Hedonistic Hostess

A jewel of a salad

 

Sometimes I'm asked how I come up with recipes.  Every so often it's complimentary: "wow, how'd you think of that?"  Every so often it's not: "what the f@*#! were you thinking?"  That last one was Tim's response when I served up a slimy strip of raw sea urchin roe with nothing but a wedge of lemon.  Thankfully my latest experiment was far more successful than the sea urchin debacle.  It all started at the Willunga Farmers' Market one sun-drenched Saturday morning...

As my shoes crunch along the gravel toward the bustling stalls my mind is not yet on food, but on the anticipation of that first gulp of liquid caffeine at Fino.  Shortly after my steaming coffee is delivered to the table, I'm already draining my cup of every drop.  I resist the temptation to have another and set off to face the throngs of basket-wielding shoppers.  I've got my list of usual suspects...onions, garlic, potatoes from the stall that has at least eight different kinds.  But what I'm really looking for is something that's not on my list - something I won't know I need until I see it.  This is what farmers' markets are all about - not knowing what you'll find until you're there.

It was the pomegranates that first caught my eye.  Big, blushing bulbs nestled between crates of fresh figs at the Miss Merbein stall.  And then I spot the jujubes.  They look like plump, brown olives with a firm, glossy skin.  I'd only ever seen jujubes dried and packed in plastic at an Asian supermarket.  As soon as my fresh jujubes are handed over in a brown paper bag I fish one out to try.  It has a mild sweet apple taste punctuated with hints of almond skin flavour.  The taste of something new, something unexpected...this is where a good recipe starts.

  

That mild sweet apple flavour and the warm sun-kissed morning got me thinking.  Crunchy, crispy, slightly tangy...these are the tastes that the day demanded.  And who am I to mess with nature?  The aniseed crunch of fennel and the mellow savouriness of smoked chicken seemed the perfect partners in crime.  And so we have it - a jewel of a salad with golden dressing. 

Bon appetit!

Jewel of a Salad with Golden Dressing

Serves 4 as part of a light lunch

 

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Ingredients:

 

200g smoked chicken, torn into shreds

¼ cup pomegranate seeds

8 jujubes, pitted and sliced

2 small bulbs of fennel

Fresh mint

Lemon juice

 

Golden Dressing:

1 tsp Dijon mustard

¼ tsp sugar

2 tsp white wine vinegar

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (about 100ml)

1 tbsp water

 

For the golden dressing, whisk together the mustard, sugar and vinegar.  Slowly pour in the olive oil and keep whisking (similar to how you would make a mayonnaise).  Keep pouring and whisking until the mixture is thick and gloopy (again, similar to a mayonnaise).  Add about 1 tbsp of water to thin the dressing a little (you want to end up with a pouring cream consistency here).   Have a taste and add salt and pepper to your liking.

To prepare the fennel, slice off the green shoots at the top.  Keep any of the fine, leafy fronds to sprinkle over the salad if they’re not too brown or droopy.  Slice the bulb in half lengthwise.  You’ll see in the centre of each half a triangular core.  Cut the core out and discard.  Flip the bulb halves over so that the cut side faces down and slice thinly.  If you’ve got one, use a mandolin to get wafer thin slices.    Place sliced fennel in a bowl, squeeze over some lemon juice (about 1 tbsp) and mix through to help stop the pieces turning brown.

Spread your shards of fennel over a large plate.  Drizzle the golden dressing all over the platter of fennel.  Scatter the smoked chicken over the top.  Tear off as many mint leaves as you like and scatter these over the chicken.

Now comes the jewelling part.  Strew your sliced jujubes over the platter with reckless abandon then add sparkle with a sprinkling of ruby red pomegranate seeds.  Finish with generous sloshes of extra virgin olive oil and a smattering of salt and pepper.    

 

The Hostess goes healthy post Easter...sort of

 

No one has ever accused me of being a healthy eater.  Yes I have a healthy appetite...for French cheese, double cream, pork belly and anything else super calorific.  But after a long Easter weekend of long lunches and long winery tours I'm getting a rare must-eat-healthy urge. 

Note: I did have brandade (French classic made with pureed salted cod, potatoes, olive oil, cream and topped with a poached egg) for lunch but that's because it was left over from the weekend and I just couldn't let it go to waste.  Minor blip on my quest to eat mainly from the veggie drawer of my refrigerator this week.

Twice-cooked chicken soup is about as healthy as it's going to get for me.  The chicken is an absolute delight...crispy, soy-braised skin and sweet, tender meat that just falls off the bone.  Crispy chicken skin is healthy right?  I'm sure I've read that somewhere.

