Good morning, just between you and me there maybe freshly cut, local asparagus today! I can't promise you but there just might be (fingers-crossed). Nigel from Brydone Organics is also hoping for the first of his new season potatoes Jersey Benne in the next week or so - can you imagine them cooked until just tender with fresh Whitestone butter and a sprinkle of NZ sea salt flakes; not long now!
Menu today is still a bit of this and that as Spring is just that. Leckies butchery would like me to show you not only how full flavoured their beef is but how to cook it properly and BBQ season is upon us and to be honest a good steak cooked to perfection is hard to beat. I am excited about turning our humble cabbage into a Lebanese delight mixed with a little cracked wheat and served warm. Rocket is peppery and green at the moment so i will be doing a lot of great dishes with one of my favourite leaves.
Fair/fete season is upon us and I thought it the perfect time to give you all a lesson in toffee apple making!!
Apart from all the wonderful fresh produce/meat/fish/cheese available there is an impressive array of fresh baked goods. And i must not forget the plants which range from natives, flowers and fruit and vegetables; i have planted many varieties in my garden and they have survived this past months inhospitable weather.
Have a great day and enjoy the sunshine, come by and try some fresh, seasonal food!
ROCKET, LEEK AND EGG TARTLETS
Wonderfully peppery rocket with melting sweet leeks topped with a glistening egg makes a wonderful meal whatever the occasion!
Serves 41 medium size leek, sliced thinly and washed and drained well
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground coriander
6 Tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
2 cups fresh rocket
1 ½ Tbsp flat-leaf parsley
1 ½ Tbsp coriander leaves, roughly chopped
250g puff pastry
30g soured cream
4 medium free-range eggs
Salt and cracked pepper
Method
Preheat oven to 210C/190C fan.
Warm up a medium fry pan and add 2 Tbsp oil, add chopped leeks and cook gently for 2-3 minutes, add the spices and cook for a further minute. Remove from the heat and add the rocket, parsley and coriander, mix to combine. Don’t worry that the rocket starts to wilt as this is the desired effect, set aside.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry to about 3mm thick and cut out four 15x15 cm squares. Prick all over with a fork and place the squares, spaced well apart, on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Leave to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Remove the pastry from the fridge and brush the top and sides with beaten egg. Using the back of a spoon or something similar, spread half a tablespoon of soured cream over the pastry squares, leaving a little space around the edge. Add about 3 tablespoons of leek and rocket mixture over the sour cream ensuring that you don’t go over the space around the edge so it’s clear to rise. Using the back of a spoon mold a little shallow hole to break an egg into it later on, which prevents it running away!
Bake the tarts for 10 minutes, then remove from oven and crack one egg per tart. Return to the oven and cook for another 7 minutes, until the eggs are just set. Sprinkle with a little salt and cracked pepper, and a light drizzling of extra virgin olive oil.
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| Leckies Butchery |
2 rump steaks weighing 200-225g each
75ml red wine
75ml Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, sliced thinly
1 sprig fresh rosemary leaves removed and roughly chopped
Generous grind or two or black pepper
Method
Put the steaks in the shallow dish, then mix the red wine, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and rosemary together and pour this over the steaks. Cover with clingfilm or put the lid on, then place in the fridge for a few hours or, preferably, overnight. When you're ready to cook the steaks, drain and dry them carefully with kitchen paper, reserving the marinade.
Now take a medium frying pan, place it on a high heat and heat the oil until it's very hot. Then sear the steaks for 4 minutes on each side and, 2 minutes before the time is up, add the reserved marinade to the pan and let it bubble and reduce by about half. When the steaks are cooked, remove them from the pan to warm serve.
ROCKET/ARUGULA SAUCE
Makes about 1 cup
Handful of rocket
Handful of flatleaf parsley
1 Tbsp capers
1 garlic clove
Sea salt flakes
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Method
Place the rocket, parsley, garlic and capers in a food processor or in a mortar and pestle and process until the mixture is roughly chopped. With the machine running, add the olive oil and lemon juice in a slow, steady stream, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste, and thin with a teaspoon or two of water so that it can be drizzled over grilled or roasted vegetables, fish or meat.
SAUTED CABBAGE WITH CRACKED WHEAT (Lebanese styleMarshoosheh)
This recipe is all thanks to a lovely lady who kindly shared her family’s Lebanese recipe for this delicious and quick dish.
Serves 4
½ head of cabbage, sliced into long slices
1 large onion, diced
4 Tbsp cracked/dried wheat (Burghul)
½ to 1 tsp hot Chili powder or Cayenne pepper (to taste)
½ tsp salt
5-7 Tbsp olive oil
Method
Place the olive oil and chopped onions in a large frying pan and lightly fry them for 5 minutes on medium heat
Add sliced cabbage and mix well with onion.
Add salt, Cayenne pepper, sprinkle the cracked wheat and mix well
Add a 1/4 cup of water, mix well with ingredients, cover pot and let simmer on low-medium heat for 10-15 minutes while occasionally stirring
This is usually served hot with Pita bread but it’s equally delicious if served cold and I think it would work beautifully with pork, beef or fish as well.
TOFFEE APPLES
makes 12 small
12 small slightly tart apples, washed and dried
12 wooden ice block sticks
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
1 Tbso vinegar
red food colouring
cellophane bags
pretty ribbon
Method: with toffee apples it is all about the preparation! Firstly you need to select smallish apples, slightly tart and spray free. If by any chance they look as though they may have some spray or worse wax, you need to wash them in cold water and dry them well with a clean cloth. You then need to remove the little twig that sticks out from the apple, (i usually twist is off). With a little force, push the ice block stick into the part of the apple where you have just removed the twig/stalk continue until all the apples are done.
Add the sugar, water and vinegar to a clean, heavy base, deep sided pot. heat gently until the sugar has dissolved, then boil rapidly - DO NOT STIR ONCE THIS STAGE HAS REACHED!!!! If you stir it as this stage, you will get cloudy toffee and it can crystallize. Grease a bench well with a little oil or butter.
Once your toffee has been boiling for about 7-10 minutes or the bubbles are looking bigger and slower. Get a glass of cold water and a dry spoon. Carefully dip in the spoon and get a little toffee, drizzle it into the water and listen for a crack sound. Once the toffee has gone cold, check for the stage you are at. If the toffee is still soft and sticky it is at the soft ball stage, we want the hard ball stage. It will take another couple of minutes to reach that point. Remove a little more toffee as you did before and listen again as it drizzles into the water. If should make a cracking sound and it will set like toffee, and snap if broken. Turn off the heat immediately as you don't want it to cook any further. After a few minutes, add the red food colouring - stand back as it will bubble. Stir to mix and add more colouring if needed.
Carefully dip the apple into the hot toffee, only attempt one at a time and allow the excess toffee to drain off, back into the pot. Place carefully onto the greased bench and continue until all the toffee is used up.
When cool and hard, wrap in cellophane bags and tie with ribbon.
TIPS WHEN MAKING TOFFEE
- clean apples and dry
- clean and dry pot
- once sugar has dissolved DO NOT STIR
- test for hard ball st
- always put the toffee apples onto a greased bench.
- wrap when cold and don't refrigerate
- last for 2 days
ALISON WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING VENDORS FOR THEIR FANTASTIC PRODUCE
BRYDONE ORGANICS – cabbage
LIEVITO BAKERY – freshly baked goods
MCARTHURS BERRY FARM- leeks
AQUARIUS GARDENS – fresh rocket
LECKIES BUTCHERY – rump steak
ROSEDALE ORCHARDS – fresh fruit juice
