Using Leftovers - Sweet Potato, Pumpkin and Fetta Croquettes with Smokey Rotkohl

I’ve never made croquettes before, but when someone suggested on Skamp’s facebook page that it was a good way for using leftover roast sweet potato and pumpkin, I thought it was time to give it a go. I had almost exactly 200g of roast sweet potato and pumpkin leftover from a roast the night before and this made the perfect amount of croquettes for the two of us for dinner. These would be great served as a hot snack at a dinner party with maybe some sweet chilli sauce or creamy sriracha dipping sauce.

I had a fairly salty style Danish fetta in these croquettes, so if your fetta is less salty, you may need to season. I used coconut as well as bread crumbs for the coating, because I love that combination and it just tends to work for frying anything. Seriously.

To make it a complete meal, I served it with a chipotle rotkohl – a sauerkraut made with red cabbage. This is in no way a traditional recipe, but it tastes pretty amazing! A nice briny sauerkraut with a smokey kick of heat. This with the naturally sweet flavour of the roast veges in the croquettes was a match made in heaven. And then to round it out, some rye bread toast and some chorizo fried in muscat. The rotkohl makes way more than you’ll need for a meal for two, but it keeps well, just reheating it as you need it for a few days

Roast Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Croquettes

200g roast pumpkin and sweet potato, mashed
85g fetta
1 tsp dried basil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup panko
1/2 cup dried coconut
1 tsp coriander powder

In a large bowl, mash the sweet potato and pumpkin together, then mix through the dried basil to distribute evenly. Gently fold through the fetta. You want it to be evenly mixed through, but not necessarily smooth. A few small lumps of fetta are fine.

Set up a crumbing station. Have two shallow bowls, one with a lightly beaten egg. In the other, mix together the panko, coconut and coriander powder.

Form the croquettes by rolling 2-3tbsp of pumpkin mixture into logs. Roll in the egg, then in the panko mixture. Place on a tray and refrigerate for 30 minutes to set.

Heat a thin layer of olive oil in a pan, and fry each side of the croquettes until golden and crispy on the outside, and warm and gooey inside. About 2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towel for 5 minutes to cool to eating temperature and eat straight away!

Smokey Rotkohl (Red Cabbage Sauerkraut)

1 red onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp salt
1 red cabbage, thinly sliced
1 chipotle chili
1 cup hot water
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp honey

Pour the hot water over the chipotle chili and set aside to soften.

In a large pot, heat the olive oil to medium heat. Add the red onion and salt, and sautee until translucent. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic.

Add the cabbage, tomatoes, apple cider vinegar, cumin seeds and honey. Remove the chipotle from the hot water, and add the water to the pot as well. Bring the liquid to the boil, pushing the cabbage into the liquid as well as you can. Then turn down to a simmer.

Core the chipotle, then finely slice and add to the rotkohl. Simmer for 30 minutes or so, until the cabbage is soft. Serve!

Breakfast of Champions - Carrot Cake Bircher Muesli

I’m a big fan of carrot cake. It’s not my favourite cake (not actually sure what that would be), but it’s generally a good safe cake. If you’re spoiled for choice and aren’t leaning towards anything in particular, it’s always going to be there. In all it’s cream-cheese-icinged glory. There’s a reason it’s a classic. Now that I’ve been getting up and it’s not entirely dark and you can feel the hint of Spring just over there, I’ve gone off of my coffee porridge just a little. And instead of going back to just soaking the oats in coffee, I decided I wanted something a bit fresher. A bit fruity. A bit carrot cakey. This is just my riff on the traditional Bircher muesli, where you soak your oats in grated apple and apple juice to soften them, and then served with yoghurt and nuts.

The traditional carrot cake flavours are there, cinnamon and ginger and orange. I’ve used earl grey tea to help the soaking process rather than apple juice so I’m not overwhelming the muesli with the apple flavour. Or sugar. The bergamot is subtle here, but really adds a little something. I cover one teabag with cold water and leave for 2 hours.

Instead of the tangy cream cheese icing, I’ve still just used greek yoghurt, then drizzled a nice bit of honey over the top and topped it with more traditional toppings – walnuts, coconut and pumpkin seeds. The muesli itself is vegan, to keep it that way, just substitute Co-Yo for the normal yoghurt. It can also be gluten free if you use GF certified oats.

