Rice Risotto

My paternal Grandmother made Rice Risotto every Friday night for dinner (well that is how is seemed). Nana James had many mouths to feed, and perhaps too it was to satisfy the Catholic grandchildren that sat at the dinner table.  A Grandmother before the age of 40, and with 9 children of her own, she really knew how to make food go the distance.  Nana would get the aluminium electric Zip frypan out of the cupboard, in would go a slice of butter, next she would open two boxes of Rice Risotto.  These boxes were bright yellow in colour, and came with interesting flavours like Chicken, Chinese, Mushroom, and later Roast Beef, and Teriyaki!  The rice sachets were opened, they contained a selection of different rice’s which were fried in the butter until golden, the flavour sachets went in with about 2 pints of water I think.  The Risotto was stirred and covered, and twenty minutes later it was on the plate.  I imagine that Nana James bulked it out with some vegetables, but I don’t have a recollection of any.  We all thought it very posh in the 1970’s, before that the only way to serve rice was in a sweet sticky and nutmeggy pudding.  I was very unsure the first time I had “proper” Rice Risotto.  It was creamy but with an underlying chalkiness.  Served with parmesan cheese, and the flavour of some dry white wine, it was wonderful.  And it  seemed no relation to Nana’s Friday night Risotto.

Once you have the basic idea of Risotto in your head you can change the flavouring ingredients around to suite the seasons and your taste.  An important point to note is the type of rice to use – short grain, risotto rice, or even sushi rice is best.  Short grain rice used to be easy to buy at the Supermarket, it being the preferred rice for puddings.  Now is seems much harder to get.  I guess it is now that same short grained rice in a fancy bag labelled  “Risotto”.  Make sure you don’t Scrooge over the stock – homemade stock is far superior, but bought is acceptable if you get a good quality salt reduced one.  It is important to bring the stock to simmering point in another saucepan.  If you are using the familiar powdered stock, make it up according to the instructions, grate in a few vegetables, and let it simmer a little longer.

Enjoy

Rice Risotto

• About 6 cups of stock heated to simmering point
• 2 tablespoons of oil
• 1 onion diced
• 1 teaspoon of finely crushed garlic
• Vegetables chopped, about 1-2 cups (pumpkin, asparagus, spinach etc.)
• 1 and a 1/2 cups of rice (short grain or risotto or Arborio)
• 3/4 of a cup of white wine (dry is best)
• Butter and parmesan cheese to serve

Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat.  Add the onion, and sauté 2-3 minutes until the onion is soft but not coloured.

Add the garlic and rice. Continue stirring over a medium heat until the oil has been absorbed into the rice.  Do not let the rice start to colour.  Add the wine, and bring to the boil.

Now for the tricky part.  Add the simmering stock, about 1 cupful at a time.  The risotto needs to be cooked slowly so the liquid is absorbed, not evaporated.  This is also the time to start adding the vegetables, especially the hard ones like pumpkin.

Continue adding the stock, cupful at a time.  Gently stirring as you go, you don’t want your Risotto to look like porridge.  The Risotto is cooked when the rice has reached that chalky stage – it should take all of 30 minutes.  Taste for salt.

Gently stir in about 100 grams of butter, and 1/2 a cup of parmesan cheese.  Cover and let the Risotto sit for 5 minutes.  Serve in soup plates, garnishes with a little mascarpone cheese if you like.  Serves 4.

Rolled Pavlova

It would be foolish to enter the great Pavlova debate, suffice to say I do believe Pavlova to be a New Zealand icon.  I wonder however what was going on in the head of that un-named Wellington Chef who was so inspired after seeing Anna Pavlova dance (1925-26 tour), that he went back to his kitchen to create this dessert.  Fortunately for us here in New Zealand, Anna’s tutu was adorned with green silk roses, and this Chef used Chinese Gooseberries (renamed Kiwi Fruit in 1959) to echo them.

If you are planning ahead to make this dish then it is a good idea to separate the eggs the day before.  This gives the egg whites a chance to evaporate some of their water enabling a firmer meringue.  My Mother makes another version of Pavlova using cornflour, vinegar, and boiling water.  I will publish this version at a later stage.

This recipe is an interesting twist on the original.

Enjoy

Rolled Pavlova

• 2 egg whites (at room temperature)
• 1/2 cup of caster sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of  vanilla essence
• 1/4 teaspoon of vinegar
• Whipped cream, berry spread, Kiwi fruit – to garnish

In a very clean and dry bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.

Sprinkle in half of the sugar, beat until the sugar has dissolved.

Add the rest of the sugar and beat again.  Add vanilla and vinegar.

Spread onto a piece of baking paper cut to the size of your microwave tray.  It should be about 2 cm thick and square-ish.

