Winter Warmer - BLOG SIX in SEVEN DAYS

We are now on the home stretch. Just one day to go beyond today before my SEVEN BLOG session comes to a close. I’m looking forward to my one a week blog returning soon as this has been a big effort, especially with so much else happening in my life. I’m still looking for that elusive full time job (missed out on one role and awaiting a final interview for another) so let’s hope that something ‘gives’ soon.

I feel as though I have been bombarding you with sweet treats, and this blog is no exception. I have been asked (thank you Helen) to recommend a good dessert recipe and given that it is winter across Australia (some areas cooler than others, 9 degrees in Melbourne this morning although felt like around 5 to me) I can’t help but think of something a bit stodgy and hearty and British desserts tick all of the boxes in this department.

I made this recipe a few years ago and it still sticks in my memory. Even though berries aren’t readily available during the winter, the frozen ones in the supermarket really are particularly good. You can also substitute other ‘seasonal’ fruits like apples (so many varieties to choose from), strawberries and even blood oranges. Just pick things that have a juice component to them as this helps with the cooking process. Apples are such a great baked item. I was in Hobart last weekend and the selection of apples and pears available at Salamanca Markets was spectacular. The great thing is that you can bring these back into Victoria (but Tassie is quite particular in the reverse, and no food items can be taken into their own State). On a side note, I even got to see the Gourmet Farmer, Matthew Evans, working hard at his staff. I’d seen him on the SBS series but to see him ‘for real’ was a treat. The other treat, was a visit to MONA on the Sunday. If you have any interest in contemporary and uninhibited art, then this is the place for you!

Fruit Cobbler Recipe (a Jamie Oliver classic)

Ingredients

For the fruit:

2 apricots, stoned and sliced

1 pear, cored and thickly sliced

1 pint blackberries

1 pint blueberries

1 pint raspberries

1 stick rhubarb

5 tablespoons sugar

A good glug balsamic vinegar

For the topping:

125g butter, chilled

225 grams self-rising flour

70 grams sugar

A large pinch salt

130 millilitres buttermilk (you can make your own buttermilk by adding 1 teaspoon of vinegar to standard milk)

A little sugar, for dusting

Vanilla ice cream or double cream, as an accompaniment

Directions

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C. Put the fruit into a pan with the sugar and the balsamic vinegar. Put the pan over the heat, and cook gently, until the juices begin to run from the berries. Pour into an ovenproof dish.

Meanwhile make the topping. Rub the cold butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Add the sugar and salt, stir well, and then add the buttermilk to form a loose, scone-type mixture. Roll balls of the dough and place randomly over the hot fruit. Sprinkle with a little sugar, and bake in the oven for 30 minutes until golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Triumphant Biscotti - BLOG FOUR in SEVEN DAYS

When we think of Italian food, we are more akin to think of pasta, pizza, antipasto and perhaps the famed Tiramisu.

However, after attending a top notch food and wine tasting recently, I discovered that sweet treats in the form of biscotti heralded my appreciation for the twice baked Italian bickie!

There are many variations of this nut filled biscuit, the traditional being with almonds. As with most almond filled Italian treats, amaretto is also used and I must admit, I'm not a big fan. It's the same as marzipan. Yick!!! I prefer to keep things a la natural and stick to a biscuit filled with almonds rather than any essence flavouring.

Other variations include pine nuts and even a scrummy one I tried in Brisbane with fennel seeds. Sounds interesting and it was - moorish in fact!A bit of history for you! The first documented recipe for the cake was found in a centuries-old manuscript, now preserved in the State of Prato. Depending on what region of Italy they come from, biscotti can be called cantuccini, usually suggesting origins from the Tuscany region.

It doesn't matter where the following variation comes from, it takes bloody fabulous every time I've made it. In fact, it has been given the name 'triumphant' courtesy of an old boss who scored some for Christmas last year. This is for you, Ted!

Hazelnut and Chocolate Biscotti

1 and 1/4 cups plain flour

1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee powder or granules

80g toasted whole hazelnuts

120g good quality dark chocolate, broken into little chunks

125g unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup castor sugar

2 small eggs, lightly beaten

1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

Put the flour, soda, powder and salt into a bowl.

Sift the coffee into the same bowl and whisk all of these ingredients together for 1 minute.

With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together for 6 minutes in total, scrapping down the side of the bowl during this process.

Drizzle in the beaten eggs a little at a time, beating after each addition. Do the same with the vanilla.

