Green Tea and Five Flower Pannacotta

This beautiful dessert is so incredibly easy. You can experiment with many flavours or tea infusions. Traditionally Italian in origin it simply means boiled cream.
On our trip to Thailand we had the most fabulous meal at the Issaya Siamese Club. Memorable for many reasons, not only the food but the location and the amazing staff.
It is set  a little on the outskirts of the city in a large Thai mansion with garden and terraces. The chef Ian Kittichai who apprenticed at Claudes in Sydney, offers traditional Thai dishes with an international twist. The dining area is surrounded by an aromatic garden full of herbs, which are used in the kitchen.
The entire meal was superb. We chose the banquet amazing slow braised ribs and massamun lamb shanks, gorgeous canapés, all  presented in the most delightful array of baskets and dishes
The finale of the meal was a jasmine pannacotta, which was to die for. I love deserts like this, very light and sweet enough to finish off the spicy and intense flavours of the mains.
I chose to make one for my son's birthday dinner on my return. I didn't have any jasmine tea but did have this beautiful, green tea with strawberries, sunflower petal, rose petal, cornflower blossom and lemon. It was just as lovely and I am sure you could experiment with many different teas, that are on the market these days. Probably find an infusion you love and try it, I am sure it won't disappoint.
Coincidentally Neil Perry had a jasmine pannacotta in last Saturdays paper. he uses eggs and I haven't in this recipe.

400 mls Cream
200 mls Coconut milk ( use light if you are having the guilt's ) or use 150 mils milk
4  good quality Gelatine leaves
120 grams castor sugar
3 tea bags of your favourite infusion.
For decoration I used toasted shredded coconut.

Place the gelatine leaves in a bowl of water until softened. Put the cream and coconut milk into a saucepan to simmer gently. As it warms add the sugar and the tea bags and simmer gently for about 5 mins. Turn off the heat and remove the tea bags, being very careful not to break them. If this happens you will have to strain the tea out. Squeeze the gelatine leaves out and discard the water. Put the leaves into the cream mixture and whisk continuously until dissolved.
Lightly grease small moulds or ramekins and pour equal amounts into each. This should make 6 pannacotta. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
To remove them from the moulds run the dish under hot water, run a very sharp knife around the edge and turn upside down onto your serving plate.
I garnished with the toasted coconut, simply toasted in the oven on a baking tray. It doesn't take long , so stay close. Serve with berries or a fruit coulis.

Want Food Tour of Thailand

The hand painted walls ofthe Golden Buddha Temple

I have just returned from my inaugural food tour of Thailand. I was joined by a group of 10 wonderful girls who embraced the tour enthusiastically in every way from market tours, food sampling, cooking classes, shopping, dining and drinking.

This lady cooked the best roast duck and pork in the market

Hard at work grating the fresh coconut

Lots of fun at cooking class

Sampling some dumplings at the markets

Stunning in the sun hat after a stroll in the herb garden

We sampled food through the local markets with our wonderful guide Sam. Breakfast one morning was in Nang Leong a 100 year old market, that no foreigners had previously ventured too. Whilst they seemed to be quite alarmed at the sight of 11 chatty girls descending on their territory, that were very welcoming and eager to let us sample their fare. They even put on a little show as they deftly prepared tiny pork dumplings at super fast speed, as we ooohed an arrred, at their skill. We ate duck and congee for breakfast washed down with a milky coffee followed by a sweet coconut custard steamed in a banana leaf. The next market Or Tor Kor is the 4th biggest fresh food market in the world. The market is so clean and as always the presentation stunning. Produce here is mostly organic and amongst the best in the country.

