Asian flavors · Dairy-free · Dessert · Do-ahead · Fruit · Gluten Free · Vegan

Fruit salad with ginger-lemongrass syrup

Belinda

This zesty syrup makes a great base for poached or fresh fruit

Serves 4-6

Ginger-lemongrass syrup
3/4 cup canned lychee juice or water
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
6 stalks lemongrass, cut into 1″ lengths and bruised with a large knife
1/4 cup (tightly packed) grated palm sugar or brown sugar

Fruit salad
1 20 oz (565g) can lychees
1 punnet (12 oz, or 1.5 cups) strawberries, hulled and halved, if large
4 just-ripe kiwifruit, peeled and sliced
Optional- 2 whole mango, cubed

Over medium heat, simmer the ingredients for “Ginger-lemongrass Syrup” in a covered pot for 10 minutes. Allow to come to room temperature and cool. Keep in the fridge.

Prior to serving, cut the fruit and pour the syrup over the fruit. Done!

Recipe Notes
The fruits you choose are up to you but the four in this recipe are my preferred.

Accompaniments · Appetizers · Dairy-free · Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Holiday Food

Provencal tuna and olive spread (Thoionade)

Belinda1 Comment

Recipe c/o Patricia Wells “The Provence Cookbook”

This is the easiest dip to make and one that can be made up to a week in advance and kept in the fridge, covered.
I bought the Nyons olives and the tuna on Amazon, which made life much easier. Please make sure you get a really good-quality and flavorful brand of tuna in oil. The one I love for the best flavor is this Spanish one…

1 cup best quality French brine-cured black olives (such as Nyons), pitted
2 tbsp capers in vinegar, drained
2 tbsp dry red wine
2 plump cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
One 7 ounce can best-quality tuna in olive oil (do not drain)
1 to 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, as necessary
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice, to taste.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine all of the ingredients except the lemon juice.
Process to form a thick paste, adding additional oil and the lemon juice if necessary to form a smooth puree. Taste for seasoning.
The spread can be stored, covered and refrigerated, for up to one week.

NOTE: Along the same lines, prepare a more pungent sardine-based spread, or sardinade, substituting a 3-1/2 ounce can of best-quality sardines cured in olive oil for the canned tuna.

Chocolate · Do-ahead · Icecream

Rocky Road ice cream

Belinda

This ice cream is sensational, dark, rich and full of flavor! Hold on to your hats!

Makes 1.5 quarts (5-6 servings)

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder like Scharffen Berger or Green and Blacks. Make sure it’s a really good quality brand.
1/8 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 tsp good quality vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, like Ghirardelli. Make sure it’s a really good quality brand of chocolate
1/2 cup slivered almonds, lightly toasted
1 cup miniature marshmallows or chopped larger marshmallows

Whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a medium-size saucepan.
Add the cream and milk, stir, and bring to the boil over medium-high heat while stirring frequently.
Lower the heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
Remove from the heat and add the chocolate chips, vanilla and almond extract.
Stir to dissolve the chocolate. Let cool and then refrigerate for at least 6 hours until cold.

Pour the chilled mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions
Near the end of the churning process, add the almonds and marshmallows. Let them mix in well then remove the ice cream to a container and freeze for at least 4 hours.
Enjoy!!

Asian flavors · Dairy-free · Fish

Miso-Ginger Marinated Grilled Salmon

Belinda

This is a lovely, easy recipe from Bobby Flay.

I had two salmon fillets in the fridge and googled “Miso marinated salmon” and up popped this gem!
If you want the salmon a little sweeter, you can add 1/4 cup brown sugar, and 1/4 cup sake to the marinade. That too is lovely.
This is also lovely with many other thicker fish like black cod or Chilean sea bass

Just a note, Bobby says to marinate the salmon for 30 mins, but I marinated mine for 8-9 hours and it was divine.

Serves 4

1/4 cup white miso (fermented soybean paste)
1/4 cup mirin
1/4 cup sake (optional)
1/4 cup brown sugar (optional)
2 tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar
2 to 3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp minced green onions
1 1/2 tbsp minced fresh ginger
4 tsp toasted sesame oil
4 salmon fillets, 8 oz each
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Yuzu juice, for drizzling, optional

Whisk together the miso, mirin, vinegar, soy sauce, (brown sugar and sake, if using) green onions, ginger, and sesame oil in a small bowl.
Place the salmon in a baking dish, pour the marinade over, and turn to coat. Cover and marinate for 30 minutes (I actually marinated mine for 8 hours and it was gorgeous) in the refrigerator.

