Eat, Fast and Live Longer. A 5-2 Fast Diet Recipe Idea Under 200 Calories. Savoury Zucchini And Bacon Muffins.

Posted on June 9, 2014 by thepaddingtonfoodie

Savoury Zucchini And Bacon Muffins

One of the keys to a  successful fast day most definitely lies in portion control. On fast days I like to eat well, concentrating on healthy, flavoursome food but find I need to keep a vigilant eye on how much food I pile onto my plate. Today, my fast day Monday falls on the tail end of a long weekend and I’m craving  a tasty eggy morsel for brunch. One thing I have learnt through this sporadic 5-2 journey is that eggs, rich in protein, do fill me up and  help curb my appetite throughout the day.

Enter these delicious little savoury  zucchini and bacon muffins. It is no accident that they bear more than a passing resemblance to that ubiquitous Australian Country Women’s Association stalwart  – the zucchini slice.  That’s exactly what they are. Little  ‘zucchini slice’ muffins reinvented as a fast day meal idea. Retro? Perhaps. But in its hey day this much loved slice was a household staple in many a home cook’s recipe repertoire. Eaten hot or cold, served with salad as a main or on its own as a side, leftovers often gracing school lunch boxes.

Initially I toyed with the idea of playing around with the original recipe to produce a much lower calorie offering but to be brutally honest sacrificing the oil and reducing the quantity of cheese and flour produces an altogether different result in texture and taste. So my original family recipe stands bulked up with just a tad more grated zucchini. Big on flavour, baked as little portion control muffins they are delicate and light, puffing up like gorgeous little soufflés.  Made as a slice it’s way too tempting to visit the tin and surreptitiously nibble away at little slivers so I baked mine as little muffins in  a half cup capacity friand tray. Each not so guilty pleasure accounting for just 157 calories.  Delicious on their own or served with a substantial serve of salad for a satisfyingly healthy fast day meal.

Savoury Zucchini And Bacon Muffins
Makes 15 muffins (157 calories per serve)

6 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided (720 calories)
1 large onion, finely chopped (60 calories)
1 clove garlic (4 calories)
100g rindless short cut bacon, chopped (200 calories)
3 medium  (500g) zucchini, (85 calories)
1 cup (125g) grated cheddar cheese (455 calories)
5 eggs (375 calories)
1 cup (125g)  self-raising flour, sifted (455 calories)
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

PREHEAT oven to 180°C. Grease 15 holes of two friand or muffin trays. I used trays with 1/2 cup capacity holes, and also lined the bases of each hole with a circle of baking paper to ensure the muffins wouldn’t stick. Alternatively line a 30 x 20cm lamington tin to bake as a  slice.
GRATE unpeeled zucchini coarsely, finely chop onion and bacon.
HEAT 2 tablespoons oil in a large non-stick frying pan over high heat. Add the onion, garlic and bacon and cook for 5 minutes until onions are soft and translucent.
MEANWHILE beat eggs in a large bowl with a generous pinch of sea salt and grinding of pepper.
ADD the flour and beat until smooth, then add the onion, bacon and garlic mixture with the grated zucchini, cheese and remaining 4 tablespoons oil. Stir well to combine.
SPOON mixture evenly into the prepared muffin or friand tins and bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. A skewer inserted into the middle should come out clean. If baking as a slice pour mixture into the lamington tin and bake in oven for 40-45 minutes until cooked through.
COOL in the tins before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Posted in Breakfast, Small Bites, What I Love to Cook | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Ultimate Winter Warmer. Roast Chicken And Root Vegetable Couscous. Ottolenghi Style.

Posted on June 6, 2014 by thepaddingtonfoodie

What a difference a week makes. The temperatures have well and truly dropped with a forecast week of unrelenting rain. Just in time for the Long Weekend. No matter we will be gathering around our dining table to tuck into  this vibrantly hued  platter of roast chicken and root vegetables. Ottolenghi style. Evoking the  flavours of a  Moroccan spice bazaar. Flecked with tart nuggets of preserved lemons and a generous drizzle of warming harissa paste, it’s served with a rich saffron infused couscous. Radiating sunshine on an otherwise cold and dreary day.

Originally conceived by Yotam Ottolenghi as a vegetarian  meal in his recipe for Ultimate Winter Couscous (as published in the Guardian in 2008), I’ve simply added a butterflied chicken to the tray of root vegetables as they roast. The result is stunning. A modern Moroccan take on  a classic  favourite Australian roast. Very easy to prepare despite the long list of spice ingredients. Ottolenghi’s recipes can always be relied upon to provide layer upon layer of amazing flavour, created by a masterful combination of herbs and spices. This whole platter of deliciousness can be on the table in just over an  hour. All the work is in the peeling and dicing of the vegetables. The oven does the rest. Best of all it’s a two pot meal, one for the chicken and vegetables and the other for the couscous so clearing up afterwards is a breeze.

