Sunday, August 17, 2014

Seafood Fritters- Prawns, Spinach. Easy Peasy

After receiving a copy of The Great New Zealand Cookbook, the first thing that inspired me was Al Browns Tuatua Fritters.
I rushed off to the Fish Market and picked up some fresh Clams and Cockles, the closest seafood to Tuatuaa
Then I cooked these up and the fritters were fabulous
All wrapped in white bread. othing much better than that
Well, I have made something this weekend, which is pretty close
In my freezer, I had prawns and spinach
The fridge had eggs
And in my pantry, flour, onion, lemon and Sriracha Sauce
I cooked up large fritters for our lunch and with the remainder, made some small ones,which I took to my friend Catherine's Sunday night drinks

Very tasty
So grab

1 cup defrosted prawns chopped
3 little lumps of spinach thawed and chopped
1 onion finely chopped and sautéed in some olive oil
Sea salt and pepper
4 eggs
1/3 cup self raising flour
Zest of a lemon
Sriracha sauce up to you how much you use
It is hot so be careful

Rice Bran Oil for frying
Sauté the onion, chop the prawns and spinach
Zest the lemon

In a bowl add the flour, add beaten eggs and which till smooth
Season with S&P and Sriracha sauce
Mix together and add to the batter

In a hot pan add the rice bran oil
Enough to just cover the bottom of the pan
Add the batter in spoonfuls
Turn the heat down to medium
Cook on one side for 2-3 minutes
Flip and cook another 2-3 minutes
Onto a paper towel to drain

Slather slices of white bread or in this case Mollenberg sliced bread, with Mayo
Place a fritter on one side
Sprinkle with a little lemon juice and a good grind of pepper
Fold over and devour

Let all run down your chin
Bootiful

Wednesday, August 06, 2014

I have discovered the Best Hamburger Patty

I have discovered the Best Hamburger Patty
The photo doesn't really do it justice
But you get the idea

I used a technique that I've gleaned from watching Food TV

This involves, adding vegetables, finely chopped, to the Hamburger Mince
It was moist, so tasty and we loved it
It's a good way to get some vege into kids, without them knowing

I made my own buns
Treated like a bap so that they were a soft roll
But of course use bought ones, if you cant be bothered
For the recipe click here

I stirred some grated tasty cheese into my delicious Chili Mayo
Homemade as well.
I have been using the vinegar from pickled gherkins. when I make the Mayo
Zingy
Then I added some Sriracha Sauce to get the Chili Hit
This makes a Mayo that really tickles your taste buds

I didn’t bother to add any accompaniments, but if you were doing this for guests...
You could make some chips then maybe add some beetroot and lettuce to the finished burger

But with the addition of mushrooms, red pepper and onion to the mince
You had your vege content, all inclusive
I like using Vegeta for seasoning it really does add that extra oomph

Put 500 gms Minced beef
into a large bowl

1 Onion  roughly chopped
4 large mushrooms roughly chopped
1/2 red pepper roughly chopped
All into food processor
Whizz till it’s almost a paste




Sauté  the vege gently in olive oil just to soften
Remove and cool them
Add to mince which has been seasoned with Vegeta

Form into Patties
Season with Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lightly brush with olive oil
Grill on a hot pan about 3 minutes each side

Let rest for a few minutes
Meanwhile toast your buns lightly
On bottom lay a good blob of Mayo and Cheese
Put the patty on Top
Tomato ketchup on top half
Jam together

Devour

Tuesday, August 05, 2014

Bacon and Egg Pie - Shall We Mess with a Classic

So many recipes over the years, for Bacon and Egg Pie... 
I guess when you mess with it, by rights you should call it another name.
But Nah I'll stick with B & E
By the way I think Bacon and Egg Pie, is best eaten warm not hot
The flavours really get through then


This is also a good way to bump up the 5 a day Vege,
that we are supposed to consume, to be healthy
I've added celery and tomato to this pie.
The tomato, I squeezed the seeds out of as they bleed and can make the pie filling too wet
No waste though , the seeds and juice went into my chicken soup
But... I replaced them with a little balsamic glaze for an added flavour
The amounts are varied, depending on the size of your tin

Gather together some grated cheese (1 cup)
1 tablespoon olive oil
6-7 bacon slices cut into pieces
1 small onion chopped
2 stick celery sliced

6 little tomatoes, seeds removed
Salt and pepper
Drizzle of Balsamic Vinegar
6 large eggs

Place the olive oil in a frypan
Add bacon, only cook for a few minutes, to get the juice and fat running
Remove and put aside
Add and saute onions, celery  till soft but not brown

Halve and squash the tomatoes, to remove the seeds and season with salt and pepper
Drizzle with a little Balsamic
So line your greased tin with Flaky Puff Pastry, store bought off course
Cover with the grated cheese
Next
Layer with half of the bacon, onions. tomato, celery

Whisk eggs
Season with Salt and pepper
Save a little for glazing the pastry lid

Pour over the top
Then another layer of bacon

Top with Pastry lid
Brush with reserved egg wash


Pre-heat  oven to 190C
Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes, till top is golden and crisp
Let sit in tin for about 10 minutes and unmould
If the bottom is not cooked pop back into oven onto a hot baking sheet and cook another 5 minutes
Nothing worse than a soggy bottom

Doesn't that look good. I reckon