Humble hummus

Traditionally hummus is served for a breakfast or lunch, and whilst I love a lunch of Turkish bread adorned with this creamy chickpea puree, it has become a favourite dip to take to parties, dressed to impress.

There are many differing versions of hummus; made with fresh chick peas, picked at a certain time of day (for the diehard hummusologists), dried chickpeas soaked overnight and then cooked, or for those in a rush, the canned variety which are already cooked.

I've never seen fresh chickpeas here, so that's not an option. And clearly my life is not so organised that I would remember to pick chickpeas at a certain time of day, if I was lucky enough to have a chickpea crop at my readiness. My preference is a good quality dried chickpea, soaked overnight. The next day drain the chickpeas and rub off any of the loosened shells before cooking. This soaking, rinsing and draining process is the most lengthy part of the preparation, but all you need to do is be prepared a day in advance. After that, very little effort is required to finalise this creamy, luxuriant, high protein pulse.

I use a pressure cooker to cook the chickpeas, which expedites the cooking process immensely, and retains all of the goodness. The most popular and best known version of hummus, is made with tahini paste, a paste of toasted and ground sesame seeds, and I have chosen this version to submit to Valentina from Trem Bom-English Version, who is hosting Kalyn's Weekend Herb Blogging. Valentina is a regular contributor to Weekend Herb Blogging, so be sure to visit her blog for the roundup. And I believe that Kalyn herself is about to embark in the world of pressure cooking, so this recipe might be the perfect introduction to her new appliance, plus I think it's South Beach friendly as well.

Hummus bi tahini

150g dried chickpeas soaked overnight or 400g can chickpeas
140ml tahini
Sea salt
Pinch ground cumin
Juice of 3 lemons
3 large cloves garlic
Pinch cayenne pepper

Method:

- If using dried chickpeas, rinse and add plenty of fresh water. Simmer for 1 hour or until quite soft. In a pressure cooker this can be reduced to about 20 minutes once pressure has been reached. Reduce pressure using the quick method.

- Drain and reserve a little of the cooking water. Canned chickpeas should be drained and cooked in fresh water for 20 minutes or so.

- Puree everything together, adding a touch of cooking water until it is creamy and smooth. Adjust the seasoning.

- Spoon onto a plate, smooth the surface and then drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika, parsley and sundried olives.

Serve with homemade Turkish bread. Middle Eastern food, so simple, so tasty.

Fetta Pots of Dill & Parsley

It's Australian Football League Grand Final weekend here, and that means BBQ's, beers and glued to the TV wherever you are. If you're lucky enough to have your team playing, it's a nerve wracking day to say the least. For me, I can sit back and relax and not give a hoot who wins or loses, because my team ended up stone motherless last. Maybe next year Dees.....please?

Our day starts at about lunch time, sitting out in the early spring sunshine, nibbling, drinking, talking and relaxing. The BBQ is fired up at about 1 o'clock (or whenever people start to become hungry), which in the past has been about 3 o'clock!! Salads and dips and nibbles are in abundance, all in readiness for the 2:30 pm start. When the National Anthem is played, you could hear a pin drop right around the country, followed by a roar of encouragement from the crowds, both attending the game, and in every lounge room, back shed, patio or wherever your vantage point may be.

So my contribution in the nibbles department is a dip I have adapted from a recipe in this month's Delicious magazine from Belinda Jeffery. Her recipe is called Potted Dill & Parsley goat's cheese with celery. Mine is substituting Persian Feta for the marinated goats cheese (because I just love it), and as macadamias are way too expensive at the moment, I've substituted pecans in the pesto.

Haalo, from Cook (Almost) Anything at Least Once, and an inhabitant of Melbourne, where the big game is played, is hosting Kalyn's Weekend Herb Blogging this week. If you love football, this is truly a great day. If you dislike football, I would suggest you book a mystery flight to a foreign country, because the coverage of the game is at saturation point already. All I can say is may the best team win on the day.

Dill & Parsley Pots

1 cup of chopped spring onions
1/2 cup of flat leafed parsley
1/2 cup of dill sprigs
Juice of one lemon
1 cup of lightly toasted pecan nuts
3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
250 gms marinated Persian Feta, drained
Celery sticks, lavash crispbreads or thinly sliced grilled Turkish Bread to serve.

Method
Blitz the spring onions, parsley, dill, lemon juice, pecans and half the olive oil until pureed. With motor of food processor still running, slowly add the rest of the olive oil until smooth and thick. Taste and adjust the flavours by adding sea salt and freshly ground pepper, or even more lemon juice.

