Dish and the Spoon

a passion for food and cooking inspired by travel, family and friends

Archives for November 2012

Cranberries and Christmas

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The festive season is upon us and I have noticed this year Dubai has well and truly embraced this celebration.  There are festivals and fairs happening every week already!!  I think we could be forgiven as most expats who celebrate Christmas are having to plan, shop and post their gifts to their home countries.

UAE National Day is on the 2nd December (another long weekend yay!) and the national colours include Red and Green, so with both big celebrations nearing (as well as this city’s love of all things that glitter) the town is looking very festive!ImageImageImageImage

I was a little hesitant to start pinning up the mistletoe as it is still November, but I have just had confirmation that we have a large group coming over for Christmas lunch (very excited) so a little advance planning is in order.  Just like you pre order the fresh tree and the turkey and trimmings, I want to make sure I am completely organised when it comes to preparing the food (this is stressful enough!!) so I have started collecting key ingredients each week, and I can confirm I have filled up our pantry and bought every last bag of dried cranberries from the local supermarket!!

Cranberries are so delicious and one of my favourite ingredients for this festive celebration, tart and sweet and are fantastic in both savoury and sweet Christmas fare.  And this recipe is no exception.

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Most people can agree the Turkey is a Christmas essential along with whatever other meats might be part of your Christmas Day tradition, but it is the sides that really make your lunch or dinner a stand out.

This side dish is a great addition to your feast, as it can be prepared ahead of time and wont add to the traffic coming and going in your oven.  It also caters to the vegetarians as a substantial dish.  It can be packed up for a picnic or served on a beautiful platter, it is so versatile and delicious with all the flavours as well as colours of Christmas in a bite.

Red Rice Christmas Salad

Recipe serves 6-8 as part of a feast

Salad

  • 1 cup Red Carmague and Wild Rice *(Waitrose brand, I found it in Spinneys) you can substitute with 80% Brown Basmati and 20% Wild Rice
  • 1 small butternut pumpkin (butternut squash) peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
  • 1 medium zucchini (one with the dark green skin preferably) cut into same size as the pumpkin
  • ¼ cup cranberries
  • ¼ cup raisins (I actually used ½ cup mixed raisins and cranberries
  • zest of 1 small orange or clementine if available (a microplane is an excellent essential for zesting and very fine grating with no white pith which is bitter)
  • pinch of saffron steeped for 10 minutes in a tablespoon of boiling water
  • 2-3 cups of baby spinach
  • 2 French shallots peeled and sliced (1 small onion will do)
  • ¼ cup chopped flat leaf parsley
  • ¼ cup of toasted pine nuts (slivered almonds would be fantastic also)

Dressing

  •  Juice of the small orange or clementine that was zested (about ¼ cup)
  • 1 tablespoon honey cider vinegar (red grape is good too)
  • ¼ cup light olive oil (or any other light salad oil)
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon of sea salt  (1/2 teaspoon of regular salt)

To Make

  1. Roast the pumpkin with a touch of olive oil for about 20 – 30 minutes until golden and tender.
  2. Cook the rice according to packet directions, if red rice add to a big pot of boiling water for about 25 minutes until just tender.  Drain and set aside in a big bowl.
  3. At this point you can add the orange zest, cranberries and raisins, parsley and saffron and it’s liquid as the hot rice will soak up and absorb the flavours.
  4. Steam or boil the zucchini for 3 -5 minutes, it still should have some crunch.  Drain and add to bowl of rice.
  5. Fry the onions in a little oil until golden brown and add to rice salad.
  6. For the dressing combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until emulsified.  Put half of the dressing over the rice mixture and toss through.
  7. Now add the cooked pumpkin and sautéed onions and carefully toss through, taste and if it requires, add some more dressing.
  8. Add the spinach and combine with the rice and assemble onto a big white platter.  Alternatively you could place the spinach on the platter and rice on top.
  9. Scatter the nuts over the salad and serve.  Happy Christmas (soon)!!

PS – This is fantastic with a baked Salmon.  Just use any leftover dressing or drizzle of olive oil, the remains of the orange, season with salt and pepper, wrap in baking paper (en papiotte) and bake in 170 degree celcius oven (15 min for 2 medium fillets).

*Red Rice is a brown rice with the outer bran layer left on.  This makes it super healthy and full of goodness.

