Showing posts with label lentils. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lentils. Show all posts

Saturday, September 5, 2015

Slow Cooker Love - Mulled Wine Kangaroo

Slow Cooker Love - Mulled Wine Kangaroo

When I was sitting and eating a bowl of my Beef, Pear and Red Wine Casserole, my mind wandered into how the cinnamon and red wine were like a mini-mulled wine with the beef. So naturally, my next thought was why not make a full-on mulled wine casserole? Cinnamon, cardamom, cloves all lend themselves to a hearty meat dish – as well as the wintery beverage. A lot of casseroles already use red wine as a flavouring component, why not go all the way and use a whole bottle? I know that you should  use decent quality wine to cook with, but when I’m using a whole bottle and adding a lot of other flavours to a dish, I’m not reaching for my best bottle. It just won’t be appreciated. My general rule is if you can’t drink it, don’t cook with it. There are a lot of good quality lower cost spectrum wines available, try a few out until you find one you like. Just make sure you drink a good quality wine with the dish! 


Kangaroo is a good meat to use for this dish as the wine and spices cut through the gameyness that can put people off. Adding the lentils makes it a one-pot meal. Meat and vege in one. Although I also served it with steamed sweet potato and sautéed kale with gorgonzola. That way I had leftovers to take to work! Whilst I am so ready for Spring, meals like this still make me appreciate the benefits of colder nights. It won’t be long til it’ll be nothing but BBQs and salads.


Slow Cooker Love - Mulled Wine Kangaroo
Slow Cooker Love - Mulled Wine Kangaroo


Mulled Wine Kangaroo


500g diced kangaroo
1 red onion, diced
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp rosemary leaves, minced
Juice and peel of one lemon
2 sticks cinnamon
5 cloves
5 cardamom pods
¼ cup brown sugar
1 cup beef stock
750mL bottle of red wine (something with oomph like a Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon)
2 carrots, cut into 2cm dice
1 cup de Puy lentils


Heat some olive oil in the base of your slow cooker up to a medium high heat and brown the kangaroo pieces, around 3 minutes on each side. Remove to a plate, cover and keep warm.


Turn the heat down to low and cook the red onion until translucent, around 5 minutes, then add the garlic cloves and rosemary. Stir and continue cooking 10 minutes until the onions start caramelising. Stir through the carrot and cook until it softens, 5 minutes. 

Add the lemon juice and scrape up any bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add the stock, wine, sugar, spices and peel. Bring to the boil and add the kangaroo and lentils. Place into your slow cooker and cook on high for 2 hours, alternatively, just reduce the heat back to low, place the lid on and simmer for 45minutes to an hour, or the lentils are soft and the meat is tender and pulling apart.


Slow Cooker Love - Mulled Wine Kangaroo
 Slow Cooker Love - Mulled Wine Kangaroo
Slow Cooker Love - Mulled Wine Kangaroo

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Meatless Mondays - Asian Style Vegie 'Meatballs'

Meatless Mondays - Asian Style Vegie 'Meatballs' with Taro Avocado Sauce
Meatless Mondays - Asian Style Vegie 'Meatballs' with Taro Avocado Sauce

Lance isn't the easiest person to convince to eat vegetarian. Even though unless it's smoked, roasted and/or pulled...generally the meat portion of the meal isn't even his favourite part. Somehow the IDEA of vegetarian can be offensive. So I've learnt to serve vegetarian meals without bothering to mention the lack of meat. I don't actively seek to eat vegetarian, as I'm a fairly committed omnivore myself, but given I was recently made redundant, I figure a cheaper dish by omitting meat here and there is probably not a bad idea. On top of that, I'd forgotten to get any meat out to defrost! That's my most frequent reason for vegetarianism - lack of planning!

These veggie meatballs are one of those dishes that Lance really loves, even though he'll complain if I'm telling him we're having a vegetarian night. I don't know if it's the meatiness of the mushrooms, or maybe it's the format of the "meatballs" - but this is a good dish to serve those meat-addicts in your life. The ginger and chili add a nice flavour kick to the mushrooms and lentils - which tend to need a helping hand in terms of flavour. Just don't call them "rissoles" or that opens up a whole new kettle of prejudices!

