October 30, 2005

Peter Gordon's Tomato and Chilli Jam

Before I came to New Zealand I had only vaguely heard of Kiwi chef Peter Gordon. From articles that popped up every so often in the English newspapers that I read, I knew that he cooked at The Sugar Club (still, I think, a truly brilliant name for a restaurant) and that he was designated king of what became known as fusion cuisine. That all changed when I made my first batch of his Tomato and Chilli Jam. Now he is known as the person responsible for coming up with the recipe of this addictive addition to sandwiches, sausages, noodles, patés, cheese, cold meats or just about anything that needs a little zip. I discovered it through an article in Cuisine magazine and you'll find the recipe right here.

It's not difficult to make, even if you don't have a blender. I just chop everything up as small as possible and throw it all in together. Don't be tempted to leave out the Asian fish sauce (aka nam pla). It may smell disgusting when you open the bottle but it really adds depth to the flavour. The first time I made this Tomato and Chilli Jam was during the autumn glut of tomatoes. They didn't cost too much and, most importantly, were ripe. If you make it during the winter as I did the last time (we ran out - I was desperate!) you'll be simmering the mixture for far longer than 30-40 minutes but it will eventually come together in the end. Well worth spending a Saturday morning on.

Posted by Caroline at 5:53 PM | Comments (0)

August 16, 2005

Peas, beans, lentils and other useful things

I've always been a lover of peas, beans and lentils - things that are cheap and can be turned into something delicious without too much effort. But, in Ireland, a hectic schedule prevented me from really getting involved with these in their dried form. Instead I had to content myself with their tinned equivalents which, although not hugely expensive, do prevent you from using them with too much abandon. Since coming to New Zealand, however, and discovering that dried peas, beans and lentils are readily available through the Bin Inn chain and also through the self-serve bins in all supermarkets, I've been putting them to good use.

In Dublin I had cooked dried chickpeas a couple of times with great - almost too much - success. When soaked overnight in too small a bowl, chickpeas have a tendency to start taking over the kitchen. And they don't stop expanding then, so make sure you have a big saucepan for the cooking. The problem, besides me cooking too big a bag on my first attempt, was that we didn't have a freezer in our Dublin flat so we had chickpeas in everything for a few days - stews, soups, couscous - and I even made a big bowl of hummus. At least we're blessed with a large fridge-freezer in New Zealand so I can cook and freeze to my heart's content. For a little work in the morning, you've got a supply of pulses for the next few weeks and they are delicious added to stews, soups and the like when you want to, as opposed to when you have to.

To cook pulses you do have to do a small bit of forward planning as most of them need to be soaked the night before you intend to cook them. Lentils, whether brown, split or Du Puy, are the few exceptions to this rule. Proper soaking, rinsing and cooking also help to prevent gas or wind, thus avoiding the truth of the old rhyme (taught to us as children by our father, much to our mother's annoyance!):

"Beans, beans,
They warm your heart.
The more you eat,
The more you fart."

I always rinse the pulses before leaving them to soak in cold water for at least 12 hours. Drain and rinse well again before putting them in the cooking pot and covering them with cold water. Add whichever aromatics you would like to the cooking water - bay leaves are always useful, as are roughly chopped carrots, onions and celery - but don't add any salt as this toughens the skins and you may spend a year and a day boiling before they might deign to soften. Sometimes, despite your forbearance with the salt, pulses may be uncooperative as regards the cooking process, especially chickpeas. It's best to buy dried peas, beans and lentils in places that you know have a quick turnover as stale pulses are no fun to be cooking. Chickpeas, in particular, are likely to take a couple of hours boiling although I was caught by surprise when a batch I bought from our local Asian supermarket took less than an hour to become tender.

On the other hand, If chickpeas are taking over three hours to cook then make a paste with a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda and some water then add it to the cooking pot. This tends to have an effective, if brutal, effect on the uncooperative legumes, rendering them tender within 10 or 20 minutes. Beware, though, if you're cooking the chickpeas for use in a salad, as this last resort measure also has the effect of removing the skins from the chickpeas, which is fine if you're making Chickpea Mash but is not so visually effective otherwise.