Place the drained feta in a bowl, and mash well with a fork. Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the pesto, depending upon how strong a flavour you want. Transfer to individual ramikins and refrigerate until required.

Any leftover pesto can be kept in the fridge, covered with a layer of EEVO, and sealed for up to a week. (I'm guessing this would be a great addition to grilled fish or a pasta salad).

Herbed Ricotta Fritters

When you have a couple of egg yolks staring at you, 1/2 kilo of ricotta in the fridge that you're undecided what to do with, want to make something really quick and easy, dying to sit and relax with drink in hand, then these little fritter-balls are the perfect solution to your woes.

Two cups of chopped herbs are folded through the ricotta/egg/flour mixture and shallow fried in minutes. The combination of herbs is entirely up to you. As we are in the depths of a freezing winter, with snow on the mountains and frosts on the ground, I'm still lucky enough to have the old reliables flourishing in the garden - rosemary, parsley and oregano.

Initially, I thought that these might be a bit bland and overpowered by the herbs, but after one bite my fears were put to rest. They would make a wonderful addition to any party platter, but I would double the recipe 'cause they're just so tasty.

Herbed ricotta fritters

Ingredients

• 500g fresh ricotta cheese
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup self-raising flour, sifted
• 2 cups mixed fresh herbs, chopped (we used flat-leaf parsley, oregano and rosemary leaves)
• 150g parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 2 cups vegetable oil, for shallow-frying

Method

1. Place ricotta in a sieve over a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour to allow excess moisture to drain from ricotta. Drain, wash and dry bowl. Spoon ricotta into the bowl. Add egg yolks. Mix until well combined. Add flour, herbs and 1 1/2 cups parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Stir until well combined.
2. Preheat oven to 160°C. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Using 1 heaped tablespoon of mixture per fritter, cook fritters in batches of 4, turning often with a metal spoon, for 3 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a wire rack over a baking tray. Keep warm in oven while cooking the remaining fritters.
3. Place fritters on a plate. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

Simona, from Briciole, is hosting this months Weekend Herb Blogging event, the brainstorm of Kalyn, from Kalyn's Kitchen. There are some new rules being introduced for next weekend, rules for the better, in my honest opinion, so that this event remains primarily about herbs, so check them out here.

Potato Salad with Labneh and Herbs

Yoghurt cheese, or labneh, is a favourite and impressive appetiser that I adore. I love the creamy texture of this "cheese", spread over lightly toasted bread or crackers. It always adds 5 star power to a meze or antipasto platter. It's extremely versatile and can lend itself to a numerous combination of savoury or even sweet flavours. My preference is to marinate it in garlic infused olive oil, chilli flakes and herbs. If you're after a sweet labneh, it can be made with a splash of rosewater or combined with a fragrant honey.

Ingredients

1 kg of Greek yoghurt
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp crushed dried chillies
1 tblsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 tblsp chopped fresh oregano
Garlic infused olive oil, enough to cover (or just add a couple of slivers of garlic cloves to your jar)

Place yoghurt over a sterilized piece of muslin or cheescloth. Bring the four corners together and tie firmly with string. Hang this bag, suspended from one of the shelves in the refrigerator, catching the whey over a large bowl. Leave for 2-3 days until the yoghurt stops dripping.

Roll the labneh into small balls and place on tray covered with baking or parchment paper, and leave overnight in fridge again, to allow the balls to dry out slightly.

Sterilize your jars by washing them and placing them in a 150 C degree oven for 15 minutes.

Lower the labneh balls into the jar, sprinkling each layer with the herbs and chillies, cover with garlic oil, and store in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.



The labneh was a wonderful addition to a warm potato salad, also heavily laced with herbs and a delicious maridade/dressing. Kalyn, the creator of Weekend Herb Blogging, is taking time out from tending her beautiful garden, to host her event this week.

Warm Potato Salad, with labneh and herbs

INGREDIENTS

1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 teaspoon za'atar (Lebanese spice)
¼ cup (60ml) olive oil
salt and pepper
800g Kipfler potatoes, scrubbed and halved lengthways
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 red capsicum
1 cup picked parsley leaves
1 cup picked coriander leaves
200g labneh balls in chilli, roughly chopped
50g pine nuts, toasted
Lebanese bread, to serve

METHOD

Preheat oven 200°C (180°C fan-forced).

Whisk lemon zest and juice, za'atar and oil together; season with salt and pepper. Toss half of dressing over potatoes with garlic and place onto a flat baking tray. Bake 30 minutes or until crispy and golden.

Place capsicum over gas flame until blackened and transfer to a bowl; cover with plastic wrap and cool. When cold, remove black skin and tear flesh into large pieces.