I kept a vague Asian theme to the sauce by pureeing some taro with coconut milk, avocado and ponzu sauce to make a creamy counterbalance to the spicy meatballs. If you can't find ponzu sauce, a tablespoon (or two) of the mushroom oyster sauce also works well. As does replacing half a cup of coconut milk with stock. In fact, you can add an extra cup or two of stock and turn the sauce into a soup!

You can also make these as a large pattie and turn them into veggie burgers. Also, any leftover balls make excellent tacos!
Meatless Mondays - Asian Style Vegie 'Meatballs' with Taro Avocado Sauce
Meatless Mondays - Asian Style Vegie 'Meatballs' with Taro Avocado Sauce
Meatless Mondays - Asian Style Vegie 'Meatballs' with Taro Avocado Sauce
Meatless Mondays - Asian Style Vegie 'Meatballs' with Taro Avocado Sauce
Meatless Mondays - Asian Style Vegie 'Meatballs' with Taro Avocado Sauce


Asian Vegie Meatballs

1 tin lentils, rinsed and drained
4 tbsps plus 1tbsps olive oil
1 red onion, finely diced
2 carrots, finely diced
1 red capsicum, finely diced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 bunches coriander, roots/stems diced separately to leaves
1 thumb size piece ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 green chili, minced
1 red chili, half minced, half sliced into rings for garnish
4 tbsp mushroom oyster sauce (if you're not vegetarian, normal oyster sauce is fine)
250g Mushrooms, wiped clean and diced
2 eggs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped cashews



Heat 4 tbsps olive oil in a large pan to a medium heat and add the onions, carrots, capsicum, garlic, ginger and chilis. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring here and there until the vegetables soften. Add the mushrooms and coriander stems cook for a further 10 minutes, or until the mushrooms release their liquid and it is then reabsorbed. Stir through the oyster sauce and cook for 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and allow to come to room temperature.

When cooled, add the lentils to the vegetable mixture, then form a well in the centre of the bowl. Add the eggs, parmesan, breadcrumbs, cashews and coriander leaves and mix by hand until everything is evenly distributed. Place in the fridge for half an hour.


Preheat the oven to 175C


Rub the remaining olive oil over the base and walls of a baking dish. Leave the olive oil on your hands to help you with the rolling. Roll the now cold mixture into balls about the size of golf balls, or a little larger. Pack firmly so they hold their shape. Place the balls into the baking tray, packing so they're almost touching.


Pop in the oven for 30 minutes, or until firm and a bit crispy on top. Leave in the tray for 5 minutes to settle before removing, so they are less likely to fall apart. Serve with Taro Avocado sauce and rice.

Meatless Mondays - Asian Style Vegie 'Meatballs' with Taro Avocado Sauce



Taro Avocado Sauce


1 baby taro root (around the size of a fist)
2 avocados
4 tbsp ponzu sauce
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
water for thinning if required
quarter cup coriander leaves, roughly chopped
salt + pepper

Wash the taro root, then steam for 45 minutes, or until fork tender. Allow to cool enough to touch, then peel.Cut into chunks.

Add the taro, coconut milk and avocado to your blender, and mix until smooth. Add water if required to get to your desired consistency. Add the ponzu sauce and coriander leaves, blend to mix. Taste for seasoning.

If it's cooled too much, pour into a little saucepan and gently reheat when ready to serve.

(Can also be thinned with stock to make a Taro Avocado Soup!)