Roast Chicken And Root Vegetable Couscous. Ottolenghi Style.
Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi’s  recipe for Ultimate Winter Couscous as printed in The Guardian Satuday 16 February 2008
Serves 4 – 6  hungry people

To Prepare Roast Chicken And Root Vegetables
1 x 1.25 kg free range chicken, backbone removed and butterflied
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
8 shallots, peeled
2 cinnamon sticks
4 star anise
3 bay leaves
4 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon hot paprika
¼ teaspoon chilli flakes
1 teaspoon sea salt
300g pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
100g dried apricots, roughly chopped
200g chickpeas (canned or freshly cooked)
350ml chickpea cooking liquid and/or water

To Prepare Couscous
170g (1 cup) couscous
1 tablespoon olive oil
large pinch of saffron threads
260ml boiling chicken or vegetable stock
20g butter, broken into pieces
sea salt

To Serve
25g harissa paste, recipe follows or use commercially prepared
25g preserved lemon skin, finely chopped
30g coriander leaves
sea salt

PREHEAT  oven to 190°C.
PLACE butterflied chicken carrots, parsnips and shallots in a large oven proof dish.
Add the cinnamon sticks, star anise, bay leaves,  oil, and all the other spices and mix well to coat the ingredients.
ENSURE the butterflied chicken lies flat in the centre of the dish and arrange vegetables in an even layer around  it. Place in the oven and cook for an initial 15 minutes.
ADD the pumpkin, stir and return to the oven. Continue cooking for about 35 minutes, by which time the vegetables should have softened while retaining a bite.
ADD the dried apricots and the chickpeas with their cooking liquid and/or water. Return to the oven and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until hot.
ABOUT 15 minutes before the vegetables are ready, put the couscous in a large heatproof bowl with a tablespoon olive oil, the saffron and ½ teaspoon salt. Pour the boiling stock over the couscous. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave for about 10 minutes. Then add the butter and fluff up the couscous with a fork until the butter melts in. Cover again and leave somewhere warm.
TO SERVE, spoon couscous into a deep plate or bowl. Stir the harissa and preserved lemon into the vegetables; taste and add salt if needed. Spoon the vegetables onto the centre of the couscous. Chop the chicken into eight pieces and arrange around the roasted vegetables. Finish with plenty of coriander leaves, a little more finely diced preserved lemon and harissa paste.

Fresh Harissa Paste
Makes 2-3 tablespoons 

4 long fresh red chillies
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon olive oil

HALVE chillies and finely chop.
COMBINE  chilli, garlic, salt, cumin, coriander, and olive oil in a mortar and use a pestle to pound until a smooth paste forms.

Posted in Poultry, What I Love to Cook | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

No Cake Decorating Required. All In One Berry and Almond Cupcakes With A Baked Meringue Topping.

Posted on June 4, 2014 by thepaddingtonfoodie

Raspberry and Almond Cupcakes With Baked Meringue Topping 3

Lately I’ve embarked on a spate of baking. With the cooler weather there seems to be a never ending demand for cake. For school lunch boxes, cake stalls, afternoon teas and bring a plate get togethers. Whatever the request a tray of freshly baked cupcakes usually does the trick. Quick and easy to whip up with a minimum of fuss. Although I will admit decorating them has always been my particular achilles heel.

Raspberry and Almond Cupcakes With Baked Meringue Topping

To sidestep the problem I have embraced the philosophy of less is more. Naked cakes adorned with nothing more than a lazy dusting of sifted icing sugar or a sweet syrup glaze. Occasionally for something a little fancier I’ll go all out  with a piping bag and lashings of butter cream, although I much prefer the simplicity of a  dollop of melted chocolate to anchor sprinklings of hundreds and thousands or cachous. Then there’s this glorious idea. No cake decorating required.  All in one berry cupcakes baked with a blanket of meringue and a scattering of flaked almonds.

