Rachels Yoghurt, Food Blogger Idol Post.

Tropical Chicken

As a newbie to the lifestyle up here in Far-North-Queensland I’ve been inundated with market stalls full to the brim with tropical fruits and fresh lush produce from the inspiring farmers doing there bit up here in the north. The abundance continues to the coastline with coconuts found lying on the beach, and basil growing like hedging in the inner suburbs. Quality produce up here is on-tap and loaded with potential and possibilities.

Moving from the city-slicken mayhem in Sydney I cant help but love the change in scenery.  And moving out of home, who could have thought my life could become even more food-related? But here I am planning my weekend around the markets and what to have for dinner. Gosh so domesticated!

I guess what I’m trying to say is Far North Queensland has made me a better ‘Fooder’ (That is food-doer, as apposed to food groupie)

Afternoon Barbeques in the middle of winter are actually a thing up here in the tropics, so as a testament to my new found love of the north I give you my easy and healthy recipe  for Tropical Chicken! Using the beautiful product Mango & Madagascan Vanilla yoghurt, by Rachel’s Gourmet Low-fat yoghurts. The Mango in this yoghurt gives a fantastic flavour to the chicken and I've partnered it with some fresh herbs and other tropical ingredients for a unique flavour. The great thing about using yoghurt with meat is that is keeps it both moist and tender. 

Whats great about this recipe is that anyone with a pot of this 
golden-thick-dolloping-white-mango-speckled-mass of deliciousness, can have a taste of my Far North Queensland chicken- sorry for the over-do of adjectives can't stress its deliciousness enough.

So lets get cooking!

Tropical Chicken with Coconut Rice and Tomato Salsa.

Serves 4

250g Rachel's Mango & Madagascan Vanilla yoghurt

500g Organic Chicken tenderloins

2 Stems Coriander, including roots

2 Cloves Garlic.

1 Green Chili

½ Lemongrass stem

4 Kaffir Lime Leaves

2 Sprigs Mint

1 tbs olive oil

1 Lime

1 Tsp Fish Sauce

Salt & Pepper

Accompaniments:

250g Rice

100g English Spinach

1 cup Coconut shards/flakes

2 Red Tomatoes

½ Long red Chili

1tbs lemon juice

1 Sprig Thai Basil.

Method:

Roughly chop your coriander, lemongrass, mint, green chili, and garlic then place in a food processor to blitz. Remove the stem from the kaffir lime leaves, and add these as-well. Pulse for 30 seconds then add the olive oil, fish sauce, lime zest and juice. Process to form a aromatic green paste.

Then add Rachel’s Mango &Madagascan Vanilla yoghurt- making sure to get all the scrummy mango bits from the bottom, and pulse a couple of times to mix it through. 

In a bowl combine yoghurt paste with the tenderloins and set aside to marinate.

*This can be done the night before for extra flavour, but try and get  minimum 30 minutes marinating time.

Meanwhile, in a pan heat the coconut flakes tossing every 30 seconds until golden brown. Chop the spinach into thin slices and set aside in a large bowl with the toasted coconut flakes.

For the rice, in a pot bring 1 litre of water to the boil. Add the rice and cook until cooked through (8-12 minutes depending on grain chosen) add the rice to the pan of coconut, and toss through the spinach. Season and set aside for eating.

To make the salsa, dice the tomatoes into small cubes. Toss with a finely diced red chili, thin slices of Thai basil, a squirt of lemon, 1Tbs olive oil and seasoning.

We want to cook the chicken low and slow. You can either place the marinated pieces on a tray and cook at a low 150 degree oven for 10 minutes or even better set a BBQ to the lowest temp and shut the lid on the chicken for the same amount of time. When the chickens white through the middle its ready to go!

Stack the chicken on a chopping board and let everyone serve themselves. Far North Queensland is all about casual laid back eating with full flavoured foods. This recipe is a great way of using a delicious product in a different way. And the good news is, if  you buy the big tub of yoghurt we only use half, so we still have half left to go with some crunchy muesli for breakfast!

So sit back and enjoy! 

Hot Cross Buns!

Easter Baker

A Traditional hot cross bun, for me, is all about the Pineapple glaze and the personalised dried fruit combination the Easter Baker comes up with. 

 I use to hate the fruity breads and opt for fruitless try-hards but i've now developed a deep respect for fruit-filled hot cross buns teaming with flavour and mourishness. Recently i've changed jobs and am now the soul bearer of goods for a cafe in my new coastal home. And its here that i've been pushed to cook more and more pastry items, which in a town that has the weather of the tropics makes proving bread an easy and quick task. 

