Curry Filled Vetkoek

Vetkoek Dough

You are all on a new years diet kick…is that right?

How about you save this one then for a rash day of calorie consumption? This recipe is in honor of my South African friends everywhere, but in particular my friend and business partner Mandy, without whom I would be a lot of good ideas with no direction…we are dreaming big together for 2012…so watch this space!

Every country has their own form of donut it would seem, and this is a savoury filled one which I have made before to great acclaim. It has been sitting around in my draft folder for months, so  I thought I would trot it out…just in time for something completely different on here…I have cleaned up the Christmas decorations, the Christmas food slash chocolates are all gone (except for my mother in laws most excellent fruit cake which will last until mid March at least!) and I really am now in Empty the Pantry Mode…not wishing to buy anything but the fresh stuff. This fit the bill perfectly.

Enjoy…oh…and don’t forget, you can stuff these donuts with a nice melty cheese before frying if you dare…but you will definitely eat more than one. (Consider yourself warned!)

NEED:

Donuts;

Asagio and Beef Burgers.

Yes, its the weekend. Back in the day we used to have Saturday Burger Days….and dad was the cook of these burgers…the kids are almost gone, and Saturday night of all nights is the quiet night at ours…but this won’t tax you too much if you want a weekend break, but without sacrificing great flavour and great food…Move over Macca’s…’Tenna’s’ is coming through! (or something like that…)

NEED:

250g Asiago cheese, cubed

180g walnuts, toasted

2tsp black peppercorns

Pinch sea salt

1 tbsp Umami paste

1kg beef mince

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Rocket leaves to taste

1 large tomato sliced

100g mayonnaise

6 slices cooked bacon

6 hamburger buns or choice

 Dressing;

1 tsp seeded mustard

2 tbsp raw honey

4 tbsp red wine vinegar

Sea salt to taste

100g Fini EVOO

DO:

Place cheese into Thermomix bowl and grate for 2 sec/speed 6. Set aside.
Place walnuts, peppercorns and salt into Thermomix bowl and mill for 6 sec/speed 7.
Add umami paste, beef mince, sauce and grated cheese to Thermomix bowl and combine for 10 sec/Reverse + speed 7 with the aid of the spatula.
Form into 6-8 equal burger patties, place onto baking paper and refrigerate until ready to cook.

Dressing;

Clean bowl before making the dressing by placing all ingredients except EVOO into Thermomix bowl and mixing for 10 sec/speed 6. Add oil and stir through for 4 sec/speed 6. Drizzle over rocket leaves and set aside.

To assemble burgers; Char grill buns and patties to taste. Cook bacon. Spread mayonnaise on bottom half of bun, add cooked burger patty, top with slice of tomato, dressed rocket leaves and a slice of bacon. Drizzle with additional dressing if desired.
Serve immediately.

Persian Bulgur and Beef Pie

We are a meat pie nation. If you hadn’t noticed already (or you are not Australian) the meat pie is our national dish. A little tragic in light of some of the amazing national dishes on offer from other nations. But who am I to complain? I on occasion break my own dietary rule and eat one, with sauce of course.

On that note, this is absolutely nothing like an Aussie meat pie, other than they share a few of the same core ingredients. A lot more fragrant, quite a unique crust and a hell of a lot easier to make than layers of puff pastry, etcetera! This makes a great meal with a tomato and mint salad, which is just that. (Chopped tomato, fresh mint, EVOO, salt and pepper.) And a word of warning; I have reduced the amounts significantly to my original, but it still feeds a small travelling troupe of minstrels, so I hope you’re hungry!

 NEED:

Crust;

180g bulgur wheat

200g warm water + 160g extra

1 tsp sea salt

20g EVOO

1 tsp ground cumin

130g bakers flour

 Filling;

100g brown onion, in pieces

20g EVOO

600g beef or lamb, minced

1 tbsp tamarind puree

25g pomegranate molasses

1 tbsp ground allspice

50g lemon juice, fresh

20g Umami Paste

70g walnut pieces

50g pine nuts, toasted

1 tsp sugar

Sea salt to taste

DO:

Make crust by placing bulgur wheat into Thermomix bowl & covering with 200g water. Stir 5 sec/speed 5. Allow to soak for 5 minutes in the bowl until it is a solid mass.