These rose apples were delicious

Fresh fruit and vegetables, chilli pastes, beautiful herbs, fresh meat and seafood. Frustrated again, that I didn't have a kitchen to prepare these goodies in, I had to be content with lots of sampling. Anything that we chose, our guide would buy for us to sample and he suggested lots more local tidbits we were not familiar with as well.
Afternoon was spent in a cooking class, in a gorgeous Thai house surrounded by a beautiful herb garden. We watched and then cooked 4 dishes and ate them all of course. Lots of laughter and chat as we prepared these very simple tasty dishes. We grated fresh coconut and made the cream we cooked with, so delicious.
One day we toured through the 3 communities of Thailand China and little India, stopping to eat  at the best local restaurants serving the cuisine of each area. We returned home more than satisfied and in awe of all the food we would never try, without assistance from a local. As I have mentioned before, the Thais eat everything. They would be quite shocked to see how much of an animal we waste, and what insects and creatures we don't eat.
We also visited the beautiful oriental style house of Jim Thompson and the Jarm Village where the biggest Khmer community in Bangkok live.
Three days in Chiang Mai was a welcome respite after the frenetic pace of Bangkok.
We enjoyed massages, body scrubs and facials in the beautiful spa at the Rati Lanna .

Yui

Cooking classes with Yui, in her home was a fabulous real experience for us all.  She certainly makes it all seem so simple as she chattered away about different rices available in Thailand, when to use coconut milk and coconut cream, her life tales and her future ventures .
We ate in one of America's first ladies favourite restaurants, The Gallery on the Ping River.
After dinner we had some hilarious experiences in the famous Chiang Mai night markets battering for bags and pashminas, whilst tuk tuk drivers looked on with great amusement! Would have loved to know what they were saying !

Just a small sample of the orchids available

We toured the Warorot markets, the biggest market in the north. Tourists involved in the daily hustle of trade. Sensual aromas wafted by as we sampled lots of dried food and admired the stunning fresh flowers at such ridiculously low prices.

Roast duck and crackling mmmmm

looking forward to Jim Thompson House

Some of the group ready for our last dinner

Jasmine Pannacotta

Some of us chose to go to the Elephant refuge which was an amazing, up close experience.

Returning to Bangkok was like coming home. Lots of shopping to finish and more beauty treatments to be had, and tailored garments to collect.
The stunning dinner at Issaya Siamese Club was an unforgettable meal for us all.
So many memories, so much food, new friends and a lot of frivolity !
I will be taking a tour to Thailand again later in the year for anyone who may be interested in this life time experience. Please don't hesitate to contact me at wantfoodideas@gmail.com

Peanut Caramel Slice

Look what I found in the David Jones food hall the other day !

Don't dare open them before you are cooking with them or they will all be consumed in a minute by everyone around you. They can be used as a replacement for chocolate chips in cookies. I did try them in one slice sprinkling on top of the chocolate icing and adding some sea salt and they melted, so I  did this instead. Gone in 60 seconds by my tribe. Keep it in the fridge in this humidity it is much better.
There are so many recipes for caramel shortbread/slice, all very similar and all very nice. Try this for a variation.


125 grams butter
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup self raising flour
1/4 cup castor sugar

FILLING
1 400 gram tin condensed milk
2 tablespoons golden syrup
4 tablespoons peanut butter
1 tablespoon butter

Reese's peanut butter chips
Chocolate for melting


Layer a baking tin approx 18cm by 28cm or 19cm by 29cm, with baking paper. A lamington style baking dish.
Melt the butter in a saucepan on the stove top. In a bowl sift flour add sugar and mix in the melted butter. Put this into your baking tin and press down evening it out as you go.
Bake in a moderate oven for 15 minutes. Remove and set aside.
In a saucepan melt the condensed milk, golden syrup, peanut butter and butter . Stir until combined and
continue cooking for over a low heat for a minute.
Pour the mixture over the cooked base and return to oven for 10 minutes.
When you have taken it out wait until cooled at least 5minutes and sprinkle with the peanut chips. At this stage if the top is too hot they will melt if too cold they wont stick ! Tricky! When totally cooled, heat the chocolate and drizzle over the top. This will help keep the chips on top.
Put the tray in the fridge. If you cant find these Reese's Chips you could add 3/4 cup peanuts on top of the caramel topping before placing in the oven. As it cools you can add some sea salt.
A good recipe to play around with and whatever you do it won't last long!