Here are my delicious hot cross buns which are a perfect baking item for this easter long weekend!Go on be the Easter Baker!

MY HOT CROSS BUN RECIPE.

Bun.

20g dry yeast
80g caster sugar
250ml luke-warm milk

1 egg, beaten lightly

600g plain flour
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
160g sultanas
80g finely chopped mixed peel

80g Glace Ginger

100g butter, chopped to small cubes

80ml warm water, approximately

Flour Paste.
1/4 cup (35g) plain flour
2 teaspoons caster sugar
2 tablespoons cold water, approximately

Glaze.
1 cup caster sugar
1 tsp powdered gelatine
1 cup water

1/4 Pineapple Cut up with the skin on.

METHOD

1. Combine the yeast, flour, spices,fruit, peel, milk, eggs, salt and water into a large mixing bowl. Apply the hook attachment to a mixer and or knead for 5 minutes.When the dough has combined slowly add the butter piece by piece.Then knead for a further 5 minutes or until the dough becomes elastic. 

2. OIl a bowl for the dough and Cover it with plastic wrap to stand in a warm place for about one hour or until mixture is doubled in size.

3. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 70-75g portions using scales then knead each portion into a ball by placing your hand over the dough and using a circular motion. Place the balls, almost touching, on a large greased oven tray. 

4. To make the flour paste combine the flour and sugar into a small bowl; gradually stir in enough water to make a smooth thick paste. Place the Flour Paste into a resealable plastic bag and snip a tiny piece off one corner then pipe crosses onto the buns.

5. Stand the trays of crossed buns in a warm place for about 20 minutes or until dough is almost doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced).

6. Meanwhile to make the glaze combine all ingredients in a small pot and stir over low heat until all contents are disolved, apart from the pineapple of course!.

5. Bake the buns for about 15 minutes or until buns sound hollow when tapped.

7. Transfer the buns to a wire rack and brush the tops with the Glaze.

Trendy Kale

Garlicky Kale Panini with Olive Tapenade. 

I first met kale 2 Christmases ago in New York at a restaurant called Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria which is in Noho- New York lingo for north of Houston St these NewYorkers are so dam trendy its ridiculous!

Anyway back to the kale, it was squished into a freshly baked crusty roll and packed with roasted capsicums and a chutney of some sort. A food innovation by my mouth, I’d never had it before, but I loved its fibrous texture which unlike spinach kept its toughness after being cooked. It had a certain seaweed like flavour to it, which would usually turn me off but I just couldn’t get enough of the stuff.

Kale is at its most nutritious form when steamed but recently kale has made its way into the smoothie world, teamed with avocados and bananas for a mouthful of sweet creamy green, nothing like the kale I first tasted in NYC. So I thought I’d give you this easy recipe to play around with, it’s a fantastic lunch item and can pimp out any picnic under the sun!

For the tapenade I use anchovies. These small fishies add a much needed whack of salt . This means we don’t have to add nasty table salt. I love anchovies because they are natural ‘salters’, I use them in a  lot of my cooking!

Tip: Keep the kale stems and use them in stocks and soups for added health benefits and minimal waste.

Garlicky Kale Panini with Olive Tapenade.

4 branches of kale, leaves removed from stem.

1 Garlic Clove finely grated.

25g Butter

1 cup water

1 sprig of thyme

100g olives

50g Capers

2 anchovy fillets. (Seriously use these they make the dish!)

Basil

Parlsey

Extra Virgin Olive oil

Danish Fetta

4 Panini rolls

In a deep pan melt the butter and toss in the garlic to sizzle for 10 seconds. Add the Kale and toss like a salad to coat. Then add the water and cover with a lid for 2-3 minutes.

Meanwhile in a food processor blitz the capers, anchovies, herbs and olives whilst slowly adding the olive oil to make a slurry style sauce.

When the kale is done, drain off the excess liquid and set aside to cool in the fridge.

Heat up your rolls in the oven and assemble with the kale, tapenade and crumbed feta.

Dig In!

Sweet and Sour.

Sams' S&S Pork. 

Sweet and Sour

Two tastes working perfectly on the same plate.  

A rich balance of sweetness and saltiness delectably transported by slow cooked pork teaming with oriental flavours engrossed in a rich and golden pineapple speckled sauce.

Now this is eating.

For me the mention of sweet and sour pork brings about images and memories of grossly battered nuggets of chewy pork pulled together with a bizarre orange sauce propped with chunks of onion and capsicum. Somehow tasty, but so bizarre and not very appealing to the eyes or the stomach.

But, I’ll give it merit for flavour. There is something about foods that use both salt and sugar that has me grabbing for a tissue to catch the saliva drooling out of my mouth.

