Cooking for Friends - Recipe 30

Braised Pork with prunes and apple.

2011-12-12T23:23:00.000-08:00

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 60 minutes
(For two hungry people)

Ingredients

6 Slices of Pork Loin
2 Shallots
1 Sprig of thyme (or Lebanese oregano)
1 Clove of garlic
30gms Butter
300ml Chicken stock
2 cups white wine
1 Carrot
2 Celery sticks
8 Prunes
2 Apples

METHOD

Heat up olive oil to a pan, caramelise the pork on each side, add some butter to enhance flavour and add further colour.

Turn over and repeat process.

Remove from pan and place into oven dish away from heat.

Chop the Echallotes finely.

Add echalotes to pan, cook until tender and deglaze with white wine.

Chop celery and carrots finely.

Make sure it's nice and fine and add to mixture with the thyme.

Add chicken stock, and leave to reduce over high heat.

Add bay leaf.

Some salt.

and pepper to season.

add prunes to pork dish.

Add all the reduction to the pork dish. There should be enough liquid to almost cover pork.

Cover with lid.

Cook in oven at 160C for approx 60-70 minutes.
Half the liquid should remain once cooked. Do not dry out.

Peel, core and slice apples into wedges.
Saute in butter until caramelised both sides.

Serve with prunes and apples and coat with reduced jus from oven pot.
Garnish with a little thyme and chive.

Herb Crust Rack of Lamb

2011-09-15T04:03:00.000-07:00

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
(For two people)

Ingredients

1 rack of lamb
1 bunch of asparagus
2 x potatoes
1 Clove of garlic
half cup of breadcrumbs
1 small bunch of parsley
4 sprigs of thyme
2 sprigs of rosemary
100gm of butter
1 lemon
Dijon mustard
40 gm Parmesan Cheese

METHOD

Firstly, steam your potatoes in steamer.

In a blender, add half cup of dry bread crumbs.

Add some thyme.

Add the Parsley.

Add one garlic clove, chopped or crushed.

Add the Rosemary leaves. Remove from stalk if fresh.

Add lemon zest, about half lemon. (the skin only)

Add the Parmesan cheese, grated.

A generous amount of black crushed pepper.

Blitz in blender and pour onto flat plate. It should look like a green dry powder.

Remove potatoes from steamer, peel off the skin, then crush in a clean tray.

Add the butter in pieces, season with salt & pepper and place in hot oven at 220C.

Slice the rack, leaving two cutlet bones per serve.

Add some olive oil to a pan, once hot add the cutlets and caramelise.
Remember that brown equals flavour.

Once caramelised, remove from hot pan and leave aside to cool for two minutes.
Keep pan aside.

With a pastry brush, coat all sides of each cutlet with Dijon mustard.

Dip coated cutlet in herb mixture. Press hard and make sure it's coated evenly on all sides.

Put back to original pan upright and place in very hot oven until brown.

Place asparagus in steamer.

Remove Potato crush and place in centre of plate.

Plate up with cutlet bones interconnected upwards, add asparagus and garnish with fresh rosemary.

Lamb should still be pink inside. You can also slice them in two lengthwise to show the pink meat giving you four pieces.

The herb crust enhances the flavour and also keeps the lamb very moist.

For a dinner party the lamb can be prepared in advance and refrigerated. Make sure they are separate and not touching once in fridge. Preheat oven on full before serving and roast in oven for approx. 10 minutes.

Salsa Verde

2011-08-09T01:59:00.000-07:00

Preparation time: 10 minutes.

This is the sauce that everyone should know how to make, it's so easy and it enhances the flavour of grilled meats, great on poached or steamed fish and seafood. Also on chicken.

SEE VIDEO INSTRUCTIONS BELOW

Ingredients

50 g Capers.
3 to 6 small Cornichons (unsweetened gherkins).
1 Heaped teaspoon of Dijon Mustard.
1 Cloves of crushed Garlic.
3 Tablespoon of Red Wine Vinegar.
4 Tablespoon of Olive Oil.
1 Hand full of washed fresh parsley.
1 Handfull of washed fresh mint.
1 small tin of Anchovies.
Cracked black Pepper

METHOD

Pick you Fresh Mint and Parsley. About one handful size bunch.

Remove Mint stalks and add leaves only to a food processor.

Remove Parsley stalks and add leaves only to a food processor.

Add the top layer of Anchovies

Add Capers.

Add Cornichons.

Add one heaped teaspoon of French Dijon Mustard.

Add one clove of grated or crushed Garlic.

Blitz in Food Processor

Whilst mixing, add Olive Oil, approximately four tablespoons.

