Zucchini Slice

I just realised that I am finally calling zucchinis zucchinis and not courgettes. It took 30 years, but I still say yoghurt the English way. 

Ingredients:

5 eggs, beaten
1 cup self raising flour
¼ cup oil, or some melted butter or margarine

2 zucchinis (courgettes), grated,  about 400-500g

1 onion, finely chopped

6 slices short-cut bacon, about 200g, diced

1 cup reduced-fat tasty cheese, plus extra for topping



Method:

Preheat the oven 170C.

Grease and line a lamington tin (30cm x 20cm) with baking paper.

Beat the eggs with the flour and oil, then combine with the remaining ingredients and spoon into the tin, spreading evenly. 

Sprinkle on some extra cheese (optional).

Bake in the oven about 30 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Enjoy with a baked potato and some salad, also good served cold.

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Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup

Made some chicken stock in my slow cooker and felt inspired to make this soup. Delicious!

Ingredients:

1 litre chicken stock

1 can creamed corn (300g)

cooked chicken breast, roughly chopped or some leftover roast chicken (100-200g)

cooked fresh sweetcorn kernels (optional)

1 tablespoon cornflour, mixed with a little water to form a runny paste

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

salt and pepper

1 egg, beaten


Method:

1. Mix the stock and creamed corn together in a saucepan and bring to the boil then simmer for a few minutes.

2. Add the cornflour paste and stir until the soup thickens a little.

3. Add the chicken, some sweetcorn kernels, if using, the soy sauce and sesame oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Allow to heat through.

4. Lastly, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the egg, stirring as you pour it in as a gentle stream so it forms threads in the soup.

Enjoy!

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Cauliflower Pizza Base

We still eat pizzas on Saturday night, mostly homemade , usually the bases are made from a yeasty dough prepared in the bread maker, but last night I decided to make an additional base from cauliflower, to avoid an overload of wheat and gluten.

Ingredients:

½ cauliflower, split into florets 

2 eggs, beaten 
½ onion, finely diced



Method:

Set the oven to pre-heat at 200C.

Grease and line a tray with baking parchment.

Use a food processor to chop the cauliflower very finely, then transfer to a bowl and mix with the egg and onion. Add some herbs such as a teaspoon of dried thyme leaves and some salt and pepper. Mix well  then tip onto the prepared tray and spread out with the back of a spoon  to form the pizza base, about 5 mm thick. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Remove from the oven and spread with tomato paste and your favourite toppings. (For suggestions see my post "Saturday Night Pizzas"http://angiesrecipejournal.blogspot.com/2011/09/saturday-night-pizzas.html).

Bake in the oven a further 10 minutes.

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Coq au Vin

We had some excess white wine to use up, so I decided to cook Coq au Vin (chicken in wine). It can also be done with red wine, but adding cornflour paste to thicken the sauce at the end in place of adding the cream. Delicious served with some mashed potato, carrots and broccolini (baby broccoli).

Ingredients:

1 chicken, 1.5-2.0 kg, cut into 6-8 pieces

1 large onion, sliced

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

250 g mushrooms, halved or quartered

olive oil

4-5 slices of short-cut bacon, chopped 

500 ml dry white wine

250 ml cream

salt and pepper

fresh parsley, small bunch, chopped



Method:

1. In a large frying pan cook the bacon in a little olive oil. Remove to a plate lined with paper towel.

2. Brown the chicken pieces in the same pan and then add them to the plate with the bacon.

3. In the same pan cook the onion for a few minutes until it starts to soften, then add the garlic. Stir and cook a minute longer, then remove the onion and garlic to a bowl.

4. Now cook the mushrooms in the same way, adding some more olive oil to the pan if necessary.

5. Put the bacon, chicken, onions and garlic back in the pan with the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper.

6. Add the wine, stir and then allow to simmer for about 40 minutes with lid on.

7. Remove lid for the last 10 minutes to allow the sauce to reduce. (Optional: remove the meat and veg from the pan while reducing the sauce).

8. Add the cream, stir and simmer a further 10 minutes, adding the parsley as a garnish towards the end.

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Tomato Kasundi

I love this with my curries, or spread on a wrap or naan bread. Delish!

Ingredients:

125g fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

60g garlic cloves, roughly chopped

30g green chillies, seeds removed, chopped

250ml malt vinegar

125ml sunflower oil

45g black mustard seeds

2 tbs ground turmeric

40g ground cumin

1 tsp ground chilli powder

1kg fresh tomatoes, chopped

125g brown sugar

20g salt



Method:

1. Put ginger, garlic and green chillies into a small food processor with about 50ml of the malt vinegar and puree to a smooth paste.

2. Heat oil in a large saucepan and fry the mustard seeds until they pop. Add the dry spices and the ginger, garlic and chilli mixture. Stir and cook a few minutes before mixing in the rest of the ingredients.

3. Simmer for about an hour, uncovered. It will be thickened and the oil will sit on the top.

4. Pour the hot Kasundi into sterilised jars and seal while hot.

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Lamb Stuffed Peppers

Made these yesterday and was surprised as they were a big hit, even Rebecca ate a whole one.

Ingredients:

6 red peppers (capsicums)

500g lamb mince

1 large brown onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1-2 tablespoons dried oregano (I started with 1 tbs, but kept adding extra)

1-2 teaspoons cinnamon (as above)

½ tsp allspice

400g can diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato paste

About ½ cup white wine

1½ cups chicken stock, plus about 1 cup extra 

salt and pepper to taste

¾ cup basmati rice (option: cook this first and add less stock)

About 150g fetta cheese, crumbled


Method:

1. Prepare the peppers: Slice off the tops, then scoop out the seeds and veins and give them a good wash, reserving the tops.

2. Grease a large lasagne dish and sit the peppers inside it. (If they are not sitting straight you may need to slice a bit off their bottoms).

3. Preheat oven 190C (170C, fan forced).

4.In a large frying pan fry the onion and garlic in some olive oil for a few minutes until soft. Remove to a bowl.

5. In the same frying pan, brown the mince and break it up, then spoon off the juices into a small bowl to cool and remove fat. You can return the juices without the fat later.

6. Add the onion and garlic back to the pan with the tomatoes, oregano, cinnamon, allspice, white wine and tomato paste. Stir and cook a few minutes, then add the rice, 1½ cups of stock and some salt and pepper. Stir and cook a further 15 minutes until the rice is almost done.

7. Spoon the mixture into the peppers mixing in about half the fetta and adding the rest as a topping.

8. Add the lids (reserved pepper tops), and add the extra stock to the dish, around the peppers.

9. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for about 1½ hours, removing the foil towards the end of cooking to brown the tops.

10. Enjoy with salad leaves and mashed avocado.

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