Curried Chicken Drumsticks Madras Style

This dish is one I haven't made since my children were young and loved drumsticks. It is a great family meal, pretty inexpensive and very easy. It is a great introduction to "spicy food" for little ones, as it is not terribly hot .The dish keeps and freezes well and as usual with this type of dish, it is often better the next day, so prepare ahead.  You can adjust the seasoning to your liking, you can adjust the amount as well. This  recipe is for 1 kilo which isn't a lot if you have a hungry family to feed ! You could use thigh cutlets as an alternative.



1 kg chicken drumsticks
1 tablespoon Madras curry paste
60 mls of canola oil
1 birds eye chilli finely chopped
3 cm piece of fresh ginger finely chopped
2 garlic cloves
2 tomatoes chopped
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 can coconut cream
2 teaspoons salt

Gently fry the chicken drumsticks to colour and remove from the pot. Add the rest of the oil you may need extra and fry the garlic, ginger, chilli , turmeric and tomatoes together and add the curry paste. Cook these for a minute or two. Add the coconut cream , sugar and salt and blend with the spices.
Return the drumsticks to the pot and cook on a gentle simmer for about 30-40 minutes. Give it a stir every 10 minutes or so to stop it catching on the bottom of the pan and too make sure all of the drumsticks are covered and cooking.
Add some chopped coriander for garnish and serve with rice and poppadoms and a little chutney.

I used about 2 kilos of drumsticks and obviously increased amounts of everything

A sprinkle of coriander and toasted peanuts for garnish

Date and Pecan Cake

Two week ends ago the weather was so beautiful perhaps the best summer week end we have had for the last few years, not one drop of rain ! A group of us were guests of my great foodie friend Viki and her husband at their Whale Beach house. Bindy is a fabulous baker and true to form bought a date and walnut cake with her. Absolutely delicious, the girls said the recipe was from an old country friend.
The cake is such a traditional country afternoon tea addition. One would normally think cooler weather with cakes but it went down a treat. We lounged on the beach until 3pm, a slight offshore breeze not too hot, umbrellas and chairs and lots of chat and laughter. After packing up and walking up the track, we were a little peckish. I couldn't resist a plate of cake with a little butter, whilst we prepared a very late lunch, with a little glass of French bubbles of course. I attempted this but with pecans because I didn't have any walnuts in the pantry. Just as yummy I thought!
A great one for the school lunch box as well.

1 cup chopped dried dates
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 1/2 cups self raising flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon bicarb of soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 egg
pinch salt


Preheat oven to 175C
Grease a loaf tin or line with baking paper
Sift into a bowl self raising flour, sugar, bicarb of soda, nutmeg and salt.
Melt in a saucepan the butter, water and the dates. Bring to boil and continue boiling for a further minute. Stand aside and let cool slightly.
Pour into the dry ingredients and mix well. lastly add the egg and mix in. Pour into the loaf tin and bake for approx 30 minutes.

Someone just had to have a bite!

Chicken Involtini with Sweet Potato and Ginger Puree

I love this little chicken dish and the fact that it can be made the night before or well ahead is a bonus.
It is fabulous for a large group and I have often served it when entertaining a group of women. It is tasty and light goes a long way and never ceases to please. I usually serve it with a kumera mash but you could do a pumpkin, green pea, even  garlic potato. The last time I tried it with a cannelli bean and garlic mash and whilst it tasted great it didn't have a lot of plate appeal. The chicken looks better on a contrast colour. A green salad is all you need for an accompaniment and serve it with a drizzle of thickened stock or a veal demi glaze.