Add red wine vinegar.

Final mix should look like a thick enough to hold itself. Do not add salt as the Anchovies are very salty.

Add some cracked black Pepper.

Pour in a bowl, cover and refrigerate for use.

This is a fairly basic recipe, but you can add other herbs such as Basil, Chives,
Coriander in fact any green herb that you may enjoy as long as it's fresh.

Watch video instructions below.

Please leave comments.

Thank you!

Joel Mielle

Brussels Sprouts aux Delice

2011-08-08T17:08:00.000-07:00

Preparation time: 10 minutes.
Cooking time: 20 minutes.

I'm amazed the number of people that tell me they hate Brussels Sprouts. I therefore decided to put together a recipe that will demonstrate how beautiful the unpopular sprout can actually taste. I challenge anyone to find a better recipe.

Ingredients

500g of Brussel Sprouts.
2 small Echalotes.
1 clove of Garlic.
A few sprigs of Parsley.
100g of flaked Almonds.
100g of Butter.
3 Tablespoons of Olive oil.
2 Teaspoons of French Dijon Mustard.
1 whole juice of Lemon.
A little water.

METHOD

You will need 500gm of Brussel Sprouts.

First give them a good wash.

Trim off the stalk end.

Then cut in half.

To a pan, add your Olive Oil.

To the pan, add Brussel Sprouts face down on very low heat. Let cook a few minutes until they start to caramelise. Then toss them in pan so they cook on all sides. Still on very low heat.

Finely chop your Echalotes.

Add your chopped Echalotes and some crushed Garlic.

Add salt & Pepper to taste.

Add a little water around 5 tablespoons. Place lid and cook for 5 minutes.

Add two teaspoons of French Dijon Mustard.

Add one whole lemon juice. continue to cook for 5 minutes without lid.

In a dry pan, grill your flaked almonds until coloured.

Add chopped Parsley and flaked Almonds to your pan.

Add the Butter and toss in pan until melted and all sprouts become glossy.

Serve immediately. A great tasty and healthy vegetable to accompany almost any meal.

Now I don't want to hear anyone tell me that Brussels Sprouts don't taste good.

Please rate and leave comments. Thank you.

Joel Mielle

Potato Rosti

2011-07-31T20:45:00.000-07:00

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes:

Ingredients

1 x Garlic clove
1 small Echalote
1 x Sprig of Rosemary
2 Sage leaves (or some thyme)
100g of Butter
Olive oil (Table Spoon)
3 x Potaoes (Starchy ones)

Place the unpeeled potatoes in steamer and cook over low heat.

Check to see if cooked after 10 minutes or less. Potatoes should still be hard in centre but soft on edges.

Do not cook right through or you will get mash. Let cool a little.

Peel potatoes and grate.

Potatoe grate should have a nice grated consistency and not a mash.

To a mixing bowl, add crushed garlic, thinly sliced echalote, finely chopped Rosemary and Sage.

Add the egg yolk only and season with salt and pepper.

Add a little Olive oil. no more than a tablespoon.

Add approx. 80g of melted butter butter

Mix well until all ingredients are well incorporated into mixture.

Add a little butter to a frying pan.

In a cutter, pack in some of the mixture and flatten well. Remove cutter and repeat process.

Fry on very low heat for approx. 10-15 minutes. Check underneath that they aren't burning.

Then carefully flip them over to cook the other side for approx another 10 minutes.

Your Rostis should look golden brown in colour and base should be crisp. The potatoe should be cooked all the way through.

Serve immediately whilst hot. These can also be cooled down and refrigerated if preparing in advance. To reheat, use a little butter and fry in pan on very low heat or place on buttered tray in oven. (No microwaves) Rosti potatoes can be used as a meal or to accompany any meal just like regular potatoes. In the picture above, I served them with sour cream (mixed with a little chopped spring onion), slices of fried bacon and some grated Parmesan cheese. A great lunch with a side salad!

Please let me know what you think in comments below! Thanks!

Joel Mielle

Red Wine Butter Sauce

2011-07-23T03:02:00.000-07:00

This sauce is so simple and practical yet the flavour you get in return is amazing. Prepare it in advance, refrigerate or freeze use on a nice grilled steak, it's always ready!

It's important that you use the real Echalots (Sometimes referred as Shallots) and not small onions.

Preparation time: 20 Minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 x Bottle of a good strong red wine.
250 gm of salted butter.
4 or 5 Echalotes.
Half red onion.
1 x small clove of garlic.
1 x Sprig Thyme
1 x Sprig Oregano
1 x Bay leaf
Cracked black pepper

METHOD

Chop up very finely your Echalotes, your half red onion and garlic clove.

