Plum and Tomato salad

I believe you need to have an abundance of salad recipes to keep on hand so when called upon to "bring a salad" you don't arrive with lettuce and tomato on a plate.  My clever niece Melinda brought this delicious summer salad to one of the many birthday "get togethers" we had recently.

Ingredients

3 plums
8 heirloom or black Russian tomatoes, cut into irregular shapes
100g (good quality) ricotta, crumbled
Basil leaves to garnish

Dressing
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt flakes
1/4 cu0 (60ml) extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of ground white pepper

Method

For the dressing, simply combine all ingredients in a small screw cap jar and shake.

Slice the cheeks off the plums, then cut into wedges.
Place plums and tomatoes in a bowl, top with dressing and gently toss to combine.

To serve, arrange plum and tomato mixture onto a serving platter or large bowl, top with crumbled ricotta and garnish with torn basil leaves.

The flavours combine beautifully.

Mamma Marmalade

Banana, Oat and Walnut Loaf

Strange black objects lurk in my freezer. 

Whenever a banana remains unloved in the fruit bowl I pop it into a freezer bag and into the freezer – skin and all.  I don’t mean those bananas that are only fit for chooky food or the compost – just the ones that are a bit sad and past their eating best.  They are never wasted –  just remove from the freezer and allow to defrost a bit.  Remove the skin and your banana is ready to be mashed or pureed into it’s rightful flavoursome glory. Cakes, slices, smoothies - no waste.

This Banana Loaf recipe is quite different – not only does it make use of those frozen bananas, but there is no butter – just the small tin of Evaporated milk – a bit different!  The result is a dense but moist banana loaf with the extra goodness of Rolled Oats, walnuts and spices.  It is even better the next day!

Preparation      5 minutes

Cooking          50 minutes – 1 hour 10 min

Ingredients

3 medium - large bananas, well mashed (if small you might need 4)

185 ml tin Carnation Evaporated Light Milk

¾ cup brown sugar

2 eggs

¾ cup Rolled Oats  plus   extra to sprinkle on top before cooking

2 cups Self-Raising Flour - sifted

Small pinch of salt

½ teaspoon each of nutmeg and cloves

¼ cup sultanas

¼ cup walnuts – chopped  plus   extra to sprinkle on top before cooking

Method

Preheat oven 175 °C  (I find 180 is a tad high – so just under – depends on your oven)

Line a large loaf tin (approx. 26cm x 14cm min) with nonstick baking paper

Mash the bananas well and set aside.

Whisk the Tinned milk, sugar and eggs together in a large bowl

Fold in the bananas

Add half the flour, fold through then add the rest of flour, salt and Oats

Stir through the spices, sultanas and nuts.

Pour into prepared tin 

Sprinkle over the extra rolled oats and a few chopped walnuts

bake approx. 50 min – 1 hour 10min.  Depends on moistness of bananas

Check after 30 min and rotate pan in the oven.

Cake is cooked when skewer inserted, comes out clean.

When cooked, remove from oven and place on rack to cool whilst still in pan.

Cake will firm up once cool.

Serve warm or cooled.  With a spread of butter if desired.  

                                   Enjoy!  Colleen

Sticky Roasted Lemongrass and Chilli Chicken

Inspired by Donna Hay – an easy recipe that can be prepared in advance or straight away. Quick preparation, great flavours and very versatile. My niece was visiting for lunch on a humid Brisbane January weekend so this was perfect to serve with just-wilted bok choy and lots of crunchy cabbage and colourful vegetables.  A tropical fruit platter served for dessert hit the spot as a palate pleaser following the sticky flavours of this chicken recipe.  If you don’t have bone-in thigh fillets it also works well with skinless thigh fillets (will be less fatty which is good!) or drumsticks.

Preparation:       5 minutes for chicken  (Option:marinate in the fridge for a few hours if you like)

                           10 minutes for chopping vegatables

Cooking:           25 - 30 minutes for the chicken.  5 mins for bok choy. 

Ingredients

6 – 8 bone-in Chicken thigh fillets, skin on.   Or  use skinless thigh fillets  or  drumsticks

3 tablespoons very finely chopped lemongrass (white part) 

1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes    Option:  finely shredded fresh red chilli for garnish

1 tablespoon freshly grated Ginger

¼ cup Brown Sugar

¼ cup Fish Sauce

¼ cup Soy Sauce

Cubes of peeled sweet potato or pumpkin (sized as need to cook within the 25-30 min)

Drizzle of oil - peanut etc

Sesame seeds

Extra Low Salt soy sauce

Extra tablespoon brown sugar

Vegetables and noodles to accompany

Your choice of

Noodles

Sesame oil

Red onions finely sliced

Bok choy

Cabbage – finely shredded

Carrot, celery, capsicum – finely sliced

Other vegetables of your choice - snow peas, beans, halved cherry tomatoes etc

  

Method

Preheat oven to 200° C.

Use a large plastic freezer bag and combine the lemongrass, chilli flakes, ginger, sugar and sauces.  Moosh around to combine well.

Add the chicken pieces into the bag and push the mixture on to the chicken.

If you want, seal the bag and allow to marinate in fridge for a few hours.

Otherwise,

Place the chicken pieces in a shallow roasting pan. Don't pour the marinade into the pan or food will stew but not roast.

Scatter the cubes of sweet potato or pumpkin between the chicken pieces.

Brush some of the marinade over the chicken, drizzle a little oil over the veggies and sprinkle chicken pieces with a little sesame seeds.

Bake for 25 – 30 mins, turning regularly and basting til golden.

Gently boil (watch carefully or it will burn) the remaining marinade in a very small saucepan with the additional low salt soy sauce and brown sugar for at least 10 minutes as it has been in contact with raw chicken.  Add a spoon of water if necessary.  Do not burn. Simmer til thick and sticky.

In the meantime, prepare some noodles according to packet directions. Drain well.

Using a frypan, heat a little sesame oil and quickly cook the onion then add the bok choy until just wilted.

Remove from heat.

Toss the vegetables and noodles into a large serving platter.

Top with the cooked chicken pieces and cooked cubed vegetables.

Drizzle with the thick sauce.

Garnish with your choice of sliced shallots, shredded red chilli or finely sliced celery, coriander etc.

Enjoy!   Colleen

Cure your own Salmon

This is the most impressive but deceptively simple dish to WOW your guests with.  Curing your own Salmon will give you bragging rights for the entire year of 2016.  Nigella Lawson has a no fail recipe that produces an outstanding result.
You may need to borrow my 83 year old mother and my ham knife to achieve these fine slithers of Tasmanian salmon, and hopefully your fishmonger will pin bone the fish for you.
Thanks Bill for managing to photograph the food before it was hoovered up.

Ingredients

Side of Salmon min 1.5kg (pin boned with skin on)
1 tablespoon Hot English mustard
2 tablespoons Gin
3 tablespoons Sugar
4 tablespoons Salt (Kosher or Maldon) Note do not use cooking salt
1 cup finely chopped dill

          Sliced red onions and capers for decoration

Method

Combine in a bowl, sugar, salt, gin and mustard to form a slurry.

Place salmon skin side down in a ceramic or glass dish.
Paste the above mixture all over the salmon, top with chopped dill.
Cover with cling wrap tucking in around the salmon so no air is encased, cover with baking paper and then weight down with heavy tins of food.
Place in the refrigerator for 3 days.

When ready to serve, remove salmon and with paper towel wipe off slurry and dill.
Finely slice and top with onions and capers.

Superb !!!

Mamma Marmalade