In a large serving bowl, combine parsley, coriander, labneh, pine nuts, capsicum and roasted potatoes and mix gently.

Drizzle remaining dressing over potato salad and toss until evenly coated. Serve immediately with fresh Lebanese bread.

Trackie Daks, Ugh Boots and a well stocked pantry

An impromptu invitation, quite late in the afternoon yesterday, inviting friends to come over for dinner and a game of cards, left me in a slight panic. Why do I open my mouth before thinking? Time and time again I put myself in this situation. I was tired, the house was in a complete mess, I couldn't be bothered sprucing myself up to go to the supermarket (trackie daks and Ugh boots is not a good look in public)...why do I do this to myself?

The critics in my family, and there's quite a few of them, have often made fun of my well stocked pantry, and still "not a bloody thing to eat" in it. Well, there is, if you're willing to take the time to actually PREPARE something, I always tell them.

At least the finger food dilemma was solved with these great rice paper rolls, made with Light Chilli Philly, a can of crab meat (from the pantry) and coriander from the garden.


Simple and delicious, followed by Chicken, Preserved lemons and olive tagine, with a side of sage and onion couscous. The dinner was a hit, the boys opened a can of beer each, and the girls opened their can of whoop ass. Sorry guys, maybe we'll teach you how to win 500 one day. And I was still in my trackie daks and Ugh boots. Good friends couldn't care less.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 8 round (21cm-diameter) rice-paper sheets
• 160g sweet chilli light cream cheese (Kraft Philadelphia brand)
• 1 x 170g can crabmeat, drained (or you could use small cooked and peeled prawns)
• 1 celery stick, trimmed, halved crossways, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup loosely packed fresh coriander leaves
• Soy sauce, to serve

Method

1. Soak a rice-paper sheet in a shallow dish of warm water for 10 seconds. Drain on paper towel and transfer to a clean work surface.
2. Place the cream cheese in a medium dish. Spread 2 tsp of the cream cheese along the centre of the rice-paper sheet. Top with 2 tsp of crabmeat, a few pieces of celery and coriander. Fold in the ends and roll up tightly to enclose filling. Repeat with the remaining rice-paper sheets, cream cheese, crabmeat, celery and half the remaining coriander.
3. Place rice-paper rolls on a serving platter. Sprinkle with the remaining coriander and serve with sweet chilli sauce.

Margot, from the UK, and author of Coffee and Vanilla is hosting Kalyn's Kitchen Weekend Herb Blogging this round.

The Best of 2007

Decisions, decisions....especially at this time of year when my brain is fogged trying to decide what perfect gifts to give, along comes Zorra and Sandra with a fabulous event, inviting one and all to submit a mind blowing recipe that moved the world for them in 2007. You know, that OMG reaction?

Whilst not every thing I prepared this year was in that "incredible" category, most of it was good, even stuff that was on the more risky side, like Tamarillo chutney or Chickpea Fritters. New tastes and textures crossed our tongues on numerous occasions in the past year, things I would never have even dreamed of cooking a couple of years ago, thanks to the myriad of fabulous food blogs that abound the www.

One of the most "Googled hits" I have received this year was for the great Aussie Meat Pie, which was posted as "4 & 20 Blackbirds baked in a Pie". I'd like to think that the number of searches for this phrase was the world craving for an Aussie Pie, but maybe there are just a lot of people who don't know the words to the nursery rhyme. When I first made these pies, they definitely were a gustatory joy. I now make them on a regular basis to load into the freezer for the quick winter lunch, and even though they're still fabulous, I had to really fight the demons in my head and opt for this recipe instead.


The Chervil and Egg Custard Tart with Tomato and Capsicum Salsa was chosen probably due to it's versatility (and of course flavour). It can be served with a green salad for a light lunch, or sliced into bite sized fingers to have with drinks. Any left over custard can be used to fill mini quiche shells as well.


With only two sleeps to go, I wish everyone a very happy Christmas and hope to be back in the New Year.

Stuffed to the eyeballs

Capsicums, bell peppers, pimientos all mean the same, depending upon which part of the world you hail from. My mother always called them "peppers", and grew the common green bell pepper every summer. I often wondered why they were called that, because they weren't hot at all. But as they are closely related to the chilli, something I'd never even tasted as a child, the penny finally dropped. Our ignorance of other cultures cuisine in those times has thankfully now gone.

The amazing varieties that are available today is a far cry from the days of just green peppers. Now we can enjoy all different colours, shapes, sizes and variations of flavours.


