What a week we have had with the weather it sure threw me into turmoil.  It was so cold I think I ate myself through the snow day and are now thinking its time to eat soup and salads to get back on track.  However I am in the mood for sampling some of Origins Meats tasty beef, I often cook steak from the mobile kitchen as it is one of the most enquired techniques as so many people have trouble.  Hopefully I can help clarify this and we get to eat some juicy steak!

Yams are plump and delicious and this week I am making a South American inspired salad which is a fantastic way to use our humble yam and turn it into something a little different.  And no menu would be complete without a Brussels sprout recipe so this time I am adding a hint of cheese to lift these crunchy little morsels and they will surprise you especially all those sceptics out there!

And yes I have thought of pudding as no market day would be complete without a little something sweet and this cake is not only sublime to eat it is simple to prepare.  Have a great day and do come by and have a sample!

HOW TO COOK A GREAT STEAK

What better way than to taste beef than by eating a great steak! Today we are sampling our new vendor Origin Meats who are from Tairei Mouth, make sure you talk to them as they have different varieties of beef which all have different degrees of fat, age and flavour. 

When selecting your meat, have a look at the colour, you don’t want bright red, it needs to be aged. Fine marbling is an indicator of flavour, and lean meat should be tender. The cut depends on yourself – thick / thin – lean/ fatty… Varieties – Fillet – Rib-eye (scotch fillet) – Sirloin – Rump/porterhouse – T-bone

Method Have steaks out of fridge for at least ½ an hour before cooking. Season well with cracked black pepper and only season with salt just before you cook it as it will draw out the moisture from the meat. A little drizzle of oil and do the same to the other side. Heat up a good heavy base fry pan or griddle pan until almost smoking. You need it super-hot as you want the meat to sear instantly. Once your pan is HOT carefully add the steak. If you are cooking for the family try not to over crowd the pan. If necessary use two pans! Try not to prod and prick the steak, leave it so is sears and caramelises – depending on how well you like your steak. You only need to cook an average steak for 3-4 minutes on both sides. The next vital step is to let the meat rest, simply remove the meat from the pan and transfer on to a warm plate and cover with foil. Quickly return the pan back to the heat and add a glug of red wine, beef stock or even water, swirl around pan so all the delicious little caramelised pieces of flavour are removed from the bottom and get incorporated into you sauce. Once the liquid has bubbled and reduced remove from heat and add a couple of knobs of cold butter, swirl round to emulsify into your sauce, you may need salt and pepper. Simply drizzle your sauce over the steak and enjoy every mouthful….!

WARM YAM SALAD

SERVES 4

1 kg yams, washed and cut into thirds 2-3 jalapeno chillies, seeds and membrane removed (wear rubber gloves) or any green chillies 2 cups fresh coriander, roughly chopped 2 shallots, roughly chopped 2 Tbsp cider vinegar 6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil A few splashes of Thai fish sauce Salt and pepper to taste

Method In a large saucepan, add enough water to just cover the yams add a generous pinch of salt and bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until tender (10 minutes). Be careful not to overcook them or they will break up. When the yams are done, drain them and spread out over a tray to cool down quickly.

While the yams are cooking pulse the jalapenos, coriander, shallots and garlic cloves, add the vinegar and oil. Taste and add a few drops Thai fish sauce, and freshly ground pepper, taste once again and correct if necessary.

Put the yams into a bowl and pour over chilli mixture, toss gently and serve.

 

APPLE CAKE

This is an utterly scrumptious cake as it is overloaded with juicy apples, topped with a light batter and baked until golden – need I say more!

Serves 8-10

Butter or nonstick spray, for greasing pan 6-7 large, tart apples, such as Granny Smiths 3 large eggs 200 g sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 125 g white flour Ground cinnamon and icing sugar, also to finish

Method

Preheat oven to 180C.

Line the bottom of a 20 cm springform pan with greaseproof paper. Butter the paper and the sides of the pan. Peel, halve and core your apples, then chop them into medium-sized chunks (about 2cm squared). Pile the cut apples directly in the prepared pan.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, using an electric mixer or whisk, beat eggs with sugar until thick and ribbons form on the surface of the beaten eggs. Beat in vanilla, then stir in flour with a spoon until just combined. The batter will be very thick.

Pour over apples in pan, using a spoon or spatula to spread the batter so that it covers all exposed apples.

Bake in preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a tester comes out free of batter. Cool in pan for 10 minutes on rack, then flip out onto another rack, peel off the parchment paper, and flip it back onto a serving platter. Dust lightly with ground cinnamon and icing sugar.

Serve warm or cooled. It goes particularly well with freshly whipped cream.

 

CRUNCHY BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH CHEESE

 

This is yet another delicious way to eat Brussels sprouts why not try them with a little cheese?

Serves 4-6

24 small brussels sprouts

Knob of butter

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for rubbing

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup grated cheese of your choice (parmesan or aged cheddar works well)

Method

Wash the brussels sprouts well. Trim the stem ends and remove any raggy outer leaves. Cut in half from stem to top and gently rub each half with olive oil, keeping it intact (or if you are lazy just toss them in a bowl with a glug of olive oil).

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your largest skillet over medium heat. Don't overheat the fry pan, or the outsides of the brussels sprouts will cook too quickly. Place the brussels sprouts in the pan flat side down (single-layer), sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt, cover, and cook for roughly 5 minutes; the bottoms of the sprouts should only show a hint of browning. Once just tender, uncover, turn up the heat, and cook until the flat sides are deep brown and caramelised. Toss them once or twice to get some browning on the rounded side. Season with more salt, a few grinds of pepper, and a dusting of grated cheese. I suggest eating them straight away!

 

 

Alison would like to thank the following vendors for their fantastic produce

ORGIN BEEF – selection of beef products

GODDARDS – yams

ROSEDALE ORCHARDS – pears

MCARTHURS BERRY FARM – Brussels sprouts

GILBERTS FINE FOODS/LIEVITO BAKERY - fresh baked goods

WHITESTONE CHEESE - selection cheese