Best Comfort Food - For The Love of Leeks

I love Leeks. This isn't exactly Jacques Pepin's recipe but he inspired me to make this.
Leek Gratin (a Traditional French Dish) is braised Leeks, covered with Cheese sauceTopped with Breadcrumbs and grated cheese
Baked till bubbly

I decided to top with mashed potatoes
Give it the New Zealand touch!
This makes it a real filling meal

You can make this Gluten free by substituting flour with cornflour
As simple as that
Leeks were cheap at the Supermarket this week.
I was thrilled, they are so delicious. So sweet and such a pretty colour

Normally I slice them and saute them in a little butter or oil
Season with salt and pepper then add about 100 mls water
Just enough to steam them
Cover and cook for about 5 8 minutes till they are just tender

Great base for a Fish Pie also to have as an accompaniment to your favourite protein

But this recipe is Braised Leeks
Smothered with a Cheese Sauce
Topped with Creamy Mashed Potatoes
I don't make a puree...just normal old mashed potatoes suits me

Baked and served when bubbling and golden brown
 For 3 greedy people

2 leeks with hard green leaves removed

For the Roux
4 tablespoons butter 
4 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon mustard, I used Dijon
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups milk, warmed
2 bay leaves

3/4 Cup Grated cheese. 
I used Gruyere which is a traditional cheese for Bechamel Sauce

Extra butter or Olive oil Spray

3 large potatoes peeled and cubed
Butter 
Hot Milk
Cook the potatoes, till tender
Drain
Add the hot milk
Mash
Add cold butter and beat till it reaches the consistency that suits you

Clean the leeks and cut into pieces
Place into a pan with the bottom just covered with salted water
Lay the leeks in one layer
Bring to boil and simmer covered, for about 10 minutes
Till leeks are just tender.
Drain, reserve the liquor for the sauce
There won't be a lot
Place into a gratin dish

 Meanwhile make your Bechamel Sauce
First make your Roux

Melt butter
Add flour
Stir well and cook out the flour taste, about 3-4 minutes
Season with Salt, pepper and mustard
Meanwhile warm the milk with the bay leaf
Add to roux
Stir briskly and then use whisk to make sure there are no lumps
Add the cooking liquor
Bring slowly back to boil and cook for about 5 minutes
Add grated cheese 
Taste
Adjust seasoning if necessary
Pour over leeks

Spoon the mashed potatoes over the top

Spread around, and then fork it
This gives nice peaks to make brown crispy bits
Either dot with some extra butter. or as I did spray with an olive oil spray

Bake in 180C oven for about 30 minutes till brown on top and bubbling

Guaranteed to delight

Excellent Lamb and Mint Pasta - Kid Friendly Food

When I have the kids over on Thursdays I like to treat them like any other Dinner Party Guests. 

Let's introduce them to new foods, as well as cooking old favourites

Time to do some research.

My MYSKY was full of Cooking Programmes that I hadn't viewed 
I thought, two of my favourites Giada de Laurentis and Jacques Pepin would probably have something delicious for the kids

The dinner got thumbs up from the kids

Correct... I found a great Lamb and Mint Pasta Dish from Giada

This was a Lamb Ragu, I served it over Penne

It would also make an excellent Shepherds Pie

This amount fed 4 kids and 2 adults 
I made my own Marinara sauce and also I used white wine. 
Use what you have I reckon... and lamb takes white wine as well as red

500 gms penne pasta

For the Lamb Ragu
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, chopped
500 gms ground lamb
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup red or white wine

4 cups marinara sauce, store-bought or home made
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, torn
1/2 cup ricotta cheese

Directions
Homemade Marinara
This is one of the most simple sauces, well worth making extra and keeping in the freezer
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 carrot chopped
1 stick celery chopped
2 cans chopped tomatoes
Sea salt and Freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp sugar
2 bay leaves
Little water 

Place on pan on medium heat add olive oil
Add onions saute gently till soft
Season with Salt and Pepper
Add garlic, carrot and celery


Saute another 5 minutes
Add tomatoes
Wash the tins out with a little water
Season again with S & P and sugar

Bring to boil and simmer for about 20 minutes
Set aside

Meanwhile, in a large skillet warm the olive oil over high heat. 
Add the shallots and the garlic and cook until tender, about 3 minutes.
Add the ground lamb, salt, and pepper. 
Cook until the lamb has browned and the juices have evaporated.
Add the wine, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan using a wooden spoon.
Simmer until the wine has reduced by half.
Add the marinara sauce and simmer over low heat until the flavors have blended, about 10 minutes. Add the mint and ricotta and stir until mixed.