Carrot Cake Bircher Muesli

(serves 2)
1 cup grated carrot
1 large Pink Lady Apple (or similar tart apple)
2 tbsp sultanas
4 dates, chopped into small pieces
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup cold-brewed earl grey tea
Juice and zest from one orange
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp ground cardamom
¼ tsp salt

To serve

½ cup Greek yoghurt
Drizzle honey
Chopped walnuts
Pumpkin seeds
Toasted coconut flakes

Get Well Soon - Herbed Cream Cheese and Prawn Pizza

Lance and I both got hit by the flu that was going around. It knocked us around quite a bit and in an attempt to kick it, I started amping up the health-promoting ingredients in all of our dishes. This on top of the lemon, honey and ginger teas we were drinking like they were going out of fashion. One Sunday we were both feeling sorry for ourselves, the sun was shining and I was a bit over the soups. So I made these cold-kicking cream cheese pizzas – full of garlic, ginger, chilli, fresh herbs and lemon and honey squeezed over the top. We sat out in the sun to get some vitamin D and shake off some of the germs and cobwebs from being in bed for a week. 

It felt a lot like the sitting at the pub and having a gourmet pizza that we were missing out on, and it perked us up enough to get back to work the next day.

You don’t need to be sick to enjoy these. But they’re easy enough to cook when you are. I think this is going to make a few appearances over Spring and Summer. Possibly with real, homemade pizza bases!

Herbed Cream Cheese and Prawn Pizza

100g peeled raw prawns

4 lebanese loaves
250g Philadelphia cream cheese
2 bunches coriander
1 bunch parsley
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tsp red chilli, minced
1 tsp grated ginger
¼ tsp salt
Handful bean sprouts
1 tbsp capers
Handful rocket
Lemon wedges for serving

Preheat the oven to 170C

Throw your cream cheese, coriander, parsley, garlic cloves, chilli, salt and ginger in a food processor. Pulse until it’s all chopped up and evenly combined.

Spread over the Lebanese loaves, then distribute the prawns, capers and bean sprouts. Pop in the oven and cook for 20 minutes until the prawns are pink and the cheese is getting golden at the edges.

Serve with a handful of rocket on top, then drizzle over some honey and add lemon wedges.

Even better with a beer or crisp white wine

Coming into Spring - Roast Strawberry and Broccoli Warm Rice Salad

Remember my roast strawberry salsa? That was good, you should try that. But when it comes down to it, it’s the roasting of the strawberries that really make it. Roast strawberries are good. Really good. It intensifies the flavours and sweetness in a way that suits both sweet and savoury dishes. This is another dish that uses roast strawberries to great effect paired with roast broccoli and garlic to create an amazing warm salad. Just add a protein and it’s a complete meal.

It’s a simple dish, which can come together in the time it takes for the rice to cook. Pop the rice on, chuck the strawberries and broccoli in the oven while you toast the nuts and seeds and by the time that’s done, so is the salad. I used red rice for becuse I like the colour and texture of it here, but your favourite grain would work. Quinoa would be a nice nutty alternative, or buckwheat.

I was feeling particularly decadent, so I grated some dark chocolate over the top. It’s next level stuff that’s not at all necessary but so good! Some goat’s cheese crumbled over the top would be another good add on.

Roast Strawberry and Broccoli Warm Rice Salad

1/2 cup red rice
1 cup water

1 head broccoli, cut into florets
250g punnet strawberries, hulled
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ cup pepitas
½ cup hazelnuts
1 tbsp capers
½ tbsp. mustard seeds
½ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 180C

Rinse the red rice and place in a glass bowl. Cover with 1 cup of water and microwave for 22 minutes or cook til al debnte using your preferred method.

In a large casserole dish, combine the broccoli, strawberries, olive oil, salt and garlic. Toss to mix well, then put in the oven and roast for 15 minutes or until strawberries are soft and broccoli starts to colour.

Meanwhile, heat a pan over medium heat and toss in the pepitas and mustard seeds. When both start popping (around 2 minutes), remove from the pan and set aside. Toast the hazelnuts in the same manner, tossing to toast each side. Approximately 5 minutes. Remove and set aside. When cool, chop roughly.

When the broccoli is ready, stir through the nuts, seeds, rice and capers.

Finely grate some dark chocolate over the top

 Serve! I served here with pork steaks seasoned with some of the rub from my lamb ragu recipe

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.

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.
 

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