Raspberry and Almond Cupcakes With Baked Meringue Topping 2

Raspberry and Almond Cupcakes With A  Baked Meringue Topping

Makes 12 Cupcakes
Note: one standard Australian cup holds 250ml

For the Cupcakes
200 grams unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 whole eggs plus 2 egg yolks
1 1/3 cups self raising flour
2/3 cup almond meal
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup raspberries, thawed if frozen

For the Meringue Topping
2 egg whites
1/2 cup caster sugar
generous pinch of cream of tartar
1/4 cup flaked almonds
2 tablespoons brown sugar

PREHEAT oven to 160 C. Line a muffin pan with 12 paper cases.
CREAM butter, sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl until very light and fluffy.
BEAT in eggs one at a time until well combined.
FOLD in flour and almond meal with just enough milk to achieve a batter of dropping consistency.
WHISK the egg whites in a small bowl until soft peaks form. Add sugar, one tablespoonful at a time until the mixture is thick and glossy. Fold through a generous pinch of cream of tartar to stabilize the meringue.
SPOON the cupcake batter  evenly into the paper cases, filing each case until about two thirds full.
SCATTER over a few raspberries, then spread over an even layer of meringue mixture. Sprinkle with flaked almonds and brown sugar.
BAKE  in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cupcakes comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Posted in Baked, Sweet Treats, What I Love to Cook | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Eat, Fast And Live Longer. A 5-2 Fast Day Idea Under 100 Calories. Lemon, Mint and Cucumber Infusion With Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted on June 2, 2014 by thepaddingtonfoodie
https://thepaddingtonfoodie.com/2014/06/02/eat-fast-and-live-longer-a-5-2-fast-day-idea-under-100-calories-lemon-mint-and-cucumber-infusion-with-apple-cider-vinegar/

One of the keys to surviving a fast day is to remain well hydrated. Drinking plenty of water is important to keep your system flushed, and any gnawing hunger pangs or headaches at bay. Since embarking on the 5-2 diet I have discovered that often I resort to mindless eating, not because I’m hungry per se but more likely craving some sort of flavour hit. To avert the problem I’ve taken to preparing jugs of water for my fast days,  infused with lemon, mint and cucumber. Served over ice with a few drops of apple cider vinegar. A very clever infusion with loads of fresh, tangy flavour and virtually no calories to speak of.

Even better this healthy, sugar free infusion is also very, very good for you. Lemon stimulates and regulates the digestive tract, cucumber helps flush out toxins, mint adds flavour and aids digestion, whilst apple cider vinegar amplifies the detoxifying process. Lately I’ve taken to thinking of my fast days as goddess days. An opportunity to re-energise, eat gorgeously healthy calorie restricted meals that hopefully go some of the way towards cancelling out any excesses of the remainder of the week. I try to drink an entire litre jug of this infusion before noon on a fast day and find it easily fills me up and distracts me from my mindless eating. Leaving room for a small early afternoon snack and a more substantial fast day evening meal.

Lemon, Mint and Cucumber Infusion With Apple Cider Vinegar
Makes 1 litre (calories negligible)

1 x 1.2 litre jug
4 cups cold filtered water
1 lemon or substitute 2 limes or use a combination of both
1 small lebanese cucumber
6 mint leaves
Ice and apple cider vinegar to serve

SCRUB lemon and cucumber well before slicing. Rinse the mint leaves.
SLICE  the cucumber into long thin ribbons with av vegetable peeler.
USE a sharp knife to very thinly slice the lemon.
ADD lemons, cucumber, and mint to the jug.. Cover with water, refrigerate and allow to infuse for at least 4 hours or overnight.
TO SERVE, pour into large glass over ice with a few drops of apple cider vinegar.

Posted in What I Love to Drink | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

From The Asian Herb Garden. Malaysian Beef And Potato Curry.

Posted on May 31, 2014 by thepaddingtonfoodie

This Sunday heralds the beginning of winter. Hard to fathom with our warm weather and blue sunny skies. It’s still t-shirt weather, our winter coats are hanging in the very back of our cupboards waiting for that elusive cold snap. As  much as we love our barbecues and salads we’re looking forward to embracing slow cooked soups, curries and braises. A changing of the guard as our seasons slowly segue from a long Indian summer into what is shaping up to be a very mild winter.

Last Sunday I was invited to attend the Paddington Community Garden’s May Harvest Meal. Tucked away behind Trumper Park, it’s a thriving oasis of individual and communal plots producing an enviable array of organic fruits, vegetables and herbs. This month’s focus? The harvesting of the gorgeous bounty of the Asian herb garden; chilli, lemongrass, ginger, galangal and turmeric. I often use these ingredients, freshly purchased from the markets, in curries and stir fries but have never had the opportunity to cook with them plucked straight from a garden plot.