Personally, I roast the fish, skin-side down in the oven at 350 for about 20 mins max but Bobby Flay uses this method below:

Heat grill to high. Remove the fish from the marinade and season with salt and pepper. Grill the salmon, skin side down, with the cover closed, until golden brown and a crust has formed, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Turn the salmon over and continue grilling for 3 to 4 minutes for medium doneness.
Drizzle with a little yuzu juice, if desired, and serve.

Poultry

Southern baked chicken

Belinda

Recipe from food blog “Grandbaby cakes”

“Made with a simple homemade spice rub, rich butter, caramelized onions and a hint of maple essence, this chicken is tender, juicy and chock-full of flavor!”

2 tsp seasoned salt
2 tsp dried rosemary
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp black pepper
4 lbs fresh chicken wings We use wings most of the time but you can also use legs or even thighs but not breasts
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup butter in pats
1 large onion thinly sliced
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
paprika to taste
Fresh rosemary for garnish

Dry the chicken with paper towels and place in a large bowl. Set aside.
Whisk together the seasoned salt, dried rosemary, garlic powder, onion powder and black pepper in a small bowl until combined.
Sprinkle and toss the chicken with seasoning mix ensuring all of the chicken is completely covered. Cover and place the chicken in the refrigerator and rest for 2-3 hours or even overnight.

When ready to bake, remove the chicken from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Add the chicken to a 8″x11″ or 9″x13” baking dish.
Use a spoon to drizzle the chicken with maple syrup on both sides. Cover with onions then add pats of butter over the chicken. Lastly, drizzle Worcestershire sauce over the chicken. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 1 hour.

After an hour, turn the chicken over and evenly sprinkle the top of the chicken with paprika. Bake for an additional hour.

After the 2nd hour, turn the temperature to 350 degrees. Remove foil, sprinkle with more paprika if desired for color. Brown for 20-30 more minutes. Garnish with fresh rosemary and serve.

Notes
We usually use chicken wings for this recipe but you can also use legs or thighs. Do NOT use chicken breasts because the long bake time does not tenderize them but dry them out.

Make sure to use pure maple syrup instead of the artificial pancake kind.

Do-ahead · Vegetable sides · Vegetable-related

A little eggplant parm’ a la Alison Roman

Belinda

Recipe from Alison Roman

“Firstly, no, the eggplant does not need to be salted, no we *will not be frying* the eggplant. Yes, it does basically taste like eggplant parmesan but lighter, fresher, tangier and crunchier. If you don’t care for capers, you can skip them, just know you are, in fact, missing out.”
PLEASE NOTE: Unless you are doubling this recipe (which you can easily do), you are only using half the tomato sauce here. Save the rest by freezing it, or just pop it in the fridge to eat over pasta later in the week.

Serves 2

1 large globe eggplant (about 2 pounds), sliced about ½”-¾” thick
1/2 cup olive oil, divided
Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper
1 small onion (yellow, white, or red), thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
4 anchovy fillets (optional, but delicious!!), plus more if you want
1 28 oz. can whole San Marzano tomatoes, crushed
¾ cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan
2–3 tbsp capers, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano or marjoram (you can skip, or use half the amount of dried)
⅓ cup coarsely chopped parsley, divided
8 oz fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced or torn

Preheat oven to 450°.
Drizzle the eggplant with about half the olive oil and season with salt and pepper and roast, turning the eggplant halfway through (I use tongs or a fork), until it’s as tender as custard and both sides are as brown as if they were fried, about 25–30 minutes.
A lot of the flavor in this dish will come from the eggplant being very very browned, so please don’t be scared to “take it there” so to speak. Please take it there. Take it very there.

While that happens, make the sauce.
Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring every now and then until the onions and garlic are tender and starting to brown around the edges, 8–10 minutes. Add crushed red pepper flakes and anchovies, if using, and stir, letting both things melt into the onions.
Pour the juices from the tomatoes into the pot and one by one, crush the tomatoes with your hands into the pot (I like to keep the tomatoes on the chunkier side for more texture in the finished dish).
Season again with salt and pepper and let it simmer gently for 15–30 minutes (you want to evaporate some but not all of the liquid).
Once it tastes very good and feels nicely thickened, remove from heat. Set half aside and freeze or refrigerate the rest.