Chop up finely your Thyme and Oregano.

Add all ingredients to a large pot with bay leaf and one whole bottle of Red Wine.

Put on full heat for all wine to evaporate.

Add black cracked Pepper. Keep boiling until mixture is almost dry.

It's advisable to stand and watch it towards the end as once dry, it can burn very quickly.

Once dry, Let cool or refrigerate.

Whisk at high speed, room temperature butter (Microwave a little if too hard) in mixer until butter becomes lighter cream in colour. It should be fluffy in texture.

Add the cooled reduction mixture to the butter.

Whisk until mixture is all mixed up properly, this should be quick.

Tear up some aluminium foil and scoop out half the mixture into long shape.

Fold over and roll into sausage shape.

Twist ends until mixture is packed nicely inside.

You should end up with two rolls. A good idea is to refrigerate one and freeze the other.

Slice and leave out at room temperature before serving.

Dip in chopped parsley and place on top of steak.

Chicken Cashew with Broccoli Stir Fry

2011-07-19T21:05:00.000-07:00

Preparation time: 15 Minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

1 X whole large chicken breast or four chicken thighs.
1 X small Carrot thinly sliced.
1 large head of broccoli broken up into small pieces.
Half red onion thinly sliced.
1 x Spring onion thinly sliced.
1 X Chili chopped up.
1 garlic clove.
Some fresh Ginger.
1 Tablespoon of Soy Sauce.
1 Tablespoon of Ketjap sauce (Lighter sweeter soy sauce).
1 X glass of red wine (to drink only).
1 teaspoon Sesame oil.
1 Heaped tablespoon of Cornflour mixed in a little water.
Some cooking vegetable oil (Peanut, Grape or other)

METHOD

Finely slice chicken breast. (Tip) Half frozen makes it easier to slice thinly.

Heat up wok with vegetable oil to smoking point. Add and sliced chicken breast. Keep them loose so they can cook evenly.

This should only take 1 to 2 minutes. Make sure heat is on full. Empty the contents into container and keep chicken aside.

Add more oil into same Wok and add the Cashews, toss until slightly brown.

Then add all your vegetables starting with Broccoli

Then the finely sliced carrots.

The half red onion.

The sliced Spring onion.

The clove of garlic finely grated.

Add fresh grated Ginger ,

and one whole finely chopped Chili.

Add a little water to help steam vegetables in Wok.

Add one tablespoon of Soy Sauce

Add one tablespoon of Ketjap sauce.

Add your cornflour mixture. If too dry add a little water. Keep tossing for 20 seconds, add sesame oil mix and serve.

Garnish with fresh coriander. Serve with Coconut or Jasmine rice.

Joel Mielle

Roast Duck Twice Cooked with Blueberries

2011-07-07T04:57:00.000-07:00

Preparation time: 30 Minutes

Cooking time: 120 minutes

Ingredients

1 Large duck (around 2.3kg)
250gm of blue berries (Frozen are fine)
50gm of Sugar
1 x Carrot
1 Piece of celery
1 Bay Leaf
1 Clove
1 and a half Onion
Red wine (Extra to drink)
Balsamic vinegar
Cornflour (Optional)

METHOD

Remove duck from package. This one is 2.3kg which is usually enough for four people.

In my case it's enough for two! Then rinse under cold water.

Cut off the wings right where the joint is. Keep them for the stock. Also trim away any excess fat from inside of cavity.

Remove the neck. and keep for stock.

In a large pot, add the duck, wings, neck and fill pot to barely cover with water. Add the bay leaf, clove, half onion, carrot, celery and a little pepper. Cover with lid and poach for 45 minutes. Process can be sped up in pressure cooker to 20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 200C.

Once duck is poached, remove and place in roasting tray on top of sliced onion.

Roast in oven at 200C.

Reduce the remainder of the stock on high heat.

If frozen, defrost blueberries and set aside.

Add sugar to saucepan with a little water, enough to cover sugar.

Let the caramel darken to an overall brown colour.

Once brown, quickly add a big splash of red wine, approx. one cup full.

and a small splash of Balsamic Vinegar. Incorporate blueberries and leave aside.

After 30 minutes, cover the duck legs with foil and regularly baste the duck with juices and fats from the tray.

Strain the stock, there should only be about 2cm of liquid left in bottom of pot.

Remove all the duck fat from stock by scooping only the top layer.

Keep the fat and refrigerate for future use. You can use it to confit other foods or roast potatoes.

After approx. 60 minutes, your duck should be a nice roast colour.

Remove from tray, cover with foil and tea towel and let rest in warm place.