Pineapples were a dollar at the markets last weekend along with lemongrass and ginger, so I was inspired to make my own version of sweet and sour pork.

I knew I could take it one step further and make something tasty, easy, and full with flavour. Instead of having pork in the form of battered bad boys, I chose a slow cooking cut, the collar or neck, and had it cooking for 2 hours in my Le’Cruscet. The result was sensational, my boyfriend licked the pot clean!

I had to share!

Sams' Sweet and Sour Pork

1 lemongrass

3 garlic cloves

1 chilli

1 knob ginger

1 bunch coriander roots

1/2 onion finely diced

750 g Pork collar cut into small chunks

2 Tbs Fish sauce

1 pineapple cut into small pieces

1 capsicum

120 ml ornage juice

2 tbs White wine Vinegar

1 Cup chicken stock

1tbs salt

veg oil.

1 lime

Rice to serve

In a food processor blitz the lemongrass, garlic, chilli, ginger, and corriader with 1 tbs of vegetable oil to make a paste.

In a bottom heavy pot sauté off the paste and onion with and extra tbs of oil and 1 tbs of sugar. Add the pork and cook for 5 minutes to brown off the pieces.

Add the pineapple, capsicum, fish sauce, orange juice, vinegar and stock. Bring to the boil then add the salt and bring it down to a simmer covered for 1 hour.

After an hour remove the lid and cook for another hour stirring occasionally. When the sauce has reduced and almost sticky its ready to serve with rice and a wedge of lime.

Fish with Good Intentions.

 Fishy...

Squidy. 

Seafood is on the verge of being abused and battered (pun intended) with Easter only weeks away. So I thought I’d whip up a couple of easy-peasy seafood recipes that have some subtle quirky flavour combinations. These are my fishy recipes with good intentions. 

Fish of the day? When buying fish try to avoid sticking to the recipe. What I mean is if the recipe calls for barramundi and its $47 dollars per kilo, probably because its been caught 2000km away, try something different. Fish can be easily interchanged, and there are only too many varieties and species to choose from. Maybe a grunter fillet? Or a mixed reef fillet? You don’t need to break the bank and the end result will only be tastier because you’ve bought something fresher and local.

Nuts are great textures for food in general, but with fish the nuttiness seems to take fishiness to a whole new level. You can use whatever nut you fancy but I chose flaked almonds, I love the golden colour they turn in the oven! I matched my almond encrusted fish with a sour but rich orange and garlic beurre blanc (butter sauce) a punch of chili, a salty hit from some kalamata olives and earthy undertones from green kale. Making a healthy meal that gets Ten's for flavour, texture and eye-appeal in my book.

Squid and calamari tubes- yes they are different things, would have to be one of the most inexpensive seafood you can get these days. Fresh or frozen these white winged beauties are a versatile specie of the cephalopod family, and make for tasty bite-size morsels perfect for entertaining.

There are many recipes that café’s and restaurants are guilty to overdosing on and one of them would have to be salt and pepper squid. I always aim to be a little different when it comes to my recipes so I’ve created my own seasoning that will knock the socks of mere salt and pepper, with a big whack of sour sumac and robust rosemary!

Almond Encrusted Fish with Orange Beurre Blanc.

2 Fillets of White fish portioned

Flaked almonds

Olive oil

1 orange

125g butter

1 garlic clove finely grated.

50 g sliced kalamata olives

1 tsp red chili finely diced

5 De-Stemmed leaves of kale

Coat your fish in olive oil, then pat with almonds to form a crust. Place on lined baking tray and put in a 180 degree oven for 10 minutes, or until cooked.

Meanwhile on a low temp melt 100g of your butter with the garlic. Add the juice of 1 orange and the remaining 25g of butter in small cold chunks. Stir

When the fish is ready add the chili and olives to the sauce followed by the kale. Put a lid on the pot and bring the temp up. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the kale is wilted.

To serve place the kale on the bottom followed by the baked fish and some of the remaining sauce.

Sumac and Rosemary Squid/Calamari.

4 tubes of Squid/calamari

1 cup plain flour

2 Tbs sumac

2 sprigs rosemary

Good quality mayonnaise (Home-made is always best, but its ok to cheat sometimes)

Salt

Pepper.

Vegetable oil.

1 lime

Open out your squid by cutting down one of the sides of the arrow. Butterfly it out onto the board and clean it with the back of your knife to remove any scum.

Gently score the inside of the squid with your knife on an angle then cut into strips.

Meanwhile fill a saucepan or deep-fryer two-thirds full with oil and heat to 170°C (or until a cube of bread turns golden in 15 seconds). Fry off your rosemary for 20 seconds then set aside on paper-towel.