Add remaining crust ingredients & blend 20 sec/speed 4. Scrape down & repeat if necessary. Remove from bowl & set aside.

Preheat oven to fan forced 200°C & liberally oil a 23cm pie dish.

To make filling, place onion & EVOO into clean Thermomix bowl & chop 3 sec/speed 4.

Scrape down & sauté 3 min/Varoma/speed 1.

Add minced meat, tamarind, molasses, allspice, lemon juice, & Umami & cook 10 min/Varoma/Reverse + speed 1.

Check once or twice that the meat is rotating enough to cook evenly & assist with the spatula as needed.

Add nuts, sugar and salt & cook 2 min/Varoma/Reverse + speed 1.

Spread half the crust batter into the prepared pie dish & smooth with the MC to make it even.

Pour the filling mixture over & top with remaining crust batter. Brush with additional EVOO & smooth top as much as possible. Bake for 40 minutes until fragrant and bubbling.

SERVE:

Hot with a Tomato & Mint salad, & lemon wedges.

Beef Kofta with Rosemary Sprigs

Well today was the big day…I had a photo shoot for an ad that will appear in the all new Master Chef Magazine in my kitchen…exciting! I did dream all night long about styling the dish I had planned for a side bar pic, but still sporting a flu (will it ever end??)! I woke up feverish and not in the mood at all to pretend I was in Master Chef and producing the winning dish! SO, we had it for dinner, and no, sadly, it won’t appear in the mag spread! But then, it doesn’t need to, cos it’s on here, right?

NEED:

Salad;

Wraps, pitas, or flat bread of choice per serving

400g Heirloom tomatoes or cherry tomatoes halved

Fresh parsley

Rainbow chard leaves

Sliced red onion

Crumbled feta

Greek Yogurt and EVOO to taste

Additional sprouts and herbs to taste

Kofta;

2tsp fennel seeds

2 sprigs rosemary (foliage only)

Handful Italian parsley

Handful mint leaves

2-3 spring onions/shallots

500-550g cubed beef fillet

1tsp cumin

100g dried breadcrumbs

40g raw honey

100g feta

1 egg

pinch Celtic sea salt

DO:

To make kofta, place fennel seeds and rosemary foliage into Thermomix bowl and mill for 8 seconds on speed 10. Add remaining herbs and spring onions and chop for 5 seconds on speed 7.

Add remaining ingredients and mince together for 30 seconds on Reverse + speed 8. Use the spatula if necessary to help you incorporate the ingredients together. Turn off the reverse button a couple of times just to untangle the mixture from the blades.

Heat a grill or fry pan to smoking point on Induction cooktop, mark 10, with just a drizzle of oil. With damp hands, form ‘rissoles’ and flatten slightly. Cook until well done and turn.

Meanwhile, prepare each wrap by flame grilling on the actual flame of a gas burner until you have a char grilled look with burnt edges….or to taste. Place onto each serving plate and dress with salad, feta, yoghurt, EVOO etc.

Top each prepared plate with 2-3 Koftas. Serve immediately with additional yoghurt to taste.

Chilli Cheesy Scones

I have been completely snowed at work, I mean I am not even Twittering…well not as manically as usual anyway. And might I add it’s a thankless task, insanely cooking day and night, night and day as though every recipe in the world has to be Thermomixed! Sometimes, I just like to cook using something else….(Pick yourself up off the floor, don’t give up on me just yet!)…I DID still use the Thermomix in this recipe, how could I not? Just not the entire recipe! This is really family food at its best; savoury, rustic, easy, loved by all. It is easily tweaked to increase or decrease quantity, and of course wholesome!