  

I just love the burnished colour of the chicken after it's been plucked from the inky brown poaching liquid.  You could do this a couple of hours or even a day in advance.  In fact it's better to leave the chicken to cool down so that the skin dries out a little (this will help you get that snap, crackle, crunch factor when you crisp up the skin before serving).

 

All this healthy-eating talk has made me hungry for more.  I think I'll get started on devising a recipe for those left over hot cross buns.  What?  They're healthy aren't they?  I'm sure I've read that somewhere.

 

Twice-cooked Crispy Chicken Soup
Serves 2

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Ingredients:

2   chicken marylands
2   star anise, whole
1   cinnamon stick
6   cups water
2   tbsp fish sauce
2   tbsp soy sauce
2   tbsp Chinese cooking wine
1   tsp black peppercorns, whole
1   tsp Hoisin sauce*
2   slices of fresh ginger
2   tbsp vegetable or peanut oil
1   small zucchini, sliced into thin strips
1   cup sliced Chinese cabbage
2   hard-boiled eggs, peeled and cut in half
¼  cup bean sprouts
Sambal Olek*

Preparing the chicken:
Put chicken, star anise, cinnamon stick, water, fish sauce, soy sauce, cooking wine, peppercorns, Hoisin and ginger into a saucepan.  Simmer on a low heat for about one and a half hours.  Pull out the chicken and let it cool for as long as you can. 

Strain the poaching liquid into a clean saucepan and heat up when you’re ready to serve.
 
Tip - You can leave the chicken overnight, a couple of hours or a couple of minutes, but you’ll get a crispier result the longer you give the skin a chance to dry out.  If you’re going to leave the chicken for a while, then let it cool first before covering and putting it in the fridge.

To serve:
Divide cabbage, zucchini and hard-boiled eggs between two serving bowls. 

Heat the oil in a pan until hot then put poached chicken in skin side down.  Sear until golden brown and crispy then turn over to heat through.

Pour the hot poaching liquid over the cabbage, zucchini and eggs.  Place the chicken on top with a small handful of bean sprouts.  Spoon over as much sambal olek as you like (careful it’s spicy).  Now it’s crunch time!

*Sambal Olek is a fiery chilli sauce.  Hoisin is a sweet Chinese sauce.  Both are available from Asian shops and even most supermarkets now.

Chilli and spice and all things nice...Part II

Okay, so let's assume you've made your fresh green curry paste...or at least you've thought about making it.  After all the chopping and bashing, you'll find the curry part incredibly easy.  I love the smell of all that chilli and spice goodness when it hits the pan.  Lucky Thai green curries are comparatively quick to make because my stomach just couldn't stand the teasing aromas of a long, slow simmer. 

Before we get started, I would like to admit that I'm incredibly fussy about my Thai curries.  A Thai curry is an exercise in flavour harmony. It should have the right balance of spiciness, sweetness, sourness and saltiness.  I know that's a lot of -ness' to think about, but it's worth it.  My tip for getting the balance right is to have on hand a bottle of fish sauce, sugar, lemon juice and chilli powder.  Add a bit of this and a bit of that as the curry simmers away.  The best result will come from tasting, adding and tasting some more. 

 

Thai Green Curry

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400ml can of coconut milk

1/4 cup fresh green curry paste (or 2 tbsp of bought curry paste)

1 small can (about 200g) of sliced bamboo shoots, drained

4 kaffir lime leaves, sliced into thin strips

Fish sauce

Lemon juice

Sugar

Chilli powder

400g sliced chicken thighs

Handful of Thai basil (or any other basil you can get your hands on)

Thin slices of red capsicum

Open up your can of coconut milk and skim off the coconut cream that should be layered on the top.  Put the coconut cream into a pan and heat until large bubbles start to form - this is the coconut oil starting to separate.  Throw in your curry paste, stir around and smell...hmmm it should smell yum already. 

Fry off the paste for a couple of minutes then pour in the rest of the coconut milk.  Stir until the milk is incoporated then add in the kaffir lime leaves.  Fill up your empty can of coconut milk with water and add this to the pan to thin out the curry sauce.  This is where you need to do the first taste test.  As a starting point, add 2 tbsp of fish sauce, 1 tsp of sugar and a squeeze of lemon.  Stir and taste.  Add in whatever you think the flavour needs e.g. if it's not spicy enough then judiciously add some chilli powder. 

Once you're happy with the balance of flavours then add in your chicken.  Simmer until just cooked - only a couple of minutes.  Taste again.  I usually find it needs a generous amount of lemon juice to finish.  Just before serving, take the curry off the heat, stir through the basil and top with slices of capsicum.