Developed in Japan , these little capsicums measure 8cm in diameter and 3-4cm deep. They are ideal for stuffing, so let your imagination run wild. Unfortunately they have a high seed content, so if you opt to char the skins whilst the capsicums are whole, as I foolishly did, be prepared for a fiddly seed removal, as the fruit (yes, capsicums are a fruit) loses it's rigidity, and tears very easily. You could remove the seeds first, then blacken the skins, a method that I will definitely try next time.

The red capsicums are sweeter than the green, due to the higher sugar content. They are full of vitamin C and beta carotene, a form of Vitamin A, and gives the fruit it's beautiful red colour.

After a day of visiting wineries, a cheese factory, and 2 olive groves, an antipasto platter was the order for dinner. Along with that, I baked a prosciutto loaf of bread to have with these Stuffed Baby Capsicums.


Ingredients

8 baby capsicums
2 small shallots, finely diced
I small italian sausage, skin removed
2 cloves garlic
Italian herbs
(I opted for fresh from the garden choosing oregano, parsley and basil)
I cup of grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese


Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

Chargrill or roast the baby capsicums lightly sprayed with extra virgin olive oil (or deseed first) until skins are blackened. Place in a freezer bag for a few minutes, to enable easier removal of the skins.

Gently fry the shallots, garlic and sausage in olive oil. If using dried italian herbs, they can go into the pan at this stage. Fry until the onions have softened.

Remove to a bowl and add cheeses to the hot onion mixture. If using fresh herbs, add these now.

Peel and deseed the capsicums. Be gentle here as they are soft and hard to handle.

Place in a gratin dish or small baking pan, and fill the hollowed capsicums with the stuffing mixture.

Bake in oven for about 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

Serve as a side for main meals or as part of an antipasto platter.




Fellow Aussie, Truffle, from What's on my Plate is the host of Kalyn's Weekend Herb Blogging
an event I try not to miss each week.

Party Season

Some may think of this time of year as the "festive season" or even the "silly season", but this is party time for me, enjoying copious drinks and more importantly, finger food.

These marinated baby bocconcini with proscuitto "sticks" are so simple, no cooking required, just a bit time consuming to put together.

These guys are off to Weekend Herb Blogging, the weekly event originating at Kalyn's Kitchen, and kindly hosted this week by Vanessa at What Geeks Eat (great name BTW).

The basil in my garden is starting to really get going now after some long awaited warm weather, and even more long awaited for rain.

MARINATED BABY BOCCONCINI WITH PROSCUITO

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 fresh long green chilli, seeded, chopped ( I didn't have any fresh chilli's so used a tsp of sambal olek)
• 1/3 cup (80ml) olive oil
• salt
• 440g baby bocconcini (milk cherries)
• 10 slices (150g) thin prosciutto
• 1 bunch fresh basil

NOTE: This recipe makes 40 baby bocconcini and is best made close to serving.

METHOD

Combine the garlic, chilli, oil and salt to taste in a medium bowl; add the baby bocconcini and mix well. Stand for 30 minutes.

Halve the prosciutto slices crossways, then halve again lengthways.

Drain the bocconcini from the marinade; reserve marinade. Wrap a piece of prosciutto and a basil leaf around each bocconcini; secure with a toothpick.

Serve drizzled with reserved marinade.

Not suitable to freeze.

Recipe from The Australian Womens Weekly Christmas and Holiday Entertaining

WHB # 107 - Zucchini Loaf

This dish is great for parties, as it's an ideal finger food to pass around with drinks. The original recipe was quite bland, so I added a few touches of my own, such as garlic (quite a lot of it), grated cheese and bacon or eggs. It's pretty much a type of quiche, but in the shape of a loaf. I've even cooked it in a camp oven buried in coals, while we were camping on the Murray River. I certainly never "roughed" it whilst camping, and the neighbouring campers really appreciated an elegant nibble whilst socialising. Unfortunately, so did the flies.

My camping days are now over...nothing but a 5 star hotel for me now, but I do miss the challenge of cooking in a camp oven, from stews to roasts, even Murray Cod risotto, fresh from the water. We often wondered what the "poor people" were doing.

This is a great recipe to use up those abundant zucchini we always complain about in the summer time. It's not ideal to freeze, but I can't see why you couldn't freeze the grated zucchini cooked in the garlic and butter. I might try that this year, as I have foolishly planted 3 zucchini plants, and I'm the only one that eats it. However, when it's buried in eggs, cheese, cream and bacon, for some reason the family decided that they DO like zucchini after all. Go figure.