Cook on HIGH power for one minute.  The surface should still be sticky and moist.  If it has turned yellow then it is over-cooked.  Slide onto a cooling rack to cool.

Sprinkle some toasted coconut onto another piece of baking paper, turn the cooled Pavlova upside down onto the coconut.  Remove the first sheet of baking paper.

Spread a thin layer of the berry spread over the Pavlova, and then the whipped cream.  Carefully roll the Pavlova using the underneath baking paper to keep the shape.

Slice into thin pieces, and garnish.

Pumpkin and Lentil Dahl

Firstly I must apologise for my recent absence.  A great sadness enveloped Martins Kitchen Table when Michal, the producer of this blog, continued on his life’s journey around the world.   The kitchen table was suddenly very empty.  No more endless cups of tea, bowls of colourful fresh fruit freshly peeled, chopped, and sliced, waiting ever ready for consumption.  No more plates of porridge and jam for breakfast, or eggs cooked in that particular Czech way.  Kitchen life suddenly became very lonely.  Kitchen tables are like that, people come and go from them, sometimes all at once or sometimes just one at a time, and then you set a new place for someone else.  Aaron the photographer has also been journeying, so it has fallen to me, using Michal’s old camera to take the photographs.  I hope these pictures still encourage you to try the recipes.  I have scrubbed the kitchen table and I am looking forward to setting some new places at it in the future.

Enjoy

Martin

Pumpkin and Lentil Dahl

I hesitate to call it Dhal, the word puts many people off.  It can best be described as a vegetable stew, and with that in mind, you can then add other ingredients that are seasonal or just lurking in the back of the refrigerator.  Traditionally Dhal is served with some sort of flat (unleavened) bread.  You can substitute baked pizza bases or just some good chunky bread instead.

• 2 tablespoons of oil
• 2 tablespoons of butter or margarine
• about 2 cups of carrot chopped roughly
• 1 large onion diced
• about 4-6 cups of chopped pumpkin
• about 4-6 cups of potato, washed and chopped roughly
• 4 tablespoons of medium strength curry powder
• 2 cups of spinach, well washed
• one chilli, deseeded and chopped (or some chilli flakes)
• one can of coconut milk (choose low fat)
• one can of brown lentils, rinsed and drained
• salt to taste

Heat the butter and oil over a medium heat in a large shallow pan.  Add the carrot and the onion, and cook slowly until the onion is clear.

Add the potato, pumpkin, and curry powder.  Cook  for a few minutes to release the flavour of the curry powder.

Add the rest of the ingredients, including some extra water if needed.  You don’t want a soup but there needs to be suffiecient water to cook the vegetables.  Simmer over a low heat until the vegetables are cooked and the Dhal is thick.  Season to taste with salt.

Serve on heated plates, with the flat bread.

Banana Cake

When the baking bug bites you, it is usually on a wintry afternoon, exactly the time when you don’t have lots of special ingredients at hand.  Baking doesn’t have to be about special ingredients, it is about having some friends around afterwards for tea or packing a picnic box and a flask, and then going for a walk or drive.  This Banana cake is embarrassingly easy.  All the ingredients except the flour get mixed together in a bowl.  Gently fold in the flour and bake.  You are sure to have these ingredients close at hand.  The addition of a few poppy seeds is good too.  This recipe scales up easily, my large mixer takes ten bananas etc.  Don’t worry how “ripe” the bananas are – the blacker and softer, the sweeter and better the cake will be.

Enjoy

 Banana Cake

Whisk together in a large bowl until smooth:

• ½ cup of sugar
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup of milk
• 2 Tablespoons of melted butter
• 1 banana
• ½ teaspoon of vanilla essence

Carefully fold in –

• ½ teaspoon of poppy seeds (optional)
• 1 cup of self-raising flour

Use a wire whisk. DO NOT over mix!

Pour into a greased loaf tin.

Bake at 180 C for approximately 30  minutes or until well risen and golden brown.

Lemon Meringue Pie

O dear.  This is one of those recipes that you get a reputation for.  Every time I offer to bring dessert I am always asked for this one.  This recipe is a staple on the menu of Sisters of the Sacred Name mid-winter dinner.  Sister Sandra sends the text message and the following week, Lemon Meringue Pie is delivered.  It is so simple to make that it is almost embarrassing.  Gone are the days of boiling sticky cornflour to glue and incorporating lemon etc.  This smooth and delicious filling is made with condensed milk.  I can only recommend Highlander brand condensed milk as I have never been brave enough to try out the cheaper brands on the market, the cheaper brands seem to contain even more sugar.

Enjoy.