6  half chicken breasts { 2 breasts will feed 3 people even 4 if serving to women or small eaters so 6 breasts could potentially feed 18 but assume it will feed 12 and then there could be some left for seconds
18 pieces of prosciutto approx 3 pieces of a good prosciutto per breast
3 cups fresh breadcrumbs
90 grams toasted slivered almonds
1 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1 cup chopped chives
1 cup parmesan cheese grated
1/2 cup pecorino grated
toothpicks
Glad bake

Puree

4 sweet potato
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup cream
2-3 tablespoons finely grated ginger
S+P


Boil the potatoes until tender. Mash with all the ingredients and set aside until serving. You can add more ginger if you like, more stock or less cream which will make it thinner.

Toast the almonds. Use a food processor to turn the bread into crumbs. Place in a bowl and mix in the herbs and cheese and toasted nuts.
Place a breast between two sheets of baking paper . Pound with a meat mallet or rolling pin. The paper stops it getting shredded to bits. You will end up with a flat quite large piece of chicken.
Lay three pieces of prosciutto on a sheet of paper or a board the same way to how you are going to roll it. Place a breast on top and spread some of the breadcrumb mixture on top leaving a little room free at the outer edges. Carefully roll the breast up as tightly as you can like a huge pinwheel. When you are finished secure it with toothpicks. You could also use cooking twine. It doesn't have to look really neat as it will be fine when cooked.
When finished all the breasts  wrap each one in a clean piece of baking paper  and roll the ends like a bon bon and put into a baking dish.
If not eating until later  place in the fridge.
Remove from the fridge about half an hour before you are ready to cook it. Heat the oven to 180C . Cook for about half an hour in the glad bake and then open the parcels  cook for a further 15 mins. This keeps the meat moist and gives it a bit of colour

Serve will a green salad of baby spinach, mint rocket and a bunch of cress. Toss the salad with lemon and olive oil and sea salt.

Flattened breast

Rolled with the prosciutto before securing with toothpicks

Lumpfish Caviar Pate

Caviar is the roe from the fish or sturgeon of the Caspain and Black Sea. Beluga is the most commonly known very expensive and sort after for those who can afford it. So lumpfish caviar is the poor mans caviar from an actual lumpfish. It can also be a generic term for the roe from a variety of fish including salmon. Never having had the pleasure of eating Beluga, I am content with the lumpfish caviar.
This dish never fails and everyone loves it. A very old one, but a good one. For some reason I usually only make it at Xmas, not sure why. As my children have gotten older the whole thing is devoured pretty quickly as they love it too. I decided to make it recently when entertaining. Simple quick and easy and light enough not to spoil the dinner.
I serve it with the pita toasts ( see blog from 5/7/12) or just a simple water cracker if you don't want to be bothered with making the pita.


8 hard boiled eggs
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons butter
1 small red onion
1 bunch flat leaf parsley
carton sour cream
1 jar of black caviar
1 jar of red caviar
Salt and pepper

Once the eggs are cooled peel them and put into a bowl. Mash them with a fork and add the mayonnaise, butter, salt and pepper to taste.
Layer this mixture in a dish.
Chop the red onion finely and mix with the sour cream.
Cover the egg mixture with the sour cream.
Chop the parsley finely.
Finally, spread the red caviar down one side of the sour cream and the black down the other side leaving a space in the middle. Fill the space with the finely chopped parsley.
It tastes as good as it looks!

Spinach and Feta Pie

I have just spent another day touring Greenacre and sampling the delights of Middle eastern food.

I enjoyed some little pastries called borek, which is really the generic term for Turkish pastries that come in a variety of shapes from triangles, semicircles, cigars and squares. They are filled with cheese, herbs and greens and are made from phyllo, short crust, puff or the Turkish version of phyllo, yufka.

They are found all over the Mediterranean sea board countries and are called brik, boregi, empanada, pittas, pastillas and spanakopitta depending on their origin. All are delicious as a meal in themselves or as finger food for entertaining.
The day of food tasting reminded me of my travels to Greece and Turkey in my younger years. These yummy little parcels we ate all the time as they were so cheap and of course we had very little money.
We would hang outside the pastry shops and wait until they came out of the ovens and pounce on them devouring them in minutes.
I make this spinach and feta pie a lot, probably because it reminds me of those carefree days in the Greek Islands, when time stood still and we didn't have a thing to worry about !