Cooking pulses is an ideal occupation if you're at home during the morning as they need little attention after you've got them on the cooker, just the occasional peek into the saucepan. When they're cooked (I've found a very good chart for the cooking times of various legumes here), just drain and allow them to cool. They can be used immediately or frozen for use at a later date. Vegetarian cookbook writer Rose Elliott, in her very handy The Bean Book, recommends freezing them in manageable bags of about 300g, which seems to be the usual weight of a tin of drained blackeyed beans or chickpeas, and then they're ready to go for any recipe - advice which I have found useful on many occasions.

Posted by Caroline at 11:54 PM | Comments (0)

July 21, 2005

Too many lemons?

Enjoying Moroccan food as much as I do, I am a big fan of preserved lemons. Years ago, when I was living in a flat in Dublin, I made a jar of preserved lemons which I didn't have the nerve to use. So they just sat there and sat there on top of the cupboard looking like, as one visitor put it, preserved babies heads - I really don't know what he was drinking at the time!

That batch of preserved lemons ended up the dustbin but I'm not a person to let one failure cause me to stop trying, especially when I had a lemon tree outside the door. Before we moved, I gathered a selection of ripe lemons and, using a variety of methods from a variety of places, made myself a jar of preserved lemons. They're currently sitting on the top shelf of my pantry, happily maturing away (I hope), getting ready to be chopped into couscous, tagines, risottos, stews...

Preserved Lemons
This isn't really a recipe so much as a hope document as I don't really know how they're going to turn out until I open the jar and start using them!

Lemons
Sea salt
Cinnamon sticks
Bay leaves
Freshly squeezed lemon juice
Olive oil

I gathered about 10 small ripe lemons from the tree. Apparently it's important to use unwaxed lemons or to wash them before you start in order to get rid of the preservative wax that's normally sprayed over them.

Cut them into quarters and toss them with several fistfuls of sea salt. Layer the lemon quarters, with plenty more sea salt, a couple of halved cinnamon sticks and a few bay leaves into a sterilised jar.

Pour over enough freshly squeezed lemon juice to cover and top with some olive oil. Place in a cool, dark place for a couple of months to mature.

When using the preserved lemons, scrape out the flesh and only use the skin.

Posted by Caroline at 7:44 PM | Comments (2)

June 26, 2005

Caramelised Onions

Being flat stony broke these days, I like to try and bring my lunch to work with me rather than be dependent on cafés. Sometimes the lunch is leftovers from dinner the night - rice or pasta with some kind of sauce - but other days I am forced to rely on sandwiches. Having eaten plain ham sandwiches for years as a secondary school student my boredom threshold is quite low so I try to ring the changes as much as possible with different breads, fillings and spreads. One thing that really lifts a sandwich, be it ham, cheese, pate or chicken, beyond the ordinary are sticky and savoury Caramelised Onions. These onions are a great standby to have on hand. They seem to last for ages in the fridge and they go with any kind of sandwich. I have often pressed them into service as a relish when I've been eating cheese and crackers and, in her Cook's Companion, Stephanie Alexander suggests stirring a spoonful through cooked pasta.

Caramelised Onions are not difficult to make but they do involve some time. I find that this is a good thing to cook while you're doing other things around the house. Peeling the onions is probably the worst part of the job and, no matter what evasive action you take, you'll be shedding bucket-loads of tears before you get the last onion chopped! I try to stand by an open window or at least make sure the kitchen is well ventilated. After peeling each of the onions, rinse it under cold water and leave it to drip in a colander in the sink until you start chopping. This won't prevent the tears but it might lessen them somewhat.

Caramelised Onions
Red onions - 5 large, sliced
Balsamic vinegar - 75mls
Raw brown sugar - 150g
Olive oil - 1 tablespoon
Salt, pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-based frying pan. Add the onions, sprinkle with plenty of salt and pepper and cook over a moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until soft and beginning to brown.

Add the balsamic vinegar and sugar to the pan and stir well. Simmer over a low heat for 15 to 20 minutes until the liquid has reduced and the onions are sticky.

When cool, store in a lidded container in the fridge. I have kept mine for over a month with no problems.

Posted by Caroline at 9:26 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack