Ginger scallion sauce with noodles a la momofuku

There has been a flurry of blog cooking activity based on the Momofuku cookbook since it was released.  And so there should be, considering the complex, sometimes intricate, yet delicious creations it contains.

Most of the recipes are not difficult, but they do require a bit of preparation, not to mention some translation of the ingredients if you don't have items such as usukuchi (light soy sauce) or kochukaru (Korean chilli powder) on hand.  So, while we can drool over the pork buns, fried chicken and cereal milk, for this little blogger at least, they will have to remain within the pages of the cookbook for now. 

But that doesn't stop me from trying an 'adaption' of one of the easiest recipes.  It's a version of a ginger and scallion sauce that can be eaten with anything from chicken to noodles. Which is what I made it to have with here.  It tastes as good as the Chinese version that normally accompanies white cut chicken - except you don't have to worry about pouring boiling hot oil over the scallions (spring onions).

Ginger Scallion Sauce
makes about 1 cup

Ingredients
1 cup scallions (spring onions), finely sliced
1 tblsp minced ginger
1/4 cup (60ml) vegetable or canola oil
1 tsp light soy sauce (or normal, or salt-reduced - whatever you have)
1 tsp rice wine vinegar (or sherry vinegar)
1 tsp salt flakes

Method
1. Mix together all the ingredients in a bowl. 
2.  Taste for seasoning and add more salt if required.  [Personally, I like it salty, and prefer to reduce the soy and add more salt flakes to taste]
3.  Leave to stand (in the refrigerator) for 15-20 minutes.
4.  Eat with ramen noodles, or with poached chicken.  The sauce keeps for a day or two in the refrigerator.

Simply mix together the spring onion, ginger, soy, vinegar, salt and oil. Then wait patiently.

Sauce is served with a classic bowl of noodles.

An intelligent salad of prosciutto and blue cheese

Don’t hate me because I make so many salads.

In fact, I don’t eat salad that often, it’s just that they are so picturesque that I’m writing about them here. Of course, the other reason for a colourful salad is that
  i) they are easy to throw together
  ii) you can have a modicum of prosciutto and blue cheese because...
  iii) the prosciutto and blue cheese are offset by the healthfulness of the iron-packed spinach leaves

Hence, Σ(3 x prosciutto, blue cheese) = 1 x handful of spinach leaves

See, salads make you brainier, too.

Prosciutto and Blue Cheese Salad
Serves 2

Ingredients
80g rocket or other salad leaves
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
3 slices prosciutto
100g blue cheese, crumbled

Dressing
¼ cup (60ml) olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tblsp balsamic vinegar

Method
1. Make the dressing by whisking the dressing ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Place the salad leaves and tomatoes in another bowl. Pour over the dressing and gently toss to combine.
3. Tear over the prosciutto and add the blue cheese. Serve immediately.

Look at the large bowl of leaves, and the beautifully carved prosciutto

Throw it all together and eat. And wait for your IQ to soar.
PS: There are also a couple of pieces of smoked chicken in the above salad

Lychee Panna cotta with Raspberry Jelly

I'm not really into complicated recipes, the ones that you try once and never make again.  Therefore, the dishes I make on this blog are usually just your average daily 'what's for dinner' type that are not too hard to whip up and are hopefully going into the 'I must remember to make this again' pile.

Of course, the internet and other food blogs are a constant, invaluable source of recipes and ideas.  This lychee panna cotta dessert was first inspired by Trissalicious's sublime-looking Lychee Perfection.  Then I found another version at Dessert First that was topped with ruby red pomegranate.  The list goes on...

So this is my La Vie en Rose-y version, with raspberry jelly providing further colour and flavour.

Lychee Panna cotta with Raspberry Jelly
serves 6

Ingredients
1 can (approx 565g / 20oz) lychees in syrup
2 tsp powdered gelatine
1 cup thickened cream
1 cup whole milk
2 tblsp sugar
1 packet raspberry jelly crystals

Method
1.  Set aside 6 whole lychees.  Put the remaining lychees and syrup into a food processor and process until the mixture is smooth.  Strain the liquid and pulp into a sieve until you get 1 cup of clear liquid.
2.  Place 3 tablespoons of cold water into a small bowl. Sprinkle over the gelatine.  Set aside.
3.  Combine the lychee liquid, cream, milk and sugar in a medium saucepan.  Heat on medium, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved and it just comes to the boil.
4.  Remove the lychee mixture from the heat and add the gelatine.  Stir until the gelatine is fully melted and combined. 
5.  Remove from heat and cool for about 10 minutes.
6.  Pour mixture evenly into 6x1-cup glasses.
7.  Refrigerate until set, about 2-3 hours.
8.  Make up the jelly crystals according to packet instructions.  Let the jelly cool slightly before pouring over the set lychee panna cottas.  Make sure the jelly is cool, otherwise it may melt the panna cotta.
9.  Refrigerate until the jelly is set, another 2 hours.  Top with reserved lychee pieces before serving.

Recipe adapted from Dessert First

Ingredients.  This was my first attempt at using gelatine, so the powdered version was easiest.

The deep red of raspberry jelly really offsets the creamy panna cotta.

...I will be making this dessert again...

Friday Night Pizza - Moroccan Lamb PLUS a Giveaway

There’s nothing better at the end of a long week than… pizza!

And there’s nothing better than pizza that you make yourself. I don’t know about you, but where I live, there are no edible takeaway pizza places nearby (though Rosso Pomodoro is in the next suburb, it’s a bit too far to walk). And as for a home-delivered thing from a pizza chain… *shiver!*

This pizza is good because it does not contain cheese (low-fat) and can be made using a gluten-free pizza base. I used a bought pizza base that I found at the supermarket, and I can highly recommend it – the Anthony’s Fine Bread large pizza base was pillowy, soft and thick and when cooked, it is the perfect crispy base for the meaty topping.

Oh, and what's the Giveaway?  Glance at the recipe and photos first... it's at the end of the page...

Moroccan Lamb Pizza
Serves 2

Ingredients
4 lamb and rosemary sausages (or 180g lamb mince)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp paprika
4 cherry or baby roma tomatoes, halved
1 tblsp pine nuts
26cm pizza base

Tzatziki dressing
½ cup bought tzatziki
½ tsp mint, chopped
1 tblsp lemon juice

Method
1. Preheat oven to 210 deg C.
2. Remove the casings from the lamb sausages and discard. Mix together the lamb sausage meat (or mince) with the garlic, onion, cumin and paprika, and season with salt and pepper.
3 Place the pizza base on a pizza or baking tray and spread the lamb mixture over it. Place tomato halves on the lamb, then scatter with pine nuts.
4. Place pizza in oven and cook for 8-10 minutes until the lamb is cooked through and the tomatoes are soft. Remove from oven.
5. To make the dressing, mix the tzatziki, mint and lemon juice in a bowl.
6. Serve pizza slices with tzatziki dressing on the side.

Quick to make and quick to cook

Nothing better than pizza in front of the TV on Friday night

Ah, yes, the Giveaway: I have two (2) tickets to the Taste of Sydney food event to give away to one lucky person. 

The tickets are:

 - for standard entry only (worth up to $30 each)

 - valid for entry to sessions on Thursday 11th March 2010 (5.30 - 9.30pm) OR Friday 12th March 2010 (12-4pm OR 5.30-9.30pm)

 - Taste of Sydney is held in Centennial Park, Sydney.  It's a great chance to taste food from some of Sydney's best restaurants. Have a look at the offerings from last year.

To enter, leave a comment on this post with the secret phrase "I want to win". 

Competition closes midnight 28th February 2010. Winner will be picked randomly. 

Even if you don't want to enter, please leave a comment complimenting the lamb pizza. Thanks!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Update: 1st March 2010

 Thanks to all who entered the Taste of Sydney Giveaway.

 The winner of the 2 entry passes is.......... missklicious!
 Congratulations!  I will email you to get your details.

March into Merivale 2010 - Launch Party

The queue into the launch party for March into Merivale

Yes, it was crowded and hot, but the launch of Merivale Group's 'March into Merivale' restaurant event was filled with free food and drink, as well as keen punters.  It was held yesterday in the Ivy complex in George Street, Sydney, where some of Merivale's restaurants are located.

Along with other foodbloggers, I was fortunate enough to score an invite into the launch before the public were allowed in (thanks to Renee from Merivale for looking after us beforehand).  We saw the event being set up and got to admire the Ivy ballroom before the hordes descended.

Lovely Ivy ballroom with high ceiling and chandeliers - and waiters with welcome drinks.

