Recipes - Beetroot Pickle

Beetroot pickle is something I have eaten once in my life, years ago, and just got a hankering for yesterday!  Its use is similar to that of a relish or a chutney; with meat, on burgers or that special little something on the side.  I was pretty happy with this recipe and I hope you like it too.

Ingredients

2 beetroot, medium-large

1 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp mustard seeds

4 cloves

12 black peppercorns

2 bay leaves

Step 1 - Place mustard seeds, cloves and pepper corns in a medium-large saucepan and toast over high heat until mustard seeds just start to pop.  Quickly remove from heat, if mustard seeds burn, discard all spices and begin again.
Step 2 - Transfer toasted spices to a mortar and pestle and pound until ground.
Step 3 - Transfer ground spices back to pan, add remaining ingredients, stir well and bring to boil over high heat.  Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for about 1 - 1 1/2 hours, until liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally.  Discard bay leaves.

Recipes - Salsa Verde

Salsa Verde literally translates to green sauce.  It is basically a combination of soft herbs, oil and a few other ingredients to give it a bit more oomph.  Salsa Verde is originally an Italian sauce and was introduced to France, Spain and Germany, where local herbs and produce produced different results depending on the country and region.  This sauce is a great accompaniment to grilled meats, roast veggies or anything needing a drizzle of fresh flavour.  My favourite is to serve salsa verde with poach eggs and a vegetarian style breakfast. Yummo.

Ingredients
2 cups mixed soft green herbs, ie. basil, parsley, mint, sage, thyme, oregano, marjoram, chives, etc.
1/3 cup quality extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbs capers
2-4 anchovy fillets
1/2 lemon juiced
pinch of salt

Step 1 - Place all ingredients in a food processor.
Step 2 - Process until combined.


Notes:


Salsa Verde is traditionally made in a mortar and pestle.


The herbs you use can depend on what you have at hand, what you prefer or how much you are willing to spend.  I use parsley and basil as a base, about half a cup of each and the other cup is made up for a mixture of 6 or 7 other herbs.

Recipe - Berry Sauce

This is my go to dessert when I am time poor, money poor, energy poor or initiative poor.  It is simple, foolproof and surprisingly impressive!  For a quick dessert I serve this warm over ice cream and any leftovers are served with cakes, muffins or as a garnish for another dessert.  I hope you have as much success with this as I have.

Ingredients

500g frozen berries

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

vanilla ice cream, to serve

Step 1 - Place all ingredients in a small saucepan over high heat and stir until sugar has dissolved.  

Step 2 - Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and slowly simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce has reached the desired consistency. This usually takes about half an hour.  
Step 3 - Serve warm over vanilla ice cream.

Recipes - Chilli Jam

Chilli Jam is one of those beautiful, versatile sauces that works so well with so many things.  It can be spread on sandwiches, smeared over steak and seafood, poured over salads, spooned over cheese and a hundred other uses.  The great thing about this recipe is that you can control how spicy it is.  I decided to make mine medium, with a nice swift kick in the back of the throat!  But I've written detailed instructions for how to achieve the right amount of spicy for you. 

Ingredients

3 x banana chillies, seeds and pith removed and diced

6 x long red chillies

6 x birdseye chillies

1 onion, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 x 5cm knob ginger, finely grated

2 red capsicum, roasted, skin, seeds and core removed

2 tomatoes, blanched, peeled and deseeded

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup water

1/2 lemon, juiced

Step 1 a - For a mild jam, remove the pith and seeds from all long red and birdseye chillies, then slice thinly. Set aside.

Step 1 b - For medium jam, remove the pith and seeds from half the long red and birdseye chillies and slice all thinly. Set aside.  (This is how I prepared my chilli jam)

Step 1 c - For hot jam, do not remove the seeds and pith from any of the long red or birdseye chillies.  Slice all chillies thinly and set aside.  

Step 2 - Place tomatoes and roast capsicum in a food processor and process until smooth. Set aside.

Step 3 - Heat a good whack of olive oil in a large saucepan.  When hot, add onion, garlic and ginger and fry until onion is well cooked and starting to caramelise slightly.

Step 4 - Add remaining ingredients and stir until sugar has dissolved.  Bring to boil and cook for about 5 minutes.

Step 5 - Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered until sauce has reached a thick, jam like consistency.  This may take a few hours.

Step 6 - Cool jam and store in an airtight container or jar for up to one week in the fridge.

Recipes - Caramelised Onion Jam

Caramelised onion jam = yum!  I used to make this regularly, many years ago, and recently  unearthed my long lost recipe. Onions are naturally sweet so cooking them with sugar accentuates their natural flavour.  Turning onions into jam is sheer genius!  Use it with meat, spread it on sandwiches, dip it with crackers - find any excuse to eat this!

Ingredients

30g butter

1 tbs olive oil

1kg brown or spanish onions, sliced

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup malt vinegar

1/2 tbs rosemary, finely chopped

Step 1 - Heat butter and oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.

Step 2 - Add onions and cook for 5 minutes, before reducing heat to medium-low and sauteing for a further 20-30 minutes.  Stir onions every now and then.

Step 3 - Add sugar, stir to melt and simmer gently, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

step 4 - Add vinegar and rosemary, stir well and continue to simmer until mixture develops a thick, spreadable consistency.  

Recipes - Aioli

Aioli is, in essence, a garlic mayonnaise.  Often, any flavoured mayonnaise is referred to as an aioli, however to qualify as such, it must contain garlic.  Aioli can be used as a dip for chips and crudites, it can be served with meat or used as salad dressing.  As with mayonnaise, it is a great base that a multitude of flavourings can be added to.  My favourite variation is lime and black pepper.

Ingredients
1 quantity mayonnaise
12 garlic cloves

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 180°C.  Line a small tray with baking paper.
Step 2 - Scatter cloves over tray. Spray lightly with olive oil and bake for 15-20 minutes, until tender.  Remove garlic from oven and set aside to cool.
Step 3 - While garlic is cooking, prepare mayonnaise.
Step 4 - When garlic is cool, squeeze about 3/4 of the garlic cloves out of their skin and into bowl with mayonnaise.  Whisk until incorporated.  Taste and add more garlic if required. 

Top 5 - Savoury Sauces and Condiments

A good sauce is the best way to finish or lift a dish.  Serve with meat, drizzle over vegetables and use to dip your chips into.  

• Hollandaise
• Mayonnaise
• Salsa Verde
• Caramelised Onion Jam
• Chilli Jam

How To - Make Mayonnaise

There are some things you buy premade for their taste:difficulty ratio (like buying premade Indian from Passage Foods because it tastes amazing and is not as easy to cook at home) or for their taste:time ratio (like pasta - it takes a long time and you can buy good quality dry pasta for $1).  However mayonnaise is something that should always be homemade as it is superior in EVERY way. If you have not experienced homemade mayonnaise, you must - words can not describe how amazing it is!  Not to mention it is free from all the sugar and preservative you'll find in the store bought varieties.  

Ingredients - makes about 1.5 cups

3 egg yolks

250mL light olive oil

1-2 tbs lemon juice

1-2 tsp dijon mustard

salt to season

Step 1 - Place yolks, 1 tbs lemon juice, 1 tsp dijon mustard and about 1/4 tsp salt in a bowl.  Using the whisk attachment of a stick mixer, whisk for 2-3 minutes until pale, frothy and doubled in volume.  

Step 2 - Continue whisking and add the oil in a very slow and steady stream. It should take about 5 minutes to add all the oil. Stop every minute or so to scrape down the sides with a spatula.

Step 3 - Mayonnaise should be thick, glossy and an off white colour. Taste for seasoning and add more lemon juice, mustard and salt as required.  Whisk to combine.

Step 4 - Transfer to a sterilised jar and cover with cling wrap before placing lid on top. Refrigerate for up to 1 week (but I doubt it'll last that long!)

Notes:

There are a multitude of flavourings that can be added to the mayonnaise including roast garlic (for aioli), lemon or lime rind, pepper, wholegrain mustard, anchovies, capers, gherkin, herbs, tabasco sauce and paprika - all in various quantities and combinations.

A food processor can be used to make mayonnaise.  Preparation times will vary.  

Recipes - Hollandaise Sauce

The quintessential must have for a Sunday morning breakfast...or any morning for that matter.  Pour in on your eggs, your toast, your bacon or straight in your mouth!  This recipe is not hard but the directions do need to be followed to the letter.

Ingredients

2 egg yolks, at room temperature

120g butter, cubed, at room temperature

2 tbs water

2 tbs lemon juice

salt and white pepper, to season

Pictured here w Smoked Salmon Asparagus

Step 1 - Fill a small saucepan with water and bring to boil.  Reduce heat until water has reached a consistent very slow simmer.  Place a bowl over the water that fits snugly against the sides of the pan but does not touch the water.

Step 2 - Place yolks and water in bowl and whisk constantly for three minutes.  Mixture will thicken, become pale, double in volume and leave a ribbon trail when whisk is lifted.

Step 3 - Add butter, a cube at a time and whisk constantly until fully incorporated before adding next butter cube.  It should take about ten minutes to add all the butter.

Step 4 - Remove from heat, add lemon juice, season with salt and pepper and whisk until combined.  Serve immediately.

How To - Butterscotch Sauce

I've been wanting to post this 'how to' for a while but, to be honest, I'd actually forgotten the recipe.  However, the combination of gourmet french vanilla ice cream in my freezer and a fresh, ripe mango in my fruit bowl jogged my memory.  It also reminded me how easy it is to make butterscotch sauce...which is probably the reason I forgot the recipe in the first place as the ease to weight gain ratio is pretty high!  

What you'll need:

• A small saucepan
• 50g butter
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup cream

Step 1 - Place all ingredients in the saucepan and stir over medium heat until butter has melted and sugar has dissolved.

Step 2 - Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.

Step 3 - Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Step 4 - Serve with cakes, muffins, ice cream or fruit.  Or just eat it with a spoon.