Chilli, lemongrass, ginger, galangal and turmeric lend themselves perfectly to a rich and fragrant beef and potato curry. My contribution to the harvest meal. Prepared from scratch.  Malaysian style.  The garden fresh herbs peeled, sliced and pounded before being  combined with an earthy spice mix of freshly toasted cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. There is something enormously satisfying about preparing your own spice paste. Gorgeously aromatic, it’s infinitely superior to anything you can buy off the shelf, and can be a little different each time you make it allowing for both seasonal availability of the herbs and spices and any personal tastes and preferences.

For a magnificent curry all the work is in the creation of the curry paste; the building and balancing of many layers of  fragrant flavours and spice.  Traditionally, each ingredient was amalgamated by hand with nothing more than a mortar and pestle. Today our modern food processors make short shrift of all the pounding.  It’s then just a matter of gathering the remainder of your ingredients  for a long leisurely braise in a slow cooker or dutch oven.  Guaranteed to provide a tender, melt in your mouth result for very little further effort.

As I prefer to prepare my curry in a slow cooker, allowing me the freedom to go about my day while dinner looks after itself, there are a couple of idiosyncrasies to this recipe I should probably point out. This recipe by virtue of it’s long cooking time lends itself perfectly to cheaper cuts of meat. I like to use chuck steak as I find it to be more flavoursome. As slow cookers have tightly sealed lids they require the addition of less liquid than curries cooked on the stove top. The coconut cream should just cover the meat and potatoes and amount needed will vary a little depending on the size and shape of your pot. Using toasted and ground coconut will act as a natural thickener for the curry. If the curry seems too liquid, remove the lid half an hour or so before the end of cooking time or add a little more toasted and ground coconut. Balance the spiciness of the curry with chilli, the sweetness with palm or brown sugar, saltiness with soy sauce and sourness with lime.

Malaysian Beef and Potato Curry

Dry spices for the curry powder
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon chilli powder
6 black peppercorns
10 whole cloves
4 whole cardamom

Fresh ingredients for the curry paste
3 stalks lemongrass
5cm length fresh galangal
5cm length ginger
2cm length turmeric
6 large cloves garlic
6 – 8 red chillies
6 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 kg chuck steak, cubed
750g small chat potatoes, scrubbed and cut in half
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 red onions
6 shallots
6 kaffir leaves, rolled and thinly sliced
¾ turmeric leaf, rolled and finely chopped (optional)
2 whole chillies
2 star anise
2 cups coconut milk
1 cup desiccated coconut
3 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon soft dark sugar or shaved palm sugar

DRY ROAST AND GRIND THE SPICES
Place peppercorns, cloves and cardamom in a hot wok and dry roast until fragrant. Remove from heat and add the ground coriander, cumin, cinnamon and chilli. Stir to combine. The residual heat of the wok will darken the ground spices and release their aroma. Transfer to a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, and grind until smooth.

PREPARE THE FRESH CURRY PASTE INGREDIENTS 
Remove the outer tough leaves from the lemongrass. Cut off bottom 8-10 cm from the stalks and slice finely. Reserve the remainder of the stalks to add to the curry as it cooks.
Peel and finely slice the galangal, ginger and garlic.
Peel the turmeric and using a micro plane grate coarsely. Be careful when using turmeric as it stains hands and benches easily.
De-seed chillies and remove white membrane if you prefer less heat. Slice roughly.
In a food processor or mortar and pestle, process or grind lemongrass, galangal, ginger, garlic, chilies and oil until smooth, adding a little water as needed

PREPARE THE CURRY
COMBINE the dry roasted spice mixture with the fresh curry paste in a large glass or ceramic bowl. Add the beef and toss well. Leave to marinate for at least an hour, overnight in the refrigerator is best.
HEAT wok over low heat and toast the coconut until golden. Grind in a mortar, blender or food processor and set aside.
COOK the onions and shallots slowly in oil until soft and translucent; about 20 minutes.
PLACE in crock pot with curry paste marinated beef, potatoes, coconut milk, ground toasted coconut, lemon grass stalks, star anise, whole chillies, finely sliced lime and turmeric leaves, soy sauce and brown sugar.
COOK on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours. Leave lid off for last half hour to thicken the sauce if it is too liquid. If you don’t have a slow cooker, finish this in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot with a lid in a 140 C oven for about four hours, until the meat is very tender and falling apart.
WHEN ready to serve discard whole chillies, star anise and lemon grass stalks. Taste and adjust seasoning with soy, palm sugar, chilli and lime as necessary. Ladle into bowls over steamed rice.

Posted in Beef, Marinades, Pastes and Dressings, What I Love to Cook | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Secret Indulgences. Little Lemon And Almond Tea Cakes With Drizzle Icing.

