Healthy / Nutritional

T is for Tomato

December 1, 2016 by dishandthespoon

Summer is here! Stinking hot days, muggy evenings followed by cooling thunderstorms and all in one day! One thing about living in Dubai that you could be fairly sure about was what the weather was showing for the morning would pretty much remain for the day (I miss that). Sure there was the odd sandstorm and rain (yes), but you generally always knew it was going to be perfect (winter months, like now), hot, very hot, and unimaginably hot. It was reliable, which is anything but what Sydney weather has shown us since our return. I’m adjusting….

S is for Salmon

November 16, 2016 by dishandthespoon

I’m almost a whole year behind schedule. I am a finisher, so rather than abandon the plan to complete an alphabet of ingredient posts by the years end, I’ve just altered the year in which it will be completed! I feel a bit rusty on writing the posts, and so much has happened in our lives since the last post, but I’ll try to keep it simple….

Q is for Quince

November 18, 2015 by dishandthespoon

What a weekend. We went camping. The first of the cooler season and the first time with kids in tow (which means we last went camping more than 6 years ago!). We have all the gear now, and starting to get a bit of an idea – specifically of our 3 bedroom tent, plus a big middle living room! It not the most efficient to put up and down, but it does provide options. I know I certainly spent parts of the night in a couple of the rooms, and if like my son and are sick of the fuss your little sister is making, you can simply zip up your compartment and pretend they are not there….

P is for Pomegranate

November 10, 2015 by dishandthespoon

I have had this recipe in my mind as the P post for some time. I have finally found some time to move forward with my alphabet of posts, but I think its time to admit it won’t be finished by the end of 2015. Perhaps end of the financial year?

Pomegranate, the fruit that is born from the Punica granatum tree is a beautiful apple-shaped fruit. The thick, inedible skin houses hundreds of tiny seeds (arils) that are sweet and juicy and mostly ruby red in colour. Some varieties are white with a rose tinge to it. This fruit is very commonly used in a arabic dishes and given the hardiness of the plant, tends to grow well in the middle easter and Mediterranean regions. They are well known for high levels of antioxidants and medicinal purposes.

The whole fruit is super impressive as a table decoration. Releasing the seeds can be a pain and a bit messy so we are lucky enough here to be able to get them already seeded and packaged up year round. At the moment they are super sweet and juicy. Did you know Grenadine (derived from the french word grenade, meaning pomegranate) is originally a syrup made from pomegranate juice and sugar. And that’s my lesson for the day.

Pomegranates bring a lot of travel memories; freshly squeezed as juice bought from street stalls in Istanbul and we even had them growing in our holiday villa in Spain this past July. The colour is just so amazing. It can liven up any dish just by sprinkling them over a pavlova, a green salad and is so festive. Coming into the Christmas season, this fruit certainly has its place here and this dish could very well be a highlight as part of a yuletide meal.

This recipe is from my favourite, Ottolenghi’s new book, Nopi. I’m so excited by this book!!! This recipe uses pomegranate in the seed form, in a salsa, and also the reduced syrup (known as pomegranate molasses), thick sweet and sour at the same time.

Its a bit of a unusual combination of flavours but the saltiness and fermented nature of miso against the sharpness and sweetness of the pomegranate is a taste sensation.

I used chicken supremes and didn’t actually use all of the miso butter so have put it in the freezer for a quick mid week dinner.

The salsa is so fresh and tasty, it could be used as an accompianment to other meat dishes quite easily.

We are camping in the desert this weekend. The first time since having children, our packing list has somewhat altered. We have a fancy tent, 5 sleeping bags and the essentials. I’ll keep you posted…

Chicken with Burnt Miso Butterscotch and Pomegranate Salsa

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

1 hour

PS - I halved the recipe but the full one is written here PPS - I didn't have mirin or sherry vinegar so substituted with no problem

Author: adapted from Ottolenghi

Serves: 4

Ingredients

150g white miso paste, room temperature
50ml mirin (I used sherry)
30g light brown sugar
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar (I used rice vinegar)
40g unsalted butter at room temperature
4 chicken breast supremes (or 8 deboned quails or 8 chicken thighs)
Salsa
150g pomegranate seeds (1 medium pomegranate)
70g walnuts, chopped and toasted
35g pickled walnuts, rinsed and chopped ( I omitted these)
2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses (I used 1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar (I used white balsamic)
1 tablespoon olive oil
20g parsley chopped

Instructions

Pre heat the oven to 160 degree celcius
On a lined baking sheet, spread the miso into a thin, even layer and bake for about 20-25 minutes until golden caramel colour with burnt edges.
Remove from the oven and set aside to cool
Scrape the miso into a small food processor along with the mirin, brown sugar, butter, rice vinegar and 1 tablespoon of water and blitz into a smooth paste. Set aside.
Place all the salsa ingredients in a bowl and stir until flavours are combined and set aside.
Using a fry pan, add a little olive oil, season the chicken with salt and pepper and fry until golden, about 10-15minute.
In a baking tray, place the chicken supremes, and smother with the miso butter and bake for about 10 -15 minutes until golden and bubbling.
If you prefer to cook the chicken fully, do this. Smother with a layer of miso, then place under a hot grill for a couple of minutes until golden and bubbling.
Serve with a generous serving of salsa.

M is for Mackerel

October 5, 2015 by dishandthespoon

I love fish is every form; baked, grilled, fried, raw and also smoked. I especially like hot smoked fish. Its rich, oily and packed full of flavour.

On our trip to Spain, we had arrived hot and starving in Seville and stumbled across this little tavern close to our hotel. It served simple tapas style bar food and we ordered a plate of mixed smoked fish open sandwiches. Consumed with an ice cold cerveza, it was heaven….

L is for Lavender

September 22, 2015 by dishandthespoon

I know its not lamb, or lentils or liquorice, but instead chose a slightly different but not uncommon cooking ingredient; Lavender.

We all know this purple fragrant flower to feature heavily in soaps, perfumes, little bags in grandma’s drawer of smalls. It is used in aromatherapy, known for its calming qualities and the flowers make for a very pretty, rustic posy on the kitchen table.

Lavender is over 2500 years old and there are apparently 39 species known around the world.

My mum has been visiting us and in her many bags of goodies, brought me 2 different samples of dried lavender, lavender oil and also a bunch of fresh lavender from her garden. Coming from the Mint family, it grows just as abundantly.

I was going to bake something with Lavender, and a sprinkle of this floral herb in your shortbread mix would be lovely. But I thought about tackling a savoury dish and while it pairs beautifully with lamb and rosemary, I have instead chosen a more delicate dish from Rachel Khoo’s Little Paris Cookbook. It combines lavender with thyme, lemon and honey to create a surprisingly subtle and tasty roast chicken dish with a lovely sauce.

As she advises, go easy on the lavender, less is best in this instance to avoid the dish tasting like a Loccitane hand cream ! But served with a few potatoes and a green salad is ideal and what’s more it is so so simple to prepare.

We have survived the first few weeks of school and we know get to enjoy a 4 day weekend to celebrate Eid Al Adha.

Eid Mubarak!

Chicken with Lavender, Lemon and Honey

Prep time

15 mins