The Corkless Mind

Tag: Vegetables

  • Brussels Sprout and sweet potato gratin. 

    Brussels Sprout and sweet potato gratin. 

    These days I’m leaning towards greener pastures, or so I’d like to think. I find myself wanting to eat more green, more plant food. Eating plants/vegatables has a very lacklustre underrated reputation as something of a side dish to your main meat dish. This perception can be something of the past. Lately with the help of many innovative chefs there are many restaurants or pop ups ‘hero-ing’ the humble veg placing it front and center. At the risk of lecturing, our burdened planet is taking so much strain trying to produce enough for so many and consuming red meat on a regular basis certainly doesn’t help with the on going crisis of climate change, collectively we can all make a difference, by consuming less and eating ethically reared red meat. 

    This recipe comes straight from this month’s delicious Australia issue, a bright and interesting Jamie Oliver feature, focusing on Brussel sprouts as the ‘hero’ ingredient. Again, Brussel sprouts doesn’t exactly have the best reputation, however from what I’ve seen in this issue, there certainly are ways to make them tasty and interesting without compromising on nutrition.
    Sprout and sweet potato gratin: 
    Ingredients: 
    -20g unsalted butter 

    -2 onions, sliced thinly 

    -5 garlic cloves, sliced thinly 

    -4 thyme sprigs 

    -1 large sweet potato or 2 large potatoes (sliced into rounds) 

    -2 cups of (500ml) milk 

    -100ml double cream 

    -200g creme fraiche 

    -600g Brussels sprouts, sliced thinly

    -grated lemon zest of 1 lemon 

    -1 cup (80g) of Grana Padano or any other Parmesan 

    -50g stale breadcrumbs I used sourdough, but you can use whatever you have on hand

    -50g chestnuts or macadamia nuts, finely chopped 

    -3tablespoons of olive oil 
    Method: 
    Preheat oven to 190 degrees C. Melt butter in a flameproof baking dish or large pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and half the thyme, and cook stirring for 8 minutes or until the onion is soft. 
    Add the sliced potato and stir well, then pour over the milk. Bring to the boil, the reduce heat to low and simmer. Stirring constantly to release the starch from the potato slices, for 3 minutes or until the potato is heated through.

    Remove from the heat and stir through the cream and creme fraiche, then fold through the sliced Brussels sprouts. Add the lemon zest and half of the Parmesan. Season, and stir gently to combine, before grating over the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan. 
    Place the bread in a food processor and pulse get breadcrumbs, place in a small bowl, add the chestnuts or macadamia nuts (whichever you could find or have on hand) oil and remaining thyme, and stir to combine. Sprinkle the nut crumb over the top of the vegetable mixture. Transfer to the oven and bake for 50-55 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and the top is bubbling and golden. Remove the gratin from the oven and set aside for a few minutes to cool slightly, then serve with a seasonal crisp salad. 

  • Aubergine fries with a honey balsamic drizzle.

    Aubergine fries with a honey balsamic drizzle.

    I’ve recently started to  broaden my food magazine perusing to international territory, reading online is one thing but I’m a sucker for good old paging through an actual book/magazine. Yes, I know not very Eco-friendly, but I’m tradionalist at heart! Sadly, we don’t have much of a wide selection of food magazines here in South Africa, so because I scour Delicious Australia’s site on a weekly basis, I spotted the UK version and rushed home to immediately page through it( I do love the smell of fresh magazines) I am quite proud of our food mag scene in S.A but there are so many fresh ideas in the international ones  I am so excited to try out all before reading the entire magazine, my excitement seems to get the better of me sometimes… 

    This recipe comes straight out of the September issue of Delicious UK, chosen and submitted by a reader, she described the fries as ‘light, crisp, but not greasy’. 

    Ingredients: 

    • 3 medium aubergines/eggplants sliced into batons
    • 1Tbsp of Salt
    • 1 medium free-range egg
    • 250ml iced water
    • 90g plain flour
    • 1/2 tsp baking powder
    • 1 litre sunflower/canola oil for deep frying
    • Balsamic glaze to drizzle 

    Method: 

    Place aubergines batons in a colander and sprinkle over salt.set over a bowl, then place in a fridge for 1-2 hours so the aubergines can release some of their juices and firm up. When ready, lay out on a kitchen towel/paper, and blot firmly and rub to remove excess salt, then set aside.For the batter, whisk the egg and iced water until frothy. Sift the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl with a pinch of salt, then slowly add the egg mixture in a thin stream into the flour, whisking to combine. Immediately stop whisking when combined.Heat the oil in a deep large pan, the oil should be approximately 180 degrees Celsius, reduce heat to keep at this temperature. In batches, dip the batons in the batter, and with a slotted spoon lift out to place gently in the oil(always away from you) and fry for 4-5 minutes until golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper. Serve with balsamic glaze, or like me, you can mix a little balsamic vinegar with honey and drizzle over the fries. As an extra special touch I finely grated Grana Padano Parmesan cheese over the fries, because why not, right? 

    These fries are life-changing, and such a great substitute to potato fries. The crunch on these fries are incredible, the flavour is that of a natural umami coupled with a sweet twist! I’m hooked! And definitely making these  for when I have friends or family over. 

    Let’s all make Meat-free Monday’s exciting again! 

    Dominique x

  • Unusual Suspects – Celeriac.

    Unusual Suspects – Celeriac.

    Every fortnight I will be doing a post on unusual yet highly underestimated and rarely used vegetables/fruit not usually used for everyday consumption in the everyday kitchen.This week is the first of the “unusual suspects” series, and kicking it off, I am inspired by the Root Vegetable, Celeriac. Much like it’s green, skinny cousin Celery, Celeriac is milder in flavour. Don’t be intimidated by its rugged and chunky exterior, there’s quite a bit one can do with this interesting vegetable. In the photo below, you will see I made Celeriac two ways, as a Slaw and cut up into wedges and roasted until golden and crisp. A few days ago, I was challenged by my partner to think up a different, and alternative to Coleslaw. The photo below shows the slaw I made, I roughly chopped the Celeriac and Apple into matchsticks and using a vegetable peeler with the stick of Rhubarb to create volume and texture in the slaw, for the garnish I added Coriander and toasted Sesame seeds, drizzled extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, so as to prevent the apple from oxidizing(that nasty brown colour chopped Apples turn when we leave them out too long).

    image
    Celeriac, Apple and Rhubarb Slaw.

    The slaw is but a fusion of flavours and texture,the side you can serve alongside a juicy rack of ribs or succulent Pork belly for a bit of freshness and tart to juxtapose the heavyness of the meat. Not keen on slaw? Why not try a Gratin of Celeriac or maybe cut into chips and roast in the oven.

    The wedges were roasted in extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with my favourite Maldon Smoked salt. Keeping the flavour profile as simple, so as to let the true flavour of the root vegetable shine through.

    image
    Roasted Celeriac Wedges

    The wedges may not look very cheffy but it’s homemade and I quite like the rustic feel of them. To be quite honest, I’ve never really looked in this humble root vegetable’s way until one day, the thought crossed my mind, and wondered what they taste like and the kinds of dishes I can conjure up. I dare you to have a moment of experimentation of crazy looking veg or fruit, stop wondering and just taste!

    Time for an adventure? Go experiment!