Posted on May 28, 2014 by thepaddingtonfoodie
https://thepaddingtonfoodie.com/2014/05/28/secret-indulgences-little-lemon-and-almond-tea-cakes-with-drizzle-icing/

Rummaging through my cupboards this morning searching for muffin tins I came across my mini bundt tray. It’s been quite a while since they’ve seen the light of day, probably not since last winter when I used them to bake Little Apple and Olive Oil Tea Cakes. Ottolenghi Style. They say that great things come in small packages and I must definitely agree. There is something undeniably elegant about these little lemon and almond cakes. Baked in cute mini bundt tins. Finished with a drizzle of icing. My secret, not so guilty, indulgence. A mere whisper of deliciousness, inhaled in just two bites.

Little Lemon And Almond Tea Cakes With Drizzle Icing
Makes 12 mini bundt cakes

11/3 cups self raising flour
1 cup almond meal
2/3 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1 cup thick greek style yoghurt
150ml olive oil
zest 1  lemon
icing sugar to dust

For The Drizzle Icing
juice of ½ a lemon
1 cup icing sugar

PREHEAT oven to 170 C fan-forced. Grease and flour a 12 hole mini bundt tin, tapping out any excess flour.
SIFT flour into a medium sized mixing bowl. Stir through almond meal, sugar and baking powder.
WHISK together eggs, yoghurt, olive oil and lemon zest in a jug.
POUR wet ingredients over dry, stirring well with a wooden spoon to combine.
SPOON batter evenly into the mini bundt tin, until about three quarters full When filled tap the tin gently on the kitchen bench to distribute the batter and smooth the top with a palette knife. Any excess batter left over after filling the bundt tin (this will depend on the size of your tin) can be poured into a lined muffin tin.
BAKE  for 20 –  25 minutes, middle oven rack position, or until a skewer inserted into the cakes comes out clean.
REMOVE from the oven, allow to cool in the tin a little before transferring onto wire rack to cool completely.  Give each of the teacakes a little twist to help release them from from the mini bundt tin.
COMBINE lemon juice and icing sugar until smooth and white, add a little more icing sugar if needed. Make sure your tea cakes are completely cool before drizzling with the glaze.

Posted in Baked, What I Love to Cook | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Eat, Fast and Live Longer. A 5-2 Recipe Idea Under 400 Calories. Lions Head Meatballs With Bok Choy and Shitake Mushrooms.

Posted on May 26, 2014 by thepaddingtonfoodie
https://thepaddingtonfoodie.com/2014/05/26/eat-fast-and-live-longer-a-5-2-recipe-idea-under-400-calories-lions-head-meatballs-with-bok-choy-and-shitake-mushrooms/

Meatballs are a perennial favourite in our house, managing to hit the spot with each family member. No mean feat considering the pickiness of their individual palates and food preferences. Fast days always throw up a particularly interesting challenge,  my needs for a delicious, satisfying calorie restricted meal versus theirs to quell ravenous appetites. I really do not want to resort to preparing two entirely different meals and usually look to the middle ground. Something that can be padded out with a substantial side serving of carbohydate for them, and prepared in sufficiently large quantities that they can help themselves to a second serving.

This week there was a request for meatballs. Apparently its been an age since I’ve made them, certainly not since the middle of last spring before our long Indian summer set in. Next week marks the official beginning of our winter and this weekend we enjoyed temperatures of 27 C.  One of our winter staples are Italian polpette cooked in a rich tomato sauce.

Today I’ve turned to lighter Chinese style pork meatballs, cooked in a mushroom infused broth and served with steamed baby bok choy. With a few clever variations it transforms into a fabulous fast day take on the classic Shanghainese Lion’s Head Meatballs, so named because the meatballs are said to represent a lion”s head and the bok choy its flowing mane. At only 396 calories per four meatball serve it’s a satisfyingly delicious fast day dinner. Supplemented with plenty of fragrant steamed basmati rice it also does double duty as a brilliant family meal.

