Cheese is pretty much my number one indulgence when it comes to Christmas. I don’t say indulgence with the purpose of getting all judgmental about food (far from it – one of my main approaches in my blog is to enjoy all food without fads …
What I am about to share with you is deeply unorthodox. It’s my own recipe for guacamole, cultivated over the past two decades as I have developed a fully-fledged love of avocados. I always thought the way I made guacamole was pretty standard. You know, …
Sometimes you just need some gently savoury food in your life, for comfort’s sake. I have felt this way recently. Freshly-baked bread, cheese scones, pulses and hot drinks are the order of the day. Infused oils are an excellent way to pep up most of the above (with the obvious exclusion of hot drinks. Tea and garlic oil? Thanks, but no thanks).
I always love having a stash of nice oils in my pantry. They look pretty and give me a happy little pang of satisfaction to see them all lined up as I scan the cupboard waiting for inspiration. I really love infusing oils – your house fills with a lovely aroma of chilli, garlic, basil, rosemary, or whatever other delights you are preparing for your oil. It’s an excellent way to use up old bottles rather than consign them to the recycling, and a bottle of infused oil makes a lovely gift.
I chose garlic most recently because a number of after-work meals on high rotation in our kitchen benefit from some garlic. I am, thankfully and mercifully, very tolerant of garlic and other members of the allium family. My beloved husband, however, needs more FODMAP-y fare. Garlic oil is an excellent helper in this regard.
When reading about infusing oils, there is some excitement out there about about the low risk of botulism. So please keep this in the fridge – I swear it will be fine, but I would hate to be responsible for an outbreak of botulism amongst WordPress readers!
To make this I used:
250ml rice bran oil – olive oil is completely lush with garlic too, but as this batch was largely to accompany other flavours, I used a lighter oil
1 head of garlic
1 glass bottle, sterilised (freaked me out the first time I sterilised bottles and jars but actually really truly simple and you will feel like a domestic goddess
Also on hand – a fry pan and a sieve
Method
Cut the bottom off your garlic head, remove each clove and peel it. Squash each clove with the flat part of a large knife, so some of the flavour can be released when cooking in the oil.
Place your pan over a medium heat. Once warm, add approximately two tablespoons of the oil. Allow to heat.
Add the garlic to the oil and stir to coat. Once it is bubbling add the rest of the oil.
Allow to heat gently, stirring from time to time, for about half an hour. Try not to let the garlic colour.
Take off the heat and cool. When cool, strain through a sieve into a jug and then bottle. You can leave the garlic cloves in and indeed I love it like this – you just have to use it up a little quicker, and it’s not so good for those who can’t tolerate garlic.
Store in your fridge. It is goes a bit cloudy and viscous due to the cold, simply stand in some hot water to return to pourability.
I truly love posting about dessert. I am a huge fan of baking – we have a rich and rightly-celebrated baking culture in our little country and I am happy to leap in, butter, cream and all. It feels particularly necessary right now, as Winter …
Apples apples apples everywhere I look right now. So it’s a good thing I like them so much and an even better thing that I am still resolutely in the apple recipe section of the Edmonds Cook Book. Today I bring to you Edmond’s …
One of the delightful things about days off, along with gleefully sitting around in your pants for as long as you fancy and not removing your slippers EVER, is ample amounts of time to whip up special treats for favourite people. My lovely Mum’s birthday fell during my recent holiday between jobs. I took some time out of my busy slippers-wearing schedule to make a special salad for a shared birthday lunch.
I’ll admit I was slow to the chargrilled vegetable trend. Burnt, I thought. And a lot of fiddling around just to achieve something that’s usually an accident. What’s wrong with a little light steaming or boiling and some butter? Vegetables are getting ahead of themselves.
But then one night I spent a decent amount of time making Ottolenghi’s roast chicken with sumac, za’atar and lemon. And alongside this recipe in his book ‘Ottolenghi: The Cookbook‘ (a gloriously red, weighty tome) he casually mentions it might go well with some of his chargrilled broccoli with chilli and garlic. And so I came to be a chargrilled vegetable convert.
Chargrilling veges gets a little smokey sure, but it well makes up for it with the lovely flavour. I am lucky enough to have a huge ridged cast iron pan, a beast of a thing that could no doubt deliver quite the wallop to any burglar, given that I don’t keep any other weaponry to hand, and this is very good for chargrilling the veges. I have used a non-stick pan for chargrilling too however and it works fine, so don’t worry if you don’t have any cast iron to hand.