A little while ago, I purchased an enormous  Cuisinart slow cooker which has proved very useful on many family occasions. It holds up to 6.5 litres and so therefore this recipe feeds up to 12 adults…but simply halve recipe if not feeding an army. And FYI the Cuisinart mob do smaller slow cookers for those of you who don’t HAVE to feed an army!

So, to the Chunky Chipotle Chilli with Cilantro/Coriander and Chilli Cheesey Scones! I always was a sucker for alliteration…

NEED:

Scones;

1 small dried chilli

170g good quality Parmesan cubed

110g Taleggio (no substitutes please, and yes I know I jumped continents and cuisines…but oh YUM!)

50g unsalted butter

SR flour

Good pinch salt

210g sour cream

DO:

Preheat oven to fan forced 200°C.

Place chilli, cheeses and butter into Thermomix bowl and chop for 8 seconds on speed 8.

Add remaining ingredients and with dial set to closed lid position, knead for 1 minute on Interval speed or until well combined.

Turn out onto floured Silpat mat and bring together with hands and extra flour if needed. Roll out and cut into scone sized rounds. Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden. Keep warm until service.

NEED:

Chilli;

3-4 onions peeled and halved

5 cloves garlic

2-3 dried chipotle chillies soaked and rehydrated in boiling water or to taste

3tsp each ground cumin, coriander, turmeric and sweet paprika

1tsp ground cinnamon

1kg cubed casserole beef

1kg cubed pork neck

Sea salt to taste

2tbsp rapadura sugar (or brown sugar)

680g tomato puree

140g tomato paste

2x tins kidney beans drained and rinsed

1 tin chick peas drained and rinsed

2tbsp Balsamic vinegar

Fresh coriander (cilantro), oregano, mint to taste

Diced fresh tomatoes, black olives and lime wedges for garnish

Steamed rice to serve

DO:

Place onions, garlic, drained chillies and all ground spices into Thermomix bowl and chop for 5-6 seconds on speed 7. Scrape into Slow Cooker and add meat, tomato puree and paste salt and sugar.

Now this is where you gotta love a Slow Cooker…turn it onto the lowest setting and cook for 24 hours…yes folks, you read it correctly, 24 hours. It smells divine after about 4 hours, and simply mouthwatering any time after that.

During the last hour add the vinegar, beans and chick peas, they really just need to heat through without breaking up. (If you wanted to use dried beans you can add them in with the other ingredients at the beginning of the cooking time.)

SERVE:

Scoop some rice into each bowl, split the scones and top with the chilli. Add fresh chopped herbs, tomatoes, olives and lime wedges to taste.

Beef and Guiness Pie

After many requests and many more half started New Year’s Posts (some of which will see the light of day, time permitting) this was a recipe I could get up on here quickly before the half way point of the first month of twenty ten was staring back at me. If last year was anything to go by, this year will feel like about 2 months, and I’ll be adding Christmas recipes before I can finish singing Auld Lang Syne! Never one for weight loss resolutions, this will certainly not help in that department, but what the hell, Lets Get Fat this year!

NEED:
Handful Italian parsley
2 cloves garlic
1 onion, peeled and halved
2 tbsp olive oil
15g cornflour
500g diced beef
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
1 tbsp fish sauce
100-120g sliced mushrooms (optional)
1 batch Shortcrust pastry (see below)
1-2 sheets puff pastry

DO:
Place parsley into Thermomix bowl and chop for 4 seconds on speed 7. Set aside.
Place garlic, onion and oil into Thermomix bowl and chop for 3 seconds on speed 8. Sauté for 5 minutes at Varoma temperature on speed 1.
Add parsley, cornflour, beef, sauces and mushrooms to Thermomix bowl and cook for 10 minutes at 100ºC on speed 1.
Cool completely before making pies.
Pre-heat oven to fan forced 200ºC.
Roll shortcrust pastry out to 2mm thickness and line 6 large muffin holes in ‘Texas’ size muffin tin. Double line the base of each pie, by re rolling pastry and cutting to suit. Place in freezer until use.
Fill lined pie shells with cold mixture, top with puff pastry top. Cut cross slit in pastry and cook for 30-35 minutes until golden and puffy. Allow to cool slightly before removing from tray. Serve hot.
Shown is a below average pic of a single pie, using a ceramic pie dish…or if you prefer to skip the whole shortcrust base thing, do so, use the ceramic pie dish (or dishes for individuals) and just use Puff Pastry as a topper…YUM!

