Atlantic Salmon with Asian Salad

Please forgive the haphazard presentation and blurry image I am giving you for this dish. It was served in a hurry when I was quite hungry after waiting for some time for my lovely boyfriend to return home from work. Perhaps it was the fact that I was so hungry or the fact that all of the greens were picked that day from my vegetable garden, whatever the reason, this dish was the most satisfying I have cooked in weeks!

Ingredients:

1 bunch baby bok choy or other suitable Asian green
1 bunch of roquette
1 handful of fresh mint
1 bunch of coriander (roughly chopped)
1/2 red capsicum (finely sliced)
1/2 red onion (finely sliced)
1cup of warm cooked rice
4 fillets of salmon

Dressing:

Juice of one lime
1/4 cup of stir-fry sauce (see previous post)
Drizzle of olive oil
1 teaspoon of chilli flakes

Method:

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees

Mix the first seven ingredients in a bowl allowing the warm rice to wilt the greens.

Mix the ingredients for the dressing together and set aside until just before serving.

Cook the salmon filets in a hot pan for 1 minute each side, then pop them in the oven for a further 4-5 minutes.

Dress your salad, pile it on your plates and top with a salmon filet.

I do hope you enjoy this dish as much as I did.

My Chocolate Mud Cake

To date, chocolate mud-cakes have always been rather disappointing to me. they are either too dense, too rich, not rich enough or unforgivably dry! I know I may sound hard to please but if I am going to eat chocolate cake then I want it to be better than just having a piece of chocolate.

This is a recipe that I have worked on for a while and every time it is served it is met with an unusual amount of praise, so the people have spoken, here is a chocolate mud cake recipe that you can expect to impress. There is however a condition to success with this recipe, you must not overcook it!

Ingredients:
250g Good Quality dark chocolate
250 g butter
1 1/2 cups of water
2 level teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda
3 heaped tablespoons of cocoa
2 cups of caster sugar
2 cups of plain flour
3 heaped teaspoons baking powder
4 eggs

Preheat your oven to 150 degrees C.

Grease and line a medium springform cake tin.

In a saucepan put the butter (cubed), cocoa, chocolate, bicarb and water. Allow all ingredients to melt over a low heat then continue to heat the mixture until you get frothy bubbles as you stir.

In a large mixing bowl combined the flour, sugar and baking powder. Pour the chocolate larva over the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Mix in one egg at a time then pour the batter into your lined cake tin and bake on the lowest shelf for about 50 mins to an hour. the trick with this cake is to bake it until it has now wobble in it and will bounce back when tapped with your finger but don't cook it until a skewer comes out clean. the centre of the cake will set as it cools but will remain moist and sticky.

I recommend icing this cake with a chocolate ganache.

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Stirfry Sauce

I was asked by my brother recently how to make a stir-fry sauce, he's not as obsessive in the kitchen as I so I thought it best to share my simple recipe that can be made in advance and stored in the fridge until required.

Ingredients:

1 heaped teaspoon of chilli jam (or chutney)
1 clove of grated raw garlic
1 heaped teaspoon of palm sugar chopped or grated
1 heaped teaspoon of a grated ginger
soy sauce (amount will vary depending what size jar you are using
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
boiling water
1 large sterilised jar

Method:

this sauce is brilliantly easy, just pop the first four ingredients into a sterilised jar then pour soy sauce into the jar until it reached 1/3 of the way up the jar. pour in the sesame oil then fill the jar with boiling water. pop the lid on the jar/s then give it a shake until you can see that all of the sugar has dissolved.

this recipe is a basic one you can spice it up any way you want, some fresh coriander and chilli is always  a popular addition.

I make several jars up at a time as chicken cashew nut is a favorite in my house and this sauce is perfect for it.

Banana and Pecan Bread

With these colder days persisting I couldn’t resist the temptation of baking a beautiful banana bread to warm us all up and put a smile back on our faces. I make many versions of banana bread but this one is perhaps the most wholesome. I know that bananas are about one million dollars per kilo at the moment but I have thankfully got an ample supply in the freezer. I always put the bananas that have gone brown into a container in the freezer so that they are there for whenever the urge to bake takes over me. Aside from being frugal, the frozen bananas tend to produce the best banana bread.