The last and final thing to do is to toast the bread crumbs.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a small to medium skillet over medium heat. Add the bread crumbs and season with salt and pepper. Stir them to coat evenly in the oil and toast, tossing frequently, until all the bread crumbs are the color of your morning toast, 5–7 minutes. Remove from heat.

Okay, it’s time to assemble this thing! How thrilling. There’s not a ton of technique here, but here’s how I do it to most closely mimic the classique eggplant parm.

Spoon about half of the tomato sauce on the bottom of a 1 qt. baking dish or 6” skillet (both hold about 4 cups volume, that’s the size you want. Doesn’t matter the shape, as long as its heatproof).

Top with half the eggplant (a little overlap is fine, so are gaps- don’t fuss!).
Top with half the parmesan, parsley, capers, and oregano.
Scatter half the bread crumbs in a nice even layer on top of all that, followed by half the mozzarella.
Repeat this, ending with the mozzarella.
Add a little more parmesan if you feel like it, maybe some black pepper.
I feel that this is truly perfect as-is, but if you love anchovies as much as my friend Chris, you can use more to layer in (I’d add a few fillets with the capers/herbs).

Now, bake it. Pop it into the oven until the cheese is browned and everything is bubbling around the edges, 15–20 minutes. Remove from the oven, maybe finish with some more parsley if you’ve got it stuck to your cutting board, and let it cool ever so slightly before eating.
I like to just serve it by scooping with a spoon– it’s not really meant to be sliced.

Pasta

TikTok’s “viral” baked feta pasta

Belinda

I just had to post the viral TikTok recipe that is going around.

Serves 4

1 lb / 500g italian durum wheat pasta
1 block (7 oz / 200 g) Greek feta cheese
1/2 cup good quality olive oil
1/2 red chili pepper or some fried red chili flakes
1lb /500g cherry tomatoes
4 large garlic cloves, crushed
black pepper
salt
dried oregano
Grated lemon zest
large bunch of fresh basil leaves

Set the oven to 400F

Pour some olive oil on the bottom of the baking dish.
Add the tomatoes and crushed garlic, drizzle them with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toss until they’re evenly coated.
Place the whole feta block on top and snuggle it in. Pour more olive oil on top of the feta then add the chopped chili or chili flakes, some dried oregano and grated lemon zest.

Bake for 20 – 30 minutes until the tomatoes are roasted and the feta is soft and melty.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta al dente according to cooking instructions.

Remove the tomatoes from the oven and add chopped basil to the top. Use a spoon to break up the cheese and stir everything together to create a sauce.

Add the cooked pasta and mix until evenly coated.

Baking · Dairy-free · Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Vegan

Rhubarb, cardamom and pistachio tart

Belinda

This vegan recipe comes from the wonderful Meera Sodha who writes recipes for the Guardian.

“I don’t believe in rules when it comes to the pairing of ingredients, but I removed rhubarb from its lifelong partner in crime, custard, with caution.

Rhubarb by character is bright, fierce, acerbic and usually not for the faint-hearted unless tamed by something soothing. In custard’s place, I’ve used its more sophisticated cousin, frangipane, a sweet cream made using almonds, pistachios and oat milk flavored with zesty orange and cardamom. (Though, if this makes you feel uncomfortable, and because there are no rules, you could always serve this tart with custard instead.)”

Makes 1 x 9 inch (23cm) tart

For the pastry
8oz (250g) plain flour
7 tbsp (105ml) light olive oil
1.5oz (40g) caster sugar
1 pinch sea salt
3 tbsp cold water

For the filling
7 tbsp (105ml) light olive oil
4.5oz (125g) caster sugar, plus 1 tbsp extra to finish
2oz (50g) cornflour
7oz (200g) ground pistachios
1.5oz (40g) ground almonds
4 tbsp (60ml) oat milk
1½ tsp cardamom powder
Zest of 1 orange
8oz (250g) forced rhubarb or just the top tender parts

To make the pastry, put the flour, oil, sugar and salt in a bowl, and mix with a clean hand. Add the water, mix again, then knead for three minutes. Return to the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 350F/200C (180C fan)/gas 6.
After the pastry has rested, place it between two sheets of baking paper and flatten it gently. Roll to about 3mm thick and just larger than a loose-bottomed 9″ (23cm) tart tin.
Peel off the top sheet of baking paper, place a hand under the bottom sheet and flip the pastry on top of the tart tin – don’t worry if it cracks or breaks. Reserve the baking paper. Press the pastry into place, cut away the overhang and use the offcuts to fill any cracks.
Prick the base all over with a fork, crumple up one of the sheets of baking paper, unravel it and put it in the tart case. Fill with baking beans (or uncooked rice) and bake for about 25 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and lightly golden.
Remove, and leave to cool.

