back to the pan to dry.  Let cool in the pan whilst you make the rest of the salad.

Add the finely chopped cauliflower, capsicum, celery and parsley to a bowl and mix well.

Put the mustard in a bowl and add the vinegar.  Mix well with a fork.  Add 1/4 of the oil and mix well again.  Add the garlic and mix well.  Add the rest of the oil slowly, mixing well between each batch.  Taste.  If it is too tangy, add more oil.  If it is not tangy enough, add more vinegar.  Add salt and pepper as needed.  Finish the dressing with a good squeeze of lemon juice. 

Put the cooled quinoa into the bowl the vegetables and mix well.  Add 3/4 of the dressing and mix well, so all of the salad is lightly coated.  Serve the salad, with a little extra dressing on top.