OTAGO FARMERS MARKET

April 6, 2012 Alison Lambert

Menu today is overloading with easy and delicious ideas - Everyone should feel comfortable making a tortilla (Spanish omelet) firstly they are loved by everyone and great for breakfast, lunch or tea, cheap to make and you only need one pan! I will be using Speckled Hens (happy) eggs, combined with Brydones main crop Agria potatoes - 2 ingredients - thats all!!
I will also be making a delicious jam with Harwarden Organics Pinot grapes which is fantastic with cheese, cold meats and oily fish. Richard from Whitestone has suggested we drizzle a little honey over his creamy brie or camembert and top with nuts. Why not!!
I will also have fresh bread from Levitio and garlic products from Kutash Organics and Cabbage from Youngs.

Happy Easter from Levitio Bakery

I am so fortunate to have such a vast array of magnificent ingredients to cook with. I just want to say a BIG thank you to all the deeply-passionate and hard-working producers for supplying us week after week with outstanding, seasonal and delicious food. Thanks.

POTATO TORTILLA – SPANISH OMELET

memories of many tapas bars serving thick, moist tortilla - best served at room temperature and it goes particularly well with smoked paprika mayonnaise!

the makings of Spanish tortilla

Serves 6 as a main

6-7 medium potatoes, peeled

1 whole yellow onion

5-6 large eggs
1-2 cups of olive oil for pan frying

Salt to taste

Method - Cut the peeled potatoes in half lengthwise. Then, with the flat side on the cutting surface, slice the potato in pieces approximately 4mm thick. If you slice them a bit thick, don’t worry – it will simply take a bit longer for them to cook.

Peel and chop the onion into thin slices. Put potatoes and onions into a bowl and mix them together. Salt the mixture.

In a large, heavy, non-stick frying pan, heat the olive oil on medium high heat. Carefully place the potato and onion mixture into the frying pan, spreading them evenly over the surface. The oil should almost cover the potatoes. You may need to turn down the heat slightly, so the potatoes do not burn.

Leave in the pan until the potatoes are cooked. If you can poke a piece of potato with a knife and it easily breaks in two, your potatoes are done. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon or spatula and allow oil to drain.

Crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl and beat by hand with a whisk or fork. Pour in the potato onion mixture. Mix together with a large spoon.

Pour 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil into a medium 20cm, non-stick frying pan and heat on medium heat. Be careful not to get the pan too hot because the oil will burn - or the tortilla will! When hot, stir the potato onion mixture once more and “pour” into the pan and spread out evenly. Allow the egg to cook around the edges. Then you can carefully lift up one side of the omelet to check if the egg has slightly “browned.” The inside of the mixture should not be completely cooked and the egg will still be runny.

When the mixture has browned on the bottom, you are ready to turn it over to cook the other side. Take the frying pan to a sink. Place a large dinner plate upside down over the frying pan. With one hand on the frying pan handle and the other on top of the plate to hold it steady, quickly turn the frying pan over and the omelet will “fall” onto the plate. Place the frying pan back on the range and put just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Let the pan warm for 30 seconds or so. Now slide the omelet into the frying pan. Use the spatula to shape the sides of the omelet. Let the omelet cook for 3-4 minutes. Turn the heat off and let the tortilla sit in the pan for 2 minutes.

You can eat it immediately or allow it to cool to room temperature just as you would in Spain.

CABBAGE, RAISIN, WALNUT AND CHEESE SALAD

Serves 6

100g raisins

600g cabbage, thinly sliced

1-2 Tbsp cider, white wine or white balsamic vinegar

100g fresh walnuts, toasted

100g sourdough breadcrumbs, torn into 5mm pieces and toasted

60g parmesan or pecorino finely grated

2 cup (loosely packed) flat-leaf parsley leaves

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Salad cream
4	egg yolks
2 tbsp	white wine vinegar
2 tsp	Dijon mustard
300 ml	olive oil
100 ml	pouring cream

Method

To make the salad cream – please note this is optional as you can use a good quality mayonnaise and thin it down with a little cream, sour cream or yoghurt.

