Good Morning All,

Cold is an understatement, my hands are freezing!!!! Moroccan Carrot soup is simmering away thanks to the beautiful carrots from Wairuna Organics.  Slow cooked and I mean slow cooked beef cheeks are also on the menu.  You never know quite what you may find at Leckies Meats and low and behold I got my hands on some succulent beef cheeks! They are such great value and if treated with respect and allowing plenty of time you will find them rewarding, just ensure that you cook them until they are on the verge of falling apart!  I am also mixing up autumnal ingredients with a good dressing to liven up our salad range through these colder months.  Cabbage is such a versatile vegetable and one that loves being cooked, stuffed and eaten raw and when dressed with a creamy, irresistible dressing such as the buttermilk one today you will find yourself using this dressing drizzled over almost everything and maybe even consuming more cabbage??

I don't very often have croissants left over but when I do I find they make such a fantastic bread and butter pudding type dessert.  I added some apples to lift it in flavour and to lighten it in texture.  Delicious!!

Have a great day and look out for Dish magazine it is quite a spread I have heard ,and you might even recognise some people....

CABBAGE SALAD WITH BUTTERMILK DRESSING

I love buttermilk and when combined in a dressing it becomes quite decadent.  It is easy to create yourself by adding 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk or cream.  Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes and use as desired!

Serves 4

Dressing

½ cup buttermilk

2 Tbsp mayonnaise

2 Tbsp cider vinegar

1 tsp sugar

Salad

½ savoy cabbage, cored and thinly sliced

¼ green or red cabbage, cored and thinly sliced

½ red onion, finely diced

1 carrot, grated coarsely

2 celery sticks, peeled and thinly sliced

Handful parsley, roughly chopped

1 cup of stale bread (ideally from whole loaf)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 lemon, juice

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Whisk together buttermilk, mayonnaise, vinegar, onion, sugar, pinch of salt, and generous grind of pepper in a bowl until sugar has dissolved. Set aside in fridge.

Preheat oven to 190C

Rip the stale bread into small chunks and toss in the oil.  Sprinkle over a little salt and combine well.  Place onto a baking tray and spread out.  Bake until golden and crunchy (about 10 minutes). Cool.

Toss cabbage, carrot, onion, celery and ½ the parsley together and place into bowl.  Scatter over the croutons and drizzle the buttermilk dressing generously over the salad.  Sprinkle over the last of the parsley, a grind or two of pepper and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Serve!

 

BRAISED BEEF CHEEKS

Beef cheeks are a cut of meat that I am always on the lookout for and it just happens that Leckies Butcher has a secret stash!  They need moisture when cooked and long and slow.  The meat should be meltingly tender when consumed!

Serves 8

2 beef cheeks

4 Tbsp olive oil

1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped

1 onion, diced

1/2 bulb of garlic, cut across the middle

1 stick celery, chopped

1 leek, chopped

4 sprigs thyme

12 black peppercorns

2 Tbsp tomato purée

1 bottles red wine

1 litres chicken stock

1 splash balsamic vinegar

1 splash Worcestershire sauce

Method

Preheat oven 150C

Trim the beef cheeks and remove as much sinew as possible. Cut each cheek in half. Season well with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy-based pan and brown the cheeks on all sides. Remove and set aside.

Add the vegetables, garlic and a little extra oil if necessary. Stir around until they turn golden. Add the thyme and peppercorns and mix everything together. When all the vegetables are golden, add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.

Pour in the red wine and stir, scraping up all the sticky bits from the bottom of the pan, then cook until the liquid is reduced and you have a sticky sauce - about 12-14 minutes.

Put the beef cheeks back in the pan and cover with the chicken stock. Bring to the boil, skim the surface and cover with a circle of greaseproof paper. Place in the oven and braise the beef in the oven at 150C for 2 hours 30 minutes or until tender.

Once the cheeks are cooked add a splash each of balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Carve the cheeks into smaller portions if necessary.

These are great served with soft parmesan polenta with the juice poured over the top.

SPINACH AND CHICKPEAS

This is so delicious, it reminds me of lazy days in the sun eating Tapas.  The technique with the bread may seem a little odd but it works well and the combination of chickpeas and spinach is a classic!

Serves 4                                                                   

6 tbsp olive oil

3 slices white bread, crusts removed, cubed or torn

3 cloves garlic thinly sliced

1 tsp ground cumin

1 Tbsp red wine or sherry vinegar

800 g tinned chickpeas rinsed and drained

450 g fresh spinach

Freshly ground salt and black pepper

Method

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat.

Add the bread and fry for 5 minutes until golden brown on all sides. Add the garlic and cumin and cook for 1-2 minutes, until the garlic is nutty brown.

Transfer to a pestle and mortar or food processor. Add the vinegar and mash or process to a paste.

Return the bread paste to the pan and add the drained chick peas. Cook, stirring, until the chick peas have absorbed the flavours and are hot, then season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. If the consistency is a little thick, add some water. Now add the spinach and cook until just wilted, around 2 minutes. Check the seasoning and serve.

APPLE AND CROISSANT PUDDING

Serves 4-6

500 ml full fat milk

300 ml cream

1 vanilla pod, split lengthways or a drop or two of vanilla extract

1 cinnamon stick

3 eggs

3 egg yolks

200 g sugar

2 Tbsp butter, melted

2 stale but not too stale croissants, halved horizontally

2 apples, halved, cored and roughly chopped

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan and grease a large pie dish or baking. Put the milk, cream, vanilla and cinnamon in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil. Put the whole eggs, egg yolks and sugar in a mixer or in a mixing bowl using an electric whisk and whisk until pale and fluffy. Slowly pour the boiled cream into the egg mixture, whisking vigorously until evenly incorporated.

Pass the mixture through a fine sieve and discard the vanilla bean, cinnamon stick and any bits of egg shell that may have accidentally crept in.

Brush the melted butter over the croissants and arrange them in the prepared pie dish or baking pan. Scatter the apples over the croissants in the pan, then pour the custard in over the top.

Using a spatula, press down the croissants so that they start to soak up some of the lovely custard mixture. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. It should still be a little runny in the middle.

Serve with vanilla ice cream, or just some whipped cream flavoured with a little lemon and vanilla extract.

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

SUNRISE BAKERY – fresh baked goods

KAKANUI PRODUCE – cabbage and capsicum

LECKIES BUTCHER – beef cheeks

WILLOWBROOK ORCHARD – variety of apples and pears

BRYDONE ORGANICS – organic spinach

WAIRUNA ORGANICS – organic carrots

JUDGE ROCK WINES – central Otago wines