Meatless Mondays - Asian Style Vegie 'Meatballs' with Taro Avocado Sauce
Meatless Mondays - Asian Style Vegie 'Meatballs' with Taro Avocado Sauce

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Pizza Party - Pulse flour pizza with Ras el Hanout Mango Ricotta

Pizza Party - Pulse flour pizza with Ras el Hanout Mango Ricotta
 
 
Sometimes you need pizza. There’s no way around it. And it has to be real pizza. A real dough base, not just the usual cheat method of using a Lebanese loaf and spreading on your toppings. And then you need a beer and to sit outside in the fresh air and sunshine with your pizza and your husband and reflect on how good life can be. That despite being bone tired from a long and hard crabbing session that was mostly fruitless (although eating the crab hot out of the pot that night with fresh bread and butter still made it feel worthwhile), an afternoon of good food, good weather and good conversation is all it takes to get over the exhaustion.
 
This is a pretty simple dough that was made a bit more exciting (not to mention good-for-you) through the addition of two types of pulse flour. I had a little bit of lentil flour left over from my Secret Cake Club baking, and added some chick pea flour to total half the flour. You could use all chick pea flour seeing as that is pretty easy to get, but making your own lentil flour is pretty easy if you’ve got a coffee grinder. In which case, you could also use all lentil flour. As with my baking experimenting gone awry, the addition of a little arrowroot powder ensures the dough binds properly. The molasses in place of the normal sugar adds a smokey sweetness to the nuttiness that the beans bring. Leave it to proof for half an hour while you make the sauce and chop some veges and it’s a pretty quick way of getting a real pizza base in your life.
 
This makes two just-bigger-than single serve pizzas, by themselves enough for around 3 serves. Or 4 serves if you have a side salad. The toppings are fairly easy to change in and out of the sweet and spicy cream cheese sauce. Mine were what were to hand. Although the sauce and lentil base is flavoursome enough that the toppings play textural counterpoint as much as anything. Fresh greens on top are one of my favourite things to do with pizza, you could probably get away with just that.
 
Pizza Party - Pulse flour pizza with Ras el Hanout Mango Ricotta
Pizza Party - Pulse flour pizza with Ras el Hanout Mango Ricotta
 

Pulse Flour Pizza Base

½ cup lentil flour
½ cup chick pea flour (or one cup of chickpea flour)
1 tbsp arrowroot powder
1 cup plain flour
2 tsp yeast
1 tsp molasses
½ teaspoon salt
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp cornmeal
 
Pizza Party - Pulse flour pizza with Ras el Hanout Mango Ricotta
Pizza Party - Pulse flour pizza with Ras el Hanout Mango Ricotta
 
 

Ras el Hanout Mango Ricotta Sauce

150g smooth ricotta
1 mango
2 tsp ras el hanout
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp tamarind puree
 
Pizza Party - Pulse flour pizza with Ras el Hanout Mango Ricotta
 
 Pizza Party - Pulse flour pizza with Ras el Hanout Mango Ricotta

Toppings

¼ roast chicken, meat shredded
¼ zucchini sliced into thin rings
½ red capsicum, sliced into thin strips
Snow pea shoots
 
Mix the flours together in a large bowl with the salt and yeast. Make a well in the centre and add the olive oil, warm water and molasses. Stir the liquids together first, then slowly bring in the flour until it becomes a shaggy mess. Knead for around 5 minutes until it forms a smooth ball. Pop in an oiled bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap and set aside to double in size.
 
Meanwhile, mince the garlic, dice the mango and mix all of the sauce ingredients together until well combine. Slice your toppings as desired. Heat your BBQ or oven to 160C
 
Punch down the dough to remove some of the air, then divide the dough into two. Roll the each ball of dough out to around 2cm thickness. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of cornmeal on two baking trays and lay the pizza bases on top. Cover with toppings and bake in the oven, or on a lidded BBQ for 15 minutes or until base is golden at the edges and the cheese mixture is browning.
 