The Pasta
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. 

Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally,
about 8 to 10 minutes. 

Drain pasta.
Add the  cooked pasta and stir to coat. Serve immediately.

And a Chocolate Roulade from Monsieur Pepin 
This is from his Essential Pepin Website

CAKE

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup water

6 large eggs, separated

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted

2 tablespoons very strong coffee

FILLING

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 teaspoons kirsch (optional)

1 tablespoon icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees, with a rack in the center.

FOR THE CAKE: 

Mix the sugar and water in a saucepan, 

bring to a boil, and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes to make a light syrup. 

Put the egg yolks in the bowl of a mixer or another large bowl. 

Slowly pour the hot sugar syrup over the yolks, mixing vigorously with the whisk. 

Continue whipping the mixture for about 5 minutes, until fluffy, smooth, and pale yellow in color. 

Add the melted chocolate and coffee and mix well.

Whip the egg whites in a large bowl until they hold firm peaks. 

Add about one third of the whites to the chocolate mixture and mix vigorously with the whisk. 

Add the remaining whites and fold in with a rubber spatula, mixing just enough to combine the ingredients; 

do not overmix.

Cut a piece of parchment paper large enough to line a 12- by 16-inch baking sheet (or use a nonstick baking mat). 

Butter the paper and coat with flour, shaking off any excess.

Little trick with the paper

Butter 1 half of it

Fold in half to spread the butter

Place in baking tray

Lift and turn over and push into place in tin

this stops it from slipping

 

Spread the batter in the pan; it will be about 1/2 inch thick. 

Bake for about 12 minutes until set and puffy. 

Cool to room temperature; then cover with plastic wrap. 

(Rolling the cake is a delicate operation, but the wax paper aids in the removal and rolling of the cake. 

The plastic wrap keeps the cake moist, making it possible to be rolled.)

FOR THE FILLING: 

Whip the cream until it holds a soft peak. 

Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and kirsch and continue beating until the cream is firm.

TO ROLL THE CAKE: 

Remove the plastic wrap and slide a knife all around the sides to loosen the cake. 

Spread the raspberry puree on the cake top with whipped cream 

Starting from a long side, roll up the cake, with the wax paper still on, 

peeling the paper off a little at a time as you roll the cake; 

avoid pressing down on the cake as you roll, so that the whipped cream is not squeezed out. 

Continue rolling and removing the paper, and 

finish with the seam underneath so that the cake looks smooth on top. 

Use two large spatulas to slide the cake onto a serving platter. 

Put the icing sugar in a sieve and shake it over the cake to coat the top. 

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Cut into slices and serve.

It needs whipped cream on the side to "cut down the richness" 

Lovely Buttery Veges, Well Seasoned, some Water and Voila Summer Green Soup

It’s Sunday, I decided that I didn’t want to go to the supermarket.

End of week… so use up vege in the fridge

I was reading Nigel Slater’s Kitchen Diaries and he is inspirational,

It was his phrase, “There’s something jolly about peas boiling”

I just got up, mid sentence

I knew I had frozen peas, then

Looked in the fridge and I have made the “bestest” soup

2 tablespoon butter

1 med potato chopped

3 spring onions chopped

3 courgettes chopped

1 cup frozen peas

1 tablespoon Vegeta vegetable stock

Water

8-10 mint leaves

Salt, freshly ground black pepper  and a pinch of sugar

Sauté potatoes in butter

Add Vegeta and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Stir make sure well covered in the melted butter

Add a little water and let reduce for about 5 minutes

Add courgettes, spring onions

Sauté again about 5 minutes

Add peas, sauté about 5 minutes

Add enough water, just to cover

Add sugar,

Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary

-->

Bring to boil and simmer about 10 minutes

Add chopped mint

Blitz

Serve

This was so good, it’s a keeper, will make it again

Jacques Pepin's Excellent Soda Bread

Jacques Pepin is back on Food TV with his "Essential Pepin" Series
He is a wonderful Chef and an excellent teacher
It is so inspiring to watch him cook

I got this recipe off his website after watching his programme on Bread
I love bread and I have friends, who either because of gluten intolerance, or choose not to, don't consume bread.
I hope that never happens to me
It is the Staff of Life after all

Soda bread is one of the simplest and quickest methods to make bread at home
It doesn't have yeast so that cuts the prep time down.