Simple and fast

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Its been a long weekend.  We had a 3 day weekend to mark Islamic New Year and I would love to be able to say we had so many social events that we partied ourselves to this state of exhaustion.  Sadly no, the household was feeling a little out of sorts with one niggle or another (including the treacherous Man Flu)…. 

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Fuel Food

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It’s running season in Dubai.  During the cooler part of the year every weekend there is some interesting sporting event (the world parachuting championships is in a few weeks – you wont see me jumping out of a plane!), and usually also a run whether it’s a charity walk, a night run, the marathon for the hard core (a lot of admiration for these slightly insane people), or a running relay through the mountains.

On Friday (here our weekends are Friday and Saturday) I ran in a 10km ladies run on the Palm Jumeirah.  This has been my mini project for the last 10 weeks and I joined a fab running group to help motivate me.  I am not a keen runner (I prefer to walk), but I do like a sporting challenge, and it’s been while between competitions (I was cooking a couple of little people in the meantime).

So I survived and thought I should post a recipe that I could categorise as Nutritious.   I have been making these muesli bars in copious quantities since I found the recipe. The boxed ones at the store are ok (but I know they have too much sugar and salt) but the range is very limited and the amounts that my son likes to consume makes for a costly shopping trolley.  He is not a huge breakfast person but since introducing these oat packed bars I am happy he has his share of morning nutrition.  I don’t indulge too much with kids treats but if it’s home made I feel that it’s ok to have a cake in the house or some fresh baked cookies.

The introduction of this new staple food in our house has also been a way for my husband to stave off the 9am hunger monster and save his lunch for actual ‘lunch time’.  Because it’s full of oats and seeds, it has all the good fats and energy that should keep you satisfied for longer.  In my case I have been hoping they are contributing to my fitness / training and will eventually help to get me over the finish line of my race! I did, so it must have worked!

I have made these in many different varieties, the beauty of them is that you can add whatever goodness you choose – the dried fruit aspect I think makes them more appealing for children and you can easily substitute the nuts for more seeds or dried fruit.  You can also choose dried fruit that doesn’t require chopping so it makes the recipe a simple pour, mix and bake process, so there’s no excuse of not having the culinary skills or time to make them (just the 1 hour for baking )

The original inspiration for the recipe came from one of Bill Granger’s books and it falls in the chapter ‘Breakfast on the Run’.  I am a big fan of breakfast so these bars make a perfect midmorning snack for me.  But  if you are not good with food first thing, then this should help get you started in the mornings.

Back to the run; it was hot and hilly and I a) finished in one piece and b) almost reached my target time, so I’m thrilled and the bars must have helped! So much so I have signed up for another 10km race in January, I want to beat my time! I think I have a lot of bars to bake!!

Muesli Bars

Preheat the oven to 130 degrees (I have 150 degrees with my gas oven)

You will need a brownie tin or similar appox 35cm x 25cm lined with baking paper

Dry Ingredient Mix

3 ½ cups of oats (I used quick cooking, the large rolled oats are pricey here)

½ cup powdered coconut (finer than shredded, but use if you prefer)

½ cup oatbran (if not just substitute with more oats)

½ cup sliced almonds

¼ cup pumpkin seeds

¼ cup sunflower seeds

¼ cup ground flax seeds (linseed), optional

¼ cup raisins or sultanas

¼ cup dried cranberries

¼ cup dried apricots (sliced or sniped with scissors)

Combine the dry mix in a bowl

Wet Ingredient Mix

¾ cup honey

¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar

½ cup vegetable oil (I use light olive oil, grapeseed is also very good)

Put the wet mix in a small saucepan on a low heat stirring until the sugar has dissolved.

  1. Pour the wet mix into the bowl with the dry mix and combine.  It will seem quite dry at first, I use my hands.
  2. Tip into pan and press firmly until evenly spread (I had a good helper!)
  3. Bake for about 50 – 60 min until golden brown.  Take out of oven and cool slightly (if you take out of tin while hot it will fall apart), then cut into pieces with a big sharp knife.  As it cools the bars will become quite firm.

P.S – The dry ingredient mix would be a fantastic muesli mix to have for breakfast with milk and yoghurt.  For bircher muesli (a family favourite), soak the mix in some apple juice or sparkling apple juice overnight and serve with yoghurt – another good breakfast to have when you get to work.