Pizza Party - Pulse flour pizza with Ras el Hanout Mango Ricotta
Pizza Party - Pulse flour pizza with Ras el Hanout Mango Ricotta
Pizza Party - Pulse flour pizza with Ras el Hanout Mango Ricotta
Pizza Party - Pulse flour pizza with Ras el Hanout Mango Ricotta
Pizza Party - Pulse flour pizza with Ras el Hanout Mango Ricotta
 

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Using Leftovers - Smokey Duck and Lentil Empanadas

Using Leftovers - Smokey Duck and Lentil Empanadas
Using Leftovers - Smokey Duck and Lentil Empanadas


If you are lucky enough to have some leftover bourbon molasses braised duck, then this is the perfect way of utilising some of that delicious saucy meat. If you do not have any left, never fear – any leftover meat could be shredded to be added to the lentils. Or even some refried beans and a little grated cheese. Or the sweet potato and bacon filling from my bagel bombs. The recipe here is more for the dough than anything. The dough itself is flavoured in such a way that it lends itself to the smokey, BBQy flavours of the duck dish, so I would recommend using a little good quality BBQ sauce to coat the meat and lentils before forming the empanadas. Alternately, make sure you have a good dipping sauce if you have a plainer filling.

I make my pastry doughs in the food processor because it’s so much simpler, but it can be done by hand.

Oh, and my New Year's Resolution last year to eat more cornbread was a huge success. This year, I think it might be to practice making prettier looking empanadas!
 
Using Leftovers - Smokey Duck and Lentil Empanadas
Using Leftovers - Smokey Duck and Lentil Empanadas

Smokey Empanadas with Duck and Lentils

2 cups plain flour (‘00’ if you have it)
½ cup cold butter, cubed
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ancho chilli powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
¼ cup bourbon
2 eggs
1 tbsp molasses
1 Egg + 1 tbsp cold water for the egg wash

Filling
400g tin lentils
Few twists of salt and pepper
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup shredded duck

Remove the duck from the fridge to take the chill off.

Sift the flour, salt, paprika and chilli powder together and put it in the food processor. Add the butter and pulse until it is combined and resembles breadcrumbs. In a bowl, lightly beat the bourbon, eggs and molasses to combine. Add to the flour mixture and pulse until it comes together into a ball. Don’t overwork it.

Remove the dough, flatten it into a disc, wrap it in plastic and pop it in the freezer for 15 minutes to chill.

Take it out of the freezer, divide it into two pieces and roll each piece out into a rectangle about 5mm thick that you then cut into 4. So when both pieces have been rolled and cut, you’ll have 8 rectangles. Place on lined baking trays, cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 10 minutes while you make the filling.

Rinse the lentils well as they come out of the tin and drain. Place in a bowl, season and add 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar. Stir to combine, then drain the excess vinegar and measure out 1 cup of lentils. Reserve the rest for another use (I added to a salad). Mix the duck meat into the lentils.

Preheat the oven to 175C

Place around 1 ½ tablespoons of filling mixture along half of each piece of dough, leaving a 5mm-1cm rim around the edge. Brush the rim top and bottom with egg wash, fold the top over and crimp together with a fork. Poke a few air holes with the fork tines and brush the whole thing with egg wash.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden.

Serve with greek yoghurt or sour cream
 
Using Leftovers - Smokey Duck and Lentil Empanadas
Using Leftovers - Smokey Duck and Lentil Empanadas
Using Leftovers - Smokey Duck and Lentil Empanadas
Using Leftovers - Smokey Duck and Lentil Empanadas
 

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Two Recipes - Roast Beet and Lentil Patties - Crab with Smokey Tequila Sabayon





Two Recipes - Roast Beet and Lentil Patties - Crab with Smokey Tequila Sabayon
Two Recipes - Roast Beet and Lentil Patties - Crab with Smokey Tequila Sabayon
 
Lance often mocks me the various random frozen things in ziplock bags I have in the freezer. He quizzed me the other day on whether I knew what was actually in them and he pointed out a bag of crab flesh from a summer crabbing trip. Given it’s recommended to be frozen 3-6 months, we decided it needed to be eaten. I enjoyed the pomegranate gin sabayon so much, I decided I’d do something similar. But I was in a tequila-y kinda mood.

