Abercrombie & Feast

I had a small dinner crisis last weekend.  Despite having been to the farmers market in town on Saturday, I didn’t really have anything to cook on Sunday night.  This always happens to me with farmers markets.  I get all eager and excited and I buy whatever looks good.  Then I get home and I realise that I have no complete meals, just random bits of deliciousness. 

I suppose there is nothing wrong with that.  I know that the French shop like that every day… they wander around their local markets to find out what’s fresh and in season, and they build their meals around those ingredients.  I aspire to be like that some day.  But my personal problem is that I forget to build a meal around the stunning ingredients that I find.  I just buy them on their own, with no friends or mates to serve them with.

So, I waltzed home from the farmers market last weekend with the following in my bag:
3 bunches of British asparagus
2 venison shanks
1 packet of free range smoked bacon
1 piece of local goat’s blue cheese
1 jar of homemade onion marmalade
1 punnet of cherry tomatoes
1 jar of asparagus pickles
1 loaf of bread

On Saturday night we had a sort of mezze dinner of cheese with the onion marmalade, char-grilled asparagus, fresh sliced tomatoes and chunks of fresh bread.  It wasn’t what you’d call a well-planned meal either I guess, but it tasted great.  Then on Sunday afternoon I was squatting down to look into the world’s smallest fridge, trying to figure out what we could eat for dinner that didn’t require me to trek back into town. 

Now, let’s play a game.  Assume that you want to save the venison shanks for another night, and your fridge also contains a small head of lettuce, mustard and garlic… go back to that list above and see what you would serve…. I’ll wait here…..

Welcome back… what did you come up with??  I’d love to hear your ideas, because the foods on that list are amongst some of my favourites in the world and I’m always looking for new ways to combine them. 

Here’s what I came up with… BLT salad.  The bread was slightly old by this point, so I cut it up and made croutons.  I fried up the bacon, made a super tangy dressing of mustard, white wine vinegar, olive oil and garlic and tossed the rest together.  It was a satisfying dinner and truly tasted like a BLT.  I must admit, I was rather pleased with my fridge-raiding efforts.  So perhaps my farmers market strategy of buying whatever looked good did pay off! 

Homemade croutons

Day old bread
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Chilli flakes (optional)

This recipe is too easy… I feel silly even giving it to you.  But these are so good and are much lighter and less greasy than store bought croutons.  I’m not giving specific measurements because this all depends on how much bread you have to use up.

Preheat your oven to about 350F or gas mark 6.  Cut the bread into bite sized chunks and place in a baking tin or on a baking sheet.  Pour a little olive oil over the bread and toss to coat.  The bread does not need to be soaking with olive oil, just a light coat.  Add sea salt, pepper and chilli flakes if you’re using them and toss again. 

Put your pan in the oven for about 10-15 minutes, or until the croutons are golden and crunchy. 

You can also make these with various flavours, such as sprinkled with cumin for a roasted pepper soup, or tossed with basil and parsley for an Italian flavour.  The combinations are endless!

I love to entertain.  My husband could tell you that an evening on the couch with me can be high entertainment depending on my mood.  As a former theatre student, putting on a show is one of my favourite things to do.

Our second apartment in Sydney, a bright and sunny two bedroom apartment on the 19th floor, was a perfect backdrop for many, many entertaining opportunities during our 2 1/2 years there.  The kitchen was tiny, but the view made up for that and more.  A sweeping, uninterrupted view of the south end of Sydney and out to the airport and Botany Bay.  We could sit with a drink on our tiny balcony and watch planes land all day.

Sunrise and fog from our apartment in Woollahra

Sunset over the Sydney Football Stadium

But as nice as it was to have a quiet drink on the little balcony, I liked it better when our apartment was full of friends.  So we hosted birthday parties, engagement parties, drama class graduation parties, our annual Cinco de Mayo party and scores of good old fashioned dinner parties. 

One dinner party in particular stands out in my memory of that time. 

I had just finished taking a one day course on traditional Indian cooking.  I learned to make butter chicken, dahl, beef madras and other tasty treats.  The cooking class itself was hilarious.  The class took place in a junior high school on a Saturday morning.  I was there with two other friends and we were painfully hung over.  The teacher hadn’t purchased enough supplies, so there weren’t enough onions to go around, and the ones she did buy were well past their prime.  I spent all morning trying not to fall asleep at the stove.  When I did finally get home and go to sleep I awoke to sheets that smelled like curry.  Not an auspicious beginning to my Indian cookery adventures.

However, I am nothing if not fearless.  And slightly stupid.  And a big fat show-off.  So I organised an Indian themed dinner party for the following week to demonstrate my new skills to my friends.  And I invited… a man from India.  See, that’s where the fearless stupidity comes in.  Who does that?  I was setting myself up for failure.