Lions Head Meatballs With Bok Choy and Shitake Mushrooms
Serves 4 (396 calories per each 4 meatball serve)

1 tablespoon peanut oil (120 calories)
100g shitake mushroons, stalks removed and sliced (28 calories)
2 cups (500ml) chicken stock (40 calories)
8 small heads baby bok choy, leaves separated (40 calories)

For The Meatballs
500g lean pork mince (815 calories)
250g veal mince (350 calories)
2 cloves garlic, minced (8 calories)
3 cm length fresh ginger, minced (5 calories)
4 long green spring onions, finely sliced (20 calories)
1/2 tablespoon crushed dried chilli flakes (12 calories)
1/2 teaspoon white pepper (2 calories)
2 tablespoons light soy sauce (18 calories)
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine (9 calories)
1 egg, beaten (75 calories)
1 heaped tablespoon of cornflour (40 calories)

PLACE all the meatball ingredients  into a large bowl and mix together with your hands until well combined. Taking generous tablespoonfuls of  the mixture at a time, shape into 16 balls about the size of golf balls.
HEAT a tablespoon of olive oil in an extra-large frying pan for which you have a lid. Sear the meatballs over a medium heat, turning them until they are brown all over – this will take about 5 – 10 minutes.
PUSH the meatballs to the side of the frying pan, add the sliced shitake mushrooms. Sauté quickly until brown and crisp then stir gently to combine with the meatballs.
POUR in chicken stock and bring to the boil before reducing heat to low and covering the pan with a lid. Simmer  gently for 20 minutes. Uncover. Taste the broth and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
PLACE the separated bok choy leaves in an even layer over the meatballs. There should be plenty of broth remaining to steam the bok choy.
COVER  and allow to steam for about 10 minutes until the leaves have wilted and the stems are tender.
TO SERVE  place bok choy in an even layer over the base of a serving bowl. Place meatballs on top and spoon over the shitake mushrooms and a little broth. The meatballs are said to represent the lion”s head and the bok choy the flowing mane.

Posted in Pork, What I Love to Cook | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Eat, Fast and Live Longer. A 5-2 Recipe Idea Under 400 Calories. Lions Head Meatballs With Bok Choy and Shitake Mushrooms.

Layers Of Sweetness And Crunch. Pistachio and Walnut Baklava With Lemon and Cardamom.

Posted on May 23, 2014 by thepaddingtonfoodie
https://thepaddingtonfoodie.com/2014/05/23/layers-of-sweetness-and-crunch-pistachio-and-walnut-baklava-with-lemon-and-cardamom/

I’ve always loved baklava. Layers of crisp impossibly light flaky pastry studded with a crunchy spiced nut mixture. Soaked  in fragrant sweet syrup. For years satiating my cravings for baklava were easy with a quick trip to a Greek, Turkish or Lebanese bakery. I’d always imagined that assembling a baklava would be painstaking and time consuming. Handling all those fragile layers of whisper thin filo pastry. Fretting over an even crisp bake.

Sometimes the anticipation is worse than the reality. With almost a whole package of filo pastry sitting in the fridge waiting to be used following last week’s Shredded Filo Pastry Topped Pot Pies my opportunity to step outside my comfort zone had arrived. Waste not want not as my mother used to say. With crisp freshly roasted nuts making an early debut at the markets, and the lemon season well and truly in full swing, a baklava was definitely in the offing.

This first attempt was surprisingly therapeutic. An easy rhythm of  buttering and layering of  filo sheets, interrupted every now and then with a scattering of  heady lemon and cardamom spiced nuts  Assembled in less than twenty minutes, al fresco in the sunshine of my back deck this afternoon. Baked to crisp and  golden perfection before being drenched in a luscious gin spiked syrup. The result? Layers of  irresistibly decadent sweetness and crunch. A new and most welcome addition to my Autumn baking repertoire.

Pistachio and Walnut Baklava With Lemon and Cardamom
Makes 18 pieces

For The Baklava
150g unsalted pistachio nuts, chopped
150g unsalted walnuts,
100g caster sugar
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 x 375g packet filo pastr, completely thawed if frozen (l use Antoniou brand from the chiller section of the supermarket or delicatessen)
200g  (about 1 cup) butter, melted

For The Lemon Syrup
200g caster sugar
200ml water
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
30ml gin (optional)