Ingredients:

1 kg zucchini, trimmed
salt
60 g butter or margarine
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
6 eggs
300 mls cream
6 rashers of bacon (or use ham)
2 cups grated tasty cheese
Thinly sliced red capsicum
Chervil (or parsley) sprigs

Method:

Coarsely grate the zucchini into fine wire strainer.
Add salt, mix through and let sit to drain for at least an hour.
Grease loaf tine or terrine and line base with greaseproof paper.
Strain zucchini and squeeze out all of the moisture (you'll be left with about a cup and a half of zucchini)
Melt the butter in a large frying pan. Add zucchini and garlic and saute gently until soft, about 10 minutes (don't let it brown). Cool.
Whisk eggs, cream and grated cheese together. Add zucchini and season with freshly cracked black pepper.
Pour into prepared tin, cover surface with baking paper.
Place tin in baking dish filled with hot water to reach halfway up the sides of the loaf pan
Bake loaf for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until set and firm.
Leave in tin for 10 minutes, then turn onto serving dish; cool and chill.
Garnish with red pepper strips and chervil, and serve with garlic melba toasts.


By adding the cheese, you get a beautiful golden crust on the top, which when served is actually the bottom....yummy.





Kalyn, from Kalyn's Kitchen, is the hostess with the mostest this week. I just wish I had half her energy sometimes, as well as her dedication and enthusiasm.

WHB #100 Baked Savoury Cheesecake

Each Wednesday night, at exactly 6:30 pm, I perform a ritual. Dinner is timed down to the last second to be cooked by 7:00 pm, not a minute earlier. The phone is turned off, the doors locked to visitors, and I'm propped in front of the TV watching my favourite cooking program, The Cook and the Chef on ABC TV.


Maggie Beer, a renowned chef in her own right is "the cook", and resides in the beautiful Barossa Valley near Adelaide, South Australia. Alongside her is the "chef", Simon Bryant, who is Executive Chef at the Hilton in Adelaide. Together they chose similar, often local ingredients and compare their own unique techniques of cooking. As Simon quotes " a recipe is nothing; technique is everything, and when things go wrong you have to be able to wing it." Hey, I do that all of the time!

One particular episode showed Maggie making a Baked Savoury Cheesecake, and, as with nearly all of the recipes shown on the program, I thought "Yep, I could eat that right now", as my boring old veges are steaming away on the stove.

This recipe is so simple, with only the addition of green olives to enhance it's flavour. I made it last night to have with drinks, but I'll definitely make it again for when guests are allowed in (not on Wednesday at 6:30 pm though), or even to take to a party/BBQ as finger food or an elegant appetiser.

Ingredients

200g biscuits, 2/3 savoury, 1/3 sweet.
100g butter
250g ricotta
250g mascarpone
2 tablespoons preserved lemon/ rinsed or 1 tbls orange peel (if you use the orange, add a pinch of salt) - I opted for the orange, as my preserved lemons are still "preserving" in the cupboard
3 tablespoons green olives chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
125ml sour cream
1 tablespoon flour
3 eggs
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 160º C. Pulse the biscuits in a food processor until they resemble fine breadcrumbs. Melt the butter and mix into the breadcrumbs. Spray a 20cm springform pan with baking spray and then press the crumbs into the pan to create a crust. Bake for 10 minutes. Mix the ricotta, mascarpone, peel, olives and eggs together but don’t overwork the mixture. Pour this mixture onto the crust and bake for about 40 minutes – or until the mixture springs back when touched lightly.
Mix the sour cream and flour together using a whisk. Spread this evenly over the cake and bake for a further 10 minutes.

NOTE: Let the cheese cake settle so that it’s easy to cut, but it must be served fresh from the oven.

Katerina from Daily Unadventures in Cooking, is this weeks host of the 100th episode of Kalyn's Weekend Herb Blogging. I think that calls for a toast, raise your glasses everyone.

Blimps & Blinis

You sometimes see the most unexpected things when you walk out into your backyard. The Holden blimp was hovering over my head last Monday, on it's way to Bathurst in NSW for the super car racing event of the year. It's a pretty rare sight in this neck of the woods, so I had to have a Kodak moment.

Yesterday, for some crazy reason, I decided to make blinis. I've never cooked or tasted them before, but I had a craving for smoked salmon and creme fraiche. I don't think they turned out like they were supposed to. The batter was way too thick, and instead of picking up a tub of sour cream that the recipe called for, I grabbed ricotta by mistake. Even though the supermarket is only a 5 minute drive away, I just couldn't be bothered going back for one item, so improvised with lemon juice squeezed into regular cream.

They tasted great though...light and puffy, perfect with Friday night drinks.