Shortcrust Pastry…always easy in the Thermomix, but if you are Thermomix-less, feel free to buy or simply make by hand. Remember the colder your butter/hands/workbench the better. I have a fantastic new book Ratio by Michael Ruhlman which you should all rush out and buy…you will never need a recipe for pastry again, but for those of you without that book, this is for you;

NEED:
200g plain cake flour
100g unsalted butter cubed and chilled
pinch sea salt
just enough icy water to bring together

DO:
Place flour, butter and salt into Thermomix bowl and blend for a few seconds on speed 6 until mix resembles breadcrumbs.
Add water through hole in lid as you continue to blend on speed 5 until pastry forms a ball. Remove from bowl and mold into flat disc. Chill whilst you make filling.

Thai Beef Salad

Sorry, its Friday afternoon at the end of a long week, and so I am not only tired, but silly to go along with it! Thai Beef Salad is one of my favorites and lately I have been on a mission to find a nice one in a restaurant that I could rely on to deliver the taste hit that I crave…no luck! So had to come up with my own, here it is. Although we have had  nothing but rain here all week (mid November, what is going on??) I am primed and ready for some hot weather eating. Hope you enjoy this on a leisurely evening…cooking time of approximately 5 minutes…how much more leisurely could you get? Enjoy!

Thai Beef Salad

Marinade NEED:

55g Tamari or soy sauce

55g fish sauce

50g honey

Juice ½ orange

Juice 1 lime

Handful coriander leaves

Handful mint leaves

1 small chilli (deseeded if desired, for more heat leave seeds in)

2 large cloves garlic

3cm piece peeled ginger

Marinade DO:

Place all ingredients into Thermomix bowl and mix for 10 seconds on speed 8. Drizzle over meat and leave for around 3-4 hours if possible.

Dressing NEED:

Juice 1 lime

25g Tamari or soy sauce

Juice ½ orange

2tbsp sesame oil

20g fish sauce

1 small chilli (deseeded if desired, for more heat leave seeds in)

2 large cloves garlic

3cm piece peeled ginger

Few coriander leaves

Few mint leaves

Dressing DO:

Without washing bowl after making marinade, place all ingredients into Thermomix bowl and blend for 10 seconds on speed 8. Set aside until assembling the salad.

Salad NEED:

100-150g Asian vermicelli noodles

400-500g rump steak cut in strips

2 tbsp olive oil

200g sliced mushrooms

3 diced tomatoes

½ thinly sliced red onion

1 ruby grapefruit peeled and segmented

Few sprigs mint/coriander

Mixed salad greens of choice

Salad DO:

Place vermicelli noodles into insulated bowl and cover with boiling water.

Drain marinade from beef strips and set aside. Place olive oil into flat bottomed wok on Induction max. Stir fry beef strips for around 3-4 minutes only until well caramelised. Toss through marinade in the last minute to cook off.

Meanwhile, assemble the remaining salad ingredients on large platter.

Drain noodles and toss with about half the dressing.

Place dressed noodles on top of the salad, add beef and drizzle with remaining dressing. Serve immediately.

Shredded Beef Ready to Go!

Just a little ego stroking first…see that button to the right of screen? CLICK on and VOTE…5 hats for me…please! Someone has nominated me as a top food blog…we are not talking Perth, or even Australia, this is a global thing and I have to say, the company I am in is awesome, as far as food blogs go. I am flattered, but have now become competitive, so go vote. (That out of the way, we can proceed!)