Process the egg yolks, vinegar and mustard in a food processor until well combined, then gradually add oil in a thin, steady stream until emulsified. Transfer to a small bowl, stilthrough the cream and season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Refrigerate.

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Combine cabbage and vinegar in a bowl, toss to coat and stand for 10 minutes.

Add raisin’s to cabbage with walnuts nuts and half the breadcrumbs, cheese and parsley.

Add salad cream, toss gently to combine and season to taste. Serve immediately scattered with remaining breadcrumbs, cheese and parsley.

GRAPE AND BLACKCURRANT JAM

2 cups fresh or frozen blackcurrants or blueberries
2 cups seedless red grapes, rinsed and dried

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

Coarse salt and ground pepper

Method

In a large heavy based pot, combine berries, grapes, sugar, ginger, rosemary, and vinegar. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer gently until grapes begin to break down, 15 to 20 minutes

Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Let cool completely before using or preserving in sterilised jars.

PUMPKIN SCONES

It may seem a little early to be thinking of pumpkins but rest assured these autumnal coloured scones are made with the first-of-the-season gourmet variety – bushfire or buttercup are exceptional!

Makes 12 scones

2 cups of flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

½ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

115g butter, cold and cut into small pieces

1/3 cup raisins or sultanas

120 ml buttermilk (approx)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

½ cup cooked, puree pumpkin

Method

To cook pumpkin – I like to steam pumpkin when using in mixtures like this as it retains it beautiful colour and doesn’t absorb to much liquid. If using bushfire pumpkins you can leave the skin on as it is thin and edible otherwise carefully remove with a sharp knife. Remove the seeds and discard cut the flesh into even sized cubes and place in your steamer over simmering water until the pumpkin is very tender (about 10 minutes). Remove and drain off any excess liquid. You can either mash the pumpkin for a more coarse texture or puree it in a food processor for a finer texture if desired.

Preheat the oven 180C

In a large bowl sieve the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, spices and salt together. Add the cold butter and work it through the flour with your finger-tips until you get a coarse bread crumb texture. Add the sugar and raisins and stir to combine. Now add the cooled pumpkin puree and mix through the mixture using a bread and butter knife. Add ½ the amount of buttermilk as this will vary depending on the consistency of your pumpkin puree to the mixture. Continue mixing until it just starts to stick together. Remove the knife and now get your hands in there. Sprinkle a little flour on your work bench and tip out the slightly sticky dough.

The most important tip on making scones is that you do not overwork the dough! Gently bring together the dough so it forms a smoothish ball and flatten out with your hands until you get a rectangle shape 15cm by 15cm, cut into about 12 squares and place onto a baking tray.

Bake for 20 minutes in preheated oven or until they have risen and gone a wonderful golden, pumpkin colour.

Cool slightly and enjoy!!!

KUTASH ORGANIC GARDENS – If like me and you could not imagine food without garlic then you need to go and visit Lon with his impressive array of garlic products. He not only has firm, fresh, fragrant garlic he also has aromatically smoked garlic and does a wonderful variety of garlic pates and paste.

WHITESTONE CHEESE – Richard and I were talking passionately about cheese at his stall last Saturday and he said that I must try this absolutely delicious way to serve brie or Camembert. Remove the top and warm up under the grill, drizzle over some good quality runny honey and scattering of fresh walnuts or hazelnuts and devour!!! So that is what we are about to do.

ALISON WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING VENDORS FOR THEIR FANTASTIC PRODUCE

WHITESTONE CHEESE – brie and Camembert

BRYDONE ORGANICS – main crop potatoes

SPECKLED HEN FREE RANGE EGG COMPANY- free range eggs

HARWARDEN ORGANICS – grapes

JUDGE ROCK WINES – wine
KUTASH ORGANICS – garlic and garlic products
LEVITIO BAKERY - bread