My humble little salad cannot claim to even touch the sides of the hallowed Ottolenghi, but I do hope you’ll give it a try. The chargrilled broccoli spreads its lovely smokiness throughout, which makes it perfect for Autumn and Winter, and the addition of the butter beans means it’s substantial enough for by itself if you wish. It’s really not hard to do – I promise you’ll have most of the ingredients to hand. We had it for my Mum’s birthday with thick slices of fresh bread and hummus, but it’s equally tasty with a little grilled meat.
Ingredients:
1 head of broccoli cut into florets
Olive oil for the pan, plus another 2T
1 tin of butter beans
Juice of half a lemon
Flaky sea salt
Pinch of chilli flakes
2 handfuls of mixed salad leaves, for example spinach and rocket
1/2 cup toasted walnut halves, broken into pieces
Method:
Bring a medium saucepan of water to the boil. Add the broccoli and cook for three minutes. Drain thoroughly and allow to dry, using a tea towel to speed things up if necessary. It needs to get nice and dry or it will pop and fizz badly when you chargrill it.
While you wait for the broccoli to dry off, open the tin of butter beans, drain and rinse thoroughly. Set aside.
Lightly grease the frypan with a little oil – just a little, mind. Keeping the pan quite dry is what enables the chargrilled effect. Put over a high heat and let it get really hot.
Using tongs, lay out the broccoli (you may need to do this in several batches depending on the size of your fry pan). Use tongs to turn each floret, allowing it to get chargrill marks.
Whisk together the remaining 2T of olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt and chilli flakes. Add the salad leaves, drained beans, toasted walnut halves and broccoli to your serving bowl. Tip over the dressing and toss to combine.
Some things are meant to be. I’ve been thinking about Kahawai for a while now. Common in our waters, it seems to me – and correct me if I’m wrong – that people can get a little sniffy about them. Kind of like they’re …
Well hello there. Tomato glut? Yeah, me too. Much of it not my own harvest on account of abdominal surgery recovery and whatnot, so I am doubly grateful for all of the tasty goodness that has been kindly coming my way of late. All gifts …
Now here’s the thing….I am at home recovering from abdominal surgery. It’s good news – I am doing fine and the surgery will improve my quality of life.  I have had lots of surgery in my life and have always come through it like a teacher’s pet, best-in-show ribbon kind of goody two shoes, with minimal recovery and a speedy bounce-back. Turns out this surgery was more of a big deal, and it’s taking longer than usual for me to feel like myself. Although my usual eating includes lots of sharp, spicy flavours and a range of textures, right now I just want comfort food that is easy to make and easy to eat. And also to lie around all day in my pyjamas.
I’m lucky to be recuperating in Summer. Long bright days and sunny skies are easier on the mood when you are spending large portions of the day looking out the window, and fresh deliciousness abounds – tomatoes, stone fruit, avocados and all other kinds of goodies are plentiful and at their best.
I am particularly in love with nectarines right now. They are my favourite fruit, so whenever they are in season I gobble them up by the bucket load. Nectarines have an impressive history – most likely first domesticated in China over 4,000 years ago! Perhaps it is not surprising that I am particularly drawn to them while I am recovering, as they are packed with all kinds of good things, including Vitamins A and C.
I would never suggest that you need to do anything with a nectarine to make it more delicious. My favourite way of eating them is straight from the fruit bowl. Grilling them however makes them feel a little more like a special dessert, and I bet it could be dressed up even more with a little ice cream. The addition of basil may seem weird, but do give it a go! It goes nicely with the sweetness.
Ingredients:
Per nectarine:
1 x t honey
A dot of butter
To serve, optional:
Fresh chopped basil
Plain yoghurt
Method:
Pour your honey in to a shallow dish or plate. If your honey is the firmer, creamier variety (like mine) then give it a burst of heat in the microwave (about 20 seconds) or on the stove to make it a little runny. Here’s a quick aside about my honey – I brought it via the Common Unity Project Aotearoa. The honey is produced from bees and hives in the Hutt Valley as part of their Beeple Project. They are an awesome bunch, check them out.
Halve the nectarine/s, removed the stones and rub all over in the honey.
Place in a shallow heat-proof dish stone-side up. An oven tray with raised sides would also do.
Dot a little butter on each nectarine half.
Put your oven grill on and grill at high heat until the nectarine halves start to soften and go golden brown on the top.
Serve sprinkled with the basil and some yoghurt on the side.
Hello! Sincere apologies for my absence. I needed to take a break from blogging. The reason? Because I had started heaping pressure on myself, setting expectations about perfect photos, on-trend and original recipes, and copious tweets and followers. This diminished my enjoyment of Lick …