I saw a friend in Singapore shred beef, painstakingly, one shred at a time, with a fork…not kidding, a table fork, and although the end result was stunning, I couldn’t quite imagine spending a couple of hours cooking, then shredding beef, chicken or any other meat for it to be wolfed down as quickly as it would be in my household! So; in a fit of daring, I gave the old Thermomix a chance to prove to me once again that it is the appliance in my kitchen and sure enough, we have been shredding all over the place! (Is that a good thing?)
I also love Mexican food and so yes, here we are, South of the Border again…perhaps I should start a restaurant…any takers?
Shredded Beef Taco Salad

NEED:
Dressing;
Handful coriander
1 chilli
1 clove garlic
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp ground cumin
Sea salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Juice 2 limes
100g olive oil
Beef;
500g beef steak
1 litre GF beef stock
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Salad;
150g vintage cheddar cheese cubed
Iceberg lettuce to taste
1 tin kidney beans, drained and rinsed
100g sliced black olives
Few spring onions/shallots sliced
1 punnet grape tomatoes halved
1 red capsicum diced
1-2 avocados pitted and diced
Corn chips to taste

DO:
To make dressing place coriander, chilli and garlic into Thermomix bowl and chop for 5 seconds on speed 6. Add remaining dressing ingredients and blend for 10 seconds on speed 6. Set aside.
Without washing bowl, prepare beef by placing into basket and inserting into Thermomix bowl. Pour stock over and cook for 20 minutes at 100ºC on speed 2. Drain stock and reserve for another use. Place cooked beef into Thermomix bowl and shred for 5 seconds by turning the dial slowly up to speed 6.
To assemble salad, place cheese into clean and dry Thermomix bowl and grate for 8 seconds on speed 9.
Arrange lettuce over the bottom of a shallow serving dish or platter.
Spoon beef mixture evenly over lettuce and then top with layers of beans, olives, spring onions, tomatoes, capsicum and avocado’s. Finish with corn chips and drizzle with dressing just prior to serving.

Oh and should the pic not quite do it for you, I am making this AGAIN and will be hoping that my camera does not play up…so use your imagination…it will shred, trust me!

I went on a mission to find pork ribs at my local butcher wholesaler. (There is a great one near me!) They were twice the price as the beef ribs, so guess what? This recipe is for beef ribs, and I must say, that although I only got one, they were well worth the effort. In fact tonight I repeated the marinade with pork fillets and it was even more delicious…no bones to contend with, but I didn’t bake them first, straight on the Crossfire. Timing is everything, so don’t rush these. The longer you can marinade the better.

NEED:
4 kilos beef ribs
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons GF soy sauce
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
juice and zest of 1 lemon or lime
1 large oven bag
Fresh mint to taste

DO:
Place all ribs into oven bag.
In small bowl, mix all remaining ingredients.
Pour into bag, tie and lay flat in fridge, turning occasionally for up to 48 hours.
(I did mine for 30 hours and they were melt in the mouth fantastic!)
Bake in oven bag for a few hours on low heat. (Around 140 degrees Celcius)
Alternatively you could steam them in the Steam Oven for around 1 & 1/2 hours in the bag of marinade as well.
When ready to serve, grill on heated Crossfire for about 5 minutes with lid down.
Sprinkle with chopped mint and serve immediately, but not before tasting one yourself!

DO:
Mix fish sauce, oyster sauce, stock and sugar in small bowl.
Heat oil in wok and stir fry garlic until light brown. (Induction 6)
Add chilli and meat. Stir fry on high (Induction max) for 2 minutes until meat is cooked.
Add onion and fish sauce mix and stir fry for another minute.
Add snow peas and basil leaves and stir fry until the basil begins to wilt.
Serve immediately  with steamed rice.

TO STEAM RICE:
In a flat ceramic dish layer 1 cup of rice to 2 cups water or stock.
Process in Steam Oven for 25 minutes or until water is absorbed.
Fluff with a fork.