Lemon Meringue Pie

• 250g Milk Arrowroot biscuits (one packet)
• about 200g melted butter

Crumb the biscuits in the food processor until really fine, with the motor still running carefully pour in the melted better, keep checking the biscuits crumbs.  The mixture should resemble damp sand and just stick together when squeezed tightly.

Press the crumbs into a round foil dish or spring form pan (about 22 cm diameter is good but don’t get too hung up on size!) the mixture should come about 4 cm’s up the side.  Leave the base to set.

For the filling

• 2 tins of Highlander condensed milk
• 2 teaspoons of grated lemon rind
• 1 cup of lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid
• 6 eggs separated
• 3/4 cup of sugar

Put the condensed milk, lemon rind, lemon juice, egg yolks, and citric acid in the unwashed food processor bowl.  Blend until smooth.  The mixture will be very runny but will set after a few minutes as the acid coagulates the milk and egg yolk.  Pour the thickened mixture into the biscuit shell.

Beat the egg whites until the stiff peak stage, but be careful not over beat.  Over-beaten egg whites are dry and will loose volume.  Add half the sugar and beat until smooth, add the remainder of the sugar and beat until smooth again.  Swirl the egg whites on top of the filling.  Aim at keeping the meringue high and smooth.  Peaks look good but burn very easily!

Bake at 180 c for ten minutes or until the meringue has turned that lovely autumn brown colour.  Cool and then place in the refrigerator.  This pie cuts into at least 8 pieces for generous serving but cutting it into 12 works well especially if you are serving it with ice cream.

Roast Curried Pears

Roast curried pears are served as a vegetable – we need to get that straight at the beginning.  Roast pears have been on the Vintage Dining menu since the first dinner was served 1981 and have been served at every dinner since.  I guess in some ways, and by default, that they have become a signature dish.  The coolness of the pear, the sweetness of the brown sugar, and bite of the curry makes for an interesting flavour combination.  Of course they can be made well in advance and left to there own devices in the oven.  Depending on the variety of pear, they can take over an hour to cook or as little as 25 minutes.  I tend to put then in the bottom of the oven and let the sugar slowly caramelize.

Enjoy.

Roast Curried Pears

• One pear serves two people, the best pears are elongated, with a nice deep brown skin.  Do your best to avoid the hard green/yellow pears, they are best for eating raw with a slice of cheese.
• Melted butter for brushing
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon of hot curry powder
• large pinch of salt

Cut the pear length ways down the middle, use a sharp edged teaspoon or a melon baller to remove the core and leave a nice little nest in the middle, also remove any of the string that goes up into stem.  Brush well with melted butter.

Combine the sugar, curry, and salt.  Place about a teaspoon of this mixture in each pear half.  Left over mixture stores nicely in sealed jar, but remember to label it.

Place the pears in a roasting dish.  Ideally bake at no more than 180 C until the pear is soft but not shriveled up.  Sometimes I bake them at 130 C for up to two hours depending on what else is in the oven.  The lower the oven shelf the better.  Serve with some nicely roasted meat, especially beef or pork.

Sign of the Kiwi Christmas Pudding or Cake

I got this recipe from my friend Lindsay, who for many years operated the tearooms at the Sign of the Kiwi up on the Port Hills of Christchurch.  It has few ingredients, no butter, but don’t be fooled – it contains plenty of cream.  Short dated or out dated cream is perfect for this recipe, as the acid reacts with the baking soda to give some aeration.

Mostly I serve this as you would serve a fruit cake. Because of its excellent keeping qualities, many of these puddings/cakes have made their way to Belgium for Peter.  You can replace all of the flour with gluten free baking mix and you will still have a very high quality product.

Enjoy.

Sign of the Kiwi Christmas Pudding/Cake

• 1 kg of mixed dried fruit
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 300 ml of cream
• 2 and 1/4 cups of plain flour
• 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda

Beat the eggs and sugar until creamy, stir in the rest of the ingredients and mix well.  Spoon into a lightly greased stainless steel basin (about 6 cup capacity).

Specially made pudding basins are available.  Importantly cover the basin really well with aluminium foil – you don’t want any water getting in!  Place the basin on an old saucer into a large saucepan. Pour boiling water to about half way up the pudding basin.  Bring to the boil and then simmer (just at boiling point with tiny bubbles breaking the surface) with the lid on the saucepan for 5 hours. Check the water level regularly and top up with boiling water as required. Don’t let the cooking time put you off this recipe.  Plan to make it when you will be home for the evening or in the garden for the day.  If you divide the mixture between smaller basins, then they need about 3 hours each.  When the puddings have cooked for the required time, remove from the saucepan and do not open until they are cold.  Store wrapped in plastic wrap or freeze.

