Category: Vegetarian

REPOST: All The Z’s – Part 5 – Zurich Mushroom Tartlets

Hello, and welcome to the fifth and final post of the Food that starts with Z mini-series…We’re heading to Switzerland for some Zurich Mushroom Tartlets.  And I have a new book to cook from!  Pack your passports friends, we are taking a trip around the world via Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery from 1972.

The book promises

  • 222 illustrations, 48 in  full colour
  • 672 pages
  • 2316 recipes from all over the world

Good Housekeeping World Cookery 1972

The World in 1972

So what was this world of 1972 that we are about to enter into? What was the zeitgeist that spawned this tome?

www.thepeoplehistory.com tells us that

1972 This year is marked as a black year in history due to the use of terrorism entering sport with the massacre of 11 Israel Athletes by Arab Gunman. Also this is the beginning of the biggest political scandal in modern times and the start of the Watergate Scandal. On the other side of the Atlantic a worsening of the problems between the IRA and the British government see wrongs from both sides and innocent lives are lost. 

Hmm…cheerful.

But who knew years were colour-coded?  Who has that job?  And can I have it when you’re done?

On a happier note, in 1972 you could buy these awesome shoes for just $9.97.

And this wig was a bargain at $20. The resting bitch face is possibly a sign of the troubled times…

1972 wig

Or maybe she was just worried about getting her wig wet.  Problem solved by this umbrella for a mere fiver. Look how much happier this woman is now she doesn’t have to worry about wet hair.

1972 umbrella

 

Switzerland 1972

So in the midst of all this trial and trib, what was going on in the notoriously neutral country of Switzerland?  Well, hold onto your hats because while chaos and panic were overtaking the rest of the world?  The Swiss were creating an International Convention on Safe Containers.

The Swiss are an orderly, well-mannered, and meticulous people.  This is why you could probably take your safe container and join a group of Swiss people mushroom foraging around Zurich without fear of dying from some fungi-induced poisoning.

Which brings us back to do…oh…oh..oh  (If ANY of you thought we were going to get through a post on Switzerland WITHOUT a Sound Of Music reference, then you don’t know me at all do you?).

ZURICH MUSHROOM TARTLETS

Zurich Mushroom Tartlets1

Let’s start with the recipe. It’s a very good place to start…(Refer paragraph above re The Sound of Music) And let’s hope that it isn’t an omen of things to come…

Zurich Mushroom Tartlets - Recipe

Hmmmm….make the pastry it says  Without actually telling you how to do that.  So, If they’re not going to tell you?

I will.  Here’s what you do.

Put your flour back in the cupboard, your egg and butter back in the fridge and tip your salted water down the sink.  Then you get in your car and drive to the nearest supermarket and by some ready-made pastry shells.

Because if they can’t be bothered, why should you?

Zurich Mushroom Tartlets3

I used a mix of mushrooms for my tartlets and added some herbs from the garden into the mix.

Zurich Mushroom Tarts4I  pan-fried the small fancy mushrooms in so they could be artfully strewn over the top of the tarts whilst I cooked the regular ones as per the recipe.

Zurich Mushroom Tartlets5

IWhile the mushrooms were cooking, I warmed the shells in the oven, then tipped the filling into them.

A sprinkle of parsley and some smoked paprika and these were good to go!

And they were delicious!  Creamy and earthy with a lovely crisp and light pastry.

Despite the initial setback with the pastry, the Zurich Mushroom Tartlets were a good start to this book.  Easy to make, quick, and tasty!  Best eaten in front of the telly watching The Sound of Music,  Or wearing your best curtains.  Or both.

 

Have a great week!

 

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All The Z’s 3 – All The Zucchini – REPOST

You knew it was coming right?  There was never going to be a showcase of Z recipes without a recipe for zucchini.  Except there’s not just one zucchini recipe…there’s going to be four.  Because it’s midsummer and my zucchini plants have gone berserk. I have been eating zucchini at least once a day for weeks. I have given away dozens of them.  And they just keep coming!  So I have to keep finding things to do with them.  Here is a summary of this summer’s dishes…so far…

This flatbread recipe which is below  came via Australian Gourmet Traveller and it is so good – not to mention almost too pretty to eat!  If you don’t want to make your own bread, you can sub in a flatbread of your choice.  But the bread is pretty easy and gives you a huge dose of smug!

 

Zucchini Flatbread 1
Zucchini Flatbread 1

Zucchini Flatbread 3

 

Seriously three zucchini plants are producing enough to feed a small army!  And they grow so quickly.  One second they are tiny, the next literally as big as my arm!

Zucchini 4

But here’s the thing…up until recently, I wasn’t that big a fan of zucchini.  I recall it from childhood as being a bland soggy mess.  My conversion came when I tasted it raw in a salad one day.  And it was super good!  Zucchini Salad (2)The above salad is so easy to make and became my go-to whilst on holidays – I chopped a heap of carrots, zucchini, celery and cheese and kept them in a container in the fridge.  Whenever I got a bit peckish, I would get out some lettuce, sometimes crumble in some hard-boiled egg,  add a splash of dressing and roll up for a healthy, tasty snack!  The recipe is from my old fave Rosemary Mayne Wilson’s Salads For All Seasons.

Rosemary suggests a mayo dressing for this salad.  I vote no on that.  My preferred dressing for this salad is a vinaigrette with a good dollop of mustard in it.  Try it…you won’t regret it.

Recpe: Raw Zucchini Salad - RMW

Turkey and Zucchini Patties with Cacio e Pepe Zoodles

Okay, here’s one for the meat eaters!  Although I was not very complimentary about a lot of the meals in Pete Evans’ paleo cookbook, Healthy Every Day, these turkey and zucchini patties were an exception.  They are awesome!  I make them all the time (sometimes I even have to buy zucchini to make them!).  I don’t use the egg in this recipe as I find the mixture is already quite wet without it.  (Pete also doesn’t tell you to squeeze the water out of the zucchini which you need to do).

Zucchini Turkey Patties4

And here’s Pete’s recipe:

Turkey & Zucchini Patties – Pete Evans

The eagle-eyed of you may have noticed the fourth dish nestled in below the turkey patties in the photo above.  The last recipe in the zucchini extravaganza is a Zoodle Cacio e Pepe.  (Zucchini noodles which cheese and pepper).  A lot of recipes I have found for this cook the zoodles.  We’re not going there.  I far prefer raw zucchini to cooked so mine is kind of a Cacio e Pepe carpaccio…

 

Print

Zoodle Cacio e Pepe

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 zucchini
  • 2 tbsp Grana Padano or Parmesan cheese
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 finely chopped mint (optional)

Instructions

  1. If you have a spiralizer, make noodles out of your zucchini.
  2. If not, use a vegetable peeler to make long thin strips of zucchini.
  3. Place in a bowl and toss through the olive oil, lemon juice, black pepper and cheese.
  4. Top with the mint if using.
  5. Serve straight away

Have a wonderful week!  I’m off to harvest more zucchini!

Before we go though, tell me what is your favourite zucchini recipe?

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Bombay Potato Snacks

Let’s talk about what makes the best snacks the best.  They are crunchy, salty, crispy, fried, spicy, sweet, creamy, fresh or sour right?  So, what if you could combine all of those tastes and textures into the one dish?  Wouldn’t that make it THE. BEST. SNACK.EVER?  Yes. It would. And the only thing that stops me from claiming this for these Bombay Potato Snacks is that there is a little bit of work involved in making them which is kind of contrary to the idea of the snack….however, persevere with me.  They’re worth the effort!  And also very pretty!

Bombay Potato Snacks 2I probably should have cropped this photo a lot more.  However, I really liked the shadows of the plants on my kitchen windowsill.  And you have to take your little pleasures where you find them right?  And for you pernickety people, there’s a cropped version down below.

So, Bombay Potato Snacks.  First time I made this, I totally forgot to strew the Bombay mix (or Sev as it is called in Sri Lanka over the top).  Doh!  It was actually still pretty tasty but you know…really just a potato snack which is totally not enough for all of you delightful and snack hungry RFFMT readers.  Cos you all deserve the bomb!  Eh?

Bombay Potato Snacks 3Okay.  Even by my standard of bad puns, that last one was just a little bit too shit.  So, let’s quickly forget it ever happened and talk potatoes.  In this case oven roasted with a bit o’ salt and cayenne pepper but you could totally pan or deep fry them should you so desire.  Once baked or fried, arrange them on a place.  I chose to place mine in a circle.  Then, add a dollop of Greek Yoghurt, and top that with a dollop of Indian Chutney.  I chose to use a home-made Mango Salsa Chutney from Kylee Newton’s wonderful book The Modern Preserver but you could use your favourite bought chutney.

Bombay Potato Snacks 4We’re then going to sprinkle a little bit of tomato salsa over the top of all of this – tomato, red onion, chilli, coriander, mint, lemon juice to add some freshness and zing and pow!

Bombay Potato Snacks 5And then, if this is not already tasty enough, we’re going to top this off by just throwing a handful of Bombay Mix all over the top!  That is five layers of awesome on your plate.  This is not just a Yeah! dish.  This is a HELL YEAH! dish!

And totes vegetarian for those who care about those things.  You could also very easily make it vegan by swapping out the dairy yogurt for a soy or coconut yogurt.  Actually, vegans please make this.  And give it to your non-vegan friends and defy them to say that this vegan dish is not as tasty AF.

Bombay Potato Snacks 6Serve this on a platter and let your guests dig in.  Or…eat it all by yourself.  I won’t judge you.  I promise. I may have even done that myself.

We’re doing Indian in Tasty Reads in April and May…and also there was an awesome Indian inspired Shepherd’s pie made on My Kitchen Rules this week, which I am totally going to adapt to my own tastes so stay tuned for more Indian inspired dishes in  future.

Print

Bombay Potato Snacks

Ingredients

Scale
  • 5 large potatoes cut into 1cm slices
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • Salt and cayenne pepper to taste
  • 100 ml Indian Chutney of your choice – I used a home made mango chutney
  • 125ml Greek yoghurt

Salsa:

  • 2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
  • 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp mint leaves, chopped
  • 1 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 red chilli, chopped, seeds removed (less or more depending on your love of heat)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 200C.
  2. Place the potato slices, the salt, cayenne pepper and oil in a large plastic bag and toss to coat.
  3. Place the slices in a single layer on a baking tray and roast for 30 minutes, flipping them over half way through.
  4. Remove from tray to a wire rack and allow to cool.

For The Salsa:

  1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
  2. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To Serve

  1. Spread the potato slices around the platter.
  2. Add a dollop of Yoghurt into the middle, top this with a dollop of chutney.
  3. Sprinkle the salsa over the top.
  4. Top with the Bombay mix.
  5. Eat. Enoy!

Next up though, we’re slipping and sliding, stepping and stomping into the letter S from The A-Z of Cooking.  And for once, the heading is not completely random.  Leave a comment if you’d like to have a guess at what it might be!

It’s your week…make it fab!

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