To make the seasoning in a medium sized bowl (which will be used to toss the squid in) crumble the rosemary and mix with the sumac, salt and pepper .

Toss your raw squid in some plane flour then in batches fry it off  and when golden remove and toss in the sumac and rosemary seasoning. Serve hot with a wedge of lime and some mayonnaise for dipping. For extra flavour sprinkle some of the seasoning over the mayonnaise for an extra punch.

Not Easy Being Green.

 Green Schmear.

Pesto.

I love that word schmear, and while it usually refers to the stuff you paste onto a bagel, my ‘Green Schmear’ is a little different but still just as tasty.

Maybe even better than mere schmear. Sorry I’m confusing you aren’t I,

 I’ll try and keep it simple.

Pesto!

I’d like to think of pesto as the best food invention since the cave man decided to grill a bit of cows bum over a flame. A handful of nuts, some fresh green herbs, salty cheese, oil, a smashing of garlic and you’ve got yourself a dam fine schmear, that just so happens to be green.

This fantastic invention is available at supermarkets, you’ll find it crammed into pressurised glass jars with an off-green-tinge. But there is nothing better than making this schmear at home. And I just so happen to have the best tip (learnt off a French chef ironically) to keep it as green as grass for a long time. (That way you can make heaps of it)

So what is the trick?

Pesto Toasties.

Well as the saying goes: ‘Its not easy being green’ and Kermit the frog was right! Its not! Once you blitz the bajeebas out of a soft herb like basil it does this weird thing where it goes a yucky brown colour, due to oxidation. 

But I have the solution! Its all in the preparation people! 

(Exclamation overdose?)

By blanching off the basil in hot boiling water for 20-30 seconds then quickly immersing the leaves into a bowl of iced cold water, then drying it off on paper-towl,  you strengthen the chlorophyll greenies. This way when it gets blitzed the green colour sticks around.

Do you want the recipe? Here's a schmeared version that lets your taste buds be the decider.

For my pesto I would usually go a BIG bunch of basil(I get mine at the markets for $2 and its bigger than my face!), about 75g of parmesan, 2 garlic cloves, 150g blanched skinless almonds (you can use pine nuts but man they’re expensive) juice of 1 lemon, and enough decent olive oil to make it schmeary… if that’s even a word.

Now you can up the garlic, get it chunky with more nuts or make it less schmeary with more oil its up to you. All you need is a food processor or stick blender. I usually put the cheese and almonds in with the garlic and blitz it to form a crumb then I add the rest of the ingredients, some seasoning and blitz while slowly adding more and more olive oil until I like the look of it.

This makes a lot, so I keep it in the fridge in some sort of sealable container. I even pop some in the freezer for extra back up if its an extra large bunch of basil. This is definitely the best way to make pesto, once you blanch you can’t go back!

Pesto is fantastic with pasta, or schmeared onto toast for breaky!But could be put with anything really, get creative with it!

So next time basil is on sale, make a big whack of Green Schmear, AKA pesto. You won’t regret it and its worth all the effort.

Pesto pasta with sun-dried tomatoes.

Tea Dunkers!

Biscuits for Tea. 

How do i pick a good cafe? If my tea or coffee comes with a complimentary home-made biscuit. It means they care. That sweet addition to the usual hot drink makes for a whole different cafe experience, and one that you too can have at home!

The thing with these biscuits is, in my opinion, they've got to be butter based. No excuses people! 

You can flavour them with whatever you like!

I only baked half the dough made in this recipe, that way i can keep the rest in the freezer for a fresh afternoon snack! Nuts-wise i used almonds, hazelnuts and pistachios but you can use whatever you like, or swap it for almond meal to make a less chunky version. 

Nutty Shortbreads.

Ingredients.

125g Softened Butter 

3/4 cup Sugar

1 1/2 cups of Mixed Roasted Nuts- Roughly Chopped

1 3/4 cups of Plain Flour

1 Tbs Honey

1 egg

Zest of 1 Lemon. 

*You'll need extra nuts,and sugar for garnishing.

Method.

1. With cake beaters or in a food processor cream together butter and sugar for 4 minutes.

2. Add nuts, flour, egg, honey and zest then beat/blitz for 1 minute.

3. Roll out half the mix on grease proof paper the form a sausage, repeat with remaining mixture.

4. Freeze for 30 minutes or until solid. 

5. Preheat oven to 160 degrees and prepare biscuit tray with paper.

6. Take the dough out of the freezer and chop into 1cm thick rounds.

7.  Arrange on tray, then top with almonds and sprinkle with sugar.

8. Bake straight away for 10 minutes.

Dunk AWAY!