Jacques suggests to how keep this bread light and moist, with a crispy exterior: 

For the first thirty minutes, the bread bakes under an overturned bowl 

that is removed for the second half of the baking time so that the crust can brown.

Yield:

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon rice bran oil

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 cups milk

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. 
Check your oven that make be a little hot
Don't let the bread get too brown

Line your baking sheet with a piece of baking paper

Oil it with the rice bran oil.

Combine the flour with the salt and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.

Add the milk, and mix gently and quickly with a wooden spatula,

until the mixture forms a solid mass.

It should be wettish not dry so add more milk if too dry

Place the dough on the prepared baking sheet.

Using a piece of plastic wrap, press and

mold the dough to create a round loaf about 7 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick.

Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of flour over the top,

Using a serrated knife, cut a large cross, about 1/2 inch deep, across the top of the loaf. 

(Don’t drag the tip of the knife through the dough; keep the length of the blade parallel to the work surface.)

Invert a stainless steel bowl over the bread and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the bowl and continue to bake the bread for another 20- 30 minutes, until the exterior is golden brown.

Remove the bread to a wire cooling rack and let cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.

We decided to have lunch on the Loggia

I made delicious crisp salads

Red Pepper

Cucumber

Celery

Finely chopped Shallot

Chicken for me Smoked Salmon for Dale

Lightly dressed with delightful dressing

Bought Mayo is fine... about 3 tablespoons

Lemon zest and juice of 1/2 lemon

Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

A dash Ketchup

A glass of crisp Sauv Blanc and we're sweet

AND this morning we had it for breakfast
Grilled Cheese on Toast

Wonderful
Thank you Jacques

 

Want A New Pie - Try This Kid Friendly Dinner

Higgedly Piggedly Lamb and Pineapple Pie

It’s Thursday and The Kids are coming over for dinner

I like to make new food for them if I can. 

There is of course, the favourites, which we repeat frequently, but it’s good to expand flavours

So I consulted my Trusty "Triple Tested Recipe Book". This is great for Family meals

It was put together by the Lower Hutt Plunket Society in` 1959

The coordinator was one Thelma Christie

She collected favourite recipes from Mothers and put them together in this wonderful book

Someone went to the trouble of doing great little illustrations

There is no credit for these, I wonder if, in fact, Thelma Christie was the artist

So here some examples of the sketches... really cute

So for tonight, I have gone for, the simply Named “Lamb Oriental”

Lamb, Pineapple. Touch of Bacon and topped with some chopped mint

As this was printed in 1959,…things have changed…we have learnt more about Asian Food and I decided to make a couple of additions to get a slightly more modern taste

i.e. Rice wine vinegar and soya sauce

Before I added these...It was lacking in sour and needed a salty boost. 
Actually on reflection I think Lime would be really good next time 
Also I think this would probably work better with pork

Strangely, this is turned into a pie

And I will do this, as the kids love pies.

I think that it would probably be really nice on rice.
This amount fed 4 kids with a little bit for me

1 kg of boneless Lamb leg chops

1 tablespoon of oil

1 400 gm can of diced pineapple

1 onion chopped

2 rashers bacon chopped

Sea Salt and Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon flour

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Pinch cayenne pepper

Juice from the pineapple approx 1 cup

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar (cider vinegar would do) or Lime juice

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon chopped mint

Puff Pastry

Cut meat into cubes discarding any excess fat

Brown in a hot pan containing the oil

Season with Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Don’t overcrowd the pan you may need to do it in batches

Remove and put aside

Drain pineapple, reserving juice

Add pieces to hot pan and brown

Season this with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Remove and set aside

Add bacon and onions

Season

You may need to add a little more oil

Gently brown

Add flour, ginger, pinch of cayenne

(The smell of the ginger is lovely)

Stir well and cook for a couple of minutes to cook out the flour

Add Pineapple Juice and water

And bring to the boil

Season with vinegar and soy sauce

A good time to taste and adjust any seasoning if necessary

Return meat to pan

Bring to boil and then simmer for an hour

Add pineapple

Continue simmering for about 20 minutes

Sprinkle over chopped mint

Place into an oven proof dish and cover with pieces of puff pastry
I made it like a patchwork quilt looks like fun I reckon