Drain and strain remaining juices (Jus) and add to stock reduction.

Pour the stock reduction and jus into the blueberry and caramel sauce.

Turn on the heat and let reduce for 10 minutes.

You don't need to thicken this sauce if reduced enough, otherwise mix a little cold water with two tablespoons of cornflour in a bowl and then slowly pour contents into simmering sauce, mix well.

Voila! Carve and serve on roasted potatoes, garnish with spinach and roasted Echalotes or vegetables of your choice. Add the blue berry sauce on side.
The reason for cooking the duck twice is to tenderise it and also to keep the flesh moist.
Enjoy!

Joel Mielle

Preserved Lemons Moroccan style

2011-07-03T03:22:00.000-07:00

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Sterilization time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

15 X Juicy Lemons (ideally unwaxed)
150gm of table salt
Some water
3 Bay Leaves (Optional)
1 X 2 litre jar with tight lid

To sterilize the jar you need to make sure it's spotless. Wash in hot or boiling water with some washing detergent. Rinse well.

Place still wet in cold oven and turn on oven to 150C. Leave for 30 minutes.

Remove and let cool down.

Wash lemons in warm water and give skin a good scrub to remove dirt or grit.

If waxed, use hot water.

Prepare your salt in container with teaspoon.

Cut one end of each lemon around 5mm from the base.

Remove any visible pips.

Turn lemon upside down.

Repeat process in opposite direction. Do not cut all the way through. Repeat process with remaining lemons.

Fill each lemon cut with one teaspoon of salt. You can add more if lemons are large.

The salt will extract the juice and also soften the rind.

Place lemons into jar by pushing them hard wedged together.

Apply enough pressure to squeeze out juices.

Add remaining salt.

Add bay leaves. This is optional but it gives them enhanced flavour for savoury dishes.

Squeeze the remainder of lemons into juice.

Pour juice into jar.

It should roughly fill half the jar.

Fill the remainder of jar with cold water.

Make sure all lemons are covered, seal the jar and store in cool dark place for four to six weeks. Liquid will be cloudy but will clear in 3 to 4 weeks. Turn the jar upside down each day for three weeks to mix salts. Once opened, refrigerate. Preserved lemons can last up to six months. To use, separate the quarters then rinse lemon in water to remove salt. Discard the pulp and only use the rind. The flavour is intense and once you start using them, you will never look back.

Joel Mielle

Ultra Moist Roast Chicken with Sweet Garlic

2011-06-24T04:17:00.000-07:00

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 70 minutes (This can vary depending on oven)

Ingredients

1 X 1.7 kg Free range chicken
1 whole knob of garlic (or more if you prefer)
1 Bunch of fresh Rosemary
1 large Lemon
2 Tablespoons of Fish Sauce
1 cup of White Wine
1 cup of Chicken Stock
1 cup Water
2 Tablespoons of Fish Sauce
50 ml of Virgin Olive Oil

METHOD

Remove chicken from wrapper and leave out at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C.

Squeeze the juice of one lemon inside chicken cavity.

Also place half of the actual lemon into cavity for extra flavour.

Place chicken on grill and in tray ready for roasting.

This ensures even temperature cooking.

Add all the rosemary to fill up cavity and permeate aroma.

Add Sea salt flakes and black Pepper.

Drizzle olive oil over whole chicken.

Massage well into entire chicken.

Cover breast with folded foil to protect from heat and retain moisture.

This stops the breast from being dry as it cooks quicker than the legs.

Place in 200C oven with one cup of water on bottom of tray.

Add garlic to simmering water and blanch for 5 minutes.

Drain and let cool aside.

After 40 minutes of cooking, remove foil from breast.

Tear it in half and reuse the same foil by covering each leg of the chicken.

Add one cup of chicken stock over chicken.

Add a generous splash of white wine over chicken.

Add two tablespoons of Fish Sauce over chicken. Yes I know it sounds unusual, but trust me, the flavour of the chicken will be incredible!

Drizzle some more olive oil to help with the caramelisation of the chicken.

Add the garlic to all the liquids and place chicken back in oven at 160C for another 30 minutes.

Remove from oven. The worlds most moist chicken!

To retain all the moisture, cover with foil and thick tea towel.

Leave to rest for 30 minutes before carving.

Remove garlic. Serve one clove per person, this roasted sweet garlic

has been roasted to a sweet mash.

Carve chicken into pieces, you will notice how moist the chicken is.

The juiciest chicken breast you will ever taste with lemon and rosemary aromas.

Poor the juices from the tray into a cup and let the fat rise to the top.

Skim off the fat and serve with chicken. No need to thicken.