I baked these ones in little muffin cases which makes them easier to pop into lunchboxes but also gives them a shorter cooking time. If you want to bake this recipe in a loaf tin you need to reduce the heat to 160°C and bake them it for a little longer

Ingredients:

½ cup macadamia oil

6 bananas

3 heaped tablespoons of brown sugar

1 tablespoon golden syrup

2 cups wholemeal flour

1 cup plain flour

2 heaped teaspoons of baking powder

1 level teaspoon of bicarb soda

1 cup pecan pieces

Sesame seeds and slivered almonds for decorating

Method:

First you need to defrost your bananas by either leaving them at room temperature for a while or heating them in a little saucepan on a low heat until they become soft. Once your bananas are soft, mash them up then stir in your brown sugar, golden syrup and macadamia oil. Pour your flours, bicarb soda and baking powder into a separate large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour the wet banana mix slowly into the flour mix until it is all mixed together. Fold through the pecan pieces. Spoon the mix into 12 muffin cases and sprinkle with sesame seeds and slivered almonds.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 30 mins or until golden brown and the muffin bounces back when tapped on the top. Don’t be tempted to test these with a skewer because they will remain quite soft inside but if you cook until the skewer is dry you will get a horrible dry muffin or bread. This banana bread is great toasted with butter and it is just as good when served at room temperature with a beautifuly warming cup of tea or coffee.

Uber Chocolate Cookie

I have witnessed first hand that these cookies can make people week at the knees so please use them wisely. These cookies when cooked well are moist, chewy, sticky, chocolaty and delicious......they are a must for any chocoholic.

This recipe is not for those watching their weight and please don't try to alter the quantities on this recipe as the result will vary dramatically. These cookies are for moments of pure indulgence.

so here is the recipe, this is quite a large batch so you could halve it if you like.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
3 cups caster sugar
250g butter
2 tbsp cocoa
2 cups mixed choc chips
2 eggs

Method:

Mix flour and sugar in a bowl.

Melt butter and cocoa together over a low heat.

Pour melted butter over dry ingredients and stir. Add eggs and mix until combined then mix through the choc chips.

Roll the mix into balls and give them a little squash down. bake them in a preheated oven on about 160 degrees for around 20 minutes. you will notice that the whole top of the cookie will have changed to a paler colour when they are done. you should let them cool a little before serving otherwise they just fall apart but they are delicious still warm.

Lamb Shanks with Guinness Gravy

If you want to cook your way into a man’s heart this winter, this may be the dish. There is nothing quite like a slow cooked dish on a cold night to warm the heart of almost anyone.

Ingredients:

1 x leek finely diced

2 x carrots finely diced

2 x cloves of garlic finely diced

1 x 375ml can of Guinness

2 lamb shanks (frenched)

4 kipfler potatoes

3 sprigs of rosemary

3 sprigs of thyme

Salt and pepper

About 2 cups of water

Some flour for dusting

Method:

Dust the lamb shanks in flour using a plastic bag. Heat a pan until it is nice and hot then add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and start browning the lamb shanks.

Once the lamb shanks are beautiful and golden all over remove them from the pan and add a little more olive oil. Now toss in all of the diced vegetables and cook them until they have softened. Pour in the Guinness and bring it to the boil. Now is a good time to season to taste.

Put your lamb shanks in a small but deep baking dish or casserole dish. The dish should just fit the lamb shanks and washed potatoes in it without having an abundance of room (otherwise you will need to use more liquid). Arrange the lamb shanks, potatoes and herbs in the dish and pour over the Guinness mix. It is likely that the lamb will still be sticking out of the liquid a bit so add some boiling water until the lamb is just covered. If you are using a casserole dish then just put a piece of baking paper on top of the Guinness stock and put on the casserole lid, for all other dishes use some baking paper then cover it with foil to keep the moisture in.

This needs to be cooked for 3 hours at 150 degrees, you can take it out half way to check it and turn the lamb shanks if you like but it won’t ruin the dish if you don’t.

I served the potatoes and shanks in a large bowl and used the Guinness and lamb stock to make gravy. You could serve the shanks on mash and just pour some of the stock over the whole meal, it really depends on how thick you would like the sauce.

ENJOY