This post is really two distinct recipes. Crab with a smokey tequila sabayon and a beetroot and lentil patty. Both of these recipes are fully standalone dishes. They taste amazing by themselves. I make a variation of this patty for burgers quite often (so good with sweet potato chips!). And the crab with a toasted sabayon in smaller portions on top of a fancy cracker/toast makes the most elegant canapé. But the flavours go together really well and I’ve only photographed it together, so I’ll serve it up here in the one post! But the combination of earthy beetroot, sweet crab and smokey sauce is brilliant. Add a peppery leaves salad and you’ve got a perfect meal!
Word to the wise – don’t decide to make a sabayon after you come home from an arms session at the gym! The whisking is a work-out all in itself.

Oh, and the beet patties are fairly fragile, so be super careful when flipping and serving.
Two Recipes - Roast Beet and Lentil Patties - Crab with Smokey Tequila Sabayon
Two Recipes - Roast Beet and Lentil Patties - Crab with Smokey Tequila Sabayon
Two Recipes - Roast Beet and Lentil Patties - Crab with Smokey Tequila Sabayon


Roast Beetroot Patties

2 large beetroot
1 tbsp olive oil, plus more for frying
400g tin lentils
1 cup cooked quinoa
½ tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil
1 egg
2/3 cup oats (GF if need be)

Preheat the oven to 170C. Scrub the beets, then drizzle with 1 tbsp oil and wrap tightly in foil. Place in the oven and roast until fork-tender – around 40 minutes. Set aside to cool. When cool, rub with your fingers to remove the skins. Cut into quarters.

Place the beets and lentils into your food processor and pulse 4-5 times to break up the veges a bit and combine. Add the salt, basil and egg and pulse another 4-5 times to blend well. Remove to a bowl and add the oats, mix in with your hands, blending together well. Form into approximately 8 patties and lay out on a lined baking tray (just to save dishes) and place in the fridge for half an hour to firm up.
Heat a layer of oil in a large frypan to a medium heat and gently slide 4 patties in the pan. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the patties are crisp on the bottom. Again, very gently flip with a spatula and cook for another 3 minutes. Remove to a paper towel lined plate and tent with tin foil to keep warm while you cook the next 4.
 
Two Recipes - Roast Beet and Lentil Patties - Crab with Smokey Tequila Sabayon
Two Recipes - Roast Beet and Lentil Patties - Crab with Smokey Tequila Sabayon
Two Recipes - Roast Beet and Lentil Patties - Crab with Smokey Tequila Sabayon
Two Recipes - Roast Beet and Lentil Patties - Crab with Smokey Tequila Sabayon
Two Recipes - Roast Beet and Lentil Patties - Crab with Smokey Tequila Sabayon


Smokey Tequila Sabayon on Crab

1 clove garlic, sliced
1 tbsp honey
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp tequila
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp smokey paprika
200g cooked crab flesh, picked over for shell and cartilage.

Heat a tbsp. of oil in a frypan over a low heat and put the slices of garlic in. Toss around in the hot oil until browned and crisp. Drain on paper towel.
Preheat the oven to 150C. On a lined baking tray, form 6 small, tight piles of the crab flesh.

Fill a small saucepan with water and place a glass bowl over it. Heat to medium, until there are gentle bubbles. Add the egg yolks and honey to the glass bowl and whisk constantly until the eggyolks triple in volume and lighten. Take off the heat and whisk whilst slowly drizzling in the tequila. Keep whisking until fully incorporated and then whisk in the salt and paprika.

Spoon a few tablespoons of the sabayon on top of the crab piles, then place in the oven for 10 minutes until the top is just browning and the crab is heated through.

To serve, place a beetroot patty on the plate and gently slide a crab pile on top. Serve with a green salad

 
Two Recipes - Roast Beet and Lentil Patties - Crab with Smokey Tequila Sabayon
Two Recipes - Roast Beet and Lentil Patties - Crab with Smokey Tequila Sabayon
Two Recipes - Roast Beet and Lentil Patties - Crab with Smokey Tequila Sabayon
Two Recipes - Roast Beet and Lentil Patties - Crab with Smokey Tequila Sabayon