This is the ultimate roast chicken dish you will ever make. Enjoy!

Joel Mielle

Ultimate Tomato Sauce

2011-06-23T19:49:00.001-07:00

This is a basic sauce that can be used for pasta, meats and even fish.

See Video: http://www.recipe30.com/tomato-sauce.html

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 x 400gm tin of Italian peeled tomatoes
1 small onion
1 clove of garlic
Fresh oregano
1 sprig of Thyme
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
2 tablespoon Soy sauce
Half lemon

METHOD

Firstly chop the whole onion finely.

Add the onion to a saucepan together with the olive oil on medium heat.

Stew the onion until soft.

Add grated garlic and continue stewing for a few minutes. (Do not caramelise)

Roughly chop some fresh oregano and add to onions.

Add a sprig of Thyme.

Continue cooking and just before onions caramelise...

Add the tinned tomatoes.

Roughly chop with knife. Pieces of tomato only enhance the dish.

Do not do this in Teflon pots.

Add a whole bay leaf.

Add the Soy sauce. Cook for 15 minutes

Add black pepper, no salt. Add squeeze of lemon and continue cooking for 5 minutes.

Remove bay leaf and thyme sprig. Pour sauce into container and use immediately or cover and refrigerate once cooled. A great sauce to add to pasta and other dishes.

See Video instructions in 30 seconds:

Slow cooked Chicken Tian with Provencale vegetables

2011-06-20T21:24:00.000-07:00

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 3 hours

Ingredients

1 Chicken Breast
1 Small onion
2 Cloves of garlic
Parmesan Cheese - Grated
1 Red capsicum
2 Tomatoes
1 Egg plant
2 Peeled Potatoes
2 Large Mushrooms
1 Sprig of Thyme
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

METHOD

It's a good idea first to salt the eggplant to remove bitter juices. Simply add generous amounts of salt on both sides and leave to rest until you see moisture drained from egg plant. Then rinse well and pat towel dry. Slice and caramelise both sides of the egg plant in hot pan with olive oil.

Let rest and cool down on plate.

Add olive oil to your oven dish

Layer half of sliced onion and then add thinly sliced potato.

Add Parmesan cheese and scatter thyme over potatoes.

Add another layer of onion with remainder half.

Add thinly slice tomatoes.

Sprinkle more Parmesan cheese and grated two garlic cloves.

Slice Chicken breast. (TIP: Half frozen breasts are easier to slice)

Layer chicken slices and add salt & pepper to taste.

Add half the eggplant slices.

Add the seeded capsicum slices and top with remainder of eggplant.

Add The two large sliced mushrooms, enough to cover.

Sprinkle more Parmesan cheese and

drizzle with virgin olive oil.

Cover with lid and place in moderate oven at 120C for three hours.

Remove lid after one hour and let cheese brown to a crust.

Let rest one hour before serving or refrigerate once cooled down and microwave to reheat.

Slice and drizzle with a little olive oil.

Thai Beef Casserole

2011-06-20T01:32:00.000-07:00

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes (longer in oven)

Ingredients

500 gm diced casserole meat
1 small onion
2 cloves of garlic
Fresh ginger
1 Chili
Half lime
1 bay leaf
1 Kaffir lime leaf
Corriander seeds
Cumin seeds
Coconut milk 165 ml
Soy sauce (2 Table Spoon)
Fish sauce (1 Table Spoon)
Beef stock 150 ml
3 Table spoon Olive Oil

METHOD

Trim your meat and cut into large cubes.

Add olive oil to a very hot pot so it reaches smoking point.

Add meat and caramelise evenly without burning.

Meat should be well caramelized on all sides.

Add diced onion, mix well with meat and also caramelise until brown for colour.

Add one teaspoon of Cumin seeds and one of Coriander seeds.

Pound well using mortar and pestle into powder.

Add to meat and mix well to release aromas, continue caramelisation process.

Finely Slice Kaffir lime leaf.

Add one whole bay leaf.

Add one small whole chopped whole chili.

Add two cloves of finely grated peeled garlic.

Add a similar quantity of grated fresh Ginger,

Add grated lime zest and squeeze half lime juice to mixture.

Add two tablespoons of Soy sauce,

Add one tablespoon of Fish sauce,

and the fresh Beef stock. (Use stock cubes and water if real stock is not available)

Pour in Coconut Milk. (Small 165ml can)

Then Cook in Pressure cooker for 45 minutes
or in covered Roast Pot for 2.5 hours at 150 C.
Check every 30 minutes, make sure that by the end there's plenty
of liquid. Add water if drying out too quick.

Serve with plain rice and green vegetables.