Like the previous Merivale launch, it was a chaotic event that the chefs, kitchen staff and attendants handled with aplomb.  It must be difficult to cater for so many people (1000?) at the best of times, but to do it in pretty much full view of them takes a lot of preparation and stamina.

March into Merivale showcases the restaurant chefs and their food, so here are some of the restaurans and canapes that were on offer.  

Dan Hong, chef of Lotus restaurant, with plates of pork 'banh mi' croutons and prawn skewers crusted with Tasty Toobs. 

Nobuyuki Ura, head chef of sushi e, was hard at work preparing Establishment sushi rolls, while the roast duck with kosho yuzu sauce was popular.

Teppanyaki restaurant's food included Kurobata pork with green apple on witlof, and Tasmanian salmon with ponzu and dried miso.  PS: That's @jenius in the photo, helping herself...

At 6pm, the doors opened and the crowd flooded in - hands grabbing at passing drinks, fingers fingering the finger food.  If the number of rsvps is an indicator of a good party, then this was a raging success.

Other food included a gorgeous pressed rockmelon and Serrano jamon skewer from est. They also had grilled scallop with pork crackle (on a spoon) and chicken liver parfait.

Mad Cow offered Rangers Valley flank steak with chimichurri sauce, and heirloom tomato with mozzarella.  I had something similar during the Meatlovers' Masterclass with Mad Cow last year.
Bistro cbd had goat's cheese tartlets, while Ash St Cellar had cups of fishy bouillabaisse.

Drinks on offer included beer, wine, and a Campari grapefruit juice cocktail.

That's all I saw before being overwhelmed by the crowd.  I was suitably disappointed that the chefs did not wear their superhero outfits on the night, but I suppose you can't have everything.  The food didn't disappoint, though, so a visit to the aforementioned restaurants must be on the cards.

Details of the March into Merivale menus and events can be found on their website here.

Valentine’s Day at Adriano Zumbo

What is Valentine’s Day good for?

1. About 1 week after Christmas, department stores and gift shops are festooned with pink and red and glittery hearts – not good
2. It is the busiest day of the year for florists. The cost of flower deliveries skyrockets, as does the cost of (imported) red roses – not good
3. The classifieds publish love messages to ‘my cute Honeybunny’ from ‘your big Fluffywuffy’ – good for a laugh but not much else
4. In the week leading up to February 14th, Adriano Zumbo Patissier presents heart-shaped macarons and Valentines cakes – finally, a WIN!

The macarons in the store are a riot of colour, and beautifully packaged, to boot.

Some of the flavours I bought – they are pastel-y and subtle.

The Valentines cake is an extravaganza of strawberry jelly and hazelnut.

 
Have a sweet day, everyone!

For Winter or Summer: Warm Vegetable Salad

The weather lately has been all over the place - hot and humid one day, rainy and windy the next.  Sounds like the slogan for a dodgy tourist resort.  Nonetheless, it is playing havoc with my meal plans because my mind says summer, but my body says 'No.... it's getting dark earlier, winter must be around the corner!'.  Yes, I'm a glass-half-empty type of person...

To prepare for the inevitable, here is a salad of roasted vegetables as a grab at summer's fading sparkle.

Warm Roast Vegetable Salad
serves 2

Ingredients
2 small sweet potatoes (or 1 large one), about 200g, chopped into 2cm chunks
1 red onion, cut into quarters
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tblsp olive oil
a few drops of sesame oil (optional)
80g salad leaves, eg. rocket and baby spinach
100g creamy blue cheese
30g cashews or roasted hazelnuts

Dressing
¼ cup (60ml) olive oil
1 tblsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
salt and pepper, to season

Method
1.  Place the sweet potato chunks and red onion into a baking tin.  Drizzle with olive oil and garlic and mix to coat. Sprinkle the sweet potato with a few drops of sesame oil if you like (I like).
2.  Bake in a preheated 180 deg C oven for 40 minutes, until the potato is soft and golden.
3.  Meanwhile, combine the dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk together. 
4.  To serve, place some salad leaves in a bowl, top with the sweet potato and onion, drizzle with the dressing and top with pieces of blue cheese and cashews. 

After chopping the vegetables, just coat them in olive oil and garlic, then roast in the oven. Love how the sweet potato intensifies in colour after baking.

Serve with blue cheese and cashews. 

This is a simple but substantial salad, especially if you add a few bits of crispy bacon as well (not shown here, but I have been known to include the crispy, delicious bacon... mmm, bacon...)