The menu was complex, but I had all day to work on it.  I had bought a lovely piece of shimmery blue fabric that looked like sari material to use as a table cloth.  I set the table and downloaded some Indian music.  I was in the zone. 

Everyone arrived and snacked on the pakora’s that I was frying up and serving with my homemade tomato chutney.  The chutney got a great response and I was starting to feel calmer.  We sat down for the main course and everyone ate well, having seconds and thirds of some of the dishes.  For dessert my lovely friend from India had brought traditional Indian sweets and we enjoyed them with port and whisky.  Everyone seemed happy and in good spirits.  No one got sick the next day.  It was a success!

There would be more successful evenings, and a fair few failures in our apartment in Woollahra.  We moved away from that apartment about 10 months ago.  And while I loved our apartment in Kings Cross and I love our current apartment near Bondi Junction, I know that when I think back on our time in Sydney I will remember that apartment set high up above Woollahra as our home. 

Tomato Chutney
This is easily the nicest recipe that I learned in the Indian cooking class.  It is easy, stores well in the fridge and tastes amazing.  You can serve it as a dipping sauce, on top of fish or chicken or pork, as a sandwich spread, etc. 

2 tbs vegetable oil
2 tsp chopped fresh curry leaves
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp mustard seeds
1 large clove chopped garlic
1 chopped green chilli
2 cans crushed / diced tomatoes, drained
2 tsp curry powder
salt and sugar to taste

Heat the vegetable oil over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.  Add the curry leaves, cumin and mustard seeds and fry for 3-4 minutes, until the mustard seeds are fragrant and beginning to pop.

Add the garlic and the chilli and fry for another minute. 

Stir in the tomatoes and reduce heat to medium / low.  Allow to reduce until thick, about 20-25 minutes. 

Stir in the curry powder.  Taste for seasoning and add salt and sugar as needed. 

Cool in the fridge until ready to use. 

I’ve just had a look back at the recipes I’ve posted here in the last 6 months, and about 50% of them call for garlic and chilli in some form.  Typically it’s chopped fresh chilli or garlic,  but sometimes it’s chilli powder or dried chilli flakes. 

And that’s just the recipes I’ve posted here!  The rest of the food that comes out of my kitchen, the food that isn’t exciting enough to post about here (or that I was too lazy to take a picture of) usually contains some garlic and chilli as well.  I’m sensing a pattern here.

My lovely husband often says that I would put garlic in birthday cake if he didn’t stop me.  Whilst I don’t think I’m quite that bad, I would estimate that approximately 80% of the dinners that I make begin with me chopping some garlic and a chilli.  Garlic + Chilli = Happy SarahKate. 

And I know that I’m not alone in this minor obsession with the delicious outcomes that garlic and chilli can produce.  In fact, I’ve interviewed several of my friends, and they too begin most meals with some garlic and chilli chopping action.  And some of my favourite world cuisines rely heavily on the happy marriage of garlic and chilli- Thai food, Chinese food and Italian food are good examples. 

All of this is a long way of saying that this recipe, the second in my series of Recession Busters, is not unusual for me or for this website.  This recipe begins with plenty of chopped fresh garlic and chilli and ends with crunchy capsicum and yielding chickpeas being stirred into a fiery sauce of tomatoes, beef and onions.  In short, it is classic Abercrombie and Feast fare. 

I won’t tell you that this meal is quick.  Because it relies on a cheaper cut of beef, it does take some cooking time.  However, you can easily assemble it on a rainy afternoon, as I recently did, or in a Crockpot on your counter whilst you’re at work.  This recipe requires very little in the way of prep time and almost no active time once you have it in the pot.  And while the casserole is simmering away, you can go out and do something fun with the money you’ve saved by making this for dinner!

Spicy beef casserole with chickpeas
(I am oh so sorry that there is no picture of this meal.  I have been suffering from a terrible throat infection this week and I was not up to taking pictures.  But, in the words of my husband, “It sounds so good, who needs a picture?”  I think he was just trying to cheer me up!)

Serves 4
AU$3.79 per person

450g gravy beef cut into bite sized pieces (you could also use rump steak or stewing beef- whatever your butcher has on hand)
1 large brown onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
3 long red chillis, finely chopped (remove the seeds if you want a milder dish)
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger*
1 tsp ground coriander*
1 tsp ground cumin or cumin seeds*
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 cup beef broth or water
1 green capsicum (bell pepper), chopped
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Place a large, heavy pot over medium / low heat.  Add the vegetable oil and allow to warm up for a few mins.  Then add the onion and stir briefly.  Let the onion cook for about 5 mins, or until softened.  Then add the garlic and chilli.  Stir for 2 minutes. 

Add the ginger, coriander and cumin.  Stir for a minute until the spices are fragrant.  It will be dry, but that’s ok. 

Add the beef to the spices and onion mixture.  Allow the beef to brown for a few minutes, stirring often so it doesn’t stick too much. 

Once the beef is browned on all sides, add the tomatoes and their juices to the pot.  Then add the beef broth.  Stir well and put the top on the pot.  Allow to simmer for at least 2 hours.  Stir occasionally if you want.

Once the meat has simmered for 2 hours, it should be soft and tender.  At this point, add the capsicum and chickpeas to the pot.  Stir and let simmer for another 30 mins. 

We served this over mashed potato.  If you do this, add another AU$0.40 to each serving cost.  If you want to avoid the extra cost, this would be lovely on its own, or over rice, which is cheaper. 

*I have ground ginger, coriander and cumin already in my kitchen and I didn’t know how to figure out the cost of 1tsp of a AU$2.50 bottle of spice mix.  So… I left those out of the equation.  Obviously, if you have to buy those spices, this will be more expensive.  However, you could leave them out and get a dinner that is just as good- it would just be different.  If you do leave these spices out, increase the amount of black pepper you add and consider stirring in some other spices that you might have to hand.  Cayenne pepper and Cajun seasoning would both be good replacements. 

I have tried to post this recipe 2 times already… healthy, fiery and oh so good Roasted Vegetable Salsa.  But, each time I’ve made this, it has been entirely eaten before I could get a picture.  That should tell you how good it is!

The first time I made it was for a picnic in Centennial Park.  It was just Andy and me, so I didn’t make much.  I thought I’d take pictures of the leftovers when we got home.  Leftovers… ha!  We had leftovers of everything else, but the salsa container was empty!

The second time I made this salsa was to bring to a party.  I learned my lesson and made a ton.  I was confident there would be extra this time.  Nope.  The bowl was practically licked clean… which is gross.   

So, I made this salsa again last night for our Superbowl Party.  I had already planned to post the recipe today, so I knew there HAD to be some leftover for a picture this morning.  In addition to this smoky and fresh salsa, I served slow cooked chipotle pork in tortillas, black beans with cumin, chunky avocado dip, chips, cupcakes, etc.  There was a ton of food.  And at the end of the evening… there was about 1/3 cup of the salsa left!!  A victory for me, certainly.  But also for you because you get this excellent recipe. 

One of my favourite things about this recipe is that it can be made all year round.  In the summer when tomatoes are fresh this is a perfect way to use them up.  And, in the winter when tomatoes are not so great, the roasting really improves their flavour and texture.  Delicious!

Roasted Vegetable Salsa

Makes about 2 cups

5 large roma tomatoes
1 brown onion, cut in half and peeled
1 jalapeno pepper
2 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
1 lime
1 large handful of coriander (cilantro)

Preheat oven to about 175C or 350F.  Line a baking tray with tin foil.  Place the tomatoes, onion and jalapeno on the tray.  Wrap the garlic cloves in a smaller piece of tin foil and add them to the tray.  Put the tray in the oven and roast for about 30-45 mins.  Check after 30 mins.  The onion and pepper should have a few charred bits and the tomatoes should be bursting out of their skins.  If not, roast the veggies for a little longer.

Once the veggies are roasted, remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 mins.  Then add the tomatoes, onion and jalapeno to a food processer or blender.  Gently remove the soft garlic from the skins and add that as well.  Blend until chunky.  Squeeze the juice of the lime into the mixture and add the coriander.  Blend again.  Taste for seasoning.  I usually add a little bit of coarse salt. 

Once you’re happy with the flavour, transfer the salsa to a bowl and allow to rest in the fridge for about an hour.  This lets the flavours mingle and develop. 

I love going out for breakfast.  There is something simultaneously relaxing and energizing and having your breakfast made for you in a lovely, preferably sun drenched, locale.  However, breakfast out is, for me, often fraught with peril.  You see, I don’t like eggs.

I know!  I wish so much that I could enjoy eggs.  They are a perfect package of food.  I see magazine pictures of poached eggs atop crisp salads or fried eggs leaking out of a bacon sandwich and they look gorgeous.  But I cannot eat them. 

And I have tried!  A few years back, my father and I were driving around Ireland to visit all the “relations”.  At each elderly auntie’s house a large breakfast or lunch would be prepared for us, usually involving a fried egg.  I would try one bite, then cut the rest into tiny ribbons and hide them under my toast.  Even now, at home, I make scrambled eggs for Andy a few times a month.  I try little bites, hoping that this will be the magical moment in which eggs begin to make sense to me.  Never happens. 

So this egg-aversion makes going out for brekkie a real challenge.  I dare you to try to find a yummy menu item that does not involve eggs in some fashion.  It’s hard!  I can usually get toast or yogurt and that’s about it.  Not that there is anything really wrong with toast or yogurt.  I love them both.  But they get old after a while. 

However, we’ve recently found a cafe at Bondi Beach that serves a breakfast I can fully support.  Sourdough toast, topped with a rich, creamy ricotta cheese and slices of fresh tomato.  I order it with a side of avocado because everything in this world is better with a side of avocado.  It’s a gorgeous breakfast, and one that I wanted to recreate at home.  Here are the results:

A slice of toasted ciabatta bread, a layer of ricotta cheese, tomato and avocado and the whole thing is drizzled with some nice extra virgin olive oil, a sprinkling of cracked pepper and coarse salt. 

I can’t really give you a recipe for this, because it’s just a matter of buying good ingredients and stacking them on top of one another.  But I do urge you to try this for brekkie just once.  It’s light but filling, rich but tangy.  A perfect way to start another egg-hating day.

We’ve just returned from a gorgeous long weekend away in Barrington Tops, NSW.  It was my birthday trip this year… all arranged and organised by my outstanding husband.  We stayed in an adorable little B&B, visited national parks with huge sweeping views and small towns with cozy country pubs. 

We enjoyed hot tea and peanut butter toast (my favourite!) for breakfast, cheese platters with crisp white wine in the afternoon, and simple hearty country dinners at night.  Nothing fancy actually.  Just lots of relaxing and enjoying the fresh air and amazing views… and the sunshine!  It is starting to look like spring may actually make an appearance this year and we got our first, long-awaited taste of it this weekend.  It was worth the wait.    

However, the fresh air and restful afternoons of a weekend away do tend to come to a screeching halt during the drive back into Sydney on a rainy Sunday afternoon.  We got back to our apartment in the late afternoon, which gave me enough time to hit the grocery store while Andy returned the car.  I wanted to make something fresh and exciting with enough zing to remind us of the exciting weekend and enough substance to gird us for the bumpy re-entry into city life. 

I know some people won’t think that soup qualifies as exciting… but those people are totally wrong.  And mean.  And probably hate kittens.  This soup was spicy and tangy, with hefty little meatballs and the tart, lip-tingling taste of roasted jalapenos.  This is exactly what I want to eat while I bask in the memories of our time away and enjoy the slow warmth of a spring evening in Sydney. 

Spicy roasted tomato soup with meatballs

Serves 4

For the roasted tomatoes
6 roma tomatoes
1 jalapeno chili (may substitute any spicy chili you like), finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
a handful of basil leaves, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbs olive oil

For the meatballs
200g (about 1/4 lb) pork mince
200g beef mince
3 shakes Worstershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste

For the soup
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup very small pasta

Preheat oven to 180C or about 350F.  Slice the tomatoes into quarters and arrange in a single layer in a baking dish.  Sprinkle over the jalapeno, garlic and basil.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Pour over the olive oil.  Place the tomatoes in the oven to roast for about 1 hour. 

Meanwhile, put the pork mince and the beef mince in a large bowl.  Add the Worstershire sauce and salt and pepper to taste.  Mix well.  Use this mixture to form small meatballs (about the size of a marble).  Drop the meatballs into a pan of cool water. 

Once you have shaped all the meatballs and added them to the pan, bring the water in the pan up to a boil.  Allow to boil for about 5 mins.  Then, place the top on the pan and remove the pan from the heat.  (This step isn’t strictly required.  I wanted the meatballs to have the very soft texture that they get when they are boiled, rather than baked or fried, but I didn’t want all the fat from the meat in the final soup.  So, by par-boiling them, I got a lot of the fat out first.  You can skip this and drop them right into the tomato soup if you want.  No worries.)

Once the tomatoes are roasted, scoop all of the tomatoes and their juices into a blender or food processor.  Add 1 cup of chicken stock and process for about 1 minute (be careful if it’s too hot!  It will explode!  Let the tomatoes cool for a min first.)

Add the processed tomato mixture to a large soup pot.  Add the remaining chicken stock.  Using a slotted spoon, remove the meatballs from the water they boiled in and add them to the tomato soup.  Allow the soup to simmer for about 20 mins.

About 15 minutes before you are ready to eat, add the pasta to the soup.  The soup is ready when the pasta is done.  The pasta will soak up a lot of the soup, so you might have to add a little more chicken stock or water to get the right consistancy.  I didn’t want it to be very watery, so I didn’t add anything else to mine.

This is great served with a big green salad and good toasted bread sprinkled with Parmesan.  You could also stir some Parmesan or pesto into the soup before you serve it.