So I love meat (within moderation, of course). I can't go past a delicious steak sammy. This amazing marinade recipe allows the meat to taste perfect between two slices of bread, lettuce, tomato, aioli and caramelised onions! It originates from one of my favourite food magazines- Dish.
Place all ingredients in a plastic bag (with no holes) and close tightly. Shake the bag and leave to marinade for however long you like.
Heat in fry pan until desired pinkness reached.
I also have to share with you the recipe (also from Dish) for Caramelised Onions.
Heat oil and butter in saucepan. Add onions, season, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Uncover cover and add the rest of the ingredients. Cook for a further 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
I keep on seeing this beautiful vegetable at Farmers' Markets with long green stems and feather-like leaves. My decision to finally purchase some was purely superficial, so I didn't want a recipe that involved a lot of fuss. After a quick Google search, a recipe for Fennel and Potato Gratin was chosen. Having never made a savoury gratin before, this was a learning experience (ie a bit of a fail). While cutting up the fennel, it was hard to miss the distinctive smell of licorice leaving the stems. Fennel appears to be used a lot in Italian cooking, and given that's my favourite kind of cooking, it will have to be prepared as such next time.
And speaking of Italian...
... Got a bit side tracked there...
Fennel and Potato Gratin
Serves 4
4 medium potatoes
1 fennel bulb
1 cup cream*
1 cup milk*
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Freshly ground salt and pepper
Peel and finely slice potatoes and slice fennel into slivers. Put into cold water, drain and pat dry.
Heat cream and milk in a saucepan to simmering. Add garlic, pepper and salt.
Layer the sliced vegetables in a baking dish and pour over the milk/cream mix.
Cover with foil and bake at 180C for half an hour.
Remove the foil and allow to finish cooking till tender and the top has browned.
*I would highly recommend using half the amount of milk and cream, as the mixture came out quite runny.
It might be quite nice next time with a Parmesan bread crumb coating. Yummy!
Now that the temperature is dropping and the days are shorter- it is hard to deny winter is here. I like to focus on the positives... like woolly slippers, hot water bottles and soup! It's great to divide up into portions to last you for lunch for the week. I like to think of it as what salads are to summer, soups are to winter. The following has been adapted from one of my favourite magazines- Dish. I quite like this recipe for its use of the smoky paprika. It adds a wonderful depth compared to traditional pumpkin soup recipes.
Pumpkin and Smoked Paprika Soup
Makes around 6 bowls
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons sweet smoked paprika
1 brown onion, peeled and chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 butternut pumpkin, peeled and chopped
3 cups chicken stock
Freshly ground salt and pepper
Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the paprika, onion, carrot, garlic, thyme and a good pinch of salt. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until vegetables are soft and lightly coloured. Add the pumpkin and stock, simmer until all vegetables are tender. Cool slightly and process until smooth.
The week and consequently the weekend have come to an end. It always gives me a comforting feeling to have a warm, hearty meal to start the new week that will fly by in no time. These roasts easily satisfy and are ideal for the upcoming winter months (one of the few perks of the season).
This first piece of meat comes with a bonus- hard and crispy crackling. Although I am conscious of where the pork I eat is coming from, I found it a lot easier to pick up something from the supermarket- while going for the self proclaimed cruelty free sticker. This recipe has been adapted from Jamie Oliver’s Pork Belly Roast recipe. I considered attempting the gravy but thought it a waste to mash up such beautiful roast vegetables.
Roast Pork Belly
Serves 2
500g pork belly sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 red onions, halved 2 carrots, peeled and halved lengthways
2 parsnips, halved lengthways
1 bulb of garlic, broken into cloves
1 medium kumara
6 small potatoes
Dried thyme
Preheat oven to 220°C. Place pork skin-side upwards. Using a small sharp knife and make scores about a centimetre apart through the skin into the fat, but not so deep thatyou cut into the meat.
Rub salt into the scores. Season the underside of the meat with salt and black pepper.
Place your pork, skin side-up, in a roasting tray big enough to hold the pork and the vegetables, and place in the hot oven. Roast for about half an hour until the skin is turning into crackling.
In the meantime, par boil kumara and potatoes for 10 minutes in boiling water.
Turn the heat down to 180°C. Take out of the oven and baste with the fat in the bottom of the tray.
Transfer pork to a chopping board. Add all the vegetables, garlic and thyme to the tray and stir them into the fat.
Place the pork on top of everything and pop the tray back in the oven.
Roast for another half an hour until vegetables look browned and meat cooked through.
The cooking time for this recipe will change with the weight of the meat, so refer to packet instructions or Jamie Oliver’s recipe as found on his website.
Lamb is the next choice. It cannot be beaten on popularity, especially with a good mint sauce/jelly. I came across this recipe while scanning the NZ Beef and Lamb website- worth a visit if you’re into that. I can’t recommend a way to keep your piece of meat succulent- just be sure not to overcook it.
Roast Lamb with Homemade Mint Sauce
Serves 4
1kg leg of Lamb
6-8 cloves Garlic, peeled and cut into slithers
Fresh Rosemary sprigs
2-3 Tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and pepper
Bunch of Mint
Pinch of Salt
4 tablespoons boiling water
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon caster sugar
Preheat the oven to 170ºC.
Pierce the lamb with a sharp knife and add slithers of garlic and rosemary sprigs. Brush with oil, season and place in a roasting dish.
Remove from the oven and rest 25 minutes in a warm place before carving.
For the mint sauce, finely chop the mint. Add mint, sugar and boiling water to jar, and shake. Leave to cool before adding vinegar to taste.
And we like to save the best ‘til last- desert! You can’t go past an anything Crumble- made of well anything. This one consists of apples, pears and rhubarb- all picked up from the Christchurch Farmers’ Market.