Reduce the speed and add the flour mixture, a bit at a time, until a soft dough forms.

Scrape dough onto a board and divide it in half.

Roll each half into a log shape about 26cm long. If the dough is a little sticky, chill for a short while to firm it up.

Transfer onto a prepared tray (preferably with baking paper) but make sure there is around 6-7cm between each log as during the cooking process, they will flatten and spread.

Bake for 35 minutes or until they begin to go golden brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Turn the oven down to 160 degrees C and line two more trays with baking paper.

The logs should still be a little warm when you begin to cut them into 7mm thick slices with a sharp knife. You may need to hold the logs quite firmly with your hands as you perform this process.

Lay the slices on the prepared baking trays and return to the oven for another 15 minutes.

Once this process is complete, leave the biscotti on the trays to cool completely and they will be crisp to touch once this has occurred.

The only hassle with this recipe is that you won't be able to stop eating them. Just think that the dark chocolate is good for you - that's how I justify it! Enjoy, literally!

Insist on Aussie Garlic! BLOG FIVE in SEVEN DAYS

I had some technical 'issues' yesterday which explains why you didn't get your Blog Four on time. Hopefully you are all still with me on this mini-epic journey of food discovery. Here's to Blog Five.....

Can you imagine being allergic to garlic?

I met a guy a few years ago now who had such an adverse reaction to the stuff, that he would be instantly sick. After consuming his fair share of Red Rooster garlic bread, when growing up, he is now off the stuff for life. I can't help but think that it has more to do with how the garlic is stored and treated to preserve its shelf life, than the actual clove itself.

Garlic is used in cuisines the world over, and with its popularity continuing to grow (12,000,000 tonnes is produced each year worldwide), today's consumer is better informed about its quality than ever before - and so we should be - we are, after all, putting it into our bodies.
Until about 20 years ago, Australia’s agricultural industry included garlic drops, but when China began importing garlic into the Australian market, our growers couldn’t compete with their price and the rest is history. Suddenly we the consumer were forced to eat a product that we didn’t know a great deal about, in terms of growth, harvest, production, treatment and storage.
It is widely known that imported garlic has to be fumigated with methyl bromide (by AQIS) and is often bleached. In China, chemicals banned in Australia are still being used to grow garlic and given that Australia imports 95% of our garlic from China, this is worrying information. As is the fact that Chinese garlic is gamma irradiated to prevent sprouting and is also sprayed with Maleic Hydrazide to extend shelf life.

Surely all of this can’t be good for us?!
The great news is that the Australian garlic market is back!!! With virus free garlic varieties from France now being cultivated, we have a real opportunity of ensuring that consumers (ie you and me!!!) have the opportunity to choose where our garlic comes from.
Damian Pike at Prahran Markets has a wonderful supply of Australian garlic – raw and real to look at, I can just imagine how good it tastes!

At a recent trip to Tasmania, I also saw plentiful supplies of Aussie garlic available at the Salamanca Markets.

Australia currently imports in the region of 10,000 tonnes of garlic per year with the majority of this coming from China but with an increasing amount is now from Spain, Argentina, Mexico and the USA. Unfortunately, much of this product does not conform to the production standards and procedures set for Australian growers.

Whole Roast Cloves of Garlic
This is the easy part.

Preheat an oven to 160 degrees C.

Lay a piece of alfoil out on a bench and put a whole knob of garlic into the centre.

Gently force open the top of the knob with either a knife or your fingers.

Pour a liberal amount of olive oil into the head and bring the alfoil up around it so capture the oil and create almost a confit cocoon!

Cook in the preheated oven for around 25 minutes and set aside once done.

Green pea soup with roast garlic creme fraiche

Ingredients

8 garlic cloves
180g (2/3 cup) creme fraiche, (King Island brand)
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs butter
1 large brown onion, halved, chopped
500g fresh peas, shelled (or defrosted, frozen peas) – this also works with split peas
375ml (1 1/2 cups) chicken stock
Freshly ground black pepper

Method
1. Place roasted garlic cloves in a small bowl and lightly mash. Add creme fraiche and stir until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until required.
3. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil and butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add fresh or defrosted peas and chicken stock. Increase heat to high and bring to the boil. Boil for 5 minutes or until the peas are bright green and tender. Remove from the heat and set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly.
4. Pour the soup into the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Taste and season with pepper.
5. Ladle the soup into serving bowls. Top with a dollop of the roast garlic creme fraiche and sprinkle with pepper.