My version is a large pie to feed the crowd as a meal. You can make the same recipe in small triangles or cigars shapes for party food. It is a bit of a fiddle but worth the effort. After you have made this a few times,you may find you like more of one cheese than the other, or a little more chives. I am sure mine is different every time I make it. Remove your phyllo pastry from freezer to fridge overnight to thaw.

250 grams feta cheese
4 tablespoons parmesan cheese grated
80 grams ricotta cheese
1 egg 
4 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
500 grams spinach frozen or a bunch of fresh spinach
2 tablespoons  chopped chives
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
pinch of nutmeg
10 sheets phyllo pastry
6 tablespoons melted butter

If using fresh spinach, chop and discard stems,  steam  until wilted and drain very well, squeeze excess water out. The same applies to frozen, after cooking the excess water must be squeezed out or your pie will be watery.
Mash the cheeses together and mix with all the other ingredients in a large bowl.
Cover the phyllo with a slightly damp tea towel, as you work, as it will dry out and become brittle.
Brush a sheet of the pastry with melted butter, and layer into the pie dish one at a time until you have five layers..
Fill the dish with the spinach and cheese mixture. Cover with five more layers of pastry buttering each as
you go. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake in 175C oven until pastry is golden.

Baked Stuffed Minced Lamb- Kibbe

I am a great fan of Middle Eastern food and the cookbooks of Claudia Roden and Paula Wolfert and more recently  have added the fabulous Ottolengi books to my collection.
So this week I asked an Armenian friend to escort me around his favourite places to shop. My sister and I ventured to Greenacre and Auburn and visited the best food outlets for middle eastern food supplies.
We were very much in the minority as far as the burka goes, but all the women and men working in these grocers, welcomed us and were very helpful in explaining  the varieties of spice mixes and sharing of their favourite recipes.  A few giggles with a bit of lost in translation in some cases !We shopped in their grocers and dined at a Lebanese restaurant  Al Aseel  and had the most beautiful, baba ghanoush, hommus, garlic dip, Tabouli, felafel's and skewers of  marinated chicken, lamb and shish kebab. The felafel was divine. Crispy on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside.!
Everything was so fresh and tasty. No alcohol is served at this restaurant but we were very happy to join the locals with a huge glass of lemon juice with fresh mint, simply delicious and so refreshing on a hot day.
We then ventured onto a coffee and nut roaster who sells to the public. The fragrant aromas wafted out of the place as we parked the car. The problem with the freshly roasted nuts, they were nearly all consumed before we finished our day !
We stopped at Ablas for the most amazing array of baklava and middle eastern sweets and chocolates.
The variety of sweets that we would call baklava, was enormous but again patient explanations were given
as to their differences..
What a wonderful day out ! So, with a  full tummy and a car full of goodies, I came home totally inspired to cook. Coffee, nuts, pomegranate molasses, rose petal jam, green chilli sauce, bulgur, baba ghanoush, hummus, Turkish delight, baklava and Persian fairy floss and loads of fresh herbs and vegetables were purchased.
I haven't made Kibbe for at least 15 years and had forgotten how easy it is and better the next day. A great  transportable dish for summer . I used the spice mix I purchased from the grocer, which does not have the listed ingredients on the packet. The smell of it is quite intoxicating. The following recipe is my version of old and I made two lots one using the spice mix I bought and they were very similar in taste. This is not the little tear dropped shapes you get at Al Aseel, but easier to prepare.Give it a try!