PREHEAT oven to 170 C. Butter a 20cm x 20cm baking dish.
PLACE the pistachios, walnuts, caster sugar, cardamom and lemon zest into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until nuts are coarsely chopped. Set aside.
UNROLL filo and cut the entire stack of  pastry to fit the base of the baking dish. Discard any trimmings. A 375 packet of Antoniou brand filo  contains approximately 20 sheets. Halving the stack provides 40 sheets that will fit a 20cm x 20cm dish nicely. I use about 28 sheets of filo to make my baklava depending on how generously I scatter the filling between layers. Any unused filo pastry sheets should be rolled up and sealed tightly back into a plastic bag, placed back in the packet and returned to the refrigerator as soon as you have finished using it.
COVER stack of filo sheets with a damp cloth while assembling the baklava, to prevent them from  drying out.
PLACE four sheets of filo into the bottom of the baking dish, brushing lightly with butter between each layer.
SPRINKLE  2 ttablespoons of the nut mixture evenly over the buttered sheets.
TAKE another two sheets of filo pastry, place over the nut mixture brushing each sheet lightly with butter as you work.
REPEAT layering two sheets of buttered filo to one layer of nut mixture until all the filling has been used. The top layer should be 6 sheets thick, each sheet being individually buttered.
USING a sharp knife, cut baklava (all the way through to the bottom of the dish) into nine squares. Slice each square diagonally to make 18 triangles. pour over any remaining butter
BAKE in preheated  170 C oven for 30 -40 minutes, until golden and crisp.
WHIlLE baklava is baking, combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Stir in lemon juice and zest, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes until the syrup has thickened. Remove from heat and stir in gin if using.
REMOVE the baklava from the oven and immediately spoon the syrup over it. Let cool completely before serving. Store at room temperature for up to a week in an air tight container (if it lasts that long).

Posted in Baked, Small Bites, Sweet Treats, What I Love to Cook | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Breakfast To Go. Toasted Steel Cut Oats With Apple Compote and Brown Sugar Walnuts.

Posted on May 21, 2014 by thepaddingtonfoodie

Steel Cut Oats With Apple Compote and Brown Sugar Walnuts

Steel cut oats have just entered my universe and they are fantastic. Luxurious and comforting, a bowl of warming oats never tasted so good. With winter just around the corner I’ve been on the lookout for an easy, portable breakfast solution to accommodate my daughter’s regular 5 am swim squad starts. Over the spring and summer a ready supply of overnight bircher muesli topped with an ever changing variety of fresh fruit filled the brief. Grab and go. Easy and delicious. Last winter rolled oats were the order of the day, but stored in a heated thermos over a couple of hours had a tendency to become a little grey and gluggy.

Steel Cut Oats Vs Rolled Oats

Enter gorgeously creamy steel cut oats, sometimes also known as Irish  or pin head oats,. Like rolled oats they are milled from whole grain oats but processed very differently.  Rolled oats, as their name suggests, are steamed, rolled, then steamed again before being toasted until they form thin flakes. Steel cut oats are made by cutting the kernels or ‘oat groats’ into neat little pieces with steel blades until they resemble small grains. Because of their small size and shape they take a little longer to cook than regular rolled oats.About half an hour. On the flip side, however, they retain a more robust texture and flavour when cooked, and easily withstand being prepared ahead and reheated in the early morning without disintegrating into an unpalatable gloop as they sit in a thermos, waiting for squad training to end. If anything they seem to become richer and creamier after a quick blast in the microwave and retain heat well.

Steel Cut Oats Prepared Ahead

So much so I’ve taken to making a big batch on Sunday evenings and storing a whole week’s supply in jars in the fridge. Toasting oats in a little butter before simmering  in a mixture of salted water and milk gives the cooked oats a lovely nutty, roasted flavour. All that’s required on a weekday morning is a quick reheat with a little milk served with whatever topping takes our fancy.  At its simplest perhaps a basic sprinkling of crunchy demerara sugar or drizzle of honey or syrup. At its most decadent a dazzling array of fruit compotes, nuts and sometimes even flakes of deep, dark chocolate.  Today we settled on an apple compote made of new season granny smith apples, their natural tartness offset by sweet brown sugar coated walnuts. Perfect fuel for a swimmer post an early morning squad session. Breakfast to go never tasted so good.

Steel Cut Oats For Breakfast

Toasted Steel Cut Oats With Apple Compote and Brown Sugar Walnuts.

For The Oats
Makes 4-5 serves

1 tablespoon butter
1 cup steel-cut oats
3 cups freshly boiled water
generous pinch sea salt flakes
1 cup milk

MELT butter in a heavy based saucepan over medium heat. Add the oats and toast for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden.
ADD hot water and salt. Reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally.for 15-20 minutes. Oats should be tender but retain a little bite.
STIR in  milk. Cover and cook for a further 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
REMOVE from heat. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before spooning into a clean, dry wide mouthed jar. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
TO SERVE, simply reheat a half to one cup portion of the oats. Spoon over apple compote and brown sugar walnuts, or the topping of your choice

For The Apple Compote

4 large granny smith apples, peeled, cored and quartered
2 tablespoons water
long strip of lemon rind
3 tablespoons sugar
juice of 1 lemon