An unlikely beginning

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I have been pondering over and over what recipe would be the ideal and most appropriate first recipe for my blog.  It dawned on me that I could be doing this forever and decided to stop procrastinating and waiting for the ‘right one’ and just go for it.  Pastry and desserts, although I love them are not my forte in the kitchen – however this blog is to force me out of my comfort zone and to be adventurous!

I tend to see fruits and vegetables in the store and buy them because I like them and then plan what to do with them once home.  There are pros and cons to this method, the usual scenario is ending up with a packed fridge and me in a frenzy steaming, pureeing, and freezing in ice cube trays for baby’s consumption, and the vicious cycle starts once again… at least my children are well fed!

I had a recent disaster with quinces a few months back when in Sydney so this was my chance to redeem my pride.  Apparently it is fall / autumn in the entire northern hemisphere – I can’t buy a swimsuit in the stores even though its still over 30 degrees outside, but I will be well equipped with a puffy jacket and ear muffs should it turn arctic in balmy Dubai!

I understand this seasonal recipe may not be very useful for family and friends down under and I’m sure most of you have been exposed to Stephanie Alexander, but for me this was a good start and having eaten this at a dear friends house when visiting Sydney in July (she whipped it up in a blink of eye like perfect ), I have a new found love of the humble quince.

Humble, yet to be treated with love and just a little attention and a bit more time than I usually put into a dish, but great as the preparation can start up to 3 days in advance if you only have small time slots to fit in the baking (like me).

I cooked the quinces one evening, the next day prepared the pastry and brown butter filling while the kids were asleep, then after waiting for the gas man to refill the tank (impeccable timing to run out) put the whole thing together.  Result was surprisingly successful!

Recipe

One 10-inch tart, about 10 servings

Poached Quince

6 cups water

3 cups sugar

6 large quinces, peeled, halved, cored, and each half cut into thirds – put quince immediately in a bowl of water with the juice of half a lemon to prevent browning – it happens quickly!

1 vanilla bean, split (I used 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Shortcrust Pastry


1 1/4 cups plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder


1/4 teaspoon salt

125g unsalted butter cold, cut into cubes


3 tablespoons water

Filling

125g unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons plain flour

You will need one 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom

  1. On the day of the quince preparation, preheat to 160 degrees celcius (I have a gas oven so I set to 180 degrees and cooking time was a little longer).
  2. Bring the water and sugar to a boil over medium heat in a heavy pot. Once the sugar has dissolved, add the quince, vanilla, and lemon juice and return the syrup to a boil. Put a lid on the pot and cook in the oven and check after 1 1/2 hrs.  The quinces should be tender and have turned red. If the quinces are not tender, bake for up to 2 hours longer, testing once every 30 minutes. Be very gentle and turn carefully so as not to break them up. Cool the quinces in the syrup and refrigerate until needed.
  3. For the pastry, combine the dry ingredients in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until the mix looks sandy. Add the water (a bit at a time) and pulse until the dough forms together (only just). Remove and form the dough into a flat disk and wrap it in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 2 days.
  4. When you are ready to prepare the tart, preheat to 180 degrees (for my gas oven about 190 degrees).
  5. Remove the dough from the fridge and place it on a floured work surface. Flour and gently roll the dough to a 12-inch disk (big enough to fit in your pan). Transfer carefully to your pan and press gently into the sides (if like me you end up with a tear or translucent area, just patch with any leftover pieces – try to make it look as even as possible though!) Chill the pastry crust while preparing the filling.
  6. For the brown butter filling, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the butter begins to become foamy and turns a light brown color. Remove from the heat and cool slightly. In a bowl, whisk the eggs to break them up, then whisk in the sugar. Sift over and whisk in the flour, followed by the butter.
  7. Arrange the wedges of quince on the tart crust, close together and concentric. Fill in the center with more wedges. Pour the brown butter filling over the quince in the crust. Bake the tart for about 40 minutes, or until the pastry is baked through and the filling is puffed and well colored.
  8. Cool and serve at room temperature (dusted with icing sugar for the fancy touch) with a good dollop of double cream or creme fraiche.  Refrigerate leftovers if you have any!

P.S – I ended up with about 300ml or so of delicious syrup and could not bring myself to throw it out.  It would be amazing over vanilla icecream, perhaps a different kind of champagne cocktail or a glaze for the upcoming Christmas ham??

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