2 cups cracked wheat bulgur ( you can use fine, but this time I purchased a coarser grain )
1 kilo minced lamb plus see below
1/4 teaspoon of mixed spice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup sesame seeds
olive oil
2 cups chicken stock

Stuffing

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 large onion finely chopped
125 grams lamb mince
1/8 teaspoon all spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped mint


Treat the bulgur like rice, couscous or quinoa, 1 cup makes two. Place into a saucepan with the hot stock and simmer until soft and the stock is absorbed. Approx 10 minutes. Alternatively you can soak the wheat in a bowl just covered with cold water. Drain and remove any excess liquid and set aside.
Meanwhile, for the stuffing lightly brown the pine nuts in the olive oil and remove from the pan.Saute the onion until tender and add the lamb mince and cook until all traces of pink disappear. Drain any fat, add the nuts spices and mint.

Stuffing

Lamb mixed with bulgur and spices

Mix the bulgur and lamb with the mixed spice, nutmeg, cayenne and black pepper in a bowl. The best way to do this is with your hands.
Divide the mixture in half. Spray a baker approx 23 x 30 with olive oil and layer half of the meat mixture into the dish and flatten down.
Add the stuffing and spread evenly across the uncooked lamb mixture.
Top with the remaining meat mixture and smooth down.
Cut into a diamond pattern and sprinkle with sesame seeds and drizzle with a little olive oil.Bake in a preheated oven for 20 mins, turn down to 160C and cook for a further 10 mins.
I serve this with tabouli and a minted yoghurt.

Baked Stuffed Kibbe

Quinoa Salad

What fabulous weather we are enjoying! Sunshine and the beach ! We have just been to New Caledonia enjoying the French food and brushing up on our French language skills. Yes, we did a lot of eating and drinking. Lots of duck, beef and seafood. Unfortunately, some of their better restaurants that I had earmarked to go to were closed for the Xmas New Year Break, but we still managed to find plenty that weren't. When we were last in Spain and did a fabulous gourmet walking tour in Madrid one of the  memorable meals was a simple grilled steak. But it was the method of cooking ! It was heavily salted and cooked on a  very hot stone grilled at the table, with each diner given their own stone. This enabled you to cook it to your liking. It was delicious and very succulent. I came home with wonderful ideas of getting my own stones, but I could never source the make of the stone and the restaurant would not tell me. That was the end of that idea.
Whilst in Noumea, we came across a stone grill restaurant. We had many a choice of beef, Australian, New Zealand and local in every cut available.It was just as memorable, absolutely delicious with an accompaniment of French beans in butter and garlic, french fries of course and a choice of sauces. Oh the simple things are often the best, providing the quality is good.We ate lots of seafood, loved the Mahi Mahi dumplings in a very light seafood bisque and the duck in a variety of fabulous sauces, cheese souffles,creme caramel, cheese platters. Oh calories calories and more calories
So as we do its New Year and we go on a diet. Maybe the steak without the buttery beans and french fries.
I have been doing a few quinoa ( pronounced keen- wa) salads. It has been grown in South America for centuries and comes in black and red grain as well. The wonder grain that can replace any other grain and is full of protein, iron and fibre and is gluten free. So a quinoa salad is filling and nutritious, with very little fat, not only great for vegetarians but dieters as well .I like to use stock as it adds more flavour, as the grain can taste bitter. Experiment with the ingredients, chopped apricot and cashews would be yum also.

1cup quinoa
2 cups chicken stock ( water is fine or you can use vegetable stock )
1 red onion chopped.
4 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
4 tablespoons sultanas
4 tablespoons chopped coriander
4 tablespoons chopped parsley
small red capsicum
seeds from 1/2 large pomegranate
S&P

Heat the stock in a saucepan on the stove and add the quinoa. Bring back to the boil and simmer until all he stock is absorbed. Approximately 15 minutes.
Saute the red onion and add it to the quinoa. Add the chopped herbs and chopped capsicum and sultanas.
Remove the membrane holding the seeds of the pomegranate, turn upside down over the bowl and bash the hard skin with a spoon to release all those luscious seeds.Lastly add the pine nuts.
I dressed it with a dressing of olive oil, balsamic and a little honey. Delicious, all you need, its a meal in itself.
Well maybe for a dieting girl.!

The remainder of the Xmas cake consumed pre diet of course !