SLICE the apples into even sized chunks and place in a heavy based saucepan with the long strip of lemon and water.
COVER the saucepan and cook the apples over over medium heat until the mixture is bubbling. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally,  for about 8 minutes until the apple slices are just beginning to dissolve and become fluffy.
STIR in sugar and lemon juice. Cover and simmer for a further 5 or so minutes until the apple breaks down but still has some texture. Taste the mixture, adding more sugar if required.
REMOVE from heat. Discard the strip of lemon rind, then leave to cool before spooning into a clean, dry jar. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

For The Brown Sugar Walnuts

1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 cups walnuts

PREHEAT oven to 170 C. Line an oven tray with baking paper.
COMBINE sugar and vinegar in small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Add nuts; toss  until well coated.
SPOON in an even layer over prepared oven tray.
BAKE until nuts are golden and crisp stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
REMOVE from oven. Cool completely on tray before breaking apart. Store in an airtight container.

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Eat, Fast and Live Longer. A 5-2 Fast Diet Recipe Idea Under 200 Calories. Hearty Minestrone Soup With Bacon And Pasta

Posted on May 19, 2014 by thepaddingtonfoodie

Hearty Minestrone With Bacon And Pasta

Another Monday. Another fast day. With the definite arrival of  cooler weather I’m settling into a rather  easy pattern of putting  soup on the dinner table on Monday nights. Wholesome, warm and nourishing,  nothing beats making an enormous pot of soup. Enough for dinner with sufficient leftovers for lunches and and perhaps even  a lazy freezer meal.

Looking back over my posts I’m surprised that I haven’t yet posted a recipe for Minestrone Soup. It’s a particular favourite in our house. Easily put together using gorgeous peak seasonal vegetables and any interesting bits and pieces overlooked in the fridge and pantry by my teen-aged eating tsunamis.  I can honestly say no two pots of soup are ever quite  the same. The one constant is the soup is always jam-packed with a medley of delicious ingredients that pack a powerful and hearty flavour punch. Today its a hearty minestrone filled wit bacon and pasta. At just 143 calories for a filling one cup serve it’s well worth the effort.

Minestrone soups vary from region to region and season to season. Every family has its own preferences and predilections. This time I’ve used bacon, sometimes it’s a little spicy sausage or chicken, often a vegetarian offering with no meat at all.   Legumes add substance to the meal. Creamy cannellini beans are a personal favourite but I’ve been known to substitute borlotti beans or even chickpeas. A generous handful or two of pasta thrown into the pot at the very end adds even more structure and bite  But  rice, faro and orzo also work well. There are no hard and fast rules. It’s all about putting together a delicious, stick to your ribs bowl of soup with whatever is available in your pantry and takes your fancy.

 A neat trick I learned from my Nana was to never throw away the rind of parmesan cheese. Save it, tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator and throw it into a pot of vegetable soup. The rind imparts a wonderful rich flavour whilst adding very little to the calorie count. Needless to say that’s my not so secret ingredient. I never make a minestrone  soup without that all important rind.

Hearty Minestrone Soup With Bacon And Pasta
Makes 10 Cups – 143 calories per cup

1 tablespoon olive oil (120 calories)
4 shortcut rashers bacon (204 calories)
1 onion, diced (46 calories)
1 leek, white part only, finely chopped (54 calories)
2 cloves garlic, finely (8 calories)
1 small red chilli, finely chopped (1 calorie)
2 ribs celery, peeled and diced (16 calories)
2 carrots, peeled and diced (50 calories)
1 capsicum, peeled, seeded and diced (37 calories)
3 zucchini, finely chopped (90 calories)
3 tomatoes, peeled and diced (66 calories)
2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped (2 calories)
1 1/2 litres (6 cups) chicken or vegetable stock (120 calories)
½ teaspoon dried oregano (3 calories)
1 bay leaf  (2 calories)
the rind of  a piece of parmesan cheese (50 calories)
1 x 400g tin of cannellini beans, net weight 220 g rinsed and drained (210 calories)
1/2 cup pasta, barley, orzo or rice (350 calories)
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

PLACE oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add bacon and fry until it starts to crisp.
ADD onion and leeks. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes until tender and translucent.
ADD chilli and garlic. Cook until fragrant, then add celery, carrots, capsicum and zucchini. Cook for another 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender.
STIR in tomatoes and parsley.Then add stock, oregano, bay and parmesan cheese rind.
BRING soup to the boil. Reduce heat, cover with a lid and simmer gently for half an hour.
Lastly add the cannellini beans and pasta. Simmer for 10 minutes more, until the pasta is al dente. If the soup thickens too much, thin with a little more stock or water.
REMOVE the bay leaf and parmesan rind from the soup. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Serve.

Posted in Soup, What I Love to Cook | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments