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12
Jun
2015

Brazo Di Gitano – The Gypsy’s Arm

categories: Avocado, Olives, Potato, Potato Salad, Potato Salad Roll, Spain, Tuna

Cross my palm with silver and I will tell you tales of magic and wonder. Or just keep reading ‘cos I cooked something really good!

I see, in your future a little taste of Spain….because today in a final piece of birthday indulgence, I bring to you The Gypsy’s Arm…aka The Brazo Di Gitano.

And what you may ask is the Brazo Di Gitano? Well remember back at Christmas when my family took against me for bringing a Potato Salad Roll to our Christmas festivities? I felt then that despite their negativity it was my duty to bring the PSR to the world. This did not start well. My St Patrick’s Day Corned Beef PSR was an mitigated disaster. But redemption is at hand with The Gypsy’s Arm.

I LOVE this recipe. And yes, I am yelling at you because it’s that good. It’s like someone took every lovely taste of Spain and mixed it together and then wrapped it up in potato. And mayo.

Why a Gypsy’s Arm? I have no idea. But when something tastes this good why question it? I found the original version of this recipe in Anya Von Bremzen’s The New Spanish Table which I thought was an amazing book even before I discovered it had a potato salad roll.

So what’s so good about this recipe? Well, potatoes and mayo…

But also tuna, tomatoes, olives, capers, red onions and anchovies. And to make things even better, I added some avocado to mine, hence the greenish tinge.

The flavours of this dish took me right back to a trip to Barcelona a few years ago. It really is Spain on a plate. And so easy.

Make your mashed potato and spread out on a tray.

I left mine a bit chunky so it was still a bit like a regular potato salad. Then put your tuna filling on top. Spread to the edges.

Then, shake, rattle and roll!!!

Don’t worry if it cracks a little, or a lot, you can just press it together. Plus you will shortly be adding your mayo (and avocado topping) so small cracks won’t matter.

Then, channel your inner Gaudi and decorate the outside of roll as you see fit.

Trim the edges so you have a nice clean line before serving.

Eat and transport yourself back to the streets of Barcelona…

Enjoy!

Have a great week! And there are only 2 days to go for the Birthday giveaway. Subscribe or get one of your friends to subscribe to win a fabulous vintage cookbook. Prize drawn on Monday!

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14
May
2015

Ooh La La – French Apple Flan

categories: 1970's food, 1970's recipes, A-Zof Cooking, Apples, Baking, France

Bonjour mes amis!

This French Apple Flan straight from the buffet section of the A-Z of Cooking is délicieux! I know what you’re thinking. Two pastry dishes in two weeks? Why, it’s almost like you’re practicing for something.

Nudge nudge, wink, wink, say no more.

French Apple Flan

Truth is, I made this before I knew anything about Pieathalon 2…which is not only a reality but I have purchased my ingredients and will be baking on the weekend.

But back to the French Apple Flan. I was actually a bit wary about making a second pastry dish from the A-Z of Cooking because, lets face it, I was not overly impressed with the pastry from the Date Crunchies.

But, the buffet section left a LOT to be desired. There was an Egg Mousse. But there is also an Egg Mousse in Salads for All Seasons, which quite frankly reads better. Then there is a Cold Loin of Pork Orientale….except I don’t eat pork. There is the trout of nightmares:

And there is the French Apple Flan:

So, despite that picture not being overly appealing, this was kind of a no-brainer.

And let me say right now, I can’t imagine any of the other dishes being this good because this was AWESOME. The pastry was crisp and light and delicious, the filling was lovely – and again not too sweet. There was only a 50g of sugar for a kilo of apples. The butter and the lemon and the wine hummed along quietly in the background without taking over. The filling really just tastes of apples. But nicer. Like supercharged apples. But really, please, despite what the recipe says use butter not that horrible other stuff.

French Apple Tart 8 — French Apple Flan 8

A friend of mine recently made some gorgeous apple roses that she found here and they kind of inspired my topping.

French Apple Tart 9 — French Apple Flan 9

I also used a blackberry jam for my glaze because that’s what I had and smoke em if you got ’em is how I roll. It made my glaze quite dark but I kind of liked that ombre effect it created.

And again, the French Apple Flan was just lovely. And it was totally delicious on it’s own but if you really want to ramp it up, try it, slightly warm with some dulce de leche ice cream. And then just float away on a little cloud because you will seriously think you have died and gone to heaven.

So, good.

In my mind this is an apple tart. So much so that I had to keep going back when writing and changing the word tart to flan. I am not precisely sure of the difference between a tart and a flan although some albeit rather lazy research leads me to think a flan contains a custard filling. Which this doesn’t.

So it’s a tart right?

Whatever you call it. it’s super delicious and made from things you already probably have in your house or can get pretty easily. I promise you will not regret making this…so go on, do it now!

Au revoir!

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24
Feb
2015

Crespéou (70’s Style Retro Picnic Bling)

categories: 1970's food, Eggs, Feta, France, Omelette, Turmeric

In his introduction to the Crespéou in Plenty More, Yotam Ottolenghi says

If I was going to sum up my cooking style in five words, 70’s-style-retro-picnic-bling would not be them”

Huh…Weirdly enough that’s exactly the style of cooking I aspire to.

Still, with an introduction like that, there was no way I was not making a Crespéou! I was already thinking about having a month of food I have no idea how to pronounce (Kouign Amman anyone?). Google tells me this is Cresp-ay-oo. And also that it’s from Provence and so-called because the layers look like crepes. Never say I don’t do the research hard yards for you…

So what is this unpronounceable piece of 70’s style crepe like Retro Picnic Bling?

Well, it’s layers of three differently flavoured omelettes stacked on each other and baked. One red, one yellow, one green. Which just goes to show the difference between those classy people of Provence and around here. We’d be calling it something dumb arse like “Traffic Light” Special.

Crespéou – Red Layer

Yotam suggests red peppers for this layer. I used sun-dried-tomatoes because red peppers and I have a love-hate relationship. Without the love.

Hmm, I have realised in looking at this picture of the red layer that I may have put in fresh coriander rather than ground. Oops.

Still, I think that is one of the benefits of a dish like this. You can mix up the flavours. I have seen other recipes where people have used, zucchinis, mushrooms, olives, all sorts of things. It could really become a “clean-out-your-fridge” type dish.

Crespéou -Yellow Layer

The yellow layer was intriguing. I have never used turmeric in an omelette before. It really works!!! If I was going to mix this layer up a bit thin crispy discs of pan sautéed potato would be great!

The trick with this dish is to leave the top of your omelettes much more runny than you would any other omelette. The idea of this is that when you stack them and bake them the egg will solidify and the layers will stick together.

Crespéou – Green Layer

Another genius combination – green onions, green chilli, basil, tarragon and cumin!!! Wow!!! This layer was really perky and fresh!!!

Once you have cooked all your omelettes, stack them up as neatly as possible. And into the oven they go to cook up that last bit of runny egg.

Once cooked through, you can eat your Crespéou as is or trim the edges with a sharp knife to be able to see the layers. I used a small square pan so I cut mine into four cubes…

These were superb. I had it for lunch I think 3 days running and looked forward to it on day three as much as I did on day one.

And I know what you’re all thinking. Which layer tasted best? I did separate one of my cubes and ate each later alone. And they were all really good. But the combination was a-may-zing!!!!

Yotam Ottolenghi also says of the Crespéou that:

“If there is one recipe that might make me cringe in years to come, it will, for sure be this one”

I say “I love you. Can you not be so happily gay and be my boyfriend? You could cook me Crespéou and we could go on a picnic in a field in Provence and I could dance around listening to “Total Eclipse of the Heart” on a vintage Walkman. Or…hold your head up high and embrace the Crespéou for the lunchbox saviour that it is. And I’m sure even better on picnics. Especially picnics in Provence. With heaps of rosé wine and 1970’s disco music on your vintage Walkman.

Which is fairly redundant – I can’t think of ANYTHING that wouldn’t be better on a picnic in Provence with heaps of rosé wine and 1970’s music on your Walkman. Can you?

Speaking of which…before she was Totally Eclipsed in the Heart Bonnie Tyler was Lost in France which would actually be the perfect musical accompaniment to the Crespéou…

The full recipe can be found in Plenty More or online here

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Bonnie Tyler being Lost in France is here:

Make. Listen. Drink lots of rosé and imagine yourself lost in France.

This week, I’m cooking up some more 70’s Style Retro Picnic Bling courtesy of Jane Grigson! Have a tres fantastique week what ever you get up to.

And turn around bright eyes.

And P.S. – I’m totally contemplating the name of this blog to Retro Picnic Bling. Loving it madly!!!

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10
Aug
2014

Molten Umami Meatball Sandwiches

categories: Comfort Food, Italy, Mushrooms, Sandwiches

Hello, hello it’s good to be back!

Umami Meatball Sandwich — Molten Meatball Sandwich

Did you miss me? I’ve been on holidays – three weeks out of the grey Melbourne cold and into the warmth of sunny Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia. The holiday was amazing and I will fill you in on the details over the next few weeks, most particularly about the amazing food.

Here is (literally) a taster….

You know how in most supermarkets you get tasting plates? For example, earlier today in my local supermarket I got to sample 3 kinds of dumplings (prawn, scallop and mushroom), 5 flavours of kombucha tea and some chia pudding…(yeah, my local supermarket is awesome!) Well, in Cambodia, the taster plates consist of Bamboo Worms…and only $2 a kilo!

And these are deep fried crickets….an even better bargain at half the price of the worms…

This is me about to taste one of the bamboo worms:

But before we go there, I wanted to talk to you about meatballs. As much as we love Asian food, after three weeks of it we were craving something that wasn’t. Funnily enough, we both had cravings for pretty much the same thing.

He wanted spaghetti bolognese. I wanted spaghetti and meatballs. I was doing the cooking so spaghetti and meatballs it was! As I was cooking these, I realised why this is such awesome comfort food (it’s not like either of us has Italian heritage). My meatballs are crammed full of umami flavours – parmesan, mushrooms, tomatoes, red wine….Hmmm…is red wine umami? Well it’s pretty damn good even if it isn’t. Also, the original recipe for this called for an anchovy fillet. I didn’t happen to have any so I added saltiness with a dash of fish sauce…guess what? More umami!

The spaghetti and meatballs were delicious and everything I wanted – something to warm our bones in the winter cold, something that was quick and easy to cook after a day of travelling and something familiar – comfort food at it’s best!!!

They also require very little in terms of fresh ingredients so you can keep shopping to a minimum. And, if you were super organised, you could make a batch and pop them in the freezer before you left. (Massive sigh). I would love to be that organised!!!!

So, it was spaghetti and meatballs for dinner and then, (this mixture makes a lot of meatballs) I made a molten meatball mountain (i.e, a meatball sandwich ) for my lunch the next day. The meatballs were great with the spaghetti but for my mind, even better in the sandwich the next day. And Oscar was on hand for any leftovers.

Of which there were none!

Remember these?

They tasted like this:

I wouldn’t say this was the worst thing I have ever eaten…but it sure wasn’t good. The outside was kind of crunchy and not so bad. It was the inside that was gross. It didn’t taste so much of anything, it just had an unpleasant texture – mushy and slightly gritty. Not to mention the thought that was impossible to dispel. “That thing in your mouth? That’s worm guts…you’re eating worm guts…that thing you just bit into, that was probably work heart….”

Not good.

Thank goodness I found much better things to eat in Phnom Pehn. Which I will tell you about next time…

Have a fabulous week!

PS – Is anyone doing the kombucha thing? I kind of want to grow my own….if you are please let me know!

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12
Feb
2014

Get Me To The Greek – Spanakopita – Daring Kitchen

categories: Daring Kitchen, Europe, Feta, Greece, Pie, Spinach, World Cooking

God Bless the Greeks. They invented democracy, philosophy and some damn fine food. Including fried cheese. How good is that stuff? You take cheese…which is one of my all time best ever foods to begin with…and fry it. That;’s not even eleven. That’s twelve! Possibly thirteen. But, I digress, yeah, I know opening paragraph…and we’re already off track, because today we’re talking about the second wonder of the Greek cuisine pantheon…(or should that be Parthenon?) the cheese and spinach pie, also more formally known as the Spanakopita.

I live in Melbourne, which as anyone in Melbourne will tell you has the largest population of Greek people outside of Athens. I have no idea if this is actually true or just one of those urban myths about the city you live in. Regardless of numbers, there are a lot of Greek people and hence a lot of super delicious Greek food. In fact, just as much as some families have the local Chinese or Indian restaurant, my family would go Greek.

No, not like that you bunch of perverts….I meant we would celebrate family occasions at the local Greek restaurant.

Mind you, this did come after a debacle at the local Chinese. You know the classic tale of the gauche family who drink the fingerbowls? Not that old chestnut for my family. No way. Uh huh.

We’re a much classier lot.

So when, towards the end of our meal, the waiter delivered some small bowls of water to our table we dutifully dipped and dunked and positively soaked our fingers revelling in our (sub) urban/e sophistication. He then reappeared with a plate of…I can best describe them as caramel coated sweet dumplings. The idea being that you dipped your caramel dumpling into the icy cold water thereby changing the caramel from a hot liquid to a crispy shell. We all looked to our now slightly grubby bowls of warmish water and the thought of dessert suddenly didn’t seem so good.

Now, I can’t speak a word of Mandarin, but believe me, that wasn’t a prerequisite to understand what our waiter was muttering as he swished away the original bowls. There is a certain tone people adopt when they say “You people are morons” that is pretty much universal.

We celebrated with Greek food from then on.

Spanakopita Ingredients - pre massage — Spanakopita Ingredients – pre massage

The February Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Audax of Audax Artifex. The challenge brought us to Greece with a delicious, flaky spanakopita – a spinach pie in a phyllo pastry shell. I had thought I was au fait with the cooking of this particular dish as it is something I make fairly regularly. However Audax’s version had a few curve balls.

First there was massaging the ingredients. It made me think about those Wagyu cows…

Then post the massage there was the squeeze….this was both kind of disgusting and a shit ton of fun.

Squeezing...kind of gross. — Squeezing…kind of gross.

Squeezed Spinach (and my abnormally large man hands)

Post the squeeze, you end up with two bowls. Once containing a dry mixture, one containing a milky green liquid.

It is at this point that I would diverge from the recipe as given by Audax and add some more cheese into the dry mixture. I don’t know what happened to the cheese but somewhere during the massage or the squeeze it kind of disappeared, leaving a less cheesy spanakopita than I would normally have. For me, it’s all about the cheese.

Anyhow, then you add some couscous to the liquid and let it soak it all up. This is utter brilliance. The couscous bulks up the mixture so you can have a higher pie and it stops the bottom pastry getting soggy.

Another brilliant idea? Cutting the squares before baking. Stroke of genius!

Spanakopita - hot from the oven — Spanakopita – hot from the oven

Huh, I just realised I’ve mentioned fried Greek cheese in at least two out of the last three posts. I think my subconscious is trying to tell me something.

I’m going to be spending my week having at least one trip to the Paradise of Lindos to partake of some plate smashing, some haloumi and maybe even a little bit of this…

Zorba

Have a great week whatever you get up to!

Category: Europe

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Crespéou – Red Layer

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Crespéou – Green Layer

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