Into 195C oven and cook till Pastry is golden brown and Meat and sauce bubbling

Well I think it tastes wonderful just have to see if the kids like it

Hope so
Served with our favourite Lemon and Garlic Broccoli

This is so popular with the kids
Broccoli 
Olive oil
1 clove garlic finely chopped
Sea salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper 
Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Blanch the broccoli in salted hot water for about 3 minutes
Dont' forget to add the peeled and sliced stalks
Best part

Drain and run under cold water to keep the lovely green colour
Into a warm pan add slosh olive oil
Add garlic and just let it cook gently for about 3-4 minutes to grab that wonderful flavour

Add broccoli and lemon zest
Season with S & P
Toss well to warm through
Just before serving add  lemon juice, 
Serve
Warning don't overcook broccoli 
And make sure you just add lemon juice just before serving
otherwise it can get a bit bitter and go brownish

Oh we had dessert as well
Thanks to Tyler Florence,
I used a round tin, so it was more like a actual Cheesecake
He used a square tin, it's up to you
It's very rich
It has a thin crisp crust and it's creamy and lemony
Nice
A Blueberry and Lemon Cheesecake Slice

Ingredients

For the base:

Butter, for greasing

2 tablespoons sugar

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

9 graham crackers or Digestive Biscuits

65 gms unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

450 gms cream cheese, room temperature

2 eggs

2 lemons, zested and juiced

About 1/2 cup sugar, eyeball it

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries/ I used thawed frozen berries

Powdered sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C

For the base:

Grease the bottom of a 9 by 9-inch baking pan with butter. 

Then place parchment paper over the top, pressing down at the corners. 

In a food processor, process the sugar, cinnamon and biscuits 

until you have the texture of bread crumbs. 

Add the melted butter and pulse a couple of times to fully incorporate. 

Pour into the lined baking pan and gently pat down with the base of a glass. 

Bake in the oven for 12 minutes until golden. 

When done set aside to cool.

For the filling:

Add cream cheese, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar 

to the food processor and mix until well combined. 

It should have a smooth consistency. 

Pour onto the cooled base and then cover with blueberries. 

They will sink slightly but should still be half exposed -- 

as the cake bakes they will sink a little more and break down.

Bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until the center only slightly jiggles. 

Remove from the oven and cool completely before refrigerating for at least 3 hours. 

Once set, remove from pan using the parchment lining 

and slice into 10 rectangular bars. 

Dust with powdered sugar.

Set up for dinner on the Loggia and yes, the pie was popular

A New Take on Eggs and Chips -Using The Fridge and The Pantry

I love Eggs and Chips.
When we lived in UK in the 60's, every respectable little Caffe and even those not so respectable, served Eggs and Chips
Every so often, I would treat myself and go to the Caffe under the railway bridge in Isleworth.
(Just up the road from my work) for  "Cheap as Chips" lunch...  only 1 shilling, (10 cents)
2 eggs and chips
They were so, so good
The Brits excelled at that  kind of food then.
Nothing like a fry up...
It's still on my list of quick and easy meals
Now days I oven bake the chips and poach the eggs.
Bit more healthy.

This last weekend we went away
On our return, I noticed that there was not much food in the house
I couldn't be bothered going to the shops

So let's check on food available
In the fridge were Eggs, Cheese and Spring Onions
In the pantry, New Potatoes, Olive oil, Sriracha Hot Sauce, Salt and Pepper
I'm sure I can do something simple with those ingredients
Of course

Eggs and Chips
But new potatoes, don't exactly "Good Chips Make"!

What about Crushed Roast Potatoes
Crack some eggs on top
Smother with grated cheese mixed with some spring onions
For extra flavour a drizzle of Sriracha Hot Sauce
I love this Hot sauce, packs a little punch and also packs
great flavour...perfect for the topping

For 2 people
About 12 little gourmet potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 eggs
About 10 grates of cheddar cheese
2 spring onions chopped

Bring the potatoes to the boil and cook till just fork tender
Drain
Meanwhile heat oven to 190C
Put a pan in the oven till hot
Add olive oil and potatoes being careful to cover handle
so you don't burn your little fingers

With a masher
Squash down the potatoes
Season with SP
Back into oven for about 20 minutes
The potatoes should be golden

Remove
Break eggs in a little ramekin and drop on top of potatoes

Cover with grated cheese and chopped spring onions

Back into oven about 6 minutes, till eggs just cooked

Remove
Drizzle Sriracha over the top
Big grind of black pepper

Serve
Fit for a King
Delicious