To make the filling, mix everything except the rhubarb in a bowl until well combined, then set aside.

When the tart case is cool, lift out the baking paper and beans, and scrape the frangipane mix into the tart shell. Even it out and smooth it down with the back of a spoon.
Now decorate as you wish: you could cut the rhubarb to size to lay stripes across the tart, or cut it into shorter lengths and tessellate. I like to do mine as in the photograph above by neatly arranging 1/4″ (6cm) pieces of rhubarb at the centre of the tart, then filling the gaps around it with smaller pieces, cut to size.

Sprinkle the extra tablespoon of sugar all over the top of the rhubarb, then bake for 40-45 minutes, until the filling is starting to bronze slightly and the rhubarb is tender. Leave to cool a little before cutting and serving.

Baking · Dairy-free · Dessert · Do-ahead · Gluten Free

Easy whole orange and almond cake

Belinda

This is a wonderful recipe from the ladies who used to own the Post Office Café in Bundanoon, N.S.W, Australia.
A dusting of powdered sugar and served with blueberries and either créme fresh or mascarpone are the best accompaniments…

2-3 oranges , unpeeled. If they are really large, then just use 2. But the more “orangey-tasting” the more oranges!
250g (8oz) almond meal. (FYI, almond meal is made from raw, unpeeled almonds and is a coarser grind than almond flour, which is made from blanched peeled almonds)
6 large eggs
250g (8oz) sugar
1 tsp baking powder

Set the oven to 180C (350F)
Boil the oranges whole for about 30 mins or until soft. Remove from the water and let cool to room temp or enough so the eggs wont turn to scrambled eggs when they’re added to the orange.
Put the soft oranges into a blender and blend to a pulp, then add the eggs and sugar and blend until thick and pale
Add the almond meal and baking powder and mix well.

Put into a well greased cake tin and bake for 1 hour. Leave to cool a little and remove from the tin to a wire rack.

Dairy-free · Gluten Free · Poultry

Easy Slow Roasted Garlic and Lemon Chicken

Belinda

Recipe from Nigella lawson
“This is one of those recipes you just can’t make once: that’s to say, after the first time, you’re hooked. It is gloriously easy: you just put everything in the roasting dish and leave it to cook in the oven, pervading the house, at any time of year, with the summer scent of lemon and thyme – and of course, mellow, almost honeyed garlic.
I got the idea of it from those long-cooked French chicken casseroles with whole garlic cloves and just wanted to spritz it up with lemon for summer. The wonderful thing about it is that you turn the lemon from being a flavoring to being a major player; left in chunks to cook slowly in the oven they seem almost to caramelize and you can eat them, skin, pith and all, their sour bitterness sweetened in the heat.

Serves: 4-6
1 chicken (approx. 2.25kg / 4½lbs) cut into 10 pieces, or 4 1/2 lbs of just thighs and legs (my preference)
2 large heads of garlic (separated into unpeeled cloves)
2 good-sized unwaxed lemons (preferably thin-skinned) – cut into chunky eighths
1 handful fresh thyme
3 tbsp (or more) olive oil
⅔ cup white wine
black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt or ½ teaspoon fine flowing salt

Pre-heat the oven to 325F.
Put the chicken pieces into a roasting tin and add the garlic cloves, lemon chunks and the thyme; just roughly pull the leaves off the stalks, leaving some intact for strewing over later. Add the oil and using your hands mix everything together, then spread the mixture out, making sure all the chicken pieces are skin side up.

Sprinkle over the white wine and grind on some pepper and sprinkle over the kosher salt, then cover tightly with foil and put in the oven to cook, at flavor-intensifyingly low heat, for 2 hours

Remove the foil from the roasting tin, and turn up the oven to 400F.
Cook the uncovered chicken for another 30-45 minutes, by which time the skin on the meat will have turned golden brown and the lemons will have begun to scorch and caramelize at the edges.
I like to serve this as it is, straight from the roasting tin: so just strew with your remaining thyme and dish out.