Orange Cake

Food often envokes memories and usually good ones at that.  I made this cake for Edna’s 99th birthday.  Edna’s neice Val said that her mother used to make an Orange Cake and  this one reminded Val of her mother.  That is the sort of thing that food does.  This Orange cake has a great flavour because you use the whole orange.  Val’s mother would have boiled the oranges for a couple of hours and then chopped everything up.  In this recipe everything is done in the food processor, including lastly mixing in the flour.  Be careful not to over process the mixture at this stage, a ring of flour just around the edge of the mixture is a good indicator that it is mixed enough.  You will find this cake both cuts and keeps well.  Val’s mother Elsie would have said it was “a good eating cake too”.  Some times I serve this cake with a glass of Sherry or Maderia.  I’m not sure Elsie would have agreed; she was much more of a sensible cup of tea person.

Enjoy.

Food Processor Orange Cake

• 2 whole oranges (unpeeled and cut into quarters)
• 250 g of butter
• 2 tablespoons of  oil
• 6 eggs
• 1 and ½ cups of  sugar
• 3 cups of self raising flour

Preheat the oven to 180 C

Lightly grease two 6 cup capacity loaf tins, or one large long loaf tin.

Process oranges, butter, oil, eggs, and sugar with the steel blade until smooth.

Add the self-raising flour and pulse until just mixed.

Bake for about 45 minutes.

Cool and either dust with icing sugar or ice.

Orange Icing

• 2 oranges
• 4 cups of icing sugar
• 4 tablespoons of melted butter

Zest the orange rind and squeeze the orange juice. Blend in the rest of the ingredients – it may need thinning with water.

Beef Wellingtons

This surely has to be the oldest dinner party recipe in existence.  I like it because it can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator until the last moment, leaving you time to be with your guests.  The added advantage and twist to this recipe is that being made individual, it takes away the issues of carving and serving.  Individual Beef Wellingtons have been on the Vintage Dining menu for over thirty years.

Enjoy.

Beef Wellingtons

• Fillet steak – one per person

Filling for eight Beef Wellingtons

• 2 cups of raw sliced mushrooms
• 1 onion diced
• about 200g of Pâté – cracked pepper flavour is good
• Filo pastry, one roll
• 250g melted butter

Sauté mushroom and onion in a very small amount of butter until the onion is transparent. Remove from the heat and add the Pâté.  Stir to combine. Taste and add some salt and pepper.

Take your best and heaviest frying pan.  Heat it on high until it is unbelievably hot!  Sear the steaks on both sides, there should be lots of smoke and atmospheric conditions (that’s the secret of cooking steak).  Each side should take about 2 minutes to sear and look well browned.  The middle of the steak will still be uncooked.  The more you turn the steaks in this short cooking time the better they will be.  You may only have room in the pan, and the heat to cook two or three at a time.  Set the steaks aside to cool.

Lay two sheets of filo pastry out on the table, gently brush with melted butter, place a steak in the middle of the pastry.  Top with a heaped kitchen tablespoon of the mushroom filling.  Fold the filo to make a sealed parcel.  It does not have to look neat, just try to make the rest of the parcels the same.  Make up the rest of Beef Wellingtons.  Place on a lightly greased oven tray, cover with plastic wrap and leave in a very cool place until you are ready to cook them.

Bake at 180 C for about 12-15 minutes and serve immediately.

Carrot and Peanut Butter Soup

Soups really amaze me.  You take some pretty ordinary vegetables and with a bit of chopping, sautéing, and simmering, something wonderful takes place.

This soup always seems strange every time I make it, and every time I make it I think of my friend Michelle – she is the craziest aerobics instructor that ever graced a gym.  And she loves this soup.  Be warned – like her, a small serving goes a very long way.  This soup is more of a winter warmer than a gentle start to a dinner party.  The small amount of peanut butter goes a very long way in terms of flavour too, and you do need to check that none of your guests have nut allergies.

Enjoy.

Carrot and Peanut Butter Soup

• about 50g of butter
• 2 onions
• 6 really decent sized carrots
• 6 cups of chicken stock
• 4 tablespoons of smooth peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Sauté the chopped onions in the butter, add the peeled and diced carrots, and cook for a few minutes longer.  Add the stock (if using stock powder add 1 level teaspoon of stock powder for every cup of water).  Simmer until the carrots are cooked.  Taste and add some salt and pepper.

Place the soup in the food processor and add the rest of the ingredients, blend until smooth.   Taste and check for the amount of peanut butter, you really only want a taste of peanut butter.

Reheat if you are serving it straight away, but it does freeze well.  Garnish with thin strips of peeled carrot.